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Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a promising and cost-effective dietary approach for weight management. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of TRE on weight loss in three adult populations using pre- and post-intervention analyses while also investigating its underlying mechanism. A systematic search was conducted across four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and the CENTRAL) up until January 28, 2024, specifically focusing on prospective studies that examined the efficacy of TRE in achieving weight loss. A random effects model was employed to conduct meta-analyses, while heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic (PROSPERO: CRD42023439317). The study encompassed 36 selected studies involving 44 effect sizes and 914 participants. The effectiveness of the TRE was found to vary across health conditions, with modest weight loss observed in healthy individuals (pooled effect size -1.04 Kg, 95% CI: -1.42 to -0.65) and more significant weight reduction seen in participants with chronic diseases (pooled effect size -3.33 Kg, 95% CI: -5.05 to -1.62) and overweight/obesity (pooled effect size -4.21 Kg, 95% CI: -5.23 to -3.10). The observed decrease in body weight could be partially attributed to factors influencing energy balance, as evidenced by the significantly lower mean calorie intake at the end of the intervention (1694.71 kcal/day, 95% CI: 1498.57-1890.85) compared to the baseline intake (2000.64 kcal/day, 95% CI: 1830-2172.98), despite the absence of intentional efforts to restrict energy intake by the participants. These findings support the efficacy of this lifestyle intervention for weight loss maintenance and guide the development of its clinical guidelines.

Summary: Objective: The aim of this study was to determine factors including biochemical markers, dietary habits, and social-anthropometric associated with uncontrolled hypertension among elderly hypertension in rural regions of Vietnam. Methods: This study included 272 hypertension patients aged over 60 years. Demographic data, anthropometric measurements, and risk factors associated with hypertension were from the cross-sectional study of 272 customers at the Medical Examination Department, Samson General Hospital, Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. Biochemical markers including total cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting blood glucose were measured. Dietary habits were by using a frequency questionnaire. Uncontrolled hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure of ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure of ≥90 mmHg in a patient taking anti-hypertensive medication.Generalized multiple linear regression was used to assess the impact of related factors on blood pressure, which were used as the dependent variables. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) of related factors for hypertension status. Results: The study found that men had more uncontrolled hypertension than women among the elderly population. The prevalences of hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypercholesterolemia were high in both controlled and uncontrolled groups. There was an inverse association between fruits (p=0.021) and vegetable consumption (p=0.038) and a positive correlation between salty habits (p=0.040) and processed food (p

The use of nonrenewable energy sources of fossil fuel and coal is the main cause of climate change; therefore, renewable energy sources have emerged as a viable option for reducing pollution. This study examines the link between real gross domestic product and renewable energy use and by adding determinants of production function in Vietnam such as capital and labor by using annual data of the period 1995–2019. This study uses the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) to evaluate the link between renewable energy consumption, labor, economic growth, and capital in the long term and to determine causality using the Granger causality test with error correction model. This study establishes a conservative effect that indicates unidirectional causation between the use of renewable energy and economic growth and their relationship lasts in the long term.

Future Medical Education and Development Introductory Course (Future MEDIC) is a medical student–led school program designed to inspire primary school students in underserved communities by sharing a passion for medicine and healthcare careers. Through hands-on activities—including physical examination workshops, an on-site airport introduction to flight medicine, and interactive demonstrations with a patient simulator—26 eighth-grade students were empowered to actively explore the world of healthcare. To assess the impact of Future MEDIC on students’ knowledge and interest in healthcare careers, we administered pre- and post-surveys, informal exit interviews, and participation prizes. Survey responses were analyzed with a Mann Whitney U test for significance. There was a significant increase (p = 0.01) from pre- to post-survey about “I enjoy learning about how the body works.” Yet there was also a significant decrease (p = 0.03) from pre- to post-survey about “In the future, I am interested in working in healthcare or medicine.” Despite enjoying the activities and content of the Future MEDIC program, students did not have an increased interest in entering the healthcare field. Although interest in entering the healthcare field was not increased, Future MEDIC was a rewarding and fun experience for students to partake in, and an opportunity to create a multidimensional view of the healthcare field.

Abstract Background Social needs screening in primary care may be valuable for addressing non-medical health-related factors, such as housing insecurity, that interfere with optimal medical care. Yet it is unclear if patients welcome such screening and how comfortable they are having this information included in electronic health records (EHR). Objective To assess patient attitudes toward inclusion of social needs information in the EHR and key correlates, such as sociodemographic status, self-rated health, and trust in health care. Design, participants, and main measures In a cross-sectional survey of patients attending a primary care clinic for annual or employment exams, 218/560 (38%) consented and completed a web survey or personal interview between 8/20/20-8/23/21. Patients provided social needs information using the Accountable Care Communities Screening Tool. For the primary outcome, patients were asked, “Would you be comfortable having these kinds of needs included in your health record (also known as your medical record or chart)?” Analyses Regression models were estimated to assess correlates of patient comfort with including social needs information in medical records. Key results The median age was 45, 68.8% were female, and 78% were white. Median income was $75,000 and 84% reported education beyond high school. 85% of patients reported they were very or somewhat comfortable with questions about social needs, including patients reporting social needs. Social need ranged from 5.5% (utilities) to 26.6% (housing), and nonwhite and gender-nonconforming patients reported greater need. 20% reported “some” or “complete” discomfort with social needs information included in the EHR. Adjusting for age, gender, race, education, trust, and self-rated health, each additional reported social need significantly increased discomfort with the EHR for documenting social needs. Conclusions People with greater social needs were more wary of having this information placed in the EHR. This is a concerning finding, since one rationale for collecting social need data is to use this information (presumably in the EHR) for addressing needs.

At the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in late 2021, Vietnam set a target of achieving net-zero carbon (CO2) emissions by 2050. However, the country’s rapid economic growth, urbanization, and industrialization have historically relied on coal-based energy, a source of significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although contributing only 0.8% of the world’s emissions over the last two decades, Vietnam currently has one of the fastest increasing GHG emissions rates per capita. Over the 2000–2015 period, Vietnam’s per capita gross domestic product increased from $390 to $2,000, and CO2 emissions nearly quadrupled. Hence, this research explores the causal relationships among CO2 emissions, economic growth, foreign direct investment, renewable energy usage, and urban population in Vietnam over the period from 1990 to 2018 using the Environment Kuznets Curve. An autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing technique for measuring integration is utilized to investigate the long-run relationship. Results indicate that economic growth increases with CO2 emissions until a certain threshold level and then CO2 emissions decrease, thereby supporting the environmental Kuznets curve theory for Vietnam. Furthermore, this study examines the causal relationship among variables using a Granger causality model and determines that FDI, urban population, and renewable energy consumption play an important role and have substantial impact on carbon emission in Vietnam.

Background: The mouse model of transverse aortic constriction (TAC) has been widely used as a cardiac stress in the investigation of the molecular mechanisms of cardiac hypertrophy. Recently, the International Knockout Mouse Consortium has selected the C57BL/6NTac (BL/6N) mouse strain to generate null alleles for all mouse genes; however, a range of genetic and cardiac phenotypic differences have been reported between this substrain and the commonly used C57BL/6J (BL/6J) substrain. It has been reported by Garcia-Menendez and colleagues that 12-week C57BL/6NTac mice are susceptible to heart failure but little is known about the cardiac remodeling in this substrain as cardiac function progresses from compensation to decompensation. Methods: BL/6J and BL/6N mice were subjected to pressure overload via TAC. The impact of both age and duration of cardiac pressure overload induced by TAC on cardiac remodelling were systematically assessed. Results: Our data showed that BL/6N mice developed eccentric hypertrophy with age- and time-dependent deterioration in cardiac function, accompanied by considerable interstitial fibrosis. In contrast, BL/6J mice were more resilient to TAC-induced cardiac stress and developed variable cardiac phenotypes independent of age and the duration of pressure overload. This was likely due to the greater variability in pre-TAC aortic arch dimension as measured by echocardiography. In addition to increased expression of brain natriuretic peptide and collagen gene type 1 and 3, BL/6N mice also had greater angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) gene expression than BL/6J counterparts at baseline and after 2-weeks TAC, which may contribute to the exacerbated interstitial fibrosis. Conclusions: BL/6N and BL/6J mice have very different responses to TAC stimulation and these differences should be taken into consideration when using the substrains to investigate the mechanisms of hypertrophy and heart failure.

Within the field of health risk assessment, it is essential that evaluations of reliability or validity of toxicity data are conducted with structure and transparency. To this end, different tools for evaluating toxicity studies have been developed by different groups and organizations, for different specific purposes. The Science in Risk Assessment and Policy (SciRAP) tool was developed for use in the regulatory health risk assessment of chemicals and to promote structured and transparent evaluation of study reliability within European regulatory frameworks. As such, the SciRAP tool is not specifically tailored for use in a systematic review context. However, in light of the current movement towards applying systematic review in the field of environmental health and chemical assessments and European chemicals regulation, we were interested in exploring how SciRAP could be applied in such a context. To achieve this, the scope of the SciRAP tool was first compared to two tools developed based on systematic review principles at the US Environmental Protection Agency’s IRIS program and the National Toxicology Program’s Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT). Next, the SciRAP and IRIS tools were both applied in a case study to evaluate the same nine in vivo animal studies and the resulting evaluations were compared.The SciRAP tool was found to address the majority of the elements included for study evaluation in the OHAT and IRIS tools. In the case study, no major differences were found in the conclusions drawn when using SciRAP or IRIS tools. However, future developments to bring the SciRAP tool more in line with systematic review principles were identified and are discussed.Overall, this work illustrates the advantages of applying structured and pre-defined methods for study evaluation and provides a unique case study comparing the impact of using different tools for evaluating animal toxicity studies.

Background: A quality assurance system is vital when using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to ensure safe and effective ultrasound use. There are many barriers to implementing a quality assurance system including need for costly software, faculty time, and extra work to log images. Methods: With minimal funding or protected faculty time, we successfully developed an effective remote quality assurance system between residents rotating internationally and faculty in the US. Results: 270 total exams were logged using this system (41 per resident over a 7 week period). Over the course of the implementation period, a significant increase was seen in average image quality (p = 0.030) and percent agreement with reviewer (p = 0.021). No significant increase was seen for percent images with quality rating 5/5 (p = 0.068) or for studies per resident per week (p = 0.30). Discussion/Conclusions: A quality assurance system for remote review and feedback of POCUS exams was successfully developed with limited available funding, using consumer-level software and an educational collaboration. Residents used the system regularly and demonstrated improvement in reviewer-rated image acquisition and interpretation skills. A similar system can be applied for physicians in any geographic area looking to learn POCUS, in partnership with local or international POCUS mentors. We detail a step-by-step approach, challenges encountered, and lessons learned, to help guide others seeking to implement similar programs.

Adult fibroblasts can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) for use in various applications. However, there are challenges in iPSC generation including low reprogramming efficiency, yield, cell survival and viability. Since the Hippo signalling pathway is a key pathway involved in regulating cell proliferation and survival, we here test whether modification of the Hippo pathway will enhance the efficiency of iPSC generation and improve their survival. The Hippo pathway was modified by genetic ablation of the mammalian sterile-20 like kinase 1 (Mst1), a major component of the pathway. Using adult skin fibroblasts isolated from Mst1 knockout mice (Mst1−/−) as a source of iPSC we found that genetic ablation of Mst1 leads to significantly increased reprogramming efficiency by 43.8%. Moreover, Mst1−/− iPSC displayed increase proliferation by 12% as well as an increase in cell viability by 20% when treated with a chemical hypoxic inducer. Mechanistically, we found higher activity of YAP, the main downstream effector of the Hippo pathway, in iPSC lacking Mst1. In conclusion, our data suggests that Mst1 can be targeted to improve the efficiency of adult somatic cell reprogramming as well as to enhance iPSC proliferation and survival.

Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a promising and cost-effective dietary approach for weight management. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of TRE on weight loss in three adult populations using pre- and post-intervention analyses while also investigating its underlying mechanism. A systematic search was conducted across four databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and the CENTRAL) up until January 28, 2024, specifically focusing on prospective studies that examined the efficacy of TRE in achieving weight loss. A random effects model was employed to conduct meta-analyses, while heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic (PROSPERO: CRD42023439317). The study encompassed 36 selected studies involving 44 effect sizes and 914 participants. The effectiveness of the TRE was found to vary across health conditions, with modest weight loss observed in healthy individuals (pooled effect size -1.04 Kg, 95% CI: -1.42 to -0.65) and more significant weight reduction seen in participants with chronic diseases (pooled effect size -3.33 Kg, 95% CI: -5.05 to -1.62) and overweight/obesity (pooled effect size -4.21 Kg, 95% CI: -5.23 to -3.10). The observed decrease in body weight could be partially attributed to factors influencing energy balance, as evidenced by the significantly lower mean calorie intake at the end of the intervention (1694.71 kcal/day, 95% CI: 1498.57–1890.85) compared to the baseline intake (2000.64 kcal/day, 95% CI: 1830–2172.98), despite the absence of intentional efforts to restrict energy intake by the participants. These findings support the efficacy of this lifestyle intervention for weight loss maintenance and guide the development of its clinical guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Among pharmacy workers, low workplace wellbeing can lead to reduced effectiveness. However, to date, studies on this issue are limited within the community pharmacy setting in Vietnam. Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the component aspects of workplace wellbeing and their associations with demographic characteristics. Methods: The crosssectional descriptive study was conducted in Can Tho, Vietnam. Self-administered questionnaires were hand-delivered to all pharmacy workers working at selected community pharmacies. The workplace wellbeing scale comprised 18 items. Results: In total, 382 pharmacy workers participated in this study. Factor analysis revealed three fundamental aspects to workplace wellbeing: Factor 1 - perceived selfworth and job satisfaction, Factor 2 - positive emotions with work, and Factor 3 - negative emotions with work. Factor 1 showed a positive correlation with Factor 2, with a correlation coefficient (ρ) of 0.509, while both Factor 1 (ρ = -0.399) and Factor 2 (ρ = -0.416) demonstrated negative correlations with Factor 3. Higher income was associated with higher positive emotions with work (P = 0.008), higher perceived self-worth and job satisfaction (P = 0.013), and lower negative emotions with work (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Workplace wellbeing of pharmacy workers in their professional environments was associated with financial aspects. These findings suggest that policies aimed at improving income for pharmacy workers could bring benefits to enhancing job satisfaction and workplace wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]