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Many traditional cancer treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy are known to induce cellular DNA damage as part of their cytotoxic activity. The cGAS-STING signaling axis, a key member of the DNA damage response that acts as a sensor of foreign or aberrant cytosolic DNA, is helping to rationalize the DNA-damaging activity of these treatments and their emerging immunostimulatory capacity. Moreover, cGAS-STING, which is attracting considerable attention for its ability to promote antitumor immune responses, may fundamentally be able to address many of the barriers limiting the success of cancer immunotherapy strategies, including the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Herein, we review the traditional cancer therapies that have been linked with cGAS-STING activation, highlighting their targets with respect to their role and function in the DNA damage response. As part of the review, an emerging "chemoimmunotherapy" concept whereby DNA-damaging agents are used for the indirect activation of STING is discussed as an alternative to the direct molecular agonism strategies that are in development, but have yet to achieve clinical approval. The potential of this approach to address some of the inherent and emerging limitations of cGAS-STING signaling in cancer immunotherapy is also discussed. Ultimately, it is becoming clear that in order to successfully employ the immunotherapeutic potential of the cGAS-STING axis, a balance between its contrasting antitumor and protumor/inflammatory activities will need to be achieved.

Panax vietnamensis var. vietnamensis (PVV) and Panax vietnamensis var. fuscidiscus (PVF) both belong to Panax vietnamensis species and are chemically and morphologically similar, making it hard to distinguish for the consumer. Herein, 42 PVF and 12 PVV samples were collected in Quang Nam and Lai Chau Province, respectively, and subsequently characterized by ITSr-DNA sequence data to verify their origins. Next, untargeted metabolomics combined with multivariate statistical analysis was developed to differentiate PVV and PVF. The metabolic profiles of PVV and PVF were found to be distinct and classified well using Partial Least-Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) in the training set. Among them, seven ginsenosides were of high abundance in PVV, while six were of high abundance in PVF. Next, the test set was used to validate 13 putative differential markers found in the training set, illustrating a complete match with the expression patterns of these ginsenosides in the training set. Finally, PLS-DA and linear Support Vector Machine models both indicated distinct ginsenoside profiles of PVV and PVF without misclassification in the test set. Conclusively, the developed untargeted metabolomics approach might serve as a powerful tool for the authentication of PVV and PVF at the metabolome level.

Although water splitting is a promising method to produce clean hydrogen energy, it requires efficient and low-cost catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This study focused on plasma treatment's significance of surface oxygen vacancies in improving OER electrocatalytic activity. For this, we directly grew hollow NiCoPBA nanocages using a Prussian blue analogue (PBA) on nickel foam (NF). The material was treated with N plasma, followed by a thermal reduction process for inducing oxygen vacancies and N doping on the structure of NiCoPBA. These oxygen defects were found to play an essential role as a catalyst center for the OER in enhancing the charge transfer efficiency of NiCoPBA. The N-doped hollow NiCoPBA/NF showed excellent OER performance in an alkaline medium, with a low overpotential of 289 mV at 10 mA cm -2 and a high stability for 24 h. The catalyst also outperformed a commercial RuO 2 (350 mV). We believe that using plasma-induced oxygen vacancies with simultaneous N doping will provide a novel insight into the design of low-priced NiCoPBA electrocatalysts.

Perhaps the greatest limitation for the continually advancing developments in cancer immunotherapy remains the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) axis is an emerging immunotherapy target, with the resulting type I interferons and transcription factors acting at several levels in both tumor and immune cells for the generation of adaptive T cell responses. The cGAS-STING axis activation by therapeutic agents that induce DNA damage, such as certain chemotherapies, continues to be reported, highlighting the importance of the interplay of this signaling pathway and the DNA damage response in cancer immunity/immunotherapy. We have developed a multi-targeted mannosylated cationic liposomal immunomodulatory system (DS) which contains low doses of the chemotherapeutic cytarabine (Ara-C). In this work, we show that entrapment of non-cytotoxic doses of Ara-C within the DS improves its ability to induce DNA double strand breaks in human ovarian and colorectal cancer cell lines, as well as in various immune cells. Importantly, for the first time we demonstrate that the DNA damage induced by Ara-C/DS translates into cGAS-STING axis activation. We further demonstrate that Ara-C/DS-mediated DNA damage leads to upregulation of surface expression of immune ligands on cancer cells, coinciding with priming of cytotoxic lymphocytes as assessed using an ex vivo model of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from colorectal cancer patients, as well as an in vitro NK cell model. Overall, the results highlight a broad immunotherapeutic potential for Ara-C/DS by enhancing tumor-directed inflammatory responses.

In the gastric mucosa, chronic inflammation due to Helicobacter pylori infection promotes gastrocarcinogenesis. Polysaccharides of Caulerpa lentillifera are well-characterized by broad antimicrobial activity and anti-inflammatory potentials. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether the low molecular sulfate polysaccharides of C. lentillifera (CLCP) exhibit any anti-adhesive activity against H. pylori . After a hot water extraction and purification process, two purified polysaccharide fractions (CLCP-1 and CLCP2) were studied based on structural characterization and bioactivity determination. The results implied that except for the molar ratio, CLCP-1 and CLCP-2 contain high sulfate, mannose, galactose, xylose, glucose levels, and low protein levels. The molecular weight and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) assays confirmed that CLCP-1 and CLCP-2 are sulfate polysaccharides with an average molecular weight (Mw) of 963.15 and 648.42 kDa, respectively. In addition, CLCP-1 and CLCP-2 exhibited stronger antibacterial activity against H. pylori. CLCP-1 and CLCP-2 could significantly promote macrophage proliferation and decrease the production of nitric oxide (NO) through downregulated expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Meanwhile, CLCP-1 and CLCP-2 in this study showed efficiently protected gastric adenocarcinoma (AGS) cells against H. pylori with the inhibition of the IL-8/NF-κB axis. These findings suggested the effect of Caulerpa lentillifera polysaccharides on H. pylori adhesion, a potential supply of nutrients for eradication therapy through the reduction of cell count and inflammation.

Glycosylated NPs, including liposomes, are known to target various receptors involved in cellular carbohydrate transport, of which the mannoside binding receptors are attracting particular attention for their expression on various immune cells, cancers, and cells involved in maintaining central nervous system (CNS) integrity. As part of our interest in NP drug delivery, mannosylated glycoliposomal delivery systems formed from the self-assembly of amphiphilic neoglycolipids were developed, with a C 12 -alkyl mannopyranoside (ML-C 12 ) being identified as a lead compoundcapable of entrapping, protecting, and improving the delivery of structurally diverse payloads. However, ML-C 12 was not without limitations in both the synthesis of the glycolipids, and the physicochemical properties of the resulting glycoliposomes. Herein, the chemical syntheses of a novel series of mannosylated neoglycolipids are reported with the goal of further improving on the previous ML-C 12 glyconanoparticles. The current work aimed to use a self-contingent strategy which overcomes previous synthetic limitations to produce neoglycolipids that have one exposed mannose residue, an aromatic scaffold, and two lipid tails with varied alkyl chains. The azido-ending carbohydrates and the carboxylic acid-ending lipid tails were ligated using a new one-pot modified Staudinger chemistry that differed advantageously to previous syntheses. The formation of stable neoglycoliposomes of controllable and ideal sizes (≈100-400 nm) was confirmed via dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Beyond chemical advantages, the present study further aimed to establish potential improvements in the biological activity of the neoglycoliposomes. Concanavalin A (Con A) agglutination studies demonstrated efficient and stable cross-linking abilities dependent on the length of the linkers and lipid tails. The efficacy of the glycoliposomes in improving cytosolic uptake was investigated using Nile Red as probe in immune and cancer cell lines. Preliminary ex vivo safety assessments showed that the mannosylated glycoliposomes are hemocompatible, and non-immunogenic. Finally, using a model peptide therapeutic, the relative entrapment capacity and plasma stability of the optimal glycoliposome delivery system was evaluated and compared to the previous neoglycoliposomes. Overall, the new lead glycoliposome showed improved biological activity over ML-C 12 , in addition to having several chemical benefits including the lack of stereocenters, a longer linker allowing better sugar availability, and ease of synthesis using novel one-pot modified Staudinger chemistry.

Morinda officinalis How is well-known as a valuable medicinal plant found in some regions of Vietnam. This species is mainly used for treating male impotence, irregular menstruation, and rheumatoid arthritis. This study aimed to identify the species of and genetic diversity in three M. officinalis populations: one each in Quang Binh (QB), Thua Thien Hue (TTH), and Quang Nam (QN). In this study, four DNA barcoding markers ( ITS1 , ITS2 , matK , and rbcL ) were used to identify the species and 22 microsatellite markers were applied for population structure and diversity analyses. The results showed that the sequences of gene regions studied in M. officinalis had a high similarity (>95%) to the ITS1 , ITS2 , matK , and rbcL sequences of M. officinalis on BLAST. Of the four DNA barcoding markers used, ITS1 and ITS2 showed higher efficiency in DNA amplification of M. officinalis . From this study, 27 GenBank codes were published on BLAST. The results also revealed high levels of genetic diversity in populations. The average observed and expected heterozygosity values were H O = 0.513 and H E = 0.612, respectively. The average F ST value was 0.206. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed 70% variation within populations and 30% among populations. The population structure of M. officinalis inferred in STRUCTURE revealed that the optimum number of genetic groups for the admixture model was K = 2. These findings provided vital background information for future studies in the conservation of M. officinalis in both ex situ and in situ plans.

The effects of electric fields (EFs) on various cell types have been thoroughly studied, and exhibit a well-known regulatory effect on cell processes, implicating their usage in several medical applications. While the specific effect exerted on cells is highly parameter-dependent, the majority of past research has focused primarily on low-frequency alternating fields (<1 kHz) and high-frequency fields (in the order of MHz). However, in recent years, low-intensity (1-3 V/cm) alternating EFs with intermediate frequencies (100-500 kHz) have been of topical interest as clinical treatments for cancerous tumours through their disruption of cell division and the mitotic spindle, which can lead to cell death. These aptly named tumour-treating fields (TTFields) have been approved by the FDA as a treatment modality for several cancers, such as malignant pleural mesothelioma and glioblastoma multiforme, demonstrating remarkable efficacy and a high safety profile. In this work, we report the results of in vitro experiments with HeLa and MCF-10A cells exposed to TTFields for 18 h, imaged in real time using live-cell imaging. Both studied cell lines were exposed to 100 kHz TTFields with a 1-1 duty cycle, which resulted in significant mitotic and cytokinetic arrest. In the experiments with HeLa cells, the effects of the TTFields' frequency (100 kHz vs. 200 kHz) and duty cycle (1-1 vs. 1-0) were also investigated. Notably, the anti-mitotic effect was stronger in the HeLa cells treated with 100 kHz TTFields. Additionally, it was found that single and two-directional TTFields (oriented orthogonally) exhibit a similar inhibitory effect on HeLa cell division. These results provide real-time evidence of the profound ability of TTFields to hinder the process of cell division by significantly delaying both the mitosis and cytokinesis phases of the cell cycle.

Epigenetic alterations found in all human cancers are promising targets for anticancer therapy. In this sense, histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are interesting anticancer agents that play an important role in the epigenetic regulation of cancer cells. Here, we report 15 novel hydroxamic acid-based histone deacetylase inhibitors with quinazolinone core structures. Five compounds exhibited antiproliferative activity with IC 50 values of 3.4-37.8 µM. Compound 8 with a 2-mercaptoquinazolinone cap moiety displayed the highest antiproliferative efficacy against MCF-7 cells. For the HDAC6 target selectivity study, compound 8 displayed an IC 50 value of 2.3 µM, which is 29.3 times higher than those of HDAC3, HDAC4, HDAC8, and HDAC11. Western blot assay proved that compound 8 strongly inhibited tubulin acetylation, a substrate of HDAC6. Compound 8 also displayed stronger inhibition activity against HDAC11 than the control drug Belinostat. The inhibitory mechanism of action of compound 8 on HDAC enzymes was then explored using molecular docking study. The data revealed a high binding affinity (-7.92 kcal/mol) of compound 8 toward HDAC6. In addition, dock pose analysis also proved that compound 8 might serve as a potent inhibitor of HDAC11.

The paper presents the results of a study of the mechanism for reducing the moisture resistance of sulfur-extended asphalt concrete. It is shown that a decrease in moisture resistance occurs due to the occurrence of chemical and physical processes. At the same time, it was found that during the manufacture of sulfur-bitumen composites, toxic gases H 2 S and SO 2 are formed, which are capable of interacting with a mineral filler, as well as the interaction of sulfur with a mineral powder with the formation of sulfur-containing water-soluble salts, the extraction of which leads to a decrease in the moisture resistance of sulfur-bitumen materials. The change in the rate of leaching of these substances from the composite is due to the physical process caused by the crystallization of sulfur and the formation of a capillary structure, which significantly increases the rate of leaching of calcium and magnesium salts, which are products of dissolution or hydrolytic decomposition of water-soluble products of the interaction of sulfur, H 2 S and SO 2 gases with calcium and magnesium carbonates. The intensity of chemical and physical processes intensifies with an increase in the amount of sulfur in sulfur-bitumen materials.

Panax vietnamensis , or Vietnamese ginseng (VG), an endemic Panax species in Vietnam, possesses a unique saponin profile and interesting biological activities. This plant is presently in danger of extinction due to over-exploitation, resulting in many preservation efforts towards the geographical acclimatization of VG. Yet, no information on the saponin content of the acclimatized VG, an important quality indicator, is available. Here, we analyzed the saponin content in the underground parts of two- to five-year-old VG plants acclimatized to Lam Dong province. Nine characteristic saponins, including notoginsenoside-R1, ginsenoside-Rg1, -Rb1, -Rd, majonoside-R1, -R2 vina-ginsenoside-R2, -R11, and pseudoginsenoside-RT4, were simultaneously determined by HPLC coupled with UV and with a charged aerosol detector (CAD). Analyzing the results illustrated that the detection of characteristic ocotillol-type saponins in VG by CAD presented a superior capacity compared with that of UV, thus implying a preferential choice of CAD for the analysis of VG. The quantitative results indicating the saponin content in the underground parts of VG showed an increasing tendency from two to five years old, with the root and the rhizome exhibiting different saponin accumulation patterns. This is the first study that reveals the preliminary success of VG acclimatization and thereby encourages the continuing efforts to develop this valuable saponin-rich plant.

Peptide therapeutics offer numerous advantages in the treatment of diseases and disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). However, they are not without limitations, especially in terms of their pharmacokinetics where their metabolic lability and low blood-brain barrier penetration hinder their application. Targeted nanoparticle delivery systems are being tapped for their ability to improve the delivery of therapeutics into the brain non-invasively. We have developed a family of mannosylated glycoliposome delivery systems for targeted drug delivery applications. Herein, we demonstrate via in vivo distribution studies the potential of these glycoliposomes to improve the utility of CNS active therapeutics using dynantin, a potent and selective dynorphin peptide analogue antagonist of the kappa opioid receptor (KOR). Glycoliposomal entrapment protected dynantin against known rapid metabolic degradation and ultimately improved brain levels of the peptide by approximately 3-3.5-fold. Moreover, we linked this improved brain delivery with improved KOR antagonist activity by way of an approximately 30-40% positive modulation of striatal dopamine levels 20 min after intranasal administration. Overall, the results clearly highlight the potential of our glycoliposomes as a targeted delivery system for therapeutic agents of the CNS.

The proapoptotic, antiangiogenic, and antimetastatic activities of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) through IGF-dependent or -independent mechanisms have been suggested in various types of human cancers. However, a mechanistic explanation of and downstream targets involved in the antimetastatic effect of IGFBP-3 is still lacking. In this study, by applying various in vitro and in vivo models, we show that IGFBP-3 suppresses migration and invasion of human head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Silencing IGFBP-3 expression elevated the migration and invasion of NSCLC and HNSCC cells in vitro and their local invasion and metastasis in vivo, whereas overexpression of IGFBP-3 decreased such prometastatic changes. Local invasion of 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4-NQO)-induced HNSCC tumors was consistently significantly potentiated in Igfbp3 knockout mice compared with that in wild-type mice. Mechanistically, IGFBP-3 disrupted the protein stability of vimentin via direct binding and promoting its association with the E3 ligase FBXL14, causing proteasomal degradation. The C-terminal domain of IGFBP-3 and the head domain of vimentin are essential for their interaction. These results provide a molecular framework for IGFBP-3's IGF-independent antimetastatic and antitumor activities.

Due to the rapid spread of coronavirus, Vietnam introduced its first national partial lockdown on April 1st, 2020. The public relied on online sources, whether through official websites or phone-based applications, to acquire up-to-date health information, provide accurate instructions, and limit misinformation. This study aims to provide insight regarding the current level of awareness of the pandemic, and to identify associated factors in Vietnamese participants to recommend necessary interventions. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a web-based survey during the first week of the lockdown period. There were 341 observations collected using a snowball sampling technique. A Tobit multivariable regression model was used to identify factors associated with the demand for each category of health information. The most requested information was the latest updated news on the epidemic, followed by information about disease symptoms and updated news on the outbreak. The prevalence of diverse socioeconomic, demographic, and ethnic factors in Vietnam requires consideration of the specific health information needs of unique groups. Identifying group-specific demands would be helpful to provide proper information to fulfill each population group's needs.

Novel coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a global threat to millions of lives. Enormous efforts in knowledge production have been made in the last few months, requiring a comprehensive analysis to examine the research gaps and to help guide an agenda for further studies. This study aims to explore the current research foci and their country variations regarding levels of income and COVID-19 transmission features. This textual analysis of 5780 publications extracted from the Web of Science, Medline, and Scopus databases was performed to explore the current research foci and propose further research agenda. The Latent Dirichlet allocation was used for topic modeling. Regression analysis was conducted to examine country variations in the research foci. Results indicate that publications are mainly contributed by the United States, China, and European countries. Guidelines for emergency care and surgical, viral pathogenesis, and global responses in the COVID-19 pandemic are the most common topics. There is variation in the research approaches to mitigate COVID-19 problems in countries with different income and transmission levels. Findings highlighted the need for global research collaborations among high- and low/middle-income countries in the different stages of pandemic prevention and control.

Health personnel and community workers are at the front line of the COVID-19 emergency response and need to be equipped with adequate knowledge related to epidemics for an effective response. This study aimed to identify the coverage of COVID-19 health information via different sources accessed by health workers and community workers in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study using a web-based survey was carried out from January to February 2020 in Vietnam. Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was used for recruiting participants. We utilized the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to examine the construct validity of the questionnaire. A higher percentage of participants knew about "Clinical and pathogen characteristics of COVID-19", compared to "Regulations and policies related to COVID-19". The percentage of participants accessing the information on "Guidelines and policies on prevention and control of COVID-19" was the lowest, especially among medical students. "Mass media and peer-educators" channels had a higher score of accessing COVID-19 information, compared to "Organizations/ agencies/ associations" sources. Participants consumed most of their COVID-19 information via "Internet, online newspapers, social networks". Our findings indicate an urgency to re-design training programs and communication activities for a more effective dissemination of information related to the COVID-19 epidemic or epidemics in general.

The intention to pay for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among women of childbearing age in Vietnam, where cervical cancer remains a significant public health concern, has been mostly lacking. To examine this issue, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 807 pregnant women in an urban and a rural district (Dong Da and Ba Vi) of Hanoi, Vietnam. The vast percentage of our respondents expressed a firm intention to vaccinate, especially women in rural areas (over 90.0%). However, on being informed of the current price of the HPV vaccine, their intention to vaccinate dropped to about one-fifth of overall respondents, i.e., only 4.4% of women in rural areas. It was also observed that the initial intention to get the HPV vaccination among women in the rural district was about ten times higher than that of women living in the metropolitan district. Those participants who had greater knowledge of cervical cancer and HPV vaccinations also had a significantly higher intention to vaccinate. Our findings underscore the need to develop a well-designed vaccination program in Vietnam and other countries in a similar situation to increase the adoption of HPV vaccination.

The addictive nature of nicotine is likely the most significant reason for the continued prevalence of tobacco smoking despite the widespread reports of its negative health effects. Nicotine vaccines are an alternative to the currently available smoking cessation treatments, which have limited efficacy. However, the nicotine hapten is non-immunogenic, and successful vaccine formulations to treat nicotine addiction require both effective adjuvants and delivery systems. The immunomodulatory properties of short, non-natural peptide sequences not found in human systems and their ability to improve vaccine efficacy continue to be reported. The aim of this study was to determine if small "non-natural peptides," as part of a conjugate nicotine vaccine, could improve immune responses. Four peptides were synthesized via solid phase methodology, purified, and characterized. Ex vivo plasma stability studies using RP-HPLC confirmed that the peptides were not subject to proteolytic degradation. The peptides were formulated into conjugate nicotine vaccine candidates along with a bacterial derived adjuvant vaccine delivery system and chitosan as a stabilizing compound. Formulations were tested in vitro in a dendritic cell line to determine the combination that would elicit the greatest 1L-1β response using ELISAs. Three of the peptides were able to enhance the cytokine response above that induced by the adjuvant delivery system alone. In vivo vaccination studies in BALB/c mice demonstrated that the best immune response, as measured by nicotine-specific antibody levels, was elicited from the conjugate vaccine structure, which included the peptide, as well as the other components. Isotype analyses highlighted that the peptide was able to shift immune response toward being more humorally dominant. Overall, the results have implications for the use of non-natural peptides as adjuvants not only for the development of a nicotine vaccine but also for use with other addictive substances and conventional vaccination targets as well.

(1) Background: Dendritic cell (DC) vaccination has shown outstanding achievements in cancer treatment, although it still has some adverse side effects. Vaccination with DC-derived exosomes has been thought to overcome the side effects of the parental DCs. (2) Method: We performed the experiments to check the ability of cryopreserved umbilical cord blood mononuclear cell-derived DCs (cryo CBMDCs) and their exosomes to prime allogeneic T cell proliferation and allogeneic peripheral blood mononuclear cell (alloPBMCs) cytotoxicity against A549 lung cancer cells. (3) Results: We found that both lung tumor cell lysate-pulsed DCs and their exosomes could induce allogeneic T cell proliferation. Moreover, alloPBMCs primed with tumor cell lysate-pulsed DCs and their exosomes have a greater cytotoxic activity against A549 cells compared to unprimed cells and cells primed with unpulsed DCs and their exosomes. (4) Conclusion: Tumor cell lysate-pulsed DCs and their exosomes should be considered to develop into a novel immunotherapeutic strategy-e.g., vaccines-for patients with lung cancer. Our results also suggested that cryo umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells source, which is a readily and available source, is effective for generation of allogeneic DCs and their exosomes will be material for vaccinating against cancer.

Tobacco smoking is the cause of 20% of Canadian deaths per year. Nicotine vaccines present a promising alternative to traditional smoking cessation products, but to date, no vaccine has been able to move through all phases of clinical trials. We have previously demonstrated that the AFPL1-conjugate nicotine vaccine does not induce systemic or immunotoxicity in a mouse model and that a heterologous vaccination approach is more advantageous than the homologous routes to inducing mucosal and systemic anti-nicotine antibodies. The purpose of this study was to confirm the safety profile of the vaccine in a repeat-dose toxicity study. The heterologous vaccination strategy was again used, and Sprague Dawley rats were administered a dose five times greater than in our previous studies. Physiological conditions, food and water consumption, body temperature, injection site inflammation, relative weights of organs, histopathology, and blood chemistry and hematology were evaluated during the course of the vaccination period to determine the safety of the vaccine. The AFPL1-conjugate nicotine vaccine did not induce clinically relevant changes or induce symptoms that would be associated with toxicity, making it a promising candidate for future investigations.

Cardiac fibrosis is a major cause of cardiac dysfunction in hypertrophic hearts. Differentiated embryonic chondrocyte gene 1 (Dec1), a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, has circadian expression in the heart; however, its role in cardiac diseases remains unknown. Therefore, using Dec1 knock-out (Dec1KO) and wild-type (WT) mice, we evaluated cardiac function and morphology at one and four weeks after transverse aortic constriction (TAC) or sham surgery. We found that Dec1KO mice retained cardiac function until four weeks after TAC. Dec1KO mice also revealed more severely hypertrophic hearts than WT mice at four weeks after TAC, whereas no significant change was observed at one week. An increase in Dec1 expression was found in myocardial and stromal cells of TAC-treated WT mice. In addition, Dec1 circadian expression was disrupted in the heart of TAC-treated WT mice. Cardiac perivascular fibrosis was suppressed in TAC-treated Dec1KO mice, with positive immunostaining of S100 calcium binding protein A4 (S100A4), alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA), transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1), phosphorylation of Smad family member 3 (pSmad3), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and cyclin-interacting protein 1 (p21). Furthermore, Dec1 expression was increased in myocardial hypertrophy and myocardial infarction of autopsy cases. Taken together, our results indicate that Dec1 deficiency suppresses cardiac fibrosis, preserving cardiac function in hypertrophic hearts. We suggest that Dec1 could be a new therapeutic target in cardiac fibrosis.

This research investigated the distribution and contribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) bound to particulate matter (PM) emitted from open burning of rice straw (RS) into the atmosphere in the north of Vietnam. The experiments were conducted to collect PM 2.5 and total suspended particulates (TSP) prior to and during burning in the period of 2016-2018 in suburban areas of Hanoi. Nine PAHs and 18 NPAHs were determined using the HPLC-FL system. The results showed that the proportion of RS burning seasonally affects the variation of PAHs emission in atmospheric environment. The levels of nine PAHs from RS burning were 254.4 ± 87.8 µg g -1 for PM 2.5 and 209.7 ± 89.5 µg g -1 for TSP. We observed the fact that, although fluoranthene (Flu) was the most abundant PAH among detected PAHs both in PM 2.5 and TSP, the enrichment of Flu in TSP from burning smoke was higher than that in PM 2.5 while the contribution of benzo[ a ]pyrene (B a P) and indeno[ 1,2,3- cd ]pyrene (IDP) in PM 2.5 from burning smoke were much higher than those in TSP. This research found that 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) and 6-nitrochrysene (6-NC) emit from RS burning with the same range with those from wood burning. The 2-nitrofluorene (2-NF) and 2-nitropyrene (2-NP) released from RS burning as the secondary NPAHs. This research provides a comprehensive contribution characterization of PAHs and NPAHs in PM with different size emitted from traditional local rice straw burning in the north of Vietnam. The results help to clarify the environmental behavior of toxic organic compounds from RS burning in Southeast Asia.

Despite the availability of effective and safe rubella vaccines for women of childbearing age, prevention and control of congenital rubella syndrome in children remains challenging in Vietnam. In order to examine this issue, we conducted a cross-sectional study, examining the current coverage of rubella vaccination before pregnancy among 807 pregnant women and women with children under 12 months of age in urban and rural districts, Dong Da and Ba Vi, in Hanoi, Vietnam. In this population, we observed an alarming non-compliance rate with rubella vaccination before pregnancy in both localities. Among the 82.0% of participants who remained unvaccinated against this contagious viral infection, 95.8% of them were in Ba Vi district, compared to 68.0% in Dong Da district ( p < 0.001). Besides the differences in age, number of children, education levels, primary occupations and monthly incomes among the participants between the two districts, other reasons for noncompliance with rubella vaccination includeddisinterest in rubella vaccination, the high cost and long distance to vaccination sites as well as unawareness of vaccination locations. In addition to addressing the unique socio-economicchallenges behind one's accessibility to vaccination services in urban and rural areas, our study supports a continued effort in ensuring proper access to and education about pre-pregnancy vaccines and vaccination among women of childbearing age in order to achieve and sustain sufficient immunization coverage of rubella and other vaccine-preventable diseases in both settings.

Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) program has been considered a medium through which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risks assessment and prevention on drug use/HIV-infected population can be effectively conducted. Studies concerning the implementation of such idea on patients in remote, under-developed areas, however, have been limited. Having the clinics established in three mountainous provinces of Vietnam, this study aimed to evaluate the changes in knowledge of HIV, perceived risk, and HIV testing uptake of the patients. A longitudinal study was conducted at six MMT clinics in three provinces with a pre- and post-assessments among 300 patients. Outcomes of interest were compared between baseline and after 12 months. The magnitude of changes was extrapolated. The proportion of participants reporting that their HIV knowledge was not good fell by 4.4% (61.3% at the baseline vs. 56.8% at 12 months). The significant improvement seen was in the knowledge that needle sharing was a mode of transmission (82.7% vs. 89.6%). Nevertheless, the majority of participants reportedly considered mosquitoes/insect and eating with the HIV-infected patient were the route of transmission at both time points (84.7% vs. 89.1%, 92.2% vs. 93.3%, respectively). This study found a limited improvement in HIV knowledge and testing uptake among MMT patients following a 12-month period. It also highlighted some shortcomings in the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of these patients, in particular, incorrect identification of HIV transmission routes, among patients both at program initiation and follow-up. The findings lent support to the argument for enhancing education and counseling efforts at MMT clinics regarding HIV, as well as for improving access to preventive and health care services through the integration of MMT/HIV services.

Efforts to prevent foodborne illnesses in food facilities require sufficient knowledge on hygiene and safety standards from both food processors and customers. However, studies about knowledge, attitude, and practices of customers towards these issues are constrained. This study explored the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of customers regarding the practices of food facilities as well as potential associated factors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Hanoi from September to October 2015. Questions about knowledge, attitude, and practice towards food hygiene and safety were asked, alongside sociodemographic characteristics. Multivariate Tobit regression was used to identify the associated factors with the KAP. Among 1740 customers, the highest mean score of 98.4 (SD = 10.1) was found in knowledge about practices with raw and cooked food, following by knowledge about environmental practices when processing food (mean = 93.1, SD = 17.3), and knowledge about environmental requirements when processing food (mean = 33.3, SD = 33.3). Most of customers considered the processing and selling of hygienic meals without leaving any food overnight as the most important feature for food facilities (73.8%). About 63.2% of participants chose not to report food safety violation by facilities to authorities. The higher score of knowledge was found in groups of people who were not single, had college/university or higher education, and had specific criteria when choosing their places to eat. These findings imply the need for enhancing customers' protection systems, the capability of inspecting and supervising the food processing progress by local authorities, and the awareness of customers about the environmental requirements of food facilities.

Child maltreatment remains a major health threat globally that requires the understanding of socioeconomic and cultural contexts to craft effective interventions. However, little is known about research agendas globally and the development of knowledge-producing networks in this field of study. This study aims to explore the bibliometric overview on child maltreatment publications to understand their growth from 1916 to 2018. Data from the Web of Science Core Collection were collected in May 2018. Only research articles and reviews written in the English language were included, with no restrictions by publication date. We analyzed publication years, number of papers, journals, authors, keywords and countries, and presented the countries collaboration and co-occurrence keywords analysis. From 1916 to 2018, 47,090 papers (53.0% in 2010⁻2018) were published in 9442 journals. Child Abuse & Neglect (2576 papers; 5.5%); Children and Youth Services Review (1130 papers; 2.4%) and Pediatrics (793 papers, 1.7%) published the most papers. The most common research areas were Psychology (16,049 papers, 34.1%), Family Studies (8225 papers, 17.5%), and Social Work (7367 papers, 15.6%). Among 192 countries with research publications, the most prolific countries were the United States (26,367 papers), England (4676 papers), Canada (3282 papers) and Australia (2664 papers). We identified 17 authors who had more than 60 scientific items. The most cited papers (with at least 600 citations) were published in 29 journals, headed by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) (7 papers) and the Lancet (5 papers). This overview of global research in child maltreatment indicated an increasing trend in this topic, with the world&rsquo;s leading centers located in the Western countries led by the United States. We called for interdisciplinary research approaches to evaluating and intervening on child maltreatment, with a focus on low-middle income countries (LMICs) settings and specific contexts.

The Tobacco Harm Prevention Law has been promulgated in 2012 in Vietnam, prohibiting smoking in public places such as restaurants except for designated smoking areas. However, currently, evidence about Vietnamese customers&rsquo; and restaurants&rsquo; compliance with the Law is constrained. This study aimed to explore customers&rsquo; perceptions; attitudes and practices towards the compliance with tobacco control regulations in the restaurants in Hanoi, Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was performed in October 2015 with 1746 customers in 176 communes in Hanoi, Vietnam. Data about customers&rsquo; perceptions on how restaurants comply with the smoking control law and whether customers smoking actively or experienced SHS in restaurants in the last 30 days were collected. Multivariable mixed effects logistic regression model was used to determine the factors related to smoking in the restaurant. Most customers were aware of the law on Tobacco Harm Prevention (79%; n = 1320) and regulations that prohibited smoking in restaurants (78.4%; n = 1137). While 75.8% ( n = 1285) of customers perceived that they did not see or rarely saw no-smoking signs, 17.7% ( n = 481) of customers reported that they frequently saw direct marketing of tobacco in visited restaurants. About one-fourth of customers witnessed that the staff reminded customers not to smoke inside restaurants (28.8%; n = 313), and 65% ( n = 1135) sometimes or always were exposed to secondhand smoke in their visited restaurants. People who were female (OR = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01⁻0.05) were less likely to report their smoking in the restaurant than their counterparts. Those having higher age (OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 1.01⁻1.06), high school education (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.07⁻4.26), being office workers (OR = 3.24, 95% CI = 1.33⁻7.92) or unemployed (OR = 4.45; 95% CI = 1.09⁻18.15) had a higher likelihood of reporting to be restaurant smokers than those having lower high education or students, respectively. This study highlighted a low level of perceived compliance with the smoke-free law in Vietnamese restaurants. Improving the monitoring systems for the enforcement of the smoking law in restaurants should be prioritized; restaurant owners should implement 100% smoke-free environments as following the best practice towards the tobacco control law along with educational campaigns to promote the awareness of restaurant owners and customers about the tobacco control law.

Calories and nutrition labeling on restaurant menus are powerful policy interventions to reduce the burden of obesity epidemic. However, the success of this policy requires an assurance of equal benefits among customers with different characteristics, especially people at a higher risk of poor health outcomes and eating habits. This study examined the sociodemographic disparities in the attitude and preference for calories and nutrition labeling on menus among customers in various food facilities. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1746 customers of food facilities in Hanoi, Vietnam, who were recruited by using a multistage sampling method. Socio-economic characteristics, attitudes regarding the necessity and preferences for calories, and nutrition labeling on menus were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to determine the associated factors with attitudes and preferences. Results show that most of the sample understood the necessity to have calories and nutrition labeling (59.8%), and 71.8% preferred to have calories and nutrition labeling. People who often visited food facilities (Odd Ratio (OR) = 1.36; 95% confident interval (CI) = 1.06-1.74) and had higher education and were more likely to understand the necessity of calories and nutrition labeling. Factors such as being homemakers, often going to dine-in restaurants, and perceiving that labeling was unnecessary were negatively associated with preferences for calories and nutrition labeling. The results of this study encourage policymakers to implement calories and nutrition labeling in the future. Health education interventions to improve knowledge and attitude as regards calories and nutrition labeling on menus are important, particularly for males, less-educated individuals, and high-income people., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Since 2013, smoke-free signs in public places, including in restaurants and food stores, have been introduced in Vietnam, aiming to prevent passive smoking. Although extensive research has been carried out on second-hand smoking among clients in public places (e.g., hospitals, restaurants) in Vietnam, no single study exists which captures the current practice of smoking among street food outlets. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of smoking and identify factors associated with smoking status and cessation motivation amongst food sellers in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study involving 1733 food providers at outlets was conducted in 29 districts in Hanoi capital, Vietnam, in 2015. The prevalence of smoking amongst food sellers was determined to be 8.5% (25% for men and 0.8% for women). The enforcement of the smoke-free policy remains modest, since only 7.9% observed outlets complied with the law, providing a room designated for smokers. Although approximately 80% of the participants were aware of the indoor smoke-free regulations in public places, such as restaurants and food stores, 40.2% of smokers reported no intention of quitting smoking. A percentage of 37.6% of current smokers reported that despite having intentions to quit, they did not receive any form of support for smoking cessation. Being male and having hazardous drinking habits and a poor quality of life were all factors that were significantly associated with smoking status. Additionally, having awareness of smoking's adverse effects and being frequently supervised by the authority were associated with a greater motivation to quit. This study highlights the importance of an accompanying education and smoking cessation program in addition to the frequent inspection and reinforcement of smoke-free policy in food stores. This research extends on our knowledge of smoking prevalence and its factors related to smoking events and motivation to quit among street food outlets. Overall, this study strengthens the idea that more government efforts towards preventing passive smoking and smoking cessation education are necessary in restaurants and other street food outlets., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Introduction: Although e-health interventions are widely implemented as a supportive measure to smoking cessation, there is a lack of evidence in the feasibility of its application among Vietnamese youths, which is considered to be one of the most frequent internet using populations. This study assessed the quitting attempts among smokers and their preference and willingness to pay for smartphone-based cessation supporting applications in a sample of active internet users approached. Methods: A total of 1082 participants were recruited for the online-based survey from August to October 2015 in Vietnam. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, health information seeking behaviors on the internet, smoking status, quitting attempts and willingness to pay for smartphone-based cessation supporting applications were collected. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the associated factors with current smoking and willingness to pay for the smoking cessation application. Results: About 11% of participants were current smokers while 73.4% had attempted to quit smoking. Only 26.8% of the individuals indicated that they were willing to utilize a smartphone application to assist them in quitting. Participants who were male, had partners/spouse and lived at other places were more likely to smoke cigarette. Meanwhile, people who spent 50-70% of their online time to read health information were less likely to smoke. Results also show that living with family and never sharing health information on the internet were negatively associated with a participant's willingness to pay for the smartphone application. Meanwhile, people who highly trusted health information were more likely to be willing to pay for the application. Conclusions: This prevalence of smoking and associated factors can provide potential indicators for creating several public health interventions in the new environment with the increasing development of information technology. This study implies that in order to expand the coverage of smoking cessation interventions, we recommend the integration of e-health interventions with clinical- or telephone-based conventional models by providing smartphone applications and information on the internet from reliable sources., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

The necessity of environmental protection has stimulated the development of many kinds of methods allowing the determination of different pollutants in the natural environment, including methods for determining nitrate in source water. In this paper, the characteristics of an etched fiber Bragg grating (e-FBG) sensing probe-which integrated in fiber laser structure-are studied by numerical simulation and experiment. The proposed sensor is demonstrated for determination of the low nitrate concentration in a water environment. Experimental results show that this sensor could determine nitrate in water samples at a low concentration range of 0-80 ppm with good repeatability, rapid response, and average sensitivity of 3.5 × 10 -3 nm/ppm with the detection limit of 3 ppm. The e-FBG sensing probe integrated in fiber laser demonstrates many advantages, such as a high resolution for wavelength shift identification, high optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR of 40 dB), narrow bandwidth of 0.02 nm that enhanced accuracy and precision of wavelength peak measurement, and capability for optical remote sensing. The obtained results suggested that the proposed e-FBG sensor has a large potential for the determination of low nitrate concentrations in water in outdoor field work., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

A nanocomposite of titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) and polyaniline (PANi) was synthesized by in-situ chemical polymerization using aniline (ANi) monomer and TiCl(4) as precursors. SEM pictures show that the nanocomposite was created in the form of long PANi chains decorated with TiO(2) nanoparticles. FTIR, Raman and UV-Vis spectra reveal that the PANi component undergoes an electronic structure modification as a result of the TiO(2) and PANi interaction. The electrical resistor of the nanocomposite is highly sensitive to oxygen and NH(3) gas, accounting for the physical adsorption of these gases. A nanocomposite with around 55% TiO(2) shows an oxygen sensitivity of 600-700%, 20-25 times higher than that of neat PANi. The n-p contacts between TiO(2) nanoparticles and PANi matrix give rise to variety of shallow donors and acceptor levels in the PANi band gap which enhance the physical adsorption of gas molecules.