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In recent years, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) based on metal oxide semiconductors has been an active area of research and development, attracting significant scientific interest. These SERS substrates are known as plasmon-free SERS substrates because they are not based on noble metal nanoparticles but mainly on the defects, structure, and surface morphology of semiconductors to enhance the Raman signal. In this study, we fabricated a SERS substrate based on molybdenum oxide, using reactive DC magnetron sputtering and then used different simple and effective strategies to enhance the Raman signal. The results show that nanorod structure, oxygen deficiency engineering, phase engineering, and optical properties can be easily controlled by varying sputtering time and annealing time of MoO x SERS substrates. The analysis methods XRD, PL, and Raman show that with the optimal fabricated conditions. The presence of oxygen defects and a mixed MoO 3 , Mo 9 O 26 phase structure in as well as the nanorod structure of MoO x SERS substrates could likely enhance Raman signals via a chemical mechanism (CM) and electromagnetic mechanism (EM). The MoO x SERS substrates were also used to detect R6G at low concentrations, with an EF of 1.14 × 10 6 (at 0.01 ppm), LOD of 0.01 ppm, and good temporal stability and reproducibility.

Background: Patients with severe congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk for neurodevelopmental impairment. An abnormal cerebral blood supply caused by the altered cardiac physiology may limit optimal brain development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a systemic-to-pulmonary shunt, aortic arch obstruction and arterial oxygen saturation on cerebral perfusion in patients with severe CHD., Methods: Patients with severe CHD requiring cardiac surgery within the first six weeks of life, who underwent pre- and/or postoperative brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and healthy controls with one postnatal scan were included. Cerebral perfusion in deep and cortical gray matter was assessed by pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling MRI., Results: We included 59 CHD and 23 healthy control scans. The presence of a systemic-to-pulmonary shunt was associated with decreased perfusion in cortical (p = 0.003), but not in deep gray matter (p = 0.031). No evidence for an effect of aortic arch obstruction and arterial oxygen saturation on cerebral perfusion was found. After adjusting for hemodynamic and oxygen saturation parameters, deep (p = 0.018) and cortical (p = 0.012) gray matter perfusion was increased in patients with CHD compared to controls., Conclusion: We detected regional differences in compensation to the cerebral steal effect in patients with severe CHD., Impact: Patients with severe congenital heart disease (CHD) have altered postnatal brain hemodynamics. A systemic-to-pulmonary shunt was associated with decreased perfusion in cortical gray matter but preserved perfusion in deep gray matter, pointing towards regional differences in compensation to the cerebral steal effect. No effects of aortic arch obstruction and arterial oxygenation on cerebral perfusion were seen. Cerebral perfusion was increased in patients with CHD compared to healthy controls after adjusting for hemodynamic alterations and oxygen saturation. To improve neuroprotection and neurodevelopmental outcomes, it is important to increase our understanding of the factors influencing cerebral perfusion in neonates with severe CHD., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

From the leaves of Tithonia diversifolia, nine sesquiterpenoids (1-9), including two new ones (tagitinin J (1) and tagitinin K (2)) were isolated and structurally determined. Their chemical structures were elucidated by extensive analyses of the HRESIMS and NMR spectral data, as well as comparison with the literature. All of the isolated compounds (except compounds 7-9) significantly exhibited cytotoxic activity against four human cancer cell lines (KB, HepG2, A549 and MCF7), with IC 50 values ranging from 0.29-17.0 μM, which were in the same range as the positive control ellipticine or even lower. Further, the apoptosis induction effects of two new compounds 1 and 2 were also investigated and reported. While compound 2 did not induce the apoptosis in KB cells at test concentrations, compound 1 was found to possess anti-proliferative activity through concentration-dependently inducing cell cycle arrest at S phase, morphological changes, activation of caspase 3, and an increase in the early-stage apoptosis of KB cells at a concentration of 7.26 μM., (© 2024 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a chronic condition associated with substantial mortality and hospitalisation, resulting in costly inpatient visits. The healthcare systems of several countries, including Vietnam, experience considerable difficulty in dealing with the enormous fiscal burden presented by HF. This study aims to analyse the direct medical costs associated with HF inpatient treatment from the hospital perspective., Materials and Methods: This study retrospectively analysed the electronic medical records of patients diagnosed with HF from 2018 to 2021 at Military Hospital 175 in Vietnam. The sample consisted of 906 hospitalised patients (mean age: 71.2 ± 14.1 years). The financial impact of HF was assessed by examining the direct medical expenses incurred by the healthcare system, and the costs of pharmaceutical categories used in treatment were explored., Results: The cumulative economic burden of HF from 2018 to 2021 was US$1,068,870, with annual costs ranging from US$201,670 to US$443,831. Health insurance covered 72.7% of these costs. Medications and infusions, and medical supplies accounted for the largest expenses, at 29.8% and 22.1%, respectively. The medication HF group accounted for 13.01% of these expenses, of which the costliest medications included nitrates (2.57%), angiotensin II receptor blockers (0.51%), ivabradine (0.39%), diuretics (0.24%), and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (0.23%). Comorbidities and the length of hospital stay significantly influenced annual treatment costs., Conclusion: The study reveals that HF significantly impacts Vietnam's healthcare system and citizens, requiring a comprehensive understanding of its financial implications and efficient management of medical resources for those diagnosed. This study highlights the substantial economic burden of HF on Vietnam's healthcare system, with medication costs, particularly antithrombotic drugs, representing the largest expense. Most healthcare costs were covered by health insurance, and expenses were significantly influenced by comorbidity and length of hospital stay. These findings can inform healthcare policy, resource allocation and optimise management strategies in Vietnam., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Introduction: Developmental windows in which experiences can elicit long-lasting effects on brain circuitry and behavior are called "sensitive periods" and reflect a state of heightened plasticity. The classic example of a sensitive period comes from studies of sensory systems, like the visual system, where early visual experience is required for normal wiring of primary visual cortex and proper visual functioning. At a mechanistic level, loss of incoming visual input results in a decrease in activity in thalamocortical neurons representing the affected eye, resulting in an activity-dependent reduction in the representation of those inputs in the visual cortex and loss of visual perception in that eye. While associative cortical regions like the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) do not receive direct sensory input, recent findings demonstrate that changes in activity levels experienced by this region during defined windows in early development may also result in long-lasting changes in prefrontal cortical circuitry, network function, and behavior. For example, we recently demonstrated that decreasing the activity of mPFC parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneurons during a period of time encompassing peripuberty (postnatal day P14) to adolescence (P50) led to a long-lasting decrease in their functional inhibition of pyramidal cells, as well as impairments in cognitive flexibility. While the effects of manipulating mPFC PV interneuron activity were selective to development, and not adulthood, the exact timing of the sensitive period for this manipulation remains unknown., Methods: To refine the sensitive period in which inhibiting mPFC PV cell activity can lead to persistent effects on prefrontal functioning, we used a chemogenetic approach to restrict our inhibition of mPFC PV activity to two distinct windows: (1) peripuberty (P14-P32) and (2) early adolescence (P33-P50). We then investigated adult behavior after P90. In parallel, we performed histological analysis of molecular markers associated with sensitive period onset and offset in visual cortex, to define the onset and offset of peak-sensitive period plasticity in the mPFC., Results: We found that inhibition of mPFC PV interneurons in peripuberty (P14-P32), but not adolescence (P33-P50), led to an impairment in set-shifting behavior in adulthood manifest as an increase in trials to reach criterion performance and errors. Consistent with a pubertal onset of sensitive period plasticity in the PFC, we found that histological markers of sensitive period onset and offset also demarcated P14 and P35, respectively. The time course of expression of these markers was similar in visual cortex., Conclusion: Both lines of research converge on the peripubertal period (P14-P32) as one of heightened sensitive period plasticity in the mPFC. Further, our direct comparison of markers of sensitive period plasticity across the prefrontal and visual cortex suggests a similar time course of expression, challenging the notion that sensitive periods occur hierarchically. Together, these findings extend our knowledge about the nature and timing of sensitive period plasticity in the developing mPFC., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Diabetes mellitus is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide, accounting for 6.7 million deaths in 2021, and is one of the most rapidly growing global health emergencies of this century. Although several classes of therapeutic drugs have been invented and applied in clinical practice, diabetes continues to pose a serious and growing threat to public health and places a tremendous burden on those affected and their families. The strategy of reducing carbohydrate digestibility by inhibiting the activities of α-glucosidase and α-amylase is regarded as a promising preventative treatment for type 2 diabetes. In this study, we investigated the dual inhibitory effect against two polysaccharide hydrolytic enzymes of flavonoid derivatives from an in-house chemical database. By combining molecular docking and structure-activity relationship analysis, twelve compounds with docking energies less than or equal to - 8.0 kcal mol -1 and containing required structural features for dual inhibition of the two enzymes were identified and subjected to chemical synthesis and in vitro evaluation. The obtained results showed that five compounds exhibited dual inhibitory effects on the target enzymes with better IC 50 values than the approved positive control acarbose. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to elucidate the binding of these flavonoids to the enzymes. The predicted pharmacokinetic and toxicological properties suggest that these compounds are viable for further development as type 2 diabetes drugs., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Light-element-based fluorescent materials, colloidal graphene quantum dots, and carbon dots (CDs) have sparked an immense amount of scientific interest in the past decade. However, a significant challenge in practical applications has emerged concerning the development of solid-state fluorescence (SSF) materials. This study addresses this knowledge gap by exploring the unexplored photonic facets of C-based solid-state microphotonic emitters. The proposed synthesis approach focuses on carbonized polymer microspheres (CPMs) instead of conventional nanodots. These microspheres exhibit remarkable SSF spanning the entire visible spectrum from blue to red. The highly spherical shape of CPMs imparts built-in photonic properties in addition to its intrinsic CD-based attributes. Leveraging their excitation-dependent photoluminescence property, these microspheres exhibit amplified spontaneous emission, assisted by the whispering gallery mode resonance across the visible spectral region. Remarkably, unlike conventional semiconductor quantum dots or dye-doped microresonators, this single microstructure showcases adaptable resonant emission without structural/chemical modifications. This distinctive attribute enables a plethora of applications, including microcavity-assisted energy transfer for white light emission, highly sensitive chemical sensing, and secure encrypted anticounterfeiting measures. This interdisciplinary approach, integrating photonics and chemistry, provides a robust solution for light-element-based SSF with inherent photonic functionality and wide-ranging applications.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the significance of adopting healthy lifestyles to mitigate the risk of severe outcomes and long-term consequences., Objective: This study focuses on assessing the prevalence and clustering of 5 unhealthy lifestyle behaviors among Vietnamese adults after recovering from COVID-19, with a specific emphasis on sex differences., Methods: The cross-sectional data of 5890 survivors of COVID-19 in Vietnam were analyzed from December 2021 to October 2022. To examine the sex differences in 5 unhealthy lifestyle behaviors (smoking, drinking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and sedentary behavior), the percentages were plotted along with their corresponding 95% CI for each behavior. Latent class analysis was used to identify 2 distinct classes of individuals based on the clustering of these behaviors: the "less unhealthy" group and the "more unhealthy" group. We examined the sociodemographic characteristics associated with each identified class and used logistic regression to investigate the factors related to the "more unhealthy" group., Results: The majority of individuals (male participants: 2432/2447, 99.4% and female participants: 3411/3443, 99.1%) exhibited at least 1 unhealthy behavior, with male participants being more susceptible to multiple unhealthy behaviors. The male-to-female ratio for having a single behavior was 1.003, but it escalated to 25 for individuals displaying all 5 behaviors. Male participants demonstrated a higher prevalence of combining alcohol intake with sedentary behavior (949/2447, 38.8%) or an unhealthy diet (861/2447, 35.2%), whereas female participants tended to exhibit physical inactivity combined with sedentary behavior (1305/3443, 37.9%) or an unhealthy diet (1260/3443, 36.6%). Married male participants had increased odds of falling into the "more unhealthy" group compared to their single counterparts (odds ratio [OR] 1.45, 95% CI 1.14-1.85), while female participants exhibited lower odds (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.51-0.83). Female participants who are underweight showed a higher likelihood of belonging to the "more unhealthy" group (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.89-1.39), but this was not observed among male participants (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.41-0.89). In both sexes, older age, dependent employment, high education, and obesity were associated with higher odds of being in the "more unhealthy" group., Conclusions: The study identified notable sex differences in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors among survivors of COVID-19. Male survivors are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors compared to female survivors. These findings emphasize the importance of tailored public health interventions targeting sex-specific unhealthy behaviors. Specifically, addressing unhealthy habits is crucial for promoting post-COVID-19 health and well-being., (©Lan T H Le, Thi Ngoc Anh Hoang, Tan T Nguyen, Tien D Dao, Binh N Do, Khue M Pham, Vinh H Vu, Linh V Pham, Lien T H Nguyen, Hoang C Nguyen, Tuan V Tran, Trung H Nguyen, Anh T Nguyen, Hoan V Nguyen, Phuoc B Nguyen, Hoai T T Nguyen, Thu T M Pham, Thuy T Le, Thao T P Nguyen, Cuong Q Tran, Ha-Linh Quach, Kien T Nguyen, Tuyen Van Duong. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (https://publichealth.jmir.org), 02.04.2024.)

Background: The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased, particularly among individuals who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Health literacy is considered a "social vaccine" that helps people respond effectively to the pandemic. We aimed to investigate the association between long COVID-19 and PTSD, and to examine the modifying role of health literacy in this association., Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at 18 hospitals and health centers in Vietnam from December 2021 to October 2022. We recruited 4,463 individuals who had recovered from COVID-19 infection for at least 4 weeks. Participants provided information about their sociodemographics, clinical parameters, health-related behaviors, health literacy (using the 12-item short-form health literacy scale), long COVID-19 symptoms and PTSD (Impact Event Scale-Revised score of 33 or higher). Logistic regression models were used to examine associations and interactions., Results: Out of the study sample, 55.9% had long COVID-19 symptoms, and 49.6% had PTSD. Individuals with long COVID-19 symptoms had a higher likelihood of PTSD (odds ratio [OR], 1.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.63-2.12; p<0.001). Higher health literacy was associated with a lower likelihood of PTSD (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.97-0.99; p=0.001). Compared to those without long COVID-19 symptoms and the lowest health literacy score, those with long COVID-19 symptoms and a 1-point health literacy increment had a 3% lower likelihood of PTSD (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.99; p=0.001)., Conclusion: Health literacy was found to be a protective factor against PTSD and modified the negative impact of long COVID-19 symptoms on PTSD.

Aurones are a minor subgroup of flavonoids. Unlike other subgroups such as chalcones, flavones, and isoflavones, aurones have not been extensively explored as pancreatic lipase inhibitors. In this work, we studied the pancreatic lipase inhibitory potency of synthetic aurone derivatives. Thirty-six compounds belonging to four series (4,6-dihydroxyaurone, 6-hydroxyaurone, 4,6-dialkoxyaurone, and 6-alkoxyaurone) were designed and synthesized. Their in vitro inhibitory activities were determined by spectrophotometric assay in comparison with quercetin and orlistat. Alkoxyaurone derivatives with long-chain (6-10 carbons) alkoxy substituents showed greater potency. Of them, 4,6-dialkoxyaurone 8 displayed the highest activity against pancreatic lipase (IC 50 of 1.945 ± 0.520 µM) relative to quercetin (IC 50 of 86.98 ± 3.859 µM) and orlistat (IC 50 of 0.0334 ± 0.0015 µM). Fluorescence quenching measurement confirmed the affinity of alkoxyaurone derivatives to pancreatic lipase. Kinetic study showed that 8 inhibited lipase through a competitive mechanism (K i of 1.288 ± 0.282 µM). Molecular docking results clarified the role of long-chain substituents on ring A in interacting with the hydrophobic pockets and pushing the inhibitor molecule closer to the catalytic triad. The findings in this study may contribute to the development of better pancreatic lipase inhibitors with aurone structure., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Diabetes mellitus remains a major global health issue, and great attention is directed at natural therapeutics. This systematic review aimed to assess the potential of flavonoids as antidiabetic agents by investigating their inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase and α-amylase, two key enzymes involved in starch digestion. Six scientific databases (PubMed, Virtual Health Library, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and WHO Global Index Medicus) were searched until August 21, 2022, for in vitro studies reporting IC 50 values of purified flavonoids on α-amylase and α-glucosidase, along with corresponding data for acarbose as a positive control. A total of 339 eligible articles were analyzed, resulting in the retrieval of 1643 flavonoid structures. These structures were rigorously standardized and curated, yielding 974 unique compounds, among which 177 flavonoids exhibited inhibition of both α-glucosidase and α-amylase are presented. Quality assessment utilizing a modified CONSORT checklist and structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis were performed, revealing crucial features for the simultaneous inhibition of flavonoids against both enzymes. Moreover, the review also addressed several limitations in the current research landscape and proposed potential solutions. The curated datasets are available online at https://github.com/MedChemUMP/FDIGA ., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Lichens produce secondary metabolites that have many pharmaceutical activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiviral, anticancer, antigenotoxic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activities. However, there is limited research on their efflux pump inhibitory activities. Twelve phytochemicals were isolated from Usnea aciculifera , and their activity of AcrAB-TolC efflux pump inhibition was evaluated. Four potential compounds, which are diffractaic acid (2) , 8' - O - methylstictic acid (5) , 3-hydroxy-4-(methoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dimethylphenyl 2,4-dimethoxy-3,6-dimethylbenzoate ( 8) and 3-hydroxy-4-(methoxycarbonyl)-2,5-dimethylphenyl 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-3,6-dimethylbenzoate (9) , were found by virtual screening using pharmacophore and 2D-QSAR model. Compound 8 exhibited AcrB inhibition activity in vitro with an accumulation H33342 percentage compared with untreated control of 202% at a concentration of 50 µM and increased the antibacterial activity of levofloxacin by four-fold at a concentration of 200 µM. By molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, the binding affinity of depside and depsidone derivatives to AcrB was also clarified. Despite the poor docking score to the AcrB binding site, compound 8 was the most stable among the four complexes at 20 ns of MD simulation. The analysis of long MD at 100 ns indicated that compound 8 interacts strongly with the residues in the distal pocket, creating a stable complex with ΔG bind of -31.51  kcal.mol-1. According to the ADMETlab 2.0 web server's predictions of pharmacokinetics and toxicities, compound 8 has the potential for drug development.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Introduction: Despite established knowledge on the morphological and functional asymmetries in the human brain, the understanding of how brain asymmetry patterns change during late fetal to neonatal life remains incomplete. The goal of this study was to characterize the dynamic patterns of inter-hemispheric brain asymmetry over this critically important developmental stage using longitudinally acquired MRI scans., Methods: Super-resolution reconstructed T2-weighted MRI of 20 neurotypically developing participants were used, and for each participant fetal and neonatal MRI was acquired. To quantify brain morphological changes, deformation-based morphometry (DBM) on the longitudinal MRI scans was utilized. Two registration frameworks were evaluated and used in our study: (A) fetal to neonatal image registration and (B) registration through a mid-time template. Developmental changes of cerebral asymmetry were characterized as (A) the inter-hemispheric differences of the Jacobian determinant (JD) of fetal to neonatal morphometry change and the (B) time-dependent change of the JD capturing left-right differences at fetal or neonatal time points. Left-right and fetal-neonatal differences were statistically tested using multivariate linear models, corrected for participants' age and sex and using threshold-free cluster enhancement., Results: Fetal to neonatal morphometry changes demonstrated asymmetry in the temporal pole, and left-right asymmetry differences between fetal and neonatal timepoints revealed temporal changes in the temporal pole, likely to go from right dominant in fetal to a bilateral morphology in neonatal timepoint. Furthermore, the analysis revealed right-dominant subcortical gray matter in neonates and three clusters of increased JD values in the left hemisphere from fetal to neonatal timepoints., Discussion: While these findings provide evidence that morphological asymmetry gradually emerges during development, discrepancies between registration frameworks require careful considerations when using DBM for longitudinal data of early brain development., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Steger, Moatti, Payette, De Silvestro, Nguyen, Coraj, Yakoub, Natalucci, Kottke, Tuura, Knirsch and Jakab.)

Objective: A pathological excitatory action of the major inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) has been observed in epilepsy. Blocking the Cl - importer NKCC1 with bumetanide is expected to reduce the neuronal intracellular Cl - concentration ([Cl - ] i ) and thereby attenuate the excitatory GABA response. Accordingly, several clinical trials of bumetanide for epilepsy were conducted. Although NKCC1 is expressed in both neurons and glial cells, an involvement of glial NKCC1 in seizures has not yet been reported. Astrocytes maintain high [Cl - ] i with NKCC1, and this gradient promotes Cl - efflux via the astrocytic GABA A receptor (GABA A R). This Cl - efflux buffers the synaptic cleft Cl - concentration to maintain the postsynaptic Cl - gradient during intense firing of GABAergic neurons, thereby sustaining its inhibitory action during seizure. In this study, we investigated the function of astrocytic NKCC1 in modulating the postsynaptic action of GABA in acute seizure models., Methods: We used the astrocyte-specific conditional NKCC1 knockout (AstroNKCC1KO) mice. The seizurelike events (SLEs) in CA1 pyramidal neurons were triggered by tetanic stimulation of stratum radiatum in acute hippocampus slices. The SLE underlying GABA A R-mediated depolarization was evaluated by applying the GABA A R antagonist bicuculline. The pilocarpine-induced seizure in vivo was monitored in adult mice by the Racine scale. The SLE duration and tetanus stimulation intensity threshold and seizure behavior in AstroNKCC1KO mice and wild-type (WT) mice were compared., Results: The AstroNKCC1KO mice were prone to seizures with lower threshold and longer duration of SLEs and larger GABA A R-mediated depolarization underlying the SLEs, accompanied by higher Racine-scored seizures. Bumetanide reduced these indicators of seizure in AstroNKCC1KO mice (which still express neuronal NKCC1), but not in the WT, both in vitro and in vivo., Significance: Astrocytic NKCC1 inhibits GABA-mediated excitatory action during seizures, whereas neuronal NKCC1 has the converse effect, suggesting opposing actions of bumetanide on these cells., (© 2023 The Authors. Epilepsia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International League Against Epilepsy.)

IL(interleukin)-6 is a multifunctional cytokine crucial for immunological, hematopoiesis, inflammation, and bone metabolism. Strikingly, IL-6 has been shown to significantly contribute to the initiation of cytokine storm-an acute systemic inflammatory syndrome in Covid-19 patients. Recent study has showed that blocking the IL-6 signaling pathway with an anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody (mAb) can reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and enhance patient survival. However, the mAb has several drawbacks, such as high cost, potential immunogenicity, and invasive administration due to the large-molecule protein product. Instead, these issues could be mitigated using small molecule IL-6 inhibitors, but none are currently available. This study aimed to discover IL-6 inhibitors based on the PPI with a novel camelid Fab fragment, namely 68F2, in a crystal protein complex structure (PDB ID: 4ZS7). The pharmacophore models and molecular docking were used to screen compounds from DrugBank databases. The oral bioavailability of the top 24 ligands from the screening was predicted by the SwissAMDE tool. Subsequently, the selected molecules from docking and MD simulation illustrated a promising binding affinity in the formation of stable complexes at the active binding pocket of IL-6. Binding energies using the MM-PBSA technique were applied to the top 4 hit compounds. The result indicated that DB08402 and DB12903 could form strong interactions and build stable protein-ligand complexes with IL-6. These potential compounds may serve as a basis for further developing small molecule IL-6 inhibitors in the future., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Major brain lesions, such as grade 3 intraventricular haemorrhage (G3-IVH) and periventricular haemorrhagic infarction (PVHI) are among the main predictors for poor neurodevelopment in preterm infants. In the last decades advancements in neonatal care have led to a general decrease in adverse outcomes., Aim: To assess trends of mortality and neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in a recent Swiss cohort of very preterm infants with grade 3 intraventricular haemorrhage (G3-IVH) and periventricular haemorrhagic infarction (PVHI)., Methods: In this retrospective population-based cohort study, rates of mortality, and NDI at 2 years corrected age were reported in infants born at 24-29 weeks gestational age (GA) in Switzerland in 2002-2014, with G3-IVH and/or PVHI., Results: Out of 4956 eligible infants, 462 (9%) developed G3-IVH (n = 172) or PVHI (n = 290). The average mortality rates for the two pathologies were 33% (56/172) and 60% (175/290), respectively. In 2002-2014, no change in rates of mortality (G3-IVH, p = 0.845; PVHI, p = 0.386) or NDI in survivors (G3-IVH, p = 0.756; PVHI, p = 0.588) were observed, while mean GA decreased (G3-IVH, p = 0.020; PVHI, p = 0.004). Multivariable regression analysis showed a strong association of G3-IVH and PVHI for both mortality and NDI. Death occurred after withdrawal of care in 81% of cases., Conclusion: In 2002-2014, rates of mortality and NDI in very preterm born infants with major brain lesions did not change. The significant decrease in mean GA and changing hospital policies over this time span may factor into the interpretation of these results.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease relating to steady hyperglycemia resulting from the impairment of the endocrine and non-endocrine systems. Many new drugs having varied targets were discovered to treat this disease, especially type 2 diabetes. Among those, α-glucosidase inhibitors showed their effects by preventing the digestion of carbohydrates through their inhibition against α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Recently, chalcones have attracted considerable attention as they have a simple structure, are easily synthesized as well as have a variety of derivatives. Some reports suggested that chalcone and its derivates could inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase. This narrative review provides a comprehensive evaluation of the inhibition of chalcone and its derivatives against α-amylase and α-glucosidase that were reviewed and reported in published scientific articles. Twenty-eight articles were reviewed after screening 207 articles found in four databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, VHL (Virtual Health Library), and GHL (Global Health Library). This review presented the inhibitory effects of varied chalcones, including chalcones with a basic structural framework, azachalcones, bis-chalcones, chalcone oximes, coumarin-chalcones, cyclohexane chalcones, dihydrochalcones, and flavanone-coupled chalcones. Many of these chalcones had significant inhibition against α-amylase as well as α-glucosidase that were comparable to or even stronger than standard inhibitors. This suggested that such compounds could be potential candidates for the discovery of new anti-diabetic remedies in the years to come., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Tran et al.)

Background: Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) is a group of bacterial pathogens that causes life-threatening diarrhea in children in developing countries. However, there is limited information on the characteristics of DEC isolated from patients in these countries. A detailed genomic analysis of 61 DEC-like isolates from infants with diarrhea was performed to clarify and share the characteristics of DEC prevalent in Vietnam., Principal Findings: DEC was classified into 57 strains, including 33 enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC) (54.1%), 20 enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) (32.8%), two enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) (3.3%), one enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), and one ETEC/EIEC hybrid (1.6% each), and surprisingly into four Escherichia albertii strains (6.6%). Furthermore, several epidemic DEC clones showed an uncommon combination of pathotypes and serotypes, such as EAEC Og130:Hg27, EAEC OgGp9:Hg18, EAEC OgX13:H27, EPEC OgGp7:Hg16, and E. albertii EAOg1:HgUT. Genomic analysis also revealed the presence of various genes and mutations associated with antibiotic resistance in many isolates. Strains that demonstrate potential resistance to ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone, drugs recommended for treating childhood diarrhea, accounted for 65.6% and 41%, respectively., Significance: Our finding indicate that the routine use of these antibiotics has selected resistant DECs, resulting in a situation where these drugs do not provide in therapeutic effects for some patients. Bridging this gap requires continuous investigations and information sharing regarding the type and distribution of endemic DEC and E. albertii and their antibiotic resistance in different countries., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Iguchi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

AcrAB-TolC tripartite efflux pump, which belongs to the RND superfamily, is a main multi-drug efflux system of Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) because of the broad resistance on various antibiotics. With the discovering of efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs), a combination between these and antibiotics is one of the most promising therapies. Therefore, building a virtual screening model with prediction capacities for the efflux pump inhibitory activities of candidates from DrugBank and ZINC15 dataset, is one of the key goals of this project. Based on the database of 170 diverse chemical structures collected from 28 research journals, two 2D-QSAR models and a 3D-pharmacophore model have been performed. On the AcrB protein (PDB 4DX7), two binding sites have been discovered that match to the hydrophobic trap in the distal pocket and the switch loop in the proximal pocket. After virtual screening processes, twenty candidate AcrAB-TolC inhibitors have been subjected to molecular dynamics simulations, binding free energy calculations and ADMET predictions. The results indicate that three compounds namely DB09233, DB02581, and DB15224 are potential inhibitors with ΔG bind of -42.30 ± 4.58, -40.76 ± 7.30 and -31.06 ± 7.63 kcal.mol -1 , respectively.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

The interleukin-1 receptor like ST2 has emerged as a potential drug discovery target since it was identified as the receptor of the novel cytokine IL-33, which is involved in many inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. For the treatment of such IL-33-related disorders, efforts have been made to discover molecules that can inhibit the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between IL-33 and ST2, but to date no drug has been approved. Although several anti-ST2 antibodies have entered clinical trials, the exploration of small molecular inhibitors is highly sought-after because of its advantages in terms of oral bioavailability and manufacturing cost. The aim of this study was to discover ST2 receptor inhibitors based on its PPIs with IL-33 in crystal structure (PDB ID: 4KC3) using virtual screening tools with pharmacophore modeling and molecular docking. From an enormous chemical space ZINC, a potential series of compounds has been discovered with stronger binding affinities than the control compound from a previous study. Among them, four compounds strongly interacted with the key residues of the receptor and had a binding free energy <  - 20 kcal/mol. By intensive calculations using data from molecular dynamics simulations, ZINC59514725 was identified as the most potential candidate for ST2 receptor inhibitor in this study., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global public health emergency on 23 July 2022. This disease was caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV), which was first identified in 1958 in Denmark. The MPXV is a member of the Poxviridae family, the Chordopoxvirinae subfamily, and the genus Orthopoxvirus, which share high similarities with the vaccinia virus (the virus used to produce the smallpox vaccine). For the initial stage of infection, the MPXV needs to attach to the human cell surface glycosaminoglycan (GAG) adhesion molecules using its E8 protein. However, up until now, neither a structure for the MPXV E8 protein nor a specific cure for the MPXV exists. This study aimed to search for small molecules that inhibit the MPXV E8 protein, using computational approaches. In this study, a high-quality three-dimensional structure of the MPXV E8 protein was retrieved by homology modeling using the AlphaFold deep learning server. Subsequent molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations (MDs) for a cumulative duration of 2.1 microseconds revealed that ZINC003977803 (Diosmin) and ZINC008215434 (Flavin adenine dinucleotide-FAD) could be potential inhibitors against the E8 protein with the MM/GBSA binding free energies of -38.19 ± 9.69 and -35.59 ± 7.65 kcal·mol -1 , respectively.

While investigating a giraffe's death in a Vietnamese zoo, we successfully identified and isolated Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) from skin nodule biopsies and ruptured nodule wound swab samples. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the isolate obtained in this study was closely related to the previous Vietnamese and Chinese LSDV strains from cattle. This is the first report on the genome detection and isolation of LSDV in a diseased giraffe in Vietnam. Further study is needed to better understand the epidemiology of this disease in wildlife., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

In the present study, tissue samples collected from 130 ducks from clinically suspected commercial flocks and diseased birds in six provinces of northern Vietnam were tested for duck circovirus (DuCV) infection. The DuCV genome was detected in 56 out of 130 (43.08%) duck samples by PCR. Of 38 tested farms, 26 (68.42%) were positive for the DuCV genome. The rate of the DuCV genome detection in ducks at 3-4 weeks of age (54.17%) was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that at <3 (32.43%) and >7 (33.33%) weeks of age and insignificantly higher than that at 5-7 weeks of age (43.33%) (p = 0.11). The genomes of six Vietnamese DuCV isolates were determined. They ranged in length from 1,988 to 1,995 nucleotides, and their nucleotide sequences were 83.24% to 99.69% identical to each other. Phylogenetic analysis based on the complete genome sequences indicated that the DuCV strains circulating in northern Vietnam can be divided into two main genotypes (I and II) and several subgenotypes. The Vietnamese DuCV isolates were closely related to Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean strains. One positively selected site was detected in the capsid protein., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Worldwide, medicinal plants have been known for economic and geographical advantages, thus possibly holding potentiality against dengue hemorrhagic fever. The methanol/water extracts from different parts of fourteen Vietnam-based plant species were subjected for experimental screening on anti-dengue activity using baby hamster kidney cells (BHK21) and plaque reduction neutralisation test (PRNT). Firstly, the methanol/water extracts were tested against serotype dengue virus DENV-1. Seven out from nineteen extracts show the PRNT 50 values less than 31.25 μg/mL. Four of the above extracts namely from Euphorbia hirta, Cordyline terminalis, Carica papaya, and Elaeagnus latifolia were chosen for testing against the serotype DENV-2. All of them exhibit good activity with the PRNT 50 values less than 31.25 μg/ml, which were further fractionated to obtain hexane, ethyl acetate and butanol fractions. Anti-dengue virus activity of the fractions against four serotypes DENV-1, -2, -3 and -4 was evaluated. As results, the ethyl acetate fraction of Elaeagnus latifolia is highly active against all four serotype viruses. The structural formulae of its nine constituents were input for molecular docking simulation. The docking-based order for static inhibitability is 6-3L6P>7-3L6P>9-3L6P>2-3L6P>3-3L6P≈5-3L6P>9-3L6P>1-3L6P>8-3L6P; QSARIS-based analysis reveals the biocompatibility of the most promising ligands (4-7); ADMET-based analysis expects their pharmacological suitability. Exceptional finding on 2-3LKW hydrophilic interaction at Lys43 (with the associated Gibbs free energy of -10.3 kcal mol -1 ) raises an open explanation for inhibitory effects. The results encourage further investigations for more in-depth mechanisms and drug development, such as in vitro enzyme assays or in vitro clinical trials with natural substances from E. latifolia., (© 2022 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

In this work, we present and analyze a design of an absorber-waveguide system combining a highly sensitive waveguide array concept with a resonant selective absorber. The waveguide part is composed of an array of coupled strip waveguides and is therefore called a coupled strip array (CSA). The CSA is then coupled to the end of a slab Tamm plasmon (STP-) resonator, which is composed of a quasicrystal-like reflector formed by the patterning of a silicon slab and an interfacing tungsten slab. The concept describes an emitter-waveguide or waveguide-detector system featuring selective plasmon-enhanced resonant absorption or emission. These are crucial properties for corresponding optical on-chip integrated devices in context with evanescent field absorption sensing in fluids or gases, for example. Thus, the concept comprises a valuable and more cost-effective alternative to quantum cascade lasers. We designed the lateral dimensions of the STP resonator via a simple quasi-crystal approach and achieved strong narrowband resonances (emittance and Q -factors up to 85% and 88, respectively) for different silicon thicknesses and substrate materials (air and silicon oxide). Moreover, we analyze and discuss the sensitivity of the complete emitter-waveguide system in dependence on the slab thickness. This reveals the crucial correlation between the expected sensitivity assigned to the absorber-waveguide system and field confinement within the silicon.

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine with various biological functions in immune regulation, hematopoiesis, and inflammation. Elevated IL-6 levels have been identified in several severe disorders such as sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and most recently, COVID-19. The biological activity of IL-6 relies on interactions with its specific receptor, IL-6Rα, including the membrane-bound IL-6 receptor (mIL-6R) and the soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R). Thus, inhibition of the interaction between these two proteins would be a potential treatment for IL-6 related diseases. To date, no orally available small-molecule drug has been approved. This study focuses on finding potential small molecules that can inhibit protein-protein interactions between IL-6 and its receptor IL-6Rα using its crystal structure (PDB ID: 5FUC). First, two pharmacophore models were constructed based on the interactions between key residues of IL-6 (Phe74, Phe78, Leu178, Arg179, Arg182) and IL-6Rα (Phe229, Tyr230, Glu277, Glu278, Phe279). A database of approximately 22 million compounds was screened using 3D-pharmacophore models, molecular docking models, and ADMET properties. By analyzing the interactive capability of successfully docked compounds with important amino acids, 12 potential ligands were selected for further analysis via molecular dynamics simulations. Based on the stability of the complexes, the high interactions rate of each ligand with the key residues of IL-6/IL-6Rα, and the low binding free energy calculation, two compounds ZINC83804241 and ZINC02997430, were identified as the most potential IL-6 inhibitor candidates. These results will pave the way for the design and optimization of more specific compounds to combat cytokine storm in severe coronavirus patients., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious and lethal hemorrhagic disease with a case fatality rate approaching 100% in domestic pigs. The main objectives of this study were to describe the spatiotemporal analysis as well as to assess the potential risk factors along the pig value chain in Lao Cai province, Vietnam. A total of 925 outbreaks were reported from 2019 to 2020. The three clusters (primary, secondary and 5th) were observed near the Chinese border. The most temporal clusters were detected between May and August during the study period. In addition, we evaluated the association between ASF outbreak locations to the nearest main roads and elevation. For ASF outbreak locations to the nearest main roads, compared with the reference (<5,000 m), <1,000 m (10.22 times) and 1,000-2,000 m (1.98 times) were significantly higher occurrences of ASF. For elevation, compared to the reference (>1,500 m), the farm locations with <500 m (55.31 times) showed a significantly increased risk of ASF outbreaks. Farmers perceived that the highest risk of ASF transmission may come from collectors and slaughterers, intermediaries inside and outside the commune, feed agents and maize agents in the commune, and pig retailers. Both commercial and household pig producers considered minimizing the number of people going in and out of pig stables and improving healthcare and husbandry procedures to be both very important and feasible. There is a need for compliance by all pig producers and other actors in the pig value chain to adopt biosecurity practices. Therefore, awareness, knowledge and understanding of infection and risks of ASF need to be improved. Veterinary officials at the provincial and district levels need to improve capacity and resources to perform laboratory analysis for ASF and need to coordinate with local actors on the control and prevention of ASF in the community., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Lee, Dao, Huyen, Bui, Bui, Ngo and Pham.)

The human P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and the NorA transporter are the major culprits of multidrug resistance observed in various bacterial strains and cancer cell lines, by extruding drug molecules out of the targeted cells, leading to treatment failures in clinical settings. Inhibiting the activity of these efflux pumps has been a well-known strategy of drug design studies in this regard. In this manuscript, our earlier published machine learning models and homology structures of P-gp and NorA were utilized to screen a chemolibrary of 95 in-house chalcone derivatives, identifying two hit compounds, namely, F88 and F90, as potential modulators of both transporters, whose activity on Staphylococcus aureus strains overexpressing NorA and resistant to ciprofloxacin was subsequently confirmed. The findings of this study are expected to guide future research towards developing novel potent chalconic inhibitors of P-gp and/or NorA., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Minh-Tri Le et al.)

Objectives: Tigecycline resistance mediated by the mobile tigecycline-inactivating enzyme gene tet(X) in Gram-negative bacteria is an emerging concern for global public health. However, limited information is available on the distribution of tet(X) in the natural environment. In this study, we investigated the presence of tet(X) in environmental Gram-negative bacteria., Methods: A carbapenem- and tigecycline-resistant Shewanella xiamenensis isolate (NUITM-VS1) was obtained from an urban drainage in Hanoi, Vietnam, in March 2021. Whole-genome sequencing analysis was performed by long- and short-read sequencing, resulting in a complete genome sequence. Antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in the genome were detected based on the custom ARG database, including all known tigecycline resistance genes., Results: Shewanella xiamenensis isolate NUITM-VS1 harboured the tet(X4) gene and the bla OXA-48 carbapenemase gene on the chromosome. tet(X4) was flanked by IS91 family transposase genes, suggesting that the acquisition of tet(X4) was mediated by this mobile gene element (MGE), whereas no MGE was found surrounding bla OXA-48 , consistent with previous findings that bla OXA-48-like β-lactamase genes are species-specific intrinsic ARGs in Shewanella spp., Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a tet(X4)-harbouring Shewanella sp. isolate. Our results provide genetic evidence of the complexity of the dynamics of clinically important ARGs among bacteria in the water environment., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None declared., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Distichochlamys citrea M.F. Newman (commonly known as "Black Ginger") is an endemic plant to Vietnam and has been extensively exploited by folk medication for treatments of infection-related diseases and diabetes. In this work, its rhizomes were subjected to fractionated extraction, phytochemical examination, evaluation of antioxidant effect by DDPH free radical neutralization, and inhibitory activity toward α -glucosidase. The compositional components were subjected to in silico screening, including density functional theory calculation, molecular docking simulation, physicochemical analysis, and pharmacokinetic regression. In the trials, EtOAc fraction is found as the bioactive part of most effectiveness, regarding both antioxidant effect (IC 50  = 90.27 µg mL -1 ) and α -glucosidase inhibitory activity (IC 50  = 115.75 μg mL -1 ). Chemical determination reveals there are 13 components of its composition. DFT-based calculations find no abnormal constraints in their structures. Docking-based simulation provides order of inhibitory effectiveness: 3-P53341  >  12-P53341  >  7-P53341  >  4-P53341  >  11-P53341  >  10-P53341 . QSARIS-based investigations implicate their biocompatibility. ADMET-based regressions indicate that all candidates are generally safe for medicinal applications. The findings would contribute to the basis for further studies on the chemical compositions of Distichochlamys citrea and their biological activities., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11696-022-02273-2., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestOn behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest., (© Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences 2022.)

The main protease 3CL pro is one of the potential targets against coronavirus. Inhibiting this enzyme leads to the interruption of viral replication. Chalcone and its derivatives were reported to possess the ability to bind to 3CL pro protease in the binding pocket. This study explored an in-house database of 269 chalcones as 3CL pro inhibitors using in silico screening models, including molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, binding free energy calculation, and ADME prediction.  C264  and  C235  stand out as the two most potential structures. The top hit compound  C264  was with the Jamda score of -2.8329 and the MM/GBSA binding energy mean value of -28.23 ± 3.53 kcal/mol, which was lower than the reference ligand. Despite the lower mean binding energy (-22.07 ± 3.39 kcal/mol), in-depth analysis of binding interaction suggested  C235  could be another potential candidate. Further, in vitro and in vivo experiments are required to confirm the inhibitory ability., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11224-022-02000-3., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022.)

Background: We determined the occurrence frequency of Clinical signs, subclinical characteristics on positive anti-IgG Toxocara ELISA cases, and clinical response results after 1 month of albendazole-specific treatment., Methods: A number of 103 clinically treated patients were studied between 2018 and 2019 in two hospitals. Relevant data are collected from examination and medical records such as age, sex, job, resident, clinical and sub-clinical signs. Sera samples were subjected to anti-IgG Toxocara antigen using ELISA., Results: The median age of the patient was 43.6 ± 14.4 years. The most common symptom groups were the skin and mucosa (88.3%), followed by neurological symptoms (44%). There are 76.7% of patients with risk factors for contact with pet dogs and cats. The majority of eosinophils in the normal range (< 8%) accounted for 85.4%, the major results of the OD value of ELISA were in the group (≥ 0.3-< 1.5) accounted for 75.7%. The skin and mucosa lesions in toxocariasis patients related to IgE values were statistically significant ( P <0.05). The effectiveness of anthelmintic treatment is low with nearly half of patients having no clinical symptoms after 1 month of post-treatment. It is statistically significant between exposure to dogs/cats and treatment outcomes on clinical symptoms ( P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Toxocara infections in Vietnamese people often have skin allergies and liver damage, rarely with severe neurological symptoms. The efficacy of albendazole treatment after one month is not clear. In the near future, research with a confirmatory test other than Anti-IgG Toxocara ELISA is needed to screen for inhospital diagnosis., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2022 Thu et al. Published by Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

Eucalyptus cloeziana is a valuable timber tree species for its high durability and excellent sawmilling qualities. However, there is lack of complete genomic information for this plant, which severely constrains its genetic improvement. This study aim to survey the genome of E . cloeziana and determine the large-scale sequencing scheme of this species. Next-generation sequencing based on Illumina Hi- Seq X Ten platform was used to survey the E . cloeziana genome and its SSR markers development. We estimated the genome size to be 491.91 Mb and the heterozygosity rate to be 1.23%, with repetitive sequences accounting for 40.74%. The clean reads of E . cloeziana were assembled into 995,093 scaffolds (556,992,952 bp) with a N50 value of 2297 bp. In the GO database, the 10,172 genes annotated were matched to 50 functional gene groups in three categories of cell component, biological function and molecular function, respectively. Through KEGG pathways analysis, 10,802 genes were successfully annotated and 133 metabolic pathways were detected with the most abundant metabolism-related genes. Meanwhile, a total of 58,832 simple-sequence repeat (SSR) loci were identified in the E . cloeziana genome, and among them, dinucleotide repeats were the most abundant class. AG/CT, AT/AT, AAG/CTT were the three most frequent primitive types. Of the 50 genomic SSR primer pairs randomly selected for screening test, 13 showed polymorphism (PIC = 0.625). Three to nine alleles per locus (mean = 6.23) were observed, with the observed and expected heterozygosity at 0.317-1.000 and 0.276-0.838 across all the 44 E . cloeziana germplasms, respectively. Here, we report the genome information of E . cloeziana , and the novel 13 genomic SSR markers that were developed can be used as powerful tools for evaluating genetic diversity and population structure, and thus contribute to molecular breeding studies of E . cloeziana and other eucalypts.

Background: Dengue virus and Japanese encephalitis virus are two common flaviviruses that are spread widely by Aedes and Culex mosquitoes. Livestock keeping is vital for cities; however, it can pose the risk of increasing the mosquito population. Our study explored how livestock keeping in and around a large city is associated with the presence of mosquitoes and the risk of them spreading flaviviruses., Methods: An entomological study was conducted in 6 districts with 233 households with livestock, and 280 households without livestock, in Hanoi city. BG-Sentinel traps and CDC light traps were used to collect mosquitoes close to animal farms and human habitats. Adult mosquitoes were counted, identified to species level, and grouped into 385 pools, which were screened for flaviviruses using a pan-flavivirus qPCR protocol and sequencing., Results: A total of 12,861 adult mosquitoes were collected at the 513 households, with 5 different genera collected, of which the Culex genus was the most abundant. Our study found that there was a positive association between livestock keeping and the size of the mosquito population-most predominantly between pig rearing and Culex species ( p < 0.001). One pool of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus , collected in a peri-urban district, was found to be positive for Japanese encephalitis virus., Conclusions: The risk of flavivirus transmission in urban areas of Hanoi city due to the spread of Culex and Aedes mosquitoes could be facilitated by livestock keeping.

In this study, we investigate the potential of one-dimensional plasmonic grating structures to serve as a platform for, e.g., sensitive refractive index sensing. This is achieved by comparing numerical simulations to experimental results with respect to the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in the mid-infrared region. The samples, silver-coated poly-silicon gratings, cover different grating depths in the range of 50 nm-375 nm. This variation of the depth, at a fixed grating geometry, allows the active tuning of the bandwidth of the SPP resonance according to the requirements of particular applications. The experimental setup employs a tunable quantum cascade laser (QCL) and allows the retrieval of angle-resolved experimental wavelength spectra to characterize the wavelength and angle dependence of the SPP resonance of the specular reflectance. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulations. As a tendency, shallower gratings reveal narrower SPP resonances in reflection. In particular, we report on 2.9 nm full width at half maximum (FWHM) at a wavelength of 4.12 µm and a signal attenuation of 21%. According to a numerical investigation with respect to a change of the refractive index of the dielectric above the grating structure, a spectral shift of 4122nmRIU can be expected, which translates to a figure of merit (FOM) of about 1421 RIU-1. The fabrication of the suggested structures is performed on eight-inch silicon substrates, entirely accomplished within an industrial fabrication environment using standard microfabrication processes. This in turn represents a decisive step towards plasmonic sensor technologies suitable for semiconductor mass-production.

Self-touch is considered important for bodily self-consciousness and self-other distinction and has been reported to improve clinical symptoms of disembodiment. To investigate the link between self-touch and disembodiment in healthy participants, we studied the effect of self-touch versus touch produced by another person (other-touch) on experimentally induced disembodiment. In a mixed reality paradigm, across two experiments, participants could see their own body and surroundings with a controllable visual delay and either stroked their own hand with a paintbrush or were stroked with it by the experimenter. Experiment 1 first assessed the sensitivity to temporal multimodal mismatches and delay-induced changes in the sense of body ownership in three conditions, namely self-touch, other-touch and hidden-self-touch (visually occluding the touching hand). In a second block, we compared phenomenological and physiological (threat response) measures of disembodiment between the self-touch and other-touch conditions. Experiment 2 roughly replicated the first block of Experiment 1 but included a condition in which participants performed the self-touch gesture without touching their hand. Such experiment attempted to control for the potential role of efferent signals. Our results show that increasing visual delay generally enhances the feeling of disembodiment, yet the decrease of body ownership is less pronounced during self-touch. For sensitivity to delay between conditions, however, diverging findings are discussed. This study provides evidence for the importance of self-touch in sustaining a healthy sense of body in the context of disembodiment., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Tigecycline is a last-resort antimicrobial against carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE). However, mobile tigecycline resistance genes, tet (X) and tmexCD-toprJ , have emerged in China and have spread possibly worldwide. Tet(X) family proteins function as tigecycline-inactivating enzymes, and TMexCD-TOprJ complexes function as efflux pumps for tigecycline. Here, to the best of our knowledge we report a CPE isolate harboring both emerging tigecycline resistance factors for the first time. A carbapenem- and tigecycline-resistant Klebsiella aerogenes strain, NUITM-VK5, was isolated from an urban drainage in Vietnam in 2021, and a plasmid, pNUITM-VK5&#95;mdr, cocarrying tet (X) and tmexCD3-toprJ3 along with the carbapenemase gene bla NDM-4 was identified in NUITM-VK5. pNUITM-VK5&#95;mdr was transferred to Escherichia coli by conjugation and simultaneously conferred high-level resistance against multiple antimicrobials, including carbapenems and tigecycline. An efflux pump inhibitor reduced TMexCD3-TOprJ3-mediated tigecycline resistance, suggesting that both tigecycline resistance factors independently and additively contribute to the high-level resistance. The plasmid had the IncX3 and IncC replicons and was estimated to be a hybrid of plasmids with different backbones. Unlike IncX3 plasmids, IncC plasmids are stably maintained in an extremely broad range of bacterial hosts in humans, animals, and the environment. Thus, the future global spread of multidrug resistance plasmids such as pNUITM-VK5&#95;mdr poses a public health crisis. IMPORTANCE Tigecycline is important as a last-resort antimicrobial and effective against antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, such as carbapenem-producing Enterobacterales (CPE), whose infections are difficult to treat with antimicrobials. Since 2019, mobile tigecycline resistance genes, tet (X) and tmexCD-toprJ , and their variants have been reported mainly from China, and it has become important to understand their epidemiological situation and detailed genetic mechanisms. In this study, we identified a bacterial isolate coharboring tet (X) and tmexCD-toprJ on the same plasmid. A Klebsiella aerogenes isolate in Vietnam carried both these tigecycline resistance genes on a transferable plasmid leading to high-level resistance to multiple clinically important antimicrobials, including carbapenem and tigecycline, and could actually transfer the plasmid to other bacteria. The spread of such a multidrug resistance plasmid among bacterial pathogens should be of great concern because there are few antimicrobials to combat bacteria that have acquired the plasmid.

The detection of bovine foamy virus (BFV) in Vietnamese cattle was performed using conventional PCR targeting pol and gag genes. Out of 243 tested samples, ten (4.1%) and eight (3.3%) samples were positive for BFV gag and pol DNA, respectively. The prevalence of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) estimated by detection of proviral DNA using nested PCR targeting env gene was 26.7% (65/243). The results of nucleotide sequence alignment and the phylogenetic analysis suggested that Vietnamese BFV strains showed high homology to isolates belonging to either European or non-European clades. There was no significant correlation between BLV and BFV. This study provides information regarding BFV infection and confirms the existence of two BFV clades among Vietnamese cattle for the first time.

It is critical to quantitatively analyse the developing human fetal brain in order to fully understand neurodevelopment in both normal fetuses and those with congenital disorders. To facilitate this analysis, automatic multi-tissue fetal brain segmentation algorithms are needed, which in turn requires open datasets of segmented fetal brains. Here we introduce a publicly available dataset of 50 manually segmented pathological and non-pathological fetal magnetic resonance brain volume reconstructions across a range of gestational ages (20 to 33 weeks) into 7 different tissue categories (external cerebrospinal fluid, grey matter, white matter, ventricles, cerebellum, deep grey matter, brainstem/spinal cord). In addition, we quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of several automatic multi-tissue segmentation algorithms of the developing human fetal brain. Four research groups participated, submitting a total of 10 algorithms, demonstrating the benefits the dataset for the development of automatic algorithms.

ABCG2 is an ABC membrane protein reverse transport pump, which removes toxic substances such as medicines out of cells. As a result, drug bioavailability is an unexpected change and negatively influences the ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity), leading to multi-drug resistance (MDR). Currently, in spite of promising studies, screening for ABCG2 inhibitors showed modest results. The aim of this study was to search for small molecules that could inhibit the ABCG2 pump. We first used the WISS MODEL automatic server to build up ABCG2 homology protein from 655 amino acids. Pharmacophore models, which were con-structed based on strong ABCG2 inhibitors (IC 50 < 1 μM), consist of two hydrophobic (Hyd) groups, two hydrogen bonding acceptors (Acc2), and an aromatic or conjugated ring (Aro|PiR). Using molecular docking method, 714 substances from the DrugBank and 837 substances from the TCM with potential to inhibit the ABCG2 were obtained. These chemicals maybe favor synthesized or extracted and bioactivity testing.

The main objectives of this study were to model various scenarios of African swine fever (ASF) virus transmission among farms in Vietnam and to evaluate the impact of control strategies using North American Animal Disease Spread Model (NAADSM). A total of 7,882 pig farms in the Red River Delta (RRD) region were obtained from the General Statistics Office, and then, random points corresponding to the number of farms in each province were generated as exact farm locations were not available. A total of 10 models were developed, including movement control scenarios. In addition, we conducted sensitivity analysis to assess the impact of indirect contact transmission probability (TP). Overall, the indirect contact exhibited an important role in transmitting the ASF virus. In order to minimize ASF transmission between farms, we found that movement restriction needed to reach a certain level (approximately between 50% and 75%) and that the restriction had to be applied in a timely manner. This study offers valuable insight into how ASF virus can be transmitted via direct and indirect contact and controlled among farms under the various simulation scenarios. Our results suggest that the enforcement of movement restriction was an effective control measure as soon as the outbreaks were reported. In addition, this study provided evidence that high standards of biosecurity can contribute to the reduction of disease spread., (© 2020 The Authors. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The overexpression of ABCC2/MRP2, an ATP-binding cassette transporter, contributes to multidrug resistance in cancer cells. In this study, a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis on ABCC2 inhibitors has been carried out, aiming to establish a computational prediction model for ABCC2 modulators. Seven classification models and two regression models were built by SONNIA 4.2, and two other regression models were built by MOE 2008.10 based on a data set comprising 372 compounds collected from 16 relevant publications. The CPG-C iABCC2 model for classifying ABCC2 inhibitors has total accuracy of 0.88 and Matthews correlation coefficient MCC = 0.75. The CPG-C iEG model for classifying ABCC2 inhibitors (substrate EG: β-estradiol 17-β-D-glucuronide) has total accuracy of 0.91 and MCC = 0.82. The regression model PLS EG-IC 50 for predicting ABCC2 inhibitors (substrate EG) gave root-mean-square error RMSE = 0.26, Q 2  = 0.73 and [Formula: see text]. The regression model PLS CDCF-IC 50 for predicting ABCC2 inhibitors [substrate CDCF: 5(6)-carboxy-2',7'-dichlorofluorescein] gave RMSE = 0.31, Q 2  = 0.74 and [Formula: see text]. Four 2D-QSAR models were applied to 1661 compounds, with results indicating 369 compounds having the ability to reverse the efflux of both EG and CDCF by ABCC2, 152 among them having IC 50  < 100 µM.

Introduction: Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic pathogen found in swine that may cause systemic infection in humans. S. suis is endemic in Southeast Asia and is the leading cause of adult meningitis in Vietnam. Given Vietnam's increasing centralization of the swine industry, we sought to estimate the prevalence of S. suis on large swine farms in Northern Vietnam., Methods: A cross-sectional, one-health-oriented, surveillance study for S. suis was conducted between October 2019-March 2020. Swine oral, swine worker nasal, and bioaerosol samples were collected from four large-scale swine farms (>500 swine) in three provinces in Northern Vietnam: Lao Cai, Bac Giang, and Quang Ninh. Samples were evaluated for presence of S. suis growth on blood agar plates and confirmed with conventional polymerase chain reaction., Results: The authors found that 4/174 (2.3%, 95% CI: 0.6-5.8%) of swine oral samples and 1/58 (1.7%, 95% CI: 0-9.2%) bioaerosol samples were positive for S. suis by bacterial culture and conventional PCR. S. suis was not detected in any swine worker nasal wash samples. There was no significant relationship between sampling location and month of sample collection with results of swine oral or bioaerosol samples., Conclusion: Compared to previous reports from slaughterhouses in Vietnam, the lower than expected prevalence of S. suis, supports the notion that that recent efforts to centralize Vietnam's pork industry through establishment of large-scale farms with better biosecurity may have been effective in limiting S. suis prevalence on these large farms., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

African swine fever virus is highly contagious, and mortality rates reach up to 100% depending on the host, virus dose, and the transmission routes. The main objective of this study was to develop a network-based simulation model for the farm-level transmission of ASF virus to evaluate the impact of changes in farm connectivity on ASF spread in Vietnam. A hypothetical population of 1,000 pig farms was created and used for the network-based simulation, where each farm represented a node, and the connection between farms represented an edge. The three scenarios modelled in this way (baseline, low, and high) evaluated the impact of connectivity on disease transmission. The median number of infected farms was higher as the connectivity increased (low: 659, baseline: 968 and high: 993). In addition, we evaluated the impact of the culling strategy on the number of infected farms. A total of four scenarios were simulated depending on the timing of culling after a farm was infected. We found that the timing of culling at 16, 12, 8, and 6 weeks had resulted in a reduction of the number of median infected farms by 81.92%, 91.63%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. Finally, our evaluation of the implication of stability of ties between farms indicated that if the farms were to have the same trading partners for at least six months could significantly reduce the median number of infected farms to two (95th percentile: 413) than in the basic model. Our study showed that pig movements among farms had a significant influence on the transmission dynamics of ASF virus. In addition, we found that the either timing of culling, reduction in the number of trading partners each farm had, or decreased mean contact rate during the outbreaks were essential to prevent or stop further outbreaks., Competing Interests: NO authors have competing interests Enter: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

In aquatic environments, assessment of microplastic concentrations is increasing worldwide but environments from developing countries remain under-evaluated. Due to disparities of facilities, financial resources and human resources between countries, protocols of sampling, analysis and observations used in developed countries cannot be fully adapted in developing ones, and required specific adaptations. In Viet Nam, an adapted methodology was developed and commonly adopted by local researchers to implement a microplastic monitoring in sediments and surface waters of 21 environments (rivers, lakes, bays, beaches) of eight cities or provinces. Microplastic concentrations in surface waters varied from 0.35 to 2522 items m-3, with the lowest concentrations recorded in the bays and the highest in the rivers. Fibers dominated over fragments in most environments (from 47% to 97%). The microplastic concentrations were related to the anthropogenic pressure on the environment, pointing out the necessity in a near future to identify the local sources of microplastics., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents a survey dataset on factors influencing farmers' intention to produce organic farming in Hanoi, Vietnam. The survey was designed based on the theoretical integration model of theory of planned behavior (TPB) and norm activation model (NAM) including 7 factors, 33 items inherited from previous studies to collect information of the respondents and 5 other items used to find out the respondent's characteristic include: gender, age, educational qualification, farming experience and farming annual income. Questionnaires were sent directly to farmers at their home or farm in October 2019. 318 valid questionnaires were collected for the study of intentions for organic farming. The dataset was obtained as a reference source for later studies on organic farming development and organic farming production intent/behavior promotion., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships which have, or could be perceived to have, influenced the work reported in this article., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

Inhibition of human pancreatic lipase, a crucial enzyme in dietary fat digestion and absorption, is a potent therapeutic approach for obesity treatment. In this study, human pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity of aurone derivatives was explored by molecular modeling approaches. The target protein was human pancreatic lipase (PDB ID: 1LPB). The 3D structures of 82 published bioactive aurone derivatives were docked successfully into the protein catalytic active site, using AutoDock Vina 1.5.7.rc1. Of them, 62 compounds interacted with the key residues of catalytic trial Ser152-Asp176-His263. The top hit compound ( A14 ), with a docking score of -10.6 kcal⋅mol -1 , was subsequently submitted to molecular dynamics simulations, using GROMACS 2018.01. Molecular dynamics simulation results showed that A14 formed a stable complex with 1LPB protein via hydrogen bonds with important residues in regulating enzyme activity (Ser152 and Phe77). Compound A14 showed high potency for further studies, such as the synthesis, in vitro and in vivo tests for pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and β-secretase (BACE-1) have become attractive therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Flavones are flavonoid derivatives with various bioactive effects, including AChE and BACE-1 inhibition. In the present work, a series of 14 flavone derivatives was synthesized in relatively high yields (35-85%). Six of the synthetic flavones ( B4 , B5 , B6 , B8 , D6 and D7 ) had completely new structures. The AChE and BACE-1 inhibitory activities were tested, giving pIC 50 3.47-4.59 (AChE) and 4.15-5.80 (BACE-1). Three compounds ( B3 , D5 and D6 ) exhibited the highest biological effects on both AChE and BACE-1. A molecular docking investigation was conducted to explain the experimental results. These molecules could be employed for further studies to discover new structures with dual action on both AChE and BACE-1 that could serve as novel therapies for AD.