Precision-cut tissue slices: a novel ex vivo model for fibrosis research

Pathological scar formation, i.e. fibrosis, is characterized by a disproportionate production and deposition of extracellular matrix proteins in tissues resulting in loss of organ function. Fibrotic diseases account for up to 45% of worldwide mortality, yet there are no effective antifibrotic therapies currently available. To improve and accelerate antifibrotic drug discovery, there is an urgent need for reliable and reproducible (human) in vitro methods that reflect the cellular diversity that epitomize specific organs. This thesis delineates the successful development of a novel ex vivo/in vitro model for intestinal and renal fibrosis, namely precision-cut intestinal slices (PCIS) and precision-cut kidney slices (PCKS) prepared from murine, rat and human tissue. Our results demonstrated that the slices remain viable during culture and maintain their organ-specific phenotype. Moreover, in both PCIS and PCKS we observed that fibrosis could be induced by either culture activation or treatment with a profibrotic stimulus. Based on these findings, both models were subsequently used to evaluate the efficacy of various putative antifibrotic drugs. Using PCIS, we demonstrated that pirfenidone, LY2109761 and sunitinib could mitigate fibrogenesis on a gene level, warranting further evaluation of these compounds for the treatment of intestinal fibrosis. In addition, we demonstrated that IFNγ could be used to halt renal fibrogenesis. Furthermore, studies with precision-cut liver and intestinal slices revealed that rosmarinic acid elicited organ- and species-specific effects, illustrating the pressing need for good translational models for drug discovery. Taken together, this thesis delineates that precision-cut tissue slices can be used to unravel fibrosis and evaluate the antifibrotic potential of therapeutics

Assessment of impacts of utilization on water resources in the basin of trans-boundary Red river system

The Red river system is the large trans-boundary river system, there has been no united system of hydrology stations as well as integrated plan for the water use and management in the whole basin. The trend of water resources change in the Red river system basin has been assessed on the basic of statistic analyses of data observed during the studies, especially in the time when the exploitation of water resources has been intensified for the multisectoral development. This paper shows some of the results from considerations of the water use in the highlands that is influential in water resources in the Red river system basin and the planned reservoirs which are built in the basin of Red river system. The results include the assessment of the state and trend of water resources in the Red river system basin, the trend of water level lowering in the lowlands and its impacts

Murine Precision-cut Intestinal Slices as a Potential Screening Tool for Antifibrotic Drugs

BACKGROUND: Intestinal fibrosis is a hallmark of Crohn's disease. Here, we investigated the impact of several putative antifibrotic compounds on the expression of fibrosis markers using murine precision-cut intestinal slices. METHODS: Murine precision-cut intestinal slices were cultured for 48 hours in the presence of profibrotic and/or antifibrotic compounds. The fibrotic process was studied on gene and protein level using procollagen 1a1 (Col1α1), heat shock protein 47 (Hsp47), fibronectin (Fn2), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (Pai-1). The effects of potential antifibrotic drugs mainly inhibiting the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) pathway (eg, valproic acid, tetrandrine, pirfenidone, SB203580, and LY2109761) and compounds mainly acting on the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) pathway (eg, imatinib, sorafenib, and sunitinib) were assessed in the model at nontoxic concentrations. RESULTS: Murine precision-cut intestinal slices remained viable for 48 hours, and an increased expression of fibrosis markers was observed during culture, including Hsp47, Fn2, and Pai-1. Furthermore, TGF-β1 stimulated fibrogenesis, whereas PDGF did not have an effect. Regarding the tested antifibrotics, pirfenidone, LY2109761, and sunitinib had the most pronounced impact on the expression of fibrosis markers, both in the absence and presence of profibrotic factors, as illustrated by reduced levels of Col1α1, Hsp47, Fn2, and Pai-1 after treatment. Moreover, sunitinib significantly reduced Hsp47 and Fn2 protein expression and the excretion of procollagen 1. CONCLUSIONS: Precision-cut intestinal slices can successfully be used as a potential preclinical screening tool for antifibrotic drugs. We demonstrated that sunitinib reduced the expression of several fibrosis markers, warranting further evaluation of this compound for the treatment of intestinal fibrosis

Study on spatial distribution of coral reefs in Nam Yet island by using GIS and remote sensing techniques

Research and application of GIS and remote sensing techniques combined with field survey in coastal areas of Nam Yet island had been carried out to establish the distribution map of submarine habitats. Depth-invariant index was used to correct water column’s effects on spectral reflectance of each habitat. The results of satellite image classification showed that area with well-developed coral at great depths accounted for 12%, area with well-developed coral at small depths accounted for 9%, area with poorly-developed coral accounted for 13%, dead coral area accounted for 15% and area of sand, grit, pebbles and weathered coral accounted for 51%. The assessment after classification showed that the overall accuracy of the satellite image interpretation process was 94% and the kappa coefficient was 0.93

HỢP TÁC VIỆT - NGA TRONG CHẾ TẠO VÀ THỬ NGHIỆM MÁY THĂM DÒ ĐIỆN TỔ HỢP TEC-2 PHỤC VỤ KHẢO SÁT MÔI TRƯỜNG ĐỊA CHẤT TẦNG NÔNG

The geophysical investigation system named TEC-2 (Tomography Electric Complex-2) was designed, installed and tested in Institute of Marine Geology and Geophysics. This TEC-2 is the scientific cooperation product of Geomagnetic and Geoelectric Department of and POI and Geo - environmental Department of IMGG-VAST. The test results using TEC-2 show the capability of investigating by using certain pole system, short investigation time, high stability, the accuracy of two investigation times being more than 92%. The distributed design of electric poles, measuring operation, parameter selection, … are programmed and controlled automatically by computer. The TEC-2 system was used for investigating the weak structures in islands of Song Tu Tay, Son Ca, Nam Yet and Sinh Ton in Truong Sa Archipelagos and shallow geological environment in the area of Red River bank in Son Tay Hanoi. The acquired data  contributed to the success of the scientific projects managed by IMGG in the National Program of Bien Dong and islands in the period of 2011 - 2013 and VAST’s research project in the period of 2013 - 2014.Máy đo điện tổ hợp TEC-2 (Tomography Electric Complex-2)  được thiết kế, lắp ráp và thử nghiệm tại Viện Địa chất và Địa vật lý biển là sản phẩm hợp tác khoa học giữa phòng Địa từ điện của Viện Hàn lâm Khoa học Nga chi nhánh Viễn Đông (POI) và phòng Địa môi trường thuộc Viện Địa chất và Địa vật lý biển (IMGG). Kết quả đo thử nghiệm máy TEC-2 cho thấy khả năng đo tổ hợp nhiều phương pháp trên hệ điện cực bố trí sẵn, thời gian đo nhanh, độ ổn định của kết quả đo cao, độ chính xác giữa hai lần đo đạt trên 92%. Các thiết kế hệ điện cực, thao tác đo, chọn tham số được lập trình và điều khiển tự động bằng máy tính. Máy TEC-2 đã được sử dụng để nghiên cứu các đới cấu trúc yếu thuộc các đảo san hô Song Tử Tây, Cơn Ca, Nam Yết và Sinh Tồn thuộc quần đảo Trường Sa và môi trường địa chất tầng nông khu vực ven bờ Sông Hồng khu vực Sơn Tây Hà Nội. Các kết quả thu thập được đã đóng góp một phần quan trọng cho sự thành công của đề tài nghiên cứu do Viện Địa chất và Địa Vật lý biển chủ trì thuộc Chương trình Biển Đông và Hải đảo giai đoạn 2011 - 2013 và đề tài cấp Viện Hàn lâm Khoa học và Công nghệ Việt Nam giai đoạn 2013 - 2014

An update and reassessment of vascular plant species richness and distribution in Bach Ma National Park, Central Vietnam

Bach Ma National Park (BMNP) is recognized as an essential biodiversity hotspot in Vietnam because of its diverse topography, high species richness and threatened and endemic species. This study updates the richness and distribution of vascular plant species in the BMNP by intergrading data from literature, field surveys, key-informant interviews and participatory observations. Our results showed that the park has a high diversity of vascular plants with 1,874 species belonging to 192 families, 6 phylums including Psilotophyta, Lycopodiophyta, Equisetophyta, Polypodiophyta, Pinophyta, and Magnoliophyta. It also indicates that 199 out of 1,874 vascular species in the BMNP are listed as endangered, precious and rare plant species of Vietnam. In particular, 55 species are part of the IUCN 2020 list, in which 9 are critically endangered species (CR), 15 are endangered species (EN), and 31 are vulnerable species (VU). According to the rankings of the Red List Vietnam (2007), 6 species of CR (accounting for 13.64% compared with the whole country), 36 species of EN (20%), and 52 species of VU (26%) were found in this area. The results provided that vascular plant species are distributed into 2 types based on high altitude (threshold at 900m), but there are no dominant communities. The findings may be essential information for foresters and biologists to recognize and use it as the newest update for their next scientific research in conservation and resource management.Vườn Quốc gia (VQG) Bạch Mã được xem là một điểm nóng đa dạng sinh học quan trọng ở Việt Nam vì địa hình đa dạng, độ phong phú loài cao, đặc biệt là các loài đặc hữu và nguy cấp. Trong nghiên cứu này, chúng tôi đã cập nhật sự phong phú và phân bố của các loài thực vật bậc cao tại VQG Bạch Mã bằng cách kết hợp dữ liệu từ tổng quan tài liệu, khảo sát thực địa, phỏng vấn người am hiểu và điều tra có sự tham gia. Kết quả cho thấy VQG có hệ thực vật bậc cao phong phú với 1.874 loài, thuộc 192 họ, 6 ngành bao gồm Psilotophyta, Lycopodiophyta, Equisetophyta, Polypodiophyta, Pinophyta, Magnoliophyta. Kết quả chỉ ra rằng 199 trong số 1.874 loài thực vật bậc cao tại VQG này được xếp vào danh sách các loài nguy cấp của Việt Nam. Đặc biệt, có 55 loài thuộc danh mục của IUCN năm 2020, trong đó có 9 loài Cực kỳ nguy cấp (CR), 15 loài Nguy cấp (EN) và 31 loài Sẽ nguy cấp (VU). Trong khi đó, theo xếp hạng của Sách Đỏ Việt Nam (2007), nghiên cứu cho thấy có 6 loài CR (chiếm 13,64% so với cả nước), 36 loài EN (20%) và 52 loài VU (26%). Phát hiện của chúng tôi cũng chỉ ra rằng đặc điểm phân bố của các loài thực vật bậc cao ở VQG Bạch Mã gồm 2 kiểu rừng dựa trên độ cao (mức 900m), nhưng không có quần xã nào chiếm ưu thế. Các kết quả này được kỳ vọng sẽ là nguồn thông tin cần thiết cho các nhà hoạt động lâm nghiệp và sinh vật học sử dụng nó như một bản cập nhật mới nhất cho các nghiên cứu khoa học tiếp theo trong bảo tồn và quản lý tài nguyên

Application of satellite images and VNREDSAT-1 images in study on marine environment in Truong Sa region

The remote sensing images, including images of MODIS, VNREDSAT-1 and altimeter, are applied for researching marine environment with the different resolutions. On the basis of different time remote sensing images, we concentrated on the assessment of several characteristics including the SST, chlorophyll-a concentration and sea surface current at the different depths in different monsoons as well. With the large areas, we used the images of MODIS and altimeter. The detailed research area focuses on the Nam Yet island, and the images of VNREDSAT-1 are used. The analysis method of environmental parameters of SST and chlorophyll-a used the regression functions based on the single and combined bands to enhance the accuracy of the analysis result. The marine parameters collected at different depths in the latest field surveys on Truong Sa archipelago in the years of 2015 and 2018 are presented in this paper. On the basis of these parameters, we can analyse the relationships and compare the real field survey data and corresponding results interpreted from remote sensing images

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions