Interaction between the Triglyceride Lipase ATGL and the Arf1 Activator GBF1

The Arf1 exchange factor GBF1 (Golgi Brefeldin A resistance factor 1) and its effector COPI are required for delivery of ATGL (adipose triglyceride lipase) to lipid droplets (LDs). Using yeast two hybrid, co-immunoprecipitation in mammalian cells and direct protein binding approaches, we report here that GBF1 and ATGL interact directly and in cells, through multiple contact sites on each protein. The C-terminal region of ATGL interacts with N-terminal domains of GBF1, including the catalytic Sec7 domain, but not with full-length GBF1 or its entire N-terminus. The N-terminal lipase domain of ATGL (called the patatin domain) interacts with two C-terminal domains of GBF1, HDS (Homology downstream of Sec7) 1 and HDS2. These two domains of GBF1 localize to lipid droplets when expressed alone in cells, but not to the Golgi, unlike the full-length GBF1 protein, which localizes to both. We suggest that interaction of GBF1 with ATGL may be involved in the membrane trafficking pathway mediated by GBF1, Arf1 and COPI that contributes to the localization of ATGL to lipid droplets

Factors affecting the creativity of high school students

Creativity is a vital personality quality of each individual. Each person has their potential for creativity, and it can be nurtured and developed in an appropriate and safe environment. The purpose of the study was to find out which factors from schools and students themselves affect creativity as well as the association between creativity and age, gender and giftedness of students, which then a basis to adjust and establish appropriate methods from schools, families, and students themselves to develop elements and their creativity. The study was conducted on 108 high school students in three grades from giftedness and non-giftedness schools. The data was collected through a survey method using a self-constructed questionnaire and drawing creativity test TCT-DP to determine students' creativity levels and personal information. The study's finding, which uses mathematical methods and one-way analysis of variance, reveals that factors affecting elements and creativity level are objective factors including education environment from school; behavior of teachers, and subjective factors including interests, perspectives, and thoughts of students. It was also found that there were no significant differences in the components of creativity and creativity among students in different grades, gender, and groups of giftedness schools

Straw Management Adoption Capacity in Long An Province

The study aims to evaluate the straw management adoption capacity in Long An province. Key informant interview (KII) with district-level DARD officials in Long An province were conducted to determine the straw management adoption capacity in Winter-Spring, Summer-Autumn, and Autumn-Winter season

Straw Management Adoption Capacity in Dong Thap Province

The study aimed to evaluate the straw management adoption capacity in Dong Thap province. Key informant interview (KII) with district-level DARD officials in Dong Thap province were conducted to determine the straw management adoption capacity in Winter-Spring, Summer-Autumn, and Autumn-Winter season

Successful Psoriasis Treatment Using NB-UVB with Methotrexate: The Vietnamese Experience

AIM: To compare the effectiveness of narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) and oral methotrexate (MTX) to oral MTX alone in Vietnamese psoriasis patients, from May 2016 to May 2018. METHODS: We conducted a non-randomized trial on 70 patients with plaque-type psoriasis of moderate to severe. Thirty-five patients apply NBUVB once/day in 5 days/week for 4 weeks plus oral MTX 7.5 mg/week and 35 patients oral MTX 7.5 mg/week and both two groups treatment for 3 months. The extent of the lesion was assessed by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI). RESULTS: The proportion of decreasing PASI was comparable (68.49% in NBUVB and MTX versus 57.62% in MTX alone); p < 0.05. Inside, good 28.58%, moderate 68.57% and poor 2.85% in NBUVB and MTX better than good 2.85%, moderate 71.4% and poor 25.72% in MTX alone; p < 0.05. The recurrence rate after 24 months of the NBUVB and MTX group (42.9%) was lower than the MTX alone group (71.4%); p < 0.05. CONCLUSION: NBUVB and oral MTX have affected treatment with chronic plaque psoriasis better than oral MTX alone

Awareness and preparedness of healthcare workers against the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey across 57 countries.

BACKGROUND: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave. METHODS: This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training. RESULTS: We surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0-14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6-32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (p<0.001). Association rule mining suggests that nurses and doctors who had a 'great-extent-of-confidence' in handling suspected COVID-19 patients had participated in COVID-19 training courses. Male participants (mean difference = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.46; p<0.001) and nurses (mean difference = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.81; p<0.001) had higher preparedness scores compared to women participants and doctors. INTERPRETATION: There was an unsurprising high level of awareness and preparedness among HCWs who participated in COVID-19 training courses. However, disparity existed along the lines of gender and type of HCW. It is unknown whether the difference in COVID-19 preparedness that we detected early in the pandemic may have translated into disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 burden of disease by gender or HCW type

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Analyse de l'évolution phylétique de crustacés, décapodes et de l'évolution moléculaire des éléments mobiles de la famille marinier présents chez ces organismes

Les éléments mobiles encore appelés éléments transposables sont des séquences d ADN capables de se déplacer dans le génome qui les héberge. Du fait de leur mobilité, ils sont en grande partie responsables de la plasticité et de l évolution des génomes. Les transposons de type mariner (MLEs) sont de petits éléments mobiles de 1300 pb. Au cours de nos travaux, nous nous sommes intéressés à la caractérisation de transposons de type mariner chez des crustacées marins littoraux. Parmi les 25 espèces étudiées, 11 proviennent du littoral vietnamien et 14 du littoral français. La mise en oeuvre des techniques de PCR a permis de caractériser 97 séquences de type MLEs présentes chez 18 espèces. La phylogénie moléculaire des MLEs a été également étudiée. Un certain nombre de MLEs obtenus forment une nouvelle sous-famille à l intérieur de la famille mariner. Un des problèmes fondamentaux concernant les éléments mobiles est la nature de leur transfert d une espèce à une autre. Deux modes de transmission (horizontale et verticale) non exclusifs ont été proposés. Afin d apporter des éléments de réponse à cette question, nous avons établi à l'aide de l'information de marqueurs ribosomaux (18S, 16S) la phylogénie des crabes analysés au cours de nos recherches sur les éléments mobiles. Cette étude a permis de déterminer les relations phylétiques existantes entre diverses familles analysées. L'étude des Portunidés a particulièrement été développée car cette famille présent un intérêt économique important pour le Vietnam. Les arbres phylétiques obtenus à partir de l'information des MLEs et des marqueurs classiques ont été comparés. Ces arbres phylétiques présentent des divergences considérables. Le transfert horizontal, défini comme la transmission d un gène d une espèce à une autre par l intermédiaire d un vecteur est fréquemment évoquée pour expliquer les différences entre les arbres phylogénétiques calculés à l aide des éléments transposables et ceux établis à partir de marqueurs de phylogénie.Mobile elements or transposon are DNA sequences being able to transpose in the genome that contains them. Thank to their mobility, they are almost responsible of the genome plasticity and evolution. Mariner (MLEs) transposons are small mobile elements of about 1300 bp. We have been interested in characterizing mariner transposons in marine littoral crustaceans. Thus, 11 littoral Vietnamese and 14 littoral French species were studied. The implementation of PCR techniques allowed characterization of 97 sequences of type MLEs in 18 species. MLEs molecular phylogeny was also studied. A certain number of obtained MLEs constitute a new sub-family within the family mariner. One of the fundamental issues concerning mobile elements is their transfer nature from a species to another. Two modes of no exclusive transmission (horizontal and vertical) were proposed. To response to this question, we established phylogeny of crabs that had been analyzed for the MLEs, using ribosomal markers (18S, 16S). This study allowed us to determine the existing phyletic relationships between diverse analyzed families. We particularly developed study on Portunidae as this family presents an important economic interest for Vietnam. Phyletic trees that were built from MLEs information and classical markers were compared. These phyletic trees show considerable divergences. Horizontal transfer, defined as gene transmission from a species to another through a vector, was frequently used to explain the differences between phylogenetic trees established from transposable elements and those from phylogeny markers.LE MANS-BU Sciences (721812109) / SudocSudocFranceF

Willingness to pay for improved urban domestic water supply system: The case of Hanoi, Vietnam

Access to a reliable and safe domestic water supply is a serious challenge for manydeveloping countries worldwide. In the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi, the municipal government is facing a number of difficulties in providing sufficient water in a sustainable manner due to the increasing urban population and the serious pollution of both surface and groundwater resources, but this is also due to a lack of resources to invest in the supply system. This study aimed to investigate water users’ willingness to pay for the improvement of Hanoi’s domestic water supplysystem. A contingent valuation process based on a survey of 402 respondents was used to explore citizens’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the improvement of their urban water supply. The results show that Hanoi’s urban communities (more than 90%) were generally satisfied with the quantity of their water supply, but tended to be dissatisfied with its quality, with 80% of the respondents using advanced water purifiers before drinking and cooking. Respondents were also concerned about theoverall reliability of the service, with 40% of respondents indicating that they received no check and maintenance service. A WTP regression model was developed based on the survey findings. The average WTP is 281,000 dong/household/month (approximately 12.2 USD at the exchange rate of 1 USD to about 23,000 VND), equivalent to 1.4% of the average household income at the end of 2019, indicating the level of affordability of monthly water payments among Hanoi citizens.<br/