Growth and quality of hydroponic cultivated spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) affected by the light intensity of red and blue LEDs

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of four light intensities (90, 140, 190 and 240 μmol m-2 s-1) provided by red-blue LED light (spectrum ratio: R660/B450 = 4/1) on the growth and quality of hydroponic cultivated spinach. The results showed that when the light intensity increased, plant height, leaf number, root length, leaf width, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root fresh weight and root dry weight were increased but specific leaf weight and shoot-to-root ratio did not increase. The highest values of growth parameters were observed under 190 μmol m-2 s-1 treatment, while the lowest values were observed under 90 μmol m-2 s-1 treatment. At higher light intensities, K+, oxalic acid and nitrate contents tended to decrease but not Ca2+ content. Meanwhile, the highest values of Fe2+, crude fiber, soluble-solids, total polyphenol and vitamin C contents were observed under 190 μmol m-2 s-1 treatment, but 190 μmol m-2 s-1 treatment showed the lowest organic acid content. Our results indicated that among all experimental lighting treatments, 190 μmol m-2 s-1 light intensity showed the best effect on the growth and quality of hydroponic cultivated spinach

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

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

Potassium dynamics are attenuated in hyperkalemia and a determinant of QT adaptation in exercising hemodialysis patients

Disturbances in plasma potassium concentration (pK) are well known risk factors for the development of cardiac arrhythmia. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effect of hemodialysis on exercise pK dynamics and QT hysteresis, and whether QT hysteresis is associated with the pK decrease following exercise. Twenty-two end-stage renal disease patients exercised on a cycle ergometer with incremental work load before and after hemodialysis. ECG was recorded and pK was measured during exercise and recovery. During exercise, pK increased from 5.1 ± 0.2 to 6.1 ± 0.2 mM (mean ± SE; P &lt; 0.0001) before hemodialysis and from 3.8 ± 0.1 to 5.1 ± 0.1 mM ( P &lt; 0.0001) after hemodialysis. After 2 min of recovery, pK had decreased to 5.0 ± 0.2 mM and 4.1 ± 0.1 mM ( P &lt; 0.0001) before and after hemodialysis, respectively. pK increase during exercise was accentuated after hemodialysis. The pK increase was negatively linearly correlated with pK before exercise (β = −0.21, R2= 0.23, P = 0.001). QT hysteresis was negatively linearly correlated with the decrease in pK during recovery (β = −28 ms/mM, R2= 0.36, P = 0.006). Thus, during recovery, low pK was associated with relatively longer QT interval. In conclusion, new major findings are an accentuated increase in pK during exercise after hemodialysis, an attenuated increase in pK in hyperkalemia, and an association between pK and QT interval adaptation during recovery. The acute pK shift after exercise may modulate QT interval adaptation and trigger cardiac arrhythmias.</jats:p

LC-MS/MS Method for Rapid Quantification of Progesterone in Rabbit Plasma and Its Application in a Pharmacokinetic Study of the Transdermal Formulation

A rapid and effective method using QuEChERS-based sample preparation procedure and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis has been developed and validated to determine progesterone in rabbit plasma. The analyte was extracted from plasma by acetonitrile with phase partitioning by a mixture of magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride. The supernatant was then directly injected into LC-MS/MS in a positive electrospray ionization mode and quantified using progesterone-d9 as the internal standard. The method linearity was in the range from 1 ng/mL (LOQ) to 200 ng/mL. Method recovery was from 86.0% to 103%, and repeatability was lower than 5.5%. The plasma sample was stable for 12 weeks stored at 18 ± 2°C. This method was applied to quantify progesterone in rabbit plasma in a pharmacokinetic study of two transdermal formulations: a reference drug and a eutectic-hydrogel system. The data indicate that the eutectic-hydrogel system’s bioavailability was 1.5 times better than that of the reference drug, and the transdermal system is a potential drug delivery system for progesterone

Reactively Sputtered Sb-GaN Films and its Hetero-Junction Diode: The Exploration of the n-to-p Transition

Sb anion-substituted gallium nitride films were fabricated by radio frequency reactive sputtering with single Sb-containing cermet targets with different Sb contents under Ar/N2 atmosphere. n-type GaN films with electron concentration of (1.40 &plusmn; 0.1) &times; 1017 cm&minus;3 inverted to p-type Sb-GaN with hole concentration of (5.50 &plusmn; 0.3) &times; 1017 cm&minus;3. The bandgap energy of Sb anion-added Sb-GaN films decreased from 3.20 to 2.72 eV with increasing Sb concentration. The formation of p-type Sb-GaN is attributed to the formation of Ga vacancy at higher Sb concentration. The coexistence of Sb at the Ga cation site and N anion site is an interesting and important result, as GaNSb had been well developed for highly mismatched alloys. The hetero-junction with p-type Sb-GaN/n-Si diodes was all formed by radio frequency (RF) reactive sputtering technology. The electrical characteristics of Sb-GaN diode devices were investigated from &minus;20 to 20 V at room temperature (RT)

The Effect of RF Sputtering Conditions on the Physical Characteristics of Deposited GeGaN Thin Film

Ge0.07GaN films were successfully made on Si (100), SiO2/Si (100) substrates by a radio frequency reactive sputtering technique at various deposition conditions listed as a range of 100&ndash;400 &deg;C and 90&ndash;150 W with a single ceramic target containing 7 at % dopant Ge. The results showed that different RF sputtering power and heating temperature conditions affected the structural, electrical and optical properties of the sputtered Ge0.07GaN films. The as-deposited Ge0.07GaN films had an structural polycrystalline. The GeGaN films had a distorted structure under different growth conditions. The deposited-150 W Ge0.07GaN film exhibited the lowest photoenergy of 2.96 eV, the highest electron concentration of 5.50 &times; 1019 cm&minus;3, a carrier conductivity of 35.2 S∙cm&minus;1 and mobility of 4 cm2&middot;V&minus;1∙s&minus;1

Depression, Anxiety and Associated Factors among Frontline Hospital Healthcare Workers in the Fourth Wave of COVID-19: Empirical Findings from Vietnam

(1) Background: This study aims to assess the magnitude of, and factors associated with, depression and anxiety among Vietnamese frontline hospital healthcare workers in the fourth wave of COVID-19; (2) Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was carried out within two weeks, October 2020, at a central COVID-19 treatment hospital. Depression and anxiety were measured with PHQ-9 and GAD-7, respectively. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied to recognize variables related to depression and anxiety, respectively; (3) Results: Among 208 frontline hospital healthcare workers, overall prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and both symptoms of depression and anxiety was 38.94%, 25.48% and 24.04%, respectively, in healthcare workers. In a reduced model after using multivariate stepwise logistic regression, age (OR = 0.9, p = 0.001), marital status (OR = 7.84, p = 0.027), profession (OR = 0.39, p = 0.028), having experienced traumatic stress following a work event (OR = 46.24, p p p p = 0.002), being medical technician (OR: 68.89, p p = 0.014), using pain relief medications (OR: 25.50, p = 0.047), having experienced traumatic stress following a family event (OR: 130.32, p = 0.001), having experienced traumatic stress following a work event (OR: 181.55, p = 0.002), reporting at very high risk for COVID-19 (OR: 29.64, p = 0.011), treating moderate (OR: 6.46, p = 0.038) and severe (OR: 18.96, p = 0.004) COVID-19 patients, and being significantly affected by the community (OR: 6.33, p = 0.003) were increased risk factors for the symptoms of anxiety. Meanwhile, those living with 4–5 people (OR: 0.15, p = 0.011), specializing in infectious disease (OR: 0.13, p = 0.044)/resuscitation and emergency medicine (OR: 0.04, p = 0.046), and having knowledge preparation before participating in COVID-19 (OR: 0.008, p = 0.014) were less associated with the symptoms of anxiety; (4) Conclusions: There was a relatively high prevalence among Vietnamese hospital healthcare workers exhibiting symptoms of depression and anxiety during the ongoing pandemic. Greater attention to training in psychological skills should be suggested for those belonging to a younger age group, being single/widowed/divorced, treating moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, feeling at very high risk for COVID-19, being significantly affected a lot the community or workplace conditions, or experiencing traumatic stress following a family/work event in the past week

Associated Factors with Perceived Fear of COVID-19 among Vietnamese Hospital Healthcare Workers during Fourth Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Implications for Interconnected and Social- and Personal-Based Health Support

(1) Background: The present study measures the fear of COVID-19 among hospital healthcare workers and identifies several factors associated with increasing fear of COVID-19. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional, hospital-based survey was conducted on healthcare workforce recruited from the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases from 1 October 2021 and 20 October 2021. We selected the participants who have been directly involved in diagnosing, treating, or providing nursing care to patients with COVID-19. The primary data was collected via sending the invitation directly to the participants, utilizing structured self-completed questionnaires. The seven-item fear of COVID-19 scale was used to measure the data. The responses of 208 hospital healthcare workers were included in the final analysis. (3) Results: Total score of COVID-19 fear was 19.62 (SD = 5.22). The COVID-19 fear score of 7 items ranged from 2.38 (SD = 0.83) to 3.21 (SD = 0.96). The lowest and highest scores were the item &lsquo;My hands become clammy when I think about Corona&rsquo; and the item &lsquo;I am most afraid of corona&rsquo; was the highest, respectively. Linear regression of the COVID-19 fear showed that the factors positively correlated with the fear of COVID-19 among hospital healthcare workers were: being influenced by the community (p = 0.001), feeling at very high risk of COVID-19 (p = 0.03), and experiencing traumatic stress with an academic event (p = 0.042). (4) Conclusions: Although these findings merit further elaboration, these preliminary findings suggest relatively great fear of the COVID-19 pandemic among Vietnamese hospital healthcare workers and that social and personal connections are necessary for maintaining the mental wellbeing