Preliminary establishment of a multiplex PCR method for the identification of pork and beef meat based on cytochrome-B Gene

Molecular species detection in food has become common in the last years. In this study, multiplex PCR (mPCR) technique was applied to discriminate between the pork and beef with the aim of detecting the pork in food products made from beef. We developed a m-PCR protocol detected the presence of pork in food products made from beef based on Cytochrome-b gene by a general primer pair F and primer pair (RP, RC), specific two private with pig and cow. The m-PCR method was successfully designed with technical parameters, such as the annealing temperature of 590C and the final concentration of each primer in a reaction of 0,4µM. The minimum DNA concentration of pig and cow could be detected by m-PCR, which was 0,1ng/µl. This process was tested on 24 different beef sausage samples tagged no pork, resulting in 11/24 (46%) of samples, were found the presence of pork and 54% (13/24) of samples no beef and pork. According to this sequencing result that are completely accordant, we affirm primer-specific amplification in this study can be applied to experiment on large number of sample and the ton other types food made from beef

Can a Short Food Supply Chain Create Sustainable Benefits for Small Farmers in Developing Countries? An Exploratory Study of Vietnam

A number of studies have indicated that short food supply chains could create economic, social, and environmental benefits, but most of those chains were implemented in developed countries. This research aims to find out the characteristics of short food supply chains and their benefits to small farmers in Vietnam, which is a developing country, based on the survey results from 338 small farmers in the third quarter of 2020, with the support of Stata 14 software. The results showed that the short food supply chains in the survey sample in Vietnam were characterized by two main actors: small farmers and distributors. Farmers could sell products flexibly at the local market. There was some initial evidence to prove that these chains helped to stabilize the input, output price, and revenue; formulated sustainable income; and increased the satisfaction and confidence of farmers. They eliminated gender discrimination in rural areas and improved livelihood for ethnic minorities. These chains also enhanced the mindset on green, organic, and clean production of farmers, which in turn created environmental benefits. COVID-19 has posed a negative impact on the income of farmers and made them change their production and sales method. Therefore, the research could suggest some policies to sustainably develop the short food supply chains in Vietnam in the future

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

Synthesis, bioevaluation and docking study of 5-substitutedphenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole-based hydroxamic acids as histone deacetylase inhibitors and antitumor agents

Since the first histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor (Zolinza (R), widely known as suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid; SAHA) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of T-cell lymphoma in 2006, the search for newer HDAC inhibitors has attracted a great deal of interest of medicinal chemists worldwide. As a continuity of our ongoing research in this area, we designed and synthesized a series of 5-substitutedphenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole-based hydroxamic acids as analogues of SAHA and evaluated their biological activities. A number of compounds in this series, for example, N-1-hydroxy-N (8)-(5-(2-chlorophenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)octandiamide (5b), N-1-hydroxy-N-8-(5-(3-chlorophenyl-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)octandiamide (5c) and N-1-hydroxy-N-8-(5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)octandiamide (5d), were found to possess potent anticancer cytotoxicity and HDAC inhibition effects. Compounds 5b-d were generally two-to five-fold more potent in terms of cytotoxicity compared to SAHA against five cancer cell lines tested. Docking studies revealed that these hydroxamic acid displayed higher affinities than SAHA toward HDAC8.Y

Wound-healing potential of topical application of preparations from Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) leaf extract

255-269Developing products derived from medicinal herbs with wound-healing effects has been a current trend. This study was set up to observe the wound healing efficiency of herbal preparations formulated from M. citrifolia leaf extract on mice. The wound healing activity of cream, ointment, and powder preparations containing Noni leaf extract of 1% and 5% (w/w) was investigated on the excision wound model. The potential preparation was continuously evaluated for rabbit skin irritation, antioxidant activity, total flavonoid, and rutin contents. Results revealed that the topical application of Noni leaf extract preparations treated groups increased remarkably wound contraction during 11 days of treatment. A cream containing 1% extract not only had the ability to significantly reduce the size of the wound but also regenerated the structure of the skin histology at the wound area. Moreover, the cream showed safety following an acute dermal irritation study on rabbits as well as an antioxidant effect via inhibition of DPPH and ABTS free radicals. The present study also identified the content of total flavonoids and rutin markers in the cream. This research affirms the topical application of the cream containing M. citrifolia leaf extract as a known wound healing factor from traditional medicine

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel N'-substituted-1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-1H-indol-3-carbohydrazides as antitumor agents

In continuity of our search for novel anticancer agents acting as procaspase activators, we have designed and synthesised two series of (E)-N′-benzylidene-carbohydrazides (4a–m) and (Z)-N'-(2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)carbohydrazides (5a–g) incorporating 1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-1H-indole core. Bioevaluation showed that the compounds, especially compounds in series 4a–m, exhibited potent cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines (SW620, colon cancer; PC-3, prostate cancer; NCI-H23, lung cancer). Within series 4a–m, compounds with 2-OH substituent (4g–i) exhibited very strong cytotoxicity in three human cancer cell lines assayed with IC50 values in the range of 0.56–0.83 µM. In particular, two compounds 4d and 4f bearing 4-Cl and 4-NO2 substituents, respectively, were the most potent in term of cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 0.011–0.001 µM. In caspase activation assay, compounds 4b and 4f were found to activate caspase activity by 314.3 and 270.7% relative to PAC-1. This investigation has demonstrated the potential of these simple acetohydrazides, especially compounds 4b, 4d, and 4f, as anticancer agents

Ho chicken breed: Morpho-biometric characteristics and Economic efficiency of production

peer reviewedIn order to evaluate the economic efficiency and production status of Ho chicken, this survey was carried out on 34 households raising Ho chickens in Thuan Thanh district, Bac Ninh province, from December 2012 to April 2013. Morpho-biometric characteristics were measured on 181 individuals (46 cocks and 135 hens) according to FAO standards. The results show that Ho chicken herd size is very limited, with 30.78 chickens per household. Average age at the first laying is rather late (7.42 months) with 11.97 eggs in a laying cycle and 76.32% of hatchability rate. These numbers are low because Ho chickens are heavy and clumsy, and therefore could easily step on and break their eggs. The body weight of a cock is 3.79 kg at 9 months while the hen weight is 2.63kg at 12 months. The body length, neck length, back length, thigh length of cock are significantly higher than those of hens (P<0.05). Production of these chickens does not require much initial investment costs. In these costs, buy breed and chicken housing are the most important in the fixed costs. The average annual expense to operate Ho chicken production reaches 12.16 million VND (565.58 USD) while the average annual revenue is 30.85 million VND (1443 USD)