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

Diet Quality Index and food choice motives in Vietnam: The roles of sensory appeal, mood, convenience, and familiarity

Food choices that shape human diets and health are influenced by various socio-economic factors. Vietnam struggles to meet many nutrition targets where links between food choice and diet have not been widely explored. This study assesses the food choice motives, based on a 28-item food choice questionnaire (FCQ), and the diet quality of 603 adults in three sites (urban, peri-urban, and rural) in northern Vietnam. We assess diet quality using the Diet Quality Index–Vietnam (DQI-V) which consists of variety, adequacy, moderation, and balance components. Using factor analysis, we grouped FCQ items into five factors: health focus, sensory appeal, mood ethics, convenience, and familiarity. The structural equation modeling indicates that food choice motives significantly impact the DQI-V and its components but in different directions. The results show that sensory appeal has a positive association with the overall DQI-V score, while having a negative impact on the variety component. Findings present a potential trade-off issue for interventions and policies related to food products. Nutrition knowledge is positively associated with all elements of diet quality across all three study sites. Vietnamese agrobiodiversity could be better utilized to increase dietary diversity. Differentiated policies are necessary to address the poor dietary diversity and adequacy in northern Vietnam

Study protocol: Early neurological deterioration in patients with minor stroke, frequency, predictors, and outcomes in Vietnam single-centre study

Early neurological deterioration (END) is progressive neurological deterioration with an increase in NIHSS score of 2 points or more in the first 72 hours from the onset of acute ischemic stroke. END increases the risk of poor clinical outcomes at day 90 of ischemic stroke. We will study the frequency, predictors, and outcomes of patients with END in a case-control study at a comprehensive stroke centre in Vietnam. of the design is a descriptive observational study, longitudinal follow-up of patients with minor stroke hospitalized at the Stroke Center of Bach Mai Hospital from December 1, 2023, to December 1, 2024. Minor stroke patients characterized by NIHSS score ≤ 5 hospitalized within 24 hours of symptom onset will be recruited. The estimated END rate is about 30%, relative accuracy ε = 0.11, 95% reliability, expected 5% of patients lost data or follow-up, and an estimated sample size of 779 patients. This study will help determine the END rate in patients with minor stroke and related factors, thereby building a prognostic model for END. Our study determined the END rate in patients with minor stroke in Vietnam and also proposed risk factors for minor stroke management and treatment

Assessing decentralised policy implementation in Vietnam : The case of land recovery and resettlement in the Vung Ang Economic Zone

From 2006 plans were implemented to create a deep-sea water port linked to an Economic Zone in the coastal Province of Ha Tinh, located in north central Vietnam. The multi-purpose Zone entitled ‘Vung Ang’, was to attract foreign investors, while the port would provide a link to nearby Laos and Thailand. The project obviously had large implications for the administrations at various levels of governance from Hanoi to the coastal communes and villages, but even more serious impacts on the people living in the affected areas. A large area of about 23,000 hectares was to be cleared, affecting the people of 9 communes, in some of which all inhabitants had to leave their houses and homesteads, to be relocated to completely new settlements about 10 miles inland. These tightly knit communities were not too happy with the prospect to leave their homes and land, the burial places of their ancestors, and the long term comforts of community support networks. While initial decision making process started at the highest levels of Vietnam Governance, the implementation of port and industrial park construction and the related relocation policy was delegated to Ha Tinh province, which is consistent with current decentralisation policies in Vietnam. Actual implementation was carried out by the affected District and Commune level officials – with support from the Communist Party led Mass Organisations – who were in charge of the planning and implementation of the relocation process. This entailed a complex and sensitive series of steps to inform affected households, prepare relocation areas and allocate compensation and alternative housing. This paper describes the implementation dynamics of relocation by depicting and assessing the roles of all stakeholders involved, including the impacts - for better or for worse – of the relocated households. It brings out the way local authorities dealt with affected people, including efforts linked to the ideal of grass-roots democracy. Key areas of contestation are uncovered, such as inadequate infrastructure and low compensation rates. The paper has a second objective to assess the degree to which decentralisation in Vietnam has been actually implemented, and how this affects policy making processes such as the Vung Ang port/industrial zone project. The paper concludes that the relocation policy was implemented in a fairly efficient and harmonious way – with a very intensive engagement of the entire provincial administrative machinery, but that it is too early to assess the livelihood opportunities of the relocated households

Ventilator-associated respiratory infection in a resource-restricted setting: impact and etiology.

BACKGROUND: Ventilator-associated respiratory infection (VARI) is a significant problem in resource-restricted intensive care units (ICUs), but differences in casemix and etiology means VARI in resource-restricted ICUs may be different from that found in resource-rich units. Data from these settings are vital to plan preventative interventions and assess their cost-effectiveness, but few are available. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study in four Vietnamese ICUs to assess the incidence and impact of VARI. Patients ≥ 16 years old and expected to be mechanically ventilated > 48 h were enrolled in the study and followed daily for 28 days following ICU admission. RESULTS: Four hundred fifty eligible patients were enrolled over 24 months, and after exclusions, 374 patients' data were analyzed. A total of 92/374 cases of VARI (21.7/1000 ventilator days) were diagnosed; 37 (9.9%) of these met ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) criteria (8.7/1000 ventilator days). Patients with any VARI, VAP, or VARI without VAP experienced increased hospital and ICU stay, ICU cost, and antibiotic use (p < 0.01 for all). This was also true for all VARI (p < 0.01 for all) with/without tetanus. There was no increased risk of in-hospital death in patients with VARI compared to those without (VAP HR 1.58, 95% CI 0.75-3.33, p = 0.23; VARI without VAP HR 0.40, 95% CI 0.14-1.17, p = 0.09). In patients with positive endotracheal aspirate cultures, most VARI was caused by Gram-negative organisms; the most frequent were Acinetobacter baumannii (32/73, 43.8%) Klebsiella pneumoniae (26/73, 35.6%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (24/73, 32.9%). 40/68 (58.8%) patients with positive cultures for these had carbapenem-resistant isolates. Patients with carbapenem-resistant VARI had significantly greater ICU costs than patients with carbapenem-susceptible isolates (6053 USD (IQR 3806-7824) vs 3131 USD (IQR 2108-7551), p = 0.04) and after correction for adequacy of initial antibiotics and APACHE II score, showed a trend towards increased risk of in-hospital death (HR 2.82, 95% CI 0.75-6.75, p = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: VARI in a resource-restricted setting has limited impact on mortality, but shows significant association with increased patient costs, length of stay, and antibiotic use, particularly when caused by carbapenem-resistant bacteria. Evidence-based interventions to reduce VARI in these settings are urgently needed

ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA MỘT SỐ CHẤT TẠO BÔNG ĐẾN HIỆU SUẤT KẾT BÔNG CỦA TẢO SILIC Skeletonema costatum

Microalgae cultivation is an indispensable step in aquaculture hatcheries to create a feed source for larval and juvenile aqua-animal species. One of the problems in the production of large-scale microalgal biomass is that it requires appropriate low-cost biomass harvesting techniques. For the purpose of finding the most suitable method for recovering the biomass of Skeletonema costatum in large-scale cultivation, we have determined the influence of some flocculants on the flocculation efficiency. The results of laboratory studies showed that the recovering efficiency of Skeletonema costatum was 74.15 ± 3.85% at pH 10.5 after 1 hour. The optimal biomass recovering rate was 94.66 ± 3.26% and 91.01 ± 4.65% at FeCl3 200 mg/L and FeSO4 100 mg/L after 15 minutes, respectively. In experiments with AlCl3 and Al2(SO4)3, the recovering efficiency was 95.23 ± 2.87% at AlCl3 50 mg/L and 91.34 ± 3.8% at Al2(SO4)3 100mg/L after 30 minutes. In this study, Al2(SO4)3 and AlCl3 gave higher flocculation efficiencies for Skeletonema costatum and slower cell damage compared with FeCl3and FeSO4 or pH adjustment.Nuôi trồng vi tảo là khâu không thể thiếu trong các trại giống nuôi trồng thủy sản nhằm tạo ra nguồn thức ăn chủ động. Một trong những vấn đề trong sản xuất sinh khối vi tảo quy mô lớn là phải có kỹ thuật thu hoạch sinh khối thích hợp với chi phí thấp. Với mục đích tìm kiếm phương pháp phù hợp nhất để thu hồi sinh khối tảo Skeletonema costatum khi nuôi ở quy mô lớn, trong nghiên cứu này chúng tôi bước đầu đã xác định ảnh hưởng của một số chất tạo bông đến hiệu suất kết bông của chủng tảo này. Kết quả nghiên cứu trong phòng thí nghiệm cho thấy tảo Skeletonema costatum nghiên cứu đạt hiệu quả thu hồi là 74,15 ± 3,85% ở pH 10,5 sau 1 giờ. Hiệu suất tối ưu thu hồi sinh khối lần lượt là 94,66 ± 3,26% và 91,01 ± 4,65% đạt được ở nồng độ FeCl3 200 mg/L và FeSO4 100 mg/L sau 15 phút. Trong thử nghiệm với AlCl3 và Al2(SO4)3, hiệu suất thu hồi là 95,23 ± 2,87% ở nồng độ AlCl3 50 mg/L và 91,34 ± 3,8% ở nồng độ Al2(SO4)3100 mg/L sau 30 phút. Trong nghiên cứu này, Al2(SO4)3 và AlCl3 cho hiệu suất kết bông cao hơn đối với tảo Skeletonema costatum và thời gian tế bào bị tổn thương chậm hơn so với FeCl3, FeSO4 hay sự thay đổi pH

Systematic Surveillance of Rickettsial Diseases in 27 Hospitals from 26 Provinces throughout Vietnam

In Vietnam, the public health burden of rickettsial infections continues to be underestimated due to knowledge gaps in the epidemiology of these diseases. We conducted a systematic study among 27 hospitals from 26 provinces in eight ecological regions throughout Vietnam to investigate the prevalence, distribution, and clinical characteristics of rickettsial diseases. We recruited 1834 patients in the study from April 2018 to October 2019. The findings showed that rickettsial diseases were common among undifferentiated febrile patients, with 564 (30.8%) patients positive by qPCR for scrub typhus, murine typhus or spotted fever. Scrub typhus (484, 85.8%) was the most common rickettsial disease, followed by murine typhus (67, 11.9%) and spotted fever (10, 1.8%). Rickettsial diseases were widely distributed in all regions of Vietnam and presented with nonspecific clinical manifestations