The fear of bad smell: Health risk awareness related to using waste in agricultural production in Vietnam

Waste watersWater reuseAgricultural productionFish farmingIrrigation waterPublic healthRisksSkin diseasesOrganic fertilizersWomen

Comparative Analysis of Swine Antibody Responses Following Vaccination with Live-Attenuated and Killed African Swine Fever Virus Vaccines

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is circulating in many swine-producing countries, causing significant economic losses. It is observed that pigs experimentally vaccinated with a live-attenuated virus (LAV) but not a killed virus (KV) vaccine develop solid homologous protective immunity. The objective of this study was to comparatively analyze antibody profiles between pigs vaccinated with an LAV vaccine and those vaccinated with a KV vaccine to identify potential markers of vaccineinduced protection. Thirty ASFV seronegative pigs were divided into three groups: Group 1 received a single dose of an experimental LAV, Group 2 received two doses of an experimental KV vaccine, and Group 3 was kept as a non-vaccinated (NV) control. At 42 days post-vaccination, all pigs were challenged with the parental virulent ASFV strain and monitored for 21 days. All pigs vaccinated with the LAV vaccine survived the challenge. In contrast, eight pigs from the KV group and seven pigs from the NV group died within 14 days post-challenge. Serum samples collected on 41 days post-vaccination were analyzed for their reactivity against a panel of 29 viral structural proteins. The sera of pigs from the LAV group exhibited a strong antibody reactivity against various viral structural proteins, while the sera of pigs in the KV group only displayed weak antibody reactivity against the inner envelope (p32, p54, p12). There was a negative correlation between the intensity of antibody reactivity against five ASFV antigens, namely p12, p14, p15, p32, and pD205R, and the viral DNA titers in the blood of animals after the challenge infection. Thus, antibody reactivities against these five antigens warrant further evaluation as potential indicators of vaccine-induced protection

Environmental Radionuclides in Surface Soils of Vietnam

A database on 238U, 232Th, 40K, and 137Cs in surface soils was established to provide inputs for the assessment of the collective dose to the population of Vietnam and to support soil erosion studies using 137Cs as a tracer. A total of 292 soil samples was taken from undisturbed sites across the territory and the concentrations of radionuclides were determined by gamma spectrometry method. The multiple regression of 137Cs inventories against characteristics of sampling locations allowed us to establish the distribution of 137Cs deposition density and its relationship with latitude and annual rainfall. The 137Cs deposition density increases northward and varies from 178 Bq m–2 to 1,920 Bq m–2. High rainfall areas in the northern and central parts of the country have received considerable 137Cs inputs exceeding 600 Bq m–2, which is the maximum value that can be expected for Vietnam from the UNSCEAR global pattern. The mean activity concentrations of naturally occurring radionuclides 238U, 232Th, and 40K are 45, 59, and 401 Bq kg–1, respectively, which entail an average absorbed dose rate in air of 62 nGy h–1, which is about 7% higher than the world average

Inducible Ablation of Melanopsin-Expressing Retinal Ganglion Cells Reveals Their Central Role in Non-Image Forming Visual Responses

Rod/cone photoreceptors of the outer retina and the melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells (mRGCs) of the inner retina mediate non-image forming visual responses including entrainment of the circadian clock to the ambient light, the pupillary light reflex (PLR), and light modulation of activity. Targeted deletion of the melanopsin gene attenuates these adaptive responses with no apparent change in the development and morphology of the mRGCs. Comprehensive identification of mRGCs and knowledge of their specific roles in image-forming and non-image forming photoresponses are currently lacking. We used a Cre-dependent GFP expression strategy in mice to genetically label the mRGCs. This revealed that only a subset of mRGCs express enough immunocytochemically detectable levels of melanopsin. We also used a Cre-inducible diphtheria toxin receptor (iDTR) expression approach to express the DTR in mRGCs. mRGCs develop normally, but can be acutely ablated upon diphtheria toxin administration. The mRGC-ablated mice exhibited normal outer retinal function. However, they completely lacked non-image forming visual responses such as circadian photoentrainment, light modulation of activity, and PLR. These results point to the mRGCs as the site of functional integration of the rod/cone and melanopsin phototransduction pathways and as the primary anatomical site for the divergence of image-forming and non-image forming photoresponses in mammals

Global variation in diabetes diagnosis and prevalence based on fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but these measurements can identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening, had elevated FPG, HbA1c or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardized proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed and detected in survey screening ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the age-standardized proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c was more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global shortfall in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance

Exchange Rate Bands of Inaction and Play -- Hysteresis in Greek Exports to the Euro Area, the US and Turkey -- Sectoral Evidence

In this paper a non-linear model is applied, where suddenly strong spurts of exports occur when changes of the exchange rate go beyond a zone of inaction, which we call 'play' area - analogous to mechanical play. We implement an algorithm describing path-dependent play-hysteresis into a regression framework. The hysteretic impact of real exchange rates on Greek exports is estimated based on the period from 1995Q1 to 2014Q4. Looking at some of the main export partners of Greece, the euro area, Turkey and the US, and some of its most important tradeable sectors we identify significant hysteretic effects for a part of the Greek exports. We find that Greek export activity is characterized by 'bands of inaction' with respect to changes in the real exchange rate and calculate the further real depreciation needed to trigger a spurt in Greek exports. To check for robustness we (a) estimate Greek export equations for a limited sample excluding the recent financial crisis, (b) use export weight instead of deflated nominal exports as the dependent variable, (c) employ a political uncertainty variable as a determinant of the width of the area of weak reaction. Overall, we find that those specifications which take uncertainty into account display the best goodness of fit. In other words: the option value of waiting dominates the real exchange rate effect on Greek exports.Analog zu mechanischem Spiel wendet dieses Paper ein nichtlineares Modell an, in dem plötzlich starke Reaktionen der Exporte auftreten, wenn die Wechselkursveränderung eine inaktive Zone überschreitet, welche als 'play area' bezeichnet wird. Wir implementieren einen Algorithmus, der pfadabhängige Hysterese beschreibt, in einem Regressionsmodell. Der hysteretische Einfluss des realen Wechselkurses auf griechische Exporte wird für die Periode von 1995Q1 bis 2014Q4 geschätzt. Wir finden signifikante hysteretische Effekte für einen Teil der griechischen Exporte bei der Betrachtung einiger Hauptexportpartner Griechenlands, wie die Eurozone, die Türkei und die USA unter der Berücksichtigung der wichtigsten Handelssektoren. Es zeigt sich, dass griechische Exporte durch ein 'Band of Inaction' in Bezug auf Veränderungen des realen Wechselkurses charakterisiert sind, und wir berechnen die weitere Abwertung, die benötigt wird, um eine starke Exportreaktion für Griechenland auszulösen. Um auf Robustheit zu prüfen; (a) schätzen wir die Exportgleichungen für einen begrenzten Zeitraum und berücksichtigen nicht die jüngste Finanzkrise, (b) verwenden wir Mengenangaben für die Exportreihen statt nominaler Werte, (c) wird politische Unsicherheit als Determinante für die Breite der schwachen Exportreaktionen implementiert. Allgemein stellt sich heraus, dass jene Spezifikationen, die Unsicherheit berücksichtigen, die beste Güte zeigen. Anders formuliert dominiert der Optionswert abzuwarten den realen Wechselkurseffekt griechischer Exporte

Global variation in diabetes diagnosis and prevalence based on fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but these measurements can identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening, had elevated FPG, HbA1c or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardized proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed and detected in survey screening ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the age-standardized proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29–39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c was more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global shortfall in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance

Global variations in diabetes mellitus based on fasting glucose and haemogloblin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but may identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening had elevated FPG, HbA1c, or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardised proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed, and detected in survey screening, ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the agestandardised proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global gap in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance.peer-reviewe

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Diplopanax vietnamensis, a new species of (Nyssaceae) from Vietnam - one more living representative of the Tertiary Flora of Eurasia

Volume: 12Start Page: 433End Page: 43