Accelerated MD Program Using CUDA Technology

Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation is proven to be an important tool to study the structure as well as the physical properties at atomic level in materials science. However, it requires a huge computing time and hence limits the ability to treat a large scale simulation. In this paper we present a solution to speed up the MD simulation using CUDA technology (Compute Unified Device Architecture). We used the GeForce GTS 250 card with Version 2.30. The simulation is implemented for Lennard-Jones systems with periodic boundary conditions which consist of 1024, 2048, 4096 and 8192 atoms. The calculation shows that the computing time depends on the size of system and could be decreased by 37 times. This result indicates a possibility of constructing a large MD model with up to 105 atoms on the usual PC

CHARACTERIZATION OF CaO-CuO-CeO2 MIXED OXIDE SYNTHESIZED BY THE IMPREGNATION AND INVESTIGATION OF ITS REUSABILITY

CaO-CuO-CeO2 mixed oxide was prepared by the impregnation method and used as the catalyst for the complete decomposition of phenol in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The  CaO-CuO-CeO2 mixed oxide were characterized by XRD, SEM, BET, H2-TPR and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicated that there were three CuO species in the mixed oxide: the finely dispersed CuO species on the surface of CeO2, the Ce1-x-yCuxCayO2-d solid solution and the bulk CuO. Most of particles have clear morphology with relatively uniform size in the range of 30 - 50 nm and the BET surface area was 37.96 m2/g. After three times of use, the catalytic activity of CaO-CuO-CeO2 mixed oxide was still relatively high and much higher than the mixed oxide CaO-CeO2 and CuO-CeO2

Influence of Blocking Effect and Energetic Disorder on Diffusion in One-dimensional Lattice

The diffusion in one-dimensional disordered lattice with Gaussian distribution of site and transition energies has been studied by mean of kinetic Monte-Carlo simulation. We focus on investigating the influence of energetic disorders and diffusive particle density on diffusivity. In single-particle case, we used both analytical method and kinetic Monte-Carlo simulation to calculate the quantities that relate to diffusive behavior in disordered systems such as the mean time between two consecutive jumps, correlation factor and diffusion coefficient. The calculation shows a good agreement between analytical and simulation results for all disordered lattice types. In many-particle case, the blocking effect results in decreasing correlation factor F and average time $\tau _{jump}$ between two consecutive jumps. With increasing the number of particles, the diffusion coefficient $D_{M}$ decreases for site-energy and transition-energy disordered lattices due to the F-effect affects stronger than $\tau$-effect. Furthermore, the blocking effect almost is  temperature independent for both lattices

Optimization of Total Flavonoid Extraction From the Helicteres hirsuta Lour. Roots by Bath Ultrasound Assisted method and cytotoxic activities of these Flavonoids

This study was carried out to optimize the various approaches to analyze the effects of various variables on the total flavonoid content extraction from the roots of Helicteres hirsuta L. The existence of various compounds in the methanol fraction was accessed by using LC-MS/MS analysis. The results of the study identified the ideal parameters such as times (30 minutes); methanol solvent concentration (50%); ultrasonic frequency (12 Hz); and material/solvent ratio [1:30 (w/v)] for extracting the highest total flavonoids from the roots of H. Hirsuta. The study's results suggested that the total flavonoid value was 3.52684 (mg Catechin/g extract). The verified experiment obtained an actual value of 5.205 (mg Catechin/g extract). Further, the results of the study suggested the presence of 20 compounds of a flavonoid nature (66.667%) appearing in the purified methanol fractional extract. These compounds can inhibit DPPH free radicals at 50%, with an IC50 value of 536.760 g/mL, and they also have inhibitory activity on the growth of cancer cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 115.81 and 219.17g/mL. The human leukemia cell line (HL-60) exhibits the most significant cytotoxic response to a methanol extract from H. hirsuta root with an IC50 value of 115.81 g/mL

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Erectile Dysfunction among Married Men in Vietnam

BackgroundSexuality is an essential part of life; however, erectile dysfunction (ED) has been one of the most common complaints among men with sexual health issues all over the world. ED includes dysfunction in erection and penile erectile pain. In Vietnam, ED is a subject a not readily discussed. Thus, relatively little is known about ED among Vietnamese men.AimsTo identify the prevalence of ED and its associated variables and the need for treatment of ED among married men in Vietnam.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study. A total sample size included 746 married men, aged 20–60 years, living in four representative wards of the Hue City and randomly selected by systematic sampling methods. Respondents completed a self-reported questionnaire. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) scale was used to determine ED severity, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) was used to measure depression, anxiety, and stress. Quality of life was assessed using the WHO Quality of Life score (WHOQoL). A multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine the relationships between independent variables and ED.ResultsMean age of married men was 44.3 ± 8.7. Two-thirds (66.9%) of respondents experienced ED symptoms. In terms of severity, 40.8% reported mild ED; 20.3% mild–moderate ED; 5.0% moderate ED; and 0.8% severe ED. Depression, anxiety, and stress problems were 5.0, 3.6, and 2.8%, respectively. One-third (33.1%) of the respondents reported having low quality of life, and 32.6% reported having medium quality of life. The vast majority (86.9%) had consensual sex with their wives/partners. Variables associated with increased IIEF-5 score were increased WHOQoL score, increased body mass index (BMI), religion, and no consumption of alcohol. Increasing age, disease history, increased anxiety, and no consensual sex with their wife/partner were associated with a lower IIEF-5 score. If experiencing ED, 55.5% would seek help from medical doctors, 55.1% discussed it with their wives/partners, and 23.1% turned to their friends for help.ConclusionThe prevalence of ED was high, although only 5.8% experienced moderate to severe ED. The key factors associated with ED were age, religion, disease history, BMI, alcohol consumption, anxiety, quality of life, and consensual sex with their wives/partners. Sexual health education should be more specifically targeted for men, including the provision of local sexual health-care services for men

Phenolic compounds from leaves of Amensiodendron chinese (Sapindaceae)

From the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of Amensiodendron chinense (Merr.) Hu (Sapindaceae), we isolated three known phenolic compounds: 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde (1), methyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (2), and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3). We elucidated their chemical structures from the spectral data and compared them with those reported in the literature.3 hợp chất phenolic được phân lập từ cao chiết ethyl acetate của lá thuộc loài Amensiodendron chinese (Merr.) Hu (Sapindaceae) bao gồm : 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde (1), methyl 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate (2), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (3). Cấu trúc hóa học được xác định dựa vào dữ liệu phổ và so sánh với tài liệu tham khảo

In silico analysis of hypermethylation in CpGislands of UCHL1 gene’s promoter in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Background and Objective: The methylation of Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) gene has been reported in many human cancers including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In Vietnam, the methylation of UCHL1 gene’s promoter in NPC has not been demonstrated yet. In this study, a systematic literature revision was carried out to summarize the current evidences about the frequencies of UCHL-1 gene’s promoter methylation in NPC for further application in Vietnamese population. Methods: A systematic literature analysis was conducted based on the comprehensive studies. Moreover, many bioinformatic tools such as Methprimer, TFsearch, IDT OligoAnalyzer 3.1 were used to predict the CpG islands, transcriptional factors, and to pick up the MSP (Methylation-Specific PCR) primers. Results: Total of three previous studies were summarized and accessed for eligibility from literature research. As the results, the average weight methylated frequencies were 72.4% and 13.0% for NPC and non-cancerous samples, respectively. The significant association between UCHL-1 promoter methylation and NPC with the OR of 10.459 (95% CI = 4.915 – 22.254, p < 0.001) and RR of 4.117 (95% CI = 1.958 – 6.645, p < 0.0001) based on the random effects model, was observed. Moreover, we were successful in predicting the CpG islands as well as identifying transcriptional factor binding sites which served as “hot spot” for ideal primer pick up and located in gene promoter. Conclusion: The methylation of UCHL-1 gene promoter was significantly associated and contributed to NPC developmentin which it could be further applied in evaluation of UCHL-1 gene promoter status in Vietnamese population

Evaluation Of Agronomic Traits And Adaptation Of Some Promising Salt Tolerant Rice Lines/Varieties Growing In The Coastal Areas In Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the main food in Vietnam and plays an important role in economic activity in this country. However, rice yield and growing areas are adversely influenced by the threats of the devastation caused by the rise of sea level. This study aimed to evaluate the salt effects in field experiments of 19 promising salt tolerance rice lines/varieties carrying QTL/Saltol, which were selected from the BC2F5 breeding combination between FL479 and Bac Thom 7 (BC7). The field experiments were conducted in two consecutive seasons at three saline-affected rice growing areas, including Nga Son, Hoang Hoa and Quang Xuong districts, Thanh Hoa province. The results showed that among those promising rice lines, the HL15 line had the best yield components in all experimented sites, and good agronomic traits with short plant height and shorter growth duration than the BC7 variety (115-117 days) in the spring season and 102-103 days in the summer season, respectively. All tested had the same level of pest resistance/infection as the control variety BT7 under production conditions using pesticides including HL1, HL13 and HL15, which were mildly infected with the bacterial leaf blight, while HL15 variety showed high resistance to pests and diseases. Moreover, the HL2, HL15 and HL19 lines had scored 3, equivalent to FL478 (tolerant), and the survival rate was over 85% compared with the control variety. Overall, our findings showed that the promising purebred variety HL15 had a range of good agronomic characteristics, resistance to major pests and diseases, high yield potential and salinity tolerance of 6‰. The HL15 variety was renamed as SHPT15 and continued to conduct procedures to recognize it as a new rice variety

Establishment of a Wolbachia Superinfection in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes as a Potential Approach for Future Resistance Management.

Wolbachia pipientis is an endosymbiotic bacterium estimated to chronically infect between 40-75% of all arthropod species. Aedes aegypti, the principle mosquito vector of dengue virus (DENV), is not a natural host of Wolbachia. The transinfection of Wolbachia strains such as wAlbB, wMel and wMelPop-CLA into Ae. aegypti has been shown to significantly reduce the vector competence of this mosquito for a range of human pathogens in the laboratory. This has led to wMel-transinfected Ae. aegypti currently being released in five countries to evaluate its effectiveness to control dengue disease in human populations. Here we describe the generation of a superinfected Ae. aegypti mosquito line simultaneously infected with two avirulent Wolbachia strains, wMel and wAlbB. The line carries a high overall Wolbachia density and tissue localisation of the individual strains is very similar to each respective single infected parental line. The superinfected line induces unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) when crossed to each single infected parental line, suggesting that the superinfection would have the capacity to replace either of the single constituent infections already present in a mosquito population. No significant differences in fitness parameters were observed between the superinfected line and the parental lines under the experimental conditions tested. Finally, the superinfected line blocks DENV replication more efficiently than the single wMel strain when challenged with blood meals from viremic dengue patients. These results suggest that the deployment of superinfections could be used to replace single infections and may represent an effective strategy to help manage potential resistance by DENV to field deployments of single infected strains