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

RETRACTED: THE ISSUE OF FEMININITY IN THE SHORT STORY COLLECTION OF THE WIND FLOWS THROUGH BY LE MINH KHUE

Retraction Notice Retraction: Kieu, T. U. (2023). The issue of femininity in the short story collection of The Wind Flows Through by Le Minh Khue. Dalat University Journal of Science, 13(4), 32-47. https://doi.org/10.37569/DalatUniversity.13.4.1053(2023) This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief due to duplicate publication. In September 2023, the Dalat University Journal of Science (DLU-JOS) became aware that the article had previously been published elsewhere by the same author. This matter may have arisen from the practice of submitting identical studies nearly simultaneously, either in the same or another language, to two journals. We have reason to believe that this issue was due to the author’s inadvertent error rather than research misconduct. In accordance with the international guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics, of which the DLU-JOS is a member, we have determined that these are grounds for retraction. The author has agreed to the retraction of the paper. The DLU-JOS regrets this incident and extends its apologies to its readers

PHONG TRÀO THƠ MỚI VIỆT NAM – NHÌN TỪ BỐI CẢNH HIỆN ĐẠI HÓA THƠ CA ĐÔNG Á

Vietnamese New Poetry is one of the outstanding achievements of the modernization of Vietnamese literature in the first half of the twentieth century. Moreover, the New Poetry movement has contributed to bringing Vietnamese literature out of regional influence and to catching up with world literature trends. This paper mainly discusses and analyzes the characteristics and nature of the Vietnamese New Poetry movement in the context of modernizing East Asian poetry.Phong trào Thơ mới là một trong những thành tựu nổi bật của quá trình hiện đại hóa văn học Việt Nam nửa đầu thế kỷ XX. Hơn nữa, phong trào Thơ mới còn góp phần đưa văn học Việt Nam bước ra khỏi tầm ảnh hưởng khu vực và bắt kịp xu thế văn học thế giới. Bài viết này chủ yếu chỉ ra và phân tích đặc điểm cũng như tính chất của phong trào Thơ mới Việt Nam nhìn từ bối cảnh hiện đại hóa thơ ca Đông Á

Anti-inflammatory effect of Piper longum L. fruit methanolic extract on lipopolysaccharide-treated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages

Context: The Piper species was studied several potential properties such as anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity. However, the specific anti-inflammatory activity of the extract from the fruits of P. longum L. has not been investigated. Objectives: Our study want to examine the anti-inflammatory effects of P. longum L. fruit methanolic extracts (PLE) on lipopolysachharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages to understand the mechanism of this effect. Method: This study examined the chemical profiling of PLE by LC-HRMS analysis and measured the presence of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the supernatant using the Griess reagent assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The mRNA expression of IL-6, TNF-α, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were evaluated by using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Furthermore, the protein expression of COX-2, iNOS and the phosphorylation of MAPK family, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), p38 in protein level were observed by western blotting. Result: PLE have detected 66 compounds which belong to different classes such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolics, lactones, and organic acids inhibited nitric oxide products with the IC50 = 28.5 ± 0.91 μg/mL. Moreover, PLE at 10–100 μg/mL up-regulate HO-1 protein expression from 3 to 10 folds at 3 h. It also downregulated the mRNA and protein expression of iNOS, COX-2, decreased IL-6 and TNF-α secretion by modulating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, specifically by decreasing the phosphorylation of p38 and JNK. Conclusion: These results shown chemical profiling of PLE and demonstrated that PLE exhibits anti-inflammatory effects by regulating the MAPK family and could be a potential candidate for the treatment of inflammatory diseases

Synergy of indium doping and hydrogenation for good-performance and high-mobility ZnO electrode films

We successfully synthesized hydrogenated In-doped ZnO films with a low resistivity of 5 × 10−4 Ωcm and a good transmittance of 80% in the visible region. Furthermore, the electron mobility of the films achieves as high as 45.6 cm2/Vs, which is enhanced by more than 100% compared to the singly In-doped ZnO (IZO) and pristine ZnO films. The analysis of temperature-dependent mobility indicates lattice scattering as the dominant mechanism disturbing carrier transport in the hydrogenated film. According to the Drude model theory, the optical carrier concentration and mobility determined from plasma wavelength also exhibit a significant role of lattice defects. As a result, the reduction in lattice defects is demonstrated to remarkably enhance the mobility and transparent-conducting performance of the hydrogenated IZO films. Specifically, hydrogen passivation and compensation of indium doping significantly decrease Zn-related defects (vacancy and interstitial) as carrier traps and scattering centers in the films

Fabrication of a Charge-Conversion Polymer—Liposome for Enhancing Endosomal Escape of Drug Delivery System for α–Mangostin

α–Mangostin, which is a natural xanthone compound, inhibits the metastasis and survival of various cancer cell types. However, its therapeutic effectiveness is limited by low water solubility and very poor absorption. There are several studies that developed the drug delivery system for α–mangostin, but they are still a remaining challenge. Drug delivery techniques are severely hampered by the breakdown of nanoparticles inside endosomes. The abrasive chemical environment in these compartments causes both the nanoparticles and the encapsulated α–mangostin to degrade throughout the course of the voyage. Intracellular defenses against external materials refer to this collective mechanism. A pH-responsive liposome named PAsp(DET-Cit)–Toc, made of lipids and a charge-conversion polymer (CCP), has been created for the targeted transport of α–mangostin in order to avoid this deteriorative outcome. The average hydrodynamic size of CCP–liposome particles is 98.59 ± 5.1 nm with a PDI of 0.098 ± 0.02 and a negative zeta potential of 22.31 ± 2.4 mV. TEM showed the shape of the spherical CCP–liposomes. α–Mangostin is successfully captured inside CCP–liposome and the loading yield reached the highest encapsulation efficiency of 83% with 150 μg/mL of α–mangostin. In the acidic condition of pH 5.0, an initial burst of α–mangostin reached 50% after 6 h in buffer solution. CCP–liposomes could escape from endosomes even after 3 h, and almost 80% of CCP–liposomes escaped after 24 h. The cell ability of α–mangostin-loaded-CCP–liposome incubated in buffer solutions of 5.0 decreased significantly and was close to free α–mangostin. Our data proved that α–mangostin-loaded CCP–liposome delivered more effectively α–mangostin into cells and prevented the degradation of α–mangostin inside cells, especially endosomal degradation

Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Language Teaching and Learning

This conference proceedings contains articles on the various research ideas of the academic community and practitioners presented at the 4th Conference on Language Teaching and Learning (LTAL-2022). LTAL2022 was organized by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry, Vietnam on June 19-20, 2022. Conference Title: 4th Conference on Language Teaching and LearningConference Acronym: LTAL-2022Conference Date: 19-20 June 2022Conference Location: VietnamConference Organizers: Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry, Vietnam

Twelve-Month Outcomes of the AFFINITY Trial of Fluoxetine for Functional Recovery After Acute Stroke: AFFINITY Trial Steering Committee on Behalf of the AFFINITY Trial Collaboration

Background and Purpose: The AFFINITY trial (Assessment of Fluoxetine in Stroke Recovery) reported that 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 seizures. After trial medication was ceased at 6 months, survivors were followed to 12 months post-randomization. This preplanned secondary analysis aimed to determine any sustained or delayed effects of fluoxetine at 12 months post-randomization. Methods: AFFINITY was a randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adults (n=1280) with a clinical diagnosis of stroke in the previous 2 to 15 days and persisting neurological deficit who were recruited at 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (4), and Vietnam (10) between 2013 and 2019. Participants were randomized to oral fluoxetine 20 mg once daily (n=642) or matching placebo (n=638) for 6 months and followed until 12 months after randomization. The primary outcome was function, measured by the modified Rankin Scale, at 6 months. Secondary outcomes for these analyses included measures of the modified Rankin Scale, mood, cognition, overall health status, fatigue, health-related quality of life, and safety at 12 months. Results: Adherence to trial medication was for a mean 167 (SD 48) days and similar between randomized groups. At 12 months, the distribution of modified Rankin Scale categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.76–1.14]; P =0.46). Compared with placebo, patients allocated fluoxetine had fewer recurrent ischemic strokes (14 [2.18%] versus 29 [4.55%]; P =0.02), and no longer had significantly more falls (27 [4.21%] versus 15 [2.35%]; P =0.08), bone fractures (23 [3.58%] versus 11 [1.72%]; P =0.05), or seizures (11 [1.71%] versus 8 [1.25%]; P =0.64) at 12 months. Conclusions: Fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke had no delayed or sustained effect on functional outcome, falls, bone fractures, or seizures at 12 months poststroke. The lower rate of recurrent ischemic stroke in the fluoxetine group is most likely a chance finding. REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.anzctr.org.au/ ; Unique identifier: ACTRN12611000774921