Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Impact Assessment Report for Vietnam

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is evolving rapidly, with many uncertainties remaining regarding its long-term scope, embedded emissions calculation, and reactions of EU-trade partners. In its current form, the CBAM can affect Vietnamese enterprises exporting to EU although its direct impacts on Vietnam’s GDP are unlikely significant. If the CBAM is expanded to other trade-intensive sectors of Vietnam or taken up by other key trading partners of Vietnam, the impacts may grow quickly. Therefore, Vietnam should engage proactively with the CBAM and prepare for mitigation of potential impacts. One of the pro-active approaches is to accelerate and deepen the adoption of carbon pricing. This will facilitate energy transition, support achievement of Vietnam’s climate change mitigation target (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and long-term net-zero targets and would allow to harness co-benefits. It is also advisable for Vietnam to engage in constructive dialogues with the EU in order to negotiate a fair implementation of CBAM that takes into account Vietnam’s efforts. A key demand here should be the use of emissions credits instead of having to buy CBAM certificates

Polyphasic evaluation and cytotoxic investigation of isolated cyanobacteria with an emphasis on potent activities of a Scytonema strain

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found in the article/supplementary material.Cyanobacteria are phototrophic organisms widely found in most types of natural habitats in the tropical regions of the world. In this study, we isolated and identified cyanobacterial strains from paddy soil in Hanoi (Vietnam) and investigated their cytotoxic activities. Five isolated cyanobacterial strains showed distinctive profiles of gene sequences (rRNA 16S and rbcL), phylogenetic placements, and morphological characteristics. Based on the polyphasic evaluation, they were classified as Scytonema bilaspurense NK13, Hapalosiphon welwitschii MD2411, Aulosira sp. XN1103, Desikacharya sp. NS2000, and Desmonostoc sp. NK1813. The cytotoxic screening revealed that the extract of strain Scytonema bilaspurense NK13 exhibited potent cytotoxic activities against four human cell lines of HeLa cells, OVCAR-8 cells, HaCaT cells, and HEK-293T cells, with IC50 values of 3.8, 34.2, 21.6, and 0.6μg/mL, respectively. This is the first time a well-classified Scytonema strain from tropical habitat in Southeast Asia has been recognized as a potential producer of cytotoxic compounds.The Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU).http://www.frontiersin.org/Microbiologyam2023BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Host Transcription Profile in Nasal Epithelium and Whole Blood of Hospitalized Children Under 2 Years of Age With Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection.

BACKGROUND: Most insights into the cascade of immune events after acute respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection have been obtained from animal experiments or in vitro models. METHODS: In this study, we investigated host gene expression profiles in nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs and whole blood samples during natural RSV and rhinovirus (hRV) infection (acute versus early recovery phase) in 83 hospitalized patients <2 years old with lower respiratory tract infections. RESULTS: Respiratory syncytial virus infection induced strong and persistent innate immune responses including interferon signaling and pathways related to chemokine/cytokine signaling in both compartments. Interferon-α/β, NOTCH1 signaling pathways and potential biomarkers HIST1H4E, IL7R, ISG15 in NP samples, or BCL6, HIST2H2AC, CCNA1 in blood are leading pathways and hub genes that were associated with both RSV load and severity. The observed RSV-induced gene expression patterns did not differ significantly in NP swab and blood specimens. In contrast, hRV infection did not as strongly induce expression of innate immunity pathways, and significant differences were observed between NP swab and blood specimens. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that RSV induced strong and persistent innate immune responses and that RSV severity may be related to development of T follicular helper cells and antiviral inflammatory sequelae derived from high activation of BCL6

Molecular epidemiology of Japanese encephalitis in northern Vietnam, 1964?2011: genotype replacement

Background: Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is an arthropod-borne virus causing serious public health issues in Asia. JEV consists of five genotypes and recent studies have shown the emergence of JEV genotype I (GI) and its replacement of genotype III (GIII). Using an archival JEV collection, we investigated the molecular evolution of JEV in Vietnam over the last 48 years (1964-2012) in humans, mosquitoes, and pigs, within the global context. Methods: The nine JEV isolates from humans, pigs, and mosquitoes sequenced in this study and 29 sequences available in GenBank were used to analyze the envelope (E) protein of the Vietnamese JEVs. A collection of 225 cerebrospinal fluid specimens from patients with suspected Japanese encephalitis (JE) was also tested and genotyped with real-time RT-PCR. Results: The 38 E genes identified with sequencing and nine Vietnamese JEV strains genotyped with real-time RT-PCR, belonging to two lineages, evolved in accordance with those in the rest of the world. The first GIII strain was detected in humans in Vietnam in 1964, and in mosquitoes in 1979, whereas GI strains were first detected in humans and mosquitoes in 1990 and 1994, respectively. After 2004, GI was the only genotype detected in Vietnam, demonstrating that the GIIII strains had been displaced by GI strains. Five haplotypes were identified in the Vietnamese JEVs, with SKSS predominant. The S123N and S123R substitutions in the E protein were already present in the Vietnamese JEVs. Conclusion: This study describes the long evolutionary history of JEV in Vietnam over 34 years, which correlates well with the global evolution of JEV. The Vietnamese GIII strains have been replaced by GI strains in mosquitoes, pigs, and humans. The predominant haplotypes of the Vietnamese strains support this genotype displacement in Vietnam. Further surveillance is required to confirm the disappearance of the GIII strains in nature and the emergence of new pathogens causing encephalitis in Vietnam, after the long-term use of JEV vaccines in that country

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 of fluorine-containing heterocycles

Les fluoroalcènes sont employés pour préparer des mimes de peptides. Malgré de nombreuses études réalisées dans ce domaine, la préparation d'analogues de peptides comportant une proline modifiée en position C-terminale a été très peu explorée. Ce travail de thèse est consacré à la synthèse de pyrrolidine comportant un motif fluorovinylique. La préparation de sulfones fluorées comportant un cycle pyrrolidine a été réalisée, par réaction d'aza-Michael intramoléculaire. Ce réactif permet la formation de pyrrolines par réaction de Julia modifiée, là où la réaction de Horner-Wadworth-Emmons échoue. Cette étude a été étendue à la préparation de pipéridines fluorées. Cette méthode a été appliquée avec succès à la préparation de précurseurs de peptides Pro-Ψ[CF=CH]-Xaa, peu étudiés dans la littérature.Fluoroalkenes are used to prepare peptide mimics. In spite of numerous studies carried out in this field, the preparation of peptide analogs comprising a modified proline in the C-terminal position has been very little explored. This thesis is devoted to the synthesis of pyrrolidine with a fluorovinyl unit. The preparation of fluorinated sulfones containing a pyrrolidine ring was carried out by reaction of intramolecular aza-Michael. This reagent allows the formation of pyrrolines by modified Julia reaction, where the Horner-Wadworth-Emmons reaction fails. This study was extended to the preparation of fluorinated piperidines. This method has been successfully applied to the preparation of pro-Ψ peptide precursors [CF = CH] -Xaa, which are poorly studied in the literature

Overweight, stunting, and concurrent overweight and stunting observed over 3 years in Vietnamese children

Background: Malnutrition, both stunting and overweight/obesity, present a public health concern in many countries in the world. Objective: This study aims to examine: (1) longitudinal changes in prevalence of overweight, stunting, and concurrent overweight and stunting among preschool children during 3 years and (2) secular changes in these prevalences of a specific age group of children aged 5.5–6.5 year over a period of 3 years. Methods: A cohort of 2,602 children initially aged 3–6 years old, 1,311 in an urban area and 1,291 in a rural area, was followed for 3 years. Of them, children aged 5.5–6.5 years old were identified to be included in three repeated cross-sectional surveys. The World Health Organization standard was used to classify children with overweight or stunting. Results: Findings from the cohort study indicate that between 2013 and 2016, the estimated prevalence of overweight including obesity (OWOB) increased with age, particularly in the urban setting (14.2%–29.9% in boys and 9.0%–21.6% in girls). The estimated prevalence of stunting decreased from 8.2% to 3.4% in boys and 9.5% to 3.5% in girls with a considerably greater decrease among rural children. There was a similar pattern of an age-related decrease of concurrent OWOB and stunting from 2.4% in 2013 to 1.4% in 2016 in boys and from 2.9% to 1.3% in girls with significant decreases in rural children. Secular trends in the group of children 5.5 to 6.5 show the same pattern as the longitudinal results: decreasing prevalence of stunting as well as concurrent OWOB and stunting. OWOB prevalence increased significantly in urban girls and rural boys. Conclusions: The pattern of increasing overweight, decreasing stunting and concurrent overweight and stunting both with increasing age and over chronological time is observed among Vietnamese preschool children

Oxygen-Tolerant Alternating Copolymerization of Fluorinated Monomers and Vinyl Ethers at Mild Temperature

International audienceThe oxygen tolerant radical copolymerization of fluorinated monomers with vinyl ethers at room temperature in the presence of tri-nbutylborane methoxypropylamine (TBBMOPA)/CH 3 COOH system is presented. The combination of commercially available fluoroolefins (FO) [perfluoromethyl vinyl ether (PMVE) and hexafluoropropylene (HFP)] and vinyl ethers (VE) [ethyl vinyl ether (EVE) and 2-(perfluorohexyl)ethyl vinyl ether (FAVE6)] was used for the synthesis of different alternating poly(FOalt-VE) copolymers (up to 43 % yield). The resulting copolymers were characterized by FT-IR, 19 F NMR and 1 H NMR spectroscopy techniques. Thermomechanical properties (T g =-16 to 18 °C) of these polymers were also studied and justified in terms of structure-properties relationships. Their stabilities were investigated as a function of temperature by thermogravimetric analyses. Then, their degradation temperatures related to a weight loss of 5%, (T d5%) were evaluated as being comprised between 262 and 316 °C while poly(PMVE-alt-EVE) copolymer was characterized by a higher thermostability (T d5% = 382 °C). Their surfaces were found to be hydrophobic, evidenced by water contact angle measured from 95 to 110 °. When soluble in SEC solvent, these fluorinated copolymers reached M n up to 169,200 g mol-1. Because of these features, such fluorinated copolymers may find applications in paints and coatings or as elastomers

Prevalence and incidence of overweight and obesity among Vietnamese preschool children: a longitudinal cohort study

Abstract Background A plateau in childhood overweight and obesity has been reported in some developed countries while in almost all developing countries this problem is on the rise. The aim of this paper is to describe the changes in prevalence of overweight and obesity within a cohort of preschool children followed for 3 years, and to estimate and compare the incidences in urban and rural children of Hanoi, Vietnam. Methods A longitudinal study of a cohort of 2677 children aged 3 to 6 years old at the beginning of the study was conducted in urban DodaLab and rural FilaBavi, Hanoi, Vietnam. Overall, 2602 children, 1311 urban and 1291 rural, were followed for 3 years with identical measurements of weight and height in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Standard methods were used to estimate prevalence and incidence as well as confidence intervals. Results During the three-year follow-up, the overall estimated prevalence of overweight increased from 9.1% to 16.7%. For the urban children, the increase was considerably higher. The overall prevalence of obesity decreased from 6.4% to 4.5% with less decrease in the urban children. In the group of children who were overweight and obese at the start of the study, 41.4% and 30.7%, respectively, remained in the same state three years later. The incidence of overweight and obesity during the three years were 12.4% and 2.7%, respectively. Boys were more likely to develop obesity than girls. Conclusions Already in preschool age, the prevalence of overweight is high and it continues to increase with age, especially in the urban area. Prevention and intervention programs need to start at early preschool age and actions in urban areas deserve priority