Antibacterial activity of Piper betle extracts on Helicobacter pylori and identification of potential compounds

Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common infectious bacteria in the world that causes gastric diseases leading to cancer. The increase of multiple antibiotic resistance rates of H. pylori have been reported worldwide. Thus, development of novel drugs is urgently required. Piper betle has many therapeutic values in traditional medicine. In this study, therefore, we investigated antibacterial activity of P. betle extracts and their fractions against a H. pylori strain isolated in Vietnam. The agar disk diffusion assay showed inhibition zone of ethyl acetate extract and methanol extract from P. betle leaf that of were 46 mm and 32 mm in diameter, respectively. After fractionation of the ethyl acetate extract through silica gel column chromatography, two peaks, PD2 and PD3, out of 12 fractions showed the strongest antibacterial activity. PD2 was sub-fractionated further by re-chromatography on the silica gel column, and subfraction TK12 gave best resolution on LC-MS analysis. Finally, 4 potential compounds, quercetrin, calodenin B, vitexin and plicatipyrone, were identified in TK12 fraction.

Depression and its associated factors among pregnant women in central Vietnam.

To date, little attention has been given to prenatal depression, especially in low and middle-income countries. The aim of this research was to assess the prevalence of depression and its associated factors amongst pregnant women in a central Vietnamese city. This cross-sectional study included 150 pregnant women from 29 to 40 weeks of gestation, from eight wards of Hue city, via quota sampling from February to May 2019. We employed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess depression. Findings suggest the need to provide routine screening of pregnant women in primary care for depressive symptoms and other mental health problems.This is part of the EBLS proejct of which Prof Eisner is PI. Botnar Fondation is the sponso

Perceived stress during the prenatal period: assessing measurement invariance of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) across cultures and birth parity

Maternal prenatal stress places a substantial burden on mother’s mental health. Expectant mothers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have thus far received less attention than mothers in high-income settings. This is particularly problematic, as a range of triggers, such as exposure to traumatic events (e.g. natural disasters, previous pregnancy losses) and adverse life circumstances (e.g. poverty, community violence), put mothers at increased risk of experiencing prenatal stress. The ten-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) is a widely recognised index of subjective experience of stress that is increasingly used in LMICs. However, evidence for its measurement equivalence across settings is lacking. This study aims to assess measurement invariance of the PSS-10 across eight LMICs and across birth parity. This research was carried out as part of the Evidence for Better Lives Study (EBLS, vrc.crim.cam.ac.uk/vrcresearch/EBLS). The PSS-10 was administered to N = 1,208 expectant mothers from Ghana, Jamaica, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam during the third trimester of pregnancy. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested a good model fit of a two-factor model across all sites, with items on experiences of stress loading onto a negative factor and items on perceived coping onto a positive factor. Configural and metric, but not full or partial scalar invariance, were established across all sites. Configural, metric and full scalar invariance could be established across birth parity. On average, first-time mothers reported less stress than mothers who already had children. Our findings indicate that the PSS-10 holds utility in assessing stress across a broad range of culturally diverse settings; however, caution should be taken when comparing mean stress levels across sites

Prenatal attachment: using measurement invariance to test the validity of comparisons across eight culturally diverse countries

Funder: Jacobs Foundation; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003986Funder: the Consuelo Zobel Alger FoundationFunder: The British AcademyFunder: the Cambridge Humanities Research Grants SchemeFunder: the University of Edinburgh College Office for the College of ArtsFunder: the Wolfson Professor of Criminology Discretionary FundAbstract: Studies in high-income countries (HICs) have shown that variability in maternal-fetal attachment (MFA) predict important maternal health and child outcomes. However, the validity of MFA ratings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains unknown. Addressing this gap, we assessed measurement invariance to test the conceptual equivalence of the Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI: Muller, 1993) across eight LMICs. Our aim was to determine whether the PAI yields similar information from pregnant women across different cultural contexts. We administered the 18-item PAI to 1181 mothers in the third trimester (Mean age = 28.27 years old, SD = 5.81 years, range = 18–48 years) expecting their first infant (n = 359) or a later-born infant (n = 820) as part of a prospective birth cohort study involving eight middle-income countries: Ghana, Jamaica, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. We used Multiple Group Confirmatory Factor Analyses to assess across-site measurement invariance. A single latent factor with partial measurement invariance was found across all sites except Pakistan. Group comparisons showed that mean levels of MFA were lowest for expectant mothers in Vietnam and highest for expectant mothers in Sri Lanka. MFA was higher in first-time mothers than in mothers expecting a later-born child. The PAI yields similar information about MFA across culturally distinct middle-income countries. These findings strengthen confidence in the use of the tool across different settings; future studies should explore the use of the PAI as a screen for maternal behaviour that place children at risk

Correction to: Prenatal attachment: Using measurement invariance to test the validity of comparisons across eight culturally diverse countries.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-021-01122-7Fondation Botna

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

Depression and its associated factors among pregnant women in central Vietnam.

To date, little attention has been given to prenatal depression, especially in low and middle-income countries. The aim of this research was to assess the prevalence of depression and its associated factors amongst pregnant women in a central Vietnamese city. This cross-sectional study included 150 pregnant women from 29 to 40 weeks of gestation, from eight wards of Hue city, via quota sampling from February to May 2019. We employed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess depression. Findings suggest the need to provide routine screening of pregnant women in primary care for depressive symptoms and other mental health problems.This is part of the EBLS proejct of which Prof Eisner is PI. Botnar Fondation is the sponso

Effect of intimate partner violence during pregnancy on maternal mental health: a cohort study in central Vietnam

This study aims to explore the effects of intimate partner violence during pregnancy (p-IPV) on postpartum depression among women in central Vietnam. p-IPV was defined among 150 women aged 18 years and older in the third trimester of their pregnancy. Baseline data was collected between February and May 2019, and then those women were followed up to 3–5 months after childbirth to assess depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Data collection was completed in September 2019. Relative risk was estimated to identify the effect of p-IPV on maternal postpartum depression. Twenty-one women reported IPV during pregnancy. In the follow-up assessment, 8 of 21 mothers exposed to p-IPV and 23 of 127 mothers not exposed to p-IPV developed postpartum depression. p-IPV including emotional and physical violence were increased the risk of postpartum depression. The findings support evidence that p-IPV increases the risk of postpartum depression among women in central Vietnam.</p

Depression and its associated factors among pregnant women in central Vietnam

To date, little attention has been given to prenatal depression, especially in low and middle-income countries. The aim of this research was to assess the prevalence of depression and its associated factors amongst pregnant women in a central Vietnamese city. This cross-sectional study included 150 pregnant women from 29 to 40 weeks of gestation, from eight wards of Hue city, via quota sampling from February to May 2019. We employed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess depression. Findings suggest the need to provide routine screening of pregnant women in primary care for depressive symptoms and other mental health problems

Brief screening for maternal mental health in Vietnam: Measures of positive wellbeing and perceived stress predict prenatal and postnatal depression

BackgroundIn many countries, there is limited consideration of the psychological wellbeing of women during antenatal and postnatal care. Among a range of contributing factors, one practical reason is that brief, valid and reliable screening tools are not widely used to guide clinical interviews. The present study evaluated psychometric properties of three brief scales that measure recent wellbeing (the WHO-5 index), perceived stress (the PSS-10) and depression (the PHQ-9).MethodsA prospective birth cohort study was completed in Hue City, central Vietnam with 148 pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy, with follow-up 3–5 months after childbirth. Moderate-to-severe antenatal depressive symptoms were used as the reference standard to validate the WHO-5 and PSS-10.ResultsApproximately one-third of the women indicated significant stress and 12% reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms during pregnancy. The WHO-5 and PSS had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.76–0.81) and good discriminant properties against prenatal depression. Area Under the Curve (AUC) values showed good predictive validity to detect postpartum depressive symptoms for the WHO-5 [AUC=0.73, 95% CI (0.60 – 0.86)] and the PSS-10 [AUC=0.69, 95% CI (0.45 – 0.92)]. WHO-5 scores ≤ 60/100 and PSS-10 scores ≥ 20/40 provided good sensitivity (approx.83%) and fair specificity (approx.61%) to detect depression pre- and post-natally.ConclusionsGiven these satisfactory psychometric properties, brief but broad screening that includes questions about positive wellbeing and recent stress in addition to depressive symptoms should be integrated into routine psychosocial care for pregnant women in Vietnam and similar cultural contexts