70 research outputs found
Forager and farmer evolutionary adaptations to malaria evidenced by 7000Â years of thalassemia in Southeast Asia
Thalassemias are inherited blood disorders that are found in high prevalences in the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. These diseases provide varying levels of resistance to malaria and are proposed to have emerged as an adaptive response to malaria in these regions. The transition to agriculture in the Holocene has been suggested to have influenced the selection for thalassemia in the Mediterranean as land clearance for farming encouraged interaction between Anopheles mosquitos, the vectors for malaria, and human groups. Here we document macroscopic and microscopic skeletal evidence for the presence of thalassemia in both hunter-gatherer (Con Co Ngua) and early agricultural (Man Bac) populations in northern Vietnam. Firstly, our findings demonstrate that thalassemia emerged prior to the transition to agriculture in Mainland Southeast Asia, from at least the early seventh millennium BP, contradicting a long-held assumption that agriculture was the main driver for an increase in malaria in Southeast Asia. Secondly, we describe evidence for significant malarial burden in the region during early agriculture. We argue that the introduction of farming into the region was not the initial driver of the selection for thalassemia, as it may have been in other regions of the world
Effects of salinity and alkalinity on growth and survival of all-male giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii De Man, 1879) juveniles
All-male giant freshwater prawns (AMGFPs) have been a popular crop cultivated in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, due to their proven production efficiency compared to all-female or mixed-sex prawn cultures. However, the crucial water quality factors impacting AMGFP aquaculture efficiency have yet to be elaborately investigated. Two separate experiments were randomly arranged with three replicates to evaluate the effects of salinity or alkalinity on the growth and survival of AMGFP juveniles during the grow-out period. The results show that the prawn survival rate in the salinity range of 0â15â° varied from 66.1 to 74.8ïŒ
and in a salinity range of 0â5â° was relatively low compared to the range of 10-15â°; however, the difference was not significant among salinities after 90 days of culture (p > 0.05). All the prawn growth performance parameters significantly decreased with increasing salinities of 0, 5, 10, and 15â° after 30, 60, and 90 days of culture (p 0.05), and both were significantly higher than those at salinities of 10 and 15â° (p < 0.05) after 90 days of culture. In addition, the survival rate reached 82.5â84.4ïŒ
and did not significantly differ among alkalinities of 80, 100, 120, 140, and 160 mgCaCO3 Lâ1. However, the growth performance parameters and yield of AMGFPs at an alkalinity of 160 mg Lâ1 were significantly higher than those at lower alkalinities (80, 100, 120, and 140 mg CaCO3 Lâ1) after 90 days of culture. Therefore, it is recommended that a salinity range of 0â5â° and alkalinity of 160 mgCaCO3 Lâ1 is optimal for the growth-out culture of AMGFP juveniles
Forager and farmer evolutionary adaptations to malaria evidenced by 7000Â years of thalassemia in Southeast Asia.
Funder: Royal Society of New Zealand Skinner FundFunder: University of Otago Doctoral ScholarshipThalassemias are inherited blood disorders that are found in high prevalences in the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. These diseases provide varying levels of resistance to malaria and are proposed to have emerged as an adaptive response to malaria in these regions. The transition to agriculture in the Holocene has been suggested to have influenced the selection for thalassemia in the Mediterranean as land clearance for farming encouraged interaction between Anopheles mosquitos, the vectors for malaria, and human groups. Here we document macroscopic and microscopic skeletal evidence for the presence of thalassemia in both hunter-gatherer (Con Co Ngua) and early agricultural (Man Bac) populations in northern Vietnam. Firstly, our findings demonstrate that thalassemia emerged prior to the transition to agriculture in Mainland Southeast Asia, from at least the early seventh millennium BP, contradicting a long-held assumption that agriculture was the main driver for an increase in malaria in Southeast Asia. Secondly, we describe evidence for significant malarial burden in the region during early agriculture. We argue that the introduction of farming into the region was not the initial driver of the selection for thalassemia, as it may have been in other regions of the world
Associations of Underlying Health Conditions With Anxiety and Depression Among Outpatients: Modification Effects of Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms, Health-Related and Preventive Behaviors
Objectives: We explored the association of underlying health conditions (UHC) with depression and anxiety, and examined the modification effects of suspected COVID-19 symptoms (S-COVID-19-S), health-related behaviors (HB), and preventive behaviors (PB).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8,291 outpatients aged 18â85 years, in 18 hospitals and health centers across Vietnam from 14th February to May 31, 2020. We collected the data regarding participant's characteristics, UHC, HB, PB, depression, and anxiety.Results: People with UHC had higher odds of depression (OR = 2.11; p < 0.001) and anxiety (OR = 2.86; p < 0.001) than those without UHC. The odds of depression and anxiety were significantly higher for those with UHC and S-COVID-19-S (p < 0.001); and were significantly lower for those had UHC and interacted with âunchanged/moreâ physical activity (p < 0.001), or âunchanged/moreâ drinking (p < 0.001 for only anxiety), or âunchanged/healthierâ eating (p < 0.001), and high PB score (p < 0.001), as compared to those without UHC and without S-COVID-19-S, ânever/stopped/lessâ physical activity, drinking, âless healthyâ eating, and low PB score, respectively.Conclusion: S-COVID-19-S worsen psychological health in patients with UHC. Physical activity, drinking, healthier eating, and high PB score were protective factors
Social Contact Patterns in Vietnam and Implications for the Control of Infectious Diseases
BACKGROUND: The spread of infectious diseases from person to person is determined by the frequency and nature of contacts between infected and susceptible members of the population. Although there is a long history of using mathematical models to understand these transmission dynamics, there are still remarkably little empirical data on contact behaviors with which to parameterize these models. Even starker is the almost complete absence of data from developing countries. We sought to address this knowledge gap by conducting a household based social contact diary in rural Vietnam. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A diary based survey of social contact patterns was conducted in a household-structured community cohort in North Vietnam in 2007. We used generalized estimating equations to model the number of contacts while taking into account the household sampling design, and used weighting to balance the household size and age distribution towards the Vietnamese population. We recorded 6675 contacts from 865 participants in 264 different households and found that mixing patterns were assortative by age but were more homogenous than observed in a recent European study. We also observed that physical contacts were more concentrated in the home setting in Vietnam than in Europe but the overall level of physical contact was lower. A model of individual versus household vaccination strategies revealed no difference between strategies in the impact on R(0). CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: This work is the first to estimate contact patterns relevant to the spread of infections transmitted from person to person by non-sexual routes in a developing country setting. The results show interesting similarities and differences from European data and demonstrate the importance of context specific data
Micronutrient Deficits Are Still Public Health Issues among Women and Young Children in Vietnam
Background: The 2000 Vietnamese National Nutrition Survey showed that the populationâs dietary intake had improved since 1987. However, inequalities were found in food consumption between socioeconomic groups. As no national data exist on the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, a survey was conducted in 2010 to assess the micronutrient status of randomly selected 1526 women of reproductive age and 586 children aged 6â75 mo. Principal Findings: In women, according to international thresholds, prevalence of zinc deficiency (ZnD, 67.262.6%) and vitamin B12 deficiency (11.761.7%) represented public health problems, whereas prevalence of anemia (11.661.0%) and iron deficiency (ID, 13.761.1%) were considered low, and folate (,3%) and vitamin A (VAD,,2%) deficiencies were considered negligible. However, many women had marginal folate (25.1%) and vitamin A status (13.6%). Moreover, overweight (BMI$23 kg/m 2 for Asian population) or underweight occurred in 20 % of women respectively highlighting the double burden of malnutrition. In children, a similar pattern was observed for ZnD (51.963.5%), anemia (9.161.4%) and ID (12.961.5%) whereas prevalence of marginal vitamin A status was also high (47.362.2%). There was a significant effect of age on anemia and ID prevalence, with the youngest age group (6â17 mo) having the highest risk for anemia, ID, ZnD and marginal vitamin A status as compared to other groups. Moreover, the poorest groups of population had a higher risk for zinc, anemia and ID
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