FATTY ACID COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF CAMELLIA NINHII SEED OIL COLLECTED IN LAM DONG PROVINCE

The seed oil of Camellia ninhii was studied for the first time on its fatty acid composition by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and antioxidant activity by the DPPH method. The results show that unsaturated fatty acids account for the largest amount, especially oleic acid with 45.43% of the total sample analyzed. In addition, other fatty acids, palmitic, linoleic, pentadecanoic, and two aromatic acids, benzoic and cinnamic, were present. The sample of C. ninhii seed oil exhibited mild antioxidant activity against DPPH free radicals with IC50 = 0.94 mg/mL

Synthesis of 2,7,8-trioxaspiro[4,5]decan-1-ones by manganese(III)-based reaction

Some new spiro bicyclic compounds possessing one 1,2-dioxane ring and one γ-lactone ring were successfully synthesized by manganese(III)-based reaction of 1,1-diarylethenes and 2-acetylbutyrolactone under air. The procedure was simple and the product yield was high.   The NMR spectrometric features of the products were analyzed and the reaction mechanism is briefly discussed. Keywords. Manganese(III)-based reaction, spiro bicyclic compound, 1,2-dioxane ring, γ-lactone ring

Antioxidant and in vitro antidiabetic activities of Peperomia pellucida (L.) Kunth extract

Peperomia pellucida (L.) is commonly used as a herbal plant. Its effectiveness in treating inflammatory diseases, digestive disorders, and cancer in tropical and subtropical countries was introduced, especially in field of folk medicine. However, this plant species has not been studied widely in Vietnam, especially for its biological activities. This study was done to determine the antioxidant capacity of P. pellucida by using in vitro and in vivo methods, as well as its inhibitory ability to α-amylase enzyme activity. The total polyphenolic and flavonoid contents of P. pellucida extract were reported to be 359.91±0.77 mg GAE/g and 200.28±1.23 mg QE/g extract, respectively. The results showed the in vitro antioxidant activity of P. pellucida extract in four methods, including DPPH, and ABTS.+, RP and TAC, had EC50 values of 730.34 μg/mL, 84.33 μg/mL, 95.28 μg/mL, respectively, and Abs0.5 value of 114.73 μg/mL. Under H2O2-induced oxidative stress, fruit flies that were raised in the feed medium supplemented with a concentration of 1 mg/mL of P. pellucida extract showed their average survival time, 50% survival time, and 10% survival time at 1.6 times, 1.8 times, and 1.62 times, respectively, higher than those of the control treatment. The ability to inhibit the α-amylase activity in P. pellucida extract was determined with an EC50 value of 115.32±2.65 μg/mL compared with the commercial drug of 18.67±0, 01 μg/mL. The research results showed that P. pellucida is a potential species in the study of natural compounds with antioxidant and antidiabetic activities

Differential Cytotoxicity of Curcumin-Loaded Micelles on Human Tumor and Stromal Cells

peer reviewedAlthough curcumin in the form of nanoparticles has been demonstrated as a potential anti-tumor compound, the impact of curcumin and nanocurcumin in vitro on normal cells and in vivo in animal models is largely unknown. This study evaluated the toxicity of curcumin-loaded micelles in vitro and in vivo on several tumor cell lines, primary stromal cells, and zebrafish embryos. Breast tumor cell line (MCF7) and stromal cells (human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells, human fibroblasts, and human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells) were used in this study. A zebrafish embryotoxicity (FET) assay was conducted following the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Test 236. Compared to free curcumin, curcumin PM showed higher cytotoxicity to MCF7 cells in both monolayer culture and multicellular tumor spheroids. The curcumin-loaded micelles efficiently penetrated the MCF7 spheroids and induced apoptosis. The nanocurcumin reduced the viability and disturbed the function of stromal cells by suppressing cell migration and tube formation. The micelles demonstrated toxicity to the development of zebrafish embryos. Curcumin-loaded micelles demonstrated toxicity to both tumor and normal primary stromal cells and zebrafish embryos, indicating that the use of nanocurcumin in cancer treatment should be carefully investigated and controlled.3. Good health and well-bein

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

An exported protein of the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum plays a role in modifications of the erythrocyte membrane and parasite survival in the host

Submission note: A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy [to the] School of Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering, La Trobe University, Bundoora.</p

Data on gene cloning, expression, purification, and characterization of the glycoside hydrolase family 11 from Bacillus velezensis

Bacillus velezensis RB.IBE29 is a chitinolytic bacterium originally isolated from the rhizospheric soil of black pepper grown in Vietnam. This bacterium is a strong biocontrol agent against plant pathogens and possesses a novel chitinase system. Genome sequences available in CAZy database revealed B. velezensis possesses one gene encoding xylanase belonging to glycoside hydrolase family 11; however, this enzyme has yet to be un-experimentally characterized. In this work, xyA gene was isolated from the genomic DNA of strain RB.IBE29 and cloned in Escherichia coli DH5α cells using the pUC19 vector. Sequencing analysis showed that the ORF of xyA contains 642 bp and encodes the deduced xylanase with 213 aa and 23.27 kDa. The domain structure of the enzyme has a signal peptide and a family 11 catalytic domain. xyA (without peptide sequence) was successfully expressed in E. coli BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIPL cells using the pColdII vector and purified using the HisTrap FF column. Purified recombinant xylanase degraded xylan substrates, had the highest hydrolytic activity at 55°C in 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.0), and MgCl2, CoCl2, and MnCl2 enhanced the enzymatic activity. Nucleotide sequence of xyA was submitted to the DDBJ/GenBank/EMBL under accession number LC779040. This is the first data on the gene cloning, expression, purification, and characterization of the glycoside hydrolase family 11 from B. velezensis

Do intangible assets stimulate firm performance? Empirical evidence from Vietnamese agriculture, forestry and fishery small- and medium-sized enterprises

Innovation and intangible asset (IA) management have not received adequate attention amongst labour- and capital-intensive sectors. This study investigates the effect of IAs on firms’ performance and the internal and external determinants of firms’ IA development amongst small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Vietnamese sectors of agriculture, forestry and fishery (AFF). The study adopts a stochastic frontier analysis to estimate firms’ performance and propensity score matching to examine the difference between firms with and without IAs. Ten hypotheses of innovation determinants including firms’ internal and external factors are also investigated. The results reveal three notable findings. (1) For Vietnamese AFF sectors, IAs diminish firms’ performance. (2) Internal factors such as age, size and financial robustness have positive effects on the formation of IAs, while investments in land, labour and research and development impose mixed effects. (3) External factors, such as regional and province-specific characteristics, have significant impacts on IAs. These results suggest a review of current policies on innovation and IA management amongst SMEs

Enhancement diesel oil degradation by using biofilm forming bacteria on biochar

Biochar is defined as a carbon-rich, fine-grained, porous substance, which is produced by pyrolysis biomass with little or no oxygen. Biochar is usually produced from crop residues, wood biomass, animal litters, and solid wastes. Recently, biochar is increasingly receiving attention as an environmental-friendly approach, especially as a climate change mitigation strategy. Biochar is especilly demonstrated to remove diesel oil (DO) from soil and water. In this report, 4 biofilm forming bacteria including Klepsiella sp. VTD8, Pseudomonas sp. BQN21, Rhodococcus sp. BN5 and Stenotropomonas sp. QND8 were used to attach to biochar produced from husk to estimate the capacity of their DO removal. As the results, removal efficiency of biofilm formed by each strain VTD8, BQN21, BN5 and QND8 were 67, 73, 75 and 68 % with initial concentration of 39 g/l, respectively. On the other hand, mix species biofilm attached to husk carrier and without carrier degraded 98 and 78 %. Using husk without bacteria as absortion control, the amount of DO removal was 23 %. These results gave hint that using biochar produced from husk as carrier for biofilm forming bacteria to attach may increase efficiency of DO pollution treatment.Than sinh học (biochar) là một chất xốp có các gốc carbon và có nguồn gốc từ quá trình nhiệt phân sinh khối các loại chất thải, động, thực vật,… dưới điều kiện hạn chế oxy hoặc không có oxy. Hiện nay biochar đã được ứng dụng rộng rãi trong xử lý môi trường. Đặc biệt các biochar còn được chứng minh là có thể xử lý dầu diesel (diesel oil - DO) có trong đất và nước. Trong nghiên cứu này, chúng tôi sử dụng 4 chủng vi khuẩn tạo màng sinh học tốt là Klepsiella sp. VTD8, Pseudomonas sp. BQN21, Rhodococcus sp. BN5 và Stenotropomonas sp. QND8 để gắn lên chất mang là biochar làm từ trấu nhằm đánh giá hiệu quả xử lý DO của chúng. Kết quả cho thấy, sau 7 ngày, các chủng VTD8, BQN21, BN5 và QND8 có khả năng phân hủy 67, 73, 75 và 68 % DO với hàm lượng ban đầu là 39 g/l. Trong khi đó, hiệu suất của màng sinh học tạo thành bởi hỗn hợp các chủng này khi không có chất mang biochar trấu và khi có chất mang biochar trấu lần lượt là 78 và 98 %. Còn sử dụng chất mang biochar trấu không có vi sinh vật làm đối chứng thì thu được hiệu suất hấp phụ DO là 23 %. Như vậy, kết quả này mở ra tiềm năng ứng dụng biochar trấu làm chất mang cho các chủng vi khuẩn tạo màng sinh học để nâng cao hiệu quả xử lý ô nhiễm dầu