KHÁM PHÁ CÁC KHÍA CẠNH CỦA TRẢI NGHIỆM ẨM THỰC HUẾ CỦA KHÁCH DU LỊCH NỘI ĐỊA

Although the local cuisine in many tourist destinations has played an important role in attracting tourists, and the local culinary experience could significantly influence tourists’ behaviours, the topic of the culinary experience of tourists has just emerged in the tourism literature in Vietnam. Through the case of Hue cuisine, this study aims to explore aspects of the culinary experience of tourists using the Experience Economy framework. Based on the qualitative data obtained in semi-structured interviews with twenty domestic tourists, the thematic analysis results show that four themes emerged in the culinary experience with Hue traditional cuisine. They include esthetics, education, escapism and entertainment. Based on these findings, several recommendations are proposed to enhance the culinary experience of domestic tourists visiting Hue, such as: telling stories about Hue specialties to tourists, enabling tourists to observe or get involved in certain cooking or decorating activities, or creating attractive check-in area with Hue local food.Mặc dù ẩm thực của một điểm đến có sức hấp dẫn thu hút khách du lịch và trải nghiệm ẩm thực địa phương có tác động đáng kể đến hành vi du lịch của du khách, tuy nhiên, chủ đề nghiên cứu về trải nghiệm ẩm thực của khách du lịch vẫn còn rất mới mẻ ở Việt Nam. Thông qua trường hợp ẩm thực Huế, nghiên cứu này nhằm khám phá các khía cạnh nội dung của trải nghiệm ẩm thực của du khách sử dụng khung lý thuyết về Kinh tế trải nghiệm. Dựa trên dữ liệu định tính thu được thông qua các cuộc phỏng vấn với 20 khách du lịch nội địa, kết quả phân tích chủ đề cho thấy rằng có bốn chủ đề xuất hiện trong trải nghiệm ẩm thực dân gian Huế của du khách. Các chủ đề này bao gồm: trải nghiệm thẩm mỹ, trải nghiệm học hỏi, trải nghiệm thoát ly thực tế và trải nghiệm giải trí. Dựa trên kết quả này, một số khuyến nghị được đưa ra nhằm nâng cao trải nghiệm của du khách đến Huế, chẳng hạn như: kể chuyện về món ăn đặc sản Huế, cho khách xem hoặc tham gia vào một số công đoạn chế biến trình bày món ăn, hoặc tạo các điểm check-in đẹp với món ăn đặc sản Huế

HAEMAGGLUTINATION ACTIVITY OF THE EXTRACTS FROM SOME VIETNAM MARINE INVERTEBRATES

Aqueous extracts from 21 species of Vietnam marine invertebrates, including 11 bivalve and 10 gastropod species, were examined for haemagglutination activity using native and enzyme-treated different animal and human erythrocytes. The 8 bivalve and 10 gastropod species were found to have haemagglutinination activities toward at least one type of erythrocyte tested. A total of 86% of marine invertebrate species surveyed were active. Strong activity was detected in extracts from two bivalve species (Tridacna squamosa and Geloina coaxans) and three gastropod species (Tutufa rubeta, Pleuroploca trapezium and Tectus conus) with enzyme-treated rabbit, horse and human A, B, O erythrocytes. In a haemagglutination–inhibition test with various monosaccharides and glycoproteins, haemagglutination activities of two extracts from T. rubeta and P. trapezium had no affinity for any of the monosaccharides and glycoproteins tested, while activities of the extracts from T. squamosa and T. conus were strongly inhibited by porcine stomach mucin tested, suggesting the presence of lectins specific for O-glycans of these species. The activities of four marine invertebrate extracts were stable over a wide range ofpH and temperature. The haemagglutination activities of T. rubeta and P. trapezium extracts were independent of the presence of divalent cations, whereas the haemagglutination activity of extracts from T. squamosa and T. conus were slightly dependent on the presence of divalent cations. The results suggest that Vietnam marine invertebrates may be good sources of useful lectins for biochemical and biomedical applications

Influence of foliar application with Moringa oleifera residue fertilizer on growth, and yield quality of leafy vegetables

Biofertilizers produced from organic materials help to promote the growth, and yield quality of crops and is more environmentally friendly than chemical fertilizers. Moringa oleifera is a leafy vegetable whose leaves are also used to make biofertilizers. The use of moringa non-edible parts in biofertilizer preparation remains under-explored. In this study, a procedure to produce moringa foliar biofertilizer (MFB) from non-edible parts was developed. The effect of composting time (3 to 4 months) on the quality of MFB was investigated, and four-month incubation was found suitable for biofertilizers yield with the highest nitrogen content and optimal pH. Furthermore, the influences of MFB doses (20 to 100 mL per Litre) on the growth of lettuce and mustard spinach were studied. The yield of these leafy vegetables was the highest at 100 mL per Litre of MFB spray. Finally, MFB was compared with other commercial foliar sprays, including chitosan fertilizer and seaweed fertilizer. Each foliar treatment was applied every five days until five days before harvest. Plant height, the number of leaves, canopy diameter, leaf area index, actual yield, ascorbic acid content, and Brix were found to be similar in lettuce sprayed with MFB, chitosan, and seaweed fertilizers. In conclusion, the application of MFB promoted the growth and yield of mustard spinach

Content of 4(5)-methylimidazole, caffeine and chlorogenic acid in commercial coffee brands

Content of 4(5)-methylimidazole (4-MeI), caffeine and chlorogenic acid in commercial coffee brands were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV DAD and MS detectors. Positive ion ESI mass spectra of the 4-MeI standard yielded intense signals corresponding to [M+H]+ (83.0604) and [2M+H]+ ions (165.1115). Also, adducts of 4-MeI with acetonitrile from mobile were detected - [M+ACN]+ ions (124.0849). The LOD of 2.5 ng mL-1 and LOQ of 8.4 ng.mL-1 were calculated according to the following formulas: LOD = 3.SD/S, and LOQ = 10.SD/S, where S is the slope of the calibration curve and SD is the standard deviation of the noise. The caffeine content was compared to the results of the standard addition, 1st derivative and liquid-liquid extraction spectrophotometry. 4-MeI was in tens μg g-1 in the Vietnamese coffees while in units μg.g-1 in all Czech and Brazilian coffees (<2.4 μg.g-1 and <4.9 μg.g-1, respectively). The results for caffeine were within the documented range (0.31 - 2.20%) in all coffee samples. The lower content of caffeine and chlorogenic acid was observed in Vietnamese coffees. All the methods used for determination of caffeine in the Czech and Brazilian coffees gave acceptable precision and accuracy. However, there were significant differences in the results in Vietnamese coffees. The caffeine extractability (100 °C, 3 min brewing) almost reached 100% in Czech and Brazilian coffees, while it was less than 90% in Vietnamese coffees. The Czech and Brazilian coffees tend to produce more caffeine in brews than the Vietnamese coffee because of the different composition of blends and the particle size degree. © 2015 Potravinarstvo

EFFECT OF CULTURE CONDITIONS FOR ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF MARINE - DERIVED FUNGUS ASPERGILLUS FLOCCULOSUS 01NT.1.1.5

The biosynthesis of compounds with antibiotic activity produced by marine fungi, strongly depends on their growth conditions. A good understanding of the role of culture conditions in the biosynthesis of metabolites may lead to better exploitation of microbial metabolites. In this study, the influence of culture conditions including incubation period, initial pH and salinity on antimicrobial activity and secondary metabolites production of marine fungus 01NT.1.1.5 was investigated. This isolate, obtained from sponge Stylissa sp. in Nha Trang Bay, exhibited a broad spectrum of in vitro antimicrobial activity to Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19111, Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 19433 and Candida albicans ATCC 10231. According to morphological characteristics and sequence analysis of 28S rDNA, the fungus was identified as Aspergillus flocculosus. The results indicated that antimicrobial activity and metabolite amount were highest when the fungus was cultivated in rice medium with incubation period of 20 days. The optimum salinity of 35 g/L and initial pH of 6.0 were found for the maximum antibiotic production. The colony growth, antimicrobial activity and production of secondary metabolites of the strain A. flocculosus 01NT.1.1.5 varied depending on salt concentrations and initial pH of medium. Particularly, extract of this fungus only showed activity against C. albicans when it was cultured in medium with 30-35 g/L salinity and initial pH 4.0-8.0. The results  indicate that salinity and initial pH along with cultivation period are important factors influencing antimicrobial activity and secondary metabolites of A. flocculosus 01NT.1.1.5, and might be for other marine fungi

Secondary metabolites from Dipterocarpus obtusifolius Teijsm. Ex Miq

Six known compounds daphneresinol (1), (+)-neo-olivil (2), methyl gallate (3), bergenin (4), asiatic acid (5) and blumenol A (6) were obtained from the organic extract of the leaves of Dipterocarpus obtusifolius Teijsm. Ex Miq. by various chromatographic techniques. Structural elucidation of the metabolites was carried out by analysis of their spectroscopic data and by comparison with those reported in the literature. Compounds 1-4 and 6 were isolated from this plant for the first time

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions

GLUCOSIDES AND UREA DERIVATIVES FROM THE SEEDS OF SCAPHIUM MACROPODUM (MIQ.) BEUMÉE

Five known compounds {carbonylbis[imino(6-methyl-3,1-phenylenel)]}bis[carbamic acid] dimethyl ester (1), (1'R,3'S,5'R,8'S,2E,4E-dihydrophaseic acid) 3'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), 3-methylbutan-1-ol beta-D-glucopyranoside (3), astragalin (4) and daucosterol (5) were isolated from the methanol extract of the seeds of Scaphium macropodum (Miq.) Beumée. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated by the spectroscopic methods including NMR and MS, and also by comparison with the literature data. Compounds 1-3 were isolated from this plant for the first time

An Outbreak of Severe Infections with Community-Acquired MRSA Carrying the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Following Vaccination

Background: Infections with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) are emerging worldwide. We investigated an outbreak of severe CA-MRSA infections in children following out-patient vaccination. Methods and Findings: We carried out a field investigation after adverse events following immunization (AEFI) were reported. We reviewed the clinical data from all cases. S. aureus recovered from skin infections and from nasal and throat swabs were analyzed by pulse-field gel electrophoresis, multi locus sequence typing, PCR and microarray. In May 2006, nine children presented with AEFI, ranging from fatal toxic shock syndrome, necrotizing soft tissue infection, purulent abscesses, to fever with rash. All had received a vaccination injection in different health centres in one District of Ho Chi Minh City. Eight children had been vaccinated by the same health care worker (HCW). Deficiencies in vaccine quality, storage practices, or preparation and delivery were not found. Infection control practices were insufficient. CA-MRSA was cultured in four children and from nasal and throat swabs from the HCW. Strains from children and HCW were indistinguishable. All carried the Panton-Valentine leukocidine (PVL), the staphylococcal enterotoxin B gene, the gene complex for staphylococcal-cassette-chromosome mec type V, and were sequence type 59. Strain HCM3A is epidemiologically unrelated to a strain of ST59 prevalent in the USA, althoughthey belong to the same lineage. Conclusions. We describe an outbreak of infections with CA-MRSA in children, transmitted by an asymptomatic colonized HCW during immunization injection. Consistent adherence to injection practice guidelines is needed to prevent CA-MRSA transmission in both in- and outpatient settings