Wickerhamomyces anomalus inoculated barley in wet fermented feed for pigs

The study was conducted to investigate the hygienic and nutritional value of Wickerhamomyces anomalus inoculated barley and also in combination with lactic acid bacteria starter culture inoculated barley in fermented liquid feed for growing pigs and their effect on the fermentation process. The experiment was carried out in SLU’s experiment stable. Six growing pigs Yorkshire purebred at an average initial live weight of (29±2.5) kg were surgically fitted with a PVTC – cannula. Four diets, 6 pigs and 6 periods were arranged in a change-over design. The fermented liquid diets were fermented dry (FD), fermented control (FC), fermented inoculated with Wickerhamomyces anomalus (FW) and fermented inoculated with Wickerhamomyces anomalus and Starter culture (FWS). Water was added to the feed in a 3:1 ratio. All of the treatments were fermented during an initial 7 days. When feeding commenced 1/2 of the contents were replaced with fresh feed and water once a day in the afternoon. The pH of the treatments was around 4.0. There were no Enterobacteriaceae found in the feed during the 6 periods. Cfu counts for yeast in all treatments slightly fluctuated around log 7.5 Cfu/ g grain during the experiment. Cfu counts for lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in Wickerhamomyces inoculated treatments tended to be lower than that in non-inoculated treatments. Cfu counts for mould in FW and FWS were lower (approximately log 1 for FW and log 3 for FWS) than in FC in the periods that they were detected. The apparent ileal digestibility of OM was different (P 0.05) among treatments. In conclusion, Wickerhamomyces anomalus and lactic acid bacteria starter culture inoculated to moist crimped grain can give good hygiene in wet fermented feed and high total tract digestibility of organic matter and crude protein

Isolation an agar degradation Bacillus sp. AT6 and preliminary application for seaweed saccharification

Background: Agar is a common polysaccharide found in nature. However, agar is strongly resisted to the degradation processing, leading to limitation of its application in various areas. Thus, finding an effective solution for agar saccharification significantly improves the economically effects of agar based substrates.Methods: Soil samples were collected from TienPhong Forestry Ltd. Company, ThuyXuan District, ThuaThien Hue province, Vietnam. Potential agar degrading bacteria were screened on a mineral salt agar medium. The isolate was identified based on 16S rRNA nucleotide sequence, morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics. Agarase production was evaluated by modification culture conditions including incubation time, shaking speed, and initial inoculum size. Molecular mass of extracellular agarase was determined by native SDS-PAGE. The effect of pH, temperature, metal ions, and organic solvents were conducted for enzyme characterization. Application of enzyme was investigated on seaweed saccharification.Result: An agar degrading bacterial strain was isolated from soils and identified as Bacillus sp. AT6. Maximal agarase accumulation obtained in the culture containing an inoculum size of 10% (v/v), shaking speed of 210 rpm, and 96 hours incubation. The agarase revealed a single band on zymogram analysis with an apparent molecular weight of 180 kDa. The optimal temperature and pH were 40°C and pH 8.0, respectively. All tested metal ions and organic solvents partially decreased enzyme activity. Treatment seaweed by agarase resulted in reducing sugars release present in the reaction, indicating the saccharification of seaweed was succeeded.Conclusion: Bacillus sp. AT6 is a new report of agarolytic bacteria that produces extracellular agarase enzymes. The present results promise strain AT6 is a great candidate for agar saccharification for industrial application

Assessing the efficacy and safety of magnesium sulfate for management of autonomic nervous system dysregulation in Vietnamese children with severe hand foot and mouth disease.

BACKGROUND: Brainstem encephalitis is a serious complication of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in children. Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation and hypertension may occur, sometimes progressing to cardiopulmonary failure and death. Vietnamese national guidelines recommend use of milrinone if ANS dysregulation with Stage 2 hypertension develops. We wished to investigate whether magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) improved outcomes in children with HFMD if used earlier in the evolution of the ANS dysregulation (Stage 1 hypertension). METHODS: During a regional epidemic we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of MgSO4 in children with HFMD, ANS dysregulation and Stage 1 hypertension, at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh city. Study participants received an infusion of MgSO4 or matched placebo for 72 h. We also reviewed data from non-trial HFMD patients in whom milrinone failed to control hypertension, some of whom received MgSO4 as second line therapy. The primary outcome for both analyses was a composite of disease progression within 72 h - addition of milrinone (trial participants only), need for ventilation, shock, or death. RESULTS: Between June 2014 and September 2016, 14 and 12 participants received MgSO4 or placebo respectively, before the trial was stopped due to futility. Among 45 non-trial cases with poorly controlled hypertension despite high-dose milrinone, 33 received MgSO4 while 12 did not. There were no statistically significant differences in the composite outcome between the MgSO4 and the placebo/control groups in either study (adjusted relative risk (95%CI) of [6/14 (43%) vs. 6/12 (50%)], 0.84 (0.37, 1.92), p = 0.682 in the trial and [1/33 (3%) vs. 2/12 (17%)], 0.16 (0.01, 1.79), p = 0.132 in the observational cohort). The incidence of adverse events was similar between the groups. Potentially toxic magnesium levels occurred very rarely with the infusion regime used. CONCLUSION: Although we could not demonstrate efficacy in these studies, there were no safety signals associated with use of 30-50 mg/kg/hr. MgSO4 in severe HFMD. Intermittent outbreaks of HFMD are likely to continue across the region, and an adequately powered trial is still needed to evaluate use of MgSO4 in controlling hypertension in severe HFMD, potentially involving a higher dose regimen. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01940250 (Registered 22 AUG 2013). Trial sponsor: University of Oxford

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

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

Beam-steering ultrasonic guided waves in a bone-mimicking plate by time-delaying the excitation of the elements in a multi-element array: a numerical study

International audienc

ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA ĐIỆN THẾ NGƯỠNG LÊN SỰ PHÂN BỐ ĐIỆN TỬ CỦA ARMCHAIR GRAPHENE HAI LỚP NANORIBBONS

We employed tight-binding calculations and Green’s function formalism to investigate the effect of applied electric fields on the energy band and electronic properties of bilayer armchair graphene nanoribbons (BL-AGNRs). The results show that the perpendicular electric field has a strong impact on modifying and controlling the bandgap of BL-AGNRs. At the critical values of this electric field, distortions of energy dispersion in subbands and the formation of new electronic excitation channels occur strongly. These originate from low-lying energies near the Fermi level and move away from the zero-point with the increment of the electric field. Phase transitions and structural changes clearly happen in these materials. The influence of the parallel electric field is less important in changing the gap size, resulting in the absence of the critical voltage over a very wide range [–1.5 V; 1.5 V] for the semiconductor-insulator group. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note the powerful role of the parallel electric field in modifying the energy band and electronic distribution at each energy level. These results contribute to an overall picture of the physics model and electronic structure of BL-AGNRs under stimuli, which can be a pathway to real applications in the future, particularly for electronic devices.Trong bài báo này, chúng tôi sử dụng phương pháp tính toán tight-binding (TB) kết hợp với phương pháp luận hàm Green để khảo sát ảnh hưởng của điện thế ngưỡng lên cấu trúc vùng năng lượng và các tính chất điện tử của graphene hai lớp biên armchair nanoribbons (BL-AGNRs). Các kết quả nghiên cứu đã chỉ ra rằng điện trường vuông góc có ảnh hưởng mạnh mẽ lên sự biến đổi và điều chỉnh của vùng cấm ở BL-AGNRs. Tại các giá trị điện thế ngưỡng của điện trường này, sự biến dạng trong cấu trúc vùng con và việc hình thành các kênh kích thích điện tử xảy ra một cách mạnh mẽ, bắt đầu từ các mức năng lượng thấp nằm sâu bên trong mức Fermi đến các mức năng lượng nằm xa điểm năng lượng 0 khi giá trị điện trường tăng lên. Từ đó cho thấy quá trình chuyển pha và những thay đổi về mặt cấu trúc xảy ra một cách rõ ràng ở các nhóm của vật liệu này. Trong khi đó, ảnh hưởng của điện trường song song lại kém quan trọng hơn trong việc thay đổi độ rộng vùng cấm, dẫn đến việc không xuất hiện điện thế ngưỡng trong khoảng giá trị rất rộng [-1.5V; 1.5V] ở nhóm bán dẫn-điện môi. Tuy nhiên, một điều đáng chú ý là vai trò quan trọng của điện trường này trong việc điều chỉnh cấu trúc vùng năng lượng và sự phân bố điện tử trên mỗi mức năng lượng. Như vậy, những kết quả trong nghiên cứu này góp phần để hoàn thiện một bức tranh tổng quan về cấu trúc điện tử của BL-AGNRs dưới ảnh hưởng của các tác nhân kích thích đồng thời hướng đến giá trị ứng dụng của vật liệu này trong tương lai, đặc biệt là trong những thiết bị linh kiện điện tử

Impact of a Smoking Cessation Quitline in Vietnam: Evidence Base and Future Directions

Smoking is considered the most critical modifiable factor with regard to lung cancer and remains a public health concern in many countries, including Vietnam, which is among those countries with the highest tobacco consumption rates in the world. This study has examined the impact of national telephone counselling for smoking cessation and has identified the factors associated with the impact of the quitline among male callers in Vietnam. A randomized cross-sectional survey of 469 smokers who sought smoking cessation services via the national quitline was performed from September 2015 to May 2016. The primary outcomes were measured by a self-reported quit rate at the time of assessment, 7 day point prevalence abstinence (PA), 6 month prolonged PA, service satisfaction, and level of motivation. Among the participants, 31.6% were abstinent, and 5.1% of participants successfully stopped smoking and did not need to seek quitline support. Most of the clients were satisfied with the quality of service (88.5%), felt more confident about quitting (74.3%), and took early action via their first quit attempt (81.7%); 18.3% reported a more than 7 day abstinence period at the time of survey. The primary reasons for smoking relapse were surrounding smoking environments (51.6%) and craving symptoms (44.1%). Future smoking cessation efforts should focus on improving the quality of quitline services, client satisfaction, and developing a tailored program and counseling targeting smokers with specific characteristics, especially ones experiencing chronic diseases