Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infections and exposure in surfaces, points and wastewaters: A global one health perspective

The persistence of SARS-CoV-2 or its RNA on surfaces, points, or wastewaters may increase the risk of transmission of this virus. Therefore, we conducted this review to discuss the places and surfaces with the highest potential for infection and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Several common and public areas, hospitals, elevators, public transport, local markets, and surfaces such as public toilets, door handles, untreated and treated wastewaters, wastewater plants, and public washrooms are also considered major points for spreading of SARS-CoV-2. Highly contaminated surfaces or places often have materials or contain items made of materials on which the SARS-CoV-2 virus can persist (e.g., metal, wood, and plastic). For example, SARS-CoV-2 can exist up to 4 days on doorknobs made by those materials. For public places such as public transports, elevators, and local markets, crowding and enclosed spaces are major source for transmission. Several measures such as using copper alloy surfaces instead of metal surfaces, disinfectants, and suitable personal protective equipment have been suggested. Our research could be the basis to help develop studies on the existence and transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 as well as its RNA to take measures to prevent and limit the harmful effects of COVID-19 pandemic.We would like to thank Nguyen Manh Long (Center for Biomedicine and Community Health, Vietnam National University) and Khanh Linh Hoang (Department of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam) for partially collecting references and critical reading and checking to improve the manuscript. We especially thank Dr. Le Bui Minh (NTT Hi-tech Institute, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, 300A Nguyen Tat Thanh St., Ward 13, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) for the license to use BioRender to create the figures in this work.Peer reviewe

COVID-19 in Southeast Asia: current status and perspectives

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) has spread globally with catastrophic damages to the public health, social and economy since the beginning of the outbreak. In 2020, Southeast Asia proved that it could prevent the worst effects of a pandemic through the closure of activities and borders and movement restriction, as well as social distancing. Nevertheless, with the occurrence of the common variants of concern (VOCs), especially Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1.617.2), Southeast Asia is facing a significant increase in the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. Now, the area also has the threats of the spreading out of the dangerous variant - Omicron (B.1.1.529) from other close countries or regions. COVID-19 countermeasures such as closures and social distancing seem to be insufficient. Moreover, Southeast Asia is being held back by a shortage of vaccines and other medical resources. This work focuses on describing the COVID-19 situation, the virus variants, and the coverage of COVID-19 vaccination in the area. We also provide perspectives on the COVID-19 vaccine distribution, protecting the economic capitals, developing the green zone, and the importance of finding more vaccine supplies in Southeast Asia

Nutritional status and related factors in Vietnamese students in 2022

Summary: Background and aims: This work aims to investigate the nutritional status and to find out several related factors among Vietnamese students in 2022. Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted on 835 students. Participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire to collect their social-demographic information, as well as information about their height, weight, waist, and hip circumference, eating habits, and physical activity habits. Descriptive statistics and analytical statistics were performed, with P<0.05 as the statistically significant difference. Results: 99.16% of study subjects were under 21 years old, and the vast majority were female (75.09%). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 3.23% and 0.72%, respectively, while the figure for both thinness and severe thinness was 27.67%. Most of the students were at a low level of health risk (71.26%), while this figure for high risk of health was 17.37% based on the waist-hip ratio (WHR). The prevalence of moderate and high levels of health risk in females was statistically higher than in males. Self-rated weight, insufficient sleep duration, and physical activity patterns were factors related to both BMI and WHR. Moreover, several types of foods and eating habits also affected BMI among students. Conclusion: The nutritional status and several eating habits as well as activity habits were statistically different between males and females among Vietnamese students. Students' knowledge about nutrition should be elevated to enhance their behavior to their health

Willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine in relation to psychological wellbeing among a sample of university students in Vietnam

Abstract Background and aims Nowadays, there are contradicting opinions about the benefits and risks of COVID-19 vaccine, which lead to the hesitance among recipients to receive the vaccine. This study aims to evaluate the university student’s attitude toward COVID-19 vaccine, preventative measure, and status of their psychological wellbeing. Methods This was a cross-sectional study among Vietnamese students aged ≥ 18 years to evaluate their willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine, psychological wellbeing status, and preventive measure compliance. The participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire via Google Form. Descriptive and analytical statistics were performed with p < 0.05 being considered as statistically significant. Results A total of 2998 randomly selected participants in Vietnam completed the questionnaire with participants’ mean age of 20.26 $$\pm$$ ± 1.84. The mean score for the willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination was 46.13 $$\pm$$ ± 19.03 (the highest point was 54). Regarding preventative measures, the mean score of compliance was 7.15 $$\pm$$ ± 1.98 over a 10 points scale and “being vaccinated or not” did not affect their compliance. 56.94% participants were having normal psychological wellbeing at the time of survey and rest 43.06% reported to have experienced stress, varying from slight to severe level. There might be a trend that those studying medicine or those with higher educational level had higher rate of stress than others. Conclusion The study showed a positive result of Vietnamese students’ willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine and compliance towards preventive measures. Besides, we also reported that almost half participants had experienced stress during the pandemic. Developing proper interventions to deal with factors contributing to psychological wellbeing and related problems are essential to deal  with and overcome the pandemic or post-pandemic struggles

Tinctoric acid A-B, two new hopan-type triterpenoids from the Vietnamese lichen, <i>Parmotrema tinctorum</i> (Despr. ex Nyl.) hale with α-glucosidase inhibitory activity

Two new hopan-type triterpenoids, namely tinctoric acid A-B (1-2), were isolated from the lichen Parmotrema tinctorum (Despr. ex Nyl.) Hale. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses (1D and 2D NMR). The absolute configuration at C-22 of 1 was established through DP4 probability. Compounds 1-2 were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and found to be more potent than those of positive control (acarbose, IC50 168 µM) with values IC50 74.7 and 98.2 µM, respectively. Both of these compounds interacted well with enzyme α-glucosidase MAL32 through H-bonds and hydrophobic interaction.</p