Catholic Relief Services: Information and Communication Technology in Monitoring and Evaluation

In February 2015, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Vietnam initiated a new project to support the reintegration and rehabilitation of survivors of accidents involving landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW). With funding from the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA), CRS’ Access and Reintegration (A&R) project takes a comprehensive approach to serving the needs of 3,219 survivors of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) in Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces. Through collaboration with the Government of Vietnam’s provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA), CRS provides survivors with access to medical care, rehabilitation, and social and livelihood support services. The key to success has been establishing an effective and functional coordination system at the local level for referrals, strengthening a network of community-based workers, and supporting families to provide appropriate, home-based care and support. CRS’ A&R project creates a network of support that ensures increased access to comprehensive services for survivors and advances their reintegration into society. The A&R Project has established a model for scaling to six affected districts in the targeted provinces and beyond

Evidence-Based Genetics and Identification of Key Human Alzheimer’s Disease Alleles with Co-morbidities

Advancements in biomedical research have contributed to increasing the life expectancy of humans, but we now observe an increase in age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and linkage studies have identified human genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease (referred to as AD genes). A previous study by Vahdati in 2017 has revealed the human AD genes and counterparts in model species [1]. Thus, we further investigate the co-morbidity genes and alleles. Using ontology analysis combined with cluster analysis, the study identified functional pathways enriched among the human AD genes, including 179 genes out of 695 human AD genes (26%) that were associated with one or more of the four neurological diseases including Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Schizophrenia [1]. More importantly, the results indicate co-morbidities with Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease (LOAD) and other neurological conditions, implying the complexity of the phenotypes in the human AD. The co-morbidity genes may account for mixed symptoms for human AD as well as age-related risks of infections. Of them, the three genes are well conserved (Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme gene, ACE; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase gene, MTHFR; and tumor necrosis factor gene, TNF). In this study, we confirmed the comorbidity of the three genes associated with AD. We further identified the comorbidity of two alleles in the MTHFR gene, C677T and A222V, significantly associated with Alzheimer’s disease. This study provides an example of evidencebased analysis that is cost-effective and may be an effective approach to develop cure-alls for multiple diseases

PHÁT HIỆN MỘT SỐ THUỐC HẠ GLUCOSE MÁU TRỘN LẪN TRONG CHẾ PHẨM DƯỢC LIỆU BẰNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP SẮC KÝ LỎNG HIỆU NĂNG CAO (HPLC)

Circular No. 10/2021/TT-BYT stipulated that several hypoglycemic drugs, such as metformin hydrochloride, are prohibited from adulterating medicinal herbal preparations. Therefore, this study aims to develop a procedure to detect five hypoglycemic drugs, including metformin hydrochloride, glibenclamide, gliclazide, glimepiride, and glipizide, adulterated in herbal preparations by using the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The chromatographic program includes the methanol:phosphate buffer pH 3 mobile phase 70/30 (v/v), chromatographic column C18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm), and analysis time of 25 minutes. The procedure has high specificity, accuracy and precision, according to AOAC. We detected six herbal products reacting positively with glibenclamide and one with both metformin hydrochloride and glibenclamide.Thông tư số 10/2021/TT-BYT quy định một số thuốc hạ glucose máu, như metformin hydroclorid, là các chất cấm trộn lẫn trong chế phẩm có nguồn gốc từ dược liệu. Do đó, mục tiêu nghiên cứu này là xây dựng quy trình phát hiện năm loại hoạt chất hạ glucose máu, gồm metformin hydroclorid, glibenclamid, gliclazid, glimepirid và glipizid, trộn lẫn trong chế phẩm có nguồn gốc dược liệu bằng phương pháp sắc ký lỏng hiệu năng cao (HPLC). Chúng tôi đã xây dựng được chương trình sắc ký gồm hệ pha động methanol:đệm phosphat pH 3 với tỷ lệ 30/70 (v/v), cột sắc ký C18 (250 × 4,6 mm, 5 μm), và thời gian phân tích 25 phút. Phương pháp thẩm định có tính đặc hiệu cao, độ đúng, độ lặp lại và độ tái lặp cao, đạt yêu cầu theo AOAC. Chúng tôi đã phát hiện bảy mẫu chế phẩm dược liệu dương tính trong đó sáu mẫu dương tính với glibenclamid và một mẫu dương tính đồng thời với metformin và glibenclamid

Isomer Spectroscopy of Neutron-rich 165,167Tb

Open Access JournalWe present information on the excited states in the prolate-deformed, neutron-rich nuclei 165;167Tb100;102. The nuclei of interest were synthesized following in-flight fission of a 345 MeV per nucleon 238U primary beam on a 2 mm 9Be target at the Radioactive Ion-Beam Factory (RIBF), RIKEN, Japan. The exotic nuclei were separated and identified event-by-event using the BigRIPS separator, with discrete energy gamma-ray decays from isomeric states with half-lives in the _s regime measured using the EURICA gamma-ray spectrometer. Metastable-state decays are identified in 165Tb and 167Tb and interpreted as arising from hindered E1 decay from the 7/2-[523] single quasi-proton Nilsson configuration to rotational states built on the 3/2-[411] single quasi-proton ground state. These data correspond to the first spectroscopic information in the heaviest, odd-A terbium isotopes reported to date and provide information on proton Nilsson configurations which reside close to the Fermi surface as the 170Dy doubly-midshell nucleus is approached.postprin

Empagliflozin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

BackgroundEmpagliflozin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its anti-inflammatory, metabolic, and haemodynamic effects. The RECOVERY trial aimed to assess its safety and efficacy in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.MethodsIn the randomised, controlled, open-label RECOVERY trial, several possible treatments are compared with usual care in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. In this analysis, we assess eligible and consenting adults who were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus oral empagliflozin 10 mg once daily for 28 days or until discharge (whichever came first) using web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality; secondary outcomes were duration of hospitalisation and (among participants not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline) the composite of invasive mechanical ventilation or death. On March 3, 2023 the independent data monitoring committee recommended that the investigators review the data and recruitment was consequently stopped on March 7, 2023. The ongoing RECOVERY trial is registered with ISRCTN (50189673) and ClinicalTrials.gov(NCT04381936)FindingsBetween July 28, 2021 and March 6, 2023, 4271 patients were randomly allocated to receive either empagliflozin (2113 patients) or usual care alone (2158 patients). Primary and secondary outcome data were known for greater than 99% of randomly assigned patients. Overall, 289 (14%) of 2113 patients allocated to empagliflozin and 307 (14%) of 2158 patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days (rate ratio 0·96 [95% CI 0·82–1·13]; p=0·64). There was no evidence of significant differences in duration of hospitalisation (median 8 days for both groups) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days (1678 [79%] in the empagliflozin group vs 1677 [78%] in the usual care group; rate ratio 1·03 [95% CI 0·96–1·10]; p=0·44). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, there was no evidence of a significant difference in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilation or death (338 [16%] of 2084 vs 371 [17%] of 2143; risk ratio 0·95 [95% CI 0·84–1·08]; p=0·44). Two serious adverse events believed to be related to empagliflozin were reported: both were ketosis without acidosis.InterpretationIn adults hospitalised with COVID-19, empagliflozin was not associated with reductions in 28-day mortality, duration of hospital stay, or risk of progressing to invasive mechanical ventilation or death so is not indicated for the treatment of such patients unless there is an established indication due to a different condition such as diabetes

Environmental and socio-economic impacts of institutional reforms on the agricultural sector of Vietnam Land suitability assessment for Robusta coffee in the Dak Gan region

After the reunion of North and South Vietnam in 1975, the area under small-holder, irrigated cultivation of Robusta coffee increased by a factor of 10 in the Central Highlands. The actual coffee acreage in Dak Lak province is estimated to be over 260,000 ha, representing 60% of the national production, with 405,000 t year(-1) for the world market. Vietnam is presently the second largest exporter worldwide and expansion is still going on. In cooperation with the National Institute for Agricultural Planning and Projection (NIAPP), a 5-year development project "Land Evaluation for Land Use Planning and Development of Sustainable Agriculture in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam" was set up, with a goal of diagnosing the sustainability of the rapidly expanding Robusta coffee sector in Central Vietnam. This paper describes the reasons for this quick expansion and investigates the consequences in ecological and social terms. This is done based on a large-scale natural resources inventory, land suitability analysis for Robusta coffee and participatory rural appraisal combined with secondary statistical records from Dak Gan commune. It is representative of the Central Highlands in terms of geomorphological and pedological variability, ethnic identity and with regard to trade-offs between forest conservation and coffee expansion at the cost of available water stocks. Local institutional reforms in the eighties have accelerated coffee expansion in three ways: demographic resettlement, socio-economic liberalization and legislation towards land ownership. Interaction between these three factors has induced a second spontaneous migration flow towards the Highlands in the nineties. Forest area declined by 19% and was converted to coffee plantations, encouraged by the high economic return of this cash crop. The results indicate that this has happened in an haphazard manner and led to a mismatch between the present land use pattern and the natural resource base. Unsustainable land use manifests itself at four levels. (i) The areal limits for sustainable coffee production have been exceeded. (ii) As a consequence over 74% of the present coffee stand is situated on sub-optimal land units. (iii) An excessive coffee area in combination with over-irrigation is likely to deplete groundwater resources. (iv) And paradoxically 24.3% of suitable soils for coffee production is still under forest in Dak Gan. In turn this leads to large-scale environmental and socio-economic decline: soil erosion, water scarcity and social inequity resulting in conflicts between migrants and the indigenous tribes. Besides local reforms, world trade liberalization changed the global coffee market in the late nineties from a regulated system to a free trade market. This fostered global oversupply, which in combination with a stagnant coffee demand suppressed the world market price. Since Vietnam became the second world producer of Robusta, prices have declined by a factor of 3, not only affecting the local sector but households worldwide. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Design and Implementation of a VoIP PBX Integrated Vietnamese Virtual Assistant: A Case Study

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Biomonitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure in small groups of residents in Brisbane, Australia and Hanoi, Vietnam, and those travelling between the two cities

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been associated with adverse health outcomes. Concentrations of urinary PAH metabolites (OH-PAHs) provide an integrated measure of human exposure to PAHs but measurement of urinary OH-PAHs has not been done in Australia and rarely in Vietnam, where air pollution is of concern. In this study, we assessed exposure to PAHs in 16 participants living in Brisbane, Australia and Hanoi, Vietnam, with 4 participants travelling between the two cities during the monitoring period. A total of 312 first morning urine samples were collected over 10 weeks and were analysed for nine OH-PAHs. Concentrations of the urinary OH-PAHs were 2–10 times higher in participants from Hanoi than those from Brisbane. For example, the median concentrations of 1-hydroxypyrene were 292 pg/mL in Hanoi, compared to 64 pg/mL in Brisbane. For participants travelling from Brisbane to Hanoi and back, differences in exposure to PAHs in these two cities resulted in corresponding changes of urinary OH-PAH concentrations, demonstrating that the more polluted environment in Hanoi was likely the source for higher PAH exposure there

Poly‐and perfluoroalkyl substances in water and wastewater: A comprehensive review from sources to remediation

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are pollutants have attracted major concern due to their high persistence and bioaccumulation. They are causing increasingly serious epidemiological problems in many communities globally due to consuming PFAS-contaminated water sources. Necessarily, the behavior of PFAS in water and wastewater needs to be understood better. This study attempts to comprehensively review, analyze and discuss PFAS based on the following key aspects: (i) sources, (ii) occurrence in water and wastewater, (iii) transformation, fate and migration, and (iv) remediation technologies. Studies indicated that modern water and wastewater treatment plants cannot deal completely with PFAS and in some cases, the removal efficiency is minus -3500-fold. The main reasons are the high hydrophobicity of PFAS and presence of PFAS precursors. Precursors can account for 33–63% of total PFAS concentration in water and wastewater. Detection and identification of precursors are challenging due to the requirement of advanced analytical instrument and standard chemicals. Several technologies have been developed for PFAS remediation involving two main mechanisms: separation-concentration and destruction. The most widespread in-use technology is adsorption because it is reasonably affordable. Anion exchange resin and synthesized materials are the most effective sorbents having a sorption capacity of 100–2000 mg PFAS/g sorbent, effective within a few hours. The destruction technology such as plasma can also be a promising one for degrading PFAS to below health-based standard in 1 min. However, plasma is costly and not yet ready for full scale application