Drosophila Model in the Study Role of UCH-L1

UCH-L1 (ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase L1) is a protein, which plays an important role in ubiquitin-proteasome system. Many previous reports showed the relation between UCH-L1 and neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, as well as cancer. However, the mechanism still remains unclear. In the aim to investigate the functions and regulatory mechanism of UCH-L1 in living organism, Drosophila melanogaster model was utilized to examine the role of UCH-L1. This chapter provides a summary on recent findings related to the roles of UCH-L1 based on the model. First, abnormal expression of Drosophila ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase (dUCH) leads to the defects on fly tissue development and function. Gain function of dUCH in the eye imaginal discs induced a rough eye phenotype in the adult, partly resulting from induction of caspase-dependent apoptosis, upset of photoreceptor cell distribution and ommatidium apical mispatterning. Interestingly, the dUCH overexpression of induced rough eye phenotype was completely recused by co-expression either Sevenless or Draf of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Besides, knockdown dUCH in dopaminergic neurons resulted in some Parkinson’s disease—like phenotypes in fly. Taken together, those findings in Drosophila model contributed a significant dUCH in tissue development and function

Ubiquitin Carboxyl-Terminal Hydrolase L1 in Parkinson’s Disease

Ubiquitin plays the crucial roles to maintain the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) functions, which were suggested that involved in Parkinson’s diease (PD). Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1), which was detected in Lewy bodies of nerve cells in PD brains, plays an important role for maintaining ubiquitin pool in UPS. The first UCHL1 mutation (UCHL1I93M) was found in two siblings of a PD family. By contrast, UCHL1S18Y mutation was recognized to reduce the risk of developing PD by its specific antioxidant protective function. The studies of UCHL1 in mouse models showed that lack of UCHL1 resulted in motor ataxia, degeneration of axons, and instability of free ubiquitin level. Transgenic mice expressing UCHL1I93M mutant exhibited dopaminergic neuron (DA) degeneration in MPTP-treated conditions. In this chapter, we provide a summary on recent findings related to roles of UCH-L1 in PD. Knockdown dUCH, a homolog of human UCHL1, in fly dopaminergic neuron resulted as some Parkinson’s disease—like phenotype such as: (1) the underdevelopment and/or degeneration of DA neurons; (2) the shortage of dopamine in the brain; and (3) the locomotor dysfunctions. Those finding indicated that dUCH (ortholog of human UCH-L1 in Drosophila) plays an important role in Parkinson’s disease

Effects of Fertilizers on Biomass, Sugar Content and Ethanol Production of Sweet Sorghum

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a promising alternative crop for bioethanol production in developing countries. However, to extend the cultivative area of this crop, it needs to develop an appropriate growing protocol for farmers. This chapter describes the examination of different doses of fertilizers combined with manure and micronutrients, in various applied times, on biomass, sugar content and ethanol production of sweet sorghum. It was observed that the application of 90 N + 90 P2O5 + 60 K2O provided maximum stem yield and optimum contents of sugar and ethanol yield, however nontreatment of any among P, P2O5 and K2O caused significant reduction of biomass and ethanol production. Higher fertilization >90 N may provide greater productivity of this crop but it may cause lodging and economic deficit for farmers in developing countries. It was also found that the applied times of fertilization should be at 3–4 to 7–8 leaf stage. In contrast, when the fertilization was as close to the flowering stage caused remarkable reduction of stem yield and ethanol production. The supplementation of (NH4)2MO7O2.4H2O at 5 kg/ha provided an increase of 10–12 tons/ha of stem yield and a remarkable enrichment of ethanol production. Findings of this study are useful for farmers and agricultural extensionists to promote biomass and ethanol productivity of this crop for bioethanol production. This research also highlights a greater possibility of exploiting sweet sorghum cultivation in infertile and hilly, abandoned areas for ethanol production

Tradition, Revolution, and Market Economy in a North Vietnamese Village, 1925-2006, Hy V. Luong Hy V. Luong

This book is a revised and expanded version of the previously published Revolution in the Village : Tradition and Transformation in North Vietnam, 1925-1988 on a Vietnamese village named Sơn-Dương, a rural community in the Red river delta in northern Vietnam. The idea for the book was originated from a life story of an ancient Sơn-Dương villager- Mr. Nguyễn Đắc Bằng, who was at that moment living in Toronto (Canada). The vivid story of his life along with historical events of northern Vietnam..

On Building a Community to Exchange and Share Sustainable Fashion Applications

Sustainable development is a standard plan for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future, set forth by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by all United Nations member states and agreed to in 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call to action for all developed and developing countries in relation to global cooperation. Many factors cause environmental pollution, but the fashion industry is considered by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as the second most polluting industry in the world. It accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions due to the energy used in production, manufacturing, and transportation. In particular, the factors that strongly affect the environment in the fashion industry are the textile materials, the fabric dyeing industry, and the rapid development of fast fashion. The data was collected through an online survey of 101 fashion consumers and interviews with nine target audiences who need to buy and sell used clothes or are interested in buying and selling used clothes or sustainable fashion. Sustainable design is not a new concept, but it is still quite strange to the Vietnamese. Consumer ignorance about sustainable consumption and the harmful effects of the fashion industry on planet Earth is a big reason why consumers constantly plunge into the shopping vortex. The problem of wasteful and unsustainable fashion consumption is a big global problem at a time when the fashion industry is gradually emerging into the sustainable fashion movement. This is an opportunity to build a community by connecting consumers through their essential needs, helping them raise awareness, change their behavior, and make each individual part of a sustainable fashion community. They are thus contributing to sustainable development in the future. Keywords: SDGs, sustainable fashion, sustainable consumption, communit

THE TREATMENT OF COLLOCATIONS IN ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS FOR VIETNAMESE STUDENTS

The present study investigates collocational profiles that appear in the English textbook series for Vietnamese students from elementary to high school grades by identifying how the series covers collocations in terms of frequency and how the mode of collocation presentation aligns with recommendations in the existing literature. A total of 30,005 collocations of both verb-noun and adjective-noun patterns were identified, of which 1,078 are targeted collocations. The study found that the frequencies of occurrences of collocation tokens increase steadily alongside the three grade levels, while the frequencies of collocation types are not distributed proportionately. As for the mode of collocation presentation, targeted collocations and collocation exercises follow the best practices recommended in the literature to a certain extent and in some criteria; inconsistency, however, was found to be one of the shortcomings across those evaluation criteria. Pedagogical implications for teachers and textbook authors are discussed

SOCIOLOGICAL MONOGRAPH ON VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS IN NORTH VIETNAMESE RURAL AREAS

博士専修大学201

Selection and identification of thermophilic yeast strains in leachate from the organic waste heap in Phu Luong district, Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam

The study was carried out to isolate and select useful thermophilic yeast strains in the process of organic domestic waste treatment in Phu Luong - Thai Nguyen. Research results from 23 samples of rust have isolated 10 strains of yeast on YPG medium at 40 oC. Among them, 6 strains of yeast were selected with the ability to grow and develop in a wide temperature range from 20-45 oC. The results of identification combined with morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics of yeast strains showed that, out of 6 selected strains, there were 3 strains belonging to the genus Saccharomyces (Saccharomyces sp. TNY13.01, Saccharomyces sp. TNY22.01), Saccharomyces cerevisiae TNY13.09), 2 strains of the genus Candida (Candida sp. TNY23.01, Candida tropicalis TNY23.126) and 1 strain of the genus Papiliotrema (Papiliotrema laurentii TNY23.127). Among them, the identified strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae TNY13.09 has the ability to grow at 45, tolerates a wide pH range of 4.0– 8.5, has a positive catalase reaction, is capable of using a variety of carbon sources, and belongs to class I biosafety group. On that basis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae TNY13.09 has the potential to be further researched and applied as additional microbial inoculants to the organic waste heap

EXTRACTION AND PROPERTY STUDIES OF COENZYME Q10 FROM RECOMBINANT AGROBACTERIUM TUMEFACIENS

In this report, some results of extraction and characterization of CoQ10 from recombinant A. tumefaciens are presented. Four different cell breaking methods (sonication, acidic treatment, ethanol treatment, and enzymatic lysis) in combination with the extracting steps were carried out to extract CoQ10 and the results showed that ethanol treatment was the most efficient method. Appropriate conditions for CoQ10 extraction were 25 oC, 24 hours incubation and ethanol solvent/biomass ratio of 10:1 (ml/g). Characterization of extracted CoQ10 showed that CoQ10 was sensitive to light, but stable in the temperature ranges of 4 – 60 oC and the pH range of 6.0 – 9.0. Obtained results in present study should be applied in the large scale for CoQ10 extraction, providing the CoQ10 product for testing production of functional foods

Analyze the Determinants of Capital Structure for Vietnamese Real Estate Listed Companies

This study adopts a two - step system general method of moments (GMM) approach towards investigating the determinants of capital structure for the listed real estate firms on Ho Chi Minh stock exchange (HSX) in Viet Nam from 2010 to 2015. The determinants of capital structure are mixed and different for short-term and long-term indicators. The real estate firms tend to use more debts to finance their investment. Vietnamese real estate firms should focus on balance structure debt due to complicated impacts of the determinants to their capital structure. There are some implications for the real estate companies and policy of the Government that are based on the empirical results. Keywords: determinants of capital structure, real estate company, general method of moments. JEL Classifications: G32, R