Rosmarinic acid production in cell suspension cultures of Ehretia asperula Zollinger & Moritz

Plant cell cultures provide an alternative means for producing secondary compounds in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Ehretia asperula Zollinger & Moritzi is used as a traditional medicine for the treatment of liver detoxification, ulcers, tumors, inflammation and enhancing the body's resistance in Vietnam. The study was carried out to select suitable callus line for cell suspension cultures of E. asperula Zollinger & Moritzi and investigate the effects of inoculum size, rotation speed and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on the proliferation of cell suspension cultures. In addition, the influence of light intensity on the growth and rosmarinic acid (RA) biosynthesis of cell suspension was also surveyed. After 4 weeks of culture, the white to pale yellow friable callus expanded significantly with a fresh weight (FW) of 0.788 g and a high RA content of 2.062 mg/g FW. An appropriate medium for cell proliferation was the liquid B5 medium, which contained 30 g/l glucose, 0.1 mg/l benzyl adenine (BA) and 0.4 mg/l NAA. The results also demonstrated that a 1:20 ratio (w/v) inoculum size, darkness and rotation speed of 90 rpm were the optimal conditions for the proliferation and RA accumulation to 188.217 mg/l in 4 weeks of culture. These findings showed that E. asperula Zollinger & Moritzi cell suspension cultures could be a potential alternative approach for RA production in vitro

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

ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA MỘT SỐ YẾU TỐ MÔI TRƯỜNG ĐẾN QUÁ TRÌNH NUÔI CẤY TẾ BÀO XẠ ĐEN (Ehretia asperula Zoll. et Mor.)

Xa den (Ehretia asperula Zoll. et Mor.) belongs to the Boraginaceae family and appears in Southeast Asian countries. Xa den is often used to treat diseases such as tumors, emphysema, and detoxification. The effects of plant growth regulators and carbon sources on the formation and proliferation of callus from Xa den leaves in vitro were studied. The results show that callus proliferates well on the medium supplemented with 30 mg/L glucose, 0.4 mg/L 2,4-D, and 0.1 mg/L BA. In this medium, the callus is yellowish-green, friable, and rapid proliferating. After the first subculture, the callus is milky white and friable after 10 weeks of culture. This callus is used as a material for cell suspension cultures. Suspension cells grow in the dark better than in the light with the highest biomass after four weeks of culture (149.933 g/L).Xạ đen, tên khoa học là Ehretia asperula Zoll. et Mor., thuộc họ Vòi voi (Boraginaceae), có nguồn gốc từ các nước Đông Nam Á. Xạ đen thường được dùng để chữa bệnh như u nhọt (kể cả ung bướu), viêm thũng và giải độc. Khảo sát ảnh hưởng của một số chất điều hòa sinh trưởng thực vật và nguồn cung cấp carbon lên sự hình thành và tăng sinh mô sẹo từ mẫu cấy lá của cây xạ đen in vitro nhằm tạo nguyên liệu cho các hệ thống nuôi cấy tế bào để cung cấp các hợp chất có giá trị cho ngành dược liệu. Kết quả cho thấy mô sẹo phát triển tốt trên môi trường B5 bổ sung glucose 30 mg/L và 2,4-D 0,4 mg/L kết hợp với BA 0,1 mg/L. Trên môi trường này, mô sẹo có màu vàng xanh, xốp, mịn và tăng sinh nhanh. Mô sẹo chuyển sang màu trắng sữa sau 10 tuần nuôi cấy và được sử dụng làm nguyêu liệu cho nuôi cấy huyền phù tế bào. Huyền phù tế bào trong điều kiện tối phát triển tốt hơn ngoài sáng với lượng sinh khối cao nhất đạt được sau 4 tuần nuôi cấy (149,933 g/L)

Discrimination and competition in online microfinance lending – evidence from www.kiva.org.

Financial services with the help of modern technology are no longer an exclusive privilege to the high-class individuals and businesses but also to the poor. Through the emergence of microfinance, funds from charitable sources can be transferred toward the poor as altruistic acts. In this paper the lending activities on www.kiva.org are examined on the basis of loan information and picture-based perceptions on various physical and subjective characteristics to determine the existence and magnitude of lenders’ discrimination and whether competition can help reduce it. We found out that discrimination exists as people in general prefer to lend money to female, younger, more attractive, less obese borrowers and to those look more honest. We also observed an anomaly in the coefficient for creditworthiness, that borrowers who are perceived to be more creditworthy are less favoured. Regarding the effect of competition, a very interesting finding is that not only are male borrowers less favoured than their female fellows but competition, instead of reducing prejudice as predicted by Becker and Arrow (Becker, 1957) (Arrow, 1973), makes male borrowers do even worse. We concluded that although competition in general helps facilitate time to funding for all loans, it does not significantly reduce discrimination at all as expected by theory.Bachelor of Art

Influence of ethnic culture in choosing the learning type of ethnic minorities: Evidence from Northwest of Vietnam

One of the concerns in improving the quality of minority education in multicultural nations is how to choose the appropriate types of learning for different ethnic groups, especially when such decision can be constrained their cultural diversity. This paper aims to analyze the effect of cultural differences on selecting types of learning for ethnic minorities; thus, recommending some ethic-specific policies to better utilize the manpower resources in the Northwest region of Vietnam. Questionnaires were employed to survey 250 people from 6 ethnic minority groups, whose population is over one million locating in three provinces in the Northwest border region of Vietnam. The study also conducted 20 in-depth interviews with management teams of different educational institutions and corporations. The results show that ethnic-cultural factors including gender, customs, ethnic relations, and marriage age have determined the choice of learning types in higher education levels. From those points, this paper suggests development interventions so that ethnic-cultural factors do not reduce the ability to pursue higher education, increase the unemployment rate of ethic minorities, and cause waste in finance, resources, infrastructure for training in the Northwest region of Vietnam

XÁC ĐỊNH SỰ CÓ MẶT CỦA CÁC GEN ĐỘC TỐ Ở CÁC CHỦNG Vibrio GÂY BỆNH HOẠI TỬ GAN TỤY CẤP TÍNH TRÊN TÔM THẺ CHÂN TRẮNG TẠI THỪA THIÊN HUẾ

Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) is a disease caused by bacteria, with the death ratio up to 100% in the population of Litopenaeus vannamei and Penaeus monodon, and causes great economic losses to many shrimp‐producing countries in Asia. Previous studies have shown that not all strains of Vibrio can cause AHPND because they contain different toxin genes, such as pirAvp, pirBvb, tlh, trh, and tdh. In this study, we evaluate the presence of several toxic genes on Vibrio isolates from Thua Thien Hue province and analyze the sequence of these genes. The results show that in 14 Vibrio strains carrying pirABvp gene, the tlh and toxR genes occur in 14/14 and 7/14 strains, respectively, while none of them have the two genes of trh and tdh. Analyzing the sequence of four DNA fragments shows that these genes have high similarity (98–100%) compared with the genes announced on the Genbank. Genes pirAvp and pirBvp are less different, while tlh and toxR genes are more different. The results could be used for further studies in the production of bioproducts for the prevention and treatment of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease in shrimp.Bệnh hoại tử gan tụy cấp tính (Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease – AHPND) là một bệnh do vi khuẩn gây ra. Bệnh này dẫn đến tỷ lệ chết lên đến 100% trong quần thể tôm thẻ chân trắng, tôm sú và gây những tổn thất kinh tế đáng kể cho ngành nuôi tôm ở nhiều nước châu Á. Các nghiên cứu trước đây cho thấy không phải chủng Vibrio nào cũng có khả năng gây bệnh do chúng mang các gen độc tố khác nhau. Chúng tôi đã đánh giá sự có mặt của các gen độc tố trên các chủng Vibrio phân lập tại Thừa Thiên Huế đồng thời phân tích trình tự các gen này. Kết quả cho thấy trong 14 chủng Vibrio mang gen pirABvp nghiên cứu, gen tlh xuất hiện ở tất cả các chủng, gen toxR xuất hiện ở 7/14 chủng trong khi đó các gen trh và tdh không xuất hiện trong các chủng vi khuẩn Vibrio phân lập được. Giải trình tự đoạn chỉ thị các gen độc tố cho thấy các gen này đều có độ tương đồng khá cao (98–100%) so với các gen đã công bố trên ngân hàng gen, trong đó 2 gen pirAvp và pirBvp ít sai khác còn các gen tlh và toxR có sự sai khác nhiều hơn. Đây là cơ sở để thực hiện các nghiên cứu tiếp theo trong việc sản xuất các chế phẩm phòng và trị bệnh hoại tử gan tụy cấp tính trên tôm

The impact of trust on intellectual property right protection: a cross-national study

Purpose – This study aims to empirically investigate how difference in social trust explains the heterogeneity of intellectual property right (IPR) protection (proxied by software piracy rate) across countries. Specifically, the authors also examine whether this effect is complementary or substitute to legal and economic factors. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use both ordinary least square and two-stage least square regressions to investigate this effect. Findings – The authors find that there is also a complementary effect between trust and rule of law in reducing the violation of IPRs. Originality/value – Although the literature by now has documented the solid relationship between trust and the quality of formal institutions, only few studies have explored more specific measures of institutional consequences. Thus, this study is the first study investigating the role of trust, a valuable social capital dimension, on IPR protection

<i>Phaeanthus vietnamensis</i> Ban Ameliorates Lower Airway Inflammation in Experimental Asthmatic Mouse Model via Nrf2/HO-1 and MAPK Signaling Pathway

Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease listed as one of the top global health problems. Phaeanthus vietnamensis BÂN is a well-known medicinal plant in Vietnam with its anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory potential, and gastro-protective properties. However, there is no study about P. vietnamensis extract (PVE) on asthma disease. Here, an OVA-induced asthma mouse model was established to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and anti-asthmatic effects and possible mechanisms of PVE. BALB/c mice were sensitized by injecting 50 μg OVA into the peritoneal and challenged by nebulization with 5% OVA. Mice were orally administered various doses of PVE once daily (50, 100, 200 mg/kg) or dexamethasone (Dex; 2.5 mg/kg) or Saline 1 h before the OVA challenge. The cell infiltrated in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was analyzed; levels of OVA-specific immunoglobulins in serum, cytokines, and transcription factors in the BALF were measured, and lung histopathology was evaluated. PVE, especially PVE 200mg/kg dose, could improve asthma exacerbation by balancing the Th1/Th2 ratio, reducing inflammatory cells in BALF, depressing serum anti-specific OVA IgE, anti-specific OVA IgG1, histamine levels, and retrieving lung histology. Moreover, the PVE treatment group significantly increased the expressions of antioxidant enzymes Nrf2 and HO-1 in the lung tissue and the level of those antioxidant enzymes in the BALF, decreasing the oxidative stress marker MDA level in the BALF, leading to the relieving the activation of MAPK signaling in asthmatic condition. The present study demonstrated that Phaeanthus vietnamensis BÂN, traditionally used in Vietnam as a medicinal plant, may be used as an efficacious agent for treating asthmatic disease

Childhood Bacterial Meningitis Surveillance in Southern Vietnam: Trends and Vaccination Implications From 2012 to 2021

Background. This retrospective hospital-based surveillance aimed to assess the epidemiology, causative pathogens trend, and serotypes distribution of pneumococcal meningitis among children aged under 5 years with bacterial meningitis in Southern Vietnam after the introduction of pentavalent vaccine in the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). Methods. From 2012 to 2021, cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected from children aged under 5 years with suspected bacterial meningitis at Children’s Hospitals 1 and 2 in Ho Chi Minh City. Probable bacterial meningitis (PBM) cases were identified using biochemistry and cytology. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to confirm cases of confirmed bacterial meningitis (CBM) caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, or Neisseria meningitidis. Streptococcus pneumoniae serotyping was performed. Results. Of the 2560 PBM cases, 158 (6.2%) were laboratory-confirmed. The CBM proportion decreased during the 10-year study and was associated with age, seasonality, and permanent residence. Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common pathogen causing bacterial meningitis (86.1%), followed by H influenzae (7.6%) and N meningitidis (6.3%). The case-fatality rate was 8.2% (95% confidence interval, 4.2%–12.2%). Pneumococcal serotypes 6A/B, 19F, 14, and 23F were the most prevalent, and the proportion of pneumococcal meningitis cases caused by the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) serotypes decreased from 96.2% to 57.1% during the PCV eras. Conclusions. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most frequent causative agent of bacterial meningitis in children aged under 5 years in Southern Vietnam over the last decade. Policymakers may need to consider introducing PCVs into the EPI to effectively prevent and control bacterial meningitis

Twelve-Month Outcomes of the AFFINITY Trial of Fluoxetine for Functional Recovery After Acute Stroke: AFFINITY Trial Steering Committee on Behalf of the AFFINITY Trial Collaboration

Background and Purpose: The AFFINITY trial (Assessment of Fluoxetine in Stroke Recovery) reported that 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 seizures. After trial medication was ceased at 6 months, survivors were followed to 12 months post-randomization. This preplanned secondary analysis aimed to determine any sustained or delayed effects of fluoxetine at 12 months post-randomization. Methods: AFFINITY was a randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in adults (n=1280) with a clinical diagnosis of stroke in the previous 2 to 15 days and persisting neurological deficit who were recruited at 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (4), and Vietnam (10) between 2013 and 2019. Participants were randomized to oral fluoxetine 20 mg once daily (n=642) or matching placebo (n=638) for 6 months and followed until 12 months after randomization. The primary outcome was function, measured by the modified Rankin Scale, at 6 months. Secondary outcomes for these analyses included measures of the modified Rankin Scale, mood, cognition, overall health status, fatigue, health-related quality of life, and safety at 12 months. Results: Adherence to trial medication was for a mean 167 (SD 48) days and similar between randomized groups. At 12 months, the distribution of modified Rankin Scale categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio, 0.93 [95% CI, 0.76–1.14]; P =0.46). Compared with placebo, patients allocated fluoxetine had fewer recurrent ischemic strokes (14 [2.18%] versus 29 [4.55%]; P =0.02), and no longer had significantly more falls (27 [4.21%] versus 15 [2.35%]; P =0.08), bone fractures (23 [3.58%] versus 11 [1.72%]; P =0.05), or seizures (11 [1.71%] versus 8 [1.25%]; P =0.64) at 12 months. Conclusions: Fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke had no delayed or sustained effect on functional outcome, falls, bone fractures, or seizures at 12 months poststroke. The lower rate of recurrent ischemic stroke in the fluoxetine group is most likely a chance finding. REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.anzctr.org.au/ ; Unique identifier: ACTRN12611000774921