Assessment of the Effectiveness of Matrix Model Among Methadone Patients Using ATS in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This study assessed the effectiveness of the application of the Matrix model in patients undergoing methadone treatment for Amphetamine-type substance (ATS) in Ho Chi Minh City. A total of 951 methadone patients were screened; 60 (16%) met the inclusion criteria and of those 51 (85%) completed 16 weeks of study procedures. Most of the participants were ATS users with moderate or higher risk of dependence. Compared to the non-intervention group, the intervention group showed a significant reduction in positive urine tests for methamphetamine (a decrease from 100% to 11% vs. a decrease from 100% to 98% for the non-intervention group, p<0.001) and for opiates (a decrease from 36.7% to 3.7% vs. a decrease from 43.3% to 29.2% for the non-intervention group). In the intervention group, the quality of life increased from 76.74 points to 85.5, the proportion of depression decreased from 43.3% to 18.5%, anxiety decreased from 30% to 11.1%, and stress decreased from 76.7% to 29.6%. In the non-intervention group, quality of life decreased from 75.2 points to 74.5 points, the proportion of depression decreased slightly from 40% to 36%, anxiety decreased from 33.3% to 24%, and stress decreased from 76.7% to 76.0%. The intervention group was significantly more likely to adhere to methadone treatment (p<0.001). The proportions of participants in the intervention group and non-intervention group who discontinued treatment were 10% and 20%, respectively. The study results suggested that the MATRIX model could help reduce ATS and opiate use and improve mental health as well as treatment adherence

Biocompatible chitosan-functionalized upconverting nanocomposites

Simultaneous integration of photon emission and biocompatibility into nanoparticles is an interesting strategy to develop applications of advanced optical materials. In this work, we present the synthesis of biocompatible optical nanocomposites from the combination of near-infrared luminescent lanthanide nanoparticles and water-soluble chitosan. NaYF4:Yb,Er upconverting nanocrystal guests and water-soluble chitosan hosts are prepared and integrated together into biofunctional optical composites. The control of aqueous dissolution, gelation, assembly, and drying of NaYF4:Yb,Er nanocolloids and chitosan liquids allowed us to design novel optical structures of spongelike aerogels and beadlike microspheres. Well-defined shape and near-infrared response lead upconverting nanocrystals to serve as photon converters to couple with plasmonic gold (Au) nanoparticles. Biocompatible chitosan-stabilized Au/NaYF4:Yb,Er nanocomposites are prepared to show their potential use in biomedicine as we find them exhibiting a half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) of 0.58 mg mL–1 for chitosan-stabilized Au/NaYF4:Yb,Er nanorods versus 0.24 mg mL–1 for chitosan-stabilized NaYF4:Yb,Er after 24 h. As a result of their low cytotoxicity and upconverting response, these novel materials hold promise to be interesting for biomedicine, analytical sensing, and other applications

Determining the optimal range of vitamin C for early red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) juveniles

Vitamin C plays an important role for fish survival, growth and disease resistance. However, the optimal vitamin C for rearing red drum Sciaenops ocellatus juveniles in Vietnam is not known. To address this issue, a 70-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the optimal dietary vitamin C requirements for red drum juveniles. Seven isonitrogenous (55.35% protein) and isolipidic (9.07% lipid) diets were formulated to include graded vitamin C concentrations of 23.2, 124.5, 235.2, 423.8, 626.7, 824.6, and 1,027.3 mg/kg, respectively. The results showed that fish fed on 423.8 mg/kg vitamin C diet had the highest growth rate, which can be linked to the increased feed utilization. Broken-line analysis indicated that the optimal dietary vitamin C requirements of red drum juveniles were 342.92 and 405.80 mg/kg for growth parameters, feed utilization, body composition and biochemical parameters of serum. Based on these parameters the optimal vitamin C supplementation level for red drum juveniles was estimated in the range of 342.92–405.80 mg/kg vitamin C in the diets with direct applications in producing artificial feed for rearing juveniles of this species in Vietnam

Serum Granulysin in Differentiation of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/toxic Epidermal Necrolysis and Erythema Multiforme

BACKGROUND: Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are acute, life-threatening drug reactions, which lead to massive epidermal necrolysis. Granulysin plays an important role as a key mediator for keratinocyte apoptosis in these conditions. Erythema multiforme (EM) may have skin manifestation similar to SJS/TEN. AIMS: The aim of the study was to compare serum granulysin levels in patients with SJS/TEN and EM as well as to investigate a possible association between serum granulysin levels and the severity of SJS/TEN. METHODS: In total, 48 patients with SJS/TEN, 43 patients with EM, and 20 health controls (HCs) were enrolled. We measured serum granulysin levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The average level of serum granulysin in the SJS/TEN patients was 23.0 ng/ml (range 1.2–144.6 ng/ml), significantly higher than that of EM group (20.1 ng/ml; range 8.5–121 ng/ml, p < 0.05) and HCs group (20.8 ng/ml; range 10.1–46.7 ng/ml, p < 0.05). Of 48 SJS/TEN patients, the 25 samples collected <6 days after onset showed higher level of serum granulysin (27.7 ng/ml; range 2.5–144.6 ng/ml) than those collected ≥6 days after onset (17.9 ng/ml; range 1.2–59 ng/ml; p > 0.05). No significant correlation was found between serum granulysin levels and the body surface area affected and the modified-SCORTEN. At the day of re-epithelialization, serum granulysin levels were not different compared with those at the day of hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Serum granulysin levels are significantly higher in SJS/TEN group than in EM group. After the onset, serum granulysin levels in patients with SJS/TEN are not a good biomarker to evaluate the severity of the diseases

Survey on Vietnamese teachers’ perspectives and perceived support during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented damage to the educational system worldwide. Besides the measurable economic impacts in the short-term and long-term, there is intangible destruction within educational institutions. In particular, teachers – the most critical intellectual resources of any schools – have to face various types of financial, physical, and mental struggles due to COVID-19. To capture the current context of more than one million Vietnamese teachers during COVID-19, we distributed an e- survey to more than 2,500 randomly selected teachers from two major teacher communities on Facebook from 6th to 11th April 2020. From over 373 responses, we excluded the observations which violated our cross-check questions and retained 294 observations for further analysis. This dataset includes: (i) Demographics of participants; (ii) Teachers' perspectives regarding the operation of teaching activities during the pandemic; (iii) Teachers' received support from their schools, government bodies, other stakeholders such as teacher unions, and parents' associations; and (iv) teachers' evaluation of school readiness toward digital transformation. Further, the dataset was supplemented with an additional question on the teachers' primary source of professional development activities during the pandemic

Enzimatska obrada iskorištenih listića zelenog čaja i njihova primjena u proizvodnji čajnog peciva s velikim udjelom prehrambenih vlakana

Research background. By-products of food industry have been studied as sources of high fibre and antioxidant ingredients for healthy food products, because of their economic and environmental benefits. However, the soluble dietary fibre content of these materials is usually lower than the recommended value that is claimed to bring positive health effects. Enzymatic treatment could be an efficient method for modifying insoluble and soluble dietary fibre contents of these materials. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of enzymatic treatment conditions on soluble, insoluble and total dietary fibre mass fractions in spent green tea leaves, and evaluate the quality of dough and cookies when different mass fractions of untreated and treated leaves were added to the recipe. Experimental approach. The mass fractions of soluble, insoluble and total dietary fibre in spent tea leaf powder was evaluated after the leaves were treated with cellulase amount of 0−25 U/g for 0 to 2 h. Wheat flour was replaced by untreated and treated spent tea leaf powder at 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% in cookie formulation. Textural properties of dough, proximate composition, physical properties and overall acceptability of cookies were analysed. Results and conclusions. The appropriate conditions for enzymatic treatment were enzyme loading of 20 U/g and biocatalytic time of 1.5 h, under which the mass fraction of soluble dietary fibre in spent tea leaves increased by 144.5% compared to that of the control sample. The addition of spent tea leaves led to the increase in dough hardness. Increase in the spent tea leaf amount also enhanced fibre mass fraction, antioxidant activity and hardness of cookies but reduced their overall acceptability. Moreover, the enzymatic treatment of spent tea leaves improved the soluble to total dietary fibre ratio of the cookies, which influenced their textural properties and health benefits. The cookies with added 20% untreated or treated spent tea leaves were overall accepted by the panel. Novelty and scientific contribution. For the first time, spent tea leaves have been treated with enzymes to improve their soluble to total dietary fibre ratio. The treated spent tea leaves are a new promising high-fibre antioxidant ingredient for cookie preparation.Pozadina istraživanja. Nusproizvodi prehrambene industrije ispituju se iz ekonomskih i ekoloških razloga kao izvori sastojaka s velikim udjelom prehrambenih vlakana i antioksidacijskim učinkom koji se mogu upotrijebiti u proizvodnji zdrave hrane. Međutim, udjel topljivih prehrambenih vlakana u nusproizvodima je obično manji od preporučenih vrijednosti koje mogu imati pozitivan učinak na zdravlje. Enzimatska obrada bi mogla biti učinkovita metoda modificiranja netopljivih i topljivih prehrambenih vlakana iz otpada prehrambene industrije. Svrha je ovog rada bila ispitati utjecaj različitih uvjeta enzimatske obrade na masene udjele topljivih, netopljivih i ukupnih prehrambenih vlakana u iskorištenim listićima zelenog čaja, te procijeniti kakvoću tijesta i čajnog peciva s dodatkom različitih masenih udjela obrađenih i neobrađenih listića. Eksperimentalni pristup. Maseni udjeli topljivih, netopljivih i ukupnih prehrambenih vlakana u prahu od iskorištenih listića zelenog čaja mjereni su nakon njihove obrade s 0–25 U/g celulaze tijekom 0 do 2 h. U smjesi za čajno pecivo je pšenično brašno zamijenjeno s 0, 10, 20, 30 i 40 % obrađenog ili neobrađenog praha iskorištenih listića zelenog čaja. Ispitani su tekstura tijesta te kemijski sastav, fizikalna svojstva i ukupna prihvatljivost dobivenog čajnog peciva. Rezultati i zaključci. Pri povoljnim uvjetima enzimatske obrade, a to su 20 U/g enzima i vrijeme trajanja biokatalitičkog procesa od 1,5 sata, maseni udjel topljivih prehrambenih vlakana u iskorištenim listićima zelenog čaja porastao je za 144,5 % u usporedbi s kontrolnim uzorkom. Dodatkom iskorištenih listića zelenog čaja povećala se tvrdoća tijesta. Povećanjem količine listića čaja povećali su se i maseni udjel vlakana, antioksidacijska svojstva i tvrdoća čajnog peciva, ali se smanjila njihova prihvatljivost. Osim toga, enzimatskom se obradom iskorištenih listića zelenog čaja poboljšao omjer topljivih i ukupnih vlakana u čajnom pecivu, što je utjecalo na njegovu teksturu i pozitivan učinak na zdravlje. Panel ocjenjivača je okarakterizirao čajno pecivo s dodatkom 20 % obrađenih ili neobrađenih iskorištenih listića čaja kao prihvatljive. Novina i znanstveni doprinos. Prvi put je enzimatskom obradom iskorištenih listića zelenog čaja poboljšan njihov omjer topljivih i ukupnih prehrambenih vlakana. Obrađeni iskorišteni listići zelenog čaja novi su obećavajući sastojak s antioksidacijskim svojstvima koji se može upotrijebiti u pripremi čajnog peciva

The Effect of Awareness on the Behavior of Advertisement on Social Network Basis for Cosmetic Products Line

The study examines the factors affecting the perception and interaction behavior with advertising cosmetic products. The authors used SPSS and Smart PLS software to conduct statistics and analyze survey results. The results of data analysis show that there are 5 factors that directly affect the perception of avoidance: Health concerns; Doubts about advertising intermediaries; Privacy concerns; Information value; Obstructing cognitive goals. The factor that directly affects Avoidant Behavior is Perception of avoidance, there are 5 factors that indirectly affect Avoidant Behavior: Health concerns; Doubts about advertising intermediaries; Privacy concerns; Information value; Obstructing cognitive goals. At the same time, the research also shows that negative experiences do not affect the impact process from Avoidant Perception to Avoidant Behavior. This study has important practical elements for businesses, managers and even social network users in reducing users' awareness and avoidance of advertising

Assessment of Antioxidant Activities, Total Phenolics, and Flavonoids of Different Extracts of Strobilanthes Schomburgkii Leaves

The main purpose of this work was to assess the antioxidant activities of the n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Strobilanthes schomburgkii leaves collected in Laocai province, Vietnam. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined. The DPPH, H2O2 radical scavenging activity, and total antioxidant activity via phosphomolybdenum method were investigated. The results showed that the methanol extract concluded a high concentration of phenolics and flavonoids which were 65.42 mg/g and 52.05 mg/g, respectively. There was a significant correlation between total phenolic and flavonoid concentrations and EC50 values of different antioxidant assays. The antioxidant properties of the different extracts from Strobilanthes schomburgkii leaves were reported for the first time

ĐẶC ĐIỂM SINH HỌC SINH SẢN CỦA NGÁN (AUSTRIELLA CORRUGATA) TẠI VÙNG TRIỀU VEN BIỂN TỈNH QUẢNG NINH

360 samples of mud clam (Austriella corrugata) were collected in the intertidal zone of Quang Ninh province city from January 2015 to December 2015 for this study. The results showed that the gonad of female is black, that of male is milky white. The spawning season is from mid April to early September and the peak of spawning occurs from early June to early August. In spawning season, ratio of male/female is toward balance. In other months, rate of male is dominant in the population. Hermaphroditism occurs in the mud clam with a small percentage (from 3.3% to 10%) in the breeding season, in group with size of more than 40 mm. The length of mud clam at first sexual maturity is over 30 mm and the weight is over 20 g. The average absolute fecundity (Fa) is 960,680 eggs/individual. Development of mud clam larvae goes through main stages: Veliger, Umbo and Spat. Our findings contribute information to the planning of the artificial seed production, conservation and sustainable development of mud clam native resource.Kết quả phân tích 360 mẫu ngán (A. corrugata) thu tại các khu vực nơi có ngán phân bố thuộc vùng triều ven biển tỉnh Quảng Ninh từ tháng 1/2015 đến tháng 12/2015 cho thấy: Tuyến sinh dục ngán đực có màu trắng sữa, ngán cái có màu đen thẫm. Mùa vụ sinh sản của ngán hàng năm được xác định từ giữa tháng 4 đến đầu tháng 9, mùa sinh sản tập trung từ đầu tháng 6 đến đầu tháng 8. Ở các tháng tromg năm, tỷ lệ con đực luôn chiếm ưu thế so với con cái trong quần đàn ngán. Vào mùa sinh sản tỷ lệ đực cái cân bằng. Ngán lưỡng tính xuất hiện với tỷ lệ nhỏ (3,3 - 10%) vào mùa sinh sản và ở nhóm kích thước lớn hơn 40 mm. Ngán thành thục sinh dục lần đầu khi chiều dài đạt trên 30 mm, khối lượng trên 20 g. Sức sinh sản tuyệt đối giao động từ 340.690  - 2.090.000 trứng/cá thể, trung bình đạt 960.680 trứng/cá thể. Ấu trùng của ngán phát triển trải qua các giai đoạn chính: Ấu trùng chữ D, ấu trùng đỉnh vỏ và ấu trùng chân bò. Sau đó, ngán phát triển thành con non. Kết quả nghiên cứu góp phần cung cấp cơ sở khoa học cho việc xây dựng kế hoạch sản xuất giống nhân tạo, bảo vệ và phát triển bền vững nguồn lợi ngán tại địa phương