Remembrance

The artwork in the collection, “Remembrance,” is a collection of three-dimensional paper toys inspired by the culture of Dong Son civilization. The study was intended as an investigation into a mysterious, once-lost kingdom that flourished in the northern delta region of Vietnam. The designs and art motifs found on bronze artifacts from Dong Son have been scrutinized, then compared with stories in Vietnamese legends to decipher their hidden message and symbolism. I collected and translated the design motifs digitally as part of the creative process before analyzing their philosophies and intentions to not only introduce the culture but also accurately represent the spirits of the Vietnamese Dong Son civilians. The paper toys were envisioned as embodiments of semi-mythical figures and Dong Son philosophical concepts. Together, the twelve characters represent Dong Son\u27s messengers. As the audience interacted with the toys, I envisioned the audience contemplating the beautiful motifs and actively creating their own adventures into the lost world of civilization Dong Son

Exploiting secure performance of full-duplex decode and forward in optimal relay selection networks

In the presence of an illegitimate user, we investigate the secrecy outage probability (SOP) of the optimal relay selection (ORS) networks by applying decode-and-forward (DnF) based full-duplex (FD) relaying mode. The closed-form expressions for the allocations of the end-to-end signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) in each wireless network are derived as well as the closed-form expression for the exact SOP of the proposed ORS system is presented under Rayleigh fading schemes. As an important achievement, SOP is also compared between orthogonal multiple access (OMA) and non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) schemes. Our results reveal that the SOP of the suggested scheme can be considerably influenced by several parameters involved, including the number of relays, the average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of eavesdropper links, transmit power and the average residual self-interference (SI) enforced on the FD relays.Web of Science244767

Extract and fraction of cashew nut testa ameliorate the hyperglycemic mice induced by Streptozotocin and high-fat diet

Drug strategy is a standard method for treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), a non-communicable disease with increasing prevalence, which may cause side effects. Therefore, natural compounds with limited adverse effects have come back into vogue for treating T2D. This study aims to evaluate the effects on rehabilitating hyperglycemic mice of cashew nut testa (husk) extract and fraction known as potential bio-substances for improvement in T2D. First, the hyperglycemic mice were induced with a high-fat diet (HFD) for 4 weeks and then were injected with streptozotocin (STZ, dozen for injection was 40 mg/kg/week) for 2 weeks. Next, the confirmed hyperglycemic mice were treated with pioglitazone (HG+PG group), total extract (HG+TE group), and saponin-rich fraction (HG+SRF group) for 3 weeks. Then, the evaluation was based on body mass; blood glucose (BG) level; BG tolerance, lipid profile, pancreatic histology and the expression IRS-1 in the pancreas. The results showed that body mass and BG level significantly increased in hyperglycemic mice. After substance treatment, there was no change in body mass in TE and SRF groups. However, BG level of HG+TE group mice significantly decreased compared to hyperglycemic mice and only BG tolerance of HG+SRF group was improved. Besides, HG+TE and HG+SRF groups modulated the triglyceride, HDL and LDL close to those expressed in normal mice. In addition, histological images of the pancreas revealed the restoration in both HG+TE and HG+SRF groups. Simultaneously, the IRS-1 expression in HG+TE group pancreas was restored to its expression in normal mice. These results demonstrate that the TE and SRF of cashew nut testa could ameliorate BG, lipid profile and pancreatic IRS-1 expression and restore the damaged pancreas and islets in hyperglycemic mice

High cortisol and cortisone levels are associated with breast milk dioxin concentrations in Vietnamese women

Objective: Dioxin (polychlorinated dibenzodioxins Cpolychlorinated dibenzofurans) is one of the most toxic chemical substances known. Although it is suspected to cause endocrine disruption, very few epidemiological studies have been carried out on its effects on human steroid hormones. The aim of this study was to elucidate the association of dioxin exposure with steroid hormone levels in the saliva and serum of Vietnamese women. Study design : Two areas, namely Phu Cat (hot spot) and Kim Bang (nonexposed area), were selected for the study. The study subjects consisted of 51 and 58 women respectively. Saliva, blood, and breast milk samples were collected from the subjects in both the areas. Methods: Cortisol, cortisone, DHEA, androstenedione, estrone, and estradiol levels in serum and saliva were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; dioxin concentrations in breast milk were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: Dioxin concentrations in the breast milk of women from the dioxin hot spot were three to four times higher than those in the breast milk of women from the nonexposed area. Good correlations were found between the levels of six steroid hormones in saliva and those in serum respectively. Salivary and serum cortisol and cortisone levels in women from the dioxin hot spot were significantly higher than those in women from the nonexposed area (P<0.001) and those in all the subjects were positively associated with dioxin concentrations in Vietnamese women (P<0.01). Conclusion: These results suggest that dioxin influences steroidogenesis in humans. Saliva samples can be used for hormone analysis and are therefore excellent specimens in epidemiological studies. © 2014 European Society of Endocrinology

Low birth weight of Vietnamese infants is related to their mother’s dioxin and glucocorticoid levels

We aimed to determine the relationship between dioxin congeners in maternal breast milk and maternal glucocorticoid levels with newborn birth weight after nearly 45 years of use of herbicides in the Vietnam War. The study subjects comprised 58 mother–infant pairs in a region with high dioxin levels in the soil (hotspot) and 62 pairs from a control region. Dioxin levels in maternal breast milk were measured by HRGC-HRMS. Salivary glucocorticoid levels were determined by LC-MS/MS. Dioxin congener levels in mothers from the hotspot were found to be two to fivefold higher than those in mothers from the control region. Birth weight was inversely correlated with 2,3,7,8-TeCDD and 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF congener levels. The rate of newborns whose birth weight was less than 2500 g was threefold higher in the hotspot (12 %) than in the control region (4 %). Salivary glucocorticoid levels in mothers with low birth weight infants were significantly higher than those in the normal birth weight group. Low birth weight of Vietnamese newborns in a hotspot for dioxin levels is related to some dioxin congener levels and high glucocorticoid levels in mothers. This finding in mother–infant pairs suggests that excess maternal glucocorticoid levels are related to dioxin burden and they result in low birth weight. © 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin HeidelbergEmbargo Period 12 month

Levels of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans in breast milk samples from three dioxin-contaminated hotspots of Vietnam

We determined polychlorinated dibenzodioxin (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) levels in breast milk of 143 primiparae living around the three most dioxin-contaminated areas of Vietnam. The women sampled lived in the vicinity of former U.S. air bases at Bien Hoa (n. =. 51), Phu Cat (n. =. 23), and Da Nang (n. =. 69), which are known as dioxin hotspots. Breast milk samples from Bien Hoa City, where residents live very close to the air base, showed high levels of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), with 18% of the samples containing >. 5. pg. TCDD/g lipid. However, Phu Cat residents lived far from the air base and their samples showed lower TCDD levels, with none containing >. 5. pg. TCDD/g lipid. In Da Nang, TCDD levels in mothers from Thanh Khe (close to the air base, n. =. 43) were significantly higher than those in mothers from Son Tra (far from the air base, n. =. 26), but not other PCDD and PCDF (PCDD/F) congeners. Although TCDD levels in Bien Hoa were the highest among these hotspots, levels of other PCDD/F congeners as well as the geometric mean concentration of total PCDD/F level in Bien Hoa (9.3. pg toxic equivalents [TEQ]/g lipid) were significantly lower than the level observed in Phu Cat (14.1. pg. TEQ/g lipid), Thanh Khe (14.3. pg. TEQ/g lipid), and Son Tra (13.9. pg. TEQ/g lipid). Our findings indicated that residents living close to former U.S. air bases were exposed to elevated levels of TCDD, but not of other PCDD/F congeners

Inverse association of highly chlorinated dioxin congeners in maternal breast milk with dehydroepiandrosterone levels in three-year-old Vietnamese children

This study aims to evaluate the endocrine-disrupting effect of dioxin congeners on adrenal steroid hormones in mother-child pairs. In our previous study, we found that cortisol and cortisone levels were higher in the blood and the saliva of mothers living in a dioxin hotspot area than in mothers from a non-exposed region in Vietnam. In this follow-up study, we determined the salivary steroid hormone levels in 49 and 55 three-year-old children of these mothers in the hotspot and non-exposed region, respectively. Steroid hormones were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and dioxin in the maternal breast milk was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Dioxin levels in the breast milk of mothers from the hotspot (median total toxic equivalents polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/polychlorinated dibenzofurans; (TEQ PCDD/Fs) of 11. pg/g lipid) were three to four times higher than those of mothers in the non-exposed region (median TEQ PCDD/Fs of 3.07. pg/g lipid). Salivary dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels in children were found to be significantly lower in the hotspot than in the non-exposed region, while cortisol and cortisone levels were not different between the two regions. Highly chlorinated dioxin congeners, such as octacholorodibenzodioxin (OCDD), 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-heptacholorodibenzodioxin (HpCDD) and 1,2,3,4 (or 6), 7,8-hexachlorodibenzodioxin Hx(CDD), showed stronger inverse associations with the children\u27s salivary DHEA than other lowly chlorinated dioxin congeners. Glucocorticoid levels in the mothers exhibited a significantly positive correlation with OCDD and HpCDD/F (polychlorinated dibenzofurans). In conclusion, highly chlorinated dioxin congeners are more strongly correlated with endocrine-disrupting effects on adrenal hormones, resulting in high cortisol levels in the mothers and low DHEA levels in their three-year-old children. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.Embargo Period 24 month