In vitro Fermentation Patterns of Rice Bran Components by Human Gut Microbiota

The prevalence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been increasing in recent years worldwide. In the United States, it is ranked the second leading cause of cancer death. Risks of CRC increase with age and are associated with several lifestyle factors such as diet, drinking and smoking habits, and levels of physical activity. There is an abundance of scientific literature demonstrating the protective roles of several dietary components including fibers and polyphenolic compounds. These compounds have been shown to be able to positively modulate gastrointestinal ecology by increasing the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) and promoting the population of beneficial bacteria. Whole grain cereals such as wheat, corn, sorghum, and rice are rich sources of these components. However, they are more abundant in the cereal bran layer which is typically removed during polishing. Research have shown that feruloylated arabinoxylan oligosaccharides (FAXO) isolated from cereals such as wheat, corn, and sorghum exerted prebiotic-like properties by increasing SCFA production and selectively promote microbiota population. Polyphenolic compounds have also been demonstrated to be able to modulate gut microbiota ecology. However, rice bran FAXO and rice bran polyphenolics (RBPP) have not been studied for such properties. Therefore, two rice bran components including FAXO and RBPP are hypothesized to have positive impacts on human gut microbiota. In this study, prebiotic-like properties of FAXO and RBPP were assessed by determining the fermentation patterns of FAXO and RBPP to increase SCFA production and by evaluating the impacts of FAXO and RBPP on the composition of human gut microbiota

A study into the cause of drug abuse amongst the Vietnamese youth: An environmental perspective

This study describes the environmental causes of alcohol and other drug misuse amongst the Vietnamese street youth. It explores how factors of migration affected the Vietnamese family life, mainly language difficulty, employment, racial bias, and ill-image of the Vietnamese community reported by the media. The study further outlines three atmospheres: family, school and media that contribute to the problems of alcohol and other drug misuse by the Vietnamese youth. Conflict and tension issues between parents and children are discussed in terms of cultural differences, communication and lack of effective parenting skills. Problems at schools faced by the Vietnamese students are discussed in terms of racism, language difficulties and lack of appropriate services. The study highlighted that "very easy" and "easy" to get drug was an added factor to increase drug use amongst this target group. To date there is no existing intervention and prevention programs initiated by the government and the community to deal with racism and schooling issues. The paper suggests some practical strategies that can be employed to deal with these issues in relation of cross-cultural training, racism prevention, parenting skills and increase in employment rates amongst the Vietnamese community

Effect of Creep and Shrinkage model in calculation of long-term deflection of three-span solid slab continuous prestressed concrete bridge

Shrinkage and creep effect significantly to the long-term deflection of prestressed concrete bridge. The proper shrinkage and creep models should be developed to meet the requirements of deflection effect calculation. There are many models has been researched and developed. Each specification, such as ASSHTO, Eurocode, ACI and CEB-FIB, has their own model of shrinkage and creep by considering different input parameter. The long-term deflection calculation is also different in each specification as a result. In this paper, several shrinkage and creep models were selected and reviewed to see the difference and compare by using popular concrete grade in Vietnamese bridge building     (C40 and C45, equivalent to 40 and 45 Mpa, respectively). Those selected shrinkage and creep models are applied in calculation of deflection for a typical three-span continuous solid slab prestressed concrete bridge. The calculation result show the significant different of long-term deflection and the ASSHTO shrinkage and creep model show the biggest deflection

Coderivatives at infinity of set-valued mappings

In this paper, the concept of coderivatives at infinity of set-valued mappings is introduced. Well-posedness properties at infinity of set-valued mappings as well as Mordukhovich's criterion at infinity are established. Fermat's rule at infinity in set-valued optimization is also provided. The obtained results, which give new information even in the classical cases of smooth single-valued mappings, provide complete characterizations of the properties under consideration in the setting at infinity of set-valued mappings

Effect of Creep and Shrinkage model in calculation of long-term deflection of three-span solid slab continuous prestressed concrete bridge

Shrinkage and creep effect significantly to the long-term deflection of prestressed concrete bridge. The proper shrinkage and creep models should be developed to meet the requirements of deflection effect calculation. There are many models has been researched and developed. Each specification, such as ASSHTO, Eurocode, ACI and CEB-FIB, has their own model of shrinkage and creep by considering different input parameter. The long-term deflection calculation is also different in each specification as a result. In this paper, several shrinkage and creep models were selected and reviewed to see the difference and compare by using popular concrete grade in Vietnamese bridge building     (C40 and C45, equivalent to 40 and 45 Mpa, respectively). Those selected shrinkage and creep models are applied in calculation of deflection for a typical three-span continuous solid slab prestressed concrete bridge. The calculation result show the significant different of long-term deflection and the ASSHTO shrinkage and creep model show the biggest deflection

Synthesis and characterization of curcumin-phosphatidylcholine complex via solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical CO2

In order to enhance the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble curcumin, solution enhanced dispersion by supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) (SEDS) was employed to prepare curcumin-phosphatidyl choline complex. The reaction parameters were varied and investigated. The typical parameters were determined as follow:  P = 200 bar, T = 60 °C, gas flow rate 10 mL.min-1, molar ratio of phosphatidylcholine:curcumin 2:1, ratio of dichloromethane/scCO2 15 % (w/w). The characteristics of complexation product were measured such as the water solubility, natural stability, UV-Vis, FTIR and DSC. The FE-SEM image shows that curcumin-phosphatidylcholine complex appeared in two types of spherical shape with the big particle size of  complex approximately 0.9 µm and nano curcumin with particles size of approximately 100 nm. This study revealed that supercritical CO2 technologies had a great potential in fabricating complex and improving the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. Keywords. Curcumin, water soluble curcumin, phosphatidylcholine, CO2 supercritical fluids

Regional COVID-19 cases and Bitcoin volatility: Assessment through the Markov switching prism

The 21st century has become the century of technology, which has spread to the currency market, presenting the international economic system with a new challenge – the challenge created by digital currency, which has determined a change in the rules of operation in the market. The main property of cryptocurrencies in general, and Bitcoin in particular, is constant volatility and mutual sensitivity to each other. This article aims to analyze the cryptocurrency market landscape from both short-term and long-term perspectives. Additionally, the article seeks to quantitatively assess the contradictions, trends, and patterns of price volatility in Bitcoin by employing the framework of Markov switching during the period spanning from 2020 to 2022. The Markov switching model was used in the study. In this study, the factors influencing volatility on different modes of the Markov switch are the COVID-19 pandemic and the Pearson correlation statistical method. The Chisquared test was estimated to identify the connection between Bitcoin volatility switching modes and the COVID-19 pandemic spread. This analysis enables international investors to diversify with maximum efficiency and returns using available hedging tools. However, several open questions remain for future research. Future studies can analyze different cryptocurrencies’ volatility. This research helps to assess the nature of the relationship of cryptocurrencies in statistics (the correlation of cryptocurrencies as of December 1, 2021, when no significant events in the financial market and political upheavals were recorded) and dynamics (the Markov switching models for the postpandemic period of 2020–2022). The article contributes to understanding the interdependence and sensitivity of different cryptocurrencies in relation to each other