This study investigated the current practices and challenges for the sustainable fashion of luxury boutique fashion brands (LBFBs) in Vietnam. A series of in-depth interviews with 20 founders and ...managers of LBFBs in Vietnam was conducted. Findings show that sustainable practices improve ethnic cultures, strengthen the usage of local resources, promote sustainable lifestyle, and thereby contributing to sustainable development of the boutique fashion brands. However, the brands face some challenges while dealing with their stakeholders such as shortage of available internal resources, bias in consumer perception and purchase behaviors, and legal barriers to achieve accredited environment certification that, in turn, weaken the sustainable practices in the local context. Results also provide some insightful information for small & medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to adjust their sustainability practices in order to improve their competitive advantages in the marketplace.
Outbreaks of emerging coronaviruses in the past two decades and the current pandemic of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in China highlight the importance of this viral family as a ...zoonotic public health threat. To gain a better understanding of coronavirus presence and diversity in wildlife at wildlife-human interfaces in three southern provinces in Viet Nam 2013-2014, we used consensus Polymerase Chain Reactions to detect coronavirus sequences. In comparison to previous studies, we observed high proportions of positive samples among field rats (34.0%, 239/702) destined for human consumption and insectivorous bats in guano farms (74.8%, 234/313) adjacent to human dwellings. Most notably among field rats, the odds of coronavirus RNA detection significantly increased along the supply chain from field rats sold by traders (reference group; 20.7% positivity, 39/188) by a factor of 2.2 for field rats sold in large markets (32.0%, 116/363) and 10.0 for field rats sold and served in restaurants (55.6%, 84/151). Coronaviruses were also detected in rodents on the majority of wildlife farms sampled (60.7%, 17/28). These coronaviruses were found in the Malayan porcupines (6.0%, 20/331) and bamboo rats (6.3%, 6/96) that are raised on wildlife farms for human consumption as food. We identified six known coronaviruses in bats and rodents, clustered in three Coronaviridae genera, including the Alpha-, Beta-, and Gammacoronaviruses. Our analysis also suggested either mixing of animal excreta in the environment or interspecies transmission of coronaviruses, as both bat and avian coronaviruses were detected in rodent feces on wildlife farms. The mixing of multiple coronaviruses, and their apparent amplification along the wildlife supply chain into restaurants, suggests maximal risk for end consumers and likely underpins the mechanisms of zoonotic spillover to people.
Active packaging with antifungal activities Nguyen Van Long, N.; Joly, Catherine; Dantigny, Philippe
International journal of food microbiology,
03/2016, Letnik:
220
Journal Article
Recenzirano
There have been many reviews concerned with antimicrobial food packaging, and with the use of antifungal compounds, but none provided an exhaustive picture of the applications of active packaging to ...control fungal spoilage. Very recently, many studies have been done in these fields, therefore it is timely to review this topic. This article examines the effects of essential oils, preservatives, natural products, chemical fungicides, nanoparticles coated to different films, and chitosan in vitro on the growth of moulds, but also in vivo on the mould free shelf-life of bread, cheese, and fresh fruits and vegetables. A short section is also dedicated to yeasts. All the applications are described from a microbiological point of view, and these were sorted depending on the name of the species. Methods and results obtained are discussed. Essential oils and preservatives were ranked by increased efficacy on mould growth. For all the tested molecules, Penicillium species were shown more sensitive than Aspergillus species. However, comparison between the results was difficult because it appeared that the efficiency of active packaging depended greatly on the environmental factors of food such as water activity, pH, temperature, NaCl concentration, the nature, the size, and the mode of application of the films, in addition to the fact that the amount of released antifungal compounds was not constant with time.
•This review focused on active packaging with antifungal activities.•Techniques to assess the in vitro effectiveness of films impregnated with different compounds were described and discussed.•In vivo applications of this preservation technique on fruits, vegetables, cheese, and bread were detailed.
This study aimed to elucidate virus, host and environmental dynamics of Vietnamese H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) during 2014-2017. Epidemiologically, H5 HPAIVs were frequently ...detected in apparently healthy domestic and Muscovy ducks and therefore these are preferred species for H5 HPAIV detection in active surveillance. Virologically, clade 2.3.2.1c and 2.3.4.4 H5 HPAIVs were predominant and exhibited distinct phylogeographic evolution. Clade 2.3.2.1c viruses clustered phylogenetically in North, Central and South regions, whilst clade 2.3.4.4 viruses only detected in North and Central regions formed small groups. These viruses underwent diverse reassortment with existence of at least 12 genotypes and retained typical avian-specific motifs. These H5 HPAIVs exhibited large antigenic distance from progenitor viruses and commercial vaccines currently used in poultry. Bayesian phylodynamic analysis inferred that clade 2.3.2.1c viruses detected during 2014-2017 were likely descended from homologous clade viruses imported to Vietnam previously and/or preexisting Chinese viruses during 2012-2013. Vietnamese clade 2.3.4.4 viruses closely shared genetic traits with contemporary foreign spillovers, suggesting that there existed multiple transboundary virus dispersals to Vietnam. This study provides insights into the evolution of Vietnamese H5 HPAIVs and highlights the necessity of strengthening control measures such as, preventive surveillance and poultry vaccination.
Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency overlaps with malaria endemicity although it predisposes carriers to hemolysis. This fact supports the protection hypothesis against malaria. The ...aim of this systematic review is to assess the presence and the extent of protective association between G6PD deficiency and malaria. Thirteen databases were searched for papers reporting any G6PD alteration in malaria patients. Twenty-eight of the included 30 studies were eligible for the meta-analysis. Results showed absence of negative association between G6PD deficiency and uncomplicated falciparum malaria (odds ratio (OR), 0.77; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.59-1.02; p = 0.07). However, this negative association happened in Africa (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.40-0.86; p = 0.007) but not in Asia (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.96-1.61; p = 0.10), and in the heterozygotes (OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.57-0.87; p = 0.001) but not the homo/hemizygous (OR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.46-1.07; p = 0.10). There was no association between G6PD deficiency and total severe malaria (OR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.61-1.11; p = 0.20). Similarly, there was no association with other malaria species. G6PD deficiency can potentially protect against uncomplicated malaria in African countries, but not severe malaria. Interestingly, this protection was mainly in heterozygous, being x-linked thus related to gender.
Despite the discovery of several closely related viruses in bats, the direct evolutionary progenitor of SARS-CoV-2 has not yet been identified. In this study, we investigated potential animal sources ...of SARS-related coronaviruses using archived specimens from Sunda pangolins (
) and Chinese pangolins (
) confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade, and from common palm civets (
) raised on wildlife farms in Viet Nam. A total of 696 pangolin and civet specimens were screened for the presence of viral RNA from five zoonotic viral families and from Sarbecoviruses using primers specifically designed for pangolin coronaviruses. We also performed a curated data collection of media reports of wildlife confiscation events involving pangolins in Viet Nam between January 2016 and December 2020, to illustrate the global pangolin supply chain in the context of Viet Nam where the trade confiscated pangolins were sampled for this study. All specimens from pangolins and civets sampled along the wildlife supply chains between February 2017 and July 2018, in Viet Nam and tested with conventional PCR assays designed to detect flavivirus, paramyxovirus, filovirus, coronavirus, and orthomyxovirus RNA were negative. Civet samples were also negative for Sarbecoviruses, but 12 specimens from seven live pangolins confiscated in Hung Yen province, northern Viet Nam, in 2018 were positive for Sarbecoviruses. Our phylogenetic trees based on two fragments of the RdRp gene revealed that the Sarbecoviruses identified in these pangolins were closely related to pangolin coronaviruses detected in pangolins confiscated from the illegal wildlife trade in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces, China. Our curated data collection of media reports of wildlife confiscation events involving pangolins in Viet Nam between January 2016 and December 2020, reflected what is known about pangolin trafficking globally. Pangolins confiscated in Viet Nam were largely in transit, moving toward downstream consumers in China. Confiscations included pangolin scales sourced originally from Africa (and African species of pangolins), or pangolin carcasses and live pangolins native to Southeast Asia (predominately the Sunda pangolin) sourced from neighboring range countries and moving through Viet Nam toward provinces bordering China.
Biomass-derived carbon dots (CDs) were prepared via a green one-step synthetic technique using cauliflower leaf wastes as natural carbon precursor. The as-prepared CDs were used to fabricate ...composites with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) via a one-step hydrothermal treatment. The electrochemical performance of the electrodes was investigated with variable GO to CD mass ratios. The RGO/CD composite with a 2:1 mass ratio (RC-21) exhibited high specific capacitance with maximum discharge capacitances of 278 F g−1 and 227 F g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 and 2 mV s−1, respectively, together with excellent capacitance retention of 60% when the current density increased from 0.2 to 100 A g−1 and 63% with scan rate rise from 2 to 1000 mV s−1, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of the composition, surface area, pore volume, electrical conductivity and proton diffusivity.
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•Carbon dots derived from waste biomass via green one-step synthesis•CD/RGO composite produced by facile one-pot hydrothermal chemical-free process•Supercapacitance enhanced by surface area, porous structure and pseudocapacitance from nitrogen heteroatoms•Charge storage mechanism explained by electrical double layer, pseudocapacitance and ionic diffusivity
Wound healing is a recovering process of damaged tissues by replacing dysfunctional injured cellular structures. Natural compounds for wound treatment have been widely used for centuries. Numerous ...published works provided reviews of natural compounds for wound healing applications, which separated the approaches based on different categories such as characteristics, bioactivities, and modes of action. However, current studies provide reviews of natural compounds that originated from only plants or animals. In this work, we provide a comprehensive review of natural compounds sourced from both plants and animals that target the different bioactivities of healing to promote wound resolution. The compounds were classified into four main groups (i.e., anti-inflammation, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, and collagen promotion), mostly studied in current literature from 1992 to 2022. Those compounds are listed in tables for readers to search for their origin, bioactivity, and targeting phases in wound healing. We also reviewed the trend in using natural compounds for wound healing.
Azeotropic separation by pressure-swing distillation (PSD) is one of the most costly processes in the chemical industry. To minimize process cost and CO2 emission, process electrification based on ...self-heat recuperation technology (SHRT) has been implemented in many thermal-driven processes. Enlightened by these facts, a novel electrical-driven PSD-SHRT process is proposed and compared with conventional thermal-driven PSD (PSD-CONV) and PSDs integrated with heat integration and heat pump. Two typical binary systems – tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water with minimum-boiling azeotrope and acetone/chloroform with maximum-boiling azeotrope – are selected to investigate the potential economic and environmental benefits of process electrification. To make a fair comparison, all the processes are optimized to a minimum in total annualized cost (TAC) based on a simulation-based optimization framework combining Aspen Plus (process simulator) and MATLAB (external optimizer). The optimization results indicate PSD-SHRT to be the lowest in both TAC and CO2 emission of all the alternative processes. In THF/water system, PSD-SHRT triumphs over PSD-CONV by 23.72% in TAC and 83.67% in CO2 emission, respectively. Corresponding values increase to 47.82% and 92.90% in the acetone/chloroform system. These improvements verify the significant advantages of process electrification and also encourage more originations to introduce SHRT into other processes.
•Process electrification of pressure-swing distillation by self-heat recuperation.•Comparison of thermal-driven and electrical-driven distillation processes.•A simulation-based optimization framework for fair evaluation and comparison.•The novel PSD-SHRT can effectively reduce process cost and CO2 emissions.
The advancement in hydraulic turbine (HT) technology was exploited for energy and cost benefits in natural gas liquefaction. Replacing the conventional Joule–Thompson (JT) valve with HT has the ...potential to recover the work input. This research investigated the effect of replacing the JT valve with HT in the energy efficiency enhancement of a single mixed refrigerant (SMR) process. To fully take the potential benefit of the HT, the proposed SMR schemes were optimized by using a modified coordinate descent optimization method, which was implemented in Microsoft Visual Studio environment and linked to the rigorous HYSYS® model. The results showed that the required energy of the proposed HT based SMR process could be saved up to 16.5% in comparison with the conventional SMR process using the JT valves. Utilization of the recovered energy into boosting the natural gas feed pressure could further reduce the energy requirement up to 25.7%. Exergy efficiency analysis also showed that whole exergy efficiency of the enhanced SMR process can be increased by about 11% as compared to the base case. The proposed HT based liquefaction technology can be extended to other natural gas liquefaction processes as an attractive option for enhancing the energy efficiency.
•An enhanced SMR process using hydraulic turbines was proposed for improving energy efficiency.•Synergistic effects by hydraulic turbines with optimization were investigated.•The proposed SMR process reduces energy requirement up to 16.5%.•Efficient utilization of recovered energy further reduces energy requirement up to 25.7%.•The proposed hydraulic turbine based liquefaction can be extended to other natural gas liquefaction processes.
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