This study aimed to measure the exposure of residents to health education messages about non-communicable diseases (NCD)-related risk factors, and activities of village health workers (VHWs) in NCDs ...prevention and control in the mountainous setting of Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was performed in Dap Thanh commune (Ba Che, Quang Ninh province, Vietnam), a mountainous area. There were 151 residents aged 18 years or above recruited for this study. Information regarding exposure to messages about risk factors of NCDs, and activities of VHWs was collected via face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify associated factors with exposing messages about NCD-related risk factors. The majority of participants heard about messages related to risk factors of NCDs in the last 30 days, from 56.3% (physical inactivity message), 59.6% (diet message), 75.5% (alcohol use message) to 79.5% (smoking message). Radio/television was the most common source of the messages (from 91.8% to 95.8%) and the majority of participants heard these messages from one source (from 77.1% to 80.9%). Most of sample reported the unavailability of VHWs in their locals (53.6%). Among locals having VHWs, health communication and education was the most common service provided (54.3%); however, only 30% received NCD management services. Participants who had other jobs were less likely to hear about diet-related messages (OR = 0.32; 95%CI = 0.11-0.92), and those ever smoking were more likely to hear these messages in the last 30 days (OR = 6.86; 95%CI = 1.06-44.51). People who had diabetes mellitus were more likely to hear physical activity-related messages in the last 30 days (OR = 2.55; 95%CI = 1.20-5.41). Our findings indicated that health communication regarding risk factors of NCDs in mountainous areas in Vietnam was insufficient, and the role of health workers as formal information source was not recognized. Efforts should be made to increase the capacity and involvement of VHWs in health education and NCD prevention in mountainous regions.
In this study, manganese ferrite-graphene oxide (MFO-GO) nanocomposites were prepared
via
a co-precipitation reaction of Fe
3+
and Mn
2+
ions in a GO suspension. The effects of graphene oxide on the ...physicochemical characteristics, magnetic properties and adsorption activities of the MFO-GO nanocomposites were studied. Methylene blue (MB) and arsenic(
v
) were used in this study as model water pollutants. With an increase in the GO content in the range of 10 wt% to 50 wt%, the removal efficiency for both MB dye and arsenic(
v
) ions was improved. Our adsorption data revealed that the adsorption behavior of MB dye showed good agreement with the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order equation, whereas the Freundlich isotherm model was more suitable for simulating the adsorption process of arsenic(
v
) ions on the MFO-GO nanocomposites. In addition, an important role of the GO content in the adsorption mechanisms of both MB dye and arsenic(
v
) ions was found, in which GO nanosheets play a key role in the mechanisms of electrostatic/ionic interactions, oxygen-containing groups and π-π conjugation in the case of the adsorption of MB dye, whereas the role of the GO content is mainly related to the mechanism of electrostatic/ionic interactions in the case of the adsorption of arsenic(
v
). Graphene oxide has the functions of increasing the number of active binding sites comprising oxygen-containing functional groups, reducing the agglomeration of MFO nanoparticles, increasing the number of adsorption sites, and improving the electrostatic/ionic interactions between adsorbents and adsorbates in order to enhance the adsorption performance of cationic organic dyes and/or heavy metal anions from aqueous solutions.
In this study, manganese ferrite-graphene oxide (MFO-GO) nanocomposites were prepared
via
a co-precipitation reaction of Fe
3+
and Mn
2+
ions in a GO suspension.
This study investigated the effects of corruption and economic freedom on corporate leverage. We also evaluated how economic freedom shapes the effect of corruption on corporate leverage. Using a ...sample of Vietnamese firms covering a nine‐year period from 2010 to 2018, we find evidence that increased control of corruption has a significant positive impact on firm leverage, whereas the opposite is true for economic freedom. This effect is robust to alternative measures of control of corruption as well as advanced estimation methods, such as firm‐fixed effects and quantile regressions. Our results also reveal that the positive impact of corruption controls on corporate leverage is more pronounced for firms with high economic freedom. Econometrically, our findings indicate that firms with better control over corruption prefer debt financing, as demonstrated by their higher leverage ratio.
Stigma poses considerable challenges to the mental health of people living with HIV who use drugs (PLHWUD). In this study, we explored factors related to different types of stigma (perceived and ...internalized) attached to layered stigmatizing characters (HIV and drug use) and their mental health influences on PLHWUD. The study used baseline data of an ongoing randomized controlled trial among 241 PLHWUD recruited between March and December 2018 in Vietnam. A structural equation model was used to assess the relationships among different types and layers of stigma and mental health status. Both perceived and internalized drug-related stigma measures were significantly higher than their corresponding HIV-related stigma. HIV-related stigma was negatively associated with mental health status; however, we did not find a significant relationship between drug-related stigma and mental health. Tailored intervention strategies in consideration of types and layers of stigma are needed to address stigma-related challenges faced by PLHWUD.
Considered as the alternative and less polluting fuel, biodiesel deriving from vegetable, animal or waste oils, potentially decreases atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gases. This study ...contributes to the nuanced understanding of the effects of fish oil biodiesel fuel blends on spray, combustion, performance and emission characteristics. The purpose of this study is testing the effects of various concentrations of fish-oil biodiesel blends (B10, B20, B30) and standard diesel fuel (B0) on single cylinder common rail diesel engine at maximum brake torque speed of 1400 rpm and minimum brake fuel consumption speed of 2200 with different engine loads of 25%, 50% and 75% conditions. The results show that running engines with B30 at 75% load condition, the average values of engine powers, carbon monoxide (CO), unburned hydrocarbons (HC) and soot emissions decreased by 3.00%, 14.3%, 26.2% and 17.5%, respectively, while BSFC and NOx emissions increased by 3.4%, 5.1%, respectively compared to using B0. The result implies that despite testing with varying concentrations of fish oil, the performance and emission engine are not credibly different. Therefore, fish oil biodiesel-diesel fuel blends can be used efficiently as fuels for diesel engine without any major modification in the engines.
Organic food is a particular type of food product with a strict cultivating process and organic food consumption is growing rapidly in emerging markets. In reality, knowledge of this type of food is ...limited to consumers in many emerging markets. This paper reviews and assesses factors affecting attitude towards organic food and the purchase intention of this type of food in an emerging market. The research findings indicate that awareness of organic food, information on organic food, food safety concern and perceived value of organic food have positive impacts on attitude towards organic food. The results also show that attitude towards organic food and perceived value influence purchase intention significantly.
Phytochemical investigation of the whole plants of Vernonia gratiosa Hance. led in the isolation and identification of two new stigmastane-type steroidal glucosides (1-2), namely vernogratiosides A ...(1), and B (2). Their chemical structures were fully elucidated based on 1 D/2D NMR spectroscopic, HR-ESI-MS data analyses, and by producing derivatives by chemical reactions. The binding potential of the isolated compounds to replicase protein − main protease of SARS-CoV-2 were examined using the molecular docking simulations. Our results show that the isolated steroidal glucosides (1-2) bind to the substrate-binding site of SARS-CoV-2 main protease with binding affinities of −7.2 and −7.6 kcal/mol, respectively, as well as binding abilities equivalent to N3 inhibitor that has already been reported (-7.5 kcal/mol).
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•The influence of various surface functionalizing agents of PHMB, PVP, anion BH4− on the sensing performance was evaluated.•Amine-functionalized silver nanoparticles was used as ...colorimetric assay for the ultrasensitive detection of thiram pesticide.•The LOD of thiram is 0.036 μM (8.64 μg.kg−1) by UV–vis spectrometry.
An efficient colorimetric probe based on surface-functionalized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was prepared for sensitive thiram pesticide detection in water samples. The influence of various surface capping agents including polyhexamethylene biguanide hydrochloride (PHMB), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and anion BH4− on the performance of colorimetric probe in the detection of thiram was evaluated. Among the investigated capping agents, the amine-functionalized AgNPs exhibited higher stability and sensitivity response in thiram detection. The higher performance of the amine-functionalized AgNPs was hypothesized due to the synergistic effect of formation Ag-S bonds and hydrogen interactions of amine groups with electronegative atoms in thiram which craving the proton. The calibration curve for thiram determination through amine-functionalized AgNPs probe showed a linear range from 0.1−100 μM with a detection limit of about 0.036 μM (8.64 μg.kg-1). Along with that, the excellent stability and highly selective sensing of thiram, amine-functionalized AgNPs could be seen as the most promising platform for colorimetric probes in the highly efficient detection of thiram in environmental water solutions.
In recent years the outbreak of re-emerging and emerging infectious diseases has been a significant burden on global economies and public health. The growth of population and urbanization along with ...poor water supply and environmental hygiene are the main reasons for the increase in outbreak of infectious pathogens. Transmission of infectious pathogens to the community has caused outbreaks of diseases such as influenza (A H5N1), diarrhea (Escherichia coli), cholera (Vibrio cholera), etc throughout the world. The comprehensive treatments of environments containing infectious pathogens using advanced disinfectant nanomaterials have been proposed for prevention of the outbreaks. Among these nanomaterials, silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) with unique properties of high antimicrobial activity have attracted much interest from scientists and technologists to develop nanosilver-based disinfectant products. This article aims to review the synthesis routes and antimicrobial effects of Ag-NPs against various pathogens including bacteria, fungi and virus. Toxicology considerations of Ag-NPs to humans and ecology are discussed in detail. Some current applications of Ag-NPs in water-, air- and surface- disinfection are described. Finally, future prospects of Ag-NPs for treatment and prevention of currently emerging infections are discussed.
From the end of 2019, an unprecedented novel coronavirus, which was named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO) emerged from Wuhan city, China. Despite rigorous global containment and ...quarantine efforts, the incidence of COVID-19 has continued to rise, with over 4 million confirmed-cases and over 300,000 deaths worldwide until mid-May. This study aims to present the effect of the promulgation of social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 in the cases of 10 highly infected countries. The authors focus on the statistics of the COVID-19 confirmed-cases and deaths in 10 highly infected countries, including The U.S., Spain, Italy, The U.K., France, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Iran and China, and the response to the pandemic of these countries in the period from January 11 to May 2, 2020. The relationships between the social distancing measures and the statistics of COVID-19 confirmed-cases and deaths were analyzed in order to elucidate the effectiveness of the social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 in 10 highly infected countries. The results showed it took1–4 weeks since the highest level of social distancing measures promulgation until the daily confirmed-cases and deaths showed signs of decreasing. The effectiveness of the social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 was different between the 10 focused countries. This variation is due to the difference in the levels of promulgated social distancing measures, as well as the difference in the COVID-19 spread situation at the time of promulgation between the countries.
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•The statistics of the COVID-19 confirmed-cases and deaths in 10 highly infected countries was collected•The effectiveness of the social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 was analyzed•It takes 1-4 weeks since the promulgation of highest level of measures until the number of cases starts to decrease.•The effectiveness of the social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 was different between the 10 focused countries.
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