The objective of this study was to elucidate the chemical composition of essential oil from Cymbopogon nardus (citronella oil) and its antifungal activity. Chemical composition of the citronella oil was determined by capillary gas chromatography (GC) and GC/ mass spectrometry. Major constituents of the oil were geraniol (35.7% of total volatiles), trans-citral (22.7%), cis-citral (14.2%), geranyl acetate (9.7%), citronellal (5.8%) and citronellol (4.6%). The antifungal assay using the vapor-agar contact method showed that the crude essential oil markedly suppressed the growth of several species of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Eurotium at a dose of 250 mg/L in air. The most active compounds among the 16 examined volatiles, consisting of 6 major constituents of the essential oil and 10 other related monoterpenes were citronellal and linalool. Citronellal and linalool completely inhibited the growth of all tested fungal strains at a dose of 112 mg/L. Their minimum inhibitory doses ranged from 14 to 56 mg/L. The αand βpinenes showed an inhibitory activity against some fungi, whereas the other 8 volatile compounds lacked this property.

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This study assessed the knowledge and attitude toward palliative care for the elderly among health professionals in a tertiary geriatric hospital in Vietnam and explored their determinants. Cross-sectional data were obtained on 161 geriatric health professionals at the National Geriatric Hospital. Modified-Palliative Care Knowledge Test and Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying instruments were used to measure knowledge and attitude toward geriatric palliative care. As a result, 40.5% physicians and 74.2% nurses showed insufficient knowledge about geriatric palliative care (p < 0.05). The lowest score was for dyspnea, following by gastrointestinal and pain problems. No significant difference was found regarding the attitude between physicians and nurses (p > 0.05). Health professional category, age, and years of experience were found to be associated with knowledge about palliative care. Meanwhile, only knowledge score had correlations with total attitude score (Coef. = 0.2; 95%CI = 0.1–0.3), attitude toward patients (Coef. = 0.1; 95%CI = 0.0–0.1) and toward patients’ family (Coef. = 0.1; 95%CI = 0.0–0.1). This study highlights a significant knowledge gap and preferable attitude toward palliative care for the elderly among physicians and nurses in the geriatric hospital. Intensive training about geriatric palliative care, focusing on pain, dyspnea and gastrointestinal issue management, should be performed to ensure the quality of palliative care services, especially in nurses.

Vietnamese MBI-GS and AWS were applicable to research on occupational stress. Nearly one-fifth of Vietnamese clinical nurses were working in burnout state. The causal model suggested a range of factors resulting in burnout, and it is necessary to consider the specific solution to prevent burnout problem.

BackgroundHealth-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important indicator for designing care and treatment services for patients with diabetes. This is especially true given its rapid increase among the elderly population in Vietnam. HRQoL data in elderly diabetic Vietnamese are currently limited. This study aimed to 1) measure the HRQoL of elderly patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Vietnam and 2) identify related factors and their relationship with HRQoL.Patients and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted. We recruited 171 patients aged ≥60 years with T2DM at the Outpatient Department, National Geriatric Hospital from June to November 2015. Patients were asked to evaluate their health status using the EuroQol Five Dimensions Three Levels (EQ-5D-3L) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Sociodemographic, diabetic treatment, and management characteristics were collected. Multivariate Tobit regression was used to determine which factors were associated with HRQoL, and the strength of this relationship.ResultsPatients reported some problems in all areas of the EQ-5D: pain/discomfort (50.9%), mobility (33.3%), anxiety/depression (24.0%), usual activities (21.1%), and self-care (10.5%). The mean EQ-5D index score was 0.80 (SD=0.20), and the mean EQ-VAS was 57.5 (SD=14.4). Patients who were male, lived in an urban area, could afford treatment, were taking fewer medications, and monitored blood pressure often (1–4 times a week) had a higher EQ-5D index when compared to other groups. Meanwhile, a longer duration of diabetes and older age were negatively associated with the EQ-5D index. Patients with any comorbidity had lower VAS scores than their counterparts.ConclusionThe presence of diabetes and comorbidity were responsible for a significant decrease in HRQoL. Screening and identifying health problems, providing prompt treatment, and facilitating self-management among patients have the potential to increase diabetic patients’ HRQoL.

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Kombucha is sweetened black tea that is fermented by a symbiosis of bacteria and yeast embedded within a cellulose membrane. It is considered a health drink in many countries because it is a rich source of vitamins and may have other health benefits. It has previously been reported that adding lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus) strains to kombucha can enhance its biological functions, but in that study only lactic acid bacteria isolated from kefir grains were tested. There are many other natural sources of lactic acid bacteria. In this study, we examined the effects of lactic acid bacteria from various fermented Vietnamese food sources (pickled cabbage, kefir and kombucha) on kombucha’s three main biological functions: glucuronic acid production, antibacterial activity and antioxidant ability. Glucuronic acid production was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, antibacterial activity was assessed by the agar-well diffusion method and antioxidant ability was evaluated by determining the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging capacity. Four strains of food-borne pathogenic bacteria were used in our antibacterial experiments: Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19111, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028 and Bacillus cereus ATCC 11778. Our findings showed that lactic acid bacteria strains isolated from kefir are superior to those from other sources for improving glucuronic acid production and enhancing the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of kombucha. This study illustrates the potential of Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from kefir as biosupplements for enhancing the bioactivities of kombucha.

Background and aimsDepression and diabetes are becoming increasingly prevalent within the Vietnamese elderly population. However, the linkage between these health conditions in the Vietnamese elderly has not yet been fully investigated. This study aimed to assess the level of depressive symptoms and associated factors among elderly diabetic patients.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at National Geriatric Hospital in the elder patients aged ≥60 years with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Geriatric Depression Scale, with three categories: normal (0–4 points), mild (5–9 points), and moderate/severe depressive symptoms (≥10 points). We obtained information on the patient’s sociodemographic, medical history, glycemic control (fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c), daily activities (activities of daily living [ADLs] and instruments activities of daily living [IADLs] scale), and fall risks (Time Up and Go test). Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors associated with the presence of depressive symptoms.ResultsAmong 412 patients, 236 (57.3%) had HbA1c level at 7.0% or higher. There were 327 (79.4%) patients having depressive symptoms. The level of HbA1c was significantly different between the depressive symptom group and the non-depressive symptom group (7.74% and 6.61%, P<0.05). The increased likelihood of having depressive symptoms was associated with having risk of falls (OR: 5.50; 95% CI: 1.88–16.11), suffering from 5–10 years of diabetes (OR: 2.74, 95% CI: 1.28–5.85), uncontrolled fasting plasma glucose (OR: 4.06, 95% CI: 1.81–9.12), and an impairment of IADLs (OR: 5.74, 95% CI: 2.24–14.7).ConclusionThis study highlights a high prevalence of depressive symptoms among elderly T2DM patients in Vietnam, suggesting an urgent need for screening depressive symptoms and providing mental health care services to this population promptly, particularly to those suffering from diabetes for a long period of time or co-functional impairments.