Carotane sesquiterpenes from Peperomia pellucida and their anti-infective activities.

Owing to the challenges of antimicrobial resistance, investigations of new antibiotics from medicinal plants are continuously being conducted. Peperomia pellucida is a pantropical plant used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various disorders. From the ethanol extract of a whole P. pellucida plant, one previously undescribed carotane sesquiterpene (pellucarotine), one known carotane sesquiterpene (daucol), and one phenylpropanoid (dillapiol) were isolated and structurally elucidated. Their structures were determined based on 1D and 2D NMR, HR-ESI-Mass, experimental, and computational electronic circular dichroism spectroscopic data and compared with those reported in the literature. Antimicrobial assay results showed that pellucarotine had an anti-infective effect on Candida albicans with an MIC of 512 µg/mL.

Quality of life among district hospital nurses with multisite musculoskeletal symptoms in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Nurses are one of the population groups with the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). At many sites, musculoskeletal symptoms (MS) represent a major health-care burden, adversely affecting nurses' quality of life and giving rise to mental health issues. OBJECTIVES: This study measured the prevalence of multi-body-site (two or more anatomical sites) musculoskeletal symptoms (MMS), and the association between MMS, a number of demographic and work characteristics, psychological distress, and the quality of life among district hospital nurses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed with 1179 nurses in Haiphong City using three questionnaires: the Modified Nordic; Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Short Form (Q-LES-Q-SF); and the Kessler Psychological Distress Questionnaire (K6). RESULTS: Women have a higher MMS prevalence than men (57.1% in women vs 37.6% in men, P < .001). Having a higher number of anatomical sites of MS appears to be associated with a worse quality of life among nurses. Linear regression analysis found a number of other factors negatively associated with the nurses' quality of life: gender (female), age (50-60 years old vs 19-29 years old), and psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a high prevalence of MMS and the relationship between, on the one hand, MMS, gender, age, as well as psychological distress and, on the other hand, the quality of life among nurses in Vietnam. Further in-depth studies are needed to investigate the causal relationships between these indicators.

Effectiveness of a short training program for community pharmacists to improve knowledge and practice of asthma counselling - A simulated patient study.

OBJECTIVE: Community pharmacists can make significant contributions and be an indispensable member in the asthma therapy chain. The present study aimed to investigate the current knowledge level of Vietnamese community pharmacists in asthma counselling and the impact of a short training program on asthma knowledge and practice. METHOD: 300 community pharmacists participated in the study. A knowledge questionnaire about asthma medications and a standardized inhaler checklist were designed to evaluate their knowledge before and after a 4-h training program. Six to eight weeks later, 10 simulated patients were sent to the community pharmacies to evaluate the pharmacists' knowledge and practice. RESULTS: The training program significantly improved the asthma knowledge score of pharmacists from 5.3 to 17.2 out of a maximum score of 20 (p < 0.001). After the training, the percentage of pharmacists performing correctly inhaler devices increased significantly (0% vs.∼50%, p < 0.001). In the simulated patient study, pharmacists who attended the training demonstrated better asthma knowledge with higher scores (5.4 vs 1.7 out of a maximum score of 7.0, p < 0.001), as well as much better inhaler technique scores (6.1 vs 4.3, out of a maximum score of 8, p < 0.001). These pharmacists achieved higher scores in all aspects encompassing distinguishing controllers and relievers, counselling correctly about adherence, and common side effects. CONCLUSION: Our results revealed significant knowledge deficiency about asthma among Vietnamese community pharmacists. However, a short training program was effective in upskilling the pharmacists to effectively counsel asthmatic patients about the management of their condition and medications.