PIEZO1 activation may serve as an early tissue biomarker for the prediction of irradiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction.

Irradiation (IR)-induced xerostomia is the most common side effect of radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). Xerostomia diagnosis is mainly based on the patient's medical history and symptoms. Currently, no direct biomarkers are available for the early prediction of IR-induced xerostomia. Here, we identified PIEZO1 as a novel predictive tissue biomarker for xerostomia. Our data demonstrate that PIEZO1 is significantly upregulated at the gene and protein levels during IR-induced salivary gland (SG) hypofunction. Notably, PIEZO1 upregulation coincided with that of inflammatory (F4/80) and fibrotic markers (fibronectin and collagen fibers accumulation). These findings suggest that PIEZO1 upregulation in SG tissue may serve as a novel predictive marker for IR-induced xerostomia.

Adaptation of the comprehensive rheumatologic assessment of frailty (CRAF) as a multidimensional frailty screening tool in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: In recent times, there has been acknowledgment of the prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Comprehensive Rheumatologic Assessment of Frailty (CRAF) stands out as a dependable tool grounded in synthesis and clinical judgment. Despite this, a validated Vietnamese rendition of the CRAF is currently unavailable. This study seeks to assess the reliability and validity of the CRAF in a patient with RA in Vietnam. METHODS: A cross-sectional investigation was carried out with 402 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, encompassing both inpatients and outpatients at the Centre for Rheumatology at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. CRAF was employed to gauge the extent of frailty. To establish convergent validity, the scores from the CRAF were correlated with those from the Fried phenotype. Discriminant validity was ascertained through the utilization of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Additionally, a multivariate logistic regression model was applied to evaluate the individual determinants' relative impact on the CRAF. RESULTS: In testing for convergent validity, a significant correlation was found between CRAF and Fried phenotype (p < 0.001). The discriminatory power of CRAF was higher than those of the Fried phenotype (difference between areas under the ROC curves = 0.947 (95% CI: 0.927-0.967). Variables associated with frailty at the multivariate analysis were comorbitidy, medication intake, BMI, DAS28-CRP, and age (all at p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: CRAF exhibited strong validity and accurate discrimination. Incorporating frailty assessment into regular rheumatological practices could signify a significant advancement in the care of rheumatoid arthritis.

Response surface methodology for aqueous two-phase system extraction: An unprecedented approach for the specific flavonoid-rich extraction of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. leaves towards acne treatment.

Background: Houttuynia cordata Thunb. has long been widely used as a daily vegetable and traditional medicine. The flavonoid component of H. cordata has plenty of pharmacological effects, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. In this study, we applied the aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) combined with ultrasonic extraction for extracting H. cordata leaves. Methods: We optimized the extraction process to improve the extraction efficiency of the two flavonoids, hyperin and quercitrin, by Surface Method Response - Central Composite Design (RSM-CCD). Next, we investigated the antibacterial ability of H. cordata ATPS extract from optimal conditions against two bacterial strains, Cutibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Results: The results showed that using 10% (NH4)2SO4 and 35% ethanol for ATPS extraction resulted in the highest hyperin and quercitrin contents. From the RSM-CCD results, the optimal extraction conditions were determined to be ultrasonic extraction at 50 °C for 30 min, giving results consistent with the predicted model and obtaining hyperin and quercitrin contents at 1.5681 ± 0.0114 and 4.6225 ± 0.0327 mg/g, respectively.Furthermore, ATPS extract has excellent antibacterial activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 250 µg/mL on both C. acnes and S. epidermidis. This MIC is significantly lower than the H. cordata ultrasound-assisted (UA) extract, with MICs of 1500.00 and 156.25 µg/mL on C. acnes and S. epidermidis, respectively. In addition, the results from the disk diffusion assay also showed that ATPS extraction has superior internal antibacterial activity with a zone of inhibition diameter at 250 µg/mL of 8.67 ± 1.15 and 5.00 ± 2.00 mm. Meanwhile, those of UA extract on C. acnes is 5.67 ± 1.53 mm (at 1500 µg/mL), and on S. epidermidis is 1.34 ± 0.58 mm (at 156.25 µg/mL). Conclusion: To sum up, our research highlights the potential of H. cordata ATPS extracts as the starting material for topical preparations for effectively treating acne.

A Cell-Adapted Live-Attenuated Vaccine Candidate Protects Pigs against the Homologous Strain VNUA-ASFV-05L1, a Representative Strain of the Contemporary Pandemic African Swine Fever Virus.

African swine fever (ASF) is a lethal and highly contagious transboundary animal disease with the potential for rapid international spread. Currently, there is no ASF vaccine commercially available. All infected animals must be isolated and culled immediately upon the confirmation of the presence of the virus. Studies leading to the rational development of protective ASF vaccines are urgently needed. Here, we generated a safe and efficacious live-attenuated vaccine (LAV) VNUA-ASFV-LAVL2 by serially passaging a field isolate (VNUA-ASFV-05L1, genotype II) in porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs, 65 passages) and an immortalized porcine alveolar macrophage cell line (3D4/21, 55 passages). VNUA-ASFV-LAVL2 can efficiently replicate in both PAMs and 3D4/21 cells. It provides 100% protection, even with the low dose of 102 HAD50, to the vaccinated pigs against the challenge of contemporary pandemic ASFV field isolate. Pigs vaccinated with this LAV in a dose range of 102 to 105 HAD50 remained clinically healthy during both the 28-day observation period of immunization and the 28-day observation period of challenge. VNUA-ASFV-LAVL2 was eliminated from blood by 28 days post-inoculation (DPI), and from feces or oral fluids by 17 DPI. Although the vaccine strain in serum remained a safe and attenuated phenotype after five passages in swine, a reversion-to-virulence study using blood or tissue homogenates at peak viremia will be conducted in the future. ASFV-specific IgG antibodies and significant cellular immunity were detected in vaccinated pigs before the ASFV challenge. These results indicate that the VNUA-ASFV-LAVL2 strain is a safe and efficacious LAV against the genotype II ASFV strain responsible for current ASF outbreaks in Asia.

Survival Outcome and Prognostic Factors Among Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Hospital-Based Study.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cancer with very high incidence and mortality and low survival rate in Vietnam and worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the survival outcome and its prognostic factors among HCC patients. Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive study on patients newly diagnosed with HCC at Hanoi Oncology Hospital, Vietnam from January 2018 to December 2020. Overall survival (OS) was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Log-rank test and Cox regression were used to investigate the association among patients' OS and their diagnosis and treatment factors. Results: A total of 674 patients were included. The median OS was 10.0 months. The survival rates at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months were 57.3%, 46.6%, 34.8%, and 29.7%, respectively. The initial performance status (PS), Child-Pugh score, and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage at the time of diagnosis are prognostic factors of HCC OS. A total of 451 (66.8%) patients have died, most of them (375 equally 83.1%) died at home, and only 76 (16.9%) died at hospital. Hepatocellular carcinoma patients living in the rural area more likely died at home than those living in the urban area (85.9% vs 74.8%, P = .007). Conclusions: Hepatocellular carcinoma has a poor prognosis with low OS. Performance status, Child-Pugh score, and BCLC stage were the independent prognostic factors for the survival outcome of HCC patients. The fact that most HCC patients died at home suggested that home-based hospice care needs to be paid special attention.

Anxiety and associated factors among Vietnamese students during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

Mental health care for students in general, particularly anxiety, is a significant problem that needs more attention, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of anxiety and examine the associated factors among students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was conducted from August to September 2021 among 5730 students. An online survey was used to collect sociodemographic information, and the generalized anxiety disorder questionnaire (GAD-7) was used to assess anxiety symptoms among Vietnamese students. Results showed that the prevalence of anxiety among study participants was 16.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15.3%-17.2%). Factors related to anxiety among students were gender, type of housemate, COVID-19 exposure/infection status, vaccination status, health status, academic performance, and social relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic. A significant number of students experienced anxiety during COVID-19, and this rate was related to several factors. Psychological interventions are required to support students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and other health crises. Further studies are required to confirm our findings.

Detection and genetic characterization of canine distemper virus isolated in civets in Vietnam.

Canine distemper (CD), caused by the canine distemper virus (CDV), is a lethal systemic disease to a wide range of wild and domestic carnivorous hosts, including civets. In this study, a possible CD outbreak in a backyard farm with 32 diseased civets (Viverricula indica) in Hanoi, Vietnam, was investigated. The sick civets showed CD-like clinical signs such as anorexia, sedentary behavior, diarrhea, dermatitis, nasal, and footpad hyperkeratosis. Various tissue samples collected from the dead civets were utilized for molecular screening of CDV and histopathological examination. The genetic detection and characterization confirmed that samples collected from dead civets tested positive for CDV. The phylogenetic analysis based on the full-length H gene sequences indicated that all CDV strains isolated from civets belonged to the Asia-1 lineage and were closely related to the CDV strains previously reported from dogs in Thailand, China, and Vietnam. Histopathological examination showed severe interstitial pneumonia, hemorrhagic alveolar septa, necrotic alveolar epithelial cells, necrotic, degenerated, or lost Purkinje cells, eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies, edema, and perivascular cuff. This study confirmed the detection of CDV in civets for the first time in Vietnam.

Establishing a Standardized Surveillance System for Health Care-Associated Infections in Vietnam.

Standardized surveillance for health care-associated infections (HAI) is critical to understand HAI burden and inform prevention strategies at a national level. Due to differing and generally limited resources in Vietnam's health care facilities, implementation of HAI surveillance has been variable and data quality has not been systematically assessed. In 2016, the Vietnam Administration for Medical Services (VAMS) under the Ministry of Health, with the support of partners, began to establish a context-appropriate, standardized HAI surveillance system for bloodstream infections (BSI) and urinary tract infections (UTI) among 6 pilot hospitals in Vietnam. We identified 5 key elements of our HAI surveillance implementation process that have been conducive to ensuring data quality and program sustainability and scalability. These include: (1) engaging stakeholders, (2) designating roles and responsibilities, (3) developing context-sensitive, standardized surveillance protocols, (4) creating a surveillance implementation strategy, and (5) linking HAI surveillance and prevention activities. With the active participation of infection prevention and control staff from the 6 pilot hospitals, standardized HAI surveillance for BSIs and UTIs was expanded to 12 additional hospitals in 2019. Together, VAMS and partners are helping Vietnam fulfill its commitment to safe health care for all patients.

How teachers manage their classroom in the digital learning environment - experiences from the University Smart Learning Project.

The development of modern technologies facilitated for teachers to integrate and use them in managing their teaching classroom. The aim of this paper is to explore how teachers in the Khon Kaen University (KKU) Smart Learning Project use the smart learning concept and innovation to manage their classroom in the digital learning environment. The qualitative research was conducted to clarify the teaching process of teachers in Grade 7-9 at junior high schools using KKU Smart Learning with three subjects (namely, Mathematics, Science, and English). Consequently, 18 in-depth interviews and six observations were done. The results of this research showed that teachers applied and used the basis of KKU Smart Learning technologies, contents, and guidelines to manage their classroom, including design teaching activities in accordance with the learners' characteristics; create a pleasant learning atmosphere to enhance their thinking ability, knowledge and skills; organize learning activities and solve problematic situations; promote learning motivation; develop and evaluate learners' competence. However, the classroom management of teachers faced with some problems concerning the limitation of internet connection, lack of digital devices and digital literacy of teachers and learners. The findings of this paper have implications for educators, administrators, teachers and stakeholders to design holistic solutions to enhance the quality of educational activities and academic performance.

Characterizations and antibacterial activities of passion fruit peel pectin/chitosan composite films incorporated Piper betle L. leaf extract for preservation of purple eggplants.

The present study aimed to synthesize biodegradable films based on crosslinked passion fruit peel pectin/chitosan (P/CH) films incorporated with a bioactive extract from Piper betle L. leaf, and investigate their morphological, mechanical, water vapor permeability, optical, and antibacterial properties. The thickness and water vapor permeability of P/CH blend films were proportional to the increasing concentration of Piper betle extract (PB). The tensile strength of P/CH/PB films was significantly reduced at 42.89% compared to the P/CH films. The morphological characterization affirmed that resultant blend films showed a well-organized homogeneous structure with no cracks. Moreover, the antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae increased with the increased concentration of PB in the obtained films. Our results demonstrated that P/CH/PB blend films could be potentially used for food packaging applications.

Right Upper Quadrant Pain Following Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography; a Case Report.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a standard for diagnosing and treating hepato-pancreatico-biliary (HPB) diseases in clinical settings. ERCP-related complications are relatively common, ranging from 4 to 30%. The most common one is acute pancreatitis. ERCP-related necrotizing pancreatitis accounts for 7.7% of ERCP-related pancreatitis cases. This complication may still be misdiagnosed, which might lead to inappropriate treatment with a worse prognosis. Here, we report a 34-year-old case with ERCP-related necrotizing pancreatitis who was successfully managed, but initially misdiagnosed with biliary peritonitis.

Chronological expression and distribution of African swine fever virus p30 and p72 proteins in experimentally infected pigs.

African swine fever virus (ASFV), the causative agent of contagious hemorrhagic disease in domestic pigs and wild boars, has temporally regulated gene expression kinetics. The p30 and p72 major structural proteins are involved in viral entry each with different expression kinetics, but neither of their chronological expressions and distribution have been identified in virus-infected animals. Here, we found that both transcription and translation levels of p30 were significantly higher than those of p72 in target organs during the earlier infection-phase. Lymphocyte apoptosis/necrosis and angiectasia were observed as signs of early infection with acute African swine fever. These results show that the chronologically differential expression of ASFV structural proteins tends to be prominent in infected animals, and the p30 protein could play a role in the indication of acute lesions during early infection compared to the late-expressed p72 protein. In conclusion, we propose to consider the chronological expression dynamics of ASFV structural proteins in infected animals to understand virus pathogenesis and antigen targeting for vaccine development.

GmDREB6, a soybean transcription factor, notably affects the transcription of the NtP5CS and NtCLC genes in transgenic tobacco under salt stress conditions.

Soil is contaminated with salinity, which inhibits plant growth and development and reduces crop yields. The DREB (dehydration responsive element binding protein) gene responds to salt stresses through enhanced transcriptional expression and activation of genes involved in plant salinity resistance. In this study, we present the results of the analysis of the expression of the GmDREB6 transgene, a gene that encodes the soybean DREB6 transcription factor, regulating the transcription of the NtP5CS and NtCLC genes in transgenic tobacco under salt stress conditions. The transcription of GmDREB6, NtP5CS, and NtCLC in transgenic tobacco lines was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Under salt stress conditions, the GmDREB6 gene transcription levels in the transgenic tobacco lines L1 and L9 had increased from 2.40- to 3.22- fold compared with the condition without salinity treatment. Two transgenic lines, L1 and L9, had transcription levels of the P5CS gene that had increased from 1.24- to 3.60- fold compared with WT plants. For the NtCLC gene, under salt stress conditions, the transgenic lines had transcription levels that had increased by 3.65-4.54 (fold) compared with WT plants (P < 0.05). The L1-transgenic tobacco line showed simultaneous expression of both the GmDREB6 transgene and two intrinsic genes, the NtP5CS and NtCLC genes. This study demonstrated that expression of the GmDREB6 gene from soybean increases the transcription levels of the NtP5CS and NtCLC genes in transgenic tobacco plants under salt stress conditions. The analysis results have suggested that the GmDREB6 gene is a potential candidate for improving the salt tolerance of plants, opening up research and development opportunities for salt stress-tolerant crops to respond to climate change and the rise in sea levels.

Novel formulation with essential oils as a potential agent to minimize African swine fever virus transmission in an in vivo trial in swine.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: African swine fever (ASF) is currently the most prevalent disease in swine. The disease is spreading throughout primary swine-producing countries with heavy losses in population and revenue. To date, no successful vaccines or medications have been reported. This study aimed to design and develop a blend of natural essential oils and test its efficacy against the ASF virus (ASFV) in swine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We attempted to develop a natural oil blend formulation (NOBF) and determine its efficacy against the ASFV. This study follows on from a previously published in vitro study that reported that the NOBF has anti-ASFV properties. A study was designed using 21 healthy piglets of triple-cross (Landrace + Yorkshire + Durok) crossbred pathogen-free pigs with an average weight of 15 kg. The study consisted of NOBF-incubated, NOBF, positive control, and negative control groups. The NOBF groups were administered NOBF (80 mL/ton mixed in drinking water) beginning 10 days before the challenge and continuing throughout the experiment. The positive and negative control pigs consumed regular drinking water. The pigs were challenged by a sublethal dose of pure isolate ASFV strain Vietnam National University of Agriculture-ASFV-L01/HN/04/19 inoculation with 103.5 HAD50/dose through the intramuscular route. There were sic pigs in each group, three pigs directly IM challenged, and three pigs were considered cohoused pigs. RESULTS: Both challenged (three) and cohoused (three) pigs in the positive control showed clinical signs of ASFV infection, as detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in blood samples, oral swabs, and feces. There was 100% cumulative mortality, that is, both challenged and contact pigs died in the positive control group on day 20 of infection. No signs of infection or mortality were observed in the NOBF-incubated group. The challenged pigs in the NOBF-direct challenge group showed clinical signs and mortality, whereas no clinical signs or symptoms occurred in the cohoused pigs. The immunoglobulin G (IgG) level of the contact pigs was the highest in the treatment group and the lowest in the positive control group. The IgM level of the contact pigs in the treatment groups was the lowest, whereas that of the positive control was the highest. The RT-PCR test showed that the ASFV was deactivated in the NOBF-incubated group. The challenged and contact pigs of the positive control group had high Ct values. The challenged pigs of the NOBF group had high Ct values, whereas the contact pigs from the same group and those of the negative control were negative for the ASFV, determined by PCR, in all samples. The comparison of the challenged groups showed that the appearance of the virus was delayed by at least 2 days in the NOBF group compared to the positive control group. CONCLUSION: The results showed that NOBF can prevent the spread of the ASFV in a population. Moreover, NOBF can enhance the pig humoral immune system by enhancing IgG levels and reducing IgM levels. This study successfully demonstrated that NOBF is an anti-ASFV agent, which prevents horizontal transmission and enhances pig humoral immunity.

Natural oil blend formulation as an anti-African swine fever virus agent in in vitro primary porcine alveolar macrophage culture.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: African swine fever is one of the severe pathogens of swine. It has a significant impact on production and economics. So far, there are no known remedies, such as vaccines or drugs, reported working successfully. In the present study, the natural oil blend formulation's (NOBF) efficacy was evaluated against ASFV in vitro using porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) cells of swine. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The capacity of NOBF against the ASFV was tested in vitro. The NOBF combines Eucalyptus globulus, Pinus sylvestris, and Lavandula latifolia. We used a 2-fold serial dilution to test the NOBF formulation dose, that is, 105 HAD50/mL, against purified lethal dose of African swine in primary PAMs cells of swine. The PAM cells survival, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, and hemadsorption (HAD) observation were performed to check the NOBF efficacy against ASFV. RESULTS: The in vitro trial results demonstrated that NOBF up to dilution 13 or 0.000625 mL deactivates the lethal dose 105 HAD50 of ASFV. There was no HAD (Rosetta formation) up to dilution 12 or 0.00125 mL of NOBF. The Ct value obtained by running real-time PCR of the NOBF group at 96 h post-infection was the same as the initial value or lower (25), whereas the Ct value of positive controls increased several folds (17.84). CONCLUSION: The in vitro trial demonstrated that NOBF could deactivate the ASFV. The NOBF has the potential to act as anti-ASFV agent in the field. The next step is to conduct in vivo level trial to determine its efficacy.

Survival in resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with para-aortic lymph node dissection: A retrospective study in Vietnamese population.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a high recurrence rate and poor outcome. Lymph node (LN) metastasis, especially para-aortic LN (PALN), is an important prognostic factor. PALN assessment through sampling with frozen-section analysis is a validated method. Our aim was to evaluate the prognostic impact of PALN on overall survival (OS) in patients who underwent standard pancreaticoduodenectomy, lymphadenectomy with PALN sampling, as well as to identify other prognostic factors for survival. METHODS: Our retrospective study included 89 PDAC patients undergoing radical resection with PALN sampling. The patients were classified into PALN(+) (n = 11) and PALN(-) (n = 78). Univariate and multivariate analyses of 1-year and 3-year OS and Kaplan-Meier model were used. RESULTS: OS after 1-year for PALN(+) and PALN(-) was 18.2 and 56.4%, after 3-year was 15.4% and 0%, respectively. Tumor differentiation, LN metastasis (LN(-), LN(+) PALN(-), LN(+) PALN(+)) were significant prognostic factors in both univariate and multivariate analyses for 1-year OS, and neural invasion (PN) was the solely significant factor for 3-year OS (p < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier estimate showed that OS of PALN(+) and PN (+) was significantly lower than the negative group, respectively (p < 0.05). No statistical difference in OS was seen between LN(-) and LN(+) PALN(-); and between LN(+) PALN(-) and PALN(+) (p = 0.107). Patients with PN (-) PALN(+) had similar OS compared to PN (+) PALN(-) (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: PDAC had a poor outcome despite treatment with radical resection. Further follow-up should be conducted to determine the role of surgery in PALN(+)and PN invasion.

Molecular phylogenetics of a recently isolated goat pox virus from Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: After a decade of silence, an outbreak of the contagious and Asian endemic disease, goat pox re-emerged in North Vietnam affecting more than 1800 heads with a mortality rate of 6.5%. The inevitable impact of goat pox on hide quality, breeding, chevon and milk production has resulted in a significant economic losses to the developing goat industry of Vietnam. In the act of establishing an effective control of this devastating disease, tracing the source of re-emergence via a phylogenetic study was carried out to reveal their genetic relatedness. Either skin scab or papule from the six affected provinces were collected, cultured into Vero cells followed by restricted enzyme digestion of targeted P32 gene DNA encoding. The P32 gene was then cloned and transformed into E.coli competent cells for further sequencing. RESULTS: The isolated sequence is deposited into GenBank under Accession No. MN317561/VNUAGTP1. The phylogenetic tree revealed high similarity of nucleotide and amino acid sequences to references goat pox strains accounting for 99.6 and 99.3, respectively. The Vietnamese strain is clustered together with currently circulating goat pox virus in China, India and Pakistan which suggested the origin of South China. CONCLUSIONS: This Vietnam isolate is clustered together with other Asian goat pox strains indicating the dissemination of a common goat pox virus within this continent.

P2P lending platforms in Malaysia: What do we know?

Background - With the recent evolution of Financial Technology (FinTech), 11 peers to peer (P2P) lending platforms have been regulated by the Securities Commission in Malaysia since 2016. P2P lending platforms offer new investment opportunities to individual investors to earn higher rates on return than what traditional lenders usually provide. However, individual investors may face higher potential risks of default from their borrowers. Therefore, individual investors need to understand the potential exposure to such P2P lending platforms to make an effective investment decision. This study aims to explore the potential risk exposures that individual investors may experience at Malaysia's licensed P2P lending platforms.   Methods - Based on data collected manually from nine P2P lending platforms over five months, relationships between interest rates and various risk classifying factors such as credit rating, industry, business stage, loan purpose, and loan duration are examined.    Results- This study shows that loans with a similar credit rating and with or without similar loan purpose; and a business stage may offer investors significantly different interest rates. In addition, loans with shorter durations may provide investors with higher interest rates than those with longer durations. Finally, loans issued by companies from the same industry appeared to be charged with similar interest. These findings are valuable to investors to prepare themselves before making their investments at the P2P lending platforms.   Conclusion- With first hand-collected data, this study provides an original insight into Malaysia's current P2P lending platforms. Findings obtained for relationships between interest rates and risk classifying factors such as credit rating, industry, business stage, loan purpose and loan duration are valuable to investors of Malaysian P2P lending platforms.

P2P Lending platforms in Malaysia: the awareness among Malaysian adults.

Background: Since 2016, the Securities Commission (SC) in Malaysia has given licenses to only eleven P2P lending platforms. Such lending platforms are expected to disrupt the lending services of traditional lenders in the coming years. However, being still in their infant stages, it is essential to know the extent to which such platforms are made known to potential investors out there. This study aims to examine the awareness level of the eleven P2P lending platforms among Malaysian adults. The study also explores if past investment experience and financial knowledge would influence such awareness from Malaysian adults. Methods: A sample of 335 Malaysian individuals was used for this study. An online questionnaire was designed with three main parts: demographic, financial literacy, and P2P lending awareness. Using IBM SPSS Statistics 26, frequency, descriptive, normality, Pearson coefficients and multiple regression analyses were carried out.  Results: Although seven out of ten respondents have good knowledge in three areas of finance: compounding rate, inflation and diversification, only 14.33% had a good and excellent awareness level of P2P lending. Thus, one would expect lesser awareness about P2P lending among Malaysian adults whose financial literacy is poor or zero. Test results from multiple regression analysis suggest that past lending experiences positively affect the awareness of P2P lending in Malaysia, but not the financial literacy. Conclusions: The awareness about P2P lending among Malaysian adults is too low, despite their high level of education and financial literacy. No investing experience and not knowing any existing P2P lending in the country may be the reason for this low awareness. Therefore, for P2P lending to thrive in Malaysia, the eleven P2P lending platforms need to be promoted aggressively in various social media outlets.