The X-linked hyper IgM syndrome is a primary immunodeficiency disorder (PID) due to mutations in the
CD40LG
gene. Hyper IgM syndrome is characterized by the absence or decreased levels of IgG and IgA ...and normal or elevated IgM levels in serum. Affected patients become susceptible to infections such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and skin ulcer types. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only treatment currently available and ideally performed before the age of 10 years. Early, accurate diagnosis will contribute to the effective treatment for patients with hyper IgM. The patients from different Vietnamese families who have been diagnosed with hyper IgM at The Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology Department, Vietnam National Hospital Pediatrics, were performed a genetic analysis using whole exome sequencing. The mutations were confirmed by the Sanger sequencing method in patients and their families. The influence of the mutations was predicted with the in silico analysis tools: PROVEAN, SIFT, PolyPhen-2, and MutationTaster. In this study, two novel mutations (p.Thr254fs and p.Leu138Phe) in the
CD40LG
gene were found in Vietnamese patients with X-linked hyper IgM syndrome. Our results contribute to the general understanding of the etiology of the disease and can help diagnose the different forms of PID.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a vital benchmark to assess the effects of health interventions and policies. Measuring HRQOL of the general population is essential to establish a reference ...for health outcomes evaluations. However, evidence on HRQOL of general populations in low and middle income countries is very limited. This study aimed to measure HRQOL of the Vietnamese population by using the EuroQol-5 dimensions-5 levels (EQ-5D-5L) instrument and determine its associated factors.
A cross-sectional study was performed in Hanoi with 1571 residences in Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. EQ-5D-5L and EQ- visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) were used to assess HRQOL. Potential covariates included socio-demographic characteristics, having acute symptoms in the last four weeks, chronic diseases in the last three months, having multiple health issues, and health service utilisation in the last twelve months. A generalized linear model was employed to identify the association between HRQOL and covariates.
Overall, the mean EQ-5D utility index was 0.91 (SD = 0.15), and the mean EQ-VAS score was 87.4 (SD = 14.3). The highest proportion of respondents reporting any problems was in Usual activities (24.3%), followed by Anxiety/Depression (15.2%) and Pain/Discomfort (10.0%), while the lowest percentage was in Self-care (2.5%). Lower HRQOL composite scores were related to unemployment, lower income, higher education, living in urban areas, having chronic diseases, having multiple health issues and using health service. For any health problem self-reported by respondents, the health utility reduced by 0.02 (respiratory diseases) to 0.15 (musculoskeletal diseases).
Health utility of the general population and reductions for self-reported health problems in this study are useful for future population health evaluations and comparisons. It also informs the development of interventions to reduce health problems of the general population.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
: It is important to meet the aesthetic expectation regarding the smile concept of both dentists and non-professionals after treatment is complete. Therefore, the study aims to evaluate the effects ...of altered displays in incisors, gingival margin, and other smile-related-factors on dentists' vs. non-professionals' aesthetics perceptions.
: We altered the features of 42 digital smile photographs to generate the changed displays in incisors, gingival margin, and other smile-related-factors. Then, these altered photographs were presented to 51 dentists and 51 non-professionals, and each picture was rated by each participant with a visual analog scale ranging from 0 (very ugly) to 100 (very beautiful).
: We found that the alterations in incisors, gingival margin, and other factors affected studied groups' aesthetic perception of smile. The ugly smile threshold rated by both groups for crown length of maxillary central incisors was 2.0 mm. This threshold was 2.5mm for dentists, with moving the gingival margin of maxillary lateral incisors to the incisal ridge. The ugly thresholds for other smile-related-factors were different between studied groups; for example, the ugly thresholds for gingival exposure levels were 3 and 4mm for dentists and non-professionals, respectively. Thus, our data indicate that altered displays in incisors, gingival margin, and other smile-related-factors affected perceptions of both studied groups on smile aesthetics, but dentists tended to feel more refined than non-professionals. Dentists and non-professionals had significantly different aesthetic perceptions of the alteration of the gingival exposure level.
: Both dentists and non-professionals' perceptions should be fully considered during orthodontic and prosthodontic treatment to achieve optimum aesthetic results.
This study investigated the chronology of heterogeneous, multilayered, and overlapped architectures by combining experiments with computer simulations of thermoluminescence (TL) dating. We proposed a ...heterogeneous and multilayered model based on the cylindrical configuration for both excavated and buried status. The obtained results indicated that our model was able to determine the chronology of architectures having multilayered and overlapped structures, which differs from those obtained using the conventional spherical and homogeneous model from ten to several hundred years. Our proposed model also explicitly exhibited the significant contributions of excavation, destruction, and radiation shielding to the accurate determination of chronology. Application of the proposed model to the Oc Eo archaeological site in Vietnam suggested that the actual chronologies of four investigated architectures should be around AD 615–953, whereas the homogeneous model predicted their chronologies of about one to several decades older. In particular, our study provided the first scientific evidence for the formation of an overlapped architecture in an architectural assembly at the Oc Eo site, namely there was an (older) architecture constructed around AD 794 and lasted for about 159 years before being destroyed, probably by the kingdom's historical upheavals. Since then, another (younger) architecture was built on top of the older one's foundation. Our findings, which are also in good agreement with the radiocarbon dating using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), are crucial for archaeology as they provide solid evidences for the historical argumentations associated to the mysterious ancient Funan kingdom that spread across many countries in Southeast Asia, including Southern Vietnam. They also open a new research approach towards re-dating the chronologies of controversial complex architectures, which can change our understanding on the history of many nations in the world.
•A heterogeneous and multilayered model with cylindrical configuration was proposed.•Computer simulation combined with field and laboratory experiments were conducted.•Chronologies of multilayered and overlapped architectures were precisely determined.•Chronologies of two overlapped structures in a single architecture were distinguished.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
COVID-19 vaccines are put forward as the most promising solution for combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to assess the willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by using the Health ...Belief Model (HBM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a theoretical framework. A self-administered questionnaire was considered among Vietnamese adult patients between March and May 2021. The dependent variable was a COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, the hierarchical multivariable regression was done to assess the fit of the predictor model and the associations of variables. A total of 462 participants completed the questionnaire, with 80.5% vaccination intention. A model containing demographics, as well as HBM and TPB variables, demonstrated to be a predictor of intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, interpreting 39% of the variance (adjusted R2 = 0.39). For HBM and TPB constructs, respondents were more likely to accept vaccination if they had higher level of cues to action, self-efficacy, and a lower level of the perceived barriers (all P < .001). The theoretical framework provided a predictor of intention to get a COVID-19 vaccine, which is important for elaborating intervention plans to ensure the success of conducting mass vaccination campaigns.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common form of respiratory disorders during sleep in children, especially those with severe asthma. However, optimal treatment of asthma might significantly ...improve OSA severity.
It was a cohort study including children aged >5 years old and diagnosed with asthma according to GINA (Global Initiative for Asthma). The data related to age, gender, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), clinical symptoms and medical history of asthma, spirometry (FEV
: forced expiratory in 1 s), and exhaled nitric oxide (F
NO) were recorded for analysis. Respiratory polygraphy (RPG) was done for each study subject to diagnose OSA and its severity.
Among 139 asthmatic children, 99 patients with OSA (71.2%) were included in the present study (9.3 ± 0.2 years): 58.6% with uncontrolled asthma and 32.3% with partial controlled asthma. The mean ACT (asthma control testing) score was 19.0 ± 3.4. The most frequent night-time symptoms were restless sleep (76.8%), snoring (61.6%), sweating (52.5%), and trouble breathing during sleep (48.5%). The common daytime symptoms were irritable status (46.5%) and abnormal behavior (30.3%). The mean AHI (apnea-hypopnea index) was 3.5 ± 4.0 events/h. There was a significant correlation between BMI and snoring index (
= 0.189 and
= 0.027), bronchial and nasal F
NO with AHI (
= 0.046 and
< 0.001;
= 0.037 and
< 0.001; respectively). There was no significant correlation between asthma level, FEV
and AHI. The severity of asthma and respiratory function were improved significantly after 3 months and 6 months of asthma treatment in combination with leukotriene receptor antagonist (LRA) treatment. The symptoms related to OSA were significantly improved after treatment with LRA. The severity of OSA was decreased significantly after 3 months and 6 months of treatment.
The treatment of asthmatic children with comorbid OSA by LRA in combination with standard therapy for asthma could improve the control of asthma and the symptoms and severity of OSA.
In attempting to identify effective anticancer drugs from natural products that are harmless to humans, we found that the gomisin J from Schisandra chinensis fruit has anticancer activity. Schisandra ...chinensis fruits are used in traditional herbal medicine and gomisin J is one of their chemical constituents. In the present study, we examined the anticancer activity of gomisin J in MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines and in MCF10A normal cell line, in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Our data revealed that gomisin J exerted a much stronger cytotoxic effect on MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells than on MCF10A normal cells. Gomisin J suppressed the proliferation and decreased the viability of MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells at relatively low (<10 µg/ml) and high (>30 µg/ml) concentrations, respectively. Our data also revealed that gomisin J induced necroptosis, a programmed form of necrosis, as well as apoptosis. Notably, gomisin J predominantly induced necroptosis in MCF7 cells that are known to have high resistance to many pro-apoptotic anticancer drugs, while MDA-MB-231 exhibited a much lower level of necroptosis but instead a higher level of apoptosis. This data indicated the possibility that it may be used as a more effective anticancer drug, especially in apoptosis-resistant malignant cancer cells. In an extended study, gomisin J exhibited a strong cytotoxic effect on all tested various types of 13 cancer cell lines, indicating its potential to be used against a wide range of different types of cancer cells.
Aspergillus oryzae
is a filamentous fungus widely used in food industry and as a microbial cell factory for recombinant protein production. Due to the inherent resistance of
A. oryzae
to common ...antifungal compounds, genetic transformation of this mold usually requires auxotrophic mutants. In this study, we show that
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
-mediated transformation (ATMT) method is very efficient for deletion of the
pyrG
gene in different
Aspergillus oryzae
wild-type strains to generate uridine/uracil auxotrophic mutants. Our data indicated that all the obtained uridine/uracil auxotrophic transformants, which are 5- fluoroorotic acid (5-FOA) resistant, exist as the
pyrG
deletion mutants. Using these auxotrophic mutants and the
pyrG
selectable marker for genetic transformation via
A. tumefaciens
, we could get about 1060 transformants per 10
6
fungal spores. In addition, these
A. oryzae
mutants were also used successfully for expression of the
DsRed
fluorescent reporter gene under control of the
A. oryzae amyB
promoter by the ATMT method, which resulted in obvious red transformants on agar plates. Our work provides a new and effective approach for constructing the uridine/uracil auxotrophic mutants in the importantly industrial fungus
A. oryzae
. This strategy appears to be applicable to other filamentous fungi to develop similar genetic transformation systems based on auxotrophic/nutritional markers for food-grade recombinant applications.
Although e-health interventions are widely implemented as a supportive measure to smoking cessation, there is a lack of evidence in the feasibility of its application among Vietnamese youths, which ...is considered to be one of the most frequent internet using populations. This study assessed the quitting attempts among smokers and their preference and willingness to pay for smartphone-based cessation supporting applications in a sample of active internet users approached.
A total of 1082 participants were recruited for the online-based survey from August to October 2015 in Vietnam. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, health information seeking behaviors on the internet, smoking status, quitting attempts and willingness to pay for smartphone-based cessation supporting applications were collected. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the associated factors with current smoking and willingness to pay for the smoking cessation application.
About 11% of participants were current smokers while 73.4% had attempted to quit smoking. Only 26.8% of the individuals indicated that they were willing to utilize a smartphone application to assist them in quitting. Participants who were male, had partners/spouse and lived at other places were more likely to smoke cigarette. Meanwhile, people who spent 50-70% of their online time to read health information were less likely to smoke. Results also show that living with family and never sharing health information on the internet were negatively associated with a participant's willingness to pay for the smartphone application. Meanwhile, people who highly trusted health information were more likely to be willing to pay for the application.
This prevalence of smoking and associated factors can provide potential indicators for creating several public health interventions in the new environment with the increasing development of information technology. This study implies that in order to expand the coverage of smoking cessation interventions, we recommend the integration of e-health interventions with clinical- or telephone-based conventional models by providing smartphone applications and information on the internet from reliable sources.
Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is an inborn error of immunity (IEI) disorder that results from defects in the respiratory burst activity in phagocytes, leading to the inability to kill bacterial ...and fungal microorganisms. CGD patients usually have a high incidence of morbidity such as infections and autoinflammatory diseases and a high mortality rate. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is the only definitive cure for patients who suffer from CGD.
We report the first transplant case of chronic granulomatous disease in Vietnam. A 25-month-old boy with X-linked CGD underwent bone marrow transplantation from his 5-year-old, full-matched human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-carrier sibling after myeloablative conditioning regimen with busulfan 5.1 mg/kg/day for 4 days, fludarabine 30 mg/m
/day for 5 days, and rATG (Grafalon-Fresenius) 10 mg/kg/day for 4 days. Neutrophil was engrafted on day 13 posttransplant, donor chimerism was 100% on day 30 with the dihydrorhodamine-1,2,3 (DHR 123) flow cytometric assay test that reached 38% of the normal 45 days posttransplant. Five months after transplant, the patient was free of infection with stable DHR 123 assay at 37%, and donor chimerism remained 100%. No sign of a graft-versus-host disease had been observed posttransplant.
We suggest that bone marrow transplantation is a safe and effectual cure for CGD patients, especially for patients with HLA-identical siblings.
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