Comprehensive and updated information about polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in surface sediments from Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, is rather scarce. In ...this study, concentrations and profiles of 209 PCBs, 41 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexabromobiphenyl (BB-153), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were determined in sediment samples collected from the Red River and some inner-city rivers of Hanoi. Concentrations (ng/g dry weight, median and range) of pollutants decreased in the order: DBDPE (28; not detected ND – 59) ≈ PCBs (27; 1.7–50) > PBDEs (23; 0.20–61) > HBCD (1.2; ND – 5.2) > BTBPE (0.46; ND – 3.6) > BB-153 (0.004; ND – 0.014) > PBEB (ND). Pollutant levels in the inner-city river sediments were about one to two orders of magnitude higher than those measured in the Red River main stream sediments. Tri-to hexa-CBs are major homologs but detailed profiles vary between individual samples, reflecting source and/or seasonal variations. CB-11 and CB-209 were found at higher proportions in sediments than in technical PCB mixtures, suggesting their novel sources from pigments. Deca-BDE and DBDPE are the most predominant BFRs with an increasing trend predicted for DBDPE. A preliminary ecological risk assessment was conducted for these pollutants in sediments. Total PCBs and deca-BDE in a few inner-city river sediments may exhibit adverse effects on benthic organisms, but no serious risk was estimated in general.
•Detailed profiles of PCBs and BFRs were examined in urban surface sediments.•CB-11 was among the most predominant congeners, accounting for 7 ± 4% of ΣPCBs.•Elevated proportions of CB-209 were found in inner-city river sediments (0.12–2.6%).•BFR levels decreased in the order: DBDPE > PBDEs > HBCD > BTBPE > BB-153.•PCBs and deca-BDE are likely to pose greater ecological risk than other BFRs.
•Dual-mode intense green emission of HA/β-TCP: Er-Yb-Mo composite synthesized by hydrothermal method.•Mo6+ doped system enhances strongly both UC and DC green emissions.•Dual-mode mechanism of ...HA/β-TCP:Er-Yb-Mo phosphor has explained.•Good temperature sensing property was obtained.
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This work presents a novel multifunctional material synthesized by hydroxyapatite/ β-tricalcium phosphate (HA/β-TCP) doped with Er-Yb-Mo ions (using hydrothermal method) and its characterization, showing a peculiar property of green dual-mode emissions (up and down-conversions). It was found that the obtained material exhibits an intense green emission (510–560 nm) both via up-conversion (excited by 975 nm) and down-conversion (excited by 379 nm), which depend on the Mo6+ contents. Particularly, compared with the free-Mo6+ sample, the green emission intensities of the samples doped with 5% Mo6+ mol are 50 and 35 times higher for UC and DC emissions, respectively. Furthermore, the temperature sensing property of the HA/β-TCP: Er-Yb-Mo composite is investigated by fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique, showing a high and competitive sensitivity with a maximum value of 0.0064 K−1 at 403 K. The results indicated that the HA/β-TCP: Er-Yb-Mo phosphor can be useful for high-temperature-sensing applications.
Mpox was diagnosed in 2 women returning to Vietnam from the United Arab Emirates. The monkeypox viruses belonged to an emerging sublineage, A.2.1, distinct from B.1, which is responsible for the ...ongoing multicountry outbreak. Women could contribute to mpox transmission, and enhanced genomic surveillance is needed to clarify pathogen evolution.
Linezolid is an antibiotic of last resort for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria, including vancomycin-resistant enterococci.
, a member of enterococci, is a significant ...pathogen in nosocomial infections.
resistance to linezolid is frequently related to the presence of
which is often co-carried with
, phenicol exporter genes, and
genes encoding macrolide resistance. Therefore, the common use of antibiotics in veterinary might promote the occurrence of
in livestock settings. This is a cross-sectional study aiming to investigate the prevalence of
positive
(OPEfs) in 6 reservoirs in farms in Ha Nam province, Vietnam, and its associated factors and to explore genetic relationships of OPEfs isolates. Among 639 collected samples, the prevalence of OPEfs was highest in flies, 46.8% (51/109), followed by chickens 37.3% (72/193), dogs 33.3% (17/51), humans 18.7% (26/139), wastewater 16.4% (11/67) and pigs 11.3%, (14/80). The total feeding area and total livestock unit of the farm were associated with the presence of OPEfs in chickens, flies, and wastewater. Among 186 OPEfs strains, 86% were resistant to linezolid. The presence of
was also related to the resistant phenotype against linezolid and levofloxacin of
isolates. Close genotypic relationships identified by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis between OPEfs isolates recovered from flies and other reservoirs including chickens, pigs, dogs, and wastewater suggested the role of flies in the transmission of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. These results provided warnings of linezolid resistance although it is not used in livestock.
The evolution of influenza viruses is fundamentally shaped by within-host processes. However, the within-host evolutionary dynamics of influenza viruses remain incompletely understood, in part ...because most studies have focused on infections in healthy adults based on single timepoint data. Here, we analyzed the within-host evolution of 82 longitudinally sampled individuals, mostly young children, infected with A/H1N1pdm09 or A/H3N2 viruses between 2007 and 2009. For A/H1N1pdm09 infections during the 2009 pandemic, nonsynonymous minority variants were more prevalent than synonymous ones. For A/H3N2 viruses in young children, early infection was dominated by purifying selection. As these infections progressed, nonsynonymous variants typically increased in frequency even when within-host virus titers decreased. Unlike the short-lived infections of adults where de novo within-host variants are rare, longer infections in young children allow for the maintenance of virus diversity via mutation-selection balance creating potentially important opportunities for within-host virus evolution.
Community health workers (CHWs) provide critical services to underserved populations in low and middle-income countries, but maintaining CHW's clinical knowledge through formal continuing medical ...education (CME) activities is challenging and rarely occurs. We tested whether a Short Message Service (SMS)-based mobile CME (mCME) intervention could improve medical knowledge among a cadre of Vietnamese CHWs (Community Based Physician's Assistants-CBPAs) who are the leading providers of primary medical care for rural underserved populations.
The mCME Project was a three arm randomized controlled trial. Group 1 served as controls while Groups 2 and 3 experienced two models of the mCME intervention. Group 2 (passive model) participants received a daily SMS bullet point, and were required to reply to the text to acknowledge receipt; Group 3 (interactive model) participants received an SMS in multiple choice question format addressing the same thematic area as Group 2, entering an answer (A, B, C or D) in their response. The server provided feedback immediately informing the participant whether the answer was correct. Effectiveness was based on standardized examination scores measured at baseline and endline (six months later). Secondary outcomes included job satisfaction and self-efficacy.
638 CBPAs were enrolled, randomized, and tested at baseline, with 592 returning at endline (93.7%). Baseline scores were similar across all three groups. Over the next six months, participation of Groups 2 and 3 remained high; they responded to >75% of messages. Group 3 participants answered 43% of the daily SMS questions correctly, but their performance did not improve over time. At endline, the CBPAs reported high satisfaction with the mCME intervention, and deemed the SMS messages highly relevant. However, endline exam scores did not increase over baseline, and did not differ between the three groups. Job satisfaction and self-efficacy scores also did not improve. Average times spent on self-study per week did not increase, and the kinds of knowledge resources used by the CBPAs did not differ between the three groups; textbooks, while widely available, were seldom used.
The SMS-based mCME intervention, while feasible and acceptable, did not result in increased medical knowledge. We hypothesize that this was because the intervention failed to stimulate lateral learning. For an intervention of this kind to be effective, it will be essential to find more effective ways to couple SMS as a stimulus to promote increased self-study behaviors.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02381743.
African swine fever (ASF) was officially reported in Vietnam in February 2019 and spread across the whole country, affecting all 63 provinces and cities.
In this study, ASF virus (ASFV) ...VN/Pig/HaNam/2019 (VN/Pig/HN/19) strain was isolated in primary porcine alveolar macrophage (PAM) cells from a sample originating from an outbreak farm in Vietnam's Red River Delta region. The isolate was characterised using the haemadsorption (HAD) test, real-time PCR, and sequencing. The activity of antimicrobial feed products was evaluated
a contaminated ASFV feed assay.
Phylogenetic analysis of the viral p72 and EP402R genes placed VN/Pig/HN/19 in genotype II and serogroup 8 and related it closely to Eastern European and Chinese strains. Infectious titres of the virus propagated in primary PAMs were 10
HAD
/ml. Our study reports the activity against ASFV VN/Pig/HN/19 strain of antimicrobial Sal CURB RM E Liquid, F2 Dry and K2 Liquid. Our feed assay findings suggest that the antimicrobial RM E Liquid has a strong effect against ASFV replication. These results suggest that among the Sal CURB products, the antimicrobial RM E Liquid may have the most potential as a mitigant feed additive for ASFV infection. Therefore, further studies on the use of antimicrobial Sal CURB RM E Liquid
are required.
Our study demonstrates the threat of ASFV and emphasises the need to control and eradicate it in Vietnam by multiple measures.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has become a global health concern. The development of vaccines with high ...immunogenicity and safety is crucial for controlling the global COVID-19 pandemic and preventing further illness and fatalities. Here, we report the development of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, Nanocovax, based on recombinant protein production of the extracellular (soluble) portion of the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2. The results showed that Nanocovax induced high levels of S protein-specific IgG and neutralizing antibodies in three animal models: BALB/c mouse, Syrian hamster, and a non-human primate (
). In addition, a viral challenge study using the hamster model showed that Nanocovax protected the upper respiratory tract from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nanocovax did not induce any adverse effects in mice (
var. albino) and rats (
). These preclinical results indicate that Nanocovax is safe and effective.
Hedera helix has been reported to contain a wide range of metabolites and produce many pharmacological effects. This research demonstrates the determination and evaluation of the phytochemical ...profiling of H. helix grown in central Vietnam. Methanolic extract of ivy had been analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐Q‐TOF‐MS/MS). MS, and MS/MS experiments were manipulated using both negative and positive ionization modes to provide molecular mass information and production spectra for the structural elucidation of compounds. A total of 46 compounds including 24 triterpene saponins and other compounds were successfully identified of which four established saponin structures have been reported for the first time. This study has provided a base for building a quality control of the raw materials according to the profile of triterpene saponins and assessment of pharmaceutical ingredients of H. helix planted in Vietnam.
In recent years, serosurveillance has gained momentum as a way of determining disease transmission and immunity in populations, particularly with respect to vaccine-preventable diseases. At the end ...of 2017, the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology held a meeting in Vietnam with national policy makers, researchers, and international experts to discuss current seroepidemiologic projects in Vietnam and future needs and plans for nationwide serosurveillance. This report summarizes the meeting and the plans that were discussed to set up nationwide serosurveillance in Vietnam.
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