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.
During 2005, 764 children were brought to a large children's hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with a diagnosis of hand, foot, and mouth disease. All enrolled children had specimens (vesicle ...fluid, stool, throat swab) collected for enterovirus isolation by cell culture. An enterovirus was isolated from 411 (53.8%) of the specimens: 173 (42.1%) isolates were identified as human enterovirus 71 (HEV71) and 214 (52.1%) as coxsackievirus A16. Of the identified HEV71 infections, 51 (29.5%) were complicated by acute neurologic disease and 3 (1.7%) were fatal. HEV71 was isolated throughout the year, with a period of higher prevalence in October-November. Phylogenetic analysis of 23 HEV71 isolates showed that during the first half of 2005, viruses belonging to 3 subgenogroups, C1, C4, and a previously undescribed subgenogroup, C5, cocirculated in southern Vietnam. In the second half of the year, viruses belonging to subgenogroup C5 predominated during a period of higher HEV71 activity.
This paper aims to explore the role of self-assessment in developing language learner autonomy in the Vietnamese higher education context. Specifically, it focuses on how the assessment for English ...language learning is currently conducted and how this relates to learner autonomy. Despite the Vietnamese government’s official requirement for learner autonomy, Vietnamese higher education’s language academic context provides presently little space for autonomous learning. The idea of self-assessment is relatively unfamiliar and has, therefore, been little investigated. Based on qualitative data from observations and interviews with 38 university students, this paper presents the understanding of learner autonomy in Vietnamese higher education. In particular, the findings suggest that self-assessment may be a useful operational approach for fostering language learner autonomy in Vietnam and other similar settings. Also, they highlight the demand of promoting self-assessment literacy and the importance of self-assessment principles within the local context.
In this study, we proposed a straightforward electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) loaded with silver nanoparticles (SNPs) membrane fabrication process, in which SNPs were directly synthesized from ...silver nitrate (AgNO
3
) in PCL–acetone mixture by gamma irradiation. The insolubility of AgNO
3
in PCL solution was solved using an auxiliary dimethyl sulfoxide solvent. As a physical approach, gamma rays readily converted silver ions into SNPs without the addition of harmful reduction agents, which reduced the cytotoxicity of the synthesized material. By avoiding some processes such as purification, solvent removal, or redispersion of SNPs, this method was more time-saving compared to other related studies. SNPs formation was confirmed by both UV–Visible spectrum (UV–Vis) and X-ray diffraction analysis. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the addition of SNPs significantly reduced the fiber diameter of PCL–Ag membranes compared to that of raw PCL. Uniform spherical-shaped SNPs incorporated in PCL fibers were observed under transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The tensile test showed that the electrospun PCL–Ag membranes exhibited good mechanical characteristics. Moisture easily penetrated the porous microstructure of PCL–Ag, facilitating wound humidity regulation. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) was employed to study the release profiles of SNPs at different time intervals. Overall, the PCL–Ag 500 ppm sample exerted excellent antibacterial activity against
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
and
Staphylococcus aureus
strains and low in vitro cytotoxicity.
The highest burden of disease from hepatitis C virus (HCV) is found in Southeast Asia, but our understanding of the epidemiology of infection in many heavily burdened countries is still limited. In ...particular, there is relatively little data on acute HCV infection, the outcome of which can be influenced by both viral and host genetics which differ within the region. We studied HCV genotype and IL28B gene polymorphism in a cohort of acute HCV-infected patients in Southern Vietnam alongside two other cohorts of chronic HCV-infected patients to better understand the epidemiology of HCV infection locally and inform the development of programs for therapy with the increasing availability of directly acting antiviral therapy (DAAs).
We analysed plasma samples from patients with acute and chronic HCV infection, including chronic HCV mono-infection and chronic Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-HCV coinfection, who enrolled in four epidemiological or clinical research studies. HCV infection was confirmed with RNA testing. The 5' UTR, core and NSB5 regions of HCV RNA positive samples were sequenced, and the genotype and subtype of the viral strains were determined. Host DNA from all HCV positive patients and age- and sex-matched non-HCV-infected control individuals were analysed for IL28B single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs12979860 and rs8099917). Geolocation of the patients were mapped using QGIS.
355 HCV antibody positive patients were analysed; 54.6% (194/355) and 46.4% (161/355) were acute and chronic infections, respectively. 50.4% (81/161) and 49.6.4% (80/161) of chronic infections had HCV mono-infection and HIV-HCV coinfection, respectively. 88.7% (315/355) and 10.1% (36/355) of the patients were from southern and central regions of Vietnam, respectively. 92.4% (328/355) of patients were HCV RNA positive, including 86.1% (167/194) acute and 100% (161/161) chronic infections. Genotype could be determined in 98.4% (322/328) patients. Genotypes 1 (56.5%; 182/322) and 6 (33.9%; 109/322) predominated. Genotype 1 including genotype 1a was significantly higher in HIV-HCV coinfected patients compared to acute HCV patients 43.8% (35/80) versus 20.5% (33/167), (p = <0.001), while genotype 6 was significantly higher in chronic HCV mono-infected patients (44.4% (36/81) versus 20.0% (16/80) (p = < 0.004) compared to HIV-HCV coinfected patients. The prevalence of IL28B SNP (rs12979860) homozygous CC was 86.46% (83/96) in control individuals and was significantly higher in acutely-infected compared to chronically-infected patients 93.2 (82/88) versus 76.1% (35/46) (p = < 0.005).
HCV genotype 6 is highly prevalent in Vietnam and the high prevalence in treatment naïve chronic HCV patients may results from poor spontaneous clearance of acute HCV infection with genotype 6.
Mortality from dengue infection is mostly due to shock. Among dengue patients with shock, approximately 30% have recurrent shock that requires a treatment change. Here, we report development of a ...clinical rule for use during a patient's first shock episode to predict a recurrent shock episode.
The study was conducted in Center for Preventive Medicine in Vinh Long province and the Children's Hospital No. 2 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We included 444 dengue patients with shock, 126 of whom had recurrent shock (28%). Univariate and multivariate analyses and a preprocessing method were used to evaluate and select 14 clinical and laboratory signs recorded at shock onset. Five variables (admission day, purpura/ecchymosis, ascites/pleural effusion, blood platelet count and pulse pressure) were finally trained and validated by a 10-fold validation strategy with 10 times of repetition, using a logistic regression model.
The results showed that shorter admission day (fewer days prior to admission), purpura/ecchymosis, ascites/pleural effusion, low platelet count and narrow pulse pressure were independently associated with recurrent shock. Our logistic prediction model was capable of predicting recurrent shock when compared to the null method (P < 0.05) and was not outperformed by other prediction models. Our final scoring rule provided relatively good accuracy (AUC, 0.73; sensitivity and specificity, 68%). Score points derived from the logistic prediction model revealed identical accuracy with AUCs at 0.73. Using a cutoff value greater than -154.5, our simple scoring rule showed a sensitivity of 68.3% and a specificity of 68.2%.
Our simple clinical rule is not to replace clinical judgment, but to help clinicians predict recurrent shock during a patient's first dengue shock episode.
Plant diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi are one of the leading factors affecting crop loss. In the present study, sixty-one
Streptomyces
strains were screened for their antifungal activity ...against relevant wide range fungal pathogens prominent in Vietnam, namely
Lasiodiplodia theobromae
,
Fusarium fujikuroi
, and
Scopulariopsis gossypii
. Endophytic strain RC2 was the most effective strain in the mycelial inhibition of the tested fungi. Based on phenotypic characteristics, 16S rDNA gene analysis, and genomic analysis, strain RC2 belonged to
Streptomyces albus
. An ethyl acetate extract of
S. albus
RC2 led to the strong growth inhibition of
S. gossypii
Co1 and
F. fujikuroi
L3, but not
L. theobromae
N13. The crude extract also suppressed the spore germination of
S. gossypii
Co1 and
F. fujikuroi
L3 to 92.4 ± 3.2% and 87.4% ± 1.9%, respectively. In addition, the RC2 extract displayed potent and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against
Escherichia coli
,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
, and the phytopathogenic bacteria
Ralstonia solanacearum
and
Xanthomonas oryzae
. The genome of strain RC2 was sequenced and revealed the presence of 15 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) with similarities ≥ 45% to reference BGCs available in the antiSMASH database. The UPLC-HRMS analysis led to the identification of 8 other secondary metabolites, which have not been reported in
S. albus
. The present study indicated that RC2 could be a potent biocontrol agent against phytopathogenic fungi. Further attention should be paid to antifungal metabolites without functional annotation, development of product prototypes, and greenhouse experiments to demonstrate effective control of the plant diseases.
Background. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a pandemic of pneumonia spreading around the world, leading to serious threats to public health and attracting ...enormous attention. There is an urgent need for sensitive diagnostic testing implementation to control and manage SARS-CoV-2 in public health laboratories. The quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) assay is the gold standard method, but the sensitivity and specificity of SARS-CoV-2 testing are dependent on a number of factors. Methods. We synthesized RNA based on the genes published to estimate the concentration of inactivated virus samples in a biosafety level 3 laboratory. The limit of detection (LOD), linearity, accuracy, and precision were evaluated according to the bioanalytical method validation guidelines. Results. We found that the LOD reached around 3 copies/reaction. Furthermore, intra-assay precision, accuracy, and linearity met the accepted criterion with an RSD for copies of less than 25%, and linear regression met the accepted R2 of 0.98. Conclusions. We suggest that synthesized RNA based on the database of the NCBI gene bank for estimating the concentration of inactivated virus samples provides a potential opportunity for reliable testing to diagnose coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as well as limit the spread of the disease. This method may be relatively quick and inexpensive, and it may be useful for developing countries during the pandemic era. In the long term, it is also applicable for evaluation, verification, validation, and external quality assessment.
Flexible bronchoscopy has revolutionized respiratory disease diagnosis. It offers direct visualization and detection of airway abnormalities, including lung cancer lesions. Accurate identification of ...airway lesions during flexible bronchoscopy plays an important role in the lung cancer diagnosis. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) aims to support physicians in recognizing anatomical landmarks and lung cancer lesions within bronchoscopic imagery. This work described the development of BM-BronchoLC, a rich bronchoscopy dataset encompassing 106 lung cancer and 102 non-lung cancer patients. The dataset incorporates detailed localization and categorical annotations for both anatomical landmarks and lesions, meticulously conducted by senior doctors at Bach Mai Hospital, Vietnam. To assess the dataset's quality, we evaluate two prevalent AI backbone models, namely UNet++ and ESFPNet, on the image segmentation and classification tasks with single-task and multi-task learning paradigms. We present BM-BronchoLC as a reference dataset in developing AI models to assist diagnostic accuracy for anatomical landmarks and lung cancer lesions in bronchoscopy data.
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