Cortisol is proven to play a crucial role in hyperglycemia and fetal development in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This research aims to investigate the relationship between maternal serum ...cortisol and insulin resistance indices and fetal ultrasound characteristics in women with GDM.
A cross-sectional and descriptive study on 144 GDM in Vietnam from January 2015 to December 2020. Serum cortisol was measured using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay at 8 a.m. on the examination day in the vicinity of the 24th gestational week. Fetal ultrasound was performed by an experienced person who was blind to the study.
The mean cortisol level in the GDM group was 627.04 nmol/L. Serum cortisol levels positively correlated with abdominal circumference (AC), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin, triglycerides, HOMA2-IR, and Mathew indices (with
of 0.18, 0.22, 0.18, 0.17, 0.18, and 0.22, respectively). Serum cortisol levels negatively correlated with QUICKI and McAuley indices (with
of -0.19 and -0.21), respectively. In a univariate linear regression, maternal serum cortisol positively correlated with fetal AC, head circumference (HC), and biparietal diameter (BPD) (with
of 0.21; 0.23; and 0.25, respectively). In a multivariate linear regression analysis, cortisol positively correlated with fetal AC, HC, and BPD after adjusting to maternal McAuley index.
Serum cortisol levels in GDM correlated with fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, and insulin resistance. Besides, serum cortisol levels in GDM positively correlated with fetal development.
We compared the effects of two sets of growth conditions, high temperature (34°C) plus high salinity (9%o) treatment 34°C-9%o, and an ambient temperature of 28°C plus freshwater (0%o) treatment ...28°C-0%o on survival, growth and the utilization of energy, protein and amino acids in snakehead, Channa striata at feeding rates of 0 (fasting), 25%, 50%, 75%, 85% and 100% (apparent satiation) for 26 days. Fingerlings of uniform weight (7-8 g) were acclimated to the water conditions for seven days before being assigned randomly to 250L composite tanks with the designed temperature and salinity, at a density of 30 fingerlings per tank. Fingerlings were fed commercial feed formulated for snakehead. Fingerling weight, and content in the fish body of crude fat, crude protein and amino acids were measured at the start and at the end of the feeding experiment. Snakehead fingerlings cultured at 28°C-0%o had higher final weight, greater weight gain, better survival, and higher feed intake, and a lower feed conversion ratio than fingerlings cultured at 34°C-9%o. Fingerlings cultured at 28°C-0%o had significantly higher amino acid digestibility coefficients and maintenance requirements for energy, protein, and amino acids than those at 34°C-9%o, but conversely, utilization rates were lower at 28°C-0% than at 34°C-9%o. For typical ambient conditions of 28°C-0%o, maintenance requirements and utilization rate were, respectively, 44.8 KJ-kg-0,82 day-1 and 0.49 for energy, 0.44 g-kg-0,76 day-1 and 0.58 for protein, and from 0.014 to 0.050 g-kg-0.76 day-1 and 0.41 to 0.64 for essential amino acids. These results imply that snakehead cultured at a combination of high temperature and high salinity requires high levels of dietary energy and protein to satisfy their maintenance requirements.
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Recently, the waste agricultural materials have been widely considerable for green synthesis of noble metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) due to cost efficiency and environmental ...protection. This study has presented a simple method for the preparation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) utilizing aqueous extract of waste Passiflora edulis peel (PEP) as reducing and stabilizing agents. The formation of MNPs was optimized reaction conditions to obtain the best colloidal solutions. The characterizations of the biosynthesized MNPs were performed by analysis techniques such as Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The TEM data confirmed PEP-AgNPs and PEP-AuNPs in the spherical shape with mean size of 25 nm and 7 nm, respectively. The XRD and SAED patterns showed the synthesized nanoparticles existing in crystalline nature. Antibacterial and catalytic activities have been investigated for their applications. The PEP-AgNPs exhibited a strong antibacterial activity against three strains including Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. The excellently catalytic activity of both the biosynthesized nanoparticles has been demonstrated for reduction of nitrophenols and degradation of toxic organic dyes via study on their kinetics.
The proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) technique (or the Karhunan Loève procedure) has been used to obtain low-dimensional dynamical models of many applications in engineering and science. In ...principle, the idea is to start with an ensemble of data, called
snapshots, collected from an experiment or a numerical procedure of a physical system. The POD technique is then used to produce a set of basis functions which spans the snapshot collection. When these basis functions are used in a Galerkin procedure, they yield a finite-dimensional dynamical system with the smallest possible degrees of freedom. In this context, it is assumed that the physical system has a mathematical model, which may not be available for many physical and/or industrial applications. In this paper, we consider the steady-state Rayleigh-Bénard convection whose mathematical model is assumed to be unknown, but numerical data are available. The aim of the paper is to show that, using the obtained ensemble of data, POD can be used to model accurately the natural convection. Furthermore, this approach is very efficient in the sense that it uses the smallest possible number of parameters, and thus, is suited for process control. Particularly, we consider two boundary control problems
1.
(a) tracking problem, and
2.
(b) avoiding hot spot in a certain region of the domain.
Background
The prevalence of common mental disorders (CMDs) among people living with HIV and people who inject drugs is high worldwide and in Vietnam. However, few evidence-informed CMD programs for ...people living with HIV who inject drugs have been adapted for use in Vietnam. We adapted the Friendship Bench (FB), a problem-solving therapy (PST)–based program that was successfully implemented among patients with CMDs in primary health settings in Zimbabwe and Malawi for use among people living with HIV on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) with CMDs in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Objective
This study aimed to describe the adaptation process with a detailed presentation of 4 phases from the third (adaptation) to the sixth (integration) of the Assessment-Decision-Adaptation-Production-Topical Experts-Integration-Training-Testing (ADAPT-ITT) framework.
Methods
The adaptation phase followed a qualitative study design to explore symptoms of CMDs, facilitators, and barriers to conducting FB for people living with HIV on MMT in Vietnam, and patient, provider, and caretaker concerns about FB. In the production phase, we revised the original program manual and developed illustrated PST cases. In the topical expert and integration phases, 2 investigators (BNG and BWP) and 3 subject matter experts (RV, DC, and GML) reviewed the manual, with reviewer comments incorporated in the final, revised manual to be used in the training. The draft program will be used in the training and testing phases.
Results
The study was methodologically aligned with the ADAPT-ITT goals as we chose a proven, effective program for adaptation. Insights from the adaptation phase addressed the who, where, when, and how of FB program implementation in the MMT clinics. The ADAPT-ITT framework guided the appropriate adaptation of the program manual while maintaining the core components of the PST of the original program throughout counseling techniques in all program sessions. The deliverable of this study was an adapted FB manual to be used for training and piloting to make a final program manual.
Conclusions
This study successfully illustrated the process of operationalizing the ADAPT-ITT framework to adapt a mental health program in Vietnam. This study selected and culturally adapted an evidence-informed PST program to improve CMDs among people living with HIV on MMT in Vietnam. This adapted program has the potential to effectively address CMDs among people living with HIV on MMT in Vietnam.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04790201; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04790201
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support can be life-saving in critically ill COVID-19 patients. However, there are many complications associated with this procedure, including ...Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT.) Despite its rarity in ECMO cases, HIT can lead to devastating consequences and is difficult to manage.
In this report, we present a case of a COVID-19 patient on ECMO support who was diagnosed with HIT and required intensive treatment. Initially, HIT was only suspected due to newly-developed thrombocytopenia and oxygenator dysfunction, with thrombi observed later. Regarding his treatment, since there was no recommended replacement to heparin available to us at the time of diagnosis, we decided to use rivaroxaban temporarily. No adverse events were recorded during that period. The patient was able to make a full recovery.
HIT may jeopardize patient's care during ECMO. As COVID-19 may bring about a surge in the number of patients requiring ECMO support, we need consented guidance to optimize treatment in this specific situation.
Climate change can have many negative impacts on wildlife species, and species with narrow distributions are more likely to be significantly affected. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling ...for species (MaxEnt software) as well as species occurrence data and climate variables to assess the impacts of climate change on the distribution of the grey-shanked douc—an endemic and rare primate species of Vietnam. We used climate data at the current time and two future times (2050 and 2070). Climate data were generated for two climate scenarios RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, together with three climate models ACCESS1-0, GFDL-CM3, and MPI-ESM-LR. We predicted that the distribution of the grey-shanked douc would be sharply reduced by the effects of climate change. The species’ suitable distribution range in the future tended to shift toward the center of their current range and to higher mountainous areas. A larger suitable area, in particular highly suitable areas to the north and west of its current potential distribution range, would become less suitable or even unsuitable in 2050 and 2070. Kon Cha Rang Nature Reserve and Kon Ka Kinh National Park should be given priority in conservation of the grey-shanked douc because they now support important populations of the species and are in the highly suitable area remaining for the species in the future. The establishment of a new protected area for grey-shanked douc conservation should be considered in Kon Plong District, Kom Tum Province, which will be the center of the species distribution range.
Projection methods are a popular class of methods for solving equilibrium problems. In this paper, we propose approximate one projection methods for solving a class of equilibrium problems, where the ...cost bifunctions are paramonotone, the feasible sets are defined by a continuous convex function inequality and not necessarily differentiable in the Euclidean space
R
s
. At each main iteration step in our algorithms, the usual projections onto the feasible set are replaced by computing inexact subgradients and one projection onto the intersection of two halfspaces containing the solution set of the equilibrium problems. Then, by choosing suitable parameters, we prove convergence of the whole generated sequence to a solution of the problems, under only the assumptions of continuity and paramonotonicity of the bifunctions. Finally, we present some computational examples to illustrate the assumptions of the proposed algorithms.
Recently, low input agriculture has been encouraged because of its sustainability and environmentally friendly vision. Conversion of biomass into control‐released materials is one of the approaches ...to upcycle biomass and nutrients. This study aims at examining the dynamics of K release from Si‐rich biochars formed from various pyrolysis strategies with the findings expected to be applicable to develop new refinery strategies for biomass nutrients. A Si‐rich fern species Dicranopteris linearis (Burm.f.) Underw. was selected to prepare biochars under various pyrolysis conditions (e.g., temperature, N2 supported). It was found that K was re‐located during pyrolysis and occurred as free K+ ions, associated with organic matter and occluded in silica structure. Pyrolysis can be strategically applied to alter either the organic phase or the silica phase in the biochars in term of porosity and chemical reactivities, whereby controlling K release kinetics. The maximum level of released K was at 600 °C (5.4 g kg−1) which was about one order of magnitude higher than the minimum level of released K at 200 °C (0.55 g kg−1). This discrepancy in the release rates of K suggests that adjusting pyrolysis temperature can be a strategical practice to control K release and to develop biochar‐based K fertilizers.
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