As a response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Vietnam enforced strict quarantine, contact tracing and physical distancing policies resulting in one of the lowest numbers of ...individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) globally. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity among high-risk populations in Vietnam. A prevalence survey was undertaken within four communities in Vietnam, where at least two COVID-19 cases had been confirmed. Participants were classified according to the location of exposure: household contacts, close contacts, community members, and healthcare workers (HCWs) responsible for treating COVID-19 cases. Participants completed a baseline questionnaire and SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were quantified using a commercial assay. A total of 3049 community members and 149 health care workers consented to the study. Among 13 individuals who were seropositive (0.4%), five household contacts (5/27, 18.5%), one close contact (1/53, 1.9%), and seven community members (7/2954, 0.2%) had detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. All HCWs were negative for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Participants were tested a median of 15.1 (interquartile range from 14.9 to 15.2) weeks after exposure. Our study found a low prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in high-risk communities and healthcare workers in communities in Vietnam with known COVID-19 cases.
Insect pests pose a serious threat to global food production. Pod borer (
(Hübner)) is one of the most destructive pests of leguminous crops. The use of host resistance has been an effective, ...environmentally friendly and sustainable approach for controlling several agricultural pests. The exploitation of natural variations in crop wild relatives could yield pest-resistant crop varieties. In this study, we used a high-throughput transcriptome profiling approach to investigate the defense mechanisms of susceptible cultivated and tolerant wild pigeonpea genotypes against
infestation. The wild genotype displayed elevated pest-induced gene expression, including the enhanced induction of phytohormone and calcium/calmodulin signaling, transcription factors, plant volatiles and secondary metabolite genes compared to the cultivated control. The biosynthetic and regulatory processes associated with flavonoids, terpenes and glucosinolate secondary metabolites showed higher accumulations in the wild genotype, suggesting the existence of distinct tolerance mechanisms. This study provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying insect resistance in the wild pigeonpea genotype. This information highlights the indispensable role of crop wild relatives as a source of crucial genetic resources that could be important in devising strategies for crop improvement with enhanced pest resistance.
Abstract
Background
The extent to which influenza recurrence depends upon waning immunity from prior infection is undefined. We used antibody titers of Ha-Nam cohort participants to estimate ...protection curves and decay trajectories.
Methods
Households (270) participated in influenza-like–illness (ILI) surveillance and provided blood at intervals spanning laboratory–confirmed virus transmission. Sera were tested in hemagglutination inhibition assay. Infection was defined as influenza virus-positive ILI and/or seroconversion. Median protective titers were estimated using scaled-logistic regression to model pretransmission titer against infection status in that season, limiting analysis to households with infection(s). Titers were modelled against month since infection using mixed-effects linear regression to estimate decay and when titers fell below protection thresholds.
Results
From December 2008–2012, 295 and 314 participants were infected with H1N1pdm09-like and A/Perth/16/09-like (H3N2Pe09) viruses, respectively. The proportion protected rose more steeply with titer for H1N1pdm09 than for H3N2Pe09, and estimated 50% protection titers were 19.6 and 37.3, respectively. Postinfection titers started higher against H3N2Pe09 but decayed more steeply than against H1N1pdm09. Seroprotection was estimated to be sustained against H1N1pdm09 but to wane by 8-months for H3N2Pe09.
Conclusions
Estimates indicate that infection induces durable seroprotection against H1N1pdm09 but not H3N2Pe09, which could in part account for the younger age of A(H1N1) versus A(H3N2) cases.
To estimate the duration of seroprotection following influenza infection we modelled the protective effects, and decay, of hemagglutination inhibiting antibodies. A(H1N1) but not A(H3N2) infection induced durable seroprotection, and accordingly A(H1N1) predominantly infected children whereas A(H3N2) infected all age groups.
As the lives of people living with HIV (PLWH) become increasingly normalized, more focus is being given to the associated comorbidities of HIV, including those related to mental health such as ...depression. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between depressive symptoms and HIV outcomes in Vietnam through the measurement of CD4 cell count. A mixed design was utilized, in which both a longitudinal assessment of CD4 cell counts and a cross-sectional survey of depressive symptoms were conducted on 481 patients in the Bach Mai and Ha Dong HIV clinics (Hanoi, Vietnam). CD4 cell count data was extracted from the medical records of participants, and depressive symptoms were screened using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The results illustrate that the presence of moderately severe to severe depressive symptoms is associated with lower CD4 cell counts, indicating poorer HIV outcomes resulting from comorbid depression. This correlation was especially noticeable in the PHQ-9 items for psychomotor agitation/retardation (p < 0.05) and suicidal ideation (p < 0.05). Future policy and treatment options for HIV in Vietnam should consider the presence of comorbid mental health conditions in order to provide more suitable and effective treatment in the goal of providing a higher quality of life for PLWH.
Previous attempts to characterise the burden of chronic respiratory diseases have focused only on specific disease conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma. In this ...study, we aimed to characterise the burden of chronic respiratory diseases globally, providing a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis on geographical and time trends from 1990 to 2017.
Using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017, we estimated the prevalence, morbidity, and mortality attributable to chronic respiratory diseases through an analysis of deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and years of life lost (YLL) by GBD super-region, from 1990 to 2017, stratified by age and sex. Specific diseases analysed included asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis, pneumoconiosis, and other chronic respiratory diseases. We also assessed the contribution of risk factors (smoking, second-hand smoke, ambient particulate matter and ozone pollution, household air pollution from solid fuels, and occupational risks) to chronic respiratory disease-attributable DALYs.
In 2017, 544·9 million people (95% uncertainty interval UI 506·9–584·8) worldwide had a chronic respiratory disease, representing an increase of 39·8% compared with 1990. Chronic respiratory disease prevalence showed wide variability across GBD super-regions, with the highest prevalence among both males and females in high-income regions, and the lowest prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. The age-sex-specific prevalence of each chronic respiratory disease in 2017 was also highly variable geographically. Chronic respiratory diseases were the third leading cause of death in 2017 (7·0% 95% UI 6·8–7·2 of all deaths), behind cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms. Deaths due to chronic respiratory diseases numbered 3 914 196 (95% UI 3 790 578–4 044 819) in 2017, an increase of 18·0% since 1990, while total DALYs increased by 13·3%. However, when accounting for ageing and population growth, declines were observed in age-standardised prevalence (14·3% decrease), age-standardised death rates (42·6%), and age-standardised DALY rates (38·2%). In males and females, most chronic respiratory disease-attributable deaths and DALYs were due to COPD. In regional analyses, mortality rates from chronic respiratory diseases were greatest in south Asia and lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, also across both sexes. Notably, although absolute prevalence was lower in south Asia than in most other super-regions, YLLs due to chronic respiratory diseases across the subcontinent were the highest in the world. Death rates due to interstitial lung disease and pulmonary sarcoidosis were greater than those due to pneumoconiosis in all super-regions. Smoking was the leading risk factor for chronic respiratory disease-related disability across all regions for men. Among women, household air pollution from solid fuels was the predominant risk factor for chronic respiratory diseases in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, while ambient particulate matter represented the leading risk factor in southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania, and in the Middle East and north Africa super-region.
Our study shows that chronic respiratory diseases remain a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, with growth in absolute numbers but sharp declines in several age-standardised estimators since 1990. Premature mortality from chronic respiratory diseases seems to be highest in regions with less-resourced health systems on a per-capita basis.
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Coxsackievirus A16 in Viet Nam Le Nguyen Truc, N.; Nguyen, T.A.; Nguyen Thi Thu, H. ...
International journal of infectious diseases,
December 2020, 2020-12-00, 2020-12-01, Volume:
101
Journal Article
In the current work, the effect of dicationic gemini (16-6-16, GS-6; 16-5-16, GS-5 and 16-4-16, GS-4) surfactants on reaction between ninhydrin (Nin) and arginine (Arg) was performed at 353 K by ...UV–Vis spectroscopic technique. Study is accelerated and catalyzed, greatly, by gemini surfactants even at gemini smaller compared to their cmc-values. The rate constant (
k
ψ
) values are more in the dicationic gemini micellar medium over aqueous system and show the order of their catalyzing capabilities at all concentration as: GS-4 > GS-5 > GS-6, while reaction order always obeys same in both systems (i.e., first-order in Arg and fractional-order in Nin).
k
ψ
values against different amounts of geminis are plotted and a typical feature of rate profile (
k
ψ
vs. gemini) is analyzed quantitatively by micellar pseudo-phase model. Also, effects of temperatures, Arg, Nin and pH have been investigated on the condensation reaction between Nin and Arg. These reaction ingredients have affected the reaction, meaningfully, and their valuable impacts on the reaction have been discussed and revealed in the text. Thermodynamic quantities evaluated are effective more in geminis over aqueous. Conductometric technique was utilized to get the critical micellar concentration (cmc) of dicationic gemini (GS-6, GS-5 and GS-4) surfactants and their varied system in the presence of reactants. In addition, binding parameters (
K
T
for Arg and
K
N
for Nin) with dicationic gemini micelles were determined.
Summary Previous in vitro permeability and scanning electron microscopic studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of a new natural based‐resin varnish (Shellac F) in dentin permeability reduction ...and effective tubule occlusion. The aim of this randomized double‐blind, controlled, split mouth 8‐week clinical study was to evaluate the efficiency of Shellac F in reducing dentin hypersensitivity. Ten patients (eight women: two men) completed the study. A quadrant including at least one hypersensitive tooth (Visual Analog Scale – VAS = 15 mm to air blast) was considered as a unit and randomly assigned to different groups for Shellac F, Duraphat®, Isodan®. Three applications of each material were completed at days 0, 1 and 7. The subjective response was assessed by tactile and thermal/evaporative methods. Data were collected at baseline and after the first application, at 15 min, 1, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days. Analysis was based on Kruskall–Wallis test, Wilcoxon signed rank test and the method of the least square means. No statistically significant difference was noted between Shellac F and the two control materials. Regardless of the type of stimulus, Shellac F showed significant immediate and progressive continuous efficiency in reducing dentin hypersensitivity until 56 days (VAS of 14 ± 12 mm and provoking pain force of 89 ± 12 cN, respectively, compared with 38 ± 23 mm and 41 ± 10 cN at baseline), corresponding to a highly effective relief dentin hypersensitivity. Shellac F reduced dentin hypersensitivity and did not differ from the two desensitizing agents used as controls.
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