We report a superspreading event of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection initiated at a bar in Vietnam with evidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic transmission, based on ...ministry of health reports, patient interviews, and whole-genome sequence analysis. Crowds in enclosed indoor settings with poor ventilation may be considered at high risk for transmission.
Crinum latifolium (CL) leaf is a source of various biologically active compounds such as alkaloid and phenolic compounds, which exhibit anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and antimicrobial effects. In the ...purpose of expanding applications for the field of bionanotechnology, we report biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by using aqueous extract from C. latifolium leaf and explore antibacterial activity and catalytic performance for degradation of pollutants. The formation of CL-AgNPs and CL-AuNPs is confirmed and optimized by UV-visible spectroscopy with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks at around 402 and 539 nm, respectively. The spherical CL-AgNPs have an average diameter of 20.5 nm and the multishaped CL-AuNPs possess an average size of 17.6 nm. The actions of four bacterial strains were strongly inhibited by using the CL-AgNPs. Furthermore, the biosynthesized metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) exhibited the excellent catalytic degradation performance of pollutants.
As 3D-printed (3DP) patterns are solid and durable, they can be used to create thin wall castings, which is complicated with wax patterns because of the wax's fragility and high shrinkage ratio. ...According to this study's experiment results, polylactic acid (PLA), polyvinyl butyral (PVB), and castable wax (CW) are suitable materials for preparing investment casting (IC) cavities. The results indicate that the casting product with the highest-quality surface is obtained using a cavity prepared using a CW-printed pattern. PLA- and PVB-printed patterns provide a good surface finish for casted products. In addition, the roughness of both the printed and casted surfaces increases as the printing layer height increases. The roughness of the casted surface varies from 2.25 μm to 29.17 μm. This investigation also considers the correlation between the infill ratio and mechanical properties of PLA-printed patterns. An increase in the infill ratios from 0% to 100% leads to a significant increase in the tensile properties of the PLA-printed pattern. The obtained results can be practically used.
This study presents an efficient and facile method for biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using aqueous extract of burdock root (BR),
A
.
lappa
, and their ...applications. The nanoparticles were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, thermogravimetry, and differential thermal analysis. AgNPs capped the BR extract (BR-AgNPs) possessed roughly spherical geometry with an average diameter of 21.3 nm while uneven geometry of AuNPs capped the BR extract (BR-AuNPs) showed multi shapes in average size of 24.7 nm. The BR-AgNPs strongly inhibited five tested microorganism strains. In particular, the nanoparticles showed excellent catalytic activity for the conversion of pollutants within wastewater. Pseudo-first-order rate constants for the degradation of 4-nitrophenol, methyl orange, and rhodamine B were respectively found 6.77 × 10
−3
, 3.70 × 10
−3
, and 6.07 × 10
−3
s
−1
for BR-AgNPs and 6.87 × 10
−3
, 6.07 × 10
−3
, and 7.07 × 10
−3
s
−1
for BR-AuNPs.
Graphical abstract
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Background This study aimed to measure the preferences for mental health support among health professionals, their willingness to support the mental health of colleagues and associated factors. ...Method A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed from August to October 2022 within five hospitals located in Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 244 health professionals participated in the study. Data on socio-economic status, health and COVID-19-related characteristics, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21); and preferences for mental health support services were collected by using a structured self-reported questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression models were utilized to identify associated factors with the demand for mental support services. Results 13.9%, 17.1% and 8.6% reported having at least mild depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. There 13.9% did not seek any mental health support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common support included talking with friends (52.9%), family (50.8%), colleagues (47.6%) and using social networks/Internet (43.5%). There 31.1% had been aware of mental health services, but only 18.0% used this service at least once. Regarding preferences, 47.3% had a demand for mental support services, and the most preferred service was providing coping skills (25.9%), followed by skills to support others against mental problems (22.2%). Major sources of support included psychiatrists (34.4%), colleagues (29.1%) and family (27.9%). The main preferred channels for support included telephone/mobile phone (35.7%) and Internet (20.9%). Only 12.3% were willing to provide mental support for colleagues during the pandemic. Age, education, perceived mental health status, ever seeking any mental service, and DASS-21 depression score were associated with demand for mental support services. Conclusion This study found a lack of awareness of mental health services for health professionals, as well as moderate levels of demand for this service in this population. Raising awareness and developing tailored mental health support services are important to enhancing the mental well-being of health professionals in Vietnam to prepare for the next pandemic.
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.
The binding pose and affinity between a ligand and enzyme are very important pieces of information for computer-aided drug design. In the initial stage of a drug discovery project, this information ...is often obtained by using molecular docking methods. Autodock4 and Autodock Vina are two commonly used open-source and free software tools to perform this task, and each has been cited more than 6000 times in the last ten years. It is of great interest to compare the success rate of the two docking software programs for a large and diverse set of protein–ligand complexes. In this study, we selected 800 protein–ligand complexes for which both PDB structures and experimental binding affinity are available. Docking calculations were performed for these complexes using both Autodock4 and Autodock Vina with different docking options related to computing resource consumption and accuracy. Our calculation results are in good agreement with a previous study that the Vina approach converges much faster than AD4 one. However, interestingly, AD4 shows a better performance than Vina over 21 considered targets, whereas the Vina protocol is better than the AD4 package for 10 other targets. There are 16 complexes for which both the AD4 and Vina protocols fail to produce a reasonable correlation with respected experiments so both are not suitable to use to estimate binding free energies for these cases. In addition, the best docking option for performing the AD4 approach is the long option. However, the short option is the best solution for carrying out Vina docking. The obtained results probably will be useful for future docking studies in deciding which program to use.
Data on breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infections in vaccinated individuals are limited.
We studied breakthrough infections among Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccinated healthcare workers in an ...infectious diseases hospital in Vietnam. We collected demographic and clinical data alongside serial PCR testing, measurement of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, and viral whole-genome sequencing.
Between 11th–25th June 2021 (7-8 weeks after the second dose), 69 staff tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. 62 participated in the study. Most were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic and all recovered. Twenty-two complete-genome sequences were obtained; all were Delta variant and were phylogenetically distinct from contemporary viruses obtained from the community or from hospital patients admitted prior to the outbreak. Viral loads inferred from Ct values were 251 times higher than in cases infected with the original strain in March/April 2020. Median time from diagnosis to negative PCR was 21 days (range 8–33). Neutralizing antibodies (expressed as percentage of inhibition) measured after the second vaccine dose, or at diagnosis, were lower in cases than in uninfected, fully vaccinated controls (median (IQR): 69.4 (50.7-89.1) vs. 91.3 (79.6-94.9), p=0.005 and 59.4 (32.5-73.1) vs. 91.1 (77.3-94.2), p=0.043). There was no correlation between vaccine-induced neutralizing antibody levels and peak viral loads or the development of symptoms.
Breakthrough Delta variant infections following Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccination may cause asymptomatic or mild disease, but are associated with high viral loads, prolonged PCR positivity and low levels of vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies. Epidemiological and sequence data suggested ongoing transmission had occurred between fully vaccinated individuals.
Wellcome and NIH/NIAID
In this study, biochar derived from spent coffee grounds (SCGB) was used to adsorb norfloxacin (NOR) in water. The biochar properties were interpreted by analysis of the specific surface area, ...morphology, structure, thermal stability, and functional groups. The impacts of pH, NOR, and ion's present on SCGB performance were examined. The NOR adsorption mode of SCGB is best suited to the Langmuir model (R2 = 0.974) with maximum absorption capacity (69.8 mg g−1). By using a Response Surface Method (RSM), optimal adsorption was also found at pH of 6.26, NOR of 24.69 mg L−1, and SCGB of 1.32 g L−1. Compared with biochars derived from agriculture such as corn stalks, willow branches, potato stem, reed stalks, cauliflower roots, wheat straw, the NOR adsorption capacity of SCGB was 2–30 times higher, but less than 3–4 times for biochars made from Salix mongolica, luffa sponge and polydopamine microspheres. These findings reveal that spent coffee grounds biochar could effectively remove NOR from aqueous solutions. Approaching biochar derived from coffee grounds would be a promising eco-friendly solution because it utilizes solid waste, saves costs, and creates adsorbents to deal with emerging pollutants like antibiotics.
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•Norfloxacin was removed using biochar derived from spent coffee grounds (SCGB).•pH significantly influenced the Norfloxacin (NOR) adsorption of the SCGB.•Based on Langmuir model, the maximum absorption capacity was 69.8 mg g−1 at pH 6.•The adsorption process was optimized by using the response surface methodology.•Optimal adsorption conditions were achieved at pH of 6.26 and SCGB of 1.32 g L−1.
Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is an emerging infection with pandemic potential. Knowledge of neutralizing antibody responses among its pathogens is essential to inform vaccine development and ...epidemiologic research. We used 120 paired-plasma samples collected at enrollment and >7 days after the onset of illness from HFMD patients infected with enterovirus A71 (EV-A71), coxsackievirus A (CVA) 6, CVA10, and CVA16 to study cross neutralization. For homotypic viruses, seropositivity increased from <60% at enrollment to 97%-100% at follow-up, corresponding to seroconversion rates of 57%-93%. Seroconversion for heterotypic viruses was recorded in only 3%-23% of patients. All plasma samples from patients infected with EV-A71 subgenogroup B5 could neutralize the emerging EV-A71 subgenogroup C4. Collectively, our results support previous reports about the potential benefit of EV-A71 vaccine but highlight the necessity of multivalent vaccines to control HFMD.
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