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We characterized the spatial distribution of drug-susceptible (DS) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) cases in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a major metropolis in southeastern Asia, and explored demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with local TB burden. Hot spots of DS and MDR TB incidence were observed in the central parts of Ho Chi Minh City, and substantial heterogeneity was observed across wards. Positive spatial autocorrelation was observed for both DS TB and MDR TB. Ward-level TB incidence was associated with HIV prevalence and the male proportion of the population. No ward-level demographic and socioeconomic indicators were associated with MDR TB case count relative to total TB case count. Our findings might inform spatially targeted TB control strategies and provide insights for generating hypotheses about the nature of the relationship between DS and MDR TB in Ho Chi Minh City and the wider southeastern region of Asia.

Despite adequately expressing tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) receptors DR4/DR5, malignant cells are frequently refractory to the cytotoxic effect of this apoptosis-inducing ligand. The susceptibility of cancer cells to TRAIL can be potentiated by cisplatin (CDDP). This study was designed to evaluate the ability of cisplatin to enhance the cytotoxic effect of TRAIL gene therapy using the recombinant adenovirus-mediated tumor-selective expression of membrane-bound green fluorescence protein (GFP)-TRAIL fusion protein (AdVgTRAIL) on thoracic cancer cells and to elucidate the putative mechanisms responsible for this synergistic combination effect. While causing little death of cultured thoracic cancer cells by itself, AdVgTRAIL in combination with CDDP, on the other hand, mediated profound supra-additive cytotoxicity and apoptosis via a strong bystander effect. CDDP/AdVgTRAIL-induced cytotoxicity was completely abrogated either by the pancaspase inhibitor zVAD-fmk or by the selective caspase 9 inhibitor or by transient knockdown of caspase 9 by siRNA, indicating that this process was caspase-mediated and mitochondria-dependent. This was confirmed by the observation that Bcl2 overexpression protected the cells from combination-induced cytotoxicity. Robust activation of caspase 8 activity in combination-treated cells was blocked by overexpression of Bcl2, indicating that caspase 8 activation was secondary to the mitochondria-mediated amplification feedback loop. Combining CDDP with AdVgTRAIL greatly enhances its tumoricidal efficacy in cultured thoracic cancer cells in vitro . The two agents interact to mediate profound activation of caspase cascade via recruitment of the mitochondria and positive feedback loop. The CDDP/AdVgTRAIL combination also exhibits a strong antitumor effect in in vivo animal model of human cancer xenografts.

The limited research into Vietnamese immigrants suggests that this group may have different perceptions relating to parenting roles, child development, child health, illness, and disability, and differing patterns of health service utilisation. The author conducted a pilot study exploring how Vietnamese immigrants differ from Anglo-Australian in relation to these issues. The pilot, utilising a mixed quantitative and qualitative method, was conducted in Brisbane, Australia, with subjects being existing clients of a health centre. Two focus group discussions were conducted and a structured questionnaire developed from the discussions. Vietnamese immigrants in contrast to Australian-born Caucasians regard the general practitioner as the main health care provider and were less satisfied with English-speaking health services. This study highlights potentially important health-related issues for children of Vietnamese immigrants living in Brisbane, the importance of further research in this area, and the methodological challenges faced when conducting research into Vietnamese immigrants.

Background. Streptococcus suis infection is an emerging zoonosis in Asia. We determined the detailed epidemiological, clinical, and microbiological characteristics of S. suis meningitis in adults. Methods. We prospectively studied 450 patients with suspected bacterial meningitis. Four hundred thirty-five (96.7%) of the patients participated in a trial to determine the effect of adjunctive dexamethasone treatment. For patients with S. suis infection, bacterial DNA load at hospital admission and during treatment was analyzed in cerebrospinal fluid specimens using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. S. suis strains were characterized using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing. Putative virulence factors, including extracellular protein factor, suilysin, and muramidase released protein, were detected using polymerase chain reaction and Western blot assay. Predictors of outcome were identified using logistic regression analysis. Results. S. suis was the most common pathogen and was detected in 151 (33.6%) of the patients. Fifty (33.1%) of these 151 patients reported exposure to pigs or pork. Mortality was low (2.6%; 4 of 151 patients died), but mild to severe hearing loss occurred in 93 (66.4%) of 140 patients. Severe deafness at hospital discharge was associated with age >50 years (odds ratio, 3.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.15–11.6), a strain carrying the epf gene (odds ratio, 3.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–11.4), and dexamethasone therapy (odds ratio, 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.06–0.78) but was not associated with cerebrospinal fluid bacterial DNA load. Bacterial DNA was still detectable in 58 (63%) of 92 cerebrospinal fluid samples after 6–10 days of antimicrobial treatment. Ninety-one of 92 S. suis strains had serotype 2. Thirty-three (36%) of these epidemiologically unrelated strains belonged to 1 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis cluster of multilocus sequence type 1, indicating clonal spread. Conclusion. S. suis serotype 2 is the most frequent cause of bacterial meningitis in adults in southern Vietnam and is associated with substantial morbidity attributable to hearing loss.

Dioxin levels in the breast milk of mothers residing near a contaminated former airbase in Vietnam remain much higher than in unsprayed areas, suggesting high perinatal dioxin exposure for their infants. The present study investigated the association of perinatal dioxin exposure with autistic traits in 153 3-year-old children living in a contaminated area in Vietnam. The children were followed up from birth using the neurodevelopmental battery Bayley-III. The high-2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposed groups (⩾3.5 pg per g fat) showed significantly higher Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) scores for both boys and girls than the mild-TCDD exposed groups, without differences in neurodevelopmental scores. In contrast, the high total dioxin-exposed group, indicated by polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDDs/Fs)—the toxic equivalents (TEQ) levels⩾17.9 pg-TEQ per g fat, had significantly lower neurodevelopmental scores than the mild-exposed group in boys, but there was no difference in the ASRS scores. The present study demonstrates a specific impact of perinatal TCDD on autistic traits in childhood, which is different from the neurotoxicity of total dioxins (PCDDs/Fs).

Background Vulvar cancer (VC) is rare; however, its incidence has steadily increased, likely due to increased human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. HPV infection rates vary significantly with age and ethnicity. Data on the VC incidence in Vietnam are limited. Objectives This study aimed to determine HPV infection rates and high‐risk HPV types (HR‐HPVs) and to model HPV causality in co‐infections using a Proportional Attribution (PropAttr) model in Vietnamese VC patients. Methods We investigated primary VC cases (invasive carcinoma) diagnosed at our hospital during 2020–2021. Tumor samples were tested for HPV using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Recurrent cases and poor‐quality preserved tumor samples were excluded. HPV infection status, HR‐HPV status, and relevant clinicopathological features were analyzed. To estimate the most likely causative HPV genotype in co‐infected lesions, the PropAttr model was applied, attributing genotypes based on their prevalence in mono‐infections. Model reliability was validated using Spearman's correlation analysis. Results Of the 95 cases, 95% were squamous cell carcinoma, and 40% were clinical stage I. The HPV infection rate was approximately 77% (68.4–85.2), and HPV‐16 was the most common subtype. Patients infected with HPV (mean age: 62.8) were younger than those who were not infected (mean age: 71.4) in univariate (p = 0.004) and multivariate (p < 0.001) analyses. While the vulvar pathohistological type was significantly associated with HPV infection in multivariate analysis (p < 0.001), no significant relationship was observed with other factors in univariate and multivariate analyses. The PropAttr model showed significant correlations between attribution estimates and mono‐infection prevalence (HPV‐16: ρ = 0.806, p < 0.001; HPV‐18: ρ = 0.992, p < 0.001; 12 other HR‐HPVs: ρ = 0.880, p < 0.001). A strong negative correlation between HPV‐16 and 12 other HR‐HPVs (ρ = −0.751, p < 0.001) suggested competitive interactions in genotype assignment. Conclusions The HPV infection rate in Vietnamese VC cases was substantially higher than in other Asian populations, indicating a significant public health burden. Our findings reinforce the importance of expanding national HPV vaccination programs and incorporating advanced attribution models to improve HPV‐related cancer risk assessment.

Five species of Alexandrium (A. affine, A. fraterculus, A. leei, A. pseudogonyaulax, and A. tamiyavanichii) are commonly found in Vietnamese waters. They were distinguished based on their apical pore complex (A.P.C), precingular first plate (1′), ventral pore (Vp), and sulcal platelets. A genetic analysis was conducted using nuclear rDNA sequences of ITS and LSU (D1–D3, D8–D10). The growth rates of A. fraterculus, A. leei, A. tamiyavanichii, and A. pseudogonyaulax were quite similar. Specifically, these four species had the highest growth rates at two temperature levels of 24 °C and 27 °C, at salinities ranging from 25 psu to 35 psu. Furthermore, these species were able to adapt to a low salinity of 20 psu at temperatures from 18 °C to 27 °C. No Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PSTs) were found in the two Alexandrium affine strains, VINVN01-1 and VINVN01-2. The detection limit for PSTs ranged from 0.45 to 15.5 fg cell−1, depending on the molecular response and available biomass.

In this phase 3 study involving patients with HCV genotype 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6 infection, including those with compensated cirrhosis, treatment with 12 weeks of sofosbuvir and velpatasvir resulted in a sustained virologic response in 99% of patients. The hepatitis C virus (HCV), a single-stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae with six major genotypes, infects up to 150 million people worldwide. 1 , 2 Chronic HCV infection causes progressive liver fibrosis, which can lead to cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation, and hepatocellular carcinoma. 3 , 4 As many as half a million people die annually from liver disease associated with chronic HCV infection. 5 In recent years, the development of drugs that directly interfere with HCV replication has revolutionized HCV treatment. There are now effective combinations of direct-acting antiviral agents for most patients, but in choosing an appropriate regimen, clinicians must take into account . . .

Background Microbial polysaccharides have been reported to possess remarkable bioactivities. Physarum polycephalum is a species of slime mold for which the microplasmodia are capable of rapid growth and can produce a significant amount of cell wall-less biomass. There has been a limited understanding of the polysaccharides produced by microplasmodia of slime molds, including P. polycephalum . Thus, the primary objectives of this research were first to chemically characterize the exopolysaccharides (EPS) and intracellular polysaccharides (IPS) of P. polycephalum microplasmodia and then to evaluate their cytotoxicity against several cancer cell lines. Results The yields of the crude EPS (4.43 ± 0.44 g/l) and partially purified (deproteinated) EPS (2.95  ±  0.85 g/l) were comparable ( p  > 0.05) with the respective crude IPS (3.46 ± 0.36 g/l) and partially purified IPS (2.45 ± 0.36 g/l). The average molecular weight of the EPS and IPS were 14,762 kDa and 1788 kDa. The major monomer of the EPS was galactose (80.22%), while that of the IPS was glucose (84.46%). Both crude and purified IPS samples showed significantly higher cytotoxicity toward Hela cells, especially the purified sample and none of the IPSs inhibited normal cells. Only 38.42 ± 2.84% Hela cells remained viable when treated with the partially purified IPS (1 mg/ml). However, although only 34.76 ± 6.58% MCF-7 cells were viable when exposed to the crude IPS, but the partially purified IPS displayed non-toxicity to MCF-7 cells. This suggested that the cytotoxicity toward MCF-7 would come from some component associated with the crude IPS sample (e.g. proteins, peptides or ion metals) and the purification process would have either completely removed or reduced amount of that component. Cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry suggested that the mechanism of the toxicity of the crude IPS toward MCF-7 and the partially purified IPS toward Hela cells was due to apoptosis. Conclusions The EPS and IPS of P. polycephalum microplasmodia had different chemical properties including carbohydrate, protein and total sulfate group contents, monosaccharide composition and molecular weights, which led to different cytotoxicity activities. The crude and partially purified IPSs would be potential materials for further study relating to cancer treatment.