Conamomum odorum , a new species of Zingiberaceae from central Vietnam

Conamomum odorum is described as a new species from Khanh Hoa Province, Central Vietnam. It is characterized by sweet smell, striate and narrowly elliptic leaf leaves with short petiole and ligule, ovoid congested inflorescence, pubescent calyx, cream corolla lobes, yellow, obovate and reflexed labellum with median red bands at base and hairy ovary. The new species is illustrated with detailed photographs of key characters and morphologically compared to its closest congeners C. piereanum and C. rubidum. A distribution map of the genus in Vietnam is provided.

Optimizing Boiler Efficiency by Data Mining Teciques: A Case Study

In a fertilizer plant, the steam boiler is the most important component. In order to keep the plant operating in the effective mode, the boiler efficiency must be observed continuously by several operators. When the trend of the boiler efficiency is going down, they may adjust the controlling parameters of the boiler to increase its efficiency. Since manual operation usually leads to unex-pectedly mistakes and hurts the efficiency of the system, we build an information system that plays the role of the operators in observing the boiler and adjusting the controlling parameters to stabilize the boiler efficiency. In this paper, we first introduce the architecture of the information system. We then present how to apply K-means and Fuzzy C-means algorithms to derive a knowledge base from the historical operational data of the boiler. Next, recurrent fuzzy neural network is employed to build a boiler simulator for evaluating which tuple of input values is the best optimal and then automatically adjusting controlling inputs of the boiler by the optimal val-ues. In order to prove the effectiveness of our system, we deployed it at Phu My Fertilizer Plant equipped with MARCHI boiler having capacity of 76-84 ton/h. We found that our system have improved the boiler efficiency about 0.28-1.12% in average and brought benefit about 57.000 USD/year to the Phu My Fertilizer Plant

Risk stratification of childhood infection using host markers of immune and endothelial activation in Asia (Spot Sepsis): a multi-country, prospective, cohort study

Background: Prognostic tools for febrile illnesses are urgently required in resource-constrained community contexts. Circulating immune and endothelial activation markers stratify risk in common childhood infections. We aimed to assess their use in children with febrile illness presenting from rural communities across Asia. Methods: Spot Sepsis was a prospective cohort study across seven hospitals in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, and Viet Nam that serve as a first point of contact with the formal health-care system for rural populations. Children were eligible if aged 1–59 months and presenting with a community-acquired acute febrile illness that had lasted no more than 14 days. Clinical parameters were recorded and biomarker concentrations measured at presentation. The primary outcome measure was severe febrile illness (death or receipt of organ support) within 2 days of enrolment. Weighted area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) were used to compare prognostic accuracy of endothelial activation markers (ANG-1, ANG-2, and soluble FLT-1), immune activation markers (CHI3L1, CRP, IP-10, IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, PCT, soluble TNF-R1, soluble TREM1 [sTREM1], and soluble uPAR), WHO danger signs, the Liverpool quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (LqSOFA) score, and the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) score. Prognostic accuracy of combining WHO danger signs and the best performing biomarker was analysed in a weighted logistic regression model. Weighted measures of classification were used to compare prognostic accuracies of WHO danger signs and the best performing biomarker and to determine the number of children needed to test (NNT) to identify one additional child who would progress to severe febrile illness. The study was prospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04285021. Findings: 3423 participants were recruited between March 5, 2020, and Nov 4, 2022, 18 (0·5%) of whom were lost to follow-up. 133 (3·9%) of 3405 participants developed severe febrile illness (22 deaths, 111 received organ support; weighted prevalence 0·34% [95% CI 0·28–0·41]). sTREM1 showed the highest prognostic accuracy to identify patients who would progress to severe febrile illness (AUC 0·86 [95% CI 0·82–0·90]), outperforming WHO danger signs (0·75 [0·71–0·80]; p<0·0001), LqSOFA (0·74 [0·69–0·78]; p<0·0001), and SIRS (0·63 [0·58–0·68]; p<0·0001). Combining WHO danger signs with sTREM1 (0·88 [95% CI 0·85–0·91]) did not improve accuracy in identifying progression to severe febrile illness over sTREM1 alone (p=0·24). Sensitivity for identifying progression to severe febrile illness was greater for sTREM1 (0·80 [95% CI 0·73–0·85]) than for WHO danger signs (0·72 [0·66–0·79]; NNT=3000), whereas specificities were comparable (0·81 [0·78–0·83] for sTREM1 vs 0·79 [0·76–0·82] for WHO danger signs). Discrimination of immune and endothelial activation markers was best for children who progressed to meet the outcome more than 48 h after enrolment (sTREM1: AUC 0·94 [95% CI 0·89–0·98]). Interpretation: sTREM1 showed the best prognostic accuracy to discriminate children who would progress to severe febrile illness. In resource-constrained community settings, an sTREM1-based triage strategy might enhance early recognition of risk of poor outcomes in children presenting with febrile illness. Funding: Médecins Sans Frontières, Spain, and Wellcome. Translations: For the Arabic and French translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section

Innovation Approaches in Vietnam and Thailand Higher Education Institutions

In the 4th industrial revolution era, instead of following the entrepreneurial approach of traditional third-generation universities, nowadays, a university is redefined as an ecosystem that innovates not only "for itself" but also "for others". Thus, university transformation is described with three key characteristics: radical mindset changes, holistic innovation facilitation, and ecological and social norm encouragement. It responds well to the demands of entrepreneurial spirit, innovative approaches, digital transformation, personalized education, and ecological and social norm promotion. The responsiveness to this university model can be assessed by the criteria and indicators of the new rating system of the University Performance Metrics (UPM). Practically, UPM has been applied to benchmark the universities of Vietnam and Thailand. The results indicate that while facilitating the research quality focus, higher education institutions need to develop the innovation-driven university model, supporting the universities' autonomy in implementing their activities.</jats:p

Effects of physical and chemical properties on the dissolution of sea salt

Salt plays a crucial role in human health. However, excess use of NaCl in food products can be harmful to health. One suggestion for this problem is optimization salt dissolution to increase the content of salt ions in the mouth. For this purpose, it is important to understand the solubility properties of salt crystals in saliva. The dissolving process is not only affected by the physical properties but also by the chemical composition of the salt. This study compared the solubility of four commercial grain salts in four regions in Vietnam (Bac Lieu, Thanh Hoa, Sa Huynh, Vung Tau), one flower salt in Sa Huynh and a control sample with two particle sizes 1 - 2 mm and 2 - 3 mm in a Saliva Artificial Gal – Fovet solution (SAGF). Dissolution was determined by analyzing microscopic images taken by the time and analysis by Bayesian and Partial Least Squared methods. The research evaluated the influence of physical properties (area, Feret's diameter, circularity, aspect ratio and solidity) and chemical compositions (sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and moisture content) on the dissolving process. Salt samples showed significant differences in physical and chemical properties by region. Morphological parameters are affected by conditions of salt crystallization that indicated through region of origin. Dissolution is evaluated through solubility coefficient, Sa Huynh flower salt and control salt have the highest solubility coefficient, simultaneously, it is also the smallest value of roundness and surface index. The projected area, magnesium and sodium content are the factors which strongly affecting on dissolution of salt samples. These results demonstrated the possibility to exploit these factors to adjust the solubility of salt as well as the perceived salinity over time.</jats:p

Continuous Unilateral Erector Spinae Plane Block versus Intravenous Analgesia in Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives: the study was conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of anesthesia under the erector spinae plane block (ESPB) in minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS). Methods: a prospective, randomized controlled trial was carried out in 56 adult patients who underwent MICS via a right thoracic incision at Vietnam National Heart Institute, Bach Mai hospital, Vietnam. Patients were randomly allocated into two groups: ESPB and conventional analgesia (intravenousmorphine patient-controlled analgesia, PCA). Patients in ESPB group received ultrasound-guided unilateral ESPB at the T4/T5 transverse process level, and the tip of the catheter was advanced 5cm beyond the tip of the needle; injected with 20 ml ropivacaine 0.5%. At the cardiac ICU, patients received paracetamol (1g every 6 hours), continuous infusion ropivacaine 0.1% 0.2ml/kg/hour. Patients in the PCA group received paracetamol (1g every 6 hours) and intravenous morphine PCA. All patients were followed for 72 hours after being extubated. Results: the resting VAS score was significantly lower in ESPB group at the time H4, H8, H12, H16, H36, H42, H48, H54, H60, H66 after extubated compared to that of the PCA group (p&lt; 0.05). The dynamic VAS score at was also significantly lower in the ESPB group at all measured time points (p&lt;0.05). Only 4 patients in the ESPB group required intravenous morphine PCA with the mean amount morphine were statistically lower in the ESPB group compared to the PCA group at 24 hours, 48 ​​hours, 72 hours postoperative. No serious adverse events such as neurological complications, bleeding or infection were observed in both groups. Conclusion: ESPB is an effective analgesic for MICS via thoracic incision in reducing the VAS score and the morphine required. It is also a safe method with no severe ESPB-related complications.</jats:p

PHƯƠNG PHÁP BỘC LỘ VAN HAI LÁ TRONG PHẪU THUẬT SỬA VAN HAI LÁ NỘI SOI TẠI TRUNG TÂM TIM MẠCH BỆNH VIỆN E

Bộc lộ tốt van hai lá là một trong những yếu tố quyết định thành công sửa van, nhất là trong phẫu thuật tim hở nội soi.   Đã có nhiều phương pháp, dụng cụ được phát triển ứng dụng trong phẫu thuật tim hở ít xâm lấn, tuy nhiên việc bộc lộ van hai lá nhiều khi chưa đầy đủ và gặp một số khó khăn nhất định. Trải qua 5 năm áp dụng phương pháp ít xâm lấn, nội soi trong phẫu thuật tim hở, chúng tôi đã cải tiến kĩ thuật bộc lộ van hai lá với những phương tiện đơn giản, đem lại hiệu quả phẫu thuật</jats:p

Minimally Invasive Thoracoscopic Mitral Valve Replacement in Rheumatic Disease With Continuous Suture Technique

Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery has become routine in many institutions. Disadvantages of this approach include prolonged aortic cross-clamp and cardiopulmonary bypass times. Mitral valve replacement with a continuous suture technique may reduce operative times. We present a case of a 51-year-old man suffering from severe rheumatic mitral disease to highlight our continuous suture technique for minimally invasive mitral valve replacement. We also report preliminary results from our series of 15 patients suffering various rheumatic mitral pathology treated with this technique. </jats:p