18 research outputs found
Fractional flow reserve in assessment of intermediate non-culprit lesions in acute myocardial infarction
Context: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of intermediate non-culprit arteries can reduce death or heart attack risk in patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary artery disease.
Aims: To compare the effectiveness of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided PCI with angiography-guided PCI for intermediate non-culprit lesions in patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary artery disease.
Methods: In this cohort study, acute myocardial infarction patients with multivessel coronary artery disease who had successful percutaneous coronary intervention of the culprit artery were divided into group of patients receiving FFR-guided PCI (FFR≤0.80, n = 31) and group of patients receiving angiography-guided PCI (diameter stenosis of 50-90%, n = 62) for lesions in non-culprit arteries. These two groups were followed for at least 1 year for major adverse cardiovascular events.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference in major cardiovascular events between FFR-guided percutaneous coronary intervention group and angiography-guided percutaneous coronary intervention group. However, FFR-guided percutaneous coronary intervention group had a lower mortality rate compared to the angiography-guided percutaneous coronary intervention group (3.2% vs. 4.8%). Additionally, there were no reported cases of myocardial infarction in angiography-guided PCI group, while angiography-guided PCI group had a rate of 1.6%.
Conclusions: This study found that it remains uncertain whether FFR-guided PCI is superior than angiography-guided PCI for intermediate non-culprit lesions in patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel coronary artery disease
On-chip ZnO nanofibers prepared by electrospinning method for NO2 gas detection
In the present study, on-chip ZnO nanofibers were fabricated by means of the electrospinning technique followed by a calcination process at 600 oC towards the gas sensor application. The morphology, composition, and crystalline structure of the as-spun and annealed ZnO nanofibers were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The findings show that spider-net like ZnO nanofibers with a diameter of 60 – 100 nm were successfully synthesized without any incorporation of impurities into the nanofibers. The FESEM images also reveal that each nanofiber is composed of many nanograins. The combination of experimental and calculated X-ray diffraction data indicate that ZnO nanofibers were crystallized in hexagonal wurtzite structure. For the gas sensing device application, the ZnO nanofibers-based sensors were tested with the nitrogen dioxide gas in the temperature range of 200 oC to 350 oC and concentrations from 2.5 ppm to 10 ppm. The sensing property results indicate that at the optimal working temperature of 300 oC, the ZnO nanofibers-based sensors exhibited a maximum response of 30 and 166 times on exposure of 2.5 and 10 ppm NO2 gas, respectively. The presence of nanograins within nanofibers, which results in further intensification of the resistance modulation, is responsible for such high gas response
Penicillium digitatum as a Model Fungus for Detecting Antifungal Activity of Botanicals: An Evaluation on Vietnamese Medicinal Plant Extracts.
peer reviewedMedicinal plants play important roles in traditional medicine, and numerous compounds among them have been recognized for their antimicrobial activity. However, little is known about the potential of Vietnamese medicinal plants for antifungal activity. In this study, we examined the antagonistic activity of twelve medicinal plant species collected in Northern Vietnam against Penicillium digitatum, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans. The results showed that the antifungal activities of the crude extracts from Mahonia bealei, Ficus semicordata, and Gnetum montanum were clearly detected with the citrus postharvest pathogen P. digitatum. These extracts could fully inhibit the growth of P. digitatum on the agar medium, and on the infected citrus fruits at concentrations of 300-1000 µg/mL. Meanwhile, the other tested fungi were less sensitive to the antagonistic activity of the plant extracts. In particular, we found that the ethanolic extract of M. bealei displayed a broad-spectrum antifungal activity against all four pathogenic fungi. Analysis of this crude extract by enrichment coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography revealed that berberine and palmatine are major metabolites. Additional inspections indicated berberine as the key compound responsible for the antifungal activity of the M. bealei ethanolic extract. Our study provides a better understanding of the potential of Vietnamese medicinal plant resources for combating fungal pathogens. This work also highlights that the citrus pathogen P. digitatum can be employed as a model fungus for screening the antifungal activity of botanicals
The burden of tuberculosis in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: a spatial analysis of drug-susceptible and multi-drug resistant cases between 2020 and 2023
We characterised the spatial distribution of drug-susceptible (DS) and multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) cases in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), a major South-East Asian metropolis, 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 HCMC, with substantial heterogeneity observed across wards. Positive spatial autocorrelation was observed for both DS- and MDR-TB. Ward-level TB incidence was associated with HIV prevalence (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.77, 95% CI 1.54-2.03) and the male proportion of the population (IRR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.08). No ward-level demographic and socioeconomic indicators were associated with MDR-TB case count relative to total TB case count. Our findings may inform spatially-targeted TB control strategies and provide insights for generating hypotheses about the nature of the relationship between DS- and MDR-TB in HCMC, Vietnam and the wider South-East Asia region
Effectiveness of perindopril/amlodipine fixed-dose combination in the treatment of hypertension: a systematic review
Background: Uncontrolled blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Fixed-dose combination (FDC) therapy offers a promising approach to addressing this challenge by providing a convenient single-tablet solution that enhances the effectiveness of blood pressure control. In our systematic review, we assess the effectiveness of perindopril/amlodipine FDC in managing blood pressure.Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search across four primary electronic databases, namely, PubMed, Virtual Health Library (VHL), Global Health Library (GHL), and Google Scholar, as of 8 February 2022. Additionally, we performed a manual search to find relevant articles. The quality of the selected articles was evaluated using the Study Quality Assessment Tools (SQAT) checklist from the National Institute of Health and the ROB2 tool from Cochrane.Results: Our systematic review included 17 eligible articles. The findings show that the use of perindopril/amlodipine FDC significantly lowers blood pressure and enhances the quality of blood pressure control. Compared to the comparison group, the perindopril/amlodipine combination tablet resulted in a higher rate of blood pressure response and normalization. Importantly, perindopril/amlodipine FDC contributes to improved patient adherence with minimal side effects. However, studies conducted to date have not provided assessments of the cost-effectiveness of perindopril/amlodipine FDC.Conclusion: In summary, our analysis confirms the effectiveness of perindopril/amlodipine FDC in lowering blood pressure, with combination therapy outperforming monotherapy and placebo. Although mild adverse reactions were observed in a small subset of participants, cost-effectiveness assessments for this treatment remain lacking in the literature
Rifampicin resistant 'Mycobacterium tuberculosis' in Vietnam, 2020–2022
Objective: We conducted a descriptive analysis of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Vietnam’s two largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city.
Methods: All patients with rifampicin resistant tuberculosis were recruited from Hanoi and surrounding provinces between 2020 and 2022. Additional patients were recruited from Ho Chi Minh city over the same time period. Demographic data were recorded from all patients, and samples collected, cultured, whole genome sequenced and analysed for drug resistance mutations. Genomic susceptibility predictions were made on the basis of the World Health Organization’s catalogue of mutations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis associated with drug resistance, version 2. Comparisons were made against phenotypic drug susceptibility test results where these were available. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess risk factors for previous episodes of tuberculosis.
Results: 233/265 sequenced isolates were of sufficient quality for analysis, 146 (63 %) from Ho Chi Minh City and 87 (37 %) from Hanoi. 198 (85 %) were lineage 2, 20 (9 %) were lineage 4, and 15 (6 %) were lineage 1. 17/211 (8 %) for whom HIV status was known were infected, and 109/214 (51 %) patients had had a previous episode of tuberculosis. The main risk factor for a previous episode was HIV infection (odds ratio 5.1 (95 % confidence interval 1.3–20.0); p = 0.021). Sensitivity for predicting first-line drug resistance from whole genome sequencing data was over 90 %, with the exception of pyrazinamide (85 %). For moxifloxacin and amikacin it was 50 % or less. Among rifampicin-resistant isolates, prevalence of resistance to each non-first-line drug was < 20 %.
Conclusions: Drug resistance among most MDR-TB strains in Vietnam’s two largest cities is confined largely to first-line drugs. Living with HIV is the main risk factor among patients with MDR-TB for having had a previous episode of tuberculosis
Protective and Enhancing HLA Alleles, HLA-DRB1*0901 and HLA-A*24, for Severe Forms of Dengue Virus Infection, Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever and Dengue Shock Syndrome
Dengue has become one of the most common viral diseases transmitted by infected mosquitoes (with any of the four dengue virus serotypes: DEN-1, -2, -3, or -4). It may present as asymptomatic or illness, ranging from mild to severe disease. Recently, the severe forms, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS), have become the leading cause of death among children in Southern Vietnam. The pathogenesis of DHF/DSS, however, is not yet completely understood. The immune response, virus virulence, and host genetic background are considered to be risk factors contributing to disease severity. Human leucocyte antigens (HLA) expressed on the cell surface function as antigen presenting molecules and those polymorphism can change individuals' immune response. We investigated the HLA-A, -B (class I), and -DRB1 (class II) polymorphism in Vietnamese children with different severity (DHF/DSS) by a hospital-based case-control study. The study showed persons carrying HLA-A*2402/03/10 are about 2 times more likely to have severe dengue infection than others. On the other hand, HLA-DRB1*0901 persons are less likely to develop DSS with DEN-2 virus infection. These results clearly demonstrated that HLA controlled the susceptibility to severe forms of DV infection
Monetary stance and favorableness of monetary policy in the media: The case of Viet Nam
This paper analyzes the effects of monetary stance on the media's favorable (or otherwise) attitude to the State Bank of Viet Nam's (SBV) monetary policy using monthly data from 2011 to 2021. Monetary stance is a multivariate index based on the growth rates of money supply and domestic credit. A large set of articles published in five Viet Nam daily newspapers is utilized to construct a view of the media's favorableness to the monetary policy. Our main findings are that a change in monetary stance from easing to neutral/tightening, or from neutral to tightening is greatly appreciated by the media. This effect is negatively moderated by the volatility of the stock exchange index. Our findings are robust for alternative measures of media's favorableness, monetary policy variables, and when controlling the endogeneity problem. These findings have important policy implications for implementing SBV's monetary policy
Evaluation of managed aquifer recharge in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
Study region: Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
Study focus: Intensification of agriculture has resulted in unsustainably high levels of groundwater use in the Central Highlands. High monsoonal rainfall provides opportunities to boost groundwater storage through managed aquifer recharge (MAR), yet experience with MAR in the region is absent. In response, five farm-scale pilots were implemented in collaboration with local farmers whereby runoff from roofs and fields was recharged into shallow dug wells. The pilots were closely monitored over three years.
New hydrological insights for the region: MAR pilots exhibited large contrasts in performance, with volumes recharged ranging from 5 to 530 m3 per year. Pilot sites with cleaner roof runoff water performed best, whilst those using more turbid water from unpaved roads performed worst. Water quality analyses did not identify parameters of major concern for irrigation. Field data and modelling indicate that the size of the recharge water plumes are small relative to the high groundwater velocities making the recharge water difficult to recover from the recharge well in this setting. Water is however contained locally, providing potential for improved water availability within the local area. Farmer attitudes towards MAR vary in response to the technical performance and a range of socioeconomic factors. These findings may provide insights for researchers or practitioners from other regions where groundwater dependence is high but experience in MAR is lacking