Flüssigprozessierte funktionale Schichten für organische Halbleiterbauelemente

Die organische Elektronik hat sich in den letzten Jahren aus den Forschungslaboren heraus zur Marktreife entwickelt. Displays aus organischen Halbleitern werden mittlerweile von Firmen wie Samsung in Mobiltelefonen verbaut. Auch organische Solarzellen versprechen künftig einen großen Markt vieler Produkte. Ziel der Bemühungen von dieser Arbeit ist die Verwendung von kostengünstigen Druck- und Beschichtungsprozessen zur Herstellung großflächiger organischer Halbleiterbauelemente

An efficient adaptive fuzzy hierarchical sliding mode control strategy for 6 degrees of freedom overhead crane

The paper proposes a new approach to efficiently control a three-dimensional overhead crane with 6 degrees of freedom (DoF). Most of the works proposing a control law for a gantry crane assume that it has five output variables, including three positions of the trolley, bridge, and pulley and two swing angles of the hoisting cable. In fact, the elasticity of the hoisting cable, which causes oscillation in the cable direction, is not fully incorporated into the model yet. Therefore, our work considers that six under-actuated outputs exist in a crane system. To design an efficient controller for the 6 DoF crane, it first employs the hierarchical sliding mode control approach, which not only guarantees stability but also minimizes the sway and oscillation of the overhead crane when it transports a payload to a desired location. Moreover, the unknown and uncertain parameters of the system caused by its actuator nonlinearity and external disturbances are adaptively estimated and inferred by utilizing the fuzzy inference rule mechanism, which results in efficient operations of the crane in real time. More importantly, stabilization of the crane controlled by the proposed algorithm is theoretically proved by the use of the Lyapunov function. The proposed control approach was implemented in a synthetic environment for the extensive evaluation, where the obtained results demonstrate its effectiveness. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

A SARS-CoV-2 recombinant spike protein vaccine (S-268019-b) for COVID-19 prevention during the Omicron-dominant period: a phase 3, randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Clinical trials of new vaccines based on existing variants of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are often impacted by the emergence of new virus variants. We evaluated the efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety of S-268019-b, a recombinant spike protein subunit vaccine based on the ancestral strain, for preventing symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the Omicron (BA.2)-dominant period in Vietnam. In this multicentre, phase 3, randomised (2:1), observer-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, participants received 2 intramuscular doses (28 days apart) of either 10 µg of S-268019-b (Recombinant S-protein vaccine) or placebo. The primary endpoint was incidence of laboratory-confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 before crossover, with onset within 14 days following the second dose, in participants who were seronegative and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-negative at baseline. The secondary endpoints included immunogenicity and safety. In total, 8,594 participants were randomised (S-268019-b [n = 5,727]; placebo [n = 2,867]). Vaccine efficacy versus placebo was 39·1 % (95 % confidence interval [CI]:26·6–49·5; one-sided P = 0·0723). The incidence rate (95 % CI) of symptomatic COVID-19 was 776·41/1,000 person-years (682·04–880·19) in the S-268019-b group and 1272·87/1,000 person-years (1101·32–1463·57) in the placebo group. The geometric mean titres (95 % CI) of the SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibody increased on Day 57 versus baseline with S-268019-b (34·66 [27·04–44·41] versus 2·50 (non-estimable) but not with placebo. There were no safety concerns regarding S-268019-b. S-268019-b did not demonstrate the targeted efficacy threshold against symptomatic COVID-19; however, findings were comparable with other prophylactic vaccines based on ancestor strain during the Omicron-dominant period. S-268019-b demonstrated immunogenicity and was well-tolerated

Outpatient antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in Vietnamese primary care settings by the WHO AWaRe (Access, Watch and Reserve) classification: An analysis using routinely collected electronic prescription data

Background: This study aims to investigate patterns of antibiotic prescribing and to determine patient-specific factors associated with the choice of antibiotics by the World Health Organization's Access-Watch-Reserve (WHO AWaRe) class for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in rural primary care settings in northern Vietnam. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed health records for outpatients who were registered with the Vietnamese Health Insurance Scheme, visited one of 112 commune health centres in 6 rural districts of Nam Dinh province, Vietnam during 2019, and were diagnosed with ARIs. Patient-level prescription data were collected from the electronic patient databases. We used descriptive statistics to investigate patterns of antibiotic prescribing, with the primary outcomes including total antibiotic prescriptions and prescriptions by WHO AWaRe group. We identified patient-specific factors associated with watch-group antibiotic prescribing through multivariable logistic regression analysis. Findings: Among 193,010 outpatient visits for ARIs observed in this study, 187,144 (97.0%) resulted in an antibiotic prescription, of which 172,976 (92.5%) were access-antibiotics, 10,765 (5.6%) were watch-antibiotics, 3366 (1.8%) were not-recommended antibiotics. No patients were treated with reserve-antibiotics. The proportion of watch-antibiotic prescription was highest amongst children under 5-years old (18.1%, compared to 9.5% for 5–17-years, 4.9% for 18–49-years, 4.3% for 50–64-years, and 3.7% for 65-and-above-years). In multivariable logistic regression, children, district, ARI-type, comobid chronic respiratory illness, and follow-up visit were associated with higher likelihood of prescribing watch-group antibiotics. Interpretation: The alarmingly high proportion of antibiotic prescriptions for ARIs in primary care, and the frequent use of watch-antibiotics for children, heighten concerns around antibiotic overuse at the community level. Antimicrobial stewardship interventions and policy attention are needed in primary care settings to tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance

The seroprevalence, waning rate, and protective duration of anti-diphtheria toxoid IgG antibody in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Diphtheria cases reported in Central Vietnam since 2013 were mainly in children aged 6-15 years, which may reflect an immunity gap. There is little information on population immunity against diphtheria in countries without a school-entry booster dose. We aimed to measure the age-stratified seroprevalence of anti-diphtheria toxoid antibodies, quantify the change in antibody levels in individuals over time, and estimate the length of protective immunity after vaccination in well-vaccinated communities in Vietnam. METHODS: An age-stratified seroprevalence survey among individuals aged 0-55 years was conducted at Nha Trang, Vietnam. The same participants were followed up after two years to quantify the change in antibody levels. IgG was measured using ELISA. The length of protective immunity after vaccination was estimated using a mixed-effect linear regression model with random intercept. RESULTS: Overall seroprevalence was 26% (95%CI:20-32%). Age-stratified seroprevalence was 68% (95%CI:4-11%), 7% (95%CI:4-11%), 12% (95%CI:7-19%), 33% (95%CI:27-40%), and 28% (95%CI:17-43%) among those aged ≤5, 6-15,16-25, 26-35, and 36-55 years, respectively. The antibody levels declined by 47% (95%CI:31-59%) over two years, and the predicted duration of vaccine-derived protective immunity after receiving four doses was 4.3 years (95%CI:3.5-5.3) among participants aged six years or younger. CONCLUSION: Given the low seroprevalence and short period of vaccine protection, a school-entry booster dose (5-7 years) is recommended in Vietnam

The seroprevalence, waning rate, and protective duration of anti-diphtheria toxoid IgG antibody in Nha Trang, Vietnam

Background: Diphtheria cases reported in Central Vietnam since 2013 were mainly in children aged 6-15 years, which may reflect an immunity gap. There is little information on population immunity against diphtheria in countries without a school-entry booster dose. We aimed to measure the age-stratified seroprevalence of anti-diphtheria toxoid antibodies, quantify the change in antibody levels in individuals over time, and estimate the length of protective immunity after vaccination in well-vaccinated communities in Vietnam.Methods: An age-stratified seroprevalence survey among individuals aged 0-55 years was conducted at Nha Trang, Vietnam. The same participants were followed up after two years to quantify the change in antibody levels. IgG was measured using ELISA. The length of protective immunity after vaccination was estimated using a mixed-effect linear regression model with random intercept.Results: Overall seroprevalence was 26% (95%CI:20-32%). Age-stratified seroprevalence was 68% (95%CI:4-11%), 7% (95%CI:4-11%), 12% (95%CI:7-19%), 33% (95%CI:27-40%), and 28% (95%CI:17-43%) among those aged ≤5, 6-15,16-25, 26-35, and 36-55 years, respectively. The antibody levels declined by 47% (95%CI:31-59%) over two years, and the predicted duration of vaccine-derived protective immunity after receiving four doses was 4.3 years (95%CI:3.5–5.3) among participants aged six years or younger.Conclusion: Given the low seroprevalence and short period of vaccine protection, a school-entry booster dose (5-7 years) is recommended in Vietnam

Implementation of point-of-care testing of C-reactive protein concentrations to improve antibiotic targeting in respiratory illness in Vietnamese primary care: a pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial

Background In previous trials, point-of-care testing of C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations safely reduced antibiotic use in non-severe acute respiratory infections in primary care. However, these trials were done in a research-oriented context with close support from research staff, which could have influenced prescribing practices. To better inform the potential for scaling up point-of-care testing of CRP in respiratory infections, we aimed to do a pragmatic trial of the intervention in a routine care setting. Methods We did a pragmatic, cluster-randomised controlled trial at 48 commune health centres in Viet Nam between June 1, 2020, and May 12, 2021. Eligible centres served populations of more than 3000 people, handled 10–40 respiratory infections per week, had licensed prescribers on site, and maintained electronic patient databases. Centres were randomly allocated (1:1) to provide point-of-care CRP testing plus routine care or routine care only. Randomisation was stratified by district and by baseline prescription level (ie, the proportion of patients with suspected acute respiratory infections to whom antibiotics were prescribed in 2019). Eligible patients were aged 1–65 years and visiting the commune health centre for a suspected acute respiratory infection with at least one focal sign or symptom and symptoms lasting less than 7 days. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients prescribed an antibiotic at first attendance in the intention-to-treat population. The per-protocol analysis included only people who underwent CRP testing. Secondary safety outcomes included time to resolution of symptoms and frequency of hospitalisation. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03855215. Findings 48 commune health centres were enrolled and randomly assigned, 24 to the intervention group (n=18 621 patients) and 24 to the control group (n=21 235). 17 345 (93·1%) patients in the intervention group were prescribed antibiotics, compared with 20 860 (98·2%) in the control group (adjusted relative risk 0·83 [95% CI 0·66–0·93]). Only 2606 (14%) of 18 621 patients in the intervention group underwent CRP testing and were included in the per-protocol analysis. When analyses were restricted to this population, larger reductions in prescribing were noted in the intervention group compared with the control group (adjusted relative risk 0·64 [95% CI 0·60–0·70]). Time to resolution of symptoms (hazard ratio 0·70 [95% CI 0·39–1·27]) and frequency of hospitalisation (nine in the intervention group vs 17 in the control group; adjusted relative risk 0·52 [95% CI 0·23–1·17]) did not differ between groups. Interpretation Use of point-of-care CRP testing efficaciously reduced prescription of antibiotics in patients with non-severe acute respiratory infections in primary health care in Viet Nam without compromising patient recovery. The low uptake of CRP testing suggests that barriers to implementation and compliance need to be addressed before scale-up of the intervention. Funding Australian Government, UK Government, and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics

Pathogen genomic surveillance status among lower resource settings in Asia

Asia remains vulnerable to new and emerging infectious diseases. Understanding how to improve next generation sequencing (NGS) use in pathogen surveillance is an urgent priority for regional health security. Here we developed a pathogen genomic surveillance assessment framework to assess capacity in low-resource settings in South and Southeast Asia. Data collected between June 2022 and March 2023 from 42 institutions in 13 countries showed pathogen genomics capacity exists, but use is limited and under-resourced. All countries had NGS capacity and seven countries had strategic plans integrating pathogen genomics into wider surveillance efforts. Several pathogens were prioritized for human surveillance, but NGS application to environmental and human–animal interface surveillance was limited. Barriers to NGS implementation include reliance on external funding, supply chain challenges, trained personnel shortages and limited quality assurance mechanisms. Coordinated efforts are required to support national planning, address capacity gaps, enhance quality assurance and facilitate data sharing for decision making

Interactions between climate change, urban infrastructure and mobility are driving dengue emergence in Vietnam.

Dengue is expanding globally, but how dengue emergence is shaped locally by interactions between climatic and socio-environmental factors is not well understood. Here, we investigate the drivers of dengue incidence and emergence in Vietnam, through analysing 23 years of district-level case data spanning a period of significant socioeconomic change (1998-2020). We show that urban infrastructure factors (sanitation, water supply, long-term urban growth) predict local spatial patterns of dengue incidence, while human mobility is a more influential driver in subtropical northern regions than the endemic south. Temperature is the dominant factor shaping dengue's distribution and dynamics, and using long-term reanalysis temperature data we show that warming since 1950 has expanded transmission risk throughout Vietnam, and most strongly in current dengue emergence hotspots (e.g., southern central regions, Ha Noi). In contrast, effects of hydrometeorology are complex, multi-scalar and dependent on local context: risk increases under either short-term precipitation excess or long-term drought, but improvements in water supply mitigate drought-associated risks except under extreme conditions. Our findings challenge the assumption that dengue is an urban disease, instead suggesting that incidence peaks in transitional landscapes with intermediate infrastructure provision, and provide evidence that interactions between recent climate change and mobility are contributing to dengue's expansion throughout Vietnam

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions