Disinfection performance of an ultraviolet lamp: a CFD investigation

Ultraviolet (UV)-based devices have shown their effectiveness on various germicidal purposes. To serve their design optimisation, the disinfection effectiveness of a vertically cylindrical UV lamp, whose wattage ranges from P = 30 − 100 W, is numerically investigated in this work. The UV radiation is solved by the Finite Volume Method together with the Discrete Ordinates model. Various results for the UV intensity and its bactericidal effects against several popular virus types, i.e., Corona-SARS, Herpes (type 2), and HIV, are reported and analysed in detail. Results show that the UV irradiance is greatly dependent on the lamp power. Additionally, it is indicated that the higher the lamp wattage employed, the larger the bactericidal rate is observed, resulting in the greater effectiveness of the UV disinfection process. Nevertheless, the wattage of P ≤ 100W is determined to be insufficient for an effective disinfection performance in a whole room; higher values of power must hence be considered in case intensive sterilization is required. Furthermore, the germicidal effect gets reduced with the viruses less sensitive to UV rays, e.g, the bactericidal rate against the HIV virus is only ∼8.98% at the surrounding walls

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Highlights of the 2022 Vietnamese Society of Hypertension guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of arterial hypertension

Abstract Hypertension is uncontrolled in over 50% hypertensive population in Vietnam which indicated a compelling need for new hypertension guidelines. The highlights were composed of three parts: the diagnosis of arterial hypertension, the recommendation of home blood pressure monitoring, and the treatment of hypertension. Our guideline applied flexibility based upon the “essential” and “optimal” concepts in the diagnosis and management of hypertensive patients according to the socio‐economic status of Vietnam. Hypertension is defined as an office systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg which is equivalent to a 24‐hr ambulatory blood pressure monitoring average of ≥130/80 mmHg or home blood pressure monitoring average of ≥135/85 mmHg. We established an integrated hypertensive diagnostic algorithm for adults with the optimal option by the role of out‐of‐office blood pressure measurement, especially home blood pressure monitoring, which is fully recommended in this guideline. The threshold and target of hypertension treatment were individualized in safety range and effective evidence‐based medicine. We also update for the management of resistant hypertension, hypertension in diabetic patients, hypertension with heart failure, and with other comorbidities. Vietnam has tried on the best strategy for improving the control of hypertension and recently received several achievements in the world, especially in the Asian region. Because the conditions for conducting our national data have not been fully conducted, we have to adapt from existing guidelines so there are still certain limitations that need to be supplemented and adjusted in the upcoming version

Trends in Socioeconomic Inequalities in Full Vaccination Coverage among Vietnamese Children aged 12-23 Months, 2000-2014: Evidence for Mitigating Disparities in Vaccination

There has been no report on the situation of socioeconomic inequalities in the full vaccination coverage among Vietnamese children. This study aims to assess the trends and changes in the socioeconomic inequalities in the full vaccination coverage among Vietnamese children aged 12-23 months from 2000 to 2014. Data were drawn from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (2000, 2006, 2011, and 2014). Concentration index (CCI) and concentration curve (CC) were applied to quantify the degree of the socioeconomic inequalities in full immunization coverage. The prevalence of children fully receiving recommended vaccines was significantly improved during 2000-2014, yet, was still not being covered. The total CCI of full vaccination coverage gradually decreased from 2000 to 2014 (CCI: from 0.241 to 0.009). The CC increasingly became close to the equality line through the survey period, indicating the increasingly narrow gap in child full immunization amongst the poor and the rich. Vietnam witnessed a sharp decrease in socioeconomic inequality in the full vaccination coverage for over a decade. The next policies towards children from vulnerable populations (ethnic minority groups, living in rural areas, and having a mother with low education) belonging to lower socioeconomic groups may mitigate socioeconomic inequalities in full vaccination coverage

Innovative Virtual Screening of PD-L1 Inhibitors: The Synergy of Molecular Similarity, Neural Networks, and GNINA Docking

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have garnered significant attention in oncological research over recent years. A plethora of studies have elucidated that inhibitors targeting the Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) play a pivotal role in circumventing the evasion mechanisms of cancer cells against the immune system. This study aimed to develop an integrated screening model combining an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Molecular Similarity (MS) assessments, and GNINA 1.0 molecular docking, targeting PD-L1 inhibitors. A database of 2044 substances with known PD-L1 inhibitory activity was compiled from Google Patents and used to enhance molecular similarity evaluations and train the machine learning model. For retrospective validation of the docking procedure, the human PD-L1 protein, with the Protein Data Bank (PDB) ID: 5N2F, was employed as a control. In this phase of the study, 15,235 compounds from the DrugBank database were subjected to a series of screening processes: initially through medicinal chemistry filters, followed by MS assessments, the ANN model, and culminating with molecular docking using GNINA 1.0. The decoy generation yielded promising outcomes, evidenced by an AUC-ROC 1NN value of 0.52 and Doppelganger scores with a mean of 0.24 and a maximum of 0.346, indicating a high resemblance of the decoys to the active set. For MS, the AVALON emerged as the most effective fingerprint for similarity searching, demonstrating an Enrichment Factor (EF) of 1% at 10.96%, an AUC-ROC of 0.963, and an optimal similarity threshold of 0.32. The ANN model demonstrated superior performance in cross-validation, achieving an average precision of 0.863±0.032 and an F1 score of 0.745±0.039, outperforming both the Support Vector Classifier (SVC) and Random Forest (RF) models, albeit not significantly. In external validation, the ANN model maintained its superiority with an average precision of 0.851 and an F1 score of 0.790. GNINA 1.0, employed for molecular docking, was validated through redocking and retrospective control, achieving an AUC of 0.975, with a critical cnn_pose_score threshold of 0.73. From the initial 15,235 compounds, 128 were shortlisted using the MS and ANN models. Further screening through GNINA 1.0 identified 22 potential candidates, among which (3S)-1-(4-acetylphenyl)-5-oxopyrrolidine-3-carboxylic acid emerged as the most promising, with a cnn_pose_score of 0.79, a PD-L1 inhibitory probability of 70.5%, and a Tanimoto coefficient of 0.35

Outcome of patients with cardiac amyloidosis admitted to an intensive care unit for acute heart failure

International audienc

Trends in Socioeconomic Inequalities in Full Vaccination Coverage among Vietnamese Children Aged 12–23 Months, 2000–2014: Evidence for Mitigating Disparities in Vaccination

There has been no report on the situation of socioeconomic inequalities in the full vaccination coverage among Vietnamese children. This study aims to assess the trends and changes in the socioeconomic inequalities in the full vaccination coverage among Vietnamese children aged 12&ndash;23 months from 2000 to 2014. Data were drawn from Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (2000, 2006, 2011, and 2014). Concentration index (CCI) and concentration curve (CC) were applied to quantify the degree of the socioeconomic inequalities in full immunization coverage. The prevalence of children fully receiving recommended vaccines was significantly improved during 2000&ndash;2014, yet, was still not being covered. The total CCI of full vaccination coverage gradually decreased from 2000 to 2014 (CCI: from 0.241 to 0.009). The CC increasingly became close to the equality line through the survey period, indicating the increasingly narrow gap in child full immunization amongst the poor and the rich. Vietnam witnessed a sharp decrease in socioeconomic inequality in the full vaccination coverage for over a decade. The next policies towards children from vulnerable populations (ethnic minority groups, living in rural areas, and having a mother with low education) belonging to lower socioeconomic groups may mitigate socioeconomic inequalities in full vaccination coverage

Additional file 1: Table S1. of Association between nutritional status and dengue infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PRISMA checklist. (DOCX 23 kb

Additional file 2: Table S2. of Association between nutritional status and dengue infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Scoring system for quality assessment of selected studies. (DOCX 19 kb

Additional file 3: Table S3. of Association between nutritional status and dengue infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Characteristic of studies included in this meta-analysis. (DOCX 39 kb