Smoke-free environment policy in Vietnam: What did people see and how did they react when they visited various public places?

Introduction: Since Vietnam has signed WHO framework on tobacco control (FCTC) in 2003 and has issued tobacco control law in 2013, there has been little research concerning about what impacts smoke-free regulations have had on public compliance. The objective of this study was to assess public exposure to secondhand smoke and reaction toward smoke-free policy regulations in Vietnam and the associated factor. Methods: Using the design of GATS (Global Adult Tobacco Survey), a nationally representative sample of 8,996 adults were approached for data collection. Logistic regression was used to examine the associated factor.Results: The study revealed that the prevalence of respondents exposed to secondhand smoke was much higher in bars/café/tea shops (90.07%) and restaurants (81.81%) than in any other public places, universities (36.70%), government buildings (31.12%), public transport (20.04%), healthcare facilities (17.85%) and schools (15.84%). 13.23% of respondents saw smokers violate smoke-free regulations. Among those who saw them violate smoke-free regulations, just one-third cautioned them to stop smoking. Strikingly, a higher rate of cautioning smokers to stop smoking was observed among the older, married, and better educated respondents. Respondents who were married, better educated and in lower economic status were more likely to remind smokers to stop smoking.Conclusions: The study has called for strengthening two of the six MPOWER (Monitor, Protect, Offer, Warn, Enforce and Raise) components of the tobacco free initiative introduced by WHO, Monitoring tobacco use and prevention policies and Protecting people from tobacco smoke

Associations of Underlying Health Conditions With Anxiety and Depression Among Outpatients: Modification Effects of Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms, Health-Related and Preventive Behaviors

Objectives: We explored the association of underlying health conditions (UHC) with depression and anxiety, and examined the modification effects of suspected COVID-19 symptoms (S-COVID-19-S), health-related behaviors (HB), and preventive behaviors (PB).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8,291 outpatients aged 18–85 years, in 18 hospitals and health centers across Vietnam from 14th February to May 31, 2020. We collected the data regarding participant's characteristics, UHC, HB, PB, depression, and anxiety.Results: People with UHC had higher odds of depression (OR = 2.11; p < 0.001) and anxiety (OR = 2.86; p < 0.001) than those without UHC. The odds of depression and anxiety were significantly higher for those with UHC and S-COVID-19-S (p < 0.001); and were significantly lower for those had UHC and interacted with “unchanged/more” physical activity (p < 0.001), or “unchanged/more” drinking (p < 0.001 for only anxiety), or “unchanged/healthier” eating (p < 0.001), and high PB score (p < 0.001), as compared to those without UHC and without S-COVID-19-S, “never/stopped/less” physical activity, drinking, “less healthy” eating, and low PB score, respectively.Conclusion: S-COVID-19-S worsen psychological health in patients with UHC. Physical activity, drinking, healthier eating, and high PB score were protective factors

Removal of Nitramine Explosives in Aqueous Solution by UV-Mediated Advanced Oxidation Process in Near-Neutral Conditions

Explosive compounds are hazardous to the environment, posing a serious risk to human and animal health and the ecosystem. The primary goal of research was to compare the efficiency of UV/H2O2, photo-Fenton, electro (EO)/ UV/H2O2 processes at near-neutral pH (pH=6) on the degradation of nitramine explosives (NAs), such as hexogen (RDX), octogen (HMX), and tetryl (TET), in an aqueous solution. The effect of operational conditions, likely pH of the solution, initial H2O2 concentration, initial Fe2+ concentration, and solution temperature, was observed. The removal kinetics fit with first-order kinetics and were in the order: photo-Fenton >EO/UV/ H2O2 > UV/ H2O2. The results showed higher rate constant values for TET, RDX and HMX removal by UV/ H2O2 (k = 0.07778, 0.03791 and 0.03786 min-1), EO/UV/ H2O2 (k = 0.16599, 0.1475 and 0.08674 min-1) and photo-Fenton (k = 0.18018, 0.1501 and 0.09336 min-1) processes. Furthermore, TET, RDX and HMX were mineralized at 59.7%, 45.1%, and 25.1 %, respectively, under optimum conditions after 60 min of the photo-Fenton process. From the economic perspective, photo-Fenton only requires 2.132–4.113 kWh m-3 to completely reduce NAs. Finally, acute toxicity towards Vibrio fischeri was defeated after usage of near-neutral photo-Fenton. Thus, photo-Fenton at circum-neutral is promising for low-cost, eco-friendly and efficient processes for treating nitramine explosives in aqueous solutions

Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide Laser–Assisted Treatment for Gingival Melanin Hyperpigmentation

Background: Smile aesthetics has a vital role to play in an individual’s life and one of the factors affecting the beauty of the smile is gingival color. A gingival color change or gingival hyperpigmentation causes an unesthetic smile line, especially in patients with a gummy smile, which is also known as a black gummy smile. Numerous gingival depigmentation methods have been performed successfully for ablating gingival melanin pigmented epithelium. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the treatment efficacy of gingival hyperpigmentation by using a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out with 38 patients at a hospital in Vietnam. Ponnaiyan classification and the Hedin melanin index were used to assess the distribution and extent of gingival pigmentation in the study. Pain assessment was performed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) to evaluate the intensity of pain during the laser treatment. In addition, clinical evaluation (i.e., wound healing) of each treatment procedure was conducted using the three level Dummett–Gupta Oral Pigmentation Index (DOPI) assessment. Results: This study showed that less pain was experienced by patients treated by CO2 laser; the rates of no pain, mild pain and moderate pain after treatment were, respectively, 21%, 76% and 2.6%; there was 100% complete epithelization after 1 week. The DOPI rates for turning from a DOPI score of 1, 2 or 3 to a DOPI score of 0 after a 12-week treatment were 87.5%, 76.9% and 24%, respectively. Conclusions: Using a CO2 laser for gingival melanin pigmentation treatment is a safe and effective procedure

Digital literacy, online security behaviors and E-payment intention

E-payment is a key component of e-commerce, facilitating improved user efficiency and fostering the intent to use e-commerce in the digital realm and the international integration arena. This study investigates the joint impact of digital literacy on two similar but fundamentally different activities which are security control behavior and e-payment continuance intention. This research contributes to the growing field of literature in two ways. First, the study examines Digital Literacy, which distinguishes three broad dimensions - Tech Familiarity, Policy understanding, Awareness of institutional surveillance, and its association with Security control Behaviors and E-payment continuance intention. Second, the study tests the mediator effect of Security control Behaviors on the relationship between Digital Literacy and E-payment Intention. The data were collected by using both offline and online survey methods across the national scope, employing a quota sampling approach to encompass a wide range of consumer demographics. Structural equation modeling with the sample of Vietnamese respondents was applied to test the influence of digital literacy on customers’ security control behavior and intention to use e-payments. The results endorse that 1) digital literacy has an important impact on online security behavior; 2) digital literacy bridges a strong direct association with e-payment continuance Intention and indirect through online security behavior. This study suggests several theoretical and practical implications from the findings, as well as limitations and future directions

Factors associated with the duration of hospitalisation among COVID-19 patients in Vietnam: A survival analysis

BACKGROUND: The median duration of hospital stays due to COVID-19 has been reported in several studies on China as 10−13 days. Global studies have indicated that the length of hospitalisation depends on different factors, such as the time elapsed from exposure to symptom onset, and from symptom onset to hospital admission, as well as specificities of the country under study. The goal of this paper is to identify factors associated with the median duration of hospital stays of COVID-19 patients during the second COVID-19 wave that hit Vietnam from 5 March to 8 April 2020. METHOD: We used retrospective data on 133 hospitalised patients with COVID-19 recorded over at least two weeks during the study period. The Cox proportional-hazards regression model was applied to determine the potential risk factors associated with length of hospital stay. RESULTS: There were 65 (48.9%) females, 98 (73.7%) patients 48 years old or younger, 15 (11.3%) persons with comorbidities, 21 (16.0%) severely ill patients and 5 (3.8%) individuals with life-threatening conditions. Eighty-two (61.7%) patients were discharged after testing negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 51 were still in the hospital at the end of the study period and none died. The median duration of stay in a hospital was 21 (IQR: 16–34) days. The multivariable Cox regression model showed that age, residence and sources of contamination were significantly associated with longer duration of hospitalisation. CONCLUSION: A close look at how long COVID-19 patients stayed in the hospital could provide an overview of their treatment process in Vietnam, and support the country's National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control in the efficient allocation of resources over the next stages of the COVID-19 prevention period