Randomized trial assessing home use of two pregnancy tests for determining early medical abortion outcomes at 3, 7 and 14days after mifepristone

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate the accuracy, feasibility and acceptability of two urine pregnancy tests in assessing abortion outcomes at three time points after mifepristone administration.Study designThis randomized trial enrolled women seeking early medical abortion at two hospitals in Vietnam. Investigators randomly allocated participants to at-home administration of a multilevel urine pregnancy test (MLPT) or a high sensitivity urine pregnancy test (HSPT) to assess their abortion outcomes. A baseline test was administered on the same day as mifepristone. Participants performed and interpreted results of pregnancy tests taken 3, 7 and 14days after mifepristone. Ultrasound exam determined continuing pregnancy.ResultsSix hundred women enrolled, and 300 received each test. A percentage of 97.4 (584) had follow-up, of whom 13 women had continuing pregnancies. The specificity of MLPT at detecting absence of continuing pregnancy was 63.9%, 90.4% and 97.1% at study day 3, 7 and 14. The specificity of HSPT was 6.0%, 19.8% and 62.2%, respectively. The positive predictive value (PPV) of MLPT at detecting continuing pregnancy was 6.4% at day 3 and rose to 46.7% at day 14. In contrast, the PPV for HSPT was 2.2% at day 3 and rose to 6.5% at day 14. At all three time points, the sensitivity and negative predictive values for both tests were 100.0%. Most women found their assigned tests easy to use and would prefer future home follow-up with a pregnancy test.ConclusionsThe MLPT enables women to assess their abortion outcomes more reliably than with HSPT. With MLPT, women can know their outcomes as early as 3 days after mifepristone.ImplicationsMedical abortion service delivery with an MLPT to obtain a baseline (preabortion) human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) estimate and a second follow-up MLPT 1 to 2 weeks later can establish whether there has been a drop in hCG, signifying absence of a continuing pregnancy. Used this way, MLPTs can enable women to assess their abortion status outside of a clinic setting and without serum hCG testing and/or ultrasound

Pollen and seed morphology of cleome species (Cleomaceae) in Vietnam

Cleomaceae is a family that includes 18 genera distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate regions. Cleome L. is the largest genus having 207 species, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions (POWO 2019). In Vietnam, the genus is represented by four species Cleome rutidosperma DC., C. houtteana Schltdl., C. viscosa L. and C. gynandra L. The present study documents the pollen and seed characteristics of all four species of Cleome in Vietnam, and the data obtained using light microscope and scanning electron microscope are analyzed considering their importance in taxonomic delimitation and understanding their phylogenetic relationship. The results indicated a close relationship between different pollen and aperture types. The striking differences between the pollen shapes among different species of Cleome could be useful in taxonomic and evolutionary studies. Similarly, seed shape and surface characters provided important clues for their delimitation. Based on the pollen and seed morphological characteristics, a taxonomic key has been provided for easy identification of the Cleome species in Vietnam

Micronutrient Deficits Are Still Public Health Issues among Women and Young Children in Vietnam

Background: The 2000 Vietnamese National Nutrition Survey showed that the population’s dietary intake had improved since 1987. However, inequalities were found in food consumption between socioeconomic groups. As no national data exist on the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, a survey was conducted in 2010 to assess the micronutrient status of randomly selected 1526 women of reproductive age and 586 children aged 6–75 mo. Principal Findings: In women, according to international thresholds, prevalence of zinc deficiency (ZnD, 67.262.6%) and vitamin B12 deficiency (11.761.7%) represented public health problems, whereas prevalence of anemia (11.661.0%) and iron deficiency (ID, 13.761.1%) were considered low, and folate (,3%) and vitamin A (VAD,,2%) deficiencies were considered negligible. However, many women had marginal folate (25.1%) and vitamin A status (13.6%). Moreover, overweight (BMI$23 kg/m 2 for Asian population) or underweight occurred in 20 % of women respectively highlighting the double burden of malnutrition. In children, a similar pattern was observed for ZnD (51.963.5%), anemia (9.161.4%) and ID (12.961.5%) whereas prevalence of marginal vitamin A status was also high (47.362.2%). There was a significant effect of age on anemia and ID prevalence, with the youngest age group (6–17 mo) having the highest risk for anemia, ID, ZnD and marginal vitamin A status as compared to other groups. Moreover, the poorest groups of population had a higher risk for zinc, anemia and ID

Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

Characteristics and dynamics of backyard poultry raising systems in five Asian countries in relation to the reduction and management of avian influenza risk : final report

Despite rapid growth of the poultry sector, small holders still constitute the vast majority of poultry keepers, marketed through associated informal trade networks. The research aims to better understand backyard poultry raising systems, the variations among them, their roles in rural livelihoods, and to work with stakeholders in this sector to devise practical, equitable and sustainable options to reduce the likelihood of a human Avian influenza (AI) pandemic in five Asian Countries: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. This report reviews the backyard poultry system in Vietnam in terms of production, trade, gender, marketing and consumption, and information on household income

Facile Synthesis of Propranolol and Novel Derivatives

Propranolol is one of the first medications of the beta-blocker used for antihypertensive drugs. This study reports the facile route for the synthesis of propranolol and its novel derivatives. Herein, propranolol synthesis proceeded from 1-naphthol and isopropylamine under mild and less toxic conditions. Novel propranolol derivatives were designed by reactions of propranolol with benzoyl chloride, pyridinium chlorochromate, and n-butyl bromide through esterification, oxidation reduction, and alkylation, respectively. The isolation and purity of compounds were conducted using column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography. Mass spectrometry and 1H-NMR spectroscopy were applied to identify new compounds structure. Propranolol derivatives from 2-chlorobenzoyl chloride (compound 3), 2-fluorobenzoyl chloride (compound 5), and especially acetic anhydride (compound 6) manifested high yields and significantly increased water solubility. Six semisynthetic propranolol derivatives promise to improve antioxidative and biological activities

Polymorphisms of ABCG2 and SLC22A12 Genes Associated with Gout Risk in Vietnamese Population

Background and objective: Gout is a common form of inflammatory arthritis caused by the crystallization of uric acid. Previous studies have demonstrated that the genetic predisposition of gout varies in different ethnic populations. However the association study of genetic variants with gout remains unknown in the Vietnamese population. Our study aimed to assess the relationship between polymorphisms in ABCG2 and SLC22A12 and gout susceptibility in Vietnamese. Materials and methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from blood of a total of 170 patients with gout and 351 healthy controls. We genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): rs72552713, rs12505410 of the ABCG2 gene and rs11231825, rs7932775 of the SLC22A12 gene using polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) and then confirmed 10% of randomly selected subjects by Sanger sequencing. Results: Three SNPs (rs72552713 and rs12505410 and rs11231825) were in accordance with Hardy–Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) (p > 0.05) while rs7932775 was not (p < 0.05). For rs72552713, CT genotype was significantly different between gout patient and control groups (p < 0.001) and the T allele was associated with an increased risk of gout (OR = 21.19; 95% CI: 3.00–918.96; p < 0.001). Serum uric acid and hyperuricemia differed significantly between CC and CT genotype groups (p = 0.004 and 0.008, respectively). For rs11231825, a protective effect against gout risk was identified in the presence of the C allele when compared with the T allele (OR = 0.712; 95% CI: 0.526–0.964 p = 0.0302). In contrast, no significant difference of allele frequencies between gout patients and controls was detected for rs12505410 (p > 0.05). However, significant differences in serum uric acid and systolic blood pressure were obtained among gout patients. Conclusion: Our results suggest that ABCG2 rs72552713 and SLC22A12 rs11231825 are likely associated with gout in the Vietnamese population in which T allele may be a risk factor for gout susceptibility

Figure 4 from: Sy DT, Hai DV, Choudhary RK, Tran TB, Chu HM, Nguyen HQ, Nguyen TTN, Tucker GC, Lee J (2020) Capparis kbangensis (Capparaceae), a new species from central Vietnam. PhytoKeys 151: 83-91. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.151.50477

Figure 4 Capparis kbangensis Sy & D.V Hai, sp.nov (A, C–J drawn from holotype Thuong0704201801 B drawn from PTV698; K, L drawn from Hai28042017) A flowering branch B stem with thorns C base of leaf D apex of leaf E sepals F petals G filament and anther H disk I gynophore and ovary J ovary K fruiting branch L fruit (Drawn by Mrs. Le Kim Chi)

Capparis kbangensis (Capparaceae), a new species from central Vietnam.

Capparis kbangensis Sy & D.V. Hai, a new species from Kbang District, Gia Lai Province, Vietnam, is described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically similar to Capparis versicolor but differs by several characters such as emarginate leaf apex, hairy margin of sepals, smaller fruits, and fewer seeds per fruit. Its ecology and conservation status are provided along with a taxonomic key to the closely allied species

Avian influenza A (H5N1) in 10 patients in Vietnam

BACKGROUND: Recent outbreaks of avian influenza A (H5N1) in poultry throughout Asia have had major economic and health repercussions. Human infections with this virus were identified in Vietnam in January 2004. METHODS: We report the clinical features and preliminary epidemiologic findings among 10 patients with confirmed cases of avian influenza A (H5N1) who presented to hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam, in December 2003 and January 2004. RESULTS: In all 10 cases, the diagnosis of influenza A (H5N1) was confirmed by means of viral culture or reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction with primers specific for H5 and N1. None of the 10 patients (mean age, 13.7 years) had preexisting medical conditions. Nine of them had a clear history of direct contact with poultry (median time before onset of illness, three days). All patients presented with fever (temperature, 38.5 to 40.0 degrees C), respiratory symptoms, and clinically significant lymphopenia (median lymphocyte count, 700 per cubic millimeter). The median platelet count was 75,500 per cubic millimeter. Seven patients had diarrhea. In all patients, there were marked abnormalities on chest radiography. There was no definitive evidence of human-to-human transmission. Eight patients died, one patient has recovered, and one is recovering. CONCLUSIONS: Influenza A (H5N1) infection, characterized by fever, respiratory symptoms, and lymphopenia, carries a high risk of death. Although in all 10 cases the infection appears to have been acquired directly from infected poultry, the potential exists for genetic reassortment with human influenzaviruses and the evolution of human-to-human transmission. Containment of influenza A (H5N1) in poultry throughout Asia is therefore urgently require