65 research outputs found
Spatial Patterns of Hand-Foot and Mouth Disease In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Background: Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease (HFMD) is most frequently caused by Enterovirus71 (EV-A71) or Coxsackie virus A16 (CV-A16), infants and young children are at greatest risk. Describing the spatial patterns of HFMD can help develop and better target interventions. The objective of this study is to identify spatial patterns of HFMD in the first 8-months of 2023 in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Methods: The global Moran’s I statistic, Moran’s I scatterplot and local Moran’s I statistic and Boxplot will be applied to study spatial patterns of HFMD. Spatial patterns including spatial clusters (high-high and low-low) and spatial outliers (low-high and high-low) will be identified for HFMD cases and HFMD infection rates. Results: three high-high spatial clusters were mainly distributed in districts in the western region of the city such as Binh Tan, Binh Chanh, and Tan Phu. These high-high spatial clusters belonged to districts having the highest rates of HFMD infections in the city with their corresponding rates of 289, 283 and 281 cases/100,000 inhabitants, respectively. On the other hand, two low-low spatial clusters were detected in Districts 1 and 5 in the city center with their HFMD infection rates of 190 and 209 cases/100,000 inhabitants, respectively. Conclusions : findings in this study support the usefulness of boxplots, local and global Moran's I statistics, and Moran's I scatterplots in the identification of spatial clusters and spatial outliers of HFM
The Effects of Collaborative Learning on Young ESL Learners’ L2 Anxiety and Speaking Performance
Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) is one of the issues of interest attracting researchers in recent decades. However, while collaborative learning introduced a prospective tool for FLA, it has not been much researched in the L2 classroom context, particularly in Vietnam. This paper focuses on using collaborative learning to reduce foreign language anxiety and enhance the L2 speaking performance of young learners at an English center in Ho Chi Minh City. A combination of tools, including Aydin et al.’s (2017) Children Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (CFLAS) for the pre-tests and post-tests, the teacher’s diary, and follow-up interviews, was used to measure the changes in learner’ FLA level and speaking performance. After five-week implementations, these learners’ FLA was slightly alleviated, and their speaking performance was improved using a collaborative learning approach. Moreover, learners were found to have positive attitudes and experience with learning in the new approach. These findings implied that collaborative learning could be a potential treatment to help L2 learners uncover their anxious selves and find more confidence in using the target languag
Dry Eyes Status on Des Scale and Related Factors in Outpatients at Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology
BACKGROUND: Dry eye (DE) can effect on quality of life by pain, inability to perform certain activities that require prolonged attention (driving, reading,…) and productivity at work and finally effect to Q0L associated with DE. OSDI is scale questionnaire is created team to measure the quality of life related to ocular surface disease.
AIM: To describe the dry eye disease according to OSDI scale and related factors of this disease.
METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on outpatients (≥ 16-year-old) who were examined and diagnosed with dry eyes at Vietnam National Institute Of Ophthalmology from April to July 2018. Data was collected using the OSDI questionnaire.
RESULTS: The average age of participants was 44.6 years; 80.9% of patients were female; 39.9% were identified having mild dry eye. The related factors have been identified that associated with severe dry eye, including age OR = 1.03 (95%CI: 1.01-1.05, p = 0.005), binocular good vision OR = 0.11 (95%CI: 0.05-0.23; p < 0.0001), medical history OR = 17.09 (95%CI: 2.24-130.25; p < 0.0001), chronic conjunctivitis OR = 0.36 (95%CI: 0.14-0.91; p = 0.027), refractive errors OR = 0.14 (95%CI: 0.04-0.48; p < 0.0001), Sjogren's syndrome OR = 31.13 (95%CI: 7.08-136.76; p < 0.0001).
CONCLUSION: Several related factors have been identified associated with severe dry eye, including: age, binocular good vision, medical history, chronic conjunctivitis, refractive errors, Sjogren's syndrome
Dexamethasone and long-term outcome of tuberculous meningitis in Vietnamese adults and adolescents.
BACKGROUND: Dexamethasone has been shown to reduce mortality in patients with tuberculous meningitis but the long-term outcome of the disease is unknown. METHODS: Vietnamese adults and adolescents with tuberculous meningitis recruited to a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of adjunctive dexamethasone were followed-up at five years, to determine the effect of dexamethasone on long-term survival and neurological disability. RESULTS: 545 patients were randomised to receive either dexamethasone (274 patients) or placebo (271 patients). 50 patients (9.2%) were lost to follow-up at five years. In all patients two-year survival, probabilities tended to be higher in the dexamethasone arm (0.63 versus 0.55; p = 0.07) but five-year survival rates were similar (0.54 versus 0.51, p = 0.51) in both groups. In patients with grade 1 TBM, but not with grade 2 or grade 3 TBM, the benefit of dexamethasone treatment tended to persist over time (five-year survival probabilities 0.69 versus 0.55, p = 0.07) but there was no conclusive evidence of treatment effect heterogeneity by TBM grade (p = 0.36). The dexamethasone group had a similar proportion of severely disabled patients among survivors at five years as the placebo group (17/128, 13.2% vs. 17/116, 14.7%) and there was no significant association between dexamethasone treatment and disability status at five years (p = 0.32). CONCLUSIONS: Adjunctive dexamethasone appears to improve the probability of survival in patients with TBM, until at least two years of follow-up. We could not demonstrate a five-year survival benefit of dexamethasone treatment which may be confined to patients with grade 1 TBM. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01317654
Prevalence of carbapenem resistance and its potential association with antimicrobial use in humans and animals in rural communities in Vietnam
Background
Vietnam and Southeast Asia are hotspots for antimicrobial resistance; however, little is known on the prevalence of carriage of carbapenem resistance in non-hospitalized humans and in animals. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), particularly Escherichia coli (CREC) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) and also Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) are emerging threats worldwide.
Methods
We investigated healthy humans (n = 652), chickens (n = 237), ducks (n = 150) and pigs (n = 143) in 400 small-scale farms in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Samples (rectal swabs, faecal swabs) were investigated for carriage of CRE/CRAB and were further characterized phenotypically and genotypically.
Results
In the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, the prevalence of CRE isolates in human rectal swabs was 0.6%, including 4 CREC and 1 CRKP. One pig was infected with CREC (prevalence 0.7%). CRAB was isolated from chickens (n = 4) (prevalence 2.1%) and one duck (prevalence 0.7%). CRKP was isolated from a human who was also colonized with CREC. The CRKP strain (ST16), from an 80 year-old person with pneumonia under antimicrobial treatment, genetically clustered with clinical strains isolated in a hospital outbreak in southern Vietnam. The prevalence of CRE was higher among humans that had used antimicrobials within 90 days of the sampling date than those had not (4.2% versus 0.2%) (P = 0.005). All CRE/CRAB strains were MDR, although they were susceptible to colistin and neomycin. The carbapenemase genes identified in study strains were blaNDM and blaOXA.
Conclusions
The finding of a CRKP strain clustering with previous hospital outbreak raises concerns about potential transmission of carbapenem-resistant organisms from hospital to community settings or vice-versa
Impact of participatory guarantee systems on sustainability outcomes: the case of vegetable farming in Vietnam
Sustainable food systems require mechanisms that assure consumers about the sustainability of agricultural production. Building on the existing literature on the impact of sustainability standards, this study is the first to assess the effectiveness of participatory guarantee systems (PGS) for the certification of organic produce. The study uses representative farm-level data on local vegetable value chains in northern Vietnam and uses a broad set of sustainability outcomes as well as counterfactual analysis, including systematic robustness checks. The results show that PGS significantly improves farm profitability (+117%), agroecology performance (+40%), and gives farmers more choice of sales channels (+23%). However, PGS had no significant effect on returns to labour and reduced the average crop yield. Capacity development on nursery practices, transplanting of healthy seedlings rather than direct seeding, reduced tillage, and collective crop planning and management are some of the innovations that can counter adverse effects on crop yields, increase soil health as well as improve returns to labour, and thus attract more youth to farming. Overall, the study shows that organic PGS can make vegetable production more economically viable and more agroecologically sustainable
Selective breeding of saline-tolerant striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) for sustainable catfish farming in climate vulnerable Mekong Delta, Vietnam
peer reviewedStriped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus), a freshwater species cultured mainly in the Mekong Delta region in Southern Vietnam, is facing a significant challenge due to salinity intrusion as a result of climatic changes. Given these evolving environmental conditions, selecting new strains with a higher salinity tolerance could make production of striped catfish economically feasible in brackish environments. In this study, we carried out a selection program aimed at developing a striped catfish strain able to survive and grow fast in a saline environment. To implement the selection program, we first collected males and females from different provinces in the Mekong delta. We next performed a factorial cross of these breeders to produce half- and full-sib families. When fish reached fry stage (47 dph), we put them in a saline environment (10 ppt) and subsequently kept 50 % of the fastest-growing fish after 143 days post hatching (dph). We repeated this mass selection procedure after 237 dph and 340 dph. We maintained in parallel a randomly selected group in saline conditions and a group of fish reared in freshwater to serve as controls. After crossing the selected individuals, we performed several tests on the next generation of fish to evaluate the effectiveness of selection after one generation in saline conditions. Average direct responses to selection were 18.0 % for growth and 11.4 % for survival rate after one generation of selection. We estimated a moderate realized heritability (0.29) for body weight. The genetic gains obtained in our study for body weight and survival rate after one generation of selection under saline conditions suggest that selection can be effective to improve ability of striped catfish to cope with saline stress. We conclude that our selection program has succeeded in developing a productive strain of striped catfish with better tolerance to salinity. © 2022 The Author
Validation of Mesocyclops (Copepoda) and community participation as an effective combination for Dengue control in Northern Vietnam
The “Programme Meso-Vietnam” was implemented in Vietnam from October 2007 to December 2010 to reduce dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever incidence and to improve the quality of life in the four project communes. This dengue control project was based on biological control using Mesocyclops, a larvivorous micro-crustacean, as well as on the establishment of a strong community involvement to educate the population on dengue transmission and to reduce Aedes breeding by removal of containers. During three years, a network of collaborators was responsible for introducing Mesocyclops in all the containers defined as key breeding-sites, and regular activities such as community training workshops, school programmes, clean-up campaigns and health promotion through IEC programmess were performed. To make this programme sustainable, local leadership has been strengthened as well. The use of these larvivorous micro-crustaceans as a biological control strategy against dengue over the medium and long term, when combined with community participation and effective health promotion, demonstrated a significant reduction in dengue vector populations and dengue cases.  In Vietnam, this study reconfirms that there is an ecological alternative to systematic use of insecticides to control dengue vector population. (Abstract word count: 186)Le " Programme Meso-Vietnam " a Ă©tĂ© mis en Ĺ“uvre au Vietnam entre octobre 2007 et dĂ©cembre 2010. Ce programme vise Ă rĂ©duire l'incidence de la dengue et de la fièvre hĂ©morragique de la dengue et Ă amĂ©liorer la qualitĂ© de vie dans les quatre communes sĂ©lectionnĂ©es pour le projet. Ce projet de lutte contre la dengue Ă©tait basĂ© sur un contrĂ´le biologique assurĂ© par des MĂ©socyclopes, micro-crustacĂ©s larvivores, et sur l'Ă©tablissement d'une forte implication de la communautĂ© pour Ă©duquer la population sur la transmission de la dengue et pour rĂ©duire la reproduction des moustiques Aedes par Ă©limination des conteneurs leur servant de site de ponte. Pendant trois ans, un rĂ©seau de collaborateurs a Ă©tĂ© chargĂ© d'introduire des MĂ©socyclopes dans tous les conteneurs dĂ©finis comme des sites de reproduction clĂ©s, et des activitĂ©s rĂ©gulières telles que des ateliers de formation communautaires, des programmes scolaires, des campagnes de nettoyage et des activitĂ©s de promotion de la santĂ© via les programmes IEC ont Ă©tĂ© mises en place. En outre, pour assurer la pĂ©rennitĂ© de ce programme, le leadership local a Ă©tĂ© renforcĂ©. L'utilisation de ces micro-crustacĂ©s larvivores comme stratĂ©gie de contrĂ´le biologique de la dengue Ă moyen et long terme, associĂ©e Ă une participation communautaire et Ă une promotion efficace de la santĂ©, a permis d'aboutir Ă une rĂ©duction significative des populations vecteurs de la dengue et des cas de dengue. Au Vietnam, cette Ă©tude confirme une fois de plus qu'il existe une alternative Ă©cologique Ă l'utilisation systĂ©matique d'insecticides pour lutter contre les vecteurs de la dengue.El “Programa Meso-Vietnam” se implementĂł en Vietnam desde octubre de 2007 hasta diciembre de 2010 para reducir la incidencia del dengue y la fiebre hemorrágica del dengue y para mejorar la calidad de vida en los cuatro municipios del proyecto. Este proyecto de control del dengue se basaba en el control biolĂłgico usando Mesocyclops, un microcrustáceo larvĂvoro, asĂ como en el establecimiento de una fuerte implicaciĂłn comunitaria para educar a la poblaciĂłn sobre la transmisiĂłn del dengue y para reducir la crĂa de Aedes mediante la eliminaciĂłn de recipientes. Durante tres años, una red de colaboradores fue responsable de la introducciĂłn de Mesocyclops en todos los recipientes definidos como sitios clave para la crĂa, y se realizaron actividades regulares tales como talleres de formaciĂłn comunitaria, programas escolares, campañas de limpieza y promociĂłn de la salud a travĂ©s de programas de IEC. Para hacer sostenible este programa, tambiĂ©n se reforzĂł el liderazgo local. El uso de estos microcrustáceos larvĂvoros como estrategia de control biolĂłgico contra el dengue a medio y largo plazo demostrĂł una reducciĂłn significativa de las poblaciones de vectores del dengue y los casos de dengue cuando se combinaba con la participaciĂłn comunitaria y la promociĂłn eficaz de la salud. En Vietnam, este estudio vuelve a confirmar que existe una alternativa ecolĂłgica al uso sistemático de insecticidas para controlar la poblaciĂłn de vectores del dengue
A High-Quality Genome Assembly of Striped Catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) Based on Highly Accurate Long-Read HiFi Sequencing Data
The HiFi sequencing technology yields highly accurate long-read data with accuracies greater than 99.9% that can be used to improve results for complex applications such as genome assembly. Our study presents a high-quality chromosome-scale genome assembly of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus), a commercially important species cultured mainly in Vietnam, integrating HiFi reads and Hi-C data. A 788.4 Mb genome containing 381 scaffolds with an N50 length of 21.8 Mb has been obtained from HiFi reads. These scaffolds have been further ordered and clustered into 30 chromosome groups, ranging from 1.4 to 57.6 Mb, based on Hi-C data. The present updated assembly has a contig N50 of 14.7 Mb, representing a 245-fold and 4.2-fold improvement over the previous Illumina and Illumina-Nanopore-Hi-C based version, respectively. In addition, the proportion of repeat elements and BUSCO genes identified in our genome is remarkably higher than in the two previously released striped catfish genomes. These results highlight the power of using HiFi reads to assemble the highly repetitive regions and to improve the quality of genome assembly. The updated, high-quality genome assembled in this work will provide a valuable genomic resource for future population genetics, conservation biology and selective breeding studies of striped catfish
Dexamethasone and Long-Term Outcome of Tuberculous Meningitis in Vietnamese Adults and Adolescents
BACKGROUND: Dexamethasone has been shown to reduce mortality in patients with tuberculous meningitis but the long-term outcome of the disease is unknown. METHODS: Vietnamese adults and adolescents with tuberculous meningitis recruited to a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of adjunctive dexamethasone were followed-up at five years, to determine the effect of dexamethasone on long-term survival and neurological disability. RESULTS: 545 patients were randomised to receive either dexamethasone (274 patients) or placebo (271 patients). 50 patients (9.2%) were lost to follow-up at five years. In all patients two-year survival, probabilities tended to be higher in the dexamethasone arm (0.63 versus 0.55; p = 0.07) but five-year survival rates were similar (0.54 versus 0.51, p = 0.51) in both groups. In patients with grade 1 TBM, but not with grade 2 or grade 3 TBM, the benefit of dexamethasone treatment tended to persist over time (five-year survival probabilities 0.69 versus 0.55, p = 0.07) but there was no conclusive evidence of treatment effect heterogeneity by TBM grade (p = 0.36). The dexamethasone group had a similar proportion of severely disabled patients among survivors at five years as the placebo group (17/128, 13.2% vs. 17/116, 14.7%) and there was no significant association between dexamethasone treatment and disability status at five years (p = 0.32). CONCLUSIONS: Adjunctive dexamethasone appears to improve the probability of survival in patients with TBM, until at least two years of follow-up. We could not demonstrate a five-year survival benefit of dexamethasone treatment which may be confined to patients with grade 1 TBM. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01317654
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