LAND USE CHANGE AND RELATED PROBLEMS UNDER URBANIZATION IN SUBURBAN AREA OF HANOI CITY (A CASE STUDY OF HOANG LIET COMMUNE, THANH TRI DISTRICT)

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

Estimating the cost of illness of acute Japanese encephalitis and sequelae care in Vietnam and Laos: a cross-sectional study

Background Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a leading cause of acute encephalitis syndrome and resulting neurological disability in Asia and the Western Pacific. This study aims to estimate the cost of acute care, initial rehabilitation and sequelae care, in Vietnam and Laos. Methodology We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study using a micro-costing approach from the health system and household perspectives. Out-of-pocket direct medical and non-medical costs, indirect costs, and family impact were reported by patients and/or caregivers. Hospitalization costs were extracted from hospital charts. Acute costs covered expenditures from pre-hospital to follow-up visits while sequelae care costs were estimated from expenditures in the last 90 days. All costs are in 2021 US dollars. Principal findings 242 patients in two major sentinel sites in the North and South of Vietnam and 65 patients in a central hospital in Vientiane, Laos, with laboratory-confirmed JE were recruited regardless of age, sex, and ethnicity. In Vietnam, the mean total cost was $3,371 per acute JE episode (median$2,071, standard error [SE] $464) while annual costs were$404 for initial sequelae care (median $0, SE$220) and $320 for long-term sequelae care (median$0, SE $108). In Laos, the mean hospitalization costs in acute stage were$2,005 (median $1,698, SE$279) and the mean annual costs were $2,317 (median$0, SE $2,233) for initial sequelae care and$89 (median $0, SE$57) for long-term sequelae care. In both countries, most patients did not seek care for their sequelae. Families perceived extreme impact from JE and 20% to 30% of households still had sustained debts years after acute JE. Conclusions JE patients and families in Vietnam and Laos suffer extreme medical, economic, and social hardship. This has policy implications for improving JE prevention in these two JE-endemic countries

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

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

Knowledge and determinants of health consequences of cigarette smoking among Vietnamese adults, 2015

Background. Vietnam was one of 16 countries that implemented the second round of the GATS (Global Adult Tobacco Survey) in 2015. Aims. To assess knowledge and determinants of health consequences of different types of cigarette smoking among Vietnamese adults. Methods. A cross-sectional study among adults aged 15 years combined with using 15% of the master sample from the national sampling frame of the population and housing census was conducted. Multilevel analysis using Poisson regression was undertaken. Results. Knowledge on the health consequences of cigarette smoking has not significantly improved in the GATS-2015. Adults believe that active smoking had more of an impact on health than secondhand smoking and 24.5% and 43% of them answered that smoking light and e-cigarettes, respectively, causes less harm than regular cigarettes, and 17.3% and 18.1% of adults are not aware of the difference between them, respectively. Conclusion. Household and community’s role had little impact in the adult knowledge of smoking health consequences. It is necessary to disseminate information on the “other tobacco product” and to improve public knowledge on specific health consequences, to enhance household and community’s role in conveying health education messages to individuals. © 2019 APJPH. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Huy Nguyen” is provided in this record*

Estimation of the total rotational velocity of a non-cooperative target using a 3D InISAR system

We report on a new technique for the estimation of the total rotational velocity of a non-cooperative target using a single interferometric ISAR system. It uses 3D interferometric ISAR techniques to obtain a first estimate of the scatterers' positions and effective rotation vector. Then the second-order local polynomial Fourier transform (LPFT) is applied to estimate the second component of the total rotation vector, and therefore the total vector itself. The true three-dimensional size and shape of a target - an important metric for automatic target recognition - can thus be estimated. Cross-range resolution in the 2D ISAR images is also improved in the process.</p

A survey on lymphocyte T CD3, CD4 and CD8 in peripheral blood of kidney transplant recipients using mycophenolic acid

Introduction: Immunological monitoring could indirectly measure the suppressive effects of the drugs and provide early guidance on necessary preventive interventions in transplant recipients. Objectives: Our goal was to determine whether mycophenolic acid (MPA) modulates peripheral blood lymphocyte T in kidney transplant recipients. Patients and Methods: We assessed T lymphocytes CD3, CD4 and CD8 in peripheral blood in 30 donors and 35 recipients one day before and 10 days after transplantation using Becton Dickinson’s direct immune fluorescent light. Results: Comparisons showed that the number of T lymphocytes CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ in peripheral blood of transplant recipients were lower than donors (TCD3 was 1690.31±503.45 versus 2280.73± 522.48; TCD4 was 549.51 ±211.72 cell/µL versus 766.37± 341.72 cell/µL and CD8 was 1134.37 ±431.07 cell/µL versus 1523.4± 349.23 cell/µL with P<0.001; P=0.001 and P= 0.0002 respectively). Additionally, post-transplantation lymphocytes TCD4 decreased in 10/35 of recipients and increased in 22/35 of recipients (P=0.036). Conclusion: The T lymphocytes CD3, CD4 and CD8 in peripheral blood should be monitored at multiple post-transplant times to make early predictions of transplant rejection during follow-up treatment

Estimation of the total rotational velocity of a non-cooperative target using a 3D InISAR system

We report on a new technique for the estimation of the total rotational velocity of a non-cooperative target using a single interferometric ISAR system. It uses 3D interferometric ISAR techniques to obtain a first estimate of the scatterers' positions and effective rotation vector. Then the second-order local polynomial Fourier transform (LPFT) is applied to estimate the second component of the total rotation vector, and therefore the total vector itself. The true three-dimensional size and shape of a target - an important metric for automatic target recognition - can thus be estimated. Cross-range resolution in the 2D ISAR images is also improved in the process.</p