Applying calcium fluoride and silica particles: A solution to improve color homogeneity of pc-WLEDS

This article focuses on enhancing the lighting efficiency of pc-WLEDs, a new and advanced lighting solution that has received lots of attention. To adapt to the demand of modern lighting, the lighting performance of pc-WLEDs must be improved, especially the color homogeneity and luminous flux, two of the most important quality indicators of pc-WLEDs. Through experiments, this article proposes using the scattering enhancement particles (SEPs) such as CaF2 and SiO2 with yellow phosphor Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ in pc-WLEDs configuration. The pc-WLEDs model is created by using the LightTools program and set at 8500 K correlated color temperature, while the experimental results yielded from this simulation will be verified by Mie-scattering theory. The information from this article reveals the scattering coefficients of SEPs at 455 nm and 595 nm wavelengths. Moreover, it is confirmed that the employment of CaF2 is effective in promoting the color but may damage the luminous efficiency if the concentration is too high while the SEP material, SiO2, exhibits high luminous efficiency at all concentration

Health professionals\u27 experiences and views on obstetric ultrasound in Vietnam: a regional, cross-sectional study

Objectives: Obstetric ultrasound is an important part of antenatal care in Vietnam, although there are great differences in access to antenatal care and ultrasound services across the country. The aim of this study was to explore Vietnamese health professionals\u27 experiences and views of obstetric ultrasound in relation to clinical management, resources and skills. Design: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was performed as part of the CROss Country UltraSound study. Setting: Health facilities (n=29) in urban, semiurban and rural areas of Hanoi region in Vietnam. Participants: Participants were 289 obstetricians/gynaecologists and 535 midwives. Results: A majority (88%) of participants agreed that \u27every woman should undergo ultrasound examination\u27 during pregnancy to determine gestational age. Participants reported an average of six ultrasound examinations as medically indicated during an uncomplicated pregnancy. Access to ultrasound at participants\u27 workplaces was reported as always available regardless of health facility level. Most participants performing ultrasound reported high-level skills for fetal heart rate examination (70%), whereas few (23%) reported being skilled in examination of the anatomy of the fetal heart. Insufficient ultrasound training leading to suboptimal pregnancy management was reported by 37% of all participants. \u27Better quality of ultrasound machines\u27, \u27more physicians trained in ultrasound\u27 and \u27more training for health professionals currently performing ultrasound\u27 were reported as ways to improve the utilisation of ultrasound. Conclusions: Obstetric ultrasound is used as an integral part of antenatal care at all selected health facility levels in the region of Hanoi, and access was reported as high. However, reports of insufficient ultrasound training resulting in suboptimal pregnancy management indicate a need for additional training of ultrasound operators to improve utilisation of ultrasound

The Virome of Acute Respiratory Diseases in Individuals at Risk of Zoonotic Infections

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emphasizes the need to actively study the virome of unexplained respiratory diseases. We performed viral metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) analysis of 91 nasal-throat swabs from individuals working with animals and with acute respiratory diseases. Fifteen virus RT-PCR-positive samples were included as controls, while the other 76 samples were RT-PCR negative for a wide panel of respiratory pathogens. Eukaryotic viruses detected by mNGS were then screened by PCR (using primers based on mNGS-derived contigs) in all samples to compare viral detection by mNGS versus PCR and assess the utility of mNGS in routine diagnostics. mNGS identified expected human rhinoviruses, enteroviruses, influenza A virus, coronavirus OC43, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A in 13 of 15 (86.7%) positive control samples. Additionally, rotavirus, torque teno virus, human papillomavirus, human betaherpesvirus 7, cyclovirus, vientovirus, gemycircularvirus, and statovirus were identified through mNGS. Notably, complete genomes of novel cyclovirus, gemycircularvirus, and statovirus were genetically characterized. Using PCR screening, the novel cyclovirus was additionally detected in 5 and the novel gemycircularvirus in 12 of the remaining samples included for mNGS analysis. Our studies therefore provide pioneering data of the virome of acute-respiratory diseases from individuals at risk of zoonotic infections. The mNGS protocol/pipeline applied here is sensitive for the detection of a variety of viruses, including novel ones. More frequent detections of the novel viruses by PCR than by mNGS on the same samples suggests that PCR remains the most sensitive diagnostic test for viruses whose genomes are known. The detection of novel viruses expands our understanding of the respiratory virome of animal-exposed humans and warrant further studies

The Virome of Acute Respiratory Diseases in Individuals at Risk of Zoonotic Infections

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emphasizes the need to actively study the virome of unexplained respiratory diseases. We performed viral metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) analysis of 91 nasal-throat swabs from individuals working with animals and with acute respiratory diseases. Fifteen virus RT-PCR-positive samples were included as controls, while the other 76 samples were RT-PCR negative for a wide panel of respiratory pathogens. Eukaryotic viruses detected by mNGS were then screened by PCR (using primers based on mNGS-derived contigs) in all samples to compare viral detection by mNGS versus PCR and assess the utility of mNGS in routine diagnostics. mNGS identified expected human rhinoviruses, enteroviruses, influenza A virus, coronavirus OC43, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A in 13 of 15 (86.7%) positive control samples. Additionally, rotavirus, torque teno virus, human papillomavirus, human betaherpesvirus 7, cyclovirus, vientovirus, gemycircularvirus, and statovirus were identified through mNGS. Notably, complete genomes of novel cyclovirus, gemycircularvirus, and statovirus were genetically characterized. Using PCR screening, the novel cyclovirus was additionally detected in 5 and the novel gemycircularvirus in 12 of the remaining samples included for mNGS analysis. Our studies therefore provide pioneering data of the virome of acute-respiratory diseases from individuals at risk of zoonotic infections. The mNGS protocol/pipeline applied here is sensitive for the detection of a variety of viruses, including novel ones. More frequent detections of the novel viruses by PCR than by mNGS on the same samples suggests that PCR remains the most sensitive diagnostic test for viruses whose genomes are known. The detection of novel viruses expands our understanding of the respiratory virome of animal-exposed humans and warrant further studies.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of the Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel FAST v2 assay for detection of multiple respiratory viral pathogens in nasal and throat swabs in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Acute respiratory infections (ARI) are among the leading causes of hospitalization in children ≤5 years old. Rapid diagnostics of viral pathogens is essential to avoid unnecessary antibiotic treatment, thereby slowing down antibiotic-resistance. We evaluated the diagnostic performance of the Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel FAST v2 against viral specific PCR as reference assays for ARI in Vietnam. METHODS: Four hundred and forty two nose and throat swabs were collected in viral transport medium, and were tested with Luminex xTAG Respiratory Viral Panel FAST v2. Multiplex RT-PCR and single RT-PCR were used as references.    Results: Overall, viral pathogens were detected in a total count of 270/294 (91.8%, 95% CI 88.1-94.7) by the Luminex among reference assays, whilst 112/6336 (1.8%, 95% CI, 1.4-2.1) of pathogens were detected by the Luminex, but not by reference assays. Frequency of pathogens detected by Luminex and reference assays was 379 and 292, respectively. The diagnostic yield was 66.7% (295/442, 95%CI 62.1-71.1%) for the Luminex assay and 54.1% (239/442, 95% CI, 49.3-58.8%) for reference assays. The Luminex kit had higher yields for all viruses except influenza B virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and human bocavirus. High agreements between both methods [mean (range): 0.91 (0.83-1.00)] were found for 10/15 viral agents. CONCLUSIONS: The Luminex assay is a high throughput multiplex platform for rapid detection of common viral pathogens causing ARI. Although the current high cost may prevent Luminex assays from being widely used, especially in limited resource settings where ARI are felt most, its introduction in clinical diagnostics may help reduce unnecessary use of antibiotic prescription

Viral Metagenomic Analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid from Patients with Acute Central Nervous System Infections of Unknown Origin, Vietnam.

Central nervous system (CNS) infection is a serious neurologic condition, although the etiology remains unknown in >50% of patients. We used metagenomic next-generation sequencing to detect viruses in 204 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with acute CNS infection who were enrolled from Vietnam hospitals during 2012-2016. We detected 8 viral species in 107/204 (52.4%) of CSF samples. After virus-specific PCR confirmation, the detection rate was lowered to 30/204 (14.7%). Enteroviruses were the most common viruses detected (n = 23), followed by hepatitis B virus (3), HIV (2), molluscum contagiosum virus (1), and gemycircularvirus (1). Analysis of enterovirus sequences revealed the predominance of echovirus 30 (9). Phylogenetically, the echovirus 30 strains belonged to genogroup V and VIIb. Our results expanded knowledge about the clinical burden of enterovirus in Vietnam and underscore the challenges of identifying a plausible viral pathogen in CSF of patients with CNS infections

The Evolving Demographic and Health Transition in Four Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Evidence from Four Sites in the INDEPTH Network of Longitudinal Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems.

This paper contributes evidence documenting the continued decline in all-cause mortality and changes in the cause of death distribution over time in four developing country populations in Africa and Asia. We present levels and trends in age-specific mortality (all-cause and cause-specific) from four demographic surveillance sites: Agincourt (South Africa), Navrongo (Ghana) in Africa; Filabavi (Vietnam), Matlab (Bangladesh) in Asia. We model mortality using discrete time event history analysis. This study illustrates how data from INDEPTH Network centers can provide a comparative, longitudinal examination of mortality patterns and the epidemiological transition. Health care systems need to be reconfigured to deal simultaneously with continuing challenges of communicable disease and increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases that require long-term care. In populations with endemic HIV, long-term care of HIV patients on ART will add to the chronic care needs of the community

Lack of knowledge about sexually transmitted infections among women in North rural Vietnam

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The serious long-term complications of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in women and newborns are well-documented. Particularly, STI imply considerable social consequences for women. Low STI knowledge has been shown to be associated with unsafe sex. In Vietnam, misconceptions regarding STI exist, and rural women delay seeking care for STI. The aim of the study was to investigate knowledge of STI among women aged 15 to 49 years in a rural district of Vietnam and to evaluate possible associations between socioeconomic factors and STI knowledge.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional population-based study using face-to-face interviews was carried out between March and May 2006 in a demographic surveillance site in rural Vietnam. In total, 1805 women aged 15–49 years were randomly selected to participate in the study. The interviews were based on a structured questionnaire including questions on sociodemographic characteristics of the women and their knowledge about STI. Each correct answer was scored 1, incorrect or do not know answer was scored 0. Multivariate analyses were applied to examine associations between socio-economic conditions and STI knowledge. Intra-cluster correlation was calculated to examine similarities of STI knowledge within clusters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 1,805 respondents, 78% (73% married vs. 93% unmarried, p < 0.001) did not know any symptoms of STI, 50% could not identify any cause of STI, 59% (54% married vs. 76% unmarried, p < 0.001) did not know that STI can be prevented. Only 31% of the respondents (36% married vs. 14% unmarried, p < 0.001) answered that condom use could protect against STI, and 56% considered partner treatment necessary. Of 40 possible correct answers, the mean knowledge score was 6.5 (range 0–26, median 6). Young, unmarried women and women who lived in the highlands or mountainous areas demonstrated very low levels of STI knowledge (regression coefficients -1.3 and -2.5, respectively, p < 0.001). Experience of an induced abortion was significantly associated with a higher level of knowledge.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The low levels of STI knowledge found among women of reproductive age in a rural district of Vietnam indicate an urgent need of health education interventions, of which, young and unmarried women should be specifically targeted.</p

Pharmacists’ Perspectives on the Use of Telepharmacy in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Introduction: Telepharmacy, the application of information and communication technologies in healthcare services, has been adopted in many countries to provide patients with pharmaceutical care. However, it has yet to be widely used in Vietnam. This study was conducted to assess the current status of use and the factors associated with the willingness to use telepharmacy of pharmacists in Vietnam. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from February to July 2021; 414 pharmacists were recruited to fill in an online survey. Results: Overall, 86.7% of participants have used telepharmacy application and 87.2% of them were willing to apply telepharmacy in pharmacy practice. According to our multivariate analysis, the level of readiness was associated with positive attitude (odds ratio [OR] = 4.67; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.26-9.66), and a good behavior (OR = 11.34; 95% CI: 3.84-33.45). Discussion: Developing a telepharmacy system with appropriate features is essential to meet the requirements of pharmacy practice amid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic