Clinical features, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and genomics of bacteria causing neonatal sepsis in a children's hospital in Vietnam: protocol for a prospective observational study.

INTRODUCTION: The clinical syndrome of neonatal sepsis, comprising signs of infection, septic shock and organ dysfunction in infants ≤4 weeks of age, is a frequent sequel to bloodstream infection and mandates urgent antimicrobial therapy. Bacterial characterisation and antimicrobial susceptibility testing is vital for ensuring appropriate therapy, as high rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), especially in low-income and middle-income countries, may adversely affect outcome. Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in Vietnam is a rapidly expanding city in Southeast Asia with a current population of almost 8 million. There are limited contemporary data on the causes of neonatal sepsis in Vietnam, and we hypothesise that the emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria is an increasing problem for the appropriate management of sepsis cases. In this study, we aim to investigate the major causes of neonatal sepsis and assess disease outcomes by clinical features, antimicrobial susceptibility profiles and genome composition. METHOD AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a prospective observational study to characterise the clinical and microbiological features of neonatal sepsis in a major children's hospital in HCMC. All bacteria isolated from blood subjected to whole genome sequencing. We will compare clinical variables and outcomes between different bacterial species, genome composition and AMR gene content. AMR gene content will be assessed and stratified by species, years and contributing hospital departments. Genome sequences will be analysed to investigate phylogenetic relationships. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study will be conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and the International Council on Harmonization Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice. Ethics approval has been provided by the Oxford Tropical Research Ethics Committee 35-16 and Vietnam Children's Hospital 1 Ethics Committee 73/GCN/BVND1. The findings will be disseminated at international conferences and peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN69124914; Pre-results

Pathophysiologic and prognostic role of cytokines in dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Unit, Centre for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Dengue shock syndrome is a severe complication of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), characterized by a massive increase in vascular permeability. Plasma cytokine concentrations were prospectively studied in 443 Vietnamese children with DHF, of whom 6 died. Shock was present in 188 children on admission to hospital, and in 71 children it developed later. Contrary to expectations, certain inflammatory markers (interleukin-6 and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1) were lower in the group with shock, and this may reflect the general loss of protein from the circulation due to capillary leakage. Only soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) levels showed a consistent positive relationship with disease severity. In patients with suspected DHF without shock, admission levels of sTNFR-75 in excess of 55 pg/mL predicted the subsequent development of shock, with a relative risk of 5.5 (95% confidence interval, 2.3-13.2). Large-scale release of soluble TNFR may be an early and specific marker of the endothelial changes that cause dengue shock syndrome

Astrophysics research at DAP

The research and training team of the Department of Astrophysics (DAP), Vietnam National Space Center, is some twenty years old. Currently, we work in the fields of stellar physics and high-redshift galaxies using mm/sub-mm data observed by world-leading radio interferometers such as ALMA and NOEMA. In this report, we present the research team and its activities and give illustrations of the research work with emphasis on the use of archival data

Astrophysics research at DAP

The research and training team of the Department of Astrophysics (DAP), Vietnam National Space Center, is some twenty years old. Currently, we work in the fields of stellar physics and high-redshift galaxies using mm/sub-mm data observed by world-leading radio interferometers such as ALMA and NOEMA. In this report, we present the research team and its activities and give illustrations of the research work with emphasis on the use of archival data

Synthesis of iron modified rice straw biochar toward arsenic from groundwater

The potential of Fe modified biochar (BC) as an alternative, inexpensive adsorbent for removing As(V) from wastewater was investigated. BC was synthesized from the slow pyrolysis of rice straw and then modified with FeCl3. The result from FTIR and SEM-EDX demonstrated that Fe had loaded successfully on the surface of biochar. In comparison to the raw biochar, the Fe modified BC not only had stronger magnetic property but also showed much greater ability to remove As(V) from aqueous solution. The Fe modified BC showed a maximum adsorption with an initial solution pH of 5.0. The adsorption data were better fitted with the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) by the modified BC, based on the Langmuir isotherm, was 26.9 mg g-1. The Fe-modified BC can be an effective, inexpensive, and environmentally sustainable adsorbent to replace typical granular activated carbons (AC) commonly utilized in the treatment of arsenic-contaminated wastewater. - 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd.Scopu