Establishing and validating noninvasive prenatal testing procedure for fetal aneuploidies in Vietnam

Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for fetal aneuploidies has been widely adopted in developed countries. Despite the sharp decrease in the cost of massively parallel sequencing, the technical know-how and skilled personnel are still one of the major limiting factors for applying this technology to NIPT in low-income settings. Here, we present the establishment and validation of our NIPT procedure called triSure for detection of fetal aneuploidies.We established the triSure algorithm based on the difference in proportion of fetal and maternal fragments from the target chromosome to all chromosomes. Our algorithm was validated using a published data set and an in-house data set obtained from high-risk pregnant women in Vietnam who have undergone amniotic testing. Several other aneuploidy calling methods were also applied to the same data set to benchmark triSure performance.The triSure algorithm showed similar accuracy to size-based method when comparing them using published data set. Using our in-house data set from 130 consecutive samples, we showed that triSure correctly identified the most samples (overall sensitivity and specificity of 0.983 and 0.986, respectively) compared to other methods tested including count-based, sized-based, RAPIDR and NIPTeR.We have demonstrated that our triSure NIPT procedure can be applied to pregnant women in low-income settings such as Vietnam, providing low-risk screening option to reduce the need for invasive diagnostic tests

Spin-Dependent Electronic Transport in IrMn–Co/Pd Multilayered Systems

Relation between magnetoresistance and magnetization reversal in thin multilayered IrMn-Co/Pd films deposited both on planar and nanoporous substrates is in focus of the present work. Magnetic anisotropy, exchange coupling and mechanisms of magnetic resistivity are discussed

Enhanced Perpendicular Exchange Bias in Co/Pd Antidot Arrays

Magnetic nanostructures revealing the exchange bias (EB) effect have attracted much interest in recent years due to their promising applications in spintronics, magnetic sensing and recording devices with various functionalities. In this paper, we report on the perpendicular exchange bias effect in a multilayered thin film composed of [Co/Pd] ferromagnetic multilayers exchange-coupled to an antiferromagnetic IrMn. The film was deposited on a porous anodized titania template. Influences of the films’ surface morphology as well as the order of layers deposited on the EB effect were studied. The enhancements of the EB field HEB (up to 30%) and the coercive field HC (two times) were achieved in the nanoporous films relative to their continuous film counterparts, which could be attributed to the specific morphology of the porous surfaces

Carbon dioxide reforming of methane over modified iron-cobalt alumina catalyst : Role of promoter

Cobalt-based catalysts are widely employed in methane dry reforming but tend to deactivate quickly due to coke deposits and metal sintering. To enhance the performance, iron, a cost-effective promoter, is added, improving cobalt's metal dispersibility, reducibility, and basicity on the support. This addition accelerates carbon gasification, effectively inhibiting coke deposition. Methods: A series of iron-doped cobalt alumina MFe-5Co/Al2O3 (M= 0, 0.4, 0.8, 1, 2 wt.%) were prepared via simple incipient-wetness impregnation. The catalysts were thoroughly characterized via modern techniques including BET, XRD, H2-TPR, CO2-TPD. Significant findings: The addition of iron had a minimal impact on the properties of γ-Al2O3, but it significantly affected the dispersibility of cobalt. At an optimal dosage of 0.8 wt.%, there was a notable decrease of 29.44% in Co3O4 particle size. However, excessive iron loading induced agglomeration of Co3O4, which was reversible. The presence of iron also resulted in a decrease in the reduction temperature of Co3O4. The material's basicity was primarily influenced by the loading of iron, reaching its highest value of 705.7 μmol CO2 g−1 in the 2Fe-5Co/Al2O3. The correlation between catalytic activity and the physicochemical properties of the material was established. The 0.8Fe-5Co/Al2O3 sample exhibited excellent performance due to the favorable dispersibility of cobalt, its reducibility, and its affordable basicity

Associations of Underlying Health Conditions With Anxiety and Depression Among Outpatients: Modification Effects of Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms, Health-Related and Preventive Behaviors

Objectives: We explored the association of underlying health conditions (UHC) with depression and anxiety, and examined the modification effects of suspected COVID-19 symptoms (S-COVID-19-S), health-related behaviors (HB), and preventive behaviors (PB).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8,291 outpatients aged 18–85 years, in 18 hospitals and health centers across Vietnam from 14th February to May 31, 2020. We collected the data regarding participant's characteristics, UHC, HB, PB, depression, and anxiety.Results: People with UHC had higher odds of depression (OR = 2.11; p < 0.001) and anxiety (OR = 2.86; p < 0.001) than those without UHC. The odds of depression and anxiety were significantly higher for those with UHC and S-COVID-19-S (p < 0.001); and were significantly lower for those had UHC and interacted with “unchanged/more” physical activity (p < 0.001), or “unchanged/more” drinking (p < 0.001 for only anxiety), or “unchanged/healthier” eating (p < 0.001), and high PB score (p < 0.001), as compared to those without UHC and without S-COVID-19-S, “never/stopped/less” physical activity, drinking, “less healthy” eating, and low PB score, respectively.Conclusion: S-COVID-19-S worsen psychological health in patients with UHC. Physical activity, drinking, healthier eating, and high PB score were protective factors

Negative Impact of Fear of COVID-19 on Health-Related Quality of Life Was Modified by Health Literacy, eHealth Literacy, and Digital Healthy Diet Literacy: A Multi-Hospital Survey

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been disseminating fear in the community, which has affected people’s quality of life, especially those with health problems. Health literacy (HL), eHealth literacy (eHEAL), and digital healthy diet literacy (DDL) may have potential impacts on containing the pandemic and its consequences. This study aimed to examine the association between the fear of COVID-19 scale (FCoV-19S) and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and to examine the effect modification by HL, eHEAL, and DDL on this association. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 11 hospitals across Vietnam from 7 April to 31 May 2020. Data were collected on 4348 outpatients, including demographic characteristics, HL, eHEAL, DDL, FCoV-19S, and HRQoL. Multiple linear regression and interaction models were used to explore associations. Results: Patients with higher FCoV-19S scores had lower HRQoL scores (unstandardized coefficient, B = −0.78, p < 0.001). HL (B = 0.20, p < 0.001), eHEAL (B = 0.24, p < 0.001), and DDL (B = 0.20, p < 0.001) were positively associated with higher HRQoL scores. The negative impact of FCoV-19S on HRQoL was significantly attenuated by higher eHEAL score groups (from one standard deviation (SD) below the mean, B = −0.93, p < 0.001; to the mean, B = −0.85, p < 0.001; and one SD above the mean, B = −0.77, p < 0.001); and by higher DDL score groups (from one SD below the mean, B = −0.92, p < 0.001; to the mean, B = −0.82, p < 0.001; and one SD above the mean, B = −0.72, p < 0.001). Conclusions: eHealth literacy and digital healthy diet literacy could help to protect patients’ health-related quality of life from the negative impact of the fear of COVID-19 during the pandemic