The costs of traumatic brain injury due to motorcycle accidents in Hanoi, Vietnam

Background: Road traffic accidents are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries in Vietnam. The purpose of this study is to estimate the costs, in the first year post-injury, of non-fatal traumatic brain injury (TBI) in motorcycle users not wearing helmets in Hanoi, Vietnam. The costs are calculated from the perspective of the injured patients and their families, and include quantification of direct, indirect and intangible costs, using years lost due to disability as a proxy. Methods: The study was a retrospective cross-sectional study. Data on treatment and rehabilitation costs, employment and support were obtained from patients and their families using a structured questionnaire and The European Quality of Life instrument (EQ6D). Results: Thirty-five patients and their families were interviewed. On average, patients with severe, moderate and minor TBI incurred direct costs at USD 2,365, USD 1,390 and USD 849, with time lost for normal activities averaging 54 weeks, 26 weeks and 17 weeks and years lived with disability (YLD) of 0.46, 0.25 and 0.15 year, respectively. Conclusion: All three component costs of TBI were high; the direct cost accounted for the largest proportion, with costs rising with the severity of TBI. The results suggest that the burden of TBI can be catastrophic for families because of high direct costs, significant time off work for patients and caregivers, and impact on health-related quality of life. Further research is warranted to explore the actual social and economic benefits of mandatory helmet use

Struvite formation from wastewater: affecting factors and nutrient recovery

Never human being has to face such a serious lack of phosphorus and pollutants from human activities. Nutrient recovery from wastewater is a new trend which attracts the interests of several researchers. Extraction of the nutrients, based on struvite crystal from wastewater as nutritious sources, has been assessed as an urgent solution to tackle the water pollution issue. This review focused on feature characteristics of struvite as a chemical fertilizer for plant, struvite formation process in various wastewaters, which is related to physio-chemical conditions, and potential of applying this idea into practice

Differentiation Effect of Two Alkaloid Fractions from Vietnamese Lycopodiaceae on Mouse Neural Stem Cells

Various Lycopodium alkaloids have been studied for their various biological activities including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective activities. Moreover, these alkaloid compounds have high potential in the treatment of neuron degenerative disease. This study has been carried out to test the effect of Huperzia serrata (Thunb.) Trevis, and Lycopodium clavatum L alkaloid fractions on the mouse neural stem cells (NSCs). Firstly, the alkaloid fractions were used to verify its toxicity on NSCs. The multiple concentrations of alkaloid fractions from H. serrata (0.044; 0.088; 0.175; 0.35; 0.7; 1.4 mg/ml) and L. clavatum (0.031; 0.063; 0.125; 0.25; 0.50; 1.0; 2.0 mg/ml) have been used for the treatment of NSCs at period of 48h incubation. Results of the study suggested that the IC50 value of H. serrata and L. clavatum was 0.56 mg/ml and 0.50 mg/ml, respectively. Then, the NSCs were differentiated in the presence of 5 and 10 µg/ml of alkaloid fraction from H. serrata; 0.625 and 1.25 µg/ml of alkaloid fraction from L. clavatum for 6 days. Here, we observed the primary NSCs treated with alkaloid fraction extract from H. serrata showed the increased gene expression level of early neuron TUBB3 and neuron-specific cytoskeleton MAP2. On the other hand, the L. clavatum alkaloid fraction increased the expression of neural stem cell marker genes (Nestin and PAX6) and decreased neuron marker genes. In conclusion, these results established that alkaloid fraction from H. serrata promoted differentiation of the mouse NSCs to neuron cells, and L. clavatum extract had a capacity for stemness maintenance

Impact of Educational Intervention Concerning Awareness and Behaviors Relating to Avian Influenza (H5N1) in a High-Risk Population in Vietnam

BACKGROUND: Early initiation of treatment is essential for treatment of avian influenza A/H5N1 viral infection in humans, as the disease can lead to rapid development of severe pneumonia which can result in death. Contact with infected poultry is known to be a significant risk factor for contraction of H5N1 infection. However, handling and encountering poultry are a part of most peoples' daily lives, especially in rural communities in Vietnam where epidemic outbreaks among poultry have been continuously reported. Enhancing proper knowledge relating to H5N1 and to the importance of early initiation of treatment are crucial. The aim of this study was to develop an effective educational program to enhance awareness of H5N1 and motivate people to access to health care earlier when H5N1 infection is suspected or likely. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A study was conducted in two agricultural communities (intervention and control groups) in the Ninh Binh province in Vietnam, where epidemic outbreaks of avian influenza have recently occurred in birds. A unique educational intervention was developed and provided to the intervention group, and no intervention was provided to the control group. A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey was conducted in both groups with a face-to-face interview by trained local healthcare workers at time points before and after the educational intervention. KAP scores were compared between the different time points and between the groups. How educational intervention influenced awareness relating to H5N1 and accessibility of healthcare in the population was analyzed. The study indicated an increased awareness of H5N1 and increased reliance on local health care workers. CONCLUSIONS: The novel educational program which was developed for this study impacted awareness of H5N1, and resulted in more people seeking early access to healthcare, and also resulted in earlier medical intervention for patients with H5N1 avian influenza infection in Vietnam

ĐIỀU TRA TÌNH HÌNH CỎ LỒNG VỰC PHÁT SINH TRỞ LẠI TRÊN RUỘNG LÚA GIEO SẠ SAU KHI SỬ DỤNG THUỐC TRỪ CỎ Ở THỪA THIÊN HUẾ

Studying herbicide resistance in Vietnam is limited, and there are very few reports on the regrowth of weed after applying herbicides. A survey to investigate the cultivating habit and the barnyard grass regrowing in the direct-seeded rice fields after applying herbicides in Thua Thien Hue shows that the main labourers of rice cultivation are male with a low educational level to understand scientific and technical knowledge. The most common grass regrowing in direct-seeded rice fields after applying herbicides includes Barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli), Grass-like fimbry (Fimbristylis miliacea), Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), and Sprangletop (Leptochloa chinensis). The yield decreases from 12.1 to 14.0% because of regrowing of barnyard grass. The herbicides commonly used in Thua Thien Hue are Sofic 300EC (Pretilachlor) and Sunrice 15WDG (Ethoxysulfuron), but their effectiveness has decreased in recent time owing to farmers’ inappropriate spraying skills and the decrease in the effectiveness of herbicides. A more thorough assessment of the factors that cause grass regrowing after spraying herbicides is required for better weed management.Nghiên cứu sự kháng thuốc trừ cỏ ở Việt Nam còn hạn chế và có rất ít báo cáo về sự phát sinh của cỏ dại sau khi sử dụng thuốc trừ cỏ. Kết quả điều tra về tập quán canh tác và tình hình cỏ lồng vực phát sinh trở lại trên ruộng lúa sau khi sử dụng thuốc trừ cỏ ở Thừa Thiên Huế cho thấy lực lượng lao động chính canh tác lúa là nam giới, trình độ dân trí không cao nên khả năng tiếp thu kiến thức khoa học – kỹ thuật hạn chế. Các loại cỏ gây hại phổ biến trên ruộng lúa gieo sạ là cỏ lồng vực (Echinochloa crus-galli), cỏ chác (Fimbristylis miliacea), cỏ chỉ (Cynodon dactylon), cỏ đuôi phụng (Leptochloa chinensis) là các loại cỏ xuất hiện trở lại sau khi đã sử dụng thuốc trừ cỏ. Cỏ lồng vực mọc trở lại có thể gây giảm năng suất cây lúa 12,1–14,0%. Các loại thuốc trừ cỏ được sử dụng phổ biến là Sofic 300EC (Pretilachlor) và Sunrice 15WDG (Ethoxysulfuron). Hiệu quả thuốc trừ cỏ lúa có xu hướng giảm trong thời gian gần đây do kỹ thuật sử dụng và sự giảm hiệu quả của các sản phẩm thuốc trừ cỏ. Chúng tôi kiến nghị cần đánh giá đầy đủ hơn về các yếu tố gây nên tình trạng cỏ dại mọc trở lại sau khi phun thuốc để có định hướng quản lý cỏ dại tốt hơn

Construction of a dataset for the gene nrLSU to support the identification of cantharellus at Langbian Mountain, Lam Dong

Fungal species of Cantharellales order are found worldwide including Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. This clade includes two smaller, separate, but closely related genera Cantharellus and Craterellus. Cantharellus was firstly identified in the middle of the 17th century. Besides traditional classification based on morphology, molecular phylogeny of the nuclear ribosomal large subunit gene (nrLSU) can be an effective tool to provide more information during species identification for this group. In this current report, a dataset of the nrLSU gene including 60 sequences of Cantharellus species and 1 sequence belonging to Craterellus (outgroup), was obtained from Genbank. Phylogenetic analyses by MEGA 6.0 showed a monophyletic relationship between the six well-established clades, namely Cantharellus (Clade 1), Rubrinus (Clade 2), Cinnabarinus (Clade 3), Parvocantharellus (Clade 4), Pseudocantharellus (Clade 5) and subgenus Afrocantharellus (Clade 6) similar to that of morphological classification. Therefore, this dataset is efficient to support the identification of the fungal samples, collected at the Langbian Mountain, Lam Dong

The acceptability of and willingness to pay for a herpes zoster vaccine: A systematic review

Patients, predominantly the elderly, with Herpes Zoster (HZ) not only suffer symptoms of the disease but also bear considerable expenses. This study systematically reviewed the acceptability of and willingness to pay for the HZ vaccine. This review was registered in PROSPERO 2023 (CRD42023403062). We used “acceptance”, “willing to pay”, and “HZ vaccine” (and variations thereof) as keywords in a systematic search for original English research articles published up to April 7, 2023. The search was conducted over Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, and Google Scholar in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The inclusion criteria were as follows: studies (1) that mentioned HZ vaccination, (2) related to acceptability or willingness to pay, and (3) with full texts available and peer-reviewed prior to final publication. Grey literature, letters to editors, commentaries, case reports or series, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, articles of poor quality, and articles with ambiguously defined and measured outcome variables were excluded. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklist was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the studies. Finally, the search yielded 24 studies, of which 9 were conducted in Asia, 8 in Europe, and 7 in America. General adults or patients aged 50 or older were often the target populations, for whom treatments were accompanied by healthcare providers’ recommendations. The willingness to pay and willingness to accept the vaccine ranged from $8 to$150 and 16.6% to 85.8%, respectively. Compared to the US, Asia and Europe had higher acceptance rates for HZ immunization. The most frequent excuses given for not being vaccinated are side effects, cost, lack of recommendations, anti-vaccination views, ignorance about the HZ vaccine, and the belief that one is not at risk for the disease. National campaigns should be developed to increase public awareness of HZ, and more international research should be conducted to understand the WTA and WTP for HZ immunizations