Is Radioembolization a Safer Treatment than Chemoembolization in Patients with Primary Liver Cancer (HCC)?

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not radioembolization is safer treatment comparing to chemoembolization in patients with primary liver cancer (HCC) STUDY DESIGN: Review of three English language primary randomized controlled studies published between 2014 and 2016. DATA SOURCES: Three randomized controlled trials (RCT) were found using PubMed and Medline database. OUTCOMES MEASURED: Eligible patients were randomly selected and divided into two groups: one group received radioembolization with Y-90 (TARE Y-90) while the other group received chemoembolization (TACE). Adverse events after post treatment were recorded and compared between TARE Y-90 and TACE. RESULTS: The study by El Fouly et al. (2014) found that less adverse events occurred in patients receiving TARE Y-90 comparing to patients receiving TACE. The study by Kolligs et al. (2015) found that gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events were more common in TARE Y-90 treatment group than TACE treatment group. Overall, the results from Kolligs et al. study showed no significant difference of adverse events between TARE Y-90 and TACE group. The study by Salem et al. (2016) also found that the frequency of adverse events in both TARE Y-90 and TACE group was similar. CONCLUSIONS: Results from two randomized controlled trials demonstrate that both TARE Y-90 and TACE could cause similar adverse events in HCC patients. The third randomized controlled trial indicate that TARE Y-90 is superior than TACE regarding safety

Sustainable Supply Chain in the Textile and Garment Industry of Vietnam

The textile and garment industry has contributed significantly to the Vietnamese economy. However, as it faces increasing pressure from importers who place more stringent requirements on product quality, the industry needs to adopt sustainable practices to stay competitive in the global market. This article examines the current state of the textile and garment supply chain in Vietnam using the sustainable development goals framework proposed by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) regarding the economic, social, and environmental aspects. It also considers the five criteria for determining the sustainable supply chain throughout the production-to-distribution process in the textile and garment industry suggested by Shen (2014), which cover Eco-material Preparation, Sustainable Manufacturing, Green Distribution, Green Retailing, and Ethical Consumers. The article evaluates the achievements and challenges of the supply chain in Vietnam based on these criteria and, thereby, offers recommendations to various stakeholders, such as the government, ministries, sectors, associations, and enterprises, to foster a more sustainable textile and garment industry in Vietnam

Miswak: An Alternative Approach to Traditional Oral Hygiene Care

Dental professionals recommend many methods such as tooth brushing, flossing and mouth rinse in order to maintain healthy teeth and gingival tissue. Patient compliance is crucial in implementing these three steps in an oral care and may be challenging to many patients. A simple regime requires a toothbrush and toothpaste, and still proves to be difficult for patients. Chlorhexidine is prescribed to patients who have abundant amount of biofilm, or even for just chronic gingival inflammation. This rinse carries many side effects and can be avoided by using another method to keep the oral cavity healthy. An alternative such as Miswak, is an effective natural tool, a solution to maintaining oral health and overcome the gold standards drawbacks. Miswak has been used as a toothbrush by the Babylonians since 7000 BC. Studies have extensively shown that Miswak contains several components that benefit the oral health, including analgesic, antiplaque, antifungal, anticariogenic, and antimicrobial properties. Studies suggests that the individuals who use Miswak sticks have less biofilm than those patients who use regular toothbrushes. Comparing the efficacy of Miswak to a toothbrush was evaluated and associated with a significant reduction of dental biofilm and gingivitis. Based on the patient’s preference, Miswak comes in different forms such as a mouth rinse that carries the effectiveness as if using the chewing stick. Overall, Miswak is an inexpensive oral hygiene regime, and can be a great recommendation for individuals who are eager for a natural and simple approach to incorporate in their oral health care

Emotion-Aware Music Recommendation

People often listen to songs that match their mood. Thus, an AI music recommendation system that is aware of the user’s emotions is likely to provide a superior user experience to one that is unaware. In this paper, we present an emotion-aware music recommendation system. Multiple models are discussed and evaluated for affect identification from a live image of the user. We propose two models: DRViT, which applies dynamic routing to vision transformers, and InvNet50, which uses involution. All considered models are trained and evaluated on the AffectNet dataset. Each model outputs the user’s estimated valence and arousal under the circumplex model of affect. These values are compared to the valence and arousal values for songs in a Spotify dataset, and the top-five closest-matching songs are presented to the user. Experimental results of the models and user testing are presented

PROVISION CAPACITY OF SERVICE DELIVERY FACILITIES FOR CHILDREN WITH HEARING LOSS IN HAI PHONG, VIETNAM

Objective: Hearing loss is a commonly occurring disability that affects 466 million people worldwide. This study aimed at determining the actual situations of early intervention delivery facilities for children with hearing loss. Out of this affected population, 7% are children (34 million) who, along with their families, grapple with the serious lifelong problems that accompany the disease. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with facilities investigated consisting of a school for the deaf, hospitals, an audiology center, and a social agency in Hai Phong province from January 2013 to December 2014. A sample composed of 353 children was also recruited. Results: The examined facilities suffer from shortcomings in provision capacity, which manifest in deficient materials, supplies and equipment, and human resources; the lack of interdisciplinary coordination of activities; inadequate community awareness; and the unaddressed need for early detection and intervention. The conditions of most of the children (98%) were detected by their families, and among those who were clinically diagnosed, the majority (76.8%) received such diagnosis at central hospitals. Hearing impairment among the children were detected, diagnosed, and subjected to intervention at a very late stage (on average, at ages 22.3, 34, and 32.5 months, respectively), thereby compelling up to 63.6% of the families to struggle with their children’s hearing loss. Conclusion: Solutions to current interventions are needed to enhance service delivery systems and guarantee early detection as well as timely and appropriate treatment

Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma genitalium detection and sperm quality: A cross-sectional study in Vietnam

Background: Ureaplasma urealyticum (U. urealyticum) and Mycoplasma genitalium (M. genitalium) may colonize the male genital tract. However, the negative effects of these bacteria on overall sperm quality, including semen pH, sperm concentration, motility, morphology, and total sperm count remain unclear. Objective: This study aimed to determine the presence of genital U. urealyticum and M. genitalium in semen and evaluate the effect of these organisms on sperm quality. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 men from infertile couples at a tertiary university hospital from July 2017 to June 2018. Semen quality was analyzed according to the World Health Organization 2010 standard, and U. urealyticum and M. genitalium were detected in the semen samples using polymerase chain reaction. Results: 338 men (88.9%) presented with at least one abnormal semen parameter. The detection rates of U. urealyticum and M. genitalium were 16.05% and 0.79%, respectively. There was no significant difference between the Ureaplasma-positive group and the Ureaplasma-negative group in terms of sperm characteristics. Sperm motility and sperm vitality in the Mycoplasma-positive group were much lower than those in the Mycoplasma-negative group (p = 0.02 and p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: The presence of U. urealyticum in the semen of infertile men did not affect the sperm characteristics. Although the positive rate of M. genitalium was low, colonization by these bacteria was more likely to negatively affect sperm quality. Key words: Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma genitalium, Infertility, Spermatozoa

The Influence of the Level of Guarantee of Operating Expenses on the Application of Accounting Software in Public Non- Business Unit

Public non-business units are established by the state to perform public services and distribute those services to society. Through the document research method, the article has generalized the role, function, and accounting form of public non-business units and the importance of accounting. With this method, we can also evaluate the limitations in accounting and the reasons why many public non-business units do not see the need to apply accounting software in accounting. Three reasons were pointed out: unit leaders did not pay attention to accounting work, lack of funding for implementation and incorrectly identified the reasons for errors in accounting planning. The investigation method also helped us identify how accounting software applications are affected by the level of Guarantee of operating expenses. Analysis results have shown that financially autonomous units have a higher tendency to apply accounting software than units without financial revenue. The research team also proposed a number of solutions such as increasing the understanding and awareness of business unit leaders about the importance of accounting work and accounting software. Implement budget estimates for information technology construction at the unit, properly assessing the key points of existence

The effect of emotional intelligence on the performance of auditors

This study aims to evaluate the impact of effective emotional intelligence on the work of auditors in Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh. The authors conducted a survey for 355 auditors at companies and organizations operating in the field of auditing. The results show that there were 4 factors of emotional intelligence that affect job performance, arranged in the following sequence: (1) Perception of emotions, (2) Positive thinking with emotions, (3) Understand emotions, (4) Control emotions. This is the basis for the authors to give some implications to improve the emotional intelligence characteristics of auditors towards work efficiency

Inland vessels emission inventory: distribution and emission characteristics in the Red River, Hanoi, Vietnam

Purpose – Shipping is a major source of air pollution, causing severe impacts on the environment and human health, greatly contributing to the creation of greenhouse gases and influencing climate change. The research was investigated to provide a better insight into the emission inventories in the Red River in Hanoi (Vietnam) that is often heavily occupied as the primary route for inner-city waterway traffic. Design/methodology/approach – The total emissions of seven different pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SOx, CO, CO2, NOx and HC) were estimated using the SPD-GIZ emission calculation model. Findings – The results show that CO2 has the most significant contribution to the gas volume emitted: 103.21 tons/day. Remarkably, bulk carriers are the largest emission vehicle, accounting for more than 97% of total emissions, due to their superior number and large capacity. Social implications – The result to have a roadmap for making efforts to fulfil its commitment so that it could achieve its net-zero climate target by 2050 in Vietnam as committed at COP26. Originality/value – In this research, the number of vehicles and types of vessels travelling on the Red River flowing within Hanoi territory and other activity data are reported. The tally data will be used to estimate emissions of seven different pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SOx, CO, CO2, NOx and HC) using a method combining both top-down and bottom-up approaches

Risk assessment, implementation of occupational health, safety and hygiene in small and medium manufacturing enterprises: A case study in central Vietnam

This study aims to identify and evaluate the influence of the factors affecting the implementation of occupational health and safety of employees and employers and its impact on occupational health and safety and legalize risk assessment in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in central Vietnam through the survey among 246 business representatives and data processing through the software SPSS 20 and AMOS 20. The results show that there are 3 factors affecting the implementation of occupational health, safety and hygiene. In order: (1) Safety regulations and instructions; (2) Occupational health, safety policy and (3) Occupational health and safety training. There is no relationship between the impacts on the implementation of occupational health and safety of the employer. In addition, a very interesting finding about the relationship of factors implementing occupational health and safety of employers was a positive influence on the legalization of risk assessment activities. On the basis of these results, employees, business owners and state management agencies will have grounds to offer useful solutions in risk assessment in order to better perform safety work and occupational health