EFFECTS OF SUBSTITUENTS ON CH BOND DISSOCIATION ENTHALPIES OF ENT-KAURANE DITERPENOIDS: A DFT STUDY

C-H bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) of seven ent-kaurane diterpenoids extracted from Croton tonkinensis Gagnep. have been investigated by using density functional theory (DFT) method. The calculations were performed at the M05-2X/6-31+G(d) level of theory. Additionally, insight into the effects of different substituents including –NH2, –OH, –NO2, –SH, –CN, –Cl, –CONH2, –CH-(CH3)2, –NHCOCH3, –OCOCH3 and –C2H5 on BDE have also been provided. The results showed that the BDE value of ent-16(S)-18-acetoxy-7b-hydroxykaur-15-one compound is lowest, being 83.5 kcal/mol. Among substituents binding at C16 position of this molecule, –NH2 has the most remarkable influence on the BDE (C-H) value. Indeed, the BDE of C16-H significantly decreases from 83.5 to 68.4 kcal/mol when replacing –CH3 group by –NH2 one at the C16 position. The obtained results may provide more information for organic synthesis of ent-kaurane based – novel antioxidant compounds

Experiment and FEM Modelling of Bond Behaviors between Pre-stressing Strands and Ultra–High–Performance Concrete

The objective of this paper is to investigate the bond properties of prestressing strands embedded in Ultra–High–Performance Concrete (UHPC).The UHPC was made in laboratory using local materials in Vietnam.Its mixture contains: silica aggregates, portland cement PC40, fly ash, silica fume, polycarboxylate superplasticizer and the micro steel fibers.The experimental process is realized on a pull-out test. The volume fraction of micro steel fibers in UHPC was 2%. The prestressing strand with diameters of 15.2mm was considered. The interface shear strength between strand and UHPC is identified based on the results of force and displacement obtained during the pull-out test. The Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) is implemented in finite element model to study this interface behavior. This model described by a piecewise linear elastic law. The CZM’s parameters are identified based on experimental results of pull-out test.The numerical studies are used the CZM in ANSYS software. Two numerical tests are realized and compared with experimental results: pull-out test and other test to verify the deflection of I girder due to prestressing force

Experiment and FEM Modelling of Bond Behaviors between Pre-stressing Strands and Ultra–High–Performance Concrete

The objective of this paper is to investigate the bond properties of prestressing strands embedded in Ultra–High–Performance Concrete (UHPC).The UHPC was made in laboratory using local materials in Vietnam.Its mixture contains: silica aggregates, portland cement PC40, fly ash, silica fume, polycarboxylate superplasticizer and the micro steel fibers.The experimental process is realized on a pull-out test. The volume fraction of micro steel fibers in UHPC was 2%. The prestressing strand with diameters of 15.2mm was considered. The interface shear strength between strand and UHPC is identified based on the results of force and displacement obtained during the pull-out test. The Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) is implemented in finite element model to study this interface behavior. This model described by a piecewise linear elastic law. The CZM’s parameters are identified based on experimental results of pull-out test.The numerical studies are used the CZM in ANSYS software. Two numerical tests are realized and compared with experimental results: pull-out test and other test to verify the deflection of I girder due to prestressing force

Prevalence and impact of myocardial injury among patients hospitalized with COVID-19

BackgroundMyocardial injury is a prevalent complication observed in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and is strongly associated with severe illness and in-hospital mortality. However, the long-term consequences of myocardial injury on clinical outcomes remain poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the impact of myocardial injury on both acute-phase and long-term prognosis in COVID-19 patients.MethodsA retrospective, observational study was conducted on all patients who received treatment at the Intensive Care Center for COVID-19 patient, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City (UCICC), from August 3rd, 2021, to October 28th, 2021.ResultsA total of 582 patients were enrolled in the study, of which 55.3% were female. The mean age of participants was 63.3 ± 16.2. Out of these patients, 330 cases (56.8%) showed myocardial injury. Compared to patients without myocardial injury, those with myocardial injury were older and had a higher incidence of chronic diseases including hypertension, ischemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease. They also presented with more severe respiratory failure upon admission and showed a more pronounced abnormality in inflammation and kidney function tests. Furthermore, the in-hospital mortality rate was significantly higher in the group with myocardial injury (49.7% vs 14.3%, p < 0.001). After adjusting for age, gender, comorbidities, renal function, and disease severity at admission, myocardial injury emerged as an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality (OR = 3.758, 95% CI 1.854–7.678, p < 0.001). Among successfully discharged COVID-19 patients, the all-cause mortality rate after a median follow-up of 18.4 months was 7.9%. Patients with myocardial injury had a significantly higher long-term mortality rate compared to those without myocardial injury (14.0% vs. 3.2%, p < 0.001). However, multivariable Cox regression analysis did not find myocardial injury to be a significant predictor of long-term mortality (HR = 2.128, 95% CI 0.792–5.712, p = 0.134).ConclusionsMyocardial injury is a common and serious complication in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, associated with increased in-hospital mortality. However, it does not significantly impact long-term mortality in successfully discharged COVID-19 patients

Climate change and health in Southeast Asia – defining research priorities and the role of the Wellcome Trust Africa Asia Programmes

This article summarises a recent virtual meeting organised by the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam on the topic of climate change and health, bringing local partners, faculty and external collaborators together from across the Wellcome and Oxford networks. Attendees included invited local and global climate scientists, clinicians, modelers, epidemiologists and community engagement practitioners, with a view to setting priorities, identifying synergies and fostering collaborations to help define the regional climate and health research agenda. In this summary paper, we outline the major themes and topics that were identified and what will be needed to take forward this research for the next decade. We aim to take a broad, collaborative approach to including climate science in our current portfolio where it touches on infectious diseases now, and more broadly in our future research directions. We will focus on strengthening our research portfolio on climate-sensitive diseases, and supplement this with high quality data obtained from internal studies and external collaborations, obtained by multiple methods, ranging from traditional epidemiology to innovative technology and artificial intelligence and community-led research. Through timely agenda setting and involvement of local stakeholders, we aim to help support and shape research into global heating and health in the region

Multiple Recurrent Acute Ischemic Strokes Treated by Thrombectomy in a Patient with Acute Pulmonary Embolism

BACKGROUND: Thrombectomy is recommended to treat for an acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patient with anterior large vessel occlusion. However, there were neither detailed guidelines nor systematic reviews of acute ischemic stroke patients having multiple times or re-occluded arteries. CASE REPORT: In our case report, we struggled a multiple (4-times) AIS patient underwent by one intravenous r-tpA and 3 remaining of endovascular treatment of thrombectomy. Especially, the finding of both pulmonary embolism and cerebral arteries occlusion in this patient made us difficult to decide the appropriate treatment plan. The patient was considered having multiple cardiac thrombi pumping out to the brain and pulmonary vessels even in treatment with NOAC (New Oral Anticoagulant). Our priority, normally, was to recanalize the brain vessels compared to the pulmonary arteries. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, based on this noticed case study, we want to share our experiences on the diagnosis of ischemic stroke, the strategy in treatment and prevention with anticoagulant therapy

TextANIMAR: Text-based 3D Animal Fine-Grained Retrieval

3D object retrieval is an important yet challenging task, which has drawn more and more attention in recent years. While existing approaches have made strides in addressing this issue, they are often limited to restricted settings such as image and sketch queries, which are often unfriendly interactions for common users. In order to overcome these limitations, this paper presents a novel SHREC challenge track focusing on text-based fine-grained retrieval of 3D animal models. Unlike previous SHREC challenge tracks, the proposed task is considerably more challenging, requiring participants to develop innovative approaches to tackle the problem of text-based retrieval. Despite the increased difficulty, we believe that this task has the potential to drive useful applications in practice and facilitate more intuitive interactions with 3D objects. Five groups participated in our competition, submitting a total of 114 runs. While the results obtained in our competition are satisfactory, we note that the challenges presented by this task are far from being fully solved. As such, we provide insights into potential areas for future research and improvements. We believe that we can help push the boundaries of 3D object retrieval and facilitate more user-friendly interactions via vision-language technologies.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2304.0573

Anal human papillomavirus prevalence and risk factors among men who have sex with men in Vietnam.

OBJECTIVES: Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at risk of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers, while published data are scarce. This study determined HPV prevalence and risk factors in MSM in Vietnam to inform HPV prevention strategies in this key population. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 799 MSM aged 16-50 years was conducted in Vietnam in 2017-2018. Information was collected on risk behaviours, and knowledge of HPV and anal cancer; rectal swabs were taken to detect anal HPV infection. An in-house polymerase chain reaction and Genoflow HPV array test kit were used for HPV detection and genotyping. RESULTS: The median age of the study participants was 25 years (range 18-52). Overall prevalence of any HPV and HPV16/18 infection was 32.3% and 11.0%, respectively. A higher prevalence of high-risk HPV infection to all 14 types tested was found in Ho Chi Minh City (30.9%) than in Hanoi (18.4%). High-risk HPV infection was associated with inconsistent condom use and history of engaging in sex under the influence of drugs (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 2.27; 95% CI, 1.48-10.67), as well as having multiple sexual partners (aOR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.02). CONCLUSIONS: High-risk anal HPV infections in Vietnamese MSM were significantly associated with risky sexual behaviours. A targeted HPV vaccination strategy would have substantial benefit for MSM in Vietnam

Antibiotic use and prescription and its effects on Enterobacteriaceae in the gut in children with mild respiratory infections in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A prospective observational outpatient study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Treatment guidelines do not recommend antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections (ARI), except for streptococcal pharyngitis/tonsillitis and pneumonia. However, antibiotics are prescribed frequently for children with ARI, often in absence of evidence for bacterial infection. The objectives of this study were 1) to assess the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions for mild ARI in paediatric outpatients in relation to available guidelines and detected pathogens, 2) to assess antibiotic use on presentation using questionnaires and detection in urine 3) to assess the carriage rates and proportions of resistant intestinal Enterobacteriaceae before, during and after consultation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were prospectively enrolled in Children's Hospital 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and diagnoses, prescribed therapy and outcome were recorded on first visit and on follow-up after 7 days. Respiratory bacterial and viral pathogens were detected using molecular assays. Antibiotic use before presentation was assessed using questionnaires and urine HPLC. The impact of antibiotic usage on intestinal Enterobacteriaceae was assessed with semi-quantitative culture on agar with and without antibiotics on presentation and after 7 and 28 days. RESULTS: A total of 563 patients were enrolled between February 2009 and February 2010. Antibiotics were prescribed for all except 2 of 563 patients. The majority were 2nd and 3rd generation oral cephalosporins and amoxicillin with or without clavulanic acid. Respiratory viruses were detected in respiratory specimens of 72.5% of patients. Antibiotic use was considered inappropriate in 90.1% and 67.5%, based on guidelines and detected pathogens, respectively. On presentation parents reported antibiotic use for 22% of patients, 41% of parents did not know and 37% denied antibiotic use. Among these three groups, six commonly used antibiotics were detected with HPLC in patients' urine in 49%, 40% and 14%, respectively. Temporary selection of 3rd generation cephalosporin resistant intestinal Enterobacteriaceae during antibiotic use was observed, with co-selection of resistance to aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones. CONCLUSIONS: We report overuse and overprescription of antibiotics for uncomplicated ARI with selection of resistant intestinal Enterobacteriaceae, posing a risk for community transmission and persistence in a setting of a highly granular healthcare system and unrestricted access to antibiotics through private pharmacies. REGISTRATION: This study was registered at the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials Number registry under number ISRCTN32862422: http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN32862422

Climate change and health in Southeast Asia – defining research priorities and the role of the Wellcome Trust Africa Asia Programmes

This article summarises a recent virtual meeting organised by the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam on the topic of climate change and health, bringing local partners, faculty and external collaborators together from across the Wellcome and Oxford networks. Attendees included invited local and global climate scientists, clinicians, modelers, epidemiologists and community engagement practitioners, with a view to setting priorities, identifying synergies and fostering collaborations to help define the regional climate and health research agenda. In this summary paper, we outline the major themes and topics that were identified and what will be needed to take forward this research for the next decade. We aim to take a broad, collaborative approach to including climate science in our current portfolio where it touches on infectious diseases now, and more broadly in our future research directions. We will focus on strengthening our research portfolio on climate-sensitive diseases, and supplement this with high quality data obtained from internal studies and external collaborations, obtained by multiple methods, ranging from traditional epidemiology to innovative technology and artificial intelligence and community-led research. Through timely agenda setting and involvement of local stakeholders, we aim to help support and shape research into global heating and health in the region.</ns4:p