| 1. |
- Feigin, Valery L., et al.
(author)
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Global, regional, and national burden of neurological disorders, 1990–2016 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016
- 2019
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In: Lancet Neurology. - : Elsevier. - 1474-4422 .- 1474-4465. ; 18:5, s. 459-480
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Neurological disorders are increasingly recognised as major causes of death and disability worldwide. The aim of this analysis from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016 is to provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date estimates of the global, regional, and national burden from neurological disorders.Methods: We estimated prevalence, incidence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs; the sum of years of life lost [YLLs] and years lived with disability [YLDs]) by age and sex for 15 neurological disorder categories (tetanus, meningitis, encephalitis, stroke, brain and other CNS cancers, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, motor neuron diseases, idiopathic epilepsy, migraine, tension-type headache, and a residual category for other less common neurological disorders) in 195 countries from 1990 to 2016. DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, was the main method of estimation of prevalence and incidence, and the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm) was used for mortality estimation. We quantified the contribution of 84 risks and combinations of risk to the disease estimates for the 15 neurological disorder categories using the GBD comparative risk assessment approach.Findings: Globally, in 2016, neurological disorders were the leading cause of DALYs (276 million [95% UI 247–308]) and second leading cause of deaths (9·0 million [8·8–9·4]). The absolute number of deaths and DALYs from all neurological disorders combined increased (deaths by 39% [34–44] and DALYs by 15% [9–21]) whereas their age-standardised rates decreased (deaths by 28% [26–30] and DALYs by 27% [24–31]) between 1990 and 2016. The only neurological disorders that had a decrease in rates and absolute numbers of deaths and DALYs were tetanus, meningitis, and encephalitis. The four largest contributors of neurological DALYs were stroke (42·2% [38·6–46·1]), migraine (16·3% [11·7–20·8]), Alzheimer's and other dementias (10·4% [9·0–12·1]), and meningitis (7·9% [6·6–10·4]). For the combined neurological disorders, age-standardised DALY rates were significantly higher in males than in females (male-to-female ratio 1·12 [1·05–1·20]), but migraine, multiple sclerosis, and tension-type headache were more common and caused more burden in females, with male-to-female ratios of less than 0·7. The 84 risks quantified in GBD explain less than 10% of neurological disorder DALY burdens, except stroke, for which 88·8% (86·5–90·9) of DALYs are attributable to risk factors, and to a lesser extent Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (22·3% [11·8–35·1] of DALYs are risk attributable) and idiopathic epilepsy (14·1% [10·8–17·5] of DALYs are risk attributable).Interpretation: Globally, the burden of neurological disorders, as measured by the absolute number of DALYs, continues to increase. As populations are growing and ageing, and the prevalence of major disabling neurological disorders steeply increases with age, governments will face increasing demand for treatment, rehabilitation, and support services for neurological disorders. The scarcity of established modifiable risks for most of the neurological burden demonstrates that new knowledge is required to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies.Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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| 2. |
- Tran, Xuan-Truc Dinh, et al.
(author)
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Integration of the Butina algorithm and ensemble learning strategies for the advancement of a pharmacophore ligand-based model : an in silico investigation of apelin agonists
- 2024
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In: Frontiers in Chemistry. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-2646. ; 12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: 3D pharmacophore models describe the ligand's chemical interactions in their bioactive conformation. They offer a simple but sophisticated approach to decipher the chemically encoded ligand information, making them a valuable tool in drug design.Methods: Our research summarized the key studies for applying 3D pharmacophore models in virtual screening for 6,944 compounds of APJ receptor agonists. Recent advances in clustering algorithms and ensemble methods have enabled classical pharmacophore modeling to evolve into more flexible and knowledge-driven techniques. Butina clustering categorizes molecules based on their structural similarity (indicated by the Tanimoto coefficient) to create a structurally diverse training dataset. The learning method combines various individual pharmacophore models into a set of pharmacophore models for pharmacophore space optimization in virtual screening.Results: This approach was evaluated on Apelin datasets and afforded good screening performance, as proven by Receiver Operating Characteristic (AUC score of 0.994 ± 0.007), enrichment factor of (EF1% of 50.07 ± 0.211), Güner-Henry score of 0.956 ± 0.015, and F-measure of 0.911 ± 0.031.Discussion: Although one of the high-scoring models achieved statistically superior results in each dataset (AUC of 0.82; an EF1% of 19.466; GH of 0.131 and F1-score of 0.071), the ensemble learning method including voting and stacking method balanced the shortcomings of each model and passed with close performance measures.
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| 3. |
- Griswold, Max G., et al.
(author)
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Alcohol use and burden for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2016 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016
- 2018
-
In: The Lancet. - : Elsevier. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 392:10152, s. 1015-1035
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability, but its overall association with health remains complex given the possible protective effects of moderate alcohol consumption on some conditions. With our comprehensive approach to health accounting within the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we generated improved estimates of alcohol use and alcohol-attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 195 locations from 1990 to 2016, for both sexes and for 5-year age groups between the ages of 15 years and 95 years and older.Methods: Using 694 data sources of individual and population-level alcohol consumption, along with 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use, we produced estimates of the prevalence of current drinking, abstention, the distribution of alcohol consumption among current drinkers in standard drinks daily (defined as 10 g of pure ethyl alcohol), and alcohol-attributable deaths and DALYs. We made several methodological improvements compared with previous estimates: first, we adjusted alcohol sales estimates to take into account tourist and unrecorded consumption; second, we did a new meta-analysis of relative risks for 23 health outcomes associated with alcohol use; and third, we developed a new method to quantify the level of alcohol consumption that minimises the overall risk to individual health.Findings: Globally, alcohol use was the seventh leading risk factor for both deaths and DALYs in 2016, accounting for 2.2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 1.5-3.0) of age-standardised female deaths and 6.8% (5.8-8.0) of age-standardised male deaths. Among the population aged 15-49 years, alcohol use was the leading risk factor globally in 2016, with 3.8% (95% UI 3.2-4-3) of female deaths and 12.2% (10.8-13-6) of male deaths attributable to alcohol use. For the population aged 15-49 years, female attributable DALYs were 2.3% (95% UI 2.0-2.6) and male attributable DALYs were 8.9% (7.8-9.9). The three leading causes of attributable deaths in this age group were tuberculosis (1.4% [95% UI 1. 0-1. 7] of total deaths), road injuries (1.2% [0.7-1.9]), and self-harm (1.1% [0.6-1.5]). For populations aged 50 years and older, cancers accounted for a large proportion of total alcohol-attributable deaths in 2016, constituting 27.1% (95% UI 21.2-33.3) of total alcohol-attributable female deaths and 18.9% (15.3-22.6) of male deaths. The level of alcohol consumption that minimised harm across health outcomes was zero (95% UI 0.0-0.8) standard drinks per week.Interpretation: Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for global disease burden and causes substantial health loss. We found that the risk of all-cause mortality, and of cancers specifically, rises with increasing levels of consumption, and the level of consumption that minimises health loss is zero. These results suggest that alcohol control policies might need to be revised worldwide, refocusing on efforts to lower overall population-level consumption.
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| 4. |
- Lam, Thua-Phong, et al.
(author)
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Flavonoids as dual-target inhibitors against α-glucosidase and α-amylase : a systematic review of in vitro studies
- 2024
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In: NATURAL PRODUCTS AND BIOPROSPECTING. - : Springer. - 2192-2195 .- 2192-2209. ; 14:1
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Diabetes mellitus remains a major global health issue, and great attention is directed at natural therapeutics. This systematic review aimed to assess the potential of flavonoids as antidiabetic agents by investigating their inhibitory effects on alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase, two key enzymes involved in starch digestion. Six scientific databases (PubMed, Virtual Health Library, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and WHO Global Index Medicus) were searched until August 21, 2022, for in vitro studies reporting IC50 values of purified flavonoids on alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase, along with corresponding data for acarbose as a positive control. A total of 339 eligible articles were analyzed, resulting in the retrieval of 1643 flavonoid structures. These structures were rigorously standardized and curated, yielding 974 unique compounds, among which 177 flavonoids exhibited inhibition of both alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase are presented. Quality assessment utilizing a modified CONSORT checklist and structure-activity relationship (SAR) analysis were performed, revealing crucial features for the simultaneous inhibition of flavonoids against both enzymes. Moreover, the review also addressed several limitations in the current research landscape and proposed potential solutions. The curated datasets are available online at https://github.com/MedChemUMP/FDIGA.
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| 5. |
- Nguyen, Long Hoang, et al.
(author)
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A qualitative assessment in acceptability and barriers to use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among men who have sex with men : implications for service delivery in Vietnam
- 2021
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In: BMC Infectious Diseases. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1471-2334. ; 21:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundHIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is being considered for implementation among MSM nationwide in Vietnam. However, there may be concerns about potential obstacles for PrEP adherence among Vietnamese MSM. This study aims to assess the acceptability to use PrEP, potential barriers and facilitators, and the preferences for PrEP service accessibility and delivery among Vietnamese MSM.MethodsFour focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 30 HIV-negative MSM in January 2018 in Hanoi, Vietnam. FGDs explored MSM’s awareness regarding PrEP, perceived benefits and barriers of PrEP use, and willingness to use PrEP. FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was used.ResultsThe mean age of participants was 23.9 years old. Most participants realized the advantages of PrEP given its efficacy in HIV risk reduction and expressed high motivation and interest to use PrEP in the future. PrEP was considered as a supplement alongside condoms. Common concerns about PrEP included side-effects, forgetting to take the pill daily, stigmatization due to using PrEP, negative attitudes toward PrEP from other MSM and accessibility of PrEP. Participants would prefer an injectable PrEP regime if available as it was seen as easier to adhere to. Concerns were also raised that PrEP usage could be interpreted as an indication of engaging in sexual risk behavior for HIV, potentially causing suspicion in love relationships or by family and friends. Participants preferred to receive PrEP in civil business organizations and MSM-friendly clinics, and recommended that pharmacy stores would not be suitable for PrEP implementation due to lack of trust and fear of fake drugs.ConclusionThis study indicated a high level of willingness to use PrEP among MSM in Vietnam in combination with condom. Strategies to raise awareness of PrEP, reduce stigma towards PrEP, and improve the accessibility among MSM in Vietnam is needed. Existing MSM-friendly clinics were recommended to implement PrEP programs in Vietnam.
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| 6. |
- Nguyen, Long Hoang, et al.
(author)
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A Systematic Review of eHealth Interventions Addressing HIV/STI Prevention Among Men Who Have Sex With Men
- 2019
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In: Aids and Behavior. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1090-7165 .- 1573-3254. ; 23:9, s. 2253-2272
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A systematic review was conducted to summarize and appraise the eHealth interventions addressing HIV/STI prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM), and characterize features of successful eHealth interventions. Fifty-five articles (17 pilots and 38 full efficacy trials) were included with the predominance of web-based interventions in the United States-based settings. Intervention modalities include web-based, short message service (SMS)/text messges/email reminder, online video-based, computer-assisted, multimedia-based, social network, live chat and chat room, virtual simulation intervention, and smartphone applications. Forty-nine eHealth interventions achieved a short-term behaviour change among participants. Four studies were conducted with 12-month follow-ups; and only one of them could maintain the behaviour change over this longer time period which could be due to the lack of booster interventions. Our study suggests that eHealth interventions can achieve short term behaviour change among MSM, however limited interventions could maintain behaviour change over 12 months. Further eHealth intervention strategies to promote HIV prevention among MSM should be conducted and rigorously evaluated.
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| 7. |
- Nguyen, Long Hoang, et al.
(author)
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An exploratory assessment of the preference for eHealth interventions to prevent HIV and sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men in Hanoi, Vietnam
- 2020
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In: BMC Public Health. - : BMC. - 1471-2458. ; 20:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundElectronic health (eHealth) interventions are promising in HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) prevention among men who have sex with men (MSM), given a high rate of the Internet use in this population. This study determined the preferences for eHealth interventions to prevent HIV and STIs among MSM in Hanoi, Vietnam to guide the development of future eHealth interventions.MethodsFive focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with 35 MSM recruited by purposive sampling in January 2018 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The FGDs addressed attitudes towards the feasibility and uptake of HIV/STI interventions via online modalities such as smartphone applications (apps, social network sites, or emails); preferences and concerns regarding an online HIV/STI intervention. FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was used to determine themes.ResultsMSM reported that they commonly searched for information regarding HIV/STI and sexual health on Facebook and a variety of mobile apps. They perceived a lack of reliable online sources, a high need, and interest for an online intervention. Most of them preferred short and concise messages without perceived sensitive words such as "HIV" or "STI". Diversity of online modalities were preferred with information from credible sources about HIV/STI symptoms, testing and treatment, safe sex practices and testing locations with a focus on safe MSM-friendly clinics. Concerns about the need to trust the organization behind the online information and interventions, and the importance of confidentiality when participating in online interventions were raised.ConclusionHigh acceptance and perceived need for an online HIV/STI intervention were reported. The importance of establishing trust within the MSM community as a reliable source of information was emphasized, as well as the importance of confidentiality.
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| 8. |
- Nguyen-Tien, Thang, et al.
(author)
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Knowledge and practice on prevention of mosquito-borne diseases in livestock-keeping and non-livestock-keeping communities in Hanoi city, Vietnam : A mixed-method study
- 2021
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 16:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) are causing high morbidity and mortality for humans. Urban livestock keeping is still common in cities around the world. The animals may serve as reservoirs for zoonotic MBDs, which increase the risks for humans. Here we assess the knowledge and practices related to MBDs in households with livestock and without livestock and explore the perceptions of the health care sector about MBDs and livestock keeping in Hanoi city of Vietnam in a cross-sectional study. A quantitative survey was conducted including 513 households with and without livestock-keeping in six districts and complemented with qualitative surveys with four health staff from Hanoi Center of Disease Control and three district health centers. The quantitative survey indicated that the participants possessed basic knowledge on MBDs with an average score of 18.3 out of 35, of which non-livestock-keeping households had a better knowledge than households keeping livestock (p<0.05). Both household categories had low score, 3.5 out of 11, regarding preventive practices against MBDs. The negative binomial model showed that occupation and location of living were factors associated to the knowledge on MBDs. Farmers were likely to have better preventive practices as compared to office workers (p<0.05). Those who had better knowledge also had more adequate preventive practices against MBDs (p<0.001). The qualitative survey revealed that livestock keeping was determined as increasing risks of MBDs due to the increase of mosquito population. It is recommended that community campaigns to raise the awareness and change behavior on MBDs should be organized based on collaboration between the health sector and the veterinary sector for households with and without livestock living in central urban and peri-urban areas. Further studies are needed to confirm the association between urban livestock keeping and potential increasing risks of MBDs such as dengue and Japanese encephalitis.
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| 9. |
- Nguyen-Tien, Thang, et al.
(author)
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The Distribution and Composition of Vector Abundance in Hanoi City, Vietnam : Association with Livestock Keeping and Flavivirus Detection
- 2021
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In: Viruses. - : MDPI. - 1999-4915. ; 13:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Dengue virus and Japanese encephalitis virus are two common flaviviruses that are spread widely by Aedes and Culex mosquitoes. Livestock keeping is vital for cities; however, it can pose the risk of increasing the mosquito population. Our study explored how livestock keeping in and around a large city is associated with the presence of mosquitoes and the risk of them spreading flaviviruses.Methods: An entomological study was conducted in 6 districts with 233 households with livestock, and 280 households without livestock, in Hanoi city. BG-Sentinel traps and CDC light traps were used to collect mosquitoes close to animal farms and human habitats. Adult mosquitoes were counted, identified to species level, and grouped into 385 pools, which were screened for flaviviruses using a pan-flavivirus qPCR protocol and sequencing.Results: A total of 12,861 adult mosquitoes were collected at the 513 households, with 5 different genera collected, of which the Culex genus was the most abundant. Our study found that there was a positive association between livestock keeping and the size of the mosquito population-most predominantly between pig rearing and Culex species (p < 0.001). One pool of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, collected in a peri-urban district, was found to be positive for Japanese encephalitis virus.Conclusions: The risk of flavivirus transmission in urban areas of Hanoi city due to the spread of Culex and Aedes mosquitoes could be facilitated by livestock keeping.
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| 10. |
- Son, Hoang Nghia, et al.
(author)
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Effects of simulated microgravity on the morphology of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs)
- 2020
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In: Romanian Biotechnological Letters. - Bucharest : University of Bucharest. - 1224-5984 .- 2248-3942. ; 25:6, s. 2156-2160
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study aimed to assess the effects of simulated microgravity on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) morphology. The results showed that the area of MEFs under simulated microgravity was 7843.39 +/- 551.31 mu m(2) which was lower than the control group (9832.72 +/- 453.86 mu m(2)) (p < 0.001). The nuclear area of MEFs under simulated microgravity (290.76 +/- 4.58 mu m(2)) and the control group (296.8 +/- 4.58 mu m(2)) did not statistically differ. In addition, the nuclear shape value of the MEFs under simulated microgravity and the control group did not statistically differ (0.86 +/- 0.006 vs. 0.87 +/- 0.003, respectively). The nuclear intensity of MEFs under simulated microgravity (19361 +/- 852) was higher than the control group (16997 +/- 285) (P <0.05). Moreover, the flow cytometry analysis indicated the reduced GO/G1 phase cell ratio and the increased S phase and G2/M phase cell ratio in MEFs under simulated microgravity. Simulated microgravity also induced a decrease in diameter of actin filament bundles of the MEFs under simulated microgravity (1.61 +/- 0.33 mu m) compared to the control group (1.79 +/- 0.32 mu m) (P <0.01). These results revealed that simulated microgravity is capable of inducing the morphological changes of mouse embryonic fibroblasts.
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| 11. |
- Thai, Quan Ke, et al.
(author)
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HV1 mtDNA Reveals the High Genetic Diversity and the Ancient Origin of Vietnamese Dogs
- 2023
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In: Animals. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-2615. ; 13:6, s. 1036-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Simple Summary This study evaluated the genetic diversity and investigated the origin of Vietnamese domestic dogs on the basis of genetic data. A total of 56 haplotypes (group of genes inherited together from a single parent), including 14 indigenous ones (two of them have not been previously reported) were observed, with some of them implying that Australian dingo and Polynesian dogs originated from Southeast Asian ones, reinforcing the theory of domestication of dogs to the south of the Yangtze River. In this study, samples from 429 dog individuals across three main regions of Vietnam (Southern Vietnam (SVN), Central Vietnam (CVN), and Northern Vietnam (NVN)) were collected to analyze the 582 bp region mtDNA HVI, so as to study the genetic diversity and to screen the rare haplotype E in the Vietnamese village dog population. Nine new haplotypes A, two new haplotypes B, and three haplotypes C were unique to Vietnam dogs, in which the new haplotypes An3, An7, Cn1, and Cn3 concerned mutations at new polymorphism sites (15,517, 15,505, 15,479, and 15,933, respectively) which have not been previously reported. The detection of haplotypes A9 and A29, and the appearance of haplotype A200 in the two individual dogs sampled support that the Southeast Asian dog is the ancestor of today's Australian dingo and Polynesian dog. The two rare haplotypes E (E1 and E4) were reconfirmed in Vietnamese dogs and discussed. This study also contributes to strengthening the theory of domestication of dogs to the south of the Yangtze River and the Southeast Asian origin of the dingo.
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| 12. |
- Thi Tuyet-Hanh, Tran, et al.
(author)
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Climate Variability and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in Hanoi, Viet Nam, During 2008 to 2015
- 2018
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In: Asia Pacific journal of public health. - : Sage Publications. - 1941-2479 .- 1010-5395. ; 30:6, s. 532-541
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dengue fever/dengue hemorrhagic fever (DF/DHF) has been an important public health challenge in Viet Nam and worldwide. This study was implemented in 2016-2017 using retrospective secondary data to explore associations between monthly DF/DHF cases and climate variables during 2008 to 2015. There were 48 175 DF/DHF cases reported, and the highest number of cases occurred in November. There were significant correlations between monthly DF/DHF cases with monthly mean of evaporation (r = 0.236, P < .05), monthly relative humidity (r = −0.358, P < .05), and monthly total hours of sunshine (r = 0.389, P < .05). The results showed significant correlation in lag models but did not find direct correlations between monthly DF/DHF cases and monthly average rainfall and temperature. The study recommended that health staff in Hanoi should monitor DF/DHF cases at the beginning of epidemic period, starting from May, and apply timely prevention and intervention measures to avoid the spreading of the disease in the following months. A larger scale study for a longer period of time and adjusting for other potential influencing factors could better describe the correlations, modelling/projection, and developing an early warning system for the disease, which is important under the impacts of climate change and climate variability.
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| 13. |
- Hoang Duc, Long, et al.
(author)
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A new high-power low-loss air-dielectric stripline Gysel divider/combiner for particle accelerator applications at 352 MHz
- 2018
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In: IET Control Theory & Applications. - : Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). - 1751-8644 .- 1751-8652. ; :5, s. 264-267
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study presents a new two-way Gysel combiner based on an air-dielectric stripline which allows to handle very high radio-frequency power levels with low-loss suitable for power combination in accelerator applications. The insertion loss of the combiner is 0.1 dB (2%). A thick stripline implementation allows improving the power capability in both continuous wave (CW) and pulsed operation. In addition, a mechanical tuner allows compensating for assembly and fabrication discrepancies. A methodology of designing the Gysel combiner as well as high-power measurements up to 22 kW in pulsed mode are presented. Simulations and measurements are in very good agreement.
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| 14. |
- Kien, Tran Mai, et al.
(author)
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Climate Services For Infectious Disease Control: A Nexus Between Public Health Preparedness and Sustainable Development, Lessons Learned From Long-Term Multi Site Time Series Analysis of Dengue Fever in Vietnam
- 2016
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In: International conference on public health: Accelerating the achievement of sustainable development goals for the improvement and equitable distribution of population health. ; , s. 83-84
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: Climate Services provide valuable information for making actionable, data-driven decisions to protect public health in a myriad of manners. There is mounting global evidence of the looming threat climate change poses to human health, including the variability and intensity of infectious disease outbreaks in Vietnam and other low-resource and developing areas. In light of the Sustainable Development Goals, lessons learned from time-series analysis may inform public health preparedness strategies for sustainable urban development in terms of dengue epidemiology, surveillance, control, and early warnings.Subjects and Methods: Nearly 40 years of spatial and temporal (times-series) dataset of meteorological records, including rainfall, temperature, and humidity (among others) which can be predictors of dengue were assembled for all provinces of Vietnam and associated with case data reported to General Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health of Vietnam during the same period. Time series of climate and disease variables was analyzed for trends and changing patterns of those variables over time. The time-series statistical analysis methods sought to identify spatial (when possible) and temporal trends, seasonality, cyclical patterns of disease, and to discover anomalous outbreak events, which departed from expected epidemiological patterns and corresponding meteorological phenomena, such as El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO).Results: Analysis yielded largely conserved finding with other locations in South East Asia for larger Outbreak years and events such as ENSO. Seasonality, trend, and cycle in many provinces were persistent throughout the dataset, indicating strong potential for Climate Services to be used in dengue early warnings.Conclusion: Even public health practitioners, having adequate tools for dengue control available must plan and budget vector control and patient treatment efforts well in advance of large scale dengue epidemics to curb such events overall morbidity and mortality. Similarly, urban and sustainable development in Vietnam might benefit from evidence linking climate change, and ill-health events spatially and temporally in future planning. Long term analysis of dengue case data and meteorological records, provided a cases study evidence for emerging opportunities that on how refined climate services could contribute to protection of public health.
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| 15. |
- Le, Khanh Duy, et al.
(author)
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HybridMingler: Towards Mixed-Reality Support for Mingling at Hybrid Conferences
- 2023
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In: Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mingling, the activity of ad-hoc, private, opportunistic conversations ahead of, during, or after breaks, is an important socializing activity for attendees at scheduled events, such as in-person conferences. The Covid-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on the way conferences are organized, so that most of them now take place in a hybrid mode where people can either attend on-site or remotely. While on-site attendees can resume in-person mingling, hybrid modes make it challenging for remote attendees to mingle with on-site peers. In addressing this problem, we propose a collaborative mixed-reality (MR) concept, including a prototype, called HybridMingler. This is a distributed MR system supporting ambient awareness and allowing both on-site and remote conference attendees to virtually mingle. HybridMingler aims to provide both on-site and remote attendees with a spatial sense of co-location in the very same venue location, thus ultimately improving perceived presence.
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| 16. |
- Long, Nguyên Hoàng
(author)
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Gender specific epidemiology of tuberculosis in Vietnam
- 2000
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Background: Globally, about two-thirds of notified tuberculosis (TB) cases are men, only one third are women. Whether this gender difference in notification rates reflects a true difference in TB incidence, or an under-notification of the disease among women is a subject to speculation. Objective: To describe the epidemiology of TB in Vietnam with special reference to differences between men and women of relevance for TB control. Methods: The study was conducted during 1996-1999 in 23 districts randomly selected in four provinces in different regions of Vietnam, and in Bavi district, Ha Tay province. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied: (i) a hospital-based structured questionnaire study of 1027 new smear-positive pulmonary TB patients; (ii) a population-based survey of 34,127 persons aged 15 or more; (iii) follow-up of 540 new smear-positive pulmonary TB patients during their treatment course; (iv) sixteen focus group discussions (FGDs) with men/women, TB patients/non-TB participants. Main findings: (i) In general, people had fairly good knowledge about TB. However, knowledge and practice were not closely related and misconception of TB still existed; (ii) Women had poorer access to health care than men; (iii) Health care seeking patterns were similar among men and women: practising self-medication, buying drugs, followed by visiting private practitioners, and then visiting hospitals; (iv) Women did not start seeking health care later than men, however, they sought health care from less-qualified providers and visited more providers than men; (v) Total delay to TB diagnosis was significantly longer among women (13.3 wks) compared to men (11.4 wks). This difference was mainly due to a longer doctor's delay among women (5.4 wks) than among men (3.8 wks), p=0.003; (vi) Among persons with a prolonged cough, delay to hospital was significantly longer among women compared to men; (vii) Prevalence of cough and sputum expectoration was significantly lower in female smear-positive PTB patients than in male patients. The absence of these symptoms was significantly associated with increased doctor's delay; (viii) Fewer women were reportedly given sputum test than men were (13.6% vs. 35.5%) among those who came to hospitals with the same symptom of prolonged cough; (ix) Recovery rates of cough and expectoration after two months of treatment were higher among women compared to men; (x) Women were perceived as more compliant with TB treatment than men. The main obstacles to compliance among men were insufficient understanding of TB treatment, and individual costs, while among women attitudes of health staff, social isolation and stigma played important roles; (xi) Social isolation of TB was perceived to happen both within the patient's family and outside community, and to be more severe among women than among men. Suggestions for TB control: Some intervention areas are suggested: (i) Improving practice of general population toward TB and TB patients; (ii) Reducing misconceptions and unnecessary social isolation and stigma of TB; (iii) Prioritising the interventions to reduce diagnostic delays on doctors; (iv) Increasing suspicion of TB, especially for women, in the general health care; (v) Diversifying TB control activities, increasing involvement of other health providers (e.g. private health sectors) in TB case-detection; (vi) Decentralising and strengthening TB case-detection at grass-root level; (vii) Better understanding of the TB patients.
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| 17. |
- Nguyen, Hoang Long
(author)
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Solar variability over the Holocene period : disentangling geomagnetic and solar influences on a new continuous 10Be record from Little Dome C, Antarctica
- 2023
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Reliable information on solar activity over the Holocene period is important to predict the Sun in the future and to understand the mechanism behind the Sun-climate linkage. Presently, there are discrepancies in the proxy data of solar activity due to reasons that are not yet understood. This leads to major uncertainties in Holocene solar reconstructions. This PhD project aims to improve the Holocene solar reconstructions with a new dataset and a better reconstruction method. The results are be important for s lar and Sun-climate studies as well as for a better understanding of past changes in the carbon cycle.Cosmogenic radionuclides such as 10Be in ice cores and 14C in tree rings are the best-known proxies for solar activity far back in time. The radionuclide records reflect a combination of production, transportation and deposition processes (atmospheric circulation (10Be) and carbon cycle (14C)). Presently, the different radionuclide records show disagreements regarding their long-term (millennial-scales) changes for unknown reasons. Moreover, the radionuclide records are also influenced by long term changes in the geomagnetic field that are not well constrained. This leads to major uncertainties in reconstructions of past changes in solar activity.This thesis is based on new 10Be measurements from 759 ice chip samples drilled at the East Antarctic site called Little Dome C (LDC). The new 10Be record continuously covers the entire Holocene. A Bayesian model was also developed to disentangle solar activity and geomagnetic field influences on the radionuclide records. The model was applied on the new LDC 10Be data and also on the existing 10Be data from other ice cores and tree-ring 14C data. The reconstructions show consistent short-term variations (decadal- and centennial-scale) of solar activity while longterm variations (multi-millennial-scale) are still uncertain. Long-term discrepancies are present among the 10Be records and the 14C data, especially for the last 4 ka. We also found hints of a polar bias effect that dampens the geomagnetic field influence on Antarctic 10Be records but the effect is absent in a Greenland 10Be record. These results point to a difference in the transportation mode of 10Be toward the different ice core sites and an influence of the carbon cycle changes on the 14C data.
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| 18. |
- Nguyen, Hoang Long, et al.
(author)
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The potential for a continuous 10Be record measured on ice chips from a borehole
- 2021
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In: Results In Geochemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-2779. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ice cores are excellent archives for obtaining long and continuous 10Be records. However, traditional ice core 10Be measurements required a lot of ice (0.5–1kg) and often needed to be connected to a large and costly ice core project. These reasons have been the factors limiting the number and variety of 10Be projects and data. In this paper, we show measurements of 10Be on small samples (∼45g) of continuous auger ice chips from a borehole at Little Dome C (LDC), East Antarctica. The sample preparation method for 10Be accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) was tested and optimized using test samples (∼50g) including well-mixed surface ice chips from the LDC site, snow collected in Lund (Sweden) and frozen Milli-Q water. The results show that our small ice samples should be processed without ion exchange filtration of the melt water and cleaning the subsequent Be(OH)2 precipitate. In addition, co-precipitating Be with Fe led to more reproducible measurement currents and offer the potential for higher efficiency and precision via longer measurement time. We applied the established preparation method to measure 10Be on 76 samples of the auger ice chips. The resulting 10Be concentration record for the period from 1354 to 1950 CE agrees well with the 10Be concentration in a South Pole ice core and the global 14C production rate and thus reflects well the atmospheric production signal of 10Be. We also observed insignificant mixing among the ice chip samples during the process of drilling and retrieving the ice. Therefore, the new ice chip samples are promising for assessing the long-term changes in 10Be deposition at different ice core sites. A wide application of this novel ice chip samples will increase the variety of 10Be records which will help to improve the assessment of long-term solar and geomagnetic shielding of galactic cosmic rays.
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Poon, Liona C, et al.
(author)
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Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and long-term cardiovascular health: FIGO Best Practice Advice.
- 2023
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In: International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. - 1879-3479. ; 160:Suppl 1, s. 22-34
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are the most common causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. They are responsible for 16% of maternal deaths in high-income countries and approximately 25% in low- and middle-income countries. The impact of HDP can be lifelong as they are a recognized risk factor for future cardiovascular disease. During pregnancy, the cardiovascular system undergoes significant adaptive changes that ensure adequate uteroplacental blood flow and exchange of oxygen and nutrients to nurture and accommodate the developing fetus. Failure to achieve normal cardiovascular adaptation is associated with the development of HDP. Hemodynamic alterations in women with a history of HDP can persist for years and predispose to long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Therefore, pregnancy and the postpartum period are an opportunity to identify women with underlying, often unrecognized, cardiovascular risk factors. It is important to develop strategies with lifestyle and therapeutic interventions to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular disease in those who have a history of HDP.
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| 21. |
- Poon, Liona C, et al.
(author)
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Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and long-term cardiovascular health: FIGO Best Practice Advice.
- 2023
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In: International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. - : Wiley. - 1879-3479 .- 0020-7292. ; 160:Suppl 1, s. 22-34
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) are the most common causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. They are responsible for 16% of maternal deaths in high-income countries and approximately 25% in low- and middle-income countries. The impact of HDP can be lifelong as they are a recognized risk factor for future cardiovascular disease. During pregnancy, the cardiovascular system undergoes significant adaptive changes that ensure adequate uteroplacental blood flow and exchange of oxygen and nutrients to nurture and accommodate the developing fetus. Failure to achieve normal cardiovascular adaptation is associated with the development of HDP. Hemodynamic alterations in women with a history of HDP can persist for years and predispose to long-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Therefore, pregnancy and the postpartum period are an opportunity to identify women with underlying, often unrecognized, cardiovascular risk factors. It is important to develop strategies with lifestyle and therapeutic interventions to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular disease in those who have a history of HDP.
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| 22. |
- Ruilope, LM, et al.
(author)
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Design and Baseline Characteristics of the Finerenone in Reducing Cardiovascular Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease Trial
- 2019
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In: American journal of nephrology. - : S. Karger AG. - 1421-9670 .- 0250-8095. ; 50:5, s. 345-356
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- <b><i>Background:</i></b> Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. <b><i>Patients and</i></b> <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥25 mL/min/1.73 m<sup>2</sup> and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio ≥30 to ≤5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level α = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049.
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| 23. |
- Tran, Son N., et al.
(author)
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On multi-resident activity recognition in ambient smart-homes
- 2020
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In: Artificial Intelligence Review. - : Springer. - 0269-2821 .- 1573-7462. ; 53:6, s. 3929-3945
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Increasing attention to the research on activity monitoring in smart homes has motivated the employment of ambient intelligence to reduce the deployment cost and solve the privacy issue. Several approaches have been proposed for multi-resident activity recognition, however, there still lacks a comprehensive benchmark for future research and practical selection of models. In this paper, we study different methods for multi-resident activity recognition and evaluate them on the same sets of data. In particular, we explore the effectiveness and efficiency of temporal learning algorithms using sequential data and non-temporal learning algorithms using temporally-manipulated features. In the experiments we compare and analyse the results of the studied methods using datasets from three smart homes.
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