A Systematic Study of the Temperature Dependence of the Dielectric Function of GaSe Uniaxial Crystals from 27 to 300 K.

We report the temperature dependences of the dielectric function = + i and critical point (CP) energies of the uniaxial crystal GaSe in the spectral energy region from 0.74 to 6.42 eV and at temperatures from 27 to 300 K using spectroscopic ellipsometry.

A Case of Histoplasmosis Detected Through Bone Marrow Analysis.

Histoplasmosis is an endemic infection caused by , leading to a broad spectrum of disease from asymptomatic to severe disseminated disease. To diagnose Histoplasmosis, culture remains the gold standard for the laboratory diagnosis; however, this fungus grows slowly, taking a long time 2 to 3 weeks or may take up to 8 weeks. Therefore, some other methods such as bone marrow examination play an essential role in rapid identification and early diagnosis, especially in cases of severe disseminated disease.

Effect of Training on Physicians' Palliative Care-Related Knowledge and Attitudes in Vietnam.

Context: Palliative care remains largely inaccessible in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and efforts to increase access are impeded by lack of training of proven effectiveness for physicians.

Objectives: To measure the effectiveness of palliative care training for Vietnamese physicians.

Methods: The palliative care-related knowledge, attitudes, and self-assessment of Vietnamese physicians were studied prior to a basic course in palliative care (baseline), just after the physicians completed the course (post), and 6-18 months later (follow-up).

Imaging of infection in breasts: A case report.

There have been few reports on the imaging characteristics of (C. ) infection of the breast. Herein, we reported the imaging features of C.

A large lipoma of the descending colon: A rare case report.

Colon lipoma is a rare benign disease in the gastrointestinal tract with an incidence rate of approximately 0.035%-4.4%.

Risk factors of dengue fever in an urban area in Vietnam: a case-control study.

Background: Dengue is a mosquito-borne flavivirus present in many metropolitan cities of tropical countries.

Methods: During and after the dengue season (September 2018 to January 2019), we conducted a case-control study in order to determine the risk factors for dengue fever in Hanoi city, Vietnam. 98 dengue patients and 99 patients with other acute infections, such as Hepatitis B virus infection, were recruited at Department of Infectious Disease of Bach Mai national hospital in Hanoi.

An expanded HIV care cascade: ART uptake, viral load suppression and comorbidity monitoring among adults living with HIV in Asia.

Background: Comprehensive treatment and clinical management are central to improving outcomes for people living with HIV (PLHIV). We explored trends in HIV clinical care, treatment outcomes, and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and diabetes monitoring.

Methods: We included patients ≥18 years in care at ten clinical sites in eight Asian countries.

Meningitis patients with Angiostrongylus cantonensis may present without eosinophilia in the cerebrospinal fluid in northern Vietnam.

Background: Eosinophilic meningitis (EM) is a rare clinical syndrome caused by both infectious and noninfectious diseases. In tropical pacific countries, Angiostrongylus cantonensis is the most common cause. However, the EM definition varies in the literature, and its relation to parasitic meningitis (PM) remains unclear.

Survival after long-term ART exposure: findings from an Asian patient population retained in care beyond 5 years on ART.

Background: This study investigated survival in people living with HIV being followed-up from 5 and 10 years after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in a multi-country Asian cohort.

Methods: We included patients in follow-up >5 years after ART initiation. Factors associated with mortality beyond 5 and 10 years on ART were analysed using competing risk regression with time-updated variables.

Challenges in diagnosing scrub typhus among hospitalized patients with undifferentiated fever at a national tertiary hospital in northern Vietnam.

Background: Scrub typhus (ST) is a leading cause of non-malarial febrile illness in Southeast Asia, but evidence of its true disease burden is limited because of difficulties of making the clinical diagnosis and lack of adequate diagnostic tests. To describe the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of ST, we conducted an observational study using multiple diagnostic assays at a national tertiary hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Methodology/principal Findings: We enrolled 1,127 patients hospitalized with documented fever between June 2012 and May 2013.

Analysis of the 56-kDa type specific antigen gene of Orientia tsutsugamushi from northern Vietnam.

Scrub typhus has been documented since 1932 in Vietnam, however, the disease burden of scrub typhus remains poorly understood in the country. We conducted this study to describe the phylogenetic analysis of the 56-kDa type-specific antigen (TSA) gene of Orientia tsutsugamushi associated with PCR positive cases of scrub typhus. Of 116 positive samples, 65 type-specific antigen gene sequences were obtained and classified into 3 genogroups: Karp, Kato and Gilliam.

Palliative Care-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Self-Assessment Among Physicians in Vietnam.

Context: Palliative care is rarely accessible in low- and middle-income countries, and lack of adequate training for health care providers is a key reason. In Vietnam, the Ministry of Health, major hospitals and medical universities, and foreign physician-educators have partnered to initiate palliative care training for physicians.

Objectives: To measure the baseline palliative care-related knowledge, attitudes, and self-assessment of Vietnamese physicians as a basis for curriculum development and to enable evaluation of training courses.

Effect of Macrolide Prophylactic Therapy on AIDS-Defining Conditions and HIV-Associated Mortality.

Background: Mycobacterium avium complex prophylaxis is recommended for patients with advanced HIV infection. With the decrease in incidence of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex infection and the availability of antiretroviral therapy (ART), the benefits of macrolide prophylaxis were investigated. This study examined the impact of macrolide prophylaxis on AIDS-defining conditions and HIV-associated mortality in a cohort of HIV-infected patients on ART.

Changes in renal function with long-term exposure to antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected adults in Asia.

Purpose: Renal disease is common among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, there is limited information on the incidence and risk factors associated with renal dysfunction among this population in Asia.

Methods: We used data from the TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database.

Long-term viral suppression and immune recovery during first-line antiretroviral therapy: a study of an HIV-infected adult cohort in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Introduction: Achieving viral suppression is key in the global strategy to end the HIV epidemic. However, the levels of viral suppression have yet to be described in many resource-limited settings.

Methods: We investigated the time to virologic failure (VF; defined as a viral load of ≥1000 copies/ml) and changes in CD4 counts since starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) in a cohort of HIV-infected adults in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Palliative Care in Vietnam: Long-Term Partnerships Yield Increasing Access.

Palliative care began in Vietnam in 2001, but steady growth in palliative care services and education commenced several years later when partnerships for ongoing training and technical assistance by committed experts were created with the Ministry of Health, major public hospitals, and medical universities. An empirical analysis of palliative care need by the Ministry of Health in 2006 was followed by national palliative care clinical guidelines, initiation of clinical training for physicians and nurses, and revision of opioid prescribing regulations. As advanced and specialist training programs in palliative care became available, graduates of these programs began helping to establish palliative care services in their hospitals.

A Trial of Itraconazole or Amphotericin B for HIV-Associated Talaromycosis.

Background: Talaromyces marneffei infection is a major cause of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related death in South and Southeast Asia. Guidelines recommend initial treatment with amphotericin B deoxycholate, but this drug has substantial side effects, a high cost, and limited availability. Itraconazole is available in oral form, is associated with fewer unacceptable side effects than amphotericin, and is widely used in place of amphotericin; however, clinical trials comparing these two treatments are lacking.

Factors associated with pre-treatment HIV RNA: application for the use of abacavir and rilpivirine as the first-line regimen for HIV-infected patients in resource-limited settings.

Background: Abacavir and rilpivirine are alternative antiretroviral drugs for treatment-naïve HIV-infected patients. However, both drugs are only recommended for the patients who have pre-treatment HIV RNA <100,000 copies/mL. In resource-limited settings, pre-treatment HIV RNA is not routinely performed and not widely available.

Impact of peer support on virologic failure in HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy - a cluster randomized controlled trial in Vietnam.

Background: The effect of peer support on virologic and immunologic treatment outcomes among HIVinfected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) was assessed in a cluster randomized controlled trial in Vietnam.

Methods: Seventy-one clusters (communes) were randomized in intervention or control, and a total of 640 patients initiating ART were enrolled. The intervention group received peer support with weekly home-visits.

HIV sero-discordance among married HIV patients initiating anti-retroviral therapy in northern Vietnam.

Background: In many countries in Asia, the HIV epidemic is in a concentrated phase, with high prevalence in certain risk groups, such as men who inject drugs. There is also a rapid increase of HIV among women. The latter might be due to high levels of sero-discordant couples and increasing transmission from male to female partners over time.

Response to hepatitis B vaccination among HIV-infected adults in Vietnam.

Objectives: We sought to determine the rate of response to hepatitis B (HBV) vaccination among HIV-infected adults in Vietnam.

Methods: We retrospectively abstracted data from a cohort of HIV-infected adults who had received HBV vaccine at an HIV clinic in Hanoi. We examined demographic, clinical and laboratory factors for associations with development of a protective antibody (Ab) response following vaccination (defined as 'responders' with anti-HBs >10 IU/L).

Severe malaria not responsive to artemisinin derivatives in man returning from Angola to Vietnam.

Resistance to artemisinin derivatives, the most potent antimalarial drugs currently used, has emerged in Southeast Asia and threatens to spread to Africa. We report a case of malaria in a man who returned to Vietnam after 3 years in Angola that did not respond to intravenous artesunate and clindamycin or an oral artemisinin-based combination.