Value Framework Based on Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis for Assessment of New Health Technologies under Universal Healthcare Coverage System in Taiwan.

Objective: Given the lack of a value framework for assessing health technologies in Asian settings, a value framework incorporating multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) for new drugs under universal healthcare coverage in Taiwan was established.

Methods: The development process included: 1) the adoption of five value domains (i.e.

Simple and Rapid Method of Microwell Array Fabrication for Drug Testing on 3D Cancer Spheroids.

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems are becoming increasingly popular due to their ability to mimic the complex process of angiogenesis in cancer, providing more accurate and physiologically relevant data than traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture systems. Microwell systems are particularly useful in this context as they provide a microenvironment that more closely resembles the in vivo environment than traditional microwells. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) microwells are particularly advantageous due to their bio-inertness and the ability to tailor their material characteristics depending on the PEG molecular weight.

Developing efficient CuO nanoplate/ZnO nanoparticle hybrid photocatalysts for methylene blue degradation under visible light.

CuO/ZnO nanocomposites with different components can overcome the drawbacks of previously used photocatalysts owing to their promotion in charge separation and transportation, light absorption, and the photo-oxidation of dyes. In this study, CuO nanoplates were synthesized by the hydrothermal method, while ZnO nanoparticles were fabricated by the precipitation method. A series of CuO/ZnO nanocomposites with different ZnO-to-CuO weight ratios, namely, 2 : 8, 4 : 6, 5 : 5, 6 : 4, and 8 : 2 were obtained a mixing process.

Diagnostic value of 3D T1-weighted gradient-echo and 2D T1-weighted in-phase and out-of-phase gradient-echo sequences for appendicitis diagnosis in pregnant women.

Objectives: This study compared the diagnostic value of 3D T1-weighted (T1W) gradient-echo (GRE) and 2D T1W in-phase and out-of-phase GRE sequences for appendicitis diagnosis in pregnant women.

Material And Methods: This retrospective study included 25 pregnant patients with suspected appendicitis who underwent 1.5 Tesla abdominal magnetic resonance imaging and had definitive diagnoses.

The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in quarantine workers and high-risk communities in Vietnam.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in high-risk communities and quarantine workers in Vietnam.

Methods: The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was measured in household contacts, close contacts, community members, and migrant workers from two sub-communes in which COVID-19 outbreaks occurred in early 2021: Bac Ma 1 and Tien. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was also evaluated among quarantine workers at two facilities responsible for quarantining of contacts of COVID-19 cases.

Newly synthesised oxime and lactone derivatives from dipterocarpol as anti-diabetic inhibitors: experimental bioassay-based evidence and theoretical computation-based prediction.

-derived products are expected to exhibit anti-diabetes properties. Natural dipterocarpol (1) was isolated from collected in Quang Nam province, Vietnam; afterwards, 20 derivatives including 13 oxime esters (2 and 3a-3m) and 7 lactones (4, 5, 6a-6e) were semi-synthesised. Their inhibitory effects towards diabetes-related proteins were investigated experimentally (α-glucosidase) and computationally (3W37, 3AJ7, and PTP1B).

Radiation Synthesis of Selenium Nanoparticles Capped with -Glucan and Its Immunostimulant Activity in Cytoxan-Induced Immunosuppressed Mice.

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) with diameters from 64.8 to 110.1 nm were successfully synthesized by γ-irradiation of solutions containing Se and water-soluble yeast -glucan.

Nanotechnology-based drug delivery for central nervous system disorders.

Drug delivery to central nervous system (CNS) diseases is very challenging since the presence of the innate blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier that impede drug delivery. Among new strategies to overcome these limitations and successfully deliver drugs to the CNS, nanotechnology-based drug delivery platform, offers potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of some common neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease. This review aimed to highlight advances in research on the development of nano-based therapeutics for their implications in therapy of CNS disorders.

Dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease in Vietnamese people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy.

With expanding antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Vietnam, the use of second-line ART with ritonavir-boosted lopinavir (LPV/r) is increasing. However, little is known regarding the effect of LPV/r on dyslipidemia (DL) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people with HIV in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was performed in a cohort of HIV-infected Vietnamese patients on ART at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Chevalierinol A and B, two new neolignan sesquiterpenoids from .

Two new neolignan sesquiterpenoids, chevalierinol A (1) and chevalierinol B (2), were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of leaves, together with twelve known compounds (3-14). Their structures were elucidated by analysis of spectroscopic data including 1D, 2D and mass spectra and compared with the reported data. Compounds , , , , , were evaluated for their inhibitory effect against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW264.

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.

Implementation of Tuberculosis Intensive Case Finding, Isoniazid Preventive Therapy, and Infection Control ("Three I's") and HIV-Tuberculosis Service Integration in Lower Income Countries.

Setting: World Health Organization advocates for integration of HIV-tuberculosis (TB) services and recommends intensive case finding (ICF), isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT), and infection control ("Three I's") for TB prevention and control among persons living with HIV.

Objective: To assess the implementation of the "Three I's" of TB-control at HIV treatment sites in lower income countries.

Design: Survey conducted between March-July, 2012 at 47 sites in 26 countries: 6 (13%) Asia Pacific, 7 (15%), Caribbean, Central and South America, 5 (10%) Central Africa, 8 (17%) East Africa, 14 (30%) Southern Africa, and 7 (15%) West Africa.

Population pharmacokinetic properties of artemisinin in healthy male Vietnamese volunteers.

Background: Artemisinin-based combination therapy is recommended as first-line anti-malarial treatment worldwide. A combination of artemisinin with the long acting drug piperaquine has shown high efficacy and tolerability in patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum infections. The aim of this study was to characterize the population pharmacokinetic properties of artemisinin in healthy male Vietnamese volunteers after two different dose sizes, formulations and in a combination with piperaquine.

Low body weight and tenofovir use are risk factors for renal dysfunction in Vietnamese HIV-infected patients. A prospective 18-month observation study.

Background: The use of tenofovir has been rapidly increasing in Vietnam. Several studies identified low body weight as a risk factor for tenofovir-induced nephrotoxicity. However, little is known about the impact of tenofovir on renal function in HIV-infected Vietnamese with generally low weight.

Dextran fractional clearance studies in acute dengue infection.

Background: Although increased capillary permeability is the major clinical feature associated with severe dengue infections the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. Dextran clearance methodology has been used to investigate the molecular sieving properties of the microvasculature in clinical situations associated with altered permeability, including during pregnancy and in various renal disorders. In order to better understand the characteristics of the vascular leak associated with dengue we undertook formal dextran clearance studies in Vietnamese dengue patients and healthy volunteers.

Orally formulated artemisinin in healthy fasting Vietnamese male subjects: a randomized, four-sequence, open-label, pharmacokinetic crossover study.

Background: Artemisinin derivatives are used in antimalarial drug combination therapy. Artemisinin and piperaquine have recently been proven to be prospective candidates for combination therapy in the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the relative bioavailability and to characterize the pharmacokinetic properties of a new micronized powder formulation of artemisinin against the previous standard Vietnamese formulation when administered as a single oral dose or in combination with piperaquine.

Timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)--associated tuberculous meningitis.

Background: The optimal time to initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated tuberculous meningitis is unknown.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of immediate versus deferred ART in patients with HIV-associated tuberculous meningitis to determine whether immediate ART reduced the risk of death. Antiretroviral drugs (zidovudine, lamivudine, and efavirenz) were started either at study entry or 2 months after randomization.

Randomized pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic comparison of fluoroquinolones for tuberculous meningitis.

Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most lethal form of tuberculosis, and new treatments that improve outcomes are required. We randomly assigned adults with TBM to treatment with standard antituberculosis treatment alone or in combination with ciprofloxacin (750 mg/12 h), levofloxacin (500 mg/12 h), or gatifloxacin (400 mg/24 h) for the first 60 days of therapy. Fluoroquinolone concentrations were measured with plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens taken at predetermined, randomly assigned times throughout treatment.

Early pandemic influenza (2009 H1N1) in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: a clinical virological and epidemiological analysis.

Background: To date, little is known about the initial spread and response to the 2009 pandemic of novel influenza A ("2009 H1N1") in tropical countries. Here, we analyse the early progression of the epidemic from 26 May 2009 until the establishment of community transmission in the second half of July 2009 in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. In addition, we present detailed systematic viral clearance data on 292 isolated and treated patients and the first three cases of selection of resistant virus during treatment in Vietnam.

Anti-inflammatory effects of essential oil isolated from the buds of Cleistocalyx operculatus (Roxb.) Merr and Perry.

Cleistocalyx operculatus (Roxb.) Merr and Perry buds (Myrtaceae) are widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of gastric ailments as well as an antiseptic agent in China, Vietnam and some other tropical countries. However, to be clinically useful, more scientific data are needed.

Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil and the ethanol extract of Cleistocalyx operculatus (Roxb.) Merr and Perry buds.

In the present study, the essential oil isolated from the buds of Cleistocalyx operculatus by hydrodistillation was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. A total of 55 compounds representing 93.71% of the oil were identified.

Clinical and microbiological features of HIV-associated tuberculous meningitis in Vietnamese adults.

Methods: The aim of this prospective, observational cohort study was to determine the clinical and microbiological features, outcome, and baseline variables predictive of death, in Vietnamese adults with HIV-associated tuberculous meningitis (TBM). 58 patients were admitted to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City and underwent routine clinical and laboratory assessments. Treatment was with standard antituberculous therapy and adjunctive dexamethasone; antiretroviral therapy was not routinely available.

A randomized controlled pilot study of artesunate versus triclabendazole for human fascioliasis in central Vietnam.

Human fascioliasis caused by Fasciola hepatica or Fasciola gigantica is an increasing global problem. The mainstay of current treatment is triclabendazole, but resistance in animals has been described, and it is not available in many countries. The antimalarial artesunate has an excellent safety profile, and there is increasing evidence of its efficacy against other parasites both in vitro and in vivo.

The clinical benefit of adjunctive dexamethasone in tuberculous meningitis is not associated with measurable attenuation of peripheral or local immune responses.

Outcome from tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is believed to be dependent on the severity of the intracerebral inflammatory response. We have recently shown that dexamethasone improved survival in adults with TBM and postulated that the clinical effect would be associated with a measurable systemic and intracerebral impact on immunological markers of inflammation. Prolonged inflammatory responses were detected in all TBM patients irrespective of treatment assignment (placebo or dexamethasone).