Improper disposal of cigarette butts in a southeast Asian megacity (Hanoi, Vietnam): Pollution indexes, distribution profiles, and preliminary physicochemical characterization.

Although Southeast Asia is among the largest producers and consumers of cigarettes in the world, information about environmental contamination with littered cigarette butts (CBs) in this region is very limited, especially in urban areas. In this study, we collected CBs in 58 locations of 6 categories (i.e.

Bioactivity responses to changes in mucus-associated bacterial composition between healthy and bleached Porites lobata corals.

This study aims to investigate how bioactivities of the coral surface mucus layer (SML) respond to changes in mucus-associated bacterial communities between bleached and healthy Porites lobata corals in Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam. The findings suggested that significant shifts in the mucus-associated bacterial communities were related to changes in coral health states from bleached to healthy P. lobata colonies (p < 0.

Complete genome sequence of bean common mosaic virus from black bean in Vietnam.

This is a report of a complete genome sequence of bean common mosaic virus in Vietnam. This virus shares around 99% nucleotide identity with a Nepal isolate.

Mechanistic and Kinetic Insights into OH-Initiated Atmospheric Oxidation of Hymexazol: A Computational Study.

Hymexazol is a volatile fungicide widely used in agriculture, causing its abundance in the atmosphere; thus, its atmospheric fate and conversion are of great importance when assessing its environmental impacts. Herein, we report a theoretical kinetic mechanism for the oxidation of hymexazol by OH radicals, as well as the subsequent reactions of its main products with O and then with NO by using the Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus-based Master equation kinetic model on the potential energy surface explored at the ROCBS-QB3//M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level. The predicted total rate constants (, ) for the reaction between hymexazol and OH radicals show excellent agreement with scarcely available experimental values (e.

Identification and Total Synthesis of Two Previously Unreported Odd-Chain Bis-Methylene-Interrupted Fatty Acids with a Terminal Olefin that Activate Protein Phosphatase, Mg/Mn-Dependent 1A (PPM1A) in Ovaries of the Limpet .

Diverse non-methylene-interrupted (NMI) fatty acids (FAs) with odd-chain lengths have been recognized in triacylglycerols and polar lipids from the ovaries of the limpet , however their biological properties remain unclear. In this study, two previously unreported odd-chain NMI FAs, (12)-12,16-heptadecadienoic () and (14)-14,18-nonadecadienoic () acids, from the ovary lipids of were identified by a combination of equivalent chain length (ECL) values of their methyl esters and capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) of their 3-pyridylcarbinol derivatives. On the basis of the experimental results, both and were synthesized to prove their structural assignments and to test their biological activity.

Robot Assistants for Perimetry: A Study of Patient Experience and Performance.

Purpose: People enjoy supervision during visual field assessment, although resource demands often make this difficult. We evaluated outcomes and subjective experience of methods of receiving feedback during perimetry, with specific goals to compare a humanoid robot to a computerized voice in participants with minimal prior perimetric experience. Human feedback and no feedback also were compared.

Critical role of Ca3.2 T-type calcium channels in the peripheral neuropathy induced by bortezomib, a proteasome-inhibiting chemotherapeutic agent, in mice.

Bortezomib, a first-line agent for treatment of multiple myeloma, exhibits anticancer activity through proteasome inhibition. However, bortezomib-induced peripheral neuropathy (BIPN) is one of the most serious side effects. Since decreased proteasomal degradation of Ca3.

Recurrence of tuberculosis among patients following treatment completion in eight provinces of Vietnam: A nested case-control study.

Background: Patients completing treatment for tuberculosis (TB) in high-prevalence settings face a risk of developing recurrent disease. This has important consequences for public health, given its association with drug resistance and a poor prognosis. Previous research has implicated individual factors such as smoking, alcohol use, HIV, poor treatment adherence, and drug resistant disease as risk factors for recurrence.

Metastatic Melanoma of the Optic Nerve Sheath.

A 23-year-old man with a history of metastatic melanoma developed painful vision loss to counting fingers with enhancement of optic nerve on contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and received a diagnosis of optic neuritis from an outside hospital. Despite empiric corticosteroid therapy, the patient worsened and developed secondary central retinal vein occlusion with further deterioration of vision. Repeat MRI demonstrated optic nerve sheath (ONS) involvement suggestive of optic perineuritis (OPN) and an ONS biopsy confirmed a rare case of isolated metastatic melanoma.

Rapid divergence and convergence of life-history in experimentally evolved Drosophila melanogaster.

Laboratory selection experiments are alluring in their simplicity, power, and ability to inform us about how evolution works. A longstanding challenge facing evolution experiments with metazoans is that significant generational turnover takes a long time. In this work, we present data from a unique system of experimentally evolved laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster that have experienced three distinct life-history selection regimes.

The 'emergence' of turnip mosaic virus was probably a 'gene-for-quasi-gene' event.

Turnip mosaic potyvirus is a virus of brassicas that emerged from a lineage of monocotyledon-infecting potyviruses about 1000 years ago. In vivo and in silico studies all indicate that sites, primarily in its protein 3 (P3) and cylindrical inclusion protein (CI) genes, but also its small 6 kDa 2 protein (6K2) and genome-linked viral protein (VPg) genes, control host specificity in a dynamic way. It is most likely that non-unique combinations of transient viral genomic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), not all of them non-synonymous, allowed the host switch to occur.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in elderly mice results in altered antiviral gene expression and enhanced pathology.

Elderly persons are more susceptible to RSV-induced pneumonia than young people, but the molecular mechanism underlying this susceptibility is not well understood. In this study, we used an aged mouse model of RSV-induced pneumonia to examine how aging alters the lung pathology, modulates antiviral gene expressions, and the production of inflammatory cytokines in response to RSV infection. Young (2-3 months) and aged (19-21 months) mice were intranasally infected with mucogenic or non-mucogenic RSV strains, lung histology was examined, and gene expression was analyzed.

The temporal evolution and global spread of Cauliflower mosaic virus, a plant pararetrovirus.

Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) is a plant pararetrovirus with a double-stranded DNA genome. It is the type member of the genus Caulimovirus in the family Caulimoviridae. CaMV is transmitted by sap inoculation and in nature by aphids in a semi-persistent manner.

Focal cryotherapy in the treatment of localized prostate cancer.

Background: The management choice for newly diagnosed localized prostate cancer presents a challenge to both the physician and the patient. Traditionally, surgery and radiation therapy have been the most commonly recommended options. More recently, active surveillance is recommended as the preferred management choice for a subset of men with localized, low-risk cancer.

Turnip mosaic potyvirus probably first spread to Eurasian brassica crops from wild orchids about 1000 years ago.

Turnip mosaic potyvirus (TuMV) is probably the most widespread and damaging virus that infects cultivated brassicas worldwide. Previous work has indicated that the virus originated in western Eurasia, with all of its closest relatives being viruses of monocotyledonous plants. Here we report that we have identified a sister lineage of TuMV-like potyviruses (TuMV-OM) from European orchids.

Genetic variation of the Turnip mosaic virus population of Vietnam: a case study of founder, regional and local influences.

Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) is one of the most important viruses infecting a wide range of plant species, primarily from the family Brassicaceae. Thirty TuMV isolates were collected from Brassica and Raphanus plants in Vietnam during 2006-2008. Host reaction studies showed that many of the isolates belonged to Brassica/Raphanus (BR) host-infecting type.

Evaluation of microscopic observation drug susceptibility assay for diagnosis of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Viet Nam.

Background: Early diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) is important for the elimination of TB. We evaluated the microscopic observation drug susceptibility (MODS) assay as a direct rapid drug susceptibility testing (DST) method for MDR-TB screening in sputum samples

Methods: All adult TB suspects, who were newly presenting to Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital from August to November 2008 were enrolled into the study. Processed sputum samples were used for DST by MODS (DST-MODS) (Rifampicin (RIF) 1 μg/ml and Isoniazid (INH) 0.

Dexamethasone and long-term outcome of tuberculous meningitis in Vietnamese adults and adolescents.

Background: Dexamethasone has been shown to reduce mortality in patients with tuberculous meningitis but the long-term outcome of the disease is unknown.

Methods: Vietnamese adults and adolescents with tuberculous meningitis recruited to a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of adjunctive dexamethasone were followed-up at five years, to determine the effect of dexamethasone on long-term survival and neurological disability.

Results: 545 patients were randomised to receive either dexamethasone (274 patients) or placebo (271 patients).

An algorithm for tuberculosis screening and diagnosis in people with HIV.

Background: Tuberculosis screening is recommended for people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection to facilitate early diagnosis and safe initiation of antiretroviral therapy and isoniazid preventive therapy. No internationally accepted, evidence-based guideline addresses the optimal means of conducting such screening, although screening for chronic cough is common.

Methods: We consecutively enrolled people with HIV infection from eight outpatient clinics in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Beijing genotype of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is significantly associated with high-level fluoroquinolone resistance in Vietnam.

Consecutive fluoroquinolone (FQ)-resistant isolates (n = 109) identified at the Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital for Tuberculosis, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, were sequenced in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of the gyrA and gyrB genes and typed by large sequence polymorphism typing and spoligotyping to identify the Beijing genotype of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Beijing genotype prevalence was compared with 109 consecutive isolates from newly presenting patients with pulmonary tuberculosis from the hospital outpatient department. Overall, 82.

The frequency of osteoporosis screening in men with inflammatory bowel disease.

Osteoporosis is underdiagnosed in men, and osteoporosis-related fractures carry high morbidity and mortality. Recent recommendations on osteoporosis screening in men from the American College of Physicians state that screening and risk factor assessment need to occur earlier in men at high risk. Men with inflammatory bowel disease are at high risk for osteoporosis and fragility fractures due to corticosteroid use, malabsorption from intestinal resection, potential vitamin D deficiency, and fluctuations in weight.

Dexamethasone for the treatment of tuberculous meningitis in adolescents and adults.

Background: Tuberculous meningitis kills or disables more than half of those affected with the disease. Previous studies have been too small to determine whether adjunctive treatment with corticosteroids can reduce the risk of disability or death among adults with tuberculous meningitis, and the effect of coinfection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is unclear.

Methods: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in Vietnam in patients over 14 years of age who had tuberculous meningitis, with or without HIV infection, to determine whether adjunctive treatment with dexamethasone reduced the risk of death or severe disability after nine months of follow-up.