Portrait of a Cerebral Killer.

: Primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) caused by is a rare and devastating infection of the central nervous system, often diagnosed late, due to its rapid progression and nonspecific symptoms. We report one of the youngest documented pediatric Vietnamese cases of PAM in a 10-month-old girl from the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. The diagnosis was confirmed through multiplex real-time PCR (MPL-rPCR), microscopy, and sequencing.

Safety and Immunogenicity of the Live Attenuated Varicella Vaccine in Vietnamese Children Aged 12 Months to 12 Years: An Open-Label, Single-Arm Bridging Study.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the SKYVaricella vaccine in healthy Vietnamese children aged 12 months to 12 years.

Methods: This open-label, single-arm study involved 201 children divided into two groups: 60 children aged 12 months to 5 years and 141 children aged 6 to 12 years. Safety was assessed through immediate reactions, solicited adverse events within 7 days, and unsolicited events up to Day 42.

Common Adverse Events from Mixing COVID-19 Vaccine Booster in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Background: Mixing vaccines was proposed as a solution to tackle supply chain interruptions during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the safety of mixing COVID-19 vaccines for a booster dose in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted via a telephone-based interview to identify the adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination among 719 participants in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The Anti-Viral Activity of Stem Cells: A Rational Explanation for their Use in Clinical Application.

It is well established the importance of stem cells (SCs) in tissue growth, regeneration and repair, given their ability to self-renew and differentiate into mature cells. Stem cells are present in all individuals and are potentially active to the end of life. However, less is known about their unique function within the immune system as immune regulators and their important task in viral protection.

Multiplex RT Real-Time PCR Based on Target Failure to Detect and Identify Different Variants of SARS-CoV-2: A Feasible Method That Can Be Applied in Clinical Laboratories.

Shortly after its emergence, Omicron and its sub-variants have quickly replaced the Delta variant during the current COVID-19 outbreaks in Vietnam and around the world. To enable the rapid and timely detection of existing and future variants for epidemiological surveillance and diagnostic applications, a robust, economical real-time PCR method that can specifically and sensitively detect and identify multiple different circulating variants is needed. The principle of target- failure (TF) real-time PCR is simple.

Pathogenic Role and Antibiotic Resistance of Methicillin-Resistant (MRSA) Strains Causing Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Vietnamese Children.

In recent years, the pathogenic role and antibiotic resistance of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) strains causing severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) have received increasing attention in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of isolates of MRSA strains causing severe CAP in children and to assess their level of antibiotic resistance. The study design was cross-sectional.

Green extraction and biological activity of phenolic extracts from cashew nut testa using a combination of enzyme and ultrasound-assisted treatments.

Background: A combination of enzymes and ultrasound treatment was employed to extract bioactive compounds from cashew nut testa, a by-product of the food industry. The total catechin, flavonoid, and phenolic content of extracts was investigated together with their biological activity.

Results: Enzyme and ultrasound-assisted extraction (E-UAE) was performed by incubation with Viscozyme L (20 mL kg of testa powder, v/w) for 60 min before sonication for 40 min.

From Pathogens to Cancer: Are Cancer Cells Evolved Mitochondrial Super Cells?

Life is based on a highly specific combination of atoms, metabolism, and genetics which eventually reflects the chemistry of the Universe which is composed of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and carbon. The interaction of atomic, metabolic, and genetic cycles results in the organization and de-organization of chemical information of that which we consider as living entities, including cancer cells. In order to approach the problem of the origin of cancer it is therefore reasonable to start from the assumption that the sub-molecular level, the atomic structure, should be the considered starting point on which metabolism, genetics, and external insults eventually emanate.

Analysis of Gene Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in COVID-19 Disease Highlighting the Susceptibility and the Severity towards the Infection.

Many factors may influence the risk of being infected by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Exposure to the virus cannot explain the variety of an individual's responses to the virus and the high differences of effect that the virus may cause to some. While a person's preexisting condition and their immune defenses have been confirmed to play a major role in the disease progression, there is still much to learn about hosts' genetic makeup towards COVID-19 susceptibility and risk.

Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 during the Pandemic by Multiplex RT-rPCR hCoV Test: Future Perspectives.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly become a significant threat to public health. However, among the Coronaviridae family members, there are other viruses that can also cause infections in humans. Among these, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) have posed significant threats to human health in the past.

Gender-focused analysis and opportunities for upgrading within Vietnam's smallholder pig value chains.

Gender influences participation in food value chains (VCs) with implications for VC upgrading. This study investigated roles as well as differences in production activities, awareness, training, and attitudes between men and women in Vietnam's smallholder pig VCs. Data were gathered from a survey of 1,014 actors in different nodes along the chain, and the results showed that both men and women participated in all nodes of the VCs.

Unpacking the Theory Behind One Health Food Safety Programs: A Vietnam Case Study.

Many One Health programs are inherently complex, characterized by multiple perspectives from multiple sectors, delivery across various scales, and a focus on complex problems at the convergence of people, animals, and the environment. This complexity makes them difficult to conceptualize, requiring frameworks to organize the different program components. Evaluation frameworks that unpack the sequence of events linking program activities to outcomes (e.

Immunity Profiling of COVID-19 Infection, Dynamic Variations of Lymphocyte Subsets, a Comparative Analysis on Four Different Groups.

Background: A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)-induced pneumonia (COVID-19) emerged in December 2019 in China, spreading worldwide. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the immunological response and the clinical subset of peripheral lymphocyte subset alteration in COVID-19 infection.

Methods: the study was conducted on four different clinical groups ( = 4; total = 138).

The Vitamin D, IL-6 and the eGFR Markers a Possible Way to Elucidate the Lung-Heart-Kidney Cross-Talk in COVID-19 Disease: A Foregone Conclusion.

Background: Based on recent findings, we speculated the existence of the lung, heart, and kidney axis as the main pathway for the COVID-19 disease progression.

Methods: This paper reports on an observational study conducted by a team of researchers and doctors of the 118-Pre-Hospital and Emergency Department of SG Moscati of Taranto City in Italy. The study was conducted on a totality of 185 participants that were divided into three groups.

Effects of microwave treatments and retrogradation on molecular crystalline structure and in vitro digestibility of debranched mung-bean starches.

The objective of this study was to investigate morphology, molecular crystalline structure, and digestibility of debranched mung bean starches with or without microwave treatment and retrogradation at different temperature. The mung bean starch was firstly debranched with pullulanase, and then the debranched starch containing 20% moisture content was treated by microwave irradiation for 3 min with or without further retrograded at +25, +4, or -18 °C for 24 h. All treated starches exhibited the B + V-type crystalline polymorph as determined by the XRD and the CNMR.

Sars-CoV-2 Virus Infection May Interfere CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Megakaryocyte-Erythroid Progenitors Differentiation Contributing to Platelet Defection towards Insurgence of Thrombocytopenia and Thrombophilia.

To date, several cases of thrombosis have been confirmed to be related to Sars-CoV-2 infection. Multiple attempts detected the prolonged occurrence of Sars-CoV-2 viral RNA (long COVID) in whole blood suggesting that virus byproducts may remain within cells and tissues well over the disease has finished. Patients may develop severe thrombocytopenia, acute anemia of inflammation and, systemic thrombosis with the fatal course of disease, which is suggestive of further interferences of Sars-CoV-2 on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) within the differentiation process towards erythroid and megakaryocytic cells.

Antimicrobial stewardship capacity and manpower needs in the Asia Pacific.

Objectives: Antimicrobial stewardship is a strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance in hospitals. Given the burden and impact of antimicrobial resistance in the Asia Pacific, it is important to document capacity and gaps in antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASP). We aimed to understand existing capacities and practices, and define the resources needed to establish antimicrobial stewardship where it is lacking.

Morphology, crystalline structure and digestibility of debranched starch nanoparticles varying in average degree of polymerization and fabrication methods.

The objective of this study is to investigate physicochemical characteristics and digestibility of starch nanoparticles (SNPs) fabricated from debranched cassava starch varying degree of polymerization (DP¯) using nanoprecipitation and microemulsion methods. The high DP¯ starch (HDPS) with DP¯ > 35 monomers, medium DP¯ starch (MDPS) with 15 < DP¯ < 30) and low DP¯ starch (LDPS) with DP¯ < 10 were used. The SNPs fabricated from the HDPS were well-dispersed and smaller size, whereas those prepared from the MDPS and LDPS had bigger size and more aggregation.

Physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of mung-bean starches varying amylose contents under citric acid and hydrothermal treatments.

In this study, starches of three mung bean cultivars (Vigna radiata) having different amylose contents were isolated and modified using a combination of citric acid and heat-moisture treatment (CA-HMT) or a combination of citric acid and annealing treatment (CA-ANN). Physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of native and treated mung bean starches were investigated. Resistant starch (RS) contents of the high-amylose, medium-amylose and low-amylose starches treated with CA-ANN were 41.