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Toan Nguyen Duy,1,2 Quyen Dao Bui Quy,3 Loc Nguyen Duc,4 Diem Ho Viet Le,5 Khoa Le Ha,6 Tuyen Do Gia,6 Kien Nguyen Trung,1,2 Tam Nguyen Van,1,2 Oanh Nguyen Oanh,1,2 Thang Le Viet1,2 1Military Hospital 103, Hanoi, Vietnam; 2Vietnam Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam; 3Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; 4An Sinh Hospital, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; 5Link-02 Clinic, Pham Ngoc Thach, Da Lat, Lam Dong, Vietnam; 6Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, VietnamCorrespondence: Thang Le Viet, Military Hospital 103, Vietnam Military Medical University, Department of Nephrology and Hemodialysis, 261 Phung Hung, Ha Dong, Hanoi, Vietnam, Tel +84982249968, Email lethangviet@yahoo.co.ukObjective: To evaluate the value of contrast volume/glomerular filtration ratio (Vc/eGFR ratio) and urine Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (uNGAL) in predicting the progression contract associated-acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in planned percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients.Patients and Methods: We examined 387 adult patients who had undergone planned percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We determined acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) using the criteria set by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO). We calculated the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the CKD-EPI formula based on serum creatinine levels. To determine the Vc/eGFR ratio, we considered the contrast medium volume and eGFR for each patient. Additionally, we measured urine NGAL levels using the ELISA method.Results: The percentage of CA-AKI patients who developed CKD after planned PCI was 36.36%. Within the CA-AKI to CKD group, the Vc/eGFR ratio was 2.82, and uNGAL levels were significantly higher at 72.74 ng/mL compared to 1.93 ng/mL for Vc/eGFR ratio and 46.57 ng/mL for uNGAL in the recovery CA-AKI group. This difference was statistically significant (p< 0.001). Diabetic mellitus, urine NGAL concentration, and Vc/eGFR ratio were found to be independent factors in the progression of CA-AKI to CKD. The Vc/eGFR ratio and uNGAL showed predictive capabilities for progressing CA-AKI to CKD with an AUC of 0.884 and 0.878, respectively. The sensitivity was 81.3% for both, while the specificity was 89.3% for Vc/eGFR ratio and 85.7% for uNGAL.Conclusion: The Vc/eGFR ratio and uNGAL were good predictors for CA-AKI to CKD in planned PCI patients.Keywords: planned percutaneous coronary intervention, contract associated-acute kidney injury, CA-AKI progression to CKD, Vc/eGFR ratio, uNGAL

Viet Tran Quoc,1 Dung Nguyen Thi Ngoc,2,3 Trung Nguyen Hoang,4 Hoa Vu Thi,4 Minh Tong Duc,4 Thanh Do Pham Nguyet,2 Thanh Nguyen Van,5 Diep Ho Ngoc,2 Giang Vu Son,6 Thanh Bui Duc7 1Intensive Care Unit, Military Hospital 175, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 2Department of Military Science and Training, Military Hospital 175, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 3Hanoi University of Public Health, Hanoi, Vietnam; 4Department of Military Hygiene, Vietnam Military Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam; 5Department of General Planning, Military Hospital 175, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 6Department of Personnel, Military Hospital 175, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 7Institute of Trauma and Orthopedics, Military hospital 175, Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamCorrespondence: Thanh Bui Duc, Military Hospital 175, 786 Nguyen Kiem, 3 Ward, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Tel +84 975 430 258, Email buiducthanh175@yahoo.comIntroduction: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are used extensively in HICs to detect and control antibiotic resistance (AMR) in laboratories and clinical institutions. ML is designed to predict outcome variables using an algorithm to enable “machines” to learn the “rules” from the data. ML is increasingly being applied in intensive care units to identify AMR and to assist empiric antibiotic therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of ML models for predicting AMR bacteria and resistance to antibiotics in two Vietnamese hospitals.Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study combined with retrospective was conducted from 1st January 2020 to 30th June 2022. Five models were developed to predict antibiotic resistance of bacterial infections of ICU patients. Two datasets were prepared to predict AMR bacteria and antibiotics with ML models. The performance of the prediction models was evaluated by various indicators (sensitivity, specificity, precision, accuracy, F1-score, PRC, AuROC, and NormMCC) to determine the optimal time point for data selection. Python version 3.8 was used for statistical analyses.Results: The accuracy, F1-score, AuROC, and normMMC of LightGBM, XGBoost, and Random Forest models were higher than those of other models in both datasets. In both datasets 1 and 2, accuracy, F1-score, AuROC and normMCC of the XGBoost model were the highest among five models (from 0.890 to 1.000). Only Random Forest models had specificity scores higher than 0.850. High scores of sensitivity, accuracy, precision, F1-score, and normMCC indicated that the models were making accurate predictions for datasets 1 and 2.Conclusion: XGBoost, LightGBM, and Random Forest were the best-performed machine learning models to predict antibiotic resistance of bacterial infections of ICUs patients using the patients’ EMRs.Keywords: antibiotic resistance, machine learning, XGBoost, LightGBM, random forest

BackgroundBreastfeeding is associated with reduced risk of becoming overweight or obese later in life. Breastfed babies grow more slowly during infancy than formula-fed babies. Among offspring exposed in utero to maternal glucose intolerance, prospective data on growth during infancy have been unavailable. Thus, scientific evidence is insufficient to conclude that breastfeeding reduces the risk of obesity among the offspring of diabetic mothers (ODM). To address this gap, we devised the Study of Women, Infant Feeding and Type 2 Diabetes after GDM Pregnancy and Growth of their Offspring, also known as the SWIFT Offspring Study. This prospective, longitudinal study recruited mother-infant pairs from the SWIFT Study, a prospective study of women with recent gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The goal of the SWIFT Offspring Study is to determine whether breastfeeding intensity and duration, compared with formula feeding, are related to slower growth of GDM offspring during the first year life. This article details the study design, participant eligibility, data collection, and methodologies. We also describe the baseline characteristics of the GDM mother-infant pairs.MethodsThe study enrolled 466 mother-infant pairs among GDM deliveries in northern California from 2009-2011. Participants attended three in-person study exams at 6-9 weeks, 6 months and 12 months after delivery for infant anthropometry (head circumference, body weight, length, abdominal circumference and skinfold thicknesses), as well as maternal anthropometry (body weight, waist circumference and percent body fat). Mothers also completed questionnaires on health and lifestyle behaviors, including infant diet, sleep and temperament. Breastfeeding intensity and duration were assessed via several sources (diaries, telephone interviews, monthly mailings and in-person exams) from birth through the first year of life. Pregnancy course, clinical perinatal and newborn outcomes were obtained from health plan electronic medical records. Infant saliva samples were collected and stored for genetics studies.DiscussionThis large, racially and ethnically diverse cohort of GDM offspring will enable evaluation of the relationship of infant feeding to growth during infancy independent of perinatal characteristics, sociodemographics and other risk factors. The longitudinal design provides the first quantitative measures of breastfeeding intensity and duration among GDM offspring during early life.

The 11 lytic transglycosylases of Pseudomonas aeruginosa have overlapping activities in the turnover of the cell‐wall peptidoglycan. Rare lipoprotein A (RlpA) is distinct among the 11 by its use of only peptidoglycan lacking peptide stems. The spatial localization of RlpA and its interactome within P. aeruginosa are unknown. We employed suppression of introduced amber codons at sites in the rlpA gene for the introduction of the unnatural‐amino‐acids Νζ‐[(2‐azidoethoxy)carbonyl]‐l‐lysine (compound 1) and Nζ‐[[[3‐(3‐methyl‐3H‐diazirin‐3‐yl)propyl]amino]carbonyl]‐l‐lysine (compound 2). In live P. aeruginosa, full‐length RlpA incorporating compound 1 into its sequence was fluorescently tagged using strained‐promoted alkyne‐azide cycloaddition and examined by fluorescence microscopy. RlpA is present at low levels along the sidewall length of the bacterium, and at higher levels at the nascent septa of replicating bacteria. In intact P. aeruginosa, UV photolysis of full‐length RlpA having compound 2 within its sequence generated a transient reactive carbene, which engaged in photoaffinity capture of neighboring proteins. Thirteen proteins were identified. Three of these proteins—PBP1a, PBP5, and MreB—are members of the bacterial divisome. The use of the complementary methodologies of non‐canonical amino‐acid incorporation, photoaffinity proximity analysis, and fluorescent microscopy confirm a dominant septal location for the RlpA enzyme of P. aeruginosa, as a divisome‐associated activity. This accomplishment adds to the emerging recognition of the value of these methodologies for identification of the intracellular localization of bacterial proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free fatty acids (FFA) have been previously shown to be an effective bactericidal agent. In this study, the FFA mixture was attempted to isolate from virgin coconut oil (VCO) using lipases and was fractionated to obtain the enriched medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) to compare its antibacterial efficacy against food pathogens. Three types of lipases – namely, lipozyme TL 100L, Candida rugosa lipase (CRL), and porcine pancreas lipase (PPL) – were used to compare their efficacy in VCO hydrolysis, in which CRL was found to be the most efficient lipase for the process of VCO hydrolysis at the water: buffer ratio of 1:5, lipase concentration of 5310 U/g, pH 7, and temperature of 40 °C. The vacuum-distillation process was successfully found to fractionate the initial FFA into three fractions: Fraction I containing MCFA (C8–C12) plus Fraction II (C12–C14) and Fraction III containing LCFA (C14–C20). Among these fractions, Fraction I was observed to be the most effective anti-agent against four out of five food pathogens (negative result against Salmonella typhimurium), followed by Fraction II and initial FFA. Antimicrobial activities of study fractions were found effective on both Gram-positive strains and Gram-negative strain [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The morphology and composition are two key factors to determine the thermoelectric performance of aqueously synthesized tin selenide (SnSe) crystals; however, their controlling is still under exploring. In this study, we report a high figure‐of‐merit (ZT) of ∼1.5 at 823 K in p‐type polycrystalline Sn1 − xSe resulted from a synergy of morphology control and vacancy optimization, realized by carefully tuning the sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration during solvothermal synthesis. After a comprehensive investigation on various NaOH concentrations, it was found that an optimized NaOH amount of 10 mL with a concentration of 10 mol L−1 can simultaneously achieve a large average crystal size and a high Sn vacancy concentration of ∼2.5%. The large microplate‐like crystals lead to a considerable anisotropy in the sintered pellets, and the high Sn vacancy level contributes to an optimum hole concentration to the level of ∼2.3 × 1019 cm−3, and in turn a high power factor of ∼7.4 μW cm−1 K−2 at 823 K, measured along the direction perpendicular to the sintering pressure. In addition, a low thermal conductivity of ∼0.41 W m−1 K−1 is achieved by effective phonon scattering at localized crystal imperfections including lattice distortions, grain boundaries, and vacancy domains, as observed by detailed structural characterizations. Furthermore, a competitive compressive strength of ∼52.1 MPa can be achieved along the direction of high thermoelectric performance, indicating a mechanically robust feature. This study provides a new avenue in achieving high thermoelectric performance in SnSe‐based thermoelectric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Chronic hemodialysis patients are at high risk of contracting hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) virus infections. In Vietnam, the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV infections is approximately 10 and 4%, respectively. Although the chronic hemodialysis population is increasing, relatively little epidemiology is available for HBV and HCV infections in this population. To address this, we reviewed the current literature on the magnitude of these infections in the hemodialysis population in Vietnam. Methods: Four databases were used to search for publications containing the prevalence of HBV and/or HCV infections in hemodialysis patients in Vietnam. Grey literature search was utilized to identify local publications. Prevalence and 95% confidence interval were used or calculated, and a meta‐analysis was conducted on HBV and HCV prevalence for comparison. Results: Sixteen studies were included in the review. The search identified knowledge gaps in the current literature. Available data show that HBV and HCV infections remain prevalent in the hemodialysis population. HBV prevalence is not different between the north and the south of Vietnam. The pattern of HCV prevalence is different, with recent reports of lower prevalence in the south than in the north, while HCV prevalence varies between hemodialysis units in the same regions. Conclusions: A national prevalence survey of hemodialysis patients would improve the reliability and generalizability of the findings. However, the review confirmed that both HBV and HCV were prevalent in hemodialysis patients. The findings support a reinforcement of infection prevention to minimize the risk of HBV and HCV transmission in hemodialysis facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the proportion of patients admitted to a major tertiary teaching hospital in Australia aged 50 years and older with a confirmed neck of femur or vertebral minimal trauma fracture, who are commenced on colecalciferol supplementation by discharge, and to describe the doses prescribed. Methods: A subanalysis of a retrospective audit of electronic medical files for patients admitted with a minimal trauma fracture of the hip or vertebra between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2016, was conducted. Results: A total of 406 patients were screened and 64 patients were included in the audit. In this subanalysis of these 64 patients eligible for inclusion, 38 were not on any vitamin or mineral supplementation at admission. Of these, 26 patients (68.4%) had their serum colecalciferol levels measured, and 21 patients (55.2%) overall were initiated on colecalciferol. Conclusion: Over half of patients with a minimal trauma fracture were commenced on colecalciferol therapy, but a noteworthy proportion of patients remain untreated. Patients with colecalciferol levels are more likely to be initiated on therapy compared with those of whom levels were not taken during admission. This is a missed opportunity for intervention that may place patients at a higher risk of subsequent fracture; therefore, effective strategies should be implemented to address this treatment gap in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Modelling suggests that early diagnosis and immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) among key populations would have a substantial impact in reducing HIV transmission and mortality in Vietnam. An implementation research project of “test‐and‐treat” among people who inject drugs (PWID) was developed to inform effective roll‐out of such interventions. Methods: “Test‐and‐treat” was offered to PWID in two high burden provinces, Thai Nguyen and Thanh Hoa. The interventions comprised the offer of biannual HIV testing and immediate ART, irrespective of CD4 count. PWID were enrolled between April 2014 and July 2015 and followed up for 12 months, and retention, HIV viral load (VL) and risk behaviours were assessed. Retention in care of this prospective cohort was compared with the retention among men enrolled in care in the preceding period (April 2012 to March 2013) at the same clinics when ART was initiated at CD4 cell count ≤350 cells/mm3. Results: In total, 287 HIV positive PWID started immediate ART. The majority (98%) were men; median age was 34; and median (interquartile range) CD4 count was 199 (50 to 402) cells/mm3. After 12 months, 238 participants (83%) were retained on ART, and 205 achieved viral suppression (<1000 copies/mL) (92% among those in whom VL was measured, 71% overall). Baseline CD4 count ≤100 cells/mm3 and history of imprisonment were associated with lower retention and viral suppression, while engagement in methadone maintenance was associated with higher retention. Retention in care was higher in the “test‐and‐treat” cohort (83%) compared with men enrolled in care in the preceding period (78%), primarily because lost‐to‐follow‐up during pre‐ART care was eliminated. No decline in consistent condom use and clean needle use was observed. Conclusions: Early ART initiation resulted in successful treatment outcomes among PWID, with no observed increase in self‐reported risk behaviours, suggesting feasibility and potential effectiveness of “test‐and‐treat” approach. The results also call for differentiated care for PWID, including promoting early diagnosis and engagement in methadone maintenance therapy while enhancing care for those with advanced HIV disease and history of imprisonment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]