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Aims: Anthrax is reported with frequency but poorly understood in Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam. In Vietnam, anthrax surveillance is national. However, case detection, prevention, and control are implemented locally at the provincial level. Here, we describe the epidemiological characteristics, identify spatial clusters of human anthrax, and compare the variation in livestock anthrax vaccine coverage to disease incidence in humans and livestock using historical data in Son La province, Vietnam (2003–2020). Methods and Results: Most human cases occurred between April and September. Most of the patients were male, aged 15–54 years old. The human cases were mainly reported by public district hospitals. There was a delay between disease onset and hospitalization of ~5 days. We identified spatial clusters of high–high incidence communes in the northern communes of the province using the local Moran's I statistic. The vaccine coverage sharply decreased across the study period. The province reported sporadic human anthrax outbreaks, while animal cases were only reported in 2005 and 2022. Conclusions: These results suggest underreporting for human and livestock anthrax in the province. Intersectoral information sharing is needed to aid livestock vaccination planning, which currently relies on reported livestock cases. The spatial clusters identify areas for targeted surveillance and livestock vaccination, while the seasonal case data suggest prioritizing vaccination campaigns for February or early March ahead of the April peak. A regional approach for studying the role of livestock trading between Son La and neighbouring provinces in anthrax occurrence is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Processed Panax notoginseng has been found to have an inhibitory effect on the growth of cancer cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. However, there has been limited research in Vietnam on the supportive effects of processed P. notoginseng in cancer treatment. Methods: In this study, P. notoginseng was collected and subjected to steam processing at temperatures of 100 °C and 120 °C for 2 to 10 h. The cytotoxic activity of these extracts was tested on A549 cells in vitro. Additionally, the acute toxicity of processed P. notoginseng was evaluated in healthy mice, and the in vivo anti-tumor effect was investigated in mice induced by 7,12-dimethyl-benz[1] anthracene. Results: The results showed that, processed P. notoginseng demonstrated a stronger ability to inhibit the proliferation of A549 lung cancer cells compared to the unprocessed one. Among the different processing conditions, the extract obtained at 120 °C for 4 h (PPN120-4) was selected for further study in mice. This extract did not show acute oral toxicity and had no effect on the survival or mortality of DMBA-induced mice. PPN120-4 also reduced the body weight of mice and decreased skin tumor size. Moreover, PPN120-4 increased necrosis of lung cancer cells. Conclusion: Processing P. notoginseng through steam treatment at various temperatures and durations enhanced its inhibitory activity against A549 lung cancer cells compared to the unprocessed samples. Among them, PPN120-4, obtained through processing at 120 °C for 4 h, exhibited no acute oral toxicity in mice and showed potential antitumor effects in DMBA-induced tumors in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early neurological deterioration (END) is progressive neurological deterioration with an increase in NIHSS score of 2 points or more in the first 72 hours from the onset of acute ischemic stroke. END increases the risk of poor clinical outcomes at day 90 of ischemic stroke. We will study the frequency, predictors, and outcomes of patients with END in a case-control study at a comprehensive stroke centre in Vietnam. of the design is a descriptive observational study, longitudinal follow-up of patients with minor stroke hospitalized at the Stroke Center of Bach Mai Hospital from December 1, 2023, to December 1, 2024. Minor stroke patients characterized by NIHSS score ≤ 5 hospitalized within 24 hours of symptom onset will be recruited. The estimated END rate is about 30%, relative accuracy ε = 0.11, 95% reliability, expected 5% of patients lost data or follow-up, and an estimated sample size of 779 patients. This study will help determine the END rate in patients with minor stroke and related factors, thereby building a prognostic model for END. Our study determined the END rate in patients with minor stroke in Vietnam and also proposed risk factors for minor stroke management and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the potential of probing for a new neutral gauge boson that emerges from a topologically nontrivial structure of spacetime, focusing on its couplings to the fermions of the Standard Model. We analyze the current experimental constraints on the mass of the new gauge boson and the radius of the fifth dimension, using the LEP bound and the LHC with 140 fb - 1 luminosity. In addition, we investigate the expected sensitivity at the ILC to the indirect search of the new gauge boson and its discrimination from other hypothetical gauge bosons like those predicted in the U(1) B - L and U(1) R models by studying the forward-backward, left-right, and left-right-forward-backward asymmetries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STEM education, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, is an important educational model in primary and secondary schools, including elementary schools. STEM education is being emphasized in many countries around the world. In Southeast Asia, the current state of STEM education is quite diverse and there is a discrepancy between countries. This study focuses on analyzing quantitative scientific indicators based on 490 publications on STEM education in elementary schools from 2000 to December 2022 in the Scopus database. The data is analyzed by bibliometrics software Biblioshiny and VOSviewer on the collaboration network between scientists in the field of STEM education in elementary schools, countries with the most publications, emerging keywords and related keywords, as well as research trends on STEM education in elementary schools for Southeast Asian countries. The results of the study show that publications on STEM education in elementary schools in Southeast Asian countries started to be studied from 2008 and have been increasing rapidly; scientific papers published in some high-impact factor journals; the countries with the most publications are not necessarily Southeast Asian countries, mainly in the Americas, Europe, Asia, with Indonesia being the only Southeast Asian country in the top-5 countries with the most publications on this research trend. Based on the analysis, the article proposes some directions for STEM education research in elementary schools in Southeast Asian countries to achieve high effectiveness in training at elementary schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-government organizations (NGOs) spend substantial time and resources collecting baseline data in order to plan and implement health interventions with marginalized populations. Typically interviews with households, often mothers, take over an hour, placing a burden on the respondents. Meanwhile, estimates of numerous health and social indicators in many countries already exist in publicly available datasets, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and it is worth considering whether these could serve as estimates of baseline conditions. The objective of this study was to compare indicator estimates from non-governmental organizations (NGO) health projects’ baseline reports with estimates calculated using the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) or the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), matching for location, year, and season of data collection. Methods: We extracted estimates of 129 indicators from 46 NGO baseline reports, 25 DHS datasets and three MICS datasets, generating 1,996 pairs of matched DHS/MICS and NGO indicators. We subtracted NGO from DHS/MICS estimates to yield difference and absolute difference, exploring differences by indicator. We partitioned variance of the differences by geographical level, year, and season using ANOVA. Results: Differences between NGO and DHS/MICS estimates were large for many indicators but 33% fell within 5% of one another. Differences were smaller for indicators with prevalence 85%. Difference between estimates increased with increasing year and geographical level differences. However, Conclusions: There are situations where publicly available data could complement NGO baseline survey data, most importantly when the NGO has tolerance for estimates of low or unknown accuracy.