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Tu HK Trinh,1 Chi N Duong,2 Tu HT Pham,3 Hao DT Au,3 Loc T Tran,3 Cuong V Nguyen,3 Han BG Nguyen,3 Nguyen M Tran,3 Quy Q Phan,3 Thu NA Le,3 Nga Nguyen4 1Center for Molecular Biomedicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 2University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA; 3Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; 4Hasaki Clinic, Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamCorrespondence: Tu HK Trinh, Center for Molecular Biomedicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, 217 Hong Bang Street, Ward 11, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Tel +84-906 927 123, Email kim.tu.vn@ump.edu.vnPurpose: Increasing seafood consumption is associated with more frequent reports of food allergy. Little is known about seafood allergy (SFA) among adults in Vietnam. We investigated the characteristics of individuals with SFA and the risk factors for severe SFA.Patients and methods: A cross-sectional, web-based survey was conducted among individuals aged ≥ 18 years from universities in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) between December 2021 and July 2022. The survey was based on a structured, validated questionnaire related to FA. Strict definitions of “convincing allergy” were used. Multivariate analysis was used to estimate the risk factors for severe SFA after adjusting for covariates. Data were analyzed using JASP (v.0.16.3) and SPSS (v.22.0).Results: Totally, 1038 out of 2137 (48.57%) individuals completed the questionnaire, of whom 285 (27.46%) had reported SFA. Convincing SFA accounted for 20.13% (209/1038) of the cases, with convincing shellfish allergy being more common than fish allergy. Participants with comorbid shellfish and fish allergy had higher prevalence of atopic dermatitis, peanut/nut allergy, other food allergy, and cutaneous and upper airway symptoms compared to participants with shellfish allergy (p < 0.05). The spectrum of reactive seafood was diverse and characterized by local species. The age of symptom onset was most commonly during late childhood and adolescence, with most reactions persisting into adulthood. A history of anaphylaxis, comorbid peanut, and tree nut allergy, and ≥ 3 allergens were associated with severe SFA.Conclusion: Features of causative, coexisting seafood allergy, and risk factors for severe SFA were demonstrated, which can provide a reference for future studies.Keywords: seafood allergy, shellfish allergy, fish allergy, Vietnam

Huyen Thi Phung,1 Hoa Thi Nguyen,1 Tung Van Nguyen,1 Tai Van Nguyen,2 Lan Anh Thi Dinh,3 Chu Van Nguyen4 1Department of Medical Oncology 6, National Cancer Hospital of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam; 2Department of Medical Oncology 1, National Cancer Hospital of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam; 3Department of Optimal Therapy, Quan Su Campus, National Cancer Hospital of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam; 4Department of Pathology, National Cancer Hospital of Vietnam, Hanoi, VietnamCorrespondence: Tung Van Nguyen Department of Medical Oncology 6National Cancer Hospital of Vietnam, 30 Cau Buou, Thanh Tri, Hanoi 134821, VietnamTel +84 912353930Fax +84 904690818Email tvn204@nyu.eduPurpose: Neoadjuvant regimens containing trastuzumab and chemotherapy were widely used in human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) positive breast cancer patients. In this article, we report complete pathological response (pCR) rates from a single institution in Vietnam.Patients and Methods: Medical records of HER2 positive breast cancer patients who received neoadjuvant treatment with trastuzumab combined with chemotherapy were reviewed. Information on patient demographics, breast cancer stage, pathology reports, surgical data, and treatment regimens were collected. Pathological response was evaluated using Chevallier’s criteria, in which complete pathological response was defined as yT0yN0 or yTisN0.Results: Thirty-nine eligible breast cancer patients treated with chemo-trastuzumab combined regimens in a neoadjuvant setting at Vietnam National Cancer Hospital were included in the analysis. Median age was 47 (range 32– 72 years). Of these 39 patients, 5 (12.8%) were at stage II and 34 (87.2%) were at stage III. Median tumor size was 5.8 cm. There were 22 (56.4%) and 17 (43.6%) patients who had hormone receptor (HR) negative and positive diseases, respectively. Pathological complete response in the breast was demonstrated in 30 out of 39 (76.9%) patients. Of 35 patients with lymph nodal involvement, axillary pCR occurred in 25 (71.4%) patients. Total pathological complete response (tpCR) was achieved in 25 (64.1%) of the evaluated patients. There was no significant association between pathological response rates and age, tumor grade, hormone receptor status, and Ki-67 expression.Conclusion: Neoadjuvant treatment with trastuzumab and chemotherapy combined in patients with HER2 positive breast cancer yielded a pathological complete response rate of 64.1%.Keywords: pathological response, neoadjuvant, breast cancer, trastuzumab, chemotherapy

Aim: Cancers lacking standard screening (LSS) options account for approximately 70% of cancer-related deaths due to late-stage diagnosis. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a promising biomarker for multi-cancer early detection. We previously developed SPOT-MAS, a multimodal ctDNA-based assay analyzing methylation and fragmentomic profiles, effective in detecting common cancers (breast, colorectal, liver, lung and gastric). This study extends the analysis to five LSS cancers: endometrial, esophageal, head and neck, ovarian and pancreatic. Methods: SPOT-MAS was applied to profile cfDNA methylation and fragmentomic patterns in 739 healthy individuals and 135 LSS cancer patients. Results: We identified 347 differentially methylated regions and observed genome-wide hypomethylation across all five LSS cancers. Esophageal and head and neck cancers showed an enrichment of short cfDNA fragments (<150 bp). Eleven 4-mer end motifs were consistently altered in cfDNA fragments across all LSS cancers. Many significant signatures were consistent with previous observations in common cancers. Notably, SPOT-MAS achieved 96.2% specificity and 74.8% overall sensitivity, with a lower sensitivity of 60.7% in early-stage cancers. Conclusion: This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that SPOT-MAS a non-invasive test trained on five common cancer types, could detect a number of LSS cancer cases, potentially complementing existing screening programs.

In the present work, we propose GaGeX 2 (X = N, P, As) monolayers and explore their structural, vibrational, piezoelectric, electronic, and transport characteristics for multifunctional applications based on first-principles simulations. Our analyses of cohesive energy, phonon dispersion spectra, and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the three proposed structures have good energetic, dynamic, and thermodynamic stabilities. The GaGeX 2 are found as piezoelectric materials with high piezoelectric coefficient d 11 of -1.23 pm V -1 for the GaGeAs 2 monolayer. Furthermore, the results from electronic band structures show that the GaGeX 2 have semiconductor behaviours with moderate bandgap energies. At the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof level, the GaGeP 2 and GaGeAs 2 exhibit optimal bandgaps for photovoltaic applications of 1.75 and 1.15 eV, respectively. Moreover, to examine the transport features of the GaGeX 2 monolayers, we calculate their carrier mobility. All three investigated GaGeX 2 systems have anisotropic carrier mobility in the two in-plane directions for both electrons and holes. Among them, the GaGeAs 2 monolayer shows the highest electron mobilities of 2270.17 and 1788.59 cm 2 V -1 s -1 in the x and y directions, respectively. With high electron mobility, large piezoelectric coefficient, and moderate bandgap energy, the GaGeAs 2 material holds potential applicability for electronic, optoelectronic, piezoelectric, and photovoltaic applications. Thus, our findings not only predict stable GaGeX 2 structures but also provide promising materials to apply for multifunctional devices., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Conventional water treatment processes often fail to effectively remove antibacterial drugs, necessitating advanced strategies. This study presents the synthesis of novel floating, visible light-active α-NiMoO 4 /mpg-C 3 N 4 /EP composites for the removal of ciprofloxacin (CFX), a widely used quinolone antibiotic, from water. These composites are easily recoverable, highly stable, and demonstrate excellent reusability. The optimal photocatalyst, NC-101/EP (α-NiMoO 4 /mpg-C 3 N 4  = 10:1), achieved 96.2 ± 1.1% degradation of CFX at 1.6 g L -1 within 80 min under visible light, significantly outperforming previous benchmarks. This high efficiency is attributed to the formation of interfacial junctions and a built-in electric field, which enhanced charge transfer and hydroxyl radical generation through an S-scheme mechanism. Fluorescence spectroscopy provided precise monitoring of CFX degradation without interference from coexisting intermediates. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that hydroxyl radicals initiated highly favorable and spontaneous oxidation of CFX, with a reaction rate constant of 6.04 × 10 9  M -1  s -1 . The preferred oxidation pathway followed the sequence: HO-addition > H-abstraction > single electron transfer. Four degradation pathways were identified, with key intermediates confirmed by high-resolution mass spectrometry. The process also significantly reduced CFX toxicity, ensuring minimal environmental impact. These findings position NC-101/EP as a promising photocatalyst for large-scale water treatment applications targeting antibiotic contamination., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Recently, searching for a metal-semiconductor junction (MSJ) that exhibits low-contact resistance has received tremendous consideration, as they are essential components in next-generation field-effect transistors. In this work, we design a MSJ by integrating two-dimensional (2D) graphene as the metallic electrode and 2D Janus γ-Ge 2 SSe as the semiconducting channel using first-principles simulations. All the graphene/γ-Ge 2 SSe MSJs are predicted to be energetically, mechanically, and thermodynamically stable, characterized by the weak van der Waals (vdW) interactions. The graphene/γ-SGe 2 Se MSJ-vdWH form the n -type Schottky contact (SC), while the graphene/γ-SeGe 2 S MSJ-vdWH form the p -type one, suggesting that the switching between p -type and n -type SC in the graphene/γ-Ge 2 SSe MSJ-vdWHs can occur spontaneously by simply altering the stacking patterns, without requiring any external conditions. Notably, the contact features, including contact types and barriers of the graphene/γ-Ge 2 SSe MSJs are significant in versatility and can be altered by applying electric gating and adjusting interlayer spacing. Both the applied electric gating and strain engineering induce switchability between p - and n -type and SC to OC in the graphene/γ-Ge 2 SSE MSJs. This versatility underscores the potential of the graphene/γ-Ge 2 SSe MSJ for next-generation applications that require low-contact resistance and high performance.

This study assesses the impact of financial incentives on hygienic latrine ownership by poor/near-poor households in Vietnam. Rural communes were randomly assigned to a control group and three treatment arm groups: (T1) a rebate for households that installed a hygienic latrine; (T2) a financial reward for commune governments if the proportion of hygienic latrines in their commune increased by 30 percentage points; (T3) both a household rebate and a commune reward. We find a strong and positive effect from the household rebate (treatment arms 1 and 3) but an insignificant effect from the commune reward (treatment arm 2) on household ownership of a septic tank latrine. Our analysis provides suggestive evidence that microcredit is a channel through which a rebate encourages the installation of septic tank latrines. We also find that treatment arm 3 increases people's knowledge regarding sanitation and the availability of water and soap for handwashing within households., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Bats from three provinces in Vietnam (Lai Chau, Son La, and Dong Thap) were examined for the presence of pathogenic Leptospira or specific antibodies using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Tissue specimens from 298 bats belonging to 11 species were analyzed using a real-time PCR assay specific for leptospires of pathogenic species. Leptospiral DNA was identified in 40 bats from following species: Rousettus amplexicaudatus (5/9; 55.5 %), Rousettus leschenaultii (17/42; 40.4 %), Myotis hasseltii (8/25; 32 %), Taphozous longimanus (3/12; 25 %), and Eonycteris spelaea (7/32; 21.9 %). Based on secY phylogeny, sequences from M. hasseltii bore a strong resemblance to L. borgpetersenii. Sequences from other species revealed unique lineages: one of them resembled Leptospira sp., previously identified in Rousettus madagascariensis (Madagascar) and Rousettus aegyptiacus (South Africa); the second lineage showed close relation to L. kirshneri; and the third held an intermediary position between L. noguchii and L. interrogans. Through ELISA, anti-Leptospira antibodies were found in 83 of 306 bats, with the highest seroprevalence observed in R. leschenaultii (44/48; 91.6 %), R. amplexicaudatus (6/8; 75 %), and E. spelaea (19/25; 76 %). 66 of these ELISA-positive samples were tested using MAT; 41 of them were confirmed in MAT as positive. The predominant serogroups in our study were Tarassovi and Mini., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Intramedullary rodding of lower extremity long bones in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a widely accepted technique for fracture treatment and prevention. Previous small studies with short to medium-term follow-up have shown that telescoping rods have longer survival times compared with static rods. However, there are no long-term studies (10 or more years) longitudinally evaluating the results of these procedures. The purpose of this study was to compare the rod survival duration and number of procedures in patients treated with static versus telescoping rods with 10 years minimum follow-up., Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective comparative study of patients with a diagnosis of OI who had intramedullary nailing of the femur and/or tibia. Each bone included in the study had a 10-year minimum follow-up, only one type of rod utilized over the follow-up period, and no rod replacement surgeries outside of the primary hospital system. Patient demographics, clinical data, and details of each procedure were obtained. Groups were compared using univariate analysis with a 2-independent samples t test for continuous variables, χ2 for categorical variables, and the Kaplan-Meier method for survival analysis., Results: A total of 119 bones in 52 patients met inclusion criteria. Average follow up was 13.1 (range: 10.2 to 18.4) years. There were no differences between groups in follow-up length, Sillence type, bisphosphonate use, or age at first-rod placement. There were significantly more tibias treated in the static rod group compared with the telescopic rod group. The average survival length was significantly longer for telescopic rods, 5.8 ± 3.9 years versus 4.0±3.6 years for static rods. On average, bones treated with telescopic rods had significantly fewer surgeries compared with static rods (2.2 ± 0.8 vs 3.3 ± 1.6)., Conclusion: At long term follow up, bone segments in patients with OI treated with telescopic rods required fewer surgeries and had longer implant survival times compared with those treated with static rods. When available, surgeons should consider telescopic rods as the initial implant choice in this patient population., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: MEK inhibitors cause a wide spectrum of mucocutaneous toxicities which can delay or interrupt life-saving therapy., Purpose: To summarize the morphology, incidence, and clinical presentation of mucocutaneous toxicities from MEK inhibitors via a scoping review of the literature., Methods: We conducted a scoping review of the published literature, including clinical trials, retrospective and prospective studies, reviews, and case reports and series. All included literature was analyzed by a panel of pediatric and adult oncodermatologists., Results: Of 1626 initial citations, 227 articles met final inclusion criteria. Our review identified follicular reactions, ocular toxicities, xerosis, eczematous dermatitis, edema, and paronychia as the most common mucocutaneous side effects from MEK inhibitor therapy. Grade 1 and 2 reactions were the most prevalent and were typically managed while continuing treatment; however, grade 3 toxicities requiring dose reductions or treatment interruptions were also reported., Conclusion: Mucocutaneous toxicities to MEK inhibitor therapy are common and most often mild in severity. Early recognition and treatment can mitigate disruptions in oncologic therapy., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Minimizing the contact barriers at the interface, forming between two different two-dimensional metals and semiconductors, is essential for designing high-performance optoelectronic devices. In this work, we design different types of metal-semiconductor heterostructures by combining 2D metallic MX 2 (M = Nb, Hf; X = S, Se) and 2D semiconductor SiH and investigate systematically their electronic properties and contact characteristics using first principles calculations. We find that all the MX 2 /SiH (M = Nb, Ta; X = S, Se) heterostructures are energetically stable, suggesting that they could potentially be synthesized in the future. Furthermore, the generation of the MX 2 /SiH metal-semiconductor heterostructures leads to the formation of the Schottky contact with ultra-low Schottky barriers of a few tens of meV. This finding suggests that all the 2D MX 2 (M = Nb, Ta; X = S, Se) metals act as effective electrical contact 2D materials to contact with the SiH semiconductor, enabling electronic devices with high charge injection efficiency. Furthermore, the tunneling resistivity of all the MX 2 /SiH (M = Nb, Ta; X = S, Se) MSHs is low, confirming that they exhibit high electron injection efficiency. Our findings underscore fundamental insights for the design of high-performance multifunctional Schottky devices based on the metal-semiconductor MX 2 /SiH heterostructures with ultra-low contact barriers and high electron injection efficiency., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Competing Interests: None disclosed.

Background: Extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type is a rare, aggressive, and poor prognostic subtype. The concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by chemotherapy showed a relatively high response rate and the toxicity due to the treatment is acceptable. The study attempted to report the clinicopathological features, the survival outcome, and response rates of stages I-II, nasal type ENKTL patients treated with CCRT followed by adjuvant VIPD chemotherapy in Vietnam. Materials and Methods: The current study was conducted on 31 stage I or II NK/T cell lymphoma, nasal-type patients received by CCRT, followed by adjuvant VIPD chemotherapy. Information on patient demographics, disease stage, clinical symptoms, tumor, and paraclinical characteristics were collected. The primary endpoints of this study were OS and response rates. Results: After CCRT, 26 out of 31 (83.9%) patients had stable disease or response. Overall response rate (ORR) was observed in 80.6% of patients with a complete response rate of 67.7%. Low-risk PINK patients had a higher response rate than the intermediate- risk group (p=0.038). Mean disease-free survival was 44.3±4.5 months (95% CI, 35.4-53.1 months). Mean overall survival was 46.8±4.5 months (95% CI, 37.99-55.8 months). The intermediate-risk PINK patients had a significantly lower OS rate than low-risk patients. Conclusion: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by adjuvant VIPD chemotherapy showed a high response rate and survival benefit in stages I-II, nasal type, and extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma Vietnamese patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2024 Tehran University of Medical Sciences.)

Purpose: There are limited treatment options available for hematopoietic stem-cell transplant patients (HSCT) with oral graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Intraoral phototherapy is a novel, yet promising therapeutic regimen., Research Question: To assess the safety and effectiveness of intraoral narrowband UVB (nbUVB) phototherapy in the treatment of oral GVHD., Methods: This case series evaluated 10 patients with refractory oral GVHD, who were treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital with nbUVB between July 2019 and October 2023. Primary outcomes were to evaluate the safety and efficacy of phototherapy. Efficacy was measured by objective improvement in symptom scores and subjective improvement in patient reported symptoms. Safety was determined by the withdrawal due to adverse events. Total nbUVB exposure, number of treatments, and change in systemic immunosuppressive medications were also examined., Results: The study cohort comprised 10 patients who developed oral GVHD at a median of 9.5 months after HSCT. The total median dose of nbUVB was 36 J/cm 2 , and the median number of sessions was 55. All 10 patients demonstrated some degree of improvement in symptoms. Notably, there was a reduction in the number of patients who reported symptoms of oral pain (83%), bleeding (67%), xerostomia (50%), and oral sensitivity (78%) after initiating phototherapy. There was also a statistically significant decrease in the levels of pain, erythema, and edema (p ≤ 0.001, < 0.001, 0.01, respectively). Most patients tolerated phototherapy well, but 1 patient withdrew from treatment due to adverse effects. Seventy-five percent of patients who were on immunosuppressive medications were able to decrease or stop these medications., Conclusion: This case series suggests that nbUVB phototherapy is well tolerated and efficacious in patients with oral GVHD., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In practical electrocardiography (ECG) interpretation, the scarcity of well-annotated data is a common challenge. Transfer learning techniques are valuable in such situations, yet the assessment of transferability has received limited attention. To tackle this issue, we introduce MELEP, which stands for Muti-label Expected Log of Empirical Predictions , a measure designed to estimate the effectiveness of knowledge transfer from a pre-trained model to a downstream multi-label ECG diagnosis task. MELEP is generic, working with new target data with different label sets, and computationally efficient, requiring only a single forward pass through the pre-trained model. To the best of our knowledge, MELEP is the first transferability metric specifically designed for multi-label ECG classification problems. Our experiments show that MELEP can predict the performance of pre-trained convolutional and recurrent deep neural networks, on small and imbalanced ECG data. Specifically, we observed strong correlation coefficients (with absolute values exceeding 0.6 in most cases) between MELEP and the actual average F1 scores of the fine-tuned models. Our work highlights the potential of MELEP to expedite the selection of suitable pre-trained models for ECG diagnosis tasks, saving time and effort that would otherwise be spent on fine-tuning these models., Competing Interests: Competing InterestsThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures are considered as promising candidates for realizing multifunctional applications, including photodetectors, field effect transistors and solar cells. In this work, we performed first-principles calculations to design a 2D vdW MoTe 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure and investigate its electronic properties, contact types and the impact of an electric field and in-plane biaxial strain. We find that the MoTe 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure is predicted to be structurally, thermally and mechanically stable. It is obvious that the weak vdW interactions are mainly dominated at the interface of the MoTe 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure and thus it can be synthesized in recent experiments by the transfer method or chemical vapor deposition. The construction of the vdW MoTe 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure forms a staggered type II band alignment, effectively separating the electrons and holes at the interface and thereby extending the carrier lifetime. Interestingly, the electronic properties and contact types of the type II vdW MoTe 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure can be tailored under the application of external conditions, including an electric field and in-plane biaxial strain. The semiconductor-semimetal-metal transition and type II-type I conversion can be achieved in the vdW MoTe 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure. Our findings underscore the potential of the vdW MoTe 2 /MoS 2 heterostructure for the design and fabrication of multifunctional applications, including electronics and optoelectronics., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Hypothesis: The adsorption of heavy metal ions such as Pb(II) onto negatively charged minerals such as silica is expected to alter the structure and the interactions at the silica/aqueous interfaces. Besides the solution pH, the inner-sphere sorption of Pb(II) is expected to regulate the surface charge/potential, hypothesized to control the actions of monovalent anions in the aqueous environment. These complex pictures can be probed directly using surface-sensitive sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy., Experiments: The pH-dependent water structure within the double layer at silica/aqueous interfaces under the influence of different ions was examined using SFG. The recorded SFG spectra were deconvoluted into the Stern layer (SL) and diffuse layer (DL) using the maximum entropy method in conjunction with the electrical double-layer theory., Findings: Standalone monovalent sodium salts do not exhibit ion-specific effects on the silica/aqueous interfaces. However, the mixture of Pb(II) species and each of these salts display profound ion-specific effects on the structure of silica/aqueous interfaces, indicating the role of Pb(II) as an enabler of the ion-specificity of the investigated monovalent anions. The interesting effect arises from a complex interplay between the physical processes (i.e., electrostatic interactions, screening effects, etc.) and chemical processes such as the hydrolysis of Pb(II) ions, ion complexation, protonation and deprotonation of the surface silanol group., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Several activities such as aquaculture, human and feedstock therapies can directly release antibiotics into water. Due to high stability, low hydrolysis and non-biodegradation, they can accumulate in the aqueous environment and transport to aquatic species. Here, we synthesized amine-functionalized porous carbons (ANC) by a direct-pyrolysis process of NH 2 -MIL-53(Al) as a sacrificial template at between 600 and 900 °C and utilized them to eliminate chloramphenicol antibiotic from water. The NH 2 -MIL-53(Al)-derived porous carbons obtained high surface areas (304.7-1600 m 2  g -1 ) and chloramphenicol adsorption capacities (148.3-261.5 mg g -1 ). Several factors such as hydrogen bonding, Yoshida hydrogen bonding, and π-π interaction, hydrophobic interaction possibly controlled adsorption mechanisms. The ANC800 could be reused four cycles along with high stability in structure. As a result, NH 2 -MIL-53(Al)-derived porous carbons are recommended as recyclable and efficient adsorbents to the treatment of antibiotics in water., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

There are certain demographic characteristics that may serve as risk factors for exposure to a contact allergen. Volatile alkyl nitrites, colloquially known as "poppers," are commonly inhaled by men who have sex with men (MSM) for their psychoactive and muscle-relaxing effects. They have been reported to cause either allergic contact Dermatitis® (ACD) or irritant contact Dermatitis® (ICD), termed "poppers Dermatitis®." We searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science to understand the patient population, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and clinical course of poppers Dermatitis®. Our search returned 13 articles detailing 18 patients total. Most patient cases were male ( n  = 13/15; 87%), of whom 5 were MSM. The reports on the remaining 8 men did not disclose their sexual behaviors. The chemicals deemed responsible for adverse cutaneous side effects included amyl nitrite (6/18; 33%), butyl nitrite (3/18; 167%), isobutyl nitrite (2/18; 11%), and an unspecified alkyl nitrite (7/18, 39%). The most common diagnosis was ICD (10/18; 56%). Only 3 patients underwent alkyl nitrite patch testing, with 2 testing positive for ACD. The most commonly involved anatomic sites were perinasal (13/18; 72%) and perioral regions (10/18; 56%). Rash morphology has been described as yellow crusting, impetigo-like, eczematous, vesicular, edematous, and erythematous. Ulceration can occur with direct skin contact to concentrated nitrite solution. Poppers Dermatitis® was often self-limited with complete resolution. Dermatologists should consider poppers Dermatitis® in those presenting with a characteristic midfacial rash, especially in MSM.

Landfills are the primary endpoint for the disposal of PFAS-laden waste, which subsequently releases PFAS to the surrounding environments through landfill leachate. Ozone foam fractionation emerges as a promising technology for PFAS removal to address the issue. This study aims to (i) assess the effectiveness of the ozone foam fractionation system to remove PFAS from landfill leachate, and (ii) quantify equilibrium PFAS adsorption onto the gas-water interface of ozone bubbles, followed by a comparison with air foam fractionation. The results show that ozone foam fractionation is effective for PFAS removal from landfill leachate, with more than 90 % long-chain PFAS removed. The identified operating conditions provide valuable insights for industrial applications, guiding the optimization of ozone flow rates (1 L/min), dosing (43 mg/L) and minimizing foamate production (4 % wettability). The equilibrium modelling reveals that the surface excess of air bubbles exceeds that of ozone bubbles by 20-40 % at a corresponding PFAS concentration. However, the overall removal of PFAS from landfill leachate by ozone foam fractionation remains substantial. Notably, ozone foam fractionation generates foamate volumes 2 - 4 times less, resulting in significant cost savings for the final disposal of waste products and reduced site storage requirements., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Justin Baulch and Simon Dong report a relationship with Evocra Pty Ltd that includes: employment., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This article aims to determine the level and trend of the impact of the educational level of CEOs and CFOs on the profitability of real estate and construction companies in Vietnam. Because Vietnam is an emerging economy, insights into the profitability of this market will be lessons learned for other economies with similar characteristics. This quantitative study is based on secondary data collected from audited financial statements, annual reports of 123 Vietnamese real estate and construction companies, and macroeconomic data. Pool OLS, Fixed effect and Random effect regression models and the Hausman test are used to find the appropriate model. The study uses GLS regression to overcome heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation and uses the generalized method of moments (GMM) to overcome endogeneity. We find that the profitability of listed construction and real estate companies with highly educated CEOs is no higher than that of other companies. Furthermore, companies whose CFOs have master's or doctorate degrees are less likely to be profitable. Other findings confirm the heterogeneous effects of operating efficiency, economic growth rate, and financial leverage on different profitability measures. The study also proves that company age, firm size, net working capital, liquidity ratio and inflation rate do not affect profitability., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Two-dimensional (2D) metallic TaSe 2 and semiconducting WSe 2 materials have been successfully fabricated in experiments and are considered as promising contact and channel materials, respectively, for the design of next-generation electronic devices. Herein, we design a metal-semiconductor (M-S) heterostructure combining metallic TaSe 2 and semiconducting WSe 2 materials and investigate the atomic structure, electronic properties and controllable contact types of the combined TaSe 2 /WSe 2 M-S heterostructure using first-principles calculations. Our results reveal that the TaSe 2 /WSe 2 M-S heterostructure can adopt four different stable stacking configurations, all of which exhibit enhanced elastic constants compared to the constituent monolayers. Furthermore, the TaSe 2 /WSe 2 M-S heterostructure exhibits p-type Schottky contact (SC) with Schottky barriers ranging from 0.36 to 0.49 eV, depending on the stacking configurations. The TaSe 2 /WSe 2 M-S heterostructure can be considered as a promising M-S contact for next-generation electronic Schottky devices owing to its small tunneling resistivity of about 2.14 × 10 -9 Ω cm 2 . More interestingly, the TaSe 2 /WSe 2 M-S heterostructure exhibits tunable contact types and contact barriers under the application of an electric field. A negative electric field induces a transition from Schottky contact type to ohmic contact (OC) type. On the other hand, a positive electric field leads to a transformation from p-type SC to n-type SC. Our findings provide valuable insights into the practical applications of the TaSe 2 /WSe 2 M-S heterostructure towards next-generation electronic devices.

Objective: To establish reference values for the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and 2-minute walk test (2MWT) distances, to investigate the correlation between these 2 tests, and to establish prediction equations for these distances in healthy populations of Belgium and Vietnam., Design: Cross-sectional study., Subjects and Methods: The 6MWT and 2MWT were administered to a convenience sample of 239 Belgian and 303 Vietnamese participants between the ages of 18 and 80 years., Results: The mean (standard deviation; SD) 2MWT distances were 215 (32.8) m for Belgian participants and 156 (25.5) m for Vietnamese participants. The mean (SD) 6MWT distances were 625 (90.7) m for Belgian participants and 449 (70.4) m for Vietnamese participants. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the 2 tests was 0.901 (p < 0.001) for Belgian participants and 0.871 (p < 0.001) for Vietnamese participants. Age and sex were the 2 most important predictors of walking distance, followed by body mass index for Belgium and height for Vietnam. The adjusted R² ranged from 0.31 to 0.49 across 4 predictive equations., Conclusion: These results can be used to determine the presence of walking performance deficits and to guide future studies. The 2MWT is suggested as a useful and convenient alternative to the 6MWT for assessing walking performance in clinical practice.

Background: Vietnam is a country with very high smoking rates among men. According to a Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) conducted in 2015, the daily smoking prevalence among Vietnamese men was 39%., Methods: We used data from the 2010 and 2015 Vietnamese GATSs and cigarette price data from General Statistics Office of Vietnam. Since smoking prevalence is low among women, we only considered men. Using discrete-time hazard models, we estimated the effect of cigarette prices on smoking onset and cessation. Sensitivity analyses are conducted using different model specifications., Results: We find that higher cigarette prices reduce the probability of smoking onset. A 1% increase in the cigarette price reduces the hazard of smoking onset by 1.2% (95% CI -2.12% to -0.28%). This suggests that increases in tobacco taxation, which translate to price increases, can reduce smoking onset. We did not find evidence that cigarette prices impact smoking cessation among men in Vietnam., Conclusion: Vietnam should continue to increase excise taxes on tobacco products to reduce smoking onset. Since smokers are resilient to excise tax increases, other tobacco control policies, such as smoke-free areas and tobacco advertisement bans, should be better enforced to encourage people to quit. Other policies not yet implemented, such as plain packaging of tobacco products, may also encourage smokers to quit., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest None disclosed.

Purpose: Gut microbiota play an important role in human health, including cancer. Cancer and its treatment, in turn, may alter the gut microbiome. To understand this complex relationship, we profiled the gut microbiome of 356 Vietnamese patients with breast cancer., Materials and Methods: Stool samples were collected before chemotherapy, with 162 pre- and 194 postsurgery. The gut microbiome was measured by shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Associations of gut microbial diversity, taxa abundance, and gut microbiome health index (GMHI) with sociodemographic, clinical factors, and tumor characteristics were evaluated., Results: Postsurgery samples were associated with significantly lower α- and β-diversities ( P < .001) and showed significant differences in the abundance of 15% of 2,864 investigated taxa (false discovery rate [FDR] <0.1) compared with presurgery samples. An unhealthy gut microbiome was prevalent among patients with breast cancer, with a mean GMHI of -0.79 and -2.81 in pre- and postsurgery stool samples, respectively. In an analysis of 162 presurgery stool samples, diagnosis delay was significantly associated with lower α-diversity, variation in β-diversity, an increased abundance of species Enorma massiliensis , and a decreased abundance of Faecalicoccus pleomorphus . High intake of fiber was significantly associated with lower α-diversity and a higher abundance of species belonging to Bifidobacterium , Prevotella , and Bacteroides gena (FDR < 0.1). We did not find that cancer stage and subtype, menopausal status, comorbidity, antibiotic use during 3 months before stool collection, or physical activity was significantly associated with α- and β-diversities or GMHI although a few significant differences were observed in taxa abundance., Conclusion: Our study revealed that diagnosis delay, high fiber intake, and breast cancer surgery, which is always followed by antibiotic prophylaxis in Vietnam, led to a less diverse and unhealthy gut microbiome among patients with breast cancer.

Skin injury and dermatitis are common complications following chemotherapy and radiation administration for cancer treatment. Symptomatic relief of these complications is limited to slow-acting therapies and often results in holding or modifying cancer therapy that may impact patient outcomes. The off-label use of oral high dose vitamin D3 has demonstrated rapid clinical improvement in skin inflammation and swelling in both chemotherapy and radiation-induced injury. Furthermore, vitamin D3 has been shown to downregulate pro-inflammatory pathways and cytokines, including NFkB, and CCL2, as well as CCL20, which are not only involved in tissue injury, but may confer resistance to cancer treatment. In this paper, we discuss 2 patients with acute radiation dermatitis and acute radiation recall dermatitis following chemotherapy who received 50 000 - 100 000 IU of oral high dose vitamin D3 with improvement in their symptoms. These findings may indicate the potential use of vitamin D as a therapeutic intervention and future target for studying skin healing following chemotherapy and/ or radiation-induced cutaneous toxicity.

The emergence of van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures, which consist of vertically stacked two-dimensional (2D) materials held together by weak vdW interactions, has introduced an innovative avenue for tailoring nanoelectronic devices. In this study, we have theoretically designed a metal/semiconductor heterostructure composed of NbS 2 and Janus MoSSe, and conducted a thorough investigation of its electronic properties and the formation of contact barriers through first-principles calculations. The effects of stacking configurations and the influence of external electric fields in enhancing the tunability of the NbS 2 /Janus MoSSe heterostructure are also explored. Our findings demonstrate that the NbS 2 /MoSSe heterostructure is not only structurally and thermally stable but also exfoliable, making it a promising candidate for experimental realization. In its ground state, this heterostructure exhibits p-type Schottky contacts characterized by small Schottky barriers and low tunneling barrier resistance, showing its considerable potential for utilization in electronic devices. Additionally, our findings reveal that the electronic properties, contact barriers and contact types of the NbS 2 /MoSSe heterostructure can be tuned by applying electric fields. A negative electric field leads to a conversion from a p-type Schottky contact to an n-type Schottky contact, whereas a positive electric field gives rise to a transformation from a Schottky into an ohmic contact. These insights offer valuable theoretical guidance for the practical utilization of the NbS 2 /MoSSe heterostructure in the development of next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background: The standard treatment for localized osteosarcoma is neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. Our aim was to report the rate of histopathological response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy for the treatment of extremity osteosarcoma in Vietnam., Methods: We performed a retrospective study of stage II conventional osteosarcoma patients under 40 years-old who received MAP regimen as neoadjuvant chemotherapy at the Vietnam National Cancer Hospital between June 2019 and June 2022. Histopathological response was evaluated using the Huvos grading system, in which a good histopathological response was defined as a necrotic rate of 90% or more., Results: Thirty-five eligible patients were included in the study. Male patients accounted for 65.7%, with a median age of 16 years (range, 8-38 years). Of the 35 cases, 31 were reported as stage IIB (88.6%). The femur and tibia were the most common sites in our study, accounting for 51.4% and 34.3%, respectively. The most common pathologic subtype was osteoblastic osteosarcoma (68.6%), followed by chondroblastic subtype (20%). After two cycles of MAP-regimen neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 28 of 35 patients (80%) underwent limb-sparing surgery. A good histopathological response was observed in 18 of 35 patients (51.4%). There were significant correlations between the duration of symptoms ( P = 0.016), LDH ( P = 0.001) serum levels at initial presentation, and ALP ( P = 0.043) serum levels at initial presentation with histopathological response., Conclusion: This retrospective study suggests a possible association between symptom duration, pre-treatment LDH levels, and pre-treatment ALP levels with histopathological response rates. Additional clinical investigations with long-term follow-up are needed to investigate survival outcomes in the Asian population., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Conducting heterostructures have emerged as a promising strategy to enhance physical properties and unlock the potential application of such materials. Herein, we conduct and investigate the electronic and transport properties of the BSe/Sc 2 CF 2 heterostructure using first-principles calculations. The BSe/Sc 2 CF 2 heterostructure is structurally and thermodynamically stable, indicating that it can be feasible for further experiments. The BSe/Sc 2 CF 2 heterostructure exhibits a semiconducting behavior with an indirect band gap and possesses type-II band alignment. This unique alignment promotes efficient charge separation, making it highly promising for device applications, including solar cells and photodetectors. Furthermore, type-II band alignment in the BSe/Sc 2 CF 2 heterostructure leads to a reduced band gap compared to the individual BSe and Sc 2 CF 2 monolayers, leading to enhanced charge carrier mobility and light absorption. Additionally, the generation of the BSe/Sc 2 CF 2 heterostructure enhances the transport properties of the BSe and Sc 2 CF 2 monolayers. The electric fields and strains can modify the electronic properties, thus expanding the potential application possibilities. Both the electric fields and strains can tune the band gap and lead to the type-II to type-I conversion in the BSe/Sc 2 CF 2 heterostructure. These findings shed light on the versatile nature of the BSe/Sc 2 CF 2 heterostructure and its potential for advanced nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices.

Surfactants are used to control the macroscopic properties of the air-water interface. However, the link between the surfactant molecular structure and the macroscopic properties remains unclear. Using sum-frequency generation spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, two ionic surfactants (dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide, DTAB, and sodium dodecyl sulphate, SDS) with the same carbon chain lengths and charge magnitude (but different signs) of head groups interact and reorient interfacial water molecules differently. DTAB forms a thicker but sparser interfacial layer than SDS. It is due to the deep penetration into the adsorption zone of Br - counterions compared to smaller Na + ones, and also due to the flip-flop orientation of water molecules. SDS alters two distinctive interfacial water layers into a layer where H + points to the air, forming strong hydrogen bonding with the sulphate headgroup. In contrast, only weaker dipole-dipole interactions with the DTAB headgroup are formed as they reorient water molecules with H + point down to the aqueous phase. Hence, with more molecules adsorbed at the interface, SDS builds up a higher interfacial pressure than DTAB, producing lower surface tension and higher foam stability at a similar bulk concentration. Our findings offer improved knowledge for understanding various processes in the industry and nature., (© 2023 The Authors. ChemPhysChem published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

In acute skin injury, healing is impaired by the excessive release of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Melanin, an efficient scavenger of radical species in the skin, performs a key role in ROS scavenging in response to UV radiation and is upregulated in response to toxic insult. In a chemical injury model in mice, we demonstrate that the topical application of synthetic melanin particles (SMPs) significantly decreases edema, reduces eschar detachment time, and increases the rate of wound area reduction compared to vehicle controls. Furthermore, these results were replicated in a UV-injury model. Immune array analysis shows downregulated gene expression in apoptotic and inflammatory signaling pathways consistent with histological reduction in apoptosis. Mechanistically, synthetic melanin intervention increases superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, decreases Mmp9 expression, and suppresses ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Furthermore, we observed that the application of SMPs caused increased populations of anti-inflammatory immune cells to accumulate in the skin, mirroring their decrease from splenic populations. To enhance antioxidant capacity, an engineered biomimetic High Surface Area SMP was deployed, exhibiting increased wound healing efficiency. Finally, in human skin explants, SMP intervention significantly decreased the damage caused by chemical injury. Therefore, SMPs are promising and effective candidates as topical therapies for accelerated wound healing, including via pathways validated in human skin., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

The diagnosis and management of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) varies greatly between providers, often resulting in gaps in care including diagnostic delays and poor outcomes. As dermatologists strive to improve HS management, understanding patient perspectives is key. This study aims to characterize existing gaps in HS care as understood through patients' experiences. This study recruited adult patients with a diagnosis of HS seen at dermatology practices affiliated with Northwestern University. Data were collected through participant surveys and three semi-structured focus groups. Focus group meetings were transcribed verbatim and data were abstracted into themes using conventional content analysis. Six final themes were abstracted after review of 20 pages of transcribed conversation. Four themes centered on improved medical management of HS (access to care, disease-modifying therapies, symptom treatment, prevention of treatment-related adverse events). Two themes centered on supportive care (mental health support, specialized daily wear products). Limitations of this study include single-center recruitment and recall bias introduced by the focus group format. This study identifies six unmet needs for patients with HS and highlights the efficacy of a virtual format for research, conversation, and possibly clinical engagement. Moreover, multiple themes underscore the need for further collaboration across specialties in managing HS., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)