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Syphilis has been re-emerging around the world, especially in MSM and people living with HIV. Because of the high number of infections, complications of the disease that were previously rare, now appear again. Otosyphilis is one of them. We reported a case of a 31-year-old MSM patient, HIV-positive, with sudden hearing loss of both ears and tinnitus due to syphilis. This is the first case of otosyphilis detected in Vietnam. The diagnosis of otosyphilis may be delayed because its symptoms are similar to those of other diseases. Therefore, there should be a highly suspected indicator of otosyphilis that can help clinicians orient the diagnosis and handle it in a timely manner.

Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium are two common types of sexually transmitted infections. However, currently in Vietnam, there is no report on the rate of patients infected by the two types of bacteria. In this study, there were 6194 patients visiting the STI clinic of the HCMC Hospital of Dermato-Venereology, Vietnam, from 2016 to 2019. The results show that the proportion of patients positive with CT and MG is independent on time. The infection rate is mainly at the age of 21 - 30 (53.4%). The CT infection rate in female and male is equal (17.3% vs 17.4%) while the rate of MG in female is lower (5.1% vs 7, 8%). The rate of patients co-infected with either CT or MG is 4.5%, 17% and 5.7% respectively, time independence. This study may give better understandings of the epidemiological characteristics of MG and CT in Vietnam.

IntroductionDrug-related problems (DRPs) are common in clinical practice and occur at all stages of the medication process. The major factor contributing to DRPs is prescription, although patients' poor adherence to treatment is also a significant factor. This study evaluated type 2 diabetes outpatients in a hospital in Vietnam for drug-related problems (DRPs) and related variables.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 495 outpatients who met the criteria and 157 people agreed to participate in the interview. Medication order review and medication adherence review were used to identify DRPs. The types of DRP were based on the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) categories version 9.0. The identification and assessment DRPs were carried out by clinical pharmacists and get agreed upon by physicians who had not directly prescribed patients who participated in the study.ResultsA total of 762 DRPs were identified via prescribing review process, the average number of DRP on each prescription was 1.54±1.07, while 412 DRPs were determined through patient interviewing. The most frequent DRPs were "ADR (Adverse Drug Reaction) occurring" (68.8%). The main causes were "patient is unable to understand instructions properly" or "patient is not properly instructed", "patient stores insulin inappropriately", "patient decides to use unnecessary drugs" and "patient intentionally uses/takes less drug than prescribed or does not take the drug at all for whatever reason" which accounted for 65.0%, 41.4%, 38.2%, and 28.7%, respectively. From the prescribing review, the most observed DRPs were "Inappropriate drug according to guidelines/formulary" and "No or incomplete drug treatment in spite of existing indication", accounting for 45.0% and 42.9%, respectively. There was a significant association between age (OR 3.38, 95% CI: 1.01-11.30), duration of diabetes (OR 3.61, 95%CI: 1.11-11.74), presence of comorbidity (OR 5.31, 95%CI: 1.97-14.30), polypharmacy (OR: 2.95, 95%CI: 1.01-8.72) and DRPs. In patients, poor knowledge of antidiabetic agents was the main reason to lack adherence and occurring ADR (OR 2.73, 95%CI: 1.32-5.66, p = 0.007 and OR 2.49, 95%CI: 1.54-4.03, p = 0.001 respectively).ConclusionDRPs occurred in the prescribing stage and relating to patient's behavior of drug administration was high. Clear identification of DRPs and the associated factors are essential for building the intervention process to improve effectiveness and safety in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

From the aerial parts of Eupatorium fortunei, four thymol derivatives (1-4) were isolated and structurally elucidated by NMR and mass spectroscopic methods. Of which, a new dimeric thymol derivative (1) was characterized and its absolute configuration was established by electronic circular dichroism quantum method. In addition, the 1D and 2D NMR as well as HR-ESI mass spectral data of 2 were provided for the first time. Compounds 2-4 were evaluated for their inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase enzymes. All tested compounds showed weak inhibition at the concentration range of 1–256 μg/mL in both enzymatic assays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vật liệu hai chiều có cấu trúc lớp đã được quan tâm đặc biệt trong suốt gần hai thập kỷ qua do chúng có nhiều tính chất vật lý và hóa học nổi trội. Trong bài báo này, sử dụng lý thuyết phiếm hàm mật độ, chúng tôi nghiên cứu một cách có hệ thống sự ảnh hưởng của biến dạng lên các tính chất điện tử và quang học của đơn lớp GaSe. Các tính toán của chúng tôi chỉ ra rằng đơn lớp GaSe ở trạng thái cân bằng là một chất bán dẫn có vùng cấm xiên với năng lượng là 1,903 eV. Các tính chất điện tử của đơn lớp GaSe, đặc biệt là năng lượng của vùng cấm, phụ thuộc rất lớn vào biến dạng. Đơn lớp GaSe có phổ hấp thụ rộng, trải dài từ miền ánh sáng nhìn thấy đến vùng tử ngoại gần. Bên cạnh đó, biến dạng làm thay đổi đáng kể cường độ cũng như vị trí của các đỉnh trong phổ quang học của đơn lớp GaSe.

Objective/Background: Zingiber monophyllum Gagnep., a member of the Zingiberaceae family, is known for its significant biological activities. The current study aimed to determine the volatile components of the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fractionated extract found in the rhizomes of this species. This is the first report on the chemical composition and bioactivities of Z. monophyllum rhizomes fractionated extract. Methods: The chemical constituents were analyzed and determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antioxidant activities were evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays using ascorbic acid as a positive control. Antibacterial and antifungal properties of the EtOAc fractionated extract of Z. monophyllum rhizomes were assessed against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Candida albicans. Density functional theory (DFT) and molecular docking were also employed to illustrate antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Results: Nine components were identified by GC-MS analysis from the EtOAc fractionated extract of Z. monophyllum rhizomes. (E)-labda-8(17),12-diene-15,16-dial (9), spathulenol (2), and neointermedeol (5) were the major components (21.8%, 16.8%, and 11.9%, respectively). Moderate antioxidant activities of the EtOAc fractionated extract were observed via both the DPPH assay and the FRAP assay using ascorbic acid as the standard compound. The extract demonstrated remarkable antimicrobial activity against all examined microbial strains, except for P. aeruginosa. The DFT study analyzed the antioxidant potential of each component in the fractionated extract. Molecular docking study chose E. faecalis DNA gyrase B, E. coli DNA gyrase B, S. aureus biotin protein ligase, E. faecalis Alanine racemase, and C. albicans N-myristoyltransferase as potential target proteins for antimicrobial activity. Conclusion: In this study, the chemical composition of the EtOAc fractionated extract of Z monophyllum rhizomes was demonstrated through GC-MS analysis for the first time. Nine components, including alloaromadendrene, spathulenol, globulol, τ-cadinol, neointermedeol, aromadendrene oxide-(2), ambrial, (E) -15,16-dinorlabda-8(17),11-dien-13-one, and (E) -lambda-8 (17),12-diene-15,16-dial along with relative content were identified in this fractionated extract. The bioassays revealed that the fractionated extract showed moderate antioxidant activities and significant antimicrobial activities. The antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of each component was also theoretically examined by the DFT study and molecular docking study, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antidesma is a large genus consisting of around 100 species, which are widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics of Asia, some species can be found in Africa, the Pacific islands, and Australia. The uses of Antidesma plants range from food (for juice, jam, and red wine production) to medicinal purposes (for treatment of indigestion, pneumonia, menstrual regulation, and osteoarthritis). Methods: The review was conducted by gathering relevant literature from secondary databases, including Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed, as well as specialized books and websites. Results: There have been more than 140 compounds reported as chemical constituents of the genus Antidesma, which mainly belonged to alkaloid, phenolic, flavonoid, lignan, and terpenoid classes. The high content of phenolic compounds was found in A. bunius and A. thwaitesianum fruits, which also correlates with the potential anti-oxidant activities of respective plants. Besides that, the antibiotic, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory activities, as well as effects on metabolism were also investigated and reported. Conclusion: The plants of the Antidesma genus have a wide range of applications in food and medicine. The published results have shown that the genus is a precious source of bioactive natural compounds, which was shown beneficial for preventive medicine. Further research is required to promote the application in the healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zingiber densissimum S.Q.Tong & Y.M.Xia and Kaempferia laotica Gagnep., belong to the Zingiberaceae family, which were found in Vietnam and Laos in recent years. To date, there has been very limited information on their phytochemical profiles and pharmacological activities. The present study was conducted to give insights into the chemical composition of the essential oils isolated from two plants and their antimicrobial activities. Gas Chromatographic–Mass Spectral (GC-MS) analysis was utilized to identify the chemical composition of the rhizome essential oils of Z. densissimum and K. laotica. The antimicrobial activities were evaluated on three Gram-positive bacterial strains, three Gram-negative bacterial strains, and a pathogenic yeast. The GC-MS analysis showed that β-pinene (38.36%), β-phellandrene (26.85%), and α-pinene (13.31%) were the most dominant components in Z. densissimum rhizome essential oil, while K. laotica rhizome essential oil was found to contain mainly camphene (23.44%), α-pinene (10.69%), 3-carene (8.60%) and β-pinene (6.85%). As for the antimicrobial activity test results, the rhizome essential oil of Z. densissimum displayed potent activities against Candida albicans (MIC value = 2 μg/mL), Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli (MIC values = 8 μg/ mL). Meanwhile, the rhizome essential oil of K. laotica showed weaker activities against all investigated microbial strains (MIC values ranging from 32 to 256 μg/mL). The study results indicated the chemical constituents of the essential oils prepared from these plants. The two essential oil samples were also shown to exhibit potential antimicrobial activities against several pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(±)-Patulinervones A (1) and B (2), two diastereomers of spiro-lignans sharing an unprecedented dimethyl-spiro[furan-2,2′-furo[2,3-b]furan] 5/5/5 tricyclic moiety were isolated from the leaves of Melicope patulinervia (Merr. & Chun) C.C. Huang. Their structures were established by extensive spectroscopic data and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) analyses. The racemates (±)-1 and 2 and their enantiomers exhibited α-glucosidase inhibitory effect with IC50 values range of 10.08 ± 1.24 − 25.58 ± 1.97 µM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]