Testing for antinuclear antibodies are useful in evaluation of autoimmune disorders. Anti-nuclear antibodies are detected by a variety of techniques including indirect immuno-fluorescence, enzyme immuno-fluorescence, enzyme immunocytochemistry, and ELISA. In this study, anti-n-DAN quick test was performed on 127 patients who are treated at Rheumatology Department of Bach Mai Hospital from December 1997 to February 1999. Diagnosis in each of these disorders was based on the American College of Rheumatology criteria (ACR). The results shown that, anti-n-nDNA was positive in 84.6% patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 24.4% patients with systemic sclerosis and only 8.3% patients with rheumatoid arthritis, respectively. Anti-n-DNA quick test is simply and easy to perform but specificity and sensitivity of this method are still limited to compare with others.
Antibodies, Antinuclear ; Autoimmune Diseases ; diagnosis ; therapeutics

20 years old female patients with completed clinical symptoms, such as fatigue, weight loss, palpitation, tachycardia, hot feeling, tremor, hyperdefecation … However, FT4 and TSH tests gave normal results, therefore basal metabolism measurement and I131 concentration examination had been done to confirm the diagnosis.
Graves Disease ; Diseases ; Women ; diagnosis

Background: Food poisoning and diseases caused by food are pressing problems in Viet Nam.\r\n', u'Objectives: To contribute towards discovering suitable approaches for preventing food poisoning. \r\n', u'Subjects and methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in 2005 to assess the practice of food safety of 423 housewives in Bavi district, Hatay province. \r\n', u'Results:Almost all of them did not purchase tainted foods. Two thirds of them considered and looked for information on the label when buying tinned or packed foods. 52.2% of subjects reheated cooked foods before eating them. 87.2% of housewives washed their hands before they prepared food for their household. More than 86% of the subjects washed vegetables 3 times before cooking. Percentage of housewives who soak vegetables properly is 51.8%. Chopping board was used for processing both cooked and fresh foods by 55.6%. For containing foods, tools were used separately for cooked and un-cooked food by 98.6%. For preserving foods, dish-covers were used by 74.9%, lids by 72.8%, fridge by 1 % while 1.25% was not preserved by any tools. As for sources of water, deep well accounted for 71.6% while water well and rain water accounted for 18% and 9%, respectively. 88.7% of households have the foundation of kitchen dried. 68.6% of households did not have rubbish bins and 14.7% have daily emptied ones. \r\n', u'Conclusions: Housewives had initial improvements in good practice of food hygiene.\r\n', u'
food safety practice ; situation

Background: Maternal and child healthcare is a leading priority in the health care strategy of Viet Nam. Motherhood safety is amongst contents of reproductive healthcare strategy to ensure safe delivery, reduce maternal and neonatal morbidity as well as mortality. Aims: To discover the utilization of delivery care and related factors to women in selecting location for delivery. Subjects and method: The study was carried out in Chillilab \u2013 Demographic and Epidemiological Surveillance was set up in Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province by the School of Public Health. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used in collecting the data. Results: 97% of pregnant women chose public health facilities as their delivery place and 2.5% of pregnant women had homebirths. The main reasons for delivery in hospitals were trust on care quality and sufficient equipment for emergency care. The complicated delivery rate was 14% and Cesarean section delivery was 12%. Hospitalized deliveries were more common in the women with higher education and/or better economic status. Conclusion: There should be improved healthcare communications to encourage all women to give birth at health facilities. Improving the quality of delivery care in community health stations is important to give opportunities for deprived women to receive safer deliveries.
Delivery ; Reproductive health

Background: Pesticides have been used widely in not only around the world but also Vietnam; however, their misuse can cause many serious health problems. For this reasons, it is necessary to closely monitor the use of pesticides and their effects on the health of farmers. Objectives: To describe the kinds of pesticides, the symptoms and related factors of acute pesticide poisoning among flowers planters. Subjects and method: A cross-sectional analytic design was applied with a sample of 107 households in the Hong Ha 1 and Hong Ha 2 village of My Tan commune, My Loc district, Nam Dinh province from November 2005 to February 2006. \r\n', u'Results: There were various types of pesticide that were being sprayed in the flower planting villages. Almost all types were moderately hazardous. 85% of farmers experienced at least 1 symptom of acute poisoning after spraying pesticides. The most common symptoms were headache, dizziness, rash (accounting for 45-58%), followed by red eyes and musculoskeletal symptoms (approximate 40%). The effects of pesticides to the farmer\u2019s health were proved with the typical symptoms of toxicity, especially headache, irritation of the face, red eyes. The percentages of self-reported toxicity symptoms were associated with sex, age groups, following manual and pesticide exposure. Conclusion: The results suggested that various interventions is required in order to change the knowledge, attitude and practice of pesticide use among farmers in general and flowers planters in particularly.\r\n', u'
pesticide ; acute pesticide poisoning ; flowers planter

Background: Pesticides safety, plant protection chemicals are widely used around the world, especially in agriculture to protect crops. \r\n', u'Objectives: To describe the real statute of knowledge and practice of safe pesticide use among flowers planters and various other related factors. \r\n', u'Subjects and method: The cross sectional analytic study was carried out in 2006 to evaluate the current situation of knowledge and practice of safe pesticide use in 2 flower planting villages: Hong Ha 1 and Hong Ha 2, My Tan commune, My Loc district, Nam Dinh Province. Results:The results showed that knowledge on determining toxicity levels and the absorption routes of pesticides to the human body through land and water is insufficient. As for pesticide use practice, the percentage of planters fully utilizing safety work clothes and other equipments was low. Multivariate analysis found that there was a significant correlation between good practice and knowledge. In addition, some predictors of good knowledge were: highly educated, male and age. Conclusion: The findings also discovered the priority of improving direct communication on safe pesticide use among planters. \r\n', u'
safe pesticide use ; flowers planters

The ability of the total extract from Physalis angulata; three fractions after partitioning with n-hexane, ethyl acetate (TBE), and water; and four withanolides (compounds 1 – 4) to phosphorylate 5'-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in HepG2 cells was evaluated. The TBE fraction (50 μg/mL) activated p-ACC and p-AMPK expression most strongly. Compounds 1 – 4 (10 μM) upregulated p-ACC expression at different levels. Compound 4 induced the most significant changes in p-AMPK expression, followed by 1 and 2. Sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) play a functional role in the transcriptional regulation of the lipogenic pathway, including fatty acid synthase (FAS) and ACC. The effects of compounds 2 and 4 (10 μM) on FAS and SREBP-1c expression under high glucose conditions (30 mM) in HepG2 cells were evaluated further. Both dose-dependently inhibited FAS and SREBP-1c expression as well as lipid accumulation (1 – 10 μM) were compared to high-concentration glucose control, which upregulated FAS and SREBP-1c. These results suggest that compounds 2 and 4 upregulate AMPK, suppress FAS and SREBP-1c, and have potential effects on glucose and lipid metabolism.

Background: Open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) causes haemostatic abnormalities which result in postoperative excessive bleeding. Objectives: To investigate haemostatic disorders before - after CPB and postoperative bleeding. Subjects and methods: Sixty congenital cardiac patients with and without cyanosis were recruited consecutively. Hematology and coagulation tests were done 1 day before operation, 15 minutes after protamine administration, 2 and 6 hours after the operation in the intensive care unit (lCU). Mediastinal chest tube drainage (MCTO) was measured for the first 6h in the ICU. Results: Significant differences between 2 groups could be found for red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, fibrinogen, D-dimer, fibrinogen degradation products (FOP), von Kaulla and platelet aggregation to epinephrine before operation (p < 0.05). There were not significant differences in platelets, PT, APTT, platelet aggregation to adenosine diphosphate (AOP) in the acyanotic and cyanotic patients (p > 0.05). Most hematology parameters were decreased significantly and hemostasis measurements were prolonged after operation in both groups (p < 0.05). There was also the significant difference in MCTO between 2 groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Coagulation, hemostasis and fibrinolysis disorders; thrombocytopenia and acquired transient platelet dysfunction may be responsible for bleeding complications after CBP \r\n', u'\r\n', u'
Heart Defects ; Congenital/ pathology ; epidemiology ; Hemostatic Disorders/ pathology ; diagnosis

Endophytic fungi are promising sources for the production of podophyllotoxin-an important anticancer compound, replacing depleted medical plants. In this study, the endophytes associated with Dysosma difformis-an ethnomedicinal plant species were isolated to explore novel sources of podophyllotoxin. Fifty-three endophytic fungi were isolated and identified by morphological observation and ITS-based rDNA sequencing, assigning them to 27 genera in 3 divisions. Fusarium was found the most prevalent genus with a colonization frequency of 11.11%, followed by Trametes (9.26%) and Penicillium (7.41%). Phylogenetic trees were constructed for the endophytic fungi community in two collection sites, Ha Giang and Lai Chau, revealing the adaptation of the species to the specific tissues and habitats. Cytotoxic activity of endophytic fungal extracts was investigated on cancer cell lines such as SK-LU-1, HL-60, and HepG2, demonstrating strong anti-cancer activity of six isolates belonging to Penicillium, Trametes, Purpureocillium, Aspergillus, and Ganoderma with IC 50 value of lower than 10 10 µg/mL. The presence of podophyllotoxin was indicated in Penicillium, Trametes, Aspergillus and for the first time in Purpureocillium and Ganoderma via high-performance liquid chromatography, which implied them as a potential source of this anticancer compound.

Background: Phu Cat district, Binh Dinh province is one of the areas contaminated with Agent Orange in Wartime and now up to it still continues to affect the environmental life and health of people living there. Objectives: Investigate the factual status of mortality rate from 2002 to 2006 in Phu Cat district, Binh Dinh province and determine the burden of mortality based on the number of Years of Lost Life (YLLs). Subject and methods: A retrospective study was conducted on all deaths from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2006 in Phu Cat population. Burden of mortality was analyzed using the WHO standard method. The dead cases were causal diagnosed by Verbal Autopsy tools and update information for mortality rate. Results: Mortality rates were 3.1%o (2002), 3.3%o (2003), 4.08%o (2004) and 2.67% (2005). YLLs from 2002 to 2006 in order are: 55.87%, 57.98%, 73.82%, 48.74% and 49.01%, respectively. The number of mortality in men was higher than women and had a tendency to increase from 2002 to 2004, to decrease during 2005 and 2006. YLLs in group of ages 0-4 was highest in 2004 (150.76%o), followed by 2002 (126.28%o) and was lowest in 2005 (39.72%o). YLLs in groups of ages >60 was high, especially in non-communicable disease. Conclusions: Mortality model from 2002 to 2006 in Phu Cat district, Binh Dinh province was appropriate for the national mortality model. According to YLLs, the burden of mortality was determined as the general burden of mortality from 2002 to 2006 and burden of mortality followed disease groups: communicable disease, nutrition disease and pregnancy; non-communicable disease; poisoned and accident related diseases.
burden of mortality ; mortality