Objective: To investigate antidiabetic and antioxidant activities of the extract and fractions from Vietnamese red seaweed Laurencia dendroidea. Methods: The seaweed Laurencia dendroidea was extracted by using microwave-assisted extraction method in 80％ methanol. The seaweed extract was then fractionated using different solvents (n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol and water). These obtained fractions were evaluated for α-glucosidase inhibitory and antioxidant activities. Antioxidant activities were tested using DPPH, nitric oxide radical scavenging and metal chelating assays. The enzyme inhibition mode was determined using Lineweaver-Burk plot. For acidic and thermal stabilities, the ethyl acetate fraction was treated at pH 2.0 and 100 ℃, respectively. The residual inhibitory activity of the fraction was calculated based on the initial inhibitory activity. For in vivo antidiabetic activity, mice were divided into four groups, including normal control, diabetic control, diabetic mice treated with ethyl acetate fraction and diabetic mice treated with gliclazide. Blood glucose level of treated mice during acute and prolonged treatments was measured. To evaluate the toxicity of the ethyl acetate fraction, the body weight changes and activities of liver function enzymes (aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase and gammaglutamyl transferase) were carried out. Results: The extract of Laurencia dendroidea showed strong α-glucosidase inhibitory and DPPH radical scavenging activities. Methanolic concentrations affected both α-glucosidase inhibitory and antioxidant activities. A 80％ aqueous methanol was the suitable solvent for extraction of enzyme inhibitors and antioxidants. Among solvent fractions, ethyl acetate fraction had the highest inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase with a mixed type of inhibition and the strongest antioxidant activities, and was stable under acidic and thermal conditions. The ethyl acetate fraction treated diabetic mice significantly reduced blood glucose level compared with the diabetic control group (13.16 mmol/L vs. 22.75 mmol/L after 3 hours of treatment). Oral administration of ethyl acetate fraction did not exhibit toxicity at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight as determined by body weight changes and liver biochemical parameters. Conclusions: Laurencia dendroidea could be a potential source for production of antidiabetic and antioxidative agents.

Background: Surveys in disability are getting more and more attention from the Governments and contributes towards improve service provision for people with disabilities. Objective: To describe the prevalence of people with disabilities at The Chi Linh demographic and epidemiological surveillance system (CHILILAB), Hai Duong province in 2007. Subject and Method: The cross - cutting survey conducted in the CHILILAB which has a population of 65.438 people, the WHO questionnaire of disability screening was used. Result and conclusion: Disability prevalence in Chi Linh occurs in 28.2% of the population. It is noted that the disability prevalence increases significantly with age groups: 81.8% of those who are over 60, 58.2% those aged of 40 - 59 and only 8 - 9% of those aged under 40. In addition, the disability prevalence is higher in the rural areas, women, the poor and the illiterate. It is necessary to have more study on the prevalence of people with disabilities in wider ranges. \r\n', u'\r\n', u'\r\n', u'
Prevalence ; Disability prevalence ; Disability

Background: People with disabilities have been coping with barriers that make it difficult for them to access public services. Many of them are poor, illiterate and out of work. Objective: To describe some characteristics of disabled people living in the communities of Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province. Subject and methods: Interview all of the 18.473 disabled people living in the seven communities of Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province. The contents of the interviews includes: economic-social information (income, education, job and martial status) and disability status (disability form and cause). Results: Nearly three fourths of disabled people are at the age of 45 and over. There are more women than men, with the male/female ratio at 1:1.8. Almost all of the disabled people are the Kinh in Chi Linh and 10.8% of them belong to the poor households. One in ten disabled people are illiterate and two thirds of disabled adolescents are at lower secondary school or lower. Difficulty in seeing is the most common among the kinds of disabilities, accounting for 81.9% of disabled people and about three fourths with one disability. Among the causes of disability, aging accounts for 71.5%, this is followed by illness. Conclusion: There is the need to reduce the rate of disability at the age of 45 and over, reducing the rate of sight related difficulties and increasing the accessibility of disabled people to educational services.
disability persons ; characteristics

Penicillium vietnamense sp. nov. was isolated from Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam in June 2017. It is phylogenetically distinct from the sister species of Penicillium section Charlesia series Indica based on multi-locus sequence typing results using internal transcribed spacer, large subunit ribosomal RNA, β-tubulin, calmodulin, and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit regions. It showed strong growth on Czapek yeast autolysate agar at 37 C, a strong acid production on Creatine sucrose agar, and produced short stipes, small vesicles, and subglobose to globose conidia delicately roughened with very short ridges. As the first novel marine fungi species described from Vietnam and discovered in a unique environment, the data could be significant for understanding the taxonomy and geographical distribution of marine fungi in tropical coastal systems such as Vietnam.

Background: Coordinating between soldiers and people bring significant results in protecting healthy for soldiers and people in malaria epidemic area.\r\n', u'Objectives: To evaluate epidemic supervision and propose solutions protecting healthy for soldiers and people in malaria epidemic area.\r\n', u'Subjects and methods: A retrospective cross sectional study was carried out on two provinces Binh Phuoc and Dak Lak\r\n', u'Results: there was 4 main disease types were fever, tuberculosis, diarrhea and malaria. Malaria at investigated times still accounted high rate comparing with general fever rate. Malaria risk contained in people living or working in forest and mountain field; free emigrants; armed forces and border guard. These subjects needed to improve regularly protection from malaria. Communication of health education is one of important method to prevent and control malaria.\r\n', u'Conclusion: It is necessary to implement strong methods (such as providing insecticide treated bed nets, indoor residual spray) to prevent and control malaria. \r\n', u'
Epidemic supervision ; healthy ; soldier ; malaria epidemic area.

The coastal marine ecosystems of Vietnam are one of the global biodiversity hotspots, but the biodiversity of marine fungi is not well known. To fill this major gap of knowledge, we assessed the genetic diversity (ITS sequence) of 75 fungal strains isolated from 11 surface coastal marine and deeper waters in Nha Trang Bay and Van Phong Bay using a culturedependent approach and 5 OTUs (Operational Taxonomic Units) of fungi in three representative sampling sites using next-generation sequencing. The results from both approaches shared similar fungal taxonomy to the most abundant phylum (Ascomycota), genera (Candida and Aspergillus) and species (Candida blankii) but were different at less common taxa. Culturable fungal strains in this study belong to 3 phyla, 5 subdivisions, 7 classes, 12 orders, 17 families, 22 genera and at least 40 species, of which 29 species have been identified and several species are likely novel. Among identified species, 12 and 28 are new records in global and Vietnamese marine areas, respectively. The analysis of enzyme activity and the checklist of trophic mode and guild assignment provided valuable additional biological information and suggested the ecological function of planktonic fungi in the marine food web. This is the largest dataset of marine fungal biodiversity on morphology, phylogeny and enzyme activity in the tropical coastal ecosystems of Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Biogeographic aspects, ecological factors and human impact may structure mycoplankton communities in such aquatic habitats.

Geographical and racial factors constitute important distinctions between Kawasaki disease (KD) and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), but no study has been conducted in Vietnam. Forty-one children with KD from January 2018 to July 2020 and 42 with KD/MIS-C from August 2020 to December 2022 were included in this study. Of the patients, 52.3% were aged between 12 and 35 months. Only two were aged over 5 years, and both were belong to the KD/MIS-C group. A 59.5% of the patients were male. Apart from fever, all symptoms tended to be more frequent in patients with KD/MIS-C. The prevalence of diffuse skin rash, hand and foot edema or erythema and gastrointestinal signs was significantly higher in patients hospitalized with KD/MIS-C. There was no significant difference in laboratory findings between the two groups. Coronary artery dilation was more frequently observed in patients with KD/MIS-C compared to those with KD (40.5% vs. 14.6%, P = 0.009).

Blepharoplasty is one of the most commonly performed aesthetic procedures. Surgical complications are rare, but can have severe consequences, such as permanent vision loss. In this report, we describe a patient who developed primary angle-closure glaucoma (ACG) with associated vision loss after a oculoplastic procedure using local anesthesia. So far, six similar cases have been described in the literature. It is believed that acute ACG is triggered by the surgical procedure in patients with predisposing risk factors such as a cataract. Surgical triggering factors include the use of buffered lidocaine/xylocaine with adrenaline/epinephrine, stress, and coverage of the eyes postoperatively. Due to postoperative analgesic use, the clinical presentation can be mild and atypical, leading to a significant diagnostic delay. Acute ACG should therefore be excluded in each patient with postoperative complaints by assessing pupillary reactions. If a fixed mid-wide pupil is observed in an ophthalmologic examination, an immediate ophthalmology referral is warranted. Surgeons should be aware of this rare complication in order to offer treatment at an early stage and to minimize the chance of irreversible vision loss.
Anesthesia, Local ; Blepharoplasty* ; Blindness ; Cataract ; Glaucoma ; Glaucoma, Angle-Closure* ; Humans ; Ophthalmology ; Postoperative Complications ; Pupil ; Referral and Consultation ; Risk Factors ; Surgeons

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with twin pregnancy following day 3 double embryo transfer (DET). Methods: This retrospective cohort study incorporated data from 16,972 day 3 DET cycles. The participants were women aged between 18 and 45 years who underwent in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) at My Duc Assisted Reproduction Technique Unit (IVFMD), My Duc Hospital, located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Results: Of the 16,972 day 3 DET cycles investigated, 8,812 (51.9%) resulted in pregnancy. Of these, 6,108 cycles led to clinical pregnancy, with 1,543 (25.3% of clinical pregnancies) being twin pregnancies. Factors associated with twin pregnancy included age under 35 years (odds ratio [OR], 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32 to 1.71; p<0.001) and cycles involving the transfer of at least one grade I embryo. Relative to the transfer of two grade III embryos, the risk of twin pregnancy was significantly elevated following the transfer of two grade I embryos (OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.69; p<0.001) or a combination of one grade I and one grade II embryo (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.55; p=0.001). Conclusion By analyzing a large number of IVF/ICSI cycles, we identified several predictors of twin pregnancy. These findings can assist medical professionals in tailoring treatment strategies for couples with infertility.

Objective: The purpose of this survey was to estimate the prevalence of viral load (VL) suppression and emergence of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) among individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 36 months or longer in Viet Nam using a nationally representative sampling method. Methods: The survey was conducted between May and August 2014 using a two-stage cluster design. Sixteen ART clinics were selected using probability proportional to proxy size sampling, and patients receiving ART for at least 36 months were consecutively enrolled. Epidemiological information and blood specimens were collected for HIV-1 VL and HIVDR testing; HIVDR was defined by the Stanford University HIVDR algorithm. Results: Overall, 365 eligible individuals were recruited with a mean age of 38.2 years; 68.4% were men. The mean time on ART was 75.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 69.0–81.9 months), and 93.7% of the patients were receiving non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimens. Of the 365 individuals, 345 (94.7%, 95% CI: 64.1–99.4%) had VL below 1000 copies/mL and 19 (4.6%, 95% CI: 2.8-–7.5) had HIVDR mutations. Discussion Our nationally representative survey found a high level of VL suppression and a low prevalence of HIVDR among individuals who received ART for at least 36 months in Viet Nam. Continued surveillance for HIVDR is important for evaluating and improving HIV programs.