Thuy Tran

In Vietnam and the Philippines, viral hepatitis is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. This study aims to understand the barriers and enablers of people receiving care for hepatitis B and C to support both countries' efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. Retrospective, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive, quota-based sample of 63 people living with hepatitis B or C in one province of Vietnam and one region of the Philippines. A rapid deductive approach to thematic analysis produced key findings among the three phases of care: (1) pre-awareness and testing, (2) linkage and treatment initiation and (3) ongoing treatment and recovery...

UNLABELLED: Integration of carbapenemase gene bla IMP into the chromosome of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) has not been reported. The aim of this study was to explore the genomic characteristics of CRAB AB322 isolated from a Taiwanese patient diagnosed with bacteremia in 2011, whose chromosome harbors bla IMP-19 . Disk diffusion and broth microdilution were employed to analyze the antimicrobial susceptibility of AB322 to 14 antimicrobials. Nanopore whole-genome sequencing platform was utilized for AB322 genome sequencing, and conjugation was further performed to investigate the transferability of bla IMP-19 to amikacin-resistant A...

Three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems are becoming increasingly popular due to their ability to mimic the complex process of angiogenesis in cancer, providing more accurate and physiologically relevant data than traditional two-dimensional (2D) cell culture systems. Microwell systems are particularly useful in this context as they provide a microenvironment that more closely resembles the in vivo environment than traditional microwells. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) microwells are particularly advantageous due to their bio-inertness and the ability to tailor their material characteristics depending on the PEG molecular weight...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the nutritional status, growth parameters and lifestyle behaviours of children between 0.5-12 years in nationally representative samples in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the four countries, between May 2019 and April 2021. Data collected can be categorized into four categories: (1) Growth - anthropometry, body composition, development disorder, (2) Nutrient intake and dietary habits - 24-hour dietary recall, child food habits, breast feeding and complementary feeding, (3) Socio-economic status - food insecurity and child health status/environmental, and (4) Lifestyle behaviours - physical activity patterns, fitness, sunlight exposure, sleep patterns, body image and behavioural problems...

Melanoma has the highest propensity among solid tumors to metastasize to the brain. Melanoma brain metastases (MBM) are a leading cause of death in melanoma and affect 40-60% of patients with late-stage disease. Therefore, uncovering the molecular mechanisms behind MBM is necessary to enhance therapeutic interventions. Vascular mimicry (VM) is a form of neovascularization linked to invasion, increased risk of metastasis, and poor prognosis in many tumor types, but its significance in MBM remains poorly understood...

Antioxidants play an important role in the prevention of oxidative stress and have been widely used in medicine and healthcare. However, natural antioxidants have several limitations such as low stability, difficult long-term storage, and high cost of large-scale production. Along with significant advances in nanotechnology, nanomaterials have emerged as a promising solution to improve the limitations of natural antioxidants because of their high stability, easy storage, time effectiveness, and low cost. Among various types of nanomaterials exhibiting antioxidant activity, metal-based nanoantioxidants show excellent reactivity because of the presence of an unpaired electron in their atomic structure...

Fibroblast activation protein is a promising target for oncologic molecular imaging with radiolabeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitors (FAPI) in a large variety of cancers. However, there are yet no published recommendations on how to set up an optimal imaging protocol for FAPI PET/CT. It is important to optimize the acquisition duration and strive toward an acquisition that is sufficiently short while simultaneously providing sufficient image quality to ensure a reliable diagnosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of reducing the acquisition duration of [68 Ga]FAPI-46 imaging while maintaining satisfactory image quality, with certainty that the radiologist's ability to make a clinical diagnosis would not be affected...

BACKGROUND: Among pharmacy workers, low workplace wellbeing can lead to reduced effectiveness. However, to date, studies on this issue are limited within the community pharmacy setting in Vietnam. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to identify the component aspects of workplace wellbeing and their associations with demographic characteristics. METHODS: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Can Tho, Vietnam. Self-administered questionnaires were hand-delivered to all pharmacy workers working at selected community pharmacies...

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on the mental health of healthcare workers participating in the prevention and control of the pandemic, thereby reducing their quality of life and affecting the quality of patient outcomes. This study aims to explore and deeply understand the mental health problems among healthcare workers participating in the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A mixed methods study was undertaken with a descriptive cross-sectional survey of 2870 healthcare workers who have been participating in the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Ho Chi Minh City in 2021, followed by a qualitative descriptive phenomenological study comprised of in-depth interviews with a purposively sampled subset of 40 healthcare workers...

BACKGROUND: Iliac artery stenosis or occlusion is a critical condition that can severely impact a patient's quality of life. The effectiveness of balloon angioplasty and intraluminal stenting for the treatment of iliac artery lesions classified as TASC II A and B was evaluated in this single-center prospective study. METHODS: Conducted between October 2016 and September 2020 at Cho Ray Hospital's Vascular Surgery Department, this prospective study involved PAD patients categorized by TASC II A and B classifications who underwent endovascular intervention...

This phytochemistry investigation on the trunk of Morus alba L. resulted in the isolation of three triterpenoids, including a new gammacerane triterpenoid - morusacerane ( 1 ); along with two known compounds of betulinic acid ( 2 ) and ursolic acid ( 3 ). The structure elucidation was thoroughly conducted based on 1D, 2D-NMR and HRESIMS spectra, followed by a comparison with existing literatures. The evaluation on α -glucosidase inhibitory exhibited the great potential of the application of these isolated compounds in diabetes treatments...

In this study, a series of secondary metabolites from Ganoderma sp. were screened against Staphylococcus aureus protein targets, including as phosphotransacetylase, clumping factor A, and dihydrofolate reductase, using molecular docking simulations. The chemicals that showed the strongest binding energy with the targeted proteins were ganodermanontriol, lucidumol B, ganoderic acid J, ergosterol, ergosterol peroxide, 7-oxoganoderic acid Z, ganoderic acid AM1, ganosinoside A, ganoderic acid D, and 24 R -ergosta-7,2 E -diene-3 β ,5 α ,6 β -triol...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is among the leading causes of death in Vietnam. Survivors of TBI suffer from functional and cognitive deficits. Understanding that Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) are crucial in measuring the treatment and health-related quality of life among patients with TBI. This study aims to evaluate ADLs and IADLs among the TBI population in Vietnam and determine the correlated factors to these two indices. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 212 patients with TBI in Vietnam from February to September 2020...

In this study, four undescribed bibenzyl derivatives (1-4), together with seven known compounds (5-11) were isolated from the aerial parts of Dendrobium officinale. Their chemical structures were determined to be (7'S,8'S) -9''-acetyldendrocandin U (1), (7'S,8'S) -4'-methoxydendrocandin T (2), (7'R,8'S) -dendrocandin B (3), (1S,2R) -5'''-methoxydendrofindlaphenol C (4) by analyzing of the spectroscopic data including HR-ESI-MS, 1D-, and 2D-NMR spectra. The absolute configurations of compounds 1-4 were determined by the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra...

In recent years, there has been an increase in the prevalence of the diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a cognitive and behavioral disorder in which individuals present with inattention and impulsivity, in the pediatric population. With an increase in diagnoses, there is also increasing concern regarding overdiagnosis and overtreatment with medications for ADHD. The objective of this study was to map out and compile the recent literature pertaining to alternative therapies (e.g., physical activity, diet, mindfulness, and computer-based interventions) for children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD in an attempt to reduce or replace the use of pharmacological therapy...

BACKGROUND: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a determining factor of morbidity and mortality after esophagectomy. Adequate perfusion of the gastric conduit is crucial for AL prevention. This study aimed to determine whether intraoperative angiography using indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence improves the incidence of AL after McKeown minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) with gastric conduit via the substernal route (SR). METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 120 patients who underwent MIE with gastric conduit via SR for esophageal cancer between February 2019 and April 2023...

While durian shell is often discharged into landfills, this waste can be a potential and zero-cost raw material to synthesize carbon-based adsorbents with purposes of saving costs and minimizing environmental contamination. Indole (IDO) is one of serious organic pollutants that influence aquatic species and human health; hence, the necessity for IDO removal is worth considering. Here, we synthesized a magnetic composite, denoted MFOAC, based on activated carbon (AC) derived from durian shell waste supported by MnFe2 O4 (MFO) to adsorb IDO in water...

The diversity of clinical manifestations in COVID-19 has been observed not only among individuals but also among various populations in globally. HLA molecules play a central role in physiology, protective immunity, and deleterious, disease-related autoimmune reactivity or overreaction. This study exploited the association between HLA frequencies and SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and disease severity among the Vietnamese cohort (159 patients and 52 controls). A significant difference in frequency of both HLA class I and II in mild, moderate, and severe/fatal COVID-19 patients and negative exposure individuals - the controls were observed...

BACKGROUND: Childhood malnutrition in all forms is a major public health issue worldwide. This review systematically examined the prevalence and determinants and identify the potential interventions and current gap in addressing malnutrition including undernutrition, overnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) in Vietnamese children aged 0-18 years old. METHODS: Embase, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science were systematically searched through June 2022 to identify relevant articles published within the past 25 years...

Background: Copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) is a powerful tool to discover structural genomic variation, but limitations associated with its retrospective study design and inadequate diversity of participants can be impractical for clinical application. Aim: This study aims to use CNV-seq to assess chromosomal aberrations in pregnant Vietnamese women. Materials & methods: A large-scale study was conducted on 3776 pregnant Vietnamese women with abnormal ultrasound findings. Results: Chromosomal aberrations were found in 448 (11...