Age-specific prevalence of IgG against measles/rubella and the impact of routine and supplementary immunization activities: A multistage random cluster sampling study with mathematical modelling.

Background: Vietnam continues to have measles and rubella outbreaks following supplementary immunization activities (SIA) and routine immunization despite both having high reported coverage. To evaluate immunization activities, age-specific immunity against measles and rubella, and the number of averted Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) cases, must be estimated.

Methods: Dried blood spots were collected from 2091 randomly selected individuals aged 1-39 years.

Antibiotic prescribing practices of medical doctors in a resource-limited setting and the influence of individual perceptions and stewardship support: a survey in three tertiary hospitals in Vietnam.

Objectives: To understand antibiotic prescribing and influencing factors to inform antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions to reduce unwanted consequences of antibiotic use in hospitals in Vietnam, a lower-middle-income country in Asia.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of doctors at three tertiary hospitals using non-probability convenience sampling, through a paper-based (Hospitals 1 and 2) or electronic (Hospital 3) survey. Questions included items on perceptions regarding antibiotic resistance and AMS, prescribing practices, knowledge, demographics and training.

Development of Efficient Sodium Alginate/Polysuccinimide-Based Hydrogels as Biodegradable Acetaminophen Delivery Systems.

Efficient drug delivery systems are essential for improving patient outcomes. Acetaminophen (AP), which is a kind of oral administration, is a commonly used pain reliever and fever reducer. However, oral administration carries various health risks, especially overdose and frequent use; for instance, AP is administered approximately 4 times per day.

Financial literacy, behavioral traits, and ePayment adoption and usage in Japan.

Unlabelled: This study investigates how financial literacy and behavioral traits affect the adoption of electronic payment (ePayment) services in Japan. We construct a financial literacy index using a representative sample of 25,000 individuals from the Bank of Japan's 2019 Financial Literacy Survey. We then analyze the relationship between this index and the extensive and intensive usage of two types of payment services: electronic money (e-money) and mobile payment apps.

Carbon stock potential of highland bamboo plantations in northwestern Ethiopia.

Background: In Ethiopia, highland bamboo has been cultivated in various niches: farmlands, riverbanks, woodlot boundaries, and homesteads, and agroforestry systems. However, the biomass and carbon storage of potential of bamboo forests across niches is not well characterized in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was conducted to estimate the biomass and carbon storage potential of highland bamboo plantations in northwestern Ethiopia.

Biomass, carbon stock and sequestration potential of Oxytenanthera abyssinica forests in Lower Beles River Basin, Northwestern Ethiopia.

Background: Given the large bamboo resource base with considerable potential to act as an important carbon sink, Ethiopia has included bamboo in the national Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and enhancing forest carbon stocks (REDD+) and Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) programs. However, little is known about the carbon stock and sequestration potential of bamboo forests. As a result, this research was conducted to quantify the carbon sequestration and storage capacity of Oxytenanthera abyssinica forests in the Lower Beles River Basin, northwestern Ethiopia.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Breast Imaging Education.

Objective: To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast imaging education.

Methods: A 22-item survey addressing four themes during the early pandemic (time on service, structured education, clinical training, future plans) was emailed to Society of Breast Imaging members and members-in-training in July 2020. Responses were compared using McNemar's and Mann-Whitney tests; a general linear model was used for multivariate analysis.

Adaptations of Breast Imaging Centers to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of California and Texas.

Objective: To determine the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on breast imaging centers in California and Texas and compare regional differences.

Methods: An 11-item survey was emailed to American College of Radiology accredited breast imaging facilities in California and Texas in August 2020. A question subset addressed March-April government restrictions on elective services ("during the shutdown" and "after reopening").

Impact of a chemotherapy workload and productivity dashboard on pharmacy technician turnover.

Purpose: To describe the methods used in the development of an intravenous chemotherapy workload and productivity dashboard and its impact on symptoms of burnout and technician turnover.

Summary: In February 2017, chemotherapy sterile preparation pharmacy technicians reported symptoms of burnout as a result of perceived increase in workload. In response, an i.

Impact of a quality-assessment dashboard on the comprehensive review of pharmacist performance.

Purpose: The impact of a quality-assessment dashboard and individualized pharmacist performance feedback on the adherence of order verification was evaluated.

Methods: A before-and-after study was conducted at a 1,440-bed academic medical center. was defined as orders verified according to institution-derived, medication-related guidelines and policies.

CT-Guided Wire Localization for Involved Axillary Lymph Nodes After Neo-adjuvant Chemotherapy in Patients With Initially Node-Positive Breast Cancer.

Resection of biopsy-proven involved axillary lymph nodes (iALNs) is important to reduce the false-negative rates of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in patients with initially node-positive breast cancer. Preoperative wire localization for iALNs marked with clips placed during biopsy is a technique that may help the removal of iALNs after NAC. However, ultrasound (US)-guided localization is often difficult because the clips cannot always be reliably visible on US.

Patient awareness of breast density and interest in supplemental screening tests: comparison of an academic facility and a county hospital.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to measure women's knowledge of breast density and their attitudes toward supplemental screening tests in the setting of the California Breast Density Notification Law at an academic facility and a county hospital, serving women with higher and lower socioeconomic status, respectively.

Methods: Institutional review board exemptions were obtained. A survey was administered during screening mammography at two facilities, assessing women's awareness of and interest in knowing their breast density and interest in and willingness to pay for supplemental whole breast ultrasound and contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CEMG).

High fluorescence in situ hybridization percentage of deletion 11q in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia is an independent predictor of adverse outcome.

We have analyzed patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia with del11q fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) abnormality (n = 196) in this study. Detection of the 11q22.3 used a multicolor FISH technique.

Second cancers in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who received frontline fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab therapy: distribution and clinical outcomes.

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are known to have an increased incidence of second cancers, but the contribution of commonly used frontline therapies to the incidence of second cancers is unclear. We report on the characteristics, incidence, outcomes and factors associated with second cancers in 234 patients receiving fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR) based regimens in the frontline setting. The risk of second cancers was 2.

Initial results with preoperative tattooing of biopsied axillary lymph nodes and correlation to sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer patients.

Background: Pretreatment evaluation of axillary lymph nodes (ALNs) and marking of biopsied nodes in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer is becoming routine practice. We sought to test tattooing of biopsied ALNs with a sterile black carbon suspension (Spot™). The intraoperative success of identifying tattooed ALNs and their concordance to sentinel nodes was determined.

Correlation between FDG/PET, histology, characteristics, and survival in 332 patients with chronic lymphoid leukemia.

Richter syndrome (RS) is associated with poor outcome. The prognosis of patients with histologically aggressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), or HAC, has not been studied. We aimed to correlate 2-deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoroglucose/positron emission tomography (FDG/PET) data, histological diagnosis, clinical characteristics, and survival in patients with CLL.

IRF4 is a suppressor of c-Myc induced B cell leukemia.

Interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) is a critical transcriptional regulator in B cell development and function. We have previously shown that IRF4, together with IRF8, orchestrates pre-B cell development by limiting pre-B cell expansion and by promoting pre-B cell differentiation. Here, we report that IRF4 suppresses c-Myc induced leukemia in EμMyc mice.

Hyponatraemia, rhabdomyolysis, alterations in blood pressure and persistent mydriasis in patients envenomed by Malayan kraits (Bungarus candidus) in southern Viet Nam.

Between 1998 and 2007, 42 patients admitted to Choray hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, and to two hospitals in adjacent regions in southern Viet Nam brought the Malayan kraits (Bungarus candidus) that had been responsible for biting them. Half of the patients had been bitten while they were asleep. Fang marks and numbness were the only local features of the bites.

Ikaros and Aiolos inhibit pre-B-cell proliferation by directly suppressing c-Myc expression.

Pre-B-cell expansion is driven by signals from the interleukin-7 receptor and the pre-B-cell receptor and is dependent on cyclin D3 and c-Myc. We have shown previously that interferon regulatory factors 4 and 8 induce the expression of Ikaros and Aiolos to suppress pre-B-cell proliferation. However, the molecular mechanisms through which Ikaros and Aiolos exert their growth inhibitory effect remain to be determined.

A role for interferon regulatory factor 4 in receptor editing.

Receptor editing is the primary means through which B cells revise antigen receptors and maintain central tolerance. Previous studies have demonstrated that interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF-4) and IRF-8 promote immunoglobulin light-chain rearrangement and transcription at the pre-B stage. Here, the roles of IRF-4 and -8 in receptor editing were analyzed.