Current Status of Biological Treatment in Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients and Some Related Factors.

Background: Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a potentially disabling inflammatory arthritis of the spine, usually presenting as chronic back pain typically before the age of 45 years. It is often associated with one or more articular features, including synovitis, enthesitis, and dactylitis. It may also be associated with several non-articular features; these include uveitis, psoriasis, and inflammatory bowel diseases1. Objective: The aim of this article is to describe the status of using biological drugs and some related factors in treating ankylosing spondylitis in Vietnam. Methods: A joint prospective and retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 161 ankylosing spondylitis patients treated with biological drugs at the Centre for Rheumatology between January 2018 and July 2021. Data were collected at the first dose and after 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months, including general characteristics, clinical and para-clinical features, drug use status, and related factors. Results: Of the 161 patients, 86.3% were male, with a mean age of 31.1 ± 11.6 years and a mean disease duration of 7.6 ± 6.6 years. Most patients were started on biologics at stage II (46.6%) or III (28.6%). Moreover, 68.9% had active disease based on the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index. The most commonly prescribed first-line therapy was anti-tumor necrosis factor (69.6%), with infliximab the most frequently prescribed drug (44.7%). The rate of biological drug treatment decreased gradually from 100% at the start to 77% after one year and 39.1% after three years. Moreover, 74% of patients changed drugs due to non-response, and 50% discontinued treatment for economic reasons. Age was associated with treatment adherence, and drug change rates were higher in female patients and patients with active disease. Age was significantly associated with drug discontinuation (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Infliximab was the most commonly prescribed first-line drug. The rate of biological therapy gradually decreased after three years. Most patients changed drugs due to non-response, and many discontinued the drugs for economic reasons. Among the individual and clinical factors, age was associated with treatment adherence.

Juvenile psammomatoid ossifying fibroma in paranasal sinuses: A case report and literature review.

Juvenile psammomatoid ossifying fibroma (JPOF) is a rare, benign type of ossifying fibroma. JPOFs predominantly present as rapidly growing masses with a high recurrence rate. We report a 40-year-old male patient who suffered from a large tumor with multiple invasions into the paranasal sinuses. Total excision was performed, and significant relief of clinical symptoms was recorded after 4 months of follow-up. Multi-departmental management involving radiologists, neurology surgeons, craniofacial surgeons, pathologists, and otolaryngologists is vital for JPOF treatment. First-line treatment options include total or partial resection, depending on the patient's condition.

A case of mesenchymal hamartoma of the chest wall of a child.

Mesenchymal hamartoma of the chest wall is a rare benign tumor that usually occurs in infants and children. The clinical presentations and imaging features are atypical and difficult to differentiate from malignant tumors. In this article, we present a case with a large mesenchymal hamartoma tumor of the chest wall. A large right-sided chest wall mass was discovered in a 6-month-old boy by his mother. Chest X-ray revealed a thoracic mass with well-defined margins on the right side that expanded into the right ribs. Chest computed tomography showed that the mass originated from the thoracic wall. The patient underwent complete removal of the mass, and histopathology results confirmed a mesenchymal hamartoma.

Miliary brain tuberculosis in an infant.

Tuberculosis remains prevalent in developing countries. Central nervous system tuberculosis often occurs secondary to pulmonary tuberculosis, transmitted through the bloodstream, and has a high mortality rate. Meningitis is the most common presentation of central nervous system tuberculosis, followed by tuberculoma, tuberculous brain abscess, and miliary tuberculosis. In this report, we present a case of miliary tuberculosis in a 3 month-old boy. The patient had a fever and was breathless for 1 month. The patient appeared cyanotic, experienced a seizure, and became comatose. Chest computed tomography scan suggested a pulmonary miliary tuberculosis abscess in the right lung and mediastinal lymph node tuberculosis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed the lesions were homogeneously enhancing tiny 2-3 mm nodules characteristic of miliary TB. Polymerase chain reaction of the cerebrospinal fluid and sputum samples confirmed tuberculosis. The patient died 1 month after diagnosis.

A case report of congenital temporal bone encephalocele presenting as a tumor in a child.

An encephalocele may be congenital or acquired and is characterized by the herniation of cranial contents through a skull bone defect. Most congenital encephaloceles occur in the occipital area, and temporal bone encephaloceles in children are rare. Congenital encephaloceles can be diagnosed either prenatally or after birth. We describe the case of a congenital temporal bone encephalocele in a 2-month-old boy that was diagnosed after birth. The patient presented with seizures and a bulging mass in the right neck that was detected by his mother during the second month after birth. The combined results from brain magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and histological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of encephalocele. Although the surgical repair was offered, the family declined.

Pleuropulmonary blastoma (type III) in a two-year-old: A case report.

Pleuropulmonary blastoma is a rare, aggressive, malignant tumor of the lungs or pleura that primarily affects children. Pleuropulmonary blastoma is classified into 3 types based on morphology, including cystic (type I), mixed (type II), or solid (type III). These morphological types correlate with prognosis. In this article, we present a case of type III pleuropulmonary blastoma in a 2-year-old girl. The patient was treated with tumoral resection and chemotherapy; however, she experienced local recurrence and spinal metastasis after 5 months of treatment.

Multifocal precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in an infant with cardiac involvement: A case report.

Lymphoma with cardiac involvement is a high-risk lesion, especially in children. We report a rare clinical case of multifocal precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in a child with cardiac involvement. A 4-year-old boy presented to the Vietnam National Children's Hospital with a vague headache, but magnetic resonance imaging of the head was normal. After 1 week, the patient showed symptoms of chest pain, fatigue, dyspnea, and abdominal pain. On transthoracic echocardiography and multislice computed tomography of the thorax, a mass was detected in the right atrial wall. Abdominal ultrasound showed a small bowel intussusception, multiple nodules in the intestinal wall, and mesenteric lymph nodes. Histopathology of the bowel confirmed the diagnosis of multifocal precursor B-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma. The patient responded to 3 cycles of chemotherapy for lymphoma. Therefore, combining multiple imaging methods allowed for early diagnosis and improved treatment.

Experimental and theoretical studies on induced ferromagnetism of new (1 - x)Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 + xBaFeO3-δ solid solution.

New solid solution of Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 with BaFeO3-δ materials were fabricated by sol-gel method. Analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that BaFeO3-δ materials existed as a well solid solution and resulted in distortion the structure of host Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 materials. The randomly incorporated Fe and Ba cations in the host Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 crystal decreased the optical band gap from 3.11 to 2.48 eV, and induced the room-temperature ferromagnetism. Our density-functional theory calculations further suggested that both Ba for Bi/Na-site and Fe dopant, regardless of the substitutional sites, in Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 lead to the induced magnetism, which is illustrated in terms of the exchange splitting between spin subbands through the crystal field theory and Jahn-Teller distortion effects. Our work proposes a simple method for fabricating lead-free ferroelectric materials with ferromagnetism property for multifunctional applications in smart electronic devices.

Patient-controlled paravertebral analgesia for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy.

BACKGROUND: Paravertebral block has been proven to be an efficient method to provide post-thoracotomy pain management. This study aimed to compare patient-controlled paravertebral analgesia (PCPA) and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IVPCA) in terms of analgesic efficiency, respiratory function, and adverse effects after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The prospective randomized trial study was carried out on 60 patients who underwent VATS lobectomy (randomly allocated 30 patients in each group). In the PCPA group, an initial dose of 0.3 mL/kg of 0.125% bupivacaine with fentanyl 2 µg/mL was administered, followed by a 3 mL/h continuous infusion with patient-controlled analgesia (2 mL bolus, 10-minute lockout interval, 25 mL/4 h limit). In the IVPCA group with morphine 1 mg/mL solution, an infusion device was programmed to deliver a 1.0 mL demand bolus with no basal infusion rate, with a 10-minute lockout interval and a maximum of 20 mL/4 h period. Postoperative pain was assessed by visual analog scale at rest and on coughing. Arterial blood gas and spirometry were monitored and recorded for the first 3 postoperative days. Side effects to include were also recorded. RESULTS: The PCPA group had statistically significant lower pain scores (P<0.0001) at rest at all times. Lower pain scores on coughing were statistically significant in PCPA group in the first 4 hours. Postoperative spirometry showed that both the groups had comparable recovery trajectories for their pulmonary function. Arterial blood gas analysis showed pH and PaCO2 were in a normal range in both the groups. The incidence of headache was higher in the IVPCA group (13.3% vs 0%; P=0.038). CONCLUSION: PCPA effectively managed pain after VATS lobectomy, with lower pain scores, similar respiratory function, and fewer side effects than standard IVPCA treatment.

Ultralow power consumption gas sensor based on a self-heated nanojunction of SnO2 nanowires.

The long duration of a working device with a limited battery capacity requires gas sensors with low power consumption. A self-heated gas sensor is a highly promising candidate to satisfy this requirement. In this study, two gas sensors with sparse and dense SnO2 nanowire (NW) networks were investigated under the Joule heating effect at the nanojunction. Results showed that the local heating nanojunction was effective for NO2 sensing but generally not for reduction gases. At 1 µW, the sparse NW sensor showed a good sensing performance to the NO2 gas. The dense SnO2 NW network required a high-power supply for gas-sensitive activation, but was suitable for reduction gases. A power of approximately 500 µW was also needed for a fast recovery time. Notably, the dense NW sensor can response to ethanol and H2S gases. Results also showed that the self-heated sensors were simple in design and reproducible in terms of the fabrication process.

Single phase Si1-xGex nanocrystals and the shifting of the E1 direct energy transition.

We report preparation and characterization of Si1-xGex alloys with varied composition x of a large range from 0-1. The materials have been obtained by co-sputtering, followed by a heat treatment process at 600, 800, and 1000 °C for 30 min in a nitrogen gas atmosphere. X-ray diffraction data have revealed the formation of single-phase nanoparticles in the face-centered cubic (FCC) structure of Si1-xGex alloys. We found that lattice constant a of the Si1-xGex alloys increased linearly with the composition parameter x. Average diameters of the single-phase nanoparticles were estimated to be between 3-10 nm. Further evidence of FCC single-phase [Formula: see text] nanoparticles has been obtained by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. From absorption spectra, the gradual shift of the direct phononless transition identified for the E1 point in the Brillouin zone of bulk Ge is observed in single-phase Si1-xGex nanoparticles as a function of the composition parameter x.

Enhanced fluorescence, morphological and thermal properties of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots incorporated in silicone resin.

Our research focused on the morphological and optical properties of core/shell cadmium selenide/zinc sulfide (CdSe/ZnS) quantum dots incorporated in silicone resin. After dispersing ligand-coated quantum dots into Dow Corning two-component silicone resins (OE6630A and OE6630B at 1:4 mixing ratio by weight), the resins were cured at 150 degrees C for 1.5 hours to produce the quantum dot-silicone resin nanocomposites. The optical, morphological and thermal properties of the quantum dot incorporated in silicone resin were investigated by ultraviolet-visible, fluorescence, atomic force microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. When the quantum dots, originally coated with trioctylamine ligand, were transferred from a chloroform solvent to methyl phenyl silicone oil and silicone resins of high viscosity, the quantum dots showed increased turbidity and lowered fluorescence intensity. Fluorescence enhancement was investigated by using various functional ligands such as poly(1, 1-dimethyl silazane) (multi-silazane), hexamethylenediamine (diamine), cysteamine (amino-thiol), triethylsilane (reactive hydrosilane), hexamethyldisilazane, nonamethyltrisilazane, octamethylcyclotetrasilazane (reactive amines). The results showed that the reactive amines were good additive ligands for enhancing the fluorescence of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots dispersed in the silicone resins, providing 1.2-2.48 Im/W and 4.2-5.56% higher luminous efficiency and photoluminescence conversion efficiency, respectively. We speculate that these reactive amines donate electrons to the surface electron traps, thereby reducing charge recombination. In addition, quantum dots aggregate to form quantum dot clusters with a relatively homogeneously dispersed in the silicone resin matrices, showing good emission properties due to surface passivation and good colloidal stability with the addition of silazane compounds to the resin. Furthermore, the addition of silazane compounds to quantum dots-silicone resin system also shows the improved thermal stability of the as-synthesized nanocomposites.