Optimization of Multiplex-PCR Technique To Determine Azf Deletions in infertility Male Patients.

Background: To optimize the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (M-PCR) technique to diagnose microdeletions of azoospermia factors (AZF) on the Y chromosome and initially apply the technique to diagnose male patients with sperm density less than 5×106 million sperm/mL was assigned to do a test to check for AZF microdeletions on the Y chromosome. Methods: Based on the positive control samples which belong to male subjects who have had 2 healthy children without any assisted reproductive technologies, the M-PCR method was developed to detect simultaneously and accurately AZF microdeletions on 32 male patients with sperm densities below 5×106 million sperm/mL of semen at the Department of Biology and Medical Genetics - Vietnam Military Medical University. Results: Successful optimization of the M-PCR technique including 7 reactions arranged according to each AZFabc region using 24 STS/gene on the Y chromosome. Initial application to diagnose AZF deletion on 32 azoospermic and oligospermic men reveals that AZFa deletion accounts for 6.25% (2/32); deletion of all 3 regions AZFa,b,c with 18.75% (6/32 cases); The combined deletion rate of AZFb,c is highest, accounting for 56.24% (18/32 patients). Conclusion: Successfully optimized the M-PCR technique in identifying AZF microdeletions using 24 sequence tagged sites (STS)/gene for azoospermic and oligozoospermic men. The M-PCR technique has great potential in the application of AZF deletion diagnosis.

Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Common Gram-Negative Microorganisms Isolated from Patients with Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in a Teaching Hospital in Vietnam.

This cross-sectional study investigated the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of gram-negative pathogens isolated from 4,789 hospitalized patients with lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). Of the collected specimens, 1,325 (27.7%) tested positive for gram-negative bacteria. Acinetobacter baumannii (38.6%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (33.5%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (18.7%), Escherichia coli (5.6%), and Klebsiella aerogenes (3.5%) were the most prevalent isolates. AMR analysis revealed high resistance rates (79.9%-100%) of A. baumannii isolates to multiple classes of antibiotics except amikacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and colistin. P. aeruginosa displayed low resistance to colistin (< 10%) but high resistance to other antibiotics. K. pneumoniae displayed high resistance rates of 90.0%-100.0% to most penicillins, whereas resistance rates were notably lower for colistin (7.1%) and amikacin (16.7%). K. aerogenes exhibited high resistance to various antibiotics and sensitivity to amikacin (95.1%), ampicillin (100.0%), and colistin (100.0%). E. coli isolates exhibited resistance to ampicillin (96.9%) and maximum sensitivity to several antibiotics. Our study identified significant AMR trends and highlighted the prevalence of multidrug-resistant strains (93.6% for K. aerogenes and 69.1%-92.4% for other isolates). These findings emphasize the urgent need for appropriate antibiotic management practices to combat AMR in gram-negative pathogens associated with LRTIs.

Inclusion complexes of squalene with beta-cyclodextrin and methyl-beta-cyclodextrin: preparation and characterization.

The present work aimed to investigate inclusion complexes of squalene with various cyclodextrins (native ß-cyclodextrin and methyl-ß-cyclodextrin). The production of squalene-ß-cyclodextrin inclusion complex was obtained using Response Surface Methodology and obtained inclusion complexes were studied with FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, thermal analysis, and 1H-NMR spectrometry. At the same time, squalene content was determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. All results confirmed that squalene was successfully involved in the cyclodextrin cavities. Optimizing the condition in preparation for the squalen-ß-cyclodextrin inclusion complex yielded 54.3% with squalene content of 9.01%. The essential difference for the inclusion complex of squalene with methylated beta-cyclodextrin was that no precipitate formed in the initial mixture, and the complex was more efficiently dispersed in water. The conclusions of the inclusion complex formation were confirmed by computer simulation by optimizing the complex geometry using the DFT, MM2, and MP3 methods.

Distribution and Antibiotic Resistance Characteristics of Bacteria Isolated from Blood Culture in a Teaching Hospital in Vietnam During 2014-2021.

Purpose: Studies on the epidemiology of bloodstream infection (BSI) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are limited in Vietnam. Thus, the present study aimed to elucidate the epidemiology of BSI and AMR of BSI-causing bacteria in Vietnam. Methods: Data regarding blood cultures from 2014 to 2021 were collected and analyzed using the chi-square test, Cochran-Armitage test, and binomial logistic regression model. Results: Overall, 2405 (14.15%) blood cultures were positive during the study period. In total, 55.76% of BSIs occurred in patients aged ≥60 years. The male-to-female ratio of patients with BSI was 1.87:1. Escherichia coli (26.11%), Staphylococcus aureus (15.79%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.44%), Acinetobacter baumannii (4.70%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.45%) were the leading bacterial species causing BSI. The AMR rate of these bacteria isolated in the intensive care unit (ICU) was significantly higher compared with that of those in other wards. E. coli was the least resistant to carbapenems (2.39%-4.14%), amikacin (3.85%), and colistin (11.54%) and most resistant to penicillins (>80.0%). S. aureus was the least resistant to glycopeptides (0%-3.38%), quinupristin-dalfopristin (0.59%), and linezolid (1.02%) and most resistant to clindamycin (71.57%). K. pneumoniae was the least resistant to ertapenem (8.86%), amikacin (9.39%), and colistin (15.38%) and most resistant to aztreonam (83.33%). A. baumannii was the least resistant to amikacin (16.67%) and colistin (16.67%) and highly resistant to other antibiotics (≥50.0%). P. aeruginosa was the least resistant to colistin (16.33%) and piperacillin (28.17%) and highly resistant to other antibiotics (≥50.0%). Notably, the multidrug resistance rate of E. coli (76.41%) was the highest among common pathogens, followed by A. baumannii (71.57%), P. aeruginosa (64.56%), S. aureus (56.99%), and K. pneumoniae (43.72%). Conclusion: The AMR rate of BSI-causing bacteria, particularly strains isolated from ICU, was alarmingly high. There is a need for new antibiotics, therapeutic strategies, as well as prevention and control to combat BSI and AMR.

The Association Between Femoral Artery Intima-Media Thickness and Serum Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Levels Among Newly Diagnosed Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

INTRODUCTION: Endothelium dysfunction and decrease of incretin effects occur early in type 2 diabetes mellitus and these changes contribute to diabetic cardiovascular complications such as atherosclerosis, thick intima-media, coronary, and peripheral arterial diseases. In patients with diabetes, the femoral artery is a site of a high incidence of injury in peripheral vascular diseases, and atherosclerotic changes may appear earlier in the femoral artery compared to the carotid artery. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of increased femoral artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and atherosclerotic plaque and their correlation with serum glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels in newly-diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 332 patients with nT2D in the National Endocrinology Hospital, Vietnam from January 2015 to May 2018. IMT was measured by Doppler ultrasound and GLP-1 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All data were analyzed with SPSS version 26 for Windows (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). RESULTS: Prevalence of thick femoral artery IMT and atherosclerotic plaque was 38.2 and 22.3%, respectively. There was a relationship between IMT and age, waist to hip ratio (WHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting GLP-1, high sensitive CRP (hsCRP) and 24-hour microalbuminuria secretion (24-h MAUS). The fasting serum GLP-1 (fGLP-1) levels were reduced significantly in patients with thickness and atherosclerosis femoral artery (p = 0.001). After adjusting with other related factors, namely, DBP and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), whilst hsCRP and 24-h MAUS showed a significantly positive correlation to IMT (Standardized B and p of 0.242, 0.004 and 0.178, 0.043, respectively), fGLP-1 showed a significantly negative correlation to IMT (Standardized B = -0.288, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Among n2TD, the percentage for femoral artery thick IMT and atherosclerosis was 38.2% and 22.3% respectively, and serum GLP-1 was negatively correlated with thick IMT and atherosclerosis.

Sitagliptin Increases Beta-Cell Function and Decreases Insulin Resistance in Newly Diagnosed Vietnamese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

INTRODUCTION: To investigate effects of Sitagliptin on the enhancement of beta-cell function, reducing insulin resistance, serum glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) concentrations and blood glucose in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and suggest one of the underlying mechanisms on beta-cell function and insulin resistance. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional and observational study in comparison to the control group. A study population of 44 newly diagnosed patients with T2D treated with Sitagliptin with a dose of 100 mg/day for 3 months was analyzed to compare 52 healthy participants. Indices for beta-cell function, peripheral insulin sensitivity, and insulin resistance were calculated with homeostasis model assessment 2 (HOMA2) calculator and compared. Serum GLP-1 concentrations were analyzed, and regression analysis was conducted to find the correlations between GLP-1 and beta-cell function and insulin resistance. RESULTS: Newly diagnosed patients with T2D witnessed a significant reduction in beta-cell function, serum GLP-1 concentrations at the time of diagnosis. After treatment with Sitagliptin 100 mg/day, they achieved significant improvements in beta-cell function, peripheral insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance. Serum GLP-1 concentrations were increased significantly to those levels in the control group and correlated with peripheral insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance in patients whose beta-cell functions improved. CONCLUSION: Sitagliptin improved beta-cell function, insulin resistance and blood glucose in newly diagnosed patients with T2D. Meanwhile, Sitagliptin ameliorated serum GLP-1 concentrations, which contributed to the enhancement of beta-cell.