Prevalence of and risk factors for sarcopenia in community-dwelling people: The Vietnam Osteoporosis Study.

BACKGROUND: Sarcopenia is a geriatric disease characterized by the progressive and generalized loss of skeletal lean mass and strength with age. The prevalence of sarcopenia in the Vietnamese population is unknown. This study sought to estimate the prevalence of and risk factors for sarcopenia among community-dwelling individuals in Vietnam. METHODS: This cross-sectional study is part of the ongoing Vietnam Osteoporosis Study project. The study involved 1308 women and 591 men aged 50 years and older as at 2015 (study entry). Whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to measure the appendicular skeletal lean mass. Anthropometric and clinical data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Sarcopenia was defined according to the criteria proposed by the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia in 2019. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association between potential risk factors and sarcopenia. RESULTS: The prevalence of sarcopenia in women and men was 14% (n = 183) and 16% (n = 83), respectively. Age (odds ratio [OR] per 10 years = 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-1.48) and being underweight (OR = 1.61; 95% CI 1.00-2.58) were independently associated with increased risk of sarcopenia. The combination of low physical activity, being underweight and advancing age accounted for ~27% of sarcopenic patients. However, most of the attributable fraction was due to ageing. CONCLUSIONS: Sarcopenia is common in community-dwelling Vietnamese adults, particularly those with advancing age, who are underweight and with low physical activity.

Mechanography assessment of fall risk in older adults: the Vietnam Osteoporosis Study.

BACKGROUND: Jumping mechanography is a technology for quantitatively assessing muscular function and balance in older adults. This study sought to define the association between jumping mechanography parameters and fall risk in Vietnamese individuals. METHODS: The study involved 375 women and 244 men aged 50 years and older, who were recruited from the general population in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). The individuals had been followed for 2 years. At baseline, Esslinger Fitness index (EFI), jumping power, force, velocity of lower limbs, and the ability to maintain balance were measured by a Leonardo Mechanograph Ground Reaction Force system (Novotec Medical, Pforxheim, Germany). The incidence of falls during the follow-up period was ascertained from self-report. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the association between jumping mechanography parameters and fall risk. RESULTS: The average age of participants at baseline was 56.7 years (SD 5.85). During the 2 year follow-up, 92 falls were reported, making the incidence of fall at ~15% [95% confidence interval (CI), 12.1 to 18.2]. The incidence of fall increased with advancing age, and women had a higher incidence than men (17.6% vs. 10.7%; P = 0.024). In univariate analysis, maximal velocity [odds ratio (OR) 0.65; 95% CI, 0.52 to 0.82], maximal force (OR 0.83; 95% CI, 0.65 to 1.04), and maximal power (OR 0.68; 95% CI, 0.52 to 0.88) were each significantly associated with fall risk. EFI was not significantly associated with fall risk (OR 1.09; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.39). However, in a multiple logistic regression model, greater maximum velocity was associated with lower odds of fall (OR 0.38; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.92). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that jumping mechanography is a useful tool for assessing fall risk in older adults of Vietnamese background.

Erythema multiforme following exposure to the herbicide atrazine.

Erythema multiforme is an acute hypersensitivity eruption with sharply demarcated papules and plaques. It has many known causes, from herpes simplex virus and drugs to malignancy and environmental factors. Although other herbicides have been linked to erythema multiforme, no previous reports have described a link with atrazine. We present a 24-year-old man with difficulty breathing, bilateral eye pain with redness, and a diffuse rash consistent with erythema multiforme following occupational exposure to atrazine.

A noninvasive imaging and measurement using optical coherence tomography angiography for the assessment of gingiva: An in vivo study.

Gingiva is the soft tissue that surrounds and protects the teeth. Healthy gingiva provides an effective barrier to periodontal insults to deeper tissue, thus is an important indicator to a patient's periodontal health. Current methods in assessing gingival tissue health, including visual observation and physical examination with probing on the gingiva, are qualitative and subjective. They may become cumbersome when more complex cases are involved, such as variations in gingival biotypes where feature and thickness of the gingiva are considered. A noninvasive imaging technique providing depth-resolved structural and vascular information is necessary for an improved assessment of gingival tissue and more accurate diagnosis of periodontal status. We propose a three-dimensional (3D) imaging technique, optical coherence tomography (OCT), to perform in situ imaging on human gingiva. Ten volunteers (five male, five female, age 25-35) were recruited; and the labial gingival tissues of upper incisors were scanned using the combined use of state-of-the-art swept-source OCT and OCT angiography (OCTA). Information was collected describing the 3D tissue microstructure and capillary vasculature of the gingiva within a penetration depth of up to 2 mm. Results indicate significant structural and vascular differences between the two extreme gingival biotypes (ie, thick and thin gingiva), and demonstrate special features of vascular arrangement and characteristics in gingival inflammation. Within the limit of this study, the OCT/OCTA technique is feasible in quantifying different attributes of gingival biotypes and the severity of gingival inflammation.

Complete genome sequence of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2.

Salmonella enterica subspecies I, serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium), is a leading cause of human gastroenteritis, and is used as a mouse model of human typhoid fever. The incidence of non-typhoid salmonellosis is increasing worldwide, causing millions of infections and many deaths in the human population each year. Here we sequenced the 4,857-kilobase (kb) chromosome and 94-kb virulence plasmid of S. typhimurium strain LT2. The distribution of close homologues of S. typhimurium LT2 genes in eight related enterobacteria was determined using previously completed genomes of three related bacteria, sample sequencing of both S. enterica serovar Paratyphi A (S. paratyphi A) and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and hybridization of three unsequenced genomes to a microarray of S. typhimurium LT2 genes. Lateral transfer of genes is frequent, with 11% of the S. typhimurium LT2 genes missing from S. enterica serovar Typhi (S. typhi), and 29% missing from Escherichia coli K12. The 352 gene homologues of S. typhimurium LT2 confined to subspecies I of S. enterica-containing most mammalian and bird pathogens-are useful for studies of epidemiology, host specificity and pathogenesis. Most of these homologues were previously unknown, and 50 may be exported to the periplasm or outer membrane, rendering them accessible as therapeutic or vaccine targets.

Purification of urease from Ureaplasma urealyticum.

We have purified urease from the Mollicutes, Ureaplasma urealyticum, using high performance liquid chromatography methods and DEAE-Sephadex chromatography. While only small amounts of material could be utilized in these methods, urease was purified at least 180-fold, yield a major band on SDS-PAGE of 66,000 daltons, a minor band of 64,000 daltons, and several faint bands of lower molecular mass. These results suggest that the 380,000 dalton intact urease is a pentamer or hexamer of these two larger subunits. The highly purified urease from DEAE-Sephadex retained full activity for at least 20 days at 4 degrees C in sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) with 1% bovine serum albumin. The estimated specific activity of the DEAE peak fractions, 180 IU/micrograms, is at least 90-fold greater than that of jack bean urease.