This mixed-methods study integrates quantitative parasitological surveys with qualitative knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) assessments to evaluate trematode transmission patterns and describe human behaviour relevant to transmission among communities in hydropower reservoir areas of northern Vietnam. A total of 798 participants provided fecal samples, and 135 heads of household were interviewed. Overall, 236 individuals (29.57%) were infected with at least 1 helminth group. Fish-borne zoonotic trematodes (opisthorchiid/heterophyid-type eggs) were the predominant parasite group (22.56%), followed by soil-transmitted nematodes (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Ancylostoma/Necator spp.) (7.14%), tapeworms (Taenia sp.) (0.63%) and pinworms (Enterobius vermicularis) (0.13%). The prevalence and intensity of trematode infections were higher in men than in women. Infection levels were higher in older age groups, whereas infection in children (<16 years) was low. Marked spatial heterogeneity was observed among reservoirs. KAP surveys revealed limited understanding of trematode transmission routes, despite prior health education efforts. A pervasive misconception was that wild-caught fish or home-raised animals are safe to consume raw. Sanitation remained inadequate, and 73.33% of interviewees reported treating sick animals without veterinary consultation. Regular anthelmintic use was rare, with only 10.37% of interviewees reporting that they dewormed themselves twice per year, as recommended. These findings suggest hydropower reservoir regions in northern Vietnam may represent potential hotspots for food-borne trematode transmission. The observed patterns may indicate ongoing transmission, with ecological conditions and cultural practices as possible contributing factors. Targeted One Health–based interventions integrating human, animal and environmental health are recommended.

Background: Healthcare-associated bloodstream infections (HABSIs) are major cause of morbidity and mortality in intensive care units (ICUs), particularly in low - and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, ICU-level surveillance data describing the epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance pattern of bloodstream infections in Vietnam remain limited. Methods: We conducted a restrospective descriptive study using routine infection prevention and control (IPC) surveillance data from an adult ICU at a tertiary infection diseases hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. All laboratory-confirmed HABSI episodes recorded between October 2023 and December 2025 were included. Cases were identified using standardized national IPC surveillance definitions aligned with CDC/NHSN principles. Demographic characteristics, exposure to invasive devices, microbiological profiles and antimicrobial resistance patterns were analyzed. Results: A total of 134 HABSI episodes were identified. Male patients accounted for 73.9% (99/134) of cases. Most infections occurred among critically ill ICU patients with prolonged ICU stays and exposure to invasive devices. Central venous catheters were present in the majority of HABSI episodes 84.3% (113/134), suggesting a high level of exposure to intravascular devices. Gram-negative organisms predominated (82 episodes) with Acinetobacter baumannii was the most frequently identified pathogen (20.9%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (15.7%) being the most frequently isolated pathogens. A high proportion of isolates demonstrated multidrug resistance, with 67.1% (55/82) of gram -negative isolates exhibiting carbapenem resistance, predominantly a mong A.baumanii and K.pneumoniae . In addition, fungal bloodstream infections due to Candida species accounted for 30 episodes (22.4%). Conclusion: HABSI in this adult ICU were associated with frequent central venous catheter use and a high burden of antimicrobial resistance, particularly carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria dominated by Acinetobacter baumanii. The substantial proportion of candidemia further highlights the complexity of bloodstream infections in critically ill patients. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening facility-based IPC surveillance, optimizing central line care practices, and integrating stewardship interventions in high-risk ICU settings in Vietnam.

The dhole Cuon alpinus was historically one of the most widespread large carnivores in Asia, but it has declined across its range as a result of habitat loss, hunting and prey depletion. There are few recent confirmed records of the species in Vietnam, and it has been reported as possibly extirpated. Here, we report a new camera-trap record of a dhole in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve, in Nghe An province, north-central Vietnam. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed record of the dhole in Vietnam in > 20 years. We are unable to determine whether the record represents a vagrant animal or a remnant population. However, this new record should be viewed in the wider context of the species’ decline across Vietnam. During 2014–2024, in addition to our study, 3,231 camera-traps were set in 1,657 stations across 31 sites that would have been within the species’ historical range but the dhole was not recorded. We conclude that, despite this new record, the species is likely extirpated across most protected areas in Vietnam.

We introduce a family of parsimonious network models that are intended to generalize the configuration model to temporal settings. We present consistent estimators for the model parameters and perform numerical simulations to illustrate the properties of the estimators on finite samples. We also derive analytical solutions for the basic and effective reproduction numbers for the early stage of the discrete-time SIR spreading process for our temporal configuration model (TCM). We apply three distinct TCMs to empirical student proximity networks and compare their performance.

This article assesses a 10-month co-created universal school-based mental health (SBMH) promotion initiative for adolescents (10–19). The study combined quantitative and qualitative components. Pre- and post-intervention surveys were conducted in four schools in Tanzania (n = 400 baseline, 488 endline, with 100 intervention participants at both) and eight schools in Vietnam (n = 1,036 baseline, 893 endline and 436 in panel). In each country, ~90 qualitative interactions (interviews and focus groups) were held at baseline and endline with adolescents, parents, teachers and service providers (total = ~180). In Tanzania, multivariate analysis indicated significant gains among intervention participants relative to peers. Emotional literacy rose 9.5% (p = 0.007; d = 0.57). Attitudes toward help-seeking (p = 0.021; d = 0.50) and prosocial behaviors (p = 0.043, d = 0.38) also improved Active coping increased 15.6% (p = 0.006; d = 0.55). In Vietnam, emotional literacy increased 5.3% (p = 0.012, η2 = .019), and positively, emotion-focused coping declined 14.4% (p = 0.032, η2 = .015). Qualitative evidence reinforces these findings, and suggested spillover effects for nonparticipants. Overall results indicate that co-created universal SBMH initiatives can improve adolescent well-being and offer viable alternatives to limited adolescent-focused mental health services in LMICs.

Background: Vietnam has the national guidelines for infection control in hospitals and it also recommends the application of WHO’s IPCAF framework to do self-evaluation of infection prevention and control (IPC) activities and plan to improve them in hospitals. Objective: Our study aimed to implement the multimodal strategy for IPC, in which our expected outcome was the practices of doctors and nurses for pediatric ventilator-associated events (Ped-VAE). Design: We used the implementation research approach with the hybrid design of quasi-experimental pre-post comparison without control group. All 16 doctors and 32 nurses at the Department of PICU were observed 3 times that practicing the IPC packages for PedVAE guided by MOH. The implementation strategies used included Plan, Restructure, Train, and Quality Management. Results: Four over six steps practised by doctors and 5/10 steps practised by nurses for PedVAE were well practised after the intervention with significantly higher proportion of right practices (p<0.001). The practices of doctors had insignificant changes between pre-post intervention, including hand hygiene (85.4% and 83.3% of right practice at pre-post intervention, respectively) and daily assessment of weaning from mechanical ventilation (54.2%-68.7%). Most unchanged practices among nurses were steps of ensuring humidification and heating of inhaled gas for in patients with artificial airway.

All practice scores of the whole steps among doctors and nurses had statistically significant increase after intervention. Our implementation strategies were highly assessed by providers (doctors and nurses) and hospital managers in terms of the its acceptibility, feasibility and sustainability. Conclusion: The implementation of multimodal strategy in IPC for pediatric ventilator-associated events is effective and acceptable and feasible for hospitals at city/province level in Vietnam. In addition with improving practices of healthcare staffs, hospitals should regularly assess and upgrade ventilators machines to ensure the effectiveness of IPC.

Introduction: Nosocomial Bloodstream infection (BSI), including central line-associated blood stream infection (CLABSI) is important causes of morbidity and mortality. There are few studies describing the epidemiology of BSI in Viet Nam. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 3 intensive care units (ICUs) of the University Medical Center (UMC), Ho Chi Minh City from 2017 to 2022. The UMC service microbiology database was accessed to identify positive blood culture specimens during the period 2017–2022. Demographic and clinical details, antimicrobial management and patient outcome information were extracted from medical and laboratory records. Results: Of the 695 unique bacterial and fungal BSI episodes identified during the study period, 232 (33.4%) were community-acquired (CA), and 463 (66.6%) hospital-acquired (HA). The rate of BSI was 11.4% (463 cases/4.069 patients), in which CLABSI accounted for 59.8%. The incidence of CLABSI was 13.2% (307 cases/2.320 catheter patients) and the incidence rate was 5.8 cases per 1.000 catheter-days. On multivariable analysis, severe underweight, patient origin, central line placed in the femoral vein, duration catheter-days were significantly associated with CLABSI. We observed that prolonged duration catheter were the main risk CLABSI with 2.7- fold for 14-28 cathter-days (OR=2.7, 95% CI 2.4-3.1), 7.3-fold for more than 28 catheter-days (OR=7.3, 95% CI 5.7-9.4). The most common organisms were Gram-negative bacteria (76.2%), with K. pneumoniae (31.4%) and A. baumannii (12%) most prevalent. Gram-negative bacteria and Candida were more likely to cause infections in patients in critical care units. In addition, patients with BSI had significantly greater ICU costs than patients with Non-BSI (422 million VND (IQR 239–680) vs 184 million VND (IQR 18–92), p <0.05) Conclusions: Our data suggest that catheter duration is an important risk factor for CLABSI in the ICU. A significant daily increase in the risk of CLABSI after 28 days may warrant CVC replacement if intravascular access is necessary beyond that period.

Introduction: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common healthcare-associated problem. UTI has a lower mortality prevalence than other infections, but it is at high risk of leading to sepsis and increased treatment costs. Therefore, the objective of the study is to describe the epidemiology and burden of disease and determine factors associated with healthcare-associated UTI in the intensive care units (ICUs). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 4.028 patients admitted to the ICU, Neuro Surgical ICU, and ICU - Cardiovascular Surgery Department at a teaching hospital in Ho Chi Minh City from 2017 to 2022. The study collected secondary data through electronic medical records, including age, gender, diagnosis, department, urinary catheter use, urinary catheter retention time, treatment, and urine test results. Results: The prevalence of UTI in ICUs was 4.0%, of which CAUTI accounts for the highest prevalence, with the typical pathogen being E. coli. The Neuro Surgical ICU had the highest incidence and catheter-used prevalence in ICUs. UTIs were concentrated in people over 80 years old, females, and brain diseases. The length of the hospital stay was long, and the cost of the hospital stay was unaffordable, up to hundreds of millions of VND. The study found factors associated with the prevalence of UTI, such as age, gender, department, diseases, and urinary catheters. Patients with urinary catheters have a 10.98 times higher prevalence of UTI (p < 0.001; PR = 10.98, 95% CI 4.87–24.76) compared to patients without urinary catheters. Conclusions: The results of the study demonstrated that UTI remains a burden on the healthcare system, especially in ICUs. Implementing a UTI prevention package for patients with catheters is important. Besides, it is necessary to maintain continuous training for healthcare workers to properly and timely insert, remove, and replace catheters.

Introduction: Nowadays, surgical site infection is one of the four common types of healthcare-associated infections. There are many preventive measures applied and surgical hand hygiene (SHH) is the most effective and the simplest measure. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, practices of SHH among staff and the relationship between knowledge and practice of SHH in Viet Nam. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted at the University Medical Center (UMC) in Ho Chi Minh City in 2022. The study employed a set of pre-prepared questions for the knowledge assessment section. For the practical assessment section, the research team conducted indirect observation through cameras and filled out a monitoring checklist. The data were analyzed using Stata 13.2. Results: Of the 271 healthcare workers, surgeons had the highest proportion at 48.7%, which was 18.6 times higher than that of anesthesiologists. The majority of healthcare workers received training on SHH, accounting for a rate of 95.6%. Among the participants, the overall compliance of SHH before entering the operative room accounted for 85.6%. The percentage of correct general knowledge reached 73.8%, and there was a relationship between correct knowledge and correct practice with p < 0.01. Conclusion: Our data suggests that having correct general knowledge of SHH is a crucial factor in accurately practicing SHH. Therefore, providing training to impart accurate knowledge about SHH to healthcare staff is necessary to enhance the overall compliance rate of SHH before entering the operating room.

Background: In University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City (UMC), shelf life of sterilized packed items has been followed by time-related principle. However, duration of sterility has not been based on strong scientific evidence. Objectives: To determine the most appropriate shelf life for sterilized products according to packaging material and sterilization methods. Methods: All the experimental and the control samples (surgical instruments and linen) were prepared by four types of packaging materials (peel pouch, nonwoven, linen, and rigid container) and three types of sterilization methods (steam, Hydrogen Peroxide, Ethylene Oxide). After sterilization, sterilized samples were stored at CSSD’s storage and tested for microbial contamination in 07 periods: after 07 days, 14 days, 01 month, 03 months, 06 months, 12 months, and 18 months. Identification of the storage environment (shelf location, temperature, and relative humidity) were recorded as the same time collected samples. Results: Positive microbial cultures were seen in 0.44% (07 samples) of 1,574 samples. Up to 18 months, no organisms was cultured from any sample of (1) autoclaved surgical instrument packages wrapped in peel pouches, nonwoven, linen, (2) Hydrogen Peroxide sterilized surgical instrument packages wrapped in nonwoven, (3) Ethylene Oxide sterilized surgical instrument packages, and (4) autoclaved linen packages wrapped in nonwoven. Organisms detected were both Gram–Positive and Gram-Negative bacteria. Just only approximately 17% control samples grew bacteria. There was no any statistically significant relationship between positive experimental samples and packaging materials, sterilization methods, or storage conditions. Conclusions: Based on results of this experiment, shelf life of sterilized packed items should be still followed by time-related principle in UMC. However, the currently shelf life can be extended to reduce unnecessary costs and increase the usage rotation.

This paper presents a novel design of quad-band rat-race couplers (RRCs) based on a modified T-shaped structure (MTSS). Two coupled lines are incorporated into the conventional dual-band T-shaped structure to create the MTSS, making it equivalent to a quarter-wavelength transmission line at four operating bands. The ABCD matrix method is applied to analyze the quad-band MTSS, deriving closed-form equations for calculating parameters of the structure. Then, a conventional RRC is separated into quarter-wavelength transmission lines, which are replaced by the proposed MTSS. To validate the design method, a quad-band RRC operating at 0.6, 1.196, 1.853, and 2.45 GHz is designed, fabricated, and tested. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate excellent agreement with theoretical prediction. The measured results show that input return loss exceeds 21.75 dB, isolation is greater than 21.6 dB, and insertion loss is less than 4.4 dB at all four operating frequencies. Phase deviations observed from the measured in-phase and out-phase responses are within 0o ± 4.6o and 180o ± 6.7o, respectively. Compared to most previously reported quad-band RRCs, the proposed circuit features a simple design and offers superior performance in isolation, return loss, and insertion loss.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in intensive care units (ICUs) is a critical issue, which has been exacerbated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study investigated AMR prevalence and its associated factors among ICU patients in two Vietnamese hospitals from January 2020 to June 2022. Electronic medical records of 1,296 patients with 2,432 non-duplicate bacterial isolates were collected in Phu Tho Hospital (Northern, rural, non-COVID-19 treatment) and 175 Hospital (Southern, urban, COVID-19 treatment centre). Antibiotic susceptibility testing was conducted using VITEK2, BD Phoenix 100, and disk diffusion methods. Logistic regression with 1,000 bootstrap resampling and cross-validation was used to examine factors linked to AMR. Results revealed Acinetobacter spp. (27.5%) as leading strains in Phu Tho Hospital, while Klebsiella spp. (28.0%) predominated in 175 Hospital, except during 2021when Acinetobacter spp. reached the peak. Alarmingly, Acinetobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa demonstrated the highest AMR rates and multidrug resistance rates (83.8%–95.8%) in both hospitals. Resistance to cephalosporins, carbapenems, and fluoroquinolones ranged from 75% to 100%. Significant associated factors included age, sex, location, initial admission diagnosis, and bacterial isolation month. This study highlights the urgent need for controlling AMR in ICUs during the pandemic.

Connecting individual robots to form an inter-reconfigurable system with a flexible base size enhances the ability to access and cover areas for cleaning and maintenance tasks. Given that increased configuration complexity expands the search space dimension, an optimal routing solution ensuring efficiency is essential. In this paper, we present an inter-reconfigurable multi-robot system capable of adjusting the bases of its two units, along with an optimal path planning approach for confined spaces based on a modified informed rapidly-exploring random tree algorithm by a greedy set (RIRRT*). We validate the navigation of the proposed inter-reconfigurable platform using RIRRT* for four informed dimensional search spaces as a case study in both simulated and real-world environments. The proposed path planning method for the inter-reconfigurable system outperformed conventional strategies, achieving significant reduction in both execution time and energy utilization.

Myanmar is located within an important geographic corridor of prehistoric demographic and technological exchange, yet relatively few archaeological sites have been securely dated. Here, the authors present a new radiocarbon chronology for Halin, a UNESCO-listed complex in the north-central Sagaing Division of Myanmar, which contributes to the generation of nuanced regional chronologies and to improving the temporal resolution of Southeast Asia more generally. Discussion of 94 radiocarbon determinates, together with site stratigraphy and pottery traditions, provides a chronological sequence from the early third millennium BC to the early second millennium AD. Corroboration of the beginning of this sequence would place Halin as the oldest currently dated Neolithic site in Mainland Southeast Asia and would provide support for the two-layer model of Neolithic migration.