ObjectivesTo determine prospectively the causative pathogens of central nervous system (CNS) infections in patients admitted to a tertiary referral hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam.MethodsFrom May 2007 to December 2008, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 352 adults with suspected meningitis or encephalitis underwent routine testing, staining (Gram, Ziehl-Nielsen, India ink), bacterial culture and polymerase chain reaction targeting Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, S. suis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Varicella Zoster virus (VZV), enterovirus, and 16S ribosomal RNA. Blood cultures and clinically indicated radiology were also performed. Patients were classified as having confirmed or suspected bacterial (BM), tuberculous (TBM), cryptococcal (CRM), eosinophilic (EOM) meningitis, aseptic encephalitis/meningitis (AEM), neurocysticercosis and others.Results352 (male: 66%) patients were recruited: median age 34 years (range 13–85). 95/352 (27.3%) diagnoses were laboratory confirmed and one by cranial radiology: BM (n = 62), TBM (n = 9), AEM (n = 19), CRM (n = 5), and neurocysticercosis (n = 1, cranial radiology). S. suis predominated as the cause of BM [48/62 (77.4%)]; Listeria monocytogenese (n = 1), S. pasteurianus (n = 1) and N. meningitidis (n = 2) were infrequent. AEM viruses were: HSV (n = 12), VZV (n = 5) and enterovirus (n = 2). 5 patients had EOM. Of 262/352 (74.4%) patients with full clinical data, 209 (79.8%) were hospital referrals and 186 (71%) had been on antimicrobials. 21 (8%) patients died: TBM (15.2%), AEM (10%), and BM (2.8%).ConclusionsMost infections lacked microbiological confirmation. S. suis was the most common cause of BM in this setting. Improved diagnostics are needed for meningoencephalitic syndromes to inform treatment and prevention strategies.

Trichinellosis outbreaks occur occasionally in Vietnam following the consumption of undercooked pork. Diagnosing trichinella can be problematic because fever and myalgia are nonspecific, and diagnosis may be delayed. We describe 5 Vietnamese patients in whom trichinellosis was diagnosed after several weeks of illness.

This paper presents a methodology for systematically studying the nonlinear frequency responses of an aircraft model using numerical continuation with periodic forcing, thereby presenting an extension of conventional bifurcation analysis in flight dynamics applications. The motivation is to identify nonlinear phenomena in the frequency domain that are absent in linearized models-upon which many control law designs are based-and which therefore risks degrading the performance or robustness of the linear-model based controllers. Since

Based on bifurcation theory, nonlinear frequency response analysis is a recent development in the field of flight dynamics studies. Here, we consider how this method can be used to inform us on how to devise the control input such that the system transitions from an undesirable equilibrium solution—an aircraft deep stall solution in our case—to a desirable solution. We show that it is still possible to induce a large-amplitude oscillation via harmonic forcing of the pitch control device and escape the otherwise unrecoverable deep stall, despite very little control power available in such a high angle-of-attack flight condition. The forcing frequencies that excite these resonances are reflected as asymptotically unstable solutions using bifurcation analysis and Floquet theory. Due to the softening behaviour observed in the frequency response, these unstable (divergent) solutions have slightly lower frequencies than the value predicted using linear analysis. Subharmonic resonances are also detected, which are reflected in the time-domain unforced responses. These nonlinear phenomena show strong dependency on the forcing/perturbation amplitude and result in complex dynamics that can impede recovery if the existing procedures are followed. The proposed method is shown to be a useful tool for nonlinear flight dynamics analysis as well as to complement the rather thin literature on deep stall analysis—a topic of relevance for recent research on unconventional landing techniques in unmanned aerial vehicles. A full description of the aircraft model used, the unstable F-16 fighter jet, is provided in the appendix.

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