BACKGROUND:Keloid is an overactive condition of the skin tissue to early lesions characterised by proliferation of fibroblasts, excessive collagen production in the lesion. Treatment of keloids is a big challenge because of the poor response rate and high risk of recurrence after treatment. We found that bleomycin offers promise in the treatment of keloids.AIM:To evaluate the efficacy of bleomycin injected in the injury for keloids treatment.METHODS:The treatment was carried out in 55 patients having 120 keloids of different sizes and locations. Average treatments were 4 times.RESULTS:Complete flattening was 70.8%, highly significant flattening was 8.3%, no patient of minimal flattening. Systemic side-effects of bleomycin were not evaluated, but local side-effects were mainly pains (100%), blisters (78.3%), ulceration (5.8%), and hyperpigmentation (56.7%).CONCLUSION:The percentage of patients recurring 6, 12, 15, 18 months after the last treatment were 3.8, 15.4, 45.5, 50%, respectively.

AIM:Evaluation the effect of intralesional corticosteroid injection on keloid, at the National Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology from 1/2009 to 12/2009.METHODS:A group of 65 patients with keloid were randomly assigned into three groups. In the studied group, 33 patients were intralesionally injected 7.5 mg/1 cm2 of TCA. In the control group, TAC 32 patients were intralesionally injected 15 mg/1 cm2 of TCA. The result was evaluated basing on the criteria of Henderson (1998) and El-Tonsy (1996).RESULTS:In comparison between 2 groups, good to excellent improvement in the studied group was statistically higher than the control group (90.7% versus 68.7%; p < 0.05). After each injection, the thickness of the scar was reduced 1.24 ± 0.53 mm in the studied group and 0.81 ± 0.39 mm in the control group. The disappearance of pain and itching after treatment were 86.6% and 95.5% in the studied group and 78.1% and 80% in the control group (p > 0.05). Ulceration, acne and troublesome with menstrual cycles were sometimes were noted more frequently in the control group than in the studied group.CONCLUSION:Intralesional triamcinolone acetonide injection had a good result, and 7.5 mg/1 cm2 scar is the best dose for treatment of keloid.

AIM:This longitudinal study aims to evaluate the efficacy of oral itraconazole in the treatment of seborrheic dermatitis in Vietnamese patients.METHODS:Thirty patients were enrolled at National Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology, Hanoi, Vietnam and were treated with oral itraconazole (200 mg daily in 14 days followed by 200 mg weekly in 4 weeks). The clinical severity was assessed by a four-parameter scoring system. All patients completed the six-week regimen with good adherence.RESULTS:At the week 2nd, 70% of the patients had moderate to severe diseases. At the week 6th, 63.4% of the patients achieve clearance of the lesions, and none had severe disease. No side effects were reported.CONCLUSION:Oral itraconazole can be an option for seborrheic dermatitis because of good efficacy, safety profile and adherence.

The flow-induced rotation of the modified Savonius rotor, for which the blade consists of a semicircular profile and an elliptical shape, is studied using a series of unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The present study first concentrates on the validation of the numerical scheme against Blackwell's experimental data of the conventional rotor. The computed flow physics around the modified rotor with the same diameter is then analyzed and compared with that of the conventional rotor during one rotation cycle. As the result, the modified rotor is outperforming the conventional one but keeping its unique features. The modified rotor offers exceeding performance at a tip speed ratio (TSR) greater than 0.8. The new peak of the power coefficient Cp is reached at TSR = 1.4 which is a typical operating condition of the wind turbine in urban areas. The remarkable finding is that the suppression of the flow separation on the blade is an effective way to improve the rotor's aerodynamic performance. As expected, the additional elliptical profile plays a key role in increasing the positive torque and in preventing the flow separation on the blade, especially at high TSR &gt; 0.8. Finally, this study points to not only advances the fundamental understanding of flow mechanism around the rotor but also proposes good practical energy harvesting application in urban environments.

BACKGROUND:Psoralen UVA (PUVA) and narrow-band UVB (NBUVB) chemophototherapy are treatment options for psoriasis.AIM:To compare the effectiveness of NBUVB with PUVA in Vietnamese psoriasis patients.METHODS:We conducted a non-randomized trial on 60 patients with plaque-type psoriasis (30 NBUVB, 30 PUVA). Both regimens were thrice-weekly. The extent of lesion was assessed by the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI). Clearance was defined as a ≥ 75% reduction in a follow-up PASI score from baseline. Patients with clearance were followed-up until 6 months after stopping treatment. Relapse was defined as 50% or more of the original extent.RESULTS:The proportion of patients achieving PASI75 was comparable (76.7% in NBUVB versus 80% in PUVA; p > 0.05). Patients in both groups had a similar number of sessions to achieve clearance but patients in the PUVA group exposed to a significantly higher cumulative UV dose. After six months, the relapse rate was higher in the NBUVB group compared with in the PUVA group (p > 0.05).CONCLUSION:Thrice weekly NBUVB is as effective as thrice weekly PUVA in treating psoriasis for Vietnamese patients.