BackgroundAs a dual response to the HIV epidemic and the high level of injecting drug use in Vietnam, the Ministry of Health (MOH) initiated a pilot methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) program in Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in early 2009. The objectives of the pilot were to provide evidence on whether MMT could be successfully implemented in Vietnam and scaled up to other localities.MethodsA prospective study was conducted among 965 opiate drug users admitted to the pilot. Data on demographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, substance use behaviors (including heroin use), and blood-borne virus infection (HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C) were collected at treatment initiation and then again at 3-, 6-, 9-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month intervals thereafter.ResultsTwenty-four months after treatment initiation, heroin use as measured by urine test or self-report had reduced from 100 % of participants at both sites to 14.6 % in Hai Phong and 22.9 % in HCMC. When adjusted for multiple factors in Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) logistic regression modeling, independent predictors of continued heroin use after 24 months of MMT in HCMC were the following: poor methadone adherence (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.7, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.8–7.8); currently on antiretroviral treatment (ART) (AOR = 1.8, 95 % CI 1.4–2.4); currently on TB treatment (AOR = 2.2, 95 % CI 1.4–3.4); currently experiencing family conflict (AOR = 1.6, 95 % CI 1.1–2.4); and currently employed (AOR = 0.8, 95 % CI 0.6–1.0).For Hai Phong participants, predictors were the following: currently on ART (AOR = 2.0, 95 % CI = 1.4–3.0); currently experiencing family conflict (AOR = 2.0, 95 % CI = 1.0–3.9); and moderate adherence to methadone (AOR = 2.1, 95 % CI = 1.2–1.9). In Hai Phong, the percentage of participants who were employed had also increased by end of study from 35.0 to 52.8 %, while in HCMC the level remained relatively unchanged, between 52.2 and 55.1 %.DiscussionStudy findings were used in multiple fora to convince policymakers and the public on the significant and vital role MMT can play in reducing heroin use and improving quality of life for individuals and families. Four years after this study was completed, Vietnam had expanded MMT to 162 clinics in 44 provinces serving 32,000 patients.

Estimating energy expenditure and meal plan plays important roles in the treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus, which is defined as any degree of glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. Some approaches have been proposed; however, they have limitations including high cost, relative complexity, trained personnel requirements or locality. In this study, we propose an approach for estimating the energy expenditure and meal plan by using artificial intelligence. The proposed approach consists of three main stages including energy expenditure estimation, macronutrient intake estimation and meal plan determination. The neural network is used to estimate the energy expenditure, and then the meal plan is determined by using the genetic algorithm (GA), which is a popular method for solving optimization problems based on natural selection and genetics. The fitness function with penalty was used in GA to deal with constraint problems. The proposed method can obtain the root mean square error and mean absolute percentage error of 15.23 ± 7.4 kcal and 1 ± 0.8%, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient, which measures the strength of the association between the two measurements, was 0.99. In meal plan determination, the results from GA agreed with those from nutritionists. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.95. The energy expenditure and meal plan are determined by soft computing with flexible ways. They can adapt to particular regions or group of patients.

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Mục tiêu: mô tả một số đặc điểm lâm sàng, đặc điểm chẩn đoán hình ảnh và kết quả điều trị can thiệp nội mạch trên bệnh nhân rò động mạch cảnh xoang hang chấn thương (RĐMCXHCT). Phương pháp: Thiết kế nghiên cứu loạt ca, hồi cứu bệnh án của 74 bệnh nhân RĐMCXHCT được điều trị bằng can thiệp nội mạch (CTNM) dùng vòng xoắn kim loại tại Bệnh viện Chợ Rẫy từ 01/2019 đến 06/2021. Hiệu quả và độ an toàn được đánh giá bằng các biến số: tắc hoàn toàn, tắc bán phần, cải thiệm lâm sàng, bảo tồn động mạch cảnh, biến chứng thủ thuật, tái phát trong 3 tháng theo dõi sau can thiệp. Kết quả: bệnh nhân (BN) có cải thiên lâm sàng đạt được 73/74 BN (98,6%), trong đó tắc hoàn toàn 67 BN, tắc bán phần 6 BN và ca thất bại điều trị 1 BN. Bảo tồn được động mạch cảnh là 69/74 BN (93,2%). Biến chứng liên quan thủ thuật với 2 BN thiếu máu não thoáng qua, 1 BN có hình ảnh xâm nhập coil vào lòng động mạch cảnh và 1 BN yếu nửa người bên trái. Không có trường hợp nào tái phát hay tử vong trong 3 tháng theo dõi sau can thiệp. Kết luận: Can thiệp nội mạch dùng vòng xoắn kim loại là một phương pháp an toàn và hiệu quả cao để điều trị RĐMCXHCT. Phương pháp này tăng khả năng bảo tồn động mạch cảnh.

Electric bicycle is a vehicle which is used widely in all the citys and provinces of Vietnam. However, it’s hard to choose “the most suitable” or “the best” type of electric bicycle because each type has different criteria (parameters). To choose out the best option, we need to consider all the alternatives at once. That is called multi-criteria decision-making. This research used three multi-criteria decision-making methods include SAW method, MARCOS method and PSI method to choose from seven best-selling types of electric bicycle on the market in 2022. All the methods which were used chose out the same best electric bicycle type and the same worst bicycle type. And so, among seven types of electric bicycle which include M133 mini, M133 Sport 2022, Aima 133AM, Nijia – PA4, DK 133M, Yadea iGo and Yadea i3, the best type is Aima 133AM, in contrast, Yadea iGo is considered the worst type. Things that need to be done in the folowing researches were proposed in the last part of this paper.