BackgroundThe evaluation of tools to accurately identify low birth weight (LBW) and/or premature newborns in resource-limited countries is a research priority. We explored the use of foot length, chest circumference, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) measured within 24 h as diagnostic tools for identifying newborns who are LBW, premature, or both; and compared measurements taken at birth with those taken at five days of age.Materials and MethodsAn observational study was undertaken in Hoa Binh Province General Hospital, Vietnam, in ethnic minority newborns. Birth weight, foot length, chest circumference, and MUAC were measured within 24 h of birth and in a subset of 200, were repeated on day five of life. Gestational age was estimated using the New Ballard Score. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves and optimal cut-points (the point with the highest sensitivity and specificity where the sensitivity was at least 0.8) were calculated, for predicting prematurity, LBW, and both. Measurements within 24 h and at five days of life were compared.Results485 newborns were recruited. Chest circumference and MUAC measured within 24 h of birth were found to be highly predictive of LBW (both yielding area under the curve [AUC] of 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96–0.99), and performed marginally better than foot length (AUC 0.94, 95%CI 0.92–0.96). The optimal cut-points for measurements within 24 h of birth were ≤7.4cm for foot length; ≤30.4cm for chest circumference; and ≤ 9.0cm for MUAC. There was statistical evidence that anthropometric measurements taken within 24 h of birth were higher than measurements on day five (p<0.02 for all anthropometric measurements) but the magnitude of these differences was small (at most 2mm).ConclusionsAll measurements taken within 24 h of birth were good predictors of LBW, prematurity and both. Differences in measurements taken within 24 h and on day five were not clinically relevant. Further research will ensure that the application of these measures is reliable in community settings.

Salmonella is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens worldwide. Swine represent typical reservoirs of this bacterium and a frequent source of human infection. Some intrinsic traits make some serovars or strains more virulent than others. Twenty-nine Salmonella spp. isolated from pigs belonging to 16 different serovars were analyzed for gastric acid environment resistance, presence of virulence genes (mgtC, rhuM, pipB, sopB, spvRBC, gipA, sodCI, sopE), antimicrobial resistance and presence of antimicrobial resistance genes (blaTEM, blaPSE-1, aadA1, aadA2, aphA1-lab, strA-strB, tetA, tetB, tetC, tetG, sul1, sul2, sul3). A percentage of 44.83% of strains showed constitutive and inducible gastric acid resistance, whereas 37.93% of strains became resistant only after induction. The genes sopB, pipB and mgtC were the most often detected, with 79.31%, 48.28% and 37.93% of positive strains, respectively. Salmonella virulence plasmid genes were detected in a S. enterica sup. houtenae ser. 40:z4,z23:-strain. Fifteen different virulence profiles were identified: one isolate (ser. Typhimurium) was positive for 6 genes, and 6 isolates (3 ser. Typhimurium, 2 ser. Typhimurium monophasic variant and 1 ser. Choleraesuis) scored positive for 5 genes. None of the isolates resulted resistant to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin, while all isolates were susceptible to ceftazidime, colistin and gentamycin. Many strains were resistant to sulfonamide (75.86%), tetracycline (51.72%), streptomycin (48.28%) and ampicillin (31.03%). Twenty different resisto-types were identified. Six strains (4 ser. Typhimurium, 1 ser. Derby and 1 ser. Typhimurium monophasic variant) showed the ASSuT profile. Most detected resistance genes sul2 (34.48%), tetA (27.58%) and strA-strB (27.58%). Great variability was observed in analyzed strains. S. ser. Typhimurium was confirmed as one of the most virulent serovars. This study underlines that swine could be a reservoir and source of pathogenic Salmonella strains.

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The liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI) source in multiple reactions monitoring (MRM) mode has been used to detect five allergen including milk, egg, peanut, soyabean, and walnut in milk, dairy products, and confectionery. The allergenic proteins from food matrices were extracted with an extraction buffer (50 mM of TRIS- saline, 2 M of urea, and 25 mM of DTT) and then enzymatically digested with trypsin to form peptides. The peptides were eventually detected on a LC-MS/MS Triple Quad 5500 system from AB SCIEX. As a result, each allergen was characterized by a corresponding specific peptide. The limit of detection was of 3 &micro;g/g for milk, 5 &micro;g/g for peanut, 10 &micro;g/g for soyabean and walnut and 20 &micro;g/g for egg.

Background Whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a plant-damaging insect in tropical and subtropical regions that causes agricultural damage worldwide, including in Viet Nam. The abuse of pesticides derived from chemicals has resulted in the evolution of insect-resistant strains, polluting the environment and threatening human health. Using entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) for biological control is an alternative strategy in integrated pest management. Hence, an attempt was conducted to isolate, characterize and evaluate the efficacy of EPF, Purpureocillium lilacinum against whitefly B. tabaci under laboratory and field conditions. Results Purpureocillium lilacinum PL1 (PL1) was isolated from the whitefly B. tabaci cadavers and subsequently identified using morphological study and internal transcribed spacer sequencing. Purpureocillium lilacinum PL1 had effectively grown and sporulated at temperatures ranging from 25 to 35 °C and throughout a broad pH range, which is particularly advantageous against the harsh tropical monsoon climate. Bioassay study indicated that 1 × 107 conidia/ml of P. lilacinum PL1 had a high lethality against the whitefly B. tabaci nymphs in vitro with efficiency was 88.24% after 7 days of treatment. The median lethal concentration (LC50) of P. lilacinum PL1 to B. tabaci after 7 days of treatment was 1.24 × 105 conidia/ml. In field conditions, 1 × 107 conidia/ml of P. lilacinum PL1 lowered the population of B. tabaci nymphs with efficacy was 78.86% after 2 batches, 7 days after treatments. Conclusion The findings indicated that P. lilacinum PL1 was effective in the biological control of B. tabaci nymphs, which could be a potential alternative to chemical pesticides for pest management.