Anti-dengue virus immunoglobulin M kits were evaluated. Test sensitivities were 21%-99% and specifi cities were 77%-98% compared with reference ELISAs. False-positive results were found for patients with malaria or past dengue infections. Three ELISAs showing strong agreement with reference ELISAs will be included in the World Health Organization Bulk Procurement Scheme.

Background Streptococcus suis infection, an emerging zoonosis, is an increasing public health problem across South East Asia and the most common cause of acute bacterial meningitis in adults in Vietnam. Little is known of the risk factors underlying the disease.Methods and FindingsA case-control study with appropriate hospital and matched community controls for each patient was conducted between May 2006 and June 2009. Potential risk factors were assessed using a standardized questionnaire and investigation of throat and rectal S. suis carriage in cases, controls and their pigs, using real-time PCR and culture of swab samples. We recruited 101 cases of S. suis meningitis, 303 hospital controls and 300 community controls. By multivariate analysis, risk factors identified for S. suis infection as compared to either control group included eating “high risk” dishes, including such dishes as undercooked pig blood and pig intestine (OR1 = 2.22; 95%CI = [1.15–4.28] and OR2 = 4.44; 95%CI = [2.15–9.15]), occupations related to pigs (OR1 = 3.84; 95%CI = [1.32–11.11] and OR2 = 5.52; 95%CI = [1.49–20.39]), and exposures to pigs or pork in the presence of skin injuries (OR1 = 7.48; 95%CI = [1.97–28.44] and OR2 = 15.96; 95%CI = [2.97–85.72]). S. suis specific DNA was detected in rectal and throat swabs of 6 patients and was cultured from 2 rectal samples, but was not detected in such samples of 1522 healthy individuals or patients without S. suis infection.ConclusionsThis case control study, the largest prospective epidemiological assessment of this disease, has identified the most important risk factors associated with S. suis bacterial meningitis to be eating ‘high risk’ dishes popular in parts of Asia, occupational exposure to pigs and pig products, and preparation of pork in the presence of skin lesions. These risk factors can be addressed in public health campaigns aimed at preventing S. suis infection.

SummaryDengue is a common, sometimes life-threatening disease throughout tropical Asia and the Americas. We developed a clinically intuitive algorithm, the Early Severe Dengue Identifier, to assist in the prediction of severe, life-threatening presentations.

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem globally. HBV genotypes and subgenotypes influence disease transmission, progression, and treatment outcome. A study was conducted among treatment naive chronic HBV patients in southern Vietnam to determine the genotypes and subgenotypes of HBV. Methods: A prospective, exploratory study was conducted among treatment naïve chronic HBV patients attending at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam during 2012, 2014 and 2016. HBV DNA positive samples (systematically selected 2% of all treatment naïve chronic patients during 2012 and 2014, and 8% of all treatment naïve chronic patients during 2016) were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS) either by Sanger or Illumina sequencing. WGS was used to define genotype, sub-genotype, recombination, and the prevalence of drug resistance and virulence-associated mutations. Results: One hundred thirty five treatment naïve chronic HBV patients including 18 from 2012, 24 from 2014, and 93 from 2016 were enrolled. Of 135 sequenced viruses, 72.6% and 27.4% were genotypes B and C respectively. Among genotype B isolates, 87.8% and 12.2% were subgenotypes B4 and B2 respectively. A G1896A mutation in the precore gene was present in 30.6% of genotype B isolates. The genotype C isolates were all subgenotype C1 and 78.4% (29/37) of them had at least one basal core promoter (BCP) mutation. A1762T and G1764 T mutations and a double mutation (A1762T and G1764 T) in the BCP region were significantly more frequent in genotype C1 isolates (p < 0.001). Conclusion: HBV genotype B including subgenotype B4 is predominant in southern Vietnam. However, one fourth of the chronic HBV infections were caused by subgenotype C1.

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Feature selection, SVM, Nonconvex optimisation, DC programming, DCA, 90C26, 62-07,

A consistent and simplified direct strength method (DSM) is proposed for the design of cold-formed (or thin-walled) sections under localized loading, which is called web crippling. The development of this method proposes generalized equations for the design of thin-walled sections under the four different localized load cases: interior one-flange (IOF), end one-flange (EOF), interior two-flange (ITF) and end two-flange (ETF). The same parameters are used in the DSM equations for both the IOF and the EOF load cases. However, the ITF and ETF load cases require different parameters in the DSM equations to predict the capacities of structural members. The equations contain both an inelastic reserve component and a yield load component which are different from those proposed previously in this regard. This paper briefly introduces the calculation of the buckling load and the yield load. From these two main input variables, DSM equations are used to determine the capacities of structural members under localized loading. Calibration was performed against all available experimental data to validate the accuracy of the DSM predictions.

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