Southeast Asian Journal of Sciences

INDICATIONS FOR PATIENTS REQUIRING URGENT SURGERY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC:A COMPREHENSIVE LITERATURE REVIEW AND GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE PANDEMICS

Wed, 15 May 2024 16:54:36 +0800

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unparalleled challenges to global healthcare, especially in managing patients necessitating urgent surgical interventions. This literature review seeks to provide comprehensive insights into best practices implemented during the pandemic for the management of such patients. Starting with a background of the COVID-19 impact on healthcare and the vital need to maintain surgical services, the review elucidates the significance of pre-operative and post-operative testing. Key considerations encompass test types, their reliability, optimal timing, and management implications of positive test results. A spotlight on precautionary measures underscores the necessity for protective equipment, strategies to reduce exposure, and the importance of medical staff wellbeing. With adaptations in hospital infrastructure taking center stage, the review discusses modifications like ’COVIDfree’ zones, advanced air circulation systems, and stringent sanitization protocols. Drawing from the past, the analysis provides a comparative assessment with previous pandemics while also focusing on the psychosocial and logistical implications. As we envision a post-pandemic future, the discourse gravitates towards preparing for upcoming health crises, emphasizing the urgency for ongoing research, dialogue, and guideline optimization. This comprehensive review thus serves as a foundational reference for healthcare systems, aiding in the refinement of strategies and ensuring optimal patient outcomes in times of global health emergencies.

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND CHANGE IN FRAILTY STATUS: A LONGITUDINAL COHORT STUDY

To Thi Lien, Ly Anh Tu — Wed, 15 May 2024 00:00:00 +0800

Frailty is a medical syndrome characterized by increased vulnerability to minor stressors that could be prevented. People who are depressed frequently experience worsened transition frailty status. Social support is an important concept closely related to frailty and depressive symptoms, and it may play a crucial role in preventing frailty in depressed older adults. This research aimed to investigate the association between depressive symptoms and change in frailty status over four years of followup and examine whether social support plays a moderator in the association between depressive symptoms and change in frailty status. We used data from the 20072011 waves of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TSLA), a longitudinal cohort study of adults over 65 (n = 1,283). Frailty was assessed using the Fried frailty phenotype. An 8-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to measure depressive symptoms. The social support scale consisted of receiving (five items) and providing (five items) social support. Multiple multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the effect of social support on the association between depressive symptoms and change in frailty status within a period of four years. Most participants worsened (33.0%) and maintained (40.1%) their frailty status, while only 11.6% improved within four years for the whole sample. The mean depressive symptoms and overall social support scores were 3.24 (± 4.41) and 6.55 (± 1.28), respectively. In the analysis of non-frail participants, older adults with more depressive symptoms had a higher risk of frailty worsening (RRR = 1.066) and a higher ratio of frailty improvement (RRR = 1.145) than stable frailty after controlling for individual covariates, chronic diseases, and social support components. This difference turned out to be non-significant for frail individuals at baseline. There was no potential moderating role of receiving and providing social support on the pathway from depressive symptoms and change in frailty status between both samples. Preventing depressive symptoms in the elderly may help keep the frailty stable over time. Social supportreceiving and givinghad no apparent moderating impact on the relationship between depressive symptoms and changes in frailty status. Identifying the moderators of the link between depressive symptoms and worsening in frailty status may help guide future research on strategies to avoid the onset of the condition in older adults with depressive symptoms.

RESEACH ON THE PREPARATION OF QUICK-RELEASE ACYCLOVIR 200MG TABLETS WITH SODIUM CROSCAMELOSE EXCIPIENT

Loi Thong Liem, Nguyen Thi Hoai Thuong, Tran Ngoc Duy, Vo The Anh Tai — Wed, 15 May 2024 17:16:39 +0800

Acyclovir is a potent and low-toxic antiviral drug used in the treatment of infections mainly caused by Herpes simplex and Varicella Zoster viruses. Although using the drug orally is convenient and easy to use, the drug has the disadvantage of low bioavailability because acyclovir is mainly absorbed at the end of the stomach and the beginning of the small intestine. Therefore, research was conducted to develop a formulation for rapid gastric release of Acyclovir 200 mg tablets. Tablets are prepared by wet granulation method, using excipients Amidon, Avicel PH101, lactose, polyvinyl pirolidone K30 (PVP K30), talc, magnesium stearate and soluble excipient sodium croscarmellose. Semi-finished granules are evaluated for moisture content, apparent density and flowability. Acyclovir 200 mg rapid release tablets are prepared from semi-finished granules using an 8-punch rotary tablet press and are evaluated for a number of quality criteria such as hardness, abrasion, mass uniformity, and dosage. active ingredients, disintegration and ability to control release of active ingredients. Research has developed a formula for preparing quick-release acyclovir 200 mg tablets that can disintegrate in a 0.1 N HCl environment in under 300 seconds with the amount of active ingredient released reaching 92.68% at 5 minutes.

BIOPESTICIDE APPLICATIONS OF CHITOSAN-BASED NANOMATERIALS: HUGE POTENTIAL AND INNOVATION STRATEGY FOR MODERN AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE IN VIETNAM

Nguyen Van Tam, Phan Phuoc Hien — Wed, 15 May 2024 17:24:30 +0800

Agriculture is a backbone of global economy and of Vietnam in particular, providing food, fiber, and numerous other products to sustain human life. Chitosan has emerged as a non-toxic, biodegradable, and biocompatible natural biopolymer with multiple beneficial applications in the fields of agricultural and biomedical sectors. As nanotechnology has evolved as a promising field, researchers have applied chitosanbased nanomaterials in a variety of products. Due to its inherent antimicrobial and chelating properties, and the availability of modifiable functional groups, chitosan has been used as an encapsulating agent for bioactive plant compounds and agrochemicals by different technologies, such as iontropic gelation, spray-drying, nanoemulsions, coacervation, reverse micelles, and sieving method to enhance antimicrobial activity, efficacy and biocompatibility. Chitosan-based nanomaterials have been shown to increase potential antibacterial, and antifungal activity against pathogens, presenting higher stability, decreasing degradation, and prolonging the effective concentration of these bioactive compounds. Therefore, the objective of this work is to review the most recent developments in the synthesis of chitosan- based nanomaterials as well as the applications on phytopathogenic diseases. These perspectives could provide information for the future formulation of products with high efficacy against phytopathogenic diseases as an alternative to chemical products for sustainable and modern-day Vietnam agriculture.

COATINGS/FILMS FOR FOOD PACKAGING: GREAT POTENTIALS OF NATURAL POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES IN VIET NAM

Nguyen Van Tam, Phan Phuoc Hien — Wed, 15 May 2024 17:28:00 +0800

Recently, significant efforts have been devoted to evaluate various natural polymers as alternatives to synthetic plastic packaging. Natural polymer nanocomposites consist of natural biopolymers (e.g., chitosan, starch, cellulose, alginate and many more) derived from plants, which are abundantly available in nature, biodegradable and thus eco-friendly, incorporated with nanomaterials can prevent the growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, improve food quality and safety, and extend shelf-life of food. Therefore, the objective of this work is to review the most recent developments in the fabrication of natural polymer nanocomposite films/coatings as well as their applications in various food products and the effects they had on them. These perspectives could provide information for the future research should be carried out to widen the applications of bioactive films/coatings to more foods and industries, as well was their industrial scale-up, thus helping to minimize the use of plastic materials.