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Dielectric capacitors are increasingly recognized as critical components for energy storage, particularly for integrated, portable devices that demand high energy storage density and efficiency at low operating electric fields. The conventional method for increasing energy storage capacity involves polarization engineering through chemical alterations. In this study, we propose a new approach based on domain engineering by exploiting polarization vortices embedded in a paraelectric matrix. Through phase-field simulations, we demonstrate the stabilization of vortex polar structures in 0–3 PbTiO3/SrTiO3 (PTO/STO) nanocomposites. Interestingly, switching dynamics in the nanocomposites vary with changes in PTO volume fraction, resulting in paraelectric-, antiferroelectric- and ferroelectric-like polarization behaviors. The unexpected emergence of an antiferroelectric-like behavior, characterized by double hysteresis loops, is noteworthy as the component materials are not antiferroelectric. By introducing a PTO volume fraction of 0.35, an impressive discharge energy density (DED) of 2.03 J/cm3 and a high efficiency of more than 90% can be achieved in PTO/STO nanocomposites. Notably, the DED in the PTO/STO nanocomposite is 3.42 and 1.57 times higher than that of the PTO and STO component materials, respectively. The DED enhancement is attributed to the antiferroelectric–ferroelectric transition, where the high maximum polarization and eliminated remnant polarization are obtained. Additionally, the PTO/STO nanocomposite with a PTO volume fraction of 0.35 exhibits excellent thermal stability in DED over a wide temperature range of 0–300 °C. These superior properties can also be achievable in other ferroelectric/paraelectric nanocomposites. Our study offers a new avenue for enhancing energy storage capacity through the manipulation of polar topologies and polarization characteristics.

Choline is an important molecule in monitoring food safety and infant nutrition. Here, we report Ce nanogels synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) employing Ce-coordinated acryloyl-lysine polymer brushes (Ce@SiO2 NGs) as highly efficient cascade nanozymes for colorimetric detection of choline. The synthesized Ce@SiO2 NGs demonstrated remarkable peroxidase-like activity with a porous exterior, which are essential to entrap choline oxidase (COx) to yield COx@Ce@SiO2 NGs and construct a cascade reaction system to detect choline. Immobilized COx catalyzed the oxidation of choline in food samples to produce H2O2, which subsequently induced the oxidation of chromogenic substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) to produce blue color signals. This method enabled the selective and sensitive detection of target choline with a satisfactory linear range of 4–400 μM, which is sufficient to analyze foodborne choline. The practical utility of the COx@Ce@SiO2 NG-based assay was successfully validated to determine choline spiked in commercially available milk and infant formula with high accuracy and precision values. This approach provides a simple and affordable method of choline detection and has the potential to lead to more developments in ATRP-based nanozymes for diverse biosensing applications.

The Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is an enveloped RNA virus that caused a dangerous COVID-19 pandemic following an outbreak in Wuhan, China in 2019. In response to the pandemic, the development of lateral flow assays (LFAs) has been crucial for the detection of viruses, commonly targeting the spike (S) or nucleocapsid (N) protein in nasopharyngeal swab (NS) specimens. COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, predominantly manifests as a respiratory tract infection-like illness, characterized by symptoms such as fever, dry cough, upper airway congestion, runny nose, sore throat, myalgia, headache, and exhaustion. This study presents the development of an LFA targeting the N protein to detect the coronavirus in saliva specimens, using a sandwich format. The use of 80 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been investigated, and the application of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and TMB substrate has been employed to enhance the limit of detection (LOD). The results demonstrate a significant 200-fold improvement in LOD, from 10 to 50 pg/ml, for N protein spiked in saliva samples after the application of HRP-TMB. This finding highlights an important advancement towards the utilization of saliva samples in diagnostic applications.

The article presents a study which analyzed the metabolism of patient-derived xenografts from diverse subtypes of renal cell carcinom (RCC). Topics discussed include comparison of metabolomics data between clear cell (cc)RCC tumorgrafts and a large, published metabolomics datsets from human clear ccRCC, identification of actionable metabolic liabilities in cancer, and measurement of D-2HG and L-2HG in tissues.

We report a fluorescent assay for the determination of vitamin B12 (VB12) based on the inner filter effect (IFE) of 1,3-propanedithiol-functionalized silver nanoparticles (PDT-AgNPs). PDT was simply functionalized on the surface of AgNPs through Ag–thiol interaction, which leads to significantly enhanced fluorescence, with excitation and emission at 360 and 410 nm, respectively, via their thiol-mediated aggregation. Since target VB12 has strong absorption centered at 360 nm, which is almost completely overlapping with the excitation spectra of PDT-AgNPs, the VB12 induced strong quenching of the fluorescence of PDT-AgNPs via IFE. The IFE-based mechanism for the fluorescence quenching of PDT-AgNPs in the presence of VB12 was confirmed by the analyses of Stern–Volmer plots at different temperatures and fluorescence decay curves. The fluorescence-quenching efficiency of PDT-AgNPs was linearly proportional to the concentration of VB12 in a wide range of 1 to 50 μM, with a lower detection limit of 0.5 μM, while preserving excellent selectivity toward target VB12 among possible interfering molecules. Furthermore, the PDT-AgNPs-mediated assay succeeded in quantitatively detecting VB12 in drug tablets, indicating that PDT-AgNPs can serve as an IFE-based fluorescent probe in pharmaceutical preparations by taking advantages of its ease of use, rapidity, and affordability.

Converging signals from the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways are well established to modulate translation initiation. Less is known regarding the molecular basis of protein synthesis regulated by other inputs, such as agonists of the Ras/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling cascade. Ribosomal protein (rp) S6 is a component of the 40S ribosomal subunit that becomes phosphorylated at several serine residues upon mitogen stimulation, but the exact molecular mechanisms regulating its phosphorylation and the function of phosphorylated rpS6 is poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence that activation of the p90 ribosomal S6 kinases (RSKs) by serum, growth factors, tumor promoting phorbol esters, and oncogenic Ras is required for rpS6 phosphorylation downstream of the Ras/ERK signaling cascade. We demonstrate that while ribosomal S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) phosphorylates rpS6 at all sites, RSK exclusively phosphorylates rpS6 at Ser235/236 in vitro and in vivo using an mTOR-independent mechanism. Mutation of rpS6 at Ser235/236 reveals that phosphorylation of these sites promotes its recruitment to the 7-methylguanosine cap complex, suggesting that Ras/ERK signaling regulates assembly of the translation preinitiation complex. These data demonstrate that RSK provides an mTOR-independent pathway linking the Ras/ERK signaling cascade to the translational machinery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mangosteen peels contain biologically active compounds, with antioxidant and anticancer properties. Among these isolated phytochemicals, α-mangostin is one of the most powerful natural antioxidants and anticancer compounds. This study focused on synthesizing novel α-mangostin (α-MG) derivatives at positions of C-3 and C-6 from extracted α-MG of mangosteen peels and investigating antioxidant and anticancer activities. The structures of the synthesized compounds were determined by using MS, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and HPLC. The analysis of the interaction between structure and bioactivity showed that phenol groups on C-3 and C-6 positions play a crucial role in antiproliferative activity to boost both anticancer efficacy and drug-like properties. The antioxidant activity of α-MG and its derivatives were investigated by the DPPH method. Among α-MG derivatives, 1-hydroxy-7-methoxy-2,8-bis(3-methylbut-2-en-1-yl)-9-oxo-9H-xanthene-3,6-diyl bis(2-bromobenzoate) (compound 4) exhibited significant antioxidant property. The in vitro cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines (HeLa, MCF-7, NCI–H460, and HepG2) was evaluated by the standard sulforhodamine B assay. The anticancer activities (HeLa, MCF-7, NCI–H460, and HepG2) of compound 4 are five to six times higher than those of α-MG and other derivatives. The acetylation at C-3 and C-6 of α-MG by halogen of benzoyl greatly improved cancer cell toxicity. Our results provide new opportunities for further explorations of α-MG derivatives for antioxidant property and promise as drugs in cancer therapy.

Coal-fired power stations are one of the primary sources of power generation in the world. This will produce considerable amounts of fly ash from these power stations each year. To highlight the potential environmental hazards of these materials, this study is carried out to evaluate the characterization of fly ashes produced in thermal power plants in northern Vietnam. Fly ash was firstly fractionated according to size, and the fractions were characterized. Then, each of these fractions was analyzed with regard to their mineralogical features, morphological and physicochemical properties. The analytical results indicate a striking difference in terms of the characteristics of particles. It was found that magnetic fractions are composed of magnetite hematite and, to a lower rate, mullite, and quartz. Chemical analyses indicate that the non-magnetic components mainly consist of quartz and mullite as their primary mineral phases. As the main conclusion of this research, it is found that the magnetic and non-magnetic components differ in terms of shape, carbon content and mineralogical composition. In addition, it was found that magnetic components can be characterized as more spheroidal components compared to non-magnetic ones. This comprehensive characterization not only offers a certain guideline regarding the uses of different ash fractions but it will also provide valuable information on this common combustion process.

Ceftriaxone resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an escalating global health concern, threatening the efficacy of empiric treatment. In the Asia-Pacific region, a rapid surge in ceftriaxone resistance has been observed, primarily associated with the penA-60.001 allele. This study, conducted in Hanoi, Vietnam between 2023 and 2024, analyzed 352 N. gonorrhoeae isolates and found a 27% prevalence of ceftriaxone resistance. Whole-genome sequencing identified that resistance was predominantly driven by the mosaic penA-237.001 allele, with a smaller contribution from penA-60.001. The high prevalence of resistance and the emergence of new alleles underscore the urgent threat to ceftriaxone as an empiric treatment option., (© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.)

This was a cross-sectional study on the availability of laboratory infrastructure and capacity for the diagnosis of invasive fungal diseases in 24 public hospitals in Vietnam in 2023. Among the hospitals surveyed, 66.7% (14/21) had specialized personnel assigned for mycology testing, and 95.8% (23/24) had a separate microbiology laboratory space. Microscopy and culture methods are available in nearly all laboratories for isolate identification. Antifungal susceptibility testing is only performed for yeasts in 16/24 (66.7%) laboratories. Non-culture methods are hardly used in laboratories. Strengthening local laboratory capacities is essential to meeting health needs in these endemic regions., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology.)

The evidence to date still favors anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction over anterior cruciate ligament repair because ACL repair has a higher failure rate. However, there has recently been a resurgence of interest in primary ACL repair that has the potential to preserve its native tissue and improve its function. This Technical Note describes a double-bundle arthroscopic ACL repair combined with a modified Lemaire procedure. The extra-articular tenodesis improves anterolateral stability to enhance the success of the repair., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with increased soluble CD40 levels. This study aimed to investigate CD40's role in liver tumor progression. CD40 levels were examined in HCC patient tissues and various HCC cell lines, and their interaction with CD4 + T cells was studied. RNA sequencing analysis was performed to explore the mechanisms of CD40 induction. Poorly differentiated HCC tumor tissues exhibited high membrane-bound CD40 expression, in contrast to nontumor areas. Poorly differentiated HCC cell lines showed high expression of membrane-bound CD40 with low CD40 promoter methylation, which was the opposite of that observed in the well-differentiated HCC cell lines. Solely modulating CD40 expression in HCC cells exerted no direct consequences on cell growth or appearance. Interestingly, the human hepatoma cell line HLF co-cultured with activated (CD40 ligand + ) CD4 + T cells had increased CD40 levels and a modest 3.2% dead cells. The percentage of dead cells increased to 10.9% and underwent preneutralizing CD40 condition, whereas preblocking both CD40 and integrin α5β1 concomitantly caused only 1.9% cell death. RNA sequencing of co-cultured HLFs with activated CD4 + T cells revealed the up-regulation of interferon and immune-response pathways. Increased interferon-γ levels in the activated T-cell media stimulated the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway, resulting in increased CD40 expression in HLF. Collectively, CD40 expression in poorly differentiated HCC cells prevented cell death by interacting with CD40 ligand in activated T cells. Targeting CD40 may represent a promising anticancer therapy., Competing Interests: Disclosure Statement None declared., (Copyright © 2024 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: This study aimed to measure the preferences for mental health support among health professionals, their willingness to support the mental health of colleagues and associated factors., Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed from August to October 2022 within five hospitals located in Hanoi, Vietnam. A total of 244 health professionals participated in the study. Data on socio-economic status, health and COVID-19-related characteristics, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21); and preferences for mental health support services were collected by using a structured self-reported questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression models were utilized to identify associated factors with the demand for mental support services., Results: 13.9%, 17.1% and 8.6% reported having at least mild depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. There 13.9% did not seek any mental health support during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common support included talking with friends (52.9%), family (50.8%), colleagues (47.6%) and using social networks/Internet (43.5%). There 31.1% had been aware of mental health services, but only 18.0% used this service at least once. Regarding preferences, 47.3% had a demand for mental support services, and the most preferred service was providing coping skills (25.9%), followed by skills to support others against mental problems (22.2%). Major sources of support included psychiatrists (34.4%), colleagues (29.1%) and family (27.9%). The main preferred channels for support included telephone/mobile phone (35.7%) and Internet (20.9%). Only 12.3% were willing to provide mental support for colleagues during the pandemic. Age, education, perceived mental health status, ever seeking any mental service, and DASS-21 depression score were associated with demand for mental support services., Conclusion: This study found a lack of awareness of mental health services for health professionals, as well as moderate levels of demand for this service in this population. Raising awareness and developing tailored mental health support services are important to enhancing the mental well-being of health professionals in Vietnam to prepare for the next pandemic., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Thanh et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Theragnostics has become a popular term nowadays, since it enables both diagnosis and therapy at the same time while only using one carrier platform. Therefore, formulating a nanocarrier system that could serve as theragnostic agent by using simple techniques would be an advantage during production. In this project, we aimed to develop a nanocarrier that can be loaded with the chemotherapeutic medication chlorambucil and magnetic resonance imaging agents (e.g., iron oxide nanoparticles and near-infrared fluorophore IR780) for theragnostics. Poly(lactic- co -glycolic acid) was combined with the aforementioned ingredients to generate poly(vinyl alcohol)-based nanoparticles (NPs) using the single emulsion technique. Then the NPs were coated with F127 and F127-folate by simple incubation for five days. The nanoparticles have the hydrodynamic size of approx. 250 nm with negative charge. Similar to chlorambucil and IR780, iron oxide loadings were observed for all three kinds of NPs. The release of chlorambucil was quicker at pH 5.4 than at pH 7.4 at 37 °C. The F127@NPs and F127-folate@NPs demonstrated much greater cell uptake and toxicity up to 72 h after incubation. Our in vitro results of F127@NPs and F127-folate@NPs have demonstrated the ability of these systems to serve as medication and imaging agent carriers for cancer treatment and diagnostics, respectively., Competing Interests: The authors confirm that there is no conflict of interest related to the article., (Copyright © 2024, Dang-Luong et al.)

Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Over the last three decades, the world has been facing the phenomenon of the ecological deficit as the ecological footprint is continuously rising due to the persistent decline of the per-capita bio-capacity. Moreover, there is a substantial increase in globalization and electricity consumption for the same period, and transportation is contributing to economic prosperity at the cost of environmental sustainability. Understanding the determinants of ecological footprint is thus critical for suggesting appropriate policies for environmental sustainability. As a result, this study analyzes the impacts of economic globalization, transportation, coal rents, and electricity consumption in ecological footprint in the context of the USA over the period 1995 to 2018. The data have been extracted from "Global Footprint Network," "Swiss Economic Institute," and "World Development Indicators." The current study has also applied the flexible Fourier form nonlinear unit root test to examine the stationarity among variables. For the empirical estimation, a novel technique, the "quantile auto-regressive distributive lag model," is applied in the study to deal with the nonlinear associations of the variables and to evaluate the long-term stability of variables across quantiles. The study's findings indicate that coal rents, transportation, and globalization significantly and positively contribute to the deterioration of ecological footprints at different quantile ranges in the short and long run. Electricity consumption is found to have a positive and significant impact at lower quantile ranges in the long run but not have a significant impact in the short run. The study suggested that lowering the dependence of the transport sector on fossil fuels, more use of hydroelectricity, and stringent strategies to curb coal consumption would be helpful to reduce the positive influence of these variables on ecological footprints in the USA., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This study aims to examine the association between economic growth and energy consumption (renewable and nonrenewable). The data was collected from 80 developing countries comprising countries from all income over the 1990 to 2020 period. On methodological aspects, this study identifies the diverse impact of variables at different quantiles through novel methods of movement quantile regression (MMQR) approach and long-run coefficient estimations through fully modified ordinary least squares, fixed effects ordinary least squares, and dynamic ordinary least squares. According to the primary findings, the growth hypothesis exists in developing countries as both nonrenewable energy and renewable energy impact economic growth positively in MMQR estimation (for renewable energy at all quintiles and nonrenewable energy at lower quantiles), whereas the feedback hypothesis exists in (Dumitrescu and Hurlin Econ Model 29(4):1450-1460, 2012) Granger causality approach. The findings exposed that the economic renewable and non-renewable energy consumption has a positive impact on economic growth in developing countries. Based on the results, we recommend that developing countries prioritize investments in renewable energy for their production and expansion. Moreover, the provision of tax exemptions, subsidies, and feed-in tariffs are the right policy options towards the encouragement of the renewable energy sector and ultimately for the growth of the developing countries., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Factors affecting the probability of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development even after sustained virological response (SVR) following anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy remain unelucidated. This study characterized the role of 16 soluble (s) immune checkpoint proteins in 168 HCV-SVR patients, with 47 developing HCC at the study end point. At baseline, high concentrations of 10 immune checkpoint proteins were found in the sera of the HCC group. At the study end point, levels of sCD27, sCD28, sCD40, and sCD86 in the HCC group, which were depleted following SVR, returned to higher levels than those in the non-HCC group. More importantly, patients with baseline levels of sCD27 ≥ 4104 pg/mL, sCD28 ≥ 1530 pg/mL, and sCD40 ≥ 688 pg/mL predicted a significantly greater HCC cumulative rate. Although sCD27 was elevated in patient sera, its membrane-bound form, mCD27, accumulated in the tumor and peritumor area, mainly localized in T cells. Interestingly, T-cell activation time dependently induced sCD27. Furthermore, CD70, the ligand of CD27, was robustly expressed in HCC area in which CD70 promoter methylation analysis indicated the hypomethylation compared with the nontumor pairs. Recombinant human CD27 treatment induced the proliferation of CD70-bearing HepG2 cells via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)-extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway, but not NF-κB or p38 pathway. In conclusion, these data indicate that baseline sCD27, sCD28, and sCD40 levels could be used as HCC prognostic markers in HCV-SVR patients. sCD27 likely promotes HepG2 cell growth via the CD27-CD70 axis., (Copyright © 2022 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the primary cell type in liver fibrosis, a significant global health care burden. Cytoglobin (CYGB), a globin family member expressed in HSCs, inhibits HSC activation and reduces collagen production. We studied the antifibrotic properties of globin family members hemoglobin (HB), myoglobin (MB), and neuroglobin (NGB) in comparison with CYGB., Approach & Results: We characterized the biological activities of globins in cultured human HSCs (HHSteCs) and their effects on carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 )-induced cirrhosis in mice. All globins demonstrated greater antioxidant capacity than glutathione in cell-free systems. Cellular fractionation revealed endocytosis of extracellular MB, NGB, and CYGB, but not HB; endocytosed globins localized to intracellular membranous, cytoplasmic, and cytoskeletal fractions. MB, NGB, and CYGB, but not HB, scavenged reactive oxygen species generated spontaneously or stimulated by H 2 O 2 or transforming growth factor β1 in HHSteCs and reduced collagen 1A1 production via suppressing COL1A1 promoter activity. Disulfide bond-mutant NGB displayed decreased heme and superoxide scavenging activity and reduced collagen inhibitory capacity. RNA sequencing of MB- and NGB-treated HHSteCs revealed downregulation of extracellular matrix-encoding and fibrosis-related genes and HSC deactivation markers. Upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 was observed following MB and NGB treatment, and MMP-1 knockdown partially reversed globin-mediated effects on secreted collagen. Importantly, administration of MB, NGB, and CYGB suppressed CCl 4 -induced mouse liver fibrosis., Conclusions: These findings revealed unexpected roles for MB and NGB in deactivating HSCs and inhibiting liver fibrosis development, suggesting that globin therapy may represent a new strategy for combating fibrotic liver disease., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pancreatic cancer is a highly challenging malignancy with extremely poor prognosis. Cytoglobin (CYGB), a hemeprotein involved in liver fibrosis and cancer development, is expressed in pericytes of all organs. Here, we examined the role of CYGB in the development of pancreatic cancer. CYGB expression appeared predominately in the area surrounding adenocarcinoma and negatively correlated with tumor size in patients with pancreatic cancer. Directly injecting 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene into the pancreatic tail in wild-type mice resulted in time-dependent induction of severe pancreatitis, fibrosis, and oxidative damage, which was rescued by Cygb overexpression in transgenic mice. Pancreatic cancer incidence was 93% in wild-type mice but only 55% in transgenic mice. Enhanced CYGB expression in human pancreatic stellate cells in vitro reduced cellular collagen synthesis, inhibited cell activation, increased expression of antioxidant-related genes, and increased CYGB secretion into the medium. Cygb-overexpressing or recombinant human CYGB (rhCYGB) -treated MIA PaCa-2 cancer cells exhibited dose-dependent cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, diminished cell migration, and reduction in colony formation. RNA sequencing in rhCYGB-treated MIA PaCa-2 cells revealed downregulation of cell cycle and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. An increase in MIA PaCa-2 cell proliferation and reactive oxygen species production by H 2 O 2 challenge was blocked by rhCYGB treatment or Cygb overexpression. PANC-1, OCUP-A2, and BxPC-3 cancer cells showed similar responses to rhCYGB. Known antioxidants N-acetyl cysteine and glutathione also inhibited cancer cell growth. These results demonstrate that CYGB suppresses pancreatic stellate cell activation, pancreatic fibrosis, and tumor growth, suggesting its potential therapeutic application against pancreatic cancer., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: The high rate of infections among patients admitted to critical care units (CCUs) is associated with high rate of antibiotic consumption, especially broad-spectrum antibiotics. This study is to describe the antibiotics use in CCUs in primary and secondary hospitals in Vietnam, a setting with high burden of antibiotic resistance., Methods: This was a 7-day observational study in 51 CCUs in hospitals from 5 provinces in Vietnam from March to July 2019. Patients aged ≥ 18 years admitted to the participating CCUs was enrolled consecutively. We collected data on patient's demographics, initial diagnosis and antibiotic therapy within the first 24 hours. Antibiotic therapy was classified by the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Index and the 2019 WHO Access, Watch, Reserve (AWaRe) groups., Findings: Out of 1747 enrolled patients, empirical antibiotic treatments were initiated in 1112 (63.6%) patients. The most frequently prescribed antibiotics were cefotaxime (22.3%), levofloxacin (19%) and ceftazidime (10.8%). Antibiotics were given in 31.5% of patients without diagnosis of infection. Watch and/or Reserve group antibiotic were given in 87.3% of patients and associated with patient's age (aOR 1.01 per 1-year increment, 95%CI 1.00-1.02) and the presence of SIRS on admission (aOR 2.1, 95%CI 1.38-3.2)., Interpretation: We observed a high frequency use and a substantial variation in patterns of empirical antibiotic use in the CCUs in Vietnam. It highlights the importance of continuous monitoring antibiotic consumption in CCUs., Competing Interests: We declare no competing interest., (© 2021 The Authors.)