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The disease caused by the SARS-Cov 2 virus has spread to most areas of the world with high rates of infection and deaths. Facing the complicated developments of the epidemic, clinical medical staff (CMS) are at risk of suffering psychological pressure. This study aimed to investigate the situation of anxiety, depression, and related factors affecting CMS during the COVID-19 pandemic at Dong Da General Hospital and Dong Anh General Hospital in Hanoi. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to July 2020 using self—administered questionnaires amongst 341 CMS. The participants’ anxiety levels were assessed using the standardized General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) toolkit and levels of depression expression were assessed based on the standardized Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) toolkit. Of the CMS who completed the questionnaire, 33.1% had an anxiety disorder and 23.2% exhibited mild to very severe depression. The factors associated with anxiety and depression were department of work, shortage of human resources, and discrimination from the community that directly affects the family of the CMS. The study results highlight the need for a training session to equip CMS with the skills required to cope with psychological stress in all circumstances in general and during the pandemic in particular. This training is especially important for those working in at-risk departments which are susceptible to infection.

The development of industrially relevant deposition processes for efficient, stable, and inexpensive charge extracting layers is crucial for the commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This work demonstrates, for the first time, the deposition of copper thiocyanate (CuSCN) as a low‐cost and reliable hole‐transport layer using slot‐die coating. Methyl ethyl sulfide is thereby used as an asymmetric cosolvent to significantly increase the solubility of CuSCN in the utilized slot‐die ink compared to traditional pure diethyl sulfide‐based solutions. Optimized CuSCN inks allow for the deposition of CuSCN layers on 5 × 10 cm2 substrates with a wide range of thicknesses. Multidimensional imaging photoluminescence techniques are used to investigate the uniformity of the CuSCN thin films deposition as well as the influence of the solvent on charge losses. Finally, the CuSCN slot‐die deposition is integrated into a fully upscalable PSC fabrication process showing 19.1% power conversion efficiency for small laboratory cells and 14.7% for 9 cm2 minimodules. Furthermore, semitransparent minimodules retain 80% of their initial efficiency after 500 h of constant illumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Pooling sputum specimens is one potential strategy for reducing the cost of using Xpert MTB/RIF, a rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based test, for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. We sought to compare the sensitivity of two alternative method of pooling. Methods Patients referred for assessment for TB, whose initial sputum was Xpert MTB positive, were recruited and their sputum specimens were pooled for analysis with sputum specimens that were Xpert MTB negative. Two alternative pooling strategies were employed: one in which the concentration of sample reagent (buffer) was maintained at 2:1 (standard), in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, and another in which the concentration of sample reagent was reduced to 1:1. Results We tested 101 Xpert MTB positive sputum specimens. Among these, 96% of valid test results (95% confidence interval (CI) 89–99%) were positive using the “standard buffer method”. Using the “reduced buffer pooling” method 94% of valid test results (95% CI 87–98%) were positive. McNemar’s test for the difference in paired proportions did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.56). Conclusion We have confirmed that pooling of two sputum specimens for testing in a single cartridge is a valid method of reducing the number of cartridges required when using Xpert MTB to detect pulmonary tuberculosis. Two alternative pooling strategies tested here yielded similar results. Trial registration The present study was conducted within the Active Casefinding in Tuberculosis (ACT3) Trial. The ACT3 Trial had been registered with Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register on 8th April, 2014. The trial registration number is ACTRN12614000372684. (Retrospectively registered).

Image inpainting is a process of filling missing and damaged parts of image. By using the Mumford-Shah image model, the image inpainting can be formulated as a constrained optimization problem. The Mumford-Shah model is a famous and effective model to solve the image inpainting problem. In this paper, we propose an adaptive image inpainting method based on multiscale parameter estimation for the modified Mumford-Shah model. In the experiments, we will handle the comparison with other similar inpainting methods to prove that the combination of classic model such the modified Mumford-Shah model and the multiscale parameter estimation is an effective method to solve the inpainting problem.

The development of vibration-based tension determination has increased in recent years. The effective vibration length concept is one of the most robust methods in dealing with various end-rotational support stiffness. Recently, a two-mode combination approach by compelling multiple frequencies and effective lengths has been developed to replace the bending rigidity from the cable relationship so the tension can be solved explicitly. This paper aims to compare the tension prediction using the effective length concept with two existing methods: linear regression and the two-mode combination. Three cases of cable support: hinged-hinged (Case 1), hinged-fixed (Case 2), and fixed-fixed (Case 3), are studied through numerical simulation. The cable is vibrated under random excitation, and its dynamical properties are extracted through the SSI method. Equivalent frequencies and equivalent-effective lengths are computed to perform the two-mode approach. The study shows that linear regression produces more minor errors than the two-mode combination method, either for Cases 1, 2, or 3. The theoretical results are presented to figure out the cause of errors. However, linear regression and the two-mode method both produce promising results in calculating the cable tension in these three cases. Similar results are also shown in the study using experimental laboratory test data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the trends and associated factors of comprehensive knowledge about HIV among women in Vietnam using the dataset of the Vietnam Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICSs) in 2000, 2006, 2011, and 2014. The outcome variable was comprehensive knowledge about HIV, defined as the ability to correctly answer three knowledge questions and to reject the three most common misconceptions about HIV prevention. We found that comprehensive knowledge about HIV increased from 26.1% in 2000 to 44.1% in 2011, but it decreased slightly between 2011 and 2014, from 44.1% to 42.4%. Increased comprehensive knowledge about HIV was associated with women who had higher education and those in the fourth and fifth quintiles of household wealth in all four rounds of the MICS. Comprehensive knowledge about HIV among women was also associated with those who had ever been tested for HIV and those with knowledge of where to be tested for HIV. Women in the urban areas were more likely to have higher levels of comprehensive knowledge about HIV as compared to the women in the rural areas in 2000, 2006, and 2011 but not in 2014. Comprehensive knowledge about HIV among women in Vietnam increased from 2000 to 2014, but it was still relatively low.