Serum was collected from six adults participating in a field trial of sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine in combination which was being administered once monthly for malaria suppression. Samples were drawn during each of two consecutive months three hours, and 7, 14 and 28 days following a dose of 1 500 mg sulfadoxine. Serum sulfadoxine concentration was measured using the method of Bratton and Marshall (1939). Initial serum concentrations averaged 19-9 plus or minus 2-4 (SD) mg/100 ml and decayed to 6-2 plus or minus 2-8 mg/100 ml at 14 days. Serum sulfadoxine concentrations were still detectable at 28 days following a dose (2-1 plus or minus 1-5 mg/100 ml). Elimination half-time averaged 195 plus or minus 44 hours. The presistent serum concentrations of sulfadoxine following monthly doses documented here during field-use of this drug are in agreement with the successful clinical results reported for such a regimen (Lewis and Ponnampalam, 1974; O'Holohan and Hugoe-Mathews, 1971; Wolfensberger, 1971).
This paper deals with the evaluation of the effectiveness of individual psychotherapy by students on patients' subjective symptomatic improvement and the therapeutic benefits to medical students. The results of the study indicated that student psychotherapy was of significant benefit to psychoneurotic patients, but was of dubious value in the clinical teaching of psychotherapy in the psychiatric curriculum of the medical course at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.
Male worms of Ancylostoma braziliense, A. ceylanicum, A. kusimaense, A. malayanum, A. duodenale, A. caninum, A. tubaeforme, Agriostomum vryburgi and Cyclodontostomum purvisi have the external appendages beside the anogenital aperture. These anogenital structures are morphologically similar and are assumed to be homologous among the species with three pairs of teeth or more. In hookworms with two pairs of teeth, the anogenital structures are complex. Anogenital features can be used as a taxonomic character in separating the species.
Seven of the 18 species of lowland forest terrestrial and semi-arboreal murids were found naturally infected with Breinlia booliati. Of these, two species, Rattus sabanus and R. cremoriventer, were found to be the most preferred hosts. None of the murids from the highland, field or human-inhabited areas was infected. This could have been due more to the greater scarcity of the vectors in these habitats than to the susceptibility of the hosts. The absence of this parasite in the squirrels examined may be attributed either to host specificity or to the normal activity cycles or vertical stratification of the vectors, separating them in space and/or time from the squirrels. The pattern of dispersion of the parasite is influenced by the wide distribution of suitable hosts, and the hypothesis that the parasite is of forest origin is discussed.
Twenty-four-hour urine samples and whole deciduous teeth from fluoridated (0.71 ppm) and non-fluoridated (0.14 ppm) areas together with some selected local food items were analysed for their fluoride content. The mean values for urinary fluoride were 0.90 ppm or 0.77 mg per day for the fluoridated area and 0.50 ppm or 0.52 mg per day for the non-fluoridated area. Assuming that half of all the fluoride ingested is excreted in the urine, this study suggests that the average daily fluoride intakes by adults in the fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas were about 1.5 mg and 1 mg respectively. The mean fluoride content of non-carious deciduous teeth from the fluoridated area was 416.89 ppm compared to 178.45 ppm in the low fluoride area.
A review of 352 patients with primary liver cell carcinoma treated by the author is presented. The poor rate of resectability (7 per cent) has necessitated various forms of treatment over the years. These are described in detail. Based on this experience, the current form of treatment for nonresectable carcinoma is summarized. Although it is too early to assess this form of treatment, initial results appear to be promising. A second report in the near future is planned.
MeSH terms: Age Factors; Alcoholism; alpha-Fetoproteins/analysis; Blood Donors; Developing Countries; Esophageal and Gastric Varices/complications; Female; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage/complications; Hepatectomy; Hepatic Artery/surgery; Hepatitis B Antigens; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/therapy*; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis/complications; Liver Neoplasms/therapy*; Malaysia; Male; Mycotoxins; Nutrition Disorders; Prognosis; Continental Population Groups
Blood samples, demographic and cultural data were collected from seven settlements of Semai Senoi, a swidden farming ethnic group of Malaysia. Three genetic loci (ABO blood group, hereditary ovalcytosis, and hemoglobin) were analyzed in a total sample of 546 individuals. These data indicate a considerable degree of genetic microdifferentiation in this area of the Semai distribution. Parent-offspring birthplace data (analyzed by means of a migration matrix) and settlement histories show that settlements are not strongly isolated. Genetic differences in the study area demonstrate a reasonable correspondence with migration and the history of the settlements. Genetic convergence also occurs through the addition of migrant groups to established populations leading to new patterns of marriage between donor and recipient groups. The genetic structure of the total Semai population through time thus comprises a mosaic of shifiting allele frequencies in a series of semi-isolated local populations.
Plaque reduction neutralization tests, using five group A arboviruses (chikungunya, Ross River, Getah, Bebaru and Sindbis), were done on sera from human populations in 44 Southeast Asia and Pacific island localities. Specificity of the plaque neutralization test was determined by examining convalescent sera from patients with known alphavirus infections. Chikungunya-specific neutralizing antibodies were demonstrated in sera of persons living in South Vietnam, Northern Malaysia, Indonesia (Kalimantan and Sulawesi), as well as Luzon, Marinduque, Cebu and Mindanao islands in the Philippines. Evidence of Ross River virus infection was found among populations living in West New Guinea and Papua New Guinea mainland, the Bismark Archipelago, Rossel Island and the Solomon Islands. There appeared to be no geographic overlap in the distribution of chikungunya and Ross River viruses, with the separation in their distribution corresponding with Weber's line in the Pacific. Sindbis neutralizing antibodies were found in 7 of 21 populations sampled, but in general the prevalence of infection was low. Four sera, from Vietnam, Malaysia and Mindanao gave monospecific reactions with Getah virus. No evidence of specific Bebaru virus infection was detected. The epidemiology of these five alphaviruses in Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands is discussed.
Description of four new species of Heligmosome Nematodes parasites of the gut of Trichys lipura: --Heligmonella limbooliati n. sp. has a synlophe of Heligmonella-type and a bursa related to Cordicauda. --Cordicauda trichysi n. sp. is characterized by the relatively small dorsal lobe of the bursa, numerous cuticular ridges and the origin of the 8th rib at the distal third of the dorsal rib. --C. malayensis is closely related to C. trichysi (the female of the two species are morphologically identical but the two species can be separated by the larger dorsal lobe of the bursa and the longer spicula of C. malayensis). --C. magnabursa n. sp. is separated from the other species of the genus by the peculiar morphology of the bursa and the female's tail, dorsally bent. The fauna of Trichys is compared to that of Atherurss africanus, which is parasitized by 8 coparasites species: One Heligmonella and seven Paraheligmonina. From a phyletic as well as an ecological point of view (relative abundance and species location in the gut) the two fauna seem to have evolved in a parallel way, one in Africa, one in Asia, from a single Heligmonella type Nematode, after the host's partition.