MeSH terms: Abortion, Spontaneous; Adolescent*; Contraception; Family Planning Services; Female; Health Services Research*; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Pregnancy; Pregnancy in Adolescence; Sex Education; Sexual Maturation; Sri Lanka
Five new species, Culicoides cheahi , C. cameronensis , C. perakensis , C. jefferyi and C. fadzili , were described in West Malaysia. They were added to many new candidates for species of the genus Culicoides to be published by Wirth and Hubert from that country, as a part of Southeast Asia, in near future.
Quantitation of serum immunoglobulin M, G, A, D and E levels was carried out in Malaysians with Brugia malayi infections. Results showed highly elevated levels of IgM and IgE as well as moderately elevated levels of IgG. These were most significant in patients with tropical pulmonary eosinophilia or elephantiasis. Serum IgE levels were extremely high in microfilaraemic patients (6,060 +/- 3,958 IU ml) probably due to a constant antigenic stimulation by dead and dying microfilariae.
"A tentative approximation of the expectation of life at 60-65 years, for populations with defective demographic statistics, is explored and expounded on the basis of a recent Horiuchi and [Coale] paper." The method is applied to data for El Salvador, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Peninsular Malaysia, and it is shown that the method can be used on actual data, although it requires some drastic rounding off. (summary in ENG, FRE)
MeSH terms: Age Factors*; Americas; Asia; Asia, Southeastern; Central America; Demography*; Developing Countries; El Salvador; Latin America; Life Expectancy*; Longevity; Malaysia; Mexico; Mortality*; North America; Population; Population Characteristics; Population Dynamics; Puerto Rico; Research*; Research Design; Statistics as Topic*; Bias (Epidemiology)*; Survival Rate*; Caribbean Region; Developed Countries
MeSH terms: Age Factors; Asia; Asia, Southeastern; Birth Weight; Cause of Death*; Culture; Data Collection*; Delivery of Health Care; Demography*; Developing Countries; Disease; Health; Health Facilities*; Hospitals*; Infant Mortality*; Malaysia; Mortality*; Population; Population Dynamics*; Research*
MeSH terms: Asia; Asia, Southeastern; Delivery of Health Care; Developing Countries; Equipment and Supplies*; Evaluation Studies as Topic*; Family Planning Services*; Health; Health Facilities*; Malaysia; Organization and Administration; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Physicians' Offices*; Research*; Sterilization, Reproductive*; Sterilization, Tubal*; Surgical Equipment*; Surgical Instruments*; Program Evaluation*
This preliminary report details our experience and also serves to evaluate the risk benefits of office laparoscopy for female fertility assessment in 183 subjects. The patients were admitted at about 8.00 in the morning and discharged at 3.00 to 4.00 in the afternoon after laparoscopy has been performed. Only 7. 7 percent of the subjects required inhalational anesthetic gases along with a combination of intravenous sedation and local anesthetic infiltration. The pick-up rate for pelvic abnormality is fairly high, approximately 22.4 percent. Difficulties and complications encountered during laparoscopy were minimal and easily overcome. The benefits of laparoscopy overrules the risk of complications. It is suggested that all family planning clinics involved in fertility assessment and sterilization feature laparoscopy on an but patient basis as one of its main activities.
MeSH terms: Ambulatory Care*; Asia; Asia, Southeastern; Delivery of Health Care; Developing Countries; Diagnosis*; Endoscopy*; Evaluation Studies as Topic*; Fertility*; Health Facilities*; Health Personnel; Infertility*; Malaysia; Organization and Administration; Laparoscopy*; Physical Examination*; Physicians; Reproduction; General Surgery; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures*; Therapeutics; Program Evaluation*
PIP:
The efficacy of a recently marketed posttesticular male oral contraceptive, Contrasperm, was assessed in a clinical trial involving 32 Malaysian volunteers ages 21-39 years. Contrasperm is claimed to be a pure botanical extract free of toxic chemicals, steroids, and hormones. The drug is believed to cause cells surrounding the sperm in the seminiferous tubules to secrete carbon dioxide, producing a weakly acidic environment that greatly increases the sperms' metabolism and reduces the pH of semen from its normal level of 7.5 to 1.5. The manufacturer claims that this drop in pH decreases motility from 95% to 0%. Semen samples were collected by masturbation from subjects to provide baseline data. 3 days after the initial sperm analysis, subjects were given 1 capsule of Contrasperm containing 10 mcg of the active ingredient. Additional semen analyses were conducted 30 minutes, 6 hours, and 24 hours after ingestion. Sperm count and sperm motility were greatly reduced in most subjects 30 minutes after ingestion. However, 6 subjects had increased sperm counts and 4 subjects demonstrated increased sperm motility, indicating an enhancing effect. At 6 hours after ingestion, 20 subjects had lowered sperm motility and 12 subjects showed normal sperm motility, contradicting the manufacturer's claim that motility is reduced to 0%. Although Contrasperm is claimed to be effective for 6-8 hours after ingestion, its effect wore off in less than 6 hours in 37% of subjects. Both sperm count and sperm motility returned to normal levels 24 hours after ingestion, confirming the reversibility of this drug. Most subjects reported mild side effects such as muscle weakness, blurred vision, dizziness, perspiration, urgency, abnormal muscle tension, and dry throat which persisted longer than 24 hours. Further studies, with proper controls, are needed to assess the reliability and toxicity of this preparation.
MeSH terms: Asia; Asia, Southeastern; Biology; Cells*; Contraception*; Contraception Behavior; Contraceptive Agents; Contraceptive Agents, Male*; Delivery of Health Care; Developing Countries; Diagnosis*; Disease*; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Family Planning Services; Health; Health Services; Malaysia; Medicine; Physiology; Plants, Medicinal*; Sperm Count*; Sperm Immobilizing Agents*; Spermatocidal Agents; Clinical Laboratory Techniques*
MeSH terms: Asia; Asia, Southeastern; Commerce*; Communication*; Developing Countries; Economics*; Far East; Health Planning; India; Indonesia; Information Services*; Japan; Malaysia; Marketing of Health Services*; Mass Media*; Organization and Administration; Propaganda*; Singapore; Thailand; Public Sector*
Abstract This paper examines the determinants of age at first birth from an explicitly comparative perspective in the following Asian societies: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. The key structural variables have the same (or similar) effects in each of the groups examined. Education through primary school and beyond has a strong delaying effect on age at first birth in all eight populations. Difference of rural-urban origin does not affect the timing of motherhood in any of these societies. We also find a remarkably strong effect of shared cultural heritage. All the Confucian groups tend to behave similarly, as do the Muslim and Hindu groups.
The pattern of phage types of 2553 strains of Salmonella typhi isolated over the 10-year period 1970-9 was studied. During the period 29 different phage types were encountered, not including the categories of 'untypable strains', 'degraded Vi-strains' and Vi negative strains. For the period as a whole, the commonest phage types encountered were A (20.9%), E1 (14.8%), D1 (10.3%), degraded Vi positive strains (10.3%), untypable Vi strains (7.3%), C4 (7.1%), D2 (4.4%), E2 (3.9%) and type 25 (2.6%). There were phage types which appeared in the early years of the period and then disappeared (types B2, D9 and D1-N). Others only made their appearance in recent years (K1 and 53). Notable differences were also seen in the predilection of some phage types for certain geographical areas.
Over the past 20 years, dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) has been the subject of intensive epidemiological, clinical, virological and immunological investigations. Considerable debate and controversy have surrounded its causation and the probable role of immunological mechanisms in its pathogenesis. The exact cause of DHF is still uncertain and this article reviews current thinking about the problem.
MeSH terms: Humans; Severe Dengue/physiopathology*