Frontoethmoidal meningoencephaloceles (FEM) are exceedingly rare in the western hemisphere, Australia, and Europe with an estimated frequency of 1 in 40,000 live births. Among the inhabitants of Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, and parts of the Soviet Union, however, the frequency is as high as 1 in 5000, accounting for 15% of all neural tube defects (NTD). Normal maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) values usually will be found in these cases since most encephaloceles are closed, skin covered defects. Correct interpretation of the sonographic findings is crucial in establishing a diagnosis as well as giving prognostic and recurrence risk information. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of prenatally diagnosed FEM. Perinatal management, differential diagnosis for disorders associated with this malformation, and epidemiologic information regarding this rare condition are discussed. It is anticipated that the prenatal sonographic findings may be applied to establish this diagnosis in similarly affected fetuses.
A case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the trachea in a 26-year-old female is presented. Diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology. On the basis of the clinical and histological picture, the tumour is classified as a low grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Conservative surgical treatment was the primary mode of treatment. The patient showed no clinical evidence of recurrence twelve months after local resection of the tumour.
Paraventricular calcification not previously reported in systemic lupus erythematosus was seen in cranial computed tomograms of two patients with this disorder.
Although ageing is not yet a high priority tissue for health planners, policy makers and clinicians in most developing countries there will be a growing need in coming years to pay more attention to the important health issues associated with population ageing in the developing world. This paper reports some of the relevant findings of a cross-national study (sponsored by the World Health Organization) of the health and social aspects of ageing in four developing countries--Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Fiji and Malaysia. The key findings are compared and contrasted with those of a similar eleven-country WHO study in Europe. In very broad terms, the overall demographic, physical, mental health and social patterns and trends associated with ageing as demonstrated by age-group and sex differences were consistent throughout the four countries studied. Comparisons with European findings in other similar studies underlined the fundamental universality of age-related changes in biophysical, behavioural and social characteristics. The importance of the family in developing countries was evident, with about three-quarters of those aged 60 and over in the four countries living with children, often in extended family situations. Levels of adverse health-related behaviour and the prospect of changing patterns of morbidity with further increases in the total and proportional numbers of aged persons point to a need for emphasis on preventive health measures and programmes directed to the maintenance of the physical and mental health of the ageing population.
Genetic polymorphism of the 'X'-protein in red cells from Malaysian Katjang goats was demonstrated by starch gel electrophoresis at pH 7.3. Two new phenotypes were observed, suggesting that one new allele is involved. A new nomenclature for the 'X'-protein system in goats is proposed.
This article examines the numerous problems faced by primary health care in Malaysia, care that traditionally has been a private sector activity. While general practitioners have adapted, and are continually adapting, to the needs of a multiracial society with diverse cultural patterns, it is hoped that with the emergence of a dynamic discipline of family practice, family doctors will be able to provide a sophisticated form of primary health care that will serve the needs of the people.
MeSH terms: Family Practice/trends*; Forecasting; Health Services Needs and Demand*; Health Services Research*; Humans; Malaysia; Primary Health Care/organization & administration*; Rural Health; Urban Health; Review
Ivermectin at single doses of 0.2-1.0 mg/kg body weight reduced the microfilarial counts of subperiodic Brugia malayi in Presbytis cristata by 59.9%-89.6% of initial counts, 4 weeks after treatment. Adult filaricidal activity was poor, live adult worms being recovered from all animals at autopsy. There was no serious side effect at these doses.
In Sarawak, some tribes stay in communal longhouses whilst others live in villages of single dwellings. The present study looks into the question of whether there is an association between the prevalence of leprosy and tuberculosis with the quantum of social contact that occurs in these two types of settlement patterns. It was found that the prevalence of leprosy and tuberculosis is significantly higher among longhouse dwellers compared with single house dwellers. It was also noted that social groups tended to be larger and to persist for much longer among longhouse dwellers than among those in single dwellings. This lends support to the evidence that social contact in longhouses is more extensive and contributes towards a higher prevalence of leprosy and tuberculosis.
Young sedentary adult males of Malay, Indian, and Chinese origin who had established continuous residence in tropical Malaysia and presumed to be naturally acclimatized to heat, were studied to evaluate their physiological responses to a standard heat stress test. The Malay and Indian races have evolved in hot and humid geographical zones, whereas the Chinese originated from a temperate area. Subjects exercised at 50% VO2max alternating 18 minutes walking and 2 min rest during a 2-h exposure to an ambient of 34.9 degrees C dry bulb and 32.1 degrees C wet bulb. Heart rates, core and skin temperatures, sweat rates, and oxygen uptakes were measured during the heat exposure. The subjects of Malay origin exhibited the least circulatory stress of the three ethnic groups. The data obtained on these long-term residents of a hot-wet climate and who were considered acclimatized to this environment were compared to experimental data obtained by other investigators and other ethnic groups.
MeSH terms: Acclimatization*; Adult; Body Temperature; Body Weight; China/ethnology; Physical Exertion*; Heart Rate; Hot Temperature*; Humans; India/ethnology; Malaysia; Male; Tropical Climate*; European Continental Ancestry Group; Asian Continental Ancestry Group
1. 30 mg kg-1 chlorpromazine (CPZ) depleted more than half of the tissue histamine from lungs, stomach, ileum and skin of the normal guinea-pigs. However, the drug increased the tissue histamine content in scorbutic animals. 2. In contrast, reserpine depleted histamine from the four tested tissues in both normal and scorbutic animals, except those in the lungs of the control animals. 3. Ascorbic acid only depleted histamine from the stomach and ileum. 4. A 24 hr period was the time limit for CPZ to deplete the histamine in all the four tested tissues. 5. Histamine partially or completely recovered in the tissues after the next 24 hr.
MeSH terms: Animals; Ascorbic Acid/pharmacology*; Chlorpromazine/pharmacology*; Drug Synergism; Female; Guinea Pigs; Histamine/metabolism*; Male; Reserpine/pharmacology*; Time Factors
The Court held that, in determining whether to authorize a Muslim man to take a second wife under Rule 11 of the Malaysia Muslim Marriage and Divorce Rules 1968, an objective test, rather than a subjective test, should be used. It ruled that, whether "a husband is competent to support more than one wife and will be able, if he marries more than one wife, to treat them with equity in accordance with the Muslim law" should be established by objective evidence, not merely by a husband's statement that he can support both wives and will treat them equitably. The Court allowed the appeal of the wife of the respondent against a decision of the Registrar of Muslim Marriages to allow the respondent to take a second wife.
This Islamic Family Law Enactment of Pahang, Malaysia, is based on the model of the Islamic Family Law (Federal Territory) Act, 1984 (Annual Review of Population Law, Vol. 11, 1984, Section 250). It differs from that Law in the following major respects: 1) marriages between Muslims and non-Muslims are prohibited; 2) a wali Hakim (special guardian appointed by the Sultan) is authorized to consent to marriage if the wali (guardian) of the bride unreasonably withholds consent; 3) the grounds for divorce are fewer (failure to maintain and cruelty being omitted), although there is a general provision allowing divorce for any ground that is recognized as valid by Islamic law; 4) a son is to be maintained until the age of 15, not 18; and 5) a religious court, rather than a civil court, may order a putative father to maintain his illegitimate child.
Chemical forms of copper and lead in river water of the Linggi River Basin have been fractionated into ASV labile, moderately labile, slowly labile, and inert metal species, based on a previously proposed scheme. Free (hydrated) metal ions were identified by a potentiometric method using an ion selective electrode. Speciation results showed that the soluble copper and lead species occurred mainly in the moderately labile and slowly labile fractions. The speciation results are primarily interpreted in terms of organic interaction due to agricultural based and light industries, and urban discharges. The measured metal complexing capacity (MCC) of the samples reveals consistency of the results with the nature of the discharge. MCC correlates reasonably well with the value from the permanganate test on the river water. In general, the speciation pattern was found to be consistent with the findings of other workers.
This study was initiated to determine the mechanism of iron-uptake in Salmonella typhi. When stressed for iron, microorganisms produce siderophores to obtain the necessary nutrient. Generally two types of siderophores exist: the phenolate-type predominantly produced by bacteria and the hydroxamate-type commonly secreted by fungi. Results of this investigation showed that S. typhi produced siderophores of the phenolate-type since culture supernatant of the organism grown under iron-deprivation supported the growth of the phenolate-dependent auxotroph. The culture supernatant when extracted for phenolate siderophores, also supported the growth of the phenolate auxotroph but not the hydroxamate auxotroph. Production of phenolate-type siderophores were further confirmed using biochemical assays. These results showed that S. typhi utilized the high-affinity iron transport system to obtain the necessary iron.
The effects of cell density and growth in 10% foetal bovine serum and 10% newborn calf serum on the activity of the enzyme (Na+ + K+)-ATPase were studied in 3T3 and SV3T3 cells. The enzyme activity decreases in 3T3 cells grown in foetal bovine serum as the cells approach confluency while in those grown in newborn calf serum the enzyme activity increases. The (Na+ + K+)-ATPase activity does not change with increase in cell density in SV3T3 cells grown in foetal bovine serum while the enzyme activity in those grown in newborn calf serum increases with increase in cells density up to about 1.35 x 10(5) cells/sq. cm. and then decreases with further increase in cell number. At confluency it was found that the enzyme activity is higher in the SV3T3 as compared to the 3T3 cells when the cells were grown in 10% foetal bovine serum, whereas in those grown in 10% newborn calf serum the enzyme activity is higher in the 3T3 as compared to the SV3T3 cells.
Staphylococcal infection is common in Malaysian hospitals. A recent survey of 22 Malaysian hospitals revealed that staphylococci were isolated from almost 40% of positive blood cultures. A more detailed analysis of such cases in our own hospital showed that almost 70% of Staphylococcus aureus and about 16% of coagulase-negative staphylococcal isolates were associated with clinically-significant disease. Staphylococcal bacteraemia was seen mainly in neonatal sepsis, skin and soft tissue infections, pneumonia, arthritis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis and postoperative sepsis. Multiply-resistant S. aureus were encountered in all the hospitals surveyed. Resistance rates to penicillin ranged from 40% to almost 100% while methicillin resistance rates of up to 25% were reported from several hospitals.
Holoendemic malaria transmission in two small isolated forest communities and a coastal village was studied by (1) all night human bait collections of Anopheles species from inside and outside houses and (2) buffalo-biting and CDC light-trapping catches during March and November 1984. During the same period thick and thin blood films were collected from the human population, and spleen rates were determined in children from two to nine years of age. Using both the immunoradiometric assay (IRMA) and the dissection technique, more sporozoite-positive infections were detected in An. balabacensis and An. flavirostris in November than in March. IRMA confirmed the presence of Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites. An average of 76.2% of the An. balabacensis population lived long enough to have reached a point where infectivity with P. falciparum was possible in November. Although fewer than five adult females bit humans per night at any time, a resident could theoretically have received more than 160 infective bites in one year. A high frequency of feeding on humans, coupled with increased anopheline life expectancy, contributed to high estimates of falciparum malaria vectorial capacity (number of infections distributed per case per day); for An. balabacensis (1.44-7.44 in March and 9.97-19.7 in November) and for An. flavirostris (0.19-5.14 in March and 6.27-15.8 in November). These high values may explain the increased malaria parasite rates obtained from at least two forest communities. Correlation between actual and calculated rates of gametocytaemia was poorest in Kapitangan due to inadequate sampling of the human population. In Banggi island, malaria is stable and holoendemic, and the population enjoys a high degree of immunity.