Displaying publications 241 - 260 of 2018 in total

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  1. Mahmood Y, Ishtiaq S, Khoo MBC, Teh SY, Khan H
    Int J Qual Health Care, 2021 Apr 16;33(2).
    PMID: 33822932 DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzab062
    BACKGROUND: At the end of December 2019, the world in general and Wuhan, the industrial hub of China, in particular, experienced the COVID-19 pandemic. Massive increment of cases and deaths occurred in China and 209 countries in Europe, America, Australia, Asia and Pakistan. Pakistan was first hit by COVID-19 when a case was reported in Karachi on 26 February 2020. Several methods were presented to model the death rate due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to forecast the pinnacle of reported deaths. Still, these methods were not used in identifying the first day when Pakistan enters or exits the early exponential growth phase.

    OBJECTIVE: The present study intends to monitor variations in deaths and identify the growth phases such as pre-growth, growth, and post-growth phases in Pakistan due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    METHODS: New approaches are needed that display the death patterns and signal an alarming situation so that corrective actions can be taken before the condition worsens. To meet this purpose, secondary data on daily reported deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been considered, and the $c$ and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts are used To meet this purpose, secondary data on daily reported deaths in Pakistan due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been considered. The $ c$ and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts have been used for monitoring variations.

    RESULTS: The chart shows that Pakistan switches from the pre-growth to the growth phase on 31 March 2020. The EWMA chart demonstrates that Pakistan remains in the growth phase from 31 March 2020 to 17 August 2020, with some indications signaling a decrease in deaths. It is found that Pakistan moved to a post-growth phase for a brief period from 27 July 2020 to 28 July 2020. Pakistan switches to re-growth phase with an alarm on 31/7/2020, right after the short-term post-growth phase. The number of deaths starts decreasing in August in that Pakistan may approach the post-growth phase shortly.

    CONCLUSION: This amalgamation of control charts illustrates a systematic implementation of the charts for government leaders and forefront medical teams to facilitate the rapid detection of daily reported deaths due to COVID-19. Besides government and public health officials, it is also the public's responsibility to follow the enforced standard operating procedures as a temporary remedy of this pandemic in ensuring public safety while awaiting a suitable vaccine to be discovered.

    Matched MeSH terms: Population Surveillance/methods*
  2. Zhao Y, Rokhani FZ, Shariff Ghazali S, Chew BH
    BMJ Open, 2021 02 18;11(2):e041452.
    PMID: 33602703 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041452
    INTRODUCTION: Smart technologies, digital health and eHealth have been shown to enhance institutional elderly care. Because of the rapidly ageing societies, information technologies in geriatric healthcare are urgently needed. A lot of innovation in smart healthcare has occurred in the past decade, and its use in nursing care assessment, daily living activities and service management is yet to be defined. More fundamentally, the concepts, definitions and scopes of a smart nursing home are still vague. Thus, this scoping review aims to examine the extent, range (variety) and nature (characteristics) of evidence on the existing smart concepts and feasible healthcare technologies, types of medical services in nursing home settings and acceptability of a smart nursing home by the elderly people ≥60 years old, their caregivers, nursing home operators and government agencies.

    METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This scoping review will be guided by the smart technology adoption behaviours of elder consumers theoretical model (Elderadopt) by Golant and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews. First, we will conduct an internet search for nursing homes and websites and databases related to the stakeholders to retrieve the definitions, concepts and criteria of a smart nursing home (phase 1). Second, we will conduct an additional systematic electronic database search for published articles on any measures of technological feasibility and integration of medical services in nursing home settings and their acceptability by nursing home residents and caregivers (phase 2). The electronic database search will be carried out from 1999 to 30 September 2020 and limited to works published in English and Chinese languages. For phase 2, the selection of literature is further limited to residents of nursing homes aged ≥60 years old with or without medical needs but are not terminally ill or bed-bound. Qualitative data analysis will follow the Framework Methods and thematic analysis using combined inductive and deductive approaches, conducted by at least two reviewers.

    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This protocol is registered on osf.io (URL: https://osf.io/qtwz2/). Ethical approval is not necessary as the scoping review is not a primary study, and the information is collected from selected articles that are publicly available sources. All findings will be disseminated at conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.

    Matched MeSH terms: Population Groups*
  3. Supmee V, Songrak A, Suppapan J, Sangthong P
    Trop Life Sci Res, 2021 Mar;32(1):63-82.
    PMID: 33936551 DOI: 10.21315/tlsr2021.32.1.4
    Ornate threadfin bream (Nemipterus hexodon) is an economically important fishery species in Southeast Asia. In Thailand, N. hexodon decreased dramatically due to overexploitation for commercial purposes. To construct an effective sustainable management plan, genetic information is necessary. Thus, in our study, the population genetic structure and demographic history of N. hexodon were investigated using 419 bp of the mitochondrial DNA sequence in cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (mtDNA COI). A total of 142 samples was collected from nine localities in the Gulf of Thailand (Chonburi, Samut Songkhram, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla), and the Andaman Sea (Satun, Trang, Krabi, Phang Nga). Fourteen polymorphic sites defined 18 haplotypes, revealing a high haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity among nine localities. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) analysis, pairwise F
    ST
    , and minimum spanning network result revealed that the genetic structure of N. hexodon was separated into two populations: the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea population. The genetic structure of N. hexodon can be explained by a disruption of gene flow from the geographic barrier and the Pleistocene isolation of the marine basin hypothesis. Neutrality tests, Bayesian skyline analysis, mismatch distribution, and the estimated values of population growth suggested that N. hexodon had experienced a population expansion. The genetic information would certainly help us gain insight into the population genetic structure of N. hexodon living on the coast of Thailand.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetics, Population; Population Growth
  4. Bagchi R, Press MC, Scholes JD
    Ecol Lett, 2010 Jan;13(1):51-9.
    PMID: 19849708 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01397.x
    One important hypothesis to explain tree-species coexistence in tropical forests suggests that increased attack by natural enemies near conspecific trees gives locally rare species a competitive advantage. Host ranges of natural enemies generally encompass several closely related plant taxa suggesting that seedlings should also do poorly around adults of closely related species. We investigated the effects of adult Parashorea malaanonan on seedling survival in a Bornean rain forest. Survival of P. malaanonan seedlings was highest at intermediate distances from parent trees while heterospecific seedlings were unaffected by distance. Leaf herbivores did not drive this relationship. Survival of seedlings was lowest for P. malaanonan, and increased with phylogenetic dissimilarity from this species, suggesting that survival of close relatives of common species is reduced. This study suggests that distance dependence contributes to species coexistence and highlights the need for further investigation into the role of shared plant enemies in community dynamics.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Density; Population Dynamics
  5. Choo LC, Saleha AA, Wai SS, Fauziah N
    Trop Biomed, 2011 Apr;28(1):16-20.
    PMID: 21602764 MyJurnal
    Insects, in particular house flies and cockroaches, have been shown to be associated with the spread of pathogens in livestock farms and in human disease outbreaks: among these pathogens are salmonellae and campylobacters. A total of 60 flies were caught in three locations: an animal teaching facility and a cafeteria in a university campus, and a poultry farm. Five percent (5%) and 13.3% of flies sampled were found to carry Campylobacter and Salmonella, respectively.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population; Urban Population
  6. Sumarni Mohd G, Muhammad Amir K, Ibrahim Md S, Mohd Rodi I, Izzuna Mudla MG, Nurziyana I
    Trop Biomed, 2006 Dec;23(2):148-54.
    PMID: 17322816
    Childhood obesity is an established problem in many countries and emerging in others. Epidemiological data on obesity in children is essential in order to plan public health policy and services. A study was conducted to determine the prevalence of obesity in schoolchildren in the fifth grade of elementary school (10-12 years old) in the district of Kuala Selangor. Ten schools of which five are in urban and five in rural areas were selected consisting of 699 eleven year old schoolchildren from the three major ethnic groups. Using international cut-off points for obesity, we report an overall prevalence of obesity of 7.2%. Prevalence of obesity in urban children is 7.2% whereas in rural children it is 7.0 %. Analysed by gender, there were 8.9% obese boys and 5.3% obese girls. Among the 3 major ethnic groups, the Malays had the highest prevalence of obesity at 9.3% followed by the Chinese with 6.6% while among Indians 3.0%. The data obtained from this study suggests that obesity in Kuala Selangor children is a cause for concern in urban and rural areas.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population; Urban Population
  7. Liu X, Lu D, Saw WY, Shaw PJ, Wangkumhang P, Ngamphiw C, et al.
    Eur J Hum Genet, 2017 04;25(4):499-508.
    PMID: 28098149 DOI: 10.1038/ejhg.2016.181
    The Asian Diversity Project (ADP) assembled 37 cosmopolitan and ethnic minority populations in Asia that have been densely genotyped across over half a million markers to study patterns of genetic diversity and positive natural selection. We performed population structure analyses of the ADP populations and divided these populations into four major groups based on their genographic information. By applying a highly sensitive algorithm haploPS to locate genomic signatures of positive selection, 140 distinct genomic regions exhibiting evidence of positive selection in at least one population were identified. We examined the extent of signal sharing for regions that were selected in multiple populations and observed that populations clustered in a similar fashion to that of how the ancestry clades were phylogenetically defined. In particular, populations predominantly located in South Asia underwent considerably different adaptation as compared with populations from the other geographical regions. Signatures of positive selection present in multiple geographical regions were predicted to be older and have emerged prior to the separation of the populations in the different regions. In contrast, selection signals present in a single population group tended to be of lower frequencies and thus can be attributed to recent evolutionary events.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population/genetics*
  8. Caldecott JO
    Folia Primatol., 1980;33(4):291-309.
    PMID: 7419138
    Sympatric gibbon species Hylobates lar and H. syndactylus were censused on a mountain in Malaya (West Malaysia). Habitat quality was assessed between 380- and 1,525-m altitudes. H. syndactylus was found to occur up to altitudes higher than does H. lar, and this is discussed with reference to the two species' divergent foraging strategies indicated by previous research. It is suggested that gibbons are restricted in their altitudinal range by an increasingly unfavourable ratio of food consumed to energy expended in its location, caused by a reduced food-source density and more difficult terrain at higher elevations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Density*
  9. Sundrum RM
    Malay Econ Rev, 1976;21(2):36-48.
    PMID: 12310921
    Matched MeSH terms: Population; Population Dynamics
  10. Balasegaram M, Burkitt DP
    Lancet, 1976 Jan 17;1(7951):152.
    PMID: 54670
    Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population; Urban Population
  11. Khor, Geok Lin
    MyJurnal
    Serious protein-energy malnutrition and severe nutrient deficiencies affected children in poor rural communities and estates during the first half of the century until the 1960s or so. Since then, the nutritional status of children in Malaysia in general has imporved amidst active socioeconomic development and various intervention programmes that have been implemented. Nevertheless, results from studies undertaken in the 1990s indicate that certain old nutrition problems in children still persist. These include protein-energy malnutrition in the forms of underweight, stunting and wasting, as well as iron deficiency anaemia, worm infestation and iodine deficiency disorders. Meanwhile, there is an increase in the prevalence of overweight among urban children. This review discusses the prevalence of these issues in rural communities, estates, Orang Asli, and communities in Sarawak and Sabah.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population; Urban Population
  12. Yadav M, Shah FH
    Trop Geogr Med, 1977 Sep;29(3):245-50.
    PMID: 595130
    Serum levels were determined in urban Chinese, Malays and Indians and in the forest-residing Orang Asli of age group 11 to 50. There was no difference in the IgM levels in the Chinese, Indians and Malays, but the serum IgG was elevated (p less than 0.05) in the Malays and the serum IgA level (p less than 0.01) in the Indians, when compared to the other two races. In contrast to the three other races there was a significant elevation of all three immunoglobulins in the Orang Asli. The mean immunoglobulin levels of the urban Malaysians are comparable to those reported for Caucasians residing in temperate countries. However, in the Orang Asli, the immunoglobulin levels were higher than observed for populations of the temperate regions but are comparable to the levels reported for several other populations of the tropical regions. Females had higher IgM levels than males in the Chinese, Indian and Malays but in the Orang Asli there was no sex difference in the immunoglobulin levels.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population; Urban Population
  13. Sivalingam G
    J Soc Psychol, 1976 Apr;98(Second Half):165-74.
    PMID: 1256028
    Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population*
  14. Salleh Hudin N, Teyssier A, Aerts J, Fairhurst GD, Strubbe D, White J, et al.
    Biol Open, 2018 Jun 15;7(6).
    PMID: 29632231 DOI: 10.1242/bio.031849
    While urbanization exposes individuals to novel challenges, urban areas may also constitute stable environments in which seasonal fluctuations are buffered. Baseline and stress-induced plasma corticosterone (cort) levels are often found to be similar in urban and rural populations. Here we aimed to disentangle two possible mechanisms underlying such pattern: (i) urban environments are no more stressful or urban birds have a better ability to habituate to stressors; or (ii) urban birds developed desensitized stress responses. We exposed wild-caught urban and rural house sparrows (Passer domesticus) to combined captivity and diet treatments (urban versus rural diet) and measured corticosterone levels both in natural tail feathers and in regrown homologous ones (cortf). Urban and rural house sparrows showed similar cortf levels in the wild and in response to novel stressors caused by the experiment, supporting the growing notion that urban environments are no more stressful during the non-breeding season than are rural ones. Still, juveniles and males originating from urban populations showed the highest cortf levels in regrown feathers. We did not find evidence that cortf was consistent within individuals across moults. Our study stresses the need for incorporating both intrinsic and environmental factors for the interpretation of variation in cortf between populations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population; Urban Population
  15. Santika T, Ancrenaz M, Wilson KA, Spehar S, Abram N, Banes GL, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2017 07 07;7(1):4839.
    PMID: 28687788 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04435-9
    For many threatened species the rate and drivers of population decline are difficult to assess accurately: species' surveys are typically restricted to small geographic areas, are conducted over short time periods, and employ a wide range of survey protocols. We addressed methodological challenges for assessing change in the abundance of an endangered species. We applied novel methods for integrating field and interview survey data for the critically endangered Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus), allowing a deeper understanding of the species' persistence through time. Our analysis revealed that Bornean orangutan populations have declined at a rate of 25% over the last 10 years. Survival rates of the species are lowest in areas with intermediate rainfall, where complex interrelations between soil fertility, agricultural productivity, and human settlement patterns influence persistence. These areas also have highest threats from human-wildlife conflict. Survival rates are further positively associated with forest extent, but are lower in areas where surrounding forest has been recently converted to industrial agriculture. Our study highlights the urgency of determining specific management interventions needed in different locations to counter the trend of decline and its associated drivers.
    Matched MeSH terms: Population Dynamics/trends*
  16. Yahya P, Sulong S, Harun A, Wan Isa H, Ab Rajab NS, Wangkumhang P, et al.
    Forensic Sci Int Genet, 2017 09;30:152-159.
    PMID: 28743033 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2017.07.005
    Malay, the main ethnic group in Peninsular Malaysia, is represented by various sub-ethnic groups such as Melayu Banjar, Melayu Bugis, Melayu Champa, Melayu Java, Melayu Kedah Melayu Kelantan, Melayu Minang and Melayu Patani. Using data retrieved from the MyHVP (Malaysian Human Variome Project) database, a total of 135 individuals from these sub-ethnic groups were profiled using the Affymetrix GeneChip Mapping Xba 50-K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array to identify SNPs that were ancestry-informative markers (AIMs) for Malays of Peninsular Malaysia. Prior to selecting the AIMs, the genetic structure of Malays was explored with reference to 11 other populations obtained from the Pan-Asian SNP Consortium database using principal component analysis (PCA) and ADMIXTURE. Iterative pruning principal component analysis (ipPCA) was further used to identify sub-groups of Malays. Subsequently, we constructed an AIMs panel for Malays using the informativeness for assignment (In) of genetic markers, and the K-nearest neighbor classifier (KNN) was used to teach the classification models. A model of 250 SNPs ranked by In, correctly classified Malay individuals with an accuracy of up to 90%. The identified panel of SNPs could be utilized as a panel of AIMs to ascertain the specific ancestry of Malays, which may be useful in disease association studies, biomedical research or forensic investigation purposes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Genetics, Population*
  17. Sukeri S, Idris Z, Zahiruddin WM, Shafei MN, Idris N, Hamat RA, et al.
    PLoS One, 2018;13(7):e0200871.
    PMID: 30021013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200871
    This qualitative study aimed to explore the misconceptions, knowledge gaps and constructs of leptospirosis among 72 respondents from rural and urban districts in two states of Malaysia. We conducted focus group discussions and data were examined using thematic analyses. The layman term of 'rat urine disease' contributed the most to the misconceptions regarding leptospirosis. There were gaps in the knowledge among urban and rural respondents in the two states, with the majority of subjects demonstrating a poor understanding of the disease. Construction of knowledge about leptospirosis relied mostly on the information provided by mass and social media; reading materials; word-of-mouth publicity; observations; experiences; and knowledge sharing among families, friends, and communities. The study findings may provide the foundation for the development of educational materials that may reduce the gaps in knowledge, and thereby improve health literacy and enhance preventive health behaviours for avoiding leptospirosis.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population/statistics & numerical data
  18. Jeffree SM, Mihat O, Lukman KA, Ibrahim MY, Kamaludin F, Hassan MR, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2016;17(7):3123-9.
    PMID: 27509940
    BACKGROUND: Cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in Sabah Malaysia with a reported agestandardized incidence rate was 104.9 per 100,000 in 2007. The incidence rate depends on nonmandatory notification in the registry. Underreporting will provide the false picture of cancer control program effectiveness. The present study was to evaluate the performance of the cancer registry system in terms of representativeness, data quality, simplicity, acceptability and timeliness and provision of recommendations for improvement.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: The evaluation was conducted among key informants in the National Cancer Registry (NCR) and reporting facilities from FebMay 2012 and was based on US CDC guidelines. Representativeness was assessed by matching cancer case in the Health Information System (HIS) and state pathology records with those in NCR. Data quality was measured through case finding and reabstracting of medical records by independent auditors. The reabstracting portion comprised 15 data items. Selfadministered questionnaires were used to assess simplicity and acceptability. Timeliness was measured from date of diagnosis to date of notification received and data dissemination.

    RESULTS: Of 4613 cancer cases reported in HIS, 83.3% were matched with cancer registry. In the state pathology centre, 99.8% was notified to registry. Duplication of notification was 3%. Data completeness calculated for 104 samples was 63.4%. Registrars perceived simplicity in coding diagnosis as moderate. Notification process was moderately acceptable. Median duration of interval 1 was 5.7 months.

    CONCLUSIONS: The performances of registry's attributes are fairly positive in terms of simplicity, case reporting sensitivity, and predictive value positive. It is moderately acceptable, data completeness and inflexible. The usefulness of registry is the area of concern to achieve registry objectives. Timeliness of reporting is within international standard, whereas timeliness to data dissemination was longer up to 4 years. Integration between existing HIS and national registration department will improve data quality.

    Matched MeSH terms: Population Surveillance/methods
  19. Lardier DT, Reid RJ, Garcia-Reid P
    J Community Psychol, 2018 11;46(8):996-1009.
    PMID: 30311968 DOI: 10.1002/jcop.22087
    Empowerment is a higher order multilevel framework that is used to understand and evaluate individuals, groups, organizations, and communities as they engage in the practice and execution of the participatory process. The intrapersonal component of psychological empowerment has been examined through sociopolitical control and occupies two dimensions: leadership competence and policy control. Though the Sociopolitical Control Scale for Youth (SPCS-Y) has been examined using a 17-item scale, Christens, Krauss, and Zeldin (2016) recently assessed the factorial validity of an abbreviated SPCS-Y among a sample of Malaysian adolescents. Yet, there is a need to further examine this abbreviated SPCS-Y among a sample of U.S adolescents. This study tested the factor structure of the abbreviated SPCS-Y among a sample of urban youth of color (N = 383). Using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) we examined the relationship leadership competence and policy control had with conceptually related variables. Analyses supported the bidimensional factor structure and the factorial validity of the abbreviated SPCS-Y. MANOVA results also indicate that participants with both higher leadership competence and policy control also had higher composite scores among conceptually related variables.
    Matched MeSH terms: Urban Population*
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