Displaying publications 21 - 40 of 533 in total

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  1. Restocking and stock enhancement of marine invertebrate fisheries
    Bell JD, Munro JL, Nash WJ, Rothlisberg PC, Loneragan NR, Ward RD, et al.
    Adv. Mar. Biol., 2005;49:xi-374.
    PMID: 16503428
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  2. Fulltext Factors affecting the HIV/AIDS epidemic: an ecological analysis of global data
    Mondal MN, Shitan M
    Afr Health Sci, 2013 Jun;13(2):301-10.
    PMID: 24235928 DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v13i2.15
    All over the world the prevalence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has became a stumbling stone in progress of human civilization and is a huge concern for people worldwide.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment*
  3. The Sulu-Sulawesi Sea: environmental and socioeconomic status, future prognosis and ameliorative policy options
    DeVantier L, Alcala A, Wilkinson C
    Ambio, 2004 Feb;33(1-2):88-97.
    PMID: 15083654
    The Sulu-Sulawesi Sea, with neighboring Indonesian Seas and South China Sea, lies at the center of the world's tropical marine biodiversity. Encircled by 3 populous, developing nations, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, the Sea and its adjacent coastal and terrestrial ecosystems, supports ca. 33 million people, most with subsistence livelihoods heavily reliant on its renewable natural resources. These resources are being impacted severely by rapid population growth (> 2% yr-1, with expected doubling by 2035) and widespread poverty, coupled with increasing international market demand and rapid technological changes, compounded by inefficiencies in governance and a lack of awareness and/or acceptance of some laws among local populations, particularly in parts of the Philippines and Indonesia. These key root causes all contribute to illegal practices and corruption, and are resulting in severe resource depletion and degradation of water catchments, river, lacustrine, estuarine, coastal, and marine ecosystems. The Sulu-Sulawesi Sea forms a major geopolitical focus, with porous borders, transmigration, separatist movements, piracy, and illegal fishing all contributing to environmental degradation, human suffering and political instability, and inhibiting strong trilateral support for interventions. This review analyzes these multifarious environmental and socioeconomic impacts and their root causes, provides a future prognosis of status by 2020, and recommends policy options aimed at amelioration through sustainable management and development.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment*
  4. Issues of livelihood, sustainable development, and governance: Bay of Bengal
    Samarakoon J
    Ambio, 2004 Feb;33(1-2):34-44.
    PMID: 15083648
    This article is based on the findings of the Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) Subregion 53, Bay of Bengal. It introduces the Subregion. The wide disparity in development indicators in the Bay of Bengal Subregion (BOBSR) is presented. The large population of poor people living in South Asia is presented as a factor that needs special attention. The article focuses on the 3 geographic sites selected for detailed analysis: i) the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river systems; ii) the Merbok Estuary mangroves, Malaysia; and iii) the Sunderbans mangroves, Bangladesh. Integrated water management based upon regional cooperation among Bangladesh, India and Nepal holds opportunities for mutual benefit. Policy options are proposed. For mangrove ecosystems, the impacts of urbanization in Malaysia and the unmanaged expansion of shrimp farming in Bangladesh are analyzed. Improved governance was seen to hold promise for enhancing economic benefits from shrimp farming while safeguarding the natural ecological system. However, these measures need to be a part of national efforts to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment*
  5. Technology, knowledge systems, population dynamics, and coastal ecosystems
    Williams MJ
    Ambio, 2002 Jun;31(4):337-9.
    PMID: 12174604
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  6. Before and after Silent Spring: from chemical pesticides to biological control and integrated pest management--Britain, 1945-1980
    Gay H
    Ambix, 2012 Jul;59(2):88-108.
    PMID: 23057183
    The use of chemical pesticides increased considerably after World War II, and ecological damage was noticeable by the late 1940s. This paper outlines some ecological problems experienced during the post-war period in the UK, and in parts of what is now Malaysia. Also discussed is the government's response. Although Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring (1962), was important in bringing the problems to a wider public, she was not alone in sounding the alarm. Pressure from the public and from British scientists led, among other things, to the founding of the Natural Environment Research Council in 1965. By the 1970s, environmentalism was an important movement, and funding for ecological and environmental research was forthcoming even during the economic recession. Some of the recipients were ecologists working at Imperial College London. Moved by the political climate, and by the evidence of ecological damage, they carried out research on the biological control of insect pests.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment*
  7. Green dots, pink hearts: displacing politics from the Malaysian rain forest
    Brosius JP
    Am Anthropol, 1999;101(1):36-57.
    PMID: 19280759
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  8. Fulltext The effects of sleep quality, physical activity, and environmental quality on the risk of falls in dementia
    Eshkoor SA, Hamid TA, Nudin SS, Mun CY
    Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen, 2013 Jun;28(4):403-7.
    PMID: 23698600 DOI: 10.1177/1533317513488921
    OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the effects of sleep quality, physical activity, environmental quality, age, ethnicity, sex differences, marital status, and educational level on the risk of falls in the elderly individuals with dementia.

    METHODOLOGY: Data were derived from a group of 1210 Malaysian elderly individuals who were noninstitutionalized and demented. The multiple logistic regression model was applied to estimate the risk of falls in respondents.

    RESULTS: Approximately the prevalence of falls was 17% among the individuals. The results of multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.03), ethnicity (OR = 1.76), sleep quality (OR = 1.46), and environmental quality (OR = 0.62) significantly affected the risk of falls in individuals (P < .05). Furthermore, sex differences, marital status, educational level, and physical activity were not significant predictors of falls in samples (P > .05).

    CONCLUSION: It was found that age, ethnic non-Malay, and sleep disruption increased the risk of falls in respondents, but high environmental quality reduced the risk of falls.

    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  9. Fulltext Interactions Between Genome-Wide Significant Genetic Variants and Circulating Concentrations of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D in Relation to Prostate Cancer Risk in the National Cancer Institute BPC3
    Dimitrakopoulou VI, Travis RC, Shui IM, Mondul A, Albanes D, Virtamo J, et al.
    Am J Epidemiol, 2017 Mar 15;185(6):452-464.
    PMID: 28399564 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kww143
    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified over 100 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with prostate cancer. However, information on the mechanistic basis for some associations is limited. Recent research has been directed towards the potential association of vitamin D concentrations and prostate cancer, but little is known about whether the aforementioned genetic associations are modified by vitamin D. We investigated the associations of 46 GWAS-identified SNPs, circulating concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), and prostate cancer (3,811 cases, 511 of whom died from the disease, compared with 2,980 controls-from 5 cohort studies that recruited participants over several periods beginning in the 1980s). We used logistic regression models with data from the National Cancer Institute Breast and Prostate Cancer Cohort Consortium (BPC3) to evaluate interactions on the multiplicative and additive scales. After allowing for multiple testing, none of the SNPs examined was significantly associated with 25(OH)D concentration, and the SNP-prostate cancer associations did not differ by these concentrations. A statistically significant interaction was observed for each of 2 SNPs in the 8q24 region (rs620861 and rs16902094), 25(OH)D concentration, and fatal prostate cancer on both multiplicative and additive scales (P ≤ 0.001). We did not find strong evidence that associations between GWAS-identified SNPs and prostate cancer are modified by circulating concentrations of 25(OH)D. The intriguing interactions between rs620861 and rs16902094, 25(OH)D concentration, and fatal prostate cancer warrant replication.
    Matched MeSH terms: Gene-Environment Interaction*
  10. Fulltext Breeding for robustness: investigating the genotype-by-environment interaction and micro-environmental sensitivity of Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
    Agha S, Mekkawy W, Ibanez-Escriche N, Lind CE, Kumar J, Mandal A, et al.
    Anim. Genet., 2018 Oct;49(5):421-427.
    PMID: 30058152 DOI: 10.1111/age.12680
    Robustness has become a highly desirable breeding goal in the globalized agricultural market. Both genotype-by-environment interaction (G × E) and micro-environmental sensitivity are important robustness components of aquaculture production, in which breeding stock is often disseminated to different environments. The objectives of this study were (i) to quantify the degree of G × E by assessing the growth performance of Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) across three countries (Malaysia, India and China) and (ii) to quantify the genetic heterogeneity of environmental variance for body weight at harvest (BW) in GIFT as a measure of micro-environmental sensitivity. Selection for BW was carried out for 13 generations in Malaysia. Subsets of 60 full-sib families from Malaysia were sent to China and India after five and nine generations respectively. First, a multi-trait animal model was used to analyse the BW in different countries as different traits. The results indicate a strong G × E. Second, a genetically structured environmental variance model, implemented using Bayesian inference, was used to analyse micro-environmental sensitivity of BW in each country. The analysis revealed the presence of genetic heterogeneity of both BW and its environmental variance in all environments. The presence of genetic variation in residual variance of BW implies that the residual variance can be modified by selection. Incorporating both G × E and micro-environmental sensitivity information may help in selecting robust genotypes with high performance across environments and resilience to environmental fluctuations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Gene-Environment Interaction*
  11. Operational issues in the control of the vectors of Brugia
    Chang MS
    Ann Trop Med Parasitol, 2002 Dec;96 Suppl 2:S71-6.
    PMID: 12625920
    An estimated 13 million people in the Oriental Region have brugian filariasis. The filarial parasites that cause this disease exist in periodic and sub-periodic forms and are transmitted by four genera of mosquito: Anopheles, Mansonia and, less frequently, Coquillettidia and Ochlerotatus. In most endemic countries, control of the disease has been entirely based on chemotherapy, although house-spraying and use of insecticide-treated bednets can be quite effective against the vectors of nocturnally periodic Brugia malayi and B. timori. The vector-control methods that may be applied against the Mansonia mosquitoes that transmit the parasites causing sub-periodic brugian filariasis are reviewed here. Most of the conventional methods for controlling the immature, aquatic stages of mosquitoes have proved unsatisfactory against Mansonia. The reason is that, unlike the those of other genera, the larvae and pupae of Mansonia spp. are relatively immobile and obtain air not at the water surface but from the underwater roots, stems and leaves of floating plants to which the larvae and pupae attach. Removal of host plants can be very effective in reducing Mansonia productivity, whereas large-scale use of herbicides is restricted by the potential adverse effects on the ecosystem. Environmental management in water-development projects remains the best option.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  12. Fulltext Occupational exposure to textile dust increases the risk of rheumatoid arthritis: results from a Malaysian population-based case-control study
    Too CL, Muhamad NA, Ilar A, Padyukov L, Alfredsson L, Klareskog L, et al.
    Ann Rheum Dis, 2016 06;75(6):997-1002.
    PMID: 26681695 DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2015-208278
    OBJECTIVES: Lung exposures including cigarette smoking and silica exposure are associated with the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated the association between textile dust exposure and the risk of RA in the Malaysian population, with a focus on women who rarely smoke.

    METHODS: Data from the Malaysian Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis population-based case-control study involving 910 female early RA cases and 910 female age-matched controls were analysed. Self-reported information on ever/never occupationally exposed to textile dust was used to estimate the risk of developing anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive and ACPA-negative RA. Interaction between textile dust and the human leucocyte antigen DR β-1 (HLA-DRB1) shared epitope (SE) was evaluated by calculating the attributable proportion due to interaction (AP), with 95% CI.

    RESULTS: Occupational exposure to textile dust was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing RA in the Malaysian female population (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.6 to 5.2). The association between occupational exposure to textile dust and risk of RA was uniformly observed for the ACPA-positive RA (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.3 to 4.8) and ACPA-negative RA (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.7 to 7.0) subsets, respectively. We observed a significant interaction between exposure to occupational textile dust and HLA-DRB1 SE alleles regarding the risk of ACPA-positive RA (OR for double exposed: 39.1, 95% CI 5.1 to 297.5; AP: 0.8, 95% CI 0.5 to 1.2).

    CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study demonstrating that textile dust exposure is associated with an increased risk for RA. In addition, a gene-environment interaction between HLA-DRB1 SE and textile dust exposure provides a high risk for ACPA-positive RA.
    Matched MeSH terms: Gene-Environment Interaction
  13. National Forestry (Adoption) Enactment 1987 (Perlis State Enactment No. 1/88), 25 March 1988
    Annu Rev Popul Law, 1989;16:216.
    PMID: 12344329
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  14. 6th COSTAM/SFRR (ASEAN/Malaysia) International Workshop on Micronutrients, Oxidative Stress, and the Environment
    Nesaretnam K, Sies H
    Antioxid Redox Signal, 2006 10 13;8(11-12):2175-7.
    PMID: 17034360
    The 6(th) COSTAM/SFRR (ASEAN/Malaysia) workshop, "Micronutrients, Oxidative Stress, and the Environment," was held from June 29 to July 2 at Holiday Inn Damai Beach Resort in Kuching, Sarawak. Two hundred twenty participants from 17 countries presented recent advances on natural antioxidants in the area of oxidative stress and molecular aspects of nutrition. Natural products and research are an important program in academic institutions and are experiencing unprecedented interest and growth by the scientific community and public health authorities. Progress is being driven by better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the relation between oxidative stress and micronutrient action. The gathering of scientists from around the world was fruitful, and we hope that future work will be developed by the formal and informal interactions that took place in this beautiful tropical setting.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  15. Psychological distress as a mediator in the relationships between biopsychosocial factors and disordered eating among Malaysian university students
    Gan WY, Mohd Nasir MT, Zalilah MS, Hazizi AS
    Appetite, 2012 Dec;59(3):679-87.
    PMID: 22885453 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.08.002
    The mechanism linking biopsychosocial factors to disordered eating among university students is not well understood especially among Malaysians. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of psychological distress in the relationships between biopsychosocial factors and disordered eating among Malaysian university students. A self-administered questionnaire measured self-esteem, body image, social pressures to be thin, weight-related teasing, psychological distress, and disordered eating in 584 university students (59.4% females and 40.6% males). Body weight and height were measured. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed that the partial mediation model provided good fit to the data. Specifically, the relationships between self-esteem and weight-related teasing with disordered eating were mediated by psychological distress. In contrast, only direct relationships between body weight status, body image, and social pressures to be thin with disordered eating were found and were not mediated by psychological distress. Furthermore, multigroup analyses indicated that the model was equivalent for both genders but not for ethnic groups. There was a negative relationship between body weight status and psychological distress for Chinese students, whereas this was not the case among Malay students. Intervention and prevention programs on psychological distress may be beneficial in reducing disordered eating among Malaysian university students.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment*
  16. Visualizing disaster attitudes resulting from terrorist activities
    Khalid HM, Helander MG, Hood NA
    Appl Ergon, 2013 Sep;44(5):671-9.
    PMID: 22944486 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2012.06.005
    The purpose of this study was to analyze people's attitudes to disasters by investigating how people feel, behave and think during disasters. We focused on disasters induced by humans, such as terrorist attacks. Two types of textual information were collected - from Internet blogs and from research papers. The analysis enabled forecasting of attitudes for the design of proactive disaster advisory scheme. Text was analyzed using a text mining tool, Leximancer. The outcome of this analysis revealed core themes and concepts in the text concerning people's attitudes. The themes and concepts were sorted into three broad categories: Affect, Behaviour, and Cognition (ABC), and the data was visualized in semantic maps. The maps reveal several knowledge pathways of ABC for developing attitudinal ontologies, which describe the relations between affect, behaviour and cognition, and the sequence in which they develop. Clearly, terrorist attacks induced trauma and people became highly vulnerable.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  17. Towards a new paradigm: Activity level balanced sustainability reporting
    Samudhram A, Siew EG, Sinnakkannu J, Yeow PH
    Appl Ergon, 2016 Mar 27.
    PMID: 27029522 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.03.004
    Technoeconomic paradigms based economic growth theories suggest that waves of technological innovations drove the economic growth of advanced economies. Widespread economic degradation and pollution is an unintended consequence of such growth. Tackling environmental and social issues at firm levels would help us to overcome such issues at macro-levels. Consequently, the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) reporting approach promotes firm level economic, environmental and social performances. Incorporating Zink's (2014) 3-pillar presentation model, this paper indicates that economic, social and environmental performances tend to be reported at firm level. All three pillars are not covered evenly at the activity levels. Thus, a loophole is identified whereby excellent environmental performance at activity levels could potentially leave poor social performance undisclosed. A refinement of the TBL paradigm, whereby all three pillars are covered at the activity level, is suggested, to enhance sustainability reporting.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment; Environmental Pollution
  18. Human factors for a sustainable future
    Thatcher A, Yeow PH
    Appl Ergon, 2016 May 24.
    PMID: 27234806 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.05.007
    Current human activities are seriously eroding the ability of natural and social systems to cope. Clearly we cannot continue along our current path without seriously damaging our own ability to survive as a species. This problem is usually framed as one of sustainability. As concerned professionals, citizens, and humans there is a strong collective will to address what we see as a failure to protect the natural and social environments that supports us. While acknowledging that we cannot do this alone, human factors and ergonomics needs to apply its relevant skills and knowledge to assist where it can in addressing the commonly identified problem areas. These problems include pollution, climate change, renewable energy, land transformation, and social unrest amongst numerous other emerging global problems. The issue of sustainability raises two fundamental questions for human factors and ergonomics: which system requires sustaining and what length of time is considered sustainable? In this paper we apply Wilson (2014) parent-sibling-child model to understanding what is required of an HFE sustainability response. This model is used to frame the papers that appear in this Special Issue.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment
  19. Fulltext DNA methylation mediates genotype and smoking interaction in the development of anti-citrullinated peptide antibody-positive rheumatoid arthritis
    Meng W, Zhu Z, Jiang X, Too CL, Uebe S, Jagodic M, et al.
    Arthritis Res Ther, 2017 03 29;19(1):71.
    PMID: 28356135 DOI: 10.1186/s13075-017-1276-2
    BACKGROUND: Multiple factors, including interactions between genetic and environmental risks, are important in susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. This study was undertaken to evaluate whether DNA methylation can mediate the interaction between genotype and smoking in the development of anti-citrullinated peptide antibody (ACPA)-positive RA.

    METHODS: We investigated the gene-smoking interactions in DNA methylation using 393 individuals from the Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (EIRA). The interaction between rs6933349 and smoking in the risk of developing ACPA-positive RA was further evaluated in a larger portion of the EIRA (1119 controls and 944 ACPA-positive patients with RA), and in the Malaysian Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (MyEIRA) (1556 controls and 792 ACPA-positive patients with RA). Finally, mediation analysis was performed to investigate whether DNA methylation of cg21325723 mediates this gene-environment interaction on the risk of developing of ACPA-positive RA.

    RESULTS: We identified and replicated one significant gene-environment interaction between rs6933349 and smoking in DNA methylation of cg21325723. This gene-smoking interaction is a novel interaction in the risk of developing ACPA-positive in both Caucasian (multiplicative P value = 0.056; additive P value = 0.016) and Asian populations (multiplicative P value = 0.035; additive P value = 0.00027), and it is mediated through DNA methylation of cg21325723.

    CONCLUSIONS: We showed that DNA methylation of cg21325723 can mediate the gene-environment interaction between rs6933349 and smoking, impacting the risk of developing ACPA-positive RA, thus being a potential regulator that integrates both internal genetic and external environmental risk factors.
    Matched MeSH terms: Gene-Environment Interaction*
  20. "Feeling unsafe": a photovoice analysis of factors influencing physical activity behavior among Malaysian adolescents
    Saimon R, Choo WY, Bulgiba A
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2015 Mar;27(2):NP2079-92.
    PMID: 23513006 DOI: 10.1177/1010539513480229
    Understanding the factors influencing physical activity (PA) in the Asia-Pacific region is critical, given the high prevalence of inactivity in this area. The photovoice technique explores the types of PA and factors influencing PA among adolescents in Kuching, Sarawak. A total of 160 photographs were collected from participants (adolescents, n = 22, mean age = 14.27 ± 0.7 years, and parents, n = 8, mean age = 48 ± 6.8 years). Data analysis used constant comparison methods of a grounded theory. The Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity was used to categorize PA factors. Study findings were centered on the concept of safety, facilities, parental restriction, friends, cultural traits, media, community cohesiveness, and weather. The central theme was "feeling unsafe" when being outdoors. To promote PA behavior, provision of PA facilities needs to be supported by other programs that build on peer support, crime prevention, and traffic safety, together with other educational campaigns.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
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