Displaying publications 481 - 500 of 2413 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Chewapreecha C, Holden MT, Vehkala M, Välimäki N, Yang Z, Harris SR, et al.
    Nat Microbiol, 2017 Jan 23;2:16263.
    PMID: 28112723 DOI: 10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.263
    The environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei causes an estimated 165,000 cases of human melioidosis per year worldwide and is also classified as a biothreat agent. We used whole genome sequences of 469 B. pseudomallei isolates from 30 countries collected over 79 years to explore its geographic transmission. Our data point to Australia as an early reservoir, with transmission to Southeast Asia followed by onward transmission to South Asia and East Asia. Repeated reintroductions were observed within the Malay Peninsula and between countries bordered by the Mekong River. Our data support an African origin of the Central and South American isolates with introduction of B. pseudomallei into the Americas between 1650 and 1850, providing a temporal link with the slave trade. We also identified geographically distinct genes/variants in Australasian or Southeast Asian isolates alone, with virulence-associated genes being among those over-represented. This provides a potential explanation for clinical manifestations of melioidosis that are geographically restricted.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia/epidemiology; Asia, Southeastern/epidemiology
  2. Siew Tin, Tan, Mohd-Sidik, Sherina, Lekhraj, Rampal, Normala, Ibrahim, Kit-Aun, Tan, Zuriati, Ibrahim
    MyJurnal
    As reported by the World Health Organisation (2014), Malaysia is the fattest country among the Southeast Asia. Among others, obesity is a leading contributor of non-communicable diseases (e.g., type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cancer). This article aims to review the exiting weight management programmes targeting overweight and obesity in Malaysia from 2005 to 2015. The findings from this review could be useful for future intervention efforts in an attempt to address such issues in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  3. Tanasevitch AV
    Zootaxa, 2017 Feb 03;4227(3):zootaxa.4227.3.2.
    PMID: 28187572 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4227.3.2
    Linyphiid spiders collected from the Indo-Malayan Region and kept at three European Museums are studied. Twenty-three known species are newly recorded from continental or insular parts of Southeastern Asia and from the Oriental area of India. Seven new species are described: Asiagone komannai n. sp. (from Thailand), Erigone apophysalis n. sp. and E. sumatrana n. sp. (Sumatra, Indonesia), Gnathonarium luzon n. sp. (Philippines), Ketambea acuta n. sp. (Thailand, Myanmar), Oedothorax myanmar n. sp. (Myanmar) and Theoa malaya n. sp. (West Malaysia).
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  4. Looi, Qi Hao, Abdul Rahman Omar
    MyJurnal
    Swiftlet
    s
    are small insectivorous birds which breed throughout Southeast Asia and
    the South Pacific.
    Among many swiftle
    t species, only a few are notable to produce edible bird’s
    nest
    s
    (EBN) from the secreted saliva during breeding seasons.
    The taxonomy of swiftlet
    s
    remains one of the most controversial in the avian species due to the high similarity in
    morphological charac
    teristics among the species. Over the last few decades, researchers have
    studied the taxonomy of swiftlet
    s
    based on the morphological
    trade
    , behavior, and genetic
    traits
    .
    However, despite all the efforts,
    the
    swiftlet taxonomy remains unsolved.
    The
    EBN is one of
    the
    most expensive animal products
    and frequently being referred
    to
    as the “
    Caviar of the East
    ”.
    The
    EBN market value varies from
    US
    $1000.00 to
    US
    $10,000.00 per kilogram depend
    ing
    on
    its grade, shape, type and origin.
    Hence, bird’s nest harve
    sting is considered a lucrative industry
    in many countries in Southeast Asia.
    However,
    the
    industry faced several challenges over the
    decades such as the authenticity of the EBN, the quality assurance and the depletion of swiftlet
    population. Furthermore,
    there is limited scientific evidence regarding EBN’s medical benefits
    as
    claimed by manufacturers. This paper reviews the taxonomy of swiftlet
    s
    , its morphological
    characteristics, the challenges currently encountered by the industry, and finally the
    compos
    ition and medical benefits of EBN.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  5. Maruta T, Matsumoto C
    Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci, 2019 Jun;28(3):262-264.
    PMID: 30370893 DOI: 10.1017/S2045796018000598
    The movement towards renaming of schizophrenia in Japan started in 1993 upon receipt of a letter by The National Federation of Families with Mentally Ill in Japan addressed to the board of Japanese Society of Psychiatry of Neurology (JSPN), requesting to rename schizophrenia as the then-official term for the condition, Seishin-Bunretsu-Byo, or 'mind-splitting disease', was humiliating. A committee was established within JSPN to address the issue, public comments were collected, a new name 'Togo-Shitcho-Sho' ('disintegration disorder') was approved in 2002, and in 2005, the new name was adopted in the Revised Mental Health and Welfare Act. This paper describes the process of renaming, and also the current situation in Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, where Chinese characters are used. Also, it presents alternative names for schizophrenia that have been suggested in the process of two research projects conducted by the authors and also additional candidates suggested by others.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  6. Tan MK, Japir R, Chung AYC, Robillard T
    Zootaxa, 2019 Jun 19;4619(2):zootaxa.4619.2.9.
    PMID: 31716308 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4619.2.9
    Orthoptera from Sandakan, Sabah are relatively understudied compared to some other parts of Borneo, and lack of information of species there can impede our understanding of the origins and biodiversity of orthopterans in Borneo and, in general, Southeast Asia. Based on a recent orthopteran survey in Sandakan, one new species of Lebinthus Stål is described: Lebinthus sandakan sp. nov. The male calling song of this new species is also presented. The calling song of Cardiodactylus borneoe Robillard Gorochov, 2014 is also described for the first time.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  7. Hossain M
    Sains Malaysiana, 2010;39:157-159.
    On 3 January 2008, one specimen of Goonch Bagarius yarrelli (Sykes 1839) (Siluriformes: Sisoridae) was caught by a conventional beach seine in the lower part of the Ganges River, NW Bangladesh. The specimen constitutes a new record of maximum length and weight for the Ganges River and the South Asia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia; Asian Continental Ancestry Group
  8. Jessop TS, Ariefiandy A, Forsyth DM, Purwandana D, White CR, Benu YJ, et al.
    Ecology, 2020 04;101(4):e02970.
    PMID: 31984486 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2970
    Apex predators can have substantial and complex ecological roles in ecosystems. However, differences in species-specific traits, population densities, and interspecific interactions are likely to determine the strength of apex predators' roles. Here we report complementary studies examining how interactions between predator per capita metabolic rate and population density influenced the biomass, population energy use, and ecological effects of apex predators on their large mammalian prey. We first investigated how large mammal prey resources and field metabolic rates of terrestrial apex predators, comprising large mammals and the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), influenced their biomass densities and population energy use requirements. We next evaluated whether Komodo dragons, like apex mammalian predators, exerted top-down regulation of their large mammal prey. Comparison of results from field studies demonstrates that Komodo dragons attain mean population biomass densities that are 5.75-231.82 times higher than that of apex mammalian predator species and their guilds in Africa, Asia, and North America. The high biomass of Komodo dragons resulted in 1.96-108.12 times greater population energy use than that of apex mammalian predators. Nevertheless, substantial temporal and spatial variation in Komodo dragon population energy use did not regulate the population growth rates of either of two large mammal prey species, rusa deer (Rusa timorensis) and wild pig (Sus scrofa). We suggest that multiple processes weaken the capacity of Komodo dragons to regulate large mammal prey populations. For example, a low per capita metabolic rate requiring an infrequent and inactive hunting strategy (including scavenging), would minimize lethal and nonlethal impacts on prey populations. We conclude that Komodo dragons differ in their predatory role from, including not being the ecological analogs of, apex mammalian predators.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  9. Foong LC, Ho ASH, Yeo BPH, Lim YM, Tam SM
    Data Brief, 2019 Apr;23:103603.
    PMID: 30815523 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2018.12.042
    Impatiens balsamina is both an ornamental and pharmacologically important plant widely distributed in many Asian countries. The leaf of the plant contains many secondary metabolites possessing anti-microbial, anti-tumour and anti-cancer properties. Though there are many phytochemical studies done on the different natural extracts for this plant, not much of genetic information is currently available. This is the first transcriptome of I. balsamina leaf using paired-end Illumina HiSeq sequencing which generated 10.79 GB of raw data. Information of pre-processing (reads filtering), de novo assembly and functional annotation are presented. This data is accessible via NCBI BioProject (PRJNA505711).
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  10. Lee MH, Ahn SH, Chan HLY, Choudhry A, Alvani Gani R, Mohamed R, et al.
    J Viral Hepat, 2022 02;29(2):156-170.
    PMID: 34817896 DOI: 10.1111/jvh.13636
    There are limited data to provide better understanding of the knowledge/awareness of general population towards liver health in Asia. We sought to identify the knowledge gaps and attitudes towards liver health and liver diseases as well as evaluate associated individual-level and macro-level factors based on contextual analysis. An online survey assessing knowledge, awareness and attitudes towards liver health and disease was conducted among 7500 respondents across 11 countries/territories in Asia. A liver index was created to measure the respondents' knowledge level and the degree of awareness and attitudes. Multilevel logistic regression was performed to identify individual factors and contextual effects that were associated with liver index. The overall liver index (0-100-point scale) was 62.4 with 6 countries/territories' liver indices greater than this. In the multilevel model, the inclusion of geographical information could explain for 9.6% of the variation. Residing in a country/territory with higher HBV prevalence (80% IOR: 1.20-2.79) or higher HCV death rate (80% IOR: 1.35-3.13) increased the individual probability of obtaining a high overall liver index. Individual factors like age, gender, education, household income, disease history and health screening behaviour were also associated with liver index (all p-values<0.001). The overall liver index was positively associated with the two macro-level factors viz. HBV prevalence and HCV death rate. There is a need to formulate policies especially in regions of lower HBV prevalence and HCV death rate to further improve the knowledge, awareness and attitudes of the general public towards liver diseases.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  11. Medipally SR, Yusoff FM, Sharifhuddin N, Shariff M
    J Environ Biol, 2016 07;37(4 Spec No):829-38.
    PMID: 28779745
    Asian arowana, Scleropages formosus is a highly valued aquarium fish in the world, particularly in Asian countries, and has been listed as one of the most highly endangered species. This is a freshwater, carnivorous, fairly large mouth breeding fish belonging to the family Osteoglossidae. Arowana can be found in different colour varieties such as green, red, silver and golden. Among these varieties, Malaysian golden is the most valuable fish and is endemic to the Krian riverine system, Malaysia. However, overexploitation, habitat change and pollution have caused a serious decline of this arowana variety. Recently, arowana aquaculture industry is expanding rapidly in Southeast Asian countries. However, difficulties in an accurate differentiation of sex and strains, causing imbalanced stocking ratios for optimum spawning, remain major obstacles in maximizing arowana production. In addition, problems in sustainable water sources of suitable quality and prevention of diseases need to be addressed. Recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) and bioremediation are two possible technologies that could be used to minimize pollution and ensure adequate high-quality water for arowana culture. In addition, the application of appropriate molecular markers for sex and strain identification is also an important strategy required for the improvement of captive breeding. This review discusses several issues such as the importance of arowana as an aquarium fish, its market demand, current problems in the arowana aquaculture industry and the possible technologies to enhance reproductive capacity and increase culture production. ?
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  12. Pang KA, Pang KP, Pang EB, Tan YN, Chan YH, Siow JK
    Med J Malaysia, 2017 08;72(4):215-220.
    PMID: 28889132
    OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of food allergy in Asian patients with allergic rhinitis.

    STUDY DESIGN: A non-randomized prospectively collected patients over a three year period, with complaints of nose congestion, rhinorrhea and/or nasal discharge.

    RESULTS: There were 435 patients enrolled, 213 children and 222 adults. The children group had a high prevalence of allergen specific IgE to Dermatophagoides pteryonysinus (70%), Dermatophagoides farina (69%), and Blomia tropicalis (55%); followed by dogs (32%), cats (19%) and cockroaches (19%). In the children food allergy category, the top three allergens were egg white (54%), milk (31%) and soya bean (13%). The adult group had results of Dermatophagoides pteryonysinus (71%), Dermatophagoides farina (72%), and Blomia tropicalis (59%); the adult food allergy category, the top 3 allergens were egg white (13%), milk (6%) and soya bean (5%). There was a statistically significant difference in the child and adult group for Dust, D. pteryonysinus, D. farina, B.tropicalis, egg white, wheat, gluten and soya bean. In the age specific child groups, there was an increased in egg food allergy levels, with a peak at the age of five-nine years old and decreasing thereafter (p=0.04). In the children group, the mean Total Nasal Symptom Score (TNSS) was 10.3 (range of 7 to 13); the adult group was similar, with a mean TNSS of 9.8 (range 5 to 12).

    CONCLUSION: The prevalence of food allergy in paediatric patients with allergic rhinitis is fairly high and should be considered when treating these children.

    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern/epidemiology; Asia, Western/epidemiology
  13. Yeasmin L, Ali MN, Gantait S, Chakraborty S
    3 Biotech, 2015 Feb;5(1):1-11.
    PMID: 28324361 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-014-0201-5
    Genetic diversity represents the heritable variation both within and among populations of organisms, and in the context of this paper, among bamboo species. Bamboo is an economically important member of the grass family Poaceae, under the subfamily Bambusoideae. India has the second largest bamboo reserve in Asia after China. It is commonly known as "poor man's timber", keeping in mind the variety of its end use from cradle to coffin. There is a wide genetic diversity of bamboo around the globe and this pool of genetic variation serves as the base for selection as well as for plant improvement. Thus, the identification, characterization and documentation of genetic diversity of bamboo are essential for this purpose. During recent years, multiple endeavors have been undertaken for characterization of bamboo species with the aid of molecular markers for sustainable utilization of genetic diversity, its conservation and future studies. Genetic diversity assessments among the identified bamboo species, carried out based on the DNA fingerprinting profiles, either independently or in combination with morphological traits by several researchers, are documented in the present review. This review will pave the way to prepare the database of prevalent bamboo species based on their molecular characterization.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  14. Ng CK, Kong RW, Foo GH, Khoo G
    Environ Monit Assess, 2022 Dec 24;195(1):228.
    PMID: 36565392 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-022-10789-z
    The agriculture sector responsible for global food and nutrition security has an urgent need to examine climatic trends so that adaptations can be exercised in advance. Freely available dataset from satellite sources can greatly ease rainfall analysis, especially for smallholder farmers who typically operate under limited resources. Tests to determine their accuracy, however, are so far not deployed in tropical Southeast Asia. We compared in situ observations with dataset from the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) and the Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) in two sites located 180 km apart in the tropical Malay Peninsula for 30 days. We found that in situ precipitation values were markedly overestimated by GSMaP (34.9-67.5%) and POWER (180.5-289.2%), and the possible reasons are discussed. Nonetheless, we conclude that GSMaP remains the best hope for smallholder farmers and its dataset can still be used under the precaution of error margins determined by the practical method described herein.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  15. Fischer K, Pickering B, Diederich S
    Methods Mol Biol, 2023;2610:17-29.
    PMID: 36534278 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2895-9_2
    Nipah virus (NiV) is an emerging, zoonotic paramyxovirus that is among the most pathogenic of viruses in humans. During the first reported outbreak of NiV in Malaysia and Singapore in the late 1990s, pigs served as an intermediate host, which enabled the transmission to humans. Although subsequent outbreaks in Asia only reported direct bat-to-human and human-to-human transmission, pigs are still considered a potential source for viral dissemination in the epidemiology of the disease. Thus, serological assays such as Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or virus neutralization test (VNT) represent powerful tools to characterize the serum antibody responses in NiV-infected pigs as well as to perform seroepidemiological surveillance studies on the potential circulation of NiV or NiV-related viruses among pig populations worldwide. This chapter describes both methods in detail. Furthermore, we discuss some of the major pitfalls and indicate how to avoid them.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  16. Tan WEICHIEHTAN, Chew PCHEW, Tsui LAMTSUI, Tan TAN, Duplyakov DUPLYAKOV, Hammoudeh HAMMOUDEH, et al.
    Zhonghua Xin Xue Guan Bing Za Zhi, 2023 Jan 24;51(1):19-31.
    PMID: 36655238 DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.cn112148-20220729-00588
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  17. Angelakopoulos N, De Luca S, Oliveira-Santos I, Ribeiro ILA, Bianchi I, Balla SB, et al.
    Int J Legal Med, 2023 Mar;137(2):403-425.
    PMID: 36520207 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-022-02930-x
    Identification of living undocumented individuals highlights the need for accurate, precise, and reproducible age estimation methods, especially in those cases involving minors. However, when their country of origin is unknown, or it can be only roughly estimated, it is extremely difficult to apply assessment policies, procedures, and practices that are accurate and child-sensitive. The main aim of this research is to optimize the correct classification of adults and minors by establishing new cut-off values for four different continents (Africa, America, Asia, and Europe). For this purpose, a vast sample of 10,701 orthopantomographs (OPTs) from four continents was evaluated. For determination and subsequent validation of the new third molar maturity index (I3M) cut-off values by world regions, a cross-validation by holdout method was used and contingency tables (confusion matrices) were generated. The lower third molar maturity indexes, from both left and right side (I3ML and I3MR) and the combination of both sides (I3ML_I3MR) were calculated. The new cut-off values, that aim to differentiate between a minor and an adult, with more than 74.00% accuracy for all populations were as follows (I3ML; I3MR; I3ML_I3MR, respectively): Africa = (0.10; 0.10; 0.10), America = (0.10; 0.09; 0.09), Asia = (0.15; 0.17; 0.14), and Europe = (0.09; 0.09; 0.09). The higher sensitivity (Se) was detected for the I3ML for male African people (91%) and the higher specificity (Sp) of all the parameters (I3ML; I3MR; I3ML_I3MR) for Europeans both male and female (> 91%). The original cut-off value (0.08) is still useful, especially in discriminating individuals younger than 18 years old which is the goal of the forensic methods used for justice.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  18. Logeswaran J, Shamsuddin AH, Silitonga AS, Mahlia TMI
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2020 Jul;27(21):25956-25969.
    PMID: 32378100 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09102-7
    With the ever-increasing energy demands, fossil fuels are gradually depleting and eventually, these nonrenewable sources of energy will be exhausted. Hence, there is an urgent need to formulate alternative fuels that are both renewable and sustainable. Biomass is one of the reliable sources of energy because it is replenishable. Rice is the staple food in many countries, particularly in Asia. The number of paddy fields has increased tremendously over the years and is expected to increase in the future in response to the growing world population. This will lead to significant amounts of agricultural wastes annually, particularly rice straw. In some countries, open burning and soil incorporation are used to manage agricultural wastes. Open burning is the preferred method because it is inexpensive. However, this method is highly undesirable because of its detrimental impact on the environment resulting from the release of carbon dioxide and methane gas. Hence, it is important to develop an energy-harvesting method from rice straw for power generation. More studies need to be carried out on the availability and characteristics of rice straw as well as logistic analysis to assess the potential of rice straw for power generation. This paper is focused on reviewing studies pertaining to the characteristics and potential of rice straw for power generation, current rice straw management practices, and logistic analysis in order to develop a suitable energy-harvesting method from rice straw in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  19. Meo MS, Sabir SA, Arain H, Nazar R
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2020 Jun;27(16):19678-19687.
    PMID: 32219658 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-08361-8
    The current study explores the relationship between water resources and tourism in South Asia for the period of 1995-2017. The study employs the CIPS unit root test for stationarity of the variables and the CD test for cross-sectional dependence among cross-sectional units. As for the long-run parameters, a novel technique, known as dynamic common correlated effect (DCCE) model, is used which was recently developed by Chudik and Pesaran (J Econ 188:393-420, 2015b). The outcomes from the DCCE method suggest that water resources have a positive impact on tourism in South Asia. It is also proven that ignoring cross-sectional dependence among the cross-sectional units may bring about misleading outcomes. The findings of the study can be helpful for policymakers to understand the role of water resources in boosting tourism and contributing to the economic prosperity of South Asian countries.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links