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The biological standard of living in Indonesia during the 20th century: Evidence from the age at menarche

van der Eng P, Sohn K

Econ Hum Biol, 2019 08;34:216-224.
PMID: 30551996 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2018.11.004

This article analyses long-term changes in the mean age at menarche (MAM) as a biological indicator of changes in the standard of living in Indonesia. It finds that MAM was about 15.5 for birth cohorts in the late-19th century, decreasing to 14.5 by the 1930s, at which level it stagnated until the gradual decrease resumed since the early 1960s to around 12.5 in the mid-2000s. The article considers that long-term improvements in nutrition, educational attainment and health care explain these trends. An international comparison of long-term changes finds that MAM in Indonesia was much lower than in Korea and China until respectively 1970 and 1990, but comparable to Japan until 1950 and to Malaysia until 1930. The article presents reasons why these differences are unlikely to be related to dissimilarities in climate and ethnicity, and concludes that they are indicative of relative standards of living.
Sarcoidosis in Singapore: epidemiology, clinical presentation and ethnic differences

Anantham D, Ong SJ, Chuah KL, Fook-Chong S, Hsu A, Eng P

Respirology, 2007 May;12(3):355-60.
PMID: 17539838

The aim of this study is to better understand the epidemiological and clinical features of patients with sarcoidosis in Singapore and to ascertain if ethnic differences exist.
Fulltext Susceptibility of Bacillus subtilis to Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Treatment

Djearamane S, Sundaraji A, Eng PT, Liang SXT, Wong LS, Senthilkumar B

Clin Ter, 2023;174(1):61-66.
PMID: 36655646 DOI: 10.7417/CT.2023.2498

AIM: With the characteristics such as low toxicity, high total surface, ability to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), as one of the metallic nanoparticles, have been chosen as an antibacterial agent to treat various skin infections. The present study was aimed to determine the antibacterial potential of ZnO NPs on Bacillus subtilis, the Gram-positive bacterium that can cause skin and wound infections.
METHODS: B. subtilis was exposed to 5 to 150 μg/mL of ZnO NPs for 24 h. The parameters employed to evaluate the antimicrobial potential of ZnO NPs were the growth inhibitory effect on B. subtilis, the surface interaction of ZnO NPs on the bacterial cell wall, and also the morphological alterations in B. subtilis induced by ZnO NPs.
RESULTS: The results demonstrated a significant (p <0.05) inhibition of ZnO NPs on B. subtilis growth and it was in a dose-dependent manner for all the tested concentrations of ZnO NPs from 5 to 150 μg/mL at 24 h. Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectrum confirmed the involvement of polysaccharides and polypeptides of bacterial cell wall in surface binding of ZnO NPs on bacteria. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to visualize the morphological changes, B. subtilis illustrated several surface alterations such as distortion of cell membrane, roughening of cell surface, aggregation and bending of cells, as well as, the cell rupture upon interacting with ZnO NPs for 24 h.
CONCLUSION: The results indicated the potential of ZnO NPs to be used as an antibacterial agent against B. subtilis. The findings of the present study might bring insights to incorporate ZnO NPs as an antibacterial agent in the topical applications against the infections caused by B. subtilis.
Insights, attitudes and perceptions about asthma and its treatment: findings from a multinational survey of patients from 8 Asia-Pacific countries and Hong Kong

Thompson PJ, Salvi S, Lin J, Cho YJ, Eng P, Abdul Manap R, et al.

Respirology, 2013 Aug;18(6):957-67.
PMID: 23730953 DOI: 10.1111/resp.12137

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The Asthma Insight and Management (AIM) survey was conducted in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America to characterize patients' insights, attitudes and perceptions about their asthma and its treatment. We report findings from the Asia-Pacific survey.
METHODS: Asthma patients (≥12 years) from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand were surveyed. Patients answered 53 questions exploring general health, diagnosis/history, symptoms, exacerbations, patient burden, disease management, medications/treatments and patient's attitudes. The Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines were used to assess asthma control. The survey was conducted by random digit telephone dialling (Australia, China and Hong Kong) or by random face-to-face interviews (India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand).
RESULTS: There were 80 761 households screened. Data from 3630 patients were collected. Wide disparity existed between objective measures of control and patient perception. Reported exacerbations during the previous year ranged from 19% (Hong Kong) to 67% (India). Reported unscheduled urgent/emergency visits to a doctor's office/hospital/clinic in the previous year ranged from 15% (Hong Kong) to 46% (Taiwan). Patients who reported having controlled asthma in the previous month ranged from 27% (South Korea) to 84% (Taiwan). Substantial functional and emotional limitations due to asthma were identified by 13% (South Korea) to 78% (India) of patients.
CONCLUSIONS: Asthma has a profound impact on patients' well-being despite the availability of effective treatments and evidence-based management guidelines. Substantial differences across the surveyed countries exist, suggesting unmet, country-specific cultural and educational needs. A large proportion of asthma patients overestimate their level of control.
Study site: random digit telephone dialling or by random face-to-face interviews at pre-selected locations.