"Exploring the unique experience of migration transition in Malaysia, this paper identifies the turning points in relation to the level and nature of economic and labor market developments in Malaysia. Examining the development dynamics that mark the passage from exporting labor to depending on foreign labor, the paper concludes that such dynamics are influenced not only by economic but also sociocultural, demographic and policy factors. Several lessons from the Malaysian experience are drawn at the end to be utilized by other countries that still have to reach the turning points of the migration transition."
A new species, Oxytelus acriculiclypeatus sp. nov., is described from Malaysia (Borneo: Sabah). The species is similar to O. megaceros Fauvel, 1895, but can be separated based on four male features: a more pointed tip on the anterior margin of the clypeus, a wider central plate on the posterior margin of sternite VIII with a carina that spans the entire width of the posterior margin of medial plate, two sharper and thinner projections on the apical orifice, and the apico-medial hook with a smaller apical tip but without the connecting scape. As a result, a total of 31 confirmed species have been recorded in Southeast Asia hitherto.
In the interval 1994-1999, in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, epizootic and epidemiological episodes of meningoencephalitis and severe acute respiratory syndromes were reported. Highly lethal in horses, swine and humans, the episodes were proved to be caused by the "new" viruses Hendra (HeV) and Nipah (NiV). At the same time three "new" viral agents have been isolated: Lyssavirus, Menanglevirus and Tupaia paramyxovirus. The intense contemporary circulation of people, animals and food products together with changes in human ecosystem favor new relations between humans and the "natural reservoirs" of biologic agents with a pathogenic potential for domestic and peridomestic animals and humans.
Hospital UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) introduced the use of insulin pump therapy in children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes in Malaysia in April 2004. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of pump therapy and its impact on metabolic control among patients from our institution. Insulin pump therapy resulted in sustainable improvement in glycemic control throughout the six years of treatment with reduction in HbA1c in the first two years of pump use was statistically significant. The BMI SDS showed an increase trend but the changes before and after pump use was insignificant. There is also high level of treatment satisfaction reported among our insulin pump patients.
This study reports the results of mutation detection of tumour suppressor genes, p53 and RB2/p130 genes in Malaysian nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) studied by PCR-CSGE analysis and direct DNA sequencing method. Frequent sites of mutation in both genes (exons 5-8 of p53 and exons 19-21 of RB2/p130) were examined. Thirty-six NPC blood samples and three NPC cell lines were investigated for the presence of mutations. No mutation of p53 and RB2/p130 genes was identified in any of the blood samples. Nonetheless, there was an identical G-->4 C nucleotide change at codon 280 of p53 gene in all the cell lines. A larger study that includes biopsy tissues should be carried out to provide a more in-depth look into the pathogenesis of NPC in Malaysia.
A 25-month-old boy with beta-thalassaemia major was presented with an opportunity for umbilical cord blood transplantation when his unborn sibling was diagnosed in utero to be a beta-thalassaemia carrier and also human leucocyte antigen compatible. A barely adequate amount of cord blood was collected at the birth of his sibling and infused into the patient after appropriate chemo-conditioning. Engraftment occurred without major complications. The subject is now alive and well 9 months post-transplant, thus marking our first success in umbilical cord blood transplantation.
Gaucher Disease may now be treated with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) or bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Results with BMT are curative when successful but limited by the scarcity of an appropriate donor. ERT offers very good relief of symptoms but treatment is lifelong and cost of treatment exorbitant. Patients in developing countries are particularly disadvantaged and management remains a dilemma for both doctor and patient.
Ninety-nine samples of common Chinese medicines were purchased from Chinese medical shops in Singapore and Malaysia and analyzed for mercury, lead, copper, cadmium, cobalt, iron, and nickel. The majority of these medicines were manufactured in China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. A few of them were of Singapore and Taiwan origin. Atomic absorption method (both flame and flameless) was used for the analyses. Mercury was found to be present in high concentrations in several of the medicines that were for oral consumption.
Loop diuretics remain a fundamental pharmacological therapy to remove excess fluid and improve symptom control in acute decompensated heart failure. Several recent randomised controlled trials have examined the clinical benefit of continuous vs. bolus furosemide in acute decompensated heart failure, but have reported conflicting findings. The aim of this review was to compare the effects of continuous and bolus furosemide with regard to mortality, length of hospital stay and its efficacy profile in acute decompensated heart failure. All parallel-arm randomised controlled trials from MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from inception until May 2017 were included. Cross-over randomised controlled trials, observational studies, case reports, case series and non-systematic reviews that involved children were excluded. Eight trials (n = 669) were eligible for inclusion. There was no difference between furosemide continuous infusion and bolus administration for all-cause mortality (four studies; n = 491; I2 = 0%; OR 1.65; 95%CI 0.93-2.91; p = 0.08) or duration of hospitalisation (six studies; n = 576; I2 = 71%; mean difference 0.27; 95%CI -1.35 to 1.89 days; p = 0.74). Continuous infusion of intravenous furosemide was associated with increased weight reduction (five studies; n = 516; I2 = 0%; mean difference 0.70; 95%CI 0.12-1.28 kg; p = 0.02); increased total urine output in 24 h (four studies; n = 390; I2 = 33%; mean difference 461.5; 95%CI 133.7-789.4 ml; p < 0.01); and reduced brain natriuretic peptide (two studies; n = 390; I2 = 0%; mean difference 399.5; 95%CI 152.7-646.3 ng.l-1 ; p < 0.01), compared with the bolus group. There was no difference in the incidence of raised creatinine and hypokalaemia between the two groups. In summary, there was no difference between continuous infusion and bolus of furosemide for all-cause mortality, length of hospital stay and electrolyte disturbance, but continuous infusion was superior to bolus administration with regard to diuretic effect and reduction in brain natriuretic peptide.
Micropenis may be an important sign of underlying hypogonadism or pituitary hypofunction in the neonatal period. Penile lengths of normal newborns have been reported in many Western populations. However, the data may not be applicable in the Asian or the multiracial Malaysian population. Our study aimed to establish the normal penile length and testicular volume in term newborn infants in the major ethnic groups in Malaysia.
Non-haemoglobin liver iron was estimated in 275 presumably normal individuals from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore at necropsy. Liver Iron concentrations were highest during the first two years after birth but declined sharply during childhood. They then rose gradually and reached a value of 20 mg/100gm in adult males. Liver iron concentrations of childbearing women remained low and it was only after menopause that values in women rose to those of males. Liver iron stores increased with age to a plateau of about 300 mg in adults, suggesting that this value may represent the adult size for liver iron store. Among the three major ethnic groups in Malaysia and Singapore, Chinese, being in a better socio-eonomic class, had larger liver iron stores. The median liver iron concentrations of Malaysians and Singaporeans, on the whole, were lower than those reported from western populations and as many as 35 per cent of the women were in a subclinical state of iron deficiency.