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Involvement of small mammals in the transmission of scrub typhus in Malaysia: isolation and serological evidence

Walker JS, Gan E, Chan Teik Chye, Muul I

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1973;67(6):838-45.
PMID: 4207572
Mammals and scrub typhus ecology in peninsular Malaysia

Muul I, Liat LB, Walker JS

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1975;69(1):121-30.
PMID: 806995

The overall comparisons of habitats are given in (Table III). The habitats are arranged in order of extent of alterations by man, with the least disturbed at the top. The highest average blood isolation rates came from the least disturbed areas. The highest monthly maximal rickettsial isolation rates from blood and maximal prevalence rates of antibody per month were also obtained at Bukit Lanjan, the habitat least altered by activities of man. The lowest average blood isolation rate (6%) and the lowest monthly maximal rickettsial isolation and antibody prevalence rates were obtained at Bukit Mandol, the habitat most extensively and intensively altered by man. The intermediate habitats had intermediate rates. We caution anyone interpreting these observations, however, in terms of human disease, which seem to be associated with hyperendemic foci. Here we are not dealing with hyperendemicity from the standpoint of human disease, but present evidence of widespread endemicity from which hyperendemic foci may derive. Also, we have not yet identified the prevalent strains and do not know their infectivity to man.
Scrub typhus infection in rats in four habitats in Peninsular Malaysia

Muul I, Lim BL, Walker JS

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1977;71(6):493-7.
PMID: 415390

Rickettsia tsutsugamushi isolations were attempted from blood samples obtained from rats captured in four adjacent habitats near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Antibody surveys were also made. Rickettsial infections were most frequent in rats captured in the forest and in lalang grass (Imperata cylindrica) and least frequent in the most extensively disturbed habitat, an Orang Asli (aborigine) village. Forest rats such as Rattus sabanus (31%), as well as rats in the subgenus R. (Rattus), i.e. R. tiomanicus (26%) and R. argentiventer (35%) had frequent active infections. The house rat R. exulans had less frequent infections (15%). Frequency of antibody occurrence followed a similar pattern. No marked seasonal differences in the frequency of infections could be detected during the 18-month study.
The effect of habitat on the prevalence of human scrub typhus in Malaysia

Cadigan FC, Andre RG, Bolton M, Gan E, Walker JS

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 1972;66(4):582-7.
PMID: 4561007
The silvered leaf-monkey of Malaysia, Presbytis cristatus: disease model for human scrub typhus

Walker JS, Cadigan FC, Vosdingh RA, Chye CT

J Infect Dis, 1973 Aug;128(2):223-6.
PMID: 4198721
Light as a key driver of freshwater biofouling surface roughness in an experimental hydrocanal pipe rig

Ravizza M, Giosio D, Henderson A, Hovenden M, Hudson M, Salleh S, et al.

Biofouling, 2016 07;32(6):685-97.
PMID: 27244248 DOI: 10.1080/08927014.2016.1184255

Biofouling in canals and pipelines used for hydroelectric power generation decreases the flow capacity of conduits. A pipeline rig was designed consisting of test sections of varying substrata (PVC, painted steel) and light levels (transparent, frosted, opaque). Stalk-forming diatoms were abundant in both the frosted and transparent PVC pipes but negligible in the painted steel and opaque PVC pipes. Fungi were slightly more abundant in the painted steel pipe but equally present in all the other pipes while bacterial diversity was similar in all pipes. Photosynthetically functional biofouling (mainly diatoms) was able to develop in near darkness. Different biological fouling compositions generated differing friction factors. The highest friction factor was observed in the transparent pipe (densest diatom fouling), the lowest peak friction for the opaque PVC pipe (lowest fouling biomass), and with the painted steel pipe (high fouling biomass, but composed of fungal and bacterial crusts) being intermediate between the opaque and frosted PVC pipes.
Probability of major depression diagnostic classification based on the SCID, CIDI and MINI diagnostic interviews controlling for Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Depression subscale scores: An individual participant data meta-analysis of 73 primary studies

Wu Y, Levis B, Sun Y, Krishnan A, He C, Riehm KE, et al.

J Psychosom Res, 2020 02;129:109892.
PMID: 31911325 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2019.109892

OBJECTIVE: Two previous individual participant data meta-analyses (IPDMAs) found that different diagnostic interviews classify different proportions of people as having major depression overall or by symptom levels. We compared the odds of major depression classification across diagnostic interviews among studies that administered the Depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D).
METHODS: Data accrued for an IPDMA on HADS-D diagnostic accuracy were analysed. We fit binomial generalized linear mixed models to compare odds of major depression classification for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID), Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), and Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), controlling for HADS-D scores and participant characteristics with and without an interaction term between interview and HADS-D scores.
RESULTS: There were 15,856 participants (1942 [12%] with major depression) from 73 studies, including 15,335 (97%) non-psychiatric medical patients, 164 (1%) partners of medical patients, and 357 (2%) healthy adults. The MINI (27 studies, 7345 participants, 1066 major depression cases) classified participants as having major depression more often than the CIDI (10 studies, 3023 participants, 269 cases) (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.70 (0.84, 3.43)) and the semi-structured SCID (36 studies, 5488 participants, 607 cases) (aOR = 1.52 (1.01, 2.30)). The odds ratio for major depression classification with the CIDI was less likely to increase as HADS-D scores increased than for the SCID (interaction aOR = 0.92 (0.88, 0.96)).
CONCLUSION: Compared to the SCID, the MINI may diagnose more participants as having major depression, and the CIDI may be less responsive to symptom severity.