The Pacific War and the Japanese Occupation were traumatic periods in the lives of people now over seventy years old in Malaysia and Singapore. This study traces why individuals interviewed for oral history of the Pacific War and the Japanese Occupation have often been able to tell stories of trauma without being overwhelmed by their reminiscences. It emphasizes that memories of traumatic experiences of the Pacific War and the Japanese Occupation in Malaysia and Singapore are mediated and eased by supportive social networks that are part of the interview subject's community. The individual's personal memories of traumatic war experiences are positioned in the context of the collective memory of the group and, thus, are made easier to recall. However, for individuals whose personal memories are at variance with the collective memory of the group they belong to, recalling traumatic experiences is more difficult and alienating as they do not have the support in their community. The act of recalling traumatic memories in the context of the collective memory of a group is particularly relevant in Malaysia and Singapore. These countries have a long history of being plural societies, where although the major ethnic groups -- the Malays, Chinese, and Indians -- have lived side by side peacefully, they have lived in culturally and socially separate worlds, not interacting much with the other groups. The self -- identity of many older people who lived through the Pacific War and the Japanese Occupation is inextricably bound up with their ethnicity. Oral history on war trauma strongly reflects these identities.
Determining the racial affinity of an unknown individual from dentition for identification is indeed a difficult endeavour. However, there are certain dental characteristics which are predominant in certain racial groups and these contribute important indicators in the identification process. Inherited dental characteristics are modified by prenatal and postnatal environmental and nutritional conditions. They can also become less discernible due to admixture of the various races.
There has been a long-standing debate concerning the extent to which the spread of Neolithic ceramics and Malay-Polynesian languages in Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) were coupled to an agriculturally driven demic dispersal out of Taiwan 4000 years ago (4 ka). We previously addressed this question using founder analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region sequences to identify major lineage clusters most likely to have dispersed from Taiwan into ISEA, proposing that the dispersal had a relatively minor impact on the extant genetic structure of ISEA, and that the role of agriculture in the expansion of the Austronesian languages was therefore likely to have been correspondingly minor. Here we test these conclusions by sequencing whole mtDNAs from across Taiwan and ISEA, using their higher chronological precision to resolve the overall proportion that participated in the "out-of-Taiwan" mid-Holocene dispersal as opposed to earlier, postglacial expansions in the Early Holocene. We show that, in total, about 20 % of mtDNA lineages in the modern ISEA pool result from the "out-of-Taiwan" dispersal, with most of the remainder signifying earlier processes, mainly due to sea-level rises after the Last Glacial Maximum. Notably, we show that every one of these founder clusters previously entered Taiwan from China, 6-7 ka, where rice-farming originated, and remained distinct from the indigenous Taiwanese population until after the subsequent dispersal into ISEA.
Goitre prevalence and mental performance were determined amongst the Aborigines in Sinderut, a remote rural area in Pahang. A total of 196 subjects aged 4 to 60 years old were selected for study. Goitre status was determined by an experienced endocrinologist using classification suggested by World Health Organization; while mental performance was measured using Raven's test (Oxford Psychologists Press). Blood specimen was also taken for thyroxine (T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) measurement. It was found that goitre prevalence was 26.5% (52/196); with visible goitre prevalence of 42.3% (22152). The overall mean of goitre volume was 21.4 ± 19.1 ml (range: 3.0 - 90.8 ml), while the prevalence of mental performance for the percentile value of more than 5.0 was 26.5% (range: 5.0 - 50.0). Mean thyroxine levels was 75.4 ± 19.3 nmol/L (range: 19.9 - 138.1 nmol/ L) while mean levels of thyroid stimulating hormone was 4.9 ± 3.2 mU/L (range: 0.4 - 18.9 mU/L). There was no significant correlation between hormone levels and mental performance score (Pearson Correlation; T4 : r=-0.002, p=0.9736; TSH : r=0.10, p=0.1843). goitre volume and mental performance score (Pearson Correlation; r=-0.02, p=0.8395). Goitre prevalence of more than 20% in this area indicates a moderate endemia, while mental performance showed a low thinking level in the Aborigines particularly those who lived in remote areas.
Ancestry-informative markers (AIMs) can be used to infer the ancestry of an individual to minimize the inaccuracy of self-reported ethnicity in biomedical research. In this study, we describe three methods for selecting AIM SNPs for the Malay population (Malay AIM panel) using different approaches based on pairwise FST, informativeness for assignment (In), and PCA-correlated SNPs (PCAIMs). These Malay AIM panels were extracted from genotype data stored in SNP arrays hosted by the Malaysian node of the Human Variome Project (MyHVP) and the Singapore Genome Variation Project (SGVP). In particular, genotype data from a total of 165 Malay individuals were analyzed, comprising data on 117 individual genotypes from the Affymetrix SNP-6 SNP array platform and data on 48 individual genotypes from the OMNI 2.5 Illumina SNP array platform. The HapMap phase 3 database (1397 individuals from 11 populations) was used as a reference for comparison with the Malay genotype data. The accuracy of each resulting Malay AIM panel was evaluated using a machine learning "ancestry-predictive model" constructed by using WEKA, a comprehensive machine learning platform written in Java. A total of 1250 SNPs were finally selected, which successfully identified Malay individuals from other world populations with an accuracy of 90%, but the accuracy decreased to 80% using 157 SNPs according to the pairwise FST method, while a panel of 200 SNPs selected using In and PCAIMs could be used to identify Malay individuals with an accuracy of approximately 80%.
A serosurvey of various indigenous interior tribes (Orang Ulu) in upper Rejang River Basin Sarawak Malaysia, the site of a multibillion Ringgit hydroelectric power project, found 6.8% of the individual surveyed were seropositive for schistosomiasis, as determined by ELISA method using the soluble egg antigen of Schistosoma malayensis Baling strain. In all age group, the seroprevalence rate is higher (9.5%) in males than in females (4.5%) except for the 31-40 age group. Seroprevalence of schistosomiasis was found to increase with age with the above 60 age group having the highest rate followed by the 31-40 age group. Seroprevalence rate among the tribes ranges from 4.1% among the Penan to 11.6% among the Kajang. There was no seroevidence of schistosomiasis among the Ukits. A snail survey found four snail species including Brotia species, the intermediate host of the lung fluke Paragonimus westermani, however no schistosome snail host was identified. Although schistosomiasis malayensis-like infection may be endemic in the area, its public health significance remains undetermined.
Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) interact with polymorphic human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules, modulating natural killer (NK) cell functions and affecting both the susceptibility and outcome of immune-mediated diseases. The KIR locus is highly diverse in gene content, copy number and allelic polymorphism within individuals and across geographical populations. To analyse currently under-represented Asian and Pacific populations, we investigated the combinatorial diversity of KIR and HLA class I in 92 unrelated Malay and 75 Malaysian Chinese individuals from the Malay Peninsula. We identified substantial allelic and structural diversity of the KIR locus in both populations and characterized novel variations at each analysis level. The Malay population is more diverse than Malay Chinese, likely representing a unique history including admixture with immigrating populations spanning several thousand years. Characterizing the Malay population are KIR haplotypes with large structural variants present in 10% individuals, and KIR and HLA alleles previously identified in Austronesian populations. Despite the differences in ancestries, the proportion of HLA allotypes that serve as KIR ligands is similar in each population. The exception is a significantly reduced frequency of interactions of KIR2DL1 with C2+ HLA-C in the Malaysian Chinese group, caused by the low frequency of C2+ HLA. One likely implication is a greater protection from preeclampsia, a pregnancy disorder associated with KIR2DL1, which shows higher incidence in the Malay than in the Malaysian Chinese. This first complete, high-resolution, characterization of combinatorial diversity of KIR and HLA in Malaysians will form a valuable reference for future clinical and population studies.
BACKGROUND: A study was undertaken to examine temporal trends and ethnic differences in the asthma mortality rate in Singapore.
METHODS: Asthma mortality rates in Singapore were estimated from vital data for the years from 1976 to 1995. Trends in sex and age specific (5-14, 15-34, 35-59, 60+ years) rates were obtained for four periods (1976-80, 1981-85, 1986-90, 1991-95) and for Chinese, Malay, and Indian subjects for the years when these data were available (1989-95).
RESULTS: An increase in asthma mortality was observed in children aged 5-14 years from 0.21 per 100,000 person years in 1976-80 to 0.72 per 100,000 person years in 1991-95. No increases were noted in the other age groups but a small decrease was observed in the 1991-95 period for the 35-59 year age group. Marked ethnic differences in mortality rates were observed. In the group aged 5-34 years the asthma mortality rates were 0.5 per 100,000 in Chinese subjects, 1.3 per 100,000 in Indians, and 2.5 per 100,000 in Malay subjects. Similar 2-4 fold differences were observed in all other age groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Apart from genetic factors, environmental exposures and medical care factors which influence asthma prevalence and severity are most likely to be the causes of the observed temporal trends and ethnic differences in the asthma mortality rate in Singapore, but further studies are needed to elucidate these more fully.
Three cases of multiple drug resistant falciparum malaria in the same family are described. It is interesting to note that faIciparum malaria resistant to Fansidar has not as yet been reported in adults from West Malaysia up to the present time, although resistance to the drug in children is being encountered not infrequently. This presents a serious paediatric problem because malaria causes the highest incidence of mortality and morbidity in this age group in a proportion of the rural population.
Food-borne parasitic zoonoses are emerging as major public health problems in most countries because they are widespread and pose a medical challenge. Not only are they important from an economic standpoint, but they also cause severe sequalae in all those affected. The extent of parasitic zoonoses in Malaysia is considered a "tip of the iceberg" problem. Cases of zoonotic diseases, like porocphaliasis, sarcocystosis, toxoplasmosis, cysticercosis, hydatidosis, echinostomiasis, and gnathostomiasis are traced and documented. An epidemiologic reassessment of methods is suggested to determine the extent of these parasitoses in Malaysia.
The prevalence and associated aetiologies of tooth wear were investigated in three ethnic groups in Sabah (Northern Borneo) using the Tooth Wear Index (TWI). The number of surfaces with enamel wear only, dentine exposed for less than a third or dentine exposed for more than a third were categorised into the TW minimal, moderate or severe respectively. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit medical/dental history, oral hygiene practices, satisfaction with body image, diet and other personal habits/details. The sample comprised of a self selected sample of 148 dental hospital attenders; 47 (32 per cent) each of ethnic Chinese and Malay and 54 (36 per cent) of ethnic Kadazan, matched for age and with a similar number of scoreable teeth per subject. Dentine exposure within the total sample was a common finding (95 per cent TW with moderate, 41 per cent TW severe). The Kadazan group had significantly (P < 0.05) more surfaces with severe tooth wear than the Chinese or Malay. Tobacco chewing was positively associated (rho = +0.4, P < 0.05) with both moderate and severe tooth wear, as was the habit of crushing/eating bones. Neither carbonated beverages or fresh fruit intake were associated with tooth wear, but their frequency of consumption was low. The buccal and occlusal surfaces of the posterior teeth were the most severely worn. Generally, wear was greater in the upper anterior sextant compared to the lower anterior sextant, with the exception of the lower incisal edges in the Kadazan group. Tooth wear into dentine was a common occurrence, especially among the Kadazan subjects and least among the Chinese subjects. The aetiological factors associated with this tooth wear are different to those encountered in Western cultures.
There have been changes in the national policy regarding population growth in Malaysia from 1982. This report studies the changes in contraceptive practice among the three racial groups in this country, i.e. Malays, Chinese and Indians, over a 5-year period with an interval of 10 years. This is a retrospective study based on the attendance at the same family planning clinic in an urban setting. The striking change noted is the change in the racial composition of contraceptive usage in the two study periods with a shift from the Chinese being predominant in 1975-1979 to Malays in 1985-1989. There was no change among the numbers of Indians using contraception. The results also reveal a significant trend of change for users of the pill and those undergoing sterilization. There were no significant changes in IUD, condom and injectable usage. The study demonstrates how national policies, level of education and rural urban migration can significantly alter contraceptive practice.