Psychological distress during pandemic Covid-19 among adult general population: Result across 13 countries

The COVID-19 pandemics caused an unprecedented mortality, distress, and globally poses a challenge to mental resilience. To our knowledge, this is the first study that aimed to investigate the psychological distress among the adult general population across 13 countries. This cross-sectional study was conducted through online survey by recruiting 7091 respondents. Psychological distress was evaluated with COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI). The crude prevalence of psychological distress due to COVID-19 is highest in Vietnam, followed by Egypt, and Bangladesh. Through Multivariate Logistic Regression Analysis, the respondents from Vietnam holds the highest level of distress, while the respondents from Sri Lanka holds the lowest level of distress with reference to Nepal.Female respondents had higher odds of having reported psychological distress, and those with tertiary education were less likely to report psychological distress compared to those with lower level of education. The findings indicate that psychological distress is varies across different countries. Therefore, different countries should continue the surveillance on psychological consequences through the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor the burden and to prepare for the targeted mental health support interventions according to the need. The coping strategies and social support should be provided especially to the lower educational attainment group

Myanmar Dengue Outbreak Associated with Displacement of Serotypes 2, 3, and 4 by Dengue 1

In 2001, Myanmar (Burma) had its largest outbreak of dengue—15,361 reported cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS), including 192 deaths. That year, 95% of dengue viruses isolated from patients were serotype 1 viruses belonging to two lineages that had diverged from an earlier, now extinct, lineage sometime before 1998. The ratio of DHF to DSS cases in 2001 was not significantly different from that in 2000, when 1,816 cases of DHF/DSS were reported and dengue 1 also was the most frequently isolated serotype. However, the 2001 ratio was significantly higher than that in 1998 (also an outbreak year) and in 1999, when all four serotypes were detected and serotypes 1, 2, and 3 were recovered in similar numbers. The large number of clinical cases in 2001 may have been due, in part, to a preponderance of infections with dengue 1 viruses

Discovery of the Binary Pulsar PSR B1259-63 in Very-High-Energy Gamma Rays around Periastron with H.E.S.S

We report the discovery of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission of the binary system PSR B1259-63/SS 2883 of a radio pulsar orbiting a massive, luminous Be star in a highly eccentric orbit. The observations around the 2004 periastron passage of the pulsar were performed with the four 13 m Cherenkov telescopes of the H.E.S.S. experiment, recently installed in Namibia and in full operation since December 2003. Between February and June 2004, a gamma-ray signal from the binary system was detected with a total significance above 13 sigma. The flux was found to vary significantly on timescales of days which makes PSR B1259-63 the first variable galactic source of VHE gamma-rays observed so far. Strong emission signals were observed in pre- and post-periastron phases with a flux minimum around periastron, followed by a gradual flux decrease in the months after. The measured time-averaged energy spectrum above a mean threshold energy of 380 GeV can be fitted by a simple power law F_0(E/1 TeV)^-Gamma with a photon index Gamma = 2.7+-0.2_stat+-0.2_sys and flux normalisation F_0 = (1.3+-0.1_stat+-0.3_sys) 10^-12 TeV^-1 cm^-2 s^-1. This detection of VHE gamma-rays provides unambiguous evidence for particle acceleration to multi-TeV energies in the binary system. In combination with coeval observations of the X-ray synchrotron emission by the RXTE and INTEGRAL instruments, and assuming the VHE gamma-ray emission to be produced by the inverse Compton mechanism, the magnetic field strength can be directly estimated to be of the order of 1 G.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysics on 2 June 2005, replace: document unchanged, replaced author field in astro-ph entry - authors are all members of the H.E.S.S. collaboration and three additional authors (99+3, see document

Surveillance to achieve malaria elimination in eastern Myanmar: a 7-year observational study

Background The collection and utilization of surveillance data is essential in monitoring progress towards achieving malaria elimination, in the timely response to increases in malaria case numbers and in the assessment of programme functioning. This paper describes the surveillance activities used by the malaria elimination task force (METF) programme which operates in eastern Myanmar, and provides an analysis of data collected from weekly surveillance, case investigations, and monitoring and evaluation of programme performance. Methods This retrospective analysis was conducted using data collected from a network of 1250 malaria posts operational between 2014 and 2021. To investigate changes in data completeness, malaria post performance, malaria case numbers, and the demographic details of malaria cases, summary statistics were used to compare data collected over space and time. Results In the first 3 years of the METF programme, improvements in data transmission routes resulted in a 18.9% reduction in late reporting, allowing for near real-time analysis of data collected at the malaria posts. In 2020, travel restrictions were in place across Karen State in response to COVID-19, and from February 2021 the military coup in Myanmar resulted in widescale population displacement. However, over that period there has been no decline in malaria post attendance, and the majority of consultations continue to occur within 48 h of fever onset. Case investigations found that 43.8% of cases travelled away from their resident village in the 3 weeks prior to diagnosis and 36.3% reported never using a bed net whilst sleeping in their resident village, which increased to 72.2% when sleeping away from their resident village. Malaria post assessments performed in 82.3% of the METF malaria posts found malaria posts generally performed to a high standard. Conclusions Surveillance data collected by the METF programme demonstrate that despite significant changes in the context in which the programme operates, malaria posts have remained accessible and continue to provide early diagnosis and treatment contributing to an 89.3% decrease in Plasmodium falciparum incidence between 2014 and 2021

Very high energy gamma rays from the direction of Sagittarius A*.

We report the detection of a point-like source of very high energy (VHE) -rays coincident within 1' of Sgr A *, obtained with the HESS array of Cherenkov telescopes. The -rays exhibit a power-law energy spectrum with a spectral index of and a flux above the 165 GeV threshold of m -2 s -1. The measured flux and spectrum differ substantially from recent results reported in particular by the CANGAROO collaboration

Discovery of extended VHE gamma-ray emission from the asymmetric pulsar wind nebula in MSH 15-52 with H.E.S.S

The Supernova Remnant MSH 15-52 has been observed in very high energy (VHE) gamma-rays using the H.E.S.S. 4-telescope array located in Namibia. A gamma-ray signal is detected at the 25 sigma level during an exposure of 22.1 hours live time. The image reveals an elliptically shaped emission region around the pulsar PSR B1509-58, with semi-major axis 6' in the NW-SE direction and semi-minor axis 2' approximately. This morphology coincides with the diffuse pulsar wind nebula as observed at X-ray energies by ROSAT. The overall energy spectrum from 280 GeV up to 40 TeV can be fitted by a power law with photon index Gamma = 2.27 +/- 0.03(stat.) +/- 0.20(syst.). The detected emission can be plausibly explained by inverse Compton scattering of accelerated relativistic electrons with soft photons.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by A&A letter

Serendipitous discovery of the unidentified extended TeV gamma-ray source HESS J1303-631

The serendipitous discovery of an unidentified extended TeVgamma-ray source close to the galactic plane named HESS J1303-631 at a significance of 21 standard deviations is reported. The observations were performed between February and June 2004 with the H.E.S.S. stereoscopic system of Cherenkov telescopes in Namibia. HESS J1303-631 was discovered roughly 0.6 deg north of the binary system PSR B1259-63/SS 2883, the target object of the initial observation campaign which was also detected at TeV energies in the same field of view. HESS J1303-631 is extended with a width of an assumed intrinsic Gaussian emission profile of sigma = (0.16 +- 0.02) deg and the integral flux above 380 GeV is compatible with constant emission over the entire observational period of (17 +- 3)% of the Crab Nebula flux. The measured energy spectrum can be described by a power-law dN/dE ~ E^-Gamma with a photon index of Gamma = 2.44 +- 0.05_stat +- 0.2_syst. Up to now, no counterpart at other wavelengths is identified. Various possible TeV production scenarios are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Enhancing Students' Mathematical Problem Solving Performance

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the students' mathematical problem solving performance by using a cooperative learning model especially for Student-TeamAchievement-Division (STAD). Students’ attitude towards mathematics was also examined. This study was conducted at Basic Education High School No (3) Kyeemyindine in Yangon, Myanmar. Sample of thirty-two Grade 9 students participated in this study. This study used a pre-experimental design to observe the changes in students' problem solving performance and students' attitude towards mathematics. This is a pioneer study which applied the cooperative learning model in Myanmar. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed. Two versions of mathematics performance assessment teacher-made (pre-test and post-test) tests, 14 items mathematics attitude test, 9 items problem solving observation rating scale, 8 items rating scale for students' cooperation, and reflective journals were used to assess the changes after intervention. The results of this study showed a definite increase in improvement both on the pre-test and post-test performance assessment and the attitude towards mathematics. Students earned the mean score of 12.06 on mathematics performance pre-test and that of 33.75 on mathematics performance post-test. Similarly, in the pre-attitude test, scores for 32 students has a mean of 30.62 and standard deviation of 6.40. In the post-attitude test, scores for 32 students has a mean of 32.62 and standard deviation of 4.24. The results showed that cooperative learning model can enhance students' problem-solving performance and students' attitude towards mathematics