Clinical Profile of Intermediate Syndrome in Organophosphate Poisoning

Organophosphate (OP) poisoning is a major global health problem, causing over 200,000 deaths annually especially in developing countries. In Poison Treatment Center, New Yangon General Hospital, Myanmar, OP poisoning accounts for 14% of total poison admission in 2013, 17% in 2014 and 10.3% in 2015 respectively

Effect of Toposequence Position on Soil Properties and Crop Yield of Paddy Rice in Northern Mountainous Region, Vietnam

Symposium Pape

Spatial differences in soil properties, crop yield and methane emission from paddy rice cascade, Northwest Vietnam

Session 2: Nitrogen, Green House Gasses and Agricultur

The burden of dengue, source reduction measures, and serotype patterns in Myanmar, 2011 to 2015-R2.

BACKGROUND: Myanmar is currently classified as a high burden dengue country in the Asian Pacific region. The Myanmar vector-borne diseases control (VBDC) program has collected data on dengue and source reduction measures since 1970, and there is a pressing need to collate, analyze, and interpret this information. The aim of this study was to describe the burden of hospital-based dengue disease, dengue control measures, and serotype patterns in Myanmar between 2011 and 2015. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using annual records from the Dengue Fever/Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever Prevention and Control Project in Myanmar. RESULTS: Between 2011 and 2015, there were a total of 89,832 cases and 393 deaths in hospitals, with 97% of cases being in children. In 2013 and 2015, there was an increased number of cases, respectively at 21,942 and 42,913, while during the other 3 years, numbers ranged from 4738 to 13,806. The distribution of dengue deaths each year mirrored the distribution of cases. Most cases (84%) occurred in the wet season and 54% occurred in the delta/lowlands. Case fatality rate (CFR) was highest in 2014 at 7 per 1000 dengue cases, while in the other years, it ranged from 3 to 5 per 1000 cases. High CFR per 1000 were also observed in infants < 1 year (CFR = 8), adults ≥ 15 years (CFR = 7), those with disease severity grade IV (CFR = 17), and those residing in hilly regions (CFR = 9). Implementation and coverage of dengue source reduction measures, including larval control, space spraying, and health education, all increased between 2012 and 2015, although there was low coverage of these interventions in households and schools and for water containers. In the 2013 outbreak, dengue virus serotype 1 predominated, while in the 2015 outbreak, serotypes 1, 2, and 4 were those mainly in circulation. CONCLUSION: Dengue is a serious public health disease burden in Myanmar. More attention is needed to improve monitoring, recording, and reporting of cases, deaths, and vector control activities, and more investment is needed for programmatic research

Age-related macular degeneration in a randomized controlled trial of low-dose aspirin: Rationale and study design of the ASPREE-AMD study

Although aspirin therapy is used widely in older adults for prevention of cardiovascular disease, its impact on the incidence, progression and severity of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is uncertain. The effect of low-dose aspirin on the course of AMD will be evaluated in this clinical trial. A sub-study of the ‘ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly’ (ASPREE) trial, ASPREE-AMD is a 5-year follow-up double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of the effect of 100 mg daily aspirin on the course of AMD in 5000 subjects aged 70 years or older, with normal cognitive function and without cardiovascular disease at baseline. Non-mydriatic fundus photography will be performed at baseline, 3-year and 5-year follow-up to determine AMD status.The principal ASPREE study has been supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia (NHMRC) [grant #334047], the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the National Institute on Aging [grant #RO1-AG029824], the Victorian Cancer Agency (Victorian Government, Australia) and Monash University

Proof of concept, randomized, placebo-controlled study of the effect of simvastatin on the course of age-related macular degeneration

BACKGROUND: HMG Co-A reductase inhibitors are ubiquitous in our community yet their potential role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains to be determined. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of simvastatin on AMD progression and the effect modification by polymorphism in apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and complement factor H (CFH) genes. DESIGN: A proof of concept double-masked randomized controlled study. PARTICIPANTS: 114 participants aged 53 to 91 years, with either bilateral intermediate AMD or unilateral non-advanced AMD (with advanced AMD in fellow eye), BCVA ≥ 20/60 in at least one eye, and a normal lipid profile. INTERVENTION: Simvastatin 40 mg/day or placebo, allocated 1:1. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Progression of AMD either to advanced AMD or in severity of non-advanced AMD. Results. The cumulative AMD progression rates were 70% in the placebo and 54% in the simvastatin group. Intent to treat multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, smoking and baseline AMD severity, showed a significant 2-fold decrease in the risk of progression in the simvastatin group: OR 0.43 (0.18-0.99), p = 0.047. Post-hoc analysis stratified by baseline AMD severity showed no benefit from treatment in those who had advanced AMD in the fellow eye before enrolment: OR 0.97 (0.27-3.52), p = 0.96, after adjusting for age, sex and smoking. However, there was a significant reduction in the risk of progression in the bilateral intermediate AMD group compared to placebo [adjusted OR 0.23 (0.07-0.75), p = 0.015]. The most prominent effect was observed amongst those who had the CC (Y402H) at risk genotype of the CFH gene [OR 0.08 (0.02-0.45), p = 0.004]. No evidence of harm from simvastatin intervention was detected. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Simvastatin may slow progression of non-advanced AMD, especially for those with the at risk CFH genotype CC (Y402H). Further exploration of the potential use of statins for AMD, with emphasis on genetic subgroups, is warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR) ACTRN1260500032065

Geological and tectonic evolution of the Indo-Myanmar Ranges (IMR) in the Myanmar region

The Indo-Myanmar Ranges (IMR) of Myanmar, also known as the Indo-Burman Ranges (IBR) or the Western Ranges, extend from the East Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS) southwards along the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal to the Andaman Sea, comprising the Naga Hills Tract in the north, the Chin Hills in the middle and the Rakhine (Arakan) Yoma in the south. The IMR is economically important; major discoveries of oil and gas have been made in the Bay of Bengal to the west of the Rakhine Yoma, and there are several occurrences of chromite and nickel deposits (e.g. Webula, Mwetaung in Chin State) and submarine volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposits (e.g. Laymyetna in Ayerwaddy Region). The IMR occupies a complex tectonic zone as the southeastwards continuation of the Indian–Asian collision belt in Tibet and Assam, and lies north of the active subduction zone of the Sunda–Andaman arc (Figs 4.1 & 4.2). The IMR occurs along the western margin of the Myanmar Microplate, also known as the Burmese Platelet or the West Myanmar Terrane or Block, situated between the Eurasian Plate to the east and the Indian Plate to the west (e.g. Fitch 1972; Curray et al. 1979; Mukhopadhyay & Dasgupta 1988; Pivnik et al. 1998; Bertrand & Rangin 2003; Shi et al. 2009; Baxter et al. 2011; Garzanti et al. 2013; Soibam et al. 2015). The West Myanmar Block has been also described as a forearc sliver, bounded on the west by a subduction zone and a strike-slip margin, on the east by a strike-slip fault (Sagaing Fault), on the south by a spreading centre and on the north by a compressional plate boundary (Curray et al. 1979; Pivnik et al. 1998; Nielsen et al. 2004).Accepted versio

Effects of Tamarind (Tamarindus indicus Linn) seed extract on Russell's viper (Daboia russelli siamensis) venom

Snake bite has been regarded as an important health problem in Myanmar since early 1960's. In the recent years, there has been growing interest in alternative therapies and therapeutic use of natural products, especially those derive from plants. In Myanmar and Indian traditional medicine, various plants have used as a remedy for treating snake bite. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of alcohol extract of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica Linn.) seed on some biologic properties of Russell's viper (Daboia russelli siamensis) venom (RVV). The Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzyme, coagulase enzyme and caseinolytic enzyme activities of Russell's viper venom (RVV) were reduced when mixed and incubated with the extract. When the RVV and the different amount of extracts were preincubated and injected intramuscularly into mice, all of them survived, but all the mice in the control group died. On the other hand, when RVV were injected first followed by the extract into mice, all of them died. If the extract was injected near the site where Russell's viper venom was injected, all the mice survived for more than 24 hours and the survival time prolonged but they all died within 96 hours. In conclusion, according to the results obtained, the extract neutralizes some biologic properties of the Russell's viper venom and prolonged the survival time if the extract was injected near the site where the Russell's viper venom was injected