Effect of Body Positions on Lungs Volume in Asthmatic Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

Aim: The purpose of our research was to investigate the effect of different body positions on lungs volume by conducting pulmonary function test (PFT) values of the asthmatic patients. The objectives were (1) to assess the correlation between pulmonary function and posture in adult patients with asthma, (2) to determine the best position with higher lungs volume that was preferable for the asthmatic patients to relieve the asthma attack and for rehabilitation approach. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in the Reconstructive and Rehabilitative Center at University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) between December 2015 and June 2016. Methodology: The total of 30 participants was recruited in this study. Among them, 15 participants were asthmatic patients and 15 participants were non-asthmatic, control persons. All theparticipants were between 19-25 years of age and they were enrolled after they had signed a written consent. Participants were selected using the inclusion criteria and Spiro Excel PC based pulmonary function test (PFT Medicaid Systems) were administered. Spirometer measurements (FVC, FEV1) were taken in the standing, sitting and supine positions. Each measurement was taken two times and the average values were analyzed. The order of the body positions was randomized. Results: In the asthmatic group, the best position was supine with a mean±standard deviation (SD) of FEV1/FVC, 77.93±17.37. Whereas, in control group, the best position was standing with a mean±SD of FEV1/FVC, 90.12±5.97. The second best positions were sitting position in the asthmatic group (75.37±16.37) and supine position in control group (89.70±8.79). Finally, the standing position had the lowest lungs function in the asthmatic group (73.63±17.08) and sitting position in control group (88.53±11.17). Conclusion: Our study showed that supine was the best position for measuring FEV1 and FVC of asthmatic participants. Therefore, supportive positions such as supine or leaning to the wall are suggested to improve pulmonary function of the patients, especially during asthmatic attack

Anthony V. Mannino Foundation: comprehensive marketing strategy report

Founded in 2009, the Anthony V. Mannino Foundation Inc. (AVM) undertook the genuine mission; to offer support young adults 18-26 and their families while they are undergoing their cancer treatment process. The Marketing Concepts team has performed a thorough marketing analysis and has provided AVM a set of tools that enables them to immediately implement an effective and efficient marketing strategy

Survival analysis of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in New Yangon General Hospital by prognostic indicators

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and it can infect anyone resulting in serious illness and death. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in New Yangon General Hospital (NYGH), Yangon between September and November, 2022. Previous records of COVID-19 in-patients admitted to NYGH from 1st June to 31st October, 2021, were reviewed. COVID-19 in-patients who tested positive by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or rapid diagnostic test (RDT) were included in this study. Multivariate analysis by Cox proportional-hazards (CPH) model was used to identify the prognostic indicators associated with the survival of COVID-19 inpatients. Results: Of (460) COVID-19 positive patients, there were 133 (28.9%) deaths with mortality rate of 16.9 per 1000 person-days. Then, 97 (72.9%) deaths occurred within 21 days of symptom onset, with median survival time of 28 (95% CI: 25-36) days. The results of the CPH model showed that the abnormal chest X-ray (CXR) [aHR=3.8, 95% CI: (1.1, 12.6), p=0.032], SpO2 level below 92% [aHR=3.7, 95% CI: 2.3, 5.9, p<0.001)], serum creatinine level more than 133 µmol/L [aHR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.1, 3.2, p=0.025] and C-reactive protein level (CRP) more than 10 mg/L [aHR=3.9, 95% CI: 1.2, 12.9, p=0.027] were the prognostic indicators of COVID-19 death among inpatients in NYGH. Conclusions: Patients with abnormal CXR result, low SpO2 level, high serum creatinine level, and high CRP level may have increased risks of death among COVID-19 inpatients in NYGH. Thus, close monitoring of the hospitalized COVID-19 inpatients by using these prognostic indicators should be emphasized

Gestational diabetes mellitus prevalence in Maela refugee camp on the Thai–Myanmar Border: a clinical report

Background: Individuals in conflict-affected areas rarely get appropriate care for chronic or non-infectious diseases. The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is increasing worldwide, and new evidence shows conclusively that the negative effects of hyperglycemia occur even at mild glucose elevations and that these negative effects can be attenuated by treatment. Scientific literature on gestational diabetes in refugee camp settings is critically limited. Methods: A 75 g 2-hour glucose tolerance test was administered to 228 women attending the antenatal care (ANC) clinic in Maela refugee camp on the Thai–Myanmar border. Prevalence of GDM was determined using the HAPO trial cut-offs [≥92 mg/dL (fasting),≥180 (1 hour), and≥153 (2 hour)] and the WHO criteria [≥126 mg/dL (fasting), and 140 mg/dL (2 hour)]. Results: From July 2011 to March 2012, the prevalence of GDM was 10.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 6.2–14.0] when the cut-off determined by the HAPO trial was applied. Applying the older WHO criteria yielded a prevalence of 6.6% (95% CI 3.3–9.8). Age, parity, and BMI emerged as characteristics that may be significantly associated with GDM in this population. Other risk factors that are commonly used in screening guidelines were not applicable in this diabetes-naïve population. Discussion: The prevalence of GDM is lower in this population compared with other populations, but still complicates 10% of pregnancies. New evidence regarding gestational diabetes raises new dilemmas for healthcare providers in resource-poor settings. Efforts to identify and treat patients at risk for adverse outcomes need to be balanced with awareness of the risks and burdens associated with over diagnosis and unnecessary interventions. Screening approaches based on risk factors or using higher cut-off values may help minimize this burden and identify those most likely to benefit from intervention

Promoting healthy futures in a rural refugee resettlement location: A community-based participatory research intervention

The resettlement of refugees in rural areas is presenting new challenges for healthcare. This article reports on a community-based participatory research project that explored understandings of health and care across the life course in a refugee-background community in regional south-east Australia. Participants identified key challenges, including lack of access to local services that address their complex needs and problems created by communicating across languages, cultures, and ontologies. Clear opportunities were identified for improving local health services to meet the needs of refugee-background communities. Building on participant recommendations, we argue that appropriate, high-quality healthcare requires the cultivation of dialogue and respect across different understandings of health and care. We suggest that approaches grounded in an ethos of collaboration, power-sharing and dialogue provide a way forward, not just for research, but for embedding practices of cultural safety in rural and regional resettlement

Generalized Vicinity Query Algorithm in Road Network Distance

Vicinity queries include set k nearestneighbor (SetkNN) query, ordered k nearestneighbor (OrderkNN) query, bi-chromaticreverse nearest neighbor (BRkNN) query anddistance range query. In existing approaches,each type of queries has been individuallystudied because they are different in querycriteria. Moreover, these types of queries takelong processing time in calculating road networkdistances. To improve in the efficiency, this paperproposes vicinity query algorithm based on thehigher-order network Voronoi region (NVR)which gives a unified procedure to run thesedifferent queries in an integrated frameworkalthough the query criteria of all individualsdiffer from each query type. Through extensiveexperiments, the proposed method significantlyoutperforms the existing works in terms ofprocessing time by nearly two orders ofmagnitude

Geometric Kinect Joints Computing for Human Fall Recognition

This paper proposes an computing analysis onhuman geometric shape features to detect a fallbehavior. The system mainly computes the changeson human orientation (torso angle) and centroidheight via the human skeleton joints extracted byKinect sensor. The system computes and tracks thespatial changes of these human orientation andcentroid height and distinguishs a fall behavioramong other daily activities by using a thresholdingalgorithm. The main objective of this computation isto minize the computational time and to increase thetrue alarms in developing a fall detection. The systemworks the feature extraction on our collected falldetection dataset containing the fall data along withdaily activities such as sitting down, lying, combing.Standing, etc., are collected by Microsoft Kinectsensor

RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION AROUND YANGON CITY, MYANMAR

Labor migration is a pervasive feature of life in contemporary Myanmar, but has been the subject of only limited research to date. Furthermore, most of this work has focused on international migrants, leaving internal migration comparatively understudied. This brief addresses this gap by exploring the characteristics of migrants and migration in four townships (Kayan, Maubin, Nyaungdon, and Twantay) located close to Myanmar’s primate city, Yangon. For comparative purposes, a representative sample of 1102 households was interviewed in May 2016, in two groups of village tracts: an aquaculture cluster characterized by high concentrations of fish farms, and agriculture cluster, where crop farming is the predominant agricultural activity

An Analysis on Myanmar's Border Trade Development with Neighbboring Countries

Trade stands as an essential contributor for economic development of a country. Border Trade activities in Myanmar have been provided to national economic development as a part of national economic strategy. Border trade development will contribute not only towards the economic development of Myanmar but also towards poverty alleviation. The main objectives of this research are to explore the role of border trade in Myanmar's external trade, and to examine the pattern of border trade with neighboring countries between 1997 and 2012. This paper uses secondary data from reliable sources and the Gravity Model method. Results show that Myanmar's Border Trade development has appositive impact on the country's social and economic development. Nevertheless, Myanmar export products are low value added and import products are high value added. Even though these trade activities raise standards of living of the population in the area and encourage the government in developing border trade further, this study suggests that Myanmar needs to be more self-reliable and cooperate more economically. This implies that Myanmar needs to look for trading opportunities and measures for promoting trade and investing in infrastructures. This study encourages governments to reform not only rules and regulations concerned with border trade to promote trade value and volume, but also the infrastructure sector