Hydrochemical and Isotopic Features of the Khaung Daing Hot Spring (Inle lake, Southern Shan State, Myanmar)

Abstract The Inle lake watershed develops along a right-lateral strike-slip fault running parallel to the Sangaing fault, a major continental transform fault between the India and Sunda Plates. Located on the northwestern border of the Inle lake basin, the Khaung Daing hot spring outflows at a temperature of about 70C. This contribution represents a reconnaissance study of the spring and describes its main hydrochemical and isotopic features, compared to surface and ground waters in the watershed. The water pH is slightly acidic, and, compared to the other water samples from the watershed, shows an EC in the high range (57-1284μS/cm), the lowest pH and Eh values, and is Na-HCO 3 , whereas surface and ground waters are Ca(Mg)-HCO 3 type. The hot spring isotopic composition falls close to the Yangon Meteoric Water Line, indicating that, despite its temperature, it is not strongly modified by water-rock interaction processes. Preliminary results suggest that this hydrothermal water is likely related to deep meteoric and ground water circulation within a fault zone, in a region characterized by an elevated geothermal gradient

Prevalence of Depression and its Associated Factors Among Adults during Third Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia, 2021

Malaysia recently entered third-wave of COVID-19 pandemic starting from October 2020 to end of January 2021. Therefore, objective of our study was to identify the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among adults during third wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. A total of 1468 Malaysian adults participated in this cross-sectional web-based survey. A standardized questionnaire was generated using the Google Form, and the link was shared through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp. Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ-9) was used to assess the levels of depression. Among 1468 participants, 320 (22 %) and 358 (24.6 %) indicated to have moderate to severe depression during third-wave of COVID-19 in Malaysia. Multiple predictors were identified that contributed to depression. These included female gender, family’s source income affected by the pandemic, do not perform exercise, victim of abuse and those with family and/or friends infected with COVID-19 virus. COVID-19 pandemic had caused the implementation of lockdown and physical distancing in Malaysia and nations across the globe. The pandemic had brought serious negative impacts on mental health of the adults especially depression especially during third wave of pandemic. The findings of our study suggested that new interventions or strategies are needed to be developed to address the severity of depression among Malaysian adults

Assessment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders and its Associations with Suicidal Behaviour among Adults Following Movement Control Order During COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia

A rapid review of previous outbreaks shows that a quarantine policy had greater effects on one’s psychological state including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), confusion and anger caused by various stressors. This study aimed to assess the levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its associations with suicidal behavior among Malaysian adults following Movement Control Order (MCO) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was distributed using an online standardized questionnaire composed of three parts, the socio-demographic characteristics, PTSD assessment using PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 and the suicidal behavior assessment using Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). Almost half of the respondents had high PTSD symptoms (41.7 %) and low PTSD was 58.3 % among Malaysian adults. Furthermore, 69.6 % of participants had no suicidal behavior but, 30.4 % from the participants has suicidal behavior. This study found single status with highest PTSD (83.3 %) and marital status had significant correlation with PTSD which p-value was < 0.05. Malay was high percentage in high PTSD (74.6 %) and significant correlation between race and PTSD (p < 0.05). Employment status also had significant correlation with PTSD with p-value was 0.002 and students was counted highest PTSD (65.7 %). This study identified some socio-demographic factors and suicidal behavior associated with PTSD among Malaysian adults, which may lay ground for further interventions

Factors associated with psychological distress among Myanmar residents during COVID-19 pandemic crises

Background: COVID-19 pandemic reached a public health emergency status of international concern. The impacts and events associated with this were associated with adverse psychological impacts among the general public globally. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and to identify predictors associated with psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic among the population in Myanmar. Design and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to April 2020 among adults, 18 years old and above, who reside in Myanmar through a structured questionnaire distributed in social media platforms. Univariate and Bivariate analyses were used to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) symptoms and to test the associations between CPDI and the exposure variables. Logistic Regression Analysis was done to identify significant predictors of distress. Results: There were 530 participants in this study.37.4% of them did not have psychological distress,55.6% experienced mild to moderate psychological distress, and 7% experienced severe psychological distress due to COVID-19 pandemic. Simple and Multiple Logistic Regression Analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with psychological distress due to COVID-19. Conclusions: It was shown that the self-employed group and age group older than 45 years old had more psychological distress than others. However, Buddhists and people from the capital city had less distress than other religions and districts. This study recommends the government to develop better strategies for self-employed groups, elders, and the poor for a support, relief, and resettlement of their ruined status

Measurement of Radionuclides in Agricultural Soil at Mandalay Region

This study aims at investigating the environmental impact of the use of phosphate fertilizers in environmental compartments, namely soils, by physical and nuclear techniques. The investigation focused on radionuclides present in fertilizers and cultivated soils, and their decay in time. The radionuclides, 228Th, 228Ra, 232Th and 40K were detected in soil samples treated with GTSP 46% and SSP 16% fertilizers. It is found that the decrease of radionuclides content in soil samples with time was due to the percolation of radionuclides along the soil profile

Web Personalization System for Online News

Web personalization can be defined as the process of customizing the content and structure of a Web site to the specific and individual needs of each user taking advantages of the user’s navigational behavior. Recommender System applies knowledge of discovery technique to the problem of making personalized recommendation for information, products or services. The content-based filtering approach recommends the contents that the user likes in the past. Content-Based filter recommends items based solely on a profile built up by analyzing the content of items that a user has rated. The collaborative filtering approach recommends the contents that are liked by other users with similar interests. In this paper, an effective frame-work for combining content and collaborative filtering is used to predict news articles of interest for user. The proposed system is developed using the feature of web personalization to improve the recommend-dation process of the system

Hydrological processes at Inle Lake (Southern Shan State, Myanmar) inferred from hydrochemical, mineralogical and isotopic data

A one-year hydrochemical and isotopic monitoring was conducted at the Inle Lake, the second largest lake in Myanmar, also considering sediment samples. Lake waters are characterised by low electrical conductivities (236–489 μS/cm), neutral to alkaline pH (7.36–9.26), oxidising Eh (329–457 mV) and Ca–Mg–HCO3 facies. Stable isotopes indicate that lake waters are only slightly affected by evaporation, are fully flushed yearly and are not stratified. Carbonate equilibria dominate the lake water hydrochemistry. In summer, photosynthetic activity and temperature increase induce calcite precipitation, as testified by its high content in the sediments, up to 97 %, and by its isotopic composition. The short residence time and endogenic calcite precipitation likely prevent the accumulation of contaminants and nutrients in lake waters. This study suggests a high resilience of the system to anthropogenic disturbances and demonstrates the sediment potential for the reconstruction of the environmental evolution in time and for the anthropogenic impact assessment