BIOLOGY AND VECTOR COMPETENCE OF THE ANOPHELINE MOSQUITOES OF MYANMAR WITH SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF ANOPHELES DIRUS

Abstract A brief critical review has been made of the material concerning malaria available from the second world war. In addition a short description has been given of the war-time anti-malaria organization in Myanmar. The physical features of Myanmar, in relation to the distribution of malaria in seven natural sub-divisions have been briefly discussed. In part I: thirty-seven species of anopheline mosquitoes recorded in Myanmar have been considered in detail with particular reference to the distribution, breeding sites, seasonal prevalence, adult behaviour and their vector competence. Some general aspects of anopheline behaviour are discussed. Classification has been made of all recorded species in relation to malaria transmission and the distribution of malaria in Myanmar as follows: dissection records, feeding habits, distribution, seasonal prevalence, evidence from other sources. In Myanmar, the mosquitoes responsible for regular or annual malaria transmission (primary vectors) are (i) Anopheles dirus and (ii) Anopheles minimus. Predominatly cattle-feeders which may under abnormal conditions, feed on man. Often abundant and capable, therefore, of transmitting malaria (secondary vectors) are (iii) Anopheles aconitus (iv) Anopheles annularis (v) Anopheles culicifacies (vi) Anopheles sinensis (vii) Anopheles jeyporensis (viii) Anopheles maculatus (ix) Anopheles philippinensis (x) Anopheles sundaicus. Vector competence of these ten species are also described. Part II: mainly concerns genetic studies of Anopheles dirus from the Mudon area. An. dirus normally occurs in the forest and forest fringes where it transmits malaria efficiently. Changes in the ecology of an area induced by new developments, like deforestation, construction of dams and irrigation projects may have profound or indirect effects upon vector occurrence because of the creation of suitable ecotypes for the completion of its life cycle. Thus, the dangerous vector An. dirus has invaded human settlements. This typical forest breeder could successfully adapt and spread all over Mudon. It is potentially hazardous to public health so as to provide knowledge for further research and control needed in this area. Thus, the purpose of the study is to establish the degree of genetic divergence (similarity) between the three topographically different populations of An. dirus: An. dirus 1 (from forested areas), An. dirus 2 (from rubber plantation areas) and An. dirus 3 (from domestic areas). Field-collected specimens (both adults and larvae) were used in horizontal ultrathin agarose electrophoresis for identification. A more detailed analysis was performed in the present study using eleven gene enzyme systems (comprising twelve presumptive loci) to determine the degree of genetic differentiation among these three populations of An. dirus in comparison with An. maculipennis from Mannheim, Germany and An. stephensi from Indonesia, provided by Bayer AG, Leverkusen (breeding stock). Based on the data obtained from the migration of enzymes, the following values were computed in each population: relative frequencies of alleles and genotypes, confidence and the variances of allele frequencies, conformity to expectations of the Hardy-Weinberg rule with X2 (chi square) values, the degree of heterozygosity and polymorphism, Nei`s genetic distances and the values of genetic similarity between the species. Phylogenetic relationship between the respective population pairs among these gene pools have been demonstrated by dendrogram using the Kitsch program. This dendrogram clustered the populations in two forms; three An. dirus population groups together in two groups. The first group (population 1: An. dirus 1 from forested area and population 2: An. dirus 2 from rubber plantation area) to be clustered are those with the smallest genetic distance. Populations of second group are developed from the first group and population 3 (An. dirus 3 from domestic area). These two groups of An. dirus are then combined and taken to be a single group. The populations of the third group entity are from another cluster for An. dirus combined group and population 4 (An. stephensi from Indonesia). The genetic identity values between these three populations of An. dirus ranged from 0.9978 to 0.9999 which is the generally accepted range for conspecific populations. The high values of genetic similarity indices suggest that natural populations of An. dirus in Mudon area share an undifferentiated gene pool. The very low genetic distance D (between 0.0001 to 0.0022) also indicate that these three populations of Anopheles dirus from Mudon area are parts of a metapopulation without measureable adaptations due to selective conditions in ecologically different breeding sites

Opinions on Riverboat Casinos and the Perceived Impacts on Community Quality by Quad Cities\u27 Residents

The purposes of the study were to determine the opinions of Quad Cities residents about legalized riverboat casinos in their communities and their perceptions on the importance of community quality attributes and impacts of legalized riverboat casinos on these attributes. Differences of opinions among respondents with different demographic characteristics also were examined. Stratified systematic random sampling method was used to draw samples from the Quad Cities telephone directory; 200 residents were selected from each city. Of the 800 questionnaires mailed, 231 were returned. Residents agreed that the presence of riverboat casinos was good for the community. The majority of community quality attributes were rated as either very important or important. Residents perceived all attributes to be either improved or having no change because of the riverboat casino operations

Immune-Cell-Mediated Cancer Treatment: Advantages, Drawbacks And Future Direction

Cancer ranks as the most lethal and prevalent non-communicable disease in clinical settings. Therapeutic options for cancer comprise chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and combined treatment. Cancer remission and relapse cases are widespread despite having various advanced medications and sophisticated dissection techniques. A new approach involving immune-cell-mediated cancer therapy has been adopted extensively for cancer treatments by utilizing immune cells. Immunotherapy has gained much attention to prevent and treat various types of cancer. Immunotherapy treatments operate in multiple contexts. Several immunotherapy therapeutic interventions assist the immune function in halting or reducing the advancement of cancer cells. Many also facilitate the immune cells in destroying cancerous cells or safeguarding against cancer from disseminating to certain other regions of the human body. Among other methods, genetic manipulation of immune cells offers hope for innovative anticancer treatment. T lymphocytes and natural killer cells have become the most extensively documented immune cells for immunotherapy. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy exhibits the most promising blood cancer treatment. However, adoptive NK cell transfer therapy displays potential anticancer treatment options, although more research is needed to be carried out. In addition, cytokine-induced immunomodulation is also plausible for cancer immunotherapy. This review will highlight the most comprehensive information, observations, and consequences associated with different cancer immunotherapy initiatives

Assessment of Future Climate Change Projections Using Multiple Global Climate Models

Nowadays, the hydrological cycle which alters river discharge and water availability is affected by climate change. Therefore, the understanding of climate change is curial for the security of hydrologic conditions of river basins. The main purpose of this study is to assess the projections of future climate across the Upper Ayeyarwady river basin for its sustainable development and management of water sector for this area. Global Ten climate Models available from CMIP5 represented by the IPCC for its fifth Assessment Report were bias corrected using linear scaling method to generate the model error. Among the GCMs, a suitable climate model for each station is selected based on the results of performance indicators (R2 and RMSE). Future climate data are projected based on the selected suitable climate models by using future climate scenarios: RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5. According to this study, future projection indicates to increase in precipitation amounts in the rainy and winter season and diminishes in summer season under all future scenarios. Based on the seasonal temperature changes analysis for all stations,  the future temperature are  predicted to steadily increase with higher rates during summer than the other two seasons and it can also be concluded that the monthly minimum temperature rise is a bit larger than the maximum temperature rise in all seasons

Analysis of Streamflow Response to Changing Climate Conditions Using SWAT Model

The understanding of climate change is curial for the security of hydrologic conditions of river basins and it is very important to study the climate change impacts on streamflow by analyzing the different climate scenarios with the help of the hydrological models. The main purpose of this study is to project the future climate impact on streamflow by using the SWAT model. The multi-model projections indicated that Upper Ayeyarwady River Basin is likely to become hotter in dry season under low rainfall intensity with increasing temperature and likely to become wetter but warmer in both rainy and winter season because of high rainfall intensity with increased temperature in future. The impact of climate change scenarios is predicted to decrease the annual streamflow by about 0.30 to 1.92% under RCP2.6, 5.59 to 7.29% under RCP4.5 and 10.43 to 11.92% under RCP8.5. Based on the change in high and low flow percentage with respect to the baseline period, the difference between high and low flow variation range will increase year by year based on future scenarios. Therefore, it can be concluded that it may occur more low flow in the dry season which leads to increase in water scarcity and drought and more high flow in the wet season which can cause flooding, water insecurity, stress, and other water-related disasters

Historical Morphodynamics Assessment in Bridge Areas using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Currently the Ministry of Construction is responsible for planning and construction of bridges across the country but remote sensing and satellite data are not widely used in the Ministry’s routine process. Although the inspection and monitoring are carried out by the conventional methods, the remote sensing and GIS techniques are available as an alternative way with time and cost saving. From this study, the channel migration in the locations of Ayeyarwady bridges will be analyzed and mapped by identifying temporal changes of channels. Google Earth Engine is used as the primary application in this study and surface water extraction from historical Landsat satellite imagery is done by GEE. River centerline processing and erosion-deposition area identifications are carried out by GIS technique. Study period of each bridge is between 1987 and 2017. Bo Myat Tun Bridge and Ayeyarwady Bridge (Pakokku) are toped in the list with highest migration and erosion-deposition rate according to the study. The goal of this study is to assist the bridge inspections and channel monitoring works by means of remote sensing and GIS techniques which are currently undertaking by Ministry of Construction with conventional techniques

An interdisciplinary approach to restore missing maxillary lateral incisor with Orthodontics and Implant Prosthodontics: A Case Report

Abstract The absence of the maxillary lateral incisors create an asthetic problem that can be managed with different treatment modalities. Comprehensive treatment planning is required to achieve a satisfactory result, keeping in mind the aesthetics, function and periodontal stability. An interdisciplinary treatment approach is beneficial and involves orthodontic closure of the space with maxillary canine substitution or space opening for single- tooth implants, bridges and tooth-supported restorations. The present case of a 21-year-old female dental student with agenesis of maxillary left lateral incisor with the presence of maxillary left canine in place of lateral incisor, and midline deviation. Treatment included space creation and placement of 3.3mm implant together with bone augmentation, immediate temporization and finally restored with porcelain crown after healing period of three months

Age Related Changes in Hematological Values of Myanmar Local Puppies

The hematological parameters were used to monitor the health status and its components also changed according to the ages. However, there were no reports for this issues in Myanmar local dogs. Thus, this study was carried out to investigate the age-related changes on the hematological parameters of local puppies in Myanmar. Ten local puppies with the age of 2-3 month old were used in this experiment, which was lasted for 8 weeks.The daily clinical examinations were conducted throughout the entire experimental period for general health check-up. Haematological parameters (Total WBC count and its differential counts, and RBC, HCT, MCV, HGB, MCH, MCHC and platelets) were measured bi-weekly with Abacus Vet-5 automate haematology analyser. According to the results, the total WBC and eosinophil counts were not significantly different (P>0.05), while lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils and basophils were significantly different (P<0.05) with the aging of experimental animals. The values of RBC, HGB, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC and platelets were not significantly different (P>0.05) throughout the experimental periods. Thus, the age-related changes were observed on cell counts of lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, basophils in Myanmar local puppies