Can we take you as a bride? – the stories of eight Hindu women

While the horrifying experiences of Rohingya women and girls in Myanmar are well documented, less known is the experiences of Hindu women and girls in the region. Aye Thiri Kyaw (Researcher, Myanmar) details the experiences of eight women, as told in the documentary Trunocide, who were forcibly displaced and held captive after attacks on a number of Hindu-majority villages in the northern part of Myanmar’s Rakhine State by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)

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

Women's intergenerational intimate partner violence and household child abuse in Burma (Myanmar).

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and child abuse are prevalent in Burma (Myanmar). However, gaps exist in our understanding of intergenerational cycles and co-occurrence of violence, and whether patterns of violence vary by women and children's life course transitions and developmental stages. Using data from the 2015-2016 Demographic and Health Survey, we estimated structural equation models to evaluate the pathways between women's exposure to IPV perpetrated by her father against her mother (maternal abuse), her own past-year experiences of IPV, attitudes toward IPV, and household child discipline practices. We ran stratified analyses by women's age at first birth and child's age to assess whether intergenerational cycles and co-occurrence of violence in the household vary by pivotal life events and development stages. Maternal abuse was directly and indirectly associated with women's past-year exposure to physical and/or sexual IPV and children's exposure to physical or emotional child abuse by a caregiver in the household. Stratified models indicated significant intergenerational cycles of IPV and co-occurrence of IPV and child abuse among women who experienced first childbirth before age 23, and among women living with older children. We conclude that synchronized efforts to prevent violence against women and violence against children are integral to addressing cyclical and co-occurring patterns of violence in Burma (Myanmar). Violence prevention efforts might consider developmental stage and life course factors that may intensify risk of intergenerational violence

Relationship between serum uric acid, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) Level and blood pressure in premenopausal and postmenopausal women

High serum levels of uric acid and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are major risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Postmenopausal women are said to have increased risk of cardiovascular diseases compared with premenopausal women, due to loss of endogenous sex hormone production. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between serum uric acid, hs-CRP and blood pressure in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Thirty-six premenopausal women (20 - 35 years) and 38 postmenopausal women (46 - 60 years) were recruited from University of Medicine 2,Yangon.</p

Applications of Silver Nanoparticles and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles from Spirulina platensis

In Myanmar, the natural Spirulina platensis is produced from the natural lake of Yae Kharr lake. The aim of this research was to achieve silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles from Spirulina platensis and its utilizations in biomedical, waste water and balm, some lotions, and face cream for cosmetic products. Spirulina platenis (blue green algae) plays a very important role for health food. Silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles from Spirulina were obtained by green synthesis. Silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles from Spirulina were obtained by calcinations at 60º C and characterized by XRD, SEM, AFM and UV visible spectrophotometer techniques. Average crystallite size of silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles from Spirulina was found to be 23.93 nm and 12 nm by using Debye Scherer equation. The antimicrobial activity of silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles against both gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus pulamis, Staphylococcus aureus, and gram negative bacteria ( Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Candida albicans fungus strain were done by agar well diffusion method. Among these strains, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans showed the highest antimicrobial activity of silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles from Spirulina platensis. Rhodamine G dye was used as model solution and removal percent of Silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles were found to be 84.58% and 75. 12%. Silver and zinc oxide nanoparticles were applied and made for the formation of face cream, body lotion and balm. It was observed that these products can be used safely for body lotion, balm for skin and face cream because the pH value and microbial testing (total plate and yeast and mold counts) of these cosmetic products were found under acceptable level compared to literature values. The main advantages of zinc oxide nanoparticles coated with fabrics can be used in textile industry due to uniform distribution of nanoparticles on the fabric surface to obtain long elasticity

Clinical and molecular surveillance of artemisinin resistant falciparum malaria in Myanmar (2009–2013)

Abstract Background Emergence of artemisinin-resistant malaria in Southeast Asian countries threatens the global control of malaria. Although K13 kelch propeller has been assessed for artemisinin resistance molecular marker, most of the mutations need to be validated. In this study, artemisinin resistance was assessed by clinical and molecular analysis, including k13 and recently reported markers, pfarps10, pffd and pfmdr2. Methods A prospective cohort study in 1160 uncomplicated falciparum patients was conducted after treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), in 6 sentinel sites in Myanmar from 2009 to 2013. Therapeutic efficacy of ACT was assessed by longitudinal follow ups. Molecular markers analysis was done on all available day 0 samples. Results True recrudescence treatment failures cases and day 3 parasite positivity were detected at only the southern Myanmar sites. Day 3 positive and k13 mutants with higher prevalence of underlying genetic foci predisposing to become k13 mutant were detected only in southern Myanmar since 2009 and comparatively fewer mutations of pfarps10, pffd, and pfmdr2 were observed in western Myanmar. K13 mutations, V127M of pfarps10, D193Y of pffd, and T448I of pfmdr2 were significantly associated with day 3 positivity (OR: 6.48, 3.88, 2.88, and 2.52, respectively). Conclusions Apart from k13, pfarps10, pffd and pfmdr2 are also useful for molecular surveillance of artemisinin resistance especially where k13 mutation has not been reported. Appropriate action to eliminate the resistant parasites and surveillance on artemisinin resistance should be strengthened in Myanmar. Trial registration This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02792816