Indoor Formaldehyde Concentration, Personal Formaldehyde Exposure and Clinical Symptoms during Anatomy Dissection Sessions, University of Medicine 1, Yangon.

The formaldehyde (FA) embalming method, the world's most common protocol for the fixation of cadavers, has been consistently used in medical universities in Myanmar. This study was designed to examine the indoor FA concentrations in anatomy dissection rooms, an exposed site, and lecture theater, an unexposed control site, and to access personal exposure levels of FA and clinical symptoms of medical students and instructors. In total, 208 second year medical students (1/2019 batch) and 18 instructors from Department of Anatomy, University of Medicine 1, participated. Thirteen dissection sessions were investigated from February 2019 to January 2020. Diffusive sampling devices were used as air samplers and high-performance liquid chromatography was used for measurement of FA. Average indoor FA concentration of four dissection rooms was 0.43 (0.09-1.22) ppm and all dissection rooms showed indoor concentrations above the occupational exposure limits and short-term exposure limit for general population. Personal FA exposure values were higher than indoor FA concentrations and the instructors (0.68, 0.04-2.11 ppm) had higher exposure than the students (0.44, 0.06-1.72 ppm). Unpleasant odor, eye and nose irritations and inability to concentrate were frequently reported FA-related symptoms, and the students were found to have significantly higher risks (p < 0.05) of having these symptoms during the dissection sessions than during lecture.

Epidemiology of Uveitis in a Tertiary Eye Center in Myanmar.

PURPOSE: To identify the characteristics of uveitis in a tertiary eye center in Myanmar. METHODS: A retrospective study was undertaken to obtain the characteristics of uveitis in a tertiary eye center in Myanmar from September 2013 to September 2014, using a standard clinical protocol and tailored laboratory investigations. RESULTS: A total of 139 patients were included in this epidemiologic study; 71 (51.1%) men and 68 (48.9%) women. The mean age of onset was 36.3 ± 15.5 years. Infectious uveitis constituted 76/139 (54.7%) cases and non-infectious etiologies accounted for 63/139 (45.3%) cases. The most common non-infectious etiologies were idiopathic, followed by HLA-B27-associated anterior uveitis and multifocal choroiditis with panuveitis, while tuberculosis was the most common infectious etiology. CONCLUSIONS: Tuberculosis was the most frequent cause of uveitis among the infectious group of patients in this tertiary eye center as a result of endemic disease in Myanmar.

Spatial gene expression analysis in tomato hypocotyls suggests cysteine as key precursor of vascular sulfur accumulation implicated in Verticillium dahliae defense.

Verticillium dahliae is a prominent generator of plant vascular wilting disease and sulfur (S)-enhanced defense (SED) mechanisms contribute to its in-planta elimination. The accumulation of S-containing defense compounds (SDCs) including elemental S (S(0) ) has been described based on the comparison of two near-isogenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) lines differing in fungal susceptibility. To better understand the effect of S nutrition on V. dahliae resistance both lines were supplied with low, optimal or supraoptimal sulfate-S. An absolute quantification demonstrated a most effective fungal elimination due to luxury plant S nutrition. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed a strong regulation of Cys levels and an S-responsive GSH pool rise in the bulk hypocotyl. High-frequency S peak accumulations were detected in vascular bundles of resistant tomato plants after fungal colonization by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Global transcriptomic analysis suggested that early steps of the primary S metabolism did not promote the SDCs synthesis in the whole hypocotyl as gene expression was downregulated after infection. Enhanced S fertilization mostly alleviated the repressive fungal effect but did not reverse it. Upregulation of glutathione (GSH)-associated genes in bulk hypocotyls but not in vascular bundles indicated a global antioxidative role of GSH. To finally assign the contribution of S metabolism-associated genes to high S(0) accumulations exclusively found in the resistant tomato line, a spatial gene expression approach was applied. Laser microdissection of infected vascular bundles revealed a switch toward transcription of genes connected with cysteine (Cys) synthesis. The upregulation of LeOASTLp1 suggests a role for Cys as key precursor for local S accumulations (possibly S(0) ) in the vascular bundles of the V. dahliae-resistant tomato line.

Awareness of diabetic eye disease among general practitioners and diabetic patients in Yangon, Myanmar.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is an increasing problem in Myanmar with more than three million people affected. There are no data on awareness of diabetic retinopathy among the general practitioners (GPs) or diabetic population of Myanmar. This study aims to evaluate the awareness of diabetes-related eye disease among GPs and diabetic patients in Yangon, Myanmar. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. METHODS: From the Myanmar Medical Association Registry of 978 practicing GPs in Yangon, 200 were randomly selected and a structured questionnaire was sent to each. Each GP was asked to give a separate questionnaire to the first five diabetic patients who attended their practice. RESULTS: One hundred GPs and 480 patients returned the questionnaires. Although 99% of GPs were aware that diabetes could result in loss of vision, 49% never examined the fundi of their diabetic patients. Of the diabetic patients, 86% were aware that diabetes could damage their eyesight. Although 92% realized they should visit an ophthalmologist regularly, only 57% had seen an ophthalmologist. Patients who never attended school were less likely to visit an ophthalmologist than those with tertiary education (odds ratio 0.24; 95% confidence interval 0.09, 0.66). Patients with diabetes for less than 2 years were less likely to visit an ophthalmologist than those with diabetes for more than 10 years (odds ratio 0.21; 95% confidence interval 0.9, 0.44). There was no association between age, gender or work status and the likelihood of having seen an ophthalmologist. CONCLUSION: Although both GPs and diabetic patients are aware of the need for regular fundal screening, just over half the patients had been screened. There exists a need for programmes in Myanmar to induce a behavioural change in diabetic patients with regards to screening examinations.