The genomic history and global migration of a windborne pest.

Many insect pests, including the brown planthopper (BPH), undergo windborne migration that is challenging to observe and track. It remains controversial about their migration patterns and largely unknown regarding the underlying genetic basis. By analyzing 360 whole genomes from around the globe, we clarify the genetic sources of worldwide BPHs and illuminate a landscape of BPH migration showing that East Asian populations perform closed-circuit journeys between Indochina and the Far East, while populations of Malay Archipelago and South Asia undergo one-way migration to Indochina. We further find round-trip migration accelerates population differentiation, with highly diverged regions enriching in a gene desert chromosome that is simultaneously the speciation hotspot between BPH and related species. This study not only shows the power of applying genomic approaches to demystify the migration in windborne migrants but also enhances our understanding of how seasonal movements affect speciation and evolution in insects.

Stroke systems of care in South-East Asia Region (SEAR): commonalities and diversities.

The Southeast Asia Region (SEAR) accounts for nearly 50% of the developing world's stroke burden. With various commonalities across its countries concerning health services, user awareness, and healthcare-seeking behavior, SEAR still presents profound diversities in stroke-related services across the continuum of care. This review highlights the numerous systems and challenges in access to stroke care, acute stroke care services, and health care systems, including rehabilitation. The paper has also attempted to compile information on the availability of stroke specialized centers, Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) ready centers, Endovascular therapy (EVT) ready centers, rehabilitation centers, and workforce against a backdrop of each country's population. Lastly, the efforts of WHO (SEARO)-CMCL (World Health Organization-South East Asia region, Christian Medical College & Hospital Ludhiana) collaboration towards improving stroke services and capacity among the SEAR have been described.

Medical Experts' Agreement on Risk Assessment Based on All Possible Combinations of the COVID-19 Predictors-A Novel Approach for Public Health Screening and Surveillance.

During the initial phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there was a critical need to create a valid and reliable screening and surveillance for university staff and students. Consequently, 11 medical experts participated in this cross-sectional study to judge three risk categories of either low, medium, or high, for all 1536 possible combinations of 11 key COVID-19 predictors. The independent experts' judgement on each combination was recorded via a novel dashboard-based rating method which presented combinations of these predictors in a dynamic display within Microsoft Excel. The validated instrument also incorporated an innovative algorithm-derived deduction for efficient rating tasks. The results of the study revealed an ordinal-weighted agreement coefficient of 0.81 (0.79 to 0.82, p-value < 0.001) that reached a substantial class of inferential benchmarking. Meanwhile, on average, the novel algorithm eliminated 76.0% of rating tasks by deducing risk categories based on experts' ratings for prior combinations. As a result, this study reported a valid, complete, practical, and efficient method for COVID-19 health screening via a reliable combinatorial-based experts' judgement. The new method to risk assessment may also prove applicable for wider fields of practice whenever a high-stakes decision-making relies on experts' agreement on combinations of important criteria.

Prevalence and risk factors of anxiety and depression among the community-dwelling elderly in Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory, Myanmar.

Providing elderly mental healthcare in Myanmar is challenging due to the growing elderly population and limited health resources. To understand common mental health problems among Myanmar elderly, this study explored the prevalence and risk factors of anxiety and depression among the elderly in the Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory, Myanmar. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 655 elderly by face-to-face interviews with a pretested questionnaire. Descriptive analysis and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. The prevalence of anxiety and depression were 39.4% (33.5% for males and 42.4% for females) and 35.6% (33.0% for males and 36.9% for females), respectively. The adjusted odds ratio of having anxiety was significant for having low education level, having comorbidity, having BMI < 21.3, poor dental health, no social participation, and having no one to consult regarding personal problems, while that of having depression was significant for having comorbidity, having BMI < 21.3, poor vision, and having no one to consult regarding personal problems. The reported prevalence of anxiety and depression indicate the demand for mental healthcare services among Myanmar elderly. Myanmar needs to improve its elderly care, mental healthcare, and social security system to reflect the actual needs of its increasing elderly population. Screening for anxiety and depression among elderly with comorbidities should be promoted. Raising community awareness of mental health, encouraging social participation, and supportive counselling are also essential in combating anxiety and depression among Myanmar elderly.

Cognitive impairment and its risk factors among Myanmar elderly using the Revised Hasegawa's Dementia Scale: A cross-sectional study in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

BACKGROUND: Globally, elderly population with impaired cognitive function, such as dementia, has been accelerating, and Myanmar is no exception. However, cognitive function among elderly in Myanmar has rarely been assessed. This study aimed to identify the rate of cognitive impairment and its risk factors among the elderly in Myanmar. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at rural health centers in Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory, Myanmar, from December 2018 to January 2019. In total, 757 elderly individuals aged 60 years or over (males: 246 [32.5%], females: 511 [67.5%]) were interviewed using a face-to-face method with a pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: The rate of impaired cognitive function among participants was 29.9% (males: 23.6%; females: 32.9%). The following participants were more likely to present cognitive impairment: those aged 70-79 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-2.70) and 80 years or older (AOR = 3.9; 95% CI: 2.25-6.76); those who were illiterate (AOR = 9.1; 95% CI: 3.82-21.51); and those dependent on family members (AOR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.04-2.44). The elderly livening with their families and those who reported having good health (AOR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.44-0.99) were less likely to have cognitive impairment. CONCLUSION: Using the HDS-R Myanmar version, this study reported that there out of five elderly participants had cognitive impairment, and its risk factors, altering policy makers that Myanmar needs to prepare for adequate healthcare services and social support for elderly with cognitive impairment. Future research should be performed not only to detect general cognitive impairment but also to differentiate specific cognitive domains impairments among Myanmar elderly. Longitudinal studies are needed to observe the causal and protective factors associated with cognitive impairments in Myanmar.

Prevalence of Family Planning Practices among Women Influenced by Husband’s Socio Demography and Decision Making / Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia

Family planning is an important practice for women as it can help to improve financial and social status. Unwanted pregnancy has negative effects for husband and financial. However, couples married at a late age may not practice family planning because they want to have kids. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence, factors associated with husband’s socio demography and decision making in family planning practices among women in reproductive age who attended a polyclinic in Serdang, Malaysia. A cross sectional study was conducted on 245 women with a systematic random sampling. Descriptive analysis, Fisher exact and Chi-square tests were conducted to identify the influence of husband’s socio demographic factors and decision making in family planning practices. The prevalence of family planning practices among married women was moderate (53.9%). Family planning practices among women showed significant relationship with the husband’s socio demography which were husband’s race (p = 0.018), religion (p = 0.008) and making decision in family planning (p = 0.002). The husband’s socio demography showed a significant relationship with the prevalence of the wife practicing family planning. This clearly indicates that the husband is the individual that influence the wife to use contraceptive method. Decision making in family planning by both the husband and wife is important in choosing to use contraceptive method. Health promotion in the concept of health education for male contraceptive method such as pamphlet and booklet is important to promote husband involvement in family planning.

Clinical trial of the intradermal administration of hepatitis B vaccine produced at the Department of Medical Research, Myanmar.

A total of 280 apparently healthy volunteers were screened for hepatitis B (HB) markers out of which 49 subjects (17.5%) were positive for HB surface antigen (HBsAg) and 82 (29.3%) were positive for antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs). Three doses of DMR-HB vaccine, 0.15 ml per dose were administered to 95 subjects, who were serologically negative for both HB markers. The vaccination was given by the intradermal route on the flexor surface of the left forearm, at 1 month intervals according to the 0, 1 and 2 months schedule. The subjects were carefully monitored to record any adverse reaction of the vaccine. Blood specimen was collected from each subject, 1 month after the second and third vaccinations, to determine the anti-HBs antibody response to the vaccine. The study results showed that local pain was the only side effect noted and protective antibodies (anti-HBs) were detected in 69 (72.6%) of the vaccinees after the second dose of the vaccine and 89 (93.6%) after the third dose of the vaccine. Thus the intradermal route, which would require approximately one-seventh of the standard dose, would be suitable for use in certain groups such as high risk adults, when the cost of the vaccine is the inhibiting factor for routine or mass vaccination.