The relationship between fertility and mobility is examined with reference to Zelinsky's [1971] mobility transition hypothesis. Five Asian countries (Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, China) at different stages of development and mobility transition are compared with respect to shifting sectoral patterns of migration and changing levels of fertility. National trends suggest that the development sequence proposed by Zelinsky on the basis of the European experience does not generally apply to Asia. In four out of five cases examined, fertility declined before substantial urbanization took place. Zelinsky's sequence of mobility change should be modified to fit the experience of developing countries, but the importance of the interrelations hip between fertility decline and mobility change remains
MeSH terms: Asia; Asia, Southeastern; Birth Rate*; China; Demography; Developing Countries; Economics*; Emigration and Immigration*; Employment*; Far East; Fertility; Geography; Health Manpower; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Models, Theoretical*; Population; Population Dynamics*; Research; Thailand; Urban Population; Urbanization*; Developed Countries
A study was carried out to determine the chemical composition of bulk precipitation, throughfall and stemflow in an urban forest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The mean weekly rainfall recorded during the period of study was 63.2 mm. Throughfall, stemflow and canopy interception of incident precipitation were 77.1%, 1.2% and 21.7% respectively. Bulk precipitation, througfall and stemflow were acidic, the pH recorded being 4.37, 4.71 and 4.15 respectively. In all cases the dominant ions were NO3, SO4, Cl, NH4, K, Ca and Na. Of the ions studied Ca, K, Cl, SO4, Mg and Mn showed net increases in passing through the forest canopy, while NH4, Na, NO3, Zn, H and Fe showed net retention. This study shows that the urban environment of Kuala Lumpur contributes considerable amounts of materials to the atmosphere, as reflected by the high ionic contents in bulk precipitation, throughfall and stemflow.
Survey data from Australia, Fiji, Malaysia, Philippines, and the Republic of Korea are used to model older workers' choices. The co-existence of a traditional sector along with a modern sector in much of the Asia Pacific region offers a traditional family lifestyle, as well as paid work and retirement choices. Differences are analyzed between countries, by expanding choices to include traditional family support, and within countries by use of ethnic group dummies along with economic factors. Results demonstrate the importance of cultural and developmental factors within and between countries. There is less dependency on family in more developed countries but inverse effects for wealthy persons. Wealthier households in more developed countries depend upon income from their own work while in developing countries they depend on families. Women in the developing countries work whilst those in developed countries tend to retire with their husbands to share retirement leisure.
A method of treating an apical root fracture with accompanying resorption at the junction of the fracture fragments using glass-cermet cement is described. Endodontically, the material had previously been used for repair of lateral resorptive root defects and retrograde root fillings. Complete bone regeneration was observed three years post-operatively following treatment of the root fracture in the conventional manner. The various advantages of glass-cermet cement as a root filling material used in the technique described are discussed.
MeSH terms: Adult; Bone Regeneration; Humans; Incisor/injuries; Male; Post and Core Technique; Root Canal Filling Materials*; Root Canal Therapy; Root Resorption/etiology; Tooth Fractures/complications; Tooth Fractures/therapy*; Tooth Root/injuries*; Cermet Cements*
An investigation of nine Malaysian dart poisons has confirmed that their main active components are cardenolides from Antiaris toxicaria (Pers.) Lesch. and alkaloids probably from different forms of Strychnos ignatii P. Bergius. It is not possible to determine the ethnic origin of the poisons from the results of the analyses on their own. Two new cardiac glycosides have been isolated and their structures determined as 12 beta-hydroxycannogenin 3 beta-O-beta-D-deoxygulopyranoside and 3 beta-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside, respectively.
The superovulatory response to gonadotrophin treatment during different months of the year was investigated in Kambing kacang goats, a tropical breed, in Malaysia. Sixty-three cycling does, fitted with progesterone impregnated intravaginal sponges for 17 days, received two days before sponge withdrawal, an intramuscular injection of either 10, 15 or 20 mg of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) or 500, 1000 or 1500 iu of equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG). The dose of FSH was divided into four decreasing daily doses and each daily dose was subdivided into two and administered at 07.00 and 19.00. Fifty-four does detected in oestrus were mated with fertile bucks. The ovarian response was determined by laparoscopy and eggs were recovered surgically five or six days after oestrus. The ovulatory response (mean +/- standard deviation) based on corpora lutea was higher in the FSH (13.4 +/- 8.4 corpora lutea per doe, n = 20) than the eCG-treated groups (6.4 +/- 5.1 corpora lutea per doe, n = 25) but the difference was not significant (P greater than 0.05). Does responded to gonadotrophins throughout the year with more than 50 per cent of does responding during the rainy months compared with less than 35 per cent responding during the dry months. This difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.05). Egg recovery was better in the FSH (6.8 +/- 5.3 per doe, n = 20) than the eCG groups (3.0 +/- 3.8 per doe, n = 21) but the difference was not significant (P greater than 0.05).
Between January 1989 to April 1990 (16 months), a prospective observational study was carried out on 329 consecutive very low birthweight (VLBW) less than or equal to 1500 grams) Malaysian neonates born in the Maternity Hospital, Kuala Lumpur before their first discharge from the hospital. The objectives of the study were to determine the common causes of early morbidity and mortality of this group of Malaysian neonates. The study shows that the incidence of Malaysian VLBW neonates was 9.9 per 1000 livebirths (95% confidence intervals 9.0 to 10.8). The mean duration of stay in the hospital was 19.3 days (SD = 21.4). One hundred and ninety-six (59.6 percent) of the VLBW neonates died. They accounted for 60 percent (196/334) of all neonatal deaths in the hospital during the study period. Mortality was significantly higher in neonates of birthweight less than 1000 grams (p less than 0.01) and of gestation of less than 33 weeks (p less than 0.001). The three most common clinical problems were respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) (72.6 percent), septicemia (28.0 percent) and intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) (21.9 percent). Death occurred in 71.1 percent of the septicemic patients. The most common causative organisms of septicemia were multiresistant klebsiella (52.3 percent) and multiresistant acinetobacter (14.7 percent). RDS (33.2 percent), septicemia (29.6%) and IVH (17.9 percent) were the three most common causes of death. Improvement in the nursing staff situation and basic neonatal care facilities in this hospital and prevention of premature delivery could help to decrease morbidity and mortality in this group of neonates.
In vitro deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by hybridization with oligonucleotide probes were used to study ras gene mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The DNA of 30 AML patients at presentation of the disease at the University of Malaya Hospital, Kuala Lumpur were screened for ras gene mutations in codons 12, 13 and 61 of the N-ras, K-ras and H-ras genes. Four patients (13.3%) had ras gene mutations. They were all below their early thirties in age. Of the four patients with ras gene mutations, three were M3 and one was M4 according to the French American British (FAB) classification of AML.
Poor compliance with drug treatment is a barrier to effective management of hypertension. Drug compliance behaviour of 168 patients were studied, their drug compliance was measured by the pill-counting method. The prevalence of non-compliance with medication was 26%. Thirteen variables were examined for their association with compliance; these were age, sex, duration of hypertension since diagnosis, adequacy of blood pressure control, complexity of drug regimen and side-effect of drug, history of previous admission for hypertension related reason, patient's knowledge of hypertensive complications, patient's belief that drug was 'panas' or 'san', previous use of traditional treatment for hypertension, patient's fatalistic attitude, their social support and satisfaction with the health services. None of these variables were significantly related to compliance (p greater than 0.05) except adequacy of blood pressure control. The performance of patient self-report was compared with pill-count as a measure of drug compliance; it was poorly predictive of non-compliance (sensitivity = 71%, specificity = 50%). An inverse relationship was found between non-compliance with medication and patient subsequent drop-out rate. Patients who were compliant were more likely to remain on treatment and vice versa. As a measure of drug compliance, detection of drop-out compared well with pill-count (sensitivity 97%, specificity 66%, positive predictive value 89%, negative predictive value 88%).
Study site: outpatient clinic, Hospital Mentakab, Pahang, Malaysia
A total of 1018 and 812 first degree relatives (FDR) of schizoprencies and controls respectively, were studied to find out the psychiatric morbidity in the families of paranoid and non-paranoid schizophrenia patients. The risk of schizophrenia and affective disorders was found to be independent of the probands subtype diagnosis. The risk for schizoid-schizotypal and paranoid personality disorders was found to be increased in the first degree relatives of paranoid schizophrenic, as compared to non-paranoid schizophrenic, thus suggesting that the psychopathology in the FDR may differ with the subtype diagnosis of the proband.
A 20-year-old male sustained an inferior myocardial infarction following blunt chest trauma, after a motor vehicle accident. Though coronary arteriograms 9 months later were normal, LV angiography revealed severe hypokinesia of the inferobasal and diaphragmatic segments. The literature is reviewed with respect to mechanisms of injury, autopsy and angiographic findings and clinical outcome in this condition.
The results of radiological investigations performed on 81 children with urinary tract infection (UTI) were reviewed. Investigations included 91 voiding cystourethrograms (VCU), 59 intravenous urograms (IVU) and 36 ultrasonograms (US). The aim was to study the local spectrum of renal tract abnormalities in childhood UTI and to compare the diagnostic yield of combining US and VCU against IVU and VCU. Renal tract abnormalities were detected in 37%. Vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR) was the commonest, detected in 26%, with renal scarring found in 9% of refluxing units. Ultrasound should replace IVU in the initial diagnostic work-up of these children.
1. The hemorrhagic, procoagulant, anticoagulant, phosphodiesterase, hyaluronidase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase, 5'-nucleotidase, arginine ester hydrolase, phospholipase A, L-amino acid oxidase and protease activities of 30 samples of venoms from nine species (12 taxa) of the old world vipers (Subfamily Viperinae) including snakes from the genera Bitis, Causus, Cerastes, Echis, Eristicophis and Pseudocerastes, were determined and the Sephadex G-75 gel filtration patterns for some of the venoms were also examined. 2. Examination of the biological properties of the venoms of the Viperinae tested indicates the presence of common venom biological characteristics at the various phylogenic levels. 3. Venoms of most species of the Viperinae examined exhibited characteristic biological properties at the species level, and this allows the differentiation of the Viperinae species by differences in their biological properties. 4. Particularly useful for this purpose, are the effects of venom on kaolin-cephalin clotting time of platelet poor rabbit plasma and the Sephadex G-75 gel filtration pattern and arginine ester hydrolase activity of the venom.
The maxillary casts of 320 Malaysian children were examined for the occurrence of the Carabelli trait on the maxillary first permanent molars. The total trait frequency was observed to be 52.2 per cent. Statistical analysis showed no sex dimorphism in the occurrence of the trait. Bilateral occurrence with a tendency towards concordance of expression between sides was also observed.
MeSH terms: Adolescent; Child; Female; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Maxilla; Molar/abnormalities*; Sex Factors; Tooth Abnormalities/epidemiology*; Reproducibility of Results; Observer Variation; Prevalence; Chi-Square Distribution
Double teeth or joined teeth have been described under several different terms and the terminology is often confusing. There are several ways in which union of teeth can occur and the terms that are commonly used to describe the condition are fusion and gemination. Although primary double teeth themselves may be regarded as harmless anomalies, its presence can cause some abnormalities to occur in the permanent dentition. Therefore, early diagnosis of the anomaly is of considerable importance.
This study evaluates the level of dental knowledge among 328 antenatal mothers from different ethnic groups and ascertains the importance of the various sources of dental information. The mothers were interviewed based on a structured questionnaire. Most mothers knew about the number of sets of teeth they possessed throughout their life. This was most evident among the Chinese and least among the Malays. Only 42.7% of the mothers interviewed were positive about the preservation of their teeth throughout life. This belief was highest among the Chinese followed by the Indians. However about 40% of the Chinese believed that tooth decay is hereditary. Generally the principal sources of dental information cited by most mothers were television or radio followed by dentists, school and family. This order of importance was similarly observed among the Malays and Chinese. However, among Indians, family members represent the second most important source of dental information. The implications of these findings are discussed.
MeSH terms: Attitude to Health/ethnology*; China/ethnology; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Dental Caries/psychology; Female; Health Education, Dental*; Humans; India/ethnology; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Malaysia; Prenatal Care