Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted ascending) Filter |
|---|
| reconstruction of health service systems in the post-conflict northern province in sri lanka. | public health problems in armed conflicts have been well documented, however, effective national health policies and international assistance strategies in transition periods from conflict to peace have not been well established. after the long lasted conflicts in sri lanka, the government and the rebel ltte signed a cease-fire agreement in february 2002. as the peace negotiation has been disrupted since april 2003, a long-term prospect for peace is yet uncertain at present. the objective of thi ... | 2007 | 17289209 |
| health aspects of disaster preparedness and response--panel session 3: industrial accidents, conflicts, and other emergencies. | this panel session consisted of three country reports (democratic people's republic of korea; sri lanka; and timor-leste) and the common issues identified during the panel discussions relative to industrial accidents and conflicts in the southeast asia region. important issues identified included the needs for: (1) use of medical technology; (2) stockpiling of essential supplies; (3) human resource development; (4) surveillance systems for disease detection; (5) coordination; and (6) emergency f ... | 2006 | 17297913 |
| adaptation of archaeological techniques in forensic mass grave exhumation: the experience of 'chemmani' excavation in northern sri lanka. | there have been several mass grave excavations in sri lanka during the period of 1995 to 1998. excavation of mass graves in the chemmani area of northern peninsula of the country took place in september 1999, after about 5 years of the incident. six graves with 1 to 6 bodies in each were identified and excavated in accordance with archaeological methods modified to suit the requirements of forensic exhumations. the experience gathered from excavation of those sites revealed the importance of arc ... | 2006 | 17315586 |
| pcr detection and typing of human papilloma virus dna in squamous carcinoma of the cervix in a cohort of sri lankan women. | to determine the prevalence of human papilloma virus (hpv) types 16 and 18 in squamous carcinomas of the cervix in sri lanka. | 2006 | 17315590 |
| cytotoxic clerodane diterpenoids and their hydrolysis products from casearia nigrescens from the rainforest of madagascar. | bioassay-guided fractionation of the cytotoxic leaf and flower extract of casearia nigrescens led to the isolation of four new clerodane diterpenoids, designated caseanigrescens a-d (1-4). these compounds were subject to hydrolysis to dialdehydes when stored in cdcl3. the structures of compounds 1-4 were determined using 1d and 2d nmr spectroscopy. all four compounds showed moderate cytotoxicity to the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line, with an ic50 range of 0.83-1.4 microm. | 2007 | 17315961 |
| antiproliferative xanthones of terminalia calcicola from the madagascar rain forest. | a bioassay-guided fractionation of the etoh extract of the madagascan plant terminalia calcicola led to the isolation of two new cytotoxic xanthones, termicalcicolanone a (1) and termicalcicolanone b (2). the structures of the new compounds were established on the basis of one- and two-dimensional nmr spectroscopic data. both compounds showed modest antiproliferative activity toward the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line. | 2007 | 17323994 |
| antiproliferative prenylated stilbenes and flavonoids from macaranga alnifolia from the madagascar rainforest. | bioassay-guided fractionation of an extract of the fruit of macaranga alnifolia from madagascar led to the isolation of four new prenylated stilbenes, schweinfurthins e-h (1-4), and one new geranylated dihydroflavonol, alnifoliol (5). the known prenylated stilbene vedelianin (6) and the known geranylated flavonoids bonanniol a (7), diplacol (8), bonannione a (9), and diplacone (10) were also isolated. all 10 compounds were tested for antiproliferative activity in the a2780 human ovarian cancer c ... | 2007 | 17326683 |
| seroprevalence of varicella zoster virus infections in colombo district, sri lanka. | although varicella zoster virus (vzv) infections occur worldwide, the epidemiology is remarkably different in tropical and temperate climates. vzv infections result in significant morbidity and mortality among adults in sri lanka. | 2007 | 17337813 |
| guttiferones k and l, antiproliferative compounds of rheedia calcicola from the madagascar rain forest. | bioassay-guided fractionation of the ethanol extract obtained from the fruits of rheedia calcicola led to the isolation of two new guttiferone analogues, guttiferones k (1) and l (16-hydroxyguttiferone k) (2). the structures of 1 and 2 were established on the basis of extensive interpretation of one- and two-dimensional nmr spectroscopic data. both compounds were tested for their antiproliferative activity against the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line. | 2007 | 17348706 |
| anticancer effect of a new benzophenanthridine isolated from zanthoxylum madagascariense (rutaceline). | fractionation of the cyclohexane extract from the stem bark powder of zanthoxylum madagascariense led to the isolation of a new benzophenanthridine-type alkaloid, hydrochloride of 2,3-methylendioxy-8-hydroxy- 7-methoxy-benzo[c]phenanthridine (rutaceline), characterized on the basis of its spectral data. rutaceline was evaluated for its antiproliferative capacity on the human colorectal adenocarcinoma (caco-2) and the african green monkey kidney (vero) cell lines. the 50% inhibition of cell growt ... | 2007 | 17436597 |
| medical support to sri lanka in the wake of tsunamis: planning considerations and lessons learned. | when massive tsunamis affected the coast of sri lanka and other indian ocean littorals, elements of the third force service support group and assigned navy, air force, army, and coast guard units from the u.s. pacific command were "task organized" to form combined support group-sri lanka (csg-sl), charged to conduct humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (ha/dr) operations. the specific mission was to provide immediate relief to the affected population of sri lanka and the maldives, to minimize ... | 2006 | 17447616 |
| patterns of loss and regeneration of tropical dry forest in madagascar: the social institutional context. | loss of tropical forests and changes in land-use/land-cover are of growing concern worldwide. although knowledge exists about the institutional context in which tropical forest loss is embedded, little is known about the role of social institutions in influencing regeneration of tropical forests. in the present study we used landsat images from southern madagascar from three different years (1984, 1993 and 2000) and covering 5500 km(2), and made a time-series analysis of three distinct large-sca ... | 2007 | 17476324 |
| antiproliferative cardenolides of an elaeodendron sp. from the madagascar rain forest(1). | bioassay-guided fractionation of an ethanol extract obtained from the madagascar plant elaeodendron sp. led to the isolation of two new cardenolides, elaeodendrosides t and u (1 and 2). the structures of the new compounds were elucidated using 1d and 2d nmr experiments and mass spectrometry. compounds 1, 3, 4, and 5 showed significant antiproliferative activity against a2780 human ovarian cancer cells with ic50 values of 0.085, 0.019, 0.19, and 0.10 microm, respectively, while compounds 2 and 6 ... | 2007 | 17547460 |
| ecogeographic size variation in small-bodied subfossil primates from ankilitelo, southwestern madagascar. | variation in body size is well documented for both extant and extinct malagasy primates, and appears to be correlated with geographic patterns of resource seasonality. less attention has been paid to extant lemurs in subfossil collections, although it has been suggested that subfossil forms of extant species are characterized by greater size than their modern counterpart. this trend of phyletic size change has been related to climate change, habitat fragmentation, or human hunting. however, spac ... | 2007 | 17568444 |
| [epidemiological surveillance for infectious diseases and humanitarian emergencies]. | a disaster both natural and man made is managed in time according to separate phases that respond to specific requirements and needs. in the late and post emergency phases problems of public health are priority and in particular the identification and containment of epidemic clusters. epidemiological surveillance is the main instrument used and in this paper it is analysed both in theory and in its application in the italian red cross mission in sri lanka devastated by the 2004 tsunami. | 2007 | 17598992 |
| characterization of reemerging chikungunya virus. | an unprecedented epidemic of chikungunya virus (chikv) infection recently started in countries of the indian ocean area, causing an acute and painful syndrome with strong fever, asthenia, skin rash, polyarthritis, and lethal cases of encephalitis. the basis for chikungunya disease and the tropism of chikv remain unknown. here, we describe the replication characteristics of recent clinical chikv strains. human epithelial and endothelial cells, primary fibroblasts and, to a lesser extent, monocyte ... | 2007 | 17604450 |
| [emerging infectious diseases: the example of the indian ocean chikungunya outbreak (2005-2006)]. | factors known to trigger the emergence or re-emergence of infectious diseases include globalisation, population growth, migration, international trade, urbanisation, forest destruction, climate change, loss of biodiversity, poverty, famine and war. epidemics not only lead to disastrous loss of human life but may also have catastrophic economic, political and social consequences. outbreaks may rapidly jeopardize industry, trade or tourism in countries that are unprepared. dengue is currently spre ... | 2007 | 17645111 |
| [the constraints of micro-insulation in the improvement of health care access: a geographical perspective shown through an example from the maldives]. | the maldives are a coral-reef archipelago of which the territorial configuration reflects a logic of disintegration: numerous islands, the majority of which have a surface area of less than 1 km2 and which are dissipated between 19 atolls distributed in an oval shape of 800 km in length and 300 km in width. therefore, the population groups and their residencies are themselves quite dispersed, that which also serves to reduce the cost of development. when in actuality, the maldives is a country r ... | 2007 | 17665744 |
| biomedical evaluation of free-ranging ring-tailed lemurs (lemur catta) in three habitats at the beza mahafaly special reserve, madagascar. | complete physical examinations and biomedical sample collection were performed on 70 free-ranging ring-tailed lemurs (lemur catta) from three different habitats in the beza mahfaly special reserve (bmsr), in southern madagascar, to assess the impact of humans and habitat on lemur health. lemurs were chemically immobilized with ketamine and diazepam administered via blow darts for concurrent biomedical, morphometric, and behavioral studies. subsets of the animals had blood analyzed for hematology ... | 2007 | 17679503 |
| reducing vector-borne disease by empowering farmers in integrated vector management. | irrigated agriculture exposes rural people to health risks associated with vector-borne diseases and pesticides used in agriculture and for public health protection. most developing countries lack collaboration between the agricultural and health sectors to jointly address these problems. | 2007 | 17768506 |
| content and in-vitro accessibility of pro-vitamin a carotenoids from sri lankan cooked non-leafy vegetables and their estimated contribution to vitamin a requirement. | vitamin a deficiency is a public health problem in sri lanka, which affects especially pre-school children. carrots (daucus carota), pumpkins (cucurbita maxima), squashes (cucurbita moschata) and sweet potatoes (ipomoea batatas) of orange, yellow-fleshed varieties are good sources of provitamin a carotenoids, but have not been studied in sri lanka in terms of the food as eaten. the content of carotenoids in each preparation method and the in-vitro accessibility of beta-carotene and alpha-caroten ... | 2007 | 17852483 |
| the evolution of extinction risk: past and present anthropogenic impacts on the primate communities of madagascar. | there are two possible approaches to understanding natural and human-induced changes in the primate communities of madagascar. one is to begin with present-day and recent historic interactions and work backwards. a second is to begin with paleoecological records of malagasy primate communities before and immediately following human arrival, and the associated evidence of human and nonhuman primate interactions, and work forwards. on the basis of biological and climatic studies, as well as histor ... | 2007 | 17855790 |
| revisiting rabies in japan: is there cause for alarm? | since 1957 japan has successfully eradicated human and animal rabies through registration, confinement and compulsory vaccination of family dogs, and elimination of stray dogs. however, in november 2006, two cases of human rabies infections were reported in the country. these patients were bitten by dogs during travel in the philippines, and did not receive pre- and post-exposure prophylaxes. with the mounting numbers of japanese travelers every year, the risk of infection increases especially t ... | 2007 | 17870631 |
| environmental implications for disaster preparedness: lessons learnt from the indian ocean tsunami. | the impact of disasters, whether natural or man-made, not only has human dimensions, but environmental ones as well. environmental conditions may exacerbate the impact of a disaster, and vice versa, disasters tend to have an impact on the environment. deforestation, forest management practices, or agriculture systems can worsen the negative environmental impacts of a storm or typhoon, leading to landslides, flooding, silting, and ground/surface water contamination. we have only now come to under ... | 2008 | 17904271 |
| geographical patterns of deep mitochondrial differentiation in widespread malagasy reptiles. | using sequences of the mitochondrial 16s rrna gene, we reconstructed the phylogeography of six widely distributed malagasy reptiles: two gekkonid lizard species, phelsuma lineata and hemidactylus mercatorius; two chameleons, the calumma brevicorne complex, and furcifer lateralis; and two skinks, trachylepis gravenhorstii and trachylepis elegans. genetic differentiation among major haplotype lineages was high and in some cases indicates or confirms species status of the divergent populations. max ... | 2007 | 17920299 |
| [chikungunya, la réunion and mayotte, 2005-2006: an epidemic without a story?]. | many triggering factors for onset of emerging infectious diseases are now recognised, such as: globalisation, demographic increase, population movements, international trade, urbanisation, forest destruction, climate changes, loss in biodiversity, and extreme life conditions such as poverty, famine and war. epidemic burden is often leading to disasters, in terms of human losses, as well as economic, political or social consequences. these outbreaks may jeopardize within a few weeks or months, in ... | 2007 | 17929405 |
| transmission dynamics of cryptosporidium infection in a natural population of non-human primates at polonnaruwa, sri lanka. | infections from cryptosporidium parvum are of interest not only to public health, but also to wildlife conservation, particularly when humans and livestock encroach on nature and thereby increase the risk of cross-species transmissions. to clarify this risk, we used polymerase chain reaction to examine the hypervariable region of the c. parvum 18s rrna gene in feces from three monkey species. samples were isolated from regions where disease transmission between monkeys, livestock, and humans was ... | 2007 | 17984333 |
| cytotoxic cardenolide glycosides of roupellina (strophanthus) boivinii from the madagascar rainforest. | bioassay-guided fractionation of an ethanol extract of roupellina (strophanthus) boivinii from the rainforest of madagascar afforded the six new cardenolide glycosides boivinides 1-6, as well as the four known cardenolide glycosides digitoxigenin 3-o-[beta-d-glucopyrananosyl-(1-->4)-alpha-l-acofriopyranoside], corotoxigenin 3-o-beta-d-boivinoside, 17alpha-corotoxigenin 3-o-beta-d-sarmentoside, and uzarigenin 3-o-alpha-l-rhamnoside. the structures of these compounds were elucidated by various 1d ... | 2007 | 17988099 |
| a genomewide association study of skin pigmentation in a south asian population. | we have conducted a multistage genomewide association study, using 1,620,742 single-nucleotide polymorphisms to systematically investigate the genetic factors influencing intrinsic skin pigmentation in a population of south asian descent. polymorphisms in three genes--slc24a5, tyr, and slc45a2--yielded highly significant replicated associations with skin-reflectance measurements, an indirect measure of melanin content in the skin. the associations detected in these three genes, in an additive ma ... | 2007 | 17999355 |
| effects of the tsunami on fisheries and coastal livelihood: a case study of tsunami-ravaged southern sri lanka. | beyond the death toll, the tsunami of 26 december 2004 crippled many of the livelihood assets (human, social, physical, financial and natural) available to assist those directly affected. drawing on surveys of three villages in three districts in the south of sri lanka, this paper describes the livelihood asset building capacity of the fishing communities. assessments are also made of the impact of the tsunami on coastal communities and the impact of government policy on rebuilding. a livelihood ... | 2007 | 18028160 |
| a single mutation in chikungunya virus affects vector specificity and epidemic potential. | chikungunya virus (chikv) is an emerging arbovirus associated with several recent large-scale epidemics. the 2005-2006 epidemic on reunion island that resulted in approximately 266,000 human cases was associated with a strain of chikv with a mutation in the envelope protein gene (e1-a226v). to test the hypothesis that this mutation in the epidemic chikv (strain lr2006 opy1) might influence fitness for different vector species, viral infectivity, dissemination, and transmission of chikv were comp ... | 2007 | 18069894 |
| expression pattern of p63 in oral epithelial lesions and submucous fibrosis associated with betel-quid chewing in sri lanka. | betel-quid chewing, which is closely related to the high incidence of oral cancer, is prevalent in sri lanka. p63 has a remarkable structural similarity to p53, suggesting an aberrant expression in oral cancer. using anti-p63 antibody and immunohistochemistry, the present study investigated the expression pattern of p63 in oral epithelial lesions, including different types of squamous cell carcinoma (scc), different grades of epithelial dysplasia, and submucosal fibrosis associated with betel-qu ... | 2007 | 18085379 |
| co-circulation and evolution of polioviruses and species c enteroviruses in a district of madagascar. | between october 2001 and april 2002, five cases of acute flaccid paralysis (afp) associated with type 2 vaccine-derived polioviruses (vdpvs) were reported in the southern province of the republic of madagascar. to determine viral factors that favor the emergence of these pathogenic vdpvs, we analyzed in detail their genomic and phenotypic characteristics and compared them with co-circulating enteroviruses. these vdpvs appeared to belong to two independent recombinant lineages with sequences from ... | 2007 | 18085822 |
| compatibility counts: mhc-associated mate choice in a wild promiscuous primate. | the mechanisms and temporal aspects of mate choice according to genetic constitution are still puzzling. recent studies indicate that fitness is positively related to diversity in immune genes (mhc). both sexes should therefore choose mates of high genetic quality and/or compatibility. however, studies addressing the role of mhc diversity in pre- and post-copulatory mate choice decisions in wild-living animals are few. we investigated the impact of mhc constitution and of neutral microsatellite ... | 2008 | 18089539 |
| antiproliferative cassane diterpenoids of cordyla madagascariensis ssp. madagascariensis from the madagascar rainforest. | bioassay-guided fractionation of an ethanol extract of a madagascar collection of the fruits of cordyla madagascariensis ssp. madagascariensis led to the isolation of the four new cassane diterpenoids 1-4. the 1h and 13c nmr spectra of all compounds were fully assigned using a combination of 2d nmr experiments, including cosy, hsqc, hmbc, and roesy sequences. all of the isolates were tested against the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line, and compounds 1 and 2 showed mild antiproliferative acti ... | 2008 | 18163591 |
| admixture and sexual bias in the population settlement of la réunion island (indian ocean). | la réunion, one of the three mascarene islands located in the indian ocean, remained devoid of inhabitants until it was first colonized by the french in the middle of the 17th century. the continuous flow of foreign-born slaves and immigrant workers from africa, india, southeast asia, and china to work on coffee and sugar cane plantations led to the island becoming a melting pot of people of multiple ethnic origins. to establish the impact of the different incoming ethnic groups on the present r ... | 2008 | 18186507 |
| detailed mtdna genotypes permit a reassessment of the settlement and population structure of the andaman islands. | the population genetics of the indian subcontinent is central to understanding early human prehistory due to its strategic location on the proposed corridor of human movement from africa to australia during the late pleistocene. previous genetic research using mtdna has emphasized the relative isolation of the late pleistocene colonizers, and the physically isolated andaman island populations of island south-east asia remain the source of claims supporting an early split between the populations ... | 2008 | 18186508 |
| entomologic investigations of a chikungunya virus epidemic in the union of the comoros, 2005. | from january to april 2005, an epidemic of chikungunya virus (chikv) illness occurred in the union of comoros. entomological studies were undertaken during the peak of the outbreak, from march 11 to march 31, aimed at identifying the primary vector(s) involved in transmission so that appropriate public health measures could be implemented. adult mosquitoes were collected by backpack aspiration and human landing collection in homes and neighborhoods of clinically ill patients. water-holding conta ... | 2008 | 18187788 |
| taboos and forest governance: informal protection of hot spot dry forest in southern madagascar. | in the dry forest of southern madagascar, a region of global conservation priority, formally protected areas are nearly totally absent. we illustrate how the continued existence of unique forest habitats in the androy region is directly dependent on informal institutions, taboos, regulating human behavior. qualitative interviews to map and analyze the social mechanisms underlying forest protection have been combined with vegetation analyses of species diversity and composition. of 188 forest pat ... | 2007 | 18240685 |
| ethics review committee approval and informed consent: an analysis of biomedical publications originating from sri lanka. | international guidelines on research have focused on protecting research participants. ethical research committee (erc) approval and informed consent are the cornerstones. externally sponsored research requires approval through ethical review in both the host and the sponsoring country. this study aimed to determine to what extent erc approval and informed consent procedures are documented in locally and internationally published human subject research carried out in sri lanka. | 2008 | 18267015 |
| human rights and mass disaster: lessons from the 2004 tsunami. | this paper describes the results of an investigation into how the december, 2004 tsunami and its aftermath affected the human rights of the survivors. teams of researchers interviewed survivors, government officials, representatives of international and local nongovernmental organisations, un officials, the military, police, and other key informants in india, sri lanka, the maldives, indonesia, and thailand. we also analysed newspaper articles, reports released by governments, un agencies, ngos, ... | 2007 | 18277529 |
| hormone receptor expression and her/2neu amplification in breast carcinoma in a cohort of sri lankans. | 1) to determine the profile of estrogen and, progesterone receptors (er, pr) expression and her/2neu amplification in carcinoma of breast of sri lankan women. 2) to determine their inter-relationships, and associations with age at diagnosis and histological grade. | 2007 | 18286776 |
| [chikungunya: fever and joint pains after vacation in a tropical area]. | a 27-year-old man was admitted to our hospital, two days after returning from a vacation in mauritius, with fever, chills, headache and myalgia, as well as arthritis of the legs. he had a temperature of 38.6 c and painful swellings of both talocalcanean joints. | 2008 | 18288627 |
| chikungunya virus adapts to tiger mosquito via evolutionary convergence: a sign of things to come? | since 2004, several million indigenous cases of chikungunya virus disease occurred in africa, the indian ocean, india, asia and, recently, europe. the virus, usually transmitted by aedes aegypti mosquitoes, has now repeatedly been associated with a new vector, ae. albopictus. analysis of full-length viral sequences reveals three independent events of virus exposure to ae. albopictus, each followed by the acquisition of a single adaptive mutation providing selective advantage for transmission by ... | 2008 | 18304328 |
| adequacy of vitamin a and fat in the breast milk of lactating women in south sri lanka. | to determine vitamin a (retinol) and fat concentrations in breast milk during early lactation. | 2008 | 18312705 |
| urban living and obesity: is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics? | living in an urban area influences obesity. however, little is known about whether this relationship is truly independent of, or merely mediated through, the demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics of urban populations. we aimed to identify and quantify the magnitude of this relationship in a sri lankan population. | 2008 | 18331534 |
| reemergence of recombinant vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreak in madagascar. | after the 2001-2002 poliomyelitis outbreak due to recombinant vaccine-derived polioviruses (vdpvs) in the toliara province of madagascar, another outbreak reoccurred in the same province in 2005. | 2008 | 18419577 |
| human astrovirus gastroenteritis in children, madagascar, 2004-2005. | we report data regarding the molecular epidemiology of human astrovirus (hastv) infections among children in madagascar. in a 13-month study, 5 hastv isolates were detected in fecal samples from 237 children (2.1%) by reverse transcription-pcr. phylogenetic analysis showed the cocirculation of usual and unusual hastvs. | 2008 | 18439379 |
| evaluation of the performance of four rapid tests for detection of hepatitis b surface antigen in antananarivo, madagascar. | four rapid immunochromatographic assays--determine hbsag, virucheck hbsag, cypress hbsag dipstick and hexagon hbsag--for human hepatitis b surface antigen (hbsag) detection in human serum were evaluated. a collection of reference serum samples (91 hbsag positive and 109 hbsag negative) stored at -80 degrees c was used. sensitivity and positive predictive value (ppv) exceeded 95%, and specificity and negative predictive value (npv) exceeded 96% for all tests. the determine hbsag test performed be ... | 2008 | 18462816 |
| patterns of endemism and species richness in malagasy cophyline frogs support a key role of mountainous areas for speciation. | cophyline narrow-mouthed frogs (anura: microhylidae) are a diverse endemic radiation of madagascar. cophylines contain a high proportion of range restricted species and constitute a good model system to understand patterns of evolutionary diversification in tropical ecosystems. we combine spatial and phylogenetic analyses for a near-complete taxon sample to test competing explanations for patterns of species richness (sr) and endemism. our reconstruction of the phylogeny of cophylines indicates ... | 2008 | 18485110 |
| informed consent in sri lanka: a survey among ethics committee members. | approval of the research proposal by an ethical review committee from both sponsoring and host countries is a generally agreed requirement in externally sponsored research.however, capacity for ethics review is not universal. aim of this study was to identify opinions and views of the members serving in ethical review and ethics committees in sri lanka on informed consent, essential components in the information leaflet and the consent form. | 2008 | 18489793 |
| reproductive health concerns in six conflict-affected areas of sri lanka. | this article draws on a study conducted by the women and media collective between 2004 and 2005 to highlight some of the reproductive health concerns of women from sinhalese, tamil and muslim ethnic groups, living in situations of conflict in sri lanka. the study focussed on women from six conflict-affected areas in the north and east of the country: jaffna (northern province), mannar and puttalam (north-western province), polonnaruwa (north-central province), batticaloa and ampara (eastern prov ... | 2008 | 18513609 |
| clinical manifestations of cutaneous leishmaniasis in sri lanka - possible evidence for genetic susceptibility among the sinhalese. | human cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) caused by leishmania donovani, a pathogen more usually associated with visceral leishmaniasis, is now endemic in sri lanka. this report details the characteristics of 200 patients with locally acquired cl, who were recruited prospectively for an ongoing study into the genetic susceptibility to cl in sri lanka. in each case, the cl was confirmed by the demonstration of amastigotes in a direct smear and/or promastigotes in a culture. although only 82% of the sri ... | 2008 | 18577329 |
| fetal effects of environmental exposure of pregnant women to organophosphorus compounds in a rural farming community in sri lanka. | the possible deleterious effects of low-grade, chronic environmental and occupational exposure to organophosphorus compounds (opcs) are not well documented. | 2008 | 18584359 |
| habitual fish consumption does not prevent a decrease in lcpufa status in pregnant women (the seychelles child development nutrition study). | information on the status of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (lcpufas) in pregnancy and breast milk in very high fish-eating populations is limited. the aim of this study was to examine dietary intake and changes in fatty acid status in a population of pregnant women in the republic of seychelles. serum docosahexaenoic acid (dha) decreased significantly between 28-week gestation and delivery (n=196). dha status did not correlate significantly with length of gestation and was not associate ... | 2008 | 18585023 |
| testing for a historical population bottleneck in wild verreaux's sifaka (propithecus verreauxi verreauxi) using microsatellite data. | the degree to which historical human activities negatively impacted past and present lemur species is a long-standing question in primatology. at present, most evidence addressing this issue comes from archaeology, paleontology, and behavioral studies. genetic data provide another source of evidence. in this study, six microsatellite loci, genotyped on more than 360 wild verreaux's sifaka, are used in order to test the hypothesis that this population experienced a population bottleneck in the la ... | 2008 | 18618601 |
| awareness of issues related to torture among medical students in mauritius. | torture in custody is a global problem. many declarations and conventions by different agencies throughout the world have sought to address this issue. health professionals are required to detect, treat, and rehabilitate victims of torture. in the last few years, medical personnel have emphasised their stand against the practice of torture. we surveyed 155 second- and third-year medical graduates in mauritius to assess their knowledge of and attitudes towards torture. a majority of the students ... | 2007 | 18624145 |
| the impact of the tsunami on hospitalizations at the tertiary care hospital in the southern province of sri lanka. | sri lanka's human, physical, social, and economic resources suffered a massive impact after the tsunami of december 26, 2004. to assist in preparing for future disasters, the authors sought to characterize the pattern of hospitalizations from the main impact zone in the southern province. | 2008 | 18666511 |
| atypical chikungunya virus infections: clinical manifestations, mortality and risk factors for severe disease during the 2005-2006 outbreak on réunion. | in april 2005, an outbreak of chikungunya fever occurred on the island of réunion in the indian ocean. during winter 2005, six patients developed meningoencephalitis and acute hepatitis due to chikungunya virus. our objectives were to determine the incidence and mortality of atypical chikungunya viral infections and to identify risk factors for severe disease. a hospital-based surveillance system was established to collect data on atypical chikungunya cases. case reports, medical records and lab ... | 2009 | 18694529 |
| anthropometry and renal size of children suffering under sustained conflict in sri lanka. | to measure anthropometry, blood pressure and renal lengths of children in a war torn region of sri lanka and compare results with local and international standards. | 2008 | 18717773 |
| taumycins a and b, two bioactive lipodepsipeptides from the madagascar sponge fascaplysinopsis sp. | two closely related lipodepsipeptides, taumycins a and b (1 and 2) have been isolated from the madagascar sponge fascaplysinopsis sp. the two compounds have the same 12-membered oxodepsipeptide ring system in common. both were toxic to brine shrimp larvae, and taumycin a (1 microm), but not taumycin b, inhibited growth of the human ut-7 leukemic cell line. the structure of the two compounds, likely to be derived from microorganisms, was established by ms and 1d and 2d nmr data. | 2008 | 18781810 |
| isolation, biological significance, synthesis, and cytotoxic evaluation of new natural parathiosteroids a-c and analogues from the soft coral paragorgia sp. | three unusual new steroid thioesters, parathiosteroids a-c (1a-3a), were isolated from the 2-propanol extract of the soft coral paragorgia sp. collected in madagascar. their structures, determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis, were confirmed by synthesis and represent the first isolation of natural steroids bearing a c22 thioester in their side chain. these compounds displayed cytotoxicity against a panel of three human tumor cell lines at the micromolar level. the preparation of several a ... | 2008 | 18795787 |
| screening of medicinal plants from reunion island for antimalarial and cytotoxic activity. | nine plants from reunion island, selected using ethnopharmacology and chemotaxonomy, were investigated for their potential antimalarial value. | 2008 | 18848979 |
| a reliable diagnosis of human rabies based on analysis of skin biopsy specimens. | the number of human deaths due to rabies is currently underestimated to be 55,000 deaths per year. biological diagnostic methods for confirmation of rabies remain limited, because testing on postmortem cerebral samples is the reference method, and in many countries, sampling brain tissue is rarely practiced. there is a need for a reliable method based on a simple collection of nonneural specimens. | 2008 | 18937576 |
| human papillomavirus infection and cervical cancer prevention in india, bangladesh, sri lanka and nepal. | although one-third of the world cervical cancer burden is endured in india, bangladesh, nepal and sri lanka, there are important gaps in our knowledge of the distribution and determinants of the disease in addition to inadequate investments in screening, diagnosis and treatment in these countries. prevalence of human papillomavirus (hpv) infection among the general populations varies from 7-14% and the age-specific prevalence across age groups is constant with no clear peak in young women. this ... | 2008 | 18945413 |
| trace metal concentrations in nile tilapia (oreochromis niloticus) in three catchments, sri lanka. | samples of the muscle and liver of the nile tilapia (oreochromis niloticus) were obtained from a single reservoir in each of three sri lankan catchments (kaudulla, rajanganaya, and udawalawe reservoirs in the mahaweli, kala oya, and walawe ganga river basins, respectively) in 2002. the concentrations of 12 elements were consistently detected in the tilapia muscle and liver (ca, cd, cu, fe, hg, k, mg, mn, na, p, sr and zn). however, a three factorial principal components analysis suggested that t ... | 2009 | 18949439 |
| [malaria in the urban highland area of antananarivo, madagascar: bioecology of anopheles arabiensis]. | an entomological study was performed to document the transmission of plasmodium, agents of human malaria in antananarivo, capital of madagascar. human landing mosquitoes were collected at night during two years, between may 2003 and september 2005, in the two sites of ambohimiandra-manakambahiny and ambolokandrina. the genuses of collected mosquitoes were, in order of abundance, culex, mansonia and anopheles. the only potential vector was anopheles arabiensis. its maximal abundance was observed ... | 2008 | 18956819 |
| warmer weather linked to tick attack and emergence of severe rickettsioses. | the impact of climate on the vector behaviour of the worldwide dog tick rhipicephalus sanguineus is a cause of concern. this tick is a vector for life-threatening organisms including rickettsia rickettsii, the agent of rocky mountain spotted fever, r. conorii, the agent of mediterranean spotted fever, and the ubiquitous emerging pathogen r. massiliae. a focus of spotted fever was investigated in france in may 2007. blood and tissue samples from two patients were tested. an entomological survey w ... | 2008 | 19015724 |
| mhc haplotype frequencies in a uk breeding colony of mauritian cynomolgus macaques mirror those found in a distinct population from the same geographic origin. | mauritian cynomolgus macaques have greatly restricted genetic diversity in the mhc region compared to other non-human primates; however, the frequency of common mhc haplotypes among captive-bred populations has not been reported. | 2009 | 19018947 |
| viral load, clinical disease severity and cellular immune responses in primary varicella zoster virus infection in sri lanka. | in sri lanka, varicella zoster virus (vzv) is typically acquired during adulthood with significant associated disease morbidity and mortality. t cells are believed to be important in the control of vzv replication and in the prevention of reactivation. the relationship between viral load, disease severity and cellular immune responses in primary vzv infection has not been well studied. | 2008 | 19023425 |
| genetic data analysis of 10 y-str loci in two ethnic groups of asian ancestry (gujarat and guangdong-fujian provinces) from reunion island (indian ocean). | one hundred and twenty-three unrelated individuals belonging to two ethnic groups (shinwa and zarab) of asian ancestry from reunion island (indian ocean) were analyzed for 10 y-str loci. haplotype diversity and frequencies were determined for loci dys19, dys385a/b, dys388, dys389i, dys389ii, dys390, dys391, dys392, dys393 and ycaiia/b. the two ethnic groups do not share haplotypes, and a total of 98 distinct haplotypes were identified. unique haplotypes were obtained for 49 shinwa and 33 zarab. ... | 2009 | 19054702 |
| antiproliferative cardenolide glycosides of elaeodendron alluaudianum from the madagascar rainforest. | bioassay-guided fractionation of an ethanol extract of a madagascar collection of elaeodendron alluaudianum led to the isolation of two new cardenolide glycosides (1 and 2). the (1)h and (13)c nmr spectra of both compounds were fully assigned using a combination of 2d nmr experiments, including (1)h-(1)h cosy, hsqc, hmbc, and roesy sequences. both compounds 1 and 2 were tested against the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line and the u937 human histiocytic lymphoma cell line assays, and showed si ... | 2009 | 19058971 |
| profile of breast cancer in a group of women in a developing country in south asia: is there a difference? | breast cancer is the commonest cancer among sri lankan women. the aim of this study was to document the breast cancer profile of a group of sri lankan women and compare it with regional data. patient-tumor characteristics and predicted prognosis are compared with the immune profile. | 2009 | 19123026 |
| long-term survival despite low genetic diversity in the critically endangered madagascar fish-eagle. | the critically endangered madagascar fish-eagle (haliaeetus vociferoides) is considered to be one of the rarest birds of prey globally and at significant risk of extinction. in the most recent census, only 222 adult individuals were recorded with an estimated total breeding population of no more than 100-120 pairs. here, levels of madagascar fish-eagle population genetic diversity based on 47 microsatellite loci were compared with its sister species, the african fish-eagle (haliaeetus vocifer), ... | 2009 | 19140964 |
| linking social and ecological systems to sustain coral reef fisheries. | the ecosystem goods and services provided by coral reefs are critical to the social and economic welfare of hundreds of millions of people, overwhelmingly in developing countries [1]. widespread reef degradation is severely eroding these goods and services, but the socioeconomic factors shaping the ways that societies use coral reefs are poorly understood [2]. we examine relationships between human population density, a multidimensional index of socioeconomic development, reef complexity, and th ... | 2009 | 19211057 |
| no evidence of chikungunya virus and antibodies shortly before the outbreak on sri lanka. | a massive outbreak of chikungunya disease occurred on sri lanka in 2006. reasons for the explosive nature of the epidemic are being intensively discussed. according to recognised and anecdotal concepts, absence of human population immunity against chikungunya virus (chikv) might have supported virus amplification. however, formal proof of concept is lacking. this study determined the prevalence of anti-chikv igg antibodies as well as chikv rna shortly before the outbreak. two hundred and six hum ... | 2009 | 19224245 |
| protected area safeguard tree and shrub communities from degradation and invasion: a case study in eastern madagascar. | despite their prevalence in both developed and developing countries, there have been surprisingly few field assessments of the ecological effectiveness of protected areas. this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a key protected area in eastern madagascar, ranomafana national park (rnp). we established paired 100 x 4-m vegetation transects (400 m(2)) within rnp and in remnant forests in the park's peripheral zone. in each 400-m(2) plot, all woody stems >1.5 cm in diameter at breast height ... | 2009 | 19224275 |
| hematology and serum chemistry parameters in juvenile cynomolgus monkeys (macaca fascicularis) of mauritius origin: comparison between purpose-bred and captured animals. | the vast majority of non-human primates used for experimental activities are purpose-bred. however, in case of particular procedures or specific projects, it may still be necessary to use animals captured in the wild. | 2009 | 19236562 |
| identifying reefs of hope and hopeful actions: contextualizing environmental, ecological, and social parameters to respond effectively to climate change. | priorities for conservation, management, and associated activities will differ based on the interplay between nearness of ecosystems to full recovery from a disturbance (pristineness), susceptibility to climate change (environmental susceptibility [es]), and capacity of human communities to cope with and adapt to change (social adaptive capacity [ac]). we studied 24 human communities and adjacent coral reef ecosystems in 5 countries of the southwestern indian ocean. we used ecological measures o ... | 2009 | 19245493 |
| antiproliferative and antimalarial anthraquinones of scutia myrtina from the madagascar forest. | bioassay-guided fractionation of an ethanol extract of a madagascar collection of the bark of scutia myrtina led to the isolation of three new anthrone-anthraquinones, scutianthraquinones a, b and c (1-3), one new bisanthrone-anthraquinone, scutianthraquinone d (4), and the known anthraquinone, aloesaponarin i (5). the structures of all compounds were determined using a combination of 1d and 2d nmr experiments, including cosy, tocsy, hsqc, hmbc, and roesy sequences, and mass spectrometry. all th ... | 2009 | 19282186 |
| estimating stature from percutaneous length of tibia and ulna in indo-mauritian population. | stature estimation from percutaneous body measurements forms part of forensic anthropological analysis for the purpose of identification. this study is aimed at modeling the stature on the basis of percutaneous tibial and/or ulnar length in human subjects comprising of indo-mauritian population. the study was conducted in the department of forensic medicine and toxicology, ssr medical college, mauritius on 180 young and healthy students comprising of 90 males and 90 females in the age group rang ... | 2009 | 19286337 |
| rift valley fever, mayotte, 2007-2008. | after the 2006-2007 epidemic wave of rift valley fever (rvf) in east africa and its circulation in the comoros, laboratory case-finding of rvf was conducted in mayotte from september 2007 through may 2008. ten recent human rvf cases were detected, which confirms the indigenous transmission of rfv virus in mayotte. | 2009 | 19331733 |
| acute human self-poisoning with imidacloprid compound: a neonicotinoid insecticide. | deliberate self-poisoning with older pesticides such as organophosphorus compounds are commonly fatal and a serious public health problem in the developing world. the clinical consequences of self-poisoning with newer pesticides are not well described. such information may help to improve clinical management and inform pesticide regulators of their relative toxicity. this study reports the clinical outcomes and toxicokinetics of the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid following acute self-poi ... | 2009 | 19352499 |
| musk-antibody-positive myasthenia gravis in a south asian population. | musk-antibody-positive myasthenia gravis (musk-mg) is diagnosed in 0-40% of cases with generalized seronegative mg in different populations. the presence of anti-musk antibodies defines a distinct clinico-immuno-pathological subtype of mg. we analysed for the first time the serology and clinical characteristics of musk-mg in a south asian population. | 2009 | 19394052 |
| medical emergency in sri lanka. | 2009 | 19394515 | |
| extreme violence--homicide; an analysis of 265 cases from the offices of jmo colombo and ragama--a study from sri lanka. | violence in a society can be categorized into many areas such as interpersonal violence, domestic violence, violence against children, violence of human rights, violence due to wars etc. the most extreme form of violence is killing of another human. to study whether the underlying reasons (motives) for killing has a relationship to the methods employed for killing. a retrospective descriptive study based on autopsy reports, magistrate orders and case notes attached was carried out on all the cas ... | 2009 | 19398365 |
| antiproliferative compounds of helmiopsis sphaerocarpa from the madagascar rainforest. | bioassay-directed separation of an ethanol extract of the leaves of helmiopsis sphaerocarpa l.c. barnett (sterculiaceae) led to the isolation of the new compound 14alpha,15alpha-epoxy-3beta-hydroxytaraxerane (1) and the four known compounds taraxerol (2), stigmast-5-en-3-ol (3), 5alpha,8alpha-epidioxy-24(s)-methylcholesta-6,22-dien-3beta-ol (4), and 24xi-hydroperoxy-24-ethylcholesta-4,28(29)-dien-3-one (5). the structure of the new compound 1 was established on the basis of interpretation of its ... | 2009 | 19401918 |
| susceptibility of new entrant university students in sri lanka to varicella zoster infection. | to investigate the susceptibility of sri lankan new entry university students to varicella zoster virus (vzv) infection, a cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among new entrant medical and engineering students of the university of peradeniya, sri lanka. self-reported history of chicken pox was studied first, followed by serological evaluation for vzv igg antibodies. a total of 451 students participated in the study out of which 189 (41.9%) reported a history of chicken pox. median ... | 2010 | 19411280 |
| postnatal exposure to methyl mercury from fish consumption: a review and new data from the seychelles child development study. | fish is an important source of nutrition worldwide. fish contain both the neurotoxin methyl mercury (mehg) and nutrients important for brain development. the developing brain appears to be most sensitive to mehg toxicity and mothers who consume fish during pregnancy expose their fetus prenatally. although brain development is most dramatic during fetal life, it continues for years postnatally and additional exposure can occur when a mother breast feeds or the child consumes fish. this raises the ... | 2009 | 19442817 |
| sri lanka's twin humanitarian crises. | 2009 | 19455737 | |
| emerging epidemic of fatal human self-poisoning with a washing powder in southern sri lanka: a prospective observational study. | self-poisoning is a public health problem in sri lanka. a new laundry detergent consisting of a sachet each of 1.2 g of potassium permanganate and 12.5 g of oxalic acid has become a popular agent among the youth for self-poisoning. | 2009 | 19492931 |
| enhanced influenza surveillance on réunion island (southern hemisphere) in the context of the emergence of influenza a(h1n1)v. | with the winter season on the southern hemisphere that starts in reunion island in june seasonal influenza activity usually increases shortly afterwards. the new influenza a(h1n1)v virus is rapidly spreading worldwide and may reach the island during the coming winter season. we have therefore enhanced influenza surveillance to detect the introduction of influenza a(h1n1)v, monitor its spread and impact on public health and characterise potential viral changes, particularly if seasonal influenza ... | 2009 | 19531342 |
| on the origins and admixture of malagasy: new evidence from high-resolution analyses of paternal and maternal lineages. | the malagasy have been shown to be a genetically admixed population combining parental lineages with african and south east asian ancestry. in the present paper, we fit the malagasy admixture history in a highly resolved phylogeographic framework by typing a large set of mitochondrial dna and y dna markers in unrelated individuals from inland (merina) and coastal (antandroy, antanosy, and antaisaka) ethnic groups. this allowed performance of a multilevel analysis in which the diversity among mai ... | 2009 | 19535740 |
| human rabies focusing on dog ecology-a challenge to public health in sri lanka. | sri lanka is among the top ten countries in the world that report the highest rate of human rabies deaths (2.8 per 1,000,000 in 2007) and animal bites requiring anti-rabies post-exposure treatment (pet) (755 per 100,000 in 2003). dogs are the main reservoir and transmitters of rabies in sri lanka. present study evaluates the effectiveness of dog rabies control strategies on reducing incidence of human rabies deaths. analysis is based on data from last three decades and showed strong correlations ... | 2009 | 19540826 |
| renal cystic dysplasia, paucity of bile ducts, situs inversus, bowing of the femora in two siblings in the reunion island: a ciliopathy? | 2009 | 19550299 | |
| structural and synthetic investigations of tanikolide dimer, a sirt2 selective inhibitor, and tanikolide seco-acid from the madagascar marine cyanobacterium lyngbya majuscula. | tanikolide seco-acid 2 and tanikolide dimer 3, the latter a novel and selective sirt2 inhibitor, were isolated from the madagascar marine cyanobacterium lyngbya majuscula. the structure of 2, isolated as the pure r enantiomer, was elucidated by x-ray experiment in conjunction with nmr and optical rotation data, whereas the depside molecular structure of 3 was initially thought to be a meso compound as established by nmr, ms, and chiral hplc analyses. subsequent total synthesis of the three tanik ... | 2009 | 19572575 |
| blood-feeding behavior of aedes albopictus, a vector of chikungunya on la réunion. | chikungunya virus (chikv) has long been considered to be transmitted to humans by the human-biting mosquito aedes aegypti, especially in africa. however, the recent outbreak of chikv involved another vector, aedes albopictus, and serological data in the literature suggest that several species of domestic or human-related vertebrates can be contaminated by this virus. however, the role of ae. albopictus mosquitoes as potential enzootic vectors for chikv has not yet been evaluated. here we investi ... | 2010 | 19589060 |
| sri lanka: the aftermath. | 2009 | 19595345 | |
| nutrient composition of plants consumed by black and white ruffed lemurs, varecia variegata, in the betampona natural reserve, madagascar. | the purpose of this study was to quantify the concentrations of crude protein, fat, ash, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, lignin, nonstructural carbohydrates, and gross energy in plant foods consumed by wild black and white ruffed lemurs (varecia variegata). calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, molybdenum, and selenium concentrations were also determined. a total of 122 samples from 33 plant families and more than 60 species were collec ... | 2010 | 19645044 |
| cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (cadasil): a patient from sri lanka. | we report the first patient from sri lanka (the third patient from the indian subcontinent) with cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (cadasil). the patient experienced a young onset familial stroke with an 856t>g missense mutation in exon 5 of the notch3 gene resulting in a c260g mutation in the sixth epidermal growth factor-like repeat. we believe this is the first reported sri lankan patient. cadasil is probably underdiagnosed in the regio ... | 2009 | 19683925 |