Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year Filter | PMID(sorted descending) Filter |
|---|
| myocarditis associated with 2009 influenza a (h1n1) virus in children. | 2010 | 20392309 | |
| [isolated prostate tuberculosis. report of a case in madagascar]. | isolated prostate tuberculosis is uncommon. authors report herein the case of 64-year-old man who presented obstructive syndrome of low urinary tract. after clinical and biological examination, and imagery, prostate cancer was highly suspected. transrectal biopsy was performed and histological examination showed tuberculosis lesions. we suggest that prostate tuberculosis should be evoked in old patient presenting similar signs and living in tuberculosis endemic zone. | 2010 | 20380996 |
| rab23 mutation in a large family from comoros islands with carpenter syndrome. | we report here on a rab23 mutation (c.86dupa) present in the homozygote state in four relatives of comorian origin with carpenter syndrome. all children presented with acrocephaly and polysyndactyly. however, intrafamilial variability was observed with variable severity of craniosynostosis ranging from cloverleaf skull to predominant involvement of the metopic ridge. all children also presented with a combination of brachydactyly with agenesis of the middle phalanges, syndactyly, broad thumbs, a ... | 2010 | 20358613 |
| plasmodium vivax clinical malaria is commonly observed in duffy-negative malagasy people. | malaria therapy, experimental, and epidemiological studies have shown that erythrocyte duffy blood group-negative people, largely of african ancestry, are resistant to erythrocyte plasmodium vivax infection. these findings established a paradigm that the duffy antigen is required for p. vivax erythrocyte invasion. p. vivax is endemic in madagascar, where admixture of duffy-negative and duffy-positive populations of diverse ethnic backgrounds has occurred over 2 millennia. there, we investigated ... | 2010 | 20231434 |
| health and human rights education: time to act. | 2010 | 20226986 | |
| paleoenvironment of ankilitelo cave (late holocene, southwestern madagascar): implications for the extinction of giant lemurs. | following human arrival, madagascar suffered well-documented megafaunal extinctions and widespread deforestation. although humans are widely considered to be the primary cause of the extinctions, the relative contributions of climate change and human activities to this ecological transformation remain uncertain. reconstructing the habitats of the giant lemurs of madagascar can provide key information for understanding the evolutionary mechanisms involved in their extinction. in this study, i pre ... | 2010 | 20226497 |
| candidate gene study of susceptibility to cutaneous leishmaniasis in sri lanka. | to investigate the association between selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) in tnf, lta and slc11a1 genes and risk of endemic cutaneous leishmaniasis (cl) in sri lanka through a case-control disease association study. | 2010 | 20214763 |
| study on the movement of rattus rattus and evaluation of the plague dispersion in madagascar. | plague affects mainly the rural areas in the central highlands of madagascar. rattus rattus is the main rodent host of yersinia pestis in these localities. since the introduction of plague, endemic foci have continued to expand, and spatiotemporal variability in the distribution of human plague has been observed. to assess the movements of r. rattus and evaluate the risk of dispersion of the disease, a field study at the scale of the habitats (houses, hedges of sisals, and rice fields) in the pl ... | 2010 | 20158335 |
| management of blood system in disasters. | managing the blood system in disasters is one of the main challenges for any blood transfusion service exposed to natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods and tsunamis, biological threats such as pandemic influenza as well as manmade disruptions and terrorism. sri lanka had to face contrasting types of situations. the most unexpected and dreadful one was the 2004 december 26 tsunami catastrophe which cost >30,000 human lives, leaving more than 23,000 injured. health services were over-burdene ... | 2010 | 20149686 |
| livelihoods and protection in situations of protracted conflict. | this paper presents the findings from research on livelihoods-protection linkages from the perspective of conflict-affected populations as well as agency analysis and action. the aim of the research is to understand how greater complementarity between humanitarian protection and livelihoods approaches might reduce the risks facing conflict-affected populations. the findings show that the causes of risks to livelihoods and protection are often the same, and that community responses are intimately ... | 2010 | 20132269 |
| lessons from the h1n1 influenza pandemic in french overseas territories and interim reports from metropolitan france. | 2010 | 20121826 | |
| a review of the dynamics and severity of the pandemic a(h1n1) influenza virus on réunion island, 2009. | on reunion island, in response to the threat of emergence of the pandemic influenza a(h1n1)2009 virus, we implemented enhanced influenza surveillance from may 2009 onwards in order to detect the introduction of pandemic h1n1 influenza and to monitor its spread and impact on public health. the first 2009 pandemic influenza a(h1n1) virus was identified in réunion on july 5, 2009, in a traveller returning from australia; seasonal influenza b virus activity had already been detected. by the end of j ... | 2010 | 20121825 |
| the pig tapeworm taenia solium, the cause of cysticercosis: biogeographic (temporal and spacial) origins in madagascar. | cysticercosis is a serious public health problem in madagascar. the prevalence rate of active cysticercosis reached 21% in regions with a high level of livestock farming. taenia solium of african-american and asian genotypes are both present on the island. the times of divergence of the 13 specimens studied suggests a very ancient diversification of t. solium. these events are widely thought to be prior to the domestication of pigs, and seem to follow the expansion of homo in asia. multiple huma ... | 2010 | 20093191 |
| ergonomics related to seating arrangements in the classroom: worst in south east asia? the situation in sri lankan school children. | sri lanka is a resource-poor country in the south-east asian region with good health indices. ergonomics of children in educational environments is still novel in the region. an exploration into such issues and dissemination of the scientific evidence will stimulate policy makers in both education and health sector. an important ergonomic issue of the classroom is the seating arrangement. essential aspects of seating include location of the chair and desk in relation to the blackboard and featur ... | 2009 | 20075518 |
| euphane triterpenoids of cassipourea lanceolata from the madagascar rainforest. | fractionation of an ethanol extract of a madagascar collection of the leaves and fruit of cassipourea lanceolata tul. led to the isolation of three euphane triterpenoids 1-3. the (1)h and (13)c nmr spectra of all compounds were fully assigned using a combination of 2d nmr experiments, including cosy, tocsy, hsqc (hmqc), hmbc and roesy sequences. the three compounds showed weak antiproliferative activities against the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line, with ic(50) values of 25, 25 and 32 micro ... | 2010 | 20074760 |
| differences and commonalities in physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of zanzibari geophagic soils. | the function of human geophagy has long been questioned. we sought to test hypotheses concerning its potential physiological effects through analysis of soils and patterns in geophagy behavior. eleven samples of geophagic soils consumed by pregnant women on pemba island, zanzibar, tanzania, were characterized according to their color, texture, major element chemistry, trace element chemistry, bulk mineralogy, and clay mineralogy. an epidemiological study (n = 2367) and ethnographic interviews (n ... | 2010 | 20063204 |
| novel human parechovirus, sri lanka. | of 362 fecal samples collected from children with acute gastroenteritis in sri lanka during 2005-2006, 30 (8.3%) were positive for human parechovirus (hpev) by reverse transcription-pcr. a novel hpev, designated as hpev10, was identified in 2 samples by sequence analysis of the viral protein 1 gene of the detected hpevs. | 2010 | 20031059 |
| a new deep branch of eurasian mtdna macrohaplogroup m reveals additional complexity regarding the settlement of madagascar. | current models propose that mitochondrial dna macrohaplogroups m and n evolved from haplogroup l3 soon after modern humans left africa. increasingly, however, analysis of isolated populations is filling in the details of, and in some cases challenging, aspects of this general model. | 2009 | 20003445 |
| str polymorphisms in sri lanka: evaluation of forensic utility in identification of individuals and parentage testing. | this preliminary study was carried out to determine the allele frequencies and forensic efficiency parameters for the short tandem repeat loci csf1po, tpox, tho1, d16s539, d7s820, d13s317, vwa, fesfps and f13b in a test sample population of sri lankans. | 2009 | 19999788 |
| common variants at the gck, gckr, g6pc2-abcb11 and mtnr1b loci are associated with fasting glucose in two asian populations. | to test fasting glucose association at four loci recently identified or verified by genome-wide association (gwa) studies of european populations, we performed a replication study in two asian populations. | 2010 | 19937311 |
| field site selection: getting it right first time around. | the selection of suitable field sites for integrated control of anopheles mosquitoes using the sterile insect technique (sit) requires consideration of the full gamut of factors facing most proposed control strategies, but four criteria identify an ideal site: 1) a single malaria vector, 2) an unstructured, relatively low density target population, 3) isolation of the target population and 4) actual or potential malaria incidence. such a site can exist in a diverse range of situations or can be ... | 2009 | 19917079 |
| pandemic h1n1 influenza lessons from the southern hemisphere. | 2009 | 19883551 | |
| preliminary analysis of the pandemic h1n1 influenza on reunion island (indian ocean): surveillance trends (july to mid-september 2009). | first infections with the 2009 pandemic h1n1 influenza virus were identified on reunion island in july 2009. by the end of july, sustained community transmission of the virus was established. pandemic h1n1 influenza activity peaked during week 35 (24 to 30 august), five weeks after the beginning of the epidemic and has been declining since week 36. we report preliminary epidemiological characteristics of the pandemic on reunion island in 2009 until week 37 ending september 13. | 2009 | 19883550 |
| saponins and a lignan derivative of terminalia tropophylla from the madagascar dry forest. | a study of an etoh extract obtained from the roots of the madagascan plant terminalia tropophylla h. perrier (combretaceae) led to isolation of the oleanane-type triterpenoid saponin 1, the lignan derivative 2, and the two known saponins arjunglucoside i (3) and sericoside (4). the structures of compounds 1 (terminaliaside a) and 2 (4'-o-cinnamoyl cleomiscosin a) were elucidated using 1d and 2d nmr experiments and mass spectrometry. compound 1 showed antiproliferative activity against the a2780 ... | 2010 | 19875137 |
| ancient law and indian rights: an historical perspective from the argentine chaco. | 2008 | 19856539 | |
| cardiac involvement in dengue virus infections during the 2004/2005 dengue fever season in sri lanka. | sri lanka experienced a dramatic increase in dengue cases (15,400) in the 2004 - 2005 season. we carried out a prospective study to investigate cardiac involvement in dengue virus infected patients during the 2004 - 2005 season in peradeniya, central province, sri lanka. cardiac involvement was defined as elevated levels of myoglobin, creatine kinase-muscle brain-type, n-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, heart-type fatty acid-binding protein and troponin t. twenty-five percent of dengue vi ... | 2009 | 19842405 |
| the sri lankan doctors and the challenge for medical leadership. | 2009 | 19839540 | |
| surveillance for antibodies to leishmania spp. in dogs from sri lanka. | the global distribution of leishmaniasis is rapidly expanding into new geographic regions. dogs are the primary reservoir hosts for human visceral leishmaniasis caused by infection with leishmania infantum. natural infections with other leishmania spp. can occur in dogs, but their role as reservoir hosts for other species of leishmania is uncertain. leishmania donovani is traditionally considered a visceralizing anthroponotic species; however, cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by l. donovani has be ... | 2010 | 19803542 |
| knowledge, attitude and practice assessment of construction workers for hiv/aids in sri lanka. | human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) prevalence is relatively lower in sri lanka than in other asian countries; however, the number of hiv-infected persons has rapidly increased in recent years. | 2009 | 19801804 |
| antiproliferative triterpenoid saponins of dodonaea viscosa from the madagascar dry forest. | bioassay-guided fractionation of an etoh extract obtained from the roots of the madagascan plant dodonaea viscosa led to the isolation of two new antiproliferative oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins, dodoneasides a and b (1 and 2). the structures of these two new compounds were elucidated using 1d and 2d nmr experiments and mass spectrometry. compounds 1 and 2 showed antiproliferative activity against the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line with ic(50) values of 0.79 and 0.70 mum, respectively ... | 2009 | 19719093 |
| human plague occurrences in africa: an overview from 1877 to 2008. | plague remains a public health concern worldwide, but particularly in africa. despite the long-standing history of human plague, it is difficult to get a historical and recent overview of the general situation. we searched and screened available information sources on human plague occurrences in african countries and compiled information on when, where and how many cases occurred in a centralised database. we found records that plague was probably already present before the third pandemic and th ... | 2010 | 19716148 |
| typing methods for the plague pathogen, yersinia pestis. | phenotypic and genotypic methodologies have been used to differentiate the etiological agent of plague, yersinia pestis. historically, phenotypic methods were used to place isolates into one of three biovars based on nitrate reduction and glycerol fermentation. classification of y. pestis into genetic subtypes is problematic due to the relative monomorphic nature of the pathogen. resolution into groups is dependent on the number and types of loci used in the analysis. the last 5-10 years of rese ... | 2009 | 19714987 |
| [rift valley fever virus: evolution in progress]. | several viruses now circulating in tropical zones around the globe are potential threats for ever-increasing human populations even in temperate zones that have long remained unaffected. the mechanisms underlying transport and transmission, which can be enhanced by human activity, can be even stronger in zones where factors needed to support development of these viruses, i.e., hosts, reservoirs and vectors, are already present. this possibility has been illustrated by dengue virus, and now by th ... | 2009 | 19702138 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| sri lanka: the aftermath. | 2009 | 19595345 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| renal cystic dysplasia, paucity of bile ducts, situs inversus, bowing of the femora in two siblings in the reunion island: a ciliopathy? | 2009 | 19550299 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| sri lanka's twin humanitarian crises. | 2009 | 19455737 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| medical emergency in sri lanka. | 2009 | 19394515 | |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| [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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| [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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |