Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| population differences of two coding snps in pigmentation-related genes slc24a5 and slc45a2. | the two genes slc24a5 and slc45a2 were recently identified as major determinants of pigmentation in humans and in other vertebrates. the allele p.a111t in the former gene and the allele p.l374f in the latter gene are both nearly fixed in light-skinned europeans, and can therefore be considered ancestry informative marker (aims). aims are becoming useful for forensic identification of the phenotype from a dna profile sampled, for example, from a crime scene. here, we generate new allelic data for ... | 2007 | 16847698 |
| simian immunodeficiency virus sivmac239 infection of major histocompatibility complex-identical cynomolgus macaques from mauritius. | nonhuman primates are widely used to study correlates of protective immunity in aids research. successful cellular immune responses have been difficult to identify because heterogeneity within macaque major histocompatibility complex (mhc) genes results in quantitative and qualitative differences in immune responses. here we use microsatellite analysis to show that simian immunodeficiency virus (siv)-susceptible cynomolgus macaques (macaca fascicularis) from the indian ocean island of mauritius ... | 2007 | 17035320 |
| microalbuminuria, but not cystatin c, is associated with carotid atherosclerosis in middle-aged adults. | cystatin c, a marker of renal function, has been shown to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (cvd) in older adults, but few data are available in middle-aged adults. moreover, no study has compared cystatin c and microalbuminuria as risk factors for cvd outcomes in middle-aged adults, and it is not known whether cystatin c is related to an early stage of atherosclerosis. | 2007 | 17205961 |
| coprophagy by wild ring-tailed lemurs (lemur catta) in human-disturbed locations adjacent to the beza mahafaly special reserve, madagascar. | coprophagy occurs in a number of animal species, including nonhuman primates. during the 2003-2004 dry seasons at the beza mahafaly special reserve, madagascar, we observed wild ring-tailed lemurs (lemur catta) consuming dried fecal matter from three different species. ring-tailed lemurs consumed human feces on 12 occasions, cattle feces twice, and feral dog feces once. coprophagy in this population may be a behavioral adaptation that provides animals access to energy and nutrients and may be an ... | 2007 | 17253614 |
| medical geology in tropical countries with special reference to sri lanka. | sri lanka provides an ideal opportunity for the study of the effect of geology on human health. the vast majority of the people of sri lanka still live in rural areas within areas termed geochemical provinces. very broadly, one could say that a geochemical province has characteristic chemical composition in soil, water stream sediments and rocks, enabling their delineation from others. the chemical composition is presumed to be have an impact on the health of the inhabitants of the particular ge ... | 2007 | 17256098 |
| determining areas that require indoor insecticide spraying using multi criteria evaluation, a decision-support tool for malaria vector control programmes in the central highlands of madagascar. | the highlands of madagascar present an unstable transmission pattern of malaria. the population has no immunity, and the central highlands have been the sites of epidemics with particularly high fatality. the most recent epidemic occurred in the 1980s, and caused about 30,000 deaths. the fight against malaria epidemics in the highlands has been based on indoor insecticide spraying to control malaria vectors. any preventive programme involving generalised cover in the highlands will require very ... | 2007 | 17261177 |
| cytotoxic triterpenoid saponins of albizia gummifera from the madagascar rain forest. | bioassay-guided fractionation of an etoh extract obtained from the roots of the madagascan plant albizia gummifera led to the isolation of three new cytotoxic oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins, gummiferaosides a-c (1-3). the structures of these new compounds were elucidated using 1d and 2d nmr experiments and mass spectrometry. compounds 1-3 showed cytotoxicity against the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line with ic50 values of 0.8, 1.5, and 0.6 microg/ml, respectively. | 2007 | 17263578 |
| 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 |
| anti-proliferative effect of euphorbia stenoclada in human airway smooth muscle cells in culture. | the ethanolic extract of a malagasy species euphorbia stenoclada (es) (euphorbiaceae), traditionally used as a herbal remedy against asthma and acute bronchitis, was tested to evaluate possible anti-proliferative activity on human airway smooth muscle cells (hasmc). the es ethanolic extract totally abolished the interleukin-1beta (il-1beta) induced proliferation of hasmc (ic(50)=0.73+/-0.08 microg/ml). no cytotoxic effect was observed up to 20 microg/ml. a bioassay-guided fractionation of the et ... | 2007 | 16971077 |
| 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 |
| resource allocation in public hospitals: is it effective? | the allocative inefficiency is a fundamental flaw in the public hospitals of the developing countries. the inefficiencies drain the limited public resources allotted for healthcare. sri lanka's public health system faces worsening budget constraints. the resource allocation practices of the ministry of health focus on increasing the cadre of hospital staff, consequently crowding out the investments on facility development. the purpose of the study is to assess the impact of resource allocation i ... | 2007 | 16678297 |
| genome microevolution of chikungunya viruses causing the indian ocean outbreak. | a chikungunya virus outbreak of unprecedented magnitude is currently ongoing in indian ocean territories. in réunion island, this alphavirus has already infected about one-third of the human population. the main clinical symptom of the disease is a painful and invalidating poly-arthralgia. besides the arthralgic form, 123 patients with a confirmed chikungunya infection have developed severe clinical signs, i.e., neurological signs or fulminant hepatitis. | 2006 | 16700631 |
| microsatellites reveal extensive geographical, ecological and genetic contacts between invasive and indigenous whitefly biotypes in an insular environment. | human-mediated bioinvasions provide the opportunity to study the early stages of contact between formerly allopatric, divergent populations of a species. however, when invasive and resident populations are morphologically similar, it may be very difficult to assess their distribution in the field, as well as the extent of ecological overlap and genetic exchanges between invasive and resident populations. we here illustrate the use of data obtained from a set of eight microsatellite markers toget ... | 2006 | 16709274 |
| the value of small size: loss of forest patches and ecological thresholds in southern madagascar. | many services generated by forest ecosystems provide essential support for human well-being. however, the vulnerability of these services to environmental change such as forest fragmentation are still poorly understood. we present spatial modeling of the generation of ecosystem services in a human-dominated landscape where forest habitat patches, protected by local taboos, are located in a matrix of cultivated land in southern madagascar. two ecosystem services dependent on the forest habitats w ... | 2006 | 16711035 |
| multi-character population study of the vir subtelomeric multigene superfamily of plasmodium vivax, a major human malaria parasite. | plasmodium vivax, the most widely distributed human malaria parasite, contains the subtelomeric multigene vir superfamily corresponding to circa 10% of its coding genome. in this work, we used a multi-character strategy to study the vir gene repertoire circulating in natural parasite populations obtained directly from 32 human patients from endemic regions of brazil and sri lanka. cladistic analysis confirmed the existence of vir subfamilies, which varied in size and allele polymorphisms. moreov ... | 2006 | 16730808 |
| mass fatality management following the south asian tsunami disaster: case studies in thailand, indonesia, and sri lanka. | following natural disasters, mismanagement of the dead has consequences for the psychological well-being of survivors. however, no technical guidelines currently exist for managing mass fatalities following large natural disasters. existing methods of mass fatality management are not directly transferable as they are designed for transport accidents and acts of terrorism. furthermore, no information is currently available about post-disaster management of the dead following previous large natura ... | 2006 | 16737348 |
| management of dead bodies as a component of psychosocial interventions after the tsunami: a view from sri lanka. | even if predicted, disasters may not be completely averted due to reasons beyond human control. there is always likely to be a degree of loss, human as well as material. therefore, the correct strategy is to limit the damage and minimize the harm. such damage control exercises should be mindful about the psychological costs of the disaster. identification of dead bodies and the missing, as well as providing a dignified burial, is a crucial part of the overall management of a disaster. it will al ... | 2006 | 16753662 |
| the tsunami and its aftermath in sri lanka: explorations of a buddhist perspective. | this paper discusses the tsunami disaster in sri lanka with special reference to buddhism, which is the majority religion in the island. the role of religious beliefs and of religion in general in strengthening coping skills is well known. buddhism, with its specific views on the human condition and its use of psychological strategies, is almost unique among world religions. the buddhist responses to the tsunami have been discussed widely, if largely informally, in sri lanka, and many concepts a ... | 2006 | 16753667 |
| two new cytotoxic naphthoquinones from mendoncia cowanii from the rainforest of madagascar. | bioassay-guided fractionation of the root and stem extracts of mendoncia cowanii led to the isolation of two new and two known naphthoquinones. the structures of the new compounds, avicequinones d and e (1 and 2), were determined using 1d and 2d nmr spectroscopy and by chemical conversion of compound 1 to 2. the new compounds were active in the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line with ic50 values of 7.4 - 50 microm, respectively, and 1, 3, and 4 were subsequently found to be weakly active in an ... | 2006 | 16773542 |
| biomineralogy of human urinary calculi (kidney stones) from some geographic regions of sri lanka. | kidney stones (urinary calculi) have become a global scourge since it has been recognized as one of the most painful medical problems. primary causative factors for the formation of these stones are not clearly understood, though they are suspected to have a direct relationship to the composition of urine, which is mainly governed by diet and drinking water. sixty nine urinary calculi samples which were collected from stone removal surgeries were analyzed chemically for their na, k, ca, mg, cu, ... | 2006 | 16791711 |
| benchmark concentrations for methyl mercury obtained from the 9-year follow-up of the seychelles child development study. | methyl mercury (mehg) is highly toxic to the developing nervous system. human exposure is mainly from fish consumption since small amounts are present in all fish. findings of developmental neurotoxicity following high-level prenatal exposure to mehg raised the question of whether children whose mothers consumed fish contaminated with background levels during pregnancy are at an increased risk of impaired neurological function. benchmark doses determined from studies in new zealand, and the faro ... | 2006 | 16806480 |
| moderate transmission but high prevalence of malaria in madagascar. | malaria transmission remains poorly documented in areas of low transmission. a study has been carried out over two consecutive years in analamiranga, a village located at an altitude of 885m on the western edge of the malagasy highlands, with the aim of generating and updating malariometric indexes for both mosquitoes and schoolchildren. in this village, no vector control measures were performed during the study period nor during previous decades. mosquitoes were collected monthly when landing o ... | 2006 | 16842796 |
| occurrence of toxigenic cyanobacterial blooms in freshwaters of sri lanka. | a previous pioneering study of freshwater bodies in sri lanka revealed the presence of toxic cyanobacteria in three out of four water bodies tested. it was therefore important to perform a more detailed investigation into the presence of cyanobacteria and their toxins throughout sri lanka. the country has a long history of well-planned water management with the agricultural economy and drinking water supply still dependent on thousands of man-made tanks. seventeen reservoirs from different user ... | 2006 | 16464697 |
| prevalence of cryptosporidium and other enteric parasites among wild non-human primates in polonnaruwa, sri lanka. | cryptosporidiosis is a rapidly emerging disease in the tropics. this is the first report of cryptosporidium and other protozoan infections (entamoeba spp., iodamoeba, chilomastix, and balantidium spp.) in wild primates that inhabit the natural forest of sri lanka. it is unclear if non-human primates serve as a reservoir for these parasites under certain conditions. a cross-sectional coprologic survey among 125 monkeys (89 toque macaques, 21 gray langurs, and 15 purple-faced langurs) indicated th ... | 2006 | 16474091 |
| [tinea capitis in madagascar: a survey in a primary school in antsirabe]. | tinea capitis is a common infection among schoolchildren in developing countries. this condition is still under-reported in madagascar. in order to assess the prevalence of tinea capitis in madagascar, we conducted a study in a primary school in antsirabe, a town located in the country's high central territories. | 2006 | 16495846 |
| cytotoxic diterpenes from cassipourea madagascariensis from the madagascar rainforest. | bioassay-directed fractionation of ethanol extracts of the roots and leaves of the plant cassipourea madagascariensis resulted in the isolation of the two new terpenoids cassipourol (1) and cassipouryl acetate (2) in addition to the three known compounds, 3beta,30-dihydroxylup-20(29)-ene (3), 30-hydroxylup-20(29)-en-3-one (4), and combretol (5). the structures of the two new compounds were established on the basis of 1d and 2d nmr spectroscopic data and chemical conversion. all the isolated comp ... | 2006 | 16499334 |
| typhoid fever as a cause of opportunistic infection: case report. | typhoid fever is a systemic infection caused by the bacterium salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serotype typhi, which is acquired by ingestion of contaminated food and water. each year the disease affects at least 16 million persons world-wide, most of whom reside in the developing countries of southeast asia and africa. in italy the disease is uncommon with a greater number of cases in southern regions than in northern ones. | 2006 | 16504150 |
| detection of human papillomavirus from archival tissues in cervical cancer patients in mauritius. | around half a million new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed worldwide each year, accounting for almost 300,000 deaths. development of cervical cancer can be multi-factorial, but high-risk human papillomaviruses (hpv) have been associated with the aetiology of cervical cancer. it is believed that hpv dna integrates into the host dna causing abnormal cell growth with cells becoming carcinogenic and spreading metastatically. in mauritius, cervical cancer account for 65% of gynaecological cance ... | 2006 | 16115796 |
| 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 |
| [diagnosis of malaria in antananarivo city: examination of the results obtained at the institut pasteur de madagascar from 2001 to 2004]. | malaria diagnosis is part of the daily activities of the clinical biology center (cbc) of the institut pasteur de madagascar in antananarivo. over a period of four years (2001-2004), regardless the methods being used, out of 6537 blood samples examined, 159 (2.43%) tests were positive. all four species of plasmodium infecting human. were detected with a high prevalence of p. falciparum (87.2%). 49/159 patients were foreigners, but their files did not allow us to distinguish imported from locally ... | 2006 | 16983826 |
| melioidosis: an imported case from madagascar. | burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis, is endemic in southeast asia and northern australia but is a rare pathogen in other parts of the world. no human case of melioidosis has been reported in madagascar until now. we describe a case of pulmonary melioidosis probably acquired in madagascar. | 2006 | 16987131 |
| identification of strategies to prevent death after pesticide self-poisoning using a haddon matrix. | despite pesticide self-poisoning causing around 300 000 deaths each year in the rural asia pacific region, no comprehensive public health response has yet been formulated. the authors have developed a haddon matrix to identify factors that increase the risk of fatal rather than non-fatal pesticide self-poisoning in sri lanka. many important host factors such as age, gender, and genetics are not alterable; factors that could be changed-alcohol use and mental health-have previously proved difficul ... | 2006 | 17018677 |
| a frequent large rearrangement in the cftr gene in cystic fibrosis patients from reunion island. | reunion island is a french province, 800 km east of madagascar and 200 km west of mauritius. on reunion island, the birth prevalence of cystic fibrosis (cf) is particularly high in the population of european origin, approximately 1:1000. in a previous study, we demonstrated that the screening of the 27 exons of the cf transmembrane conductance regulator (cftr) gene by denaturing high-pressure liquid chromatography (dhplc) in 114 cf families allowed the detection of about 93% of the molecular def ... | 2006 | 17020473 |
| 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 |
| bioethics in sri lanka. | bioethics took off slowly in sri lanka, but now there are ethics review committees in many medical schools and national organizations. all medical schools teach some medical ethics but there are not enough trained teachers. there are no national guidelines on research ethics. the forum for research and development was formed with the aim of building a new ethical research culture. the bioethics initiative includes: awareness-raising; education activities and capacity building; advocacy; and the ... | 2006 | 17037692 |
| mental disorders and the symbolic function of therapeutic rites in the réunion island hindu environment. | this article describes two therapeutic rituals in the hindu milieu on réunion island--walking on fire and piercing parts of the body in the feast of cavedy--to underscore the cultural representation of madness and the symbolic function of these rites in treatment. madness is considered to be the result of a rupture of genealogy through denial of the founder, and of psychic-somatic unity, which leads the afflicted person to develop a fantasy of immortality. the two therapeutic rituals aim at rees ... | 2006 | 17090629 |
| hla-drb1 frequencies of the comorian population and their genetic affinities with sub-saharan african and indian oceanian populations. | ethnic-historic sources have considered the comorian population to be the result of an amalgamation of african, arabian and southeast asian groups. | 2006 | 17092866 |
| cytotoxic compounds of physena madagascariensis from the madagascar rain forest paragraph sign. | two new flavanones, remangiflavanones d and e (1 and 2), were isolated from an extract of the twigs, leaves, and flowers of physena madagascariensis together with three known flavanones, remangiflavanones a-c (3-5), and (e)-n-feruloyltyramine (6). the structures of the new compounds 1 and 2 were established on the basis of one-dimensional and two-dimensional nmr spectroscopic data interpretation. all compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity in the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line. com ... | 2006 | 17127502 |
| studies on sporozoite-induced and chronic infections with plasmodium fragile in macaca mulatta and new world monkeys. | plasmodium fragile continues to be investigated because of its biologic similarities to the human malaria parasite, plasmodium falciparum. two strains of p. fragile are available for study; one strain is able to infect mosquitoes, whereas the other strain is transmissible only by blood inoculation. the sri lanka strain of p. fragile was transmitted to macaca mulatta, macaca fascicularis, aotus lemurinus griseimembra, aotus nancymaae, aotus vociferans, and saimiri boliviensis monkeys via sporozoi ... | 2006 | 17152944 |
| avian influenza. | 2006 | 17180819 | |
| deforestation and plant diversity of madagascar's littoral forests. | few studies have attempted to quantify the reduction or document the floristic composition of forests in madagascar. thus, we focused specifically on deforestation and plant diversity in madagascar's eastern littoral community. we used a data set of approximately 13,500 specimen records compiled from both historical and contemporary collections resulting from recent intensive inventory efforts to enumerate total plant species richness and to analyze the degree of endemism within littoral forests ... | 2006 | 17181815 |
| tsunami disaster victim identification in sri lanka: legal aspects. | natural hazards amounting to disasters have almost become an endemic phenomenon during past decades throughout the globe, particularly affecting less resourced countries. the capabilities of the affected nations are stretched to the maximum in most of the disasters, thereby exposing deficiencies at various levels of the disaster mitigation mechanisms. a key factor identified through the human experience of all previous disaster scenarios is the requisite of effective and integrated local, nation ... | 2006 | 17191630 |
| epidemiological trends for human plague in madagascar during the second half of the 20th century: a survey of 20,900 notified cases. | to describe the principal characteristics and epidemiological trends for human plague in modern times based on the largest reported series of cases from the highly active malagasy focus. | 2006 | 16903886 |
| impact of human activity on the distribution of native and non-native cockroach species (dictyoptera) in la réunion and mayotte. | establishment of non-native species and human-driven alteration of habitats are major causes of the decline of native faunas. interference between native and non-native cockroach species was evaluated here by comparing their distribution areas in two oceanic islands: mayotte and la réunion. a factorial correspondence analysis showed that their presence is related to environmental parameters among which human activity, humidity and altitude are the three most important. human activity and humidit ... | 2006 | 16923208 |
| climate change in the seychelles: implications for water and coral reefs. | the seychelles is a small island state in the western indian ocean that is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. this vulnerability led the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc) in 2001 to express concern over the potential economic and social consequences that may be faced by small island states. small island states should be prepared to adapt to such changes, especially in view of their dependence on natural resources, such as water and coral reefs, to meet basic human welfar ... | 2006 | 16944643 |
| natural human antibody responses to plasmodium vivax apical membrane antigen 1 under low transmission and unstable malaria conditions in sri lanka. | plasmodium vivax apical membrane antigen 1, an important malaria vaccine candidate, was immunogenic during natural malaria infections in sri lanka, where low transmission and unstable malaria conditions prevail. antibody prevalence increased with exposure in areas where malaria was or was not endemic. a marked isotype switch to cytophilic (immunoglobulin g1 [igg1]/igg3) antibodies was evident with increasing exposure exclusively in residents from areas of endemicity. | 2006 | 16369044 |
| y-chromosomal microdeletions and partial deletions of the azoospermia factor c (azfc) region in normozoospermic, severe oligozoospermic and azoospermic men in sri lanka. | to assess for the first time the occurrence of y chromosomal microdeletions and partial deletions of the azoospermia factor c (azfc) region in sri lankan men and to correlate them with clinical parameters. | 2006 | 16372117 |
| usefulness of restriction fragment length polymorphism and spoligotyping for epidemiological studies of mycobacterium bovis in madagascar: description of new genotypes. | tuberculosis is highly prevalent in cattle in madagascar. an epidemiological study based on genotyping of mycobacterium bovis and its transmission to humans was carried out. the restriction fragment length polymorphism (is6110 and dr markers) and spoligotyping were used to assess the genetic diversity of strains from different regions of madagascar. one of these strains was isolated from goat, the other strains were isolated from zebu cattle. nine is6110 profiles, 20 dr profiles and 12 spoligoty ... | 2006 | 16384662 |
| mitochondrial evidence for distinct phylogeographic units in the endangered malagasy poison frog mantella bernhardi. | mantella bernhardi is an endemic species of malagasy poison frog threatened by loss and fragmentation of its natural habitat and collection for the pet trade. it is classified as threatened according to the international union for conservation of nature and natural resources (iucn) categories and included in appendix ii of the convention on the international trade of endangered species (cites). a recent survey has increased the known distributional range of the species from one to eight populati ... | 2006 | 16629815 |
| dose-dependent therapeutic antiinfectives from ethnomedicines of bay islands. | the methanol extract of ophirrhiza nicobarica, alstonia macrophylla and mallotus peltatus, ethnomedicines of little andaman, were investigated for antiinfective, antiinflammatory and antioxidant activities. | 2006 | 16636538 |
| the need for translational research on antidotes for pesticide poisoning. | 1. pesticide poisoning kills hundreds of thousands of people in the asia-pacific region each year. the majority of deaths are from deliberate self-poisoning with organophosphorus pesticides (op), aluminium phosphide and paraquat. the current response from a public health, medical and research perspective is inadequate. 2. there are few proven or effective treatments; in addition, very little clinical research has been performed to transfer antidotes shown to work in animal studies into clinical ... | 2005 | 16405459 |
| denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography-based genotyping and genetic variation of fut2 in sri lanka. | human abo-secretor locus (fut2) is highly polymorphic in many human populations. | 2005 | 16371047 |
| the state, conflict and the individual: the effect of the janatha vimukthi peramuna (jvp) insurrections in sri lankan on the mental welfare of a population. | this article describes the nature and effect of violence and conflict on the social and personal welfare of a local population using the example of the janatha vimukthi peramuna (vp) insurrections in sri lanka. it considers the impact of violence on individuals and communities both directly from traumatic events and indirectly through the social and political consequences of the violence. mental health is taken as an indicator of human welfare, and its relationship to the political and economic ... | 2005 | 16180734 |
| cytotoxic sesquiterpene lactones from vernonia pachyclada from the madagascar rainforest. | bioassay-guided fractionation of the cytotoxic leaf extract of vernonia pachyclada baker led to the isolation of three new sesquiterpene lactones, designated glaucolides k-m (1-3). the structures of the new compounds were determined using 1d and 2d nmr spectroscopy, and the structure and stereochemistry of 1 were confirmed by single-crystal x-ray diffraction. compound 3 showed moderate activity in the a2780 human ovarian cancer cell line, with an ic50 of 3.3 microm. | 2005 | 16180816 |
| genetic diversity of kir natural killer cell markers in populations from france, guadeloupe, finland, senegal and réunion. | killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (kirs) belong to a diverse family of natural killer (nk) cell receptors recognizing human leukocyte antigen (hla) class i molecules. due to this functional link, kir molecules are expected to display a high polymorphism, such as their hla ligands. moreover, many studies conducted in mouse and human models have shown that nk-kir receptors play an important role in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (hsct). a beneficial impact of peculiar kir ligand ... | 2005 | 16185321 |
| origin and diversification of the human parasite schistosoma mansoni. | schistosoma mansoni is the most widespread of the human-infecting schistosomes, present in 54 countries, predominantly in africa, but also in madagascar, the arabian peninsula, and the neotropics. adult-stage parasites that infect humans are also occasionally recovered from baboons, rodents, and other mammals. larval stages of the parasite are dependent upon certain species of freshwater snails in the genus biomphalaria, which largely determine the parasite's geographical range. how s. mansoni g ... | 2005 | 16202103 |
| evidence of early butchery of giant lemurs in madagascar. | we report here definitive evidence of butchery, most probably associated with hunting, of giant extinct lemurs by early human settlers in madagascar. specimens of palaeopropithecus ingens and pachylemur insignis from two sites in southwestern madagascar, taolambiby and tsirave, show classic signs of butchering. we compared these to the bones (also from taolambiby) of butchered propithecus verreauxi, a lemur still living in the region. the characteristics of the tool-induced extinct-lemur bone al ... | 2005 | 16225904 |
| differences between organophosphorus insecticides in human self-poisoning: a prospective cohort study. | although more than 100 organophosphorus insecticides exist, organophosphorus poisoning is usually regarded as a single entity, distinguished only by the compound's lethal dose in animals. we aimed to determine whether the three most common organophosphorus insecticides used for self-poisoning in sri lanka differ in the clinical features and severity of poisoning they cause. | 2005 | 16243090 |
| heritability of malaria in africa. | while many individual genes have been identified that confer protection against malaria, the overall impact of host genetics on malarial risk remains unknown. | 2005 | 16259530 |
| demography, range use, and behavior in black lemurs (eulemur macaco macaco) at ampasikely, northwest madagascar. | we studied a black lemur population over a 2-year period (1992-1993) and 8 years later (2000) in a 50-ha secondary forest in northwest madagascar. all of the animals were marked to investigate population dynamics and seasonal variation in ranging and behavior, and new data on black lemurs were obtained. our data on demographic characteristics were expanded to include other forest sites and contrasted with those collected in other eulemur macaco macaco field studies, in relation to human activity ... | 2005 | 16287130 |
| population structure of anopheles arabiensis on la réunion island, indian ocean. | anopheles arabiensis, together with anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, are the most important vectors of human malaria in sub-saharan africa. the malaria situation keeps worsening, with 1 to 3 million deaths a year, and alternative strategies are needed to decrease malaria transmission intensity. in this paper, we studied the population structure of an. arabiensis from three sample sites on the remote indian ocean island of la réunion. our results showed strong genetic structuring between an. arab ... | 2005 | 16354815 |
| from the recent lessons of the malagasy foci towards a global understanding of the factors involved in plague reemergence. | re-emergence of human cases of plague after decades of silence does not necessarily mean that plague foci are re-emerging. most often, yersinia pestis bacteria have been maintained and circulating at low levels in the rodent populations. it seems therefore more appropriate to speak in terms of expansion or regression phases for sylvatic rodent plague foci and to reserve the term re-emergence for human cases. from the analysis of well-documented human plague cases in madagascar, we underline the ... | 2005 | 15845233 |
| collaborative research trials: a strategy for fostering mental health protections in developing nations. | 2005 | 15862873 | |
| iodine prophylaxis, goitre and thyroid autoimmunity in sri lanka. | 2005 | 15881560 | |
| development of the egg hatch assay for detection of anthelminthic resistance in human hookworms. | evidence of development and rapid spread of anthelminthic resistance in veterinary nematodes raises concern that the increasingly frequent treatments used in chemotherapy-based programmes to control human soil-transmitted helminths may select resistant worms. the aim of this study was to adapt, refine, and evaluate the egg hatch assay (eha) test, which has been used for veterinary nematodes, for field testing of benzimidazole (bz) susceptibility/resistance in human hookworms. a second objective ... | 2005 | 15885696 |
| how effective were mangroves as a defence against the recent tsunami? | whether or not mangroves function as buffers against tsunamis is the subject of in-depth research, the importance of which has been neglected or underestimated before the recent killer tsunami struck. our preliminary post-tsunami surveys of sri lankan mangrove sites with different degrees of degradation indicate that human activity exacerbated the damage inflicted on the coastal zone by the tsunami. | 2005 | 15964259 |
| tree structure and diversity in human-impacted littoral forests, madagascar. | this research surveyed human-impacted littoral forests in southeastern madagascar to determine (i) how forest structural features, indicative of human impact, are related to total, utilitarian, and endemic tree diversity; (ii) the distribution, abundance, and demographics of tree species groups (i.e., total, useful, endemic) across the landscape; and (iii) the amount of basal area available per human use category. we also use these data to consider issues of sustainable use and how human impact ... | 2005 | 15977086 |
| altered environment and risk of malaria outbreak in south andaman, andaman & nicobar islands, india affected by tsunami disaster. | pools of salt water and puddles created by giant waves from the sea due to the tsunami that occurred on 26th december 2004 would facilitate increased breeding of brackish water malaria vector, anopheles sundaicus. land uplifts in north andaman and subsidence in south andaman have been reported and subsidence may lead to environmental disturbances and vector proliferation. this warrants a situation analysis and vector surveillance in the tsunami hit areas endemic for malaria transmitted by bracki ... | 2005 | 16029514 |
| molecular and biochemical characterization of a sand fly population from sri lanka: evidence for insecticide resistance due to altered esterases and insensitive acetylcholinesterase. | with an increasing incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in sri lanka, particularly in northern provinces, insecticide-mediated vector control is under consideration. optimizing such a strategy requires the characterization of sand fly populations in target areas with regard to species composition and extant resistance, among other parameters. sand flies were collected by human bait and cattle-baited net traps on delft island, used as an illegal transit location by many refugees returning to the ... | 2005 | 16048685 |
| low-level exposure to organophosphate pesticides leads to restrictive lung dysfunction. | apart from symptomology, there are very few reports on lung function following exposure to low levels of organophosphate (op) pesticides in man. twenty-five occupationally exposed farmers and 22 environmentally exposed freshwater fishermen were evaluated between and during op spray seasons. forty marine fishermen living away from agricultural areas were recruited as a control group. forced vital capacity (fvc) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (fev(1)) were measured by spirometry. ... | 2005 | 16102957 |
| enterocytozoon bieneusi (microsporidia) in clinical samples from immunocompetent individuals in tenerife, canary islands, spain. | microsporidia are newly emerging pathogens of humans and animals, with enterocytozoon bieneusi being the most common causal agent in human microsporidiosis. to determine the presence of e. bieneusi, 273 clinical samples (40 urine, 156 stools, 37 sputum, 9 bronchial aspirates, 5 bronchial washes and 26 pleural fluids) from immunocompetent patients, mainly suffering diarrhoea or pneumonia, in tenerife, canary islands, spain were analysed using light microscopy after staining with weber's chromotro ... | 2005 | 16111728 |