Mahidol University

About: Mahidol University is a education organization based out in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Malaria. The organization has 23758 authors who have published 39761 publications receiving 878781 citations.

Causes and Effects of Temporospatial Declines of Gyps Vultures in Asia

Abstract: There are eight species in the genus Gyps : Gyps africanus , G. coprotheres, and G. rueppellii in Africa; G. bengalensis , G. indicus , G. tenuirostris , G. himalayensis in Asia; G. fulvus in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The ranges of many of these species overlap, and wintering G. fulvus overlap with several resident species in Asia and Africa (Fig. 1). Gyps species share a similar feeding ecology, scavenging the soft tissues of large mammals, usually ungulates. They tend to be colonial nesters and communal feeders, feeding alongside conspecifics and other vulture species. Densities of Gyps vultures can be high in areas with suitable breeding habitat and abundant carrion. An extreme example is G. bengalensis , which often lives in close association with humans. During the 1970s and early to mid-1980s, densities of 12 nests/km 2 were recorded at Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India (Prakash 1989), and there were nearly 3 nests/km 2 in the city of Delhi (Galushin 1971), where flocks of several thousand birds were present at carcass dumps. As recently as 1985, G. bengalensis was regarded as “possibly the most abundant large bird of prey in the world” (Houston 1985). Despite Gyps population declines across Southeast Asia, until recently only one species of Africa, G. coprotheres, was considered globally threatened (vulnerable; BirdLife International 2000), largely because of the indiscriminate use of poisons in southern Africa (Mundy et al. 1992). Following the recent population crash in Gyps species across the Indian subcontinent, three other species, G. bengalensis, G. indicus, and G. tenuirostris , are now listed as critical ( BirdLife International 2000), placing them among the most threatened birds in the world.

Tranexamic acid reduces blood loss and blood transfusion after TKA: a prospective randomized controlled trial

Abstract: Background TKA may be associated with considerable blood loss, and transfusion carries substantial risk of immunologic reaction and disease transmission. Blood transfusion also involves additional cost, therefore a reduction in its use is important. Several methods reportedly reduce postoperative blood loss and avoid homologous blood transfusion with traditional TKA approaches, but it is unclear these reductions apply to a minimally invasive technique.

Risk Factors of Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract: The etiology of breast cancer might be explained by 2 mechanisms, namely, differentiation and proliferation of breast epithelial cells mediated by hormonal factors. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to update effects of risk factors for both mechanisms. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched up to January 2011. Studies that assessed association between oral contraceptives (OC), hormonal replacement therapy (HRT), diabetes mellitus (DM), or breastfeeding and breast cancer were eligible. Relative risks with their confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted. A random-effects method was applied for pooling the effect size. The pooled odds ratios of OC, HRT, and DM were 1.10 (95% CI = 1.03-1.18), 1.23 (95% CI = 1.21-1.25), and 1.14 (95% CI = 1.09-1.19), respectively, whereas the pooled odds ratio of ever-breastfeeding was 0.72 (95% CI = 0.58-0.89). Our study suggests that OC, HRT, and DM might increase risks, whereas breastfeeding might lower risks of breast cancer.

Clinical features cannot predict a diagnosis of malaria or differentiate the infecting species in children living in an area of low transmission

Abstract: The differentiation of malaria from other causes of fever in the absence of microscopy is notoriously difficult. Clinical predictors of malaria have been studied in an area of low and unstable transmission on the western border of Thailand. In 1527 children aged 2-15 years who were followed prospectively for 7 months, 82% (1254) had at least one febrile episode. Malaria caused 24% (301) of the first febrile episodes (Plasmodium falciparum 128, P. vivax 151, P. malariae 1, mixed infections with P. falciparum and P. vivax 21). Each malaria case was matched with the next child of similar age presenting to the dispensary with another cause of fever. Clinical symptoms or signs associated with a final diagnosis of malaria were: confirmed fever (> or = 38 degrees C) (odds ratio [OR] 1.6, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.4-1.9), headache (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.3-1.9), muscle and/or joint pain (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.6-2.8), nausea (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.4-2.3), clinical anaemia (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.3-3.3), palpable spleen (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.7), palpable liver (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-2.1), absence of cough (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.4-2.0), and absence of diarrhoea (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2-2.4). None of these signs alone or in combination proved a good predictor of malaria. The best diagnostic algorithms (history of fever and headache without cough, and history of fever with an oral temperature > or = 38 degrees C [sensitivity 51% for both, specificity 72 and 71%, respectively]) would result in prescription of antimalarial drugs in 28-29% of the non-malaria febrile episodes, and only 49% of the true malaria cases. Thus half of the potentially life-threatening P. falciparum infections would not be treated. Although multivariate analysis identified vomiting, confirmed fever, splenomegaly and hepatomegaly as independent risk factors for a diagnosis of falciparum malaria, use of these signs to differentiate falciparum from vivax malaria, and thus to determine antimalarial treatment, was insufficiently sensitive or specific. Malaria diagnosis should be confirmed by microscopical examination of a blood slide or the use of specific dipstick tests in areas of low transmission where highly drug-resistant P. falciparum coexists with P. vivax.