Morphological Characteristics of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze from Seven Localities in Myanmar

Morphological characteristics of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze belonging to the family Thaeceae were studied. In Myanmar, Camellia sinensis (L. ) Kuntze is known as “laphet or tea”. The plant specimens were collected from seven localities of Pyin Oo Lwin and Mogok Townships of Mandalay Region; Naung Cho Township of Northern Shan State; Pinlaung, Panglong, Pindaya and Ywangan Townships of Southern Shan State in Myanmar from 2017 to 2019. The plants were shrubs to small trees and leaf scars were present on the stems from seven localities. The shapes and colour of leaves were the same inall localities.The sizes of leaves, petioles and flowers were varied from one locality to another. The flowers were creamy white or pale yellow, showy and fragrant. Sepals were 5 and persistentinall localities. The numbers of petals were slightly different from one locality to another. The capsules were woody and 3-5 seeded in all localities. The similarities and differencesof morphological characteristics of this study would be useful for species confirmation and verification of certain plant identification rapidly and easily

Effect of seminal plasma removal, washing solutions, and centrifugation regimes on boer goat semen cryopreservation

Three experiments were carried out to improve semen quality during cryopreservation process. Total motility, forward motility, acrosome integrity, live spermatozoa, and normal spermatozoa were measured as semen quality. In Experiment 1, the effects of seminal plasma removal were analyzed by using two different extenders (GE and FE). The removal of seminal plasma gave higher and significant (P<0.05) effect in the total motility, forward motility, and live spermatozoa after cryopreservation. For two different extenders, however, the differences were not observed on the semen quality. In Experiment 2, three different washing solutions (namely, phosphate buffered saline, normal saline and Tris-based extender) were tested to evaluate the effects of semen quality after cryopreservation. Tris-based extender (TCG) conferred the highest (P<.05) sperm quality values in the total motility, forward motility, and live spermatozoa after cryopreservation. In Experiment 3, the effects of different centrifugation regimes (3000 × g for 3 min, 1600 × g for 10 min, 800 × g for 15 min) were evaluated on Boer semen quality. Semen quality parameters (namely, total motility, forward motility, acrosome integrity, and live spermatozoa) were significantly (P<.05) higher for cryopreserved spermatozoa centrifuged with 3000 × g for 3 min than the others. In conclusion, the removal of seminal plasma, washing solution TCG, and the use short-term centrifugation with a relative high g-force could contribute to the increased Boer semen quality after cryopreservation

SUPPLEMENTATION OF MORINGA OLEIFERA LEAF MEAL AS PROTEIN SOURCE ON HAEMATOLOGICAL RESPONSES AND GROWTH PERFORMANCE IN BROILER

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of different dietary levels of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on growth performance and blood parameter of broilers in six weeks period. A total of 160 male broilers (Cobb- 500) were randomly divided into five treatment groups in a completely randomized design. Each treatment contained four replicates with eight chickens in each. The dietary treatments were T1 (control group without MOLM), T2 (diet containing 3% MOLM), T3 (diet containing 4 % MOLM), T4 (diet containing 5 % MOLM) and T5 (diet containing 6% MOLM). They were formulated to meet nutrient requirement of the National Research Council (1994).The average daily feed intake of broiler chicks fed with T1diet was significantly (P 0.05) from each other. Feed conversion ratios were not affected by all dietary treatments. Hundred percent liability was observed that in all treatment groups. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences among the treatments for total RBC count, PCV, Hb, MCV, and MCH except from total plasma protein. Therefore, the birds fed T1 was significantly lower than birds fed T2, T3, T4 and T5 diets in plasma protein. According to the findings, Moringa oleifera leaf meal up to 6 % dietary level of broiler diet did not give any adverse effects on their performance and blood parameters of broiler chickens indicating that Moringa oleifera leaf meal has nutritional potency in broiler diets

Dental Service Use and Dentition Status among 12 year-old Schoolchildren in East District, Yangon Region

Abstract - Good oral health is an essential part of better general health and well-being throughout life. Regular dental visit has been found to provide an opportunity for oral health care professionals to diagnose illness, provide primary preventive services and treat particular dental disease and other oral health related problems. The aim of this study was to assess dental service use and dentition status among 12 year-old schoolchildren in two townships from East District, Yangon Region. Cross-sectional, descriptive, school-based, non-intervention type of study was carried out among 482 (250 boys and 232 girls) schoolchildren in 2017-18. Data concerning sociodemographic characteristics, dental visit pattern and dentition status were determined. The present sample was likely to represent urban population and nearly half of their parents had only completed primary and middle school education. Almost the same distribution pattern of education was found between fathers and mothers. Two third of fathers (65.6%) and one third of mothers (30.7%) were unskilled workers and more than half of mothers (55.4%) were dependent. History of dental service utilization was reported in 42.9% of students and main reason was toothache (52.2%). Among those who had visited to the dentist (n=207), most of them (86.5%) visited to the private dental surgeons and 65.2% had received treatment of tooth extraction. Approximately 40.0% of students acquired oral health knowledge from dental surgeon. Most of the students (92.9%) responded that they should see the dental surgeon at least once a year for routine dental checkup. Dental caries prevalence was 67.0% with mean DMF-T of 0.65 (SD 1.16) where decayed was a dominant portion. No relationships were observed between dental caries and gender, parental education, parental occupation, dental visiting pattern. However, higher caries prevalence was found in schoolchildren with lower mothers’ educational level. In addition, lower level of dental visit pattern was observed among those with low parental educational level. Thus preventive as well as curative measures should be promoted along with school dental health program

Factors associated with psychological distress among Myanmar residents during COVID-19 pandemic crises

Background: COVID-19 pandemic reached a public health emergency status of international concern. The impacts and events associated with this were associated with adverse psychological impacts among the general public globally. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and to identify predictors associated with psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic among the population in Myanmar. Design and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March to April 2020 among adults, 18 years old and above, who reside in Myanmar through a structured questionnaire distributed in social media platforms. Univariate and Bivariate analyses were used to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index (CPDI) symptoms and to test the associations between CPDI and the exposure variables. Logistic Regression Analysis was done to identify significant predictors of distress. Results: There were 530 participants in this study.37.4% of them did not have psychological distress,55.6% experienced mild to moderate psychological distress, and 7% experienced severe psychological distress due to COVID-19 pandemic. Simple and Multiple Logistic Regression Analyses were performed to determine the factors associated with psychological distress due to COVID-19. Conclusions: It was shown that the self-employed group and age group older than 45 years old had more psychological distress than others. However, Buddhists and people from the capital city had less distress than other religions and districts. This study recommends the government to develop better strategies for self-employed groups, elders, and the poor for a support, relief, and resettlement of their ruined status

Political transition and emergent forest-conservation issues in Myanmar.

Political and economic transitions have had substantial impacts on forest conservation. Where transitions are underway or anticipated, historical precedent and methods for systematically assessing future trends should be used to anticipate likely threats to forest conservation and design appropriate and prescient policy measures to counteract them. Myanmar is transitioning from an authoritarian, centralized state with a highly regulated economy to a more decentralized and economically liberal democracy and is working to end a long-running civil war. With these transitions in mind, we used a horizon-scanning approach to assess the 40 emerging issues most affecting Myanmar's forests, including internal conflict, land-tenure insecurity, large-scale agricultural development, demise of state timber enterprises, shortfalls in government revenue and capacity, and opening of new deforestation frontiers with new roads, mines, and hydroelectric dams. Averting these threats will require, for example, overhauling governance models, building capacity, improving infrastructure- and energy-project planning, and reforming land-tenure and environmental-protection laws. Although challenges to conservation in Myanmar are daunting, the political transition offers an opportunity for conservationists and researchers to help shape a future that enhances Myanmar's social, economic, and environmental potential while learning and applying lessons from other countries. Our approach and results are relevant to other countries undergoing similar transitions

Confirmation of Skywalker Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock tianxing) in Myanmar Extends Known Geographic Range of an Endangered Primate

Characterizing genetically distinct populations of primates is important for protecting biodiversity and effectively allocating conservation resources. Skywalker gibbons (Hoolock tianxing) were first described in 2017, with the only confirmed population consisting of 150 individuals in Mt. Gaoligong, Yunnan Province, China. Based on river geography, the distribution of the skywalker gibbon has been hypothesized to extend into Myanmar between the N’Mai Kha and Ayeyarwaddy Rivers to the west, and the Salween River (named the Thanlwin River in Myanmar and Nujiang River in China) to the east. We conducted acoustic point-count sampling surveys, collected noninvasive samples for molecular mitochondrial cytochrome b gene identification, and took photographs for morphological identification at six sites in Kachin State and three sites in Shan State to determine the presence of skywalker gibbons in predicted suitable forest areas in Myanmar. We also conducted 50 semistructured interviews with members of communities surrounding gibbon range forests to understand potential threats. In Kachin State, we audio-recorded 23 gibbon groups with group densities ranging between 0.57 and 3.6 group/km2. In Shan State, we audio-recorded 21 gibbon groups with group densities ranging between 0.134 and 1.0 group/km2. Based on genetic data obtained from skin and saliva samples, the gibbons were identified as skywalker gibbons (99.54–100% identity). Although these findings increase the species’ known population size and confirmed distribution, skywalker gibbons in Myanmar are threatened by local habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation. Most of the skywalker gibbon population in Myanmar exists outside protected areas. Therefore, the IUCN Red List status of the skywalker gibbon should remain as Endangered

Effect of sugars on characteristics of Boer goat semen after cryopreservation

In order to improve Boer goat semen quality during cryopreservation process, the influence of sugar supplementation on semen characteristics of sperm were investigated. Three experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of (a) addition of two monosaccharides (fructose and glucose) and two disaccharides sugars (trehalose and sucrose) (b) sugar combination (fructose and trehalose, sucrose and trehalose, glucose and trehalose), and control (glucose without trehalose) (c) different concentrations of trehalose on cryopreservation using Tris based extender. The total motility, forward motility, viability, normal spermatozoa, acrosome integrity and membrane integrity were assessed subjectively. Differences were not detected among monosaccharides, but glucose increased (P 0.05) among disaccharide sugar supplementation. Combination of glucose and trehalose significantly improved the characteristics of Boer spermatozoa after cryopreservation (P < 0.05). Supplementation of trehalose (198.24 mM) into the glucose extender significantly increased total motility, forward motility, live spermatozoa, acrosome integrity and membrane integrity following cryopreservation (P < 0.05). In conclusion, glucose had the better ability to support Boer sperm motility and movement patterns. Combination of monosaccharide (glucose) and disaccharide (trehalose) improved semen quality following cryopreservation. Trehalose supplementation at the concentration of 198.24 mM to the glucose extender conferred the greater improvement of semen quality for Boer semen cryopreservation

Late prehistoric and early historic chronology of Myanmar: a four-millennia sequence from Halin

Myanmar is located within an important geographic corridor of prehistoric demographic and technological exchange, yet relatively few archaeological sites have been securely dated. Here, the authors present a new radiocarbon chronology for Halin, a UNESCO-listed complex in the north-central Sagaing Division of Myanmar, which contributes to the generation of nuanced regional chronologies and to improving the temporal resolution of Southeast Asia more generally. Discussion of 94 radiocarbon determinates, together with site stratigraphy and pottery traditions, provides a chronological sequence from the early third millennium BC to the early second millennium AD. Corroboration of the beginning of this sequence would place Halin as the oldest currently dated Neolithic site in Mainland Southeast Asia and would provide support for the two-layer model of Neolithic migration

Confirmation of Skywalker Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock tianxing) in Myanmar extends known geographic range of an endangered primate

Characterizing genetically distinct populations of primates is important for protecting biodiversity and effectively allocating conservation resources. Skywalker gibbons (Hoolock tianxing) were first described in 2017, with the only confirmed population consisting of 150 individuals in Mt. Gaoligong, Yunnan Province, China. Based on river geography, the distribution of the skywalker gibbon has been hypothesized to extend into Myanmar between the N’Mai Kha and Ayeyarwaddy Rivers to the west, and the Salween River (named the Thanlwin River in Myanmar and Nujiang River in China) to the east. We conducted acoustic point-count sampling surveys, collected noninvasive samples for molecular mitochondrial cytochrome b gene identification, and took photographs for morphological identification at six sites in Kachin State and three sites in Shan State to determine the presence of skywalker gibbons in predicted suitable forest areas in Myanmar. We also conducted 50 semistructured interviews with members of communities surrounding gibbon range forests to understand potential threats. In Kachin State, we audio-recorded 23 gibbon groups with group densities ranging between 0.57 and 3.6 group/km2. In Shan State, we audio-recorded 21 gibbon groups with group densities ranging between 0.134 and 1.0 group/km2. Based on genetic data obtained from skin and saliva samples, the gibbons were identified as skywalker gibbons (99.54–100% identity). Although these findings increase the species’ known population size and confirmed distribution, skywalker gibbons in Myanmar are threatened by local habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation. Most of the skywalker gibbon population in Myanmar exists outside protected areas. Therefore, the IUCN Red List status of the skywalker gibbon should remain as Endangered