Chemical investigation of five Antarctic macroalgae whose tissues and crude extracts displayed ecologically relevant feeding deterrence in field bioassays was performed. Eleven compounds were characterized from the three red algae studied, of which four (1-3 and 9) were previously unreported, and four compounds were found from two brown algae, two (12 and 14) of which are new natural products. Several of these pure compounds have been individually investigated in ecological and/or pharmacological bioassays.

Background: COVID-19 was originated from Wuhan city, China in December 2019 and spread very fast to all over the world. This study was carried out to assess the awareness, perceived risk and protective behaviours of Myanmar adults on COVID-19.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted using face to face interview method among 597 adults from Yangon and Bago regions. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to determine the factors influencing on practicing protective behaviours and the results were described by adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI).Results: Almost all, 584 (98%) of 597 respondents, have heard about COVID-19. Among those 584 respondents, 87% had low knowledge level. Risk perception level towards COVID-19 was moderate to high. Regarding perception to information in social media, about 36% of the respondents agreed on sharing news from social media without verifying the sources. Only 22% reported good protective behaviours. Multivariable analysis revealed that knowledge score (aOR=1.19, 95% CI- 1.08-1.30) was significantly and positively influenced the protective behaviours. The odds of protective behaviour of participants from Ayeyarwaddy (aOR=0.41, 95% CI- 0.19-0.91) and other states and regions (aOR=0.49, 95% CI- 0.24-0.99) were significantly less than those of participants from Yangon.Conclusions: The study concluded that community has no enough knowledge and inadequate protective behaviours to prevent COVID-19. The awareness raising activities and mass media health education should urgently be conducted focusing on hand washing, cough etiquette, social distancing behaviours and responsibility to inform suspected cases to local health authority to prevent COVID-19. Further research using nationally represented sample are warranted.

Background Human resources for health (HRH) are the cornerstone of health systems, enabling the improvement of health service coverage. The systematic fortification of healthcare in Myanmar has accelerated since a new ruling party took office. Since 2006, Myanmar has been listed as one of the 57 crisis countries facing critical health workforce shortages. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the current situation of HRH in the public health sector where major healthcare services are provided to the people of Myanmar. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to May 2017 by collecting secondary data from the official statistic of the Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS), official reports, press-releases, and presentations of Government officials. The data were collected using a formatted excel spreadsheet. A descriptive analysis was applied and the density ratio per 1,000 population for medical doctors and health workers was calculated. Findings In total, 16,292 medical doctors and 36,054 nurses working at 1,134 hospitals were under the management of MoHS in 2016. The finding revealed that 13 out of 15 States and Regions were below the WHO recommended minimum number of 1 per 1,000 population for medical doctor. The distribution of medical doctors per 1,000 population in the public sector showed a gradually decreasing trend since 2006. Urban and rural medical doctor ratios observed wide disparities. Interpretation The HRH shortage occurred in almost all State and Regions of Myanmar, including major cities. Wide disparities of HRH were found in urban and rural areas. The Myanmar government needs to consider the proper cost-effective HRH supply-chain management systems and retention strategies. The projection of health workforce, distribution of workforce by equity, effective management, and health information systems should be strengthened.

IntroductionAccess to maternal and newborn healthcare has improved in Myanmar. However, regular contact with skilled care providers does not necessarily result in quality care. We assessed adequate contact made by women and newborns with skilled care providers, reception of high-quality care and quality-adjusted contacts during antenatal care (ANC), peripartum care (PPC) and postnatal care (PNC) in Myanmar.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in a predominantly urban township of Yangon and a predominantly rural township of Ayeyawady in March 2016. We collected data from 1500 women. We measured quality-adjusted contact, which refers to adequate contact with high-quality care, as follows: ≥4 ANC contacts and receiving 11–14 of 14 intervention items; facility-based delivery assisted by skilled care providers, receiving 7 of 7 PPC intervention items; and receiving the first PNC contact ≤24 hours postpartum and ≥2 additional contacts, and receiving 16–17 of 17 intervention items. Using multilevel logistic regression analysis with a random intercept at cluster level, we identified factors associated with adequate contact and high-quality ANC, PPC and PNC.ResultsThe percentage of crude adequate contact was 60.9% for ANC, 61.3% for PPC and 11.5% for PNC. However, the percentage of quality-adjusted contact was 14.6% for ANC, 15.2% for PPC and 3.6% for PNC. Adequate contact was associated with receiving high-quality care at ANC, PPC and PNC. Being a teenager, low educational level, multiparity and low level in the household wealth index were negatively associated with adequate contact with healthcare providers for ANC and PPC. Receiving a maternal and child health handbook was positively associated with adequate contact for ANC and PPC, and with receiving high-quality ANC, PPC and PNC.ConclusionWomen and newborns do not receive quality care during contact with skilled care providers in Myanmar. Continuity and quality of maternal and newborn care programmes must be improved.