Introduction Every year millions of people in developing countries suffer from snakebite, causing a large number of deaths and long term complications. Prevention and appropriate first aid could reduce the incidence and improve the health outcomes for those who suffer bites. However, many communities where snakebite is a major issue suffer from a lack of information about prevention and first aid measures that a family or community member could take to prevent severe envenoming, complications and poor outcomes. Myanmar suffers from a high burden of snakebites with a large number of deaths. As part of a health services and community development program, a community survey was conducted to identify communities’ knowledge about snakebite and their sequelae, and knowledge and practice about first aid and health services use. Method 4,276 rural residents of Kyaukse and Madaya townships in the Mandalay region were recruited by cluster sampling, involving random selection of 144 villages and random sampling of 30 households from each village. One adult member of each household was interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Results The incidence of snakebite was 116/100,000 people. Respondents reported 15 different types of snakes in the area, with Russell’s Viper, Cobra and Green snakes as the most common. 88% of the people informed that working in the fields and forests was when most of the bites occur. A majority knew about snakebite prevention methods such as wearing long boots. However, only a few people knew about the specific symptoms caused by snakebites. Only 39% knew about the correct methods of first aid. More than 60% mentioned tourniquet as a first aid method, though this may cause significant complications such as ischaemia of the limb. 88% said that they would take a snakebite victim to a government hospital, and 58% mentioned availability of antivenom as the reason for doing this. At the same time, the majority mentioned that traditional methods existed for first aid and treatment and 25% mentioned at least one harmful traditional method as an effective measure that they might use. Conclusion The community is aware of snakebites as a major public health issue and know how to prevent them. However, the high incidence of snakebites point to lack of application of preventive methods. The community recognise the need for treatment with antivenom. However, inadequate knowledge about appropriate first aid methods, and a reliance on using tourniquets require a targeted education program. Existing knowledge in communities, albeit insufficient, provides a good starting point for mass media educational campaigns.

No abstract

No abstract

South-east Asia's diverse coastal wetlands, which span natural mudflats and mangroves to man-made salt pans, offer critical habitat for many migratory waterbird species in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Species dependent on these wetlands include nearly the entire population of the Critically Endangered spoon-billed sandpiper Calidris pygmaea and the Endangered spotted greenshank Tringa guttifer, and significant populations of several other globally threatened and declining species. Presently, more than 50 coastal Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in the region (7.4% of all South-east Asian IBAs) support at least one threatened migratory species. However, recent studies continue to reveal major knowledge gaps on the distribution of migratory waterbirds and important wetland sites along South-east Asia's vast coastline, including undiscovered and potential IBAs. Alongside this, there are critical gaps in the representation of coastal wetlands across the protected area networks of many countries in this region (e.g. Viet Nam, Indonesia, Malaysia), hindering effective conservation. Although a better understanding of the value of coastal wetlands to people and their importance to migratory species is necessary, governments and other stakeholders need to do more to strengthen the conservation of these ecosystems by improving protected area coverage, habitat restoration, and coastal governance and management. This must be underpinned by the judicious use of evidence-based approaches, including satellite-tracking of migratory birds, ecological research and ground surveys.

The kinetics of scandium sorption with impregnate-containing extractant – phosphine oxide based on hypercrosslinked polystyrene from nitric acid solutions was studied using a method of limited solution volume. A sample of sorbent obtained by impregnation contained 0.233 g extractant/g impregnate. Under batch conditions, the influence of temperature in the range 293-313 K on the kinetics of scandium sorption by impregnate was studied. It was revealed that the saturation of impregnate by scandium is established in 20-30 min. For the processing of integral kinetic scandium sorption curves, the pseudo-first and pseudo-second-order models, as well as the Elovich equation, were used. The values of the rate constants calculated from the pseudo-second-order model, describing the kinetic data with the best correlation coefficients (R2 0.931-0.995), reach (9.51-10.4) g∙(mmol∙min)-1. The activation energy of scandium sorption, calculated by an equation similar to the Arrhenius equation, is (2.8±0.2) kJ / mol. Due to the improved kinetic characteristics compared with traditional sorbents, hypercrosslinked polystyrene impregnates containing phosphine oxide can be used to extract of scandium from solutions formed during the processing of scandium-containing raw materials.Forcitation:Pyae Phyo Aung, Veselova O.A., Troshkina I.D. Kinetics of scandium sorption by impregnate containing phosphinoxide. Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved. Khim. Khim. Tekhnol. 2017. V. 60. N 8. P. 28-30.

Summary The Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea is a ‘Critically Endangered’ migratory shorebird. The species faces an array of threats in its non-breeding range, making conservation intervention essential. However, conservation efforts are reliant on identifying the species’ key stopover and wintering sites. Using Maximum Entropy models, we predicted Spoon-billed Sandpiper distribution across the non-breeding range, using data from recent field surveys and satellite tracking. Model outputs suggest only a limited number of stopover sites are suitable for migrating birds, with sites in the Yellow Sea and on the Jiangsu coast in China highlighted as particularly important. All the previously known core wintering sites were identified by the model including the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, Nan Thar Island and the Gulf of Mottama. In addition, the model highlighted sites subsequently found to be occupied, and pinpointed potential new sites meriting investigation, notably on Borneo and Sulawesi, and in parts of India and the Philippines. A comparison between the areas identified as most likely to be occupied and protected areas showed that very few locations are covered by conservation designations. Known sites must be managed for conservation as a priority, and potential new sites should be surveyed as soon as is feasible to assess occupancy status. Site protection should take place in concert with conservation interventions including habitat management, discouraging hunting, and fostering alternative livelihoods.

This article focuses on stakeholder corporate social responsibility (CSR) to predict the corporate image (CI) of banking users in Myanmar. Each dimension of stakeholder CSR was applied from a consumer perspective. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data using convenience sampling. Five hundred and seventy-four valid responses were received from banking users and were analyzed using a structural equation model. The results showed a positive and significant relationship between CSR’s four dimensions: CSR targeted at social and non-social stakeholders, at customers, at employees, and at government and CI. CSR targeted at customers was most influential on CI, while CSR targeted at social and non-social stakeholders was the least influential. These results should be used by banks to effectively design and implement CI through application of the stakeholder CSR model. Keywords: Corporate social responsibility, Corporate image, Stakeholder.