The twenty-five fold expansion of oil palm cultivation in Sarawak over the past two and a half decades constitutes the most rapid and radical transformation of the agrarian landscape ever seen in that state. From 23,000 ha in 1980, mostly in government schemes, the area planted with oil palm has increased to over 580,000 ha in 2006, mostly in private estates, closing in on an official target of...

The study was to determine the role of Dietary diversity (DD), household food security (HFS), and agricultural biodiversity (AB) on stunted growth in children. Two cross-sectional studies were undertaken 6 months apart. Interviews were done with mothers/caregivers and anthropometric measurements of children 24-59 months old. HFS was assessed by household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS). A ...

This study aimed at identifying the level of HIV-related discriminatory attitudes and related factors in a purposively-selected sample of healthcare workers (HCWs) in Bangladesh. In total, 526 HCWs from a number of hospitals and healthcare centres were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. A moderate level of discriminatory attitudes was observed. The factors associated with a high leve...

OBJECTIVES Data on the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in healthcare workers (HCW) in Oman and the Arabian Gulf is scarce. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of latent tuberculosis (LTB) among HCW exposed to active TB in one of the tertiary care hospitals in Muscat. METHODS Exposed HCW were screened for LTB from January to June 2012 using skin tuberculin and serum interferon...

Cellulose–Polycaprolactone Nanocomposites with Lignin Nanoparticles In article number 2200988, Erfan Kimiaei, Monika Österberg, and co-workers demonstrate a smart assembly of hydrophilic cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) hydrophobic polycaprolactone (PCL) by the aid lignin nanoparticles as interfacial modulator. provide additional noncovalent interactions between components for even dispersion PCL o...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have reported high rates of occupational injury and illness among workers in the tree fruit industry. However, many common and preventable risk factors and conditions in orchards have not been investigated. AIMS To identify and rank risk conditions leading to workers' compensation claims among orchard workers with respect to frequency, severity and cost. METHODS ...