Culturally sensitive assessment of anxious-depressive distress in the Cambodian population: Avoiding category truncation.

In a large national survey in Cambodia (N = 2689), the present study investigated the prominence of certain culturally salient symptoms and syndromes in the general population and among those with anxious-depressive distress (as determined by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25, or HSCL). Using an abbreviated Cambodian Symptom and Syndrome Addendum (CSSA), we found that the CSSA complaints were particularly elevated among those with anxious-depressive distress. Those with anxious-depressive distress had statistically greater mean scores on all the CSSA items as well as severity of endorsement analyzed by percentage: among those with HSCL caseness, 75.

Dual in-aquifer and near surface processes drive arsenic mobilization in Cambodian groundwaters.

Millions of people globally, and particularly in South and Southeast Asia, face chronic exposure to arsenic from reducing groundwaters in which. Arsenic release to is widely attributed largely to reductive dissolution of arsenic-bearing iron minerals, driven by metal reducing bacteria using bioavailable organic matter as an electron donor. However, the nature of the organic matter implicated in arsenic mobilization, and the location within the subsurface where these processes occur, remains debated.

Exploring Contextual Trauma in Cambodia: A Sociointerpersonal Perspective on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Trauma literature has proposed multiple theories of trauma development, maintenance, and transmission, which has led to a lack of clarity surrounding trauma in individuals, families, and communities. We investigated the impact of community-level trauma experiences on individual posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms using a sociointerpersonal model of PTSD (Maerker & Horn, 2013). A nationally representative sample (N = 2, 690) of Cambodian households across all regions of the country was surveyed regarding individual trauma experiences during and after the Khmer Rouge regime, symptoms of PTSD, and current stressors.

Risk factors for childhood violence and polyvictimization: A cross-country analysis from three regions.

Understanding risk factors is important to ending childhood violence and meeting Sustainable Development Goal 16.2. To date, no study has examined patterns of risk factors across countries comprehensively for different types of childhood violence, and there is a dearth of evidence of polyvictimization in lower- and middle-income settings.

Characteristics of adolescents living with HIV receiving care and treatment services in antiretroviral therapy clinics in Cambodia: descriptive findings from a cross-sectional study.

Background: Adolescents living with HIV experience worse HIV care outcomes compared to adults, especially during transition from pediatric to adult care. However, data regarding adolescents are limited. This paper describes and compares characteristics of male and female adolescents living with HIV preparing for transition from pediatric to adult care in Cambodia.

Social and behavioural factors associated with depressive symptoms among university students in Cambodia: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To explore social and behavioural factors associated with depressive symptoms among university students in Cambodia.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Settings: Two public universities-one in the capital city of Phnom Penh and another in Battambang provincial town.

Trauma Stabilisation as a Sole Treatment Intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia contains high numbers of traumatised populations arising from either natural disasters or interpersonal violence. Consequently, the need for empirically based trauma treatments, compromised by insufficiency in appropriately trained clinicians and mental health workers, makes the situation more challenging in addressing traumatic sequelae in local populations. In response, the humanitarian/ trauma capacity building organisation, Trauma Aid Germany, trained 37 therapists in psycho-traumatology, based on EMDR Therapy, which included trauma stabilisation techniques.

Three novel mutations in α-galactosidase gene involving in galactomannan degradation in endosperm of curd coconut.

The deficiency of α-galactosidase activity in coconut endosperm has been reported to cause a disability to hydrolyze oligogalactomannan in endosperm resulting in curd coconut phenotype. However, neither the α-galactosidase encoding gene in coconut nor the mutation type has been identified and characterized in normal and curd coconuts. In this study, cDNA and genomic DNA encoding α-galactosidase gene alleles from a normal and two curd coconuts were successfully cloned and characterized.

Households' knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward solid waste management in suburbs of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

This study developed logistic regression models to analyse the relationship between 12 observed variables on knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward solid waste management in the suburbs of Phnom Penh city. We interviewed 800 households, including 200 collection service users and 600 non-service users. The determinants of how individuals are aware of, think of, and behave were assessed in the models based on the values of estimated coefficient and probability of t-statistics.

Municipal solid waste management: Constraints and opportunities to improve capacity of local government authorities of Phnom Penh Capital.

Solid waste management is a challenge for Phnom Penh city owing to the increasing volume of waste produced and insufficient collection capacity. Sustainable management is required in response to continuing population growth and urbanisation. This article aims to examine the status and constraints of solid waste management in Phnom Penh and discuss the performance of local government authorities to propose possible mechanisms and strategies to improve the system.

Low-Frequency Raman Spectroscopy of Few-Layer 2H-SnS.

We investigated interlayer phonon modes of mechanically exfoliated few-layer 2H-SnS samples by using room temperature low-frequency micro-Raman spectroscopy. Raman measurements were performed using laser wavelengths of 441.6, 514.

Industrial pollution load assessment in Phnom Penh, Cambodia using an industrial pollution projection system.

Approximately 56% out of the total 1302 Cambodian firms are operated in the Capital city of Cambodia. The necessary information on industrial pollution to set strategies, priorities and action plans on environmental protection issues is absent in Cambodia. In the absence of this data, effective environmental protection cannot be implemented.

Four decades following the Khmer rouge: sociodemographic factors impacting depression, anxiety and PTSD in Cambodia.

Background: Reliable population-based epidemiological data of Cambodian mental health is lacking.

Aims: This study identifies the prevalence of and factors associated with anxiety, depression and PTSD in Cambodian adults.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of Cambodian adults (N = 2690) was interviewed utilizing the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (assessment of PTSD symptoms) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (assessment of symptoms of anxiety and depression).

Insectivorous bat reproduction and human cave visitation in Cambodia: A perfect conservation storm?

Cave roosting bats represent an important component of Southeast Asian bat diversity and are vulnerable to human disturbance during critical reproductive periods (pregnancy, lactation and weaning). Because dramatic growth of cave tourism in recent decades has raised concerns about impacts on cave bats in the region, we assessed the reproductive phenology of two insectivorous species (Hipposideros larvatus sensu lato and Taphozous melanopogon) at three caves in Cambodia for 23 months in 2014-2016 and evaluated human visitation to these sites between 2007 and 2014. Despite the differing foraging strategies employed by the two taxa, the temporal consistency observed in proportions of pregnant, lactating and juvenile bats indicates that their major birth peaks coincide with the time of greatest cave visitation annually, particularly for domestic visitors and namely during the Cambodian new year in April.

Violence Against Women in Cambodia: Towards a Culturally Responsive Theory of Change.

Almost one in four women in Cambodia is a victim of physical, emotional or sexual violence. This article brings together two seldom connected fields: Theory of Change (ToC) and cultural responsiveness in international development. It applies these approaches to a priority in global health, which is to prevent violence against women (VAW) and, drawing on my research on the epigenesis of VAW in Cambodia, develops an argument on the need for interventions to work with tradition and culture rather than only highlight it in problematic terms.

The Cultural Epigenesis of Gender-Based Violence in Cambodia: Local and Buddhist Perspectives.

Almost one in four women in Cambodia is a victim of physical, emotional or sexual violence. The study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which Cambodians see its causes and effects and to identify and analyse the cultural forces that underpin and shape its landscape. An ethnographic study was carried out with 102 perpetrators and survivors of emotional, physical and sexual violence against women and 228 key informants from the Buddhist and healing sectors.

Effect of multi-micronutrient-fortified rice on cognitive performance depends on premix composition and cognitive function tested: results of an effectiveness study in Cambodian schoolchildren.

Objective: Even though current policy is strongly focused on the crucial first '1000 days', it might be still possible to enhance cognitive function during the pre-adolescent and adolescent years by improving micronutrient status. In Cambodia, nutritional status is poor. Provision of rice fortified with micronutrients through a school meal programme (SMP) could be a cost-effective strategy to help improve health and school performance.

Dipterocarpus obtusifolius attenuates the effects of lipopolysaccharide‑induced inflammatory response in RAW264.7 macrophages.

Dipterocarpus obtusifolius has been traditionally used as a herbal medicine and is considered to have anticancer properties. The biological activity of D. obtusifolius in inflammation and the underlying mechanisms of its activity remain to be elucidated.

The Diet of the Cave Nectar Bat ( Dobson) Suggests it Pollinates Economically and Ecologically Significant Plants in Southern Cambodia.

The importance of the cave nectar bat as a pollinator of economically significant crops and ecologically important plant species is increasingly documented, although information on the plants visited by this widely distributed bat species is currently confined to Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. We undertook a dietary study on by sampling faecal rain produced by a colony in Kampot, southern Cambodia each month for one year and identifying plant taxa visited by the bats by their pollen. Our results indicate the diet of in Cambodia includes at least 13 plant taxa, eight of which were identi ed to genus or species.

How understanding and application of drug-related legal instruments affects harm reduction interventions in Cambodia: a qualitative study.

Background: Harm reduction interventions in Cambodia face numerous obstacles because of conflicting understanding and interests and inconsistencies in the implementation by law enforcement officials. This study aims to examine how understanding and application of Drug Control Law (DCL) and Village/Commune Safety Policy (VCSP) affects harm reduction interventions in Cambodia from the standpoints of law enforcement officials, people who inject drugs and people who use drugs (PWID/PWUD), as well as other key stakeholders.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in the capital city of Phnom Penh in 2015.

High resolution profile of inorganic aqueous geochemistry and key redox zones in an arsenic bearing aquifer in Cambodia.

Arsenic contamination of groundwaters in South and Southeast Asia is a major threat to public health. In order to better understand the geochemical controls on the mobility of arsenic in a heavily arsenic-affected aquifer in northern Kandal Province, Cambodia, key changes in inorganic aqueous geochemistry have been monitored at high vertical and lateral resolution along dominant groundwater flow paths along two distinct transects. The two transects are characterized by differing geochemical, hydrological and lithological conditions.