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The present study examined the types of situations that cause Malaysian drivers to become angry. The 33-item version of the driver anger scale (Deffenbacher et al., 1994) was used to investigate driver anger amongst a sample of 339 drivers. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the fit of the original six-factor model (discourtesy, traffic obstructions, hostile gestures, slow driving, illegal driving and police presence), after removing one item and allowing three error pairs to covary, was satisfactory. Female drivers reported more anger, than males, caused by traffic obstruction and hostile gestures. Age was also negatively related to five (discourtesy, traffic obstructions, hostile gestures, slow driving and police presence) of the six factors and also to the total DAS score. Furthermore, although they were not directly related to crash involvement, several of the six forms of driving anger were significantly related to the crash-related conditions of: near misses, loss of concentration, having lost control of a vehicle and being ticketed. Overall the pattern of findings made in the present research were broadly similar to those from Western countries, indicating that the DAS is a valid measure of driving anger even among non-European based cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Increased awareness of the value of marine resources and their fragility and/or limits is fostering a consideration of regional marine arrangements when states in physical marine regions perceive that global standards and regimes may not adequately address their special circumstances. The semi-enclosed South China Sea appears to be a logical site for regional approaches to certain transnational problems of common marine resource use or protection. Political entities include the Western-oriented ASEAN block-Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines; the socialist states-China, Vietnam, Kampuchea, and land-locked Laos; politically-isolated Taiwan, the British dependencies of Hong Kong and Brunei, and the Portuguese colony of Macau. Each political entity's predilection to participate in regional marine arrangements is determined by integrating perceived advantages and disadvantages to national marine interest, approximated by such measures as marine accessibility, dependence, investment and control, with the perceived importance of politically integrative and divisive factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article elaborates the details of an outbreak of acute muscular sarcocystosis among travelers in Tioman Island, Malaysia during the summer of 2011. According to the article, Sarcocystis spp. can be acquired by eating undercooked beef or pork containing sarcocyst. Symptoms like fever and muscle pain are presented. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted the outbreak in Malaysia on December 6, 2011 and included some reminders on safe food and water consumption.

The article deals with cases of suspected acute muscular sarcocystosis among travelers returning home from Tioman Island in Malaysia in 2011 identified by the GeoSentinel surveillance program of the International Society of Travel Medicine and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fever and muscle pain were experienced by all patients who were from Europe, North America and Asia. The potential for human to become hosts for Sarcocystis species (spp) is explained.

Background: Through 2 international traveler-focused surveillance networks (GeoSentinel and TropNet), we identified and investigated a large outbreak of acute muscular sarcocystosis (AMS), a rarely reported zoonosis caused by a protozoan parasite of the genus Sarcocystis, associated with travel to Tioman Island, Malaysia, during 2011-2012., Methods: Clinicians reporting patients with suspected AMS to GeoSentinel submitted demographic, clinical, itinerary, and exposure data. We defined a probable case as travel to Tioman Island after 1 March 2011, eosinophilia (>5%), clinical or laboratory-supported myositis, and negative trichinellosis serology. Case confirmation required histologic observation of sarcocysts or isolation of Sarcocystis species DNA from muscle biopsy., Results: Sixty-eight patients met the case definition (62 probable and 6 confirmed). All but 2 resided in Europe; all were tourists and traveled mostly during the summer months. The most frequent symptoms reported were myalgia (100%), fatigue (91%), fever (82%), headache (59%), and arthralgia (29%); onset clustered during 2 distinct periods: "early" during the second and "late" during the sixth week after departure from the island. Blood eosinophilia and elevated serum creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels were observed beginning during the fifth week after departure. Sarcocystis nesbitti DNA was recovered from 1 muscle biopsy., Conclusions: Clinicians evaluating travelers returning ill from Malaysia with myalgia, with or without fever, should consider AMS, noting the apparent biphasic aspect of the disease, the later onset of elevated CPK and eosinophilia, and the possibility for relapses. The exact source of infection among travelers to Tioman Island remains unclear but needs to be determined to prevent future illnesses., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2014. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)