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  1. The prevalence and trends of canine heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1970-2018)
    Kunathasan Chelliah M, Šlapeta J
    Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports, 2019 04;16:100272.
    PMID: 31027591 DOI: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2019.100272
    Malaysia is considered a hyperendemic area for canine heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) due to its favorable climate for the completion of the parasite life cycle. This study provides an updated prevalence data on D. immitis in owned dogs from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and compares the trends of D. immitis in Malaysia. In the period between December 2017 and June 2018, 3.85% (5/130) dog blood samples tested positive for the presence of D. immitis antigen. A majority of the tested dogs (122/130) were not on rigorous heartworm prevention. After collating and analyzing information from 10 historical studies (1970-2017), we identified a significant decline in prevalence of D. immitis antigen in Malaysia, after the year 2000. Historically, the prevalence of D. immits antigen in owned dogs was significantly lower than the prevalence seen in stray dogs in Malaysia. This study demonstrates that D. immitis remains active in Kuala Lumpur, implying that accurate compliance of heartworm prevention is essential in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate
  2. Fulltext Global Outcome Assessment Life-long after stroke in young adults initiative-the GOAL initiative: study protocol and rationale of a multicentre retrospective individual patient data meta-analysis
    Ekker MS, Jacob MA, van Dongen MME, Aarnio K, Annamalai AK, Arauz A, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2019 Nov 14;9(11):e031144.
    PMID: 31727655 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031144
    INTRODUCTION: Worldwide, 2 million patients aged 18-50 years suffer a stroke each year, and this number is increasing. Knowledge about global distribution of risk factors and aetiologies, and information about prognosis and optimal secondary prevention in young stroke patients are limited. This limits evidence-based treatment and hampers the provision of appropriate information regarding the causes of stroke, risk factors and prognosis of young stroke patients.

    METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Global Outcome Assessment Life-long after stroke in young adults (GOAL) initiative aims to perform a global individual patient data meta-analysis with existing data from young stroke cohorts worldwide. All patients aged 18-50 years with ischaemic stroke or intracerebral haemorrhage will be included. Outcomes will be the distribution of stroke aetiology and (vascular) risk factors, functional outcome after stroke, risk of recurrent vascular events and death and finally the use of secondary prevention. Subgroup analyses will be made based on age, gender, aetiology, ethnicity and climate of residence.

    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval for the GOAL study has already been obtained from the Medical Review Ethics Committee region Arnhem-Nijmegen. Additionally and when necessary, approval will also be obtained from national or local institutional review boards in the participating centres. When needed, a standardised data transfer agreement will be provided for participating centres. We plan dissemination of our results in peer-reviewed international scientific journals and through conference presentations. We expect that the results of this unique study will lead to better understanding of worldwide differences in risk factors, causes and outcome of young stroke patients.

    Matched MeSH terms: Climate
  3. The influence of atmospheric electrical factors on the healthy and sick man
    de Langen CD
    Malayan Medical Journal, 1934;9:1-10.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate
  4. Fulltext Soils on exposed Sunda shelf shaped biogeographic patterns in the equatorial forests of Southeast Asia
    Slik JW, Aiba S, Bastian M, Brearley FQ, Cannon CH, Eichhorn KA, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2011 Jul 26;108(30):12343-7.
    PMID: 21746913 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1103353108
    The marked biogeographic difference between western (Malay Peninsula and Sumatra) and eastern (Borneo) Sundaland is surprising given the long time that these areas have formed a single landmass. A dispersal barrier in the form of a dry savanna corridor during glacial maxima has been proposed to explain this disparity. However, the short duration of these dry savanna conditions make it an unlikely sole cause for the biogeographic pattern. An additional explanation might be related to the coarse sandy soils of central Sundaland. To test these two nonexclusive hypotheses, we performed a floristic cluster analysis based on 111 tree inventories from Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo. We then identified the indicator genera for clusters that crossed the central Sundaland biogeographic boundary and those that did not cross and tested whether drought and coarse-soil tolerance of the indicator genera differed between them. We found 11 terminal floristic clusters, 10 occurring in Borneo, 5 in Sumatra, and 3 in Peninsular Malaysia. Indicator taxa of clusters that occurred across Sundaland had significantly higher coarse-soil tolerance than did those from clusters that occurred east or west of central Sundaland. For drought tolerance, no such pattern was detected. These results strongly suggest that exposed sandy sea-bed soils acted as a dispersal barrier in central Sundaland. However, we could not confirm the presence of a savanna corridor. This finding makes it clear that proposed biogeographic explanations for plant and animal distributions within Sundaland, including possible migration routes for early humans, need to be reevaluated.
    Matched MeSH terms: Tropical Climate
  5. A seven-year retrospective analysis of the clinicopathological and mycological manifestations of fungal rhinosinusitis in a single-centre tropical climate hospital
    Goh LC, Shakri ED, Ong HY, Mustakim S, Shaariyah MM, Ng WSJ, et al.
    J Laryngol Otol, 2017 Sep;131(9):813-816.
    PMID: 28841131 DOI: 10.1017/S0022215117001505
    OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinicopathological and mycological manifestations of fungal rhinosinusitis occurring in the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital, in Klang, Malaysia, which has a tropical climate.

    METHODS: Records of patients treated from 2009 to 2016 were analysed retrospectively. Data from the records were indexed based on age, gender, clinical presentations, symptom duration, clinical signs and mycological growth.

    RESULTS: Of 80 samples, 27 (33.75 per cent) had fungal growth. Sixteen patients were classified as having non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis and 11 as having invasive fungal rhinosinusitis. The commonest clinical presentation was nasal polyposis in non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis patients (p < 0.05) and ocular symptoms in invasive fungal rhinosinusitis patients (p < 0.05). The commonest organism was aspergillus sp. (p < 0.05) in non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis and mucorales in invasive fungal rhinosinusitis.

    CONCLUSION: There is an almost equal distribution of both invasive and non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, as seen in some Asian countries. Invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, while slightly uncommon when compared to non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, is potentially life threatening, and may require early and extensive surgical debridement. The clinical presentation of nasal polyposis was often associated with non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, whereas ocular symptoms were more likely to be associated with invasive fungal rhinosinusitis.

    Matched MeSH terms: Tropical Climate
  6. The interspecific growth-mortality trade-off is not a general framework for tropical forest community structure
    Russo SE, McMahon SM, Detto M, Ledder G, Wright SJ, Condit RS, et al.
    Nat Ecol Evol, 2021 Feb;5(2):174-183.
    PMID: 33199870 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-01340-9
    Resource allocation within trees is a zero-sum game. Unavoidable trade-offs dictate that allocation to growth-promoting functions curtails other functions, generating a gradient of investment in growth versus survival along which tree species align, known as the interspecific growth-mortality trade-off. This paradigm is widely accepted but not well established. Using demographic data for 1,111 tree species across ten tropical forests, we tested the generality of the growth-mortality trade-off and evaluated its underlying drivers using two species-specific parameters describing resource allocation strategies: tolerance of resource limitation and responsiveness of allocation to resource access. Globally, a canonical growth-mortality trade-off emerged, but the trade-off was strongly observed only in less disturbance-prone forests, which contained diverse resource allocation strategies. Only half of disturbance-prone forests, which lacked tolerant species, exhibited the trade-off. Supported by a theoretical model, our findings raise questions about whether the growth-mortality trade-off is a universally applicable organizing framework for understanding tropical forest community structure.
    Matched MeSH terms: Tropical Climate*
  7. Current and future effects of global change on a hotspot's freshwater diversity
    Gallardo B, Bogan AE, Harun S, Jainih L, Lopes-Lima M, Pizarro M, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2018 Sep 01;635:750-760.
    PMID: 29680765 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.056
    Deforestation, climate change and invasive species constitute three global threats to biodiversity that act synergistically. However, drivers and rates of loss of freshwater biodiversity now and in the future are poorly understood. Here we focus on the potential impacts of global change on freshwater mussels (Order Unionida) in Sundaland (SE Asia), a vulnerable group facing global declines and recognized indicators of overall freshwater biodiversity. We used an ensemble of distribution models to identify habitats potentially suitable for freshwater mussels and their change under a range of climate, deforestation and invasion scenarios. Our data and models revealed that, at present, Sundaland features 47 and 32 Mha of habitat that can be considered environmentally suitable for native and invasive freshwater mussels, respectively. We anticipate that by 2050, the area suitable for palm oil cultivation may expand between 8 and 44 Mha, representing an annual increase of 2-11%. This is expected to result in a 20% decrease in suitable habitat for native mussels, a drop that reaches 30% by 2050 when considering concomitant climate change. In contrast, the habitat potentially suitable for invasive mussels may increase by 44-56% under 2050 future scenarios. Consequently, native mussels may compete for habitat, food resources and fish hosts with invasive mussels across approximately 60% of their suitable range. Our projections can be used to guide future expeditions to monitor the conservation status of freshwater biodiversity, and potentially reveal populations of endemic species on the brink of extinction. Future conservation measures-most importantly the designation of nature reserves-should take into account trends in freshwater biodiversity generally, and particularly species such as freshwater mussels, vital to safeguard fundamental ecosystem services.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate Change
  8. Fulltext A biogeographical study on tropical flora of southern China
    Zhu H
    Ecol Evol, 2017 12;7(23):10398-10408.
    PMID: 29238563 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3561
    The tropical climate in China exists in southeastern Xizang (Tibet), southwestern to southeastern Yunnan, southwestern Guangxi, southern Guangdon, southern Taiwan, and Hainan, and these southern Chinese areas contain tropical floras. I checked and synonymized native seed plants from these tropical areas in China and recognized 12,844 species of seed plants included in 2,181 genera and 227 families. In the tropical flora of southern China, the families are mainly distributed in tropical areas and extend into temperate zones and contribute to the majority of the taxa present. The genera with tropical distributions also make up the most of the total flora. In terms of geographical elements, the genera with tropical Asian distribution constitute the highest proportion, which implies tropical Asian or Indo-Malaysia affinity. Floristic composition and geographical elements are conspicuous from region to region due to different geological history and ecological environments, although floristic similarities from these regions are more than 90% and 64% at the family and generic levels, respectively, but lower than 50% at specific level. These differences in the regional floras could be influenced by historical events associated with the uplift of the Himalayas, such as the southeastward extrusion of the Indochina geoblock, clockwise rotation and southeastward movement of Lanping-Simao geoblock, and southeastward movement of Hainan Island. The similarity coefficients between the flora of southern China and those of Indochina countries are more than 96% and 80% at family and generic levels, indicating their close floristic affinity and inclusion in the same biogeographically floristic unit.
    Matched MeSH terms: Tropical Climate
  9. Fulltext Spatiotemporal patterns of anuran functional diversity in temperate montane forests
    Sun ZJ, Zhu W, Zhu WB, Zhao CL, Liao CL, Zou B, et al.
    Zool Res, 2021 Jul 18;42(4):412-416.
    PMID: 34075734 DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.341
    Functional diversity is an integrative approach to better understand biodiversity across space and time. In the present study, we investigated the spatiotemporal patterns (i.e., elevation and season) and environmental determinants of anuran functional diversity on Tianping Mountain, northwest Hunan, China. Specifically, 10 transects were established from low (300 m a.s.l.) to high (1 492 m a.s.l.) elevations, and anuran communities were sampled in spring, early summer, midsummer, and autumn in 2017. Four functional diversity indices were computed for each transect in each season using ecomorphological functional traits. Our results demonstrated that these indices had contrasting responses to increasing elevations. However, they did not differ significantly among seasons in terms of temporal patterns. Interestingly, the unique spatiotemporal functional diversity patterns were impacted by distinct environmental variables, such as leaf litter cover, water temperature, number of trees, and water conductivity.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate*
  10. Anthropogenic climate change exacerbates the risk of successive flood-heat extremes: Multi-model global projections based on the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project
    Zhou J, Wu C, Yeh PJ, Ju J, Zhong L, Wang S, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2023 Sep 01;889:164274.
    PMID: 37209749 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164274
    The successive flood-heat extreme (SFHE) event, which threatens the securities of human health, economy, and building environment, has attracted extensive research attention recently. However, the potential changes in SFHE characteristics and the global population exposure to SFHE under anthropogenic warming remain unclear. Here, we present a global-scale evaluation of the projected changes and uncertainties in SFHE characteristics (frequency, intensity, duration, land exposure) and population exposure under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6 and 6.0 scenarios, based on the multi-model ensembles (five global water models forced by four global climate models) within the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project 2b framework. The results reveal that, relative to the 1970-1999 baseline period, the SFHE frequency is projected to increase nearly globally by the end of this century, especially in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (>20 events/30-year) and the tropical regions (e.g., northern South America, central Africa, and southeastern Asia, >15 events/30-year). The projected higher SFHE frequency is generally accompanied by a larger model uncertainty. By the end of this century, the SFHE land exposure is expected to increase by 12 % (20 %) under RCP2.6 (RCP6.0), and the intervals between flood and heatwave in SFHE tend to decrease by up to 3 days under both RCPs, implying the more intermittent SFHE occurrence under future warming. The SFHE events will lead to the higher population exposure in the Indian Peninsula and central Africa (<10 million person-days) and eastern Asia (<5 million person-days) due to the higher population density and the longer SFHE duration. Partial correlation analysis indicates that the contribution of flood to the SFHE frequency is greater than that of heatwave for most global regions, but the SFHE frequency is dominated by the heatwave in northern North America and northern Asia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate Change*
  11. The Role of Public Health Nutrition in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Asia Pacific Region
    Binns C, Lee MK, Low WY, Zerfas A
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2017 Oct;29(7):617-624.
    PMID: 29094630 DOI: 10.1177/1010539517736441
    The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDCs) in 2015, which included several goals and targets primarily related to nutrition: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. In the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) member countries as a group, infant and child mortality were reduced by more than 65% between 1990 and 2015, achieving the MDG target of two-thirds reduction, although these goals were not achieved by several smaller countries. The SDGs are broader in focus than the MDGs, but include several goals that relate directly to nutrition: 2 (zero hunger-food), 3 (good health and well-being-healthy life), and 12 (responsible consumption and production-sustainability). Other SDGs that are closely related to nutrition are 4 and 5 (quality education and equality in gender-education and health for girls and mothers, which is very important for infant health) and 13 (climate action). Goal 3 is "good health and well-being," which includes targets for child mortality, maternal mortality, and reducing chronic disease. The Global Burden of Disease Project has confirmed that the majority of risk for these targets can be attributed to nutrition-related targets. Dietary Guidelines were developed to address public health nutrition risk in the Asia Pacific region at the 48th APACPH 2016 conference and they are relevant to the achievement of the SDGs. Iron deficiency increases the risk of maternal death from haemorrhage, a cause of 300000 deaths world-wide each year. Improving diets and iron supplementation are important public health interventions in the APACPH region. Chronic disease and obesity rates in the APACPH region are now a major challenge and healthy life course nutrition is a major public health priority in answering this challenge. This article discusses the role of public health nutrition in achieving the SDGs. It also examines the role of APACPH in education and advocacy and in fulfilling the educational needs of public health students in public health nutrition.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate
  12. Fulltext Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities
    Cooper DLM, Lewis SL, Sullivan MJP, Prado PI, Ter Steege H, Barbier N, et al.
    Nature, 2024 Jan;625(7996):728-734.
    PMID: 38200314 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06820-z
    Trees structure the Earth's most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1-6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth's 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world's most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees.
    Matched MeSH terms: Tropical Climate*
  13. Fulltext Diversity and carbon storage across the tropical forest biome
    Sullivan MJ, Talbot J, Lewis SL, Phillips OL, Qie L, Begne SK, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2017 01 17;7:39102.
    PMID: 28094794 DOI: 10.1038/srep39102
    Tropical forests are global centres of biodiversity and carbon storage. Many tropical countries aspire to protect forest to fulfil biodiversity and climate mitigation policy targets, but the conservation strategies needed to achieve these two functions depend critically on the tropical forest tree diversity-carbon storage relationship. Assessing this relationship is challenging due to the scarcity of inventories where carbon stocks in aboveground biomass and species identifications have been simultaneously and robustly quantified. Here, we compile a unique pan-tropical dataset of 360 plots located in structurally intact old-growth closed-canopy forest, surveyed using standardised methods, allowing a multi-scale evaluation of diversity-carbon relationships in tropical forests. Diversity-carbon relationships among all plots at 1 ha scale across the tropics are absent, and within continents are either weak (Asia) or absent (Amazonia, Africa). A weak positive relationship is detectable within 1 ha plots, indicating that diversity effects in tropical forests may be scale dependent. The absence of clear diversity-carbon relationships at scales relevant to conservation planning means that carbon-centred conservation strategies will inevitably miss many high diversity ecosystems. As tropical forests can have any combination of tree diversity and carbon stocks both require explicit consideration when optimising policies to manage tropical carbon and biodiversity.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate
  14. Rate of tree carbon accumulation increases continuously with tree size
    Stephenson NL, Das AJ, Condit R, Russo SE, Baker PJ, Beckman NG, et al.
    Nature, 2014 Mar 6;507(7490):90-3.
    PMID: 24429523 DOI: 10.1038/nature12914
    Forests are major components of the global carbon cycle, providing substantial feedback to atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Our ability to understand and predict changes in the forest carbon cycle--particularly net primary productivity and carbon storage--increasingly relies on models that represent biological processes across several scales of biological organization, from tree leaves to forest stands. Yet, despite advances in our understanding of productivity at the scales of leaves and stands, no consensus exists about the nature of productivity at the scale of the individual tree, in part because we lack a broad empirical assessment of whether rates of absolute tree mass growth (and thus carbon accumulation) decrease, remain constant, or increase as trees increase in size and age. Here we present a global analysis of 403 tropical and temperate tree species, showing that for most species mass growth rate increases continuously with tree size. Thus, large, old trees do not act simply as senescent carbon reservoirs but actively fix large amounts of carbon compared to smaller trees; at the extreme, a single big tree can add the same amount of carbon to the forest within a year as is contained in an entire mid-sized tree. The apparent paradoxes of individual tree growth increasing with tree size despite declining leaf-level and stand-level productivity can be explained, respectively, by increases in a tree's total leaf area that outpace declines in productivity per unit of leaf area and, among other factors, age-related reductions in population density. Our results resolve conflicting assumptions about the nature of tree growth, inform efforts to undertand and model forest carbon dynamics, and have additional implications for theories of resource allocation and plant senescence.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate; Tropical Climate
  15. Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to anthropogenic pollution and seawater intrusion in a small tropical island using index-based methods
    Kura NU, Ramli MF, Ibrahim S, Sulaiman WN, Aris AZ, Tanko AI, et al.
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2015 Jan;22(2):1512-33.
    PMID: 25163562 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-014-3444-0
    In this work, the DRASTIC and GALDIT models were employed to determine the groundwater vulnerability to contamination from anthropogenic activities and seawater intrusion in Kapas Island. In addition, the work also utilized sensitivity analysis to evaluate the influence of each individual parameter used in developing the final models. Based on these effects and variation indices of the said parameters, new effective weights were determined and were used to create modified DRASTIC and GALDIT models. The final DRASTIC model classified the island into five vulnerability classes: no risk (110-140), low (140-160), moderate (160-180), high (180-200), and very high (>200), covering 4, 26, 59, 4, and 7 % of the island, respectively. Likewise, for seawater intrusion, the modified GALDIT model delineates the island into four vulnerability classes: very low (<90), low (90-110), moderate (110-130), and high (>130) covering 39, 33, 18, and 9 % of the island, respectively. Both models show that the areas that are likely to be affected by anthropogenic pollution and seawater intrusion are within the alluvial deposit at the western part of the island. Pearson correlation was used to verify the reliability of the two models in predicting their respective contaminants. The correlation matrix showed a good relationship between DRASTIC model and nitrate (r = 0.58). In a similar development, the correlation also reveals a very strong negative relationship between GALDIT model and seawater contaminant indicator (resistivity Ωm) values (r = -0.86) suggesting that the model predicts more than 86 % of seawater intrusion. In order to facilitate management strategy, suitable areas for artificial recharge were identified through modeling. The result suggested some areas within the alluvial deposit at the western part of the island as suitable for artificial recharge. This work can serve as a guide for a full vulnerability assessment to anthropogenic pollution and seawater intrusion in small islands and will help policy maker and manager with understanding needed to ensure sustainability of the island's aquifer.
    Matched MeSH terms: Tropical Climate
  16. Fulltext Climate change: a review of its health impact and perceived awareness by the young citizens
    Rahman MS, Mohamad OB, Zarim Zb
    Glob J Health Sci, 2014 Jul;6(4):196-204.
    PMID: 24999143 DOI: 10.5539/gjhs.v6n4p196
    In recent time climate change and its impact on human health and awareness constitute a set of complex and serious consequences to be tackled by an individual country. Climate change is not merely an environmental issue, but also it is a threat that goes beyond national borders. The purpose of this study is to identify the awareness and the impact of climate change, perceived by the young citizens in Malaysia by focusing on gender differences. Based on a survey of 200 respondents from different public and private University's students in Malaysia, this research used descriptive statistics and T-test to look into the research objective. The results revealed media can play an important role in the awareness of climate change. Meanwhile the male respondents have shown considerable attention on the physical impact of climate change like heat related stress. On the other hand female respondents have shown considerable attention to the psychological impact by the climate change. From a pragmatic perspective, the findings from this research will assists the policy makers to understand more about the perceived awareness on the climate change issues of the young citizens which ultimately assist them to inaugurate new initiatives to confront the challenges of climate changes. This research is among the pioneer study on the issue of the perceived awareness in regards to climate change in Malaysia by focusing on gender differences.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate Change*
  17. Fulltext Phylogenetic classification of the world's tropical forests
    Slik JWF, Franklin J, Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Field R, Aguilar S, Aguirre N, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2018 02 20;115(8):1837-1842.
    PMID: 29432167 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1714977115
    Knowledge about the biogeographic affinities of the world's tropical forests helps to better understand regional differences in forest structure, diversity, composition, and dynamics. Such understanding will enable anticipation of region-specific responses to global environmental change. Modern phylogenies, in combination with broad coverage of species inventory data, now allow for global biogeographic analyses that take species evolutionary distance into account. Here we present a classification of the world's tropical forests based on their phylogenetic similarity. We identify five principal floristic regions and their floristic relationships: (i) Indo-Pacific, (ii) Subtropical, (iii) African, (iv) American, and (v) Dry forests. Our results do not support the traditional neo- versus paleotropical forest division but instead separate the combined American and African forests from their Indo-Pacific counterparts. We also find indications for the existence of a global dry forest region, with representatives in America, Africa, Madagascar, and India. Additionally, a northern-hemisphere Subtropical forest region was identified with representatives in Asia and America, providing support for a link between Asian and American northern-hemisphere forests.
    Matched MeSH terms: Tropical Climate*
  18. Fulltext ZIBMAP: Product for Tourists’ Wellness
    Hassnah Wee, Nur Nadirah Abdul Wahab, Zamhariyah Ahmad Fudil
    Jurnal Inovasi Malaysia, 2020;4(1):151-171.
    MyJurnal
    Tourists visiting destination in warm climate countries such as Malaysia might easily be affected with dehydration problem. Places like the Zoo requires tourist to walk intensively inside the Zoo area may cause dehydration if they do not consume enough plain water. This ZIBMAP innovative product intends to benefit the tourist wellness who visits the National Zoo, comes with an informative map and attractive infographic habitat, which can be kept as a souvenir. This innovative product is designed based on environmental-friendly features that support the implementation of environmental sustainability. A feasibility survey on dehydration risk awareness and the potential of the product acceptance for commercialization was carried out using a quantitative method. A convenience sampling technique was used to identify 300 tourists visiting the National Zoo as respondents for this survey. Descriptive analysis results indicated that majority of respondents aware of the dehydration risk and supported the used of the ZIBMAP innovative product. The outcome of the study highlighted the potential of this product to be commercialized and contribute to tourists’ wellness.
    Matched MeSH terms: Climate
  19. Fulltext Molecular characterization of multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli isolates from tropical environments in Southeast Asia
    Hara H, Yusaimi YA, Zulkeflle SNM, Sugiura N, Iwamoto K, Goto M, et al.
    J Gen Appl Microbiol, 2019 Jan 24;64(6):284-292.
    PMID: 29877296 DOI: 10.2323/jgam.2018.02.003
    The emergence of antibiotic resistance among multidrug-resistant (MDR) microbes is of growing concern, and threatens public health globally. A total of 129 Escherichia coli isolates were recovered from lowland aqueous environments near hospitals and medical service centers in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Among the eleven antibacterial agents tested, the isolates were highly resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (83.7%) and nalidixic acid (71.3%) and moderately resistant to ampicillin and chloramphenicol (66.7%), tetracycline (65.1%), fosfomycin (57.4%), cefotaxime (57.4%), and ciprofloxacin (57.4%), while low resistance levels were found with aminoglycosides (kanamycin, 22.5%; gentamicin, 21.7%). The presence of relevant resistance determinants was evaluated, and the genotypic resistance determinants were as follows: sulfonamides (sulI, sulII, and sulIII), trimethoprim (dfrA1 and dfrA5), quinolones (qnrS), β-lactams (ampC and blaCTX-M), chloramphenicol (cmlA1 and cat2), tetracycline (tetA and tetM), fosfomycin (fosA and fosA3), and aminoglycosides (aphA1 and aacC2). Our data suggest that multidrug-resistant E. coli strains are ubiquitous in the aquatic systems of tropical countries and indicate that hospital wastewater may contribute to this phenomenon.
    Matched MeSH terms: Tropical Climate
  20. Potential of bioretention plants in treating urban runoff polluted with greywater under tropical climate
    Jhonson P, Goh HW, Chan DJC, Juiani SF, Zakaria NA
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Feb;30(9):24562-24574.
    PMID: 36336739 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-23605-5
    Bioretention systems are among the most popular stormwater best management practices (BMPs) for urban runoff treatment. Studies on plant performance using bioretention systems have been conducted, especially in developed countries with a temperate climate, such as the USA and Australia. However, these results might not be applicable in developing countries with tropical climates due to the different rainfall regimes and the strength of runoff pollutants. Thus, this study focuses on the performance of tropical plants in treating urban runoff polluted with greywater using a bioretention system. Ten different tropical plant species were triplicated and planted in 30 mesocosms with two control mesocosms without vegetation. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the performance of plants, which were then ranked based on their performance in removing pollutants using the total score obtained for each water quality test. Results showed that vetiver topped the table with 86.4% of total nitrogen (TN) removal, 93.5% of total phosphorus (TP) removal, 89.8% of biological oxygen demand (BOD) removal, 90% of total suspended solids (TSS) removal, and 92.5% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal followed by blue porterweed, Hibiscus, golden trumpet, and tall sedge which can be recommended to be employed in future bioretention studies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Tropical Climate
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