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  1. Fulltext Quantifying primaquine effectiveness and improving adherence: a round table discussion of the APMEN Vivax Working Group
    Thriemer K, Bobogare A, Ley B, Gudo CS, Alam MS, Anstey NM, et al.
    Malar J, 2018 Jun 20;17(1):241.
    PMID: 29925430 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-018-2380-8
    The goal to eliminate malaria from the Asia-Pacific by 2030 will require the safe and widespread delivery of effective radical cure of malaria. In October 2017, the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network Vivax Working Group met to discuss the impediments to primaquine (PQ) radical cure, how these can be overcome and the methodological difficulties in assessing clinical effectiveness of radical cure. The salient discussions of this meeting which involved 110 representatives from 18 partner countries and 21 institutional partner organizations are reported. Context specific strategies to improve adherence are needed to increase understanding and awareness of PQ within affected communities; these must include education and health promotion programs. Lessons learned from other disease programs highlight that a package of approaches has the greatest potential to change patient and prescriber habits, however optimizing the components of this approach and quantifying their effectiveness is challenging. In a trial setting, the reactivity of participants results in patients altering their behaviour and creates inherent bias. Although bias can be reduced by integrating data collection into the routine health care and surveillance systems, this comes at a cost of decreasing the detection of clinical outcomes. Measuring adherence and the factors that relate to it, also requires an in-depth understanding of the context and the underlying sociocultural logic that supports it. Reaching the elimination goal will require innovative approaches to improve radical cure for vivax malaria, as well as the methods to evaluate its effectiveness.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  2. Fulltext Typology of interventions for antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture systems in low- and middle-income countries
    Garza M, Mohan CV, Brunton L, Wieland B, Häsler B
    Int J Antimicrob Agents, 2022 Jan;59(1):106495.
    PMID: 34896577 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2021.106495
    Indiscriminate antimicrobial use (AMU) in aquaculture to treat and prevent diseases is common and can lead to the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant micro-organisms, potentially impacting public health and connected ecosystems. This study aimed to develop a typology to classify and characterise interventions to reduce AMU in aquaculture and identify points of action. Seventeen aquaculture and animal health professionals in Asian and African countries were interviewed to gather information on characteristics of interventions in different contexts to develop a typology. Seven types of interventions were defined: (i) legislation and regulations; (ii) industry rules and standards; (iii) voluntary instruments; (iv) commercial technology and alternatives to antimicrobials; (v) on-farm management; (vi) learning and awareness-raising; and (vii) activities with co-benefits. Types were based on intervention function, scope of implementation, implementer, compulsion, strength of the intervention, AMU/antimicrobial resistance (AMR) objective and stakeholder to influence. For each type, examples were described and discussed. The most common interventions to address AMU and AMR were legislative and regulatory frameworks and voluntary instruments, including National Action Plans. Interventions addressing AMU/AMR specifically were scarce. Other interventions focused on indirect effect pathways to AMU and AMR reduction aiming to improve good aquaculture practices, disease prevention and improved management. Monitoring and evaluation of these interventions were found to be rare, only present for interventions driven by development projects and international agencies. The presented typology of existing strategies and interventions addressing AMU/AMR in aquaculture systems can guide evaluation of AMR-sensitive interventions that promote responsible AMU, and informs the design and implementation of future interventions.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  3. Fulltext Getting patient blood management Pillar 1 right in the Asia-Pacific: a call for action
    Abdullah HR, Ang AL, Froessler B, Hofmann A, Jang JH, Kim YW, et al.
    Singapore Med J, 2020 Jun;61(6):287-296.
    PMID: 31044255 DOI: 10.11622/smedj.2019037
    Preoperative anaemia is common in the Asia-Pacific. Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is a risk factor that can be addressed under patient blood management (PBM) Pillar 1, leading to reduced morbidity and mortality. We examined PBM implementation under four different healthcare systems, identified challenges and proposed several measures: (a) Test for anaemia once patients are scheduled for surgery. (b) Inform patients about risks of preoperative anaemia and benefits of treatment. (c) Treat IDA and replenish iron stores before surgery, using intravenous iron when oral treatment is ineffective, not tolerated or when rapid iron replenishment is needed; transfusion should not be the default management. (d) Harness support from multiple medical disciplines and relevant bodies to promote PBM implementation. (e) Demonstrate better outcomes and cost savings from reduced mortality and morbidity. Although PBM implementation may seem complex and daunting, it is feasible to start small. Implementing PBM Pillar 1, particularly in preoperative patients, is a sensible first step regardless of the healthcare setting.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  4. Fulltext Depression in primary care: assessing suicide risk
    Ng CW, How CH, Ng YP
    Singapore Med J, 2017 Feb;58(2):72-77.
    PMID: 28210741 DOI: 10.11622/smedj.2017006
    Major depression is a common condition seen in the primary care setting. This article describes the suicide risk assessment of a depressed patient, including practical aspects of history-taking, consideration of factors in deciding if a patient requires immediate transfer for inpatient care and measures to be taken if the patient is not hospitalised. It follows on our earlier article about the approach to management of depression in primary care.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  5. Natural disasters and economic losses: controlling external migration, energy and environmental resources, water demand, and financial development for global prosperity
    Abbas Khan K, Zaman K, Shoukry AM, Sharkawy A, Gani S, Sasmoko, et al.
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2019 May;26(14):14287-14299.
    PMID: 30864039 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-04755-5
    The objective of the study is to examine the impact of natural disasters on external migration, price level, poverty incidence, health expenditures, energy and environmental resources, water demand, financial development, and economic growth in a panel of selected Asian countries for a period of 2005-2017. The results confirm that natural disasters in the form of storm and flood largely increase migration, price level, and poverty incidence, which negatively influenced country's economic resources, including enlarge healthcare expenditures, high energy demand, and low economic growth. The study further presented the following results: i) natural resource depletion increases external migration, ii) FDI inflows increase price level, iii) increase healthcare spending and energy demand decreases poverty headcount, iv) poverty incidence and mortality rate negatively influenced healthcare expenditures, v) industrialization increases energy demand, and vi) agriculture value added, fertilizer, and cereal yields required more water supply to produce greater yield. The study emphasized the need to magnify the intensity of natural disasters and create natural disaster mitigation unit to access the human and infrastructure cost and attempt quick recovery for global prosperity.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  6. Use of sterols and linear alkylbenzenes as molecular markers of sewage pollution in Southeast Asia
    Thomes MW, Vaezzadeh V, Zakaria MP, Bong CW
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2019 Nov;26(31):31555-31580.
    PMID: 31440968 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-05936-y
    Southeast Asia has undergone rapid developments in terms of urbanization, economic and population growth. The progress in sewerage treatment infrastructure has not kept pace with such developments. The inadequacy and inefficiency of sewerage systems has prompted the release of untreated sewage into the aquatic environment of Southeast Asia causing many waterborne illnesses since surface water is utilized for recreational, agricultural and aquaculture purposes and, above all, as a source of water intake in Southeast Asia. This paper will review the current data on molecular markers of sewage pollution including sterols and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) in Southeast Asian aquatic environment to clarify the state of sewage pollution and the competence of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in this area. Despite the importance of sewage pollution research in the region, the number of studies using molecular markers to trace the sources of sewage pollution is limited. So far, indicators of sewage pollution have been investigated in aquatic environments of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Brunei among Southeast Asian countries. The concentrations and diagnostic ratios of faecal sterols and LABs show the release of untreated and primary treated urban waste into water bodies of these countries. Further studies are required to fill the data gaps in Southeast Asia and come to a better understanding of the trends of sewage pollution in this part of the world. Graphical abstract.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  7. Molecular phylogeographic studies on Paragonimus westermani in Asia
    Iwagami M, Ho LY, Su K, Lai PF, Fukushima M, Nakano M, et al.
    J Helminthol, 2000 Dec;74(4):315-22.
    PMID: 11138020
    The lung fluke, Paragonimus westermani (Kerbert, 1878), is widely distributed in Asia, and exhibits much variation in its biological properties. Previous phylogenetic studies using DNA sequences have demonstrated that samples from north-east Asia form a tight group distinct from samples from south Asia (Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia). Among countries from the latter region, considerable molecular diversity was observed. This was investigated further using additional DNA sequences (partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and the second internal transcribed spacer of the nuclear ribosomal gene repeat (ITS2)) from additional samples of P. westermani. Phylogenies inferred from these again found three or four groups within P. westermani, depending on the method of analysis. Populations of P. westermani from north-east Asia use snail hosts of the family Pleuroceridae and differ in other biological properties from populations in south Asia (that use snail hosts of the family Thiaridae). It is considered that the populations we sampled can be divided into two species, one in north-east Asia and the other in south Asia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  8. Fulltext Late-spring frost risk between 1959 and 2017 decreased in North America but increased in Europe and Asia
    Zohner CM, Mo L, Renner SS, Svenning JC, Vitasse Y, Benito BM, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2020 06 02;117(22):12192-12200.
    PMID: 32393624 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1920816117
    Late-spring frosts (LSFs) affect the performance of plants and animals across the world's temperate and boreal zones, but despite their ecological and economic impact on agriculture and forestry, the geographic distribution and evolutionary impact of these frost events are poorly understood. Here, we analyze LSFs between 1959 and 2017 and the resistance strategies of Northern Hemisphere woody species to infer trees' adaptations for minimizing frost damage to their leaves and to forecast forest vulnerability under the ongoing changes in frost frequencies. Trait values on leaf-out and leaf-freezing resistance come from up to 1,500 temperate and boreal woody species cultivated in common gardens. We find that areas in which LSFs are common, such as eastern North America, harbor tree species with cautious (late-leafing) leaf-out strategies. Areas in which LSFs used to be unlikely, such as broad-leaved forests and shrublands in Europe and Asia, instead harbor opportunistic tree species (quickly reacting to warming air temperatures). LSFs in the latter regions are currently increasing, and given species' innate resistance strategies, we estimate that ∼35% of the European and ∼26% of the Asian temperate forest area, but only ∼10% of the North American, will experience increasing late-frost damage in the future. Our findings reveal region-specific changes in the spring-frost risk that can inform decision-making in land management, forestry, agriculture, and insurance policy.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  9. Fulltext Differential coding of perception in the world's languages
    Majid A, Roberts SG, Cilissen L, Emmorey K, Nicodemus B, O'Grady L, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2018 Nov 06;115(45):11369-11376.
    PMID: 30397135 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1720419115
    Is there a universal hierarchy of the senses, such that some senses (e.g., vision) are more accessible to consciousness and linguistic description than others (e.g., smell)? The long-standing presumption in Western thought has been that vision and audition are more objective than the other senses, serving as the basis of knowledge and understanding, whereas touch, taste, and smell are crude and of little value. This predicts that humans ought to be better at communicating about sight and hearing than the other senses, and decades of work based on English and related languages certainly suggests this is true. However, how well does this reflect the diversity of languages and communities worldwide? To test whether there is a universal hierarchy of the senses, stimuli from the five basic senses were used to elicit descriptions in 20 diverse languages, including 3 unrelated sign languages. We found that languages differ fundamentally in which sensory domains they linguistically code systematically, and how they do so. The tendency for better coding in some domains can be explained in part by cultural preoccupations. Although languages seem free to elaborate specific sensory domains, some general tendencies emerge: for example, with some exceptions, smell is poorly coded. The surprise is that, despite the gradual phylogenetic accumulation of the senses, and the imbalances in the neural tissue dedicated to them, no single hierarchy of the senses imposes itself upon language.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  10. Comparison of on-scene Glasgow Coma Scale with GCS-motor for prediction of 30-day mortality and functional outcomes of patients with trauma in Asia
    Chien YC, Chiang WC, Chen CH, Sun JT, Jamaluddin SF, Tanaka H, et al.
    Eur J Emerg Med, 2024 Jun 01;31(3):181-187.
    PMID: 38100651 DOI: 10.1097/MEJ.0000000000001110
    BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: This study compared the on-scene Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and the GCS-motor (GCS-M) for predictive accuracy of mortality and severe disability using a large, multicenter population of trauma patients in Asian countries.

    OBJECTIVE: To compare the ability of the prehospital GCS and GCS-M to predict 30-day mortality and severe disability in trauma patients.

    DESIGN: We used the Pan-Asia Trauma Outcomes Study registry to enroll all trauma patients >18 years of age who presented to hospitals via emergency medical services from 1 January 2016 to November 30, 2018.

    SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 16,218 patients were included in the analysis of 30-day mortality and 11 653 patients in the analysis of functional outcomes.

    OUTCOME MEASURES AND ANALYSIS: The primary outcome was 30-day mortality after injury, and the secondary outcome was severe disability at discharge defined as a Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) score ≥4. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCs) were compared between GCS and GCS-M for these outcomes. Patients with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI) were analyzed separately. The predictive discrimination ability of logistic regression models for outcomes (30-day mortality and MRS) between GCS and GCS-M is illustrated using AUROCs.

    MAIN RESULTS: The primary outcome for 30-day mortality was 1.04% and the AUROCs and 95% confidence intervals for prediction were GCS: 0.917 (0.887-0.946) vs. GCS-M:0.907 (0.875-0.938), P  = 0.155. The secondary outcome for poor functional outcome (MRS ≥ 4) was 12.4% and the AUROCs and 95% confidence intervals for prediction were GCS: 0.617 (0.597-0.637) vs. GCS-M: 0.613 (0.593-0.633), P  = 0.616. The subgroup analyses of patients with and without TBI demonstrated consistent discrimination ability between the GCS and GCS-M. The AUROC values of the GCS vs. GCS-M models for 30-day mortality and poor functional outcome were 0.92 (0.821-1.0) vs. 0.92 (0.824-1.0) ( P  = 0.64) and 0.75 (0.72-0.78) vs. 0.74 (0.717-0.758) ( P  = 0.21), respectively.

    CONCLUSION: In the prehospital setting, on-scene GCS-M was comparable to GCS in predicting 30-day mortality and poor functional outcomes among patients with trauma, whether or not there was a TBI.

    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  11. Molecular typing of Salmonella enterica serovar typhi isolates from various countries in Asia by a multiplex PCR assay on variable-number tandem repeats
    Liu Y, Lee MA, Ooi EE, Mavis Y, Tan AL, Quek HH
    J Clin Microbiol, 2003 Sep;41(9):4388-94.
    PMID: 12958274
    A multiplex PCR method incorporating primers flanking three variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) loci (arbitrarily labeled TR1, TR2, and TR3) in the CT18 strain of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi has been developed for molecular typing of S. enterica serovar Typhi clinical isolates from several Asian countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Nepal. We have demonstrated that the multiplex PCR could be performed on crude cell lysates and that the VNTR banding profiles produced could be easily analyzed by visual inspection after conventional agarose gel electrophoresis. The assay was highly discriminative in identifying 49 distinct VNTR profiles among 59 individual isolates. A high level of VNTR profile heterogeneity was observed in isolates from within the same country and among countries. These VNTR profiles remained stable after the strains were passaged extensively under routine laboratory culture conditions. In contrast to the S. enterica serovar Typhi isolates, an absence of TR3 amplicons and a lack of length polymorphisms in TR1 and TR2 amplicons were observed for other S. enterica serovars, such as Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, and Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi A, B, and C. DNA sequencing of the amplified VNTR regions substantiated these results, suggesting the high stability of the multiplex PCR assay. The multiplex-PCR-based VNTR profiling developed in this study provides a simple, rapid, reproducible, and high-resolution molecular tool for the epidemiological analysis of S. enterica serovar Typhi strains.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  12. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from countries in the western pacific region
    Park YK, Bai GH, Kim SJ
    J Clin Microbiol, 2000 Jan;38(1):191-7.
    PMID: 10618086
    A total of 422 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from eight countries were subjected to IS6110 and IS1081 DNA fingerprinting by means of restriction fragment analysis to characterize M. tuberculosis strains from each country. Chinese, Mongolian, Hong Kong, Filipino, and Korean isolates had comparatively more copies of IS6110 (proportion with eight or more copies; 95% +/- 5%), while Thai, Malaysian, and Vietnamese isolates had fewer copies (proportion with eight or more copies, 60% +/- 4%). We found a number of novel IS1081 types in this study. One IS1081 type was present in 56% of Filipino isolates, had a specific 6.6-kb PvuII fragment in its IS6110 DNA fingerprint, and was termed the "Filipino family." The IS1081 types of Thai isolates had interposing characteristics between the characteristics of northeastern Asian and southeastern Asian IS1081 types. A 1.3-kb single-copy IS6110 fragment was found only in Vietnamese M. tuberculosis isolates. Although M. tuberculosis isolates from each country had comparatively similar characteristics depending on the classification factor, each country's isolates showed characteristic DNA fingerprints and differed slightly from the isolates from the other countries in either the mode number of IS6110 copies or the distribution of IS1081 types.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  13. Fulltext Emerging strengths in Asia Pacific bioinformatics
    Ranganathan S, Hsu WL, Yang UC, Tan TW
    BMC Bioinformatics, 2008 Dec 12;9 Suppl 12(Suppl 12):S1.
    PMID: 19091008 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-9-S12-S1
    The 2008 annual conference of the Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Network (APBioNet), Asia's oldest bioinformatics organisation set up in 1998, was organized as the 7th International Conference on Bioinformatics (InCoB), jointly with the Bioinformatics and Systems Biology in Taiwan (BIT 2008) Conference, Oct. 20-23, 2008 at Taipei, Taiwan. Besides bringing together scientists from the field of bioinformatics in this region, InCoB is actively involving researchers from the area of systems biology, to facilitate greater synergy between these two groups. Marking the 10th Anniversary of APBioNet, this InCoB 2008 meeting followed on from a series of successful annual events in Bangkok (Thailand), Penang (Malaysia), Auckland (New Zealand), Busan (South Korea), New Delhi (India) and Hong Kong. Additionally, tutorials and the Workshop on Education in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (WEBCB) immediately prior to the 20th Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB) Taipei Conference provided ample opportunity for inducting mainstream biochemists and molecular biologists from the region into a greater level of awareness of the importance of bioinformatics in their craft. In this editorial, we provide a brief overview of the peer-reviewed manuscripts accepted for publication herein, grouped into thematic areas. As the regional research expertise in bioinformatics matures, the papers fall into thematic areas, illustrating the specific contributions made by APBioNet to global bioinformatics efforts.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  14. Fulltext Fine-scaled human genetic structure revealed by SNP microarrays
    Xing J, Watkins WS, Witherspoon DJ, Zhang Y, Guthery SL, Thara R, et al.
    Genome Res, 2009 May;19(5):815-25.
    PMID: 19411602 DOI: 10.1101/gr.085589.108
    We report an analysis of more than 240,000 loci genotyped using the Affymetrix SNP microarray in 554 individuals from 27 worldwide populations in Africa, Asia, and Europe. To provide a more extensive and complete sampling of human genetic variation, we have included caste and tribal samples from two states in South India, Daghestanis from eastern Europe, and the Iban from Malaysia. Consistent with observations made by Charles Darwin, our results highlight shared variation among human populations and demonstrate that much genetic variation is geographically continuous. At the same time, principal components analyses reveal discernible genetic differentiation among almost all identified populations in our sample, and in most cases, individuals can be clearly assigned to defined populations on the basis of SNP genotypes. All individuals are accurately classified into continental groups using a model-based clustering algorithm, but between closely related populations, genetic and self-classifications conflict for some individuals. The 250K data permitted high-level resolution of genetic variation among Indian caste and tribal populations and between highland and lowland Daghestani populations. In particular, upper-caste individuals from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh form one defined group, lower-caste individuals from these two states form another, and the tribal Irula samples form a third. Our results emphasize the correlation of genetic and geographic distances and highlight other elements, including social factors that have contributed to population structure.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  15. Fulltext Revisiting the taxonomy and evolution of pathogenicity of the genus Leptospira through the prism of genomics
    Vincent AT, Schiettekatte O, Goarant C, Neela VK, Bernet E, Thibeaux R, et al.
    PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2019 May;13(5):e0007270.
    PMID: 31120895 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007270
    The causative agents of leptospirosis are responsible for an emerging zoonotic disease worldwide. One of the major routes of transmission for leptospirosis is the natural environment contaminated with the urine of a wide range of reservoir animals. Soils and surface waters also host a high diversity of non-pathogenic Leptospira and species for which the virulence status is not clearly established. The genus Leptospira is currently divided into 35 species classified into three phylogenetic clusters, which supposedly correlate with the virulence of the bacteria. In this study, a total of 90 Leptospira strains isolated from different environments worldwide including Japan, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Algeria, mainland France, and the island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean were sequenced. A comparison of average nucleotide identity (ANI) values of genomes of the 90 isolates and representative genomes of known species revealed 30 new Leptospira species. These data also supported the existence of two clades and 4 subclades. To avoid classification that strongly implies assumption on the virulence status of the lineages, we called them P1, P2, S1, S2. One of these subclades has not yet been described and is composed of Leptospira idonii and 4 novel species that are phylogenetically related to the saprophytes. We then investigated genome diversity and evolutionary relationships among members of the genus Leptospira by studying the pangenome and core gene sets. Our data enable the identification of genome features, genes and domains that are important for each subclade, thereby laying the foundation for refining the classification of this complex bacterial genus. We also shed light on atypical genomic features of a group of species that includes the species often associated with human infection, suggesting a specific and ongoing evolution of this group of species that will require more attention. In conclusion, we have uncovered a massive species diversity and revealed a novel subclade in environmental samples collected worldwide and we have redefined the classification of species in the genus. The implication of several new potentially infectious Leptospira species for human and animal health remains to be determined but our data also provide new insights into the emergence of virulence in the pathogenic species.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  16. Fulltext Integrated health care systems in Asia: an urgent necessity
    Tham TY, Tran TL, Prueksaritanond S, Isidro JS, Setia S, Welluppillai V
    Clin Interv Aging, 2018;13:2527-2538.
    PMID: 30587945 DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S185048
    A rapidly aging population along with the increasing burden of patients with chronic conditions in Asia requires efficient health systems with integrated care. Although some efforts to integrate primary care and hospital care in Asia are underway, overall care delivery remains fragmented and diverse, eg, in terms of medical electronic record sharing and availability, patient registries, and empowerment of primary health care providers to handle chronic illnesses. The primary care sector requires more robust and effective initiatives targeted at specific diseases, particularly chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, depression, and dementia. This can be achieved through integrated care - a health care model of collaborative care provision. For successful implementation of integrated care policy, key stakeholders need a thorough understanding of the high-risk patient population and relevant resources to tackle the imminent population demographic shift due to the extremely rapid rate of increase in the aging population in Asia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  17. Fulltext Sibship assignment to the founders of a Bangladeshi Catla catla breeding population
    Hamilton MG, Mekkawy W, Benzie JAH
    Genet. Sel. Evol., 2019 Apr 29;51(1):17.
    PMID: 31035934 DOI: 10.1186/s12711-019-0454-x
    Catla catla (Hamilton) fertilised spawn was collected from the Halda, Jamuna and Padma rivers in Bangladesh from which approximately 900 individuals were retained as 'candidate founders' of a breeding population. These fish were fin-clipped and genotyped using the DArTseq platform to obtain, 3048 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 4726 silicoDArT markers. Using SNP data, individuals that shared no putative parents were identified using the program COLONY, i.e. 140, 47 and 23 from the Halda, Jamuna and Padma rivers, respectively. Allele frequencies from these individuals were considered as representative of those of the river populations, and genomic relationship matrices were generated. Then, half-sibling and full-sibling relationships between individuals were assigned manually based on the genomic relationship matrices. Many putative half-sibling and full-sibling relationships were found between individuals from the Halda and Jamuna rivers, which suggests that catla sampled from rivers as spawn are not necessarily representative of river populations. This has implications for the interpretation of past population genetics studies, the sampling strategies to be adopted in future studies and the management of broodstock sourced as river spawn in commercial hatcheries. Using data from individuals that shared no putative parents, overall multi-locus pairwise estimates of Wright's fixation index (FST) were low (≤ 0.013) and the optimum number of clusters using unsupervised K-means clustering was equal to 1, which indicates little genetic divergence among the SNPs included in our study within and among river populations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  18. Fulltext Feline sporotrichosis in Asia
    Han HS, Kano R
    Braz J Microbiol, 2021 Mar;52(1):125-134.
    PMID: 32363567 DOI: 10.1007/s42770-020-00274-5
    Sporothrix schenckii sensu lato is currently recognized as a species complex with only Sporothrix brasiliensis, Sporothrix schenckii sensu stricto, Sporothrix globosa and Sporothrix pallida identified to cause disease in the cat. Feline sporotrichosis in Asia is mainly reported from Malaysia where a single clonal strain of clinical clade D, Sporothrix schenckii sensu stricto manifesting low susceptibility to major antifungal classes, has been identified as the agent of the disease. Sporothrix globosa has been identified to cause disease from a single cat in Japan while the specific species of agent has not been identified yet for the disease in Thailand. Despite efforts to elucidate and describe the pathogenicity of the agent and the disease it causes, the paucity of data highlights the need for further molecular epidemiological studies to characterize this fungus and the disease it causes in Asia. Its prognosis remains guarded to poor due to issues pertaining to cost, protracted treatment course, zoonotic potential and low susceptibility of some strains to antifungals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  19. Fulltext COVID-19's impact on the atmospheric environment in the Southeast Asia region
    Kanniah KD, Kamarul Zaman NAF, Kaskaoutis DG, Latif MT
    Sci Total Environ, 2020 Sep 20;736:139658.
    PMID: 32492613 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139658
    Since its first appearance in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019, the new coronavirus (COVID-19) has evolved a global pandemic within three months, with more than 4.3 million confirmed cases worldwide until mid-May 2020. As many countries around the world, Malaysia and other southeast Asian (SEA) countries have also enforced lockdown at different degrees to contain the spread of the disease, which has brought some positive effects on natural environment. Therefore, evaluating the reduction in anthropogenic emissions due to COVID-19 and the related governmental measures to restrict its expansion is crucial to assess its impacts on air pollution and economic growth. In this study, we used aerosol optical depth (AOD) observations from Himawari-8 satellite, along with tropospheric NO2 column density from Aura-OMI over SEA, and ground-based pollution measurements at several stations across Malaysia, in order to quantify the changes in aerosol and air pollutants associated with the general shutdown of anthropogenic and industrial activities due to COVID-19. The lockdown has led to a notable decrease in AOD over SEA and in the pollution outflow over the oceanic regions, while a significant decrease (27% - 30%) in tropospheric NO2 was observed over areas not affected by seasonal biomass burning. Especially in Malaysia, PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, and CO concentrations have been decreased by 26-31%, 23-32%, 63-64%, 9-20%, and 25-31%, respectively, in the urban areas during the lockdown phase, compared to the same periods in 2018 and 2019. Notable reductions are also seen at industrial, suburban and rural sites across the country. Quantifying the reductions in major and health harmful air pollutants is crucial for health-related research and for air-quality and climate-change studies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  20. Fulltext Early Nutrition eAcademy Southeast Asia e-Learning for Enhancing Knowledge on Nutrition during the First 1000 Days of Life
    Brands B, Chomtho S, Suthutvoravut U, Chiong Meng Boey C, Tang SF, Godfrey KM, et al.
    Nutrients, 2020 Jun 18;12(6).
    PMID: 32570814 DOI: 10.3390/nu12061817
    BACKGROUND: The double burden of both under- and overnutrition during the first 1000 days is highly prevalent in Southeast Asia (SEA), with major implications for lifelong health. Tackling this burden requires healthcare professionals (HCPs) to acquire evidence-based current knowledge and counselling skills. We assessed the needs of HCPs in SEA and developed a continuing medical education/professional development (CME/CPD) program using an e-learning platform to reduce existing gaps.

    METHODS: European, Thai and Malaysian universities collaborated with SEA national nutrition associations in the Early Nutrition eAcademy Southeast Asia (ENeA SEA) project. We assessed HCPs' needs using questionnaires and mapped CME/CPD programmes and regulations through stakeholder questionnaires. Using a co-creation approach, we established an e-learning platform. Evaluation in users was undertaken using questionnaires.

    RESULTS: HCPs in SEA reported major training gaps relating to the first 1000 days of nutrition and limited impact of existing face-to-face training. Existing pre/postgraduate, residency and CME/CPD programmes did not adequately address the topic. To address these gaps, we produced a targeted e-learning platform with six modules and CME-tests. National ministries, Thai and Malaysian universities, and professional associations endorsed the training platform. To date, over 2600 HCPs have registered. Evaluation shows high acceptance and a very positive assessment.

    CONCLUSIONS: Dedicated e-learning can reduce major gaps in HCP training in SEA regarding nutrition during the first 1000 days of life at scale and is highly valued by both users and key stakeholders.

    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
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