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Sanitation and pollution problems and measures to solve these problems

Newman-Morris G

Med J Malaysia, 1974 Dec;29(2):107-9.
PMID: 4282393
Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Australia, the Colombo Plan, and the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya

Luke HA

Australas Radiol, 1970 Feb;14(1):15-9.
PMID: 5525077
Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Long lead time drought forecasting using lagged climate variables and a stacked long short-term memory model

Dikshit A, Pradhan B, Alamri AM

Sci Total Environ, 2021 Feb 10;755(Pt 2):142638.
PMID: 33049536 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142638

Drought forecasting with a long lead time is essential for early warning systems and risk management strategies. The use of machine learning algorithms has been proven to be beneficial in forecasting droughts. However, forecasting at long lead times remains a challenge due to the effects of climate change and the complexities involved in drought assessment. The rise of deep learning techniques can solve this issue, and the present work aims to use a stacked long short-term memory (LSTM) architecture to forecast a commonly used drought measure, namely, the Standard Precipitation Evaporation Index. The model was then applied to the New South Wales region of Australia, with hydrometeorological and climatic variables as predictors. The multivariate interpolated grid of the Climatic Research Unit was used to compute the index at monthly scales, with meteorological variables as predictors. The architecture was trained using data from the period of 1901-2000 and tested on data from the period of 2001-2018. The results were then forecasted at lead times ranging from 1 month to 12 months. The forecasted results were analysed in terms of drought characteristics, such as drought intensity, drought onset, spatial extent and number of drought months, to elucidate how these characteristics improve the understanding of drought forecasting. The drought intensity forecasting capability of the model used two statistical metrics, namely, the coefficient of determination (R2) and root-mean-square error. The variation in the number of drought months was examined using the threat score technique. The results of this study showed that the stacked LSTM model can forecast effectively at short-term and long-term lead times. Such findings will be essential for government agencies and can be further tested to understand the forecasting capability of the presented architecture at shorter temporal scales, which can range from days to weeks.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext De novo genome assembly and annotation of Australia's largest freshwater fish, the Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii), from Illumina and Nanopore sequencing read

Austin CM, Tan MH, Harrisson KA, Lee YP, Croft LJ, Sunnucks P, et al.

Gigascience, 2017 08 01;6(8):1-6.
PMID: 28873963 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/gix063

One of the most iconic Australian fish is the Murray cod, Maccullochella peelii (Mitchell 1838), a freshwater species that can grow to ∼1.8 metres in length and live to age ≥48 years. The Murray cod is of a conservation concern as a result of strong population contractions, but it is also popular for recreational fishing and is of growing aquaculture interest. In this study, we report the whole genome sequence of the Murray cod to support ongoing population genetics, conservation, and management research, as well as to better understand the evolutionary ecology and history of the species. A draft Murray cod genome of 633 Mbp (N50 = 109 974bp; BUSCO and CEGMA completeness of 94.2% and 91.9%, respectively) with an estimated 148 Mbp of putative repetitive sequences was assembled from the combined sequencing data of 2 fish individuals with an identical maternal lineage; 47.2 Gb of Illumina HiSeq data and 804 Mb of Nanopore data were generated from the first individual while 23.2 Gb of Illumina MiSeq data were generated from the second individual. The inclusion of Nanopore reads for scaffolding followed by subsequent gap-closing using Illumina data led to a 29% reduction in the number of scaffolds and a 55% and 54% increase in the scaffold and contig N50, respectively. We also report the first transcriptome of Murray cod that was subsequently used to annotate the Murray cod genome, leading to the identification of 26 539 protein-coding genes. We present the whole genome of the Murray cod and anticipate this will be a catalyst for a range of genetic, genomic, and phylogenetic studies of the Murray cod and more generally other fish species of the Percichthydae family.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext Prevalence of hypogonadism in the aging male and male erectile dysfunction in Asia-Pacific countries

Chew KK

Asian J Androl, 2003;5:171-172.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext Ecology, Epidemiology and Disease Management of Ralstonia syzygii in Indonesia

Safni I, Subandiyah S, Fegan M

Front Microbiol, 2018;9:419.
PMID: 29662468 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00419

Ralstonia solanacearum species complex phylotype IV strains, which have been primarily isolated from Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia, have undergone recent taxonomic and nomenclatural changes to be placed in the species Ralstonia syzygii. This species contains three subspecies; Ralstonia syzygii subsp. syzygii, a pathogen causing Sumatra disease of clove trees in Indonesia, Ralstonia syzygii subsp. indonesiensis, the causal pathogen of bacterial wilt disease on a wide range of host plants, and Ralstonia syzygii subsp. celebesensis, the causal pathogen of blood disease on Musa spp. In Indonesia, these three subspecies have devastated the cultivation of susceptible host plants which have high economic value. Limited knowledge on the ecology and epidemiology of the diseases has hindered the development of effective control strategies. In this review, we provide insights into the ecology, epidemiology and disease control of these three subspecies of Ralstonia syzygii.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext Multiple Mini Interview as an admission tool in higher education: Insights from a systematic review

Yusoff MSB

J Taibah Univ Med Sci, 2019 Jun;14(3):203-240.
PMID: 31435411 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2019.03.006

Objectives: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) have been conducted across the globe in the student selection process, particularly in health profession education. This paper reported the validity evidence of MMI in various educational settings.
Methods: A literature search was carried out through Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar, PubMed, and EBSCOhost databases based on specific search terms. Each article was appraised based on title, abstract, and full text. The selected articles were critically appraised, and relevant information to support the validity of MMI in various educational settings was synthesized. This paper followed the PRISMA guideline to ensure consistency in reporting systematic review results.
Results: A majority of the studies were from Canada, with 41.54%, followed by the United Kingdom (25.39%), the United States (13.85%), and Australia (9.23%). The rest (9.24%) were from Germany, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Moreover, most MMI stations ranged from seven to 12 with a duration of 10 min per station (including a 2-min gap between stations).
Conclusion: The results suggest that the content, response process, and internal structure of MMI were well supported by evidence; however, the relation and consequences of MMI to important outcome variables were inconsistently supported. The evidence shows that MMI is a non-biased, practical, feasible, reliable, and content-valid admission tool. However, further research on its impact on non-cognitive outcomes is required.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext Do Differences in Social Environments Explain Gender Differences in Recreational Walking across Neighbourhoods?

Ghani F, Rachele JN, Loh VH, Washington S, Turrell G

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2019 06 04;16(11).
PMID: 31167430 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16111980

Within a city, gender differences in walking for recreation (WfR) vary significantly across neighbourhoods, although the reasons remain unknown. This cross-sectional study investigated the contribution of the social environment (SE) to explaining such variation, using 2009 data from the How Areas in Brisbane Influence healTh and AcTivity (HABITAT) study, including 7866 residents aged 42-67 years within 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia (72.6% response rate). The analytical sample comprised 200 neighbourhoods and 6643 participants (mean 33 per neighbourhood, range 8-99, 95% CI 30.6-35.8). Self-reported weekly minutes of WfR were categorised into 0 and 1-840 mins. The SE was conceptualised through neighbourhood-level perceptions of social cohesion, incivilities and safety from crime. Analyses included multilevel binomial logistic regression with gender as main predictor, adjusting for age, socioeconomic position, residential self-selection and neighbourhood disadvantage. On average, women walked more for recreation than men prior to adjustment for covariates. Gender differences in WfR varied significantly across neighbourhoods, and the magnitude of the variation for women was twice that of men. The SE did not explain neighbourhood differences in the gender-WfR relationship, nor the between-neighbourhood variation in WfR for men or women. Neighbourhood-level factors seem to influence the WfR of men and women differently, with women being more sensitive to their environment, although Brisbane's SE did not seem such a factor.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
"Our Country Needs a Strong Leader Right Now": Economic Inequality Enhances the Wish for a Strong Leader

Sprong S, Jetten J, Wang Z, Peters K, Mols F, Verkuyten M, et al.

Psychol Sci, 2019 11;30(11):1625-1637.
PMID: 31566081 DOI: 10.1177/0956797619875472

Societal inequality has been found to harm the mental and physical health of its members and undermine overall social cohesion. Here, we tested the hypothesis that economic inequality is associated with a wish for a strong leader in a study involving 28 countries from five continents (Study 1, N = 6,112), a study involving an Australian community sample (Study 2, N = 515), and two experiments (Study 3a, N = 96; Study 3b, N = 296). We found correlational (Studies 1 and 2) and experimental (Studies 3a and 3b) evidence for our prediction that higher inequality enhances the wish for a strong leader. We also found that this relationship is mediated by perceptions of anomie, except in the case of objective inequality in Study 1. This suggests that societal inequality enhances the perception that society is breaking down (anomie) and that a strong leader is needed to restore order (even when that leader is willing to challenge democratic values).

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext Culture, Self, and Medical Decision Making in Australia and China: A Structural Model Analysis

Dolan H, Alden DL, Friend JM, Lee PY, Lee YK, Ng CJ, et al.

MDM Policy Pract, 2019 09 20;4(2):2381468319871018.
PMID: 31565670 DOI: 10.1177/2381468319871018

Objective. To explore and compare the influences of individual-level cultural values and personal attitudinal values on the desire for medical information and self-involvement in decision making in Australia and China. Methods. A total of 288 and 291 middle-aged adults from Australia and China, respectively, completed an online survey examining cultural and personal values, and their desired level of self-influence on medical decision making. Structural equation modeling was used to test 15 hypotheses relating to the effects of cultural and personal antecedents on the individual desire for influence over medical decision making. Results. Similar factors in both Australia and China (total variance explained: Australia 29%; China 35%) predicted desire for medical information, with interdependence (unstandardized path coefficient βAustralia = 0.102, P = 0.014; βChina = 0.215, P = 0.001), independence (βAustralia = 0.244, P < 0.001; βChina = 0.123, P = 0.037), and health locus of control (βAustralia = -0.140, P = 0.018; βChina = -0.138, P = 0.007) being significant and positive predictors. A desire for involvement in decisions was only predicted by power distance, which had an opposite effect of being negative for Australia and positive for China (total variance explained: Australia 11%; China 5%; βAustralia = 0.294, P < 0.001; China: βChina = -0.190, P = 0.043). National culture moderated the effect of independence on desire for medical information, which was stronger in Australia than China (Z score = 1.687, P < 0.05). Conclusions. Study results demonstrate that in both countries, desire for medical information can be influenced by individual-level cultural and personal values, suggesting potential benefits of tailoring health communication to personal mindsets to foster informed decision making. The desired level of self-involvement in decision making was relatively independent of other cultural and personal values in both countries, suggesting caution against cultural stereotypes. Study findings also suggest that involvement preferences in decision making should be considered separately from information needs at the clinical encounter.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext The prevalence of the duodenal ulcer promoting gene (dupA) in Helicobacter pylori isolates varies by ethnic group and is not universally associated with disease development: a case-control study

Schmidt HM, Andres S, Kaakoush NO, Engstrand L, Eriksson L, Goh KL, et al.

Gut Pathog, 2009;1(1):5.
PMID: 19338650 DOI: 10.1186/1757-4749-1-5

The putative H. pylori pathogenicity-associated factor dupA has been associated with IL-8 induction in vitro, and duodenal ulcer (DU) and gastric cancer (GC) development in certain populations, but this association is inconsistent between studies. We aimed to investigate dupA prevalence in clinical isolates from Sweden, Australia and from ethnic Chinese, Indians and Malays resident in Malaysia and Singapore and to examine the association with DU and GC. In addition we investigated the sequence diversity between isolates from these diverse groups and compared the level of IL-8 secretion in isolates possessing and lacking dupA.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext Molecular Systematics of the Firefly Genus Luciola (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae) with the Description of a New Species from Singapore

Jusoh WFA, Ballantyne L, Chan SH, Wong TW, Yeo D, Nada B, et al.

Animals (Basel), 2021 Mar 04;11(3).
PMID: 33806564 DOI: 10.3390/ani11030687

The firefly genus Luciola sensu McDermott contains 282 species that are distributed across major parts of Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific islands. Due to phenotypic similarities, species identification using external morphological characters can be unreliable for this group. Consequently, decades of piecemeal taxonomic treatments have resulted in numerous erroneous and contentious classifications. Furthermore, our understanding of the group's evolutionary history is limited due to the lack of a robust phylogenetic framework that has also impeded efforts to stabilize its taxonomy. Here, we constructed molecular phylogenies of Luciola and its allies based on combined mitogenomes and Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) sequences including a newly sequenced mitogenome of an unidentified taxon from Singapore. Our results showed that this taxon represents a distinct and hitherto undescribed evolutionary lineage that forms a clade with L. filiformis from Japan and L. curtithorax from China. Additionally, the Singaporean lineage can be differentiated from other congeners through several external and internal diagnostic morphological characters, and is thus described herein as a new species. Our phylogeny also strongly supported the paraphyly of Luciola with regard to L. cruciata and L. owadai, which were inferred to be more closely related to the genus Aquatica as opposed to other members of Luciola sensu stricto. The genus Hotaria was inferred as a derived clade within Luciola (sister to L. italica), supporting its status as a subgenus of Luciola instead of a distinct genus. This is the first time since 1909 that a new species of luminous firefly has been discovered in Singapore, highlighting the need for continued biodiversity research, even in small, well-studied and highly developed countries, such as Singapore.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Evolutionary and biogeographic history of the black fly Simulium wayani (Diptera: Simuliidae) on the island of Timor

Adler PH, Takaoka H, Sofian-Azirun M, Chen CD, Suana IW

Acta Trop, 2019 May;193:1-6.
PMID: 30772330 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.02.017

A recently described species of black fly, Simulium wayani Takaoka and Chen, from the island of Timor was chromosomally mapped to provide insights into its evolutionary and biogeographic history. The morphologically based species status of S. wayani is supported by a suite of fixed chromosomal rearrangements and unique sex chromosomes derived primarily from a large pool of polymorphisms in the S. ornatipes complex in Australia. The banding patterns of its polytene chromosomes indicate that S. wayani is closely related to a pair of homosequential cryptic species (S. norfolkense Dumbleton and S. ornatipes cytoform A2) in the S. ornatipes Skuse complex on mainland Australia; all three species uniquely share the same amplified band in their chromosomal complement. The low level of polymorphism and heterozygosity in S. wayani, relative to Australian populations of the S. ornatipes complex, suggests few colonization events from the larger land mass.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
spa diversity of methicillin-resistant and -susceptible Staphylococcus aureus in clinical strains from Malaysia: a high prevalence of invasive European spa-type t032

Jones SU, Chua KH, Chew CH, Yeo CC, Abdullah FH, Othman N, et al.

PeerJ, 2021;9:e11195.
PMID: 33889447 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11195

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the important pathogens causing nosocomial infection. spa typing allows identification of S. aureus clones in hospital isolates and is useful for epidemiological studies and nosocomial infection control. This study aims to investigate the spa types in Malaysian S. aureus isolates obtained from various clinical specimens.
Method: A total of 89 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) [pus (n = 55), blood (n = 27), respiratory (n = 5), eye (n = 2)] isolates and 109 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) [pus (n = 79), blood (n = 24), respiratory (n = 3), eye (n = 2) and urine (n = 1)] isolates were subjected to spa typing with sequences analysed using BioNumerics version 7.
Results: The spa sequence was successfully amplified from 77.8% of the strains (154/198) and 47 known spa types were detected. The distribution of known spa types in MRSA (36.2%, 17/47) was less diverse than in MSSA (70.2%, 33/47). The most predominant spa types were t032 (50%) in MRSA, and t127 (19%) and t091 (16.7%) in MSSA, respectively. spa type t091 in MSSA was significantly associated with skin and soft tissue infections (p = 0.0199).
Conclusion: The previously uncommon spa type t032 was detected in the Malaysian MRSA strains, which also corresponded to the most common spa type in Europe and Australia, and has replaced the dominant spa type t037 which was reported in Malaysia in 2010.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext BipD of Burkholderia pseudomallei: Structure, Functions, and Detection Methods

Selvam K, Khalid MF, Mustaffa KMF, Harun A, Aziah I

Microorganisms, 2021 Mar 30;9(4).
PMID: 33808203 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9040711

Melioidosis is a severe disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei (B. pseudomallei), a Gram-negative environmental bacterium. It is endemic in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia, but it is underreported in many other countries. The principal routes of entry for B. pseudomallei are skin penetration, inhalation, and ingestion. It mainly affects immunocompromised populations, especially patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The laboratory diagnosis of melioidosis is challenging due to its non-specific clinical manifestations, which mimic other severe infections. The culture method is considered an imperfect gold standard for the diagnosis of melioidosis due to its low sensitivity. Antibody detection has low sensitivity and specificity due to the high seropositivity among healthy people in endemic regions. Antigen detection using various proteins has been tested for the rapid determination of B. pseudomallei; however, it presents certain limitations in terms of its sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, this review aims to frame the present knowledge of a potential target known as the Burkholderia invasion protein D (BipD), including future directions for its detection using an aptamer-based sensor (aptasensor).

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
First record of the lace bug genus Eritingis (Drake and Ruhoff) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) from Japan and Thailand

Souma J

Biodivers Data J, 2021;9:e63188.
PMID: 33958947 DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.9.e63188

Background: The lace bug genus Eritingis Drake and Ruhoff, 1962 is widely distributed in the Australian and Oriental Regions, whereas only a single species, E. recentis (Drake and Poor, 1937), has been recorded from the Oriental Region. To date, E. recentis is known to occur in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Vietnam, but has not been recorded from Japan and Thailand.
New information: Eritingis and E. recentis are recorded from Japan and Thailand for the first time.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext Extensive Genetic Variation at the Sr22 Wheat Stem Rust Resistance Gene Locus in the Grasses Revealed Through Evolutionary Genomics and Functional Analyses

Md Hatta MA, Ghosh S, Athiyannan N, Richardson T, Steuernagel B, Yu G, et al.

Mol Plant Microbe Interact, 2020 Nov;33(11):1286-1298.
PMID: 32779520 DOI: 10.1094/MPMI-01-20-0018-R

In the last 20 years, severe wheat stem rust outbreaks have been recorded in Africa, Europe, and Central Asia. This previously well controlled disease, caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, has reemerged as a major threat to wheat cultivation. The stem rust (Sr) resistance gene Sr22 encodes a nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat receptor which confers resistance to the highly virulent African stem rust isolate Ug99. Here, we show that the Sr22 gene is conserved among grasses in the Triticeae and Poeae lineages. Triticeae species contain syntenic loci with single-copy orthologs of Sr22 on chromosome 7, except Hordeum vulgare, which has experienced major expansions and rearrangements at the locus. We also describe 14 Sr22 sequence variants obtained from both Triticum boeoticum and the domesticated form of this species, T. monococcum, which have been postulated to encode both functional and nonfunctional Sr22 alleles. The nucleotide sequence analysis of these alleles identified historical sequence exchange resulting from recombination or gene conversion, including breakpoints within codons, which expanded the coding potential at these positions by introduction of nonsynonymous substitutions. Three Sr22 alleles were transformed into wheat cultivar Fielder and two postulated resistant alleles from Schomburgk (hexaploid wheat introgressed with T. boeoticum segment carrying Sr22) and T. monococcum accession PI190945, respectively, conferred resistance to P. graminis f. sp. tritici race TTKSK, thereby unequivocally confirming Sr22 effectiveness against Ug99. The third allele from accession PI573523, previously believed to confer susceptibility, was confirmed as nonfunctional against Australian P. graminis f. sp. tritici race 98-1,2,3,5,6.[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Fulltext Correlation of Mortality Burdens of Cerebrovascular Disease and Diabetes Mellitus with Domestic Consumption of Soya and Palm Oils

Ismail M, Alsalahi A, Khaza'ai H, Imam MU, Ooi J, Samsudin MN, et al.

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 07 28;17(15).
PMID: 32731336 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17155410

BACKGROUND: Cerebrovascular diseases (CBVDs) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are interrelated and cumbersome global health burdens. However, the relationship between edible oils consumption and mortality burdens of CBVDs and DM has not yet been evaluated. This review aims to explore correlations between per capita mortality burdens of CBVDs and DM, as well as food consumption of palm or soya oils in 11 randomly selected countries in 2005, 2010, and 2016.
METHODS: After obtaining data on food consumption of palm and soya oils and mortality burdens of CBVDs and DM, correlations between the consumption of oils and mortality burdens of diseases were explored.
RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between the consumption of soya oil with the mortality burden of CBVDs in Australia, Switzerland, and Indonesia, as well as the mortality burden of DM in the USA. The consumption of palm oil had a positive correlation with the mortality burden of DM in Jordan only.
CONCLUSIONS: Food consumption of soya oil in several countries possibly contributes to the mortality burden of CBVDs or DM more than food consumption of palm oil, which could be a possible risk factor in the mortality burdens of CBVDs and DM.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
The state of psychiatric research in the Asia Pacific region

Roche GC, Fung P, Ransing R, Noor IM, Shalbafan M, El Hayek S, et al.

Asia Pac Psychiatry, 2021 Mar;13(1):e12432.
PMID: 33145988 DOI: 10.1111/appy.12432

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to review recent scientific publications and research output in the field of psychiatry, from a series of countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Australia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Nepal), with a view to identify themes and similarities across regions, as well as to examine the barriers and challenges in mental health research faced by countries in the region.
METHODS: Seven psychiatrists from seven countries reviewed recent published and ongoing research in psychiatry in their respective nations, with respect to themes, as well as any barriers or challenges faced by mental health researchers.
RESULTS: While the seven nations included in this review vary in terms of research capabilities and economic development level, they share many similarities both in terms of research direction, and with regards to challenges faced. Limitations in the form of sociocultural differences from the West, and a lack of funding were some of the barriers identified.
DISCUSSION: Mental health research in the region has been progressing well. However, more varied research in the form of qualitative or economic studies are lacking, as are multi-center studies. The similar issues that nations face with regards to research could perhaps benefit from collaborative efforts and initiatives for the furtherance of research in the region.

Matched MeSH terms: Australia
Drivers for Change in Mental Health Provision in Four Diverse Countries

Arthur D, Foong A, McMaster R, Cleary M

Issues Ment Health Nurs, 2020 Mar;41(3):261-264.
PMID: 31917620 DOI: 10.1080/01612840.2019.1701931
Matched MeSH terms: Australia

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