Displaying publications 41 - 60 of 329 in total

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  1. Sutlive V
    Urban anthropol, 1977;6(4):355-69.
    PMID: 12310786
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography
  2. Norela Sulaiman, Mohd Faizal Rus Rzerli, Maimon Abdullah
    Sains Malaysiana, 2011;40:1179-1186.
    This paper reports on a new record of the itch moth from the family Lymantriidae, Toxoproctis hemibathes (Swinhoe), for Peninsular Malaysia. The islands of Sumatera and Borneo are known to be within the geographical range of Lymantriidae, their habitat preference being the wetland and coastal forests. Our study showed that this species can also erupt in large numbers in specific locations in the southern parts of Peninsular Malaysia and thus, our finding is considered a new record for T. hemibathes (Swinhoe). This specimens were collected using portable ultra violet (UV) light trap during a population outbreak of this species in the Labis District of Johore.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography
  3. Fornace KM, Abidin TR, Alexander N, Brock P, Grigg MJ, Murphy A, et al.
    Emerg Infect Dis, 2016 Feb;22(2):201-8.
    PMID: 26812373 DOI: 10.3201/eid2202.150656
    The zoonotic malaria species Plasmodium knowlesi has become the main cause of human malaria in Malaysian Borneo. Deforestation and associated environmental and population changes have been hypothesized as main drivers of this apparent emergence. We gathered village-level data for P. knowlesi incidence for the districts of Kudat and Kota Marudu in Sabah state, Malaysia, for 2008-2012. We adjusted malaria records from routine reporting systems to reflect the diagnostic uncertainty of microscopy for P. knowlesi. We also developed negative binomial spatial autoregressive models to assess potential associations between P. knowlesi incidence and environmental variables derived from satellite-based remote-sensing data. Marked spatial heterogeneity in P. knowlesi incidence was observed, and village-level numbers of P. knowlesi cases were positively associated with forest cover and historical forest loss in surrounding areas. These results suggest the likelihood that deforestation and associated environmental changes are key drivers in P. knowlesi transmission in these areas.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography
  4. Op den Brouw B, Fernandez-Rojo MA, Charlton T, Fry BG, Ikonomopoulou MP
    Toxins (Basel), 2023 Sep 04;15(9).
    PMID: 37755975 DOI: 10.3390/toxins15090549
    Snake venoms constitute a complex, rapidly evolving trait, whose composition varies between and within populations depending on geographical location, age and preys (diets). These factors have determined the adaptive evolution for predatory success and link venom heterogeneity with prey specificity. Moreover, understanding the evolutionary drivers of animal venoms has streamlined the biodiscovery of venom-derived compounds as drug candidates in biomedicine and biotechnology. The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah; Cantor, 1836) is distributed in diverse habitats, forming independent populations, which confer differing scale markings, including between hatchlings and adults. Furthermore, king cobra venoms possess unique cytotoxic properties that are used as a defensive trait, but their toxins may also have utility as promising anticancer-agent candidates. However, the impact of geographical distribution and age on these potential venom applications has been typically neglected. In this study, we hypothesised that ontogenetic venom variation accompanies the morphological distinction between hatchlings and adults. We used non-transformed neonatal foreskin (NFF) fibroblasts to examine and compare the variability of venom cytotoxicity between adult captive breeding pairs from Malaysian and Chinese lineages, along with that of their progeny upon hatching. In parallel, we assessed the anticancer potential of these venoms in human-melanoma-patient-derived cells (MM96L). We found that in a geographical distribution and gender-independent manner, venoms from hatchlings were significantly less cytotoxic than those from adults (NFF; ~Log EC50: 0.5-0.6 vs. 0.2-0.35 mg/mL). This is consistent with neonates occupying a semifossorial habitat, while adults inhabit more above-ground habitats and are therefore more conspicuous to potential predators. We also observed that Malaysian venoms exhibited a slightly higher cytotoxicity than those from the Chinese cobra cohorts (NFF; Log EC50: 0.1-0.3 vs. 0.3-0.4 mg/mL), which is consistent with Malaysian king cobras being more strongly aposematically marked. These variations are therefore suggestive of differential anti-predator strategies associated with the occupation of distinct niches. However, all cobra venoms were similarly cytotoxic in both melanoma cells and fibroblasts, limiting their potential medical applications in their native forms.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography
  5. Serva M, Petroni F, Volchenkov D, Wichmann S
    J R Soc Interface, 2012 Jan 07;9(66):54-67.
    PMID: 21632612 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2011.0228
    The origin of Malagasy DNA is half African and half Indonesian, nevertheless the Malagasy language, spoken by the entire population, belongs to the Austronesian family. The language most closely related to Malagasy is Maanyan (Greater Barito East group of the Austronesian family), but related languages are also in Sulawesi, Malaysia and Sumatra. For this reason, and because Maanyan is spoken by a population which lives along the Barito river in Kalimantan and which does not possess the necessary skill for long maritime navigation, the ethnic composition of the Indonesian colonizers is still unclear. There is a general consensus that Indonesian sailors reached Madagascar by a maritime trek, but the time, the path and the landing area of the first colonization are all disputed. In this research, we try to answer these problems together with other ones, such as the historical configuration of Malagasy dialects, by types of analysis related to lexicostatistics and glottochronology that draw upon the automated method recently proposed by the authors. The data were collected by the first author at the beginning of 2010 with the invaluable help of Joselinà Soafara Néré and consist of Swadesh lists of 200 items for 23 dialects covering all areas of the island.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography
  6. Richards DR, Friess DA
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2016 Jan 12;113(2):344-9.
    PMID: 26712025 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1510272113
    The mangrove forests of Southeast Asia are highly biodiverse and provide multiple ecosystem services upon which millions of people depend. Mangroves enhance fisheries and coastal protection, and store among the highest densities of carbon of any ecosystem globally. Mangrove forests have experienced extensive deforestation owing to global demand for commodities, and previous studies have identified the expansion of aquaculture as largely responsible. The proportional conversion of mangroves to different land use types has not been systematically quantified across Southeast Asia, however, particularly in recent years. In this study we apply a combined geographic information system and remote sensing method to quantify the key proximate drivers (i.e., replacement land uses) of mangrove deforestation in Southeast Asia between 2000 and 2012. Mangrove forests were lost at an average rate of 0.18% per year, which is lower than previously published estimates. In total, more than 100,000 ha of mangroves were removed during the study period, with aquaculture accounting for 30% of this total forest change. The rapid expansion of rice agriculture in Myanmar, and the sustained conversion of mangroves to oil palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia, are identified as additional increasing and under-recognized threats to mangrove ecosystems. Our study highlights frontiers of mangrove deforestation in the border states of Myanmar, on Borneo, and in Indonesian Papua. To implement policies that conserve mangrove forests across Southeast Asia, it is essential to consider the national and subnational variation in the land uses that follow deforestation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography
  7. Sodhi NS, Wilcove DS, Lee TM, Sekercioglu CH, Subaraj R, Bernard H, et al.
    Conserv Biol, 2010 Oct;24(5):1290-8.
    PMID: 20345403 DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01495.x
    There are few empirical data, particularly collected simultaneously from multiple sites, on extinctions resulting from human-driven land-use change. Southeast Asia has the highest deforestation rate in the world, but the resulting losses of biological diversity remain poorly documented. Between November 2006 and March 2008, we conducted bird surveys on six landbridge islands in Malaysia and Indonesia. These islands were surveyed previously for birds in the early 1900 s, when they were extensively forested. Our bird inventories of the islands were nearly complete, as indicated by sampling saturation curves and nonparametric true richness estimators. From zero (Pulau Malawali and Pulau Mantanani) to 15 (Pulau Bintan) diurnal resident landbird species were apparently extirpated since the early 1900 s. Adding comparable but published extinction data from Singapore to our regression analyses, we found there were proportionally fewer forest bird extinctions in areas with greater remaining forest cover. Nevertheless, the statistical evidence to support this relationship was weak, owing to our unavoidably small sample size. Bird species that are restricted to the Indomalayan region, lay few eggs, are heavier, and occupy a narrower habitat breadth, were most vulnerable to extinction on Pulau Bintan. This was the only island where sufficient data existed to analyze the correlates of extinction. Forest preservation and restoration are needed on these islands to conserve the remaining forest avifauna. Our study of landbridge islands indicates that deforestation may increasingly threaten Southeast Asian biodiversity.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  8. Dusfour I, Michaux JR, Harbach RE, Manguin S
    Infect Genet Evol, 2007 Jul;7(4):484-93.
    PMID: 17350896
    Anopheles sundaicus s.l. is a malaria vector in coastal areas of Southeast Asia. Previous studies showed at least four distinct species within the complex. The present study investigated the phylogeography and the status of A. sundaicus s.l. populations from Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia with regard to A. sundaicus s.s. from Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo and A. epiroticus in Vietnam and Thailand. Three lineages recovered by analyses of Cyt-b and COI (mtDNA) confirmed the presence of A. sundaicus s.s. in Malaysian Borneo, the distribution of A. epiroticus from southern Vietnam to peninsular Malaysia, and recognised a distinct form in Indonesia that is named A. sundaicus E. The phylogenetic and demographic analyses suggest that the three species were separated during the Early Pleistocene (1.8-0.78 Myr) and experienced bottlenecks followed by a genetic expansion in more recent times. Based on the results and knowledge of the biogeography of the area, we hypothesise that the combination of cyclical island and refugium creation was the cause of lineage isolation and bottleneck events during the Pleistocene.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  9. Jenkins TM, Jones SC, Lee CY, Forschler BT, Chen Z, Lopez-Martinez G, et al.
    Mol Phylogenet Evol, 2007 Mar;42(3):612-21.
    PMID: 17254806
    Coptotermes gestroi, the Asian subterranean termite (AST), is an economically important structural and agricultural pest that has become established in many areas of the world. For the first time, phylogeography was used to illuminate the origins of new found C. gestroi in the US Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; Ohio, USA; Florida, USA; and Brisbane, Australia. Phylogenetic relationships of C. gestroi collected in indigenous locations within Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore as well as from the four areas of introduction were investigated using three genes (16S rRNA, COII, and ITS) under three optimality criteria encompassing phenetic and cladistic assumptions (maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and neighbor-joining). All three genes showed consistent support for a close genetic relationship between C. gestroi samples from Singapore and Ohio, whereas termite samples from Australia, Puerto Rico, and Key West, FL were more closely related to those from Malaysia. Shipping records further substantiated that Singapore and Malaysia were the likely origin of the Ohio and Australia C. gestroi, respectively. These data provide support for using phylogeography to understand the dispersal history of exotic termites. Serendipitously, we also gained insights into concerted evolution in an ITS cluster from rhinotermitid species in two genera.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  10. Ng CJ, Teo CH, Abdullah N, Tan WP, Tan HM
    BMC Cancer, 2015;15:613.
    PMID: 26335225 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-015-1615-0
    BACKGROUND: Cancer incidence and mortality varies across region, sex and country's economic status. While most studies focused on global trends, this study aimed to describe and analyse cancer incidence and mortality in Asia, focusing on cancer site, sex, region and income status.
    METHODS: Age-standardised incidence and mortality rates of cancer were extracted from the GLOBOCAN 2012 database. Cancer mortality to incidence ratios (MIRs) were calculated to represent cancer survival. The data were analysed based on the four regions in Asia and income.
    RESULTS: Cancer incidence rate is lower in Asia compared to the West but for MIR, it is the reverse. In Asia, the most common cancers in men are lung, stomach, liver, colorectal and oesophageal cancers while the most common cancers in women are breast, lung, cervical, colorectal and stomach cancers. The MIRs are the highest in lung, liver and stomach cancers and the lowest in colorectal, breast and prostate cancers. Eastern and Western Asia have a higher incidence of cancer compared to South-Eastern and South-Central Asia but this pattern is the reverse for MIR. Cancer incidence rate increases with country income particularly in colorectal and breast cancers but the pattern is the opposite for MIR.
    CONCLUSION: This study confirms that there is a wide variation in cancer incidence and mortality across Asia. This study is the first step towards documenting and explaining the changing cancer pattern in Asia in comparison to the rest of the world.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  11. Vohra U
    IIPS Newsl, 1993 Jul;34(3):4-6.
    PMID: 12287408
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  12. Wu C, Jia S
    Chin J Popul Sci, 1992;4(2):95-103.
    PMID: 12317926
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  13. Agus MR
    Warasan Prachakon Lae Sangkhom, 1990 Jan;2(2):205-21, 242-3.
    PMID: 12283536
    The focus of this study is on urbanization in Malaysia. "This paper is divided into three parts. The first part examines the trend of uneven urban development in West Malaysia. The second part discusses the change [in] ethnic composition of urban population between 1970 and 1980 intercensal period. The third part analyses the impact of the urbanization process on the Malays in the context of housing problems of the lower income groups." (SUMMARY IN THA)
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  14. Hinrichsen D
    Earthwatch, 1989.
    PMID: 12285899
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  15. Davanzo J, Kusnic M
    Int Reg Sci Rev, 1984 Sep;9(1):59-73.
    PMID: 12339753
    "Data from the Malaysian Family Life Survey are used to examine the sensitivity of urban/rural income differentials to the definition and measurement of income. Measured income differentials vary with the extent to which nonmarket activities are included in the scope of income, how the distribution of income is summarized, and whether one adjusts for differences in hours of work, household size and composition, ethnic composition, and other sociodemographic characteristics. For example, depending on the measure chosen, estimates of the amount by which urban income exceeds rural income in Malaysia range from 9 percent to 141 percent."
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  16. Ng CH, Ng KKS, Lee SL, Tnah LH, Lee CT, Zakaria NF
    Forensic Sci Int Genet, 2020 01;44:102188.
    PMID: 31648150 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.102188
    To inform product users about the origin of timber, the implementation of a traceability system is necessary for the forestry industry. In this study, we developed a comprehensive genetic database for the important tropical timber species Merbau, Intsia palembanica, to trace its geographic origin within peninsular Malaysia. A total of 1373 individual trees representing 39 geographically distinct populations of I. palembanica were sampled throughout peninsular Malaysia. We analyzed the samples using a combination of four chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) markers and 14 short tandem repeat (STR) markers to establish both cpDNA haplotype and STR allele frequency databases. A haplotype map was generated through cpDNA sequencing for population identification, resulting in six unique haplotypes based on 10 informative intraspecifically variable sites. Subsequently, an STR allele frequency database was developed from 14 STRs allowing individual identification. Bayesian cluster analysis divided the individuals into two genetic clusters corresponding to the northern and southern regions of peninsular Malaysia. Tests of conservativeness showed that the databases were conservative after the adjustment of the θ values to 0.2000 and 0.2900 for the northern (f = 0.0163) and southern (f = 0.0285) regions, respectively. Using self-assignment tests, we observed that individuals were correctly assigned to populations at rates of 40.54-94.12% and to the identified regions at rates of 79.80-80.62%. Both the cpDNA and STR markers appear to be useful for tracking Merbau timber originating from peninsular Malaysia. The use of these forensic tools in addition to the existing paper-based timber tracking system will help to verify the legality of the origin of I. palembanica and to combat illegal logging issues associated with the species.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  17. WHARTON RH, EYLES DE, WARREN M, CHEONG WH
    Ann Trop Med Parasitol, 1964 Mar;58:56-77.
    PMID: 14147666
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography*
  18. Rodrigues AS, Brooks TM, Butchart SH, Chanson J, Cox N, Hoffmann M, et al.
    PLoS One, 2014;9(11):e113934.
    PMID: 25426636 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113934
    The world's governments have committed to preventing the extinction of threatened species and improving their conservation status by 2020. However, biodiversity is not evenly distributed across space, and neither are the drivers of its decline, and so different regions face very different challenges. Here, we quantify the contribution of regions and countries towards recent global trends in vertebrate conservation status (as measured by the Red List Index), to guide action towards the 2020 target. We found that>50% of the global deterioration in the conservation status of birds, mammals and amphibians is concentrated in <1% of the surface area, 39/1098 ecoregions (4%) and eight/195 countries (4%) - Australia, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, and the United States. These countries hold a third of global diversity in these vertebrate groups, partially explaining why they concentrate most of the losses. Yet, other megadiverse countries - most notably Brazil (responsible for 10% of species but just 1% of deterioration), plus India and Madagascar - performed better in conserving their share of global vertebrate diversity. Very few countries, mostly island nations (e.g. Cook Islands, Fiji, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Tonga), have achieved net improvements. Per capita wealth does not explain these patterns, with two of the richest countries - United States and Australia - fairing conspicuously poorly. Different countries were affected by different combinations of threats. Reducing global rates of biodiversity loss will require investment in the regions and countries with the highest responsibility for the world's biodiversity, focusing on conserving those species and areas most in peril and on reducing the drivers with the highest impacts.
    Matched MeSH terms: Geography
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