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  1. Giaze TR, Shuid AN, Soelaiman IN, Muhammad N, Jamal JA, Fauzi MB, et al.
    J Tradit Complement Med, 2019 Oct;9(4):393-400.
    PMID: 31453136 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2019.01.002
    Background: Marantodes pumilum var. alata (MPva), popularly known as Kacip Fatimah, is widely used to maintain female reproductive health, facilitate post-partum recovery and manage symptoms of menopause and osteoporosis in South-East Asia. This study aims to further evaluate the osteoprotective potential of MPva in view of reports of its bone-protective properties in postmenopausal condition.

    Methods: Thirty female Sprague-Dawley rats were sorted into 5 groups (n = 6) namely: MPv (leaf treatment); MPr (root treatment); ERT (estrogen treatment); OVXC (untreated ovariectomized control) and Sham (untreated sham-operated control). All rats (except the Sham) were ovariectomized to induce a state of estrogen deficiency that simulates menopause. Two weeks after ovariectomy, the rats were treated for 8 weeks with oral gavages of estrogen and plant extracts. The ERT group received 64.5 μg/kg/day dose of estrogen while MPv and MPr groups received 20 mg/kg/day dose of leaf and root extracts, respectively. At the end of treatment, left femora were excised from euthanized rats and investigated for changes in bone micro-architecture, mineral density, and biomechanical properties.

    Results: Bone volume fraction, degree of anisotropy and structure-model-index of bone were significantly improved (p 

    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  2. Liu Y, Uemura H, Ye D, Lee JY, Chiong E, Pu YS, et al.
    Prostate Int, 2019 Sep;7(3):108-113.
    PMID: 31485435 DOI: 10.1016/j.prnil.2018.12.001
    Background: The incidence of prostate cancer (PC) in Asian countries is increasing for reasons that are not clear. Data describing how PC is diagnosed and treated are fragmented across Asia, with marked intercountry and intracountry differences in outcome and knowledge gaps in clinical diagnostic and treatment practices. To address these knowledge gaps, we have established a PC disease registry with the aim of providing a comprehensive picture of PC diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and outcome, population characteristics, and comorbidities in real-world clinical practice in Asia.

    Methods: This is a multinational, multicenter, longitudinal, and observational registry of PC patients presenting to participating tertiary-care hospitals in eight Asian countries (www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT02546908. Registry Identifier: NOPRODPCR4001). Approximately 3500-4000 eligible patients with existing or newly diagnosed high-risk localized PC (cohort 1), nonmetastatic biochemically recurrent PC (cohort 2), or metastatic PC (cohort 3) will be consecutively enrolled and followed-up for 5 years. An enrollment cap of 600 patients each will be applied to cohorts 1 and 2. Disease status is collected at enrollment, and outcome variables captured at 3-monthly intervals include diagnostic/staging, treatments including reason for change, laboratory results, comorbidities, and concomitant medications. Treatments and survival outcomes will be captured real time until study end. Patient-reported quality-of-life will be measured every 6 months, and medical resource utilization summarized at study end. Data analysis will include exploratory analyses of potential associations between multiple risk factors and socioeconomic variables with disease progression and evaluation of various treatments for PC including novel therapies on clinical outcome and health-related quality-of-life outcomes.

    Results: 3636 men with PC were enrolled until July 2018; 416 in cohort 1, 399 in cohort 2 and 2821 in cohort 3.

    Discussion: A total of 3636 patients were enrolled until July 2018. The prospective disease registry will provide comprehensive and wide-ranging real-world information on how PC is diagnosed and treated in Asia. Such information can be used to inform policy development for best practice and direct clinical study design evaluating new treatments.

    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  3. Nazri A, Mazlan N, Muharam F
    PLoS One, 2018;13(12):e0208501.
    PMID: 30571683 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208501
    Rice is a staple food in Asia and it contributes significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Malaysia and other developing countries. Brown Planthopper (BPH) causes high levels of economic loss in Malaysia. Identification of BPH presence and monitoring of its abundance has been conducted manually by experts and is time-consuming, fatiguing and tedious. Automated detection of BPH has been proposed by many studies to overcome human fallibility. However, all studies regarding automated recognition of BPH are investigated based on intact specimen although most of the specimens are imperfect, with missing parts have distorted shapes. The automated recognition of an imperfect insect image is more difficult than recognition of the intact specimen. This study proposes an automated, deep-learning-based detection pipeline, PENYEK, to identify BPH pest in images taken from a readily available sticky pad, constructed by clipping plastic sheets onto steel plates and spraying with glue. This study explores the effectiveness of a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture, VGG16, in classifying insects as BPH or benign based on grayscale images constructed from Euclidean Distance Maps (EDM). The pipeline identified imperfect images of BPH with an accuracy of 95% using deep-learning's hyperparameters: softmax, a mini-batch of 30 and an initial learning rate of 0.0001.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  4. Quach DT, Vilaichone RK, Vu KV, Yamaoka Y, Sugano K, Mahachai V
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2018 Dec 25;19(12):3565-3569.
    PMID: 30583684
    Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is currently considered as an infectious disease irrespective of symptoms and stage of disease. This study aimed to survey the impact of H. pylori infection and the current management approaches in Southeast Asian countries.
    Materials and methods: This is a survey among 26 experts from 9 Southeast Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), who attended a meeting to develop the ASEAN consensus on H. pylori management in November 2015.
    Results: The prevalence of H. pylori varied significantly from 20% to 69% among countries, highest in Myanmar and lowest in Malaysia. The rate of H. pylori infection in patients with gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer (GC) also varied significantly, not only among countries but also among regions within the same country. The most common method for H. pylori diagnosis before treatment was rapid urease test, followed by urea breath test. In multi-ethnic countries, some ethnic groups including Chinese, Batak and Minahasanese were considered as having higher risk of GC. There have been no national screening programs for GC in all countries, and a majority of patients with GC were diagnosed in advanced stages with very poor 5-year survival.
    Conclusions: The prevalence of H. pylori infection and its infection rates in related gastrointestinal diseases were significantly different among Southeast Asian countries. The prognosis of patients with GC in the region was very poor. The result of this survey is a platform for future international and regional research collaboration.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  5. Nur Ain, J., Ainaa Diyana, S., Nur Hazirah, R., Nur Fathiah, A.S., Fairus, A., Teoh, S.l., et al.
    Medicine & Health, 2018;13(1):165-174.
    MyJurnal
    Piper betle (PB) leaves have been traditionally used in many Asian countries for the healing of wounds and other ailments. The aim of this study was to examine the wound healing effect of PB on skin injury-inflicted Sprague-Dawley rats. Eighteen male Sprague-Dawley rats were inflicted with wounds and then divided into three groups consisting of a control (normal wound healing without dressing), saline (wound healing aided by gauze soaked in saline) and PB (gauze impregnated with PB paste) dressings. Wounds were created on the back of rats with 6-mm sterilized punch biopsy needle. Wounds were examined on days 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 for dryness, exudation, and scar formation. Rats were sacrificed on day 14 and the granulation tissue formed on the wound was then excised for histological examination using Hematoxylin and Eosin staining. The formation of granulation tissue in rats treated with PB showed higher progress to wound closure with shorter days (on day 3) compared to the control and saline group (on day 5). PB dressing minimized the formation of scar tissue significantly (p
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  6. Morgan MP, Thomas W, Rashid-Doubell F
    Med Teach, 2020 01;42(1):36-38.
    PMID: 31411913 DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2019.1649380
    The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) was among the first medical institutions to establish a global education community which now provides high-quality transnational health professions education aligned across three locations: Europe, the Middle East and South-East Asia. The successful implementation of a shared modularized curriculum in this context can be complex and challenging. Here we describe our insights, gained from a decade of working together as shared module Academic Leads to deliver a system-based medical module to an international student cohort. The themes covered are some of the areas where we consider our joint deliberations have led to improved outcomes for the delivery and assessment of the module, which may be helpful to academic staff embarking on similar module sharing experiences.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  7. Kemp-Casey A, Ceria-Perena J, Guerrero AM, Suchonwanich N, Salleh SM, Roughead EE
    PMID: 31441448 DOI: 10.4103/2224-3151.264857
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  8. Malina Jasamai, Nurul Hanis Samsudin, Norazrina Azmi, Endang Kumolosasi
    Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:1221-1226.
    Durian or scientifically known as Durio zibethinus is one of the most well-known seasonal fruits in the Southeast Asia
    region. However, its safe consumption in individuals with hypertension is still controversial. This study was conducted
    to investigate the effect of durian on blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rat model. Four groups of rats (n=5)
    were fed with either a low dose durian (26 g/kg), a high dose durian (52 g/kg), sugar solution (8 mL/kg) which has
    similar sugar composition in the durian as placebo control, and distilled water as vehicle control (8 mL/kg) for 14 days.
    The durian doses for rats were obtained by converting from human doses. Baseline reading of blood pressure and heart
    rate were recorded before the first oral administration of durian. The blood pressure and heart rate were also measured
    1 h after the durian oral administration on day 1, 3, 7 and 14 of the experiment. In conclusion, durian fruit possessed
    an acute effect on the blood pressure of hypertensive rats but heart rate was unaffected. High dose administration of
    durian led to significant elevation of blood pressure after 1 h of consumption. Meanwhile, low dose of durian (26 g/kg)
    caused an insignificant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Tolerance to the durian fruit was observed after
    three to seven days of the oral administration and low dose consumption of durian fruit was safe in the hypertensive rat.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  9. Duong TV, Aringazina A, Kayupova G, Nurjanah, Pham TV, Pham KM, et al.
    Health Lit Res Pract, 2019 Apr;3(2):e91-e102.
    PMID: 31294310 DOI: 10.3928/24748307-20190225-01
    Background: No comprehensive short-form health literacy (HL) survey tool has been available for general use across Asia.

    Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a short-form HL instrument derived from the 47-item European Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47).

    Methods: A population survey (N = 10,024) was conducted from 2013 to 2015 using the HLS-EU-Q47 in 1,029 participants from Indonesia, 1,845 from Kazakhstan, 462 from Malaysia, 1,600 from Myanmar, 3,015 from Taiwan, and 2,073 from Vietnam. Validation of the short form was evaluated by principle component analysis, internal consistency, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis.

    Key Results: Based on responses from six countries, a 12-item short-form HL questionnaire (HLS-SF12) was developed, retaining the conceptual framework of the HLS-EU-Q47 and accounting for the high variance of the full-form (i.e., 90% in Indonesia, 91% in Myanmar, 93% in Malaysia, 94% in Taiwan, and 95% in both Kazakhstan and Vietnam). The HLS-SF12 was demonstrated to have adequate psychometric properties, including high reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .85), good criterion-related validity, a moderate and high level of item-scale convergent validity, no floor or ceiling effect, and good model-data-fit throughout the populations in these countries.

    Conclusions: The HLS-SF12 was shown to be a valid and reliable tool for HL surveys in the general public in six Asian countries. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2019;3(2):e90-e102.].

    Plain Language Summary: A health literacy survey was conducted from 2013 to 2015 in six Asian countries using the European Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47). The collected data were used to develop and validate a comprehensive short-form questionnaire. A health literacy questionnaire with 12 items (HLS-SF12) that retains the original conceptual framework of the HLS-EU-Q47 was demonstrated to be reliable and valid.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  10. Tengku Mohd TAM, Yunus RM, Hairi F, Hairi NN, Choo WY
    BMJ Open, 2019 07 17;9(7):e026667.
    PMID: 31320348 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-026667
    OBJECTIVES: This review aims to: (1) explore the social support measures in studies examining the association between social support and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia and (2) the evidence of association.

    DESIGN: A systematic review was conducted using electronic databases of CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, SocINDEX and Web of Science for articles published until the 11th of January 2018.

    ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: All observational studies investigating the association between social support and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia were included.

    PARTICIPANTS: Older adults aged 60 years and more who are living in the community.

    EXPOSURE MEASURES: Social support.

    OUTCOME MEASURES: Depression.

    RESULTS: We retrieved16 356 records and screened 66 full-text articles. Twenty-four observational studies were included in the review. They consisted of five cohort studies and 19 cross-sectional studies. Social support was found to be measured by multiple components, most commonly through a combination of structural and functional constructs. Perceived social support is more commonly measured compared with received social support. Good overall social support, having a spouse or partner, living with family, having a large social network, having more contact with family and friends, having emotional and instrumental support, good support from family and satisfaction with social support are associated with less depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults in Asia.

    CONCLUSIONS: There were 20 different social support measures and we applied a framework to allow for better comparability. Our findings emphasised the association between good social support and decrease depression among older adults. Compared with western populations, family support has a greater influence on depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia. This indicates that the family institution needs to be incorporated into designed programmes and interventions when addressing depression in the Asian context. TRIAL : registration number : CRD42017074897.

    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  11. Loo GH, Rajan R, Nik Mahmood NRK
    Ann Med Surg (Lond), 2019 Aug;44:72-76.
    PMID: 31321031 DOI: 10.1016/j.amsu.2019.06.014
    There is an increasing trend in the number of bariatric surgeries performed worldwide, partly because bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for morbid obesity. Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) remains the most common bariatric surgery procedure performed, representing more than 50% of all primary bariatric interventions. Major surgical complications of SG include staple-line bleeding, leaking, and stenosis. A leak along the staple-line most commonly occurs at the gastroesophageal junction (GOJ). From January 2018 to December 2018, our centre performed 226 bariatric procedures, of which, 97.8% were primary bariatric procedures. The mean age and BMI were 38.7±8.3 years and 44 kg/m2, respectively. Out of the 202 primary SG performed, we encountered two cases of a staple-line leak (0.99%). This is the first reported case series of SG leaks from the Southeast Asia region. A summary of their characteristics, clinical presentation, subsequent management, and the outcome is discussed. Based on the latest available evidence from the literature, several methods may decrease staple-line leaks in SG. These include the use of a bougie size greater than 40 Fr, routine use of methylene blue test during surgery, beginning transection at 2-6 cm from the pylorus, mobilising the fundus before transection, and staying away from the GOJ at the last firing. Other methods include the proper alignment of the staple-line, control of staple-line bleeding, and performing staple-line reinforcement. The management of a staple-line leak remains challenging due to limited systematic, evidence-based literature being available. Therefore, a tailored approach is needed to manage this complication.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  12. Othman MY, Blair S, Nah SA, Ariffin H, Assanasen C, Soh SY, et al.
    JCO Glob Oncol, 2020 08;6:1328-1345.
    PMID: 32886560 DOI: 10.1200/GO.20.00284
    PURPOSE: Pediatric solid tumors require coordinated multidisciplinary specialist care. However, expertise and resources to conduct multidisciplinary tumor boards (MDTBs) are lacking in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to profile the landscape of pediatric solid tumor care and practices and perceptions on MDTBs among pediatric solid tumor units (PSTUs) in Southeast Asian LMICs.

    METHODS: Using online surveys, availability of specialty manpower and MDTBs among PSTUs was first determined. From the subset of PSTUs with MDTBs, one pediatric surgeon and one pediatric oncologist from each center were queried using 5-point Likert scale questions adapted from published questionnaires.

    RESULTS: In 37 (80.4%) of 46 identified PSTUs, availability of pediatric-trained specialists was as follows: oncologists, 94.6%; surgeons, 91.9%; radiologists, 54.1%; pathologists, 40.5%; radiation oncologists, 29.7%; nuclear medicine physicians, 13.5%; and nurses, 81.1%. Availability of pediatric-trained surgeons, radiologists, and pathologists was significantly associated with the existence of MDTBs (P = .037, .005, and .022, respectively). Among 43 (89.6%) of 48 respondents from 24 PSTUs with MDTBs, 90.5% of oncologists reported > 50% oncology-dedicated workload versus 22.7% of surgeons. Views on benefits and barriers did not significantly differ between oncologists and surgeons. The majority agreed that MDTBs helped to improve accuracy of treatment recommendations and team competence. Complex cases, insufficient radiology and pathology preparation, and need for supplementary investigations were the top barriers.

    CONCLUSION: This first known profile of pediatric solid tumor care in Southeast Asia found that availability of pediatric-trained subspecialists was a significant prerequisite for pediatric MDTBs in this region. Most PSTUs lacked pediatric-trained pathologists and radiologists. Correspondingly, gaps in radiographic and pathologic diagnoses were the most common limitations for MDTBs. Greater emphasis on holistic multidisciplinary subspecialty development is needed to advance pediatric solid tumor care in Southeast Asia.

    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  13. Brandão A, Eng KK, Rito T, Cavadas B, Bulbeck D, Gandini F, et al.
    Hum Genet, 2016 Apr;135(4):363-76.
    PMID: 26875094 DOI: 10.1007/s00439-016-1640-3
    There has been a long-standing debate concerning the extent to which the spread of Neolithic ceramics and Malay-Polynesian languages in Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) were coupled to an agriculturally driven demic dispersal out of Taiwan 4000 years ago (4 ka). We previously addressed this question using founder analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region sequences to identify major lineage clusters most likely to have dispersed from Taiwan into ISEA, proposing that the dispersal had a relatively minor impact on the extant genetic structure of ISEA, and that the role of agriculture in the expansion of the Austronesian languages was therefore likely to have been correspondingly minor. Here we test these conclusions by sequencing whole mtDNAs from across Taiwan and ISEA, using their higher chronological precision to resolve the overall proportion that participated in the "out-of-Taiwan" mid-Holocene dispersal as opposed to earlier, postglacial expansions in the Early Holocene. We show that, in total, about 20 % of mtDNA lineages in the modern ISEA pool result from the "out-of-Taiwan" dispersal, with most of the remainder signifying earlier processes, mainly due to sea-level rises after the Last Glacial Maximum. Notably, we show that every one of these founder clusters previously entered Taiwan from China, 6-7 ka, where rice-farming originated, and remained distinct from the indigenous Taiwanese population until after the subsequent dispersal into ISEA.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  14. Lim LH
    Int J Parasitol, 1998 Oct;28(10):1495-515.
    PMID: 9801913
    The diversity of monogeneans from Southeast Asia was examined using information from the literature to show their diversity at different taxonomic (subclass, family, genera, species) levels. Knowledge of monogeneans is still incomplete in Southeast Asia and the present numbers of monogeneans are likely an underestimate of what is present on/in aquatic organisms in the region, since so few hosts have been examined. An estimate of the possible numbers of monogeneans that could be present on/in fishes and turtles in Peninsular Malaysia indicates that only 8% of the monogeneans are presently known. Analysis of the available data on monogenean diversity (or species richness) at different taxonomic levels will provide useful information on their distribution patterns. There is an uneven distribution of investigations on this topic and Malayan fauna is considered to be representative of the Southeast Asian fauna. Southeast Asian (Sundaland) monogeneans are related (at the generic level) to the monogenean fauna of South China, India and Africa.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  15. Shahida S, Nor Zamzila A, Norlelawati AT, Jamalludin AR, Azliana AF, Zunariah Buyong
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Over the decades, organic arsenic has been thought to be less toxic than inorganic arsenic.
    Monosodium methylarsonate (MSMA) is a potent organoarsenical herbicide that is still being used in most
    Asian countries. Reported studies on the effects of organic arsenic are mainly to the gastrointestinal system,
    however there are limited research on its impacts to the liver. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the
    effect of MSMA exposure on hepatocytes and liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSEC). Materials and Methods:
    Fourteen Sprague Dawley rats (n=14) were divided equally into arsenic-exposed (n=7) and control (n=7)
    groups. The rats in arsenic-exposed group were given MSMA at 63.20 mg/kg daily for 6 months through oral
    gavage. While the rats in control group were given distilled water ad libitum. At the end of the duration,
    they were euthanized and underwent liver perfusion for tissue preservation. Liver tissues were harvested and
    processed for light microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The findings were analysed
    descriptively. Results: MSMA had caused necrotic and apoptotic changes to the liver. Normal organelles
    morphology were loss in the hepatocytes while LSEC revealed defenestration. Conclusion: In this study,
    chronic low dose organic arsenic exposure showed evidence of toxicity to hepatocytes. Interestingly, LSEC
    demonstrated capillarization changes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  16. Tan JW, Chew DP, Abdul Kader MAS, Ako J, Bahl VK, Chan M, et al.
    Eur Cardiol, 2021 Feb;16:e02.
    PMID: 33708263 DOI: 10.15420/ecr.2020.40
    The unique characteristics of patients with acute coronary syndrome in the Asia-Pacific region mean that international guidelines on the use of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) cannot be routinely applied to these populations. Newer generation P2Y12 inhibitors (i.e. ticagrelor and prasugrel) have demonstrated improved clinical outcomes compared with clopidogrel. However, low numbers of Asian patients participated in pivotal studies and few regional studies comparing DAPTs have been conducted. This article aims to summarise current evidence on the use of newer generation P2Y12 inhibitors in Asian patients with acute coronary syndrome and provide recommendations to assist clinicians, especially cardiologists, in selecting a DAPT regimen. Guidance is provided on the management of ischaemic and bleeding risks, including duration of therapy, switching strategies and the management of patients with ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation MI or those requiring surgery. In particular, the need for an individualised DAPT regimen and considerations relating to switching, de-escalating, stopping or continuing DAPT beyond 12 months are discussed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  17. Baimai V, Harbach RE, Sukowati S
    J Am Mosq Control Assoc, 1988 Mar;4(1):44-50.
    PMID: 3193098
    Karyotypes and crossing relationships were investigated for three allopatric populations of Anopheles leucosphyrus in Southeast Asia: South Kalimantan, Sumatra and Thailand. The mitotic karyotypes of these populations were similar to those previously observed in other species of the An. leucosphyrus group. Populations from Thailand and South Kalimantan exhibited telocentric and subtelocentric sex chromosomes, respectively, with a distinctive band of intercalary heterochromatin in the X chromosome. Strikingly different submetacentric X and Y chromosomes were observed in the population from Sumatra, and it seems likely that the evolution of these chromosomes occurred through the acquisition of constitutive heterochromatin. Sterile F1 males were observed in crosses between the Sumatra population and the populations from South Kalimantan and Thailand. No genetic incompatibility was observed in crosses between the latter two populations. We believe that the present concept of An. leucosphyrus includes two allopatric species, one inhabiting Borneo, West Malaysia and southern Thailand and one confined to Sumatra.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  18. Kreike CM, Van Eck HJ, Lebot V
    Theor Appl Genet, 2004 Aug;109(4):761-8.
    PMID: 15156282
    The genetic diversity of 255 taro (Colocasia esculenta) accessions from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia,Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu was studied using AFLPs. Three AFLP primer combinations generated a total of 465 scorable amplification products. The 255 accessions were grouped according to their country of origin, to their ploidy level (diploid or triploid) and to their habitat--cultivated or wild. Gene diversity within these groups and the genetic distance between these groups were computed. Dendrograms were constructed using UPGMA cluster analysis. In each country, the gene diversity within the groups of wild genotypes was the highest compared to the diploid and triploid cultivars groups. The highest gene diversity was observed for the wild group from Thailand (0.19), the lowest for the diploid cultivars group from Thailand(0.007). In Malaysia there was hardly any difference between the gene diversity of the cultivars and wild groups, 0.07 and 0.08, respectively. The genetic distances between the diploid cultivars groups ranges from 0.02 to 0.10, with the distance between the diploid accessions from Thailand and Malaysia being the highest. The genetic distances between the wild groups range from 0.05 to 0.07. First, a dendrogram was constructed with only the diploids cultivars from all countries. The accessions formed clusters largely according to the country from which they originated. Two major groups of clusters were revealed, one group assembling accessions from Asian countries and the other assembling accessions from the Pacific. Surprisingly, the group of diploid cultivars from Thailand clustered among the Pacific countries. Secondly,a dendrogram was constructed with diploid cultivated,triploid cultivated and wild accessions. Again the division of the accessions into an Asian and a Pacific gene pool is obvious. The presence of two gene pools for cultivated diploid taro has major implications for the breeding and conservation of germplasm.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
  19. Hauser N, Gushiken AC, Narayanan S, Kottilil S, Chua JV
    Trop Med Infect Dis, 2021 Feb 14;6(1).
    PMID: 33672796 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed6010024
    Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic paramyxovirus of the Henipavirus genus first identified in Malaysia in 1998. Henipaviruses have bat reservoir hosts and have been isolated from fruit bats found across Oceania, Asia, and Africa. Bat-to-human transmission is thought to be the primary mode of human NiV infection, although multiple intermediate hosts are described. Human infections with NiV were originally described as a syndrome of fever and rapid neurological decline following contact with swine. More recent outbreaks describe a syndrome with prominent respiratory symptoms and human-to-human transmission. Nearly annual outbreaks have been described since 1998 with case fatality rates reaching greater than 90%. The ubiquitous nature of the reservoir host, increasing deforestation, multiple mode of transmission, high case fatality rate, and lack of effective therapy or vaccines make NiV's pandemic potential increasingly significant. Here we review the epidemiology and microbiology of NiV as well as the therapeutic agents and vaccines in development.
    Matched MeSH terms: Asia
  20. 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: Asia
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