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Fulltext Scuttle Flies (Diptera: Phoridae) Inhabiting Rabbit Carcasses Confined to Plastic Waste Bins in Malaysia Include New Records and an Undescribed Species

Zuha RM, Huong-Wen S, Disney RH, Omar B

Trop Life Sci Res, 2017 Jan;28(1):131-143.
PMID: 28228921 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/tlsr2017.28.1.9

Scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) are small-sized insects of forensic importance. They are well known for diversified species and habitats, but in the context of forensic entomology, scuttle flies' inhabitance of corpses remains inadequately explored. With recent reports indicating the existence of more scuttle fly species possibly inhabiting these environments, a decomposition study using animal carcasses in enclosed environments was conducted. The aim was to record the occurrence of scuttle flies on rabbit carcasses placed in sealed plastic waste bins for a 40-day period. The study was conducted as two replicates in Bangi, Selangor. Sampling was carried out at different time intervals inside a modified mosquito net as a trap. Inside the trap, adult scuttle flies were aspirated and preserved in 70% ethanol. The fly larvae and pupae were reared until their adult stage to facilitate identification. From this study, six scuttle fly species were collected, i.e., Dahliphora sigmoides (Schmitz) ♂, Gymnoptera simplex (Brues) ♀, Megaselia scalaris (Loew) ♂♀, Puliciphora borinquenensis (Wheeler) ♂, Puliciphora obtecta Meijere ♀ and Spiniphora sp. ♀. Both D. sigmoides and P. obtecta were newly recorded in Malaysia, whilst the Spiniphora sp. was considered an unknown species until it was linked to its male counterpart. The sealed waste bins were found to be accessible for the scuttle flies with delayed arrival (day 4-5). Megaselia scalaris was the primary scuttle fly species attracted to the carcass, and its occurrence could be observed between days 4-7 (replicate 1) and days 5-33 (replicate 2). This study also revealed Sarcophaga spp. (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) as the earliest species to colonize the remains and the longest to inhabit them (days 2-40). The larvae of Hermetia illucens (Linneaus) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) and Fannia sp. (Diptera: Fanniidae) were found on the carcasses during the mid-advanced decay period. These findings expand the knowledge on the diversity of forensically important scuttle flies and coexisting dipterans in enclosed environments in Malaysia.
Exposure and risk assessment of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs) for primiparous mothers and breastfed infants in Penang, Malaysia

Leong YH, Azmi NI, Majid MIA, Wen S

Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess, 2021 Aug;38(8):1416-1426.
PMID: 34014804 DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2021.1922758

An average 50 ml breast milk samples were collected from 21 lactating primiparous mothers (range 25 to 45 years, mean 33 years), 4-8 weeks after delivery in Penang Island, Malaysia. The geometric mean concentration of the most toxic congeners, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD) was 0.14 pg WHO2005-TEQ g-1 zlipid. The most abundant congeners of PCDD/Fs were octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) (5.9-75.4%), followed by 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-heptachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD) (1.1-30.7%). The geometric mean level of total dioxins and dl-PCBs was 2.2 pg WHO2005-TEQ g-1 lipid, significantly lower than those in developed countries or highly contaminated areas. The total dioxins and dl-PCBs in pg WHO2005-TEQ levels in breast milk were significantly correlated with years of residence at potential contaminated site. The average daily intake of 11.8 pg WHO2005-TEQ kg-1 body weight was estimated for a breastfed infant at 6 months of age. This demonstrates the exposure risk to infants, especially from Penang region, to these pollutants from human milk intake are potentially high during the lactation period.
Fulltext Effect of Eurycoma longifolia Stem Extract on Uric Acid Excretion in Hyperuricemia Mice

Bao R, Liu M, Wang D, Wen S, Yu H, Zhong Y, et al.

Front Pharmacol, 2019;10:1464.
PMID: 31920654 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2019.01464

Background:Eurycoma longifolia is a tropical medicinal plant belonging to Simaroubaceae distributed in South East Asia. The stems are traditionally used for the treatment of sexual insufficiency, fever, hypertension, and malaria. Furthermore, it has antidiabetic and anticancer activities. Recently, it has been reported to reduce uric acid, but the mechanism is unclear. Hypothesis/Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the effect and mechanism of E. longifolia stem 70% ethanol extract (EL) and its active compounds on uric acid excretion. Study Design and Methods: Potassium oxonate (PO) induced hyperuricemia rats model and adenine-PO induced hyperuricemia mice model were used to evaluate the effects of EL. Ultraperformance liquid chromatography was used to determine the levels of plasma or serum uric acid and creatinine. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was applied to observe kidney pathological changes, and western blot was applied to detect protein expression levels of uric acid transporters. Effects of constituents on urate uptake were tested in hURAT1-expressing HEK293T cells. Results: EL significantly reduced serum and plasma uric acid levels at dosages of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg in hyperuricemia rats and mice, increased the clearance rate of uric acid and creatinine, and improved the renal pathological injury. The protein expression levels of urate reabsorption transporter 1 (URAT1) and glucose transporter 9 were down-regulated, while sodium-dependent phosphate transporter 1 and ATP-binding cassette transporter G2 were up-regulated in the kidney after EL treatment. The quassinoids isolated from EL showed inhibitory effects on urate uptake in hURAT1-expressing HEK293T cells, and the effect of eurycomanol was further confirmed in vivo. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that EL significantly reduced blood uric acid levels, prevented pathological changes of kidney in PO induced hyperuricemia animal model, and improved renal urate transports. We partly clarified the mechanism was related to suppressing effect of URAT1 by quassinoid in EL. This study is the first to demonstrate that EL plays a role in hyperuricemia by promoting renal uric acid excretion.
Fulltext Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior in Environmental Science: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis

Si H, Shi JG, Tang D, Wen S, Miao W, Duan K

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2019 08 04;16(15).
PMID: 31382712 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16152788

Since the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was proposed by Ajzen in 1985, it has attracted extensive interest and been widely applied worldwide. Although an increasing number of studies have employed the TPB in the domain of environmental science, there have been no attempts to retrospectively analyze existing articles. The current study aimed to holistically understand the application status of the TPB in environmental science from a knowledge domain visualization perspective. A total of 531 journal articles were obtained through the Scopus database to perform a bibliometric analysis and content analysis. The results showed that waste management, green consumption, climate and environment, saving and conservation, and sustainable transportation are the primary research topics; the United States (U.S.), Mainland China, the United Kingdom (UK), and Malaysia are the most productive countries/regions. Moreover, the cross-disciplinary situations, main source journals, and key articles were revealed. Furthermore, the extended factors, integrated theories, major methods, specific groups, and control variables of environmental science research using the TPB were elaborated and integrated into a comprehensive application framework. Constructive criticisms were ultimately discussed. The findings contribute in several ways to help relevant researchers learn about the application of TPB to environmental science and provide new insights and holistic references for further research on environment-related behavior.
Fulltext A phase 3, randomised, placebo-controlled study of erenumab for the prevention of chronic migraine in patients from Asia: the DRAGON study

Yu S, Kim BK, Wang H, Zhou J, Wan Q, Yu T, et al.

J Headache Pain, 2022 Nov 21;23(1):146.
PMID: 36404301 DOI: 10.1186/s10194-022-01514-9

ABSTACT: BACKGROUND: DRAGON was a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study which evaluated the efficacy and safety of erenumab in patients with chronic migraine (CM) from Asia not adequately represented in the global pivotal CM study.
METHODS: DRAGON study was conducted across 9 Asian countries or regions including mainland China, India, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Patients (N = 557) with CM (aged 18-65 years) were randomised (1:1) to receive once-monthly subcutaneous erenumab 70 mg or matching placebo for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the change in monthly migraine days (MMD) from baseline to the last 4 weeks of the 12-week double-blind treatment phase (DBTP). Secondary endpoints included achievement of ≥ 50% reduction in MMD, change in monthly acute headache medication days, modified migraine disability assessment (mMIDAS), and safety. Study was powered for the primary endpoint of change from baseline in MMD.
RESULTS: At baseline, the mean (SD) age was 41.7 (± 10.9) years, and 81.5% (n = 454) patients were women. The mean migraine duration was 18.0 (± 11.6) years, and the mean MMD was 19.2 (± 5.4). 97.8% (n = 545) randomised patients completed the DBTP. Overall, demographics and baseline characteristics were balanced between the erenumab and placebo groups except for a slightly higher proportion of women in the placebo group. At Week 12, the adjusted mean change from baseline in MMD was - 8.2 days for erenumab and - 6.6 days for placebo, with a statistically significant difference for erenumab versus placebo (adjusted mean difference vs placebo: - 1.57 [95%CI: - 2.83, - 0.30]; P = 0.015). A greater proportion of patients treated with erenumab achieved ≥ 50% reduction in MMD versus placebo (47.0% vs 36.7%, P = 0.014). At Week 12, greater reductions in monthly acute headache medication days (- 5.34 vs - 4.66) and mMIDAS scores (- 14.67 vs - 12.93) were observed in patients treated with erenumab versus placebo. Safety and tolerability profile of erenumab was comparable to placebo, except the incidence of constipation (8.6% for erenumab vs 3.2% for placebo).
CONCLUSION: DRAGON study demonstrated the efficacy and safety of erenumab 70 mg in patients with CM from Asia. No new safety signals were observed during the DBTP compared with the previous trials.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03867201.
Fulltext Randomised, controlled trial of erenumab for the prevention of episodic migraine in patients from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America: The EMPOwER study

Wang SJ, Roxas AA, Saravia B, Kim BK, Chowdhury D, Riachi N, et al.

Cephalalgia, 2021 11;41(13):1285-1297.
PMID: 34171973 DOI: 10.1177/03331024211024160

OBJECTIVE: EMPOwER, a double-blind, randomised, phase 3 study, evaluated the efficacy and safety of erenumab in adults with episodic migraine from Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America.
METHODS: Randomised patients (N = 900) received monthly subcutaneous injections of placebo, erenumab 70 mg, or 140 mg (3:3:2) for 3 months. Primary endpoint was change from baseline in monthly migraine days at Month 3. Other endpoints included achievement of ≥50%, ≥75%, and 100% reduction in monthly migraine days, change in monthly acute migraine-specific medication treatment days, patient-reported outcomes, and safety assessment.
RESULTS: At baseline, mean (standard deviation) age was 37.5 (9.9) years, 81.9% were women, and monthly migraine days was 8.2 (2.8). At Month 3, change from baseline in monthly migraine days (primary endpoint) was -3.1, -4.2, and -4.8 days for placebo, erenumab 70 mg, and erenumab 140 mg, respectively, with a statistically significant difference for erenumab versus placebo (P = 0.002 [70 mg], P
Direct and indirect effects of climate on richness drive the latitudinal diversity gradient in forest trees

Chu C, Lutz JA, Král K, Vrška T, Yin X, Myers JA, et al.

Ecol Lett, 2019 Feb;22(2):245-255.
PMID: 30548766 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13175

Climate is widely recognised as an important determinant of the latitudinal diversity gradient. However, most existing studies make no distinction between direct and indirect effects of climate, which substantially hinders our understanding of how climate constrains biodiversity globally. Using data from 35 large forest plots, we test hypothesised relationships amongst climate, topography, forest structural attributes (stem abundance, tree size variation and stand basal area) and tree species richness to better understand drivers of latitudinal tree diversity patterns. Climate influences tree richness both directly, with more species in warm, moist, aseasonal climates and indirectly, with more species at higher stem abundance. These results imply direct limitation of species diversity by climatic stress and more rapid (co-)evolution and narrower niche partitioning in warm climates. They also support the idea that increased numbers of individuals associated with high primary productivity are partitioned to support a greater number of species.