Examining the impact of climate change on dengue transmission in the Asia-Pacific region

Dengue fever (DF) is a serious public health concern in many parts of the world. An increase in DF incidence has been observed globally over the past decades. Multiple factors including urbanisation, increased international travels and global climate change are thought to be responsible for increased DF. However, little research has been conducted in the Asia-Pacific region about the impact of these changes on dengue transmission. The overarching aim of this thesis is to explore the spatiotemporal pattern of DF transmission in the Asia-Pacific region and project the future risk of DF attributable to climate change. Annual data of DF outbreaks for sixteen countries in the Asia-Pacific region over the last fifty years were used in this study. The results show that the geographic range of DF in this region increased significantly over the study period. Thailand, Vietnam and Laos were identified as the highest risk areas and there was a southward expansion observed in the transmission pattern of DF which might have originated from Philippines or Thailand. Additionally, the detailed DF data were obtained and the space-time clustering of DF transmission was examined in Bangladesh. Monthly DF data were used for the entire country at the district level during 2000-2009. Dhaka district was identified as the most likely DF cluster in Bangladesh and several districts of the southern part of Bangladesh were identified as secondary clusters in the years 2000-2002. In order to examine the association between meteorological factors and DF transmission and to project the future risk of DF using different climate change scenarios, the climate-DF relationship was examined in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The results show that climate variability (particularly maximum temperature and relative humidity) was positively associated with DF transmission in Dhaka. The effects of climate variability were observed at a lag of four months which might help to potentially control and prevent DF outbreaks through effective vector management and community education. Based on the quantitative assessment of the climate-DF relationship, projected climate change will likely increase mosquito abundance and activity and DF in this area. Assuming a temperature increase of 3.3oC without any adaptation measures and significant changes in socio-economic conditions, the consequence will be devastating, with a projected annual increase of 16,030 cases in Dhaka, Bangladesh by the end of this century. Therefore, public health authorities need to be prepared for likely increase of DF transmission in this region. This study adds to the literature on the recent trends of DF and impacts of climate change on DF transmission. These findings may have significant public health implications for the control and prevention of DF, particularly in the Asia- Pacific region.

Spatial prediction of N2O emissions in pasture : a Bayesian model averaging analysis

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the greenhouse gases that can contribute to global warming. Spatial variability of N2O can lead to large uncertainties in prediction. However, previous studies have often ignored the spatial dependency to quantify the N2O - environmental factors relationships. Few researches have examined the impacts of various spatial correlation structures (e.g. independence, distance-based and neighbourhood based) on spatial prediction of N2O emissions. This study aimed to assess the impact of three spatial correlation structures on spatial predictions and calibrate the spatial prediction using Bayesian model averaging (BMA) based on replicated, irregular point-referenced data. The data were measured in 17 chambers randomly placed across a 271 m(2) field between October 2007 and September 2008 in the southeast of Australia. We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and a Bayesian spatial conditional autoregressive (CAR) model to investigate and accommodate spatial dependency, and to estimate the effects of environmental variables on N2O emissions across the study site. We compared these with a Bayesian regression model with independent errors. The three approaches resulted in different derived maps of spatial prediction of N2O emissions. We found that incorporating spatial dependency in the model not only substantially improved predictions of N2O emission from soil, but also better quantified uncertainties of soil parameters in the study. The hybrid model structure obtained by BMA improved the accuracy of spatial prediction of N2O emissions across this study region.

Shifting Powers : Protection of Refugees and Displaced Persons in the Asia Pacific Region

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) 2011 statistics on refugee populations residing by region are a stark reminder of the challenge facing states and civil society in the Asia Pacific. In 2011, Africa hosted 2,149,000 refugees; the Americas, Europe, and Middle East and North Africa hosted 513 ,500, 1,605,500 and 1,889,900 respectively, while the Asia Pacific hosted a staggering 3,793,900. The fact that 35 per cent of the world's refugees reside in the Asia Pacific, coupled with the fact that 84 per cent of refugees displaced in Asia remain in the region,raises the questions why so few countries in the region are signatories to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees ('Refugee Convention') or cognate rights instruments and why no formally binding regional agreement exists for the equitable sharing of responsibilities for refugees...

Augmenting traversability maps with ultra-wideband radar to enhance obstacle detection in vegetated environments

Operating in vegetated environments is a major challenge for autonomous robots. Obstacle detection based only on geometric features causes the robot to consider foliage, for example, small grass tussocks that could be easily driven through, as obstacles. Classifying vegetation does not solve this problem since there might be an obstacle hidden behind the vegetation. In addition, dense vegetation typically needs to be considered as an obstacle. This paper addresses this problem by augmenting probabilistic traversability map constructed from laser data with ultra-wideband radar measurements. An adaptive detection threshold and a probabilistic sensor model are developed to convert the radar data to occupancy probabilities. The resulting map captures the fine resolution of the laser map but clears areas from the traversability map that are induced by obstacle-free foliage. Experimental results validate that this method is able to improve the accuracy of traversability maps in vegetated environments.

Indigenous cultural values and journalism in the Asia-Pacific region : a brief history of Māori journalism

A number of scholars in the Asia-Pacific region have in recent years pointed to the importance that cultural values play in influencing journalistic practices. The Asian values debate was followed up with empirical studies showing actual differences in news content when comparing Asian and Western journalism. At the same time, such studies have focused on national cultures only. This paper instead examines the issue against the background of an Indigenous culture in the Asia-Pacific region. It explores the way in which cultural values may have played a role in the journalistic practice of Māori journalists in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past nearly 200 years and finds numerous examples that demonstrate the significance of taking cultural values into account. The paper argues that the role played by cultural values is important to examine further, particularly in relation to journalistic practices amongst sub-national news cultures across the Asia-Pacific region.

Dynamic spatiotemporal trends of dengue transmission in the Asia-Pacific region, 1955–2004

BACKGROUND: Dengue fever (DF) is one of the most important emerging arboviral human diseases. Globally, DF incidence has increased by 30-fold over the last fifty years, and the geographic range of the virus and its vectors has expanded. The disease is now endemic in more than 120 countries in tropical and subtropical parts of the world. This study examines the spatiotemporal trends of DF transmission in the Asia-Pacific region over a 50-year period, and identified the disease's cluster areas. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: The World Health Organization's DengueNet provided the annual number of DF cases in 16 countries in the Asia-Pacific region for the period 1955 to 2004. This fifty-year dataset was divided into five ten-year periods as the basis for the investigation of DF transmission trends. Space-time cluster analyses were conducted using scan statistics to detect the disease clusters. This study shows an increasing trend in the spatiotemporal distribution of DF in the Asia-Pacific region over the study period. Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and Malaysia are identified as the most likely clusters (relative risk = 13.02) of DF transmission in this region in the period studied (1995 to 2004). The study also indicates that, for the most part, DF transmission has expanded southwards in the region. CONCLUSIONS: This information will lead to the improvement of DF prevention and control strategies in the Asia-Pacific region by prioritizing control efforts and directing them where they are most needed.

Reconstruction of the ancestral marsupial karyotype from comparative gene maps

BACKGROUND: The increasing number of assembled mammalian genomes makes it possible to compare genome organisation across mammalian lineages and reconstruct chromosomes of the ancestral marsupial and therian (marsupial and eutherian) mammals. However, the reconstruction of ancestral genomes requires genome assemblies to be anchored to chromosomes. The recently sequenced tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) genome was assembled into over 300,000 contigs. We previously devised an efficient strategy for mapping large evolutionarily conserved blocks in non-model mammals, and applied this to determine the arrangement of conserved blocks on all wallaby chromosomes, thereby permitting comparative maps to be constructed and resolve the long debated issue between a 2n=14 and 2n=22 ancestral marsupial karyotype. RESULTS: We identified large blocks of genes conserved between human and opossum, and mapped genes corresponding to the ends of these blocks by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). A total of 242 genes was assigned to wallaby chromosomes in the present study, bringing the total number of genes mapped to 554 and making it the most densely cytogenetically mapped marsupial genome. We used these gene assignments to construct comparative maps between wallaby and opossum, which uncovered many intrachromosomal rearrangements, particularly for genes found on wallaby chromosomes X and 3. Expanding comparisons to include chicken and human permitted the putative ancestral marsupial (2n=14) and therian mammal (2n=19) karyotypes to be reconstructed. CONCLUSIONS: Our physical mapping data for the tammar wallaby has uncovered the events shaping marsupial genomes and enabled us to predict the ancestral marsupial karyotype, supporting a 2n=14 ancestor. Futhermore, our predicted therian ancestral karyotype has helped to understand the evolution of the ancestral eutherian genome.

Working knowledge for collaborative water planning in Australia’s Wet Tropics region

Cooperation between multiple environmental decision-makers and activities is necessary to address the impacts of diffuse sources of agricultural pollution on the water quality entering Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Water planning efforts requires available knowledge to inform this co-operative water program implementation and reform. This paper uses knowledge sharing, translation and feedback features of collaboration as a way to assess knowledge work practices during key phases of the water planning process. This enabled a systematic review of knowledge work practices in partnership with collaborative water planning groups established to inform water quality program investment decisions in the GBR’s Wet Tropics region. This research builds on the growing academic and policy interest in the conditions required to enable different types of knowledge to be successfully used for policy-making by focusing on when, how and why knowledge work to meet these conditions is required.

Perceptions of online learning in an Australian university: an international students’ (Asian Region) perspective – enjoyment

Several researchers have reported that cultural and language differences can affect online interactions and communications between students from different cultural backgrounds. Other researchers have asserted that online learning is a tool that can improve teaching and learning skills, but its effectiveness depends on how the tool is used. To delve into these aspects further, this study set out to investigate the kinds of learning difficulties encountered by the international students and how they actually coped with online learning. The modified Online Learning Environment Survey (OLES) instrument was used to collect data from the sample of 109 international students at a university in Brisbane. A smaller group of 35 domestic students was also included for comparison purposes. Contrary to assumptions from previous research, the findings revealed that there were only few differences between the international Asian and Australian students with regards to their perceptions of online learning. Recommendations based on the findings of this research study were made for Australian universities where Asian international students study online. Specifically the recommendations highlighted the importance of upskilling of lecturers’ ability to structure their teaching online and to apply strong theoretical underpinnings when designing learning activities such as discussion forums, and for the university to establish a degree of consistency with regards to how content is located and displayed in a learning management system like Blackboard.

Genetic aspects of the organization of legumin genes in pea

We have compared physical and genetic maps of the region around the legJ gene in pea. In this vicinity there are four B-type legumin genes, arranged as two close pairs. The detection of a recombination event within this gene cluster allows the orientation of this group of genes within the surrounding linkage group to be determined. The relationship between physical and genetic distances in this region is discussed, as are the implications of this for relating physical and genetic maps elsewhere in the pea genome.

Linkage maps in pea

We have analyzed segregation patterns of markers among the late generation progeny of several crosses of pea. From the patterns of association of these markers we have deduced linkage orders. Salient features of these linkages are discussed, as is the relationship between the data presented here and previously published genetic and cytogenetic data.

Analysis of a city-region from the knowledge perspective : Tampere, Finland

Purpose The paper aims to evaluate the knowledge-based urban development (KBUD) dynamics of a rapidly emerging knowledge city-region, Tampere region, Finland. Design/methodology/approach The paper empirically investigates Tampere region’s development achievements and progress from the knowledge perspective. Findings The research, through qualitative and quantitative analyses, reveals the regional development strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Tampere region. Originality/value The paper provides useful suggestions based on the lessons learned from the Tampere case investigation that could shed light on the KBUD journey of city-regions.

Effect of crack depth and specimen width on fracture toughness of a carbon steel in the ductile-brittle transition region

The effects of crack depth (a/W) and specimen width W on the fracture toughness and ductile±brittle transition have been investigated using three-point bend specimens. Finite element analysis is employed to obtain the stress-strain fields ahead of the crack tip. The results show that both normalized crack depth (a/W) and specimen width (W) affect the fracture toughness and ductile±brittle fracture transition. The measured crack tip opening displacement decreases and ductile±brittle transition occurs with increasing crack depth (a/W) from 0.1 to 0.2 and 0.3. At a fixed a/W (0.2 or 0.3), all specimens fail by cleavage prior to ductile tearing when specimen width W increases from 25 to 40 and 50 mm. The lower bound fracture toughness is not sensitive to crack depth and specimen width. Finite element analysis shows that the opening stress in the remaining ligament is elevated with increasing crack depth or specimen width due to the increase of in-plane constraint. The average local cleavage stress is dependent on both crack depth and specimen width but its lower bound value is not sensitive to constraint level. No fixed distance can be found from the cleavage initiation site to the crack tip and this distance increases gradually with decreasing inplane constraint.

Catchment-specific element signatures in estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) from the Alligator Rivers Region, northern Australia

The concentrations of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Ba, Sr, Fe, Al, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu, Ni, Cr, Co, Se, U and Ti were determined in the osteoderms and/or flesh of estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) captured in three adjacent catchments within the Alligator Rivers Region (ARR) of northern Australia. Results from multivariate analysis of variance showed that when all metals were considered simultaneously, catchment effects were significant (P≤0.05). Despite considerable within-catchment variability, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) showed that differences in elemental signatures in the osteoderms and/or flesh of C. porosus amongst the catchments were sufficient to classify individuals accurately to their catchment of occurrence. Using cross-validation, the accuracy of classifying a crocodile to its catchment of occurrence was 76% for osteoderms and 60% for flesh. These data suggest that osteoderms provide better predictive accuracy than flesh for discriminating crocodiles amongst catchments. There was no advantage in combining the osteoderm and flesh results to increase the accuracy of classification (i.e. 67%). Based on the discriminant function coefficients for the osteoderm data, Ca, Co, Mg and U were the most important elements for discriminating amongst the three catchments. For flesh data, Ca, K, Mg, Na, Ni and Pb were the most important metals for discriminating amongst the catchments. Reasons for differences in the elemental signatures of crocodiles between catchments are generally not interpretable, due to limited data on surface water and sediment chemistry of the catchments or chemical composition of dietary items of C. porosus. From a wildlife management perspective, the provenance or source catchment(s) of 'problem' crocodiles captured at settlements or recreational areas along the ARR coastline may be established using catchment-specific elemental signatures. If the incidence of problem crocodiles can be reduced in settled or recreational areas by effective management at their source, then public safety concerns about these predators may be moderated, as well as the cost of their capture and removal. Copyright © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

The responsibility to protect in the Asia-Pacific region

In 2005, governments around the world unanimously agreed to the principle of the responsibility to protect (R2P), which holds that all states have a responsibility to protect their populations from genocide and mass atrocities, that the international community should assist them to fulfil this duty, and that the international community should take timely and decisive measures to protect populations from such crimes when their host state fails to do so. Progressing R2P from words to deeds requires international consensus about the principle’s meaning and scope. To achieve a global consensus on this, we need to better understand the position of governments around the world, including in the Asia-Pacific region, which has long been associated with an enduring commitment to a traditional concept of sovereignty. The present article contributes to such an endeavour through its three sections. The first part charts the nature of the international consensus on R2P and examines the UN secretary-general’s approach. The second looks in detail at the positions of the Asia-Pacific region’s governments on the R2P principle. The final part explores the way forward for progressing the R2P principle in the Asia-Pacific region.