Areas Of Asia Research Articles

Water consumption of a Paulownia plantation in an arid climate in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia

Recently, Paulownia spec. has been introduced to Central Asia in a number of small plantations. Paulownia yields timber of high quality for applications such as furniture, house construction, boat construction, and surf boards, or skis. Thus, Paulownia might offer a much-needed raw material for this region and beyond. However, Central Asia is largely occupied by drylands so that Paulownia needs irrigation. Against the background of frequent water stress across the region, this study aimed at assessing the water consumption and water productivity of that tree, using a 6-year-old plantation as study site. Trees were planted in May 2017 and cut back to their stumps in 2018. Daily crop evapotranspiration was calculated after the Penman-Monteith approach, whereby the crop coefficients were inherited from actual evapotranspiration values which stemmed from the remote sensing approach S-SEBI. Water consumption per tree was 1741 l, 4461 l, 4500 l, and 4407 l over the growing seasons 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. The water productivity for the stem wood over the whole time-span from planting in 2017 until 2023 was 1.59 g l-1 and 5.65 ml l-1. Given the high quality of its timber and its range of high-value applications, it can be concluded that the water consumed by Paulownia enables higher value timber and timber products than other trees that grow in comparable areas of Central Asia.

Climate model downscaling in central Asia: a dynamical and a neural network approach

Abstract. High-resolution climate projections are essential for estimating future climate change impacts. Statistical and dynamical downscaling methods, or a hybrid of both, are commonly employed to generate input datasets for impact modelling. In this study, we employ COSMO-CLM (CCLM) version 6.0, a regional climate model, to explore the benefits of dynamically downscaling a general circulation model (GCM) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), focusing on climate change projections for central Asia (CA). The CCLM, at 0.22° horizontal resolution, is driven by the MPI-ESM1-2-HR GCM (at 1° spatial resolution) for the historical period of 1985–2014 and the projection period of 2019–2100 under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), namely the SSP1-2.6, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. Using the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS) gridded observation dataset as a reference, we evaluate the performance of CCLM driven by ERA-Interim reanalysis over the historical period. The added value of CCLM, compared to its driving GCM, is evident over mountainous areas in CA, which are at a higher risk of extreme precipitation events. The mean absolute error and bias of climatological precipitation (mm d−1) are reduced by 5 mm d−1 for summer and 3 mm d−1 for annual values. For winter, there was no error reduction achieved. However, the frequency of extreme precipitation values improved in the CCLM simulations. Additionally, we employ CCLM to refine future climate projections. We present high-resolution maps of heavy precipitation changes based on CCLM and compare them with the CMIP6 GCM ensemble. Our analysis indicates an increase in the intensity and frequency of heavy precipitation events over CA areas already at risk of extreme climatic events by the end of the century. The number of days with precipitation exceeding 20 mm increases by more than 90 by the end of the century, compared to the historical reference period, under the SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. The annual 99th percentile of total precipitation increases by more than 9 mm d−1 over mountainous areas of central Asia by the end of the century, relative to the 1985–2014 reference period, under the SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. Finally, we train a convolutional neural network (CNN) to map a GCM simulation to its dynamically downscaled CCLM counterpart. The CNN successfully emulates the GCM–CCLM model chain over large areas of CA but shows reduced skill when applied to a different GCM–CCLM model chain. The scientific community interested in downscaling CMIP6 models could use our downscaling data, and the CNN architecture offers an alternative to traditional dynamical and statistical methods.

Characteristics of Nitrogen Cycle-related Bacterial Community and Its Response to Soil in the Main Lead-zinc Mine Reclamation Area of Lanping

The nitrogen cycle has an important impact on the element cycle of the soil ecosystem. Moreover, it is important to clarify the key environmental factors of nitrogen cycle microorganisms for ecological restoration in mining areas. The functional flora can regulate the growth of vegetation by participating in the biogeochemical cycle of soil elements in the mining area, which is beneficial to the reclamation of the mining area. The Lanping lead-zinc mine is the largest open-pit lead-zinc mining area in Asia. The content of Cd in the soil of the mining area was 95.6-388.7 times the background value of heavy metal content in Yunnan Province, and it is urgent to carry out ecological restoration in the mining area. To explore the response of nitrogen cycling bacteria to the soil in a lead-zinc mine reclamation area, soil samples from the Lanping lead-zinc mine reclamation area were considered as the research object, and the effects of different nutrient gradients on nitrogen cycling functional microbial groups in the Lanping lead-zinc mine reclamation area were revealed using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology, collinear network analysis, PCoA, Mantel test, and random forest. The results showed that the dominant bacteria were all from the unmarked species of Nitrosomonadaceae. The effect of lead and zinc on nitrogen cycling functional microorganisms in the lead-zinc mining area was limited, and the effects of organic matter and pH were greater. Ammonium nitrogen （NH4+-N）, nitrate nitrogen （NO3--N）, and pH were the key physical and chemical factors affecting nitrification, denitrification, and nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, respectively.

Ground Water Quality Assessment of Orangi Town, Karachi, Pakistan, The Largest Slum Area in Asia

Ground Water Quality Assessment of Orangi Town, Karachi, Pakistan, The Largest Slum Area in Asia

Host preference of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes for blood feeding in south of Iran: Insights from Multiplex-PCR analysis.

The study aims to determine the host preference for blood feeding among potential hosts of Anopheles stephensi in Iran, using the Multiplex-PCR method. An. stephensi is the primary malaria vector in urban areas of South Asia and the Middle East, including southern Iran, where approximately 30.21% of malaria cases are urban. This trend has become more evident during the recent outbreaks in Iran, driven by infections of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, and as well as mixed infections. Hormozgan province, one of the most endemic areas in Iran, was selected for its critical public health significance. This study builds on the validated efficiency of Multiplex-PCR for blood meal analysis by applying it to mosquitoes in southern Iran. In 2021, mosquitoes were collected monthly from three coastal villages in Bandar Abbas county, Hormozgan province, using WHO-recommended collection methods. Blood-fed An. stephensi mosquitoes were dissected, and their stomach contents analysed via Multiplex-PCR to identify human and animal blood sources. Of 77 An. stephensi samples analysed, humans were the most common host was humans (29.9%), followed by mammals (19%), dogs (2.6%), and birds (1.3%). Mixed blood meals were detected in 34% of samples, including 23% with human and other hosts. Informal observations suggest that domestic animals such as goats, sheep, and chickens are commonly present near homes in these areas. Approximately 50% of An. stephensi blood meals were sourced from humans, with 29% exclusively from humans and 23% from mixed hosts. Domestic animals such as goats, sheep, and chickens appear to attract mosquitoes, highlighting their potential role in malaria dynamics. Zooprophylaxis, alongside existing measures like insecticide residual spraying, insecticide-treated bed nets, and personal protection strategies, may strengthen urban malaria control. Further research on the ecological and behavioural drivers of mosquito host selection in urban settings is warranted.

Advances in Sorghum Improvement for Climate Resilience in the Global Arid and Semi-Arid Tropics: A Review

Sorghum is a climate-resilient crop which has been cultivated as a staple food in the semi-arid areas of Africa and Asia for food and nutrition security. However, the current climate change is increasingly affecting sorghum performance, especially at the flowering stage when water availability is critical for grain filling, thus lowering the sorghum grain yield. The development of climate-resilient, biotic and abiotic stress-tolerant, market-preferred, and nutrient-dense sorghum varieties offers a potentially cost-effective and environmentally sustainable strategy for adapting to climate change. Some of the common technologies for sorghum improvement include mass selection, single seed descent, pure line selection, and marker-assisted selection, facilitated by backcrossing and genotyping using molecular markers. In addition, recent advancements including new machine learning algorithms, gene editing, genomic selection, rapid generation advancement, and recycling of elite material, along with high-throughput phenotyping tools such as drone- and satellite-based images and other speed-breeding techniques, have increased the precision, speed, and accuracy of new crop variety development. In addition to these modern breeding tools and technologies, enhancing genetic diversity to incorporate various climate resilience traits, including against heat and drought stress, into the current sorghum breeding pools is critical. This review covers the potential of sorghum as a staple food crop, explores the genetic diversity of sorghum, discusses the challenges facing sorghum breeding, highlights the recent advancements in technologies for sorghum breeding, and addresses the perceptions of farmers on sorghum production under the current climate change conditions.

Late Mesozoic intracontinental reactivation of the southern Altai, Central Asia

The Altai orogenic belt is a main constituent of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, and serves as a crucial site for studying strain propagation from the Meso-Cenozoic plate margins to the Eurasian interior. The ranges of the Altai Mountains have undergone multiple reactivation events during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, but the full extent of these events is not yet fully understood. To constrain the thermo-tectonic history of the southern Altai orogenic belt of Northwest China, apatite fission-track (AFT) and apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) thermochronological methods were used to study 29 pre-Mesozoic basement rocks from several key localities, including the Altay, Xibodu, Fuyun, and Qinghe regions. Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous AFT and AHe ages were found in the low-elevation Xibodu region, which has been characterized by slow-to-moderate rock cooling since the Jurassic. However, rock samples from all other regions investigated are characterized by comparable Late Cretaceous AFT and AHe ages. Inverse thermal history modeling results reveal moderate-to-rapid upper crustal cooling in the mid- to Late Cretaceous (ca. 110−70 Ma), which is interpreted to be related to distant plate-margin processes (e.g., the Cimmerian collisions). These findings, combined with previously published data, indicate that Late Cretaceous exhumation was widespread in the western Altai orogenic belt, including in the Chinese and Siberian (Russian) parts of the Altai region. As in many other areas of Central Asia, no Cenozoic low-temperature thermochronological signal was detected in this study. We propose that Cenozoic deformation indeed occurred in the southern Altai, but the magnitude of associated denudation was insufficient to have replaced the Cretaceous cooling signals.

<em>Testudo graeca tripolitania</em>, a new taxon of spur-thighed tortoise found in Libya at risk of exploitation for the international pet trade

The spur-thighed tortoise, Testudo graeca, is a widely distributed and deeply diversified species inhabiting areas of Africa, Asia, and Europe. For decades, populations of T. graeca from North Africa have been exploited for the international pet market. In particular, T. graeca of Libyan origin have been commercially imported into the United States several times since 2021. Using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing, we show that these imported tortoises include T. g. cyrenaica and a novel lineage originally reported in 2017 from a displaced specimen from a market in Libya. That novel lineage inhabits northwestern Libya, and we show that wild populations near Gharyan share the same mtDNA haplotype as those now sold as pets in the USA. Populations of T. graeca in northwestern Libya, previously identified as T. g. nabeulensis, are reassigned to a new subspecies Testudo graeca tripolitania described herein. Additional field work is needed to determine the mtDNA haplotypes of populations in central and southern Tunisia and to locate the subspecies boundary between T. g. nabeulensis and T. g. tripolitania.

Seasonal Migratory Activity of the Beet Armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) in the Tropical Area of China.

The beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), a global pest, feeds on and affects a wide range of crops. Its long-distance migration with the East Asian monsoon frequently causes large-scale outbreaks in East and Southeast Asia. This pest mainly breeds in tropical regions in the winter season every year; however, few studies have investigated associations with its population movements in this region. From 2017 to 2023, we monitored its population dynamics in a tropical site, located in Hainan Province of China, using a searchlight trap. Dissection of the ovaries of female S. exigua moths captured from the air revealed that most of them were reproductively mature and could be classified as a transit migratory population. Migration occurred most often in summer and least often in winter, with an increasing trend over the years. According to a trajectory model analysis based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, S. exigua migrated from Hainan Island to mainland China in the spring, primarily moved from the areas of Southeast Asia to Hainan and mainland China during the summer, and returned from China to Southeast Asia in the autumn and winter. Overall, our research defines the movement paths of S. exigua in the tropical area of China, establishing a theoretical foundation for its regional monitoring, early warning, and management in China and Southeast Asian countries.

Self-supply as a safely managed water service: comparative analysis and predictors of water service outcomes in rural Nepal

Abstract Self-supply is ubiquitous in rural areas of South Asia, including in Nepal, where more than a third of the country’s population obtain their drinking water from private tubewells. However, there has been little research into the service levels delivered by self-supply or their performance relative to public water services. Drawing on data from 1,289 tubewells in Sarlahi District in the Terai region of Nepal, this study compared the performance of private tubewells against community tubewells in terms of water quality and availability; and identified factors that predict these service levels. Compared with community tubewells, private tubewells had significantly higher odds of providing water that was free from contamination and available in sufficient quantities when needed (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.19-3.77, p=0.011). However, inequities were evident among private tubewell users, with Dalits and disadvantaged ethnic groups having significantly lower odds of a safely managed water service (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.54-0.85, p<0.001). Among private tubewell users, shallower wells and open defecation were significantly associated with the presence of E. coli. The results show that self-supply is capable of providing a safely managed water service and could play an important role in efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6. However, targeted support should be directed towards disadvantaged households to safeguard water quality and strengthen service reliability. In particular, programmes that support the installation of deeper tubewells and end open defecation may bring water quality benefits in areas where self-supply is practised.

Digital Access to Asia: An Analysis of the Coverage of Digital Asia Collections in Australian University Libraries

ABSTRACT Asia collections in Australian university libraries play a crucial role in supporting the teaching and research of Asian Studies and languages, as well as fostering a deeper understanding of Asia. Given Australia’s strategic location in the Asia-Pacific region, the study of Asia is of significant practical and national importance; however, it has faced a decline marked by the closure of Asian studies programs and reductions in resources. Initially developed in response to increased university investment in Asian area studies and language teaching, these collections have transitioned from print to digital formats, incorporating diverse materials related to Asia’s history, culture, languages, and societies. The article builds on the seminal appraisal by Bishop and Weller (1970), which highlighted the challenges of developing Asia collections due to limited access to print resources from regions with underdeveloped publishing industries. This paper analyses the current status of Asia-related collections in digital format, complementing existing literature focused primarily on print collections. It highlights innovations in information access through vendor subscription-based databases, which have transformed academic libraries’ ability to acquire materials. The study reveals trends in the growth of digital resources and examines the strengths and gaps in the coverage of Asia materials within contemporary academic libraries.

Analyses of the 2016–2023 Dust Storms in China Using Himawari-8 Remote Sensing Observations

The March 2021 dust storm in China degraded air quality across a wide area of Asia. Atmospheric circulation and meteorological factors play an important role in the occurrence of dust storms. To understand whether decreasing or increasing these factors can mitigate dust storms, this study utilizes remote sensing imagery data from the Himawari-8/-9 satellites to understand spatial and temporal variations in China’s 2016–2023 dust storms. Our findings are as follows: (1) in 2016–2023, dust storms covered northern China, with Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and Ningxia being high-frequency areas; (2) the origins of the dust storms are northwest of Mongolia and Xinjiang, with upper air masses originating from Siberia and concentrating in central-west Inner Mongolia and northern Gansu; (3) dew point temperature, wind speed, cloud cover, and atmospheric circulation are important determinants of the occurrences of dust storms. Analyzing trends and influential factors of dust storms is important as this provides a scientific basis for decision-making in dust storm management.

Developing and testing an audit tool for activity-friendly parks in dense urban areas of Asia

ABSTRACT Parks are important urban design settings to promote physical activity within urban areas. However, existing park audit tools often do not address the unique challenges of high-density areas, especially in Asian contexts. This study presents the development and testing of the audiT tool for Activity-friendly Parks in denSe urban areas (TAPS) that support park-related physical activity in highly dense urban settings. Created through a Delphi consultation process that incorporated expert consensus, TAPS focuses on five key domains: park surroundings and accessibility, activity areas, facilities and amenities, aesthetics, and safety. The tool was tested in 25 parks across Tokyo, Japan. Of the 24 park attributes identified by interdisciplinary experts, open/green spaces and pathways had the highest expert consensus. Inter-rater reliability was measured using Cohen’s kappa and percent agreement; validity was confirmed through comparison to a gold standard. Across the items, 91.1% achieved a kappa of over 0.4 indicating at least moderate agreement and 95.9% showed more than 70% agreement. The overall dimension validity displayed 87.5% agreement. TAPS is a user-friendly tool that provides a reliable and valid evaluation framework for improving parks to support physical activity in dense urban areas in Asia.

Dengue virus importation risks in Africa: a modelling study.

Dengue is a significant global public health concern that poses a threat in Africa. Particularly, African countries are at risk of viral introductions through air travel connectivity with areas of South America and Asia in which explosive dengue outbreaks frequently occur. Limited reporting and diagnostic capacity hinder a comprehensive assessment of continent-wide transmission dynamics and deployment of surveillance strategies in Africa. In this study, we aimed to identify African airports at high risk of receiving passengers with dengue from Asia, Latin America, and other African countries with high dengue incidence. For this modelling study, air travel flow data were obtained from the International Air Transport Association database for 2019. Data comprised monthly passenger volumes from 14 high-incidence countries outside of Africa and 18 countries within the African continent that reported dengue outbreaks in the past 10 years to 54 African countries, encompassing all 197 commercial airports in both the source and destination regions. The risk of dengue introduction into Africa from countries of high incidence in Asia, Latin America, and within Africa was estimated based on origin-destination air travel flows and epidemic activity at origin. We produced a novel proxy for local dengue epidemic activity using a composite index of theoretical climate-driven transmission suitability and population density, which we used, in addition to travel information in a risk flow model, to estimate importation risk. Countries in eastern Africa had a high estimated risk of dengue importation from Asia and other east African countries, whereas for west African countries, the risk of importation was higher from within the region than from countries outside of Africa. Some countries with high risk of importation had low local transmission suitability, which is likely to hamper the risk that dengue importations would lead to local transmission and establishment of a dengue outbreak. Mauritius, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Kenya were identified as countries susceptible to dengue introductions during periods of persistent transmission suitability. Our study improves data-driven allocation of surveillance resources, in regions of Africa that are at high risk of dengue introduction and establishment, including from regional circulation. Improvements in resource allocation will be crucial in detecting and managing imported cases and could improve local responses to dengue outbreaks. Rockefeller Foundation, National Institute of Health, EDCTP3 and Horizon Europe Research and Innovation, World Bank Group, Medical Research Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Google, Oxford Martin School Pandemic Genomics programme, and John Fell Fund.

A comprehensive assessment of the antiproliferative effects of Cymbopogon winterianus essential oil, citronellal, and citronellal complexed with β-cyclodextrin on cervical cancer cell line (HeLa)

Cymbopogon winterianus. Jowitt (syn. Cymbopogon nardus. (L.) W. Watson var. mahapengiri. Winter) (Poaceae family) is native to tropical and semitropical areas of Asia, India, and Indonesia, and is cultivated in South and Central America. In this work, the antiproliferative potential of the essential oil of C. winterianus, its major compound against the HeLa cervical cancer lineage, as well as the major compound Citronellal complexed with β-cyclodextrin (β-CO) was evaluated. By gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, it was possible to identify that Citronellal (38.89 %) is the major compound in C. winterianus. In vitro assays with cervical cancer cells (HeLa), it was possible to observe the antiproliferative activity of C. winterianus essential oil (CW), with IC50 of 1.86 μg/mL, as well as of the compound Citronellal (CO), IC50 4.44 μg/mL and citronellal complexed β-cyclodextrin (β-CO), IC50 2.59 μg/mL, as well as the evaluation of cell migration and cell cycle. NIH-3T3 non-tumor cells were also used to evaluate the selectivity of these compounds in tumor cells. All tested samples showed SI > 3, confirming the highest toxicity in tumor cells. All samples tested were able to decrease cell migration and when the proportion of cells in the Sub-G0 Phase was observed, all samples increased the proportion of cells with fragmented DNA, an indication of cell death, except for CW. Thus, it can be concluded that there is a potential to be explored in the C. winterianus essential oil, Citronellal, and Citronellal complexed with β-cyclodextrin.

The global distribution and diversity of wild-bird-associated pathogens: An integrated data analysis and modeling study.

Wild birds are significant vectors in global pathogen transmission, but the diversity and spatial distribution of the pathogens detected in them remain unclear. Understanding the transmission dynamics and hotspots of wild-bird-associated pathogens (WBAPs) is crucial for early disease prevention. We compiled an up-to-date dataset encompassing all WBAPs by conducting an extensive search of publications from 1959 to 2022, mapped their diversity and global distribution, and utilized three machine learning algorithms to predict geospatial hotspots where zoonotic and emerging WBAPs were prevalent. Based on 1,834 selected studies, a total of 760 pathogens associated with 1,438 wild bird species were identified, including 387 emerging and 212 zoonotic pathogens. Migratory birds exhibited higher pathogen richness (593 species) but a lower proportion of zoonotic pathogens (27.2%) compared to resident birds (303 species and 39.3%, both p<0.01). When comparing different ecological groups, waterfowl had the highest richness of zoonotic pathogens (128 species), followed by songbirds (76 species). The distribution of WBAPs was significantly influenced by the habitat suitability index of wild birds, mammalian richness, and climatic factors. The potential geographical hotspots of zoonotic and emerging WBAPs were widely distributed in tropical areas of Asia, Africa, and South America, with zoonotic WBAPs having a wider distribution in South America. Our study illustrates that the geographical hotspots of WBAPs are more widespread than reported,especially in low-income areas, and that the identification, surveillance, and prevention of WBAP infections should be prioritized. This work was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China.

Emerging areas of geology research in Southeast Asia

The lead paper by Khoong et al. (2024) is a seminal effort to analyze advances in geology and delineate emerging areas in Southeast Asia between 2018 and 2022, using a digital approach. It appears that Indonesia and Malaysia are the most significant contributors of geology knowledge as indexed by the Scopus database during this period, and emerging geology research areas relate to the natural gas, environment, and tourism sectors as well as machine learning and sustainable development. The second paper by Sonie et al. (2024) applies mineralogical and geochemical techniques to make a significant contribution to archaeological records on traditional Malay pottery-making. Historical heritage plays a huge role in developing tourism, and the added insight to these artifacts is important for the sector; an example of an emerging area of geology research. The next two papers by Salimun &amp; Mohamad (2024) and Salman et al. (2024) can be clustered under the conventional topic of engineering geology. This is followed by another two papers by Ishak et al. (2014) and Fong et al. (2024) that relate to depositional environments. Kessler et al. (2024) introduce the subject of hydrocarbon biodegradation in the Malay Basin. The final paper from Mina &amp; Abdula (2024) showcases techniques used in Iraq to characterize source rocks and establish their linkages.

Mapping an avirulence gene in the sunflower parasitic weed Orobanche cumana and characterization of host selection based on virulence alleles

BackgroundSunflower broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.) is a holoparasitic plant that jeopardizes sunflower production in most areas of Europe and Asia. Recently, populations with increased virulence, classified as race GGV, have been identified in Southern Spain’s Guadalquivir Valley gene pool. These populations overcome resistance genes in hybrids resistant to the predominant race FGV. This study aimed to (i) determine the inheritance and map the avirulence trait segregating in a cross between O. cumana individuals from populations EK23 (FGV) and IN201 (GGV), and (ii) characterize the host effect on the IN201 parental population allelic diversity.ResultsA segregating population consisting of 144 F2:3 families was evaluated for virulence using a differential sunflower genotype (Hybrid 1, resistant to race FGV and susceptible to race GGV) and genotyped with SNP markers. The ratio of avirulent to virulent F2:3 families was not significantly different to 1:3 (χ2 = 0.93; P = 0.34), indicating monogenic control of the avirulence/virulence trait. The AvrG−GV locus was mapped on the upper end of O. cumana chromosome 2, 9.2 cM distal from the SNP markers OS04791 and OS02805. Secretome analysis in the AvrG−GV region revealed a cysteine-rich CAP superfamily- and a glucan 1,3-beta-glucosidase family 3-encoding genes as possible candidates for AvrG−GV. SNP allelic analysis on the IN201 population parasitizing a highly susceptible genotype or the differential genotype Hybrid 1 showed that (i) IN201 structure was shaped towards virulent alleles at SNP loci linked to AvrG−GV (ii) there were significant allelic frequency differences associated with the host genotype at AvrG−GV–linked loci.ConclusionsThis study mapped for the first time an avirulence gene in parasitic plants using a classical genetic approach, confirmed a gene-for-gene model in the O.cumana –sunflower system, and showed the implication of this single avirulence gene in determining the structure of broomrape populations subjected to selection pressure posed by a resistant genotype. The results will contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between crops and weedy parasitic plants, and to effectively manage evolution of virulence by sustainable control strategies based on host genetic resistance.

The Impact of Community-Based Health Education on Maternal Health Outcomes in Rural Southeast Asia

Community-based health education has emerged as an effective strategy to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly in underserved rural areas with limited access to health services. These programs address critical gaps in prenatal care, birth preparedness, and postnatal health practices, empowering women to make informed decisions about their health and well-being. This research aims to determine the impact of culturally tailored community-based health education programs on maternal health outcomes in rural areas of Southeast Asia, with a focus on improving access to prenatal care, birth readiness, and postnatal care practices. Methods A mixed methods approach was used, integrating quantitative health records analysis with qualitative insights from interviews with participants in targeted rural communities. This dual methodology provided a comprehensive understanding of the program's effectiveness and cultural relevance. Results showed that regular health education sessions significantly improved maternal health outcomes. Communities exposed to these programs reported higher rates of attendance at antenatal check-ups, increased skilled attendance during delivery, and better adherence to postpartum care recommendations. These improvements were instrumental in reducing maternal and newborn mortality and improving overall health in this population. This research implicates the important role of culturally sensitive health education in bridging maternal health disparities in rural areas of Southeast Asia. By integrating local customs and beliefs into health messages, these programs foster community trust and engagement, thereby increasing their acceptance and effectiveness.

Changes in vegetation ecosystem carbon sinks and their response to drought in the karst concentration distribution area of Asia

Changes in net ecosystem productivity (NEP) in karst areas can have a significant impact on terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycling, yet quantifying changes in vegetation NEP and its response to factors such as drought and hydroclimate remains a difficult challenge because of its special climatic and hydrological conditions. We used remote sensing data to estimate vegetation NEP in the Asian karst concentrated distribution area (AKC), analyzed its spatial and temporal variations annually (2000−2020) and during rainy season (May–November), established the drought fluorescence monitoring index (DFMI), and used a ridge regression model to explore the response mechanism of vegetation NEP to dry and wet conditions response mechanism. The results showed the following: (1) Compared with the annual changes, the vegetation NEP changes in the rainy season differed significantly on the karst geographic divisions, in which there was a significant increasing trend in Southwest China (SC) and its karst areas, while a significant decreasing trend in the Indochina Peninsula (IP) and its karst areas. (2) DFMI was the main driver of vegetation NEP change, of which the contributions were 38.05 % and 32.82 % at the annual scale and in the rainy season, respectively, which drove the increase in SC vegetation NEP, and the decrease in IP; note that the increase in vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was the key factor causing the decrease in NEP in the IP karst area during the rainy season. (3) In the lagged effect of drought on vegetation NEP, the time scale of the lag was found to be 1 month. The study revealed differences in the changes in the vegetation carbon sinks in different karst geographic divisions. We obtained a new finding: a significant trend of decreasing vegetation NEP in the IP and its karst area was influenced by the long-term effects of changes in DFMI and VPD. Therefore, the variability of different karst areas, as well as changes in drought and water resources, should be considered in carbon-cycle regulation and vegetation restoration efforts in karst areas.