Geographic Diversity Research Articles

Enhancing global maritime education: a qualitative exploration of post-internship perspectives and preparedness among cadets

This research investigates the post-internship phase for cadets at the Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Pelayaran Jakarta with a focus on curriculum effectiveness, vocational training impact, language proficiency challenges, technology integration preferences, and the intricate influence of geographical diversity. Results reveal the integrative curriculum's success in transitioning theoretical knowledge to practical application, emphasizing the critical role of vocational training. Language proficiency nuances and a desire for balanced technology integration emerge, while geographical diversity affects cultural adaptation. Implications include refining maritime education, fostering inclusivity, and aligning educational practices with industry demands. Recognizing limitations, the study advocates for broader institutional research and targeted language proficiency investigations in future studies.

Tracking Telehealth Needs for Individuals With Sickle Cell Disease Through the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.

Pervasive disparities characterize sickle cell disease (SCD) care, including limited access to SCD specialists. Rapid deployment of remote healthcare provision and support during the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to understand telehealth barriers/facilitators for SCD. We aimed to evaluate telehealth experiences and satisfaction for routine visits among adults and caregivers of children with SCD within a US regional collaborative. 151 adults ≥ 18 [median (IQR) = 36 (28, 43) years], and 94 caregivers [median child age (IQR) = 12 (7, 14) years] completed a 30-item online survey in 2021 assessing systems issues such as reliable Internet; health information sharing; and consumer focus (e.g., visit started on time). A multivariable logistic regression model was used to evaluate relations between independent variables and the outcome overall satisfaction with telehealth. Patients were primarily diagnosed with sickle cell anemia (60.8%) and prescribed hydroxyurea (57.6%). Satisfaction with telehealth was high (> 90%), but 60.6% of caregivers gave the highest rating compared with 44.9% of adults (p = 0.02). Few accessibility/technical issues were cited, however, caregivers reported more often having home support for telehealth (80.9% vs. 63.6%, p = 0.003). In multivariable analyses, participants seen in large centers (> 200) were more likely to give the highest satisfaction ratings compared with those in smaller centers (< 100, aOR: 2.33; 95% CI: 1.21, 4.48, p = 0.01); however, those who needed help from a telehealth navigator were less likely to give the highest telehealth experience rating versus those who did not need help (aOR: 0.37; 95% CI: 0.19, 0.71, p = 0.003). Views of telehealth were favorable, although caregivers reported greater satisfaction and resources compared with adults with SCD. It remains important to identify factors related to telehealth utilization and efficacy for SCD populations in varied geographies and settings, to ensure equity in access.

Prevalence and predictors of malaria in pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Malaria remains a significant threat to pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate the prevalence and identify predictors of malaria infection among pregnant women in the region. Following preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a comprehensive search of PubMed Central, Google Scholar, EMBASE, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Library was conducted, including 15 studies published between 2013 and 2023. The pooled prevalence of malaria, calculated using a random-effects model, was 19.0% (95% CI: 0.13-0.26), with heterogeneity (I²=81.9%) reflecting geographical and climatic diversity. Prevalence rates ranged from 6.4% in Burkina Faso to 36.4% in Tanzania. Asymptomatic cases had a prevalence of 19.0% (95% CI: 0.10-0.38), while symptomatic cases were slightly lower at 17.0% (95% CI: 0.12-0.23). Predictors of malaria included maternal age, parity, insecticide-treated net usage, intermittent preventive treatment, trimester-specific risk, and education level. These findings underscore the need for targeted, context-specific interventions to mitigate malaria risk among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa and inform effective malaria control strategies.

A Historical Perspective Through the Lens of the Islamic City Theory: Konya Example

The concept of the Islamic city elucidates the spatial structures specific to Islam religion and civilization, deeply influencing the lives of Muslims. Despite geographical, ethnic, and cultural diversities, it has been observed that the fundamental influence of the religion shaped similar urban formations in the Islamic geography. A key determining factor in the transition from traditional bedouin tribal life to urban civilization is the need for more suitable settlements to meet the multifaceted requirements and rituals of Islam. Societies embracing Islam have restructured their ways of life, with mosques becoming centers of worship, simultaneously reshaping legal, administrative, educational, and commercial structures, thereby becoming central to urban life. Islamic cities, reaching their zenith during the Golden Age of Islam, gradually weakened over time during the processes of modernization/secularization, with the rise of rational/bureaucratic powers diminishing their role as the primary shaping force of space. Konya, representing the characteristics of the Islamic city during the Seljuk and Ottoman Empires, underwent significant transformations approaching the modern era, affecting its physical, social, economic, and administrative fabric. Particularly in the Republican era, the Islamic city features were sidelined due to modernist spatial shaping, but have recently regained importance with the emergence of Islamic political movements and approaches by National Vision (Milli Görüş) municipalities. This study examines the Islamic city from a historical perspective, highlighting common characteristics of Islamic cities worldwide, scrutinizing the erosive effects of secularization/modernization trends on the Islamic city, specifically focusing on Konya, and finally evaluating recent revitalization policies directed towards the Islamic city in Konya.

Studies on Genetic Divergence in Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.)

Background: The genetic divergence in faba bean genotypes is critical for breeding programs aiming to improve yield and other agronomic traits. Understanding the extent of genetic variability among different genotypes can guide the selection of superior varieties and enhance crop improvement efforts. This study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity among 47 faba bean genotypes grown under the specific agro-climatic conditions of Chhattisgarh. Methods: The experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2022-23 at the Hi-Tech-Nursery, Dau Kalyan Singh College of Agriculture and Research Station, Bhatapara, under Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Chhattisgarh. A total of 47 faba bean genotypes were evaluated for genetic divergence using Mahalanobis D2 statistics and Tocher’s method. Ten quantitative characters, including marketable pod yield per plant and marketable pod weight appearance, were measured and analyzed. The genotypes were grouped into clusters based on their genetic distances. Result: The clustering pattern indicated that genetic diversity was independent of geographical diversity. Cluster II contained the highest number of genotypes (19), followed by Cluster I (13), while Cluster IV had the least (1). Among the ten quantitative characters studied, marketable pod yield per plant contributed most to genetic divergence, followed by marketable pod weight appearance. The maximum intra-cluster D2 value was observed in Cluster IV (477.35), followed by Cluster III (250.07). The highest inter-cluster D2 value was between Cluster I and Cluster IV (7917.34), followed by Cluster IV and Cluster V (6156.43).

Pathogenesis of interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis.

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a frequent important complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Factors relevant to aetiopathogenesis of SSc are also central to SSc-ILD. Severity of SSc-ILD is variable but it has a major impact on morbidity and mortality. Factors determining SSc-ILD susceptibility reflect the genetic architecture of SSc and are increasingly being defined. There are aspects linked to immunogenomics and non-immunological genetic factors that may be less conserved and underlie some of the geographical and racial diversity of SSc. These associations may also underlie important links between autoantibody subgroups and patient level risk of SSc-ILD. Examination of blood and tissue samples and observational clinical research together with integrated analysis of in vitro and in vivo preclinical models have elucidated pathogenic mechanisms of SSc-ILD. These have confirmed the potential importance of immune mechanisms in the innate and adaptive immune systemic as well as a significant role for profibrotic pathways especially transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) and its regulators and downstream mediators. Recent analysis of clinical trial cohorts as well as integrated and multilevel high dimensional analysis of bio-samples has shed further light on SSc-ILD. This is likely to underpin future advances in stratified and precision medicine for treatment of SSc.

Ontology in Dance Domain - A Survey

This article presents a literature review on the domain of dance research that exploits ontology artifacts to manage their domain knowledge. Any dance form around the world is rich in knowledge because of its historical and geographical diversity, movement rules, and interpretive aspects. Researchers found various approaches to manage this knowledge base, among which the ontology development process is preferred by most people owing to its superficial and easy-to-manage characteristics. However, the heterogenic use of ontology in different dance research aspects demands an organized study to understand its contributions to the domain. Our survey approach towards this objective starts with a systematic literature selection and further grouping them into four categories based on ontology involvement. Second, we discuss each group of articles by their contributions and the level of ontology involvement. Third, a novel evaluation framework is proposed, which assesses each selected article based on nineteen attributes from ontology quality, development, and applications perspectives. We rank each article into three qualitative measures, i.e., High(H), Medium(M), and Low(L), for our attribute set based on our understanding. Finally, We comprehensively analyze the outcomes of our qualitative assessment to present the current research status and their limitations in the candidate domain. This review aspires to be a cornerstone resource, enlightening researchers about the current landscape and future prospects of ontological involvement in dance research.

A framework to assess the effectiveness index (EI) of the Indian SMEs to integrate lean and sustainability through combined fuzzy logic and systems approach

PurposeTo become a sustainable lean manufacturing (LM) system, an organization must be first distinctly cognizant of the terms “lean” and “sustainability” as they relate to the state of affairs of their particular industry and business. Next, the organization must identify and acquire the necessary qualities it needs to become sustainable in lean philosophy and its practices in the organization. The LM paradigm has been a top priority for many businesses; thus, this article is based on actual research done in Indian small and medium scale organizations to see how widely it is understood and implemented.Design/methodology/approachA framework was developed based on literature review and academic research. A preliminary analysis of a small number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that, conceptually, summarizes and demonstrates the concerted efforts that a company may undertake to increase its leanness. This conceptual model was employed to create a questionnaire that was administered to survey the SMEs of India. The information gathered through this questionnaire was analyzed using the model developed by the researchers. Then fuzzy logic and systems approach were used to find out the effectiveness index (EI) of the organization.FindingsThe EI for system leanness at different organizational levels within an organization is determined using fuzzy logic and systems approach for 48 SMEs in different clusters. The average EI of the system was found to be 0.336 on a scale of 0–1 which indicates that the current state of lean implementation and its sustainability is very low and poor in Indian SMEs. This article outlines the key model components and describes how they were applied to analyze the data gathered from an industry study.Research limitations/implicationsThe research aims to make lean continuously sustainable by surfacing and eliminating the wastes in the Indian SMEs whenever it appears rather than using it as a cleaning tool. The present study was focused on India’s southern industrial areas and it was difficult to gather the information around the country due to its diverse industrial culture and geography. Hence, more research and the comparative study of the same that takes into account the various regions of the nation’s industrial lean behavior can be conducted.Practical implicationsThe generalized sustainable lean framework analyzed using fuzzy logic and systems approach gives the current effectiveness of the leanness in SMEs of south India. This model can be effectively implemented in other areas of the nation to identify the scenario of lean and its sustainability and a final comprehensive model can be developed.Originality/valueThere is a dearth of comprehensive studies on the assessment of sustainability of the lean philosophy in Indian SMEs. With the help of combined fuzzy logic and systems approach, the model developed in this study evaluates the sustainability of the lean methodology using the EI used in SMEs by taking into account both the lean and sustainability factors as well as enablers like customer satisfaction, ethics, innovation and technology.

A robust method for mapping soybean by phenological aligning of Sentinel-2 time series

Soybean is an important crop for food and animal feed. Production and area both continue to increase and expand into new areas and countries. Spatially explicit information on soybean cultivation is essential to crop monitoring, production estimation, and national accounting systems. However, its cultivation in diverse climate conditions, landscapes, and agricultural systems poses challenges to accurately map soybean across different regions and years. We propose an innovative soybean mapping method combining phenological alignment with machine learning (named here RF-DTW), which can be applied to diverse geographies and years by aligning phenological shifts and using distinctive features from Sentinel-2 time-series. The method first uses the dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm to align the growing season between pixels across different sites. Then, based on the harmonized time-series, a set of distinctive features was identified and used to build random forest (RF) models to classify soybean across ten globally distributed sites and multiple years. Results show that the green chlorophyll vegetation index (GCVI), greenness and water content composite index (GWCCI), normalized difference senescent vegetation index (NDSVI), red edge position (REP), and short-wave infrared bands are important inputs for distinguishing soybean from other crops. Spectral-phenological features, particularly the curve slope metrics of GCVI and GWCCI during the peak to late growing season, rank as the most important features for mapping soybean. RF-DTW demonstrates good generalizability across ten study sites, achieving an overall accuracy (OA) of 0.92 and an F1-score of 0.84. F1-scores for eight out of ten sites ranged between 0.82 and 0.98, outperforming a benchmark method, although they were lower (F1-score < 0.60) for the two sites in Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, RF-DTW performs robustly when transferred to untrained regions and years, with most cases showing an F1-score higher than 0.70. Our proposed method, as a combination of phenological alignment and machine learning, can be used to map soybean accurately and efficiently across different regions and years, to provide crucial information for understanding the rapid dynamics of soybean cultivation and its global-scale impacts.

Editorial diversity correlates with journal impact factor and author diversity in cardiothoracic surgery.

While there are no widely accepted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) metrics for journals, geographic and sex diversity across a journal's editorial board may provide a surrogate measure of its commitment to DEI. We explored the association between journal quality and DEI metrics for cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) journals and investigated whether editorial diversity correlates with diversity across published articles. We collected the following data for 30 CTS journals: country of publication (categorized by income level), journal quality metrics (citation-based metrics, e.g., impact factor (IF) or H-index), and sex and geographic representation across editorial boards and published articles. Bivariate correlations between numeric variables were assessed using Spearman's correlation. Female representation across editorial boards was 12.1%. Most editorial board members belonged to the United States (35.2%), with only 7.4% from the lower-middle-income countries and 0% from low-income countries. IF showed a strong positive correlation with female editorial representation (r=0.70) but an inverse correlation with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) editorial representation (r=-0.45). Female editorial representation demonstrated a significant positive correlation with female first authorship (r=0.45), whereas LMIC editorial representation correlated strongly with LMIC corresponding authorship (r=0.85). Women and researchers from LMICs are in the minority across editorial boards of CTS journals. However, a strong correlation between journal H-index and female editorial representation indicates that top-ranked journals are spearheading efforts to improve equitable sex-based and gender representations. Similar efforts are required to ensure more global geographic representation across editorial boards and top-ranked CTS journals are the best placed to lead by example.

Epidemiology of Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli: A Mini Review

Diarrheal diseases are a significant public health challenge, leading to high numbers of morbidity and mortality globally. Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) strains exhibit a complex spectrum, ranging from benign gut inhabitants to severe pathogens causing intestinal and extraintestinal diseases. This review focuses on elucidating DEC epidemiology, emphasizing research conducted worldwide. A comprehensive review searched for relevant studies on DEC's impact, using keywords like "diarrheagenic Escherichia coli," "DEC pathotypes," and "epidemiology" in databases like PubMed. Inclusion criteria covered 67 studies on virulence, pathogenesis, detection, and geographic diversity. Studies globally indicate variable prevalence rates for DEC. Enteropathogenic E. coli is prominent in Bangladesh (17.2% prevalence), relying on intimin, Bundle-forming pilus, and the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island. Enterohemorrhagic E. coli, prevalent in the US and Europe (up to 1.5% outbreak rates in the US), utilizes Shiga toxin and the LEE pathogenicity island. Enteroaggregative E. coli, notably in Africa (Kenya, 13.5% prevalence), employs multilocus enzyme electrophoresis analysis, Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin 1 (EAST-1), adherence mechanisms, and biofilm formation. Enterotoxigenic E. coli is highly prevalent in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (Bangladesh, 6% prevalence), producing colonization factors and enterotoxins. Enteroinvasive E. coli is common in Asian developing countries like Bangladesh, relying on invasion genes and a large plasmid. Conversely, Europe exhibits notably low prevalence rates, with Enterohemorrhagic E. coli prevalence falling below 1%, especially in the UK. This review underscores the global prevalence of DEC, emphasizing the need for a global approach to disease management. Understanding the distinct virulence factors and pathogenesis of various DEC pathotypes is crucial for developing targeted interventions

Panorama dos principais estudos clínicos sobre medicamentos contra tuberculose no Brasil e no mundo

Introduction: This article provides a comprehensive overview of tuberculosis (TB) drug clinical trials conducted in Brazil and globally. TB is highlighted as one of the leading lethal infectious diseases, facing the growing challenge of drug resistance. Objective: The study aims to map recent advances and identify gaps and challenges in the search for effective treatments for TB, emphasizing Brazil’s contribution, which is known for its research in tropical diseases. Method: An analysis of clinical trials related to TB was conducted, focusing on the geographical diversity of the studies and the intersectoral collaboration between governments, academic institutions, and non-governmental organizations. The survey covered research at both national and international levels. Results: The results indicate a significant increase in the number of clinical trials, reflecting a growing interest and investment in research and development (R&amp;D) aimed at combating TB. Regions with high disease incidence have received special attention. Collaboration between different sectors has been crucial in promoting progress. Conclusions: Despite the advances, the study underscores important challenges, such as the need for more R&amp;D investments and the urgency of public policies to facilitate access to new drugs. The article highlights the importance of continuous and collaborative efforts in developing safe and accessible treatments, as well as the effective integration of innovations into the healthcare system, with special attention to vulnerable populations.

Time to death from cervical cancer and its predictors in hospitalized patients: a survival approach study in Mato Grosso, Brazil

BackgroundCervical cancer (CC) is a serious public health concern, being the fourth most common cancer among women and a leading cause of cancer mortality. In Brazil, many women are diagnosed late, and in Mato Grosso, with its geographical diversity, there are specific challenges. This study analyzed hospital survival and its predictors using data from the Hospital Information System (SIH) of the Unified Health System (SUS) in Mato Grosso from 2011 to 2023.MethodsCox regression and Kaplan-Meier models were applied to determine survival time and identify mortality predictors. The adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was used to measure the association between the factors analyzed.ResultsThe hospital mortality rate was 9.88%. The median duration of hospitalization was 33 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 12–36), with a median survival of 43.7%. Patients were followed up for up to 70 days. In the multivariable Cox model, after adjusting for potential confounders, the risk of death during hospitalization was higher in patients aged 40–59 years (AHR = 1.39, p = 0.027) and 60–74 years (AHR = 1.54, p = 0.007), in the absence of surgical procedures (AHR = 4.48, p < 0.001), in patients with medium service complexity (AHR = 2.40, p = 0.037), and in the use of ICU (AHR = 4.97, p < 0.001). On the other hand, patients with hospital expenses above the median (152.971 USD) showed a reduced risk of death (AHR = 0.21, p < 0.001).ConclusionThis study highlights that hospitalized CC patients have reduced survival, underscoring the need for interventions to improve care, including strategies for early diagnosis and expanded access to adequately resourced health services.

Crop Classification System in Agriculture

Agriculture plays a crucial role in Malaysia's economy, providing employment opportunities, income, and ensuring food security. The country's diverse climate and geography contribute to a wide range of agricultural products. However, farmers face challenges in identifying crop diseases and damage, leading to time‐consuming inspections and potential human errors during large‐scale crop harvesting. In order to address these issues, this project aims to design and develop a computer vision‐based system for classifying the condition of crops. By leveraging computer vision, the system eliminates the need for manual inspection and empowers farmers with an efficient and accurate tool for assessing crop quality. Visual cues, such as colour are automatically analysed by the YOLOv8 model to detect signs of damage in each chili crop. The crop classification system was evaluated using a separate dataset consisting of 300 chili samples. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the YOLOv8 model, achieving an impressive accuracy of 99.67%. The system exhibited perfect precision in identifying bad chilis and a recall rate of 99.33% for capturing the majority of bad chilis present in the dataset. This study signifies the potential of the YOLOv8 model as a reliable tool for predicting chili crop quality. By implementing this system, farmers can save significant time and effort previously spent on manual inspections.

Geospatial analysis of diarrhoea determinants among children under five in Pakistan using Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR)

Diarrhoea is the second most common cause of death among children under five worldwide. About 90 percent of diarrhoeal diseases occur in South Asia and sub-Saharan countries. In Pakistan, it causes almost 53,000 children to die every year. Against this background, this study aimed to analyze the geographical variations in the socio-economic and climatic determinants of under-five diarrhoea cases in districts of Pakistan. We used Generalized Linear Regression (GLR) and Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) to explore the spatial variation of diarrhoea and its associated determinants. The MGWR model with 10 independent variables outperforms the GLR model (R2 = 0.72) with an adjusted R2 of 0.86. The local accuracy of the MGWR model increases from southwest to northeast. Furthermore among ten selected regressors, significant geographic diversity was found in the determinants of diarrhoea, including altitude, temperature, fever, ARI, and sanitation practices. These insights demand the need for targeted public health interventions, such as immunization campaigns, improved sanitation, and access to clean water and nutritional supplements, poverty eradication, especially in rural and high-risk regions. Future research should employ longitudinal designs and advanced spatial modeling to evaluate the impact of strategies and inform evidence-based policies to reduce the burden of childhood diarrhoea in Pakistan.

Contesting “VIP urbanism”

We live in an age of extreme and worsening urban inequality. One result is the increased prevalence of “VIP urbanism”—the idea that cities govern land use through two sets of rules, one of them reserved for “very important people”. The first set of rules applies to most urbanites, through de jure laws and standardized bureaucratic policies. However, in many places a second set of practices operates quietly alongside the official rules, as a de facto system of loopholes, easements, exemptions, lobbying, and veto power that enable some actors to shape cities in ways that violate the spirit—and sometimes even the letter—of the law. This special issue presents empirical research and theoretical commentary on the VIP urbanism phenomenon, with cases including Bengaluru, Hong Kong, Milan, New York City, Paris, Valparaiso, and Venice. The authors identify how preferential treatment for elites has impacted urban governance in a diverse geography of cities, and evaluate how these practices have been contested by social movements and other urban stakeholders.

Digitalization and diversification strategies for effective bank liquidity management in emerging markets

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of income, assets, and geographic diversity on bank liquidity in the Indonesian banking sector. This study uses purposive sampling and multiple regression analysis (MRA) to investigate the impact of digital banking on bank liquidity, as measured by the loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) and liquidity ratio. The sample used is 87 banks in Indonesia, which include state-owned banks, commercial banks, regional development banks, and Islamic banks. The key findings of this study indicate that income and asset diversification significantly affect bank liquidity, with income diversification having a negative effect on the Loan-to-Deposit Ratio (LDR). The use of digital banking simplifies the relationship between diversification strategy and liquidity, thereby improving banks' ability to manage liquidity. However, despite digital integration, asset diversification continues to show an adverse correlation with liquidity, indicating limitations in its effectiveness. The study concludes that while digital banking enhances the effect of income diversification on liquidity management, it limits its effect on asset diversification. This suggests that digital utilization is a strategic resource for increasing liquidity, although it requires focused implementation. These findings offer important insights for bank management and policymakers in formulating digital transformation plans that enhance efficient cash management and financial stability, particularly in developing countries like Indonesia. Keywords: income diversification, asset diversification, digital banking, bank liquidity, financial stability.

Searching for effective strategies to reach boys and young men; a mixed-methods study protocol for youth clinics in Sweden

BackgroundEfforts to engage boys and young men in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in Sweden remain limited, with only a small proportion accessing youth clinics, the primary providers of such services. Existing initiatives are often ad-hoc and lack institutionalization within public policy and practice. This study aims to identify feasible and effective interventions to improve boys’ and young men’s access to youth clinics in Sweden.MethodsEmploying a mixed-methods approach, this study investigates interventions, strategies, and factors influencing access to SRH services for boys and young men in Sweden. Firstly, a systematic literature review will be conducted to identify evaluated interventions globally. Secondly, strategies to attracts boys and young men in youth clinics in Sweden will be mapped. Thirdly, case studies in two regions in Sweden – chosen for their demographic and geographic diversity – will be conducted interviewing healthcare providers, managers, policymakers, and boys and young men. Lastly, Q-methodology will be used to rank all identified strategies. Healthcare providers and managers will rank these strategies based on their perceived effectiveness and feasibility while boys and young men will rank the interventions based on perceived effectiveness.DiscussionThe added value of this project is generating robust evidence regarding boys and young men’s involvement in SRH services, especially their access to youth clinics. This is crucial for (1) developing gender-sensitive services and service delivery models that effectively promote young men’s SRH; (2) informing future young men’s health policies ensuring that their unique SRH concerns are addressed; and (3) improving young men’s participation in SRH provision. This will ultimately foster a culture of shared responsibilities and advance gender equality.

Musa species in mainland Southeast Asia: From wild to domesticate.

Many species are defined in the Musa section within its natural diversification area in Southeast Asia. However, their actual number remains debated as botanical characterisation, distribution and intraspecific variability are still poorly known, compromising their preservation and their exploitation as crop wild relatives of cultivated forms. To address the underexplored Musa diversity in mainland Southeast Asia, at the northern edge of the natural range, 208 specimens were collected in Vietnam, Laos and China, mainly belonging to Musa balbisiana, M. itinerans, M. acuminata and M. yunnanensis. Data on location, morphology, environment and local knowledge were recorded, and leaf samples collected for high-throughput genotyping. This study combines geographical, morphological, and genomic diversity to clarify the taxonomic classification. The collected species exhibit highly distinctive morphologies and genomes, just as they differ in ranges and life traits. Intraspecific genomic diversity was also observed, although not necessarily morphologically perceptible. Mainland Southeast Asia is confirmed as a primary diversification centre for the Musa section. The diversity observed is only partially represented in major international ex situ collections, calling for their urgent enrichment and the promotion of in situ management procedures, for the protection of these threatened species and to better harness their potential in breeding programmes. Although considered wild, the species studied are all affected to varying extents by human use. Musa yunnanensis and M. acuminata subsp. burmannica are the most strictly wild forms, with spontaneous interspecific hybrids first described in this study. Although gathered as fodder, they were only occasionally dispersed outside their endemic zones. Musa itinerans is not cultivated per se, but natural populations are widely exploited, leading to a geographically structured diversity. The diversity of M. balbisiana is widely distributed and geographically structured by human activities. This species should be regarded as domesticated. These various stages, from simple opportunistic gathering to true domestication, shed light on the evolutionary history of today's cultivated varieties.

A spatiotemporal analysis approach for multidimensional assessment of renewable energy development in ASEAN countries

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an integration of diverse geographies and economies, presents a unique opportunity to harness the vast potential of renewable energy. Based on panel data from 2011 to 2020, the current study employs both the entropy weight method and the system coupling method to assess the spatiotemporal performance of renewable energy development in terms of economic, social, and environmental dimensions across the entire ASEAN region. The Renewable Energy Performance (REPer) Index has been proposed to quantify development performance. The results show that the ASEAN region as a whole has improved by 19.72 % in REPer over the years, with some minor variations between member countries. Among all the member states, Malaysia had the highest REPer of 0.716 in 2020, followed by Singapore and Indonesia (0.678 and 0.497, respectively). Myanmar had the least advanced renewable energy sector, with an REPer of 0.268. These findings offer a comprehensive understanding of how renewable energy sources are distributed across ASEAN member states and how their development patterns change over time. By identifying the gaps and disparities in renewable energy development among the member states, the current study provides policy recommendations to promote better cooperation in the development of renewable energy sources.