Indochina Region Research Articles

Comprehensive review on ethnomedicinal, phytochemistry and pharmacological profile of.

Ficus religiosa L. (F. religiosa) or sacred fig is a large perennial tree belonging to the family Moraceae or mulberry family. Though the tree has pan-tropical distribution but originally it is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina region. Popularly the tree is named "Pepal or bodhi tree". Traditionally, it is practiced for the treatment of asthma, nose bleeding, heart disorders, diabetes, wound healing, ear problems, constipation, hyperlipidemia, gonorrhea, ulcers and infectious disorders. Chemical analysis demonstrated the presence of numerous bioactives including tannins, phenols, saponins, sugars, alkaloids, methionine, terpenoids, flavonoids, glycosides, proteins, separated amino acids, essential and volatile oils and steroids etc., which are probably responsible for its diverse pharmacological actions. The present work is an attempt to compile up-to-date comprehensive information on F. religiosa that covers its taxonomy, ethnomedicinal importance, phytochemistry, pharmacological attributes and clinical trials. Keeping in mind the various health attributes of F. religiosa, future research can be aimed at in-depth elucidation of the structure-function relationship and multifactorial signalings pathways.

The Yen Bay Rebellion (1930) and internal security policy in French Indochina

The article contents an analysis of the French experience of anti-colonial struggle in the era of Interbellum in the Indochina region. Special attention is devoted to the degree and speed of the response of the French colonial administration and the metropolis to the events taking place. The article presents the characteristics of French military thought regarding the specifics of conducting combat operations against the rebels using aviation and native units. Attention is focused on the problem of the loyalty of the Vietnamese people, their attitude to French rule. The main fears of the French in connection with the growth of Vietnamese national identity as a threat to the colonial order are revealed. The importance of the events in Yen Bai is emphasized from the point of view of further measures by Paris to ensure internal security in the Indochina region. The changes in the national composition of the French colonial army in Indochina are shown. The uprising affected not only the army, but also the political police of France – «Sûreté». The work shows that the uprising did not receive universal support from the local population. The reaction of a part of French society to the events in Yen Bai is analyzed. Special attention is paid to the personality of Pierre Pasquier, Governor-General of Indochina, who personified the conservative part of the French colonial bureaucracy, whose attitude towards local peoples in the Interbellum era rather complicated relations between the metropolis and dependent territories. On the other hand, attention is drawn to the impact of the events in Yen Bai on changes in both the composition and leadership of the driving political force of the revolutionary struggle in Indochina. It was at this time that the National Party of Vietnam lost its leading position in the vanguard of the anti-colonial struggle to the Communist Party of Indochina.

The communist movement in Nghe-Tinh and political parties in the French Indochina (1930–1931)

The article analyzes the experience of the French Colonial Empire of the 1930s in ensuring internal security in the Indochina region. The social, economic and climatic causes of political unrest (1930–1931) in the northern part of Annam, namely in the two provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh (Nghe-Tinh), are examined. The characteristics of the three ideological directions on which the political parties of Indochina are based are given. The development of the peasant movement and the creation of alternative administrations in villages to replace colonial ones are demonstrated. The new institution for a number of villages will be the Soviets, under the leadership of the Indochina Communist Party. The view is reflected of the colonial administration of Indochina on socio-economic problems. The adjustments in the French colonial army are presented in the form of sending additional contingents, as an example, the arrival of the 4th battalion of the Foreign Legion from Algeria to Indochina. The attention is paid to the key source under the title: «Contribution to the history of political movements in French Indochina». It testifies to a victorious turning point for the French administration in suppressing armed uprisings in Indochina. The document is a transcript and represents the testimony of Vietnamese who were members of the Indochina Communist Party. The despite the difficulties for France in maintaining internal security in the Indochina region by 1931, order in the colony was almost restored.

Seed Germination Characteristics of a Critically Endangered Evergreen Oak—Quercus marlipoensis (Fagaceae) and Their Conservation Implications

Seed germination is among the most crucial and vulnerable stages in plant life cycles. Quercus marlipoensis is a critically endangered sclerophyllous oak. Only one population has ever been found worldwide in the tropical montane cloud forests of southeastern Yunnan, China, and it has shown difficulties with regeneration. However, its seed biological traits and key restrictive germination factors remain unknown. We investigate the impacts of scarification, temperature, and water potential on the seed germination of Q. marlipoensis. Results show that the seeds show typical epicotyl dormancy. The seed germination increased when removing part or all of the pericarp and part of the cotyledon (one-third and two-thirds). The seeds can germinate at 5 to 30 °C, but the highest T50 was achieved at 25 °C. When the water potential decreased from 0 to −1.0 MPa, the germination rate decreased but the germination time increased. Q. marlipoensis seeds are typically recalcitrant and highly sensitive to moisture loss, but the species can tolerate animal predation and low germination temperatures. The more frequent climatic extremes and droughts in the Indo-China region will severely degrade its natural habitats. Therefore, ex situ conservation to preserve its germplasm and introduce seedlings into a suitable habitat are essential for its conservation management.

Trade between the United States and Indochinese Union in the First Half of the 20th Century

This article aims to analyze the commercial activities between the Indochinese Union (Indochina) and the United States in the first half of the XX century. The study focuses on three fundamental issues: The US efforts to seek markets in the Indochina region; commercial exchanges between the French-controlled Indochina and the US in the first half of the XX century; and the commercial benefits that the parties obtained. The results show that the commercial exchange between the Indochina and the US was under the strict management and control of the French colonial government. The policies that France conducted in Indochina during this period caused many disadvantages for the Indochina - US commercial relationship. The Indochinese Union did not have much freedom in choosing trade partners and was highly dependent on France's policies in the colonies. Apart from the subjection to France’s manipulation, commercial exchanges between the Indochina and the US had different rules compared to other European and American countries. Starting from merely commercial activities, the US intervened more deeply in the region by launching a military invasion of Indochina. This study contributes to clarifying the commercial policies of France towards the Indochina during the colonial period, the commercial activities of the US in the Far East region, as well as the history of Vietnam in the first half of the XX century.

Validation of the medium-range and sub-seasonal forecast of solar irradiance and wind speed using ECMWF

Medium-range and sub-seasonal forecasts of solar irradiation and 10-m wind speed are commonly assessed with an ensemble forecast over the Indo-China region. In this paper, we forecast data of surface solar irradiance and 10-m wind using ensembles of forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts operational ensemble (ECMWF; EC-ENS) with a 6-h time-step. We compare our forecasts with observations derived from the China Meteorological Agency (CMA) as gridded observations over the Indo-China region. The assessment is carried out on both mid-range and sub-seasonal forecasts over Indo-China domain wise, using several metrics to assess different attributes of forecast quality. The results show that the errors of the forecasts depends on the choice of the climate variable, the period of the year. The major source of energy on Earth is solar irradiation and wind, and the amount of solar irradiation and wind hitting the Earth's surface is impacted by the atmosphere. Solar irradiation also plays an important role in global temperature, and even minor variations in the sun's energy output create significant changes in the earth's climate. All data cover a period from June 2021 to May 2022 in hourly and six-hourly total scales for CMA and EC-ENS. The validation demonstrates that the mean absolute error, root mean square error, and mean bias error amongst datasets are all different. Furthermore, the spatially continuous hourly predictions accurately capture regional variations and reconstruct the diurnal cycles of solar irradiation and wind on fine scales. Such accurate knowledge is useful for the prediction of site selection for solar and wind power plants and research on regional climate changes.

Islamisasi di Wilayah Indochina

Indochina was divided into three main regions namely Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. These three countries were countries where the majority of the population adheres to the Buddhist belief system or religion. Islam was a very minority religion in these three countries. This article aimed to explain how the process of Islamization in the Indochina region. This research used qualitative research methods by focusing on literature studies through historical methods with three stages, namely heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The results of this study indicated that the process of Islamization in Cambodia which was initially welcomed by the king and local people went through the dark period of the red Khemr regime and finally the Muslim community in Cambodia was free and they rebuilt their religious system, so that the latter could live hand in hand with other religions. The process of Islamization in Laos was engaged in trading and managing butcher shops. They lived in the jami' mosque in Vientiane. Meanwhile, the process of Islamization in Vietnam started from the kingdom of Champa. There were several theories which state that the process of the arrival of Islam in Vietnam started from the relationship carried out by the crew of the Champa royal ship with traders from Brunei and Banten (Indonesia).

The ricebean genome provides insight into Vigna genome evolution and facilitates genetic enhancement.

The ricebean genome provides insight into Vigna genome evolution and facilitates genetic enhancement.

Schomburginones A‒J, geranylated benzophenones from the leaves of Garcinia schomburgkiana and their cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities

Ten undescribed benzophenones, schomburginones A−J, together with 14 known analogs were isolated from the leaves of Garcinia schomburgkiana, an edible plant native to the Indochina region. The structures of the undescribed compounds were elucidated by NMR combined with HRMS spectroscopy, while their absolute configurations were determined using ECD and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The isolated metabolites represent benzophenone derivatives containing a modified monoterpene unit, including tri- and tetracyclic skeletons, which are rarely found in genus Garcinia. The cytotoxic evaluation on three cancerous cell lines demonstrated that schomburginone G, schomburginone H, and 3-geranyl-2,4,6-trihydroxybenzophenone were active against HeLa cells with IC50 values in the range of 12.2–15.7 μM, respectively, and selective compared to the non-cancerous L929 cells (SI > 3.5). In addition, the three cytotoxic compounds together with clusiacyclol A showed significant NO inhibitory activity in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells over 85% inhibition without obvious cytotoxicity at a final concentration of 100 μM. The promising activities of these compounds in cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory assays make them attractive for further study in the development of anticancer drugs.

Seismic damage and comparison of fragility functions of public and residential buildings damaged by the 2014 Mae Lao (Northern Thailand) earthquake

On 5 May 2014, a 6.1-Mw earthquake struck the Mae Lao region in Thailand and resulted in the evacuation of all public structures in the epicentral area due to varying degrees of structural and nonstructural damage. This study reports the damage sustained by public buildings in the epicentral area based on postseismic surveys and data gathered from the local official database. Using these damage observations, fragility functions are then derived for public buildings, that is, temples and community health centers, and compared with fragility functions developed for residential buildings damaged in the same area. This earthquake provided several important lessons related to nonstructural damage to local community health centers and temples within the epicentral region. The failure of nonstructural components could lead to serious injuries and casualties. This study has also shown that poor seismic performance of local temples could be expected with moderate ground shaking. Findings in this study could be useful for developing appropriate strategies to ensure safety of local communities for moderate earthquakes for similar structures within the Indochina region in the future.

Epidemiology of Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile Infection in Southeast Asia.

This review describes the current understanding of Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile infection (CDI) in southeast Asia regarding the prevalence of CDI, C. difficile detection methods, antimicrobial susceptibility profiles, and the potential significance of a One Health approach to prevention and control. Our initial focus had been the Indochina region, however, due to limited studies/surveillance of CDI in Indochina, other studies in southeast Asian countries and neighboring Chinese provinces are presented here for comparison. Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile infection is one of the most common causes of hospital-acquired gastroenteritis worldwide. Since its discovery as a cause of pseudomembranous colitis in 1978, C. difficile-related disease has been more prevalent in high-income rather than low-income countries. This may be because of a lack of knowledge and awareness about the significance of C. difficile and CDI, resulting in underreporting of true rates. Moreover, the abuse of antimicrobials and paucity of education regarding appropriate usage remain important driving factors in the evolution of CDI worldwide. The combination of underreporting of true CDI rates, along with continued misuse of antimicrobial agents, poses an alarming threat for regions like Indochina. C. difficile ribotype (RT) 027 has caused outbreaks in North America and European countries, however, C. difficile RT 017 commonly occurs in Asia. Toxin A-negative/toxin B-positive (A-B+) strains of RT 017 have circulated widely and caused outbreaks throughout the world and, in southeast Asia, this strain is endemic.

MINORITAS MUSLIM DI NEGARA KOMUNIS LAOS: PERKEMBANGAN DALAM KETERBATASAN

The general statement is that minority groups have always been discriminated against by the majority, plus Laos itself carries out communism as the state ideology. In general, the discourse on the equality of communists with atheists is quite popular in the community. Not only labeled as having no religion, a state labeled as communist is synonymous with not supporting the existence of an ethnicity or a religious community. This article aims to explain the history and life of Muslim groups in Laos as a minority community group. This research is a historical research, where in collecting data sources using literature study techniques, and data analysis using a political history approach. The results of the study show that Laos, which is geographically located in the middle of mainland Indochina, makes it a crossroads of culture and religion. The political turmoil in the Indochina region and the civil war in Laos had an impact on the number of Laos' Muslim population. Pathet Lao's victory over the civil war resulted in an authoritarian communist government, causing the Muslim population to shrink. The 1991 Lao Constitution amendment in 2003 brought a breath of fresh air with religious freedom to the Lao people. Although there are still problems with human and financial resources in developing the community and da'wah, Laotian Muslims live quietly in a communist country. Islam in Laos is developing slowly but quietly within its limitations.

Significant Increase in Population Exposure to Extreme Precipitation in South China and Indochina in the Future

Extreme precipitation events cause severe economic losses and can seriously impact human health. Therefore, it is essential to project possible future changes in the population’s exposure to precipitation extremes against the background of global warming. On the basis of model outputs from phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, our study shows that both the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation are likely to increase in the South China and Indochina region in the coming century, especially under the business-as-usual Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenario, SSP5-8.5. The largest population exposure can be expected under the SSP2-4.5 scenario, both in South China and Indochina. If early adoption of mitigation measures via the SSP1-2.6 scenario can be achieved, it may be possible to limit the average population exposure in South China to a relatively low level, while Indochina’s may even be smaller than it is currently. In terms of spatial distribution, the maximum population exposure is most likely to be centered in southern South China. This study also reveals that the contribution of the population–climate interaction to population exposure is likely to increase in the future, and different contributions from the factors of climate and population correspond to different emission policies. Under SSP2-4.5, the importance of climate change and the population–climate interaction is more likely to increase.

Integrated highland wildfire, smoke, and haze management in the Upper Indochina region

Fire has long been used in Southeast Asia for the purposes of cooking, protection, and warmth. However, climate change and economic pressure have modified the life of locals, including fire practices in daily life and other fire uses. The land use of forest cover in highland area (mostly deciduous forest) has shifted to cultivation, with the application of slash-and-burn techniques. This results in frequent unplanned fires causing pollution in the form of smoke and haze. A zero-burn policy has been implemented to tackle this problem but such a policy may not be appropriate as people still need fire as a basic tool for agriculture land preparation. Moreover, the deciduous forest is a fire-dependent ecosystem to maintain its ecosystem. Frequent burning by local people or excessive government intervention in preventing fires can impact this ecosystem. In the highlands, shifting cultivation has gradually been replaced by rotational agricultural practice with a cycle of 2 to 5 years. However, the fuel load for a 2-year rotation period is only 0.25 tha-1 higher than that of a mixed deciduous forest. New fire risk maps classified according to forest types were produced for Thailand, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. We report that the mixing layer (ML) height in Chiang Mai Province was, on average, 500 m during March, with common occurrence of subsidence inversion resulting in further lowering of air quality during this month. A participatory process to develop a Community Based Fire Management (CBFiM) was undertaken and it was observed that a successful implementation would need a community with a strong leadership.

Sensitivity of different physics schemes using WRF model in Typhoon Damrey (2017) over the Indochina region

To reduce the tropical cyclone impact of lives and economics, the precise forecast of the event is required. The typhoon Damrey (2017), which caused ravaging of the strong wind, heavy precipitation, flash flood and storm surge over the Indochina region, was simulated by Weather Research and forecasting (WRF) model. The simulated duration was 8 days starting from 31 October 2017 00 00 UTC to 8 November 2017 00 00 UTC. The NCEP 6-hour global FNL (final analysis) data at 1-degree resolution is provided for initial condition. The WRF model was run in a single domain of 20 km horizontal resolution bounded 0 to 20 N and 96°E to 124°E. The different physics schemes, which are the microphysics schemes, the planetary boundary layer schemes and cumulus parameterization schemes, were emphasized to examine the suitable schemes in tropical cyclone simulation over the Indochina region. To evaluate the reliability of the simulation of tropical cyclone, the track-position is correlated with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) observation. The results show that the typhoon simulation forced by Belts-Millers-Janjic cumulus, WSM6 microphysics was suitable for simulating of typhoon Damrey.

Out of Indochina: confirmed specimen record and first molecular identification of Psammophis indochinensis Smith, 1943 (Squamata, Psammophiidae) from Bali, Indonesia

Psammophis indochinensis Smith, 1943 was reported in the eastern Java and Bali of Indonesia despite its primary geographic range being in the Indochina region. We confirm its presence in Bali based on a newly collected specimen and provide morphological and genetic data. The specimen was found in a lowland, urban areas near open grassland habitat, which confirms the distribution of P. indochinensis along the northern coast of Bali. We note some character aberrations in the supralabials compared to Thailand specimens, suggesting an extended character. The basal clade position of P. indochinensis raises the possibility of an intercontinental dispersal scenario of this African-origin snake.

MODIS-derived fire spatial and temporal distribution during haze season in Southeast Asia using empirical orthogonal function

One of the efforts to control the forest and land fire disasters which affect on the biomass burning haze is fire hotspots monitoring. Biomass burning haze in Southeast Asia (SEA) has become a recurring annual issue. This study aims to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of fire hotspots along SEA, so that it can serve as guidance for efforts to control them. The hotspot data used is derived from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) MODIS sensors which is collected from 2001-2020. Spatial analysis of the re-gridded data shows the highest burning activities over SEA occurred in Feb-Apr, with >2000 fire events in the Indo-China area and >1000 fire events in Sumatra and Borneo. Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) was performed on monthly total hotspot data for 228 months for determining dominant patterns spatially and temporally. Based on the EOF analysis results, the three major modes have achieved a total variance of 71 %. The first mode (EOF1) explains 65 % of the total variance. The second (EOF2) and third (EOF3) modes account for 3.60 % and 2.97 % of the total variance respectively. The first and the third principal component identified high loadings over the Indo-China and Sumatra-Borneo regions respectively. Whereas the second principal component separates the fire areas into China and Indo-China region. Inter-annual pattern is dominant in the EOF1, while the inter-seasonal pattern is dominant in EOF2 and EOF3. ENSO, IOD, and MJO are factors that influence the pattern of the determined principal components. The result of this study provides general understanding on how the fire events varied over the past two decades in SEA.

Modelling climate change impacts on the Brahmaputra streamflow resulting from changes in snowpack attributes

Modelling the impact of climate change on streamflow for remote or data sparse regions is a challenge for hydrologists, as large datasets are often needed to adequately characterise the processes that dominate. The Tibetan Plateau, which forms the headwaters of the Brahmaputra and many other major rivers in the Indo-China region, is not closely monitored due to its harsh environment. This lack of monitoring is significant as regards its substantial snow resources, of considerable importance given the influence these have on the supply of water to downstream communities. This research uses a conceptual hydrologic model developed to simulate the impact of the changing climate in such large, snow-covered, data sparse catchments, to adequately understand the likely changes in future water availability in the highly populated Brahmaputra basin and surrounding areas in the Tibetan Plateau. A multivariate nested recursive bias correction (MRNBC) approach is used for correcting systematic biases present in the climate model simulations of temperature and precipitation jointly across multiple timescales preserving the dynamic relationships amongst the variables. The results disclose that monthly snow cover fraction in the near future (2041–2060) and far future (2071–2090) will decrease significantly with respect to the historical period (1981–2000). While the annual streamflow is noted to be increasing for the basin, water supply reliability exhibits a reduction, partly as a result of the increased spill volume arising from greater snowmelt concentrated over the wet period, and partly the increase in evaporation losses due to higher temperatures. While the above results pertain to the Brahmaputra basin, similar changes are expected for the other major rivers that originate in the Tibetan Plateau.

Genetic Assessment on the Origin of Alien Macaques in the Boso Peninsula in Japan

Japanese macaques and alien macaques have hybridized in the Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. In this study, the origin of the alien species was investigated by molecular assessments with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome genes. Maternal origin was assessed by comparing mtDNA sequence records. The results suggested that the alien species in the southern part of peninsula originated from the rhesus macaques in eastern China. Y-chromosome assessments with three microsatellite (Y-STR) loci detected a unique haplotype that is distributed in Japanese macaque habitats. Its origin was assessed by the TSPY (testis-specific protein on Y-chromosome) gene, suggesting the possibility of the involvement of long-tailed macaques in the Indochina region or rhesus macaques different from known source. Further investigation of historical documents and interviews disclosed the existence of a facility of long-tailed macaques planned for vaccine production in the past. This study presented novel evidence that the hybridization of Japanese macaques in the Boso Peninsula has the possibility to associate not only with rhesus macaques, but also with long-tailed macaques from the Indochina region. It is important to further monitor the status of Japanese macaques and changes in their hybridization in the peninsula for future conservation purposes.

Influence of Tropical Weather and Northeasterly Air Mass on Carbonaceous Aerosol in the Southern Malay Peninsula

Carbonaceous aerosols play a key role in climate modification and exert a deleterious effect on human health. Thus, this study aimed to determine the thermally derived carbonaceous fraction in particulate matter (PM)2.5 from the Southern Malay Peninsula, a tropical area in Malaysia, during January 2019 to March 2019. PM2.5 was captured on quartz filters using a high-volume sampler on a 24 h basis. Eight of the carbon fractions were measured using the thermal optical reflectance method. Carbonaceous aerosol was thoroughly characterized by estimating elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), total carbon, secondary OC, soot-EC, and char-EC to determine the mechanism of emission from fossil fuel combustion, biomass, and secondary origins. The effect of local meteorological factors and air mass transport on the change in the light-absorbing aerosol fraction was also examined. Secondary organic sources and primary sources emitted 46 and 54% of OC, respectively. The estimated char-EC in this study was 10-fold higher than soot-EC, indicating that biomass burning and coal combustion were the predominant routes of EC emission, whereas petrol or diesel engines were the less predominant generators of soot-EC. Trajectory modeling showed that biomass fires in the Indochina region were the potential origin of carbonaceous aerosols transported from the northeasterly direction.