Insular Southeast Asia experienced the highest level of deforestation among all humid tropical regions of the world during the 1990s. Owing to the exceptionally high biodiversity in Southeast Asian ...forest ecosystems and the immense amount of carbon stored in forested peatlands, deforestation in this region has the potential to cause serious global consequences. In this study, we analysed deforestation rates in insular Southeast Asia between 2000 and 2010 utilizing a pair of 250 m spatial resolution land cover maps produced with regional methodology and classification scheme. The results revealed an overall 1.0% yearly decline in forest cover in insular Southeast Asia (including the Indonesian part of New Guinea) with main change trajectories to plantations and secondary vegetation. Throughout the region, peat swamp forests experienced clearly the highest deforestation rates at an average annual rate of 2.2%, while lowland evergreen forests declined by 1.2%/yr. In addition, the analysis showed remarkable spatial variation in deforestation levels within the region and exposed two extreme concentration areas with over 5.0% annual forest loss: the eastern lowlands of Sumatra and the peatlands of Sarawak, Borneo. Both of these areas lost around half of their year 2000 peat swamp forest cover by 2010. As a whole this study has shown that deforestation has continued to take place on high level in insular Southeast Asia since the turn of the millennium. These on-going changes not only endanger the existence of numerous forest species endemic to this region, but they further increase the elevated carbon emissions from deforested peatlands of insular Southeast Asia thereby directly contributing to the rising carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere.
A novel, rapid and sensitive liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for the evaluation of exemestane pharmacokinetics and its metabolites, ...17β-dihydroexemestane (active metabolite) and 17β-dihydroexemestane-17-O-β-D-glucuronide (inactive metabolite) in human plasma. Their respective D3 isotopes were used as internal standards. Chromatographic separation of analytes was achieved using Thermo Fisher BDS Hypersil C18 analytic HPLC column (100 × 2.1 mm, 5 μm). The mobile phase was delivered at a rate of 0.5 mL/min by gradient elution with 0.1% aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile. The column effluents were detected by API 4000 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer using electrospray ionisation (ESI) and monitored by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) in positive mode. Mass transitions 297 > 121 m/z, 300 > 121 m/z, 299 > 135 m/z, 302 > 135 m/z, 475 > 281 m/z, and 478 > 284 m/z were monitored for exemestane, exemestane-d3, 17β-dihydroexemestane, 17β-dihydroexemestane-d3, 17β-dihydroexemestane-17-O-β-D-glucuronide, and 17β-dihydroexemestane-17-O-β-D-glucuronide-d3 respectively. The assay demonstrated linear ranges of 0.4-40.0 ng/mL, for exemestane; and 0.2-15.0 ng/mL, for 17β-dihydroexemestane and 17β-dihydroexemestane-17-O-β-D-glucuronide, with coefficient of determination (r2) of > 0.998. The precision (coefficient of variation) were ≤10.7%, 7.7% and 9.5% and the accuracies ranged from 88.8 to 103.1% for exemestane, 98.5 to 106.1% for 17β-dihydroexemestane and 92.0 to 103.2% for 17β-dihydroexemestane-17-O-β-D-glucuronide. The method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetics/dynamics study in breast cancer patients receiving exemestane 25 mg daily orally. For a representative patient, 20.7% of exemestane in plasma was converted into 17β-dihydroexemestane and 29.0% of 17β-dihydroexemestane was inactivated as 17β-dihydroexemestane-17-O-β-D-glucuronide 24 hours after ingestion of exemestane, suggesting that altered 17-dihydroexemestane glucuronidation may play an important role in determining effect of exemestane against breast cancer cells.
•Comparative approach is effective to develop generalizations in ecological studies.•Four main dimensions identified in UGS pattern, which were common among cities.•Existing UGS spatial pattern ...govern the relative effect of pattern metrics on LST.•Spatial regression and decision tree are efficient in spatial data analysis.•City-specific greening policies are required for maximizing UGS cooling effect.
Studies on the role of urban green spaces (UGS) in mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect demonstrate the influence of two related, but distinct attributes of UGS: the composition (amount), and configuration (spatial attributes and distribution) of UGS patches. While the positive role of UGS amount in providing cooling effect seems unequivocal, it is still not possible to develop a consensus on the role of UGS configuration from the small number of studies that have been conducted to-date. The latter observation could be due to different methodologies, such as choice of landscape metrics and statistical methods used in different studies, as well as differences in urban form of cities. This study addresses the current knowledge gap by using a same set of methodologies applied to four cities of different urban forms: Singapore and Hong Kong as compact cities, and Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur as sprawling cities. Landsat imageries were used to derive land cover and land surface temperature (LST) maps. Different statistical and spatial analysis techniques were also used. We report several novel findings from this study: (1) only four metrics of percentage of landscape (PLAND), area-weighted mean shape index (SHAPE_AM), patch density (PD), and mean Euclidean nearest neighbor distance (ENN_MN) were adequate to explain UGS pattern-LST relationships in all four cities; (2) the relative importance of composition versus configuration of UGS in determining LST seems to be a function of the existing UGS pattern: what the average per unit area of the city is like in terms of patch size (area-weighted mean patch size (AREA_AM)), shape complexity (SHAPE_AM), and distribution (skewness and kurtosis) of patches; and (3) decision tree classifier is a novel and effective method to unravel hidden patterns in complex UGS pattern-LST relationships. Our results also provide insights on UGS management in cities for higher cooling effects. Greening priorities may differ among cities. In cities where configuration is not a determinant of LST (e.g. Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong), greening may focus on providing conditions necessary for configuration to influence LST and adding greenery, and where configuration already affects LST (e.g. Jakarta and Singapore), the focus may be placed on optimization of UGS by providing larger, simpler in shape, more aggregated and connected, and less fragmented UGS patches.
Insular Southeast Asian peatlands have experienced rapid land cover changes over the past decades inducing a variety of environmental effects ranging from regional consequences on peatland ecology, ...biodiversity and hydrology to globally significant carbon emissions. In this paper we present the land cover and industrial plantation distribution in the peatlands of Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo in 2015 and analyse their changes since 1990. We create the 2015 maps by visual interpretation of 30 m resolution Landsat data and combine them with fully comparable and completed land cover maps of 1990 and 2007 (Miettinen and Liew, 2010). Our results reveal continued peatland deforestation and conversion into managed land cover types. In 2015, 29% (4.6 Mha) of the peatlands in the study area remain covered by peat swamp forest (vs. 41% or 6.4 Mha in 2007 and 76% or 11.9 Mha in 1990). Managed land cover types (industrial plantations and small-holder dominated areas) cover 50% (7.8 Mha) of all peatlands (vs. 33% 5.2 Mha in 2007 and 11% 1.7 Mha in 1990). Industrial plantations have nearly doubled their extent since 2007 (2.3 Mha; 15%) and cover 4.3 Mha (27%) of peatlands in 2015. The majority of these are oil palm plantations (73%; 3.1 Mha) while nearly all of the rest (26%; 1.1 Mha) are pulp wood plantations. We hope that the maps presented in this paper will enable improved evaluation of the magnitude of various regional to global level environmental effects of peatland conversion and that they will help decision makers to define sustainable peatland management policies for insular Southeast Asian peatlands.
S‐1 is an oral fluoropyrimidine anti‐neoplastic agent that is converted by CYP2A6 to 5‐fluorouracil (5FU). We prospectively studied the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of S‐1 in two groups of ...East Asian and Caucasian patients with solid malignancy refractory to standard chemotherapy, or for which 5FU was indicated, to elucidate differences in relation to CYP2A6 genotype and phenotype. S‐1 was given orally at 30 mg/m2 b.i.d. for 14 days every 21 days. Dose normalized AUC0–48 h for tegafur (P = 0.05) and gimeracil (P = 0.036) were higher in East Asians; conversely, AUC0–48 h of fluoro‐β‐alanine was higher in Caucasians (P = 0.044). Exposure to 5FU was similar in both groups (P = 0.967). Mean cotinine:nicotine ratio was 54% higher in the Caucasian group (P = 0.03), and correlated with oral clearance of tegafur (r = 0.59; P = 0.002). Grade 3/4 gastrointestinal toxicities were more common in Caucasians than Asians (21%vs 0%). Treatment with S‐1 yields no significant difference in 5FU exposure between Caucasians and East Asians. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 478–483)
To compare the efficacy of covid-19 vaccines between immunocompromised and immunocompetent people.
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
PubMed, Embase, Central Register of Controlled Trials, COVID-19 ...Open Research Dataset Challenge (CORD-19), and WHO covid-19 databases for studies published between 1 December 2020 and 5 November 2021. ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were searched in November 2021 to identify registered but as yet unpublished or ongoing studies.
Prospective observational studies comparing the efficacy of covid-19 vaccination in immunocompromised and immunocompetent participants.
A frequentist random effects meta-analysis was used to separately pool relative and absolute risks of seroconversion after the first and second doses of a covid-19 vaccine. Systematic review without meta-analysis of SARS-CoV-2 antibody titre levels was performed after first, second, and third vaccine doses and the seroconversion rate after a third dose. Risk of bias and certainty of evidence were assessed.
82 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Of these studies, 77 (94%) used mRNA vaccines, 16 (20%) viral vector vaccines, and 4 (5%) inactivated whole virus vaccines. 63 studies were assessed to be at low risk of bias and 19 at moderate risk of bias. After one vaccine dose, seroconversion was about half as likely in patients with haematological cancers (risk ratio 0.40, 95% confidence interval 0.32 to 0.50, I
=80%; absolute risk 0.29, 95% confidence interval 0.20 to 0.40, I
=89%), immune mediated inflammatory disorders (0.53, 0.39 to 0.71, I
=89%; 0.29, 0.11 to 0.58, I
=97%), and solid cancers (0.55, 0.46 to 0.65, I
=78%; 0.44, 0.36 to 0.53, I
=84%) compared with immunocompetent controls, whereas organ transplant recipients were 16 times less likely to seroconvert (0.06, 0.04 to 0.09, I
=0%; 0.06, 0.04 to 0.08, I
=0%). After a second dose, seroconversion remained least likely in transplant recipients (0.39, 0.32 to 0.46, I
=92%; 0.35, 0.26 to 0.46), with only a third achieving seroconversion. Seroconversion was increasingly likely in patients with haematological cancers (0.63, 0.57 to 0.69, I
=88%; 0.62, 0.54 to 0.70, I
=90%), immune mediated inflammatory disorders (0.75, 0.69 to 0.82, I
=92%; 0.77, 0.66 to 0.85, I
=93%), and solid cancers (0.90, 0.88 to 0.93, I
=51%; 0.89, 0.86 to 0.91, I
=49%). Seroconversion was similar between people with HIV and immunocompetent controls (1.00, 0.98 to 1.01, I
=0%; 0.97, 0.83 to 1.00, I
=89%). Systematic review of 11 studies showed that a third dose of a covid-19 mRNA vaccine was associated with seroconversion among vaccine non-responders with solid cancers, haematological cancers, and immune mediated inflammatory disorders, although response was variable in transplant recipients and inadequately studied in people with HIV and those receiving non-mRNA vaccines.
Seroconversion rates after covid-19 vaccination were significantly lower in immunocompromised patients, especially organ transplant recipients. A second dose was associated with consistently improved seroconversion across all patient groups, albeit at a lower magnitude for organ transplant recipients. Targeted interventions for immunocompromised patients, including a third (booster) dose, should be performed.
PROSPERO CRD42021272088.
Stroke can lead to permanent and severe disability. Provision of information to stroke survivors and their carers could help them cope with consequences of stroke and aware of secondary prevention.
...The aim of this Cochrane review was to assess the effects of active or passive information provision for stroke survivors or their carers.
The population addressed in this review included stroke survivors, their carers, or both. The intervention studied was provision of active or passive information compared to standard care or where information and another therapy were compared with the other therapy alone, or where the comparison was between active and passive information provision. The primary outcomes were knowledge about stroke and stroke services, and anxiety.
The authors concluded that the active provision of information may improve stroke survivors stroke-related knowledge and quality of life. It may reduce the cases and symptoms of anxiety and probably depression. The effect of active information provision to carers and passive information provision is still unclear; however, passive information may worsen stroke patients' symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Rising global demands for food and biofuels are driving forest clearance in the tropics. Oil-palm expansion contributes to biodiversity declines and carbon emissions in Southeast Asia. However, the ...magnitudes of these impacts remain largely unquantified until now. We produce a 250-m spatial resolution map of closed canopy oil-palm plantations in the lowlands of Peninsular Malaysia (2 million ha), Borneo (2.4 million ha), and Sumatra (3.9 million ha). We demonstrate that 6% (or almost equal to880,000 ha) of tropical peatlands in the region had been converted to oil-palm plantations by the early 2000s. Conversion of peatswamp forests to oil palm led to biodiversity declines of 1% in Borneo (equivalent to four species of forest-dwelling birds), 3.4% in Sumatra (16 species), and 12.1% in Peninsular Malaysia (46 species). This land-use change also contributed to the loss of almost equal to140 million Mg of aboveground biomass carbon, and annual emissions of almost equal to4.6 million Mg of belowground carbon from peat oxidation. Additionally, the loss of peatswamp forests implies the loss of carbon sequestration service through peat accumulation, which amounts to almost equal to660,000 Mg of carbon annually. By 2010, 2.3 million ha of peatswamp forests were clear-felled, and currently occur as degraded lands. Reforestation of these clearings could enhance biodiversity by up to almost equal to20%, whereas oil-palm establishment would exacerbate species losses by up to almost equal to12%. To safeguard the region's biodiversity and carbon stocks, conservation and reforestation efforts should target Central Kalimantan, Riau, and West Kalimantan, which retain three-quarters (3.9 million ha) of the remaining peatswamp forests in Southeast Asia.
Tropical peatlands of the western part of insular Southeast Asia have experienced extensive land cover changes since 1990. Typically involving drainage, these land cover changes have resulted in ...increased peat oxidation in the upper peat profile. In this paper we provide current (2015) and cumulative carbon emissions estimates since 1990 from peat oxidation in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo, utilizing newly published peatland land cover information and the recently agreed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) peat oxidation emission values for tropical peatland areas. Our results highlight the change of one of the Earth's most efficient long-term carbon sinks to a short-term emission source, with cumulative carbon emissions since 1990 estimated to have been in the order of 2.5 Gt C. Current (2015) levels of emissions are estimated at around 146 Mt C yr−1, with a range of 132-159 Mt C yr−1 depending on the selection of emissions factors for different land cover types. 44% (or 64 Mt C yr−1) of the emissions come from industrial plantations (mainly oil palm and Acacia pulpwood), followed by 34% (49 Mt C yr−1) of emissions from small-holder areas. Thus, altogether 78% of current peat oxidation emissions come from managed land cover types. Although based on the latest information, these estimates may still include considerable, yet currently unquantifiable, uncertainties (e.g. due to uncertainties in the extent of peatlands and drainage networks) which need to be focused on in future research. In comparison, fire induced carbon dioxide emissions over the past ten years for the entire equatorial Southeast Asia region have been estimated to average 122 Mt C yr−1 (www.globalfiredata.org/_index.html). The results emphasise that whilst reducing emissions from peat fires is important, urgent efforts are also needed to mitigate the constantly high level of emissions arising from peat drainage, regardless of fire occurrence.
Summary
Nanoparticle tracking analysis permits the determination of both the size distribution and relative concentration of microvesicles, including exosomes, in the supernatants of cultured cells ...and biological fluids. We have studied the release of microvesicles from the human lymphoblastoid T‐cell lines Jurkat and CEM. Unstimulated, both cell lines release microvesicles in the size range 70–90 nm, which can be depleted from the supernatant by ultracentrifugation at 100 000 g, and by anti‐CD45 magnetic beads, and which by immunoblotting also contain the exosome‐associated proteins Alix and Tsg101. Incubation with known potentiators of exosome release, the ionophores monensin and A23187, resulted in a significant increase in microvesicle release that was both time and concentration dependent. Mass spectrometric analysis of proteins isolated from ultracentrifuged supernatants of A23187‐treated cells revealed the presence of exosome‐associated proteins including heat‐shock protein 90, tubulin, elongation factor α1, actin and glyceraldehyde 3‐phosphate dehydrogenase. Additionally, treatment of peripheral blood monocyte‐derived dendritic cells with bacterial lipopolysaccharide displayed an increase in secreted microvesicles. Consequently, nanoparticle tracking analysis can be effectively applied to monitor microvesicle release from cells of the immune system.
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