Sundaic elephants prefer habitats on the periphery of protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of global conservation strategies. PAs, however, are not equally effective for all threatened taxa, and it is important to understand taxa-specific effectiveness of PAs networks. In this study, we evaluate the role of the PAs network on the protection of Asian elephants Elephas maximus and their habitats in Southeast Asia's Sundaic region. Since Asian elephants tend to prefer secondary forests or forest gaps, we predicted that PAs would not represent the species preferred habitats. We conducted the most comprehensive analysis of Asian elephant space and habitat use to date through home range estimations and step selection function analyses using over 600,000 Global Positioning System locations from 102 different elephants from Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. Our results revealed important similarities in the habitat use of elephants in both regions, with both females and males in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah preferring secondary forest, forest gaps and areas of regrowth and new plantations. Our results supported our prediction that PAs do not represent Asian elephants' preferred habitats, since for most of the elephants, more than half of their ranges were outside PAs and the probability of selection values for both sexes in both geographical areas were lower inside than outside the PAs. Synthesis and applications. Our analysis suggests that conservation strategies need to acknowledge that the long-term survival of Asian elephants in the Sundaic region relies on our capacity to promote human–elephant coexistence at the boundaries of PAs. We advocate that Asian elephant conservation strategies should be based on the following three key points: (1) large PAs with core areas where elephants can find safety and potentially survive in the long term; (2) promoting connectivity among PAs using a system of wildlife corridors; and (3) effective human–elephant conflict management outside PAs

Mapping the distribution of the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) within natural forest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world and are severely threatened by poaching the loss, degradation, and fragmentation of habitat. In Malaysian Borneo, conservation initiatives for the Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) are hindered by a paucity of data on their distribution and population size. Using MaxEnt niche modelling and consolidated species location data, we projected the distribution of Sunda pangolins in Sabah. Additionally, we assessed the accessibility of their forest habitats to humans to understand potential threats. Our model indicated that, as of 2015, approximately half of Sabah’s land area (39,530 km²) is suitable for pangolins, with 43% in protected forests, 38% in production forests, and 19% outside of these areas. Alarmingly, our data suggest that nearly all (91%) of these suitable habitats are relatively easily accessible to poachers. Our findings provide a state-level baseline understanding of Sunda pangolin distribution and assess potential threats in Sabah. These can inform short- and long-term conservation management plans for pangolin to safeguard this critically endangered species

Proinflammatory Environmental Exposures in Asthma

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects over 7.1 million children under 18 years in the United States. While asthma-causing allergens like fungi, mites, and insects represent biologically diverse organisms, they have some biological similarities that may underlie their potential to cause asthma. One of these shared biological features is the production of environmental proinflammatory microbial associated molecular patterns (MAMP). Studies have shown that MAMPs impact lung function and asthma despite not considered allergens. Recent studies have shown that chitin, along with endotoxin and beta-glucan, activate the innate immune system by triggering an allergic response in organisms that are exposed to them. After successfully creating a novel assay for the quantification of chitin with a detection limit of about 20 ng/mg of dust and validating commercially available assays for endotoxin and beta-glucan, we acquired 380 household dust samples from the Inner-City Anti-IgE Therapy for Asthma (ICATA) clinical trial and quantified MAMPs like chitin, endotoxin and beta-glucan in those samples. Quantifying MAMPs in household dust samples gave us a better understanding of the environmental exposures that activate the innate immune system in those samples. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of the mechanisms in human asthma and allergy

Solvatochromic and acidochromic spectra properties of napthalo-fused Imidazole (IZo) dyes

The solvatochromism and acidochromism of organic dyes have been of research interest due to their ability to shift their emission wavelength according to the solvent’s polarity. In this research, the organic dye, napthalo-fused imidazole (IZo) was synthesized using Naphthalene-1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic Dianhydride, tetradecan-1-amine and benzene-1,2-diamine. Its optical emission and absorption spectra are recorded and observed in different solvents and media. IZo displays strong solvatochromism with red shifts on the fluorescence emission with increasing solvent polarity. This represents a highly polar emitting state that is commonly observed in compounds that undergo internal charge transfer upon excitation. This compound is suitable for application as luminescence polarity, colourmetric or pH sensors.Bachelor of Engineering (Materials Engineering

Chromosome analysis of walking catfish, Clarias spp.

Karyotyping is one of the useful tools for species identification, taxonomy, evolutionary and breeding selection. To date, no information on karyotyping of this fish in the country is documented. The aim of this study was to determine and differentiate the karyotypic structure and fundamental arm number of the walking catfish; Clarias macrocephalus, Clarias batrachus and Clarias gariepinus. The fish samples ranging from 23–160gm in weight and 16–40cm in length were used to obtain the chromosomes by subjecting to a combination of colchicine and phytohaemagglutinin for arresting a mitotic division. The karyotype of each species was arranged according to size, type and structure such as metacentric (M), submetacentric (SM), subtelocentric (ST) and acrocentric/telocentric (A/T). The diploid chromosome numbers ranged from 2n equal to 54 (Clarias macrocephalus and Clarias batrachus) to 2n equal to 56 (Clarias gariepinus)

Effect of Clemastine on Neurophysiological Outcomes in an Ovine Model of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

Originally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its antihistamine properties, clemastine can also promote white matter integrity and has shown promise in the treatment of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Here, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the feasibility, safety, and neuroprotective efficacy of clemastine administration in near-term lambs (n = 25, 141–143 days) following a global ischemic insult induced via an umbilical cord occlusion (UCO) model. Lambs were randomly assigned to receive clemastine or placebo postnatally, and outcomes were assessed over a six-day period. Clemastine administration was well tolerated. While treated lambs demonstrated improvements in inflammatory scores, their neurodevelopmental outcomes were unchanged

Low incidence of venous thrombosis but high incidence of arterial thrombotic complications among critically ill COVID-19 patients in Singapore

BACKGROUND: Arterial and venous thrombosis are reported to be common in critically ill COVID-19 patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: This is a national multicenter retrospective observational study involving all consecutive adult COVID-19 patients who required intensive care units (ICU) admission between 23 January 2020 and 30 April 2020 in Singapore. One hundred eleven patients were included and the venous and arterial thrombotic rates in ICU were 1.8% (n = 2) and 9.9% (n = 11), respectively. Major bleeding rate was 14.8% (n = 16). CONCLUSIONS: Critically ill COVID-19 patients in Singapore have lower venous thromboembolism but higher arterial thrombosis rates and bleeding manifestations than other reported cohorts