Identifying Priority Areas for Coastal Protection Around Java, Indonesia

Climate change-induced sea level rise will likely increase the severity of ongoing coastal disasters in Indonesia. The selection and concentration approach should be applied to minimize the costs of conservation when budgets are limited. Prioritizing is then effective in terms of cost effectiveness. We aimed to identify priority areas for coastal protection against sea level rise around Java, Indonesia, using the Marxan model. The model uses systematic planning to select prioritized areas for coastal protection. Three scenarios were developed based on ecological, economic, and disaster elements that were exacerbated by sea level rise. A scenario is defined as a particular simulation circumstance based on assumptions about extrinsic drivers, parameters, and the structure of the model. Coastline length, mangrove coverage, low-elevation area, fishpond area, human settlement area, and the area of zones with the potential for annual rainfall increases acquired from DIVA-GIS and WorldClim were set as environmental factors. There were 60 areas facing the coast among 117 areas. For those protection, it would be fairly costly. We were able to narrow that number down from 18.8% to 62.4% from 117 areas using our method. This might become very cost effective. The most prioritized areas were located in the northern region of Java. These areas can be a focus of preferential effort and funding for conservation. The results of this study will help to make the protection strategy based on not only the magnitude of damage but also the total perspective using public data that is relatively easy to obtain

The Actual Use of Green Spaces by Children and Parents in Malang, Indonesia

Green spaces in developing countries often are destroyed and degraded for other land uses. As increases in urbanization and population continue in Indonesia, it will be increasingly important to discuss green spaces around children. In this study, the actual use of urban green spaces by children were understood through questionnaires for children and their parents, and the strategy for increasing opportunity to use urban green spaces were discussed in Malang, a region of progressing urbanization in Indonesia. A total of 147 questionnaires were received from the children and 145 from their parents. While there were few green spaces around schools in Malang, especially in the center of the city, fortunately children liked to play in the outside more than other studies. However, children preferred to spend their time in well-maintained or level areas, such as parks and open fields. It might be important to provide parks with enough vegetation and attractive program within their living area in order to make them use green spaces. The cooperation with companies as CSR program for developing environmental education programs might be effective

The Actual Use of Green Spaces by Children and Parents in Malang, Indonesia

Green spaces in developing countries often are destroyed and degraded for other land uses. As increases in urbanization and population continue in Indonesia, it will be increasingly important to discuss green spaces around children. In this study, the actual use of urban green spaces by children were understood through questionnaires for children and their parents, and the strategy for increasing opportunity to use urban green spaces were discussed in Malang, a region of progressing urbanization in Indonesia. A total of 147 questionnaires were received from the children and 145 from their parents. While there were few green spaces around schools in Malang, especially in the center of the city, fortunately children liked to play in the outside more than other studies. However, children preferred to spend their time in well-maintained or level areas, such as parks and open fields. It might be important to provide parks with enough vegetation and attractive program within their living area in order to make them use green spaces. The cooperation with companies as CSR program for developing environmental education programs might be effective

A Brief Description of Recovery Process of Coastal Vegetation after Tsunami: A Google Earth time-series remote sensing data

The recovery of land cover/use after the disaster is sometimes disorderly, especially in developing countries. It is necessary to continuously monitor the progress of land cover/use recovery after disaster in order to sustain vegetation around estuarine and coastal areas. The purpose of this study was to assess the recovery progress of vegetation around estuarine and coastal areas after the Indian Ocean tsunami using a simplified method which consisting Google Earth and visual photo interpretation. Vegetation areas were able to be detected with high accuracy (80%−100%) using simplified method which consisting Google Earth and visual photo interpretation. We were able to show that all most of area including mangrove forests recovered relatively smoothly. However, the area which has a large vegetation areas have not enough recovered, which reached to half or less than half compare with before tsunami. This may be significant in affecting the role of the coastal ecosystem and bioshield. A large number of small mangrove patches (less than 0.1 ha) were able to found around ponds, a number that rapidly increased after the tsunami. Some site in 2013 was double that in 2004. Fish farmers might have planted them for supplying nutrients to ponds and maintain the water quality. Dozen years have passed since the 2004 tsunami, and it might be time to more focus on the recovery of large vegetation area

Antimicrobial peptide for bacterial infection imaging: first case reported in Brazil

ABSTRACT Molecular imaging markers can be used to differentiate between infection and aseptic inflammation, determine the severity of infection, and monitor treatment responses. One of these markers is ubiquicidin(29-41) (UBI), a cationic peptide fragment that binds to the bacterial membrane wall and is labeled with gallium-68 (68Ga), a positron emitter radioisotope. The use of UBI in positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for improved detection of lesions has been receiving considerable attention recently. Herein, we report the first case of 68Ga-UBI PET/CT performed in Brazil. The patient was a 39-year-old woman referred for a scan to confirm a clinical suspicion of chronic osteomyelitis of her fractured left tibia. PET images revealed radiotracer uptake near the posterior contour of the tibial fracture focus and the fixation plate, in the soft tissue around the distal half of the tibia, and in the non-consolidated fracture of the left distal fibula. Surgery for local cleaning was performed, and culture of a specimen collected from the surgical site confirmed the presence of Staphylococcus aureus. In the present case, 68Ga-UBI PET/CT, a non-invasive imaging modality, identified the infection foci in vivo, indicating its potential for clinical use

北海道礼文華峠におけるブナ分布北限域孤立個体群の立地と植生

筆者らはブナの分布北限域における最前線孤立個体群を太平洋から水平距離で2.5km内陸に位置する豊浦町礼文華峠の岩峰上及びその周辺で発見した．これはブナの天然分布個体群の中でも太平洋側における最北限の個体群であると考えられた。付近のアメダスのデータによれば，年平均気温7.3 ℃，年降水量1,198 mm，最大積雪深85cmであった．現地の暖かさの指数WIは52.5℃・月と推定された．ブナの分布，植生と立地の状況を明らかにするために現地調査を行った結果，以下の知見を得た．（1）岩峰上に生育する胸高以上のブナは約1.7 haの範囲（標高196 ～ 275 m）に39本生育し，胸高直径階分布は緩やかなL字型を示し，10 cm以下の個体が最多であった．（2） 岩峰のブナは主にミズナラ，ホオノキ，シラカンバと混生し，競合する針葉樹は記録されなかった．（3） 植物群落の種構成は日本海側に成立するブナ林に類似していた．（4） 土壌pHはやや酸性で5.4 ～ 5.5であり，無機態窒素は全国のブナ林の値と大きな違いはなかった．以上の知見から，礼文華峠の岩峰上のブナ個体群は，その生育に適した気候条件に加え，本州の岩峰などでしばしば優占する針葉樹類が不在であるなどの条件が重なって成立したと考えられた

Data from: Morphological and genetic divergence between two lineages of Magnolia salicifolia (Magnoliaceae) in Japan

Uncovering how populations of a species differ genetically and ecologically is important for understanding evolutionary processes. We investigated genetic structure using nuclear microsatellites and chloroplast DNA sequences and geographical variation in leaf morphological traits among Magnolia salicifolia populations across its entire species range. Two distinct lineages, northern and southern lineages, were genetically detected and both lineages had substructure among populations. The width/length ratio and area of leaves showed latitudinal gradients, while the position of the maximum leaf width exhibited a discontinuous change between the lineages. Approximate Bayesian computation detected exponential population growth and stable population size from the past to the present in the northern and southern lineages, respectively. Small amounts of migrations between the lineages were inferred. Divergence time between the lineages was estimated to be the early to middle Pleistocene. Ecological niche modeling showed single large potential distribution area on the Sea of Japan side and multiple intermittent ones on the Pacific Ocean side during the last glacial maximum. We suggest that these distinct evolutionary histories of the northern and southern lineages after diversification have influenced not only neutral markers but also genes controlling leaf morphological traits