Think Globally, Act Locally publishing amidst global summits

We are very pleased to present InJAST Volume 2 Number 2 October 2021 at this exciting time for national and global focus on applied environmental studies. This latest edition contains reviews and research articles such as Traditional knowledge of biodiversity in the community surrounding Giam Siak Kecil-Bukit Batu Biosphere Reserve, Riau, Indonesia†and Overview and evaluation of Indonesia's water resources management policies for food securityâ€. In addition, our guest editorial explores the topic of Government, private, and local communities in ecosystem restoration governance and practicesâ€. This editorial reminds us all that we are now in the first year of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), which challenges everyone to massively scale up restoration efforts focussed on our degraded ecosystems

The first issue of InJAST available in print and online

It is our great pleasure to announce that the very first issue of the Indonesian Journal of Applied Environmental Studies (InJAST) is now be  available   in  both  print  and  online.  This journal has evolved from the Journal of Environmental Education which started in 2015, and was managed  by the Study Programme of Population and Environmental Education, Graduate Programme of Pakuan University. Because this study programme has now become the Study Programme of Environmental Management,  we have decided to establish this new journal to publish scientific articles covering broader environmental issues that are written by the  Indonesian  students  of  graduate programmes either in Pakuan and other universities or researchers. Meanwhile, the publication and management  of the Journal of Environmental Education will be transferred to another relevant faculty or study programme within Pakuan University.We intend the new InJAST to be  published in English (with abstracts  both in English and Bahasa) so that it can reach a wider readership internationally, and we hope encourage international  environmental  students  and scientists working  in Indonesia or on topics of specific relevance to Indonesia,   to disseminate their research results and findings through  this journal.We are pleased to also announce that it has been agreed  in principle that  this new journal will be published collaboratively between the Graduate School of Pakuan University and PERWAKU (Perhimpunan Cendikiawan Pemerhati  Lingkungan  Indonesia,  the Indonesian Association of Environmentalist Scholars). A formal Memorandum of Understanding   between  both  parties  will  be signed in the near future.In this occasion, we, as the chief editors of this new journal, would like to express our gratitude  to various parties and individuals who have supported this initiative,  especially to Prof. Dr. H. Bibin Rubini, M.Pd. (Chancellor of Pakuan University), Prof. Dr. Ing. H. Soewarto Hardhienata (Dean of Graduate School Pakuan University), and Prof. Jatna Supriatna, Ph.D. (Chairman   of   PERWAKU  Indonesia).     We would also like to express special thanks to our national and international  colleagues at Pakuan University  and     elsewhere, who have so generously offered their time as members of the editorial board of the journal.Last but not least, we hope that the Indonesian Journal  of  Applied Environmental Studies  (InJAST) will  provide new  colour and perspectives the scientific journals published by Pakuan Univeristy,  and become the vehicle of choice for environmental  science students  and scientists to disseminate of their work

The role of the academic community in combating wildlife trafficking

In Indonesia, the value of the illegal trade in wildlife reaches more than US one million per year. Apart from being a source country, Indonesia also has a significantly growing home market for illegally traded wildlife as pets, skins, and medicines.The illegal wildlife trade uses various modus operandi, directed by organized criminal groups and carried out by a variety of perpetrators on the ground, often very poor locals from rural communities. Whilst this trading activity is a transnational crime, that is, across national and continental borders, and may use the same supply routes usually associated with other crimes such as weapons, drugs and people trafficking, it is usually only the poachers on the ground who are caught and prosecuted. In summary, universities and their researchers have a significant role in the fight against the illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade, in monitoring wildlife populations and poaching activity, and in changing people's behavior, so that the activities of hunting, trading, or owning protected wildlife become unattractive and unacceptable to all communities. This role draws on disciplines across the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities, encouraging those interdisciplinary behaviours so important for effective environmental management that delivers for the long-term health and well-being of people

Environmental security and resilience Indonesia and global challenges

Indonesia faces tremendous challenges from climate change, biodiversity loss, and wider social and economic change. These challenges need extensive interdisciplinary approaches enabling multiple perspectives from diverse stakeholders to be recognised and utilised. Collaboration between scientists, social scientists, and economists has never been so important. As  Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change said:  The [global] challenges we face are massive, urgent, and interconnected. We need people across all sectors to pull together and move us to a bright and strong future. Theres no time to waste!â€.  We are therefore happy to see the growing number of community-based participatory studies being submitted to InJAST and hope these will increase in future. There are exciting and vitally important issues to be tackled and supported by environmental managers to build the necessary environmental security and resilience, from direct conservation work to flood risk management and pollution control. Climate change drives or affects all these of course and has been, for example, one of the key drivers for Indonesias momentous plans to move the capital from the 256,000-hectare (990-square-mile) Jakarta on the north-western side of Java Island, the most populated island in the country, to the relatively undeveloped and biodiversity-rich East Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo. Climate change and immediate economic drivers in many parts of Indonesia also contribute to the annual toxic haze, which causes air quality to reach hazardous levels and creates major health, environmental and economic problems, especially in Sumatra and Java. Indeed, as of March this year, Riau province has already declared a state of emergency ahead of this years main fire season

Relationship between social support, quality of life, and Th2 cytokines in a biobehavioral cancer survivorship trial.

ObjectiveBenefits of social support (SS) during cancer survivorship are complex. This study examines change in SS over time in cervical cancer (CXCA) survivors who have completed definitive treatment and how changing SS impacts quality of life (QOL) and T-helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines.MethodsWe conducted a randomized trial in 204 CXCA survivors to test if psychosocial telephone counseling (PTC) could improve QOL compared to usual care (UC). Although PTC did not target SS, data were collected at baseline, 4 and 9 months post-enrollment using the Medical Outcomes Survey Social Support scale. Biospecimens were collected to investigate associations with patient-reported outcomes. Data were analyzed using multivariate linear models and stepwise regression.ResultsParticipants' mean age was 43. PTC participants experienced increasing SS compared to UC at 4 months (PTC-UC = 5.1; p = 0.055) and 9 months (PTC-UC = 6.0; p = 0.046). Higher baseline SS and increasing SS were independently associated with improved QOL at 4 and 9 months after adjusting for patient characteristics (p < 0.05). Differences between study arms were not statistically significant. Improvements in QOL at 4 months were observed with increases in emotional/informational and tangible SS. Increasing SS predicted significant longitudinal decreases in IL-4 and IL-13 at 4 months that were larger in the PTC arm (interactions p = 0.041 and p = 0.057, respectively).ConclusionImproved SS was significantly associated with improved QOL independent of patient characteristics and study arm. Decreasing Th2 cytokines with increasing SS and QOL are consistent with a biobehavioral paradigm in which modulation of the chronic stress response is associated with shifts in immune stance

A 2018 Horizon Scan of Emerging Issues for Global Conservation and Biological Diversity.

This is our ninth annual horizon scan to identify emerging issues that we believe could affect global biological diversity, natural capital and ecosystem services, and conservation efforts. Our diverse and international team, with expertise in horizon scanning, science communication, as well as conservation science, practice, and policy, reviewed 117 potential issues. We identified the 15 that may have the greatest positive or negative effects but are not yet well recognised by the global conservation community. Themes among these topics include new mechanisms driving the emergence and geographic expansion of diseases, innovative biotechnologies, reassessments of global change, and the development of strategic infrastructure to facilitate global economic priorities

A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2014

This paper presents the output of our fifth annual horizon-scanning exercise, which aims to identify topics that increasingly may affect conservation of biological diversity, but have yet to be widely considered. A team of professional horizon scanners, researchers, practitioners, and a journalist identified 15 topics which were identified via an iterative, Delphi-like process. The 15 topics include a carbon market induced financial crash, rapid geographic expansion of macroalgal cultivation, genetic control of invasive species, probiotic therapy for amphibians, and an emerging snake fungal disease. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Evaluation of Allelic Expression of Imprinted Genes in Adult Human Blood

Imprinted genes are expressed from only one allele in a parent-of-origin dependent manner. Loss of imprinted (LOI) expression can result in a variety of human disorders and is frequently reported in cancer. Biallelic expression of imprinted genes in adult blood has been suggested as a useful biomarker and is currently being investigated in colorectal cancer. In general, the expression profiles of imprinted genes are well characterised during human and mouse fetal development, but not in human adults

Distinct Methylation Changes at the IGF2-H19 Locus in Congenital Growth Disorders and Cancer

Background: Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) are associated with many imprinted genes. In mice methylation at a DMR upstream of the H19 gene known as the Imprint Control region (IC1) is acquired in the male germline and influences the methylation status of DMRs 100 kb away in the adjacent Insulin-like growth factor 2 (Igf2) gene through long-range interactions. In humans, germline-derived or post-zygotically acquired imprinting defects at IC1 are associated with aberrant activation or repression of IGF2, resulting in the congenital growth disorders Beckwith-Wiedemann (BWS) and Silver-Russell (SRS) syndromes, respectively. In Wilms tumour and colorectal cancer, biallelic expression of IGF2 has been observed in association with loss of methylation at a DMR in IGF2. This DMR, known as DMR0, has been shown to be methylated on the silent maternal IGF2 allele presumably with a role in repression. The effect of IGF2 DMR0 methylation changes in the aetiology of BWS or SRS is unknown. Methodology/Principal Findings: We analysed the methylation status of the DMR0 in BWS, SRS and Wilms tumour patients by conventional bisulphite sequencing and pyrosequencing. We show here that, contrary to previous reports, the IGF2 DMR0 is actually methylated on the active paternal allele in peripheral blood and kidney. This is similar to the IC

Behavioral Coping Phenotypes and Associated Psychosocial Outcomes of Pregnant and Postpartum Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The impact of COVID-19-related stress on perinatal women is of heightened public health concern given the established intergenerational impact of maternal stress-exposure on infants and fetuses. There is urgent need to characterize the coping styles associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes in perinatal women during the COVID-19 pandemic to help mitigate the potential for lasting sequelae on both mothers and infants. This study uses a data-driven approach to identify the patterns of behavioral coping strategies that associate with maternal psychosocial distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large multicenter sample of pregnant women (N = 2876) and postpartum women (N = 1536). Data was collected from 9 states across the United States from March to October 2020. Women reported behaviors they were engaging in to manage pandemic-related stress, symptoms of depression, anxiety and global psychological distress, as well as changes in energy levels, sleep quality and stress levels. Using latent profile analysis, we identified four behavioral phenotypes of coping strategies. Critically, phenotypes with high levels of passive coping strategies (increased screen time, social media, and intake of comfort foods) were associated with elevated symptoms of depression, anxiety, and global psychological distress, as well as worsening stress and energy levels, relative to other coping phenotypes. In contrast, phenotypes with high levels of active coping strategies (social support, and self-care) were associated with greater resiliency relative to other phenotypes. The identification of these widespread coping phenotypes reveals novel behavioral patterns associated with risk and resiliency to pandemic-related stress in perinatal women. These findings may contribute to early identification of women at risk for poor long-term outcomes and indicate malleable targets for interventions aimed at mitigating lasting sequelae on women and children during the COVID-19 pandemic