Climate change, extreme events and mental health in the Pacific region

Purpose: This paper aims to address a gap in investigating specific impacts of climate change on mental health in the Pacific region, a region prone to extreme events. This paper reports on a study on the connections between climate change, public health, extreme weather and climate events (EWEs), livelihoods and mental health, focusing on the Pacific region Islands countries. Design/methodology/approach: This paper deploys two main methods. The first is a bibliometric analysis to understand the state of the literature. For example, the input data for term co-occurrence analysis using VOSviewer is bibliometric data of publications downloaded from Scopus. The second method describes case studies, which outline some of the EWEs the region has faced, which have also impacted mental health. Findings: The results suggest that the increased frequency of EWEs in the region contributes to a greater incidence of mental health problems. These, in turn, are associated with a relatively low level of resilience and greater vulnerability. The findings illustrate the need for improvements in the public health systems of Pacific nations so that they are in a better position to cope with the pressures posed by a changing environment. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the current literature by identifying the links between climate change, extreme events, environmental health and mental health consequences in the Pacific Region. It calls for greater awareness of the subject matter of mental health among public health professionals so that they may be better able to recognise the symptoms and relate them to their climate-related causes and co-determinant factors

Association and Mutation Analyses of 16p11.2 Autism Candidate Genes

Background: Autism is a complex childhood neurodevelopmental disorder with a strong genetic basis. Microdeletion or duplication of a ∼500–700-kb genomic rearrangement on 16p11.2 that contains 24 genes represents the second most frequent chromosomal disorder associated with autism. The role of common and rare 16p11.2 sequence variants in autism etiology is unknown.Methodology/Principal Findings: To identify common 16p11.2 variants with a potential role in autism, we performed association studies using existing data generated from three microarray platforms: Affymetrix 5.0 (777 families), Illumina 550 K (943 families), and Affymetrix 500 K (60 families). No common variants were identified that were significantly associated with autism. To look for rare variants, we performed resequencing of coding and promoter regions for eight candidate genes selected based on their known expression patterns and functions. In total, we identified 26 novel variants in autism: 13 exonic (nine non-synonymous, three synonymous, and one untranslated region) and 13 promoter variants. We found a significant association between autism and a coding variant in the seizure-related gene SEZ6L2 (12/1106 autism vs. 3/1161 controls; p = 0.018). Sez6l2 expression in mouse embryos was restricted to the spinal cord and brain. SEZ6L2 expression in human fetal brain was highest in post-mitotic cortical layers, hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus. Association analysis of SEZ6L2 in an independent sample set failed to replicate our initial findings.Conclusions/Significance: We have identified sequence variation in at least one candidate gene in 16p11.2 that may represent a novel genetic risk factor for autism. However, further studies are required to substantiate these preliminary findings.</p

Association and Mutation Analyses of 16p11.2 Autism Candidate Genes

Autism is a complex childhood neurodevelopmental disorder with a strong genetic basis. Microdeletion or duplication of a approximately 500-700-kb genomic rearrangement on 16p11.2 that contains 24 genes represents the second most frequent chromosomal disorder associated with autism. The role of common and rare 16p11.2 sequence variants in autism etiology is unknown.To identify common 16p11.2 variants with a potential role in autism, we performed association studies using existing data generated from three microarray platforms: Affymetrix 5.0 (777 families), Illumina 550 K (943 families), and Affymetrix 500 K (60 families). No common variants were identified that were significantly associated with autism. To look for rare variants, we performed resequencing of coding and promoter regions for eight candidate genes selected based on their known expression patterns and functions. In total, we identified 26 novel variants in autism: 13 exonic (nine non-synonymous, three synonymous, and one untranslated region) and 13 promoter variants. We found a significant association between autism and a coding variant in the seizure-related gene SEZ6L2 (12/1106 autism vs. 3/1161 controls; p = 0.018). Sez6l2 expression in mouse embryos was restricted to the spinal cord and brain. SEZ6L2 expression in human fetal brain was highest in post-mitotic cortical layers, hippocampus, amygdala, and thalamus. Association analysis of SEZ6L2 in an independent sample set failed to replicate our initial findings.We have identified sequence variation in at least one candidate gene in 16p11.2 that may represent a novel genetic risk factor for autism. However, further studies are required to substantiate these preliminary findings

Microduplications of 16p11.2 are associated with schizophrenia

Recurrent microdeletions and microduplications of a 600-kb genomic region of chromosome 16p11.2 have been implicated in childhood-onset developmental disorders1,2,3. We report the association of 16p11.2 microduplications with schizophrenia in two large cohorts. The microduplication was detected in 12/1,906 (0.63%) cases and 1/3,971 (0.03%) controls (P = 1.2 × 10−5, OR = 25.8) from the initial cohort, and in 9/2,645 (0.34%) cases and 1/2,420 (0.04%) controls (P = 0.022, OR = 8.3) of the replication cohort. The 16p11.2 microduplication was associated with a 14.5-fold increased risk of schizophrenia (95% CI (3.3, 62)) in the combined sample. A meta-analysis of datasets for multiple psychiatric disorders showed a significant association of the microduplication with schizophrenia (P = 4.8 × 10−7), bipolar disorder (P = 0.017) and autism (P = 1.9 × 10−7). In contrast, the reciprocal microdeletion was associated only with autism and developmental disorders (P = 2.3 × 10−13). Head circumference was larger in patients with the microdeletion than in patients with the microduplication (P = 0.0007)

Comparison of intertidal biodiversity associated with natural rocky shore and sea wall: A case study from the Kerala coast, India

223-235Intertidal biodiversity associated with natural rocky shore at Kovalam and artificial sea wall at Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, was compared during the study. A total of 147 species, including 32 seaweeds, 11 sponges, 6 coelenterates, 2 bryozoans, 31 molluscs, 7 annelids, 2 sipunculids, 6 isopods, 12 amphipods, 1 hermit crab, 16 brachyuran crabs, 4 alpheid shrimps, 1 barnacle, 9 echinoderms and 7 species of ascidians were recorded. While the intertidal biodiversity from the sea wall was represented by 73 species, 128 species were recorded from the rocky shore. The anomuran crab Clibanarius virescens (Krauss), the brachyuran crabs Acetea depressa (White), Micropanape obtusidens (Sakai), Sargassocarcinus cristatus (Balss) and Eurynome orientalis (Sakai) and the alpheid shrimps, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Synalpheus stimpsonii De Man and Alpheus lottini  Guérin-Méneville are reported for the first time in India. Shannon and richness index values were higher for the rocky shore, while the species dominance was higher in the sea wall

Modelling impacts of vegetation cover change on regional climate

Extensive areas of native vegetation in Queensland and other states have been cleared for agriculture, improved pastures and urban development. However, the potential impact of land clearing on Australia’s climate has been largely ignored in current climate change projections and policies. In this study, we addressed the question - is Australia’s regional climate sensitive to land cover change? We conducted simulation experiments using the CSIRO MARK 3 climate model to compare the effects on regional climate based on differences between pre-European and 1990 vegetation cover. The two experiments aimed to reproduce the Australian climate for the period 1951-2003, with the only difference being the conversion of land cover from native vegetation to pastures and crops. Consistent with actual climate trends since the 1950s, simulated annual and seasonal surface temperatures showed statistically significant warming for eastern Australia (0.4-2°C) and southwest Western Australia (0.4-0.8°C), being most pronounced in summer. Mean summer rainfall showed a decrease of 4-12% in eastern Australia and 4-8% in southwest Western Australia which coincided with regions where the most extensive land clearing has occurred. Further, the study found an increase in temperatures on average by 2°C, especially in southern Queensland and New South Wales, for the recent 2002/2003 drought. The findings suggest that the large scale clearance of native vegetation is amplifying the adverse impacts associated with El Niño drought periods, which together with rainfall deficiency, is having a strong impact on Australia’s already stressed natural resources and agriculture. Implications for Policy: We suggest that policy needs to recognise that climate change is a two-way process, and that broad scale clearing of native vegetation cover has a strong influence on climate in addition to greenhouse gases. Protecting and restoring Australia's native vegetation therefore needs to be a critical policy and management consideration in mitigating the effects of climate change

Digital signature scheme over lattices

With the rapid advancements in information technology, data security has become an indispensable component. Cryptography performs a significant role in establishing information security. Computational problems have been utilized extensively by cryptographers to construct digital signature schemes. Digital signature schemes offer security services such as confidentiality, authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation of a message. This paper proposes a modification of the Dilithium signature scheme that is secure against unforgeability attack based on the hardness of lattice problems such as Learning With Errors and Short Integer Solution over lattices. Using the rejection sampling technique, data is sampled from a uniform distribution to generate keys that are expanded into a matrix. The keys are hashed and signed by the sender to generate a message, which is then accepted by the receiver upon verification. Finally, the security analysis for the proposed signature scheme is provided with a strong emphasis on the security of the secret key. We prove that the attacker cannot forge a signature on a message, and recommended parameters are proposed

On the molluscan fauna of Lakshadweep included in various schedules of Wildlife (Protection) Act of India

Out of the 24 species of marine molluscs included in Schedule I and IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA) of India, 19 species were recorded from the coastal waters of Lakshadweep.  A recent survey conducted by the authors recorded the presence of 14 scheduled molluscs in Lakshadweep.  Scheduled species such as Placuna placenta (recorded from Kavaratti) and Tudicla spirillus (recorded from Kalpeni) are new records from Lakshadweep.  The paper provides details for taxonomic identification of scheduled molluscs and discusses strategies for conservation of scheduled molluscs of Lakshadweep. </p

DC motor control predictive models

DC motor speed and position controls are fundamental in vehicles in general and robotics in particular. This study presents a mathematical model for correlating the interactions of some DC motor control parameters such as duty cycle, terminal voltage, frequency and load on some responses such as output current, voltage and speed by means of response surface methodology. For this exercise, a five-level full factorial design was chosen for experimentation using a peripheral interface controller (PIC)-based universal pulse width modulation (PWM) H-Bridge motor controller built in-house. The significance of the mathematical model developed was ascertained using regression analysis method. The results obtained show that the mathematical models are useful not only for predicting optimum DC motor parameters for achieving the desired quality but for speed and position optimization. Using the optimal combination of these parameters is useful in minimizing the power consumption and realization of the optimal speed and invariably position control of DC motor operations