Overview of the national fisheries situation with emphasis on the demersal fisheries off the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia

The marine fisheries sector in Malaysia contributes significantly to the national economy in terms of income, foreign exchange and employment. In 1999, marine fisheries contributed 1.245 million t (90% of total fish production) valued at US$1.18 billion. The total value accounted for about 1.53$210 million. The sector provided employment to about 80 000 fishers. Fisheries management is currently guided by the Third National Agricultural Policy (NAP3 1998 - 2010). The NAP3 aims to maintain the coastal fisheries production while increasing the production from deep-sea fisheries within MalaysiaÆs Exclusive Economic Zone and the high-seas. Fisheries management of fisheries is centralized and is the primary responsibility of the Department of Fisheries. The key challenges identified for Malaysian fisheries are overfishing, excess fishing capacity and ensuring the well-being of coastal fishing communities. These are issues across the whole of Malaysia. The West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia produces 44% (1997) of total marine landings and 86% of this came from commercial (large scale) vessels. The landings in 1997 exceeded the estimated MSY and the biomass of demersal species in the region has been severely reduced. A national consultative workshop identified the primary aims for this region to improve production and efficiency of the fisheries, equitable distribution of the benefits, resources sustainability and the viability of the fishing communities. The workshop also identified key interventions needed. In terms of production and efficiency, overfishing and overcapacity must be addressed, including the illegal fishing. In terms of achieving greater equity, the workshop suggests greater involvement of small scale fishers in marketing of the catch. For resource sustainability, the serious decline in biomass must be addressed but there are also significant cross-sectoral issues. To achieve viable fishing communities, the workshop suggests the need for greater involvement and potentially a co-management approach for fisheries management.Fishery resources, Catch/effort, Population characteristics, Coastal fisheries, Marine fisheries, Ecosystems, Economic benefits, Fishery industry, Capture fishery economics, Fish consumption, Fishery policy, Legislation, Fishery management, Demersal fisheries, Pelagic fisheries, Socioeconomic aspects, Surveys, Marketing, Fishery organizations, Fishing gear, Cephalopod fisheries, ISEW, Malaysia,

Forest Degradation in Dryland Ecosystems of Sudan: Review of the Causes, Consequences, Assessment Methods, and Potential Solutions

Dryland forests are ecologically and socioeconomically important. They contribute to livelihood diversification, food security, animal feed and shelter, and environmental conservation in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Sudan. Despite their importance, current findings show that multiple ecological, human, socio-economic, and policy factors have damaged these resources. As a result, undesirable consequences have been observed, such as food famine, land and water resource degradation, decline/loss of biodiversity, and contribution to global warming that affect the welfare of humans, plants, animals, and micro-organisms. This chapter briefly reviews the forest degradation in drylands Sudan with emphasis on its common causes, impacts, assessment methods, management intervention efforts, and potential future solutions. Given the current situation, there must be urgent combating efforts to manage Sudan’s dryland forest resources properly. On the one hand, following prevention measures to essentially deal with the current causes thus prevent any further degradation of forest resources in dryland Sudan. On the other hand, there is an urgent need to address current degradation following appropriate and timely rehabilitation interventions. We also recommend adopting a serious monitoring and evaluation system within these combating efforts by applying the five common indicators for measuring forest degradation: biodiversity, productive functions, carbon storage, forest health, and protective functions

Step and Step-Nc as a Tool for Big Data in Cloud Manufacturing

The terms big data, cloud manufacturing, predictive and additive manufacturing, and Internet of Things (IoT) are being most commonly used in the manufacturing industry nowadays. These terms are related to the fourth industrial revolution that emphasizes automation and data exchange between manufacturing tools/elements. Communication occurs between machines, products and even technicians or operators through various technologies while creating records of each interaction resulting in rapid growth of amount of data to be stored. Data acquisition is not a major issue since a structure or framework can properly connect these data in improving manufacturing efficiency. However, lack of effort in collecting and storing manufacturing data in the whole product life cycle process has made integration to be almost difficult to achieve. In this study, the adoption of STEP-NC method/technique was demonstrated in suiting the current explosion of big data in the industrial and manufacturing sector. The proposed methodology was developed through a study of an entity file structure and hierarchical concept in STEP and STEP-NC in gathering manufacturing data in a unified database. The challenge would be in making sense of the data, revealing the patterns in it and using them for operational improvements. The outcome of this study will be useful to support strategic decision making in product manufacturing

The origin of the fluids circulating over the Amik Basin (Turkey) and their relationships with the Dead Sea Fault

The Amik Basin is an asymmetrical composite transtensional basin developed between the seismically active left-lateral Dead Sea Fault (DSF) splays and the left-lateral oblique-slip Karasu Fault segment during neotectonic period. The relationship between the DSF and the East Anatolian Fault Zone is important as it represents a triple junction between Arabian Plate, African Plate and Anatolian Block in which the Amik Basin developed. The basin was formed on a pre-Miocene basement consisting of two rock series: Paleozoic crustal units with a Mesozoic allochthonous ophiolitic complex and ~1300 m thick Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene sedimentary sequence. Plio-Quaternary sediments and Quaternary volcanics unconformably overlie the deformed and folded Miocene beds. Quaternary alkali-basaltic volcanism, derived from a metasomatized asthenospheric or lithospheric mantle, is most probably related to the syn-collisional transtensional strike-slip deformation in the area. Active faults in the region have the potential to generate catastrophic earthquakes (M>7). Nineteen samples of cold and thermal groundwaters have been collected over the Amik Basin area for dissolved gas analyses as well as two samples from the gas seeps, and one bubbling gas from a thermal spring Samples were analysed for their chemical and isotopic (He, C) composition. On the basis of their chemical composition, three main groups can be recognized. Most of the dissolved gases (16; Group I) collected from springs or shallow wells (< 150 m depth), contain mainly atmospheric gasses with very limited H2 (< 80 ppm) and CH4 (1– 2700 ppm) contents and minor concentrations of CO2 (0.5–11.2 %). The isotopic composition of Total Dissolved Carbon evidences a prevailing organic contribution with possible dissolution of carbonate rocks. However the CO2-richest sample shows a small but significant deep (probably mantle) contribution which is also evidenced by its He isotopic composition. Further three samples, taken from the northern part of the basin close to Quaternary volcanic outcrops and main tectonic structures, also exhibit a small mantle He contribution (Fig. 1). The two dissolved gases (Group II) collected from deep boreholes (> 1200 m depth) are typical of hydrocarbon reservoirs being very rich in CH4 (> 78 %) and N2 (> 13%). The water composition of these samples is also distinctive of saline connate waters (Cl- and B-rich, SO4-poor). Isotopic composition of methane (δ13C ~ -65‰) indicates a biogenic origin while He-isotopic composition points to a prevailing crustal signature for one (R/Ra 0.16) of the sites and a small mantle contribution for the other (R/Ra 0.98) (Fig. 1). The three free gas samples (Group III), taken at two sites within the ophiolitic basement west of the basin, have the typical composition of gas generated by low temperature serpentinisation processes with high hydrogen (37–50 %) and methane (10–61 %) concentrations. While all three gases show an almost identical δD-H2 of ~ -750‰, two of them display an isotopic composition of methane (δ13C ~ -5‰; δD ~ -105‰) and a C1/[C2+C3] ratio (~100) typical of abiogenic hydrocarbons and a significant contribution of mantle-type helium (R/Ra: 1.33). The composition of these two gasses is comparable to that of the gasses issuing in similar geologic conditions (Chimera-Turkey, Zambales-Philippine and Oman ophiolites). The gas composition of the other site evidences a contribution of a crustal (thermogenic) component (δ13C-CH4 ~ -30‰; δD-CH4 ~ -325‰; C1/[C2+C3] ~ 3000). Such crustal contribution is also supported by higher N2 contents (40% instead of 2%) and lower He-isotopic composition (R/Ra 0.07) (Fig. 1). These first results highlight contributions of mantle-derived volatiles possibly drained towards shallow levels by the DSF and other parallel structures crossing the basin showing a tectonic control of the fluids circulating within the Basin

Geochemistry of free and dissolved gases in the Amik basin area (Turkey) and its relationships with the tectonic setting

Twenty-two gas samples were collected in August 2012 in the area of Amik basin (Turkey). Two samples were collected from gas seeps, one was a bubbling gas in a thermal spring, while the remaining were dissolved gases from cold and thermal groundwaters (T 16-43 °C). All gases were analysed for their chemical composition (He, H2, O2, N2, CH4 and CO2) and for their He isotopic composition. Dissolved gases were also analysed for the carbon isotopic composition of the total dissolved carbon (TDC), while free gases also for their higher hydrocarbon (C1 – C5) content and for D of H2 and CH4, 13C of CH4 Basing on their chemical composition, the gases can be roughly subdivided in three groups. Most of the dissolved gases (16) belonging to the first group were collected from springs or shallow wells (< 150 m depth). All these samples contain mainly atmospheric gasses with very limited H2 (< 80 ppm) and CH4 (1 – 2700 ppm) contents and minor concentrations of CO2 (0.5 – 11.2 %). The isotopic composition of TDC evidences an almost organic contribution. The only exception is represented by the CO2-richest sample where a small but significant mantle contribution is found. Such contribution can also be evidenced in its 3He rich isotopic composition. Further three samples of this group evidence a small mantle contribution. These samples were collected in the northern part of the basin along the main tectonic structures delimiting the basin and close to areas with quaternary volcanic activity. A second group is composed by two dissolved gases collected from deep boreholes (> 1200 m depth). Their composition is typical of hydrocarbon reservoirs being very rich in CH4 (> 78 %) and N2 (> 13%). Also the water composition is typical of saline connate waters (Cl- and B-rich, SO4-poor). C-isotopic composition of methane ( 13C -65% ) points to a biogenic origin while He-isotopic composition indicates a prevailing crustal signature for one (R/Ra 0.16) of the sites and small mantle contribution for the other (R/Ra 0.98). To the last group belong four gas samples taken at two sites within the ophiolitic basement that crops out west of the basin. These gases have the characteristic composition of gas generated by low temperature serpentinisation processes with high hydrogen (37 – 50 %) and methane (10 – 61 %) concentrations. While all gases show an almost identical D-H2 of -750h those of one of the two sites display an isotopic composition of methane ( 13C -5h D -105% ) and a C1/[C2+C3] ( 100) ratio typical of abiogenic hydrocarbons and mantle-type helium (R/Ra: 1.33), while those of the other site evidence a contribution of a crustal (thermogenic) component ( 13C-CH4 -30h D -325h C1/[C2+C3] 3000). Such crustal contribution is also supported by higher N2 contents (40% instead of 2%) and lower He-isotopic composition (R/Ra 0.07). The preliminary results highlight contributions of mantle-derived volatiles to the fluids vented along the Amik Basin. The main tectonic structure of the area, the Death Sea Fault, and other parallel structures crossing the basin seem to be the responsible for deep-originated volatiles drainage towards shallow levels

Synchronous diversification of Sulawesi's iconic artiodactyls driven by recent geological events

The high degree of endemism on Sulawesi has previously been suggested to have vicariant origins, dating back to 40 Ma. Recent studies, however, suggest that much of Sulawesi’s fauna assembled over the last 15 Myr. Here, we test the hypothesis that more recent uplift of previously submerged portions of land on Sulawesi promoted diversification and that much of its faunal assemblage is much younger than the island itself. To do so, we combined palaeogeographical reconstructionswithgenetic andmorphometric datasets derived from Sulawesi’s three largest mammals: the babirusa, anoa and Sulawesi warty pig. Our results indicate that although these species most likely colonized the area that is now Sulawesi at different times (14 Ma to 2-3 Ma), they experienced an almost synchronous expansion from the central part of the island. Geological reconstructions indicate that this area was above sea level for most of the last 4 Myr, unlike most parts of the island. We conclude that emergence of land on Sulawesi (approx. 1-2 Myr) may have allowed species to expand synchronously. Altogether, our results indicate that the establishment of the highly endemic faunal assemblage on Sulawesiwas driven by geological events over the last few million years

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

BACKGROUND: Assessments of age-specific mortality and life expectancy have been done by the UN Population Division, Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNPOP), the United States Census Bureau, WHO, and as part of previous iterations of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD). Previous iterations of the GBD used population estimates from UNPOP, which were not derived in a way that was internally consistent with the estimates of the numbers of deaths in the GBD. The present iteration of the GBD, GBD 2017, improves on previous assessments and provides timely estimates of the mortality experience of populations globally. METHODS: The GBD uses all available data to produce estimates of mortality rates between 1950 and 2017 for 23 age groups, both sexes, and 918 locations, including 195 countries and territories and subnational locations for 16 countries. Data used include vital registration systems, sample registration systems, household surveys (complete birth histories, summary birth histories, sibling histories), censuses (summary birth histories, household deaths), and Demographic Surveillance Sites. In total, this analysis used 8259 data sources. Estimates of the probability of death between birth and the age of 5 years and between ages 15 and 60 years are generated and then input into a model life table system to produce complete life tables for all locations and years. Fatal discontinuities and mortality due to HIV/AIDS are analysed separately and then incorporated into the estimation. We analyse the relationship between age-specific mortality and development status using the Socio-demographic Index, a composite measure based on fertility under the age of 25 years, education, and income. There are four main methodological improvements in GBD 2017 compared with GBD 2016: 622 additional data sources have been incorporated; new estimates of population, generated by the GBD study, are used; statistical methods used in different components of the analysis have been further standardised and improved; and the analysis has been extended backwards in time by two decades to start in 1950. FINDINGS: Globally, 18·7% (95% uncertainty interval 18·4–19·0) of deaths were registered in 1950 and that proportion has been steadily increasing since, with 58·8% (58·2–59·3) of all deaths being registered in 2015. At the global level, between 1950 and 2017, life expectancy increased from 48·1 years (46·5–49·6) to 70·5 years (70·1–70·8) for men and from 52·9 years (51·7–54·0) to 75·6 years (75·3–75·9) for women. Despite this overall progress, there remains substantial variation in life expectancy at birth in 2017, which ranges from 49·1 years (46·5–51·7) for men in the Central African Republic to 87·6 years (86·9–88·1) among women in Singapore. The greatest progress across age groups was for children younger than 5 years; under-5 mortality dropped from 216·0 deaths (196·3–238·1) per 1000 livebirths in 1950 to 38·9 deaths (35·6–42·83) per 1000 livebirths in 2017, with huge reductions across countries. Nevertheless, there were still 5·4 million (5·2–5·6) deaths among children younger than 5 years in the world in 2017. Progress has been less pronounced and more variable for adults, especially for adult males, who had stagnant or increasing mortality rates in several countries. The gap between male and female life expectancy between 1950 and 2017, while relatively stable at the global level, shows distinctive patterns across super-regions and has consistently been the largest in central Europe, eastern Europe, and central Asia, and smallest in south Asia. Performance was also variable across countries and time in observed mortality rates compared with those expected on the basis of development. INTERPRETATION: This analysis of age-sex-specific mortality shows that there are remarkably complex patterns in population mortality across countries. The findings of this study highlight global successes, such as the large decline in under-5 mortality, which reflects significant local, national, and global commitment and investment over several decades. However, they also bring attention to mortality patterns that are a cause for concern, particularly among adult men and, to a lesser extent, women, whose mortality rates have stagnated in many countries over the time period of this study, and in some cases are increasing

Bundled plastic optical fiber based sensor for ECG signal detection

This study demonstrates the development of a novel low-cost bundled plastic optical fiber (POF) displacement sensor for the measurement of amplitude and frequency of heart rate signal. A compact optical setup is developed in the laboratory for use in the testing. It consists of a fiber optic transmitter, fiber optic bundled probe and photodiode detector, and an electrocardiogram (ECG) simulator as a heart rate signal. The sensitivity of the sensor is found to be 4.6 mV/mm, and thus it is capable of measuring heart rate from 30 bpm to 300 bpm (for the amplitude of ECG at 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mV) with linearity of more than 99 %.The results demonstrate that the proposed fiber optic based heart rate sensor is not only easy-to-make, cost-effective and robust but also offers sensitive, stable and high precision heart beat measurements. © 2019 Elsevier Gmb

Effect of tilting angles on the performance of reflective and transmitting types of fiber optic-based displacement sensors

The performances of the fiber optic-based displacement sensor with reflective and transmitting techniques were investigated. The effects of axial displacement on the detected voltage were investigated for different tilting angles of the reflective and receiving fibers. Three types of light sources were used, yellow and red He-Ne including a green pointer laser at peak wavelengths of 594, 633, and 533 nm correspondingly. The highest sensitivity and resolution were obtained at 0.0017 mV/mu m and 4 mu m, respectively with the employment of a 594 nm laser as the light source. These were attributed to the output power and beam quality of the laser which was the highest. The tilting angles didn't change the sensitivity and resolution of the sensors in both setups. The widest linear range was obtained at 2410 mu m with the transmitting technique. The simplicity of the design, high degree of sensitivity, linear range, non-contact measurement and low cost fabrication make it suitable for industrially-orientated applications that include control and micro-displacement in the hazardous region

SSR markers in revealing extent of genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships among chickpea core collection accessions for Western Himalayas

Background The exploration of genetic diversity is the key source of germplasm conservation and potential to broaden its genetic base. The globally growing demand for chickpea suggests superior/climate-resilient varieties, which in turn necessitates the germplasm characterization to unravel underlying genetic variation. Methodology and results A chickpea core collection comprising of diverse 192 accessions which include cultivated Cicer arietinum, and wild C. reticulatum, C. echinospermum, and C. microphyllum species were investigated to analyze their genetic diversity and relationship, by assaying 33 unlinked simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The results amplified a total of 323 alleles (Na), ranging from 2 to 8 with an average of 4.25 alleles per locus. Expected heterozygosity (He) differed from 0.46 to 0.86 with an average of 0.68. Polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.73 to 0.98 with an average of 0.89. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that most of the variation was among individuals (87%). Cluster analysis resulted in the formation of four distinct clusters. Cluster I represented all cultivated and clusters II, III, and IV comprised a heterogeneous group of cultivated and wild chickpea accessions. Conclusion We report considerable diversity and greater resolving power of SSR markers for assessing variability and interrelationship among the chickpea accessions. The chickpea core is expected to be an efficient resource for breeders for broadening the chickpea genetic base and could be useful for selective breeding of desirable traits and in the identification of target genes for genomics-assisted breeding