Phylogenomics and evolutionary history of Oreocnide (Urticaceae) shed light on recent geological and climatic events in SE Asia.

Climate change and geological events have long been known to shape biodiversity, implying that these can likewise be viewed from a biological perspective. To study whether plants can shed light on this, and how they responded to climate change there, we examined Oreocnide, a genus widely distributed in SE Asia. Based on broad geographic sampling with genomic data, we employed an integrative approach of phylogenomics, molecular dating, historical biogeography, and ecological analyses. We found that Oreocnide originated in mainland East Asia and began to diversify ∼6.06 Ma, probably in response to a distinct geographic and climatic transition in East Asia at around that time, implying that the last important geological change in mainland SE Asia might be 1 Ma older than previously suggested. Around six immigration events to the islands of Malesia followed, indicating that immigration from the mainland could be an underestimated factor in the assembly of biotic communities in the region. Two detected increases of diversification rate occurred 3.13 and 1.19 Ma, which strongly implicated climatic rather than geological changes as likely drivers of diversification, with candidates being the Pliocene intensification of the East Asian monsoons, and Pleistocene climate and sea level fluctuations. Distribution modelling indicated that Pleistocene sea level and climate fluctuations were inferred to enable inter-island dispersal followed by allopatric separation, underpinning radiation in the genus. Overall, our study, based on multiple lines of evidence, linked plant diversification to the most recent climatic and geological events in SE Asia. We highlight the importance of immigration in the assembly and diversification of the SE Asian flora, and underscore the utility of plant clades, as independent lines of evidence, for reconstructing recent climatic and geological events in the SE Asian region.

A phylogenomic analysis of Nepenthes (Nepenthaceae).

Nepenthaceae is one of the largest carnivorous plant families and features ecological and morphological adaptations indicating an impressive adaptive radiation. However, investigation of evolutionary and taxonomic questions is hindered by poor phylogenetic understanding, with previous molecular studies based on limited loci and taxa. We use high-throughput sequencing with a target-capture methodology based on a 353-loci, probe set to recover sequences for 197 samples, representing 151 described or putative Nepenthes species. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using supermatrix and maximum quartet species tree approaches. Our analyses confirm five Western outlier taxa, followed by N. danseri, as successively sister to the remainder of the group. We also find mostly consistent recovery of two major Southeast Asian clades. The first contains common or widespread lowland species plus a Wallacean-New Guinean clade. Within the second clade, sects. Insignes and Tentaculatae are well supported, while geographically defined clades representing Sumatra, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Palawan, Mindanao and Borneo are also consistently recovered. However, we find considerable conflicting signal at the site and locus level, and often unstable backbone relationships. A handful of Bornean taxa are inconsistently placed and require further investigation. We make further suggestions for a modified infra-generic classification of genus Nepenthes.

Realistic Food-Based Approaches Alone May Not Ensure Dietary Adequacy for Women and Young Children in South-East Asia.

Objectives Micronutrient deficiencies, in southeast Asia (SE Asia), remain a public health challenge. We evaluated whether promoting the consumption of locally available nutritious foods, which is a low-risk micronutrient intervention, alone can ensure dietary adequacy, for women of reproductive age and 6-23 m old children. Methods Representative dietary data from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam were analysed using linear programming analysis to identify nutrients that are likely low in personal food environments (problem nutrients), and to formulate food-based recommendations (FBRs) for three to six target populations per country. Results The number of problem nutrients ranged from zero for 12-23 m olds in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam to six for pregnant women in Cambodia. The FBRs selected for each target population, if adopted, would ensure a low percentage of the population was at risk of inadequate intakes for five to ten micronutrients, depending on the country and target population. Of the 11 micronutrients modelled, requirements for iron, calcium and folate were most difficult to meet (≥ 10 of the 24 target populations), using FBRs alone. The number of individual FBRs selected per set, for each target population, ranged from three to eight; and often included meat, fish or eggs, liver/organ meats, vegetables and fruits. Conclusions for practice Intervention strategies need to increase access to nutritious foods, including products fortified with micronutrients, in SE Asia, when aiming to ensure dietary adequacy for most individuals in the population.

Spatial Variability of Groundwater Arsenic Concentration as Controlled by Hydrogeology: Conceptual Analysis Using 2-D Reactive Transport Modeling.

Combined geological, hydrogeological, and geochemical controls on the arsenic concentration of contaminated aquifers in SE Asia were explored by two-dimensional (2-D) reactive transport modeling of data sets from Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam. For each site, the field data are summarized and used to create a conceptual 2-D reactive transport model that elucidates characteristic features influencing the groundwater arsenic concentration. Comparison of models for Bangladesh and Vietnam indicates that fine-grained layers overlying young sandy aquifers generate shallow high arsenic groundwater because low vertical groundwater velocities allow sufficient time for kinetic As release from the sediment. The low vertical groundwater velocity below major river channels, predicted by the model, also creates long groundwater residence times, leading to high arsenic groundwater. Young aquifer sediments release more arsenic than older sediments, and alternating young and older sediments create complex patterns of high and low arsenic groundwater. Over time, floodplain basins will subside, and river channels migrate, causing sedimentation and erosion on the floodplain while creating local environments with evolving hydrogeology and groundwater geochemistry. We have developed a three-step model for the evolution of the Red River floodplain with sedimentation and shifting channels over the last 6000 years. The results show comparable timescales between the dynamics of arsenic release and of river migration, causing complex groundwater As distributions, comprising geochemical palinopsia of long vanished rivers.

Ardisiakrauensis, a new species of Primulaceae (Myrsinoideae) from Peninsular Malaysia.

Ardisiakrauensis, a new species of Primulaceae from Peninsular Malaysia, is described and illustrated. The new species is assignable into subgenus (§) Pyrgus on account of specialised lateral reproductive branches bearing a terminal inflorescence subtended by foliose bracts. Morphologically, the new species mostly resembles Ardisiarigida in having elliptic leaves. However, the new species can be distinguished by the combination of its lateral veins number, the inflorescence branching pattern, the rachis and flower colour, and the stigma shape. Ardisiakrauensis is found in an entirely protected habitat, thus, it is assessed as Least Concern (LC).

Delivery of paediatric rheumatology care: a survey of current clinical practice in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific regions.

BACKGROUND: Paediatric rheumatic diseases are a leading cause of acquired disability in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific Countries (SE ASIA/ASIAPAC). The aims of this study were to identify and describe the challenges to the delivery of patient care and identify solutions to raise awareness about paediatric rheumatic diseases. METHODS: The anonymised online survey included 27 items about paediatric rheumatology (PR) clinical care and training programmes. The survey was piloted and then distributed via Survey-Monkey™ between March and July 2019. It was sent to existing group lists of physicians and allied health professionals (AHPs), who were involved in the care pathways and management of children with rheumatic diseases in SE ASIA/ASIAPAC. RESULTS: Of 340 participants from 14 countries, 261 participants had been involved in PR care. The majority of the participants were general paediatricians. The main reported barriers to providing specialised multidisciplinary service were the absence or inadequacy of the provision of specialists and AHPs in addition to financial issues. Access to medicines was variable and financial constraints cited as the major obstacle to accessing biological drugs within clinical settings. The lack of a critical mass of specialist paediatric rheumatologists was the main perceived barrier to PR training. CONCLUSIONS: There are multiple challenges to PR services in SE ASIA/ASIAPAC countries. There is need for more specialist multidisciplinary services and greater access to medicines and biological therapies. The lack of specialist paediatric rheumatologists is the main barrier for greater access to PR training.

Siamitoides gen. n., a new Oriental ant-like stone beetle genus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae).

Siamitoides carinatus gen. sp. n. is described, based on a male specimen collected on Sumatra. The new genus superficially resembles the Oriental Siamites in the shape of head, which in lateral view is subtriangular, with the highest site above the antennal fossae and the flat vertex gradually declining posterad up to the neck region. Among world Stenichnini, this peculiar shape of the head capsule can be found also in the Oriental Elacatophora, Nearctic Lophioderus, and the extinct Cretaceous Cenomaniola of Myanmar amber deposits. Morphological structures of the new genus are illustrated in detail, and an updated key to the Oriental genera of Stenichnini (excluding subtropical Chinese and Japanese taxa) is given.

Isotope constraints of the strong influence of biomass burning to climate-forcing Black Carbon aerosols over Southeast Asia.

Black Carbon (BC) deteriorates air quality and contributes to climate warming, yet its regionally- and seasonally-varying emission sources are poorly constrained. Here we employ natural abundance radiocarbon (14C) measurements of BC intercepted at a northern Malaysia regional receptor site, Bachok, to quantify the relative biomass vs. fossil source contributions of atmospheric BC, in a first year-round study for SE Asia (December 2015-December 2016). The annual average 14C signature suggests as large contributions from biomass burning as from fossil fuel combustion. This is similar to findings from analogous measurements at S Asian receptors sites (~50% biomass burning), while E Asia sites are dominated by fossil emission (~20% biomass burning). The 14C-based source fingerprinting of BC in the dry spring season in SE Asia signals an even more elevated biomass burning contribution (~70% or even higher), presumably from forest, shrub and agricultural fires. This is consistent with this period showing also elevated ratio of organic carbon to BC (up from ~5 to 30) and estimates of BC emissions from satellite fire data. Hence, the present study emphasizes the importance of mitigating dry season vegetation fires in SE Asia.

Four new Palaearctic, Australian and Oriental species of Paraneseuthia Franz (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae).

Four new species of the eutheiine genus Paraneseuthia Franz are described: P. libanica sp. n. (Lebanon), P. rugosa sp. n. (Papua New Guinea), P. olszanowskii sp. n. (Indonesia: Sumatra), and P. acehiana sp. n. (Indonesia: Sumatra). Paraneseuthia libanica is the second known Mediterranean (and western Palaearctic) species of this predominantly Australo-Oriental and Far Eastern genus. In order to verify whether this species with unusually slender and small adults truly belongs in Paraneseuthia, the male cephalic and thoracic morphological structures were studied and illustrated. No taxonomically important differences were found among west Palaearctic and previously studied sub-Himalayan, east Palaeartic and SE Asian species.

First records of giant pill-millipedes from Laos (Diplopoda, Sphaerotheriida, Zephroniidae).

Before this study, giant pill-millipedes (order Sphaerotheriida) were unknown from Laos despite their presence in all surrounding countries. As by-catch from collections by arachnologists, 31 specimens of Sphaerotheriida from Laos became available for study. The sample included 14 species. Three species were only represented by females, which are described but cannot be named. Of the remaining 11 species, a single species belongs to the genus Zephronia Gray, 1832: Z. laotica n. sp.; and the other ten belong to the genus Sphaerobelum Verhoeff, 1924: S. bolavensis n. sp., S. phouloei n. sp., S. denticulatum n. sp., S. spinatum n. sp., S. lachneeis n. sp., S. peterjaegeri n. sp., S. nigrum n. sp., S. splendidum n. sp., S. laoticum n. sp., and S. schwendingeri n. sp. This more than doubles the known diversity of Sphaerobelum. Here, I integratively describe these species, combining morphology and DNA barcodes with a molecular analysis including all Zephroniidae species deposited on GenBank-including the only giant pill-millipede species known from Cambodia, Zephronia dawydoffi Attems, 1953. An updated determination key to the species of the genus is presented. Zephronia laotica n. sp. belongs to the monophyletic Zephronia sensu stricto group, which is confirmed by molecular barcoding. In contrast, most species of Sphaerobelum are in a weakly supported clade. Genetically, Sphaerobelum species differ greatly from one another, with most p-distances >15%. The lowest observed p-distance (9.8%) is between S. truncatum Wongthamwanich et al. 2012 from Thailand and S. peterjaegeri n. sp.

Evaluating remote sensing datasets and machine learning algorithms for mapping plantations and successional forests in Phnom Kulen National Park of Cambodia.

This study develops a modelling framework by utilizing multi-sensor imagery for classifying different forest and land use types in the Phnom Kulen National Park (PKNP) in Cambodia. Three remote sensing datasets (Landsat optical data, ALOS L-band data and LiDAR derived Canopy Height Model (CHM)) were used in conjunction with three different machine learning (ML) regression techniques (Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forests (RF) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN)). These ML methods were implemented on (a) Landsat spectral data, (b) Landsat spectral band & ALOS backscatter data, and (c) Landsat spectral band, ALOS backscatter data, & LiDAR CHM data. The Landsat-ALOS combination produced more accurate classification results (95% overall accuracy with SVM) compared to Landsat-only bands for all ML models. Inclusion of LiDAR CHM (which is a proxy for vertical canopy heights) improved the overall accuracy to 98%. The research establishes that majority of PKNP is dominated by cashew plantations and the nearly intact forests are concentrated in the more inaccessible parts of the park. The findings demonstrate how different RS datasets can be used in conjunction with different ML models to map forests that had undergone varying levels of degradation and plantations.

A new genus of Coelotinae (Araneae, Agelenidae) from southern China.

One new genus of the spider subfamily Coelotinae, Flexicoelotes gen. n., with five new species is described from southern China: Flexicoelotes huyunensis sp. n. (female), Flexicoelotes jiaohanyanensis sp. n. (male and female), Flexicoelotes jinlongyanensis sp. n. (male and female), Flexicoelotes pingzhaiensis sp. n. (female), Flexicoelotes xingwangensis sp. n. (male and female).

Taxonomic notes on the genus Eupoa Zabka, 1985 (Arachnida, Araneae, Salticidae).

The south-east Asian genus Eupoa is redescribed and diagnosed. Seven new species are diagnosed, described and illustrated: E. daklak sp. n. (♀) from Viet-Nam; E. lehtineni sp. n. (♂♀) from India, Thailand and Viet-Nam; E. lobli sp. n. (♂) from Malaysia; E. pappi sp. n. (♂) from Thailand; E. pulchella sp. n.(♂) from Thailand; E. schwendingeri sp. n. (♂♀) from Thailand; and E. thailandica sp. n. (♂♀) from Thailand. Eupoa prima Zabka, 1985 and E. yunnanensis Peng & Kim, 1997 are redescribed and illustrated on the basis of type and/or newly collected materials. The female of E. yunnanensis Peng & Kim, 1997 is found and described for the first time.

White-toothed shrews (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Crocidura) of coastal islands of Vietnam.

New findings of the white-toothed shrews (Crocidura spp.) from offshore islands of Vietnam are reported. The species identifications have been confirmed by the analysis of complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1140 bp). Crocidura phuquocensis is the only species found in the Phu Quoc Island. Crocidura fuliginosa has been recorded from two islands of the Con Dao Archipelago (Con Son and Bai Canh). The occurrence of Crocidura fuliginosa in Vietnam has been genetically confirmed for the first time. Crocidura attenuata has been collected from the Cat Ba Island for the first time, and this finding corresponds well with the proposal that the species' distribution is confined to the north and east of the Red River only.