CamTrapAsia: A dataset of tropical forest vertebrate communities from 239 camera trapping studies.

Information on tropical Asian vertebrates has traditionally been sparse, particularly when it comes to cryptic species inhabiting the dense forests of the region. Vertebrate populations are declining globally due to land-use change and hunting, the latter frequently referred as "defaunation." This is especially true in tropical Asia where there is extensive land-use change and high human densities. Robust monitoring requires that large volumes of vertebrate population data be made available for use by the scientific and applied communities. Camera traps have emerged as an effective, non-invasive, widespread, and common approach to surveying vertebrates in their natural habitats. However, camera-derived datasets remain scattered across a wide array of sources, including published scientific literature, gray literature, and unpublished works, making it challenging for researchers to harness the full potential of cameras for ecology, conservation, and management. In response, we collated and standardized observations from 239 camera trap studies conducted in tropical Asia. There were 278,260 independent records of 371 distinct species, comprising 232 mammals, 132 birds, and seven reptiles. The total trapping effort accumulated in this data paper consisted of 876,606 trap nights, distributed among Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Bhutan, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Nepal, and far eastern India. The relatively standardized deployment methods in the region provide a consistent, reliable, and rich count data set relative to other large-scale pressence-only data sets, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) or citizen science repositories (e.g., iNaturalist), and is thus most similar to eBird. To facilitate the use of these data, we also provide mammalian species trait information and 13 environmental covariates calculated at three spatial scales around the camera survey centroids (within 10-, 20-, and 30-km buffers). We will update the dataset to include broader coverage of temperate Asia and add newer surveys and covariates as they become available. This dataset unlocks immense opportunities for single-species ecological or conservation studies as well as applied ecology, community ecology, and macroecology investigations. The data are fully available to the public for utilization and research. Please cite this data paper when utilizing the data.

"What's up with price controls?" Stakeholders' views on the regulation of pharmaceutical pricing in Malaysia.

Escalating costs have made the accessibility of drugs one of the biggest challenges faced by the Malaysian government. The government agreed to regulate drug prices by means of external reference pricing, but its proposed policy had a setback owing to much opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. The policy did gain support from the public and from non-governmental organisations because it ensured easy access to affordable medicines. Comments from public consultations with key stakeholders were used to explore stakeholders' perceptions of the external reference pricing policy. A total of 140 comments were analysed for this study. Stakeholders' views were classified as being from the Socioeconomic, industrial, and government sectors. To summarise, the government must carefully manage and consider stakeholders' views to ensure a sound policy. Using Mendelow's stakeholder mapping, this study mapped out stakeholders' views in a systematic approach. The classification of different stakeholders' views and recommendations led to suggestions for reviewing current practices in pharmaceutical pricing regulations in the Malaysian healthcare system. The analyses can be extended to other countries that face similar concerns.

Collective Action for Wellness in the Malaysian Workplace: Protocol for a Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic diseases and the associated risk factors are preventable with lifestyle changes such as eating a healthier diet and being more physically active. In Malaysia, the prevalence of chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases, has risen. In the present study, we explore the potential of co-designing and implementing a digital wellness intervention to promote socially-driven health knowledge and practices in the workplace in Malaysia, drawing on social cognitive theory, social impact theory, and social influence theory. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to co-design and assess the feasibility of a socially-driven digital health intervention to promote healthy behavior and prevent chronic diseases in a workplace in Malaysia. METHODS: This study involves two phases: (i) identifying the barriers and facilitators to healthy behaviors at work and co-designing the intervention activities with the employees, (ii) implementing and evaluating the intervention's feasibility. Phase 1 will involve qualitative data collection and analysis through semi-structured, in-depth interviews and co-design workshops with the employees, while Phase 2 will consist of a feasibility study employing quantitative measurements of health behaviors through accelerometers and questionnaires. RESULTS: This study was funded in June 2021 and ethics approval for Phase 1 was obtained from the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee in January 2022. As of August 2022, qualitative interviews with 12 employees have been completed and the data has been transcribed and analyzed. These results will be published in a future paper with results from all Phase 1 activities. CONCLUSIONS: The study will help us to better understand the mechanisms through which digital technologies can promote socially-driven health knowledge and behaviors. This research will also result in a scalable wellness intervention that could be further tailored and expanded to other employers and social groups across the region. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/39238.

Excisional Hemorrhoidectomy: Safe in Patients With Crohn's Disease?

INTRODUCTION: Due to concerns over wound healing, hemorrhoidectomy in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) remains controversial. We sought to ascertain safety and efficacy of excisional hemorrhoidectomy in CD. METHODS: A retrospective review of all adult CD patients undergoing excisional hemorrhoidectomy between January 1, 1995, and January 1, 2019, at 2 IBD referral centers was performed. Data collected included patient demographics, clinical characteristics of CD (anorectal symptoms; prior nonoperative hemorrhoidal therapy; presence of other perianal disease; and activity, duration, and anatomic location of CD), and postoperative complications including bleeding, wound healing, and need for further therapy or surgical intervention after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 36 adult patients with Crohn's disease with symptomatic hemorrhoidal disease were included. The study cohort included 16 males (44%), and median age was 49 (range, 21 to 77) years. Predominant symptoms included pain (n = 16; 44%), prolapse (n = 8; 22%), and bleeding (n = 12; 33%). Sixteen patients (44%) had nonoperative therapy before surgery. Twenty-four patients (67%) had other perianal disease. At the time of hemorrhoidectomy, 9 patients (25%) were exposed to corticosteroids, 8 patients (25%) to immunomodulators, and 9 patients (25%) to biologics. During a median follow-up time of 31.5 (range, 1 to 255) months after hemorrhoidectomy, 4 patients (11%) had complications (1 developed a stricture, 1 developed a perianal abscess/fistula, 1 had a nonhealing wound, and 1 had hemorrhoidal recurrence). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that excisional hemorrhoidectomy may be performed safely in CD patients who have failed nonoperative hemorrhoidal therapy without concern for de novo perianal disease or need for proctectomy.Hemorrhoidal disease is common in patients with Crohn's disease. This study sought to understand the outcomes of surgically treating hemorrhoids in patients with Crohn's disease.

Cosmesis in Patients after Multiport Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery: Does the Extraction Incision Matter?

The ideal incision for specimen extraction during laparoscopic colorectal surgery is controversial. The objective of this study was to compare incision types (Pfannenstiel, periumbilical, lower midline, and right upper quadrant transverse) with regard to postoperative scar appearance, symptoms, preference, and satisfaction. This study is a retrospective survey review performed in an urban teaching hospital. The study participants were patients undergoing multiport laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Two web-based questionnaires, the Patient Scar Assessment Questionnaire and Photo-Series Questionnaire, were used to assess study parameters. The main outcome measures were incision symptoms and cosmetic satisfaction. The 112 study patients included 54 patients with a Pfannenstiel incision (Group P) and 58 patients with an alternate incision (Group A). Of the 58 patients in Group A, 19 (33%) had a periumbilical incision, 10 (17%) a lower midline incision, and 29 (50%) a right upper quadrant transverse incision. Although Groups P and A were comparable in all five subscales of the Patient Scar Assessment Questionnaire, more Group P participants (n = 12; 22%) said their incision felt "fairly numb" than Group A participants (n = 2; 3%) (P = 0.008). There was no significant difference between study groups in all Photo-Series Questionnaire domains; however, after comparing patients' own incisions with photographs of various alternative incisions, 36 (62%) Group A patients would choose an alternative incision compared with only 11 (19%) Group P patients (P = 0.001). Selection bias, recall bias, external validity, and variability of scar lengths were the limitations of the study. It was concluded that although a Pfannenstiel incision seems to be the optimal cosmetic choice, it is associated with a higher incidence of wound numbness than alternate extraction incisions.

Clinical Factors Associated with the Development of Crohn's Disease in Inflammatory Bowel Disease-unclassified Patients Undergoing Ileal Pouch-anal Anastomosis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease-unclassified (IBDU) undergoing ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) are at the risk of developing Crohn's disease (CD) after surgical procedure. In these patients, a clinically centered set of preoperative risk factors has not been prospectively defined. We report a single-center analysis of clinical factors associated with the development of CD after IPAA. METHODS: Consecutive IBDU patients undergoing IPAA were identified. The diagnosis of IBDU was based on the presence of atypical disease distribution, presence of granulomas on endoscopic biopsy, and/or perianal disease. The diagnosis of CD after IPAA included the presence of afferent limb inflammation on pouchoscopy in the absence of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and/or the development of pouch fistulizing disease more than 3 months after ileostomy closure. RESULTS: Of the 149 study patients, 33 (22%) were diagnosed with CD after IPAA at a median of 37 months (interquartile range, 11-83 mo) after ileostomy closure. CD was diagnosed by mucosal inflammation above the pouch (n = 23; 70%), pouch fistulizing disease (n = 4; 12%), anorectal septic complications (n = 2; 6%), or the presence of ≥2 of the above complications (n = 4; 12%). The sole clinical predictor for the development of CD after IPAA was younger age at disease onset even after controlling for relevant clinical factors in a multivariate analysis. The odds of developing CD increased by 4% for each year that IBDU was diagnosed at a younger age. CONCLUSIONS: Younger age at disease onset is the only clinical factor associated with the development of CD after IPAA for IBDU. Patients with IBDU undergoing IPAA with young age at disease onset should be counseled about the potentially higher risk of developing CD.

Hyperfamiliarity in Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment.

INTRODUCTION: Hyperfamiliarity, a phenomenon in which feelings of familiarity are evoked by novel stimuli, is well described in epilepsy and the lesioned brain. Abnormality of familiarity in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have also been described in the literature, but more from a neuropsychological approach perspective. Currently, there is a lack of study on the real-life experience of familiarity abnormality in dementia and MCI. Our aim was to compare the occurrence of hyperfamiliarity among dementia and MCI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited 73 participants, 29 with AD, 10 with vascular dementia, 7 with MCI and 27 healthy controls, and administered a questionnaire to assess hyperfamiliarity frequency. RESULTS: Hyperfamiliarity was observed in real-life in cognitive impairment, but was unrelated to its severity or underlying aetiology. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the similar rate of occurrence of hyperfamiliarity in the daily life of individuals with cognitive impairment. Future research should examine neuropsychological correlations and mechanisms that contribute to such observations.

The role of social relationships and culture in the cognitive representation of emotions.

There are individual and cultural differences in how memories of our emotions are cognitively represented. This article examines the cognitive representation of emotions in different cultures, as a result of emotional (in)consistency in different cultures. Using a continuous semantic priming task, we showed in two studies that individuals who were less emotionally consistent across relationships have stronger associations of their emotions within those relationships. Further, we found (in Study 2) that in a culture characterised by higher levels of emotional inconsistency across relationships (Singapore), stronger associations between emotions within relationships were found than in a culture characterised by emotional consistency (USA). This cultural difference in cognitive representation was fully mediated by individual differences in cross-situational consistency levels.

Multidetector computed tomography diagnosis of splenic flexure volvulus: usefulness of multiplanar reformats.

Splenic flexure volvulus is the least common form of colonic volvulus. Preoperative radiological diagnosis is usually made presumptively, based on plain radiographs and/or barium contrast enema study in patients presenting with acute large bowel obstruction. We report a case in which multidetector computer tomography (CT) findings were diagnostic of this condition, thus highlighting the usefulness of multiplanar reformatting.

ArhGAP9, a novel MAP kinase docking protein, inhibits Erk and p38 activation through WW domain binding.

We have identified human ArhGAP9 as a novel MAP kinase docking protein that interacts with Erk2 and p38alpha through complementarily charged residues in the WW domain of ArhGAP9 and the CD domains of Erk2 and p38alpha. This interaction sequesters the MAP kinases in their inactive states through displacement of MAP kinase kinases targeting the same sites. While over-expression of wild type ArhGAP9 caused MAP kinase activation by the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) to be suppressed and preserved the actin stress fibres in quiescent Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts, over-expression of an ArhGAP9 mutant defective in MAP kinase binding restored EGFR-induced MAP kinase activation and resulted in significant disruption of the stress fibres, consistent with the role of Erk activation in disassembly of actin stress fibres. The interaction between ArhGAP9 and the MAP kinases represents a novel mechanism of cross-talk between Rho GTPase and MAP kinase signaling.

Quantum chemical analysis of electronic structure and n- and p-type charge transport in perfluoroarene-modified oligothiophene semiconductors.

Density-functional theory (DFT) is employed to investigate the structural, electronic, and transport properties of several isomeric fluoroarene-oligothiophene-based semiconductors. Three oligothiophene systems varying in the perfluoroarene group positions within the molecule are studied to understand the electronic structure leading to the observed mobility values and to the n- or p-type behavior in these structures. Analyses of both intermolecular interactions in dimers and extended interactions in crystalline structures afford considerable insight into the electronic properties and carrier mobilities of these materials, as well as the polarity of the charge carriers. From the calculated carrier effective masses, we find that sterically governed molecular planarity plays a crucial role in the transport properties of these semiconductors. Our calculations correlate well with experimentally obtained geometries, highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)/lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energies, and the experimental carrier mobility trends among the systems investigated.

Phenylphosphonic acid functionalization of indium tin oxide: surface chemistry and work functions.

The work function of indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates was modified with phosphonic acid molecular films. The ITO surfaces were treated prior to functionalization with a base cleaning procedure. The film growth and coverage were quantified by contact angle goniometry and XPS. Film orientation was determined by reflection/absorption infrared spectroscopy using ITO-on-Cr substrates. The absolute work functions of nitrophenyl- and cyanophenyl-phosphonic acid films in ITO were determined by Kelvin probe measurement to be 5.60 and 5.77 eV, respectively.