Climate change and declining fertility rate in Malaysia: the possible connexions

Author(s):  
Ravindran Jegasothy ◽  
Pallav Sengupta ◽  
Sulagna Dutta ◽  
Ravichandran Jeganathan

AbstractClimate change is an incessant global phenomenon and has turned contentious in the present century. Malaysia, a developing Asian country, has also undergone significant vicissitudes in climate, which has been projected with significant deviations in forthcoming decades. As per the available studies, climate changes may impact on the fertility, either via direct effects on the gonadal functions and neuroendocrine regulations or via several indirect effects on health, socioeconomic status, demeaning the quality of food and water. Malaysia is already observing a declining trend in the Total fertility rate (TFR) over the past few decades and is currently recorded below the replacement level of 2.1 which is insufficient to replace the present population. Moreover, climate changes reportedly play a role in the emergence and cessation of various infectious diseases. Besides its immediate effects, the long-term effects on health and fertility await to be unveiled. Despite the huge magnitude of the repercussion of climate changes in Malaysia, research that can explain the exact cause of the present reduction in fertility parameters in Malaysia or any measures to preserve the national population is surprisingly very scarce. Thus, the present review aims to elucidate the possible missing links by which climate changes are impairing fertility status in Malaysia.

Author(s):  
Nils Brunsson

This chapter argues that organizational reforms are driven by problems to be addressed, by solutions to be applied, and by forgetfulness. The greater the supply of any of these factors, the more likely it is that reforms will occur. Without problems, reforms are difficult to justify; without solutions they cannot be formulated; and without forgetfulness there is a risk that people will be discouraged by the fact that similar reforms have been tried and have failed in the past. In contemporary large organizations, problems tend to be easily found. Those interested in selling solutions often try to supply problems as well — problems that can be solved by their solutions. Forgetfulness can be promoted by the use of consultants with limited experience of the implementation and long-term effects of reforms. Reforms are also self-referential; they tend to cause new reforms. Thus, reforms can be considered as routines: they are likely to be repeated over and over again.


Author(s):  
Juliana Alves Sousa Caixeta ◽  
Jessica Caixeta Silva Sampaio ◽  
Vanessa Vaz Costa ◽  
Isadora Milhomem Bruno da Silveira ◽  
Carolina Ribeiro Fernandes de Oliveira ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Adenotonsillectomy is the first-line treatment for obstructive sleep apnea secondary to adenotonsillar hypertrophy in children. The physical benefits of this surgery are well known as well as its impact on the quality of life (QoL), mainly according to short-term evaluations. However, the long-term effects of this surgery are still unclear. Objective To evaluate the long-term impact of adenotonsillectomy on the QoL of children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Method This was a prospective non-controlled study. Children between 3 and 13 years of age with symptoms of SDB for whom adenotonsillectomy had been indicated were included. Children with comorbities were excluded. Quality of life was evaluated using the obstructive sleep apnea questionnaire (OSA-18), which was completed prior to, 10 days, 6 months, 12 months and, at least, 18 months after the procedure. For statistical analysis, p-values lower than 0.05 were defined as statistically significant. Results A total of 31 patients were enrolled in the study. The average age was 5.2 years, and 16 patients were male. The OSA-18 scores improved after the procedure in all domains, and this result was maintained until the last evaluation, done 22 ± 3 months after the procedure. Improvement in each domain was not superior to achieved in other domains. No correlation was found between tonsil or adenoid size and OSA-18 scores. Conclusion This is the largest prospective study that evaluated the long-term effects of the surgery on the QoL of children with SDB using the OSA-18. Our results show adenotonsillectomy has a positive impact in children's QoL.


Author(s):  
Teresa Zetzl ◽  
Andre Pittig ◽  
Agnes Renner ◽  
Birgitt van Oorschot ◽  
Elisabeth Jentschke

Abstract Objective To examine the efficacy of reminder e-mails to continue yoga therapy on practice frequency and fatigue in cancer patients and long-term effects of yoga on fatigue, depression, and quality of life. Methodology One hundred two cancer patients who completed an 8-week yoga therapy were randomly allocated to two groups: reminder (N = 51) vs. no-reminder group (N = 51). After completing yoga therapy, the reminder group received weekly e-mails for 24 weeks, which reminded them of practicing yoga, whereas the no-reminder group did not. Primary outcomes were fatigue and practice frequency, and long-term outcomes were fatigue, depression, and quality of life. Data were assessed using questionnaires after yoga therapy (T1) and 6 months after completing yoga therapy (T2). Result A significantly stronger reduction of general (p = 0.038, d = 0.42) and emotional fatigue (p = 0.004, d = 0.59) and a higher increase of practice frequency (p = 0.015, d = 0.52) between T1 and T2 were found for the reminder group compared to the no-reminder group. In the mediation model, practice frequency as a mediator partially explained the changes in emotional fatigue (indirect effect B =  − 0.10). Long-term effects of yoga therapy regarding fatigue, depression, and quality of life were found (F > 7.46, p < 0.001, d > 0.54). Conclusion Weekly reminder e-mails after yoga therapy can positively affect general and emotional fatigue and help cancer patients with fatigue establish a regular yoga practice at home. However, higher practice frequency did not lead to higher physical or cognitive fatigue improvement, suggesting other factors that mediate efficacy on physical or cognitive fatigue, such as mindfulness or side effects of therapy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Michał Burzyński ◽  
Frédéric Docquier ◽  
Hendrik Scheewel

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the long-term effects of climate change on the mobility of working-age people. We use a world economy model that covers almost all the countries around the world, and distinguishes between rural and urban regions as well as between flooded and unflooded areas. The model is calibrated to match international and internal mobility data by education level for the last 30 years, and is then simulated under climate change variants. We endogenize the size, dyadic, and skill structure of climate migration. When considering moderate climate scenarios, we predict mobility responses in the range of 70–108 million workers over the course of the twenty-first century. Most of these movements are local or inter-regional. South–South international migration responses are smaller, while the South–North migration response is of the “brain drain” type and induces a permanent increase in the number of foreigners in OECD countries in the range of 6–9% only. Changes in the sea level mainly translate into forced local movements. By contrast, inter-regional and international movements are sensitive to temperature-related changes in productivity. Lastly, we show that relaxing international migration restrictions may exacerbate the poverty effect of climate change at origin if policymakers are unable to select/screen individuals in extreme poverty.


2013 ◽  
Vol 190 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chyng-Wen Fwu ◽  
Paul W. Eggers ◽  
Steven A. Kaplan ◽  
Ziya Kirkali ◽  
Jeannette Y. Lee ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 746-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Siderowf ◽  
Jurg L. Jaggi ◽  
Sharon X. Xie ◽  
Catherine Loveland-Jones ◽  
Lewis Leng ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Smith

This paper examines how the past of desert landscapes has been interpreted since European explorers and scientists first encountered them. It charts the research that created the conceptual space within which archaeologists and Quaternarists now work. Studies from the 1840s–1960s created the notion of a ‘Great Australian Arid Period'. The 1960s studies of Lake Mungo and the Willandra Lakes by Jim Bowler revealed the cyclical nature of palaeolakes, that changed with climate changes in the Pleistocene, and the complexity of desert pasts. SLEADS and other researchers in the 1980s used thermoluminescence techniques that showed further complexities in desert lands beyond the Willandra particularly through new studies in the Strzelecki and Simpson Dunefields, Lake Eyre, Lake Woods and Lake Gregory. Australian deserts are varied and have very different histories. Far from ‘timeless lands', they have carried detailed information about long-term climate changes on continental scales.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 146-155
Author(s):  
A. V. Alekseyenko ◽  
Y. Aphinyanaphongs ◽  
S. Brown ◽  
D. Fenyo ◽  
L. Fu ◽  
...  

SummaryTo survey major developments and trends in the field of Bioinformatics in 2010 and their relationships to those of previous years, with emphasis on long-term trends, on best practices, on quality of the science of informatics, and on quality of science as a function of informatics.A critical review of articles in the literature of Bioinformatics over the past year.Our main results suggest that Bioinformatics continues to be a major catalyst for progress in Biology and Translational Medicine, as a consequence of new assaying technologies, most predominantly Next Generation Sequencing, which are changing the landscape of modern biological and medical research. These assays critically depend on bioinformatics and have led to quick growth of corresponding informatics methods development. Clinical-grade molecular signatures are proliferating at a rapid rate. However, a highly publicized incident at a prominent university showed that deficiencies in informatics methods can lead to catastrophic consequences for important scientific projects. Developing evidence-driven protocols and best practices is greatly needed given how serious are the implications for the quality of translational and basic science.Several exciting new methods have appeared over the past 18 months, that open new roads for progress in bioinformatics methods and their impact in biomedicine. At the same time, the range of open problems of great significance is extensive, ensuring the vitality of the field for many years to come.


Western Birds ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 270-292
Author(s):  
W. David Shuford ◽  
Kathy C. Molina ◽  
John P. Kelly ◽  
T. Emiko Condeso ◽  
Daniel S. Cooper ◽  
...  

As part of an 11-state inventory, we censused the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the interior of California from 2009 to 2012, using a combination of aerial, ground, and boat surveys. An estimated 8791 pairs breeding in the interior of the state in 2009–2012 exceeded the 7170 pairs estimated in 1998–1999. In both periods, cormorants were breeding in 9 of 11 ecoregions, but three-fourths were at one site—Mullet Island at the Salton Sea in the Sonoran Desert ecoregion (abandoned in 2014). The ecoregions with the next highest proportions were the Sacramento Valley, San Joaquin Valley, and Modoc Plateau. The apparent increase in numbers and colony sites since 1999—consistent with the pattern through much of western North America—reflects the (short-lived) increase in numbers at the Salton Sea, an increasing number of colonies and breeding pairs in the Central Valley, and slightly better coverage on the recent surveys. Because of practical survey constraints and limited data to date, evidence of change in numbers of Doublecrested Cormorants breeding in the interior of California between 1998–1999 and 2009–2012 is inconclusive. Plans for monitoring will need to take into account the effects of substantial annual variation in numbers, which may be associated with large fluctuations in cormorants’ prey base, short-term cycles of drought and flood, shifts of nesting cormorants into or out of the interior of California, and the expectation of greater environmental fluctuations with continuing climate change. The factors most likely to limit the number of cormorants breeding in the interior of the state are habitat loss or alteration (particularly from reallocation of water for human needs), disease, human disturbance, and the long-term effects of climate change.


1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zopito Marini

This paper focuses on a particular type of peer victimization commonly identified as school bullying. In the past. myths and inaccurate assumptions coupled with the lack of empirical data on the long term effects and stability of peer victimization have presented serious obstacles toward a greater understanding of bullying. Recent research, however, suggests that the number of students affected is much higher than previously believed, the range of behaviours involved more severe, and the consequences long-lasting; in many cases, the maladjustment for both victims and bullies can extend well into adulthood. Clearly, peer victimization is a complex and multidimensional aspect of school life that needs to be understood in greater depth and taken much more seriously because of the associated consequences. This paper will provide an overview of four central aspects of bullying, namely, the myths, characteristics, callses, and consequences.


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