R4D Indonesia

First report of 16SrII ‘CandidatusPhytoplasma aurantifolia’ infecting chilli and tamarillo in Indonesia

Fri, 25 May 2012 01:28 GMT

Document Type: Journal Article

Production Year: 2009

Citation: Harling, R.; Arocha, Y.; Harju, V.; Tobing, C.; Boa, E.; Kelly, P.; Reeder, R. First report of 16SrII ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’ infecting chilli and tamarillo in Indonesia. Plant Pathology (2009) 58 (4) 791-791. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3059.2009.02074.x]

Summary: In September 2007, smallholder farm fields of chilli pepper (Capsicum spp.) and tamarillo (Cyphomandra betacea) around Bunuraya area, North Sumatera, Indonesia, showed symptoms of stunting, severe leaf mottling, and bunching of small mottled leaves. Up to 100% of the plants were affected. Leaf samples from randomly collected symptomatic chilli and tamarillo were analysed by nested PCR using phytoplasma 16S rDNA universal primers (R16F2m/R1 followed by fU5/rU3), RFLP, and sequenced. PCR amplicons and identical RFLP profiles (HaeIII, RsaI and AluI) were obtained for symptomatic tamarillo (3/4) and chilli (4/4), but not for asymptomatic samples. PCR products of a representative tamarillo and chilli were purified and sequenced. The phytoplasma 16S rDNA sequences from chilli (EU273881) and tamarillo (EU273882) were 99% identical to each other, and to members of the group 16SrII, 'Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia' [Phytoplasma aurantifolia]. This is thought to be the first report of group 16SrII infecting chilli and tamarillo in Indonesia, and the first world report for tamarillo.

Use of hospital data for Safe Motherhood programmes in South Kalimantan, Indonesia

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:15 GMT

Document Type: Journal Article
Creator: Ronsmans, C.; Achadi, E.; Sutratikto, G.; Zazri, A.; McDermott, J.

Production Year: 1999

Citation: Ronsmans, C.; Achadi, E.; Sutratikto, G.; Zazri, A.; McDermott, J. Use of hospital data for Safe Motherhood programmes in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Tropical Medicine and International Health (1999) 4 (7) 514-521. [DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-3156.1999.00429.x]

Summary: The evaluation of Safe Motherhood programmes has been hampered by difficulties in measuring the preferred outcomes of maternal mortality and morbidity. The need for adequate indicators has led researchers and programme managers alike to resort to indicators of utilization and quality of health services. In this study the authors assess the magnitude of four indicators of use of essential obstetric care (EOC) and one indicator of quality of care in health facilities in three districts in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. The general picture which emerges for South Kalimantan is that the use of obstetric services is low. Even in the more urban district of Banjar where facility-based coverage is highest, fewer than 14% of all deliveries take place in an EOC facility, 2% of expected births are admitted to such a facility with a major obstetric intervention (MOI), and 1% of expected births have an MOI for an absolute maternal indication. The use of facility-based EOC is consistently lower in Barito Kuala compared to the other districts, and the differences persist regardless of the indicators used. In this setting with low utilization rates, general rates of utilization of EOC facilities seem to be as satisfactory an indicator of relative access to EOC as more elaborate indicators specifying the reasons for admission. The inequalities in access to care revealed by the various indicators of use of EOC services may prove to be a more powerful stimulus for change than the widely reported and highly inaccurate accounts of the high levels of maternal mortality.

Potential impacts of climate change on the environmental services of humid tropical alpine regions

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:36 GMT

Document Type: Journal Article
Creator: Buytaert, W.; Cuesta-Camacho, F.; Tobón, C.

Production Year: 2011

Citation: Buytaert, W.; Cuesta-Camacho, F.; Tobón, C. Potential impacts of climate change on the environmental services of humid tropical alpine regions. Global Ecology and Biogeography (2011) 20 (1) 19-33. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00585.x]

Summary: Aim Humid tropical alpine environments are crucial ecosystems that sustain biodiversity, biological processes, carbon storage and surface water provision. They are identified as one of the terrestrial ecosystems most vulnerable to global environmental change. Despite their vulnerability, and the importance for regional biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development, they are among the least studied and described ecosystems in the world. This paper reviews the state of knowledge about tropical alpine environments, and provides an integrated assessment of the potential threats of global climate change on the major ecosystem processes.

Location Humid tropical alpine regions occur between the upper forest line and the perennial snow border in the upper regions of the Andes, the Afroalpine belt and Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Results and main conclusions Climate change will displace ecosystem boundaries and strongly reduce the total area of tropical alpine regions. Displacement and increased isolation of the remaining patches will induce species extinction and biodiversity loss. Drier and warmer soil conditions will cause a faster organic carbon turnover, decreasing the below-ground organic carbon storage. Since most of the organic carbon is currently stored in the soils, it is unlikely that an increase in above-ground biomass will be able to offset soil carbon loss at an ecosystem level. Therefore a net release of carbon to the atmosphere is expected. Changes in precipitation patterns, increased evapotranspiration and alterations of the soil properties will have a major impact on water supply. Many regions are in danger of a significantly reduced or less reliable stream flow. The magnitude and even the trend of most of these effects depend strongly on local climatic, hydrological and ecological conditions. The extreme spatial gradients in these conditions put the sustainability of ecosystem management at risk.

Ganoderma boninense basidiospores in oil palm plantations: evaluation of their possible role in stem rots of Elaeis guineensis.

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:38 GMT

Document Type: Journal Article
Creator: Rees, R. W.; Flood, J.; Hasan, Y.; Wills, M. A.; Cooper, R. M.

Production Year: 2011

Citation: Rees, R. W.; Flood, J.; Hasan, Y.; Wills, M. A.; Cooper, R. M. Ganoderma boninense basidiospores in oil palm plantations: evaluation of their possible role in stem rots of Elaeis guineensis. Plant Pathology (2011) : Published online Sept. 2011 [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3059.2011.02533.x]

Summary: Basidiospores are implicated in the distribution and genetic diversity of Ganoderma boninense, cause of basal stem rot (BSR) and upper stem rot (USR) of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Measurement of aerial basidiospores within plantations in Sumatra showed continuous and high production over 24 h (range c. 2–11 000 spores m-3) with maximum release during early evening. Basidiospores applied to cut surfaces of fronds, peduncles and stems germinated in situ. Equivalent, extensive wounds are created during plantation harvesting and management and represent potential sites for formation of infective heterokaryons following mating of haploid basidiospore germlings. Use of spore-sized micro-beads showed that basidiospores could be pulled up to 10 cm into severed xylem vessels, where they are relatively protected from dehydration, UV irradiation and competing microflora. Diversity of isolates from five locations on two plantations was assessed by RAMS fingerprinting. Isolates from within individual palms with USR were identical and represent single infections, but different USR infections had unique band patterns and revealed separate infections. Some BSR-affected trees contained more than one isolate, and thus had multiple infections. There was one example of adjacent BSR palms with the same isolate, indicating vegetative spread, but there were no identical genets from BSR infections and adjacent fallen palms. Isolate diversity was as great within a plantation as between plantations. It is evident that basidiospores play a major role in spread and genetic variability of G. boninense. Evidence for direct basidiospore infection via cut fronds, indirectly through roots via colonized debris and less frequently, infection by vegetative, clonal spread is considered.

Still left in the dark? How people in emergencies use communication to survive – and how humanitarian agencies can help. Policy Briefing No. 6.

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:57 GMT

Document Type: Briefing
Creator: Wall, I.; Robinson, L.

Production Year: 2012

Citation: Wall, I.; Robinson, L. Still left in the dark? How people in emergencies use communication to survive – and how humanitarian agencies can help. Policy Briefing No. 6. BBC Media Action, London, UK (2012) 16 pp.

Summary: This briefing focuses on the explosion in access to communications technology among communities affected by disasters. It covers The changing world of communications technology; What communication means to survivors; What communication means to the aid agency; Where is communication on today’s humanitarian map?; Coordination and the systems level challenge; and Funding. It draws on examples from Haiti, Kenya, Somalia, Central African Republic and Indonesia.

Trypanosoma evansi infection in worked and unworked buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in Indonesia

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:16 GMT

Document Type: Journal Article
Creator: Payne, R.C.; Djauhan, D.; Partoutomo, S.; Jones, T.W.; Pearson, R.A.

Production Year: 1991

Citation: Payne, R.C.; Djauhan, D.; Partoutomo, S.; Jones, T.W.; Pearson, R.A. Trypanosoma evansi infection in worked and unworked buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in Indonesia. Veterinary Parasitology (1991) 40 (3-4) 197-206. [DOI: 10.1016/0304-4017(91)90100-A]

Summary: The effect of controlled amounts of exercise on the outcome of Trypanosoma evansi infection was studied in groups of swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) experimentally infected with T. evansi. Daily body temperature, packed cell volume (PCV) and parasitaemia measurements were obtained from each animal for up to 110 days after infection. Exercise did not appear to exacerbate the effect of T. evansi infection in that similar temperature, PCV and parasitaemia profiles were obtained with both exercised and rested animals. Trypanosoma evansi infection, however, had a marked effect on temperature and PCV profiles, both of which could adversely affect an infected animal's work output and work tolerance.

ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:00 GMT

Document Type: Book
Creator: Samarajiva, R.; Zainudeen, A. (Editors)

Production Year: 2008

Citation: Samarajiva, R.; Zainudeen, A. (editors) ICT Infrastructure in Emerging Asia: Policy and Regulatory Roadblocks. Sage India/IDRC, (2008) 334 pp. ISBN 978-1-55250-378-2 [ebook]

Summary: This book examines how theoretically optimal concepts actually get implemented in the hard terrain of emerging Asia. It gleans lessons from five Asian countries — Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka — based on their experiences with expanding ICT connectivity. It reports the findings of a cutting-edge 3000+ sample demand-side survey of telephone use at the "bottom of the pyramid" in India and Sri Lanka. It considers the problem of expanding connectivity from different angles: that of the user, the operator, the policymaker, the regulator, and civil society. And it sheds light on a range of situations and technologies, like telephone use in post-conflict regions of Sri Lanka, Wi-Fi deployment in Indonesia, and universal service obligations in India.

Evaluation of antigen detection and antibody detection tests for Trypanosoma evansi infections of buffaloes in Indonesia

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:53 GMT

Document Type: Journal Article
Creator: Davison, H.C.; Thrusfield, M.V.; Muharsini, S.; Husein, A.; Partoutomo, S.; Rae, P.F.; Masake, R.; Luckins, A.G.

Production Year: 1999

Citation: Davison, H.C.; Thrusfield, M.V.; Muharsini, S.; Husein, A.; Partoutomo, S.; Rae, P.F.; Masake, R.; Luckins, A.G. Evaluation of antigen detection and antibody detection tests for Trypanosoma evansi infections of buffaloes in Indonesia. Epidemiology and Infection (1999) 123 (1) 149-155.

Summary: Two Ag-ELISAs, an IgG-specific antibody detection ELISA (IgG ELISA) and a card agglutination test (CATT) for the detection of Trypanasoma evansi infections in buffaloes in Indonesia, were compared. Diagnostic sensitivity estimates were obtained by testing sera from 139 Indonesian buffaloes which had been found to be infected by parasitological tests. Diagnostic specificity was estimated by testing sera from 263 buffaloes living in Australia. Response-operating characteristic curves were constructed, and optimal ELISA cut-off values, which minimized the number of false–negative and false–positive results, were chosen. The IgG ELISA had the highest sensitivity (89%) and the CATT had the highest specificity (100%). There was a significant difference between the sensitivities (71 and 81%), but not between the specificities (75 and 78%), of the two Ag-ELISAs. The four tests were further compared by calculation of post-test probabilities of infection for positive and negative test results using a range of prevalence values, and likelihood ratios. The results suggested that the CATT was the best test to ‘rule-in’ infection (i.e. the highest probability of infection in test-positive animals) and the IgG ELISA was the best test to ‘rule-out’ infection (i.e. the lowest probability of infection in test-negative animals).

Efficacy of cymelarsan treatment of suramin resistant Trypanosoma evansi in cattle

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:12 GMT

Document Type: Journal Article
Creator: Payne, R.C.; Sukanto, I.P.; Partoutomo, S.; Jones, T.W.

Production Year: 1994

Citation: Payne, R.C.; Sukanto, I.P.; Partoutomo, S.; Jones, T.W. Efficacy of cymelarsan treatment of suramin resistant Trypanosoma evansi in cattle. Tropical Animal Health and Production (1994) 26 (2) 92-94. [DOI: 10.1007/BF02239906]

Effect of suramin treatment in feedlot cattle in an area of Indonesia endemic for Trypanosoma evansi

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 09:05 GMT

Document Type: Journal Article
Creator: Payne, R.C.; Sukanto, I.P.; Partoutomo, S.; Sitepu, P.; Jones, T.W.

Production Year: 1994

Citation: Payne, R.C.; Sukanto, I.P.; Partoutomo, S.; Sitepu, P.; Jones, T.W. Effect of suramin treatment on the productivity of feedlot cattle in a Trypanosoma evansi endemic area of Indonesia. Tropical Animal Health and Production (1994) 26 (1) 35-36. [DOI: 10.1007/BF02241130]