Background

The Asian liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini is intensively transmitted in Southeast Asia (SEA), particularly Lao PDR, Thailand and Cambodia. The helminth adult worm lives in human bile ducts of the liver where it causes a multitude of severe pathologies including cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), a fatal bile duct cancer. While in Northeast Thailand research on control tools and public health interventions have much advanced over the past decades, progress made in research and disease control is limited in Lao PDR and Cambodia and the interventions are rather temporary and focal.

There are major challenges for the successful control of O. viverrini infection and related morbidity. Firstly, the currently widely available diagnostic techniques (e.g. Kato-Katz) have a low sensitivity. Secondly, the extent of morbidity (disease) associated with the O. viverrini infection is unknown in many O. viverrini endemic settings. Thirdly, given the lack of adequate regional estimations of O. viverrini infection and the related mortality and morbidity, the currently employed level of control initiatives cannot be adequate planned.

The Project

Our project consortium, consisting of four institutions in Switzerland, Thailand, Lao PDR and Cambodia, each having several decades of experience in Asian liver fluke research and control, aims to develop new tools to control of O. viverrini infection and associated morbidity and mortality in SEA region. Our objectives are (i) to regionally validate a promising rapid diagnostic tests for O. viverrini infection in field sites in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand; (ii) to compile existing data on O. viverrini infection and associated mortality and morbidity in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand and complement them with additional survey data in areas where only sparse information is available; and (iii) to predict the risk of O. viverrini infection and related mortality and morbidity across Southeast Asia.

The Science

This transnational project will lead into a SEA regional view of O. viverrini infection and related morbidity and mortality. For objective (i), a field validation of the urine based detection of circulating O. viverrini will be performed. Two promising tests will be validated: A urine- and a corpro-antigen based diagnostic test, which have a documented high potential for further development. The validation will take into account the different levels of endemicity of O. viverrini infection, and the helminthic co-infections. It will be performed in settings in Lao PDR, Thailand and Cambodia. For objective (ii) an database will be created where existing geo-localized data on O. viverrini infection and associated morbidity will be combined with newly surveyed data. A systematic review of published literature on O. viverrini infection, and related morbidity and mortality will be conducted to achieve a most comprehensive database. For objective (iii), the database will be used for the prediction of O. viverrini infection, morbidity and mortality in area where no data is available and across all three endemic countries by using a well-established Bayesian geo-statistical modelling approach.

The Team

Prof Penelope Vounatsou and Prof Peter Odermatt, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland

Dr. Somphou Sayasone, Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute, Ministry of Health, Vientiane, Lao PDR

Dr. Virak Khieu, National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, Ministry of Health, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Professor Paiboon Sithithaworn, Parasitology Department and Cholangiocarcinoma Research Institute, Khon Kaen University (KKU), Khon Kaen, Thailand

Contact

Professor Peter Odermatt, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Epidemiology and Public Health Department, PO Box, 4002 Basel, Switzerland, Email: peter.odermatt@swisstph.ch

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Background

The metallization of plastics, called Plating On Plastics (POP) for decorative and functional applications is an integral part of many branches of industry. In the automotive industry, for example, in car interiors, for sanitary fittings, for shielding electronic devices or in consumer goods industry for control elements on household appliances. Electroplating usually refers to plating of metallic surfaces, and requires electric conductivity of the substrate, while the adhesion between layer and substrate is achieved by metal-metal bonds. These both aspects are not observed in POP as plastic is used. Therefore, POP processes rely on very special mechanism and pretreatment procedures. Furthermore, it is not possible to use any type of plastic for metallization in order to produce adhesive layers. Usually, POP products are based on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene – polycarbonate (ABS/PC) blend substrates. Modern societies will change into a reduced or neutral carbon footprint way of living. This means not only the use of renewable energies; it means the use of renewable resources in general – including materials. The currently available bioplastics cannot be electroplated with the existing processes and development work has to be carried out. The important thing is that the biopolymer and the electrochemical processes are developed together.

The Project

The aim of the joint research project is an optimised electroplating process for tailor-made biopolymer materials. Biopolymers from renewable raw materials will be used in the field of "Plating On Plastic" (POP) to replace non-biodegradable and oil-based materials. From this point of view, the project will have a beneficial impact for the societal change from “oil-based to green” by the intermediate of more sustainable consumable goods, packaging and vehicles.

The Science

The research to reach the targets goes deep into material science and needs competences in different disciplines of material science as well as in biotechnology and chemistry. The multidisciplinary of the project is best seen in his dual approach of improving the process of metal deposition on plastic from two perspectives: the design, synthesis and surface preparation of a suitable biopolymer from renewable resources and the optimization of the deposition procedures and conditions. This demands on the one side knowledge on design and conducting bioprocesses for a target product and on the other hand, the know-how related to developing electroplating process chains.

Two research lines are proposed regarding the design of the polymer. First, a bio-based polymer or blend having a biphasic structure, similarly to ABS, will be targeted together with a standard electroplating process but involving a suitable non-CMR etching agent like sulfuric acid. A second approach utilizes the difference between the first and second crystallization rates observed for some PHA polymers. The surface pretreatment and the electroplating process must be tailored to the biopolymers.

The Team

The BIOPLATE partners are:

• Coordinator : Dr.- Ing. Martin Metzner, Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation / Electroplating, Stuttgart, Germany

• Prof. Dr. Manfred Zinn, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland Valais Wallis, Biotechnology and Sustainable Chemistry, Sion, Switzerland

• Dr. Chuanchom Aumnate, Metallurgy and Materials Science Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yuttanant Boonyongmaneerat, Metallurgy and Materials Science Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Contact: Dr.- Ing. Martin Metzner martin.metzner@ipa.fraunhofer.de

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Background

Around the world, natural ecosystems are being put under increasing pressure by mankind. Maintaining high levels of biodiversity is vital to ensuring the continuing sustainability of ecosystems, and areas at particular risk are identified as ‘biodiversity hotspots’. There are three such insular hotspots in Southeast Asia, which are among the most endangered in the world.

However, there is a lack of consistent recording of animal and plant life within these ecosystems, which hampers conservation efforts. This lack of accurate and reliable databases in Southeast Asia, limits research on ecology and global climate change. Such research is becoming increasingly important as greater areas and populations begin to experience the effects of climate change – particularly those whose livelihoods depend on wildlife.

To get a clearer picture of the state of freshwater biotas in insular hotspots in Southeast Asia, urgent steps must be taken. Firstly, DNA-based methods of species inventory are needed to speed up the inventory of biodiversity, and accurate biodiversity mapping is urgently needed to guide conservation strategies.

For this work to take place, capacity building on wildlife forensics is needed to promote new and sustainable practices for species identification, while local populations living in these areas will also need guidance to adapt to the potential effects of biodiversity loss.

The project

The FRESHBIO project aims to address all of these issues through the following steps. Firstly, the team will support DNA barcoding campaigns to build-up reference libraries for automated species identification and its application in environmental DNA barcoding. They will then explore historical trends in population demography and species aggregation in ecological communities to address the state of aquatic biotas (expansion vs. contraction), and estimate the impact of land conversion on diversity patterns through a geographic information system approach. Finally, the project will explore the dynamics of adaptation and resilience of human populations to environmental changes.

The Science

Three main hypotheses are underpinning FRESHBIO: (1) DNA barcoding is an effective paradigm to document biodiversity as it is effective whatever the life stages, spectacular levels of cryptic diversity are often reported and libraries are publicly available. (2) Pleistocene climatic fluctuations predict diversity patterns. Emerged land in Sundaland represents only 50-75% of its maximal Pleistocene surface and its biotas are currently in a refugial state. By contrast, the Wallacea and Philippines hotspots have been continuously isolated from the main land during PCF. (3) Wildlife dependent peoples are sentinels of environmental changes. Resilience and adaptive responses of local fisherfolk to disturbed aquatic ecosystems may be assessed through the peoples’ capacity to anticipate ongoing changes. If addressed through time, people adaptive strategies might be indicative of early ecosystemic changes.

The FRESHBIO partners are:

Dr. Hendrik FREITAG: Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU)

Dr. Daisy WOWOR: Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)

Dr. Nicolas HUBERT: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), France Sud

Dr. Thomas von RINTELEN: Museum für Naturkunde (MfN)

Dr. Philippe KEITH: Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN)

Dr. Edmond DOUNIAS: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Indonésie

Contact:

Nicolas Hubert: Nicolas.hubert@ird.fr

Background

Sea cucumbers are a delicacy across South and East Asia, yet with increasing market pressure and the effects of climate change, numbers are reducing at an alarming rate, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. Sea cucumber fisheries are in a worse state than most fisheries globally.

Over the past 2 decades, the production a particular breed of edible sea cucumber, Holothuria scabra, has ensured sufficient production and made its aquaculture profitable. However, it is thought that increasing water temperatures and ocean acidification could be causing an increase in skin ulceration diseases in sea cucumbers. Such diseases could seriously affect their production, affecting not only the animals, but also the local economies which depend upon their growth and sale. 

The project

The SKUD project aims to study the emergence of diseases, especially SKUDs, in edible sea cucumbers outside Madagascar, especially in Thailand and France, within a global change framework.

The team aim to firstly make a survey of parasites and diseases of two edible sea cucumbers (Holothuria forskali in France and Holothuria scabra in Thailand, and will then determine the cause(s) of SKUDs on these species. With this information, the team will then assess the effects of increased temperature and decreased pH, at values commensurate with predicted global changes, on SKUD prevalence and development.

The Science

The SKUDs that are emerging diseases in new aquacultures will be characterized for the first time by adequate “high tech” methods including metagenomic analyses and the originality of the researches as well as the strength of the involved teams insures the diffusion of the results through international publications. The assessment of the possible impact of global change stressors on SKUD diseases will help forecasting and preventing their exacerbation in aquaculture conditions. The cost of possible mitigations through manipulation of temperature and/of pH in aquaculture basins can then be assessed.

Commercially, the understanding of sea cucumber diseases is of the utmost importance as these fisheries expand worldwide with a Chinese market pressure of increasing affluence. Sea cucumbers have attracted much interest in export-oriented fisheries in at least 70 countries. Collecting sea cucumbers for production of ‘‘bêche-de-mer’’ or ‘‘trepang’’ (the dried body wall) and export to the Asian dried seafood market has a long history in the productive waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The majority (66%) of sea cucumber fisheries involved small-scale fishing operations for export. The Team:

The SKUD partners are:

Igor EECKHAUT/ University of Mons (Belgium)

Anchana PRATHEP / Prince of Songkla University (Thailand)

Philippe DUBOIS / Free University of Brussels (Belgium)

Nadia AMEZIANE / Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Station de Biologie Marine de Concarneau (France)

Contact:

Igor Eeckhaut: Igor.Eeckhaut@umons.ac.be

The project:

Rice is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, and one of the major crops for both consumption and as a commodity in Southeast Asia. However, it is also vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and increased temperatures worldwide are predicted to cause reduced crop yields in the future.  

To counteract this, the Climate-ResilientRice project (CRR) aims to strengthen rice breeding programs in Thailand and Laos, so that crops will be able to withstand the effects of climate change, and even enhance production under adverse conditions.

CRR has been funded through the 1st Call of the Southeast Asia-Europe Joint Funding Scheme for for Research and Innovation (JFS) and brings together a team from both regions to tackle this pressing issue.

The Science:

The project will use a varietal improvement process based on the most advanced knowledge of traits which are affected by climate change, such as  high temperatures (that cause yield losses due to rice flowers’ sterility), and use proven methods of marker-assisted selection on a state of the art breeding data-management system.

It will also make use of complementary experimental facilities, including field and greenhouse phenotyping facilities in NAFRI/BIOTEC, respectively, growth chamber facility mimicking high temperature at CIRAD, and molecular marker lab at BIOTEC.

The Team:

The CRR project partners are:

• Rice Gene Discovery Unit, BIOTEC, NSTDA, Pathumthani, Thailand; http://www.biotec.or.th/en (Project Coordinator)
• Agriculture Research Center (ARC),National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), Vientianne, Laos ; www.nafri.org.la
• French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), Montpellier, France; https://www.cirad.fr

Contact:

Jonaliza L. Siangliw: jonaliza.sia@biotec.or.th