This research aims to investigate the effect of climatic and hydrological factors on flood hazards and assess flood resilience in Ayutthaya, Thailand, using the 10 essentials for making cities resilient modified by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). Flood resilience assessment was performed based on a multi-criteria decision-making approach or the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) of pairwise comparison. The results indicate that runoff is considered the most influential factor in flood hazards, followed by land use, rainfall, and historical flood events, sequentially. Regarding the flood incident management concept, a questionnaire survey (n = 552) was conducted to understand the impacts of flood on local communities. The findings reveal that 50% of respondents had never received any flood information or participated in training sessions on flood preparedness. Most reported their concerns about the inadequate supply of drinking water during a flood. Spearman’s correlation coefficient shows positive correlations between flood disaster relief payments, preparedness training, access to flood hazard mapping, emergency health services, and their flood preparation actions. According to the modified UNDRR indicators, the top three highest AHP values in building community resilience to flood hazards in Ayutthaya are flood risk scenario identification, the effectiveness of emergency flood disaster response, integrated urban planning, and disaster risk reduction. The policy implications of this research include the need for national authorities to better understand the role cities can play a vital role in supporting both national and international climate resilience frameworks, especially Thailand’s National Disaster Management Plan, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), and the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical challenge worldwide as it impacts public health, especially via contamination in the food chain and in healthcare-associated infections. In relation to farming, the systems used, waste management on farms, and the production line process are all determinants reflecting the risk of AMR emergence and rate of contamination of foodstuffs. This review focuses on South East Asia (SEA), which contains diverse regions covering 11 countries, each having different levels of development, customs, laws, and regulations. Routinely, here as elsewhere antimicrobials are still used for three indications: therapy, prevention, and growth promotion, and these are the fundamental drivers of AMR development and persistence. The accuracy of detection of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) depends on the laboratory standards applicable in the various institutes and countries, and this affects the consistency of regional data.Enterobacteriaceaesuch asEscherichia coliandKlebsiella pneumoniaeare the standard proxy species used for indicating AMR-associated nosocomial infections and healthcare-associated infections. Pig feces and wastewater have been suspected as one of the hotspots for spread and circulation of ARB and ARG. As part of AMR surveillance in a One Health approach, clonal typing is used to identify bacterial clonal transmission from the production process to consumers and patients – although to date there have been few published definitive studies about this in SEA. Various alternatives to antibiotics are available to reduce antibiotic use on farms. Certain of these alternatives together with improved disease prevention methods are essential tools to reduce antimicrobial usage in swine farms and to support global policy. This review highlights evidence for potential transfer of resistant bacteria from food animals to humans, and awareness and understanding of AMR through a description of the occurrence of AMR in pig farm food chains under SEA management systems. The latter includes a description of standard pig farming practices, detection of AMR and clonal analysis of bacteria, and AMR in the food chain and associated environments. Finally, the possibility of using alternatives to antibiotics and improving policies for future strategies in combating AMR in a SEA context are outlined.

Background: Neuro-immune pathways are engaged in antenatal and postpartum depression. Aims: To determine if immune profiles influence the severity of prenatal depression above and beyond the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACE), premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and current psychological stressors. Methods: Using the Bio-Plex Pro human cytokine 27-plex test kit, we assayed M1 macrophage, T helper (Th)-1, Th-2, Th-17, growth factor, chemokine, and T cell growth immune profiles as well as indicators of the immune inflammatory response system (IRS) and compensatory immunoregulatory system (CIRS) in 120 pregnant females in the early (24 weeks) pregnancy. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to assess severity of antenatal depression. Results: Cluster analyses showed that the combined effects of ACE, relationship dissatisfaction, unwanted pregnancy, PMS, and upregulated M1, Th-1, Th-2, and IRS immune profiles and the ensuing early depressive symptoms shape a stress-immune-depression phenotypic class. Elevated IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12p70, IL-15, IL-17, and GM-CSF are the cytokines associated with this phenotypic class. All immune profiles (except CIRS) were significantly associated with the early EPDS score, independent of the effects of psychological variables and PMS. There was a shift in immune profiles from early to late pregnancy, with an increase in the IRS/CIRS ratio. The late EPDS score was predicted by the early EPDS score, adverse experiences, and immune profiles, mainly the Th-2 and Th-17 phenotypes. Conclusions: Activated immune phenotypes contribute to early and late perinatal depressive symptoms above and beyond the effects of psychological stressors and PMS.

Southeast Asia is projected to be the fourth largest economy in 2050, where agriculture and food are key sectors contributing to the regional’s GDP. However, ensuring food safety and traceability remains a challenge in the region and this offers ripe opportunity for fraudsters to take advantage of the system. This study aims to provide an overview of consumers’ concern about food fraud in selected countries in Southeast Asia. A cross-sectional online survey was implemented in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, yielding 1393 valid responses. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was conducted first to reduce the large dataset containing nominal variables. After that, ordered logistic regression was performed to predict food fraud concern, with independent variables being dimensions derived from MCA, total knowledge and experience, and demographic characteristics. We found that respondents from Vietnam and Malaysia were significantly more worried about food fraud compared to other countries. Concerns about food fraud were influenced by increased demand for food fraud control, perceived risks of different types of food fraud, information sources from media and personal networks, information sources from credible organisations, and self-experience of food fraud. Practical and policy recommendations for the region were suggested. This is the first empirical study on consumers’ concern about food fraud in Southeast Asia. The study embodies the UK Global Food Security and UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 2 ethos of providing the growing global population with access to safe food.

Carbapenem resistance among Enterobacteriaceae is a serious threat to humans worldwide. This study aims to evaluate the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) retrieved from water sources in central part of Thailand. Samples were collected from water bodies surrounding farms and communities in central Thailand. The species were identified by using MALDI-TOF MS. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and antibiotic susceptibility were determined. The carbapenemase-producing genes were detected by PCR and whole genome sequencing (WGS). ECC with chromosome-encoded bla_IMI-1 carbapenemase were detected. These isolates were resistant to last-resort antibiotics such as carbapenems and colistin as well as penicillin. In addition, all bla_IMI-1 genes isolated from this study were found to be associated with chromosomally integrated Xer-dependent integrative mobile elements (IMEXs). These findings highlight the diversity and dissemination of carbapenemases-producing Enterobacterales in environmental sources. With the increasing detection of carbapenemase genes worldwide, we should be aware of the bla_IMI-producing E. cloacae complex with a high resistance profile and the ability to mobilize within the environment.