BACKGROUND: Oral cancer is a growing problem worldwide, with high incidence rates in South Asian countries. With increasing numbers of South Asian immigrants in developed countries, a possible rise in oral cancer cases is expected given the high prevalence in their source countries and the continued oral cancer risk behaviours of immigrants. The aim of this review is to synthesise existing evidence regarding knowledge, attitudes and practices of South Asian immigrants in developed countries regarding oral cancer.
METHODS: Five electronic databases were systematically searched to identify original, English language articles focussing on oral cancer risk knowledge, attitudes and practices of South Asian immigrants in developed countries. All studies that met the following inclusion criteria were included: conducted among South Asian immigrants in developed countries; explored at least one study outcome (knowledge or attitudes or practices); used either qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. No restrictions were placed on the publication date, quality and setting of the study.
RESULTS: A total of 16 studies involving 4772 participants were reviewed. These studies were mainly conducted in the USA, UK, Italy and New Zealand between 1994 and 2018. Findings were categorised into themes of oral cancer knowledge, attitudes and practices. General lack of oral cancer risk knowledge (43-76%) among participants was reported. More than 50% people were found engaging in one or more oral cancer risk practices like smoking, betel quid/pan/gutka chewing. Some of the participants perceived betel quid/pan/gutka chewing habit good for their health (12-43.6%).
CONCLUSIONS: This review has shown that oral cancer risk practices are prevalent among South Asian immigrants who possess limited knowledge and unfavourable attitude in this area. Culturally appropriate targeted interventions and strategies are needed to raise oral cancer awareness among South Asian communities in developed countries.

Universal health coverage (UHC) is a key area in post-2015 global agenda which has been incorporated as target for achieving health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A global framework has been developed to monitor SDG indicators disaggregated by socioeconomic and demographic markers. This review identifies the indices used to measure socio-economic status (SES) in South Asian urban health studies.
Two reviewers searched six databases including Cochran Library, Medline, LILACS, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Lancet journals independently. All South Asian health studies covering urban population, with any research-designs, written in English language, and published between January 2000 and June 2016 were included. Two reviewers independently screened and assessed for selection of eligible articles for inclusion. Any conflict between the reviewers was resolved by a third reviewer.
We retrieved 3529 studies through initial search. Through screening and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, this review finally included 256 articles for full-text review. A total of 25 different SES indices were identified. SES indices were further categorized into 5 major groups, e.g., (1) asset-based wealth index, (2) wealth index combining education, (3) indices based on income and expenditure, (4) indices based on education and occupation, and (5) \"indices without description.\" The largest proportion of studies, irrespective of country of origin, thematic area, and study design, used asset-based wealth index (n = 142, 54%) as inequality markers followed by the index based on income and expenditure (n = 80, 30%). Sri Lankan studies used income- and expenditure-based indices more than asset-based wealth index. Majority of the reviewed studies were on \"maternal, neonatal, and child health\" (n = 98, 38%) or on \"non-communicable diseases\" (n = 84, 33%). Reviewed studies were mostly from India (n = 145, 57%), Bangladesh (n = 42, 16%), and Pakistan (n = 27, 11%). Among the reviewed articles, 55% (n = 140) used primary data while the rest 45% studies used secondary data.
This scoping review identifies asset-based wealth index as the most frequently used indices for measuring socioeconomic status in South Asian urban health studies. This review also provides a clear idea about the use of other indices for the measurement SES in the region.

Chronic diseases contribute to about half of the adult disease burden in the South Asian region. Meanwhile, physical activity levels are declining despite the global evidence of its role in the prevention of chronic diseases. While there are a plethora of systematic reviews on the effects of physical activity on chronic diseases, there has not yet been a synthesis of the evidence concerning the nature of this relationship among people living in South Asian countries incorporating multiple chronic diseases and a focus on physical activity domains. The aim of this protocol is to describe the rationale and methods for a systematic review of published research to identify the association between physical activity and selected chronic diseases and their markers and analysis of the strength of association with a focus on physical activity domains among South Asian adults 40 years and older.
Nine electronic databases including Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, CENTRAL, CINAHL Plus, AgeLine, SPORTDiscus, Scopus and Web of Science will be systematically searched for papers reporting the association between physical activity and selected chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes mellitus, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, vascular diseases and musculoskeletal diseases (osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, back and neck pain)) and their markers using predefined search terms. Searches will be limited to peer-reviewed, English language papers with a quantitative design. In addition, a manual search of references of relevant systematic reviews as well as citations and references of eligible studies will also be carried out. The methodological appraisal will be performed using the National Institutes of Health quality assessment checklist for observational studies and the Effective Public Health Practice Project quality assessment tool for intervention studies. The overall quality of evidence for the study outcomes across the study designs will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. The review results will be presented in the form of narrative synthesis, and a random effects meta-analysis is planned depending on the nature of included studies and available data.
This review will summarise the strength of the association between physical activity and selected chronic diseases and their markers among South Asian adults 40 years or older. The findings will provide an evidence base to guide public health policy and interventions in the South Asian region and to inform future research to address the rising burden of chronic diseases.
PROSPERO CRD42018096505.

South Asia is a unique geopolitical region covering 3.4% of the world\'s surface area and supporting 25% of the world\'s population (1.75 billion). Available evidence from South Asia shows variable estimates of the magnitude of disability. The projected magnitude depends on whether an impairment focus is highlighted (approximately 1.6⁻2.1%) or functionality is given precedence (3.6⁻15.6%). People with disability (PWD) face significant challenges to accessing health care in the region. Studies show that adults with disability reported a four times higher incidence of a serious health problem in a year\'s recall period. Evidence shows a significantly higher rate (17.8%) of hospitalization among PWD compared to others (5%). Chronic conditions like diabetes were also significantly higher. Women with disability had significantly more concerns on reproductive health issues. Studies from the South Asia region reveal that not only did PWD have a higher load of adverse health outcomes but they also faced significantly more barriers in accessing health services.

The Pleistocene vertebrate assemblage of Aldabra Atoll has been comparatively well studied. Three Upper Pleistocene fossil localities have been described yielding birds, reptiles and terrestrial molluscs. Those of Bassin Cabri and Bassin Lebine on Ile Picard are undated but must be in excess of 136,000 YBP, whereas Point Hodoul on Malabar Island is circa 100,000 YBP. Aldabra was seemingly completely submerged between deposition of the Ile Picard and Point Hodoul deposits, resulting in local faunal extinctions. Here we present the results of an ongoing study of fossil material collected on Ile Picard in 1987, which reveals a more diverse assemblage than previously realised. Notable discoveries are an Ardeola heron, three Procellariformes, tropic-bird Phaethon, gull Larus, rail Dryolimnas, harrier Circus and owl Tyto, plus evidence of recolonisation of the atoll by some seabirds, rail, harrier, owl, giant tortoises and lizards after the Ile Picard/Point Hodoul submergence event.

This article reviews the current status of waste management in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the challenges that are faced in solid waste management. The waste generation rates of SIDS were compared within the three geographic regions namely Caribbean SIDS, Pacific SIDS and Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China (AIMS) SIDS and with countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). Only Pacific SIDS had a waste generation rate less than 1kg/capita/day. The waste generation rates for the three SIDS regions averaged 1.29kg/capita/day while that for OECD countries was at a mean value of 1.35kg/capita/day. The waste compositions in the different SIDS regions were almost similar owing to comparable consumption patterns while these differed to a large extent with wastes generated in OECD countries. In SIDS, the major fraction of MSW comprised of organics (44%) followed by recyclables namely paper, plastics, glass and metals (total: 43%). In contrast, MSW in OECD countries consisted mainly of recyclables (43%) followed by organics (37%). This article also reviewed the other functional elements of the waste management systems in SIDS. Several shortcomings were noted in the process of waste collection, transfer and transport namely the fact of having outdated collection vehicles and narrow roads which are inaccessible. Among the waste management practices in SIDS, waste disposal via landfilling, illegal dumping and backyard burning were favoured most of the time at the expense of sustainable waste treatment technologies such as composting, anaerobic digestion and recycling.

African swine fever (ASF) is a major limiting factor for pig production in most of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean. In the absence of vaccine, a good understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of the disease is fundamental to implement effective control measures. In selected countries of Southern and East Africa, the association between Ornithodoros moubata ticks and warthogs has been described in detail in the literature. However, for many other countries in the region, information related to the sylvatic cycle is lacking or incomplete. In West African countries, for instance, the role of wild pigs in the epidemiology of ASF has never been demonstrated and the existence and potential impact of a sylvatic cycle involving an association between soft ticks and warthogs is questionable. In other countries, other wild pig species such as the bushpigs (Potamochoerus spp.) can also be asymptomatically infected by the virus but their role in the epidemiology of the disease is unclear and might differ according to geographic regions. In addition, the methods and techniques required to study the role of wild hosts in ASF virus (ASFV) epidemiology and ecology are very specific and differ from the more traditional methods to study domestic pigs or other tick species. The aim of this review is (i) to provide a descriptive list of the methodologies implemented to study the role of wild hosts in African swine fever, (ii) to compile the available knowledge about the sylvatic cycle of ASFV in different regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean in addition to the one that has been described for East and Southern Africa, and (iii) to discuss current methodologies and available knowledge in order to identify new orientations for further field and experimental surveys.

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