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In the 21st century, there is a growing Brazilian academic interest from professors and students in researching realities from Asia, especially in postgraduate courses in Language Arts, Philosophy and Human Science. The paper aims not only to point to a broader panorama of Centers, Nuclei, Programs, Research, Study and Work Groups, Thematic Sessions and Events with Asian themes in the aforementioned academic areas in Brazil, but also to make a brief analysis of the papers carried out in Work Groups and Thematic Sessions of the ANPTECRE and PPCIR (CONACIR) national congresses dedicated to realities of Asian origin, taking into account three criteria, i.e. Religious Studies methodologies used, the genres of authorship, and the religious traditions that were approached by these papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors classified citations included in papers presented at 10 International Society for Music Education (ISME) biennial International Research Commission Seminars across an 18-year period (1988-2006) based on the six world regions as specified by the ISME Research Commission. Citations (N = 4,535) were examined from 238 papers presented at the 12th through 21st seminars. There were 2,250 citations from 407 journals, the most prevalent sources. Twenty-eight papers from this sample were multinational in nature, with 79% (n = 22) of these by U.S. researchers as either sole or senior authors. The main result of this study is that the researchers from around the world who were presenters at these seminars primarily cited sources within their own geographical regions. Additionally, the "Journal of Research in Music Education" was by far the most referenced journal throughout the entire sample. (Contains 2 tables.)

Code-switching is especially common within the Southeast Asian region which is home to a large number of bilinguals and multilinguals. Over the years, code-switching has been studied extensively, both in and out of Asia, via sociolinguistics, structural linguistics, and psycholinguistics. From the psycholinguistic perspective, code-switching is said to be the result of the co-activation of languages during the process of speech production for bilinguals. Grosjean's Language Mode and Green's Control Process Model are two psycholinguistic frameworks focusing on the psycholinguistic as well as interactional factors behind code-switching. However, past studies in this area were mostly experimental in nature. It is necessary to consider authentic production data to develop a greater understanding of the code-switching phenomenon especially within the Southeast Asian context due to its bilingual and multilingual communities. This conceptual paper aims to demonstrate how the interactional and psycholinguistic factors behind code-switching can be examined using authentic production data. In particular, a review of the literature pointed to the Conversation Analysis (CA) approach to code-switching as well as the concepts of triggered code-switching and primed code-switching as being relevant. Accordingly, this paper describes each construct in detail and provides suggestions on how they can be brought together in a single study on code-switching based on authentic production data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campaigns by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) pressuring companies to adopt sustainability standards have caught academic interest in recent years. Critics of this approach toward increasing biodiversity protection and social justice argue that campaign successes are often short-lived while proponents emphasize the potential of NGO campaigns to achieve positive environmental and social change in the absence of governmental legislation. Focusing on the recent forest conservation policy of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a leading pulp and paper company operating in Southeast Asia, we analyze the challenges companies face in implementing sustainability commitments made as a result of NGO and market pressure. Drawing from research on policy implementation and corporate greening we identify key activities to help entrench APP's commitments in the company's operations. Furthermore, we suggest that a range of actions by different stakeholder groups can achieve broader effects of APP's commitments toward better environmental and social stewardship in the region's pulp and paper sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a B cell malignancy that can be aggressive and with a poor prognosis; the clinical course is heterogeneous. The epidemiology of MCL in Asia is not well documented but appears to comprise 2-6% of all lymphoma cases based on available data, with variation observed between countries. Although international guidelines are available for the treatment of MCL, there is a lack of published data or guidance on the clinical characteristics and management of MCL in patient populations from Asia. This paper aims to review the available treatment and, where clinical gaps exist, provide expert consensus from the Asian Lymphoma Study Group (ALSG) on appropriate MCL management in Asia. BODY: Management strategies for MCL are patient- and disease stage-specific and aim to achieve balance between efficacy outcomes and toxicity. For asymptomatic patients with clearly indolent disease, observation may be an appropriate strategy. For stage I/II disease, following international guidelines is appropriate, which include either a short course of conventional chemotherapy followed by consolidated radiotherapy, less aggressive chemotherapy regimens, or a combination of these approaches. For advanced disease, the approach is based on the age and fitness of the patient. For young, fit patients, the current practice for induction therapy differs across Asia, with cytarabine having an important role in this setting. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) may be justified in selected patients because of the high relapse risk. In elderly patients, specific chemoimmunotherapy regimens available in each country/region are a treatment option. For maintenance therapy after first-line treatment, the choice of approach should be individualized, with cost being an important consideration within Asia. For relapsed/refractory disease, ibrutinib should be considered as well as other follow-on compounds, if available., Conclusion: Asian patient-specific data for the treatment of MCL are lacking, and the availability of treatment options differs between country/region within Asia. Therefore, there is no clear one-size-fits-all approach and further investigation on the most appropriate sequence of treatment that should be considered for this heterogeneous disease.

Rabies is a lethal zoonotic encephalomyelitis that causes an estimated 59,000 human deaths yearly worldwide. Although developing countries of Asia and Africa bear the heaviest burden, surveillance and disease detection in these countries is often hampered by the absence of local laboratories able to diagnose rabies and/or the difficulties of sample shipment from low-access areas to national reference laboratories. Filter papers offer a convenient cost-effective alternative for the sampling, shipment, and storage of biological materials for the diagnosis of many pathogens including rabies virus, yet the properties of diagnostic tests using this support have not been evaluated thoroughly. Sensitivity and specificity of molecular diagnosis of rabies infection using a reverse transcription followed by a hemi-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-hn-PCR) either directly on brain tissue or using brain tissue dried on filter paper were assessed on 113 suspected field animal samples in comparison to the direct fluorescent antibody test (FAT) recommended by the World Health Organization as one of the reference tests for rabies diagnosis. Impact of the duration of the storage was also evaluated. The sensitivity and the specificity of RT-hn-PCR i) on brain tissue were 96.6% (95% CI: [88.1-99.6]) and 92.7% (95% CI: [82.4-98.0]) respectively and ii) on brain tissue dried on filter paper 100% (95% CI: [93.8-100.0]) and 90.9% (95% CI: [80.0-97.0]) respectively. No loss of sensitivity of RT-hn-PCR on samples of brain tissue dried on filter paper left 7 days at ambient temperature was detected indicating that this method would enable analyzing impregnated filter papers sent to the national reference laboratory at ambient temperature within a 1-week shipment time. It could therefore be an effective alternative to facilitate storage and shipment of samples from low-access areas to enhance and expand rabies surveillance., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This paper compares 'high-impact' papers from China, Japan, India and Korea in 2012, together with papers from these countries in Cell, Nature, and Science (CNS) from 2010 to 2012. China leads on 'highly cited' and 'hot' papers in 2012, while Japan has the highest number in CNS (653), followed by China (471), Korea (131) and India (83). Although China published more high-impact papers in 2012, papers published in CNS were at a relatively low level, which appears to show that while some of the research in China is at a relatively high level, this is not entirely reflected in the number of papers in these 'elite' journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Go to temples of science and ideas of Europe. Imitate the Tugendbund, 'the Union of Virtue', of which thousands of German youth are the members. Always keep the rule of 'Fit soul is in fit body' in mind" (Petrov, 2013, p. 72). This study aimed to show the similarities, in terms of expression, emphasis, and implication, in the about/mission/vision/goals/objectives of various science centers from around the world and in the basic themes derived from Snellman's statement above, namely, Science for all, Science Centers for all, and Human welfare that he made as a challenge to not only his people but to everyone. Document and content analyses were applied in the study. Within the scope of these analyses, this study investigated the about/mission/vision/goals/objectives sections of websites of science centers from around the world (Asia, Europe, Global, Latin America/The Caribbean, North America, Africa). From this investigation, similar basic themes, derived from Snellman's statement challenging his people/everyone to adopt this devotion to science, were found in the areas of i) expression in ASTC, CIMUSET/CSTM, CASC and SAASTEC; ii) emphasis in ECSITE, ASDC, ASCN and NSCF; and iii) implication in ASPAC, ASTEN, NCSM, ABCMC and Red-POP. These basic themes, as found in the about/mission/vision/goals/objectives of science centers, can, in effect, be narrowed down to the one theme of "cultural institutions will be a big part of human life" (Madsen 2017, p. 68) science centers in the global village (Touraine, 2016, p. 121) of the future.

A longer life brings opportunities for older adults and their families as well as for their communities. Commercial businesses can be successful in innovating on these opportunities and achieving business expansion when they better understand the market dynamics and spectrum of older adults as consumers and view them more as assets rather than as burdens to society. While there is no "typical" older adult consumer, some traits, characteristics, and physical realities may be more common, including those related to family and community, the shopping experience, brand marketing and packaging, food and nutrition, and health. The opportunities of longer life are impacted by health and underscore the importance of positive, healthy aging-related behaviors like good nutrition and active lifestyles. Healthy aging also requires a sustained commitment and action from country leaders to formulate evidence-based polices--like systematic nutrition screening and intervention-and healthcare workforce training and education that can strengthen and support an active aging population. In addition, governments should consider engaging commercial businesses to help set sustainable policies that can advance products for older adults. Finally, governments should set national and local goals to incentivize commercial business development and investment in public-private partnerships to improve quality of care, promote healthy aging, and impact outcomes for noncommunicable diseases, ultimately benefitting population health for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries.

The article discusses research on the Austronesian migrations revealed by phylogeography of Pacific paper mulberry. It references a study by C-S Chang et al published in a previous issue. Topics covered include the direct genetic link between Taiwan and one of the Pacific commensal species, the geographic origins of paper mulberry and its spread through Island Southeast Asia and into the Pacific, and Neolithic expansions from the mainland of China to Taiwan.

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Simple Summary: The quality of muscle plays an important role in improving the economic benefit of aquatic products. The paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera, BP) grows wildly in the south of Asia. In this experiment, grass carps (initial weight: 50.0 ± 0.5 g) were fed diets with the addition of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% BP in a control diet (crude protein: 31%, crude fat: 3.8%) for 8 weeks. In conclusion, adding 5% BP did not affect the growth of grass carp. However, the supplementation of 10% BP could improve muscle quality through improving muscle hardness, reducing fat accumulation and muscle fiber diameter, at the cost of reducing growth performance. The present study investigated the effects of dietary paper mulberry (Broussonetia Papyrifera, BP) on growth performance, muscle quality and muscle growth-related mRNA expressions of grass carp. Fish (initial weight: 50.0 ± 0.5 g) were fed diets supplemented with 0% (control diet), 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% BP for 8 weeks. The results showed that increasing levels of paper mulberry linearly and quadratically decreased the special gain rate (SGR) and increased the feed conversion rate (FCR) of grass carp (p < 0.05). Significantly positive quadratic trends were found between paper mulberry levels and muscle crude fat or crude protein of grass carp (p < 0.05). In comparison to the control diet, the 10%BP and 15%BP groups had significantly decreased muscle crude fat and increased crude protein (p < 0.05). The levels of paper mulberry resulted in a linear and quadratic increase in water loss of grass carp muscle (p < 0.05), and all groups with paper mulberry supplementation were significantly higher than the control group (p < 0.05). Significant positive linear and quadratic trends were found between the paper mulberry levels and muscle fiber diameter or density of grass carp (p < 0.05). In comparison to the control diet, the significant differences were found in the 15%BP and 20%BP groups (p < 0.05). The muscle adhesiveness and hardness linearly and quadratically increased with the increasing levels of paper mulberry (p < 0.05), and both of which increased significantly when the level of paper mulberry reached 10% (p < 0.05). In addition, the increase in paper mulberry linearly and quadratically improved the expressions of myoblast determination protein (MyoD), myogenin (MyoG), paired box protein 7 (Pax7) and myostatin 1 (MSTN1) (p < 0.05). When the supplementation of paper mulberry reached 15%, the expressions of all these mRNAs were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.05). In summary, adding 5% paper mulberry did not affect the growth of grass carp. However, the supplementation of 10% paper mulberry could improve muscle quality through improving muscle hardness, reducing fat accumulation and muscle fiber diameter, at the cost of reducing growth performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing demand for aquatic products, aquaculture has become a prominent means of meeting this demand. However, the selection of suitable sites for aquaculture remains a key factor in the success of any aquaculture operation. While various methods exist for site selection, geographic information system (GIS)-based multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) methods have emerged as the most widely utilized approach to identifying potential aquaculture sites. Following the guidelines of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), this paper presents a systematic review and meta-analysis of GIS-based MCE methods used in aquaculture sites selection. The objective of this study is to offer a comprehensive overview of existing research in this field and develop a general model for selecting sites for fish and shellfish aquaculture. The main findings indicate a growing number of studies utilizing GIS-based MCE in aquaculture site selection in recent years, with Asia being the leading continent in terms of publications in this domain. Among the journals publishing in this field, the Aquaculture journal stands out as the top publisher. Using consistent criteria across the reviewed studies, two models have been generated, each consisting of four sub-models: water quality, soil quality, infrastructure, and socioeconomic factors; and topography, environment, and physical parameters. These models can aid future researchers and assist decision-makers in identifying optimal locations for aquaculture development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 735 research papers on geomorphological mapping published in English between 2000 and 2021 using the Web of Science database. The analysis focuses on key metrics such as annual publication rates, journal distribution, common keywords, and frequently cited papers. The results demonstrate sustained investment in geomorphological mapping research over the past two decades, driven by advancements in data analysis, GIS technologies, and cross-institutional and cross-country collaboration. While European universities and research centers lead the field, researchers from Latin America and Asia are also making noteworthy contributions. However, research concentration remains largely in Europe, particularly at low altitudes. The study highlights the vital importance of investment in geomorphological mapping research and the benefits of collaboration to advance understanding and knowledge production. It also emphasizes the need for greater geographic and cultural diversity among researchers to ensure a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera, PM) is a potential roughage source widely distributed in Asia, but the chemical composition, silage fermentation, and digestibility are not fully understood. Here, we compared the chemical composition, silage fermentation, and digestibility of leaf, stem, and whole plant of PM to evaluate its feeding value. The result showed that the leaf had lower fiber content and higher protein content than the stem and whole plant. Meanwhile, the stem silage had the lowest pH value and lactate content, while those in the leaf were the highest. The in vitro and in situ digestibility showed the leaf was more digestible. Our study gives the reference of different parts of PM to be used as a feedstuff. Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera, PM) is high protein but unutilized as a feed source. The study explores the different parts (leaf, stem, and whole plant) of PM chemical composition, silage fermentation, and in vitro and in situ digestibility, aiming to give some guidelines to PM usage as feed. The result showed that the leaf had a higher fresh weight than the stem (p < 0.05). The dry matter contents of the three groups had no differences. The highest crude protein, ether extract, water-soluble carbohydrate, ash, calcium, phosphorus, amino acid contents, and butter capacity were observed in the leaf (p < 0.05). The stem had the highest (p < 0.05) neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and lignin contents. After ensiling, the stem silage had the lowest pH value, ammonia nitrate (NH3-N), lactate, acetate, and propionate (p < 0.05). The leaf silage had the highest pH value (p < 0.05). The lactate, acetate, and propionate in the leaf and whole plant silage had no difference. The butyrate was not detected in all silage. The in vitro and in situ digestibility experiments showed the leaf had the highest digestibility (p < 0.05), which could produce more volatile fatty acids and have a higher effective digestibility. These results allow a greater understanding of PM to be used as a feedstuff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the recent developments in the delivery of teaching-learning processes when COVID-19 hit the world with a health crisis and pandemic, it is crucial to look into the quality of courses delivered via online means or through distance education modality. This paper examines implementation and application of quality assurance (QA) landscape in Distance Education (DE). A documentary review using bibliographic inquiry is used as a methodology approach to gather relevant information to address the study questions. Previous studies on QA in DE are examined and arranged into themes using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that most of the literature on QA in DE in Africa and Asia based on the reviewed Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions are basically dealing with frameworks, outcomes and performance, instructional design, student services and challenges as well as parity in terms of quality with the traditional institutions. Therefore, this paper concludes that more studies are needed for QA in DE to match the post-COVID-19 trends on improving QA. This implies that there is a need to expand research on QA in DE to include areas of artificial intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera; PM) is a type of roughage rich in bioactive substances, such as phenolics and flavonoids, which are beneficial for animal health. This study evaluated the apparent digestibility of PM silage in Holstein dairy cows and its effect on the milk production, antioxidant capacity, and fecal bacteria composition of the animals. The results showed that the PM silage had no significant influence on the milk yield, apparent digestibility, and fecal bacteria composition of dairy cows. However, diets with PM silage can enhance the antioxidant and immune capacity of dairy cows, mainly due to the bioactive substance in PM. Today, faced with a shortage of feedstuff resources in ruminants, PM can be a useful feed resource for ruminants. Simultaneously, with the ban on antibiotics, PM may become an important functional feed for protecting animal health. Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera; PM) is an excellent and extensive type of roughage in Asia. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of PM silage on the milk production, apparent digestibility, antioxidant capacity, and fecal bacteria composition in Holstein dairy cows. Forty-five lactating Holstein dairy cows with a similar milk yield and parity were selected and randomly assigned to three groups. The control group was fed a non-PM silage diet, and the PM-treated groups were fed 4.5 and 9.0% PM silage supplementary diets for 28 days. Then, treatment groups were fed diets containing 13.5 and 18.0% PM silage for the next 28 days, respectively. PM silage increased the milk urea nitrogen and decreased the somatic cell count (p < 0.05), but did not affect the dry matter intake, milk yield, apparent digestibility, and energy balance of dairy cows. PM silage can enhance the blood total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase, and immune globulin content (p < 0.05). The PM silage significantly decreased the relative abundance of the genera Ruminococcaceae UCG-013 and Tyzzerella-4 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, PM silage enhanced the antioxidant capacity and immunity of dairy cows, but did not influence the milk yield, dry matter digestibility, and fecal bacteria composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OER movement originated and integrated into ODE developments. Mega Universities (MUs) are among the most important of ODE providers worldwide should be to be the primary organizations for providing access to OER. So far, however, in-depth studies on OER developments in the Asian MUs were very limited. This study focuses on the developments, motives, openness, and sustainability of OER at the six MUs official websites in Asia. Data were collected for six months using the documentation techniques and analyzed using web content or textual analyze. Results of the study shown, that: (1) OER developments on the Asian MUs' were an ongoing process, multiyear program, and developed into three characteristics: special projects or initiatives; uploading the existing learning resources collections on the Website; and by taken out-links to the centers of OER websites worldwide. Contents of OER are very rich, diverse in categories, forms, and organized integrally into "One Stop Window". The OER materials have developed by university as well as by joined with various parties of internal and external universities; (2) OER developments are based on three motives: the altruistic motivation of sharing, ego-boost motivation, and combination of both; (3) The OER openness for use or reuse by others can be classified into five categories: openness in the public domain; openness under provision by any license; openness under guarantee by government Laws, policies, missions or visions; openness under guarantee by universities policies, missions or visions; and openness because it was developed as a special initiative of the universities; and (4) Sustainability models that have been used by MUs to makes OER become viable, and stable for the long-term are institutional, governmental, workflow, user-centered, wiki, and social software models.

Distance education has emerged out of social compulsion, the dynamics of change and new cultures. It was the failure of traditional systems to be able to meet the demand in countries, where the resources available for tertiary education are limited, which basically gave birth to the new trend of education known as open and distance education. This new and innovative system of education has received a high level of acceptance in different countries as it offers flexible educational opportunities for continuing education to a large segment of their population. The increasing number of older adult learners with varying lifestyles in the population, increasing competitiveness of getting places in tertiary institutions, higher cost of education and a shortage of teachers are the main factors for increasing the popularity of distance education (Duncan, "et al.," 2003). Bangladesh has also taken the opportunity to provide a uniform and mass oriented universal system of education through open and distance education establishing Bangladesh Open University (BOU) in 1992. Objectives of the Study: The main objectives of this study are: (1) to assess the overall status of BOU in comparison with the open universities of two neighboring South Asian countries considering the following aspects: (a) Administrative structural functions; (b) Courses and instructional strategies; (c) Learning opportunities, and (d) Library, laboratory and counselling facilities; (2) to explore the potential of improvement for BOU to enable it to meet the challenges of the country's educational needs in the next millennium. (Contains 1 figure and 8 tables.)

An alternative energy source such as solar is one of the most important renewable resources. A reliable solar radiation prediction is essential for various applications in agriculture, industry, transport, and the environment because they reduce greenhouse gases and are environmentally friendly. Solar radiation data series have embedded fluctuations and noise signals due to complexity, stochasticity, non-stationarity, and nonlinearity with uncertain and time-varying nature. Aside from being highly nonlinear, solar radiation is highly influenced by the environment and environmental parameters such as air temperature, cloud cover, surface reflectivity, and aerosols. In addition, the spatial measurements of these variables are not readily available. To tackle these challenges, it is necessary to consider data preprocessing techniques and to develop and test precise solar radiation predicting models at different forecast horizons. There is, however, controversy regarding the performance of such models in various studies. Comparisons are not conducted systematically among the different studies. Using a critical literature review, the authors hope to answer these questions and believe that further investigation of solar radiation can benefit researchers and practitioners alike. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of solar radiation modeling using artificial intelligence in the last 15 years and provides a novel detailed analysis of the available models. The studies conducted in different climates of the world that were published in distinguished journals were considered (i.e., 90 papers in total) for this purpose. Newly discovered procedures for optimizing forecasts, data cleaning, feature selection, classification methods, and stand-alone or hybrid data-driven models for solar radiation prediction and modeling were evaluated. The results strikingly showed that the most used artificial intelligence methods were artificial neural network, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system, and decision tree family of models. In addition, the extreme learning machine, support vector machine, and particle swarm optimization were the most used optimization techniques in solar radiation modeling. In terms of forecast horizons, the most common forecast horizon found in papers was on the daily scale (51% of studies), followed by the hourly scale (26%), and the least common was the monthly scale (18%). Based on the regional studies, the highest number of solar radiation papers originated from Asia, with Europe in second place and African countries in third place. An increasing trend in the number of papers from 2011 to 2015 was noted, and the second peak started from 2018 till the present. Under each section, a summary of findings is provided. The paper concludes with future thoughts and directions on solar radiation modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific papers on the history of psychiatric diagnosis presented at the 16th International Taniguchi Symposium for Comparative History of Medicine-East and West which was held in 1991 in Japan were briefly reviewed and discussions and comments interchanged in this meeting were introuduced with some personal appreciation that the meeting was excellently organized and enormously successful. Particularly, the papers of medical historians and the expert in specific area like Indian medicine from North America and Europe were highly instructive. The informal gathering in the evening had offered a fascinating original report such as an old documentary film about Imu, a Japanese culture bound syndrome. One very important point was raised in this review that the comparisons between the Medicine-East and the West, particularly the translation of the Eastern medical descriptions of mental illness into the modern Western pschiatric terms should be very cautiously carried out, because by the crude identification of one medical system with the other system the uniqueness of the illness in a specific time and in a specific place might easily be overlooked. For both Japanese and Korean traditional medicine share with Chinese traditional medicine and yet they preserve their uniqueness, a small group study for comparative East Asian medicine was suggested for the more elaborated clarification of medical terms.

This paper describes the growth of local-currency bond markets in Emerging Asia and the institutional and policy challenges facing the region's economies for their further development. It presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between local-currency government bond (LCGB) market development and the components of financial development, using panel data for selected Emerging Asian economies. The analysis seeks to identify the key determinants for the development of LCGB markets. The results show that the depth of and access to both financial markets and financial institutions have a significantly positive impact on LCGB market development. Critical factors associated with local-currency bond market depth include macroeconomic variables, the exchange-rate regime, capital account openness and creditor rights. Based on these results, the paper offers policy directions for fostering the development of local-currency bond markets in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the research output of four South Asia countries, namely Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal in S&T during 2001-10 on several parameters including its growth and country publications share in the world's research output, country publications share in various subjects in the national and global context, geographical distribution of publications, share of international collaborative publications at the national level as well as across subjects and characteristics of high productivity institutions and cited papers. The Scopus Citation Database has been used to retrieve the publication data for 10 years. Concludes that all the four South Asian countries needs to increase their output and bring about improvement in the quality of its research efforts. This can be done by investing much more in R&D expenditure, increase in the deployment of more qualified manpower and in increasing international collaboration and by modernizing and strengthening its research infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a comparative study of top-ranked Asiatic region journals of Library and Information Science discipline. SCImago Journal and the country rank was used to determine the top-ranked Asiatic journals in the domain of library and information science. Initially, top 10 journals were considered which filtered based on the coverage and SJR Ranked. A total of 6 Journals were considered for further evaluation and comparison, which meets different parameters and criteria. A comprehensive scientometric study was also presented of these six journals. Further, the paper presents the publication patterns of these six top-ranked journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sugar apple (Annona squamosa) is valued for its taste, nutritional richness, and versatility, making it suitable for fresh consumption and medicinal use with significant commercial potential. Widely found in the tropical Americas and Asia's tropical or subtropical regions, it faces challenges in post-harvest ripeness assessment, predominantly reliant on manual inspection, leading to inefficiency and high labor costs. This paper explores the application of computer vision techniques in detecting ripeness levels of harvested sugar apples and proposes an improved deep learning model (ECD-DeepLabv3+) specifically designed for ripeness detection tasks. Firstly, the proposed model adopts a lightweight backbone (MobileNetV2), reducing complexity while maintaining performance through MobileNetV2′s unique design. Secondly, it incorporates the efficient channel attention (ECA) module to enhance focus on the input image and capture crucial feature information. Additionally, a Dense ASPP module is introduced, which enhances the model's perceptual ability and expands the receptive field by stacking feature maps processed with different dilation rates. Lastly, the proposed model emphasizes the spatial information of sugar apples at different ripeness levels by the coordinate attention (CA) module. Model performance is validated using a self-made dataset of harvested optical images categorized into three ripeness levels. The proposed model (ECD-DeepLabv3+) achieves values of 89.95% for MIoU, 94.58% for MPA, 96.60% for PA, and 94.61% for MF1, respectively. Compared to the original DeepLabv3+, it greatly reduces the number of model parameters (Params) and floating-point operations (Flops) by 89.20% and 69.09%, respectively. Moreover, the proposed method could be directly applied to optical images obtained from the surface of the sugar apple, which provides a potential solution for the detection of post-harvest fruit ripeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Welfare is a fundamental aspect of animal management and conservation. In light of growing public awareness and welfare concerns about captive elephants, there is an urgent need for comprehensive, globally coordinated efforts for Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) that participate in religious, logging, or tourist activities in range countries where the majority reside, and where welfare issues have been identified but not addressed. This review provides a comparative analysis of available animal assessment tools. Each offers distinct features for assessment that allow institutions to select criteria for specific needs and available resources. Most are applied to general animal welfare assessments, although some are tailored to particular species, including elephants. The tools span diverse formats, from digital to primarily paper-based assessments. Assessments operate at individual and institutional levels and across multiple welfare domains. Methodologies rely on keeper ratings or expert evaluations, incorporate numerical scoring and Likert scales for welfare grading, and encompass inputs including behaviors, health, and physiological indicators. For tourist camp elephants, one challenge is that the tools were developed in zoos, which may or may not have application to non-zoological settings. Digital tools and assessment methodologies such as keeper ratings face logistical challenges when applied across tourist venues. As with any tool, reliability, validity, and repeatability are essential and must address the unique welfare challenges of diverse captive settings. We propose that a holistic, context-specific, evidence-based, and practical tool be developed to ensure high elephant welfare standards in non-zoological facilities throughout Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging pollutant in the aquatic environment, and this has gradually been recognized in the Asian region. This systematic review study, using the Scopus database, provides an insightful understanding of the spatial distribution of scientific studies on MPs in freshwater conducted across the Asian region, utilized sampling methods, and a detailed assessment of the effects of MPs on different biotic components in freshwater ecosystems, with special focus on its potential risks on human health. The results of this review indicate that research on microplastics in Asia has gained attention since 2014, with a significant increase in the number of studies in 2018, and the number of scientific studies quadrupled in 2021 compared to 2018. Results indicated that despite a significant amount of research has been conducted in many Asian countries, they were not distributed evenly, as multiple studies selected specific rivers and lakes. Additionally, around two-thirds of all the papers focused their studies in China, followed by India and South Korea. It was also found that most of the studies focused primarily on reporting the occurrence levels of MPs in freshwater systems, such as water and sediments, and aquatic organisms, with a lack of studies investigating the human intake of MPs and their potential risks to human health. Notably, comparing the results is a challenge because diverse sampling, separation, and identification methods were applied to estimate MPs. This review study suggests that further research on the dynamics and transport of microplastics in biota and humans is needed, as Asia is a major consumer of seafood products and contributes significantly to the generation of plastic litter in the marine environment. Moreover, this review study revealed that only a few studies extended their discussions to policies and governance aspects of MPs. This implies the need for further research on policy and governance frameworks to address this emerging water pollutant more holistically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the Special Issue "Systematic Approach to Agroforestry Policies and Practices in Asia". This Special Issue contains eleven papers on agroforestry at national, regional, and global levels. These papers discuss research trends; dominant services and functions of agroforestry; multiple case studies from Asian countries including Nepal, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Timor-Leste; and the benefits of agroforestry including income generation and carbon sequestration. They also interpret the goals, challenges, and social and cultural norms in agroforestry policies in national and local contexts. The research results can support policy design for the systematization and stabilization of agroforestry. This Special Issue provides us with scientific evidence and practical lessons on agroforestry policies and practices in Asia. It contributes to expanding the knowledge base for agroforestry and towards establishing and implementing agroforestry policies and practices in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost overrun has remained a key risk of construction projects that can be prevented by utilizing new technologies. This paper aims to identify the gap in the literature, which can potentially be addressed by using digital tools and technologies, by reviewing the current and state of the art practices. The paper presents the results of a systematic and critical content reviews on cost overruns, to address the question of what factors are affecting the cost overrun. This paper also reviews how building information modeling (BIM) in conjunction with other tools, such as the common tools in the Asia and Asia Pacific regions, are used for cost estimation and monitoring. The paper presents the results of the content review, including their contributions and limitations, which are also used to set key directions for future investigations. A total of 176 papers was identified to develop the construction cost management (CCM) dataset. The method was a mix of systematic reviews, including co-authorship network analyses, co-occurrence analytical map development covering 5671 keywords, and content analysis including theme identification and a critical review of selected papers. The paper critically reviewed 63 selected papers from CCM, which are divided into four clusters based on their scopes: BIM adoption for cost estimation and quantity surveying; BIM implementation for a bill of quantity, risk paths, and cost overruns; cost control and management; and, finally, BIM, virtual design, and value management. A trend analysis using a set of 16 themes (e.g., 3D model, BIM, Decision, Energy, and Life Cycle) for all the papers over the past ten years was developed. The content of each cluster of papers was reviewed based on the frequency of the selected themes in each cluster. The content of each cluster of papers was also reviewed critically and gaps were identified, so a set of directions for future investigations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: A group of established aesthetic physicians sought to develop treatment guidelines for assessing Asian face morphologies that reflect accurate and current beauty standards across Asia. DESIGN: Physicians completed surveys, debated, and voted on their clinical strategies and developed an alternative simplified visual tool of assessment (SVAT) that discerns between country variations in genetic and ideal morphotypes. SETTING: Electronic and paper surveys were followed by consensus debates and voting. PARTICIPANTS: Established aesthetic physicians practicing regularly on Asian patients. MEAUSUREMENTS: A clinically applicable SVAT was developed, which considered facial index, mid-face projection, upper and lower face shape, submalar contour, nose length and dorsal height, eye shape and brow shape, proportion of lips-to-lower face and ratio of upper-to-lower lip, and chin shape. RESULTS: For facial shape change, physicians always assessed the horizontal thirds, facial symmetry, and lip-chin complex profile, and also analyzed overall face shapes and Ogee curves. Criteria for creating oval-shaped faces was also defined and included treating indications, such as loss of angularity and bilateral masseter muscle hypertrophy, narrow jawlines, and longer and wider foreheads. Critical differences and similarities in country-specific aesthetic preferences, treatment requests, and considerations or strategies were uncovered, including the inadequacy of assessing overall peripheral facial shapes. CONCLUSION: This consensus establishes the assessment and treatment criteria for achieving ideal shapes for Asian patients. Specific descriptors are affected by variations; therefore, we present the visual criteria for Asian facial morphotypes. We hope that physicians new to treating Asian patients can use this clinical information to improve their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on an article about technology diffusion. Concept of technology diffusion; Political and economic relevance of technology; Perspective on Asian agricultural development.

The height of the F2 peak electron density (hmF2) is an essential parameter in studying ionospheric electrodynamics and high-frequency wireless communication. Based on ionosphere ray propagation theory, the physical relationship between M3000F2 and hmF2 is derived and visualized. Furthermore, based on the above physical theory and the machine learning method, this paper proposes a new model for determining hmF2 using propagation factor at a distance of 3000 km from the ionospheric F2 layer, time, and season. This proposed model is easy to understand and has the characteristics of clear principles, simple structure, and easy application. Furthermore, we used six stations in east Asia to verify this model and compare it with the other three models of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model. The results show that the proposed model (PRO) has minor error and higher accuracy. Specifically the RMSE of the BSE, AMTB, SHU, and the PRO models were 20.35 km, 31.51 km, 13.59 km, and 5.68 km, respectively, and the RRMSE of the BSE, AMTB, SHU, and PRO models were 8.17%, 11.88%, 4.96%, and 2.12%, respectively. In addition, the experimental results show that the PRO model can better predict the trend of the hmF2 inflection point. This method can be further extended to add data sources and provide new ideas for studying the hmF2 over global regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and purpose. Hendra and Nipah are two highly dangerous zoonotic viruses belonging to the group of henipaviruses. Although they have been known for over 20 years, no human drug or vaccine has been invented. This paper aims to to describe the epidemiology of the reported paramyxoviruses, the pandemic potential of henipaviruses, and a standardised action plan to counter their spread. This paper reviews scientific articles from 2012-2023 published in scientific databases such as Pubmed, Researchgate, and Google Scholar. The keywords used were pandemic potential of henipaviruses, Hendra virus, Nipah virus, and henipavirus epidemics. State of knowledge description. The mortality rate of henipaviruses varies between 50 and 100%. The Nipah virus is particularly dangerous, with epidemics recurring virtually every year in Asia since 1998. The Hendra virus situation may be manageable because there is an effective vaccine for horses most vulnerable to infection. Due to human activity, the habitats and climate of the animals serving as virus reservoirs are changing. Because of frequent henipavirus outbreaks in Asia and Australia, extensive efforts are being made to contain and neutralise them rapidly. Conclusions. As henipaviruses pose a high pandemic threat, more research into drugs and vaccines is required. It is also essential to develop effective bio-assurance plans, introduce controls on their operation and educate the population on the issue. Reservoir animals, through anthropogenic environmental changes, are changing habitats and feeding sites, making more and more territories vulnerable to the disease. New species of henipaviruses constantly emerge and pose an epizootic challenge to public health. Hence, an essential action is to increase the amount of research into the virus's epidemic development and conduct it as widely as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The No.4 tailings pond of the Dexing Copper Mine is the second largest in Asia. The tailing pond is a dangerous source of man-made debris flow with high potential energy. In view of the lack of effective and low-cost global safety monitoring means in this region, in this paper, the time-series InSAR technology is innovatively introduced to monitor the deformation of tailings dam and significant key findings are obtained. First, the surface deformation information of the tailings pond and its surrounding areas was extracted by using SBAS-InSAR technology and Sentinel-1A data. Second, the cause of deformation is explored by analyzing the deformation rate, deformation accumulation, and three typical deformation rate profiles of the representative observation points on the dam body. Finally, the power function model is used to predict the typical deformation observation points. The results of this paper indicated that: (1) the surface deformation of the tailings dam can be categorized into two directions: the upper portion of the dam moving away from the satellite along the Line of Sight (LOS) at a rate of −40 mm/yr, whereas the bottom portion approaching the satellite along the LOS at a rate of 8 mm/yr; (2) the deformation of the dam body is mainly affected by the inventory deposits and the construction materials of the dam body; (3) according to the current trend, deformation of two typical observation points in the LOS direction will reach the cumulative deformation of 80 mm and −360 mm respectively. The research results can provide data support for safety management of No.4 tailings dam in the Dexing Copper Mine, and provide a method reference for monitoring other similar tailings dams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change impacts occur at varying spatial scales requiring appropriately scaled responses. In impoverished rural areas, adapting to or mitigating the effects of climate change is challenging, with any short-term impairment to precarious livelihoods likely triggering negative community responses even if people are aware of long-term benefits. The paper will discuss a community-based carbon sequestration project in eastern Iran. It started in 2003 and since then has been expanded widely. It was nominated by UNDP as one of 10 transformative projects in Asia/Pacific in 2016. Over the past 20 years, the project has targeted improving the livelihood of the local communities while addressing local measures to adapt to/mitigate climate change. The paper elaborates on the formation of village development groups as pivotal drivers of success by highlighting local income-generating schemes and project documentation. Key lessons for climate change adaptation can be learnt and are applicable to other developing countries. Extreme poverty in rural areas facing climate change could be tackled through implementing bottom-up approaches in which local communities can be respected and engaged in co-leadership and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is expected that the usage of LIS in research papers will continue to expand in the coming years. This expansion may be seen throughout a wide range of scientific disciplines as well. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 1,127 papers on the use of LIS research, which were published in 206 scientific publications and authored by 1,685 authors (245 single-authored documents and 1,440 multi-authored documents). The purpose of this investigation is to determine which issue in LIS is currently trending. To analyze the data, we extracted it from the Scopus database and ran it using R software's Bibliometrix program, which was then imported into VOSviewer. According to criteria derived from citation analysis, we have identified the most important papers, journals, authors, countries, and affiliations in the world. However, even though keywords and phrases are likely to be the most relevant subjects and findings of the research, it is possible that some of the main patterns and concerns that have been covered in the entire text are not well represented in our investigation. In addition, future studies should examine relevant research clusters for developing patterns in LIS in order to provide scientific information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online marketplaces are growing rapidly globally. They have the potential to significantly benefit women; however, these benefits are not guaranteed. A lack of information on the benefits of or how to participate in online marketplaces could mean womenʼs participation is at an inefficiently low level. Participation could also bring about unintended consequences. We introduce this special issue of Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies on the social and economic benefits of online marketplaces for women in Asia. In this introduction, we set the context for the special issue, then provide an overview of its seven papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to achieve bedrock geologic mapping in the overburden area using big data, distributed computing, and deep learning techniques. First, the satellite Bouguer gravity anomaly with a resolution of 2'x2' in the range of E66°E96°, N40°-N55° and 1:5000000 Asia-European geological map are used to design a dataset for bedrock prediction. Then, starting from the gravity anomaly formula in the spherical coordinate system, we deduce the non-linear functional between rock density ρ and rock mineral composition m, content p, buried depth h, diagenesis time t and other variables. We analyze the feasibility of using deep neural network to approximate the above nonlinear generalization. The problem of solving deep neural network parameters is transformed into a non-convex optimization problem. We give an iterative, gradient descentbased solution algorithm for the non-convex optimization problem. Utilizing neural architecture search (NAS) and human-designed approach, we propose a geological-geophysical mapping network (GGMNet). The dataset for the network consists of both gravity anomaly and a priori geological information. The network has fast convergence speed and stable iteration during the training process. It also has better performance than a single neural network search or human-designed architectures, with the mean pixel accuracy (MAP) = 63.1% and the frequency weighted intersection over union (FWIoU) = 42.88. Finally, the GGMNet is used to predict the rock distribution of the Junggar Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate snow depth estimation is of significant importance, particularly for preventing avalanche disasters and predicting flood seasons. The predominant approaches for such snow depth estimation, based on deep learning methods, typically rely on passive microwave remote sensing data. However, due to the low resolution of passive microwave remote sensing data, it often results in low-accuracy outcomes, posing considerable limitations in application. To further improve the accuracy of snow depth estimation, in this paper, we used active microwave remote sensing data. We fused multi-spectral optical satellite images, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and land cover distribution images to generate a snow remote sensing dataset (SRSD). It is a first-of-its-kind dataset that includes active microwave remote sensing images in high-latitude regions of Asia. Using these novel data, we proposed a multi-scale feature perception and aggregation neural network (MFPANet) that focuses on improving feature extraction from multi-source images. Our systematic analysis reveals that the proposed approach is not only robust but also achieves high accuracy in snow depth estimation compared to existing state-of-the-art methods, with RMSE of 0.360 and with MAE of 0.128. Finally, we selected several representative areas in our study region and applied our method to map snow depth distribution, demonstrating its broad application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan exports sophisticated capital goods. Since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), Japanese companies have offshored the production of lower-end goods and parts and components to Asian countries. Because of this, several researchers argued that a weaker yen no longer stimulates machinery exports much because an increase in Japanese exports increases parts and components imports from overseas Asian subsidiaries. This paper finds that, after the GFC, a weaker yen no longer increases Japanese machinery exports to Asia but continues to stimulate exports outside of Asia. Thus, the weaker yen since 2020 does not help Asian firms to import vital Japanese capital goods but does increase the profitability of Japanese manufacturers and their exports to non-Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Migraine is one of the most common neurological disorders worldwide. Clinical characteristics of migraine may be somewhat different across ethnic groups. Although factors such as stress, lack of sleep, and fasting are known as migraine triggers, the discussion about geographical differences of migraine triggers in Asia is lacking. Methods: In this study, we performed a narrative review on migraine triggers in Asia. We searched PubMed for relevant papers published between January 2000 and February 2022. Results: Forty-two papers from 13 Asian countries were included. Stress and sleep are the most frequently reported migraine triggers in Asia. There were some differences in migraine triggers in Asian countries: fatigue and weather common in Eastern Asia and fasting common in Western Asia. Conclusion: Majority of the common triggers reported by patients with migraine in Asia were stress and sleep, similar to those reported globally, thus showing they are universally important. Some triggers linked to internal homeostasis are influenced by culture (e.g., alcohol, food/eating habit), and triggers related to environmental homeostasis, such as weather, are highly heterogenous between regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South and South-East Asian countries report a great liability for the world's road traffic injuries (RTIs) and deaths. A vast number of research studies tested various interventions including specific protective devices to prevent accidents, but no review papers have been conducted to find out the prevalence of RTIs in South-East and South Asian countries. Objective: This review paper was an attempt to find out the prevalence of RTIs and their associated factors in South-East and South Asian countries. Methods: Following the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), we searched the articles in the electronic databases of PubMed/Medline, Scopus, CINAHL, ProQuest, and Web of Science. Articles were selected if they reported the prevalence of RTI, or road traffic accident (RTA) deaths. In addition, a data quality assessment was done. Results: Out of the 10,818 article hits from the literature search, ten articles found the eligibility and inclusion criteria. Most of the studies reported that males are involved in the RTIs more than females. The male mortality rate is more than the female mortality in RTI mortality. Young adult males are the major victims when compared with the different age groups of male victims. Two-wheelers are the major contributors to the accident rate. Religious or national festivals are not free from accident-prone times. Climatic seasons and nighttime have a major influence on the RTIs. RTIs are increasing due to the sudden and huge increase in the number of motor vehicles and the development of cities and towns. Conclusion: Accidents are non-predictable but controllable disasters in society. Overspeeding, bad conditions on road, the vulnerability of the vehicles, and careless driving are the major reported reasons for RTIs. Making and implementing strict laws can help us to control RTAs. The major effect on the reduction of RTI can be assured only with the presence of responsible people. That can be achieved only by creating awareness in society about traffic rules and responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: The globalization trend has inevitably enhanced the connectivity of global financial markets, making the cyclicality of financial activities and the spread of market imbalances have received widespread attention, especially after the global financial crisis. Purpose of the article: To reduce the negative effects of the contagiousness of the financial cycles, it is necessary to study the persistence of financial cycles and carve out the total connectedness, spillover paths, and sources of risks on a global scale. In addition, understanding the relationship between the financial cycle and economic development is an important way to prevent financial crises. Methods: This paper adopts the nonlinear smoothing transition autoregressive (STAR) model to extract cyclical and phase characteristics of financial cycles based on 24 countries during 1971Q1-2015Q4, covering developed and developing countries, the Americas, Europe, and Asia regions. In addition, the frequency connectedness approach is used to measure the connectedness of financial cycles and the relationship between the global financial cycle and the global economy. Findings & value added: The analysis reveals that aggregate financial cycles persist for 13.3 years for smoothed and 8.7 years for unsmoothed on average. The national financial cycles are asynchronous and exhibit more prolonged expansions and faster contractions. The connectedness of financial cycles is highly correlated with systemic crises and contributes to the persistence and harmfulness of shocks. It is mainly driven by short-term components and exhibits more pronounced interconnectedness within regions than across regions. During the financial crisis, the global financial cycle movements precede and are longer than the business fluctuations. Based on the study, some policy implications are presented. This paper emphasizes the impact of systemic crises on the persistence of financial cycles and their connectedness, which contributes to refining research related to the coping mechanisms of financial crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economy has seen unprecedented growth in the past two centuries, raising average incomes by 30-fold. With this added wealth, living standards also improved greatly. Althoughmany factors impact economic growth, it is accepted that entrepreneurship plays a key role. Therefore, understanding the antecedents of entrepreneurship and the link to economic development, often through institutions, should be of higher importance to researchers and policymakers. This Special Issue of the Journal of Risk and Financial Management sought to provide a brief overview of the economic growth literature and its link with entrepreneurship while adding insight through the Special Issue papers regarding the drivers of entrepreneurship in different contexts. Thus, the papers gathered here addressed several aspects of entrepreneurship and how it may be encouraged through networking, cornerstone investors in initial public offerings, new financing methods such as with cryptocurrencies, and through entrepreneur health. The research sites were primarily in Asia. This lead paper summarizes the issue's papers while also providing a short overview of the economic growth literature and its link to entrepreneurship and institutions. This Special Issue, thus contributes to the empirical and theoretic research on the drivers of entrepreneurship and the association with economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]