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The bio-medical model of 'mental health' and 'mental illness' that relates to the relationship between wellbeing and distress informs psychopathology and dominates conceptualisation in many Western Educated Industrialised Rich Democratic (WEIRD) populations. This paper aims to critique the model, questioning the appropriateness of psychopathology as a conceptual framework when working as a Western trained clinician with populations such as in China, Japan, Asia, the Middle-East and Africa. The paper also considers the cultural appropriateness of western notions of psychopathology when working inter-culturally in relation to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, and the Review of the Implementation of the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies of East Asian welfare regimes focus on similarities between social security schemes. In contrast, this paper explores cross-national variations in public–private pension mixes in six welfare states: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Our research echoes the pension policy analysis of international organisations but takes a step forward with emphasis on the historical and institutional characteristics of the respective pension systems. The analysis identifies three institutional patterns. First, the statist pension system (Taiwan and China) primarily relies on public pensions to provide old-age security, with private pensions playing a rather minor role. Second, in the dualist pension system (Japan and Korea) both public and private pensions work in parallel to ensure retirement income, though a clear security gap exists between workers in the formal and informal economies. Finally, the individualist pension system (Hong Kong and Singapore) is characterised by genuine fully funded individual accounts, emphasising citizens' own responsibilities for ensuring old-age security. These three types of pension systems demonstrate distinct institutional characteristics and policy outcomes, illustrated by the juxtaposition of their institutional structures as well as by the comparison of key indicators collected from government reports and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development statistics. The paper concludes with a theoretical reflection of East Asian pension policies and a diagnosis of the distinct challenges confronted by each of the various pension patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws attention to the current and possible effects of COVID-19 on the mobility trajectories of mainland Chinese students studying in Asia. By drawing on 35 biographical interviews, this paper focuses on their decision to study in Asian countries and regions. Particularly, it calls for more attention to Asia in global student mobilities and discusses whether COVID-19 has changed the position of Asia in the global landscape of student mobility. Results show that even if COVID-19 provides an opportunity for Asian universities to embrace more international students, Asia still lacks the capability to attract great numbers of them. Finally, the study argues that college students' choice of mobility destinations is shaped by their perception of the central-periphery structure of higher education, which is hard to be shaken by the pandemic.

This paper attempts to explore the connections between expanding female education and the participation of women in paid employment in Japan, China and India, three of Asia's largest economies. Analysis based on existing data and literature shows that despite the large expansion in educational access in these countries in the last half century, women have lacked egalitarian labour market opportunities. A combination of social discouragement and individual choice largely explains the withdrawal, non-participation or intermittent female presence in the labour force, notwithstanding increased educational access. In taking stock of these issues and debates across these countries, it is argued that the parallel experiences of women in these countries can be traced back to persistent gender norms which, amongst other things, imply the centrality of marriage and non-market unpaid labour for women. The paper argues that there is a need for gender-sensitive public policy in order for increased education to translate to labour market gains for women, leading to sustainable development outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

By reviewing regulative documents and extant literature, this paper explores the realities and trends of international students in East and Southeast Asia (ESA). It also shows motivation and strategies of four new players in the international higher education sector in East and Southeast Asia i.e., China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. Apart from showing that intraregional students have not predominated the overall international student population in the region anymore, the paper highlights that ESA region has become an established hub of international students rather than a new emerging destination as it was in previous years. The overall net flow of international students in this region was still deficit prior to 2010s, but the deficit in 2017 is still less than that of 2010?s. This is probably the first study of its kind to examine the trends of international students as well as of higher education policies of countries in the ESA region. The findings of this study shall provide an insight into international higher education trends among the ESA countries for stakeholders, including policymakers, university managers, faculty, students, and parents.

This paper is a complete student-led, student-edited collective writing project (CWP) conducted virtually in Spring 2022 throughout the course Knowledge Socialism taught by professor Michael Peters for the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal university. The CWP involves 4 international, 5 domestic Ph.D. students, and 2 senior Western scholars as reviewers, revealing their thoughts, arguments, understanding, and criticisms towards the creative economy status in East Asian countries (Japan and China mostly) higher education as reflected in the knowledge socialism narratives. Xiyuan as the lead author, co-editing with Woraport and Stefan, assigned each section to other authors and successfully devoted themself to organizing, proofreading, and revising the paper. Through a month of collective work, the final version of the paper elaborates on the contribution of East Asian creative universities and the economy as a whole to the knowledge socialism through co(labor)ation, with implications to the creative labors cultivation and shifted roles of students.

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This paper introduces a relatively novel theoretical approach to investigate cross border student mobilities in East Asia, a region growing in importance as a provider of international education. It does so by bringing Sara Ahmad's writings on the sociality of emotions, with Jacques Derrida's analyses of hospitality. We draw on empirical data from a cross national study to explore the emotions that shape student decisions to choose East Asian study destinations. By problematising the gift of the scholarship, using Derridean understandings of hospitality, we reveal the limits of contemporary forms of international education. Reflecting on histories of Asia-focused student mobilities, the paper highlights the entanglements of hostility and hospitality, and the inseparability of hosts and guests. It is this realisation that will enable ethical, non-exploitative forms of education.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Gastrodia elata Blume ( Orchidaceae ) is commonly called Tian ma in Chinese and mainly distributed in the mountainous areas of eastern Asia, such as China, Korea, Japan and India. It is an extensively used traditional Chinese herbal medicine in the clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine, to treat headache, migraine, dizziness, epilepsy, infantile convulsion, tetany and so on. The present paper reviews the advancements in investigation of botany and ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and quality control of Gastrodia elata Blume. Finally, the possible tendency and perspective for future investigation of this plant are also put forward. Materials and methods The information on Gastrodia elata Blume was collected via piles of resources including classic books about Chinese herbal medicine, and scientific databases including Pubmed, Google Scholar, ACS, Web of science, ScienceDirect databases, CNKI and others. Plant taxonomy was validated by the databases “The Plant List”, and “Mansfeld’s Encyclopedia”. Results Over 81 compounds from this plant have been isolated and identified, phenolics and polysaccharides are generally considered as the characteristic and active constituents of Gastrodia elata Blume. Its active compounds possess wide-reaching biological activities, including sedative, hypnotic, antiepileptic, anticonvulsive, antianxietic, antidepressant, neuroprotective, antipsychotic, anti-vertigo, circulatory system modulating, anti-inflammationary, analgesic, antioxidative, memory-improving and antiaging, antivirus and antitumor effects. Conclusion Despite the publication of various papers on Gastrodia elata Blume, there is still, however, the need for definitive research and clarification of other bioactive compounds using bioactivity-guided isolation strategies, and the possible mechanism of action as well as potential synergistic or antagonistic effects of multi-component mixtures derived from Gastrodia elata Blume need to be evaluated. It is also necessary and important to do more quality control and toxicological study on human subjects in order to maintain its efficacy stable in the body and validate its safety in clinical uses. In addition, more investigations on other parts of this plant beyond the tubers are needed. Further studies on Gastrodia elata Blume will lead to the development of new drugs and therapeutics for various diseases, and how to utilize it better should be paid more attention to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various topics within the issue, including the older adults' pathway to retirement in South Korea, the nutritional deficiencies at older ages, and the relationship between urbanicity and dementia in China.

Background: As chromatographic techniques have advanced, many articles that analyze the constituting compounds of medicinal materials have been published in relation to Northeast Asian traditional medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). TM-MC was launched in 2015, providing information about the chemical compounds in medicinal materials from chromatographic articles in PubMed. Since 2015, through continuous curation efforts, we have now released TM-MC 2.0 with significant improvements to the quantity and quality of the data (https://tm-mc.kr). Description: TM-MC 2.0 contains 635 medicinal materials, 34,107 chemical compounds (21,306 identified and de-duplicated), 13,992 targets, 27,997 diseases, and 5,075 prescriptions (2,393 de-duplicated by name). The database provides the largest number of identified compounds for medicinal materials listed in the pharmacopoeia compared to all TCM databases. In particular, marker compounds of medicinal materials and many newly discovered compounds were added through the manual curation of recent chromatographic articles. Conclusion: TM-MC 2.0 provides the largest collection of information about the chemical compounds of the medicinal materials listed in the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese pharmacopoeias. Our database can be utilized for network pharmacology in traditional medicine and for the compound screening of medicinal materials for modern drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently there has been an increase in the number of students learning Mandarin Chinese (in mainland China and internationally). This increase has led to speculation that Mandarin Chinese is becoming a mainstream global language to the point of becoming a "lingua franca." This paper utilizes research findings from different regions and focal points and argues that Mandarin Chinese could be accepted as a "lingua franca" within some contexts, but is unlikely to do so in others. It argues that Mandarin Chinese is generally accepted as the "lingua franca" of China and a possible "lingua franca" within the East Asian region, while unlikely to become a "lingua franca" globally. The paper compares a number of different reasons for studying Mandarin Chinese by different stakeholders (i.e. governments, school boards, individual students) as well as comparative numbers of language learners. This paper also examines if Mandarin is the dominant and undisputed form of global Chinese. It concludes by demonstrating that there is a greater need for further research into Mandarin Chinese as a "lingua franca."

Each year, multitudes respond to the demand for native English speakers to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Asian countries, particularly China, Japan, and South Korea. These EFL transnationals are often young, new to living abroad, and inexperienced as educators. When they arrive, they often find a community, and an identity waiting for them: that of the expatriate. In this paper, I draw on research on EFL expatriates to produce a figuration, a way of engaging with and highlighting contradiction and disjuncture in the narrative identity of EFL expat taken up by some transnational EFL teachers. This figuration serves as a nexus to which I bring two bodies of theory with which to think. These are the Borderlands Thought of Gloria Anzaldúa and Chen Kwan-Hsing's articulation of Asia as Method. Separately, I bring these into conversation with the figuration of the EFL expat, then consider what emerges when all three are brought together. In doing so, I highlight how the figuration of the EFL expat is outlined by privileged and constrictive colonial, racial, professional, and linguistic dichotomies. The theories of Anzaldúa and Chen help to unravel these binaries, suggesting ways in which transnational English teachers can move on from such constraints to become something more than in-but-not-of their local world. I also consider what it means for Western scholars to work respectfully in theoretical spaces that were not developed by and for them, proposing that such researchers can think of themselves as theoretical expatriates.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been one of the popular strategies for health promotion. Traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM) is one of the most popular CAM practices in the world and there are suggestions that its holistic utilization is important for users to gain its effects for health promotion. In this context, this study investigates the extent to which TEAM users in East Asian countries utilize various modalities of TEAM holistically. It provides a model that explains cross-national differences in the extent of the holistic use of TEAM between China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Using the 2010 East Asian Social Survey, regression models specify the relationship between the holistic use of TEAM and the geographical location (country). The presence of TEAM doctors who hold the comprehensive and exclusive practice rights over TEAM is found to be conducive to the holistic utilization of various TEAM modalities. Thus, Taiwanese and Koreans use TEAM more holistically than Chinese and even more so than Japanese. The result suggests that the manner in which TEAM is institutionalized affect the extent to which TEAM users utilize various TEAM modalities together and potentially the health promotion effects of TEAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of flipped learning as a pedagogical approach has increased in the 21st century. While there is an existing survey of literature regarding the development in American educational institutions--and fewer in an Asian context--there are some unique cultural considerations that may need to be examined regarding flipped learning's adoption and adaptation in Asia. This paper serves as a literature review focusing on several Asian nations with respect to three major considerations in comparison to the United States: geographical, educational, and cultural. After the comprehensive review, which comments on the number of relevant publications available per nation, this paper concludes that there is no significant barrier to the implementation of flipped learning in Asia beyond the existing considerations apparent in the United States (access, time, and institutional support). Additionally, the prevalence of flipped learning in Asia, and the purposes of various studies surveyed, indicate that cultural barriers, at least in this area, are becoming less notable or authoritative as national or historical distinctions are diminishing through Millennials' tendencies toward globalization.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the holistic picture of sustainability curricula in Asian higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis was conducted based on Asian management education for sustainability in higher education. Online courses arrangement, teaching methods, instructors' educational background and cross-referencing data between triple bottom line and sustainability courses have been investigated. Findings: The paper provides empirical insights about the current state of sustainability education in Asia. The results show that there is an opportunity for interdisciplinary integration, as there are imbalanced sustainability courses offered by business, science and engineering schools. It also suggests that Asian universities should add an international connection and active promotion of sustainability education on their Web sites. Research limitations/implications: Findings are based on web-based sustainability-related courses. Future research could apply method of case study to do a deeper study. Practical implications: The paper provides an overview of Asian management education for sustainability and curricula analysis through our research, and that this will further assist in the development of interdisciplinary integration in Asian management education for sustainability. Originality/value: This paper is the first attempt to gain better understanding of sustainability-related courses offered in leading business/management colleges in Asia.

Purpose: It is still unclear how Asian universities incorporate the theory or practice of sustainable development (SD) in their research and education programmes. To address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to report on a study that has examined how universities in Asian countries handle and address matters related to SD. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a bibliometric analysis and an online survey-method. The online survey data were analysed through descriptive analysis and one-sample student's "t"-test. Findings: The study indicates that there is considerable variation among the Asian countries regarding sustainability practices in higher education institutions (HEIs). The HEIs in far eastern countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are perceived to demonstrate more sustainability practices. Research limitations/implications: Even though a substantial number of participants participated in the survey, it did not cover all Asian countries. The online survey was carried out over a limited period of time, and not all HEIs in the field may have received information about the study. Practical implications: Asia is the largest continent facing a number of sustainability challenges. In this context, the contribution of HEIs is very important. The findings of the current study may serve as a baseline for Asian HEIs to take more initiatives towards SD goals, as HEIs are responsible for the education and training of hundreds of thousands of students who will be occupying key positions in industry, government or education in the coming years. Originality/value: The study contributes to the existing literature in two distinct ways. First, it was possible to develop a comprehensive instrument to measure sustainability practices in HEIs. Second, this study has filled the gap of the scarcity of studies regarding sustainability practices in HEIs in Asia.

The Asia-Pacific region has the highest number of active smokers in the world. Efforts to reduce tobacco use should implement evidence-based measures. The Association of Pacific Rim Universities is a non-profit network of more than 50 universities representing 18 economies. In 2017, it held a virtual global health case competition relating to the use of universities as platforms for tobacco control. This study is a content analysis of tobacco control proposals submitted by 24 teams from 10 economies. Content analysis of the 10-min videos examined (1) general tone and scope of videos; (2) contextual analysis; (3) intervention approaches; (4) theoretical framework; (5) primary versus secondary prevention; (6) individual versus structural approaches. Proposals were not comprehensive; most included some but not all elements recommended by the WHO FCTC. Smoking was often referred to as a 'habit' (instead of an addiction), which likely explains the predominance of individual-level behavior change interventions (smoking cessation) over structural interventions (tobacco ad or sales bans). The most common intervention was the enforcement of current bans on smoking (proposed in 78% of videos), perceived as a major barrier to tobacco control. While most proposals emphasized individual components (e.g. health education and peer support), some also proposed to create more supportive smoke-free environments through billboards, posters and cues to action, such as 'no smoking' reminders and signs with cessation hotline numbers. University faculty, students and campus-wide organizations are well positioned to lead tobacco control efforts. More work is needed to support the establishment of smoke-free campus environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Heterogeneity in successful aging has been found across countries. Yet, comparable evidence is sparse except in North America and Europe. Extending prior research, this study examined the prevalence and correlates of successful aging in East Asia: China, Korea, and Japan. Method We used harmonized data sets from national surveys. A total of 6,479 participants (aged between 65 and 75) were analyzed. Using Rowe and Kahn's (1987 , 1997) model, successful aging was defined as having no major diseases, no difficulty performing activities of daily living, obtaining a median or higher score on tests of cognitive function, and being actively engaged. Results The average prevalence of successful agers was 17.6%. There were variations in the global and specific measures of successful aging within and across countries, even after controlling for individual sociodemographic factors (age, gender, and education). The odds of aging successfully were highest in Japan and lowest in China, especially in the rural areas. Being younger and males were associated with a higher likelihood of successful agers in both global and specific measures. Discussion This study observed heterogeneity in successful aging in East Asia. To identify policy implications, future research should explore potential societal factors influencing individuals' opportunities for successful aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effects of government spending shocks on various key macro variables in China, Korea, and Japan using structural VAR models. The main empirical findings are as follows. Government spending multipliers of all three countries are far larger than 1 in recent years. The effectiveness of fiscal expansion has not changed markedly in China but substantially increased in Korea (after the Asian financial crisis) and Japan (during zero lower bound period). Increases in the effectiveness of fiscal expansion are associated with changes in the monetary and exchange rate policy regimes and institutions of these countries. Among the three countries, the government spending multiplier is relatively large in China but relatively small in Japan in recent years. Although the effects on exchange rate and trade balance vary across countries and sample periods, real exchange rate tends to depreciate, whereas trade balance tends to improve under flexible exchange rate regimes. Some empirical findings are consistent with standard theory, but others are not. Abbreviations:NK: New Keynesian VAR: Vector Autoregressive ZLB: Zero Lower Bound [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the East Asian region with China, Japan, and South Korea, and an inter-regional entity with the European Union (EU)--known as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The initial aims were security and trade. Recently, however, higher education has been brought into these regionalising processes, largely as a response to the globalising of neoliberalism. The paper argues that regions are social, economic, and political constructions shaped by both material forces and cultural factors. It emphasises the importance of the latter and explains three mechanisms at work: "harmonisation" to build intra-ASEAN higher education cooperation; "socialisation" to create the ASEAN+3 region; and "mutual learning" to engage with the EU in shaping an "ASEM Education Area". These mechanisms influence the ways in which regional actors form new conceptions of self and other, negotiate norms, and (re)construct their identities and interests, thus creating new forms of cooperation and community. Particularly, "mutual learning" generates the outcome of a deeper negotiation for an equal partnership between the "Asia" and the "Europe" in ASEM. Hence, higher education regionalism emerges as a way to reposition Southeast Asia.

To provide East Asian evidence to the relationship between the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and the use of biomedicine, this article examines the institutionalization of traditional East Asian medicine (EM) in China, Korea, and Japan and how it affects the relationship between EM use and biomedicine use. It uses the 2010 East Asian Social Survey. Logistic regressions specify the statistical association between EM use and biomedical physician visits. These models show that the high institutional acceptance of EM promotes the concurrent use of EM and biomedicine. In addition, since these countries feature different ways of institutionalizing EM (unification in China, equalization in Korea, and subjugation in Japan), the concurrent use is more obvious under the Chinese and the Korean system than the Japanese system. It concludes that the CAM use can be complementary to biomedicine, depending on how CAM and biomedicine are institutionalized in medical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines Japanese-Chinese arranged cross-border marriages and investigates the ways in which participants legitimate and render such marriages comprehensible in light of national and local histories. Marriageability in this context is produced not through conceptions of “exotic difference” but instead distinct discourses of “familiarity.” On the one hand, Chinese participants tactically narrate “blood ties” (xueyuan guanxi 血缘关系) to interpret current marriage migration as following relational bonds and thus a “natural” phenomenon. On the other hand, Japanese participants stress Chinese women's “familiarity” (shinkin kan 親近感) with Japan, a familiarity that is claimed to stem from positive historical ties forged by colonialism, and thus effaces Japanese wartime culpability. In short, multiple layered notions of familiarity, shaped by the colonial legacy in East Asia, are at work in rendering these transnational intimate relations possible. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the role that the Young Men’s Christian Association’s (YMCA's) physical education director Elwood Stanley Brown played in developing the athletic competition the Far Eastern Championship Games (FECG) from the 1910s through 1934 in Japan, China and the Philippines. The intended efforts of the FECG to bring Western civilization and American Protestantism to East Asia and the Philippines through cultural imperialism are discussed. The role that Brown played in developing physical education programs in Asian schools is also discussed.

This article synthesises findings from two systematic reviews that examined evidence of the link between large-scale assessments (LSAs) and education policy in economically developing countries and in countries of the Asia-Pacific. Analyses summarise evidence of assessment characteristics and policy goals of LSAs that influence education policy, when LSAs are used in the policy-making cycle and types of education policies impacted, and factors that influence the use of LSAs in policy-making. Results show national assessments conducted at both primary and secondary school levels to have an impact on education policy. LSAs are used more often for monitoring education quality and equity purposes followed by accountability purposes. International assessments are more often used to leverage policy priorities than other assessment types. LSAs feature mainly at the monitoring and evaluation stage of the policy cycle. The education policies impacted by LSAs relate considerably more to curricular reforms and performance standards as well as assessment bodies and activities and far less to resource allocation and teaching and learning policies. Finally, whereas the quality of assessment programmes facilitate impact, financial constraints and uncertainty as well as weak assessment bodies hinder the impact of LSAs on education policy.

Polygonatum Mill., which consists of more than 60 species are mainly distributed in eastern Asia, especially China and Japan, has received considerable attention from plant taxonomists. Nevertheless, there are still gaps in our knowledge of this genus, especially concerning those species that are endemic to China and which have often not been included in previous studies. Here, we re‐evaluate the taxonomy of 28 Chinese Polygonatum species with emphasis on molecular evidence. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on sequence data from four plastid DNA regions: atpB‐rbcL, matK, rbcL and rps16, using maximum parsimony and Bayesian approaches. Analyses of the combined datasets of the four regions revealed that: 1) Chinese Polygonatum are monophyletic at the current level of sampling; 2) three major lineages in Polygonatum are well supported and largely correlated with cytological and morphological characters; 3) our results, along with the results of previous works support that P. simizui is a synonym of P. odoratum, and 4) Polygonatum cirrhifoliodes is shown to be distinct from P. cirrhifolium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics pose a significant environmental threat, with potential implications for toxic chemical release, aquatic life endangerment, and human food chain contamination. In Asia, rapid economic growth coupled with inadequate waste management has escalated plastic pollution in rivers, positioning them as focal points for environmental concern. Despite Asia's rivers being considered the most polluted with plastics globally, scholarly attention to microplastics in the region's freshwater environments is a recent development. This study undertakes a systematic review of 228 scholarly articles to map microplastic hotspots in Asian freshwater systems and synthesize current research trends within the continent. Findings reveal a concentration of research in China and Japan, primarily investigating riverine and surface waters through net-based sampling methods. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) emerge as the predominant microplastic types, frequently observed as fibers or fragments. However, the diversity of sampling methodologies and reporting metrics complicates data synthesis, underscoring the need for standardized analytical frameworks to facilitate comparative analysis. This paper delineates the distribution of microplastic hotspots and outlines the prevailing challenges and prospects in microplastic research within Asian freshwater contexts., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Pastureland used for livestock grazing is globally much bigger than arable land. This study investigates the pastureland use embedded in global supply chains by using multi-regional systems input-output anlysis, tracing embodied pastureland use from source of exploitation to sink of final consumption in the global economy. The world's pastureland resources is shown reallocated through the supply chain mainly to the four major economies: EU, the United States, China, and Japan. These four economies are responsible for driving more than half of the global pastureland exploitation. Major supply chains responsible for the global reallocation of pastureland use include the cattle supply chain from Other Asia & Pacific to the United States, China, and Japan, and the cattle supply chain from Africa to EU and the Middle East. This paper demonstrates the nature and scale of the global reallocation of pastureland resources through the supply chain, highlighting the fact that the global shift of pastureland use from nature-based to economic-based may exacerbate ecological inequity between world regions. It is proposed that future policies and regulations should encourage sustainability goals not only on a regional level but on a global scale, finding pathways to sustainable and equitable livestock production by inter-regional collaboration., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Satellite observations show that the rapid urbanization and emergence of megacities with 10 million or more residents have raised PM2.5 concentrations across the globe during the past few decades. This study examines PM2.5 dynamics for the 33 cities included on the UN list of megacities published in 2018. These megacities were classified into densely (>1500 residents per km 2 ), moderately (300-1500 residents per km 2 ) and sparsely (<300 residents per km 2 ) populated areas to examine the effect of human population density on PM2.5 concentrations in these areas during the period 1998-2016. We found that: (1) the higher population density areas experienced higher PM2.5 concentrations; and (2) the megacities with high PM2.5 concentrations in these areas had higher concentrations than those in the moderately and sparsely populated areas of other megacities as well. The numbers of residents experiencing poor air quality is substantial: approximately 452 and 163 million experienced average annual PM2.5 levels exceeding 10 and 35 μg/m 3 , respectively in 2016. We also examined PM2.5 trends during the past 18 years and predict that high PM2.5 levels will likely continue in many of these megacities in the future without substantial changes in their economies and/or pollution abatement practices. There will be more megacities in the highest PM2.5 pollution class and the number of megacities in the lowest PM2.5 pollution class will likely not change. Finally, we analyzed how the PM2.5 pollution burden varies geographically and ranked the 33 megacities in terms of PM2.5 pollution in 2016. The most polluted regions are China, India, and South Asia and the least polluted regions are Europe and Japan. None of the 33 megacities currently fall in the WHO's PM2.5 attainment class (<10 μg/m 3 ) while 9 megacities fall into the PM2.5 non-attainment class (>35 μg/m 3 ). In 2016, the least polluted megacity was New York and most polluted megacity was Delhi whose average annual PM2.5 concentration of 110 μg/m 3 is nearly three times the WHO's non-attainment threshold., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The Psychoneuroimmunology Research Society (PNIRS) created an official Chinese regional affiliate in 2012, designated PNIRS China . Now, just eight years later, the program has been so successful in advancing the science of psychoneuroimmunology that it has expanded to the whole of Asia-Oceania. In 2017, PNIRS China became PNIRS Asia-Pacific . Between 2012 and 2019, this outreach affiliate of PNIRS organized seven symposia at major scientific meetings in China as well as nine others in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. This paper summarizes the remarkable growth of PNIRS Asia-Pacific . Here, regional experts who have been instrumental in organizing these PNIRS Asia-Pacific symposia briefly review and share their views about the past, present and future state of psychoneuroimmunology research in China, Taiwan, Australia and Japan. The newest initiative of PNIRS Asia-Pacific is connecting Asia-Pacific laboratories with those in Western countries through a simple web-based registration system. These efforts not only contribute to the efforts of PNIRS to serve a truly global scientific society but also to answer the imperative call of increasing diversity in our science., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Anthropogenic emissions in Asia have significantly increased during the last two decades; as a result, the induced air pollution and its influences on radiative forcing and public health are becoming increasingly prominent. The Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) has been widely deployed in Asia for real-time characterization of aerosol chemistry. In this paper, we review the AMS measurements in Asia, mainly in China, Korea, Japan, and India since 2001 and summarize the key results and findings. The mass concentrations of non-refractory submicron aerosol species (NR-PM 1 ) showed large spatial distributions with high mass loadings occurring in India and north and northwest China (60.2-81.3 μg m -3 ), whereas much lower values were observed in Korea, Japan, Singapore and regional background sites (7.5-15.1 μg m -3 ). Aerosol composition varied largely in different regions, but was overall dominated by organic aerosols (OA, 32-75%), especially in south and southeast Asia due to the impact of biomass burning. While sulfate and nitrate showed comparable contributions in urban and suburban regions in north China, sulfate dominated inorganic aerosols in south China, Japan and regional background sites. Positive matrix factorization analysis identified multiple OA factors from different sources and processes in different atmospheric environments, e.g., biomass burning OA in south and southeast Asia and agricultural seasons in China, cooking OA in urban areas, and coal combustion in north China. However, secondary OA (SOA) was a ubiquitous and dominant aerosol component in all regions, accounting for 43-78% of OA. The formation of different SOA subtypes associated with photochemical production or aqueous-phase/fog processing was widely investigated. The roles of primary emissions, secondary production, regional transport, and meteorology on severe haze episodes, and different chemical responses of primary and secondary aerosol species to source emission changes and meteorology were also demonstrated. Finally, future prospects of AMS studies on long-term and aircraft measurements, water-soluble OA, the link of OA volatility, oxidation levels, and phase state were discussed.

Background and Aims: Genetic identification is a public health care concern for management of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) associated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study presents the spectrum and distribution of LDLR, APOB, PCSK9 gene mutations in Asia., Methods: Databases were searched for English papers from 1950 to 2019. The spectrum of the variants was investigated in 8994 FH families in 48 Asian countries. We determined the frequency of variants, zygosity, and clinical features., Results: Twenty countries have studied LDLR variants. A total of 629 mutations were reported and twenty variants were accounted as common variants in different populations. China, Japan, India and Taiwan constituted 68% of published articles. The most frequent mutation was reported in Japan but was not common in other countries. Other missense variants accounted for 50% of the mutations, frameshifts 19%, and nonsense 11%. The pooled frequency of variation was estimated in 1867 individuals. Approximately 67% of Iranian families were homozygous.,The common variant was p.Ser130Ter. p.Arg3527Trp in APOB was common among 184 heterozygous patients; the common variant of PCSK9 was p.Glu32Lys., Conclusions: This is the first systematic review of LDLR, APOB, PCSK9 mutations in FH patients in Asia. These findings underscore the need to fill in the gap of studies on different populations in Asia. It also underlies the importance of early detection and management to decrease atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk in different ethnicities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declared they do not have anything to disclose regarding conflict of interest with respect to this manuscript., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Chemical sector contributes extensively to the economic development of countries, however, it is one of the main water-consuming industries. Considering that the corporate water accounting along complete SCs can help companies in improving their sustainable water managements along their value chains, this paper aims to study the water consumption in the entire supply chain of the chemical industry from a multi-regional input-output perspective. In this regard, six Asian countries including Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Japan, South Korea and India are selected to be studied based upon the availability of their data. In the following, the direct water consumed by themselves and the indirect water used by their suppliers are measured for each country using input-output analysis method. Moreover, to draw on the conclusions of selected Asian countries, the amount of consumed water in their supply chains is compared with each other using one-way analysis of variance method. The results from input-output analysis show that the indirect water consumption in the chemical SCs of Indonesia, China, India and South Korea are 20.66, 4.62, 1.37 and 1.08 times greater than their direct water use, while the indirect water consumption for Japan and Taiwan are 0.73 and 0.13 times less than their direct values. The final results from one-way analysis of variance indicate that direct and indirect amount of water consumptions in the chemical supply chains of the selected countries do not follow the same trend over 15 years. However, India and China are the top two countries in terms of both direct and indirect amounts of water consumption due to their higher population. This study presents valuable information for authorities and policymakers in terms of proper water consumption management in chemical industry and other industrial sectors. In this matter, technology-based or production-related actions are beneficiary for affecting direct water use, while consumption-based or end-use actions are more appropriate for affecting indirect water consumption.

Much of bioethical discourse now takes place across cultures. This does not mean that cross-cultural understanding has increased. Many cross-cultural bioethical discussions are marked by entrenched disagreement about whether and why local practices are justified. In this paper, I argue that a major reason for these entrenched disagreements is that problematic metaethical commitments are hidden in these cross-cultural discourses. Using the issue of informed consent in East Asia as an example of one such discourse, I analyze two representative positions in the discussion and identify their metaethical commitments. I suggest that the metaethical assumptions of these positions result from their shared method of ethical justification: moral principlism. I then show why moral principlism is problematic in cross-cultural analyses and propose a more useful method for pursuing ethical justification across cultures.