Search

A complication of teacher education policy in Japan is rooted in a gap between an image of teachers, which is held by society as a whole, and includes various character traits and the reality of Japanese university education. On the other hand, the expansion of an "open system" and lack of nationwide standard are making individual universities that provide teacher education programs in Japan to "narrow down." The enforcement of the current approval system is deficient as a quality assurance measure, and therefore has many harmful effects. Accordingly, it is desirable to recognize the realities of teacher education and respect the independence of individual universities when considering teacher education reform in the future. [This article was translated by Ai Omori.]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including dual-track reform strategy adopted in the Chinese economy, impact of financial repression on China's economic growth, and impact of local government debt on leverage ratios.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue including public pension system, social security system in China and health-care issues in Japan.

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editors discuss various papers within the issue on topics including influence of China's economic policies on Latin America, China's outward direct investment and China's international economic cooperation.

Background Most cancers are due to environmental, occupational or other non-genetic factors and are potentially preventable. Aims To provide an evidence-based assessment of the burden of occupational and environmental-related cancers in China in 2005. Methods The population attributable fraction (PAF) was calculated based on the assumption of no occupational agent exposure. Relative risk estimates for specific cancers of interest and prevalence of exposure were mainly derived from large-scale studies. Data on cancer incidence and mortality was obtained from the Third National Death Cause Survey and cancer registries in China. Results We estimated that a total of 48 511 deaths of cancer were attributable to occupational agents in China in 2005, with 34 975 among men (3.1% of all cancer deaths) and 13 536 among women (2.1%). A total of 59 410 incident cases of cancer were attributable to occupational agents in China in 2005, with 42 724 among men (2.8% of all cancer incident cases) and 16 686 among women (1.6%). The highest PAF was observed for mesothelioma with asbestos, followed by leukaemia, bladder and lung cancers. Indoor radon was responsible for 0.2% of lung cancer-related deaths among men and women. Conclusions Occupational agents represent an important cause of cancer, but indoor radon plays a relatively limited role in cancer causes in China. Our report provides strong evidence of the need for policy makers to develop strategies to reduce the risk of occupational cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The mineral composition of frozen food of taro [ Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] was analyzed to categorize the geographical production place of taro. The concentrations of Co and HPO were found to be useful to separate the producing place between Japan and China. The analysis was performed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and ion chromatography (IC). In the case of INAA, the samples were dried and sealed in a vinyl bag and irradiated with thermal neutrons from JRR3M, installed at Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The activated samples were cooled down for a few weeks and the elements (Co, Cr, Fe, Rb, Zn) were determined. Cobalt concentration of frozen taro from China was higher than that from Japan. The tendency was the same in the fresh sample of taro. When concentration of HPO of frozen sample was measured, taro from Japanese product was higher than that of Chinese one, contrary to fresh sample. This result might be caused by the leakage of HPO during freezing process, indicating that we should be careful to apply the discrimination indicators. In addition to Co, there was a significant difference of Rb and Fe concentrations between frozen taro from Japan and China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current risk assessment of elemental mercury vapor is based on the tremor toxicity. To clarify the neuromotor effects of occupational exposure to mercury vapor, hand tremor and postural sway were measured in 27 miners and smelters (i.e., exposed workers) and 52 unexposed subjects. Urine samples were collected and total mercury and creatinine concentrations were determined. Data of the tremor and postural sway were analyzed using the fast Fourier transformation. The geometric means of the urinary mercury level (UHg) were 228 (range 22.6–4,577) μg/g creatinine for the exposed workers and 2.6 (1.0–17.4) μg/g creatinine for the unexposed subjects. Total tremor intensity and frequency-specific tremor intensities at 1–6 and 10–14 Hz were significantly larger in the exposed workers than in the unexposed subjects ( P < 0.05), but they were not significantly related to the UHg among the exposed workers ( P > 0.05). In contrast, there were no significant differences in any postural sway parameters between the above two groups ( P > 0.05), but the transversal sway with eyes open was positively related to the UHg among the exposed workers in using multiple regression analysis ( P < 0.05). These findings suggest that postural sway, as well as hand tremor, may be affected by elemental mercury vapor exposure, but the former test seems to be less sensitive to mercury than the latter one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlabelled: We examined age- and sex-specific body compositions of Chinese children by the bioelectrical impedance method. The subjects were a total of 587 children aged 6-14 y who had normal relative weight. In all ages, boys had larger fat-free mass and lower percent body fat (%BF) than girls did. Even in the subjects with BMI <20 kg/m2, more than one quarter of them had high %BF.Conclusion: Chinese children may have higher %BF than that predicted by BMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of the present study was to examine the serum lipid profile in obese Chinese children, their serum lipid and apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and B (apoB) levels were examined. Methods: The subjects were 153 patients (109 male and 44 female) aged 4−16 years with obesity, who attended the outpatient clinic of Beijing Children's Hospital. Percentage bodyweight (%BW) ([(bodyweight − standard weight)/standard weight]× 100) were obtained. Skinfold thickness and hip and waist circumference were measured. Percentage body fat (%BF) was estimated by bioelectrical impedance analyzer. Serum total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), triglyceride (TG), apoA-I and apoB levels were also measured. Results: TC showed an acceptable level in 86.8% of obese children. The prevalence of high TC levels (3.3%) or high LDLC levels (6.0%) was rather low. The HDLC level was reduced in 31.3% of obese children. Anthropometric variables had no linear relationship to TC, HDLC, TG, LDLC, apoA-I or apoB, but in the older age group (over 10 years old) %BW and %BF showed a weak correlation with HDLC ( r = −0.202, r = −0.211, respectively). Conclusion: In obese Chinese children, HDLC as well as TC levels should be examined in order to assess coronary risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ongoing outbreak of pneumonia caused by novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and the number of new patients continues to increase. Even though it began to spread to many other parts of the world, such as other Asian countries, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East, the impact of secondary outbreaks caused by exported cases outside China remains unclear. We conducted simulations to estimate the impact of potential secondary outbreaks in a community outside China. Simulations using stochastic SEIR model were conducted, assuming one patient was imported to a community. Among 45 possible scenarios we prepared, the worst scenario resulted in the total number of persons recovered or removed to be 997 (95% CrI 990–1000) at day 100 and a maximum number of symptomatic infectious patients per day of 335 (95% CrI 232–478). Calculated mean basic reproductive number (R0) was 6.5 (Interquartile range, IQR 5.6–7.2). However, better case scenarios with different parameters led to no secondary cases. Altering parameters, especially time to hospital visit. could change the impact of a secondary outbreak. With these multiple scenarios with different parameters, healthcare professionals might be able to better prepare for this viral infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which examined the effectiveness of Ninjin Yoei To (NYT), a Chinese herbal medicine, for the treatment of lung carcinoma. Uses of the NYT in Chinese medicine; Discussion on the case of a female lung carcinoma patient who was given NYT; Results and discussion.