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The rapid spread of the coronavirus virus (COVID-19) has been responsible for massive global impacts on the lives of children, families and communities. It is important to document these effects for the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. This report focuses on the Asia-Pacific region and ECEC sector, given limited regional studies on the impact of COVID-19 on early childhood education. It draws attention to the effects of the pandemic across five member countries of the "Organisation Mondiale pour l' Education Préscolaire" (OMEP)--Australia, China, Japan, Korea and Thailand. The authors describe initial responses to control the spread of the pandemic in each national context and identify socio-political factors that enable broad understandings of national responses to COVID-19. In relation to the ECEC sector, responses are discussed in terms of cultural differences, economic issues, educational and professional concerns and educator wellbeing. While important government actions have rightly focused on virus suppression, it also remains important to maintain attention on the rights of children to ensure that the health crisis does not also become a child's rights crisis and that sufficient attention is given to children's safety and wellbeing.

A large number of debris flows occurred in the Wenchuan earthquake zone after the 12 May 2008 earthquake. The risks posed by these debris flows were rather high. An appropriate model is required to predict the possible runout distance and impacted area. This paper describes a study on the runout characteristics of the debris flows that occurred in the Wenchuan earthquake zone over the past four years. A total of 120 debris flows are analyzed. Separate multivariate regression models are established for the runout distances of hill-slope debris flows and channelized debris flows. The control variables include type of debris flow, debris flow volume, and elevation difference. Comparison of the debris flows occurring before and after the earthquake shows that the runout distance increased after the earthquake due to sufficient material supply and increased mobility of the source materials. In addition, the runout distances of annual debris flow events in 2008, 2010 and 2011 are analyzed and compared. There is a tendency that the runout distance decreases over time due to the decreasing source material volume and possible changes of debris flow type. Comparison between the debris flows in the earthquake zone and the debris flows in Swiss Alps, Canada, Austria, and Japan shows that the former have a smaller mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, the arc magmas are oxidized, forming magnetite-series granitoids. However, there are also ilmenite-series granitoids at convergent margins. The mechanism that controls the formation of different types of granitoids remains obscure. Here we show that the temporal distributions of ilmenite-series granitoids in Japan have a good correlation with oceanic anoxic events (OAEs). The subduction of OAE sediments with high contents of organic matters releases reducing fluids/melts into the mantle wedge, leading to the formation of ilmenite-series granitoids. This is supported by sulfur isotope compositions and high concentrations of organic gas of the ilmenite-series granitoids in Japan. The temporal correlation between OAEs and Il-series granitoids suggests that the OAE sediments was predominantly distributed within short distances (<2000 km) along the coast. Considerable amount of organic matters are recycled back to the surface during plate subduction, and thus have major influences on carbon recycling, and climate changes, as well as oxygen fugacity of convergent margin magmas and associated mineralizations. [Display omitted] • The Il-series granitoids in Japan and global OAEs have a close temporal relationship. • The geochemical compositions were compared between the Il- and Mt-series granitoids. • The Il-series granitoids are formed by subduction of organic-rich sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1: We examined reserpine-induced chemical denervation supersensitivity with special reference to alpha-1 adrenoceptor (AR) subtypes. 2: Chronic treatment with reserpine for 2 weeks depleted noradrenaline in the tail artery and spleen of rats. Noradrenaline in the thoracic aorta was negligible before and after reserpine treatment. 3: The treatment with reserpine produced supersensitivity in the contractile responses of the rat tail artery to phenylephrine, 5-HT and KCl, resulting in leftward shift of concentration-response curves (11.6-, 2.5- and 1.1-fold at EC50 value, respectively). These results suggest a predominant sensitization of the alpha-1 AR-mediated response by reserpine treatment. 4: BMY 7378 at a concentration (30?nM) specific for blocking the alpha-1D AR subtype, but not KMD-3213 at a concentration (10?nM) selective for blocking the alpha-1A AR subtype, inhibited the supersensitivity of the phenylephrine-induced response in the reserpine-treated artery. On the other hand, the response to phenylephrine in reserpine-untreated artery was selectively inhibited by the same concentration of KMD-3213, but not by BMY 7378. Prazosin, a subtype-nonselective antagonist, blocked the responses to phenylephrine with the same potency, regardless of reserpine treatment. 5: In the thoracic aorta and spleen, no supersensitivity was produced in the responses to phenylephrine by reserpine treatment. 6: In a tissue segment-binding study using [3H]-prazosin, the total density and affinity of alpha-1 ARs in the rat tail artery were not changed by treatment with reserpine. However, alpha-1D AR with high affinity for BMY 7378 was significantly detected in reserpine-treated tail artery, in contrast to untreated artery. Decreases in alpha-1A AR with high affinity for KMD-3213 and alpha-1B AR with low affinities for KMD-3213 and BMY 7378 were also estimated in reserpine-treated tail artery. 7: Alpha-1D AR mRNA in rat tail artery increased to three-folds by reserpine treatment, whereas the levels of alpha-1A and 1B mRNAs were not significantly changed. 8: The present results suggest that chronic treatment with reserpine affects the expression of alpha-1 AR subtypes of rat tail artery and that the induction of alpha-1D ARs with high affinity for catecholamines is in part associated with reserpine-induced supersensitivity.British Journal of Pharmacology (2004) 142, 647-656. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705817 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birds have the ability to assess the risk of predation in their environment and adjust their antipredation strategies based on this risk information. However, whether nest site selection has effect on subsequent nest defence behaviour has not been studied. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the Japanese tit (Parus minor) exhibits a nest-box hole size preference and whether the entrance hole sizes of nest boxes influence the nest defence behaviour of tits. We hung nest boxes with three different entrance hole sizes (diameters: 6.5 cm, 4.5 cm and 2.8 cm) in our study sites and investigated which nest boxes were occupied by tits. In addition, by using dummy-presentation experiments, we observed the nest defence behaviours of tits that nested in boxes with 2.8 cm and 4.5 cm entrance holes towards common chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus, a small nest predator able to enter these holes) and Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris, a large nest predator unable to enter the 2.8 cm entrance hole). The tits that bred in nest boxes with 2.8 cm entrance holes exhibited more intense nest defence responses to chipmunks than to squirrels. In contrast, the tits that bred in nest boxes with 4.5 cm entrance holes exhibited similar nest defence responses to chipmunks and squirrels. Additionally, Japanese tits that bred in nest boxes with 2.8 cm entrance holes exhibited more intense behavioural responses to chipmunks than those that bred in nest boxes with 4.5 cm entrance holes. Our results suggested that Japanese tits prefer to occupy nest boxes with small holes for breeding and that nest-box characteristics influenced their nest defence behaviour., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In today's environmentally conscious society, advocated by a global point of view, land and building use around rail transit stations have changed in the urbanization process. Promoting urban construction and development centered on rail transit stations not only meets the actual needs of urban sustainable development but is also an important means to guide the development of innovative cities. Therefore, it is meaningful to study the characteristics of urban spatial succession, development rules, and future trends based on this new perspective. We analyzed the relationship between rail transit networks and urban form in Japan using GIS by investigating changes in land and building use around rail transit stations over 30 years in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s (from 1985-2010) using factor analysis and cluster analysis, and we discussed the impact of land consolidation planning and the setting and site selection of new stations based on urban development to understand the development trends inside and outside station zones and urban spatial succession. The results showed the following: (1) There are certain relationships between the development of urban form and traffic demand, and the rail transit network in Japan has the characteristics of high accessibility and aggregation of a small network; (2) Commercial development with a high plot ratio is dispersed and diverted by high-density rail transit stations in the commercial center of Japan; and (3) Commercial sub-centers form complexes by integrating multi-line transfers and form regional linkages through clustered commercial development. Regional business centers realize the agglomeration and radiation of functions through the compound development of station zones. This case study on rail transit zones and urban spatial succession in Japan has important enlightenment significance for urban construction toward optimizing the location and development of suburban rail transit lines, promoting the compact development of cities, exploring new ways to build more reasonable transport, planning city design and layout for rail transit station zones, and providing decision-making references for urban regeneration and sustainable development.

What Is Known and Objective: Esomeprazole, the S-isomer of omeprazole, is a proton pump inhibitor which has been approved by over 125 countries, also known as NEXIUM ® . Esomeprazole was developed to provide further improvement on efficacy for acid-related diseases with higher systemic bioavailability due to the less first-pass metabolism and lower plasma clearance. Esomeprazole is primarily metabolized by CYP2C19. Approximately <1% of Caucasians and 5%-10% of Asians have absent CYP2C19 enzyme activity. Although the influence of various CYP2C19 phenotypes on esomeprazole pharmacokinetics has been studied, this is the first report in the Japanese population where 27 low CYP2C19 metabolizers were included., Methods: In this study, a population PK model describing the PK of esomeprazole was developed to understand the difference of CYP2C19 phenotypes on clearance in the Japanese population. The model quantitatively assessed the influence of CYP2C19 phenotype on esomeprazole PK in healthy Japanese male subjects after receiving repeated oral dosing. The inhibition mechanism of esomeprazole on CYP2C19 activity was also included in the model., Results and Discussion: CYP2C19 phenotype and dose were found as statistically significant covariates on esomeprazole clearance. The apparent clearance at 10-mg dose was 17.32, 9.77 and 7.37 (L/h) for homozygous extensive metabolizer, heterozygous extensive metabolizer and poor metabolizer subjects, respectively. And the apparent clearance decreased as dose increased., What Is New and Conclusion: The established population PK model well described the esomeprazole PK and model-predicted esomeprazole PK was in good agreement with external clinical data, suggesting the robustness and applicability of the current model for predicting esomeprazole PK., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Tea green leafhopper is one of the most dominant pests in major tea production regions of East Asia. This species has been variously identified as Empoasca vitis (Goëthe), Jacobiasca formosana (Paoli) and Empoasca onukii Matsuda in Mainland China, Taiwan and Japan, respectively. Recent study of DNA sequence data suggested that treatment of this pest as different species in these three adjacent regions is incorrect and that they were a single species; but the correct scientific name for the species has remained unclear. Consistent with the prior molecular evidence, morphological study shows that the male genital characters of Chinese specimens are the same as those of specimens from Japan, so the correct scientific name of tea green leafhopper in China is Empoasca (Matsumurasca) onukii Matsuda.