Search

This article explores popular British ideas about Asia from the mid-seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century, using largely neglected sources: geography books. Thanks to their popularity and focus on conventional knowledge, this genre of texts – geographical reference works, gazetteers, encyclopaedias and schoolbooks – allows us to glimpse the commonplace mentalities of the period, and consequently to understand how Asia was perceived by ordinary literate Britons and not just by prominent intellectuals. Geography books typically regard Asia as a 'place of origin' for the cultural and societal achievements of Europe. They also assume that Asia possesses plentiful natural resources and is thus ripe for economic exploitation. At the same time, however, Asia is understood to be degenerate and corrupt, usually due to a combination of climactic decay, religious failings and government mismanagement. Asia is thus alien and entirely distinct from Europe, and, simultaneously, it is intimately connected to Europe's rise and future imperial progress. British geography books can tell us a great deal about how ordinary literate people understood Asian peoples and places in the formative age of British empire-building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indo-Pacific concept is imprecise and designates more a geopolitical reality than a geographical space, but it is not, as is often suggested, a recent creation of the US, nor of the Trump administration. On the contrary, several actors have used it before the United States itself. And the US will not be the last actor to adopt it, either. On the contrary, it has gradually been adopted by other actors, including ASEAN, which tries to turn the concept in its favour in a way that reaffirms the importance of the group in the region as a whole and does not put in question neither “its centrality or its unity”, something that is far from being achieved.

Background: The prevalence of aluminium phosphide (AlP) poisoning is on the rise in Asian countries. The objectives of our study were to determine the distribution of AIP poisoning by sex, age groups district and its presentation by blood pressure category and oxygen saturation category and its mortality in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Materials Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Emergency Department of Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan from June 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020. Fifty eight cases of AIP registered during 2019 were included. The diagnosis was made by history and clinical suspicion. All these cases were managed by standard management protocols. Sex, age groups, district, blood pressure category, oxygen saturation category and presence of mortality were variables; all being categorical were analyzed by count and percentage with 80% confidence interval. Results: Out of 58 AlP poisoning cases, women 34 (58.62%) were more than men 24 (41.38%), with most cases 30 (51.73%) in 10-19 years age group. Most cases 17 (29.31%) were from district Swabi, followed by district Peshawar 16 (27.58%). Most cases presented in non-recordable blood pressure category 19 (32.76%). Most cases 22 (37.93%) presented in oxygen saturation category of ≥ 90%. Out of 58 cases, mortality was 72.41% (42/58), involving more women 24/58 (41.38%) than men 18/58 (31.03%), with most cases 23 (39.66%) in 10-19 years age group. Mortality was highest in non-recordable blood pressure category 19 (32.76%). Mortality was highest 19 (32.76%) in oxygen saturation category of below 90%. Conclusion: Aluminium phosphide (AlP) poisoning is an uncommon, but a dreadful public health problem in population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It involves women more than men, with most cases in adolescent age group, and in non-recordable blood pressure category. AlP poisoning mortality is very high 72.41% in our population, involving more women than men, with most cases in adolescent age group. Mortality is highest in non-recordable blood pressure category and in oxygen saturation category of below 90%.

Background: Liver transplantation is one of the most effective treatments for acute liver failure, chronic liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study was implemented to evaluate the survival rate of liver transplant in Asia. Methods: Studies that investigated the survival rate of liver transplant were selected using a systematic search strategy in the following databases: Medline, Embase, Scopus, ProQuest, ISI Web of Science, and Cochrane to November 30th, 2020. The extracted data were entered into the Excel software. Then, stata 16.0 was used for analysis. The search identified 3046 articles of which, 713 were duplicates and 2156 deemed as irrelevant after reading titles and abstracts. Also, 51 articles were excluded as they were not original (i.e. letter, commentary, review) or did not meet the inclusion criteria. As such, 117 studies, involving 406,646 participants, were included in this meta-analysis. Results: In this study one, 2, 3, 5, and 10-year survival rates of liver transplant were estimated to be 85%, 80%, 75%, 73%, and 71%, respectively. Conclusion: This study suggests that the survival rate of liver transplant in Asia is comparable with the corresponding rate reported in the United States and Europe. This study provides a better and more clear view of the efficiency of medical cares, regarding liver transplantation.

Background: The value of medical registries strongly depends on the quality of the data collected. This must be objectively measured before large clinical databases can be promoted for observational research, quality improvement, and clinical trials. We aimed to evaluate the quality of a multinational intensive care unit (ICU) network of registries of critically ill patients established in seven Asian low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: The Critical Care Asia federated registry platform enables ICUs to collect clinical, outcome and process data for aggregate and unit-level analysis. The evaluation used the standardised criteria of the Directory of Clinical Databases (DoCDat) and a framework for data quality assurance in medical registries. Six reviewers assessed structure, coverage, reliability and validity of the ICU registry data. Case mix and process measures on patient episodes from June to December 2020 were analysed. Results: Data on 20,507 consecutive patient episodes from 97 ICUs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam were included. The quality level achieved according to the ten prespecified DoCDat criteria was high (average score 3.4 out of 4) as was the structural and organizational performance -- comparable to ICU registries in high-income countries. Identified strengths were types of variables included, reliability of coding, data completeness and validation. Potential improvements included extension of national coverage, optimization of recruitment completeness validation in all centers and the use of interobserver reliability checks. Conclusions: The Critical Care Asia platform evaluates well using standardised frameworks for data quality and equally to registries in resource-rich settings.

Macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF) is a rare immune-mediated myopathy that seems to be triggered by aluminium hydroxide adjuvant used in vaccines. Its presentation is relatively heterogeneous and treatment with steroids leads to improvement, although there is little evidence regarding the role of other immunosuppressants. The histological findings in MMF seem to be the result of an abnormal presence in the inoculation site of aluminium, which can induce an immune-mediated muscular disease in susceptible persons. The authors describe the case of a patient with an atypical presentation of macrophagic myofasciitis, with histological confirmation in a muscle biopsy distant from the inoculation site, and a good therapeutic response to tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil, as well as a discussion on the pathologic basis, controversies and emerging treatments for this condition.

Background: The value of medical registries strongly depends on the quality of the data collected. This must be objectively measured before large clinical databases can be promoted for observational research, quality improvement, and clinical trials. We aimed to evaluate the quality of a multinational intensive care unit (ICU) network of registries of critically ill patients established in seven Asian low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: The Critical Care Asia federated registry platform enables ICUs to collect clinical, outcome and process data for aggregate and unit-level analysis. The evaluation used the standardised criteria of the Directory of Clinical Databases (DoCDat) and a framework for data quality assurance in medical registries. Six reviewers assessed structure, coverage, reliability and validity of the ICU registry data. Case mix and process measures on patient episodes from June to December 2020 were analysed. Results: Data on 20,507 consecutive patient episodes from 97 ICUs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam were included. The quality level achieved according to the ten prespecified DoCDat criteria was high (average score 3.4 out of 4) as was the structural and organizational performance -- comparable to ICU registries in high-income countries. Identified strengths were types of variables included, reliability of coding, data completeness and validation. Potential improvements included extension of national coverage, optimization of recruitment completeness validation in all centers and the use of interobserver reliability checks. Conclusions: The Critical Care Asia platform evaluates well using standardised frameworks for data quality and equally to registries in resource-rich settings.

To date, a lot of data on molecular genetic characteristics of different tick-borne encephalitis virus strains has appeared. Only on the basis of the E protein genome, sequences of about 1,500 TBEV strains were registered in GenBank. The purpose of the work – revision and comparative analysis of data on complete genomes sequences of the Far Eastern subtype of TBE virus strains distributed in the Asian part of Eurasian continent. Material and methods. The data on the complete genomes of 84 strains of TBEV isolated in Asia were used; phylogenetic analysis was performed. Results and discussion: it was shown that variants of the TBEV of the Far Eastern subtype are circulating here and form three separate clusters (Sofjin, Senzhang- и Shkotovo-like strains). Sofjin strain (Sofjin-1953, Sofjin-Chumakov, Sofjin-KSY) was considered to be the reference for Far Eastern TBE virus subtype strains and a cluster of Sofjin-like strains. Sofjin-like strains were not found in China and Japan, but widely distributed throughout the area of Primorsky and Khabarovsk krai. The group of Senzhang-like strains was distributed in China, Eastern Siberia, Khabarovsk krai and northern Primorsky krai, but was not found in Japan (Hokkaido). According to molecular genetic characteristics the youngest and more genetically homogeneous group was the Shkotovo-like strains, isolated in the southern part of Primorsky krai, however not found on Hokkaido Island (Japan). Conclusion: revision of the complete genome characteristics of TBEV strains revealed the features of micro-evolutionary process of viral populations in the Asian part of Eurasia, show the individual affection of strains to certain territories, as well as detect random finds of such strains in the territories of other natural foci.

Según la tradición literaria, P. Rutilio Rufo fue un hombre justo y honesto. Pese a ello, fue declarado culpable cuando se le procesó por concusión a su regreso de Asia, donde fue como legado de Q. Mucio Escévola, gobernador de la provincia. Es casi unánime en las fuentes escritas que se trató de una venganza urdida por los publicanos. Otra fuente apunta como instigador real del proceso a M. Emilio Escauro, el cónsul del 115. Se trata de un personaje alabado en la tradición, de compleja y adaptable personalidad, una figura necesaria para entender los hechos. En este trabajo intentamos analizar su posición y responsabilidad política con relación al episodio citado.

Background The spread of HIV infection among men in Indonesia continues to increase every year. Clients of female sex workers (FSWs) are a group at higher risk of acquiring HIV infection due to their frequent engagement in sexual acts with sex workers. This study aimed to identify factors of susceptibility to HIV infection among clients of FSWs.Methods: A qualitative inquiry using one-on-one in-depth interviews was conducted in the Belu and Malaka districts of Indonesia from January to April 2017. The study participants (n =42) were the clients of FSWs recruited using the snowball sampling technique. The inclusion criteria were: being a client of FSWs and being aged 18 years or more. Data were analysed using a framework analysis.Results: Findings were grouped into two main emerging themes that included behavioural and socioeconomic factors. Behavioural factors that mediated HIV susceptibility among clients of FSWs were: frequent engagement in unsafe sex with multiple sex workers; low perceptions of the relevance of available HIV and AIDS services and limited access to these services; and HIV stigma or fear of being labelled as HIV positive. Socioeconomic factors included: participants' economic situation; and individuals' household responsibility and ability to afford FSWs services.Conclusions: The study results indicate the need to reformulate and improve HIV and AIDS-related services, including increasing the level of availability of HIV service points and the dissemination of knowledge and information about HIV and AIDS and condom use and making them accessible to both FSWs and their clients in Belu and Malaka districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nas últimas décadas temos observado um aumento significativo dos fluxos comerciais globais, especialmente de partes e componentes, além de um aumento significativo no volume de investimento direto. A literatura econômica – teórica e empírica - tem apontado a relação desses fenômenos com o processo de fragmentação do processo produtivo. Mas, apesar de amplamente praticado, o conceito ainda não é bem definido na literatura. Neste artigo optou-se por agregá-los em dois grupos, os que tratam da fragmentação produtiva, ou seja, a divisão geográfica da produção, e a integração produtiva regional, que diz respeito a economias envolvidas em acordos preferenciais de comércio. Ademais, foram apontados os principais determinantes e os efeitos sobre o crescimento e desenvolvimento dos países envolvidos. E, para contextualizar o tema, foram brevemente apresentados os históricos de integração produtiva na América Latina e na Ásia. O levantamento bibliográfico realizado leva a conclusão que, apesar de distintos, os conceitos convergem na medida em que os acordos preferenciais são capazes de reduzir os custos de comercialização.

We interpreted the TRIDENT satellite derived gravity field to provide detailed insights into the spatial distribution of the crustal density structures in the area of the Yellow Sea.We used 3-D forward density modelling for the interpretation that incorporated constraints from existing geological and geophysical information. A gravity stripping method is used to separate out the gravity effects of different geological crustal structures. From this analysis we see that (1) the Gunsan sedimentary basin is isostatically compensated. (2) The satellite-derived Bouguer anomalies ranging from 15 to -30 × 10-5 m s-2 are linked to basin thicknesses in the Yellow Sea. (3) The calculated Moho depth in the Yellow Sea varies from 27 km beneath the deep sedimentary basin to 34 km in the uplifted zones. (4) Moho depth calculations show two distinct areas, characterized by the deepest Moho depths and the largest crustal thicknesses in the Yellow Sea. The one region extends along the Qianliyan Uplift Zone from Jiaodong to Hongsung while the other area extends from southeastern China to Hongsung in the Korean peninsula. Compared to previous works we suggest that they are the part of the collisions zone between North and South China Blocks extending from China to the Korean peninsula via the Yellow Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O estabelecimento do Tribunal da Inquisição na Espanha (século XV) e em Portugal (século XVI) estimulou a migração de judeus e de cristãos-novos, que escolheram a Índia como um dos destinos. Porém, o Tribunal da Inquisição de Goa foi criado em 1560 para manter a ortodoxia católica nos domínios portugueses do Oriente, conquistados a partir da chegada de Vasco da Gama à Índia em 1498. O objetivo do artigo é demonstrar a perseguição dos cristãos-novos na Índia através da análise das cartas escritas pelos inquisidores. Os cristãos-novos foram as principais vítimas da Inquisição na Península Ibérica e em Goa (no século XVI), mas denunciaram a arbitrariedade do Santo Ofício a reis e a papas. Charles Dellon, um antigo prisioneiro do Santo Ofício de Goa, denunciou as arbitrariedades da Inquisição e a publicação de seus relatos favoreceu o debate sobre a tolerância religiosa na Europa.

There has been pressure from various business and professional accounting bodies to place greater emphasis on ethics education. This has been reflected in academic research and curriculum development. The purpose of this paper is to expand the debate on accounting ethics education to take into account the globalization of business, accounting and educational services and to draw attention to the importance of cross-cultural factors. To illustrate this the paper discusses the impact that Confucius has had on the ethical thinking of East and South East Asia. Where appropriate, comparisons are made with Western attitudes and secular philosophies. This focus has been chosen because of the current and future importance of the Asian area to global commerce, and the fact that an understanding of its ethical thinking and behaviour is not possible without an appreciation of Confucian thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]