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Background: In the current meta-analysis, we aimed to systematically review and summarize the eligible studies evaluating the association between dietary acid load in terms of potential renal acid load (PRAL) and net-endogenous acid production (NEAP) with anthropometric parameters and serum lipids in adult population. Methods: In a systematic search from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences and Cochrane electronic databases up to December 2018, relevant studies were included. Cross-sectional, case control or cohort studies evaluating the association between PRAL and NEAP with the mean values of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), low and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL, HDL), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and the prevalence of obesity were included. Results: According to our results, having higher dietary acid load content in terms of high PRAL scores was associated with higher triglyceride concentrations (weighted mean difference (WMD): 3.468; confidence interval (CI): -0.231, 7.166, P = 0.04) and higher obesity prevalence (30% and 27% in highest versus lowest categories). Accordingly, being in the highest category of NEAP was associated with higher prevalence of obesity (25% and 22% in highest versus lowest category). In subgroup analysis, higher PRAL scores was associated with higher BMI in women (WMD: 0.122; CI: -0.001, 0.245; P = 0.049) and higher NEAP in men (WMD: 0.890; CI: 0.430, 1.350; P < 0.001). There was no association between dietary acid load and other studied parameters. Conclusions: In the current meta-analysis, high dietary acid load content was associated with higher serum triglyceride concentrations and higher obesity prevalence. Reducing dietary acid load content might be a useful preventive strategy against obesity and metabolic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The crushed-tablet rivaroxaban concentration has been previously reported to be lower than the non-crushed concentration. However, the rivaroxaban concentration of fine granules has not yet been investigated. The anticoagulation intensity of rivaroxaban with fine granules, tablets, and crushed tablets was compared in acute stroke patients to assess the efficacy of each form. Methods and findings: Hospitalized patients over 75 years old with acute stroke who started taking rivaroxaban from April 2012 to September 2017 were included. Blood samples were drawn just before and 4 hours after taking rivaroxaban on a median of 5 days after treatment initiation for concentration measurements (C0h, C4h) based on an anti-factor Xa chromogenic assay. Of 114 patients (49 female, 83±5 years old), 97 had ischemic strokes, 9 had transient ischemic attacks, and 8 had intracerebral hemorrhages. Rivaroxaban was administered a median of 7 days after onset. Of these, 38 patients were given the 15 mg dose, and 76 were given the 10 mg dose. In the 15 mg dose group, C0h was significantly higher in the fine granule group than in the crushed tablet group, with no significant difference compared to the tablet group [C0h: 27.6±6.8 vs 4.0±4.1 (P = 0.01) vs. 33.3±25.2 ng/ml, (P = 0.51), respectively], as was C4h [223.0±66.6 vs 103.0±79.5 (P = 0.02) vs. 229.5±121.6 ng/ml (P = 0.88)]. In the 10 mg dose group, C0h was significantly higher in the fine granule group than in the crushed tablet group and comparable to that in the tablet group [23.2±7.9 vs 7.5±6.2 (P<0.01) vs 19.0±15.8 ng/ml, (P = 0.35)], as was C4h [150.7±85.4 vs 85.1±46.8 (P<0.01) vs 189.8±92.7 ng/ml (P = 0.18)]. Conclusions: The rivaroxaban concentration with fine granules was consistent with that in the tablet group and higher than that in the crushed tablet group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how negative shocks due to, for example, natural disasters propagate through supply chains. We apply a simulation technique to actual supply chain data covering most Japanese firms. To investigate the property of the propagation in the network, we test different types of artificial negative shocks. We find that, first, network structures severely affect the speed of propagation in the short run, and the total loss in the long run. The scale-free nature of the actual supply-chain network—that is, the power-law degree distribution—leads to faster propagation. Second, more intensive damages—that is, more damages suffered by fewer firms—result in faster propagation than extensive damages of the same total size. Third, the actual supply-chain network has innate robustness that comes from substitutability of supplies. If the supply-chain network has severe substitutability, the propagation of negative shocks becomes substantially large. Fourth, direct damages in urban regions promote faster propagation than those in rural regions. Fifth, different sectoral damages show significant differences in the speed of propagation. Finally, we check the indirect damage triggered by a single firm’s loss: 9.7% of all firms contribute to significant loss, and this loss accounts for more than 10% of the damage to the entire production. The simulations conspicuously show that different direct damages, even if they have the same total magnitude of damages, can generate considerably different damages because of the structure of the supply-chain network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of the comparative method, developed over more than two centuries of empirical study, the best results to date are that the presentday Korean and Japanese languages had a common source, called proto- Korean-Japanese. Korean and Japanese are more similar to one another than either is to any of the languages spoken in adjacent parts of Asia. That is as far as pure linguistics takes us at present. Other scientific disciplines must be utilized to determine when and where proto-Korean-Japanese was spoken, when its speakers separated into pre-Korean and pre-Japanese groups, and when the descendants of those groups resumed contact on the Korean peninsula prior to the migration of most pre-Japanese speakers to Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the impact of contemporary higher education policy at a rural university in Japan. Hirosaki University, although a national university with an attached medical school, is far from the centre of academia in Japan, with a comparatively low ranking among national universities in Japan, and severe budget constraints. The policies that influence the trajectory of the university simultaneously illustrate two dimensions. On the one hand, they reflect global trends of neoliberal higher educational governance as these unfold in a leading nation-state within Asia. On the other hand, they show how policies originating within central government ministries and dictated by population and budget dynamics yield a highly localised outcome that forces a peripheral university to concentrate its efforts predominantly in its own community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a U.S. report that states that Asian nations are catching up with Europe and the United States in terms of scientific output. According to the report, in 2004, countries from the Asia Pacific region including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and India produced 25 percent of the world's research papers. By comparison, Europe produced 38 percent of the world's scientific papers, and the United States produced 33 percent. Within Asia, China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan grew the most. In China, some institutions even pay researchers extra for publications in indexed journals, especially ones that carry widely cited articles.

The degree of equality in the delivery of education is an important dimension of variation. Some nations believe that the provision of a highly stratified system enhances quality, at least for the minority who are able to gain entry to the elite academic stream. In contrast, other nations prefer a more egalitarian approach to education where all students attend a common school devoid of ability streams until well into their secondary level studies (Levin, 1978); the egalitarian approach is believed to be just and fair. But does it enhance quality? While there are a number of studies that explore the academic consequences of tracking and/or streaming within particular national systems, there are relatively few studies that explore this question across several national systems. The recent OECD supported PISA studies (2010 a and b) enable a cross-national analysis; but the official reports from OECD primarily provide bivariate analyses of these relations whereas a multivariate approach taking into account several system level variables is preferred. In this paper we define egalitarian education, examine its historical origins, specify its contemporary correlates, and drawing on multinational data seek to determine if the single nation findings are replicated in a wider group of countries. Additionally we will focus on the position of Japan and the sub-group of rapidly developing Asian economies relative to other countries.

The dominant role of Kyoju-kai (the professoriate) in university governance in Japan is now facing a critical examination as part of university reforms in response to global competition. What are the determinants of the characteristics of participation in university governance by individual faculty members? In what way does the organizational structure, such as the professoriates at Japanese universities, influence the participation patterns? This article first establishes an analytical framework for the examination of the role of the professoriate of Japanese universities, applying the arguments of McNay (1995) and Ehara (2010). Secondly, the structure of faculty participation in university governance in Japan is examined through analysis of recent survey data on the academic profession in Asia. Thirdly, through a comparative analysis this paper examines how dominance of decision making by the Kyoju-kai or the faculty committees and boards does not necessarily assure a sense of participation among faculty members. Based on the examination above, the author discusses how the legal protection of Kyoju-kai in Japanese universities does not necessarily assure collegium-type university governance, but may lead to a bureaucracy that satisfies neither institutional managers nor faculty members. Finally, the author discusses the significance of the above points in the broader context of the historical transformation of the characteristics of university governance in Japan, and argues for the necessity of further comparative studies based on a precise understanding of the historical and organizational contexts of universities and higher education systems.

The Japan Sea is directly influenced by the Asian monsoon, a system that transports moisture and heat across southeast Asia during the boreal summer, and is a major driver of the Earth's ocean‐atmospheric circulation. Foraminiferal and facies analyses of a 460‐kyr record from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 346 Site U1427 in the Japan Sea reveal a record of nutrient flux and oxygenation that varied due to sea level and East Asian monsoon intensity. The East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) was most intense during marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e, MIS 7e, MIS 9e, and MIS 11c when the Tsushima Warm Current flowed into an unrestricted well‐mixed normal salinity Japan Sea, whereas East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) conditions dominated MIS 2, MIS 4, MIS 6, and MIS 8 when sea level minima restricted the Japan Sea resulting in low‐salinity and oxygen conditions in the absence of Tsushima flow. Reduced oxygen stratified, low‐salinity, and higher productivity oceanic conditions characterize Terminations TV, TIII, TII, and TI when East China Sea coastal waters breached the Tsushima Strait. Chinese loess, cave, and Lake Biwa (Japan) and U1427 proxy records suggest EASM intensification during low to high insolation transitions, whereas the strongest EAWM prevailed during lowest insolation periods or high to low insolation transitions. Ice sheet/CO2 forcing leads to the strongest EAWM events in glacials and enhanced EASM in interglacials. Mismatches between proxy patterns suggest that latitudinal and land/sea thermal contrasts played a role in East Asian monsoon variability, suggesting that a complex interplay between ice sheet dynamics, insolation, and thermal gradients controls monsoonal intensity. Key Points: East Asian summer monsoon intensified in MIS 5, MIS 7, MIS 9, and MIS 11 when the Tsushima Current flowed into an unrestricted normal marine Japan SeaEast Asian winter monsoon dominated MIS 2, MIS 4, MIS 6, and MIS 8 when sea level lows restricted the Japan Sea causing low‐salinity and oxygen conditionsReduced oxygen stratified, low‐salinity, and higher productivity oceanic conditions characterize Terminations TV, TIII, TII, and TI [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author comments on an article "Determinants of International Research Collaboration: Evidence from International Co-Inventions in Asia and Major OECD Countries'" by N. Tsukada and colleagues, which appeared in 2015 issue of the journal "Asian Economic Policy Review." Topics discussed include the role of cultural distance to shape innovative activity in Northeast Asia, impacts of software development on Japanese patenting behaviour and immigration laws Japan.

Japanese Lesson Study has come under increasing attention from educators in the West and throughout South-East Asia since it was revealed outside Japan through the release of the TIMSS Video Study. In this paper we argue that Japanese Lesson Study provides a model for large scale, sustainable professional development. In particular, we draw on our own experience of Japanese Lesson Study and the research literature to describe its characteristic features and examine some of the cultural assumptions that underpin its implementation. (Contains 5 figures.)

Background: Media education is the study of the media with the aim of cultivating people's media literacy. In the past four decades, media education has rapidly developed in school systems and communities all over the world. Each country has its own developmental trajectory. With the rise of the interactive new media, media education is going to have a paradigm shift, bringing media education study into a new era. Goals: This paper discusses the rationales, definitions and approaches of media education. It also provides an overview about the global development of media literacy training. Results: Although different countries define media education in different ways, they share the common goal of training media literate people to deal with the media in an intelligent and responsible way. Media education has been well developed in the West but in recent years Asia regions such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China and Japan are gaining their momentum. With the emergence of various new media devices, media education is regarded as playing a more important role in cultivating wise prosumers in the 21st century.

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]

We present the first quantitative review of the stock status relative to the stock biomass (B) and the exploitation rate (U) that achieved the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) (BMSY and UMSY, respectively) for 37 Japanese stocks contributing 61% of the total marine capture production in Japan. BMSY and UMSY were estimated by assuming three types of stock-recruitment (S-R) relationships and an age-structured population model or by applying a surplus production model. The estimated stock status shows that approximately half of the stocks were overfishing (U/UMSY>1), and approximately half of the stocks were overfished (B/BMSY<0.5) during 2011–2013. Over the past 15 years, U decreased and B slightly increased on average. The rate of decrease in the U of the stocks managed by the total allowable catch (TAC) was significantly greater than that of the other stocks, providing evidence of the effectiveness of TAC management in Japan. The above statuses and trends were insensitive to the assumption of the S-R relationship. The characteristics of Japanese stocks composed mainly of resources with relatively high natural mortality, i.e. productivity, suggest that Japanese fisheries have great potential of exhibiting a quick recovery and increasing their yield by adjusting the fishing intensity to an appropriate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newspapers could provide effective and comprehensive information about cancer to the public. The present study conducted a content analysis of cancer-related articles in Japanese newspapers published in 2011. In total, 5,314 articles were identified and subsequently coded. Coding variables included cancer type, the cancer continuum, and topic of articles mentioning cancer. Approximately half mentioned at least one specific type of cancer, with the focus mostly on lung, leukemia, and breast. Stomach and colon cancers, which have the highest morbidity, were relatively underreported. The continuum received little attention, and was mentioned in only 11% of articles. Treatment was the most frequently mentioned part of the continuum, with prevention and screening mentioned only rarely. The most frequently mentioned topic was social issues. The findings suggest that cancer-related articles were found regularly throughout the year, meaning that they might be one of the most important sources of cancer information. However, they are affected by social issues and there were some imbalances in both cancer type and continuum. Considering the influence of newspapers, it would be helpful for providing more effective and accurate information to the public if Japanese newspapers increased mentions of specific types of common cancers and the cancer continuum, especially prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

After 60 years maintaining Self-Defense Forces rather than a normal military, Japan is moving towards exercising collective self-defence, long restricted by interpretations of its 1945 Peace Constitution. The merits of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's 'proactive pacifism' are intensely debated by those welcoming greater international contributions from Japan and others suspicious of Japanese 'remilitarisation'. A nation's defence posture can theoretically be hijacked by aggressive nationalists, shift to pacifist isolationism, or rely on non-military internationalism or multilateral security cooperation. This article assesses competing explanations about the post-war trajectory of Japan's defence posture by charting variation in military doctrine and capabilities. The analysis finds that Tokyo has made incremental policy adjustments under domestic and international constraints, and is not aggressively remilitarising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If we use words from Freirean thought, we can find "indigenous Freirean thought" in each country. This paper discussed critical education theory's maturing process during Japan's modernization process and analyzed the conditions for creating an alternative community, based on an emancipatory learning practice. In East Asian countries, modernization process exposed its inherent violence and exploitative nature. In Japan, critical researchers on education have been looking for the conditions of establishing a learning theory for emancipation under this process. The deconstruction of people's underlying consciousness that was formed during the modernization process was considered as one of necessary conditions by the researchers. In this context, community was proposed as a tool for decoding conflict among the oppressed people. Here, we can find the same approach as Freire. Furthermore, the case study on the experience of community education in Yamagata farmer's college revealed a double bind, which was generated by conscientization of the contradiction of self. It is an essential moment for creating a community, and making judgment of social directionality clear. It is safe to say the experiences of community learning in East Asian countries have a possibility of creating an alternative critical theory of education.

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.

The article offers news briefs of Asia. Japan marked its 50th anniversary of universal health care in April 2011. The Afghanistan Mortality Survey (AMS) has reported a significant decrease in maternal mortality in Afghanistan as a result of increased antenatal care in women. Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, has planned to increase the coverage of immunization programs of children in the country from 80 percent to 90 percent by 2016.

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 article considers the movement of commodities manufactured in southern Iraq during the Sasanian and Early Islamic periods to the furthest eastern extremity of the Old World: to the archipelago of Japan. In particular the focus is on two categories of non-perishable finds that survive within the archaeological record: glass vessels and turquoise blue alkaline glazed ceramic jars. We begin by providing an outline of the definition and dating of what is a commonplace and widely distributed ceramic product within the Middle East and western Indian Ocean area. It is then possible to place these finds within a broader context by reviewing the evidence for the earliest West Asian exports to Japan and what these might tell us about the mechanisms of their transmission and circulation and the role of such imports within an East Asian context. Specifically these include glass vessels dated to the Sasanian period followed some time later by ceramic vessels manufactured at the time of the Abbasid Caliphate. The continued arrival of Islamic glass into this later period is not a subject that will be covered specifically as it does not contribute directly to the main arguments that are developed below. Finally the finds are used to shed light on the broader debate surrounding the development of the Indian Ocean economy and to what extent Japan itself may have been commercially integrated within a wider commodity exchange network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares the doctor-patient communication styles of the United States with those of three Asian countries: Pakistan, Japan, and Thailand. Based on intercultural comparisons drawn between those countries, this analysis reveals that, overall, the United States has very little in common with the philosophical, cultural, societal, and communicative approaches to the traditional doctor-patient communication styles used in these three Asian nations. However, major similarities have been found across all three Asian nations. Although the doctor-patient relationship has been studied extensively in the United States and most of the Western world, rarely do those studies integrate, concurrently within their doctor-patient communication framework, dimensions such as power distance, individualism-collectivism, and communication styles. These are three important concepts in this analysis; they improve our understanding of what constitutes effective doctor-patient communication across dissimilar cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is a by-product of an innovative session of the 2014 Asia Chapter of the Academy of Human Resource Development conference, Seoul, South Korea, where eight female researchers with roots in eight Asian countries (in alphabetical order: China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand) presented on the topic of Asian women in top management. In this article, we present these presenters’ perspectives on the topic, including their current state of working conditions and balancing of personal and professional lives. We asked them the following three questions: (1) Do traditional values/religious beliefs limit or liberate women in management? (2) How have social views on the role of women in management changed in your country? (3) What organizational and social changes are necessary for women to advance to leadership positions? We also encouraged them to go beyond answering these three questions. Additionally, we discuss convergence (commonalities) and divergence (differences) across these eight Asian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion of the reluctance of Japan to build an arsenal of nuclear weapons and its eagerness to extend nuclear nonproliferation, adapted from the chapter "Japan's Nuclear Hedge: Beyond 'Allergy' and Breakout,'" by Richard J. Samuels and James L. Schoff, in the book "Strategic Asia 2013-14: Asia in the Second Nuclear Age." It examines Japan's periodic reexamination of its non-nuclear weapons stance during regional security concerns in Asia and reassurance from the U.S. government concerning nuclear deterrence, and public opinion in Japan concerning nuclear weapons.

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.