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Observation bias and error characteristics are the preconditions for the effective assimilation of observation data. In this paper, the bias and error characteristics of the AHI (Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) and AGRI (Multi-Channel Advanced Geostationary Orbit Radiation Imager (AGRI) data are compared and analyzed, with an emphasis on the observations obtained from land areas. The results show that the observation errors of the two instruments for the ocean area have a good channel consistency over ocean areas, which are all with errors of about 0.6 K; however, the bias and error are significantly affected by the land-surface types and terrain heights over land. For most of the AHI channels, the bias in urban-area bias is smaller than that of those of other surface types, while that of the AGRI data exhibits just the opposite trend, with obviously larger biases in urban areas. However, the observation errors of these two instruments in urban areas are significantly smaller than those of other surface types. The biases of the two instruments do not extensively change much with the terrain height, only slightly decreasing when the height is above 1000 m; however, the observation errors increase obviously with the increase of terrain heights. The difference between the two instruments is that the observation error of the AHI data tends to be stable and stabilizes above 1000 m, while that of the AGRI data is relatively stable below 500 m. The observation errors of the CO2-sensitive channels of the two instruments over the land areas are obviously smaller than those of other near-surface channels, which may indicate that the data obtained in these two CO2 channels have good application prospects for assimilation over land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the study of the enchytraeid fauna of South Korea, specimens were found, which were identified as Bryodrilus ehlersi based on their morphological characters. This was an unexpected result since this species is common in Northern and Central Europe but has not yet been found in the Far East. Furthermore, sequence analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, the nuclear histone 3 gene and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region showed unambiguously that the specimens collected in South Korea represent a different evolutionary lineage. In this paper, the detailed morphological and molecular comparison of Bryodrilus ehlersi specimens collected from various sites and countries are presented. Although the Korean specimens could not be formally described as a different species due to the lack of studied specimens from the type locality, clear evidence of cryptic genetic diversity was found within Bryodrilus ehlersi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building a density map over large areas could provide essential information of land development intensity and settlement condition. It is crucial for supporting studies and planning of human settlement environment. The Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) is a comprehensive data set of mapping human settlement at a global scale, which was produced by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission. The built-up density is an important layer of GHSL data set. Currently, the validation of the GHSL built-up area products was preliminarily conducted over the United States and European countries. However, as a typical East Asian region, China is quite different from the United States, Europe, and other regions in terms of building forms and urban layouts. Therefore, it is necessary to perform an accuracy assessment of GHSL data set in Asian countries like China. With individual building footprint data of 20 typical cities in China, this paper presents our effort to validate the GHSL built-up area products. The aggregation mean and neighborhood search based algorithms are adopted for matching building footprint data and the GHSL products, through the regression analysis at per-pixel level, the building density map in raster format are generated as validation data. The accuracy index of GHSL built-up area was calculated for the study areas, and the validation methods were explored for GHSL built-up products at large scale. The results show that the built-up layer aggregated by the building footprint have the highest correlation with the coarse resolution GHSL built-up products, but GHSL tends to underestimate the building density of low-density areas and overestimate the areas with high density. This study suggests that GHSL built-up area products in 20 representative Chinese cities of China could provide quantitative information about built-up areas, but the product accuracy still need to be improved in the regions with heterogeneous formations of human settlements like China. There is a big picture of mapping high accuracy built-up density of China with the training data set acquired by the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to the call for more focus on how micro-level processes of identity regulation are shaped by, and constitutive of, wider societal institutions. We provide a case study of identity regulation in a Chinese multinational and show how senior managers in the firm draw on distinctive national and organizational contexts in China to construct, reinforce and reproduce a particular set of identities for employees. These identities draw upon discourses in the wider Chinese context which reflect the struggle of China to become a major industrial power after a century of humiliation by the West and the need for employees to provide this extra effort in the face of the existential challenges faced by the company and by the country. We demonstrate how managers create specific HR mechanisms that intertwine these discourses with the identities of employees and with the identity of the organization. This paper contributes to a better understanding of how micro-processes of identity work and mid-level processes of identity regulation and firm strategy are linked to macro-level institutional structures. Based on the framework provided, the paper discusses how far similar identity regulation mechanisms could be adopted elsewhere where similar macro-level discourses might be available, first in other Chinese MNCs, second, in other East Asian countries such as South Korea, third, more widely in emergent economies where MNCs are embedded in state-driven forms of capitalism, and finally in developed economies where populist nationalism is becoming increasingly influential. In this way, studies of identity regulation can bring organization studies into greater dialogue with other social sciences concerned with wider institutional change and continuity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's accession to the WTO in 2001 and the subsequent liberalization of its FDI and trade policies have boosted the country's exports and facilitated its improved participation in regional production networks. This paper builds on the existing literature on production networks by examining some of the recent structural changes in China's intermediate goods trade with East Asia. Chinese policies to promote technological progress and indigenous innovation have been instrumental in bringing about such change, most of which can be captured by shifts or movements in the nation's intra-industry trade index for intermediate goods. Two significant findings emerge from the empirical exercise: first, China is progressively reducing its reliance on import of intermediate goods for production and export; and second, the country remains integrated with East Asian economies in several technology-intensive sectors such as machinery and electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Learning and development are critical to a business's success. This paper aims to focus on organizational factors at multiple organizational levels that facilitate learning culture in a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in northwestern China. Design/methodology/approach: This study is qualitative in nature. A single case study method is used to explore an SME's organizational factors that facilitate learning culture. Findings: This paper categorizes the organizational factors into seven dimensions: shared vision, creating continuous learning opportunities, informal learning that promotes inquiry and dialogue, collaboration and team learning, knowledge management systems, work–family enrichment and encouragement and support. This paper also compares the findings with learning culture models from Western research. Research limitations/implications: Chinese culture has far-reaching and fundamental effects on many East Asian countries and regions. For SMEs in similar cultural settings with a collectivist orientation, future research may focus on the effect of the work–family enrichment on learning culture. Originality/value: Work–family enrichment was found to be an important factor that influences learning effectiveness in this Chinese small business based on traditional values in Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper comments on Naoki Ikegami's editorial entitled "Financing long-term care: lessons from Japan." Adding to the editorial, this paper focuses on analyzing the political and cultural foundations of long-term care (LTC) reform. Intergenerational solidarity and inclusive, prudential public deliberation are needed for the establishment or reform of LTC systems. Among various lines of ethical reasoning related to LTC, Confucian ethics and other familist ethics are specifically important in the societies that share these values. The core issue in the debates around LTC reform is how to (re-)define the scope of social entitlements and accordingly to allocate the responsibility for care between states and families, between social groups, and between generations with limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact tracing forms a crucial part of the public-health toolbox in mitigating and understanding emergent pathogens and nascent disease outbreaks. Contact tracing in the United States was conducted during the pre-Omicron phase of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This tracing relied on voluntary reporting and responses, often using rapid antigen tests due to lack of accessibility to PCR tests. These limitations, combined with SARS-CoV-2's propensity for asymptomatic transmission, raise the question "how reliable was contact tracing for COVID-19 in the United States"? We answered this question using a Markov model to examine the efficiency with which transmission could be detected based on the design and response rates of contact tracing studies in the United States. Our results suggest that contact tracing protocols in the U.S. are unlikely to have identified more than 1.65% (95% uncertainty interval: 1.62-1.68%) of transmission events with PCR testing and 1.00% (95% uncertainty interval 0.98-1.02%) with rapid antigen testing. When considering a more robust contact tracing scenario, based on compliance rates in East Asia with PCR testing, this increases to 62.7% (95% uncertainty interval: 62.6-62.8%). We did not assume presence of asymptomatic transmission or superspreading, making our estimates upper bounds on the actual percentages traced. These findings highlight the limitations in interpretability for studies of SARS-CoV-2 disease spread based on U.S. contact tracing and underscore the vulnerability of the population to future disease outbreaks, for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive CO2 emissions and increased total costs of liner shipping are the two main problems affecting the environmental and economic benefits of liner companies under the European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS). To address the upcoming EU ETS, we propose a carbon and cost accounting model for liner shipping that accurately calculates CO2 emissions and total cost of liner shipping. We conduct a case study that a containership operates on the liner route from the Far East to Northwest Europe. The results show that the sailing stage plays a pivotal role in CO2 emissions from liner shipping, accounting for 94.70% of CO2 emissions. Among four types of fuel, CO2 emissions from liner shipping using MGO is the largest, while CO2 emissions from liner shipping using methanol is the smallest. Methanol, as an alternative fuel, proves to be a better choice than LNG for CO2 control of liner shipping. The relationship between sailing speed and CO2 emissions follows a U-shaped curve for the selected containership. Notably, speed reduction is effective in carbon control of liner shipping only when the sailing speed exceeds 8.29 knots. Under the EU ETS, sailing speed is a key variable affecting the total cost of liner shipping. Speed reduction may not always be cost-effective. When keeping the total cost of liner shipping unchanged, sailing speed should be reduced as the EU allowance (EUA) price rises within a certain range. For the selected containership using MGO and HFO, the most economical sailing speed is 8.29 knots, corresponding to the increase in EUA price of 304.95% and 261.21%, respectively. If EUA price continues to rise, speed reduction will become ineffective in controlling the total cost of liner shipping. This model can enhance the environmental and economic benefits of liner companies, meet compliance requirements of the EU ETS, and provide a new perspective for carbon and cost control of liner shipping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asian sand dust (ASD), also called China dust or yellow dust, mainly occurs in East Asia during spring and autumn. Because ASD enters the body mainly through the respiratory system, it can cause respiratory disorders or worsen underlying diseases. Because of this, it has become an important health concern that threatens the well-being of humans and animals. In this study, we investigated the effects of 15 and 30 mg/kg of Pycnogenol (PYC15 and 30 groups), a pine bark extract, on ASD-induced pulmonary inflammation in mice. We evaluated the inflammatory cell counts, inflammatory cytokines, and matrix-metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 expression in animal models. PYC administration significantly decreased inflammatory cell infiltration into lung tissue; this was accompanied by a reduction in the levels of proinflammatory mediators including interleukin (IL)-1ß (P < 0.01), IL-6 (P < 0.01) and tumour necrosis factor-a (P < 0.01) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of ASD-exposed mice (ASD group). Histological analysis revealed that PYC suppressed ASD-induced pulmonary inflammation. Moreover, PYC suppressed the levels of matrix-metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in the lung tissue of ASD-exposed mice, indicating that PYC reduced ASD-induced pulmonary inflammation by suppressing MMP-9. Together, these results indicate that PYC as the potential to treat ASD-driven pulmonary inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analysis of how neo-shamanic communicative practices have evolved in Siberia and the Russian Far East over the last four decades. We identify three social cultural factors that have facilitated the spread of neo-shamanism: the ideological vacuum left by the collapse of the Soviet system; foreign missionaries and their work; and ethnic revival. We discern three periods in the development of the communicative practices according to a respective key process in each of them. During glocalization, followers of experiential neo-shamanism and initiators of the revival of indigenous shamanic traditions act as agents of communication. During institutionalization, what takes place is typification and streamlining interactions with mass audiences, with government agencies, tourism industry and artistic practices. The period of hybridization is the time when neo-shamanic elements merge with parapsychology, business consulting, fine arts, and when neo-syncretic forms are created. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstructing diet can offer an improved understanding toward the origin and evolution of modern humans. However, the diet of early modern humans in East Asia is poorly understood. Starch analysis of dental calculus is harmless to precious fossil hominins and provides the most direct evidence of plant food sources in early modern human dietary records. In this paper, we examined the starch grains in dental calculus from Fuyan Cave hominins in Daoxian (South China), which were the earliest modern humans in East Asia. Our results reveal the earliest direct evidence of a hominin diet made of acorns, roots, tubers, grass seeds, and other yet-unidentified plants in marine isotope stage 5 between 120 and 80 ka. Our study also provides the earliest evidence that acorns may have played an important role in subsistence strategies. There may have been a long-lasting tradition of using these plants during the Late Pleistocene in China. Plant foods would have been a plentiful source of carbohydrates that greatly increased energy availability to human tissues with high glucose demands. Our study provides the earliest direct consumption of carbohydrates-rich plant resources from modern humans in China for the first time. In addition, it also helps elucidate the evolutionary advantages of early modern humans in the late Middle and early Upper Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific and public interest in acid deposition and its ecological impacts have increased throughout 1990s in East Asia (Northeast and Southeast Asia). After being established in 2001, the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) celebrates the 20th anniversary in 2021, and is now being expanded in scope reflecting the shifting social concern from acid deposition to broader air quality and climate change in recent years. This paper reviews the past 30 years of development of scientific research and policy related to acid deposition in East Asia. Since the onset of the twenty-first century, East Asia has had the highest SO2 and NOx emissions in the world by continents, with substantial economic developmental inequality among countries. An overview of studies on sulfur and nitrogen deposition, the acidification of inland water and forest soil, and forest decline reveal that although limited acidification of inland water and forest soils have been documented, no decline in the populations of fish and other aquatic biota has been reported in East Asia. After a review of policy-oriented modeling studies on source receptor relationships and the critical loads of sulfur and nitrogen in East Asia, the history of EANET and its success and challenges are discussed. Finally, the importance of epistemic communities as the interface between science and policy in the region is discussed. Regional governance and cooperation are essential for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, especially short-lived climate pollutants and atmospheric pollutants to realize the co-benefits of global climate change mitigation and improved air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Akebia belongs to the Lardizabalaceae family and comprises five species that are primarily distributed in East Asia. Plants of the Akebia genus comprise deciduous and semi-evergreen perennial twining vines that have been used in Chinese herbal medicine for at least 2000 years. The plants of this genus have the potential to form a novel forest crop with high nutritional and economic value because their fruit has a delicious sweet taste and rich nutrient components. In this study, we organized, analyzed, and evaluated the available published scientific literature on the botanical, ecological, and phytochemical characteristics of Akebia plants. Based on these studies, we briefly introduced botanical and ecological characteristics and focused on reviewing the development and utilization of wild genetic resources in the genus Akebia. We further explored the genus' rich nutritional components, such as triterpenes, flavonoids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, and fatty acids, and their potential use in food and health improvement applications. In addition, several papers describing advances in biotechnological research focusing on micropropagation, nutrient biosynthesis, and fruit ripeness were also included. This review provides comprehensive knowledge of the Akebia genus as a new forest crop for food and fruit utilization, and we also discuss future breeding and research prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asia is the second-largest mineral dust source in the world, after the Sahara. When dispersed in the atmosphere, mineral dust can alter the Earth's radiation budget by changing the atmosphere's absorption and scattering properties. Therefore, the mineralogical composition of dust is key to understanding the impact of mineral dust on the atmosphere. This paper presents new information on mineralogical dust during East Asian dust events that were obtained from laboratory dust measurements combined with satellite remote sensing dust detections from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI). However, the mineral dust in this region is lifted above the continent in the lower troposphere, posing constraints due to the large variability in the Land Surface Emissivity (LSE). First, a new methodology was developed to correct the LSE from a mean monthly emissivity dataset. The results show an adjustment in the IASI spectra by acquiring aerosol information. Then, the experimental extinction coefficients of pure minerals were linearly combined to reproduce a Gobi dust spectrum, which allowed for the determination of the mineralogical mass weights. In addition, from the IASI radiances, a spectral dust optical thickness was calculated, displaying features identical to the optical thickness of the Gobi dust measured in the laboratory. The linear combination of pure minerals spectra was also applied to the IASI optical thickness, providing mineralogical mass weights. Finally, the method was applied after LSE optimization, and mineralogical evolution maps were obtained for two dust events in two different seasons and years, May 2017 and March 2021. The mean dust weights originating from the Gobi Desert, Taklamakan Desert, and Horqin Sandy Land are close to the mass weights in the literature. In addition, the spatial variability was linked to possible dust sources, and it was examined with a backward trajectory model. Moreover, a comparison between two IASI instruments on METOP-A and -B proved the method's applicability to different METOP platforms. Due to all of the above, the applied method is a powerful tool for exploiting dust mineralogy and dust sources using both laboratory optical properties and IASI detections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of "the Belt and Road" and "the economic corridor of China, Mongolia and Russia" initiatives, it has great value to study the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of the coordinated development between the urbanization and ecological environment in eastern Russia (the Siberian Federal District and the Far East Federal District). In this paper, we studied the urbanization development level, eco-environment development level, and their coupling coordinated development degree during 2005–2018 in the eastern Russia from the perspectives of the 3D global trend and 2D plane analysis. First, combining with the Population-Economic-Sociology and Pressure-State-Response models, the urbanization development level and eco-environment development level were calculated by the comprehensive weighting method of entropy weight and variation coefficient for eastern Russia. Second, the coupling coordinated development degree of the urbanization development level and eco-environment development level was measured by the coupling coordination model for eastern Russia. Finally, the spatial differentiation of the urbanization development level, the eco-environment development level and their coupling coordinated development degree was performed respectively by the 3D global trend and 2D plane analysis using ArcGIS. The results are as following. First, the comprehensive urbanization development level of eastern Russia has increased from 2005 to 2018, and the economic urbanization is the main factor that affects the urbanization development in eastern Russia. The comprehensive eco-environment development level of eastern Russia has decreased from 2005 to 2018, and the eco-environment pressure is the main factor that affects the eco-environment development in eastern Russia. The coupling coordination degree of the urbanization development and eco-environment development has increased from 2005 to 2018. However, it is still in the uncoordinated stage. Second, from 2005 to 2018, the urbanization development level of the Siberian Federal District is higher than that of the Far East Federal District. The eco-environment development level of the Siberian Federal District is balanced to that of the Far East Federal District. The coupling coordination degree of the Siberian Federal District is higher than that of the Far East Federal District. Among the Siberian and Far East Federal Districts, most of the federal subjects belong to the uncoordinated stage of the urbanization development and the eco-environment development. Third, the urbanization development level, the eco-environment development level, and their coupling coordinated development level are all spatially imbalanced in the eastern Russia, which show the "High West, Low East" and "High Center, Low North and Low South" spatial pattern from the perspectives of the 3D global trend and 2D plane analysis. The areas with high levels are concentrated in the Novosibirsk Region, Altay Territory, Kemerovo Region, Krasnoyarsk Territory, and Irkutsk Region. The areas with low ones are mostly in the Republic of Altay and Chukotka Autonomous Area. Finally, we suggest policies and strategies that can boost the growth and development of the urbanization and the eco-environment in the Sino-Russian border areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the larger context of globalisation and internationalization, navigating business operations in a multicultural environment is no easy task. The Far East has always fascinated the West through the uniqueness of its traditions, while at the same time remaining mysterious and rather difficult to assimilate for those who have not experienced culture shock before. Therefore, this paper strives to emphasise the importance of familiarising business students with the key issues related to cultural awareness and communication, focusing on Asian cultures in contrast to the Western world since, in the light of the latest political and economic developments leading to an ever-increasing Chinese dominance, they will undoubtedly be putting that information to good use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel has become a way of life for more and more people. The rapid development of technologies such as the Internet and 5G brings convenience to life, so recording one's travel through social media has become the main way of sharing. Based on the classification of UGC pictures by computer program, this paper studies the perception of tourist destination image by inbound tourists from different regions so as to find the factors that potentially affect tourists' decision-making. This study collects a large number of UGC pictures and classifies them according to computer programs. It conducts UGC data picture research through two different aspects of cognitive image and emotional image and finally analyzes the specific image perception of Shanghai tourism. The research results show that, in the analysis of specific inbound tourists' perception of tourist destination image, in the eyes of Western inbound tourists, Shanghai is a very modern cultural city with very distinctive architectural features; inbound tourists from East Asia are more and more interested in the cultural landscape and natural scenery of Shanghai. In the eyes of inbound tourists from East Asia, Shanghai is a city full of vitality. Among them, the Huangpu River is the place that receives the most tourists. 21.5% of inbound tourists will visit, and 13.7% of inbound tourists choose to visit Lujiazui. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese monk Yixing 一行 (673–727) is unique in being an early architect of the Mantrayāna tradition (Esoteric Buddhism) in East Asia in addition to featuring as a significant individual within the history of astronomy and calendrical science in China. His legacy in the Buddhist world is well known, but the enduring appreciation of his scientific work in later centuries is less understood. The present paper will document the achievements of Yixing's work in astronomy while also discussing the perception and appreciation of his work in subsequent centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: With intensifying human activities in the past decades, East Asia has recorded increasingly severe air pollution and become the second largest aerosol source on earth. The large quantity of aerosol emissions is not only a major health threat to humans, but can also be transported for a long distance and deposited in downwind seas and oceans. The aerosol contains major ions, heavy metals, and organic matters that are important external nutrients in upper oceans and potentially influence marine microbes and biogeochemical cycles. Therefore, the role of atmospheric deposition to oceans has received growing attention in recent years. In this paper, the current state of knowledge on the atmospheric nutrients and the biological effect of East Asian aerosol deposition on the northwest Pacific Ocean are reviewed, which could help us better understand the comprehensive influence of East Asian aerosols on marine ecosystems, and give insights into future research directions, especially under the future scenarios of changing human activities and climate. Atmospheric deposition is recognized as a significant source of nutrients in the surface ocean. The East Asia region is among the largest sources of aerosol emissions in the world, due to its large industrial, agricultural, and energy production. Thus, East Asian aerosols contain a large proportion of anthropogenic particles that are characterized by small size, complex composition, and high nutrient dissolution, resulting in important influences on marine microbes and biogeochemical cycles in the downwind areas of the northwest Pacific Ocean (NWPO). By using remote sensing, modeling, and incubation experimental methods, enhanced primary production due to the East Asian aerosol input has been observed in the NWPO, with subsequent promotion and inhibition impacts on different phytoplankton taxa. Changes of bacterial activity and diversity also occur in response to aerosol input. The impact of East Asian aerosol loadings is closely related to the amount and composition of the aerosol deposition as well as the hydrological condition of the receiving seawater. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the atmospheric nutrients and the effects of the East Asian aerosols on microbes in the NWPO region. Future research perspectives are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ganoderma lucidum has a long history of medicinal uses in the Far East countries of more than 2000 years due to its healing properties. Recently, G. lucidum has come under scientific scrutiny to evaluate its content of bioactive components that affect human physiology, and has been exploited for potent components in the pharmacology, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics industries. For instance, evidence is accumulating on the potential of this mushroom species as a promising antiviral medicine for treating many viral diseases, such as dengue virus, enterovirus 71, and recently coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). Still, more research studies on the biotherapeutic components of G. lucidum are needed to ensure the safety and efficiency of G. lucidum and promote the development of commercial functional foods. This paper provides an extensive overview of the nutraceutical value of Ganoderma lucidum and the development of commercial functional food. Moreover, the geo-origin tracing strategies of this mushroom and its products are discussed, a highly important parameter to ensure product quality and safety. The discussed features will open new avenues and reveal more secrets to widely utilizing this mushroom in many industrial fields; i.e., pharmaceutical and nutritional ones, which will positively reflect the global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Arctic routes represent changes to the exsisting liner network for container shipping between Asia, Europe and North America, because they have significant potential for commercial navigation. It is necessary to analyse the changes in shipping networks under the influence of Arctic routes. This paper focuses on the analysis of the evolution of shipping networks that are affected by Arctic routes, based on building an improved complex growth network model. This model is verified by its applications to existing shipping networks. This model is applied to the shipping networks with Arctic routes, and the main findings obtained are as follows: (1) The network nodes gradually increase and the average degree of network nodes shows an upward trend. In addition, the closeness of internal links in the maritime network increase, the network tends to be in an orderly state, and the network scale is even more uneven. (2) The hub ports of the existing shipping network, which are located in East Asia, Northwest Europe and North America, show that the effects of the Arctic routes are more important. The states of some of the other ports are improved because of their superior geographical locations. (3) Then, the network in which the ports are indirectly connected to the Arctic routes is extracted. The extracted network has the largest number of ports in East Asia and Northwest Europe. In the network, from the perspective of the ports along the Arctic routes, the value of the Northeast Passage ports are generally higher than those of the Northwest Passage ports. The ports of Murmansk, Sabetta, and Reykjavik in the Northeast Passage have the highest values, and the port of Iqaluit is the Northwest Passage port with the largest value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qiu Jun of Ming China, with the aim of "rendering the Zhuzi jiali both accessible and practicable for ordinary folks," compiled the Jiali yijie. Among the annotations of Jiali in the Ming dynasty, Jiali yijie gained the widest popularity and greatest influence, and was regarded as a new classic, on par with the Jiali itself. In the 16th century, Jiali yijie was also introduced to Joseon Korea, where it was regarded as "an important supplement to the Zhuzi jiali" by Korean scholars, attaining a high level of popularity. This paper draws on 23 versions of the Jiali yijie from the Ming dynasty and 33 from the Qing. Historically, the Jiali yijie was introduced to the Joseon dynasty from China by Kim Anguk in 1518. Through the comparison of these four Joseon print versions and their Chinese counterparts, we are led to the conclusion that it was the Yingtian prefecture's print, dated the twelfth year of the Zhengde Era, that Kim Anguk brought back to Joseon from Ming China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a historical perspective, this paper examines how these Asian game companies developed during the period 2000–2010. This research attempts to discern the relationships among the East Asian game companies when they become both game buyers and providers. Based on the model of the global value chain, suggested by Gereffi and others (2005), the results show that, first, the popularity of online games in the intra-Asian market is based on a collaborative relationship, while Korean and Chinese produced games are successfully operated in other markets. Second, the online game business became segmented in East Asia when game companies, in different markets, with their own advantages, were able to play different roles in order to add value to the modular form of the global value chain. Third, the value chains are not evolving along a single trajectory, if economic interdependence among game suppliers and buyers are further examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The China‐France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSAT) launched in 2018 is equipped with the Chinese Scatterometer (CSCAT), which is designed to measure high‐precision sea surface wind fields in the global ocean. This study aims to validate the CFOSAT wind fields with moored buoy‐measured ground truth data from August 2019 to July 2021. The test area was chosen as the Taiwan Strait, which is an important navigation channel and rich fishery grounds in the East Asia. It is also a high wind speed area particularly during typhoons and cold air passages. Thus, the accurate wind forecasts are crucially needed to avoid capsizing and casualties. The validation results give the correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.92, the root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.75 m s−1, and the absolute deviation (AD) of 1.10 m s−1 for the wind speeds, and R2 of 0.96, the RMSE of 21.87°, and the AD of 1.17° for the wind directions. During cold air passages, the AD of wind speeds decreases to 1.03 m s−1, which is smaller than 1.17 m s−1 during typhoons. Using the CFOSAT wind as historical observation data for refining of forecast work was tested by model output statistics revised method. The test results show that the refined forecast results of wind fields are improved up to 4%–17%. Thus, the validation and test results obtained in this study indicate that updating satellite winds would have great contributions to refined forecasting of local sea surface winds. Plain Language Summary: The China‐France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSAT) is a China‐France joint mission launched in 2018, which aims to update satellite remote sensing technologies of the sea surface winds and waves. This paper reports the validation results of the CFOSAT winds with moored buoy measurements. The test area is chosen as the Taiwan Strait, which is an important navigation channel in the East Asia and a rich fishery ground. Total 467 satellite‐buoy spatiotemporal matching data pairs were collected during 8 typhoons and 8 cold air passage processes over the Taiwan Strait. Statistical calibration analyses give the correlation coefficients as high as 0.92 for the wind speeds and 0.96 for the wind directions, implying that the CFOSAT wind data are of high quality and satisfy the requirements for the operational applications. Furthermore, test results to use the CFOSAT winds for operational ocean forecasts in the Taiwan Strait and adjacent waters show that the accuracies of forecasting work are raised up to 4%–17% during the typhoon and cold air passage processes. Thus, the validation and test results provided by this study indicate that it is expectable that updating satellite winds would have great contributions to refined forecasting of local sea surface winds. Key Points: China‐France Oceanography Satellite (CFOSAT) scatterometer wind data are validated by buoy measurements deployed in the Taiwan StraitCalibration analyses of 467 spatiotemporal matching data pairs give correlation coefficients of 0.92 for wind speed and 0.96 for directionApplications of CFOSAT winds improve refined operational forecasts up to 4%–17% under the extreme weather conditions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asia's Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into force in 2022 as the world's largest free trade agreement. RCEP was concluded, signed and brought into force in the face of major international uncertainty and is a significant boost to the global trading system. RCEP brings Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand into the same agreement with the ten member ASEAN group at its centre. It keeps markets open and updates trade and investment rules in East Asia, a major centre of global economic activity, at a time of rising protectionism when the WTO itself is under threat. The agreement builds on ASEAN's free trade agreements and strengthens ASEAN centrality. One of the pillars of RCEP is an economic cooperation agenda which has its antecedents in ASEAN's approach to bringing along its least developed members and builds on the experience of capacity building in APEC and technical cooperation under the ASEAN Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. There is an opportunity to create a framework that facilitates deeper economic cooperation that involves experience-sharing, extending RCEP's rules and membership at the same time as strengthening political cooperation. The paper suggests some areas that might be best suited to cooperation -- that is confidence and trust building instead of or before negotiation -- and discusses how non-members may be engaged and the membership expanded. Options such as multilateralising provisions and becoming a platform for policy convergence and coordinating unilateral reforms are canvassed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of free trade agreements (FTAs) in East Asia amidst slow progress in the WTO Doha negotiations has stimulated a debate over the way forward. This paper examines the region's evolving trade architecture, characteristics of FTAs and welfare implications of alternative FTA scenarios. It suggests that consolidation of multiple and overlapping FTAs into a single East Asian FTA can help mitigate the harmful noodle bowl effects of different tariffs, rules of origin and standards. The paper also suggests that WTO-plus elements need to be further expanded and that consolidation into a Comprehensive Economic Partnership in East Asia at the ASEAN+6 level would yield the largest gains to East Asia among plausible regional trade agreements. As the next priority, the paper points to the formation of FTAs between East Asia, the United States and the EU as well as making FTAs more multilateral-friendly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given that there is no recent research on decomposition for global inequality, the aim of this study is to fill the gap in the literature by investigating global inequality with decomposition technique. The data of this study were compiled from the World Bank and decomposition by subgroups was conducted to evaluate the driving forces behind the evolution of inequality. Almost all the countries in the world were included in this study, and the study period spans from 2000 to 2017. The analysis was carried out in several stages to evaluate the issue of North–South divide, as well as the impacts of regional and income subgroups. There are several salient findings derived from this study. First, the results show that there was a gradual decline of international inequality within the study period. Second, there was still a large disparity between the developed and developing countries, and the inequality within the developing countries has aggravated further. Third, geographical location has exerted great impacts on global inequality and East Asia contributed about 40% to the overall decline in international inequality. Fourth, decline in inequality amongst the upper-middle-income countries also contributed substantially to the fall in international inequality. The results derived from this paper can provide pertinent information for the formulation of a comprehensive and coherent strategy in coordinating international efforts and managing inequality while promoting human development under the framework of the newly established Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the East Asian (EA) region experienced escalated cost of damages associated with tropical cyclones (TC) during the mature boreal autumn (i.e., September−October). Questions arise whether such increased TC-associated cost of damages are indicative of increasing activity of TCs in EA, particularly during the mature boreal autumn. Here we show evidence of significantly increasing activity of TCs in EA from 1981 to 2019 that is mainly accompanied by an abrupt regime shift in TC passage frequency since 1998. Such trend and shift are robustly linked to the shift of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) to its negative phase in the mid-1990s. Characterized by warm sea surface temperature anomalies in the subtropical North Pacific, a negative PDO phase is related to the weakening of the East Asian subtropical jetstream and the westward displacement of the WNP subtropical high, which initiates a favorable steering environment for increased TC passages into the EA region. Contrasting environmental patterns are associated in a positive PDO phase. Considering the prominence of EA in the global economy, our paper contributes additional insights on long-term tropical cyclone risk reduction and management in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic is as much a process of globalization as it is its outcome. In the wake of the death, socio-economic devastation, and radical uncertainties it has unleashed, this paper re-examines globalization anew. This paper's focus is on the role that neoliberalism has played in precipitating the COVID-19 disaster, especially in the wealthiest nations of the West. Re-visiting history, the paper takes issue with the rhetoric of globalization that had been sold as a project ushering in an interconnected global village exalting culture and community. Against such exuberance, the paper recalls that globalization was a post-Cold War project celebrating liberal-capitalism's 'triumph' over state-socialism. It reveals globalization to be foremost about economic accumulation, not community edification. Moreover, in the realm of ideology and policymaking, the past four decades have seen liberalism devolving into neoliberalism, and many national states becoming financialized corporate states. Especially in the West, the liberal state has been captured and financialized. Austerity--not redistributive growth--has reigned, engendering historically unprecedented social polarization which COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated. Globalization, I argue, has served as rhetorical cover for the social destructiveness of 'neoliberalism'. The approaches and outcomes of pandemic management in much of the West are a further indictment of neoliberalism. Whereas 'herd immunity' had been the early de facto pandemic strategy of many neoliberal Western governments, most of East Asia a state-led commitment to 'zero transmission' and minimum casualties, leading to vastly different health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines three of the COVID-19 pandemic's "known" impacts to date: its widespread and fundamental altering of government policy priorities; record low oil prices and its role in further escalating already heightened levels of strategic competition in East Asia and weakening of the existing multilateral order. The paper then uses some of the observed outcomes of these changes under the pandemic so far, in addition to additional evidence and causal linkages drawn from past research, to assess COVID-19's potential, but still unknown, longer term influence on marine plastic pollution and overfishing in the South China Sea, two of East Asia's most pressing marine environmental problems. In addition to flagging potential COVID-19 linked issues of concern in these two important policy areas, this approach also may assist further inquiry into the pandemic's still unknown potential to undermine environmental protection and regulatory efforts in other environmental issue areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the distribution of Pinus koraiensis in the south of the Russian Far East in the past based on palynological and chronological data. The aim is to determine the chronological timing of the spatial migration of Pinus koraiensis and to correlate it with climate fluctuations explaining the changes of the geographical range of Pinus koraiensis in the south of the Russian Far East during the Marine Isotope Stages MIS 5 (127 000--71 000 BP), MIS 3 (57 000 BP -- 28 000 cal BP), MIS 2 (28 000--11 700 cal BP), and MIS 1 (11 700 cal BP -- to present). The consideration of the obtained pollen fossil data suggests that the range of Pinus koraiensis was in the south of the Russian Far East during MIS 5, as it was proved based on significant pollen grain percentage in the sediments of this age. Pinus koraiensis was widespread along with Pinus densiflora, Quercus, Ulmus, Juglans, Carpinus, and Phellodendron. During MIS 3, Pinus koraiensis was a component of birch-fir and birch-broadleaved forests. In MIS 2, Pinus koraiensis disappeared from the vegetation of this region. In the early Holocene, Pinus koraiensis expanded its range northward and again appeared in the vegetation of the south of the Russian Far East. Soon enough, it became one of the leading components in spruce-fir forests with Quercus and Ulmus. The increase in its proportion in the vegetation in the Holocene coincided mostly with the periods of warming climate from 11 700 to 11 500 cal BP, from 10 100 to 9300 cal BP, from 8800 to 5300 cal BP, from 4700 to 3500 cal BP, and from 2600 to 1800 cal BP. In the present case, the most diverse vegetation with Pinus koraiensis was typical of the Holocene optimum of the south of the Russian Far East from 8800 to 5300 cal BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION The objective of the review was to study the impact of tobacco taxes or prices on affordability and/or consumption of tobacco products in WHO South- East Asia Region (SEAR) countries, overall and by socioeconomic status; and change in consumption of one tobacco product for a given change in price/tax on another tobacco product. METHODS The searches were made in five databases (Medline, Embase, Cinahl, EconLit, Tobacconomics) using keywords such as 'tobacco', 'tax', 'price', 'impact' with their synonyms. Additionally, the first 100 articles through google search and e-reports from targeted sources were also reviewed. Studies illustrating the impact of prices/taxes on consumption/affordability of tobacco products in SEAR, in English and with no limitation on year, were included in the review. After two steps of screening, data from 28 studies were extracted using a structured and pre-tested data extraction form. RESULTS Of the 28 studies, 12 studies reported an inverse association between price and consumption/affordability, while 11 studies reported no or positive association between price and consumption/affordability of tobacco products. Five studies had unclear interpretations. The majority of studies estimated that the less affluent group were more price responsive compared to the more affluent group. Some studies indicated increased consumption of one product in response to price rise of another product, although, the findings were inconsistent. CONCLUSIONS The findings of our review support the use of tobacco tax and price measures as effective tools to address the tobacco epidemic. Our findings, however, also emphasize the importance of increasing tobacco product taxes and prices sufficiently to outweigh the effects of income growth, in order for the measures to be effective in reducing the affordability and consumption of tobacco products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold front is an important weather system that produces precipitation in East Asia. Under the background of global warming, extreme precipitation caused by cold fronts presents a significant increasing trend. Hence, it is very important to quantify the cold-front precipitation that may cause great damages. In this study, an objective identification method is proposed for cold-front precipitation, which can objectively identify the precipitation area affected by cold fronts. Then, the climatological characteristics and trends of cold-front precipitation over East Asia in the winter half years from 1989 to 2018 are investigated by using the ERA-5 reanalysis dataset. Based on the dataset of cold fronts and frontal zones, this method automatically distinguishes the precipitation area affected by cold fronts to quantitatively estimate cold-front precipitation. The results show that this identification method can well describe cold-front activities and associated precipitation during an extreme cold wave event that occurred in southern China in January 2016. In the past 30 years, cold fronts have significantly contributed to the precipitation in East Asia in winter half years. The areas with the maximum cold-front precipitation and maximum contribution rate of cold-front precipitation to total precipitation are located in the North Pacific storm track, cold-front precipitation exceeds 700 mm, and the contribution of cold-front precipitation to total precipitation exceeds 60%. In addition, the contribution rates of cold-front precipitation are also relatively large in the midlatitudes of East Asia, especially in North China and Northeast China, where cold-front precipitation accounts for 50%–60% of total precipitation. In East Asia, the total precipitation in autumn is greater than that in winter; however, cold-front precipitation and its contribution rate in winter are significantly more and larger than those in autumn. As the cold-frontal activity is more frequent and intense in winter, the rainfall in winter depends more on cold fronts. In the past 30 years, the trends of cold-front precipitation and total precipitation are consistent in most parts of East Asia, indicating that cold-front precipitation makes a great contribution to the trend of total precipitation in winter half years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Various studies have highlighted the importance of ethnic differences. The consideration of ethnic differences in the field of individualized pharmacotherapy is imperative. Therefore, various organizations and networks across countries should aim to conduct multicountry and multiregional clinical trials (MRCTs). If there is solid evidence available to evaluate the existence of ethnic differences between the same regional areas, it will lead to an increase in the efficiency of drug development. The purpose of this paper was to compare the approval dosing regimen among four Asian countries (Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan) and elucidate the readiness and current status of the implementation of the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) E17 guidelines on MRCTs. Reducing unnecessary clinical trials via multinational clinical trials in East Asian countries is also suggested. The approved dosing regimens for some drugs in the four Asian countries were similar; however, some differences might be caused by differences in legislation, even though there were no ethnic differences. This indicates that there are several roles to be expected of the Asia Clinical Pharmacology study network for exploratory MRCTs, which would lead to the accumulation of evidence for MRCTs, ultimately accelerating the efficiency of drug development in East Asian countries. The exposure of the new treatment to the necessary patients through collaborative research coordination and simultaneous multinational subject recruitment would serve its role in providing East Asia with specific personalized medicine with a high treatment success rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is located in the southeast of the Eurasian Plate and is subject to the effects of subducting, squeezing and collision by the Pacific Plate, Philippine Plate and Indian Ocean Plate. It has exceptional geotectonic structure. Based on the satellite gravity data with high precision, high resolution and ample geophysical information, combined with geological data, by using satellite gravity potential field and its full tensor gradient, this paper studies the distribution characteristics of gravity anomalies and the identification of tectonic boundaries in East Asia. Results suggest that the Bouguer gravity anomaly in eastern China reduces gradually from east to west, mostly in the direction of NNE; in the western, it reduces gradually in a wave mode from north to south, mainly in the directions of NW and NWW. In general, the stress field reduces gradually from west to east, and the tectonic of stress field in western China is complex. The change in eastern China is relatively simple. In addition to the above study results, we update the extension route of Red River fault zone and deduce the tectonic unit boundary between the North China and South China active tectonic block regions. This paper identifies in East Asia 6 primary active tectonic blocks, 22 secondary active tectonic blocks, 7 tertiary active tectonic blocks, and the 20 active tectonic block boundary zones. The results of this study can improve the understanding of gravity anomalies and boundary structures in China and surrounding regions, and provide certain geophysical supports for geological structure analysis and crustal dynamic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early modern history of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) in East Asia is often depicted as an era of political conflict between the king, the Hun'gu faction, and the Sarim faction. The four major Sahwa (literati purges) reflect its seriousness through which Neo- Confucian scholars were sacrificed by the punishments of execution, exile, or dismissal. The Kimyo Sahwa was the most notorious incident for the Chinese ideology of the Sarim political party. What, then, happened in 1519? What kind of social transformation occurred in relation to the Sungkyunkwan scholars (the national university of the era)? Why did the public office of Daoist Sogyŏksŏ become one of the most controversial issues at the Joseon court? How was the royal shrine of Samch'ŏngjŏn criticised by the leaders of the Sarim faction? This paper explores the politico-religious landscape of early modern Korea through the key features of Jungjong coup (Royal Coup of 1506), Jo Gwangjo (1482-1520) and 'the Literati Purge of 1519', and argues the critical insight that the Daoist rituals and sacred sites (altars for the sky, stars, and gods) were traditionally maintained in the Pŏpcho philosophy of the royal sovereignty even if the culture of Jongmyo (ancestral altars) and Sajik (altars of soil and grain) were legally implemented at the beginning of the Confucian Joseon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past, most companies in the European apparel industry focused on minimizing manufacturing costs in the design of supply chains in conjunction with long-distance shipping from production sites in the Far East and relatively long production cycles. Today, for some market segments, the speed of production cycles is more important than the cost because short throughput time allows the flexibility to adjust to rapidly changing fashion trends in these market segments. Accordingly, choosing the most beneficial supply chain strategy has become an established research topic. However, apparel markets are complex systems. Therefore, attempts to reduce the underlying complexity in order to model these markets have limited existing research to the consideration of only selected aspects of markets (e.g., considering only homogeneous buyers, a single period, a single product, or a single manufacturer in the absence of competition) rather than taking a more comprehensive view. These limitations can be overcome by applying an agent-based simulation approach—an approach that can account for a wider range of factors, including several competing manufacturers utilizing different supply chain strategies, individual consumer preferences and behavior, word-of-mouth communication, normative social influence, and first-hand experience, as well as advertising. In this paper, the capability potential of such agent-based market simulation is demonstrated by investigating two supply chain strategies (fast fashion vs. traditional fashion) with varying product and communication strategies (product attributes and advertising) in several market scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) modulates winter cold anomalies over central Eurasia (CE) using reanalysis data during 1950–2019. It is found that ENSO can significantly influence winter air temperature over CE mainly through modulating the strength and location of the cyclonic anomaly of Ural blocking (UB) or long‐lived UB events. A strong (weak) cyclonic anomaly of UB on the southeastern (eastern) side of the Ural Mountains tends to occur over midlatitude (high‐latitude) Eurasia during La Niña (El Niño) winters. Such anomalous circulation leads to a strong (weak) cold anomaly over CE, especially over East Asia, due to enhanced (weakened) cold air advection toward the CE during La Niña (El Niño). The UB‐related cyclonic anomaly in the midlatitude (high latitude) side of Eurasia is shown to be related to weakened (enhanced) eastward extension of strong westerly winds over midlatitude Eurasia during La Niña (El Niño) winters. Plain Language Summary: Observations show that in recent decades a strong cold anomaly appears over Eurasia, especially over central Eurasia (CE). This cold anomaly shows notable variations on interannual, decadal and interdecadal timescales. However, what factors lead to its interannual variations is not well understood. Here we show that El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events can influence Eurasian winter air temperature by modulating the strength and location of the cyclonic anomaly of Ural blocking (UB) or the frequency of long‐lived UB events. A La Niña (El Niño) favors a strong (weak) cyclonic anomaly circulation located in the southeastern (eastern) side of the Ural Mountains in the midlatitudes (high latitudes), which leads to a strong (weak) cold anomaly over CE especially in the low latitude Eurasia (i.e., East Asia) through enhanced (weakened) cold air advection. These new results help us understand the physical cause of the interannual variability of the Eurasian cold anomaly modulated by ENSO. Key Points: This paper examines the causal relationship between the Ural blocking (UB) and Eurasian cold anomaly during the La Niña phase in winterEl Niño‐Southern Oscillation plays an important role in the interannual variability of winter cold anomaly over the EurasiaThe UB leads to stronger cold anomaly over the Eurasian during the La Niña than El Niño [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When calibrating simulations of dust clouds, both the intensity and the position are important. Intensity errors arise mainly from uncertain emission and sedimentation strengths, while position errors are attributed either to imperfect emission timing or to uncertainties in the transport. Though many studies have been conducted on the calibration or correction of dust simulations, most of these focus on intensity solely and leave the position errors mainly unchanged. In this paper, a grid-distorted data assimilation, which consists of an image-morphing method and an ensemble-based variational assimilation, is designed for realigning a simulated dust plume to correct the position error. This newly developed grid-distorted data assimilation has been applied to a dust storm event in May 2017 over East Asia. Results have been compared for three configurations: a traditional assimilation configuration that focuses solely on intensity correction, a grid-distorted data assimilation that focuses on position correction only and the hybrid assimilation that combines these two. For the evaluated case, the position misfit in the simulations is shown to be dominant in the results. The traditional emission inversion only slightly improves the dust simulation, while the grid-distorted data assimilation effectively improves the dust simulation and forecasting. The hybrid assimilation that corrects both position and intensity of the dust load provides the best initial condition for forecasting of dust concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the discussion on East Asian capitalism as a distinct and path dependent economic model. Taking the discussion on the "varieties of capitalism" (VoC) as a departure point, we distinguish East Asian capitalism from Anglo-American liberal market economies and European coordinated market economies. We show that the core East Asian capitalist countries Japan, Korea and China follow a coordinated approach in business-finance relations, while business-labor affairs remain largely uncoordinated. These findings identify some limitations of the classic VoC approach, which is based on the dichotomy of the liberal and the coordinated model as well as the hypothesis of institutional complementarity. The second contribution of this paper is to investigate the changes in the above-described two-dimensional relationships. We find that there is no clear trend and few evidences that East Asian countries have been converging with an Anglo-American liberal model of managing economic relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to revisit the debate about China's crowding out effect on other East Asian exporters using both gross value and domestic value‐added export data. The results show that in gross value terms, the crowding out effect is evident in most product categories, and particularly strong in the textile, leather and footwear. In value‐added terms, the analysis did not find evidence of the crowding out effect on other East Asian exporters. The results suggest that (i) while China's exports compete fiercely with other East Asian countries’ exports, this competition does not necessarily worsen the competitors’ economic welfare; and (ii) there are new opportunities for East Asian developing countries to join the regional production network, rather than merely filling in the product categories left vacant by the more developed countries as suggested by the flying geese pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite‐derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) is negatively impacted by cloud cover and surface reflectivity. As these issues lead to biases, they need to be discarded, which significantly increases the amount of missing data within an image. This paper presents a unique application of the partial convolutional neural network (PCNN) for imputing missing data from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) by training the PCNN model with the Community Multiscale Air Quality model simulated AOD. The PCNN model outperforms various models and algorithms for imputing GOCI images with a significant amount of missing data (45% of the data set has at least 80% missing pixels) and distance to the nearest known pixel within the GOCI image. Once trained, the model requires significantly less processing time and fewer resources than the other models and methods. The model allows the accurate imputation of remote sensing images within significant amounts of missing data. Plain Language Summary: Satellite measurements provide surface and atmospheric data over large areas across the globe. Cloud cover and surface reflectivity cause significant errors in the satellite measurements. This phenomenon forces data to be excluded, reducing the available data for analysis and research. Statistical and machine learning approaches, such as Kriging and K‐Nearest Neighbor, are used to estimate or interpolate the missing data based on spatial distribution. Unfortunately, these methods are not always accurate or require extensive computational resources. We utilize a deep‐learning model, partial convolutional neural network (PCNN), to fill in the missing data efficiently and accurately within East Asia satellite images. This model was trained with data from the Community Multiscale Air Quality model with missing masks from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager satellite images. The results show that the PCNN model works better than the other models when dealing with more missing data and larger distances from the nearest available measurement. Our model was also more accurate than several of the other methods when comparing imputed remote sensing images to surface measurements across seven cities in East Asia. The system has the potential to provide research advancements by accurately and efficiently filling in missing remote sensing data. Key Points: We implemented a partial convolutional neural network for the imputation of missing remote sensing dataThe model is trained with air quality modeling data and validated with remote sensing and in situ dataThe neural network model outperformed the Kriging Gaussian process regression method in accuracy and performance [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the election of Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in May 2014, India's approach to East Asia has changed, principally in response to pressures exerted by China. The Modi government inherited an East Asia strategy that combined a push for greater diplomatic and economic linkages with the region, an effort to improve Sino-Indian relations through a mix of engagement and deterrence, and a strengthening of security ties with the United States (US) and its allies. During its first three years in office, this paper argues that the Modi government stuck with this approach but attempted to pursue it more energetically as well as to assert India's interests more clearly and forcefully in interactions with Beijing. After the Doklam standoff in 2017, however, India was pushed to assume a more clearly competitive stance, despite concerns about the reliability of Donald J. Trump's new administration in Washington, China's growing belligerence towards India and the rest of the region, and the impact of COVID-19. This stance entails both internal and external balancing, and a push for greater economic self-reliance that implies some decoupling from China, but which also has implications for India's relations with other countries in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) prediction, especially the prediction of extreme hydroclimate events such as droughts and floods, is not only scientifically challenging, but also has substantial societal impacts. Motivated by preliminary studies, the Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX)/Global Atmospheric System Study (GASS) has launched a new initiative called "Impact of Initialized Land Surface Temperature and Snowpack on Subseasonal to Seasonal Prediction" (LS4P) as the first international grass-roots effort to introduce spring land surface temperature (LST)/subsurface temperature (SUBT) anomalies over high mountain areas as a crucial factor that can lead to significant improvement in precipitation prediction through the remote effects of land–atmosphere interactions. LS4P focuses on process understanding and predictability, and hence it is different from, and complements, other international projects that focus on the operational S2S prediction. More than 40 groups worldwide have participated in this effort, including 21 Earth system models, 9 regional climate models, and 7 data groups. This paper provides an overview of the history and objectives of LS4P, provides the first-phase experimental protocol (LS4P-I) which focuses on the remote effect of the Tibetan Plateau, discusses the LST/SUBT initialization, and presents the preliminary results. Multi-model ensemble experiments and analyses of observational data have revealed that the hydroclimatic effect of the spring LST on the Tibetan Plateau is not limited to the Yangtze River basin but may have a significant large-scale impact on summer precipitation beyond East Asia and its S2S prediction. Preliminary studies and analysis have also shown that LS4P models are unable to preserve the initialized LST anomalies in producing the observed anomalies largely for two main reasons: (i) inadequacies in the land models arising from total soil depths which are too shallow and the use of simplified parameterizations, which both tend to limit the soil memory; (ii) reanalysis data, which are used for initial conditions, have large discrepancies from the observed mean state and anomalies of LST over the Tibetan Plateau. Innovative approaches have been developed to largely overcome these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban aerosol measurements are necessary to establish associations between air pollution and human health outcomes and to evaluate the efficacy of air quality legislation and emissions standards. The measurement of urban aerosol particle size distributions (PSDs) is of particular importance as they enable characterization of size-dependent processes that govern a particle's transport, transformation, and fate in the urban atmosphere. PSDs also improve our ability to link air pollution to health effects through evaluation of particle deposition in the respiratory system and inhalation toxicity. To inform future measurements of urban aerosol observations, this paper reviews and critically analyzes the current state of knowledge on urban aerosol PSD measurements by synthesizing 737 PSD observations made between 1998 to 2017 in 114 cities in 43 countries around the globe. Significant variations in the shape and magnitude of urban aerosol number and mass PSDs were identified among different geographical regions. In general, number PSDs in Europe (EU) and North America, Australia, and New Zealand (NAAN) are dominated by nucleation- and Aitken-mode particles. PSDs in Central, South, and Southeast Asia (CSSA) and East Asia (EA) are shifted to larger sizes, with a meaningful contribution from the accumulation mode. Urban mass PSDs are typically bimodal, presenting a dominant mode in the accumulation mode and a secondary mode in the coarse mode. Most PSD observations published in the literature are short-term, with only 14 % providing data for longer than 6 months. There is a paucity of PSDs measured in Africa (AF), CSSA, Latin America (LA), and West Asia (WA), demonstrating the need for long-term aerosol measurements across wide size ranges in many cities around the globe. Geographical variations in urban aerosol effective densities were also reviewed. Size-resolved urban aerosol effective density functions from 3 to 10 000 nm were established for different geographical regions and intra-city sampling locations in order to accurately translate number PSDs to mass PSDs, with significant variations observed between near-road and urban background sites. The results of this study demonstrate that global initiatives are urgently needed to develop infrastructure for routine and long-term monitoring of urban aerosol PSDs spanning the nucleation to coarse mode. Doing so will advance our understanding of spatiotemporal trends in urban PSDs throughout the world and provide a foundation to more reliably elucidate the impact of urban aerosols on atmospheric processes, human health, and climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the use of oblique parallel perspective as a method of structuring pictorial space in Far Eastern art. Unlike the conical perspective of the Renaissance, this type of perspective is not grounded on a scientific foundation; and yet, it follows a series of well-defined principles that offer a rational solution to the problem of representing space. Inspired by the philosophies of the Far East, Asian perspective is a completely different phenomenon, if we compare it to the types of perspective used by European artists. In the 17th century, Asian artists begin experimenting with convergence – an element that is typical of conical perspective. This phenomenon did not take hold, as the attempts to adapt conical perspective did not have an impact on the deeply traditional cultures of the Far East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]