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The article discusses contributions by researchers in East and Southeast Asia to science and technology research. Topics include investment in the science and technology research made in the East and Southeast Asia, total article count and research spending in China and Japan. Research in physical science and chemistry in institutions such as Peking University in China are mentioned. Charts presenting details of the research papers are included.

Background: Media guidelines for suicide reporting are available in many countries. However, to what extent the mass media comply with the guidelines is unknown. Few studies are available that investigate systematically whether the mass media reflect the epidemiological reality of suicide deaths in their articles. Methods: Based on the WHO media guidelines, this study investigated the characteristics of newspaper articles of suicides in three Chinese communities, namely Hong Kong, Taiwan and Guangzhou. Epidemiological comparisons were conducted to identify the age and gender differences between the suicide victims as reported in the newspapers and the official records of suicide deaths in all three places. Results: The results found that one media characteristic complied with the WHO media guidelines (ie, only about 2% of the articles were printed on the front page), but there were a number of instances of non-compliance (ie, only 4--14% provided sources for help-seeking and 27--90% printed with photos). The epidemiological comparisons revealed an over-representation of younger suicides and an under-representation of late-life suicides in the newspapers of all three places. Furthermore, female suicides were found to be under-reported in Taiwan and Guangzhou newspapers, but not in Hong Kong papers. Conclusion: Non-compliant suicide articles are prevalent in the newspapers of these three Chinese settings. The observed media misrepresentations may potentially mislead the public and the policy makers about the actual risk for suicide in some demographic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information on dietary supplements, medications, and other xenobiotics in epidemiologic surveys is usually obtained from questionnaires and is subject to recall and reporting biases. The authors used metabolite data obtained from hydrogen-1 (or proton) nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) analysis of human urine specimens from the International Study of Macro-/Micro-Nutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP Study) to validate self-reported analgesic use. Metabolic profiling of two 24-hour urine specimens per individual was carried out for 4,630 participants aged 40–59 years from 17 population samples in Japan, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States (data collection, 1996–1999). 1H NMR-detected acetaminophen and ibuprofen use was low (∼4%) among East Asian population samples and higher (>16%) in Western population samples. In a comparison of self-reported acetaminophen and ibuprofen use with 1H NMR-detected acetaminophen and ibuprofen metabolites among 496 participants from Chicago, Illinois, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, the overall rate of concordance was 81%–84%; the rate of underreporting was 15%–17%; and the rate of underdetection was approximately 1%. Comparison of self-reported unspecified analgesic use with 1H NMR-detected acetaminophen and ibuprofen metabolites among 2,660 Western INTERMAP participants revealed similar levels of concordance and underreporting. Screening for urinary metabolites of acetaminophen and ibuprofen improved the accuracy of exposure information. This approach has the potential to reduce recall bias and other biases in epidemiologic studies for a range of substances, including pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, and foods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]