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A relation between tectonics and arc magmatism has been proposed in the west Pacific‐type accretionary orogens, but the specific mechanism remains unclear. This study examines the Cretaceous records in NE Asia in order to unravel this link. Two tectono‐magmatic episodes, namely the Early and Late Cretaceous, are recognized. The first episode was under (trans‐)extension, consisting of both mafic and felsic, depleted and enriched, and deep‐ and shallow‐derived arc magmas. The second episode experienced several compressive events with highly evolved and shallow‐derived (mid‐crustal level) arc magmas. We propose that (trans‐)extension thinned the arc crust, facilitating deep mafic magmas to ascend and cool rapidly, maintaining their geochemical diversity. Compression led to magmatic emplacement around the middle crust; and the warm crust allowed highly‐evolved granitoids to form. Therefore, tectonic setting controls arc magmatism in NE Asia, and is likely representative of other west Pacific‐type orogens. Plain Language Summary: Arc magmas are produced where oceanic plates subduct into the mantle. Their chemical composition varies in different tectonic settings, but the specific mechanism is unclear. We explore this question using the NE Asian setting during the Cretaceous. Here, the Early Cretaceous arc magmas reveal diverse compositions when in a setting undergoing extension. However, the Late Cretaceous magmas uniformly contain high silica contents when the continental crust was under compression. This implies that thin arc crust under extension facilitated the ascent of deeply‐derived magmas and these cooled rapidly and kept their chemical diversity. In contrast, crust under compression prohibited the ascent of deep magmas, instead inducing crustal melting and slower cooling in the middle crust, thus increasing the silica content. Therefore, tectonics strongly affected the nature of arc magmatism in NE Asia, and possibly other west Pacific‐type orogens. Key Points: Cretaceous magmatism in the NE Asian arcs was diverse during extension, but highly evolved under compressionExtension induced deep magmas to ascend and cool rapidly; Compression restrained deep magmas and extended coolingArc magmas were controlled by alternating extensional and compressional regimes during subduction retreat in west Pacific‐type orogens [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dementia and cognitive impairment rates in Asia have significant policy implications. Contrary to the existing literature, which primarily focused on the Western region, in this study, we provide novel insights into previously unexplored geographical contexts. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia in Asia., Methods: Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines, we searched six bibliographic databases: Web of Science, Medline, Science Direct, Ovid, Google Scholar, and PubMed. We targeted cross-sectional studies on dementia and cognitive impairment in Asia, published between 2019-23., Results: Our extensive search yielded 2593 original articles, of which 39 met eligibility criteria. This selection unveiled a significant rise in dementia and cognitive impairment prevalence in Asia, aligning now with trends observed in Western countries - a novel finding that challenges previous assumptions about regional prevalence disparities. The studies predominantly conducted in East Asia (n = 29), along with limited research from Southeast (n = 2), South (n = 7), and Central Asia (n = 1), underscore the geographical gaps in current research. This shift in prevalence patterns is potentially linked to demographic changes, urbanisation, environmental factors, ethnic diversity, and neuroimaging advancements. Identifying modifiable risk factors associated with dementia in these regions presents new avenues for prevention and intervention strategies., Conclusions: Current dementia research in Asia is concentrated in East Asia, with limited data from Southeast, South, and Central Asia. Comprehensive studies across all parts of Asia are crucial to establishing robust data collection methods and identifying modifiable risk factors. This can help manage and mitigate the growing burden of dementia in these societies., Competing Interests: Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests., (Copyright © 2024 by the Journal of Global Health. All rights reserved.)

Yam (Dioscorea opposita Thunb.) is an important functional food in Asia. Yam starch usually has a low glycemic index. What is the structure requirement of starch to obtain a low glycemic index remains unknown. In order to understand the structure-glycemic index relationship, six yam starches from various regions with apparent structure difference were analyzed. Chinese yam starch (CYS) showed the lowest glycemic index. It presented as oval or round granules. Meanwhile, CYS showed a distinct A-type crystal structure while the others presented C-type crystal structure. The largest crystallinity, R w , M w /M n , RS level, RS + SDS level, and the lowest peak viscosity, trough viscosity and C ∞ values were found for CYS. These data explained the lowest glycemic index of CYS. The above results suggested that CYS was a good neutraceutical candidate and could be used in the diet of diabetes population., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a major public health problem among children in the Asia-Pacific region. The optimal specimen for HFMD virological diagnosis remains unclear. Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) neutralizing antibody titres detected in paired sera were considered the reference standard for calculating the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of throat swabs, rectal swabs, stool, blood samples and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by RT-PCR or ELISA assay. In this study, clinical samples from 276 HFMD patients were collected for analysing the sensitivity of different kind of specimens. Our results showed that stool had the highest sensitivity (88%, 95% CI: 74%-96%) and agreement with the reference standard (91%). The order of diagnostic yield for EV-A71 infection was stool sample ​≥ ​rectal swab ​> ​throat swab ​> ​blood sample ​> ​CSF sample, and using a combination of clinical samples improved sensitivity for enterovirus detection. The sensitivity of ELISA for IgM antibody detection in sterile-site specimens was significantly higher than that of RT-PCR (serum/plasma: 62% vs. 2%, CSF: 47% vs. 0%) (P ​< ​0.002). In conclusion, our results suggest that stool has the highest diagnostic yield for EV-A71-infected HFMD. If stool is unavailable, rectal swabs can be collected to achieve a similar diagnostic yield. Otherwise, throat swabs may be useful in detecting positive samples. Although IgM in blood or CSF is diagnostically accurate, it lacks sensitivity, missing 40%-50% of cases. The higher proportion of severe cases and shorter interval between onset and sampling contributed to the increase in congruency between clinical testing and the serological reference standard., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest Hongjie Yu received investigator-initiated research funding from Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, and Yichang HEC Changjiang Pharmaceutical Company and Shanghai Roche Pharmaceutical Company, none of which is related to HFMD and enteroviruses. All other authors report no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

While some sort of regulatory convergence and harmonisation are often needed for achieving regulatory reliance, in reality, regulatory reliance as a strategy towards convergence and harmonisation has never been more significant in Asia-Pacific (APAC). A sustained, rapid and large-scale provision of medical devices, including articles and apparatus used in diagnosis, care, treatment or prevention of disease and softwares, etc, across national boundaries, is the key to winning the fight against future pandemics and improving people's well-being in such a populous and geographically diverse region. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of regulatory reliance to enable easier access to medical devices that have gone through regulatory approvals in countries with mature regulatory systems based on the Quality Management System and product assessment guidelines of the International Medical Device Regulators Forum. This analysis focuses on why regulatory reliance is needed, how much has been achieved, its impact on the development of the medical device industry and challenges to be addressed in the region. By drawing on the experience from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority-Thai Food and Drug Administration regulatory reliance pilot and Vietnam's inclusion of Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and China National Medical Products Administration as reference markets for fast review/approval, it aims to explore next viable steps and future trend of the APAC regional regulatory harmonisation mechanism through regulatory reliance in the post-COVID-19 era., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Malaria remains a serious public health problem globally. As the elimination of indigenous malaria continues in China, imported malaria has gradually become a major health hazard. Well-timed and accurate diagnoses could support the timely implementation of therapeutic schedules, reveal the prevalence of imported malaria and avoid transmission of the disease., Methods: Blood samples were collected in Wuhan, China, from August 2011 to December 2018. All patients accepted microscopy and rapid diagnosis test (RDT) examinations. Subsequently, each of the positive or suspected positive cases was tested for four human-infectious Plasmodium species by using 18S rRNA-based nested PCR and Taqman probe-based real-time PCR. The results of the microscopy and the two molecular diagnostic methods were analysed. Importation origins were traced by country, and the prevalence of Plasmodium species was analysed by year., Results: A total of 296 blood samples, including 288 that were microscopy and RDT positive, 7 RDT and Plasmodium falciparum positive, and 1 suspected case, were collected and reanalysed. After application of the two molecular methods and sequencing, 291 cases including 245 P. falciparum, 15 Plasmodium vivax, 20 Plasmodium ovale, 6 Plasmodium malariae and 5 mixed infections (3 P. falciparum + P. ovale, 2 P. vivax + P. ovale) were confirmed. These patients had returned from Africa (95.53%) and Asia (4.47%). Although the prevalence displayed a small-scale fluctuation, the overall trend of the imported cases increased yearly., Conclusions: These results emphasize the necessity of combined utilization of the four tools for malaria diagnosis in clinic and in field surveys of potential risk regions worldwide including Wuhan.

Black carbon (BC) is one of the major drivers of climate change, and its measurement in different environment is crucial for the better understanding of long-term trends in the Himalayan-Tibetan Plateau (HTP) as climate warming has intensified in the region. We present the measurement of BC concentration from six lake sediments in the HTP to reconstruct historical BC deposition since the pre-industrial era. Our results show an increasing trend of BC concurrent with increased anthropogenic emission patterns after the commencement of the industrialization era during the 1950s. Also, sedimentation rates and glacier melt strengthening influenced the total input of BC into the lake. Source identification, based on the char and soot composition of BC, suggests biomass-burning emissions as a major contributor to BC, which is further corroborated by open-fire occurrence events in the region. The increasing BC trend continues to recent years, indicating increasing BC emissions, mainly from South Asia.

Objective: The objective was to review the major differences of Huntington disease (HD) in Asian population from those in the Caucasian population., Data Sources: Data cited in this review were obtained from PubMed database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from 1994 to 2014. All the papers were written in English or Chinese languages, with the terms of Asia/Asian, HD, genotype, epidemiology, phenotype, and treatment used for the literature search., Study Selection: From the PubMed database, we included the articles and reviews which contained the HD patients' data from Asian countries. From the CNKI, we excluded the papers which were not original research. Due to the language's restrictions, those data published in other languages were not included., Results: In total, 50 papers were cited in this review, authors of which were from the mainland of China, Japan, India, Thailand, Taiwan (China), Korea, and western countries., Conclusions: The lower epidemiology in Asians can be partly explained by the less cytosine-adenine-guanine repeats, different haplotypes, and CCG polymorphisms. For the physicians, atypical clinical profiles such as the initial symptom of ataxia, movement abnormalities of Parkinsonism, dystonia, or tics need to be paid more attention to and suggest gene testing if necessary. Moreover, some pathogenesis studies may help progress some new advanced treatments. The clinicians in Asian especially in China should promote the usage of genetic testing and put more effects in rehabilitation, palliative care, and offer comfort of patients and their families. The unified HD rating scale also needs to be popularized in Asia to assist in evaluating the progression of HD.