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Broflanilide is a newly-developed meta-diamide insecticide, proposed for the control of a wide variety of chewing pests on many crops. In view of the proposed use of broflanilide and its environmental fate, it may be exposed to consumers and non-target organisms, which adversely affect human and the environment. In this paper, a rapid, sensitive and valid UPLC-MS/MS method was established for simultaneous analysis of broflanilide and its two major metabolites, DM-8007 and S (PFP-OH)-8007, in cauliflower. Then, the dissipation behaviors and final residues of broflanilide and its two major metabolites in cauliflower from eight sites with different climatic conditions in China were studied via the described analytical method. In addition, the acute toxicity test of 9.5 % suspension concentrate of broflanilide, broflanilide standard, DM-8007 and S (PFP-OH)-8007 were conducted to non-target terrestrial organisms. Risk assessment for human and non-target terrestrial organisms in cauliflower production was evaluated based on the maximum annual application rates and intervals. The results showed that the highest residue of broflanilide detected in cauliflower samples was all lower than the corresponding MRLs (2 mg/kg) in Japan. Chronic food dietary risk estimates for broflanilide do not exceed 50 % for all the Chinese population groups. Moreover, broflanilide is of low acute toxicity to birds and earthworm, while broflanilide and its metabolites is classified as highly toxic to adult honeybees. Acute risks of broflanilide to birds and earthworms were deemed to be acceptable in a realistic worst-case scenario, while its risk to adult honeybees and ladybug was unacceptable. A protection statement for honeybees and ladybug is required to recognize the high toxicity of broflanilide on related product labels. The study will be conducive to provide guidance for the rational application of broflanilide in cauliflower production. [Display omitted] • Chronic food dietary risk does not exceed 50 % for all the Chinese population. • Broflanilide is of low acute toxicity to birds and earthworm. • Broflanilide and its metabolites is highly toxic to adult honeybees. • Acute risk to adult honeybees and ladybug was unacceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the effects of economic shocks to current and expected income reduction on mental wellbeing. We use individual-level data from three East Asian countries; China, Japan, and South Korea, during the early phases of the pandemic when the COVID-induced economic shocks were severe. The findings reveal significant causal effects from current and expected income reduction on different aspects of mental health deterioration, including anxiety, trouble sleeping, boredom, and loneliness. Interestingly, we found that expectations of future income loss have a significantly larger effect on people's mental wellbeing compared to current falls in income. This has significant implications for the design of policies to support income during pandemics., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This review targets the application of the Verbal Fluency Task (VFT) in conjunction with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) for diagnosing psychiatric disorders, specifically in the contexts of China and Japan. These two countries are at the forefront of integrating fNIRS with VFT in clinical psychiatry, often employing this combination as a complementary tool alongside traditional psychiatric examinations. Our study aims to synthesize research findings on the hemodynamic responses elicited by VFT task in clinical settings of the two countries, analyzing variations in task design (phonological versus semantic), stimulus modality (auditory versus visual), and the impact of language typology. The focus on China and Japan is crucial, as it provides insights into the unique applications and adaptations of VFT in these linguistically and culturally distinct environments. By exploring these specific cases, our review underscores the importance of tailoring VFT to fit the linguistic and cultural context, thereby enhancing its validity and utility in cross-cultural psychiatric assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airborne aerosols were collected in six size classes (PM <0.1 , PM 0.1-0.5 , PM 0.5-1 , PM 1-2.5 , PM 2.5-10 and PM >10 ) to investigate aerosol health risks in remote and industrial areas in Japan. We focused on heavy metals and their water-dispersed fractions. The average concentration of heavy metals was 18 ± 25-86 ± 48 ngm -3 for PM <0.1 , 46 ± 19-154 ± 80 for PM 0.5-1 ngm -3 , 98 ± 49-422 ± 186 ngm -3 for PM 1-2.5 , 321 ± 305-1288 ± 727 ngm -3 for PM 2.5-10 and 65 ± 52-914 ± 339 ngm -3 or PM >10 , and these concentrations were higher in industrial areas. Heavy metals emitted from domestic anthropogenic sources were added to the long-range transport component of the aerosols. The water-dispersed fraction of heavy metals contained 3.3-40.1% of the total heavy metals in each size class. The relative contribution of Zn and other species (As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Mn, V and Cu) increased in the water-dispersed fraction. Smaller particles contained greater proportions of the water-dispersed heavy metal fraction. Carcinogenic risk (CR) and the hazard index (HI) were estimated for each size class. The CR of carcinogens was at acceptable levels (<1 ×10 -6 ) for five particle size fractions. The HI values for carcinogens and noncarcinogens were also below acceptable levels (<1) for the same five size fractions. The estimated CR and HI values were dominated by contributions from the inhalation process., 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 © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Land-use change worldwide has been driven by anthropogenic activities, which profoundly regulates terrestrial C and N cycles. However, it remains unclear how the dynamics and decomposition of soil organic C (SOC) and N respond to long-term conversion of rice paddy to wetland. Here, soil samples from five soil depths (0-25 cm, 5 cm/depth) were collected from a continuous rice paddy and an adjacent wetland (a rice paddy abandoned for 12 years) on Shonai Plain in northeastern Japan. A four-week anaerobic incubation experiment was conducted to investigate soil C decomposition and N mineralization. Our results showed that SOC in the wetland and rice paddy decreased with soil depth, from 31.02 to 19.66 g kg -1 and from 30.26 to 18.86 g kg -1 , respectively. There was no significant difference in SOC content between wetland and rice paddy at any depth. Soil total nitrogen (TN) content in the wetland (2.61-1.49 g kg -1 ) and rice paddy (2.91-1.78 g kg -1 ) showed decreasing trend with depth; TN was significantly greater in the rice paddy than in the wetland at all depths except 20-25 cm. Paddy soil had significantly lower C/N ratios but significantly larger decomposed C (Dec-C, CO 2 and CH 4 production) and mineralized N (Min-N, net NH 4 + -N production) than wetland soil across all depths. Moreover, the Dec-C/Min-N ratio was significantly larger in wetland than in rice paddy across all depths. Rice paddy had higher exponential correlation between Dec-C and SOC, Min-N and TN than wetland. Although SOC did not change, TN decreased by 14.1% after the land-use conversion. The Dec-C and Min-N were decreased by 32.7% and 42.2%, respectively, after the12-year abandonment of rice paddy. Conclusively, long-term conversion of rice paddy to wetland did not distinctly alter SOC content but increased C/N ratio, and decreased C decomposition and N mineralization in 0-25 cm soil depth., 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 © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The transboundary transport of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) aggravated by the East Asian winter monsoon is a major atmospheric environmental issue in East Asia. To thoroughly elucidate the role of the East Asian monsoon on regional PAH and NPAH pollution in East Asia, PM 2.5 -bound PAHs and NPAHs were investigated concurrently at five sites in Beijing and Shenyang in China and Tsukuba, Kanazawa, and Wajima in Japan in autumn (November 2018) and spring (March 2019). During both autumn and spring sampling periods, the concentrations of PM 2.5 , PAHs, and NPAHs at sites in China were 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than those at sites in Japan, and showed an opposite temporal variation, with higher concentrations during the autumn sampling period due to intensive emissions and unfavourable weather conditions. During the sampling periods, PAHs at the Beijing and Shenyang sites had mixed sources of traffic emissions and coal and biomass combustion, while those at the Tsukuba, Kanazawa, and Wajima sites were mainly characterized by domestic traffic emissions. In addition, NPAHs at the five sites were jointly affected by primary combustion sources and atmospheric generation, with a greater contribution of atmospheric generation to the Beijing and Shenyang sites. Based on backwards trajectory clustering and concentration-weighted trajectory analysis, external contributions to PM 2.5 , PAHs, and NPAHs at each site were relatively stable during the two sampling periods, and potential source areas were mainly distributed in domestic cities and nearby sea areas. Therefore, the apparent temporal differences in the characteristics and sources of pollutants between sites in the two countries indicate that transboundary pollution dominated by the East Asian winter monsoon was unobvious in autumn and spring. The results of the study provide a time-specific solution for the effective management of regional air pollution during the East Asian winter monsoon., 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.)

Background: Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs) are one of the most common community-acquired infections, particularly among women. Common symptoms of UTI include dysuria, urinary urgency and increased frequency, and lower abdominal pain. With appropriate treatment, symptoms may resolve in a few days. However, there is a lack of research on the emotional impact of this disease. We conducted a qualitative, interview-based study to gain a greater understanding of the emotional impact of uUTIs in women in China and Japan. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, in-depth, interview-based study was conducted between 19 November 2020 and 25 February 2021. Women aged ≥ 18 years who experienced ≥ 1 uUTI and received antibiotic treatment in the past year were eligible for inclusion. Participants must have experienced ≥ 1 of the following symptoms during a uUTI episode: urinary urgency, frequency, dysuria, or lower abdominal/suprapubic pain. Participants who reported back pain or fever (indicative of complicated UTI) were excluded. Participants with recurrent or sporadic UTIs were included, with specific screening criteria used to ensure capture of both groups. Following a screening call, a structured, in-depth telephone interview (~ 30 min in duration) was conducted by three female external moderators trained in qualitative interviewing, assisted by an interview guide. Interviews were analysed individually and thematically, with the results presented within the identified themes. Results: A total of 65 women with uUTI completed the in-depth telephone interview: 40 (62%) from China and 25 (38%) from Japan. Participants reported that the symptoms of uUTI affected multiple aspects of their lives, and described feelings of embarrassment, frustration, guilt, dread, and loneliness associated with symptoms that interfered with relationships, work and daily activities, and sleep. Participants reported seeking healthcare from several different points of contact, from local pharmacies to hospitals. Conclusions: Our analysis highlights the profound emotional impact of uUTIs in women in China and Japan, and the journey these participants take before their initial interaction with a healthcare professional. These insights emphasise the need to better understand the full impact of uUTI, and the role of healthcare professionals in improved patient education and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grain quality indicates rice commodity value. This research compared grain quality and physicochemical properties of premium japonica rice from three production regions, Yangtze River downstream of China (YRDCN), Northeast region of China (NECN) and Japan. Results showed that there were distinct quality and physicochemical characteristics variance among the three groups of japonica rice, while CVs of most quality parameters from low to high was Japan, YRDCN and NECN. YRDCN rice presented obvious lower apparent amylose content (AAC) and ratio of each chain-length sections of amylopectin, and showed higher protein contents especially glutelin and ratio in short and intermediate amylopectin molecules. Among three rice groups, YRDCN rice presented weaker appearance, whereas did not show inferior cooking and eating properties, which was primarily linked to lower AAC. Rice AAC and starch fine structure significantly correlated with pasting parameters, swelling power and solubility, while protein content had close relation with taste analyzer parameters. Results of this study indicated improvement direction for japonica rice of YRDCN, and also provided reference for consumers' rice purchasing selection in accordance with individual taste preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze) is one of the most important economic plants in China, and has many benefits for human health. Anthracnose is one of the most serious diseases of tea in China, and control of the fungus is important since most Chinese cultivars are susceptible to it. The agent of tea anthracnose was initially described as Gloeosporium theae-sinensis I. Miyake in Japan, which was later transferred to Discula, but this taxonomic position remains problematic. To shed light on these taxonomic and phylogenetic issues, the tea anthracnose pathogens were re-studied. Combining the morphological characteristics and a multigene phylogenetic analysis of nrITS, nrLSU, rpb2, and tef1 sequence data, a new genus Sinodiscula was proposed to accommodate the causal fungi of tea anthracnose, including a new species Sinodiscula camellicola and a new combination Sinodiscula theae-sinensis. Furthermore, the pathogenicity of the pathogens was determined according to Koch's postulates. This study thoroughly resolves the long-standing taxonomic and phylogenetic problems of the tea anthracnose pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soft coral order Alcyonacea is a common coral found in the deep sea and plays a crucial role in the deep-sea ecosystem. This study aims to predict the distribution of Alcyonacea in the western Pacific Ocean using four machine learning-based species distribution models. The performance of these models is also evaluated. The results indicate a high consistency among the prediction results of the different models. The soft coral order is primarily distributed in the Thousand Islands Basin, Japan Trench, and Thousand Islands Trench. Water depth and silicate content are identified as important environmental factors influencing the distribution of Alcyonacea. The RF, Maxent, and XGBoost models demonstrate high accuracies, with the RF model exhibiting the highest prediction accuracy. However, the Maxent model outperforms the other three models in data processing. Developing a high-resolution, high-accuracy, and high-precision habitat suitability model for soft corals can provide a scientific basis and reference for China's exploration and research in the deep sea field and aid in the planning of protected areas in the high seas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of global warming, extreme precipitation events have become more frequent. In complex terrain regions, due to the vulnerability of their ecosystems, extreme precipitation events can lead to significant secondary disasters. Utilizing daily rainfall data from the National Meteorological Information Center of China and statistical analysis, this study explores the spatial and temporal distribution of extreme precipitation in the Central Southwest China (CSC) region. The temporal pattern of extreme precipitation in CSC shows a consistent trend, while the spatial distribution reveals an opposite phase between the northern and southern parts of CSC. Based on this, we propose a new method for constructing extreme precipitation prediction models for complex terrain regions based on physical mechanisms, and take CSC area as a study case. Instead of anonymous feature selection, this method improves the accuracy and stability of the model by studying the impact of sea–air interactions on extreme precipitation and then introducing it into deep learning. It was found that the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the South Indian Ocean affects extreme precipitation in the CSC by influencing uplift, atmospheric instability, and moisture. The SST anomaly also affects the intensity of cross-equatorial airflow, which changes the trajectory of the Pacific–Japan teleconnection wave and impacts extreme precipitation. These findings provide a comprehensive and reliable approach for forecasting extreme precipitation in CSC and are further integrated into the extreme precipitation prediction models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As chromatographic techniques have advanced, many articles that analyze the constituting compounds of medicinal materials have been published in relation to Northeast Asian traditional medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). TM-MC was launched in 2015, providing information about the chemical compounds in medicinal materials from chromatographic articles in PubMed. Since 2015, through continuous curation efforts, we have now released TM-MC 2.0 with significant improvements to the quantity and quality of the data (https://tm-mc.kr). Description: TM-MC 2.0 contains 635 medicinal materials, 34,107 chemical compounds (21,306 identified and de-duplicated), 13,992 targets, 27,997 diseases, and 5,075 prescriptions (2,393 de-duplicated by name). The database provides the largest number of identified compounds for medicinal materials listed in the pharmacopoeia compared to all TCM databases. In particular, marker compounds of medicinal materials and many newly discovered compounds were added through the manual curation of recent chromatographic articles. Conclusion: TM-MC 2.0 provides the largest collection of information about the chemical compounds of the medicinal materials listed in the Korean, Chinese, and Japanese pharmacopoeias. Our database can be utilized for network pharmacology in traditional medicine and for the compound screening of medicinal materials for modern drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research presents an in-depth investigation into the dynamic correlation between geopolitical conflicts and carbon markets utilizing the Time-Varying Parameter Vector Autoregression (TVP-VAR) technique. The analysis focuses on the interconnectedness between the Geopolitical Risk Index Daily (GPRD) and vital carbon pricing instruments, specifically the Intercontinental Exchange Endex European Union Allowance (ECEFDC), KraneShares California Carbon Allowance Strat ETF (KCCAK), Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange China Emission Allowances Online Transactions (SAXCEA), and S&P Global Ex-Japan LargeMidCap Carbon Efficient Index (SPGJ). The daily fluctuations were traced from May 2021 to July 2023. The analysis is divided into short- and long-term connectedness, with particular emphasis on the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the GPRD's spillover on carbon markets. The short-term connectedness (1-5 days) between GPRD and ECEFDC shows variability, fluctuating between 10% and 40%. Conversely, long-term connectedness exhibited a significant increase during the conflict, peaking at approximately 34% by mid-2022. The analysis of the Total Dynamic Connectedness (TCI) between the GPRD and the KCCAK indicates comparable magnitudes, although with minor initial discrepancies. The short-term connectedness of GPRD and KCCAK decreases from its peak of approximately 10% to approximately 1%. Conversely, long-term connectedness varies between approximately 32% and 2% from May 2022 onwards. The long-term connectedness between GPRD and SAXCEA revealed variable patterns, peaking at around 18% at the beginning of the sample period and rapidly reducing to around 1% within two months. The analysis of the connectedness between GPRD and the SPG) identifies intense fluctuations in both TCI and long-term connectedness. After an initial increase and decrease, these patterns rebound and experience another increase. This research provides significant insights into the complex dynamics of geopolitical conflicts and carbon markets, particularly the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on carbon market behavior., 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.)

Based on Realism theory, this paper provides an explanation of the importance of power in International Relations, by analyzing the behavior of China and Japan in the East Asian region, and also the behavior of the United States of America towards them as the dominant superpower under the current international system. It answers the problem of the transfer of power from the West to the East, and in return supports the assumption that the Great Powers seek to possess relative power as much as possible. The paper also emphasizes that the State should not undermine or renounce its offensive power, as with Japan, because that will put it in front of a dilemma of the growing the power of neighboring States that seek to achieve regional hegemony, such as China. Therefore, all of these transformations show that international relations are a complex field and should not be reduced to a specific ideal field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bibliometric analysis is a mature method for quantitative evaluation of academic productivity. In view of the rapid development of research in the field of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the past decade, we used bibliometric methods to comprehensively analyze the literature in the field of SLE from 2013 to 2022. Methods: The relevant literature in the field of SLE from 2013 to 2022 was screened in the Web of Science Core Collection database. After obtaining and sorting out the data, CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were used to visualize the relevant data, and SPSS software was used for scientific statistics. Results: A total of 18,450 publications were included in this study. The number of articles published over the past 10 years has generally shown an upward trend, while Altmetric attention scores have also shown a clear upward trend in general and in most countries. Citation analysis and Altmetric analysis can mutually prove and supplement the influence of papers. The USA, China, Japan, Italy, and the UK are the most productive countries, but China and Japan are significantly inferior to other countries in terms of research influence. Four of the top ten authors are at the center of the collaboration network. LUPUS is the most contributing journal. The theme of systemic lupus erythematosus research mainly focuses on the pathogenesis, treatment, and management of SLE, and the emerging trend is related research on machine learning and immune cells. Conclusion: This study shows the research status of SLE, clarifies the main contributors in this field, discusses and analyzes the research hotspots and trends in this field, and provides reference for further research in this field to promote the development of SLE research. Key Points • Through bibliometric analysis, Altmetric analysis, and visual analysis, we reveal the global productivity characteristics of SLE-related papers in the past 10 years. • The number of global SLE-related studies has shown a significant increase, indicating that SLE is still a hot topic and deserves further study. • Citation analysis and Altmetric analysis can mutually prove and supplement the influence of papers, and the attention of related literature among non-professional researchers is increasing. • The theme of SLE research mainly focuses on the pathogenesis, treatment, and management of SLE. The emerging trend is machine learning and immune cells, which may provide new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of SLE in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'China threat' has been identified as an important driver of Japan's security agenda and discourse. The threat posed by China has been discussed either as a given factor determining the trajectory of Tokyo's security approach, as a product of identity construction, or as an expression of securitizing processes that facilitate institutional and policy change. This paper contributes to this debate by offering an alternative explanation of the process through which the Abe government constructed China as a threat. Building on securitization theory, the paper examines the modes and strategies employed by the Abe Administration to successfully securitize China. The paper argues that, while Beijing was labeled a 'concern' rather than an 'existential threat,' it was still securitized through a process of securitization that involves an association with those domains in which China engages assertively, namely the maritime commons. The paper suggests calling this type of securitizing pattern 'transversal securitization' and explores how this indirect strategy allowed the Abe government to pragmatically pursue its objectives both domestically and at the international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Involving the global issues as listed in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education is necessarily done in the education process, especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Exposure to global issues is known to improve students' understanding, awareness, and ability to solve urgent issues faced by global society. This paper aims to find out the trend of research on the coverage of SDGs in students' learning process. This systematic literature analysis was done by applying Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Method. A total of 25 studies were recognized through a systematic search by using Sustainability, SDGs, and EFL as keywords. The result shows that the trend of associating SDGs with EFL settings was done mostly in Indonesia. In the recent year 2022, it reached the highest number of studies in the particular matter with 7 total of research. It was also found that the study involving SDGs on EFL learning was mostly done in the tertiary setting, compared with K-12, junior high school, secondary, high school, and other educational institutions. It was also discovered that the specific area of study enhances EFL students' learning achievement, environmental awareness, global citizen values, as well as students' levels of self-norms, beliefs, and self-value.

The maritime route connecting the Chinese continent and the Japanese archipelago facilitated a significant exchange of commercial goods and sociocultural knowledge throughout the Southern Song dynasty. Within this context, Japanese pilgrim monks traveling along this route acted as key conduits for the transmission of Buddhist teachings. Their journeys profoundly influenced the establishment and development of new Buddhist monasteries in Japan. Focusing on biographical accounts that portray the experiences of these pilgrim monks during their twelfth- and thirteenth-century sea voyages, this paper aims to explore how these accounts drew on intertextual links with existing Buddhist records to fulfill the compilers' intentions. Specifically, this paper examines the structure and sources of biographical accounts detailing miraculous encounters between pilgrim monks and Buddhist deities during perilous situations at sea. By interpreting the role of these deities in the corpus of Buddhist literature and within Japanese Buddhist monasteries founded by pilgrim monks, this paper argues that the increasing emphasis on pilgrim monks' attainment of divine protection in their biographical records suggests a growing concern for reinforcing the authority of their dharma lineages. Moreover, the composition and reception of these miraculous accounts reflected the changing religious needs and reshaped strategies for promoting specific Buddhist sects in subsequent periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fragmentation of academic work and its uneven distribution among academic staff have produced particular challenges for new entrants to teaching in Higher Education, Early Career Teachers [ECTs]. In this paper, documentary analysis of the narratives of fourteen ECTs, who worked across six different continents, was undertaken. The findings highlight the diverse forms of precarity that ECTs face, which cut across migratory, identitarian, economic, and ideological dimensions. It discusses ECTs' reflections on their expectations of teaching and their adaptation to the demands of neoliberal Higher Education. Drawing from their narratives and Sevil Sümer's theories of differentiated academic citizenship, ECTs are recognised as 'precarious academic citizens'. This has important implications for revealing the unique circumstances of this group, thereby opening further questions as regards their mentoring and support to enable them to be situated more equally as citizens of the academy.

An atmospheric river (AR) is a highly accumulated line of moisture, which often preconditions heavy rainfall events. Considering the short-lived nature of ARs, we aim to understand their characteristics over the western North Pacific (WNP) in boreal summer, focusing on the difference between the post–El Niño (pEN) and non-post–El Niño (npEN) cases in weekly segments rather than the seasonal mean. We found that during AR-active weeks in pEN summers, a meridional dipole pattern of anomalous geopotential height with a more westward-extended WNP subtropical high dominates, favoring AR activity over southern China to the central Pacific. In npEN summers, in contrast, a zonal dipole pattern with an anomalous low over southeast China and an anomalous high over subtropical WNP is pronounced during the AR-active weeks, which is accompanied with warm sea surface temperature anomalies and greater downward shortwave radiation to the southeast of Japan. Such anomalous circulation leads to enhanced AR occurrence over the northern South China Sea (SCS) to Japan. The above differences in the AR features between the two cases appear as the distinct regionality in the AR-related rainfall over eastern China and Japan. Temporal decompositions reveal that both seasonal mean and submonthly variations play dominant roles in the anomalous circulation during AR-active weeks in pEN summers, while the submonthly variations are more pronounced in npEN summers. Further analysis also suggests that tropical cyclones could impact AR occurrence in both cases with different patterns of atmospheric responses, inducing remarkable AR enhancement over the northern SCS in npEN summers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid industrialization, rising fossil fuel consumption, and environmental concerns, developing clean and green energy is an inescapable option. Hydrogen has emerged as a significant potential energy carrier and a viable future replacement fuel for fossil fuels due to its renewable and pollution-free properties. Previous review papers have significantly contributed to the body of literature on the various technologies for producing hydrogen by revealing key insights into their working principles and conditions, as well as the economic and environmental aspects. In addition, they also highlighted the potential pathways to enable the application of these technologies in the context of carbon neutrality. However, these studies have not broken down the evolutionary patterns and developmental progress of either fossil fuel-based or renewable energy-based technologies used to produce hydrogen. In addition, the currently available literature does not contain the most recent research that focuses on the evolution and life cycle of each technology category from a chronological point of view. The key drivers, countries/regions, and their contributions to the field's development have received little attention. As a result, it is critical to monitor technological advances in hydrogen energy production and investigate the key enablers of these advancements. Against this backdrop, the current study employs patent analysis tools to achieve four primary goals: (1) to track the development trends in the field of hydrogen production from 2000 to 2019; (2) to identify and compare the recent development trends in the last five years according to the feedstock, i.e., fossil fuel, water, and biomass-based technologies; (3) to predict the technology life cycle of the two main groups of hydrogen production technologies (fossil and renewable); (4) to identify and compare the key drivers of hydrogen production technologies from a statistical standpoint. The findings of the study may aid in identifying technical prospects in the field of fossil and renewable-based hydrogen production, and decision-makers may use them as a reference in developing a strategic plan for future technological growth. • Patent review on hydrogen production technologies from 2000 to 2019. • Japan, US, China are the leading countries in the field. • Recent developments are focused on renewable energy-based technologies especially water. • Technology maturity rate of renewable-based technologies is about 57%. • R&D expenditure strongly promotes hydrogen production innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of global energy transformation and structural upgrading, the development of solar photovoltaic industry in various countries has been paid attention to, and solar photovoltaic products occupy an important position in the international trade of renewable energy. The signing of the RCEP agreement can create favorable external conditions for the trade and industrial cooperation of solar photovoltaic products, which has attracted global attention. Therefore, based on the background of RCEP, it is of practical significance to analyze the development and export competitiveness of solar energy products in the agreement countries. This paper uses TOPSIS to establish a comprehensive evaluation index system for the international competitiveness of solar photovoltaic products to study the international competitiveness of solar photovoltaic products in China, Japan, and Korea under the context of RCEP. The study shows that (1) China's international competitiveness in solar photovoltaic products is strong and continues to improve, while Japan is declining and Korea is growing slowly. (2) There are significant differences in the components that lead to international competitiveness among different countries. Based on the above findings, this paper proposes corresponding policy recommendations for the three countries., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Previous studies on health and socio-economic determinants of later-life labour force participation have mainly come from high-income European countries and the United States of America (USA). Findings vary between studies due to different measures of socio-economic status and labour force outcomes. This study investigated longitudinal associations of physical incapacity and wealth with remaining in paid employment after age 60 in middle- and high-income countries. Using harmonised cohort data in the USA, England, Japan, Mexico and China (N = 32,132), multilevel logistic regression was applied for main associations. The age-related probabilities of remaining in paid employment by physical incapacity and wealth were estimated using marginal effects. This study found that physical incapacity predicted lower odds of remaining in paid employment in each country. Wealth was associated with higher odds of remaining in paid employment in the USA, England and Japan, but not in Mexico. Probabilities of remaining in paid employment were high in Mexico but low in China. The absolute difference in the probability of remaining in paid employment between the richest and the poorest groups was greater in the USA than that in any other country. In the USA, England and Japan, the inverse association between physical incapacity and remaining in paid employment could be partially compensated by wealth only when physical incapacity was not severe. National policies, including considering older adults' changing capacities for job placement and prioritising the provision of supportive services for socio-economically disadvantaged older adults, developing pathways for informal workers to access social security and pension coverage, and encouraging employers to hire socio-economically disadvantaged older workers and enhancing their employability, could be facilitated. Future studies, such as exploring health and socio-economic determinants of remaining in part-time and full-time paid employment separately in more countries, and the moderating effects of relevant policies on these associations, are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feudal Japan was one of the countries within the cultural space of Chinese characters and maintained a "tributary diplomacy" relationship with China. However, although it was part of the Chinese tribute system, Japan was not a typical tributary state like Korea or Vietnam at that time. Therefore, Japan's tribute activities with China, in addition to the similarities inherent in this activity, also had many unique characteristics. This article places Japan's tribute activities in the context of the region and compares them with China's tribute activities of Korea and Vietnam at the time to draw out similarities and differences. At the same time, the article derives the characteristics and essence of Japan's tribute activities at that time, contributing to an understanding of the nature of Japan–China relations in the past and present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Gout is a chronic disease that imposes a huge financial and health burden on patients, which might diminish quality of life. Qin Jiao, a perennial herb found in northwestern China and Japan, is commonly used for treating various ailments. Objective: This study investigates the effects of Qin Jiao on gout and joint inflammation and elucidates its potential mechanism for gouty arthritis. Materials and methods: Study 1, a literature review was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and CNKI to assess the applications of Qin Jiao in arthritis treatment. Study 2 was performed to discover the component targets and gouty disease targets via TCMSP, OMIM, GeneCards and DRUGBANK, and network pharmacology analysis. Study 3, male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into normal, model, colchicine, Qin Jiao low-dose (QJL), and Qin Jiao high-dose group (QJH), oral gavage for 40 d. Serum, synovial fluid, and synovial membrane tissue were collected to measure the expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and STAT3. Results: The research also identified potential targets and pharmacological pathways of Qin Jiao for gout treatment. In vivo study demonstrated Qin Jiao can reduce IL-1β levels in serum and ankle flushing fluid. ELISA analysis confirmed that Qin Jiao significantly reduces the protein expression of IL-6 and STAT3. Discussion and conclusion: Qin Jiao exerts anti-inflammatory effects on gouty arthritis by modulating the IL-6/STAT3 pathway. This study provides a biological basis for the use of Qin Jiao in treating arthritis-related diseases and offers experimental evidence for potential future drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) is very common and sometimes refractory to treatment in hemodialysis patients. In a trial conducted in Japan, nalfurafine, effectively reduced itching of treatment-resistant CKD-aP. Our present bridging study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of nalfurafine in Chinese cohort with refractory CKD-aP. In this phase III, multicenter bridging study conducted at 22 sites in China, 141 Chinese cases with refractory CKD-aP were randomly (2:2:1) assigned to receive 5 μg, 2.5 μg of nalfurafine or a placebo orally for 14 days in a double-blind manner. The primary end point was the mean decrease in the mean visual analogue scale (VAS) from baseline. A total of 141 patients were included. The primary endpoint analysis based on full analysis set (FAS), the difference of mean VAS decrease between 5 μg nalfurafine and placebo group was 11.37 mm (p =.041); the difference of mean VAS decrease between 2.5 μg and placebo group was 8.81 mm (p =.110). Both differences were greater than 4.13 mm, which met its predefined success criterion of at least 50% efficacy of the key Japanese clinical trial. The per protocol set (PPS) analysis got similar results. The incidence of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) was 49.1% in 5μg, 38.6% in 2.5 μg and 33.3% in placebo group. The most common ADR was insomnia, seen in 21 of the 114 nalfurafine patients. Oral nalfurafine effectively reduced itching with few significant ADRs in Chinese hemodialysis patients with refractory pruritus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a highly contagious disease that primarily affects children under five years of age. It is mainly caused by serotypes of Enterovirus A (EVA): EVA71, Coxsackievirus A types 6 (CVA6), 10 (CVA10), and 16 (CVA16). Despite being highly prevalent in Japan and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, few studies have investigated HFMD pathogens in wastewater. The present study aimed to develop a highly sensitive and broadly reactive quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay of dominant serotype CVA6, to revise previously developed CVA6, CVA10, and CVA16 assays, and to test these assays in wastewater samples from Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The new-CVA6 qPCR assay was developed with maximal nucleotide percent identity among CVA6 isolates from Japan. The new-CVA6 and revised assays were highly sensitive and had the ability to quantify respective positive controls at levels as low as 1 copy/μL. Among the 53 grab influent samples collected between March 2022 and March 2023, EVA71, CVA10, and CVA16 RNA were not detected in any samples, whereas the new-CVA6 assay could detect CVA6 RNA in 38 % (20/53) of samples. CVA6 RNA was detected at a significantly higher concentration in the summer season (3.3 ± 0.8 log 10  copies/L; 79 % (11/14)) than in autumn (2.7 ± 0.6 log 10  copies/L; 69 % (9/13)). The seasonal trend of CVA6 RNA detection in wastewater aligned with the trend of HFMD case reports in the catchment of the wastewater treatment plant. This is the first study to report the detection and seasonal trends of the EVA serotypes associated with HFMD in wastewater samples in Japan. It provides evidence that wastewater-based epidemiology is applicable even for diseases that are prevalent only in specific population groups., 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 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper uses the test proposed by Generalized Supremum Augmented Dickey-Fuller to identify whether there are multiple bubbles in copper price. The empirical results show that base on market fundamentals, there are seven bubbles existed from January 1980 to March 2023. Through analyses, the first two bubbles can be explained by the demand from Japan by the industry concentration and persistent supply constraint. The third to sixth bubbles are mainly negatively impacted by the global financial crisis and growing demand of China. The last bubble is caused by the economic recovery from Covid-19. The logit regression has stated that aluminum price, copper production, all metals index and GDP have a positive impact on copper bubbles, while China's copper imports and precious metals price negatively explains copper bubbles. The main contributions are the investigation of the copper price bubbles, its determinants and the different technique of GSADF to detect copper price bubbles. Furthermore, it provides helpful information for those investors to make reasonable investment decisions and thus, avoid potential price risk., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Peng et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Kampo medicine is a traditional medicine that originated in ancient China and has since developed as a uniquely Japanese medicine. Although Kampo medicine is one of Japan's most important therapeutic modalities and numerous papers have been published recently, information on current hotspots and trends in Kampo research is lacking. This bibliometric analysis of Kampo medicine surveyed the latest research hotspots and trends., Methods: Articles on Kampo medicine were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. We used medical subject headings related to Kampo medicine and searched for publications from 2013 to 2022. The retrieved articles were analyzed for countries, authors, journals, references, and keywords related to Kampo medicine using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and SCImago Graphica., Results: A total of 1170 articles were included. The number of Kampo medicine-related publications and citations has recently increased, mainly from Japan. Author Keiko Ogawa-Ochiai published the most papers (40 papers), while Yoshio Kase had the highest frequency at 663 citations. Among the co-cited authors, Toru Kono was the most cited and had the highest total link strength. The journal with the most submissions was Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. A comprehensive keyword and literature analysis revealed the following research hotspots: "Yokukansan and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia," "Ninjinyoeito and geriatric care," "Daikenchuto and postoperative gastrointestinal cancer," and "Rikkunshito and functional dyspepsia." We also identified a new research frontier by identifying an association between hochuekkito and COVID-19., Conclusions: Our findings reveal trends in Kampo medicine research, with specific hotspots and the authors and publications with the largest research impact. Collecting a large volume of literature data, analyzing the impact of studies, and identifying research hotspots, as in this study, will provide researchers with future directions for Kampo research., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Achieving the ambitious Global Methane Pledge announced in the Glasgow Climate Pact requires collaborative efforts from both the signatory countries and China which serves as the world's largest emitter. Considering the heterogeneity of economic structures within China and the relocation of emissions between regions via the global economic network, it is vital to investigate how China's methane emissions at the subnational level are linked to global final consumption. In this paper, we mapped global methane footprint in China from 2007 to2015 at the subnational level, by nesting China's interprovincial input-output tables into global multiregional input-output accounts and upscaling grid-level methane emission data of the Edgar database to the provincial level. Our results suggested that global methane footprint in China shifted westward, and the United States, European Union, Japan, and Hong Kong were the main drivers of China's local methane emissions. By illustrating the international and interprovincial trade flows of methane emissions, this study demonstrated that southeast coastal provinces were the hotspots for global methane footprint while middle inland provinces were the emission hotspots for China's domestic demands. We also showed how China's methane emissions were distributed through the nested global economic network to different economic agents. Moreover, emission trends of key exporting sectors for China's eight economic zones were detailed discussed. The outcome of this study may be fully supportive for identifying the heterogeneous effects of global methane footprint in China and implicative for interprovincial and international collaborations towards methane emission mitigation., 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 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The politics of international finance for coal power plants have intensified since the 2015 Paris climate agreement was negotiated. Over the past few years, Japan and South Korea have signaled their intent not to fund new coal projects overseas, leaving China and its Belt and Road Initiative as the 'financier of last resort.' In September 2021, China too announced its intent to stop providing finance for overseas coal projects. What accounts for their decision to cease financing overseas coal projects despite prominent differences in political systems, degree of internationalization of their financial systems, and economic size? Drawing on datasets of coal projects and financing supplemented by case material and interviews, this paper explores the dynamics of coal export finance and how the combination of international reputational pressures and declining demand for coal finance diminished the domestic support for incumbent coal exporters in all three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global surge in migration has led to diversification in immigrant populations and their migration patterns, even towards countries like Japan, China, and South Korea with traditionally low immigration rates. This study examines the forces driving migration among professional Hispano-Americans. It introduces an analytical framework, inspired by Archer and Bourdieu, that unravels the interplay between agency and structure, utilizing the concept of migratory trajectories to investigates dynamic shifts and subjective dimensions inherent in migration. Using grounded theory, in-depth interviews and a questionnaire survey involving 236 professionals reveal four distinct migration profiles. The data highlights the intricate nature of participants' migration expectations, shaped by tensions like the education-occupation gap, corruption, nepotism, and security concerns in their home countries. These aspirations are influenced by a convergence of economic, socio-cultural, and political factors, emphasizing professional growth, enhanced quality of life, and enriching socio-cultural experiences. Importantly, these expectations lead to a tendency to deviate from conventional migration routes, driven by a highly positive perception of destination countries. The findings shed light on the complex interplay of socio-structural tensions, migration expectations, and resulting trajectories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstracts, two pain physicians independently reviewed and classified them as acute or chronic pain. Quantitative data on countries, institutions, journals, and research categories were analyzed. VOSviewer software was used for keyword mapping and clustering.Results: We analyzed 808 VR-related articles on pain medicine. Over the past three decades, the number of publications in this field has increased steadily. The United States of America (n = 259) had the highest number of publications. Moreover, China (n = 42), Japan (n = 18), and South Korea (n = 24) also contributed continuously. Acute and chronic pain research accounted for 44.2% and 37.9% of the articles, respectively. The most common acute pain topic was procedure-related (n = 129, 16.0%), whereas the most common chronic pain topic was neuropathic (n = 104, 12.9%). Keywords clustered around neuroscience, pediatric pain management, and chronic pain management.Conclusion: Our study revealed academic achievements and growing interest in VR-related research in pain medicine. Researchers worldwide have shown balanced interest in applying VR technology to acute and chronic pain, with specific contributions from China, Japan, and South Korea. Harnessing VR technology is promising for improving pain management and enhancing patients' quality of life in the field of pain medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insufficient capital investment coupled with limited land resources significantly limits cultivated land use efficiency (CLUE). China's rural credit policy system is currently growing, yet the impact of farmer-level credit on CLUE remains understudied. Therefore, this study investigated whether rural credit enhances CLUE by using the China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS) data. It explored the impact and mechanism of rural credit on CLUE using least squares regression and mediation models. According to our results, the average CLUE level for farmers in the study area was 0.661, which still had much room for improvement compared with Japan, which also has a large population but limited land. In addition, access to rural credit positively affected CLUE, with cultivated land scale-up and technological applications mediating the rural-credit-driven increase in CLUE. Further analyses of the rural credit allocation mode (RCAM) indicated that farmers' use of credit for investment in agricultural production factors boosted CLUE more than non-farming allocation of credit funds. These findings suggest that the government should continue to increase support for rural credit while improving the monitoring mechanism for credit allocation to prevent rural credit de-farming from hindering CLUE improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rubus chingii Hu 1925 is an important medicinal vine shrub in the Rosaceae family, widely distributed in China and Japan. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of R. chingii was sequenced and identified. The chloroplast genome was 155,563 bp in size with a total GC content of 37.06%. Two 25,749-bp inverted repeat (IRA and IRB) regions divided the genome as four sections, with the remainder forming a large single-copy (LSC, 85,322 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC, 18,743 bp) regions. This genome contained a total of 131 genes, of which 86 were protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis showed that R. chingii, along with several other R. longisepalus, R. tsangii, R. hirsutus, R. taiwanicola, R. rubroangustifolius, and R. glandulosopunctatus, formed the monophylic group. Interestingly, the chloroplast genome structure we reported was different from the previously reported structure and provided richer phylogenetic analysis information in the Rubus genus compared to previous studies. The genome information reported in this paper will provide some useful information for further investigation on the evolution of the family Rosaceae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the nonlinearity of a site plays a crucial role in earthquake engineering. For some building structures and lifeline projects that need safety assessment after earthquakes, the analysis of nonlinear degree of sites can help accurately revealing the amplification effect of sites and evaluating the damage degree of buildings which is convenient for subsequent reinforcement and demolition work. The quantitation of nonlinear threshold of sites is an important method to evaluate the degree of site nonlinearity. In this paper, a nonlinear characteristic index reflecting the degradation of shear modulus is proposed based on the instantaneous frequency of the site calculated by using the vector auto-regression moving average (VARMA) model. Then, seismic records of class I, II, III and IV sites specified as per code for seismic design of buildings in China are selected from the KiK-net network in Japan, and the threshold value of ground motion acceleration characterizing the nonlinear response of sites are provided. Finally, the variation of the nonlinear characteristic index (shear modulus degradation) vs. different (peak ground acceleration) PGA for four types of sites are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air sampling campaigns were conducted at 100 survey sites across Japan from April 2014 to February 2020, and a comprehensive database of atmospheric particles was obtained. In this study, the characteristics of PM 2.5 and 26 metals were investigated in depth. Spatially, the concentration of PM 2.5 gradually increased from the northeast to the southwest of Japan. The pollution in Kitakyushu City was the most serious, reaching 19.8 μg m -3 . As an important particle component, metals did not show obviously spatial variation in Japan, with a sum concentration of 0.4 μg m -3 . Anthropogenic metals only accounted for about 8% of the total metals, but they could pose a serious threat to public health. For children, the non-carcinogenic risk and carcinogenic risk due to exposure to anthropogenic metals could not be neglected in Japan; the corresponding HI and CR values at 100 survey sites ranged from 2.7 to 15.0 and 4.1 × 10 -5 to 3.4 × 10 -4 , respectively. Adults faced lower health risks than children, with HI values ranging from 0.2 to 2.0 and CR values ranging from 2.0 × 10 -5 to 1.6 × 10 -4 . The integrated health risk assessment results showed that the coastal region of the Seto Inland Sea and the north Tohoku Region were the most heavily polluted areas of Japan; in this study, 20 survey sites were finally determined to be high-risk sites, among which pollution control for Niihama City, Kitakyushu City, Hachinohe City, and Shimonoseki City were of first priority. With further combination with a positive matrix factorization model, it can be known that these four cities mainly had five to seven metal sources, and their heavy pollution was mainly caused by ship emissions, industrial emissions, biomass burning, and coal combustion. Overall, our study comprehensively revealed the regional patterns of PM 2.5 -bound metal pollution across Japan, which can help in making cost-effective risk management policies with limited national/local budgets., 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.)

Background: Apathy is a frequent neuropsychiatric disorder in stroke patients. However, its prevalence rates have conflicting results across studies. This meta-analysis aimed to estimate the overall prevalence of apathy in stroke patients from 1990 to 2022., Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and PsycINFO were systematically searched to identify relevant articles published from January 1, 1990 to October 29, 2022. Literature quality was assessed with the National Institutes of Health Study Quality Assessment Tool. The pooled prevalence, subgroup analyses and meta-regression were calculated by STATA 16.0., Results: A total of 39 observational studies involving 5168 stroke patients were eligible for this meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of apathy in stroke patients was 33.0% (95% CI, 27.6-38.4). Subgroup analyses showed that the pooled prevalence of apathy among stroke patients was higher in Japan (36.6%), China (33.7%) and Turkey (63.5%) compared to that in other countries (30.2%). The pooled prevalence of apathy was higher in ischemic stroke samples (36.1%) than in hemorrhagic stroke samples (14.4%). The pooled prevalence of apathy measured with the Apathy Evaluation Scale (38.3%) was the highest in stroke patients. Meta-regression presented that higher literature quality was significantly associated with lower prevalence, while stroke severity, mean age and female percentage were not significantly associated with the prevalence of apathy in stroke patients., Conclusion: Our findings revealed that the overall prevalence of apathy in stroke patients was 33.0% based on the current evidence. Furthermore, the prevalence was significantly correlated with countries, stroke subtypes, apathy criteria, and literature quality., 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. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

With the emergence of digital technologies, we have witnessed a rapid growth of the sharing economy in recent years. In fashion industry, sharing economy concept is also widely applied. Instances can be found all over the world, like Rent the Runway, Golden Tote, Stitch Fix, and Le Tote in the US, Air Closet in Japan, Y Closet, Ms Paris, and Dora's Dream in China, etc. In this paper, motivated by the industrial practices of fashion sharing platforms, we first conduct a literature review on business operations of sharing platforms, including the sharing platform operations, digital and information technologies employed in sharing economy, business models, and sustainability and circularity in business operations. Afterwards, we analyze the challenges faced by fashion sharing platforms by exploring the two leading fashion sharing platforms in the US and in China, respectively. At last, we propose future research directions on fashion sharing platform operations and conclude the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one technology for contact tracing has come to dominate – QR codes. As a technology pioneered in Japan two decades ago and mainstreamed in China, QR codes have quickly become part of quotidian placemaking. While locations such as China have fully incorporated QR code technology into everyday contexts including public transport and mobile wallet applications, QR codes in the West were relatively overlooked. That was, until the pandemic. In this article, we examine some of the ways QR codes are being imagined and reimagined as part of public placemaking practices. In order to do so, we begin with a short history of QR codes – emerging in Japan, becoming mainstream in China and their consequent uptake globally. We then discuss the methods of our Australian study conducted during the pandemic and the seamful/seamless findings from our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately predicting wind power is premise for the large‐scale integration of wind energy into the power grid and realizing reliable power grid scheduling and efficient wind farm operation. The spatial–temporal differences between the acquisition points of numerical weather prediction and wind farm sites should be considered because they significantly affect the accuracy of wind power output. Meanwhile, since there are different actual constraints on wind farm electrical networks and units, and the weather conditions may vary, there are no universal methods for identifying and correcting wind power output. To this end, this paper proposes a wind speed calibration model based on an Attention‐Bi‐LSTM network and a self‐adaptive recognition‐correction model based on SHAP‐CART classification for wind power output prediction. First, a spatial–temporal dataset is established by using real weather data from wind farm sites and data from the surrounding NWP points. Then, wind speed is accurately calibrated using the Attention‐Bi‐LSTM model. Next, considering the practical constraints on wind farm electrical networks and units, the self‐adaptive recognition‐correction model based on SHAP‐CART classification is employed to effectively recognize and predict the operating states and power output of the units, thus improving the accuracy and stability of wind power output prediction. Finally, the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method is verified by using a wind farm in Eastern China as an example and analyzing the prediction results in various approaches. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tales of Times Now Past (Konjaku Monogatarishū 今昔物語集) is a Japanese setsuwa (anecdotes) collection dating from the early twelfth century. Originally contained in 31 volumes, it includes more than one thousand systematically arranged tales from India, China, and Japan. Despite the fact that Daoism was rejected by the Japanese imperial court as an organized religion, Daoist philosophies and practical systems found their ways into Japan, having a significant and profound influence over Japanese esoteric cosmology and folk beliefs. This article takes the Lord of Mount Tai (CN: Taishan Fujun; JP: Taizan Fukun 泰山府君) as the focus and examines two pertinent stories in Tales of Times Now Past. By placing the texts in a broader historical, religious, and comparative Japan–China perspective, I examine the reshaping of Daoist elements and traditional Chinese philosophical principles in these two stories and thus demonstrate how the Daoist fragments transmitted to Japan were transformed into an integral part of the orthodox structure by the time of the late Heian period in the pursuit of a more organized form of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Our study aimed to make a bibliometric analysis on Sjögren's syndrome-related dry eye disease (SS-DED), explore its potential research hotspots, and provide critical information for future research interest and undeveloped topics in this field, which can benefit clinicians and researchers., Methods: We extracted all publications relating to SS-DED from 2003 to 2022 from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Original articles and reviews in English were included. The contributions of different countries, institutions, journals, and authors were compared, and the research hotspots were visualized for network analysis through GraphPad Prism, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer., Results: We enrolled a total of 987 publications. The United States contributed the most publications (281, 28.5%), followed by China (157, 15.9%) and Japan (80, 8.11%). Publications from the United States were cited more frequently (13,060 citations), with the highest H-index of 57. China ranked second in the total number of publications, the papers were not cited frequently (3790 citations), and the H-index ranked second (H-index = 31). PLoS One (32, 3.24%) published the most papers, and the University of California system had the highest number of publications (45, 4.56%). Bootsma H from the Netherlands published the most papers. The trend of research hotspots evolved mainly from the basic manifestation to pathogenesis and treatment of SS-DED and paid more attention to distinguishing SS-DED from that dry eye disease without SS., Conclusions: Based on the bibliometric, co-citation, and network analyses in this study, we obtained the annual publications and citations, the growth trends of publications, the productivity of countries, organizations, journals, and authors, high-quality publications, and the emerging hotspots of SS-DED, which may open new doors for promising research directions., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

This article traces the history of machine-readable data encoding standards and argues that the QR code has become an infrastructural gateway. Through the analysis of patents, corporate documents and advertising, ethnographic observations, and interviews with professionals, I describe the global making of the QR code and argue that the convergence of data encoding standards, mobile computing, machine vision algorithms, and platform ecosystems has led to the emergence of a new component of computational infrastructures which functions as a gateway between different actors, systems, and practices. The central section of the article covers seven decades of machine-readable data encoding history across different national and regional contexts: from the invention and popularization of the barcode in the United States, through the QR code's invention in Japan and its success in East Asia, to its platformization in China. By revisiting this history through concepts drawn from the field of infrastructure studies, I argue that QR codes have become infrastructural gateways and conclude that this concept is useful not only to understand the current role of QR codes but also to identify and follow the emergence and change of other gateways in infrastructures to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to show a possible path to address the introduction of intimate digital technologies through a phenomenological and postphenomenological perspective in relation to Japanese and Chinese contexts. Digital technologies are becoming intimate, and, in Japan and China, there are already many advanced digital technologies that provide digital companions for love relationships. Phenomenology has extensive research on how love relationships and intimacy shape the subjects. At the same time, postphenomenology provides a sound framework on how technologies shape the values and meanings we have. Thus, this paper introduces two digital technologies in Japan and China (Love Plus and XiaoIce chatbot), and it analyses according to the elements proposed by phenomenology and postphenomenology. In conclusion, this paper shows how digital companions like Love Plus and XiaoIce chatbot change who we are and the values and meanings we have according to the phenomenological and postphenomenological framework. These entities might not be human, but they shape who we are as human beings and the meanings and value we give to love. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is a malignancy associated with unfavorable outcomes. Advanced BTC patients have a propensity to experience compromised immune and nutritional status as a result of obstructive jaundice and biliary inflammation. Currently, there is a lack of consensus on the impact of the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score in the context of BTC prognosis. The purpose of this study is to conduct a meta-analysis on the association between CONUT and the prognosis of patients suffering from BTC. Methods: A defined search strategy was implemented to search the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for eligible studies published until March 2023, with a focus on overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival/recurrence-free survival(RFS), and relevant clinical characteristics. The prognostic potential of the CONUT score was evaluated using hazard ratios (HRs) or odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: In this meta-analysis, a total of 1409 patients from China and Japan were involved in 9 studies. The results indicated that the CONUT score was significantly correlated with worse OS (HR=2.13, 95% CI 1.61-2.82, P<0.0001) and RFS (HR=1.83, 95% CI 1.44–2.31, P<0.0001) in patients with BTC. And, the analysis showed that a high CONUT score was significantly associated with clinical characteristics such as jaundice (OR=1.60, 95% CI=1.14–2.25, P=0.006), poorly differentiated tumor (OR=1.43, 95% CI=1.03–1.99, P=0.03), pT3 and 4 stage of the tumor (OR=1.87, 95% CI=1.30–2.68, P=0.0007), and complications of Clavien-Dindo classification grade IIIa or higher (OR=1.79, 95% CI=1.03–3.12, P=0.04). Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicates that a high CONUT score can serve as a significant prognostic indicator for survival outcomes among patients diagnosed with BTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the China and Japan rivalry on economic assistance policy in Africa using a qualitative method and national interest as the conceptual framework. The land of Africa has abundant reserves of natural resources, such as dense forestry and mineral resources which naturally will attract foreign investors. The first foreign investors in Africa were westerners. Within the grip of their iron fists, Africa experienced a bitter history of slavery and colonialization. This rooted problem remains unresolved and causes a significant political atrophy until this day, and has resulted in the incapability of the Africa nations to resolve their own respective problems. Given such a state of affairs, these former colonies in Africa have always been longing for foreign assistance, especially after the post-Cold War Era. Thus, the abandonment of former colonies gave the opportunity for the Eastern powers, such China and Japan to establish a foothold in Africa, namely Japan with its Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) and China its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Through the TICAD, Japan emphasizes the importance of "Africa's Ownership" in all its infrastructure development cooperation initiatives. On the other hand, Chinese assistance can be characterised as indiscriminate, reciprocal, and non-interference in internal affairs. This paper suggests that both China and Japan have their own respective agenda on how to conduct diplomacy in Africa. They even share the same goals vis-a-vis Africa, which are economic and political domination and a keen interest in exploiting the available natural energy resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to offshore fishing, high sea fishing has become another important supply channel for seafood. The pelagic catches of China, Japan, and Korea (CJK) account for 60% of the global total, and an analysis of their activities adds essential clarity regarding global fishery resources. This paper develops a framework for analyzing the activities of HSF vessels based on satellite AIS data from 2019, which is used to study the spatial-temporal characteristics of the lengths, speeds, trajectories, and trajectory densities of HSF vessels, the numbers of active vessels, and their average fishing times. The analysis results show that: 1) Chinese HSF vessels are mostly small, relative to Japanese and Korean ships; 2) The speed of Japanese HSF vessels is consistently the highest; 3) All HSF vessels mainly fish in the Northwest Pacific, Western Central Pacific, Eastern Central Pacific, Southeast Pacific, Eastern Central Atlantic, Southeast Atlantic, and Western Indian Oceans; 4) The trajectory distribution of Chinese and Japanese vessels are similar, and both are more widely distributed than Korean vessels; 5) Chinese and Korean HSF vessels mostly enter the Atlantic through the Drake Passage, while Japanese ships mostly enter through the Panama Canal; 6) Chinese HSF vessels fish in Antarctic fisheries all year, while Korean ships aim to fish in Antarctic fisheries in the Spring, Summer, and Winter; 7) China has the largest number of HSF vessels in all fisheries, but their average fishing time is the shortest; 8) The average fishing time of all HSF vessels in Spring and Summer is short, increases during the Autumn, and continues to rise in some fisheries during Winter. This study is not only of great significance for the management and conservation of marine resources, but is also a valuable reference for the promotion of international cooperation in safeguarding marine fisheries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]