Search

In the midst of an intensifying US–China competition, China has adopted various policies to deal with the expanding US-led security network encircling it. As one endeavour, China has implemented a wedge strategy to weaken the US-led security coalition. This study focuses on one case of China's wedging against South Korea to disturb the US-South Korea alliance. This wedging strategy against the Park Geun-hye Administration was composed of two distinct approaches: a reward-based general wedging to prevent South Korea from tilting toward the US, and a coercion-based issue-specific wedging to divide them primarily by disturbing the deployment of THAAD in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study posits that U.S.-China technology competition has promoted the spread of techno-economic statecraft in East Asia. The emergence of techno-economic statecraft in East Asia requires systematic analysis because it affects not only the dynamics of U.S.-China technology competition but also the restructuring of the regional order. Since both the United States and China do not have complete self-sufficiency in the high-tech innovation ecosystem, it has become an urgent task for them to reduce their vulnerability to winning technological competition. Against this backdrop, East Asian countries have emerged as actors playing an important role in technological competition. Since East Asian countries are key players in the supply chain of high-tech industries, cooperation with East Asian countries has emerged as a factor that can influence the landscape of U.S.-China technology competition. Based on these observations, this study aims to explain the following four phenomena: First, it explains the process by which the United States and China seek to securitize high technology as a means of reducing their own structural vulnerabilities while redrawing new boundaries for cooperation with East Asian countries. Second, I argue that U.S.-China technology competition has accelerated the rise of techno-economic statecraft in East Asia. Third, I assert that there are significant differences in the techno-economic statecraft pursued by East Asian countries in the U.S.-China technology competition. Fourth, the divergence of techno-economic statecraft in East Asian countries has created systemic effects in the regional order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The genus Ichthyurus Westwood, 1848 is a large cantharid group consisting of approximately 200 species worldwide, with only 10 species hitherto found in China. Despite its expansive area, the Chinese fauna has historically received little attention from specialists, leading to a lack of knowledge even about some common Ichthyurus species in this region. New information: A new species of Ichthyurus Westwood, 1848 is described under the name of I. longulus sp. nov., which is widely distributed in mainland China, including Shannxi, Gansu, Hubei, Chongqing, Guizhou and Guangxi. Although there are some variations in the pronotum colouration within the species, this new species could be easily distinguished from all others of Ichthyurus by the large-sized body, uniformly black elytra, mesotibiae each with an apical spur in male, terminal abdominal tergite of male with long and cylindrical lateral projections that are about 3/5 the length of the tergite, terminal abdominal ventrite of male saddle-shaped and deeply cleft in middle of apical 2/3 part and aedeagus with a long setifore extension that is as long as the parameres. The habitus, terminal abdominal ventrite and tergites and genitalia of both sexes are illustrated. In addition, a distribution map of this species and a list of the Ichthyurus species from mainland China are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The barbel chub (Squaliobarbus curriculus), the only species in the genus, is widely distributed in freshwater lakes and rivers at different latitudes in East Asia, with fishery and biodiversity importance, and is an emerging commercially important fish in China. However, the resource of this species has dramatically declined due to anthropogenic activities such as over-exploitation, as well as water pollution. Genomic resources for S. curriculus are useful for the management and sustainable utilization of this important fish species, and also for a better understanding of its genetic variation in the region. Here, we report the chromosome-level assembly of the S. curriculus genome obtained from the integration of PacBio long sequencing and Hi-C technology. A total of 155.34 Gb high-quality PacBio sequences were generated, and the preliminary genome assembly was 894.95 Mb in size with a contig N50 being 20.34 Mb. By using Hi-C data, 99.42% of the assembled sequences were anchored to 24 pseudochromosomes, with chromosome lengths ranging from 27.22 to 58.75 Mb. A total of 25,779 protein-coding genes were predicted, 94.70% of which were functionally annotated. Moreover, S. curriculus shows resistance to grass carp haemorrhagic disease (GCHD) caused by grass carp reovirus (GCRV), which seriously hinders the status and future perspectives of commercial grass carp production. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that S. curriculus diverged with grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) approximately 20.80 million years ago. Annotations of the expanded gene families were found to be largely enriched in immune-related KEGG pathway categories. Moreover, a total of 18 Toll-like receptor (TLR) genes were identified from the whole genome of S. curriculus. The high-quality genome assembled in this study will provide a valuable resource for accelerating ecological, evolutionary, and genetic research on S. curriculus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spring atmospheric heat source (AHS) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has been suggested to affect the Asian summer monsoon and summer precipitation over South China. However, its influence on the summer precipitation in Northeast China (NEC) remains unknown. The connection between spring TP AHS and subsequent summer precipitation over NEC from 1961 to 2020 is analyzed in this study. Results illustrate that stronger spring TP AHS can enhance subsequent summer NEC precipitation, and higher soil moisture in the Yellow River Valley–North China region (YRVNC) acts as a bridge. During spring, the strong TP AHS could strengthen the transportation of water vapor to East China and lead to excessive rainfall in the YRVNC. Thus, soil moisture increases, which regulates local thermal conditions by decreasing local surface skin temperature and sensible heat. Owing to the memory of soil moisture, the lower spring sensible heat over the YRVNC can last until mid-summer, decrease the land–sea thermal contrast, and weaken the southerly winds over the East Asia–western Pacific region and convective activities over the South China Sea and tropical western Pacific. This modulates the East Asia–Pacific teleconnection pattern, which leads to a cyclonic anomaly and excessive summer precipitation over NEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is natural that China's increasing ascent in East Asia to raise United States concerns as it poses a fundamental challenge to its global leadership. China is now classified as the foremost major Asian power, owing to its capabilities and resources that allow it to influence both regional and international dynamics. Moreover, it is the primary contender to U.S. leadership in the post-Cold War international world order, although China denies any ambition to manage global affairs. Building on this context, the study tracks the potential impacts of China's rise on strategic balance in Asia, while examining mechanisms of American response to this ascent and its possible scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food-borne toxocariasis caused by the consumption of raw meat or liver has occasionally been reported from East Asia. We treated a 38-year-old Japanese man who was infected with Toxocara in China and underwent a four-week treatment with albendazole. The liver and lung lesions disappeared after the treatment, suggesting that the treatment was successful. One month after the end of the treatment, the patient relapsed, and albendazole was administered again for eight weeks. The patient has remained relapse-free for one year. Although toxocariasis can heal spontaneously, in some cases, such as the present case, the disease relapses even after long-term treatment. In conclusion, different durations of treatment are recommended by various guidelines, and the duration of treatment needs to be modified with each case, considering the response to the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UNESCO's relatively high prestige across East Asia has spurred intensifying efforts by governments to use its imprimatur to legitimate official narratives of the past and visions of the future. This article focuses on China's use of UNESCO as an arena for competitive national 'branding' in the education field, especially relating to STEM and AI. We analyse the Chinese state's engagement with UNESCO's education work in the context of shifts in budgetary and political influence within the organisation, and of a growing 'securitisation' of education within China itself. We show how Chinese engagement with UNESCO's educational agenda reflects both domestic political considerations and the 'major country diplomacy' of Xi Jinping, as manifested in the 'Belt and Road Initiative' and intensifying strategic competition with the USA. We conclude by discussing the implications of rising Chinese influence within the organisation for UNESCO's capacity for articulating a coherent and consistently humanistic vision for education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Millennium Eruption of Changbaishan Volcano is heralded as one of the largest explosive eruptions in the Late Holocene and produced huge quantities of tephra. The petrogeochemical method estimates that the Millennium Eruption emitted up to 45 Tg of sulfur into the atmosphere—more than in the Tambora eruption in 1815 CE, which caused "a year without a summer" across the Northern Hemisphere in 1816 CE. Despite such massive emissions, evidence for this eruption's climate impact in East Asia remains elusive. To explain this contradiction, this study used 67 high‐resolution tree‐ring‐width records from the Northern Hemisphere spanning the past two millennia, complemented by volcanic sensitivity experiments conducted with the Community Earth System Model. Results reveal a prevailing decreasing/negative trend in the proxy records during the potential eruption period, with 945 CE marking the most notable negative anomaly, suggesting that the Millennium Eruption likely occurred in 945 CE rather than 946 CE. Sensitivity experiments, corroborated by proxy records, demonstrate that the Millennium Eruption induced substantial negative temperature anomalies at middle and high latitudes, alongside an increase in Meiyu‐Baiu‐Changma precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and southwestern Japan and a decrease in precipitation in India, northern China, and the South China Sea in the first post‐eruption year. This study offers a novel perspective on the climate impact of the Millennium Eruption, reconciling previous discrepancies regarding its climate impact. Plain Language Summary: About a thousand years ago, the Changbaishan volcano erupted with incredible force, ranking as one of the largest historical eruptions in the past 2000 yrs. Despite its size, evidence for this eruption's climate impact in East Asia has remained elusive. We delved into this mystery by examining detailed high‐resolution proxy records and performing climate model simulations. Our findings suggest that the climate effects of the eruption may have been unexpectedly strong, with the Millennium Eruption potentially occurring in 945 CE that is earlier than previously thought. The Millennium Eruption triggered notable cooling at middle and high latitudes, increased Meiyu‐Baiu‐Changma precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and southwestern Japan, and reduced precipitation in India, northern China, and the South China Sea. This research helps us understand how large volcanic eruptions can interact with other natural factors to influence our climate. Key Points: Sulfur emissions of the Millennium Eruption estimated from a petrogeochemical method are inconsistent with the signal from ice‐core samplesA consistent negative response in the high‐resolution paleoclimate records suggests a significant climate impact of the Millennium EruptionThe eruption enhanced the Meiyu‐Baiu‐Changma precipitation while diminishing precipitation in India, northern China, and the South China Sea [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Panax ginseng (Chinese ginseng) is precious traditional Chinese medicine in China, which is commonly used to treat central nervous system diseases, cardiovascular diseases, endocrine system diseases, cancer and other diseases. Due to its excellent medicinal properties, it is widely used in East Asia (Korea, China and Japan) as herbal medicine and also known as the king of medicinal herbs. This paper reviews the origin and distribution of ginseng in China, different cultivation methods, economic significance of ginseng industry and allelopathy research on ginseng. This paper also describes the economic importance of ginseng in medical and other uses, and suggests future research areas of ginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gifts are important instruments for forming bonds in interpersonal relationships. Our study analyzes the phenomenon of gift contagion in online groups. Gift contagion encourages social bonds by prompting further gifts; it may also promote group interaction and solidarity. Using data on 36 million online red packet gifts on a large social site in East Asia, we leverage a natural experimental design to identify the social contagion of gift giving in online groups. Our natural experiment is enabled by the randomization of the gift amount allocation algorithm on the platform, which addresses the common challenge of causal identification in observational data. Our study provides evidence of gift contagion: On average, receiving one additional dollar causes a recipient to send 18 cents back to the group within the subsequent 24 hours. Decomposing this effect, we find that it is mainly driven by the extensive margin: more recipients are triggered to send red packets. Moreover, we find that this effect is stronger for "luckiest draw" recipients, suggesting the presence of a group norm regarding the next red packet sender. Finally, we investigate the moderating effects of group- and individual-level social network characteristics on gift contagion as well as the causal impact of receiving gifts on group network structure. Our study has implications for promoting group dynamics and designing marketing strategies for product adoption. This paper was accepted by Axel Ockenfels, behavioral economics and decision analysis. Funding: T. Liu was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 72222005] and Tsinghua University [Grant 2022Z04W01032]. J. Tang was supported by Natural Science Foundation of China for Distinguished Young Scholar [Grant 61825602]. Supplemental Material: The data files and online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4906. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of Confucianism, an influential cultural belief and ethical philosophy in East Asia, on employee treatment policies within Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2020. Our key finding is that Confucianism is positively associated with employee‐friendly practices. We further identify three plausible economic channels through which Confucianism shapes employee‐friendly treatment: valuing human‐centric ethics, mitigating managerial myopia, and alleviating agency conflicts. Cross‐sectionally, the documented impact is more prominent for firms operating with weaker union power and those with executives lacking overseas experience. Additionally, employee‐friendly firms exhibit higher employee efficiency, innovation output, and firm value, indicating that investing in employee benefits ultimately translates into better financial performance. Collectively, we shed light on the unique role of cultural norms in fostering employee treatment policies and their consequential effects on organizational value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interdecadal variability of tropical cyclone precipitation (TCP) over the western North Pacific (WNP) has not been thoroughly explored in previous studies. Here, we show that the TCP variations are modulated by both the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) as evidenced by reanalysis data and model experiments. A clustering analysis of tropical cyclone tracks shows that the AMO dominates a dipole pattern of TCP anomalies in the South China Sea and along the coastal eastern China. Meanwhile, the IPO dominates TCP over the southeastern WNP. Further analyses show that the AMO, particularly its extratropical component, affects TCP over the WNP by triggering an eastward‐propagating Rossby‐wave train, resulting in a pair of anomalous gyres over the WNP. Contrastly, the IPO modulates TCP by stimulating tropical circulation anomalies via the tropical pathway. These findings shed light on improving near‐term TCP forecast and its regional influence on East Asia. Plain Language Summary: Tropical cyclone precipitation (TCP) is a topic of great concern owing to its destructive nature. Here, we find that TCP over the western North Pacific (WNP) exhibits significantly interdecadal variability and regional characteristics, a departure from the previous studies focusing on the entire WNP. The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) mainly causes a dipole response of decadal changes in TCP over the South China Sea and coastal eastern China. Moreover, the AMO primarily affects TCP over the sub‐regional WNP through the extra‐tropical pathway by exciting a Rossby wave train. On the other hand, the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) predominantly affects TCP over the southeastern part of the WNP through the tropical pathway, inducing significant circulation anomalies over the tropical WNP. These findings offer valuable insights for future research and forecasting of TCP. Key Points: The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) contributes to the dipole pattern of interdecadal tropical cyclone precipitation (TCP) anomalies over the South China Sea and coastal eastern ChinaThe AMO affects TCP by triggering a westerly jet‐guided Rossby‐wave train via the extra‐tropical pathwayThe Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation dominates the TCP anomalies over the southeastern part of western North Pacific by modulating tropical circulation anomalies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Factor XI (FXI) deficiency is an autosomal hemorrhagic disorder characterized by reduced plasma FXI levels. Multiple ancestral variants in the F11 gene have been identified in Ashkenazi Jews and other selected European populations. However, there are few reports of predominant variants in Chinese and/or East Asian populations. The aim of this study is to characterize the genotypes and phenotypes of FXI deficiency and identify the predominant variants. Results: Of the 41 FXI-deficient patients, 39 exhibited severe FXI defects, considerably more than those with partial defects. The APTT levels showed a negative correlation with FXI activity levels (coefficient=-0.584, P <.001). Only nine patients experienced mild bleeding, including one partially defective patient and eight severely defective patients. The majority of patients were referred for preoperative screenings (n = 22) and checkups (n = 14). Genetic analysis revealed that 90% of the patients had genetic defects, with 2, 16, and 19 cases of heterozygous, homozygous, and compound heterozygous patients, respectively. Seventeen variants were detected in the F11 gene (6 novel), including eleven missense variants, four nonsense variants, and two small deletions scattered throughout the F11. Of the 11 missense variants, six have not yet been studied for in vitro expression. Protein modeling analyses indicated that all of these variants disrupted local structural stability by altering side-chain orientation and hydrogen bonds. Nine variants, consisting of three missense and six null variants, were detected with a frequency of two or more. The highest allele frequency was observed in p.Q281* (21.25%), p.W246* (17.50%), p.Y369* (12.50%), and p.L442Cfs*8 (12.50%). The former two were variants specific to East Asia, while the remaining two were southeast China-specific variants. Conclusion: Our population-based cohort demonstrated that no correlation between the level of FXI activity and the bleeding severity in FXI deficiency. Additionally, the prevalence of FXI deficiency may have been underestimated. The nonsense p.Q281* was the most common variant in southeast China, suggesting a possible founder effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining activity rhythms is crucial for understanding the life history, ecology, and evolution of an animal species. Due to various anthropogenic threats, wild populations of Reeves' turtle (Mauremys reevesii) are diminishing throughout its geographic range in East Asia. Despite the endangered conservation status of this species, little is known about its activity rhythm. Therefore, the focus of this study was to radio track 23 wild Reeves' turtles in the field to determine their daily and seasonal activity patterns. We identified the Reeves' turtle as both diurnal and nocturnal, rather than the traditional classification of diurnal, with an average daily activity peak between 1800 and 2000 hours. In spring, the frequency of diurnal activity was higher than that of nocturnal activity, and males were significantly more active than females. In summer, total activity frequency increased significantly and was predominantly nocturnal, with no significant difference in activity found between males and females. In autumn, nocturnal activity decreased and males were significantly more active than females overall. Reeves' turtles hibernated from the end of October to mid-April. Our results elucidate the daily and seasonal activity rhythms of Reeves' turtles, thus providing a reference for understanding the life history of the species and potentially improving future conservation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Picea jezoensis (Siebold & Zucc.) Carrière forests are distributed in Korea and China and are crucial for phytogeographical research. Implementing conservation policies encompassing multiple species is necessary to conserve endangered species, particularly monitoring coexisting species and their interactions within an ecological network. Here, we identified plants within P. jezoensis forests in East Asia as generalist species to contribute foundational data for biodiversity conservation. We examined 91 standardized sites through the Braun-Blanquet method, while generalist indices were calculated using Levin's method. The top 5% of generalists in the P. jezoensis forests were Acer komarovii (0.7409), Betula ermanii (0.7214), Asarum sieboldii (0.7002), Lepisorus ussuriensis (0.6977), Acer pseudosieboldianum (0.6915), Tripterygium regelii (0.6876), Thelypteris phegopteris (0.6771), Dryopteris expansa (0.6745), Sorbus commixta (0.6642), and Rhododendron schlippenbachii (0.6625). Correlation analysis between ecological factors and generalist species revealed that the coverage of Abies spp., Acer spp., and Rhododendron spp. and the species diversity index were influenced by altitude. Convex hull analysis revealed that pteridophytes and broad-leaved plants regenerated through stump sprouts occupy ecological niche spaces, indicating diverse habitats within P. jezoensis forests. This study highlights the importance of the simultaneous monitoring of multiple species to conserve ecosystem health and offers broader implications for ecological understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Understanding the genetic basis of population divergence and adaptation is an important goal in population genetics and evolutionary biology. However, the relative roles of demographic history, gene flow, and/or selective regime in driving genomic divergence, climatic adaptation, and speciation in non‐model tree species are not yet fully understood. To address this issue, we generated whole‐genome resequencing data of Liquidambar formosana and L. acalycina, which are broadly sympatric but altitudinally segregated in the Tertiary relict forests of subtropical China. We integrated genomic and environmental data to investigate the demographic history, genomic divergence, and climatic adaptation of these two sister species. We inferred a scenario of allopatric species divergence during the late Miocene, followed by secondary contact during the Holocene. We identified multiple genomic islands of elevated divergence that mainly evolved through divergence hitchhiking and recombination rate variation, likely fostered by long‐term refugial isolation and recent differential introgression in low‐recombination genomic regions. We also found some candidate genes with divergent selection signatures potentially involved in climatic adaptation and reproductive isolation. Our results contribute to a better understanding of how late Tertiary/Quaternary climatic change influenced speciation, genomic divergence, climatic adaptation, and introgressive hybridization in East Asia's Tertiary relict flora. In addition, they should facilitate future evolutionary, conservation genomics, and molecular breeding studies in Liquidambar, a genus of important medicinal and ornamental values. Significance Statement: We assembled a chromosome‐scale genome of Liquidambar formosana and resequenced 160 individuals of L. formosana and its high‐altitude sister species L. acalycina. Benefiting from advanced analytical methods and robust evidence, we found that multiple "genomic islands" mainly evolved as a result of divergence hitchhiking and recombination rate variation, as likely fostered by long‐term refugial isolation and recent differential introgression in low‐recombination genomic regions; and identified some candidate genes associated with climatic adaptation and reproductive isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last deglaciation is considered a key period for exploring the underlying dynamics of temperature changes because it was characterized by multiple millennial-scale abrupt climatic events. However, the limited number of quantitative temperature records in Northeast (NE) China covering the last deglaciation hampers a complete understanding of the mechanisms and processes behind the temperature changes that occurred in that region. Here, we present a quantitative reconstruction of summer temperature over the last deglaciation based on bacterial branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) analyzed from the sediment sequence of Lake Kielguo, a small volcanic lake in NE China. The results show that summer temperature was lowest during the interval ca. 20–18.2 calibrated (cal.) k.y. B.P. with a value of ∼11.1 °C and increased by ∼1.9 °C during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1) and by ∼2.7 °C during the transition to the Bølling-Allerød (B-A). The summer temperatures during the B-A warm interval and Younger Dryas cold interval were ∼14.1 °C and ∼12.0 °C, respectively. The summer temperature record from the Lake Kielguo sediment sequence indicates that summer warming dominated the climate change state during HS1 in East Asia, which is different from the cooling pattern controlled by winter temperatures in the North Atlantic and Greenland realms. This distinction can be explained by weakened winter cooling signals triggered by the collapse of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation when these signals propagated to East Asia, and increased summer temperature warming controlled by orbital and greenhouse gases during HS1 in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Grotto-Heavens and Blissful Lands" (dongtian and fudi, 洞天福地) is a unique concept of sacred space in China and even in East Asia, combining beautiful natural scenery, rich historical heritage, and diverse cultural heritage. This paper tries to explain Mount Jingfu's (jingfu shan, 靜福山) aesthetic representations. The results show that the landscape's physical environment projects the spatio-temporal system and the concept of the universe in Daoist aesthetic ideals. With the spatial evolution of divine immortals' abodes from imagination to reality, people's yearning for divine cave palaces is transformed into their connection with and their expression of the palaces in exploring space interests and aesthetic trends that are then integrated into the secular life of thousands of households through living religious rituals. Preserved by local religious believers, the ritual activities incorporated geographic, familial, and divine interactions, and characterised essential social aesthetics. By exploring a typical case of Lingnan Region (lingnan, 嶺南, an old term for South China), this paper aims to elucidate the significance of the Grotto-Heavens and Blissful Lands as living heritage in contemporary society across multiple dimensions, and to provide a theoretical basis for the protection of its system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studii de Ştiintă şi Cultură is the property of Studii de Stiinta si Cultura and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper compares the exchange of Ming porcelain between Ming China and Joseon in comparison with those exchanges between Ming and other countries in East Asia in order to bring out similarities and differences and highlight the complexity and dynamics of East Asian cultural exchanges. First, the similarities are that the times when the Ming court bestowed porcelain on other countries were concentrated in the first half of the fifteenth century in most of the Asian region. Within the framework of tribute trade, porcelain with a three-clawed dragon design was found in large quantities. During similar periods of time, Longquan celadon and Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain as well as private kiln porcelain wares increased and had common features. Second, what makes the exchange with Joseon distinctive is the introduction of porcelain overland by Ming envoys whose country of origin was Joseon and the shipment of table ware sets manufactured by Ming imperial kilns. Also, most of the Ming porcelain discovered in Joseon has been Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain which was common with other East Asian countries, but only a few discoveries of Longquan or Zhangzhou wares, nor was there much Kraak ware from Jingdezhen kilns or Southeast Asian celadons. These differences put Joseon in a unique position. This analysis provides an implication that diplomatic interactions and the changes in distribution brought about by the main trading forces should be considered in order to have a deep understanding of porcelain exchange between Ming China and Joseon and throughout East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wet bulb temperature (Tw) has gained considerable attention as a crucial indicator of heat-related health risks. Here we report south-to-north spatially heterogeneous trends of Tw in China over 1979-2018. We find that actual water vapor pressure (Ea) changes play a dominant role in determining the different trend of Tw in southern and northern China, which is attributed to the faster warming of high-latitude regions of East Asia as a response to climate change. This warming effect regulates large-scale atmospheric features and leads to extended impacts of the South Asia high (SAH) and the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) over southern China and to suppressed moisture transport. Attribution analysis using climate model simulations confirms these findings. We further find that the entire eastern China, that accommodates 94% of the country's population, is likely to experience widespread and uniform elevated thermal stress the end of this century. Our findings highlight the necessity for development of adaptation measures in eastern China to avoid adverse impacts of heat stress, suggesting similar implications for other regions as well. Attributing spatially heterogeneous heat stress trends to water vapor pressure changes driven by climate change-induced rapid warming in high-latitudes of East Asia, the authors predict widespread and uniform future heat stress in eastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been few case studies of the relationship between the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the East Asian climate before the pre-industrial era with limited anthropogenic impacts. Using the CESM Last Millennium Ensemble (CESM-LME) simulation with reconstruction evidence, we showed that there was an interdecadal transition of the summer precipitation in East China, with the pattern of "southern flooding and northern drought" in the mid-18th century. The interdecadal transition was influenced by PDO, as suggested by both the reconstruction evidence and simulation. Corresponding to the positive PDO phase change, the East Asia-Pacific pattern teleconnection wave train propagated northward and modulated the circulation and precipitation in East China, together with the southward movement of the East Asian westerly jet. The volcanic double or clustered eruptions are thought to have played a crucial role on the shift of the PDO phase and the decadal summer climate change over East China during the mid-18th century. Incorporating volcanic activity in a reasonable manner would likely improve decadal simulations of East Asian climate in the past and predictions in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 2010 to 2020, Northeast Pacific (NEP) sea surface temperature (SST) experienced the warmest decade ever recorded, manifested in several extreme marine heatwaves, referred to as "warm blob" events, which severely affect marine ecosystems and extreme weather along the west coast of North America. While year-to-year internal climate variability has been suggested as a cause of individual events, the causes of the continuous dramatic NEP SST warming remain elusive. Here, we show that other than the greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing, rapid aerosol abatement in China over the period likely plays an important role. Anomalous tropospheric warming induced by declining aerosols in China generated atmospheric teleconnections from East Asia to the NEP, featuring an intensified and southward-shifted Aleutian Low. The associated atmospheric circulation anomaly weakens the climatological westerlies in the NEP and warms the SST there by suppressing the evaporative cooling. The aerosol-induced mean warming of the NEP SST, along with internal climate variability and the GHG-induced warming, made the warm blob events more frequent and intense during 2010 to 2020. As anthropogenic aerosol emissions continue to decrease, there is likely to be an increase in NEP warm blob events, disproportionately large beyond the direct radiative effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past intervals of warming provide the unique opportunity to observe how the East Asia monsoon precipitation response happened in a warming world. However, the available evaluations are primarily limited to the last glacial-to-interglacial warming, which has fundamental differences from the current interglacial warming, particularly in changes in ice volume. Comparative paleoclimate studies of earlier warm interglacial periods can provide more realistic analogs. Here, we present high-resolution quantitative reconstructions of temperature and precipitation from north-central China over the past 800 thousand years. We found that the average precipitation increase, estimated by the interglacial data, was only around one-half of that estimated for the glacialto-interglacial data, which is attributed to the amplification of climate change by ice volume variations. Analysis of the interglacial data suggests an increase in monsoon precipitation of ~100 mm for a warming level of 2°C on the Chinese Loess Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northeast China played an irreplaceable role in population migrations and cultural exchanges in East Asia during the Paleolithic. This paper collected 182 archaeological sites to analyse the characteristics of spatial-temporal variations of Paleolithic human activities in Northeast China, and explored the driving mechanisms behind these variations in combination with the paleoenvironmental and archaeological studies. During the Lower Paleolithic, constrained by the relatively cold-dry climate and blocked by the Songnen paleo-lake basin, the population was sparse and distributed only near 40° N at the southern end of Northeast China. Upon entering the Middle Paleolithic, as humans developed greater tolerance to cold climates and adopted more sophisticated survival strategies with the application of small lithic tools, their numbers increased and geographical distribution expanded northward to 45° N at the central region of Northeast China. The Upper Paleolithic saw a considerable increase in population and expansion across almost all of Northeast China except for the eastern Inner Mongolia Plateau. We speculated that 50 ka and 30 ka BP were two key points, both of which may be associated with a significant increase in the frequency of migrations and communications among humans, and the widespread popularity of highly mobile microblade technology, respectively. In addition, the environmental analysis of archaeological sites revealed a continuous spread of Paleolithic humans to areas with higher elevations, steeper slopes, and lower temperatures. Meanwhile, they were becoming less reliant on water resources and were more widely conducting activities in open-air areas, showing that the environmental adaptability had been continuously improving over time. This study can provide a reference for the reconstruction of the migration history of early humans in East Asia, and is also of great significance for a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary process of early human-environment interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the ideology of pro-work conservatism prevails in East Asia, scholars have largely overlooked its discursive construction in media communication from a linguistic perspective. This paper examines the discursive construction of pro-work conservatism in 3,000 Weibo posts with the most "likes" in response to China's implementation of the three-child policy. Using the sociosemantic approach as an analytic framework, the paper finds that three dominant themes underpin the discourse of pro-work conservatism: women's sacrifice in the labour market, the high cost of raising children, and gender-essentialist norms. This discourse is articulated in the posts via a number of discursive strategies, including authorization, morality, and rationalisation. This paper sheds light on the influence of the one-child policy and the awakening of feminist consciousness in the new era and highlights the implications of language use in shaping gender-role ideologies to influence public perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new wood-inhabiting fungi, Trechispora albofarinosa, T. bisterigmata, T. pileata and T. wenshanensis spp. nov., are proposed based on a combination of morphological features and molecular evidence. Trechispora albofarinosa is characterized by the farinose basidiomata with flocculence hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system with clamped generative hyphae, and ellipsoid, warted basidiospores. Trechispora bisterigmata is characterized by the membranous basidiomata with odontioid hymenial surface, rhizomorphic sterile margin, barrelled basidia and subglobose to broad ellipsoid, smooth basidiospores. Trechispora pileata is characterized by the laterally contracted base, solitary or imbricate basidiomata, fan shaped pileus, radially striate-covered surface with appressed scales, odontioid hymenophore surface, and subglobose to broad ellipsoid, thin-walled, smooth basidiospores. Trechispora wenshanensis is characterized by a cottony basidiomata with a smooth hymenial surface, and ellipsoid, thin-walled, warted basidiospores. Sequences of ITS and LSU marker of the studied samples were generated, and phylogenetic analyses were performed with the maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian inference methods. The phylogenetic tree inferred from the ITS+nLSU sequences highlighted that four new species were grouped into the genus Trechispora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate is a key driver shaping the distribution pattern of organisms. Cenozoic climate change has led to extensive biota turnover. Untangling the distribution dynamics of a representative lineage of flora can provide deep insights into biodiversity conservation. Diplopanax is a notable relict lineage of the Tertiary mastixioid flora with abundant fossils in the Northern Hemisphere. Diplopanax stachyanthus Hand.-Mazz. is a representative relic lineage of the mastixioid flora, which was once widespread in the Northern Hemisphere of the early Tertiary period, but with only endemic distribution in the (sub)tropical humid forests of East Asia. It offers a unique chance to understand how climatic drivers shape the Boreotropical flora. In this research, we investigated the distribution dynamics of D. stachyanthus at the last glacial maximum (LGM), mid-Holocene (MH), current, and three periods of the future (2041–2060, 2061–2080, and 2081–2100) at four shared socio-economic emissions scenarios pathways. Our results indicated that the Precipitation of the Wettest Quarter (32.6%), the Precipitation of the Driest Quarter (21.2%), and the Precipitation of the Coldest Quarter (17.3%) are the key factors affecting its distribution. The current high suitable distribution areas are primarily in southern China and northern Indo-China. The enforced winter monsoon seasons in East Asia since the late Pliocene period are the key climatic drivers reducing its once widespread distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. Under future scenarios, centroid transfer analysis suggests that its distribution center will shift southwestward, but the potentially suitable habitats in the coastal regions of southern China and northern Indo-China will be lost. These coastal populations should be prioritized for ex situ conservation. Expanding the nature reserve within its long-term stable distribution range in southwest China is an effective strategy for the in situ conservation of the ancient mastixioid flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the significant importance of spring precipitation for agricultural production in China and the presence of the spring predictability barrier, scientists have dedicated extensive efforts to understand the factors influencing spring precipitation variability and explore new predictors. However, the effects of Arctic stratospheric ozone (ASO) on precipitation in China during boreal spring, if any, and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We found the robust influences of March ASO on the differences in the precipitation and evaporation in April over Eastern China during 1980–2020. When ASO decreases in March, it tends to result in a higher and colder tropopause in the polar, a stronger subtropical jet stream, an intensified local Hadley circulation accompanied by anomalous downward motion over Eastern China, and consequently, drying in this region, and vice versa. These findings suggest that the likelihood of April moistening over East Asia may be potentially predicted by employing the ASO index. Plain Language Summary: Food production in East Asia, which is home to a quarter of the world's population, holds immense importance. The spring season in this region marks the crop planting period, making the precipitation during this time crucial for agricultural production. However, it is challenging to predict spring moistening/drying over East Asia. Therefore, there is a need for new predictors to enhance our understanding of spring precipitation variability. Whether a connection exists between Arctic stratospheric ozone (ASO) and spring precipitation over EC has remained unknown. Here, we have highlighted a strong relationship between ASO in March and moistening over EC in April, particularly in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (YRB). Specifically, an increase (decrease) in March ASO corresponds to moistening (drying) over YRB in April. The implications of these findings are significant for forecasting spring precipitation over East Asia, which is crucial for agricultural planning and production. Key Points: There are robust influences of March Arctic stratospheric ozone (ASO) on the precipitation in April over Eastern China (EC) during 1980–2020Depletion of ASO in March tends to result in decreased precipitation over EC in AprilDecreased ASO results in the higher but warmer tropopause, stronger subtropical jet, and anomalous downward motion over EC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dabie Banda virus (DBV), a tick-borne pathogen, was first identified in China in 2009 and causes profound symptoms including fever, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and multi-organ dysfunction, which is known as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). In the last decade, global incidence and mortality of SFTS increased significantly, especially in East Asia. Though previous studies provide understandings of clinical and immunological characteristics of SFTS development, comprehensive insight of antiviral immunity response is still lacking. Here, we intensively discuss the antiviral immune response after DBV infection by integrating previous ex- and in-vivo studies, including innate and adaptive immune responses, anti-viral immune responses and long-term immune characters. A comprehensive overview of potential immune targets for clinical trials is provided as well. However, development of novel strategies for improving the prognosis of the disease remains on challenge. The current review may shed light on the establishment of immunological interventions for the critical disease SFTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trace metals from natural and anthropogenic sources impact the atmospheric environment and enter the soil through dry and wet atmospheric deposition, ultimately affecting human health. In this study, we established an emission inventory of Pb, As, Cr, and Cd in East Asia (80° E–140° E, 15° N–50° N) for the year 2017, including dust and anthropogenic sources from both land and marine. We modified the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to provide gridded data on concentrations, as well as dry and wet atmospheric deposition fluxes of metals, with a focus on mainland China. The emissions of Pb, As, Cr, and Cd in East Asia were 19,253, 3415, 3332, and 9379 tons, respectively, in 2017, with 55%, 69%, 25%, and 58% distributed in the fine mode. The spatial distribution of atmospheric concentrations and dry deposition of trace metals was similar to that of emissions, while the spatial distribution of precipitation-related wet deposition was further east and greater in the south than in the north. In mainland China, the average bulk-deposition fluxes of Pb, As, Cr, and Cd were 1036.5, 170.3, 465.9, and 185.0 μg·m−2·year−1, respectively. Our study provides gridded data on trace metals in mainland China, which can be used for assessing air quality, human exposure risks, and metal inputs to soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian monsoon (AM) has direct and profound effects on the livelihoods of residents in South Asia and East Asia. Modern observations have shown multi-decadal alternations of flood and drought periods in these regions, likely influenced by climatic processes such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. However, our understanding of the multi-decadal variability of the AM under different climatic conditions remains uncertain. In this study, we collected an annually laminated and 780-mm stalagmite (sample number: BJ7) from Binjia (BJ) Cave in southwestern China, which is deeply influenced by the Asian monsoon system. Based on this sample, we established 6-year resolution and multi-proxy records for the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) variabilities during the early last termination, spanning from 18.2 to 16.1 ka BP. Measurements of five pairs of uranium and thorium solutions for 230Th dating were conducted using a multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP- MS), and 374 pairs of stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C) analyses were run on a Kiel Carbonate Device connected with Finnigan MAT-253 at Nanjing Normal University. The chronology for this sample was established by annual layer counting anchored with 230Th dating results. Our BJ7 δ18O record replicates well with other Chinese δ18O records on the general trend, all of which are superimposed by frequent multidecadal-scale fluctuations at approximately 60 years periodicity. Inspection of the 60-year band in BJ7 δ18O and δ13C records and results of the cross-wavelet analysis indicate coherent changes in the ASM and biomass production/karst processes during most of the studied period. In addition, the 60-year band of BJ7 and NGRIP δ18O records are consistent, implying the impacts of the high-latitude North Atlantic or Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation on the ASM. Our study suggests that the 60-year variability should be an intrinsic feature of the climate system regardless of glacial or interglacial backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamical downscaling with a 20 km horizontal resolution was undertaken over East Asia for the period May–August in 1991–2015 using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with Grell-3D ensemble cumulus parameterization as a product of the Impact of Initialized Land Temperature and Snowpack on Sub-Seasonal to Seasonal Prediction (LS4P) program. Simulated climatological precipitation biases were investigated over land during June when heavy precipitation occurred. Simulations underestimated precipitation along the Meiyu/Baiu rainband, while overestimating it farther north. Dry and wet biases expanded to south and north of the Yangtze River in China, respectively, marking years with poor precipitation simulations. Model biases in synoptic-scale circulation patterns indicate a weakened clockwise circulation over the western North Pacific in the model due to active convection there, and suppressed northward moisture transport to the Meiyu/Baiu rainband. Moisture convergence was slightly enhanced over central China due to an apparent anticyclonic circulation bias over northern China. In years with large biases, positive feedback between reduced moisture inflow and inactive convection occurred over southern China, while moisture transport to central China intensified on regional scales, with amplification of dry and wet biases over China. The Kain–Fritch scheme was used to test the influence of cumulus parameterization, improving the dry bias over southern China due to the modification of synoptic-scale circulation patterns in the lower troposphere. However, precipitation was further overestimated over central China, with the accuracy of precipitation distribution deteriorating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Salvia L., representing the largest genus within the mint family, is noted for its global distribution of approximately 1000 species, with East Asia, and particularly China, recognized as a critical center of diversity for the genus. Methods: Our research was conducted through extensive fieldwork in Guidong County, Hunan Province, China, where we identified a previously undescribed species of Salvia. The identification process involved detailed morphological observations, phylogenetic analyses, and plastid genomics. Results: The newly discovered species, Salvia guidongensis, exhibits unique characteristics not commonly observed in the East Asian lineage of Salvia, including dual floral colors within natural populations--either pale purple or pale yellow. Morphologically, while it shares similarities with members of sect. Glutinaria, S. guidongensis is distinct in its floral morphology, stature, and specific foliar traits. Phylogenetic analysis places S. guidongensis in a unique clade within the East Asian lineage of Salvia, suggesting it may serve as an important evolutionary link. Additionally, we explored the plastome features of S. guidongensis, comparing them with those of closely related species. Discussion: The discovery of S. guidongensis not only entriches the taxonomic tapestry of Salvia but also provides critical insights into the biogeography and evolutionary pathways of the genus in East Asia. By integrating morphological and molecular data, we validate the novel status of S. guidongensis and highlight its significance in bridging taxonomic and evolutionary gaps within Sect. Glutinaria of Salvia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the upstream region of the Asian summer monsoon, the Bay of Bengal summer monsoon (BOBSM) system has impacts on rainfall patterns in East Asia. In this study, we investigate the impact of the interannual variability of the BOBSM retreat on China precipitation in early summer (June) of the following year. When the BOBSM retreat occurs earlier in the previous year, we find enhanced rainfall in both the northeastern and eastern parts of China. Conversely, when the retreat of the BOBSM is delayed in the previous year, there is a tendency for decreased rainfall in most of northeastern and eastern China, while rainfall in the northern part of the Taiwan island region tends to increase. Statistical analysis demonstrates the co-variability between China's June precipitation anomalies and preceding wind anomalies in the eastern Bay of Bengal. The results indicate a strong relationship between the preceding BOBSM retreat and China precipitation anomalies in the following June. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that the BOBSM retreat is more of an independent signal rather than modulated by an Indian Ocean Dipole event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qinling Mountains in East Asia serve as the geographical boundary between the north and south of China and are also indicative of climatic differences, resulting in rich ecological and species diversity. However, few studies have focused on the responses of plants to geological and climatic changes in the Qinling Mountains and adjacent regions. Therefore, we investigated the evolutionary origins and phylogenetic relationships of three Pedicularis species in there to provide molecular evidence for the origin and evolution of plant species. Ecological niche modeling was used to predict the geographic distributions of three Pedicularis species during the last interglacial period, the last glacial maximum period, and current and future periods, respectively. Furthermore, the distribution patterns of climate fluctuations and the niche dynamics framework were used to assess the equivalence or difference of niches among three Pedicularis species. The results revealed that the divergence of three Pedicularis species took place in the Miocene and Holocene periods, which was significantly associated with the large-scale uplifts of the Qinling Mountains and adjacent regions. In addition, the geographic distributions of three Pedicularis species have undergone a northward migration from the past to the future. The most important environmental variables affecting the geographic distributions of species were the mean diurnal range and annual mean temperature range. The niche divergence analysis suggested that the three Pedicularis species have similar ecological niches. Among them, P. giraldiana showed the highest niche breadth, covering nearly all of the climatic niche spaces of P. dissecta and P. bicolor. In summary, this study provides novel insights into the divergence and origins of three Pedicularis species and their responses to climate and geological changes in the Qinling Mountains and adjacent regions. The findings have also provided new perspectives for the conservation and management of Pedicularis species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building a "Maritime Community with a Shared Future" (MCSF) is a maritime development concept with Chinese characteristics proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2019. It is based on the rich cultural tradition and unique historical value of China's maritime civilization. It aims to solve real ocean problems and has outlined the future direction of human ocean development from the perspective of China. The essence of the MCSF is an issue of both ocean cultural and development concepts. It is a conceptual issue that transcends specific national boundaries and regions and is based on how all of humankind, with common interests and common values, can develop in harmony with the oceans. It is not a covert discourse strategy adopted by China in order to realize its "maritime power" ambition, as occasionally described by some Western countries. Starting with an analysis of the essential nature and implications of maritime culture by Chinese researchers, this article clarifies and summarizes the interaction, exchange, and integration of Chinese maritime culture in East Asia from a historical perspective, and extracts the unique characteristics and values of Chinese maritime culture. From the perspective of human-sea interactions, the three historical stages, as well as the existing problems of transforming and upgrading human-ocean culture, are analyzed. The article also contrasts Chinese and Western maritime cultures and proposes to absorb the outstanding achievements of both Chinese and Western maritime civilizations into a common framework in order to fundamentally reverse the antagonistic human-sea relationship that has existed historically. Finally, we propose giving full play to the fundamental role of marine cultural exchange and integration and, through international cooperation on specific issues in the field of global ocean international relations, propose specific and feasible practical pathways to promoting the realization of the MCSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhangpu amber is an important source of Miocene bryophytes in China. Zhangpu amber originates from the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO), which is well known for the appearance of Dipterocarpaceae-dominated megathermal forests in East Asia. The humid and warm climate of these forests might have triggered the development of diverse epiphytic bryophytes; however, the Middle Miocene fossils of bryophytes are rare in Asia. Here, we present evidence for Pelekium (Thuidiaceae) in Zhangpu amber. The fossil is characterised by: (i) regularly pinnate ramifications; (ii) deltoid leaves with a single and percurrent Costa; (ⅲ) abundant unbranched and uniseriate paraphyllia covering the stems and branches; (ⅳ) differentiated stem and branch leaves. It represents the first fossil record of Pelekium, showing that the genus already existed in Fujian, South China during the Middle Miocene. Our fossil enriches the Neogene fossil record of bryophytes in East Asia. Extant Pelekium species comprises stenoecious plants that are mainly distributed in tropical areas, often grow on bark in humid forests. The occurrence of fossil Pelekium from Zhangpu amber is in good accordance with the palaeoclimatic reconstruction based on the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using multiple observational and reanalysis data, this paper investigates the impact of the interdecadal shift in summer Arctic Oscillation (AO) on precipitation in East Asia, by removing ENSO influences. The results indicate that the lower-layer activity center of summer AO in Atlantic shifted eastward after the mid-1980s. This regime shift of summer AO has a significant impact on precipitation in East Asia. Before the mid-1980s, the key regions in which precipitation was affected by AO in East Asia were northern East Asia and Northeastern China and adjacent regions. After the mid-1980s, the key regions in which precipitation was affected by AO in East Asia were central Inner Mongolia and Southern China. The mechanism of precipitation changes can be attributed to changes in atmospheric circulation and water vapor transport related to AO changes. After the mid-1980s, the influence of AO on geopotential height over northern East Asia weakened; meanwhile, the impact of AO on geopotential height over China increased. Consistent with the changes in atmospheric circulation, water vapor transport in East Asia also underwent interdecadal changes before and after the mid-1980s. The differences in atmospheric circulation and water vapor transport in East Asia can be traced back to the North Atlantic. Before the mid-1980s, wave activity flux related to summer AO tended to propagate in high latitudes and subtropics; after the mid-1980s, the wave activity flux changed in its subtropical path and propagated eastward from the North Atlantic through the Middle East to China, significantly affecting the summer precipitation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anime-style films have been produced within East Asia for many years by relying on a cross-border production network dominated by studios in Japan. In this production model, Japanese studios provide source material and creative development, while manual work is outsourced to animators in neighbouring countries. With China's growing influence within the region's creative economy, however, more transnationally co-produced animations are based on Chinese source material, offering a promise of enhanced cultural exchange while challenging received frameworks of knowledge and production in the region's animation industry. This article examines how Japanese animation studios construct China as a nostalgic place by analyzing the use of nostalgia-driven narrative conventions in Flavours of Youth, a 2018 Sino-Japanese co-produced animation. The screen imaginaries yielded by such co-operative productions are contained within a familiar convention couched in an artistic language influenced by Japan's centrality in the anime production network. This results in a visual rhetoric that transforms the uneven landscape of China's transitions into a homogenous animation product. By outlining the theoretical terms of nostalgic representation expressed as sentiment: nostalgia as mood, and style: nostalgia as mode, we examine the way Flavours of Youth frames the interplay of the two nostalgic methods as a metacommentary on China's modernization process vis-à-vis Japan. The creative process involved in reconfiguring China's developmental transitions through anime conventions of 'nostalgia machines' creates a friction between the parasitic nostalgic form and the cultural host it attaches itself to, collapsing the film's potential for reflection on the contemporary realities of a shared Asian experience. We argue that the transnationally constructed, disembedded – and therefore artificial – nostalgia found in the film is a symptom of Japan's continuing ambivalence towards China manifested in the anime industry's overreliance on codified styles over shared engagement with the alternative cultural contexts of its Asian neighbours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought events have become more frequent and intense over East Asia in recent decades, leading to huge socioeconomic impacts. Although the droughts have been studied extensively by cases or for individual regions, their leading variability and associated causes remain unclear. Based on the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and ERA5 reanalysis product from 1979 to 2020, this study evealuates the severity of spring droughts in East Asia and investigates their variations and associated drivers. The results indicate that North China and Mongolia have experienced remarkable trends toward dryness during spring in recent decades, while southwestern China has witnessed an opposite trend toward wetness. The first Empirical Orthogonal Function mode of SPEI variability reveals a similar seesawing pattern, with more severe dryness in northwestern China, Mongolia, North China, South Korea, and Japan but increased wetness in Southwestern China and southeast Asia. Further investigation reveals that the anomalously dry (wet) surface in North (Southwestern) China is significantly associated with anomalously high (low) temperature, less (more) precipitation, and reduced (increased) soil moisture during the previous winter and early spring, regulated by an anomalous anticyclone (cyclone) and thus reduced (increased) water vapor convergence. The spring dry-wet pattern in East Asia is also linked to cold sea surface temperature anomalies in the central-eastern Pacific. The findings of this study have important implications for improving the prediction of spring drought events in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anomalies in atmospheric moisture transport are critical for drought formation, with East Asian monsoon anomalies identified as the primary driver of droughts in East Asia. However, the drought mechanism for the border region between monsoon and nonmonsoon land areas remains unclear due to complex interactions between latitudinal circulation patterns. Using a Lagrangian framework, we quantify moisture supply (MS) during spring and summer drought events within the border region, specifically Northeast China (NEC). Our results reveal that decreased MS from monsoon land areas is more crucial than nonmonsoon land areas and local areas for NEC droughts, with the local water recycling playing a more substantial role in summer than in spring. On average, summer droughts are 4 times more intense than spring droughts. Contributions to MS deficits from monsoon land areas, nonmonsoon land areas, and local areas during spring (summer) droughts are 43.2% (43.8%), 25.1% (19.2%), and 22% (33.8%), respectively. The weakened atmospheric circulation from source regions to NEC contributes to over 80% of MS deficits during droughts. Atmospheric wave trains triggered by North Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) gradients, along with the weakening of the East Asian subtropical westerly jet in spring and a positive phase of the polar–Eurasian teleconnection in summer, contribute to spring and summer droughts, respectively. A sustained, record-breaking positive SSTA along the western European coast from the spring to summer excited a wave train, and resulted in the extreme 2017 spring–summer drought. These findings provide valuable insights into the drought mechanism within the interaction zone of circulation systems from different latitudes. Significance Statement: The complex interactions between atmospheric circulation patterns at different latitudes have led to an insufficient understanding of the mechanisms causing extreme drought in the border region between the monsoon and nonmonsoon land areas. This study aims to investigate the drought mechanisms in the border region from the perspective of moisture tracking. Results indicate a moisture supply deficit from the monsoon region contributes the most (approximately half) to droughts, although the majority of air parcels reaching this region originate from the nonmonsoon region. The weakening of circulation contributes to more than 80% of the moisture supply deficit during droughts, far exceeding the impact of reduced evaporation from the moisture source regions. These findings are conducive to understanding the mechanisms of extreme drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset of the South China Sea summer monsoon (SCSSM) has profound impacts on meteorological conditions over East Asia. However, whether the interannual variability in monsoon onset date impacts ozone (O3) pollution remains unclear. Here, we investigate the relationship between early onset of SCSSM and late spring O3 in southern China. Our results show notable differences in surface O3 concentrations before and after SCSSM onset during early onset events in southern China. The enhanced O3 of 11.1 μg m−3 is supported by increased air temperature and solar radiation of 1.1 K and 30.9 W m−2 and reduced relative humidity of −5.7%. Both observation and model simulations confirm that O3‐favorable meteorological conditions modulated by early SCSSM onset can be found in May. It increases the boundary layer height and biogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds, enhancing O3 by 10 μg m−3 over southern China. Chemical processes dominate such increases in O3 with enhanced chemical production of 0.27 Tg month−1. Descending motion in southern China vertically transports O3 to surface by 0.10 Tg month−1, whereas horizontal advection reduces O3 concentration by 0.12 Tg month−1. The meteorological responses to colder sea surface temperature (SST) in the central equatorial Pacific are pronounced, leading to higher O3 concentrations over the Yangtze River Delta, while warmer SST in the Philippine Sea contributes O3 over the Pearl River Delta and eastern China. This study highlights the importance of SCSSM onset with respect to O3 in southern China, with promising applications in management of air pollution and agriculture. Plain Language Summary: The onset of the South China Sea summer monsoon (SCSSM), a spectacular feature of the Asian summer monsoon, has significant impacts on meteorological conditions over East Asia. It remains unclear whether the interannual variability in monsoon onset date affects ozone (O3) pollution. In this study, we demonstrated that the early onset of SCSSM can create warmer and drier conditions with enhanced solar radiation in May, which increases boundary layer height, boosts biogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds and worsens O3 pollution in southern China. By integrating reconstructed O3 data set and meteorological reanalysis together with model simulations, we found that increased O3 concentrations of approximately 10 μg m−3 over southern China were dominated by enhanced chemical production. Both sea surface temperature anomalies in the central equatorial Pacific and Philippine Sea contributed to the O3‐favorable meteorological conditions modulated by early SCSSM onset. Our study emphasizes the importance of considering the SCSSM onset in understanding O3 pollution in southern China, with promising applications in air pollution management and agriculture. Key Points: Early onset of the South China Sea summer monsoon can create warmer and drier conditions with enhanced solar radiation in MayEnhanced chemical production dominates the worsening late spring ozone pollution in southern China during early onset eventsBoth sea surface temperature anomalies in the central equatorial Pacific and Philippine Sea contribute to higher ozone in southern China [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary angle closure disease (PACD) is a major cause of blindness worldwide. It has a high prevalence in East Asia, especially in China, which leads to a higher incidence of blindness than open-angle glaucoma. The aim of this study was to directly observe the circumlental space (CLS) in laser peripheral iridotomized eyes with PACD and to determine whether this structure plays a role in the pathogenesis of PACD. Fifty eyes of 50 patients with PACD, who had received laser peripheral iridotomy performed with neodymium:yttrium–aluminum-garnet were recruited from glaucoma clinics from March 2021 to May 2022, including 17 primary angle closure suspect (PACS), 16 primary angle closure (PAC) and 17 primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG). They were classified into two groups based on whether the ciliary process and the crystalline lens equator were in contact using slit-lamp photograph: the attached group and the unattached group. The demographic, clinical characteristics and anterior segment parameters measured from ultrasound biomicroscopy were compared between the attached group and the unattached group. Thirty-three eyes were assigned to the attached group and 17 eyes belonged to the unattached group. In the unattached group, the mean CLS was 0.10 ± 0.07 mm. No significant differences were identified between the different diagnosis groups in age, sex, best-corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, white-to-white, axial length, central corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth, flat keratometry, steep keratometry or iridotomy diameter (p > 0.05). The unattached group had shorter trabecular-ciliary process distance (p = 0.021) and larger ciliary process area (p = 0.001) compared with the attached group. Small CLS and its potential effect (partial ciliary block) might be considered as one of the mechanisms of PACD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the WRF-Chem v4.4 model was utilized to evaluate the sensitivity of O 3 simulations with three bottom-up emission inventories (EDGAR-HTAP v2 and v3 and KORUS v5) using surface and aircraft data in East Asia during the Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) campaign period in 2016. All emission inventories were found to reproduce the diurnal variations of O 3 and its main precursor NO 2 as compared to the surface monitor data. However, the spatial distributions of the daily maximum 8 h average (MDA8) O 3 in the model do not completely align with the observations. The model MDA8 O 3 had a negative (positive) bias north (south) of 30° N over China. All simulations underestimated the observed CO by 50 %–60 % over China and South Korea. In the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA), EDGAR-HTAP v2 and v3 and KORUS v5 simulated the vertical shapes and diurnal patterns of O 3 and other precursors effectively, but the model underestimated the observed O 3 , CO, and HCHO concentrations. Notably, the model aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were significantly underestimated with the three bottom-up emission inventories, although the KORUS v5 shows improvements. The model isoprene estimations had a positive bias relative to the observations, suggesting that the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) version 2.04 overestimated isoprene emissions. Additional model simulations were conducted by doubling CO and VOC emissions over China and South Korea to investigate the causes of the model O 3 biases and the effects of the long-range transport on the O 3 over South Korea. The doubled CO and VOC emission simulations improved the model O 3 simulations for the local-emission-dominant case but led to the model O 3 overestimations for the transport-dominant case, which emphasizes the need for accurate representations of the local VOC emissions over South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cycle of precipitation change is key to understanding the driving mechanism of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). However, the dominant cycles of EASM precipitation revealed by different proxy indicators are inconsistent, leading to the "Chinese 100 kyr problem". In this study, we examine a high-resolution, approximately 350,000-year record from a low-latitude loess profile in China. Our analyses show that variations in the ratio of dithionite−citrate−bicarbonate extractable iron to total iron are dominated by the ~20-kyr cycle, reflecting changes in precipitation. In contrast, magnetic susceptibility varies with the ~100-kyr cycle and may be mainly controlled by temperature-induced redox processes or precipitation-induced signal smoothing. Our results suggest that changes in the EASM, as indicated by precipitation in this region, are mainly forced by precession-dominated insolation variations, and that precipitation and temperature may have varied with different cycles over the past ~350,000 years. Earth's orbit has tuned the variations of the East Asian summer monsoon. Here, a low latitude loess palaeoclimate record provides evidence that variation in monsoon rainfall is dominated by the precession cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]