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Violence, solace, and ritual: a case study from island Southeast Asia.

Most headhunting traditions in island Southeast Asia link ritual violence to grief and mourning. Some of the more persuasive analyses of these practices pivot on notions of rage and catharsis, arguing that turbulent emotions motivate persons to take up cleansing acts of violence. This paper seeks a more complex understanding of how ritual may connect bereavement and violence through a look at case materials from highland Sulawesi (Indonesia). Ritual practices there suggest that the resolution of communal mourning is more significant than personal catharsis in motivating violence; that individual affect is refigured collectively as "political affect;" and that varied discursive forms, such as vows, songs, and noise mediate the ways in which people put grief behind them and resume their lives. Indeed, such discursive forms appear to be generative sites for violence and solace.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

AIDS in Asia: 3rd Taipei AIDS Meeting.

At the Third International Conference on AIDS, Taipei, Taiwan, gene therapy, HIV quasi species, and Asian epidemiology were the main issues. Various effectors for gene therapy such as ribozyme, thymidine kinase and PKR were tested. Though not clinically available in the near future, gene therapy will likely play an important role in the combat against HIV. That non-syncytia-inducing HIV-1s are capable of direct T lymphocyte killing was reported and provides a possible explanation for progression to AIDS in patients in whom no syncytia-inducing HIV-1 could be found. Epidemiological data concerning Asia were presented in this meeting; among them is a detailed description of the current status of HIV infections in Taiwan. The HIV epidemic is still in its early stage in Taiwan, but some ominous signs favoring disease spread have been found. Copyright 1995 S. Karger AG, Basel

Journal Article↗

Phylogenetic tests of distribution patterns in South Asia: towards an integrative approach.

The last four decades have seen an increasing integration of phylogenetics and biogeography. However, a dearth of phylogenetic studies has precluded such biogeographic analyses in South Asia until recently. Noting the increase in phylogenetic research and interest in phylogenetic biogeography in the region, we outline an integrative framework for studying taxon distribution patterns. While doing so, we pay particular attention to challenges posed by the complex geological and ecological history of the region, and the differences in distribution across taxonomic groups. We outline and compare three widely used phylogenetic biogeographic approaches: topology-based methods (TBMs), pattern-based methods (PBMs) and event-based methods (EBMs). TBMs lack a quantitative framework and utilize only part of the available phylogenetic information. Hence, they are mainly suited for preliminary enquiries. Both PBMs and EBMs have a quantitative framework, but we consider the latter to be particularly suited to the South Asian context since they consider multiple biogeographic processes explicitly, and can accommodate a reticulated history of areas. As an illustration, we present a biogeographic analysis of endemic Sri Lankan agamid lizards. The results provide insights into the relative importance of multiple processes and specific zones in the radiation of two speciose lizard clades.

Animals↗

Human resource development in the Asia-Pacific region: implications for Australia.

"Educational development has played a role in rapid economic development in East and Southeast Asia.... Australia faces problems in common with countries of the region, including the need to provide greater equality of educational opportunity to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and to find the appropriate disciplinary mix in tertiary education. The massive growth of the numbers with secondary and higher education in the region will provide opportunities to market our education, pose issues for Australian immigration policy, and provide both risks and opportunities in building a favourable image of Australia."

Attitude↗

Umbilical cord blood for unrelated bone marrow replacement; Asia bank and Japan cord blood bank network update.

Cord blood offers many advantages including a high concentration of hematopoietic stem cells, a large number of potential donors, and ease of harvest. Furthermore, since there is no risk for either the mother or baby, few people refuse to donate. There is thought to be a low risk for virus contamination and also probably a low incidence and severity of GVHD. Cord blood can be obtained quickly without the assistance of a coordinator and one or 2 locus-mismatched HLA is usually acceptable. In Japan, there are 10 cord blood banks supported by the government. Between 1996 and June 2002, 9,500 units were registered with the Japan cord blood bank network (JCBBN). 630 units were delivered and most of these were transplanted. The status of registered cord blood units worldwide is shown. 59,081 units have been registered by NETCORD. The Japan cord blood bank network accounts for 13% of these units. I will discuss the Tokyo cord blood tank (TCBB). The bank at Tokyo, to which we belong, is one of the largest banks in Japan. We helped to establish Asia CORD in 2000 and have held annual conferences and meetings in Tokyo to exchange information. So far, China, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam and Japan have participated. We accepted three trainees from the Ho Chi Minh City Blood Transfusion and Hematology Center for training in cord blood transplantation in May 2001. In January 2002, a patient with ALL received cord blood and was successfully engrafted at Ho Chi Minh City Blood Transfusion and Hematology Center. We present here the clinical outcome of these patients through Tokyo cord blood bank and Japan cord blood bank network. First, the number of CB units stored and registered at JCBBN and TCBB has increased rapidly over the past two years. Second, the survival rate of acute leukemia patients in release was significantly lower than that in patients in CR. Third, the engraftment rate in patients with metabolic disease (50%) was lower than that in patients with leukemia. Fourth, there was no significant difference in the incidence of acute GVHD greater than grade II between patients with a 1-locus and 2-locus mismatch. Finally, the incidence of acute GVHD was relatively low, and there were no deaths related to acute GVHD.

Blood Banks↗

The first haramiyoid mammal from Asia.

A lower molar of a haramiyoid mammal is described from the Toutunhe Formation of Liuhuanggou near Urumqi in the southern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China. It is referred to Eleutherodon sp., otherwise exclusively known from the Upper Bathonian of England. It is the first record of the order Haramiyida from Asia and the first Mesozoic mammal described from the southern Junggar Basin. Apart from the English specimens of Eleutherodon and Staffia from the Upper Jurassic of East Africa, it is the geologically youngest haramiyoid known. It is the first vertebrate taxon from the Toutunhe Formation that is probably not endemic and lends some support to the dating of the Formation as late Middle Jurassic, probably Bathonian.

Animals↗

Prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in the Chinese adult population: International Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Disease in Asia (InterASIA).

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: To estimate the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in the general adult population of China. METHODS: The International Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Disease in ASIA, conducted from 2000 to 2001, included a nationally representative sample of 15 540 adults, aged 35 to 74 years. An overnight fasting blood specimen was collected to measure serum glucose and information on history of diabetes and use of hypoglycaemic medications was obtained by a standard questionnaire. Undiagnosed diabetes (fasting glucose > or =7.0 mmol/l) and impaired fasting glucose (6.1-6.9 mmol/l) were defined using the American Diabetes Association criteria. RESULTS: Prevalence of self-reported diagnosed diabetes, undiagnosed diabetes, and impaired fasting glucose in Chinese adults were 1.3%, 4.2%, and 7.3%, respectively. Overall, 5.2% or 12.7 million men and 5.8% or 13.3 million women in China aged 35 to 74 years had diabetes (self-reported diagnosis plus undiagnosed diabetes). The age-standardized prevalence of diabetes was higher in residents of northern compared to southern China (7.4% vs 5.4%, p<0.001) and in those living in urban compared to rural areas (7.8% vs 5.1%, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our results show that the prevalence of diabetes in the adult population in China is much higher than previously reported. Three out of every four diabetes patients are undiagnosed, indicative of a lack of population-based screening programmmes and a relatively rapid and recent increase in incidence of diabetes. These results indicate that diabetes has become a major public health problem in China and underscore the need for national strategies aimed at prevention and treatment of diabetes.

Adult↗

Juvenile onset systemic sclerosis: a single center experience of 23 cases from Asia.

The aim of this paper was to study the spectrum of juvenile scleroderma (JSSc) seen at a tertiary care referral center in Asia. Retrospective analysis of case records of patients with systemic sclerosis, having age of onset less than 16 years and seen at our hospital from 1988 to 2004, was done. Patients with linear scleroderma and morphea were excluded. There were 23 patients (19 girls, 4 boys) with median age of onset of 12 years (range 5-16 years). The median age at presentation was 17 years (range 10-34 years). The median time from first symptoms to presentation was 4 years (range 0.2-26 years). Among these, 14 had diffuse systemic sclerosis (DSSc), while 9 had limited scleroderma (LSSc). The clinical features seen at presentation in patients were: Raynaud's phenomenon in 19, digital ulcers in 14, loss of finger tip pulp in 12, reflux in 8, dysphagia in 7, arthritis in 8, digital gangrene in 2, and pulmonary artery hypertension in 1. Antinuclear antibody was positive in 15 out of 18 patients tested. Interstitial lung disease was seen in 15 patients, 6 of whom had diffuse disease. The median skin score was 22 (range 7-48) . One patient died of primary pulmonary hypertension within 1 year of onset of symptoms. At a mean follow-up of 34 months, 14 patients were stable or had improvement in skin score or dyspnea on exertion. DSSc and LSSc in childhood have a clinical presentation similar to adult patients, with cardiopulmonary involvement being the major predictor of outcome. The short-term prognosis of JSSc is good.

Adolescent↗

Complications and failures of video-assisted thoracic surgery: experience from two centers in Asia.

BACKGROUND: There have been few specific reports on negative outcomes after video-assisted thoracic surgery. We report our combined experience from two centers in Asia. METHODS: From September 1992 to April 1995, 1,337 patients were operated on with the video-assisted thoracic surgical approach. All the patients were prospectively studied. RESULTS: There was one death (mortality rate, 0.07%) and 56 nonfatal complications: persistent air leaks (21), bleeding (6), wound infection (13), empyema (2), cerebrovascular accident (1), reexpansion pulmonary edema (2), deep vein thrombosis (1), prolonged ventilatory support (4), intercostal neuralgia (5), and port-site recurrence (1), giving rise to an overall nonfatal complication rate of 4.26%. Procedure failures consisted of 7 recurrences of spontaneous pneumothorax (of 407 cases or 1.7%); 2 recurrences of malignant pleural effusion (of 39 cases or 5.1%), and 2 local recurrences after resections for stage I lung cancers (of 41 cases or 4.9%). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that video-assisted thoracic surgery is safe and effective for a wide range of procedures. A learning curve is present, and careful patient selection and attention to details are essential in optimizing surgical results.

Adolescent↗

A cross-cultural cross validation of the Dental Fear Survey in South East Asia.

This study was designed as a cross-cultural replication and cross validation of the Dental Fear Survey (DFS) in two groups of Singapore adults: university students and military conscripts. Factor analysis of the DFS in each of these dissimilar samples revealed factor structures that were highly comparable to one another as well as to those obtained in the U.S.A. Behavioral and physiological fear assessment during exposure to simulated dental treatment also showed results comparable to those found in Western cultures. Self report measures were more likely to correlate with other self reports than with physiologic or behavioral measures. Among university students, those who had visited a dentist within the past year had significantly lower DFS scores than those who had avoided dentistry. The fear-avoidance relationship did not hold for military subjects who reported less dental fear overall. It was concluded that the DFS was factorially stable; and therefore, generalizable to this South East Asia culture.

Adolescent↗

High prevalence of human skeletal muscle sarcocystosis in south-east Asia.

The prevalence of human skeletal muscle sarcocystosis in Malaysia was determined by serial examination of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of tongue tissues obtained from consecutive, routine autopsies of subjects aged 12 years or more. Of 100 tongues examined, 21% were found to contain Sarcocystis; 66 cysts were found. The number of cysts per case varied from 1 to 13. In one case, 5 cysts were found in a single tissue section. The age range of positive cases was from 16 to 57 years (mean 37.7 years). Prevalence did not differ with regard to race, sex or occupation. The prevalence of human muscular sarcocystosis in our study was higher than that reported elsewhere. Preferential localization of Sarcocystis in tongue or head and neck and/or genuinely high prevalence in south-east Asia are possible explanations for this observation.

Adolescent↗

A comparative study on the immune response of sheep to foot and mouth disease virus vaccine type Asia-1 prepared with different inactivants and adjuvants.

Foot and mouth disease virus type Asia-1 was inactivated either with formaldehyde or binaryethylenimine (BEI). Inactivated vaccines were prepared incorporating aluminium hydroxide gel or mineral oil as an adjuvant. The antibody response to the adult sheep was studied by ELISA and SN test for a period of 6 months. There was no difference in the antibody response between vaccines inactivated with formaldehyde or BEI. Whereas significant difference in the antibody response was observed between gel and oil vaccines. The high titres of antibody stimulated by oil vaccines persisted longer than those of gel vaccines within the period of study.

Animals↗

Geographical distribution of persistent organochlorines in air, water and sediments from Asia and Oceania, and their implications for global redistribution from lower latitudes.

Persistent organochlorines in air, river water and sediment samples were analysed from eastern and southern Asia (India, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia) and Oceania (Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands) to elucidate their geographical distribution in tropical environment. The concentrations of organochlorines in these abiotic samples collected from Taiwan, Japan and Australia were also monitored for comparison. Atmospheric and hydrospheric concentrations of HCHs (hexachlorocyclohexanes) and DDTs (DDT and its metabolites) in the tropical developing countries were apparently higher than those observed in the developed nations, suggesting extensive usage of these chemicals in the lower latitudes. CHLs (chlordane compounds) and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were also occasionally observed at higher levels in the tropics, implying that their usage area is also expanding southward. Distribution patterns of organochlorines in sediments showed smaller spatial variations on global terms, indicating that the chemicals released in the tropical environment are dispersed rapidly through air and water and retained less in sediments. The ratios of organochlorine concentrations in sediment and water phases were positively correlated with the latitude of sampling, suggesting that persistent and semivolatile compounds discharged in the tropics tend to be redistributed on a global scale.

Journal Article↗

The role of massage in south Asia: child health and development.

Massage, together with breast-feeding, are the two fundamental nurturing practices of women in south Asia. In Mithila women are expected to massage their infants daily. If they do not, they lay themselves open to censure. Implicit in massage is the idea that a child's health is preserved by fostering its strength and invulnerability. Massage 'works' by instilling fearlessness, hardening bone structure, enhancing movement and limb coordination, and increasing weight. These practices, in turn, are premised on the idea that between birth and weaning the infant is highly impressionable such that its identity can be shaped by the women who nurture it.

Child Development↗

Antibody response to 146S particle, 12S protein subunit and isolated VP1 polypeptide of foot-and-mouth disease virus type Asia-1.

The antibody response to foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) antigens of type Asia-1 in guinea-pigs was studied by micro-serum neutralization test (MSNT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). One inoculation of as little as 1 microgram of binary ethyleneimine (BEI)-inactivated 146S virus particles in guinea-pigs elicited enough neutralizing antibodies to protect them against challenge with virulent virus. However, one inoculation of live 146S virus particles elicited higher levels of neutralizing antibodies in guinea-pigs than that of inactivated 146S particles. One inoculation of 12S protein subunits in guinea-pigs elicited only non-neutralizing anti-12S antibodies detected by ELISA. Similarly, non-neutralizing anti-VP1 antibodies were detected by ELISA after one inoculation of VP1. However, multiple inoculations of 12S or VP1 elicited measurable neutralizing antibodies in guinea-pigs that protected them against challenge.

Animals↗

Aztreonam-avibactam Activity against Enterobacterales from Asia Pacific and Latin American Medical Centres: Summary of 5 years of Surveillance prior to Clinical Use (2020-2024).

OBJECTIVES: To assess the in vitro activity of aztreonam-avibactam against Enterobacterales from the Asia Pacific region (APAC) and Latin America (LATAM) during a 5-year period prior to its approval for clinical use in these regions. METHODS: 12,039 Enterobacterales isolates were consecutively collected in 2020-2024 from 17 medical centres in APAC (n=7,369) and 10 in LATAM (n=4,670) then susceptibility tested by broth microdilution. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and isolates with elevated aztreonam-avibactam MICs (>4 mg/L) were submitted to whole genome sequencing. RESULTS: Aztreonam-avibactam was active against 99.9% of Enterobacterales from APAC and LATAM and exhibited potent activity against CRE isolates (MIC50/90, 0.25/2 mg/L; 97.3% susceptible in APAC and MIC50/90, 0.25/0.5 mg/L; 99.4% susceptible in LATAM). Cefiderocol was active against 91.2% of CREs from APAC and LATAM. Ceftazidime-avibactam, meropenem-vaborbactam, and imipenem-relebactam showed limited activity against CRE isolates from LATAM (53.5% to 64.8% susceptibility) and APAC (27.3% to 38.8% susceptible). The occurrence of carbapenemases varied clearly among the countries evaluated. In general, metallo-&#x3b2;-lactamases (MBLs) prevailed in APAC and KPCs predominated in LATAM, but with great variability among countries within a region. Decreased susceptibility to aztreonam-avibactam was largely due to PBP3 alterations plus the production of CMY and/or CTX-M &#x3b2;-lactamases among Escherichia coli, and decreased membrane permeability associated with KPC production among Klebsiella pneumoniae. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this investigation provide a baseline for monitoring the activity of aztreonam-avibactam in APAC and LATAM and emphasize the importance of surveillance programs to monitor the emergence of resistance markers.

Aztreonam-avibactam↗

New primates from the late Eocene of Thailand: a contribution to primate diversity in the Paleogene of Asia.

We report the discovery of two new primates from the late Eocene Krabi Basin, southern Thailand. One isolated upper molar displays morphological features (protocone united with hypocone by the prehypocrista, postprotocrista extended distobuccally) suggesting possible phylogenetic relationships with Amphipithecidae, while an isolated lower molar is tentatively referred to as a new tarsiiform, mainly on the basis of its paraconid and entoconid morphology. Although very scarce, these remains expand the record of Paleogene primates in Southeast Asia, and testify to their successful radiation in that area.

Animals↗

Association of interleukin-1 gene polymorphisms with dementia in a community-based sample: the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study.

The interleukin-1 (IL-1) pro-inflammatory cytokine family participates in inflammatory processes and vessel damage involved in neurodegeneration. Recent studies suggest that Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) may share genetic risk factors. In this study, the frequency of polymorphisms in the genes coding for interleukin (IL)-1alpha, IL-1beta and the IL-1 receptor antagonist (RN) and their genotype associations with late-onset AD and VaD were determined in a Japanese-American cohort of men (n=931) participating in the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study (HAAS). A significant association was found between the IL-1beta (-511) and IL-1RN (+2018) polymorphisms and AD, suggesting that these variants confer an increased risk. Possessing the IL-1beta (-511) T/T genotype was also associated with VaD. There was no difference in the IL-1beta (+3953) frequency among the groups. Our results support the hypothesis that certain genetic variations contained within the IL-1 gene family contribute to the pathogenesis of dementia.

Aged↗