Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution of the Peter the Great Bay (North-West Pacific Region) Using Brown Algae

According to the content of heavy metals Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Ni in brown algae Sargassum miyabei from the Peter the Great Bay of the Sea of Japan, geochemical factors were calculated. The algae geochemical anomaly index (IGA) characterizes the degree of excess of the background concentrations of metals. The heavy metal pollution factor (Fp) is used to estimate the degree of pollution of the marine environment with heavy metals. The Peter the Great Bay has a low level of heavy metal pollution, but some parts of second-order bays, such as Amurskii Bay, Ussuriiskii Bay and Vostok Bay, have a moderate degree of pollution. The high pollution level was registed on the western coast of the Ussuriiskii Bay near the Vladivostok city landfill. Thirty percent of sampling stations were noted to have higher threshold levels of metals in the algae. These areas need to be monitored to assess their environmental status and measures should be applied to reduce the impact on the environment.

Diabetes epidemic in the Asia pacific region:has hemoglobin A1C finally earned its place as a diagnostic tool?

Two-third of the world's population lives in the Asia Pacific region where prevalence of diabetes has reached epidemic proportion.With China and India being the most populous nations on the globe,it is believed that over 150 million diabetes reside in the region with more than 95%being of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Furthermore,other Pacific islands in the region have high rales of T2DM including Tonga.Fiji.French Polynesia,and Nauru.The latter has the highest prevalence of T2DM per population in the world.Over the past two decades,in Australia and New Zealand,the prevalence of T2DM has more than doubled,mainly amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Maori peoples respectively.With the increasing prevalence of dialietes in the Asia Pacific region coupled with the limited number of resources,use of a reliable and effective mode of diagnosis for T3DVI is warranted.Yet to date,only New Zealand has adopted the American Diabetes Association recommendation of using hemoglobin A1C in the diagnosis of the disease.The aim of this review is to discuss the clinical usefulness of hemoglobin A1C and highlight its diagnostic role in the Asia Pacific region where T2DM is increasingly encountered.

Recent Strengthening of the Regional Hadley Circulation over the Western Pacific during Boreal Spring

Previous studies suggested that there are large discrepancies in the intensity trend of the zonally averaged Hadley circulation (ZAHC) among different reanalyses. As the land, ocean, and topography are not evenly distributed, the ZAHC may mask the regional variability. Changes in the regional HC have important implications for regional climate change. Here, we detect the long-term trend of the boreal spring regional Hadley circulation intensity over the western Pacific (WPHC) since 1979 in both hemispheres using six reanalysis datasets. Unlike the ZAHC, we find that the trend of the spring WPHC intensity is consistent among various reanalysis datasets. All reanalyses show pronounced strengthening trends for the WPHC in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, which may be partly attributable to the robust warming trends of sea surface temperature in the tropical western Pacific. The result could improve our understanding of Hadley circulation variability at the regional scale and has implications for regional climate changes.

Regional disparities of phytoplankton in relation to different water masses in the Northwest Pacific Ocean during the spring and summer of 2017

The West Pacific Ocean is considered as the provenance center of global marine life and has the highest species diversity of numerous marine taxa.The phytoplankton,as the primary producer at the base of the food chain,effects on climate change,fish resources as well as the entire ecosystem.However,there are few large-scale surveys covering several currents with different hydrographic characteristics.This study aimed to explore the relationships between the spatio-temporal variation in phytoplankton community structure and different water masses.A total of 630 water samples and 90 net samples of phytoplankton were collected at 45 stations in the Northwest Pacific Ocean(21.0°–42.0°N,118.0°–156.0°E)during spring and summer 2017.A total of 281 phytoplankton taxa(>5μm)belonging to 61 genera were identified in the study area.The distribution pattern of the phytoplankton community differed significantly both spatially and temporally.The average abundances of phytoplankton in spring and summer were 797.07×10~2 cells/L and 84.94×10~2 cells/L,respectively.Whether in spring or summer,the maximum abundance always appeared in the northern transition region affected by the Oyashio Current,where nutrients were abundant and diatoms dominated the phytoplankton community;whereas the phytoplankton abundance was very low in the oligotrophic Kuroshio region,and the proportion of dinoflagellates in total abundance increased significantly.The horizontal distribution of phytoplankton abundance increased from low to high latitudes,which was consistent with the trend of nutrient distributions,but contrary to that of water temperature and salinity.In the northern area affected by the Oyashio Current,the phytoplankton abundance was mainly concentrated in the upper 30 m of water column,while the maximum abundance often occurred at depths of 50–75 m in the south-central area affected by the Kuroshio Current.Pearson correlation and redundancy analysis(RDA)showed that phytoplankton abundance was significant negatively correlated with temperature and salinity,but positively correlated with nutrient concentration.The phytoplankton community structure was mainly determined by nutrient availability,especially the N:P ratio.

Introduction to the Regional Coupled Model WRF4-LICOM: Performance and Model Intercomparison over the Western North Pacific

Regional coupled modeling is one of the frontiers of regional climate modeling,but intercomparison has not been well coordinated.In this study,a community regional climate model,WRF4,with a resolution of 15 km,was coupled with a high-resolution(0.1°)North Pacific Ocean model(LICOM_np).The performance of the regional coupled model,WRF4_LICOM,was compared to that of another regional coupled model,RegCM4_LICOM,which was a coupling of version 4 of the Regional Climate Model(RegCM4)with LICOM_np.The analysis focused on the 2005 western North Pacific summer monsoon rainfall.The results showed that the regional coupled models with either RegCM4 or WRF4 as their atmospheric model component simulated the broad features over the WNP reasonably well.Quantitative intercomparison of the regional coupled simulations exhibited different biases for different climate variables.RegCM4_LICOM exhibited smaller biases in its simulation of the averaged June–July–August SST and rainfall,while WRF4_LICOM better captured the tropical cyclone(TC)intensity,the percentage contributions of rainfall induced by TCs to the total rainfall,and the diurnal cycle of rainfall and stratiform percentages,especially over land areas.The different behaviors in rainfall simulated by the two models were partly ascribed to the behaviors in the simulated western North Pacific subtropical high(WNPSH).The stronger(weaker)WNPSH in WRF4_LICOM(RegCM4_LICOM)was driven by overestimated(underestimated)diabatic heating,which peaked at approximately 450 hPa over the region around the Philippines in association with different condensation–radiation processes.Coupling of WRF4 with LIOCM is a crucial step towards the development of the next generation of regional earth system models at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Incidence and mortality of female breast cancer in the AsiaPacific region

Objective: To provide an overview of the incidence and mortality of female breast cancer for countries in the Asia-Pacific region.Methods: Statistical information about breast cancer was obtained from publicly available cancer registry and mortality databases(such as GLOBOCAN), and supplemented with data requested from individual cancer registries. Rates were directly age-standardised to the Segi World Standard population and trends were analysed using joinpoint models.Results: Breast cancer was the most common type of cancer among females in the region, accounting for 18% of all cases in 2012, and was the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths(9%). Although incidence rates remain much higher in New Zealand and Australia, rapid rises in recent years were observed in several Asian countries. Large increases in breast cancer mortality rates also occurred in many areas, particularly Malaysia and Thailand, in contrast to stabilising trends in Hong Kong and Singapore, while decreases have been recorded in Australia and New Zealand. Mortality trends tended to be more favourable for women aged under 50 compared to those who were 50 years or older. Conclusion: It is anticipated that incidence rates of breast cancer in developing countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region will continue to increase. Early detection and access to optimal treatment are the keys to reducing breast cancerrelated mortality, but cultural and economic obstacles persist. Consequently, the challenge is to customise breast cancer control initiatives to the particular needs of each country to ensure the best possible outcomes.

Influence of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on regional sea level rise in the Pacific Ocean from 1993 to 2012

The rate of regional sea level rise(SLR) provides important information about the impact of human activities on climate change.However,accurate estimation of regional SLR can be severely affected by sea surface height(SSH) change caused by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO-SSH).Here,the PDOSSH signal is extracted from satellite altimeter data by multi-variable linear regression,and regional SLR in the altimeter era is calculated,before and after removing that signal.The results show that PDO-SSH trends are rising in the western Pacific and falling in the eastern Pacific,with the strongest signal confined to the tropical and North Pacific.Over the past 20 years,the PDO-SSH accounts for about 30%-40%of altimeter-observed SLR in the regions 8°-15°N,130°-160°E and 30°-40°N,170°-220°E.Along the coast of North America,the PDO-SSH signal dramatically offsets the coastal SLR,as the sea level trends change sign from falling to rising.

Dual Structural Contradictions in China’s Neighboring Areas and the Construction of US Coalition System in the Indo-Pacific

Strengthening alliances and building coalitions has always been the core strategy for the United States to maintain its global hegemony.1 Currently,the United States is concentrating its efforts on strengthening the coalition system in the Indo-Pacific to balance China’s growing influence in the region.

REGIONAL FEATURES OF LONG-TERM SST VARIATION IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC WARM POOL AREA

The main features of SST interannual and long term variations in the Western Pacific Warm Pool area were studied by using regression analysis, running t test and spectral analysis methods based on monthly mean SST data in the Pacific during 1950-1998. The results showed that the SST inter annual and long term variations in the Western Pacific Warm Pool area had evident regional features. There were significant differences in variation range, phase, period, occurrence time of abrupt variation between SST in the eastern area (east of 160°E) and SST in the western area (west of 160°E).

Abbreviated Report of the WHO Western Pacific Region Workshop on National Plans of Action for Nutrition: Key Elements for Success, Constraints and Future Plans

A workshop on National Plans of Action for Nutrition: Constraints, Key Elements for Success, and Future Plans was convened and organized by the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific in collaboration with the Institute for Medical Research Malaysia and co sponsored with FAO and UNICEF from 25—29 October 1999. It was attended by representatives of 25 countries in the region and resource persons, representatives from WHO and other international agencies. The objectives of the workshop were to review the progress of countries in developing, implementing and monitoring national plans of action for nutrition (NPANs) in the Western Pacific Region and to identify constraints and key elements of success in these efforts. Most of the countries have NPANs, either approved and implemented or awaiting official endorsement. The Plan formulation is usually multisectoral, involving several government ministries, non governmental organizations, and international agencies. Often official adoption or endorsement of the Plan comes from the head of state and cabinet or the minister of health, one to six years from the start of its formulation. The NPAN has stimulated support for the development and implementation of nutrition projects and activities, with comparatively greater involvement of and more support from government ministries, UN agencies and non-governmental agencies compared to local communities, bilateral and private sectors and research and academic institutions. Monitoring and evaluation are important components of NPANs. They are, however, not given high priority and often not built into the plan. The role of an intersectoral coordinating body is considered crucial to a country's nutrition program. Most countries have an intersectoral structure or coordinating body to ensure the proper implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their NPANs. The workshop identified the constraints and key elements of success in each of the four stages of the NPAN process: development, operationalization, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Constraints to the NPAN process relate to the political and socioeconomic environment, resource scarcity, control and management processes, and factors related to sustainability. The group's review of NPAN identified successful NPANs as those based on recent, adequate and good quality information on the nutritional situation of the country, and on the selection of strategies, priorities and interventions that are relevant to the country and backed up by adequate resources. Continued high level political commitment, a multisectoral approach, and adequate participation of local communities are other key elements for success. The participants agreed on future actions and support needed from various sources for the further development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their NPANs. The recommendations for future actions were categorized into actions pertaining to countries with working NPAN, actions for countries without working NPAN and actions relevant to all countries. There was also a set of suggested actions at the regional level, such as holding of regular regional NPAN evaluation meetings, inclusion of NPAN on the agenda of regional fora by the regional organizations, and strengthening of regional nutrition networks.

The structural characteristics of precipitation in Asian-Pacific's three monsoon regions measured by tropical rainfall measurement mission

The three-dimensional structure of precipitation on a seasonal scale in the Asian-Pacific＇s three monsoon regions is investigated based on the tropical rainfall measurement mission （TRMM） data. The results show that： （1） The maximum seasonal variation of the relative proportional difference of convective precipitation and stratiform rain occurs in the East Asian monsoon region, the second occurs in the Indian monsoon region, and the minimum is in the northwest Pacific monsoon region. In both the northwest Pacific mon soon region and the Indian monsoon region, the convective rain is proportionately larger than stratiform rain in all four seasons. （2） Cloud ice reaches its maximum at around 9 km. Cloud water＇s maximum range is between 3 and 4 km. The large value area of precipitation ice is mainly between 4 and 9 km. The precipi tation water particle is concentrated mostly below 4 km. The largest content is from the ground to 2 km. （3） The most remarkable variance of the content of cloud ice in the Indian monsoon region occurs from spring to winter, and the content of cloud water in the northwest Pacific is always higher than that in the other two regions. （4） The latent heat profile has a similar double-peak structure. The first peak is at 4 km and the second peak is at 2 km. In autumn and winter, the latent heat is higher in the northwest Pacific than in other two regions. In all three regions, the release of the latent heat is higher in summer and autumn than in spring and winter.

Movements of the Western Pacific Warm Pool Centroid and Their Relationship to Sea Surface Temperature Changes in Nino Regions

By using monthly historical sea surface temperature (SST) data for the years from 1950 to 2000, the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) climatology and anomalies are studied in this paper. The analysis of WPWP centroid (WPWPC) movement anomalies and the Nifio-3 region SST anomalies(SSTA) seems to reveal a close, linear relation between the zonal WPWPC and Nifio-3 region SSTA, which suggests that a 9° anomaly of the zonal displacement from the climatological position of the WPWPC corresponds to about a 1℃ anomaly in the Nino-3 region area-mean SST. This study connects the WPWPC zonal displacement with the Nino-3 SSTA, and it may be helpful in better understanding the fact that the WPWP eastward extension is conducive to the Nifio-3 region SST increase during an E1 Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event.

Variability of Tropical Cyclone in High Frequent Occurrence Regions over the Western North Pacific

In this study, three high frequent occurrence regions of tropical cyclones(TCs), i.e., the northern South China Sea(the region S), the south Philippine Sea(the region P) and the region east of Taiwan Island(the region E), are defined with frequency of TC's occurrence at each grid for a 45-year period(1965–2009), where the frequency of occurrence(FO) of TCs is triple the mean value of the whole western North Pacific. Over the region S, there are decreasing trends in the FO of TCs, the number of TCs' tracks going though this region and the number of TCs' genesis in this region. Over the region P, the FO and tracks demonstrate decadal variation with periods of 10–12 year, while over the region E, a significant 4–5 years' oscillation appears in both FO and tracks. It is demonstrated that the differences of TCs' variation in these three different regions are mainly caused by the variation of the Western Pacific Subtropical High(WPSH) at different time scales. The westward shift of WPSH is responsible for the northwesterly anomaly over the region S which inhibits westward TC movement into the region S. On the decadal timescale, the WPSH stretches northwestward because of the anomalous anticyclone over the northwestern part of the region P, and steers more TCs reaching the region P in the greater FO years of the region P. The retreating of the WPSH on the interannual time scale is the main reason for the FO's oscillation over the region E.

Shear wave anisotropy in D” region beneath the western Pacific

Using seismic shear phases from 47 Tonga-Fiji and its adjacent region events recorded by the CENC and IRIS, and from 26 northeast Asia and north Pacific events recorded by IRIS, we studied the shear wave anisotropy in D＂ region beneath the western Pacific utilizing the ScS-S differential travel time method and obtained the splitting time values between the radial and transverse components of each ScS wave corresponding to each core-mantle boundary （CMB） reflection point. We found that most shear waves involved horizontally polarized shear wave components traveling faster than vertically polarized shear wave components through the D＂ region. The splitting time values of ScS wave range from -0.91 s to 3.21 s with an average value of 1.1 s. The strength of anisotropy varies from -0.45% to 1.56% with an average value of 0.52%. The observations and analyses show that in the D＂ region beneath the western Pacific the lateral flow is expected to be dominant and the vertical transverse isotropy may be the main anisotropic structure. This structure feature may be explained by the shape preferred orientation of the CMB chemical reaction products or partial melt and the lattice preferred orientation of the lower mantle materials caused by the lateral flow at lowermost mantle.

Characteristics of crustal variation and extensional break-up in the Western Pacific back-arc region based on a wide-angle seismic profile

The marginal sea and back-arc basins in the Western Pacific Ocean have become the focus of tectonics due to their unique tectonic location.To understand the deep crustal structure in the back-arc region,we present a 545-kmlong active-source ocean bottom seismometer(OBS)wide-angle reflection/refraction profile in the East China Sea.The P wave velocity model shows that the Moho depth rises significantly,from approximately 30 km in the East China Sea shelf to approximately 16 km in the axis of the Okinawa Trough.The lower crustal high-velocity zone(HVZ)in the southern Okinawa Trough,with V_(p) of 6.8-7.3 km/s,is a remarkable manifestation of the mantle material upwelling and accretion to the lower crust.This confirms that the lower crustal high-velocity mantle accretion is developed in the southern Okinawa Trough.During the process of back-arc extension,the crustal structure of the southern Okinawa Trough is completely invaded and penetrated by the upper mantle material in the axis region.In some areas of the southern central graben,the crust may has broken up and entered the initial stage of seafloor spreading.The discontinuous HVZs in the lower crust in the back-arc region also indicate the migration of spreading centers in the back-arc region since the Cenozoic.The asthenosphere material upwelling in the continent-ocean transition zone is constantly driving the lithosphere eastward for episodic extension,and is causing evident tectonic migration in the Western Pacific back-arc region.

The Regional Conference of the IGU on Asian Pacific Countries Successfully Held in China

TheThe Regional Conference on Asian Pacific Countries of the IGU was held from August 13 to 19,1990 at Beijing,on the premises of Peking University.It was the first of such event of the Union to take place in China.The Conference was attended by 1017 geographers from 40 countries of six continents(Asia 788,Europe 125,North America 74,Oceania 15,Latin America 7,Africa 3),with the larger delegations from:U.S.A.(45),South Korea(44),Japan(31),France(18),Italy(17),FRG(16),Canada(16),U.S.S.R.(13),Australia(10),Spain(9),U.K.(8)and India(8).China composed the majority,and Taipei sent a sizable delegation of 15,the rest of the participating countries sent 1-4 delegates each.The organizing committee of the Conference included the executive committee members of the Geographical Society of China and members of China Committee for the IGU.Profs.Huang Bingwei and Wu Chuanjun were responsible for all the activities organized during the Conference.

The Third Conference on Peace，Disarmament and Symbiosis in the Asia－Pacific Region towards 21st Century

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A HOMOGENEOUS MODEL OF UPPER LAYER CIRCULATION IN INDO-PACIFIC REGION

A homogeneous model is proposed to study the upper layer circulation in the Indo-Pacific region,the sources of the Indonesian throughflow (TF) and the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC), and the relations of the the with the North Equatorial Current (NEC) and the South Equatorial Current (SEC). The results revealed that the upper layer circulaton, as part of the Pacific Ocean general circulation, is mainly controlled by geostrophic balance; that the NECC’s volume transport is mainly sup plied by the NEC, and its variation has closer relation to the NEC than the SEC; that the TF, whose volume transport is jointly supplied by the NEC through the Mindanao Current (MC) and the SEC, with the NEC being the first source, has significant influence on the circulation structure; and that a large Celebes Sea cyclonic circulation not mentioned elsewhere so far, exists in the calculated results.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION BETWEEN CHINA AND PAN-PACIFIC COUNTRIES:IMPLICATIONS FOR ECONOMIC AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA

The primary aim of this paper is to elucidae economic and spatial impacts of the Sino-Pan-Pacific economic relationships on China. Specffically, it explores the following questions: what is the historical Process of economic cooperation between the two economies? What is the Position of inter-trade between China and Pan-Pacific countries in China's total international trade? What is the position of Pan-pacific countrys' direct investment in China? And what is the potential subsequent meaning of favorable location choice of sevral major investment countries in China?

Analysis of Special Education in the Asia Pacific Region

In recent years,the special education of all countries in the Asia Pacific has developed greatly.Most of the countries are developing the relevant special education law and policy or plan,setting up special management and coordination mechanism,school education and teacher training for further development.The occupation technology education has attracted extensive at?tention,the integration of education and social cooperation is becoming more and more attention.In this paper,the similarities and differences on Legal policy and planning,Organization and institution building and education and training in the Asia Pacific Region,such as Indonesia,Japan,Korean and Singapore are compared and discussed.The questions and solutions are proposed to promote the development on the special education in the Asia Pacific Region.Strengthening international exchanges and draw?ing on advanced experience is the most important methods.