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.

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.

STATUS OF PACIFIC REGION IN GLOBAL CHANGE——An Analysis of the X VIII Pacific Science Congress

Last June more than one thousand scientists from over 50 countries in the Pacific and other regions of the world gathered in Beijing of China and participated in the ⅩⅤⅢ Pacific Science Congress. This was an international general academic congress which had involved natural science, social science, engineering science,

Urgent needs in fostering neglected tropical diseases(NTDs)laboratory capacity in WHO Western Pacific Region:results from the external quality assessment on NTDs diagnosis in 2012-2015

Background:Neglected tropical diseases(NTDs)are a heterogeneous group of mainly chronic,debilitating and often stigmatizing diseases that largely affects low-income and politically marginalized populations,causing a large burden of public health,social and economies in the NTDs endemic countries.NTDs are caused by infections with a range of pathogen,including bacteria,parasites,protozoa and viruses.The accurate diagnosis of NTDs is important for reducing morbidity,preventing mortality and for monitoring of control programs.External Quality Assessment(EQA),a component of laboratory quality assurance,aims to assess the performance of participating laboratories in detecting parasitic infections.The aim of this paper is to report the findings and put forward the recommendations on capacity build from the EQA results of participating NTDs laboratories in selected countries in the WHO Western Pacific Region from 2012 to 2015.Methods:Reference or public health laboratories at national level working on NTDs in 6 countries participated in EQAs organized by the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases(NIPD)of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)based in Shanghai,China.Two representatives of each participating laboratory were invited to NIPD to detect NTDs’parasitic infections using the same prepared samples for serological tests(IHA and ELISA)and helminth eggs’morphological tests(Direct smear and Kato-Katz).All of the results were scored and analyzed by using SPSS statistics 19.0 software.Results:The percentage of participants who had EQA score≥60 during 2012-2015 for direct smear test were 80.00%(2012),71.43%(2013),100%(2014)and 75.00%(2015),whereas for Kato-Katz test were 80.00%(2012),57.14%(2013),100%(2014)and 37.50%(2015),respectively.The detection rate of helminth eggs varied in different species,with Ascaris lumbricoides being the highest at 94.07%in average.All laboratories did very well with ELISA tests as shown by the high scores in all four years except Lab A in the first and last EQA.For the positive or negative judgments of serum samples,the total coincidence rates of ELISA between 2012 and 2015 were 90.00%,99.29%,94.29%and 98.75%,respectively.While the total coincidence rates of IHA were respectively 100%,95.00%,90.00%and 97.50%.However,detecting low levels of serum antibody remained problematic for IHA when the titres of samples were taken into consideration.Conclusion:This study demonstrate that EQA scheme have been beneficial to the participating laboratories.The EQA programme identifies certain deficiencies which were needed to overcome and improved the laboratories’performance in helminthiasis diagnosis.However,further optimization of accuracy and uniformity in NTDs diagnosis remains a big challenge.

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 Distribution of Petroleum Resources and Characteristics of Main Petroliferous Basins along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road

The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, abbreviated as the Belt and Road Initiative, is a primary development strategy of China＇s future international cooperation. Especially, the energy resource cooperation, including oil and gas resources cooperation, is an important part of this initiative. The Belt and Road has undergone complicated geological evolution, and contains abundant mineral resources such as oil, gas, coal, uranium, iron, copper, gold and manganese ore resources. Among these, Africa holds 7.8% of the world＇s total proven oil reserves. The oil and gas resources in Africa are relatively concentrated, with an overall low exploration degree and small consumption demand. Nigeria and Libya contain the most abundant oil resources in Africa, accounting for 2.2% and 2.9% of the world＇s total reserves, respectively. Nigeria and Algeria hold the richest natural gas resources in Africa, occupying 2.8% and 2.4% of the world＇s total reserves, respectively. Africa＇s oil and gas resources are mainly concentrated in Egypt, Sultan and Western Sahara regions in the northern Africa, and the Gulf of Guinea, Niger River and Congo River area in the western Africa. The Russia--Central Asia area holds rich petroleum resources in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The potential oil and gas areas include the West Siberia Basin, East Siberia Basin and sea continental shelf in Russia, the northern and central Caspian Basin in Kazakhstan, the right bank of the Amu-Darya Basin, the East Karakum uplift and the South Caspian Basin in Turkmenistan, and the Amu-Daria Basin, Fergana Basin, Afghan-Tajik Basin and North Ustyurt Basin in Uzbekistan. The Middle East oil and gas resources are mainly distributed in the Zagros foreland basin and Arabian continental margin basin, and the main oil-producing countries include Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq. The Asia Pacific region is a new oil and gas consumption center, with rapid growth of oil and gas demand. In 2012, this region consumed about 33.6% of the world＇s total oil consumption and 18.9% of the world＇s total natural gas consumption, which has been ranked the world＇s largest oil and gas consumption center. The oil and gas resources are concentrated in China, Indosinian, Malaysia, Australia and India. The abundant European proven crude oil reserves are in Norway, Britain and Denmark and also rich natural gas resources in Norway, Holland and Britain. Norway and Britain contain about 77.5% of European proven oil reserves, which accounts for only 0.9% of the world＇s proven reserves. The Europe includes main petroliferous basins of the Voring Basin, Anglo-Dutch Basin, Northwest German Basin, Northeast German-Polish Basin and Carpathian Basin. According to the analysis of source rocks, reservoir rocks, cap rocks and traps for the main petroliferous basins, the potential oil and gas prospecting targets in the Belt and Road are mainly the Zagros Basin and Arabic Platform in the Middle East, the East Barents Sea Basin and the East Siberia Basin in Russia-Central Asia, the Niger Delta Basin, East African rift system and the Australia Northwest Shelf. With the development of oil and gas theory and exploration technology, unconventional petroleum resources will play an increasingly important role in oil and gas industry.

Cross-Cultural Bioethics at an International University in Japan

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University （APU） in Beppu city, Japan has a large body of students from well over 90 countries, especially from the Asia Pacific region, including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian students. To improve analytical thinking skills among college students, a course on ＂bioethics＂ was introduced and offered in two consecutive semesters to undergraduate students for which 245 students registered at each semester. The course was taught in the form of 14 lecture and discussion sessions, each for 95 minutes based on the content of A Cross-Cultural Introduction to Bioethics （2006） edited by Darryl Macer, and reviewed a wide variety of ethical and bioethical issues. In the next semester, the students received a similar teaching content that was rearranged to reflect the 15 universal principles of bioethics and human rights covered in the Bioethics Core Curriculum （2008）. Case studies were also added to each unit of the Core Curriculum with the support of the UNESCO＇s Asia Pacific Regional Office, Bangkok （Case Studies for Bioethics 2010）. To evaluate the results of teaching and to compare the achieved objectives between the two groups of students, a short questionnaire was given to all students who finished the course and took up the final written examination. In the whole, 454 students （225 in group I and 229 in group 2） completed the course and took the final examination and 427 （218 in group 1 and 209 in group 2） responded to the questionnaire which inquired into their interest in the discussion of bioethical issues： why they believed they were important, and what they had learned through them. The results of the questionnaire have been examined and compared to evaluate the success of ＂bioethics＂ in stimulating the interest and thinking ability of the students and enriching their experience of a cross-cultural discussion over bioethical issues using universal principles as general guidance. The result of this examination was so impressive that from 2011 bioethics has been formalized into the reformed curriculum of our international school.

INTERDECADAL AND INTERANNUAL VARIABILITIES OF AIR AND SEA AND THEIR RELATIONS OVER THE PACIFIC

Regional differences and relations of the atmospheric and oceanic interdecadal and interannual variability in the Pacific are addressed in terms of period analysis and singular value decomposition (SVD) method.Results show that the interdecadal anomalies are more significant in the North Pacific (NP) than in the tropical Pacific (TP),and the interannual anomalies in the TP than in the NP in the variance of air-sea anomalies:the interdecadally variational character of a surface (shallow) layer sea and air is unanimous in the same season and region,and the transition of a high mode to a low one both occurred at the end of 1970s and the beginning of 1980s,with an exception for July in the NP,which is related to the stability of the stratification of sub-surface layer sea temperature:the interannual scale air-sea anomalies are associated with ENSO,which is most typical for January,then July in the TP,followed by January in the NP,and there is no visible relationships for July in the NP.