Studies in the social thought of M. G. Ranade.

Mode of access: Internet.

The soviet Far East and central Asia,

Mode of access: Internet.

Patterns of cancer among Asians and Pacific Islanders in Illinois : incidence, 1993-1997 : mortality, 1992-1998 /

"09/00"--Colophon.

The desert; further studies in natural appearances,

Deals with the desert world that stretches down the Pacific coast, and across Arizona and Sonora. c.f. Pref.

Diplōmatikai energeiai Manouēl II tou Palaiologou en Eurōpē kai Asia : historikai sēmeiōseis epi tē vasei tōn hopoiōn egeneto anakoinōsis en tō diethnei synedriō tōn Anatolistōn en tē megalē aithousē tou Panepistēmiou hypo Karolou Diehl tē 11 Apriliou 1912 /

Mode of access: Internet.

The great Dominion; studies of Canada;

Introductory.--The North-west.--The Canadian Pacific railway.--Coal.--Eastern Canada.--British Columbia.--Northern Canada: the great fur country.--Trade relations and trade policy.--Labour, education and political tendencies.

Late Quaternary uplift and subsidence of the west coast of Tanna, south Vanuatu, southwest Pacific: U-Th ages of raised coral reefs in the Median Sedimentary Basin

Twelve Late Quaternary TIMS U-Th ages are reported here from 10 coral samples collected in situ from five transgressive coral/algal raised reefs (height: max. 113 m, min. 8 m) and two raised lagoonal deposits (height: max. 18 m, min. 8 m) along and near the west coast of Tanna, which lies in the Median Sedimentary Basin of South Vanuatu, southwest Pacific. These reefs and raised lagoonal deposits represent several age groups: (i) 215 ka (marine oxygen-isotope stage 7) penultimate interglacial (highest elevation and oldest); (ii) one lagoonal deposit of ca 127 ka (marine oxygen-isotope stage 5e); (iii) three last interglacial reefs with ages 102, 89 and 81 ka (representing marine oxygen-isotope stages 5c, 5b and 5a, respectively, of the latter part of the last interglacial); (iv) a lagoonal deposit with a 92 ka age (5b); and (v) a Holocene reef (age >5.7-5.0 ka) (lowest elevation and youngest). A ca 4.9 ka regressive reef (at elevation of 1.5 m above sea-level) is consistent with an island-wide 6.5 m uplift (probably largely coseismic), and a probable further island-wide uplift occurred in the late Holocene. The U-series ages taken together with the heights of transgressive reefs show that uplift since 215 ka was, on average, at similar to0.52 mm/y; although since 5 ka the uplift rate was, on average, similar to1.6 mm/y (the assumption being that a 1.5 m above sea-level reef has a coseismic origin). Elevation of transgressive reefs 5a, 5b and 5c and their ages indicates an island-wide subsidence during the period ?124-89 ka (i.e. Late Quaternary uplift/subsidence was jerky). Late Quaternary uplift/subsidence on the northwest coast of Tanna is considered to be due to irregular thicknesses of crust being subducted beneath Tanna.

Symbiont diversity within the widespread Scleractinian coral Plesiastrea versipore across the northwestern Pacific

The molecular diversity of symbiotic dinoflagellates associated with the widespread western Pacific coral Plesiastrea versipora was explored in order to examine if associations between reef-building corals and symbiotic dinoflagellates change with environment. Several ribosomal DNA genes with different evolutionary rates were used.. including the large subunit (28S), the 5.8S region and the internal transcribed spacers (ITS). The phylogenetic analysis of the 28S and 5.8S rDNA regions indicated that a single endosymbiont species, highly related to one of the species of Symbiodinium in clade C (=Synbiodinium goreaui, Trench et Blank), associates with P. versipora along the Ryukyu Archipelago. The persistence of the same endosymbiont within P. versipora across this wide array of latitudes may be a result of such features as the Kuroshio Current, which brings tropical temperatures as far north as Honshu, Japan. Analysis of the faster evolving ITS rDNA region revealed significant genetic variability within endosymbionts from different populations. This variation was due to a high degree of interpopulation variability, based on the proportion of pairwise variation detected among the populations (0.95% approximately). By comparison with other studies, the results also indicate that some ITS1 haplotypes from P. versipora endosymbionts seem to be widely distributed within the western Pacific Ocean, ranging from the Great Barrier Reef to the northeast of the China Sea.

Pacific pandanus fruit: an ethnographic approach to understanding an overlooked source of provitamin A carotenoids

Commonly recommended plant sources of provitamin A, such as dark green leafy vegetables, are not acceptable in many population groups. The objective of this study was to identify other indigenous foods that may be effectively promoted to alleviate vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and to gather information relevant to identification, production, acquisition, and consumption of foods relevant to a food-based VAD prevention strategy in the Federated States of Micronesia. An ethnographic study on edible pandanus cultivars, involving key informant interviews and observation was carried out. Analyses revealed a great range in carotenoid content. Several orange-coloured pandanus cultivars, all highly acceptable, contained high levels of carotenoid, almost meeting daily requirements in usual consumption patterns, whereas light yellow-coloured cultivars contained low levels. Availability has decreased substantially in recent years due to increased consumption of imported foods and general neglect of indigenous foods. High-carotenoid pandanus should be promoted for general enjoyment and health benefits.

Southeast Asia and China: The role of history and culture in shaping future relations

Despite the position of the United States as de facto global hegemon, China is a rising power in the world. As Chinese power grows, the projection of Chinese influence will be felt most acutely in Southeast Asia. Whether to accommodate, contain or resist China will depend on future developments that none can foresee, including Chinese ambitions, the policies of other international players (the U.S., Japan), and the cohesion or fragility of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN). This paper argues that in deciding how best to deal with China, two factors that will influence the countries of Southeast Asia are their own long histories of bilateral relations with China and their own differing conceptions of how foreign relations should be conducted. This is to argue that history and culture are central to any understanding of the likely future shape of China-Southeast Asia relations. Only by taking history and culture into account will analysts be in a position to predict how the mainland and maritime states of Southeast Asia are likely to respond to a more powerful, confident and assertive China.

Prevalence of HBsAg mutants and impact of hepatitis B infant immunisation in four Pacific Island countries

The prevalence rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Pacific Island countries is amongst the highest in the world. Hepatitis B immunisation has been incorporated into national programmes at various times, often with erratic supply and coverage, until a regionally co-ordinated programme, which commenced in 1995 ensured adequate supply. The effectiveness of these programmes was recently evaluated in four countries, Vanuatu and Fiji in Melanesia, Tonga in Polynesia and Kiribati in Micronesia. That evaluation established that the programmes had a substantial beneficial impact in preventing chronic hepatitis B infection [Vaccine 18 (2000) 3059]. Several studies of hepatitis B vaccination programmes in endemic countries have identified the potential significance of surface gene mutants as a cause for failure of immunisation. In the study outlined in this paper, we screened infected children and their mothers for the emergence and prevalence of these variants in specimens collected from the four country evaluation. Although the opportunity for the emergence of HBV vaccine escape mutants in these populations was high due to the presence of a considerable amount of the virus in the population and the selection pressure from vaccine use, there were no a determinant vaccine escape mutants found. This suggests that vaccine escape variants are not an important cause for failure to prevent HBV transmission in this setting. Other HBsAg variants were detected, but their functional significance remains to be determined. The failure to provide satisfactory protection during such immunisation programmes reflects the need for achieving and sustaining high vaccine coverage, improving the timeliness of doses as well as improving 'cold-chain' support, rather than the selection of vaccine-escape mutants of HBV. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economic benefits of dolphins in the United States eastern tropical Pacific purse-seine tuna industry

This paper provides a profit-maximizing model with vessel-level dolphin mortality limits for purse seiners harvesting tunas in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The model analytically derives the shadow price (estimated economic value) for dolphin mortality, the fishing-fleet size, and the annual tuna harvest as functions of a few key fishing parameters. The model also provides a statistical method to determine the accuracy of all needed parameter estimates. The paper then applies the model to the year 1996 and the period from 1985 to 1987. The shadow price measures the economic value to the US tuna fleet of dolphins lost in the harvesting of tuna. This value is essential when attempting to evaluate the economic benefits and costs to society of any action designed to reduce the mortality of dolphins in the harvesting of tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.