Asia matters for America / America matters for Asia

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/This publication covers US relations with 40 countries in Asia and highlights the many trade, investment, people-to-people, government and educational ties that bind the US and the Asia-Pacific region. The East-West Center gratefully acknowledges the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, the United States Studies Center at the University of Sydney and the Asian Institute for Policy Studies Click here to see a full map of all congressional district exports to Asi

America’s 2016 election debate on Asia policy and Asian reactions

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/The 2015-2016 presidential election campaign has had major effects on recent debates regarding U.S. Asia policy. Going into the campaign, the debates focused heavily on the efficacy of the Obama Administration's signature "Asia Rebalance" and as a corollary the perceived U.S. weaknesses in the face of growing challenges from China. As the campaign has progressed, the broad concern with the rebalance and China remains active but secondary. Two sets of issues now overshadow the earlier focus: international trade and the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) accord, and candidate Donald Trump's controversial proposals on allied burden-sharing, nuclear weapons proliferation and North Korea. Bipartisan criticism of the TPP poses serious obstacles to U.S. government approval of the pact. Candidate Trump's controversial proposals on alliances, nuclear proliferation and North Korea were singular, provoking widespread opposition including from senior Republicans in Congress and other candidates and therefore unlikely to be easily implemented even if he were elected. Uncertainty over U.S. approval of the TPP and surprise over Donald Trump's controversial proposals upset, to varying degrees, U.S. allies Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia, as well as Taiwan, India and other Asian partners. Commentators in Beijing welcomed circumstances that lowered China's profile in the U.S. election rhetoric; they saw clear advantages along with some possible disadvantages in recent uncertainty over the TPP and U.S. relations with Asian allies

Predicting poor compliance with follow-up and intrauterine contraception services after medical termination of pregnancy

Background Attendance at post-abortion follow-up visits is poor, but little is known about factors affecting it. Objective To assess the factors associated with non-compliance with post-abortion services and to evaluate differences in rates of attendance and intrauterine device (IUD) insertion according to the type of service provision. Methods 605 women undergoing a first trimester medical termination of pregnancy (MTOP) and planning to use intrauterine contraception were randomised into two groups. Women in the intervention group (n=306) were booked to have IUD insertion 1-4 weeks after the MTOP at the hospital providing the abortion, while women in the control group (n=299) were advised to contact their primary healthcare (PHC) centre for follow-up and IUD insertion. Results In the intervention group, 21 (6.9%) women failed to attend the fol low-up visit, whereas in the control group 67 (22.4%) women did not contact the PHC to schedule a follow-up (p Conclusions Factors predicting low compliance with post-MTOP fol low-up are few. Comprehensive provision of abortion care and post-abortion services seems beneficial for minimising the loss to fol low-up and delay in initiation of effective contraception.Peer reviewe

Optimizing aerosolization of a high-dose L-arginine powder for pulmonary delivery

In this study a carrier-free dry powder inhalation (DPI) containing L-arginine (ARG) was developed. As such, it is proposed that ARG could be used for adjunctive treatment of cystic fibrosis and/or tuberculosis. Various processing methods were used to manufacture high-dose formulation batches consisting various amounts of ARG and excipients. The formulations were evaluated using several analytical methods to assess suitability for further investigation. Several batches had enhanced in vitro aerolization properties. Significant future challenges include the highly hygroscopic nature of unformulated ARG powder and identifying the scale of dose of ARG required to achieve the response in lungs

Korea matters for America / America matters for Korea

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/This publication, produced in partnership with The Asan Institute for Policy Studies, displays the broad-based connections of the U.S.-South Korea partnership. Click here to see a full map of all congressional district exports to Korea

Long-term outcomes of biliary atresia patients surviving with their native livers

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)Portoenterostomy (PE) has remained as the generally accepted first line surgical treatment for biliary atresia (BA) for over 50 years. Currently, close to half of BA patients survive beyond 10 years with their native livers, and most of them reach adulthood without liver transplantation (LT). Despite normalization of serum bilirubin by PE, ductular reaction and portal fibrosis persist in the native liver. The chronic cholangiopathy progresses to cirrhosis, complications of portal hypertension, recurrent cholangitis or hepatobiliary tumors necessitating LT later in life. Other common related health problems include impaired bone health, neuromotor development and quality of life. Only few high-quality trials are available for evidence-based guidance of post-PE adjuvant medical therapy or management of the disease complications. Better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms connecting native liver injury to clinical outcomes is critical for development of accurate follow-up tools and novel therapies designed to improve native liver function and survival.Peer reviewe

αV-Integrins Are Required for Mechanotransduction in MDCK Epithelial Cells

The properties of epithelial cells within tissues are regulated by their immediate microenvironment, which consists of neighboring cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Integrin heterodimers orchestrate dynamic assembly and disassembly of cell-ECM connections and thereby convey biochemical and mechanical information from the ECM into cells. However, the specific contributions and functional hierarchy between different integrin heterodimers in the regulation of focal adhesion dynamics in epithelial cells are incompletely understood. Here, we have studied the functions of RGD-binding αV-integrins in a Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell model and found that αV-integrins regulate the maturation of focal adhesions (FAs) and cell spreading. αV-integrin-deficient MDCK cells bound collagen I (Col I) substrate via α2β1-integrins but failed to efficiently recruit FA components such as talin, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), vinculin and integrin-linked kinase (ILK). The apparent inability to mature α2β1-integrin-mediated FAs and link them to cellular actin cytoskeleton led to disrupted mechanotransduction in αV-integrin deficient cells seeded onto Col I substrate

ASEAN matters for America / America matters for ASEAN

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/This publication covers US relations with the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and is a collaboration between the East-West Center, the US-ASEAN Business Council and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore (ISEAS).Click here to see a full map of all congressional district exports to ASEAN

Australia matters for America / America matters for Australia

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/This publication covers the close ties that bind the United States and Australia and is a collaboration between the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, the Perth US-Asia Centre at the University of Western Australia, and the East-West Center. Click here to see a full map of all congressional district exports to Australia

Cortical Excitability Measured with nTMS and MEG during Stroke Recovery

Objective. Stroke alters cortical excitability both in the lesioned and in the nonlesioned hemisphere. Stroke recovery has been studied using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Spontaneous brain oscillations and somatosensory evoked fields (SEFs) measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG) are modified in stroke patients during recovery. Methods. We recorded SEFs and spontaneous MEG activity and motor threshold (MT) short intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF) with navigated TMS (nTMS) at one and three months after first-ever hemispheric ischemic strokes. Changes of MEG and nTMS parameters attributed to gamma-aminobutyrate and glutamate transmission were compared. Results. ICF correlated with the strength and extent of SEF source areas depicted by MEG at three months. The nTMS MT and event-related desynchronization (ERD) of beta-band MEG activity and SICI and the beta-band MEG event-related synchronization (ERS) were correlated, but less strongly. Conclusions. This first report using sequential nTMS and MEG in stroke recovery found intra-and interhemispheric correlations of nTMS and MEG estimates of cortical excitability. ICF and SEF parameters, MT and the ERD of the lesioned hemisphere, and SICI and ERS of the nonlesioned hemisphere were correlated. Covarying excitability in the lesioned and nonlesioned hemispheres emphasizes the importance of the hemispheric balance of the excitability of the sensorimotor system.Peer reviewe