Countries In Oceania Research Articles

A bibliometric analysis of telerehabilitation services for patients with stroke.

Routine rehabilitation services were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Telehealth was identified as an alternative means to provide access to these services. This bibliometric study aimed to analyze the scientific literature to discover trends and topics in the potential applications of telerehabilitation for patients with stroke. The Web of Science electronic database was searched to retrieve relevant publications on telerehabilitation. Bibliometric data, including visual knowledge maps of authors, countries, institutions, and references, were analyzed in CiteSpace. Visualization maps were generated in VOSviewer to illustrate recurrent keywords and countries actively involved in this research area. The analysis was performed based on 6,787 publications. The number of publications peaked between 2019 and 2021, coinciding with the years of the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 113 countries in Europe, North America, Asia, and Oceania had at least one publication in this research field, implying global attention in this research area. Nine of the top 10 most productive countries are developed countries, indicating a potentially higher capability to implement a telerehabilitation program. The potential benefits and diversity of telerehabilitation are already highly visible from clinical studies, and further improvements in these technologies are expected to enhance functionality and accessibility for patients. More relevant research is encouraged to understand the barriers to increased adaptation of telerehabilitation services, which will finally translate into a significant therapeutic or preventive impact.

The Intensification of the Struggle for Influence in Oceania and the Role of Japan

The article is devoted to Japan's policy towards Oceania in the context of the growing confrontation in the region between the coalition of Western powers led by the United States, seeking to maintain and consolidate their dominant positions in Oceania, and China, which is increasingly gaining strength. The Pacific Region, with its important geostrategic position and huge resources, is becoming one of the fronts of the offensive launched by the United States and its allies to strengthen their dominant positions on the world stage. At the same time, China continues its systematic advance in the region, relying on its growing economic power, accumulated large financial assets and steadily increasing technological level. The political, economic, and military aspects of the interaction of the dominant countries in the region with small developing island states, as well as their positions in the context of increased competition and tension between the powers are studied. Particular attention is paid to Japan's desire to strengthen relations with the countries of Oceania and search for its place while maintaining close ties with the United States and its allies. Japan and island States have deep historical ties and successfully cooperate in many areas. Security issues, economic and logistical interests of Tokyo play an important role in this cooperation. Extensive multilateral and bilateral mechanisms for interaction with Pacific island countries have been created, relying on which Tokyo secures its interests in the region. An important role in this situation is played by the position of the Pacific island States, which are increasingly openly declaring their interest in developing relations with all parties, guided primarily by their own interests, the possibilities of obtaining financial and economic assistance to solve the serious problems that have accumulated in the region.

Этнография, этноботаника, этнолингвистика тропической Азии: обзор Маклаевских чтений 2021–2022 гг. и секции на Радловских чтениях 2023 г.

The paper presents a brief overview of three conferences organized by the Department of Australia, Oceania and Indonesia of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the RAS, St. Petersburg, in 2021–2023, Maclay Readings 2021 and 2022 and a panel on ethnobotany at the Radlov Readings 2023. Fieldwork in the countries of Southeast Asia and Oceania is the main focus of our Department. However, since Covid restrictions reduced our possibilities for travel during that period, ethnobotany, another topic traditional for our studies, was chosen as the main theme of the conference. Also, a number of papers dealt with the history, art, traditional and modern culture of the South of Asia and Oceania, as well as Austronesian and Austroasiatic languages.

The Threat of Cholera in Africa

A multi-country cholera outbreak has occurred in several developing countries in Africa, Asia and Oceania since mid-2021. The current multi-country cholera outbreak has spread primarily in Africa. As of February 2023, cholera cases have been reported in approximately 25 countries, 15 (60%) of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Health Organization, 547,626 confirmed cases and 4,927 total deaths were recorded until August 2023. Of these, approximately 33.68% cases (184,474) and 64.2% deaths (3,165) occurred in African countries, and the number may increase in the coming months. Although various organizations and local administrations have made response efforts, the response capacity for multiple outbreaks is insufficient, and the outbreak has been exacerbated by a global lack of resources, cholera vaccine shortages, climatic effects, a lack of supplies and the occurrence of other health emergencies. Herein, the rapid review method was used, with emphasis on available and recent global information found in Google Scholar, PubMed and data publicly available from websites. This review article provides current alert information regarding the broad spread and upsurge characteristics of the ongoing cholera outbreak.

Отраслевой аспект расширения торговли в Западной макрозоне АТР: роль глобальных форматов

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of countries participation in global trade formats on the turnover of commodity and industrial products in the Western macrozone of the Asia-Pacific Region (APR) in 1993–2021. It is shown that over the last three decades the Western macrozone of the APR, which includes the countries of East Asia, Oceania and Australia, has become the most dynamic economy in the world due to the reduction of restrictions in intra-regional trade. The estimation of border effects based on the gravity model confirmed the long-term total cost reduction for trade in commodity and industrial products in the Western macrozone of the APR. The estimates identified the crucial importance of global format mechanisms for trade expansion in the Western macrozone of the APR in the long run: by 113% for commodity products; by 101% for industrial products. The assessment of indirect trade effects revealed the key role of global formats in expanding trade in the Western macrozone of the APR by creating a common ‘benchmark’ for reducing trade barriers, including by extending such behavior to countries that have not acceded to the GATT and WTO. The discovered multiplication of direct and indirect trade effects of the GATT and WTO indicated the sufficiency of the mechanisms of global formats for the formation of a free market for commodities in the Western macrozone of the APR, which does not require the creation of free trade zones, in contrast to the market for industrial goods, which operates under conditions of monopolistic competition. The estimates obtained in the study complement the existing conclusions on the impact of integration formats on trade, indicating that the sectoral aspect of trade interactions is a key parameter for identifying rational motives explaining the use of specific integration instruments to expand trade within the Western macrozone of the APR. On the basis of the obtained assessments the motives of Russia’s long-term trade and economic positioning within the Western macrozone of the APR with reliance on the WTO mechanisms under the conditions of preserving the raw material model of the national economy are explained

Resistance Bioassays and Allele Characterization Inform Analysis of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Introduction Pathways in Asia and Australia.

The fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith; Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is present in over 70 countries in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Its rapid dispersal since 2016 when it was first reported in western Africa, and associated devastation to agricultural productivity, highlight the challenges posed by this pest. Currently, its management largely relies on insecticide sprays and transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis toxins, therefore understanding their responses to these agents and characteristics of any resistance genes enables adaptive strategies. In Australia, S. frugiperda was reported at the end of January 2020 in northern Queensland and by March 2020, also in northern Western Australia. As an urgent first response we undertook bioassays on two Australian populations, one each from these initial points of establishment. To assist with preliminary sensitivity assessment, two endemic noctuid pest species, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner; Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) and Spodoptera litura (Fabricius; Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), were concurrently screened to obtain larval LC50 estimates against various insecticides. We characterized known resistance alleles from the VGSC, ACE-1, RyR, and ABCC2 genes to compare with published allele frequencies and bioassay responses from native and invasive S. frugiperda populations. An approximately 10× LC50 difference for indoxacarb was detected between Australian populations, which was approximately 28× higher than that reported from an Indian population. Characterization of ACE-1 and VGSC alleles provided further evidence of multiple introductions in Asia, and multiple pathways involving genetically distinct individuals in Australia. The preliminary bioassay results and resistance allele patterns from invasive S. frugiperda populations suggest multiple introductions have contributed to the pest's spread and challenge the axiom of its rapid 'west-to-east' spread.

Introduction: Fertility and Social Inequalities in Migrant Populations: a Look at the Roles of Selection, Context of Reception, and Employment

This paper is the introduction to the Special Issue on “Fertility and social inequalities in migrant populations.” The Special Issue contains twelve empirical papers that deal with both international migrants and internal migrants, both women and men, both older migrant populations spanning several generations as well as recent immigrant groups, such as refugees, and include analyses of both behavior and intentions. The data used comprise macro indicators and individual-level data as well as qualitative material. Regional contexts include classical immigration countries in Europe and Oceania as well as relatively recent destinations. The papers draw on several comparative perspectives—migrants at destination, emigrants and stayers at origin, migrants with different numbers of children upon migration, and different migrant generations—to address three large questions. Six papers explore the role of time and sequencing in migrant fertility, in relation to both period effects and sequencing of births in the life course, as well as the role selection into migration plays in female and male migrants’ fertility behavior. Four papers focus into how regional variation in the receiving contexts shapes fertility behavior, highlighting the role of migrant type, human capital, and social capital. Two papers look at how childbearing is associated with different degrees of economic assimilation, i.e., maternal employment. Overall, this Special Issue demonstrates the large heterogeneity in fertility among migrant and ethnic minority groups. Social inequalities shape fertility differentials, which in turn influence subsequent life courses of migrants and ethnic minority group members. Future research on migrant assimilation should pay more attention to variation in demographic behavior.

Evolution of Research on Global Soil Water Content in the Past 30 Years Based on ITGinsight Bibliometric Analysis

Research on soil water content (SWC) has involved a wide range of disciplines and attracted constant attention. Current literature reviews primarily focus on a specific type of research on SWC and few systematic studies have been performed to fully evaluate the development and changes in hotspots of SWC research. In this study, a bibliometric analysis and visualization are used to understand the development of SWC research in countries of Europe, Asia, Oceania, and North America. The research data came from the Web of Science database and the time span was 1987-2021. Since 1987, the numbers of international SWC research papers have increased rapidly. The United States and China have the closest exchanges and most publications in the field of SWC. Keyword network maps indicated that early research on SWC was mostly in small-scale farmlands and woodlands, with diverse research hotspots including those focused on SWC stress, soil physical modeling, soil hydrothermal processes, and SWC measurement. Due to climate change, remote sensing technology development, and policies, research on SWC gradually focused on watershed, regional, and global scales, with research hotspots including those focused on evapotranspiration, land-air energy exchange, and remote sensing satellite inversion of SWC products. In addition, in recent years, the research of SWC and SMAP has attracted considerable attention worldwide. The United States has more influence in the SWC sector than China. Although the number of articles that have been published by European countries was small, the influence of those papers should not be underestimated.

How China lends: a rare look into 100 debt contracts with foreign governments

Abstract China is the world’s largest official creditor, but we lack basic facts about the terms and conditions of its lending. Very few contracts between Chinese lenders and their government borrowers have ever been published or studied. This paper is the first systematic analysis of the legal terms of China’s foreign lending. We collect and analyse 100 contracts between Chinese state-owned entities and government borrowers in 24 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Oceania, and compare them with those of other bilateral, multilateral and commercial creditors. Three main insights emerge. First, the Chinese contracts contain unusual confidentiality clauses that bar borrowers from revealing the terms or even the existence of the debt. Second, Chinese lenders seek advantage over other creditors, using collateral arrangements such as lender-controlled revenue accounts and promises to keep the debt out of collective restructuring (‘no Paris Club’ clauses). Third, cancellation, acceleration and stabilization clauses in Chinese contracts potentially allow the lenders to influence debtors’ domestic and foreign policies. Even if these terms were unenforceable in court, the mix of confidentiality, seniority and policy influence could limit the sovereign debtor’s crisis management options and complicate debt renegotiation. Overall, the contracts use creative design to manage credit risks and overcome enforcement hurdles, presenting China as a muscular and commercially savvy lender to the developing world.

Review on the teaching of programming and computational thinking in the world

Recent studies suggest that computational thinking, composed of the skills of abstraction, decomposition, algorithmization, debugging, and problem-solving, is the fundamental skill for scientific, technological, and economic development for the twenty-first century. However, this diagnosis that is unveiled in rich countries remains nebulous for poor countries. The problem is that education in computational thinking is fundamental for countries to insert themselves in the international arena in an advantageous way and thus achieve the welfare goals for the population of each country. The objective of this research was to make a bibliographic review that shows the state of the art in the teaching of computer programming and computational thinking in the 5 continents. In the review, the advances in the countries of Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia were observed, whereas in Latin America and Africa, the advances are still basic in some countries and non-existent in others. This review is based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The main search terms were “Computational thinking” and “Teaching computer programming.” The search was performed in the ACM, Conference on Computational Thinking Education (Hong-Kong), Google Scholar, WOS, and SCOPUS databases, from October until December 2020, whose publication year was from 2016 onward. One of the main results found is that the teaching of computational thinking in England was implemented in schools in 2014; in Germany, it has been implemented since 2016 at a transversal level in universities; in South Korea, China, and Taiwan, it has been implemented since 2016. However, in Latin America and Africa governments, the subject is still not considered.

Prioritizing countries for implementing waste recycling under socioeconomic supports

The implementation of waste recycling in a country has been proved to be substantially affected by the socioeconomic conditions. Whether and to what extent a country is suitable for initiating waste recycling under the current socioeconomic supports has not been explored adequately. In this study, we adopt an integrated socioeconomic index system involving five dimensions (economic, social, technological, market and consciousness) to represent the socioeconomic supports for waste recycling. Combining the index system and the improved matter-element extension model, we quantitatively stratify the holistic suitability (five ranks) for waste recycling in 68 empirical countries under different levels of socioeconomic supports. The results indicate that the developed countries in North America, Western Europe, Northern Europe and Oceania have the highest suitability for waste recycling attributed to outstanding socioeconomic conditions. Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland are divided into Rank I from both the holistic suitability and respective socioeconomic dimension perspectives. Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Czech pertain to Rank II, limited by the economic and technological conditions. Social condition is a limiting factor for some emerging economies and resource-based countries such as Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Market condition is a limiting factor for some industrial powers and resource-based countries, such as China and Saudi Arabia. The findings of this study provide the global countries with references to being well-informed of socioeconomic supports for waste recycling and directions for follow-up efforts in waste management.

The first International Conference on Mechanical System Dynamics grandly convened in Nanjing, China

The first International Conference on Mechanical System Dynamics grandly convened in Nanjing, China

The “Yo, Sí Puedo” literacy programme: a Cuban proposal to the problem of illiteracy worldwide

One of the great Cuban success stories in education and international cooperation is the literacy programme “Yo, Sí Puedo”. Created in 2001 within the Latin American and Caribbean Pedagogical Institute (IPLAC) of the Cuban Ministry of Education, with the aim of providing an answer to this problem on the continent and throughout the world, this method has been successfully applied in thirty countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Oceania and Western Europe, and has provided literacy to more than 10 million adults in nine languages.

Human Monkeypox: A Comprehensive Narrative Review and Analysis of the Public Health Implications.

Recently, numerous cases of monkeypox were reported from several non-endemic countries in Europe, North America, and Oceania, suggesting an unusual and alarming public health issue, particularly considering that the disease is not directly related to human or animal travels. Attention is currently being drawn to this phenomenon since more than 70% of the global population is no longer vaccinated against smallpox. Indeed, the smallpox vaccination also confers some indirect degree of protection against other poxviruses, including monkeypox. We performed a narrative review to describe the existing literature with regard to monkeypox using the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus databases. This review aims to provide updated evidence of findings on the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, management, and prevention of monkeypox, also considering the concurrent zoonotic pandemic caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

Underrepresented Populations in Parkinson's Genetics Research: Current Landscape and Future Directions.

Human genetics research lacks diversity; over 80% of genome-wide association studies have been conducted on individuals of European ancestry. In addition to limiting insights regarding disease mechanisms, disproportionate representation can create disparities preventing equitable implementation of personalized medicine. This systematic review provides an overview of research involving Parkinson's disease (PD) genetics in underrepresented populations (URP) and sets a baseline to measure the future impact of current efforts in those populations. We searched PubMed and EMBASE until October 2021 using search strings for "PD," "genetics," the main "URP," and and the countries in Latin America, Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand). Inclusion criteria were original studies, written in English, reporting genetic results on PD from non-European populations. Two levels of independent reviewers identified and extracted information. We observed imbalances in PD genetic studies among URPs. Asian participants from Greater China were described in the majority of the articles published (57%), but other populations were less well studied; for example, Blacks were represented in just 4.0% of the publications. Also, although idiopathic PD was more studied than monogenic forms of the disease, most studies analyzed a limited number of genetic variants. We identified just nine studies using a genome-wide approach published up to 2021, including URPs. This review provides insight into the significant lack of population diversity in PD research highlighting the immediate need for better representation. The Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2) and similar initiatives aim to impact research in URPs, and the early metrics presented here can be used to measure progress in the field of PD genetics in the future. © 2022 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Burkitt Lymphoma Incidence in Five Continents

Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma first described in 1958 by Denis Burkitt in African children. BL occurs as three types, endemic, which occurs in Africa and is causally attributed to Epstein-Barr virus and P. falciparum infections; sporadic, which occurs in temperate areas, but the cause is obscure; and immunodeficiency-type, which is associated with immunosuppression. All BL cases carry IG∷MYC chromosomal translocations, which are necessary but insufficient to cause BL. We report a comprehensive study of the geographic, sex, and age-specific patterns of BL among 15,122 cases from Cancer Incidence in Five Continents Volume XI for 2008–2012 and the African Cancer Registry Network for 2018. Age-standardized BL rates were high (>4 cases per million people) in Uganda in Africa, and Switzerland and Estonia in Europe. Rates were intermediate (2–3.9) in the remaining countries in Europe, North America, and Oceania, and low (<2) in Asia. Rates in India were 1/20th those in Uganda. BL rates varied within and between regions, without showing a threshold to define BL as endemic or sporadic. BL rates were twice as high among males as females and showed a bimodal age pattern with pediatric and elderly peaks in all regions. Multi-regional transdisciplinary research is needed to elucidate the epidemiological patterns of BL.

Epidemic situation and trend of dengue fever in Belt and Road countries

Objective: To analyze epidemic situation of dengue fever in 2019 and the incidence trends from 2013 to 2019 in the Belt and Road countries. Methods: We used age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) which was from Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 to describe the epidemic situation of dengue fever in 2019. The estimated annual percentage change(EAPC) of the ASR was calculated to assess dengue fever incidence trends from 2013 to 2019. Results: The 2019 GBD dengue fever incidence records showed that in 145 Belt and Road countries, 93 (64.14%) countries had dengue fever epidemics. In 2019, there were 11 countries with the incidence >3 000.00 per 100 000, including 9 countries in Oceania; 16 countries with the incidence of 1 000.00 per 100 000-2 999.99 per 100 000, including 10 countries in Asia. The incidence rates in most countries in Africa (58.14%,25/43), North America (72.73%,8/11) and South America (66.67%,4/6) ranged from 500.00 per 100 000 to 999.99 per 100 000. The incidence rates of dengue fever in 90.00% (9/10) of countries in Oceania showed increasing trend, and the increasing trend in Fiji was most obvious (EAPC=18.22,95%CI:12.91-23.77), and the incidence rates of dengue fever in 18.18% (4/22) of countries in Asia showed increasing trend, the increasing trend in the Philippines was most obvious (EAPC=3.09,95%CI:1.74-4.45), and the incidence rates of dengue fever in 4.65% (2/43) of countries in Africa showed increasing trend, and the increasing trend in Seychelles was most obvious (EAPC=18.20,95%CI:7.82-29.58). The incidence rates of dengue fever showed no increasing trend in countries in South America and North America. Conclusions: In 2019, more than 60% of the Belt and Road countries had dengue fever epidemics. The incidences of dengue fever were high and showed increasing trends in most Oceanian countries, but the dengue fever epidemics in the countries in Asia, Africa and Americas were relatively mild.

Epidemic situation of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and change trend in Belt and Road countries

Objective: To analyze the epidemic situation of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in 2019 and the incidence trends from 2013 to 2019 in the Belt and Road countries. Methods: The 145 countries that have signed cooperation documents of the Belt and Road Initiative with China were selected. Age-standardized incidence and prevalence rate of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis from the Global Burden of Disease Study were used to describe the epidemic situation of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in 2019. The annual percentage changes of the age-standardized incidence rate were calculated to assess incidence trends of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis from 2013 to 2019. Results: In 2019, of the 145 countries, Somalia had the highest incidence rate (30.42 per 100 000) and prevalence rate (48.86 per 100 000) of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, while Slovenia had the lowest incidence rate (0.01 per 100 000) and prevalence rate (0.01 per 100 000). The incidence trends of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in six continents from 2013 to 2019 were as follows: multidrug-resistant tuberculosis incidence rates showed increasing trends in 14 countries (27.45%) and decreasing trends in 22 countries (43.14%) in Africa, showed increasing trends in 2 countries (18.18%) and decreasing trends in 3 countries (27.27%) in North America and showed increasing trends in 2 countries (5.41%) and decreasing trends in 23 countries (62.16%) in Asia. The increasing trends were observed in Europe, Oceania, and South America, but it was found that 26 countries (96.30%) in Europe, 2 countries (18.18%) in Oceania, and 1 country (12.50%) in South America had decreasing trends of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis incidence rates. Conclusion: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is endemic in 145 Belt and Road countries with the prevalence increasing year by year in some countries in central and southern Africa and decreasing in European countries except Ukraine.

Occurrence of mycotoxins in pastures: A systematic review

In this study, a systematic review is presented on the worldwide occurrence levels of mycotoxins in pastures reported in the scientific literature from January 1987 until December 2021. Trichothecenes and zearalenone were the most frequent mycotoxins found at high levels in pastures from countries in Europe, Oceania, and North America. Alternariol and Ergot alkaloids were also frequently detected, although at low levels. A few surveys were conducted in South American countries, and no information was available from the African and Asian continents, stressing the need for studies on the occurrence of mycotoxins in pastures from those regions, especially in tropical areas, where pastures are used as main sources for animal nutrition.

The Global Incidence of Peptic Ulcer Disease Is Decreasing Since the Turn of the 21st Century: A Study of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a common cause of hospitalization worldwide. We assessed temporal trends in hospitalization for PUD in 36 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries since the turn of the 21st century. The OECD database contains data on PUD-related hospital discharges and mortality for 36 countries between 2000 and 2019. Hospitalization rates for PUD were expressed as annual rates per 100,000 persons. Joinpoint regression models were used to calculate the average annual percent change (AAPC) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each country, which were pooled using meta-analyses. The incidence of PUD was forecasted to 2021 using autoregressive integrated moving average and Poisson regression models. The overall median hospitalization rate was 42.4 with an interquartile range of 29.7-60.6 per 100,000 person-years. On average, hospitalization rates (AAPC = -3.9%; 95% CI: -4.4, -3.3) and morality rates (AAPC = -4.7%; 95% CI: -5.6, -3.8) for PUD have decreased from 2000 to 2019 globally. The forecasted incidence of PUD hospitalizations in 2021 ranged from 3.5 per 100,000 in Mexico to 92.1 per 100,000 in Lithuania. Across 36 countries in the OECD, 329,000 people are estimated to be hospitalized for PUD in 2021. PUD remains an important cause of hospitalization worldwide. Reassuringly, hospitalizations and mortality for PUD have consistently been falling in OECD countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Identifying underlying factors driving these trends is essential to sustaining this downward momentum.