Indonesian politics: Current situation,future outlook

Where is Indonesia heading? How has Indonesia's experience since May 1998 changed Indonesian politics, and what developments can be expected in the future? Can the Habibie administration put Indonesia back on the development track? Professor Takashi Shiraishi of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, argues that since the collapse of the Soeharto regime there has been a dispersal of authority—political, social, and regional. Divisive issues that are at the very root of politics in Indonesia have once again come to the fore, and only if a broad national agreement can be formed will the government be able to prevent the current structural crisis from developing into a much more serious nation‐wide crisis.     

Prime Minister Nakasone and The United States of America

Although it is commonly believed that as Prime Minister of Japan, Nakasone Yasuhiro focused diplomatic efforts on the United States, his first trip abroad as prime minister was to the Republic of Korea. In the 1950s, he was even a vocal critic of the US-Japan alliance. But he was different from many other politicians in reading books, traveling abroad to discuss issues with foreign leaders, and soliciting ideas and advice from intellectuals. In the end, he acquired mature views on how to fight the Cold War as well as maintain robust relations with the US. This article traces the evolving approach he had with the United States from the Occupation through the “Ron-Yasu” relationship during his prime ministership.     

Parental Motivational Perseverance Predicts Adolescents’ Depressive Symptoms: An Intergenerational Analysis with Actor-Partner Interdependence Model

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Adolescents’ depressive symptoms are affected by a number of factors including life stress, gender, socio-economic status, and parental depression symptoms....     

Risk factors of sudden death in the Japanese hot bath in the senior population

A series of experiments were carried out to clarify the cause of death and the risk factors related to sudden death in the Japanese senior population while bathing in a Japanese style "hot bath." The biodynamic changes while bathing were carefully monitored under actual bathing situations occurring in both the winter and summer seasons. We observed double product (DP), total peripheral blood vessel resistance (TPR), cardiac output (CO), and blood vessel compliance (COMP) by measuring blood pressure, heart rate, pulse wave, and electrocardiogram (ECG). The finding of a high level of DP in the elderly suggests that more myocardial oxygen consumption is needed than for young adults, particularly in subjects with arrhythmia. Although the values for TPR and CO changed somewhat during bathing, the changes were considered normal and to be expected. However, more significant and substantial changes were observed during the winter experiment than during the summer experiment, no doubt owing to lower temperature of the bathing room. The value of COMP did not vary significantly between winter and summer subjects. Twelve subjects in the elderly developed ECG changes while bathing such as supraventricular extrasystole or ventricular tachycardia. No clinical significance was found in the biochemical analyses of the blood obtained before and after bathing. In conclusion, some subjects in the elderly showed risky changes in the above parameters and ECG, factors which may partially explain some of the causes of the many reported cases of lapse of consciousness and unexpected sudden death in the elderly while bathing especially in the winter season. Cold climate, hot water immersion, and hydrostatic pressure may affect their physiological compensation along with existing of coronary stenosis or weakness of respiratory function as a normal consequence of advanced age.     

A demonstration of spermatozoa on vaginal swabs after complete destruction of the vaginal cell deposits

The proteolytic enzyme, proteinase K, has been found to destroy all vaginal cells though it does not have the same effect on spermatozoa. In cases of sexual offenses, in which a swab has been used to wipe out the vagina, the female cells and their nuclei on that swab may also contain the heads of spermatozoa. After as short a time as 30 min of proteinase K treatment, the spermatozoa that had separated from the enzymatically destroyed vaginal cells were recovered. This proteinase destruction furnishes some spermatozoa with deformed heads and a somewhat greater number of isolated tails though a sufficient number of spermatozoan heads still remain for a reliable diagnosis. For detection of spermatozoa from a vaginal swab after proteinase K pretreatment, the heads of the spermatozoa are distinctly stained by Oppitz's method. Further, on prior treatment with proteinase K, the ABO blood grouping of the spermatozoa could also be determined on the vaginal swab by using the absorption-elution technique. The resistance of the spermatozoa to proteinase K is the basis for this method.     

Changes in the specificity of blood groups induced by enzymes from soil fungi

Three strains of Cunninghamella elegance (C. elegance), Penicillium simplicissimum (P. simpl.), and Aspergillus niger (A. niger) were isolated from soil that produced the enzymes acting on blood groups A and B red cells. Culture filtrates from these fungi contained alpha-N-acetyl-D-galactosaminidase as an A-decomposing enzyme, which resulted in an almost complete loss of A specificity and an enhancement of blood group H activity as measured by elution tests using monoclonal antibodies. They also contained an alpha-D-galactosidase and an alpha-L-fucosidase, which partially destroyed the blood group B specific activity, but did not influence the blood group H specific activity.     

Application of mRNA Expression Analysis to Human Blood Identification in Degenerated Samples that were False‐negative by Immunochromatography,,

Forensic laboratories are often faced with cases in which methamphetamine hydrochloride‐mixed blood is unable to be identified as human blood by immunochromatography against human hemoglobin A0. The application of mRNA expression analysis to samples that showed a false‐negative with immunochromatography was investigated as an alternative approach that did not depend on the antigen–antibody reaction. Real‐time PCR was used to examine the expression levels of blood markers such as glycophorin A, spectrin beta, and hemoglobin beta. Hemoglobin beta was the only marker that was specifically detected in blood, while glycophorin A was useful for determining human specificity. Hemoglobin beta showed good detection sensitivity and was detectable in 37‐year‐old blood stains. Hemoglobin beta was exclusively detectable in methamphetamine hydrochloride‐mixed blood stains. Detergents and disinfectants did not significantly influence mRNA markers. The proposed mRNA expression analysis was suitable for human blood identification as an alternative method to immunochromatography.     

Consumption vulnerability to risk in rural Pakistan

As one of the dimensions of vulnerability, this paper empirically investigates the inability of rural dwellers to cope with negative income shocks. A variable coefficient regression model is applied to a two-period household panel dataset collected in the North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan, an area with high incidence of income poverty and low human development. The empirical model allows for a different ability to smooth consumption, approximated by a linear function of households’ attributes, and controls for the endogeneity of observed changes in income, using qualitative information on subjective risk assessment. Estimation results show that the ability to cope with negative income shocks is lower for households that are aged, landless and do not receive remittances regularly.