The challenge of institution-building in Asia and its implications for Asia-Europe relations

  East Asia, including Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, has developed tightly-linked production/distribution networks through globalizing corporate activities. The vertical chain of production in East Asia has been even more sophisticated than economic integration in East Europe or Latin America. However, the political environment of East Asia for trade and investment has been far from borderless. The integration effort at the policy level has been very much limited so far, due to the historical background as well as geopolitics surrounding East Asia. The Asian currency/financial crisis provided these countries a historical turning point. After the burst of the crisis, East Asians realized that they have to take care of themselves in their difficulties, not depending on outside forces. A natural choice for them was to step into the realm of regionalism. In 1998, Japan and Korea officially announced that they would discard the long-lasting GATT/WTO-only approach and adapt the multi-layered approach, including both regionalism and multilateralism. The ultimate goal of regionalism would be a region-wide integration including ASEAN+3. As a steppingstone, Japan signed the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA) in January 2002. In a parallel move, the ASEAN and China Leaders announced in November 2001 the establishment of an ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) within 10 years. This article will follow up the most recent advancement of regional institutional building in East Asia with the emphasis on peculiar characteristics of economic integration in the region and discuss its implications for Asia-Europe relations. This paper is heavily drawn from Kimura (2002, 2003).     

Sulfide concentrations in postmortem mammalian tissues

Postmortem changes in sulfide concentrations in body tissues were examined in autopsied rats exposed to hydrogen sulfide concentrations of 550 to 650 ppm, and in nonexposed rats and humans. Analyses were made by gas chromatography, following an extractive alkylation. Sulfide concentrations in the blood, liver, and kidneys of rats increased in both the exposed and nonexposed groups, depending on the lapse of time after death. On the other hand, the lung, brain, and muscle showed little or no change in sulfide concentration with elapse of time after death. The data obtained from human tissues were almost the same as those for rats, except data for blood, in which no or little increase of sulfide was observed.     

Yeltsin’s visit and the outlook for Japanese-Russian relations

The article clarifies a major misunderstanding prevalent among Americans, who tend to regard Japan’s request for the return of the Northern Territories as a narrow-minded, national-egoistic demand. Instead, the issue has become a global one. The author evaluates Yeltsin’s December 1992 visit to Tokyo, which has set a basic framework for further negotiation over the territorial disputes. Predicting optimistically the possible resolution of the dispute in the future, the author proposes concretely what may be done by the Japanese and the Russians. serves as first vice president of the International Council for Central and East European Studies (ICSEES). Dr. Kimura’s publications includeBeyond Cold War to Trilateral Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region: Scenarios for New Relationships Between Japan, Russia, and the United States (Cambridge, MA, 1992).     

Miniaturized sample preparation method for determination of amphetamines in urine

A simple and miniaturized sample preparation method for determination of amphetamines in urine was developed using on-column derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Urine was directly applied to the extraction column that was pre-packed with Extrelut and sodium carbonate. Amphetamine (AP) and methamphetamine (MA) in urine were adsorbed on the surface of Extrelut. AP and MA were then converted to a free base and derivatized to N-propoxycarbonyl derivatives using propylchloroformate on the column. Pentadeuterated MA was used as an internal standard. The recoveries of AP and MA from urine were 100 and 102%, respectively. The calibration curves showed linearity in the range of 0.50-50 microg/mL for AP and MA in urine. When urine samples containing two different concentrations (0.50 and 5.0 microg/mL) of AP and MA were determined, the intra-day and inter-day coefficients of variation were 1.4-7.7%. This method was applied to 14 medico-legal cases of MA intoxication. The results were compared and a good agreement was obtained with a HPLC method.     

Methamphetamine and amphetamine concentrations in postmortem rabbit tissues

The feasibility of detecting methamphetamine and its major metabolite, amphetamine, in postmortem tissues over a 2-year period was examined. It is important to determine if the abuse and toxic effects of drugs can be proved from evidence found in decayed, submerged, or stained tissue materials. The blood, urine, liver, skeletal muscle, skin and extremity bones from rabbits given methamphetamine intravenously were kept at room temperature, under 4 different conditions: sealed in a test tube, dried in the open air, submerged in tap water and stained on gauze. Methamphetamine was present in all the samples, with slight change in concentration in case of sealed and air dried tissues. Changes varied in bones kept in water. There were considerable decreases in methamphetamine in blood and urine stains. Despite long term storage, drug abuse and/or toxicity could be determined, in all tissues examined.     

The typing of group-specific component (Gc protein) in human blood stains

It is known that the typing of group-specific component (Gc protein) in human blood stains is difficult since Gc protein of the extracts of blood stains migrates more anodally to the α₁-globulin region in agar-gel immunoelectrophoresis, while Gc protein in liquid blood normally migrates to the α₂-globulin region. We have reported that the Gc protein found in the α₁-region is the result of binding of actin to Gc protein (Shinomiya, K., Kimura, H., Yoshida, K., and Shinomiya, T., J. Biochem., 92 (1982) 1163–1171, which renders it difficult to determine the Gc-phenotypes in the blood stains. On the basis of the above findings, we developed the method of phenotyping the Gc protein of human blood stains by agar-gel immunoelectrophoresis. Since the binding activity of actin to Gc protein is lost after treatment with a high concentration of guanidine HCl, the extracts of blood stains were treated with 4 M guanidine HCl to dissociate Gc protein and actin and then dialyzed to remove guanidine HCl. By this method we are able to determine the phenotypes of Gc protein in blood stains. The method we have developed is a useful tool in the forensic laboratory.     

Population data on the AmpF/STR Identifiler loci in Africans and Europeans from South Africa

Allele frequencies of 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci, D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818 and FGA, were determined for 98 unrelated Africans from South Africa and 98 unrelated Europeans from South Africa using the AmpFlSTR Identifiler PCR amplification kit. The genotype frequency distributions of the 15 STR loci were in the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for both populations.