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"Li, Dandan"
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Diplomacy of quasi-alliances in the Middle East
Quasi-alliance refers to the ideation, mechanism and behavior of policy-makers to carry out security cooperation through informal political and security arrangements. As a \"gray zone\" between alliance and neutrality, quasi-alliance is a hidden national security statecraft. Based on declassified archives and secondary sources, this book probes the theory and practice of quasi-alliances in the Middle East. Four cases are chosen to test the hypotheses of quasi-alliance, one of which is the Anglo-French-Israeli quasi-alliance during the Suez Canal War of 1956.
Book
The Rise of Robots in China
China is the world's largest user of industrial robots. In 2016, sales of industrial robots in China reached 87,000 units, accounting for around 30 percent of the global market. To put this number in perspective, robot sales in all of Europe and the Americas in 2016 reached 97,300 units (according to data from the International Federation of Robotics). Between 2005 and 2016, the operational stock of industrial robots in China increased at an annual average rate of 38 percent. In this paper, we describe the adoption of robots by China's manufacturers using both aggregate industry-level and firm-level data, and we provide possible explanations from both the supply and demand sides for why robot use has risen so quickly in China. A key contribution of this paper is that we have collected some of the world's first data on firms' robot adoption behaviors with our China Employer-Employee Survey (CEES), which contains the first firm-level data that is representative of the entire Chinese manufacturing sector.
Journal Article
The role of probiotics in vaginal health
Probiotics have been widely used in the treatment of intestinal diseases, but the effect of probiotics on female reproductive tract health is still controversial.
Lactobacillus
is the most abundant microorganism in the vagina, which is related to the vaginal mucosal barrier.
Lactobacillus
adheres to the vaginal epithelium and can competitively antagonize the colonization of pathogens. The factors produced by
Lactobacillus
, such as bacteriocin and hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
), can inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and maintain the low pH environment of the vagina. Probiotics play an important role in maintaining the stability of vaginal microenvironment, improving immune defense and blocking the progression of cervical cancer. We review the research progress of probiotics represented by
Lactobacillus
in gynecological diseases such as human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, bacterial vaginosis (BV) and Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM), so as to provide basis for further exerting the role of probiotics in women’s health.
Journal Article
Regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and macrophage pyroptosis by the p38 MAPK signaling pathway in a mouse model of acute lung injury
Acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS) is characterized by uncontrolled progressive lung inflammation. Macrophages serve a key role in the pathogenesis of ALI/ARDS. Macrophage pyroptosis is a process of cell death releasing the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18. It was hypothesized that macrophage pyroptosis may partially account for the uncontrolled lung inflammation of ALI/ARDS. In the present study, greater macrophage pyroptosis in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated macrophages and the ALI/ARDS mouse model was observed. The expression of nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-containing family, pyrin domain-containing (NLRP)3 and IL-1β and cleavage of caspase-1 were significantly elevated following LPS treatment accompanied by greater activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling in vitro and in vivo. However, blocking p38 MAPK signaling through the inhibitor SB203580 significantly suppressed the acute lung injury and excessive lung inflammation in vivo, consistent with the reduced expression of the NLRP3 inflammasome and IL-1β and cleavage of caspase-1. Pretreatment of the rat NR8383 macrophage cell line with SB203580 significantly decreased the population of caspase-1+PI+ pyroptotic cells and expression of NLRP3/IL-1β. However, a larger population of Annexin V+PI- apoptotic cells was observed following blocking of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. The results indicated that blockage of p38 MAPK signaling pathway skewed macrophage cell death from proinflammatory pyroptosis towards non-inflammatory apoptosis. These effects may contribute to attenuated acute lung injury and excessive inflammation in the SB203580-treated mice. The results may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of uncontrolled lung inflammation in patients with ALI/ARDS.
Journal Article
Methods for genetic transformation of filamentous fungi
Filamentous fungi have been of great interest because of their excellent ability as cell factories to manufacture useful products for human beings. The development of genetic transformation techniques is a precondition that enables scientists to target and modify genes efficiently and may reveal the function of target genes. The method to deliver foreign nucleic acid into cells is the sticking point for fungal genome modification. Up to date, there are some general methods of genetic transformation for fungi, including protoplast-mediated transformation,
Agrobacterium
-mediated transformation, electroporation, biolistic method and shock-wave-mediated transformation. This article reviews basic protocols and principles of these transformation methods, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.
Journal Article
Anti-quenching NIR-II molecular fluorophores for in vivo high-contrast imaging and pH sensing
The contrast and sensitivity of in vivo fluorescence imaging has been revolutionized by molecular fluorophores operating in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II; 1000-1700 nm), but an ongoing challenge is the solvatochromism-caused quenching in aqueous solution for the long-wavelength absorbing fluorophores. Herein, we develop a series of anti-quenching pentamethine cyanine fluorophores that significantly overcome the severe solvatochromism, thus affording stable absorption/emission beyond 1000 nm with up to ~ 44-fold enhanced brightness and superior photostability in aqueous solution. These advantages allow for deep optical penetration (8 mm) as well as high-contrast and highly-stable lymphatic imaging superior to clinical-approved indocyanine green. Additionally, these fluorophores exhibit pH-responsive fluorescence, allowing for noninvasive ratiometric fluorescence imaging and quantification of gastric pH in vivo. The results demonstrate reliable accuracy in tissue as deep as 4 mm, comparable to standard pH electrode method. This work unlocks the potential of anti-quenching pentamethine cyanines for NIR-II biological applications.
Fluorophores operating in the second near-infrared window suffer from solvatochromism-caused fluorescence quenching in biological aqueous solution. Here, the authors synthesized a series of pH-responsive pentamethine cyanine fluorophores that afford stable absorption/emission beyond 1000 nm.
Journal Article
Primer design for quantitative real-time PCR for the emerging Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
In December 2019, a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak occurred in Wuhan, China. Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans, is highly contagious and has rapidly expanded worldwide since its discovery. Quantitative nucleic acid testing has become the gold standard for diagnosis and guiding clinical decisions regarding the use of antiviral therapy. However, the RT-qPCR assays targeting SARS-CoV-2 have a number of challenges, especially in terms of primer design. Primers are the pivotal components of a RT-qPCR assay. Once virus mutation and recombination occur, it is difficult to effectively diagnose viral infection by existing RT-qPCR primers. Some primers and probes have also been made available on the WHO website for reference. However, no previous review has systematically compared the previously reported primers and probes and described how to design new primers in the event of a new coronavirus infection. This review focuses on how primers and probes can be designed methodically and rationally, and how the sensitivity and specificity of the detection process can be improved. This brief review will be useful for the accurate diagnosis and timely treatment of the new coronavirus pneumonia.
Journal Article
Different Formation Modes of the North–South‐Trending Rifts in Southern Tibet: Implications From Ambient Noise Tomography
Understanding how the Miocene N–S‐trending rifts on the southern Tibetan Plateau formed is crucial for understanding the evolution of the plateau. Most competing models suggest that all the rifts developed uniformly, but there are differences in magmatism among them. We conducted ambient noise tomography based on a broadband seismic array deployed across the rifts. A mid‐crustal low‐Vs layer extends laterally beneath the Tangra Yum Co Rift and the Pumqu‐Xianza Rift, implying that E‒W stretching of the ductile middle crust segmented the brittle upper crust, causing rifting and subsequent magmatism. In contrast, the Yadong‐Gulu Rift, which experienced prerifting magmatism, is characterized by an isolated low‐Vs anomaly extending subvertically from the surface to the middle crust, indicating that the crust experienced magmatic intrusion and local disruption, which promoted the later formation of a large rift. The results suggest that the various rifts might have distinct formation modes.
Plain Language Summary
The rifts in the southern Tibetan Plateau are closely related to the growth and evolution of the plateau. These rifts are often considered as a whole in studies on their developmental modes. However, different rifts exhibit variations in terms of the timing of magmatism (before or after rifting). This implies that the developmental modes of different rifts are likely to involve different crustal deformation processes. To further investigate the formation modes of different rifts, we used the ambient noise method to obtain the crustal shear wave velocity structure. The presence of a low‐velocity layer in the mid‐crust indicates a vertical layering of crustal strength, which reveals that the upper crustal segmentation together with ductile deformation of the weak mid‐crust contributed to the formation of some rifts. In contrast, the presence of an isolated low‐velocity anomaly extending to the mid‐crust implies that a disruption of the lateral crustal strength caused the formation of another rift. Our findings will change the traditional understanding of the formation of N–S‐trending rifts and the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau.
Key Points
The crustal structure beneath the rifts in southern Tibet is revealed by ambient noise tomography
Rifts with post‐ or pre‐rifting magmatism lie above a mid‐crustal low‐velocity layer or a subvertical low‐velocity anomaly, respectively
The intrinsic differences in crustal structure indicate that the rifts in southern Tibet formed via different modes
Journal Article
Global convergence in a hybrid conjugate gradient projection method for finding solutions of constrained nonlinear equations with applications
In this paper, a hybrid conjugate gradient projection method for finding solutions of constrained nonlinear equations is proposed by integrating both hyperplane projection and hybrid techniques. The key features of this method are as follows: (1) It is characterized by a low storage requirement and relies solely on function values; (2) The designed search direction ensures the sufficient descent property without the need for line search approaches; (3) Under certain reasonable assumptions, the global convergence of the method is established; (4) Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the two existing methods about 75.71%, 85.36%, and 86.43% of benchmark problems in terms of CPU time, the number of function evaluations, and iterations. Furthermore, it is applied to successfully solve the sparse signal restoration problems.
Journal Article
Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals key regulators and differentiation trajectory of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes
Cardiac differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells is not only a new strategy of regenerative therapy for cardiovascular disease treatment but also provides unique opportunities for the study of in vitro disease models and human heart development. To elucidate the dynamic gene regulatory networks and pivotal regulators involved in the cardiomyocyte differentiation process, we conducted an analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data obtained from the reprogramming of two human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines into cardiomyocytes. The data were collected from 32,365 cells at 4 stages of this process. We successfully identified cardiomyocyte clusters and several other cell clusters with different molecular characteristics derived from iPSC and described the differentiation trajectory of cardiomyocytes during differentiation in vitro. Through differential gene analysis and SCENIC analysis, we identified several candidate genes including CREG and NR2F2 that play an important regulatory role in cardiomyocyte lineage commitment. This study provides the key differentiation trajectory of heart differentiation in vitro at single-cell resolution and reveals the molecular basis of heart development and differentiation of iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes.
Journal Article