Silk and Horses: Trade and Tribute between the Qing Dynasty and the Kazakh Khanate

This paper seeks to analyze the ways in which the exchange of silk for horses impacted trade regulations along the Silk Road, thus leading to a rupture in Chinese economic policy. Exchanges between the Qing Dynasty and the Kazakh Khanate were carried between 1759 and 1796, having begun after the Qianlong Emperor vanquished the Dzungar Khanate, which determined the khan of the Kazakhs to swear allegiance to the Emperor. As the Qing Dynasty had up until that point been both politically and economically isolationist, this marked a radical change in its foreign policy.The relation established between emperor and khan is known as chao gong mao yi（朝贡贸易）and is usually translated as vassalage, owing to the similarities with the European concepts, but it also involves the offering of tributes. Traditionally, when discussing the Qianlong Emperor’s decision to consolidate trade with its new vasal, scholars have tended to favor one of three narratives: the first sees this exchange in the same light as the economic relations between the imperial capital and any of China’s provinces, and therefore focuses on the inclusions character of the policy. The second considers the exchange of horses for silk as representing the immediate, dire needs of the two political leaders; while the Khan and his court required fine materials for their own prestige, the Emperor’s armies had an urgent need for horses in the fight against the rebellious Uighurs in Altishahr. The third postulates that engaging in trade would have allowed the isolated Qing to secure their borders.Rather than fully accepting or discarding any of these narratives, a more nuanced position can be gained. We can do this by understanding the implications of vassalage and tribute in close connection with the way in which the whole regional economic policy was modeled around it. I will look at the ways in which chao gong mao yi and its economical meaning were defined in Chinese archives. This will allow us to better understand their interconnected evolution. The Chinese archives that I will look at are formed of two types of documents: the first of these, the jun ji chu lu fu zou zhe (军机处录副奏折), are extensive reports on the affairs of the army, including their military actions and tactics, the power struggles between officers, and the rations needed to feed and supply the troops, to name only a few; the second, the Qianlong chao shi lu (乾隆朝实录), are concise reports that describe in minute detail the affairs of the imperial court. When taken together, these materials paint a vivid picture of the social, economic, and political life of late eighteenth-century China. From these sources we can see that the Qing opted for a sort of tribute trade which made a compromise on the tariff. This shows that while the Qing were clearly making some profit, the need of supplying the armies with horses in Alishahr wasmore important, and they were therefore forced to maintain their conservative economic policy.These materials offer new information which scholars that have tried to defend one of the three narratives in particular have so far neglected. Most important amongst these are two interconnected aspects: on one hand, by investigating how the Silk Road was rebuilt, we see that two different projects were used for the north and for the south. This led to the displacement of the economy towards the north, as it connected several important cities and trade hubs, such as Suzhou、Suzhou . By ignoring the regional impact, historians have tended to downgrade or neglect the changes that this disruption brought to the course of trade. On the other hand, this very separation is the thing that destabilized the region. It caused local unrest, uprisings and separatist tendencies. These episodes of local unrest forced a rethinking of the entire imperial economic policy.The Qianlong Emperor’s policy was never expansionist, neither in territorial nor in economic terms. While they were clearly aware of the importance of forging a strong relationship with their northern Kazakh neighbors, they never had any ambitions to expand towards inner Asia. We can observe this in the way in which the economic policy that they initiated with the Khanate later form the basis for the trade routes with Russia through Qiaketu. These routes would economically drain the Kazahks in the long term. That China was not expansionist at this point can easily be observed from the fact that it hesitated to break out of its traditional approach even when the Kazakhs were weakened, so it was the Russian who eventually absorbed them.To conclude, it can be said that a new understanding of China’s attitudes as a regional actor during the period of Qing Dynasty can be gained by looking at smaller units and understanding how different types of regional or local economic policies evolved together. Quite often, these impacted not only interconnected regions but the empire as a whole. As we have seen, the exchange of silk for horses along the Silk Road is just one such example. Given the rich material that is available in the Chinese archives, many other aspects could be studied

Oral cancer cells may rewire alternative metabolic pathways to survive from siRNA silencing of metabolic enzymes.

BackgroundCancer cells may undergo metabolic adaptations that support their growth as well as drug resistance properties. The purpose of this study is to test if oral cancer cells can overcome the metabolic defects introduced by using small interfering RNA (siRNA) to knock down their expression of important metabolic enzymes.MethodsUM1 and UM2 oral cancer cells were transfected with siRNA to transketolase (TKT) or siRNA to adenylate kinase (AK2), and Western blotting was used to confirm the knockdown. Cellular uptake of glucose and glutamine and production of lactate were compared between the cancer cells with either TKT or AK2 knockdown and those transfected with control siRNA. Statistical analysis was performed with student T-test.ResultsDespite the defect in the pentose phosphate pathway caused by siRNA knockdown of TKT, the survived UM1 or UM2 cells utilized more glucose and glutamine and secreted a significantly higher amount of lactate than the cells transferred with control siRNA. We also demonstrated that siRNA knockdown of AK2 constrained the proliferation of UM1 and UM2 cells but similarly led to an increased uptake of glucose/glutamine and production of lactate by the UM1 or UM2 cells survived from siRNA silencing of AK2.ConclusionsOur results indicate that the metabolic defects introduced by siRNA silencing of metabolic enzymes TKT or AK2 may be compensated by alternative feedback metabolic mechanisms, suggesting that cancer cells may overcome single defective pathways through secondary metabolic network adaptations. The highly robust nature of oral cancer cell metabolism implies that a systematic medical approach targeting multiple metabolic pathways may be needed to accomplish the continued improvement of cancer treatment

Balance control of grid currents for UPQC under unbalanced loads based on matching-ratio compensation algorithm

Abstract In three-phase four-wire systems, unbalanced loads can cause grid currents to be unbalanced, and this may cause the neutral point potential on the grid side to shift. The neutral point potential shift will worsen the control precision as well as the performance of the three-phase four-wire unified power quality conditioner (UPQC), and it also leads to unbalanced three-phase output voltage, even causing damage to electric equipment. To deal with unbalanced loads, this paper proposes a matching-ratio compensation algorithm (MCA) for the fundamental active component of load currents, and by employing this MCA, balanced three-phase grid currents can be realized under 100% unbalanced loads. The steady-state fluctuation and the transient drop of the DC bus voltage can also be restrained. This paper establishes the mathematical model of the UPQC, analyzes the mechanism of the DC bus voltage fluctuations, and elaborates the interaction between unbalanced grid currents and DC bus voltage fluctuations; two control strategies of UPQC under three-phase stationary coordinate based on the MCA are given, and finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control strategy are verified by experiment results

Myotubularin-Related Phosphatase 3 Promotes Growth of Colorectal Cancer Cells

Due to changes in lifestyle, particularly changes in dietary habits, colorectal cancer (CRC) increased in recent years despite advances in treatment. Nearly one million new cases diagnosed worldwide and half a million deaths make CRC a leading cause of cancer mortality. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the role of myotubularin-related phosphatase 3 (MTMR3) in CRC cell growth via lentivirus-mediated small interfering RNA (siRNA) transduction in human colon cancer cell lines HCT116 and SW1116. The effect of MTMR3 knockdown on cell growth was evaluated by MTT, colony formation, and flow cytometry assays. The effect of MTMR3 knockdown on cell apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry with Annexin V/7-AAD double staining. The activation of apoptotic markers, Bad and PARP, was detected using Intracellular Signaling Array. Knockdown of MTMR3 resulted in a significant reduction in cell proliferation in both HCT116 and SW1116 cells. Moreover, knockdown of MTMR3 led to S phase cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, knockdown of MTMR3 induced cell apoptosis via phosphorylation of Bad and cleavage of PARP. These results indicate that MTMR3 may play an important role in the progression of CRC and suggest that siRNA mediated silencing of MTMR3 could be an effective tool in CRC treatment

Enlarging the Stokes Shift by Weakening the π-Conjugation of Cyanines for High Signal-To-Noise Ratiometric Imaging

The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is one of the key features of a fluorescent probe and one that often defines its potential utility for in vivo labeling and analyte detection applications. Here, it is reported that introducing a pyridine group into traditional cyanine-7 dyes in an asymmetric manner provides a series of tunable NIR fluorescent dyes (Cy-Mu-7) characterized by enhanced Stokes shifts (≈230 nm) compared to the parent cyanine 7 dye (nm). The observed Stokes shift increase is ascribed to symmetry breaking of the Cy-Mu-7 core and a reduction in the extent of conjugation. The fluorescence signals of the Cy-Mu-7 dyes are enhanced upon confinement within the hydrophobic cavity of albumin or via spontaneous encapsulation within micelles in aqueous media. Utilizing the Cy-Mu-7, ultra-fast in vivo kidney labeling in mice is realized, and it is found that the liver injury will aggravate the burden of kidney by monitoring the fluorescence intensity ratio of kidney to liver. In addition, Cy-Mu-7 could be used as efficient chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer acceptor for the reaction between H O and bisoxalate. The potential utility of Cy-Mu-7 is illustrated via direct monitoring fluctuations in endogenous H O levels in a mouse model to mimic emergency room trauma

Quantitative structural analysis of hemifacial microsomia mandibles in different age groups

IntroductionThis study aims to quantitively analyze mandibular ramus and body deformities, assessing the asymmetry and progression in different components.MethodsThis is a retrospective study on hemifacial microsomia children. They were divided into mild/severe groups by Pruzansky-Kaban classification and into three age groups (<1 year,1–5 years, 6–12 years old). Linear and volumetric measurements of the ramus and the body were collected via their preoperative imaging data to compare between the different sides and severities, using independent and paired tests, respectively. The progression of asymmetry was assessed by changes in affected/contralateral ratios with age using multi-group comparisons.ResultsTwo hundred and ten unilateral cases were studied. Generally, the affected ramus and body were significantly smaller than those on the contralateral side. Linear measurements on the affected side were shorter in the severe group. Regarding affected/contralateral ratios, the body was less affected than the ramus. Progressively decreased affected/contralateral ratios of body length, dentate segment volume, and hemimandible volume were found.DiscussionThere were asymmetries in mandibular ramus and body regions, which involved the ramus more. A significant contribution to progressive asymmetry from the body suggests treatment focus in this region

The efficacy of homestyle rehabilitation on negative symptoms in chronic schizophrenia: A randomized controlled trial

ObjectiveSchizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder with a high disability rate that is characterized by negative symptoms such as apathy, hyperactivity, and anhedonia that can make daily life challenging and impair social functioning. In this study, we aim to investigate the effectiveness of homestyle rehabilitation in mitigating these negative symptoms and associated factors.MethodsA randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of hospital rehabilitation and homestyle rehabilitation for negative symptoms in 100 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia. The participants were divided randomly into two groups, each persisting for 3 months. The primary outcome measures were the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). The secondary outcome measures included the Positive Symptom Assessment Scale (SAPS), Calgary Schizophrenia Depression Scale (CDSS), Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS), and Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). The trial aimed to compare the effectiveness of the two rehabilitation methods.ResultsHomestyle rehabilitation for negative symptoms was found to be more effective than hospital rehabilitation, according to the changes in SANS (T = 2.07, p = 0.04). Further analysis using multiple regression indicated that improvements in depressive symptoms (T = 6.88, p < 0.001) and involuntary motor symptoms (T = 2.75, p = 0.007) were associated with a reduction in negative symptoms.ConclusionHomestyle rehabilitation may have greater potential than hospital rehabilitation in improving negative symptoms, making it an effective rehabilitation model. Further research is necessary to investigate factors such as depressive symptoms and involuntary motor symptoms, which may be associated with the improvement of negative symptoms. Additionally, more attention should be given to addressing secondary negative symptoms in rehabilitation interventions