'Why is there no NATO in Asia?':Revisited: Prospect theory, balance of threat, and US alliance strategies

Why did the US prefer multilateral alliances in Europe, but bilateral alliances in Asia after World War II? Rationalists and constructivists debate the impact of power, institutions, and identities in explaining this highly contested question. We introduce a new argument embedded in prospect theory from political psychology — a prospect–threat alliance model — to account for the variation in US alliance strategy toward Europe and Asia after World War II. Through setting the threat level as a reference point for leaders’ prospects of gains or losses, we suggest: (1) high threats frame decision-makers in a domain of losses, and multilateral alliances become a favorable alliance choice because states are more likely to take the risk of constraining their freedom of action in return for more help from multiple allies as well as for avoiding further strategic losses; (2) low threats position leaders in a domain of gains, and bilateral alliances win out because states are risk-averse in terms of maintaining their freedom of action in seeking security through alliances with fewer allies. US alliance policy toward Asia after World War II is a within-case analysis that tests the validity of the prospect-threat alliance model.No Full Tex

#WuhanDiary and #WuhanLockdown: gendered posting patterns and behaviours on Weibo during the COVID-19 pandemic

Social media can be both a source of information and misinformation during health emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media became a ubiquitous tool for people to communicate and represents a rich source of data researchers can use to analyse users' experiences, knowledge and sentiments. Research on social media posts during COVID-19 has identified, to date, the perpetuity of traditional gendered norms and experiences. Yet these studies are mostly based on Western social media platforms. Little is known about gendered experiences of lockdown communicated on non-Western social media platforms. Using data from Weibo, China's leading social media platform, we examine gendered user patterns and sentiment during the first wave of the pandemic between 1 January 2020 and 1 July 2020. We find that Weibo posts by self-identified women and men conformed with some gendered norms identified on other social media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic (posting patterns and keyword usage) but not all (sentiment). This insight may be important for targeted public health messaging on social media during future health emergencies

Development of a synchronous recording and photo-stimulating electrode in multiple brain neurons

The investigation of brain networks and neural circuits involves the crucial aspects of observing and modulating neurophysiological activity. Recently, opto-electrodes have emerged as an efficient tool for electrophysiological recording and optogenetic stimulation, which has greatly facilitated the analysis of neural coding. However, implantation and electrode weight control have posed significant challenges in achieving long-term and multi-regional brain recording and stimulation. To address this issue, we have developed a mold and custom-printed circuit board-based opto-electrode. We report successful opto-electrode placement and high-quality electrophysiological recordings from the default mode network (DMN) of the mouse brain. This novel opto-electrode facilitates synchronous recording and stimulation in multiple brain regions and holds promise for advancing future research on neural circuits and networks

Syphilis-attributable adverse pregnancy outcomes in China: a retrospective cohort analysis of 1187 pregnant women with different syphilis treatment.

BACKGROUND: Syphilis is responsible for a substantial burden of preventable adverse outcomes in pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of adverse pregnancy outcomes among syphilis-seropositive women who received different treatment regimens at different times in Guangzhou, China. METHODS: Pregnant women with syphilis infection who received prenatal and delivery services in Guangzhou between January 2014 and December 2016 were included. Association between treatment status and the composite adverse outcomes (preterm birth, infant smaller than gestational age, stillbirth, and spontaneous abortion) was estimated. RESULTS: Of 1187 syphilis-seropositive pregnant women included in the analysis, 900 (75.8%) syphilis-seropositive pregnant women received treatment, and 287(24.2%) did not receive treatment. Adverse pregnancy outcomes were observed among 16.3% (147/900) of women with treatment and 33.8% (97/287) of women without treatment. Syphilis-seropositive pregnant women treated with one or two courses of penicillin had a similar risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes (adjusted RR = 1.36, 95% CI: 0.94-1.96). Adverse outcomes were more common among women whose non-treponemal serum test titer was >1:8 and received treatment after 28 weeks compared to before 28 weeks (adjusted RR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.22-4.48). CONCLUSIONS: Women who received one course of penicillin and women who received two courses of penicillin had a similar risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. Syphilis treatment before 28 weeks of pregnancy is critical. Strategies to promote high-quality prenatal services are needed

Collaborative collection effort strategies based on “Internet + recycling” business model

"Internet + recycling", a new and emerging collecting mode, is booming in conjunction with widespread Internet use in China. For the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), this paper studies collaborative collection effort strategies in a collection system consisting of a third-party and an e-tailer based on the "Internet + recycling" business model. Considering the collaboration occurring during collecting and selling and mutual influences of partners on the recycling of old products, the paper applies collection effort cost sharing mechanisms to promote recycling. Four models, namely, the centralized model (C-Model), unit transfer price model (P-Model), unilateral cost sharing model (U-Model) and bilateral cost sharing model (B-Model), are established, and optimal decisions and members' profits in various collaborative models are derived and compared. The results show that there exists an interval of profit sharing proportions in which each of the two cost sharing models is a Pareto improvement of the P-Model, and the total collection volume and profit of the collecting system increase in the B-Model relative to those in the U-Model under the same proportion of profit sharing. However, the B-Model is not necessarily a Pareto improvement of the U-Model. The results also show that profit improvements of both parties can be achieved without the third-party sharing the e-tailer's collection effort cost in the B-Model when the collaborative marginal profit is large enough. The paper further explores the impact of the collaborative marginal profit and third-party's market influence on the total collection volume and the efficiency of the collecting system. This study provides insight into the promotion of WEEE recycling and into the selection of collaborative strategies for Internet recycling enterprises. The work will prove beneficial to the development of the WEEE "Internet + recycling" industry

North Korea : key to a China nightmare?

North Korea may not be a nightmare for China. Instead, it will provide an opportunity for China and the United States to work together in preventing a possible nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. China should take a strong initiative to restart the Six Party Talks

China’s Bargaining Strategies after the Cold War: Successes and Challenges

Applying bargaining theory of international conflicts, we examine the successes and challenges of China’s strategic choices in its ascent after the Cold War. We suggest that China needs to alleviate information and commitment problems in order to rise peacefully. Since 2008, China’s “peaceful rise” strategy has faced serious challenges because of its “assertive turn” in diplomacy. We argue that China has not alleviated or settled these two problems successfully because of its ambiguous “core interest” diplomacy and undecided attitude regarding multilateral institutions in resolving the maritime disputes. China should engage in rule-based, institution building, such as a security community between China and ASEAN, to reinforce its peaceful rise commitments.No Full Tex