Doing a Little More for the Poor? Social Assistance in Shanghai

Shanghai was a leader in nation-wide social assistance reform. It has established an extensive and complex social assistance system. This paper offers a general overview of different major assistance programs in Shanghai and uses a recent survey ofMinimum Living Standard Guarantee System (MLSGS) recipients in urban Shanghai to briefly examine the performance of social assistance. It finds that on the program construction and administration level, Shanghai\u27s social assistance is advanced. However, due to high living costs and relatively low values of social assistance, social assistance plays a limited role in relieving the distress of recipients. The paper analyzes the main reasons for this and argues that efforts should be made to give the poor more assistance and help them to get rid of poverty

Analysis of Influence of Network Structure, Knowledge Stock and Absorptive Capacity on Network Innovation Achievements

AbstractIn the increasingly fierce competition and increasingly volatile environment today, the important position of innovation has been widely accepted by theorists and business enterprise resources. Based on the domestic and foreign relevant research, we discusses the influence of network structure, knowledge stock and absorptive capacity on the network innovation achievements, constructs the theoretical relation model and an empirical analysis by using 124 enterprises of Xi’an high-tech industrial parks as the object, the result of the research indicates that, the network structure and knowledge stock to absorptive capacity have a positive impact on role, and both can also influence innovation performance through absorbing ability, absorptive capacity played a certain role of intermediary; Meanwhile, the network structure and the knowledge accumulation play an directly positive promoting role to the innovation performance

Electrocatalytic and Materials Properties and Membrane Separation Applications of Iron-Doped Barium Zirconate

This dissertation presents the first investigation of a novel mixed conducting BaZr0.9Fe0.1O3-δ perovskite (BZF10) in terms of materials properties, combined electrochemical and catalytic properties over a complete span of gas environments (O2, CO2, H2O, CO, H2) as well as membrane separation applications. This unique combination of electrical conduction, catalytic activity and long-term material stability makes this material a promising candidate for solid oxide electrolytic cell (SOEC) and solid oxide reversible fuel cell (SORFC) applications. Powder of BZF10 was synthesized via solid-state reaction and characterized using synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD); results indicated the presence of a primary cubic perovskite phase. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images indicated stable grain structure and well-defined grain boundaries within the pellet. Electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR) was carried out on the sintered pellet at 600-800°C under various oxygen partial pressures (pO2). ECR indicated that both chemical diffusion coefficient DV and surface kinetic parameter k’ increased with pO2. The oxygen permeation flux through BZF10 membrane at 900°C was 0.102 mL/(min·cm^2) with air/Ar gradient. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and effluent gasses analysis were carried out at 600-800°C under a wide range of gas environments. Under dry O2 conditions, this material displayed p-type semi-conduction behavior; upon exposure to dry CO2 atmosphere, the material showed catalytic activity towards CO2 reduction to CO and O2; exposure to moisture inert suggested only mild interaction with steam; under moist CO environment, a complex conduction mechanism was displayed alongside significant rates of water-gas-shift reaction; exposure to humidified H2 resulted in increase in conductivity with H2 partial pressure indicating n-type semi-conduction. Upon completion of >1,000 hours of continuous exposures, physical inspection of the BZF10 electrochemical cell indicated negligible chemical or mechanical degradation. XRD and TEM indicated stable phase composition and stable grain structure within the pellet. The hydrogen permeation flux was 0.75 mL/(min·cm^2) at 900°C when exposed to 20%H2/Ar and controlled by bulk diffusion. In the range of 600-700°C, the hydrogen permeation was limited by the electronic transport with higher activation energy (Ea); while in the range 700-900°C, the hydrogen permeation was limited by the mixed protonic-electronic transport with low Ea

Ischnura praematura sp. nov. (Odonata: Zygoptera: Coenagrionidae): a species from Yunnan (China) whose females mate in the teneral state

Ischnura praematura sp. nov. (Holotype ♂, China, Yunnan, Lijiang, 26º31´03.54”N, 100º13’38.89”E, 2396 m, 04 xii 2015, I. Sanmartín-Villar & H. Zhang leg.) is morphologically described, illustrated and compared with close species of the genus. Ischnura praematura can be mainly distinguished from its congeners I. aurora, I. rubilio and I. asiatica by its abdominal and thoracic morphology and colouration. The posterior lobe of the prothorax is elevated in I. praematura and the mesostigmal plates possess dorsal triangular protuberances. Ischnura praematura shows pointed paraprocts, internalised wide cerci and lacks a dorsal tuberculum in the tenth abdominal segment. The blue abdominal colouration is present in the last three segments (incomplete for segment eight and ten in some individuals). No female polychromatism was detected and all females observed possessed different colouration than male (gynochrome). Morphological distinctiveness of the species is supported by genetic analyses, which show that I. praematura forms a well-supported, monophyletic clade, with I. asiatica, I. ezoin and I. pumilio as the most closely related species. In the field, mature females show strong reluctance to mate, and males were observed mating with newly emerged females.  Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. BES-2012-052005Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. EEBB-I-15- 09382Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. CGL2014-53140-PMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. PGC2018-096656-B-I0

Assessment of Chinese rehabilitation assistance system for disabled children

Using the social support theory for reference, a subject-object influencing mechanism model of China's rehabilitation assistance system for disabled children is built based on the survey data on 1,698 disabled children in 243 designated rehabilitation institutions in Hu'nan Province as well as the topic of the assessment and optimization of the rehabilitation assistance system for disabled children. The analysis using the structural equation modeling reveals that the inclusive welfare effect of the rehabilitation assistance system for disabled children has emerged, and disabled children receiving free rehabilitation in the designated institutions have achieved good rehabilitation results as a whole, however, disabled children of different age groups have generational differences in the rehabilitation effects, and the preferential aspect of the system needs to be strengthened. Government support, institutional support, and social support have positive non-equilibrium effects in enhancing the rehabilitation effects of disabled children. Institutional support plays a partial mediating role between government support, family support, and disabled children's rehabilitation effects, showing that the current social support system for the rehabilitation assistance of disabled children is experiencing structural, social and kernel changes, to evolve from the traditional closed and disconnected one-way resource support to open, coordinated, and interactive multi-support, and gradually become a comprehensive and efficient interactive support system with families as the foundation, institutions as the main body, and the government as the core

GTC Spectroscopic Surveys of Planetary Nebulae in the Milky Way and M31

We report spectroscopic surveys of planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Milky Way and Andromeda (M31), using the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). The spectra are of high quality and cover the whole optical range, mostly from 3650 \r{A} to beyond 1 micron, enabling detection of nebular emission lines critical for spectral analysis as well as photoionization modeling. We obtained GTC spectra of 24 compact (angular diameter <5 arcsec) PNe located in the Galactic disk, ~3-20 kpc from the Galactic centre, and can be used to constrain stellar evolution models and derive radial abundance gradients of the Milky Way. We have observed 30 PNe in the outer halo of M31 using the GTC. These halo PNe are uniformly metal-rich and probably all evolved from low-mass stars, consistent with the conjecture that they all formed from the metal-rich gas in M31 disk but displaced to their present locations due to galaxy interactions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, in production; Proceedings of the IAUS384: "Planetary Nebulae: a Universal Toolbox in the Era of Precision Astrophysics", Krakow, Poland, September 4-8, 202

Combined helical tomotherapy and Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery for high-grade recurrent orbital meningioma: a case report

Orbital meningioma is a rare type of orbital tumor with high invasiveness and recurrence rates, making it extremely challenging to treat. Due to the special location of the disease, surgery often cannot completely remove the tumor, requiring postoperative radiation therapy. Here, we report a case of an elderly male patient with right-sided proptosis, visual impairment, and diplopia. Imaging diagnosis revealed a space-occupying lesion in the extraconal space of the right orbit. Pathological and immunohistochemical examination of the resected tumor confirmed it as a grade 3 anaplastic meningioma. Two months after surgery, the patient complained of right eye swelling and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan showed a recurrence of the tumor. The patient received helical tomotherapy (TOMO) in the postoperative tumor bed and high-risk areas within the orbit with a total dose of 48Gy. However, there was no significant improvement in the patient’s right eye swelling, and the size of the recurrent lesion showed no significant change on imaging. Gamma knife multifractionated stereotactic radiosurgery (MF-SRS) was then given to the recurrent lesion with 50% prescription dose 13.5Gy/3f, once every other day. An imaging diagnosis performed 45 days later showed that the tumor had disappeared completely. The patient’s vision remained unchanged, but diplopia was significantly relieved after MF-SRS. We propose a new hybrid treatment model for recurrent orbital meningioma, where conventional radiation therapy ensures local control of high-risk areas around the postoperative cavity, and MF-SRS maximizes the radiation dose to recurrent lesion areas while protecting surrounding tissues and organs

Insulin-like peptide 8 (Ilp8) regulates female fecundity in flies

Introduction: Insulin-like peptides (Ilps) play crucial roles in nearly all life stages of insects. Ilp8 is involved in developmental stability, stress resistance and female fecundity in several insect species, but the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we report the functional characterization of Ilp8s in three fly species, including Bactrocera dorsalis, Drosophila mercatorum and Drosophila melanogaster.Methods: Phylogenetic analyses were performed to identify and characterize insect Ilp8s. The amino acid sequences of fly Ilp8s were aligned and the three-dimensional structures of fly Ilp8s were constructed and compared. The tissue specific expression pattern of fly Ilp8s were examined by qRT-PCR. In Bactrocera dorsalis and Drosophila mercatorum, dsRNAs were injected into virgin females to inhibit the expression of Ilp8 and the impacts on female fecundity were examined. In Drosophila melanogaster, the female fecundity of Ilp8 loss-of-function mutant was compared with wild type control flies. The mutant fruit fly strain was also used for sexual behavioral analysis and transcriptomic analysis.Results: Orthologs of Ilp8s are found in major groups of insects except for the lepidopterans and coleopterans, and Ilp8s are found to be well separated from other Ilps in three fly species. The key motif and the predicted three-dimensional structure of fly Ilp8s are well conserved. Ilp8 are specifically expressed in the ovary and are essential for female fecundity in three fly species. Behavior analysis demonstrates that Ilp8 mutation impairs female sexual attractiveness in fruit fly, which results in decreased mating success and is likely the cause of fecundity reduction. Further transcriptomic analysis indicates that Ilp8 might influence metabolism, immune activity, oocyte development as well as hormone homeostasis to collectively regulate female fecundity in the fruit fly.Discussion: Our findings support a universal role of insect Ilp8 in female fecundity, and also provide novel clues for understanding the modes of action of Ilp8