The International Effects of China's Growth, Trade and Ecucation Booms

China’s international trade flows have increased by 500% since 1992, far outstripping GDP growth. Likewise tertiary education enrollments have increased by 300%. We simulate these changes using a multi-sector growth model of the Chinese and USA economies. A decade of trade biased growth in China is found to have a large effect on the USA economy – raising GDP approximately 3-4.5 percentage points. We also show that the trade bias in China’s growth accounts for more than half of the observed growth in tertiary enrolments in China. In contrast neutral growth has practically no effect on USA incomes or China’s stock of skilled labour. Finally the simulations reveal that China’s education boom per se has practically no long run impact on the USA economy. The results thus indicate that the pattern of productivity growth in exports sectors, as might be caused by falling trade costs, has been critical in transmitting benefits of Chinese growth to the world economy. They also point to an important link between falling trade costs and human capital formation.Economic Growth, China, Human Capital, Trade Costs

Bridging Opportunities in Human Health Services

The Campus to Community project aims to develop facilitated, in-depth site visits for VCU faculty and staff interested in exploring human health services opportunities in the Richmond community. The site visit experience will provide exposure to various community organizations specializing in human health, essentially creating a “bridge” between VCU’s campus and these facilities. This initiative is intended to motivate employees to action within the Richmond community by enabling them to observe first-hand the services that these organizations provide, learn more about the organizations’ missions, and engage in meaningful interactions with representatives on site. Likewise, it will allow Richmond community organizations to discuss unique needs and opportunities for partnerships with VCU

Media reactions to the Panorama programme ‘Behind Closed Doors:Social Care Exposed’ and care staff reflections on publicity of poor practice in the care sector

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of media reactions to the BBC Television Panorama programme, Behind Closed Doors’ and to set this in the context of interviews with care staff about their reflections on publicity about poor practice in the care sector. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on an analysis of media reactions to recent exposé of abuse in social care in England and data from an interview-based study of care workers. The interviews were analysed to consider the impact of such media reports on staff and to explore their views of action that might be need to be taken about care failings. Findings There are mixed reactions to exposé of poor care on television and to the debates that precede and follow their broadcast. Debates occur in print and on television, but also in social media. The particular exposé of care home practices by the Panorama programme, Behind Closed Doors, led to debate in England about the potential role of covert cameras in care homes. The interviews revealed that while care staff are affected by scandals in the media about social care, they do not necessarily focus on themes that the media stories subsequently highlight. Overall some are disenchanted while others have ideas of what needs to change to improve practice. Care staff consider that there remain problems in raising concerns about practices and some staff feel unable to stay in workplaces where they have made complaints. Research limitations/implications The care workers interviewed may not be representative of the sector and they may have wished to provide socially acceptable answers to the researchers. Practice was not observed. Practical implications Local Safeguarding Adult Boards may wish to develop a communications strategy to deal with requests for reactions to media reports locally and nationally. Safeguarding practitioners may wish to prepare for increased referrals following media coverage of poor care in their areas. They may later be able to use media reports to discuss any local differences of interpretation over matters such as prosecutions for abuse. Trainers and educationalists may wish to clarify the importance given by care providers to raising concerns, the ways in which difficult conversations can be held, and the protections available to whistle-blowers or those raising concerns – with local examples to provide assurance that this is not mere rhetoric. Originality/value Television reports of problems with social care attract wide media interest but the authors know very little about how care workers respond to depictions of their work and their occupational grouping. This paper links media and expert commentator reactions to television exposé with data acquired from interviews with those on the frontline of care. </jats:sec

Very Well-Covered Graphs with the Erd\"os-Ko-Rado Property

A family of independent $r$-sets of a graph $G$ is an $r$-star if every set in the family contains some fixed vertex $v$. A graph is $r$-EKR if the maximum size of an intersecting family of independent $r$-sets is an $r$-star. Holroyd and Talbot conjecture that a graph is $r$-EKR as long as $1\leq r\leq\frac{\mu(G)}{2}$, where $\mu(G)$ is the minimum size of a maximal independent set. It is suspected that the smallest counterexample to this conjecture is a well-covered graph. Here we consider the class of very well-covered graphs $G^*$ obtained by appending a single pendant edge to each vertex of $G$. We prove that the pendant complete graph $K_n^*$ is $r$-EKR when $n \geq 2r$ and strictly so when $n>2r$. Pendant path graphs $P_n^*$ are also explored and the vertex whose $r$-star is of maximum size is determined.Comment: 10 page

Sexual network characteristics, condomless anal intercourse, and the HIV care cascade among MSM living with controlled versus uncontrolled HIV infection in Lima, Peru: a population-based cross-sectional analysis

Background: Despite high rates of HIV transmission among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Lima, Peru, limited data exist on the sexual network characteristics or risk factors for secondary HIV transmission among MSM with uncontrolled HIV infection. We report the frequency of serodiscordant, condomless anal intercourse (CAI) and associated sexual network characteristics among MSM in Lima with detectable HIV viremia and compare to those with undetectable viremia. Methods: This cross-sectional analysis includes MSM who tested positive for HIV-1 during screening for a trial of partner management and STI control (June 2022–January 2023). Participants were tested for HIV, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, and syphilis, and completed questionnaires on their demographic characteristics, sexual identity and behaviour, sexual network structures and engagement in HIV care. Findings: Of 665 MSM, 153 (23%) had detectable (>200 copies/mL) viremia. 75% (499/662) of men living with HIV were previously diagnosed, with 94% (n = 469/499) reporting that they were on ART, and 93% (n = 436/469) virally suppressed. 96% (n = 147/153) of men with detectable viremia reported serodiscordant CAI with at least one of their last three sexual partners, and 74% (n = 106/144) reported the same with all three of their recent partners. In contrast, 62% (n = 302/489) of men with undetectable viral load reported serodiscordant CAI with all of their last three partners (p < 0.01). Interpretation: 23% of men living with HIV in Peru had detectable viremia, of whom almost all (96%) reported recent serodiscordant CAI. The primary gap in the HIV care cascade lies in awareness of HIV serostatus, suggesting that improved access to HIV testing could be a key prevention strategy in Peru. Funding: Funding for this study was provided by NIH/ NIMH grants R01 MH118973 (PI: Clark) and R25 MH087222 (PI: Clark).National Institutes of HealthRevisión por pare

Rapid physiological and transcriptomic changes associated with oxygen delivery in larval anemonefish suggest a role in adaptation to life on hypoxic coral reefs

Connectivity of coral reef fish populations relies on successful dispersal of a pelagic larval phase. Pelagic larvae must exhibit high swimming abilities to overcome ocean and reef currents, but once settling onto the reef, larvae transition to endure habitats that become hypoxic at night. Therefore, coral reef fish larvae must rapidly and dramatically shift their physiology over a short period of time. Taking an integrative, physiological approach, using swimming respirometry, and examining hypoxia tolerance and transcriptomics, we show that larvae of cinnamon anemonefish (Amphiprion melanopus) rapidly transition between "physiological extremes" at the end of their larval phase. Daily measurements of swimming larval anemonefish over their entire early development show that they initially have very high mass-specific oxygen uptake rates. However, oxygen uptake rates decrease midway through the larval phase. This occurs in conjunction with a switch in haemoglobin gene expression and increased expression of myoglobin, cytoglobin, and neuroglobin, which may all contribute to the observed increase in hypoxia tolerance. Our findings indicate that critical ontogenetic changes in the gene expression of oxygen-binding proteins may underpin the physiological mechanisms needed for successful larval recruitment to reefs

Expanding First Generation Student Support Services at VCU

This project aims to increase first-generation student outcomes by taking existing YouFirst programming to scale. The team proposes to expand university outreach and to leverage expanded engagement into the construction of a First Gen Network through a university-wide ambassador program. This network will grow programming over the next three to five years through annual faculty and staff outreach and the creation of a pipeline for cross-unit communication and collaboration

Evolutionary consequences of intra-patient phage predation on microbial populations

The impact of phage predation on bacterial pathogens in the context of human disease is not currently appreciated. Here, we show that predatory interactions of a phage with an important environmentally transmitted pathogen, Vibrio cholerae, can modulate the evolutionary trajectory of this pathogen during the natural course of infection within individual patients. We analyzed geographically and temporally disparate cholera patient stool samples from Haiti and Bangladesh and found that phage predation can drive the genomic diversity of intra-patient V. cholerae populations. Intra-patient phage-sensitive and phage-resistant isolates were isogenic except for mutations conferring phage resistance, and moreover, phage-resistant V. cholerae populations were composed of a heterogeneous mix of many unique mutants. We also observed that phage predation can significantly alter the virulence potential of V. cholerae shed from cholera patients. We provide the first molecular evidence for predatory phage shaping microbial community structure during the natural course of infection in humans. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03497.00

Eff ectiveness of reactive oral cholera vaccination in rural Haiti: a case-control study and bias-indicator analysis

Background Between April and June, 2012, a reactive cholera vaccination campaign was done in Haiti with an oral inactivated bivalent whole-cell vaccine. We aimed to assess the eff ectiveness of the vaccine in a case-control study and to assess the likelihood of bias in that study in a bias-indicator study. Methods Residents of Bocozel or Grand Saline who were eligible for the vaccination campaign (ie, age ≥12 months, not pregnant, and living in the region at the time of the vaccine campaign) were included. In the primary case-control study, cases had acute watery diarrhoea, sought treatment at one of three participating cholera treatment units, and had a stool sample positive for cholera by culture. For each case, four control individuals who did not seek treatment for acute watery diarrhoea were matched by location of residence, enrolment time (within 2 weeks of the case), and age (1–4 years, 5–15 years, and >15 years). Cases in the bias-indicator study were individuals with acute watery diarrhoea with a negative stool sample for cholera. Controls were selected in the same manner as in the primary case-control study. Trained staff used standard laboratory procedures to do rapid tests and stool cultures from study cases. Participants were interviewed to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, risk factors for cholera, and self-reported vaccination. Data were analysed by conditional logistic regression, adjusting for matching factors. Findings From Oct 24, 2012, to March 9, 2014, 114 eligible individuals presented with acute watery diarrhoea and were enrolled, 25 of whom were subsequently excluded. 47 participants were analysed as cases in the vaccine eff ectiveness case-control study and 42 as cases in the bias-indicator study. 33 (70%) of 47 cholera cases self-reported vaccination versus 167 (89%) of 188 controls (vaccine eff ectiveness 63%, 95% CI 8–85). 27 (57%) of 47 cases had certifi ed vaccination versus 147 (78%) of 188 controls (vaccine eff ectiveness 58%, 13–80). Neither self-reported nor verifi ed vaccination was signifi cantly associated with non-cholera diarrhoea (vaccine eff ectiveness 18%, 95% CI –208 to 78 by self-report and –21%, –238 to 57 by verifi ed vaccination). Interpretation Bivalent whole-cell oral cholera vaccine eff ectively protected against cholera in Haiti from 4 months to 24 months after vaccination. Vaccination is an important component of eff orts to control cholera epidemics