Natural resource or market seeking motive of China’s FDI in asia? New evidence at income and sub-regional level

Asia is a heterogeneous region including countries with distinct features in quite a few facets. This study is designed to unravel the motivations of Chinese FDI in 30 Asian countries (For list of countries see Appendix 1.) during 2003–2016. For estimation, we utilised the Random effect (RE), Fixed effect (FE) and System-GMM (SGMM) methodologies. We transpired that both market and natural resource (mineral richness) seeking motives of Chinese FDI in the whole sample analysis. With respect to income group, we confirmed the market seeking FDI in both high and middle- income countries whereas, mineral richness is priority for Chinese FDI in middle-income group. Thus, Chinese firms targeted middle income developing economies to acquire non-fuel natural resources. Analogously, on the regional basis, the results show that in all regression models, GDP is positive and significant predictor, characterising market seeking FDI by Chinese firms in West, East and South East Asia. In resource seeking motive, among the two types of natural resources, mineral richness affect Chinese FDI positively in East & South East Asia. In a nutshell, seeking market is the common motive for Chinese FDI in the entire sample, whereas the resource seeking motive varies across the income groups and regions

Macroscopic entanglement between ferrimagnetic magnons and atoms via crossed optical cavity

We consider a two-dimensional opto-magnomechanical (OMM) system including two optical cavity modes, a magnon mode, a phonon mode, and a collection of two-level atoms. In this study, we demonstrate the methodology for generating stationary entanglement between two-level atoms and magnons, which are implemented using two optical cavities inside the setup. Additionally, we investigate the efficiency of transforming entanglement from atom-phonon entanglement to atom-magnon entanglement. The magnons are stimulated by both a bias magnetic field and a microwave magnetic field, and they interact with phonons through the mechanism of magnetostrictive interaction. This interaction generates magnomechanical displacement, which couples to an optical cavity via radiation pressure. We demonstrate that by carefully selecting the frequency detuning of an optical cavity, it is possible to achieve an increase in bipartite entanglements. Furthermore, this improvement is found to be resistant to changes in temperature. The entanglement between atoms and magnons plays a crucial role in the construction of hybrid quantum networks. Our modeling approach exhibits potential applications in the field of magneto-optical trap systems as well.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1903.00221 by other author

Ambient temperature regulates root circumnutation in rice through the ethylene pathway: transcriptome analysis reveals key genes involved

Plant roots are constantly prepared to adjust their growth trajectories to avoid unfavorable environments, and their ability to reorient is particularly crucial for survival. Under laboratory conditions, this continuous reorientation of the root tip is manifested as coiling or waving, which we refer to as root circumnutation. However, the effect of ambient temperature (AT) on root circumnutation remains unexplored. In this study, rice seedlings were employed to assess the impact of varying ATs on root circumnutation. The role of ethylene in mediating root circumnutation under elevated AT was examined using the ethylene biosynthesis inhibitor aminooxyacetic acid (AOA) and the ethylene perception antagonist silver thiosulfate (STS). Furthermore, transcriptome sequencing, weighted gene co-expression network analysis, and real-time quantitative PCR were utilized to analyze gene expressions in rice root tips under four distinct treatments: 25°C, 35°C, 35°C+STS, and 35°C+AOA. As a result, genes associated with ethylene synthesis and signaling (OsACOs and OsERFs), auxin synthesis and transport (OsYUCCA6, OsABCB15, and OsNPFs), cell elongation (OsEXPAs, OsXTHs, OsEGL1, and OsEXORDIUMs), as well as the inhibition of root curling (OsRMC) were identified. Notably, the expression levels of these genes increased with rising temperatures above 25°C. This study is the first to demonstrate that elevated AT can induce root circumnutation in rice via the ethylene pathway and proposes a potential molecular model through the identification of key genes. These findings offer valuable insights into the growth regulation mechanism of plant roots under elevated AT conditions

Cloning and Characterization of TaTGW-7A Gene Associated with Grain Weight in Wheat via SLAF-seq-BSA

Thousand-grain weight (TGW) of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) contributes significantly to grain yield. In the present study, a candidate gene associated with TGW was identified through specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) of DNA bulks of recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from the cross between Jing 411 and Hongmangchun 21. The gene was located on chromosome 7A, designated as TaTGW-7A with a complete genome sequence and an open reading frame (ORF). A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was present in the first exon between two alleles at TaTGW-7A locus, resulting in a Val to Ala substitution, corresponding to a change from higher to lower TGW. Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) (TGW7A) and InDel (TG9) markers were developed to discriminate the two alleles TaTGW-7Aa and TaTGW-7Ab for higher and lower TGW, respectively. A major QTL co-segregating with TaTGW-7A explained 21.7–27.1% of phenotypic variance for TGW in the RIL population across five environments. The association of TaTGW-7A with TGW was further validated in a natural population and Chinese mini-core collections. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed higher transcript levels of TaTGW-7Aa than those of TaTGW-7Ab during grain development. High frequencies of the superior allele TaTGW-7Aa for higher TGW in Chinese mini-core collections (65.0%) and 501 wheat varieties (86.0%) indicated a strong and positive selection of this allele in wheat breeding. The molecular markers TGW7A and TG9 can be used for improvement of TGW in breeding programs

Risk Factors of Subclinical Atherosclerosis and Plaque Burden in High Risk Individuals: Results From a Community-Based Study

China is going through major change and the incidence of first-ever stroke has increased dramatically. In this study, we aim to determine the ultrasound characteristics of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and carotid plaques (CP) in the Chinese community-based population with high risk of stroke. 1009 stroke-free participants from Datun community were classified at high risk of stroke and included in this cross-sectional study. We performed B-mode carotid ultrasound imaging in all of the study subjects to measure the CIMT in the common carotid artery (CCA) far wall and CP in the CCA, bifurcation and internal carotid artery. Stepwise logistic regression analyses were used to determine factors associated with elevated CIMT and subclinical atherosclerosis, as well as plaque burden (≥2 plaques). Our results showed that traditional risk factors including aging, hypertension, current smoking and the level of high density lipoprotein cholesterol are associated with subclinical atherosclerosis and plaque burden in high-risk community residents. To improve primary prevention in this population, we may consider intense blood pressure and lipid management, and smoking cessation

PTAOD: A Novel Framework For Supporting Approximate Outlier Detection over Streaming Data for Edge Computing

Outlier detection over sliding window is a fundamental problem in the domain of streaming data management, which has been studied over 10 years. The key of supporting outlier detection is to construct a neighbour-list for each object. It is used for predicting which objects may become outliers or are impossible to become outliers. However, existing work ignores the fact that, outliers amount is usually small. It is unnecessary to construct neighbour-list for all objects when they arrive in the window. It causes both high space and computational cost, can not efficiently work under edge computation environment. In this paper, we propose a novel framework named PTAOD (Probabilistic Threshold-based Approximate Outlier Detection). Firstly, we propose an algorithm for evaluating the probability of a newly arrived object becoming an outlier before it expires from the window, using evaluating result for avoiding unnecessary computational cost. In addition, we introduce a novel index namely ZHB-Tree (Z-order-based Hash BTree) to maintain streaming data. Last of all, we propose a novel algorithm to maintain candidate outliers. Theoretical analysis and extensive experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

KNN-Based Approximate Outlier Detection Algorithm Over IoT Streaming Data

KNN-Based outlier detection over IoT streaming data is a fundamental problem, which has many applications. However, due to its computational complexity, existing efforts cannot efficiently work in the IoT streaming data. In this paper, we propose a novel framework named GAAOD(Grid-based Approximate Average Outlier Detection) to support KNN-Based outlier detection over IoT streaming data. Firstly, GAAOD introduces a grid-based index to manage summary information of streaming data. It can self-adaptively adjust the resolution of cells, and achieve the goal of efficiently filtering objects that almost cannot become outliers. Secondly, GAAOD uses a min-heap-based algorithm to compute the distance upper-/lower-bound between objects and their k-th nearest neighbors respectively. Thirdly, GAAOD utilizes a k-skyband based algorithm to maintain outliers and candidate outliers. Theoretical analysis and experimental results verify the efficiency and accuracy of GAAOD. INDEX TERMS IoT streaming data, KNN-based outliers, indexes, error guarantee

Cetuximab and Cisplatin Show Different Combination Effect in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells Lines via Inactivation of EGFR/AKT Signaling Pathway

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignant cancer in South China. Cisplatin is a classical chemotherapeutic employed for NPC treatment. Despite the use of cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy, distant failure still confuses clinicians and the outcome of metastatic NPC remains disappointing. Hence, a potent systemic therapy is needed for this cancer. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) represents a promising new therapeutic target in cancer. We predicted that combining the conventional cytotoxic drug cisplatin with the novel molecular-targeted agent cetuximab demonstrates a strong antitumor effect on NPC cells. In this study, we selected HNE1 and CNE2 cells, which have been proved to possess different EGFR expression levels, to validate our conjecture. The two-drug regimen showed a significant synergistic effect in HNE1 cells but an additive effect in CNE2 cells. Our results showed that cisplatin-induced apoptosis was significantly enhanced by cetuximab in the high EGFR-expressing HNE1 cells but not in CNE2 cells. Further molecular mechanism study indicated that the EGFR/AKT pathway may play an important role in cell apoptosis via the mitochondrial-mediated intrinsic pathway and lead to the different antitumor effects of this two-drug regimen between HNE1 and CNE2 cells. Thus, the regimen may be applied in personalized NPC treatments

Eco-development of oil and gas industry: CCUS-EOR technology

The current status and development prospects of CCUS-EOR technology development are sorted out from the perspective of ecological development. A good foundation is laid to promote the world low-carbon development pattern and the development of CCUS-EOR technology in oil-rich, low-permeability reservoirs. By analyzing the differences between China and the United States regarding the technology level, application scale, and production effect, the development gaps between different countries in terms of CO2 burial for enhanced oil and gas recovery are derived. In response to these gaps, recommendations for responsive technology research and supporting infrastructure construction are proposed, which are of reference significance for advancing the development of large-scale CCUS technology for all of humanity