The role of China in combating poverty in Africa in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals

Mestrado Bolonha em Desenvolvimento e Cooperação InternacionalNas circunstâncias globais, a pobreza ainda é um problema crucial, especialmente na África, que tem as pessoas mais pobres do mundo. O principal objetivo da Agenda 2030 para os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável é erradicar a pobreza. A ajuda pública melhora a condição em que as pessoas pobres podem ganhar mais salários, obter uma educação melhor e ter uma vida mais saudável. Ao mesmo tempo, a China se tornou um dos maiores doadores emergentes, principalmente devido aos muitos seus investimentos na África em comércio, finanças e infraestrutura social. Além disso, com o desenvolvimento da Iniciativa “Uma Faixa e Uma Rota” na África, a influência da China é mais significativa do que antes. Esta dissertação apresenta primeiro o objetivo e as metas de combate à pobreza na Agenda 2030 para os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável e a atual situação da pobreza na África. Tomando a China como exemplo, usando a análise SWOT, avalia as implementações da China para combater a pobreza na África e encontra a resposta para a pergunta “A ajuda Chinesa funciona a reduzir a pobreza na África?”. Inegavelmente, o BRI fez muitas contribuições para a redução da pobreza na África. Por fim, usa a Agenda 2030 para os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável como o padrão para avaliar a implementação da China na África para descobrir o papel da China no combate à pobreza na África. A análise SWOT daria sugestões para a ajuda pública chinesa na África.Under the global circumstance, poverty is still a crucial problem, especially in Africa, which has the poorest people in the world. The principle goal in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals is to eradicate poverty. Foreign assistance is increasingly helping improve the condition in which poor people can earn more incomes, get a better education, and live healthier lives. Meanwhile, China has become one of the largest emerging donors, majorly due to lots of Chinese investment in Africa in trade, finance, and social infrastructure. Moreover, with the development of the “One Belt One Road Initiative” in Africa, the influence of China is more significant than before. This dissertation first presents the objective and targets of combating poverty in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals, and the current poverty situation in Africa. Taking China as an example, by using SWOT analysis, it evaluates the implementation of China to combat poverty in Africa and finds out the answer to the question “Does Chinese aid help poverty reduction in Africa?”. Undeniably, BRI made many contributions to poverty reduction in Africa. At last, it is taking the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as the standard to evaluate China’s implementations in Africa to find out China’s role in combating poverty globally. The SWOT analysis would help improve Chinese foreign assistance in Africa.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Predictive Value of Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Blood Pressure/Heart Rate Ratio in a Chinese Subpopulation with Vasovagal Syncope

Objective: The head-up tilt test (HUTT) is widely used but is time-consuming and not cost-effective to evaluate patients with vasovagal syncope (VVS). The present study aims to verify the hypothesis that ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM) and the simplistic tilt test may be potential alternatives to the HUTT. Methods: The study consecutively enrolled 360 patients who underwent the HUTT to evaluate VVS. BP), heart rate (HR), and BP/HR ratios derived from ABPM and the simplistic tilt test were evaluated to predict the presence, pattern, and stage of syncope during the HUTT. Results: Mixed response was the commonest pattern, and syncope occurred frequently with infusion of isoproterenol at a rate of 3 μg/min. During the simplistic tilt test, the cardioinhibitory group had higher tilted BP/HR ratios than the vasodepressor group, while the vasodepressor group had a faster tilted HR and a larger HR difference than the cardioinhibitory group. The higher the BP/HR ratio in the tilted position, the higher the isoproterenol dosage needed to induce a positive response. During ABPM, BP/HR ratios were significantly higher in the cardioinhibitory group than in the vasodepressor group. The higher the ABPM-derived BP, the higher the dosage of isoproterenol needed to induce syncope. There were significant correlations in BP/HR ratios between ABPM and the supine position in the vasodepressor group, while significant correlation was found only for the diastolic BP/HR ratio between ABPM and the tilted position in the cardioinhibitory group. The mixed pattern shared correlative features of the other two patterns. Conclusion: ABPM and the simplistic tilt test might be used as promising alternatives to the HUTT in VVS evaluation in clinical settings

Selenium‐doping induced two antiferromagnetic transitions in thiospinel compounds CuCo₂S_(4‐x)Se_x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8)

A series of copper thiospinels compounds, CuCo₂S_(4‐x)Se_x (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8), have been successfully synthesized by solid state reaction and their structure and magnetic properties have been studied. The Rietveld refinements of X‐Ray diffractions indicate that both the lattice constants and the nearest neighbor Cu‐Cu distances increase with increasing selenium doping. A weakly antiferromagnetic transition occurring at about 4 K is observed in CuCo₂S₄. Two antiferromagnetic transitions at about 3.5 K and 6 K are observed in selenium‐doped samples, which suggest that the exchange couplings associated with Cu‐S(Se)‐Cu and Cu‐Se(S)‐Cu, respectively, are responsible for the two antiferromagnetic transitions. Detailed analysis of the experimental results further indicate that the nearest‐neighbor molecular field coefficient is comparable to the next‐neighbor molecular field coefficient. We propose a reasonable model to explain this phenomenon

Retina and microvascular alterations in migraine: a systemic review and meta-analysis

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the retina and microvascular alterations with optical coherence tomography (OCT) or optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in patients with migraine with aura (MA) and migraine without aura (MO).MethodsPubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched to find relevant literature on patients with MA or MO using OCT/OCTA devices. The eligible data were analyzed by Stata Software (version 15.0).ResultsThere were 16 studies identified, involving 379 eyes with MA, 583 eyes with MO, and 658 eyes of healthy controls. The thickness of the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) of patients with MA decreased significantly in most regions. The foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area and perimeter in MA patients significantly enlarged, while the perfusion density (PD) in the macular deep capillary plexus (mDCP) significantly decreased in the whole image and its subregions except for the fovea, with the PD in radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) decreasing inside the disk. Patients with MO demonstrated a significantly decreased thickness of pRNFL in most regions, and the FAZ parameters were significantly enlarged. No statistical significance was observed in the retina and microvascular features of patients with MA and MO.ConclusionThe eyes affected by MA and MO demonstrated significantly reduced thickness of pRNFL and enlarged FAZ. Patients with MA showed retinal microvascular impairments, including a decreased PD in mDCP. The OCT and OCTA could detect membrane morphology and circulation status in migraine and might provide the basis for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with migraine.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, CRD42023397653

Evidences for pressure-induced two-phase superconductivity and mixed structures of NiTe₂ and NiTe in type-II Dirac semimetal NiTe_(2-x) (x = 0.38 ± 0.09) single crystals

Bulk NiTe₂ is a type-II Dirac semimetal with non-trivial Berry phases associated with the Dirac fermions. Theory suggests that monolayer NiTe₂ is a two-gap superconductor, whereas experimental investigation of bulk NiTe_(1.98) for pressures (P) up to 71.2 GPa do not reveal any superconductivity. Here we report experimental evidences for pressure-induced two-phase superconductivity as well as mixed structures of NiTe₂ and NiTe in Te-deficient NiTe_(2-x) (x = 0.38±0.09) single crystals. Hole-dominant multi-band superconductivity with the P3M1 hexagonal-symmetry structure of NiTe₂ appears at P ≥ 0.5 GPa, whereas electron-dominant single-band superconductivity with the P2/m monoclinic-symmetry structure of NiTe emerges at 14.5 GPa < P < 18.4 GPa. The coexistence of hexagonal and monoclinic structures and two-phase superconductivity is accompanied by a zero Hall coefficient up to ∼ 40 GPa, and the second superconducting phase prevails above 40 GPa, reaching a maximum T_c = 7.8 K and persisting up to 52.8 GPa. Our findings suggest the critical role of Te-vacancies in the occurrence of superconductivity and potentially nontrivial topological properties in NiTe_(2-x)

White organic light-emitting devices based on 4, 4′ -bis (2, 2′ -diphenyl vinyl)- 1, 1′ -biphenyl and phosphorescence sensitized 5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene

We report white organic light-emitting devices (WOLEDs) based on 4, 4′ -bis (2, 2′ -diphenyl vinyl)- 1, 1′ -biphenyl (DPVBi) and phosphorescence sensitized 5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene (rubrene). In the devices, DPVBi acts as a blue light-emitting layer, and rubrene sensitized by a phosphorescent material, fac tris (2-phenylpyridine) iridium [Ir (ppy)3], acts as a yellow light-emitting layer. The devices have a maximum brightness of 8633 cd m2 (at a driving voltage of 22 V). The maximum luminous efficiency is 9.22 cdA (at a current density of 0.90 mA cm2). Commission international De L'Eclairage coordination of (0.30,0.37) is obtained for luminance ranging from 100 to 1000 cd m2. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

The effect of the CsCl buffer layer on the performances of the organic electroluminescent devices

We studied electron injection form Al cathode into the tris(8- hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3). When a thin CsCl layer is inserted between Alq3 and Al, a substantial enhancement in electron injection is observed. The results show that the device with the cathode containing the ultrathin CsCl layer has a higher brightness and electroluminescent efficiency than the device without this layer. Further, organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) based on tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminuni using a trilayer of CsCl/LiF/Al as cathodes have been fabricated. The results show that the device with the cathode containing 0.5 nm CsCl layer and 1.0 nm LiF layer has a higher brightness and electroluminescent efficiency than that of the device with LiF/Al or CsCl/Al cathodes. The maximum EL efficiency of the CsCl/LiF/Al cathode device is 3.41 cd/A, which is higher than the 2.74 cd/A of the LiF/Al device and 2.49 cd/A of the CsCl/Al device.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex