US and China Aid to Africa: Impact on the Donor-Recipient Trade Relations

This paper investigates the impact of the US and China’s foreign aids to Africa on trade flows between donor and recipient countries. Evidence from the gravity model estimates reveals that the two donors’ exports are strengthened by their aids to African partners. Interestingly, China’s aid shows a positive effect on its total volume of trade and imports from Africa, while the aid from the US exhibits little impact on the US-Africa total trade and its imports from Africa. A possible explanation for such a difference could be due to the dissimilar national interests of donors in Africa. This study finally suggests that African countries should accelerate the pace of advancing domestic economies and rely less on foreign assistance, in order to establish a fairer and more equal international economic order

US and China Aid to Africa: Impact on the Donor-Recipient Trade Relations

This paper investigates the impact of the US and China’s foreign aids to Africa on trade flows between donor and recipient countries. Evidence from the gravity model estimates reveals that the two donors’ exports are strengthened by their aids to African partners. Interestingly, China’s aid shows a positive effect on its total volume of trade and imports from Africa, while the aid from the US exhibits little impact on the US-Africa total trade and its imports from Africa. A possible explanation for such a difference could be due to the dissimilar national interests of donors in Africa. This study finally suggests that African countries should accelerate the pace of advancing domestic economies and rely less on foreign assistance, in order to establish a fairer and more equal international economic order

Glucosyl anthranilate

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C21H25NO11, the hexopyranosyl ring adopts a chair conformation and the five substituents are in equatorial positions. An intra­molecular hydrogen bond between the amino group and a neighbouring carbonyl group is found. Two carbonyl groups are disordered and were refined using a split model

Human-derived IgG level as an indicator for EBV-associated lymphoma model in Hu-PBL/SCID chimeras

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has a close association with various types of human lymphomas. Animal models are essential to elucidate the pathogenesis of human EBV-associated lymphomas. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the association between human IgG concentration and EBV-associated lymphoma development in huPBL/SCID mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human peripheral blood lymphocytes (hu-PBL) from EBV-seropositive donors were inoculated intraperitoneally into SCID mouse. Immunohistochemical staining was used to examine differentiated antigens of tumor cells. EBV infection of the induced tumors was detected by <it>in situ </it>hybridization. IgG concentrations in the serums of 12 SCID mice were measured by unidirectional immunodiffusion assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>21 out of 29 mice developed tumors in their body. Immunohistochemical staining showed that all induced tumors were LCA (leukocyte common antigen) positive, B-cell markers (CD20, CD79a) positive, and T-cell markers (both CD3 and CD45RO) negative. The tumors can be diagnosed as human B-cell lymphomas by these morphological and immunohistochemical features. In situ hybridization exhibited resultant tumor cells had EBV encoded small RNA-1 (EBER-1). Human-derived IgG could be found in the serum from SCID mice on the 15^thday following hu-PBL transplantation, and IgG levels increased with the tumor development in 6 hu-PBL/SCID chimeras.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Intraperitoneal transfer of hu-PBLs from EBV+ donors to SCID mice leads to high human IgG levels in mouse serum and B cell lymphomas. Our findings suggest that increasing levels of human-derived IgG in peripheral blood from hu-PBL/SCID mice could be used to monitor EBV-related human B-cell lymphoma development in experimental animals.</p

Trajectories of Self-compassion and Psychological Symptoms in Newly Diagnosed Cancer Patients

Objectives More self-compassion has been related to a better psychological functioning in cancer patients, but little is known about the course of self-compassion over time in the trajectory of illness and cancer treatment. This longitudinal study aimed to examine subgroups of cancer patients with differential trajectories of self-compassion and associations of these trajectories with the course of psychological symptoms. Methods A total of 153 cancer patients participated in this longitudinal study. Self-reported questionnaires were used to measure self-compassion (i.e., overall self-compassion and, separately, positive self-compassion, and negative self-compassion), and depressive and anxiety symptoms. These assessments were taken directly after cancer diagnosis (T1), and at the start (T2) and the end (T3) of medical treatment. Latent class growth modelling and repeated measures ANOVA were applied to examine the research questions. Results We identified three trajectories of overall self-compassion ("stable low" 82.2%, "late increase" 11.8%, and "late decrease" 6.0%), four trajectories of positive self-compassion ("late decline" 57.2%, "early decline" 22.4%, "large increase" 15.1%, and "large decline" 5.3%), and four trajectories of negative self-compassion ("late decline" 42.1%, "stable negative self-compassion" 40.8%, "large fluctuation" 9.9%, and "large increase" 7.2%). Only the negative self-compassion trajectories were significantly related to the course of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Conclusions Our findings suggest that subgroups of cancer patients exist that show distinct trajectories of self-compassion over time. We identified a small group of patients at a higher risk of losing self-compassion throughout the cancer trajectory and experiencing psychological symptoms

Rapid discrimination of Bifidobacterium longum subspecies based on MALDI-TOF MS and machine learning

Although MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) is widely known as a rapid and cost-effective reference method for identifying microorganisms, its commercial databases face limitations in accurately distinguishing specific subspecies of Bifidobacterium. This study aimed to explore the potential of MALDI-TOF MS protein profiles, coupled with prediction methods, to differentiate between Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis (B. infantis) and Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum (B. longum). The investigation involved the analysis of mass spectra of 59 B. longum strains and 41 B. infantis strains, leading to the identification of five distinct biomarker peaks, specifically at m/z 2,929, 4,408, 5,381, 5,394, and 8,817, using Recurrent Feature Elimination (RFE). To facilate classification between B. longum and B. infantis based on the mass spectra, machine learning models were developed, employing algorithms such as logistic regression (LR), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM). The evaluation of the mass spectrometry data showed that the RF model exhibited the highest performace, boasting an impressive AUC of 0.984. This model outperformed other algorithms in terms of accuracy and sensitivity. Furthermore, when employing a voting mechanism on multi-mass spectrometry data for strain identificaton, the RF model achieved the highest accuracy of 96.67%. The outcomes of this research hold the significant potential for commercial applications, enabling the rapid and precise discrimination of B. longum and B. infantis using MALDI-TOF MS in conjunction with machine learning. Additionally, the approach proposed in this study carries substantial implications across various industries, such as probiotics and pharmaceuticals, where the precise differentiation of specific subspecies is essential for product development and quality control

Characterization of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolated from healthy pigs in China

BACKGROUND: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is recognized as an important human diarrheal pathogen. Swine plays an important role as a carrier of this pathogen. In this study we determined the prevalence and characteristics of STEC from healthy swine collected between May 2011 and August 2012 from 3 cities/provinces in China. RESULTS: A total of 1003 samples, including 326 fecal, 351 small intestinal contents and 326 colon contents samples, was analyzed. Two hundred and fifty five samples were stx-positive by PCR and 93 STEC isolates were recovered from 62 stx-positive samples. Twelve O serogroups and 19 O:H serotypes including 6 serotypes (O100:H20/[H20], O143:H38/[H38], O87:H10, O172:H30/[H30], O159:H16, O9:H30/[H30]) rarely found in swine and ruminants were identified. All 93 STEC isolates harbored stx(2) only, all of which were stx(2e) subtype including 1 isolate being a new variant of stx(2e). 53.76%, 15.05% and 2.15% STEC isolates carried astA, hlyA and ehxA respectively. Four STEC isolates harbored the high-pathogenicity island. Of the 15 adherence-associated genes tested, 13 (eae, efa1, iha, lpfA(O113), lpfA(O157/OI-154), lpfA(O157/OI-141), toxB, saa, F4, F5, F6, F17 or F41) were all absent while 2 (paa and F18) were present in 7 and 4 STEC isolates respectively. The majority of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline (79.57%), nalidixic acid (78.49%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (73.12%) and kanamycin (55.91%). The STEC isolates were divided into 63 pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns and 21 sequence types (STs). Isolates of the same STs generally showed the same or similar drug resistance patterns. A higher proportion of STEC isolates from Chongqing showed multidrug resistance with one ST (ST3628) resistant to 14 antimicrobials. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that swine is a significant reservoir of STEC strains in China. Based on comparison by serotypes and sequence types with human strains and presence of virulence genes, the swine STEC may have a low potential to cause human disease

SARS-CoV Infection in a Restaurant from Palm Civet

Contact with food animals was associated with SARS-CoV infection in the People’s Republic of China

Patterns of unmet supportive needs and relationship to quality of life in Chinese cancer patients

ObjectiveThis study aimed to (1) identify distinct patterns of unmet needs in Chinese cancer patients; (2) examine whether sociodemographic and medical characteristics distinguished these patterns; and (3) examine whether people with distinct patterns reported differential quality of life (QoL). MethodsThis cross-sectional study recruited 301 cancer patients from 2 hospitals in China. The 34-item Supportive Care Needs Survey Short-Form was used to measure unmet needs across 5 domains: physical and daily living, psychological, patient care and support, health systems and information, and sexuality. Latent class analysis was performed to identify patterns of unmet needs across these domains. ResultsFour patterns of unmet needs were identified, differing in levels and nature of unmet needs. Participants in class 1 (47%) reported few unmet needs. Patients in class 2 (15%) had moderate levels of unmet needs, displaying similar levels across 5 domains. People in class 3 (25%) and class 4 (13%) reported similarly high levels on psychological, health care system and information, physical and daily living, and patient care, but differing in sexuality, with class 3 reporting low levels while class 4 high on sexuality. None of sociodemographic and medical characteristics distinguished these patterns significantly. Compared to other classes, people in class 1 reported highest levels of QoL. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the existence of 4 patterns of unmet supportive needs in Chinese cancer patients. Patients with few unmet needs reported the best QoL

Psychometric properties of the Depression Stigma Scale (DSS) in Chinese cancer patients:a cross-sectional study

Objectives The Depression Stigma Scale (DSS) is commonly used to assess depression stigma in the general population and in people with depression. The DSS includes two 9-item subscales assumed to measure personal depression stigma (ie, personal perceptions of depression) and perceived depression stigma (ie, perceptions of how others perceive depression). The aim of the present study was to examine its psychometric properties in terms of validity and reliability in Chinese cancer patients. Design A cross-sectional study design. Participants and settings This study focused on 301 Chinese cancer patients recruited from two hospitals in Xian, China. Methods Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to assess the factor structure. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbachs alpha. To examine concurrent validity, symptoms of depression were used as the criterion. Results For each subscale of the DSS (ie, personal and perceived depression stigma), the EFA and CFA confirmed a two-factor structure: weak-not-sick (ie, perceiving that depression is not a real illness, but rather a sign of weakness) and discrimination (ie, perceiving that depressed people are discriminated against). The Cronbachs alphas were adequate, ranging from 0.70 to 0.80. Symptoms of depression were positively but weakly correlated to personal and perceived depression stigma. Conclusions The DSS appeared to show satisfactory psychometric properties in our sample of cancer patients. Both personal depression stigma and perceived depression stigma subscales consisted of two underlying aspects