Defining and measuring financial inclusion : A systematic review and confirmatory factor analysis

Acknowledgements: We are very grateful for the financial support provided by the ESRC and NSFC (Newton Fund). This paper is part of the research project entitled ‘Research on China's Financial System towards Sustainable Growth: The Role of Innovation, Diversity and Financial Regulation’ (ESRC: ES/P005241/1 and the National Natural Science Foundation of China: 71661137002). In addition, this research was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China (Project Number: 17ZDA071). Data and STATA do files will be available to download from ReShare.Peer reviewedPostprin

The allogeneic umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells regulate the function of T helper 17 cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis in an in vitro co-culture system

BACKGROUND: Previous in vivo studies have shown that mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation significantly improves the condition of a number of autoimmune diseases including autoimmune cerebrospinal meningitis, multiple sclerosis, glomerulonephritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. METHODS: To investigate the immunoregulatory effect of stem cell transplantation, human umbilical cord MSCs were co-cultured with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Orphan nuclear receptor gamma (ROR-γ) mRNA and protein expression was detected with real-time PCR and Western blotting. Interleukin (IL)-17, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in the cell culture supernatant were measured using a flow cytometric bead capture method. RESULTS: After 72 hours of co-culture, the mRNA and protein expression levels of ROR-γ in co-cultured PBMCs were decreased compared with that in PBMC of RA patients cultured alone (p < 0.05). Moreover, the decrement was positively related to the disease activity of RA (p < 0.05). Decreased secretion of IL-17, TNF-α and IL-6 were also found in co-culture supernatants of PBMCs from patients with severe and moderate disease activity, but not in supernatant from PBMCs cultured alone. The decreased cytokine expression levels were positively correlated to the concentrations of MSCs. In contrast, PBMCs from healthy controls or patients with mild RA did not show significant differences in ROR-γ expression or cytokine secretion following co-culture with MSCs as compared with those cultured alone. CONCLUSIONS: In vitro co-culture with MSCs down-regulated the inflammatory response of PBMCs from RA patients with severe disease activity, but had no significant effect on PBMCs from healthy controls or patients with mild disease activity, suggesting that the immunoregulatory role of MSCs may associate with the occurrence of inflammatory mediators

Dew formation characteristics in the gravel desert ecosystem and its ecological roles on Reaumuria soongorica

As an additional source of water to plants besides rainfall, dew may have a positive impact on vegetation in the arid ecosystems. Knowledge regarding dew formation characteristics and its ecological effects on vegetation water status and photosynthetic performance in the gravel desert ecosystem is still lacking. In this study, the dew variability and formation frequency on a gravel desert were measured by microlysimeters. We quantified dew formation characteristics, investigated vegetation water response to dew events in the gravel desert ecosystem at the edge of a desert oasis, Northwestern China. The results showed water adsorption was a primary pathway of dew formation in such system, and the average daily amount of dew is 0.06 mm. Dew occurred on 36% of growing season days, the number of days with dew amounts >0.03 mm accounted for 82% of the total dew events, and the cumulative amount of dew for those days was 3.41 mm. Relative humidity, air temperature, wind speed, the difference between air temperature and soil surface temperature had significant effects on dew formation. A threshold of RH ≥30% is taken to mark possible condensation in the gravel desert ecosystem. A significant positive correlation between dew amounts and the relative moisture in the near-surface air was found when RH ≥30%. The moderate wind velocity (1–1.8 m/s) was favorable to dew formation, and when wind speed >5.47 m/s, there was no dew formation. Because of the water-absorbing scales on the leaves of Reaumuria soongorica, dew events significantly improved their relative water content, water potential, and photosynthetic performance in the early morning and ameliorating the adverse effects of plants exposed to prolonged drought. The study highlights dew is an important supplementary source of water in the gravel desert ecosystem. Although the absolute dew amounts were found not high, it can be a frequent and stable water resource. Furthermore, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the effects of dew on plant water status in the gravel desert ecosystem

Increased human pressures on the alpine ecosystem along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

Construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway (QTR) increased the links between inland China and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). The QTR accelerated surrounding tourism, boosted the local economy and led to rapid development of livestock raising. To assess how distance from the railway and different regions has influenced the impact of the QTR on the alpine ecosystem, human footprint maps were produced to indicate human pressures, and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), an index of vegetation greenness, was used to characterize the growth of alpine vegetation. The construction and operation of the QTR have increased human pressures, while the establishment of nature reserves has effectively reduced human pressures. The QTR contributes significantly to the increased human pressures in the Tibetan region compared with the Qinghai region and exerts negative impacts on alpine vegetation. Although the warmer and wetter climate trend has proven beneficial in enhancing alpine vegetation greenness, the declining trend of alpine vegetation has been stronger in regions with more intensive human pressures, especially in the grazing areas and the tourist areas around Lhasa. These results suggest that the impact of the QTR on alpine vegetation in Tibet is greater than that in Qinghai and that the spatial extent of the indirect impact of the QTR in Tibet is confined to approximately 30 km from the railway. These results will provide guidance and a theoretical basis for the protection of the alpine environment on the QTP under intensified anthropogenic influence

Assessment of the feasibility and coverage of a modified universal hearing screening protocol for use with newborn babies of migrant workers in Beijing

BACKGROUND: Although migrant workers account for the majority of newborns in Beijing, their children are less likely to undergo appropriate universal newborn hearing screening/rescreening (UNHS) than newborns of local non-migrant residents. We hypothesised that this was at least in part due to the inadequacy of the UNHS protocol currently employed for newborn babies, and therefore aimed to modify the protocol to specifically reflect the needs of the migrant population. METHODS: A total of 10,983 healthy babies born to migrant mothers between January 2007 and December 2009 at a Beijing public hospital were investigated for hearing abnormalities according to a modified UNHS protocol. This incorporated two additional/optional otoacoustic emissions (OAE) tests at 24–48 hours and 2 months after birth. Infants not passing a screening test were referred to the next test, until any hearing loss was confirmed by the auditory brainstem response (ABR) test. RESULTS: A total of 98.91% (10983/11104) of all newborn children underwent the initial OAE test, of which 27.22% (2990/10983) failed the test. 1712 of the failed babies underwent the second inpatient OAE test, with739 failing again; thus significantly decreasing the overall positive rate for abnormal hearing from 27.22% to 18.36% ([2990–973 /10983)]; p = 0). Overall, 1147(56.87%) babies underwent the outpatient OAE test again after1-month, of whom 228 failed and were referred for the second outpatient OAE test (i.e. 2.08% (228/10983) referral rate at 1month of age). 141 of these infants underwent the referral test, of whom 103 (73.05%) tested positive again and were referred for a final ABR test for hearing loss (i.e. final referral rate of 1.73% ([228-38/10983] at 2 months of age). Only 54 infants attended the ABR test and 35 (0.32% of the original cohort tested) were diagnosed with abnormal hearing. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that it is feasible and practical to achieve high coverage rates for screening hearing loss and decrease the referral rates in newborn babies of migrant workers, using a modification of the currently employed UNHS protocol

PO-127 Research progresses of exercise intervention methods in non- alcoholic fatty liver disease

Objective This review summarizes the effects of aerobic exercise (AE), resistance exercise (RE), and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Discuss The main differences of intervention methods, intervention time, and intervention effects among the NAFLD people, To explore the targeting and dose-response relationship of different exercise models intervention in NAFLD.&nbsp; Methods This paper uses the keywords such as Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, NAFLD, NASH, NAFLD and aerobic training, aerobic exercise, resistance training, resistance exercise, high-intensity interval training, high-intensity interval exercise, high-intensity aerobic exercise, HIAT, HIIT, HIT, etc to search in the web of science、Pubmed database, the deadline is March 1, 2018. Inclusion criteria: (1) study design: randomized controlled trials; (2) study questions: effects of exercise on hepatic steatosis in patients with NAFLD; (3) type of exercise: AE, RE, and HIIT; (4) subjects: biochemical examination liver biopsy or ultrasound examination includes a combination of abdominal imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) imaging of the NAFLD population. Exclusion criteria: (1) non-original studies (2) meeting abstracts (3) did not provide sufficient experimental data (4) animal experiments (5) non-English literature. The search results showed that a total of 16 studies reported the effects of exercise on NAFLD populations.&nbsp; Results (1) AE, RE and HIIT can reduce hepatic steatosis and improve liver histology in NAFLD people, but their intervention effects are different. AE stands out in reduce body weight,decreases insulin resistance (IR); RE stands out in reduce hepatic fat and increases muscle strength; HIIT has a significant effect in reducing hepatic fat and enhancing cardiovascular&nbsp;fitness. (2) the frequency, duration, and intervention period of AE and RE are similar; achieve the same or better intervention effect, HIIT only requires the 1/3 exercise time of the previous two. Conclusions RE may be more effective than AE in patients with poor cardiovascular&nbsp;fitness, sarcopenia, and NAFLD who are unable to tolerate or participate in AE; HIIT has certain advantages in the time-effect and dose-effect due to less exercise time and smaller amount of exercise, This is easy for the NAFLD people to accept, and it will facilitate long-term adherence in the future

Behavioral and eye movement study of attention bias to alcohol-related cues in male alcohol-dependent patients and correlation analysis of psychological factors

Objective·To investigate if male alcohol-dependent patients have attention bias to alcohol-related pictures, show the behavioral and eye movement characteristics of attention bias, and explore the correlation between attention bias and sleep, anxiety, depression, impulsion and other psychological factors.Methods·Twenty-nine subjects in the case group (alcohol-dependent patients who were hospitalized in Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, from August 2021 to February 2022) and 29 healthy subjects in the healthy control group participated in the study. The experimental design was a mixed experimental design of three-factor hybrid. The cue types were alcohol-related and emotion pictures. The probe was on the same side or on the opposite side of the alcohol or emotional picture. The characteristics of subjects' attentional bias to alcohol cues were investigated by using the classical dot detection paradigm and eye movement monitoring technique. Groups were inter-group variables, and clue types and relative locations of probe points were intra-group variables. The behavioral and eye movement data were collected while the study subjects viewed pairs of alcohol-related and neutral pictures, or pairs of emotional and neutral pictures in a dot-probe paradigm. Dependent variables included behavioral indicators and eye movement indicators. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), 7-tiem Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), Patien Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) scales were used to assess psychosomatic conditions such as sleep, anxiety, depression, and impulsivity, respectively. Behavioral and eye movement characteristics of attention bias in the alcohol-dependent group were analyzed. In addition, the correlation with behavioral and eye movement characteristics of attention bias and scale scores was analyzed.Results·The behavioral results showed that the reaction time of the alcohol-dependent group was significantly longer than that of the healthy control group (P=0.006). The eye movement results showed that when the type of cue was alcohol-related picture, the alcohol-dependent group had slower attention detection (P=0.031) and longer attention maintenance (P=0.005) on alcohol-related cues. Moreover, the pupil size during the viewing of alcohol-related cues (P=0.001) and emotional cues (P=0.008) were significantly smaller than those of the healthy control group. It was also found that, there was a negative correlation between the correct rate of the alcohol-dependent group and the BIS-11 scale score (r=-0.437, P=0.032), and a positive correlation between reaction time and GAD-7 score (r=0.407, P=0.033). The time of the first visual fixation entry was positively correlated with GAD-7 score (r=0.414, P=0.045), and the PSQI score was positively correlated with PHQ-9 score (r=0.422, P=0.041) in the case group.Conclusion·Alcohol-dependent patients have attention bias towards alcohol-related cues according to the behavioral and eye movement result. Compared with the traditional behavioral regression of attention bias based on correct rate and reaction time results, eye movement provides more direct and multi indicator evidence for the evaluation of attention bias in alcohol-dependent patients

Are the shoreline and eutrophication of desert lakes related to desert development?

Desert lakes are unique ecosystems found in oases within desert landscapes. Despite the numerous studies on oases, there are no reports regarding the spatiotemporal distribution and causes of eutrophication in the desert lakes that are located at the edge of the Linze Oasis in northwestern China. In this study, the seasonal shoreline and eutrophication of a desert lake were monitored using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and water sampling during three crop growth stages. The spatial extents of the shoreline and algal blooms and the chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption coefficient were derived through UAV images. The desert lake shoreline declined during the crop growing stage, which exhibited the largest water demand and began to expand after this stage. The estimated CDOM absorption coefficient measurements and classified algal bloom area showed seasonal variations that increased from spring to late summer and then decreased in autumn. The first two crop growth stages accounted for most of the water and fertilizer requirements of the entire growth period, which may have contributed to large amounts of groundwater consumption and pollution and resulted in peak eutrophication of the lake in the second growth stage. However, the CDOM absorption coefficient of the third stage was not well correlated with that of the first two stages, suggesting that the lake may be affected by the dual effects of groundwater and precipitation recharge in the third stage. These results indicate that the water quality of desert lakes may be affected by agricultural cultivation. The agricultural demands for water and fertilizer may change the spatiotemporal changes in water quality in the lake, especially in the middle and early stages of crop growth

YeastFab:the design and construction of standard biological parts for metabolic engineering in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

It is a routine task in metabolic engineering to introduce multicomponent pathways into a heterologous host for production of metabolites. However, this process sometimes may take weeks to months due to the lack of standardized genetic tools. Here, we present a method for the design and construction of biological parts based on the native genes and regulatory elements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We have developed highly efficient protocols (termed YeastFab Assembly) to synthesize these genetic elements as standardized biological parts, which can be used to assemble transcriptional units in a single-tube reaction. In addition, standardized characterization assays are developed using reporter constructs to calibrate the function of promoters. Furthermore, the assembled transcription units can be either assayed individually or applied to construct multi-gene metabolic pathways, which targets a genomic locus or a receiving plasmid effectively, through a simple in vitro reaction. Finally, using β-carotene biosynthesis pathway as an example, we demonstrate that our method allows us not only to construct and test a metabolic pathway in several days, but also to optimize the production through combinatorial assembly of a pathway using hundreds of regulatory biological parts