The Leninist State under Threat? The Politics of Economic Reform in China

Summary Summary This article examines the political origins, content and impact of China's post?Mao economic reforms and argues that while they may well lead towards a more ‘pluralistic’ political process along corporatist ‘lines’, we cannot assume that they will lead automatically to more wide?ranging political democratisation. Resumen Resumen ¿El estado leninista bajo amenaza? La política de las reformas económicas en China Este artículo examina los orígenes políticos, el contenido y el impacto de las reformas económicas posteriores a Mao y sostiene que aun cuando ellas bien pueden derivar en un proceso político más ‘pluralista’ junto a ‘líneas’ corporatistas, no se puede suponer que conducirán automáticamente a una democratización de más vasto alcance

Combined macro- and micro-rheometer for use with Langmuir monolayers

A Langmuir monolayer trough that is equipped for simultaneous microrheology and standard rheology measurements has been constructed. The central elements are the trough itself with a full range of optical tools accessing the air-water interface from below the trough and a portable knife-edge torsion pendulum that can access the interface from above. The ability to simultaneously measure the mechanical response of Langmuir monolayers on very different lengths scales is an important step in for our understanding of the mechanical response of such systems

Bilateral Pneumothoraces Following Central Venous Cannulation

We report the occurrence of a bilateral pneumothoraces after unilateral central venous catheterization of the right subclavian vein in a 70-year-old patient. The patient had no history of pulmonary or pleural disease and no history of cardiothoracic surgery. Two days earlier, she had a median laparotomy under general and epidural anaesthesia. Prior to the procedure, the patient was hemodynamically stable and her transcutaneous oxygen saturation was 97% in room air. We punctured the right pleural space before cannulation of the right subclavian vein. After the procedure, the patient slowly became hemodynamically instable with respiratory distress. A chest radiograph revealed a complete left-side pneumothorax and a mild right-side pneumothorax. The right-side pneumothorax became under tension after left chest tube insertion. The symptoms finally resolved after insertion of a right chest tube. After a diagnostic work-up, we suspect a congenital “Buffalo chests” explaining bilateral pneumothoraces and a secondary tension pneumothorax

Rapid assays and continuous in-situ biosensors for bioprocess monitoring

Fast, accurate, and precise measurements are critical in the biofuels, biochemical, biopharma, and biotechnology industries. Bioprocessing operations require rapid measurement techniques during cultivations to ensure product quality, ensure batch-to-batch consistency, increase product yield, improve process efficiency, and prevent expensive shutdowns. Although continuous sensors exist for dissolved oxygen, pressure, temperature, and pH, organic chemical concentrations must be measured using expensive equipment that can take hours or days to yield results. OptiEnz Sensors provides a biosensor platform for rapid assay or continuous monitoring of organic chemicals. The platform consists of an instrument with an attached sensor probe and replaceable sensor caps with multiple sensor spots. The sensor tips are unique to each chemical to be measured. The platform includes PC-based software for product configuration, display of results in both digital and graphical formats, and data export to process control systems. This technology is available in two platforms: A rapid assay system capable of quickly measuring the analyte concentration in samples and an in-situ probe for continuous, aseptic measurements in a bioreactor. The sensors are accurate, specific, and quantitative. OptiEnz has identified over 50 organic chemicals that can be measured using this technology and has constructed and tested biosensors for 22 of them. Of particular importance to biotech process monitoring are sensors for glucose, ethanol, lactate, glutamate, glutamine, xylose, lactose, glycerol, butanol, and methanol. The rapid assay system is on the market now for glucose and ethanol concentration measurement and a continuous sensor for in-situ glucose concentration monitoring is in customer trial

Case Report Bilateral Pneumothoraces Following Central Venous Cannulation

We report the occurrence of a bilateral pneumothoraces after unilateral central venous catheterization of the right subclavian vein in a 70-year-old patient. The patient had no history of pulmonary or pleural disease and no history of cardiothoracic surgery. Two days earlier, she had a median laparotomy under general and epidural anaesthesia. Prior to the procedure, the patient was hemodynamically stable and her transcutaneous oxygen saturation was 97% in room air. We punctured the right pleural space before cannulation of the right subclavian vein. After the procedure, the patient slowly became hemodynamically instable with respiratory distress. A chest radiograph revealed a complete left-side pneumothorax and a mild right-side pneumothorax. The right-side pneumothorax became under tension after left chest tube insertion. The symptoms finally resolved after insertion of a right chest tube. After a diagnostic work-up, we suspect a congenital "Buffalo chests" explaining bilateral pneumothoraces and a secondary tension pneumothorax

HST Spectroscopy of Spot 1 on the Circumstellar Ring of SN 1987A

We present ultraviolet and optical spectra of the first bright spot (PA = 29 degrees) on Supernova 1987A's equatorial circumstellar ring taken with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. We interpret this spot as the emission produced by radiative shocks that occur where the supernova blast wave strikes an inward protrusion of the ring. The observed line widths and intensity ratios indicate the presence of radiative shocks with velocities ranging from 100 to 250 km s^-1 entering dense (> 10^4 cm^-3) gas. These observations, and future observations of the development of the spectra and line profiles, provide a unique opportunity to study the hydrodynamics of radiative shocks.Comment: Accepted by ApJL on Aug. 3, 200

Niraparib maintenance treatment improves time without symptoms or toxicity (TWiST) versus routine surveillance in recurrent ovarian cancer: a TWiST analysis of the ENGOT-OV16/NOVA trial

Purpose: this study estimated time without symptoms or toxicity (TWiST) with niraparib compared with routine surveillance (RS) in the maintenance treatment of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. Patients and methods: mean progression-free survival (PFS) was estimated for niraparib and RS by fitting parametric survival distributions to Kaplan-Meier data for 553 patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who were enrolled in the phase III ENGOT-OV16/NOVA trial. Patients were categorized according to the presence or absence of a germline BRCA mutation-gBRCAmut and non-gBRCAmut cohorts. Mean time with toxicity was estimated based on the area under the Kaplan-Meier curve for symptomatic grade 2 or greater fatigue, nausea, and vomiting adverse events (AEs). Time with toxicity was the number of days a patient experienced an AE post-random assignment and before disease progression. TWiST was estimated as the difference between mean PFS and time with toxicity. Uncertainty was explored using alternative PFS estimates and considering all symptomatic grade 2 or greater AEs. Results: in the gBRCAmut and non-gBRCAmut cohorts, niraparib treatment resulted in a mean PFS benefit of 3.23 years and 1.44 years, respectively, and a mean time with toxicity of 0.28 years and 0.10 years, respectively, compared with RS. Hence, niraparib treatment resulted in a mean TWiST benefit of 2.95 years and 1.34 years, respectively, compared with RS, which is equivalent to more than four-fold and two-fold increases in mean TWiST between niraparib and RS in the gBRCAmut and non-gBRCAmut cohorts, respectively. This TWiST benefit was consistent across all sensitivity analyses, including modeling PFS over 5-, 10-, and 15-year time horizons. Conclusion: patients who were treated with niraparib compared with RS experienced increased mean TWiST. Thus, patients who were treated with niraparib in the ENGOT-OV16/NOVA trial experienced more time without symptoms or symptomatic toxicities compared with control

Embracing the Market: Entry into Self-Employment in Transitional China, 1978-1996

This paper introduces labor market transition as an intervening process by which the macro institutional transition to a market economy alters social stratification outcome. Rather than directly addressing income distribution, it examines the pattern of workers’ entry into self-employment in reform-era China (1978-1996), focusing on rural-urban differences and the temporal trend. Analyses of data from a national representative survey in China show that education, party membership and cadre status all deter urban workers’ entry into self-employment, while education promotes rural workers’ entry into self-employment. As marketization proceeds, the rate of entry into self-employment increases in both rural and urban China, but urban workers are increasingly more likely to take advantages of the new market opportunities. In urban China, college graduates and cadres are still less likely to be involved in self-employment, but they are becoming more likely to do so in the later phase of reform. The diversity of transition scenarios is attributed to rural-urban differences in labor market structures.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39897/3/wp512.pd

Sexual dimorphisms and prediction of conversion in the NAPLS psychosis prodrome

Sex differences in age at onset, symptomatology, clinical course (see Walker, Walder, Lewine and Loewy, 2002) and functional impairment (Thorup et al., 2007) are well documented in psychosis. The general pattern of findings is that males manifest an earlier onset, more severe symptoms and poorer prognosis than females. Limited studies examining individuals at clinical high-risk (CHR) suggest a similar pattern of sexual dimorphism (Holtzman et al., in review; Corcoran et al., 2011). As part of the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS), the current study prospectively examined sexual dimorphisms differences in relationships among CHR symptoms, childhood (premorbid) academic and social functioning, baseline social and role functioning, and conversion to psychosis. Subjects included 276 (113F/163M) CHR NAPLS participants (ages 12–36.8 years). All measures/criteria were assessed at baseline except conversion status, assessed at 6-month intervals up to 30 months. Results show sex differences in baseline social and role functioning (though not in early childhood adjustment) that predate psychosis onset, with sexually dimorphic patterns in relation to prodromal symptoms. Among male (but not female) CHRs, baseline social functioning and positive prodromal symptoms predicted conversion. These findings help elucidate early course of vulnerability for, and maximally sensitive and specific etiological and prediction models of, psychosis conversion. Findings highlight the importance of considering sexually differentiated predictors of longitudinal course and outcome, in the context of emerging risk profiles. This may optimize efforts at early identification and individually tailored preventive interventions targeting different neurobiological markers/systems and/or cognitive-behavioral approaches. We speculate a contemporary, multidimensional model of psychosis risk that posits a role of sexually dimorphic, genetically linked influences that converge with a modulating role of gonadal hormones (see Walder et al., 2012) across a temporally sensitive neurodevelopmental trajectory towards conferring risk