The Global Impact of Chinese Growth

Three decades have passed since China dramatically opened up to the global market and began to catch up rapidly with leading economies. In this paper we discuss the effects of China's opening-up and rapid growth on the welfare of both China and the rest of the world (ROW). We find that the opening-up per se is welfare improving for China but has had little impact on the ROW. The opening-up of China is beneficial to the ROW if it led to significant productivity growth in China. Furthermore, China's balanced trade policy after the opening-up has helped the ROW rather than China. Hence, according to a simple neoclassical model with complete markets, a gradual trade liberalization in China is preferable to a drastic one from the ROW perspective

The Global Impact of Chinese Growth

Three decades have passed since China dramatically opened up to the global market and began to catch up rapidly with leading economies. In this paper we discuss the effects of Chinafs opening-up and rapid growth on the welfare of both China and the rest of the world (ROW). We find that the opening-up per se is welfare improving for China but has had little impact on the ROW given a balanced trade constraint. The opening-up of China is beneficial to the ROW if it leads to significant productivity growth in China. Also, Chinafs balanced trade policy after the opening-up has helped the ROW rather than China.Productivity, Terms of Trade, Growth, Open Economy

Detecting the superfluid critical momentum of Bose gases in optical lattices through dipole oscillations

We study stability of superflow of Bose gases in optical lattices by analyzing the Bose-Hubbard model within the Gutzwiller mean-field approximation. We calculate the excitation spectra of the homogeneous Bose-Hubbard model at unit filling to determine the critical momenta for the Landau and dynamical instabilities. These two critical momenta are shown to approach each other when the on-site interaction increases towards the Mott transition point. In order to make a direct connection with realistic experiments, we next take into account a parabolic trapping potential and compute the real-time dynamics of dipole oscillations induced by suddenly displacing the trap center. We consider the following two cases: standard softcore bosons, whose interparticle interactions include the on-site one only, and hardcore bosons with long-range dipole-dipole interactions. For both cases, we show that the dipole oscillation is significantly damped when the maximum local momentum exceeds a certain threshold, which quantitatively agrees with the critical momentum for the dynamical instability in the homogeneous system. In the case of dipolar hardcore bosons, the dynamical instability of dipole oscillations leads to the formation of checkerboard density waves in the superfluid phase near the boundary to the supersolid phase.Comment: 21 pages, 27 figure

LC/PDA/ESI-MS Profiling and Radical Scavenging Activity of Anthocyanins in Various Berries

Anthocyanin extracts of two blueberries, Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry) and Vaccinium ashei (rabbiteye blueberry), and of three other berries, Ribes nigrum (black currant), Aronia melanocarpa (chokeberry), and Sambucus nigra (elderberry), were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection and electrospray ionization - mass spectrometry (LC/PDA/ESI-MS). Both bilberry and rabbiteye blueberry contained 15 identical anthocyanins with different distribution patterns. Black currant, chokeberry, and elderberry contained 6, 4, and 4 kinds of anthocyanins, respectively. The radical scavenging activities of these berry extracts were analyzed by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). All these extracts showed potent antiradical activities

Can we explain cosmic birefringence without a new light field beyond Standard Model?

The recent analysis of the Planck 2018 polarization data shows a nonzero isotropic cosmic birefringence (ICB) that is not explained within the $\Lambda$CDM paradigm. We then explore the question of whether the nonzero ICB is interpreted by the framework of the Standard Model Effective Field Theory (SMEFT), or at the energy scales of the cosmic microwave background, the low-energy EFT (LEFT) whose dynamical degrees of freedom are five SM quarks and all neutral and charged leptons. Our systematic study reveals that any operator in the EFT on a cosmological background would not give the reported ICB angle, which is observationally consistent with frequency independence. In particular, we estimate the size of the ICB angle generated by the effect that the cosmic microwave background photons travel through the medium of the cosmic neutrino background with parity-violating neutrino-photon interactions and find that it would be too small to explain the data. If the reported ICB angle should be confirmed, then our result would indicate the existence of a new particle that is lighter than the electroweak scale and feebly interacting with the SM particles.Comment: 8+7 pages, no figur

Optimization temperature sensitivity using the optically detected magnetic resonance spectrum of a nitrogen-vacancy center ensemble

Temperature sensing with nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers using quantum techniques is very promising and further development is expected. Recently, the optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) spectrum of a high-density ensemble of the NV centers was reproduced with noise parameters [inhomogeneous magnetic field, inhomogeneous strain (electric field) distribution, and homogeneous broadening] of the NV center ensemble. In this study, we use ODMR to estimate the noise parameters of the NV centers in several diamonds. These parameters strongly depend on the spin concentration. This knowledge is then applied to theoretically predict the temperature sensitivity. Using the diffraction-limited volume of 0.1 micron^3, which is the typical limit in confocal microscopy, the optimal sensitivity is estimated to be around 0.76 mK/Hz^(1/2) with an NV center concentration of 5.0e10^17/cm^3. This sensitivity is much higher than previously reported sensitivities, demonstrating the excellent potential of temperature sensing with NV centers.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Effects of Excessive Prelithiation on Full-Cell Performance of Li-Ion Batteries with a Hard-Carbon/Nanosized-Si Composite Anode

The effects of excessive prelithiation on the full-cell performance of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) with a hard-carbon/nanosized-Si (HC/N-Si) composite anode were investigated; HC and N-Si simply mixed at mass ratios of 9:1 and 8:2 were analyzed. CR2032-type half- and full-cells were assembled to evaluate the electrochemical LIB anode behavior. The galvanostatic measurements of half-cell configurations revealed that the composite anode with an 8:2 HC/N-Si mass ratio exhibited a high capacity (531 mAh g(-1)) at 0.1 C and superior current-rate dependence (rate performance) at 0.1-10 C. To evaluate the practical LIB anode performance, the optimally performing composite anode was used in the full cell. Prior to full-cell assembly, the composite anodes were prelithiated via electrochemical Li doping at different cutoff anodic specific capacities (200-600 mAh g(-1)). The composite anode was paired with a LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 cathode to construct full-cells, the performance of which was evaluated by conducting sequential rate and cycling performance tests. Prelithiation affected only the cycling performance, without affecting the rate performance. Excellent capacity retention was observed in the full-cells with prelithiation conducted at cutoff anodic specific capacities greater than or equal to 500 mAh g(-1)

Age-Related Declines in the Ability to Modulate Common Input to Bilateral and Unilateral Plantar Flexors During Forward Postural Lean

Aging can impair an ability to lean the body forward to the edge of the base of support. Here, we investigated, using a coherence analysis, common inputs to bilateral and unilateral plantar flexor muscles to test a hypothesis that the age-related impairment would be related to strong synchronous bilateral activation and reduced cortical control of these muscles. Healthy young (n = 14) and elderly adults (n = 19), who were all right-foot dominant, performed quiet standing task and tasks that required the subjects to lean their body forward to 35 and 75% of the maximum lean distance. The electromyogram was recorded from the bilateral medial gastrocnemius (MG) and soleus (SL) muscles. We analyzed delta-band coherence, that reflects comodulation of muscle activity, between the bilateral homologous muscles (MG-MG and SL-SL pairs). The origin of this bilateral comodulation is suggested to be the subcortical system. Also, we examined beta-band coherence, that is related to the corticospinal drive, between the unilateral muscles (MG-SL pair) in the right leg. Results indicated that the bilateral delta-band coherence for the MG-MG pair was significantly smaller in the 75% forward lean than quiet standing and 35% forward lean tasks for the young adults (quiet: p = 0.036; 35%: p = 0.0011). The bilateral delta-band coherence for the SL-SL pair was significantly smaller in the 75% forward lean than 35% forward lean task for the young adults (p = 0.027). Furthermore, the unilateral beta-band coherence was larger in the forward lean than quiet standing task for the young adults (35%: p < 0.001; 75%: p = 0.029). Contrarily, the elderly adults did not demonstrate such changes. These findings suggest the importance of decreasing the synchronous bilateral activation and increasing the unilateral cortical control of the plantar flexor muscles for the successful forward postural lean performance, and that aging impairs this modulatory ability

Effect of age and disease on bone mass in Japanese patients with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: There have been a limited number of studies comparing bone mass between patients with schizophrenia and the general population. The aim of this study was to compare the bone mass of schizophrenia patients with that of healthy subjects in Japan. METHODS: We recruited patients (n = 362), aged 48.8 ± 15.4 (mean ± SD) years who were diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV). Bone mass was measured using quantitative ultrasound densitometry of the calcaneus. The osteosono-assessment index (OSI) was calculated as a function of the speed of sound and the transmission index. For comparative analysis, OSI data from 832 adults who participated in the Iwaki Health Promotion Project 2009 was used as representative of the general community. RESULTS: Mean OSI values among male schizophrenic patients were lower than those in the general population in the case of individuals aged 40 and older. In females, mean OSI values among schizophrenic patients were lower than those in the general community in those aged 60 and older. In an analysis using the general linear model, a significant interaction was observed between subject groups and age in males. CONCLUSIONS: Older schizophrenic patients exhibit lower bone mass than that observed in the general population. Our data also demonstrate gender and group differences among schizophrenic patients and controls with regard to changes in bone mass associated with aging. These results indicate that intervention programs designed to delay or prevent decreased bone mass in schizophrenic patients might be tailored according to gender

Investigation by Imaging Mass Spectrometry of Biomarker Candidates for Aging in the Hair Cortex

BACKGROUND: Human hair is one of the essential components that define appearance and is a useful source of samples for non-invasive biomonitoring. We describe a novel application of imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) of hair biomolecules for advanced molecular characterization and a better understanding of hair aging. As a cosmetic and biomedical application, molecules whose levels in hair altered with aging were comprehensively investigated. METHODS: Human hair was collected from 15 young (20±5 years old) and 15 older (50±5 years old) volunteers. Matrix-free laser desorption/ionization IMS was used to visualize molecular distribution in the hair sections. Hair-specific ions displaying a significant difference in the intensities between the 2 age groups were extracted as candidate markers for aging. Tissue localization of the molecules and alterations in their levels in the cortex and medulla in the young and old groups were determined. RESULTS: Among the 31 molecules detected specifically in hair sections, 2--one at m/z 153.00, tentatively assigned to be dihydrouracil, and the other at m/z 207.04, identified to be 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid (DHMA)--exhibited a higher signal intensity in the young group than in the old, and 1 molecule at m/z 164.00, presumed to be O-phosphoethanolamine, displayed a higher intensity in the old group. Among the 3, putative O-phosphoethanolamine showed a cortex-specific distribution. The 3 molecules in cortex presented the same pattern of alteration in signal intensity with aging, whereas those in medulla did not exhibit significant alteration. CONCLUSION: Three molecules whose levels in hair altered with age were extracted. While they are all possible markers for aging, putative dihydrouracil and DHMA, are also suspected to play a role in maintaining hair properties and could be targets for cosmetic supplementation. Mapping of ion localization in hair by IMS is a powerful method to extract biomolecules in specified regions and determine their tissue distribution