Review of \u3cem\u3eContemporary Chinese America: Immigration, Ethnicity, and Community Transformation.\u3c/em\u3e Min Zhou. Reviewed by Shehong Chen.

Book review of Min Zhou. Contemporary Chinese America: Immigration, Ethnicity, and Community Transformation. Temple University Press, 2009. $89.50 hardcover,$28.95 papercover

Reconstructing the Chinese American Experience in Lowell, Massachusetts, 1870s–1970s

This is a study of the Chinese American experience in Lowell, Massachusetts, over the century from the 1870s through the 1970s. I have selected this period for study because the 1870s witnessed the first appearance of Chinese laundries in Lowell, and the 1970s, the disappearance of Chinese laundries in Lowell. Notably, this study attempts to fill in two existing gaps in historical scholarship. First, the experiences of many of Lowell’s ethnic groups have been documented or studied, but the experience of the Chinese has been ignored. Secondly, the history of Chinese Americans in New England cities and towns has generally received little attention from scholars

Study on electricity market in China and development of its commercial operation system

Based on the discussion of the characteristics of international electricity markets, some problems occurring in the commercial operations of power system in China are analyzed. The management and technologies for power system reform and for development of electricity market are also discussed.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Therapeutic effects of combination environmental enrichment with necrostatin-1 on cognition following vascular cognitive impairment in mice

Cognitive dysfunction resulting from the reduction of cerebral blood flow has been defined as “vascular cognitive impairment” (VCI) which has become the second cause of dementia only after Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and arouses great concerns. There is accumulating evidence that environmental enrichment (EE) can induce functional and anatomical alterations and then bring about overt improvement in memory and learning tasks in many injury paradigms, including ischemic brain injury. Moreover, necrostatin-1 (Nec-1), the special inhibitor of necroptosis, improved functional outcomes following ischemic brain injury and AD. The question of whether and what effect EE and EE + Nec-1 could bring about on cognitive performance and microenvironment and histopathological consequences in the mice suffering from VCI is still unclear. In this study, we investigated this question using the bilateral common carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) mouse model. A week after surgical operation for BCAS, mice were reared for 3 weeks either in standard housing condition or in an EE consisting of special cage filling with various stimulatory items. The results found that the mice in the BCAS + EE and BCAS + EE + Nec-1 groups showed significantly shorter latencies and distances to reach the platform in behavioral tests versus untreated mice at 4 weeks after BCAS surgery. However, three injured groups showed significant deficits compared with the sham group ( P  < 0.05). In addition, there were no differences between the EE-reared mice and EE + Nec-1-treated mice except in the level of expression of inflammation cytokines. Our results indicated that noninvasive environmental stimulation is beneficial in ameliorating cognitive deficits and inflammation response in mice following VCI and that Nec-1 enhanced the inhibitory effect of EE on inflammation response

Necrostatin-1 Attenuates Inflammatory Response and Improves Cognitive Function in Chronic Ischemic Stroke Mice

Multiple cell death is involved in ischemic brain injury. Necroptosis, a recently reported cell death, may be the most suitable cell death mechanism in a subpopulation of neurons under ischemic injury. It reported that a small molecule, necrostatin-1 (Nec-1), has a potent inhibitory effect on necroptotic cell death in vivo and in vitro. The aim of the current study was to investigate the role of Nec-1 on cognitive function in chronic ischemic stroke mice induced by bilateral common carotid artery stenosis (BCAS). Here, 12-week-old C57BL/6 mice received intragastric administration with Nec-1 or vehicle for two weeks after stroke, and then, the effect and possible mechanism were determined. We demonstrated that inhibition of necroptosis prevented cognitive impairment and reduced inflammatory response in the ischemic brain injury mouse model. These data suggested that inhibition of necroptosis provided a potential therapeutic option for cognitive rehabilitation in chronic ischemic stroke

Necroptosis and microglia activation after chronic ischemic brain injury in mice

Microglia, which are the resident macrophages and the first line of defense in the brain, can be activated within hours and migrate toward the injury sites after acute and chronic ischemic brain injury. However, a few studies have reported the interaction between microglia activation and necroptosis signaling following ischemic damage to the brain. In this study, chronic ischemic brain injury was induced by bilateral carotid artery stenosis (BCAS) and mice were sacrificed at 30 days after surgery. Ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (IBA1) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunostaining were performed to determine glial cell activation and inflammatory response. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (INF-γ), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) proteins from the brains were examined to confirm inflammatory cytokines after BCAS. RIP1 and RIP3 proteins were detected to determine necroptosis signaling by Western blot. The data suggested that inflammatory responses, microglia activation, and necroptosis signaling are features of brain tissue pathology following BCAS-induced chronic ischemic brain injury

Zircon Dating, Geochemistry, and Metallogenic Significance of Early Paleozoic Mafic Rocks in Northern Guangxi Province, China

Magmatic rocks, deformed structures, and tin&ndash;polymetallic deposits are widely distributed in the western Jiangnan Orogenic Belt (JOB) of northern Guangxi Province, China. Magmatism and mineralization are believed to have occurred in the Neoproterozoic stage. Herein, we report the zircon U&ndash;Pb dating results of investigations on the Ping&rsquo;an Pb&ndash;Zn&ndash;Cu polymetallic veins hosted in gabbro near Ping&rsquo;an Village. Zircon U&ndash;Pb dating of the host gabbro yielded ages of 853.0 &plusmn; 7.8, 837.7 &plusmn; 7.2, and 450.4 &plusmn; 6.7 Ma. The younger age represents the emplacement of gabbros, whereas the older Neoproterozoic age reflects inherited zircons from the wall rocks or source regions. The formation of gabbros (Caledonian) is related to the subduction and collisions of microplates in the western JOB, which are controlled by movements of the Yangtze and Cathaysian plates. We consider that the late Caledonian regional shearing in the western JOB resulted in the fracturing and faulting of rocks (Neoproterozoic and early Caledonian), which provided conduits for the flow of hydrothermal fluids and accommodation for the associated mineralization. Geochemistry investigations show that the Caledonian basic magmatic activity provided a certain material source for the final mineralization. We propose that the tin&ndash;polymetallic deposits in the northern Guangx Province, and Neoproterozoic cassiterite crystallization, were subjected to Caledonian shear crushing and hydrothermal transformation with copper, lead, zinc, and other metal elements based on our comprehensive analysis, providing a new ideology for understanding the geology and mineralization in this area