Towards a Global Partnership Network: Implications, Evolution and Prospects of China's Partnership Diplomacy

In the past 25 years, partnership diplomacy has gradually become an indispensable component in China's grand diplomacy strategy. Between 1993 and the end of 2017, China established more than 100 partnerships with the outside world. To better understand the evolution of China's strategy for diplomacy we need to know how these partnerships are formed and what motivates China to foster its partnership network. Although the importance of this strategy has been identified, the current literature does not yet include significant study of China's partnership network. This article attempts to fill this gap by assessing existing literature on partnership and government documents, interpreting the diversified labels and grades of partnerships, and analysing the network's evolution. It also attempts to estimate possible challenges facing China in the future expansion of its global partnership network. It argues that, although China intends to further extend its global influence and explore potential benefits through its partnerships, because of the challenges ahead its partnership network is still an aspiration rather than a realistic blueprint

Dichlorido-2κ2 Cl-{μ-6,6′-dimeth­oxy-2,2′-[propane-1,3-diylbis(nitrilo­methyl­idyne)]diphenolato-1κ4 O 1,N,N′,O 1′:2κ2 O 1,O 1′}copper(II)zinc(II)

In the title compound, [CuZnCl2(C19H20N2O4)], the CuII ion exhibits a slightly distorted square-planar coordination geometry defined by two N atoms and two O atoms of the 6,6′-dimeth­oxy-2,2′-[propane-1,3-diylbis(nitrilo­methyl­idyne)]diphenolate Schiff base ligand. The ZnII ion is also four-coordinated by the two phenolate O atoms of the Schiff base ligand and by two cis-coordinated chloride anions

Iris volume change with physiologic mydriasis to identify development of angle closure: the Zhongshan Angle Closure Prevention Trial

AIMS: To assess dynamic change of iris area (Iarea) and volume (VOL) with physiologic pupil dilation for progression of primary angle closure suspects. METHODS: Participants underwent baseline examinations including gonioscopy and anterior segment OCT (AS-OCT) as part of the Zhongshan Angle Closure Prevention Trial. The AS-OCT images were obtained both in the dark and light. Progression was defined as development of primary angle closure or an acute angle closure attack. Static ocular biometrics and dynamic changes were compared between progressors and non-progressors and multivariable logistic regression was developed to assess risk factors for progression. RESULTS: A mean 16.8% decrease in Iarea and a mean 6.26% decrease in VOL occurred with pupil dilation, while 22.96% non-progressors and 40% progressors presented VOL increases with pupil dilation. Iarea in light and dark and VOL in light were significantly smaller in progressors. In a multivariable logistic model, older age (p=0.008), narrower horizontal angle opening distance (AOD) 250 µm from the scleral spur (AOD250, p=0.001), flatter iris curvature (IC, p=0.006) and lower loss of iris volume (ΔVOL, p=0.04) were significantly associated with progression. With receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve for ΔVOL alone was 0.621, while that for the combined index (age, AOD250, IC and ΔVOL) was 0.824. Eyes with elevated intraocular pressure had less VOL loss compared with progressors developing peripheral anterior synechiae alone (p=0.055 for ΔVOL adjusted for pupil enlargement). CONCLUSION: A smaller change in ΔVOL is an additive risk factor to identify eyes more likely to develop angle closure disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN45213099

Cataract progression after Nd:YAG laser iridotomy in primary angle-closure suspect eyes

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Prophylactic laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI) is performed in primary angle-closure suspect (PACS) eyes to prevent acute angle-closure attacks. However, accelerated cataractogenesis is a potential risk of the procedure that may result in decreased visual acuity. We aimed to assess the long-term impact of LPI on cataract formation in Chinese PACS. METHODS: In the Zhongshan Angle Closure Prevention Trial, eligible bilateral PACS participants received LPI in one randomly selected eye, while the fellow eye remained untreated. Cataract was graded using the Lens Opacity Classification System III, and progression was defined as an increase in grade by at least two units in any category or cataract surgery. RESULTS: In total, 889 participants were randomly assigned to LPI in one eye only (mean age 59±5 years, 83% female). At 72 months, treated eyes had slightly higher average nuclear grades (p<0.001). However, there were no differences between eyes for predefined cataract progression (cumulative probability at 72 months: 21.2% in LPI vs 19.4% in control, p=0.401) or cataract surgery (1% for both). While LPI-treated eyes had a 10% higher risk of progression over 6 years (HR=1.10 (95% CI 0.88 to 1.36)), this was not statistically significant. Visual acuity at 72 months was similar in treated and untreated eyes (p=0.43). CONCLUSION: Although lenses were graded on average as slightly more opaque in laser-treated eyes, prophylactic neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet LPI did not cause significant cataract progression. Our results suggest that LPI treatment of asymptomatic narrow angles does not increase the risk of developing clinically meaningful cataract worsening over time. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN45213099

Nanodiamond emulsions for enhanced quantum sensing and click-chemistry conjugation

Nanodiamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers can serve as colloidal quantum sensors of local fields in biological and chemical environments. However, nanodiamond surfaces are challenging to modify without degrading their colloidal stability or the NV center's optical and spin properties. Here, we report a simple and general method to coat nanodiamonds with a thin emulsion layer that preserves their quantum features, enhances their colloidal stability, and provides functional groups for subsequent crosslinking and click-chemistry conjugation reactions. To demonstrate this technique, we decorate the nanodiamonds with combinations of carboxyl- and azide-terminated amphiphiles that enable conjugation using two different strategies. We study the effect of the emulsion layer on the NV center's spin lifetime, and we quantify the nanodiamonds' chemical sensitivity to paramagnetic ions using $T_1$ relaxometry. This general approach to nanodiamond surface functionalization will enable advances in quantum nanomedicine and biological sensing.Comment: 52 pages, 42 figures (main text plus supplementary information

Sex determination and maintenance: the role of DMRT1 and FOXL2

In many species, including mammals, sex determination is genetically based. The sex chromosomes that individuals carry determine sex identity. Although the genetic base of phenotypic sex is determined at the moment of fertilization, the development of testes or ovaries in the bipotential early gonads takes place during embryogenesis. During development, sex determination depends upon very few critical genes. When one of these key genes functions inappropriately, sex reversal may happen. Consequently, an individual′s sex phenotype may not necessarily be consistent with the sex chromosomes that are present. For some time, it has been assumed that once the fetal choice is made between male and female in mammals, the gonadal sex identity of an individual remains stable. However, recent studies in mice have provided evidence that it is possible for the gonadal sex phenotype to be switched even in adulthood. These studies have shown that two key genes, doublesex and mad-3 related transcription factor 1 (Dmrt1) and forkhead box L2 (Foxl2), function in a Yin and Yang relationship to maintain the fates of testes or ovaries in adult mammals, and that mutations in either gene might have a dramatic effect on gonadal phenotype. Thus, adult gonad maintenance in addition to fetal sex determination may both be important for the fertility

Phase Transition Behavior of HPMC-AA and Preparation of HPMC-PAA Nanogels

The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) under mixing with acrylic acid (AA) monomer has been studied by turbidity measurements. It has been found that the LCST of the HPMC was drastically reduced from 60°C to 38°C with the increase of the concentration of AA, while the HPMC is kept at 0.5 wt%. The driving force shifting the LCST is attributed to the hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction of the molecules. Then surfactant-free HPMC-PAA nanogels have been synthesized via the polymerization of AA monomer with the collapsed HPMC as a template or core at their LCST, using KPS and TEMED as redox initiator in the presence of BIS as cross-linking agent. HPMC-PAA nanogels have 50~150  nm diameters characterized by transmission electron microscope and dynamic light scattering. The HPMC-PAA nanogels exhibit the temperature phase transition behaviors, and these nanogels' volume phase transition temperature is close to the LCST of HPMC/AA system

sgRNAcas9: a software package for designing CRISPR sgRNA and evaluating potential off-target cleavage sites.

Although the CRISPR/Cas9/sgRNA system efficiently cleaves intracellular DNA at desired target sites, major concerns remain on potential "off-target" cleavage that may occur throughout the whole genome. In order to improve CRISPR-Cas9 specificity for targeted genome editing and transcriptional control, we describe a bioinformatics tool "sgRNAcas9", which is a software package developed for fast design of CRISPR sgRNA with minimized off-target effects. This package consists of programs to perform a search for CRISPR target sites (protospacers) with user-defined parameters, predict genome-wide Cas9 potential off-target cleavage sites (POT), classify the POT into three categories, batch-design oligonucleotides for constructing 20-nt (nucleotides) or truncated sgRNA expression vectors, extract desired length nucleotide sequences flanking the on- or off-target cleavage sites for designing PCR primer pairs to validate the mutations by T7E1 cleavage assay. Importantly, by identifying potential off-target sites in silico, the sgRNAcas9 allows the selection of more specific target sites and aids the identification of bona fide off-target sites, significantly facilitating the design of sgRNA for genome editing applications. sgRNAcas9 software package is publicly available at BiooTools website (www.biootools.com) under the terms of the GNU General Public License