Historical perspectives on Asian economic growth and development

The papers featured in this special issue are based on presentations made at the Harvard–Hitotsubashi–Warwick Conference on "Economic Change Around the Indian Ocean in the Very Long Run", held at the University of Warwick in Venice, Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, 22–24 July 2008. The conference was originally conceived with countries around the Indian Ocean in mind, but soon expanded to include East Asia, and this wider geographical coverage is reflected in the papers included here. The conference was organised by Stephen Broadberry (Warwick), Kyoji Fukao (Hitotsubashi), Bishnupriya Gupta (Warwick) and Jeffrey Williamson (Harvard), and generously financed by the University of Warwick, Hitotsubashi University and the Economic History Society. A central aim of the organisers was to bring together researchers seeking to break free from the constraints of both the older Eurocentric and the nationalistic anti-colonialist literatures which have dominated much of the economic history of Asian countries. There was also a desire to encourage work which is quantitative and uses economic analysis, and which can be used to shed historical light on the current economic performance of the region

Control of rat glomerular epithelial cell growth in vitro

Control of rat glomerular epithelial cell growth in vitro. The interaction of cultured rat GEC1 with several growth factors was explored in order to obtain a better understanding of in vivo factors which might stimulate GEC proliferation. GEC proliferated in response to EGF but not IGF-1, MSA or PDGF. Specific, saturable receptors for EGF were detected in saturation and competition binding studies utilizing 125I-EGF with an approximate Kd of 1.7nM and 86,000 binding sites per cell. TGF-β inhibited GEC growth in a time and dose dependent manner with a brief early exposure resulting in prolonged growth inhibition which was not reversible by EGF. Exposure to TGF-β sufficient to maximally inhibit growth had no effect on EGF binding to GEC. More prolonged exposure to TGF-β, however, did result in an increase in the apparent number of EGF receptors on GEC but no change in Kd. These studies suggest that EGF and TGF-β released by inflammatory cells or platelets during the course of glomerular injury may play a role in modulating glomerular cell proliferation

Quantifying the legacy of the Chinese Neolithic on the maternal genetic heritage of Taiwan and Island Southeast Asia

There has been a long-standing debate concerning the extent to which the spread of Neolithic ceramics and Malay-Polynesian languages in Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) were coupled to an agriculturally driven demic dispersal out of Taiwan 4000 years ago (4 ka). We previously addressed this question using founder analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region sequences to identify major lineage clusters most likely to have dispersed from Taiwan into ISEA, proposing that the dispersal had a relatively minor impact on the extant genetic structure of ISEA, and that the role of agriculture in the expansion of the Austronesian languages was therefore likely to have been correspondingly minor. Here we test these conclusions by sequencing whole mtDNAs from across Taiwan and ISEA, using their higher chronological precision to resolve the overall proportion that participated in the “out-of-Taiwan” mid-Holocene dispersal as opposed to earlier, postglacial expansions in the Early Holocene. We show that, in total, about 20 % of mtDNA lineages in the modern ISEA pool result from the “out-of-Taiwan” dispersal, with most of the remainder signifying earlier processes, mainly due to sea-level rises after the Last Glacial Maximum. Notably, we show that every one of these founder clusters previously entered Taiwan from China, 6–7 ka, where rice-farming originated, and remained distinct from the indigenous Taiwanese population until after the subsequent dispersal into ISEA

A Case of Infectious Purpura Fulminans: An Unusual Organism and Method of Diagnosis

Infectious purpura fulminans is a rapidly progressive skin necrosis that carries a mortality rate of 30%. Here, we described a case of infectious purpura fulminans caused by Capnocytophaga diagnosed by a blood film

Instability of retroviral vectors with HIV-1-specific RT aptamers due to cryptic splice sites in the U6 promoter

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Internal polymerase III promoters in retroviral vectors have been used extensively to express short RNA sequences, such as ribozymes, RNA aptamers or short interfering RNA inhibitors, in various positions and orientations. However, the stability of these promoters in the reverse orientation has not been rigorously evaluated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A series of retroviral vectors was generated carrying the U6+1 promoter with 3 different HIV-1 RT-specific RNA aptamers and one control aptamer, all in the reverse orientation. After shuttle packaging, the CD4⁺cell line CEMx174 was transduced with each vector, selected for expression of GFP, and challenged with HIV-1. We did not observe inhibition of HIV-1 replication in these transduced populations. PCR amplification of the U6+1 promoter-RNA aptamer inhibitor cassette from transduced CEMx174 cells and RT-PCR amplification from transfected Phoenix (amphotropic) packaging cells showed two distinct products: a full-length product of the expected size as well as a truncated product. The sequence of the full-length PCR product was identical to the predicted amplicon sequence. However, sequencing of the truncated product revealed a 139 bp deletion in the U6 promoter. This deletion decreased transcriptional activity of the U6 promoter. Analysis of the deleted sequences from the U6 promoter in the antisense direction indicated consensus splice donor, splice acceptor and branch point sequences.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The existence of a cryptic splice site in the U6 promoter when expressed in a retroviral vector in the reverse orientation generates deletions during packaging and may limit the utility of this promoter for expression of small RNA inhibitors.</p

Dynamic Behavior in Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

Frequency dependent dynamic behavior in Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) implemented on a beam-deflection atomic force microscope (AFM) is analyzed using a combination of modeling and experimental measurements. The PFM signal comprises contributions from local electrostatic forces acting on the tip, distributed forces acting on the cantilever, and three components of the electromechanical response vector. These interactions result in the bending and torsion of the cantilever, detected as vertical and lateral PFM signals. The relative magnitudes of these contributions depend on geometric parameters of the system, the stiffness and frictional forces of tip-surface junction, and operation frequencies. The dynamic signal formation mechanism in PFM is analyzed and conditions for optimal PFM imaging are formulated. The experimental approach for probing cantilever dynamics using frequency-bias spectroscopy and deconvolution of electromechanical and electrostatic contrast is implemented.Comment: 65 pages, 15 figures, high quality version available upon reques

Variation in quality of acute stroke care by day and time of admission: prospective cohort study of weekday and weekend centralised hyperacute stroke unit care and non-centralised services.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate variations in quality of acute stroke care and outcomes by day and time of admission in London hyperacute stroke units compared with the rest of England. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study using anonymised patient-level data from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme. SETTING: Acute stroke services in London hyperacute stroke units and the rest of England. PARTICIPANTS: 68 239 patients with a primary diagnosis of stroke admitted between January and December 2014. INTERVENTIONS: Hub-and-spoke model for care of suspected acute stroke patients in London with performance standards designed to deliver uniform access to high-quality hyperacute stroke unit care across the week. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 16 indicators of quality of acute stroke care, mortality at 3 days after admission to the hospital, disability at the end of the inpatient spell, length of stay. RESULTS: There was no variation in quality of care by day and time of admission to the hospital across the week in terms of stroke nursing assessment, brain scanning and thrombolysis in London hyperacute stroke units, nor was there variation in 3-day mortality or disability at hospital discharge (all p values>0.05). Other quality of care measures significantly varied by day and time of admission across the week in London (all p values0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The London hyperacute stroke unit model achieved performance standards for 'front door' stroke care across the week. The same benefits were not achieved by other models of care in the rest of England. There was no weekend effect for mortality in London or the rest of the England. Other aspects of care were not constant across the week in London hyperacute stroke units, indicating some performance standards were perceived to be more important than others

Fabrication

What aspects of optical fabrication technology need to be developed so as to facilitate existing planned missions, or enable new ones? Throughout the submillimeter to UV wavelengths, the common goal is to push technology to the limits to make the largest possible apertures that are diffraction limited. At any one wavelength, the accuracy of the surface must be better than lambda/30 (rms error). The wavelength range is huge, covering four orders of magnitude from 1 mm to 100 nm. At the longer wavelengths, diffraction limited surfaces can be shaped with relatively crude techniques. The challenge in their fabrication is to make as large as possible a reflector, given the weight and volume constraints of the launch vehicle. The limited cargo diameter of the shuttle has led in the past to emphasis on deployable or erectable concepts such as the Large Deployable Reflector (LDR), which was studied by NASA for a submillimeter astrophysics mission. Replication techniques that can be used to produce light, low-cost reflecting panels are of great interest for this class of mission. At shorter wavelengths, in the optical and ultraviolet, optical fabrication will tax to the limit the most refined polishing methods. Methods of mechanical and thermal stabilization of the substrate will be severely stressed. In the thermal infrared, the need for large aperture is tempered by the even stronger need to control the telescope's thermal emission by cooled or cryogenic operation. Thus, the SIRTF mirror at 1 meter is not large and does not require unusually high accuracy, but the fabrication process must produce a mirror that is the right shape at a temperature of 4 K. Future large cooled mirrors will present more severe problems, especially if they must also be accurate enough to work at optical wavelengths. At the very shortest wavelengths accessible to reflecting optics, in the x-ray domain, the very low count fluxes of high energy photons place a premium on the collecting area. It is not necessary to reach or even approach the diffraction limit, which would demand subnanometer fabrication and figure control. Replication techniques that produce large very lightweight surfaces are of interest for x-ray optics just as they are for the submillimeter region. Optical fabrication requirements are examined in more detail for missions in each of the three spectral regions of interest in astrophysics