65 research outputs found
Special Report: COVID-19 impacts Chinese Buddhism, state control, and soft power
This essay details the religious response to COVID-19 in the Peopleâs Republic of China (PRC). It deals specifically with Han Buddhism. The essay details temples, material support, prayer, and other rituals that have looked differently due to COVID-19. State control of religion is discussed in its relationship to the coronavirus pandemic
Copied goods and the informal economy in Brazil and China: outlining a comparison of development models
Improving tribological properties of cast Al-Si alloys through application of wear-resistant thermal spray coatings
Flame Spray Thermal Spray coatings are low-cost, high-wear surface-treatment technologies. However, little has been reported on their potential effects on cast automotive aluminum alloys. The aim of this research was to investigate the tribological properties of as-sprayed NiCrBSi and WC/12Co Flame Spray coatings applied to two cast aluminum alloys: high-copper LM24 (AlSi8Cu3Fe), and low-copper LM25 (AlSi7Mg). Potential interactions between the mechanical properties of the substrate and the deposited coatings were deemed to be significant. Microstructural, microhardness, friction, and wear (pin-on-disk, microabrasion, Taber abrasion, etc.) results are reported, and the performance differences between coatings on the different substrates were noted. The coefficient of friction was reduced from 0.69-0.72 to 0.12-0.35. Wear (pin-on-disk) was reduced by a factor of 103-104, which was related to the high surface roughness of the coatings. Microabrasion wear was dependent on coating hardness and applied load. Taber abrasion results showed a strong dependency on the substrate, coating morphology, and homogeneity
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 workersâ 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 workersâ entry into self-employment, while education promotes rural workersâ 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
Sushi in the United States, 1945-1970
Sushi first achieved widespread popularity in the United States in
the mid-1960s. Many accounts of sushiâs US establishment foreground
the role of a small number of key actors, yet underplay
the role of a complex web of large-scale factors that provided the
context in which sushi was able to flourish. This article critically
reviews existing literature, arguing that sushiâs US popularity
arose from contingent, long-term, and gradual processes. It examines
US newspaper accounts of sushi during 1945â1970, which
suggest the discursive context for US acceptance of sushi was
considerably more propitious than generally acknowledged.
Using California as a case study, the analysis also explains
conducive social and material factors, and directs attention to
the interplay of supply- and demand-side forces in the favorable
positioning of this ânewâ food. The article argues that the US
establishment of sushi can be understood as part of broader
public acceptance of Japanese cuisine
Interaction between polymorphisms of the Human Leukocyte Antigen and HPV-16 Variants on the risk of invasive cervical cancer
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Persistent infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major risk factor for invasive cervical cancer (ICC), and non-European variants of HPV-16 are associated with an increased risk of persistence and ICC. HLA class II polymorphisms are also associated with genetic susceptibility to ICC. Our aim is to verify if these associations are influenced by HPV-16 variability.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We characterized HPV-16 variants by PCR in 107 ICC cases, which were typed for <it>HLA-DQA1</it>, <it>DRB1 </it>and <it>DQB1 </it>genes and compared to 257 controls. We measured the magnitude of associations by logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>European (E), Asian-American (AA) and African (Af) variants were identified. Here we show that inverse association between <it>DQB1*05 </it>(adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.39â1.12]) and HPV-16 positive ICC in our previous report was mostly attributable to AA variant carriers (OR = 0.27; 95%CI: 0.10â0.75). We observed similar proportions of <it>HLA DRB1*1302 </it>carriers in E-P positive cases and controls, but interestingly, this allele was not found in AA cases (p = 0.03, Fisher exact test). A positive association with <it>DRB1*15 </it>was observed in both groups of women harboring either E (OR = 2.99; 95% CI: 1.13â7.86) or AA variants (OR = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.00â5.46). There was an inverse association between <it>DRB1*04 </it>and ICC among women with HPV-16 carrying the 350T [83L] single nucleotide polymorphism in the <it>E6 </it>gene (OR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.08â0.96). An inverse association between <it>DQB1*05 </it>and cases carrying 350G (83V) variants was also found (OR = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.15â0.89).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that the association between HLA polymorphism and risk of ICC might be influenced by the distribution of HPV-16 variants.</p
Learning to live together: mutualism between self-splicing introns and their hosts
Group I and II introns can be considered as molecular parasites that interrupt protein-coding and structural RNA genes in all domains of life. They function as self-splicing ribozymes and thereby limit the phenotypic costs associated with disruption of a host gene while they act as mobile DNA elements to promote their spread within and between genomes. Once considered purely selfish DNA elements, they now seem, in the light of recent work on the molecular mechanisms regulating bacterial and phage group I and II intron dynamics, to show evidence of co-evolution with their hosts. These previously underappreciated relationships serve the co-evolving entities particularly well in times of environmental stress
A âThird Cultureâ in Economics? An Essay on Smith, Confucius and the Rise of China
Making Sense of Institutional Change in China: The Cultural Dimension of Economic Growth and Modernization
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