THE EFFECTS OF FOREIGN AID ON THE CREATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH Wenli Cheng, Dingsheng Zhang and Heng-Fu Zou*

This paper develops a model to study the effects of foreign aid on the creation and distribution of wealth in the recipient country. It considers three types of foreign aid: permanent grants to all individuals, temporary grants to uneducated workers, and foreign aid in the form of low interest rate loans to individuals who invest in education. The model shows that the economy may have two long-run equilibria, a rich equilibrium and a poor one. All types of foreign aid can increase the proportion of individuals investing in education, which means more people converging to the rich equilibrium and higher average wealth in the economy. In addition, if permanent or temporary grants are sufficient large, it is possible that the whole economy may converge to the rich equilibrium.foreign aid, overlapping-generations model, investment in education

Conversion of furan derivatives for preparation of biofuels over Ni-Cu/C catalyst

Conversions of furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural as model components in bio-oil were investigated over Ni-Cu/C catalyst with formic acid as hydrogen donor in isopropanol solvent to produce biofuels. The effects of reaction temperature, feed ratio, and reaction time were studied. A high yield of 2-methylfuran up to 91 mol% was obtained from furfural in 8 h at 200 degrees C, and under same conditions 80 mol% yield of 2,5-dimethylfuran could also be obtained from 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in 6 h. The results verified the catalyst performance and the availability of the reaction conditions for producing biofuels from furan derivatives.</p

Neural network aided approximation and parameter inference of non-Markovian models of gene expression

10.1038/s41467-021-22919-1Nature Communications121261

LncRNA Expression Profiling of Ischemic Stroke During the Transition From the Acute to Subacute Stage

Ischemic stroke induces profound effects on the peripheral immune system, which may participate the infectious complications. However, the exact function and mechanism of immune reaction in stroke development are not well-elucidated. Recently, several long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are reported to affect ischemic stroke process, especially the immunological response after stroke. In the present study, we investigated the profile of LncRNAs in human ischemic stroke during the transition from the acute to subacute stage, when the state of the peripheral immune system changes from activation to systemic immunosuppression. In this study, we analyzed the RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) datasets obtained at two time points (24 h and 7 days) from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of ischemic patients. Vascular risk factor-matched healthy adults were enrolled as controls. A total of 3,009 LncRNAs and 3,982 mRNAs were identified as differentially expressed 24 h after stroke. Furthermore, 2,034 LncRNAs and 1,641 mRNAs were detected to be differentially expressed on day 7. Bioinformatics analyses, including GO, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, and network analysis, were performed for the identified dysregulated genes. Our study reveals that ischemic stroke can influence the expression of LncRNAs and mRNAs in the peripheral blood at both the acute and subacute stages; the level of LncRNAs in the antigen processing and presentation pathway was clearly upregulated at 24 h and had recovered to normal levels on day 7 after stroke. Moreover, inflammatory mediator regulation of TRP channels and GABAergic synapses were two specifically downregulated pathways on day 7 after stroke. Our findings provide a valuable resource for further study of the role of LncRNAs in peripheral immune system changes following ischemic stroke

Analysis of sugar content in formula foods and complementary foods for infants and young children aged 0-36 months in China

ObjectiveTo investigate the implementation of the standards （formula foods and complementary foods for infants and young children）， the contents of glucose， galactose， fructose， lactose， sucrose and maltose in formula foods and complementary foods for infants aged 0-36 months， and provide data support for the management of food safety standards related to infant formula and infant complementary food in China.MethodsBased on the principle of random sampling， 83 formula food and complementary food for infants and young children， including infant formula foods， older infant formula foods， young children formula foods， cereal complementary foods and canned foods for infants and young children， were collected from the domestic market， the content of glucose， galactose， fructose， lactose， sucrose and maltose were determined by ion chromatography-pulse ampere method and the results were analyzed.ResultsThe median of total sugar content in formula foods for infants and young children was 433.43-476.99 g/kg； the proportion of lactose in all kinds of products was higher than 95%， and the content from high to low was infant formula， older infant formula and formula for young children. The detection rate of sugar in infant cereal supplementary food was 36.8%， the median content was 0-28.35 g/kg； the medians of lactose and sucrose were 84.30 and 70.17 g/kg； while the third quartile（Q3） of sucrose was 53.43 g/kg. There was no significant difference in the content of added sugar between domestic and imported formula foods（P>0.05）.ConclusionThe lactose content in formula foods for infants and young children sold in China is higher than that of other sugars. The content of total sugar in cereal supplementary food is low， but the content of sucrose in biscuit should be concerned. It is suggested that enterprises should strictly control added sugar， and government departments should continue to push the implementation of the sugar content regulation in the newly released national standards

EST analysis of gene expression in the tentacle of Cyanea capillata

AbstractJellyfish, Cyanea capillata, has an important position in head patterning and ion channel evolution, in addition to containing a rich source of toxins. In the present study, 2153 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the tentacle cDNA library of C. capillata were analyzed. The initial ESTs consisted of 198 clusters and 818 singletons, which revealed approximately 1016 unique genes in the data set. Among these sequences, we identified several genes related to head and foot patterning, voltage-dependent anion channel gene and genes related to biological activities of venom. Five kinds of proteinase inhibitor genes were found in jellyfish for the first time, and some of them were highly expressed with unknown functions

The Hidden Hydroxide in BaNiO3 Single Crystals Grown from a KOH Flux

Hexagonal oxide perovskites with one-dimensional chains of face-sharing MO6 octahedra are of enduring interest. Specifically, the hexagonal perovskite BaNiO3, prepared via non-ceramic approaches, acts as a highly functional catalyst for the oxygen-evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media, with numerous studies focusing on this behavior, while its fundamental structural and physical properties have been somewhat overlooked. The current work is intiated by the observation of contrasting magnetic properties of BaNiO3 synthesized via KOH flux growth and high O2 pressure ceramic synthesis. To shed light on this difference, we have performed a series of rigorous analyses and found that the KOH flux-grown crystals made in open-air are actually a wet form of BaNiO3 that can be dried upon annealing in O2 flow but will then slowly degrade if stored under a condition where the O2 partial pressure is not high enough. Therefore, the present work not only provides insightful information to unveil a previously unknown aspect of the OER catalyst BaNiO3, but also rings a bell that the hidden hydroxide principle described here may also be applied to other hexagonal perovskite oxides prepared in wet conditions.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figure

Analysis on sugar intake from carbonated beverages aged 3 years and above of China

Objective To investigate sugar intake from carbonated beverages of Chinese residents. Methods Multistage stratified random cluster and probability proportionate sampling method was used, and 27 485 residents aged 3 and above were included from one urban and one rural district of 14 provinces (cities) in China. Data was collected by non-continuous 3-day and 24-hour-dietary retrospective method. The added sugar content in 132 carbonated beverages was obtained through the investigation of added sugar content in beverages, the energy provided by added sugar in carbonated beverages was calculated and compared with the total dietary energy from the nutrition and health monitoring diet of Chinese residents, and energy supply ratio of added sugar in carbonated drinks was calculated. Results In 2014, the daily intake of added sugar from carbonated beverages was 0.5 g, and the energy supply ratio was 0.11%. The mean daily intake of added sugar was 13.4 g, the median was 12.3 g, and the energy supply ratio was 2.69%. The median daily intake of carbonated beverages for males (15.3 g) was higher than that for females (10.1 g), it was higher for the urban areas (13.8 g) than that for rural areas (10.7 g), the differences were statistically significant (P0.05). In addition, the consumption of carbonated beverages in urban areas (3.02%) was higher than that in rural areas (2.01%), the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The energy supply ratio of carbonated beverage in 13-17 age group was 3.41%. Conclusion Adolescents are the high consumption group of carbonated drinks, so we should strengthen health education to guide reasonable consumption

Interest-driven creator theory: towards a theory of learning design for Asia in the twenty-first century

Asian education is known for its examination-driven orientation, with the downsides of distorting the processes of learning and teaching, diminishing students’ interest in learning, and failing to nurture twenty-first century competencies among students. As a group of Asian researchers, we have been developing Interest-Driven Creator (IDC) Theory, a design theory based on three anchored concepts, namely interest, creation, and habit. Each of these anchored concepts is represented by a loop composed of three components. In the interest loop, the three components are triggering, immersing, and extending. The components of the creation loop are imitating, combining, and staging. The habit loop consists of cuing environment, routine, and harmony. These three loops are interconnected in various ways, with their characteristics revealed by the design process. We hypothesize that technology-supported learning activities that are designed with reference to IDC Theory will enable students to develop interest in learning, be immersed in the creation process, and, by repeating this process in their daily routines, strengthen habits of creation. Furthermore, students will excel in learning performance, develop twenty-first century competencies, and become lifelong interest-driven creators. To sharpen our understanding and further the development of the theory, we need more discussion and collaborative efforts in the community. Hypotheses arising from this theory can be tested, revised, or refined by setting up and investigating IDC Theory-based experimental sites. By disseminating the framework, foundations, and practices to the various countries and regions of Asia, we hope that it will bring about compelling examples and hence a form of quality education for the twenty-first century, which is an alternative to the examination-driven education system. In this paper, we present an overall introduction to IDC Theory and its history, and discuss some of the steps for advancing it in the future