China's New Rural Income Support Policy: Impact on Grain Production and Rural Income Inequality

The impact of China's new rural income support policy and recent price trends on grain production and rural income inequality is assessed for two villages with different degrees of market access in Northeast Jiangxi Province. Two village-level general equilibrium models are used to analyze household decision making and interactions between households within these villages. Parameter estimation and model calibration is based on data collected during an extensive survey held in these villages in the year 2000. The household classification used in these models allows us to draw conclusions that are relevant for many other villages and regions in China. Simulation results show that the income support policy does not reach its goal of promoting grain production. The increased incomes allow farm households to buy more inputs for livestock production, which is a more profitable activity. Moreover, because leisure is valued higher with increasing incomes, farmers tend to switch to less intensive rice production. Selling of rice outside the villages declines more than rice production due to the higher own consumption of households. We further find that agricultural tax abolition has a much larger impact on incomes and production than the direct income support in 2004. Both measures tend to reduce income inequalities within villages, because the richest household groups (who are more involved in off-farm employment) benefit less. Tax abolition, however, tends to widen income inequalities between villages, because the absolute income gain is much larger in relatively rich villages. The switch from rice production towards more profitable activities like livestock production is therefore much stronger in these villages.income policy, grain production, income inequality, villages, CGE model, China, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, O20, Q12, R15,

Syntheses, Structures, and Photoluminescence of 1-D Lanthanide Coordination Polymers

Five new lanthanide 1-D coordination polymers are reported which are formed from flexible salen type Schiff-base ligands H(2)L and H(2)L' (H(2)L = N, N(1)-ethylene bis(salicylideneimine); H(2)L' = N,N(1)-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene) ethylene-1,2-diamine). The polymeric structures are formed by bridging neutral H(2)L units in the case of {[Ln(2)L(2)(CF(3)SO(3))(H(2)L)(4)(MeOH)]center dot CF(3)SO(3)}(n) (Ln = Eu (1), Nd (2) and Er (3)), and by acetate (OAc(-)) groups in [Yb(2)(L)(2)(OAc)(2)(MeOH)(2)](n) (4) and {[Tb(3)(L')(2)(OAc)(5)]center dot Et(2)O center dot(MeOH)(0.5)}(n) (5). The structures of 1-5 were determined by single crystal X-ray crystallographic studies and the luminescence properties of 1 and 5 in MeOH solution were determined.ong Kong Baptist University FRG/06-07/II-16Hong Kong Research Grants Council HKBU 202407Robert A. Welch Foundation F-816Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board ARP 003658-0010-2006Petroleum Research FundAmerican Chemical Society 47014-AC5Chemistr

Doping driven structural distortion in the bilayer iridate (Sr1−x_{1-x}Lax_x)3_3Ir2_2O7_7

Neutron single crystal diffraction and rotational anisotropy optical second harmonic generation data are presented resolving the nature of the structural distortion realized in electron-doped (Sr$_{1-x}$La$_x$)$_3$Ir$_2$O$_7$ with $x=0.035$ and $x=0.071$. Once electrons are introduced into the bilayer spin-orbit assisted Mott insulator Sr$_3$Ir$_2$O$_7$, previous studies have identified the appearance of a low temperature structural distortion and have suggested the presence of a competing electronic instability in the phase diagram of this material. Our measurements resolve a lowering of the structural symmetry from monoclinic $C2/c$ to monoclinic $P2_1/c$ and the creation of two unique Ir sites within the chemical unit cell as the lattice distorts below a critical temperature $T_S$. Details regarding the modifications to oxygen octahedral rotations and tilting through the transition are discussed as well as the evolution of the low temperature distorted lattice as a function of carrier substitution.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Preparation and characterization of antigenic properties of gramicidin A- keyhole limpet hemocyanin and gramicidin A- ovalbumin conjugates

A rapid, simple and low cost procedure for preparing hapten-protein conjugates was developed using gramicidin A (GA) and two other water-soluble proteins, keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and ovalbumin (OVA). GA was a kind of antimicrobial peptides. Two lysines and a cysteine were linked to amino- terminus and carboxyl-terminus of the peptide chain, respectively, in order to form sulfhydryl groups and improve its water solubility. And the molecule weight and purity of the modified peptidechain were checked by electron spray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Then the activated KLH and OVA were conjugated to GA by using  4-(Nmaleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-1-carboxylic acid 3-sulfo-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester sodium salt (sulfo-SMCC) to form disulfide linkage. In order to obtain artificial antigen of GA, GA was linked to KLHand OVA by sulfo-SMCC coupling at room temperature. The conjugates of KLH-Peptide and OVAPeptide were identified by infrared and ultraviolet spectrophotometry SDS-PAGE and DTNB method, which could prove the activity of the sulfhydryl-groups. In this way, we have obtained a novel artificial immunogen and coating antigen that could be used to raise polyclonal antibody through immunized rabbits

Simultaneous Metal-Insulator and Antiferromagnetic Transitions in Orthorhombic Perovskite Iridate Sr0.94Ir0.78O2.68 Single Crystals

The orthorhombic perovskite SrIrO3 is a semimetal, an intriguing exception in iridates where the strong spin-orbit interaction coupled with electron correlations tends to impose a novel insulating state. We report results of our investigation of bulk single-crystal Sr0.94Ir0.78O2.68 or Ir-deficient, orthorhombic perovskite SrIrO3. It retains the same crystal structure as stoichiometric SrIrO3 but exhibits a sharp, simultaneous antiferromagnetic (AFM) and metal-insulator (MI) transition at 185 K. Above it, the basal-plane resistivity features an extended regime of almost linear-temperature dependence up to 800 K but the strong electronic anisotropy renders an insulating behavior in the out-of-plane resistivity. The Hall resistivity undergoes an abrupt sign change and grows below 40 K, which along with the Sommerfeld constant of 20 mJ/mole K2 suggests a multiband effect. All results including our first-principles calculations underscore a delicacy of the metallic state in SrIrO3 that is in close proximity to an AFM insulating state. The contrasting ground states in isostructural Sr0.94Ir0.78O2.68 and SrIrO3 illustrate a critical role of even slight lattice distortions in rebalancing the ground state in the iridates. Finally, the observed simultaneous AFM and MI transitions reveal a direct correlation between the magnetic transition and formation of a charge gap in the iridate, which is conspicuously absent in Sr2IrO4.Comment: 5 figure

Cellular and humoral immunity protect against vaginal Zika virus infection in mice

ABSTRACT Zika virus (ZIKV), which can cause devastating disease in fetuses of infected pregnant women, can be transmitted by mosquito inoculation and sexual routes. Little is known about immune protection against sexually transmitted ZIKV. In this study, we show that previous infection through intravaginal or subcutaneous routes with a contemporary Brazilian strain of ZIKV can protect against subsequent intravaginal challenge with a homologous strain. Both routes of inoculation induced high titers of ZIKV-specific and neutralizing antibody in serum and the vaginal lumen. Virus-specific T cells were recruited to and retained in the female reproductive tract after intravaginal and subcutaneous ZIKV infection. Studies in mice with genetic or acquired deficiencies in B and/or T cells demonstrated that both lymphocyte populations redundantly protect against intravaginal challenge in ZIKV-immune animals. Passive transfer of ZIKV-immune IgG or T cells significantly limited intravaginal infection of naive mice, although antibody more effectively prevented dissemination throughout the reproductive tract. Collectively, our experiments begin to establish the immune correlates of protection against intravaginal ZIKV infection, which should inform vaccination strategies in nonpregnant and pregnant women. IMPORTANCE The recent ZIKV epidemic resulted in devastating outcomes in fetuses and may affect reproductive health. Unlike other flaviviruses, ZIKV can be spread by sexual contact as well as a mosquito vector. While previous studies have identified correlates of protection for mosquito-mediated infection, few have focused on immunity against sexual transmission. As exposure to ZIKV via mosquito bite has likely occurred to many living in areas where ZIKV is endemic, our study addresses whether this route of infection can protect against subsequent sexual exposure. We demonstrate that subcutaneous ZIKV infection can protect against subsequent vaginal infection by generating both local antiviral T cell and antibody responses. Our research begins to define the immune correlates of protection for ZIKV infection in the vagina and provides a foundation for testing ZIKV vaccines against sexual transmission. </jats:p

Imaging calcium microdomains within entire astrocyte territories and endfeet with GCaMPs expressed using adeno-associated viruses.

Intracellular Ca(2+) transients are considered a primary signal by which astrocytes interact with neurons and blood vessels. With existing commonly used methods, Ca(2+) has been studied only within astrocyte somata and thick branches, leaving the distal fine branchlets and endfeet that are most proximate to neuronal synapses and blood vessels largely unexplored. Here, using cytosolic and membrane-tethered forms of genetically encoded Ca(2+) indicators (GECIs; cyto-GCaMP3 and Lck-GCaMP3), we report well-characterized approaches that overcome these limitations. We used in vivo microinjections of adeno-associated viruses to express GECIs in astrocytes and studied Ca(2+) signals in acute hippocampal slices in vitro from adult mice (aged ∼P80) two weeks after infection. Our data reveal a sparkling panorama of unexpectedly numerous, frequent, equivalently scaled, and highly localized Ca(2+) microdomains within entire astrocyte territories in situ within acute hippocampal slices, consistent with the distribution of perisynaptic branchlets described using electron microscopy. Signals from endfeet were revealed with particular clarity. The tools and experimental approaches we describe in detail allow for the systematic study of Ca(2+) signals within entire astrocytes, including within fine perisynaptic branchlets and vessel-associated endfeet, permitting rigorous evaluation of how astrocytes contribute to brain function

Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of the Co-doped Anatase TiO2_{2} Studied from First Principles

The Co-doped anatase TiO$_{2}$, a recently discovered room-temperature ferromagnetic insulator, has been studied by the first-principles calculations in the pseudo-potential plane-wave formalism within the local-spin-density approximation (LSDA), supplemented by the full-potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. Emphasis is placed on the dependence of its electronic structures and linear optical properties on the Co-doping concentration and oxygen vacancy in the system in order to pursue the origin of its ferromagnetism. In the case of substitutional doping of Co for Ti, our calculated results are well consistent with the experimental data, showing that Co is in its low spin state. Also, it is shown that the oxygen vacancy enhances the ferromagnetism and has larger effect on both the electronic structure and optical properties than the Co-doping concentration only.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Direct and indirect loss of natural habitat due to built-up area expansion:A model-based analysis for the city of Wuhan, China

Urbanization has been responsible for the loss of cropland worldwide, especially in China. To guarantee national food security, China has implemented a series of policies to protect cropland. One of these policies requires that one-hectare cropland should be reclaimed when urban expansion occupies one-hectare cropland. Since most cropland reclamation leads to a conversion of natural habitat, such as wetland and grassland, urban expansion may lead to (indirect) natural habitat loss in addition to direct loss from conversion of into urban area. While several studies assessed the direct habitat loss resulted from built-up area expansion, few studies investigated the indirect losses caused by cropland displacement. In this paper, a model-based approach is applied to explore both direct and indirect impacts of built-up area expansion on natural habitat loss for the city of Wuhan, China, between 2010 and 2020 using different scenarios. Our scenarios differ in the implementation of strict cropland protection policies and ecosystem conservation strategies. Results show that the indirect loss of natural habitat due to cropland displacement under strict cropland protection policies far outweighs the direct loss due to built-up area expansion alone. Moreover, we found that ecosystem conservation strategies mainly influence the type of natural habitat that is affected, while the total amount of natural habitat loss remains relatively constant