Convergence and Disparities in Higher Education Fiscal Expenditures in China: A Regional Perspective

У цьому дослідженні досліджуються відмінності та конвергенція у фінансових витратах на вищу освіту в різних регіонах Китаю. У дослідженні використовується аналіз коефіцієнтів Джині та тести σ-конвергенції/β-конвергенції для кількісної оцінки ступеня розбіжностей і вивчення тенденцій конвергенції протягом дванадцятирічного періоду дослідження (2007–2018). Результати проливають світло на дисбаланс у розподілі ресурсів і дають цінну інформацію про зусилля, необхідні для досягнення більш справедливого розподілу бюджетних ресурсів для вищої освіти. Отримані результати показують значні відмінності у фінансових витратах на вищу освіту між східним, центральним, західним і північно-східним регіонами, причому східний регіон демонструє найбільший розрив порівняно з іншими. Примітно, диспропорція між східним і центральним регіонами навіть більша, ніж між східним і західним регіонами, що підкреслює необхідність цілеспрямованих втручань для усунення регіональних дисбалансів. Протягом досліджуваного періоду розрив між Східним і Центральним регіонами залишався стабільно вищим, ніж інші регіональні відмінності. Крім того, дослідження показує загальну тенденцію до скорочення розбіжностей у фіскальних видатках у регіонах, причому найбільш виражена конвергенція спостерігається між центральним і північно-східним регіонами. У Західному регіоні спостерігаються дещо більші відмінності, ніж у Центральному та Північно-Східному регіонах, що, ймовірно, пояснюється більшою підтримкою фіскальної політики та меншою кількістю студентів. Тим не менш, розрив у фіскальних видатках між Західним і Центральним регіонами продемонстрував тенденцію до скорочення. Дослідження також досліджує абсолютну та умовну β-конвергенцію, виявляючи помітні моделі конвергенції у східному та центральному регіонах. Однак західні та північно-східні регіони демонструють різний ступінь конвергенції, що вказує на необхідність механізмів конвергенції, характерних для кожного регіону. Щоб досягти збалансованого розподілу фінансових ресурсів для вищої освіти між регіонами, дослідження рекомендує цільову фіскальну політику, додаткове фінансування та покращення прозорості та підзвітності. Політики повинні зосередитися на посиленні механізмів конвергенції для забезпечення більш справедливого розподілу ресурсів і сприяння сталому розвитку вищої освіти в усій країні. Незважаючи на те, що це дослідження дає цінну інформацію, важливо розглянути інші потенційні фактори, що впливають на диспропорції у фіскальних видатках, такі як політична орієнтація, економічні відмінності та демографічні структури, для більш повного розуміння. У майбутніх дослідженнях можуть бути використані якісні дослідження для подальшого вивчення складнощів дисбалансу фінансових витрат на вищу освіту та визначення ефективних заходів політики.This research investigates the disparities and convergence in higher education fiscal expenditures across different regions in China. The study utilises Gini coefficient analysis and σ-convergence/β-convergence tests to quantify the extent of disparities and explore convergence trends over a twelve-year investigation period (2007–2018). The results shed light on the imbalances in resource allocation and provide valuable insights into the efforts required to achieve a more equitable distribution of fiscal resources for higher education. The findings reveal significant disparities in higher education fiscal expenditures between the Eastern, Central, Western, and Northeastern regions, with the Eastern region exhibiting the largest gap compared to others. Remarkably, the disparity between the Eastern and Central regions is even greater than that between the Eastern and Western regions, emphasising the need for targeted interventions to address regional imbalances. Over the study period, the gap between the Eastern and Central regions remained consistently higher than other regional disparities. Moreover, the research shows a general trend towards narrowing regional fiscal expenditure disparities, with the most pronounced convergence observed between the Central and Northeastern regions. The Western region exhibits slightly larger disparities than the Central and Northeastern regions, possibly attributed to greater fiscal policy support and lower student enrollments. Nevertheless, the fiscal expenditure gap between the Western and Central regions has shown a trend towards reduction. The study also explores absolute and conditional β-convergence, revealing notable convergence patterns in the Eastern and Central regions. However, the Western and Northeastern regions exhibit varying degrees of convergence, indicating the necessity for region-specific convergence mechanisms. To achieve a balanced allocation of financial resources for higher education across regions, the study recommends targeted fiscal policies, additional funding, and improved transparency and accountability. Policymakers should focus on enhancing convergence mechanisms to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources and foster the sustainable development of higher education throughout the country. While this research provides valuable insights, it is essential to consider other potential factors influencing fiscal expenditure disparities, such as policy orientation, economic disparities, and demographic structures, for a more comprehensive understanding. Future research may benefit from qualitative investigations to further explore the complexities of higher education fiscal expenditure imbalances and identify effective policy interventions

Targeting Myocardial Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter ENT1 Provides Cardioprotection by Enhancing Myeloid Adora2b Signaling.

Previous studies implicate extracellular adenosine signaling in attenuating myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury (IRI). This extracellular adenosine signaling is terminated by its uptake into cells by equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs). Thus, we hypothesized that targeting ENTs would function to increase cardiac adenosine signaling and concomitant cardioprotection against IRI. Mice were exposed to myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury. Myocardial injury was attenuated in mice treated with the nonspecific ENT inhibitor dipyridamole. A comparison of mice with global Ent1 or Ent2 deletion showed cardioprotection only in Ent1-/- mice. Moreover, studies with tissue-specific Ent deletion revealed that mice with myocyte-specific Ent1 deletion (Ent1loxP/loxP Myosin Cre+ mice) experienced smaller infarct sizes. Measurements of cardiac adenosine levels demonstrated that postischemic elevations of adenosine persisted during reperfusion after targeting ENTs. Finally, studies in mice with global or myeloid-specific deletion of the Adora2b adenosine receptor (Adora2bloxP/loxP LysM Cre+ mice) implied that Adora2b signaling on myeloid-inflammatory cells in cardioprotection provided by ENT inhibition. These studies reveal a previously unrecognized role for myocyte-specific ENT1 in cardioprotection by enhancing myeloid-dependent Adora2b signaling during reperfusion. Extension of these findings implicates adenosine transporter inhibitors in cardioprotection against ischemia and reperfusion injury

China's coal-fired power plants impose pressure on water resources

Coal is the dominant fuel for electricity generation around the world. This type of electricity generation uses large amounts of water, increasing pressure on water resources. This calls for an in-depth investigation in the water-energy nexus of coal-fired electricity generation. In China, coal-fired power plants play an important role in the energy supply. Here we assessed water consumption of coal-fired power plants (CPPs) in China using four cooling technologies: closed-cycle cooling, once-through cooling, air cooling, and seawater cooling. The results show that water consumption of CPPs was 3.5 km3, accounting for 11% of total industrial water consumption in China. Eighty-four percent of this water consumption was from plants with closed-cycle cooling. China's average water intensity of CPPs was 1.15 l/kWh, while the intensity for closed-cycle cooling was 3-10 times higher than that for other cooling technologies. About 75% of water consumption of CPPs was from regions with absolute or chronic water scarcity. The results imply that the development of CPPs needs to explicitly consider their impacts on regional water resources

Short Communication Opioid Analgesia in P450 Gene Cluster Knockout Mice: A Search for Analgesia-Relevant Isoforms

Number of references: 28 Number of words in Abstract: 240 Number of words in Introduction: 49

Population genomics of wild Chinese rhesus macaques reveals a dynamic demographic history and local adaptation, with implications for biomedical research

Background The rhesus macaque (RM, Macaca mulatta) is the most important nonhuman primate model in biomedical research. We present the first genomic survey of wild RMs, sequencing 81 geo-referenced individuals of five subspecies from 17 locations in China, a large fraction of the species’ natural distribution. Results Populations were structured into five genetic lineages on the mainland and Hainan Island, recapitulating current subspecies designations. These subspecies are estimated to have diverged 125.8 to 51.3 thousand years ago, but feature recent gene flow. Consistent with the expectation of a larger body size in colder climates and smaller body size in warmer climates (Bergman's rule), the northernmost RM lineage (M. m. tcheliensis), possessing the largest body size of all Chinese RMs, and the southernmost lineage (M. m. brevicaudus), with the smallest body size of all Chinese RMs, feature positively selected genes responsible for skeletal development. Further, two candidate selected genes (Fbp1, Fbp2) found in M. m. tcheliensis are involved in gluconeogenesis, potentially maintaining stable blood glucose levels during starvation when food resources are scarce in winter. The tropical subspecies M. m. brevicaudus showed positively selected genes related to cardiovascular function and response to temperature stimuli, potentially involved in tropical adaptation. We found 118 single-nucleotide polymorphisms matching human disease-causing variants with 82 being subspecies specific. Conclusions These data provide a resource for selection of RMs in biomedical experiments. The demographic history of Chinese RMs and their history of local adaption offer new insights into their evolution and provide valuable baseline information for biomedical investigation

Evidence for Two Modes of Synergistic Induction of Apoptosis by Mapatumumab and Oxaliplatin in Combination with Hyperthermia in Human Colon Cancer Cells

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the world-- the main cause of death from colorectal cancer is hepatic metastases, which can be treated with isolated hepatic perfusion (IHP). Searching for the most clinically relevant approaches for treating colorectal metastatic disease by isolated hepatic perfusion (IHP), we developed the application of oxaliplatin concomitantly with hyperthermia and humanized death receptor 4 (DR4) antibody mapatumumab (Mapa), and investigated the molecular mechanisms of this multimodality treatment in human colon cancer cell lines CX-1 and HCT116 as well as human colon cancer stem cells Tu-12, Tu-21 and Tu-22. We showed here, in this study, that the synergistic effect of the multimodality treatment-induced apoptosis was caspase dependent and activated death signaling via both the extrinsic apoptotic pathway and the intrinsic pathway. Death signaling was activated by c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling which led to Bcl-xL phosphorylation at serine 62, decreasing the anti-apoptotic activity of Bcl-xL, which contributed to the intrinsic pathway. The downregulation of cellular FLICE inhibitory protein long isoform (c-FLIPL) in the extrinsic pathway was accomplished through ubiquitination at lysine residue (K) 195 and protein synthesis inhibition. Overexpression of c-FLIPL mutant (K195R) and Bcl-xL mutant (S62A) completely abrogated the synergistic effect. The successful outcome of this study supports the application of multimodality strategy to patients with colorectal hepatic metastases who fail to respond to standard chemoradiotherapy that predominantly targets the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. © 2013 Song et al

Different Effects of Farrerol on an OVA-Induced Allergic Asthma and LPS-induced Acute Lung Injury

BACKGROUND: Farrerol, isolated from rhododendron, has been shown to have the anti-bacterial activity, but no details on the anti-inflammatory activity. We further evaluated the effects of this compound in two experimental models of lung diseases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: For the asthma model, female BALB/c mice were challenged with ovalbumin (OVA), and then treated daily with farrerol (20 and 40 mg/kg, i.p.) as a therapeutic treatment from day 22 to day 26 post immunization. To induce acute lung injury, female BALB/c mice were injected intranasally with LPS and treated with farrerol (20 and 40 mg/kg, i.p.) 1 h prior to LPS stimulation. Inflammation in the two different models was determined using ELISA, histology, real-time PCR and western blot. Farrerol significantly regulated the phenotype challenged by OVA, like cell number, Th1 and Th2 cytokines levels in the BALF, the OVA-specific IgE level in the serum, goblet cell hyperplasia in the airway, airway hyperresponsiveness to inhaled methacholine and mRNA expression of chemokines and their receptors. Furthermore, farrerol markedly attenuated the activation of phosphorylation of Akt and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) subunit p65 both in vivo and in vitro. However, farrerol has no effect on the acute lung injury model. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our finding demonstrates that the distinct anti-inflammatory effect of farrerol in the treatment of asthma acts by inhibiting the PI3K and NF-κB pathway