63 research outputs found
Contribution of factor structure change to China’s economic growth: evidence from the time-varying elastic production function model
The time-varying factor share runs through the entire process of
the Chinese economic miracle, unlike the ‘Kaldor Facts’ in developed
countries. Following the new structural economics theory,
we construct a time-varying elastic production function model
that characterises the structural changes of China’s economic
element, and decompose the driving force of economic growth
to measure the contribution of factor structure. We found that,
from 1978–2017, the average contribution of capital, labour,
technological progress, and factor structure change to the GDP
was 67.01%, 10.38%, 23.08%, and 0.47%, respectively. The measurement
results can aptly portray the impact of policy changes in
China’s unique gradual reform process, such as the economic
market reforms in 1992, the global financial crisis in 2008, and the
policy changes of the new economic normal in 2014. Meanwhile,
the results reveal that improving factor allocation can accelerate
the total factor productivity and promote high-quality development
of China’s economy
Dexmedetomidine with different concentrations added to local anesthetics in erector spinae plane block: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
BackgroundDexmedetomidine has been used as a perineural local anesthetic (LA) adjuvant to facilitate the potency of erector spinal plane block (ESPB). This quantitative review aimed to evaluate whether perineural dexmedetomidine for ESPB can improve the effects of analgesia compared to LA alone.MethodsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the addition of dexmedetomidine to LA compared to LA alone in ESPB were included. The pain scores, duration of sensory block, the time to first analgesia requirement, postoperative morphine consumption, rescue analgesia, and dexmedetomidine-related side effects were analyzed and combined using random-effects models.ResultsA total of 823 patients from 13 RCTs were analyzed. Dexmedetomidine was used at the concentration of 0.5 μg/kg in three trials and 1 μg/kg in nine trials, and both in one trial. Both concentrations of dexmedetomidine perineurally administrated significantly reduced the rest VAS scores postoperatively at 12 h (0.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine: MD = −0.86; 95% CI: −1.59 to −0.12; p = 0.02; 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine: MD = −0.49; 95% CI: −0.83 to −0.16; p = 0.004), and 24 h (0.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine: MD = −0.43; 95% CI: −0.74 to −0.13; p = 0.005; 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine: MD = −0.62; 95% CI: −0.84 to −0.41; p < 0.00001). Both concentrations of dexmedetomidine added in LAs improved the dynamic VAS scores postoperatively at 12 h (0.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine: MD = −0.55; 95% CI: −0.95 to −0.15; p = 0.007; 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine: MD = −0.66; 95% CI: −1.05 to −0.28; p = 0.0006) and 24 h (0.5 μg/kg dexmedetomidine: MD = −0.52; 95% CI: −0.94 to −0.10; p = 0.01; 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine: MD = −0.46; 95% CI: −0.75 to −0.16; p = 0.002). Furthermore, perineural dexmedetomidine prolonged the duration of the sensory block and the time to first analgesia requirement, reduced postoperative morphine consumption, and lowered the incidence of rescue analgesia and chronic pain.ConclusionThe meta-analysis showed that using perineural dexmedetomidine at either 0.5 μg/kg or 1 μg/kg doses in ESPB can effectively and safely enhance pain relief.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO (CRD42023424532: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/)
The level effect and volatility effect of uncertainty shocks in China
Previous studies have assumed that the volatility of exogenous
shocks is constant, which can only measure the level effects of
uncertain shocks. This article introduces the time-varying volatility
model into a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (D.S.G.E.)
model and uses the third-order perturbation method to identify
and decompose the level and volatility effects of uncertainty
shocks. Based on the results of empirical research in China, the
effect of volatility shocks is different from that of level shocks: the
effect of level shocks is direct and positive, and its impact is
larger, while the effect of volatility shocks is indirect and negative,
and its impact is smaller. This article also finds that the impact of
uncertainty shocks will lead to economic stagnation, inflation, and
the stagflation effect
Shrubland biomass and root-shoot allocation along a climate gradient in China
Background – Shrublands are receiving increasing attention because of climate change. However, knowledge about biomass allocation of shrublands at the community level and how this is regulated by climate is of limited availability but critical for accurately estimating carbon stocks and predicting global carbon cycles. Methods – We sampled 50 typical shrublands along a climate gradient in China and investigated the biomass allocation of shrubland at the community level and the effect of climate on biomass allocation. Shrub biomass was estimated using species-specific allometric relationships and the biomass of understory herbs was collected by excavating the whole plant. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between the biomass and the climate factors. RMA were conducted to establish the allometric relationships between the root and the shoot biomass at the community level.Key results – Shoot, root, and total biomass of shrub communities across different sites were estimated with median values of 206.5, 145.8, and 344.5 g/m2, respectively. Shoot, root, and total biomass of herb communities were estimated at 68.2, 58.9, and 117.2 g/m2, respectively. The median value of the R/S ratio of shrub communities was 0.58 and that of herb communities was 0.84. The R/S ratio of the shrub community showed a negative relationship with mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation and a positive relationship with total annual sunshine and the aridity index. The R/S ratio of the herb community however showed a weak relationship with climate factors. Shoot biomass of the shrub community was nearly proportional to root biomass with a scaling exponent of 1.17, whereas shoot biomass of the herb community was disproportional to root biomass with a scaling exponent of 2.1.Conclusions – In shrublands, root biomass was more affected than shoot biomass by climate factors and this is related to water availability as a result of biomass allocation change of the shrub community. The understory herb community was less affected by climate due to the modification of the overstory–understory interaction to the climate-induced biomass allocation pattern. Shoot biomass of shrubs scales isometrically with root biomass at the community level, which supports the isometric theory of above-ground and below-ground biomass partitioning
Go@Se@ni cathode materials for lithium-selenium battery
Selenium is a promising cathode material for high-energy lithium batteries. In this work, selenium was electrodeposited on nickel foam from aqueous selenite solution. The influences of pH values and current density on electrodeposited Se@Ni were investigated. It is found that electrodeposition at pH 7 and 0.5 mA cm −2 enables high current efficiency and produces uniform and smooth deposits. Graphene oxide (GO) was further coated on Se@Ni through physical adsorption to produce GO@Se@Ni. The developed GO@Se@Ni electrode delivers a high initial specific capacity of 593 mAh g −1 and good capacity retention over 100 cycles at 0.1 C
The volatile anesthetic isoflurane differentially inhibits voltage-gated sodium channel currents between pyramidal and parvalbumin neurons in the prefrontal cortex
BackgroundHow volatile anesthetics work remains poorly understood. Modulations of synaptic neurotransmission are the direct cellular mechanisms of volatile anesthetics in the central nervous system. Volatile anesthetics such as isoflurane may reduce neuronal interaction by differentially inhibiting neurotransmission between GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses. Presynaptic voltage-dependent sodium channels (Nav), which are strictly coupled with synaptic vesicle exocytosis, are inhibited by volatile anesthetics and may contribute to the selectivity of isoflurane between GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses. However, it is still unknown how isoflurane at clinical concentrations differentially modulates Nav currents between excitatory and inhibitory neurons at the tissue level.MethodsIn this study, an electrophysiological recording was applied in cortex slices to investigate the effects of isoflurane on Nav between parvalbumin (PV+) and pyramidal neurons in PV-cre-tdTomato and/or vglut2-cre-tdTomato mice.ResultsIsoflurane at clinically relevant concentrations produced a hyperpolarizing shift in the voltage-dependent inactivation and slowed the recovery time from the fast inactivation in both cellular subtypes. Since the voltage of half-maximal inactivation was significantly depolarized in PV+ neurons compared to that of pyramidal neurons, isoflurane inhibited the peak Nav currents in pyramidal neurons more potently than those of PV+ neurons (35.95 ± 13.32% vs. 19.24 ± 16.04%, P = 0.036 by the Mann-Whitney test).ConclusionsIsoflurane differentially inhibits Nav currents between pyramidal and PV+ neurons in the prefrontal cortex, which may contribute to the preferential suppression of glutamate release over GABA release, resulting in the net depression of excitatory-inhibitory circuits in the prefrontal cortex
Applications of nanomaterial technology in biosensing
Nanomaterial technology is a comprehensive subject with strong intersections, and its related research content involves a wide range of modern scientific and technological fields. The science and technology in the area of of nanomaterials has attracted the attention of many research groups over the past few years. By its very nature, this topic has a lot of room for research, related to very tiny objects in the nanometer range. Nanomaterials refer to the sudden changes in the properties of substances when they reach the nanometer scale, resulting in special properties. In this paper, we introduce various nanomaterials commonly used in the field of biosensing, and briefly explain the advantages and disadvantages of nanoscale biosensors. At the same time, we also explain the working principles of various types of biosensors based on nanomaterial technology, including electrochemical biosensors, optical biosensors, and piezoelectric biosensors. In addition, we also introduce the sensing targets of common biosensors, such as enzymes, DNA, microorganisms, etc. Finally, we discuss the challenges and prospects for the application of nanomaterials technology in biosensing, and analyze the current trends and future directions
Two types of zero Hall phenomena in few-layer MnBiTe
The van der Waals antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBiTe
represents a promising platform for exploring the layer-dependent magnetism and
topological states of matter. Despite the realization of several quantized
phenomena, such as the quantum anomalous Hall effect and the axion insulator
state, the recently observed discrepancies between magnetic and transport
properties have aroused controversies concerning the topological nature of
MnBiTe in the ground state. Here, we demonstrate the existence of two
distinct types of zero Hall phenomena in few-layer MnBiTe. In addition
to the robust zero Hall plateau associated with the axion insulator state, an
unexpected zero Hall phenomenon also occurs in some odd-number-septuple layer
devices. Importantly, a statistical survey of the optical contrast in more than
200 MnBiTe reveals that such accidental zero Hall phenomenon arises
from the reduction of effective thickness during fabrication process, a factor
that was rarely noticed in previous studies of 2D materials. Our finding not
only resolves the controversies on the relation between magnetism and anomalous
Hall effect in MnBiTe, but also highlights the critical issues
concerning the fabrication and characterization of devices based on 2D
materials.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure
Regulation of anti-tumor immunity by metal ion in the tumor microenvironment
Metal ions play an essential role in regulating the functions of immune cells by transmitting intracellular and extracellular signals in tumor microenvironment (TME). Among these immune cells, we focused on the impact of metal ions on T cells because they can recognize and kill cancer cells and play an important role in immune-based cancer treatment. Metal ions are often used in nanomedicines for tumor immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss seven metal ions related to anti-tumor immunity, elucidate their roles in immunotherapy, and provide novel insights into tumor immunotherapy and clinical applications
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