Can Outward Foreign Direct Investment in Producer Services Alleviate Premature Deindustrialization?

Deindustrialization is considered as a necessary path for industrial transformation in developed countries. In recent years, deindustrialization has also occurred in developing countries in the process of industrial transformation. However, many developing countries have started deindustrialization prematurely by transitioning to a service economy without experiencing full industrialization, which can negatively affect economic growth and even fall into a middle-income trap. Firstly, this paper analyzes whether there is premature deindustrialization in China. Secondly, it is argued that producer services outward foreign direct investment can promote the productivity improvement of manufacturing through reverse technology spillover effect and market competition effect. Finally, through the transmission path that producer services outward foreign direct investment leads to the increase of labor productivity of industry, and the increase of labor productivity of industry can alleviate the premature deindustrialization, this paper demonstrates the view that producer services outward foreign direct investment can alleviate the premature deindustrialization in China

Study of imbibition in various geometries using phase field method

Phase field method has been widely utilized to study multiphase flow problems, but has seldom been applied to the study of imbibition. Previous methods used to simulate imbibition, such as moving mesh method, need to specify capillary pressure as a boundary condition a priori, whereas phase field method can calculate capillary pressure automatically for various geometries. Therefore, phase field method would be a versatile tool for the study of imbibition in various geometries. In this paper, phase field method is employed to solve dynamical imbibition problem in various geometries, including straight tube, conical tube and structures in which the topology changes. The variation of the imbibition height with respect to time from phase field simulation is verified with theoretical predictions from Lucas-Washburn law in a straight capillary tube with three gravitational scenarios. In addition, the capillary pressure and velocity field are found to be consistent with Laplace-Young equation and Hagen-Poiseuille equation in various geometries. The applicability and accuracy of the phase field method for the study of imbibition in structures with changing topology are also discussed.Cited as: Xiao, J., Luo, Y., Niu, M., Wang, Q., Wu, J., Liu, X., Xu, J. Study of imbibition in various geometries using phase field method. Capillarity, 2019, 2(4): 57-65, doi: 10.26804/capi.2019.04.0

The CCAAT box-binding transcription factor NF-Y regulates basal expression of human proteasome genes

AbstractProtein degradation by the proteasome plays an important role in all major cellular pathways. Aberrant proteasome activity is associated with numerous human diseases including cancer and neurological disorders, but the underlying mechanism is virtually unclear. At least part of the reason for this is due to lack of understanding of the regulation of human proteasome genes. In this study, we found that a large set of human proteasome genes carry the CCAAT box in their promoters. We further demonstrated that the basal expression of these CCAAT box-containing proteasome genes is regulated by the transcription factor NF-Y. Knockdown of NF-YA, an essential subunit of NF-Y, reduced proteasome gene expression and compromised the cellular proteasome activity. In addition, we showed that knockdown of NF-YA sensitized breast cancer cells to the proteasome inhibitor MG132. This study unveils a new role for NF-Y in the regulation of human proteasome genes and suggests that NF-Y may be a potential target for cancer therapy

Thermal Hall effect in insulating quantum materials

The emerging field of quantum materials involves an exciting new class of materials in which charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom are inter- twined, exhibiting a plethora of exotic physical properties. Quantum materials include, but are not limited to, superconductors, topological quantum matter, and systems with frustrated spins, which enable a wide range of potential applications in biomedicine, energy transport and conversion, quantum sensing, and quantum information processing.S.G. and X.C. acknowledge the support from National Science Foundation under grant No. 2144328. J.Z. acknowledges the support from National Science Foundation through the Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials: an NSF MRSEC unnder Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-1720595.Center for Dynamics and Control of Material

Glycyrrhizic Acid Promotes M1 Macrophage Polarization in Murine Bone Marrow-Derived Macrophages Associated with the Activation of JNK and NF- κ

The roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza species (licorice) have been widely used as natural sweeteners and herbal medicines. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) from licorice on macrophage polarization. Both phenotypic and functional activities of murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) treated by GA were assessed. Our results showed that GA obviously increased the cell surface expression of CD80, CD86, and MHCII molecules. Meanwhile, GA upregulated the expression of CCR7 and the production of TNF-α, IL-12, IL-6, and NO (the markers of classically activated (M1) macrophages), whereas it downregulated the expression of MR, Ym1, and Arg1 (the markers of alternatively activated (M2) macrophage). The functional tests showed that GA dramatically enhanced the uptake of FITC-dextran and E. coli K88 by BMDMs and decreased the intracellular survival of E. coli K88 and S. typhimurium. Moreover, we demonstrated that JNK and NF-κB activation are required for GA-induced NO and M1-related cytokines production, while ERK1/2 pathway exhibits a regulatory effect via induction of IL-10. Together, these findings indicated that GA promoted polarization of M1 macrophages and enhanced its phagocytosis and bactericidal capacity. The results expanded our knowledge about the role of GA in macrophage polarization