Can onshore spot market progress influence offshore N.D.F. market development for the C.N.Y?

This study utilises a time-varying wavelet analysis to examine the relationship between the onshore spot market and the offshore non-deliverable forward (N.D.F.) market of the Chinese Yuan (C.N.Y.). Given the presence of structural changes in the two markets, we did not find any stable causality during the sample period. However, in some sub-samples, we found that there is a strong nonlinear causal relationship running from the onshore spot market to the offshore N.D.F. market. Ties between the two markets are closer after the widening of the onshore trading band, first in April 2012, second in March 2014 and again in August 2015. The onshore spot market is heavily influenced by interventions by the People’s Bank of China (P.B.C.). These findings imply that offshore N.D.F. market development is not divorced from onshore development, as developments in the onshore spot market influence the offshore N.D.F. market. The results show that the exchange rate markets for the C.N.Y. are not efficient. Thus, to successfully internationalise the C.N.Y., financial expansion of the onshore spot market should keep pace with the growing offshore N.D.F. market to minimise destabilisation of the C.N.Y

The changes of CD4+CD25+/CD4+ proportion in spleen of tumor-bearing BALB/c mice

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T lymphocytes (T(R)) constitute 5–10% of peripheral CD4+ T cells in naive mice and humans, and play an important role in controlling immune responses. Accumulating evidences show that T(R )cells are involved in some physiological processes and pathologic conditions such as autoimmune diseases, transplantation tolerance and cancer, and might be a promising therapeutic target for these diseases. To evaluate the change of CD4+CD25+ T(R )cells in mouse tumor models, CD4+CD25+ subset in peripheral blood and spleen lymphocytes from normal or C26 colon-carcinoma-bearing BABL/c mice were analyzed by flow cytometry using double staining with CD4 and CD25 antibodies. The proportion of CD4+CD25+/CD4+ in spleen lymphocytes was found to be higher than that in peripheral blood lymphocytes in normal mice. No difference was observed in the proportion in peripheral blood lymphocytes between tumor bearing mice and normal mice, while there was a significant increase in the proportion in spleen lymphocytes in tumor bearing mice as compared with normal mice. Moreover, the proportion increased in accordance with the increase in the tumor sizes. The increase in the proportion was due to the decrease in CD4+ in lymphocytes, which is resulted from decreased CD4+CD25- subset in lymphocytes. Our observation suggests the CD4+CD25+/CD4+ proportion in spleen lymphocytes might be a sensitive index to evaluate the T(R )in tumor mouse models, and our results provide some information on strategies of antitumor immunotherapy targeting CD4+CD25+ regulatory T lymphocytes

Surface-Based Regional Homogeneity in First-Episode, Drug-Naive Major Depression: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Background. Previous volume-based regional homogeneity (ReHo) studies neglected the intersubject variability in cortical folding patterns. Recently, surface-based ReHo was developed to reduce the intersubject variability and to increase statistical power. The present study used this novel surface-based ReHo approach to explore the brain functional activity differences between first-episode, drug-naive MDD patients and healthy controls. Methods. Thirty-three first-episode, drug-naive MDD patients and 32 healthy controls participated in structural and resting-state fMRI scans. MDD patients were rated with a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression prior to the scan. Results. In comparison with the healthy controls, MDD patients showed reduced surface-based ReHo in the left insula. There was no increase in surface-based ReHo in MDD patients. The surface-based ReHo value in the left insula was not significantly correlated with the clinical information or the depressive scores in the MDD group. Conclusions. The decreased surface-based ReHo in the left insula in MDD may lead to the abnormal top-down cortical-limbic regulation of emotional and cognitive information. The surface-based ReHo may be a useful index to explore the pathophysiological mechanism of MDD.</p

Synthesis, Characterization and Antitumor Activity of a Series of Polypyridyl Complexes

A series of polypyridyl complexes have been synthesized. All polypyridyl complexes and some of the soluble ligands have been assayed for antitumor activity in vitro against the HL-60 (the human leucocytoma) cells, BEL-7402 (the human liver carcinoma) cells, KB (the human nasopharyngeal carcinoma) cells and HELA (the human adenocarcinoma of cervix) cells. The results indicate that several complexes have relative activity against different cell lines. Especially, the complexes [Co(bpy)2(pip)]3+, [Co(phen)2(pip)]3+, [Ru(bpy)2(pztp)]2+ and [Ru(pztp)2(bpy)]2+ show relative high activity against four tumor cell lines. Moreover, they are slightly more effective than cisplatin. At the concentration of 100 μg/mL, the complexes show inhibitory rate of 72∼86% for the cancer cells and have no toxicity for MDCK and Vero cells. It is indicated that these complexes can inhibit cancer cells selectively

Poly[μ3-hydroxido-μ-(pyridine-2,4,6-tricarboxyl­ato)-dilead(II)]

The asymmetric unit of the title coordination polymer, [Pb2(C8H2NO6)(OH)]n, contains two crystallographically independent PbII ions, one pyridine-2,4,6-tricarboxyl­ate (ptc) trianion and one hydroxide anion. One of the PbII atoms is coordinated by one pyridine N and four carboxyl­ate O atoms from the ptc trianion and a hydroxide O atom in a distorted octa­hedral geometry. The other PbII atom is five-coordinated by three carboxyl­ate O atoms and two hydroxide O atoms in a distorted tetra­gonal–pyramidal geometry. Four neighbouring PbII atoms are bridged through two μ3-hydroxide ligands, forming the centrosymmetric Pb4(OH)2 core. The three-dimensional structure is further achieved through bridging carboxyl­ate groups. There are also O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the hydroxide ligand and the carboxyl­ate group

Ethyl 3-nitro-4-(n-propyl­amino)benzoate

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C12H16N2O4, an intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond results in the formation of a six-membered ring having an envelope conformation. In the crystal structure, a bifurcated intra/intermolecular N—H⋯(O,O) hydrogen bond generates inversion dimers

Surface-Based Regional Homogeneity in First-Episode, Drug-Na\ve Major Depression: A Resting-State fMRI Study

Background. Previous volume-based regional homogeneity (ReHo) studies neglected the intersubject variability in cortical folding patterns. Recently, surface-based ReHo was developed to reduce the intersubject variability and to increase statistical power. The present study used this novel surface-based ReHo approach to explore the brain functional activity differences between firstepisode, drug-naïve MDD patients and healthy controls. Methods. Thirty-three first-episode, drug-naïve MDD patients and 32 healthy controls participated in structural and resting-state fMRI scans. MDD patients were rated with a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression prior to the scan. Results. In comparison with the healthy controls, MDD patients showed reduced surfacebased ReHo in the left insula. There was no increase in surface-based ReHo in MDD patients. The surface-based ReHo value in the left insula was not significantly correlated with the clinical information or the depressive scores in the MDD group. Conclusions. The decreased surface-based ReHo in the left insula in MDD may lead to the abnormal top-down cortical-limbic regulation of emotional and cognitive information. The surface-based ReHo may be a useful index to explore the pathophysiological mechanism of MDD

Association Between Maternal Hyperglycemia and Composite Maternal-Birth Outcomes

Objective: The overall impact of maternal hyperglycemia on maternal and birth outcomes is largely underestimated, therefore quantifying the true burden of hyperglycemia in a whole population it is a challenging task. This study aims at examining the association between blood glucose concentration during pregnancy and a composite score of adverse maternal-birth outcomes in a large-scale prospective cohort study in China.Methods: Pregnant women within “the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study” China who underwent a standard 75-g oral-glucose-tolerance-test (OGTT) between 22 and 28 gestational weeks were included. A composite score of stillbirth, duration of pregnancy, birth weight, preeclampsia, and cesarean section was developed based on a published maternal-fetal outcomes scale, weighed by the relative severity of the outcomes. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the associations between OGTT glucose measurements and log composite score. Logistic regression models were used to assess relations with outcome as a categorical variable (0, 1– &lt; 3, and ≥3).Findings: Among 12,129 pregnancies, the composite score ranged from 0 to 100 with a median of 2.5 for non-zero values. Elevated fasting glucose level was associated with higher composite score (adjusted coefficients 0.03 [95% CI, 0.02–0.04] for 1-SD increase). For 1-SD increase in fasting glucose, the risk of having a composite score 1– &lt; 3 and ≥3 rises by 13% (95% CI, 8–17%) and 15% (95% CI, 7–23%), respectively. Similar association and increase in risk was found for 1 and 2-h glucose.Conclusion: Elevated fasting, 1 and 2-h glucose levels are associated with a range of adverse maternal-birth outcomes. The composite score model can be applied to the risk assessment for individual pregnant women and to evaluate the benefits for controlling glucose levels in the population