Three Essays on Economic Development in Developing Countries

Chapter 1: This paper studies the economic impact of president Xi Jinping’s Eight Regulations of Austerity and coordinated anti-corruption campaign. Specifically, I examine the effects of this campaign on the pattern of household expenditures in China using a triple differences approach. I compare the expenditures of households with government employees with those households without government employees, before and after the anti-corruption reform, across commodities that are likely to be subject to corruption compared to those that are not. I show that in the post-reform period, government affiliated families spend relatively more on goods that they are likely to have obtained illegally through bribes before. In contrast, expenditure patterns for goods that are less likely to be subject to corruption do not exhibit a relative increase in the post-reform period. These expenditure changes are largest for low level officials’ families and the bulk of the increase occurred for non-Chinese Communist Party member government employees and among those outside President Xi Jinping’s powerbase. This suggests that those with the strongest ties to the party were able to avoid the effects of the anti-corruption campaign. Chapter 2: While the Chinese government’s stated position is religious freedom, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is officially atheist. Individuals who profess a faith are typically unable to join and members who practice a religion face expulsion and a loss of benefits. It is unknown exactly how much these policies play a role in shaping t religious affiliation in China. For instance, through assortative matching, non-religious individuals may simply have been those who would have joined the CCP regardless. This paper studies the extent to which the CCP’s policies regarding religion may influence religious identification over the life cycle in China. To do so, I contrast changes in religious affiliation before and after retirement for CCP members and non-CCP members. In theory, individuals who were in the CCP but religious may have chosen to hide these beliefs while working in order to not lose out on party benefits. I find no evidence of any increase in membership after retirement – suggesting either: (1) individuals who are non-religious in the CCP simply choose to remain so after retirement or (2) some degree of lingering benefits associated with CCP membership even after government employment ends are large enough to disincentivize religious uptake. Chapter 3: This paper investigates the impact of the Arab Spring protests on missing women in Egypt through a spatial Differences-in-Differences analysis. We compare the missing women in high protest intensity governates with those in low protest intensity governorates; before and after the Arab Spring across different phases of the Arab Spring and across different age groups. The results reflect the different effects of different protest on missing women in the Arab Spring and effects in different age groups. The empirical results indicate that after the Arab Spring movement, the missing women significantly decreased in high protest intensity areas, suggesting that the Arab Spring saved many women. Furthermore, the missing women decreased more after the third phase of the Arab Spring. Last but not least, we find that the number of missing women decreased more in younger age group, specifically from 0 to 1 year old

Cortical Neural Stem Cell Lineage Progression Is Regulated by Extrinsic Signaling Molecule Sonic Hedgehog.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) in the prenatal neocortex progressively generate different subtypes of glutamatergic projection neurons. Following that, NSCs have a major switch in their progenitor properties and produce γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAergic) interneurons for the olfactory bulb (OB), cortical oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. Herein, we provide evidence for the molecular mechanism that underlies this switch in the state of neocortical NSCs. We show that, at around E16.5, mouse neocortical NSCs start to generate GSX2-expressing (GSX2+) intermediate progenitor cells (IPCs). In vivo lineage-tracing study revealed that GSX2+ IPC population gives rise not only to OB interneurons but also to cortical oligodendrocytes and astrocytes, suggesting that they are a tri-potential population. We demonstrated that Sonic hedgehog signaling is both necessary and sufficient for the generation of GSX2+ IPCs by reducing GLI3R protein levels. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we identify the transcriptional profile of GSX2+ IPCs and the process of the lineage switch of cortical NSCs

HCV genotype 6 prevalence, spontaneous clearance and diversity amongst elderly members of the Li ethnic minority in Baisha County, China

The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus varies widely across geographical regions and ethnic groups. Our previous study showed that 6 strains isolated from Baisha County, Hainan Island, China, were all new genotype 6 (gt6) subtypes which differed significantly from subtypes of other regions. In the current study, we conducted a comprehensive epidemiological survey of HCV in the Li ethnic group, native to Baisha County. Anti‐HCV antibodies were detected by 2 independent ELISAs in all participants, and positive results confirmed by the recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) and HCV RNA viral loads were measured. Univariate chi‐square test and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine the risk factors for HCV infection and spontaneous clearance rates. Indeterminate RIBA results were excluded or included in analyses; consequently, findings were expressed as a range. Direct sequencing of partial regions within NS5B and E1 was employed for genotyping. Among 1682 participants, 117 to 153 were anti‐HCV positive (7.0%‐9.1%), with 42.7%‐52.6% confirmed to have cleared infection. Anti‐HCV positivity was associated with older age (≥60 years) (OR = 0.02, 95% CI 0.01‐0.05, P < 0.01) and surgery (OR = 2.75, 95% CI 1.36‐5.57, P < 0.01), with no significant difference found between the HCV infection group and the HCV spontaneous clearance group. The gt6 subtype distribution characteristics of Baisha County were unique, complex and diverse. The sequences did not cluster with known gt6 subtypes but formed 4 Baisha community‐specific groups. HCV infection in members of the Li minority ethnic group is characterized by high prevalence rates in the elderly, high spontaneous clearance rates and broad gt6 diversity

The ovine HIAT1 gene: mRNA expression, InDel mutations, and growth trait associations

BackgroundThe hippocampal abundant transcript 1 (HIAT1) gene, also known as major facilitator superfamily domain-containing 14A (MFSD14A), encodes for a transmembrane transporter protein and has been previously shown to be associated with milk production in buffalo and sheep breeds, as well as growth traits in chicken and goats. However, tissue level distribution of the ovine HIAT1 gene, as well as its effect on body morphometric traits in sheep, has yet to be studied.MethodsThe HIAT1 mRNA expression profile of Lanzhou fat-tailed (LFT) sheep was determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). A total of 1498 sheep of three indigenous Chinese sheep breeds were PCR-genotyped for polymorphisms of HIAT1 gene. Student's t-test was used to observe the association between the genotype and sheep morphometric traits.ResultsHIAT1 was widely expressed in all examined tissues, and was particularly abundant in the testis of male LFT sheep. Additionally, a 9-bp insertion mutation (rs1089950828) located within the 5'-upstream region of HIAT1 was investigated in Luxi black-headed (LXBH) sheep and Guiqian semi-fine wool (GSFW) sheep. The wildtype allele frequency 'D' was found to be more prevalent than that of the mutant allele ‘I'. Furthermore, low genetic diversity was confirmed in all sampled sheep populations. Subsequent association analyses indicated an association between the 9-bp InDel mutation of interest and the morphometric traits of LXBH and GSFW sheep. Furthermore, yearling ewes with a heterozygous genotype (ID) demonstrated smaller body sizes, while yearling rams and adult ewes with the heterozygous genotype were found to have overall better growth performance.ConclusionThese findings imply that functional InDel polymorphism (rs1089950828) has the potential to be utilized for marker-assisted selection (MAS) of growth traits in domestic Chinese sheep populations

Comparison of fungal communities and nonvolatile flavor components in black Huangjiu formed using different inoculation fermentation methods

Black Huangjiu (BH) is a traditional alcoholic beverage in China, which is very popular among people. The different methods (simultaneous inoculation, sequential inoculation), were applied to ferment BH in this study, which were investigated the changes in the composition of fungal communities and non-volatile flavor compounds (nVFCs) by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and ultraperformance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometer (UPLC MS/MS). The results showed that Rhizopus and Saccharomyces were the predominant fungal genera throughout fermentation, and 471 nVFCs were detected in BH after fermentation. Compared to that observed simultaneous inoculation, Rhizopus increased at the end of sequential fermentation, and the contents of the organic acids and their derivatives increased significantly [variable importance in the projection (VIP) > 1.0, p < 0.05, fold change (FC) > 2], while that of lipids and lipid-like molecules decreased significantly (VIP > 1.0, p < 0.05, FC < 0.5). Through the correlation analysis of 32 nVFCs with significant differences (VIP > 1.0, p < 0.05, FC >32 or < 0.03) and the community, it was found that lipids and lipid-like molecules (12) and organic acids and their derivatives (10) were significantly (p < 0.05) negatively correlated with Saccharomyces, but they were significantly (p < 0.05) positively correlated with Rhizopus. Compared with simultaneous inoculation, BH fermented by sequential inoculation, the taste was stronger, sweeter, mellow, and softer. Our findings provide information on nVFC dynamics and will aid in the selection of beneficial strains to improve BH quality

A multicentre single arm phase 2 trial of neoadjuvant pyrotinib and letrozole plus dalpiciclib for triple-positive breast cancer.

peer reviewedCurrent therapies for HER2-positive breast cancer have limited efficacy in patients with triple-positive breast cancer (TPBC). We conduct a multi-center single-arm phase 2 trial to test the efficacy and safety of an oral neoadjuvant therapy with pyrotinib, letrozole and dalpiciclib (a CDK4/6 inhibitor) in patients with treatment-naïve, stage II-III TPBC with a Karnofsky score of ≥70 (NCT04486911). The primary endpoint is the proportion of patients with pathological complete response (pCR) in the breast and axilla. The secondary endpoints include residual cancer burden (RCB)-0 or RCB-I, objective response rate (ORR), breast pCR (bpCR), safety and changes in molecular targets (Ki67) from baseline to surgery. Following 5 cycles of 4-week treatment, the results meet the primary endpoint with a pCR rate of 30.4% (24 of 79; 95% confidence interval (CI), 21.3-41.3). RCB-0/I is 55.7% (95% CI, 44.7-66.1). ORR is 87.4%, (95% CI, 78.1-93.2) and bpCR is 35.4% (95% CI, 25.8-46.5). The mean Ki67 expression reduces from 40.4% at baseline to 17.9% (P < 0.001) at time of surgery. The most frequent grade 3 or 4 adverse events are neutropenia, leukopenia, and diarrhoea. There is no serious adverse event- or treatment-related death. This fully oral, chemotherapy-free, triplet combined therapy has the potential to be an alternative neoadjuvant regimen for patients with TPBC

The Overseeing Mother: Revisiting the Frontal-Pose Lady in the Wu Family Shrines in Second Century China

Located in present-day Jiaxiang in Shandong province, the Wu family shrines built during the second century in the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) were among the best-known works in Chinese art history. Although for centuries scholars have exhaustively studied the pictorial programs, the frontal-pose female image situated on the second floor of the central pavilion carved at the rear wall of the shrines has remained a question. Beginning with the woman’s eyes, this article demonstrates that the image is more than a generic portrait (“hard motif ”), but rather represents “feminine overseeing from above” (“soft motif ”). This synthetic motif combines three different earlier motifs – the frontal-pose hostess enjoying entertainment, the elevated spectator, and the Queen Mother of the West. By creatively fusing the three motifs into one unity, the Jiaxiang artists lent to the frontal-pose lady a unique power: she not only dominated the center of the composition, but also, like a divine being, commanded a unified view of the surroundings on the lofty building, hence echoing the political reality of the empress mother’s “overseeing the court” in the second century during Eastern Han dynasty