The impact of institutional quality on foreign direct investment: empirical analysis based on mediating and moderating effects

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between institutional quality and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows using panel data of 42 G20 countries from 2005 to 2020. The results indicate a positive association between them. Mediating analyses reveal that institutional quality attracts FDI inflows by increasing trade openness, accelerating industrial structure optimization, and encouraging technological innovation. Furthermore, financial development, tax level, and natural resource abundance moderates the positive association between institutional quality and FDI inflows. Among them, financial development and natural resource abundance strengthen the promoting role of institutional quality in attracting FDI; the tax level weakens this process. These findings have implications for policymakers seeking to make full use of favourable institutions to achieve sustainable growth of FDI

Governance and net-import dependency on food and agricultural products in Sub-Saharan Africa: does any causality exist?

Though most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are agricultural-based, the region is a net importer of food and agricultural products and experiences the highest level of food insecurity globally. The government have a joint goal of achieving a favourable balance of trade and food security; hence this study examines the causal relationship between quality of governance and net-import dependency on food and agricultural products for 25 SSA countries during the period 1995-2015. Principal component analysis is employed to develop a governance index based on the six worldwide governance indicators and a multivariate panel vector error correction framework applied to infer causality in the short and long run. The results reveal that a higher governance index is correlated with a lower net-import dependency ratio and the relationship is statistically significant. Evidence of unidirectional causality running from governance to net-import dependency is reported in 14 SSA countries, mainly in the long run. In conclusion, improving governance quality could support reduced food and agricultural net-import dependency through promoting agriculture production, exports and consequently reduced trade deficits in the long run. Hence, governance reforms in the region should be placed at the heart of the agricultural development agenda

Reestimación comparativa de la degradación ambiental y la densidad de población en China: evidencia del enfoque de cambio de régimen de Maki

Numerous studies have estimated the linkage of economic growth and environmental degradation in the framework of EKC theory with typical CO2 emissions proxy. However, the complexity of environmental degradation (ED) is better measured by ecological footprint (ECF) in any geographical territory. Against this background, the present study is an effort to contribute to the existing literature by re-investigating the EKC hypothesis with ecological footprint and CO2 emissions proxy in the largest population of the world. Moreover, the role of population density is also considered with maximum data available from 1961 to 2016 for China. To estimate the said linkage, we apply first, second, and third-generation econometric approaches i. e. Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test, Zaviot Andrew’s unit root test with structural breaks, and Carrion-i-Silvestre’s general least-squares based test with several structural breaks. Likewise, the co-integration relationship is examined by applying Maki’s co-integration econometric approach with multiple structural breaks. Furthermore, the autoregressive distributive lag model is applied to investigate the long-run and short-run relationships by incorporating year dummies highlighted by MBk. The results report the U-shaped EKC for China, which means economic growth is helping to clean the environment while the population density (PD) is found to be a cause of increasing ED. Findings have robust policy implications for ChinaNumerosos estudios han estimado la relación entre el crecimiento económico y la degradación ambiental en el marco de la teoría de EKC con el proxy típico de las emisiones de CO2. Sin embargo, la complejidad de la degradación ambiental (DE) se mide mejor por la huella ecológica (ECF) en cualquier territorio geográfico. En este contexto, el presente estudio es un esfuerzo por contribuir a la literatura existente al volver a investigar la hipótesis de EKC con la huella ecológica y el proxy de las emisiones de CO2 en la población más grande del mundo. Además, el papel de la densidad de población también se considera con los datos máximos disponibles de 1961 a 2016 para China. Para estimar dicha vinculación, aplicamos enfoques econométricos de primera, segunda y tercera generación i. mi. Prueba de raíz unitaria de Dickey-Fuller aumentada, prueba de raíz unitaria de Zaviot Andrew con rupturas estructurales y prueba general basada en mínimos cuadrados de Carrion-i-Silvestre con varias rupturas estructurales. Asimismo, la relación de cointegración se examina aplicando el enfoque econométrico de cointegración de Maki con múltiples rupturas estructurales. Además, el modelo de rezago distributivo autorregresivo se aplica para investigar las relaciones a largo y corto plazo mediante la incorporación de variables ficticias anuales destacadas por MBk. Los resultados informan el EKC en forma de U para China, lo que significa que el crecimiento económico está ayudando a limpiar el medio ambiente, mientras que se encuentra que la densidad de población (PD) es una causa de aumento de la DE. Los hallazgos tienen importantes implicaciones políticas para Chin

High-yield production of Streptavidin with native C-terminal in Escherichia coli

To increase the production yield of functional recombinant streptavidin in Escherichia coli, the effects of host strains and culture conditions on expression of streptavidin with native C terminal (CNSA, amino acid residues 13 to 159) were investigated. Results show that the CNSA, encoded by the CNSA gene, was produced by E. coli BL21(DE3)pLysS strain in the inclusion body with a high yield up to 46.3% of the total cell protein (about 230 mg/g dry cell weight) after culture condition optimization. The dialysis method was adapted to refold CNSA and the refolding conditions were optimized. More than 90% of inclusion body protein was refolded to mature CNSA under optimized refolding conditions. The purity of the recombinant CNSA achieved 95.0% without using any affinity separation method. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis indicated that the biotin binding capability of our recombinant CNSA was similar to that of commercial products.Keywords: Streptavidin, Escherichia coli, protein refolding, recombinant protei

Design of Stiffness for Air Spring Based on ABAQUS

In this paper, an axisymmetric finite element (FE) model of an air spring was carried out with the software ABAQUS to design its target vertical stiffness. The bellows was simulated by the reinforced surface element. The compressed gas in the cavity of the air spring was represented by the hydrostatic fluid element. The target stiffness is obtained by modifying the valid area of the cross section. At last, the results of experiment coincided well with the simulation data. The study shows that the static stiffness of air spring is sensitive to the effective area of the cross section. The conclusion has certain practical significance for the design and the optimization of the same kind of air spring

SPI1-induced downregulation of FTO promotes GBM progression by regulating pri-miR-10a processing in an m6A-dependent manner

As one of the most common post-transcriptional modifications of mRNAs and noncoding RNAs, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification regulates almost every aspect of RNA metabolism. Evidence indicates that dysregulation of m6A modification and associated proteins contributes to glioblastoma (GBM) progression. However, the function of fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO), an m6A demethylase, has not been systematically and comprehensively explored in GBM. Here, we found that decreased FTO expression in clinical specimens correlated with higher glioma grades and poorer clinical outcomes. Functionally, FTO inhibited growth and invasion in GBM cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, FTO regulated the m6A modification of primary microRNA-10a (pri-miR-10a), which could be recognized by reader HNRNPA2B1, recruiting the microRNA microprocessor complex protein DGCR8 and mediating pri-miR-10a processing. Furthermore, the transcriptional activity of FTO was inhibited by the transcription factor SPI1, which could be specifically disrupted by the SPI1 inhibitor DB2313. Treatment with this inhibitor restored endogenous FTO expression and decreased GBM tumor burden, suggesting that FTO may serve as a novel prognostic indicator and therapeutic molecular target of GBM.publishedVersio

The dual role of glioma exosomal microRNAs: glioma eliminates tumor suppressor miR-1298-5p via exosomes to promote immunosuppressive effects of MDSCs

Clear evidence shows that tumors could secrete microRNAs (miRNAs) via exosomes to modulate the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the mechanisms sorting specific miRNAs into exosomes are still unclear. In order to study the biological function and characterization of exosomal miRNAs, we performed whole-transcriptome sequencing in 59 patients’ whole-course cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) small extracellular vesicles (sEV) and matched glioma tissue samples. The results demonstrate that miRNAs could be divided into exosome-enriched miRNAs (ExomiRNAs) and intracellular-retained miRNAs (CLmiRNAs), and exosome-enriched miRNAs generally play a dual role. Among them, miR-1298-5p was enriched in CSF exosomes and suppressed glioma progression in vitro and vivo experiments. Interestingly, exosomal miR-1298-5p could promote the immunosuppressive effects of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) to facilitate glioma. Therefore, we found miR-1298-5p had different effects on glioma cells and MDSCs. Mechanically, downstream signaling pathway analyses showed that miR-1298-5p plays distinct roles in glioma cells and MDSCs via targeting SETD7 and MSH2, respectively. Moreover, reverse verification was performed on the intracellular-retained miRNA miR-9-5p. Thus, we confirmed that tumor-suppressive miRNAs in glioma cells could be eliminated through exosomes and target tumor-associated immune cells to induce tumor-promoting phenotypes. Glioma could get double benefit from it. These findings uncover the mechanisms that glioma selectively sorts miRNAs into exosomes and modulates tumor immunity.publishedVersio

Smoking patterns and sociodemographic factors associated with tobacco use among Chinese rural male residents: a descriptive analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although evidence has shown high prevalence rates of tobacco use in the general urban populations in China, relatively little is known in its rural population. The purposes of this study were to examine smoking patterns and sociodemographic correlates of smoking in a sample of rural Chinese male residents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study employed a cross-sectional, multi-stage sampling design. Residents (N = 4,414; aged 15 years and older) were recruited from four geographic regions in China. Information on participants' tobacco use (of all forms), including their daily use, and sociodemographic characteristics were collected via survey questionnaires and the resultant data were analyzed using chi-square tests and logistic regression procedures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall smoking prevalence in the study sample was 66.8% (n = 2,950). Of these, the average use of tobacco products per day was 12.70 (SD = 7.99) and over 60% reported daily smoking of more than 10 cigarettes. Geographic regions of the study areas, age of the participants, marital status, ethnicity, education, occupation, and average personal annual income were found to be significantly associated with an increased likelihood of smoking among rural Chinese male residents.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is a high smoking prevalence in the Chinese rural population and smoking behaviors are associated with important sociodemographic factors. Findings suggest the need for tobacco control and intervention policies aimed at reducing tobacco use in Chinese rural smoking populations.</p

Attitudes to smoking cessation and triggers to relapse among Chinese male smokers

BACKGROUND: Smoking is related to many diseases, and the relapse to smoking after cessation in China is noticeable. We examined the attitudes of Chinese male smokers regarding smoking cessation and reasons for relapse. METHODS: We interviewed 201 male smokers in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang province, China who had tried to quit smoking at least once in order to identify reasons for quitting and situations triggering relapse. RESULTS: The most significant reported reasons for quitting included personal health (77.1%), the cost of cigarettes (53.7%), and family pressures to quit (29.9%). The most common factors triggering relapse were social situations (34.3%), feeling negative or down (13.4%) and times of being alone (8.4%). CONCLUSION: Health and family concerns, personal factors, the influence of others and a lack of cessation resources were cited as salient factors concerning smoking cessation among male smokers in this study. Effective smoking control efforts in China will require attention to these influences if China is to curb its current smoking epidemic