International Trade, Location and Wage Inequality in China

trade, China, regional disparities, wage rates

The Value of Information in International Trade: Gains to Outsourcing through Hong Kong

In this paper, we estimate the benefits to countries that purchase goods from China of having access to intermediary services provided by Hong Kong. Traders in Hong Kong supply information on markets and producers in China, which provides welfare gains to foreign firms using these services. During the 1990s, Hong Kong intermediated about half of the goods that China exported to the rest of the world. Our results suggests that gains to intermediary services provided by Hong Kong equal 16% of the value of goods that China exports to other countries through Hong Kong, and range between 10% and 21% of this export value for various manufacturing goods and across different years.

Genetic composition and evolution of the prevalent Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages 2 and 4 in the Chinese and Zhejiang Province populations

Background There are seven human-adaptation lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Tuberculosis (TB) dissemination is strongly influenced by human movements and host genetics. The detailed lineage distribution evolution of Mtb in Zhejiang Province is unknown. We aim to determine how different sub-lineages are transmitted and distributed within China and Zhejiang Province. Methods We analysed whole-genome sequencing data for a worldwide collection of 1154 isolates and a provincial collection of 1296 isolates, constructed the best-scoring maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree. Bayesian evolutionary analysis was used to calculate the latest common ancestor of lineages 2 and 4. The antigenic diversity of human T cell epitopes was evaluated by calculating the pairwise dN/dS ratios. Results Of the Zhejiang isolates, 964 (74.38%) belonged to lineage 2 and 332 (25.62%) belonged to lineage 4. The distributions of the sub-lineages varied across the geographic regions of Zhejiang Province. L2.2 is the most ancient sub-lineage in Zhejiang, first appearing approximately 6897 years ago (95% highest posterior density interval (HDI): 6513–7298). L4.4 is the most modern sub-lineage, first appearing approximately 2217 years ago (95% HDI: 1864–2581). The dN/dS ratios showed that the epitope and non-epitope regions of lineage 2 strains were significantly (P < 0.001) more conserved than those of lineage 4. Conclusions An increase in the frequency of lineage 4 may reflect its successful transmission over the last 20 years. The recent common ancestors of the sub-lineages and their transmission routes are relevant to the entry of humans into China and Zhejiang Province. Diversity in T cell epitopes may prevent Mycobacterium tuberculosis from being recognized by the immune system

Correction to: Genetic composition and evolution of the prevalent Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages 2 and 4 in the Chinese and Zhejiang Province populations

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Environmental Effects on Vertebrate Species Richness: Testing the Energy, Environmental Stability and Habitat Heterogeneity Hypotheses

Background: Explaining species richness patterns is a central issue in biogeography and macroecology. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the mechanisms driving biodiversity patterns, but the causes of species richness gradients remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to explain the impacts of energy, environmental stability, and habitat heterogeneity factors on variation of vertebrate species richness (VSR), based on the VSR pattern in China, so as to test the energy hypothesis, the environmental stability hypothesis, and the habitat heterogeneity hypothesis. Methodology/Principal Findings: A dataset was compiled containing the distributions of 2,665 vertebrate species and eleven ecogeographic predictive variables in China. We grouped these variables into categories of energy, environmental stability, and habitat heterogeneity and transformed the data into 1006100 km quadrat systems. To test the three hypotheses, AIC-based model selection was carried out between VSR and the variables in each group and correlation analyses were conducted. There was a decreasing VSR gradient from the southeast to the northwest of China. Our results showed that energy explained 67.6 % of the VSR variation, with the annual mean temperature as the main factor, which was followed by annual precipitation and NDVI. Environmental stability factors explained 69.1 % of the VSR variation and both temperature annual range and precipitation seasonality had important contributions. By contrast, habitat heterogeneity variables explained only 26.3 % of the VSR variation. Significantly positive correlations were detected among VSR, annua

The Value of Information in International Trade: Gains to Outsourcing through Hong Kong

In this paper, we estimate the benefits to countries that purchase goods from China by having access to intermediary services provided in Hong Kong. Traders in Hong Kong supply information on markets and producers in China, which provides welfare gains to foreign firms using these services. During the 1990s, Hong Kong intermediated about one-half of the goods that China exported to the rest of the world. Using constant elasticity demand curves, we find that the gains to intermediary services provided by Hong Kong are roughly equal to the value of these Hong Kong re-exports, and four to five times larger than the markups earned in Hong Kong. Using a linear approximation to the demand curves instead, we find that the gains are one-quarter as much as the value of re-exports, or slightly larger than the markups.

Quantitative Analysis of the Factors Influencing the Spatial Distribution of <i>Benggang</i> Landforms Based on a Geographical Detector

As a unique phenomenon of soil erosion in the granite-red-soil hilly area of southern China, Benggang has seriously affected agricultural development and regional sustainable development. However, few studies have focused on the driving factors and their interactions with Benggang erosion at the regional scale. The primary driving forces of Benggang erosion were identified by the factor detector of the geographical detector, and the interaction between factors was determined by the interaction detector of the geographical detector. The 10 conditioning driving factors included terrain, hydrology, vegetation, soil, geomorphology, and land use. Benggang erosion in Ganzhou City principally occurred in the granite-red-soil forest hill, characterized by an elevation below 400 m above sea level, slope below 25° of concavity, a distance to the gully less than 500 m, a vegetation coverage of 40–60%, and an average rainfall erosivity of 6400–7000 MJ·mm/(hm2·h·a). The key driving factors for Benggang erosion were rainfall erosivity, elevation, and land use. Moreover, the interaction of any two factors was stronger than that of a single factor, and the nonlinear enhancement factors had a stronger synergistic effect on erosion. Therefore, the comprehensive influence of many factors must be considered when predicting and preventing Benggang erosion

Adjuvant effect of docetaxel on the immune responses to influenza A H1N1 vaccine in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vaccination remains one of the most effective approaches to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Immune responses to vaccination can be enhanced by inclusion of adjuvant in a vaccine. Paclitaxel extracted from the bark of the Pacific yew tree <it>Taxus brevifola</it> was previously demonstrated to have adjuvant property. Compared to paclitaxel, docetaxel is another member of taxane family, and is more soluble in water and easier to manipulate in medication. To investigate the adjuvant effect of this compound, we measured the immune responses induced by co-administration of a split inactivated influenza H1N1 vaccine antigen with docetaxel.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When co-administered with docetaxel, lower dose antigen (equivalent to 10 ng HA) induced similar levels of IgG and IgG isotypes as well as HI titers to those induced by higher dose antigen (equivalent to 100 ng HA). Docetaxel promoted splenocyte responses to H1N1 antigen, ConA and LPS, mRNA expressions of cytokines (IFN-gamma, IL-12, IL-4 and IL-10) and T-bet/GATA-3 by splenocytes. The enhanced immunity was associated with up-expressed microRNAs (miR-155, miR-150 and miR-146a) in docetaxel-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Docetaxel promoted similar IgE level to but alum promoted significantly higher IgE level than the control.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Docetaxel has adjuvant effect on the influenza H1N1 vaccine by up-regulation of Th1/Th2 immune responses. Considering its unique vaccine adjuvant property as well as the safe record as an anti-neoplastic agent clinically used in humans during a long period, docetaxel should be further studied for its use in influenza vaccine production.</p