ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF CALIFORNIA'S GOLF COURSE FACILITIES IN 2000

People spent $4.350 billion at California golf course facilities in 2000. The total sales, income, and tax impacts on the state economy were$7.872 billion, $4.546 billion, and$1.370 billion in 2000. Direct sales of $4.251 billion directly supported 62,173 jobs, and , through indirect and induced sales impacts, an additional 37,609 jobs.Land Economics/Use,

Discovery and Characterization of a High-Affinity Small Peptide Ligand, H1, Targeting FGFR2IIIc for Skin Wound Healing

Background/Aims: How to aid recovery from severe skin injuries, such as burns, chronic or radiation ulcers, and trauma, is a critical clinical problem. Current treatment methods remain limited, and the discovery of ideal wound-healing therapeutics has been a focus of research. Functional recombinant proteins such as basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) have been developed for skin repair, however, some disadvantages in their use remain. This study reports the discovery of a novel small peptide targeting fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 IIIc (FGFR2IIIc) as a potential candidate for skin wound healing. Methods: A phage-displayed peptide library was used for biopanning FGFR2IIIc-targeting small peptides. The selected small peptides binding to FGFR2IIIc were qualitatively evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Their biological function was detected by a cell proliferation assay. Among them, an optimized small peptide named H1 was selected for further study. The affinity of the H1 peptide and FGFR2IIIc was determined by an isothermal titration calorimetry device. The ability of theH1 peptide to promote skin wound repair was investigated using an endothelial cell tube formation assay and wound healing scratch assay in vitro. Subsequently, the H1 peptide was assessed using a rat skin full-thickness wound model and chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays in vivo. To explore its molecular mechanisms, RNA-Seq, quantitative real-time PCR, and western blot assays were performed. Computer molecular simulations were also conducted to analyze the binding model. Results: We identified a novel FGFR2IIIc-targeting small peptide, called H1, with 7 amino acid residues using phage display. H1 had high binding affinity with FGFR2IIIc. The H1 peptide promoted the proliferation and motility of fibroblasts and vascular endothelial cells in vitro. In addition, the H1 peptide enhanced angiogenesis in the chick chorioallantoic membrane and accelerated wound healing in a rat full-thickness wound model in vivo. The H1 peptide activated both the PI3K-AKT and MAPK-ERK1/2 pathways and simultaneously increased the secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor. Computer analysis demonstrated that the model of H1 peptide binding to FGFR2IIIc was similar to that of FGF2 and FGFR2IIIc. Conclusion: The H1 peptide has a high affinity for FGFR2IIIc and shows potential as a wound healing agent. As a substitute for bFGF, it could be developed into a novel therapeutic candidate for skin wound repair in the future

Dust storms

Dust storms are remarkable natural phenomena. They affect many countries in the Northern Hemisphere and, as such, have become an interesting research topic. We show that nowadays China is the number one publishing country of articles related to their study. On a world scale the number of publications on this topic is increasing exponentially

China's exponential growth in science and the contribution of firms

It is shown that for all essential scientific and technological indicators China shows an exponential increase. Only for the number of R&D personnel the increase is linear. Special attention goes to the contribution of Chinese firms in the output of scientific articles. It is shown that, although this output increases exponentially in absolute numbers, its share in the total scientific output of China is lower than that of European countries. It is concluded that if China succeeds in developing a well-structured technology transfer system from research to economic development, the increasing technological and scientific outputs, illustrated in this article, will be a main source of future economic growth

The Role of Ethnic Ties in International Collaboration: the Overseas Chinese Phenomenon

The term ‘Overseas Chinese Phenomenon’ is used here to refer to the fact that scientists of Chinese descent play an important role in international collaboration between mainland China and the rest of the world. In this paper, we review international collaboration between ethnic Chinese scientists in eight countries – USA, England, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Australia, and South Korea – and colleagues in China itself. Our analysis shows that while ethnic ties play an important role as a bridge between China and the country of residence, policies of the Chinese government with respect to international collaboration and overseas Chinese reinforce the growth of ethnically based co-authorship