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Polycentricity is promoted as an ideal urban form to achieve sustainable and balanced development, and it has been widely adopted by planners in China, especially in large cities. However, the rhetoric about polycentricity has rarely been interrogated in planning research in terms of scales, contextuality, power and rationality. To fill this gap, we carried out a Foucauldian discourse analysis in our research to interpret the nature of polycentric practice in City Master Plans, using Tianjin as a case study. Through an analysis of how the discourse of polycentricity is being deployed in planning documents, we develop two principal arguments in this article. First, the conceptual substance of polycentricity evolved alongside the urban transition process in China, and its discursive practice involved multiple scales and spatial elements. Secondly, rather than being mere technocratic practice, the production and legitimation of distinct discourses of polycentricity is an articulation of multi-scalar power involving various stakeholders, which is disguised and justified by the planning profession.

The Nansha Islands comprise the largest atoll archipelago in the South China Sea that accommodates 15% of global atolls. In contrast to the reef flats of the Indo-Pacific region that commonly have ...

Background Persistent proteinuria is an important factor contributing to the progression of diabetic nephropathy. The present randomized double-blind placebo-controlled multicenter clinical study evaluated the efficacy and safety of telmisartan combined with the antioxidant probucol in reducing urinary protein levels in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods Patients with T2D and 24-h proteinuria 0.5–3 g were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned to one of two groups: a telmisartan or a probucol + telmisartan group. Both groups were given telmisartan 80 mg q.d. for 48 weeks. The probucol + telmisartan group was given probucol 500 mg b.i.d. for the first 24 weeks, with the dosage then reduced to 250 mg b.i.d. for the remaining 24 weeks. The telmisartan group was given probucol placebo. Results In all, 160 patients were enrolled in the present study. The 24-h proteinuria levels were significantly reduced in the probucol + telmisartan compared with telmisartan group. For patients with baseline 24-h proteinuria levels

Summary The association between potential long-term effects of previous schistosome infection (PSI) and the development of metabolic syndrome remains unknown. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between them. Participants were from regions which were all reportedly heavily endemic for S. japonicum in China 40 years ago. One thousand five hundred and ninety-seven men were enrolled. Among these, 465 patients with PSI were selected as study subjects and 1132 subjects served as controls. We found PSI significantly correlated with lower prevalences of metabolic syndrome and its components, including central obesity, hypertriglyceridemia and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which indicates that the potential long-term effects of PSI may reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome. However, further studies are needed to investigate the protective immune effects of PSI.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the radioprotective effects of tea polyphenols (TPs) in various combinations against radiation-induced damage in mice. Mice were divided into different groups: non-irradiated control, irradiated control, amifostine (43.6 mg/kg, i.v. 30 min before irradiation; positive control) and various combinations of tea polyphenols in different doses. The radioprotective effect on the haematopoietic system, serum cytokines and endogenous antioxidant enzymes were studied. TP50, containing approximately 50% of (-)-epigallochatechin-3-gallate in addition to other catechins, showed the greatest radioprotective effect against radiation-induced changes in haematological parameters (red blood cell count, white blood cell count and haemoglobin), and maintained the spleen and thymus indices unchanged (spleen or thymus weight/body weight × 1000). Tea polyphenols also significantly decreased radiation-induced lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde levels), elevated endogenous antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase) and reduced the serum cytokines which were elevated in radiation-induced toxicity. This evidence shows the potential of tea polyphenols, particularly in the combination found in TP50, as radioprotectors in mice, especially regarding recovery of the haematopoietic system, antioxidant potential activity and reduction of inflammatory cytokines. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In adult mammals, CNS damage does not repair well spontaneously. The Nogo receptor (NgR) signaling pathway prevents axonal regrowth and promotes neuronal apoptosis. This pathway, and pathways like it, may be part of the reason why nerves do not regrow. A number of preclinical experiments inhibiting portions of the NgR pathway have yielded limited induction of nerve repair. Here, we developed a small hairpin RNA (shRNA) to knock down NgR expression. With the use of rat hippocampal slices in tissue culture, we induced neuronal damage similar to that of ischemia-reperfusion injury by exposing the cultured tissues to oxygen-glucose deprivation. We then assayed the effect of NgR knockdown in this model system. Adenovirally delivered NgR shRNA decreased NgR mRNA and protein expression. Thirty minutes of oxygen-glucose deprivation resulted in widespread tissue damage, including apoptosis and loss of neurite extension, 72 h after termination of oxygen-glucose deprivation. The NgR shRNA knockdown reduced, but did not eliminate, the effects of oxygen-glucose deprivation. Thus, NgR shRNA shows promise as a potential tool for the treatment of nerve damage.

Informal housing and industrial developments in the so-called urban villages have been key features of the recent Chinese urbanization. In this article we will examine the development of urban villages in one of the most dynamic Chinese cities — Shenzhen. The article first reviews the urbanization and migration process in the region and the emergence of urban villages. It then examines informal housing, commercial and industrial developments in these villages. We analyse the politics of village urbanization and highlight the important relationship between migration and informal village development. We emphasize the contribution made by urban villages in providing affordable housing and jobs for the low-income population during the rapid urbanization and urge cautious consideration with regard to hasty and large-scale redevelopment of these villages. We conclude that the development of urban villages is a very important part of the urbanization process. Resume L’habitat informel et les amenagements commerciaux et industriels dans les villages dits urbains constituent des caracteristiques essentielles de la recente urbanisation chinoise. Cet article examine le developpement des villages urbains dans l’une des villes les plus dynamiques: Shenzhen. L’article revient d’abord sur les processus d’urbanisation et de migration dans la region et sur l’emergence des villages urbains. Il s’attache ensuite a l’habitat informel, ainsi qu’aux amenagements commerciaux et industriels, dans ces villages. La politique d’urbanisation des villages est analysee, mettant en evidence le lien important entre migration et amenagement informel des villages. L’etude souligne que les villages urbains fournissent des logements accessibles financierement et des emplois a la population a faible revenu pendant la phase rapide d’urbanisation, et insiste sur les precautions a prendre vis-a-vis d’un reamenagement precipite et a grande echelle de ces villages. La conclusion met en avant combien le developpement des villages urbains est important dans le processus d’urbanisation.

A new synthetic route is presented for maxacalcitol (I), which can be used as an antihyperparathyroidism and antipsoriatric drug.

Aim: To compare the fluid management of hypernatraemic dehydration in acute gastroenteritis in those who developed cerebral oedema (cases) versus those who did not (controls). Methods: A retrospective study of 97 cases of hypernatraemic dehydration at a tertiary children’s hospital in China over five years, in which rehydration regimes of 49 children who developed cerebral oedema were compared with 48 children who made an uneventful recovery. Results: Risk factors for cerebral oedema (vs. no cerebral oedema) were an initial fluid bolus (29/49 vs. 15/48, P = 0.006), the mean rate of bolus infusion (14.7 2.2 vs. 10.8 1.4 mL/kg/hr, P < 0.001), the severity of hypernatraemia (serum sodium 167.7 7.8 vs. 161.3 7.9 mmol/L, P < 0.001) and the overall rehydration rate (8.2 1.1 vs. 6.4 0.6 mL/kg/hr, P < 0.001). On logistic regression, a rapid rehydration rate was the most significant contributor to cerebral oedema. From receive operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the safe rate of rehydration was

Research into eastern European housing reform indicates that privatization has been accompanied by processes of social and physical exclusion and segregation. Has the Chinese housing reform been accompanied by similar problems? This paper addresses this question by examining the early evidence on the social and spatial consequences of housing reform. It begins with a discussion of the particular social and spatial patterns of Chinese cities developed during the early years of Communist control and then examines the social and spatial impacts of housing reform. It is argued that although housing reform has brought significant changes to the housing provision system and improved many urban residents' living conditions, it has not entirely broken the traditional system. Reform was to a large extent carried out within work-unit establishments and has had very different impacts for different social and economic groups. In addition, spatial impacts in urban areas have varied between old and new areas and between rich and poor areas. La recherche sur les reformes du logement en Europe de l'est montre que la privatisation a ete accompagnee de processus d'exclusion et de segregation physique et sociale. La reforme chinoise du logement a-t-elle ete accompagnee de problemes identiques? Cet article examine les premieres donnees sur les consequences sociales et spatiales de la reforme du logement. Il commence par une discussion des modeles sociaux et spatiaux particuliers aux villes chinoises developpes durant les premieres annees du controle communiste et examine ensuite l'impact social et spatial de la reforme du logement. Bien que la reforme du logement ait apporte des changements significatifs au systeme de provision du logement et ameliore les conditions de vie de nombreux residents urbains, elle n'a pas entierement rompu avec le systeme traditionnel. La reforme a ete en grande partie conduite a l'interieur des etablissements d'unites de travail et a eu un impact tres different sur les divers groupes sociaux et economiques. De plus, les impacts spatiaux dans les regions urbaines ont varie selon que les regions sont anciennes ou nouvelles et riches ou pauvres.

The synthetic route to the title compound, involving the formation of the oxazole ring as the key step, starts from 3-oxopentanoic acid methyl ester and 3-hydroxyacetophenone to afford the target compound with an overall yield of 32%.