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This paper explores how a prominent place-based policy in China, the national high-tech zones, affects local innovation output and entrepreneurial activities. Making use of staggered establishments of national high-tech zones in various Chinese cities, we find that the establishment of national high-tech zones has positive effects on local innovation output and entrepreneurial activities. A number of additional tests suggest that the effects appear causal. Access to finance, reductions in administrative burdens, and talent cultivation are three plausible underlying economic channels. Our paper sheds new light on the evaluation of the effectiveness of China's place-based policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neuroimaging has played a primary role in predicting intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) recurrence of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA); however, the utilities of biomarkers in CAA-related ICH and cognitive impairment remain unexplored.Objective: To investigate the correlations of serum levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), MMP-3, and MMP-9 with CAA-related MRI markers, ICH recurrence, and cognitive status.Methods: 68 cases with first probable CAA-ICH and 69 controls were recruited. Clinical and imaging data were obtained at baseline and serum MMPs in the acute phase were measured by Luminex multiplex assays. Cognitive status was assessed with the Chinese version of Mini-Mental State Examination within 10-14 days after ICH onset.Results: Serum MMP-2 level was significantly lower in CAA-ICH patients than controls while MMP-9 was significantly higher. In CAA-ICH patients, MMP-3 level was significantly associated with lobar cerebral microbleeds count after adjusting age, sex, and hypertension (adjusted coefficient 0.368, 95%CI 0.099-0.637, p = 0.008). During a median follow-up of 2.4 years, higher level of MMP-2 predicted lower CAA-ICH recurrence after adjusting age (adjusted HR 0.326, 95%CI 0.122-0.871, p = 0.025), ICH volume (adjusted HR 0.259, 95%CI 0.094-0.715, p = 0.009), total MRI burden of SVD score (adjusted HR 0.350, 95%CI 0.131-0.936, p = 0.037) respectively. Besides, higher level of MMP-2 was significantly associated with decreased risk of cognitive impairment independent of age and ICH volume (adjusted OR 0.054, 95%CI 0.005-0.570, p = 0.015).Conclusion: Serum MMP-2 in acute phase might be a promising biomarker to predict CAA-ICH recurrence and to evaluate the risk of cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ribosomal intergenic spacer (IGS) variation was compared for the nine main cultivated varieties of Pyropia yezoensis in China obtained from the Chinese National Pyropia Germplasm Repository. The full length of the IGS is 5984 bp including several sequence repeats and some complex structures. The sequence analysis of four partial IGS amplicons ranged from 3628 bp to 3776 bp; and the G+C content is 52.5%. Through similarity analysis and multiple sequence alignment of these partial IGS amplicons from the nine varieties, we have found 278 variable sites which account for approximately 7.5% of the whole IGS length. Both comparison of partial IGS sequences and phylogenetic analysis indicate high levels of genetic variation among different P. yezoensis cultivars in different areas of China. In comparison to the IGS of P. haitanensis, this study highlights the important function of classification of IGS in P. yezoensis. Therefore, the IGS sequence may be used to identify intraspecific variation in P. yezoensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To three-dimensionally calculate the craniofacial parameters of midface of patients with Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) in China, in order to understand the changes in the spatial position relationship between the various anatomical structures of the midface., Methods: CT imaging data of TCS patients and age- and gender-matched normal populations between January 2013 and July 2020 was retrospectively analyzed. A total of 33 cases met the selection criteria for inclusion in the study, including 14 cases in the TCS group and 19 cases in the control group. ProPlan CMF 3.0 software was used to perform three-dimensional digital reconstruction of the craniofacial bone, measure the anatomical parameters of the midface, and analyze its morphological structure; at the same time perform three-dimensional digital reconstruction of the upper airway for morphological analysis (measure upper airway volume)., Results: CT images analysis revealed that all 14 patients with TCS presented the typical features with downward slanting of the palpebral fissures and different degrees of zygomatico-orbital complex dysplasia. Cephalometric and morphological analysis of the midface revealed that, multiple transverse diameters of the midface of TCS patients were significantly decreased when compared with the control group ( P <0.05), such as the width of the maxillary base, the length of the maxillary complex, and some distances related to the nasal morphology; but the distance between bilateral orbitales increased in TCS group ( P <0.05). Several anteroposterior distances in TCS group were decreased significantly when compared to control group and the distance between the skull base point and the posterior nasal spine was the most shortened ( P <0.05). But there was no significant difference of the distance between nasion and anterior nasal spine, which represented anterior midface height, between groups ( P >0.05). The skull base angle and SNB angle (the angle between the sella point-nose root point-inferior alveolar seat point) of the TCS group both decreased when compared with the control group ( P <0.05), but there was no significant difference in SNA angle (the angle between the sella point-nose root point-upper alveolar seat point) between the two groups ( P >0.05). The total volume of the upper airway was (24 621.07±8 476.63) mm 3 in the TCS group, which was significantly lower than that of the control group [(32 864.21±13 148.74) mm 3 ] ( t =2.185, P =0.037)., Conclusion: The transverse distances, anteroposterior distances, and multiple craniofacial angles measurement of TCS patients were significantly decreased when compared to the control group, presented with different degrees of zygomatico-orbital complex dysplasia, nasal and maxillary dysplasia, but there was no obvious restriction in face height development. Reduced internal diameters of the upper airway maybe responsible for the decreased upper airway volume of patients with TCS.

Hypospadias is the displacement of the urethral meatus from the tip of the glans to the ventral side of the phallus. During fetal development, SRY, SOX9, WT1, SRD5A2 and AR are important at different stages in the differentiation and development of the male genital system. Mutations in these genes impair masculinization and may be associated with hypospadias. In order to explore these possibilities, we employed polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing to analyze the coding regions of these five genes in 90 Chinese hypospadias patients. We found a total of 16 different mutations in SRD5A2, AR and WT1 in 24 of these 90 patients. Seven mutations are novel. No mutation was found in SRY or SOX9. SNP V89L found in SRD5A2 was statistically significant between patients and controls. Our results indicated that mutations in SRD5A2, AR and WT1 were associated with hypospadias. In conclusion, mutations are frequently found in genes that control androgen action and metabolism, but are seldom found in genes active in the early phase of sex determination and differentiation. Mutations in AR, SRD5A2 or WT1 seem to be associated not only with hypospadias but also with micropenis.