Changing Connectivities of Chinese Cities in the World City Network,2010–2016

Against the backdrop of the sizable economic growth of China in recent years, this paper uses the most recent data gathering of the Globalization and World Cities(Ga WC) research network to update and supplement earlier research on the shifting global connectivity of Chinese cities. The update consists of an evaluation of the connectivity of Chinese cities in 2016, the supplement of an analysis of the changing position of Chinese cities in the world city network between 2010 and 2016. To this end, we build on a specification of the world city network as an ‘interlocking network' in which producer services firms play the crucial role in city network formation. Information about the presence of leading producer services firms in cities in 2010 and 2016 is used as the input to a bipartite network projection algorithm in order to measure cities' network connectivity. The first set of results discusses the geographies of urban connectivity in the world city network in 2016. The second set of results discusses standardized measures of change to reveal the major dimensions of the transformations between 2010 and 2016. We find that, with the exception of Hong Kong, Macao and Kaohsiung of Taiwan, all Chinese cities record connectivity gains. This wholesale rise in connectivity is nonetheless geographically uneven, with above all Beijing, Chengdu/Chongqing and Changsha/Wuhan becoming more connected. We conclude that the wholesale rise of Chinese cities in the world city network and their changing trajectories in the post-crisis era are embedded in shifting external and internal political economies.

世界城市网络的非对称全球网络关联度,2013

本文借鉴世界城市网络研究的已有成果，运用新的非对称网络的分析方法，对2013年的世界城市网络进行了研究。文章首先回顾了世界城市网络研究的文献，已有研究大多基于关系型数据（例如高端生产性服务业企业分支数据），采用网络互锁网络模型（interlocking network model）对世界城市网络进行分析。

The Netw ork Connectivity of East Asia's Global Cities Compared

这是一篇比较东亚全球城市网络连通性的实证论文。2018年,本文作者收集了全球化先进生产性服务业企业在城市存在的信息,其出发点是,定义世界城市网络为“互锁网络”,其中先进生产者服务在城市网络形成发挥关键作用。这些信息被转化为数据,以708(城市)×175(企业)矩阵的方式,评估各城市为企业提供企业服务的“服务价值”。之后,这些数据被用作互锁网络模型的输入,以衡量城市的连通性及其主要地理方位。我们还将互连性的衡量标准与2000年的标准进行比较,制定了变化的衡量标准。我们对东亚主要全球城市的结果进行比较和解释,为研究者在研究中国城市在全球化中的地位转变提供参考背景。

Adaptation in brain structure and respiratory and olfactory structures across environmental gradients in African and North American muroid rodents

Morphometric studies of 3D micro CT-scanned images can provide insights into the evolution of the brain and sensory structures but such data are still scarce for the most diverse mammalian order of rodents.From reviewed and new data,we tested for convergence to extreme aridity and high elevation in the sensory and brain morphology of rodents,from morphometric data from micro-CT X-ray scans of 174 crania of 16 species of three distantly re-lated African murid(soft-furred mice,Praomyini,laminate-toothed rats,Otomyini,and gerbils,Gerbillinae)clades and one North American cricetid(deer mice and white-footed mice,Peromyscus)clade.Recent studies demon-strated convergent evolution acting on the oval window area of the cochlea(enlarged in extremely arid-adapted species of Otomyini and Gerbillinae)and on endocranial volume(reduced in high elevation taxa of Otomyini and Peromyscus).However,contrary to our predictions,we did notfind evidence of convergence in brain struc-ture to aridity,or in the olfactory/respiratory system(turbinate bones)to high elevation.Brain structure differed,particularly in the petrosal lobules of the cerebellum and the olfactory bulbs,between Otomyini and Gerbillinae,with extreme arid-adapted species in each clade being highly divergent(not convergent)from other species in the same clade.We observed greater“packing”of the maxillary turbinate bones,which have important respiratory functions,in Peromyscus mice from high and low elevations compared to the high-elevation African Praomyini,but more complex patterns within Peromyscus,probably related to trade-offs in respiratory physiology and heat exchange in the nasal epithelium associated with high-elevation adaptation.

Comparative assessment on rodent impacts and cultural perceptions of ecologically based rodent management in 3 Afro-Malagasy farming regions

Rodents generate negative consequences for smallholder farmers in Africa that directly impact household and livestock damage,food security,and public health.Ecologically Based Rodent Management(EBRM)seeks sustainable solutions for the mitigation of rodent damage through assessments of rodent population dynamics,agro-ecosystems,and socio-cultural contexts.We adopt a comparative approach across 3 rural Afro-Malagasy smallholder farming regions in South Africa,Tanzania,and Madagascar to assess the household impacts of rodent pests and current perceptions and preferences associated with several rodent control measures.We conducted focus group questionnaires and interviews in different study site locations.Rodents assert multiple impacts on Afro-Malagasy farmers demonstrating recurrent and emerging agricultural and household costs,and public health impacts.We identify a significant knowledge gap in educating communities about the application of different EBRM approaches in favor of acute poisons that are perceived to be more effective.Cultural issues and taboos also have a significant impact on the social acceptance of rodent hunting as well as biological control using indigenous predators.We advocate for an enhanced investigation of the socio-cultural beliefs associated with different rodent practices to understand the factors underlying social acceptance.A collaborative approach that integrates the perspectives of target communities to inform the design of EBRM initiatives according to the specific agro-ecosystem and socio-cultural context is necessary to ensure programmatic success.

Understanding and managing sanitary risks due to rodent zoonoses in an African city: beyond the Boston Model

The Boston Model describes a successful rodent management plan that succeeded in a first-world city in the USA.In third-world cities, which often contain informal shack settlements, it is debatable whether the Boston Modelwould apply. In Durban, a major harbor city of three million people on the east coast of South Africa, we investigatedthe sanitary risks due to rodents in both formal (residential and commercial) and informal (shacks) sectors,and we evaluated the relative merits of different management interventions suggested by the Boston Model. Bloodand tissue samples of six species (Rattus norvegicus, R. tanezumi, R. rattus, Mus musculus, Mastomys natalensis,Tatera brantsi) from 262 live-trapped rodents from 54 localities were tested for antibodies or DNA for plague (n =193: antibody test), leptospirosis (n = 221 for antibody test;n = 69 for polymerase chain reaction test for DNA) andtoxoplasmosis (n = 217: antibody test). We conducted a socioeconomic survey of 90 household to determine environmentaland socioeconomic disease risk factors in the shack settlement of Cato Crest . No rodents wereseropositive for plague, but nine Norway rats, R. norvegicus (4.1% of the sample tested) were seropositive fortoxoplasmosis, and 22 R. norvegicus (10.0% of sample tested) were seropositive for leptospirosis. Disease endemicareas were concentrated in Cato Crest and the commercial district of Durban. Serology tests of humans living inCato Crest (n = 219) showed 0% exposure to plague, 23% to leptospirosis and 35% to toxoplasmosis. Comparedwith shack-dwellers, the residents of brick houses had slightly lower levels of exposure to leptospirosis andtoxoplasmosis. Based on our results, environmental hygiene and rodent-trapping campaigns were launched in CatoCrest. The initiative owes much of its current success to implementation of the principles inherent in the BostonModel, even though certain elements were lacking.