Environmental NGOs' Roles in Promoting Green Development

China is currently vigorously pushing forward ecological protection,laying emphasis on the development of green,circular and low-carbon development.China’s President Xi Jinping laid out a series of important decisions and arrangements on ecological conservation,and put forward the concepts of innovative,coordinated,green,open and shared development.The green

The Roles of the Learner, Teacher and Institution in Curriculum Development in a Chinese EFL Learning Context

There has been an increasing awareness in China＇s English language teaching profession that curriculum development should take account of the participants within the curriculum development process： the planners, the administrators, the institutions, the teachers, and the learners. This paper attempts to identify the underlying principles of the New English Curriculum in China （2001）, based on which the roles of the learner, teacher, and institution that underpin the development of the new English curriculum in a secondary school in South-west China are critieaUy examined.

The role of lysyl oxidase-like 1 and fibulin-5 in the development of atherosclerosis and pelvic organ prolapse

Dear Editor： I would like to congratulate Zhou et al.[1] on their study of the correlation between expression of lysyl oxidase-like 1 （LOX-1） and fibulin-5 （F5） in the car- dinal ligament tissue and pelvic organ prolapse （POP）. In their elegant work, they evaluated the levels of LOX-1 and F5 in connective tissue of the cardinal ligament in order to demonstrate signs of elastinopa- thy in women with POP. They stress the concept that several environmental risk factors could cause qualitative and quantitative changes in the connective tissue promoting POP. The above authors conclude that the specific mechanism of LOXL1 and F5 involved in the development of POP is unclear.

Possible Role of the Submandibular Gland in the Development of Obesity in Mice

The possible role of submandiblular glands (SMG) in the development of obesity was studied in two types of genetically obese mice, ob/ob and yellow Ay: Obesity is caused by hyperplasia followed by hypertrophy in ob/ob mice and mainly by hypertrophy in Ay mice.The histological features of SMGs exhibited clear sexual dimorphism in both mice similarto lean controls. The SMGs of ob/ob mice was smaller in size and had smaller granular convoluted tubular portions than lean controls, while the SMGs of Ay mice did not differ from lean controls. Sialoadenectomy before and after development of obesity gCnerally reduced the gain of body weights in both sexes of Ay mice but not in ob/ob mice. The content of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the SMGs was higher in Ay mice and lower in ob/ob mice than their controls. The possible role of EGF in the SMGs in the development of obesity is discussed

Analyzing the role of extracellular matrix during nervous system development to advance new regenerative strategies

Regeneration in the central nervous system （CNS） is limited, and CNS damage often leads to cognitive impairment or permanent functional motor and sensory loss. Impaired regenerative capacity is multifactorial and includes inflammation, loss of the blood-brain barrier, and alteration in the extracellular matrix （ECM）. One of the main problems is the formation of a glial scar and the production of inhibitory ECM, such as proteoglycans, that generates a physical and mechanical barrier, impeding axonal regrowth （Figure 1A）.

The Role of Multilateral Development Banks and Institutions Are Important

These five recommendations cover the most critical aspects of infrastructure development:an attractive pipeline of projects,diversity of financial instruments and a conducive regulatory environment,the role of multilateral development institutions,as well as the management of project life-cycle pro-

Financing and the Role of Multilateral Development Banks are the Highlights

For me,the highlights of these recommendations are the financing and the role of Multilateral Development Banks.The recommendations I follow with most interest are the ones that protect and insure against political risk and regulatory risk.These

OECD Highlights China's Role in Economic Development of Latin America

Xinhua reported on October 28 that Latin America had been more resilient to the economic crisis by diversifying commercial and financial exchanges with Asian economies, with China as the main driver in the last three years, said Angel Gurria, General Secretary of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

Evaluating the role of herg potassium-channel protein in the development of heart and vasculature

The role of human ether a-go-go related gene(hERG) in electrically excitable cells has long been known.hERG currents IKr contribute to the re-polarisation phase 3 of the cardiac action potential. Mutations of this channel causes long QT syndrome. N629D hERG mutation(GFGN to GFGD) alters the pore selectivity signature sequence.N629D was over-expressed, via adenoviral gene transfer,in car-diomyocytes derived from mouse embryonic stem cells,the "IKr" showed outward rectification and an inward tail current,while WT IKr showed inward rectification and a positive tail current.N629D "IKr" phenotype also altered resting membrane potential and caused arrhythmia.Since hERG was reported to express in early stage of cardiogenesis,the role of the ERG potassium channel in cardiac development was elaborated in an in vivo model of a homozygous. The hERG N629D mutation was introduced into the orthologous mouse gene,mERG,by homologous recombination in mouse embryonic stem cells. N629D/N629D homozygous mutation results in embryonic lethality(died by E11.5).The mutation displayed defect cardiac morphogenesis including altered looping architecture,poorly developed bulbus cordis,and distorted aortic sac and branchial arches. N629D/N629D myocytes from embryonic day 9.5 embryos manifested complete loss of IKr function, depolarized resting potential,prolonged action potential duration(LQT),failure to repolarize,and propensity to oscillatory arrhythmias.Because deletion of transcription factor Hand2 produces apoptosis in similar regions and with a similar final developmental phenotype,Hand2 expression was evaluated. Robust decrease in Hand2 expression was observed in the secondary heart field in N629D/N629D embryos. mERG protein expression in the developing embryonic heart is not homogeneous.The protein expression is exaggerated in the right ventricle and in the outflow tract.N629D/N629D embryos manifest extensive apoptosis particularly in the first branchial arch and the facial region.Given that cells from the branchial arch populate the outflow tract,the early apoptosis,in the branchial arch and facial region would prevent those cells from contributing to the development of the outflow tract in N629D/N629D hearts.The working model is that the Hand2 expres- sion is down regulated in N629D/N629D embryonic right ventricle and outflow tract because progenitor cells that populate the outflow tract undergo apoptosis while in the facial region and branchial arch. Thus tissues that would be expected to express Hand2 are absent,simply because those structures fail to develop.N629D/N629D embryos also displayed defects in both extraembryonic and intraem-bryonic vasculature.Yolk sac from N629D/N629D homozygous embryos revealed primary vascular networks formed,while they failed to remodel into more complex vascular structures,unlike wild-type yolk sacs at E9.5 N629D/N629D embryo yolk sacs at E9.5 display absence of visible vessels.Intraembry-onic vessels in the mutant showed less complex branching in comparison with the normal vessels structure in WT embryo,dorsal aorta exhibited abnormally formation and small lumens.Whole mount in situ hybridization displayed hERG was also expressed in E9.5 yolk sac and dorsal aorta.Immunofluorescence showed the co-localization of hERG and Cd31 and smooth muscle actin in E10.5. The role of hERG protein in the development of vasculature is further evaluated by using Cre-loxP-based mouse model for tissue specific hERG mutation expression.

ON THE POSITION AND ROLE OF BASIC RESEARCH EXEMPLIFIED BY THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DRUG "DI'AOXINXUEKANG

Basic research features its indelible contribution to and energetic promotion of scientific cause and advancing social progress. This article explores its vital position and rewarding role in creating socio-economic benefits by reviewing the development and marketing success of a new drug, "Di’ aoxinxuekang".

Emission Theory with Re-Emission of Photons by the Medium—Instead of Special Relativity

Instead of relying on the erroneous principles of Special Relativity, this paper proposes a new theory based on the emission of photons by a source and their re-emission by a transparent medium. Through over 60 articles, we have demonstrated that Special Relativity is based on optical experiments and observations that have been incorrectly explained by the theory of a non-existent ether. Our findings show that all known experiments can be explained using classical concepts of space and time, thereby refuting the theory of relativity. This article also addresses the fallacy of the widely accepted etheric Doppler effects and its significant role in the history of science.

Phosphatidic acid plays key roles regulating plant development and stress responses

Phospholipids, including phosphatidic acid （PA）, phosphatidylcholine （PC）, phosphatidylethanolamine （PE）, phosphatidylglycerol （PC）, phosphatidylserine （PS） and phosphoinositides, have emerged as an important class of cellular messenger molecules in various cellular and physiological processes, of which PA attracts much attention of researchers. In addition to its effect on stimulating vesicle trafficking, many studies have demonstrated that PA plays a crucial role in various signaling pathways by binding target proteins and regulating their activity and subcellular localization. Here, we summarize the functional mechanisms and target proteins underlying PA-mediated regulation of cellular signaling, development, hormonal responses, and stress responses in plants.

Expanding roles for pectins in plant development

Pectins are complex cell wall polysaccharides important for many aspects of plant development. Recent studies have discovered extensive physical interactions between pectins and other cell wall components,implicating pectins in new molecular functions. Pectins are often localized in spatially-restricted patterns, and some of these non-uniform pectin distributions contribute to multiple aspects of plant development, including the morphogenesis of cells and organs. Furthermore, a growing number of mutants affecting cell wall composi- tion have begun to reveal the distinct contributions of different pectins to plant development. This review discusses the interactions of pectins with other cell wall components, the functions of pectins in controlling cellular morphology, and how non-uniform pectin composition can be an important determinant of developmental processes.

The Role of Autophagy during Development of the Oomycete Pathogen Phytophthora infestans

Phytophthora infestans is a highly destructive plant path- ogen that causes late blight disease in plants such as potato and tomato （Fry and Goodwin, 1997）. As a typical oomycete, the primary infective propagule of P. infestans is the sporangium, which can either germinate directly or release biflagellate zoospores that encyst and germinate on the host subsequently （Grenville-Briggs et al., 2005）. Due to abundant formation of the sporangia and prolific sporulation, P. infestans can spread quickly in the host tissues and cause extensive necrosis of the infected plants （Kamoun and Smart, 2005）.

Sulfate formation and its key role in severe haze development over China

Subject Code:B07With the financial support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Chinese Academy of Sciences,Prof.Wang Gehui(王格慧)at the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary,Institute of Earth Environment,Chinese Academy of Sciences,and the researchers from China,USA and other countries have revealed a key role of sulfate in the developing process of Chinese haze,which

The Role of Women in Social Development

WOMEN, a powerful force accounting for some 50 percent of world’s total population, are deeply involved in social development and are actively joining their male counterparts in promoting the progress of mankind. Nonetheless, people seem to be paying increasingly less attention to the aforementioned facts. Therefore, the following question is meant to call people’s attention to the matter. What would happen if women withdraw from economic, political, cultural and family activities? In terms of the economy, it would mean that about one billion people would go on strike due to the fact that some 897 million women across the world are engaged in paid economic activities. The worldwide grain

Developer Role Evolution in Open Source Software Ecosystem： An Explanatory Study on GNOME

An open source software （OSS） ecosystem refers to an OSS development community composed of many software projects and developers contributing to these projects. The projects and developers co-evolve in an ecosystem. To keep healthy evolution of such OSS ecosystems, there is a need of attracting and retaining developers, particularly project leaders and core developers who have major impact on the project and the whole team. Therefore, it is important to figure out the factors that influence developers＇ chance to evolve into project leaders and core developers. To identify such factors, we conducted a case study on the GNOME ecosystem. First, we collected indicators reflecting developers＇ subjective willingness to contribute to the project and the project environment that they stay in. Second, we calculated such indicators based on the GNOME dataset. Then, we fitted logistic regression models by taking as independent variables the resulting indicators after eliminating the most collinear ones, and taking as a dependent variable the future developer role （the core developer or project leader）. The results showed that part of such indicators （e.g., the total number of projects that a developer joined） of subjective willingness and project environment significantly influenced the developers＇ chance to evolve into core developers and project leaders. With different validation methods, our obtained model performs well on predicting developmental core developers, resulting in stable prediction performance （0.770, F-value）.