Seventy Years of Diplomatic Achievements Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China

The birth of the People’s Republic of China 70 years ago set China’s foreign relations on a momentous and dauntless journey.Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China(CPC),China’s foreign policy in the past seven decades has been focused on promoting national rejuvenation,domestic development and reform and opening-up,on safeguarding China’s sovereignty,security and development interests,and on maintaining world peace and bolstering common development.

China’s Diplomacy in 2021:Embracing a Global Vision and Serving the Nation and Its People

In the tug of war between division and antagonism on the one hand and openness and win-win results on the other, China has all along stood on the right side of history, on the side of human progress, on the side of international equality and justice, and on the side of the vast majority of developing countries. Whether it is helping to combat COVID-19 or injecting new momentum into the global economic recovery, there is one clear theme that runs throughout China’s diplomacy: serving national rejuvenation amidst a complex situation and advancing peaceful development in a rapidly changing world.

Insights into microbiota community dynamics and flavor development mechanism during golden pomfret(Trachinotus ovatus)fermentation based on single-molecule real-time sequencing and molecular networking analysis

Popular fermented golden pomfret(Trachinotus ovatus)is prepared via spontaneous fermentation;however,the mechanisms underlying the regulation of its flavor development remain unclear.This study shows the roles of the complex microbiota and the dynamic changes in microbial community and flavor compounds during fish fermentation.Single-molecule real-time sequencing and molecular networking analysis revealed the correlations among different microbial genera and the relationships between microbial taxa and volatile compounds.Mechanisms underlying flavor development were also elucidated via KEGG based functional annotations.Clostridium,Shewanella,and Staphylococcus were the dominant microbial genera.Forty-nine volatile compounds were detected in the fermented fish samples,with thirteen identified as characteristic volatile compounds(ROAV>1).Volatile profiles resulted from the interactions among the microorganisms and derived enzymes,with the main metabolic pathways being amino acid biosynthesis/metabolism,carbon metabolism,and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis.This study demonstrated the approaches for distinguishing key microbiota associated with volatile compounds and monitoring the industrial production of high-quality fermented fish products.

Bring China-US Relations Back to the Right Track of Coordination,Cooperation and Stability

China and the US stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation,and the right way of co-existence between China and the US is seeking common ground while putting aside differences.The US side should correct its mistakes,give up anti-China gibberish,and work with the Chinese side to bring bilateral relations back to the right track of coordination,cooperation and stability.

Serving the Country and Contributing to the World: China’s Diplomacy in a Time of Unprecedented Global Changes and a Once-in-a-Century Pandemic

The year 2020 is a watershed in human history.The sudden onslaught of COVID-19 has triggered a global crisis,putting a halt to cross-border travels and shifting global growth into reverse gear.Anachronistic practices of unilateralism and protectionism have been on the increase,driven by resurgent power politics and Cold-War mentality.Human development is confronted with unprecedented risks and challenges in an increasingly fluid and changing world.

The Right Way for China and the United States to Get Along in the New Era

In the last few years,a lot has happened in the world.The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc;the global economy is in danger of a recession;and the Ukraine crisis has persisted and escalated.Issues involving food,energy,industrial and supply chains and climate change have become more acute.The past few years have seen China-US relations at a low ebb since the establishment of diplomatic ties.The reality of China-US interdependence is ignored;the history of our win-win cooperation is misrepresented;channels of dialogue and communication are blocked.And the bilateral relationship is being defined and impacted dangerously by so-called strategic competition.This is bringing tremendous uncertainty to the future of our peoples and to countries across the world.

Quantifying the effects of short-term heat stress at booting stage on nonstructural carbohydrates remobilization in rice

Extreme heat stress events are becoming more frequent under anticipated climate change,which can have devastating impacts on rice growth and yield.To quantify the effects of short-term heat stress at booting stage on nonstructural carbohydrates(NSC)remobilization in rice,two varieties(Nanjing 41 and Wuyunjing 24)were subjected to 32/22/27°C(maximum/minimum/mean),36/26/31°C,40/30/35°C,and 44/34/39°C for 2,4 and 6 days in phytotrons at booting stage during 2014 and 2015.Yield and yield components,dry matter partitioning index(DMPI),NSC accumulation and translocation were measured and calculated.The results showed that the increase of high-temperature level and duration significantly reduced grain yield by suppressing spikelet number per panicle,seed-setting rate,and grain weight.Heat stress at booting decreased DMPI in panicles,increased DMPI in stems,but had no significant effect on photosynthetic rate.Stem NSC concentration increased whereas panicles NSC concentration,stem NSC translocation efficiency,and contribution of stem NSC to grain yield decreased.Severe heat stress even transformed the stem into a carbohydrate sink during grain filling.The heat-tolerant Wuyunjing 24 showed a higher NSC transport capacity under heat stress than the heat-sensitive Nanjing 41.Heat degree-days(HDD),which combines the effects of the intensity and duration of heat stress,used for quantifying the impacts of heat stress indicates the threshold HDD for the termination of NSC translocation is 9.82°C day.Grain yield was negatively correlated with stem NSC concentration and accumulation at maturity,and yield reduction was tightly related to NSC translocation reduction.The results suggest that heat stress at booting inhibits NSC translocation due to sink size reduction.Therefore,genotypes with higher NSC transport capacity under heat stress could be beneficial for rice yield formation.

Heat stress affects fecal microbial and metabolic alterations of primiparous sows during late gestation

Background:Heat stress(HS)jeopardizes intestinal barrier functions and augments intestinal permeability in pigs.However,whether HS-induced maternal microbial and metabolic changes in primiparous sows during late gestation remains elusive.We present here,a study investigating the fecal microbial and metabolic responses in late gestational primiparous sows when exposed to HS.Methods:Twelve first-parity Landrace×Large White F1 sows were randomly assigned into two environmental treatments including the thermoneutral(TN)(18–22℃;n=6)and HS(28–32℃;n=6)conditions.Both treatments were applied from 85 d of gestation to farrowing.The serum and feces samples were collected on d 107 of gestation,for analyses including intestinal integrity biomarkers,high-throughput sequencing metagenomics,short-chain fatty acid(SCFA)profiles and nontargeted metabolomics.Results:Our results show that HS group has higher serum Heat shock protein 70(HSP70),lipopolysaccharide(LPS)and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein(LBP)levels.The gut microbial community can be altered upon HS by usingβ-diversity and taxon-based analysis.In particular,the relative abundance of genera and operational taxonomic units(OTUs)related to Clostridiales and Halomonas are higher in HS group,the relative abundance of genera and OTUs related to Bacteroidales and Streptococcus,however,are lower in HS group.Results of metabolic analysis reveal that HS lowers the concentrations of propionate,butyrate,total SCFA,succinate,fumarate,malate,lactate,aspartate,ethanolamine,β-alanine and niacin,whereas that of fructose and azelaic acid are higher in HS group.These metabolites mainly affect propanoate metabolism,alanine,aspartate and glutamate metabolism,phenylalanine metabolism,β-alanine metabolism,pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis,tricarboxylic acid cycle(TCA)and nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism.Additionally,correlation analysis between significant microbes and metabolites indicated that the HS-induced microbiota shift is likely the cause of changes of intestinal metabolism.Conclusions:Taken together,we reveal characteristic structural and metabolic changes in maternal gut microbiota as a result of late gestational HS,which could potentially provide the basis for further study on offspring gut microbiota and immune programming.

Human Capital Structure and Economic Growth:From the Perspective of New Structural Economics

The Chinese economy has achieved remarkable development over the past 40 years of reform and opening-up.However,with the narrowing of potential for efficiency improvement from resources reallocation and changes in population age structure,the Chinese economy has moved from high-speed growth to high-quality development.In this setting,understanding factor endowment and comparative advantages of the economy from a perspective of human capital structure so as to enhance industrial structure adaptability by riding the trend is of significance for cultivating new driving force for economic development.This paper,following a theoretical paradigm of new structural economics,demonstrates how human capital structure matches industrial structure and the presence of optimal human capital structure using mathematical deduction.On this basis,national level panel data and instrumental variables are adopted for generalized method of moments,the results of which shows that there are varied impacts on economic growth in light of different human capital structure characteristics.The proportions of high-level human capital and medium-level human capital boost economic development,while that of low-level human capital has an inhibitory effect on economic growth.The policy implication of this study is that large economies should diversify efforts as per different human capital structure characteristics in terms of development need of tapping growth impetus from human capital structure improvement.It is of equal importance to raise the proportion of high and medium human capital in order to stimulate economic growth and to cut the proportion of low human capital that hinders economic development.

Gelatin-stabilized traditional emulsions:Emulsion forms,droplets,and storage stability

Fish oils are important substances in the field of food and drug delivery.Due to their unstable double bonds,fishy taste,and poor water solubility,it is pivotal to investigate novel dosage forms for fish oils,such as encapsulated droplets.In this work,we primarily prepared gelatin-stabilized fish oil-loaded traditional emulsions and investigated their emulsion forms,droplets,and storage stability under different preparation and storage conditions.Our results showed that higher gelatin solution pH,higher storage temperature in the range of 4–37℃,and increased storage time induced the emulsion form switch from a liquid form to a redispersible gel form of the fish oil emulsion.The droplets had core-shell microstructures and a trimodal size distribution,which decreases linearly with increasing gelatin solution pH and homogenizing time,but decreases exponentially with increasing homogenizing speed.In addition,storage temperature showed a notably different effect on traditional emulsion storage.This work provides a fundamental knowledge for the formation,microstructure,and properties of gelatin-based traditional emulsions.It also provides a promising new application for fish oil-loaded emulsions in food beverages,soft candy,and other food products.

Fabrication of Rice Husk Ash/Natural Rubber Composites by the Latex Process

Rice husk ash/natural rubber composites were fabricated by modifying rice husk ash with the rare earth coupling agent DN-8102. The structure of the rice husk ash and the morphological dispersion of the rice husk ash in a rubber matrix were charactered by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, respectively.The mechanical properties of the composites were experimentally studied. The surface energy and the interaction between rice husk ash particles can be reduced by surface modification of rice husk ash with a rare earth coupling agent, which reduces the agglomeration of rice husk ash in both liquid and rubber matrices and enhances the interactions between rice husk ash and the rubber phase, and thus results in improved mechanical properties for the resulting rice husk ash/natural rubber composite. The modulus of the composites will increase as the loading level of modified rice husk ash increases. A maximum tensile strength of 25.96 MPa for the composites can be obtained when the modified rice husk ash loading level is 4%.

Effects of resistant starchⅢon the serum lipids levels and gut microbiota of Kunming mice under high-fat diet

Resistant starch III(RS3),as a prebiotic,provides health benefits.This study aimed to investigate the role of RS3 in lowering serum lipids and regulating gut microbiota by administering Novelose 330 to Kunming(KM)mice.The results demonstrated that RS3 intervention significantly decreased body weight,food intake,levels of serum total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),and liver fat.RS3 could remarkably improve the quality of the entire cecum,quality of the cecal wall,and wall surface area of mice;enhance the moisture content;and reduce the p H value.Moreover,the decrease in the liver TC content and the increase in the fecal TC content were related to RS3 intervention.The concentrations of total short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)in the colon and individual levels of acetate,propionate,and butyrate increased with RS3 supplementation.An Illumina-based sequencing approach showed that RS3 notably increased the Bacteroides/Firmicutes ratio in the mice fed a high-fat diet.At the genus level,the relative abundance of Bacteroides,Ruminococcus,and Bifidobacterium and the number of main SCFA producers increased in the mice fed an RS3 diet.These findings provided insights into specific gut microbiota shifts to the hypolipidemic effect of RS3.

MdAIL5 overexpression promotes apple adventitious shoot regeneration by regulating hormone signaling and activating the expression of shoot development-related genes

Adventitious shoot(AS)regeneration is a significant factor in the genetic transformation of horticultural plants.It is also a noteworthy approach to their vegetative propagation.AS regeneration remains highly dependent on the genotype or maturity of explants.We here found that the AS regeneration abilities of apple leaves were positively correlated with MdAIL5 expression.MdAIL5 overexpression dramatically increased AS regeneration efficiency.Notably,MdAIL5 overexpression could restore the AS formation ability of explants to a certain extent,which was lost with an increase in maturity.Endogenous hormone detection revealed that MdAIL5 overexpression changed the contents of auxin,cytokinin(CK),and other hormones in apple leaves.Transcriptome analysis revealed that many genes related to auxin,CK,and brassinolide signaling pathways were significantly and differentially expressed between MdAIL5-overexpressing transgenic apple and wild-type apple plants.Yeast one-hybrid assays,the electrophoretic mobility shift assay,and the dual-luciferase reporter assay revealed that MdAIL5 directly binds to MdARF9 and MdHB14 promoters and positively affects their expression.We here established a model of MdAIL5 regulating AS formation,which acts as a theoretical basis for facilitating genotype-or explant maturity-independent AS regeneration in the future.

Effects of Different Storage Methods on the Fruit Quality and Physiological Changes in Yihong Honey Peach

Taking Yihong,the main cultivar of mid-ripening honey peaches(Prunus persica)in Hunan,as material,this study explored the effects of different storage methods on the fruit quality and physiological changes in Yihong honey peach by the combination of polyethylene film packaging with low-temperature storage.The results showed that the weight loss rate of packaged storage at normal temperature(T1)was significantly lower than that of unpackaged storage at normal temperature(CK),but there was no significant difference in other indicators.In the middle of storage,the respiration rate and ethylene release of packaged storage at 0℃(T3)were extremely significantly lower or significantly lower than those of unpackaged storage at 0℃(T2),packaged storage at 0℃after cold adapting at 8℃for 5 d(T4),and packaged storage in a fluctuating temperature range of 0~3.5℃(T5).After storage,the structure of the middle lamella in the cell wall of T3 was compact and uniform,and the mitochondrial structure was complete,while the cell walls and mitochondria of T4 and T5 were severely deformed and disintegrated.The activities of antioxidant enzymes peroxidase(POD)and superoxide dismutase(SOD)of T3 was significantly higher than those of T4 and T5,and the content of malondialdehyde(MDA)and polyphenol oxidase(PPO)of T3 was also the lowest.Therefore,0°C packaged storage can effectively delay the senescence of Yihong honey peach and prolong its freshness period.

Droplet and creaming stability of fish oil-loaded gelatin/surfactant-stabilized emulsions depends on both the adsorption ways of emulsifiers and the adjusted pH

The droplet and creaming stability of food emulsions stabilized by mixed emulsifiers is a research hotspot in the field of emulsions.In this work,we mainly explore the effect of pH change on the droplet and creaming stability of fish oil-loaded emulsions synergistically(Span 80 and SL)or competitively(Tween 80 and SDS)stabilized by gelatin/surfactant.The results demonstrated that initial droplet stability and droplet storage stability,and creaming stability of the pH-adjusted emulsions are dependent on both the adsorption ways of emulsifiers and the adjusted pH:(1)Competitively stabilized emulsions have more stable droplets than synergistically stabilized emulsions;(2)SDS-dominant competitively stabilized emulsions have more stable droplets than gelatin-dominant emulsions;(3)Basic pH-adjusted emulsions have more stable droplets than acidic pH-adjusted emulsions;(4)The synergistically stabilized emulsions at acidic pH have significantly higher creaming indexes than that at basic pH;and(5)The competitively stabilized emulsions have high or similar creaming indexes to that at acidic pH.Further,the mechanisms are proposed according to Stokes’Law.This work will provide useful information to understand the interfacial properties of mixed emulsifiers in the food emulsions and promising application perspective for the development of food beverages including acidic and alkali beverages.

Major-Country Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era

The overarching goal of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era is to foster a new type of international relations and build a community with a shared future. China will take new steps, get on a new look and endeavor to write a new chapter for the well-being of the Chinese people and progress of mankind.

Toward a New Type of International Relations of Win-Win Cooperation

International relations is an old subject,yet it often makes a new topic for discussion.Since the birth of nation states,how to develop state-to-state relations has always remained high on the agenda of human exploration.More than 300 years ago,with the rise of nation states,the Westphalian System was born in Europe.It established the key principles of

Bringing the East and West Together in Shared Commitment to Multilateralism

With rigorous and thorough measures taken, China has full confidence, capacity and determination to defeat the novel coronavirus outbreak. With strong resilience, potential and vitality, the Chinese economy is well positioned to overcome all risks and challenges. As human society has entered the age of globalization, we must transcend the East-West divergence and the North-South divide, to see our shared planet as a community for all.

Braving Waves and Sailing Forward with Resolve

Facing the complex international situation, China’s diplomacy has achieved new advances and new outcomes that have not only bolstered the country’s development but also made important contributions to world peace and progress. Despite the difficulties in bilateral relations never seen over the past four decades, cooperation is the best and the only viable option for China and the US.

Chinese Diplomacy in 2018: Developing Rapidly and Forging Ahead with Determination

Opening new prospects, breaking new grounds and achieving new progress, China's diplomacy in 2018 can be recapitulated with openness, cooperation, steady progress, thus standing at the forefront of the times, mission, and steadfastness. Looking to the future, China will continue to advocate the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and mark a new phase of major-country diplomacy with Chinese features.