In this paper, we document basic facts regarding public debates about controversial political issues on Chinese social media. Our documentation is based on a dataset of 13.2 billion blog posts published on Sina Weibo—the most prominent Chinese microblogging platform—during the 2009–2013 period. Our primary finding is that a shockingly large number of posts on highly sensitive topics were published and circulated on social media. For instance, we find millions of posts discussing protests, and these posts are informative in predicting the occurrence of specific events. We find an even larger number of posts with explicit corruption allegations, and that these posts predict future corruption charges of specific individuals. Our findings challenge a popular view that an authoritarian regime would relentlessly censor or even ban social media. Instead, the interaction of an authoritarian government with social media seems more complex.
This paper examines whether and how market competition affected the political bias of government-owned newspapers in China from 1981 to 2011. We measure media bias based on coverage of government mouthpiece content ( propaganda) relative to commercial content. We first find that a reform that forced newspaper exits (reduced competition) affected media bias by increasing product specialization, with some papers focusing on propaganda and others on commercial content. Second, lower-level governments produce less-biased content and launch commercial newspapers earlier, eroding higher-level governments’ political goals. Third, bottom-up competition intensifies the politico-economic trade-off, leading to product proliferation and less audience exposure to propaganda. (JEL D72, L31, L82, O14, O17, P26, P31)
A new self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) has been developed to increase the solubility, dissolution rate and oral bioavailability of vinpocetine (VIP), a poor water-soluble drug. The formulations of VIP-SMEDDS were optimized by solubility assay, compatibility tests, and pseudo-ternary phase diagrams analysis. The optimal ratio in the formulation of SMEDDS was found to be Labrafac : oleic acid : Cremophor EL : Transcutol P04؍ : 10 : 40 : 10 (w/w). The average particle diameter of VIP was less than 50 nm. In vitro dissolution study indicated that the dialysis method in reverse was better than the ultrafiltration method and the dialysis method in simulating the drug in vivo environment.
The underlying mechanism of the myocardial protective effect of fisetin was studied in a rat ischemia/reperfusion injury model. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to seven groups and pretreated with different solutions by gavage administration. A rat model of cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury was established. Plasma levels of Von Willebrand factor (vWF) were determined by ELISA, flow cytometry was used to determine the level of cardiomyocyte apoptosis and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium staining was used to determine the size of myocardial infarcts. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections of myocardial tissues were examined for pathological changes. Expressions of nuclear factor (NF)-κB and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) were measured by immunohistochemistry. Compared with the model group, rats pretreated with fisetin, quercetin and aspirin showed significant prolongation of clotting time, prothrombin time, thrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time. Fisetin treatment better maintained the integrity of myocardial fibers and nuclear integrity, reduced the percentage of apoptotic myocardial cells, inhibited expression of NF-κB, decreased the loss of MMP-9 and reduced nuclear translocation of NF-kB. Rats pretreated with fisetin also demonstrated a significant decrease in plasma levels of vWF. In addition, the protective effect of fisetin on myocardial cells was found to be dose dependent.
A sensitive electrochemical aptasensor was developed for the determination of thrombin. It is based on signal amplification by using graphene oxide (GO) decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgNP) and placed on a microelectrode. The graphene oxide decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgNP-GO) was synthesized by chemical reduction and then modified with a thrombin-binding aptamer 1 (TBA1; a 29-mer) carrying a 3'-terminal thiol group. It was immobilized on the AgNP-GO by self-assembled monolayer technique to form the signaling probe (TBA1-AgNP-GO). A capture thrombin-binding aptamer 2 (TBA-2; a 15-mer) carrying a 3'-terminal thiol group was self-assembled onto the surface of the gold electrode. After binding of thrombin and the signaling probe, a sandwich of type TBA2-thrombin-TBA1-AgNP-GO is formed. The square wave voltammetric signal of the AgNP is then recorded. The electrochemical oxidation signal (measured at 0.21 V vs. Ag/AgCl) increases linearly with the concentration of thrombin in the range from 0.05 nmol·L to 5 nmol·L with a detection limit of 0.03 nmol·L (at S/N = 3). The aptasensor is highly specific and not affected by other proteins. It was successfully applied to the determination of thrombin in spiked human serum samples. Graphical abstract A sensitive electrochemical aptasensor for thrombin was developed based on the signal amplification of silver nanoparticles decorated graphene oxide at an ultramicroelectrode.
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