The first two decades of the twenty-first century saw the rapid rise of China in the global stage. During this period, China acquired valuable knowledge and expertise in International Economic Law (IEL), and expanded its trade and investments across the globe. The emergence of China has benefitted many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in terms of trade and investment; however, it is unclear whether IEL has contributed with the expansion of China's economic relations with LAC. This article aims to address this question by reviewing the strategies and mechanisms employed by China to promote trade, investment and development finance in the region. Its central argument is that China has opted to engage with LAC using an eclectic platform that combines hard law instruments and institutions as well as other soft law mechanisms.

Caracterizar las estrategias de movilidad de las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras-pescadoras en ambientes insulares y litorales es fundamental para comprender la interacción humano-ambiental en el pasado. Las prospecciones en el noreste de la isla Diego Portales, en el mar interior de Última Esperanza (Magallanes, Chile), han permitido documentar ocho yacimientos arqueológicos formados por uno o varios conchales. Todos ellos se hallan ubicados en áreas de la costa al resguardo del viento dominante y con fácil acceso mediante embarcación. Los trabajos arqueológicos en dos de estos yacimientos (Bahía Easter 1 y 2) indican una estrategia de subsistencia similar durante el Holoceno tardío final, basada en el aprovechamiento de la biodiversidad de este ambiente de ecotono, con más de una docena de recursos marinos y terrestres consumidos. Entre éstas destaca en abundancia el huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), probablemente cazado en el litoral continental. Teniendo en cuenta las dinámicas de poblamiento y movilidad propuestas desde la etnografía o la arqueología para otras áreas del archipiélago fuego-patagónico, los resultados permiten discutir la reocupación sucesiva de puntos estratégicos de la isla, particularmente en primavera-verano, cuando la encrucijada de caminos y recursos que representa el mar interior de Última Esperanza presentaba alicientes significativos para las comunidades canoeras.

Pneumonia is a respiratory condition with complex etiology. Host genetic variation is thought to contribute to individual differences in susceptibility and symptom manifestation. Here, we analyze pneumonia data from the UK Biobank (14,780 cases and 439,096 controls) and FinnGen (9980 cases and 86,519 controls) and perform a genomewide association study meta-analysis. We use gene-based tests, colocalization, genetic correlation, latent causal variable (LCV) and polygenic prediction in an independent Australian sample (N = 5595) to draw insights into the etiology of pneumonia risk. We identify two independent loci on chromosome 15 (lead single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs2009746 and rs76474922) to be associated with pneumonia (p < 5e−8). Gene-based tests revealed 18 genes in chromosomes 15, 16 and 9, including IL127, PBX3, ApoB receptor (APOBR) and smoking related genes CHRNA3/5, statistically associated with pneumonia. We observed genetic correlations between pneumonia and cardiorespiratory, psychiatric and inflammatory related traits. LCV analysis suggests a strong genetic causal relationship with cardiovascular health phenotypes. Polygenic risk scores for pneumonia significantly predicted self-reported pneumonia in an independent sample, albeit with a small effect size (OR = 1.11 95% CI [1.04, 1.19], p < .05). Sensitivity analyses suggested the associations in chromosome 15 are mediated by smoking history, but the associations in chromosomes 16 and 9, and polygenic prediction were robust to adjustment for smoking. Altogether, our results highlight common genetic variants, genes and potential pathways that contribute to individual differences in susceptibility to pneumonia, and advance our understanding of the genetic factors underlying heterogeneity in respiratory medical outcomes.

Several neuroimaging studies have reported associations between brain white matter microstructure and chronotype. However, it is unclear whether those phenotypic relationships are causal or underlined by genetic factors. In the present study, we use genetic data to examine the genetic overlap and infer causal relationships between chronotype and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures. We identify 29 significant pairwise genetic correlations, of which 13 also show evidence for a causal association. Genetic correlations were identified between chronotype and brain-wide mean, axial and radial diffusivities. When exploring individual tracts, 10 genetic correlations were observed with mean diffusivity, 10 with axial diffusivity, 4 with radial diffusivity and 2 with mode of anisotropy. We found evidence for a possible causal association of eveningness with white matter microstructure measures in individual tracts including the posterior limb and the retrolenticular part of the internal capsule; the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum and the posterior, superior and anterior regions of the corona radiata. Our findings contribute to the understanding of how genes influence circadian preference and brain white matter and provide a new avenue for investigating the role of chronotype in health and disease.

Abstract

Turbulent flow evolution and energy cascades are significantly different in two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) flows. Studies have investigated these differences in obstacle-free turbulent flows, but solid boundaries have an important impact on the cross-over from 3-D to 2-D turbulence dynamics. In this work, we investigate the span effect on the turbulence nature of flow past a circular cylinder at $Re=10\,000$. It is found that even for highly anisotropic geometries, 3-D small-scale structures detach from the walls. Additionally, the natural large-scale rotation of the Kármán vortices rapidly two-dimensionalise those structures if the span is 50 % of the diameter or less. We show this is linked to the span being shorter than the Mode B instability wavelength. The conflicting 3-D small-scale structures and 2-D Kármán vortices result in 2-D and 3-D turbulence dynamics which can coexist at certain locations of the wake depending on the domain geometric anisotropy.

A growing body of social science research has sought to conceptualize race as a multi-dimensional concept in which context, societal relations, and institutional dynamics are key components. Utilizing a specially-designed survey, we develop and use multiple measures of race (skin color, ascribed race, and discrimination experiences) to capture race as a “lived experience” and assess these measures’ impact on Latinos’ self-rated health status. We model these measures of race as lived experience to test the explanatory power of race, both independently and as an integrated scale, with categorical regression, scaling, and dimensional analyses. Our analyses show that our multiple measures of race have significant and negative effects on Latinos’ self-reported health. Skin color is a dominant factor that impacts self-reported health both directly and indirectly. We then advocate for the utilization of multiple measures of race, adding to those used in our analysis, and their application to research regarding inequities in other health and social outcomes. Our analysis provides important contributions to research across a wide range of health, illness, social, and political disparities for communities of color.

The introduction of cover crops in the intercrop period may provide a broad range of ecosystem services derived from the multiple functions they can perform, such as erosion control, recycling of nutrients or forage source. However, the achievement of these services in a particular agrosystem is not always required at the same time or to the same degree. Thus, species selection and definition of targeted objectives is critical when growing cover crops. The goal of the current work was to describe the traits that determine the suitability of five species (barley, rye, triticale, mustard and vetch) for cover cropping. A field trial was established during two seasons (October to April) in Madrid (central Spain). Ground cover and biomass were monitored at regular intervals during each growing season. A Gompertz model characterized ground cover until the decay observed after frosts, while biomass was fitted to Gompertz, logistic and linear-exponential equations. At the end of the experiment, carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and fibre (neutral detergent, acid and lignin) contents, and the N fixed by the legume were determined. The grasses reached the highest ground cover (83–99%) and biomass (1226–1928 g/m2) at the end of the experiment. With the highest C:N ratio (27–39) and dietary fibre (527–600 mg/g) and the lowest residue quality (~680 mg/g), grasses were suitable for erosion control, catch crop and fodder. The vetch presented the lowest N uptake (2·4 and 0·7 g N/m2) due to N fixation (9·8 and 1·6 g N/m2) and low biomass accumulation. The mustard presented high N uptake in the warm year and could act as a catch crop, but low fodder capability in both years. The thermal time before reaching 30% ground cover was a good indicator of early coverage species. Variable quantification allowed finding variability among the species and provided information for further decisions involving cover crop selection and management.

In this work we study the interfaces between the Mott insulator LaMnO3 (LMO) and the band insulator SrTiO3 (STO) in epitaxially grown superlattices with different thickness ratios and different transport and magnetic behaviors. Using atomic resolution electron energy-loss spectral imaging, we analyze simultaneously the structural and chemical properties of these interfaces. We find changes in the oxygen octahedral tilts within the LaMnO3 layers when the thickness ratio between the manganite and the titanate layers is varied. Superlattices with thick LMO and ultrathin STO layers present unexpected octahedral tilts in the STO, along with a small amount of oxygen vacancies. On the other hand, thick STO layers exhibit undistorted octahedra while the LMO layers present reduced O octahedral distortions near the interfaces. These findings are discussed in view of the transport and magnetic differences found in previous studies.

The aim of this work is to process by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) a low carbon – triple-alloyed steel containing 0.2% C, 0.5% Cr, 0.6% Ni, 0.2% Mo and 0.8 Mo. The process is performed at room temperature for up to four passes using route Bc with an equivalent strain of ∼0.6 after a single pass. Structure evolution before and after deformation is studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) and mechanical properties are assessed by microhardness and tensile testing. A significant improvement of the mechanical properties is found with increasing number of ECAP passes. Micro-hardness increases from 216 HV for the initial sample to 302 HV after four passes and tensile strength increases to 1200 MPa compared with 430 MPa prior to ECAP. X-ray diffraction and SEM analysis show changes in the original ferritic-perlitic structure through ferrite grain refinement and the deformation of perlite. This nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy is used in manufacturing as gear material, and when it is hardened and formed through carburizing or boronizing it can be used to make hard-wearing machine parts. However, the ECAP process has not been used to harden this steel and to change its structure to obtain better mechanical performance.