A Tale of “Ku” (Bitter) V.S. “Tian” (Sweet): Understanding China\u27s “Yiku Sitian” Movement in the 1960s and 1970s from the Perspective of Cultural Discourse Analysis

“Yiku sitian” is a political movement prevalent in P. R. China in the 1960s and 1970s. It means, literally, to “recall bitterness” and to “reflect on sweetness”. It identifies a particular type of social practice commonly enacted publicly and privately for people to recall how “bitter” life was in “jiu shehui” (the old society) and how “sweet” life was in “xin shehui” (the new society). This study examines “yiku sitian” as a cultural and communicational practice. Its theory and methodology draw upon the ethnography of communication, cultural terms for talk, and cultural discourse analysis. The study is guided by the following two questions: How can we understand “yiku sitian” as a cultural and communicative practice? What cultural discourse is actively associated with this practice? Descriptive analyses discover the identification of “yiku sitian” as a communicative act, event, and style; as a cultural scene complete with its own sequential structure; as given shape through personal narratives; and as deep messages about the expressive mode, degree of structuring, tone, and efficaciousness that are in use in this practice. Interpretive findings include eleven semantic dimensions that are active in the system of cultural meanings of “jiu shehui” vs. “xin shehui”; and two sets of cultural premises defining appropriate ways of being, relating, acting, feeling, and political positioning from both orthodox and alternative perspectives. The former view placed people into different categories of “jieji” (class) and related them with each other in “jieji guanxi” (class relationship) as either “jieji dixiong” (class brothers) or “jieji diren” (class enemies). “Jieji jiaoyu” (class education) was conducted to cultivate “jieji ganqing” (class feelings) of “aizeng fenming” (love and hate clearly demarcated). The latter view depicted Chinese people as actually forced into participating in various “jieji douzheng” (class struggles) and coping passively with their assigned ways of being, acting, relating, feeling and political positioning in the 1960s and 1970s. This study is concluded with examination of Lei Feng, a nationally famous “yiku sitian” role model in the 1960s and analysis of his “yiku sitian baogao” (yiku sitian public speech) as a demonstration of the strength of this communication practice

Functional and morphological analysis of the subretinal injection of human retinal progenitor cells under Cyclosporin A treatment

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the functional and morphological changes in subretinal xenografts of human retinal progenitor cells (hRPCs) in B6 mice treated with Cyclosporin A (CsA; 210 mg/l in drinking water). Methods: The hRPCs from human fetal eyes were isolated and expanded for transplantation. These cells, with green fluorescent protein (GFP) at 11 passages, were transplanted into the subretinal space in B6 mice. A combination of invasive and noninvasive approaches was used to analyze the structural and functional consequences of the subretinal injection of the hRPCs. The process of change was monitored using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT), histology, and electroretinography (ERG) at 3 days, 1 week, and 3 weeks after transplantation. Cell counts were used to evaluate the survival rate with a confocal microscope. ERGs were performed to evaluate the physiologic changes, and the structural changes were evaluated using SDOCT and histological examination. Results: The results of the histological examination showed that the hRPCs gained a better survival rate in the mice treated with CsA. The SDOCT showed that the bleb size of the retinal detachment was significantly decreased, and the retinal reattachment was nearly complete by 3 weeks. The ERG response amplitudes in the CsA group were less decreased after the injection, when compared with the control group, in the dark-adapted and light-adapted conditions. However, the cone-mediated function in both groups was less affected by the transplantation after 3 weeks than the rod-mediated function. Conclusions: Although significant functional and structural recovery was observed after the subretinal injection of the hRPCs, the effectiveness of CsA in xenotransplantation may be a novel and potential approach for increasing retinal progenitor cell survival

Dialogue in Cross-cultural Perspective: Deciphering Communication Codes

In this chapter, we take a very preliminary look at several expressive systems in order to ask: Is there something like “dialogue” in each, as a concept and practice. We explore the expressive systems-in-use both the relevant terms in several languages AND the practices being referenced with those terms. The analyses focus on Blackfeet, Chinese, Finnish, and Hungarian expressive systems. We find that the systems, considered together, reveal a wide variety of possibilities that are active when “dialogue” is mentioned, and translated. The analyses we present follow a general program of inquiry in ethnographic studies of communication generally, and cross-cultural communication in particular (see Carbaugh, 1990; Scollon and Scollon, 1995). Our methodology is a version of speech codes theory (Philipsen, 19997), and cultural discourse analysis (Carbaugh, 1996, 2005; Carbaugh, Gibson, and Milburn, 1995), focusing specifically on dialogue as a cultural term for talk and pragmatic action (Carbaugh, 1989)

Genome-wide association study of quality traits and starch pasting properties of maize kernels

Abstract Background Starch are the main nutritional components of maize (Zea mays L.), and starch pasting properties are widely used as essential indicators for quality estimation. Based on the previous studies, various genes related to pasting properties have been identified in maize. However, the loci underlying variations in starch pasting properties in maize inbred lines remain to be identified. Results To investigate the genetic architecture of these traits, the starch pasting properties were examined based on 292 maize inbred lines, which were genotyped with the MaizeSNP50 BeadChip composed of 55,126 evenly spaced, random SNPs. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) implemented in the software package FarmCPU was employed to identify genomic loci for the starch pasting properties. 48 SNPs were found to be associated with pasting properties. Moreover, 37 candidate genes were correlated with pasting properties. Among the candidate genes, GRMZM2G143646 and GRMZM2G166407 were associated with breakdown and final viscosity significantly, and both genes encode PPR (Pentatricopeptide repeat) protein. We used GWAS to explore candidate genes of maize starch pasting properties in this study. The identified candidate genes will be useful for further understanding of the genetic architecture of starch pasting properties in maize. Conclusion This study showed a complex regulation network about maize quality trait and starch pasting properties. It may provide some useful markers for marker assisted selection and a basis for cloning the genes behind these SNPs

Construction of CoP2-Mo4P3/NF Heterogeneous Interfacial Electrocatalyst for Boosting Water Splitting

Developing highly efficient, cost effective and durable bifunctional electrocatalyst remains a key challenge for overall water splitting. Herein, a bifunctional catalyst CoP2-Mo4P3/NF with rich heterointerfaces was successfully prepared by a two-step hydrothermal-phosphorylation method. The synergistic interaction between CoP2 and Mo4P3 heterogeneous interfaces can optimize the electronic structure of active sites, leading to the weak adsorption of H on the Mo sites and the increased redox activity of the Co site, resultantly improving the HER/OER bifunctional catalytic activity. The synthesized CoP2-Mo4P3/NF catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity in 1.0 M KOH with low overpotentials of 77.6 and 300.3 at 100 mA cm−2 for HER and OER, respectively. Additionally, the assembled CoP2-Mo4P3/NF||CoP2-Mo4P3/NF electrolyzer delivers a current density of 100 mA cm−2 at a cell voltage of 1.59 V and remains stable for at least 370 h at 110 mA cm−2, indicating the potential application prospective in water splitting

Haploinsufficiency leads to neurodegeneration in C9ORF72 ALS/FTD human induced motor neurons

An intronic GGGGCC repeat expansion in C9ORF72 is the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but the pathogenic mechanism of this repeat remains unclear. Using human induced motor neurons (iMNs), we found that repeat-expanded C9ORF72 was haploinsufficient in ALS. We found that C9ORF72 interacted with endosomes and was required for normal vesicle trafficking and lysosomal biogenesis in motor neurons. Repeat expansion reduced C9ORF72 expression, triggering neurodegeneration through two mechanisms: accumulation of glutamate receptors, leading to excitotoxicity, and impaired clearance of neurotoxic dipeptide repeat proteins derived from the repeat expansion. Thus, cooperativity between gain- and loss-of-function mechanisms led to neurodegeneration. Restoring C9ORF72 levels or augmenting its function with constitutively active RAB5 or chemical modulators of RAB5 effectors rescued patient neuron survival and ameliorated neurodegenerative processes in both gain- and loss-of-function C9ORF72 mouse models. Thus, modulating vesicle trafficking was able to rescue neurodegeneration caused by the C9ORF72 repeat expansion. Coupled with rare mutations in ALS2, FIG4, CHMP2B, OPTN and SQSTM1, our results reveal mechanistic convergence on vesicle trafficking in ALS and FTD