Privileged daughters? Gendered mobility among highly educated Chinese female migrants in the UK

The one-child generation daughters born to middle-class Chinese parents enjoy the privilege of concentrated family resources and the opportunity for education overseas. We focus on the “privileged daughters” who have studied abroad and remained overseas as professionals. Using three cases of post-student female migrants who were of different ages and at different life stages, we situate their socioeconomic mobility in the context of intergenerational relationships and transnational social space. Drawing on further interview data from the same project we argue that, although the “privileged daughters” have achieved geographical mobility and upward social mobility, through education and a career in a Western country, their life choices remain heavily influenced by their parents in China. Such findings highlight the transnationally transferred gendered burden among the relatively “elite” cohort, thus revealing a more nuanced gendered interpretation of transnational socioeconomic mobility

The naturalisation of motherhood within marriage and its implications for Chinese academic women

As a result of the one-child policy implemented in 1979, daughters born into urban households have benefited from unprecedented educational investment due to the lack of competition from brothers (Fong, 2006). In recent years, a Confucian discourse of filial piety was adopted by the party-state to tackle population risks and counter individualism, which drew on “traditional” notions of gender and generational hierarchy to reinforce the heterosexual family as the main welfare provider (Zheng, 2018; Qi, 2014). The 1980s only-child generation raised under this ideology has now reached the age of marrying, child-raising and establishing a career. This paper investigates how gender affects the career and reproductive choices of China’s well-educated daughters, particularly those working in academia. Drawing on a sub-set of a larger sample, I focus on data from interviews with eight women who currently work in Chinese universities and are at different life stages. I illustrate how, in spite of being at the top of the ivory tower, the gender stereotype that a woman’s primary responsibility is towards her family poses a major obstacle to those who seek career progression. I analyse how the existing socio-political discourse constructs a naturalised female subject that is bound by reproductive norms, and the implication of this for women’s careers

The tumor burden score may be a discriminator in microwave ablation versus liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma within the Milan criteria: a propensity score matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting study

PurposeThis study aims to compare the prognostic outcome of resection (RES) and microwave ablation (MWA) in different tumor burden score (TBS) cohorts.Patients and MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 479 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who underwent RES (n = 329) or MWA (n = 150) with curative intent at our institution. We assessed their overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) using the Kaplan–Meier curve. Propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were performed to minimize selection and confounding biases. Multivariate Cox regression was used to define the association between surgical modalities and outcomes.ResultsFollowing PSM, in the TBS ≤3 cohort, the cumulative 1-, 3-, 5- year OS in the RES and MWA groups were 92.5% vs. 98.8%, 82.7% vs. 90.0%, and 82.7% vs. 83.2% (P = 0.366), respectively. The corresponding PFS rates in the RES and MWA groups were 82.7% vs. 88.0%, 63.6% vs. 68.3% and 55.2% vs. 56.3, respectively (P = 0.218). In the TBS >3 cohort, the cumulative 1-, 3-, 5- year OS between the RES and MWA groups were 92.5% vs. 95.0%, 82.8% vs. 73.2% and 76.3% vs. 55.1%, (P = 0.034), respectively. The corresponding PFS rates in the RES and MWA groups were 78.0% vs. 67.5%, 63.6% vs. 37.5% and 55.2% vs. 37.1%, respectively (P = 0.044). The IPTW analysis showed similar results as shown in PSM analysis. The multivariate Cox regression indicated that the type of surgical modality was not associated with a poorer prognostic outcome in the TBS ≤3 cohort, unlike in the TBS >3 cohort.ConclusionTBS, as a discriminator, might help guide treatment decision-making for HCC within the Milan criteria

Long-term oral administration of Huaier granules improves survival outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma patients within Milan criteria following microwave ablation: a propensity score matching and stabilized inverse probability weighting analysis

ObjectiveThis study aimed to elucidate the therapeutic effects of Huaier granules on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within the Milan criteria in patients who underwent microwave ablation (MWA).Materials and methodsA total of 228 patients were included, with 97 in the Huaier group and 131 in the control group. We evaluated progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and extrahepatic metastasis survival (EMS) using Kaplan–Meier (KM) curves with a log-rank test. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Stabilized Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting (IPTW) were performed to minimize selection and confounding biases.ResultsFollowing PSM, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year PFS rates in the Huaier and control groups were 83.5% vs 70.7%, 57.7% vs 42.6%, and 43.6% vs 31.9% (p = 0.030), respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 98.9% vs 95.6%, 83.9% vs 72.3%, and 72.2% vs 53.7% (p = 0.023), respectively. The corresponding 1-, 3-, and 5-year EMS rates were 98.9% vs 93.4%, 91.7% vs 83.7%, and 91.7% vs 78.5% (p = 0.039), respectively. Stabilized IPTW analysis of KM curves yielded results similar to those of the PSM analysis. Additionally, administering Huaier granules for at least 6 months significantly improved PFS and OS.ConclusionHuaier granules can reduce the risk of recurrence and improve the OS of patients with HCC within the Milan criteria following MWA. Administering Huaier granules for over 6 months proved beneficial

Association of inflammatory score with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with metabolic syndrome: NHANES longitudinal cohort study

BackgroundInflammatory scores are known to reflect the systemic inflammatory burden. Despite this, the association between the inflammatory score and the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains poorly understood. To address this gap in the literature, this study investigated this potential association between these two factors.MethodsA total of 3401 patients with MetS from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999–2010) were enrolled. Survival status and cause of death were obtained by linking data from the National Death Index (NDI). The inflammatory score was calculated based on the sum of the Z-scores for white blood cell (WBC) count and C-reactive protein (CRP) at baseline. The patients were divided into inflammatory score quartiles. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to determine the association between inflammatory score and mortality. Restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to explore the dose-response relationship between inflammatory score and mortality. Stratified analyses and interaction tests were conducted according to sex, age, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes, and stroke status.ResultsAfter a mean follow-up of 145.9 months, 1039 all-cause deaths and 295 cardiovascular deaths were recorded. The results of multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that compared to the lowest quartile (Q1), patients in the highest quartile (Q4) had a 1.74-fold increased risk of all-cause mortality (Model 3: HR = 1.74, 95%CI 1.30–2.32, P < 0.001) and a 1.87-fold increased risk of cardiovascular mortality (Model 3: HR = 1.87, 95%CI 1.12–3.13, P = 0.020). There was a ‘J’-shaped nonlinear relationship between the inflammatory score and all-cause mortality (P for nonlinearity = 0.001), and a marginally significant ‘J’-shaped relationship with cardiovascular mortality (P for nonlinearity = 0.057). The threshold points of the inflammatory score for adverse outcomes were - 0.643 and - 0.621, respectively.ConclusionThe inflammatory score is independently associated with increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with MetS, and risk stratification of these patients using inflammatory scores may provide specific therapeutic strategies to improve their prognosis

Impact of HIV-1 genetic diversity on disease progression: a prospective cohort study in Guangxi

The high proportion of AIDS cases and mortality rates in Guangxi underscores the urgency to investigate the influence of HIV-1 genetic diversity on disease progression in this region. Newly diagnosed HIV-1 patients were enrolled from January 2016 to December 2021, and the follow-up work and detection of CD4+T lymphocytes were carried out every six months until December 2022. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the factors affecting pre-treatment CD4+T lymphocyte counts, while local weighted regression models (LOESS) and generalized estimating equation models (GEE) were conducted to assess factors influencing CD4+T Lymphocyte Recovery. Cox regression analysis was utilized to examine the impact of subtypes on survival risk. Additionally, HIV-1 env sequences were utilized for predicting CXCR4 and CCR5 receptors. The study encompassed 1867 individuals with pol sequences and 281 with env sequences. Our findings indicate that age over 30, divorced/widowed, peasant, heterosexual infection, CRF01_AE, long-term infection, and Pre-treatment Viral load >10000 copies/ml were factors associated with higher risk for pre-treatment CD4+T lymphocyte decline. Specifically, male gender, age over 30, heterosexual infection (HETs), long-term infection, CRF01_AE, and Pre-treatment CD4 T cell counts below 350/µL were identified as risk factors impeding CD4+T lymphocyte recovery. Pre-treatment CD4+T lymphocyte counts and recovery in individuals infected with CRF01_AE were lower compared to CRF07_BC and CRF55_01B. Additionally, CRF01_AE and CRF08_BC subtypes exhibited higher mortality rates than CRF07_BC, CRF55_01B, and other subtypes. Notably, CRF01_AE demonstrated the highest percentage of CXCR4 affinity ratios. This research unveils the intricate influence of HIV-1 gene diversity on CD4+T lymphocyte dynamics and clinical outcomes. It highlights the multifaceted nature of HIV infection in Guangxi, providing novel insights into subtype-specific disease progression among HIV-infected individuals in this region

Lipopolysaccharide-induced depression-like model in mice: meta-analysis and systematic evaluation

Depression is a complex and biologically heterogeneous disorder. Recent studies have shown that central nervous system (CNS) inflammation plays a key role in the development of depression. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depression-like model in mice is commonly used to studying the mechanisms of inflammation-associated depression and the therapeutic effects of drugs. Numerous LPS-induced depression-like models in mice exist and differ widely in animal characteristics and methodological parameters. Here, we systematically reviewed studies on PubMed from January 2017 to July 2022 and performed cardinal of 170 studies and meta-analyses of 61 studies to support finding suitable animal models for future experimental studies on inflammation-associated depression. Mouse strains, LPS administration, and behavioral outcomes of these models have been assessed. In the meta-analysis, forced swimming test (FST) was used to evaluate the effect size of different mouse strains and LPS doses. The results revealed large effect sizes in ICR and Swiss mice, but less heterogeneity in C57BL/6 mice. For LPS intraperitoneal dose, the difference did not affect behavioral outcomes in C57BL/6 mice. However, in ICR mice, the most significant effect on behavioral outcomes was observed after the injection of 0.5 mg/kg LPS. Our results suggests that mice strains and LPS administration play a key role in the evaluation of behavioral outcomes in such models

Embodying the Exemplary Gender Ideal: The Lives of China's Privileged Daughters

This Thesis examines lives of urban well-educated Chinese women who were born under the One Child Policy in the 1980s. It looks into how gender affects their lives when they come to the age to marry and establish a career