Social Media Use, Media Credibility and Online Engagement Among Young Adults in China

Drawing on data collected online in China, this dissertation consists of four studies that deal – from different angles – with relationships between media use and repertoires, traditional and social media credibility, and online engagement in politics, culture, and health among young adults. In a nutshell, I investigated how much young adults trust the various media outlets at their disposal and how this affects behaviors and forms of engagement vis-à-vis topical issues in the fields of politics, culture and health in the country’s contemporary media environ

Dexmedetomidine protects gastric mucosal epithelial cells against ischemia/reperfusion-induced apoptosis by inhibiting HMGB1-mediated inflammation and oxidative stress

Purpose: To investigate the role of dexmedetomidine in gastric ischemia/reperfusion injury using gastric mucosal epithelial cell (GES-1) model. Methods: GES-1 were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation conditions, followed by increasing dexmedetomidine concentrations (0.5, 1.0, or 1.5 μM) for 4 h of reoxygenation. Cell viability and apoptosis were determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide and flow cytometry, respectively. Oxidative stress and inflammation were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Oxygen-glucose deprivation conditions induced cytotoxicity in GES-1 by decreasing cell viability and increasing apoptosis. Dexmedetomidine treatment significantly increased the cell viability of hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced GES-1 (p < 0.01) but reduced apoptosis. Dexmedetomidine also attenuated the hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced increase in malondialdehyde and myeloperoxidase, but the decrease in superoxide dismutase and glutathione in GES-1. Moreover, upregulated tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-18 in hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced GES-1 was downregulated by dexmedetomidine treatment. Dexmedetomidine also enhanced IL-10 levels and inhibited proinflammatory factor production (p < 0.01). High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein in GES-1 was upregulated by hypoxia/reoxygenation but decreased by dexmedetomidine. HMGB1 over-expression attenuated the dexmedetomidine-induced increase in cell viability and the decrease in apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation in hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced GES-1 (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine protects GES-1 against ischemia/reperfusion-induced apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress by inhibiting HMGB1, thus providing a potential strategy for treating gastric ischemia/reperfusion injury. Keywords: Dexmedetomidine; gastric mucosal epithelial cells; Ischemia/reperfusion; Apoptosis; Inflammation; Oxidative stress; High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1

Transmission and Development of Food Heritage under Rural Revitalization: Yongfeng chili sauce in China

In the context of China's rural revitalization strategy, this study explores the transmission and development of food heritage, using the case of Yongfeng Chili Sauce as a reference for local governments to formulate intangible cultural heritage protection policies. Qualitative methods were employed to gather data from family workshops and factories. Narrative analysis was conducted on data obtained from observations and interviews through fieldwork, addressing the research questions. Findings indicate, Yongfeng chili sauce carries rich culture and unique production techniques; is one of the pillar industries of the local economy; and significantly promotes rural revitalization if the local government's current concern

Rational Criticism on Technology of Visual Culture's Spreading

Visual culture has been the fact in the field of culture and communicates today. Visual culture communicates has been a great challenge to traditional culture communicate. From the visual change, people’s living surroundings are also be changed. Rational thought depending language gives way to sensible thought depending sight, image displace language become the tool of thought. The image world which focuses on technology hegemony is a world made of message and sign which are dominated by mode, code and control demonstration. Media of “unreality implosion” made illusory equal to the reality is present. There are more and more super-real and super-clear images. Today, people lack of communicate; they dislike talk to each other; there’re lots of misunderstandings in modern society. The day of post-technology provide people with several new Medias and communicative ways. Everyone can be the subject by using the new media of high technology but low-skill operating. At the back of technology, there are many kinds of communication texts. The culture value orientation of Mass communication becomes amusing and ordinary. The communicate bureau’s value conception and behaviors cosmos in post-technology times become more instability. Keywords: visual culture, media technology, post-technology times, amusement Résumé La culture visuelle est déja devenue la réalité dans les domaines de culture et de diffusion. La diffusion de la culture visuelle constitue un défi considérable pour la diffusion culturelle traditionnelle. Le « virage visuel » qu’il s’en suit change l’environnement d’existance de l’homme : la réflexion rationnelle tablant sur la langue fait place à la pensée sensible s’appuyant sur la vision ; l’image devient l’outil de la pensée en remplaçant la langue. Le monde des images fictives ayant pour foyer la suprématie technique est un monde des informations et signes dominé par le modèle, le code, le signe, et la cybernétique. Les médias font égaler la réalité ficfive et la réalité présente par « l’explosion interne » de la réalité. Des images visuelles super-réelles et super-claires arrivent à flot continu. Donc, le grand publique se tait, on manque de communication et s’enferment sur soi-même. La société, pleine de malententus, dépérit faute de feedback. Les nouveaux médias qui demandent peu de technique permettent à chacun de devenir le sujet de l’action de diffusion. La nouvelle ère où la diffusion individuelle et la diffusion de masse s’entremêlent est ainsi créée. Avec le soutien de la technique, des contenus de diffusion de toutes sortes apparaissent sous nos yeux. La diffusion de masse tend au divertissement et sa valeur culturelle diminue. La notion de valeur et l’ordre d’action des groupes sociaux de diffusion à l’époque post-technique prennent une caractéristique instable. Mots-clés : culture visuelle, technique de diffusion, époque post-technique, tendance au divertissement 摘 要 視覺文化己經成為當下文化領域和傳播領域的現實。視覺文化傳播對傳統的文化傳播構成了巨大的挑戰。由此引發的“視覺轉向”改變了人的生存環境，依賴語言的理性思考讓位於視覺的感性思維，圖像取代語言成為思維的工具。以技術霸權為焦點的擬像世界是一個由模型、符碼和控制論所支配的資訊與符號的世界。傳媒以一種“真實的內爆”使虛幻和在場的真實等同。超真實、超清晰的視覺圖像紛至遝來。於是，大眾緘默，當代人缺乏交流、封閉心靈、充滿誤解與誤讀，社會也因缺乏回饋而消隱。 低技能操作的新媒體，每個人都可以成為傳播行為的主體，並由此開創了個人傳播和大眾傳播交融的新局面，在技術支援下，參差不齊的傳播內容頻頻出現在人們眼前，大眾傳播的文化價值取向走向娛樂化、低微化。後技術時代的傳播社群的價值觀念與行為秩序出現不穩定性。關鍵詞：視覺文化；媒介技術；後技術時代；娛樂

Cross-Media Usage Repertoires and Their Political Impacts:The Case of China

This study takes a repertoire-oriented approach to examining how social and traditional media usage affect political engagement in China. Building on previous studies and giving them a new direction, we examine how various social media platforms and traditional media outlets are combined in cross-media repertoires of young Chinese adults. We do this with the help of survey data collected in mainland China. Using the Step-3 approach of latent class analysis, we then consider how these repertoires can be explained by various individual and contextual factors and what impact the repertoires themselves have on various forms of political involvement. The study identifies 6 distinctive media repertoires: digitally focused, communication oriented, minimal users, moderate omnivores, voracious omnivores, and print interested. Repertoires are mainly correlated with age, education, and perceived media credibility. In China, young adults with the most omnivorous and print-oriented media repertoires display the highest levels of political trust, political interest, and online political engagement. The study also discusses the implications of these results

A Bioinspired Adaptive Congestion-Avoidance Routing for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Traditional mobile Ad Hoc network routing protocols are mainly based on the Shortest Path, which possibly results in many congestion nodes that incur routing instability and rerouting. To mitigate the side-efforts, this paper proposed a new bioinspired adaptive routing protocol (ATAR) based on a mathematics biology model ARAS. This paper improved the ARAS by reducing the randomness and by introducing a new routing-decision metric "the next-hop fitness" which was denoted as the congestion level of node and the length of routing path. In the route maintenance, the nodes decide to forward the data to next node according to a threshold value of the fitness. In the recovery phase, the node will adopt random manner to select the neighbor as the next hop by calculation of the improved ARAS. With this route mechanism, the ATAR could adaptively circumvent the congestion nodes and the rerouting action is taken in advance. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulation results show that the ATAR protocol outperforms AODV and MARAS in terms of delivery ratio, ETE delay, and the complexity. In particular, ATAR can efficiently mitigate the congestion

The next widespread bamboo flowering poses a massive risk to the giant panda

The IUCN Red List has downgraded several species from “endangered” to “vulnerable” that still have largely unknown extinction risks. We consider one of those downgraded species, the giant panda, a bamboo specialist. Massive bamboo flowering could be a natural disaster for giant pandas. Using scenario analysis, we explored possible impacts of the next bamboo flowering in the Qinling and Minshan Mountains that are home to most giant pandas. Our results showed that the Qinling Mountains could experience large-scale bamboo flowering leading to a high risk of widespread food shortages for the giant pandas by 2020. The Minshan Mountains could similarly experience a large-scale bamboo flowering with a high risk for giant pandas between 2020 and 2030 without suitable alternative habitat in the surrounding areas. These scenarios highlight thus-far unforeseen dangers of conserving giant pandas in a fragmented habitat. We recommend advance measures to protect giant panda from severe population crashes when flowering happens. This study also suggests the need to anticipate and manage long-term risks to other downgraded species

Abnormal Voxel-Wise Degree Centrality in Patients With Late-Life Depression: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

Objectives:Late-life depression (LLD) has negative impacts on somatic, emotional and cognitive domains of the lives of patients. Elucidating the abnormality in the brain networks of LLD patients could help to strengthen the understanding of LLD pathophysiology, however, the studies exploring the spontaneous brain activity in LLD during the resting state remain limited. This study aimed at identifying the voxel-level whole-brain functional connectivity changes in LLD patients. Methods:Fifty patients with late-life depression (LLD) and 33 healthy controls were recruited. All participants underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan to assess the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) changes in the patients. Furthermore, DC was compared between two patient subgroups, the late-onset depression (LOD) and the early-onset depression (EOD). Results:Compared with the healthy controls, LLD patients showed increased DC in the inferior parietal lobule, parahippocampal gyrus, brainstem and cerebellum (p < 0.05, AlphaSim-corrected). LLD patients also showed decreased DC in the somatosensory and motor cortices and cerebellum (p < 0.05, AlphaSim-corrected). Compared with EOD patients, LOD patients showed increased centrality in the superior and middle temporal gyrus and decreased centrality in the occipital region (p < 0.05, AlphaSim-corrected). No significant correlation was found between the DC value and the symptom severity or disease duration in the patients after the correction for multiple comparisons. Conclusions:These findings indicate that the intrinsic abnormality of network centrality exists in a wide range of brain areas in LLD patients. LOD patients differ with EOD patients in cortical network centrality. Our study might help to strengthen the understanding of the pathophysiology of LLD and the potential neural substrates underlie related emotional and cognitive impairments observed in the patients