Agents of May Fourth. Jing Yinyu, Xu Zhongnian, and the Early Introduction of Modern Chinese Literature in France

Jing Yinyu (1901-1931?) and Xu Zhongnian (1904-1981) played a pivotal role in the dissemination of modern Chinese literature in France at the turn of the 1930s. Best known as Lu Xun’s first translator into a Western language and a friend of Romain Rolland’s, Jing compiled the Anthologie des conteurs chinois modernes in 1929. In his Anthologie de la littérature chinoise. Des origines à nos jours, published in 1932, Xu also devoted a section to recent literary developments. By analyzing the nature of the two projects, the translated corpora, and their paratexts, I will describe the features of Jing’s and Xu’s dissemination of May Fourth literature in France and scrutinize their artistic and ideological stance vis-à-vis the new literary scene. Ultimately, I will attempt to pinpoint in what terms the two scholars-cum-translators’ agency contributed to foreign readers’ awareness of the cultural, social and political experience of the May Fourth Movement

Chronic kidney disease and use of dental services in a united states public healthcare system: a retrospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As several studies have shown an association between periodontal disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD), regular dental care may be an important strategy for reducing the burden of CKD. Access to dental care may be limited in the US public health system.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this retrospective cohort study of 6,498 adult patients with (n = 2,235) and without (n = 4,263) CKD and at least 12 months of follow-up within the San Francisco Department of Public Health Community Health Network clinical databases, we examined the likelihood of having a dental visit within the observation period (2005-2010) using Cox proportional hazards models. To determine whether dental visits reflected a uniform approach to preventive service use in this setting, we similarly examined the likelihood of having an eye visit among those with diabetes, for whom regular retinopathy screening is recommended. We defined CKD status by average estimated glomerular filtration rate based on two or more creatinine measurements ≥ 3 months apart (no CKD, ≥ 60 ml/min/1.73 m²; CKD, < 60 ml/min/1.73 m²).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only 11.0% and 17.4% of patients with and without CKD, respectively, had at least one dental visit. Those with CKD had a 25% lower likelihood of having a dental visit [HR = 0.75, 95% CI (0.64-0.88)] than those without CKD after adjustment for confounders. Among the subgroup of patients with diabetes, 11.8% vs. 17.2% of those with and without CKD had a dental visit, while 58.8% vs. 57.8% had an eye visit.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Dental visits, but not eye visits, in a US public healthcare setting are extremely low, particularly among patients with CKD. Given the emerging association between oral health and CKD, addressing factors that impede dental access may be important for reducing the disparate burden of CKD in this population.</p

Life Events, Coping, and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among Chinese Adolescents Exposed to 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, China

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between negative life events, coping styles, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adolescent survivors exposed to 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, China. METHODS: A survey was conducted in a sample of 2250 adolescent students from two schools in Dujiangyan District, a seriously damaged area, 20 kilometers away from the epicenter, 6 months after the earthquake. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire including demographics, negative life events, coping styles, and PTSD symptoms. RESULTS: Academic pressure was the strongest predictor of adolescents' PTSD symptoms among all negative life events. Main effects of negative life events, positive coping and negative coping on PTSD symptoms were significant in both younger adolescents and older adolescents, while the moderator effects of two coping styles were found significant only within older adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Coping may play a role to moderate the relationship between post-earthquake negative life events and PTSD symptom, but the function seems to depend on the age of participants. Psychosocial coping skills training may be important in the prevention and intervention of mental health problems in adolescent survivors of traumatic earthquake

Ethnic minority disparities in progression and mortality of pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease : a systematic scoping review

Background: There are a growing number of studies on ethnic differences in progression and mortality for pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD), but this literature has yet to be synthesised, particularly for studies on mortality. Methods: This scoping review synthesized existing literature on ethnic differences in progression and mortality for adults with pre-dialysis CKD, explored factors contributing to these differences, and identified gaps in the literature. A comprehensive search strategy using search terms for ethnicity and CKD was taken to identify potentially relevant studies. Nine databases were searched from 1992 to June 2017, with an updated search in February 2020. Results: 8059 articles were identified and screened. Fifty-five studies (2 systematic review, 7 non-systematic reviews, and 46 individual studies) were included in this review. Most were US studies and compared African-American/Afro-Caribbean and Caucasian populations, and fewer studies assessed outcomes for Hispanics and Asians. Most studies reported higher risk of CKD progression in Afro-Caribbean/African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians, lower risk of mortality for Asians, and mixed findings on risk of mortality for Afro-Caribbean/African-Americans and Hispanics, compared to Caucasians. Biological factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease contributed to increased risk of progression for ethnic minorities but did not increase risk of mortality in these groups. Conclusions: Higher rates of renal replacement therapy among ethnic minorities may be partly due to increased risk of progression and reduced mortality in these groups. The review identifies gaps in the literature and highlights a need for a more structured approach by researchers that would allow higher confidence in single studies and better harmonization of data across studies to advance our understanding of CKD progression and mortality

Suppression of TGFβ-Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Like Phenotype by a PIAS1 Regulated Sumoylation Pathway in NMuMG Epithelial Cells

Epithelial-mesenchymal-transition (EMT) is a fundamental cellular process that is critical for normal development and tumor metastasis. The transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) is a potent inducer of EMT like effects, but the mechanisms that regulate TGFβ-induced EMT remain incompletely understood. Using the widely employed NMuMG mammary epithelial cells as a model to study TGFβ-induced EMT, we report that TGFβ downregulates the levels of the SUMO E3 ligase PIAS1 in cells undergoing EMT. Gain and loss of function analyses indicate that PIAS1 acts in a SUMO ligase dependent manner to suppress the ability of TGFβ to induce EMT in these cells. We also find that TGFβ inhibits sumoylation of the PIAS1 substrate SnoN, a transcriptional regulator that antagonizes TGFβ-induced EMT. Accordingly, loss of function mutations of SnoN sumoylation impair the ability of SnoN to inhibit TGFβ-induced EMT in NMuMG cells. Collectively, our findings suggest that PIAS1 is a novel negative regulator of EMT and reveal that inhibition of the PIAS1-SnoN sumoylation pathway represents a key mechanism by which TGFβ induces EMT, with important implications in normal development and tumor metastasis

Ethnic differences in the association between blood pressure components and chronic kidney disease in middle aged and older Asian adults

10.1186/1471-2369-14-86BMC Nephrology141

Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness, Carotid Plaque and Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in Chinese

Background: Our aim was to prospectively investigate the association between carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) as well as carotid plaque and incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke in Chinese, among whom data are limited. Methods and Findings: We conducted a community-based cohort study composed of 2190 participants free of cardiovascular disease at baseline in one community. During a median 10.5-year follow up, we documented 68 new cases of coronary heart disease and 94 cases of stroke. The multivariate relative risks (RRs) associated with a change of 1 standard deviation of maximal common carotid IMT were 1.38 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–1.70) for CHD and 1.47 (95% CI, 1.28–1.69) for stroke. The corresponding RRs with internal carotid IMT were 1.47 (95% CI, 1.21–1.79) for CHD and 1.52 (95% CI, 1.31–1.76) for stroke. Carotid plaque measured by the degree of diameter stenosis was also significantly associated with increased risk of CHD (p for trend<0.0001) and stroke (p for trend<0.0001). However, these associations were largely attenuated when adjusting for IMT measurements. Conclusions: This prospective study indicates a significant association between carotid IMT and incidence of CHD and stroke in Chinese adults. These measurements may be useful for cardiovascular risk assessment and stratification in Chinese

SEPTIN12 Genetic Variants Confer Susceptibility to Teratozoospermia

It is estimated that 10–15% of couples are infertile and male factors account for about half of these cases. With the advent of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), many infertile men have been able to father offspring. However, teratozoospermia still remains a big challenge to tackle. Septins belong to a family of cytoskeletal proteins with GTPase activity and are involved in various biological processes e.g. morphogenesis, compartmentalization, apoptosis and cytokinesis. SEPTIN12, identified by c-DNA microarray analysis of infertile men, is exclusively expressed in the post meiotic male germ cells. Septin12+/+/Septin12+/− chimeric mice have multiple reproductive defects including the presence of immature sperm in the semen, and sperm with bent neck (defect of the annulus) and nuclear DNA damage. These facts make SEPTIN12 a potential sterile gene in humans. In this study, we sequenced the entire coding region of SEPTIN12 in infertile men (n = 160) and fertile controls (n = 200) and identified ten variants. Among them is the c.474 G>A variant within exon 5 that encodes part of the GTP binding domain. The variant creates a novel splice donor site that causes skipping of a portion of exon 5, resulting in a truncated protein lacking the C-terminal half of SEPTIN12. Most individuals homozygous for the c.474 A allele had teratozoospermia (abnormal sperm <14%) and their sperm showed bent tail and de-condensed nucleus with significant DNA damage. Ex vivo experiment showed truncated SEPT12 inhibits filament formation in a dose-dependent manner. This study provides the first causal link between SEPTIN12 genetic variant and male infertility with distinctive sperm pathology. Our finding also suggests vital roles of SEPT12 in sperm nuclear integrity and tail development

The Effect of DNA-Dependent Protein Kinase on Adeno-Associated Virus Replication

BACKGROUND: DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is a DNA repair enzyme and plays an important role in determining the molecular fate of the rAAV genome. However, the effect this cellular enzyme on rAAV DNA replication remains elusive. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, we characterized the roles of DNA-PK on recombinant adeno-associated virus DNA replication. Inhibition of DNA-PK by a DNA-PK inhibitor or siRNA targeting DNA-PKcs significantly decreased replication of AAV in MO59K and 293 cells. Southern blot analysis showed that replicated rAAV DNA formed head-to-head or tail-to-tail junctions. The head-to-tail junction was low or undetectable suggesting AAV-ITR self-priming is the major mechanism for rAAV DNA replication. In an in vitro replication assay, anti-Ku80 antibody strongly inhibited rAAV replication, while anti-Ku70 antibody moderately decreased rAAV replication. Similarly, when Ku heterodimer (Ku70/80) was depleted, less replicated rAAV DNA were detected. Finally, we showed that AAV-ITRs directly interacted with Ku proteins. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Collectively, our results showed that that DNA-PK enhances rAAV replication through the interaction of Ku proteins and AAV-ITRs