The Globalization of Chinese Culture and Goldblatt’s Translation of Chinese Literature—A Case Study of Big Breasts and Wide Hips

In recent years, with the uprising of China in the stage of the world, it becomes more and more urgent for the globalization of the Chinese culture in order to boost the soft power of the country. This article argues about the importance of cultural globalization and the important role that the translation of literary works plays during this process. To provide a scientific interpretation and illustration of the methods of culture translation, the author chooses the Chinese version of Big Breasts and Wide Hips by Mo Yan and the English version translated by American scholar Goldblatt as the study case. This article compares the two versions and from which some examples of culture translation are discussed here. The conclusion of the article is that, in order to globalize the Chinese culture more effectively, the translator should put the reader as his first priority, know both cultures and languages well and try to reduce cultural mistranslation to the smallest degree

The Relationship between Flow Experience in Leisure and Life Satisfaction in Undergraduates

Objective: To understand the current situation of undergraduates' flow experience in leisure and life satisfaction, and to explore the relationship between the two. Methods: A stratified random sampling method was used to select 781 undergraduates (377 males and 410 females) from 7 colleges and universities in Guangdong Province. They were investigated using the Flow Experience in Leisure Questionnaire (FELQ) and the Youth Life Satisfaction Scale (YLSS). Results: The total scores of FELQ and YLSS of the students in this group are (161.73 ± 19.81) and (174.45 ± 26.50). FELQ's unity of knowledge and action, challenge and skill balance, concentration, grade ranking, family economic status are positively related to YLSS 'life satisfaction (β = .227, .115, .098, .158, .082, P < .05); "Like to sleep during leisure" is negatively correlated with life satisfaction of YLSS (β =-. 097, P <.05); FELQ's unity of knowledge and action, concentration, grade ranking and family economic status are positively related to YLSS's self-satisfaction (β = .286, .126, .194, .096, P <.01); "Like to sleep during leisure” is negatively correlated with YLSS ’s self-satisfaction (β =-. 091, P <.01); FELQ ’s unity of knowledge and action, challenge and skill balance, father’s occupation, “like self-study in leisure” are positively related to YLSS ’environmental satisfaction (β = .198, .131, .075, .073, P <.05); "Like to sleep during leisure", gender and YLSS environment satisfaction negatively correlated (β =-. 094, -.091, P <.01). Conclusion: Flow experience in leisure, types of leisure activities, gender, grade ranking and family factors (family economic status and father's occupation) may be related factors for the development of college students' life satisfaction

Group-Based Asynchronous Distributed Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers in Multicore Cluster

The distributed alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm is one of the effective methods to solve the global consensus optimization problem. Considering the differences between the communication of intra-nodes and inter-nodes in multicore cluster, we propose a group-based asynchronous distributed ADMM (GAD-ADMM) algorithm: based on the traditional star topology network, the grouping layer is added. The workers are grouped according to the process allocation in nodes and model similarity of datasets, and the group local variables are used to replace the local variables to compute the global variable. The algorithm improves the communication efficiency of the system by reducing communication between nodes and accelerates the convergence speed by relaxing the global consistency constraint. Finally, the algorithm is used to solve the logistic regression problem in a multicore cluster. The experiments on the Ziqiang 4000 showed that the GAD-ADMM reduces the system time cost by 35 % compared with the AD-ADMM

The Hydrodynamic Interaction in Polymer Solutions Simulated with Dissipative Particle Dynamics

We analyzed extensively the dynamics of polymer chains in solutions simulated with dissipative particle dynamics (DPD), with a special focus on the potential influence of a low Schmidt number of a typical DPD fluid on the simulated polymer dynamics. It has been argued that a low Schmidt number in a DPD fluid can lead to underdevelopment of the hydrodynamic interaction in polymer solutions. Our analyses reveal that equilibrium polymer dynamics in dilute solution, under a typical DPD simulation conditions, obey the Zimm model very well. With a further reduction in the Schmidt number, a deviation from the Zimm model to the Rouse model is observed. This implies that the hydrodynamic interaction between monomers is reasonably developed under typical conditions of a DPD simulation. Only when the Schmidt number is further reduced, the hydrodynamic interaction within the chains becomes underdeveloped. The screening of the hydrodynamic interaction and the excluded volume interaction as the polymer volume fraction is increased are well reproduced by the DPD simulations. The use of soft interaction between polymer beads and a low Schmidt number do not produce noticeable problems for the simulated dynamics at high concentrations, except that the entanglement effect which is not captured in the simulations.Comment: 27 pages, 13 page

Pilus of Streptococcus pneumoniae: structure, function and vaccine potential

The pilus is an extracellular structural part that can be detected in some Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) isolates (type I pili are found in approximately 30% of strains, while type II pili are found in approximately 20%). It is anchored to the cell wall by LPXTG-like motifs on the peptidoglycan. Two kinds of pili have been discovered, namely, pilus-1 and pilus-2. The former is encoded by pilus islet 1 (PI-1) and is a polymer formed by the protein subunits RrgA, RrgB and RrgC. The latter is encoded by pilus islet 2 (PI-2) and is a polymer composed mainly of the structural protein PitB. Although pili are not necessary for the survival of S. pneumoniae, they serve as the structural basis and as virulence factors that mediate the adhesion of bacteria to host cells and play a direct role in promoting the adhesion, colonization and pathogenesis of S. pneumoniae. In addition, as candidate antigens for protein vaccines, pili have promising potential for use in vaccines with combined immunization strategies. Given the current understanding of the pili of S. pneumoniae regarding the genes, proteins, structure, biological function and epidemiological relationship with serotypes, combined with the immunoprotective efficacy of pilins as protein candidates for vaccines, we here systematically describe the research status and prospects of S. pneumoniae pili and provide new ideas for subsequent vaccine research and development

Pressure Driven Flow of Polymer Solutions in Nanoscale Slit Pores

Polymer solutions subject to pressure driven flow and in nanoscale slit pores are systematically investigated using the dissipative particle dynamics approach. We investigated the effect of molecular weight, polymer concentration and flow rate on the profiles across the channel of the fluid and polymer velocities, polymers density, and the three components of the polymers radius of gyration. We found that the mean streaming fluid velocity decreases as the polymer molecular weight or/and polymer concentration is increased, and that the deviation of the velocity profile from the parabolic profile is accentuated with increase in polymer molecular weight or concentration. We also found that the distribution of polymers conformation is highly anisotropic and non-uniform across the channel. The polymer density profile is also found to be non-uniform, exhibiting a local minimum in the center-plane followed by two symmetric peaks. We found a migration of the polymer chains either from or towards the walls. For relatively long chains, as compared to the thickness of the slit, a migration towards the walls is observed. However, for relatively short chains, a migration away from the walls is observed.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figure

Planning analysis for locally advanced lung cancer: dosimetric and efficiency comparisons between intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), single-arc/partial-arc volumetric modulated arc therapy (SA/PA-VMAT)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Purpose</p> <p>To analyze the differences between the intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), single/partial-arc volumetric modulated arc therapy (SA/PA-VMAT) techniques in treatment planning for locally advanced lung cancer.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>12 patients were retrospectively studied. In each patient's case, several parameters were analyzed based on the dose-volume histograms (DVH) of the IMRT, SA/PA-VMAT plans respectively. Also, each plan was delivered to a phantom for time comparison.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The SA-VMAT plans showed the superior target dose coverage, although the minimum/mean/maximum doses to the target were similar. For the total and contralateral lungs, the higher V_5/10, lower V_20/30and mean lung dose (MLD) were observed in the SA/PA-VMAT plans (<it>p </it>< 0.05, respectively). The PA-VMAT technique improves the dose sparing (V₂₀, V₃₀and MLD) of the controlateral lung more notably, comparing to those parameters of the IMRT and SA-VMAT plans respectively. The delivered monitor units (MUs) and treatment times were reduced significantly with VMAT plans, especially PA-VMAT plans (for MUs: mean 458.3 <it>vs</it>. 439.2 <it>vs</it>. 435.7 MUs, <it>p </it>< 0.05 and for treatment time: mean 13.7 <it>vs</it>. 10.6 <it>vs</it>. 6.4 minutes, <it>p </it>< 0.01).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The SA-VMAT technique achieves highly conformal dose distribution to the target. Comparing to the IMRT plans, the higher V_5/10, lower V_20/30and MLD were observed in the total and contralateral lungs in the VMAT plans, especially in the PA-VMAT plans. The SA/PA-VMAT plans also reduced treatment time with more efficient dose delivering. But the clinical benefit of the VMAT technique for locally advanced lung cancer needs further investigations.</p

The serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 level is an independent predictor of recurrence after ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated whether the serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 level is an independent predictor of recurrence after catheter ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation. METHODS: Fifty-eight consecutive patients with persistent atrial fibrillation were enrolled and underwent catheter ablation. The serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 level was detected before ablation and its relationship with recurrent arrhythmia was analyzed at the end of the follow-up. RESULTS: After a mean follow-up of 12.1±7.2 months, 21 (36.2%) patients had a recurrence of their arrhythmia after catheter ablation. At baseline, the matrix metalloproteinase-9 level was higher in the patients with recurrence than in the non-recurrent group (305.77±88.90 vs 234.41±93.36 ng/ml, respectively, p=0.006). A multivariate analysis showed that the matrix metalloproteinase-9 level was an independent predictor of arrhythmia recurrence, as was a history of atrial fibrillation and the diameter of the left atrium. CONCLUSION: The serum matrix metalloproteinase-9 level is an independent predictor of recurrent arrhythmia after catheter ablation in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation

Role of perioperative nutritional status and enteral nutrition in predicting and preventing post-operative complications in patients with Crohn’s disease

BackgroundPerioperative immune-nutritional status is correlated with post-operative outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate whether pre-operative nutritional status could predict post-operative complications in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and whether pre-operative enteral nutrition (EN) can prevent post-operative complications.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study analyzed the electronic health records of 173 patients diagnosed with CD in Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai, China, between August 2015 and May 2021: 122 patients had pre-operative nutritional support while 51 patients underwent surgery without pre-operative nutritional support. The pre-operative nutritional status, disease activity index, disease-related data, frequency of multiple surgery, operative data, and post-operative characters in each group were compared to determine whether the nutritional support and status could significantly affect post-operative outcome. One-to-one propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to limit demographic inequalities between the two groups.ResultsAfter PSM, no statistically significant differences were found in pre-operative patient basic characteristics between the two groups of 47 patients (98 patients in all) included in this study. Overall, 21 patients developed 26 post-operative complications. In terms of pre-operative nutritional status, the level of serum albumin (ALB), pre-albumin (pre-ALB), and hemoglobin (Hb) in the nutrition group were statistically higher than that in the control group. We also observed a statistically significant decrease in post-operative complications, need for emergency surgery, and staged operations, while the rate of laparoscopic surgery was higher in the nutrition group compared to the non-nutritional group. Post-operative complications were related to pre-operative nutritional condition, which indicated that EN may improve the nutritional status and reduced the rate of post-operative complications.ConclusionPre-operative nutritional status is correlated with post-operative outcomes while EN plays a positive role in preventing the post-operative complications. EN is useful for improving the pre-operative nutritional status and reducing the post-operative adverse events for CD patients undergoing surgery

Biogeography and Virulence of Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is commonly carried asymptomatically in the human anterior nares and occasionally enters the bloodstream to cause invasive disease. Much of the global diversity of S. aureus remains uncharacterised, and is not clear how disease propensity varies between strains, and between host populations.We compared 147 isolates recovered from five kindergartens in Chengdu, China, with 51 isolates contemporaneously recovered from cases of pediatric infection from the main hospital serving this community. The samples were characterised by MLST, the presence/absence of PVL, and antibiotic resistance profiling.Genotype frequencies within individual kindergartens differ, but the sample recovered from cases of disease shows a general enrichment of certain MLST genotypes and PVL positive isolates. Genotypes under-represented in the disease sample tend to correspond to a single sequence cluster, and this cluster is more common in China than in other parts of the world.Virulence propensity likely reflects a synergy between variation in the core genome (MLST) and accessory genome (PVL). By combining evidence form biogeography and virulence we demonstrate the existence of a "native" clade in West China which has lowered virulence, possibility due to acquired host immunity