Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Duke Kunshan University (DKU), a new liberal arts and science university in China, with Duke University and Wuhan University as academic partners, is an experiment in twenty-first-century characteristics and global challenges. DKU's undergraduate degree program features an innovative, integrated, and interdisciplinary curriculum focused on cross-disciplinary challenges and research experiences. Its interdisciplinary research centers and graduate programs help attract international faculty and students, while its residential setting promotes diverse, rich, and meaningful interactions beyond the classroom. The shared vision for DKU among students, parents, faculty, staff, partner universities, and other stakeholders helps ensure the university's success. And the phenomenal achievements of the first cohort of graduates from the inaugural class of 2022 is evidence that the DKU experiment is working, despite many challenges.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore some specific, current social phenomena in China that may influence consumers' ethical beliefs and practices, focusing on how some top-down, social and political changes could shape consumer behavior that needs to be understood in the Chinese context.


Design/methodology/approach
Extensive literature was critically reviewed to explore recent macro-societal reforms in China and their impact on consumers' (un)ethical practices.


Findings
The authors lay out how China, a government-led society, underwent a series of political reforms resulting in demographic shifts that differentiate it from its western, industrialized counterparts. The authors connect these societal changes with Chinese characteristics to consumers' ethical evaluations, forming a new angle to understand consumer ethics in China. The authors also draw on two empirical examples to illustrate the argument.


Originality/value
While consumer ethics are often explained by either cultural factors or individual variations, the authors discuss how one's ethical practice is shaped by one's social position, which is a product of national-level public policy. The discussions have ramifications for the study of consumers' social class and ethical practices because they take into account the elusive social positions and ambiguous social class consciousness of the Chinese population that have resulted from social mobility. The discussions may give practitioners a better understanding of the ethical rationale behind consumers' changing lifestyles especially in the Chinese context.

Abstract Background Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a malignant disease that demonstrates resistance to standard chemotherapeutic agents. Yet Active immunization using genetically modified dendritic cells holds promise for the adjuvant treatment of malignancies to eradicate or control residual disease. Cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells are a heterogeneous population of effector CD8 + T cells with diverse TCR specificities, possessing non-MHC-restricted cytolytic activities against tumor cells. Clinical studies have confirmed benefit and safety of CIK cell-based therapy for patients with malignancies. This clinical trial was conducted to evaluate efficacy and safety of genetically modified dendritic cells in combination with Cytokine-Induced Killer Cell (gmDCs-CIK) treatment of patients with RCC. Methods 28 patients with advanced renal cancer were admitted to Affiliated Hospital of Academy of Military Medical Sciences from December 2010 to March 2012 and treated by gmDCs-CIK. Clinical efficacy and safety between pre- and post-treatment were compared. Results This analysis showed an objective response rate (ORR) of 39% and a disease control rate (DCR) of as 75%. There is no significant relationship between clinical efficacy and whether metastasis occurred or not (P > 0.05). There is no significant relationship between ORR and cycles of treatment (P > 0.05), but DCR was significantly related with cycles of treatment (P < 0.05). No clinically significant side effects were observed. There were no significant changes of T cell subsets including CD3 + , CD4 + , CD8 + , CD4 + CD25 + Treg cells except Th1 in peripheral blood between day 30 after immunotherapy and 1 day before immunotherapy in 11 patients. Conclusion DC-CIK is feasible and effective in treating advanced renal cancer and thus provides a new approach. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01924156 . Registration date: August 14, 2013.

Abstract
Background
Few studies have utilized whole blood samples to investigate the association between metal mixture exposure during early pregnancy and spontaneous preterm birth (SPB). We conduct this nested case–control study to investigate both the independent and joint effect of each metal, and identify critical metals in the metal mixture.

Results
A total of 120 pregnant women with SPB and 120 pregnant women with full-term delivery were selected from the prospective birth cohort. We measured 14 metal concentrations in maternal blood collected during 10–13 weeks gestation. Conditional logistic regression showed that high concentrations of vanadium (V), magnesium, and copper were positively associated with SPB (Adjusted OR = 5.76 (95% CI 2.46–13.53), 3.64 (95% CI 1.64–8.09), 2.88 (95% CI 1.29–6.41), respectively). Moderate manganese (Mn) concentration (50th–75th percentile) group had the lowest estimated OR (Adjusted OR = 0.32 (95% CI 0.13–0.76)). The high level of strontium (Sr) was negatively associated with SPB (Adjusted OR = 0.39 (95% CI 0.17–0.91)). The BKMR model showed a significant positive joint effect of metal mixture exposure on SPB, while V was the most important metal. The non-linear effects of V and lead (Pb) on SPB, and the interaction effects between V–Pb, Sr–Mn were also revealed.

Conclusions
Maternal blood metal mixtures in the first trimester were found to be positively associated with SPB, with V exhibiting the strongest independent association. Mn had a potential U-shaped association with SPB. Elimination of metal contamination in the environment has a positive impact on maternal and child health.