Podcasts about Shandong University

With each presidential decree, Donald Trump pushes the boundaries of his executive power. Which direction will the future of American democracy take? In his second turn, President Trump weaponizes the legal system—rewarding his allies while taking revenge on his enemies. Capitol rioters who had received prison sentences up to twenty years were released overnight. Their prosecuters got fired. Trump disregards federal court rulings, ignores acts of Congress, and defies both the Constitution's text and Supreme Court precedents.Is American democracy resilient enough to withstand this assault on the rule of law? What does this mean for the U.S.'s role in the world? And what will happen to the liberal and democratic world order when America is no longer its main advocate?About the speakers:Kimberly Wehle is a tenured law professor, writer, public speaker, lawyer, and legal contributor for ABC News. She is an expert in civil procedure, constitutional law, administrative law, and the separation of powers.Prof. Dr. Geert-Jan Alexander Knoops is a lawyer in international and criminal law. He is a professor by special appointment of Politics of International Law at the University of Amsterdam and a visiting Professor of International Criminal Law at Shandong University in Jinan, China.Laila Frank is a journalist specializing in the United States. She writes for Vrij Nederland, created the in-depth podcast series Welkom in Washington (BNNVARA, NPO RADIO1), and is one of the hosts of Bureau Buitenland (VPRO). She spends part of the year in the U.S. and part in the Netherlands.Supported by Vfonds.Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Hommel ist ein deutscher Psychologe und international anerkannter Wissenschaftler. Er absolvierte 1987 sein Diplom und promovierte 1990 jeweils an der Universität Bielefeld. Im Anschluss war er von 1997 bis 1999 Leiter einer Arbeitsgruppe am Max-Planck-Institut für psychologische Forschung in München und leitete von 2000 bis 2016 die Abteilung für Kognitive Psychologie an der Universität Leiden in den Niederlanden. Seit 2012 ist er Mitglied der Nationalen Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina und forscht seit 2020 an der Shandong University in China. Zudem ist er seit 2021 an der TU Dresden tätig. In seinem Buch „Wir triggern uns zu Tode“ erläutert er, wie stark unsere Gesellschaft von emotionalen Reizen gesteuert wird und wir diese häufig nicht bewusst wahrnehmen. In unserem Gespräch beleuchten wir seine Forschungsschwerpunkte und sprechen darüber, was ein „Trigger“ ist und wie Neurosen in unserem Alltag entstehen. Hommel erklärt, warum Gefühle für unsere Entscheidungsfindung unerlässlich sind, aber auch, weshalb übertriebene Empathie der Gesellschaft schaden kann. Wir diskutieren seine Forschungstätigkeit in China, die Bedeutung von Emotionen für unsere geistige Gesundheit und wie wir lernen können, mit der zunehmenden Emotionalisierung in Medien und Öffentlichkeit umzugehen. Dieses Interview liefert spannende Einblicke in das Denken eines Wissenschaftlers, der uns zeigt, warum wir in der heutigen Zeit besonders empfindlich auf emotionale Reize reagieren und wie wir unsere Resilienz stärken können.

In the third of our special episodes focussing on GU Oncology in China, we are delighted to welcome back our GU Cast China Editor, Professor Yao Zhu, who has selected three huge prostate cancer highlights from the recent #ESMO24 meeting in Barcelona.  We are joined by Professor Shouzhen Chen (Qilu Hospital, Shandong University), and Professor Zhenhua Liu (Sichuan University, West China Hospital) to discuss PEACE-3, ARANOTE, and UpFront PSMA, and in particular to consider what these data mean to health care professionals and patients in China. This is a Themed Podcast as part of our Gold Partnership with Bayer Pharmaceuticals in China. We are very grateful to Bayer China for helping us promote GU Cast in China and supporting these Themed Episodes.Even better on our YouTube channelYou can also catch our recent full GU Cast Conference Highlights from #ESMO24 here 

    Today's Sponsor: YouTube TVhttp://thisistheconversationproject.com/youtubetv       Today's Rundown:A double dose of Obama firepower, a doting spouse and a dance party: Takeaways from Day 2 of the DNChttps://apnews.com/article/harris-dnc-convention-obama-project-2025-490981a504638749cf2c18848506c74b  Jennifer Lopez Files for Divorce from Ben Affleck, No Prenuphttps://www.tmz.com/2024/08/20/jennifer-lopez-ben-affleck-file-divorce/Oklahoma State football helmets to have QR codes for fans linking to NIL donation pagehttps://sports.yahoo.com/oklahoma-state-football-helmets-to-have-qr-codes-for-fans-linking-to-nil-donation-page-185217314.html Star Wars: The Acolyte Canceled After One Seasonhttps://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/star-wars-the-acolyte-canceled-no-season-two/?utm_source=smartnews.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=SmartNews%20Feed  Chappell Roan slams abuse and harassment from fans in TikTok videohttps://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/08/20/chappell-roan-stalker-comments-harassment-abuse-tiktok/74869228007/?tbref=hp  UPS driver suffering from heat exhaustion 'passed out,' got into crash, Teamsters sayhttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/08/20/ups-driver-passed-out-texas-crash-heat-exhaustion-teamsters/74869224007/?tbref=hp  Judge Gives Mike Lindell Ultimatum In $5 Million 'Prove Me Wrong' Casehttps://www.newsweek.com/mike-lindell-federal-court-minnesota-election-challenge-5-million-prove-me-wrong-1941734   Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's Daughter Shiloh Granted Name Change, Will Go by Shiloh Joliehttps://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/angelina-jolie-brad-pitts-daughter-185928560.html Website: http://thisistheconversationproject.com  Facebook: http://facebook.com/thisistheconversationproject  Twitter: http://twitter.com/th_conversation  TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@theconversationproject  YouTube: http://thisistheconversationproject.com/youtube  Podcast: http://thisistheconversationproject.com/podcasts      ONE DAY OLDER ON August 21:Kelis (45)Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (43)Usain Bolt (38) WHAT HAPPENED TODAY:1858: The first of seven debates between U.S. Senate candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas was held in Ottawa, Illinois.1912: Arthur Eldred became the first Eagle Scout, by earning 10 badges of his choice and 11 specific badges.1959: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order proclaiming Hawaii the 50th state of the union. WORD OF THE DAY: multitude [ muhl-ti-tood, -tyood ]https://www.dictionary.com/browse/multitudea large indefinite numberThe library was home to a multitude of books, offering endless knowledge and adventure to those who sought it.   DAILY AFFIRMATION: I Am Focused, Persistent, And Will Never Give Up.Enhances Skills: Affirming your focus and persistence can lead to significant improvements in your abilities. A dedicated mindset encourages continuous learning and skill enhancement, making you more adept in your personal and professional endeavors.https://www.amazon.com/100-Daily-Affirmations-Positivity-Confidence/dp/B0D2D6SS2D/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1WQBWD1QLPY95&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NRYOXILA_fPs_fuXcyiwODc6ZLTRzYtg7HkX2KxYA70.NatQgGVyJVt3ySzvXdHtT8q-IUGRsteKym8W5ZZ27dM&dib_tag=se&keywords=100+affirmations+payne&qid=1724015654&sprefix=100+affirmations+payne%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-1 PLUS, TODAY WE CELEBRATE: Sweet Tea Dayhttps://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-iced-tea-day-june-10#:~:text=June%2010%20is%20National%20Iced,random%20information%20about%20iced%20tea.Iced tea is the second most popular beverage in the world, following water. The oldest tea remains date to around 453BC. Archeologists from Shandong University and the University of Science and Technology found 2,400 year old tea remains in a royal tomb in the Shandong province. 

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.    Hello there cult awareness content nerds: We see you. We honor you. And let's be honest: We are you. In this episode we (finally!) sit down with OG anti-cult crusader Rick Alan Ross for a chat about NXIVM,  what it's like to be sued simultaneously by Keith Raniere and Werner Erhard, and the ongoing audacity of the whole weird world of  LGATs. This ALBC guest is a perennial thorn in the side of any and every modern cult that's ever culted. Get ready to get schooled, and enjoy this one, kids.   SHOW NOTES:  Rick Alan Ross is the founder and Executive Director of The Cult Education Institute. He is an internationally known expert regarding destructive cults, controversial groups and movements and author of the book "Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out." Since 1982 he has been studying, researching and responding to the problems often posed by controversial authoritarian groups and movements.   Ross has been qualified and accepted and testified as an expert witness in court proceedings across the United States including US Federal Court. He has also frequently assisted local and national law enforcement and government agencies.   He has personally assisted thousands of families in an effort to help the victims of destructive cults, groups and movements.   Ross is one of the most readily recognized experts offering analysis about destructive cults, controversial groups and movements in the world today. GQ Magazine identified "Rick Alan Ross [as] America's leading cult expert." And Britain's FHM Magazine named him "America's number one cult buster."   He has been a paid consultant for the television networks CBS, CBC and Nippon of Japan. And also was retained as a technical consultant by Miramax/Disney.   Ross' commentary has been quoted within publications such as Time Magazine, People, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe and theWashington Post.   His appearances on national television have included a wide range of venues from news programs such as the "Today Show, "CNN World News," "Dateline", ABC 20/20 and "48 Hours" to popular interview shows such as "Oprah," "Dr. Phil" and "Inside Edition."   Ross has lectured at such prestigious institutions as Dickinson College, the University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon University, Baylor University, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Wuhan University, China, Zhengzhou University, China, GuangXi International University, China, Heilongjiang University, China, Shandong University, China and Assumption University, Thailand.   Ross' analysis has been sought on virtually every major cult story for decades. Also…Let it be known far and wide, loud and clear that…   The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody's mad at you, just don't be a culty fuckwad.   Check out our lovely sponsors Join ‘A Little Bit Culty' on Patreon Get poppin' fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Cult awareness and recovery resources   CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Producer: Will Retherford Writer & Co-Creator: Jess Tardy Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin  

As 2023 draws to a close, it has become increasingly clear that there are profound misunderstandings and misapprehensions running amok in Western media narratives regarding the pecularities of the current state in China. That's precisely why there should be a high level of interest in a book of personal experience, nuanced narrative, and thoughtful observation from a Canadian academic who for a time played a unique role within China's state bureaucracy. In 2017, Daniel A. Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University—the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in China's history. The story of his time in this position is enormously illuminating, highlighting both the immense challenges and also the occasional positives, and told with a certain level of humor and empathy often missing from accounts of politically sensitive jobs in the era of Xi Jinping. His book, "The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University," is a riotously fun, informative, and eye-opening tour through modern Chinese academia. In his interview with Robert Amsterdam, Bell recounts how if some of his more "constructive" takes on events in China were found to be inconsistent with the predominant narrative, he encountered isolation from Westerners who preferred their current understanding.

Today's guest is Daniel A. Bell, a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong.  Originally from Montreal, he became a specialist in this study of Confucius from the angle of political theory, worked his way into a position at the famed Tsinghua university in Beijing before being named Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University. Bell — so far as I know — is the first westerner to be given senior responsibilities of this nature at a Chinese university, and he has written a charming book about his experiences, called The Dean of Shandong: confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University, published by Princeton University Press. Book:The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese UniversityThe State of Postsecondary Education in Canada 2023:Link to PDF

For thousands of years, Confucianism has run through the fabric of Chinese society, politics and culture. Decades of Communism has taken its toll on China, so can it still be considered a Confucian country? Joining the episode is one of the world's leading experts on the philosophy, Professor Daniel Bell. In 2017, he was appointed the dean of Shandong University, an unusual appointment for a foreigner in China but one based on his expertise in Confucianism, in the province of Confucius's birth. His new book, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese university, details some of the ups and downs of his time in that position.

For thousands of years, Confucianism has run through the fabric of Chinese society, politics and culture. Decades of Communism has taken its toll on China, so can it still be considered a Confucian country? Joining the episode is one of the world's leading experts on the philosophy, Professor Daniel Bell. In 2017, he was appointed the dean of Shandong University, an unusual appointment for a foreigner in China but one based on his expertise in Confucianism, in the province of Confucius's birth. His new book, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese university, details some of the ups and downs of his time in that position.

Despite rising numbers of people on social media claiming to have been infected with COVID-19 for a third time recently, experts have said that those reinfected most likely only had mild symptoms.尽管越来越多的网友在社交媒体上表示三度感染新冠，但专家表示，绝大多数患者症状轻微。While the phrase "third-time COVID" has trended on microblogging platform Sina Weibo, experts said that only a relatively small number of people in the general population have been infected three times and the public doesn't need to worry about a third wave of COVID-19.虽然“三阳”一词在新浪微博上受到广泛关注，但专家表示，在普通人群中仅有少部分人三次感染，公众无需担心第三波新冠疫情。The World Health Organization on Wednesday classified the EG.5 coronavirus strain as a "variant of interest" but said it did not pose more of a threat than other variants.当地时间8月9日，世界卫生组织宣布，将新冠病毒变异株EG.5归类为“需要留意的变异株”，但尚无证据表明它会比其他变异株引发更大的威胁。The EG.5 strain is a substrain of the Omicron variant and has been detected in 51 countries, according to the WHO.世界卫生组织表示，EG.5是新冠病毒奥密克戎亚变异株的亚型，目前已经在51个国家检测到该变异株。WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that while overall risk is low, based on its genetic features, immune escape characteristics and growth rate estimates, EG.5 may spread globally and contribute to a surge in case incidence.世卫组织总干事谭德塞表示，虽然总体风险较低，但根据其遗传特征、免疫逃逸特征和增长率估计，EG.5可能在全球传播并导致发病率激增。However, the risk of severe disease and death is vastly lower than it was a year ago, due to increasing population immunity — whether from vaccination, infection or both — and from early diagnosis and better clinical care.不过，由于人口免疫力的提高——无论是来自疫苗接种、感染还是两者兼而有之——以及早期诊断和更好的临床护理，新冠病毒所导致的重症和死亡风险远低于前一年。Data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Aug 3 show that the number of severe cases and cases in fever clinics both declined in July.8月3日，中国疾病预防控制中心发布数据显示，7月份全国发热门诊诊疗量以及新冠重症病例数均有所下降。All 9,591 COVID-19 cases reported in July were the Omicron variant, mostly the XBB subvariant, according to the center.中国疾病预防控制中心表示，7月份共报送9591例本土病例新冠病毒基因组有效序列，均为奥密克戎变异株，主要流行株为XBB系列变异株亚分支。Peng Jie, director of the treatment center for infectious diseases at Nanfang Hospital in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, said only a very small number of the patients treated at the hospital were third-time COVID patients, and they only had mild symptoms.广东省广州市南方医院疑难感染诊疗中心主任彭劼表示，门诊发热患者中“三阳”数量很少，症状较轻。COVID-19 is still stable and at a low level of infection in China, he told local media Nanfang Plus.在《南方Plus》采访时彭劼表示，新冠病毒疫情在中国还是处于一个相对平稳、低水平发展的阶段。He said online speculation that the next wave of COVID-19 infections might happen in November has no scientific basis, and the public does not need to worry.他说，网上关于11月可能爆发下一波新冠肺炎的猜测是没有科学依据的，公众无需担心。Wang Gang, deputy director of the infectious disease department at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, said the more times people get infected, the milder the symptoms become.山东大学齐鲁医院感染科副主任王刚表示，人们感染次数越多，症状越轻。When people get infected for the third time, it is likely they will only feel very mild symptoms and pay little attention to it, he told newspaper Dazhong Daily.在接受《大众日报》采访时王刚表示，当第三次被感染时，可能只会出现非常轻微的症状，并且很少注意。"Most people with normal immune systems do not need to worry about getting infected multiple times because their symptoms are too mild to be noticed or need medication."“症状轻到可能注意不到或者无需药物治疗，所以对于大多数免疫正常的普通人来说，不用太在意所谓几阳的问题。”Zhao Wei, director of the biosecurity research center at the School of Public Health of Southern Medical University, said the fluctuation of COVID-19 cases is still within a manageable range, and the public can rest assured.南方医科大学公共卫生学院生物安全研究中心主任赵卫表示，新冠肺炎病例的波动尚在可控范围内，公众可以放心。However, if COVID-19 infections lead to new symptoms or a significant increase of serious cases or deaths, disease control authorities will raise the alarm, and then the public will need to take more precautions, he said.赵卫说，如果新冠感染导致新的临床症状，或者重症率、病死率显著上升，疾控部门会发出警报，大众需要根据指引加强个人防护。Reinfect英 /ˌriɪn'fɛkt/美 /ˌriɪn'fɛkt/vt.使再感染Symptom英 /ˈsɪmptəm/美 /ˈsɪmptəm/n.征兆；症状

I am not now nor at any time have ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Yet I serve as dean of a large faculty of political science in a Chinese university that trains students and provincial cadres to serve the country as Communist Party officials: It's typically a post reserved for members of the CCP, given the political sensitivity of the work. That's part of the surprise. The other part is that I'm a Canadian citizen, born and bred in Montreal, without any Chinese ancestry. – Daniel A. Bell, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat in China (2023) On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University―the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China's history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls “a minor bureaucrat,” offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China's political system. It wasn't all smooth sailing―Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings―but Bell's post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today. Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianism―but soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandong's drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, “What's wrong with corruption?”), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls “the Communist comeback” since 2008, Bell predicts that China's political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism. Professor Bell's other writings mentioned in this episode include: Communitarianism and its Critics (Oxford, 1993) China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society (Princeton, 2008) The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in the Global Age (coauthored Princeton 2011) Ancient Chinese Thought - Modern Chinese Power (Trans. series: Xuetong; co-edited Princeton 2013) The China Model: Political Meritocracy and Limits of Democracy (Princeton, 2015) In this interview two book reviews were discussed: 1) "Confessions of a Sinophile" by James Crabtree in the Financial Times, and 2) "Confessions of a China Apologist" by Gordon G. Chang in The New Criterion. Professor Bell graciously responded to a question about them and adds this post-interview thought for The New Criterion reviewer: ‘since my book is banned in China I wish Mr. Chang would inform the relevant authorities that I'm an apologist for China – it might help to unban the book!' Professor Daniel A. Bell is a Canadian political theorist and currently Chair of Political Theory at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. He was previously Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He has authored eight books and edited and/or coedited as many while serving as a series editor for Princeton University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

I am not now nor at any time have ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Yet I serve as dean of a large faculty of political science in a Chinese university that trains students and provincial cadres to serve the country as Communist Party officials: It's typically a post reserved for members of the CCP, given the political sensitivity of the work. That's part of the surprise. The other part is that I'm a Canadian citizen, born and bred in Montreal, without any Chinese ancestry. – Daniel A. Bell, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat in China (2023) On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University―the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China's history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls “a minor bureaucrat,” offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China's political system. It wasn't all smooth sailing―Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings―but Bell's post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today. Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianism―but soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandong's drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, “What's wrong with corruption?”), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls “the Communist comeback” since 2008, Bell predicts that China's political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism. Professor Bell's other writings mentioned in this episode include: Communitarianism and its Critics (Oxford, 1993) China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society (Princeton, 2008) The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in the Global Age (coauthored Princeton 2011) Ancient Chinese Thought - Modern Chinese Power (Trans. series: Xuetong; co-edited Princeton 2013) The China Model: Political Meritocracy and Limits of Democracy (Princeton, 2015) In this interview two book reviews were discussed: 1) "Confessions of a Sinophile" by James Crabtree in the Financial Times, and 2) "Confessions of a China Apologist" by Gordon G. Chang in The New Criterion. Professor Bell graciously responded to a question about them and adds this post-interview thought for The New Criterion reviewer: ‘since my book is banned in China I wish Mr. Chang would inform the relevant authorities that I'm an apologist for China – it might help to unban the book!' Professor Daniel A. Bell is a Canadian political theorist and currently Chair of Political Theory at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. He was previously Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He has authored eight books and edited and/or coedited as many while serving as a series editor for Princeton University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

I am not now nor at any time have ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Yet I serve as dean of a large faculty of political science in a Chinese university that trains students and provincial cadres to serve the country as Communist Party officials: It's typically a post reserved for members of the CCP, given the political sensitivity of the work. That's part of the surprise. The other part is that I'm a Canadian citizen, born and bred in Montreal, without any Chinese ancestry. – Daniel A. Bell, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat in China (2023) On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University―the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China's history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls “a minor bureaucrat,” offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China's political system. It wasn't all smooth sailing―Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings―but Bell's post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today. Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianism―but soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandong's drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, “What's wrong with corruption?”), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls “the Communist comeback” since 2008, Bell predicts that China's political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism. Professor Bell's other writings mentioned in this episode include: Communitarianism and its Critics (Oxford, 1993) China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society (Princeton, 2008) The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in the Global Age (coauthored Princeton 2011) Ancient Chinese Thought - Modern Chinese Power (Trans. series: Xuetong; co-edited Princeton 2013) The China Model: Political Meritocracy and Limits of Democracy (Princeton, 2015) In this interview two book reviews were discussed: 1) "Confessions of a Sinophile" by James Crabtree in the Financial Times, and 2) "Confessions of a China Apologist" by Gordon G. Chang in The New Criterion. Professor Bell graciously responded to a question about them and adds this post-interview thought for The New Criterion reviewer: ‘since my book is banned in China I wish Mr. Chang would inform the relevant authorities that I'm an apologist for China – it might help to unban the book!' Professor Daniel A. Bell is a Canadian political theorist and currently Chair of Political Theory at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. He was previously Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He has authored eight books and edited and/or coedited as many while serving as a series editor for Princeton University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

I am not now nor at any time have ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Yet I serve as dean of a large faculty of political science in a Chinese university that trains students and provincial cadres to serve the country as Communist Party officials: It's typically a post reserved for members of the CCP, given the political sensitivity of the work. That's part of the surprise. The other part is that I'm a Canadian citizen, born and bred in Montreal, without any Chinese ancestry. – Daniel A. Bell, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat in China (2023) On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University―the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China's history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls “a minor bureaucrat,” offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China's political system. It wasn't all smooth sailing―Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings―but Bell's post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today. Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianism―but soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandong's drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, “What's wrong with corruption?”), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls “the Communist comeback” since 2008, Bell predicts that China's political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism. Professor Bell's other writings mentioned in this episode include: Communitarianism and its Critics (Oxford, 1993) China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society (Princeton, 2008) The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in the Global Age (coauthored Princeton 2011) Ancient Chinese Thought - Modern Chinese Power (Trans. series: Xuetong; co-edited Princeton 2013) The China Model: Political Meritocracy and Limits of Democracy (Princeton, 2015) In this interview two book reviews were discussed: 1) "Confessions of a Sinophile" by James Crabtree in the Financial Times, and 2) "Confessions of a China Apologist" by Gordon G. Chang in The New Criterion. Professor Bell graciously responded to a question about them and adds this post-interview thought for The New Criterion reviewer: ‘since my book is banned in China I wish Mr. Chang would inform the relevant authorities that I'm an apologist for China – it might help to unban the book!' Professor Daniel A. Bell is a Canadian political theorist and currently Chair of Political Theory at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. He was previously Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He has authored eight books and edited and/or coedited as many while serving as a series editor for Princeton University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

I am not now nor at any time have ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Yet I serve as dean of a large faculty of political science in a Chinese university that trains students and provincial cadres to serve the country as Communist Party officials: It's typically a post reserved for members of the CCP, given the political sensitivity of the work. That's part of the surprise. The other part is that I'm a Canadian citizen, born and bred in Montreal, without any Chinese ancestry. – Daniel A. Bell, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat in China (2023) On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University―the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China's history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls “a minor bureaucrat,” offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China's political system. It wasn't all smooth sailing―Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings―but Bell's post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today. Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianism―but soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandong's drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, “What's wrong with corruption?”), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls “the Communist comeback” since 2008, Bell predicts that China's political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism. Professor Bell's other writings mentioned in this episode include: Communitarianism and its Critics (Oxford, 1993) China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society (Princeton, 2008) The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in the Global Age (coauthored Princeton 2011) Ancient Chinese Thought - Modern Chinese Power (Trans. series: Xuetong; co-edited Princeton 2013) The China Model: Political Meritocracy and Limits of Democracy (Princeton, 2015) In this interview two book reviews were discussed: 1) "Confessions of a Sinophile" by James Crabtree in the Financial Times, and 2) "Confessions of a China Apologist" by Gordon G. Chang in The New Criterion. Professor Bell graciously responded to a question about them and adds this post-interview thought for The New Criterion reviewer: ‘since my book is banned in China I wish Mr. Chang would inform the relevant authorities that I'm an apologist for China – it might help to unban the book!' Professor Daniel A. Bell is a Canadian political theorist and currently Chair of Political Theory at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. He was previously Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He has authored eight books and edited and/or coedited as many while serving as a series editor for Princeton University Press.

I am not now nor at any time have ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Yet I serve as dean of a large faculty of political science in a Chinese university that trains students and provincial cadres to serve the country as Communist Party officials: It's typically a post reserved for members of the CCP, given the political sensitivity of the work. That's part of the surprise. The other part is that I'm a Canadian citizen, born and bred in Montreal, without any Chinese ancestry. – Daniel A. Bell, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat in China (2023) On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University―the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China's history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls “a minor bureaucrat,” offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China's political system. It wasn't all smooth sailing―Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings―but Bell's post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today. Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianism―but soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandong's drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, “What's wrong with corruption?”), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls “the Communist comeback” since 2008, Bell predicts that China's political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism. Professor Bell's other writings mentioned in this episode include: Communitarianism and its Critics (Oxford, 1993) China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society (Princeton, 2008) The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in the Global Age (coauthored Princeton 2011) Ancient Chinese Thought - Modern Chinese Power (Trans. series: Xuetong; co-edited Princeton 2013) The China Model: Political Meritocracy and Limits of Democracy (Princeton, 2015) In this interview two book reviews were discussed: 1) "Confessions of a Sinophile" by James Crabtree in the Financial Times, and 2) "Confessions of a China Apologist" by Gordon G. Chang in The New Criterion. Professor Bell graciously responded to a question about them and adds this post-interview thought for The New Criterion reviewer: ‘since my book is banned in China I wish Mr. Chang would inform the relevant authorities that I'm an apologist for China – it might help to unban the book!' Professor Daniel A. Bell is a Canadian political theorist and currently Chair of Political Theory at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. He was previously Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He has authored eight books and edited and/or coedited as many while serving as a series editor for Princeton University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am not now nor at any time have ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Yet I serve as dean of a large faculty of political science in a Chinese university that trains students and provincial cadres to serve the country as Communist Party officials: It's typically a post reserved for members of the CCP, given the political sensitivity of the work. That's part of the surprise. The other part is that I'm a Canadian citizen, born and bred in Montreal, without any Chinese ancestry. – Daniel A. Bell, The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat in China (2023) On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University―the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China's history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls “a minor bureaucrat,” offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China's political system. It wasn't all smooth sailing―Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings―but Bell's post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today. Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianism―but soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandong's drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, “What's wrong with corruption?”), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls “the Communist comeback” since 2008, Bell predicts that China's political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism. Professor Bell's other writings mentioned in this episode include: Communitarianism and its Critics (Oxford, 1993) China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society (Princeton, 2008) The Spirit of Cities: Why the Identity of a City Matters in the Global Age (coauthored Princeton 2011) Ancient Chinese Thought - Modern Chinese Power (Trans. series: Xuetong; co-edited Princeton 2013) The China Model: Political Meritocracy and Limits of Democracy (Princeton, 2015) In this interview two book reviews were discussed: 1) "Confessions of a Sinophile" by James Crabtree in the Financial Times, and 2) "Confessions of a China Apologist" by Gordon G. Chang in The New Criterion. Professor Bell graciously responded to a question about them and adds this post-interview thought for The New Criterion reviewer: ‘since my book is banned in China I wish Mr. Chang would inform the relevant authorities that I'm an apologist for China – it might help to unban the book!' Professor Daniel A. Bell is a Canadian political theorist and currently Chair of Political Theory at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. He was previously Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University (Schwarzman College and Department of Philosophy). He has authored eight books and edited and/or coedited as many while serving as a series editor for Princeton University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

Canadian Daniel Bell was educated in Canada and the UK before moving to China 20 years ago. After teaching for a few years, he went on to become the first foreign dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University from 2017 to 2022. What's unusual about this is that Shandong was the birth place of the greatest Chinese philosophers including Confucius and Mencius. What was it like to be the dean of political philosophy in the home land of Confucianism? What insights can he share about China's academia and politics?

Rick Alan Ross is the founder and Executive Director of The Cult Education Institute. He is an internationally known expert regarding destructive cults, controversial groups and movements and author of the book "Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out." Since 1982 he has been studying, researching and responding to the problems often posed by controversial authoritarian groups and movements. Ross has been qualified and accepted and testified as an expert witness in court proceedings across the United States including US Federal Court. He has also frequently assisted local and national law enforcement and government agencies. He has personally assisted thousands of families in an effort to help the victims of destructive cults, groups and movements. Ross is one of the most readily recognized experts offering analysis about destructive cults, controversial groups and movements in the world today. GQ Magazine identified "Rick Alan Ross [as] America's leading cult expert." And Britain's FHM Magazine named him "America's number one cult buster." He has been a paid consultant for the television networks CBS, CBC and Nippon of Japan. And also was retained as a technical consultant by Miramax/Disney. Ross' commentary has been quoted within publications such as Time Magazine, People, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe and the Washington Post. His appearances on national television have included a wide range of venues from news programs such as the "Today Show, "CNN World News," "Dateline", ABC 20/20 and "48 Hours" to popular interview shows such as "Oprah," "Dr. Phil" and "Inside Edition." Ross has lectured at such prestigious institutions as Dickinson College, the University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon University, Baylor University, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Wuhan University, China, Zhengzhou University, China, GuangXi International University, China, Heilongjiang University, China, Shandong University, China and Assumption University, Thailand. Ross' analysis has been sought on virtually every major cult story for decades. IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE NEEDS HELP Cult Education Institute | Religions and Cults Archives

Uniphore, a conversational automation tech company, yesterday announced its Series E funding round of $400 million, led by NEA, at a valuation of $2.5 billion. IBM has acquired Neudesic, a cloud consultancy. And the top 10 percent of the global population, by consumption, are responsible for almost half of the carbon emissions on the planet, a new study has found. Notes: Uniphore raises $400 million in Series E funding Uniphore, a conversational automation tech company, yesterday announced its Series E funding round of $400 million, led by NEA, at a valuation of $2.5 billion. This brings Uniphore's total funding to $610 million, the company said in a press release. March Capital and other existing and new investors also participated. Uniphore will use the money to invest further in voice AI, computer vision and tonal emotion, and expand its business operations in North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific. IBM acquires Neudesic, a Microsoft Azure consultancy IBM has acquired Neudesic, a US cloud services consultancy specialising primarily in the Microsoft Azure platform, along with bringing skills in multi-cloud, the company said in a press release yesterday. This acquisition will expand IBM's portfolio of hybrid multi-cloud services and advance the company's hybrid cloud and AI strategy, IBM said. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Neudesic has more than 1,500 cloud and data experts located in the US and India. The top 10 percent of the world responsible for half the CO2 emissions The top 10 percent of the global population, in terms of wealth and therefore consumption, are responsible for almost half of the carbon emissions on the planet, a new study has found. The results of the study, by researchers at the University of Groningen, Netherlands, University of Maryland, in the US, and Shandong University in China, were published in the journal Nature Sustainability on Feb. 14. “Our results confirm extreme carbon inequality across the world,” the researchers said in their paper. To visualise this inequality, they divided the global population into the bottom 50 percent, the middle 40 percent and the top 10 percent of carbon emitters. The consumption of the bottom half of global carbon emitters was contributing only one-tenth of global carbon emissions. Meanwhile, the lifestyle of the middle 40 percent accounted for 43 percent of global carbon emissions. Consumption of the top 10 percent was contributing almost half of all emitted CO2. Moreover, the global top 1 percent were responsible for about 15 percent of global CO2 emissions, the researchers estimated. GOQii raises $50 million in series C funding GOQii has raised $50 million in series C funding, led by Sumeru Ventures, to invest further in its smart-tech-enabled platform for preventive health care, the company said in a press release yesterday. GOQii's products include fitness trackers, mobile app, coaching, a health store, and insurance. Proactive For Her raises $5.5 million in series A funding Proactive For Her, a digital clinic that offers products and services for outpatient health concerns of Indian women, has raised $5.5 million in Series A funding led by Vertex Ventures South East Asia and India with participation from existing investor Nexus Venture Partners, the Bangalore company said in a press release. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds

Regional Editor of AJPH, Professor Stella Yu, assisted by contributor Pengfei Guo, doctoral student at Yale University, reviews highlights of the July and August issues of AJPH. The guest presenter is Dr. Dongshan Zhu from Shandong University, China. He discusses the topic of “Disease-Specific Excess Mortality During the Covid-19 Pandemic”.

------------------Support the channel------------ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenter PayPal: paypal.me/thedissenter PayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuy PayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9l PayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpz PayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9m PayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao ------------------Follow me on--------------------- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDissenterYT This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/ Dr. Daniel A. Bell is Dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University. Dr. Bell received the Huilin Prize in 2018. He is the author of Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World. In this episode, we focus on Just Hierarchy. We first discuss what is a hierarchy, and what makes for a just hierarchy. Throughout the conservation, we refer to different kinds of hierarchies: relations between intimates; relations between citizens; relations between states; relations between humans and nonhuman animals; and relations between humans and AI. We talk about the progressive conservative perspective to hierarchy presented in the book. We discuss the differences between Chinese hierarchy and hierarchies in the West, and also how it relates to hierarchies in other Eastern Asian countries. We also ask what could be some of the reasons behind China's international success. Finally, we discuss what the West could learn from China. -- A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: KARIN LIETZCKE, ANN BLANCHETTE, PER HELGE LARSEN, LAU GUERREIRO, JERRY MULLER, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BERNARDO SEIXAS, HERBERT GINTIS, RUTGER VOS, RICARDO VLADIMIRO, CRAIG HEALY, OLAF ALEX, PHILIP KURIAN, JONATHAN VISSER, JAKOB KLINKBY, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, JOHN CONNORS, PAULINA BARREN, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, DAN DEMETRIOU, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ARTHUR KOH, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, COLIN HOLBROOK, SUSAN PINKER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, PABLO SANTURBANO, SIMON COLUMBUS, PHIL KAVANAGH, JORGE ESPINHA, CORY CLARK, MARK BLYTH, ROBERTO INGUANZO, MIKKEL STORMYR, ERIC NEURMANN, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, BERNARD HUGUENEY, ALEXANDER DANNBAUER, OMARI HICKSON, FERGAL CUSSEN, YEVHEN BODRENKO, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, DON ROSS, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, OZLEM BULUT, NATHAN NGUYEN, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, J.W., JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, IDAN SOLON, ROMAIN ROCH, DMITRY GRIGORYEV, TOM ROTH, DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA, YANICK PUNTER, ADANER USMANI, CHARLOTTE BLEASE, NICOLE BARBARO, ADAM HUNT, PAWEL OSTASZEWSKI, AL ORTIZ, NELLEKE BAK, KATHRINE AND PATRICK TOBIN, GUY MADISON, GARY G HELLMANN, SAIMA AFZAL, ADRIAN JAEGGI, NICK GOLDEN, PAULO TOLENTINO, AND JOÃO BARBOSA! A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, IAN GILLIGAN, SERGIU CODREANU, LUIS CAYETANO, TOM VANEGDOM, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, VEGA GIDEY, AND NIRUBAN BALACHANDRAN! AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MICHAL RUSIECKI, ROSEY, JAMES PRATT, AND MATTHEW LAVENDER!

This week we welcome Christine Yan, an experienced public company board member and senior operating executive with a successful track record in managing global P&L, M&A, Sales and Marketing, and R&D Engineering. Christine serves on the board of Modine Manufacturing Company, ON Semiconductor, Ansell Limited, and Cabot Corporation. She is a member of the China Advisory Group for the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs. Christine spent nearly 30 years with Stanley Black and Decker, a $14 billion global diversified industrial company. She was a member of the senior executive team. She held a number of significant P&L roles, including as President of Asia, President of Storage and Workspace Systems, President of Americas, and President of Global Automotive for Stanley Engineered Fastening. Christine is a member of The Committee of 200 (C200), an invitation-only membership organization of the world’s most successful women business leaders. Christine holds an MBA  from the University of Michigan, a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from Wayne State University, and a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Shandong University.  

Champalimaud Foundation and Shandong University lead research focused on immunotherapy - O centro para o Desconhecido (Fundação Champalimaud) e a Universidade de Shandong lideram a pesquisa com foco na imunoterapia

  This month on Episode 111 of the Discover CircRes podcast, host Cindy St. Hilaire highlights three featured articles from the March 27 issue of Circulation Research and talks with Dr. Matthias Nahrendorf  and Dr. Maximilian Schloss about their article Modifiable Cardiovascular Risk, Hematopoiesis and Innate Immunity.   Article highlights:   Liu et al. Genetics of Transposition of the Great Arteries   Park et al. Mild Lipid Abnormalities and ASCVD in the Young Yan, et al. Gut Flora Adjusts Blood Pressure By Corticosterone Transcript Cindy St. Hilaire:              Hello and welcome to Discover CircRes, the podcast of the American Heart Association's journal, Circulation Research. I'm your host, Dr Cindy St. Hilaire from the Vascular Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. Today, I'm going to share with you articles selected from the March 27th issue of Circulation Research, as well as give you a hint of the cutting-edge ideas in the Compendium on atherosclerosis. We'll also have a discussion with Dr Maximilian Schloss and Matthias Nahrendorf about their article On Modifiable Cardiovascular Risk, Hematopoiesis And Innate Immunity. So, first the highlights.                                            The first article I'm sharing with you is titled Exome-Based Case Control Analysis Highlights the Pathogenic Role of Ciliary genes and Transposition of the Great Arteries Exome-Based Case-Control Analysis Highlights the Pathogenic Role of Ciliary Genes in Transposition of the Great Arteries. The first authors are Xuanyu Liu and Wen Chen and the corresponding author is Zhou Zhou from Peking Union Medical College in Beijing, China. In normal healthy hearts, the aorta develops from the left ventricle and the pulmonary arteries from the right ventricle, but in the common congenital heart malformation called transposition of the great arteries or TGA, the plumbing of these two major vessels is switched. Thus, the pulmonary arteries arise from the left ventricle and the aorta from the right.                                            This is a life-threatening condition, requires surgery in the earliest days of life and currently, the genetic etiology of this congenital disease is largely unknown. To identify the genetic drivers of transposition of the great arteries, the authors of this study performed whole exome sequencing of 249 TGA patients and, in 66 cases, they were actually able to do exome sequencing on their parents as well. The analysis identified 82 candidate genes in which the allele variant or mutation that was found in TGA patients was predicted to alter protein function.                                            Interestingly, a quarter of these mutations or variants were found to be in genes that are involved in cilia function. So, the cilium is an organelle that's found on all eukaryotic cells and is in the shape of a slender protuberance that projects from the much larger cell body. Recently, cilia have been identified as playing a central role in the pathogenesis of congenital heart diseases, and it has been suggested that congenital heart disease may be a new class of ciliopathy. Transposition of the great arteries has been hypothesized to arise from disturbances in the left right patterning during embryo development, and cilia are required cellular organelles and they are essential for left-right axis determination in early development. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that has identified a role of cilia genes and congenital heart disease and may lead to future prenatal diagnostic screenings.                                            The next article I want to highlight is titled Mildly Abnormal Lipid Levels, but Not High Lipid Variability, Are Associated with Increased Risk of Myocardial Infarction and Stroke in ‘Statin-Naive’ Young Population: A Nationwide Cohort Study. The first author is Jun-Bean Park and the corresponding author is Hyung-Kwan Kim from Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul in the Republic of Korea. High levels of lipids in the blood increase a person's risk of cardiovascular disease, and evidence suggests that this risk builds over lifetime. However, in young adults, and in this case, young adult means any individual between 20 and 39 years of age. In young adults, relatively little evidence is available that identifies individuals at high risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, except for very high LDLC levels.                                            Variability in lipid levels has recently emerged as a predictor of adverse clinical outcomes and lipid level variability may be causally linked with the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk. This is because theoretically, high lipid levels can induce fluctuations in the atherosclerotic plaque composition. These fluctuations result in plaque instability and rupture and ultimately, plaque related clinical events, such as myocardial infarction. However, high lipid level variability may merely reflect other risk factors or confounders for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, including unhealthy lifestyle and unrecognized comorbidities. This study therefore examined health data of close to two million Korean individuals aged 20 to 39. None of them had ever been treated for high cholesterol with statins nor had any of them suffered any myocardial infarctions or stroke.                                            Over a four-year period, the subjects had undergone at least three lipid measurements as part of their general health assessments and then they were followed for a further four years or until death. The data showed that high baseline lipid levels was linked with an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events, and in particular, myocardial infarctions. They also found that individuals who exhibited high lipid variability, so sometimes getting high readings, sometimes getting low readings, these individuals who exhibited high variability and lipid level measurements were not at any greater risk of such cardiovascular events. While such up and downs have previously been linked to cardiovascular disease, this study argues that perhaps statin use in other cohorts may have contributed to the variability and thus confounded research interpretation, an issue that was specifically avoided in this study. Together the results indicate that lipid in young adults can indeed indicate future cardiovascular risk and therefore suggest lipid-lowering strategies could be beneficial for this age group.                                            The next article I want to share with you is titled Intestinal Flora Modulates Blood Pressure by Regulating the Synthesis of Intestinal-Derived Corticosterone in High Salt-Induced Hypertension. The first author is Xuefang Yan and the corresponding authors are Zhe Wang and Qunye Zhang from Shandong University in China. Hypertension is highly prevalent in the adult population all over the world and it is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. A high salt diet can help to drive hypertension pathogenesis, but complete details about the mechanisms by which high salt intake shapes vascular pathology are lacking.                                            Recent studies show that fecal transfer from salt hypertensive to salt normotensive animals can lead to hypertension in the recipients, and this suggests that perhaps gut flora may play a role in hypertension. In the article by Yan and colleagues, they show that rats on a high salt diet have altered gut flora profiles and in particular that levels of the bacterium, Bacteroides fragilis, was reduced. Analysis of intestinal metabolites and substrates in high salt diet fed rats also showed that levels of arachidonic acid, which is produced by this bacterium, were low and levels of the stress hormone, corticosterone, which regulates blood pressure, were elevated.                                            The team went on to show that supernatants from this bacterial culture could prevent corticosterone production in the intestinal tissue of high salt fed mice as could direct treatment with arachidonic acid. Moreover, both B. fragilis and arachidonic acid were found to be lower in the feces of humans with hypertension compared to that of healthy controls. The results suggest B. fragilis and arachidonic acid normally curb corticosterone production and could therefore be novel targets for hypertension treatment strategies.                                            The last thing I want to mention before we switch to our interview is the Circulation Research Compendium on Atherosclerosis. The last compendium on this topic was back in 2016 and this new compendium provides the most cutting-edge ideas in the field. The topics highlighted in this compendium are polygenic scores to assess atherosclerotic risk, clinical perspectives, and basic implications, epigenetic reader proteins and cardiovascular transcriptional programs, sex as a biological variable in atherosclerosis, neutrophil extracellular traps in cardiovascular diseases, CD31 as a therapeutic target in athero, interleukin-1 and the inflammasome as therapeutic targets in cardiovascular disease, non-coding RNAs in vascular diseases, intracellular aspects of macrophage immunometabolism in atherosclerosis, single cell RNA sequencing in atherosclerosis, vaccination strategies and immune modulation in atherosclerosis and we have an update from the group leading the One Brave Idea. Please check out this compendium.                                            All right. So, now we're going to switch over to our interview portion of the podcast. I have with me today Dr. Matthias Nahrendorf, who is a professor at the Center of Systems Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute and Harvard Medical School and his research fellow, Dr. Maximilian Schloss. Today, we're going to be discussing the article Modifiable Cardiovascular Risk, Hematopoiesis, Innate Immunity, which is part of our Compendium on Atherosclerosis. Circulation Research puts together two to three compendiums annually and this current one is the Compendium on Atherosclerosis. We will have two additional compendiums planned for 2020. One on Obesity, Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease and that should come out in late May and another on Atrial Fibrillation scheduled for June. So stay tuned.                                            So, thank you very much for being with me here today, Matthias and Maximilian. Matthias Nahrendorf:    Thanks for having us. Maximilian Schloss:        Thanks for having us. Cindy St. Hilaire:              So, I really enjoyed this review article. I actually learned a lot. I also really liked your cartoons at the end, so maybe we can talk about those a little bit later, but what it's on is essentially the role of inflammation and cardiovascular disease and years of study, which have recently culminated in the completion of the CANTOS trial, have showed us that reducing inflammation can help reduce cardiovascular events. When we look at the factors that we know drive cardiovascular disease, it's things like bad diet choices, lack of exercise, stress, and inadequate or disrupted sleep and in this article you make the more nuanced argument that these modifiable factors are in fact influenced by the innate immunity. So, before we dig too deep into what you are really discussing in this article, could you maybe give us a brief introduction to the role of innate immunity and cardiovascular disease initiation and progression? Matthias Nahrendorf:    Sure. Yeah. So, I think one very instructive experiment that had been done by more than one lab actually almost two decades ago, is stopping innate immune cells from migrating to atherosclerotic plaque by deleting the chemokine MCP-1 or the chemokine receptor CCR2 in mice that have a propensity to develop atherosclerosis. What became apparent is that these mice, despite having very high blood cholesterol levels, they don't really develop atherosclerosis. This really led the whole field now almost 20 years ago, to the insight that it's not only the hypercholesterolemia, it's also the immune system that contributes to the disease. So, innate immune cells, most numerous neutrophils and monocytes then in tissue also macrophages and they're meant to defend us against infections and they support healing. In this particular setting, they are probably doing more harm than good because they promote inflammation in areas where inflammation shouldn't be i.e., in the vessel wall. Maximilian Schloss:        Yeah, I would add that what Matthias said is that basically it's all about a balance between necessary inflammation and too much inflammation. If we take, for instance, myocardial infarction as an example, we need a certain amount of inflammation, local inflammation. We need a recruitment of innate immune cells like neutrophils and monocytes and eventually macrophages, to do their job. For instance, phagocytizing a dying cardiomyocytes or inducing fibrosis. So in this example, we need inflammation, but what we see in different models where we can manipulate inflammation being at reducing or increasing inflammation, we can see that if we do either/or then wound healing and scar formation is impaired. I think that's all we are interested in studying not only the mechanisms, how inflammation can be increased or decreased, but also what is actually the perfect balance in view also of finding ways of improving outcomes in cardiovascular patients. Cindy St. Hilaire:              One of the things in my research, so I focus on cardiovascular calcification, which is very hard to do in a mouse. They don't like to calcify similarly like they don't like to make plaque without a proper genetic background. Are there aspects of the mouse versus the human innate immune system that are very different? I mean I know specific receptors are slightly different, but in general, are they matched up pretty well or is there things that are quite different about them? Matthias Nahrendorf:    I think the answer is both and there are very important parallels and then there are very important differences. So, one important difference is just if you look at sheer numbers and the contribution of immune cells in the blood and, possibly also in the plaque, can be quite different. So, recent studies that use unbiased profiling in human plaques, for instance, say that there's quite a lot of lymphocytes and we still have to understand whether this is due to the retrieval or if it says species difference or the situation, but I think there are important differences. On the other hand, I think that it really make sense to study mice because a lot of the important discoveries about the immune system in the setting have translated to humans. Cindy St. Hilaire:              Like the IL-1 beta story. Matthias Nahrendorf:    That's right. Yeah. Cindy St. Hilaire:              So, actually one of the topics that you started out with in your article is on the role of hematopoiesis in cardiovascular disease. You had a beautiful paper years ago actually with my colleague at University of Pittsburgh, Partha Dutta, who's right down the hall from me, where you guys showed that myocardial infarction itself further exacerbates atherosclerotic plaques mid part through recruiting monocytes from the spleen and mobilizing the immune system. So, I'm wondering, what are the role of the cells when they get mobilized? You talk about these modifiable risk factors of stress and sleep interruption, unhealthy diet. So, how can these risk factors help or promote this mobilization of hematopoietic cells? Matthias Nahrendorf:    Yeah. So, I think that early on when we thought about going down this road and studying these risk factors, even before going there, you realize that the cells that we're interested in, innate immune cells are very short lived. So they live on the order of hours or days. So, they're really produced just in time. That's different to lymphocytes and resident macrophages, which have much longer lifespans. So, this really triggered the insight that we should look at production and release because it's a just in time supply situation. So, what we were wondering is whether in the setting of cardiovascular disease, whether production rates are increased and we now know and a number of labs have studied hematopoiesis in this setting including Fil Swirski, Alan Tall, and some others.                                            We now know that this is really the case, so hematopoiesis increases in chronic atherosclerosis. It increases in acute myocardial infarction and increases in heart failure. What we don't know is what mechanisms actually ramp up blood cell production and we're beginning to understand that the sympathetic nervous system is involved. But I think we only see the tip of the iceberg here. That's why we wanted to study modifiable risk factors, because if you look at others such as high cholesterol, once the insight was gained that lowering cholesterol is helpful, we had the statins which make a huge change. So, we hope to repeat that. Cindy St. Hilaire:              Maximilian, one of the things that you brought up is this balance. The inflammation's a little bit good and then it's a little bit bad or a lot bad. So, where is that good and bad spectrum in terms of mobilizing hematopoiesis or hematopoietic cells? Maximilian Schloss:        Yeah. I think that depends a bit on the disease type or we're talking about a chronic disease or an acute disease? For instance, to stay at the example of myocardial infarction, once cardiomyocytes become ischemic, they will release certain chemokines and cytokines into the blood, which then circulate to the bone marrow and tell the cells that leukocytes need to leave the bone marrow to enter the blood circulation system and then go to the heart to fulfill their very important functions there. Once the cells leave the bone marrow, the bone marrow need to reproduce themselves, then this process starts of hematopoiesis and there we can go back again to the concept of a balance. Of course, there is a certain beneficial physiological need of cell production, but one sees mechanisms so to say maybe go out of control and too many leukocytes are produced and released to the blood.                                            Then that again impairs patient outcome. There are very many papers, clinical papers, who have shown that leukocyte counts after myocardial infarction have a certain U shape relationship with the outcome. That I think is best described that if leukocyte counts are very high, that they actually negatively correlate with the outcome of MI patients. If you look at the bone marrow specifically, there are certain mechanisms, which we know, and what we are more closely looking at now, what are actually the modifier of this process, what are the signals which tell these cells to secrete more hematopoietic factors or quiescence factors? I think that's what also the Review is a little bit about. Cindy St. Hilaire:              Yeah, it's great. So, you were speaking about that kind of U-shaped curve in the release of these cells. Do we know based on some of the other things you spoke about, I guess I'm thinking about like diet or exercise or sleep in contributing to that release after an event like myocardial infarction. Is that known yet or has anyone looked into that? Matthias Nahrendorf:    Yeah. So, I think we're in the very beginning of understanding what's happening acutely. There's more knowledge on the chronic side and this is what we've been working on. Often the things that influenced the chronic situation can be quite different from what happens acutely. So I think in general, we're just beginning to understand what happens in acute myocardial infarction. Well, we know for instance is that exercise doesn't compromise the release and supply of leukocytes that's necessary in acute infection or acute myocardial infarction. So, if the mouse or the individual was exercising before the event, that may reduce overall leukocyte levels, but not to a degree that it's harmful. Cindy St. Hilaire:              Yeah. You can't exercise your way beyond a certain point. Matthias Nahrendorf:    Maybe that's also possible. If you run more than one marathon a day, I'm sure that's… Cindy St. Hilaire:              That will do something else. Matthias Nahrendorf:    Yeah. Cindy St. Hilaire:              Actually, so one of the interesting things that I saw in the article was when you were talking about diet and the role of diet in innate immunity, which is something I really never thought about, and you did bring up things like intermittent fasting. Can you discuss what's known at least scientifically about how that kind of diet timing can impact the immune system and therefore maybe cardiovascular disease? Matthias Nahrendorf:    So, that's a very emerging field. There's very little known about this. I think it's very interesting because very relevant and a lot of people are excited about it, but it's basically, from what I know, it's mostly two papers that were published, I think both in Cell, and they say that intermittent fasting leads to a decline of cells that are in circulation. So, that's a very exciting observation. I think it's similar insight as to discovering that immune cell levels circulate the circadian rhythms, which had been discovered a while ago. So, I think there's definitely an impact and we're just beginning to understand why this is and what regulates it. Cindy St. Hilaire:              Yeah, that segues nicely into the next thing I was wondering about and that is we all know not enough sleep, you get tired, your brain's not focused and stuff like that, but it really does impact the inflammatory system and also cardiovascular disease. So how is sleep involved in this innate immunity cardiovascular disease progression? Matthias Nahrendorf:    The way we approached this was actually thinking about lifestyle factors and their impact on cardiovascular disease. Maybe a decade ago, Fil, who's our middle author on this Review, and I started thinking about lifestyle factors and what struck us is that the association of some of these risk cardiovascular events is really high. So, if you look at sleep or if you look at psychosocial stress, psychosocial stress has an odds ratio of 2.4 for premature myocardial infarction. That is right on scale with all these powerful risk factors that everybody knows about like hypertension, but then what isn't really clear or maybe not entirely, is whether or not these risk factors also act via the innate immune system and that's where we were coming from.                                            I think at this point it's pretty clear that they do have an influence via the immune system. What I think what we've done is we uncovered a couple mechanisms that lead to the activation or dampening of inflammation depending on what you look at, but we don't really understand the broader network. I think there's a lot of work to be done looking into these pathways, which is exciting because I think that we can learn from nature what's dangerous and what's helpful. That this is how humans learn to fly. So, I think that observing what leads to cardiovascular disease, which behaviors are really harmful, will maybe lead us to new ways of mitigating it. Cindy St. Hilaire:              Yeah. Also, I think all of this, it's interesting. We all went after smoking for decades, stop smoking, reduce cardiovascular risk and maybe it's stress and sleep is the next smoking. Matthias Nahrendorf:    Smoking was so successful, right? I mean if you look 50 years back, it was promoted as this healthy thing that you should do. Then people really started to learn how bad it is and now we're at a time where smoking is declining and has declined and we see the results. Lung cancer is really on the decline. So, I think that's a good example how understanding health effects of behavior can be really helpful. Maximilian Schloss:        I think one thing I would like to add is when you ask more general question about innate immunity and when we talk about sleep and sleeping habits, I think what's generally quite interesting to know is that the immune system or these leukocyte numbers in circulation, they oscillate quite dramatically over the course of a day in a healthy human being and also in mouse models. I think one aspect also among others to consider is when we have unhealthy steeping habits, like for example, going to bed late or being a shift worker, drinking for example before going to bed. Then this will also confuse a system on the circadian entrainment, which then subsequently will lead to other problems.                                            I also think another thing is that what you were mentioning with the fasting is what we learned from this similar to these extreme circadian patterns seen when we fast or when a mouse is fasting, then monocyte levels drop into extreme low levels and these monocytes hone back into the bone marrow. I think this is interesting because it shows how dynamic actually a system like innate immune cells actually is. So, it's a very delicate system which responds to sleep disruption, exercise, diets in a very dramatic way. Cindy St. Hilaire:              All right, I'm going to bed early tonight and eating a good dinner. Well, this was a wonderful Review. I really enjoyed reading it. I really do think it's introducing the next targets that we have to go after in modifying cardiovascular disease. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today. Matthias Nahrendorf:    Thank you. Maximilian Schloss:        Thank you so much. Cindy St. Hilaire:              That's it for our highlights from the March 27th and Compendium issue of Circulation Research. Thank you so much for listening. This podcast is produced by Rebecca McTavish, edited by Melissa Stoner, and supported by the editorial team of Circulation Research. Some of the copy text for highlighted articles was provided by Ruth Williams. Thank you to our guests, Max Schloss and Matthias Nahrendorf. I'm your host, Dr. Cindy St. Hilaire, and this is Discover CircRes, your on the go source for the most up-to-date and exciting discoveries in basic cardiovascular research.  

What are the arguments in favor of social hierarchies? Are there differences in how hierarchy is viewed and valued in China compared with other countries? Which forms of social hierarchy are morally justified and how can they be promoted in the future? Drawing on a wide range of philosophical arguments, historical examples, and social science evidence from various cultural traditions, Daniel A. Bell and Wang Pei have developed their argument that different hierarchical principles should govern distinct kinds of social relations with chapters devoted to citizens, countries, animals and machines. In Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World (Princeton University Press, 2020) the authors take aim at the egalitarian ideal of individual rights as being too narrow, and not necessarily the right one for all societies. Available in hardcover and Kindle editions ‘Just Hierarchy examines how hierarchical social relations can have a useful purpose, not only in personal domains but also in larger political realms.’ Daniel A. Bell is dean of the school of political science and public administration at Shandong University, and Wang Pei is an assistant professor at Fudan University’s China Institute. Currently, both are working on the Chinese translation of their book. The interview was conducted in Shanghai about two months after the initial outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in China. Keith Krueger lectures at the SHU-UTS Business School in Shanghai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the arguments in favor of social hierarchies? Are there differences in how hierarchy is viewed and valued in China compared with other countries? Which forms of social hierarchy are morally justified and how can they be promoted in the future? Drawing on a wide range of philosophical arguments, historical examples, and social science evidence from various cultural traditions, Daniel A. Bell and Wang Pei have developed their argument that different hierarchical principles should govern distinct kinds of social relations with chapters devoted to citizens, countries, animals and machines. In Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World (Princeton University Press, 2020) the authors take aim at the egalitarian ideal of individual rights as being too narrow, and not necessarily the right one for all societies. Available in hardcover and Kindle editions ‘Just Hierarchy examines how hierarchical social relations can have a useful purpose, not only in personal domains but also in larger political realms.’ Daniel A. Bell is dean of the school of political science and public administration at Shandong University, and Wang Pei is an assistant professor at Fudan University’s China Institute. Currently, both are working on the Chinese translation of their book. The interview was conducted in Shanghai about two months after the initial outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in China. Keith Krueger lectures at the SHU-UTS Business School in Shanghai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the arguments in favor of social hierarchies? Are there differences in how hierarchy is viewed and valued in China compared with other countries? Which forms of social hierarchy are morally justified and how can they be promoted in the future? Drawing on a wide range of philosophical arguments, historical examples, and social science evidence from various cultural traditions, Daniel A. Bell and Wang Pei have developed their argument that different hierarchical principles should govern distinct kinds of social relations with chapters devoted to citizens, countries, animals and machines. In Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World (Princeton University Press, 2020) the authors take aim at the egalitarian ideal of individual rights as being too narrow, and not necessarily the right one for all societies. Available in hardcover and Kindle editions ‘Just Hierarchy examines how hierarchical social relations can have a useful purpose, not only in personal domains but also in larger political realms.’ Daniel A. Bell is dean of the school of political science and public administration at Shandong University, and Wang Pei is an assistant professor at Fudan University’s China Institute. Currently, both are working on the Chinese translation of their book. The interview was conducted in Shanghai about two months after the initial outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in China. Keith Krueger lectures at the SHU-UTS Business School in Shanghai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the arguments in favor of social hierarchies? Are there differences in how hierarchy is viewed and valued in China compared with other countries? Which forms of social hierarchy are morally justified and how can they be promoted in the future? Drawing on a wide range of philosophical arguments, historical examples, and social science evidence from various cultural traditions, Daniel A. Bell and Wang Pei have developed their argument that different hierarchical principles should govern distinct kinds of social relations with chapters devoted to citizens, countries, animals and machines. In Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World (Princeton University Press, 2020) the authors take aim at the egalitarian ideal of individual rights as being too narrow, and not necessarily the right one for all societies. Available in hardcover and Kindle editions ‘Just Hierarchy examines how hierarchical social relations can have a useful purpose, not only in personal domains but also in larger political realms.’ Daniel A. Bell is dean of the school of political science and public administration at Shandong University, and Wang Pei is an assistant professor at Fudan University’s China Institute. Currently, both are working on the Chinese translation of their book. The interview was conducted in Shanghai about two months after the initial outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in China. Keith Krueger lectures at the SHU-UTS Business School in Shanghai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the arguments in favor of social hierarchies? Are there differences in how hierarchy is viewed and valued in China compared with other countries? Which forms of social hierarchy are morally justified and how can they be promoted in the future? Drawing on a wide range of philosophical arguments, historical examples, and social science evidence from various cultural traditions, Daniel A. Bell and Wang Pei have developed their argument that different hierarchical principles should govern distinct kinds of social relations with chapters devoted to citizens, countries, animals and machines. In Just Hierarchy: Why Social Hierarchies Matter in China and the Rest of the World (Princeton University Press, 2020) the authors take aim at the egalitarian ideal of individual rights as being too narrow, and not necessarily the right one for all societies. Available in hardcover and Kindle editions ‘Just Hierarchy examines how hierarchical social relations can have a useful purpose, not only in personal domains but also in larger political realms.’ Daniel A. Bell is dean of the school of political science and public administration at Shandong University, and Wang Pei is an assistant professor at Fudan University’s China Institute. Currently, both are working on the Chinese translation of their book. The interview was conducted in Shanghai about two months after the initial outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in China. Keith Krueger lectures at the SHU-UTS Business School in Shanghai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dave and Evan chat with Eric Yuan the founder and CEO of Zoom. In this conversation we learn that Eric credits something different than his product to Zoom's success and why it's so sweet that Walmart is a customer. Other topics include Eric's views on social media, freemium software, business travel, and contact centers. Eric is a Chinese Internet Entrepreneur and was a founding engineer at Webex. He departed Webex about four years after its acquisition by Cisco in 2011 to start Zoom. Zoom had its IPO last may, a highly successful event that Eric considers just a milestone in his and his company's journey. Yuan graduated from Shandong University of Science and Technology with a degree in Applied Math. He earned a Master's degree in engineering from China University of Mining and Technology.

Rick Alan Ross is the founder and Executive Director of The Cult Education Institute. He is an internationally known expert regarding destructive cults, controversial groups and movements and author of the book "Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out." Since 1982 he has been studying, researching and responding to the problems often posed by controversial authoritarian groups and movements.Ross has been qualified and accepted and testified as an expert witness in court proceedings across the United States including US Federal Court. He has also frequently assisted local and national law enforcement and government agencies.He has personally assisted thousands of families in an effort to help the victims of destructive cults, groups and movements.Rick Ross is one of the most readily recognized experts offering analysis about destructive cults, controversial groups and movements in the world today.He has been a paid consultant for the television networks CBS, CBC and Nippon of Japan. And also was retained as a technical consultant by Miramax/Disney.Ross' commentary has been quoted within publications such as Time Magazine, People, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe and theWashington Post.His appearances on national television have included a wide range of venues from news programs such as the "Today Show, "CNN World News," "Dateline", ABC 20/20 and "48 Hours" to popular interview shows such as "Oprah," "Dr. Phil" and "Inside Edition."Ross has lectured at such prestigious institutions as Dickinson College, the University of Chicago, Carnegie Mellon University, Baylor University, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Wuhan University, China, Zhengzhou University, China, GuangXi International University, China, Heilongjiang University, China, Shandong University, China and Assumption University, Thailand.Ross' analysis has been sought on virtually every major cult story for decades. Rick's Links Web: https://www.culteducation.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/RickAlanRoss Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/culteducation/ And don’t forget to support the podcast by subscribing for free, reviewing, and sharing. Web: https://unstructuredpod.com/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/unstructuredp Facebook: https://facebook.com/unstructuredp Instagram: https://instagram.com/unstructuredp Join the Facebook group:  fb.com/groups/unstructured

Dr. Farrar Duro joins us today as we're digging into Ear Seeds and how this technique can improve fertility. Farrar Duro Doctor Oriental Medicine practices reproductive acupuncture at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and became a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine in 2008. After overcoming her own struggles with PCOS and endometriosis using a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other natural methods, she has felt tremendous joy in sharing her methods with other women and founded The PCOS Revolution Academy™. Farrar has since specialized in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years and has a passion for women's health and wellness. This path led her to pursue advanced pregnancy training in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and publication of her first book, The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach in 2015. A board-certified acupuncture physician, Farrar graduated from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performed her post-graduate training at the Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China. To learn more about PCOS and infertility, you can also listen to her weekly podcast, The PCOS Revolution, on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. Visit your website at www.floridacompletewellness.com. Free download - IVF prep guide: Steps to boosting IUI/IVF success: https://www.thepcosrevolution.com/IVFguide Download your free fertility yoga video. In this 20-minute intro video, we focus on a calming and peaceful practice to connect back to our heart. These simple yoga poses can help quiet negative thoughts and make you feel more in control. www.yogafreebie.com Book your Free Supercharge Your Fertility Discovery Call here: https://intakeq.com/booking/cZ7XW6 --- Don't forget to check out my Resources page for more information and products that will help you on your fertility journey.

Do you want to live longer?  This is Judy Gaman and this is your Stay Young medical minute.  A collaborative study from the Shandong University in Jinan, China, the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis found that weekly low-level physical activity may help you live longer!  The study consisted of 10,000 people over the age of 40.  Participants who completed 10 to 59 minutes of leisurely physical activity, such as going for a walk, dancing, or gardening, saw a 12% decline in cardiovascular related deaths.  So, what are you waiting for?  Take some dance lessons or go for a stroll around the park!  This Stay Young Medical Minute is brought to you by Executive Medicine of Texas, a leader in preventative and proactive medicine. More research still needs to be completed.  Learn why patients from around the globe trust Executive Medicine of Texas to their health. Visit EMTexas.com that's EMTexas.com. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324754.php

Welcome to Episode 12 of Season 4 of the The PCOS Revolution podcast: BBT Charting for PCOS Revisited In this episode, I revisit BBT charting from Season 3 and talk about why it's so important for PCOS. I dive into the best ways of BBT (basal body temperature) charting to jumpstart your fertility and take charge of your cycle. As a result of going over this method with hundreds of fertility patients throughout the years to help them achieve "cycle sanity" and ultimately a healthy pregnancy, this episode goes deep into the how's and why's of BBT charting. About The Host: Farrar Duro is an expert in PCOS whose accomplishments include: – Currently practicing reproductive acupuncture, Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and herbal medicine at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Becoming a board-certified acupuncture physician,  graduating from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performing her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China – Author of “The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach” – Becoming a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) in 2008 – Specializing in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years More Information: Learn more about how you can improve your results with PCOS with support from our clinic (for distance and local patients) by visiting us at www.floridacompletewellness.com. PCOS Links & Mentions From This Episode: The PCOS Revolution 30 Day Jumpstart Registration The PCOS Revolution 30 Day Jumpstart Facebook Group American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (www.aborm.org) Florida Complete Wellness Facebook page PCOS Revolution Podcast Facebook page Thanks for Tuning In! Thanks so much for being with us this week. Have some feedback you'd like to share? Please leave a note in the comments section below! If you enjoyed this episode on answering your most burning questions about PCOS, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for The PCOS Revolution podcast!And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get.Please leave a review right now;) Thanks for listening! Disclaimer: The information in this podcast is intended for general audience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or replace professional medical advice. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/support

In the second part of our three-part series, we examine what can be done to affect egg quality, what male partners can do and an often-overlooked simple reason why you might be miscarrying. About Our Guest:  Dr. Ellen Wood is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in the subspecialty of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Dr. Wood is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and a distinguished fellow in the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is a Voluntary Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine and Florida International University School of Medicine. She has served as a Clinical Board Examiner for the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists since 2011. She also holds a Preceptor role at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, in addition to being the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Site Director for the OBGYN Residency Program at Community Health of South Florida. Before joining IVFMD, Dr. Wood served as an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and as the director of Academic Services at MCP Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, PA. Her major research interests include in vitro fertilization, congenital uterine anomalies, and advanced laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgical techniques. She has published numerous articles, co-authored multiple book chapters, and has presented her research at both national and international meetings. About the Host: Farrar Duro, Doctor Oriental Medicine practices reproductive acupuncture at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and became a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine in 2008. After overcoming her own struggles with PCOS and endometriosis using a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other natural methods, she has felt tremendous joy in sharing her methods with other women . Farrar has since specialized in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years and has a passion for women's health and wellness. This path led her to pursue advanced pregnancy training in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and publication of her first book, The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach in 2015. A board-certified acupuncture physician, Farrar graduated from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performed her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China. To learn more about PCOS and infertility, you can also listen to her weekly podcast, The PCOS Revolution, on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. Visit your website at www.floridacompletewellness.com Disclaimer: The information in this podcast is intended for general audience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or replace professional medical advice. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/support

The emotional response to hearing, "There is no apparent reason for the repeated pregnancy losses or infertility" can be difficult, maddening and frustrating. Approximately 1 in 5 couples will experience unexplained infertility, and another 2% will experience recurrent pregnancy loss - or implantation failures despite completing a full infertility work-up.  In this three-part series with Dr. Ellen Wood, you'll learn how to put together the missing pieces of unexplained infertility and repeated pregnancy loss, to uncover the vital answers on the path leading to parenthood. With over four decades of combined reproductive medicine experience, Dr. Ellen Wood, reproductive endocrinologist of #IVFMD and Dr. Farrar Celada Duro, reproductive acupuncturist, will share: • The key questions to ask a R.E. and/or reproductive acupuncturist BEFORE starting a medicated cycle • The 3 myths surrounding recurrent pregnancy loss and how to address them • The reasons why the current fertility plan might not be the most effective, and the warning signs to look for that could indicate more problems down the road • The four-step strategy to start implementing now to get on the road to starting or growing a family About Our Guest:  Dr. Ellen Wood is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in the subspecialty of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Dr. Wood is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and a distinguished fellow in the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is a Voluntary Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine and Florida International University School of Medicine. She has served as a Clinical Board Examiner for the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists since 2011. She also holds a Preceptor role at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, in addition to being the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Site Director for the OBGYN Residency Program at Community Health of South Florida. Before joining IVFMD, Dr. Wood served as an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and as the director of Academic Services at MCP Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, PA. Her major research interests include in vitro fertilization, congenital uterine anomalies, and advanced laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgical techniques. She has published numerous articles, co-authored multiple book chapters, and has presented her research at both national and international meetings. About the Host: Farrar Duro, Doctor Oriental Medicine practices reproductive acupuncture at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and became a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine in 2008. After overcoming her own struggles with PCOS and endometriosis using a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other natural methods, she has felt tremendous joy in sharing her methods with other women . Farrar has since specialized in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years and has a passion for women's health and wellness. This path led her to pursue advanced pregnancy training in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and publication of her first book, The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach in 2015. A board-certified acupuncture physician, Farrar graduated from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performed her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China. To learn more about PCOS and infertility, you can also listen to her weekly podcast, The PCOS Revolution, on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. Visit your website at www.floridacompletewellness. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/support

Birth Control and Metformin: What Every Woman with PCOS Needs to Know Welcome to Episode 8 of Season 3 of the The PCOS Revolution podcast. In this episode, we'll explore: -What effect does birth control and Metformin really have on our future fertility? -How does Metformin affect weight loss? -What are some of the alternatives if you decide to go the natural, non-medicated route? About The Host: Farrar Duro is an expert in PCOS whose accomplishments include: – Currently practicing reproductive acupuncture, Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and herbal medicine at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Becoming a board-certified acupuncture physician, graduating from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performing her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China – Author of “The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach” – Becoming a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) in 2008 – Specializing in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years More Information Learn more about how you can improve your results with PCOS with support from our clinic (for distance and local patients) by visiting emailing us at fduro@floridacompletewellness.com or at www.floridacompletewellness.com. PCOS Links & Mentions From This Episode: -Effect of myo-inositol and melatonin versus myo-inositol, in a randomized controlled trial, for improving in vitro fertilization of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome. -Nutritional effects of oral contraceptive use: a review. -[Does diet affect our mood? The significance of folic acid and homocysteine]. -Vitamin B12 deficiency, infertility and recurrent fetal loss. -Florida Complete Wellness Facebook page Supplements Mentioned: -Metabolic Xtra -O.N.E. multivitamin -Ovasitol Thanks for Tuning In! Thanks so much for being with us this week. Have some feedback you'd like to share? Please leave a note in the comments section below! If you enjoyed this episode on answering your most burning questions about PCOS, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for our “The PCOS Revolution podcast!” And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get. Please leave a review right now;) Thanks for listening! Disclaimer: The information in this podcast is intended for general audience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or replace professional medical advice. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/support

Episode: “How to Improve Your Gut and Transform Your Health with Vivien Allred” Welcome to Episode 7 of Season 3 of The PCOS Revolution Podcast. Today we chat with U.K. naturopathic nutritionist Vivien Allred about getting to the root of gut imbalances that can creep up and wreak havoc on your hormones.  In this episode, you'll discover: -How gut health can influence PCOS symptoms and mood -Why going vegan might be more difficult than you think for women with PCOS -What triggers a gut imbalance and how to test for it About Vivien Vivien Allred (Dip CNM, mBANT, CNHC) is an expert in gut health and PCOS whose accomplishments include: Becoming a naturopathic nutritional therapist after struggling with many hormonal and digestive issues during early adulthood Primarily focusing on identifying and addressing the root causes of her clients symptoms and educating them about the healing properties of food   Working with women struggling with issues such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), menstrual issues, hair loss, acne, IBS and weight gain More Information Vivien shares weekly blog posts, newsletters and daily health education on her social media accounts and website. You can find her at www.vivanaturalhealth.co.uk On Facebook and Instagram: @vivanaturalhealth Email: enquires@vivanaturalhealth.co.uk About the Host: Farrar Duro, Doctor Oriental Medicine practices reproductive acupuncture at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and became a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine in 2008. After overcoming her own struggles with PCOS and endometriosis using a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other natural methods, she has felt tremendous joy in sharing her methods with other women. Farrar has since specialized in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years and has a passion for women's health and wellness. This path led her to pursue advanced pregnancy training in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and publication of her first book, The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach in 2015. A board-certified acupuncture physician, Farrar graduated from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performed her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China. To learn more about PCOS and infertility, you can also listen to her biweekly podcast, The PCOS Revolution, on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. Links: Click here to learn more about The PCOS Revolution Academy! Paleo for Women - Stefani Ruper http://paleoforwomen.com/ Lara Briden - https://www.larabriden.com/ Viva Natural Health blog www.vivanaturalhealth.co.uk Book Mentions: 8 Steps to Reverse Your PCOS: A Proven Program to Reset Your Hormones, Repair Your Metabolism, and Restore Your Fertility by Dr. Fiona McCulloch Free PCOS guide: PCOS: Three diet & lifestyle mistakes to avoid Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for our “The PCOS Revolution!” And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get. Please leave a review right now;) Thanks for listening! Disclaimer: The information in this podcast is intended for general audience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or replace professional medical advice --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/support

Welcome to Episode 5 of Season 3 of The PCOS Revolution Podcast. Host Farrar Duro steps into the guest seat when fertility coach and author Sarah Clark of the Get Pregnant Naturally podcast interviews her today. In this episode, you'll discover: In this episode, you'll discover: -What your doctor looks for when diagnosing PCOS -How regulating your cycles could benefit your health as well as future fertility -The easiest way to spot insulin resistance that you might have overlooked -The five types of PCOS explained About Sarah Sarah Clark is an expert in uncovering hidden causes of infertility whose accomplishments include: - Being a certified life coach with accreditation from the International Coaches Federation and a health coach with training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition - Discovering when she was just 28 years old that she was already in premature ovarian failure (POF) - Accepted the diagnosis and had both her children through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and later discovered functional medicine to overcome her root causes of inflammation leading to her POF - The author of Fabulously Fertile-Supercharge your Fertility Naturally, Fabulously Fertile Cookbook and The Fertility Preparation Program More Information Learn more about how you can improve your results with uncovering hidden causes of infertility with Sarah's fertility coaching program, which includes functional lab testing, supports couples to make diet and lifestyle changes that dramatically improve the chances of a healthy pregnancy and baby at www.fabfertile.com. Book your Free Supercharge Your Fertility Discovery Call here: https://intakeq.com/booking/cZ7XW6 Download your free fertility yoga video. In this 20-minute intro video, we focus on a calming and peaceful practice to connect back to our heart. These simple yoga poses can help quiet negative thoughts and make you feel more in control. www.yogafreebie.com About the Host: Farrar Duro, Doctor Oriental Medicine practices reproductive acupuncture at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and became a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine in 2008. After overcoming her own struggles with PCOS and endometriosis using a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other natural methods, she has felt tremendous joy in sharing her methods with other women . Farrar has since specialized in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years and has a passion for women's health and wellness. This path led her to pursue advanced pregnancy training in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and publication of her first book, The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach in 2015. A board-certified acupuncture physician, Farrar graduated from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performed her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China. To learn more about PCOS and infertility, you can also listen to her weekly podcast, The PCOS Revolution, on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. Visit your website at www.floridacompletewellness.com Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for our "The PCOS Revolution!" And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get. Please leave a review right now;)  Thanks for listening! Disclaimer: The information in this podcast is intended for general audience only and is not intended... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/support

Dr. Farrar Duro joins us today as we are digging into PCOS 101 and how you can boost your fertility naturally. Farrar Duro Doctor Oriental Medicine practices reproductive acupuncture at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and became a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine in 2008. After overcoming her own struggles with PCOS and endometriosis using a combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine and other natural methods, she has felt tremendous joy in sharing her methods with other women and founded The PCOS Revolution Academy™. Farrar has since specialized in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years and has a passion for women's health and wellness. This path led her to pursue advanced pregnancy training in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and publication of her first book, The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach in 2015. A board-certified acupuncture physician, Farrar graduated from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performed her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China. To learn more about PCOS and infertility, you can also listen to her weekly podcast, The PCOS Revolution, on iTunes and Stitcher Radio. Visit your website at www.floridacompletewellness.com Schedule your free 15 min hormone consult: http://www.floridacompletewellness.com/contact/ Download your free fertility yoga video. In this 20-minute intro video, we focus on a calming and peaceful practice to connect back to our heart. These simple yoga poses can help quiet negative thoughts and make you feel more in control. www.yogafreebie.com Book your Free Supercharge Your Fertility Discovery Call here: https://intakeq.com/booking/cZ7XW6 Don't forget to check out my Resources page for more information and products that will help you on your fertility journey.  

In this episode, we explore the new PCOS guidelines and how to incorporate them into a unique preconception plan. You'll discover what tests you should be asking for and when to get them, along with some key indicators to look for when charting your temps. About The Host Farrar Duro is an expert in PCOS whose accomplishments include: – Currently practicing reproductive acupuncture, Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and herbal medicine at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Becoming a board-certified acupuncture physician, graduating from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performing her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China – Author of “The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach” – Becoming a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) in 2008 – Specializing in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years More Information Learn more about how you can improve your results with PCOS with support from our clinic (for distance and local patients) by visiting emailing us at info@floridacompletewellness.com or at www.floridacompletewellness.com. PCOS Links & Mentions From This Episode: International evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome 2018 Florida Complete Wellness Facebook page Thanks for Tuning In! Thanks so much for being with us this week. Have some feedback you'd like to share? Please leave a note in the comments section below! If you enjoyed this episode on answering your most burning questions about PCOS, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for our “The PCOS Revolution podcast!” And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get. Please leave a review right now;) Thanks for listening! Disclaimer: The information in this podcast is intended for general audience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or replace professional medical advice. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/support

Episode: “How to Sync Your Cycle and Boost Your Fertility IQ with BBT Charting” Welcome to Episode 4 of Season 3 of the The PCOS Revolution podcast. In this episode, I dive into the best ways of BBT (basal body temperature) charting to jumpstart your fertility and take charge of your cycle. As a result of going over this method with hundreds of fertility patients throughout the years to help them achieve "cycle sanity" and ultimately a healthy pregnancy, this episode goes deep into the how's and why's of BBT charting. About The Host Farrar Duro is an expert in PCOS whose accomplishments include: – Currently practicing reproductive acupuncture, Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and herbal medicine at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Becoming a board-certified acupuncture physician,  graduating from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performing her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China – Author of “The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach” – Becoming a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) in 2008 – Specializing in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years More Information Learn more about how you can improve your results with PCOS with support from our clinic (for distance and local patients) by visiting us at www.floridacompletewellness.com. PCOS Links & Mentions From This Episode: American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (www.aborm.org) Florida Complete Wellness Facebook page PCOS Revolution Podcast Facebook page Thanks for Tuning In! Thanks so much for being with us this week. Have some feedback you'd like to share? Please leave a note in the comments section below! If you enjoyed this episode on answering your most burning questions about PCOS, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for our “The PCOS Revolution podcast!” And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get. Please leave a review right now;)  Thanks for listening! Disclaimer: The information in this podcast is intended for general audience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or replace professional medical advice. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/support

For our final episode of the season, I answer emails from listeners around the world who are struggling with their own PCOS battles. About The Host Farrar Duro is an expert in PCOS whose accomplishments include: - Currently practicing reproductive acupuncture, Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™ and herbal medicine at Florida Complete Wellness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Becoming a board-certified acupuncture physician,  graduating from the Florida College of Integrative Medicine and performing her post-graduate training at Shandong University of TCM in Shandong, China - Author of "The Smart Couple's Guide to Getting Pregnant, An Integrated Approach" - Becoming a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (ABORM) in 2008 - Specializing in the treatment of PCOS, infertility and hormonal imbalances with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine for over 15 years More Information Learn more about how you can improve your results with PCOS with support from our clinic (for distance and local patients) by visiting us at www.floridacompletewellness.com. PCOS Links & Mentions From This Episode: American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine (www.aborm.org) Florida Complete Wellness Facebook page PCOS Revolution Podcast Facebook page Thanks for Tuning In! Thanks so much for being with us this week. Have some feedback you'd like to share? Please leave a note in the comments section below! If you enjoyed this episode on answering your most burning questions about PCOS, please share it with your friends by using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. Don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic episode updates for our "The PCOS Revolution podcast!" And, finally, please take a minute to leave us an honest review and rating on iTunes. They really help us out when it comes to the ranking of the show and I make it a point to read every single one of the reviews we get. Please leave a review right now;)  Thanks for listening! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/farrar-duro/support

For the past 15 years western democracies have appeared to reach a crisis point. Cynicism towards political institutions is widespread, with results in the UK and the United States the most visible manifestation of this trend. In contrast, the Chinese Communist Party has overseen the greatest advancement in human development history, and maintained social stability and cohesion at the same time. Is there something structurally wrong with liberal democracy, and does China have a better model for managing politics in the 21st century? Guest: Professor Daniel Bell (Dean, School of Political Science and Public Administration, Shandong University)

This is Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.China&`&s first overseas land satellite ground receiving station has been put into trial operation.The China Remote Sensing Satellite North Polar Ground Station is above the Arctic Circle, half an hour&`&s drive from Kiruna, a major mining town in Sweden. Scientists say Kiruna is an ideal place for remote sensing satellite data reception. With this location and a high-performance antenna, China&`&s Earth observation satellites will acquire global data more efficiently, and respond to user application requirements including disaster monitoring more quickly and effective.China has ground stations in Beijing, Hainan province, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Yunnan province. The four ground stations receive satellite signals covering 70 percent of the Asian continent. Domestic stations can receive a signal from each satellite five times a day when they pass overhead, while the new station can receive signals up to 12 times a day. In addition, the new station can acquire satellite data in any part of the world within two hours. It is capable of receiving all-weather, all-time and multiple resolution satellite data, being an important complement to the four domestic stations. This is Special English.The Information Office of the State Council, China&`&s Cabinet, has launched an application with an online briefing area to provide the latest, most authoritative information about China and to offer better services for journalists from home and abroad. The app is available in Chinese and English. In addition to broadcast news conferences organized by the State Council Information Office, central departments, ministries and local governments, the app will provide updated information about the latest news events in China. The online briefing area provides services for users to book online or face-to face interviews with the office. The Information Office held 120 news conferences in 2016. By strengthening communication with the media and offering better services, the office says it will be more open in 2017 and play a bigger role in connecting China with the rest of the world. You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.A rising number of government officials have been placed under investigation for alleged misuse and embezzlement of poverty relief funds.Between January and October, national prosecuting departments investigated 1,600 government officials relating to crimes involving poverty relief funds, a 94 percent increase compared with the same period last year. Officials say supervision loopholes and efforts to crackdown on such illegal activity have contributed to the sharp increase in the number of cases found in such crimes. Most of the suspects are grassroots officials, including directors and accountants at village and township level, who allegedly abused their power to withhold or embezzle funds, or fabricate documents to falsely claim such funds. One such case was uncovered in May, when a local village Party chief in Henan province was investigated for alleged graft. When serving as the village head, the suspect abused his power, using names of his family members to falsely claim subsidies for returning farmland to forests totaling 180,000 yuan, roughly 26,500 U.S. Dollars.This is Special English.More than 66 percent of children in southwest China&`&s Tibet Autonomous Region have received preschool education, more than double that of six years ago.According to the latest figures from the local education department, the gross kindergarten enrollment ratio rose to 66 percent in 2016 from 24 percent in 2010. A total of 97,000 children were attended 1,000 kindergartens in Tibet in 2016.All children in Tibet&`&s agricultural and pastoral areas or children in low-income urban families are entitled to free tuition and accommodation fees, plus a 3,200 yuan-, roughly 470 U.S. Dollar-, pre-school education subsidy each year.The educational authorities are also promoting preschool classes taught in both Mandarin and Tibetan for children in Tibet. You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.Chinese scientists have developed a device which may instantly detect esophageal cancer by breath analysis.In a recent experiment, scientists with Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, used a device known as proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer to analyze breath samples of 29 cancer patients and 58 healthy volunteers.More tests are needed to confirm the findings.The current spectrometry takes only three minutes and the accuracy rate has reached 85 to 90 percent.In China, esophageal cancer kills 370,000 people a year. Both the prevalence and the death rate of the cancer in China are among the highest in the world. Common screening methods contain barium meals, computed tomography scans, endoscopy, and lab testing of biopsy samples. However, these invasive methods are not suitable for regular health exams or the very vulnerable.Non-invasive screening methods help in early detection and intervention, lowering the death rate. This is Special English.A total of 1,800 people died as a result of infectious diseases on the Chinese mainland in November.According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, there were 600,000 cases of infectious diseases reported on the mainland in November.More than 280,000 cases were classified as Class B infectious diseases under China&`&s Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, and they resulted in 1,800 deaths.Viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, syphilis, and bacterial dysentery accounted for 93 percent of cases in this category.Category C diseases were responsible for close to 320,000 cases, and eight deaths. Foot and mouth disease, infectious diarrhea, and influenza were the most prevalent in this category, accounting for 94 percent of cases. You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That&`&s mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues.Calendars have turned into luxuriously illustrated books which are highlights of China&`&s book scene at the end of the year.One of the most popular of such products is the Palace Museum Calendar, which has sold more than 1 million copies since it was first issued in 2010. The first printing of the 2017 version of 300,000 copies has sold out, and four more print runs are underway.For its 2017 calendar, the Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City, is offering a bilingual version in both English and Chinese.The Palace Museum said they did not expect people to buy the publications as collectibles. A 2010 version of the calendar of the Forbidden City is now worth 80 times its original price.The new 2017 calendar is inspired by Chinese zodiac animals and is illustrated with photos of relics from the Palace Museum&`&s collection of some 2 million antiques.The success of the Palace Museum Calendar has inspired more publishing entities to follow suit. A Plants and Animals Calendar and the One Way Street Calendar are among the best cellers in the new year&`&s market. This is Special English.A salt water well, believed to have been built during the Tang Dynasty 1,000 years ago, has been unearthed in north China&`&s Hebei Province.The salt well is the first to be discovered in a northern coastal area. The excavation is part of an ongoing project in Huanghua, a small city on the Bohai Sea coast.The well is 2-and-a-half meters in diameter. It was built with distinctive grooved bricks, which over time have come into contact with cinders and ash, and have turned black in color. Pieces of wooden and woven items were also found at the bottom of the well.Archaeologists believe that the well was constructed at a saltwater-rich offshore site, and the water from the well was used to produce salt.Other ruins have been discovered nearby including brine ditches, salt pans, brine pits, fire pits, and stoves, but their functions remain to be confirmed.One professor at Shandong University said this is the first Tang Dynasty salt well found in north China. And the ruins are evidence of advanced salt production featuring clear processing procedures.The findings have been welcomed by researchers of ancient salt-making techniques as well as those interested in Tang socioeconomic development.The 1,500-square-meter site is three kilometers from the ruins which are thought to be the northern tip of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.An 18th-century Chinese imperial seal was auctioned for 21 million euros, roughly 22 million U.S. Dollars, in Paris, establishing a new world record for this type of bid.During the bidding, potential buyers raised the seal&`&s price more than 20 times its estimated price.According to the auction house, the seal in red and beige nephrite jade was used by Emperor Qianlong, the second longest serving emperor in Chinese history.The emperor&`&s reign in China more than 200 years ago was one of the peak periods of the country&`&s prosperity, with a large population and a vast territory.The seal was decorated with nine dragons, a symbol of supreme authority. It was used to go with the signature of Qianlong&`&s calligraphy and paintings.The seal was reportedly acquired by a French naval doctor who traveled many times to China in the late 19th century, and has remained in his family ever since.The new owner of the imperial seal is an unnamed Chinese collector.This is Special English.An exhibition of traditional Chinese hand-painted fans is underway in Buenos Aires, representing the most important Chinese art show held in the Argentine capital in a decade.The show is entitled "Chinese style", and features 60 works selected from the China National Academy of Painting. China&`&s Ambassador to Argentina Yang Wanming attended the opening ceremony, together with officials from Argentina&`&s Ministry of Culture, and representatives from the China National Academy of Painting.The fan paintings range from landscapes to scenes of daily life, which are part of an artistic heritage dating back thousands of years in China.Fans are an essential element in China&`&s theatrical presentations. This type of art work used to be seen as a type of portable painting with images of landscapes, flora and fauna, or personalities.As the Year of China-Latin America Cultural Exchange, 2016 saw a significant number of Chinese art exhibitions, as well as stage performances and literature-related events, throughout the region."Chinese Style" will continue through until mid-March.You&`&re listening to Special English. I&`&m Mark Griffiths in Beijing.The historic story of the Six-inch Lane, rendered in the opera "Prime Minister of the Qing Dynasty" was warmly received at culture publicity week held at the Shanghai International Arts Festival lately.The Huangmei opera, a local form of opera from east China&`&s Anhui province, traditionally tells tragic love stories to win tears. However, "Prime Minister of the Qing Dynasty" features state politics and a corruption crack-down in the Qing Dynasty.The story is set over 100 years ago. Two state officials happened to have their family mansions built very close to one another, sharing a passageway between their courtyards.One of the families planned to enlarge their yard and attempts to encroach on the narrow passageway. A dispute erupts between the two families, and they decide to take the case to court.（全文见周六微信。）

  Carolyn Lam: Welcome to Circulation on the Run, your weekly podcast summary and backstage pass to the journal and its editors. I'm Dr. Carolyn Lam, associate editor from the National Heart Center and Duke National University of Singapore. Our feature discussion today is about the validation of a novel biomarker-based stroke risk score for atrial fibrillation, the ABC stroke score. But first, here's your summary of this week's journal.     The first paper provides experimental insights into endothelial nitric oxide synthase uncoupling in endothelial dysfunction. In this paper by first author Dr. Lee, corresponding author Dr. Wong and colleagues from Qilu Hospital of Shandong University in China, authors assessed endothelial function in animal models of hyperglycemia, hyperhomocysteinemia, and a dyslipidemia. They demonstrated that GTP cyclohydrolase 1 is the target of the microRNA-133a and that it's a topic expression and endothelial cells mediates endothelial dysfunction.     Furthermore, Lovastatin up-regulated GTP cyclohydrolase 1 and tetrahydrobiopterin and re-coupled endothelial nitric oxide synthase in stress endothelial cells. These actions of Lovastatin were abolished by enforced micro RNA 133A expression and mirrored by a mir-133a-antagomir. Finally, the beneficial effect of Lovastatin in mice were abrogated by in vivo mir-133A over-expression or by GTP cyclohydrolase 1 knockdown. In summary, this paper offers a mechanistic basis for targeting micro RNA 133A as a therapeutic approach to correct endothelial nitric oxide synthase dysfunction. It also provides further support to the role of statins in combating endothelial dysfunction.     The next study shows us that in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, calcium mishandling may be the potential link between the primary genetic cause and downstream signaling cascade that leads to hypertrophy and arrythmias. In this study, Dr. Helms and colleagues from University of Michigan analyzed gene expression, protein levels and functional essays for calcium regulatory pathways in 35 human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy surgical samples with and without sarcomere mutations and compared that with 8 control hearts. They found a marked reduction in circa2 abundance, which correlated with reduced circa2 function in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy compared to controlled hearts regardless of the underlying genetic etiology.     However, calcium calmodulin depend protein kinase type 2 or cam2, which is a calcium sensing kinase, was deferentially activated only in the sarcomere gene mutation positive samples. Activation of chem kinase 2 was associated with an increase in phospholamb and phosphorylation in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. However, neither calcineurin MRNA nor MEF2 activity was increased, suggesting that calcineurin pathway activation was not an upstream cause of increased chem kinase 2 protein abundance or activation.     In summary, this paper demonstrated that calcium mishandling occurs through both genotype specific and common pathways in human hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Post-translational activation of chem kinase 2 pathway is specific to sarcomere mutation positive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. While Sarco 2 abundance and sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake are depressed in both sarcomere positive and negative hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Thus, chem kinase pathway inhibition may improve aberrant calcium cycling in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This is discussed further in an accompanying editorial by Dr. Jill Tardiff.     The third study suggests that in patients with a dilated aortic route and trileaflet aortic valve, a ratio of aortic route area to height provides independent and improved stratification for prediction of death. First author Dr. Masry, corresponding author Dr. Desai and colleagues from the Center for Aortic Disease, Heart and Vascular Institute of Cleveland Clinic, studied consecutive patients with a dilated aortic route of greater or equal to 4 centimeters who underwent echocardiography and gated contrast enhanced thoracic aortic computer tomography or magnetic resonance and geography between 2003 and 2007.     A ratio of aortic route area over height was calculated on tomography and a cutoff of 10 squared centimeters per meter of height was chosen as abnormal. In 771 patients with trileaflet aortic valve and concomitant aortopathy, there was incremental prognostic value for indexing aortic route or ascending aortic area to patient height rather than using an unindexed aortic diameter. Incorporation of the ratio significantly and independently reclassified the risk for death and at normal ratio was independently associated with higher long-term mortality while cardiovascular surgery was associated with improved survival. Importantly, a sizable minority of patients with aortic route diameters between 4.5 and 5.5 centimeters had an abnormal aortic route when indexed to height ratio. 78 percent of deaths in this subgroup occurred in those with an abnormal aortic route area to height ratio. Findings were similar when ascending aortic measurements were considered. The take home message is that an aortic route area to height ratio above 10 squared centimeters per meter of height has significant and independent prognostic utility and may be used to re-stratify patients with trileaflet aortic valve and a dilated aorta.     The final study provides pre-clinical data to show that Ticagrelor reduces cardio damage post myocardial infarction to a greater extent than Clopidogrel by an adenosine induced organ protective response. First author Dr. Villaher, corresponding author Dr. Bademan and colleagues from the Cardiovascular Research Center in Barcelona, Spain studied a close-chest swine model of ischemia reperfusion in which myocardial infarction was induced by 1 hour balloon occlusion of the mid-left anterior descending coronary artery followed by 24 hours of re-flow. Prior to occlusion, the animals were randomly assigned to receive either placebo, a loading does of Clopidogrel, a loading does of Ticagrelor or a loading does of Ticagrelor followed by an A1 A2 receptor antagonist. Edema infarc size left ventricular size and left ventricular function were assessed by three T cardiomagnetic resonance imaging. Inhibition of platelet aggregation was the same between the groups receiving a P2Y-12 inhibitor.     Yet, Ticagrelor reduced infarc size to a significantly greater extent than Clopidogrel, reducing it by a further 23.5 percent, an effect supported by troponin eye assessment and histopathological analysis. Furthermore, compared to Clopidogrel, Ticagrelor significantly diminished myocardial edema by 24.5 percent, which correlated with infarced mass. Administration of an adenosine A1 A2 antagonist abolished the cardio protective effects of Ticagrelor over Clopidogrel. At a molecular level, aquaporin 4 expression decreased and the expression and activation of AMP kinase cyclin and COX-2 increased in the ischemic myocardium of Ticagrelor versus Clopidogrel treated animals. In summary, this study shows that Ticagrelor exerts cardio protective effects beyond its anti-platelet efficacy by adenosine dependent mechanisms, which reduce necrotic injury and edema formation. This is discussed in an accompanying editorial by Drs. Gerbel, Jung and Tantry. That wraps it up for the summaries. Now for our feature discussion.     Today, we are going to be discussing the performance of the ABC score for stroke in atrial fibrillation. And as a reminder for all our listeners there, ABC stands for A for age, B for biomarkers, that's NT-proBNP and high-sensitivity troponin, and C for clinical history of prior stroke. And again as a reminder, this risk score was originally derived in the Aristotle trial. However, we have new results about its performance and validation today from first and corresponding author Dr. Jonas Oldgren from Uppsala Clinical Research Center in Sweden. Welcome, Jonas.   Speaker 2: Thank you very much.   Carolyn Lam: We also have today the associate editor who managed this paper, Dr. Sandeep Das from UT Southwestern. Hi Sandeep.   Speaker 3: Hi Carolyn, thanks for having me.   Carolyn Lam: So Jonas, could you start off by telling us why you did this study and what you found?   Speaker 2: We did this study to validate the recently derived ABC stroke risk score. We have had risk scores for predicting stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation derived since the late 1990's and refined later on. But those risk scores have only used clinical markers for risk. We have for several years developed new risk prediction models with biomarkers and now we are combine them in a very simple biomarker based risk score, taking into account age as a clinical variable and the clinical history of prior stroke and only two common used biomarkers. And by that we can predict the risk of stroke with better precision than previous clinical risk scores.   Carolyn Lam: Yeah, I like what you said. I mean it is literally as simple as ABC. So tell us how you validated it and what you found.   Speaker 2: It was derived in a large cohort of patients participating in a clinical trial with new or relapsed coagulant compared to Warfarin and we now validated in almost a full size group participating it another clinical trial. So we have large data sets of very well described patients where we have good outcome data. Very solid data to rely on. Now we can see that the ABC risk score is now validated but the good precision and good collaboration of the discriminatory abilities is high and better than the previously used clinical risk scores.   Carolyn Lam: Could you give us some numbers behind that that are clinically meaningful? Everyone's going to be wondering compared to the chads-vasc score for example, how does this ABC score perform in that validation test set?   Speaker 2: We can adjust that by several different aspects. One is of course to calculate the C index which is a statistical method to see how good we can predict risk and the C indices for the ABC stroke score both in the duration and now in the validation cohort is higher than for the chads-vasc and atrial risk scores. But we can also look at what we have in this paper in circulation ... we can look at predicted outcome rates and observed outcome rates and can see that they clearly overlap both in the duration and validation court. So if you predict a risk that is less than 1 percent per year, it is observed also a risk that is less than 1 percent a year. Does this always ... the thing is when you derive risk or but when you validate it in another cohort, you need to show that it's a similar result.   Carolyn Lam: Yeah, that's true. Sandeep, you are managing this paper. It's very important. How do you think that clinicians should be taking the results?   Speaker 3: I think that clearly using anticoagulation and selected patients at high risk for stroke with atrial fibrillation is one of the best things we do in cardiology. You know in terms of reducing the risk of an important harm to patients. I think there's a fair bit of dissatisfaction out there with currently sort of standard, which is chads-vasc. Especially in people with a chads-vasc ... men with a chads-vasc of 1 or women with a chads-vasc of 1 to 2 where there's a bit of struggling over how to decide. So I think that one real advantage of this score in addition to the fact that it predicts better by the higher C statistic, which is fantastic and pretty uncommon, right? Lars sort of buried the lead a little bit by not emphasizing that it's relatively rare that we're able to move a c statistic by a point of 5 in the modern era.     But the other thing is that it helps give us an ability to come up with good estimates in people at low risk, which I think has been a challenge and something that people are a little concerned clinically. So I think that this is easily available, biomarkers that we routinely check all the time and it doesn't have the sort of gender challenge with chads-vasc where you're trying to figure out whether your low risk woman really needs to be on Warfarin or anticoagulation. So I think that it has a lot of clinical utility right out of the box, which is nice.   Carolyn Lam: Actually, Jonas could you let us know is there any sex differences in the performance of the score?   [00:14:46] Speaker 2:   There are no differences in the performance of the score. So we looked ... the advantage of this score is when we derived it in the original model, we looked at all important clinical and biomarker risk factors and we can see that these were the foremost interesting markers. So we only used those. So we can predict much better and as pointed out so nicely by Sandeep, for patients at the lower end of the risk spectrum, we can find patients or have higher or lower risk even within patients with chads-vasc 1 or chads-vasc 2. And I think it's also important to see what about patients at higher risk despite proper anticoagulation. We did not know how to treat them but in the future we might perhaps tailor treatment also for those patients with residual high risk of stroke despite proper anticoagulation treatment. For instance, if the left atrial appendage occluded devices are shown in the future to be a good option for those patients, we can find them also by this risk score. So both in the higher and lower end of the risk spectrum.   Carolyn Lam: That's a really good point. On that note, I'm just curious. What do you think is in the future? What more knowledge do we need to address before we put this into practice or are you already using this? Or do you think it should enter guidelines for example? Maybe Sandeep, I could ask for your opinion first.   Speaker 3: We see a lot of biomarkers associated with increased risk kind of studies come out in the literature. You know probably every week you see several of these things come out. So what's really interesting about this is that it's obviously methodologically extremely well done but its been derived and validated in two large cohorts, which is pretty much best practice right? You want to see people validate these risk scores in large and distinct cohorts of patients to build up sort of clinical validity to the reader or consumer. So I think, from my standpoint, this is ready for prime time. I'm really intrigued by the fact that biomarkers, especially troponin, are predicting stroke in this population and there have been some observational reports out there that have showed an association between troponin and increased risk of stroke or worse outcomes after stroke. So I'd be really curious as to what Jonas thinks about why troponin would be predictive of stroke in this population.   Speaker 2: We were extremely intrigued by the finding when we first did those single observations of only troponin as a risk marker because we know that troponin is a very specific protein found in the myocardium. But the clinic predicts risk for stroke also and there are several explanations but they are mainly hypotheses about aging and myocardial function really to identify patients of risk. But the clear cut explanation is still not there.   Carolyn Lam: It's likely that these biomarkers are incorporating aspects that we don't fully understand, which is why they are better predictors isn't it? I mean to your point Sandeep.   Speaker 3: Yeah, no absolutely. And I think that's great.   Carolyn Lam: Exactly. It really opens a lot of other questions that need to be answered in the meantime. Jonas, any other last words about how you may be applying this clinically in your own patients?   Speaker 2: We have no solid data supporting the use of this clinical risk score and as already pointed out, which I think is very good, all clinic risk scores should of course be in the best world validated as useful decision support truth and really in clinics trial seeing that they improve outcomes. This is to my knowledge never been down with a clinical risk scores. We have never used them prospectively to guide treatment and to improve outcomes. Actually, we are aiming to do that. We hope to start a clinical trial next year with ABC score guided treatment compared to standard of care. But it's a very huge undertake of course to that we can improve treatment by risk or guided management.   Carolyn Lam: That's excellent. So remember everyone, you heard it right here. A new trial that they're engaging. I really congratulate you first for this study, as well as this future efforts which are clearly going to be very important.     Thank you very much both of you for joining us today and thank you listeners for listening. Don't forget to tune in next week.  

This is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news. Chinese scientists are working on a new type of aerospace vehicle that will allow passengers to travel in space without any pre-training and at much lower cost. China Central Television reports that scientists from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation have started work on the new vehicle integrating different kinds of engine technology. The vehicle will use different air-breathing engines, allowing it to operate as a normal plane in the atmosphere. It will take off and land at a normal airport, instead of at special launch pads. The viehcle will be reusable, and cost will be greatly reduced. Scientist from the corporation said they expect to master the key technology in around three to five years, and significantly improve the vehicle's capabilities during the application. The vehicle is expected to be used for suborbital flight and orbital insertion by 2030. The expeditions will be between dozens to hundreds of kilometers from the earth. Compared with spacecraft which use partially recovered carrier rockets, by integrating different engines, the new vehicle has many more advantages in maintenance and application. In early July, it was reported that several institutes of the corporation were coordinating efforts to study the new vehicle. An engineer at the corporation said that in around 10 years, passengers will not need special training to travel into space on the vehicle. This is Special English. Chinese scientists have defined a subset of a type of virus-specific cell that play a vital role in the control of viral replication in chronic viral infection. The discovery will possibly pave the way for new ways to treat chronic diseases including HIV/AIDS and cancer. According to research published online by Nature magazine, virus-specific cells, CD8 +T, appear to deplete during chronic viral infection. However, according to the research findings, the cells are able to control viral replication in both animal models and HIV infection. Researchers found a unique subset that offers higher anti-viral potential than previously known, thus, showing greater therapeutic potential. The research also identified an important regulator for the generation of this subset. The research was led by the Third Military Medical University in Chongqing Municipality, with a number of partner institutions. It began in early 2013 with government financial support. Current therapies can only contain viral replication, but cannot purge them completely in chronic diseases such as HIV. Chinese researchers will now use the findings to further research into immunotherapy in cancer and HIV. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. A genome project for newborns has been launched in Shanghai to aid the early identification and treatment of hereditary diseases. The project was jointly initiated by the Chinese Board of Genetic Counseling and the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai. It will carry out genetic testing on 100,000 newborn babies over the coming five years. The findings will be recorded in a database and a genetic testing standard for hereditary diseases will be developed, which will improve the identification and treatment of such conditions. Experts say early identification can help doctors make better treatment strategies and improve the patients' quality of life. In another development, the Chinese Board of Genetic Counseling and Reproductive Hospital, which is affiliated with Shandong University, jointly launched China's embryo genome project. An embryo genome database will improve research and understanding of the development of embryos and improve diagnostic rates. There are some 7,000 kinds of inherited diseases and China sees around 900,000 babies born with birth defects every year. This is Special English. Health experts are calling for sex education to be included in China's school curriculum. They say the lack of formal tuition, allied with misunderstandings and outdated ideas, is putting young people at risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. The topic has recently been at the center of a heated debate on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, after campaigners condemned a sex education textbook that claimed premarital sex has a "tremendously negative psychological and physical impact on girls". For thousands of years, sex could not be discussed openly in China. Even today, it is taboo in most of China's schools. According to Gou Ping, a professor of psychology at Chengdu University, sex education is a comprehensive definition and is a fully developed concept related to many other issues. The university is the higher learning institute in the country that offers sex education as a minor course. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Chinese firm FiberHome has developed a type of optical fiber that can transmit 400 terabytes of data per second, breaking the world record for the amount of data that can be transmitted using optic fibers. Such capacity can allow for simultaneous phone calls by almost 5 billion people and the transmission of 40,000 blue-ray high definition films in one second. The company is based in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province. The transmission of 400 terabytes of data is accomplished on multi-core mono-mode optical fiber, which can be simply understood as breaking down the fiber into multiple paths to enhance transmission capacity. Such expansion in transmission capacity is a welcoming development amid growing demand for high speed transmission of data for VR, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and other emerging technology. This is Special English. Consumers in China will be entitled to a full refund on unsatisfactory products purchased online, even if the packages have been unsealed. A draft regulation that protects buyers' rights has been released by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and is based on China's consumer protection law. Public opinion is being sought until Sept 5. The draft says businesses must provide refunds to consumers within seven days of receiving returned products. The draft says the returned goods must be intact. The rule does not apply to several types of goods including those that can pose hazards to personal safety or health after being opened, or perishable goods that are near their expiry dates. Under China's consumer rights protection law, consumers can return goods for up to seven days, and get a refund for items that fail quality standards. In the case of goods purchased online or by telephone or television, consumers can make returns within seven days and get a refund without specifying a reason for most products. The only exceptions are four types of goods, including those that are perishable and prone to spoilage, as well as videodiscs that have been opened. This is the first draft regulation in China that specifies clearly that goods bought online can be returned for a refund, even if the packages have been opened. The regulation was made because there have been a number of disputes in recent years involving businesses refusing to offer refunds for goods that they sold online, using the excuse that the packages have been opened. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That's mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues. Archeologists have discovered more than 1,000 cliff paintings dating back more than 1,000 years in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Experts say the paintings are surprisingly well preserved, and feature sheep, camels, elks, tigers, wolves and people hunting. The images are believed to have been engraved by the ancient tribal people 1,500 years ago. The new findings are among many found across the Yinshan Mountains and will greatly inform research into ancient nomadic people. More than 10,000 ancient cliff paintings have been discovered in the area. In 2012, 18 cliff paintings dating back more than 4,000 years were discovered in the same area. Among them, a picture of seven human faces has been interpreted as the seven stars in the "Plough" constellation. This is Special English. China's largest Siberian tiger breeding center has announced that more than 50 tiger cubs have been born in the park so far this year. Located in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the Siberian Tiger Park is home to more than 1,000 Siberian tigers. Scientists handpick certain tigers, using a DNA database, to breed the next generation every year. Chief engineer Liu Dan said the park has been controlling the tigers' population to around 1,000 in order to maintain the ecological balance. The peak season for the breeding of Siberian tigers is in May and June. The cubs will be sent to the semi-wild environment after living with their mothers for around 100 days to learn how to hunt. Siberian tigers are among the world's most endangered species. They mostly live in northeast China and eastern Russia. The Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park was established in 1986 for better protection of the species. You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Chinese internet company LeEco is in talks with online video-streaming site Netflix for possible cooperation in content. Details will be announced in September, as the Beijing-based firm steps up efforts to expand its presence in the United States. Analysts say that the deal, if goes through, could also serve as a steppingstone for California-based Netflix to crack its China market, which it has been eyeing for a long time. China Daily reports that LeEco was looking for content partners in the United States, where it will launch its smartphones and Televisions this year. The deal with Netflix will be announced in September. The news came shortly after LeEco spent 2 billion U.S. dollars acquiring Vizio, a major U.S. television manufacturer. It is expected to give LeEco around 20 million big-screen users. The firm also purchased land in California as the center for its overseas operations. LeEco started as an online video-streaming site, but managed a rapid rise by selling internet-enabled devices that are bundled with video content. Since January, the company has intensified efforts to go global, listing the United States, India and Russia as its key overseas markets. This is Special English. （全文见周六微信。）

This is Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Here is the news. The production center for an innovative bus appears deserted with no sign of construction, raising questions about the scheduled launch next year. The bus is a sort of moving tunnel that straddles highway lanes to allow cars to pass beneath. The vehicle looks like a giant double-decker but is hollow on the ground level. Passengers can sit on the top floor while cars pass below. In December, a Beijing-based company signed a contract with the local authorities in Zhoukou city in Henan province to produce the Transit Elevated Bus in its research and manufacturing center. However, the Beijing Youth Daily reports that the site is now full of thick weeds; and farmers feed their sheep in the area. A local farmer surnamed Yuan told journalists that a groundbreaking ceremony was held last month. Yuan said "They built a platform. People who stood on the platform were dressed up. It seemed like it was a big day, but there has been no activity since." A local official said the project has been delayed. The environmental impact assessment of the project has not been approved yet, and many documents are still waiting to be signed. The contract includes an investment of 10 billion yuan, roughly 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, and an annual production of 1,000 buses. This is Special English. An insurance product has become a hot topic around the Qixi, the Chinese Valentine's Day, which fell on August 9th this year. It costs 600 yuan, roughly 90 U.S. dollars, and guarantees a payout of 11,000 yuan if the applicant marries his or her current sweetheart in three to 10 years. The applicants are required to submit non-marital status certificates for both prospective spouses when purchasing the product. If they marry within the specified time frame, they will get 11,000 yuan. A staff member with the China Taiping Insurance said there have been numerous phone calls inquiring about the product, but she declined to say how many policies have been sold. Some people saw the offer as smart marketing. They believe the insurance company set the bracket of years after painstaking calculations. Insurance companies cannot lose on the deal because the majority of sweethearts will break up. Others say it also shows that more than 5 percent of the sweethearts will finally become husband and wife. Relationships in big cities including Shanghai seem most fragile these days. Marriages are not long lasting. Almost 53,000 people divorced in Shanghai in 2014, second only to Beijing. Among them, 41,000 people were below the age of 40. The average age for marriage in Shanghai is 35 for men and 32 for women. In related news, flower prices in China started to recover ahead of the Qixi festival, after overproduction, combined with natural disasters, dampened sales. Last year, as many as 7 million flowers were sold during the festival at the Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center. Seeing the profit, flower growers nationwide boosted their expectations and supplied most of their flowers ahead of the festival, which resulted in a 30 percent increase in flower production. However, disastrous flooding nationwide and unusually high temperatures since July have cut into demand. Torrential rains have caused massive outbreaks of diseases among flowers, damaging their quality and hurting business. You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. A genome project for newborns has been launched in Shanghai to aid the early identification and treatment of hereditary diseases. The project was jointly initiated by the Chinese Board of Genetic Counseling and the Children's Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai. It will carry out genetic testing in 100,000 newborn babies over the coming five years. The findings will be recorded in a database and a genetic testing standard for hereditary diseases will be developed, which will improve the identification and treatment of such conditions. Experts say early identification can help doctors make better treatment strategies and improve the patients' quality of life. In another development, the Chinese Board of Genetic Counseling and Reproductive Hospital, which is affiliated with Shandong University, jointly launched China's embryo genome project. An embryo genome database will improve research and understanding of the development of embryos and improve diagnostic rates. There are some 7,000 kinds of inherited diseases and China sees around 900,000 babies born with birth defects every year. This is Special English. Chinese scientists are working on a new type of aerospace vehicle that will allow passengers to travel in space without any pre-training and at a much lower cost. China Central Television reports that scientists from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation have started to work on the new vehicle integrating different kinds of engine technology. The vehicle will use different air-breathing engines, allowing it to operate as a normal plane in the atmosphere. The plane will take off and land at normal airports, instead of using any kind of special launch pads. The viehcle will be reusable, and greatly reduce the cost of space travel. Scientist from the corporation said they expect to master key technology in around three to five years, and significantly improve the vehicle's capability during the application. The vehicle is expected to be used for suborbital flight and orbital insertion by 2030. The expeditions will be between dozens to hundreds of kilometers from the earth. Compared with the space shuttles and the partially recovered carrier rockets, by integrating different engines, the new vehicle has much more advantages in maintenance and application. In early July, the corporation said several institutes of the corporation were coordinating efforts to study the new vehicle. An engineer of the corporation said that in around 10 years, passengers will not need special training to travel to space on the vehicle. This is Special English. A Chinese firm FiberHome has developed a type of optic fiber that can transmit 400 terabytes of data per second, breaking the world record for the amount of data that can be transferred on optic fibers. Such capacity can allow for simultaneous phone calls by almost 5 billion people and the transmission of 40,000 blue-ray high definition movies in one second. The company is based in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province. The transmission of 400 terabytes of data is accomplished on multi-core mono-mode optic fibers, which can be simply understood as breaking down the fiber into multiple paths to enhance transmission capacity. You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to newsplusradio.cn. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let us know by e-mailing us at mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. That's mansuyingyu@cri.com.cn. Now the news continues. A training course for senior foreign police officers on United Nations peacekeeping missions has started in Beijing. It is the first time China's Ministry of Public Security and the United Nations have cooperated in this endeavor. The course focuses on passing on China's practical experience. The trainees include 17 senior officers from countries including Angola, Kenya and Liberia. Four Chinese peacekeeping police representatives will also attend the course. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced measures to back United Nations peacekeeping missions. Addressing a peacekeeping summit in the UN headquarters last year, President Xi declared that China will help train 2,000 foreign peacekeepers in the next five years. Since 2000, China has dispatched more than 2,400 peacekeepers to nine areas. At present, 170 Chinese police officers are still in Liberia, South Sudan and Cyprus. This is Special English. A new Confucius Classroom has been inaugurated Mexico. During the inauguration ceremony, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong said Mexican students' fluent Chinese and great performances made her feel the charm of cultural exchange. She also sees the bright future of friendly ties between China and Mexico. Bilateral relations were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Mexico in 2013. Liu said China hopes to work together with Mexico to deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields and bring more benefits to people of the two countries. Next year will mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Mexico. Liu said that along with the deepened cooperation between China and Mexico, more and more young people in China are learning Spanish. More than 30 universities teach the Spanish language in China. Meanwhile, she said, the Chinese language is also gaining increasing importance in Latin American countries. Mexico has established five Confucius Institutes that together have 30,000 registered students, making an important contribution to cultural exchange between the two countries. You're listening to Special English. I'm Ryan Price in Beijing. Born in Harbin in northeast China, Maruyama Iwao was just 11 years old when he was repatriated to his native country Japan in 1946. Now 81 years old, Iwao's story has been made into a documentary entitled "Travel with Me: A Journey of Gratitude over 70 Years", which is being screened in China. The documentary tells the story of Iwao's recent bicycle trip, where he retraced the journey he made from Harbin to Huludao in Liaoning Province 70 year ago. He said that along the way, he was touched by the helpfulness of the Chinese people he met, just like in the old days. Tian Yuhong, vice head of China Radio International, which produced the documentary, said they would like the film to make people reflect on history, and enhance Sino-Japanese relations, and call for the respect of peace and life. When the war ended in 1945, more than 35 million Chinese people were killed or injured. During the following three years, more than one million Japanese people were sent back home. Iwao had the idea of retracing his journey in China in 2011 when he was working as a volunteer, following the massive earthquake in Japan. He met another man who planned to travel in China by bike and decided to join him. This is Special English. A survey has begun in the southwestern province of Sichuan to determine if wild giant pandas are at risk from epidemic diseases. Researchers will collect samples of droppings and hair across ten nature reserves in the province. The survey is the first of its kind in the province, and will be completed by the end of October. Sichuan is home to 1,400 wild giant pandas, accounting for 74 percent of China's wild panda population. The samples will be analyzed to identify the pathogens carried by the animals. Wild giant pandas are known to be carriers of pathogens, but a more detailed survey is needed to define the exact condition. This is Special English. （全文见周日微信。）

Dr. Miao Li, assistant professor, Department of Sociology and School of Philosophy and Social Development at Shandong University, joins New Books in Education to discuss Citizenship Education and Migrant Youth in China: Pathways to the Urban Underclass (Routledge, 2015). Part of the Research in International and Comparative Education series, the book explores China's large floating population of migrants who have flocked to urban areas for employment, despite lagging educational opportunities for their children. Utilizing rich ethnographic data with interviews from teachers, principals, and students, Dr. Li thoroughly explores how global economic realities and national educational policies detrimentally affect people on the micro-level. For questions or comments on the podcast, you can connect to the host at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Miao Li, assistant professor, Department of Sociology and School of Philosophy and Social Development at Shandong University, joins New Books in Education to discuss Citizenship Education and Migrant Youth in China: Pathways to the Urban Underclass (Routledge, 2015). Part of the Research in International and Comparative Education series, the book explores China’s large floating population of migrants who have flocked to urban areas for employment, despite lagging educational opportunities for their children. Utilizing rich ethnographic data with interviews from teachers, principals, and students, Dr. Li thoroughly explores how global economic realities and national educational policies detrimentally affect people on the micro-level. For questions or comments on the podcast, you can connect to the host at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Miao Li, assistant professor, Department of Sociology and School of Philosophy and Social Development at Shandong University, joins New Books in Education to discuss Citizenship Education and Migrant Youth in China: Pathways to the Urban Underclass (Routledge, 2015). Part of the Research in International and Comparative Education series, the... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Miao Li, assistant professor, Department of Sociology and School of Philosophy and Social Development at Shandong University, joins New Books in Education to discuss Citizenship Education and Migrant Youth in China: Pathways to the Urban Underclass (Routledge, 2015). Part of the Research in International and Comparative Education series, the book explores China’s large floating population of migrants who have flocked to urban areas for employment, despite lagging educational opportunities for their children. Utilizing rich ethnographic data with interviews from teachers, principals, and students, Dr. Li thoroughly explores how global economic realities and national educational policies detrimentally affect people on the micro-level. For questions or comments on the podcast, you can connect to the host at @PoliticsAndEd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Miao Li, assistant professor, Department of Sociology and School of Philosophy and Social Development at Shandong University, joins New Books in Education to discuss Citizenship Education and Migrant Youth in China: Pathways to the Urban Underclass (Routledge, 2015). Part of the Research in International and Comparative Education series, the... Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. Josef Stern, William H. Colvin Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago, presents a lecture titled "The Unbinding of Isaac," at Shandong University in Jinan, China on April 24, 2012. His lecture explores Maimonides' philosophical views on the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac. The event was sponsored by Alumni Education. Stern's lecture was part of a workshop on Maimonides and Medieval Jewish Thought sponsored by the American Culture Exchange Center, a joint project between the University of Chicago and Shandong University and funded, in part, by the American Center for Educational Exchange.