Podcasts about shanghai institute

The Chinese marine insurance market is an important one. It continues to grow off the back of the world's largest commercial fleet and a range of domestic initiatives. In this podcast we speak with Ge Qi, Head of Reinsurance at Cosco Shipping Captive Insurance Company, a Director of the Shanghai Institute of Marine Insurance and a member of IUMI's Ocean Hull Committee. Ge Qi gives a unique insight into the current status of the Chinese market and explains how he believes the market will grow and develop over the coming years.

In this special episode, we speak with Professor Haim Zvi Dotan. Prof Dotan embodies the intersection of innovation, artistry, and forward-thinking design. He's an internationally renowned architect, poet, educator, and futurist. He's the visionary mind behind the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge- the world's first, longest, and highest glass-bottom bridge - a stunning architectural marvel that has become an iconic landmark in China and a symbol of bold innovation worldwide. He's been recognized for his groundbreaking contributions, earning numerous honors, including the title of “Honorary Citizen of Zhangjiajie” and the prestigious iNNOVEX Global Leader of Innovation Award. Beyond his architectural accomplishments, he's a dedicated educator, sharing his expertise as a professor at leading institutions like Fudan University, the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, and the DeTao Masters Academy. And above all of this, he's truly a special spirit. We discuss: • The concept of time and the journey of life • Prof. Dotan's belief that every person is a genius if they connect to their inner soul and DNA • The role of education in connecting students to their inner wisdom and the importance of passion and curiosity in achieving success. • How creativity is linked to being fully aware of the now • The concept of being a "startup nation" and how everyone has a unique mission and passion that they should follow • The importance of following one's passion and not being afraid to explore different paths in life • Prof. Dotan's passion for being a bridge between people and how this has shaped his career and life • The importance of being oneself and not trying to fit into societal expectations or the expectations of others. • And much more! This episode is dedicated to Miri Perlman, a 25-year-old student of Professor Dotan who passed away unexpectedly. Shortly before her passing, Miri attended Professor Dotan's workshop, “Green Cities and Smart Building” at HIT. During the workshop, she drew a portrait of Professor Dotan, and he captured a photo of her while drawing. Tragically, this photo turned out to be the last picture taken of her alive. In many ways, this episode is a reminder of how fragile life truly is, and how important it is to truly try to tap into the best version of ourselves and do the best with what we have because we only have one life. We hope you listen to this unique episode.

Guest: Meet Dr. Phillip Frost: Billionaire CEO and the Healthcare Pioneer Behind OPKO Health $OPK Website: https://www.opko.com/ Ticker: $OPK His Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillip_Frost Bio: Dr. Frost has been the CEO and Chairman of OPKO since March 2007. Previously, Dr. Frost served at Teva Pharmaceutical industries, Limited (“TEVA”) as both Chairman of the Board and Vice Chairman. Dr. Frost served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of IVAX Corporation from 1987 until its acquisition by Teva in January 2006. He also served as Chairman for Key Pharmaceuticals, Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services was a director of Continucare Corporation and Castle Brands, Inc. He was also a Governor and Co-Vice-Chairman of the American Stock Exchange. Dr. Frost is a past chairman and currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami, the Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies in China, and as a Trustee of the Miami Jewish Home for the Aged and the Mount Sinai Medical Center. He also serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science. He is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the Scripps Research Institute, the Board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and the Skolkovo Foundation Scientific Advisory Council in Russia. Dr. Frost is a director of Cocrystal Pharma Inc, a publicly traded biotechnology company developing new treatments for viral diseases. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/smartmoneycircle/support

With the exception of a few hereditary cancers, there is currently no accurate method to predict whether someone is going to get cancer. Dr Andrew Teschendorff from the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, in collaboration with Dr Chen Wu from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, has created a computational method called CancerStemID that could help calculate a patient's risk of cancer by analysing a vast amount of RNA data from precancerous cells.Read the original research: doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.can-22-0668

Qin Sun Stubis is a Chinese-American author of the book Once Our Lives: A Memoir of Shanghai, Teahouses, and Three Generations of Family, which tells the story of four generations of Chinese women in Shanghai, China during the Great Famine, navigating war and revolution.   In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Qin about her early life, China's Cultural Revolution and her love of words and storytelling. Qin explains how the loss of her parents inspired her to write a memoir that brings to life her family's stories and a fascinating part of China's history. She also discusses her writing process and the challenges she faced as a first-time author. Qin has received awards for this beautiful book and continues to write essays and short stories.   In this episode, Lynne and Qin discuss:  Growing up in poverty and how that influenced her writing A mother's influence on her love of words Early memories of writing – quoting Mao Zedong's quotations Attending the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Languages Being a late-blooming writer  A mission to preserve family stories and reputation Why history and humanity is the same around the world First-time author challenges along the publishing journey The importance of the first sentence and first chapter Forming a support group for older women writers Her column for the Santa Monica Star   Links and Resources:  Chinese Cultural Revolution Thomas Hardy Shakespeare's Sonnets Louisa May Alcott Bessie Streeter Aldrich Tess of the d'Urbervilles F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby Nonfiction Author Association Miami Book Fair PenCraft Book Awards Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes   Find Qin Sun Stubis: Website LinkedIn Instagram Facebook If you enjoyed this episode, you'll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes: Episode 156 – Blair Fell – Original Storylines & Unique Characters Episode 149 – Anne-Marie Oomen – Writing through Family Episode 146 – Barbara Stark-Nemon – Tracing the Path of Historical Fiction Episode 139 – Desiree Cooper – Being “Genre Agnostic” Episode 131 – Weina Dai Randel – The Last Rose of Shanghai  

In this episode we listen to leading academics discuss the role of expert knowledge in governance and diplomacy in the Arctic. The speakers are:Merje Kuus, Professor, University of British Columbia.Yang Jian, Vice-President, Shanghai Institute for International Studies.Heather Nicol, Professor, Trent University.Lassi Heininen, Professor, The Arctic Yearbook.This event originally took place at the 2023 Arctic Circle Japan Forum and was organized by: the UArctic Thematic Network on Geopolitics and Security, and the Arctic Yearbook.

In this episode we listen to a panel on the future of Arctic geopolitics. The Panelists are:Miyase Christensen, Professor, Stockholm University, SwedenAtsushi SUNAMI, President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, JapanJian YANG, Vice-President, Shanghai Institute for International Studies, ChinaLassi Heininen, Chair, GlobalArctic Mission Council; Professor Emeritus, University of Lapland, FinlandThis event originally took place at the 2023 Arctic Circle Japan forum and was organized in association with The Arctic Circle Mission Council on the GlobalArctic

In this episode we listen to a panel on Arctic science collaboration.The Panelists are:Larry Hinzman, Executive Director, Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee; Professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Former President, of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), USAKatarina Gårdfeldt, Director General, Swedish Polar Research SecretariatÁgúst Hjörtur Ingþórsson, Director General, Icelandic Centre for ResearchHiroyuki ENOMOTO, Vice Director-General, National Institute for Polar Research, JapanHyoung Chul SHIN, Vice President, Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) Jian YANG, Vice-President, Shanghai Institute for International Studies, ChinaThe Panel is followed by a Q&A with the audience and is chaired by Henry Burgess, Head of the UK Arctic Office, British Antarctic Survey; and President of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), United Kingdom. This event originally took place at the 2023 Arctic Circle Japan Forum. 

Please join authors Loren Field and Sean Reuter, as well as Associate Editor Thomas Eschenhagen as they discuss the article "Cardiac Troponin I-Interacting Kinase Affects Cardiomyocyte S-Phase Activity But Not Cardiomyocyte Proliferation." Dr. Greg Hundley: Welcome listeners, to this January 10th issue of Circulation on the Run, and I am Dr. Greg Hundley, associate editor, director of the Pauley Heart Center at VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Peder Myhre: I am Dr. Peder Myhre from Akershus University Hospital and University of Oslo in Norway. Dr. Greg Hundley: Well, listeners, this week's feature discussion delves into the world of preclinical science and evaluates cardiac troponin I and its impact on S phase activity in cardiomyocytes, and does that relate to cardiomyocyte proliferation. But before we get to that, how about we grab a cup of coffee and Peder and I will work through some of the other articles in the issue. Peder, how about this week I go first? Dr. Peder Myhre: Go ahead, Greg. Dr. Greg Hundley: Right. So Peder, this first study evaluated whether the burden of positive coronary artery calcification on cardiovascular disease differed by multidimensional individual characteristics, and so the investigators led by Dr. Kosuke Inoue from Kyoto University sought to investigate the heterogeneity in the association between positive coronary artery calcium and incident cardiovascular disease. And so Peder, to examine this question, the authors implemented a cohort study design that included adults aged greater than 45 years, free of cardiovascular disease, from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, or MESA, and after propensity score matching in a one-to-one ratio, they applied a machine learning causal forest model to, first, evaluate the heterogeneity in the association between positive coronary artery calcium and incident cardiovascular disease and then, second, to predict the increase in cardiovascular disease risk at 10 years when the coronary artery calcium score was greater than zero, so versus is it zero at all at the individual level? Dr. Peder Myhre: Oh, Greg, that is so cool, so using machine learning for coronary artery calcium and risk prediction, I'm very excited. What did they find? Dr. Greg Hundley: Right, Peder, so the expected increases in cardiovascular disease risk when the coronary artery calcium score was greater than zero were heterogeneous across individuals. Moreover, nearly 70% of people with low atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk showed a large increase in cardiovascular disease risk when the coronary calcium score was greater than zero, highlighting the need for coronary artery calcium screening among such low-risk individuals. And Peder, future studies are really needed to assess whether targeting individuals for coronary artery calcium measurements based on not only the absolute ASCVD risk, but also the expected increase in CVD risk when a CAC score is greater than zero and whether that improves overall assessment of cardiovascular outcomes. Dr. Peder Myhre: Wow, that is so clinically relevant and very interesting. And we're actually going to stay clinically relevant with the next paper which is about anti-platelet therapy after PCI. And this paper describes the long-term results of the HOST-EXAM trial. To remind you, Greg, the HOST-EXAM trial was an investigator-initiated prospective, randomized, open label, multicenter trial done at 37 sites in Korea. They enrolled patients who had undergone PCI with DES and maintained dual anti-platelet therapy without any clinical event for a mean 12 months and then they were randomized one to-one to either clopidogrel, 75 milligrams once daily, or aspirin, 100 milligram once daily. The primary results of this trial was published in Lancet in 2021 and showed superiority of clopidogrel over aspirin in prevention of the composite of MACE and major bleeding during 24 months of followup. And then, through the current paper, this describes the results of the post trial extended followup of about five years. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice, Peder, so aspirin versus clopidogrel and looking at the maintenance of that monotherapy and cardiovascular outcomes. Wow, so what did they find? Dr. Peder Myhre: Yeah, Greg. They, in this extended followup study, had a total of 5.8 years median followup, and the primary endpoint occurred in 12.8% in the clopidogrel group versus 16.9% in the aspirin group, and that has a range of 0.74 with a 95% conference interval ranging from 0.63 to 0.86. So also the clopidogrel group had lower risk of the secondary thrombotic endpoint and the secondary bleeding endpoint while there was no significant difference in the incident on all caused death. So Greg, to conclude, these very interesting results from the primary analysis of the HOST-EXAM trial was consistent through the longer followup, and this support the use of clopidogrel over aspirin monotherapy from 12 months onwards after PCI. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice Peder, beautiful description and sounds like long-term clopidogrel use over aspirin was quite beneficial. Well, the next study comes to us from the world of preclinical science, and it is from the investigative group led by Dr. Yunzeng Zou from Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and the Zhongshan Hospital and Fudan University. Peder, the study pertains to diabetes. So diabetic heart dysfunction is a common complication of diabetes mellitus and cell death is a core event that leads to diabetic heart dysfunction. However, the time sequence of cell death pathways and the precise intervening time of particular cell death type remained largely unknown in diabetic hearts. And so, Peder, this study aimed to identify the particular cell death type that is responsible for diabetic heart dysfunction and propose a promising therapeutic strategy by intervening in this cell death pathway. Dr. Peder Myhre: Wow, Greg, that is really interesting. Heart dysfunction in diabetes is something that we really have to learn more about and I'm so excited to hear what these authors found, Greg. Dr. Greg Hundley: Right. So first, Peder, the authors identified necroptosis as the predominant cell death type at later stages in the diabetic heart. And then second, Peder, the CB2 receptor, and we'll call that CB2-R, recruits transcription factor Bach2 to repress necroptosis and protects against diabetic heart injury while hyperglycemia and MLKL in turn phosphorylates CB2-R to promote ubiquitous dependent degradation of CB2-R, thus forming a CB2-R centric feedback loop of necroptosis. And finally, Peder, cardiac CB2-R or Bach2 expression negatively correlates with both MLKL 10 expression and the extent of diabetic heart injuries in humans. And so the clinical implications of these findings, Peder, are that the CB2-R centric necrotic loop represents a promising target for the clinical treatment of diabetic heart injuries. Dr. Peder Myhre: So Greg, this paper that comes to us from corresponding author Amanda Paluch from University of Massachusetts Amherst, is a meta-analysis of eight prospective studies with device measured steps including more than 20,000 adults who were followed for CVD events. And the mean age of participants in this study was 63 years and 52% were women. And the participants were followed for a median of 6.2 years and 1,523 cardiovascular events occurred. So first, Greg, there was a significant difference in the association of steps per day in cardiovascular disease between older, that is greater or equal to 60 years, and younger, that is less than 60 years adults. So for older adults that has the ratio for cardiovascular disease using Q1 as reference was 0.80 for Q2, 0.62 for Q3, and 0.51 for Q4. And for younger adults that has ratio for cardiovascular disease using Q1 as reference was 0.79 for Q2, 0.90 for Q3, and 0.95 for Q4. And in the paper, Greg, there are some beautiful, restricted cubic lines that really illustrate the association between daily steps and the risk of cardiovascular disease among older adults and in younger adults. So the authors conclude that for older adults taking more daily steps is associated with a progressively lower risk of cardiovascular disease. And monitoring and promoting steps per day is a simple metric for clinician patient communication and population health to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Greg Hundley: Well, Peder, we've got some other very interesting articles in this issue and how about we dive into that mail bag and discuss a few of those. So I'll go first. The first is a Perspective piece by Professor Powell-Wiley entitled “Centering Patient Voices through Community Engagement in Cardiovascular Research.” A very important topic where can those in the community actually help us design meaningful outcomes for our research initiatives? And next Peder, there is a Research Letter from Professor Evans entitled “Increasing Mononuclear deployed Cardiomyocytes by Loss of E2F7/8, and does that fail to improve cardiac regeneration post myocardial infarction?” Dr. Peder Myhre: Thanks, Greg. We also have an ECG Challenge by Dr. Li entitled, “What Is The Truth Behind Abnormal ECG Changes?” And this is describing a very rare and interesting cause of ST segment elevation. I recommend everyone to read that case. We also have our own Nick Murphy who gives us the Highlights from the Circulation Family of Journals where he summarizes five papers from the Circulation subspecialty journals. First, the experience with a novel visually assisted ablation catheter is reported in circulation A and E. The impact of various exercise training approaches on skeletal muscle in heart failure with preserved the F is presented in circulation heart failure. Gaps in heart failure treatment over a decade are reported in circulation cardiovascular quality and outcomes, and the associations of machine learning approaches to plaque morphology from coronary CTA with ischemia are reported in circulation cardiovascular imaging. And finally, Greg, an observational study of left main PCI at sites with and without surgical backup is reported in circulation cardiovascular interventions. Let's go on to the feature paper today describing the cardiac troponin I interacting kinase and the impact on cardiomyocyte S phase activity. Dr. Greg Hundley: Great, let's go. Welcome listeners to this January 10th feature discussion. Very interesting today as we are going to delve into the world of preclinical science. And we have with us today Dr. Loren Field and Dr. Sean Reuter from University of Indiana in Indianapolis, Indiana. And our own associate editor, Dr. Thomas Eschenhagen from University Medical Center of Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany. Welcome gentlemen. Well, Loren, we're going to start with you. Can you describe for us some of the background information that went into the preparation of your study, and what was the hypothesis that you wanted to address? Dr. Loren Field: Sure. This study actually came about in a rather roundabout fashion. We were doing a study with Kai Wollert in Hanover, Germany, where we were looking at the impact of a CXCR4 antagonist, which is used to mobilize stem cells from the bone marrow. And we had sent our mice over to Kai's lab and we have a mouse model that allows us to track S phase activity in cardiac myocytes, so these are cells are starting to replicate. And Kai crossed them into a different genetic background. And when he sent the mice back to us to analyze the hearts, we observed that we saw things that we never saw before in our experiments here. His injury model was different than ours and now the mouse also had a genetic background, so we had to spend about a year to figure out if it was the injury model or the background. It turned out to be the genetic background, and the phenotype was these mice had about a 15-fold elevated level of cell cycle reentry. So then it became a relatively simple genetics game where we took the progenitor mice, made F1 animals, looked for the phenotype, did backcross animals, and basically identified the gene responsible for the phenotype. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice. And so in this study moving forward, what hypothesis did you want to address? Dr. Loren Field: Well, the main hypothesis was to figure out what the gene was and then secondarily to figure out the degree of cell cycle progression. When the cell is proliferating, the first task is to replicate its genome, which is S phase activity that's followed by the nuclei dividing and then finally by the cell itself becoming two cells. So our task was to identify, first, the gene and secondly, how far through the cell cycles the cells progressed. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice. And how did you construct your experiment? Dr. Loren Field: It was, again, very straightforward. It was simply setting up the appropriate genetic crosses to produce the animals. For the past 10, 15 years, we've been developing a computer assisted assay that allows us to identify the anatomical position of S phase positive cardiac myocytes in sections of the heart. And basically, we apply that program to the different genetic backgrounds and after that it's a ball of mapping studies, QTL mapping. Dr. Greg Hundley: So really mechanistic understanding. Well listeners, we're next going to turn to Sean, and Sean, can you describe for us your study results? Dr. Sean Reuter: Yes, as Loren stated, we saw a 15-fold increase in the S phase activity within the remote zone. Now we partition the heart in three different zones after injury, so the scar, the border zone, and then the remote zone or injury. And as Loren stated, we saw a 15-fold increase in the S phase activity, cell cycle activity, in the remote zone. And it's only because we have this system in hand that we can anatomically map the S phase activity within the heart that we were able to detect and also quantify this. And I think that's the reason we discovered this particular phenotype. But in addition to that, we performed RNA-seq or Exome sequencing and discovered that TNNI3K was the responsible gene for elevated S phase activity within the remote zone and border zone, but interestingly not in the scar. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very interesting, Sean, and so describe for us the importance of the TNNI3K and its relationship to this S phase. Dr. Sean Reuter: Sure. This particular gene was first discovered around 2000, and it's been studied for a while now, but the targets of this kinase specifically expressed in the heart, and it does get elevated after injury, but the actual targets are not well described or well known. It's believed that it phosphorylates some mild filament fibers and structural proteins, but the actual mechanism and the consequence of this is not known. So when we saw this in the remote zone, the elevated S phase, our current theory is that we believe that it's probably increasing oxidative stress that would basically further out from the at-risk zone or the border zone and then it now is in the remote zone. So we think it's just causing the heart, a pathological area of the heart, basically to expand. And so that's our current theory. Other groups have published on the oxidative stress in over expression of TNNI3K as well. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice. Well listeners, next we are going to turn to our associate editor, Thomas many articles come your way and come across your desk. What attracted you to this particular article, and how do we put its results really in the context of cardiac regeneration? Dr. Thomas Eschenhagen: Indeed, there were several arguments. It's a cool paper and the whole field is still very important. As probably most of you know, the field have a rough ride over the last 20 years, went up and down, lots of bad findings. And in the end it turns out that we are there where we have been 20 years ago, the mammalian heart essentially doesn't regenerate. So anything which would improve that would be of very major importance. Why is it a good paper? Because it starts from a very clear finding, one mouse, which looks like strongly regenerating after MI, another mouse line, which doesn't. And so by applying, let's say, classical genetic, very stringent methodology, Loren Field and his group identified this troponin I kinase to be the culprit. And they also proved it, because putting it back in the strain with a low, so-called, regeneration brought it back to the other level. So it's a very clear, nice methodology. And finally, it's also a bit provocative because others in a very prominent paper, actually, have shown that this kinase... Or they concluded more or less just the opposite. The reason for the discrepancy is not quite clear and I was very happy to learn that the two groups actually discussed about it. So it's not just a bad controversy, but something which brings forward science. And finally, I think something we didn't talk about yet today, what I particularly liked, maybe the most, on this paper is that this group didn't stop at the point of DNA synthesis. Everybody else would've probably said, "Okay, here we are, one regenerate the other doesn't." But in the very important extra finding of this paper is that this is just increased DNA synthesis and not more myocytes. And this distinction is so critical to the field because people forget that adult mammalian cardiomyocytes often have several nuclei and individual nuclei have more than one set of chromosomes, so this polyploid. And so if you see DNA synthesis like in this paper, it doesn't necessarily mean more myocytes. And actually here it was shown that it is not more myocytes but more polyploidization and making this difference so clear, I think it's a very important contribution to the field. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice. Well, listeners, we're going to turn back to each of our guests today and we'll start with you Loren. Based on your results, what do you see as the next study moving forward in this sphere of research? Dr. Loren Field: I think these results made me appreciate for the first time that the intrinsic level of cell cycle reentry, that's just the S phase, not the cell division, is actually much higher than I had thought previously. And this was because we just fortuitously, or I guess anti-fortuitously, we're using a strain that had low levels of S phase induction. If you calculate the turnover, if every nucleus that it synthesized DNA actually went on to have that cell divide, you could replace a 50% loss of myocytes over the course of about 550 days, give or take. And to me, that's actually telling me that if we could push those cells from just being polypoid, as Thomas was saying, to actually go through cytokinesis, there would be enough intrinsic activity to go forward. So this really tells me that what we should be focusing on is now not trying to induce cell cycle, but to allow the cells that are entering the cell cycle to actually progress through it. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice. And Sean? Dr. Sean Reuter: Yes, well, echoing Loren's point there, it's really not necessarily cell cycle induction, it's cell cycle completion to the cytokinetic fate. And that's the key. If we can get to that point, if we can figure out the mechanism to get to that point, then we have a wonderful discovery. However, we're not quite there yet, but we hope to be. Dr. Greg Hundley: And Thomas. Dr. Thomas Eschenhagen: Well, nothing to add really from my side, except that I would like to know what this Troponin I kinase does, because that is somehow still a missing link. How does this kinase lead to more DNA synthesis or the initiation of cell cycling? That would be an important finding and I'm sure there will be more research going on. Particularly also, to solve this discrepancy, I mean, there must be something in it and we don't quite yet know how, but I think we are in a good way. I'm sure there will be papers showing that soon. So I think that's, again, a very good start for this discussion. Dr. Greg Hundley: Well, listeners, we want to thank Dr. Loren Field, Dr. Sean Reuter and Dr. Thomas Eschenhagen for bringing us this really informative study in mammalian myocellular regeneration, highlighting that the level of cardiomyocyte cell cycle reentry in hearts expressing TNNI3 kinase would lead to significant regenerative growth if each cardiomyocyte exhibiting S phase activity was able to progress through cytokinesis. And this in turn suggests that identification of factors which facilitate cardiomyocyte cell cycle progression beyond S phase will be key to unlocking the intrinsic regenerative capacity of the heart. Well, on behalf of Carolyn, Peder and myself, we want to wish you a great week and we will catch you next week on the run. This program is copyright of the American Heart Association 2023. The opinions expressed by speakers in this podcast are their own and not necessarily those of the editors or of the American Heart Association. For more, please visit ahajournals.org.

On this week's show: The first images from the James Webb Space Telescope hint at the science to come, and disentangling the itch-scratch cycle After years of delays, the James Webb Space Telescope launched at the end of December 2021. Now, NASA has released a few of the first full-color images captured by the instrument's enormous mirror. Staff Writer Daniel Clery joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss these first images and what they mean for the future of science from Webb. Next on the podcast, Jing Feng, principal investigator at the Center for Neurological and Psychiatric Research and Drug Discovery at the Chinese Academy of Sciences's Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, discusses his Science Translational Medicine paper on why scratching sometimes triggers itching. It turns out, in cases of chronic itch there can be a miswiring in the skin. Cells that normally detect light touch instead connect with nerve fibers that convey a sensation of itchiness. This miswiring means light touches (such as scratching) are felt as itchiness—contributing to a vicious itch-scratch cycle. Also this week, in a sponsored segment from Science and the AAAS Custom Publishing Office, Sean Sanders, director and senior editor for the Custom Publishing Office, interviews Paul Bastard, chief resident in the department of pediatrics at the Necker Hospital for Sick Children in Paris and a researcher at the Imagine Institute in Paris and Rockefeller University. They talk about his work to shed light on susceptibility to COVID-19, which recently won him the Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology. This segment is sponsored by Michelson Philanthropies. This week's episode was produced with help from Podigy. [Image: NASA; ESA; CSA; STSCI; Music: Jeffrey Cook] [alt: James Webb Space Telescope image of image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 with podcast symbol overlay] Authors: Sarah Crespi; Daniel Clery Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.add9123 About the Science Podcast: https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's show: The first images from the James Webb Space Telescope hint at the science to come, and disentangling the itch-scratch cycle After years of delays, the James Webb Space Telescope launched at the end of December 2021. Now, NASA has released a few of the first full-color images captured by the instrument's enormous mirror. Staff Writer Daniel Clery joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss these first images and what they mean for the future of science from Webb. Next on the podcast, Jing Feng, principal investigator at the Center for Neurological and Psychiatric Research and Drug Discovery at the Chinese Academy of Sciences's Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, discusses his Science Translational Medicine paper on why scratching sometimes triggers itching. It turns out, in cases of chronic itch there can be a miswiring in the skin. Cells that normally detect light touch instead connect with nerve fibers that convey a sensation of itchiness. This miswiring means light touches (such as scratching) are felt as itchiness—contributing to a vicious itch-scratch cycle. Also this week, in a sponsored segment from Science and the AAAS Custom Publishing Office, Sean Sanders, director and senior editor for the Custom Publishing Office, interviews Paul Bastard, chief resident in the department of pediatrics at the Necker Hospital for Sick Children in Paris and a researcher at the Imagine Institute in Paris and Rockefeller University. They talk about his work to shed light on susceptibility to COVID-19, which recently won him the Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology. This segment is sponsored by Michelson Philanthropies. This week's episode was produced with help from Podigy. [Image: NASA; ESA; CSA; STSCI; Music: Jeffrey Cook] [alt: James Webb Space Telescope image of image of galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 with podcast symbol overlay] Authors: Sarah Crespi; Daniel Clery Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.add9123 About the Science Podcast: https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jian-feng Chen, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai, CHINA speaks on "Regulation of Immune Cell trafficking by adhesion signaling.

This week, join author Makoto Hibino and editorialist Christoph Nienaber as they discuss the article "Blood Pressure, Hypertension, and the Risk of Aortic Dissection Incidence and Mortality: Results From the J-SCH Study, the UK Biobank Study, and a Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies" and accompanying editorial "Taming Hypertension to Prevent Aortic Dissection: Universal Recognition of a "New Normal" Blood Pressure?" Dr. Carolyn Lam: Welcome to Circulation on the Run, your weekly podcast summary and backstage pass to the journal and its editors. We're your co-hosts. I'm Dr. Carolyn Lam, associate editor from the National Heart Center and Duke National University of Singapore. Dr. Greg Hundley: And I'm Dr. Greg Hundley, associate editor, director of the Poly Heart Center at VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia. Well, Carolyn this week's feature discussion. Oh, very interesting. We are going to delve into results from the Japan specific health checkup study, as well as the UK Bio bank study and also a meta-analysis of several cohorts and investigate the relationship between hypertension and the future risk of aortic dissection. Well, Carolyn, but first, how about we grab a cup of coffee and delve into some of the other articles in this issue, and I'll go first? Dr. Carolyn Lam: Please do. Dr. Greg Hundley: I'm going to discuss with you the AVATAR trial. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Hold on, Greg, remind us, the AVATAR trial? Dr. Greg Hundley: Right, Carolyn. So the aortic valve replacement versus conservative treatment in asymptomatic, severe aortic stenosis or the AVATAR trial is an investigator initiated international prospective randomized control trial that evaluated the safety and efficacy of early SAVR or surgical aortic valve replacement in the treatment of asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis, according to common criteria. Dr. Greg Hundley: So for example, the valve area is less than one centimeter squared with an aortic jet velocity of greater than four meters per second, or a mean trans aortic gradient of greater than 40 millimeters of mercury. They also, all of the patients had normal LV function and negative exercise testing was mandatory for inclusion. Dr. Greg Hundley: And so these authors, led by professor Marco Banovic from the University Clinical Center of Serbia, tested the primary hypothesis that early SAVR would reduce the primary composite endpoint of all cause death, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or unplanned hospitalization for heart failure as compared to a conservative strategy, according to guidelines. And the trial was designed as event driven to reach a minimum of 35 pre-specified events. The study was performed across nine centers in seven European countries. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Wow. A big important study. What did they find? Dr. Greg Hundley: Right, Carolyn? So they had 157 patients and they age average, 67 years and 57% were men and they were randomly allocated to early surgery, so 78 were in that group, or conservative treatment, and 79 were in that group. The follow-up was completed in May of 2021 and the overall medium follow was 32 months, 28 months in the early surgery group and 35 months in the conservative treatment group. Dr. Greg Hundley: There was a total of 39 events, 13 in early surgery and 26 in the conservative treatment arm. So Carolyn, in asymptomatic patients with severe aortic stenosis, early surgery reduced the primary composite all cause death, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or unplanned hospitalization for heart failure compared to the conservative treatment. And so, Carolyn, this randomized trial provides preliminary support for early SAVR once aortic stenosis becomes severe, regardless of symptoms. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Wow. Interesting. Well, this next paper that I'm looking at describes a novel therapeutic target that, listen up, can lower plasma cholesterol and prevent thrombosis simultaneously. Dr. Greg Hundley: What? Are you sure about this? All right, Carolyn. All right. Describe this for us. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Well, I'll tell you what that target is. It is the coagulation factor prekallikrein, which I'm going to call PK, prekallikrein. Okay. Now, as a reminder, coagulation cascades are activated by tissue factor initiated extrinsic pathway and the contact system initiated intrinsic pathway. Both of which converge into the common pathway. Plasma kallikrein is a serine protease playing a crucial regulatory role in the intrinsic pathway and is generated from the liver expressed prekallikrein, a pro enzyme encoded by the KLKB one gene. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Now that was the background. In the current study, Drs. Song and Luo from Wuhan University in China and their colleagues identified that the plasma coagulation factor prekallikrein or PK interacts with the LDL receptor and induces its degradation in the lysosomes. In young Chinese Han adults serum PK concentrations positively correlate with LDL cholesterol levels. In hamsters genetic ablation of the KLKB one decreases plasma lipid levels through up-regulating LDL receptor in a manner additively to the PCSK nine inhibitor cyclocumarol. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Injections of the anti PK neutralizing antibody in mice and knock down of the KLKB one gene in rats also increased hepatic LDL receptor levels and reduced plasma cholesterol levels. Furthermore, in mice with ample E deficient background PK absence arrested the progression of atherosclerotic lesions. So in totality, these results suggest that PK, remember that's prekallikrein, regulates both LDL and thrombosis, and that PK inhibition can be an attractive therapeutic strategy to lower plasma cholesterol and prevent thrombosis simultaneously. Dr. Greg Hundley: Very nice, Carolyn. Well, before we get to our feature discussion on aortic dissection, I've got a paper that pertains to preclinical science and involves the study of aortic dissection. And it comes to us from Professor Aijun Sun from the Shanghai Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases at the Song Hang Hospital in Futon University, the Institute of Biomedical Science in Futon University. Dr. Greg Hundley: So Carolyn, the development of thoracic aortic dissection is closely related to the extracellular matrix degradation and the vascular smooth muscle cell transformation from contractile to synthetic type and legumin degrades the extracellular matrix components directly, or by activating downstream signals. However, the role of legumin in the vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation and the occurrence of thoracic aortic dissection, that remains elusive or unsolved. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Oh, so what did this study show? Dr. Greg Hundley: Right, Carolyn. So these authors found that the elevation of legumin is observed in thoracic aortic dissection tissues of both human subjects and in mice and deletion or pharmacologic inhibition of legumin rescues BAPN induced thoracic aortic dissection development in mice by alleviating extracellular matrix degradation and the vascular smooth muscle cell transformation. Carolyn, legumin depletion may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for thoracic aortic dissection and further studies are required to explore the diagnostic value of serum legumin as a novel biomarker for thoracic aortic dissection. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Wow. That's cool. Thanks, Greg. Well, there are other really cool papers in today's issue. There's a Cardiovascular Case Series by Dr. Bockus on a “Heart of Gold: A Scintillating Leading Pericardial Effusion. And I'll give you a hint, it's a case of cholesterol pericarditis. There are letters by Drs. Lucas and Taegtmeyer regarding the article “One Year Committed Exercise Training Reverses Abnormal Left Ventricular Myocardial Stiffness in Patients with Stage B HFpEF” with a response by Dr. Levine. There are highlights from the Circulation Family of Journals by Sara O'Brien. Dr. Greg Hundley: Well, Carolyn, I have some other papers to discuss in this issue as well. First, there's an On My Mind piece from Professor Lawler entitled, “What Are Adaptive Platform Clinical Trials, and What Role May They Have in Cardiovascular Medicine?” Next, there's an In Depth piece from Professor Damman entitled Evidence Based Medical Therapy in Heart Failure Patients With Reduced Dejection Fraction and Chronic Kidney Disease. And then finally, Professor Yoshida has a Research Letter entitled The Efficacy and Safety of Edoxoban 15 Milligrams According to Renal Function in Very Elderly Patients With Atrial Fibrillation, a Sub-Analysis of the Elder Care AF Trial. Wow, Carolyn, how about now we get onto that feature discussion. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Oh, let's go Greg. Dr. Carolyn Lam: For our feature discussion today, we are talking about aortic dissection and the association with hypertension or elevated blood pressure. Now at first sight, you may think, well, we all know that hypertension and elevated blood pressure is an important risk factor for aortic dissection, but I'd like you to question, do we really know? Dr. Carolyn Lam: Surprisingly few prospective studies have been published. We know that aortic dissection is an extremely important and serious complication, but it's low incidence means we need huge numbers to be able to answer questions such as, what blood pressure does the start taking off at? For example, is it systolic or diastolic blood pressure and so on? Well, guess what? We finally, I think, have some of the best evidence on this topic published in today's issue of Circulation. Dr. Carolyn Lam: And I'm so proud to have the first and corresponding author with us, Dr. Makoto Hibino from the University of Toronto to discuss his fantastic paper. As well as an editorialist, Dr. Christoph Nienaber from Imperial College, London, who will discuss the significance of this paper. Well, let's start with you, Dr. Habino or Makoto, if you don't mind, could you please tell us what you did and what you found? Dr. Makoto Hibino: Thank you, Carolyn. So it's my honor to be here to present my case in this podcast. So first, some of the recent data shows that the number of aortic dissection operation and this increasing trend, depending on countries and given the critical nature of aortic dissection preventive strategy against aortic dissection is expected. On the other hand, hypertension is still global issue and is responsible for constant number of deaths from cardiovascular diseases, including aortic dissection, but due to the relatively rare instance of dissection and acute critical nature of the disease, the available epidemiological evidence has been limited. So this time we wanted to investigate how the relationship of hypertension and blood pressure with the instance of the aortic dissection is, in terms of strengths association and the shape of the association. Dr. Makoto Hibino: We also hypothesized that association may not be leading a relationship. And what we did is our study is consist of three parts. The first two parts are original cohort studies using a Japanese specific health checkup study and UK Bio bank study in both of which we prospectively followed about half a million general population and analyzed the hazard risk of other aortic dissection instance for hypertension and systolic and diastolic blood pressure using Cox proportional analysis. And the last part is meta-analysis including eight cohort studies and examine the robustness and shape of the association between hypertension and systolic and diastolic blood pressure and the risk of aortic dissection. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Wow. So a huge study across diverse cohorts. What did you find? Dr. Makoto Hibino: Yes. So in both of our cohort studies, there was significant risk of aortic dissection for hypertension and systolic and diastolic blood pressure as a continuous variable. Also, there was increasing trend in hazard ratios for categorical systolic and diastolic blood pressure with two to five, for higher risk in the highest systolic blood pressure category and four to 12 for higher risk in the highest diastolic blood pressure category in the meta-analysis. The summary relative risk shows that those with hypertension has threefold risk of aortic dissection and the robustness of the result confirmed with the sensitivity and subgroup analysis. Lastly, in the non-linear dose response, meta-analysis, there was very strong dose response relationship between systolic blood pressure and aortic dissection with evidence of non-linearity. And similar, but still, those response relationship was found between diastolic blood pressure and aortic dissection. This analysis showed that the risk of aortic dissection was significant at systolic blood pressure more than 132 millimeter mercury, and diastolic blood pressure more than 75 millimeter mercury suggesting a risk of aortic dissection, even in non-hypertensive population. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Wow. That last part really grabbed me. And I think I should repeat that the risk was significant at the systolic blood pressure of only 132 and a diastolic blood pressure of 75. That's really striking. Chris toff, would you agree with me when I said, I think this is like the best data that we have now, sort of correlating blood pressure and hypertension with aortic dissection. I loved your editorial by the way. Dr. Christoph Nienaber: Thank you very much. I'm pleased to have the chance to write this editorial. Because, when I reviewed the article, I was thrilled of the data and the fact that somebody some consortium had managed to pool data from two different, let's say population studies in two different gene pools in Japan and in the UK together. And finding in a very granular way, that even within the normal spectrum of blood pressures, up to let's say 140 systolic, we find an increasing risk of dissection with a high normal blood pressure as compared to a low normal blood pressure. This has been very convincingly shown by Makoto's analysis. The entire group has to be congratulated for that fantastic idea. Collaboration from two different ends of the world, and then coming up with a similar conclusion in both populations, tells us that this is a general principle at work, that works in both gene pools in both Asian, as well as European populations, and tells us how important it is to keep an eye on blood pressure and even manage blood pressure within the normal range to a low normal in the future. Dr. Carolyn Lam: And I love the way you articulated that in that beautiful editorial, but could I now ask your thoughts, both of you, what are the clinical implications of this? I love Chris toff, that you discussed in your editorial, well, do we now lower the thresholds for treatment? Because aortic dissection is not the most common of incidences, right? So does lowering the blood pressure even more or targets come at a price? Or what should we be thinking of now, clinically? Dr. Christoph Nienaber: We are not treating dissection. We are trying to prevent dissection by gauging or gouging to a low normal blood pressure with various drugs and combinations of drugs in patients that are considered to be at risk with a slightly elevated blood pressure. So in the future, it's not enough to accept 140 systolic or 90 diastolic we should really pay attention to strictly lowering blood pressure in the idea of preventing vascular events. Dr. Christoph Nienaber: And that was considered to come at a price, but we have of course, reassuring data from Hope, from Sprint recently published that showed that even the low normal doesn't hurt. I mean, you have a lower risk of cardiovascular events, generally speaking, shown in Sprint with a low normal blood pressure. It comes a little bit at the expense of watching renal function, but that doesn't contribute to kind of prognostic sequelae. You just have to pay attention to it. You would not run any additional risk by lowering the blood pressure to a normal low blood pressure. And that's, I think, the convincing message, and even with a low incidence of the most important vascular accidents, such as dissection, you could prove that, or the group could prove that in almost 3000 patients that suffered from dissection, that whole pool of analyzed data. So again, I have to congratulate to this fantastic and convincing results. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Thank you. And Makoto, what do you think are the most important clinical take home messages from your study? Dr. Makoto Hibino: Yes. So let me, a little bit, step back to the summary of our findings. So our findings is so that this is a study is a fast summary of the evidence from the prospective stakeholder studies on the association of blood pressure and hypertension with the risk of aortic dissection. And this study improves the evidence base from being based on the case studies or single study to actual estimate of the relative risk. So also, with further study are needed, the current results suggests that the reducing blood pressure either through a healthier lifestyle or medication may reduce the instance of aortic dissection and furthermore the optimal target blood pressure may even lower than the current cut for hypertension. So from my perspective given the little rare instance of aortic dissection, intensive blood pressure management may be more effective or efficient in high risk population, such as those with bicuspid aortic valve or those with very ill medical follow for aortic aneurysm and those with genetic background. So further study in a specific subgroup, is warranted. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Thank you. And Chris toff, that's very interesting because I buy your argument too, that on the other hand, going lower, even in non-high risk, doesn't really come at a price as far as we can see. So what do you think Chris toff, what do you think are the further studies that are needed? Dr. Christoph Nienaber: Well, I was intrigued to see in their analysis that even the subgroups of patients, including patients with hereditary connective tissue disorders, survivors of previous dissection, patients with other conditions, including diabetes, et cetera, they're all across the board, benefited from low blood pressure adjust or adjustment to a low blood pressure. That gives me confidence to recommend to my colleagues, not only here, but in my further environment to follow those patients that are identified either as risk groups or with a slightly elevated blood pressure to definitely lower the blood pressure to lowest, lower to blood pressure with those side effects. Dr. Carolyn Lam: Nice. These are association studies just to take a step back rather than sort of treatment target studies, although we've discussed some of the treatment target studies, but I have to really agree that it's some of the strongest association data that I can frankly think of for blood pressure and aortic dissection. We're just so grateful that it has been published in Circulation. And thank you so much, Chris toff, for your elegant editorial, that really puts things in perspective with a very important final key take home message. Dr. Carolyn Lam: And with that, well listeners, you heard it right here on Circulation on the Run from Greg and I thank you for joining us this week. And, don't forget to tune in again next week. Speaker 5: This program is copyright of the American heart association in 2022. The opinions expressed by speakers in this podcast are their own and not necessarily those of the editors or of the American Heart Association for more, please visit ahajournals.org.

In episode #83 of Productivity Mastery, we talk about Growth Mindset and Growth Hacking. And our guest is the Best-Selling Instructor & Podcaster, Maja Voje. Being also a growth advisor, Maja shared with us tons of valuable lessons and practical advice, including:

Brentan Parsons is the current Strength and Conditioning Manager for the Shanghai Institute of Sport in China. Till late 2019 he held dual roles with this and as head S&C lead for the Chinese National Sprint Cycling team. His first role in China was with the Chinese National Basketball team in 2010. This evolved into his High Performance Management role with the Shanghai Institute where he combined hands on S&C with many sports such as Volleyball and managing staff and facilities. He spent 10 years prior to that with 3 AFL clubs in Australia in a variety of roles. Before that he worked with the Victorian Institute of Sport assisting sports such as hockey and cycling. He was a Rugby Union player as an athlete and represented Victoria. In this podcast we discuss his journey in Strength and Conditioning. We also then discuss some very practical aspects of S&C for sprint cycling. Brentan provides some basic benchmarks and clarity on the needs of preparing sprint cyclists. Brentan has had a fascinating career as hands on S&C with intermittent team sports and cycling and also as a High Performance Manager in China. 

Antonio Graceffo PhD China-MBA, is a life-long martial artist who has been living and training in Asia for nearly 20 years. He worked as an economics researcher and university professor in China for seven years. Currently, he is serving as a senior program manager in Mongolia. He holds a PhD from Shanghai University of Sport Wushu Department where he wrote his dissertation “A Cross Cultural Comparison of Chinese and Western Wrestling” in Chinese. He is the author of 11 books, including The Wrestler’s Dissertation, Beyond the Belt and Road: China’s Global Economic Expansion, A Deeper Look at the Chinese Economy, and Warrior Odyssey. Antonio completed post-doctoral coursework in economics at Shanghai University, specializing in US-China Trade, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and Trump-China economics. His China economic reports are featured regularly in The Foreign Policy Journal and published in Chinese at The Shanghai Institute of American Studies, a Chinese government think tank.  In this episode we talk in depth about Covid 19 and his martial arts background spanning over two decades. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/todd-atkins8/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/todd-atkins8/support

Welcome this show's east-most episode recorded so far! For the next half an hour, we will be looking at Eurasia from Tokyo with a rather special guest: **Professor Tomohiko Taniguchi, a speechwriter and special advisor to Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.** Professor Taniguchi also serves as a [tenured professor at Keio University](http://www.sdm.keio.ac.jp/en/voice/taniguchi.html) in Tokyo, Japan (and where Olesya, our interviewer, is based until January). Throughout his professional career, professor Taniguchi has changed his location multiple times, working as a researcher and journalist in several reputable institutions worldwide including [Nikkei Business](https://business.nikkei.com/), [Brookings Institution](https://www.brookings.edu/author/tomohiko-taniguchi/), Foreign Press Association, Princeton University and Shanghai Institute of International Studies. In 2005, professor Taniguchi joined Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and started writing speeches for then-foreign minister Taro Aso, and subsequently PM Shinzo Abe.  **How difficult is it – to write a speech for the highest political figure in the country? How does Japanese government view developments in the Asian region, and where does it see its place? What is needed to encourage more Japanese companies to take part in the maritime and overland connectivity projects in Eurasia?** We hope you will enjoy our guest's reflections on these questions as he is unweiling for us this mysterious island nation at the Eastern edge of the Asia Pacific. See you in the next episode! 

Welcome this show's east-most episode recorded so far! For the next half an hour, we will be looking at Eurasia from Tokyo with a rather special guest: Professor Tomohiko Taniguchi, a speechwriter and special advisor to Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Professor Taniguchi also serves as a tenured professor at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan (and where Olesya, our interviewer, is based until January). Throughout his professional career, professor Taniguchi has changed his location multiple times, working as a researcher and journalist in several reputable institutions worldwide including Nikkei Business, Brookings Institution, Foreign Press Association, Princeton University and Shanghai Institute of International Studies. In 2005, professor Taniguchi joined Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and started writing speeches for then-foreign minister Taro Aso, and subsequently PM Shinzo Abe. How difficult is it – to write a speech for the highest political figure in the country? How does Japanese government view developments in the Asian region, and where does it see its place? What is needed to encourage more Japanese companies to take part in the maritime and overland connectivity projects in Eurasia? We hope you will enjoy our guest's reflections on these questions as he is unweiling for us this mysterious island nation at the Eastern edge of the Asia Pacific. See you in the next episode!

For 38 years, the United States government has been trying to figure out what to do with the radioactive nuclear waste that was created when the Defense Department developed nuclear weapons and the nuclear waste that continues to be created by nuclear power generation. In this episode, learn the history of this on-going dilemma and listen in on the debate as it currently rages in the 116th Congress.  Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Click here to contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Articles/Documents Article: Proposed nuclear storage consent bill excludes Yucca Mountain by John Sadler, Las Vegas Sun, November 23, 2019 Article: Fukushima operator accused of cover-up over 'contaminated' water set to be poured into the Pacific by Julian Ryall, The Telegraph, November 19, 2019 Article: On Your Side: Is nuclear right for Nevada? by Cassie Wilson, News 4 On Your Side, November 14, 2019 Article: Japan plans to flush Fukushima water 'containing radioactive material above permitted levels' into the ocean by Julian Ryall, The Telegraph, October 16, 2019 Article: Japan will have to dump radioactive water into Pacific as Fukushima runs out of storage tanks, minister says by Julian Ryall, The Telegraph, September 10, 2019 Article: Nevada's veto power a sticking point in congressional negotiations on Yucca Mountain by Humberto Sanchez, The Nevada Independent, August 5, 2019 Article: All spent nuclear fuel in the U.S. will soon end up in one place by Sammy Feldblum, National Geographic, July 30, 2019 Article: Finding a repository for San Onofre plant’s nuclear waste is a difficult task by Rob Nikolewski, Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2019 Article: Why Yucca Mountain rattles us should be no surprise by Brian Greenspun, Las Vegas Sun, July 14, 2019 Article: Nation’s most ambitious project to clean up nuclear weapons waste has stalled at Hanford by Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2019 Article: 'It will poison everything.' Native Americans protest Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste site by Ed Komenda, Reno Gazette Journal, May 24, 2019 Audit Report: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S QUALITY ASSURANCE: COMMERCIAL GRADE DEDICATION OF ITEMS RELIED ON FOR SAFETY by Teri L. Donaldson, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Energy, May, 2019 Document: Public Law 115–439 - 115th Congress Authenticated U.S. Government Information, GPO, January 14, 2019 Article: Average US Wind Price Falls to $20 per Megawatt-Hour by Emma Foehringer Merchant, gtm, August 24, 2018 Article: One simple chart shows why an energy revolution is coming — and who is likely to come out on top by Jeremy Berke, Business Insider, May 8, 2018 Article: Which Utilities Are Most Exposed to Troubled Nuclear Generation? by Vineet Kulkarni, Market Realist, July 14, 2017 Document: Yucca Mountain Transportation Issues by Fred C. Dilger, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, February 19, 2015 Article: The 10 states that run on nuclear power by Brian Zajac, NBC News, February 23, 2012 Document: Fukushima Nuclear Disaster by Mark Holt, Richard J. Campbell, and Mary Beth Nikitin, Congressional Research Service, January 18, 2012 Article: Experts Had Long Criticized Potential Weakness in Design of Stricken Reactor by Tom Zeller Jr., The New York Times, March 15, 2011 Article: Nuclear experts weigh in on GE containment system by Jia Lynn Yang, The Washington Post, March 14, 2011 Press Release: SPENCER ABRAHAM APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF AREVA INC. by Charles Hufnagel and Patrick Germain, March 1, 2006 Additional Resources S.903 — 116th Congress (2019-2020): Nuclear Energy Leadership Act, Congress.Gov, September 24, 2019 S.1234 — 116th Congress (2019-2020): Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2019, Congress.Gov, April 30, 2019 S.512 — 115th Congress (2017-2018): Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, Congress.Gov, January 14, 2019 About & Timeline: TerraPower TerraPower, A nuclear innovation company Glossary: Decommissioning, Independent Statistics & Analysis, U.S. Energy Information Administration Index: NS Energy: Projects NS Energy Leadership Spotlight: Maria G. Korsnick: President and Chief Executive Officer Nuclear Energy Institute Linkedin Profile: Maria Korsnick, Linkedin Linkedin Profile: Christopher Kouts, Linkedin nrg: Nuclear Nuclear Explained: U.S. nuclear industry, Independent Statistics & Analysis, U.S. Energy Information Administration Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Energy Institute Online Encyclopedia: Nuclear Exclusion Zones by John P. Rafferty, Encyclopaedia Britannica Project Summary: Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning NS Energy Project Overview: HANFORD WASTE TREATMENT PLANT, WASHINGTON, USA Bechtel Report: Report to the Secretary of Energy Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Future, January 2012 Scientific and Technical Concerns State of Nevada, Nuclear Waste Project Office Stock: Uranium Energy Corp., MarketWatch The Abraham Group Uranium Energy Corp U.S. Code >> Development and Control of Atomic Energy 42 U.S. Code § 2214.NRC user fees and annual charges Legal Information Institute Witness Disclosure Requirement: Christopher Kouts, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives Image: Potentially Riskier U.S. Nuclear Plants, The New York Times Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Nuclear Waste Storage, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, June 27, 2019.   Watch on C-SPAN Witnesses: Maria Korsnick - President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute Steven Nesbit - Nuclear Waste Policy Task Force Chair at the American Nuclear Society Geoffrey Fettus - Senir Attorney at the National Resources Defense Council John Wagner - Associate Director at the Idaho National Labratory’s Nuclear Science & Technology Directorate Watch on YouTube Transcript: 0:50 Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK): Beginning with the passage of the Nuclear Waste policy Act in 1982, congress has attempted several times to address the back end of the fuel cycle. In an effort to resolve an earlier stalemate, the federal government was supposed to begin taking title to use fuel and moving it to our pository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, beginning in 1998. Manchin waste must be buried.aiff 5:30 Sen. Joe Manchin (WV):Since the National Academy of Sciences 1957 report recommending deep geologic disposal for highly radioactive waste, it is clear what we need to do with the nuclear waste. The prudent and responsible thing to do is to bury this waste deep in the earth, to protect the environment and public for generations to come. Unfortunately, the path to achieve this is not entirely clear. 7:45 Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): Failing to act means the federal government is racking up more liability to be paid to the utilities to store this waste in their own private storage facilities adjacent to the reactors. So the taxpayer is on the hook here to the tune of about $2 million a day with an estimated overall liability of $34.1 billion. 11:15 Maria Korsnick: Currently 97 commercial nuclear power plants in 29 states provide nearly 20% of the America's electricity and more than half of the emissions free electricity. 12:00 Maria Korsnick: The US nuclear industry has upheld its end of the bargain at sites in 35 states around the country. Commercial used fuel is safely stored and managed awaiting pickup by the federal government, which was scheduled for 1998. 13:00 Maria Korsnick:But let me be clear. Congressional action is necessary and three important points must be addressed. First, we need to answer on the Yucca Mountain license application. DOE submitted the application to the NRC more than a decade ago, and Congress directed the NRC to issue a decision in 2012. This deadline, like too many was missed because DOE without basis, shut down the Yucca mountain project for the sake of the communities holding stranded used fuel wishing to redevelop their sites. We must move forward and allow Nevada's concerns with Yucca mountain to be heard by NRC'S, independent administrative judges. This will allow a licensing decision to be determined based on its scientific merits rather than politics. 13:50 Maria Korsnick: Second, as a licensing process of Yucca mountain moves forward, interim storage can play an important role in helping move spent fuel away from reactor sites. Moving interim storage in parallel with the Yucca Mountain project helps to alleviate state and local concerns that interim storage will become a defacto disposal facility. 14:30 Maria Korsnick: And finally, the nuclear industry and electricity consumers around the country have paid their fair share to address the back end of the fuel cycle. But as 1234 was originally drafted prior to the court mandated prohibition on the fee, and I want to strongly convey the importance of not prematurely reimposing the nuclear waste fee, especially given the substantial balance and large investment interest, which accrues annually. 24:30 Steven NesbitIn addition, the money from the nuclear waste fund, the federal government has many means for providing infrastructure improvements, federal land, educational opportunities, and other means of support to states and communities interested in exploring a partnership on the management of nuclear material. Make those potential benefits abundantly clear from the beginning. 27:45 Geoffrey Fettus: The years of wrangling over what standards should be set for cleanup and are massively contaminated nuclear weapon's sites, such as those in Washington or South Carolina is made exponentially worse by DOE self regulatory status, which the Atomic Energy Act ordains with these exemptions. The same is true with commercial spent fuel, where any state that is targeted to receive nuclear waste looks to be on the hook for the entire burden of the nation's spent fuel. State consent and public acceptance of potential repository sites will never be willingly granted, unless and until power on how, when and where waste is disposed of is shared, rather than decided simply by Federal Fiat. There's only one way consent can happen consistent with our cooperative federalism. Specifically, Congress can finally remove the Atomic Energy Acts. Anachronistic exemptions from our bedrock environmental laws are hazardous waste and clean water laws must include full authority over radioactivity and nuclear waste facilities, so that EPA and most importantly, the states can assert direct regulatory authority. Removing these exemptions will not magically solve this puzzle and create a final repository. But I think it can work faster than what we have now, because it will open a path forward that respects each state rather than offering up the latest one for sacrifice. The Texas and New Mexico events of the last several weeks demonstrate this. 33:15 John Wagner: First and foremost, I want to be clear from a technical standpoint. Spent nuclear fuel storage and transportation is safe as evidenced by more than 50 years of safe and secure operations by the public and private sectors. We do not have a spent nuclear fuel safety crisis in this country. 46:35 Geoffrey Fettus:The actual waste issue, honestly Senator, has not, and is not what is holding up nuclear powers ability to compete in the market. What is holding up nuclear powers ability to compete in the market are it's gigantic upfront capital costs. The South Carolina reactors that are now a $9 billion hole in the ground at summer and Vogel now, I think is now pushing 28 billion for two new units. The likelihood of building new nuclear power is vanishingly unlikely in this [inaudible]. 47:40 Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): We're decommissioning some nuclear plants? Maria Korsnick: That's correct. Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): Are they-, have they run their life cycle? Maria Korsnick: Not all of them. No. Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): Could they be-... Maria Korsnick: They're being shutdown, because in the marketplace right now, the marketplace does not recognize the carbon free attribute of nuclear. It's competing.... Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): So there's no value to carbon free nuclear? Maria Korsnick: Not in the marketplace there's not. There should be. And that would help. And-... Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): Are any of these plants in basically controlled PSE's, or basically they're all merchant? Maria Korsnick: The ones that are shutting down for the most part are merchant, not all, but for the most part. 50:40 Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN): Yeah, we have four places that we could-, four tracks we could follow to do something. We could have a Yucca mountain open, we could build a new Yucca Mountain, we could have a public interim site, or we could approve a private interim site. 54:05 Geoffrey Fettus: Texas and New Mexico would both be barred from the consent process. Clearly by the terms of the bill. Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN): And I assume from your testimony, you think they should be? Geoffrey Fettus: We think that would put us in precisely the same stalemate. It's put us here for-... 54:20 Sen. Lamar Alexander (TN):Your testimony, you thought the private sites are because of the promise they have ought to have priority, is that correct? Maria Korsnick: We do think they should have priority. The challenge with the private sites right now, is they don't want to be the defacto longterm storage, which keeps it connected to a long term storage answer. 59:00 Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM): What should consent look like? Geoffrey Fettus: Consent should look like regulatory authority, as simple as that. To the extent that there has been acceptance in New Mexico of the WHIP-... Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM): right... Geoffrey Fettus: ...Transuranic Geologic Repository, the only operating one in the world. Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM): Why do we have that? Why do we have consent for-... Geoffrey Fettus: The only consent-, Well, it's a little complicated and it's not nearly the consent that needs to be there and it's not the full regulatory authority-... Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM): But the state has.... Geoffrey Fettus: But the state has hazardous waste permitting authority, and that state can shut the place down and set terms by which it can operate after it had a fire and an explosion that shut it down and contaminated it for several years. Sen. Martin Heinrich (NM): And we reopened that facility, which I will repeat, is the only, only deep geological repository, um, that's been successfully built that I'm aware of in this country, because of the state's involvement. 1:02:35 Sen. Mike Lee (UT): Dr. Wagner mentioned several small reactors. How much more efficiently would these smaller reactors use fuel than reactors in past decades, and could you describe how these new forms of generating nuclear energy could possibly change our need for nuclear waste storage going forward? Maria Korsnick: Yeah, so, I guess as you look forward, there's a variety of different types of small modular reactors that can be built, but some of the types of small modular reactors that can be built would actually be interested in using a different type of fuel. And some of that fuel could be in fact what we consider used fuel today. So in any solution set that we put in, we should remind ourselves that we want it to be retrievable. There's 95% still good energy in what we call used fuel. It's just in a different form. And some of these reactors that are being looked at for tomorrow, will be able to harvest that energy. Sen. Mike Lee (UT): And will be able to use it far below that 95% threshold that you described? Maria Korsnick: That's correct. Sen. Mike Lee (UT): How low would they go? Maria Korsnick: They should be able to use the majority of that good energy. I would say, you know, you'll be down to maybe the four to 5%, that's left, that would then need to be stored. 1:04:40 Maria Korsnick: Sort of goes back to when we said there's 95% still good energy in the, what we call, used fuel. It's transformed, and so instead of being, say, uranium 235, it's turned into uranium 238, or it's turned into plutonium 239. So those isotopes can still release energy, but they, not in the current way in our current lightwater reactors. So in recycling, what you do is you essentially take the fuel apart and you isolate what's good and can be used again. So that uranium, that plutonium,- it can then be mixed and you can use it in current reactors, that's called "Mox" fuel, or you can use it for other types of reactors. So, again, it sort of closes the fuel cycle, if you will. You're left with a very small amount that is not useful in a fuel. And France as an example, reprocesses their fuel, they turn that into a glass and then you store that inert glass. Sen. Mike Lee (UT): So the glass is inert? It's not [inaudible] at that moment. It's not emitting?... Maria Korsnick: It's radioactive, but it's not useful for fuel. So it's stored in accordance with,-. It would it be in a deep geologic situation, but it will be a very small amount. Sen. Mike Lee (UT): No, it reduces the overall volume of what's produced. Maria Korsnick: That's correct. Sen. Mike Lee (UT): So why wouldn't we do that? Maria Korsnick: So in the United States, we've chosen not to. We've chosen the fact that, and this was made in the Carter Administration, days that the fact of reprocessing, they look at it as a potential proliferation, even though there are many processes and things you could put in place to ensure that it's done, without any kind of proliferation concerns. But that's why the United States doesn't currently go for reprocessing today. Sen. Mike Lee (UT): So if that decision was made in the Carter administration, when we're talking about 40 years ago or more... Maria Korsnick: That's correct. Sen. Mike Lee (UT): What has changed since then that might cause us to need to reconsider that? Has the technology changed in such a way that, you know, what was perceived as dangerous would no longer necessarily be deemed, made dangerous? Maria Korsnick: Well, I mean, I think we've proven on a lot of fronts that we are, we have the capability of managing a significant things. The government manages plutonium on a regular basis, so it obviously can be done and can be done safely. 1:07:45 Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV): In 1987, I believe it was, Tennessee was able to successfully remove the Oak Ridge facility as an interim storage facility changed the law. And now in this bill, Tennessee has equally, the opportunity to say no, like every other state, except Nevada. That's all I'm looking for in my state, is those similar opportunities. 1:08:25 Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV): Section 306E requires a potential host state to veto or approve a site before they are fully informed of a site's local impacts, prior to initiating a review licensing process. That essentially leaves Yucca mountain as the default sole repository. Section 506A gives parody to all other states, yet allows Yucca Mountain and other states in New Mexico, Texas, and Utah to be kept on the list without requiring their consent. And section 509 eliminates the legal 70,000 metric ton limit of waste to be stored at a repository, so if no state wants to be a host, this guarantees all the waste goes to Yucca Mountain. 1:11:00 Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV): Under this act, would the NEI support this act if the NWA walked away, and walked away from the Yucca Mountain project and demonstrated that a new repository project could be done more efficiently and rapidly than Yucca Mountain, would you support that? Maria Korsnick: I don't see how another process could be done more rapidly with all of the analysis that's already been done on Yucca. But if you found such magic place, yes, we could be supplying.... Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV): Well, I, DOE studies have shown that walking away from Yucca Mountain and starting over with a repository in salt or shell could save billions of dollars over the life of the facility. So, and this is the challenge I've had, we've had a stalemate over the last 32 years and we have offered the opportunity to come in and work with us and find a solution for it, and I think you have that today. But unfortunately, what I see from the industry is this same old playbook and not willing to even admit there's an opportunity to move forward. There's not even a willingness to talk about potential new technology that can be utilized to address this safe storage, and that is my concern. 1:23:55 Sen. Angus King (ME): But if the main Yankee site is safe, why not a larger similar site that has the same technology? You're telling me everybody says it's safe. As an interim step until we've figure out what, what the best pr-, I don't understand why we have to go from 80 temporary to permanent? Um, isn't there a step in between that with technological.... Maria Korsnick: Well, that's what consolidated interim storage is. Sen. Angus King (ME): That's what I'm talking.... Maria Korsnick: Yeah, and the challenge is nobody wants to sign up for consolidated interim storage. You mentioned New Mexico. The governor just recently wrote a letter. The last New Mexico governor was in support of interim storage. The current New Mexico governor not, and the challenge is because they don't want to become the long-term repository, and until there is an idea of a long-term repository, anybody that raises their hands for that consolidated interim storage is defacto the long,-term... Sen. Angus King (ME): I think that's a good point because are these temporary sites are now the defacto long-term sites. 1:27:55 Maria Korsnick: If you decided today on a long term repository site, by the time you license it, let's just select Yucca since we've talked about it, that would still be another three to five years just to license it today, cause all of the analysis has been done and there's additional hearings that have to happen. Nevada has to have their say..... Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): Well, if we're not capacity, why would we have an interim site? If you just want to carry three to five years.... Maria Korsnick: That's just to get your license. It's going to be another decade to build it. Alright, so you're already talking, you have 15 years if you were on "go" today. 35 billion is what your obligation is today and in 15 years it's going to be closer to 50 billion. So you have to manage the liability that you are building on a daily basis and the best way to help manage that liability is that interim storage, because once you start taking that fuel off site, eventually that judgment fund comes down because you don't have to pay the judgment fee because you've taken the fuel in an interim state. Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): How far along are we on permitting the interim sites? Maria Korsnick: You're nowhere. Sen. Joe Manchin (WV): So, whether we started today with interim or permanent, it's the same timetable? Sen. John Barrasso (WY): There's two sites that have applications in, but you know, whether they will actually go forward and construct those sites, is an open question. 1:34:40 Sen. John Barrasso (WY): American rate payers have now paid about 12, I'm sorry, $15 billion, to site, to study and to design a repository for the Yucca Mountain site and thus funding $200 million that was paid to the state of Nevada to develop their own scientific and technical analysis. So, Ms. Korsnick, why is it important for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to complete the independent safety review of the proposed Yucca mountain repository? Maria Korsnick: Well, you just mentioned the significant money that has been expended. We should have a fair hearing and quite frankly, give Nevada a chance to have their hearing. The process will require that it goes through the judges, et cetera, through the licensing process and for all this money that has been expended. Let's understand the science and the licensing process and work ourselves through it. In the future, we might need another long-term repository. So let's learn everything that we can and understand the science and the licensing process for the one that's so far along. 1:45:10 Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV): I think we should learn from the science from Yucca Mountain because there are no natural barriers or manmade barriers that make it safe. But we keep hearing that all the time. So let me ask you this, if we were to learn from the science of Yucca Mountain, which would require still 40 more miles to, of tunnel to be, to dig the tunnel, to bury the canisters, which, by the way, the same canisters that are utilized for Yucca Mountain in the study can't be utilized because the industry doesn't use the same type of canisters. But what I'm told, it is so hot once it's stored, and it leaks like a sieve because the hydrology shows already in the exploratory tunnel that it leaks like a sieve, that once the canisters are there, titanium drip shields will have to be created to put over the canisters. And by the way, those titanium drip shields would not be placed in that facility once the canisters here till 90 years later, and it cannot be placed by man in there, so you have to build the robotics to put the pipe Titanium drip shields to protect the water that goes down into the canisters that would go into the aquifer below. Is that the science that you're saying that you would learn from that you should not have in any other repository? Steven Nesbit: What I was referring to senator, was completing the licensing process and having the concerns such as you just expressed evaluated by a panel of experts and ruled on in a manner that we can learn from them, if indeed we go on to develop other repositories elsewhere. That's all I talked about... Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV): We already have the information, and that's my point..... Steven Nesbit: Well Senator, I don't agree with your terms.... Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV): You spent $19 billion on a five mile exploratory tunnel to study the geology and hydrology. We know that because it's a volcanic tuff and there's fractures through the rock, that it's going to leak, so that's why the titanium drip shields are part of your plan for the canisters that will be placed there. So that's why I'm saying we've already had the information that shows it's not safe, so why are we going to waste another 30 years with 218 contentions by the state and lawsuits that I know I was part of, this attorney general against your department or, excuse me, against the Department of Energy, and instead of looking forward in a comprehensive approach and utilizing the science to help us understand, and moving forward, and the new technology that is out there, that's all I'm looking for, and I'd love the industry to come to the table and work with us on that, so thank you. Steven Nesbit: The key question at Yucca Mountain is not whether it's built in volcanic tuff, but whether it can or cannot comply with the very conservative environmental standards that were laid down to protect the health and safety of the public, and that's the question that would be resolved in a licensing hearing before fair, impartial and qualified judges. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV): I disagree, but now that I have more time, let me add a little bit more to this. Because I think, for purposes of science, we really are. And I would ask the scientists here, isn't the intent here to decrease any type of unexpected opportunities with respect to science? So you want an, you want a place that is safe, that you are going to decrease any vulnerabilities with respect to that deep geologic site, instead of adding to those vulnerabilities by manmade, alleged safety barriers or natural safety periods, you're going to decrease those kinds of vulnerabilities. And isn't that what you're really looking for, for any type of site, a deep, geologic site and, maybe Mr. Fettus, I don't know if you have a response to that? Geoffrey Fettus: I couldn't agree more Senator Cortez Masto. The idea behind any geological repositories to find geologic media that can isolate the waste for that length of time, it's dangerous. And the problem that the Yucca Mountain project has repeatedly run into is, whenever it ran into the technical challenges that you so accurately described, the response was to weaken the standards, to allow the site to be licensed. So we don't look at the upcoming atomic safety and licensing board proceeding, if it were to ever go forward as as a full exercise and having the state have a fair say. Advanced Nuclear Technology: Protecting U.S. Leadership and Expanding Opportunities for Licensing New Nuclear Energy Technologies, Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, June 4, 2019 Witnesses: Chris Levesque - CEO at TerraPower William Magwood - Director General at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Transcript: 26:35 William Magwood: About 30 companies around the world are vying to develop game changing technologies, most of them working in gen four concepts. While ithere is great hope and enthusiasm at each of these companies, it's important to note that developing a new light water technology and shepherding it through regulatory approval costs at least a billion and a half. Generation four technologies will cost substantially more, and this is before billions are spent on demonstration facilities. The typical company working to develop an innovative nuclear technology today has perhaps a dozen engineers and scientists devoted to the technology efforts and access to tens of millions of dollars. In comparison, I recently visited the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, which is developing a molten salt reactor technology. Molton salt reactors are a gen four technology that is high interest to several private sector companies because it represents the path of extraordinarily safe and efficient nuclear reactors. They have the potential as consume waste rather than generate it. The project in China has currently over 400 scientist and engineers hard at work developing this technology with plans to build a demonstration reactor the next decade. 31:20 Chris Levesque: Demonstrating new nuclear technologies is the most important step to jumpstart an advanced U.S.nNuclear industry and compete globally. No company can commercialize advanced nuclear technology until it is demonstrated. Federal supportive demonstration efforts has driven down costs for technologies like solar, wind, and hydraulic fracturing. We need a similarly ambitious effort to demonstrate a portfolio of advanced nuclear reactors. This will take increased public private cooperation, and we need to start this now. 54:00 Chris Levesque: One thing the government and specifically this committee has done very right, I think, is the passage of NIMA because that really empowers our safety regulator to entertain these advanced reactor designs. So thank you for that support. And one area where improvement is needed, I think, and the committee has already focusing on this is with NELA, the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act. We really need a demonstration project. We need multiple demonstration projects in the U.S. where we actually design, build, and demonstrate advanced technologies. Otherwise this will all be talk and we won't realize this, this new technology in the United States. 59:00 Sen. Mike Braun (IN): So you mentioned computer modeling as a difference. Give me some other differences so I can easily understand what generation one and two is then what this miracle might be if we ever see it. Chris Levesque: Yeah. So this is leading to some of the benefits of advanced reactors. And this applies to many of the technologies. These are now low pressure systems. They're systems that have inherent safety, meaning we don't need a lot of extra mechanical and electrical systems.Sen. Mike Braun (IN): Can they store fuel onsite when it's spent? Chris Levesque: Well, they do require onsite fuel storage and some of them require a future geological repository which the U.S. government is working on. But many of these technologies like Terra Power's also because of the computer modeling, they have very advanced physics to the core that generate much lower waste at the end of the fuel cycle, up to an 80% reduction in that waste. And so that's why China and Russia, even though they're building plants that are much like what we developed in the U.S, they have their eyes on these advanced reactor designs and really the U.S, because of our national lab complex and our legacy from those plants I mentioned... Sen. Mike Braun (IN): But they're not built yet? They're still in the developmental stage? Chris Levesque: We are really the best poised... The U S has a leadership opportunity here that if we don't take it, China and Russia will. But we are best situated today to take leadership on advanced reactors. And if we don't, China and Russia will in a very short period of time. The time to act is now, as in this year, we need to begin work on demonstration of advanced reactors. 1:05:30 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI): And Mr. Levesque, one of my earliest exposures to Terra Power involved the proposition that the technology had the promise of allowing us to go back through the currently just sitting there, nuclear waste stockpiles that we have for which we have no plan and actually be able to utilize that and repurpose it as fuel and turn, as I said in my opening remarks, a liability into an asset. Is that still a focus of Terra Power? Will it remain a focus of Terra Power? Is that a focus of the industry? And what can we do to help make sure it remains the focus of the next gen or gen four industry? Chris Levesque: Senator, you're pointing to a very, a major capability of, of advanced reactors. Today's reactors only use about 5% of the fissile material before the reactor has to be shut down and the fuel is removed. It's just the way the physics work. Advanced reactors, including Terra Power's design, much more completely uses that fuel. Now, Terra Power's designs today plan on using depleted uranium, which is the waste product of the enrichment process. We can use either depleted uranium or natural uranium to fuel the traveling wave reactor. hHowever, this entire new family of advanced reactors does offer the potential to go and look at spent fuel. Of course, we, you know, we're waiting for the U S to develop a geologic repository for spent fuel. But advanced nuclear technologies do allow you the opportunity to go look at what amount of fissile material is remaining in that spent fuel and is there a way to utilize more of it? So that's yet another benefit of advanced reactors. 1:07:30 Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI): If I may make a comment, Mr. Chairman, I know that you made from a very strong business background and if we were running United States incorporated, the liability of all that nuclear waste we have stockpiled all around the country and dozens of sites would show up when your auditors came and when you did your financial reporting to your shareholders, they would say here on the debit side of the column is this liability that you have for having to deal with this nuclear waste at some point, and if it was a $500 million liability, you'd have an incentive to spend up to $499 million to clean it up. But because we're the United States of America, not the United States incorporated, there is no place where it shows up in our balance sheet and so we really don't have that persistent economic incentive that a corporation would have to deal with it as a national issue. There's a bit of a carbon price flavor to the point I'm trying to make, but there's also, this is like the reverse of it. There's this liability and there's no way in which, as I can see it, that a Terra Power or somebody else can say, okay, there's a $500 million problem, that means I can come up with a $200 million solution and then we can split the difference and we're making like $150 million and my business sense gets motivated. My innovation juices start to flow to solve that problem. Instead of just sits there and the stuff has sat there for decades and we're waiting for the magic solution to go put it in Yucca mountain or someplace. But I don't see that happening without a revolt from Nevada. So we need to, I think there's an economic solution here as well. If this was a pure business proposition, there'd be a lot more energy in solving it because there'd be this account that was dragging on our balance sheet saying, fix me, fix me, fix me. Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials, June 1, 2011. Witnesses: Peter Lyons - then Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy Gregory Friedman - then Energy Department Inspector General Martin Malsch - Attorney representing the State of Nevada. Christopher Kouts - Former Acting Director of Civilian Radioactive Waster Management at the US Department of Energy Transcript: 20:00 Rep. Shelley Berkley (NV): Thank you for inviting me to testify today. Let's get right to the point. Nevadans had been saying no to Yucca Mountain for decades and we will continue shouting "No" at the top of our lungs until this effort to shove nuclear waste down our throats is ended. I don't know who you met with, but I can tell you the latest poll polls show that 77% of the people of the state of Nevada don't want nuclear waste stored at Yucca Mountain. Why? Because we don't want our home turned into a nuclear garbage dump and we oppose more wasteful spending on a $100 billion dinosaur in the Nevada desert that should have gone extinct years ago. I know members of this committee will hear today from others who will say that Nevada's efforts to stop the dump is all political and it's nothing to do with science. Hogwash! The truth is that Nevada's opposition has always been based on the danger that Yucca mountain poses to our state and our nation. Make no mistake, the Yucca Mountain project was born of politics starting with the infamous 1987 Screw Nevada bill. And why was it politics? Because the state of Nevada had a very small delegation at that time and we were unable to protect the state from the 49 others. You want to talk about science? There's no radiation standards that currently exist because there's no way to create radiation standards to protect the public from nuclear waste with a 300,000 year half shelf-life. Originally, they were going to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, then they realized there were groundwater problems, so we were going to store it in containers with a titanium shield to protect it from the dripping water. Then they realized that wasn't enough, cause the titanium shields were going to erode. So then they were going to build concrete bunkers to contain the titanium shields that contain the canisters. And then, the last secretary of energy in the Bush administration actually said he was going to create an army of robots that were going to go down to Yucca mountain because man can't go down there, and to be able to protect us from the, the nuclear waste leakage. This legislation, the Screw Nevada bill, did away with any pretense of science when it eliminated every other site under consideration as a dump location. At the same time, the nuclear industry and its allies have worked for years to silence Nevada's criticism and to minimize the fact that the proposed dump is located smack in the middle of an active earthquake zone. This is an area that has been rocked by violent earthquakes in the recent past and we know the risks it creates. Proponents of the dump have also sought to dismiss scientific finding, showing that water will enter Yucca mountain causing rapid corrosion of waste canisters and resulting in release of dangerous radioactive materials. And dump backers have worked tirelessly to downplay the risk to millions of Americans living along the transportation routes from decades of waste shipments barreling down our nation's roads and railways, with each canister a potential terrorist target or accident waiting to happen, whether caused by human error, mechanical failure, or a deliberate 911 style strike, a massive release of these deadly materials threatens to kill or injure Americans to release radioactive contamination and to shut down major portions of our interstate highway system and rail system. When it comes to plans for Yucca Mountain, the fact remains that you can never eliminate the risks that will accompany shipping nuclear waste across more than 40 states, through communities utterly unprepared to deal with radioactive contamination. We're talking about shipments, passing homes, hospitals, schools, every single day for four decades, and even more incredible, at the end of those 40 years, there will even be more waste in the cooling ponds than there were when the shipments began, and that's because as long as the plant is operating, some amount of nuclear waste will always remain at the nuclear facility, and that is why the threat posed by Yucca Mountain must be weighed against the availability of dry cask storage as an affordable solution to this problem and it's available today. Using this method, we can secure waste at existing sites and hardened containers, where they can remain for the next hundred years until we figure out what to do with this garbage. The nuclear industry is already utilizing dry cask storage at various locations around the U.S.. There's no reason we should not require plans to begin moving waste right now from cooling pools into hardened containers. In conclusion, Nevada remains in case you don't already know, opposed to more wasteful spending on a failed $100 billion project that threatens lives, the environment and the economy of my community and others across the nation. I will lay my body down on those railroad tracks to prevent any train that has nuclear waste in it from going to Yucca Mountain. I make that pledge to you and the people I represent. Nuclear waste can remain on existing sites and dry cask storage for the next century, giving us time to find an actual solution to replace the failed Yucca Mountain project and if anybody watched what was happening in Japan, and still has the audacity to suggest this for the people of our country, shame on us all! And Germany just announced that they were ending their nuclear program because they have no way to safely store nuclear waste. If Germany can figure that out, by gosh, the United States of America should be able to figure that out too. I yield back the balance of my time. 29:00 Rep. Doc Hastings (WA): What is truly not workable is the uncertainty that faces our commercial nuclear power industry, as they look to a future that may require them to house spent nuclear fuel on a site for decades because there is no geological repository ready to accept it. 30:15 Rep. Doc Hastings (WA):My district is home to the Hanford nuclear site. Part of the top secret Manhattan project that developed and constructed the first atomic bomb. The work done at Hanford helped win WW II and later provided the nuclear deterrents that helped defeat communism and end the Cold War. Today, Hanford is the world's largest, the world's largest environmental cleanup project, and the high level defense nuclear waste at Hanford is slated to be shipped to the national repository at Yucca Mountain. Right now, the Department of Energy is building, right now, a building, a critical $12 billion plant that will treat 53 million gallons of high level defense waste currently stored in underground tanks at Hanford and turn it into safe, stable glass logs that are scheduled to be stored at Yucca Mountain. The waste treatment plant, which is a $12 billion plant, which is over halfway done, is being built to beat specifications designed to match the geological structure and makeup of Yucca Mountain. 32:00 Rep. Doc Hastings (WA): Delaying or abandoning Yucca Mountain means that Hanford will be home to high-level defense waste even longer. The federal government's legal commitment to our state won't be kept, and clean up progress at Hanford will be jeopardized. With more defense waste slated to go to Yucca mountain than any other state in the union, the stakes for my state of Washington cannot be higher and the risks could be not more, not more real. 32:30 Rep. Doc Hastings (WA): In addition, Richland, which is just south of the Hanford project, is the home to Pacific northwest only commercial nuclear power plant, the Columbia Generating Station. The spent nuclear fuel from this plant is also slated to go to Yucca mountain, but without Yucca opening, the spent fuel will have to be kept onsite for an unknown amount of time, at great expense to the taxpayers and rate payers. 1:33:00 Rep. Jay Inslee (WA): This is very disturbing on a couple of bases. One is, in my state, the state of Washington, we have people very diligently trying to follow their obligations legally and in their profession, getting this waste ready to ship to Yucca. They're going to be ready to ship 9,700 canisters to Yucca. They're doing their job, but the department's not doing its job. Now that's on a local concern, but on a national concern, I just think this situation is one of a failed state. You know, they talk about fail states around the world? This- because of the failure to follow the clear law here, this is the equivalency of a failed state. We reached a national decision. It is unpopular in one local part and a beautiful part of the country, as it will be in any part of the country that we ever have this decision made and yet we can't execute a decision. Now this, this sort of flagrant statement that social acceptance is now a legal criteria, I don't understand. I just ask Dr. Lyon, how are we ever to build anything like a nuclear waste repository anywhere in the United States if social acceptance is a mandatory criteria to build something? Dr. Peter Lyons: I use the example in my testimony of the waste isolation pilot plant in New Mexico, which has the strongest local acceptance, and I noted that there are a number of international examples where with careful education, with transparent processes, there has been strong acceptance of repository programs. 1:35:00 Rep. Jay Inslee (WA): And obviously in the decision making of the department based on the best science and geology and hydrology, we decided Nevada was the best place. But now you're telling me we're gonna maybe look for a less scientifically credible, less geologically stable, less hydrologically isolated place because we might get a little better social acceptance. That is a failed policy by a failed state and I have to just tell you, regardless who the administration is, in an abject failure to follow federal law here is most disturbing and it's unacceptable. And I don't really want to think I want to belabor you with too many more questions. I just want to tell you it's unacceptable by any administration of any party to make a decision when we're dealing with this number of curies of radiation based on social acceptance is an, is just a, not a, a winner for this country. 1:41:43 Gregory Friedman: Approximately 10% of Yucca mountain was designated as I am, as I recall, for a high level defense waste and spent nuclear-, defense spent nuclear waste. My understanding is that the current inventory of waste in that category exceeded, exceeds even the 10% of the Yucca mountain that was set, reserved for that purpose originally. 2:07:00 Martin Malsch: The original 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy act forsaw many of the problems which that now afflict the Yucca mountain program. Among other things, it sought fairness and redundancy by requiring multiple sites from which to choose ultimate locations for repositories and it's strove for regional equity by setting up site selection programs for two facilities, one in the west and one in the east. However, all this was scrapped in 1987. Congress decreed that all repository development efforts must focus now on just one site in Nevada and it did so not withstanding incomplete scientific information and the fact that now spent reactor fuel and high level waste from every region in the country would now be sent to a single western state with no nuclear power plants or high level waste generating facilities. After 1987, there was only one possible site and inevitably as more and more dollars were spent, it became progressively more difficult to admit that the selection of Yucca Mountain had been a mistake. But we know now things we did not know in 1987. We now know that groundwater will reach the wastes at the site in about 50 years, not the hundreds or thousands of years it had been originally thought. We now know the Yucca Mountain is not dry. Total of water seepage into the tunnels where the waste will be located will be as much as 130,000 kilograms per year. These and other serious problems led to even more exotic and doubtful engineering fixes. When it appeared likely that the Yucca Mountain site could not satisfy certain EPA and NRC licensing requirements, the requirements were simply eliminated. These actions by Congress and then by EPA DOE and NRC destroyed the credibility of the program. 2:18:00 Christopher Kouts: Because the development of Yucca mountain has been such a contentious and protracted process, it is being suggested that only consensual siting of these facilities should be pursued. I would submit to the subcommittee that the U.S. and international experience in this area proves otherwise. In my discussions over the years with the directors of repository programs abroad, they have consistently expressed their concerns that due to the very long time frame to repository programs take to develop, any political consensus at the beginning can evaporate with one election, just as it has in the U.S. with Yucca Mountain. At the end of the day, implementing a repository program requires steady, consistent national leadership. Nuclear Waste Storage, House Energy and Commerce Committee, April 18, 2002 Witnesses: Jim Gibbons - then Representative followed by Governor of Nevada from 2007 to 2011 Spencer Abraham - Secretary of Energy from 2001-2005 Transcript: 41:45 Rep. Jim Gibbons (NV): The disposal of the nation's high level nuclear waste has been and remains an important issue for many Americans. However, for the past 20 years it has been the single most important issue for the state of Nevada. And just as a historical note, Mr Chairman, the Nuclear Waste Policy act of 1982 as amended in 1987, selected Nevada and Yucca Mountain as the sole site to be studied for consideration of a nuclear repository. It's very important to note Mr Chairman, under this law and its subsequent amendment, a finding that the site is suitable to become a high level waste repository for the next 10,000 years would require and I repeat, would require that the site be determined "geologically sound". Mr Chairman, as the person who holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Nevada in geology, I'm probably one of the few geologists in Congress, but I can tell you having looked at this, Yucca mountain is not, nor will it ever be geologically sound. If the site is geologically sound, why so much cost on the engineering aspect of this project? The answer is, you cannot spend enough money to make a mountain geologically sound. What will the DOI, DOE realize is that they can spend enough to make the manmade engineering barrier sound? The problem is that is not what the law requires. If you look at the fine print and if you look hard enough, you'll see that the DOE has failed to prove Yucca mountain's geologic suitability and they have made promises that they cannot keep. How do I know this and how do the American people know this? Because once DOE started digging and actually studying Yucca Mountain, they realized they would have to change the rules in order to meet the suitability standards mandated by Congress in the act. And what the DOE found out was this,-one, rates of water infiltration into the mountain are on the order of 100 times higher than previously thought. Two, credible studies indicate a significant presence of Basaltic volcanism in and around Yucca Mountain. Three, with Nevada ranking third in the nation in seismic activity, it has been determined that there have been nearly 700 cases of earthquake or seismic activity of 2.5 magnitude on a Richter scale or more near Yucca Mountain since 1976, that's 700 occurrences. In fact, about 10 years ago, a 5.6 level earthquake occurred less than 10 miles from Yucca Mountain and actually caused some damage to nearby DOE facilities. So what has been the DOE response to these findings? Findings that even the DOE themselves acknowledge? They retroactively changed the rules for site suitability. They moved the goalpost. You see, the DOE cannot prove Yucca Mountain's capability of serving as a longterm high level nuclear waste repository that is geologically sound. Their response? Adopt new rules, permitting the agency to rely entirely on man-made waste packages. Mr Chairman, I ask, is this what Congress intended? I don't think so. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

Going Fission Speaks to Dr. Massey de los Reyes, Senior Advisor - Radiation Protection at the Environment Protection Association of South Australia and the current chair of South Australian Branch of the Australian Nuclear Association (www.nuclearaustralia.org.au/sa-ana/).  Massey has been a scientific researcher for Generation IV reactor technology and was directly involved with the South Australian Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission. The 'Voters Message to the Minister' soundbite is available at the following link.  There is a list of current State and Federal energy and environment ministers in the soundbites description, though you are welcome to forward it to any contesting minister: https://soundcloud.com/user-214473340/a-voters-message-to-the-minister Going Fission's Twitter handle is @fissiongoing. Timestamps 0:00 - Intro Theme. 1:00 - Introduction. 1:35 - How did you get into your field? 3:11 - What's harder, nuclear research or explaining it to the layperson? 5:58 - Equipment outside of Australia. 7:29 - Massey's Thesis. 10:27 - Supramolecular templating. 11:52 - The synergy between this research and SYNROC. 14:05 - Radiation stress testing. 16:01 - The Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) 18:23 - Nuclear effects on reactors. 19.17 - A discription of Generation IV Reactors. 21.48 - A discussion of Thorium. 23.15 - Fertile and Fissile material. 26:30 - Thorium, the gateway drug to being pro-nuclear. 27:57 - Liquid vs. Solid fuel. 30:38 - A Chinese HTGR... 31:16 - Wasteform Material Solutions - SYNROC. 32:58 - The SYMO Facilty. 34:53 - Dr. Masseys work at the EPA. 37:36 - Radioactive Sources. 39:08 - Radiation in everyday lives. 44:59 - The birth of the South Australian branch on the Australian Nuclear Association. 46:38 - Dr. Massey's involvement with the SANFCRC. 50:46 - The Consultation and Response Agency (CARA). 54:53 - Massey's Bub. 57:21 - A message to the younger listeners. 1:00.34 - Where does the SAANA meet? 1:01:23 - Guest recommendations. 1:04:01 - Farewell. 1:04:09 - Additional Information. 1:04:49 - Outro

This episode explores the latest developments in China’s relationship with India, especially how the relationship has evolved since the Doklam border standoff in 2017. Our guest, Dr. Jagannath Panda, explains the lessons each side learned from the Doklam incident and evaluates Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s China policy. He also analyzes how India has attempted to avoid conflict with China, even as contentious issues persist such as border disputes, the Dalai Lama, and China’s expanding presence in the Indian Ocean.   Dr. Jagannath Panda is a Research Fellow and Coordinator of the East Asia Centre at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, India. He has written extensively on East and South Asia as well as India-China relations. Dr. Panda has held fellowships at the Ministry of Unification (Republic of Korea), the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the Shanghai Institute of International Studies.

Jieming Hu is one of the pioneering artists of digital media and video installation art in today's China and is currently the chair of the academic board at the School of Fine Arts at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts. This episode covers topics including early Chinese media art practices in the background of social changes, his thinking about media culture as reflected in his artworks, artistic exploration into time and life, manipulation of installation spaces via smell, sound and light, etc. 1980s and 90s witnessed a transition in the living condition of Chinese people which was reflected in the media condition. In contrast with the information exploration in the Internet Age, TV used to be the only information resource for Chinese people with only 12 channels. Being sensitive to the social change of the times, the first period of Hu’s art creation focused on questioning the relationship between media, popular culture and people, such as taking snapshots from the 12 TV channels and making them into a synthesized visual experience of labyrinth, juxtaposing pictures of Coke cans, Pepsi bottles and red flags to create an ironic new version of the “Raft of the Medusa,” etc. In the years following 2000, Hu’s works turn more “inwards” into the exploration of the issue of time and memory. For example, his installation work Dozens of Days and Dozens of Years (2007) displays a set of furniture pieces decaying 4000 times faster than normal decaying speed with chemical and optical facilities, thus directly presenting the power of time and the fragility of life. When discussing the on-site affection of an artwork, Hu mentioned his long interest in the documentary of the animal world, and how he incorporates these primitive sensorial arousing elements including subtle changes in smell, sound and light into the construction of his artwork. The episode then ends with a discussion of Hu’s twofold solo exhibition with Jeffery Shaw: how the parallel presenting of the two art pieces gives a strongly contrasting effect and play between “showing” and “hiding”, “presence” and “absence”, and thus also exemplifies a particular Chinese way of artistic exploration into new media. Thank you for listening and please don’t hesitate to contact me via duansiying@gmail.com if you would like to learn more about the details of the conversation or have any suggestion.

Guest henry gao henry gao (@henrysgao) | Twitter Prof. Henry Gao is Associate Professor of law (tenured) at Singapore Management University and Dongfang Scholar Chair Professor at Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade. And co-author alongside Gregory Schaffer of the recent paper China's Rise: How It Took on the U.S. at the WTO. As evidenced by China's behavior in the recent trade scuffles with the US, it's clear that Chinese lawyers are far from rubes when it comes to trade. In this interview, we discuss what it took for the PRC to learn to speak the language of international legal trade law and the implications this develompent had both domestically and internationally, particularly in the context of the current US-China trade war. Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Guest henry gao henry gao (@henrysgao) | Twitter Prof. Henry Gao is Associate Professor of law (tenured) at Singapore Management University and Dongfang Scholar Chair Professor at Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade. And co-author alongside Gregory Schaffer of the recent paper China's Rise: How It Took on the U.S. at the WTO. As evidenced by China’s behavior in the recent trade scuffles with the US, it’s clear that Chinese lawyers are far from rubes when it comes to trade. In this interview, we discuss what it took for the PRC to learn to speak the language of international legal trade law and the implications this develompent had both domestically and internationally, particularly in the context of the current US-China trade war.

China’s booming film market has become an essential consideration for the production of Hollywood movies and is expected to overtake the U.S. market by 2017. In an effort to take advantage of this growth, American entertainment conglomerates are increasingly partnering with Chinese studios, and producing products for the Chinese market. So far, they have been highly successful, with four of the ten all-time highest grossing films in China produced by U.S. studios. As American entertainment companies seek to expand their global media empires, they must contend with the constraints of Chinese censorship as well as Beijing’s campaign to elevate its own soft power abroad. How will America’s entertainment powerhouses and China’s burgeoning film industry collaborate to build their global brand identities? Will Hollywood sacrifice its critical and artistic license to placate the Chinese Communist Party? On February 27, 2017, Dr. Kokas joined National Committee Senior Program Officer Sarah Jessup for a discussion of her new book Hollywood Made in China and the Chinese future of America’s “dream factory.”  Dr. Kokas discusses topics from her book, including the commercial relationships that resulted in such works as The Great Wall and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, as well as their impact on the production and content of major Hollywood films. Dr. Kokas also examines the effect of China’s soft power campaign and Xi Jinping’s “Chinese Dream” on entertainment industry branding. Aynne Kokas is an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. Dr. Kokas’ research broadly examines Sino-U.S. media and technology relations. Her book, Hollywood Made in China (University of California Press, 2017), argues that Chinese investment and regulations have fundamentally altered the landscape of the U.S. commercial media industry, most prominently in the case of major conglomerates that rely on leveraging global commercial brands. Dr. Kokas has been a visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies and at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She is a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow in the Public Intellectuals Program of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.

China’s booming film market has become an essential consideration for the production of Hollywood movies and is expected to overtake the U.S. market by 2017. In an effort to take advantage of this growth, American entertainment conglomerates are increasingly partnering with Chinese studios, and producing products for the Chinese market. So far, they have been highly successful, with four of the ten all-time highest grossing films in China produced by U.S. studios. As American entertainment companies seek to expand their global media empires, they must contend with the constraints of Chinese censorship as well as Beijing’s campaign to elevate its own soft power abroad. How will America’s entertainment powerhouses and China’s burgeoning film industry collaborate to build their global brand identities? Will Hollywood sacrifice its critical and artistic license to placate the Chinese Communist Party? In her new book Hollywood Made in China, Aynne Kokas investigates the commercial relationships that conceived of such works as The Great Wall and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, as well as their impact on the production and content of major Hollywood films. An assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, Dr. Kokas also examines the effect of China’s soft power campaign and Xi Jinping’s “Chinese Dream” on entertainment industry branding. On February 27, Dr. Kokas joined the National Committee for a discussion of her book and the Chinese future of America’s “dream factory.”  Aynne Kokas is an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. Dr. Kokas’ research broadly examines Sino-U.S. media and technology relations. Her book, Hollywood Made in China (University of California Press, 2017), argues that Chinese investment and regulations have fundamentally altered the landscape of the U.S. commercial media industry, most prominently in the case of major conglomerates that rely on leveraging global commercial brands. Dr. Kokas has been a visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies and at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She is a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute of Public Policy, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow in the Public Intellectuals Program of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.

Eden的词汇世界是一档分享各类花式记忆词汇方法的电台节目。也许你是准备考试的学生党（高考，四六级，考研，托雅等）或是每日忙碌的上班族，也许你是辛勤劳动的家庭主妇或是家庭煮夫，或是对英语狂热的爱好者，都可以与我们一同英语成长。每日更新，期期有料。逗B与智慧相结合的奇葩老师每日带你刷单词，你还在等什么？赶快订阅！打赏！赞赞！转起来！也可以加我的个人微信：yls5551985 和微信公众平台：edenenglish.每日与我互动打卡记单词！！ 本期精彩：精神病和神经病是一回事吗？欢迎收听本期节目。 本期分享： METS-Medical English Test System“英语医护水平考试” anti- 表“反对，抵抗” 抗生素 antibiotic [ˌæntibaɪˈɑ:tɪk] 抗体 antibody [ˈæntibɑ:di] cardio- 表“心脏” 心脏的 cardiac [ˈkɑ:diæk] 心力衰竭 cardiac failure [ˈfeɪljə(r)] 心肌 cardiac muscle 心肌炎 carditis [kɑ:'daɪtɪs] hema-/hemo- 表：“血” 吐血 hematemesis[ˌhi:mə'teməsɪs] 血液学 hematology[ˌhi:mə'tɒlədʒɪ] This is the website of Shanghai Institute of Hematology. 这是上海血液学研究所的网站。 血肿 hematoma [ˌhi:mə'təʊmə] neuro-/neur- 表：“神经的” 神经系统的 neurological[ˌnjʊərəˈlɒdʒɪkl] 神经病 neuropathy[ˌnjʊə'rɒpəθɪ] 精神病：psychosis 英 [saɪˈkəʊsɪs] laryng-/laryngo- 表：“喉的，喉部的” 喉炎 laryngitis [ˌlærɪnˈdʒaɪtɪs] 喉 larynx [ˈlærɪŋks] 背景音乐：where did you go 歌手：Reagan James

Eden的词汇世界是一档分享各类花式记忆词汇方法的电台节目。也许你是准备考试的学生党（高考，四六级，考研，托雅等）或是每日忙碌的上班族，也许你是辛勤劳动的家庭主妇或是家庭煮夫，或是对英语狂热的爱好者，都可以与我们一同英语成长。每日更新，期期有料。逗B与智慧相结合的奇葩老师每日带你刷单词，你还在等什么？赶快订阅！打赏！赞赞！转起来！也可以加我的个人微信：yls5551985 和微信公众平台：edenenglish.每日与我互动打卡记单词！！ 本期精彩：精神病和神经病是一回事吗？欢迎收听本期节目。 本期分享： METS-Medical English Test System“英语医护水平考试” anti- 表“反对，抵抗” 抗生素 antibiotic [ˌæntibaɪˈɑ:tɪk] 抗体 antibody [ˈæntibɑ:di] cardio- 表“心脏” 心脏的 cardiac [ˈkɑ:diæk] 心力衰竭 cardiac failure [ˈfeɪljə(r)] 心肌 cardiac muscle 心肌炎 carditis [kɑ:'daɪtɪs] hema-/hemo- 表：“血” 吐血 hematemesis[ˌhi:mə'teməsɪs] 血液学 hematology[ˌhi:mə'tɒlədʒɪ] This is the website of Shanghai Institute of Hematology. 这是上海血液学研究所的网站。 血肿 hematoma [ˌhi:mə'təʊmə] neuro-/neur- 表：“神经的” 神经系统的 neurological[ˌnjʊərəˈlɒdʒɪkl] 神经病 neuropathy[ˌnjʊə'rɒpəθɪ] 精神病：psychosis 英 [saɪˈkəʊsɪs] laryng-/laryngo- 表：“喉的，喉部的” 喉炎 laryngitis [ˌlærɪnˈdʒaɪtɪs] 喉 larynx [ˈlærɪŋks] 背景音乐：where did you go 歌手：Reagan James

Hear Fine Art Photogropher Bin Feng describ his artistic process with host Michael Harris.  Bin Feng was born in 1989 in Shanghai, China. He received his BFA from Shanghai Institute of Visual Art in 2012. At the same year, he started the MFA program of Photography in Savannah College of Art and Design, where he currently resides. Being a photographer, he also makes video installations, sculptures and large scale oil paintings. As the result of the language barrier, he becomes an outsider in United States. However, he takes the benefit of it and he is dedicated to act in the gap between the cultural differences.  “This photo series continues to explore the idea of the “American Dream” from an eastern male gaze. By staging the moment of daily life, the artist performs as an actor and jumps between the fiction and reality, which essentially conveys the notion of the history of a man is mobilized by images. I believe art is entertaining.” To read the CAGO Newsletter, visit www.ContemporaryArtGalleryOnline.com and click on the CAGO Media tab. On this page you will find our radio shows, videos and newsletters. Contemporary Art Gallery Online continues each month with their monthly art competitions and exhibitions.  Go to www.ContemporaryArtGalleryOnline.com, and Click on the Art Competition tab for details.

On Monday 22 June, the Lowy Institute hosted a conversation between Lowy Institute International Economy and G20 Studies Centre Program Director Dr Leon Berkelmans and Lowy Institute visiting scholar Dr Yu Ye. Dr Ye is a political economist and Associate Professor at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS), one of China’s leading think tanks.

The CEO of the United States Studies Centre Dr Bates Gill speaks with Duff Watkins about the strategic reasons behind Free Trade Agreements (FTA). This is very topical with the imminent completion of the one of the largest FTA’s the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Dr Bates Gill commenced as CEO of the US Studies Centre in October 2012 after a five year appointment as the Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. He previously led major research program at public policy think tanks in Washington, DC (Brookings Institution and Center for Strategic and International Studies) and in Monterey, California (Monterey Institute of International Studies). Among his professional affiliations, Dr Gill serves on the boards of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (Singapore) and the China-Merck AIDS Partnership, and is a member of the Asia Society Policy Advisory Board (New York) and the Board of Advisors for the Shanghai Institute of International Studies. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (New York) and the International Institute of Strategic Studies (London), and is an Associate Fellow with the Americas Program of Chatham House (London).  He received his PhD in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and was inducted to the The Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars in 2007. In addition to his experience in the USA, has lived and worked for lengthy periods in France, Switzerland, Sweden and China.

In this episode, we bring you a recording of our recent event with Lu Chuanying, a specialist in cyber issues from the Shanghai Institute of International Studies. In this presentation, he discusses U.S.-China cyber cooperation and differences.

Senior wine consultant, Lionel Le Gal, was born in Paris and first arrived in Shanghai in 2001 as a student at the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade, learning Chinese, trade, sales and marketing. Armed with this new knowledge, he quickly joined the French Wine Paradox team as a part-time wine promoter. Since then he has spent most of his career dealing with the On Trade wine business for key importers such as Torres China and ASC Fine Wines, working primarily in China and Vietnam. Most recently he teamed up with Italian sommelier Michele (Mikele) Muraro under a new venture called The Wine Guy. Lionel is married and has been in Shanghai for the last 7 years. Today Lionel is on a mission: to share some insights on the Chinese wine trade and also debunk some popular myths!

详细内容请关注周六微信，或登录以下网址： http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/11/15/2582s852511.htm This is NEWS Plus special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news. After successfully putting the "Jade Rabbit" lunar rover onto the moon, space experts say China's planned Mars vehicle will be larger, tougher and a better climber. A full-sized model of the Mars rover is on display at the China Airshow in south China's Zhuhai City, offering a rare glimpse of the spacecraft still being designed. The experts explain that the new rover will be larger in size and better at crossing obstacles than the moon rover Yutu. Yutu can climb over obstacles no higher than 20-centimetres, but has to bypass larger rocks. This will not work on Mars, where there is a full range of large rocks. The 2-meter-long model on display is the prototype. Its final look and functions have yet to be decided. China plans to land a Mars rover around 2020, collect samples and bring them back around 2030. The experts expect the Mars buggy to be solar-powered, its weight close to NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers at around 180 kilograms. NASA's latest Curiosity rover weighs 900 kilograms and is powered by a nuclear battery. The capability of China's carrier rockets limits the size of its Mars rover. This is NEWS Plus Special English. It was a warm gesture on a chilly night when Vladimir Putin wrapped a shawl around the wife of Xi Jinping while the Chinese president chatted with Barack Obama. The incident at a performance linked to the Asia-Pacific summit was originally broadcast on state broadcaster CCTV and spread online as a forwarded video. But it was soon scrubbed clean from the Chinese Internet, reflecting the intense control authorities exert over any material about top leaders while also pointing to cultural differences over what is considered acceptable behavior in public. Beijing-based historian and independent commentator Zhang Li-fan says that China is traditionally conservative on public interaction between unrelated men and women, and the public show of consideration by Putin may provide fodder for jokes, which the big boss probably does not like. Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan, was once a popular folk singer better known than her husband; and in contrast to her predecessors, she has taken on a much more public role, prominently joining her husband on trips abroad, as part of China's soft power push to seek global status commensurate with its economic might. Propaganda officials have built the image of Xi and his wife as a loving couple. Photos of Xi shielding his wife from the rain on a state visit, picking flowers for her, or simply holding her hand have circulated widely on China's social media, prompting much oohing and aahing. Blogger Luo Qing-xue says that when the president personally held the umbrella for his wife, it complied with the international norm of respecting women. Luo wrote on the news site for the party-run newspaper People's Daily last year after Xi was seen holding an umbrella over himself and Peng on a state visit to Trinidad and Tobago. Putin looked gallant for his macho, man-of-action image on Monday night while Xi chatted with the American president. In the video, Peng stood up, politely accepted the gray shawl or blanket offered by Putin, and thanked him with a slight bow. But she soon slipped it off and put on a black coat offered by her own attendant. It spawned a flurry of commentary on China's social media before censors began removing any mention of the incident. Li Xin, director of Russian and central Asian studies at Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said that Putin was just being a proper Russian and did nothing out-of-line diplomatically. Li says it's a tradition in Russia for a man of dignity to respect ladies on public occasions, and in a cold country like Russia, it is very normal that a gentleman should help ladies take on and off their coats; but the Chinese may not be accustomed to that. You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. British scientists found that weight loss surgery can reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by around 80 percent in obese people. Researchers from King's College London assessed the effect of contemporary surgical weight loss procedures on the development of diabetes. Being overweight or obese is the main risk factor for type 2 diabetes. The study involved more than 2,000 obese adults without diabetes who underwent one of three of the most common types of surgical procedures for weight loss. Compared with the control group of more than 2,000 other people, diabetes incidence was reduced by around 80 percent in participants who had surgery. However, the researchers say that although the results bring scientists a step closer to confirming the effect of surgery on the incidence of type 2 diabetes, many questions still remain unanswered, and more evidence is needed to convince scientists about the nature of this effect.