Focus: Bioethics: Perspectives on Surrogacy in Chinese Social Media: A Content Analysis of Microblogs on Weibo

Background: This article explores the social media discourse on transnational surrogacy and the issue of surrogacy more broadly considering recent news about the Chinese celebrity Zheng Shuang, which revealed that she had hired a surrogate mother in the United States and had later abandoned the surrogate babies. It aims to provide insight on how Chinese citizenry uses social media to express opinions on ethical and legal issues concerning surrogacy. Methods: We conducted a content analysis of microblogs from the social media platform Weibo posted within a month after the event was reported on January 17, 2021. The entire data set included 37,895 posts, which were analyzed for topic exploration using word frequency and keyword co-occurrence techniques, and a smaller sample of 1,000 posts was selected for an in-depth content analysis. Results: We established that the words “Zheng Shuang,” “surrogacy,” “babies,” “abandoning babies,” and “Zhang Heng” were most frequently used, with “law,” “ethics,” “justification,” “legality,” and “illegal” sharing high connections with these keywords. The qualitative content analysis further established that 399 microblogs (39.9%) expressed value judgements towards Zheng Shuang’s surrogacy, and 61.9% (n=247) opposed her surrogacy, while only 7.0% (n=28) were supportive. The major reason (n=72) against the celebrity’s surrogacy was that it was unfair and risky to surrogate children in this case. One hundred twenty-eight posts made value judgements towards surrogacy in principle, with 115 opposing surrogacy, and only two supportive posts. We also established that users with legal background had very limited presence in surrogacy discussions on Weibo, while users from healthcare professions did not engage at all in the social media debate. Conclusion: Opposition to surrogacy in Chinese social media discourse is primarily based on ethical and moral objections. The protection of surrogate children and surrogate women’s rights was the major concerns expressed by social media users, suggesting that this issue would likely be at the center of a future public debate regarding the regulation of surrogacy. We found the lack of healthcare professionals’ perspectives in social media discussions on Zheng’s Surrogacy disconcerting and suggest their inclusion in public deliberations to ensure that the public is better educated, and substantive concerns are properly addressed.     

Debates in xenotransplantation: on the consequences of contradiction

Abstract

This paper addresses disputes in the transplantation of tissues from transgenic animals to humans (XTP) between a number of biotech firms and several UK-based animal advocacy groups. Debates centre on the management of human and non-human identity, the indeterminacies of therapeutic efficacy and the risks of trans- species disease. Both constituencies make use of moral/cultural and scientific repertoires to advance their arguments.

Science and Technology Studies treatments of the dynamics between scientific institutions and pressure group Non-governmental organizations tend to emphasize the epistemological privileges of the former over the latter. However, the XTP case highlights a strategic flexibility enabling animal advocacy groups to deploy social and scientific arguments that are fundamentally contradictory. Such contradictions are much more difficult for scientific institutions to maintain, given the rigidities of the material and symbolic resources from which they derive their expertise in the first place.     

综述: 细胞自噬在肿瘤发生发展中的作用

自噬是保守的细胞防御机制,又是程序性细胞死亡机制．在多种人类肿瘤中存在细胞自噬活性改变．自噬活性降低促进肿瘤的发生和进展．综述了近年来细胞自噬在肿瘤中的研究进展,从基因组不稳定性、炎-癌链转化和演进、致瘤微生 物感染和宿主免疫应答、细胞凋亡途径与自噬的交叉调节等角度探讨自噬抑制肿瘤的机理,以及细胞自噬在肿瘤治疗中的作用．     

Science in China: 30 years on

Three decades after introducing market reforms and opening up to the rest of the world, China has become a major economic power. As the country prepares to show the world its sporting might, its competitiveness in life sciences may still need a boost.     

Concepts in sumoylation: a decade on

A decade has passed since SUMO (small ubiquitin-related modifier) was discovered to be a reversible post-translational protein modifier. During this time many enzymes that participate in regulated SUMO-conjugation and -deconjugation pathways have been identified and characterized. In parallel, the search for SUMO substrates has produced a long list of targets, which appear to be involved in most cellular functions. Sumoylation is a highly dynamic process and its outcomes are extremely diverse, ranging from changes in localization to altered activity and, in some cases, stability of the modified protein. At first glance, these effects have nothing in common; however, it seems that they all result from changes in the molecular interactions of the sumoylated proteins.     

Exosomes in atherosclerosis: Convergence on macrophages

As the primary cells of atherosclerotic plaques, macrophages play a central role in the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis (AS). In recent years, macrophages have received extensive attention as therapeutic targets. Exosomes, as natural nanoparticles, have high biocompatibility and strong targeting ability and have been widely studied as imaging agents and drug carriers. Studies on the relationship between atherosclerotic macrophages and exosomes have been focused on for the past few years. Nevertheless, no complex review has been undertaken in this area. In this review, we summarize in detail the role of macrophages in atherosclerosis, especially their plasticity and phenotypic and distributional heterogeneity. Based on the high correlation between macrophages and the pathological process of atherosclerosis, as well as the targeting of exosomes, we further review the clinical application of targeting macrophage-associated exosomes. We focus on the role of macrophage-associated exosomes in the phenotypic transformation of cells in atherosclerosis, providing a new idea for the clinical application of targeting macrophage-associated exosomes. Finally, we specifically summarize and prospect the diagnosis of macrophage-associated exosomes, such as imaging agent delivery, biomarkers and therapeutic strategies.     

The Impact of Power on Humanity: Self-Dehumanization in Powerlessness

Power gives people the ability to control themselves and their environment, and this control is considered a fundamental human need. We investigated whether experiencing powerlessness induces the experience of self-dehumanization using three methods: priming, role-playing, and cueing. People in a position of low power viewed themselves (Experiments 1–3) as less human relative to people in a position of high power; furthermore, people with low power believed that they were viewed as less human by others as well (Experiments 2–3). In all of the experiments, human nature traits were most negatively affected by powerlessness in self-perception judgments, and uniquely human traits were most negatively affected by powerlessness in meta-perception judgments. Furthermore, the powerless believed they were viewed as less human not only by the powerful people but also the outside observers of the power dynamic. Self-dehumanization also appears to be a consequence of powerlessness rather than an incidental result of a change in mood or a negative self-view. Our findings are an important extension of previous work on the adverse effects of powerlessness and dehumanization.     

Impact of irrigation on malaria in Africa: paddies paradox

The high population growth rate of the African continent has led to an increased demand for food and is in danger of outstripping agricultural production. In order to meet this need, many governments have sought ways of improving food production by initiating large-scale irrigation projects, involving reclamation of arid and semi-arid areas for the cultivation of crops. Although crop irrigation promises one solution to alleviating hunger and encourages economic growth, irrigation has often been blamed for aggravating disease in local communities. Malaria is one of the major tropical diseases associated with irrigation schemes, and changes in the transmission pattern of this disease following irrigation development have been a perennial subject of debate. It has often been assumed that high numbers of malaria vector Anopheles mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) resulting from irrigation schemes lead inevitably to increased malaria in local communities. However, recent studies in Africa have revealed a more complex picture. Increased numbers of vectors following irrigation can lead to increased malaria in areas of unstable transmission, where people have little or no immunity to malaria parasites, such as the African highlands and desert fringes. But for most of sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria is stable, the introduction of crop irrigation has little impact on malaria transmission. Indeed, there is growing evidence that for many sites there is less malaria in irrigated communities than surrounding areas. The explanation for this finding is still unresolved but, in some cases at least, can be attributed to displacement of the most endophilic and anthropophilic malaria vector Anopheles funestus Giles by An. arabiensis Patton with lower vectorial capacity, as the latter thrives more than the former in ricefields. Similarly, among members of the An. gambiae complex, some cytotypes of An. gambiae sensu stricto are more vectorial than others. For example, the Mopti form has high vectorial capacity and breeds perennially in irrigated sites, whereas the savanna form is often sympatric but more seasonal. Also we suggest that many communities near irrigation schemes benefit from the greater wealth created by these schemes. Consequently irrigation communities often have greater use of bednets, better access to improved healthcare and receive fewer infective bites compared with those outside such development schemes. Thus, in most cases, irrigation schemes in Africa do not appear to increase malaria risk, except in areas of unstable transmission. However, developers should take the opportunity to improve health-care facilities for local communities when planning irrigation schemes wherever they occur.