Evaluation of right ventricular volume and systolic function in normal fetuses using intelligent spatiotemporal image correlation

BACKGROUND Heart defects are the most common congenital malformations in fetuses.Fetal cardiac structure and function abnormalities lead to changes in ventricular volume.As ventricular volume is an important index for evaluating fetal cardiovascular development,an effective and reliable method for measuring fetal ventricular volume and cardiac function is necessary for accurate ultrasonic diagnosis and effective clinical treatment.The new intelligent spatiotemporal image correlation(iSTIC)technology acquires high-resolution volumetric images.In this study,the iSTIC technique was used to measure right ventricular volume and to evaluate right ventricular systolic function to provide a more accurate and convenient evaluation of fetal heart function.AIM To investigate the value of iSTIC in evaluating right ventricular volume and systolic function in normal fetuses.METHODS Between October 2014 and September 2015,a total of 123 pregnant women received prenatal ultrasound examinations in our hospital.iSTIC technology was used to acquire the entire fetal cardiac volume with off-line analysis using QLAB software.Cardiac systolic and diastolic phases were defined by opening of the atrioventricular valve and the subsequent closure of the atrioventricular valve.The volumetric data of the two phases were measured by manual tracking and summation of multiple slices and recording of the right ventricular end-systolic volume and the right ventricular end-diastolic volume.The data were used to calculate the right stroke volume,the right cardiac output,and the right ejection fraction.The correlations of changes between the above-mentioned indices and gestational age were analyzed.The right ventricular volumes of 30 randomly selected cases were measured twice by the same sonographer,and the intraobserver agreement measurements were calculated.RESULTS Among the 123 normal fetuses,the mean right ventricular end-diastolic volume increased from 0.99±0.34 mL at 22 wk gestation to 3.69±0.36 mL at 35+6 wk gestation.The mean right ventricular end-systolic volume increased from 0.43±0.18 mL at 22 wk gestation to 1.36±0.22 mL at 35+6 wk gestation.The mean right stroke volume increased from 0.62±0.29 mL at 22 wk gestation to 2.33±0.18 mL at 35+6 wk gestation.The mean right cardiac output increased from 92.23±40.67 mL/min at 22 wk gestation to 335.83±32.75 mL/min at 35+6 wk gestation.Right ventricular end-diastolic volume,right ventricular end-systolic volume,right stroke volume,and right cardiac output all increased with gestational age and the correlations were linear(P<0.01).Right ejection fraction had no apparent correlation with gestational age(P>0.05).CONCLUSION Fetal right ventricular volume can be quantitatively measured using iSTIC technology with relative ease and high repeatability.iSTIC technology is expected to provide a new method for clinical evaluation of fetal cardiac function.

Bowel function and quality of life after minimally invasive colectomy with D3 lymphadenectomy for right-sided colon adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND Changes in bowel function after right-sided colectomy are not well understood compared to those associated with left-sided colectomy or rectal resection.In particular,there are concerns about bowel function after right-sided colectomy with complete mesocolic excision,which has become popular in the West.AIM To evaluate the functional outcomes of patients who underwent right-sided colectomy with D3 lymphadenectomy for colon cancer.METHODS Functional data from patients who underwent minimally invasive right-sided colectomy for colon cancer from October 2017 to September 2018 were prospectively collected.Functional outcomes were evaluated preoperatively and at 3,6,12,and 18 mo postoperatively.RESULTS Prior to surgery,57 patients answered the questionnaire,and 47 responded at three months,52 at 6 mo,52 at 12 mo,and 25 at 18 mo postoperatively.Most scales of quality of life and bowel function improved significantly over time.Urgency persisted to a high degree throughout the period without a significant change over time.The use of medications for defecation was about 10%over the entire period.Gas(P=0.023)and fecal frequency(P<0.001)increased,and bowel dysfunction group(P=0.028)was more common among patients taking medication.At six months,resected bowel and colon lengths were significantly different as a risk factor between the dysfunction group and the no dysfunction group[odd ratio(OR):1.095,P=0.026;OR:1.147,P=0.031,respectively]in univariate analysis,but not in multivariate analysis.CONCLUSION Despite D3 lymphadenectomy,most bowel symptoms improved over time after right-sided colectomy using a minimally invasive approach,and continuous medication was needed in only approximately 10%of patients.

The Right to Life, Voluntary Euthanasia, and Termination of Life on Request

In this article, the logical implications of a right to life are examined. It is first argued that the prohibition of Termination of life on request confers an inalienable right to life. A fight is inalienable if it cannot legitimately be waived or transferred. Since voluntary euthanasia entails waiver of the right to life, the inalienability yields that it cannot be justified. Therefore, any ethical position that is in favor of voluntary euthanasia has to argue that the right to life is an inalienable right and accept the conclusion that killing on request is justified.

Right to Family Life:Convergent Interpretation between Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong&Macao SARs

In the course of implementing the Constitution and theBasic Law in the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong and MacaoSpecial Administrative Regions, the core content of “family life” (especiallythe part involving the parent-child relationship), which is abasic right at the constitutional level, has finally been recognized bythe competent authorities as “close ties between family members.”The convergent interpretation of basic rights by competent authoritiesin the Chinese mainland and the two special administrative regions,at least in terms of “family life,” is fundamentally due to the fact thatunder similar social, economic and population conditions, they havereached a consensus on understanding the core content of basic rightsunder the influence of international human rights law. On the basis ofthis convergent interpretation, there should be no longer significantdifferences in the basic rights enjoyed by Chinese citizens in the Chinesemainland and Hong Kong & Macao.

Logical Extension of the Children’s Right to Family Life from the Perspective of International Human Rights Covenants

From the perspective of international human rights covenants,the family is the group unit for human life and the fundamental unit of society.Family life is the basic lifestyle of human beings.It is the right,by birth,of the individual to enjoy a normal life within the family.The survival and healthy development of children are inseparable from the family,and living with their parents or other family members is fundamental to guaranteeing the survival and growth of the children and realizing their value of life.Children’s right to family life is an important human right that has connotations fundamental to their lives,and should be safeguarded by both the law and Constitution.

On the Right to a Happy Life as a Human Right

A happy life is the pursuit,enjoyment,and realization of ever more complex needs in a circular way under objective conditions In terms of its constituent elements,the right to a happy life,as a human right,not only has the characteristics of moral rights,universal rights,and rights of prevention and cooperation but also contains the three spiritual values of human rights From the perspective of the genealogy of human rights theory,the right to a happy life as a human right is a new human rights bundle with basic,comprehensive,and complex characteristics From the perspective of the basic structure,the right to a happy life,as a human right,constitutes its subject,content,and nature First and foremost,basic human rights stand for consensus at the current primary stage They are fundamental and preliminary,and they are relativistic concepts The largest human right,however,is characterized by complexity,inclusiveness,and systematism,and is an absolute concept From the basic human rights to the largest human rights is a classic expression in different stages of China’s human rights construction It is not only the obligation and commitment in human rights practice,but also a summary of human rights theory,and more importantly,an important theoretical achievement of China’s human rights development in the new era.

On the Teleological Interpretation of the Right to a Happy Life

In his letter to the symposium commemorating the 70thanniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward that"people’s happy life is the greatest human right".The academic implication of this important exposition is that it puts forward a major concept,the right to a happy life as a human right,in the field of hum an rights.The right to a happy life is the right that people pursue,enjoy and realize a happy life,which belongs to the general right,that is,the"bundle of rights".Teleological interpretation provides a strong defense for the right to a happy life.However,teleological interpretation may bring many risks,which may get the right to a happy life into many dilemmas,such as the loss of dignity due to the degradation of"human"as a tool,the loss ofjustice due to the damage to the human rights of a few individuals or groups,the possible violation of human rights due to the promotion of the expansion of government power,and the difficulty of universal recognition due to differences in the pursuit of happiness and the happiness itself.Therefore,we must adhere to the"people-centered"principle and justice to enhance the government’s serious handling of human rights and reach an overlapping consensus in the pursuit of happiness,so as to restrict the teleological interpretation of the right to a happy life in a rational manner and promote the development of China’s human rights cause.

Conflict and Balance Between the Right to Life and Other Rights

The global COVID-19 pandemic is changing the international order and transforming the lifestyle of the mankind pandemic prevention and control has posed new challenges to the traditional system of basic rights Conflicts between the right to life and other rights, arising from the pandemic prevention and control measures adopted by governments, have triggered academic debates Governments have taken stringent pandemic prevention and control measures to protect the life, health and safety of the public, including restricting their personal freedom, freedom of religious belief as well as freedom in other spheres, with a view to safeguard the right to life In order to prioritize the right to life among the basic rights, its legitimacy basis should be researched on and a reasonable balance should be struck among the right to life, the right to dignity and other freedoms In the post-epidemic era, we should carry forward the human rights culture, optimize the system and mechanism that defend the value of the right to life, and endow the right to life with new connotation and mission.

An Academic Summary of the International Seminar Series on “Safeguarding the Right to Life in the Epidemic Prevention and Control”

Guided by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and organized by Southwest University of Political Science and Law,the First Session of the Series of International Seminars on"Global Epidemic Prevention and Control and Human Rights Protection"was held in Chongqing on May 9,2020.The seminar featured the theme of"Guarantee of the Right to Life in Epidemic Prevention and Control"and two sub-topics:"Value Status and Legal Protection of the Right to Life"and Safeguarding the Right to Life of Vulnerable Groups under the Pandemic".Over 40 experts and scholars from China,the Netherlands,France,Pakistan and Sri Lanka attended the conference,and conducted in-depth discussions on specific issues such as"life supremacy","attributes of the right to life","government responsibilities","protection of vulnerable groups","balance of the right to life and other human rights",and"science-based approaches to epidemic prevention".This conference reaffirmed the key idea of life supremacy,which is conducive to strengthening the safeguarding of and attention to the right to life in the global pandemic prevention and control.

Addressing Japan’s disposal of nuclear-contaminated water from the perspective of international human rights law

The discharge of nuclear-contaminated water containing radionuclides into the ocean by Japan will lead to its integration into the entire ecosystem through processes of circulation and biomagnification,eventually entering the human body via the food chain.This poses a substantial risk of irreversible damage to both the ecosystem and human health,a situation that will worsen with the ongoing discharge of such water.The respect and protection of human rights represent an international consensus,and safeguarding fundamental human rights is a substantial obligation that states must undertake in accordance with both international and domestic law.Since the Fukushima nuclear disaster,Japan has continuously violated its international legal obligations to protect human rights in several areas,including the resettlement of disaster victims,the reduction of nuclear radiation levels,and the handling of contaminated water.Such actions have compromised and will continue to compromise the basic human rights of not only its citizens but also those of people worldwide,including environmental rights,the right to life,development rights,and food rights.In the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown,the public and workers involved in handling nuclear contaminants have been continually exposed to high radiation levels,endangering their rights to life,development,and health.Japan’s inadequate efforts in victim resettlement and environmental restoration have jeopardized the environmental and food rights of its citizens to live healthily and access food in an environment unaffected by nuclear radiation.The release of nuclear-contaminated water poses a risk of Japan’s nuclear pollution to the people of neighboring countries and the global population at large.The principle of human rights underpins the theory of a community with a shared future for humanity,and human rights are a crucial area of China’s active participation in United Nations affairs and global governance.By voicing concerns over Japan’s potential human rights violations globally,China demonstrates its role as a responsible major country.In response to Japan’s breach of legal obligations and human rights violations,China can adopt a reasoned and beneficial approach,including calling on the international community to hold Japan criminally accountable for crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute and advancing scholarly discussions on ecocide and crimes against the marine environment.Furthermore,China should persist in seeking advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice and strive for substantive accountability,utilizing the mechanisms of international human rights organizations to make its voice heard.

From Poverty To a Well-Off Life——Chinese people enjoy full rights to subsistence and development

Ⅰ The Chinese government has always attached much importance to human rights and placed the rights to subsistence and development of the more than one billion people above everything else. In the fundamental interests of the broadest possible masses of people, it has adopted a series of major policy measures toward this end, thus winning the support and love of the people. 1. No wavering in making economic development its central task and a matter of the first and foremost importance in invigo-

The Shaping of Environmental Rights Oriented Toward the “Needs for a Better Life”

With the continuous improvement in the protection of environmental rights in China,the demand for a“more beautiful environment”in the“needs for a better life”should serve as the basis for the formation of environmental rights.Environmental rights oriented toward the“needs for a better life”reflect the legal response to ensure that the environment meets people’s spiritual needs to a certain extent after the environment meets their health needs.Based on the provisions of the general personality rights in China’s Civil Code and related judicial practice,a legal normative interpretation of environmental rights oriented toward the“needs for a better life”can be established.At the theoretical level,the boundary of environmental rights should be determined by taking the obligation to tolerate as the bottom line.In the identification and protection of environmental rights in relevant judicial practices,factors such as the protection of reasonable expectations and the inertia of people’s perceptions of the environment should be fully considered with judicial discretion to render the positioning of judicial protection reasonable based on taking the obligation to tolerate as the bottom line.

On the Right to Life

The COVID-19 pandemic is not only the first public health emergency that human beings are jointly faced with, but also the first time that mankind is confronted with a tremendous disaster together To face lives rationally in a pandemic, "criteria" and "rules" need to be regulated by reason Amid such a catastrophe, we need to reply to questions such as whether the right to life should take precedence over other rights and whether each individual’s life should be treated equally, the answers to which, of course, are definitely positive With the advent of a risk society, public health emergencies are no longer occasional incidents Instead, they might become a more frequent problem in the development of modernity In the community with a shared future for human beings, to protect human rights, the humanitarian spirit, the principle of equality and the idea of justice by playing the role of the state will become a new normal in safeguarding the right to life.

2005: Better Protection of Right to Life

The right to life is the essential and most important of all human rights. For an individual, it constitutes the prerequisite for the enjoyment of all other rights to which he or she is entitled. In 2005, the Chinese authorities planned a series of legal measures to provide still more effective protection of the right to life.

Abortion as a Moral Good? Contrasting Secular and Judeo-Christian Views and a Potential Pathway for Promoting Life

Objective: This review aims to summarize key facets of the Pro Choice and Pro Life perspectives and outline a resolution pathway that minimizes abortion. Main Results: Approximately 1.3 billion abortions occurred worldwide from 1990 through 2014. In the United States, more than 61 million abortions were performed between 1973 and 2017. The Pro Choice perspective posits that: 1) A fetus is not a person;therefore, a person is not harmed. 2) Forced childbearing includes significant health and psychological risks to the mother and can exacerbate poverty. Since a person is not harmed and the mother is benefited, abortion is a moral good. From a Judeo-Christian, Pro Life perspective: 1) God creates every person in his image and has a pre-conception life plan for them. 2) God commanded us to be fruitful and multiply and identified children as a blessing. Hence, abortion harms a person and is rebellion against God. Conclusion: In working toward a solution, agape love, which is sacrificial and giving, not selfish or condemning, is a good starting point. In that light, the Judeo-Christian community can begin bridging the chasm between the Pro Life and Pro Choice communities by sharing truth in love and helping to meet the material and emotional needs of pregnant women who see no alternative to abortion. Proactive, unconditional love provides the foundation for making the womb a sanctuary for life.

“I Dread the Heart Surgery but it Keeps My Child Alive”—Experiences of Parents of Children with Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Anomalies during the Assessment for Cardiac Reoperation

Background:Parents of children with complex right ventricular outflow tract(RVOT)anomalies are confronted with their child’s need for heart surgery early in life and repeated reoperations later on.Preoperative assessment needs to be performed whenever an indication for reoperation is suspected.The aim was to illuminate the experiences of parents of children diagnosed with RVOT anomalies,in particular,how they experience their child’s heart disease and everyday life during the assessment and after the decision on whether to perform a reoperation.Method:Individual interviews(n=27)were conducted with nine parents on three occasions between 2014 and 2016 and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.Results:The analysis resulted in the following five main coexisting themes:The heart surgery keeps my child alive illuminates parents’experiences during and after the assessment and emphasizes that heart surgery,although dreaded,is central for their child’s survival;Everyday struggles illuminates the different struggles parents had to face to ensure that their child would be in the best possible condition;the remaining three themes,Unconditional love,Trust in life,and Togetherness,illuminate the ways in which the parents gained inner strength and confidence in their everyday lives.Conclusion:Although the parents were grateful for the assessment and had learned to navigate among the fears it aroused,they experienced several distressing situations during the assessment process that should be addressed.By inviting both the parents and their child to participate in the child’s care,individualized support can take into account the needs of both parents and child.

The Rights Logic of Common Prosperity:Structure,Evolution,and Path to Implementation

The concept of common prosperity embodies the right of the people to a happy life,which is in line with General Secretary Xi Jinping’s proposition that“the people’s happiness is the greatest human right.”Its rights structure has the attributes of collective rights,reflecting the people’s pursuit of material civilization,spiritual civilization,harmony,beauty,and other social values.The realization of these rights is based on individual diligent labor and also entails human rights responsibilities of the state and society.Since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee,China has pursued the basic policy of reform and opening-up,dismantling institutional barriers that hindered the development of productivity and the full realization of rights.This has stimulated the initiative,enthusiasm,and creativity of the people in their endeavors and entrepreneurship,leading to a historic leap from standing up to becoming prosperous.The living standards of the people have greatly improved.In the new journey toward achieving the second centenary goal,China should follow the important discourse of General Secretary Xi Jinping on respecting and protecting human rights,take the path of socialist human rights with Chinese characteristics,and better meet the growing aspirations of the people for a better life in the pursuit of high-quality economic development.

On Indiscriminate Bombardment during World War II: Opposition between Human Rights and Human Rights Abuse

Base on the strategic bombardment to destroy willpower of Chinese Anti-Japanese war, in the Second World War, Japanese aircrafts were nondiscriminatorily bombing China’s cities, which committed crimes against humanity. Actually, the US army nondiscriminatorily bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki and damaged the human rights too. The US army, however, speeded up Japanese surrender and protected more people’s rights to life. It is never forgotten that the painful game of protecting and damaging human rights between Japanese militarism and anti-fascist alliance.

Termination of life! reflections on abortion and euthanasia

The article follows an analysis critical of the human rights convention from the perspective of abortion and euthanasia,bringing arguments for and against the right to life,starting at conception and to the final phase of a human being.

Human Rights Challenges Posed by Drone Operations and Countermeasures

Drone strikes are increasingly used in counter-terrorism operations and other military fields,and drones are heralded as the“future of war.”Meanwhile,the use of drones as weapons also brings a series of human rights challenges,mainly reflected in the infringement upon or serious threat to basic rights such as the right to life and the right to a fair trial,leading to a series of imputation problems.In fact,international human rights law is binding on States parties,whether in peacetime or in armed conflicts,and the protection of human rights it provides continues.This requires relevant entities to incorporate this new type of military use into regulation as soon as possible.Meanwhile,based on the principle of respecting national sovereignty,they should abide by the principle of distinction and proportionality,prevent the violation of human rights through abuse of armed drones,reinterpret relevant concepts and principles,gradually develop international standards for the use of drones as weapons,fairly and reasonably determine the responsibilities of various parties,and ensure that the use of new technologies does not negatively affect human rights protection.