Search

This paper addresses the issue of students' employment expectations, considered a key factor in alleviating graduate unemployment in China. This empirical investigation surveyed students at two higher education institutions in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, to analyze how expectations were changing. The results contrasted with earlier studies that reported unrealistically high expectations, discovering instead that most respondents were aware of the difficulties of finding work and were revising their expectations accordingly. The results also revealed important variations in attitude between higher vocational students and university undergraduates, and between urban and rural students. Overall, the paper contends that although students are becoming more realistic, the complexity of graduate unemployment will prevent this change in attitude from making a major improvement to the overall situation.

Background and Aims While genome size limits the minimum sizes and maximum numbers of cells that can be packed into a given leaf volume, mature cell sizes can be substantially larger than their meristematic precursors and vary in response to abiotic conditions. Mangroves are iconic examples of how abiotic conditions can influence the evolution of plant phenotypes. Methods Here, we examined the coordination between genome size, leaf cell sizes, cell packing densities and leaf size in 13 mangrove species across four sites in China. Four of these species occurred at more than one site, allowing us to test the effect of climate on leaf anatomy. Results We found that genome sizes of mangroves were very small compared to other angiosperms, but, like other angiosperms, mangrove cells were always larger than the minimum size defined by genome size. Increasing mean annual temperature of a growth site led to higher packing densities of veins (D v) and stomata (D s) and smaller epidermal cells but had no effect on stomatal size. In contrast to other angiosperms, mangroves exhibited (1) a negative relationship between guard cell size and genome size; (2) epidermal cells that were smaller than stomata; and (3) coordination between D v and D s that was not mediated by epidermal cell size. Furthermore, mangrove epidermal cell sizes and packing densities covaried with leaf size. Conclusions While mangroves exhibited coordination between veins and stomata and attained a maximum theoretical stomatal conductance similar to that of other angiosperms, the tissue-level tradeoffs underlying these similar relationships across species and environments were markedly different, perhaps indicative of the unique structural and physiological adaptations of mangroves to their stressful environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initiation and peak magmatic periods of the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (LIP) are well constrained by both biostratigraphic and radioisotopic dating methods; however, the age of cessation of volcanism is poorly constrained and continues to be debated. Marine carbonates interbedded with volcanic ashes across the Guadalupian- Lopingian boundary (GLB) are widespread in south China, and these ashes provide an opportunity to study its timing, origin, and potential relationship with the Emeishan LIP. Here we present biostratigraphic constraints, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics, and high-resolution geochronology of ash layers from the Maoershan and Chaotian sections. Stratigraphic correlation, especially conodont biostratigraphy, confines these ashes to the early Wuchiapingian. Those altered ashes are geochemically akin to alkali tonsteins from the coal seams of the lower Xuanwei/Lungtan Formation in southwest China. The ashes postdating the GLB yield a coherent cluster of zircon U-Pb ages with weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages of 258.82 ± 0.61 Ma to 257.39 ± 0.68 Ma, in agreement with the ages of intrusive rocks (259.6 ± 0.5 Ma to 257.6 ± 0.5 Ma) in the central Emeishan LIP. Moreover, the Hf(t) values of zircons from the ashes vary from +2.5 to +10.6, a range consistent with that of the Emeishan LIP. The results collectively suggest that the early Wuchiapingian volcanic ashes are a product of extrusive alkaline magmatism and most likely mark the waning stage of the Emeishan volcanism, which may have continued until ca. 257.4 Ma in the early Wuchiapingian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of three primary bullous diseases, pemphigus, pemphigoid, and dermatitis herpetiformis, seen in this country, probably reflecting this region, are discussed and compared to those reported in the literature in the West. One hundred and forty-eight patients with bullous diseases were seen over a period of 15 years. The criteria for confirmation of clinical diagnosis were the findings of the direct immunofluorescent test. Pemphigus vulgaris was the commonest bullous disease. The incidence of bullous pemphigoid was highest in the Indians of Malaysian origin, and they are also more likely to develop pemphigus vulgaris than any other ethnic group. Linear IgA type formed the entire group of dermatitis herpetiformis. The granular type was not seen at all. The patients were treated with prednisolone alone or together with methotrexate or azathioprine. Dapsone alone controlled the dermatitis herpetiformis. The known association between pemphigus and other diseases with immunologic disturbances was not found in this study. The natural history of the bullous disease as seen in the follow-up patients is described. Deaths in pemphigus and pemphigoid were more due to either complications of steroid therapy or unassociated diseases than the primary disease itself. Introduction of immunofluorescence as a diagnostic tool in pemphigus and extension of this facility to other bullous diseases has led to detailed characterization of these diseases as seen in the West; however, publications in English dealing with epidemiologic aspects of bullous diseases in this region are rare.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

A prospective study of 77 consecutive patients with bullous diseases was done to study the pattern and natural history. Pemphigus was the commonest with 45 patients (59%) followed by pemphigoid with 21 patients (27%). Pemphigoid was more common in Indians than in other ethnic groups and its age of onset was a decade later than pemphigus. Unusual immunofluorescent findings in both diseases are discussed. Six of the 7 patients with dermatitis herpetiformis had linear IgA in the dermo-epidermal junction and the classical papillary IgA deposits were absent. Ultrastructural findings of pemphigoid and dermatitis herpetiformis confirmed earlier reports. Chronic bullous dermatoses of childhood was seen in 4 patients, all of whom had total remission within one year of onset disease.