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Following the gradual post-COVID-19 return of international student flows, it is important to examine how higher education institutions and international students are reacting to their new environment and how they relate to each other. Central to this relationship is the concept of "belonging"; what it means for international students, as newcomers and temporary residents in their host environment, to feel as if they belong. To address this question, and as a springboard from which further research into the topic can be undertaken, we examined the question of "belonging" within contemporary academic literature. We examined a broad range of literature to determine the key findings, as well as gaps in the implications for theory and practice. Our findings indicate that "belonging" is seldom clearly defined in the scholarly research. We also found that a proactive approach to student integration was the most common thread across the studies examined.

Aero medicine and first aid training is essential in preparing qualified cabin crew for in-flight medical emergencies. Nonetheless, it has always been regarded as a challenging aspect of cabin crew training. Cabin crew have been facing a more complex situation when conducting their duties onboard due to COVID-19. This study aims to explore the current status of aero medicine and first aid training in China. Using the snowballing technique, 17 participants were recruited for the in-depth semi-structured interview, including cabin crew from 9 airlines in China, first aid instructors from airline training centers, and lecturers from universities. Based on thematic analysis, four themes were extracted: required competencies, factors affecting first aid behaviors, course content and instructional strategies. Findings indicated that most airlines in China emphasized training their cabin crew in aero medicine and first aid. However, some conducted recurrent training once every two years, which was insufficient for skills and knowledge retention. Automated External Defibrillators (AED) were rarely equipped onboard. MedAire was not available for all airlines in China. The results pointed out the shortfalls on aero medicine and first aid aspect in China and can help improve the in-flight first aid facilities and optimize the training programs.

This study examined the effect of e-learning compared to traditional education on student achievement and satisfaction, and to find out if COVID-19 is the first step for creating a society without a school, an online survey was conducted. The study sample consisted of 125 Palestinian bachelor's degree students from different universities in the Republic of China and the Arab Gulf states. The study took place during the first half of the pandemic's academic year, from the end of February to the end of August 2020. The findings revealed that there are no statistically significant differences between the E-learning and traditional learning concerning students' achievement based demographic variables (university years and scientific specialization), and the student's satisfaction variable from (teaching staff style, educational programs provided, and quality). The study indicated that e-learning has proven its feasibility during the pandemic, so it should not be excluded and underestimated. Some third world societies still prefer traditional education, but e-learning should be a permanent option that is not limited to times of crisis; Educational institutions should recognize e-learning as a fait accompli, as is the case in many developed countries. This study recommended the necessity of recognizing e-learning and enhancing this style of study by allocating specific budgets and specialized technical and educational cadres. It also recommended adopting a hybrid education pattern by integrating e-learning and F2F education.

With rapid economic development, financial literacy plays an increasingly important role in helping individuals navigate the complexities of modern financial systems and products. The importance of financial literacy is particularly pronounced in China, one of the largest economies in the world, especially for university students who are encountering increasing challenges in financial management. To address the lack of context-specific, up-to-date interpretations of financial literacy for Chinese university students and the lack of targeted financial education programs, this qualitative study recruited 25 students from China’s higher education providers. Interview data highlighted two aspects of financial literacy: knowledge-informed financial behavior (including budgeting and expense management, savings and investments, credit and debt management, consumer rights and protection, digital financial literacy, and financial security) and financial attitude (proactive attitude, responsible attitude, future-oriented attitude, and adaptability). Furthermore, academic and extracurricular support, enhanced accessibility of financial education, collaborations with financial institutions, and the role of faculty advisors were identified as important resources that higher education providers can offer to enhance students’ financial literacy. Implications for higher education providers include the need to consider students’ needs and challenges when offering financial education opportunities and facilitating collaboration with stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sleep is a fundamental prerequisite for physical and mental health. Poor quality of sleep is common among post‐cardiac surgery patients and leads to serious health conditions. Objective: To conduct a systematic review that investigates the effectiveness of eye masks, earplugs and deep‐breathing exercise on sleep quality among post‐cardiac surgery patients. Design: A systematic review of interventional studies was established to meet the PRISMA guidelines. Methods: PRISMA guidelines were used to assess the findings of 11 selected studies that met the inclusion criteria, published between 2007 and 2023 across four databases: CINAHL, JDNR, MEDLINE and PubMed. The search was conducted on 23 November 2023. Results: The 11 most eligible studies were analysed. All of them were interventional, encompassing a total of 787 participants. Randomised controlled trials were the most common design. Interventions included eye masks, earplugs and deep‐breathing exercises. The Richards‐Campbell Sleep Questionnaire was the most used assessment scale. Most of the reviewed studies found that the use of non‐pharmacological interventions (eye masks, earplugs and deep‐breathing exercise) significantly improves the quality of sleep. These interventions were also found to have potentially positive effects on reducing pain and delirium experienced by patients after undergoing cardiac surgery. Conclusions: Non‐pharmacological interventions (eye masks, earplugs and deep‐breathing exercise) were found to be cost‐effective interventions that could be easily applied in the clinical setting and are effective in improving the quality of sleep among patients after cardiac surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of blockchain technology holds significant potential for improving efficiency, resilience, and transparency within the Fisheries Supply Chain (FSC). This study addresses the critical barriers hindering the adoption of blockchain technology (BT) in the Chinese FSC, recognizing the unique challenges posed by its intricacies. Through a comprehensive literature review, fourteen Critical Barrier Factors (CBFs) were identified, and a grey Delphi method was employed to distill this set. Five pivotal CBFs emerged, including "Regulatory Compliance," "Cost of Implementation," and "Complex Supply Chain Network". A subsequent grey Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) analysis revealed the causal relationships among these factors, categorizing them into effect and cause groups. "Regulatory Compliance," "Cost of Implementation," and "Complex Supply Chain Network" were identified as primary influencing factors demanding attention for effective BT integration in the FSC. The findings serve as a valuable resource for FSC stakeholders, assisting in prioritizing efforts to address these barriers. The discerned causal relationships provide guidance for managers in optimizing resource allocation. Ultimately, this research advocates for the adoption of blockchain technology in the fisheries supply chain to enhance overall performance and operational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the growing environmental concerns and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) plays a pivotal role in transforming the automotive industry towards sustainability. In China, the promotion of EVs dates back to 2009, and EVs have lower consumer acceptance than conventional fuel vehicles. The large financial subsidies that are frequently employed to encourage the proliferation of EVs are not long-term viable. As a result, it suggests that research into the inherent qualities and features of EVs itself has to be refocused. This study examines consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for EVs' attributes using the choice experiment (CE) method in Shandong, China. The assessed attributes were driving range, seats, battery warranty period, charging time, and price. Finally, the data from 330 valid responses was examined using conditional logit (CL) and mixed logit models (MXL). The results reveal that the most preferred attribute was an extension of the battery warranty duration, which led to a WTP ranging from CNY626,352 to CNY1,141,580 (US$98,485 to US$170,385) among the different models. Furthermore, the outcomes indicate distinct consumer preferences based on gender, age, education, and income. These findings have significant implications for policymakers in developing the EV industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Relaciones Internacionales (1699-3950) is the property of Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, International Relations Studies Group (GERI) Law Faculty and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this study is to undertake a comparative study of higher education indices in China and between the 31 administrative divisions of China with the international evaluation system. The analysis includes a comparison of higher education indices between China and six continents and several key countries in the world, as well as a comparison between internal regions in China and Malaysia, both of which are in Asia. The numbers and rankings of higher education institutes (HEIs) of various countries and regions listed in theQS World University Rankings (QS) over 13 years from 2010 to 2023 form the basis of corresponding higher education indices obtained through several calculation formulas. These indices are the QS Higher Education Density Index (QSHEDI), QS Higher Education Quality Index (QSHEQI), QS Higher Education Composite Index (QSHEI), and RelativeQS Higher Education Composite Index (RQSHEI), and they reflect the index calculation results of the density, quality, and composite of higher education relative to the regional population. Based on the comparative analysis of the indices from multiple perspectives, this study found that there is a large gap between higher education in China and other countries, and there is also a significant imbalance in the geographical distribution of higher education resources among Chinese provinces based on the population proportion and economic impact. These disparities will hurt the sustainable development of higher education in China. Therefore, paying more attention to the international evaluation system and recognition standards like the QS Rankings becomes necessary to guide the balanced development of higher education among provinces according to the population proportion. It is also vital to improve the international influence of HEIs in China according to internationally recognized requirements so that China's higher education can develop sustainably in the process of global internationalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet technology and data-driven innovations are changing the way people live and work, which could have an impact on real estate supply and demand. Therefore, this study focuses on the relationship between urban digital economy growth and urban house prices. First, the empirical model shows that the digital economy has an inverted U-shaped impact on urban housing prices. The mechanisms underlying this relationship were then examined. The results indicated that fixed asset investment, government expenditure, and the urban environment influence the relationship between digital economy growth and urban house prices. Finally, a heterogeneity analysis revealed that the digital economy does not affect house prices in Tier 1, New Tier 1, and Tier 2 Chinese cities, but increases house prices in Tier 3 cities. In Tier 4 and Tier 5 cities, this relationship was found to be inverted U-shaped. These findings offer valuable insights to policymakers in China in balancing the growth of the digital economy and the stability of house prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degradation of farmland in China underscores the need for developing and utilizing saline-alkali soil. Soil health relies on microbial activity, which aids in the restoration of the land's ecosystem, and hence it is important to understand microbial diversity. In the present study, two Gram-stain-positive strains HR 1-10T and J-A-003T were isolated from saline-alkali soil. Preliminary analysis suggested that these strains could be a novel species. Therefore, the taxonomic positions of these strains were evaluated using polyphasic analysis. Phylogenetic and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that these strains should be assigned to the genus Halalkalibacter. Cell wall contained meso-2,6-diaminopimelic acid. The polar lipids present in both strains were diphosphatidyl-glycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, and an unidentified phospholipid. The major fatty acids (>10%) were anteiso-C15:0, C16:0 and iso-C15:0. Average nucleotide identity and digital DNA#x2013;DNA hybridization values were below the threshold values (95% and 70%, respectively) for species delineation. Based on the above results, the strains represent two novel species of the genus Halalkalibacter, for which the names Halalkalibacter flavus sp. nov., and Halalkalibacter lacteus sp. nov., are proposed. The type strains are HR 1-10T (=GDMCC 1.2946T = MCCC 1K08312T = JCM 36285T), and J-A-003T (=GDMCC 1.2949T = MCCC 1K08417T = JCM 36286T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel???tourism stock markets. Specifically, it considers the five most visited countries: France, Spain, the US, China, and Italy. Unlike previous studies, it estimates time-varying VAR (TVP-VAR) models, including daily observations of confirmed COVID-19 cases, economic activity, CDS spreads, and the returns of travel???tourism sectors. In brief, our findings indicate that the effects of COVID-19 vary across countries, as well as over time. Specifically, increasing numbers of cases initially had a negative and significant impact on the travel???tourism stock returns of all countries. However, this effect had become insignificant by early April 2020. The travel???tourism markets of the European countries were seen to be more heavily affected by COVID-19 when compared to China and the US, with China seeming to have been the least affected country of all. Overall, our results are essential in understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the travel???tourism stock markets, and are of particular importance to policymakers, portfolio managers, and investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of employment for university students is receiving significant attention in China, leading to educational reforms aimed at enhancing students' employment skills and prospects. One such initiative is the "3+1" higher education programs, characterized by work-based learning. However, the effectiveness of this initiative falls short of expectations due to insufficient understanding of the up-to-date employment skills required by the industry. As such, this qualitative study explored stakeholders' perceptions regarding the employment skills needed by students enrolled in "3+1" programs. Key challenges and strategies associated with developing students' employment skills were identified through interviews with students, teachers, curriculum planners, industry leaders, and human resource professionals. Findings revealed a consensus among stakeholders on the importance of developing a holistic skill set, acquiring practical experience, increasing adaptability and resilience, embracing lifelong learning, and improving communication skills. Challenges included mismatches between academic learning and industry demands, limited industry exposure, soft skill deficiency, inadequate assessment, insufficient university-industry cooperation, and students' low motivation, for which corresponding strategies were proposed. This study provides valuable insights into enhancing the employability of "3+1" graduates, emphasizing the importance of comprehensive education aligned with industry needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the strategic use of education as a tool of soft power, focusing on China's investment in the education of Qatari human capital. It explores how education, a non-coercive form of influence, contributes to China's global reputation and socio-economic progress. The research employs a mixed-method approach, including quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, to assess the impact of Chinese educational investments on Qatari students. The findings indicate that China's educational support, through scholarships and cultural exchange, positively influences Qatari students' perceptions and fosters a favourable image of China. The study highlights the significance of educational investment in building soft power, with China utilizing scholarships and cultural programs to attract international students, particularly from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The effectiveness of China's soft power strategy is demonstrated through increased educational cooperation under the "Belt and Road" initiative, contributing to China's global influence and international relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unilateral claim from China is in the form of dots or 9 dotted 'Nine-dash line' which forms the letter 'U' intersects with Indonesia Exclusive Economic Zone. Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs of Indonesia, has issued the latest 2017 Map of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. The 2017 NKRI Map is the proposed naming of the sea space, which was previously known as part of the South China Sea (SCS), to the North Natuna Sea. Therefore, this study aims to: (1) analyse how the legality of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Indonesia in the North Natuna Sea-based United Nations Convention on the law the Sea 1982; and (2) analyse how the Indonesian government responds in the North Natuna Sea. This research uses normative research methods. The results show that based on UNCLOS 1982, Indonesia has the legality to exercise sovereign rights in the North Natuna Sea. The Republic of Indonesia confirms that there is no dispute with China in the North Natuna Sea because China's claims are not legal or not based on United Nations Convention on the law the Sea 1982. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, there is a thriving trend of utilizing a unique form of blended learning that combines MOOCs (massive open online courses) and SPOC (Small Private Online Course). However, the evaluation methods used for these blended learning courses have not been adequately developed. The objective and accurate evaluation of blended learning poses a challenge. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct a preliminary study to examine the relationships between various factors, such as the quality of the teaching environment, the quality of teachers' offline teaching, the quality of teachers' online teaching, and their impacts on students' learning satisfaction and learning outcomes in a blended learning setting. This study aims to analyze the factors in blended learning by employing structural equation modeling and interviews with 275 students. The findings of this research contribute to the advancement of student learning evaluation in blended learning by incorporating the evaluation of the teaching environment, the quality of teachers' online teaching, the quality of teachers' offline teaching, student satisfaction, and students' learning outcomes. Furthermore, this study offers a comprehensive analysis of the influence of the teaching environment on the aforementioned factors in blended learning, thereby providing a rationale and robust empirical evidence for the Chinese government's sustained investment in information technology infrastructure in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología is the property of Fundacion Salud, Ciencia y Tecnologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Buletin Al-Turas is the property of Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The objective of this study was to identify the pattern of economic growth of China by identifying the factors that are contributing to sustainability and reducing inequality in the Chinese communities. The role of sustainable development goals has become critical for even the non- democratic country because inequality is also found in China which is rapidly increasing due to overpopulation and other factors. In this study, the questionnaire was developed on the Likert scale to collect the data from the economists to test the relationship between the hypotheses. The sample size for this study was 330 from the selected population of 800 people with a response rate of 45%. The study concludes that there is a critical role of sustainable development goals, sustainable economic policy, and labor productivity in the growth of China's economy. Further, this study also demonstrates that the Chinese government must focus on sustainability to reduce inequality in society. Significantly, this study provides a detailed insight into the relationship of factors that are contributing to China's economic growth that was not discussed earlier in the Chinese economic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilateral organizations are taking attention toward foreign divestment; they are in practice to shift toward a large number of host countries from their home countries. In this paper, the significant role of FDI divestment in the development of the economy has been discussed. The role and contribution of FDI divestment in emerging economies have been discussed. The study employs qualitative descriptive analysis to address the determinants of FDI divestment operated by the emerging economies specifically in China. The study is based on economic reports, official documents, and data directly related to the subject of the study. The role and contribution of FDI divestment to develop a strong corporate sector are elaborated in this paper. Furthermore, the role of FDI divestment in reforming organizations and their sustainable growth with the support of evidence has been discussed. Issues regarding FDI divestment faced by different stakeholders have been explained in this research. Inflows and outflows of FDI divestment with cause and effect have been discussed in this paper. Additionally, this study examined the role of multilateral organizations to convince emerging economies by improving their divestment approach. In global strategy formulation FDI divestment consider as a significant aspect. It is observed, that this aspect of the strategy is still untouched in the field of international business and business academies. This study is specifically in the context of China with under consideration of other developed economies. This study investigates the encouraging factors for growing economies to formulate their divestment policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) have been considered an important source of curative remedy for many years due to their potential chemical components which can promote health and prevent diseases. According to TCM, influenza is differentiated into two kinds, namely, wind-cold syndrome and wind-heat syndrome. Many traditional Chinese medicinal plants have been found to exert impacts against both cold and influenza viruses. This article included randomized control experiments, observational and analytical designs, and review articles which have been searched in Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The most important antiviral herbs for cold and flu are honey-suckle flowers (Lonicera periclymenum L.), thyme leaf (Thymus vulgaris L.), green chireta (Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall. Ex Nees), Calendula (Calendua officinalis L.), and peppermints leaf and oil (Mentha piperita L.). The most notable expectorant herbs for cold and flu are snake root (Ageratina altissima (L.) R.King & H.Rob), tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum L.), licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.), slippery elm (Ulmus rubra Muhl) and marshmallow osha root (Althea officinalis L.), clove (Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr. & L.M.Perry), and sage leaf (Salvia officinalis L.). Immunostimulant herbs for cold and flu are eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globuls Labill), Echinacea root (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench), ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Mey), garlic (Allium sativum L.), marshmallow (Althaea officinalis L.), Isatis root (Isatis tinctoria L.), ginger root (Zingiber officinale Rosc), and myrrh resin (Commiphora myrrha (T.Nees) Engl.). The most famous and practical herbal prescriptions from China are Jinchai, Rorrico, Ge Gen Decoction, Gegen Qinlian Decoction, Xin-Jia-Xiang-Ru-Yin, Yi-Zhi-Hao pellet, IMOD, and Arbidol combinations. Traditional Chinese medicinal plants and herbs with antiviral activities and prescriptions which are common in China can be considered for prevention and treatment of influenza and cold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study examines the effectiveness of using negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in the management of a hard-to-heal (chronic) wound with exposed ankle bone to reduce associated wound exudate and promote production of granulation tissue. A 60-year-old male patient who was able to attend wound follow-up diligently twice weekly for eight weeks, and weekly thereafter, was selected from a private hospital to take part. During each dressing change, the wound was cleansed with superoxidised cleansing solution, and minimal sharp debridement was performed. In the authors' opinion, the NPWT device used in this study is light and convenient for use in the community or home care setting. The NPWT wound dressing was connected to the NPWT machine via a connecting tube and the device then switched on using the default setting of a negative pressure of 125mmHg. Following the application of the NPWT device, the exposed ankle bone was successfully covered with healthy granulation tissue and healed within 20 weeks with minimal exudate formation in the wound. In the authors' opinion, NPWT is able to promote progress to wound healing; to minimise unnecessary dressing changes and, based on feedback from the patient, is comfortable to wear and when in use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in nontechnical loss (NTL) has become a principal concern for distribution system operators (DSOs) over the years. Electricity theft makes up a major part of NTL. It causes losses for the DSOs and also deteriorates the quality of electricity. The introduction of advanced metering infrastructure along with the upgradation of the traditional grids to the smart grids (SGs) has helped the electric utilities to collect the electricity consumption (EC) readings of consumers, which further empowers the machine learning (ML) algorithms to be exploited for efficient electricity theft detection (ETD). However, there are still some shortcomings, such as class imbalance, curse of dimensionality, and bypassing the automated tuning of hyperparameters in the existing ML‐based theft classification schemes that limit their performances. Therefore, it is essential to develop a novel approach to deal with these problems and efficiently detect electricity theft in SGs. Using the salp swarm algorithm (SSA), gate convolutional autoencoder (GCAE), and cost‐sensitive learning and long short‐term memory (CSLSTM), an effective ETD model named SSA–GCAE–CSLSTM is proposed in this work. Furthermore, a hybrid GCAE model is developed via the combination of gated recurrent unit and convolutional autoencoder. The proposed model comprises five submodules: (1) data preparation, (2) data balancing, (3) dimensionality reduction, (4) hyperparameters' optimization, and (5) electricity theft classification. The real‐time EC data provided by the state grid corporation of China are used for performance evaluations via extensive simulations. The proposed model is compared with two basic models, CSLSTM and GCAE–CSLSTM, along with seven benchmarks, support vector machine, decision tree, extra trees, random forest, adaptive boosting, extreme gradient boosting, and convolutional neural network. The results exhibit that SSA–GCAE–CSLSTM yields 99.45% precision, 95.93% F1 score, 92.25% accuracy, and 71.13% area under the receiver operating characteristic curve score, and surpasses the other models in terms of ETD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses cointegrated error-correction modeling to investigate the nature of Granger causality between corruption and foreign direct investment (FDI) in two rapidly emerging economic superpowers; namely, China and India. The results for China and India indicate that short-run Granger causality unidirectionally runs from FDI to corruption without feedback. These empirical findings (along with supporting theoretical arguments) dispute prior correlational-based studies which claim that corruption instigates changes in FDI. However, our results further support significant long-run causality running from corruption to FDI inflows, but only in India (not in China). This finding reinforces theoretical propositions of lower corruption arbitrariness in China as compared to India. Furthermore, short- and long-run causality between corruption and FDI in India appear dynamic in nature and time-sensitive implying some difficulties for policymakers in their fight against corruption. The paper discusses possible underlying reasons for the empirical results and draws several policy and Asian business implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clarifying the spatiotemporal distribution and impact mechanism of pollution is the prerequisite for megacities to formulate relevant air pollution prevention and control measures and achieve carbon neutrality goals. Chongqing is one of the dual-core key megacities in Cheng-Yu region and as a typical mountain-city in China, environmental problems are complex and sensitive. This research aims to investigate the exceeding standard levels and spatio-temporal evolution of criteria pollutants between 2014 and 2020. The results indicated that PM10, PM2.5, CO and SO2 were decreased significantly by 45.91%, 52.86%, 38.89% and 66.67%, respectively. Conversely, the concentration of pollutant O3 present a fluctuating growth and found a "seesaw" phenomenon between it and PM. Furthermore, PM and O3 are highest in winter and summer, respectively. SO2, NO2, CO, and PM showed a "U-shaped", and O3 showed an inverted "U-shaped" seasonal variation. PM and O3 concentrations are still far behind the WHO, 2021AQGs standards. Significant spatial heterogeneity was observed in air pollution distribution. These results are of great significance for Chongqing to achieve "double control and double reduction" of PM2.5 and O3 pollution, and formulate a regional carbon peaking roadmap under climate coordination. Besides, it can provide an important platform for exploring air pollution in typical terrain around the world and provide references for related epidemiological research. Implications: Chongqing is one of the dual-core key megacities in Cheng-Yu region and as a typical mountain city, environmental problems are complex and sensitive. Under the background of the "14th Five-Year Plan", the construction of the "Cheng-Yu Dual-City Economic Circle" and the "Dual-Carbon" goal, this article comprehensively discussed the annual and seasonal excess levels and spatiotemporal evolution of pollutants under the multiple policy and the newest international standards (WHO,2021AQG) backgrounds from 2014 to 2020 in Chongqing. Furthermore, suggestions and measures related to the collaborative management of pollutants were discussed. Finally, limitations and recommendations were also put forward. Clarifying the spatiotemporal distribution and impact mechanism of pollution is the prerequisite for cities to formulate relevant air pollution control measures and achieve carbon neutrality goals. This study is of great significance for Chongqing to achieve "double control and double reduction" of PM2.5 and O3 pollution, study and formulate a regional carbon peaking roadmap under climate coordination and an action plan for sustained improvement of air quality. In addition, this research can advanced our understanding of air pollution in complex terrain. Furthermore, it also promote the construction of the China national strategic Cheng-Yu economic circle and build a beautiful west. Moreover, it provides scientific insights for local policymakers to guide smart urban planning, industrial layout, energy structure, and transportation planning to improve air quality throughout the Cheng-Yu region. Finally, this is also conducive to future scientific research in other regions of China, and even megacities with complex terrain in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hydrogeology Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Adjustment difficulties of school students are common and their school adjustment has gained wide concern in recent years. Negative life events (NLEs) hope, and gratitude have been associated with school adjustment. However, the potential effect of NLEs on hope and gratitude and whether hope and gratitude mediate the association between NLEs and school adjustment among high students have not been studied. Thus, this study aims to investigate the association between NLEs, hope and gratitude, and school adjustment in high school students in China. Additionally, the study aims to examine the mediating role of hope and gratitude in the association between NLEs and school adjustment. A total of 700 junior high school students in Guangxi Province (336 boys, 364 girls, M age = 15 years) completed the questionnaire. The results indicated significant mediating effects of hope and gratitude in the sequential positive association between NLEs and school adjustment. Furthermore, this study unraveled the complexity of the link between NLEs and school adjustment with the combination of hope and gratitude. The findings emphasized the importance of fostering hope and gratitude in left-behind adolescents to combat the negative consequences of NLEs. The study is also one of the first to investigate a serial mediation model to determine which NLEs influence Chinese left-behind adolescents' school adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aims of this project were to establish the outcomes for dental implant research that are important to people with lived experience (PWLE) and to achieve consensus with those developed by dental professionals (DPs) for a core outcome set (COS). This paper reports the process, outcomes and experiences of involving PWLE in developing a COS for dental implant research: the Implant Dentistry Core Outcome Sets and Measures project. Materials and Methods: Overall methods were guided by the Core Outcome Set Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) initiative. Initial outcome identification was achieved from focus groups with PWLE employing calibrated methods across two low‐middle‐income countries (China and Malaysia) and two high‐income countries (Spain and the United Kingdom). Following consolidation of the results, the outcomes were incorporated into a three‐stage Delphi process with PWLE participation. Finally, consensus between PWLE and DPs was achieved using a mixed live and recorded platform. The experiences of PWLE involvement in the process was also evaluated. Results: Thirty‐one PWLE participated in four focus groups. Thirty‐four outcomes were suggested across the focus groups. Evaluation of the focus groups revealed a high level of satisfaction with the engagement process and some new learning. Seventeen PWLE contributed to the first 2 Delphi rounds and 7 to the third round. The final consensus included 17 PWLE (47%) and 19 DPs (53%). Out of the total of 11 final consensus outcomes considered essential by both PWLE and health professionals, 7 (64%) outcomes mapped across to ones that PWLE initially identified, broadening their definition. One outcome (PWLE effort required for treatment and maintenance) was entirely novel. Conclusions: We conclude that engaging PWLE in COS development can be achieved across widely different communities. Furthermore, the process both broadened and enriched overall outcome consensus, yielding important and novel perspectives for health‐related research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The competition between the United States and China is now more complex compared to the era of the Cold War. This is evident from the Trade War, the issue of 5G technology, megaproject initiatives, the South China Sea issue and most recently the Covid-19 issue. Malaysia has taken a pragmatic approach and has been careful not to get caught up in the competition between the two powers. During the Pakatan Harapan (PH) era, Malaysia decided to cancel the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) mega project, renegotiate the construction cost of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) as well as the grey zone issue in the South China Sea. These decisions created tension in the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing bilateral relations. In response, China delayed any form of cooperation to re-evaluate Kuala Lumpur's foreign policy towards Beijing under the new Pakatan Harapan government. However, Mahathir successfully renegotiated with China to proceed with the projects. This event is expected to leave a significant impact on why Malaysia is increasing its confidence and cooperation with China despite facing national security threats. By utilizing library research and interviews this study analyzes the factors influencing the improvement of bilateral diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China from 1971 until 2018. The study applies the theory of neoclassical realism and the concept of threat balance to argue that Malaysia's response and stance towards China are based on threat, risk, and opportunity factors. First, it finds that the trend in Malaysia-China bilateral cooperation is influenced by the perception of trust. Second, the factor of leadership in identifying threats and opportunities also influences bilateral relations. Third, economic, political, and diplomatic harmony requires a relationship of mutual trust and interdependence in line with the international order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Here, we strive to summarize the current literature on crayfish research. Using scientometric analysis, we identified the top contributing researchers, the top-cited research articles, the most popular journals, top areas in the field, most influential articles and most keywords used, etc. The most common themes among these top research articles were related to invasive crayfish species as well as the neurochemistry of crayfish. A scientometric analysis was conducted to investigate the trends and development of crayfish research in terms of literature published, author, affiliation, and countries' collaborative networks, as well as the co-citation dataset (e.g., author, article, and keywords). The study analyzed 12,039 bibliographic datasets from the Web of Science, using CiteSpace as a tool for the co-citation analysis. The study revealed extraordinary increases in publication trends, with a total of 21,329 authors involved in approximately 80% of countries around the world (163/195) having conducted crayfish research. Unsurprisingly, countries such as the USA and China, followed by European countries, were among the top countries that have published crayfish-related studies. The findings also indicated that "invasive crayfish" was the world's top keyword for crayfish research. Crayfish species are important for both environmental sustainability (invasiveness and species composition) and social wellbeing (aquaculture), which provides directions for research, philanthropic, academic, government, and non-government organizations regarding how to invest limited resources into policies, programs, and research towards the future management of this species. Our study concluded that strategic collaboration among authors, institutions, and countries would be vital to tackle the issue of invasive crayfish species around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A foreign policy dilemma often occurs when a country is caught in the middle of two or more conflicting countries. States that have no conflict of interest would normally choose neutral positions or maintain good relations with all parties. In the case of Indonesia's foreign policy toward the China-US rivalry, free and active policy is the fundamental principle to preserve its national interests. Both China and the United States are Indonesia's strategic partners, especially in terms of economic cooperation. Although conventional wisdom tends to argue that Indonesia's current foreign policy has been increasingly dependent on China rather than the United States, it is also clear that a free and active principle sustains. This article aims to analyze how Indonesia could manage its relations amid international rivalries. Most scholars argue that the principle is feasible due to rationalist calculations that put a strong emphasis on economic interest. Using the balance of identity theory, this article argues that in dealing with the dilemma of dependence amid the ongoing China-US rivalry, Indonesia could employ its identity to preserve its strategic position between the two conflicting parties. Unlike the rationalist argument, which emphasizes materialist incentives, balance of identity puts more emphasis on the social feature of interstate relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to conduct a framing analysis of Chinese and American media coverage of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine. Since 2021, China exports or donates vaccines to developing countries, arousing the attention of Chinese and American media. The competition between China and the USA over national image extends to the vaccine field. Media framing is a powerful tool to construct a national image. It is worth comparing how Chinese and American media use framings to construct national images on vaccine issues. This study conducts a framing analysis of news coverage in People's Daily (PD) and The New York Times (NYT) on Chinese COVID-19 vaccine from January to March 2021 to determine how the media use specific framings to construct national images. The results show PD favors official action and cooperation frames, constructing the discourse of "public goods" and "cooperation" and shaping a fair and cooperative China image; while NYT favors official action, conflict and skepticism frames, constructing the discourse of "diplomatic tool" and "competition" and shaping a selfish and competitive China image. A positive image is helpful for China to reposition itself in global public opinion and enhance its soft power, while a negative discourse deconstructs the positive China image and counterbalances China's vaccine diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was extended to the entire population in China and around the world, and its mortality rate was about 3.4%. The impact of laser therapy on chronic respiratory diseases has been shown in previous studies. This study was aimed at examining the effects of laser acupuncture (LA) on patients with severe COVID-19. Methods: In the present study, 60 patients with a positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test were assigned to the intervention and control groups (30 patients in each group). The intervention group was treated with LA, that is, laser light with low energy on acupuncture points, once a day for five consecutive days. Results: The participants' mean age in the intervention and control groups was 48.96 ± 12.65 and 53.16 ± 12.28 respectively; 70% of the patients were male and 30% of them were female. IL6 had a significant reduction in the intervention group (P value = 0.038) in comparison with the control group (P value = 0.535). Furthermore, the mean admission time in the control group was significantly higher than that in the intervention group (P value = 0.047). However, the mortality rate in the intervention group was zero, but three patients in the control group died. Conclusion: Our study showed that LA can be used as supportive therapy for routine treatment in patients with severe COVID-19. Moreover, due to LA safety and it's low cost, it could be recommended as an adjuvant to conventional therapy in patients interested in treating their disease with such a method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the application and popularization of big data technology, it is more advantageous than traditional urban planning to use big data multimedia technology to reasonably plan the historical blocks of the city. The protection and renewal of historical and cultural blocks have become the core elements to improve the quality of urban development and promote the development of "people-oriented" new urbanization. We analyze and study the planning methods of urban historical blocks under the big data technology. This paper analyzes the different values of historical blocks. By comparing the division effect and business operation mode of historical blocks under different technological environments, it is concluded that the efficiency of traditional data survey and statistical mode is faster than that of big data multimedia technology, and it is more accurate and efficient in analyzing and studying the commercial market and tourism development planning of historical blocks. Through big data multimedia technology data query, we have mastered the cultural connotation of the historical district, protected the historical environment, excavated the historical culture, activated the vitality of the district, and optimized the district environment. It provides convenient scientific and technological means for the protection and development planning of cultural heritage such as historical blocks in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) approach has been widely used to detect the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, instead of using it alone, clinicians often prefer to diagnose the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by utilizing a combination of clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory test, imaging measurement (e.g., chest computed tomography scan), and multivariable clinical prediction models, including the electronic nose. Here, we report on the development and use of a low cost, noninvasive method to rapidly sniff out COVID-19 based on a portable electronic nose (GeNose C19) integrating an array of metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors, optimized feature extraction, and machine learning models. This approach was evaluated in profiling tests involving a total of 615 breath samples composed of 333 positive and 282 negative samples. The samples were obtained from 43 positive and 40 negative COVID-19 patients, respectively, and confirmed with RT-qPCR at two hospitals located in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Four different machine learning algorithms (i.e., linear discriminant analysis, support vector machine, stacked multilayer perceptron, and deep neural network) were utilized to identify the top-performing pattern recognition methods and to obtain a high system detection accuracy (88–95%), sensitivity (86–94%), and specificity (88–95%) levels from the testing datasets. Our results suggest that GeNose C19 can be considered a highly potential breathalyzer for fast COVID-19 screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economists argued that the influence of globalization presented by Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and other multinational partnerships created an integrated global economy which made major markets dependent on; so arguably, it is impossible to impose a strategy to retaliate the linear progression of the world economy by retrieving the international trade agreements that bring together China and the United States. The Trump administration has highlighted economic protectionism against "unfairness", but is inevitable, this strategy is no longer viable in contemporary foreign policy, given that the world is no longer unipolar and that the United States is defying a fierce competition by China, a major economic powerhouse. Despite its benefits and trade diversion to RCEP member countries, is insufficient to counteract the negative impacts of the US-China trade war, according to this study. For the period of 2018-30, a macroeconomic data projection was utilized to create the baseline scenario for this period. This is the anticipated development path of the global economy if no changes are made to trade policy, sometimes known as the "business Gross domestic product (GDP) and gross investment (GIP) macroeconomic data". The research is based on data from the World Bank, which is comprised of 140 nations, 57 sectors/commodities, and 17 regions and 30 sectors were included in this study from year 2012 till year 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's green growth has shown a trend of fluctuation year by year. Simultaneously, Chinese local governments have pursued simple economic growth driven by the interests of "political competition" for a long time, while the supervision of the ecological environment has been loosened and tightened. In this environment, financial development and technological innovation may easily become the accelerator of this phenomenon, thus exacerbating the fluctuation of green growth. To deeply excavate the key factors to achieve stable and sustained growth of green economy, based on the annual panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2018, this paper studies the impact of financial development and technological innovation on the volatility of green growth using dynamic system GMM method. The findings of this paper are shown as follows: First, the expansion of financial institutions' scale will significantly enhance the volatility of green growth. Second, the increase in the scale of the stock market will also significantly cause green growth fluctuations. Third, the interaction between financial development and technological innovation can significantly weaken the volatility of green growth. Fourth, financial development measured by stock market indicators is more efficient than financial development measured by financial institutions indicators to curb the volatility of green growth. Fifth, the fluctuation of green growth in the previous period will reduce the volatility of green growth in the current period. This study provides new evidence for exploring the power source to promote the stability and sustainable growth of the green economy in the special stage of financial and technological integration. Controlling the development scale of financial institutions and removing their state preferences, expanding the development of capital markets, and deepening the integration of financial development and technological innovation are conducive to achieve stable green growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients receiving a hematopoietic cell transplant are thought to be at increased risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus infectious disease 2019. Transplant activities at our center continue, and notably, no patient has been infected with SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, social distancing, masking, and education for patients and donors are major pillars of prevention. We recommend potential transplant recipients and donors to be tested for SARS-CoV-2 with qRT-PCR, serum antibody detection, and a lung CT scan pretransplant. If possible, stem cells from HLA-matched unrelated donors by local processing laboratories should be cryopreserved and shipped before initiating pretransplant conditioning. An alternative HLA-haplotype-matched related donor should be identified and evaluated as a backup. The interval immediately after discharge is the time of greatest risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection because of travel and exposure to infected persons. We recommend self-isolation and minimal contact with family members. Nonessential clinic visits should be deferred or substituted with telemedicine consultations if possible. These recommendations are based on our experience at a major transplant center in China. Although some recommendations are evidence based, other recommendations are not and warrant validation in controlled trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the scale-dependent dispersivity and heterogeneous sedimentary structures is investigated through conducting non-reactive tracer experiments in a three-dimensional heterogeneous sand tank. The heterogeneous porous media consists of three sedimentary facies of silty, fine, and medium sands collected from the west of the Songnen Plain, China. Moreover, several corresponding individual facies soil columns were constructed for comparison. A conservative tracer was continuously injected from an upstream source. The effective parameters were estimated by inverse modeling of a one-dimensional transport model. The results show that the scale dependence of the estimated dispersivities was discovered in the individual facies column (with relatively weaker effect) and the heterogeneous porous media (with more significant effect). With increasing transport distances, the dispersivities of the individual facies tend to reach an asymptotic value, while those of the heterogeneous media increase continuously. Furthermore, the results show that a power function can describe the relationship between effective dispersivities and transport distances. The exponent of the function is greater than one for the heterogeneous media, but less than one for the individual facies. The results also indicate that the dispersion plume is macroscopically dominated by the distribution of facies. The heterogeneity of hydraulic conductivity causes the variations of flow velocity, which further enhances the scale dependence of dispersivities. The tracer experiment in heterogeneous media provides the fundamental insight into the understanding of contaminant transport processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal migration patterns in China are characterised by rapid urbanisation and cross‐regional movement and more recently by the return of migrants to their native counties. This study investigates the drivers of migrants' permanent return and their likelihood of starting new businesses in their counties of origin. The results suggest that migrants are discouraged from permanent resettlement in urban areas because of family ties and the aspiration to start businesses in their villages of origin. The study also provides evidence that the probability of starting a business upon return is affected by the migrants' accumulation of work experience, business experience, the savings earned while away, financial stability, and the social capital they have in their home counties. The results provide important insights for emerging countries in overcoming rapid urbanisation and imbalanced regional economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food loss may occur in production, storage, transport, and processing, which are the stages of the value chain with the lowest returns. The current searching was done by the keywords in main indexing systems including PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Institute for Scientific Information Web of Science as well as the search engine of Google Scholar. The most important points challenging areas that represent opportunities for stakeholders to look into in China are, put in place suitable economic incentives to encourage restaurants to get more involved in the formal system, create a comprehensive regulation system to benefit all relevant stakeholders by clearly defining their respective roles and responsibilities, which is necessary for the proper functioning of the whole system. In China, the most important regulations, policies and plans are regulations on safety issues of food waste treatment, detailed countermeasures on organizing, educating, supervising, and inspecting the work on food waste reduction in China, and detailed plant for household waste collection and treatment, issued by Chinese government, state council, and ministry of environmental protection. Setting national goals, awareness-raising campaigns, strict and appropriate regulation, stakeholder engagement, biorefinery and food waste recycling to animal feed are important strategies for better waste management. The most important food waste management practices in China are source separation, animal feed, rendering, composting, co-digestion, anaerobic digestion, incineration, landfill, and etc. Understanding social factors influencing household behavior is utmost importance; public education and specific communication highly contribute to improve recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China relies on soft power for its economic and political expansion, and this strategy has proven effective in achieving the goals set by the Chinese administration. China-Arab relations have developed greatly in the past ten years, in parallel with the increase in the number of Arab students in China. This article examines the Chinese soft power strategy towards the Arab region through student exchange programs, and the role of students in the development of Sino-Arab relations. China achieves strategic goals through soft power. A survey was conducted on a group of Arab students in China, specifically in Wuhan, to learn more about the orientations of Arab students towards Chinese policies and to get a clearer idea of life and study in China. The article concludes with new concepts about life in China, and about the Chinese environment, which have proved to be attractive to Arab students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Goji berry has been used for thousand years inTraditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in China and other Asian countries as foods to promote health and as drugs to treat diseases. It has been claimed this important medicinal crop is the good source of compounds with valuable nutritional and bioactive properties which can also provide industrial sustainability in organic life. Materials and Methods: All relevant papers in English language were collected. The keywords of wolfberry, goji berry, Chinese herbalism and western Medicine were searched in Google Scholar, Scopus, Research Gate and PubMed. Results: Besides its uses in food and culinary, wolfberry has long played important roles in TCM where they are believed to enhance immune system function, improve eyesight, protect liver, boost sperm production and improve circulation, among other effects. TCM calls for wolfberry to be prepared as a decoction or ground into a powder and mixed with other herbs. Additionally, Gojiberry is rich in ascorbic acid, thiamine and riboflavin. Moreover, Gojiberrycontains carbohydrates, organic acids, and so many minerals like potassium, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, calcium, zinc and selenium. Conclusion: This review article allowed verifying that wolfberry as asource of compounds with valuable nutritional and bioactive properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID 19) was first detected in December 2019 in China. It has become a pandemic. With concern about therapies that may decrease immunity and enhance the severity of an individual's COVID‐19 infection, leading to a possibly fatal outcome, use of immunosuppressants has become an important concern. This work focuses on management of various skin diseases individuals lacking immunity to COVID‐19 but requiring a systemic immunosuppressant, keeping in view the challenge of the COVID 19 pandemic and that our knowledge of this virus and its effects on the immune system are incomplete including knowledge as to an individual's immunity after COVID‐19 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing has potential in studies of the benthic habitat and extracting the reflectance from the data of multispectral sensors, but traditional image classification techniques cannot provide coral habitat maps with adequate accuracy. This study tested five traditional and three ensemble classification techniques on QuickBird for mapping the benthic composition of coral reefs on the Lang Tengah Island (Malaysia). The common techniques, minimum distance, maximum likelihood, K-nearest neighbour, Fisher and parallelepiped techniques were compared with ensemble classifiers, such as majority voting (MV), simple averaging, and mode combination. The per-class accuracy of the habitat detection improved in the ensemble classifiers; in particular, the MV classifier achieved 95%, 65%, 75% and 95% accuracies for coral, sparse coral, coral rubble and sand, respectively. Ensembles increased the accuracy of the habitat mapping classification by 28%, relative to conventional techniques. Thus, the ensemble techniques can be preferred over the traditional for benthic habitat mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]