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This study is constructed of life course profiles of the educational trajectories of a cohort of rural girls from a village in the mountains of western China during critical educational reform years. Observational date were collected annually from 2000-2022. Findings show that even in remote mountainous region of China, village girls attained surprisingly advanced educational levels. Specifically, 76 percent of the participants had attained education beyond the compulsory level; 92 percent progressed to senior secondary school, and their graduation rate was 94 percent. The entrance rates to tertiary institutions rose to 100 percent of graduates. Notably, a substantial proportion of the participants, constituting 29 percent, persisted in tertiary education, with a notable 17 percent gaining admission to academic tertiary institutions. The case study conducted in Sha'anxi, situated in one of the most remote mountainous regions, illustrates a profound transition in schooling dynamics from rural to urban contexts. This comprehensive transformation prompts a reasonable inference that similar patterns of schooling migration are likely observable in less remote rural areas across China. Consequently, there arises a compelling argument for the integration of educational provisions in migrant "urban villages" and "peri-urban rural developments" into the municipal school systems, ensuring equitable allocation of resources to these under-resourced areas. Especially in light of China's significant aging population skewness, the integration of urban migrant educational provisions becomes even more imperative.

Mobile-assisted Language Learning (MALL) has been widely adopted in teaching and learning, yet there has been scant research concerning speaking test adaptation. An emerging type of mobile application is designed to facilitate test takers' performance in a high-stakes speaking test (e.g., the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)). Such an exam-oriented mobile application provides customized learning opportunity with automatic feedbacks through artificial intelligence (AI) technology for users to enhance their speaking skills. This study aims to explore the attitudes of test takers on using exam-oriented mobile application to adapt in testing environment as influenced by their perceptions through the theory of Technology Acceptance Model. 235 Chinese IELTS test takers with experience of using such applications were invited to fill out an online questionnaire. Collected data were analysed through statistical method, textual analysis, word cloud approach, and sentiment analysis. Results revealed that test takers' perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use towards the exam-oriented mobile application explained their attitudes to use such an application. They also expressed the concern of personalized AI function to support speaking test adaptation. Implications for educators, test taker, and application developers are provided.

This article features a creative fabrication project assigned to participants in a short-term education abroad program at a Midwestern state university in the US. The Get-in-Touch assignment merged intercultural research and studio work to enrich and transform participants' travel experience in China. Several aesthetic stances (mimetic, formalistic, and contextualist) were adopted to interpret the three-dimensional projects documented with photocollages and stories in this manuscript. Travel--study provided a dynamic platform that allowed the four participants to manifest intercultural learning outcomes: making the dissimilar similar, making the unfamiliar familiar, making the familiar unfamiliar and making the similar dissimilar. This article further illuminates the aesthetic stances noted above through the work of four contemporary Chinese artists and offers an indirect glimpse into the art school curricula found in higher education in both cultures. The discussion highlights learned lessons of cultural humility.

Visual analytics technology enjoys a growing trend in data analysis and visualisation science. The potential of visual analytics application in classroom learning remains opaque. We integrated visual analytics tool in learning to examine higher-order thinking in terms of technology's innovation attributes, learning satisfaction, and epistemological beliefs advancement. A cross-sectional survey of 247 undergraduate business students was conducted in a south China university. Result suggests that three features of visual analytics shared variance in satisfactory learning. This satisfactory VA-assisted learning predicts business students' higher-order thinking, while the change in epistemological beliefs only occurs with satisfactory evaluation. Implications for education practitioners to adopt technological transformation have been provided.

The purpose of this article is to examine the pedagogy and practice of critical tourism in art education abroad. First, we unpack the neoliberal discourse underlying U.S. study abroad programs and problematize the popular belief that a short-term study abroad experience can result in the genuine development of culturally competent global citizens. We then delineate the pedagogical framework of critical tourism and propose four types of learning: democratic, collaborative, critical-reflective, and glocal. We especially recognize critical glocal engagement with art as a significant component in the pedagogy. Drawing on a travel-study program that included a short-term educational tour to China, we describe a curriculum for critical tourism along with two students' projects to illustrate the students' embodied learning to become critical tourists, maker-performers, and global citizens.

This paper highlights "Wave-Makers (1910--2010)", a collaborative timeline redesign project, which involves interactive and advanced web-based technology to connect and complement arts curricula at two higher education institutions, one located in China and another in the United States. Through in-depth research, video-conferencing, artistic interpretations, and exhibits at both locations, students from the two universities gained appreciation and respect for 20 individuals who made a difference in their respective cultures and helped shape contemporary art worlds. Juxtaposing visuals with students' personal observations through digital photocollage, this paper shows how and why the wave-makers became inspirational models: "Unforgettable Life Stories and Superb Dedication"--Pan Yuliang and Margaret Bourke-White; "Visionary Commitment and Exquisite Sensitivities"--Alvin Ailey and Guan Pinghu; "Admirable Integrity and Solid Convictions"--Xu Shichang and Norman Rockwell; and "Revolutionary Foresight and Groundbreaking Endeavors"--Jackson Pollock and Zhang Daqian. Instructional guidelines for implementing this global art project are also discussed. (Contains 10 figures and 2 footnotes.)

Based on a series of videoconferences held between two universities, one located in China and another in the United States, this pilot curriculum study illustrates how successful interglobal communication via synchronized educational technology requires detailed planning and the use of a substantial number of pedagogical strategies. Achieving the goals of broadening participants' international experience and promoting intercultural understanding of the discussion topics requires the instructor's appreciation of the cultural identification process at the global level. The author shares and discusses personal experiences and challenges with organizing this kind of collaboration between two higher education institutions across national borders, and provides initial implementation and instructional guidelines. (Contains 5 figures.)

Theoretical and practical implications of incorporating Quick Response (QR) codes in a traveling international art exhibition are addressed in this paper. Blending the physical and virtual dimensions, the exhibition undergirded a pilot study of the integration of technology into traditional museum settings in both China and the United States. The conceptual and methodical framework highlighted in this study included the participatory museum, informal education, and an array of evaluation research methods and techniques. Data collected for analysis comprised a set using Google Analytics, questionnaires completed by exhibition visitors, and other in-depth qualitative findings collected from participating artists from both cultures. This paper shows that the technological aspects of display can lead directly to participatory learning with the potential for new directions and avenues of inquiry.

Guided by the conceptual framework for next generation designs for mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) in informal setting, our study investigates how mobile devices impact the learning practices and habits amongst adult distant learners of English at a higher education institution in China. Data sources include quantitative data of 148 completed responses to an online survey and qualitative data from follow-up email interviews. The study demonstrates that students' main motivation for engaging in mobile assisted English learning is to fill in the gaps in their daily schedule in order to maximize available time, and the majority use mobile devices to support formal course learning. The skills and knowledge areas practiced with mobile devices are listening, followed by speaking and pronunciation, vocabulary, reading, and translation. Our study also reveals that teachers play a very limited role as perceived by students, while students expect more support from teachers for their out-of-class hour mobile assisted language learning. The research findings bear significant pedagogical implications in terms of integrating MALL into language learning curriculum, learner support and the need for continuous teacher training.

Two groups of 12-year-old ethnic minority (EM) users of alphasyllabary (66 Tibetan and 45 Yi) were compared with 42 Han Chinese students in comprehending Chinese narrative and expository texts, each with inferential questions requiring short open-ended written answers. Three constructs (verbal working memory, orthographic and sentential processing), each with two indicators, were hypothesized to predict text comprehension differentially in the three groups. A 43-item Students' Approaches to Learning (SAL) scale showed the EM students might not have developed effective strategies in learning Chinese. A task x group MANCOVA with SAL as covariate showed substantial differences in the students' performance. Multiple comparisons found group differences changed across tasks. Structural equation modeling, multiple regression analyses point to the significant and differential contribution of the constructs and the tasks to the two genres of Chinese text comprehension in the different groups. Educational implications include strengthening teaching the structure and function of Chinese characters, words, syntax and the need for adaptive curriculum materials.

The study examines globalization within and across China and the United States in conjunction with a portrayal of the nature of the scholarly endeavors over the past 10 years in the two preeminent educational research journals of these countries. By extensive analyses of topics, methodology, and citations the research clarifies the global and local forces at work within and across countries, including the types of internationalization occurring between the United States and People's Republic of China. The findings suggest that globalization involves forces in transaction with one another--local forces addressing national interests and international forces seeking a comparative perspective primarily tied to local interests. The findings highlight the insularity of each country's scholarly endeavors and how research is skewed toward western scholarship.

Identifying students with ASD in the People's Republic of China (PRC) has lagged behind western countries, particularly the United States. Families often have to travel long distances to obtain a diagnosis and then are faced with few treatment options once the diagnosis is made. Recent laws governing special education in the PRC do not specifically address children with ASD; consequently, educational programs for these children are scarce. Though more special education teacher preparation programs are emerging, many are not well equipped to support teachers of children with ASD. Consequently, the need for in-service training in the area of ASD is significant. This manuscript discusses a collaborative two-year professional development project aimed at providing teachers in Nanjing, China, with much needed skills in working with students with ASD. A distance training model was employed to train teachers how to use informal assessment to guide instruction and monitor progress of their students.

The goal of the present study was to test opposing views about 4 issues concerning predictors of individual differences in Chinese written composition: (a) whether morphological awareness, syntactic processing, and working memory represent distinct and measureable constructs in Chinese or are just manifestations of general language ability; (b) whether they are important predictors of Chinese written composition and, if so, the relative magnitudes and independence of their predictive relations; (c) whether observed predictive relations are mediated by text comprehension; and (d) whether these relations vary or are developmentally invariant across 3 years of writing development. Based on analyses of the performance of students in Grades 4 (n = 246), 5 (n = 242), and 6 (n = 261), the results supported morphological awareness, syntactic processing, and working memory as distinct yet correlated abilities that made independent contributions to predicting Chinese written composition, with working memory as the strongest predictor. However, predictive relations were mediated by text comprehension. The final model accounted for approximately 75% of the variance in Chinese written composition. The results were largely developmentally invariant across the 3 grades from which participants were drawn.

We studied the performance in three genres of Chinese written composition (narration, exposition, and argumentation) of 158 grade 4, 5, and 6 poor Chinese text comprehenders compared with 156 good Chinese text comprehenders. We examined text comprehension and written composition relationship. Verbal working memory (verbal span working memory and operation span working memory) and different levels of linguistic tasks--morphological sensitivity (morphological compounding and morphological chain), sentence processing (syntax construction and syntax integrity), and text comprehension (narrative and expository texts)--were used to predict separately narrative, expository, and argumentation written compositions in these students. Grade for grade, the good text comprehenders outperformed the poor text comprehenders in all tasks, except for morphological chain. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed differential contribution of the tasks to different genres of writing. In particular, text comprehension made unique contribution to argumentation writing in the poor text comprehenders. Future studies ashould ask students to read and write parallel passages in the same genre for better comparison and incorporate both instructional and motivational variables.

In the last three decades or so, China has managed to become the second largest economy in the world, especially after engaging in economic reforms since the late 1970s. Despite being a "world factory" and playing a very significant role in manufacturing products and exporting to different parts of the globe, the Chinese government has realized that depending upon this production mode cannot sustain the country's long term economic growth and development. Hence, the Chinese government has tried to invest more in advancing technology, research and innovation, knowledge transfer, and promoting entrepreneurship education. This article sets out to critically examine the major strategies and policies that the Chinese government has adopted in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation against the wider policies outlined above, with a focused reflection given to the major challenges facing Chinese universities during the process of promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, and entrepreneurship education.

This article proposes a theoretical model of work-family enrichment and tests the mediating role of work engagement. The inclusion of work engagement extends prior research on work-family interface, and allows for examination of the effects of role resources (job resources, family support) on work-family enrichment. A two-wave survey was conducted among a matched sample of 786 employees in China. The model was tested with structural equation modeling techniques. The results showed that work engagement was the most proximal predictor of work-family enrichment. Work engagement fully mediated the relationship between family-friendly organizational policies and work-family enrichment, and also between job autonomy and family-work enrichment. Further, work engagement partially mediated the relationships between two job resources (supervisor support, job autonomy) and work-family enrichment, and also between family support and family-work enrichment. No difference was found in gender and marital status in the proposed model. Implications for future research and practices are discussed. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

In a 2-wave study of a cohort of 108 Chinese students (10- to 11-year-olds) learning English as a second language, the authors examined the relative effects of three Time 1 latent constructs--orthographic knowledge, phonological sensitivity, and word identification (reading and spelling of regular and exception words)--on the respective Time 2 performance. The authors posited autoregressive effects, in which Time 1 constructs affected their matching Time 2 performance (e.g., Time 1 orthographic knowledge on Time 2 orthographic knowledge), as well as reciprocal cross-domain effects (e.g., orthographic knowledge on word identification and vice versa). The model converged to a proper solution with reasonably good fit. The results suggest (a) strong stability in the children's word identification and phonological sensitivity, (b) substantial effects of word identification on subsequent orthographic knowledge and phonological sensitivity, particularly the former; and (c) greater variations in individuals' growth of orthographic knowledge.

Background and objective Xuanwei and Fuyuan are rural counties, located in the late Permian coal poly area of eastern Yunnan and western Guizhou, where lung cancer mortality rates are among the highest in the China, with similarity for both men and women, younger age at diagnosis and death, and higher in rural areas than in urban areas. In this paper, long-term follow-up of lung cancer cases in local peasants was conducted to observe their survival prognosis and its influencing factors. Methods Data of patients diagnosed with lung cancer from January 2005 to June 2011, who had lived in Xuanwei and Fuyuan counties for many years, were collected from 20 hospitals at the local provincial, municipal and county levels. To estimate survival outcomes, individuals were followed up until the end of 2021. The 5-year, 10-year and 15-year survival rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Survival differences were examined with Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models. Results A total of 3,017 cases were effectively followed up (2,537 peasants and 480 non-peasants). The median age at diagnosis was 57 years, and the median follow-up time was 122 months. During the follow-up period, 2,493 cases (82.6%) died. The distribution of cases by clinical stage was as follows: stage I (3.7%), stage II (6.7%), stage III (15.8%), stage IV (21.1%) and unknown stage (52.7%). Treatment at the provincial, municipal and county-level hospitals accounted for 32.5%, 22.2% and 45.3%, respectively, and surgical treatment was performed in 23.3% of cases. The median survival time was 15.4 months (95%CI: 13.9-16.1), and the 5-year, 10-year and 15-year overall survival rates were 19.5% (95%CI: 18.0%-21.1%), 7.7% (95%CI: 6.5%-8.8%) and 2.0% (95%CI: 0.8%-3.9%), respectively. Peasants with lung cancer had a lower median age at diagnosis, higher proportion residing in remote rural areas, and higher use of bituminous coal as a household fuel. They also have a lower proportion of early-stage cases, treatment at provincial or municipal hospitals, and surgical treatment, leading to poorer survival outcomes (HR=1.57). Even when considering factors such as gender, age, residential location, clinical stage at diagnosis, histological type, hospital level of service, and surgical intervention, peasants still exhibit a survival disadvantage. Multivariable Cox model analysis comparing peasants and non-peasants reveals that surgical intervention, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, and hospital level of service are common factors influencing survival prognosis, while the use of bituminous coal as a household fuel, hospital level of service and adenocarcinoma (compared to squamous cell carcinoma) are independent prognostic factors for lung cancer survival among peasants. Conclusion The lower lung cancer survival rate among peasants is associated with their lower socioeconomic status, lower proportion of early-stage diagnoses, lower proportion of surgical interventions, and treatment at provincial-level hospitals. Furthermore, the impact of other factors such as high-risk exposure to bituminous coal pollution on survival prognosis requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case-control study investigates the association between nonoptimum temperature and suicide death in a warming climate. Key Points: Question: How is nonoptimum temperature associated with suicide death in a warming climate? Findings: In this case-control study of 432 008 of individuals, the temperature-suicide associations were found to be approximately linear, with increasing death risks associated with higher temperature, and 15.2% of suicide deaths were associated with nonoptimal temperature nationally. It is projected that there will be consistent and drastic increases in excess suicide deaths over this century under the high-emission scenario. Meaning: Results of this nationwide case-control study suggest that higher temperature may be associated with an increase in the risk and burden of suicide death; further, results suggest a comprehensive picture of the suicide death burden under climate warming in China. Importance: Few studies have projected future suicide burden associated with daily temperatures in a warming climate. Objectives: To assess the burden of suicide death associated with daily nonoptimal temperature and to project the change of suicide burden associated with nonoptimal temperature in different regions and seasons under various climate change scenarios. Design, Setting, and Participants: Between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2019, we conducted a time-stratified, case-control study among more than 430 000 individual suicide decedents from all counties in mainland China. Exposures: Daily meteorological data were obtained from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis Fifth Generation (ERA5) reanalysis product. Historical and future temperature series were projected under 3 scenarios of greenhouse-gas emissions from 1980 to 2099, with 10 general circulation models. Main Outcomes and Measures: The relative risk (RR) and burden of suicide death associated with nonoptimal temperature (ie, temperatures greater than or less than minimum-mortality temperature); the change of suicide burden associated with future climate warming in different regions and seasons under various climate change scenarios. Results: Of 432 008 individuals (mean [SD] age; 57.6 [19.0] years; 253 093 male [58.6%]) who died by suicide, 85.8% (370 577) had a middle school education or less. The temperature-suicide associations were approximately linear, with increasing death risks at higher temperatures. The excess risk was more prominent among older adults (ie, ≥75 years; RR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.46-1.99) and those with low education level (ie, middle school education or less; RR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.36-1.57). There were 15.2% suicide deaths (95% estimated CI [eCI], 14.6%-15.6%) associated with nonoptimal temperature nationally. Consistent and drastic increases in excess suicide deaths over this century were predicted under the high-emission scenario, whereas a leveling-off trend after the mid–21st century was predicted under the medium- and low-emission scenarios. Nationally, compared with the historical period (1980-2009), excess suicide deaths were predicted to increase by 8.3% to 11.4% in the 2050s and 8.5% to 21.7% in the 2090s under the 3 scenarios. The projected percentage increments of excess suicide deaths were predicted to be greater in the South (55.0%; 95% eCI, 30.5%-85.6%) and in winter (54.5%; 95% eCI, 30.4%-77.0%) in the 2090s under the high-emission scenario. Conclusions and Relevance: Findings of this nationwide case-control study suggest that higher temperature may be associated with the risk and burden of suicide death in China. These findings highlight the importance of implementing effective climate policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tailoring public health policies to adapt to global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the peripheries of global South cities, projects to convert rural land for development purposes have brought dramatic impact on rural communities and environments. Many of these initiatives involve aggregating land, mobilizing investments, and resettling populations, with direct implications for villagers' land rights and livelihoods. In existing studies, rural land conversions have often been examined through frameworks of "land grabbing" and "dispossession". This paper argues for the need to go beyond these frameworks in conceptualizing the varied pathways and outcomes of rural land takings. It presents a comparative case study of two villages in China, whose land has been redeployed for tourism development. In one village, state-led expropriation led to the loss of land rights and the resettlement of villagers in new housing complexes. In another, villagers held onto land ownership and their property but saw intra-community inequalities amplified as residents were differentially incorporated into the tourism economy. By demonstrating how the nuanced mechanisms of land conversion could facilitate variegated livelihood and distributive outcomes between and within communities, this paper problematizes universalist conceptualizations of dispossession and calls for theorizing both "with" and "beyond" dispossession to account for the multifaceted dynamics of land development in global South contexts. • Theorizing with and beyond dispossession in rural land politics. • Comparative case study of two tourism villages in suburban China. • Shows how and why rural land conversion produces contrasting local outcomes. • Advances comparative research on land across North-South, rural-urban divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's service trade competitiveness is weak, and the service industry occupies a low position in the GVC (Global Value Chain); therefore, promoting the upgrade of the GVC of China's service industry is worth studying. Under the new situation of the continuous integration of the digital economy and the real economy, the digital economy has injected new momentum into the mid-to-high end of the GVC of China's service industry. Based on the panel data of the service industry sub-sectors, the mediating effect model is constructed, and the system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) is used to empirically determine whether the digital economy can significantly improve the participation and position of China's service industry in the GVC, and promote the upgrading of the GVC of China's service industry. This conclusion still holds after replacing the independent variable measurement indicator, adding control variables, considering changes in industry trends, and using quantile regression and other robustness tests. The promotion effect of the digital economy on the upgrading of the GVC of China's service industry shows heterogeneity in different service objects and service industries with different factor intensities, indicating that the digital economy will affect the internal structure of the upgrading of the GVC of China's service industry. The results of the mediation test found that the service trade cost, multilateral resistance to service trade, service industry structure, financial development level, human capital and service export complexity are the mechanisms for the digital economy to enable the upgrading of the GVC of China's service industry. This study improves the analysis of the impact factors of the GVC in the service industry, enriches the theory of the GVC, and improves the research content of digital economy theory. This study also provides a reference for other developing countries similar to China on how to promote the upgrading of the GVC of the service industry in the process of digital economy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article talks about those who come back to China after studies abroad, characterized as "sea turtles" and those scholars who have remained in China to arduously pursue their studies, characterized as "ground beetles". " Sea turtles" are those foreign MBAs and Ph.D.s who are objects of praise, admiration and are naturally more eye-catching than "ground beetles". The author states that, it cannot be denied that the treatment these "sea turtles" receive in China is one of enthusiasm and deep affection, whether from institutions of higher learning, research institutes, government institutions, or from the large and small "overseas scholars incubator parks." As far as teachers at institutions of higher learning are concerned, it is said that those from abroad, no matter from which country, generally receive remunerations that are quite a bit higher than those of teachers trained in China. There is a great deal of comment today on the fact that the "overseas scholars parks" show more than ordinary favouritism to "sea turtles" and even give them VIP treatment and all kinds of preferential policies. The author states that, today's bosses are no fools. If one cannot bring them benefits, they will never mind whether one is a "sea turtle" or a "land turtle." The important thing should be to give everyone a good, democratic atmosphere and an environment of fair competition. (Contains 1 note.)

The scientific community knows little about the long-term influence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on olfactory dysfunction (OD). With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing worldwide, the risk of imported cases remains high. In China, it is necessary to understand OD in imported cases. A prospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 11 self-reported patients with COVID-19 and OD from Xi'an No. 8 Hospital were followed between August 19, 2021, and December 12, 2021. Demographics, clinical characteristics, laboratory and radiological findings, and treatment outcomes were analyzed at admission. We surveyed the patients via telephone for recurrence and sequelae at the 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. Eleven patients with OD were enrolled; of these, 54.5% (6/11) had hyposmia and 45.5% (5/11) had anosmia. 63.6% (7/11) reported OD before or on the day of admission as their initial symptom; of these, 42.9% (3/7) described OD as the only symptom. All patients in the study received combined treatment with traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and 72.7% (8/11) had partially or fully recovered at discharge. In terms of OD recovery at the 12-month follow-up, 45.5% (5/11) reported at least one sequela, 81.8% (9/11) had recovered completely, 18.2% (2/11) had recovered partially, and there were no recurrent cases. Our data revealed that OD frequently presented as the initial or even the only symptom among imported cases. Most OD improvements occurred in the first 2 weeks after onset, and patients with COVID-19 and OD had favorable treatment outcomes during long-term follow-up. A better understanding of the pathogenesis and appropriate treatment of OD is needed to guide clinicians in the care of these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reform of collective land ownership in post-socialist contexts offers a useful window into how changes in property rights shape and structure the dynamics of territorial transformation. Focusing on China's rural revitalization campaign, this paper demonstrates how the state, as creator and regulator of land rights and property titles, facilitates landscape change by relaxing regulations over the lease of rural land and creating market institutions that favour land transfers to organized capital, in this case tourism companies and property developers. Far from being a spontaneous process of pure market forces and consumer demand, the state is actively harnessing market forces to achieve land use change and extend planning control over rural land. On the ground, the expanding presence of recreational capital has brought about the remaking of Chinese villages into leisure farms, holiday guesthouses and ecological parks geared towards touristic consumption. The paper calls for further attention to processes of exclusion and displacement that this transformation might engender. By exploring the dynamics of rural gentrification in a post-socialist context, this paper makes the case for the need to pay more attention to the comparative study of property rights and ownership regimes in rural gentrification research, and highlights how the intersection of property rights and state power reveals nuances that underscore the importance of going beyond Western conceptualizations of gentrification. • Comparative study of property rights is important for gentrification research. • Examines nexus of state power and property rights transformation in gentrification. • Marketization of rural land in China facilitates gentrification in the countryside. • Tourism and recreational capital contributing to revalorization of rural landscapes. • Shows comparative nuances of a gentrification theory for the rural Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Gentrification as a state-building strategy. • Highlights the role of the territorial state in gentrification. • Draws attention to the state-society dynamics of land control. • Examines gentrification at China's rural-urban interface. • Shows comparative nuances of a gentrification theory beyond the urban Global North. This paper examines the territorial politics of gentrification at China's rural-urban interface. Drawing on empirical fieldwork in Shenzhen, it is shown that gentrification in China can be seen as a state-making strategy deployed by the government to consolidate territorial control and extend the reach of the state. Unlike conventional accounts of gentrification which assumes the universality of formal, property-based land tenure, this paper highlights how the prevalence of informality and non-privatized property rights in the post-socialist context produces distinct dynamics of gentrification and state-society interactions at the rural fringe of Chinese cities. While gentrification is often seen as a place-making strategy espoused by entrepreneurial states to attract investment and bolster consumption, it also functions as a state-building tactic for recovering and materializing land rights where property rights are uncertain, under-defined and contested. In the process, uneven patterns of direct and indirect displacement can be observed which reflected a more complex reality than the class replacement thesis commonly found in traditional gentrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Data on obesity in relation to BMD of children especially for infants under 2 years old were sparse. • The Jiangsu bone health study is a large population-based cross-sectional multicenter study. • The children were recruited by a stratified cluster random-sampling method in the Jiangsu Province, China. • We also have taken into account the potential confounding variables affecting bone status. • Adiposity is not beneficial to bone mineral density in 0-5 year old Chinese children. Data on obesity in relation to bone mineral density(BMD) in infants and preschool children were sparse in China. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between body mass index (BMI) and BMD. This was a large population-based multicenter study in which the representative children aged 0–5 years were recruited from 13 Children's Health Care Centers by a stratified cluster random-sampling method in Jiangsu Province, China. BMD was measured by using quantitative ultrasound. The association of BMD with BMI and obesity were evaluated using multiple linear regression and logistic regression analysis taking into account the effects of confounders. The relations between age, weight, height, BMI and BMD were analyzed by using Pearson's correlation and further tested using partial correlation in the additive model. A total of 5,289 children (2786 boys and 2503 girls) were recruited. The BMD was positively linear relation with age, length/height, and was inversely linear relation with BMI (r = 0.711, P < 0.001; r = 0.727, P < 0.001; r = −0.318, P < 0.001, respectively). The BMD gradually increased when the weight was in the range within 21.2 kg, but started to gain slowlyand even decreased when the weight was over 21.2 kg. After adjusting for confounders, compared with control group, children with obesityhad higher odds of low BMD (OR 95%CI: 2.73 (1.57, 4.76), P < 0.001), the speed of sound (SOS)value in children with obesity was lower 47.45 (β = −47.45, 95%CI = −85.07, −9.83, P = 0.013). Adiposity was not advantageous for bone mineral density in 0-5-year-old Chinese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yangtze River, which is the largest in Euro-Asian, receives tremendous anthropogenic nitrogen input and is typically characterized by severe eutrophication and hypoxia. Two major processes, denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), play vital roles for removing nitrogen global in nitrogen cycling. In the current study, sediment samples were collected from both latitudinal and longitudinal transects along the coastal Yangtze River and the East China Sea (ECS). We investigated community composition and distributions of nos Z gene-encoded denitrifiers by high throughput sequencing, and also quantified the relative abundances of both denitrifying and anammox bacteria by q-PCR analysis. Denitrifying communities showed distinct spatial distribution patterns that were impacted by physical (water current and river runoffs) and chemical (nutrient availability and organic content) processes. Both denitrifying and anammox bacteria contributed to the nitrogen removal in Yangtze Estuary and the adjacent ECS, and these two processes shifted from coastal to open ocean with reverse trends: the abundance of nos Z gene decreased from coastal to open ocean while anammox exhibited an increasing trend based on quantifications of hzs B and 16S rRNA genes. Further correspondence correlation analysis revealed that salinity and nutrients were the main factors in structuring composition and distribution of denitrifying and anammox bacteria. This study improved our understanding of dynamic processes in nitrogen removal from estuarine to open ocean. We hypothesize that denitrification is the major nitrogen removal pathway in estuaries, but in open oceans, low nutrient and organic matter concentrations restrict denitrification, thus increasing the importance of anammox as a nitrogen removal process. Image 1 • Both denitrifying and anammox bacteria contributed to the nitrogen removal in Yangtze Estuary and the adjacent ECS. • The abundance of nos Z gene decreased from coastal to open ocean. • The abundance of anammox bacteria increased from coastal to open ocean. • The distinct spatial distribution pattern of denitrifying bacteria was observed along environmental gradients. • The distribution patterns were impacted by both physical and chemical processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nutrient regime has changed significantly in the Bohai Sea (BS) during the past six decades because of anthropogenic perturbations. Specifically, the concentration of DIN increased by about 7-fold from the end of the 1950s to the mid-2010s, while DIP and DSi concentrations decreased from the end of the 1950s to the beginning of the 1990s, and have since increased again. Unsynchronized changes in nutrient levels have led to changes in the nutrients structure, which has caused a series of ecological effects. Phytoplankton biomass increased by 6-fold from the 1960s to the mid-2010s. Additionally, phytoplankton composition shifted from a diatom-dominated to a dinoflagellate-dominated system, and the dominant species of macrozoobenthos changed. Red tides rarely occurred before the 1980s, but have occurred periodically and frequently since the 1990s. Finally, the BS ecosystem has shifted from an N-limited oligotrophic state before the 1990s to a potentially P-limited eutrophic state. • Dissolved inorganic nitrogen increased by 7-fold over the past 60 years in Bohai Sea • Dissolved inorganic phosphorus, dissolved silica decreased first and then increased • Phytoplankton biomass increased by 6-fold and the dominant species changed • Bohai Sea shifted from N-limited oligotrophic state to P-limited eutrophic state [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Epidemiological evidences have indicated that fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) is associated with the increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Although several mechanisms linking PM 2.5 and inflammatory responses have been widely implicated, the detailed mechanisms involving the occurrence of inflammation in PM 2.5 -induced adverse effects are lacking. This study aims to investigate whether PM 2.5 exposure-induced cardiovascular injury is associated with NLRP3 inflammasome activation in apolipoprotein E-/- (Apo E-/-) mice. Thirty-two Apo E-/- mice were randomly divided into four groups. The mice were fed with normal chow (NC) or high-fat chow (HFC) for 10 weeks, respectively. From week 11, the mice were exposed to concentrated PM 2.5 (PM) or filter air (FA) using Shanghai Meteorological and Environmental Animal Exposure System for 16 weeks. The cardiac function and myocardial injury were evaluated by echocardiography and histopathological examination. Meanwhile, the expression of NLRP3-related signaling pathway in myocardium was detected. Compared with the FA mice, the PM mice showed the underlying cardiac dysfunction and injury in both NC and HFC groups. Mononuclear macrophages (CD11c+) were significant higher in bone marrow of the PM mice than that in the FA mice, whilst CD206+ macrophages were lower. Accordingly, PM 2.5 exposure induced the increase of circulating inflammatory cytokine TNF-α and decrease of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. PM 2.5 exposure was also associated with the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome, which characterized by elevated protein expression of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 in myocardium. All these results demonstrated PM 2.5 -related cardiac injury is mediated by macrophages polarization and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • METAS is the first animal exposure system that has been established in China. • We explored the effects of PM 2.5 exposure with NLRP3 inflammasome activation. • M1 macrophages contributed to PM 2.5- induced cardiovascular injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Despite the rapid process of Kazakhstan's integration into the global logistics system, stages of post-project assessment and mechanisms for optimization of transport and environmental risks of international corridors are still not developed taking into account their impact on the development of the regions involved in the transit. Stages are proposed for post-project assessment and monitoring of international transport corridors, their impact on the environment, what is needed to confirm, assessment of the impact of construction on the environment and effective preventive, and if necessary, corrective measures, aimed at coordination between construction and the environment. The post-project evaluation program being developed takes into account not only the results of road construction – engineering analysis of road construction, but also assesses the long-term environmental impact on the socio-economic development of the areas involved in the corridor system. Post-project evaluation includes analysis of transport corridors, especially relevant for arid regions, as the most vulnerable in the increasing climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Bacteria are ubiquitous in the near-surface atmosphere where they constitute an important component of aerosols with the potential to affect climate change, ecosystems, atmospheric process and human health. Limitation in tracking bacterial diversity accurately has thus far prevented the knowledge of airborne bacteria and their pathogenic properties. We performed a comprehensive assessment of bacterial abundance and diverse community in PM 2.5 collected at Mt. Tai, via high-throughput sequencing and real-time PCR. The samples exhibited a high microbial biodiversity and complex chemical composition. The dominating populations were gram-negative bacteria including Burkholderia , Delftia , Bradyrhizobium , and Methylobacterium. The PM mass concentration, chemical composition, bacterial concentration and community structure varied under the influence of different air-mass trajectories. The highest mass concentration of PM 2.5 (61 μg m−3) and major chemical components were recorded during periods when marine southeasterly air masses were dominant. The local terrestrial air masses from Shandong peninsula and its adjacent areas harbored highest bacterial concentration loading (602 cells m−3) and more potential pathogens at the site. In contrast, samples influenced by the long-distance air flow from Siberia and Outer Mongolia were found to have a highest richness and diversity as an average, which was also marked by the increase of dust-associated bacteria (Brevibacillus and Staphylococcus). The primary research may serve as an important reference for the environmental microbiologist, health workers, and city planners. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • PM 2.5 samples exhibited a high microbial biodiversity and complex chemical composition. • Relationships between bacterial populations and PM composition were investigated. • The highest bacterial concentration and more potential pathogens were recorded under the influence of local air pollutants. • The long-range transported air mass exhibited highest richness and diversity with an increased abundance of dust-borne bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentration is often used as an exposure surrogate to estimate PM 2.5 health effects in epidemiological studies. Ignoring the potential variations in the amount of outdoor PM 2.5 infiltrating into indoor environments will cause exposure misclassification, especially when people spend most of their time indoors. As it is not feasible to measure the PM 2.5 infiltration factor ( F inf ) for each individual residence, we aimed to build models for residential PM 2.5 F inf prediction and to evaluate seasonal F inf variations among residences. We repeated collected paired indoor and outdoor PM 2.5 filter samples for 7 continuous days in each of the three seasons (hot, cold and transitional seasons) from 48 typical homes of Shanghai, China. PM 2.5 -bound sulfur on the filters was measured by X-ray fluorescence for PM 2.5 F inf calculation. We then used stepwise-multiple linear regression to construct season-specific models with climatic variables and questionnaire-based predictors. All models were evaluated by the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and root mean square error (RMSE) from a leave-one-out-cross-validation (LOOCV). The 7-day mean (±SD) of PM 2.5 F inf across all observations was 0.83 (±0.18). F inf was found higher and more varied in transitional season (12–25 °C) than hot (>25 °C) and cold (<12 °C) seasons. Air conditioning use and meteorological factors were the most important predictors during hot and cold seasons; Floor of residence and building age were the best transitional season predictors. The models predicted 60.0%–68.4% of the variance in 7-day averages of F inf , The LOOCV analysis showed an R 2 of 0.52 and an RMSE of 0.11. Our finding of large variation in residential PM 2.5 F inf between seasons and across residences within season indicated the important source of outdoor-generated PM 2.5 exposure heterogeneity in epidemiologic studies. Our models based on readily available data may potentially improve the accuracy of estimates of the health effects of PM 2.5 exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urbanization and industrialization in China is accompanied by bad air quality, and the prevalence of asthma in Chinese children has been increasing in recent years. To investigate the associations between ambient PM 2.5 levels and asthmatic and allergic diseases or symptoms in preschool children in China, we assigned PM 2.5 exposure data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project to 205 kindergartens at a spatial resolution of 0.1° × 0.1° in six cities in China (Shanghai, Nanjing, Chongqing, Changsha, Urumqi, and Taiyuan). A hierarchical multiple logistical regression model was applied to analyze the associations between kindergarten-level PM 2.5 exposure and individual-level outcomes of asthmatic and allergic symptoms. The individual-level variables, including gender, age, family history of asthma and allergic diseases, breastfeeding, parental smoking, indoor dampness, interior decoration pollution, household annual income, and city-level variable-annual temperature were adjusted. A total of 30,759 children (average age 4.6 years, 51.7% boys) were enrolled in this study. Apart from family history, indoor dampness, and decoration as predominant risk factors, we found that an increase of 10 μg/m 3 of the annual PM 2.5 was positively associated with the prevalence of allergic rhinitis by an odds ratio (OR) of 1.20 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11, 1.29) and diagnosed asthma by OR of 1.10 (95% CI 1.03, 1.18). Those who lived in non-urban (vs. urban) areas were exposed to more severe indoor air pollution arising from biomass combustion and had significantly higher ORs between PM 2.5 and allergic rhinitis and current rhinitis. Our study suggested that long-term exposure to PM 2.5 might increase the risks of asthmatic and allergic diseases or symptoms in preschool children in China. Compared to those living in urban areas, children living in suburban or rural areas had a higher risk of PM 2.5 exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated and reviewed organizational learning in the Chinese airline industry, which is dominated by state-owned or state-controlled airlines. This empirical research focused on the extensive scale of airline mergers and acquisitions among 12 Chinese airlines for the period of 1996–2014. This research aims to make a contribution towards addressing the general lack of academic reflection on the impact of organizational learning on airline performance during and after the completion of mergers and acquisitions. The empirical findings of this paper suggested that there was, in general, organizational learning experienced by Chinese airlines from their prior operating experience in improving operating costs. However, airline mergers in 2001/02 increased airlines' average operating costs, as most state-owned airlines are notorious for poor cost management. Significantly, the performance improvement among Chinese airlines was found during the post-merger periods in this study, and the increase in Chinese airlines’ operating costs during the post-acquisition periods due to the limited integration of 2010 acquisition compared with the 2001/02 mergers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological evidence regarding the relation of exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) with gallstone disease (GSD) risk remains lacking. We tested the hypothesis that long-term exposure to PM is related to the development of GSD and that dyslipidemia can mediate the effect of PM-associated GSD formation. We extracted related information on the basis of the baseline survey of the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort Study. The exposure levels of PM (PM 1 , PM 2.5 , and PM 10) were assessed by validated spatiotemporal models. The relation of exposure to ambient PM with GSD risks was analyzed by non-conditional logistic regression models. Additionally, mediation analysis was conducted to assess whether dyslipidemia was related to the relation of PM exposure with GSD risks. A total of 72,893 participants were included. Increased ambient PM exposure was positively associated with a higher GSD risk, with ORs (and 95% CI) of 1.17 (1.06, 1.28), 1.10 (1.05, 1.15), and 1.07 (1.04, 1.10) for every 10 μg/m3 increment in PM 1 , PM 2.5 , and PM 10 , separately. The association was more remarkable in males, drinkers, and central obesity participants. Dyslipidemia significantly mediated the association between PM and GSD, with mediating proportions of 5.37%, 9.13%, and 7.66% in PM 1 , PM 2.5 , and PM 10 , respectively. Exposure to PM may relate to the increased risk of GSD in Chinese adults, especially among males, drinkers, and central obesity participants. Dyslipidemia may partially mediate the effect of PM-associated GSD development. Our results might provide epidemiological evidence for the progression of GSD related to PM and give new insights into GSD prevention and screening priorities. [Display omitted] • This is the first study to assess the association of PM with gallstone risk. • PM exposure was associated with gallstone risk, and dyslipidemia mediates it. • Males, drinkers, and obese people were at higher gallstone risk with PM exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protective seam mining technology is the most effective and economical method in realizing the safe mining of outburst-prone coal seams. To study the effects of remote lower protective seam mining on coal mine gas control, a typical case (average layer spacing: 78 m) taken from the Zhuxianzhuang Coal Mine was investigated by a comprehensive evaluation through numerical simulation, gas extraction data statistics, residual gas pressure/content measurements and recovering gas emission analysis. The results indicate that after the recovery of the protective seam, the unloading effects could lead to a maximum expansion deformation rate of the protected seam by 33.4‰, which remarkably increases the permeability of the coal seam by 4320 times. Combining with the pressure-relief gas extraction methods, considerable amount of the gas (about 78.58%) was extracted from the protected seam, resulting in the maximum residual gas pressure and content of 0.26 MPa and 4.29 m 3 /t respectively, which indicate that the outburst risk has been completely eliminated. Additionally, among the gas extraction methods, the penetrating borehole extraction presents the best drainage effect, accounting for 42.58%–55.09% of the total extracted pressure-relief gas. The effect of the surface wells extraction is closely related to the number of wells and whether the wells can work properly or not. However, the effect of interception boreholes extraction is poor and the extracted amount is almost negligible. Moreover, a protected range extension phenomenon is noticed, which demonstrate that the protected area generated by the protective seam mining is larger than that of the theoretical predicted one, and thus a further study is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of microplastics in the beach sand of the Bohai Sea was investigated for the first time. The Bohai Sea is the largest Chinese inner sea and its coastal region is one of the most densely urbanized and industrialized zones of China. Samples from three costal sites (i.e., Bijianshan, Xingcheng and Dongdaihe) were collected, quantified and identified for microplastic analysis. Effects of sample depth and tourism activity were investigated. Surface samples (2 cm) contained higher microplastic concentrations than deep samples (20 cm). Samples from the bathing beach exhibited higher microplastic concentrations than the non-bathing beach, suggesting the direct contribution of microplastics from tourism activity. Of eight types of microplastics that were found, PEVA (polyethylene vinyl acetate), LDPE (light density polyethylene) and PS (polystyrene) were the largest in abundances. Moreover, the non-plastic items from samples were analyzed and results revealed that the majority abundance of the observed non-plastics were viscose cellulose fibers. Further studies are required to evaluate the environmental hazards of microplastics, especially as they may “act as a contaminant transporter” to the Bohai Sea ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying students with ASD in the People's Republic of China (PRC) has lagged behind western countries, particularly the United States. Families often have to travel long distances to obtain a diagnosis and then are faced with few treatment options once the diagnosis is made. Recent laws governing special education in the PRC do not specifically address children with ASD; consequently, educational programs for these children are scarce. Though more special education teacher preparation programs are emerging, many are not well equipped to support teachers of children with ASD. Consequently, the need for in-service training in the area of ASD is significant. This manuscript discusses a collaborative two-year professional development project aimed at providing teachers in Nanjing, China, with much needed skills in working with students with ASD. A distance training model was employed to train teachers how to use informal assessment to guide instruction and monitor progress of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that lead (Pb) exposure caused genotoxicity, however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. A mechanism may be via DNA methylation which is one of the most widely studied epigenetic regulations for cellular activities. Whether this is involved in Pb-induced genotoxicity has rarely been studied. Our study aimed to examine whether DNA methylation was associated with Pb exposure and genotoxicity, and to explore its potential mediating roles. A total of 250 Pb-exposed workers were enrolled. Blood lead levels (BLLs) and genotoxic biomarkers (Micronuclei and Comet) were analyzed. Methylation levels at CpG sites of LINE1 and Alu and promoter region of P53 , BRCA1 , TRIM36 and OGG1 were measured by pyrosequencing. Generalized linear model (GLM) combined with restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to analyze relationships between Pb exposure, DNA methylation and genotoxicity. Mediation effect was used to explore mediating roles of DNA methylation. The distribution of BLLs was right-skewed and showed wide ranges from 23.7 to 636.2 μg/L with median (P 25 , P 75) being 218.4 (106.1, 313.9) μg/L among all workers. Micronuclei frequencies showed Poisson distribution [1.94 ± 1.88‰] and Comet tail intensity showed normal distribution [1.69 ± 0.93%]. GLM combined with RCS showed that Alu methylation was negatively associated with BLLs, while P53 and OGG1 methylation were positively associated with BLLs. Micronuclei were negatively associated with Alu and TRIM36 methylation but positively with P53 methylation. Comet was positively associated with P53 and BRCA1 methylation. Mediation effect showed that Alu methylation mediated 7% effects on association between Pb exposure and micronuclei, whereas, P53 methylation mediated 14% and BRCA1 mediated 9% effects on association between Pb exposure and Comet. Our data show that Pb exposure induced changes of global and gene-specific DNA methylation which mediated Pb-induced genotoxicity. [Display omitted] • Alu methylation was negatively associated with BLLs among Pb-exposed workers. • Micronuclei frequencies were negatively associated with Alu methylation. • Alu methylation mediated 7% effects on association between BLLs and micronuclei. • Comet tail intensities were positively associated with P53 and BRCA1 methylation. • P53 and BRCA1 methylation mediated association between BLLs and Comet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of exposure assessment model is the key component for epidemiological studies concerning air pollution, but the evidence from China is limited. Therefore, a linear mixed effects (LME) model was established in this study in a Chinese metropolis by incorporating aerosol optical depth (AOD), meteorological information and the land use regression (LUR) model to predict ground PM 10 levels on high spatiotemporal resolution. The cross validation (CV) R 2 and the RMSE of the LME model were 0.87 and 19.2 μg/m 3 , respectively. The relative prediction error (RPE) of daily and annual mean predicted PM 10 concentrations were 19.1% and 7.5%, respectively. This study was the first attempt in China to estimate both short-term and long-term variation of PM 10 levels with high spatial resolution in a Chinese metropolis with the LME model. The results suggested that the LME model could provide exposure assessment for short-term and long-term epidemiological studies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating the burden of mortality associated with particulates requires knowledge of exposure-response associations. However, the evidence on exposure-response associations is limited in many cities, especially in developing countries. In this study, we predicted associations of particulates smaller than 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM 10 ) with mortality in 73 Chinese cities. The meta-regression model was used to test and quantify which city-specific characteristics contributed significantly to the heterogeneity of PM 10 -mortality associations for 16 Chinese cities. Then, those city-specific characteristics with statistically significant regression coefficients were treated as independent variables to build multivariate meta-regression models. The model with the best fitness was used to predict PM 10 -mortality associations in 73 Chinese cities in 2010. Mean temperature, PM 10 concentration and green space per capita could best explain the heterogeneity in PM 10 -mortality associations. Based on city-specific characteristics, we were able to develop multivariate meta-regression models to predict associations between air pollutants and health outcomes reasonably well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal seam gas content is one of the basic parameters for gas disaster prevention and gas utilization in underground coal mines. It is also an important index for coal seam outburst danger evaluation and gas extraction effect investigation, which require a lot of measuring work and must be tested in large areas in underground coal mines. Due to the calculated error of the lost gas in the direct method and difficulties in accurately measuring the gas pressure used to calculate the gas content in the indirect method, the accurate determination of gas content remains a difficult problem. In this paper, the main component of gas content and current measurement methods used in China were discussed, and a new method of coal seam gas content measurement based on the small gap of gas adsorption and desorption characteristics of coal seams in the same geologic unit was proposed. In this new method, we first established a reasonable calculation model for the lost and residual gas contents based on laboratory measurements of desorption characteristics; an accurate and rapid determination of the underground gas content could then be directly obtained. This method requires a small workload and a short measuring time and is particularly applicable to a single underground coal seam with a demand for large quantity measurement. From an engineering perspective, this method not only can rapidly determine coal seam gas content but also can reflect the real gas pressure, satisfying the large area multi-point measurement of coal seam gas content with higher reliability and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution has been accepted as an important contributor to asthma development and exacerbation. However, the evidence is limited in China. In this study, we investigated the acute effect of air pollution on asthma hospitalization in Shanghai, China. We applied over-dispersed generalized additive model adjusted for weather conditions, day of the week, long-term and seasonal trends. An interquartile range increase in the moving average concentrations of PM10, SO2, NO2 and BC on the concurrent day and previous day corresponded to 1.82%, 6.41%, 8.26% and 6.62% increase of asthmatic hospitalization, respectively. The effects of SO2 and NO2 were robust after adjustment for PM10. The associations appeared to be more evident in the cool season than in the warm season. Our results contribute to the limited data in the scientific literature on acute effects of air pollution on asthma in high exposure settings, which are typical in developing countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective To study the relation between temperature and mortality by estimating the temperature-related mortality in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Methods Data of daily mortality, weather and air pollution in the three cities were collected. A distributed lag nonlinear model was established and used in analyzing the effects of temperature on mortality. Current and future net temperature-related mortality was estimated. Results The association between temperature and mortality was J-shaped, with an increased death risk of both hot and cold temperature in these cities. The effects of cold temperature on health lasted longer than those of hot temperature. The projected temperature-related mortality increased with the decreased cold-related mortality. The mortality was higher in Guangzhou than in Beijing and Shanghai. Conclusion The impact of temperature on health varies in the 3 cities of China, which may have implications for climate policy making in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The fault has an important impact on coal bed methane (CBM) occurrence. The complexity of the fault exacerbates the variability of CBM occurrence, which increases the difficulty of mine gas prevention and thus threats to mining safety seriously. The coal-bearing strata in the Renlou coal mine located in the Linhuan mining area of the Huaibei coalfield have undergone three transformations caused by major tectonic movements since its formation. In addition, the large-angle tectonic stress superposition leads to structure characteristic and mechanical properties of faults transform in the area or just make it become multiplicity. The normal faults F3 and F7 and reverse fault F5 in southern Renlou coal mine are open structures. The coal seam between faults F7 and F5 is in the emission range of the two faults (partially in the superimposed range) in which a significant amount of gas escapes. The formation between faults F5 and F7 is horst, and it turns from NS to EW. The stress in the formation is large, which results in the presence of numerous fractures and cleats. Therefore, there is difference of methane occurrence between the two regions. Between faults F7 and F5, the gas pressure gradient of coal seam No. 72 is 0.00356 MPa/m with a maximum value of 0.39 MPa (−633.5 m). However, the gas pressure gradient of coal seam No. 72 between faults F3 and F2 is 0.00726 MPa/m and the maximum measured gas pressure is 1.7 MPa (−692 m). The relative methane emission (RME) of working face 7257 located between faults F7 and F5 was 2.01 m3/t on average with a maximum value of 4.96 m3/t. The average RME of working face ІІ7211 located between faults F3 and F2 reached 12 m3/t in the area of 0–600 m away from F3 fault and increased to 30 m3/t in the region of >600 m away from fault F3. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Few prior cohort studies exist in developing countries examining the association of ambient particulate matter (PM) with mortality. We examined the association of particulate air pollution with mortality in a prospective cohort study of 71,431 middle-aged Chinese men. Baseline data were obtained during 1990–1991. The follow-up evaluation was completed in January, 2006. Annual average PM exposure between 1990 and 2005, including TSP and PM10, were estimated by linking fixed-site monitoring data with residential communities. We found significant associations between PM10 and mortality from cardiopulmonary diseases; each 10 μg/m3 PM10 was associated with a 1.6% (95%CI: 0.7%, 2.6%), 1.8% (95%CI: 0.8%, 2.9%) and 1.7% (95%CI: 0.3%, 3.2%) increased risk of total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality, respectively. For TSP, we observed significant associations only for cardiovascular morality. These data contribute to the scientific literature on long-term effects of particulate air pollution for high exposure settings typical in developing countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]