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Building foundational skills in the early years for the later development of self-determination in adulthood for individuals with disabilities is important in the United States, but little research has been conducted to examine whether these skills are as important in other countries. In this phenomenological study, seven family interviews were conducted to understand how foundational skills for self-determination (choice making, self-regulation, engagement) were perceived and promoted by families of young children with disabilities in China. This study indicated that these skills were also valued in China. However, Chinese families emphasized the need to develop these three skills in the context of an emphasis on dependence and obedience in accordance with its collectivist culture. They used the popular Chinese parenting practice of guan to help their children make choices, regulate themselves according to li, and engage in educational study, which is highly valued in Chinese culture. These findings have important implications for interventionists in the United States who are working with families from Chinese culture.

In China, rapid development has prompted massive migration from rural to urban areas. Migrants' participation in Urban Residents Committees (URCs) and other community organizations offers opportunities for the development of social capital and democracy in contemporary China. We use 2006 survey data from a stratified convenience sample of 3,024 migrant workers in 7 Chinese cities to examine individual and community social capital and their relation to 3 types of community participation: (a) amount of contact with community organizations, (b) frequency of help sought from community organizations, and (c) the rate of participation in URC meetings. Multiple regressions yield, among 12 measures of individual and community-focused social capital, only neighborhood interaction and organizational social capital as consistently and significantly associated for all 3 types of participation. Other measures were associated with certain types of participation, or were nonsignificant. Implications for migration policy, community participation, and social capital in China are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

Objective: To investigate overweight prevalence and socio-demographic and economic correlates in Chinese adolescents. Methods: Weight, height, waist circumference, and socio-demographic and economic variables of 6863 middle and high school students were measured. Results: 10% of girls and 17% of boys were overweight. Waist circumference and overweight risk were significantly associated with pubertal status (P less than 0.05). High levels of parental education and family income were significant risk factors for overweight (P less than 0.05). Discussion: Our findings underscore the need for development of evidence-based and culturally appropriate public health programs to prevent and treat pediatric obesity in China.

We examined effects of self-care after school hours and psychosocial factors on cigarette smoking and alcohol use among adolescents in China. Survey data were obtained from 4734 7th and 11th grade students from seven cities across China. Students were queried about the frequency and quantity of unsupervised self-care after school in an average week. Tobacco and alcohol usage were also obtained. Odds ratios were calculated to determine the strength of association between unsupervised self-care after school and substance use. Results indicated that the amount of self-care after-school (how many days and how many hours per week) was significantly associated with increased risk for smoking and alcohol use among Chinese adolescents. These associations remained significant even after controlling for anxiety, depressive symptoms, and peer influence. The interaction between unsupervised self-care after school and peer influence indicated that unsupervised self-care after school is a stronger risk factor for smoking among adolescents with pro-smoking friends. The findings suggest that substance use prevention programs for youth in China should try to enhance parental monitoring. As it may not be feasible for families to revert to a lifestyle that includes supervision by relatives, other approaches such as organized after-school care are worthy of consideration.

Objective: To investigate weight perception and related psychological factors in Chinese adolescents. Methods: A questionnaire on weight perception, academic performance, stress, hostility, and depression was completed by 6863 middle and high school students. Weight and height were measured. Results: Overweight perception was related to school-related stress and depression in both girls and boys (P less than 0.01) and to hostility in boys (P less than 0.01). Perceived overweight was related to lower GPA in girls only (P less than 0.05). Conclusions: Distorted weight perception has a detrimental psychological impact on Chinese adolescents. These findings may contribute to the obesity research and to the development of future effective intervention programs in China.

What is already known about this subject Initial evidence from recent studies indicated a relationship between the high-activity MAOA uVNTR polymorphism and lower risk of obesity even though findings were varied across populations, and hence replication studies with population-based samples are clearly warranted., What this study adds Our findings confirmed the genetic effects of MAOA uVNTR polymorphism on body mass index in a Chinese adolescent population., This study demonstrated a significant gene-environment interaction with negative familial stressors in girls only, which provides a new insight on the causes of obesity, and thus, potential avenues of prevention., Summary Objectives Monoamine oxidase A ( MAOA) modulates metabolism of serotonin and dopamine metabolism, neurotransmitters involved in regulation of appetite and food intake. The gene coding for MAOA contains a 30-bp tandem repeat ( uVNTR) polymorphism in its promoter region that has been previously identified to be associated with obesity with mixed findings in the literature. Our goals were to replicate the population effects of this functional polymorphism on obesity risk, and to further explore gender differences and interaction effects with negative stressors. Methods Analyses were conducted with data on genotypes, measured weight and height, and self-reported behavioural characteristics among 1101 Chinese adolescents 11-15 years old living in Wuhan, China. Results Girls with the high-activity allele had significantly lower body mass index ( BMI; β = −0.25 ± 0.98, P = 0.011) compared to those with the low activity allele. Experience of negative familial stressors (e.g., death or illness of family members, hit or scolded by parents and increased quarrelling with parents, parents argued frequently) significantly weakened this protective genetic effect on BMI ( P for interaction = 0.043). Stratified analyses showed a significant protective genetic effect on BMI only within the stratum of low stress level (β = −0.44 ± 0.14, P = 0.002). No similar effect was observed among boys. Conclusions Our findings confirm the genetic effects of MAOA uVNTR polymorphism on BMI in a Chinese adolescent population and suggest potential genetic interactions with negative familial stressors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operating characteristics of thirteen municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with design capacities between 50,000 and 300,000 m³/d (mean 75,000 m³/d) were studied. The treatment processes used by these plants included one biofilter (BIO); two MO (activated sludge anaerobic and aerobic processes in sequence); four A2/O (modified A/O with anaerobic, annoxic (denitrification) and aerobic cells in sequence); three oxidation ditches (OXD); two MB (absorption biooxidation two-stage [anaerobic cell followed by aerobic cell]); and one sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The study objective was to determine whether the WWTPs were operating at design conditions, and if not, to try to identify the causes of under-performance. All the WWTPs produced a treated effluent quality which was in compliance with a few exceptions. Nine WWTPs were operating with a mean of 62% of the design hydraulic flows. Thirteen WWTPs were operating at a mean of 56% of the design five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and at 84% of the design total suspended solids (TSS) loadings. Three WWTPs received high-strength wastewater (WW) (BOD >400 mg/L), four normal-strength WW (BOD = 150 to 260 mg/L) and five received weak-strength WW (BOD <150 mg/L). WW strength appeared to be a local characteristic. The mean capital treatment plant costs for one cubic metre of WW per day was 232 USD (104 to 444 USD); consequently, between 80 and 100 MUSD capital investment in WWTPs is unused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the constant quest for new sources of superfoods to supplement the largely nutrient deficient diet of the modern society, sea cucumbers are gaining increasing popularity. Three species of sea cucumbers, Cucumaria frondosa , Apostichopus californicus and Apostichopus japonicus were collected from three geographical regions, Atlantic and Pacific coast of Canada and Yellow sea/ East China sea in China, respectively. These organisms were sectioned into parts (body wall, tentacles, internal organ, skin and muscle) and analysed for total arsenic (As) by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and As species by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to ICP-MS. Normal and reversed sequential extractions were optimised to address As distribution between lipids (polar and non-polar) and water-extractable fractions. Two extraction methods for water-extractable As were compared in terms of the number and the amount of extracted species. The results revealed that total As concentration and As species distribution varies significantly between sea cucumbers species. Total As in studied body parts ranged between 2.8 ± 0.52 and 7.9 ± 1.2 mg kg−1, with an exception of the muscle tissue of A. californicus , where it reached to 36 ± 3.5 mg kg−1. Arsenobetaine (AsB) was the most abundant As species in A. californicus and A. japonicus , however, inorganic As represented over 70% of total recovered As in the body parts of C. frondosa. Arsenosugars-328 and 482 were found in all studied body parts whereas arsenosugar-408 was only found in the skin of A. californicus. This is the first time that such a variation in As species distribution between sea cucumber species has been shown. Image 1 • First study of As speciation in sea cucumber body parts. • Water-extractable As shown significant variation between sea cucumber species. • Arsenobetaine is dominant species in Apostichopus californicus and Apostichopus japonicas. • Main fraction of recovered As in Cucumaria frondosa is inorganic As. • Arsenic is not removed from sea cucumber during thermal preparation for consumption. Sea cucumbers accumulate appreciable quantities of As, with significant variation in the abundance of water-extractable As compounds between three studied sea cucumbers species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Forest thinning changed fungal community composition in wood on and in the soil. • OTU richness was greater on the soil surface as compared to the mineral soil. • On the soil surface, OTU richness declined as thinning intensity increased. • Fungal species richness in the mineral soil exhibited no clear thinning impact. • Overall, aspen stakes had lower OTU richness. Forest restoration thinning in Chinese pine (Pinus tabuliformis) plantations can alter stand structure and soil abiotic properties, which have the potential to change biotic properties such as wood-inhabiting fungal community structure. Therefore, three thinning treatments (30%, 41% and 53% of the standing biomass removed) and an unthinned control stand were established at stand age 35 to determine the effects on surface and mineral soil wood-inhabiting fungi. Chinese pine, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) wood stakes were placed horizontally on the soil surface and inserted vertically into the mineral soil and sampled over 3 years. Fungal species were identified using high-throughput amplicon sequencing (HTAS) of DNA barcode regions. Across all wood stake species on the soil surface, operational taxonomic unit (OTU) richness averaged 138 OTUs per thinning treatment. Significantly greater OTU richness (p < 0.01) on both surface pine species stakes was observed in the unthinned control as compared to the moderate and heavily thinned plots. In the mineral soil, wood stakes averaged only 91 OTUs, with no clear OTU pattern for thinning treatment or sampling time for richness. However, aspen stakes had significantly lower (p < 0.01) OTU richness than both pine species stakes on the surface and in mineral soil. Although richness was not strongly affected, fungal community composition in the mineral soil was significantly altered by thinning treatments, wood stake species, and sampling time. This study extends our knowledge of the long-term effects of stand thinning on fungal communities' richness and composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Domestic Solar Hot Water (DSHW) increase Acidification and Eutrophication Potential. • Solar thermal collector, thank, and copper tubes need eco-design improvements. • National emissions reduction due to DSHW depends on the displacement method chosen. • Spain could reduce its national emissions between 0.376% and 0.500%. • China could reduce its national emissions between 0.119% and 0.629%. Solar thermal energy is considered a 'clean' form of energy; however, environmental impacts occur during its life-cycle. The present work compares the environmental performance of two scenarios: a solar thermal system for providing domestic hot water (DHW) used in conjunction with a traditional natural gas heating system, and the natural gas heating system on its own. Weak points are found and different eco-design scenarios are evaluated in order to achieve a more circular economy. In addition, the authors explore what would be the national Greenhouse Gas emission reduction potential of a wider use of domestic solar hot water systems (DSHW) in China's and Spain's built environment. In this case, five displacement methods are suggested to show how the emissions reduction vary. Through a review of the state of the art and a Life Cycle Assessment of a solar system the two scenarios are assessed. Some impact categories, such as global warming, suggest a markedly better performance of the solar system (-65%). However, weak points in the solar solution have been identified as there is an increase of impacts in cases such as acidification (+6%) and eutrophication (+61%), mostly due to the metals used. The components with higher environmental impact are the collector, the tank, and the copper tubes. The reduction of national emissions by promoting DSHW depends on the actual displaced technology/ies. The consequences on national emissions reduction depending on these choices are assessed. The potential reduction of emissions, if 30% of the DHW were covered with solar sources, would be between 0.38% and 0.50% in the case of Spain and between 0.12% and 0.63% in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, the food delivery packaging waste is increasing due to the rapid growth of the sector and the use of single-use packaging to transport the meals. In addition, the recycling rates of current municipal waste management are low. In this regard, this study aims at estimating the climate change impact of current food delivery packaging and its waste treatment, by performing a Life Cycle Assessment with a cradle-to-grave approach. In addition, this article explores the potential benefits of increasing the current recycling rates, the recycled content of the packaging as well as the use of reusable packaging. For this study, the food packaging of a typical dumpling-based meal of the popular Chinese restaurant Xijiade was selected. Based on this menu and the current Chinese consumption patterns, the food delivery packaging in China would have emitted about 13 million tons of CO 2 eq. Increasing current recycling rates to 35% would reduce 16% the emissions of single-use packaging, and further decrease (60%) could be found if half of the packaging was made of recycled material. In addition, if single-use packaging was replaced by reusable PP-based packaging (food container and carrier bag), the emissions would potentially be 63% lower than the current situation. In this case, doubling the recycling rates and the recycled content of the reusable food packaging would represent an extra 6 and 17% reduction of emissions, respectively., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Dietary change is a win-win opportunity to address the nexus of health and the environment. To prevent city dwellers from developing non-communicable diseases, in 2013, China updated the 2000 version of nutrition-based dietary reference intake (DRI) guidelines. However, whether the DRI guidelines have a positive effect on the environment is not well understood. Here, we explored the systematic effects of urbanization on China's health and environmental nexus based on survey data. Then, we optimized the diets of 18 age-gender groups to reduce carbon emissions, water consumption, and land use while meeting the healthy nutrition goals of both DRI guidelines. The results showed that the optimal diets based on the DRI 2013 outperformed these on DRI 2000 in improving China's environmental sustainability, although these diets did not always perform better at an individual scale. Our findings suggest that dietary changes can reduce carbon, water, and ecological footprints by 24%, 15%, and 22% in 2050, respectively; however, the differences in age-specific and gender-specific health goals cannot be neglected., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: We aimed to identify developmental trajectories of cigarette use and risk factors associated with the distinct developmental courses of smoking in Chinese early adolescents from age 12 to 16 years., Methods: Analysis was conducted with secondary data from a longitudinal, prospective cohort of 3,521 Chinese adolescents randomly selected from 4 rural and 7 urban middle schools in Wuhan, China. A group-based growth mixture modeling approach was adopted to identify developmental trajectories of cigarette use. Multilayered intrapersonal (e.g., attitudes toward smoking) and interpersonal (e.g., parental smoking and perceived parental disapproval of smoking) risk factors selected from an ecological perspective were prospectively linked to the identified patterns of smoking trajectory., Results: Three trajectory patterns were identified from the whole cohort: nonsmokers (48.7%), stable light/occasional smokers (48.6%), and accelerating smokers (2.7%). After adjustments for gender, urban residence, and family socioeconomic status, adolescents with higher levels of problems in parent-child relationships and family disharmony, higher perceived norms of peer smoking, higher proportion of good friend smoking, having more troubles with teachers, poorer academic performance, and reporting more frequent depressive symptoms were significantly more likely to be in the trajectory group of either stable light/occasional smokers or accelerating smokers than in the group of nonsmokers. The probability of being in the accelerating smoking trajectory group was positively and significantly related to parental smoking and lack of school bonding., Conclusions: Study findings help to advance knowledge of the distinct developmental courses of smoking behavior and their associations with multilayered risk factors among Chinese early adolescents.

Self reported cross-sectional data gathered in 2002 from 12,449 middle and high school students from seven major cities in China were examined to explore the association of self-perceived relative income inequality (SPRII) with general health status, depression, stress, and cigarette smoking. Two types of self-perceived relative income were evaluated: household income relative to peers (SPRII-S) and relative to their own past (SPRII-P). SPRII-S and SPRII-P were coded as three-level categorical variables: lower, equal, and higher. As hypothesized, the youth in the "Lower" SPRII-S or SPRII-P groups reported the worst general health and the highest levels of depression and stress; the youth in the "Higher" groups reported the best general health. Unexpectedly, the youth in the "Higher" groups did not report the lowest levels of depression and stress, and the relationship between SPRII and cigarette smoking was even less straightforward. The expected positive relationship between SPRII and the general health status is consistent with previous research, but the relationships between SPRII and depression, stress, and cigarette smoking behavior are not. Further studies are needed to elucidate the complex associations between SPRII and health outcomes in rapidly transforming economies such as China., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of the study was to explore the association between perceived stress, depression and food consumption frequency. A self-administered questionnaire that included the perceived stress scale, the depression scale and dietary intake was used in the baseline survey of a cohort study of 2579 local college students over 7 cities in China. Gender and city differences were found in perceived stress scores and depression scores. There were also significant differences among diverse smoking levels and among perceived weight categories in perceived stress and depression scores. Stepwise logistic regression models found that frequency of consumption of fresh fruit, ready-to-eat food and snack food had apparently independent effects on perceived stress, whereas the intake level of fresh fruit, ready-to-eat food and fast food was significantly associated with depression. The link between food consumption frequency, perceived stress and depression suggests that diet intervention may be considered a mediate strategy integrated in psychology prevention program among normal population of the college.

Purpose: This study performed parallel analyses on two large samples of seventh graders living in Los Angeles, California and in Wuhan, China to make direct comparisons of overweight and obesity risks in Western and Eastern cultural environments., Methods: Two representative samples of 1772 and 1896 seventh grade students were randomly selected from the public or parochial middle schools in the greater Los Angeles area of Southern California in the United States, and public schools in Wuhan city of China. Two body mass index (BMI) references recently established by the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), respectively, were used to define overweight (85th < or = BMI < 95th percentile) and obesity (BMI > or = 95th percentile). Logistic regressions were conducted to examine relationships between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity risk., Results: The prevalence rates of combined overweight and obesity in Los Angeles and in Wuhan were 43.1% and 12.1%, respectively, by the US-NCHS reference, and 45.8% and 11.9%, respectively, by the IOTF reference. Chinese-American adolescents had higher prevalence rates for overweight and obesity than those from China. SES was positively related to the risk of overweight and obesity in the Chinese sample, whereas a negative association was found in Southern California adolescents. Urbanicity was significantly positively related to higher overweight and obesity prevalence., Conclusion: Different overweight and obesity prevalence estimates and SES effects were observed for American and Chinese adolescent samples. Research on the underlying mechanisms is needed to help us to set up a tailored program for obesity prevention in Eastern and Western cultural environments.

This study examined multiple influences on the use of tobacco by adolescents in China. Using the theory of triadic influences as a guide, we selected interpersonal, attitudinal/cultural, and intrapersonal constructs from baseline data to predict adolescent smoking 1 year later. We used prospective data from middle and high school students (N = 11,583) and their parents from the China Seven Cities Study, a longitudinal study that is evaluating the effects of changing economic and social factors on health behaviors including tobacco use. A multilevel regression analysis provided some support that each of the influences in the theory of triadic influences affects adolescent smoking in China. After adjusting for important confounders including age, gender, socioeconomic status, and smoking behaviors (lifetime and past 30-day) at baseline, we found significant risk factors within each of the three categories, including interpersonal influences (parental monitoring, good friend smoking, and peer smoking), attitudinal/cultural influences (school academic ranking, initial liking of smoking, and the meaning of smoking), and intrapersonal influences (susceptibility to smoking, and low self-confidence to quit smoking). Results suggest that the etiology of smoking among adolescents in China might be similar to that observed in western countries and that some of the techniques used successfully in prevention programs in those countries might be useful guides when developing prevention programs in China.