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Drought, being one of the most devastating natural disasters, has a far- reaching impact. In the context of global warming, it becomes crucial to quantitatively and scientifically assess the effects of anthropogenic climate change on meteorological drought in China. This assessment not only enhances our understanding of anthropogenic climate change but also aids in formulating more effective strategies for managing the risks associated with meteorological drought. This study employs the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) to compute drought events by utilizing both observational data and counterfactual climate data (i.e., detrended observations). Subsequently, it analyzes the impact of anthropogenic climate change on the characteristics of drought, including frequency, intensity, duration, and affected area, in China as well as nine major river basins from 1960 to 2019. The outcomes of the analysis reveal that based on observational data, there is a discernible upward trend in the frequency, intensity, duration, and affected area of meteorological droughts in China. Notably, the regions experiencing an increase in frequency, intensity, and duration are primarily situated in the northeastern part of the Northwestern Rivers basin, the central and western parts of the Yellow River basin, the central and northern parts of the Yangtze River basin, the western part of the Southeastern River basins, and the eastern part of the Pearl River basin. Conversely, when considering a counterfactual climate scenario, the frequency and intensity of meteorological droughts in China demonstrate an upward trend, while the duration and affected area exhibit a downward trend. The impact of anthropogenic climate change on China has been evident in the increased frequency, intensity, duration, and affected area of droughts. Specifically, regions located in the northeastern parts of Northwest River basins, the southern part of the Songliao River basin, the northern part of the Haihe River basin, the central- northern part of the Yangtze River basin, the eastern part of the Pearl River basin, and the western part of the Southwest River basins have experienced amplified levels of drought. Anthropogenic climate change is highlighted as the primary factor influencing the observed drought characteristics changes in China, with contribution rates of 84.67%, 75.25%, 190.32%, and 133.99% for changes in the increased drought frequency, intensity, duration, and affected area, respectively. These changes have significant implications for water resource management and agricultural practices in the affected regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the integrated development of rural industry promotes the application of the agricultural green production mode, it inevitably has an impact on the green development of agriculture. Analysing the influence of rural industry integration on agricultural green development is of great significance for realizing agricultural modernization and sustainable development. Based on panel data of 30 provinces in China during 2010-2021, the entropy weight TOPSIS method was used to estimate the agricultural green development level (AGD) and the rural industrial integration level (RII). The influence of agricultural industry integration (AII) on the level of agricultural green development (AGD) and its nonlinear characteristics were analysed by constructing a fixed model, intermediary effect model and threshold effect model. The results show the following. (1) A significant positive relationship exists between the RII and the AGD; that is, the development of rural industry integration can effectively promote the green development of agriculture. Regarding the three regions in China, the integration of rural industries in eastern China plays the most prominent role in the green development of agriculture. (2) Rural industrial integration has significant scale, capital and technology effects; that is, rural industrial integration mainly promotes AGD indirectly by promoting agricultural scale management and agricultural technological progress and improving rural human capital. (3) Rural industrial integration has a significant nonlinear marginal increasing effect on AGD. In the dynamic process of AGD changing from low to high, the effect of the marginal utility of rural industrial integration on AGD is gradually enhanced. Therefore, China should strengthen the deeply integrated development of rural industries, ensure the appropriate scale operation of agriculture and adjustments to the planting structure, accelerate agricultural technology innovation and rural human capital accumulation, and realize a win--win situation for rural economic and ecological conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to examine the association between dietary Se intake and CVD risk in Chinese adults. Design: This prospective cohort study included adults above 20 years old in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), and they were followed up from 1997 to 2015 (n 16 030). Dietary data were retrieved from CHNS, and a 3-d, 24-h recall of food intake was used to assess the cumulative average intake of dietary Se, which was divided into quartiles. The Cox proportional hazards model was adopted to analyse the association between dietary Se intake and incident CVD risk. Setting: CHNS (1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015) Results: A total of 663 respondents developed CVD after being followed up for a mean of 9·9 years (median 9 years). The incidence of CVD was 4·3, 3·7, 4·6 and 4·0 per 1000 person-years across the quartiles of cumulative Se intake. After adjusting all potential factors, no significant associations were found between cumulative Se intake and CVD risk. No interactions were found between Se intake and income, urbanisation, sex, region, weight, hypertension and CVD risk. Conclusion: We found no association between dietary Se and CVD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese learning system gained enormous importance to support the population of China with recent technologies. The AI and ML-assisted classes are useful for learners. However, it can cut down the employment of teachers. Various planning and act was passed to reform the Chinese education system with artificial intelligence and machine language. On the other hand, this education process is interesting, customized, and unsupervised based. It was observed that the human touch study process is more satisfying and clears doubts easily. The key object of data gathering sensor-based network is accumulating all the data from the nodes and sending those sensed data to the base station. These nodes are basically working while focusing on one thought: all the nodes present in the sensor-based system are well aware of all the other nodes currently working in the same network and transmitting data in the base station. Although AI comes with a few challenges like lack of resources, training, and various security issues, if these are overcome with proper strategies, AI can be the equipment to reign in the 21st century. Additionally, LLMs and NLP modeling are described in the results that helped to understand the use of different models. Moreover, the Benefits of LLMs and NLP for Chinese language training are discussed in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-native aquatic species have caused profound ecological and physical impacts in many waterbodies, and in China many non-native species are known for their ecological displacements and the changes they have induced in a diversity of wetland categories. Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), a free-floating aquatic vascular plant native to South America, is a highly invasive species that has been introduced in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean. This species was brought to China over 500 years ago, and it has become a widespread and aggressively invasive species. A lack of biological and ecological information has limited the effective management and control of this invasive species in China. Through field investigations and a literature review we present water lettuce's pathway of introduction (as a medicinal herb and its use in artificial wetlands), its capability to colonize and establish feral populations, its distribution in China (Eastern and Southwest of China), and its ecological and societal impacts. We hope that this study can provide useful information for the management of this species and other non-native aquatic plants in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global pandemic caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 has posed significant risks to our health. Preventive measures such as closed management have greatly affected the economies, environments and societies of various countries. Economy, air pollution and income are three important interconnected aspects of sustainable development. However, current research lacks systematic quantitative analysis of their relationships. To fill the gap, this study adopts monthly data from January 2016 to April 2022 and constructs both a Simultaneous Equation Model (SEM) and a Time Varying Parameter Stochastic Volatility Vector Autoregressive (TVP-SV-VAR) model to empirically analyze the impact of COVID-19 on China's economy, air pollution and income. This study finds that the COVID-19 has a negative impact on China's economy and income, and a positive impact on air pollution, and the impact of the COVID-19 is systematic. In addition, there is an inverted-U shaped relationship between air pollution and economics, and a positive correlation between economic and income. The impact of COVID-19 on the economy, air pollution and income show a process of sharp fluctuations to gradual stabilization that gradually stabilized over time. This process is time-varying in the short-term, medium-term and long-term. The impacts are persistent at three different time points (before, during and after the outbreak of COVID-19), but the negative impact on the economy and income is persistent, while the positive impact on air pollution is limited. This study provides a more systematic and dynamic understanding of the COVID-19 preventive and mitigation measures in China and even the world, which helps to provide insights into the formulation of more comprehensive planning strategies in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common hospital-acquired infections for intensive care units in China. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, "Lockdown Wuhan" and other infection control strategies had been implemented in China. The impact of the policies on VAP prevention was estimated in a non-COVID-19 dedicated hospital. Methodology: We analyzed the VAP trends of 6 intensive care units in a non-COVID-19 dedicated hospital from 2018 to 2020 by Joinpoint regression analysis. The information related to infected VAP patients, VAP surveillance were retrieved from an active surveillance system. Results: There was an obvious decrease in the overall admissions and inpatients of ICUs since January 2020. The overall incidence of VAP was 6.1 episodes per 1000 IMV days. The 30-day case fatality was 16.8%. Generally, the utility rate of IMV ranged from 18.2% to 38.9% respectively, raising with the monthly percent change (MPC): 1.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.8%, 2.2%] from January 2018 to February 2020 by Joinpoint regression analysis. A continuous decline with the MPC: -1.9% (95% CI: -3.2%, -0.5%) of VAP incidence was demonstrated. However, this trend varied among the different ICUs. We found no significant difference neither in 30-day case fatality nor pathogens of VAP patients. Conclusions: By Joinpoint regression analysis, we can see February 2020 was an important time point. The surveillance indicators were changed, which influenced the VAP incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While in-service teachers’ professional commitment has gained significant attention in recent years, researches on pre-service teachers’ professional commitment is still insufficient, particularly with regard to the effect that professional learning communities play on pre-service teachers’ professional commitment. In this context, this study employed mixed methods to investigate the impact of workshops for teaching competitions as a professional learning community on pre-service teachers’ professional commitment in China. A questionnaire survey was administered to pre-service teachers who had workshop experiences (n = 43) and their classmates who did not have workshop experiences (n = 98) to examine the effect of workshops for teaching competitions as a professional learning community on pre-service teachers’ professional commitment. Follow up qualitative interviews with 5 pre-service teachers with workshop experiences were conducted to explain the reasons behind such effects. The results showed that workshop experiences had significant and positive effects on pre-service teachers’ professional commitment and the characteristics of shared vision, collaboration, and reflective dialogue affected their professional commitment from three perspectives: commitment to teaching as a career, personal time investment, and interest in professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of agriculture and tourism heavily depends on agricultural resources, and in turn, it can also contribute to agricultural sustainability. Based on panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2008 to 2019, the relationship between agriculture and tourism integration and sustainable agricultural development is empirically analysed using the fixed effect model, system GMM model and spatial Durbin model. Results are as following: (1) The level of sustainable agricultural development (SADL) and the level of integration of agriculture and tourism (ATL) increase steadily during the study period, presenting obvious spatial agglomeration characteristics. (2) ATL has a positive impact on SADL. So improving the integration of agriculture and tourism can contribute to promoting sustainable agricultural development. (3) SADL of the previous period has a significant influence on the level of SADL of the current period, showing strong path dependence and inertia effects. Even so, the integration of agriculture and tourism is still effective in promoting the sustainable development of agriculture. (4) The effect of ATL on SADL has a spatial spillover effect. That is, the integration of agriculture and tourism in a region can promote sustainable development of agriculture in its neighbouring provinces. Based on the above findings, this paper proposes policy recommendations for the integral development of agriculture and tourism and promotion of the sustainable development of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial transformation and upgrading is a key variable for developing countries to become developed countries. In China's institutional environment, the central government's decisions regarding the spatial allocation of land resources cause a differentiation in the evolution of industrial structures and formats among regions, generating significant impacts on urban industrial transformation and upgrading (UITU), with important policy implications. Using panel data from 276 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2019, this study constructs a spatial panel econometric model and a mediating effect model to reveal how land spatial misallocation (LSM) affects UITU. The results show that, LSM is not conducive to UITU, and this adverse effect is greater in cities with a relative land supply shortage than in cities with a relative land supply surplus. Further research finds that the LSM caused by the relative land supply shortage affects the UITU mainly through intermediate mechanisms that crowd out the investments and financing for real industries and inhibit residents' demand and innovation, and the LSM caused by the relative land supply surplus affects the UITU mainly through intermediate mechanisms that enhance the survival of low-end industries and disrupt the institutional environment. From these findings, this study not only puts forward specific policy recommendations for optimizing the allocation of land resources in China to promote UITU, but also discusses the implications for related research and practice in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural gentrification has been a common phenomenon in most metropolis peripheral rural areas against the rapid urbanization in China. The impact of rural gentrification is also of great significance for rural revitalization. In this study, Shannon Entropy Values and comprehensive index of land use were calculated using four phases of high-resolution remote sensing images in the year 2004, 2010, 2015, and 2021. Taking the Xiaobao Village in Beijing China as a case study, the data was collected from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The impact of rural gentrification on the rural areas in the metropolitan periphery was explored from the perspective of population-land-industry integration. The results were as follows. 1) There were three influences of rural gentrification on the study area, including economic, spatial, and social restructuring. In the economic restructuring, the agriculture and traditional industry were gradually replaced by the service sectors. Specifically, the cultural and creative industries were dominant ones during this time, while the education and training, commerce, and catering industries were important complements. The housing rent, land revenue, and employment in the service sectors replaced the traditional means of livelihood and channeled new sources of income. Meantime, three income ranges emerged to widen the income gap between villagers. In the spatial restructuring, the area percentage of land for the cultural and creative industry raised from 10.89% in 2010 to 29.61% in 2021, whereas, the area percentage of industrial land dropped from 41.11% to 19.30% in the same period. The residential land was shifted into the mixed land with the integrated functions of production and living, as the cultivated land and industrial land were transformed into the service industry land. The rural settlement environment was considerably improved, particularly with the increase and expansion of green land. In the social restructuring, there was a complex social network with the old and new gentrifiers, as the first large group and villagers as the second. Different groups were linked by three types of ties, including blood ties, lease, and service relationships. The new gentrifiers with the higher economic status replaced the old one, rather than villagers reported in other studies. As such, a new cultural space formed with the urban and art culture. 2) Four stages were divided for the rural gentrification in the study area, ranging from spontaneous (1990-2003), government-organized (2004-2010), and market-driven (2011-2014) to transformation and adjustment stage (since 2015). There was a profound impact on the social and economic development and spatial evolution of the study area. Furthermore, the population-land-industry relationship in Xiaobao Village was transformed from the state of “simple and homogeneous factors loosely connected”, “multiple and differentiated factors loosely linked”, and “multiple and divided factors strongly integrated” to “complexly mixed factors strongly coupled”. Consequently, the village was shifted from the traditional homogeneous space featured by the functions of living and production, rural differentiated space characterized by the functions of traditional industrial production, half rural and half urban space marked by functions of a new type of industrial production, to the new type rural space featured by the mixed functions of living, production, and consumption in different stages of rural gentrification. This finding can provide some implications for rural gentrification with Chinese characteristics under the background of rapid urbanization. A scientific reference can also be offered to the rural revitalization in the peripheral areas of the metropolis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flash drought occurs in a short timescale and has more adverse impacts on society and ecosystems than regular drought. Considering flash drought as a special type of regular drought and identifying it by the rate of the first intensification period might ignore posterior intensification periods. To this end, we introduced the combinatorial decomposable flash drought identification framework (CDFDI) to identify flash drought from the perspective of regarding it as the subphase of drought and explore the characteristics and vegetation response of flash drought in the Loess Plateau (LP), China, where is prone to drought and its ecological environment is very fragile. The neffectiveness of the framework is evaluated through the comparison analysis with a preexisting identification method proposed by Li et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1217-2020). Results indicate that: (a) the CDFDI framework can better capture flash drought events than the Liu's method in terms of time series and spatial patterns, its rationality was further demonstrated by the obvious latitudinal pattern of correlation between flash drought and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI); (b) the correlation shows an southeast (positive) and northwest (negative) contrasting pattern in the LP; (c) such contrasting pattern was also found in the response time of GPP, which suggests a more rapid impact on vegetation of flash drought in the arid northwestern LP; and (d) flash drought shows an exacerbating trend across the LP under the background of climate warming and mainly concentrated in the southern part. In general, this study provides new insights on flash drought connotations in a changing environment. Plain Language Summary: Flash drought is an extreme disaster in which drought condition develops rapidly. Identification method considering flash drought as a special type of regular drought and regarding it as an entire drought event has potential limitations. In this study, we develop a new flash drought identification framework that considers it as the subphase of regular drought to fill this gap, and use it to explore the flash drought characteristics and vegetation response in the Loess Plateau (LP). The framework showed a better performance in capturing flash drought compared with the method proposed by Li et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1217-2020). It can be found that the southern LP is the hotspot of flash drought and large areas of the LP are dominated by summer. Larger exacerbating trend was also observed in the southeastern part which could be related to the warming climate. The correlation between flash drought and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is positive in the southeastern LP and negative in the northwestern LP, and such contrasting pattern was also found in the response time of GPP, where the value is much shorter in the arid northwestern LP. It suggests a more rapid impact on vegetation of flash drought in the area that needs to be alerted. Key Points: An improved framework to identify flash drought considering it as the subphase of drought is proposed and verified in the Loess PlateauThe contrasting pattern was observed in the response of normalized difference vegetation index and gross primary production to flash drought across the Loess PlateauThe southern Loess Plateau is the hotspot of frequent and severe flash drought with an increasing trend [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A comprehensive understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood nutrition is crucial for devising effective mitigation strategies. However, existing knowledge regarding the pandemic's effect on childhood nutritional status remains limited. Furthermore, research focusing on young children aged 0-3 years is scarce., Methods: Leveraging the outbreak that originated in Wuhan in Dec 2019, the epicenter of China's first and largest outbreak, and national survey and statistical yearbook data, this study conducted a natural experimental analysis with the consideration of geographical exposure, temporal exposure and survey cohort effects to investigate the pandemic's impacts on varying nutritional indicators of infants and toddlers aged 0-36 months. A comprehensive set of sensitivity analyses, robustness checks and falsification tests were conducted. The potential heterogeneities across socioeconomic and age groups were also examined., Results: The pandemic was robustly predictive of a higher weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) and length/height-for-age z-score (HAZ), and a lower likelihood of underweight. The effects of the pandemic on increasing WAZ and reducing underweight were more pronounced among children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds or aged 0-12 months. Additionally, the increasing HAZ was primarily among children from households with lower family income. Moreover, the pandemic was negatively linked to the body mass index (BMI)-for-age z-score (BAZ) of children residing in more developed cities, and positively linked to overweight/obesity among children aged 13-24 months., Conclusions: This study adds to a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on childhood nutrition. Notably, the findings highlight that weight gain attributable to the pandemic was predominantly among vulnerable children from disadvantaged backgrounds and younger age groups, who were already at a higher risk of overweight/obesity before the pandemic. Consequently, our findings imply the necessity of greater caution to the widened gap in childhood malnutrition post-pandemic. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of implementing adaptable strategies with the consideration of social justice to safeguard all children's right to optimal growth from exogenous shocks and to achieve the children-related SDGs by 2030., Competing Interests: Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate CFPS was conducted in accordance with the relevant guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved and monitored by the Biomedical Research Ethics Review Committee of Peking University (protocol code IRB00001052-14010, Beijing, China; dates of approval were updated in each survey wave). Informed written consent was obtained from every participant. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The middle and lower reaches of the Jinsha River, which is the upper reach of the Yangtze River in China, play crucial roles in the water security of people living in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The construction of 11 dams in this region has significantly altered the aquatic environment. Although researchers have investigated the effects of cascade hydropower station development in the middle and lower reaches of the Jinsha River based on factors such as flow, sediment, and fish, the overall impact of this station on the aquatic environment remains unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to comprehensively investigate the effects of cascade hydropower station development on the aquatic environment based on three factors: river, aquatic organism, and ecosystem factors. In terms of river factors, the development of cascade hydropower stations increases runoff in the dry season and decreases it in the flood season, leading to sediment deposition and water temperature stratification in cascade reservoirs, and changes in water quality. In terms of aquatic organism factors, cascade hydropower development not only changes the species composition but also reduces biodiversity. Effects of ecosystem factors including the ecological flow, value, and landscape as well as sustainability are summarized, with results indicating positive and negative impacts on river ecosystems. Finally, recommendations for future research on the effects of cascade hydropower development on the aquatic environment of rivers are provided., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper presents new evidence that explores the strengths, weaknesses and overall quality of school inspection practice in China. In one city region of Shandong Province, the research examines stakeholder perceptions of inspection purposes, processes and outcomes, as well as the potential to improve inspection practice and compulsory education quality in China. A mixed-methods empirical design was employed to conduct the research involving ten purposively selected junior high schools. Data collection methods included a survey of 364 teachers and headteachers and 13 stakeholder interviews with headteachers, teachers, as well as city and national inspectors, and an educational officer. The survey data were analysed through descriptive analysis and a repeat-measures one-way ANOVA, and the interview data were analysed thematically. The findings supply new empirical evidence regarding the context specificity of school inspection in China and identify pertinent issues regarding school inspection quality. This study overall argues that school inspection criteria and methods in Shandong province and more broadly in China could be improved by taking better account of stakeholder views and school contexts and by putting more stress on providing school-based professional improvement guidance integrated within or alongside inspection processes, instead of just intense bureaucratic monitoring of inspection outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) has generated an unprecedented degree of social and economic impact on the planet, but few researchers have explored the repercussion of COVID-19 for sustainable development (SD) and corporate social responsibility (CSR), especially from the perspective of Chinese businesses. This paper is the first to outline the priority changes of both SD and CSR over the period of COVID-19 incidence in China. An online questionnaire survey of 1161 owners and managers of Chinese companies was conducted, and respondents were asked to score the priorities of their company over the pre, during and post COVID-19 periods. The research was carried out at the end of the first COVID-19 wave in China but during the period of lockdown in some parts of the country. It was found that there was a priority change regarding three dimensions of sustainable development and 13 aspects of CSR. While the social dimension of SD was prioritized during and post COVID-19, the environmental dimension was the only one deemed to be less important and less prioritized over the longer term after the pandemic. The top three short-term CSR priorities were having in place a workplace health and safety plan, engaging in philanthropic activities and protecting biodiversity, and the top three longer-term CSR priorities were job creation, protecting biodiversity and having in place a workplace health and safety plan. Environmental protection and using clean energy were not reported as a CSR priority. The paper concludes that China's recovery mode cannot be called 'green' and suggests ways this could be changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WeChat has been developed into a unique social media and an increasing number of scholarly journals in China use it to promote their content. However, the effectiveness of WeChat promotion on academic impact is still unknown. This study selected five Chinese journals and investigated papers published in 2018, looking at reading counts on WeChat official accounts and the citations recorded on China's largest scholarly repository, China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI). The raw data were normalized to lower the effect of journal size and then stratified into four data sets of the top 50%, top 25%, top 10% and top 1%. The results indicate that significant positive correlations between WeChat reading counts and citations exist across the total data set and the data sets of top 50%, top 25% and top 10%. The data set of the top 1% could not be analysed due to the small number of papers. Three of the five journals and two data sets of the other two journals exhibit similar positive correlations. This study demonstrates that promotion of WeChat official accounts can influence the academic impact of individual papers, but further study is needed to clarify the exact thresholds and influential factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative health effects of cement plant exposure are well-known in industrial settings, but they are less well-known among the general public who live near plants. The broad objective of the review was to provide a detailed systematic analysis of the global situation of the cement industry, including generation, pollution, impact on the natural ecosystem, technological and process improvements, sustainable models, the latest laws, challenges, needs, and ways forward. As an initial evaluation, a list of critical keywords was compiled, and a search of all accessible databases was conducted (i.e., Scopus, Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar). The manuscripts published in the journal between 2011 and 2021 were included. According to the findings, India is the second largest cement producer after China, with an installed capacity of 537 million tonnes and around 7.1 percent of the world's production, up from 337.32 million tonnes in 2019. NOx, SOx, CO, CO2, H2S, VOCs, dioxins, furans, and particulate matter are all common air pollutants from cement manufacturing. Other sources of dust particles include quarrying, blasting, drilling, trucking, cement plants, fuel production, packaging, path cleaning, and slabs. Other methods of reduction play an important part in decreasing industrial emissions, resulting in lower carbon and more sustainable products. The decision-making trial, in conjunction with the DEMATEL evaluation laboratory and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique, will aid in determining the priority of climate alteration and mitigation options. Furthermore, employing sustainable techniques and technology, switching to alternative fuels will save 12% of total CO2 emissions by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2021, the Chinese government released the "Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Homework and Off-campus Training for Students in Compulsory Education" (hereinafter referred to as "Double Reduction" policy) at all levels of schooling in compulsory education system - including high schools, and offcampus education and training institutions - which were strictly implemented according to the policy. This paper briefly describes the impact of China's recent double reduction policy on the educational economic and evaluates its implementation process from macroeconomic perspective, by analyzing the private after-school and smart education industry, and by gaining an insight into the purpose and impact of the China's intention on private tutoring firms. It concludes that the "double reduction" policy has a complex and far-reaching impact on China's educational economy and on the related job market, as well as on the distribution of the family income and on education-relevant expenses, which is mainly reflected in family education costs. The findings also demonstrate that the smart education industry has rapidly grown after the launch of the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reporting on a mixed methods study carried out in China, this article explores the impact of an educational initiative some years after delivery. Taking data from a three staged longitudinal study, this paper facilitates debate about the nature of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) delivered in a transnational context. To promote such debate a typology of impact is proposed. Using initial evaluation data the researchers designed a comprehensive and detailed evaluation tool to measure the long- term impact of the training. The researchers were interested in identifying whether participation in the learning programmes, designed to encourage social constructivist approach to teaching, had a sustained impact on teachers' and whether these changes transferred into classroom practice. In an attempt to enrich research into transnational interventions such as this, an index of impact was produced and developed to create a typology for the evaluation of educational CPD when offered in an international arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated the influence of entrepreneurial education (EE) on entrepreneurial behavior (EB) through psychological capital (PC). A cross-section survey data of 1,405 college students in China were used to test the proposed hypothesis based on human capital theory and PC literature. The research found that EE had direct effects on EB and on all four sub-constructs (hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism) of PC, and that only self-efficacy positively correlated with EB and mediated the relationship between EE and EB while the other three components of PC did not. These findings contribute to the understanding of both educational and psychological effects on EB. The study also has practical implications for policymakers, managers, and educators in entrepreneurial education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat is one of the most common and productive crops in the world, and the growth and production of wheat are sensitive to climate change. Climate change affects wheat phenology by influencing sowing/maturity dates and the duration of growing stages, and ultimately affects the grain yield. Reliable prediction of changes in wheat yield is significant for maintaining global food security. However, studies addressing the potential impact of crop phenology changes on grain yield are rarely reported, which is a big challenge. Using the CERES-Wheat model and first-order differential equation models, we quantified the impact of future climate change on wheat phenology and grain yield for two periods (P1: 2011-2040; P2: 2041-2070) under three representative concentration pathways (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5) in China's twomain wheat-growing areas (Northwest SpringWheat-Growing Area(NWSWA) and Huang-Huai-Hai Winter Wheat-Growing Area (HHWWA)); the baseline period was 1981-2010. Accumulated thermal time during thewhole growing period (WGP) tends to significantly increase in NWSWA and HHWWA under all RCPs and periods. This rising accumulated thermal time will reduce the time to anthesis and maturity and shorten the vegetative growing period (VGP), reproductive growing period (RGP), and theWGP. In P2, spring wheat grain yield is projected to diminish by a regional average of 2.67% for RCP2.6, 4.07% for RCP4.5, and 5.66% for RCP8.5, which is dominated by the lower accumulated solar radiation during the VGP in NWSWA. Additionally, for the winter wheat grain yield in HHWWA in P2, its grain yield reduction is projected to decline by 4.8% (RCP2.6), 7.9% (RCP4.5), and 9.8% (RCP8.5), which is caused by increasing accumulated thermal time in the VGP. These results suggest that breeding high-temperature-tolerant varieties with high calorie requirements is an adaptive strategy to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on wheat yield in the study areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government has issued a series of policies and measures in recent years to enhance the international impact of its academic journals. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of such support measures on the overall performance of China's Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE)‐indexed journals. We aggregated China's SCIE journals together into a virtual, multi‐disciplinary 'megajournal', which we call Mega China. Based on Journal Citation Reports from 2015 to 2019, we compared Mega China with the two largest real megajournals, Scientific Reports and PLoS ONE, in terms of journal output and citation performance. The number of SCIE‐indexed journals in China and their impact factors have increased continuously every year. The total citations and h‐index of Mega China reached 489,036 and 247 in 2019, respectively. The immediacy index and impact factor of Mega China have gradually increased, in contrast to those of Scientific Reports and PLoS ONE, and reached 0.735 and 2.601, respectively, in 2019. Our analysis, by viewing all China's SCIE journals as one megajournal, provides evidence that their performance has improved under the Chinese government's new policies. Further improving China's academic journals will require fundamental reforms of the traditional Chinese publishing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic on March 11, 2020. COVID-19, the current global health emergency, is wreaking havoc on human health systems and, to a lesser degree, on animals globally. The outbreak has continued since the first report of COVID-19 in China in December 2019, and the second and third waves of the outbreak have already begun in several countries. COVID-19 is expected to have adverse effects on crop production, food security, integrated pest control, tourism, the car industry, and other sectors of the global economy. COVID-19 induces a range of effects in livestock that is reflected economically since human health and livelihood are intertwined with animal health. We summarize the potentially harmful effects of COVID-19 on livestock and possible mitigation steps in response to this global outbreak. Mitigation of the negative effects of COVID-19 and future pandemics on livestock requires the implementation of current guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in the last quarter of 2019 seriously impacted the transportation industry. Countries around the world adopted various restrictions and policies to prevent the spread of the pandemic, which resulted in a sharp drop in the demand for transportation. China was the first country to detect the pandemic and the fastest to recover. Existing policies and impacts were reviewed to analyze the impact of the pandemic on China's urban transportation sector and propose measures that may be taken to reduce the impact of COVID-19. This study reviews the impact on urban transportation system operations and how government should respond to a viral pandemic. The recovery measures during and after the pandemic and their hierarchical response system are analyzed. Furthermore, to empirically explore the effect of the recovery measures, this study adopted the Event Study Methodology (ESM) to quantitatively analyze the impact of the epidemic as well as anti-pandemic policies on the traffic flow sequence in the resurgence of COVID-19 in Beijing. The research findings provided solid policy implications and experiences for constructing sustainable urban transportation system and improve flexibility, reliability, and resilience of traffic governance in post-pandemic era. • It analyses the impact of the pandemic on the urban transportation in China and envisions effective policy measures. • A revealed preference (RP) based approach is employed to adds new insights to the impact analysis and policy implication. • China's experience has important significance in determining best practices for other countries. • The findings provide useful insights for effective transportation policy governance in post-pandemic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is not only an important ecological barrier in north China, but also an important agricultural production base and energy base in China, playing a very important role in China's economic and social development and ecological security. Under the combined actions of climate change and human activities, a series of ecological and environmental problems have emerged in the YRB, including degradation of glaciers and frozen soil, shortage of water resources, land desertification, aggravated soil and water loss, frequent floods and droughts, and reducing biodiversity. Warmer and wetter climate over the upper reaches and warmer and drier one in the middle and lower reaches have profoundly affected the ecological security of the YRB. In the future, the temperature in the YRB will continue to rise, extreme events will increase and the climate pattern of drought and water shortage will not be changed fundamentally, which will make the basin face more severe ecological security risks. For the current ecological problems and future ecological security risk challenges, it is necessary and urgent to take adaptive measures to deal with climate change and protect the ecological environment. The measures mainly include: strengthening the scientific research on the impact of climate change and extreme events on the ecological environment of the YRB and improving the ability of climate change risk management; strengthening the water conservation and protection in the upper reaches, the management of desert and soil erosion in the middle reaches and the ecological protection of water resources and wetlands in the lower reaches in the YRB and; collaborating with multiple departments to jointly tackle the ecological security challenges brought by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The paper examines global research output (1656 records) on "Impact of Covid-19 on Sleep Disorders", based on publications indexed in Scopus database. The global publications on this theme averaged 15.05 citations per paper. About 19.02% share of its total publications on this theme received external funding support and averaged 34.59 citations per paper. Ninety five countries unevenly partcipitated in global research output on "Impact of Covid-19 on Sleeping Disorders", of which the top 10 most productive countries accounted for 87.62% and more than 100% share in global publications and citations. The USA, China and Italy led in global publications ranking and productivity as against China (2.52), U.K.(2.26) and Italy (1.67) leading in terms of relative citation index. The 527 organizations and 773 authors participated in global research on this theme, with top 15 most productive organizations and authors contributing to 21.62% and 6.28% global publications share and 63.70% and 56.20% global citations share. Huazhong University of Science & Technology, China, and Tongji Medical College, China and Harvard Medical School, USA were the most productive global organizations (with 40, 38 and 33 papers) and Capital Medical University, China (153.85 and 10.22), Wuhan University, China (109.33 and 7.26) and Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, China (108.10 and 7.18) were the leading most impactful organizations in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. Z. Liu, S. Grover and G. Wang were the most productive authors (with 9, 8 and, 8). L.Kang (395.17 and 26.26), Y. Wang (395.17 and 26.26) and, S. Ma (322.0 and 21.4) were the most impactful authors. International Journal of Environment Research & Public Health, Sleep Medicine and Frontiers in Psychiatry were the most productive journals (with 73, 69 and 49 papers). Brain, Behavior & Immunity (86.04)., Asian Journal of Psychiatry (46.78), Psychiatry Research (41.15) were the most impactful journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a analysis of quantitative and qualitative dimensions of global research output (3488 records) on "Impact of COVID-19 on Children and Adolescents", based on indexed publications in Scopus database. The global publications on this theme averaged 8.31 citations per paper. About 1.49% share of its total publications in this area received external funding support. The 145 countries partcipitated in global research output on "Impact of COVID-19 on Children and Adults", of which the top 10 countries accounted for 85.21% and more than 100% share of global publications and citations. The USA, U.K. and Italy leads in global publications ranking and productivity as against China (3.16), U.K (1.28) and USA (1.27) leading in terms of relative of relative citation index. The 412 organizations and 661 authors participated in global research on this theme, with top 15 most productive organizations and authors contributing 21.07% and 4.30% global publications share and 38.05% and 12.98% global citations share. Harvard Medical School, USA, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China and Tongji Medical College, China leads the world as the most productive organizatons (with 480, 67 and 63 publications) and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China (31.97 and 3.85), Tongji Medical College, China (19.92 and 2.40) and Children Hospital of Philadelphia, USA (19.30 and 2.32) leading as the most impactful organizations in the world in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. D.Buonsensov, C.Calvo and X. Lu were the most productive authors (with 15, 12 and 12 papers) and X.Lu (103.83 and 12.49), A. Licari ( 40.11 and 4.83) and G.L. Marseglia( 34.09 and 4.1) were the most impactful authors. JAMA Pediatrics, Pediatrics Infectious Disease Journal and Acta Paediatrica International Journal of Pediatrics were the most productive journals (with 71, 60 and 58 papers) and Pediatrics (36.59, JAMA Pediatrics (19.49) and Acta Paediatrica International Journal of Pediatrics (14.93) were the most impactful journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Zhalong National Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang Province of China, 24 sampling sites were set up in spring (May), summer (August) and autumn (October) of 2019. According to the hydrological conditions and sampling feasibility of the study area, metazooplankton, environmental factors and the correlation between metazooplankton functional groups and environmental factors were analysed and discussed. Results show that, a total of 52 species of metazooplankton were identified, including 36 species of rotifers belonging to 17 genera, 8 species of Cladocera and 2 orders of copepods. The metazooplankton can be divided into 7 functional groups: Rotifers filter feeders (RF), Rotifers carnivore (RC), Small copepods and claocera filter feeders (SCF), Middle copepods and claocera filter feeders (MCF), Middle copepods and claocera carnivore (MCC), Large copepods filter feeders (LCF) and Large copepods carnivore (LCC). The functional groups showed a seasonal succession pattern of RF/RC/SCF → RF/RC/MCC → RF/RC/LCC. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) showing that The main water environmental factors affecting the distribution of metazooplankton functional groups were water temperature (WT), biological oxygen demand (BOD5), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), total phosphorus (TP) and chloride (Cl -). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global status of the COVID-19 pandemic is not optimistic. This is a particularly vulnerable time for patients with pre-existing headache disorders. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on headache patients in China.Methods: A survey was conducted through an online survey platform on June 6, 2020. Demographic characteristics, the PHQ-9, the ISI, a COVID-19 questionnaire and a headache profile survey were included in the online questionnaire.Results: Eventually, a total of 15,000 participants from China completed the online questionnaire. Among them, 2806 participants had pre-existing headache disorders. Our analysis showed reductions in the duration of headaches (3.414 ± 6.859 vs 4.033 ± 7.325 h, P<0.001), number of headache days per month (1.788 ± 2.989 vs 2.092 ± 3.694, P<0.001), and headache intensity (4.110 ± 1.609 vs 4.290 ± 1.680, P<0.001) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Smoking (OR = 1.397, 95% CI 1.090 to 1.790, P = 0.008) and getting support from family members during social isolation (OR = 1.656, 95% CI 1.075 to 2.550, P = 0.022) were independent factors affecting the reduction in the duration of headaches. Education level (OR = 1.478, 95% CI 1.103 to 1.980, P = 0.009) and having a relative or acquaintance who contracted COVID-19 (OR = 0.643, 95% CI 0.458 to 0.902, P = 0.011) were the independent factors affecting the reduction in headache severity. Living in the Wuhan area, having symptoms or a diagnosis of COVID-19 and having relatives or acquaintances who had contracted COVID-19 were associated with the worsening of headaches.Conclusions: Participants experienced an overall trend towards the improvement of headaches during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family support might play an important role in the improvement of headaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The different impacts of El Niño on the East Asian summer precipitation (EASP) between its developing and decaying stages are investigated in observations. The EASP responses are almost opposite between the two stages, with an anomalous wet (dry) in Southeast China and an anomalous dry (wet) in North China in the developing (decaying) summer. In the developing summer, El Niño influence on EASP is through its direct impact of the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the tropical Pacific, which induces heating perturbations that excite an upper‐level zonally propagating wave train in mid‐latitude and a lower‐level meridional wave train along the East Asian coast. In contrast, in the decaying summer, El Niño affects EASP through the El Niño‐generated SST anomalies outside the equatorial Pacific, which are combined to produce an uplift of geopotential height around the upper‐level tropics and a lower‐level Pacific‐Japan (PJ) wave train. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Live, attenuated and inactivated hepatitis A vaccines are both immunogenic and show long-term duration of protection. • Live, attenuated and inactivated hepatitis A vaccines have similar per-dose safety profiles. • Use of either vaccine results in similar population immunity and low incidence of hepatitis A. In 2008, China introduced live, attenuated hepatitis A vaccine (L-HepA, licensed in 1992) and inactivated hepatitis A vaccine (I-HepA, licensed in 2002) nationwide, and is currently the only country using L-HepA in routine immunization. We assessed seropositivity and its duration following vaccination, safety, and association with hepatitis A incidence and population seroprevalence for I-HepA and L-HepA. We obtained seroprevalence data from two nationwide serosurveys (in 1992 and 2014), vaccination status from the 2014 serosurvey, and vaccine safety and disease incidence data from the national surveillance system. We compared long-term HAV seropositivity among vaccine recipients and described safety profiles of both vaccines. We categorized the 31 provinces into those predominately using I-HepA and achieving high coverage (n = 4), those predominately using L-HepA achieving high coverage (n = 4), and those predominately using L-HepA achieving lower coverage (n = 23). We compared population HAV seropositivity, coverage, and disease incidence among the three groups. One year after vaccination, seropositivity from I-HepA was significantly higher than from L-HepA (97.8% vs 90.7%), and seropositivity declined to 73.5% for L-HepA and 75.4% for I-HepA after 10 years – not significantly different by vaccine. The annual incidence of serious AEFI was <0.5/100 000 for both vaccines. Prior to licensure of either HepA vaccine, provinces that would go on to predominantly use I-HepA had lower incidences of hepatitis A and lower seropositivity levels to HAV than provinces that would go on to use L-HepA. By 2014, these differences were significantly diminished. Regardless of vaccine selection, all three province groups had lower immunity to HAV among individuals born during the 10 years prior to nationwide vaccine introduction – individuals who were 10 to 24 years old in 2014. Evidence of good immunogenicity, safety, and impact on incidence supports continued use of both I-HepA and L-HepA in the EPI system. These results may be useful for countries considering integrating HepA vaccines into their routine programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Organized breast and cervical cancer screening programme could only provide services at no cost for a fraction of socioeconomic-deprived women in China and other low-resource countries, however, little evidence exists for whether such a programme effectively affect the participation and inequalities at the population level.Methods: We used individual-level data from a nationally cross-sectional survey in 2014-2015 for breast and cervical cancer screening participation. Data for intervention and comparison grouping were from 2009 to 2014 national breast and cervical cancer screening programme, and counties covered by the programme were divided into intervention group. We assessed the impact of the intervention on the participation rates and the magnitude of inequalities with two approaches: multivariable multilevel logistic regressions adjusting for individual- and region-level covariates; and a difference analysis combined with propensity score matching that estimated the average intervention effect.Results: Of 69,875 included women aged 35-64 years, 21,620 were classified into the intervention group and 43,669 into the comparison group for breast cancer screening; and 31,794 into the intervention group, and 33,682 into the comparison group for cervical cancer screening. Participation rate was higher in intervention group than comparison group for breast cancer screening (25.3, 95% confidential interval [CI], 22.8-27.7%, vs 19.1, 17.4-20.7%), and cervical cancer screening (25.7, 23.8-27.7%, vs 21.5, 19.6-23.5%), respectively. Intervention significantly increased the likelihood of participation for both breast cancer and cervical cancer screening in overall women, rural women and urban women, whereas the effect was significantly higher in rural women than urban women. The average intervention effect on the participation rate was an increase of 7.5% (6.7-8.2%) for breast cancer screening, and 6.8% (6.1-7.5%) for cervical cancer screening, respectively. The inequalities were significantly decreased by 37-41% (P < 0.001) between rural and urban, however, were slightly decreased or even increased in terms of age, education status, and household income.Conclusions: Organized breast and cervical cancer screening programme targeting for a fraction of women could increase the participation rates at population level, however, it could not significantly affect socioeconomic-introduced inequalities. Further studies are need to conduct time-series analyses and strengthen the causal correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We investigate the impacts of HSR entry on air cargo traffic in China. • We quantify the distance level impacts of HSR entry on air belly-hold cargo traffic. • We utilize Chinese air cargo traffic data from January 2011 to December 2017. • The impacts of HSR on belly-hold cargo traffic are stronger among medium-haul flights Freighter cargo volumes and frequencies increase after the entry of HSR. Air cargo is vital to the modern supply chain because it provides efficient and timely delivery. In the past decade, the development of high-speed rail (HSR) in China has resulted in significant impacts on air cargo traffic, which has long been neglected by the existing studies. In this research, we quantify such impacts using HSR entry dummy variables and employ a panel regression approach to capture the impacts, specifically, the impacts on air cargo volumes and flight frequencies. We conduct a case study using quarterly air cargo traffic data in China, which contains 321 city pairs and spans between January 2011 and December 2017. We separately analyze the impacts on belly-hold cargo (carried by combi or passenger aircraft) traffic and freighter cargo (carried by freighters) traffic. We first capture the general impacts on belly-hold cargo traffic and freighter cargo traffic for all city pairs. Then, to quantify the distance level impacts on belly-hold cargo traffic, we categorize city pairs into multiple groups according to their distance and apply the panel regression approach in each group. Our main results include: (1) The entry of HSR services reduces the belly-hold cargo volumes and flight frequencies by 21.9% and 19.4%, respectively; (2) The strongest impacts on belly-hold cargo volumes and flight frequencies are observed in the medium-haul group within a distance of 800–1300 km; (3) After the entry of HSR services, the cargo volumes and flight frequencies of freighter cargo generally increase by 22.3% and 20.9%, respectively; (4) The whole air cargo traffic in the measurement of cargo volumes and flight frequencies decreases after the entry of HSR, and the impacts on whole air cargo volumes are relatively smaller than the belly-hold cargo volumes in the short-haul (no more than 800 km) and long-haul (more than 1300 km) groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual management of 67 million tonnes of waste and recycling streams poses significant environmental pollution and regulatory challenges to Australian governments. While the Australian government has carriage of waste and recycling policy and coordination, operational aspects rest with state-territory and local governments. This research examined stakeholder perspectives and, while lacking in individual and community client data inputs, exposed regulatory limitations, waste and recycling problems and issues, and forward trajectories for waste policies and programs. Regulatory pluralism theory served as the study's lens, showing that the rapid rise in waste production and reduced waste transfers to China will require a composite of improved waste regulations, landfill and waste handling management practices; additional recycling behaviour modification incentives; and domestic and international waste and recyclate markets development. In addition, the analysis highlighted the important leadership role for the federal tier of waste governance in product stewardship reform, and the advancement of waste and recycling infrastructure development under new national cabinet and federal reform arrangements. Importantly, from the theory perspective, the research built into the cumulative tradition of pluralistic regulatory systems development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), originated in Wuhan city of China, has spread rapidly around the world, sending billions of people into lockdown. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus epidemic a pandemic. In light of rising concern about the current COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of universities across the world have either postponed or canceled all campus events such as workshops, conferences, sports, and other activities. Universities are taking intensive measures to prevent and protect all students and staff members from the highly infectious disease. Faculty members are already in the process of transitioning to online teaching platforms. In this review, the author highlight the potential impact of Lockdown down faced by nursing teachers while implementing Teaching, Learning & Evaluation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Precipitation-related extremes are among the most impact-relevant consequences of a warmer climate, particularly for China, a region vulnerable to global warming and with a large population. Understanding the impacts and risks induced by future extreme precipitation changes is critical for mitigation and adaptation planning. Here, extreme precipitation changes under different levels of global warming and their associated impacts on populations in China are investigated using multimodel climate projections from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 and population projections under Shared Socio-economic Pathways. Heavy precipitation would intensify with warming across China at a rate of 6.52% (5.22%–8.57%) per degree of global warming. The longest dry spell length would increase (decrease) south (north) of ~34°N. The low warming target of the Paris Agreement could substantially reduce the extreme precipitation related impacts compared to higher warming levels. For the area weighted average changes, the intensification in wet extremes could be reduced by 3.22%, 9.42% and 16.70% over China, and the lengthening of dry spells could be reduced by 0.72%, 4.75% and 5.31% in southeastern China, respectively, if global warming is limited to 1.5 °C as compared to 2, 3 and 4 °C. The Southeastern China is the hotspot of enhanced impacts due to the dense population. The impacts on populations induced by extreme precipitation changes are dominated by climate change, while future population redistribution plays a minor role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk consequences analysis of dam breach is fundamental to risk assessment of reservoir dams. Multiple influencing factors and complex mechanisms lead to great differences between the analysis results of different research methods and the actual consequences. It is suggested that risk consequences can be divided into three basic categories:loss of life,economic loss and environmental impact,based on their definitions. According to the analysis of research achievements and applications abroad,the development trend that physical model based on disaster-causing mechanism takes place of empirical model based on historical data is clarified. Based on the analysis of research status of dam breach risk consequences assessment in China,both advantages and disadvantages of three main research methods,i.e. analysis based on empirical model and disaster-causing mechanism,semi-quantitative evaluation and superposition calculation of regional losses,are clarified in terms of accuracy and practicability. It is proposed that the risk consequences research and practical application can be improved in four aspects,i.e.,strengthening the analysis of disaster-causing mechanism,paying attention to the combination of accuracy and practicability,emphasizing the important roles of non-engineering measures and improving the research constantly during application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A form of natural rock marking is described from a site on the coast of Fujian in China. Having been defined as rock art, it has now been found to be natural, caused by the release of massive kinetic energy in collisions between large blocks of granite. A combination of compressive and tensile stresses has yielded geometric changes to the fabric of the rock, and the selective weathering of modified parts of the rock has produced visually distinct, large surface markings resembling a rising Sun. The processes involved are considered in the light of research into the similar effects of explosives on rock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) against COVID-19 may have affected the transmission of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). We aimed to assess the impact of the NPIs on HFMD in the high epidemic area of HFMD, Guangdong Province., Methods: The data of HFMD cases, etiological information, and meteorological factors in Guangdong from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2021, were collected. Using a Bayesian structural time series (BSTS) model integrated counterfactual framework, we assessed the effect of NPIs on HFMD by different intervention periods, populations (gender, age, occupation), and cities. We further explored the correlation between the reduction of HFMD and socioeconomic factors in 21 cities., Results: A total of 351,217 HFMD cases were reported and 455,327 cases were averted in Guangdong Province during 2020-2021 with a reduction of 84.94% (95%CI: 81.63-87.22%) in 2020 and 29.49% (95%CI: 15.26-39.54%) in 2021. The impact of NPIs on HFMD differed by age and gender. The effects of NPIs were more remarkable for children aged 0-2 years and scattered children. We found that the relative reductions in 21 cities were related to the composition ratio of children and COVID-19 incidence., Conclusion: The reduction of HFMD incidence was significantly associated with COVID-19 NPIs, and school closure was an effective intervention to prevent HFMD outbreaks. Our findings will contribute to the development of HFMD prevention and control measures., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Yang, Zhu, Zeng, Rong, Hu, Li, Zhao, Zeng, Li, Quan, Zhang, Huang, Li, Huang, Zheng, Xu, Li, Chen, Xiao and Zhang.)

Soil-transmitted helminths continue to be a serious problem causing disease and morbidity globally. Children, mostly school-aged, are more at risk of these infections. The main strategy for control remains to be the mass drug administration (MDA) of antihelminthic drugs. With the limitation of MDA to prevent re-infection, the need for additional approaches such as hygiene education and improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure are required. Although the importance of health education as a crucial component of an integrated approaches to STH control is highlighted, this component has often been disregarded because the other more complex solutions have been the focus of most studies and programmes. We performed literature searches from four bibliographic databases - Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library - to determine availability of studies on the impact of health education interventions targeting STH infections on schoolchildren in Southeast Asia. Our review found only three studies that evaluated health education interventions targeting children. The current lack of evidence in this area suggests the need for more studies assessing the impact of health education intervention for STH control. A successful health education programme for STH called "The Magic Glasses" has been developed targeting schoolchildren in China and the Philippines. This public health intervention displayed significant impact in terms of improving knowledge, attitude and practices, reducing prevalence of STH infections in schoolchildren and encouraging compliance to MDA. This article details the successes and benefits of the Magic Glasses programme as a promising control tool for STH in the Southeast Asian region., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Among the assortment of available dressings aimed at promoting wound healing, moist dressings have gained significant popularity because of their ability to create an optimal environment for wound recovery. This meta-analysis seeks to compare the effects of moist dressing versus gauze dressing on wound healing time. A comprehensive literature search was conducted, encompassing publications up until April 1, 2023, across multiple databases including PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Cochrane Library. Stringent criteria were used to determine study inclusion and evaluate methodological quality. Statistical analyses were performed utilizing Stata 17.0. A total of 13 articles, encompassing 866 participants, were included in the analysis. The findings indicate that moist dressing surpasses gauze dressing in terms of wound healing time (standard mean difference [SMD] -2.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] -3.35 to -1.66, p < 0.01; I 2  = 97.24%), wound site infection rate (odds ratio [OR] 0.30, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.54, p < 0.01; I 2  = 39.91%), dressing change times (SMD -3.65, 95% CI -5.34 to -1.97, p < 0.01; I 2  = 96.48%), and cost (SMD -2.66, 95% CI -4.24 to -1.09, p < 0.01; I 2  = 94.90%). Subgroup analyses revealed possible variations in wound healing time based on wound types and regions. This study underscores the significant advantages associated with the use of moist dressings, including expedited wound healing, reduced infection rates, decreased frequency of dressing changes, and lower overall treatment costs., (© 2023 The Authors. International Wound Journal published by Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of autologous platelet concentrates (APCs) on wound area reduction based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library to identify relevant literature. The primary outcome measure was the percentage of wound area reduction. Secondary outcome measures included wound healing time and the incidence of infection. A total of 14 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that the percentage of wound area reduction was significantly greater in the APCs group compared to conventional treatments (standardized mean difference [SMD] 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27-2.68, p < 0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed that the percentage of wound area reduction varied based on wound location, follow-up duration, and type of APCs used. The healing time and incidence of infection presented no significant difference between the two groups. The findings suggest that APCs can effectively reduce wound areas when compared to conventional treatments, without increasing the risk of infection. In addition, the effectiveness of APCs in wound area reduction may vary depending on factors such as wound location, type of APCs used, and follow-up duration., (© 2023 The Authors. International Wound Journal published by Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Marine plastic waste has become an ever-increasing environmental threat in the world's ocean largely due to their unique properties and ubiquitous occurrence. They include diverse forms of land- and ocean-based sources of plastics and are estimated to account for up to 85% of marine debris worldwide. As secondary pollutants, marine microplastic particles (<5 mm) are derived from pellet loss and degradation of macroplastics. Up to now, several reports have proposed negative impacts of both macro-sized and micro-sized plastics on marine biota. As one of the rapidly growing economies, China is the topmost contributor of plastic waste in the world. China's massive impact on the plastic levels of the ocean are a definite cause of concern and is developing multiple economic, environmental and biological complications. The research of plastics impact on coastal environments in China is only incipient. Here we review the available information on plastic waste, their impacts on marine biota and human health, and Chinese government policies and management initiatives. Although Chinese coastal environments (surface water, coastal sediments, water column) are affected by microplastics pollution, both from land-based and sea-based activities, their impacts on marine biota remain to be elucidated. Though national-level policies are modern and well suited for minimizing the impacts of plastic pollution, there is hardly any legislation for containment of microplastic pollution. Our objective is to review and summarize the information about the occurrence, impacts, and management of plastic pollution in the Chinese coastal environments in order to comprehend their widespread repercussions. Microplastics are increasingly being detected and quantified in Chinese coastal environments and legislation for containment of such pollution is highly recommended. Image 10356 • Microplastic increasingly being detected in Chinese coastal environments. • Few studies on presence, fate, and effects in coastal waters of China. • Chinese legislation for containment of plastics pollution is required. • Risk assessments needed on toxic effects of plastics and associated contaminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology (1008-0864) is the property of Journal of Agricultural Science & Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study uses the Simplified Chinese version of the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering for Adults (OASES-A-SC) to examine the stuttering experience of people in China and determine if there are differences between the data collected in China and other countries. A total of 139 responses to the OASES-A-SC were collected in an online self-help community of people in China who stutter. Descriptive analyses were conducted to obtain the understanding of how stuttering impacts the life experience of people in China who stutter. Comparisons were conducted regarding the groups of gender, highest education, and therapy history. Cross-cultural comparisons among the data collected from China, Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, and the USA were also conducted. The data for the OASES-A-SC showed a skewed distribution toward the severe end of the OASES-A impacting scale. About 93.5% participants rated the overall impact of stuttering on their life at and above the "Moderate" category. The mean scores of the General Information, Reaction to Stuttering, and Qualify of Life sections fell in the moderate-to-severe category. Compared with the data in other five countries, the Chinese data were significantly higher in the impact severity level. The results showed that people in China who stutter have more adverse experiences related to stuttering compared with their counterparts in western or developed countries. Higher negative attitudes toward stuttering in China, social stigma against people with disabilities, and the fewer professional supports were discussed to be associated with this more adverse experience. Cultural differences such as a greater power distance and higher collectivism in Chinese culture were considered to be associated with the elevated level of adverse impact of stuttering in China. • Scores for the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering for Adults (OASES-A) collected in China skewed toward the severe end. • Scores for the OASES-A collected in China are significantly higher than scores collected in western countries. • The adverse impacts may be associated with the negative attitudes, social stigma, and less professional supports. • Stuttering experience of people in China may be impacted by the larger power distance and higher level of collectivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]