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To explore email request patterns in the institutional context of university settings, this study combines speech act research with conversation analysis methods to examine how native speakers of American English and native speakers of Chinese formulate email requests to faculty. 100 authentic email requests sent by Chinese and American students who studied in a U.S. university was collected. The methodology of conversation analysis was used to investigate how imposition level of emails and senders' entitlement to make the request affect students' language choices. The findings demonstrate that Chinese students have some pragmatic infelicities in their email requests, such as underuse of internal and external modifications for high-imposition requests, presenting request head acts at the beginning of emails, and pre-assuming that the requestee would grant the request. This study finally offers pedagogical implications for teaching email requests to English learners. This study contributes to our understanding of the requestive patterns of Chinese and American students as well as the similarities and differences between emails written by American students and those written by Chinese students. It contributes to the field of cross-cultural pragmatic studies on the speech act of request by L2 speakers.

We present pedagogical reflections on teaching the concept of epistemic injustice through an undergraduate course run collaboratively at campuses in Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Sierra Leone, and the United States. Our course, entitled Solving Each Other's Public Health Problems, enabled students to engage with epistemological power structures by playing the role of both international development donor and local beneficiary. By building on discussions of real-world issues, fostering interpersonal relationships, modeling productive discourse through transparent feedback and providing intellectual space for self-reflection and empathy, the course provides a pedagogically transformative framework for international collaborative education.

Student athletes from different cultures might differ in the ways that they experience competitive anxiety, and their coaches with dissimilar cultural backgrounds might also present distinct behavioral traits in coaching. The study assessed and compared the competitive anxiety experienced by Chinese student athletes (in a collectivist culture) and American student athletes (in an individualist culture) by using a new competitive anxiety model and examined how their distinct ways of experiencing competitive anxiety might relate to the leading behaviors of Chinese and American coaches. Method: Relevant measures were administered to 258 Chinese student athletes and 214 American student athletes to assess their competitive anxiety and perceived leading behaviors of their coaches. Results: Chinese student athletes scored significantly higher on social expectation anxiety and somatic anxiety in comparison with American student athletes. Chinese student athletes perceived higher levels of training and instruction, and autocratic behaviors of coaches, and American student athletes perceived higher levels of democratic behaviors of coaches. Conclusions: This study revealed the different ways of experiencing certain aspects of competitive anxiety between Chinese and American student athletes, which could be at least partially explained by the distinct leading behaviors of Chinese and American coaches perceived by student athletes in the research.

This bibliometric study analyzed characteristics of publications related to art therapy for children from 1990 to 2020, based on the datasets taken from Web of Science (WoS) core collections. The results indicate that the USA, Israel, Germany, UK, Australia, and Canada were six leading countries in this field of research interest. The Top 5 most influential journals were identified by the number of publications, TLCS, TGCS and by their impact factor. Five leading journals in the art therapy studies include "Arts in Psychotherapy," "American Journal of Art Therapy," "Child & Family Social Work," "Frontiers in Psychology," and "Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde." Core themes from the 87 articles focus on surrounding socialization and attachment relationship, art therapy for the well-being of children with learning disabilities, alternative intervention for art therapy, and parent-child art therapy. This bibliometric study portrayed the development of art therapy for children by means of visualization techniques. The potential issues emerging from the data will contribute to future studies in this field. Multiple methods of art therapy are applied for all children's well-being; as such, children's art therapy in schools can be seen as the potential trend for researchers and teachers.

Employing critical incident technique and the constructivist grounded approach, this study conducted individual in-depth interviews with 13 undergraduate students who had experiences studying abroad in China to find out how American college students perceived their new learning environment in China, and to examine the strategies students employed to adjust to the new culture. The results provided practical suggestions for the design and implementation of study abroad programs in China, including the compatibility between the program structure and individual student's learning needs and aspirations, the use of service-based community-building activities to foster the mutual engagement in interactions between American students and host nationals, and the inclusiveness of local perspectives in American students' reflection of their cultural immersion experiences.

The quality of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) as well as the student's solve behavior in MCQs are educational concerns. MCQs cover wide educational content and can be immediately and accurately scored. However, many studies have found some flawed items in this exam type, thereby possibly resulting in misleading insights into students' performance and affecting important decisions. This research sought to determine the characteristics of MCQs and factors that may affect the quality of MCQs by using item response theory (IRT) to evaluate data. For this, four samples of different sizes from US and China in secondary and higher education were chosen. Item difficulty and discrimination were determined using item response theory statistical item analysis models. Results were as follows. First, only a few guessing behaviors are included in MCQ exams because all data fit the two-parameter logistic model better than the three-parameter logistic model. Second, the quality of MCQs depended more on the degree of training of examiners and less on middle or higher education levels. Lastly, MCQs must be evaluated to ensure that high-quality items can be used as bases of inference in middle and higher education.

Background: Research evidence supports the assertion that healthy employees are happier and more productive. Employers prefer to hire healthy workers to reduce absenteeism. Rehabilitation counselors have started to explore health promotion interventions to help individuals with chronic health conditions and disability improve their physical and mental health as a strategy to increase their employment opportunities. Purpose: The present study evaluated a self-determination theory (SDT) model of physical activity and exercise in a sample of 218 individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain using structural equation modeling. Results: The SDT model fit the data well, accounting for 54% of the variance in physical activity and exercise. Relatedness was significantly associated with autonomous motivation for physical activity and exercise. Autonomous motivation was associated with competency. Competency was associated with physical activity and exercise. Autonomous motivation and competency mediated relatedness and physical activity and exercise. Implications: This study contributes to an emerging body of theory-informed health promotion literature and identifies the specific pathways that will increase the motivation to engage in physical activity and exercise. Findings can be used to design and validate theory-driven health promotion interventions as an employment strategy for people with chronic musculoskeletal pain receiving vocational rehabilitation services.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine differences between American and Chinese students in their perceptions of school climate and engagement in school, and in the relation between school climate and engagement. Method: Confirmatory factor analyses were used to support the factor structure and measurement invariance of the two measures administered: The Delaware School Climate Survey-Student and the Delaware Student Engagement Scale. Differences in latent means were tested, and differences in relations between variables were examined using multilevel hierarchical linear modeling. Participants consisted of 3,176 Chinese and 4,085 American students, Grades 3-5, 7-8, and 10-12. Results: Chinese students perceived school climate more favorably than American students, particularly beyond elementary school. Findings were more complex for student engagement. In elementary school, American students reported greater cognitive--behavioral and emotional engagement, and especially the former. In middle school and high school, Chinese students reported greater emotional engagement; however, no significant differences were found for cognitive-behavioral engagement. Most intriguing were results of multilevel hierarchical modeling that examined associations between school climate and student engagement: They were significant in American schools but not Chinese schools. Conclusion: Chinese students, compared with American students, perceived the climate of their schools more favorably, especially after elementary school. However, among Chinese students, their perceptions of school climate were unrelated to their self-reported engagement in school--school climate did not seem to matter as much.

Studying in a second language is probably one of the greatest challenges for international students. In this study, the relationship between language preparation and the first year graduate study among East Asian international graduate students in the United States was investigated in order to provide implications and suggestions for university administrators and policymakers. Language preparation before arriving in the United States and their first year experiences were explored in order to understand the challenges that East Asian international students face. The findings from 12 interviews reveal the first year academic experience of East Asian international graduate students and the needs of this population regarding university language support. In addition, the findings allow policymakers and higher education administrators to better understand the difficulties this population faces as well as the importance of support services and mentoring programs in ensuring their academic success in the United States.

There is hardly any cross-cultural research on the measurement invariance of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scales (BMSLSS). The current article evaluates the measurement invariance of the BMSLSS across cultural contexts. This cross-sectional study sampled 7,739 adolescents and emerging adults in 23 countries. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit of configural and partial measurement weights invariance models, indicating similar patterns and strengths in factor loading for both adolescents and emerging adults across various countries. We found insufficient evidence for scalar invariance in both the adolescents' and the emerging adults' samples. A multi-level confirmatory factor analysis indicated configural invariance of the structure at country and individual level. Internal consistency, evaluated by alpha and omega coefficients per country, yielded acceptable results. The translated BMSLSS across different cultural contexts presents good psychometric characteristics similar to what has been reported in the original scale, though scalar invariance remains problematic. Our results indicate that the BMSLSS forms a brief measure of life satisfaction, which has accrued substantial evidence of construct validity, thus suitable for use in cross-cultural surveys with adolescents and emerging adults, although evaluation of degree of invariance must be carried out to ensure its suitability for mean comparisons.

This 3-year, longitudinal analysis examined the psychological and social correlates of adhering to gender-typed behaviors in friendships among boys during middle school in United States ("N" = 446, "M"[subscript age] = 11.37 years) and in China ("N" = 368, "M"[subscript age] = 12.20 years). Results indicated that boys did not differ by nationality in the mean levels or in the increase over time in adherence to gender-typed behaviors. Furthermore, adherence over time was associated with higher depressive symptoms, lower self-esteem, and lower friendship quality for boys in both countries. However, the associations between gender-typed behaviors and friendship quality and depressive symptoms were stronger for boys in the United States. Our study suggests that gender-typed behaviors play an important role in the well-being of youth in different parts of the world. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)

This study compared one lesson across four U.S. "traditional" textbook series, two U.S. reform-based textbook series, and one Chinese mathematics textbook series in teaching the connection between multiplication and division. The results showed the differences across U.S. and Chinese lessons in both the teaching and the practice parts of the lesson across three dimensions (i.e., problem schemata, response requirement, and algebra readiness). In particular, the Chinese lesson's penetrating analysis or explanation of the topic is reflected in its deliberately constructed examples and wide range of problems (pertaining to problem types and difficulty levels) present in the teaching and practice sections of the lesson. None of analyzed U.S. lessons are comparable with the Chinese lesson with respect to the breadth and depth in teaching the topic. A deliberate emphasis, both arithmetically and algebraically, on problem schema acquisition as found in the Chinese lesson represents a promotion of symbolic or higher order of conceptual understanding. The findings are discussed within the context of teaching big ideas through problem schemata acquisition and the importance of symbolic level of conceptual understanding. (Contains 5 tables.)

Based on the hypothesis that learning preferences tend to vary over cultures, this study compared and contrasted the learning approaches and learning styles between Chinese and American pre-service teachers in an attempt to know more about the learning/teaching landscapes in these two countries as "teachers teach the way they learned" [Dunn, R., & Dunn, K. (1979). Learning styles/teaching styles: Should they...can they...be matched? "Educational Leadership," 36, 243, 238-244]. The results showed significant differences between the two groups in deep and surface-learning approaches as well as kinesthetic and visual learning styles. The underlying cultural backgrounds and social-economic factors accounting for the differences were discussed and the implications for teaching and learning enhancement in teacher education were explored.

Previous studies have indicated that A-level students in the UK and Singapore have difficulty learning the topic of ionisation energy. A two-tier multiple-choice instrument developed in Singapore in an earlier study, the Ionisation Energy Diagnostic Instrument, was administered to A-level students in the UK, advanced placement high school students in the USA, and first-year university students in China, New Zealand, and Spain to determine whether the students from different countries and educational systems had similar conceptions and difficulties as the students in Singapore with the concepts assessed in the instrument. The results showed that, in general, the students in all six samples had similar alternative conceptions, which were grouped under the categories of "octet rule framework, stable fully-filled and half-filled subshell conceptions, and conservation of force thinking". The students also resorted to "relation-based thinking" when answering items involving the trend of ionisation energies across Period 3. Implications for teaching and further research are discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 2 appendices: (1) "Examples of items from the Ionisation Energy Diagnostic Instrument"; and (2) "Assessment objectives on ionisation energy in the A-level syllabus for 2001.")

Objective: The present study examined ADHD symptoms among college students in China and the United States. Method: A total of 283 (45%) American and 343 (55%) Chinese students completed the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the Current Symptoms Scale (CSS), in addition to other measures. Results: Both of the ADHD measures appear to be reliable and valid, with good internal consistency, similar factor structures, and predicted relationships with other variables, such as depression and self-esteem. However, differences exist between the cultures in gender and overall reported symptom severity. Conclusion: ADHD symptomatology is present among college students in China in a pattern similar to that found in American college students. The WURS and the CSS appear to be effective screening measures for the disorder in China, although further research on gender and cultural differences is necessary. (Contains 6 tables.)

Purpose: This 5-year longitudinal study investigated the acquisition of 6 English grammatical morphemes (i.e., regular and irregular past tense, 3rd person singular, progressive aspect-"ing", copula BE, and auxiliary DO) by 10 native Mandarin-speaking children and adolescents in the United States (arrived in the United States between 5 and 16 years of age). The goals were to chart and compare the acquisition trajectories and levels of mastery across the morphemes, identify when age-related differences emerged and which forms they took. Method: Morphological proficiency was measured by the accuracy of these morphemes in obligatory contexts during spontaneous speech. Results: The morphemes were mastered by different numbers of participants and showed different growth trajectories. Performance variance was partially predicted by age of arrival (AoAr) in the United States, with early arrivals achieving greater proficiency than late arrivals. However, such AoAr effects took several years to occur and only existed for 2 of the 6 morphemes (i.e., 3rd person singular and regular past tense). Growth curve analysis revealed that language environment was a stronger predictor of individual differences than AoAr. Results did not uncover age-related differences in the acquisition of tense versus non-tense-related morphemes, nor in regular versus irregular morphemes, nor in the error types. Conclusion: Findings support an Environmental account for age-related differences in 2nd language (L2) morphological acquisition. Results also indicate that the acquisition of some grammatical morphemes by school-aged immigrants takes several years to complete. As L2 learners exhibit some error types and difficulties similar to monolingual children with specific language impairment, caution needs to be taken when interpreting and using morphological errors as indicators of speech/language learning problems in this population. (Contains 5 tables and 6 figures.)

Service learning is a teaching method used by business faculty to link the learning goals and objectives of an academic course with meaningful community service. Although service learning has been advanced in business education in the United States and other Western countries, little has been reported on its use outside the Western context. In this article, the authors describe an experience with the introduction and implementation of a service-learning project in a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in south China. Preliminary feedback shows that students, faculty, and community partners have reported numerous benefits from the service-learning experience similar to those reported in the Western context.

The purpose of this article is to examine current arts and humanities elementary school textbooks in Taiwan and to make recommendations for the future. Using the paradigms of curriculum integration of Beane, Berton, Jacobs, and Snyder as a basis, the article compares selected current arts and humanities texts in both Taiwan and the USA, noting, first, the proportion of music versus other disciplines in each, and, second, the organizational method. Important findings are that the selected Taiwanese texts do not feature sufficient musical material in comparison with their US counterparts and also that the organizational method of the Taiwanese texts fosters confusion among teachers. Implications for the wider community include the facts that new textbooks should be piloted prior to receiving government approval, that the uniqueness of each art discipline should be preserved within carefully crafted thematic units, and that music can serve as an effective bridge between the various art disciplines. (Contains 4 figures, 1 table and 3 notes.)

Smartphones and high-speed network connections allow businesses to deliver information to customers faster and more efficiently than ever before. This study analyses the most-cited articles on smartphone online marketing. A bibliometric mapping analysis was used to search for articles related to smartphone online marketing between 2010 and 2020, retrieved from the Scopus database. The title, a number of citations, publishing year, journal, country, subject area, and authors were all recorded and evaluated. VOSviewer was used for the bibliometric study. The search yielded a total of 120 articles, with citation counts ranging from 17 to 225. All of the articles were authored in English. The United States was the region with the most articles published. The highest publication source is the Journal of Business Research. Management, accounting, and business dominated the articles. This study benefits the company and marketers with the marketing strategies used in online marketing with smartphones. In terms of marketing activities and research areas, this study suggests future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the acquisition of the English plural morpheme by monolingual English-speaking children (L1 learners) has been studied extensively, little is known about the processes through which native speakers of other languages (L2 speakers) acquire the English plural morpheme. To understand the similarities and differences between L1 and L2 English plural morpheme acquisition, 10 native Mandarin-speaking children who immigrated to the United States between ages 5 and 16 years were followed for 5 years. Their proficiency in English plural morpheme production was measured by a picture description task and by their spontaneous speech. In contrast to L1 learners who master the plural morpheme within 3 years of age, only 7 of these 10 L2 learners did so after 5 years of English exposure. Age of initial exposure to English and language environment explained individual differences to some extent. Participants' speech illustrated all error types made by L1 learners; however, L2 learners more frequently marked the same noun inconsistently in the same testing session, and more often overgeneralized the plural morpheme in singular or mass noun contexts. Differences between L2 learners and L1 learners with specific language impairment are also discussed.

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In West Viriginia, we serve a high risk, underserved patient population which is in the top 5 states for cardiovascular mortality within the US. Effective management of lipid profiles, focusing on lowering LDL cholesterol and balancing other lipid components, is vital in CAD treatment and prevention. Despite established guidelines, variability exists in managing and achieving lipid targets among CAD patients. This fellow-driven quality improvement project investigates the impact of the lipid prolife differences between CAD patients (high risk during hospitalization with MI or revascularization) referred to a lipid clinic and those who were not. We analyzed data from the CAMC data warehouse, encompassing 5,050 CAD patients from April 27th, 2022, to May 1st, 2023. Patients were divided into two cohorts: 2,060 referred to a lipid clinic and 2,990 not referred. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) analysis controlled for cardiology care differences, resulting in two matched groups of 1,870 patients each. The data indicated significant improvements in lipid profiles among the lipid clinic group. They exhibited lower levels of LDL cholesterol (51.2 mg/dL vs. 88.8 mg/dL), triglycerides (127.2 mg/dL vs. 152.2 mg/dL), and total cholesterol (119.6 mg/dL vs. 163.6 mg/dL) compared to the non-referred group, with all differences being statistically significant (P<0.01). Refer to Figure 1. This fellow driven quality improvement project demonstrates that referral to a lipid clinic is associated with significantly improved lipid profiles in high-risk CAD patients. Referral to the lipid clinic enhanced achievement of optimal LDL thresholds of < 55 mg/dL compared to non-referral patients (88 mg/dL). Given the fellow involvement in this program and dramatic impact on patient care, improvement programs via fellowship can potentially engage fellows in early career to become more focused in preventive care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and organophosphate pesticides (OPPs) posed severe threats to the aquatic environment in China. The toxicity data of 18 priority OCPs and OPPs for Chinese and American species were collected, and their species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) and ecotoxicity were compared. Physicochemical characteristics and chemical structures were used to analyze the difference in the pesticide toxicity. Results suggested that there is no significant difference between the HC 5 values (hazardous concentration protecting 95% of species) of China and America as a whole. However, the HC 5 values of nearly half of these pesticides (8/18) differ dramatically between Chinese and American due to the different resident species distribution. It indicated that it is necessary to develop local water quality criteria in China. The regression analysis of pesticides toxicity differences indicated a decrease in LC 50 /EC 50 values (for Oncorhynchus mykiss and Carassius auratu) with the increase in molecular weights of pesticides. Pesticides with larger MWs might be more toxic to aquatic species. Similar trend was also observed in the regression analysis of a decrease in both American and Chinese HC 5 values for with increase of the number of containing halogen atoms. It indicated the potency of these parameters to be used to predict the ecotoxicity of pesticide. • HC 5 s of partial pesticides between China and America are dramatically different. • A positive correlation was revealed between pesticide ecotoxicity vs. MW. • Pesticide HC 5 values is negative to the number of containing halogen atoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Fatal self-injury in the United States associated with deliberate behaviors is seriously underestimated owing to misclassification of poisoning suicides and mischaracterization of most drug poisoning deaths as "accidents" on death certificates.Objective: To compare national trends and patterns of self-injury mortality (SIM) with mortality from 3 proximally ranked top 10 causes of death: diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, and kidney disease.Data, Setting, and Participants: Underlying cause-of-death data from 1999 to 2014 were extracted for this observational study from death certificate data in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research online databases. Linear time trends were compared by negative binomial regression with a log link function. Self-injury mortality was defined as a composite of suicides by any method and estimated deaths from drug self-intoxication whose manner was an "accident" or was undetermined.Main Outcomes and Measures: Mortality rates and ratios, cumulative mortality in individuals younger than 55 years, and years of life lost in 2014.Results: There were an estimated 40 289 self-injury deaths in 1999 and 76 227 in 2014. Females comprised 8923 (22.1%) of the deaths in 1999 and 21 950 (28.8%) of the 76 227 deaths in 2014. The estimated crude rate for SIM increased 65% between 1999 and 2014, from 14.4 to 23.9 deaths per 100 000 persons (rate ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.03-1.04; P < .001). The SIM rate continuously exceeded the kidney disease mortality rate and surpassed the influenza and pneumonia mortality rate by 2006. By 2014, the SIM rate converged with the diabetes mortality rate. Additionally, the SIM rate was 1.8-fold higher than the suicide rate in 2014 vs 1.4-fold higher in 1999. The male-to-female ratio for SIM decreased from 3.7 in 1999 to 2.6 in 2014 (male by year: rate ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.97-0.98; P < .001). By 2014, SIM accounted for 32.2 and 36.6 years of life lost for male and female decedents, respectively, compared with 15.8 and 17.3 years from diabetes, 15.0 and 16.6 years from influenza and pneumonia, and 14.5 and 16.2 years from kidney disease.Conclusions and Relevance: The burgeoning SIM [self-injury mortality] rate has converged with the mortality rate for diabetes, but there is a 6-fold differential in the proportion of SIM vs diabetes deaths involving people younger than 55 years and SIM is increasingly affecting women relative to men. Accurately characterizing, measuring, and monitoring this major clinical and public health challenge will be essential for developing a comprehensive etiologic understanding and evaluating preventive and therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the feasibility and effectiveness of mobile phones for promoting physical activity among adults 50 years and older. Methods: A systematic review was conducted. Articles were searched on April 1, 2017, in databases (Pubmed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, and EBSCO) by 2 reviewers. Results: Eight articles were included. Three studies were conducted in the United States. Four studies found mobile phone interventions effective in increasing physical activity frequency. Participants found mobile phone interventions interesting, useful, and easy to use. Conclusion: Mobile phone interventions were effective in promoting physical activity among older adults, and well accepted despite certain barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professors use various strategies to improve learning. To explore what professors perceived as critical aspects of engaging instruction, we conducted a qualitative case study with seven professors in the United States. Data was collected through individual face-to-face interviews. The conversations were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. The analyses of the transcriptions were conducted using the constant comparative method. Findings from the study varied. Yet, participants agreed that an engaging instructor must focus on learning; consider various aspects of students' personal development including their cognitive, social, and emotional development; and take care of different student learning styles, for example, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Participants stressed the importance of student engagement. Body language, verbal and non-verbal cues, and eye contact were the main parameters used by the participants to evaluate student engagement. Participants also emphasized the importance of asking questions and assessing instructional effectiveness by evaluating the questions asked by students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing evidence has demonstrated that nonstandard work schedules are more prevalent among the less-educated population, and mothers' nonstandard work schedules have adverse influences on children's development. Yet, we have known relatively little about how such impacts differ across the educational distribution. Using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, random and fixed effects regression results revealed a general "pattern of disadvantage" in the sense that detrimental influences of mothers regularly working nonstandard schedules on children's behavior were concentrated among those born to mothers without high school education, a "truly disadvantaged" group in the contemporary United States. In addition, regular nonstandard schedules appeared to play a mixed role in the behavioral development of children who had college-educated mothers, depending on the specific type of nonstandard schedule. These findings suggest that children born to the least-educated mothers experience compounded disadvantages that may reinforce the intergenerational transmission of disadvantages and also illustrate that negative implications of nonstandard work schedules for child wellbeing may extend to the more advantaged group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High concentrations of DDT and metabolites (ΣDDT) have been detected in sediment and the demersal flatfish hornyhead turbot ( Pleuronichtys verticalis ) collected from Palos Verdes (PV), California, USA, a site contaminated with over 100 metric tons of DDT throughout 1960s–70s. This study was conducted to assess the transfer of ΣDDT from PV-sediment into polychaetes ( Neanthes arenaceodentata ) and hornyhead turbot, and to investigate if the responses in turbots from two different laboratory exposures mimic those in turbots caught in PV (PV-turbot). Turbot fed PV-sediment-contaminated polychaete for 7 days had liver concentrations of ΣDDT similar to PV-turbot. After 28 days, ΣDDT also accumulated in livers of turbot gavaged with a ΣDDT mixture. In vitro cell bioassays indicated significant increases of 17β-estradiol equivalents (EEQ) in turbot bile extracts as compared to the control in the 7-day study. These responses corresponded to those measured in PV-fish. Glucocorticoid receptor (GR), anti-androgen receptor (anti-AR), estrogen receptor (ER) or aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activities were also observed in extracts of PV-sediment, and PV-sediment-exposed worm. Anti-AR, AhR and GR activities were significantly higher in PV-sediment than reference sediment (San Diego, SD). Higher transcripts of hepatic VTG, ERα and ERβ were found in PV-turbot than SD-turbot, but were unaltered in fish exposed to sediment-contaminated worms for the 7-day study. In contrast, liver extracts from the 28-day treatment of ΣDDT showed lower EEQ but similar hepatic VTG and ERβ transcripts relative to those of PV-turbot. These data indicated that trophic transfer of sediment-associated DDT in 7-day exposures corresponded to field measurements of DDT residues and in vitro ER bioactivities, but failed to mimic in vivo biological effects observed in field fish. In contrast, treatment with ΣDDT alone for 28 days mimicked in vivo biological effects of DDTs in PV fish, but did not correspond to liver concentrations or in vitro bioactivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL), functional status, and cardiac event-free survival are outcomes used to assess the effectiveness of interventions in patients with heart failure (HF). However, the nature of the relationships among HRQOL, functional status, and cardiac event-free survival remains unclear. Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of the relationships among HRQOL, functional status, and cardiac event-free survival in patients with HF. Methods: This was a prospective, observational study of 313 patients with HF that was a secondary analysis from a registry. At baseline, patient demographic and clinical data were collected. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire and functional status was measured using the Duke Activity Status Index. Cardiac event-free survival data were obtained by patient interview, hospital database, and death certificate review. Multiple linear and Cox regressions were used to explore the relationships among HRQOL, functional status, and cardiac event-free survival while adjusting for demographic and clinical factors. Results: Participants (n = 313) were men (69%), white (79%), and aged 62 T11 years. Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 35% T 14%. The mean HRQOL score of 32.3 T 20.6 indicated poor HRQOL. The mean Duke Activity Status Index score of 16.2 ± 12.9 indicated poor functional status. Cardiac event-free survival was significantly worse in patients who had worse HRQOL or poorer functional status. Patients who had better functional status had better HRQOL (P < .001). Health-related quality of life was not a significant predictor of cardiac event-free survival after entering functional status in the model (P = .54), demonstrating that it was a mediator of the relationship between HRQOL and outcome. Conclusion: Functional status was a mediator between HRQOL and cardiac event-free survival. These data suggest that intervention studies to improve functional status are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary It is generally agreed that the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) has significantly influenced global nanotechnology development since its inception in 2000. The far-reaching impact of NNI and nanotechnology development, as evidenced by publications in high impact journals, has been rising rapidly over the last 10 years. Recently, the global nanotechnology community witnessed China's ascent in nanotechnology. With increased governmental funding and improved research infrastructure, China has made significant advances and currently has the fastest growing nanotechnology publications and related industrialization. On the one hand, the Chinese government, like the American government, continues to build and support a fertile nanotechnology community. On the other hand, efforts appear less organized in the European Union. Although the gap in nanotechnology impact between the USA and China has narrowed significantly over recent years, the two countries have evolved with their own research focuses. Yet, China is still left behind American nanotechnology in terms of average citations per papers and publications in high-impact journals. It is hopeful that competition and collaboration between the two countries in this field will positively advance the global nanotechnology development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

USA and China are two leading countries engaged in nanotechnology research and development. They compete with each other for fruits in this innovative area in a parallel and compatible manner. Understanding the status and developmental prospects of nanotechnology in USA and China is important for policy-makers to decide nanotechnology priorities and funding, and to explore new ways for global cooperation on key issues. We here present the nanoscience and nanomedicine research and the related productivity measured by publications, and patent applications, governmental funding, policies and regulations, institutional translational research, industrial and enterprise growth in nanotechnology-related fields across China and USA. The comparison reveals some marked asymmetries of nanotechnology development in China and USA, which may be helpful for future directions to strengthen nanotechnology collaboration for both countries, and for the world as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses race and racial inequality in America's family court system, and it mentions access to justice and legal representation for low-income Americans. The social aspects of justice are addressed, along with civil contempt proceedings and cultural discrimination in the U.S. Child support cases are examined, as well as racial discrepancies in the nation's labor market. Low-income noncustodial fathers are examined, along with racial, ethnic, and economic diversity in the U.S.

The U.S.-China trade relationship has undergone tremendous growth since 1979, when the United States and China established their diplomatic relationship. The trade volumes have increased dramatically after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. However, the trade relationship between the two countries has recently experienced some setbacks-specifically in terms of the huge U.S. trade deficit with China, currency manipulation by the Chinese government, and China's failure to enforce laws to protect the intellectual property rights of U.S. companies. This article discusses the three major issues of the USChina trade relations: burdens, causes, and solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study used data ranging from 1960–2010 in order to test the relationship between U.S. foreign trade and its economic growth. The Granger Causality Tests show that there exists a bi-directional relationship between American exports and its GDP, while exists only a single directional relationship between American imports and its GDP. It indicates that American imports didn’t Granger cause American GDP growth. That is to say, even if taking several measures to protect and reduce its imports, U.S. can not achieve the goal of promoting its economic growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the view that Northeast Asia which includes China, Japan and the Russian Far East is poised more for international conflict since the strategic role of North Korea will force the U.S. and Northeast Asian countries to work together for their energy supply. It cites a growing anxiety in the Northeast Asian region on their energy security and concerns that tight supplies and high prices may curtail economic growth. It suggests that the proposed oil and gas pipelines will create cooperation among Northeast Asian countries.

Objective: To examine the association between dispensing of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant medication and inpatient and outpatient service use in a cohort of veterans with confirmed acute stroke. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Southeastern U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) network, from October 1,2000, to September 30, 2001. Patients: 785 veterans with confirmed acute stroke. Intervention: VHA and Medicare databases were used to obtain outcome information during the 12 months after the index stroke date. Main outcome measures: Number of inpatient admissions, length of inpatient stays, and number of outpatient clinic stops for all causes. Results: Among the study cohort (n = 785), 12% had an SSRI dispensed 30 days or less poststroke, 19% had an SSRI dispensed between 31 and 365 days poststroke, and 69% were not dispensed an SSRI poststroke. After adjusting for risk factors, no significant association was found between time to first SSRI dispensing and inpatient use. However, patients with an early SSRI dispensing were more likely to have a greater number of all-cause outpatient stops compared with patients with later or no SSRI dispensing. Regardless of time to first dispensing, patients dispensed an SSRI had more outpatient clinic stops than patients without the medication. Conclusion: SSRI dispensing was not, predictive of inpatient use but was a strong predictor of all-cause outpatient clinic stops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The case of inundation rescuing in Quecreek Mine of U.S. is analyzed based on JTA (Job Task Analysis) method. The specialties of rescue tools such as instant drilling machine and crane are investigated. Rescuing equipment organization and arrangement are examined. The technical factors leading to successful rescue are also summed up. The rescue characteristic in Quecreek Mine is drawn at the end of this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a discussion on who will be the next economic leader in the world, China or the U.S. It is noted that the problems in the economy of the U.S. has been experienced by imperial powers in the past, such as Great Britain and France. It is noted that only China has the potential to challenge the U.S. when it comes to being the leading economy in the world. There are three factors contributing to the U.S. economic decline, one of which is the increasing budget and trade deficits.

This study investigated how determination of haloacetic acid (HAA) in chloraminated samples was affected by use of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl), the chlorine quenching agent recommended in US Environmental Protection Agency method 552.3. Alternative quenching agents and methods were also examined, Study results showed that using NH4Cl to preserve HAA samples obtained from chloraminated waters may result in positive errors for samples collected at short contact (or residence) time locations. The magnitude of these errors in practical applications will vary depending on several factors, including pH, reactivity of dissolved organic matter and concentration at the point of chloramination, and chlorine/ammonia application. Among various quenching agents or methods tested, sodium arsenite and stoichiometric amounts of sodium sulfate were found to be appropriate for chloramine samples but have some limitations for use in practical applications. Selection of sample quenching and preservation methods for HAA determination in chloramination systems must be carefully evaluated. In addition, better quenching methods for HAA determination in chloraminated waters are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne illness in the United States, but it is relatively rare in Taiwan. Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotic agents, but approximately 20% of these patients experience persistent or intermittent subjective symptoms, so-called chronic Lyme disease (CLD). The mechanisms of CLD remain unclear and the symptoms related to CLD are difficult to manage. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) was applied in CLD therapy in the 1990s. However, reported information regarding the effectiveness of HBOT for CLD is still limited. Here, we present a patient with CLD who was successfully treated with HBOT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]