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ObjectiveWe conducted a drug resistance and homology analysis of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli （DEC） in Fengxian District of Shanghai in order to provide a basis for clinical rational drug use， risk monitoring and early warning.MethodsDEC were isolated from diarrheal patients in Fengxian District， Shanghai from 2019 to 2022. The minimum inhibitory concentrations （MIC） of 21 drugs to the DEC were determined. Genotyping and homology analysis were conducted with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis （PFGE）.ResultsThe DEC detection rate of diarrhea cases was 18.99% （131/690）， including enteroaggregative E.coli （EAEC） 64.89% （85/131）， enterotoxigenic E.coli （ETEC） 22.14% （29/131）， enteropathogenic E.coli （EPEC） 12.21% （16/131）， and enterohemorrhagic E.coli （EHEC） 0.76%（1/131）. The DEC detection showed obvious seasonal characteristics with a high incidence in summer. The DEC multidrug resistance rate was 66.41% with a total of 65 drug resistance profiles. The five antimicrobial drugs with the highest resistance rate were ampicillin （60.31%）， nalidixic acid （51.91%）， cefazolin （50.38%）， tetracycline （44.27%）， and cotrimoxazole （35.11%）. The rate of DEC resistance to levofloxacin was significantly increased from 2019 to 2022. Cluster analysis showed that the similarity of 85 EAEC cluster was 58.4%‒100.0%， and 69 band patterns were obtained. The similarity of 29 ETEC cluster was 58.5%‒100.0%， and 13 band patterns were obtained， including 2 dominant band types. The similarity of 16 EAEC clusters was 53.9%‒100.0%， and 15 band patterns were obtained. Five groups of homologous strains were found， consistent with the resistance phenotypes.ConclusionAmong the diarrhea cases， the DEC epidemic intensity is high， the drug resistance situation is severe， and the risk of outbreak infection is high in Fengxian District， Shanghai. Therefore， health monitoring and prevention need to be strengthened.

As revealed by literature, anxiety and stress are complicated yet serious issues among teachers at all educational levels. Though widely studied, research on them often focuses on pre-service or primary and middle school teachers, with little research on in-service university teachers. It is especially so in China. The present study thus examined anxiety, stress and their relations with demographic variables in in-service university teachers in China. 256 teachers from various universities in China answered the Demographic Questionnaire, the Teaching Anxiety Scale and the Teacher Stress Inventory. Analyses of the data revealed the following main findings: (1) the participants were under great stress, but they were generally not so anxious about teaching, (2) teaching anxiety was generally significantly negatively correlated with age, professional title and years of teaching, while teacher stress was significantly negatively related to professional title, and (3) overall teacher stress, professional title and age were powerful predictors for teaching anxiety, while years of teaching, overall teaching anxiety and its subscales were powerful predictors for teacher stress. Based on these findings, some implications are discussed.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the changes in gut microbiota and its metabolites in different pathophysiological stages of doxorubicin (DOX)-induced heart failure (DIHF) and the relationship between gut microbiota and metabolites in various degrees of DIHF. Materials and methods: C57BL/6 J mice were injected intraperitoneally with 5 mg/kg of DOX once a week for 5 consecutive weeks. At different times after injection, the cardiac function and histopathological analysis was conducted, the serum levels of creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB, lactic dehydrogenase, and cardiac troponin T were determined. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of feces and the nontargeted metabolomics analysis of serum were performed. Multi-omics analyses were used to explore the correlation between gut microbiota and serum metabolites. Results: The results showed that DOX caused cardiac contractile dysfunction and left ventricular (LV) dilation. The levels of myocardial enzymes significantly increase in 3 and 5 weeks after DOX injection. DOX-treated mice showed significant differences in the composition and abundance of gut microorganisms, and the levels of serum metabolites at different times of treatment. Multi-omics analyses showed that intestinal bacteria were significantly correlated with the differential metabolites. Some bacteria and metabolites can be used as biomarkers of DIHF (AUC > 0.8). KEGG analyses showed the involvement of different metabolic pathways in various degrees of DIHF. Conclusion: Marked differences were found in the composition and abundance of gut microorganisms, the levels of serum metabolites and metabolic pathways in different degrees of DIHF. The intestinal bacteria were significantly correlated with differential metabolites in different degrees of DIHF. The gut microbiota may serve as new targets for the treatment of DIHF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present large-scale mixed-method study examined English language classroom anxiety and enjoyment in Chinese young students in relation to gender and grade level. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 709 primary and secondary school students from a province in south China. Major findings were: (1) Around one third of the participants felt anxious when speaking English while more than half felt joyful in the English class. The same pattern applied for male and female students and those in grades 4 to 8; (2) significant gender difference in anxiety occurred in grade 4 and that in enjoyment occurred in grade 8; (3) the students tended to be more anxious and less joyful in the English class as their grade levels increased, with grade 7 being a dividing year of the (inverted) u-curve; (4) anxiety and enjoyment were significantly correlated with each other for students in grades 4 to 8; (5) both learner- and teacher-related variables were identified as causes for anxiety and enjoyment; and (6) the students reacted differently when feeling anxious or joyful in class: When feeling/becoming anxious, they often suffered a lot (e.g., becoming dumbfounded, sweating, trembling, and not knowing what to do or say, etc.); when feeling joyful, they often became more attentive and active in class and studied English harder. It is hence clear that English language classroom anxiety and enjoyment are two independent dimensions of emotion and that fostering positive emotions facilitates SL/FL learning.

This study explored teaching anxiety and teacher foreign language anxiety (FLA) in 151 Chinese college English teachers in relation to their individual characteristics. Analyses of data collected from mixed-form questionnaires revealed the following major findings: (a) Major causes for teaching anxiety were concern about classroom teaching, research, other work and promotion, and interest and confidence in teaching, and major sources for teacher FLA were apprehension of speaking English, fear of negative outcomes, and confidence in English competence; (b) the participants of various backgrounds suffered from varying degrees of teaching anxiety and teacher FLA; (c) gender, age, educational level, English proficiency, and experience of visiting/studying in English-speaking countries significantly affected the participants' teaching anxiety and teacher FLA levels; and (d) anxiety seriously affected the participants' work and life. Evidently, anxiety is an important issue faced by university language teachers and needs to be further researched and seriously handled.

The present study examined how undergraduate students from a prestigious Chinese university perceived the teaching and learning of English for general academic purposes (EGAP) reading and writing courses. Analyses of 951 questionnaires revealed that most participants generally (strongly) believed that learning general academic English was closely related to their major study, reported being motivated to learn general academic English, and expected to improve their academic English reading, writing, listening and speaking skills from EGAP courses. The study also showed that they had consensus about the requirements and teaching and learning foci of general academic English in spite of their concerns about academic English, and that students of more demanding and more academic EGAP courses tended to have a better understanding of general academic English. Based on the findings, some suggestions are discussed.

During recent decades, both institutions of higher education and university students of the world are trying to become international by offering or gaining some form of international education, which has caught the attention of increasingly more researchers (Jackson, 2004; Trenchs-Parera, 2009). As East Asian students have increasingly become the majority of international students on university campuses (Xia, 2009), Chinese institutions of higher education have also been recruiting more and more international students. Nevertheless, research on international students in China has been scarce. The present interview study aimed to document the challenges Korean students had while studying full-time in a prestigious university in Beijing. Interviews with 10 senior Korean English majors revealed that they confronted a series of academic, linguistic and cultural challenges while studying in the university. Based on this finding, some implications are discussed.

This paper reports on the result of a study on Chinese university EFL learners' foreign language writing anxiety in terms of general pattern, effect and causes. 1174 first-year students answered the 26-item Foreign Language Writing Anxiety Scale (FLWAS) (Young, 1999) and took an English writing test, 18 of whom were invited for semi-structured interviews. The results showed that 1) FLWAS had three principal components--low confidence in English writing (FLWAS1), dislike of English writing (FLWAS2) and English writing apprehension evaluation (FLWAS3), 2) the whole sample, as well as male and female students, were generally confident in and liked English writing, and were not apprehensive of having their English writing evaluated, 3) significant differences existed between male and females students, and among different proficiency groups in all the FLWAS scales, 4) foreign language writing anxiety significantly negatively affected students' performance in the English writing test, and 5) a number of factors contributed to the students' foreign language writing anxiety.

The present study explored the interrelations between foreign language (FL) reading anxiety, FL reading strategy use and their interactive effect on FL reading comprehension performance at the tertiary level in China. Analyses of the survey data collected from 1702 university students yielded the following results: (a) Both Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and Foreign Language Reading Strategy Use Scale (FLRSUS) had important subcomponents, (b) more than half of the students generally did not feel anxious when reading English, and were confident in and satisfied with their English reading proficiency. Meanwhile, (c) more than half of them moderately used different types of reading strategies such as planning, checking and confirming, predicting and assessing, when reading English, (d) compared with their female peers, male students felt significantly more anxious when facing reading activities, less satisfied with their English reading proficiency, and used specific analyzing and planning strategies significantly less often during a reading activity, (e) FLRAS was significantly inversely related to FLRSUS, and both were significantly correlated with the students' FL reading comprehension performance, and (f) FLRAS (overall FL reading anxiety), FLRAS1 (general anxiety about FL reading), and FLRSUS2 (predicting strategies) were good predictors of FL reading comprehension performance. Based on the findings, some implications are discussed.

Source-based writing research has received much attention in recent years, which generally shows that both novice and expert EFL (English as a foreign language) writers have difficulties in writing from sources. As many Chinese institutes of higher education attach increasingly more importance to publications in international journals, citation and plagiarism become critical issues for both student and teacher researchers as well as the institutes. Nevertheless, not much research can be found on the issues with Chinese students, especially undergraduate students. The present study thus investigated Chinese undergraduate EFL learners' perceptions of plagiarism and use of citations in their course papers. A total of 141 students from a highly prestigious university answered an open-ended questionnaire and 97 of them submitted course papers. Major findings were: (1) the students had a (fairly) good knowledge of plagiarism and identified various reasons for plagiarism in academic writing, (2) they used summary the most often when citing from sources, followed by paraphrase and quotation, and (3) they mainly used single-source citations to primarily support their own ideas, position an author's opinions and/or findings, and acknowledge the author's ideas. These findings reveal a general overview of students' perceptions of plagiarism and use of citations in their course papers, thus providing implications for formal classroom instruction of writing from sources.

A lead-zinc -in complex polymetallic oxidized ore in Yunnan is a newly explored mineral in recent years. Due to weathering mineralizaion, the mine is loose and porous with high oxidation rate. There are many kinds of target minerals and the distribution state is complex. In order to maximize the comprehensive recovery of valuable metals, process mineralogy study was carried out to analyze the mineral species, dissemination status and occurrence characteristics of lead, zinc, silver and in in the ore, and to find out the mineralogical factors affecting the recovery of beneficiation. The process mineralogy of the ore was studied systematically by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, total elements chemical analysts, optical microscopy, MLA mineral automatic analysts system, scanning electron microscopy and electron probe. The results show that lead minerals mainly exist in the form of oxides and arsenates, partly associated with limonite and distributed at the edges of limonite pores and assures. Zinc minerals are mainly present in limonite in the form of homogeneous phase or mechanical mixing. Tin minerals are mainly cassiterite, mainly wrapped in limonite and beudantite. Iron mainly exists in the form of independent minerals in limonite, and is sparsely distributed between transparent mineral particles and at the edge of pores. The cracks and pores of limonite are mostly filled with beudantite ore and mimetite. The relationship of mineral embedding in ore is complex, and the content of useful minerals varies greatly, which are the main factors that are unfavorable to mineral separation. Combined with the results of process mineralogy and the degree of monomer dissociation, the joint process of "flotation-strong magnetic separation-gravity separation" was designed to deal with the ore. The joint process can effectively separate useful minerals from gangue, improve the comprehensive utilization rate of mineral resources, and promote the green and sustainable development of mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has found that contact with a second language (L2), L2 motivation and foreign language anxiety are important variables affecting L2 learning. Nevertheless, not much research has explored the relationships among these variables and their interactive effects on L2 learning outcomes. The present large-scale survey study examined the relationships between English learning motivation, English classroom anxiety and use of English, as well as their predictive effects on Chinese university students' English achievement. A total of 439 randomly sampled students from two Chinese universities in Beijing answered the background information questionnaire, the 8-item English Classroom Anxiety Scale and the 35-item English Learning Motivation Questionnaire. The major findings were as follows: (a) English learning motivation, English classroom anxiety and use of English were significantly correlated with one another, and (b) English classroom anxiety, use of English and English learning motivation generally significantly predicted the students' English achievements. These findings confirm the importance of L2 motivation, foreign language anxiety and contact with the L2 for second language learners. Hence, specific suggestions (e.g., reading and listening to more of a second language, creating a supportive and relaxed L2 classroom environment, etc.) are discussed regarding how to enhance L2 learning motivation, reduce foreign language anxiety and increase contact with the L2 in second language learning, so as to ensure sustainable development in second language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study reported in the present paper focused on the expectations of and concerns about the impending semester-long study abroad of students from a prestigious Chinese university. Data were collected via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Analyses of 33 questionnaires and 15 semi-structured interviews yielded the following main findings: (1) the participants joined the exchange program for various motivations such as improving English, experiencing the host culture and broadening their views, and cultivating cultural awareness, (2) they held fairly high expectations from the exchange experience. They hoped to benefit from the experience in every aspect such as enhancing English proficiency, becoming more mature and independent, and interacting more effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, (3) they, to varying degrees, believed that the exchange experience would be valuable to their academic and personal life and their future career, and (4) the majority participants had worries and concerns about their stay abroad such as culture shock, classroom participation, intercultural interaction, and language barrier. Consequently, the paper suggests an orientation or program should be provided by the home university to prepare students better for their study and life abroad prior to their sojourn.

The present case study investigated university students' academic and linguistic gains during a semester-long exchange program abroad. Thirty three third-year English majors from a Chinese university answered a battery of questionnaires and 13 of them participated in semi-structured interviews both prior to and after the program. Analyses of the data showed that the participants gained greatly from the exchange program both academically and linguistically. Based on the findings, some implications about exchange programs are discussed.

There is scant research on the Chinese employees’ intercultural communication competence (ICC), despite increasing recognition of the importance of ICC as a qualified staff in international organizations. To explore the ICC of Chinese employees and their perceptions, this study used mixed methods by drawing on the semi-structured interview and follow-up questionnaires on the intercultural sensitivity with 7 participants. The findings show that the participants were excellent in terms of intercultural sensitivity, a key indicator of ICC, and that they did not complain much about the ICC challenges, although they did mention some related to work style and target communicating language. They also had different insights about how to cope with the challenges, which have implications for international educators when developing ICC-related curriculum planning and suggest prospective strategies for developing ICC knowledge and practice for those who aspect to pursue a career in international organizations.