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Research Findings: This study compared the peer interaction patterns in mixed-age and same-age Chinese preschool classrooms using videotaped behavioral observations. A total of 179 children (ages 3-6) from three mixed-age classes and three same-age classes were involved in this study. A total of 170 valid videos were obtained, including 85 videos from the mixed-age (M[subscript age] = 58.99 months, SD = 10.09, 34% girls) classrooms and 85 from the same-age (M[subscript age] = 57.74 months, SD = 10.84, 43% girls) classrooms. The results revealed that: (1) there was a significant age effect in the frequency and duration of peer interactions, with older children having more and longer interactions; (2) there was a significant between-group difference in the duration of peer interactions, with MA having a longer duration than SA; (3) there was a significant same-gender preference with children preferring interacting with the same gender peers; (4) the MA classrooms had significantly more positive interactions and significantly less neutral and negative interactions than the SA classrooms; and (5) the MA classrooms engaged in significantly more dominating and less neutral interactions than the SA ones. Practice or Policy: These findings have implications for early childhood teaching, classroom organization, and classroom management.

In this study, Nd‒Dy‒ZnO and CdS‒Nd‒Dy‒ZnO photocatalysts were prepared by microwave hydrothermal method to improve the photocatalytic performance of ZnO. The microstructure and performance of samples were characterized by X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet (UV)‒visible, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and evaluated with the methylene blue. The results showed that CdS attached to the ZnO crystal surface in the form of flocculent particles, and the combination with CdS promoted the growth of ZnO crystals, while an excess of CdS was found to be detrimental to the crystallization of ZnO. When nCdS/nZnO = 0.30 mol%, composite materials achieved the optimal photocatalytic performance, which made the degradation rate of methylene blue reach 93.42% under UV irradiation for 4 h. CdS‒Nd‒Dy‒ZnO composite photocatalytic material can generate active oxygen groups such as hydroxyl and superoxide radicals simultaneously, which greatly enhances the photocatalytic efficiency of the composite material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperation plays a crucial role in children's social development and adaptation. This study designed a cooperative constructive play (CCP) intervention based on the Anji Play teaching model and evaluated its effectiveness in a quasi-experimental design involving 60 rural Chinese children aged 5–6 years. Participants were divided into an experimental group, which engaged in 12 weeks of CCP, and a control group, which continued with regular teaching activities. The cooperation data were collected through a truck racing task using pre-, mid-, post-, and follow-up tests, while the cooperation levels and strategies were evaluated by video observations of role-playing games before and after the tests. The results indicated significant improvements in cooperation scores in both the truck racing task and role-playing games in the experimental group compared to the baseline, with no similar enhancements observed in the control group. Furthermore, cooperation scores in the follow-up were higher than pre- and post-test scores, demonstrating the CCP's effectiveness in fostering child cooperation, transferability to other contexts, and sustainability. These findings suggest that CCP intervention based on Anji Play can significantly enhance cooperation in children, offering a valuable tool for educational practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Findings: Sustained attention is a fundamental cognitive function for young children's development. We investigated the effects of school-based audiovisual game training with parental involvement on sustained attention (SA) in 5–6-year-old Chinese children. Totally 75 children and their parents participated and were assigned into three groups. The School Practice Intervention (SPI) group and the Parental Involvement Intervention (PII) group underwent an eight-week audiovisual game training, while the No Intervention (NI) group participated in regular activities and received no intervention. We tested participants' visual and auditory sustained attention at four time points, i.e., pretest, middle test, posttest, and follow-up test. Results indicated that (1) children in PII and SPI groups had significantly greater visual and auditory sustained attention than the NI group in posttest and follow-up test; (2) the PII group showed better SA than the SPI group in posttest and follow-up test; (3) visual SA of experimental groups improved significantly since the middle test, while the improvement of auditory SA emerged since posttest. Practice or Policy: The play-based audiovisual training in a school setting effectively enhances SA for 5–6-year-olds, and parental involvement benefits the intervention. More efforts should be made to improve auditory sustained attention. The educational implications of these findings were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effect of dialogic reading intervention on improving the theory of mind of rural Chinese children. A 12-week-randomized controlled trial design with two intervention groups, i.e. school practice intervention (SPI), parent-involved intervention (PII), and one control group with traditional reading intervention (TRI) that provided data at pre-, mid-, post-test, and follow-up tests, was adopted. Seventy-five children participated in the study, with twenty-five participants in each group. Results indicated the gain scores of ToM score from pre to mid-tests and pre- to post-tests of the two intervention groups were higher than the control group. The PII group showed higher gain scores in the mid- and post-test than the SPI group. The intervention effects were well maintained in the SPI and PII groups during the two-month follow-up assessment. The findings indicated school-based dialogic reading can effectively promote ToM development and has a maintenance effect, especially when parents are engaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Findings: The current study examined the moderating effects of gender and teacher-child relationship on the association between shyness and school adjustment (school liking and avoidance, cooperative and independent participation). The sample consisted of 524 preschool students from 3 cities of Shandong province in northern China. Mothers reported children's shyness, school liking, and school avoidance, whereas teachers rated children's cooperative and independent participation and reported perceived teacher-child relationships. Overall, findings indicated that shyness was associated with lower teacher-child closeness, lower school liking, and higher school avoidance. Child gender moderated the relationship between shyness and teacher-child dependency. Moreover, teacher-child relationship and child gender moderated the shyness-adjustment relationships. Practice or Policy: These findings point to the potential for improving teacher-child relationships to facilitate shy preschoolers' school adjustment and the importance of taking child gender into consideration in such intervention programs.

Aldehyde reductase (ALR) plays key roles in the detoxification of toxic aldehyde. In this study, the authors cloned the swamp eel ALR gene using rapid amplification of cDNA ends‐PCR (RACE‐PCR). The recombinant protein (rALR) was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using a Ni2+‐NTA chelating column. The rALR protein exhibited efficient reductive activity towards several aldehydes, ketones and S‐nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). A spot assay suggested that the recombinant E. coli strain expressing rALR showed better resistance to formaldehyde, sodium nitrite and GSNO stress, suggesting that swamp eel ALR is crucial for redox homeostasis in vivo. Consequently, the authors investigated the effect of rALR on the oxidative parameters of the liver in swamp eels challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila. The hepatic glutathione (GSH) content significantly increased, and the hepatic NO content and levels of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species significantly decreased when rALR was administered. In addition, the mRNA expression of hepatic Alr, HO1 and Nrf2 was significantly upregulated, whereas the expression levels of NF‐κB, IL‐1β and NOS1 were significantly downregulated in the rALR‐administered group. Collectively, these results suggest that ALR is involved in the response to nitrosative stress by regulating GSH/NO levels in the swamp eel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have reported that individuals' loneliness, anxiety, and depression levels increased during the COVID‐19 pandemic period. However, reciprocal associations among loneliness, anxiety, and depression, as well as gender differences in these associations, have not been investigated. Therefore, temporal associations among loneliness, anxiety, and depression and gender differences in these associations were examined in a longitudinal study during the COVID‐19 pandemic period. The loneliness, anxiety, and depression levels of 458 university students were evaluated at three timepoints (T1, T2, and T3) during the COVID‐19 pandemic period in China. The timepoints were separated by 1 month. Cross‐lagged panel designs were used to examine reciprocal associations among loneliness, anxiety, and depression as well as the stability and gender differences of these associations. Cross‐lagged panel analysis revealed that T1 depression positively predicted T2 anxiety and loneliness, T1 loneliness positively predicted T2 depression, T2 anxiety positively predicted T3 depression, T2 depression positively predicted T3 anxiety and loneliness, T2 loneliness positively predicted T3 depression, and T1 loneliness positively predicted T3 anxiety through the mediating role of T2 depression. No gender differences were observed in the cross‐lagged associations. During the COVID‐19 pandemic period, loneliness and depression predicted each other across time, and loneliness predicted anxiety across time, mediated by depression. No gender differences were observed in the cross‐lagged associations among loneliness, anxiety, and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.