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Assessing the impacts of climate change and human activities on runoff is important for planning and managing water resources and for maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem, as well as the normal operation of modern society. In this study, the distribution of precipitation in the Beichuan River basin from 1961 to 2013 is uneven, and we analyzed the impacts of climate change and human activity on the annual and seasonal runoff change during this period. The results showed that runoff was more sensitive to precipitation than the other meteorological factors during the study period, and a 10% increase in precipitation could increase runoff by 17.5%. The annual runoff showed a downward trend during the past 53 years, with an abrupt change point in 1972. We concluded that human activities were mainly responsible for the runoff reduction, and climate change accounted for approximately 30% of the reduction. For the change in seasonal runoff, the dry season runoff had no significant trend, but there was a downward trend in the wet season runoff, with an abrupt change point in 1998. We concluded that human activities were the dominant cause of the reduction in the wet season runoff (88.27%), and climate change accounted for 11.73% of the reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low well-being is common among Chinese pregnant women but few effective interventions currently exist to improve prenatal stress and negative emotions. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been proved to be effective in reducing stress and rarely studies were focused on Chinese pregnant women. The aim of the current paper is to investigate the effects of 8-week MBSR on prenatal stress, anxiety and depression among Chinese pregnant women. A sample of 66 pregnant women randomly allocated into either the MBSR group (n=34) or the control group (n=32). Participants in the MBSR group received a group 8-week, 90-min each time intervention. The results found a significant interaction between time and condition for prenatal stress (F=45.51, p<0.001, η 2=0.427), anxiety (F=19.30, p<0.001, η 2=0.240), while depression showed no time-by-group interaction (F=0.29, p=0.589, η 2=0.005). As for the sub-scale of state anxiety, while there was only no time effect (F=3.68, p=0.060, η 2=0.057). The findings of this study preliminary indicated effects of the MBSR intervention on self-reported prenatal stress and anxiety in comparison to a treatment-as-usual control. Effect on depression was not observed may due to the low level of depression of participants. This study provides preliminary evidence that MBSR is suitable for Chinese pregnant women and be effective in decreasing prenatal stress, anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim was to investigate cancer department nurses' attitudes and practices in response to pelvic radiation patients' sexual issues in Sichuan, China. A self-made questionnaire survey was conducted with 150 registered nurses of six hospitals in China. Nurses were asked about their experiences regarding consultation about sexual issues and attitudes toward the sex-related statements of pelvic radiation patients. We analyzed the correlation factors for the attitudes about dealing with patients' sexual issues by using the ff-test. Of the survey sample, 128 nurses (85.33%) responded. Of the respondents, 46.88% had been consulted about sexual issues by patients or families. In addition, 87.5% of the nurses believed that 'reliable information on sexual in pelvic radiotherapy is lacking', and 77.34% reported having 'an inter-est in undertaking education of knowledge about pelvic radiation patients' sexual issues'; yet only 4.69% had completed professional sexual education about pelvic radiation patients. The hospital type and bed number as well as nurse age and seniority also affected the responses. This study shows that discussing sexuality is still repressed in the patient-nurse rela-tionship, and most nurses' in Chinese cancer departments lack knowledge about pelvic radiation patients' sextial problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a view to facilitating good practice and enhancing further exchanges and collaboration with the Open University UK, the Open University of China initiated a joint programme of training to offer online tutors and academic management staff three courses: Student Support, Tutoring On-line, and Course Design. The programme brought in not only a new learning mode and a new learning management system, but also new ideas and new assessment mechanisms, which created a positive impact on the reform of teaching and learning in the Open University of China. This paper will reflect on the implementation of the programme to explore the value of international collaboration and to look at changes that have taken place in both tutors and trainees. Through analysing feedback from both tutors and trainees, we can appreciate the potential significance of the joint programme and reflect on our own practice. The paper will also indicate some of the defects of the programme – our students expected more relevant content – and more involvement on the part of the UK experts, so that we can further explore improvements and join hands for meaningful collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to examine the mental health conditions of migrant workers in factories in Shenzhen, China, and to examine the effects of migration stress and social competence on the mental health of these migrants. A total of 582 migrant workers were recruited from 17 factories scattered in 8 different industries. The mental health situations of the migrant workers were assessed using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The migrant workers' migration stress and social competence were measured by the Migration Stress Scale and Social Competence Scale. The results suggest that migrant workers experienced four major clusters of psychiatric symptoms: interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive compulsion, depression, and hostility. Regression analysis revealed that migration stress and social competence significantly predicted the migrant workers' mental health. Migration stress alone explained 23% of the variance. Specifically, “financial and employment difficulties” and lack of social life significantly predicted the mental health of the migrant workers. In the area of social competence, “social skills and language learning” and “personal characteristics” exerted significant effects on the mental health of migrant workers. In conclusion, social policies concerning migrant workers should aim at facilitating adjustments among migrant workers employed by factories in China. Prevention and treatment programs to improve the mental health of migrant workers in factories should also be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet can make markets more competitive, but whether this holds for on-line price levels and price dispersion is unclear, perhaps because the maturity, or level of development, of Internet markets has not been widely studied. This paper explores how the maturity of an Internet market affects on-line market pricing in relation to types of products and retailers. It analyzes the pricing differences between pure on-line retailers (e-tailers) and hybrid retailers (multichannel retailers) for three categories of products (books, CDs, digital cameras) in two countries with different levels of Internet maturity (China and the United States). The results show that (1) e-tailer price dispersion is lower in the United States than in China, (2) price levels in the two countries vary with product types, and (3) in both countries, e-tailers have lower price levels and price dispersion than hybrid retailers. These findings suggest that the maturation of Internet markets may lead to lower prices and price dispersion, but with variations dependent on type of product and retailer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]