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Teaching is challenging and has long been vexed by teacher stress, burnout, and attrition. Framing through a positive perspective, this paper investigates teacher resilience to a form of structural challenge, that is, neoliberalism. The paper quantitatively models the resilience process of a sample of 2219 Chinese inclusive education teachers who develop professional competence and manage burnout despite the structural constraints brought about by neoliberalism. The analysis highlights the role of teacher agency in the resilience process. The paper calls for proactive policy and research response to the neoliberal tendency that deprofessionalises teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malnutrition-inflammation-atherosclerosis (MIA) syndrome may worsen the prognosis of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. Serum thymosin β4 (sTβ4) protects against inflammation, fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction. The present study aimed to characterize the association between sTβ4 and MIA syndrome as well as to investigate the potential of regulating sTβ4 to improve the prognosis of PD patients. We performed a cross-sectional, single-center pilot study involving 76 PD patients. Demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, nutritional profiles, inflammatory mediators, atherosclerosis-related factors and sTβ4 levels were collected and subjected to association analysis for sTβ4 and MIA syndrome. sTβ4 levels did not significantly vary with sex or primary disease in PD patients. Ages and PD features did not vary between patients with different levels of sTβ4. PD patients with higher levels of sTβ4 had significantly higher levels of nutritional indicators, including subjective global nutritional assessment (SGA) (p < 0.001) and serum albumin (ALB) (p < 0.001) but lower levels of inflammatory and atherosclerotic indicators, including serum C reaction protein (CRP) (p = 0.009), the right common carotid artery (RCCA) intimal thickness (p < 0.001) and the left common carotid artery (LCCA) intimal thickness (p = 0.02). Correlation analysis showed that sTβ4 was positively associated with SGA (p < 0.001) and serum ALB (p < 0.001) but negatively associated with CRP (p = 0.020), RCCA intimal thickness (p < 0.001) and LCCA intimal thickness (p = 0.033). In multiple adjusted models, the prevalence of MIA syndrome was significantly decreased in PD patients with increased levels of sTβ4 when patients without MIA syndrome were compared to those with all indicators of MIA syndrome (OR = 0.996, 95% CI 0.993–0.999, p = 0.003) or those with at least one indicator of MIA syndrome (OR = 0.997, 95% CI 0.995–0.998, p < 0.001). The sTβ4 level decreases in PD patients with MIA syndrome. The prevalence of MIA syndrome decreases significantly as the level of sTβ4 increases in PD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalized reciprocity and negative reciprocity have been demonstrated to influence employees' psychological states and outcomes differently. Drawing upon social exchange theory and emotion regulation theory, we develop a model that specifies whether and how generalized reciprocity and negative reciprocity influence employees' task performance. A cross-sectional survey study (N = 584) reveals that generalized reciprocity is positively related to task performance, whereas negative reciprocity is adversely related to task performance, and both of these relationships are mediated by social exchange. Interestingly, the findings also indicate that emotional labor moderates the associations between generalized reciprocity and social exchange and between negative reciprocity and social exchange. Specifically, individuals with high deep acting or low surface acting can experience higher social exchange after perceiving generalized reciprocity, whereas individuals with high surface acting or low deep acting can experience lower social exchange after perceiving negative reciprocity. These results provide significant implications for academic research and managerial practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, sucrose and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) were utilized as the raw materials to prepare an environmentally-friendly plywood adhesive. The bonding performance results showed that the optimal synthesis conditions of the sucrose-ammonium polyphosphate (SAPP) adhesive were an 80/20 mass ratio (sucrose/APP) at 115 oC for 3 h, and the optimal manufacturing conditions were 170 oC for 7 min. In addition, the maximum wet shear strength of the obtained three-ply plywood was 0.81 MPa, which satisfied the China National Standard GB/T 9846–2015 (wet shear strength≥0.7 MPa). The insoluble mass proportion was positively associated with the heating temperature and time. The TG and DSC analysis showed that a rapid mass loss of the SAPP adhesive occurred at 143.4 oC, and endothermic peaks appeared at 136.2 and 156.4 oC. The 13C NMR spectra showed that the adhesive contained monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, ketones, HMF, Schiff bases, and various other unknown substances. This implies that hydrolysis, caramelization, and the Amadori rearrangement occurred during synthesis. Furthermore, the FT-IR and Py-GC/MS results indicated that the cured SAPP adhesive was a complex polymer containing furan and nitrogenous compounds, which were connected by dimethylene ether bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, soybean flour (SF) and various sugar solutions were utilized as raw materials to prepare eco-friendly plywood adhesives. First, the optimal preparation conditions were investigated by testing the bond performance. When SF was mixed with synthesized sucrose-ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (SADP) solution with 50% solid content in a 1: 4 mass proportion, the wet shear strength of the plywood achieved a maximum value of 0.83 MPa. This value exceeds the minimum limit of China National Standard GB/T 9846-2015. Second, the curing behavior of the SF/SADP adhesive was studied by measuring the insoluble mass proportion and thermal analysis. The results showed that the curing reaction of this adhesive occurred near 170 °C. In addition, the curing mechanism was studied by ATR FT-IR and Py-GC/MS analysis. Based on the results, it was concluded that the cured adhesive formed a network structure via a polycondensation reaction between small-molecule compounds derived from the SADP solution and the products of the caramelization and soy flour. Dimethylene ether bridges were the main linkages of the final polymer. SEM microstructure analysis showed that the cured SF/SADP adhesive exhibited a more compact crosslinked structure than cured SADP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. For most animals, extrinsic mortality risks drive a fast life history (LH) strategy in which animals disregard risks and accelerate reproduction. Instead of perpetuating mortality driving fast LH, humans have reduced almost all mortality risks in living environments, resulting in a significant slowing of LH. Additionally, humans exhibit invested parenting which entails teaching their young survival or mortality reduction skills. Could parenting provide an additional pathway to the development and slowing of human LH? Design. Data reported here come from interviews and questionnaires administered to a community sample of 286 rural Chinese parents and their children when the children were on average 7, 8, and 11 years old. Results. Parental acceptance statistically mediates and moderates the longitudinal association between environmental adversities and children's LH. Conclusions. Parenting breaks the species-general contingency between mortality conditions and fast offspring LH strategies and provides an additional pathway to the development and slowing of human LH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, many special education schools are or have been rebuilt into resource centres. To support the national program of 'Learning in Regular Classroom' (LRC), these centres often recruit teachers in special education schools to serve as special education itinerant teachers (SEITs), who travel across regular schools to provide specialised professional support. However, most studies of professional qualities of SEITs have been conducted in western countries and the analysis was based on SEITs for students with visual or hearing impairment. Little is known about the professional qualities of SEITs in the Chinese LRC context. This study aims to make a contribution in this regard. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven SEITs. It was found that beliefs, knowledge, skills, professional identity and motivation, and self-awareness of professional development were recognised as the core professional competencies necessary for the implementation of itinerant service. Implications for practice and future research in SEITs' professional development are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the impact of cognitive strategy instruction (CSI) on mathematical word problem solving of students with mathematics disabilities. A sample of fourth-grade students in a Chinese primary school was divided into a treatment group (75 students) and a comparison group (75 students). The sample consisted of students with mathematics disabilities only, students with both mathematics and reading disabilities, as well as average- and high-achieving students. Results showed that students at all ability levels (except high-achieving students) in the treatment group outperformed significantly their counterparts in the comparison group; the intervention effect was stronger for students with mathematics disabilities only than for those with both mathematics and reading disabilities. The present study indicates that CSI is a contextually and pedagogically appropriate model that has a strong potential to improve mathematical word problem solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive education focuses on addressing marginalisation, segregation and exclusion within policy and practice. The purpose of this article is to use critical discourse analysis to examine how inclusion is represented in the education policy and professional documents of two countries, Australia and China. In particular, teacher professional standards from each country are examined to determine how an expectation of inclusive educational practice is promoted to teachers. The strengthening of international partnerships to further support the implementation of inclusive practices within both countries is also justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interleukin-21 (IL-21) upregulation was observed in Crohn's disease (CD) patients and was shown to contribute to ongoing mucosal inflammation in CD patients through stabilizing Th1 cell differentiation and IFN-γ production. Given the role of IL-21 in mediating adaptive B cell antibody responses in healthy individuals, we examined the effect of IL-21 upregulation in B cell responses in patients with active CD, including ileum, ileocolonic and colon subtypes, defined by the primary site of CD involvement. We first observed an upregulation of blood plasma IL-21 concentration and IL-21 production from CD4+T cells in CD patients compared to healthy individuals. The IL-21-expressing T cells were more concentrated in the CD4+CXCR5+compartment, both in unstimulated medium and after stimulation with SEB. ICOS and PD-1 expressions were also concentrated in the CD4+CXCR5+subset in CD patients. Since peripheral blood CD4+CXCR5+T cell-mediated antibody secretion is IL-21-dependent, we examined the plasma antibody concentration in CD patients and healthy controls. We found that CD patients had significantly higher plasma Ig level than healthy patients, with no significant differences between different CD subtypes. Higher plasma IL-21 concentration and increased IL-21 production from CD4+T cells were directly correlated with higher plasma antibody levels. Moreover, we found that IL-21 and CD4+CXCR5+T cells can directly enhance B cell antibody response in CD patients. Depletion of secreted IL-21 by sIL-21R addition compromised the CD4+CXCR5+T cell-mediated increase in antibody production. Together, our results demonstrated a novel role of IL-21 in mediating B cell inflammation in CD development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a significant public health problem and Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in CKD and might be associated with calcium and phosphate metabolism, cardiovascular disease, infections as well as the progress of kidney dysfunction. Emerging evidence implies that Vitamin D supplements may be of benefit to CKD. Based on existing laboratory and clinical evidence, this review intends to discuss the effectiveness of Vitamin D supplements and controversy in clinical practice. The effect of Vitamin D in CKD patients is summarized in detail from CKD–mineral bone disease, the progression of renal function, cardiovascular events and immune system. Considerable disputes exist for the Vitamin D supplements in CKD, and a growing amount of experimental evidence and some clinical evidence are now gathering fromin vitro, animal and epidemiological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crocin, the digentiobiosyl ester of crocetin, was investigated for its cytoprotective effect on hydrogen peroxide-induced injury in bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs). The morphology of BAECs was observed by inverted phase contrast and electron microscopy. The MTT assay was used to measure cell viability. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by DNA argarose gel electrophoresis. The cells treated with H 2 O 2 (200 μM) showed apoptotic changes as revealed by cell shrinkage, condensation of nuclei, membrane blebbing and formation of apoptotic body. A concentration-dependent inhibition of cell injury was seen in cultures treated with crocin at dosages ranging from 1 to 10 μM. Furthermore, in the H 2 O 2 -treated group, agarose gel electrophoresis displayed a “DNA ladder”. Whereas in the 10 μM crocin-pretreated group, cells remained intact and no “DNA ladder” was observed in agarose gel electrophoresis. Only very little DNA debris appeared on DNA-fragmentation analysis in the 1 μM crocin-pretreated group. Our data demonstrated that crocin has preventive effects on the cell apoptosis induced by H 2 O 2 , which may contribute to its utilisation for cardiovascular diseases (e.g., atherosclerosis and hypertension). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses an integer linear programming problem that is a model for a problem in the design of experiments. Overview of how ILP problem can be solved; Propositions and theorems.

The paper describes the research of causal relationships between the factors of technological, organizational, environmental, and personal contexts and their influence on the development of learning intentions in potential students. Its purpose was to develop a mechanism for designing a public online educational resource platform based on the combined TOE/fsQCA model taking into account the synergy of factors influencing student behavior at all stages of the educational process from entering the course to its completion. The research identified 4 and 3 configurations with high to medium and low intention to start learning on the MOOC platform, respectively. Since focusing on consumer demand allows for designing a high-quality MOOC platform, it is advisable to use the combined TOE/fsQCA model both at the stage of constructing the platform structure and at the learning stage to identify optimal learning trajectories taking into account the personal needs of students. Prospects for further research lie in the refinement of conventions, in-depth analysis, and a more detailed study of causal relationships that influence the behavioral motives of MOOC platform students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]