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Despite the widely acknowledged pro-learning function of formative assessment and its wide adoption around the globe, the gaps between policy intention, interpretation and implementation remain a problem to be solved. While this problem is noted universally, it could be particularly serious in China, where Confucian Heritage Culture is deeply ingrained and education development is not quite balanced. This study, via interview data with English teachers and deans from eight universities in an undeveloped region of the Mid-western China, explores the overall environment for a formative assessment initiative that is currently in place. Data analysis reveals multiple issues, such as insufficient support, improper dissemination and ineffective training at the meso-level and the instructors' limited assessment ability, large class sizes and student's resistance at the micro-level. A conclusion is thus drawn that the overall environment in this region is by no means favourable for the effective implementation of formative assessment, and implications are derived for better realisation of assessment innovations in this and other undeveloped regions of China.

Informed by emergent learning theories and multiple evidenced benefits, cooperative learning has developed into a widely accepted organization mode of class in the Western context. For the same reason, cooperative learning is transferred, during the past decade, into classrooms of Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) contexts. Concerns, however, are raised regarding the effectiveness of the transfer, for contextual factors have long been acknowledged as a powerful barrier to borrowed initiatives, especially those that are not compatible with the deep-rooted cultural values in the situated contexts. This paper is built on Thanh-Pham's (2014) review of literature, which is on the impact of cooperative learning on the CHC students' learning achievements and conducted during 1990 to 2006. This paper has expanded Thanh-Pham (2014) with a similar review on available literatures, which were published from 2007 up to 2016. This review of 39 publications shows up noticeable changes regarding the impact of cooperative learning in the CHC contexts. Specifically, the positive findings have risen from 47.2% to 86.9%, whereas negative and null change studies fall considerably. Influencing factors are analyzed via SPSS22.0 Software and verified with exemplars. Reasons for these changes point to the changing context and adaptive agency.

It is now a consensus that high-stakes testing exerts powerful impact in controlling curriculum and pedagogy, and shaping students' learning. The power of testing is especially strong in contexts where testing culture prevails. The Chinese educational context is such a context which is dominated by competitive tests. The language testing results from large-scale tests, such as CET-4 (College English Test--Band 4), used to be included as a compulsory prerequisite for undergraduates to get their bachelor's degree. Such a requirement has been removed recently to reduce testing stakes for leverage purposes. Thus, it is worthwhile to investigate whether the change will possibly help to impact students and their learning in a positive way.Our study aimed to explore the impact of changes in the stakes of a language test in the Chinese university context. Data were collected through questionnaires from 544 College English students at a university in north-western China. Our analysis via SPSS 2.3 showed that test-taking was still well accepted and practiced; while reducing the stakes helped to redirect the students towards English learning, it had less impact on their English learning motivation and approaches. The findings also show that the test-dominated environment that is deep-rooted in the macro- and micro-contexts decided the students' responses to this policy change.

The "College English Curriculum Requirements," announced by the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2007, recommended the inclusion of formative assessment into the existing summative assessment framework of College English. This policy had the potential to fundamentally change the nature of assessment and its role in the teaching and learning of English in Chinese universities. In order to document and analyse these changes, case studies involving English language (EL) teachers and learners were undertaken in two Chinese universities: one a Key University in the national capital; the other a non-Key University in a western province. The case study design incorporated classroom observations and interviews with EL teachers and their students. The type and focus of feedback and the engagement of students in assessment were analysed in the two contexts. Fundamental to the analysis was the concept of enactment, with the focus of this study on the ways that policy ideas and principles were enacted in the practices of the Chinese university classroom. Understandings of formative assessment as applied in contexts other than the predominantly western, Anglophone contexts from where many of its principles derive are offered.

Formative assessment is increasingly being implemented through policy initiatives in Chinese educational contexts. As an approach to assessment, formative assessment derives many of its key principles from Western contexts, notably through the work of scholars in the UK, the USA and Australia. The question for this paper is the ways that formative assessment has been interpreted in the teaching of College English in Chinese Higher Education. The paper reports on a research study that utilised a sociocultural perspective on learning and assessment to analyse how two Chinese universities -- an urban-based Key University and a regional-based Non-Key University -- interpreted and enacted a China Ministry of Education policy on formative assessment in College English teaching. Of particular interest for the research were the ways in which the sociocultural conditions of the Chinese context mediated understanding of Western principles and led to their adaptation. The findings from the two universities identified some consistency in localised interpretations of formative assessment which included emphases on process and student participation. The differences related to the specific sociocultural conditions contextualising each university including geographical location, socioeconomic status, and teacher and student roles, expectations and beliefs about English. The findings illustrate the sociocultural tensions in interpreting, adapting and enacting formative assessment in Chinese College English classes and the consequent challenges to and questions about retaining the spirit of formative assessment as it was originally conceptualised.

It is shown that the aligned electrospun fibers are a convenient platform for studying the mechanical effects on nanomaterials, particularly when using surface‐enhanced Raman scattering as a sensitive tool of monitoring. The ligands on the surface of the embedded Au nanoparticles fall off easily with the shear force from the stretching, in contrast to the counterparts protected by polymer/silica shells. Upon stretching, the chains of Au nanoparticles will reversibly break, as revealed by the dramatic changes in the longitudinal plasmon absorption. It is believed that such a platform will open a window for understanding mechanical effects at the nanoscale, and also a new means for synthetic control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Emerging evidence suggests that microRNAs (miRNAs) serve an important role in tumorigenesis and development. Although the low expression of miR‐125a‐5p in gastric cancer has been reported, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. In the current study, the low expression of miR‐125a‐5p in gastric cancer was verified in paired cancer tissues and adjacent non‐tumour tissues. Furthermore, the GC islands in the miR‐125a‐5p region were hypermethylated in the tumour tissues. And the hypermethylation was negatively correlated with the miR‐125a‐5p expression. Target gene screening showed that the histone methyltransferase Suv39H1 was one of the potential target genes. In vitro studies showed that miR‐125a‐5p could directly suppress the Suv39H1 expression and decrease the H3K9me3 levels. On the other hand, the Suv39H1 could induce demethylation of miR‐125a‐5p, resulting in re‐activation of miR‐125a‐5p. What is more, overexpessing miR‐125a‐5p could also self‐activate the silenced miR‐125a‐5p in gastric cancer cells, which suppressed cell migration, invasion and proliferation in vitro and inhibited cancer progression in vivo. Thus, we uncovered here that the epigenetic silenced miR‐125a‐5p could be self‐activated through targeting Suv39H1 in gastric cancer, suggesting that miR‐125a‐5p might be not only the potential prognostic value as a tumour biomarker but also potential therapeutic targets in gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TheCollege English Curriculum Requirements, announced by the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2007, recommended the inclusion of formative assessment into the existing summative assessment framework of College English. This policy had the potential to fundamentally change the nature of assessment and its role in the teaching and learning of English in Chinese universities. In order to document and analyse these changes, case studies involving English language (EL) teachers and learners were undertaken in two Chinese universities: one a Key University in the national capital; the other a non-Key University in a western province. The case study design incorporated classroom observations and interviews with EL teachers and their students. The type and focus of feedback and the engagement of students in assessment were analysed in the two contexts. Fundamental to the analysis was the concept of enactment, with the focus of this study on the ways that policy ideas and principles were enacted in the practices of the Chinese university classroom. Understandings of formative assessment as applied in contexts other than the predominantly western, Anglophone contexts from where many of its principles derive are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent decades, hypoxic areas have rapidly expanded worldwide in estuaries and coastal zones. The Pearl River Estuary (PRE), one of China's largest estuaries, experiences frequent seasonal hypoxia due to intense human activities and eutrophication. However, the ecological effects of hypoxia in the PRE, particularly on fish communities, remain unclear. To explore these effects, we collected fish community and environmental data in July 2021 during the summer hypoxia development period. The results revealed that bottom-layer dissolved oxygen (DO) in the PRE ranged from 0.08 to 5.71 mg/L, with extensive hypoxic zones (DO ≤ 2 mg/L) observed. Hypoxia has varied effects on fish community composition, distribution, species, and functional diversity in the PRE. A total of 104 fish species were collected in this study, with approximately 30 species (28.6%) exclusively found in hypoxic areas. Species responses to hypoxia varied: species such as Sardinella zunasi , Coilia mystus , and Nuchequula nuchalis were sensitive, while Decapterus maruadsi , Siganus fuscescens , and Lagocephalus spadiceus showed higher tolerance. Within the hypoxia area, dissolved oxygen was the main limiting factor for fish community diversity. Functional diversity (FDiv) decreased with higher dissolved oxygen levels, indicating a potential shift in the functional traits and ecological roles of fish species in response to changing oxygen conditions. Further analysis demonstrated that dissolved oxygen had a significantly stronger effect on fish community structure at hypoxic sites than in the whole PRE. Moreover, other environmental variables also had significant effects on the fish community structure and interacted with dissolved oxygen in the hypoxia area. These findings suggest that maintaining sufficient dissolved oxygen levels is essential for sustaining fish communities and ecosystem health in the PRE. This study provides novel insights into the effects of hypoxia on fish communities in estuarine ecosystems and has significant implications for the ecological health and management of the PRE., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Gastric cancer peritoneal metastases (GCPM) are a leading cause of death in gastric cancer patients. In this study, we focused on the expression of cyclin-dependent protein kinases (CDK), essential regulators of transcription, metabolism, and cell differentiation, in GCPM. Utilizing the GSE62254 cohort, we established a CDK signature (CDKS) model comprising ten CDK gene family members. Analysis of both the GSE62254 and TCGA cohorts revealed that patients with low CDKS had a worse prognosis compared to those with high CDKS. Furthermore, patients with high CDKS demonstrated positive responses from immunotherapy, as observed in the KIM cohort. We investigated the association between CDKS and the tumor microenvironment, including immune escape mechanisms. Immunohistochemistry analysis revealed a positive correlation between CDK5 and PD-L1 expression in gastric cancer. Furthermore, we found that CDK5 knockdown led to the inhibition of PD-L1 expression in gastric cancer cells. Our findings highlight the potential of CDKS as a prognostic biomarker and an indicator of immunotherapy response in gastric cancer patients. Moreover, our study suggests that targeting CDK5 could provide a new pathway for exploring immunotherapeutic research., Competing Interests: None., (AJCR Copyright © 2023.)