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Symbolic play skills are important in language acquisition and child development. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulties demonstrating such play behaviors. Imaginary objects symbolic play refers to play behavior in which children perform play actions without actual objects. Three boys with ASD (3–7 years) participated in this study. A multiple-probe across three participants and two settings design was employed to evaluate the effects of intraverbal training on the acquisition and generalization of imaginary objects symbolic play. Results indicated that all children acquired and maintained target imaginary objects play activities. Generalization to untaught activities occurred in one child. All three children' symbolic play emerged or increased in free play after the instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Badain Jaran Desert (BJD) in China is a desert with impressive sand dunes and a groundwater situation that has attracted numerous researchers. This paper gives an overview of the mysteries of groundwater in the BJD that are exhibited as five key problems identified in previous studies. These problems relate to the origin of the groundwater, the hydrological connection between the BJD and the Heihe River Basin (HRB), the infiltration recharge, the lake-groundwater interactions, and the features of stable isotope analyses. The existing controversial analyses and hypotheses have caused debate and have hindered effective water resources management in the region. In recent years, these problems have been partly addressed by additional surveys. It has been revealed that the Quaternary sandy sediments and Neogene-Cretaceous sandstones form a thick aquifer system in the BJD. Groundwater flow at the regional scale is dominated by a significant difference in water levels between the surrounding mountains and lowlands at the western and northern edges. Discharge of groundwater from the BJD to the downstream HRB occurs according to the regional flow. Seasonal fluctuations of the water level in lakes are less than 0.5 m due to the quasi-steady groundwater discharge. The magnitude of infiltration recharge is still highly uncertain because significant limitations existed in previous studies. The evaporation effect may be the key to interpreting the anomalous negative deuterium-excess in the BJD groundwater. Further investigations are expected to reveal the hydrogeological conditions in more detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the differential effects of video modeling (VM) and picture-based interventions (PI) for teaching children with ASD to recognize emotions in context. The study used an adapted alternating treatments design. One girl and three boys in China, 4.5-5 years old with autism spectrum disorder, participated. Both methods were effective, but three of the four children demonstrated a higher percentage of accurate responses with VM than with PI. All children required less time overall and less time per trial to reach criterion with PI than VM. They required fewer trials to reach criterion with VM, but VM trials were longer. All children displayed longer on-task behavior with VM than with PI. Overall, the two methods can be considered comparable in efficiency, with the choice of one rather than the other depending on learners' and instructors' needs, preferences, and contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a procedure involving systematic withdrawal of stimulus prompts and tangible reinforcers on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of eye contact and gaze following for two children with ASD in China. Two boys with ASD (5–6 years of age) participated. A concurrent multiple probe design across behaviors and participants was used. Results indicate that the procedure effectively established eye contact and gaze following for both children. Generalization to new instructors occurred in the free play setting, and the acquired behaviors were maintained for 1 month following training. Eye contact was maintained with social consequences for one child; the other child required tokens along with social consequences to maintain eye contact. Social consequences were sufficient to maintain gaze following for both children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of cooperative physical activities on social interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in China. Cooperative physical activities include procedures such as peer selection, peer practice, group task completion, and an interdependent group contingency. The intervention took place during inclusive physical education (PE) classes. Generalization of interactions with peers was evaluated during free play. Three preschool boys (ages 4–5 yrs) with ASD participated in the study, which used a multiple baseline design across the participants. Results indicated that the procedure effectively increased the frequency of appropriate peer interactions for all three children in the PE and free play settings. Although the frequency of inappropriate interactions increased after the intervention in both settings, the proportion of inappropriate interactions relative to appropriate interactions decreased for two children in the PE setting and for all three children in the free play setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yongding River (Beijing, China) was dry most times of the year, and groundwater storage was severely depleted. To address this issue, a river rehabilitation project was initiated. A downstream environmental flow release (EFR) project from upstream reservoirs has been implemented since 2019. This study evaluated the impact of EFR by constructing transient groundwater-flow and numerical tracer transport models to simulate the hydrogeological responses to the water release events in 2019–2020. The study identified two factors that significantly influence the river leakage rate, which are operational factors (i.e., water release rate and duration) and physical factors (i.e., hydraulic properties of the riverbed, regional hydraulic gradients, and groundwater depth) that determine the maximum water availability for groundwater recharge and maximum infiltration capacity, respectively. Predictive modelling was performed to assess the long-term effects of the proposed EFR scheme from 2021 to 2050, which showed that groundwater levels along the river will increase by 10–20 m by 2050. Groundwater storage is expected to be largely recovered and groundwater/surface-water connectivity in the middle reach of the river will be restored. This restoration will not only maintain the environmental flow for the benefit of ecosystems but also enhance groundwater recharge, promoting sustainable groundwater development in the region. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of the proposed EFR scheme in achieving sustainable groundwater development in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of video modeling and visual task analysis on the acquisition, maintenance, and engagement of washing cars for three Chinese adolescents with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. Video-based training was conducted in the conference room of a university-affiliated autism research center in China, and the hands-on training using visual task analysis took place in a local car wash. Three male adolescents (16–19 years old) participated in this study. A multiple probe across four tasks design was used. Results indicated that the training was effective in increasing independent and accurate responses of car wash tasks for all participants, and two of the three participants had a relatively high level of task engagement after the training. The acquired skills and improved task engagement were maintained for up to 6 months without practice. Implications in vocational skills training for Chinese adolescents in the community are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a self-monitoring intervention on the independent completion of dishwashing for three boys with autism (ages 6, 7, and 8) in China. The self-monitoring intervention included visual task analysis, in vivo modeling, self-recording, video self-feedback, and reinforcement. A multiple probe across subjects design was used. Prior to the study, the children had limited or no dishwashing skills, nor did they receive any training on self-monitoring. All three children acquired dishwashing and performed the task independently without supervision one week after the intervention. Their parents were very satisfied with this intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Cosmogenic nuclide burial dating of cave sediments in Liuchong River, southwestern China. [•] The embryonic form of modern Wujiang River was possibly presented at 0.75Ma ago. [•] The high river incision rate of northwest Guizhou Plateau is nearly ∼0.48m/ka. [•] Strong uplift of Tibetan Plateau in Quaternary might be the primary reason. [•] Others are due to the soluble carbonate bedrock and cut-through of Three Gorges. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Informed by the ABC model of attitude, this study employed natural language processing and machine learning techniques to explore the status quo, trends, and features of Weibo users' attitudes toward individuals who are lesbian or gay based on 1,813,218 Weibo retrieved posts that pertained to lesbians and gays from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2019. Although the general attitudes, feeling/emotional reactions, and levels of support for the rights of lesbians and gays were identified as relatively positive for Weibo users and became even more so over time, the expressed knowledge of lesbians and gays was relatively inaccurate and the four aspects of attitude varied significantly as a function of individual-level variables (such as gender, age, education, sexual orientation, and verification type). The implications of these findings and suggestions that may improve the public acceptance of lesbians and gays are discussed. • 1,813,218 posts pertaining to lesbians/gays from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2019, were collected and analyzed. • Weibo users' general attitudes, feelings, and support for the rights of lesbians and gays were relatively positive. • Weibo users are becoming increasingly supportive and accepting of the rights of lesbian and gay people. • The knowledge of Weibo users toward lesbians and gays was relatively inaccurate. • No significant differences were found for education with respect to the Weibo users' knowledge of lesbians and gays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]