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The advancing power and capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) have expanded the roles of AI in education and have created the possibility for teachers to collaborate with AI in classroom instruction. However, the potential types of teacher-AI collaboration (TAC) in classroom instruction and the benefits and challenges of implementing TAC are still elusive. This study, therefore, aimed to explore different types of TAC and the potential benefits and obstacles of TAC through Focus Group Interviews with 30 Chinese teachers. The study found that teachers anticipated six types of TAC, which are thematized as One Teach, One Observe; One Teach, One Assist; Co-teaching in Stations; Parallel Teaching in Online and Offline Classes; Differentiated Teaching; and Team Teaching. While teachers highlighted that TAC could support them in instructional design, teaching delivery, teacher professional development, and lowering grading load, they perceived a lack of explicit and consistent curriculum guidance, the dominance of commercial AI in schools, the absence of clear ethical guidelines, and teachers' negative attitude toward AI as obstacles to TAC. These findings enhance our understanding of how TAC could be structured at school levels and direct the implications for future development and practice to support TAC.

With the fast development of technology and the prevalent use of high-speed internet across campus, online courses have become a necessary option for course delivery in many universities in China. A sample group of 158 university students participated in this study. We examined differences in their expectations of instructors between face-to-face and online course settings. Results indicated that Chinese students expect their instructors to have some overlap characteristics in both sets, including being knowledgeable about the subject, building class rapport, having realistic expectations of students, and providing fair testing and grading. Specifically, Chinese students expect instructors who teach online courses to be more confident, creative, interesting, and humble. Chinese students also hope online instructors actively motivate class discussion and promote critical thinking, and are intellectually stimulating.

As a chief pillar of higher education and technological innovation, universities have been enhancing national innovative capacity and promoting the social and economic development of the nation. Graduate education is an important channel of nurturing high-level talents, of which the cultivation of graduate students' practical ability is at the core. However, there are still some problems existing in the social practice appraisal mechanism for graduate students in most Chinese universities, such as the limited assessment scope, overgeneralized standards, inefficient communication during the social practice process and imperfect incentive mechanism. These deficiencies have made negative impacts on the effectiveness of the assessment of graduate students' practical ability, the quality of graduate students' practice, and the enthusiasm of graduate students involving in social practice. In order to promote the present social practice appraisal mechanism for graduate students, this paper attempts to construct a new graduate student appraisal system through the use of OKR (Objectives and Key Results) management approach and a more comprehensive incentive mechanism, in the hope of contributing to the improvement of the whole graduate student social practice evaluation mechanism.

Principals play a key leadership role in school effectiveness and student success; however, one area that has received relatively little attention so far is principals' embedded understanding of assessment and grading within the educational context where they work. We examined 141 Chinese school principals' conceptions of assessment and grading practices using a survey research design. Our results indicated that principals viewed summative assessment as necessarily serving two purposes: (a) accountability, and (b) improvement of teaching and learning. Assessment that does not serve these dual purposes was not viewed as maximally supporting learning in this educational context. The study further found that accountability pressures influenced principals' conceptions of assessment and consequently shaped their approaches to grading in China's examination-oriented culture. This study provides implications for a heightened understanding of principals' leadership in the crucial role that student assessment plays in both enhancing instruction and student learning and ever-expanding accountability mandates within the Chinese education context and other educational contexts globally.

COVID-19 boosted online teaching and yielded a significant amount of valuable data, yet utilizing it for education is a challenge. This study employed the K-means clustering method to analyze the online teaching behavior data of 1147 courses from a local university in East China. As a result, five types of courses with distinct teaching behaviors were identified: resource preparation (4.1%), online classroom interaction (3.6%), task evaluation (9.2%), active interaction (15.5%), and inactive interaction (67.6%). By examining the relationship between these course types and academic performance, the authors discovered no significant difference in the academic performance of students in the three course groups (i.e., resource preparation, online classroom interaction, and task evaluation) and students in the inactive interaction course group. However, there was a significant disparity in academic performance between students in active interaction courses and students in inactive interaction courses. These findings can assist teachers in planning online teaching activities more effectively and improving teaching outcomes.

Classroom assessment is an effective way to collect evidence about student learning, and a teacher's professional responsibility in assessment is to use high quality, fair, and ethical assessment information to make decisions about students' learning and teachers' instruction. This study used a scenario-based survey and investigated college students' perceptions about the ethicality of classroom assessment practices in Chinese higher education. Participants included 2711 college students from 177 universities located in 23 provinces and 4 municipalities in China. The results revealed that students reported very different levels of agreement with experts on the scenarios, and it appeared to be more challenging for them to recognize unethical assessment practices in comparison with ethical assessment practices. Students valued using multiple assessment methods but reported inconsistent views with experts regarding grading effort. Confidentiality and communication about grading were found to be the key assessment issues to be addressed in Chinese educational context.

The purpose of this study was to investigate Chinese university professors' perceptions about the ethicality of classroom assessment practices. In a survey of Chinese professors, participants completed a questionnaire with 15 scenarios that depicted ethical and unethical assessment practices. Participants consisted of 555 professors from 143 universities located in 29 provinces in China. Overall, professors had high agreement about the ethicality of assessment practices with assessment experts on six scenarios, moderate agreement on five scenarios, and low agreement on four scenarios. Results indicated that ethical issues should be discussed according to the context of assessment. Additionally, developing guidelines of ethics in assessment should involve stakeholders, policy makers, administrators, researchers, and instructors.

The ultimate communicative purpose of literature reviews is to convince the reader of the worthiness of the writer's research, which is realized stage by stage and evaluation plays an important role in achieving this end. However, concerns about evaluation demonstration in novice academic writers' literature reviews have been repeatedly voiced in academia. This study examines how Chinese English-major MA students utilize evaluative resources in different rhetorical stages in thesis literature reviews and whether in a way that facilitates building a coherent argument for their own studies. To achieve this, an integrated appraisal analysis applying Martin and White's (2005) appraisal framework with a move analysis based on Kwan's (2006) model of the move structure of thesis literature reviews is undertaken. Results show that the Chinese students generally manipulate evaluative resources in a way that is beneficial for realizing the purposes of different rhetorical stages in thesis literature reviews. However, they also have problems in deploying generic structure and constructing evaluative stances, which hamper weaving a strong argument in the texts. Findings of this study provide implications for teaching English academic writing in China and in other L2 contexts as well.

Due to the emergency educational consequences of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is necessary to find an effective and alternative way of learning. Moreover, during this epidemic, the Chinese Ministry of Education announced the "Disrupted Classes, Undisrupted Learning" initiative, offering flexible online learning. With the aim of facilitating a sound learning environment when using online learning systems, various kinds of tools can be applied. Tencent Meeting is one tool that offers various learning features. This study aimed to investigate how students perceived the effect of the Tencent Meeting system features on the two main determinants of the TAM model, namely perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU). The study further analyzed the effects of these two determinants on learning performance. Data were analyzed using regression analysis. The study found the Tencent Meeting system features could account for 55.1% of PEOU and 40% of PU. Another finding shows that PEOU and PU had a significant effect on the students' learning performance. Finally, a discussions and implications are presented.

Translation teachers have long experimented with various methods to help students improve their translation competence. This study approaches the issue by developing an assessment framework based on error analysis and a translation grading system, with the aim of identifying the most common and frequent errors committed by students in their translation works. One group of translation students in Ningxia University, China served as the target group of the study. The errors identified in their renditions were classified, with text-level errors the most prominent, followed by translation errors and substance errors. Possible causes of the errors were analyzed, and suggestions were proposed for future teaching.

Continuous assessment (CA) is believed to have great potential for improving learning in higher education. Students' beliefs about CA are a determining force for optimising CA's formative potential. This study explored 27 Chinese undergraduates' beliefs about CA functions in their college English course through individual semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that more than half of the participants noticed the judgemental function of CA. The majority valued CA as an external force that motivated them to learn. Fewer than half believed that CA informed their learning. It is argued that this perceived strong extrinsic motivational function and weak informing function might constrain the participants' sustainable learning improvement. The findings show that the participants' beliefs about CA functions were ecologically rational. The macrosystem (China's education system and examination culture) and exosystem (university assessment policy) enhanced the participants' recognition of CA as a motivator. Further, the microsystem (lecturer feedback and grading practices) and chronosystem (students' transition from high school to university) contributed to their lower awareness of CA as a useful feedback source.

The present study is set in the context of ongoing educational reform that advocates fostering self-regulated learners and using assessment to improve learning. Drawing on existent research on classroom assessment (CA) and self-regulated learning (SRL), the authors have formulated a conceptual framework outlining the CA features that promote SRL among students. Guided by this framework, the 12 high school teachers' CA practice was scrutinized to find out to what extent their CA was pro-SRL. Based on interview data and classroom observation, gaps were found in Chinese high school teachers' CA. First, CA tasks are primarily low-level closed-end problems, with rare exceptions. Second, students are not allowed much autonomy in CA. Third, self-assessment practice is mostly self-grading. Fourth, peer-assessment is uncommon and mainly involves simply marking peers' work. Fifth, teacher feedback is focused on task and process levels; regulation-level feedback is less common. Sixth, despite teachers' encouragement, most students feel threatened by CA.

The purpose of this study was to compare pre-service teachers' views of ethical issues in assessment practices in the US and China. Focus group interviews were conducted among 16 pre-service teachers from the US and 15 pre-service teachers from China. Results indicated that the inclusion of effort in grading is a key issue for the pre-service teachers in both the US and China. American pre-service teachers have more consistent views with experts regarding using multiple assessment methods and Communications about grading. Pre-service teachers in both countries appeared to have consistent views with experts regarding the confidentiality and standardized test preparation. The findings of this study can help build guidelines regarding ethical issues in classroom assessment.

For the past number of years, a Canadian university has been offering its business degree program in universities located in Tianjin and Shanghai, China. This paper examines the alignment of the two grading systems and its implications on the grade distribution of graduates from the programs. An attempt is made to find an exchange rate of the two grading systems which reflects the fundamental value of the students' academic achievement.

Previous studies comparing native English speaking (NES) and non-native English speaking teachers have stressed how each group can contribute their respective language advantages to language teaching and assessment. However, in an interpreting classroom where both groups know each other's native language, little is known about the different assessment behaviour each group could demonstrate, even less about the role their social/cultural background could play in their assessment. To close this gap, this paper studied how NES teachers and native Chinese speaking (NCS) teachers applied their social/cultural knowledge when assessing the same students performing Chinese-English interpreting. By using data triangulation of video recording, assessment sheets and interviews, it identified four types of assessment behaviour: underlining, notating, prior marking and post hoc marking. In particular, NCS teachers were found to have employed more notating yet NES teachers used post hoc marking more frequently. The study further revealed that such divergent assessment behaviour was influenced by the teachers' social/cultural background including their pedagogical beliefs, institution expectations and cultural sensitivity. The paper thus suggested that assessment as part of teaching process should take into account teacher/assessors' social/cultural factors, and the ways their unique background knowledge influenced their judgements.

Peer assessment has proven to have positive learning outcomes. Importantly, peer assessment is a social process and some claim that the use of anonymity might have advantages. However, the findings have not always been in the same direction. Our aims were: (a) to review the effects of using anonymity in peer assessment on performance, peer feedback content, peer grading accuracy, social effects and students' perspective on peer assessment; and (b) to investigate the effects of four moderating variables (educational level, peer grading, assessment aids, direction of anonymity) in relation to anonymity. A literature search was conducted including five different terms related to peer assessment (e.g., peer feedback) and anonymity. Fourteen studies that used a control group or a within group design were found. The narrative review revealed that anonymous peer assessment seems to provide advantages for students' perceptions about the learning value of peer assessment, delivering more critical peer feedback, increased self-perceived social effects, a slight tendency for more performance, especially in higher education and with less peer assessment aids. Some conclusions are that: (a) when implementing anonymity in peer assessment the instructional context and goals need to be considered, (b) existent empirical research is still limited, and (c) future research should employ stronger and more complex research designs.

After more than 20 years of exploring liberal arts education in Chinese universities, its curriculum development has been institutionalized. Efforts to build localized curricula that fit the realities at each institution have shifted from focusing on quantity and structure to emphasizing curriculum quality assurance based on teaching evaluation by students. An empirical analysis using Fudan University's teaching evaluation data shows that some liberal arts core courses offered by technical and engineering departments are too specialized, while some offered by social sciences and humanities and languages departments lack rigor. Student evaluations of such courses therefore tend to be low. Improving the quality of liberal arts courses can begin by examining both teaching evaluations by students and course grading, starting with the less rigorous courses for non-majors. Improving the quality of liberal arts courses can begin with the courses that are too specialized or lacking rigor based on both teaching evaluations by students and grade distribution. [Translated by Michelle LeSourd.]

As one of the most high-stakes practices in education, grading has been the subject of significant debate and research over the years. However, it is only recently that researchers have started to explore the teaching and learning values embedded in grades by looking at grading policies. This study examined grading polices in China by focusing on the embedded teaching and learning values that could potentially influence teachers' grading practices. Three main types of policy documents were analysed in this research: Ministry of Education policy documents, curriculum documents, and discussion papers. A central theme derived from the analysis revealed the influence of the dominant guiding educational philosophy of comprehensive quality education on grading policies. This philosophy dictates that grading practices should include both achievement and non-achievement factors, with an emphasis on the learner as a whole rather than on the learning alone. The results of this study provide urgently needed empirical evidence of the teaching and learning values potentially embedded in teacher-constructed grades.

This study investigated Chinese secondary school English language teachers' grading decision making, focusing on the factors they considered and types of assessment they used for grading. A questionnaire was issued to 350 secondary school English language teachers in China. Descriptive analyses of the questionnaire data showed that these teachers of English considered achievement and non-achievement factors in grading, placing greater weight on non-achievement factors, such as effort, homework, and study habits, and that they used multiple types of assessment, including performance and project-based assessment, teacher self-developed assessment, as well as paper and pencil tests for grading. MANOVA results suggested that both internal and external factors, such as the grade level teachers teach, the assessment training they have received, and their class size affect different aspects of their grading decision making. Multiple regression results further showed a significant relationship between the factors teachers considered and the types of assessment they used for grading. This study contributes to the understanding of the classroom English language teachers' grading decision making in general and especially in the Chinese context and has significant implications for teacher education.

This study explores the meaning Chinese secondary school English language teachers associate with the grades they assign to their students, and the value judgements they make in grading. A questionnaire was issued to 350 junior and senior school English language teachers in China. The questionnaire data were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively using Messick's validity framework. Results of these analyses demonstrate that the meaning of the construct "grade" is closely related to two concepts: (1) judgement of students' work in terms of effort, fulfilment of requirement, and quality; and (2) judgement of students' learning in terms of academic enablers (i.e. non-achievement factors such as habit, attitude and motivation that are deemed important for students' ultimate achievement), improvement, learning process, as well as achievement. Two themes concerning these teachers' values in grading were identified: appeal to what is fair and appeal to what is beneficial for students. The teachers were primarily concerned about the consequences of grading on student schooling. These findings shed light on understanding the validity of teachers' grading in the Chinese context where non-achievement factors are valued.

This study investigates the consistency between human raters and an automated essay scoring system in grading high school students' English compositions. A total of 923 essays from 23 classes of 12 senior high schools in Taiwan (Republic of China) were obtained and scored manually and electronically. The results show that the consistency between human raters is significantly higher than the consistency between human raters and the automated essay scoring system. To discover whether the students were confident with the automated essay grading system, a questionnaire was also distributed. The results indicate the participants realize their vocabulary level was inadequate, and they wanted to know the scores the automated essay grading system gave them along with the generated comments regarding their compositions. (Contains 6 tables.)

For homework to help students improve school achievement and develop responsibility and autonomy in academic endeavors in and out of school, the development of teachers' understanding of students' views about homework and their homework behaviors is critical. Whether the subject of the homework is mathematics, reading, or a second language, teachers' and students' understandings regarding the types of problems that students experience during homework may differ. Discrepancies between students' and teachers' ratings of students' homework behaviors were examined in two subject domains--mathematics and English. Moderating effects of gender on student-teacher ratings were also examined. Participants were 268 tenth graders from a school in China and their math and English teachers. overall, students' self-ratings of homework behaviors were more negative than teachers' ratings. Male students self-rated or were rated by teachers more unfavorably than their female peers on most measures of homework problems. Discrepancies between students and teachers and across gender were more evident in English than math homework. Although teachers viewed female students as having fewer homework problems than males, when only male students were examined, teachers' and male students' ratings were similar on some measures. The importance of understanding students' homework behaviors was underscored before teachers provided homework interventions. To lessen discrepancies and improve awareness of students' homework behaviors, teachers need to grade and provide feedback on students' homework. (Contains 3 tables.)

This article details an investigation into the onscreen marking (OSM) of Liberal Studies (LS) in Hong Kong--where paper-based marking (PBM) of public examinations is being phased out and wholly superseded by OSM. The study involved 14 markers who had previously rated Liberal Studies scripts on screen in the 2009 Hong Kong Advanced Level examination. In the study, the 14 markers re-marked, on paper, a number of the scripts they had marked on screen in the 2009 examination. Using multi-faceted Rasch analysis, a five-faceted design was employed, modeling markers, test takers, input questions, rating scales, and the marking medium. Results showed that all factors generally exhibited good data fit. With the major facet for investigation being the method of marking, logit values centred at zero emerged. The hypothesis that the method of marking does not intrude on scores awarded to test takers when scripts are marked on screen or on paper was therefore accepted. Since all public examinations in Hong Kong will be marked solely on screen in 2012, it is vital for professional and public confidence that the scores returned from the OSM marking system can be considered as reliable as those obtained from paper-based marking. Results from the current study suggest that this is so. Given that many countries and jurisdictions globally are considering the implementation of OSM technology--albeit not in the all-embracing manner of Hong Kong--the current study provides further validation for the worldwide adoption of such technology. (Contains 3 footnotes, 6 tables, and 1 figure.)

Feedback is a key element in effective teaching and learning. The issue of how teachers perceive the role of feedback will impact significantly their feedback approaches, the amount of the detail of their feedback and the time and effort expended on the feedback provision. This research was designed with the purpose of exploring how a group of over 50 tutors who were supporting an online university English course perceived, understood and interpreted the processes of assignment feedback. A factor analysis study based on questionnaire data revealed three sets of tutor beliefs towards assessment and tutor feedback: traditional-autonomous-global (TAG), student-centred (SC) and traditional-local (TL). Follow-up in-depth interviews were conducted with tutors. The TAG tutors saw scores as the most important feedback to students, but doubted the value of detailed feedback. SC tutors maintained that good tutor feedback should offer more than mere scores, and that students needed feedback in order to improve. TL tutors tended to underline all the errors and provide detailed feedback. They were negative towards the idea of their feedback being monitored. The authors identified some differing and converging tutor perceptions on assessment feedback, the understanding of which could arguably play an important role in introducing changes in tutor feedback culture. (Contains 3 tables.)

The goal of higher education is to cultivate graduates' creative capability, critical thinking skills, and other professional qualities. This paper describes a project-based course and its application in graduate-level education. This course is to improve students' creative capability, collaboration capability, and self-direction. It includes many new elements such as project-oriented, up-to-date textbooks and research results, and peer-review grading systems. Compared with conventional courses, the evidence suggests that the project-based learning approaches used in this study will be quite successful for providing postgraduate students with more autonomy and creative learning experience.

Grading, feedback, and reporting of student achievement are key elements that support learning. This article reports an interview study on a range of English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) teachers' classroom assessment practices at the tertiary level in Canada, Hong Kong, and China. The interviews focused on teachers' use of marking criteria, student involvement in classroom assessment decisions and activities, and reporting procedures. The results demonstrate how these teachers make day-to-day decisions in these three contexts, thus adding to our understanding of ESL/EFL classroom assessment practices. (Contains 3 footnotes and 10 tables.)

Introduction: Fingered citron slices possess significant nutritional value and economic advantages as herbal products that are experiencing increasing demand. The grading of fingered citron slices plays a crucial role in the marketing strategy to maximize profits. However, due to the limited adoption of standardization practices and the decentralized structure of producers and distributors, the grading process of fingered citron slices requires substantial manpower and lead to a reduction in profitability. In order to provide authoritative, rapid and accurate grading standards for the market of fingered citron slices, this paper proposes a grading detection model for fingered citron slices based on improved YOLOv8n. Methods: Firstly, we obtained the raw materials of fingered citron slices from a dealer of Sichuan fingered citron origin in Shimian County, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, China. Subsequently, high-resolution fingered citron slices images were taken using an experimental bench, and the dataset for grading detection of fingered citron slices was formed after manual screening and labelling. Based on this dataset, we chose YOLOv8n as the base model, and then replaced the YOLOv8n backbone structure with the Fasternet main module to improve the computational efficiency in the feature extraction process. Then we redesigned the PAN-FPN structure used in the original model with BiFPN structure to make full use of the high-resolution features to extend the sensory field of the model while balancing the computation amount and model volume, and finally we get the improved target detection algorithm YOLOv8-FCS. Results: The findings from the experiments indicated that this approach surpassed the conventional RT-DETR, Faster R-CNN, SSD300 and YOLOv8n models in most evaluation indicators. The experimental results show that the grading accuracy of the YOLOv8-FCS model reaches 98.1%, and the model size is only 6.4 M, and the FPS is 130.3. Discussion: The results suggest that our model offers both rapid and precise grading for fingered citron slices, holding significant practical value for promoting the advancement of automated grading systems tailored to fingered citron slices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many tree species are planted in China with variable properties and usage. Toward exploring the structure-properties relationships of wood and classifying the species more reasonably, the physiomechanical properties of the domestic wood species in China were analyzed statistically. According to the correlation analysis, the mechanical properties were closely related to the wood density. Except impact toughness and cleavage strength, the correlation coefficients between mechanical properties and densities were more than 0.8. However, shrinkage properties showed fewer correlations with densities, and the coefficient was no more than 0.7. Primary component analysis was proved to be feasible to explore the information of the physiomechanical properties. Two principal components (PC1 and PC2) could account for most of the information. PC1 and PC2 were designated as density-dominated and shrinkage-associated factors, respectively. The domestic wood species in China could be classified into 4 clusters based on their physiomechanical properties. According to the cluster results, reasonable grading was proposed for air-dried density, volume shrinkage, modulus of rupture, compression strength parallel to grain and hardness in cross section. The statistical results brought insights into analyzing the physiomechanical properties of domestic Chinese wood species, which was helpful for developing strategies of tree breeding and technologies of wood processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automation processing has become particularly important for the Camellia oleifera industry in Southern China, as the agricultural economy is ever increasing. Fruit shelling of Camellia oleifera is a very critical link in the production line. There are still some problems so far in the sorting and recognition system for the Camellia oleifera sheller, such as single-feature recognition method, great disturbance by target color, and relatively low adaptive function. This study aims to propose a multi-features intelligent sorting algorithm, combining the artificial immune network (aiNet) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), in order to fully utilize the multi-feature clustering feature of immune algorithm, and the dichotomy feature of SVM algorithm. Six morphological and color characteristics of shell kernel in a Camellia oleifera were extracted, including elongation, roundness, completeness, R component, G component, and B component of color feature. These characteristics were used to sort and identify the shell and kernel of Camellia oleifera. The collected images were first preprocessed, then three morphological features were integrated into the aiNet algorithm for multi-features comprehensive identification, finally three-color features were input into the SVM algorithm for the recognition of color features. Since the color of fruit shells and seeds varied in different storage periods, 3 and 12 days were selected to obtain the obvious color characteristics of Camellia oleifera fruits, considering the influence of temperature, and humidity, on the picking Camellia oleifera fruits. In the experimental test, the multi-features immune network combined with SVM algorithm significantly reduced the complexity of multi-dimensional operation while saved the operation time. The results showed that the sorting efficiency of Camellia oleifera fruit reached 97.4% in 3 days, and 76.6% in 12 days, indicating a high separation efficiency. The recognition time reached an average of 600 ms and a minimum of 510 ms, where the recognition time was the sum of the consumption time of two algorithms, and the ratio of time consumed by aiNet and SVM algorithm was 2.3:1. A comparation was made in the recognition rate and time, including the multi-dimensional aiNet, the multi-dimensional SVM algorithm, the color threshold method, and the morphological threshold method. Although the conventional algorithm of color morphological threshold had a short execution time, it does not have multi-features adaptability, as its simple structure. Nevertheless, the usage of multi-features immune algorithm can easily lead to the "dimension disaster" of long recognition time, particularly when to recognize six features of shape and color. The multi-dimensional SVM algorithm was not suitable for the multi-feature recognition, due to its binary structure. An improved algorithm can also lead to the problem of long sorting time, due to the complexity of structure. The recognition rate decreased, when the color difference was not obvious during the storage period of 12 days. The combination of artificial immune and SVM can be used to enhance the efficiency and real-time performance, particularly better than other methods in the shelling and sorting production line of Camellia oleifera fruit. The finding can verify the algorithm with innovative and practical characteristics, thereby to improve the production of Camellia oleifera fruit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common diseases in older populations. Its main clinical features include cognitive dysfunction, affective disorder, and abnormal mental behavior. Due to the lack of therapeutic drugs, professional care has become an important diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease patients. At present, most Alzheimer's disease patients are cared for at home by relatives or caregivers, and less than l0% of city-based patients receive care in oldage institutions. Due to mixed treatment regimens in the hospital, care services do not necessarily match patient care needs and thus Alzheimer's disease patients do not receive adequate treatment. Developed countries have a mature care system for the elderly, but no graded care model for the elderly with Alzheimer's disease currently exists in China. In this paper, the author draws on the experience of developed countries to construct an index system for the graded care of Alzheimer's disease patients that is suited to conditions in China. This article addresses the burden faced by the elderly with Alzheimer's disease and the current standard of care for the elderly at home and abroad. After explaining the necessity of constructing a care model for the elderly with Alzheimer's disease, the author then explains the practicability of the care system proposed in this study in order to provide a whole-course care model for the mentally impaired elderly in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Shipin Kexue/ Food Science is the property of Food Science Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Natural hay pastures in semi-arid pastoral areas produce the highest yields of hay in northern China. However, long-term continuous hay harvesting with no rest interval has resulted in severe degradation across widespread areas of these natural hay pastures. In addition, no clear data exist on the spatial distribution or degree of degradation occurring in natural hay pastures primarily because a nationally unified and normative evaluation standard is lacking. In view of the above problems, we employed an analytic hierarchy process to carry out screening and accuracy validation of evaluation indicators for natural hay pastures in north China grasslands (temperate meadow steppes, temperate steppes, mountain meadows, and lowland meadows). Our study identified seven easily measured indicators that reflect the state of natural hay pastures (average height, aboveground biomass, coverage, proportion of medium grasses, litter biomass, proportion of degradation-indicative plants, and proportion of bare spots and saline-alkali spots). A five-level scoring method was employed to delineate the threshold range for these indicators, The results of this study show that this method effectively solved the technical bottleneck for graded evaluation of degradation in natural hay pastures. This provides a theoretical basis for the scientific assessment of natural hay pasture degradation as well as important technical support for sustainable use of natural hay pastures and livestock production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Fruit planting area and yield in China have reached the top level in the world. However, the lower processing level of the subsequent commercialization after fruit harvest is becoming one of the main factors to restrict the promotion of the added value and the international market competitiveness for the domestic fruit. Therefore, realizing the automatic classification of fruit grade has become an essential precondition of the modernization for the fruit industry in China. For the automatic classification method of fruit grade based on visible light technology, the working strength is considerably heavy and the cognitive effect is difficult to be satisfied, due to the susceptibility to the subjective factors for the man-made screening mode, such as experience. The corresponding machine screening mode based on the computer vision technology is susceptible to the drawbacks of the objective factors, such as traditional cognitive methods, and the classification result is also hence difficult to achieve satisfied effect. When the feature space and classification criteria are established once, they are un-updated, and are summarized as an open-loop fruit grade cognition mode for traditional machine judgment. Aiming at the defects, a greengage grade intelligent feedback cognitive method with cognitive result entropy measurement index constraint is explored, which imitates the human cognitive process with repeated comparison and inference from global to local. Firstly, under uncertain conditions and finite domain, from the information theory point of view, the greengage grade intelligent decision information system model is established by the representation of unstructured multi-level dynamic features with information completeness evaluation index. Secondly, the feature space data structure and classification criterion of greengage images with clear grade and feature mapping relationship are established based on adaptive structure-based convolutional neural networks and ensemble random vector functional-link net classifiers from global to local. Thirdly, based on the generalized error and generalized entropy theories, the entropy measurement evaluation index is established for the greengage image cognitive results. Finally, the intelligent operation mechanism of dynamic feedback cognition is established based on the measurement index constraint of uncertain process cognitive result. The average recognition accuracy of 1 008 greengage images for our proposed method is 98.15%. Such performance is 7.9% higher than the algorithm based on Gabor wavelet combined with principal component analysis and support vector machine. The performance of the algorithm based on color completed local binary pattern combined with the nearest neighbor classifier is also lower than that of the proposed method, and the average recognition accuracy of it is just 92.77%. Moreover, compared with the algorithm based on the wavelet descriptor combined with kernel principal component analysis and radial basis function neural network, the recognition accuracy of the proposed method is much better, although the running time is 0.7 s longer. The above mentioned conclusions indicate that the proposed method of adaptive structure convolutional neural networks and ensemble random vector functional-link net classifiers is suitable for the greengage grade machine screening recognition to replace the man-made screening mode, which can effectively enhance the generalization ability of the feature space and the robustness of the classifier. This study provides a reference for the rapid and accurate greengage grade machine cognition based on visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the significance of transperineal two-dimensional ultrasound in the diagnosis and classification of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).Methods: A total of 87 preoperative SUI patients (group A) from the Department of Gynecology of Peking University People's Hospital were included into this study. These patients were further divided into two groups (groups A1 and A2) according to the severity of their disease. In addition, during the same period, 72 age-matched women without SUI were enrolled into this study and assigned as the control group (group B). Through transperineal two-dimensional ultrasound technique, detrusor wall thickness (DWT) was measured in the resting state, the bladder neck descent (BND) was measured under the maximal valsalva maneuver, the proximal urethral rotation angle (α angle) and posterior vesicourethral angle (β angle) were measured, and the formation of the funnel-shaped urethra was observed.Results: Under the resting state, differences in DWT between groups A and B, as well as between groups A1 and A2, were not statistically significant (P> 0.05). The BND, α and β angles were significantly larger in group A than in group B under the maximal Valsalva maneuver; and the differences were statistically significant (P< 0.05). The formation rate of the funnel-shaped urethra was significantly higher in group A (94%) than in group B (3%), and the difference was statistically significant; while the difference between groups A1 and A2 was not statistically significant (P> 0.05).Conclusion: Transperineal two-dimensional ultrasound can play an assistant role in the diagnosis of female SUI. However, its role in the assessment of the severity of SUI remains to be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence and associated factors of fundus tessellation in highly myopic children and adolescents., Methods: A total of 513 high myopes (spherical equivalent [SE] ≤ -5.0 D, 4-19 years of age) without any advanced pathological myopic lesions were enrolled. Fundus photographs and choroidal thickness (ChT) data were collected by SS-OCT. A novel grading approach was adopted to classify fundus tessellation into four categories on colour fundus photography, referring to the location of tessellation divided by an Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study grid centred on the fovea, through which closer to the fovea represents higher grades of fundus tessellation. Peripapillary atrophy (PPA) area and ovality index were also measured., Results: Among the participants, with a mean age of 13.47 ± 3.13 years and mean SE of - 8.34 ± 1.91 D, there were 29 (5.7%), 95 (18.5%), 233 (45.4%) and 156 (30.4%) participants with grade 0 to grade 3 fundus tessellation, respectively. The ChT in both the macular and peripapillary area was negatively correlated with the fundus tessellation grade (R = -0.763 and -0.537, respectively, all p < 0.001). Higher grades of fundus tessellation were independently associated with thinner macular ChT (OR = 1.734, 95% CI: 1.621-1.856, p < 0.001), longer axial length (OR = 1.368, 95% CI: 1.105-1.695, p = 0.004), larger PPA area (OR = 1.391, 95% CI: 1.073-1.802, p = 0.013) and the female sex (OR = 1.605, 95% CI: 1.092-2.359, p = 0.016)., Conclusion: The fundus tessellation grade could reflect the ChT, representing the severity of myopic maculopathy among young high myopes who rarely had any advanced lesions of pathological myopia. Fundus tessellation grade might be a potential index for assessing early-stage myopic maculopathy in children and adolescents., (© 2021 The Authors. Acta Ophthalmologica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation.)

• Validity of grades were examined across two learning contexts. • Explored 35 Canadian and Chinese secondary teachers' grading practices. • Canadian and Chinese teachers valued fairness yet reported challenges when generating and considering grades. • Canadian teachers included achievement factors rather than non-achievement ones. • Chinese teachers included both achievement and non-achievement factors. Grades are the dominant currency that enables student migration patterns; in particular, the recent upsurge of Chinese students studying and settling in Canada. Given the use of grades for student promotion, mobilization, and admission into educational programs internationally, there is an urgent need to understand the validity of grades across learning contexts. This study explored 35 Canadian and Chinese secondary school teachers' grading decisions and practices through nine focus groups. Following inductive analyses, findings indicated that teachers primarily valued fairness as an overarching driver of decision-making when generating and considering grades. Teachers' considerations of fairness centred around four emergent themes: (a) context and classroom management, (b) learning values: grades as academic enablers, (c) policy and external pressures, and (d) consequences of grade use. The overarching thread common among both Canadian and Chinese teachers was their reported challenge in maintaining fair grading practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An arc approximation algorithm for cucumber curvature is proposed. • The center line of the cucumber coincides with the approximated arc curve. • The new algorithm has higher classification advantages than elliptic approximation. The cucumber is one of the most important consumer vegetables, and due to high freshness and appearance standards, it must be graded according to quality. One key metric for grading cucumbers is curvature (arch height) relative to length. To date, this classification standard has not been implemented in a commercial automatic system because the curvature of the cucumber is related to its length. This paper presents and tests a circular arc approximation algorithm for measuring the curvature of a cucumber using image processing. By fitting the central axis of each cucumber to establish a curve equation, the approximate eigenvalue radius, R, and the radius of the section perpendicular to the curvature of cucumber, r, could be obtained quickly and efficiently. The curve of the cucumber was then transformed into a new characteristic, R' (R' = R – r), which was used as a threshold to classify each cucumber. The method was verified by theory and experiment, and the average error of 0.71 % corresponding to the coefficient R2 = 0.9958 of the similarity index between the curve and central axis of the cucumber was verified. It was found that the fitted curve and the central axis of the cucumber were coincident. Moreover, we designed an algorithm that can detect S-shaped cucumbers based on the analysis of the contour, which can avoid the influence of S-shaped cucumbers on the results. In our tests, 148 cucumbers were classified using the circular arc approximation method, the elliptic approximation method, and a manual method. The results of the classifications were compared. According to China's standard evaluation, the classification error rate of the circular arc approximation method was 10.1 % lower than that of the elliptic approximation method. The incidence of cucumbers being classified into an adjacent grade was 0.7 % using the circular approximation method, and there were no cases of cucumbers being classified into non-adjacent grades. The classification error rate of the elliptic approximation was 10.8 %, of which 2.7 % was classified into non-adjacent grades. Under the European standard, the cucumber classification accuracy using the circular arc approximation algorithm reached 100 %. Therefore, the proposed method offers a more accurate classifier than the elliptic approximation method, and the circular arc approximation algorithm can be fully applied in the commercial cucumber classification process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through assignment method, the total score of disability in multiple dimensions is obtained, and it is divided into five functional states-severe disability, partial disability, moderate disability, mild disability, and health-according to the score, and the probability of death is constructed. Using the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) database tracking survey data, by constructing a multistate transition probability matrix, the empirical calculation of the multistate disability transfer probability, with the help of the sixth national census data, we estimated maintenance time of each state, life expectancy, etc. The results show that the 3 year transfer probability of the initial healthy elderly is the highest, and the mortality rate is also the lowest. It can be found that the disability state transition probability measurement based on the data is more accurate than the model estimation; the disability scale and life expectancy estimated based on the multistate transition probability matrix are more reliable., Competing Interests: The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Liu.)

Background: Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (p-NENs) are a group of highly heterogeneous tumors with distinct clinicopathological features and long-term prognosis. In 2017, in order to better stratify patients into prognostic groups and predicting their outcomes, World Health Organization (WHO) officially updated its grading system for p-NENs which distinguished these neoplasms among Grading 1 (G1) pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (p-NETs), G2 p-NETs, G3 p-NETs and G3 pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas (p-NECs). However, this new grading classification for p-NENs has not yet been rigorously validated., Methods: Data of patients who were surgically treated and histopathologically diagnosed as p-NENs at West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2002 to December 2018 were retrospectively collected and analyzed according the novel WHO 2017 grading classification., Results: We eventually enrolled 480 eligible patients with p-NENs in our present study, in which 150 patients with WHO 2017 G1 p-NETs, 158 with G2 p-NETs, 64 with G3 p-NETs and 108 with G3 p-NECs were identified. The estimated 5-year overall survival for patients with G1 p-NETs, G2 p-NETs, G3 p-NETs and G3 p-NECs was 75.8, 58.4, 35.1 and 11.1%, with a median survival time of 85.3mons, 67.4mons, 51.3mons and 26.8mons, respectively. Patients with G2 p-NETs present notably worse survival than those with G1 p-NETs (P = 0.03). Survival of G3 p-NETs were significantly worse than that of G1 p-NETs or G2 p-NETs (P < 0.001, P = 0.023, respectively), as well as that when comparing G3 p-NECs with G1 p-NETs or G2 p-NETs (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively). Patients with G3 p-NECs showed statistically shorter survival than those with G3 p-NETs (P < 0.001). Both WHO 2017 and 2010 grading criteria could be independent predictor for the OS of p-NENs (P = 0.016, P = 0.022; respectively). The 95% confidence intervals of WHO 2017 grading classification (0.983-9.454) was slightly smaller than that of WHO 2010 criteria (0.201-13.374), indicating a relatively more accurate predicting ability for the prognosis of p-NENs., Conclusion: The WHO 2017 grading classification for p-NENs could successfully allocate patients into four groups with distinct clinical features and significant survival differences, which might be superior to the WHO 2010 criteria for its better prognostic stratification and more accurate predicting ability.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common diseases in older populations. Its main clinical features include cognitive dysfunction, affective disorder, and abnormal mental behavior. Due to the lack of therapeutic drugs, professional care has become an important diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease patients. At present, most Alzheimer's disease patients are cared for at home by relatives or caregivers, and less than l0% of city-based patients receive care in old-age institutions. Due to mixed treatment regimens in the hospital, care services do not necessarily match patient care needs and thus Alzheimer's disease patients do not receive adequate treatment. Developed countries have a mature care system for the elderly, but no graded care model for the elderly with Alzheimer's disease currently exists in China. In this paper, the author draws on the experience of developed countries to construct an index system for the graded care of Alzheimer's disease patients that is suited to conditions in China. This article addresses the burden faced by the elderly with Alzheimer's disease and the current standard of care for the elderly at home and abroad. After explaining the necessity of constructing a care model for the elderly with Alzheimer's disease, the author then explains the practicability of the care system proposed in this study in order to provide a whole-course care model for the mentally impaired elderly in China.

Objective: Spastic arm paralysis after central neurological injury has a long-term effect on the patient's quality of life. Effective neurosurgical treatment for this dysfunction has been described in our previous studies. It is of great significance to determine a set of unified and concise clinical standards for motor function grading in the neurosurgical treatment and management., Methods: We first conducted a retrospective study that included 51 hemiplegic patients from the Neurosurgery and Microsurgery outpatient database of Huashan Hospital. The neurosurgeons cooperated with rehabilitation experts to design and administer the new rating system (Hua-Shan Grading of Upper Extremity, H-S grading) after analyzing the scale scores and video records of these patients. We then randomly enrolled 64 patients with unilateral spastic arm paralysis after stroke or brain trauma. The Fugl-Meyer Assessment, the Ashworth scale and the new grading system were applied and analyzed to evaluate the participants' motor function., Results: Based on rehabilitation medicine scales and long-term follow-up, a feasible and concise grading system was applied that was based on the patients' characteristics and the examination experiences of neurosurgeons and rehabilitation experts in clinical practice. This method could effectively grade upper extremity motor function, usually in 3-5 minutes. A significant correlation was found between H-S grading and the Fugl-Meyer score by the Spearman test (r = .937, P < .01). The mean difference between any two levels of the new grading system was significant (P < .05). And good test-retest reliability, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the validity indices were presented. In addition, it was more sensitive to motor function compared with the Ashworth scale., Conclusion: As a supplement to the classic scales, H-S grading was developed in the area of spastic hemiplegia treatment. It is standardized and simplified for patients in the chronic stage after central neurological injury., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objective: We aimed to compare the two new defined tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) systems in the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th staging manual for overall survival (OS) analysis of G3 pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas (p-NECs) that are currently proposed for pancreatic exocrine adenocarcinomas (p-EACs) and G1/G2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (p-NETs), respectively., Methods: The data of patients who were surgically treated and histopathologically diagnosed with G3 p-NECs at West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2002 to June 2017 were retrospectively analyzed and compared using the two new AJCC staging systems., Results: Applying the p-EAC AJCC 8th TNM staging system to G3 p-NECs, the estimated 3-year OSs for each stage were 86.7%, 76.0%, 44.5% and 20.7%, respectively (P < 0.001). According to the G1/G2 p-NETs staging system, the estimated OSs at 3 years for each new AJCC stage were 100.0%, 83.6%, 47.1% and 20.7%, respectively (P < 0.001). The system for p-EACs significantly discriminated the survival difference of G3 p-NECs between Stage I and Stage II (P = 0.019), while the other one for G1/G2 p-NETs could not (P = 0.108). The consistent results of Akaike information criteria with Harrell's concordance index indicated that the AJCC 8th staging system for p-EACs was superior when applied to G3 p-NECs for its better prognostic stratification and more accurate prediction ability for OS., Conclusions: Our analysis demonstrated that both TNM systems in the AJCC 8th staging manual were prognostic for patients with G3 p-NECs; however, the classification originally applied to p-EACs was superior and supported its use in clinical practice., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd, BASO ~ The Association for Cancer Surgery, and the European Society of Surgical Oncology. All rights reserved.)