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The purpose of this study was to examine factors associated with career preparation of high school students in four countries: China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. The human bioecological theory was used as a framework to examine personal, process, and context factors associated with career preparation of the adolescents. Data were from a cross-national sample of more than 5,000 students in Grades 10 to 12. Results indicate that career planning and planning to attend a university after high school are distinct aspects of career preparation. Whereas process variables including interactions with parents about career planning and thinking about the future are related to the two aspects of career preparation across the four countries, other person and context predictors show country differences.

Measurements of hydroperoxides (H2O2 and MHP) at ground level were made from 2012 to 2015 in Imizu City, Toyama Prefecture in central Japan. H2O2 and MHP concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 3.5 ppb and from below the level of detection (< 0.01 ppb) to 1.4 ppb, respectively. The concentrations of H2O2 and MHP were high in the summer and low in the winter. The H2O2 concentration was at its maximum in July and August, whereas the concentration of O3 in the daytime was highest in May and June. The ratio of [H2O2]/[SO2] presented clear seasonal variations. Many cases showed the condition of [H2O2] < [SO2], called oxidant limitation especially in the cold months. Hydroperoxide concentrations in the rainwater were also high in the summer. The concentrations of MHP were much lower than those of H2O2 in the rain water. High concentrations of H2O2 (> 2.5 ppb) were detected in the summer during the inflow of air pollution. The concentrations of H2O2 were significantly high in July and August of 2013. The H2O2 was well correlated with the O3 in July and August whereas there was no correlation between O3 and H2O2 in May and June. There was a negative correlation between NOX and H2O2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic landscape design can ameliorate local thermal stress and enhance climate resilience in urban areas. Densely populated station squares are particularly important outdoor activity areas which more require the mitigation of thermal conditions during extreme weather. The traditional station square design focuses on the transport system and lacks the co-regulation of landscape services (e.g., climate change, scale, and element configuration). Moreover, holistic optimal design strategies are still deficient. This study examines how thermal comfort is positively affected by various landscape layout patterns, the configuration ratio of deciduous to evergreen trees and vegetation structure. We selected a typical station square of the Hokuriku region as an example, measured a landscape microclimate environment in winter and summer during extremely cold and hot days. The thermal comfort performance, represented by the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) thermal index, was compared using the ENVI-met simulation to reproduce the original case and new landscape design scenarios. The results indicated that planting trees in an array layout pattern with low PMV distributions improved thermal performance at 14:00 (0.3 PMV increase in winter and 1.3 PMV decrease in summer). The tree configuration ratio is a critical greening indicator that also regulates thermal comfort during the day and night. The finds of the research can be used optimized scenarios as a guide for urban station square design to mitigate thermal comfort issues and to promote the development of station square planning complying with climate-adaptive design strategies and the construction of sustainable cities. ∙ Regulating the tree configuration ratios affects thermal comfort and microclimate, especially during the day and night. ∙ The deciduous to evergreen tree configuration ratio is an important greening indicator for improving winter and summer thermal comfort at the station square. ∙ Evergreen trees have stronger thermal optimization performance than deciduous trees in winter and summer. ∙ Regulation of the landscape design scenarios at a large scale in an array pattern layout can be more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives To determine the current status of dementia patient's quality of life and compare influencing factors in China and Japan to inform nursing care and potentially improve the patient's quality of life. Background The prevalence of dementia is increasing related to lack of a cure, thus prompting some researchers and clinicians to focus on patient's quality of life. Design A cross-sectional study. Methods A convenience sample of 200 mild-to-moderate dementia patients was obtained in Jinan city and 205 ones in Wakayama city. Then, we measured patient's quality of life and analysed the relation between general demographic information, cognitive function, activities of living, behavioural and psychological symptoms, and the patient's quality of life. Results The total score of Dementia Quality of Life in Jinan city was 89·82 ± 15·11; multiple linear regression showed that the influencing factors of quality of life were marital, economics, characteristics, activities of living, hypertension and irritability. And the total score in Wakayama city was 118·30 ± 14·56; the influencing factors were education, body mass index, activities of living and depression. Conclusions The total score of Dementia Quality of Life in Jinan city was significantly lower than Wakayama city. The same influencing factor between these two cities was activities of living. Relevance to clinical practice Nurses could implement interventions to focus on many of the patient's influencing factors, so that to improve their mental and physical health, which may slow the disease process and further improve the patient's quality of life. In addition, Chinese government could learn some experience from Japanese government, such as perfect the system of nursing insurance for elderly and introduce professional geriatric nursing talents to provide better service for the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]