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Environmental education (EE) is a concern in modern society. Plant blindness and nature-deficit disorder highlight how important nature contact and plant consciousness is for urban populations. Considering rapid urbanisation, these phenomena are of increasing concern in China. Integrating EE curricula in Chinese cities is necessary to help younger generations appreciate the environment and understand how to address environmental challenges. Based on our EE teaching experiences in Southwest China's largest urban conglomeration, Chengdu, we discuss anecdotes and propose strategies to improve Southwest China's EE, with guidance for future research. Although children are more drawn to animals, EE education should focus on ecosystem-wide approaches rather than entirely zoocentric or anthropocentric perspectives, since these could reinforce the problematic view that plants are merely 'backdrops'. Urban greenspaces should be utilised in active education schemes, with teachers trained via professional EE modules rooted in local environmental concerns and complementing national/regional priorities. EE programmes should actively engage parents, encouraging their interaction with schools during EE activity preparation and venue selection, as their participation can help overcome obsessive safety and liability concerns. Older generations should be encouraged to transmit their own environmental and ecological knowledge, with implications for both cultural resilience and biocultural diversity conservation efforts.

The essence of learning is for the learner to attain a significant level of comprehension after the learning process is completed. The quest to achieve this singular purpose has led to the introduction of several learning techniques in the conventional learning environment, such as asking questions and conducting test after class, just to mention a few. Additionally, technology has been introduced in learning. Even with technological advancements, the learning experience still faces the challenge of learners not attaining the optimum comprehension state after the learning process. This is due to the present systems' inability to model the learner to determine the best methods for achieving maximum comprehension. Hence, this research paper focuses on deriving an improved mathematical model for predicting the learning path to a learner’s optimum comprehension. The paper presented three learning instructional media (learning paths); textual, audio and a hybrid of audio and video, which this research uses in modelling the learner. This is to enable the improved system predict the best learning path to optimum comprehension for learners. This research paper adopted Reinforcement Learning and the Markov decision process, specifically the Markov Chain approach, in developing an improved model for prediction. The evaluation of this research involved brainstorming on the Bellman’s equation with the aid of the Markov Chain transition state framework, resulting in an improved mean value function of 71.7. This indicates an enhanced comprehension state for the learning students compared to the existing mean value function of 46.0. The results obtained from this research clearly demonstrate that the improved model was able to predict and assign the best learning path to achieve optimum comprehension state for learners.

Abstract Objective The CO2 laser and 532 nm potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser have been applied to treat recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). This systematic review sought to compare outcome differences between these two methods. Data Sources Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library. Review Methods CO2 laser and KTP laser studies were obtained by keyword searches of four authoritative medical databases. Articles were screened and retained when conforming to inclusion criteria. The primary outcome was cure rate; the secondary outcomes were recurrence, death, remission, clearance, and human papillomavirus (HPV)‐detected rates, as well as laser effectiveness rates. Postoperative complications rate was the safety outcome measure. All outcomes were summarized within the CO2 and KTP groups, with results statistically compared (p

IntroductionAs the world becomes increasingly urbanized and human-nature contact declines, urban greenspace's impact on human health has garnered growing interest across academic disciplines. Various definitions and multiple indicators of greenspace have been utilized, with most studies finding an overall positive association between greenspace and health. Nevertheless, studies directly comparing how different greenspace indicators impact different disease types have been limited. Moreover, to verify the robustness of conclusions drawn, studies should compare multiple measures of greenspace across various spatial scales. Thus, a more comprehensive analysis is necessary to help inform future study design, especially in determining which greenspace indicators would be most useful in data-limited areas.MethodsChengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, is West China's largest and most urban city, being typical of other large cities in lower to middle-income countries (LMICs). With twenty county-level jurisdictions spanning various degrees of urbanization, Chengdu's landscape heterogeneity and large population make it ideal for studying greenspace's impact on public health. This study took Chengdu as a case study to assess the association and potential impact of three traditional measures of greenspace (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Enhanced Vegetation Index, and Fractional Vegetation Cover) and urban ratio (% of population being urban) on hospitalization rates and medical expenses paid for three major disease categories (circulatory system diseases, neoplasms, and respiratory system diseases).Results and discussionWe found greenspace did have a significant impact on public health, but this relationship differed by disease type. Greenspace exhibited significant positive association with respiratory diseases, but insignificant negative associations with the other disease categories. Urban ratio showed significant negative association with greenspace abundance. The higher the urban ratio (e.g., less greenspace), the more money was paid on medical expenses. This relationship was found not only in terms of urban ratio being positively correlated with medical expenses, but also in that all three greenspace indicators were negatively correlated with medical expenses. Consequently, in future health outcome studies, urban ratio could be an acceptable negative indicator of greenness in LMICs where urban ratio is likely to imply less greenness.

The article examined the prophetic oracles regarding ‘the Day of the Lord’ as found in Zechariah 14:1-9 and its implications for the church today. It closely scrutinized the phrase , יהוהַל אָּ ום־בֹי הֵּנִ ה יהוהַ ל אָּ ום־בֹי הֵּנִ ה ,hinn¢h yôm-b¹° LAdonay (Behold, a day of the LORD is coming), which conveys a serious warning in Scriptures that must not be taken for granted. The day is of great importance to the Church because it brings to climax God’s program of salvation for His people. The consistency of this prophetic utterance of the Day of the Lord, as proclaimed by other prophets, is traced systematically to buttress Zechariah’s declaration. The writer gives the historical background of the book of Zechariah, the Hebrew text, along with the literal translation of Zechariah 14:1-9, a careful exegetical and theological analysis of the pericope is also provided with the exegetical discoveries made. The day of the Lord in this article is considered as a special time in history which God has kept in His power to judge the nations, bring to full completion His purpose for Israel as a nation, the Church and to user in His sovereign reign. On this Day, the Lord comes not as a lamb but as ‘the Lion of the Tribe of Judea’, as ‘the Mighty Warrior’ and as ‘the King of kings.’

Environmental education (EE) is a concern in modern society. Plant blindness and nature-deficit disorder highlight how important nature contact and plant consciousness is for urban populations. Considering rapid urbanisation, these phenomena are of increasing concern in China. Integrating EE curricula in Chinese cities is necessary to help younger generations appreciate the environment and understand how to address environmental challenges. Based on our EE teaching experiences in Southwest China's largest urban conglomeration, Chengdu, we discuss anecdotes and propose strategies to improve Southwest China's EE, with guidance for future research. Although children are more drawn to animals, EE education should focus on ecosystem-wide approaches rather than entirely zoocentric or anthropocentric perspectives, since these could reinforce the problematic view that plants are merely 'backdrops'. Urban greenspaces should be utilised in active education schemes, with teachers trained via professional EE modules rooted in local environmental concerns and complementing national/regional priorities. EE programmes should actively engage parents, encouraging their interaction with schools during EE activity preparation and venue selection, as their participation can help overcome obsessive safety and liability concerns. Older generations should be encouraged to transmit their own environmental and ecological knowledge, with implications for both cultural resilience and biocultural diversity conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Access to healthcare is critical for the implementation of Universal Health Coverage. With the development of healthcare insurance systems around the world, spatial impedance to healthcare institutions has attracted increasing attention. However, most spatial access methodologies have been developed in Western countries, whose healthcare systems are different from those in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Methods Hainan Island was taken as an example to explore the utilization of modern spatial access techniques under China’s specialized Three-Tier Health Care Delivery System. Healthcare institutions were first classified according to the three tiers. Then shortest travel time was calculated for each institution’s tier, overlapped to identify eight types of multilevel healthcare access zones. Spatial access to doctors based on the Enhanced Two-Step Floating Catchment Area Method was also calculated. Results On Hainan Island, about 90% of the population lived within a 60-min service range for Tier 3 (hospital) healthcare institutions, 80% lived within 30 min of Tier 2 (health centers), and 75% lived within 15 min of Tier 1 (clinics). Based on local policy, 76.36% of the population living in 48.52% of the area were able to receive timely services at all tiers of healthcare institutions. The weighted average access to doctors was 2.31 per thousand residents, but the regional disparity was large, with 64.66% being contributed by Tier 3 healthcare institutions. Conclusion Spatial access to healthcare institutions on Hainan Island was generally good according to travel time and general abundance of doctors, but inequity between regions and imbalance between different healthcare institution tiers exist. Primary healthcare institutions, especially in Tier 2, should be strengthened.

BackgroundHealthcare resources are always more limited compared with demand, but better matching supply with demand can improve overall resource efficiency. In countries like China where patients are free to choose healthcare facilities, over-utilization and under-utilization of healthcare resources co-exist because of unreasonable healthcare seeking behavior. However, scholarship regarding the spatial distribution of utilization for healthcare resources, resulting from unreasonable spatial tendencies in healthcare seeking, is rare.MethodsIn this article, we propose a new External Patient Healthcare Index (EPHI) to simulate the spatial distribution of utilization for healthcare resources, based on the Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) method, which is widely used to assess potential spatial accessibility. Instead of using individual-level healthcare utilization data which is difficult to obtain, the EPHI uses institution-level aggregated data, including numbers of inpatient/outpatient visits. By comparing the estimated utilization (based on local healthcare institution services provision) with the expected utilization (based on local population morbidity), guest patients (e.g., patients flowing in for treatment) and bypass patients (patients flowing out) can be identified. To test the applicability of this index, a case study was carried out on China's Hainan Island. The spatial tendencies of patients for inpatient and outpatient services were simulated, then incorporated with spatial access to healthcare resources to evaluate overall resource allocation efficiency, thus guiding future resource allocations and investment for policy makers and healthcare providers.ResultsThe EPHI revealed that bypass activities widely exist on Hainan Island in both inpatient and outpatient care, with patients tending to travel from less developed regions with fewer healthcare resources to more highly developed regions with more healthcare resources to receive healthcare. Comparison with spatial accessibility demonstrated how bypass activities on Hainan produced an under-utilization of doctors in less developed regions and over-utilization of doctors in more developed coastal regions.ConclusionsThis case study on Hainan Island demonstrates that this new index can very clearly identify both the sources and sinks of patient spatial tendencies. Combining these results with spatial accessibility of healthcare resources, how efficiently the available supply matches the utilization can be revealed, indicating wide-ranging applicability for local governments and policymakers.

A test item exhibits differential item functioning (DIF) if students with the same ability find it differentially difficult. When the item is administered in French and English, differences in language difficulty and meaning are the most likely explanations. However, curriculum differences may also contribute to DIF. The responses of Ontario students to Measurement and Geometry items from the content subtest of the 2001 School Achievement Indicators Program Mathematics Assessment were analyzed using item response theory-based procedures. DIF between the French and English versions was investigated. Attempts to interpret the DIF found in terms of translation and curriculum influences were partially successful. Alternative explanations and suggestions for additional research are provided.

摘要 背景:由于凉山彝族自治州(中国四川省)地形崎岖、交通不便, 文化制约、历史上民风彪悍, 很少有学者对凉山地区进行深入的民族植物学调查。凉山彝族采集食用多种野生食用植物(WEPS), 但其相关的民族植物学知识鲜为人知, 国外对此更是无从知晓。本研究的目的是:(1)对凉山彝族所食用的野生植物进行系统的研究; (2)记录这些植物的传统知识; (3)分析其特殊的制备方法和消费习惯; (4)识别对凉山彝族有重要文化意义的物种。 方法:在2016-2017年间, 对凉山州1个县级市和6个县的396名彝族人进行了访谈。采用了多种人类学方法, 包括直接观察、半结构式访谈、关键人物访谈、非正式讨论和田野调查。市场调查于2017年4月、7月和8月进行, 调查了凉山州6个传统集市, 并访问了38位彝族商贩。我们收集这些野生食用植物的利用部位、制备方法、利用方式, 生长模式、采集月份、市场价格和其他用途的相关信息。采用使用价值指数(UVs)来分析每个野生食用植物的的相对文化重要性。 结果:本研究共记录野生食用植物105种, 隶属于97属62科。其中蔷薇科植物种类最多(14种), 草本植物占优势(58种)。食用部位主要是果实(34种), 根(21种)和嫩枝(20种), 果实多作为零食食用, 根和嫩枝多需要进行烹饪后食用。凉山彝族制备和利用野生食用植物的方法可分为六类, 即, 日常饮食、饥荒食物、零食、调味品、食用凝固剂和药用植物。凉山彝族主要在3月至10月采集野生食用食物, 很少在11月至来年2月进行采集工作。调查发现有35种野生食用植物用于出售。药用植物的价格远高于食物和野果的价格。本研究共记录凉山地区食用药用植物49种, 占记录的野生食用植物总种数的44.67%, 它们可用于治疗27种疾病, 包括咳嗽、腹泻、受伤和头痛。使用价值(UVs)最高的植物是川滇小檗(1.92)、火棘(1.87)和茵陈蒿(1.44), 表明这些植物是凉山彝族传统生活和文化中最常用和最重要的种类。 结论:凉山彝族利用野生食用植物的传统知识源于在当地长期居住积累的生活经验, 反映了凉山彝族文化的丰富性和该地区植物的多样性。未来可对这些野生食用植物的的营养成分、化学成分和生物活性进行进一步的研究; 对一些具有较高药用价值但野生种群数量急剧下降的物种应进行资源评估、保护和驯化潜力调查研究。

In September 2018, China’s air quality monitoring protocol was amended from the standard conditions to actual conditions for particulate matter and to reference conditions for gaseous pollutants. Due to the amendment, the reported concentrations of the gaseous pollutants decreased by a constant rate of 8.4%, and the averages of PM2.5 (particulate matter that has an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 microns or smaller) reported during September 2017 and August 2018 decreased by 7.9 ± 6.1% at 99% of the monitoring stations. Comparing the periods before and after the amendment, the 12-month PM2.5 concentrations at 17.2% of the stations actually increased despite appearing to decrease if the amendments were not considered. We reviewed 370 papers published in 2020 that utilized this air quality dataset, and 21% of these papers used the data before and after the amendment without explicitly stating whether or how conversions were conducted. It is urgent to widely broadcast the protocol amendment to ensure proper use of this extensively cited dataset.

Key message: Evidence for the CFE was mixed. New dendrochronological experimental designs are needed, especially in tropical and boreal biomes. A weakness of current methodologies could impede the ability to detect a CFE. The effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide on plant growth and the carbon cycle have stimulated extensive research. Over the last three decades, CO2 enrichment experiments have tested the CO2 fertilization effect (CFE) hypothesis. Yet, CO2 enrichment studies have been criticized for having unrealistic designs. Multiple studies have sought to use tree-ring analyses to verify the CFE under more natural conditions. To assess the breadth of scholarship about CO2 fertilization on tree radial growth, this study conducted a tri-lingual (English, French, and Chinese) literature review. Finding no French, just one Chinese, and 73 English articles directly related to this topic, all 74 relevant tree-ring studies (1984–2020) were reviewed in-depth. We found an underrepresentation of studies from key regions important to the global carbon cycle, particularly tropical and boreal biomes. Evidence for the CFE was mixed: about 32.4% of dendrochronological studies found a CFE, another 23% found radial growth trends explained by both CO2 fertilization and other climatic variables, 5.4% attributed tree growth only to climate change, and 39.2% (primarily in tropical areas) did not find any evidence of a CFE. Synthesized results of global scholarship highlight the need for new dendrochronological experimental designs to exclude climatic and environmental variables and test whether CO2 fertilization occurs in tropical regions. Furthermore, weakness of current methodologies could lessen the ability to detect a CFE. More focused research is necessary from under-represented regions, and to test the effects of increasing anthropogenic activities (such as localized elevated CO2 emissions) on tree growth in nature settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most implementations of the Mantel-Haenszel differential item functioning procedure delete records with missing responses or replace missing responses with scores of 0. These treatments of missing data make strong assumptions about the causes of the missing data. Such assumptions may be particularly problematic when groups differ in their patterns of nonresponse. Using both real data from Ontario students taking the English- and French-language versions of two large-scale assessments and simulated data, this study compared the Mantel-Haenszel DIF indices produced using a total score or a proportion score as matching variables and treating missing data by listwise deletion, analysiswise deletion, or scoring missing data as incorrect. The results suggest that when many responses are missing, differential nonresponse rates may be a source of DIF.