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The main objective of this study was to examine the integration of indigenous knowledge (IK) into the rapidly developing field of rural social work in China. The study demonstrated the incorporation of indigenous elements such as folkways, power structures, values, norms, traditions, and crafts into the practice through collaboration with the local community. The research employed purposive sampling, which included 4 agency directors, 1 head of a social work organization, 6 social workers, 21 social work students, 16 children and teenagers, 13 villagers, 1 folk writer, 5 local families, 3 teacher lecturers, and 6 government officers. Results showed that the integration process involves the identification, extraction, application, and evaluation of IK are closely linked to the indigenous environment, service recipients, and social workers. Nevertheless, further research is required to operationalize and evaluate the effectiveness of this integration. Findings would be important guidelines for policymakers, education and development experts, and service providers. The conclusions drawn from this study offer valuable insights into the effective integration of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into social work practice. These insights hold significance for policymakers, education and development experts, as well as service providers not only in China but also in a broader international context.

Summary: This paper investigates the impulsive control of unstable homogeneous positive systems of degree one with unbounded time‐varying delay. By using max‐separable Lyapunov functions and Razumikhin technique, sufficient conditions ensuring μ$$ \mu $$‐stability are derived. It should be noted that it is the first time that impulsive stabilization results for such systems are given. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the cloud‐based event‐triggered coordination problem of uncertain high‐order nonlinear multi‐agent systems. The communication among agents is realized by indirect and asynchronous access to a shared cloud database. A self‐triggered extended state observer (ESO) is first designed to estimate the total uncertainty. Based on the output of the ESO, an event‐triggered controller is proposed. It is proved that under the proposed output feedback controller, the multi‐agent system can track a virtual leader. We also show that Zeno behavior from output sampling or controller update will never happen. Finally, a numerical example and a vehicle platoon example are provided to corroborate the obtained theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NLRP3 inflammasome's core and most specific protein, NLRP3, has a variety of functions in inflammation-driven diseases. Costunolide (COS) is the major active ingredient of the traditional Chinese medicinal herb Saussurea lappa and has anti-inflammatory activity, but the principal mechanism and molecular target of COS remain unclear. Here, we show that COS covalently binds to cysteine 598 in NACHT domain of NLRP3, altering the ATPase activity and assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome. We declare COS's great anti-inflammasome efficacy in macrophages and disease models of gouty arthritis and ulcerative colitis via inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation. We also reveal that the α -methylene- γ -butyrolactone motif in sesquiterpene lactone is the certain active group in inhibiting NLRP3 activation. Taken together, NLRP3 is identified as a direct target of COS for its anti-inflammasome activity. COS, especially the α -methylene- γ -butyrolactone motif in COS structure, might be used to design and produce novel NLRP3 inhibitors as a lead compound. Costunolide covalently binds to cysteine 598 of NLRP3 NACHT domain, inhibiting activation of NLRP3 inflammasome to alleviate NLRP3-driven diseases, such as gouty arthritis, peritonitis, and ulcerative colitis. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L.), is the most destructive pest of cruciferous vegetables worldwide. Chlorfenapyr is an important insecticide for controlling DBM. The impacts of three sublethal doses (LC1, LC10 and LC30) of chlorfenapyr on the chlorfenapyr‐exposed DBM individuals and their unexposed F1 and F2 offspring were investigated in order to reveal the non‐lethal deleterious effects of chlorfenapyr and its potential hormetic effects. RESULTS: LC1 significantly increased female pupa weight of F0 and F1 generations, and F0 fecundity as well as F1 gross reproduction rate (GRR). The LC1‐elicited rise in emergency rate and fecundity was significantly greater in F0 than in F1. By contrast, LC30 significantly decreased age‐specific survival rates, pupation rate, male pupal weight, emergence rate and fecundity of F0 and F1 generations as well as female adult proportion and GRR, net reproduction rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite rate of increase (λ) of F1 generation. The LC30‐induced reductions in pupation rate, adult emergence rate, male and female pupa weight, and fecundity were greater in F1 than in F0. While LC10 elicited only a mild inhibition (extension of pupal duration) in F0, it yielded both deleterious (drops in female proportion and age‐specific survivals) and hormetic effects (ups in male longevity and female fecundity) in F1. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that the sublethal effects of chlorfenapyr on DBM vary from inhibition to stimulatory hormesis, depending on the dose and generation. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the consensus problem of switched nonlinear multi-agent systems with delay and disturbances on undirected graph. Under distributed self-triggered impulsive control, continuous communication among neighbours is avoided and the lower bound of inter-event time is given. By the tool of average dwell time and comparison method, we obtain less conservative conditions for practical consensus compared with the existing results. It is shown that precise consensus can be achieved for the considered multi-agent systems without disturbances. Finally, a simulation example verifies our theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of fibre‐reinforced composites and onlay restorations on the fracture resistance of the cracked teeth. The experiments were grouped as follows: intact teeth, cracked teeth, crown; onlay; annular ribbond + onlay, laminated ribbond + onlay and fibre post + onlay; annular ribbond + crown, laminated ribbond + crown and fibre post + crown. The maximal Von Mises stress of dentin, the maximal Von Mises stress at the crack, the fracture resistance and fracture pattern under static loading were analysed by single‐factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post‐test by LSD. The annular ribbond + crown had a significant difference in fracture resistance than the crown (P < 0.05). The annular ribbond + onlay had more favourable fractures than crown in fracture pattern, and there were significant differences (P < 0.05). Compared with crown restoration, fibre‐reinforced composites and onlay can improve the fracture resistance of the cracked teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]