A Study on the Low Kindergarten Enrollment Rate in the Nu Nationality Inhabited Areas: An Indigenous Case Study Based on the “Cultural - Ecological Theory”

Since the traditional economic factors cannot fully explain the low kindergarten enrollment in the Nu nationality inhabited area, this paper rebuilds an analysis framework for the low kindergarten enrollment rate based on the “cultural-ecological” theory. With the in-depth investigation on the social culture of the Nu nationality inhabited area and the low kindergarten enrollment rate, from the macro, middle and micro leve

The Development of Preschool Education Achievements, Problems and Policy Recommendations of Tibet

This paper shows the development of preschool education in Tibet through analyzing the statistical data from Statistical Yearbook of National Education, Statistical Yearbook of National Education Funding and Statistical Yearbook of Tibet and field investigations. It is found that the preschool education in Tibet has developed rapidly for the support of government, and achieved the following development effectiveness: education resources have increased; preschool education funding increased rapidly; the development tends to be balanced between urban and rural areas; bilingual education developed rapidly, and more attention is paid to education equality. However, there are still many problems to be solved in the future. The study has indicated that the quality of preschool education in ethnic areas is low, the local government does not play an active role in developing preschool education and the preschool education is unsuitable for local features. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the preschool education in ethnic areas as well as to the quality of the quantity and the theory researches. The government should also develop the bilingual education in Tibetan scientifically.

Carbon dioxide partial pressures and emissions of the Yarlung Tsangpo River on the Tibetan Plateau

Rivers are important routes for material and energy transport between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Recent global-scale assessments of carbon (C) have suggested that C emission fluxes to the atmosphere are comparable to the fluvial C fluxes to the ocean. However, many previous studies only collected data from inland rivers in low altitude regions. Therefore, it remains unclear how plateau rivers affect C flux. In this study, 20 monitoring sites were set up along the Yarlung Tsangpo (YT) River on the Tibetan Plateau and detailed observations were carried out in the wet and dry seasons. The riverine CO2 fluxes exhibited significant seasonal patterns which ranged from 597.12 ± 292.63 μatm in the wet season to 368.72 ± 123.50 μatm in the dry season. The CO2 emission flux (FCO2) obtained from floating chamber method, ranging from 8.44 ± 6.94 mmol m−2 d−1 in sunmmer to 3.62 ± 6.32 mmol m−2 d−1 in winter, with an average value of 6.03 mmol m−2 d−1. Generally, the river was a weak carbon source with respect to the atmosphere. However, the pCO2 and FCO2 were much lower than that for other large rivers around the globe, which were obviously restrained by the weak microbial activities due to the low primary productivity and carbonate buffer activities in the carbonate background. Carbon loss via atmosphere exchange in the YT River on the plateau accounted for 2.2% and 10.6% of the riverine dissolved carbon fluxes (67.77 × 109 mol a−1) according to the floating chamber and thin boundary layer methods, respectively. The YT River probably acts as a “pipeline” to transport weathered nutrients from the plateau to downstream areas. Our results demonstrated the characteristics of a “weak outgassing effect and a high transport flux of carbon” for the plateau river, which is different from rivers on plains. Considering the global relevance of Tibetan Plateau, further studies with enhanced spatiotemporal resolution are needed to better understand the important role of plateau rivers on carbon budgets and climate change over both regional and global cycles

What Drives the Morphological Traits of Stress-Tolerant Plant <i>Cynodon dactylon</i> in a Riparian Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

The cyclical process of water storage and recession in the regular operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir creates a unique habitat stress that alters the structural and functional attributes of vegetation ecology within the riparian zone. The stress-tolerant plant Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers is the dominant plant species in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir. In this study, the riparian zone of the Daning River, a tributary located in the center of the Three Gorges Reservoir, was selected as our study area. To identify the drivers of the morphological traits of C. dactylon in the riparian zone of Daning River, we examined plant biomass and plant characteristics across different elevation gradients, with reference to abiotic factors to determine the distribution patterns of plant morphological traits. Results indicated that in the two main soil types of the riparian zone, plant biomass showed a consistent trend along the elevation gradient, with a “middle-height expansion” pattern; biomass increased and then decreased with rising water levels. Plant biomass positively correlated with soil total nitrogen and negatively correlated with soil pH, electrical conductivity, and total phosphorus. C. dactylon adapted to prolonged flooding in the riparian zone by having a significant negative correlation between plant height and erect stem length with soil moisture content to facilitate root respiration

The Obesity-Related Dietary Pattern Is Associated with Higher Risk of Sleep Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Study from NHANES

Evidence on the association between dietary patterns and sleep disorders is limited and controversial. In addition, studies evaluating the effect of dietary patterns on sleep disorders have seldom considered the critical role of obesity. We aimed to explore obesity-related dietary patterns and evaluate their impact on sleep disorders using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005&ndash;2014. In total, 19,892 participants aged over 20 years with two-day dietary recalls were enrolled. Obesity-related dietary patterns explaining most variance in waist circumference and BMI simultaneously were extracted from twenty-six food groups by the using partial least squares method. Sleep disorder and sleep duration, which were defined by self-reported questions, were the primary and the secondary outcome, respectively. Generalized linear models were performed to estimate the association of sleep disorders and sleep duration with dietary patterns. Two types of dietary patterns were identified. The &ldquo;high fats, refined grains, and meat&rdquo; pattern was characterized by high intakes of solid fats, cured meat, potatoes, refined grains, meat, cheese, and added sugars. The &ldquo;low whole grains, vegetables, and fruits&rdquo; pattern was characterized by low intakes of oils, whole grains, nuts and seeds, milk, fruits, and several vegetables. Participants with the highest adherence to the &ldquo;high fats, refined grains, and meat&rdquo; pattern had a higher risk for sleep disorders (OR (95%CI): 1.43 (1.12, 1.84)) and shorter sleep duration (&beta; (95%CI): &minus;0.17 (&minus;0.26, &minus;0.08)) compared to those with the lowest adherence. The corresponding associations for the &ldquo;low whole grains, vegetables, and fruits&rdquo; pattern were only significant for sleep duration (&beta; (95%CI): &minus;0.26 (&minus;0.37, &minus;0.15)). Our results found that the dietary pattern characterized by high solid fats, cured meat, potatoes, refined grains, meat, cheese, and added sugars, was associated with a higher risk for sleep disorders and shorter sleep duration

Quantification of intensive hybrid coastal reclamation for revealing its impacts on macrozoobenthos

Managing and identifying the sources of anthropogenic stress in coastal wetlands requires an in-depth understanding of relationships between species diversity and human activities. Empirical and experimental studies provide clear evidence that coastal reclamation can have profound impacts on marine organisms, but the focus of such studies is generally on comparative or laboratory research. We developed a compound intensity index (reclamation intensity index, RI) on hybrid coastal reclamation, to quantify the impacts of reclamation on coastal ecosystems. We also made use of mean annual absolute changes to a number of biotic variables (biodiversity, species richness, biomass of total macrozoobenthos, and species richness and biomass of Polychaeta, Mollusca, Crustacea, and Echinodermata) to determine Hedges’ d index, which is a measure of the potential effects of coastal reclamation. Our results showed that there was significant difference of coastal reclamation intensity between Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea, the biological changes in effect sizes of the three regions differed greatly over time. Our modelling analyses showed that hybrid coastal reclamation generally had significant negative impacts on species diversity and biomass of macrozoobenthos. These relationships varied among different taxonomic groups and included both linear and nonlinear relationships. The results indicated that a high-intensity of coastal reclamation contributed to a pronounced decline in species diversity and biomass, while lower-intensity reclamation, or reclamation within certain thresholds, resulted in a small increase in species diversity and biomass. These results have important implications for biodiversity conservation and the ecological restoration of coastal wetlands in face of the intensive reclamation activities

RETRACTED: The rapid and sustained responses of dendritic cells to influenza virus infection in a non-human primate model

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor and the Publisher.After a thorough investigation, the Publisher has concluded that the acceptance of this article was based upon the positive advice of at least one faked reviewer report. The report was submitted from a fictitious email account which was provided to the journal as a suggested reviewer by the first author during the submission of the paper. The first author has created the email account [email protected] identifying and representing himself as the apparent corresponding author of the above article.This manipulation of the peer-review process represents a clear violation of the fundamentals of peer review, our publishing policies, and publishing ethics standards. Apologies are offered to the reviewers whose identities were assumed and to the readers of the journal that this deception was not detected during the submission process