A84: Factors Influencing Parents\u27 Intention to Involve Autistic Preschoolers in Outdoor Physical Activities

Purpose: Outdoor physical activities (OPA) can not only improve the physical fitness and health of autistic preschool children, but also provide an indispensable opportunity for their social learning and interaction. However, parents’ intentions of providing OPA for their autistic children are complex due to reasons such as potential risk. Theory of Planned Behavior（TPB）has conceptualized that attitude (AT), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) are influential factors of behavioral intention. Perceived risk and perceived usefulness are suggested to associate with one’s intention, therefore, the purpose of this study was to test an extended TPB model on parent’s intention of providing OPA among parents of autistic children. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A convenient sample of parents of 301 autistic preschoolers (mean age = 3.45±1.10 years old; boys=219; girls = 68) were recruited. Parents reported to questionnaires assessing their AT, SN, PBC, and intention (Ajzen, 1991; Yang, 2017) as well as perceived risk and perceived usefulness of providing OPA for their autistic children (Davis et al., 1989; Yu, 2016). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS software was employed to investigate the extended TPB model by including perceived risk and perceived usefulness (exogenous variables) with AT, SN, PBC to synergistically predict intention (endogenous variable). Results: The results revealed that autistic preschooler parents’ perceived usefulness (p \u3c 0.01, f2= 0.087）had a significant and positive prediction on intention in addition to the significant contributions from AT (p \u3c 0.01, f2=0.053), SN (p \u3c 0.01, f2=0.047), and PBC (p \u3c 0.01, f2=0.060). However, perceived risk (p \u3c 0.01, f2= 0.070) had a significant and negative prediction on intention. Besides, perceived usefulness (p \u3c 0.01, f2= 0.108) was positively correlated with AT and AT partially mediated the association between perceived usefulness and intention (Variance Accounted For= 23.2%). In general, perceived usefulness, PBC, AT, SN and perceived risk had a high explanatory power to intention (R2=0.536). Conclusion: The extended TPB model demonstrated to be a useful framework to explain autistic preschooler parents’ intention of providing OPA for their autistic children. Perceived risk and perceived usefulness are critical to parents’ intention in addition to PBC, AT and SN, which should also be the targets of intervention in practice. This finding also suggests practitioners may help parents’ understand the usefulness of OPA to help autistic preschoolers’ parents form positive attitude of OPA, then boosting their intention to engage their autistic children in OPA

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic mechanisms for reduced toxicity of CPT-11 by thalidomide and St John's wort

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

The positive response in grape secondary metabolites under controlled stresses: a review

Grapevine is cultivated worldwide with great economic importance. In recent years, our knowledge of the physiological and molecular basis of berry quality regulation has substantially increased. Abiotic and biotic stresses, such as deficit irrigation, low temperature, light/UV and microbes, to a certain extent, could improve grape berry quality by enhancing flavor metabolites, colorization or aroma compounds. This review summarizes recent data related to the stress of grape berry development, with special emphasis on secondary metabolism and its response to stresses. A full understanding of how grape berry metabolism responds to different stresses is important to improve the biochemical qualities of grapes and resultant products, such as wine in practice

Sedimentation in the Three Gorges Dam and the future trend of Changjiang (Yangtze River) sediment flux to the sea

The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) on the upper Changjiang (Yangtze River), China, disrupts the continuity of Changjiang sediment delivery to downstream and coastal areas. In this study, which was based on 54 years of annual water and sediment data from the mainstream and major tributaries of Changjiang, sediment deposition induced by the TGD in 2003–2008 was quantified. Furthermore, we determined the theoretical trapping efficiency of the cascade reservoir upstream of the TGD. Its impact on Changjiang sediment flux in the coming decades is discussed. Results show that about 172 million tons (Mt) of sediment was trapped annually by the TGD in 2003–2008, with an averaged trapping efficiency of 75%. Most of the total sediment deposition, as induced by the TGD (88%), accumulated within the region between the TGD site and Cuntan. However, significant siltation (12% of the total sediment deposition) also occurred upstream of Cuntan as a consequence of the upstream extended backwater region of the TGD. Additionally, the Changjiang sediment flux entered a third downward step in 2001, prior to operation of the TGD. This mainly resulted from sediment reduction in the Jinshajiang tributary since the late 1990s. As the cascade reservoir is put into full operation, it could potentially trap 91% of the Jinshajiang sediment discharge and, therefore, the Jinshajiang sediment discharge would most likely further decrease to 14 Mt/yr in the coming decades. Consequently, the Changjiang sediment flux to the sea is expected to continuously decrease to below 90 Mt/yr in the near future, or only 18% of the amount observed in the 1950s. In the presence of low sediment discharge, profound impacts on the morphology of estuary, delta and coastal waters are expected

Cellular trafficking of Sn-2 phosphatidylcholine prodrugs studied with fluorescence lifetime imaging and super-resolution microscopy

While th

Evaluating indices of soil organic carbon stability. A case study for forest restoration projects near Beijing, China

Acknowledgments This study was funded by Forestry scientific and technological achievements Popularization Project of State Forestry Administration ([2019] 3) and China State Construction Technology R&D Program Funding (CSECE-2020-Z-5). The authors gratefully acknowledge the Jiufeng National Forest Park (Haidian District, Beijing) and Daxing Forestry Centre (Daxing district, Beijing) for giving access to conduct fieldwork on their experimental sites.Afforestation of degraded lands close to mega-urban areas such as Beijing may help to restore some of the original soil carbon stocks and hold the potential for ameliorating the rate of increase in atmospheric CO2. However, the determinants of the stability of different soil carbon pools and the utility of indices of stability remain poorly characterized near these highly anthropogenic areas. In the current study, we compared metrics of soil organic carbon (SOC) stability taking into account different soil types and plantation forest combinations (Quartisamment soil-poplar plantation–QP, Eutrochrepts soil-Chinese pine plantation–ECP, Haplustepts soils-East-Liaoning oak plantation–HEO), in an experimental sub-humid area close to a mega-urban area (Beijing, China). We evaluated the following relative stability indices sequence: respired carbon from incubations (RI) for several incubation days to respire 5% of initial SOC (D), aggregate stability index (ASI), the ratio of SOC to total nitrogen (C: N), water-soluble carbon (WSC), particulate organic carbon (POC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC). We examined the indices by three repeated measurements on soil samples from four soil layers (0–40 cm) in three soil-forest types in a forest area close to the peri-urban area of Beijing. Our results showed that there are inconsistencies among the six SOC stability indexes. The contribution rates of different indexes to the SOC in three plantations were different, for QP the highest contributor is WSC (54.73%), and for ECP and HEO the highest contributor is RI, contribution rates are 34.85% and 36.382%, respectively. Respired carbon from incubations registered the largest contribution rate to SOC (69.79%), and the correlation between RI and soil physical and chemical properties was the highest. We conclude that a combination of indices and knowledge of soil and vegetation types are needed for assessing SOC stability in restoration and reforestation projects close to mega-urban areas.Forestry scientific and technological achievements Popularization Project of State Forestry Administration ([2019] 3)China State Construction Technology R&D Program Funding (CSECE-2020-Z-5

Experimental Progress of Semiconductor Nanomaterials

The research of semiconductor nanomaterials is the forefront of contemporary science and technology. Because ofits optical nonlinearity and luminescent properties diff erent from the bulk materials, it has great application prospectin the future optical switch, optical storage, light fast conversion and ultra-high speed processing. By arranging thecommonly used low-dimensional semiconductor nanomaterials preparation methods and methods of characterization,then compare them, it can helps to open up ideas and aids for in-depth thinking. In this paper, the preparation methodsof laser ablation, carbon nanotube template, molten salt, solution-liquid-solid method and template electrochemicalmethod are introduced. The characterization method is analyzed from particle size and morphology, composition andstructure analysis, surface interface analysis and several other aspects

Life cycle impact assessment of airborne metal pollution near selected iron and steelmaking industrial areas in China

Toxic metals in particulate matter pose a significant health risk to humans via inhalation and dermal exposure. Additionally, airborne pollution has negative impacts on terrestrial and aquatic quality as a result of atmospheric deposition. Iron and steelmaking industry is considered as a major contributor to airborne metal pollution. Given that China has been the largest steel producer and consumer since 1996, a detailed investigation of airborne metal pollution is required to assess the potential risks to both human health and ecosystem quality near iron and steelmaking areas in China. This study applied an environmental impact assessment approach to evaluate the freshwater ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity and human toxicity caused by metal concentrations in PM1.1, PM1.1-2.1 and PM2.1-9.0 fractions. Results showed that heavy metals Cu and Zn associated with steelmaking activities were largely responsible for aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicity. This study also found that As and Pb contamination presented the largest fraction of the impacts on human toxicity. Findings presented in this study showed that more stringent control measures are required to improve the environmental performance of the iron and steelmaking industries in China

Enhanced CO2 electrolysis through Mn substitution coupled with Ni exsolution in lanthanum calcium titanate electrodes

Funding: This work was financially supported by the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre. Further support was kindly provided by EPSRC, under research grant numbers EP/L017008/1, EP/R023751/1 and EP/T019298/1.In this study, perovskite oxides La0.3Ca0.6Ni0.05MnxTi0.95−xO3−γ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.10) are investigated as potential solid oxide electrolysis cell cathode materials. The catalytic activity of these cathodes toward CO2 reduction reaction is significantly enhanced through the exsolution of highly active Ni nanoparticles, driven by applying a current of 1.2 A in 97% CO2 – 3% H2O. The performance of La0.3Ca0.6Ni0.05Ti0.95O3−γ is notably improved by co-doping with Mn. Mn dopants enhance the reducibility of Ni, a crucial factor in promoting the in situ exsolution of metallic nanocatalysts in perovskite (ABO3) structures. This improvement is attributed to Mn dopants enabling more flexible coordination, resulting in higher oxygen vacancy concentration, and facilitating oxygen ion migration. Consequently, a higher density of Ni nanoparticles is formed. These oxygen vacancies also improve the adsorption, desorption, and dissociation of CO2 molecules. The dual doping strategy provides enhanced performance without degradation observed after 133 h of high-temperature operation, suggesting a reliable cathode material for CO2 electrolysis.Peer reviewe

Blood Eosinophils and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis of Real-World Data in China

Background and Objective: Elevated eosinophils in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are recognized as a biomarker to guide inhaled corticosteroids use, but the value of blood eosinophils in hospitalized exacerbations of COPD remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of eosinophils in predicting clinical outcomes in acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD).Methods: We analyzed data from the acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease inpatient registry (ACURE) study, which is an ongoing nationwide multicenter, observational real-world study in patients admitted for AECOPD. Data collected between January 2018 and December 2019 in 163 centers were first reviewed. The eligible patients were divided into eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic groups, according to blood eosinophil with 2% of the total leukocyte count as the threshold. Propensity score (PS) matching was performed to adjust for confounders.Results: A total of 1,566 patients (median age: 69 years; 80.3% male) were included and 42.7% had an eosinophilic AECOPD. Eosinophil count <2% was associated with the development of respiratory failure and pneumonia. After PS matching, 650 pairs in overall patients, 468 pairs in patients with smoking history and 177 pairs in patients without smoking were selected, respectively. Only in patients with smoking history, the non-eosinophilic AECOPD was associated with longer median hospital stays (9 vs. 8 days, P = 0.034), higher dosage of corticosteroid use, higher economic burden of hospitalization, and poorer response to corticosteroid therapy compared to the eosinophilic AECOPD. No significant difference was found in patients without smoking. Eosinophil levels had no relationship with the change of COPD Assessment Test scores and readmissions or death after 30 days.Conclusion: Elevated eosinophils were associated with better short-term outcomes only in patients with a smoking history. Eosinophil levels cannot be confidently used as a predictor alone for estimating prognosis