Province In Northwest China Research Articles

Recipients' and Environmental Factors Affecting the Pregnancy Rates of a Large, Fresh In Vitro Fertilization-Embryo Transfer Program for Dairy Cows in a Commercial Herd in China.

The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of the recipient dairy cows' breed, lactation number, estrus condition, the type, location and volume of the corpus luteum (CL) and the time of year that the embryo transfer (ET) was performed on the pregnancy rates of a large, fresh in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer program for dairy cows in a commercial herd in China. The recipients were from a herd of dairy cows in Ningxia, a province in northwest China, and we statistically analyzed the data of 495 cows from 2021 to 2023. Cumulus oocyte complexes (COCS) were isolated from follicular fluid obtained through ovum pick-up (OPU) and oocytes were incubated 20-22 h for in vitro maturation (IVM). Embryos were obtained after 10-12 h of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and six days of in vitro culture (IVC). Embryos at the morula or blastocyst stage were transferred to randomly chosen recipients (n = 495). The influence of recipients' breed (Holstein or other), recipients' lactation number (heifers or cows), estrus type (natural or synchronized), CL type (homogeneous, CLhom or cavitary, CLcav), CL side (left or right), volume of the CL and season of transfer (spring, autumn or winter) on pregnancy rates were determined. The pregnancy rates were analyzed by binomial logistic regression with IBM SPSS statistics software, version 26. Pregnancy rates after ET to Holstein cows and other breeds were 43.49% and 42.68%, respectively (p > 0.05). Regarding age, pregnancy rates were 45.56% for heifers and 30.77% for cows (p < 0.05). Pregnancy rates following ET during natural and synchronized estrus were 44.41% and 41.5%, respectively (p > 0.05). Pregnancy rates with a left- or right-side CL were 40.18% and 45.65%, respectively (p > 0.05). The pregnancy rates achieved with a CLhom and CLcav were 44.44% and 39.68%, respectively (p < 0.05). The rates obtained in spring, autumn and winter were 49.26%, 46.02% and 34.64%, respectively (p < 0.05). Moreover, it was found that pregnancy rates were higher in recipients with a CL volume measuring greater than 10 cm3 compared with those with a CL volume measuring less than 10 cm3 (p < 0.05). The comparisons showed that recipients' breed, estrus type or side of the CL had no effect, but the recipients' lactation number, ET season and the type and volume of the CL have significant effects on pregnancy rates during ET.

The current diagnosis and treatment strategy of breast cancer based on multicentre retrospective data in Shaanxi province

BackgroundBreast cancer is a common malignancy, and early detection coupled with standardized treatment is crucial for patient survival and recovery. This study aims to scrutinize the current state of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in Shaanxi province, providing valuable insights into the local practices and outcomes.MethodsWe selected 25 hospitals that typically represent the current diagnosis and treatment strategy of breast cancer in Shaanxi (a province in northwest China). The questionnaire comprised sections on fundamental information, outpatient consultations, breast-conserving surgery, neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy, sentinel lymph node biopsy, breast reconstruction surgery.ResultsA total of 6665 breast cancer operations were performed in these 25 hospitals in 2021. The overall proportion of breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is 23.6%. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the annual volume of breast cancer surgery and the implementation rate of BCS (P = 0.004). A total of 2882 cases of neoadjuvant treatment accounted for 43.24% of breast cancer patients treated with surgery in 2017. Hospitals in Xi’an performed more neoadjuvant therapy for patients with breast cancer compared to other districts (P = 0.008). There was a significantly positive correlation between outpatient visits and the implementation rate of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) (P = 0.005). 14 hospitals in Shaanxi performed reconstructive surgery.ConclusionsBreast conserving surgery, adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy and sentinel lymph node biopsy in Shaanxi province have reached the China’s average level. Moreover, hospitals in Xi ’an have surpassed this average. However, a disparity is observed in the development of breast reconstruction surgery when compared to top-tier hospitals.

Theoretical and experimental analyses and optimizations of direct coupling photovoltaic-thermoelectric systems

A photovoltaic-thermoelectric (PV-TE) system is modeled theoretically and demonstrated experimentally. Mathematical formulations of the system are proposed according to energy conservation and finite-time thermodynamics, which can be applicable to analyze and optimize the system that consists of commercial photovoltaic (PV) cells and thermoelectric generators (TEGs). The genetic algorithm is introduced to maximize the system's power by optimizing multiple parameters. In Yan'an City, which is located in the northern Shaanxi Province in northwest China, the actual solar irradiance is recorded for almost a full year and the proposed model is verified. Theoretical and experimental results are analyzed and compared. It is found that there are several independent structure parameters in the PV-TE systems and they should be optimized simultaneously to maximize the performance. The PV-TE system's maximum theoretical average power of 0.343 W is 2.69 % greater than the solo PV cell's maximum theoretical power of 0.334 W. The measured average power of the system of 0.317 W is 0.32 % more than that of a solo PV cell of 0.316 W. The duration of strong lighting in Yan'an City reaches 8 h every day for nearly one year and the irradiation intensity can approach 1000 W/m2. The solar radiance is weakly affected by the seasonal changes of four seasons but is greatly affected by rainy days and cloud thickness. The research findings can serve as a helpful guide for the specific implementation of the PV-TE system and exploitation of solar energy resources in northwest China.

Equality of healthcare resource allocation between impoverished counties and non-impoverished counties in Northwest China: a longitudinal study

BackgroundThe Health and Medical Assistance Program for Poverty Alleviation is part of China’s targeted poverty elimination strategy, which aims to protect poor people’s right to health and prevent them from becoming trapped in or returning to poverty because of illness. Many tasks have been defined in this program, including raising the medical insurance level, providing a triage system, improving medical and health services, and enhancing people’s health. One pivotal aspect of this initiative involves equitable health resource allocation, a key measure aimed at bolstering medical and health services. This study aimed to analyze and compare health resource allocations in different counties in Northwest China after the implementation of the program.MethodsThe Gini coefficient quantifies the level of distributional equality, the Theil index assesses the sources of inequality, and the Health Resource Agglomeration Degree gauges the accessibility of health resources.Results1) The health resource allocation distributed based on population(Gini Coefficient < 0.45) was more equitable than that distributed based on area(Gini Coefficient > 0.35) among counties in Northwest China. 2) The contribution rate within non-impoverished counties is higher than that of impoverished counties, which means the inequality within non-impoverished counties. 3) The allocation of beds in medical institutions by area in non-impoverished counties was better than that in impoverished counties, and accessibility to health services for residents in non-impoverished counties was better than that in impoverished counties.ConclusionThe analysis of health resource allocation among the five provinces in Northwest China revealed significant differences in equality among the five provinces in Northwest China, and the differences were mainly derived from the non-impoverished counties. Although the equality is gradually improving, the number of health resources in impoverished counties remain lower than that in non-impoverished counties.Subsequently, it is essential to ensure equitable distribution of healthcare resources while also taking into account their utilization and quality.

Research on the Evaluation Index System for High Quality Development of Health and Wellness Industry in Shaanxi Province under the New Normal

The trend of aging population is intensifying, and the popularization of sub-health is constantly deepening people's health concepts. The health industry is emerging globally, and its importance in China is also becoming increasingly prominent. Shaanxi Province is a key province in northwest China, which is not only a densely populated area but also a suitable place for living and elderly care. Its health and wellness industry has enormous potential for development. This article combines the current development status of the health and wellness industry in Shaanxi Province, based on policy interpretation and the research results of relevant scholars, constructs an overall target layer with the attractiveness (A), management ability (M), and influence (I) of the health and wellness industry as the main line. Specifically, it includes five key areas including human and cultural environment, and eight levels including infrastructure, natural environment, investment environment, and aging level as the specific operation layer. It mainly covers 40 operational target layers including bread, health and wellness agriculture, health and wellness manufacturing, and health and wellness services. Based on this, a comprehensive evaluation index system for the high-quality development of the health and wellness industry in Shaanxi Province under the new normal is constructed. The aim is to use this index system to intuitively reflect the development of the health and wellness industry in various cities in Shaanxi Province, and promote the development of the health and wellness industry. The development of related industrial chains promotes the optimization and upgrading of economic structure.

Trends in antidiabetic drug use and expenditure in public hospitals in Northwest China, 2012-21: a case study of Gansu Province

BackgroundSince the twenty-first century, the prevalence of diabetes has risen globally year by year. In Gansu Province, an economically underdeveloped province in northwest China, the cost of drugs for diabetes patients accounted for one-third of their total drug costs. To fundamentally reduce national drug expenditures and the burden of medication on the population, the relevant departments of government have continued to reform and improve drug policies. This study aimed to analyse long-term trends in antidiabetic drug use and expenditure in Gansu Province from 2012 to 2021 and to explore the role of pharmaceutical policy.MethodsData were obtained from the provincial centralised bidding and purchasing (CBP) platform. Drug use was quantified using the anatomical therapeutic chemistry/defined daily dose (ATC/DDD) method and standardised by DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day (DID), and drug expenditure was expressed in terms of the total amount and defined daily cost (DDC). Linear regression was used to analyse the trends and magnitude of drug use and expenditure.ResultsThe overall trend in the use and expenditure of antidiabetic drugs was on the rise, with the use increasing from 1.04 in 2012 to 16.02 DID in 2021 and the expenditure increasing from 48.36 in 2012 to 496.42 million yuan in 2021 (from 7.66 to 76.95 million USD). Some new and expensive drugs changed in the use pattern, and their use and expenditure shares (as the percentage of all antidiabetic drugs) increased from 0 to 11.17% and 11.37%, but insulins and analogues and biguanides remained the most used drug class. The DDC of oral drugs all showed a decreasing trend, but essential medicines (EMs) and medical insurance drugs DDC gradually decreased with increasing use. The price reduction of the bid-winning drugs was over 40%, and the top three drugs were glimepiride 2mg/30, acarbose 50mg/30 and acarbose 100mg/30.ConclusionsThe implementation of pharmaceutical policies has significantly increased drug use and expenditure while reducing drug prices, and the introduction of novel drugs and updated treatment guidelines has led to changes in use patterns.

Value, Dilemmas and Innovative Strategies of Educational Management Clustering in the Internet Era

Abstract With the continuous improvement of the national education system, the Internet brings new opportunities for educational development but also brings specific challenges to the educational management of colleges and universities. This paper aims to analyze the current situation of education management in colleges and universities and construct an innovation model for education management clustering based on PDCA, which will be explored for its development value and power. And then, using the partial least squares regression algorithm and its modeling steps, to construct the educational management clustering regression model. The influencing factors of the educational management clustering model are analyzed with 12 “double first-class” colleges and universities in five provinces in Northwest China as research objects. The results show that the average comprehensive efficiency and pure technical efficiency of the universities in Northwest China range from 0.6585 to 0.9987 and from 0.773 to 0.994, respectively, indicating that the efficiency of higher education resource allocation in Northwest China is constantly improving. Compared with the traditional education management model, the colleges and universities applying the education management clustering model constructed in this paper in 2022–2023 show a scale-invariant trend, indicating that the colleges and universities have sufficiently invested in education resources and realized the scale efficiency. Educational management clustering can improve the efficiency of school educational resource allocation, thus improving the level of educational management and providing a theoretical basis for the study of innovative strategies in educational management.

Does the Diagnosis-Intervention Packet Payment Reform Impact Medical Costs, Quality, and Medical Service Capacity in Secondary and Tertiary Hospitals? A Difference-in-Differences Analysis Based on a Province in Northwest China.

To control medical costs and regulate the behavior of providers, China has formed an original widely piloted case-based payment under the regional global budget, called the Diagnosis-Intervention Packet (DIP). This study aimed to evaluated the impact of the DIP payment reform on medical costs, quality of care, and medical service capacity in a less-developed pilot city in Northwest China. We used the de-identified case-level discharge data of hospitalized patients from January 2021 to June 2022 in pilot and control cities located in the same province. We performed difference-in-differences (DID) analysis to examine the differential impact of the DIP reform for the entire sample and between secondary and tertiary hospitals. The DIP payment reform resulted in a significant decrease of total expenditure per case in the entire sample (5.5%, P < 0.01) and tertiary hospitals (9.3%, P < 0.01). In-hospital mortality rate decreased significantly in tertiary hospitals (negligible in size, P < 0.05), as did all-cause readmission rate within 30 days in the entire sample (1.1 percentage points, P < 0.01) and secondary hospitals (1.4 percentage points, P < 0.01). Proportion of severe patients increased significantly in the entire sample (1.2 percentage points, P < 0.05) and tertiary hospitals (2.5 percentage points, P < 0.01). We did not find the DIP reform was associated with a significant change in relative weight per case. The DIP payment reform in the less-developed pilot city achieved short-term success in controlling medical costs without sacrificing the quality of care for the entire sample. Compared with secondary hospitals, tertiary hospitals experienced a greater decline in medical costs and received more severe patients. These findings hold lessons for less developed countries or areas to implement case-based payments and remind them of the variations between different levels of hospitals.

Possibility of Wild Boar Harm Occurring in Five Provinces of Northwest China.

With the implementation of ecological engineering projects and related policies in China, wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations have surged, leading to increasingly serious conflicts with humans. We evaluated their potential habitat changes from the perspective of environmental suitability. To elucidate the suitable habitat characteristics for wild boars, we obtained data from 79 sites in five provinces in northwest China using database retrieval, human-wildlife conflict (HWC) incident questionnaires, and document retrieval. Thus, 10 environmental variables with lower correlation were selected, and potentially suitable distribution areas for wild boars under the current climate scenario were predicted based on the maximum entropy model. These areas were superimposed with different land use types in different periods to explore habitat selection. Precipitation seasonality (26.40%), human footprint index (16.50%), and elevation (11.90%) were the main environmental factors affecting wild boar distribution. The areas with high potential suitability for wild boars were mainly in the southeast and northwest of the region (total area of 2.63 × 105 km2). The land use types in the high-suitability zones are mainly woodland and grassland with high coverage, canopy density, and cultivated land borders. This study provides a reference for the effective prevention of HWC and management of wild boars.

Research on Limitations of Energy Storage Promoting the Consumption Role of New Energy New Energy Consumption Case from China

The principle of energy storage promoting new energy consumption was analyzed and the role of energy storage in new energy consumption under different installed penetration rates of new energy was rearranged in this article. In addition, a detailed analysis was conducted on the limitations of daily regulated energy storage on new energy consumption with data from a major new energy province in northwest China as an example. The case results revealed that in case of a high penetration rate of new energy, there will be a gradual weakening in the improvement effect of increasing daily regulated energy storage on new energy consumption and there will be a gradual “saturation” in the utilization rate of new energy accompanied by the increase of energy storage scale. Nonetheless, measures such as the flexible transformation of thermal power and increase of external transmission channels to promote consumption are not related to the “saturation effect”. The conclusion of this article can be as a reference for other countries and regions in the allocation of flexible resources for promoting new energy consumption.

Research on the spatial-temporal evolution pattern of China's industrial carbon emission efficiency-based on the super-efficiency SBM model

This paper uses the super efficiency SBM model based on unexpected output to calculate the industrial carbon emission efficiency of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2019, and uses spatial autocorrelation and other methods to conduct an empirical analysis on the dynamic evolution process and temporal and spatial differences of carbon emission efficiency. The results show that China's industrial carbon emission efficiency is still in the low efficiency stage, with an average value of 0.34. In the study period, although the overall trend is rising, the spatial and temporal differences between provinces are obvious. The overall Moran's I index is subject to the impact of social policy environment on the time path, showing an overall "M" type fluctuation trend, and its spatial difference characteristics change in stages. At the same time, there is a significant global spatial agglomeration effect across the country, and there is a spatial dependency between provinces. The agglomeration trend is significant, forming a cluster with the eastern coastal area as the high value center, and the northwest inland area as the low value center. The Getis OrdGI * index reveals that the local spatial agglomeration characteristics of China's industrial carbon emission efficiency always maintain the pattern of "hot in the east and cold in the west", which echoes the overall spatial evolution pattern of China. The hot spots and sub hot spots of China's industrial carbon emission efficiency are mainly concentrated in the southeast coastal areas with relatively superior economic development, and present a "semi enclosed" pattern. Cold spot area and sub cold spot area gradually evolved into a "suppression" pattern dominated by provinces in northwest China, comprehensively suppressing hot spots. This paper conducts an all-round evaluation of China's industrial carbon emission efficiency from the perspective of regional differentiation, and deeply studies the regional differences and spatial evolution pattern of carbon emission efficien cy in various provinces. It is crucial to achieve the goal of carbon emission reduction in China, and has important practical value and practical significance.

Analysis of the Spatial Correlation Network Structure of Agricultural Water Use Efficiency in Northwest China

There are some problems in Northwest China, such as the fragile ecological environment, poor basic conditions of agricultural production, low efficiency of agricultural water use, and difficulty in clarifying the path of agricultural water use efficiency (AWUE) improvement. Based on the superefficiency data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, this study increases the amount of ‘green water’ resources in the agricultural water consumption index of the input index and increases the wastewater pollutants (total chemical oxygen demand emissions; total ammonia nitrogen emissions) in the undesired output index to measure the AWUE in the northwest region. Based on the calculation results of AWUE, combined with the modified gravity model, the connection strength of AWUE between any two provinces in Northwest China is calculated, and the spatial structure and network characteristics of AWUE in this area are analysed via the social network analysis (SNA) method. The results show that the average AWUE in 2020 is nearly two times higher than that in 2011. From the situation of the northwest provinces, the average AWUE of the five provinces is in the order of Qinghai &gt; Shaanxi &gt; Gansu &gt; Ningxia &gt; Xinjiang. The AWUE value, total population, real GDP and per capita GDP of the capital cities of the five provinces in Northwest China are the key factors for the improvement of the connection intensity of AWUE. From 2011 to 2020, the connection intensity and closeness of AWUE in Northwest China increased, and there was a clear network hierarchy. The improvement in overall AWUE in the region is mainly due to the radiation and driving effect of the central province on other provinces. Based on this, the study proposes policy recommendations for gradually realising the AWUE improvement path of the central province (Shaanxi; Gansu)—cooperation circle (Shaanxi–Ningxia; Gansu–Qinghai)—the whole region. The results provide theoretical support and a quantitative basis for optimising the spatial pattern of agricultural water resources and improving AWUE in Northwest China.

Current Status and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals Contamination in Tea across China.

Tea is a non-alcoholic beverage popular among Chinese people. However, due to the application of chemical and organic fertilizers in the tea planting process, the environment pollutionaround the tea plantation, and the instruments used in the processing, heavy metal elements will accumulate in the tea, which brings health risks for tea consumers. This study summarized heavy metal concentrations from 227 published papers and investigated the current contamination status of tea and tea plantation soils, and, finally, the risk of heavy metal exposure to tea consumers in China is assessed, in terms of both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk. The average contamination of six heavy metals in tea-arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb)-were 0.21, 0.14, 1.17, 14.6, 0.04, and 1.09 mg/kg, respectively. The areas with high concentrations of heavy metals in tea were concentrated primarily in southwest China, some areas in eastern China, and Shaanxi Province in northwest China. The non-carcinogenic risks of heavy metals in tea are all within safe limits. The national average HI value was 0.04, with the highest HI value of 0.18 in Tibet, which has the largest tea consumption in China. However, the carcinogenic risks of Cd in Shaanxi Province, Anhui Province, and southwest China exceed the acceptable range, and due attention should be given to these areas.

Tibetan in the linguistic landscape of Xining (Qinghai Province, Amdo Tibet, Northwest China): a minority language in the context of a monolingual language policy and in a non-autonomous area

ABSTRACT This paper explores the presence of the Tibetan language in the linguistic landscape of Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province in Northwest China. Qinghai constitutes the main part of Amdo, one of the historical and cultural regions of greater Tibet. The majority of the inhabitants of Xining are Han Chinese (the major ethnic group in China), and a small percentage are from minorities, mainly Tibetans and Hui (Chinese-speaking Muslims). This city is characterised by intense economic and infrastructural development and attracts people from different areas of the province. The research is based on photographs of public signs that display the Tibetan language gathered between 2017 and 2022. The paper analyses the language choices, content, and visual elements of the signs and discusses the different uses of Tibetan signs in Xining. Moreover, it explores the use of the Tibetan language in public space in light of the current language policies and language ideologies in China, particularly in the Amdo region.

The diatom genus Ulnaria (Bacillariophyta) in China.

This study deals with Ulnaria species found and described from two regions of China with large climate differences during the period of 2014-2022. The first region, located in the Wuling Mountains and Hunan province, has a subtropical climate and the second in Qinghai, a northwest province of China, has a highland continental climate which is characterized by a cold and long winter and warm, short summer. Previously there were nine new Ulnaria species published from the first region. This study describes 14 additional new Ulnaria taxa, nine of which were found in the first region and five of which were found in the second region. A key to the Ulnaria species that have been described from China is provided. The main morphological characteristics for 63 Ulnaria taxa are summarized in Appendices which allow the division of these Ulnaria taxa into three groups: the seven members of group one all possess both uniseriate striae and valve marginal spines, the 42 members of group two all possess uniseriate or mostly uniseriate striae but without the valve marginal spines, and the 14 members of group three all possess mostly biseriate striae and without valve marginal spines. To summarize the morphological characters of the published Ulnaria taxa and 14 taxa described in this study several conclusions for the characterization of Ulnaria are drawn: 1) each cell has two valve-appressed, long plate-like plastids; 2) living cells of many Ulnaria species often lie in girdle view on a slide because they have deep mantles and some copulae associated with either the epivalve or the hypovalve so that the cell depth is often larger than the valve width; 3) the basic structures forming a valve include sternum, virgae, and vimines/viminules; 4) the valvocopula is a closed hoop which has a similar ultrastructure in all Ulnaria taxa but differs from the other copulae in structure; 5) the configuration of girdle bands is a common condition; 6) the life history of Ulnaria can be divided into the four series of successive stages: auxospore, initial cell, pre-normal vegetative cell, and normal vegetative cell, which is very similar to the life history of Hannaeainaequidentata (Lagerstedt) Genkal and Kharitonov; 7) the closed valvocopula is proposed as a definition character for the genus Ulnaria because demonstrating all girdle bands closed is impracticable.

An Ensemble Deep Learning Model for Provincial Load Forecasting Based on Reduced Dimensional Clustering and Decomposition Strategies

The accurate prediction of short-term load is crucial for the grid dispatching department in developing power generation plans, regulating unit output, and minimizing economic losses. However, due to the variability in customers’ electricity consumption behaviour and the randomness of load fluctuations, it is challenging to achieve high prediction accuracy. To address this issue, we propose an ensemble deep learning model that utilizes reduced dimensional clustering and decomposition strategies to mitigate large prediction errors caused by non-linearity and unsteadiness of load sequences. The proposed model consists of three steps: Firstly, the selected load features are dimensionally reduced using singular value decomposition (SVD), and the principal features are used for clustering different loads. Secondly, variable mode decomposition (VMD) is applied to decompose the total load of each class into intrinsic mode functions of different frequencies. Finally, an ensemble deep learning model is developed by combining the strengths of LSTM and CNN-GRU deep learning algorithms to achieve accurate load forecasting. To validate the effectiveness of our proposed model, we employ actual residential electricity load data from a province in northwest China. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm performs better than existing methods in terms of predictive accuracy.

Evolution of Urban Resilience from a Multiscale Perspective: Evidence from Five Provinces in Northwest China

As a new idea of urban risk management, building resilient cities with the ability to resist, eliminate, and adapt to uncertain risks is of great importance to mitigate risk impacts and promote sustainable urban development. Based on the adaptive cycle model and the characteristics of an urban system, this study analyzes the resilience levels of cities, urban agglomerations, and provinces and their adaptive stages. The results show that (1) the comprehensive resilience of cities in the five provinces of northwest China is on the rise and that the differences between cities are gradually narrowing. The development stages of the urban adaptive cycle can be divided into six stages: the rapid exploitation stage, exploitation-conservation stage, stable conservation stage, conservation-release stage, development reorganization stage, and reorganization-exploitation stage. (2) The spatial distribution of the comprehensive resilience of urban agglomerations is “high in the southeast and low in the northwest,” and the development stage of the adaptive cycle is consistent with its central city or central region. (3) The level of resilience varies greatly among provinces, and the development stage of the adaptive cycle is equivalent to the average level of all cities in the province and is closely related to their respective development forces and urban problems. These findings can provide reference for policymakers to formulate scientific resilience building strategies to achieve regional sustainable development.

Investigating the Feasibility of Using Satellite Rainfall for the Integrated Prediction of Flood and Landslide Hazards over Shaanxi Province in Northwest China

Rainfall-triggered flood and landslide hazards pose significant threats to human lives and infrastructure worldwide. This study aims to evaluate the applicability of three satellite rainfall data sets—namely, CMORPH, GPM, and TRMM—for the prediction of flood and landslide hazards using a coupled hydrological-slope stability model. The spatial distribution of annual rainfall from the three satellite data sets was similar to that of gauge rainfall, with an increasing trend from the north to the south of Shaanxi Province. The average annual rainfall of CMORPH was the lowest, while that of TRMM was the highest. The modeled discharges forcing by satellite rainfall generally matched the observed discharges at four hydrological stations for the period 2010–2012, with average correlation coefficients of 0.51, 0.61, and 0.57 for the CMORPH, GPM, and TRMM rainfall, respectively. The exceedance probabilities of modeled discharges for the three satellite rainfall data sets were close to those of the observations, particularly when the discharges were low. Moreover, the landslide prediction results demonstrated that the three satellite rainfall data sets could simulate the spatial distribution of landslide events well; these simulations were consistent with the information in the landslide inventory map. Furthermore, when compared to the classical Intensity-Duration (ID) rainfall threshold method, the physically based slope stability model presented higher global accuracy under all three satellite rainfall data sets. The global accuracy of GPM rainfall was the highest among the three data sets (0.973 for GPM vs. 0.951 for CMORPH and 0.965 for TRMM), indicating that GPM rainfall provides the highest quality compared to CMORPH and TRMM rainfall. These findings provide a crucial basis for the application of satellite rainfall data in the context of flood and landslide prediction.

Education for development: professional commitments and practices among Tibetan teachers in Northwest China

ABSTRACT Based on semi-structured interviews with Tibetan teachers in Qinghai Province in Northwest China, this article explores how the teachers, who hold subject positions as pedagogical professionals and local intellectual elites, understand the value and implications of education for Tibetan people, and how they navigate their profession in the local education system. Findings show that the teachers demonstrate strong professional commitments towards the development of Tibetan society, which embodies an entanglement of knowledge and skills acquisition, Tibetan cultural and language preservation, and selective transformation of value and behaviourial orientations among students as well as parents. Firstly, the teachers are committed to students’ acquisition of school knowledge and skills which they believe would lead to better socio-economic outcomes for individuals and their families. Secondly, the teachers, especially the Tibetan language teachers, elaborated on the importance of education and their professional roles in transmitting Tibetan culture and language. Finally, the teachers attempt to make students motivated and competent to cope with rising educational and social competition, and make parents more supportive of and involved in school education. These findings show that the Tibetan teachers play crucial roles in the socio-economic and cultural transformations and development of Tibetan society in China, and shed light on their active engagement with modernisation discourses and projects. The paper also contributes to domestic and international scholarly discussions on teachers’ work and professional roles, education for ethnic minorities, education in developing contexts, and ethnic minorities’ engagement with modernisation (or similar processes such as globalisation).

Current situation and risk factors for Helicobacter pylori eradication failure in Northwest China: a real-world evidence study.

Current situation and risk factors for Helicobacter pylori eradication failure in Northwest China: a real-world evidence study.