Poverty-stricken Areas Research Articles

Delay-Sensitive Secure NOMA Transmission for Hierarchical HAP–LAP Medical-Care IoT Networks

Medical-care Internet of Things enables rapid medical assistance by providing comprehensive and clear healthy information. However, due to the limited infrastructure, it is difficult to quickly and securely transmit medical-care information in poverty-stricken or disaster-stricken areas. To tackle the above situation, in this article, we propose a delay-sensitive secure nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) transmission scheme with the high-altitude platform (HAP) and low-altitude platforms (LAPs) cooperated to securely provide delay-sensitive medical-care services. In the proposed scheme, we first design a novel HAP–LAP secure transmission framework to provide NOMA communication services to multiple hotspots. Constrained by the limited power and spectrum, we formulate an optimization problem, such that the privacy information delay is minimized. For thisnonconvex optimization problem, we design an alternating optimization framework, where the power, spectrum, and LAPs’ location are tackled in turn. In addition, we theoretically analyze the performance superiority compared with the orthogonal multiple access scheme and derive the secrecy outage probability closed-form expression. Finally, numerical results show the performance superiority of the proposed scheme compared with the current works with respect to the secure information delay.

Rural Residents’ Intention to Participate in Pro-Poor Tourism in Southern Xinjiang: A Theory of Planned Behavior Perspective

It is well recognized that the sustainability of pro-poor tourism (PPT) lies in the continuous support and participation of the poor themselves. Previous studies have attempted to explore the effectiveness and patterns of pro-poor tourism, yet few have empirically explored the determinants of the poor’s intention to participate in PPT. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study investigates the impacts of the attitude of rural residents towards PPT, the perception of support for PPT, and the participation behavioral control of PPT on their intention to participate in PPT in Southern Xinjiang, China. One thousand and twelve valid questionnaires were collected via a household survey in six National Pilot Villages of PPT in Southern Xinjiang. According to the results, the locals’ attitude towards PPT and their participation behavioral control of PPT both positively affected their intention to participate in PPT. However, there was no significant correlation between the perception of support for PPT and their participation intention. This study highlights the importance of endogenous impetuses for residents of remote poverty-stricken areas with harsh environmental conditions, such as Southern Xinjiang, to participate in state-aided projects.

Valuation of Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development of Hani Terraces: A Rice-Fish-Duck Integrated Farming Model.

As a complementary and symbiotic agro-ecological cycle system, a nature-based integrated rice–fish–duck farming ecosystem was developed in the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces. The main research objective was to evaluate the ecosystem services based on case studies of the Hani integrated rice–fish–duck terraced farming system and determine its potential and its importance as an ecological asset. We developed a valuation model to assess the value of the integrated farming system based on the three aspects of provisioning, regulation and maintenance, and cultural services; we selected eight groups and 10 indictors to evaluate the ecosystem services of the integrated ecosystem in Honghe Hani Rice Terraces was 3.316 billion CNY, of which the provisioning service value was 1.76 billion CNY, the regulation and maintenance service value was 1.32 billion CNY, and the cultural services value was 230.85 million CNY. The evaluation will be useful as a theoretical reference for poverty alleviation policy makers in similar poverty-stricken areas, enabling them to better protect and promote this mode of farming and further promote the protection of the natural environment and cultural heritage alongside the sustainable development of natural resources and human well-being.

Effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention for the improvement of nutritional status and nutrition knowledge of children in poverty-stricken areas in Shaanxi Province, China

ObjectivesCompare the differences between the intervention and control groups in changes of primary outcomes (body mass index [BMI] and waist-to-height ratio [WHtR]) and secondary outcomes (nutrition knowledge of children and parents), from baseline to the 6- and 12-month follow-ups; examine the associations of changes in nutrition knowledge of children and their parents with children's changes in BMI and WHtR. Data sourcesData collected from four schools in two poverty-stricken counties in northern Shaanxi Province in 2020‒2021. MethodsA multifaced intervention program targeted children (promoting healthy diet and nutrition education) and their parents (promoting nutrition knowledge) was conducted in the interventional group. Four schools, with two in each group, were randomly allocated to the intervention or control group, with 814 eligible children aged 7.1 to 12.8 years. The control group conducted myopia promotion. Differences in changes of BMI and WHtR between groups were compared with t-test. Mixed-effects model was used to examine the associations between changes in nutrition knowledge of children and parents with changes in children's BMI and WHtR. ResultsAt the 6-month follow-up, the difference in changes in BMI between the intervention and control groups was 0.4 kg/m 2 (P < 0.001). At the 12-month follow-up, the difference in changes in BMI and WHtR between intervention and control groups was 0.1 kg/m2 (P < 0.001) and 0.01 kg/m2 (P < 0.001). In the intervention group, the nutrition knowledge awareness rate of children increased from 16.9% (69/409) at baseline to 21.3% (87/409) at 6-month, and 22.7% (93/409) at 12-month. The awareness rate of nutrition knowledge of parents also fluctuated, from 5.6% (23/409) to 6.6% (27/409) and 5.4% (22/409). However, the difference in changes in nutrition knowledge between intervention and control groups was non-significant. The 6-month follow-up changes in children's nutrition knowledge scores were negatively associated with changes in BMI in girls (β = −0.26, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.38 to −0.14, P < 0.001), while positively associated with changes in WHtR in boys (β = 0.003, 95% CI: −0.0002 to 0.005, P = 0.035). The 12-month follow-up changes in children's nutrition knowledge scores were positively associated with changes in children's WHtR (β = 0.003, 95% CI: 0.0004 to 0.01, P = 0.018). ConclusionsThe intervention strategies did not reduce the BMI and WHtR of children, and the nutrition knowledge of children and parents increased after the intervention in intervention group. Changes in nutrition knowledge of children and their parents are associated with changes in children's BMI or WHtR. Interventions with a new focus on obesity are needed to help improve children's nutritional status in poverty-stricken areas in Shaanxi Province of China.

Domestic water pollution cost of shale gas exploitation in China: An empirical study with Averting Behavior Theory

Shale gas development in China helps to improve the structure of energy supply and reduce energy dependence on foreign countries. However, the environmental risks of shale gas development, especially groundwater pollution, are non-negligible. The external cost of such groundwater pollution can be estimated by quantifying the increased domestic water consumption before and after shale gas extraction. We implemented a Difference-in-Difference estimation in Fuling, Chongqing of China to obtain the monetary cost of domestic water pollution of shale gas development with the survey data of household water consumption. We found that shale gas exploitation increased the expenditure of domestic water consumption by 16.43–17.00 yuan per household per month, aggregated to 203.94 yuan per household for the annual averting cost and accounting for 2.17% of household annual income in poverty-stricken areas in 2017. The paper contributes to the literature by estimating residents’ preference for shale gas development in China with Averting Behavior Theory, thus enriching the literature on evaluating the environmental cost of shale gas exploitation in a region where per capita income and environmental awareness is relatively low. Our estimated results have great policy implications for ecological compensating for the residents adversely affected by shale gas wells and also have profound implications for environmental regulation and protection in China.

Statistically Based Assessment and Decision-Making in Preschool Education

Preschool education is the beginning of lifelong learning, an important part of the national educational system, and an important social welfare undertaking. At the same time, as an important public service, preschool education is an important task to realize the adjustment of income redistribution to ensure that its financial investment is in line with fairness. Since 2010, the preschool educational policy in China has clearly been tilted toward rural areas and poverty-stricken areas in the central and western regions. Based on the 2010–2020 China Education Statistical Yearbook data, this study monitors and measures the completion of the formal goals put forward in the policy document and evaluates the effectiveness of the policy based on the comparison of the development levels of preschool education in urban areas, townships, and rural areas in China. The results show that under the effect of preferential policies, preschool educational resources at the township level in China have rapidly expanded and the level of popularization has improved; the number of township kindergarten teachers has been supplemented, and the educational level has been significantly improved. But at the same time, it is found that the advantages of inclusive preschool educational resources in areas with preferential policies are not obvious; inclusive preschool educational resources are obviously insufficient; and the proportion of children studying in private kindergartens is increasing year by year. The number of kindergarten teachers is still in short supply, and the ratio of students to teachers in rural kindergartens is much higher than in urban areas. The gap in teacher levels is still very large.

An assessment of the policy of poverty alleviation in continuous poverty-stricken areas: evidence from Yunnan Province, China

An assessment of the policy of poverty alleviation in continuous poverty-stricken areas: evidence from Yunnan Province, China

Construction of Evaluation Model for Transformation and Development of Rural Areas in Energy-Enriched Poverty-Stricken Areas

Because of the particularity of energy being non-renewable, the development of energy-intensive cities must consider its follow-up development issues in advance, especially for newly developed energy-intensive cities like Songyuan in the midwest of Jilin Province. It is necessary to summarize the experience from other energy-intensive cities and recognize the problems existing in its own development, so that the development of the city will not perish due to the exhaustion of energy. At present, the sustainable development of energy-intensive cities is the focus of attention at home and abroad. Energy-intensive cities have made great contributions to the national and regional economy but also paid a considerable price. Making the city continue to prosper and develop steadily without causing the city to decline due to the exhaustion of energy is the main problem facing the country, the government, and experts and scholars. Taking Songyuan City in Northeast China as an example, this paper adopts a combination of breakthroughs from the surface and breakthroughs, supplemented by theoretical analysis and empirical evaluation, and uses mathematical model simulation and expert consultation and decision-making methods. Starting from the theoretical height of man-land harmony and sustainable development, we construct an evaluation model of rural development status in energy-enriched poverty-stricken areas, evaluate the evolution trend of rural development status, and propose leading models and development strategies for rural transformation and development in energy-enriched poverty-stricken areas. It provides theoretical reference and decision-making basis for the sustainable development of rural Songyuan City.

Distribution of bacteriologically positive and bacteriologically negative pulmonary tuberculosis in Northwest China: spatiotemporal analysis

Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is a major health issue in Northwest China. Most previous studies on the spatiotemporal patterns of PTB considered all PTB cases as a whole; they did not distinguish notified bacteriologically positive PTB (BP-PTB) and notified bacteriologically negative PTB (BN-PTB). Thus, the spatiotemporal characteristics of notified BP-PTB and BN-PTB are still unclear. A retrospective county-level spatial epidemiological study (2011–2018) was conducted in Shaanxi, Northwest China. In total, 44,894 BP-PTB cases were notified, with an average annual incidence rate of 14.80 per 100,000 persons between 2011 and 2018. Global Moran’s I values for notified BP-PTB ranged from 0.19 to 0.49 (P < 0.001). Anselin’s local Moran’s I analysis showed that the high–high (HH) cluster for notified BP-PTB incidence was mainly located in the southernmost region. The primary spatiotemporal cluster for notified BP-PTB (LLR = 612.52, RR = 1.77, P < 0.001) occurred in the central region of the Guanzhong Plain in 2011. In total, 116,447 BN-PTB cases were notified, with an average annual incidence rate of 38.38 per 100,000 persons between 2011 and 2018. Global Moran’s I values for notified BN-PTB ranged from 0.39 to 0.69 (P < 0.001). The HH clusters of notified BN-PTB were mainly located in the north between 2011 and 2014 and in the south after 2015. The primary spatiotemporal cluster for notified BN-PTB (LLR = 1084.59, RR = 1.85, P < 0.001) occurred in the mountainous areas of the southernmost region from 2014 to 2017. Spatiotemporal clustering of BP-PTB and BN-PTB was detected in the poverty-stricken mountainous areas of Shaanxi, Northwest China. Our study provides evidence for intensifying PTB control activities in these geographical clusters.

THE ROLE OF LIVESTOCK MARKETING IN IMPROVING THE LIVELIHOODS OF PASTORALISTS

Purpose: The pastoralists who are majority of inhabitants of ASALs in Kenya depend mainly on the livestock resource for their livelihoods. This study examined how the livelihoods of pastoralists would change if identified constraints are addressed and if there is effective participation of the relevant stakeholders in marketing of the livestock and livestock products.&#x0D; Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical&#x0D; literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps.&#x0D; Results: The study confirmed that livestock keeping is very important and is the mainstay of 80% of pastoralists who depend on it for productive capital. All aspects of pastoral social and economic life are ordered in relation to livestock and the environment in which they live. There are many challenges ranging from climatic, geo-physical, economic, political and social that impedes effective trade of livestock and livestock products.&#x0D; Unique Contribution to Theory and Practice: Key stakeholders including the government, political leaders, civil society, and livestock marketing associations amongst others should come up with a way forward to address the constraints preventing the livestock industry to contribute its potential role of poverty alleviation in ASALs. Indeed, an ASAL Marshall Plan is required to transform the area from being a perpetual poverty-stricken area to a prosperous and self-sufficient region.

Farmers’ Livelihood Capital and Its Impact on Sustainable Livelihood Strategies: Evidence from the Poverty-Stricken Areas of Southwest China

Evaluating the influence of livelihood capital on livelihood strategies remains an unexplored strategy intended to cultivate the level of livelihood capital, enhance livelihood strategies, combine the achievements regarding a reduction in poverty, and attain everlasting poverty mitigation, along with endorsing sustainable livelihoods. Based on the survey data of 508 farmers within poverty-stricken areas of Southwest China, the entropy method was primarily used for measuring the level of farmers’ livelihood capital. Moreover, the logistic regression model was used to empirically analyze the impact of livelihood capital on the choice and transformation of livelihood strategies. The results showed the following: (1) The five categories of livelihood capital values were generally not high. The value of physical capital was the highest (0.4279), while the value of financial capital was the lowest (0.2018). (2) Physical capital, alongside natural capital, has a positive influence on the pure agriculture livelihood strategy, while human, social, and financial capital have a positive impact on the non-agriculture livelihood strategy. Excluding financial capital, the remaining types of capital have a positive impact on the part-time agriculture livelihood strategy. (3) Decisive factors are used to promote transformation from pure agriculture to part-time agriculture, mostly comprising social network support and family labor force, among other indicators. The important factors used to promote transformation from pure agriculture to non-agriculture are mainly labor education level and social network support, among other indicators. Finally, on the basis of the above findings, policy sanctions are proposed from the observations of livelihood capital and livelihood strategies.

Digital Technology Boosting Agricultural Supply-Side Constitutive Revolution in Poor Areas Based on the Intelligent Environment of the Internet of Things

China is a big agricultural country, and China’s agricultural development is related to the development of the country. Especially in poor rural areas, the development of agriculture still stays at low-level manual farming. Therefore, with the help of the developed Internet of Things technology, it is necessary for digital technology to develop and reform the rural areas in poverty-stricken areas. This paper aims to promote the supply-side structural revolution of agriculture in poverty-stricken areas by digital technology based on intelligent environment of Internet of Things. Firstly, the KNN intelligent algorithm is improved to improve the accuracy and reduce the time complexity. Then, based on the data support of Internet of Things technology, a prediction model is built, and the parameters are optimized by particle swarm optimization, and finally the best prediction model with high prediction accuracy, good stability and reduced prediction time complexity is obtained. Taking the source area of the Danjiang River in the South-to-North Water Transfer Project as the research object, the total grain output and soybean production demand in this area from 2010 to 2018 were selected, and the change trend of soybean production and demand in this area from 2019 to 2021 was predicted. The experimental data show that the soybean output in this region has increased year by year, with a cumulative increase of 6,985.4 tons from 2010 to 2018. Soybean output sometimes exceeds demand, and sometimes it is less than demand. There will be an oversupply situation in 2019 and 2021, and an oversupply situation in 2020. Therefore, the prediction model of Internet of Things can effectively predict the supply and demand situation of soybean with an accuracy rate of over 90%, which can provide data support for the decision-making of structural change of agricultural supply side in poverty-stricken areas.

Optimization of Production–Living–Ecological Space in National Key Poverty-Stricken City of Southwest China

Trade-offs and conflicts among different sectors of production, living, and ecology have become important issues in regional sustainable development planning due to both the versatility and limitation of land resources, especially in poverty-stricken mountainous areas. This study builds an optimization model to assist policymakers in simulating land demand and allocation in the future. The model takes socioeconomic and demographic development into consideration and couples local planning policy with land use data from the perspective of system integration. The model was employed for a case study of Zhaotong city to optimize production–living–ecological (PLE) space. The results show that the model provides a feasible method to explore the sustainable development pattern of territorial space, especially in distressed regions.

Does agro-ecological efficiency contribute to poverty alleviation? An empirical study based on panel data regression.

Worldwide degradation of the ecological environment could be the cause of poverty. The poverty-stricken areas may face the dilemma of a "vicious circle of poverty." The complex ecological conditions have intertwined with poverty alleviation, which makes the demand for ecological poverty alleviation particularly prominent in these areas. However, the research on the relationship between agro-ecological efficiency and poverty are limited. It is far from clear what is the impact of the agro-ecological efficiency on poverty. To explore the impact of agro-ecological efficiency on poverty reduction, we adopt the panel data model based on cross-correlation and regression coefficient, using the data from 25 counties/districts in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (TGRR) from 2006 to 2017. The results show that (1) there is significant heterogeneity in agro-ecological efficiency in the TGRR, and the agro-ecological efficiency in the middle area is significantly lower than that of the head and tail areas of the TGRR; (2) the improvement of regional agro-ecological efficiency could accelerate the alleviation of poverty; and (3) the widening of urban-rural income disparity is not conducive to poverty alleviation and eradication. This study would provide basis for further policy recommendations aimed at improving agro-ecological efficiency and alleviating poverty.

Introduction: Hunger and Waste.

Introduction:Hunger and Waste Isabelle Meuret (bio) Hunger is a physiological disposition, a quotidian preoccupation, and a metaphor for desire. On another scale, global hunger—leading to malnutrition and starvation—affects hundreds of millions living in poverty-stricken, famine-devastated, and war-ravaged areas.1 As for waste, the dearth, careless use, or squandering of resources, together with climate change and other environmental challenges, have raised new concerns about food supplies and unequal access. The Covid crisis has aggravated such situations, pushing further away a now unattainable "Zero Hunger" horizon initially planned for 2030 by world agencies.2 Food banks have reappeared during the pandemic in otherwise wealthy countries, with many struggling to provide for their families. Official reports show that the dire combination of the three Cs—Covid, conflict, climate—is resulting in soaring death tolls attributable to hunger.3 Writing from the heart of Europe, where, terrifyingly, another outrageous conflict is raging, with anguished and famished people on the roads, I, like others, inevitably got distracted from academic matters. Compiling this volume, however, is not a vain effort. Hopefully, it is an invitation to ponder the fateful circumstances and consequences of war, imprisonment, oppression, and deprivation—of which hunger and waste derive, not just in the West, but across continents, where populations are forcibly displaced or unjustly targeted. Refugees, exiled, disadvantaged, and marginalized, are particularly vulnerable to hunger. Those in affluent societies deemed destitute or negligible are wasting away in what philosopher Achille Mbembe calls death-worlds.4 Pushed against the wall of their existences, "disposable" people are sacrificed so that others may live and thrive. In No Friend but the Mountains, Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani provides a damning account of his imprisonment on Manus Island, a detention center set up by the Australian government where [End Page 29] asylum-seekers are left to rot. "Starvation is such a powerful force. It pervades everything," he observes while at sea, fleeing his homeland, "[b]lacking out from hunger . . . famished . . . dazed with hunger."5 Hunger is torture, not just during his frightening odyssey, but also at the compound, where it is used to control the inmates. Hunger annihilates him physically and mentally. A desperate soul, he feels and sees his "whole body as a skeleton . . . left wandering," nearing madness:6 Trying to understand the conditions of micro-control and macro-control /Trying to understand the perpetual flux of everything /Trying to avoid tipping over the edge /Trying to avoid tipping into insanity.7 Boochani's writing is a testament to the ordeals endured by him and his companions in misfortune. His is the voice of the "living-dead" resisting oblivion, fighting for recognition.8 While not self-imposed hunger, Boochani's predicament is enlightened by Maud Ellmann's demonstration, in The Hunger Artists, that there exists "a complicity between the themes of hunger, writing, and imprisonment."9 Hunger strikers strive to deliver a message and convey meaning to the destructive process of oppressive regimes. Said differently, "the wordless testimony of the famished flesh" acquires signification only once a "statement" vindicates self-starvation.10 Emaciation is mesmerizing; it awaits an explanation, hopefully an action. Starvation calls for a literal and legal sentence; it summons a reckoning. Vanishing bodies produce texts to shake us out of our indifference. By the same token, Boochani, a food-deprived detainee, smuggled his words out of an offshore processing facility using clandestine mobile phones, to disclose hidden secrets and inconvenient truths. "Being so hungry, completely starving, one loses sight," Boochani confesses.11 Conversely, his dazzling prose and poetry documents his incarceration and opens our eyes to crimes against humanity. Likewise, albeit in a different context, harrowing dispatches are now reaching us from Europe's breadbasket, under siege. Through the monitoring of cross-border assistance that brings food and medicines to the besieged, voices erupt: "Are Ukrainians so dispensable to the rest of the world?"12 Waste means refuse, garbage, filth. A whole literature is devoted to waste as a planetary emergency.13 Environmental degradation wrecks bodies in need of urgent biomedical responses. The waste paradigm extends from trash to recycling, from litter to resources. Noxious garbage in overflowing landfills sickens neighboring residents, affecting [End Page...

Socio-economic inequalities in child growth: Identifying orientation and forward-looking layout

Socio-economic inequalities in child growth: Identifying orientation and forward-looking layout

Unraveling the Spatio-Temporal Relationship between Ecosystem Services and Socioeconomic Development in Dabie Mountain Area over the Last 10 years

The Dabie Mountain area is a typical poverty-stricken area in China. It is of great significance to evaluate the ecosystem service value and its impact mechanism toward optimizing the ecological structure and coordinating ecological protection and economic development. This study determined the ecosystem service value coefficient and calculated the ecosystem service value (ESV) according to the regional economic development in the past ten years, and the ESV was spatialized based on NPP, which is closely related to ecological function. The temporal and spatial variation of ESV was then analyzed, and an RDE index was proposed to describe its response to land cover change. Further, the relationship between ESV and several parameters that reflect socioeconomic development was researched and analyzed. The results show that the total ESV in the study area first decreased and then increased, with an overall increase of CNY 3.895 billion. Among the land cover types, forest land had the greatest impact, contributing more than 70%. In the ecosystem service functions, the contribution of regulation function exceeded 50%. ESV was found to be sensitive to land cover change. On average, every 1 km2 change leads to an ESV change of about CNY 1 million. Socioeconomic-related parameters were negatively correlated with ESV, among which the correlation with per capita disposable income was the weakest, indicating that there was no obvious contradiction between human well-being and ESV. Therefore, a path for harmonious symbiotic development can be found between man and nature.

Efficacy of Phenobarbital and Prognosis Predictors in Women With Epilepsy From Rural Northeast China: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study.

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy of phenobarbital (PB), factors associated with it, reasons for early treatment termination, and mortality rates in adult women living in rural Northeast China.MethodsA prospective study was conducted in seven counties of Jilin Province from 2010 to 2020. Adult women diagnosed with convulsive epilepsy were recruited into the study and baseline demographics recorded upon enrollment. Seizure frequency, prescribed drug dose, and adverse reactions were monitored monthly by door-to-door survey or telephone interview.ResultsA total of 1,333 women were included in the study. During the follow-up period, 169 participants (12.7%) were lost to follow-up, and 100 of them (7.5%) died. The percentage of seizure-free participants was 45.3% in the first year, 74.6% in the third year, and 96.6% in the 10th year. A higher baseline seizure frequency (OR = 1.005, 95% CI: 1.002–1.009), more frequent loss-of-consciousness seizures (OR = 1.620, 95% CI: 1.318–1.990), a higher daily dose of PB in the first year (OR = 1.018, 95% CI: 1.014–1.022), a younger age at onset (OR = 0.990, 95% CI: 0.982–0.998), and more severe drowsiness (OR = 1.727, 95% CI: 1.374–2.173) were associated with an increased risk of seizures in the first year, and the higher baseline seizure frequency was still associated with the occurrence of seizures in the third (OR = 1.007, 95% CI: 1.004–1.010) and fifth year (OR = 1.005, 95% CI: 1.002–1.008). Age at enrollment (HR = 0.983, 95% CI: 0.971–0.994) was the only factor that correlated with withdrawal from the study and with the death of the participant during the follow up period, but the correlation in each case was in opposite directions.SignificancePB has high effectiveness, retention rate, mild side effects, and tolerability when used as a treatment for epilepsy in women from rural areas. Baseline seizure frequency is an important predictor of prognosis regardless of treatment duration. PB is still a valuable tool for the management of epilepsy in adult women from poverty-stricken areas.

Spatial targets and payment modes of win–win payments for ecosystem services and poverty reduction

Spatial targets and payment modes are the key components for solving the issue of “where to pay and how to pay” and for supporting ecosystem service providers to achieve sustainable livelihoods and end poverty through payments for ecosystem services (PES) for environmental protection and poverty reduction. Here, we present the Spatial Targets and Sustainable Livelihoods (STSL) framework and analyze regional environmental vulnerability and livelihood assets in the Longnan Municipality of China. We constructed reasonable spatial targeting and payment modes according to each actual type. We classified the present 27 poverty-stricken areas in Longnan Municipality into two levels of environmental vulnerability, four classes in combination with natural capital, eight categories with the addition of human capital, and ten subcategories considering environmental vulnerability and all five livelihood assets. Finally, considering regional development and sustainable livelihoods for poor people, we suggest spatial layout targets for implementing conservation or restoration ecological projects and 10 differentiated payment modes. This study provides an appropriate proposal for certain regions to implement the environmental policy of win–win PES and fills the research gap regarding specific payment modes for PES.

Problem Mechanism and Solution Strategy of Rural Children's Community Inclusion-The Role of Peer Environment and Parental Community Participation.

Early childhood development intervention has gained considerable achievements in eliminating intergenerational transmission of poverty in rural areas. Paying further attention to rural children’s community inclusion can also promote the sustainable development of the village. However, there is a lack of systematic theoretical constructs on the village inclusion of rural children. In this study, an attempt was made to explore the problem mechanism and solution strategy of community inclusion of rural children using a grounded theory approach of in-depth interviews. Seventeen parents of children in a national-level poverty-stricken county in Inner Mongolia of China were investigated, adopting the strategy of intensity sampling. The results revealed that (1) the content of rural children’s activities demonstrates enhanced participation in the virtual environment and weakened participation in the real community environment. That is, the activities are characterized by more virtualization and individualization. (2) Rural parents and community peers are two major channels for children’s community inclusion, while both the community peer environment and parental community participation show a weakening trend. This may be an important reason for the virtualization and individualization of the children’s psychological development environment. (3) Developmental intervention programs for rural children in poverty-stricken areas should focus on the reconstruction of children’s community peer environment, encourage the community participation of parents, and fully mobilize local-based educational resources.