Regular Session Research Articles

The Second Session of the 14th National People's Congress: Outcomes of China's Legislative Development in 2023

The regular (second) session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), held in March 2024, summarized the key outcomes of China's socio-economic and legislative development in the second year following the 20th CPC National Congress (October 2022). According to established tradition, the third plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC should have been held on the eve of the parliamentary session, with its decisions typically focusing on the country's economic development. In turn, the decisions of the NPC are based on the work of the plenum, often taking the form of laws. However, in 2024, although the plenum did not take place, the NPC session proceeded as scheduled, with no changes to its working agenda. In the report of the State Council’s Premier, it was noted that China's GDP growth reached 5.2 %, one of the highest figures among both developing and developed countries. In the legislative sphere, in 2023, the Chinese parliament, represented by the Standing Committee of the NPC, passed a number of important laws for the country's legal system, and several existing laws were amended. Of particular note are the Law on Foreign Relations, which outlines the key principles of China's foreign policy, and the Law on the Immunity of Foreign States, which replaced the previously existing principle of "absolute immunity" with "limited immunity." In the fight against corruption, significant changes were made through the 12th amendments to the Criminal Law of the PRC. Additionally, legislative decisions focused on developing a mechanism to counter growing challenges and threats to Chinese statehood, finding adequate responses to sanction policies, implementing measures to create a stable financial and banking system, and strengthening the military amid rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

Nevada

The State of Nevada convenes every two years to pass a biennium budget. For the biennium spanning 2023–2025, the Nevada state legislators held three sessions: the 82nd regular session, the 34th special session, and the 35th special session. Within these legislative sessions, state policymakers reconciled the needs of their P-20 education system. This synoptic manuscript provides an overview of the legislation related to P-20 funding, including Nevada’s funding priorities for P-12 and/or higher education, changes to the school funding formula, and the major human resources management initiatives funded by the biennium budget.

Effects of two massage therapy techniques on the rate of perceived exertion and performance recovery among adolescent footballers in Lagos State

The purpose of this research was to investigate effects of two massage therapy techniques on the rate of perceived exertion and performance recovery among adolescent footballers in Lagos state. Pre-test post-test experimental research design was employed for the study. The research instruments for the study included weighing scales, sphygmomanometer, heart rate monitors, cones, RPE rating, massage oil and stop watch. Pre-test data was collected. After the administration of 6 weeks massage therapy sessions, post-test data was collected. Rate of perceived exertion rating was collected through the exposure of the players to circuit training which incorporated sprinting, jumping and siting twist. The performance recovery data was collected by allowing the players to run 800m after their regular training session and the time taken to complete it was recorded. Findings indicated that there was no significant effect of Swedish massage therapy on the rate of perceived exertion, there was significant effect of Swedish massage therapy on performance recovery, and there was significant effect of deep tissue massage therapy on rate of perceived exertion and performance recovery among adolescent footballers. The study recommends that coaches and professionals should design a comprehensive training and recovery plan that includes more of deep tissue massage sessions.

Optimal liquidation using extended trading close for multiple trading days

The extended trading close (ETC) provides institutional investors an opportunity to trade at the closing price after the regular trading session (RTS) and disclosing the order imbalances to other market participants. ETCs exist in the Nasdaq, the SSE STAR, the SZSE ChiNext and the TWSE. To help a risk-averse institutional investor take advantage of the RTS and the ETC for liquidation, we develop a multistage dynamic programming model including the ETC, and derive recursive solutions for the multiple trading days scenario with closed-form solutions for the scenario with only two trading days. We also verify that the ETC is able to mitigate extreme price movements caused by fast liquidation, which is also a goal of the ETC set out by the SSE STAR and the SZSE ChiNext. Finally, we derive three results. First, an institutional investor can reduce execution costs after the introduction of the ETC. Second, a critical trading day exists, and to avoid prematurely revealing trading intentions, the investor should not trade in the ETC until such day. Third, even though the ETC orders submitted by the investor are unfilled, implementation of the ETC encourages the investor to change the liquidation strategy in the RTS, which reduces extreme price movements. In summary, the practical implications of this paper are that the investor should not trade during the ETC on the front few days to avoid prematurely revealing the investor’s trading intention by unfilled orders in the ETC and that introducing the ETC can reduce liquidation costs and extreme price movements.

LIBERAL REVOLUTION AND PLANS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION REFORM (BASED ON MATERIALS OF EKATERINBURG ZEMSTVO)

The article analyzes the educational project of the Yekaterinburg Zemstvo - local self-government, presented at the 48th regular session of the district Zemstvo in 1917. The district Zemstvo bodies received from the Provisional Government the right to manage school affairs not only economically, but also educationally. About 350 educational institutions came under the jurisdiction of the Yekaterinburg zemstvo. The district Zemstvo government proposed creating a three-tier system for managing local, township and district school committees. These governing bodies were to be democratically elected and consist of teachers, representatives of the local community, local governments and public organizations. The government proposed to change the educational program of public schools in the spirit of the “school of action” theory. The work of the students themselves at the lesson was brought to the fore; the teacher was only asked to give direction to the independent work of the class and monitor it. Importance was given to learning “homeland studies,” which allowed children to independently study the world around them.

Existing Classroom Teaching Practices in Janamaitri Multiple Campus, Kuleshwar

The present study has conducted with the main objective to access the classroom teaching practices by the teachers. It has followed the personal status of the teachers as well as the practices of effective classroom teaching. It was based on observational descriptive research design with quantitative nature. The study was conducted on Janamaitri Multiple Campus and the full-time faculties with in the campus. The purposive sampling technique was applied to select the 30 faculties including of 20 male and 10 female faculties. The direct class observation was applied to collect the data and information with major components for effective teaching learning activities. The study concludes that there is normal gap between male and female teachers in teaching profession, most of the teachers were in the middle age group, most of the male teachers had only master level of education except female teachers, most of the teachers had excellent teaching experience from ten to twenty-five years and all most all the teachers had salary as a main source of personal income. Some teachers got regular teaching training in their respective subjects, only few teachers had followed the structured lesson plans and strategy during teaching learning, some teachers had followed traditional methods of teaching and materials during teaching and most of the teachers had managed the classroom properly during teaching learning activities. The regular training and refresher program regarding of modern teaching techniques should be conducted by the campus administration for their respected teachers. Regular monitoring and discussion session with teachers, students and administration should be conducted for improvement.

Habitual prospective memory in preschool children.

Habitual prospective memory (PM) refers to situations in which individuals have to remember to perform a future task on a regular and frequent basis. Habitual PM tasks are ubiquitous and the ability to successfully complete these tasks (e.g., remembering to bring your lunch to school every day) is necessary for children as they begin to establish their own independence. The current investigation is the first to explore preschool children's ability to complete this kind of task. At the end of a regular testing session during which children engaged in a variety of unrelated cognitive tasks, participants were instructed to ask for a stamp on their card, which was sitting in a box on the table. Over the course of the first experiment, participants did this 13 times, spanning a time period of several months. The results demonstrated that children initially needed prompting from the experimenter to remember, but with experience, participants were able to retrieve this intention without assistance. Experiment 2 demonstrated that removing the box from participants' line of sight after numerous opportunities to perform the task did not negatively impact performance, although it did make a difference at the outset of this requirement to remember to ask for stamps. Together, these results indicate that with somewhat consistent and repeated practice, preschool children can fairly quickly demonstrate the ability to successfully perform future intentions that are likely to be repeated on numerous occasions.

Undergraduate Skills Training in Pandemic Times: Where Is the Future of Medical Education?

The COVID-19 pandemic forced medical programs to rapidly switch to remote teaching from scratch, impacting hands-on skills training. This study compared the efficacy of a hybrid online format to a regular in-person session for a mandatory surgical skills class. Third-year undergraduate medical students attending the surgical skills class in the winter semester of 2020/21 at the Medical University of Graz were randomly assigned to either the hybrid or in-person class, depending on their course schedule and government regulations. The hybrid class involved online videos, one-on-one peer tutoring, and an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Pre- and post-class self-assessments were conducted to evaluate their theoretical and practical knowledge of a single interrupted suture. The study included 85 students in the regular in-person class and 50 in the hybrid class. A pre-class assessment revealed higher self-assessments in the hybrid class for theoretical and practical knowledge, but a post-class assessment showed no significant difference. The advantages and disadvantages of both modalities were identified, providing valuable insights for future curriculum development. Both teaching modes were effective for undergraduate surgical skills training. This study recommends implementing positive aspects of both the hybrid and in-person formats while recognizing their respective limitations.

Fatigue-Induced Neuromuscular Performance Changes in Professional Male Volleyball Players.

The purpose of the present study was to assess pre-post practice changes in countermovement vertical jump (CVJ) force-time metrics and to determine the relationship between internal and external load variables within a cohort of professional male volleyball players. Ten elite athletes competing in one of the top professional European leagues participated in the present study. While standing on a uni-axial force plate, each athlete performed three CVJs immediately prior to the regular training session. Each athlete wore an inertial measurement unit (VertTM) through an entire practice from which the following external load metrics were obtained: Stress (i.e., an algorithm-derived metric used to quantify the percentage of high-impact movements), Jumps (i.e., the total number of jumps performed during the practice session), and Active Minutes (i.e., the total amount of time performing dynamic movements). Immediately post-practice, each athlete completed another set of three CVJs and reported their subjective measure of internal load using a Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale (Borg CR-10). While no statistically significant differences were observed in any of the force-time metrics examined in the present study pre-post practice (e.g., eccentric and concentric peak and mean force and power, vertical jump height, contraction time, countermovement depth), our findings indicate a strong positive association between RPE and Stress (r = 0.713) and RPE and Jumps (r = 0.671). However, a weak non-statistically significant correlation was observed between RPE and Active Minutes (r = -0.038), indicating that internal load seems to be more dependent on the intensity rather than the duration of the training session for this sport.

The Push to Integrate Mid-Level Providers into Dentistry

The Push to Integrate Mid-Level Providers into Dentistry

EFFECT OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY ON HIP ABDUCTION IN CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY

Background: Mechanical Horse Riding Simulator (MHRS) is one of the complementary therapy used in the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy which produces rhythmical and repetitive movements. It is working under the principles of hippotherapy and considered an alternative method for hippotherapy. Purpose: This study aimed to nd out the effectiveness of a mechanical horse riding simulator on hip abduction range of motion in children with spastic diplegia and evaluate the magnitude of improvement at different periods (2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks). This study included 30 childre Methods: n with spastic diplegia and was divided into two groups, the experimental and the control group. The experimental group received 15 minutes of complementary therapy with MHRS, 3 days/ week for 6 weeks along with regular physiotherapy, while the control group received 15 minutes of conventional trunk control exercise along with the regular physiotherapy session. Hip abduction passive range of motion (PROM) was measured with the Goniometer. Pre and postintervention scores were recorded and analyzed with appropriate statistical tools. The baseline characteristics were similar in both Results: groups before the intervention with the p-value (p>0.01). The observed mean value of hip abduction PROM has been improved in both groups over 6 weeks and the experimental group shows signicantly better improvement (p<0.01) than the control group in all the weeks. Conclusion: The study results conrmed that gradual improvement of hip abduction passive range of motion (both sides) was observed in both groups. Children exposed to MHRS show better improvement than the children in the control group. It was concluded that the MHRS is an effective complementary therapy improving hip abduction passive range of motion (both sides) in children with spastic diplegia and the provision of MHRS in longer duration provides more benets than the shorter duration.

Growth Differentiation Factor 15 and Risk of Death in Haemodialysis Patients.

Noninvasive identification of haemodialysis patients at high risk of cardiovascular events and death might improve their outcome. Growth differentiation factor 15 is a prognostic biomarker in multiple disease entities, including cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to assess the association between plasma GDF-15 and mortality in a cohort of haemodialysis patients. Circulating GDF-15 was measured in 30 patients after a regular haemodialysis session, followed by a clinical follow-up for all-cause death. Measurements were performed using the Proseek Multiplex Cardiovascular disease panels (Olink Proteomics AB) and validated using the Elecsys GDF-15 electrochemiluminescence immunoassay on a Cobas E801 analyzer (Roche Diagnostics). During a median of 38 months, 9 patients (30%) died. Seven deaths occurred in the group of patients with a circulating GDF-15 above the median and two in the group with lower GDF-15. Mortality was significantly higher in patients with circulating GDF-15 levels above the median, log-rankP = 0.044. The performance of circulating GDF-15 to predict long-term mortality has an area under the ROC curve of 0.76, P = 0.028. Prevalence of most relevant comorbidities and the Charlson comorbidity index were similar across the two groups. A high agreement with a correlation among both diagnostic methods was observed (Spearman's rho = 0.83, P < 0.001). Plasma GDF-15 displays promising prognostic properties for the prediction of long-term survival beyond clinical parameters in patients on maintenance haemodialysis.

Introduction

Introduction Eric Bain-Selbo More than a decade ago, a relatively small group of scholars worked with Mercer University Press to launch the International Journal of Religion and Sport. The co-editors at the time were Christopher J. Anderson and Gordon Marino. The plan was to publish just once a year. But after that first volume in 2009, it was another four years before another volume was published. The co-editors for that volume were Eric Bain-Selbo and Andrew Parker. That volume was the last one published. Despite the good work of everyone involved, it just may not have been the right time for the journal. So, what’s different now? Just in the decade since the last volume of the journal, incredible strides have been made in the study of sport and religion. There now is a regular session on “Religion, Sport, and Play” at the American Academy of Religion. Springer launched a monograph series in religion and sport. Dozens of books have appeared and more and more young scholars are working on research in this area. So, when Terry Shoemaker and I were contacted by Catholic University of America Press about reviving the journal (with a slight name change), we not only agreed to serve as co-editors, we agreed enthusiastically and with confidence. The field of sport and religion has grown so significantly that we are confident that a journal can not only survive but can thrive. It is with that enthusiasm and confidence that we share this first issue with you. With this first issue, we thought it would be appropriate to have scholars in the field reflect on our history, the current state of scholarship, and where we might go in the future. These relatively short but very rich pieces accomplish several goals. First, they document much of the history of this area of study and memorialize some of the key figures in its development. Second, they provide some critical assessment of the scholarship happening today. And, third, they provide valuable insights as to where scholars can take (or should take) their research in the future. [End Page 1] A feature of every issue of the journal will be “Current Issues Conversations.” We will be bringing together a number of scholars, athletes, fans, and others in the sports industries for focused panels on pressing issues in the area of sport and religion. We kick off this special section of the journal with a panel discussion of the controversial Kennedy v. Bremerton School District case that was decided by the Supreme Court in June 2022. We hope that these discussions help readers expand their knowledge about important current issues and think more critically about a host of issues related to sport and religion. Finally, we’re taking the standard book review section and expanding it to a Book and Media Review section. This expansion will allow us to continue publishing book reviews, but also provides scholars with an opportunity to review relevant video games, television shows, documentaries, and movies. Interested in doing a review? Please let us know. As we move forward with the journal, we hope readers will reach out to us to provide feedback about the journal. And, of course, we are always interested in your scholarship. Please let us know if you have a completed article, something in the works, or just an initial idea for which you would like our feedback. [End Page 2] Copyright © 2023 The Catholic University of America Press

What is an acoustic metamaterial?

The topic of acoustic metamaterials has been included as a regular special session at the ASA for over 10 years, with hundreds of papers presented. In many of these presentations, the author begins with a definition of ‘acoustic metamaterial.’ While many of these definitions are similar, subtle differences exist in the defining characteristics. So what is a metamaterial? What are the defining features as accepted by the research community? This presentation will review some of the common themes in the definitions and include opportunity for light-hearted interactive audience participation to evaluate those defining themes.

Impact of reproductive and sexual health education on late adolescent girls in an urban slum

Background: Menstruation, although, a natural process, may result in adverse health outcomes. Adolescents having a better knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene and safe menstrual practices are less vulnerable to reproductive tract infections and its consequences. Aim and Objectives were to study the socio-demographic profile of late adolescent girls in an urban slum. To determine the baseline knowledge of girls regarding reproductive and sexual health and menstrual hygiene. To estimate the impact of reproductive and sexual health education on the existing knowledge. Methods: This study was done among late adolescent girls to assess the impact of health education on their knowledge, attitude and practices regarding menstruation and puberty, conception, contraception, RTI, STI, HIV and AIDS. After collecting sociodemographic details and baseline knowledge, health education session was conducted, which was followed by checking their, post-test knowledge Follow up session was also conducted after a month. Results: Most of the girls were 16 years old, Hindus and from nuclear families. The baseline knowledge about puberty, menstruation, conception, contraception, RTI, STD, HIV, AIDS was not good. The knowledge increased immediately after the first session, but after the second session, the knowledge was not retained. The menstrual hygiene practices increased after the health education session. Conclusions: The study stresses the importance of imparting knowledge about menstruation, hygiene during the periods, to the adolescent girls and having a regular revision session so as to have good menstrual hygiene practices.

Commentary: Water Infrastructure and Supply Are the Backbone or Achilles’ Heel of Texas’ Future: The Choice is Ours

Editor-in-Chief's Note: In every odd-numbered year, the Texas Legislature convenes in regular session for 140 days. With this in mind, the Texas Water Journal invited Senator Charles Perry, Chairman of the Senate Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee to discuss his priorities and visions for Texas water and the regular session of the 88th Texas Legislature. The opinion expressed in this commentary is the opinion of the individual author and not the opinion of the Texas Water Journal or the Texas Water Resources Institute, or the Bureau of Economic Geology.

Childhood Overweight Obesity And Associated Factors Among Urban Children In Auranagabad A Cross Sectional Study.

Background- Obesity in increasing global threat for many diseases and disorders. Objectives- Objective of this study were to identify the associated risk factors in the study population and to assess the relationship with the risk factors. Methods- This was the cross-sectional survey conducted using random sampling tech.in Aurangabad city. A total of 200 obese children studied. Dietary habits and lack of exercise, lifestyle factors was determined using questionnaire methods, BMI, MUAC tape. After successful evaluation of subjects, some dietary changes, lifestyle changes, regular 45 minutes of exercise is suggested and taken. results were taken after 15 days of regular session. Results – In this present study it was noted that the 58% were male and 41% were female almost 97% children’s were come to school by vehicle. The frequency of junk food is higher than vegetables, fruits. This leads to obesity in children. In our study focus on the on lifestyle intervention plan for children’s it was shown that the positive effect on improved participants dietary pattern and was effective in reducing excess weight programme was conducted for 30 days including with physical activity and nutritional counselling on obese adolescents and found a reduction in body weight. Conclusion - It concludes a higher prevalence of obesity among study subjects. It is implemented that decreased fast foods, having regular exercise, eating fiber, complex carbs, and essential fats are important to prevent obesity for better performance in study, for stronger immunity and better life style.

Rat Mucosal Immunity following an Intensive Chronic Training and an Exhausting Exercise: Effect of Hesperidin Supplementation

Stressful situations such as a high-intensity exercise or exhausting training programs can act as immune disruptors leading to transitory immunodepression status, which can be accompanied by alterations of the gastrointestinal functions. Hesperidin intake has demonstrated ergogenic activity and is able to influence the intestinal ecosystem and immunity. We aimed to investigate the effect of hesperidin consumption in rats submitted to an intense training and a final exhaustion test, focusing on the functionality of the intestinal immune system and on the cecal microbiota. Rats, supplemented or not with hesperidin, were intensively trained on a treadmill for 5 weeks. Samples were obtained 24 h after a regular training session, and immediately and 24 h after a final exhaustion test. Cecal microbiota and composition and function of mesenteric lymph node (MLN) lymphocytes and mucosal immunoglobulin A (IgA) were determined. Results showed that chronic intense exercise followed by an exhausting test induced changes in the intestinal immune compartment such as the distribution and function of MLN lymphocytes. Although the hesperidin supplementation did not prevent these alterations, it was able to enhance IgA synthesis in the intestinal compartment. This could be important in enhancing the immune intestinal barrier in this stressful situation.

Opportunistic infections in people with II–IV clinical stage of immunodeficiency

In recent decades, opportunistic infections are a serious medical and social problem due to their spread and significant impact on the quality of life of HIV-infected people. Due to the significant spread of HIV infection, the importance of opportunistic infections is increasing, and diseases that did not play a significant role before are gaining fundamental importance. Therefore, the issue of detection and timely treatment of opportunistic infections is very relevant. Increasing depletion of the CD4+ subpopulation is characteristic of HIV infection, which should be considered as a manifestation of the increasing destruction of the immune system and its morphological structures. This disease is transmitted through blood, sexually and from HIV-infected mother to her child during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. A person living with HIV can feel well for many years and not know that he is infected, and later he becomes vulnerable to pathogens of infectious diseases and seeks medical help already at the late stage of the disease — the fourth. The only way to detect the presence of HIV in the body is to conduct a special blood test for HIV. The world is trying to stop the HIV epidemic. At the regular session of the UN General Assembly, the participating countries agreed to do everything possible so that by 2030 the disease stopped spreading, and people living with HIV were not discriminated against.

Minor hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma in a patient with portal hypertension: A case report and review of the literature

Curative modalities for early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) include liver resection (LR) and transplantation. For patients with portal hypertension (PH), liver transplantation (LT) is the preferred treatment but is oftentimes limited by organ shortage and can lead candidates to drop off due to disease progression, while hepatectomy has a higher risk of complications. This would pose a dilemma as to whether wait for donor organs or prioritize hepatectomy. The patient was a 56-year-old male, a case of liver cirrhosis due to hepatitis C with sustained virological response following direct-acting antiviral agents. He was a liver transplant candidate, presented to the gastroenterology outpatient department for a recently-diagnosed liver tumor during a regular follow-up session. Pre-operative survey revealed PH manifested by thrombocytopenia, splenomegaly, huge splenorenal shunt and varices. The patient's Child-Pugh score was 7. Considering the patient's overall condition, tumor size and location, and a shortage of grafts, he underwent segment 5 and 6 partial hepatectomy. The pathological diagnosis was moderately differentiated HCC. His postoperative course was complicated by refractory intraabdominal infection (IAI) and recovered under aggressive antibiotics treatment. He remained recurrence-free for over a year. For patients with early resectable HCC, the approach of having a minor hepatectomy followed by salvage transplantation should serve as a compromising strategy. Tumor resection retards the progression of the disease. Comprehensive healthcare can expectantly improve clinical outcomes.