Strengthening Active Aging through Older People’s Association and Economic Activity of the Older People in Nepal

Aging is a natural lifelong process ending in death. Many older people are living in poverty. Older people are generally considered dependent on others as they grow older. The purpose of this article is to explore the entrepreneurship activities of Nepalese older adults. Data for this study were collected from the project Help Age International (HAI) implemented in Nepal. Qualitative data observations and interviews were used to collect data. The findings of this study show the formation of the Older People’s Association (OPA) has supported many older people to participate outside the home in various social activities. Moreover, regular deposits through OPAs offer little help. OPAs support older people in their need of financial support to implement minor entrepreneurship. Older people who received support were pleased and were actively involved in their activities and also regularly deposited money in them. Subsequently, older people’s participation in social activities has increased and also helped to lower elderly abuse, loneliness, and depression. Local governments should promote such activities which will help with healthy aging.

Alcohol and illicit drugs:prevalence of alcohol and illicit drug use and their predictors in young people from Argentina,Bulgaria,Chile and Romania

Background:Alcohol and illicit drugs(AID)continue to be a major global health concern.Although preventable,AID is linked to millions of deaths annually worldwide.The situation is particularly grave for young people,with AID being a major direct risk factor for disability-adjusted youth life-years lost and death.It further contributes to assaults,road crashes,accidental poisoning,and suicide,leading to long-term issues and public health concerns.Objective:This study aimed at disclosing current AID prevalence data for Argentinian,Bulgarian,Chilean and Romanian youth.It shed light on the predictors of AID in young people from those countries.Method:The study used an online survey to gather data from people aged 18 to 25(n=1,297).The survey was underpinned by the theory of planned behaviour(TPB).Predictors were investigated separately for drinking alcohol and using illicit drugs.Results:Our data revealed that across the four target countries,49%to 90%of the participants drank alcohol,and 8%to 35%used illicit drugs in the past three months.Between 20%and 91%of them intended to drink,and between 8%and 31%intended to use illicit drugs in the following three months.Our TPB model predicted statistically significant(P<0.001)amounts of variance in drinking alcohol(between 61%and 72%)and using illicit drugs(between 20.3%and 74.4%).Intention was consistent in significantly predicting both behaviours.Evidence around the predictive validity of self-efficacy,age and gender was mixed across the investigated countries.Conclusion:This research provided an update on the scarce AID epidemiological data.It also supplied evidence about what theoretically-informed measures might be useful targets of interventions in the case of Argentina,Bulgaria,Chile and Romania.This new knowledge of understanding substance abuse determinants and prevalence may help researchers and practitioners better meet young people's health prevention needs.

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence:Connotations in International Law and Contemporary Relevance

The year 2024 marks the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence initiated by China.As an anchor foreign policy of New China and its first contribution of public product for the international community,the Five Principles have made a historic contribution to the building of a new type of just and equitable international relations,advancing the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,and becoming universally applicable basic norms for international relations and key fundamental principles of international law.

Principles of Shiology——Revealing the Basic Rules of Human Shiance

The objective principles of shiology are mainly reflected in three fields as food acquisition, eaters' health and shiance order. Most of the objective principles in the field of food acquisition have been revealed by agronomy and foodstuff science. This research mainly focuses on 10 principles in the field of eaters' health and shiance order and in addition, there are also five lemmas that extend from the above principles. The 10 principles are the core theory of the shiology knowledge system, which play an important role in the objective principles revealed by human beings and constitute one of the basic principles of human civilization. Compared with the scientific principles of mathematics, physics, chemistry and economics, the principles of shiology have three characteristics as popularity, practicability and survivability. The principles of shiology in the field of eaters' health are all around us, and everyone can understand and master them. Using the principles of shiology can improve the healthy life span of 8 billion people. The principles of shiology in the field of shiance order is an important tool of social governance, which can reduce human social conflicts, reduce social involution, improve overall efficiency of social operation, and maintain the sustainable development of human beings.

Attitudes Toward People Who Stutter in the Chinese Context: An Exploratory Study on the Impact of Knowledge Sources

The public’s attitudes can affect the experience of stuttering of people who stutter.This study investigated the attitudes held by the public about people who stutter in China.A web-based written survey with closed and open-ended questions was implemented to develop a rich understanding.One hundred and two respondents in 26 provinces and 3 municipalities provided comments on people who stutter in their life aspects such as personality,speech,social life,work,life participation,education,dating and marriage,capability,and communication skills.The predominantly negative attitudes towards the overall domains were identified.Attitudes to people who stutter varied according to the different sources of knowledge.Familiarity with people who stutter might reduce stereotypes.However,knowledge from the media might aggravate stereotypes.Implications and future research orientation were also discussed.

Narrative Empathy and Patriotism--An Analysis of the Chinese“Main-Melody”Film My People,My Country

Narrative empathy is a relatively new theory and it can guide researchers in the studies of main-melody films so as to promote the communication of the core values of the society.The rhetorical mechanism of narrative empathy can be illustrated from five rhetorical elements,including rhetor,rhetorical goal,rhetorical situation,rhetorical strategy and audience.The theory of narrative empathy can be applied to the case study of the film My People,My Country.In the production of this film,the directors are the rhetors.The rhetors uphold the tenet of closeness,choose the right rhetorical situation as the 70th birthday of the People’s Republic of China,and use appropriate rhetorical strategies in order to realize the rhetorical goals of evoking empathy and inspiring patriotic feelings in the audience’s minds.An exploration and application of narrative empathy can be conducive to the empathic communication of Chinese main-melody films in order to achieve better communication effect.

International law obligations for the disposal of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water under the principles of nuclear safety

The disposal of contaminated water from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant is a significant international nuclear safety issue with considerable cross-border implications.This matter requires compliance not only with the law of the sea but also with the principles of nuclear safety under international law.These principles serve as the overarching tenet of international and China’s domestic nuclear laws,applicable to nuclear facilities and activities.The principle of safety in nuclear activities is fully recognized in international and domestic laws,carrying broad legal binding force.Japan’s discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea violates its obligations under the principle of safety in nuclear activities,including commitments to optimum protection,as low as reasonably practicable,and prevention.The Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA)have breached the obligation of optimum protection by restricting the scope of assessments,substituting core concepts,and shielding dissenting views.In the absence of clear radiation standards,they have acted unilaterally without fulfilling the obligation as low as reasonably practicable principle.The discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water poses an imminent and unpredictable risk to all countries worldwide,including Japanese residents.Japan and the IAEA should fulfill their obligations under international law regarding disposal,adhering to the principles of nuclear safety,including optimum protection,the obligation as low as reasonably practicable,and prevention through multilateral cooperation.Specifically,the obligation to provide optimum protection should be implemented by re-evaluating the most reliable disposal technologies and methods currently available and comprehensively assessing various options.The standard of the obligation as low as reasonably practicable requires that the minimization of negative impacts on human health,livelihoods,and the environment should not be subordinated to considerations of cutting costs and expenses.Multilateral cooperation should be promoted through the establishment of sound multilateral long-term monitoring mechanisms for the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water,notification and consultation obligations,and periodic assessments.These obligations under international law were fulfilled after the accidents at the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear power plants.The implications of the principles of nuclear safety align with the concept of building a community of shared future for nuclear safety advocated by China.In cases of violations of international law regarding the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water that jeopardize the concept of a community of a shared future for nuclear safety,China can also rely on its own strength to promote the implementation of due obligations through self-help.

The Value and Realization Strategy of Teacher Ethics Construction in Colleges and Universities under the Perspective of“Cultivating People by Virtue”

“Cultivating people by virtue”has become the foundation of China’s education,and is the top priority of college education.“Only the learned can become teachers,and only those who behave properly can become role models”.The construction of teachers’ethics in colleges and universities is the premise of realizing the fundamental task of moral education,the need of teachers,the key to realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,and it is also the way to correct the bad atmosphere in colleges and universities.In the construction of teachers’ethics,teachers should understand their roles and improve their professional ethics,schools should improve the guarantee system of teachers’ethics construction,meanwhile,improve the status of teachers and create a social environment of respecting teachers and valuing teachers.

Four Dimensions of Integrating Chinese Culture Into College English Teaching From the Perspective of Tyler’s Basic Principles

Integrating Chinese culture into college English can not only enhance students’humanities literacy and cultivate their cultural confidence,but also facilitate the inheritance and international dissemination of Chinese culture.Taking Tyler’s curriculum framework as the starting point,this paper analyzes some factors that affect the integration of Chinese culture into the college English teaching and proposes some strategies for the integration of Chinese culture into college English teaching by innovating teaching objectives,enriching teaching contents,transforming modes of course delivery,and reconstructing the assessment system.

“Three Beauties”Principle in the English Versions of“Jing Ye Si”--Translations by Xu and Fletcher as Examples

“Jing Ye Si”is a classical poem with international influence by the Chinese poet Li Bai in the Tang Dynasty,which expresses the poet’s deep nostalgia.This paper compares and analyzes its two English versions translated by the Chinese translator Xu Yuanchong and the British translator W.J.B.Fletcher based on the“three beauties”principle(beauty in sense,beauty in sound,and beauty in form),and discovers that the English version of Xu basically achieves the unity of the“three beauties”,while the English version of Fletcher realizes the“beauty in sound and form”,but deviates from the“beauty in sense”mainly owing to the inaccurate comprehension of the moon as an image and other factors.This analysis may afford us with certain reference in poetry translation.

Application of horticulture therapy as a health intervention for elderly people in nursing homes:a scoping review

Objective:To review the scope of interventional studies on horticultural therapy(HT)applied to elderly people in nursing institutions to support the efficient implementation of HT among this target group.Methods:In accordance with the scoping review framework proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute(JBI),the Pub Med,JSTOR,Web of Science,CNKI,and Wanfang databases were searched.Data from the retrieved literature were summarized and analyzed.Results:In all,18 studies were included in this review.The target population groups of interventions included self-supporting elderly people,cognitively impaired elderly people,elderly people with negative emotions,and elderly people with frailty living in nursing institutions.HT interventions,including planting,craft activities,derivative activities,and outdoor viewing activities,are implemented indoors,outdoors,or in mixed settings.The most common duration of the intervention was 8 weeks,the most common frequency was once per week,and the most common session duration was 60 min.Conclusions:The measurements used in HT interventions included assessments of physical,psycho-mental,and social health;quality of life;and activity effects.Future studies should include partially dependent groups and completely dependent groups of elderly individuals,interventions that last at least 6 months,scientifically designed activity intensity and safety-guarantee plans,and outcomeevaluation indicators such as compliance and intervention benefits.

Coping review of dementia fear studies among middle-aged and elderly people in the community

This study used Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review methodology as a framework and searched the following databases:PubMed,Embase,EBSCO,CINAHL,Web of Science,Cochrane Library,Scopus,CNKI,Wanfang,VIP,and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database.The database is open to December 20,2023,and documents related to the fear of dementia among the elderly in the community are described and analyzed to provide a reference for future research in this field.At the same time,we screened,extracted,and summarized relevant information from 21 included documents(16 in English and 5 in Chinese),which consisted of 16 cross-sectional studies,2 quasi-experimental studies,2 randomized controlled studies,and 1 longitudinal study.Sixteen of the included documents mentioned the incidence or level of dementia fear among the elderly in the community,2 addressed the adverse effects of dementia fear,and 4 reported prevention and intervention measures for dementia fear.In total,there are 8 assessment tools,and the influencing factors are categorized into sociodemographic characteristics,psychological and behavioral characteristics,sociocultural background factors,and health and dementia-related factors.The final conclusion is that the fear of dementia is common among the elderly in the community.In the future,the application of research tools should be expanded among middle-aged individuals,with considerations for other types of dementia in mind.It is recommended to conduct large-scale,multi-center randomized controlled trials while confirming the intervention’s effect on different types of middle-aged and elderly individuals,focusing on the long-term impact of these intervention measures to promote healthy aging.

Research on the Course of Principles of Concrete Structure Design

Nowadays,education and teaching have become a hot topic,and teaching in colleges and universities is facing a brand-new development direction.Principles of Concrete Structure Design,as one of the main courses,transmits professional knowledge for students,enhances the students’professional ability,and further carries out in-depth research on the course to bring a better teaching effect for students.The article mainly focuses on the research of the principles of concrete structure design course,conducts an analysis of the teaching characteristics of the principles of concrete structure design course,and reasonably sets the teaching content from the optimization of the course teaching objectives;innovative course teaching methods can deepen the effect of knowledge understanding;reform of experimental practice teaching can lay down the effect of the internalization of knowledge,etc.The in-depth description and discussion of the relevant aspects of the research aim to provide guidelines for related research.

Basic philosophy of three essences theory in traditional Mongolian medicine

Traditional Mongolian medicine(TMM)integrates Tibetan and Chinese medicine with indigenous Mongolian practices,focusing on the balance of three core essences:Khii,Shar,and Badgan,derived from the Five Elements-earth,water,fire,wind,and space.These essences regulate both physical and psychological processes,and their imbalance,often caused by diet,behavior,or environment,leads to disease.TMM utilizes holistic diagnostic methods such as pulse diagnosis,visual inspection,and lifestyle evaluation to identify imbalances of three essences.Treatments include herbal remedies,dietary adjustments,behavior modification,and accessory therapies like moxibustion and massage to restore balance.This mini review examines the philosophical underpinnings,diagnostic techniques,and therapeutic strategies to Khii,Shar,and Badgan,highlighting their importance in both traditional and modern integrative healthcare.

Historical review and reflections on the participation of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of epidemics in the People’s Republic of China (from 1950 until now)

Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, both the Communist Party and the government have placed great emphasis on the advancement of traditional Chinese medicine. Acupuncture and moxibustion have been actively involved in combating major epidemics such as malaria, schistosomiasis, and COVID-19. This article conducts a historical review of these three significant cases to elucidate how the acupuncture community has effectively utilized its unique advantages and characteristics through theoretical discussions, clinical practices, experimental research, as well as receiving administrative leadership and political support from the Communist Party of China and government. We provide an objective evaluation of their effectiveness while summarizing historical experiences to serve as a reference for future utilization of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy in epidemic relief efforts. Additionally, propose four suggestions: strengthening Party leadership and enhancing political support;timely summarization of experiences to establish programs and systems;deepening scientific research by integrating experimental findings with clinical practice;focusing on public awareness campaigns and education to solidify grassroots foundations.

Predicting the Degradability of Bioceramics through a DFT-based Descriptor

Bioceramics have attracted extensive attention for bone defect repair due to their excellent bioactivity and degradability.However,challenges remain in matching the rate between bioceramic degradation and new bone formation,necessitating a deeper understanding of their degradation properties.In this study,density functional theory(DFT)calculations was employed to explore the structural and electronic characteristics of silicate bioceramics.These findings reveal a linear correlation between the maximum isosurface value of the valence band maximum(VBM_(Fmax))and the degradability of silicate bioceramics.This correlation was subsequently validated through degradation experiments.Furthermore,the investigation on phosphate bioceramics demonstrates the potential of this descriptor in predicting the degradability of a broader range of bioceramics.This discovery offers valuable insights into the degradation mechanism of bioceramics and holds promise for accelerating the design and development of bioceramics with controllable degradation.

Scientific principles for accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)are significantly off-course as we reach the midpoint of their 2030 deadline.From a scientific perspective,the critical challenge in achieving the SDGs lies in the need for more scientific principles to understand the complex socio-ecological systems(SES)and their interactions influencing the 17 SDGs.Here,we propose a scientific framework to clarify the common scientific principles and the rational treatment of diversity under these principles.The framework’s core is revealing the complex mechanisms underlying the achievement of each Sustainable Development Goal(SDG)and SDG interactions.Building upon the identified mechanisms,complex SES models can be established,and the implementation of SDGs can be formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem,seeking a compromise in competition between essential costs and desired benefits.Our framework can assist countries,and even the world in accelerating progress towards the SDGs.

Effect of Vacancy Defects on the Properties of CoS_(2) and FeS_(2)

In order to explore the effect of vacancy defects on the structural,electronic,magnetic and optical properties of CoS_(2) and FeS_(2),first-principles calculation method was used to investigate the alloys.The calculated results of materials without vacancy are consistent with those reported in the literatures,while the results of materials with vacancy defect were different from those of literatures due to the difference vacancy concentration.The Co vacancy defect hardly changes the half-metallic characteristic of CoS_(2).The Fe vacancy defect changes FeS_(2) from semiconductor to half-metal,and the bottom of the spin-down conduction band changes from the p orbital state of S to the d(t_(2g))orbital state of Fe,while the top of the valence band remains the d orbital d(eg)state of Fe.The half-metallic Co vacancy defects of CoS_(2) and Fe vacancy defects of FeS_(2) are expected to be used in spintronic devices.S vacancy defects make both CoS_(2) and FeS_(2) metallic.Both the Co and S vacancy defects lead to the decrease of the magnetic moment of CoS_(2),while both the Fe and S vacancy defects lead to the obvious magnetic property of FeS_(2).Vacancy defects enhance the absorption coefficient of infrared band and long band of visible light obviously,and produce obvious red shift phenomenon,which is expected to be used in photoelectric devices.

Gravity and the Nature of Physical Interactions

This work is a kind of thought experiment aimed at answering the question: what might a theory look like in which time and space (spacetime) are not fundamental? The article formulates theoretical frameworks that introduce the number of spacetime dimensions, the principle of equivalence of mass, and the value of the gravitational constant not as empirically given data, but as results of theoretical deduction. This analysis opens up potential connections between gravitational and electrostatic interactions, proposing a new approach to traditional physical assumptions. The theory is presented in a preliminary form, intended to inspire possible further research. The final part of the paper proposes experiments to verify these ideas.

General Optimal Trajectory Planning:Enabling Autonomous Vehicles with the Principle of Least Action

This study presents a general optimal trajectory planning(GOTP)framework for autonomous vehicles(AVs)that can effectively avoid obstacles and guide AVs to complete driving tasks safely and efficiently.Firstly,we employ the fifth-order Bezier curve to generate and smooth the reference path along the road centerline.Cartesian coordinates are then transformed to achieve the curvature continuity of the generated curve.Considering the road constraints and vehicle dynamics,limited polynomial candidate trajectories are generated and smoothed in a curvilinear coordinate system.Furthermore,in selecting the optimal trajectory,we develop a unified and auto-tune objective function based on the principle of least action by employing AVs to simulate drivers’behavior and summarizing their manipulation characteristics of“seeking benefits and avoiding losses.”Finally,by integrating the idea of receding-horizon optimization,the proposed framework is achieved by considering dynamic multi-performance objectives and selecting trajectories that satisfy feasibility,optimality,and adaptability.Extensive simulations and experiments are performed,and the results demonstrate the framework’s feasibility and effectiveness,which avoids both dynamic and static obstacles and applies to various scenarios with multi-source interactive traffic participants.Moreover,we prove that the proposed method can guarantee real-time planning and safety requirements compared to drivers’manipulation.