[Development of national neglect norm for urban primary school students of China].

OBJECTIVE: To develop the national neglect norms for urban primary school students in China. METHODS: According to multi-stage stratified cluster sampling principle, 24 cities of 13 provinces (municipalities) in China were selected during December 1 to 31, 2008. A total of 1491 students in grade 1 - 3 and 2236 students in grade 4 - 6 were selected. Questionnaire was designed by authors and the final norms were determined through several statistical analysis methods, such as item analysis method, factor analysis method, reliability analysis method. The reliability analysis and validity analysis were used to test the stability and reliability of the norms. The evaluation criteria of the scale was determined by the percentile method, then the initial development of the norm was completed. RESULTS: The two questionnaires of grade 1 - 3 and grade 4 - 6 students consisted of 55 and 57 items, respectively, whose item loadings were ranged from 0.301 to 0.687 and 0.321 to 0.730, which met the statistical requirements. For grade 1 - 3 students, the scale's total Cronbach α coefficients was 0.914, the total split-half reliability coefficients was 0.896, the Cronbach α coefficients of four level was above 0.737 except medical and social neglect, split-half reliability was ranged from 0.461 to 0.757; for grade 4-6 students, the scale's total Cronbach α coefficients was 0.916, split-half reliability was 0.883, except social neglect, the Cronbach α coefficients of other level was ranged 0.457 to 0.856, split-half reliability was ranged from 0.500 to 0.798. The total neglect cut-off score of the two scales grade 1-3 and 4-6 were 125 and 155, respectively. CONCLUSION: The structure of two norms was reasonable. The scales have good stability and reliability.

[The status of child neglect for children aged 3 - 17 years in China].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the status of child neglect among urban areas children and adolescents aged 3 - 17 years in China. METHODS: Using multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method, 8001 children and adolescents were recruited from 30 cities of 14 provinces in December 2008. The investigation was carried based on The 3 - 6 years old children Neglect Norms of city in China and The 6 - 17 years old children Neglect Norms of city in China. SPSS 13.0 was employed for analyzing neglect rate and degree for group of areas, age, sex and neglect type (including neglect of physical, emotional, educational, medical, safety and social). RESULTS: The degrees of child neglect for urban children aged 3 - 6 (children aged 6 were not in school), 6 - 8 (children aged 6 were school children), 9 - 11, 12 - 14 and 15 - 17 were 42.2 ± 6.9, 42.8 ± 8.4, 42.1 ± 9.1, 46.4 ± 9.2 and 49.7 ± 8.4(P < 0.05), the neglect rates were 28.0% (326/1163), 28.8% (431/1496), 27.2% (543/1962), 22.4% (373/1664) and 32.8% (563/1716) (P < 0.05), respectively. There were differences in six neglect types for each group; the neglect degrees and rates were high in the group aged 12 - 14 and 15 - 17 (46.4 ± 9.2 and 49.1 ± 8.4, 22.4% (373/1664) and 32.8% (563/1716), respectively); for each neglect type, the neglect degree of children aged 15 - 17 were highest (52.8 ± 8.0, 47.3 ± 11.6, 49.5 ± 10.8, 42.4 ± 10.3, 52.2 ± 16.0, 56.0 ± 10.1). The degree and rate of neglect in West were highest, Middle was next, the East was lowest (the neglect degrees were 45.4 ± 9.1, 45.0 ± 9.3 and 44.0 ± 8.8, P < 0.05;the rates were 30.7% (1340/4361), 25.0% (756/3024) and 21.2% (131/616), P < 0.05). Degree and rate of child neglect for children without siblings were lower than children with siblings (the neglect degrees were 44.2 ± 9.0 and 47.6 ± 9.1, P < 0.01; the rates were 26.1% (1572/6017) and 33.0% (655/1984), P < 0.01). Neglect degree of school children aged 6 years old (43.1 ± 7.3) was higher than children not in school (40.7 ± 7.8) (P < 0.01), but neglect rate was lower (the rates were 35.4% (60/169) and 21.3% (84/394), P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Neglect degree and rate of urban children and adolescents aged 3 - 17 years in China were both high, and neglect deserved more attentions.

[Development of national neglect norms for children aged 3 to 6 years in rural areas of China].

OBJECTIVE: To develop the national neglect norms for rural children aged 3 to 6 years, which are suitable for Chinese situations. METHODS: According to the multi-stage stratified cluster sampling principle, 84 towns of 10 provinces or municipalities were selected in China. Children aged 3 to 6 years were surveyed in November 2010, the sample of analysis were 3240 (of whom males were 49.6% (1608/3240) and the Han nationality were 93.3% (3023/3240)). Questionnaire was designed by authors and deleted items that did not meet the requirements through several statistical analysis methods, such as item analysis method, factor analysis method, reliability analysis method. The reliability analysis and validity analysis were used to test the stability and reliability of the norm. The evaluation criteria of the scale was determined by the percentile method, then the initial development of the norm completed. RESULTS: After deleting inappropriate items by statistical processing, finally, the scale consisted of 57 items, and included 6 neglected dimensions (physical neglect, emotional neglect, educational neglect, safe neglect, medical neglect and social neglect). Its item loadings ranged from 0.359 to 0.789, which met the statistical requirements. The scale's total Cronbach α coefficients 0.904, the total split-half reliability coefficients were 0.820, the 6 neglect dimensions' Cronbach α coefficients ranged from 0.620 to 0.815, the 6 neglect dimensions' split-half reliability coefficients ranged from -0.034 to 0.789, the scale's parallel reliability were 0.785 and it's re-test reliability were 0.613. After construct validity, external validity and content validity testing, the result showed that this scale could effectively reflect the real neglected status of children investigated. The total neglect cut-off score of this scale were 121. CONCLUSION: The scale has good stability and reliability. And it adapts Chinese conditions and it's convenient to operate.

[The status of child neglect among rural areas children aged 0 - 6 years in China].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the status of child neglect among rural areas children aged 0 - 6 years in China. METHODS: A total of 7411 rural children aged 0 - 6 years old who were composed of two age groups (3315 children aged 0 - 2 years old and 4096 children aged 3 - 6 years old) were multistage stratified randomly sampled from 84 villages which were representative of 10 provinces of China, in accordance with sex and age in November 2010. To identify the child neglect based on the Neglect Norms for Children Aged 0 to 2 and 3 to 6 Years Old in Rural Areas of China, SPSS 13.0 was employed for analyzing neglect frequency and degree for every group of different age, sex and neglect type (including physical, emotional, educational, medical, safety and social neglects). χ(2) test and analysis of variance were also used. RESULTS: The degree of child neglect for the children aged 0 - 2 years old was 45.01 ± 7.56, the neglect frequency was 54.9% (1819/3315); the degree of child neglect for the children aged 3 - 6 years old was 44.42 ± 7.57, the neglect frequency was 53.8% (2203/4096). The neglect frequency of children aged 0, 1, 2 years old were 58.5% (654/1117), 52.2% (597/1144), 53.9% (568/1054) (P < 0.05). For children aged 3 - 6 years old, the degrees of emotional and safety neglect for males (44.60 ± 7.86, 36.82 ± 9.03) were higher than females (44.03 ± 7.72, 36.25 ± 9.05) (P < 0.05); and the frequencies of emotional and social neglect for males (16.8% (349/2072), 28.3% (586/2072)) were also higher than females (14.1% (286/2024), 24.8% (503/2024)) (P < 0.05). All children of two age groups suffered neglect mainly on one of the six neglect types (incidences were 20.6% (683/3315) and 22.7% (931/4096)). For 0-2 age groups, the higher neglect frequencies happened in the single-parent family and the remarried family (62.5% (15/24) and 63.2% (12/19)), but for children aged 3 - 6 years old groups, it happened in the single-parent family (60.0%, 27/45). CONCLUSION: Degree and frequency of child neglect among children aged 0 to 6 years old in the rural areas of China are high, and we should find out risk factors and provide efficient prevention measures.

Overexpression of Tobacco GCN2 Stimulates Multiple Physiological Changes Associated With Stress Tolerance.

General control non-derepressible-2 (GCN2) is a ubiquitous protein kinase that phosphorylates the α subunit of the eukaryotic initiation factor, eIF2, preventing the initiation of a new cycle of protein synthesis, subsequently reducing the global protein biosynthesis. GCN2 can also regulate the response of plants to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, two GCN2 homologs, NtGCN2-1 and NtGCN2-2, were cloned from Nicotiana tabacum, and were predicted to have been derived from their progenitors in N. tomentosiformis and N. sylvestris, respectively. The phosphorylation of NteIF2α could be activated by promoting the expression of NtGCN2 with plant hormones, including salicylic acid (SA), azelaic acid (AZA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and by imposition of different stresses (Bemisia tabaci infection, drought, and cold), indicating that NtGCN2 is involved in the response of plants to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. We also observed that the overexpression of NtGCN2-1 significantly influenced different physiological processes. It promoted seed germination and root elongation. The content of total soluble sugars and reducing sugars were decreased, whereas those of chlorophyll a and b were increased in the GCN2 overexpressing plants. In addition, the overexpressing plants had lower content of reactive oxygen species and exhibited higher antioxidant activities. These physiological alterations could be attributed to the changes in the endogenous phytohormones, decrease in the SA and abscisic acid content, and accumulation of MeJA and AZA. It indicated that the overexpression of NtGCN2 in tobacco, stimulated the plant defense responses via phosphorylation of NteIF2α and regulation of plant hormones, and changes in the antioxidant ability and plant nutrient status.

[A qualitative research on impact factors for the effectiveness of pit and fissure sealing in Xi'an city].

PURPOSE: To explore the factors influencing the effectiveness of pit and fissures sealing in order to provide suggestions to policy makers for quality promotion of pit and fissure program. METHODS: After developing outline of the qualitative interview, the method of focus group discussion was applied in this study. A total of 32 persons including dental clinical experts, dentists who operated pit and fissure sealing and program managers were interviewed. The data was collected, marked and classified by using MAXqda software. RESULTS: The main factors influencing the effectiveness of pit and fissure sealing in Xi'an city were the service providers, the service needers and the management of external organization. CONCLUSIONS: In order to promote the preventive effect of pit and fissure sealing, attention should be paid to increase investment from the government, promote school-based program mode, strengthen the supervision of designated medical institutions and the external management.

[Comparative study on the situation of neglected children aged 3-6 year-olds between urban and rural areas of China].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate and analyze the situation of urban and rural neglected children aged 3 - 6, in China, so as to provide basis for the analysis and comparison on relevant risk factors. METHODS: 1163 urban children aged 3 - 6 (with 49.6% males and 4.5% with minority ethnicity) were investigated from 25 cities of 14 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the whole country. Multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used. Again, using the same sampling method, 4096 rural children (of whom 50.6% were males with 6.2% as minorities) were chosen from 26 cities of 10 provinces or municipalities. Identification of children being neglected was based on "Child Neglect Evaluation Norms of Children Aged 3 - 6 Years in Urban/Rural China". SPSS-Windows 13.0 was employed for data analysis. Scores, frequency/degrees, age, sex and types (physical, emotional, educational, safety, medical and social) of children under negligence on every group of the regions, were calculated. χ(2) test (Chi-Square) and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) were processed to determine the significance of their differences. RESULTS: The overall frequencies of negligence were 28.0% and 53.7% respectively among the urban and rural children aged 3 - 6, while the total degrees of negligence were 42.2 and 44.4 respectively. Significant difference was found between children from the urban and the rural areas (P < 0.05). Significant difference was also found between urban and rural children on every age group (P < 0.05). The frequencies of negligence among males were 32.6% and 55.9% respectively in urban and rural areas while among females, the figures appeared to be 23.7% and 51.6% respectively. The degrees of negligence were 42.7 and 44.6 among male while 41.8 and 44.3 among female children, in the urban or rural areas. Significant differences were found on male or female between urban and rural groups (P < 0.05). Frequencies of negligence in urban children aged 3 - 6 for the six types were from 5.1% to 12.9%, with the frequency in rural areas as 13.1% - 26.6%. Significant difference was found between urban and rural group for any other type (P < 0.05), in addition to the safety type. The degrees of negligence in urban children aged 3 - 6 for the different type were between 39.4 and 43.4, while in the rural areas as from 36.5 to 48.2, with significant difference for every type (P < 0.05). The degrees of negligence related to education, emotion, or physical strength were more serious on children from the urban than from the rural areas. The highest frequency of child negligence was seen in the single-parent families on both urban and rural groups (42.9% and 60.0% respectively), with no significant difference found (P > 0.05). The urban and rural children aged 3 - 6 were mainly involved in single item of negligence, with incidence rates as 16.5% and 22.7% and proportions as 58.9% and 45.1% respectively, despite the factors as age or sex. CONCLUSION: There were large differences on the situation of negligence between the urban and rural children aged 3 - 6. The frequencies and degrees of negligence in every age group and different sex for children living in the rural areas were higher than those urban children. The frequency of negligence among boys was higher than girls for both urban and rural areas. The rural children had suffered more serious negligence than the urban children at any other type, in addition to the 'safety'. Both urban and rural children had the highest frequency of negligence in single-parent family, and were mainly suffered from single item of negligence.

[Development of the National Norms of Negligence on children aged 0 to 35 months in rural areas of China].

OBJECTIVE: To develop the National Norms of Negligence (NNN) for rural children aged 0 to 35 months. METHODS: According to multi-stage stratified cluster sampling principle, 10 provinces or municipalities (Jilin, Shanxi, Shanxi, Beijing, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Chongqing) in China were selected. A national research group was formed collaboratively. A questionnaire was designed by ourselves. According to several statistical analysis methods, such as item, factor and reliability analysis etc. we determined the norm. The evaluation criteria of the scale were determined by percentile method. Finally, the reliability and validity of the norm were evaluated. RESULTS: In total, 2310 children were surveyed, in which the effective sample were 2227, with an effective rate as 96.4%. The scale consisted of 6 neglected dimensions and 65 items in total. The total Cronbach's a coefficient of the scale was 0.903, with the split-half reliability coefficient as 0.829, the parallel reliability as 0.720 and the re-test reliability as 0.678, respectively. The total neglect cut-off score of this scale was 139. CONCLUSION: The scale seemed to have perfect stability and reliability and all the statistical indicators met the psychometric demands.