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• Waste plastic film recovery program of Old for New was investigated in northwest China. • Theory of planned behavior (TPB) was extended to explain farmers' participation. • The attitude was as a key factor influencing the intention of recycling behavior. • Plastic film usage & household characteristics evidently affected recycling behavior. • Role of TPB-based compulsory environmental education was highlighted in program. This study aims to address the lack of relevant researches in the field of waste recycling using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A village-scale social survey was conducted to investigate the degree of farmers' participation in a waste plastic film program, i.e. Old for New in northwest China. The program required farmers to recycle plastic film residues in exchange for new films. Survey results showed that 67.5% of farmers accepted the program, yet only 14.5% of them actually participated. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze questionnaire data and identify the factors that significantly affected farmers' recycling behavior. Principal component and weight analysis further showed that farmers' participation was mainly influenced by their attitudes (p < 0.01), with a relative weight (RW) of 46.3%. Yet, subjective norms (p < 0.1) and perceived behavior control (p < 0.1) had less effect on the degree of participation, and their RWs were 4.2% and 4.1% only, respectively. Moreover, the RW of plastic film usage characteristics and household characteristics reached up to 13.2% and 6.4%, respectively. Interestingly, environmental awareness (β = 0.083) and compulsory environmental education (β = 0.130) as surface factors strongly affected the farmers' adoption and response, with the RW of 25.7%. As such, the extended TPB model was established to analyze the participation behavior of farmers for stronger explanatory power. This study highlighted a promising strategy based on TPB for waste plastic film recycling and similar environmental management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the ridge-furrow farming with plastic film mulching has caused widespread environmental pollution in maize field, it is essential to explore a substitutive strategy to mitigate plastic residue pollution while the output remains unchanged. This study aimed to investigate the potentials of shallow-incorporated organic mulching in replacement of polyethylene film mulching regarding maize productivity maintenance and its driving mechanism. Two-year (2019–2020) field experiment was conducted in an arid irrigation site of northwest China. There were five mulching treatments as follows: 1) shallow-incorporated maize straw piece incorporating into soils across 10-cm depth; 2) living clover mulching; 3) plastic film mulching; 4) combined plastic film mulching and shallow-incorporated maize straw piece and 5) combined plastic film and living clover mulching. Conventional planting without mulching was the control. For each plot with straw pieces, maize straws were cut into small pieces by straw crusher, evenly spread on soil surface and incorporated into soils using rotary tiller. Shallow-incorporated organic mulching treatments, including straw mulching and clover mulching, substantially promoted maize water productivity by 29.9% in straw mulching and 14.4% in clover mulching respectively, compared with the control. They achieved similar productivity level as plastic mulching or dual mulching treatments did. Both straw mulching and clover mulching also prolonged crop growth cycle by 10–20 days, and elevated soil temperature from the middle to late growing stage, relative to the plastic-involved treatments. Moreover, they significantly reduced field evaporation and accordingly promoted soil water storage, maintaining relatively fine hydro-thermal status. Particularly, both straw decomposition and clover biological nitrogen fixation contributed to more nitrogen input into soils at maturity. This resulted in a steady nitrogen accumulation into soils for rapid recovery growth at the later stage, i.e. excessive compensation for insufficient growth at the early stage (over-compensatory effect). Critically, shallow-incorporated organic mulching harvested higher net economic benefit by 3.3% in sole straw mulching and 10.4% in sole clover mulching relative to sole plastic film mulching respectively, while dual plastic and organic mulching decreased economic and ecological benefits. Shallow-incorporated organic mulching can obtain similar water productivity and economic benefit as polythene film mulching, as a result of over-compensation and biological nitrogen input into soils at late growing season. Polyethylene film mulching was not indispensable, and organic mulching may act as a green solution to displace film mulching according to local irrigation scheduling in arid irrigation region. ● Shallow-incorporated (10-cm) organic mulching with straw & living clover was tested. ● Organic mulching promoted soil hydro-thermal status and nitrogen input in arid irrigated field. ● Organic mulching led to similar crop yield as plastic film mulching with same irrigation amount. ● The mechanism was over-compensatory effect at the later stage in organic mulching. ● Such organic mulching might replace plastic film mulching in arid irrigation site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental risk of multi-year polythene film mulching (PM) was evaluated and investigated. The location observation following 19-year (2000-2018) PM in irrigated region indicated that the cumulative accumulation of soil microplastics was as high as 2900 ± 19.5 n kg -1 . Microplastic accumulation was tightly associated with soil plasticizer concentration (Pearson's r = 0.728, p <0.05), and the concentration of dominant phthalic acid esters (PAEs) was up to 117.5-705 μg kg -1 . As such, we conducted organic mulching substitute experiment (2019-2020) with non-mulching (CK), maize straw mulching (SM), living clover mulching (CM), PM, PM+SM and PM+CM respectively. The data showed that organic mulching (SM, CM) achieved similar productivity benefit as PM-involved treatments (p > 0.05). Critically, total concentration of PAEs decreased by 6.43% in SM relative to CK, and by 9.61% in PM+SM relative to PM respectively. High throughput sequencing indicated that the proportions of predominant bacteria and fungi were totally lower in PM than those of organic mulching, particularly Sphingomonadaceae and Stachybotryaceae. KEGG analyses indicated that organic mulching promoted the metabolisms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzoic acid (probability>75%) and heterologous organism metabolism (p<0.001), due to improved microbial community assembly. Therefore, organic mulching efficiently accelerated microbial mineralization of PM pollutants, and may act as a green solution to displace PM., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Intensive use of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic films in agro-ecosystems has raised considerable concerns due to the increasing film residues in soils. It is unclear how the increased film residues affect soil properties and crop productivity and whether biodegradable (Bio) film can substitute LDPE. To address the issue, we designed a landfill experiment with different addition levels of plastic residue into soils of maize (Zea mays L.) field from 2018 to 2019. Six treatments were arranged as PMT1-T3/BioT1-T3, representing the low, medium, and high-level application of LDPE / Bio film fragments, with no residual film, applied as CK. Results show that, soil bulk density was significantly increased from 1.19 to 1.31 g/cm 3 regardless of residue types. In contrast, soil porosity was lowered from 58.03% in CK to 57.36% in Bio and 56.12% in LDPE significantly (P < 0.05). Increased residues improved soil nitrogen level and lowered the C/N ratio significantly. Also, it decreased microbial biomass C and N levels but with no change in C/N (P < 0.05). Maize yield and WUE decreased, while soil water storage increased significantly. LDPE residues affected soil properties and productivity partly lower than Bio ones did, but the negative effects of them were similar in the maize field., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Generic drugs are bioequivalent to their brand-name counterparts; however, concerns still exist regarding the effectiveness and safety of generic drugs because of small sample sizes and short follow-up time in most studies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term antihypertensive efficacy, cost-effectiveness and cardiovascular outcomes of generic drugs compared with brand-name drugs., Methods: In a multicenter, community-based study including 7955 hypertensive patients who were prospectively followed up for an average of 2.5 years, we used the propensity-score-matching method to match the patients using brand-name drugs to those using generic drugs in a ratio of 1:2, 2176 patients using brand-name drugs and 4352 patients using generic drugs., Results: There were no significant differences between generic drugs and brand-name drugs in blood pressure (BP)-lowering efficacy, BP control rate, and cardiovascular outcomes including coronary heart disease and stroke. The adjusted mean (95% confidence interval [CI]) of systolic BP (SBP)-lowering was -7.9 mmHg (95% CI, -9.9 to -5.9) in the brand-name drug group and -7.1 mmHg (95% CI, -9.1 to -5.1) in the generic drug group after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, number of antihypertensive drugs and traditionally cardiovascular risk factors. Among patients aged <60 years, brand-name drugs had a higher BP control rate (47% vs. 41%; P = 0.02) and a greater effect in lowering SBP compared with generic drugs, with the between-group difference of 1.5 mmHg (95% CI, 0.2-2.8; P = 0.03). BP control rate was higher in male patients using brand-name drugs compared with those using generic drugs (46% vs. 40%; P = 0.01). Generic drugs treatment yielded an average annual incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $315.4 per patient per mmHg decrease in SBP compared with brand-name drugs treatment., Conclusions: Our data suggested that generic drugs are suitable and cost-effective in improving hypertension management and facilitating public health benefits, especially in low- and middle-income areas., (Copyright © 2021 The Chinese Medical Association, produced by Wolters Kluwer, Inc. under the CC-BY-NC-ND license.)

The spectral characteristics and sources of water-soluble organic compounds (WSOC) in PM 2.5 in winter were studied by using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy, parallel factor analysis, and backward trajectory model. The results showed that the concentration of WSOC in PM 2.5 was 4.66-14.75 μg ·m -3 . The values of E 2 / E 3 , E 3 / E 4 , S 275-295 , SUVA 254 , AAE, and MAE 365 of WSOC were, respectively, in the range of 2.85-4.32, 2.21-3.56, 0.0099-0.0127 nm -1 , 2.35-3.89 m 2 ·g -1 , 2.66-4.60, and 1.51-2.60 m 2 ·g -1 , and AAE values of WSOC at the sampling site in the southern suburb of Xi'an, China (Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology) were higher than those at the sampling site in the northern suburb (sports park), while the values of SUVA E 2 / E 3 , E 3 / E 4 , S 275-295 , and AAE values of WSOC at the sampling site in the southern suburb of Xi'an, China (Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology) were higher than those at the sampling site in the northern suburb (sports park), while the values of SUVA 254 and MAE 365 were lower. There were four fluorescent components in WSOC identified by the EEMs-PARAFAC model: C1 and C2 were fulvic acid-like and protein-like, respectively, and C3 and C4 were humus-like components. The fluorescence intensities and the sum of the fluorescent components were positively correlated with the concentrations of PM 2.5 , OC, WSOC, and A 254 value ( P <0.01). The fluorescence index (FI), biological source index (BIX), and humic index (HIX) values of WSOC were 1.75-2.12, 1.14-1.46, and 1.18-2.06, respectively. During the monitoring period, the air mass transmission trajectory was dominated by the local southwest of short-distance transmission, and its trajectory accounted for more than 50%. The pollutant emissions from Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Gansu also made significant contributions to the air pollution levels in Xi'an in winter. There was a small difference in the carbon component content of PM 2.5 in the northern and southern suburbs of Xi'an. The molecular weight, humification degree, and light absorption capacity of WSOC at the southern suburb sampling site were lower than those in the northern suburb where the wavelength dependence of light absorption intensity was relatively stronger. The WSOC mainly originated from biological sources or both from biological and terrestrial sources. Local transmission had the most significant contribution to PM 2.5 and WSOC in winter.

Classical prescriptions are precious wealth left by ancient Chinese medical scientists. Moreover,they are also the important part of the treasure-house in Chinese medicine. Classical prescriptions have a long and rich history for human-use in China and play an important role in keeping people healthy. The state administration of traditional medicine of China published the Catalogue of Classical Prescriptions(first batch) in 2018. This measure has inspired the enthusiasm of Chinese medicine manufacturers to study ancient classical prescriptions and develop classical compound prescriptions. Based on the first batch of classical prescriptions, the dosage forms, sources, prescription components, decocting degree, use of toxic drugs and processing methods of classical prescriptions. The results showed that most of the classical prescriptions in the first batch were decoction and boiled powder,while only four of them were powder and paste forms,all of which were originated from representative classics in the past dynasties. The dosage and decocting degree of decoction were greater than those of boiled powder. The dosage and decocting degree of decoction in Han and Tang Dynasties was close to that in Ming and Qing Dynasties,higher than that in Song and Jin Dynasties. Moreover,the average number of herbs in the prescriptions in Han Dynasty was the smallest. The use of toxic traditional Chinese medicine was the most frequent in Han Dynasty, and Pinellia ternata was the most common toxic medicine. There were various processing methods, including cleansing, cutting, stir-frying, roasting and so on. In this paper, the dosage forms of traditional paste, the time concept of decoction in the ancient times, the traditional roasting method and the processing method of toxic drugs were summarized to provide ideas and reference for further development of classical prescriptions.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of hyperuricemia and its associated risk factors in treated and untreated hypertensive patients in Chinese rural area., Methods: This cross-section study was performed in 5235 hypertensive patients aged 40 - 75 years old at Xinyang, Henan by using a multistage cluster sampling method. All patients underwent an investigation composed of a standardized questionnaire, physical and biochemical examination. Hyperuricemia was defined as serum uric acid levels > or = 420 micromol/L in men or > or = 360 micromol/L in women., Results: The overall prevalence of hyperuricemia was 14.1%, and it was higher in men than in women (21.5% vs 10.2%, P < 0.01). With an increase of body mass index (BMI), the prevalence of hyperuricemia and serum uric acid level increased significantly in both sexes [BMI < 25, > or = 30: 14.4%, 30.4%, (328 +/- 83) micromol/L, (383 +/- 86) micromol/L in males; and 7.2%, 17.0%, (251 +/- 70) micromol/L, (293 +/- 75) micromol/L in females, respectively, all P < 0.01]. So did that with increase of age only in female patients (40 - 49 years vs > or = 70 years: 5.8% - 18.0%, respectively, P < 0.01). Antihypertensive treatment, lipid disorder, smoking and alcohol consumption also significantly increased the incidence of hyperuricemia and the serum uric acid level (all P < 0.01). However, no significant differences were found among patients with I, II, and III blood pressure levels (all P > 0.05). After adjustment for age and other conventional risk factors by using multiple logistic regression analysis, hyperuricemia was significantly associated with BMI, alcohol consumption and diuretics in males as well as BMI, lipid disorder, age, smoking, and antihypertensive treatment in females., Conclusions: Hyperuricemia is relatively less common in rural hypertensive patients. The associated risk factors of hyperuricemia and elevated serum uric acids include sex, age, BMI, antihypertensive medicines, lipid disorder, smoking and alcohol consumption. The effect of these factors is different between sexes.

Stroke is a polygenic or multifactorial disease, and each single susceptibility gene has modest effects. We hypothesize that combined effects of multiple genes might confer a higher stroke risk than a single susceptibility gene. To test our hypothesis we initially recruited 2000 stroke patients (44.3% thrombosis, 28.3% lacunar infarction and 27.4% intracerebral hemorrhage) and 2000 controls, and examined 6 polymorphisms in 5 candidate genes for stroke. Plasma lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] level was defined as a categorical variable and also included. Interactions between genetic risk factors were detected by the multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) method and further evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analyses. A significant combined effect on stroke due to the C677T polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), the T2354A polymorphism of 5-lipoxygenase activating protein (ALOX5AP), and Lp(a) level, was detected using the MDR method. Furthermore, the combination of MTHFR 677TT, ALOX5AP 2354AA and Lp(a) elevation (Lp(a) concentration > or = 30 mg/dL) was found to be strongly associated with thrombotic stroke in males (OR, 10.419; 95%CI, 2.602 to 41.749; P= 0.001) using the multivariate logistic regression model. In conclusion, our results show that a combination of genetic risk factors can confer a higher risk for stroke than a single risk factor, indicating that people with multiple genetic risk factors have a higher risk of stroke and should be targets for prevention of this disease.