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【Background and Objective】 Northern Xinjiang is the largest and most productive cotton base in China. However, water shortage and unsustainable farming practices have hindered the development of its cotton industry. This study aims to experimentally investigate the effect of planting patterns on physiological growth and yield of the cotton in attempts to help improve sustainability of cotton production in this region. 【Method】 The experiment was conducted in a drip-irrigated field with film mulch. The planting patterns were designed based on the film width and the distance between adjacent drip tapes: 12 rows and six drip tapes with the film width being 4.45 (N445), six rows and three drip tapes with the film width being 2.05 m (W205), six rows and three drip tapes with the film width being 2.05 m (WJ205), four rows and two drip tapes with the film width being 1.45 (N145). The control is six rows and three drip irrigation tapes with the film width being 2.05 m (CK). During the experiment, we measured the growth, photosynthetic traits and yield of the cotton. 【Result】 The cotton growth and yield were highest in N445, followed by CK, W205, WJ205 and N145. Compared to CK, N445 increased the height, leaf area index, dry matter accumulation, net photosynthetic rate, and yield of the cotton by 5.52%, 5.20%, 13.61%, 10.39%, and 8.86%, respectively, equivalent to 4 613.25 Yuan/per hectare increase in income. Compared to CK, W205 and WJ205 under the same film width reduced the height, leaf area index, dry matter mass, net photosynthetic rate, and yield of the cotton by 6.23%, 8.03%, 12.73%, 3.82% and 5.11%, respectively. 【Conclusion】 Increasing film width and narrowing the row space can increase the height, leaf area index and photosynthetic rate of the cotton, thereby promoting accumulation of dry matter, stabilizing cotton yield and increasing economic return. For all planting patterns we compared, the 12 rows and six tapes with the film width being 4.45 m is optimal.

Acute poisoning is a frequently encountered medical emergency in the emergency room, typically resulting from the incorrect use of drugs or pesticides, and is characterized by sudden onset of severe symptoms, often leading to fatalities. This research was to explore the effect of hemoperfusion first aid process reengineering on electrolyte disturbance, liver function and prognosis in patients with acute poisoning. From August 2019 to July 2021, 137 patients with acute poisoning who received first aid process reengineering were selected as the observation group, and 151 patients with acute poisoning who received routine first aid were selected as the control group. The success rate, first aid-related indicators, electrolyte, liver function, and prognosis and survival were recorded after first aid treatment. The observation group had a 100% effective rate on the third day of first aid, which was significantly higher than the control group (91.39%). The observation group also had shorter time for emesis induction, poisoning assessment, venous transfusion, consciousness recovery, opening of the blood purification circuit, and start of hemoperfusion than the control group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the observation group showed lower levels of alpionine aminotransferase, total bilirubin, serum creatinine, and urea nitrogen after treatment, and a significantly lower mortality rate (6.57%) than the control group (26.28%) (P < 0.05). Hemoperfusion first aid process reengineering in patients with acute poisoning can improve the success rate of first aid, shorten the time of first aid, improve the electrolyte disturbance, treatment effect, liver function and blood routine of the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

【Objective】 Water scarcity is the bottleneck constraining food production in Xinjiang province of China, and optimizing agricultural water usage is hence critical to developing sustainable agriculture in this region. The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to optimize drip-irrigation scheduling for mulched maize fields. 【Method】 The optimization is based on the DSSAT-CERES-Maize model parameters; growth and yield of the maize measured under different irrigation levels in 2020 was used to calibrate the model. Based on meteorological data measured from 1979 to 2017 in the studied region, we compared 14 different irrigation schemes in typical years and selected the optimal irrigation schedule for maize growth under mulched drip irrigation. 【Result】 Comparison showed that the leaf area index, dry matter weight and the yield simulated by the model for different irrigation levels correctly reproduced what were measured. We found that the sensitivity of the maize to water stress varied with season, and based on the degree of the sensitivity, the growth stages can be ranked as follows in a descending order: tasseling period>jointing period>filling period. Considering both yield and water use efficiency, the optimal irrigation amount in the tasseling period should be 80, 180 mm and 120 mm for dry, normal and wet years, respectively. The irrigation amount should be 120 mm in the filling stage and 60 mm for other stages. The yield under the optimized irrigation schedule accounted for 99.53%, 97.51% and 98.45% of the highest yield in dry, normal and wet years, respectively. 【Conclusion】 The CERES-Maize model is reliable. It can be used not only to optimize drip-irrigation schedule of maize in Xinjiang but also has an implication for optimizing irrigation of other crops in Xinjiang and beyond.

To address residual plastic film in fields in which mulched drip irrigation technology is applied, a sprayable degradable film (consisting of 1–5% clay, 5–20% humic acid, 0.5–5% crosslinker, and 0.5–5% auxiliary and water) can be used as a superior alternative to the plastic film applied in drip-irrigated fields. A field experiment was conducted in Xinjiang, Northwest China, to test the impacts of five different mulching treatments (SF1, sprayable degradable film applied at 1900 kg ha−1; SF2, sprayable degradable film applied at 1900 kg ha−1; SF3, sprayable degradable film applied at 2500 kg ha−1; PF, plastic film; and NF, no film mulching) on cotton growth and development, yield, and water use efficiency. The results showed that, compared to the NF treatment, sprayable degradable film mulching (SF1, SF2, and SF3) positively impacted the soil hydrothermal environment, promoted root growth, significantly increased plant height and leaf area, and enhanced physiological characteristics, which, in turn, increased yield and water use efficiency by 11.79–15.00% and 21.88–30.21%, respectively. The maximum yield and water use efficiency were observed in the PF treatment, amounting to 5345 kg ha−1 and 1.28 kg m−3, respectively, and they had no significant differences from those in the SF3 treatment. In general, applying moderate amounts of sprayable degradable film at a rate of 2500 kg ha−1 represents an effective agronomic strategy for managing residual film contamination while maintaining stable cotton yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]