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Our previous research has shown that industrial by-products such as ferrous sulfate mineral and stone powder as amendments can remediate Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) soil. However, their role in the soil-rice system is unknown. Therefore, this article explored the effects of the combined use of industrial by-products and commercial conditioners on the accumulation of Cd-As in weakly alkaline and acidic soil-rice systems. Potted experiments shown that SL (stone powder+ferrous sulfate mineral) and SLW (stone powder+ferrous sulfate mineral+Weidikang conditioner) could reduce the availability of Cd-As in soil by adjusting soil pH and CEC, increase iron film content on the root surface, strengthening the “barrier” for fixing Cd-As. Brown rice Cd was lower than the national food safety standard of 0.20 mg kg−1 (GB2762–2022). 1 % SLW could reduce brown rice As from 1.24 mg kg−1 to 0.83 mg kg−1. The results of field experiments confirmed the conclusion of pot experiments. SL and SLW not only reduced the accumulation of Cd-As in rice but also significantly increased rice yield by 16.58 % and 11.68 %, respectively. Compared to the two types of conditioning agents sold in the market, the material costs have been reduced by 79.1 % -86.5 % and 12.4 % -43.3 %, respectively. In summary, this study demonstrates that ferrous sulfate minerals and stone powder could efficiently remediate Cd-As pollution in paddy soil under different acid-base conditions, providing an application example for the resource utilization of industrial by-products for the remediation of Cd-As pollution in paddy soil.

This study explores the similarities and differences in reading strategies applied by students to Chinese versus English reading. 842 students responded to a reading strategy inventory in terms of their habits when reading in Chinese versus in English. The result validates the general structure of a reading strategy inventory originally designed for English. The general scale seemed reasonable for Chinese reading as well as English reading. However, gender differences were found on some items. In addition, there was no statistically significant correlation between strategy use and test scores, which is inconsistent with previous research. Besides, we found a strong correlation between English and classical Chinese reading scores, but not between English and modern Chinese reading. Language as L1 or L2, curriculum and restricted test formats may partly explain the low correlations while social and educational environment can contribute to the high correlation observed. This study also serves as a rare example of a complete cycle of invariance test for ordinal data with a repeated design in Mplus. Implications for research and pedagogy were discussed.

Introduction While debates on e-cigarettes are mainly conducted in scientific fora, media are the most accessible information source for the public, shaping their perceptions of health issues. This study is the first to examine e-cigarette related topics with conflicting arguments presented in Chinese newspapers. Methods The Chinese terms for ‘e-cigarettes’ were searched in a widely used Chinese news database Wisenews. Content analysis of the full text of 639 news articles was conducted to identify topics with conflicting arguments and examine whether the dominant argument in each topic changed across four time periods from 2004 to 2019. Results Twelve e-cigarette related topics with conflicting arguments were identified. The most frequently reported topic was health impact of e-cigarettes, followed by impact of secondhand aerosol exposure, smoking cessation, relative health impact of e-cigarettes compared to cigarettes, and e-cigarette policies outside China. At the same time, the price was the least frequently reported topic. Overall, negative arguments outnumbered positive arguments in the study period. The dominant arguments within many topics changed across time periods; however, within the topics of relative health impact of e-cigarettes compared to cigarettes, taste/flavor, and the economic prospects of the industry, positive arguments were more frequently reported in almost all periods. Within the topics of addiction, policies in China, and policies outside China, negative arguments were more frequently reported in virtually all periods. Conclusions Though overall the dominant argument about e-cigarettes and health was ‘e-cigarettes are harmful’, in the early time periods, e-cigarettes were reported as ‘harmless’ or even ‘healthy’. As China began to regulate e-cigarettes, the reporting on e-cigarettes more frequently included the ‘e-cigarettes are harmful’ argument. The consistent, more frequent reporting of ‘good e-cigarette taste/flavor’ has the potential to attract young people to e-cigarette products. The increased reporting on policies unfavorable to e-cigarettes aligned with the growing number of regulations restricting e-cigarettes.

Anthropogenic activities have raised cadmium (Cd) concentrations in agricultural soil, emerging as a primary catalyst for the decline in crop yield. Intercropping of two or several plants is one technique among many Cd phytoremediation techniques that has gained enormous attention recently. However, the impact of cultivation modes on Cd movement in rice plants when intercropped with heavy metal (HM) hyperaccumulator plants remains unclear. Thus, this study was designed to explore the effects of cultivation modes and the intercropping of rice with Solanum nigrum L. on rice growth and Cd uptake in Cd-contaminated soil. The experimental design encompassed five treatments: dry cultivation of monocultured rice, monocultured Solanum nigrum L., and intercropped rice–Solanum nigrum L.; flood cultivation of monocultured rice; and intercropped rice–Solanum nigrum L. in a high-bed and low-ditch planting system. The results revealed a significant increase in rice growth when intercropped with Solanum nigrum L., with a notable increase of 18.32 g∙plant−1 observed in rice biomass in dry cultivation under the intercropping system. In contrast, a more modest increase of 3.67 g∙plant−1 was observed in the high-bed and low-ditch intercropped rice–Solanum nigrum L. mode. The soil total Cd was higher in dry cultivation of monocultured rice and Solanum nigrum L. compared to intercropped rice/Solanum nigrum L.-cultivated soil, with lower values recorded for intercropped rice/Solanum nigrum L. under the high-bed and low-ditch planting system. In contrast, no significant effect was noted on soil exchangeable Cd content based on the planting pattern and cultivation mode. Intercropping with Solanum nigrum L. demonstrated a significant reduction of Cd content in various rice tissues, particularly in roots at the maturity stage, while Cd content was reduced across all rice tissues under the high-bed and low-ditch planting system. The Cd content in the stem, leaves, and bran of monocropped rice was higher compared to intercropped rice. This study suggests that the rice–Solanum nigrum L. intercropping system effectively reduces rice Cd uptake, particularly under the high-bed and low-ditch planting system.

News media play an important role in shaping public perceptions of e-cigarettes and influencing relevant policies. This study aims to describe the prominent themes in the Chinese newspaper reporting of e-cigarettes and examine how the salience of themes changed over time. Quantitative content analysis and qualitative thematic analysis of 639 e-cigarette-related news stories from 2014 to 2019 were conducted. Seven themes were found: health impact, usage, smoking cessation, youth, regulation, industry development, and description of e-cigarettes, with industry development being a unique theme in Chinese newspapers compared with newspapers in other countries. Although the health impact theme remained dominant throughout all time periods, the other themes showed different salience at different time periods, and e-cigarette reports increasingly focused on regulation in recent years. Frequent reporting by Chinese newspapers on e-cigaretterelated research, legislation, and social problems in other countries, based on foreign media coverage, might point at an international media agenda setting effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During a crisis, the crisis response strategies used reflect the extent to which an organisation accepts responsibility for the crisis. These strategies could subsequently affect the organisation's image and reputation. Thus, organisations are advised to be strategic in their choices of crisis response strategies through an analysis of the crisis situations. This study examines a crisis caused by an organisation's appointed advertising agency whose actions led the organisation to be accused of interfering with press freedom. This study uses content analysis to analyse the news coverage on the crisis response strategies used and the tone of the coverage. It found that justification was the most frequently used strategy. When the strategy of excuse was reported in the news coverage, the overall tone of the coverage was likely to be negative. The implications of the findings are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]