Explaining citizens' plastic reduction behavior with an extended theory of planned behavior model: An empirical study in Switzerland.

The growing volume of plastic waste resulting from human activities is suffocating our planet. To combat this escalating issue, this study delves into the formation of plastic reduction behavior among Swiss citizens using an extended theory of planned behavior model. Through an online survey, the study obtained 149 valid responses, which were analyzed using partial least squares-based structural equation modeling. The results indicate a significant and strong relationship between plastic risk perception and attitudes towards plastic reduction and environmental protection. Notably, the cognitive dimension (ß = 0.802, p = 0.000) of plastic risk perception exhibits a tighter and stronger association with attitude compared to the emotional dimension (ß = 0.406, p = 0.000). Among the three variables in the theory of planned behavior model, perceived behavioral control (ß = 0.384, p = 0.000) emerges as the strongest determinant of behavioral willingness for plastic reduction. It is followed by attitude (ß = 0.214, p = 0.030). However, no significant relationship is observed between subjective norm and behavioral willingness for plastic reduction (ß = 0.07, p = 0.292). Finally, attitude fully mediates the relationship between plastic risk perception and behavioral willingness for plastic reduction. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Media exposure and plastic-reducing behaviours in China: The mediating effect of environmental concern and locus of control.

The environmental problems caused by plastic pollution have increased at an astonishing speed. However, attempts to study the dynamics of plastic-reducing behaviours are few and far between. In this regard, based on the attitudinal-contextual-behavioural (ABC) theory of pro-environmental behaviours, this study conducts an online survey to analyse the functioning of media exposure on Chinese consumers' three types of plastic bag reducing behaviours during shopping, including saving inner plastic packaging bags by putting many goods into one bag, hand-carrying and bringing reusable bags. Employing the snowball sampling method, this study successfully collected 361 valid questionnaires for analysis. The findings of this study indicate that environmental concern and locus of control play mediating roles between media exposure and plastic-reducing behaviours. However, the study finds no supporting evidence for the mediating function of plastic pollution knowledge. These results have implications for plastic crisis managers and governmental officials. In designing media content for environmental education campaigns, it is advisable to prioritize strategies that evoke emotions over a sole focus on disseminating knowledge about plastic pollution.

Standoff alpha radiation measurement of surface contamination based on radioluminescence.

An effective standoff alpha radiation measurement of surface contamination method is of great importance in radioactive waste disposal and decommissioning of nuclear facilities, nuclear accident emergency response and nuclear security. Here, we build an optical system for the implementation of standoff alpha radiation measurement based on radioluminescence. We present the results of the detection efficiency calibrating of standoff alpha radioactive sources using simulation and experiment. At the same time, a numerical integration-based surface contamination measurement method is designed, computed, and validated through experiments and simulations. Finally, the minimum detectable surface activity of the method is given for different measurement conditions.

The Influence of the Big Five Personality Traits on Residents' Plastic Reduction Attitudes in China.

Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues. It is essential to understand why an individual is or is not supportive of reducing plastics. This study aims to investigate the dynamics behind residents' plastic reduction attitudes from the lens of the Big Five personality traits. A sample of 521 residents in China was recruited and analyzed for this study. The results indicate that the Conscientiousness personality type is a reliable green personality with positive plastic reduction attitudes. Highly conscientious individuals are more responsible for the environment, and are expected to strictly follow the plastic ban policies, whereas less conscientious individuals are more likely to turn a blind eye to them. More importantly, the relationship between a Conscientiousness personality and plastic reduction attitudes is negatively moderated by education. The discovery of education's moderating role suggests that both an inborn personality trait of Conscientiousness and post-born education can complementarily shape residents' plastic reduction attitudes. The findings of this study deepen the understanding of the causes of pro-environmental attitudes and provide valuable insights into plastic management in China.

Refractory hypokalemia with sexual dysplasia and infertility caused by 17α-hydroxylase deficiency and triple X syndrome: A case report.

The present study reports a patient case with a 17α-hydroxylase deficiency accompanied by triple X syndrome. A 17α-hydroxylase deficiency leads to a very low 17α-hydroxylated steroid synthesis as well as a non-feedback increase in the adrenocorticotropic hormone level. Meanwhile, the progesterone level increases the 17α-hydroxyprogesterone level and decreases the dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate level. The patient is characterized by intractable hypokalemia, high urinary potassium, hyperaldosteronemia, hyporeninemia, hypocortisolemia, hypertension, gonadal and secondary sexual dysplasia, a decreased estrogen level, primary amenorrhea, and infertility. The imaging findings indicate a presence of multiple bilateral adrenal gland adenomas, and the sequencing indicates a missense CYP17A1-E7 gene pathogenic variant. The karyotype is a 47, XXX [3]/46, XX [47] low-level chimeric karyotype. The patient's parents are cousins. To our knowledge, this patient is the first case diagnosed with congenital adrenal hyperplasia caused by hydroxylase deficiency and triple X syndrome. The uniqueness of this case is that this patient has two very rare genetic diseases, probably due to the marriage of close relatives.

Environmental motivation or economic motivation? Explaining individuals' intention to carry reusable bags for shopping in China.

To achieve satisfying effects of plastic ban policies, it is important to promote people's intention to use green bags. Many studies have examined the antecedents of reducing plastic bag usage, but research regarding the influential factors of reusable bag usage is limited. Based on a survey of 532 respondents in China, a multiple linear regression model is constructed in this study to examine the determinants of individuals' intention to carry reusable bags for shopping. Results show that plastic ban awareness, social responsibility, environmental motivation, and economic motivation significantly and positively affect consumers' intention to use reusable bags for shopping. Of the two motivation factors, environmental motivation has a greater impact. More importantly, economic motivation positively moderates the relationship between environmental motivation and the intention to use reusable bags. This finding suggests a motivation "crowding-in" effect in predicting consumers' intention to carry reusable bags for shopping. Results of this study also indicate that female, older, and richer people are more inclined to carry reusable bags for shopping. Implications for plastic crisis management are discussed.

Is Female a More Pro-Environmental Gender? Evidence from China.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether there are gender differences in people's pro-environmental psychology and behaviors in China. An online survey was conducted with the snowball sampling technique, and a sample of 532 Chinese respondents was obtained for the research. This study finds that gender does affect green psychology and behaviors, with females reporting a higher level of environmentalism in China. Specifically, females are more concerned with environmental problems, more supportive of plastic ban policies, more positive towards reducing plastics (reduce), and have stronger intention to bring a reusable bag for shopping (reuse and recycle). Moreover, females use fewer disposable toiletries when checking in a hotel and require less disposable tableware when ordering takeout. This study contributes to the current literature by identifying the relationship between gender and environmentalism in China. Implications for anti-plastic policy design and environmental management are also presented.

In-situ γ-ray analysis of ground surface radioactivity using portable HPGe γ spectrometer.

As essential high-end equipment for nuclear emergency monitoring, the portable HPGe γ spectrometer currently lacks supporting in-situ measurement methods, limiting its role and value in emergency missions. For this practical problem, this paper studies the measurement of ground surface radioactivity by portable HPGe γ spectrometer in nuclear emergency monitoring in view of the particularity of nuclear emergency source items. Firstly, the detection efficiency of point sources at different horizontal distances when the spectrometer is installed at the height of 1 m from the center of the detector to the ground is calculated. Secondly, the concept of effective contribution distance is defined and analyzed. Thirdly, the point source detection efficiency is obtained using the numerical integration method of calculation. Integrate to calculate the detection efficiency of the surface source, and then calculate the radioactive surface activity of the surface. Finally, the effectiveness of the method is verified through experiments.

Young consumers' motivations and barriers to the purchase of second-hand clothes: An empirical study of China.

Second-hand clothing consumption has grown in popularity in recent decades and has also attracted extensive worldwide efforts to investigate the dynamics behind consumers' purchase behaviours. However, research regarding this topic is scarce in China, which has also witnessed the rapid growth of the second-hand market in recent years. In this regard, this study analyzed the motivations and barriers to Chinese consumers' purchase of second-hand clothes as well as their perceived problems with this industry. Specifically, the study conducted a semi-structured online survey with 127 consumers of three second-hand clothing stores in China. Results show that the vast majority (96%) of the investigated consumers are young people born in the 1990s and 2000s, and they are neither significantly driven by economic nor environmental protection motivations. Instead, their purchase is primarily motivated by treasure-hunting fun. Moreover, past overseas shopping experiences are found to be a significant booster to second-hand clothing consumption. Concerns about poverty association and the sanitation conditions of second-hand clothing are the main purchase barriers for the investigated Chinese young consumers. As for the second-hand clothing market, "unregulated industry" (10.29%), "fake identification" (8.09%), and "sanitation concern" (5.88%) are the three most mentioned problems in China. This study provides second-hand retailors and managers with valuable insights into developing successful marketing tactics to attract customers and improve the second-hand industry's performance in China.

Consumers' Intention to Bring a Reusable Bag for Shopping in China: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior.

Bringing a reusable bag for shopping is a typical pro-environmental behavior and has been shown to be effective in reducing plastics, but research regarding this green behavior is limited. In this regard, using the snowball sampling technique, this study conducts a survey on a sample of 361 Chinese consumers to investigate their intention to bring a reusable bag for shopping based on the theory of planned behavior. To increase the explaining power for behavioral intention, this study extended the TPB by adding two additional variables: locus of control and environmental concern. Data was analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique. Results show that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm exert significant and positive influence on consumers' intention to bring reusable bags for shopping, and the perceived behavioral control exerts the greatest influence, followed by attitude and subjective norm. Both locus of control and environmental concern fail to directly impact consumers' bringing intention, but they could impact consumers' intention indirectly. Specifically, the external locus of control exerts a negative influence on attitude and perceived behavioral control. Environmental concern positively impacts consumers' attitudes towards bringing reusable bags for shopping. Results of this study could provide valuable insights into plastics management and policy design to promote consumers' green shopping behaviors. For instance, the finding that perceived behavioral control is the greatest contributor to consumers' intention to bring reusable bags highlights the importance of clearing reusable bag preparation and use barriers.

Go Green and Recycle: Analyzing the Usage of Plastic Bags for Shopping in China.

The extensive usage of plastic bags has caused detrimental environmental damage, and an influx of research efforts have been undertaken to reduce people's usage of plastic bags. However, studies regarding people's reuse of plastic bags are still scarce. Therefore, this study is motivated to bridge this research gap by examining the determinants of old plastic bag usage and consumers' maximum willingness to pay price for plastic carrier bags via a semi-structured online survey on a random sample of 777 Chinese consumers. Descriptive summary, KW test, and logistic regression were used to identify potential determinants and their influence on consumers' usage of old plastic bags. The findings indicate that consumers' age, altruistic values, and their perceived plastic ban effectiveness are positively associated with the usage of old plastic bags. Specifically, the elder and altruistic consumers who are positive for plastic ban effectiveness are more likely to reuse old plastic bags. Furthermore, when plastic carrier bags are priced at RMB 2.0, 81.2% of the surveyed consumers say they will stop buying them. Based on the pricing setting experience from the Irish plastic bag policy, we suggest that the optimal price of plastic carrier bags is RMB 12.0, which is also six times of the consumer's maximum willingness to pay price.

How Do Tougher Plastics Ban Policies Modify People's Usage of Plastic Bags? A Case Study in China.

This study analyzes people's bag usage before and after the introduction of the tougher 2021 plastics ban policies by counting the number of charged carrier bags, inner bags, old plastic bags, and reusable bags used by consumers at the exits of the investigated supermarkets in Shanghai, China. The results indicate positive effects of the tougher 2021 measures by observing significantly decreased usage of charged carrier bags by 46%, and significantly increased usage of old plastic bags and reusable bags by 117% and 36%, respectively. Policy execution loopholes are found in some supermarkets which do not follow the tougher plastics ban measures. Fortunately, the spill-over effects from tougher-measure-executing supermarkets fix this issue to some extent. Additionally, the tougher 2021 measures fail to be the most powerful impacting factor on people's usage of each type of bag. To produce better plastics reducing results, other bag-targeted measures are necessary.

Association of Glycated Albumin/Glycosylated Hemoglobin Ratio with Blood Glucose Fluctuation and Long-Term Blood Glucose Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association of the glycated albumin (GA)/glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ratio with the mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: A total of 102 patients with T2DM who were first treated in Jinjiang Hospital of Fujian Province were enrolled in this study. The patients' general clinical data, including HbA1c, GA, fasting blood glucose, and fasting and peak C-peptide values upon diagnosis and after one year of follow-up, were collected, and their MAGE was calculated. RESULTS: With the increase of the GA/HbA1c ratio at baseline, the patients' fasting and peak C-peptide values decreased gradually from baseline to follow-up, while their MAGE, HbA1c, and fasting blood glucose increased gradually. A regression analysis demonstrated that the baseline MAGE was independently positively correlated with the GA/HbA1c ratio. A Cox regression analysis demonstrated that a baseline GA/HbA1c ratio of >2.78 was an independent risk factor for poor fasting blood glucose and HbA1c. CONCLUSION: The GA/HbA1c ratio is closely related to the MAGE and islet function in patients with T2DM.

Plastic bag usage and the policies: A case study of China.

Reducing the usage of plastic bags has been a pressing task for governments around the world. In China, the government also makes extensive efforts to contrast the negative effects of plastic bag usage by issuing different laws and policies. Conducting an on-site counting of bags used by consumers, this study investigates the usage of plastic bags in China and evaluates the effectiveness of these policies within both supermarkets and vegetable markets (popular markets primarily for vegetables in China). Besides, 5 different factors are investigated to learn their potential influence on the usage of plastic bags, including generation, gender, the price for plastic carrier bags, the packaging style of products, and market type. Results show a boomerang effect of the pricing policy (i.e., charging for plastic carrier bags) in China. Specifically, the policy decreases the usage of plastic carrier bags by 44%. However, the total usage of plastic bags increases, rather than decreases due to the excessive usage of free inner plastic packaging bags used as alternatives to plastic carrier bags. Old and middle-young consumers are disproportionately affected by the pricing policy and behave significantly differently in their usage of plastic bags. Loopholes in management and policies are also discussed.

Thyroid function and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in hyperthyroidism patients.

BACKGROUND: Although thyroid function has been demonstrated to be associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in different population, the prevalence and features of NAFLD in hyperthyroidism have not been reported. The present study aims to investigate the prevalence of NAFLD and association of thyroid function and NAFLD in hyperthyroidism patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed in Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, China. A total 117 patients with hyperthyroidism were consecutively recruited from 2014 to 2015. Thyroid function and other clinical features were measured, liver fat content was measured by color Doppler ultrasonically, NAFLD was defined in patients with liver fat content more than 9.15%. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS software package version 13.0. RESULTS: The prevalence of NAFLD was 11.97% in hyperthyroidism. Patient with NAFLD had lower free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) levels than patients without NAFLD (P < 0.05). After adjusting for age, gender, metabolic parameters and inflammation factors, higher FT3 were associated with lower liver fat content (ß = - 0.072, P = 0.009) and decreased odds ratio of NAFLD (OR = 0.267, 95%CI 0.087-0.817, P = 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: FT3 level was negatively associated with the liver fat content in this population. These results may provide new evidence in the role of thyroid hormone on the regulation of liver fat content and NAFLD.

An empirical study on Twitter's use and crisis retweeting dynamics amid Covid-19.

This study conducts an analysis on topics of the most diffused tweets and retweeting dynamics of crisis information amid Covid-19 to provide insights into how Twitter is used by the public and how crisis information is diffused on Twitter amid this pandemic. Results show that Twitter is first and foremost used as a news seeking and sharing platform with more than 70 % of the most diffused tweets being related to news and comments on crisis updates. As for the retweeting dynamics, our results show an almost immediate response from Twitter users, with some first retweets occurring as quickly as within 2 s and the vast majority ( 90 % ) of them done within 10 min. Nearly 86 % of the retweeting processes could have 75 % of their retweets finished within 24 h, indicating a 1-day information value of tweets. Distribution of retweeting behaviors could be modeled by Power law, Weibull, and Log normal in this study, but still there are 20 % original tweets whose retweeting distributions left unexplained. Results of retweeting community analysis show that following retweeters contribute to nearly 50 % of the retweets. In addition, the retweeting contribution of verified Twitter users is significantly ( P < 0.05 ) different from that of unverified users. A similar significant ( P < 0.05 ) difference is also found in their rates of verified retweeters, and it has been shown that verified Twitter users enjoy seven times as high value as that of unverified users. In other words, users with the same verification status are more likely to get together to diffuse crisis information.