Tracing the Transport and Residence Times of Atmospheric Microplastics Using Natural Radionuclides.

While atmospheric microplastics are known to be transported over long distances, their residence times and transport processes lack clarity. This study utilized natural radionuclides 7Be, 210Pb, and 210Po to explore the transport of atmospheric microplastics in Tianjin, a coastal city in Northern China. Microplastic concentrations ranged from 0.03 to 0.13 particles m-3 over the course of a year. The proportion of microplastic fragments in winter was significantly higher than that in other seasons, with median microplastic sizes in autumn and winter being larger than those in spring and summer. The atmospheric microplastic surface was rough, exhibiting irregular pores and multiple depressions and cracks. Microplastics experienced vertical mixing with the upper atmosphere in April and August and were influenced by rainfall in July. The residence time of atmospheric particles ranged from 9.47 to 22.85 days throughout the year, with an average of 14.41 days. The peak residence time of atmospheric particulates in November may be correlated with increased 210Po levels from coal consumption. Their prolonged atmospheric presence and rough surface allow microplastics to act as carriers for various chemical pollutants, underscoring the complexity and potential risks associated with their presence in the atmosphere.

Impact of medical insurance access negotiation on the utilization of innovative anticancer drugs in China: an interrupted time series analysis.

BACKGROUND: The high costs of innovative anticancer drugs hinder a number of cancer patients' access to these drugs in China. To address this problem, in 2018, the medical insurance access negotiation (MIAN) policy was implemented, when the prices of 17 innovative anticancer drugs were successfully negotiated and they were therefore included in the reimbursement list. This study aimed to explore the impact of the MIAN policy on the utilization of innovative anticancer drugs. METHODS: With monthly data on drug expenditures and defined daily doses (DDDs) of each innovative anticancer drug from January 2017 to December 2019, interrupted time series analysis was employed to estimate both the instant (change in the level of outcome) and long-term (change in trends of outcomes) impacts of the MIAN policy on drug utilization in terms of drug expenditures and DDDs. Our sample consists of 12 innovative anticancer drugs. RESULTS: From January 2017 to December 2019, the monthly drug expenditures and DDDs of 12 innovative anticancer drugs increased by about 573% (from US$8,931,809.30 to US$51,138,331.09) and 1400% (from 47,785 to 668,754), respectively. Overall, the implementation of the MIAN policy led to instant substantial increases of US$8,734,414 in drug expenditures and 158,192.5 in DDDs. Moreover, a sharper upward trend over time was reported, with increases of US$2,889,078 and 38,715.3 in the monthly growth rates of drug expenditures and DDDs, respectively. Regarding individual innovative anticancer drugs, the most prominent instant change and trend change in drug utilization were found for osimertinib, crizotinib, and ibrutinib. In contrast, the utilization of pegaspargase was barely affected by the MIAN policy. CONCLUSIONS: The MIAN policy has effectively promoted the utilization of innovative anticancer drugs. To ensure the continuity of the effects and eliminate differentiation, supplementary measures should be carried out, such as careful selection of drugs for medical insurance negotiations, a health technology assessment system and a multichannel financing mechanism.

Long COVID and financial outcomes: evidence from four longitudinal population surveys.

BACKGROUND: Long-term sequelae of COVID-19 (long COVID) include muscle weakness, fatigue, breathing difficulties and sleep disturbance over weeks or months. Using UK longitudinal data, we assessed the relationship between long COVID and financial disruption. METHODS: We estimated associations between long COVID (derived using self-reported length of COVID-19 symptoms) and measures of financial disruption (subjective financial well-being, new benefit claims, changes in household income) by analysing data from four longitudinal population studies, gathered during the first year of the pandemic. We employed modified Poisson regression in a pooled analysis of the four cohorts adjusting for a range of potential confounders, including pre-pandemic (pre-long COVID) factors. RESULTS: Among the 20 112 observations across four population surveys, 13% reported having COVID-19 with symptoms that impeded their ability to function normally-10.7% had such symptoms for <4 weeks (acute COVID-19), 1.2% had such symptoms for 4-12 weeks (ongoing symptomatic COVID-19) and 0.6% had such symptoms for >12 weeks (post-COVID-19 syndrome). We found that post-COVID-19 syndrome was associated with worse subjective financial well-being (adjusted relative risk ratios (aRRRs)=1.57, 95% CI=1.25, 1.96) and new benefit claims (aRRR=1.79, CI=1.27, 2.53). Associations were broadly similar across sexes and education levels. These results were not meaningfully altered when scaled to represent the population by age. CONCLUSIONS: Long COVID was associated with financial disruption in the UK. If our findings reflect causal effects, extending employment protection and financial support to people with long COVID may be warranted.

Influence of mindfulness group training on procrastination, self esteem, self efficacy of middle school students / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the influence of mindfulness group training on the procrastination, self esteem and self efficacy of middle school students, so as to provide a reference for mental health promotion of middle school students.@*Methods@#A total of 120 cases of middle school students selected by the stratified random sampling were randomly divided into observation group and control group, with 60 cases in each group. The control group did not accept any intervention,the observation group accepted mindfulness group training. The Five factors of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Chinese Irrational Procrastination Scale (IPS) and Active Procrastination Scale (APS), Rosenberg Self esteem Scale (RSES), General Self efficacy Scale (GSES) were measured before and after training.@*Results@#After training, the FFMQ score in the observation group was (122.87±18.48), significantly lower than (106.55±15.36) the control group( t=5.26, P <0.05); the rate of low mindfulness in the observation group was significantly lower than the control group(8.33%, 33.33%, χ 2=11.37, P <0.05). The scores of IPS and APS in the observation group were ( 17.89 ±4.21) and (40.94±9.25), significantly lower than (28.67±5.43) and (55.64±10.82) the control group( t= -12.15 , -8.00, P <0.05); the rate of high procrastination behavior of IPS and APS in the observation group was 20.00% and 23.33% , significantly lower than 38.33% and 41.67% the control group( χ 2=4.88, 4.60, P <0.05). The scores of GSES and RSES scores in the observation group were (34.17±3.42) and (34.71±4.64), significantly higher than (30.09±3.35) and (30.23±4.23) the control group( t=6.60, 5.53, P <0.05); the rate of low self efficacy and low self esteem in the observation group was 15.00% and 18.33%, significantly lower than 33.33% and 36.67% the control group( χ 2=5.50, 5.06, P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#Mindfulness group training is conducive to improving the level of mindfulness of middle school students,reducing the procrastination behavior, improving the self esteem and self efficacy, which can improve adolescents physical and mental health.

Effectiveness of comprehensive cognitive behavioral intervention on juvenile violent behavior / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on adolescent violent behaviors.@*Methods@#A total of 120 middle school students with violence or violence tendency were selected from Lianbei Middle School in Shijiazhuang and divided into intervention and control group( n =60). The intervention group received comprehensive cognitive behavioral intervention while the control group did not. The changes of violence, violent risk, impulsive behavior and explicit aggressive behavior before and after intervention were compared between the two groups.@*Results@#The scores of personality insult, relational aggression, self abuse, suicide ideation, severe violence dimension and total violence in the intervention group decreased significantly compared to before intervention( t =6.32，7.88，10.05，7.05，9.27，8.01， P <0.05). No similar changes were observed in the control group( t =0.35，0.24，1.01，0.78，0.49，0.53， P >0.05). The scores of personality insult, relational aggression, self abuse, suicide ideation, severe violence and total violence in the intervention group were significantly lower than those in the control group( P <0.05). In the intervention group, the VRS YV score after intervention was significantly lower than that before intervention, and the proportion of individuals with VRS YV score≥27 after intervention decreased significantly compared to before intervention ( P <0.05) and the control group( P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#The comprehensive cognitive behavior intervention shows effectiveness in improving the empathy ability and reduce the level of violent risk.