Improving Soil Fertility with Different Planting Patterns in Rocky Desertification Areas

[Objectives]This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different planting patterns on soil improvement in rocky desertification areas.[Methods]The one-way ANOVA analysis method was used to statistically analyze the soil physical and chemical properties,enzyme activity,microbial quantity,CEC,ECEC,and aggregate content distribution with different planting patterns.[Results]The walnut+sesame+mung bean planting pattern showed the highest soil available phosphorus,available potassium,porosity,non-capillary porosity,and contents of free living nitrogen-fixing bacteria,organophosphate-dissolving bacteria,bacteria,fungi and actinomycetes,at 63.2 mg/kg,178.8 mg/kg,22.85%,6.89%,10.0×10^6 bacteria/g,18.0×10^6 bacteria/g,21.0×10^5 CFU/g,5.7×10^3 CFU/g and 7.9×10^5 CFU/g,respectively,and it reduced soil bulk density(the same as treatment F and treatment E)compared with other planting patterns.The walnut+American chicory+sweet potato planting pattern had the highest alkali-hydrolyzale nitrogen,organic matter,CEC,ECEC,water-air ratio and moisture content,which were 227.9 mg/kg,46.30 g/kg,36.38 cmol/kg,24.00 cmol/kg,8.13,and 32.89%,respectively,and it reduced soil bulk density,increased capillary porosity,acid phosphatase,and contents of bacteria and actinomycetes compared with single cropping of walnut.[Conclusions]Interplanting crops under walnut forests is an effective measure to improve the ecological environment of rocky desertification farmland.

Life’s Essential 8 and risk of non-communicable chronic diseases:Outcome-wide analyses

Background:Life’s Simple 7,the former construct of cardiovascular health(CVH)has been used to evaluate adverse non-communicable chronic diseases(NCDs).However,some flaws have been recognized in recent years and Life’s Essential 8 has been established.In this study,we aimed to analyze the association between CVH defined by Life’s Essential 8 and risk of 44 common NCDs and further estimate the population attributable fractions(PAFs)of low-moderate CVH scores in the 44 NCDs.Methods:In the UK Biobank,170,726 participants free of 44 common NCDs at baseline were included.The Life’s Essential 8 composite measure consists of four health behaviours(diet,physical activity,nicotine exposure,and sleep)and four health factors(body mass index,non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol,blood glucose,and blood pressure),and the maximum CVH score was 100 points.CVH score was categorized into low,moderate,and high groups.Participants were followed up for 44 NCDs diagnosis across 10 human system disorders according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th edition(ICD-10)code using linkage to national health records until 2022.Cox proportional hazard models were used in this study.The hazard ratios(HRs)and PAFs of 44 NCDs associated with CVH score were examined.Results:During the median follow-up of 10.85 years,58,889 incident NCD cases were documented.Significant linear dose-response associations were found between higher CVH score and lower risk of 25(56.8%)of 44 NCDs.Low-moderate CVH(<80 points)score accounted for the largest proportion of incident cases in diabetes(PAF:80.3%),followed by gout(59.6%),sleep disorder(55.6%),chronic liver disease(45.9%),chronic kidney disease(40.9%),ischemic heart disease(40.8%),chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(40.0%),endometrium cancer(35.8%),lung cancer(34.0%),and heart failure(34.0%)as the top 10.Among the eight modifiable factors,overweight/obesity explained the largest number of cases of incident NCDs in endocrine,nutritional,and metabolic diseases(35.4%),digestive system disorders(21.4%),mental and behavioral disorders(12.6%),and cancer(10.3%);however,the PAF of ideal sleep duration ranked first in nervous system(27.5%)and neuropsychiatric disorders(9.9%).Conclusions:Improving CVH score based on Life’s Essential 8 may lower risk of 25 common NCDs.Among CVH metrics,avoiding overweight/obesity may be especially important to prevent new cases of metabolic diseases,NCDs in digestive system,mental and behavioral disorders,and cancer.

Birth weight,ideal cardiovascular health metrics in adulthood,and incident cardiovascular disease

Background:Prenatal and postnatal factors may have joint effects on cardiovascular health,and we aimed to assess the joint association of birth weight and ideal cardiovascular health metrics(ICVHMs)prospectively in adulthood with incident cardiovascular disease(CVD).Methods:In the UK Biobank,227,833 participants with data on ICVHM components and birth weight and without CVD at baseline were included.The ICVHMs included smoking,body mass index,physical activity,diet information,total cholesterol,blood pressure,and hemoglobin A1c.The Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the hazard ratios(HRs)and 95%confidence intervals(CIs)in men and women.Results:Over a median follow-up period of 13.0 years(2,831,236 person-years),we documented 17,477 patients with incident CVD.Compared with participants with birth weights of 2.5-4.0 kg,the HRs(95%CIs)of CVD among those with low birth weights was 1.08(1.00-1.16)in men and 1.23(1.16-1.31)in women.The association between having a birth weight<2.5 kg and CVD risk in men was more prominent for those aged<50 years than for those of older age(P for interaction=0.026).Lower birth weight and non-ideal cardiovascular health metrics were jointly related to an increased risk of CVD.Participants with birth weights<2.5 kg and ICVHMs score 0-1 had the highest risk of incident CVD(HR[95%CI]:3.93[3.01-5.13]in men;4.24[3.33-5.40]in women).The joint effect(HR[95%CI]:1.36[1.17-1.58])could be decomposed into 24.7%(95%CI:15.0%-34.4%)for a lower birth weight,64.7%(95%CI:56.7%-72.6%)for a lower ICVHM score,and 10.6%(95%CI:2.7%-18.6%)for their additive interaction in women.Conclusions:Birth weight and ICVHMs were jointly related to CVD risk.Attaining a normal birth weight and ideal ICVHMs may reduce the risk of CVD,and a simultaneous improvement of both prenatal and postnatal factors could further prevent additional cases in women.