Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
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Question: The new rules, which have been opened to the public for consultation, will involve the establishment of a comprehensive “management system” covering the production, sale, utilization and recycling of thin plastic film in the countryside. Chinese farmers, mostly in the arid north and west, cover fields with vast amounts of “plastic mulch” to help maintain soil moisture and protect against pests. The technique has played an important role in boosting yields and raising the quality of crops, the agriculture ministry said in a notice. “But because of excessive use and inadequate recycling, agricultural-use plastic film pollution in some regions has been getting worse and worse, and it has already become a major environmental problem holding back the green development of agriculture,” the ministry said. In areas of northwest China that made use of plastic mulch, contamination rates stood at an average of 36 kilograms per hectare, with the figure as high as 138 kilograms in some regions, it said. The new rules would force farmers to use only film that meets quality standards, and they must also collect plastic waste from fields before its expiry date and deliver to approved recycling outlets. They will also be encouraged to reuse old film. China is said to use about 2 million tonnes of plastic film every year to cover around 200,000 square kilometers of farmland, an area the size of Belarus. But government researchers say the recycling rate stands at just 180,000 tonnes. If uncollected, the plastic waste eventually degrades the soil and could also infiltrate crops, with one parliamentary delegate from Shandong warning in March that some of the province’s exports of ginger and spinach had been contaminated. Beijing is aiming to make around 90% of its total farmland safe for agriculture by the end of next year, part of its efforts to guarantee food security.

Answer: China drafts new rules to control rural plastic pollution.


Question: The evacuations of workers in Guangzhou followed medical testing that revealed they might have been affected. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said “a number of individuals” had been brought to the U.S. but didn’t say how many were affected or evacuated. A previous case in Guangzhou, disclosed last month, prompted the tests. Nauert also said that remaining U.S. government personnel and their families in Guangzhou would also be able to request testing if they “noted concerning symptoms or wanted baseline screening.” The incidents have raised fears the unexplained issues that started in Cuba in 2016 have expanded. The U.S. government has deemed those incidents “specific attacks” on American workers but hasn’t publicly identified a cause or culprit. Most of the incidents were accompanied by bizarre, unexplained sounds that initially led U.S. investigators to suspect a sonic attack. Symptoms have included dizziness, headaches and an inability to concentrate. The American government worker who previously was removed from China reported “subtle and vague, but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure,” the Guangzhou consulate reported last month Security guards outside the Guangzhou consulate on Thursday told reporters to leave the area and not attempt to talk to consulate staff. Asked about the latest incidents, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the U.S. had not formally raised the matter with Beijing. “If the U.S. makes formal contact with us, China will continue necessary investigations in an earnest and responsible manner and maintain close communication and cooperation with the U.S.,” Hua said at a regularly scheduled news conference. China earlier said it had looked into the case announced last month but came up with no clues about the cause of the symptoms. The New York Times identified the latest American employee evacuated as Mark A. Lenzi, a security engineering officer at the consulate who left Wednesday night with his wife and two children. Lenzi told the Times he resided in the same apartment tower as the officer evacuated in April and suffered in recent months from what he called “neurological symptoms.” Lenzi’s apartment was in one of several high-rise buildings in The Canton Place featuring restaurants and galleries spaced around a central plaza. Another diplomat who reported symptoms was at a different upscale building near the consulate, the paper said. A U.S. official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the situation publicly and requested anonymity, said the evacuated American government workers were being brought from China for testing to the University of Pennsylvania. That’s where doctors have been treating and studying patients previously evacuated from the U.S. Embassy in Havana. The preliminary findings of the medical reports on the 24 personnel affected in Cuba showed they had sensory and memory problems similar to the brain dysfunction seen with concussions. The Penn team said the patients from Cuba experienced persistent disability though rehabilitation therapy customized for them seemed to help. Canada in April also ordered families of diplomatic staff in Cuba to return home after mysterious health symptoms were detected in 10 Canadians stationed on the island. Canada said the 10 continued to show unexplained brain symptoms and that “medical information raised concerns for a new type of a possible acquired brain injury.” In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month about the first case in China, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said China had “said all the right things and have demonstrated their willingness to help us identify the vector which led to this medical incident.” The China incidents affect one of the most important of the seven U.S. diplomatic outposts in the country. The Guangzhou consulate opened months after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Washington in 1979 and moved to its new purpose-built facility in 2013. It serves four southern provinces with a combined population of more than 204 million and processes more than 1 million visa applications of all types annually. It is also the only U.S. diplomatic installation in China authorized to process immigrant visas and handle adoptions. People working in The Canton Place complex, a few kilometers (miles) from the consulate, said they were just hearing about the incidents, reflecting a lack of coverage in China’s entirely state-controlled media. Aled Williams, a British teacher at a kindergarten said Thursday that the reports sounded “sci-fi-ish.” “Hard to get my head around how it works,” he said. “Better watch myself.” Linda Chen, who runs a coffee shop in the area, said she was mystified as to why only certain people seemed to have been affected in an area known for its comfort and safety. “For me I feel it’s very strange. But I don’t feel that there’s something to be very afraid of because it’s probably a very special case,” Chen said. ___ Associated Press writer Josh Lederman in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.

Answer: US screens more staff in China over mystery health issues.


Question: The story doesn’t discuss costs for this new approach. One web source points to an average cost of $3,400 per eye for conventional cataract surgery, although the costs can be considerably less under some insurance plans. The story does not make clear if this procedure would be similarly priced. The story states the new procedure “restored vision in babies for the first time” but doesn’t describe any quantified benefits of this newer method. At the end of the story, we are told the researchers claimed a “100 percent” success rate three months after surgery. However, that’s not specific enough: Readers should be informed of how the researchers measured success–what were the outcomes they measured?–especially in such a young patient group where vision testing is tricky. The story doesn’t discuss short- or long-term harms that may arise from this new approach. It may be too soon for researchers to determine potential long-range harms from this approach, but saying that would have offered readers some perspective. The story explains that the study included a small number of infant patients (12) with a condition that differs from routine adult cataracts. The story did a good job of letting us know the study had some key limitations, primarily its short duration. As one source said, “this study wasn’t long enough. They [cataracts] may come back.” Ideally, the story would have specifically told us the length of time (six months), which helps readers better understand the need for more research with a larger pool of patients followed over a longer timeframe. It also should have been made clear if the study was randomized and included a control group. No, this story did not cross over into disease-mongering. It did a good job of explaining why it’s important to treat congenital cataracts. We were pleased to see multiple independent sources interviewed for this story. Seeking out multiple viewpoints can often surface new details about the illness or field of study, and place it in the context of wider research efforts and the typical patient experience. The story does a good job of describing conventional cataract surgery as the main alternative to this new procedure. The story includes several statements by the researchers saying that larger studies are needed as well as a longer follow-up period in patients before the success with this research is confirmed, which should give the average reader and understanding that this approach is not available at this time. A quote from one of the researchers also lets us know they hope to bring this surgery to the public within four to five years. The story says the study is the first to use the body’s own stem cells to regrow lenses in the eyes of babies with congenital conditions. This is enough to establish the novelty of the procedure. It also alludes to a possible use of the procedure in older adults, although it is cautious in that suggestion. The story did leave us curious about the technique in general and we would have welcomed a sentence or two about this emerging field of science. Are there similar procedures where the patient’s own stem cells repopulate damaged or missing tissue? What inspired the researchers to study? Given the multitude of independent sources, this story doesn’t appear to rely on a news release.

Answer:
First-of-its-kind cataract surgery using stem cells shows promise