Highly efficient semiconductor modules making controllable parallel microchannels for non-compressible hemorrhages.

Nature makes the most beautiful solution to involuted problems. Among them, the parallel tubular structures are capable of transporting fluid quickly in plant trunks and leaf stems, which demonstrate an ingenious evolutionary design. This study develops a mini-thermoelectric semiconductor P-N module to create gradient and parallel channeled hydrogels. The modules decrease quickly the temperature of polymer solution from 20 °C to -20 °C within 5 min. In addition to the exceptional liquid absorption rate, the foams exhibited shape memory mechanics. Our mini device universally makes the inspired structure in such as chitosan, gelatin, alginate and polyvinyl alcohol. Non-compressible hemorrhages are the primary cause of death in emergency. The rapid liquid absorption leads to fast activation of coagulation, which provides an efficient strategy for hemostasis management. We demonstrated this by using our semiconductor modules on collagen-kaolin parallel channel foams with their high porosity (96.43%) and rapid expansion rate (2934%). They absorb liquid with 37.25 times of the own weight, show 46.5-fold liquid absorption speed and 24-fold of blood compared with random porous foams. These superior properties lead to strong hemostatic performance in vitro and in vivo.

Factors associated with instrumental support in transitional care among older people with chronic disease: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Instrumental support, which is defined as practical, tangible, and informational assistance extended to patients, is crucial for older people in transition. However, little is known about instrumental support in transitional care. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the instrumental support of older people in transitional care. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted using the Questionnaire of Instrumental Support in Transitional Care (QISCT) to collect data from 747 older people in China from September to November 2020. Survey items consisted of a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire and the QISCT. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between independent variables and the QISCT scores. RESULTS: The total score of the QISCT was 39.43 (± 9.11), and there was a significant gap between the anticipated support and received support. The satisfaction of instrumental support was low. Multiple regression analyses showed that educational level, the number of intimate relationships, monthly family income, monthly costs of transitional care, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were associated with instrumental support in transitional care. CONCLUSIONS: To cope with the burden caused by chronic disease, the government and transitional care teams should establish a demand-oriented transitional care service model and pay more attention to helping older people obtain adequate and satisfactory instrumental support.

Multidimensional measure of instrumental support in transitional care - design and pilot test of a questionnaire assessing instrumental support among older adults with chronic diseases.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicated that poor quantity and quality of instrumental support are one of the main barriers in the application of transitional care. Instrumental support, as one common function of social support, is the provision of financial assistance, material goods, or services. The purpose of our study is to develop an Instrumental Support in Transitional Care Questionnaire (ISTCQ) and use this questionnaire to make an assessment among older adults with chronic diseases. METHODS: The draft questionnaire was examined by 18 experts from different professional fields performing three rounds of content validity testing with the Delphi method. Afterward, we conducted a pilot test recruiting 174 participants as a convenience sample in Nantong, China. The construct validity was confirmed via exploratory factor analysis and reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The authority coefficient of experts was 0.74-0.99 and Kendall harmony coefficient W was 0.381. The exploratory factor analysis indicated that the questionnaire can be interpreted by three factors: namely, anticipated support (items 1, 2, 3, 4), received support (items 5, 6, 7, 8) and support satisfaction (items 9, 10, 11, 12). These three factors (eigenvalues > 1 and factor loading > 0.4) explained 69.128% of the total variance. Furthermore, the calculation of Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability have shown good reliability among each dimension of the 12-item questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha 0.711-0.827, test-retest reliability 0.704-0.818). CONCLUSION: Results from the pilot test demonstrated excellent reliability and validity of ISTCQ through each dimension and as an entire.

Factors Associated With Informational Support in Transitional Care for Older Adults With Chronic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study.

To evaluate the current situation and associated factors of informational support for older adults with chronic diseases in transitional care. Study was conducted in five hospitals of five different cities in Jiangsu Province, China. A random cluster sample of 800 older adults with chronic diseases responded to the informational support questionnaire of transitional care survey. Descriptive analysis, t-tests, variance analysis, and stepwise multiple linear regression were used to analyze data. The STROBE statement for observational studies was applied. Total score of ISQTC for older adults with chronic diseases was (44.05 ± 17.21). Marital status, educational level, past occupation, close friends, medical insurance, complications, and exercise habits were significantly correlated with informational support. The level of informational support in transitional care for older adults with chronic diseases was low. Clinical staff should periodically and primarily assess their informational support, help find information resources for those who have low initial informational support, and identify which information they preferred to carry out accurate transitional care.

Informational support for depression and quality of life improvements in older patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: To assess and summarize the effects of informational support on depression and quality of life of older patients with cancer. METHODS: PubMed, MEDLINE, and Web of Science were searched to identify articles written in English and published until March 2021. Studies within 10 years period (2010-2021) were included. Randomized controlled trials were included if they evaluated the impact of informational support on depression and quality of life. All analyses were performed with Review Manager 5.3. RESULTS: Twelve studies with a total of 2374 participants met the inclusion criteria. Our primary outcomes included depression and quality of life. (1) Depression: results indicated no statistically significant difference and low heterogeneity [SMD = 0.28, 95% CI (- 0.24,0.80), p = 0.45; I2 = 0%], (2) Quality of life: in the subgroup analyses of EORTC QLQ-C30, results indicated a significant effect of informational support on quality of life [SMD = 2.84, 95% CI (0.63, 5.05), p = 0.03; I2 = 79%]; in the subgroup analyses of FACT and SF-36, there were no significance. CONCLUSIONS: Informational support could reduce depression and did improve the quality of life in older cancer patients with statistical significance. The findings suggested that informational support was an effective approach to improve depression and quality of life in older patients with cancer.

A cross-sectional study using the national standard to examine differences between public and private non-profit nursing homes in China.

AIM: Most studies on nursing home quality focus on developed countries, with little coverage in developing countries. Our study aimed to compare the differences between Chinese public and private non-profit nursing homes using the latest national standard. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted including 232 nursing homes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, China. We conducted statistical analyses (chi-square and independent sample t test) to investigate differences in public and private non-profit nursing homes. We fitted a binary logistic regression model with whether or not the nursing home received a 3-star or higher rating as the dependent variable, and the ownership type as explanatory variable, after adjusting for nursing home characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 232 nursing homes included in the study sample, 44.8% were public nursing homes and 55.2% were private non-profit nursing homes. The t test analysis comparing the measures of nursing homes yielded significant results for 4 measures, 3 of which (overall rating, environment, and services) favored private non-profit nursing homes. A regression analysis using whether or not the nursing home received a 3-star or higher rating as the dependent variable showed that when adjusting for nursing home characteristics, private non-profit nursing homes were more likely to have a 3 or higher star compared with public nursing homes (odds ratio = 1.961, 95% confidence interval: 1.056-3.643). CONCLUSION: These results suggested that private non-profit nursing homes performed better than public nursing homes when using the Chinese national standard for nursing homes.

Study protocol: A cross-sectional study on instrumental support for transitional care among older adults with chronic diseases.

AIMS: In this paper, we present a study aiming to develop a questionnaire on instrumental support for transitional care as a tool for investigating services, staff, equipment and supplies, and funds of transitional care and conduct a cross-sectional study on the current instrumental support for transitional care in older adults with chronic diseases. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study combining instrumental support with transitional care through a mixed-method approach. METHODS: Data are collected through two sources: distribution of the questionnaire to older adults with chronic diseases and interviews with experts from different specialties such as nursing, clinical medicine, geriatrics, sociology and government. RESULTS: The developed questionnaire and expert interviews will be used to investigate the current instrumental support for transitional care among older adults with chronic diseases in China. These findings can help leaders identify areas for improvement in transitional care and contribute to the long-term positive development of transitional care.

Development of an informational support questionnaire of transitional care for aged patients with chronic disease.

OBJECTIVES: We developed an informational support questionnaire of transitional care (ISQTC) for aged patients with chronic disease and investigated its reliability and validity. SETTING: This study was conducted in three large general hospitals in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 130 aged patients with chronic diseases, admitted into outpatient and inpatient departments from three hospitals in China, participated in the study. The inclusion criteria were: (1) patients must provide consent to participate; (2) being 60 years and above; (3) being diagnosed with at least one chronic disease and hospitalised more than two times within the last 1 year; (4) being able to listen, speak, read and write. The exclusion criteria were: (1) refusing to participate; (2) language expression and communication barriers (and having no caregiver to assist in participation); (3) being in intensive care or long-term hospitalisation. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The developed questionnaire was validated and tested for reliability. The content validity of the questionnaire was determined through experts' interviews and Delphi expert consultation, and the structure validity of the questionnaire was determined by performing exploratory factor analysis. The coefficient of reliability of the questionnaire was measured using Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: Through Delphi expert consultation and exploratory factor analysis, the questionnaire was reduced from four dimensions and 12 items to three dimensions and 11 items. A total of 130 patients responded to the questionnaire. The alpha coefficient was 0.747. CONCLUSION: The ISQTC is a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating aged patients with chronic disease in transitional care. TRIAL REGISTRATION DETAILS: ChiCTR1900020923. The trial was registered on 22 January 2019.

Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Fields Do Not Induce DNA Damage in Human Lens Epithelial Cells In Vitro.

Non-ionizing radiations, e.g., radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, could induce DNA damage and oxidative stress in human lens epithelial cells (LECs) which can be early events in cataractogenesis. Extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF MF) as another common form of man-made electromagnetic fields has been considered as suspected human carcinogen by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and become a focus that people play more and more attentions to. This study aimed to determine whether ELF MF can induce DNA damage in cultured human LECs at a relatively low intensity. Human LECs were exposed or sham-exposed to a 50 Hz ELF MF which produced by a well-designed exposure system at the intensity of 0.4 mT. DNA damage in human LECs was examined by the phosphorylated form of histone variant H2AX (γH2AX) foci formation assay and further explored with western blot, flow cytometry, and alkaline comet assay. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that 0.4 mT ELF MF did not significantly increase γH2AX foci formation in human LECs after 2, 6, 12, 24, or 48 hr exposure. No significant differences had been detected in γH2AX expression level between the ELF MF- and sham-exposure groups, while no obvious chromosomal DNA fragmentation was detected by alkaline comet assay after ELF MF exposure. The results indicate an absence of genotoxicity in ELF MF-exposed human epithelial cells and do not support the hypothesis that environmental ELF MF might be causally led to genomic instability via chromosomal damage response processes. Neither short nor long term continuous exposure to 50 Hz ELF MF at 0.4 mT could induce DNA damage in human lens epithelial cells in vitro.