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Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (AFH) is a soft tissue tumor of uncertain differentiation. Although its prognosis is good, its diagnosis and differential diagnosis remain a challenge, particularly for tumors with an atypical morphology. We evaluated the clinicopathological characteristics of 14 AFH cases and examined the key factors in its diagnosis or differential diagnosis. The cohort comprised 6 men and 8 women aged 9-65 years (average age: 31.2 years). Most of the tumors (11/14, 79%) were located in soft tissues, whereas 3/14 (21%) were located in the lung (1 case) and brain (2 cases). Tumor cells were spindle-shaped to epithelioid, with a visible fibrous capsule (9/14, 64%), hemorrhagic gap (9/14, 64%), lymphocyte sleeve (7/14, 50%), necrosis (3/14, 21%), and infiltrative boundary (4/14, 29%). The tumors expressed desmin (10/14, 71%) and exhibited low levels of Ki-67. 13 cases (93%) displayed ESWSR1 gene rearrangement. At follow-up, 1 case (7%) experienced local tumor recurrence. AFH is a rare intermediate tumor. Its pathological diagnosis requires a comprehensive analysis of histological, immunophenotypic, and molecular genetic features to avoid misdiagnosis. Our study has further enriched the histological features of AFH, emphasizing the importance of differential diagnosis and providing a reference for clinical practice.
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Taste sensors with an allostery approach have been studied to detect non-charged bitter substances, such as xanthine derivatives, used in foods (e.g., caffeine) or pharmaceuticals (e.g., etofylline). In this study, the authors modified a taste sensor with 3-bromo-2,6-dihydroxybenzoic acid and used it in conjunction with sensory tests to assess the bitterness of non-charged pharmaceuticals with xanthine scaffolds (i.e., acefylline and doxofylline), as well as allopurinol, an analogue of hypoxanthine. The results show that the sensor was able to differentiate between different levels of sample bitterness. For instance, when assessing a 30 mM sample solution, the sensor response to acefylline was 34.24 mV, which corresponded to the highest level of bitterness (τ = 3.50), while the response to allopurinol was lowest at 2.72 mV, corresponding to relatively weaker bitterness (τ = 0.50). Additionally, this study extended the application of the sensor to detect pentoxifylline, an active pharmaceutical ingredient in pediatric medicines. These results underscore the taste sensor's value as an additional tool for early-stage assessment and prediction of bitterness in non-charged pharmaceuticals.
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Alopurinol , Gusto , Xantina , Alopurinol/química , Humanos , Xantina/química , Técnicas Biosensibles/métodosRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Spinal fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) mainly present as instability, involving all three columns of the spine, and surgical intervention is often considered necessary. However, in AS patients, the significant alterations in bony structure and anatomy result in a lack of identifiable landmarks, which increases the difficulty of pedicle screw implantation. Therefore, we present the clinical outcomes of robotic-assisted percutaneous fixation for thoracolumbar fractures in patients with AS. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted on a series of 12 patients diagnosed with AS. All patients sustained thoracolumbar fractures between October 2018 and October 2022 and underwent posterior robotic-assisted percutaneous fixation procedures. Outcomes of interest included operative time, intra-operative blood loss, complications, duration of hospital stay and fracture union. The clinical outcomes were assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). To investigate the achieved operative correction, pre- and postoperative radiographs in the lateral plane were analyzed by measuring the Cobb angle. RESULTS: The 12 patients had a mean age of 62.8 ± 13.0 years and a mean follow-up duration of 32.7 ± 18.9 months. Mean hospital stay duration was 15 ± 8.0 days. The mean operative time was 119.6 ± 32.2 min, and the median blood loss was 50 (50, 250) ml. The VAS value improved from 6.8 ± 0.9 preoperatively to 1.3 ± 1.0 at the final follow-up (P < 0.05). The ODI value improved from 83.6 ± 6.1% preoperatively to 11.8 ± 6.6% at the latest follow-up (P < 0.05). The average Cobb angle changed from 15.2 ± 11.0 pre-operatively to 8.3 ± 7.1 at final follow-up (P < 0.05). Bone healing was consistently achieved, with an average healing time of 6 (5.3, 7.0) months. Of the 108 screws implanted, 2 (1.9%) were improperly positioned. One patient experienced delayed nerve injury after the operation, but the nerve function returned to normal upon discharge. CONCLUSION: Posterior robotic-assisted percutaneous internal fixation can be used as an ideal surgical treatment for thoracolumbar fractures in AS patients. However, while robot-assisted pedicle screw placement can enhance the accuracy of pedicle screw insertion, it should not be relied upon solely.
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Fijación Interna de Fracturas , Vértebras Lumbares , Procedimientos Quirúrgicos Robotizados , Fracturas de la Columna Vertebral , Espondilitis Anquilosante , Vértebras Torácicas , Humanos , Fracturas de la Columna Vertebral/cirugía , Fracturas de la Columna Vertebral/diagnóstico por imagen , Fracturas de la Columna Vertebral/etiología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Vértebras Torácicas/cirugía , Vértebras Torácicas/lesiones , Vértebras Torácicas/diagnóstico por imagen , Femenino , Estudios Retrospectivos , Espondilitis Anquilosante/cirugía , Espondilitis Anquilosante/complicaciones , Vértebras Lumbares/cirugía , Vértebras Lumbares/lesiones , Vértebras Lumbares/diagnóstico por imagen , Procedimientos Quirúrgicos Robotizados/métodos , Fijación Interna de Fracturas/métodos , Fijación Interna de Fracturas/instrumentación , Resultado del Tratamiento , Anciano , Tempo Operativo , Tiempo de Internación , Tornillos Pediculares , Adulto , Pérdida de Sangre Quirúrgica/estadística & datos numéricos , Estudios de SeguimientoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Echocardiography has been proven to be a useful tool for detecting atrial- occupying lesions, ranging from primary or secondary tumors to thrombi. Although the precise diagnosis is important as clinical treatment modalities differ, sometimes differentiating a thrombus from a myxoma is very difficult. CASE REPORT: From January 2019 to December 2022, we retrospectively analyzed the echocardiographic findings of 8 patients who were found to have an interatrial mass. Of the 8 patients, 4 had a right atrial mass, and 4 had a left atrial mass. Based on ultrasonic examination, the initial diagnosis was a thrombus and the second diagnosis was a myxoma for all 8 patients. All masses were finally confirmed to be thrombi. Although an echocardiogram can provide significant information on the nature of atrial masses in many patients, qualitative diagnosis of a small percentage of atrial masses remains difficult. CONCLUSION: An atrial thrombus is occasionally difficult to differentiate from an atrial myxoma in patients without atrial fibrillation, especially when it is not attached to the left atrial appendage. Upon review of the echocardiographic findings of the 8 patients described in our study, it is essential to highlight the fact that a thrombus can mimic a myxoma and thereby create a diagnostic conundrum.
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OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to explore the changing laws of driving safety in the complex and changing driving environment in urban tunnels, to analyze the evolution of driving risk fields caused by changes in adjacent vehicles, driving behavior characteristics and road environment, and to reveal the formation mechanism of tunnel driving danger zones. METHODS: The kinetic field, behavioral field and potential field models are constructed according to the APF theory. The driving safety risks arising from the surrounding vehicles, driving behavior characteristics and changes in the tunnel environment are analyzed in the process of driving from the open section to the exit of the tunnel. RESULTS: The magnitude of the risk field force is inversely proportional to the spacing of the vehicles and the distance between the tunnel sidewalls, and is proportional to the relative speed between the vehicles and the slope of the longitudinal slope. Under the same conditions, the vehicle at the entrance and exit of the tunnel is subjected to a greater force of travel risk than inside the tunnel, and the effect of speed on the force of the risk field is greater than the distance. CONCLUSIONS: The established model better describes the trend of driving risk during the driving of vehicles in urban tunnels, and the research findings can provide theoretical support for the design and traffic management of urban tunnels.
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Accidentes de Tránsito , Conducción de Automóvil , Humanos , ViajeRESUMEN
Accurate genetic diagnosis is necessary for guiding the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). An updated consensus for the diagnosis and management of SMA was published in 2018. However, clinicians should remain alert to some pitfalls of genetic testing that can occur when following a routine diagnosis. In this study, we report the diagnosis of three unrelated individuals who were initially misdiagnosed as carrying a homozygous deletion of SMN1 exon 7. MLPA (P060 and P021) and qPCR were used to detect the copy number of SMN. SMN1 variants were identified by SMN1 clone and next-generation sequencing (NGS). Transcription of SMN1 variants was detected using qRT-PCR and ex vivo splicing analysis. Among the three individuals, one was identified as a patient with SMA carrying a heterozygous deletion and a pathogenic variant (c.835-17_835-14delCTTT) of SMN1, one was a healthy carrier only carrying a heterozygous deletion of SMN1 exon 7, and the third was a patient with nemaline myopathy 2 carrying a heterozygous deletion of SMN1 exon 7. The misdiagnosis of these individuals was attributed to the presence of the c.835-17_835-14delCTTT or c.835-17C > G variants in SMN1 intron 6, which affect the amplification of SMN1 exon 7 during MLPA-P060 and qPCR testing. However, MLPA-P021 and NGS analyses were unaffected by these variants. These results support that additional detection methods should be employed in cases where the SMN1 copy number is ambiguous to minimize the misdiagnosis of SMA.
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Background: The coexistence of emphysema and lung nodules could interact with each other and then lead to potential higher lung cancer risk. The study aimed to explore the association between emphysema combined with lung nodules and lung cancer risk. Methods: A total of 21,949 participants from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) who underwent low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) examination were included. Participants were categorized into four groups (NENN group (non-emphysema and non-nodules), E group (emphysema without nodules), N group (nodules without emphysema), and E + N group (nodules with emphysema)) according to whether there were lung nodules and emphysema. Multivariable Cox regression and stratified analyses were performed to estimate the association between the four groups and lung cancer risk. Results: Among the 21,949 participants, there were 9,040 (41.2%), 5,819 (26.5%), 4,737 (21.6%), and 2,353 (10.7%) participants in the NENN group, E group, N group, and E + N group. The risk of lung cancer incidence increased in turn in NENN group, E group, N group and E + N group. Compared with NENN group, the age-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence intervals (CIs)) of lung cancer incidence were 2.07 (1.69 - 2.54) for E group, 4.13 (3.47 - 5.05) for N group, and 6.26 (5.14 - 7.62) for E + N group. The association was robust to adjustment for potential confounders (1.83 (1.47 - 2.27) for E group, 3.97 (3.24 - 4.86) for N group, and 5.23 (4.28 - 6.48) for E + N group). Comparable results as the lung cancer incidence were observed for lung cancer mortality, whether in age-adjusted model (E group: 1.85 (1.39 - 2.46), N group: 2.49 (1.89 - 3.29), E + N group: 4.27 (3.21 - 5.68)) or fully adjusted model (E group: 1.56 (1.15 - 2.11), N group: 2.43 (1.81 - 3.26), E + N group: 3.39 (2.50 - 4.61)). However, the trend of all-cause mortality risk among the four groups was somewhat different from that of lung cancer risk, whether in age-adjusted model (1.37 (1.21 - 1.54) for E group, 1.06 (0.92 - 1.21) for N group, and 1.75 (1.51 - 2.02) for E + N group) or fully adjusted model (1.26 (1.10 - 1.44) for E group, 1.09 (0.94 - 1.27) for N group, and 1.52 (1.30 - 1.79) for E + N group). Conclusion: Based on a large-scale lung cancer screening trial in the United States, this study demonstrated that either emphysema or lung nodules can increase lung cancer risk, and lung nodules combined with emphysema can further increase the lung cancer risk and all-cause mortality. The significance of these findings for lung cancer screening should be evaluated.
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Slow-light photonic crystal waveguide (PCW) gas sensors based on infrared absorption spectroscopy play a pivotal role in enhancing the on-chip interaction between light and gas molecules, thereby significantly boosting sensor sensitivity. However, two-dimensional (2D) PCWs are limited by their narrow mode bandwidth and susceptibility to polarization, which restricts their ability for multigas measurement. Due to quasi-TE and quasi-TM mode guiding characteristics in one-dimensional (1D) PCW, a novel slow-light-enhanced polarization division multiplexing infrared absorption spectroscopy was proposed for on-chip wideband multigas detection. The optimized 1D PCW gas sensor experimentally shows an impressive slow-light mode bandwidth exceeding 100 nm (TM, 1500-1550 nm; TE, 1610-1660 nm) with a group index ranging from 4 to 25 for the two polarizations. The achieved bandwidth in the 1D PCW is 2-3 times that of the reported quasi-TE polarized 2D PCWs. By targeting the absorption lines of different gas species, multigas detection can be realized by modulating the lasers and demodulating the absorption signals at different frequencies. As an example, we performed dual-gas measurements with the 1D PCW sensor operating in TE mode at 1.65 µm for methane (CH4) detection and in TM mode at 1.53 µm for acetylene (C2H2) detection. The 1 mm long sensor achieved a remarkable limit of detection (LoD) of 0.055% for CH4 with an averaging time of 17.6 s, while for C2H2, the LoD was 0.18%. This polarization multiplexing sensor shows great potential for on-chip gas measurement because of the slow-light enhancement in the light-gas interaction effect as well as the large slow-light bandwidth for multigas detection.
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Compared to the most commonly used on-chip direct absorption spectroscopy (DAS) gas detection technique, the second harmonic (2f) based on-chip wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) proposed by our group has the faculty to suppress noise and improve performance, but the accuracy of 2f WMS is easily affected by optical power variation. A mid-infrared auto-correction on-chip gas sensor based on 2f/1f WMS was proposed for decreasing the influence of the variation of optical power. The limit of detection of methane (CH4) obtained by a chalcogenide waveguide with a length of 10â mm is 0.031%. Compared with the 2f WMS, the maximum relative concentration error of the auto-correction on-chip gas sensor was decreased by â¼5.6 times. The measurement error is ≤2% in a temperature variation range of 30°C. This auto-correction sensor without a complicated manual calibration is helpful to the high accuracy measurement for on-chip integrated gas sensing.
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OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to develop a nursing practice scale for rheumatoid arthritis treatment with biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. METHODS: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was administered to 1826 nurses, 960 of whom were Certified Nurses by Japan Rheumatism Foundation (CNJRFs) and 866 were registered nurses (RNs). Using exploratory factor analysis, criterion validity, and known-groups technique, we assessed the reliability and validity of the self-created 19-item nursing practice scale to evaluate the care provided to patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs based on the nurse's role as clarified from a literature review of relevant studies. RESULTS: A total of 698 (38.4%) responses were collected from 407 CNJRFs and 291 RNs. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on 18 items to examine three factors: 'nursing to enhance patients' capacity for self-care', 'nursing in which patients participate in decision-making', and 'nursing in which team medical care is promoted'. Cronbach's α was .95. The Spearman's coefficient was ρ = .738 for criterion validity. Using the known-groups technique, CNJRFs had higher total scale scores than RNs (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The results confirmed the reliability, criterion validity, and construct validity of the scale.
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Antirreumáticos , Artritis Reumatoide , Enfermeras y Enfermeros , Humanos , Reproducibilidad de los Resultados , Antirreumáticos/uso terapéutico , Artritis Reumatoide/tratamiento farmacológico , Rol de la Enfermera , Encuestas y CuestionariosRESUMEN
The present study evaluated the growth, self-flocculation, lipid content, and pollutants removal by Limnothrix sp. BASMWW-9 isolated from municipal wastewater treatment system and cultivated in municipal wastewater. The biomass yield and lipid content after 6 days of cultivation were 1.07 g dw/L and 27.34 %dw, respectively. In addition, its self-flocculating ability reached up to 90 % after harvesting time of 180 min. Moreover, COD,NH3-N, TN, and TP removalefficiencies were 71.65 %, 81.89 %, 74.64 %, and 80.16 %, respectively. The self-flocculation performance of Limnothrix sp. was greatly associated to its morphology and production of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), with significant positive impact of the high calcium and magnesium content in municipal wastewater. Interestingly, blue light irradiation during harvest enhanced the aggregation and floc formation as a floating biomat, which was attributed to enhanced polysaccharides production. This study provides innovative harvest method for Limnothrix sp. BASMWW-9 cultivated in wastewater using blue light for enhanced lipid recovery.
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Cianobacterias , Microalgas , Purificación del Agua , Aguas Residuales , Nitrógeno , Biomasa , LípidosRESUMEN
Herein, we report that bulky alkylphosphines such as PtBu3 can switch the roles from actor to spectator ligands to promote the FeCl2 -catalyzed N-amidation reaction of arylamines with dioxazolones, giving hydrazides in high efficiency and chemoselectivity. Mechanistic studies indicated that the phosphine ligands could facilitate the decarboxylation of dioxazolones on the Fe center, and the hydrogen bonding interactions between the arylamines and the ligands on Fe nitrenoid intermediates might play a role in modulating the delicate interplay between the phosphine ligand, arylamine, and acyl nitrene N, favoring N-N coupling over N-P coupling. The new ligand-promoted N-amidation protocols offer a convenient way to access various challenging triazane compounds via double or sequential N-amidation of primary arylamines.
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OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the connection between the leakage sign (LS) and hematoma expansion (HE) in cases of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. The investigation employs dual-energy computed tomography angiography (DECTA). METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted, in which clinical and DECTA imaging data were collected from intracerebral hemorrhage patients within 6 hours of onset between January 2021 and June 2023. Exposure factors included DE-LS and traditional imaging biomarkers. The occurrence of HE on computed tomography rescanned within 24 hours was the observed outcome. Exposed and confounding factors were considered in both univariate and multivariate regression analyses based on the results. Logistic and adjusted Poisson regressions were employed, and odds ratios (ORs) and relative risks (RRs) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The study enrolled a total of 90 patients, of whom 32 cases manifested HE, while 58 cases did not exhibit HE. Univariate analysis revealed statistically significant differences in parameters such as admission diastolic blood pressure, C-reactive protein, Glasgow Coma Scale, baseline hematoma volume, and imaging biomarkers like DE-spot sign and DE-LS. The OR value of DE-LS was determined as 48.21, with an RR value of 7.51. Multivariate adjusted Poisson regression analysis demonstrated that DE-LS was a robust independent predictor (RR = 4.11, 95% confidence interval: 1.49-11.35; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: DECTA-based DE-LS stands out as an independent predictor of HE. The utilization of RR values over OR values is endorsed when assessing the risk of HE prediction.
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Hemorragia Cerebral , Angiografía por Tomografía Computarizada , Humanos , Angiografía por Tomografía Computarizada/métodos , Estudios Prospectivos , Hemorragia Cerebral/epidemiología , Hematoma/epidemiología , BiomarcadoresRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: We aimed to develop a high-fidelity long-read sequencing (LRS)-based approach to detect SMN gene variants in one step. It is challenging for conventional step-wise methods to simultaneously detect all kinds of variations between homologous SMN1 and SMN2. METHODS: In this study, LRS was developed to analyze copy numbers (CNs), full sequences, and structure of SMN1 and SMN2. The results were compared with those from the step-wise methods in 202 samples from 67 families. RESULTS: LRS achieved 100% (202/202) and 99.5% (201/202) accuracy for SMN1 and SMN2 CNs, respectively. It corrected SMN1 CNs from MLPA, which was caused by SNVs/indels that located in probe-binding region. LRS identified 23 SNVs/indels distributing throughout SMN1, including c.22dup and c.884A > T in trans-configuration, and a de novo variant c.41_42delinsC for the first time. LRS also identified a SMN2 variant c.346A > G. Moreover, it successfully determined Alu-mediated 8978-bp deletion encompassing exon 2a-5 and 1415-bp deletion disrupting exon 1, and the exact breakpoints of large deletions. Through haplotype-based pedigree trio analysis, LRS identified SMN1 2 + 0 carriers, and determined the distribution of SMN1 and SMN2 on two chromosomes. CONCLUSIONS: LRS represents a more comprehensive and accurate diagnosis approach that is beneficial to early treatment and effective management of SMA.
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Atrofia Muscular Espinal , Humanos , Atrofia Muscular Espinal/diagnóstico , Atrofia Muscular Espinal/genética , Exones , Haplotipos , Proteína 1 para la Supervivencia de la Neurona Motora/genéticaRESUMEN
Indole is a heterocyclic compound formed by the fusion of a benzene ring and pyrrole ring, which has rich biological activity. Many indole-containing compounds have been sold on the market due to their excellent pharmacological activity. For example, vincristine and reserpine have been widely used in clinical practice. The diverse structures and biological activities of natural products provide abundant resources for the development of new drugs. Therefore, this review classifies natural products by structure, and summarizes the research progress of indole-containing natural product derivatives, their biological activities, structure-activity relationship and research mechanism which has been studied in the past 13 years, so as to provide a basis for the development of new drug development.
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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the application value of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) in the differential diagnosis of acute intracranial hemorrhage and calcification. METHODS: This retrospective study involved patients who underwent non-contrast-enhanced cranial DECT in Anhui Wannan Rehabilitation Hospital from January 2015 to November 2022. The processed mixed images obtained after DECT were used as the conventional CT images. Each hyperdense lesion was analyzed based on virtual non-calcium and calcium overlay and classified as calcification or hemorrhage. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of conventional CT and DECT were calculated by the chi-square test according to the unified reference standard. RESULTS: Sixty-six hyperdense intracranial lesions of 60 patients were analyzed; of these lesions, 41 (62.12%) were calcifications and 25 (37.88%) were hemorrhages. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of DECT in identifying hemorrhage were 96.00%, 100%, and 98.48%, respectively, while those of conventional CT were 72.00%, 97.56%, and 87.88%, respectively. Of the 66 lesions, 4 (6.06%) could not be qualitatively identified and 3 (4.55%) were misdiagnosed by conventional CT but correctly identified by DECT. CONCLUSIONS: DECT can accurately distinguish acute intracranial hemorrhage from calcification, especially in cases that are difficult to diagnose by conventional CT.
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Calcinosis , Tomografía Computarizada por Rayos X , Humanos , Diagnóstico Diferencial , Estudios Retrospectivos , Tomografía Computarizada por Rayos X/métodos , Hemorragias Intracraneales/diagnóstico por imagen , Hemorragia , Calcinosis/diagnóstico por imagen , Sensibilidad y EspecificidadRESUMEN
In this study, a novel composite material, Ni/Mn-MOF-74/CdS@Co3O4 was synthesized. This material consisted of a dual p-n heterojunction, which enabled efficient separation and transfer of charge carriers. Compared to a single p-n heterojunction, the presence of this dual heterojunction significantly enhanced the overall efficiency. The improved efficiency could be attributed to the unique properties of the constituent semiconductors. Co3O4 exhibited p-type semiconductor properties, while Ni/Mn-MOF-74 and CdS exhibited n-type semiconductor properties. By a combination of these materials to form a composite photocatalyst, a Z-type heterojunction was created at the interface of the p-n junction. This design established an internal electric field at both ends, effectively separating the photogenerated electrons and holes in each individual photocatalyst. As a result, the respective photocatalytic activities of the materials were maximized. To demonstrate the practical application of this composite material, it was utilized for the activation of peroxymonosulfate under visible light irradiation, with the aim of enhancing the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of tetracycline hydrochloride. The photocatalytic mechanism of Ni/Mn-MOF-74/CdS@Co3O4 in activating peroxymonosulfate and degrading tetracycline hydrochloride was investigated in detail. Furthermore, the toxicity of tetracycline hydrochloride and its intermediates was evaluated by using toxicity evaluation software.
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Introduction: With the declining birth rate and increasingly aging population in Japan, an increased care burden may be placed on the family and the younger generation will address challenging circumstances when they can care for their parents. This study aimed to develop a scale for examining the perspectives of Japanese university students on parental care and determines its reliability and validity. Methods: A web-based survey on a total of 408 Japanese students was adopted. This study performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to obtain the underlying factors of the scale. Reliability was verified using Cronbach's α coefficient and Spearman-Brown's split-half reliability α coefficient. Validity was verified through sample, criterion-related, and convergent and discriminant validity. Results: In total, the study identified a three-factor 11 item-scale. Cronbach's α for the scale was 0.901, and the Cronbach's α and split-half reliability α coefficients of each factor were greater than 0.7. Three factors explained 64.6% of the total variance. The model indicators were χ2/df = 2.241, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.951, incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.951, TLI = 0.942, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.078 (p < 0.001). Thus, the study confirmed that the convergent and discriminant validity is acceptable. Correlations were noted for criterion-related validity (r = 0.675, p < 0.001). Discussion: The results show that the scale for examining the perspective of Japanese university students on parental care was confirmed with good reliability and validity.
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Enabling cost-effective safety monitoring of shellfish is an important measure for the healthy development of the coastal marine economy. Herein, a new aptamer@metal-organic framework (MOF)-functionalized affinity monolithic column was proposed and applied in selective in-tube solid-phase microextraction (IT-SPME) coupled with HPLC for the accurate recognition of domoic acid (DA) in shellfish. Using a surface engineering strategy, ZIF-8 MOF was grown in situ inside the poly(epoxy-MA-co-POSS-MA) hybrid monolith. A high BET surface area and abundant metal reactive sites of the MOF framework were obtained for anchoring massive aptamers with terminal-modified phosphate groups. Various characterizations, such as SEM, elemental mapping, XRD, and BET, were performed, and the affinity performance was also studied. The presence of a massive amount of aptamers with a super coverage density of 3140 µmol L-1 bound on ZIF-8 MOF activated a high-performance bionic-affinity interface, and perfect specificity was exhibited with little interference of tissue matrixes, thus assuring the highly selective capture of DA from the complex matrixes. Under the optimal conditions, DA toxins in shellfish were detected with the limit of detection (LOD) of 7.0 ng mL-1 (equivalent to 14.0 µg kg-1), representing a 5-28 fold enhancement in detection sensitivity over traditional SPE or MIP adsorbents reported previously. The recoveries of fortified mussel and clam samples were achieved as 91.8 ± 1.2%-94.1 ± 1.9% (n = 3) and 91.2 ± 1.1%-94.5 ± 3.6% (n = 3), respectively. This work sheds light on a cost-effective method for online selective IT-SPME and the accurate monitoring of DA toxins using an aptamer@MOF-mediated affinity monolith system coupled with the inexpensive HPLC-UV technique.
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Iron is an extraordinary promoter to impose nickel/cobalt (hydr)oxides as the most active oxygen evolution reaction catalysts, whereas the synergistic effect is actively debated. Here, we unveil that active oxygen species mediate a strong electrochemical interaction between iron oxides (FeOxHy) and the supporting metal oxyhydroxides. Our survey on the electrochemical behavior of nine supporting metal oxyhydroxides (M(O)OH) uncovers that FeOxHy synergistically promotes substrates that can produce active oxygen species exclusively. Tafel slopes correlate with the presence and kind of oxygen species. Moreover, the oxygen evolution reaction onset potentials of FeOxHy@M(O)OH coincide with the emerging potentials of active oxygen species, whereas large potential gaps are present for intact M(O)OH. Chemical probe experiments suggest that active oxygen species could act as proton acceptors and/or mediators for proton transfer and/or diffusion in cooperative catalysis. This discovery offers a new insight to understand the synergistic catalysis of Fe-based oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts.