Self-management behavior strategy based on behavioral economics in patients with hypertension: a scoping review.

Hypertensive patients often do not make the most favorable choices and behaviors for managing disease. Behavioral economics strategies offer new ideas for guiding patients toward health behavior. The scoping review aimed to summarize behavioral economics strategies designed to improve hypertension self-management behaviors. A literature search was conducted in September 2022 using the following electronic databases: Embase, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wan Fang Database for Chinese Periodicals, and CBM-SinoMed. We screened the literature for experimental studies written in Chinese or English reporting on BE strategies designed to improve self-management behavior in hypertension. We searched 17 820 records and included 18 articles in the final scoping review. We performed qualitative synthesis by the categories of choice architecture. The most common BE strategies were those targeting decision information and decision assistance, such as changing the presentation of information, making information visible, and providing reminders for actions. Most strategies targeted BP, diet, medication adherence, and physical activity behavior. Ten out of 18 studies reported statistically significant improvement in self-management behavior. Further research on BE strategies should focus on addressing the challenges, including changing the decision structure, encompassing a more comprehensive range of target behaviors, and examining the long-term effects of BE strategies.

Self-management of hypertension is a long-term effort, but people often make bounded rational decisions and act in ways that deviate from health goals. Behavioral Economics (BE) strategies make small changes in the decision-making environment to alter choices, steering individuals' behavior consistent with their goals or preferences. We summarized the BE strategies to improve self-management behavior in hypertension and described the study results using the categories of choice architecture. We found that the most widely used BE strategy is changing the presentation of information in the decision-making environment. Most BE strategies positively affect the target behaviors, which have the potential of BE strategies to enhance self-management behavior for hypertension. Further research is needed to identify the origins of these strategies, modify decision-making structures, and incorporate a broader range of health behaviors to showcase the practicality and sustainability of implementing BE strategies.

Recent advances in alginate-based composite gel spheres for removal of heavy metals.

The discharge of heavy metal ions from industrial wastewater into natural water bodies is a consequence of global industrialisation. Due to their high toxicity and resistance to degradation, these heavy metal ions pose a substantial threat to human health as they accumulate and amplify. Alginate-based composite gels exhibit good adsorption and mechanical properties, excellent biodegradability, and non-toxicity, making them environmentally friendly heavy metal ion adsorbents for water with promising development prospects. This paper introduces the basic properties, cross-linking methods, synthetic approaches, modification methods, and manufacturing techniques of alginate-based composite gels. The adsorption properties and mechanical strength of these gels can be enhanced through surface modification, multi-component mixing, and embedding. The main production processes involved are sol-gel and cross-linking methods. Additionally, this paper reviews various applications of alginate composite gels for common heavy metals, rare earth elements, and radionuclides and elucidates the adsorption mechanism of alginate composite gels. This study aimed to provide a reference for synthesising new, efficient, and environmentally friendly alginate-based adsorbents and to contribute new ideas and directions for addressing the issue of heavy metal pollution.

A nomogram for predicting overall survival of breast cancer with regional lymph node metastasis in young women.

Background: Young breast cancer (YBC) patients demonstrate a heightened propensity for regional lymph node metastasis (RLNM) in contrast to cohorts across varying age demographics. The aim of our study was to identify clinicopathologic prognostic variables in YBC patients with RLNM and construct a practical and reliable nomogram for the prediction of overall survival (OS) using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Methods: Young individuals (≤40 years) with a diagnosis of breast cancer with RLNM were recognized from the SEER database between 2010 and 2015, and further randomly split into two cohorts: the training set (n=4,497) and the validation set (n=1,927). We first performed univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses to confirm independent survival predictors of OS. A novel prognostic nomogram was developed and evaluated using Harrell's concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA). To make a clear distinction between high- and low-risk patients in terms of patient survival, Kaplan-Meier survival curves were assessed using the log-rank test. Results: Nine risk factors were found as independent prognostic variables in predicting OS, including race, grade, histology, surgery, radiation, molecular subtype, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage 7th edition, T stage, and N stage. The C-index values of our nomogram were 0.786 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.767-0.805] and 0.791 (95% CI: 0.760-0.822) in our training and validation groups, respectively. The ROC curves demonstrated sufficient discriminating ability, while the predicted and real survival rates were fairly consistent, as shown by the calibration plots. The prediction model had a higher net benefit and acceptable clinical value, as shown by the DCA curves. Conclusions: In YBC patients with RLNM, we successfully established a unique nomogram to forecast the 2-, 3-, and 5-year OS. Clinicians may utilize this nomogram to pinpoint patients at higher risk and provide them with appropriate customized therapies.

Separable alginate gel spheres encapsulated with La-Fe modified biochar for efficient adsorption of Sb(III) with high capacity.

Sb and its compounds have been widely used in various industrial applications. Therefore, the preparation of Sb adsorbents with easy recovery and excellent adsorption levels is an urgent problem that must be resolved. By calcining and treating La/Fe metal-organic frameworks (MOF) biochar as a precursor, a loaded La-Fe-modified water hyacinth biochar was synthesised and used as a filler to synthesise iron alginate composite gel spheres, MBC/algFe. Through a series of static adsorption experiments, the effects of different filler addition ratios, solution pH, reaction time, coexisting ions, and other factors on the adsorption of Sb(III) were investigated. According to the Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacity of MBC/algFe at 25 â„ƒ was 277.8 mg·g-1. The adsorption mechanism mainly involved hydrogen bonding and metal-organic complexation interactions.

Separable calcium sulphate modified biochar gel beads for efficient cadmium removal from wastewater.

This study outlines the synthesis of a novel, cost-effective composite material comprising calcium sulphate-modified biochar (Ca-BC) cross-linked with polyethyleneimine (PEI) and sodium alginate (SA), which was subsequently transformed into gel beads (Ca-BC@PEI-SA). These beads were engineered to enable effective cadmium ion (Cd(II)) adsorption from wastewater. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of pH, contact time, temperature, and coexisting ions on adsorption performance. The isotherms and kinetics in the adsorption process were investigated. The results indicated that the removal of Cd(II) by Ca-BC@PEI-SA adheres more closely to the Langmuir model, with maximum adsorption capacities of 138.44 mg/g (15 °C), 151.98 mg/g (25 °C), and 165.56 mg/g (35 °C) at different temperatures. The pseudo-secondary model fit well with Cd(II) adsorption kinetics, suggesting that the removal process was a monolayer process controlled by chemisorption. Moreover, the mechanical strength of the Ca-BC@PEI-SA gel beads allowed easy recovery and reduced secondary contamination. In addition, the adsorption capacity remained nearly constant after four cycles. The main Cd(II) adsorption mechanisms involved surface complexation, ion exchange, and cation-π-bonding interactions.