Psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire among parents of children with cancer.

PURPOSE: Although burnout recently emerged as a harmful syndrome in parents, no instrument has been validated to suitably assess burnout among parents of children with cancer in China. In this study, we aimed to psychometrically validate the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Questionnaire (SMBQ) among Chinese parents of children with cancer. DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 380 parents of children with cancer to psychometrically validate the SMBQ. Content validity, construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, criterion-related validity, diagnosis accuracy, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were evaluated. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the SMBQ demonstrated adequate internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, good content validity, excellent convergent and discriminant validity, and appropriate criterion-related validity. Using the parental burnout assessment as a reference criterion, the area under the curve was 0.903. The optimal cut-off point for the SMBQ was 4.833. The factor model of the SMBQ used in Chinese parents of children with cancer had a good fit. The survey revealed that Chinese parents of children with cancer experienced a high level of burnout (3.86 ± 1.03). CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of SMBQ was reliable and valid for assessing burnout in parents of children with cancer. Parents of children with cancer experienced a high level of burnout in China. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This SMBQ can be used in Chinese clinical and research settings to investigate burnout in parents who have children with cancer. Further research could examine the predictive validity and validity.

Dietary behaviours, physical activity and quality of life among childhood cancer survivors in Mainland China: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the dietary behaviours, physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL) of childhood cancer survivors (CCS) in Mainland China and explore the relationships between these behaviours and QoL. METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited 181 CCS from three Grade-A tertiary hospitals in Guangzhou. Survivors completed questionnaires assessing their dietary behaviours, PA and QoL. RESULTS: Only 2.2%, 7.7% and 2.2% of CCS reported frequent soft drinks, sugar and fast food intake, which were lower compared to CCS in Western studies. Most survivors (72.9%) failed to drink milk daily, and many (54.7%) were picky eating. Sixty percent of CCS reported less moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) time than 60 min/day recommended by WHO. Picky eating was significantly associated with lower overall (p < 0.001), physical (p < 0.001) and psychosocial (p < 0.001) QoL. MVPA was significantly positively associated with overall (p < 0.05) and psychosocial (p < 0.01) QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese CCS engaged better dietary behaviours of less soft drinks, sugar and fast food consumption, but many were picky eaters and did not meet milk intake and PA recommendations. Early behavioural interventions aimed at increasing the dietary diversity and MVPA level of this population should be taken to improve their QoL.

[Discussion on relationship between autophagy and endometriosis based on pathogenesis of "dampness and stasis"].

Endometriosis(EMs) is a stubborn gynecological disease caused by persistent immune-inflammatory effects, and is known as "benign tumor" because of its similar characteristics to malignant tumors. National physician master Professor BAN Xiu-wen believes that the spread of damp-evil is the pathologic foundation for inflammatory response of ectopic endometrium; accumulation of blood stasis is the pathological product of continuous inflammatory attacks, and the combination of dampness and stasis is the main pathogenesis for refractory EMs. Modern researches have shown that immune-inflammatory effect is the key mechanism for development of EMs, and is closely related to cell autophagy, all of which have made it become the hot spots in research of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of EMs. Therefore, with immune-inflammatory effect as the breakthrough point in this research, and with reference to the related research of autophagy, the correlation between "combination of dampness and stasis" and abnormal autophagy-induced immune inflammatory response in ectopic endometrium was discussed, to provide guidance for the clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine and modern research.

Energy Platform for Directed Charge Transfer in the Cascade Z-Scheme Heterojunction: CO2 Photoreduction without a Cocatalyst.

A universal strategy is developed to construct a cascade Z-Scheme system, in which an effective energy platform is the core to direct charge transfer and separation, blocking the unexpected type-II charge transfer pathway. The dimension-matched (001)TiO2 -g-C3 N4 /BiVO4 nanosheet heterojunction (T-CN/BVNS) is the first such model. The optimized cascade Z-Scheme exhibits ≈19-fold photoactivity improvement for CO2 reduction to CO in the absence of cocatalysts and costly sacrificial agents under visible-light irradiation, compared with BVNS, which is also superior to other reported Z-Scheme systems even with noble metals as mediators. The experimental results and DFT calculations based on van der Waals structural models on the ultrafast timescale reveal that the introduced T as the platform prolongs the lifetimes of spatially separated electrons and holes and does not compromise their reduction and oxidation potentials.

Dimension-Matched Zinc Phthalocyanine/BiVO4 Ultrathin Nanocomposites for CO2 Reduction as Efficient Wide-Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalysts via a Cascade Charge Transfer.

Cascade charge transfer was realized by a H-bond linked zinc phthalocyanine/BiVO4 nanosheet (ZnPc/BVNS) composite, which subsequently works as an efficient wide-visible-light-driven photocatalyst for converting CO2 into CO and CH4 , as shown by product analysis and 13 C isotopic measurement. The optimized ZnPc/BVNS nanocomposite exhibits a ca. 16-fold enhancement in the quantum efficiency compared with the reported BiVO4 nanoparticles at the excitation of 520 nm with an assistance of 660 nm photons. Experimental and theoretical results show the exceptional activities are attributed to the rapid charge separation by a cascade Z-scheme charge transfer mechanism formed by the dimension-matched ultrathin (ca. 8 nm) heterojunction nanostructure. The central Zn2+ in ZnPc could accept the excited electrons from the ligand and then provide a catalytic function for CO2 reduction. This Z-scheme is also feasible for other MPc, such as FePc and CoPc, together with BVNS.

Metabolomic analysis of the polyphenols in germinating mung beans (Vigna radiata) seeds and sprouts.

BACKGROUND: The mung bean (Vigna radiata) is a key food crop in much of Asia and contains plentiful biological activities to prevent human disease. Mung bean sprouts have more plentiful metabolites and activities after germination. RESULTS: The metabolite profile of polyphenols in the germination process was described using the methods of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry and partial least squares discriminant analysis. Sprouts from different periods were clearly discriminated from each other. Eight flavonoids - vitexin, isovitexin, rutin, kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside, isoquercitrin, genistein, daidzein and isorhamnetin - and two phenolic acids - shikimic acid and caffeic acid - were thought to be chemical markers of the sprouts. The method of high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection was established to quantitatively analyze the eight chemical markers of flavonoids, and provides good linearity, repeatability, intra- and inter-day precision, accuracy and recovery. The main metabolic and transformation pathways of the polyphenols in the germination process were discussed. CONCLUSION: The proposed method is sensitive, rapid and robust. Understanding the complete profile of polyphenol metabolites in the germination process may be useful for better utilizing mung beans sprouts as the raw materials of functional food, health products and cosmetics.

Shared decision-making and its influencing factors among parents of children with cancer in China: A cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed at exploring SDM implementation and its influencing factors, and preferences towards SDM among parents of children with cancer in China. DESIGN AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited 204 participants from 2 grade-A tertiary hospitals in Guangzhou, China. The preferences towards decision-making, the status of SDM were measured by CPS-P and SDM-Q-9. The nurse support were measure by NPST, the needs of parents were measured by Questionnaire for Needs of Parents Whose Children are in PICU, and sociodemographic and disease-related questionnaires were used to investigate general information of children and parents. Descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, and multivariable linear regression were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Of 204 participants, about half of parents (55.4 %) tended to choose SDM, however, 40.2 % of them still show passive attitudes. The mean SDM-Q-9 score was 31.07 ± 8.74, and the result showed that age (ß = 2.480, P＜0.05), relapse (ß = 4.407, P＜0.01), course of disease (ß = -5.213, P＜0.01), relationships with doctors (ß = -4.05, P＜0.05), trust in doctors (ß = -2.796, P＜0.05), and communication and information support from nurses (ß = 0.651, P＜0.01) were the main factors influencing SDM for parents. CONCLUSIONS: Over half of Chinese parents tended to choose SDM, but their real participation in SDM is unsatisfactory. Parents who were older, had good relationships with doctors, trusted in doctors, received more communication and information support from nurses, and whose children had shorter course of disease, suffered relapses, participated in SDM better.

Controlled fabrication of hexagonally close-packed Langmuir-Blodgett silica particulate monolayers from binary surfactant and solvent systems.

We describe a controllable method to fabricate hexagonally close-packed Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers with stearic acid (SA) as co-surfactant and methanol as co-solvent. The optimal SA concentrations and volume ratios of chloroform to methanol are 0.8 mg/mL and 3:1 for particles of 140 nm, 0.50 mg/mL and 4:1 for particles of 300 nm, and 0.05 mg/mL and 5:1 for particles of 550 nm, respectively. Additionally, SEM detections of the monolayers transferred at different surface pressures indicate that the monolayers deposited from the binary systems are more compressible. The experimental results indicate that the interparticle repulsions and particle-water interactions can be enhanced without decreasing the particle hydrophobicity by adding SA and methanol; thus, particulate monolayers with large hexagonally close-packed domains composed of small silica particles can be successfully fabricated using LB technique. We propose that the enhanced interparticle repulsion is attributed to the Columbic repulsion resulting from the attachment of SA molecules to the CTAB modified particles around the three phase contact line.

Specific iodide effect on surface-enhanced Raman scattering for ultra-sensitive detection of organic contaminants in water.

Ultra-sensitive detection of target molecules by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is crucial in a wide range of fields but remains a great challenge. In this work, we report a simple and effective protocol for obtaining highly SERS-sensitive probe by mixing iodide with silver sol. The specific iodide effect on the SERS sensitivity is systematically investigated. It is found that, iodide can effectively promote the SERS enhancement of anionic and cationic analytes, and I- ion has a higher activating effect on SERS than that of Cl- ion. The as-prepared SERS-active substrate demonstrates excellent enhancement for rhodamine 6G with a high Raman enhancement factor of 1.8 × 108, which allows the detection limit of 1.0 × 10-13 M. Our findings in this work should be important for the developing of SERS theory and ultra-sensitive detection applications.

In situ thermal fabrication of copper sulfide-polymer hybrid nanostructures for tunable plasmon resonance.

Here, a novel strategy for fabricating plasmonic-polymer hybrid nanostructures via the in situ thermal synthesis of copper sulfide (CuS) nanocrystals within poly(N-vinyl caprolactam)-based microgels is presented. In particular, the carboxyl groups inside the microgels enriched Cu2+ ions via electrostatic interaction, which further facilitated the nucleation inside the microgel matrix. The increase in nanocrystals' sizes with more added precursors indicated nanocrystals' continuous growth. The plasmon resonances in CuS nanocrystals were obtained due to the high-density free carriers in the covellite CuS. Both the sizes and the plasmon resonances of the as-synthesized CuS nanocrystals could be modulated by adjusting the amount of precursor. The fabricated hybrid nanostructures possessed good temperature responsivity, adjustable loading capacity, good colloidal stability, and pH dependent plasmon resonance. Furthermore, effective photothermal conversion performance was obtained under the illumination of a 980 nm NIR laser for controlling the phase transition of microgels, revealing promising potential in remotely controlled release of drugs.

Polydopamine Microsphere-Incorporated Electrospun Fibers as Novel Adsorbents for Dual-Responsive Adsorption of Methylene Blue.

The usually inconvenient detection and uneasy recycling of polydopamine (PDA) with sphere morphology as an adsorbent restrict its actual applications in wastewater purification. Thus, novel composite fibers were fabricated via the electrospinning technique by integrating polydopamine microspheres (PDA-MPs) with pH/temperature dual-responsive copolymers. The insoluble fraction of the fabricated composite fibers can be maintained to a value above 89% after being immersed in aqueous solutions with different pH values. Also, the regeneration efficiency of the composite fibers can also remain above 80% after undergoing five adsorption-desorption cycles. These results both indicated that the fabricated composite fibers can avoid secondary pollution during the adsorption process effectively. In addition, the presence of abundant N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) units within the fibers could make it have a relatively higher water swelling ability of 4643%, which could further offer relatively larger inner spaces to accommodate the dye molecules. Meanwhile, by incorporating ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD), methacrylic acid (MAA), PDA, and NIPAM components, plentiful active adsorption sites could be supplied to interact with methylene blue (MB) dye. So, the adsorption experiments of the composite fibers showed a maximum adsorption capacity of 1722.1 mg/g at pH 9.0 and a temperature of 55 °C. Furthermore, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model of adsorption suggested that it is a chemisorption process. Moreover, the adsorption experimental data can be better described by Langmuir models, inferring its monolayer adsorption. The adsorption thermodynamic studies revealed that adsorption is a spontaneous and endothermic process. Also, the increase of temperature facilitated the adsorption processes, owing to the increase of adsorbent's hydrophobicity and molecules' reactivity. The present work suggested that the combination of smart-responsive polymers and PDA-MPs could form an unprecedented system to be a promising candidate adsorbent for wastewater treatment.

Precise Synthesis of Fe-N2 Sites with High Activity and Stability for Long-Life Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Precisely tuning the coordination environment of the metal center and further maximizing the activity of transition metal-nitrogen carbon (M-NC) catalysts for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries are greatly desired. Herein, we construct an Fe-NC material with uniform and stable Fe-N2 coordination structure. The theoretical and experimental results indicate that the unsaturated Fe-N2 center can act as a multifunctional site for anchoring lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), accelerating the redox conversion of LiPSs and reducing the reaction energy barrier of Li2S decomposition. Consequently, the batteries based on a porous carbon nitride supported Fe-N2 site (Fe-N2/CN) host exhibit excellent cycling performance with a capacity decay of 0.011% per cycle at 2 C after 2000 cycles. This work deepens the understanding of the relationship between electronic structure of M-NC sites and the catalysis effect for the conversion of LiPSs. This strategy also provides a potent guidance for the further application of M-NC materials in advanced lithium-sulfur batteries.

Graphene-modulated assembly of zinc phthalocyanine on BiVO4 nanosheets for efficient visible-light catalytic conversion of CO2.

Ultrathin zinc phthalocyanine/graphene/BiVO4 heterojunctions have been successfully synthesized for efficient wide visible-light catalytic conversion of CO2 to CO with 14-time photoactivity improvement compared to the bare BiVO4 nanosheet, attributed to the strengthened Z-scheme charge transfer and separation by increasing the optimized amount of highly dispersed ZnPc via the pre-modified graphene-modulated assembly.

ß-Cyclodextrin modified electrospinning fibers with good regeneration for efficient temperature-enhanced adsorption of crystal violet.

Novel ß-cyclodextrin modified fibers with highly insoluble infraction and temperature enhanced adsorption performance were fabricated via electrospinning technology and followed thermo-crosslinking. The fabricated fibers were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, TGA and SEM. In the fibers, ß-CD was crosslinked with methacrylic acid (MAA) units to maintain morphologies of fibers and further be utilized for the adsorption of Crystal Violet through complex and electrostatic interaction. In particular, N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) units were introduced to create thermo-responsively hydrophobic internal cavity within the swelling fibers at high temperatures. Benefiting from that, the maximum adsorption amount could reach to 1253.78 mg g-1, enhanced by 20% than that at low temperatures. The adsorption data of the fibers fit well the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm model. Moreover, the fibers could maintain high regeneration efficiency even after four adsorption-desorption cycles. These results indicated the practical application values of the ß-cyclodextrin modified fibers in the dye wastewater treatment field.

Potent aromatase inhibitors and molecular mechanism of inhibitory action.

Estrogen is a significant factor in the maintenance and progression of hormone-dependent breast cancer. As well known, aromatase mediates the production of estrogen. Thus, inhibition of aromatase with chemical molecules has been considered to be an effective treatment for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. In this work, we designed and synthesized a series of novel non-steroidal molecules containing 2-phenylindole scaffold and moiety of either imidazole or 1,2,4-triazole to enhance their binding capacity with the aromatase. Among these molecules, a compound named as 8o was confirmed experimentally to have the highest inhibitory activity to aromatase. Further cell activity assay proved that compound 8o has low cytotoxicity and is a promising lead for developing novel aromatase inhibitors. Molecular modeling and simulation techniques were performed to identify the binding modes of letrozole and 8o with the aromatase. Analysis of energy of the two compound-aromatase complexes revealed that the 8o has low binding energy (strong binding affinity) to the aromatase as compared to letrozole, which was in accordance with the experimental results. As concluded, a combination of experimental and computational approaches facilitates us to understand the molecular mechanism of inhibitory action and discover more potent non-steroidal AIs against aromatase, thereby opening up a novel therapeutic strategy for hormone-dependent breast cancer.

Stimuli-responsive electrospun nanofibers from poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-poly(acrylic acid) copolymer and polyurethane.

A thermo- and pH-sensitive copolymer of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-co-poly(acrylic acid) (P(NIPAAm-co-AAc)) with an adjusted lower critical solution temperature (LCST)(at 37 °C) in an aqueous medium and pH of 7.4 was synthesized by a radical copolymerization, and was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy. Then, nanofibers composed of P(NIPAAm-co-AAc) and polyurethane (PU) were fabricated by the single-spinneret electrospinning technique and used as drug carriers by co-spinning with the water insoluble drug nifedipine (NIF). The thermo-responsive behavior of the nanofibers was detected by contact angle (CA) measurements. The release behavior of the NIF from nanofibers was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and demonstrated by UV-vis spectroscopy. It was found that the wettability of the P(NIPAAm-co-AAc) nanofibers could be switched, due to the incorporation of PU. The release amount of NIF from the nanofibers could be controlled effectively by adjusting the temperature or pH value of the aqueous medium and incorporating the hydrophobic PU.

A review of phytochemistry, metabolite changes, and medicinal uses of the common food mung bean and its sprouts (Vigna radiata).

The seeds and sprouts of mung bean (Vigna radiata), a common food, contain abundant nutrients with biological activities. This review provides insight into the nutritional value of mung beans and its sprouts, discussing chemical constituents that have been isolated in the past few decades, such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, organic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids. Moreover, we also summarize dynamic changes in metabolites during the sprouting process and related biological activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, lipid metabolism accommodation, antihypertensive, and antitumor effects, etc., with the goal of providing scientific evidence for better application of this commonly used food as a medicine.

Self-assembly and controlled release behaviour of the water-insoluble drug nifedipine from electrospun PCL-based polyurethane nanofibres.

OBJECTIVES: Electrospun micro- and nanofibres are increasingly being investigated for drug delivery. The components of nanofibres are important influences on the drug release behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the self-assembly and release behaviour of drug from nanofibres. METHODS: Water-insoluble drug nifedipine (NIF)-loaded nanofibres with polymeric carrier of polycaprolactone (PCL)-based polyurethane (PU) were fabricated by electrospinning. The morphology of the nanofibres and the composite nanofibres with NIF were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The interactions between NIF and PU were followed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and the elemental composition on the surface of the nanofibres was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The release behaviour of NIF from nanofibres was observed by SEM (contacted with or without a drop of ethanol), and demonstrated by UV-Vis spectroscopy. KEY FINDINGS: In-vitro drug release studies revealed that a self-assembly process of NIF particles might be achieved within the body of the nanofibres. The electrospun nanofibre was an ideal drug carrier compared with a spin-coated film and could achieve controlled release of drug. CONCLUSIONS: The electrospinning technique could be used to fabricate a polymeric carrier that might have potential applications in the biomedical field.

Phytochemicals and biological studies of plants in genus Hedysarum.

In China, several species (Hedysarum polybotrys Hand.-Mazz., Hedysarum limprichtii Hlbr., Hedysarum vicioider Turcz. var. Taipeicum Hand.-Mazz. Liu, Hedysarum smithianum, et al.) of genus Hedysarum have a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In TCM, these plants are used to increase the energy of the body. To date, 155 compounds, including flavonoids, triterpenes, coumarins, lignanoids, nitrogen compounds, sterols, carbohydrates, fatty compounds, and benzofuran, have been isolated from plants of the genus Hedysarum. Various chemical constituents contribute to the antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-aging, anti-diabetic, and anti-hypertensive properties of these plants. Hedysarum species are used to treat infestation with gastrointestinal nematodes and may support the immune system and peripheral nervous system. In the present review, we summarize the research on the phytochemistry and pharmacology of Hedysarum species, which will be useful for better utilization of these important species in TCM.

Controllable drug release of electrospun thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/poly(2-acrylamido-2- methylpropanesulfonic acid) nanofibers.

Electrospinning micro- and nanofibers are being increasingly investigated for drug delivery. The components and their stimuli-responsive properties of fibers are important factors influencing the drug release behavior. The aim of this study is to fabricate thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)/poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) nanofibers by single-spinneret electrospinning technique. The electrospun nanofibers are used as a drug carrier by cospinning with nifedipine (NIF), and the release behaviors of NIF from the thermoresponsive nanofibers can be controlled by the response of nanofibers with temperature. The morphology of the nanofibers and its composites with NIF was determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The hydrogen bond interactions between PNIPAAm/PAMPS and the water-insoluble drug of NIF were introduced and confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer. The thermoresponsive properties of nanofibers were investigated by contact angle (CA) measurements. The release behaviors of NIF from the PNIPAAm/PAMPS nanofibers were observed by SEM and demonstrated by UV-vis spectroscopy. It was found that uniform fibers of NIF and PNIPAAm/PAMPS could be fabricated without particles on the surface. The release of NIF from nanofibers could be controlled effectively by the changes of hydrogen bonds between PNIPAAm/PAMPS and NIF, and by adjusting temperatures of the thermoresponsive nanofibers.