Lived experience of Korean nurses caring for patients on maintenance haemodialysis.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To understand the lived experience of nurses who care for people undergoing maintenance haemodialysis. BACKGROUND: There is a lack of research regarding the lived experience of nurses caring for people undergoing chronic haemodialysis, in spite of an increased number of nurses and patients. DESIGN: A qualitative descriptive phenomenological study was conducted. METHODS: Fourteen nurses working at two haemodialysis centres in Korea were selected via purposive sampling and participated in in-depth interviews. Data were collected from October 2013-January 2014 and analysed using the phenomenological research method. RESULTS: Four themes were extracted for haemodialysis nurses' caring experience: feelings of pity for clients scheduled for haemodialysis treatment; continuous effort to establish good relationships with clients; feeling comfortable with clients, as though they were family or friends; and reflecting on their own lives through the lives of clients. CONCLUSIONS: Haemodialysis nurses experienced therapeutic relationships while taking care of clients undergoing haemodialysis; they also experienced maturation through reflection on their lives as nurses and human beings. An understanding of nurses' experiences in caring for people undergoing haemodialysis should be the basis of practice, education and nursing research in haemodialysis. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study could be helpful in enabling nursing students and/or nurses to understand the experience of caring and its meaning with respect to clients undergoing haemodialysis.

Oxidative photocatalysis on membranes triggers non-canonical pyroptosis.

Intracellular membranes composing organelles of eukaryotes include membrane proteins playing crucial roles in physiological functions. However, a comprehensive understanding of the cellular responses triggered by intracellular membrane-focused oxidative stress remains elusive. Herein, we report an amphiphilic photocatalyst localised in intracellular membranes to damage membrane proteins oxidatively, resulting in non-canonical pyroptosis. Our developed photocatalysis generates hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxides via water oxidation, which is accelerated under hypoxia. Single-molecule magnetic tweezers reveal that photocatalysis-induced oxidation markedly destabilised membrane protein folding. In cell environment, label-free quantification reveals that oxidative damage occurs primarily in membrane proteins related to protein quality control, thereby aggravating mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum stress and inducing lytic cell death. Notably, the photocatalysis activates non-canonical inflammasome caspases, resulting in gasdermin D cleavage to its pore-forming fragment and subsequent pyroptosis. These findings suggest that the oxidation of intracellular membrane proteins triggers non-canonical pyroptosis.

Phosphorescent Energy Downshifting for Diminishing Surface Recombination in Silicon Nanowire Solar Cells.

Molecularly engineered Ir(III) complexes can transfer energy from short-wavelength photons (λ < 450 nm) to photons of longer wavelength (λ > 500 nm), which can enhance the otherwise low internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of crystalline Si (c-Si) nanowire solar cells (NWSCs) in the short-wavelength region. Herein, we demonstrate a phosphorescent energy downshifting system using Ir(III) complexes at short wavelengths (300-450 nm) to diminish the severe surface recombination that occurs in c-Si NWSCs. The developed Ir(III) complexes can be considered promising energy converters because they exhibit superior intrinsic properties such as a high quantum yield, a large Stokes shift, a long exciton diffusion length in crystalline film, and a reproducible synthetic procedure. Using the developed Ir(III) complexes, highly crystalline energy downshifting layers were fabricated by ultrasonic spray deposition to enhance the photoluminescence efficiency by increasing the radiative decay. With the optimized energy downshifting layer, our 1 cm2 c-Si NWSCs with Ir(III) complexes exhibited a higher IQE value for short-wavelength light (300-450 nm) compared with that of bare Si NWSCs without Ir(III) complexes, resulting in a notable increase in the short-circuit current density (from 34.4 mA·cm-2 to 36.5 mA·cm-2).

Hexabromocyclododecanes in crucian carp and sediment from the major rivers in Korea.

The concentration of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) was measured in crucian carp muscles and eggs and in surrounding sediments collected from the 3 major rivers in Korea. HBCDs were detected in all carp and sediment samples, indicating widespread contamination of this area by HBCD flame retardants. The ∑HBCD (sum of α-, ß-, and γ-HBCDs) concentrations ranged from 0.19 to 13 ng g(-1)dry wt in sediments, 1.7 to 7.2 ng g(-1)lipid wt in carp eggs, and 4.8 to 6.6 ng g(-1)lipid wt in the muscle of carp. The α-diastereomer predominated in the crucian carp and γ-diastereomer predominated in sediments, accounting for 76% and 77% to the ∑HBCD, respectively. The ∑HBCD concentrations in carp and sediment samples collected along the rivers were higher than those in samples collected from an isolated pond, suggesting that the rivers are likely contaminated by HBCDs from the upstream or the environment surrounding the rivers. The diastereomer ratios in carp were different from those in commercial mixtures due to the enrichment of α-diastereomer in carp. The origin of this transition, however, is yet not known, since various transformation processes can lead to a change from the diastereomer ratio in commercial mixtures to that observed in the environment.