Developing and validating the nurse-patient relationship scale (NPRS) in China.

BACKGROUND: Poor nurse-patient relationship poses an obstacle to care delivery, jeopardizing patient experience and patient care outcomes. Measuring nurse-patient relationship is challenging given its multi-dimensional nature and a lack of well-established scales. PURPOSE: This study aimed to develop a multi-dimensional scale measuring nurse-patient relationship in China. METHODS: A preliminary scale was constructed based on the existing literature and Delphi consultations with 12 nursing experts. The face validity of the scale was tested through a survey of 45 clinical nurses. This was followed by a validation study on 620 clinical nurses. Cronbach's α, content validity and known-group validity of the scale were assessed. The study sample was further divided into two for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), respectively, to assess the construct validity of the scale. RESULTS: The Nurse-Patient Relationship Scale (NPRS) containing 23 items was developed and validated, measuring five dimensions: nursing behavior, nurse understanding and respect for patient, patient misunderstanding and mistrust in nurse, communication with patient, and interaction with patient. The Cronbach's α of the NPRS ranged from 0.725 to 0.932, indicating high internal consistency. The CFA showed excellent fitness of data into the five-factor structure: χ2/df = 2.431, GFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.923, CFI = 0.939, IFI = 0.923, RMSEA = 0.070. Good content and construct validity are demonstrated through expert consensus and psychometric tests. CONCLUSION: The NPRS is a valid tool measuring nurse-patient relationship in China.

Selective recovery of metals in spent batteries by electrochemical precipitation to cathode material for sodium-ion batteries.

The recycling of key components in waste lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is an important route to make up for the shortage of battery materials. Metal separation and purification is an important step. It is of great significance to propose an efficient and green separation technology. In this paper, an electrochemical precipitation method was applied to metal separation from spent LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 cathode material. The Li and metal elements were effective separated and the precipitates were then used as precursor to synthesize high-performance R-O3-NaNFM cathode material for sodium-ion batteries. The R-O3-NaNFM exhibits excellent electrochemical cycling stability. The capacity retains 71.3 mAh g-1 after a long-term cycling of 200 times at 1 C. This method offers a referable strategy of the recycling for the waste cathode material in spent LIBs.

Emotional labour and turnover intention among nurses in China: Mediating effects of nurse-patient relationship and self-rated health.

AIM: This study tested the mediating role of the nurse-patient relationship and self-rated health in the effect of emotional labour on turnover intention among nurses in China. BACKGROUND: The underlying mechanism behind the effect of emotional labour on turnover intention remains inadequately understood. INTRODUCTION: Nurses with a high level of emotional labour are predisposed to experiencing poor health and tension in their relationships with patients, which may increase turnover intention. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 527 nurses in a public tertiary hospital in Qiqihar, located in China's Heilongjiang province, was conducted. Emotional labour and turnover intention were assessed using existing validated scales containing multiple items, while the nurse-patient relationship and self-rated health were assessed using single items, respectively. Baron and Kenny's causal steps and the Karlson/Holm/Breen method were adopted to test the mediating effects of the nurse-patient relationship and self-rated health in the association between emotional labour and turnover intention after adjusting for variations in sociodemographic and job characteristics. RESULTS: Emotional labour was positively associated with turnover intention. Self-rated poor health and a disharmonious nurse-patient relationship partially mediated the positive effect of emotional labour on turnover intention. CONCLUSIONS: Emotional labour significantly affects the turnover intention of nurses working in public tertiary hospitals in China, and this effect is partially mediated by self-rated health and the nurse-patient relationship. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE AND NURSING POLICY: Giving more attention to nurses' negative emotions and work attitudes is crucial. Developing comprehensive strategies for enhancing nurses' emotional management ability, promoting their physical and psychological well-being, and improving nurse-patient relationship to reduce nurses' turnover.

Factors influencing nurse fatigue during COVID-19: regression vs. fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.

Background: Nurses during COVID-19 who face significant stress and high infection risk are prone to fatigue, affecting their health and quality of patient care. A cross- sectional study of 270 nurses who went to epidemic area to support anti-epidemic was carried out via online survey during the COVID-19 pandemic on November 2021. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey of 270 nurses in China who traveled to Heihe City in Heilongjiang Province to combat the novel coronavirus epidemic. The researchers collected information on sociodemographic variables, anxiety, transition shock, professionalism, collaboration, hours of work per day, and fatigue. Regression and fuzzy-set Quality Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) evaluated the factors' impact on the nurses' fatigue. Results: Regression analysis showed that the psychological variables significant for fatigue, transition shock (ß = 0.687, p < 0.001) and anxiety (ß = 0.757, p < 0.001) were positively associated with fatigue, professionalism (ß = -0.216, p < 0.001) was negatively associated with fatigue, and among the work-related variables, cooperation (ß = -0.262, p < 0.001) was negatively related to fatigue. FsQCA analysis showed that combined effects of work hours, anxiety, and nurses' educational status caused most of the fatigue (raw coverage = 0.482, consistency = 0.896). Conclusion: This study provides two main findings, the one is the greater transition shock experienced during COVID-19 in a new environment, low levels of professionalism, anxiety, and poor nursing teamwork situations lead anti-epidemic nurses to increased fatigue. Second, the fsQCA results showed that anxiety is sufficient for fatigue and that nurses' educational status, daily working hours, and anxiety are the most effective combination of factors.

Anxiety and Insomnia Mediate the Association of Fear of Infection and Fatigue: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Nurses Deployed to a COVID-19 Epicenter in China.

Background: This study aimed to test the mediating role of anxiety and insomnia in the association between fear of infection and fatigue. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on the nurses deployed to Heihe. A serial multiple mediation model was established to determine the role of anxiety and insomnia in the association between fear of infection and fatigue. Findings: Over half (53.0%) of the study participants reported experiencing fear of infection despite stringent personal protection measures. The scores of anxiety (11.87±5.19), insomnia (16.33±5.95), and fatigue (45.94±12.93) were moderately correlated, with a Pearson correlation coefficient ranging from 0.501 to 0.579. Anxiety, either alone or in combination with insomnia, mediated the association between fear of infection and fatigue. Conclusion: The findings suggest that anxiety and insomnia play a mediating role in the relationship between fear of infection and fatigue. These results emphasize the importance of implementing targeted mental health interventions and work arrangements to address the well-being of healthcare professionals.

[Hemoglobin C Variant Affecting Glycated Hemoglobin Test Results: A Rare Case Report].

Hemoglobin (Hb) variants are common factors that affect the results of glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) tests. Hemoglobin variants react differently to different testing methods. Herein, we presented the first ever report of the effect of hemoglobin C (Hb C) on the test results of A1C in the Chinese population. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and capillary electrophoresis were performed to measure A1C. Hemoglobin electrophoresis was conducted to identify the hemoglobin variants. Hb sequencing was performed to determine the mutation sites on the ß chain. HPLC showed decreased A1C results, which could be corrected by electrophoresis, but the electrophoresis graph still showed abnormal peaks. The hemoglobin electrophoresis results suggested that there were hemoglobin variants, which hemoglobin sequencing results revealed to be Hb C. Uncommon variations in a specific population tend to be overlooked. To avoid clinical decision-making being affected by the results of a single test, we recommend that an explanatory reporting model be routinely adopted for A1C tests so that all reports always contain explanatory notes for the testing methodology and analysis of the graphs.

Probing quantum phase transition point by tuning an external anti trap.

Manipulation of ultracold atoms in optical lattices is one of the optimal ways to observe phase transitions of the Hubbard model which is useful in a variety of condensed-matter systems. Bosonic atoms in this model experience a phase transition from superfluids to Mott insulators by tuning systematic parameters. However, in conventional setups, phase transitions take place over a large range of parameters instead of one critical point due to the background inhomogeneity caused by the Gaussian shape of optical-lattice lasers. To probe the phase transition point more precisely in our lattice system, we apply a blue-detuned laser to compensate for this local Gaussian geometry. By inspecting the change of visibility, we find a sudden jump point at one particular trap depth of optical lattices, corresponding to the first appearance of Mott insulators in inhomogeneous systems. This provides a simple method to detect the phase transition point in such inhomogeneous systems. We believe it will be a useful tool for most cold atom experiments.

Mutation-associated transcripts reconstruct the prognostic features of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Tongue squamous cell carcinoma is highly malignant and has a poor prognosis. In this study, we aimed to combine whole-genome sequencing, whole-genome methylation, and whole-transcriptome analyses to understand the molecular mechanisms of tongue squamous cell carcinoma better. Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma and adjacent normal tissues from five patients with tongue squamous cell carcinoma were included as five paired samples. After multi-omics sequencing, differentially methylated intervals, methylated loop sites, methylated promoters, and transcripts were screened for variation in all paired samples. Correlations were analyzed to determine biological processes in tongue squamous cell carcinoma. We found five mutated methylation promoters that were significantly associated with mRNA and lncRNA expression levels. Functional annotation of these transcripts revealed their involvement in triggering the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade, which is associated with cancer progression and the development of drug resistance during treatment. The prognostic signature models constructed based on WDR81 and HNRNPH1 and combined clinical phenotype-gene prognostic signature models showed high predictive efficacy and can be applied to predict patient prognostic risk in clinical settings. We identified biological processes in tongue squamous cell carcinoma that are initiated by mutations in the methylation promoter and are associated with the expression levels of specific mRNAs and lncRNAs. Collectively, changes in transcript levels affect the prognosis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Air pollution and refraining from visiting health facilities: a cross-sectional study of domestic migrants in China.

BACKGROUND: Local environmental factors are associated with health and healthcare-seeking behaviors. However, there is a paucity in the literature documenting the link between air pollution and healthcare-seeking behaviors. This study aimed to address the gap in the literature through a cross-sectional study of domestic migrants in China. METHODS: Data were extracted from the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (n = 10,051) and linked to the official air pollution indicators measured by particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and air quality index (AQI) in the residential municipalities (n = 310) of the study participants over the survey period. Probit regression models were established to determine the association between air pollution and refraining from visiting health facilities after adjustment for variations in the predisposing, enabling and needs factors. Thermal inversion intensity was adopted as an instrumental variable to overcome potential endogeneity. RESULTS: One unit (µg/m3) increase in monthly average PM2.5 was associated with 1.8% increase in the probability of refraining from visiting health facilities. The direction and significance of the link remained unchanged when PM2.5 was replaced by AQI or PM10. Higher probability of refraining from visiting health facilities was also associated with overwork (ß = 0.066, p = 0.041) and good self-related health (ß = 0.171, p = 0.006); whereas, lower probability of refraining from visiting health facilities was associated with short-distance (inter-county) migration (ß=-0.085, p = 0.048), exposure to health education (ß=-0.142, p < 0.001), a high sense of local belonging (ß=-0.082, p = 0.018), and having hypertension/diabetes (ß=-0.169, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Air pollution is a significant predictor of refraining from visiting health facilities in domestic migrants in China.

Causal relationships between metabolic-associated fatty liver disease and iron status: Two-sample Mendelian randomization.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Dysregulated iron homeostasis plays an important role in the hepatic manifestation of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). We investigated the causal effects of five iron metabolism markers, regular iron supplementation and MAFLD risk. METHODS: Genetic summary statistics were obtained from open genome-wide association study databases. Two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis was performed to estimate the causal effect between iron status and MAFLD, including Mendelian randomization inverse-variance weighted, weighted median methods and Mendelian randomization-Egger regression. The Mendelian randomization-PRESSO outlier test, Cochran's Q test and Mendelian randomization-Egger regression were used to assess outliers, heterogeneity and pleiotropy respectively. RESULTS: Mendelian randomization inverse-variance weighted results showed that the genetically predicted per standard deviation increase in liver iron (Data set 2: odds ratio 1.193, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.074-1.326, p = .001) was associated with an increased MAFLD risk, consistent with the weighted median estimates and Mendelian randomization-Egger regression, although Data set 1 was not significant. Mendelian randomization inverse-variance weighted analysis showed that genetically predicted MAFLD was significantly associated with increased serum ferritin levels in both datasets (Dataset 1: ß = .038, 95% CI = .014 to .062, p = .002; Dataset 2: ß = .081, 95% CI = .025 to .136, p = .004), and a similar result was observed with the weighted median methods for Dataset 2 instead of Mendelian randomization-Egger regression. CONCLUSIONS: This study uncovered genetically predicted causal associations between iron metabolism status and MAFLD. These findings underscore the need for improved guidelines for managing MAFLD risk by emphasizing hepatic iron levels as a risk factor and ferritin levels as a prognostic factor.

Factors related to irritable bowel syndrome and differences among subtypes: A cross-sectional study in the UK Biobank.

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) reduces patients' quality of life and causes great burdens due to its unclear pathogenesis and criteria for diagnosis. This study aimed to explore the differences in prevalence and the influencing factors for IBS and its subtypes. Methods: The UK Biobank surveyed 174,771 adult participants who completed the Digestive Health Questionnaire (DHQ) through emails and websites. DHQ included the Rome III criteria, IBS symptom severity score, and Patient Health Questionnaire 12 Somatic Symptom score. The UK Biobank also asked regarding previous IBS diagnosis, diagnosis for post-infectious IBS (PI-IBS), and environmental exposures and associated conditions (including anxiety or depression, based on treatment sought or offered). Pearson's Chi-squared test or Wilcoxon's rank-sum test was used for potential associations. Binary logic regression based on sex stratification was used to examine associations between selected factors and IBS and its subtypes. Results: This study included 31,918 participants who met the Rome III criteria for IBS. The pooled prevalence of IBS in the UK Biobank was 18.3%, with mixed IBS as the predominant subtype (59.0%), followed by diarrhea-predominant IBS (25.1%), constipation-predominant IBS (14.7%), and untyped IBS (1.1%). IBS was significantly associated with somatization (male: OR = 5.326, 95% CI = 4.863-5.832; female: OR = 4.738, 95% CI = 4.498-4.992) and coeliac disease (male: OR = 4.107, 95% CI = 3.132-5.385; female: OR = 3.783, 95% CI = 3.310-4.323). Differences in antibiotics and mental status were presented among subtypes and sex. Furthermore, 1,787 individuals were diagnosed with PI-IBS in the group of patients with IBS. The prevalence of PI-IBS in IBS was 16.6% in the UK Biobank, and it was characterized by diarrhea, fever, bloody diarrhea, and vomiting. Conclusion: Somatization and coeliac disease are primary risk factors for IBS. Distinguishing differential risk factors is critical for the precise diagnosis and treatment of IBS subtypes, particularly sex-specific differences in mental health status. General practitioners should focus on the treatment according to IBS subtypes.

Exploring the role of Xingren on COVID-19 based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.

Since the outbreak of novel Coronavirus Pneumonia 2019 (COVID-19), the role of Almonds (Xingren) in the protection and treatment of COVID-19 is not clear. Network pharmacology and molecular docking were used to explore the potential mechanism and potential key targets of Xingren on COVID-19. A total of nine common targets between them were obtained, and these targets were involved in multiple related processes of GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Molecular docking showed that licochalcone B has the best binding energy (-9.33 kJ·mol-1 ) to PTGS2. They are maybe the important ingredient and key potential target. Its possible mechanism is to intervene anxiety disorder in the process of disease development, such as regulation of blood pressure, reactive oxygen species metabolic process, leishmaniasis peroxisome, and IL-17 signaling pathway. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Xingren is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used and developed in China for many years. It contains a variety of active ingredients and also has the functions of relieving cough, relieving asthma, enhancing human immunity, delaying aging, regulating blood lipids, nourishing brain, and improving intelligence. In this article, the possible mechanisms of action and important targets of Xingren in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 were discussed through network pharmacology and molecular docking. We also found that active ingredient licochalcone B and the potential target PTGS2 are worthy of further research and analysis. At the same time, the study also provides a theoretical basis and reference for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 and the development of new drugs.

What fragile factors hinder the pace of China's alleviation efforts of the poverty-stricken population? A study from the perspective of impoverishment caused by medical expenses.

OBJECTIVE: China has made remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation. However, with the change in economic development and age structure, the population stricken by poverty due to medical expenses and disability accounted for 42.3 and 14.4% of the total poverty-stricken population, respectively. Accordingly, it is crucial to accurately pinpoint the characteristics of people who are about to become poor due to illness. In this study, we analyzed the incidence of impoverishment by medical expense at the provincial, family, and different medical insurance scheme levels to identify the precise groups that are vulnerable to medical-related poverty. METHOD: Data were extracted from the Fifth National Health Service Survey in China in 2013 through a multi-stage, stratified, and random sampling method, leaving 93,570 households (273,626 people) for the final sample. The method recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) was adopted to calculate impoverishment by medical expense, and logistic regression was adopted to evaluate its determinants. RESULTS: The poverty and impoverishment rate in China were 16.2 and 6.3% respectively. The poverty rate in western region was much higher than that of central and eastern regions. The rate of impoverishment by medical expense (IME) was higher in the western region (7.2%) than that in the central (6.5%) and eastern (5.1%) regions. The New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) was associated with the highest rate (9.1%) of IME cases. The top three diseases associated with IME were malignant tumor, congenital heart disease, and mental disease. Households with non-communicable disease members or hospitalized members had a higher risk on IME. NCMS-enrolled, poorer households were more likely to suffer from IME. CONCLUSION: The joint roles of economic development, health service utilization, and welfare policies result in medical impoverishment for different regions. Poverty and health service utilization are indicative of households with high incidence of medical impoverishment. Chronic diseases lead to medical impoverishment. The inequity existing in different medical insurance schemes leads to different degrees of risk of IME. A combined strategy to precise target multiple vulnerabilities of poor population would be more effective.

Factors contributing to the high prevalence of multidrug-resistance/Rifampicin-resistance in patients with tuberculosis: an epidemiological cross sectional and qualitative study from Khabarovsk krai region of Russia.

BACKGROUND: Growing prevalence of multidrug-resistant/Rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB; resistance to Isoniazid and Rifampicin/Isolated resistance to Rifampicin) is putting in jeopardy the WHO End TB strategy. This study aimed to identify factors contributing to the high prevalence of MDR/RR-TB in Khabarovsk krai region of Russia. METHODS: A cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted, analyzing clinical, demographic, and drug susceptibility testing data on 1440 patients. As a source of raw data, the national electronic TB surveillance system was used. Anonymous data was collected on every patient diagnosed with TB in all healthcare facilities of the region from January 2018 to December 2019. Only patients with proven excretion of m. tuberculosis were included in the study. Factors associated with MDR/RR-TB were identified through logistic regression analysis, in conjunction with in-depth interviews with eight patients, five healthcare managers and five doctors. FINDINGS: 2661 patients were identified with TB, 1440 were incorporated in the study based on inclusion criteria. Of these, 618 (42.9%) were identified with MDR/RR-TB. Patients with a history of imprisonment were 16.53 times (95% CI 5.37 to 50.88,) more likely to have MDR/RR-TB, whereas re-treatment patients were 2.82 times (95% CI 2.16 to 3.66) more likely to have MDR/RR-TB. Other influencing factors included presence of disability (AOR is 2.32, 95% CI 1.38 to 3.89), cavitary disease (AOR is 1.76, 95% CI 1.37 to 2.25), and retirement status (AOR 0.65, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.98, p = 0.042). Poor patient knowledge and understanding of the disease, progressive weariness of prolonged TB treatment, and inability hospitalize infectious patients without their consent were perceived by the interviewees as major influencing factors. CONCLUSIONS: Incarceration and treatment history, regardless of outcome, were identified as major factors influencing MDR/RR-TB prevalence. It is essential for the TB care system to eliminate legal loopholes, which deprive doctors of means to enforce quarantine procedures and epidemiological surveillance on infected patients, former and current inmates. Increasing people's awareness of TB, early detection and appropriate treatment of patients with TB are needed for successfully combating MDR/RR-TB.

Effects of Social Participation and Its Diversity, Frequency, and Type on Depression in Middle-Aged and Older Persons: Evidence From China.

Background: Depression is one of the greatest public health problems worldwide. The potential benefit of social participation (SP) on mental health has been widely acknowledged. Nevertheless, a few studies have used propensity score matching (PSM) to reduce the influence of data bias and confounding variables. This study explored the effect of social participation on depression among middle-aged and older Chinese persons through a PSM method, considering the frequency, type, and quantity of SP. Effects were compared among different age groups, genders, and places of residence. Methods: The datasets were obtained from the 2018 wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. A total of 9,404 respondents aged 45 and above were included in the study. PSM and ordinary least squares methods were used to estimate the effect of social participation on depression. Results: PSM estimation results showed that SP had a significantly positive effect on decreasing depression scores (p < 0.001) by 0.875-0.898 compared with persons without SP. All types of SP had a significantly positive effect (p < 0.001), and participating in community activities had the largest effect (ß = -1.549 to -1.788, p < 0.001). Higher frequency of participation and more types of SP promoted lower depression scores; subgroup analyses revealed that the promotion effect was significantly greater among women, those aged ≥75 years, and those living in urban areas. Conclusion: PSM indicated that SP could alleviate the depression of middle-aged and older Chinese persons. Targeted measures should be adopted to promote SP and thereby improve mental health and promote healthy and active aging.

Inequity in Health Services Utilization in Economically Underdeveloped Regions of Northeast China.

Background: The Chinese health system has long been committed to eliminating inequalities in health services utilization. However, few studies have analyzed or measured these inequalities in economically underdeveloped regions in China. Methods: A total of 6,627 respondents from 3,000 households in Heilongjiang Province were extracted from the Sixth National Health Services Survey. We measured horizontal inequity in both 2-week outpatient rate and annual inpatient rate, and then identified the factors contributing to inequality. Results: The horizontal inequity indices of the 2-week outpatient and annual impatient rates in Heilongjiang Province were 0.0586 and 0.1276, respectively. Household income, health status, place of residence, basic medical insurance, and commercial health insurance were found to be the main factors affecting inequality in health services utilization. The contributions of household income to these two indices were 184.03 and 253.47%, respectively. Health status factors, including suffering from chronic disease, limitations in daily activities, and poor self-rated health, played positive roles in reducing inequality in these two indices. The contributions of place of residence to these two indices were 27.21 and -28.45%, respectively. Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance made a pro-rich contribution to these two indices: 56.25 and 81.48%, respectively. Urban and Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance, Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance, New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme, and other basic medical insurance made a pro-poor contribution to these two indices: -73.51 and -54.87%, respectively. Commercial health insurance made a pro-rich contribution to these two indices: 20.79 and 7.40%, respectively. Meanwhile, critical illness insurance made a slightly pro-poor contribution to these two indices: -4.60 and -0.90%, respectively. Conclusions: The findings showed that the "equal treatment in equal need" principle was not met in the health services utilization context in Heilongjiang Province. To address this issue, the government could make policy changes to protect low-income populations from underused health services, and work to improve basic medical insurance, critical illness insurance, and social security systems.

Nickel Acetate-Assisted Graphitization of Porous Activated Carbon at Low Temperature for Supercapacitors With High Performances.

Catalytic graphitization opens a route to prepare graphitic carbon under fairly mild conditions. Biomass has been identified as a potentially attractive precursor for graphitic carbon materials. In this work, corn starch was used as carbon source to prepare hollow graphitic carbon microspheres by pyrolysis after mixing impregnation with nitrate salts, and the surface of these carbon microspheres is covered with controllable pores structure. Under optimal synthesis conditions, the prepared carbon microspheres show a uniform pore size distribution and high degree of graphitization. When tested as electrode materials for supercapacitor with organic electrolyte, the electrode exhibited a superior specific capacitance of 144.8 F g-1 at a current density of 0.1 A g-1, as well as large power density and a capacitance retention rate of 93.5% after 1,000 cycles in galvanostatic charge/discharge test at 1.0 A g-1. The synthesis extends use of the renewable nature resources and sheds light on developing new routes to design graphitic carbon microspheres.

Evolving Patterns of Nutritional Deficiencies Burden in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Findings from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study.

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) suffered the most from nutritional deficiencies (NDs). Although decades of efforts have reduced it, little is known about the changing trajectory of ND burden in LMICs. By extracting data of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019, we calculated indicators of incidence and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to measure the burden of NDs and its main subcategories in LMICs, including protein-energy malnutrition, iodine deficiency, vitamin A deficiency, dietary iron deficiency, and other nutritional deficiencies by sex, age and spatial patterns. In LMICs, ND incidence still increased in the age group 15+ born before 2005, especially in males. The effort of reducing the DALYs of NDs has generated a strong decline in per age group. In the main subcategories of NDs, protein-energy malnutrition incidence in males age 45+ born before 1970 still increased. Despite vitamin A deficiency incidence and dietary iron deficiency, DALYs strongly experienced decreases over three decades while still remaining at the heaviest level in 2019, especially in females and children under 5 years. The top largest tendency estimates occurred in Mali' females and Bhutan' males. Zimbabwe was the only country with increased DALYs rate tendency in both sexes.

Attitudes of medical professionals towards patient-centredness: a cross-sectional study in H City, China.

OBJECTIVES: Patient-centred communication improves patient experiences and patient care outcomes. This study aimed to assess the preference of medical professionals in China towards patient-centred communication under the context of the deteriorating doctor-patient relationship. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of medical professionals was conducted in January and February 2018 in H City of Heilongjiang province, the northeast of China. The Chinese-Revised Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (CR-PPOS) was adopted to measure the individual preference of respondents towards patient-centredness in clinical communication. Multivariate logistic regression models were established to identify the sociodemographic (gender, age, marital status and educational attainment) and work experience (years of working, seniority, satisfaction with income, daily workload and perceived doctor-patient relationship) predictors of the preference towards patient-centredness. PATIENT AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: Not applicable. RESULTS: A total of 618 valid questionnaires were returned. The CR-PPOS demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity. Overall, a low level of preference towards patient-centredness in clinical communication was found. Relatively higher scores on 'caring for patients' (20.42±4.42) was found compared with those on 'information/responsibility sharing' (15.26±4.21). Younger age, higher educational attainment, lower daily workload and a perception of harmonious doctor-patient relationship were associated with a higher preference towards patient-centredness in clinical communication. CONCLUSIONS: A low level of preference towards patient-centredness in clinical communication was found in medical professionals in the northeast of China, which may further jeopardise the efforts to improve doctor-patient relationship.

Who is more likely to hesitate to accept COVID-19 vaccine: a cross-sectional survey in China.

BACKGROUND: The aim of our study was to identify factors associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)vaccine willingness in China to aid future public health actions to improve vaccination. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study was conducted in August 2020 using a mixed-method approach, including a cross-sectional self-administered anonymous questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with community residents in China. RESULTS: Of the participants, 30.9% showedCOVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Being female(OR = 1.297), having poor health(OR = 1.312), having non-health or medical-related occupations (OR = 1.129), no COVID-19 infection experience(OR = 1.523), living with vulnerable family members(OR = 1.294), less knowledge(OR = 1.371), less attention to COVID-19 information(OR = 1.430), less trust in official media(OR = 1.336), less perceived susceptibility to COVID-19(OR = 1.367), and less protective behavior(OR = 1.195) were more likely to hesitate. Qualitative research has shown that they doubt the importance and necessity, as well as the effectiveness and safety of the vaccination. The economic and service accessibility of the vaccination was an impediment to their vaccine acceptance. CONCLUSION: Nearly one-thirdof people showed hesitancy to accept COVID-19 vaccination in China. Our findings highlight that health communication and publicity should be performed for the targeted population, and immunization programs should be designed to remove underlying barriers to vaccine uptake.