Development and testing of a post competency scale for traditional Chinese medicine physicians undergoing standardized training.

Objective: To develop and test a post competency scale for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians undergoing standardized training to provide an applicable tool for scientific evaluation. Methods: Based on literature analysis, behavioral event interviews, and expert consultations, measurement questions were formulated and the initial scale was designed. A questionnaire survey was conducted from July 2022 to May 2023 among TCM physicians undergoing standardized training in China. The rationality of the scale was confirmed through item purification, factor analysis, and tests of reliability and validity. Results: The post competency scale consisted of three dimensions (TCM fundamentals and research abilities, TCM thinking and skill abilities, and personal traits and communication abilities) with 21 items. Exploratory factor analysis identified three common factors, accounting for a cumulative variance contribution rate of 62.165%. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the fit indices of the three-factor model fell within a relatively ideal level. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.885. Through convergent validity analysis, the standardized loading coefficients of the 21 items were >0.5, and the average extracted variance (AVE) of the three factors was also >0.5. Moreover, the square roots of the AVE values for each dimension exceeded the correlation coefficients between it and the other dimensions. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the post competency scale of TCM physicians undergoing standardized training can provide a reliable scientific basis for training and assessment within China.

A quantitative evaluation of uranium mobility and potential environment risk in coal ash with SiO2-Al2O3-Fe2O3-CaO system.

Uranium-enriched coal ash (CA) receives a significant attention as a supplementary nuclear resource also due to its potential environmental risk. Combining with CA, the changing trend of uranium occurrence in synthetic coal ash (SCA) was described at CaO-Al2O3-Fe2O3 ternary phase diagrams with a fixed SiO2 (wt. %, 30%, 50% and 70%) and Na2O (2%) content. This study reveals that the mode of uranium occurrence proposes a three-stage changing process during coal combustion including uranium oxidation, combination and encapsulation. Furthermore, a high frequency of encapsulated uranium resulted from the complicated interactions among major components with a medium SiO2 content, whereas the degree was higher at a higher SiO2, resulting in the decrease of uranium mobility. Uranium was encapsulated by Si-Al matrix and Fe-Si depletion if provided the high Al2O3 and Fe2O3 but low CaO contents. However, with the development of calcium looping and biomass co-firing process, the change of element mobility should be considered in industry owing to the extra-added alkaline metals. As the activation of Ca2+ induces a significant susceptibility of acid attack, cautions must be paid in CA with a higher Ca/Si ratio to avoid its utilization as constructive materials for the potential environmental risk.

Adsorption and desorption of uranium(VI) onto humic acids derived from uranium-enriched lignites.

Humic acids (HAs) were extracted and characterized from three kinds of uranium-enriched lignites from Yunnan province, China. Batch experiments were used to study the adsorption and desorption behavior of uranium (VI) onto these HAs and a commercial HA. The results showed that the optimum pH level at which all the HAs adsorbed uranium(VI) ranged from 5 to 8. The high uranium content of the HAs was released into the solution at the pH values between 1 and 3; when the HA dosage was 2.5 g L-1, the maximum concentration of uranium was 44.14 µg L-1. This shows that HAs derived from uranium-enriched lignites may present a potential environmental risk when used in acidic conditions. The experimental data were found to comply with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the adsorption isotherms fit the Langmuir and Freundlich models well. The desorption experiments revealed that the sorption mechanism was controlled by the complex interactions between the organic ligands of the HAs and uranium(VI). The uranium present in the HAs may not affect the adsorption capacity of the uranium(VI), but the carboxylic and phenolic hydroxyl groups in the HAs play a significant role in controlling the adsorption capacity.

Self-assembled monolayers of cyclohexyl-terminated phosphonic acids as a general dielectric surface for high-performance organic thin-film transistors.

A novel self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on AlOy /TiOx is terminated with cyclohexyl groups, an unprecedented terminal group for all kinds of SAMs. The SAM-modified AlOy /TiOx functions as a general dielectric, enabling organic thin-film transistors with a field-effect mobility higher than 5 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) for both holes and electrons, good air stability with low operating voltage, and general applicability to solution-processed and vacuum-deposited n-type and p-type organic semiconductors.

[Application potentials of on-line near infrared spectroscopy technology in manufacturing of traditional Chinese medicine].

The characteristics of On-line Near Infrared Spectroscopy Technology are introduced and its applications in various industries, such as petro-chemical, pharmaceutical, agriculture and food are reviewed. Considering the features in TCM manufacturing, the application potentials of On-line Near Infrared Spectroscopy Technology in Manufacturing TCM are forecasted and the key problems to be solved are discussed.