Degradation of tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) in aqueous solution by using pyrite activating persulfate to produce radicals.

Organophosphorus esters (OPEs), as one kind of emerging and toxic contaminant are ubiquitous in various environments. This study investigated the degradation of tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) as a category OPEs by pyrite (FeS2)-activated persulfate (PS). The result shows that near-100% degradation of TCEP was achieved after 120 min in FeS2-PS system. The important role of Fe2+ in the activation mechanism was confirmed by the introduction of Fe2+ into the PS only system. Radical scavengers experiment and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) confirmed the presence of SO4·- and ·OH，which revealed that ·OH and SO4·- played major roles in TCEP degradation. The effect of various environmental factors, including pyrite and oxidant dosage, inorganic ions and pH were investigated. The result indicated that Fe3+ and Cl- can accelerate the degradation rate of TCEP and the reaction between TCEP and FeS2-PS favors acidic conditions (pH>9). In addition, due to the acidification of pyrite, this system can be applied with a wide pH range. Besides, two oxidation products, C4H9Cl2O4P and C2H6ClO4P were identified, which suggest that hydroxylation was probably the main mechanism. This study greatly improves our understanding on TCEP removal in FeS2-PS system.

Development and Application of Global Health Events-Mental Stress Scale for Assessment of Medical Staff's Acute Mental Stress Responses.

Background: Medical workers have been increasingly involved in emergent public health events, which can lead to severe stress. However, no standardized, officially recognized, unified tool exists for mental distress measurement in medical workers who experienced the public health events. Purpose: In the present study, we propose the Global Health Events-Mental Stress Scale (GHE-MSS), as a revised version of the Impact of Event Scale-Revision (IES-R), for assessment of medical workers' acute mental stress responses within one month and their chronic mental stress responses within six months after major health events. Patients and methods: The IES-R was slightly modified, developed, and its reliability and validity were tested using the Delphi survey, primary survey with 115 participants, formal survey with 300 participants, and clinical evaluation with 566 participants. Results: Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a promising validity of the scale. The values of Cronbach's alpha coefficient, the Spearman-Brown coefficient, and the retested Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale applied for the clinical evaluation were 0.88, 0.87, and 0.98, respectively, which confirmed a good internal consistency and stability. The results of the goodness-of-fit test indicated a good adaptation of the model. A correlation analysis was conducted to assess the correlation between the GHE-MSS and the PCL-C, which had a correlation coefficient of 0.68 (P<0.01). Conclusion: GHE-MSS can be applied with a promising reliability and validity for the assessment of the acute mental stress response of medical workers experiencing public health events. This method can also be used for the screening of mental stress-associated disorders.

Establishing Performance Evaluation for Quality Inspection of Specialty Nurses.

PURPOSE: The present study aimed to establish an index system for the performance evaluation of specialty nurses (SNs) in tertiary hospitals. BACKGROUND: An objective index system for performance evaluation of SN has not yet been established in China. DESIGN: A 2-round Delphi survey sought opinions from experts about the index system for SNs' performance evaluation in tertiary hospitals in China. METHODS: Delphi survey was used to inquire approximately 20 experts from the fields of nursing management, nursing education, and clinical nursing. We determined the weight coefficient of each index of performance evaluation based on the opinion. Finally, the index of the quality evaluation was established for SN. RESULTS: A total of 20 experts from 10 provinces in China reached a consensus on the tertiary indexes of the assessment model. The indexes contained first-level (4), second-level (16), and third-level (24) indicators. The 4 aspects of the performance evaluation, including clinical specialist practice assessment, nursing research, education assessment, medical cooperation recognition, and personal comprehensive ability assessment, reached consensus. CONCLUSION: Establishing the performance evaluation for SNs aided the SNs in achieving the best clinical practice after training. The performance evaluation still needed to be continuously improved.

Contingency Nursing Management in Designated Hospitals During COVID-19 Outbreak.

Background: In December 2019, early cases of COVID-19 were identified in Wuhan, China. By late January 2020, it was evident that COVID-19 was rapidly spreading and represented a national health emergency. In order to contain the spread of COVID-19, China adopted a centralized treatment plan by appointing designated hospitals in each region. Shantou Central Hospital is a Grade A Class A general hospital in Guangdong Province. It was appointed as a provincial COVID-19 designated treatment hospital on January 21, 2020, to provide all COVID-19-related treatments for the city of Shantou. The nursing department at Shantou Central Hospital is fully responsible for hospital nursing administration, nursing human resource management, nursing quality management, and all nursing tasks related to hospital medical care, nursing, teaching, scientific research, preventive healthcare, and so on. Objective: To summarize the role of nursing management in transforming a general hospital into a designated hospital for treatment of COVID-19 patients. Methods: We undertook a series of nursing management measures in the strategic phase and the implementation phase. Findings: Through a series of nursing management measures, all COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospital were cured and discharged. All non-COVID-19 patients and staff hospitalized during the same period were not infected with the virus. During this period, our hospital completed 7,466 operations. Hence, our nursing management measures were effective. Conclusions: Our efficient nursing management system, first of all, effectively mobilized all available manpower; secondly, up-skilled and trained personnel within a very short period of time; thirdly, provided reliable logistical support for front-line protection equipments; and finally, motivated nurses during this very difficult time to make a significant positive contribution to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.