Achievement of Excellent Thermoelectric Properties in Cu-Se-S Compounds via In Situ Phase Separation.

In this study, Cu2Se1-xSx (x = 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5) alloy powders were prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis method. In the subsequent sintering process, the spontaneous in situ phase separation process of the sample forms a two-phase hybrid structure. The generated Cu2S precipitates in the Cu2Se matrix noticeably enhance phonon scattering, which is beneficial for low thermal conductivity without significantly affecting the electrical transport performance. Ultimately, an optimized thermoelectric performance was obtained in Cu2Se0.9S0.1, reaching a peak zT value of 1.43 at 773 K, the optimum value among the Cu-Se-S systems at this temperature.

Development and validation of the Chinese version of the evidence-based practice profile questionnaire (EBP2Q).

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based practice (EBP) education or training are considered fundamental to building and strengthening an EBP culture, as well as to encouraging evidence-based academic and clinical practice in the nursing community. However, few valid and reliable instruments are available for the assessment of EBP teaching and learning in clinical nurses in China. Translation, reliability, and validity testing of the English Evidence-Based Practice Profile Questionnaire (EBP2Q), which has strong psychometric properties, may encourage evaluation and promote the implementation of EBP in Mainland China. METHODS: Based on established guidelines for the development of questionnaires, the English EBP2Q was translated and cross-culturally adapted. The Chinese version of the EBP2Q (EBP2Q-C) was validated using a sample of 543 nurses. Structural validity was evaluated through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, and the questionnaire was tested for convergent and criterion validity. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were also evaluated. RESULTS: The content validity index demonstrated good content validity (≥0.98). An eight-factor structure was obtained in the exploratory factor analysis, and verified by a three-order factor model from the confirmatory factor analysis (χ2/df = 2.001; RMSEA = 0.065; SRMR = 0.077; and CFI = 0.884). The Spearman's rank correlation analysis of the EBP2Q-C with the Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire showed moderate correlations for Practice (0.58) and Confidence (0.68) and a low correlation for Sympathy (0.32). Criterion validity was demonstrated by significant differences in terms of nurses' highest education, present position, EBP training, involvement in research programs, and level of understanding of English. Both the overall Cronbach's α and the Cronbach's α for the domains exceeded 0.70. The intraclass correlation coefficients for the domains ranged between 0.75 and 0.96, indicating satisfactory repeatability. CONCLUSIONS: Except for the convergent validity of the Sympathy domain, the EBP2Q-C provided evidence of validity and reliability. Therefore, it can be applied in EBP education or training assessment in Mainland China.

A meta-analysis of the association between mindfulness and motivation.

Introduction: Mindfulness reflects attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way and has been linked to individual autonomy and motivation, but conclusions are inconsistent. The purpose of this review was to summarize previous studies to explore the relationship between mindfulness and motivation and its intervention effects. Methods: Literature searches were conducted in five electronic databases. Both correlational studies assessing the association between motivation and mindfulness and experimental studies to verify the effect of intervention were included. Results: Six papers with seven intervention studies and twenty-three papers with twenty-seven correlational studies met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed that mindfulness was positively correlated with intrinsic motivation (r = 0.28, p < 0.0001) and total motivation (r = 0.37, p < 0.0001) but had no significant correlation with extrinsic motivation (r = 0.01, p = 0.93) or amotivation (r = -0.17, p = 0.14). Effect-size estimates suggested that mindfulness intervention was beneficial to motivation promotion, but the effect was at a low level (g = 0.12). Conclusion: We found consistent support for mindfulness practice relating to motivation promotion, especially on intrinsic motivation development. However, there was still a portion of heterogeneity that could not be explained and needed to be identified in future studies.

[Overexpression of cotton, vacuolar H+-ATPase subunit C promotes cell elongation and regulates stress tolerance in fission yeast].

Cotton (Gossypium hirsuturm L.) vacuolar H+-ATPase plays an important role in fiber cell elongation through regulating the turgor pressure, which is involved in polarity enlargement of fiber cell. Arabidopsis vacuolar H+-ATPase subunit C (DET3) regulates the activity of vacuolar H+-ATPase and subsequently promotes cell elongation. To rapidly characterize the function of cotton vacuolar H+-ATPase subunit C (GhDET3) and speculate the role of GhDET3 in cotton fiber growth and development, we constructed an expressing vector for fission yeast and introduced it into fission yeast. The results revealed that overexpression of GhDET3 was capable of promoting fission yeast cell elongation and enhancing the tolerance to high NaCl and high pH stresses. These results illuminated that the effects of GhDET3 were important for the activity of vacuolar H+-ATPase and suggested that GhDET3 plays a crucial role in fiber cell elongation.