[Effect of 4 kinds of prosthodontic materials on masticatory and gingival function].

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of 4 kinds of prosthodontic materials on masticatory and gingival function. METHODS: A total of 167 patients with dental defects who underwent prosthodontic treatment from October 2019 to January 2022 were collected. They were randomly divided into 4 groups with 41 cases in the pure titanium group, 40 cases in the cobalt-chromium alloy group, 43 cases in the nickel-chromium alloy group and 43 cases in the zirconium dioxide group. The curative effect and satisfaction degree after 6 months of treatment in 4 groups were recorded and compared. The masticatory function (chewing efficiency, bite force), gingival function[plaque index(PLI), gingival index(GI) and sulcus bleeding index(SBI)], gingival crevicular fluid inflammation-related indicators[tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α), interleukin-6(IL-6), aspartate aminotransferase(AST) and alkaline phosphatase (alkaline phosphatase, ALP)] before and after treatment were measured and compared in 4 groups. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 20.0 software package. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in curative effect in 4 groups(P＞0.05). Before and after treatment, there was no significant difference in mastication efficiency and bite force in 4 groups(P＞0.05). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in PLI, GI, SBI, gingival crevicular fluid weight, TNF-α, IL-6, AST and ALP in gingival crevicular fluid in 4 groups(P＞0.05). Compared with before treatment, PLI, GI and SBI in 4 groups were decreased after treatment (P＜0.05), and the decrease was in the order of cobalt-chromium alloy group≈nickel-chromium alloy group＜pure titanium group＜zirconia dioxide group. Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the weight of gingival crevicular fluid, TNF-α, IL-6, AST and ALP in gingival crevicular fluid in 4 groups(P＞0.05). The crevicular fluid weight, TNF-α, IL-6, AST and ALP in gingival crevicular fluid were significantly increased(P＜0.05), and the increase was in the order of zirconia group＜pure titanium group＜cobalt-chromium alloy group≈nickel-chromium alloy group. There was no significant difference in restoration integrity and color satisfaction in 4 groups(P＞0.05), but there was significant difference in marginal fitness and sensitivity satisfaction in 4 groups(P＜0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Pure titanium, cobalt-chromium alloy, nickel-chromium alloy and zirconium dioxide can be used for the treatment of dentition defects, and they all can obtain satisfactory chewing function. In addition, zirconium dioxide restoration has the effect of improving gingival function and inflammation-related indicators of gingival crevicular fluid with a broader application prospect.

Research competence of community nurses in Shanghai: A cross-sectional study.

AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the current situation of community nurses' research competence in Shanghai, to provide a basis for curricula design for nursing schools, construction of better research environments and nurturing research talents among community nurses. BACKGROUND: Nurses are expected to not only consume research findings but also produce knowledge. In China, there is more attention on cultivation of community nurses' research competence. However, the current status of it remains unclear. METHODS: This study employed convenience sampling to recruit a total of 2562 community nurses in Shanghai from June to August 2021. The study questionnaire included personal and job-related characteristics, research competence and barriers to nursing research practice. Pearson's χ2 tests (or Fisher exact probability method) and binary logistic regression analysis were used to analyse associated factors. RESULTS: Our data showed that the overall research competence was 38.00 (28.00, 60.00) (best possible score, 120), which was at a low level. The binary logistic regression analysis results showed that nurses at the vice-senior level and above, those without management roles or those who had research education/training experience had a higher level of research competence (p < .05). Besides, a higher level of research competence was also seen in nurses who had attended academic conferences above the municipal level in the last 5 years, those with plans to upgrade educational levels or those who had positive attitude towards research (p < .05). Our analysis demonstrated that limited English proficiency, data analysis and thesis writing, and lack of up-to-date research information and research mentors were the main barriers to effective community research practice. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis showed that most of the community nurses had high demand for research training courses. Their research competence should be improved. In nursing educational and professional context, nursing administrators should pay more attention to provision of better learning, working and research environments. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nursing administrators should establish a community nursing research culture, develop continuous training on research and prioritize recruitment and cultivation of scientific research talents.

BN-Anthracene for High-Mobility Organic Optoelectronic Materials through Periphery Engineering.

Despite the remarkable synthetic accomplishments in creating diverse polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with B-N bonds (BN-PAHs), their optoelectronic applications have been less exploited. Herein, we report the achievement of high-mobility organic semiconductors based on existing BN-PAHs through a "periphery engineering" strategy. Tetraphenyl- and diphenyl-substituted BN-anthracenes (TPBNA and DPBNA, respectively) are designed and synthesized. DPBNA exhibits the highest hole mobility of 1.3 cm2  V-1 s-1 in organic field-effect transistors, significantly outperforming TPBNA and all the reported BN-PAHs. Remarkably, this is the first BN-PAH with mobility over 1 cm2  V-1 s-1 , which is a benchmark value for practical applications as compared with amorphous silicon. Furthermore, high-performance phototransistors based on DPBNA are also demonstrated, implying the high potential of BN-PAHs for optoelectronic applications when the "periphery engineering" strategy is implemented.

Clinical efficacy of atorvastatin calcium combined with aspirin in patients with acute ischemic stroke and effect on neutrophils, lymphocytes and IL-33.

Clinical efficacy of atorvastatin calcium combined with aspirin in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and its effect on neutrophils to lymphocytes ratio (NLR) and interleukin-33 (IL-33) were investigated. In total, 108 patients with AIS in Luoyang Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from April 2016 to October 2017 were selected. There were 56 cases treated with atorvastatin calcium combined with aspirin as the observation group, and 52 cases were treated with aspirin alone as the control group. The clinical effect was observed. The NLR and IL-33 levels were measured by routine blood test and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before and after treatment. The scores of the National Institutes of Health Stroke scale (NIHSS) and the occurrence of complications were collected before and after treatment in the two groups. Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) was used to evaluate the curative effect. Score ≤2 points is effective in the treatment. Pearson's analysis was used to analyze the correlation between NLR, IL-33 and NIHSS score. The total hospitalization time and 1 year survival rate were compared. The total effective rate of treatment in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). There was no difference in NLR and IL-33 levels between the two groups before treatment (P>0.05). After treatment, the NLR in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the NIHSS score, the total number of complications and the total hospitalization time in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). Pearson's analysis showed a positive correlation between NLR and NIHSS score (r=0.681, P<0.001), and a negative correlation between IL-33 and NIHSS score (r=-0.708, P<0.001). In conclusion, atorvastatin calcium combined with aspirin has a better effective rate in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke than aspirin alone. The combination can better reduce the NLR, increase the expression level of IL-33 in serum, reduce the occurrence of complications and hospitalization time, and increase the survival rate of patients.

Effect of functional groups on microporous polymer based resistance switching memory devices.

Here, two large-area microporous polymer (MP) films with different substituents were synthesized at the solution/air interface. The on/off ratios of the MP-based memristors differ by an order of magnitude and the turn-on voltages differ by about 0.2 V, which is mainly attributed to the difference in band gap and pore environment of the materials.

Copper-Catalyzed Selenylation of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines with Selenium Powder via a Radical Pathway.

A convenient and efficient approach for the formation of nitrogen heterocycle-fused imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine and benzo[b]selenophenes has been developed through copper-catalyzed direct selenylation of readily available 2-(2-bromophenyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines via regioselective cleavage of C(sp2)-Br and C(sp2)-H bonds using readily available selenium powder as the selenylating reagents under ligand- and base-free conditions in air. Preliminary mechanistic investigations indicated that radical species were involved in the present transformation.

[Estimation of the optically active substances in case II water of the lower Jinjiang River based on the bio-optical model].

The water's Inherent Optical Properties (IOPs), including absorption and scattering coefficients of water components, are the essential parameters for bio-optical model and retrieval of water quality using the semi-analytical method. Nevertheless, the application of the bio-optical model in river water studies is still very rare. Therefore, taking the lower Jinjiang River of Fujian, SE China as an example, this study measured and calculated the bio-optical properties of river water and concentrations of optically active substances based on in situ water samples collected from river in 2007. It shows that R(0(-))753, R(0(-))702/R(0(-))680 and R(0(-))670/R(0(-))423 can be used to estimate total suspended solids (TSS) concentration, phytoplankton pigment (PP) concentration and the CDOM absorption at 440 nm, respectively. The determination coefficients (R2) of the retrieval model of TSS, PP and CDOM are 0.953, 0.8205 and 0.6213, respectively. The corresponding relative errors of the models (RE) are 6.1%, 21.87% and 22.18%. The results show that the model for estimating TSS can achieve the highest accuracy, the PP-estimating model has the second highest accuracy and the CDOM-estimating model has the lowest. The relatively lower concentration of phytoplankton pigments, narrow characterized spectral range of CDOM and influence of CDOM's R(0(-)) by TSS and PP within this spectral range contributed to their relatively lower accuracy.