Validation of the Chinese version of the Fear of Birth Scale among pregnant women.

AIM: Adapt Fear of Birth Scale (FOBS) for the Chinese context, evaluate psychometric properties and determine optimal cutoff point for pregnant women in 3rd trimester. DESIGN: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Cultural guidelines informed the development of the Chinese version of FOBS (FOBS-C) incorporating validation on translation, equivalence index, content validity index, and cognitive debriefing. Thirty pregnant women took a test-retest survey and another 1019 took three cross-sectional surveys. Convergent validation of the FOBS-C involved comparison with Childbirth Attitudes Questionnaire (CAQ), Wijma Delivery Expectancy Questionnaire (WDEQ-A), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and physiological indicators. Cutoff points for FOBS-C were identified using receiver operating characteristic analysis against medical indicators. FINDINGS: FOBS-C demonstrated high translation equivalence (0.833-1), content validity (0.800-0.933), internal consistency (0.897), and test-retest reliability (0.860). Convergent validity was supported by statistically significant correlations between FOBS scores, heart rate, skin conductance changes, as well as scores from WDEQ-A, CAQ, EPDS, and GAD-7. Known-group validity was observed with different medical indicators. FOBS-C cutoff points indicating severe fear of childbirth were identified as 65, 68, 71, and 56, respectively, against WDEQ-A ≥ 85, CAQ ≥ 52, preference for C-section birth, and preference for analgesia, demonstrating known-group validity. A cutoff point of 65 showed the FOBS-C's strongest known-group validity. CONCLUSION: The FOBS-C exhibits robust psychometric properties, making it a valid screening tool for identifying severe fear of birth. Establishing a cutoff point at 65 facilitates effective screening.

Beyond Fear: Unveiling the Relationship Between Fear of Childbirth and Pharmacological Pain Relief.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacological analgesia is the dominant method for pain relief in labor. Fear of childbirth (FOC) may significantly affect women's preferences for and usage of pharmacological analgesia. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between FOC in late pregnancy and preferences for, as well as actual use of, pharmacological analgesia among nulliparous and multiparous women, accounting for confounding factors. METHODS: A total of 1,300 women participated in the study, completing questionnaires assessing preferences for pharmacological analgesia, FOC, perception of labor pain, social support, coping styles, and demographic variables. The actual use of pharmacological analgesia was followed up. The data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate regression analyses. RESULTS: Univariate analysis revealed that women with moderate to severe FOC had a stronger preference for pharmacological analgesia compared to those with none to mild FOC. However, multivariate analysis showed no direct association between FOC and actual usage of pharmacological analgesia. Instead, a stronger preference for pharmacological analgesia increased the likelihood of its actual usage during labor. CONCLUSIONS: Our study underscores the effect of FOC on preferences for pharmacological analgesia and its potential influence on actual usage during labor. Healthcare providers should consider women's FOC and preferences when evaluating pain management options. Targeted interventions focusing on promoting non-pharmacological techniques should be implemented to optimize labor pain management for women, particularly nulliparous women.

Organizational display rules in nursing: Impacts on caring behaviors and emotional exhaustion through emotional labor.

AIM: To examine the impact of display rules on nurses' caring behaviors and emotional exhaustion and the mediating role of emotional labor (surface/deep acting). BACKGROUND: Hospitals often implement emotional display rules for nurses with the expectation of performance benefits. However, these rules may have an impact on nurses' caring behaviors and emotional exhaustion. METHODS: This cross-sectional correlational study included a sample of 746 nurses from five hospitals and used the STROBE checklist. Relationships between display rules, emotional labor, caring behaviors, and emotional exhaustion were analyzed using structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Display rules did not directly affect caring behaviors or emotional exhaustion. Emotional labor mediated the relationships. Display rules were associated more with surface acting. Deep acting increased caring behaviors and reduced emotional exhaustion; surface acting had the opposite effect. CONCLUSIONS: Findings challenge the assumption that display rules effectively promote caring behaviors. Display rules lead to emotional labor and emotional exhaustion. Reducing display rules, emotional labor, and surface acting while supporting deep acting may alleviate emotional exhaustion. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY: Nurse managers should review the nature and implementation of emotional display rules and explore ways to reduce emotional labor, encourage deep acting, mitigate the negative impact of surface acting, and ultimately improve nursing caring behaviors.

Recent advances in biofluid detection with micro/nanostructured bioelectronic devices.

Most biofluids contain a wide variety of biochemical components that are closely related to human health. Analyzing biofluids, such as sweat and tears, may deepen our understanding in pathophysiologic conditions associated with human body, while providing a variety of useful information for the diagnosis and treatment of disorders and disease. Emerging classes of micro/nanostructured bioelectronic devices for biofluid detection represent a recent breakthrough development of critical importance in this context, including traditional biosensors (TBS) and micro/nanostructured biosensors (MNBS). Related biosensors are not restricted to flexible and wearable devices; solid devices are also involved here. This article is a timely overview of recent technical advances in this field, with an emphasis on the new insights of constituent materials, design architectures and detection methods of MNBS that support the necessary levels of biocompatibility, device functionality, and stable operation for component analysis. An additional section discusses and analyzes the existing challenges, possible solutions and future development of MNBS for detecting biofluids.

The recombination zone adjusted by the gradient doping of TPA-DCPP for efficient and stable deep red organic light emitting diodes.

Deep-red organic light-emitting diodes (DR-OLEDs) or near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes (NIR-OLEDs) have a wide range of applications in real life, such as special light sources for plant growth in agriculture, optical communications, infrared imaging, infrared medical imaging and other fields. However, the device performance of DR-OLEDs is still far behind that of red, green and blue OLEDs. In addition to the well-known energy gap law, the location of the recombination region also has a significant impact on the device performance. If the recombination area is too close to the cathode, the electrons in the electron transport layer will easily cause exciton quenching. In this study, for the first time, we adopted a quantum well-like structure by changing the host (CBP) and guest (TPA-DCPP) thicknesses as the light-emitting layer to manage the position of the recombination zone, and then improved the carrier injection and transportation as well as increased the exciton recombination rate. Furthermore, we introduced a hole trap layer to reduce the current density and suppress the recombination zone movement; finally, we prepared high-brightness and high-efficiency DR-OLEDs based on the TADF material with a wavelength of 674 nm, a maximum brightness of 1151 cd m-2 and a maximum EQE of 4.4%.

Adjustable and ultrafast light-cured hyaluronic acid hydrogel: promoting biocompatibility and cell growth.

Bio-sourced hydrogels are attractive materials for diagnosing, repairing and improving the function of human tissues and organs. However, their mechanical strength decreases with an increase in water content. Furthermore, it is challenging to mold these hydrogels with high precision, which significantly limits their applications. Herein, we modified a biocompatible and biodegradable material, hyaluronic acid, with methacrylic anhydride and then cured it with a four-arm star structure cross-linking agent under ultraviolet light. The hyaluronic acid hydrogel was finally cured within 15 s with an adjustable cross-linking degree. The results demonstrated that the developed gel maintained good mechanical strength with a water content of 90%, while achieving micropatterns at a precision of 20 µm. The biological experiments showed that it could effectively promote the release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which contributed to promoting cell growth, and has favorable biocompatibility. Overall, this hyaluronic acid hydrogel is a promising biomedical material with high forming accuracy, excellent mechanical properties, and favorable biocompatibility, which indicate its potential value in a variety of tissue engineering and biomedical applications.

Crystallization and crystallographic analysis of human NUDT16.

Human NUDT16, a decapping enzyme belonging to the Nudix superfamily, plays a pivotal role in U8 snoRNA stability. Recombinant NUDT16 expressed in Escherichia coli was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. The crystals, which diffracted to 2.10 A resolution, belonged to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 44.47, b = 79.32, c = 97.20 A. The Matthews coefficient and the solvent content were calculated to be 1.92 A(3) Da(-1) and 35.84%, respectively, for two molecules per asymmetric unit.