Safety culture system construction in coal mine enterprises from the perspective of hazards: A case study on the Yimei Coal Group.

BACKGROUND: The construction of a safety culture in coal mine enterprises is an essential component of coal mine safety management. Current studies do not address the mechanism for forming and constructing systems for coal mine enterprise safety culture, and many studies are based on imperfect theoretical frameworks and unsystematic empirical research, their policy recommendations are not systematic or operable, and they offer no feasible safety culture construction system. OBJECTIVE: This study is devoted to analysing the theoretical basis of safety culture construction in coal mine enterprises from the perspective of hazards and proposing the content, stages and targets of constructing a safety culture and develops pragmatic approaches for coal mining enterprises to improve safety culture. METHODS: A theoretical basis for safety culture construction in coal mine enterprises is proposed from the perspective of hazards by considering accident-causing mechanisms based on hazards. Furthermore, this study applied the case analysis and application to conduct empirical research on the proposed theoretical basis for safety culture construction from the perspective of hazards. RESULTS: Four aspects are proposed to capture the content and objectives of safety culture construction from the perspective of hazards: safety concept, behaviour safety, material state safety, and safety institutions. Furthermore, this paper provides a case study of safety culture construction by the Yimei coal group from the perspective of hazards, identifies the hazards based on the above four aspects, and then identifies preventative measures and controls for the identified hazards. CONCLUSIONS: Constructing a safety culture in coal mine enterprises from the perspective of hazards is operable and practical, and thus this study provides essential theoretical and practical value for improving coal mine safety.

Research on Coal Mine Building Compliance Inspection System Based on Accident Causation and BIM in China.

Coal mine construction projects have high risks, and non-compliant designs generated in the design stage will have adverse effects on subsequent construction and production stages. Therefore, it is of great importance to conduct effective preconstruction compliance inspections on coal mine construction designs. To make the compliance check of coal mine building design more rapid and effective, and to reduce the risks arising from the design phase, this study built a compliance inspection system for coal mine building design from the causes of coal mine accidents, using the Word2Vec word similarity calculation method and BIM platform secondary development technology. The system was tested and was found to be able to detect a 92.82% non-compliant component rate where the correct inspection rate was 97.68%. In addition, the inspection time for a single component was only 0.23 s. The construction of the compliance inspection system based on accident causes has changed the extensive inspection mode in the traditional manual model inspection, and the inspection no longer depends on the experience of inspectors, thus improving the efficiency and accuracy of coal mine building model inspection. The inspection focuses on the building elements with high risks, which achieves the purpose of risk control in the design stage.

Long-term Care Facility and its Elderly Chronic Diseases in Jishou: Insights into Underdeveloped Area of China.

Insight into the current status of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and chronic diseases in underdeveloped areas in China is scant. Using a census method to survey older adults ≥60 years old (154 older adult residents) in all LTCFs in Jishou area. The International Resident Assessment Instrument for Long-Term Care Facilities (interRAI-LTCF) was used to collect information and analyze the current status of chronic diseases among older adult residents. There were 62 187 residents ≥60 years old in Jishou area. According to the survey, there were only 154 older adult residents living in the LTCFs of Jishou, with a ratio was 0.3% of all older adult residents, which was much lower than China's 3.0%. Of respondents (109 older adult residents), the prevalence of chronic diseases was 70.6%. The prevalence increases with age, as well as in the female is higher than in the male. The top 3 chronic diseases were hypertension (41.3%), bone and joint disease (12.8%) and cerebrovascular disease (12.8%). It was found that different age groups and genders lead to differences in the prevalence and the order of chronic diseases. The prevalence of older adults with impaired balance ability, sleep disturbance and swallowing disturbance was higher than that of normal older adults. The results of the one-way analysis of variance showed that the age and balance ability of the older adults with chronic diseases were statistically significant (P < .05). In addition, the prevalence of chronic diseases in the LTCFs older adult was higher than the home care (HC) older adults in Jishou. The age and the prevalence of chronic diseases of LTCFs in older adults with professional nursing staff were higher than in those without. This study provides a theoretical basis for the healthcare distribution, prevention and treatment of chronic diseases in underdeveloped areas. The undeveloped area has lower LTCFs staying rate and chronic disease prevalence of older adults than relatively developed areas. More public health attention and capital investment are needed to increase the LTCFs number and strengthen disease testing and screening. As well as, the proportion of professional nursing staff and specialist doctors in LTCFs and improve the quality of care and medical treatment for older adults.

Evaluation and empirical research on the operation effect of the risk precontrol management system of safety in coal mines based on OSWM-TOPSIS.

BACKGROUND: Most studies have focused on the establishment and application of the risk precontrol management system for safety in coal mines and have seldom considered the evaluation of the system operation effect. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the operation effect of risk precontrol management system of safety in coal mines and propose policy suggestions to improve the risk precontrol management level of safety. METHODS: This study applied the Objective and Subjective Weighting Method (OSWM) combined with the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to conduct evaluation and empirical research on the operation effect of the risk precontrol management system of safety in coal mines. RESULTS: First, the evaluation index system is mainly composed of six first-level indicators and 30 subordinate secondary indicators. Second, the OSWM combined with TOPSIS is an effective method for operation effect evaluation, which yields accurate and undistorted evaluation results. Third, the calculation reference value of the operation effect in the Gengcun coal mine is 57.34, and its corresponding effect level is level III, which is basically effective. Moreover, the calculation reference values of production equipment management (P4) and inspection, audit and review (P6) are the lowest, while the calculation reference values of risk precontrol management (P1) and auxiliary management (P5) reach the critical value corresponding to effect level I, which indicates a good operation effect. CONCLUSIONS: Corresponding policy suggestions to improve the risk precontrol management level in the Gengcun coal mine are proposed based on the above evaluation results.

Analysis of an evolutionary game of pallet pooling with participation of third-party platform.

Pallet pooling has been widely recognized as an important part of the green supply chain. The development of pallet pooling is an essential component for the transformation and upgrade of the logistics industry in China. Pallet pooling can, however, lead to a conflict over potential benefits among the players. One of the main problems of pallet pooling in China is the reasonable benefit allocation mechanism has not been formed. The pallet pooling system (PPS) with participation of the third-party platform (PPSWPTPP) is one of the pilot modes of pallet pooling in China. Based on evolutionary game theory and a penalty mechanism for breach of contract, this paper constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model of the PPSWPTPP. Eight propositions are set in two basic scenarios regarding whether pallet pooling is adapted to the logistics market to study the stability and dynamic evolution process of the players in the PPSWPTPP. Theoretical and numerical simulation results indicate that these will affect the smooth development of the PPS. The suitable setting of penalties and bonuses, the precise estimation of the pooling benefits, the intention intensity of the players to the pallet pooling, and whether to adapt to the logistics market demand are explored.

Correlation in Causality: A Progressive Study of Hierarchical Relations within Human and Organizational Factors in Coal Mine Accidents.

It has been revealed in numerous investigation reports that human and organizational factors (HOFs) are the fundamental causes of coal mine accidents. However, with various kinds of accident-causing factors in coal mines, the lack of systematic analysis of causality within specific HOFs could lead to defective accident precautions. Therefore, this study centered on the data-driven concept and selected 883 coal mine accident reports from 2011 to 2020 as the original data to discover the influencing paths of specific HOFs. First, 55 manifestations with the characteristics of the coal mine accidents were extracted by text segmentation. Second, according to their own attributes, all manifestations were mapped into the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), forming a modified HFACS-CM framework in China's coal-mining industry with 5 categories, 19 subcategories and 42 unsafe factors. Finally, the Apriori association algorithm was applied to discover the causal association rules among external influences, organizational influences, unsafe supervision, preconditions for unsafe acts and direct unsafe acts layer by layer, exposing four clear accident-causing "trajectories" in HAFCS-CM. This study contributes to the establishment of a systematic causation model for analyzing the causes of coal mine accidents and helps form corresponding risk prevention measures directly and objectively.

Comparisons of nitrite accumulation, microbial behavior and nitrification kinetic in continuous stirred tank (ST) and plug flow (PF) moving bed biofilm reactors.

Two types of continuous stirred tank moving bed biofilm reactors (ST-MBBR) and plug flow MBBR (PF-MBBR) were compared for nitrification. PF-MBBR showed strong shock resistance to temperature, and ammonium oxidation ratio (AOR) was 9.63% higher than that in the ST-MBBR, although the average biomass and biofilm thickness of ST-MBBR were 7.32-18.59%, 9.44-14.06% higher than those in the PF-MBBR. Meanwhile, a lower nitrite accumulation ratio (NAR) was observed (54.88%) in the PF-MBBR than the ST-MBBR (78.92%) due to different operation modes, and the divergence was demonstrated by the microbial quantitative analysis. Nitrification kinetics revealed that the temperature coefficient (θ) in the ST-MBBR (1.068) was much higher than that in the PF-MBBR (1.006-1.015), proving the contrasting nitrification performances caused by temperature shock. According to the Monod equation, the half-saturation coefficient (KN) in the ST-MBBR was 0.19 mg/L while it varied around 0.12-0.24 mg/L in the PF-MBBR, revealing various NH4+ affinity owing to different biofilm thickness and microbial composition. Finally, MBBR optimization related to operation mode, temperature, and free ammonium (FA) inhibition for nitrite accumulation was discussed.

Nitrite accumulation and microbial behavior by seeding denitrifying phosphorus removal sludge for partial denitrification (PD): The effect of COD/NO3- ratio.

Effect of influent COD/NO3- ratios (2.0-5.0) on partial denitrification (PD, NO3- to NO2-) was investigated by seeding denitrifying phosphorus removal (DPR) sludge at ambient temperature (16 ± 2℃). At COD/NO3- ratio of 2.5, the optimal NO2- effluent and nitrate-to-nitrite transformation ratio (NTR) reached up to 27.18 mg/L and 82.18%, respectively, and nitrate removal efficiency (NRE) (59.34 â†’ 97.98%) showed positive relationship with increasing COD/NO3- ratios. The variations were further illustrated by denitrification kinetics, where faster COD degradation (1.55 g COD/(gVSS·d)), more NO3- consumption (0.55 gN/(gVSS·d)) and higher NO2- production (0.52 gN/(gVSS·d)) were observed although the NO2- peaks happened at anoxic 30 min. Microbial analysis showed lower community diversity and more concentrated composition with dominated genera Thauera (14.10%), Terrimonas (9.40%), Saprospiraceae (13.50%) and Flavobacterium (28.23%) at COD/NO3- ratio of 2.5. Based on the achievement of PD, the application feasibility of integrated PD-DPR-Anammox in a two-sludge DPR system for deep-level nutrient removal was discussed.

The Influence of Human-Organizational Factors on Falling Accidents From Historical Text Data.

This paper firstly proposes a modified human factor classification analysis system (HFACS) framework based on literature analysis and the characteristics of falling accidents in construction. Second, a Bayesian network (BN) topology is constructed based on the dependence between human factors and organizational factors, and the probability distribution of the human-organizational factors in a BN risk assessment model is calculated based on falling accident reports and fuzzy set theory. Finally, the sensitivity of the causal factors is determined. The results show that 1) the most important reason for falling accidents is unsafe on-site supervision. 2) There are significant factors that influence falling accidents at different levels in the proposed model, including operation violations in the unsafe acts layer, factors related to an adverse technological environment for the unsafe acts layer, loopholes in site management in the unsafe on-site supervision layer, lack of safety culture in the adverse organizational influence layer, and lax government regulation in the adverse external environment layer. 3) According to the results of the BN risk assessment model, the most likely causes are loopholes in site management work, lack of safety culture, insufficient safety inspections and acceptance, vulnerable process management and operation violations.

Grounded theory research on the factors that lead to doctor moral hazard / Pesquisa sobre fatores que levam ao risco moral médico com base na teoria fundamentada

Abstract Moral hazard clearly exists among doctors, and it has a dramatic impact on doctor-patient relationships, medical costs and medical risks. This study explored the factors that lead to doctor moral hazard, as well as the interrelationships and internal regularity of these factors. This study takes doctor moral hazard as the research content and the inducing factors as the core theme, conducting grounded theory research on the causes of doctor moral hazard. Scientific understanding of doctor behavior would facilitate the prevention and control of doctor moral hazard behavior. This study used the principles and methodology of Glaser and Strauss's grounded theory. Theoretical and snowball samplings were used to identify 24 subjects. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with each subject. Themes were identified through substantial (open) coding and theoretical coding. The factors that lead to doctor moral hazard were categorized into five dimensions, i.e. motivation, opportunity, self-rationalization, exposure and punishment. These five factors influence each other, forming the inducing mechanism of doctor moral hazard. This will provide useful theoretical support and method guidance for the follow-up prevention and control of moral hazard for doctors.

Resumo O risco moral existe claramente entre os médicos e tem um impacto dramático nas relações médico-paciente, custos e riscos médicos. Este estudo explorou os fatores que levam ao risco moral por parte do médico, bem como as inter-relações e a regularidade interna desses fatores. Este estudo considera o risco moral do médico como o conteúdo da pesquisa e os fatores indutores como o tema central, conduzindo pesquisas de teoria fundamentada sobre as causas do risco moral do médico. A compreensão científica do comportamento do médico facilitaria a prevenção e o controle do comportamento de risco moral do médico. Este estudo usou os princípios e a metodologia da teoria fundamentada de Glaser e Strauss. Amostragens teóricas e em snowball foram utilizadas para identificar 24 sujeitos. Entrevistas semiestruturadas em profundidade foram realizadas com cada sujeito. Os temas foram identificados por meio de codificação substancial (aberta) e codificação teórica. Os fatores que levam ao risco moral do médico foram categorizados em cinco dimensões: motivação, oportunidade, autorracionalização, exposição e punição. Esses cinco fatores influenciam-se mutuamente, formando o mecanismo indutor do risco moral médico. Isso fornecerá suporte teórico útil e orientação metodológica para o acompanhamento da prevenção e controle de risco moral para os médicos.

Understanding changes in doctor moral hazard behaviour in response to government healthcare reform / Entendiendo los cambios en el riesgo moral del comportamiento médico en respuesta a la reforma de atención de salud del gobierno / Compreendendo mudanças no comportamento de risco moral médico em resposta a reforma governamental de cuidados à saúde

Doctor moral hazard has a significant effect on the doctor-patient relationship, increases the cost of healthcare, and introduces medical risks. It is a global concern. Doctor moral hazard behaviour is evolving in response to China's healthcare reform program which was inaugurated in 2009.A scientific understanding of doctor behaviour would facilitate the prevention and control of doctor moral hazard behaviour. This study used the principles and methodology of Glaser and Strauss's grounded theory. Theoretical and snowball samplings were used to identify 60 subjects. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with each subject. Themes were identified through substantial (open) coding and theoretical coding. Six types of doctor moral hazard behaviour were extracted from the data. A behavioural model was described and diagrammed to provide a conceptual framework of current doctor moral hazard behaviour. The conceptual model of doctor moral hazard behaviour can be used in several ways to correct or prevent undesirable actions. Rules governing hospital procedures can be strengthened and enforced by supervision and punishment; the asymmetry of information between doctor and patient can be reduced; patient participation in treatment decisions can be increased; the effectiveness of medical ethics education can be improved.

Para un médico, el riesgo moral tiene un efecto significativo en la relación médico-paciente, incrementa el costo de la atención de salud e introduce riesgos en la salud. Se trata de una preocupación global. El riesgo moral del comportamiento médico ha evolucionado en respuesta al programa de reforma de atención de salud del gobierno de China, inaugurado en 2009. Un entendimiento científico del comportamiento de los médicos facilitaría la prevención y el control del riesgo moral. El presente estudio usa los principios y metodología de la teoría fundamentada de Glaser y Strauss. Se usaron muestras teóricas y multiplicativas para identificar 60 sujetos y realizar entrevistas semiestructuradas en profundidad. Los temas se identificaron mediante codificación sustancial abierta y teórica. De los datos se extrajeron seis tipos de riesgo moral del comportamiento médico. Se describió y diagramó un modelo de comportamiento para proporcionar una estructura conceptual del riesgo moral del comportamiento médico actual. El modelo conceptual de riesgo moral del comportamiento médico puede usarse de varias maneras para corregir o prevenir acciones no deseadas. Las normas procedimentales de los hospitales pueden fortalecerse y exigirse mediante supervisión y castigo; se puede reducir la asimetría de la información que se da entre el médico y el paciente, incrementar la participación del paciente en decisiones de tratamiento y mejorar la efectividad en la educación en ética médica.

Risco moral médico tem um efeito significativo na relação médico-paciente, aumenta o custo dos cuidados à saúde e introduz riscos médicos. É uma preocupação global. Comportamento de risco moral médico vem se desenvolvendo em resposta ao programa de reforma de cuidados à saúde da China, que se iniciou em 2009. Uma compreensão científica do comportamento médico facilitaria a prevenção e controle do comportamento de risco moral médico. Este estudo utilizou os princípios da metodologia da Teoria Fundamentada de Glaser e Strauss. Amostragem teóricas e por bola de neve foram utilizadas para identificar 60 participantes. Entrevistas detalhadas semi-estruturadas foram realizadas com cada participante. Temas foram identificados através de codificação (aberta) substancial e codificação teórica. Seis tipos de comportamento de risco moral médico foram obtidos dos dados. Um modelo comportamental foi descrito e diagramado de forma a fornecer um enquadre conceitual do comportamento de risco moral médico. O modelo conceitual de comportamento de risco moral médico pode ser utilizado de diversas formas para corrigir ou prevenir ações indesejáveis. Regras que governam procedimentos em hospitais podem ser fortalecidas e reforçadas por supervisão e punição; a assimetria de informações entre médicos e pacientes pode ser reduzida; a participação dos pacientes nas decisões sobre tratamento pode ser aumentada; e a efetividade da educação ética médica pode ser melhorada.

Classification of the appropriate behaviors of Patients for Patient Safety against the Chinese cultural background, based on grounded theory.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this research is to explore the appropriate behaviors and characteristics of Patients for Patient Safety (PFPS) against the Chinese cultural background, especially the types and internal logical relationships of behaviors of PFPS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this research, Glazer's methodology principle of the traditional grounded theory was adopted, and the methods of objective sampling, theoretical sampling and snowball sampling were employed. Considering the diversity of the interviewed subjects' gender, age, professional title, qualification and demographic characteristics, representatives of hospital management staff, doctors, nurses, patients and their family members from different provinces and cities across the country were selected for semi-structured in-depth interviews to assess the behaviors of PFPS against the Chinese cultural background. In addition, some PFPS reports were collected from network media to supplement the interview data. All interviews were recorded and collated into Word text documents. Qualitative research data analysis software Nvivo 12 was used to sort out the collected data, and the theme was separated out through the strategy of substantive coding and theoretical coding. RESULTS: In this research, the appropriate behaviors of PFPS were taken as the research content; 6 categories of appropriate behaviors of PFPS were separated out; and a model diagram of PFPS was constructed accordingly. CONCLUSIONS: A model diagram of the appropriate behaviors of PFPS against the Chinese cultural background was constructed to provide theoretical guidance for relevant research and practice. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2020;33(3):263-72.

[Comparison of oncology outcomes and anal function among laparoscopic partial, subtotal and total intersphincteric resection for low rectal cancers].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the oncology outcomes and anal function among laparoscopic partial, subtotal and total intersphincteric resection(ISR) for low rectal cancers. METHODS: From June 2011 to February 2016, a total of 79 consecutive patients with low rectal cancers underwent laparoscopic ISR with hand-sewn coloanal anastomosis at our department. According to the distal tumor margin, partial ISR (internal sphincter resection at the dentate line) was used to treat tumors with distance <1 cm from the anal sphincter (n=28), subtotal ISR was adopted for the tumors locating between the dentate line and intersphincteric groove (n=34), and total ISR (resection at the dentate line) was applied in the treatment of intra-anal tumors (n=17). Anal function was evaluated by a standardized gastrointestinal questionnaire, Wexner incontinence score and Kirwan's classification. Metaphase oncological results and postoperative anal function were compared among three groups, and. RESULTS: Other than the distance of tumor low margin to dentate line (P=0.000) and serum CEA level (P=0.040), no significant differences were noted in baseline data among 3 groups (all P>0.05). The median follow up was 21(8-61) months. The 3-year disease-free survival rates in laparoscopic partial, subtotal and total ISR groups were 91.1%, 88.9%, 88.2% (P=0.901) and the 3-year local relapse-free survival rates were 91.1%, 72.9%, 80.2%(P=0.658), whose all differences were not significant. Thirty-eight patients who did not receive neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and underwent ileostomy closure for at least 24 months completed the evaluation of anal function, including 14 cases in partial group, 15 cases in subtotal group and 9 cases in total group. Of 38 patients, 73.7%(28/38) was classified as good function (Wexner incontinence score ≤10) and no patient adopted a colostomy because of severe fecal incontinence(Kirwan classification=grade 5). Furthermore, there were no significant differences in Wexner incontinence score and Kirwan classification among 3 groups (all P>0.05). However, patients with chronic anastomotic stoma stenosis showed worse anal function than those without stenosis [Wexner incontinence score: 18(9-20) vs 6(0-18), P=0.000; Kirwan grading: 3(2-4) vs. 2(1-4), P=0.002]. CONCLUSIONS: As the ultimate sphincter-saving technique, laparoscopic ISR can result in better oncologic outcomes and better anal function for patients with low rectal cancers. The different procedures of ISR may not affect the efficacy, but chronic anastomotic stoma stenosis deteriorates incontinence status.

[Treatment of complications after laparoscopic intersphincteric resection for low rectal cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the perioperative and postoperative complications follow laparoscopic intersphincteric resection (LapISR) in the treatment of low rectal cancer and their management. METHODS: An observational study was conducted in 73 consecutive patients who underwent LapISR for low rectal cancer between June 2011 and February 2016 in our hospital. The clinicopathological parameters, perioperative and postoperative complications, and clinical outcomes were collected from a prospectively maintained database. Perioperative and postoperative complications were defined as any complication occurring within or more than 3 months after the primary operation, respectively. RESULTS: Forty-nine(67.1%) cases were male and 24(32.9%) were female with a median age of 61(25 to 79) years. The median distance from distal tumor margin to anal verge was 4.0(1.0 to 5.5) cm. The median operative time was 195 (120 to 360) min, median intra operative blood loss was 100 (20 to 300) ml, median number of harvested lymph nodes was 14(3 to 31) per case. All the patients underwent preventive terminal ileum loop stoma. No conversion or hospital mortality was presented. The R0 resection rate was 98.6% with totally negative distal resection margin. A total of 34 complication episodes were recorded in 21(28.8%) patients during perioperative period, and among which 20.6%(7/34) was grade III(-IIII( according to Dindo system. Anastomosis-associated morbidity (16.4%,12/73) was the most common after LapISR, including mucosa ischemia in 9 cases(12.3%), stricture in 7 cases (9.6%, 4 cases secondary to mucosa necrosis receiving anal dilation), grade A fistula in 3 cases (4.1%) receiving conservative treatment and necrosis in 1 case (1.4%) receiving permanent stoma. After a median follow up of 21(3 to 60) months, postoperative complications were recorded in 12 patients (16.4%) with 16 episodes, including anastomotic stenosis (8.2%), rectum segmental stricture (5.5%), ileus (2.7%), partial anastomotic dehiscence (1.4%), anastomotic fistula (1.4%), rectovaginal fistula (1.4%) and mucosal prolapse (1.4%). These patients received corresponding treatments, such as endoscopic transanal resection, anal dilation, enema, purgative, permanent stoma, etc. according to the lesions. Six patients (8.2%) required re-operation intervention due to postoperative complications. CONCLUSION: Anastomosis-associated morbidity is the most common after LapISR in the treatment of low rectal cancer in perioperative and postoperative periods, which must be strictly managed with suitable methods.

Clinical and functional results of laparoscopic intersphincteric resection for ultralow rectal cancer: is there a distinction between the three types of hand-sewn colo-anal anastomosis?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical and functional outcomes of three types of hand-sewn colo-anal anastomosis (CAA) after laparoscopic intersphincteric resection (Lap-ISR) for patients with ultralow rectal cancer. METHODS: A total of 79 consecutive patients treated by Lap-ISR for low-lying rectal cancer in an academic medical center from June 2011 to February 2016. According to the distal tumor margin and individualized anal length, the patients underwent three types of hand-sewn CAA including partial-ISR, subtotal-ISR, and total-ISR. RESULTS: Of the 79 patients, 35.4% required partial-ISR, 43% adopted subtotal-ISR, and 21.5% underwent total-ISR. R0 resection was achieved in 78 patients (98.7%). In addition to distal resection margin, there were no significant differences in clinicopathological parameters and postoperative complications between the three groups. The type of hand-sewn CAA did not influence the 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) or local relapse-free survival (LFS). At 24-months follow-up, in spite of higher incontinence scores in total-ISR group, there were not statistically significant differences in functional outcomes including Wexner score or Kirwan grade between the groups. Nevertheless, patients with chronic anastomotic stricture showed worse anal function than those without the complication. CONCLUSION: The type of hand-sewn CAA after Lap-ISR may not influence oncological and functional outcomes, but chronic stricture deteriorates continence status.

Bio-inspired evaporation through plasmonic film of nanoparticles at the air-water interface.

Plasmonic gold nanoparticles self-assembled at the air-water interface to produce an evaporative surface with local control inspired by skins and plant leaves. Fast and efficient evaporation is realized due to the instant and localized plasmonic heating at the evaporative surface. The bio-inspired evaporation process provides an alternative promising approach for evaporation, and has potential applications in sterilization, distillation, and heat transfer.

Strain field mapping of dislocations in a Ge/Si heterostructure.

Ge/Si heterostructure with fully strain-relaxed Ge film was grown on a Si (001) substrate by using a two-step process by ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition. The dislocations in the Ge/Si heterostructure were experimentally investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The dislocations at the Ge/Si interface were identified to be 90° full-edge dislocations, which are the most efficient way for obtaining a fully relaxed Ge film. The only defect found in the Ge epitaxial film was a 60° dislocation. The nanoscale strain field of the dislocations was mapped by geometric phase analysis technique from the HRTEM image. The strain field around the edge component of the 60° dislocation core was compared with those of the Peierls-Nabarro and Foreman dislocation models. Comparison results show that the Foreman model with a = 1.5 can describe appropriately the strain field around the edge component of a 60° dislocation core in a relaxed Ge film on a Si substrate.