Construction of indicators for evaluating the quality of extended care for children with asthma.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To construct a set of scientific and effective quality evaluation indicators of continuing care for children with asthma, and to promote the development of continuing care for children with asthma toward a more specialized and standardized direction. METHODS: Through literature research and semi-structured interview, the item pool of evaluation index was drawn up, and the first draft of expert inquiry questionnaire was formed based on the three-dimensional quality theoretical model of structure-process-result, and the construction of quality evaluation index was completed through two rounds of expert inquiry and analytic hierarchy process. RESULTS: The effective recovery rate was 94.44% in the first round and 100.00% in the second round, the expert authority coefficient was 0.852 and 0.863, and the Kendal coordination coefficient was 0.129 and 0.126, respectively (p < 0.01). Finally, the evaluation index of continuing care quality for children with asthma was formed, including 3 first-level indicators, 9 s-level indicators and 36 third-level indicators, and then the weight and combination weight of each index were obtained by AHP. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation index of continuing care quality for children with asthma is scientific and specific, which is of great significance to the improvement of continuing care quality for children with asthma.

Research on Coal and Gangue Recognition Based on the Improved YOLOv7-Tiny Target Detection Algorithm.

The recognition technology of coal and gangue is one of the key technologies of intelligent mine construction. Aiming at the problems of the low accuracy of coal and gangue recognition models and the difficult recognition of small-target coal and gangue caused by low-illumination and high-dust environments in the coal mine working face, a coal and gangue recognition model based on the improved YOLOv7-tiny target detection algorithm is proposed. This paper proposes three model improvement methods. The coordinate attention mechanism is introduced to improve the feature expression ability of the model. The contextual transformer module is added after the spatial pyramid pooling structure to improve the feature extraction ability of the model. Based on the idea of the weighted bidirectional feature pyramid, the four branch modules in the high-efficiency layer aggregation network are weighted and cascaded to improve the recognition ability of the model for useful features. The experimental results show that the average precision mean of the improved YOLOv7-tiny model is 97.54%, and the FPS is 24.73 f·s-1. Compared with the Faster-RCNN, YOLOv3, YOLOv4, YOLOv4-VGG, YOLOv5s, YOLOv7, and YOLOv7-tiny models, the improved YOLOv7-tiny model has the highest recognition rate and the fastest recognition speed. Finally, the improved YOLOv7-tiny model is verified by field tests in coal mines, which provides an effective technical means for the accurate identification of coal and gangue.

Identifying ESG types of Chinese solid waste disposal companies based on machine learning methods.

In the context of China's efforts to combat climate change and promote sustainable development, the solid waste treatment industry's environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) performance is receiving significant attention. To comprehensively assess the ESG performance of the solid waste treatment industry and identify company types, this study constructs a targeted ESG evaluation index system based on existing literature, SASB industry standards, and company reports and utilizes a random forest approach combined with K-means clustering to determine indicator weights. Based on this index system, the paper evaluates the ESG performance of 71 solid waste disposal companies (SWDCs) from 2013 to 2021 and identifies their ESG types from static and dynamic perspectives. In the static view, company types are determined based on annual ESG performance, while the dynamic view considers time-series changes to observe the evolution of company ESG types. The results show that the overall ESG performance of SWDCs falls within the 2-8-point range, indicating a noticeable high-low imbalance. Key initiatives to improve ESG performance in this industry include enhancing waste management measures, developing emergency plans, and reinforcing ESG disclosure. From a static perspective, this paper can identify companies into three categories: delayed development, single-wheel-driven, and coordinated development. Finally, from a dynamic perspective considering the time factor, companies are further subdivided into five types: continual leading, growth catch-up, slow progress, fluctuating change, and retrogressive inertia. This study not only provides targeted recommendations for different types of ESG companies but also helps various sectors of society better understand the ESG conditions of this high environmental risk industry, thereby enhancing the regulation and support for its sustainable development.

Construction of an index system of core competence assessment for sleep medicine nurse specialists in China: a Delphi study.

AIM: To construct an evaluation index system for the core competence of nurses in sleep medicine specialties. BACKGROUND: Specialized nurses in sleep medicine must handle treatment, nursing, and management well, which requires nurses to have excellent competence in knowledge, skills, and ability. However, a competency evaluation system for sleep medicine nurses has not been established in China. METHODS: We used a literature review and an expert meeting to establish a draft indicator system. Subsequently, two rounds of correspondence were conducted with 27 experts from 5 provinces using the Delphi method to solicit their opinions on the core competency evaluation indicators for sleep medicine nurse specialists and to qualitatively evaluate the experts' scores. The consensus was defined in advance as a mean score of 4.0 or above, with at least 75% agreement among participants. In this way, the final indicator framework was determined. RESULTS: The final evaluation indexes of the core competencies for sleep medicine Nurse Specialists included 6 first-level indexes (Practical ability, Theoretical Knowledge, Critical thinking, Communication and coordination, Nursing Management, and Professional Development), 16 s-level indexes, and 64 third-level indexes. The effective response rates of the two expert consultation rounds were 100%. The expert authority coefficients were 0.878 and 0.865 in the first and second rounds of consultation, respectively. In the second round of consultation, the first, second, and third indexes of Kendall's coefficient of concordance were 0.373, 0.351, and 0.286, respectively (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The core competence evaluation index system for sleep medicine nurses established in this study is scientific and reliable and can provide a theoretical reference for the training, assessment, and evaluation of sleep medicine nurses in the future. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The evaluation index system of sleep medicine nurses' core competence will provide an effective practical framework for nursing management to evaluate, train, and examine the core competence of sleep medicine nurses.

Establishing a river health evaluation index system for seven rivers in Jiamusi City of China.

The Jiamusi section of the Songhua River is one of the first 17 model river construction sections in China. The implementation of river health assessments can determine the health dynamics of rivers and test the management's effectiveness. Targeting seven rivers, this study conducted river zoning and monitoring point deployment to conduct sufficient field research and monitoring. The authors selected hydrological and water resources, physical structure, water quality, aquatic life, social service functions, and management as guideline layers and 15 indicator layers. Subsequently, the authors established an evaluation index system to evaluate and analyze the ecological status and social service status of each river. The results showed that the Yindamu, Alingda, and Gejie rivers scored well as healthy rivers, with health evaluation scores of 78.98, 76.06, and 75.83, respectively. The Wangsanwu, Lujiagang, and Lingdangmai rivers are generally sub-healthy rivers with scores of 71.55, 67.97, and 60.7, respectively. The Yinggetu River has a score of 54.52 and is therefore assessed as unhealthy. Based on the scientific evaluation index method, this study analyses the current river health state in Jiamusi City to provide the basis for the evaluation of the river chief's work and future river management.

[Association of dietary quality during pregnancy with fetal immune function in Guangzhou].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the situation of women's dietary quality during pregnancy and explore the correlations between maternal dietary index and fetal immune function. METHODS: From September 2010 to February 2011, pregnant women who had routine physical examination in Yuexiu District and Baiyun District Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Guangzhou were recruited as study objects to use 3-day 24-hour dietary review to investigate diet during pregnancy, and general demographic information of pregnant women was collected through questionnaire, and the neonatal umbilical cord blood was collected during delivery. Laboratory detection of immunological indicators included IgG, IgA, IgM, IFN-γ and IL-6. The quality of diet during pregnancy was evaluated by diet quality index for pregnancy(DQI-P), dietary balance index for pregnancy(DBI-P) and alternate Medierranean diet score(aMED). Spearman correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used to explore the correlations between dietary quality during pregnancy and fetal immune function. RESULTS: The mean score of total DQI-P score of the study subjects was 55.8±10.0, and the mean score of overall food diversity and protein food source diversity was as high as 12.0±2.4 and 4.8±0.7. The mean score of nutrient energy ratio and fatty acid energy ratio was only 0.3±1.0 and 0.4±1.0, indicating that the population had good dietary diversity during pregnancy, but the dietary adequacy, suitability and balance were poor. The total score of DBI-P score was-19.2±9.4. The positive end score was 4.6±2.9, only 7.2% of the subjects had a high degree of dietary intake during pregnancy. The negative end score was 23.9±7.9, indicating the status of moderate dietary intake. Dietary quality was 28.5±7.1. Only 0.6% of the study population had a balanced dietary situation, and more than 67.9% of pregnant women had high intake imbalance. The mean total score of aMED score was 4.9±1.3, and the proportion of the food intake of beans and nuts was less than the median population was 62.5% and 79.1%, respectively, indicating that the food intake of beans and nuts was insufficient in this population. After adjusting for confounding factors such as maternal age, parity, parity, prepregnancy BMI, weight gain during pregnancy, and mode of delivery, multiple linear regression analysis showed DQI-P during pregnancy and negatively with IL-6(ß=0.143, ß=-0.155, P<0.05). DBI-P was negatively associated with IL-6(ß=-0.177, P<0.01) and aMED and IFN-γ(ß=-0.161, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The dietary quality of women in late pregnancy in Guangzhou is low, the dietary structure is unbalanced. Higher dietary quality during pregnancy can promote the development of fetal immune system and improve fetal immune function.

[Establishment and content validity assessment of evaluation index system for development value of traditional Chinese medicine preparations in medical institutions].

The development of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) preparations as an incubator for new drugs in medical institutions has flourished, while an evaluation index system remains to be established for comprehensively assessing the development value of these prescriptions. This study established an item pool through literature research, employed the Delphi method to determine the content of evaluation indexes, and adopted the superiority chart to determine the weight of each index. Two-level evaluation index system for the development value of TCM preparations in medical institutions was established, which included 7 first-level items and 36 se-cond-level items, demonstrating scientific validity. The first-level items(weight) were inheritance(10.61%), effectiveness(23.22%), safety(22.71%), innovation(13.21%), economy(10.00%), suitability(8.57%), and accessibility(11.68%). The top three second-level items in terms of weight distribution were adverse reaction monitoring(6.73%), evidence of therapeutic effect(5.71%), and clinical response rate(4.75%). The bottom three second-level items were production advantages(0.86%), medicinal dosage(0.48%), and medicinal smell or taste(0.18%). The content validity of the established system was assessed, which revealed that the index system was reliable, with the overall and average content validity indexes of 0.47 and 0.90, respectively. Furthermore, the established evaluation index system was used to evaluate six TCM preparations in a city-level hospital of TCM in Sichuan Province, which demonstrated that the system had operability. The results indicate that the evaluation index system is scientific, reliable, and operable, providing a reference for developers to selectively develop TCM preparations in medical institutions. In practical application, the system can be adjusted regarding the index weights according to actual conditions.

[Medical Equipment Management System Based on the Concept of Whole Life Cycle].

Objective: Strengthen the legal, compliant, and rational use of medical equipment and further guide the rationalization of medical behaviors. Methods: By utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) and image analysis technology, collect real-time operation data of the equipment, establish a real-time running database for medical equipment, and cooperate with the 12 key links of the "whole life" of the equipment and the 8+6 management system framework to implement lean management of the efficiency, benefit, and effectiveness of medical equipment usage. Results: It realizes the improvement of the quality and efficiency of medical equipment, cost reduction and cost control, and provides data support for scientific decision-making. Conclusion: This study innovates the management model for the entire life cycle of medical equipment, providing a scientific approach to the management of hospital equipment.

Developing an evaluation indicators of health literacy for cervical cancer among Chinese women: a modified Delphi method study.

BACKGROUND: Increasing women's health literacy is the key to preventing cervical cancer, and various tools have been developed to assess women's cancer health literacy. However, many of these tools come from other countries and have not been adapted to Chinese requirements. Furthermore, a system for evaluating cervical cancer health literacy among Chinese women has not been developed. Therefore, we sought to establish an evaluation index system for cervical cancer health literacy among Chinese women and to provide an effective evaluation tool for tertiary prevention of cervical cancer in China. METHODS: We invited 20 recognized experts to participate in two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, and the modified Delphi process with percentage weighting and multiplication was used. A literature review identified 67 potential indicators. Subsequent discussions within our research team led to the retention of 48 indicators following a rigorous screening process. On this basis, two rounds of Delphi expert consultation were conducted to rate and screen the indexes. Percentage weighting and multiplication were used to determine index weights. RESULTS: Twenty experts participated in the first-round Delphi consultations (95.23% recovery rate). In the second-round Delphi consultations, 20 questionnaires were returned (100%), and the expert authority coefficient was 0.93 ± 0.02. After both rounds of Delphi consultation, 4 first-level indicators, 9 second-level indicators, and 32 third-level indicators were identified for cervical cancer literacy among Chinese women. On a five-point scale, importance ratings ranged from 3.76 to 4.95 points, with variation coefficients ranging from 0.06 to 0.25, while sensitivity ratings ranged from 3.71 to 4.83 points, with variation coefficients ranging from 0.08 to 0.24. Across both rounds, Kendall's W coefficients ranged from 0.168 to 0.248. The weights of first-level indicators of basic knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer, primary prevention of cervical cancer literacy, secondary prevention of cervical cancer literacy, and tertiary prevention of cervical cancer literacy were 0.257, 0.249, 0.251, and 0.243, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed the first tertiary prevention-based, comprehensive evaluation index system for cervical cancer literacy among Chinese women, which will provide theoretical support for cervical cancer prevention and health education programs.

A study on the quality evaluation index system of smart home care for older adults in the community --based on Delphi and AHP.

BACKGROUND: In the context of the "silver wave" and "technology wave", smart home care for older adults in the community provide new ways for China and other countries to support ageing in place. Yet, only very few studies have focused on developing a quality index system of smart care. This study attempted to draw on the SERVQUAL model to establish a quality evaluation index system for smart senior care for older adults in the community. METHODS: On the basis of the service quality model, this paper has integrated qualitative and quantitative analyses using the Delphi and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods to construct the index system of smart home care in the community and obtain the weights. These were based on literature research and field interviews in Guangzhou and Shenzhen pilot districts. RESULTS: A quality evaluation indexes system of smart home care for older adults in the community was developed, with 5 primary indices and 33 secondary indices. The weights of the 5 stair indices from high to low were smart emergency assistance 0.332, smart meal assistance 0.272, smart medical assistance 0.229, smart cleaning assistance 0.110 and smart amusement assistance 0.057. CONCLUSION: The results from the weight allocation revealed smart emergency assistance, smart meal assistance, and smart medical care assistance were the most important and crucial aspects of community-based smart home care. The study also suggested that "timeliness", "reliability", and "ease of use" should be given more attention. It is recommended to use this index system as a regulatory benchmark to guide the government bodies, senior care enterprises and communities to take measures to enhance the quality.

Infrared and Visible Image Fusion Technology and Application: A Review.

The images acquired by a single visible light sensor are very susceptible to light conditions, weather changes, and other factors, while the images acquired by a single infrared light sensor generally have poor resolution, low contrast, low signal-to-noise ratio, and blurred visual effects. The fusion of visible and infrared light can avoid the disadvantages of two single sensors and, in fusing the advantages of both sensors, significantly improve the quality of the images. The fusion of infrared and visible images is widely used in agriculture, industry, medicine, and other fields. In this study, firstly, the architecture of mainstream infrared and visible image fusion technology and application was reviewed; secondly, the application status in robot vision, medical imaging, agricultural remote sensing, and industrial defect detection fields was discussed; thirdly, the evaluation indicators of the main image fusion methods were combined into the subjective evaluation and the objective evaluation, the properties of current mainstream technologies were then specifically analyzed and compared, and the outlook for image fusion was assessed; finally, infrared and visible image fusion was summarized. The results show that the definition and efficiency of the fused infrared and visible image had been improved significantly. However, there were still some problems, such as the poor accuracy of the fused image, and irretrievably lost pixels. There is a need to improve the adaptive design of the traditional algorithm parameters, to combine the innovation of the fusion algorithm and the optimization of the neural network, so as to further improve the image fusion accuracy, reduce noise interference, and improve the real-time performance of the algorithm.

Improved method for benthic ecosystem health assessment by integrating chemical indexes into multiple biological indicator species-A case study of the Baiyangdian Lake, China.

A comprehensive and scientific assessment of benthic ecosystem health is key to the rational selection of endogenous pollution reduction technologies for lakes. However, current assessments are mainly limited to biological indicators and ignore the actual benthic ecosystem situations, such as the impact of eutrophication and heavy metal pollution, which may lead to the one-sidedness of the evaluation results. In this study, taking Baiyangdian Lake, the largest shallow mesotrophic-eutrophic lake in the North China Plain, as an example, the chemical assessment index and biological integrity index were first combined to estimate the biological conditions, nutritional status and heavy metal pollution of lakes. The indicator system incorporated three biological assessments (benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI), submerged aquatic vegetation index of biological integrity (SAV-IBI) and microbial index of biological integrity (M-IBI)) and three chemical assessments (dissolved oxygen (DO), comprehensive trophic level index (TLI) and index of geoaccumulation (Igeo)). Twenty-three attributes of B-IBI, fourteen attributes of SAV-IBI and twelve attributes of M-IBI were screened by range, responsiveness, and redundancy tests to keep the core metrics that were significantly correlated with disturbance gradients or showed strong discriminatory power between reference and impaired sites. The assessment results of B-IBI, SAV-IBI, and M-IBI showed significant differences in the response to anthropogenic activities and seasonal change, among which the submerged plants showed more significant seasonal differences. It is difficult to reach a comprehensive conclusion regarding the benthic ecosystem health status based on a single biological community. In comparison with biological indicators, the score of chemical indicators is relatively low. DO, TLI and Igeo provide an essential supplement for the benthic ecosystem health assessment of lakes with eutrophication and heavy metal pollution problems. Using the new integrated assessment method, the benthic ecosystem health of Baiyangdian Lake was rated as fair, especially the northern parts of the lake adjacent to the inflow mouth of the Fu River, which were in poor condition, indicating that the lake has experienced anthropogenic disturbance, resulting in eutrophication, heavy metal pollution and biological community degradation. Whether it's spring or summer, the integrated assessment method provides a more plausible and comprehensive view of benthic ecosystem health under the pressure of increasing human activities and changing habitat and hydrological conditions, overcoming the narrow perspective and uncertainties of the single-index method. Thus, it can assist lake managers in providing technical support for ecological indication and restoration.

Weak Fault Feature Extraction Method Based on Improved Stochastic Resonance.

Aiming at the problems of early weak fault feature extraction of bearings in rotating machinery, an improved stochastic resonance (SR) is proposed combined with the advantage of SR to enhance weak characteristic signals with noise energy. Firstly, according to the characteristics of the large parameters of the actual fault signal, the amplitude transform coefficient and frequency transform coefficient are introduced to convert the large parameter signal into small parameter signal which can be processed by SR, and the relationship of second-order parameters are introduced. Secondly, a comprehensive evaluation index (CEI) consisted of power spectrum kurtosis, correlation coefficient, structural similarity, root mean square error, and approximate entropy, is constructed through BP neural network. Moreover, this CEI is adopted as fitness function to search the optimal damping coefficient and amplitude transform coefficient with adaptive weight particle swarm optimization (PSO). Finally, according to the improved optimal SR system, the weak fault feature can be extracted. The simulation and experiment verify the effectiveness of the proposed method compared with traditional second-order general scale transform adaptive SR.

Security Risk Intelligent Assessment of Power Distribution Internet of Things via Entropy-Weight Method and Cloud Model.

The current power distribution Internet of Things (PDIoT) lacks security protection terminals and techniques. Network security has a large exposure surface that can be attacked from multiple paths. In addition, there are many network security vulnerabilities and weak security protection capabilities of power distribution Internet of Things terminals. Therefore, it is crucial to conduct a scientific assessment of the security of PDIoT. However, traditional security assessment methods are relatively subjective and ambiguous. To address the problems, we propose to use the entropy-weight method and cloud model theory to assess the security risk of the PDIoT. We first analyze the factors of security risks in PDIoT systems and establish a three-layer PDIoT security evaluation index system, including a perception layer, network layer, and application layer. The index system has three first-level indicators and sixteen second-level indicators. Then, the entropy-weight method is used to optimize the weight of each index. Additionally, the cloud model theory is employed to calculate the affiliation degree and eigenvalue of each evaluation index. Based on a comprehensive analysis of all evaluation indexes, we can achieve the security level of PDIoT. Taking the PDIoT of Meizhou Power Supply Bureau of Guangdong Power Grid as an example for empirical testing, the experimental results show that the evaluation results are consistent with the actual situation, which proves that the proposed method is effective and feasible.

Comprehensive assessment of water environmental carrying capacity for sustainable watershed development.

Due to insufficient understanding of human-water interaction, many water-related problems arise in watersheds, posing severe threats to the sustainability of watershed development. Although water environmental carrying capacity (WECC) is a powerful tool to support sustainable development of watersheds, few studies considered aquatic ecological factors and uncertainty in indicator values, leading to losses of sample information in the evaluation of WECC. This paper developed a systematic framework for comprehensive WECC assessment that included the indicator system and a novel variable fuzzy pattern recognition (VFPR) approach. The WECC index system incorporated aquatic ecological factors, and addressed uncertainties associated with the indicator values. The proposed VFPR-based assessment model could realize successive evaluation to retain more original information of the sample and distinguish similar result values by treating the sample as having a continuous degree of membership instead of the traditional point form. In addition, it could be more adaptable to various circumstances including extreme cases, and closely reflect the impacts of indicator changes on the results. The established evaluation framework has been applied to Dongjiang River Basin in Guangdong Province. The spatial differences and main influencing factors of WECC in the study area were analyzed. Results show that 50% and 16.7% of the sub-regions in the study area would be subject to a poor level of WECC under pessimistic and optimistic circumstances, respectively. WECCs in the upper and lower reaches are the best and worst, respectively, which is in line with the levels of economic development in the Dongjiang River Basin. The proposed method can also be applicable to many other problems involving numerous indicators.

Construction of an index system for evaluating the effectiveness of transitional care in kidney transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed that transitional care reduces the complication rate and readmission rate and improves the quality of life in kidney transplant receipts, nevertheless, in fact there are no standard evaluation indexes and debatable scientific of existing indexes in kidney transplant recipients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to construct an evaluation index system to assess the effects of transitional care in kidney transplant recipients. METHODS: Based on Omaha system, an initial evaluation index system about the effects of transitional care in kidney transplant recipients was drafted by the literature review and semi-structured interview. Two rounds of correspondence were conducted in 19 experts and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to calculate the weights of all indexes. RESULTS: Five first-level indexes, sixteen second-level indexes, and forty-eight third-level indexes were selected in the initial evaluation index system. The authority coefficient of two-round expert consultations was 0.90 and coordination coefficients of indexes ranged from 0.24 to 0.34. CONCLUSION: The established evaluation index system for the effectiveness of transitional care for kidney transplant recipients was scientific and reliable. Furthermore, it would be a potential method to evaluate effects of transitional care in kidney transplant recipients after further examination.

Modeling the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns on urban surface ecological status: A case study of Milan and Wuhan cities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedent negative impacts on our society, however, evidences show a reduction of anthropogenic pressures on the environment. Due to the high importance of environmental conditions on human life quality, it is crucial to model the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on environmental conditions. Consequently, the objective of this study was to model the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the urban surface ecological status (USES). To this end, the Landsat-8 images of Milan for three pre-lockdown dates (Feb 13, 2018 (MD1), April 18, 2018 (MD2) and Feb 3, 2020 (MD3)) and one date over the lockdown (April 14, 2020 (MD4)), and Wuhan for three pre-lockdown dates (Dec 17, 2017 (WD1), March 23, 2018 (WD2) and Dec 7, 2019 (WD3)) and one lockdown date (Feb 9, 2020 (WD4)) were used. First, pressure-state-response (PSR) framework parameters including index-based built-up index (IBI), vegetation cover (VC), vegetation health index (VHI), land surface temperature (LST) and Wetness were calculated. Second, by combining the PSR framework parameters based on comprehensive ecological evaluation index (CEEI), the USES were modeled on different dates. Thirdly, the USES during the COVID-19 lockdown was compared with the USES for pre-lockdown. The mean (standard deviation) of CEEI for Milan on MD1, MD2, MD3 and MD4 were 0.52 (0.12), 0.60 (0.19), 0.57 (0.13) and 0.45 (0.16), respectively. Also, these values for Wuhan on WD1, WD2, WD3 and WD4 were 0.63 (0.14), 0.67 (0.15), 0.60 (0.13) and 0.57 (0.13), respectively. Due to the lockdowns, the mean CEEI of built-up, bare soil and green spaces for Milan and Wuhan decreased by [0.18, 0.02, 0.08], [0.13, 0.06, 0.05], respectively. During the lockdown period, the USES improved substantially due to the reduction of anthropogenic activities in the urban environment.

Impacts of nitrogen practices on yield, grain quality, and nitrogen-use efficiency of crops and soil fertility in three paddy-upland cropping systems.

BACKGROUND: Global food security faces a number of challenges due to increasing population, climate change, and urbanization, while excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers has become a major challenge for sustainable, intensive agriculture. Assessing the impact of agronomic management practices on seed yield, grain quality, and soil fertility is a critical step in understanding nutrientuse efficiency. RESULT: The comprehensive evaluation index had good fitness to that of single attribute (i.e. seed yield, crop quality and soil fertility), indicating that the comprehensive evaluation index was reliable. Applying controlled-release urea (rice in wheat and oilseed rape field: 150 kg N ha-1 , other crops: 120 kg N ha-1 ) plus common urea (30 kg N ha-1 ) incorporating straw from the previous season across the growing season for cereal and oilseed crops showed a slight improvement in seed productivity and Nuse efficiency among three cropping systems in the traditional evaluation method. Compared with local farm practice (applying common urea of 150 kg N ha-1 ), applying these practices in combination based on the outcome of the comprehensive evaluation index method decreased the seed yield by -1.27 ~ 29.8% but improved quality and soil fertility for the paddy-upland cropping system, respectively. CONCLUSION: Properly managing N application by applying partial and fully controlled release of urea with or without straw incorporation for a specific crop system has the potential to provide a better compromise among yield, grain quality, and soil fertility in southern China. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Quantifying the electron-donating and -accepting capacities of wastewater for evaluating and optimizing biological wastewater treatment processes.

Biological processes have been widely used for the treatment of both domestic and industrial wastewaters. In such biological processes, pollutants are converted into pollution-free substances by microorganisms through oxidation-reduction reactions. Thus, how to quantify the internal oxidation-reduction properties wastewaters and seek out targeted countermeasures is essential to understand, operate, and optimize biological wastewater treatment systems. So far, no such approach is available yet. In this work, a novel concept of electron neutralization-based evaluation is proposed to describe the internal oxidation-reduction properties of wastewater. Pollutants in wastewater are defined as electron donor substances (EDSs) or electron acceptor substances (EASs), which could give or accept electrons, respectively. With such an electron neutralization concept, several parameters, i.e., electron residual concentration (R), economy-related index (E and Er), and economical evaluation index (Y and Yr), are defined. Then, these parameters are used to evaluate the performance and economic aspects of currently applied wastewater treatment processes and even optimize systems. Three case studies demonstrate that the proposed concept could be effectively used to reduce wastewater treatment costs, assess energy recovery, and evaluate process performance. Therefore, a new, simple, and reliable methodology is established to describe the oxidation-reduction properties of wastewater and assess the biological wastewater treatment processes.

Model construction of medical endoscope service evaluation system-based on the analysis of Delphi method.

BACKGROUND: Medical endoscope is widely used in clinical practice for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment, occupying around 5% of the medical device market. Evaluating the true service level of medical endoscope is essential and necessary to improve overall performance of medical diagnosis and treatment, and to maintain competitiveness of endoscope manufacturers, however, such a tool is not available in the market. This study develops an Evaluation Index System (EIS) to assess service level of medical endoscope, and to provide suggestions for improving the service level through the Delphi method. METHODS: Firstly, the possible factors influencing the service level were identified from literature review. In parallel, the Delphi expert method questionnaire was designed and 25 experts were invited to conduct three rounds of questionnaire, to evaluate and rate the possible factors. Finally, we determined the weights associated with the factors, using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and percentage method, and developed the service level EIS. RESULTS: The EIS consists of 3 first-level indicators, 24 s-level indicators and 68 third-level indicators. According to the weights computed using AHP, first-level indicators are ranked as post-sale (0.62), in-sale (0.25) and pre-sale (0.13). Through case verification, the medical endoscope brand Olympus had a total score of 4.17, Shanghai Aohua had a total score of 3.71, and Shanghai Chengyun had a total score of 3.28, which matches its market popularity and ranking in terms of market share. The results obtained from the EIS are consistent with the reality. CONCLUSIONS: The EIS established in this study is comprehensive, reliable and reasonable with strong practicality. The EIS can act as a tool for the endoscope users to evaluate potential products and make informed choices. It also provides a measurable basis for endoscope manufacturers and service providers to improve service quality.