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The chalcogenide glass Ge 4 Se 96 was prepared by melt-quenched method. The characteristic temperatures (the strain point, annealing point, glass transition point, yielding point and soften point) were determined by thermal analysis. The result shows that the glass transition point is 52 °C; the average thermal expansion coefficient is Δ L / L 0  = (0.0557∗ T −1.7576)/1000. The specific heat of Ge 4 Se 96 glass was measured by stepwise method. The difference in specific heat between amorphous structure and undercooled liquid was determined as Δ C p  = 0.1812–5.20 × 10 −4 T −4.92 × 10 −7 T 2 JK −1 g −1 . Based on the result of Δ C p , the Gibbs energy and the entropy curves were calculated, and the Kauzmann temperature was determined as T k  = 233.5 K, which is between that for pure Se glass (216 K) and that for Ge 7.4 Se 92.6 glass (250 K). It indicates that for Ge-Se glass with low Ge content, the Kauzmann temperature increases with increasing the content of Ge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the haemodynamic effects of different ankle movements combined ankle and toe movements on the femoral vein of the lower extremity. Methods: 28 healthy volunteers participated in the study. Doppler ultrasound was used to measure peak systolic velocity and time-averaged mean velocity of the common femoral vein during ankle dorsiflexion, ankle dorsiflexion with simultaneous toe extension, ankle plantarflexion, and ankle plantarflexion with simultaneous toe flexion. Results: In comparison to the resting state, both ankle alone or ankle combined with toe movement showed statistically significant differences (p <.01). However, there were no significant difference in the velocity of the common femoral vein between ankle alone and ankle combined with toe movement (p >.05). It is noteworthy that dorsiflexion of the ankle resulted in the highest peak velocity of blood flow. Conclusion: The impact of ankle movement, with or without toe movement, the velocity of the common femoral vein is not significantly correlated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The precise measurements of the magnetic field are essential for particle accelerators, and the harmonic coil measurement system is especially suitable for the multipole field because of its unique advantages. The accurate placement of magnets is essential for accurate magnetic field measurements. The current positioning technique employed for harmonic coil measurement is inefficient due to its labor-intensive and time-consuming nature. The aim of this study is to automate the positioning of the quadrupole magnet. Therefore, a close-range photogrammetry system is utilized to monitor the position of the magnet due to its non-contact feature, and an electrically driven Stewart platform is utilized to manipulate the magnet. Meanwhile, a control system has been developed to regulate the automatic positioning. The system is capable of receiving measurements from the close-range photogrammetry system in order to ascertain the displacements of the magnet from its current position to the target. Subsequently, it can transmit commands to Stewart platform to regulate its movement. The experiments indicate that the efficiency of the quadrupole magnet positioning has increased significantly by at least 5 times, and the final positioning accuracy was verified by the laser tracker. The study also addresses the potential application of this technology in high radiation environments that are otherwise inaccessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The main treatment method for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). With the continuous improvement of dialysis technology, the survival period of MHD patients has been effectively prolonged, but dialysis technology still cannot completely replace renal function. OBJECTIVE: To study the dietary compliance and its correlation with thirst in MHD patients and to provide guidance for clinical development of corresponding intervention countermeasures. METHODS: A total of 90 patients who received MHD treatment from March 2021 to March 2022 were selected as objects. The Renal Adherence Attitudes Questionnaire (RAAQ) and the Renal Adherence Behaviour Questionnaire (RABQ) were used to analyze the dietary compliance and thirst status of patients. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between diet compliance and thirst. RESULTS: Positive correlations were found between VAS and DTI, SXI and TDS (P < 0.05). Social restrictive attitude was positively correlated with VAS, DTI, SXI, TDS, acceptance attitude and compliance in facing difficulties (P < 0.05), and negatively correlated with self-care compliance (r = - 0.35, P < 0.05). Health attitude was positively correlated with VAS, DTI and SXI (P < 0.05). Acceptance attitude was positively correlated with DTI, SXI and TDS (P < 0.05). High RAAQ was associated with high VAS (b = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.18), DTI (b = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.17, 0.38), SXI (b = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.34) and TDS (b = 0.26, 95% CI: 0.13, 0.4). CONCLUSION: The overall performance of dietary compliance in patients with MHD is at a moderate level, and dietary compliance is negatively correlated with disease perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Struggling with heart failure (HF) may be a distressful experience for the entire family. As a key variable contributing to positive family functioning, family hardiness can protect against HF-related harm. Thus, recognizing factors associated with family hardiness could promote strategies that enable successful adaptation to HF. This study aimed to explore protective factors linked to family hardiness among HF patients. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken in 2020 among 167 HF patients in Nanjing, China. The study measures comprised a self-designed general information questionnaire, the Family Hardiness Index, the Mutuality Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, and the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. The data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS, version 25 and comprised Pearson's correlation analysis, a multiple linear regression model, and an analysis of mediating effects. Results: The average Family Hardiness Index score for the 167 HF patients was 57.95 ± 11.41. The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that mutuality, active coping style, and positive emotions of HF patients positively predicted family hardiness (β = 0.359, 0.308, and 0.215, respectively; all P ˂ 0.05). Mutuality between patients and family members had partial mediating effects between active coping style, positive emotions, and family hardiness. Conclusion: Our results revealed that patients' active coping styles, positive emotions, and mutuality were protective factors associated with family hardiness. In light of our findings, we suggest that active coping strategies, positive emotions, and, especially, closer relationships within families should be encouraged during the rehabilitation and follow-up care of HF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the fight against heart failure (HF), informal caregivers are an indispensable part of the team. As a protective factor against stress, resilience can help to enhance caregivers' psychological adaptation and ultimately increase the quality of care during the HF caregiving period. Recognizing its predictors and exploring how these variables interact could promote tailored strategies to enhancing caregivers' resilience of HF patients. Thus, this study aimed to identify promoting and risk factors of resilience in informal caregivers of HF patients from the Chinese context and to understand the interactions between these factors and resilience. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from December, 2020 to March, 2022 among 210 caregivers in Nanjing, China. The General Information Questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire and the Family Hardiness Index were used in this survey. Data were analysed with Pearson's correlation analysis, the multiple linear regression model and the structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The resilience of 210 Chinese HF caregivers was at the moderate and higher level (66.40± 15.08). The SEM had a good fit (root mean square error of approximation=0.047, comparative fit index=0.994, Tucker-Lewis index=0.987). Perceived social support (β=0.390, P< 0.001), positive coping style (β=0.159, P=0.019) and self-efficacy (β=0.332, P< 0.001) had positive direct effects on resilience among HF caregivers, separately. Both perceived social support (β=0.04, P< 0.001) and self-efficacy (β=0.07, P< 0.001) indirectly influenced resilience through positive coping style. Conclusion: We recommended that multi-dimensional and greater social support, higher self-efficacy and especially, positive coping strategies should be offered or encouraged during the caregiving period, which may contribute to enhancing HF caregivers' resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to synthesize qualitative evidence on experiences of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) during the course of diagnosis and treatment. We addressed three main questions: (a) What were the experiences of patients with AF during the course of diagnosis and treatment? (b) How did they respond to and cope with the disease? (c) What were the requirements during disease management? Design: In this study, qualitative evidence synthesis was performed using the Thomas and Harden method. Data Sources: Electronic databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the China Biomedical Database, the WanFang Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and VIP, were searched. The databases were searched from inception to August 2021. Review Methods: Two researchers independently selected studies using qualitative assessment and review instruments for quality evaluation and thematic synthesis for the data analysis. Results: A total of 2627 studies were identified in the initial search and 15 studies were included. Five analytical themes were generated: 'Diagnosing AF'; 'The impact of AF on the patients'; 'Self‐reorientation in the therapeutic process'; 'Living with AF and QoL'; and 'External support to facilitate coping strategies.' Conclusions: Our findings point out unique experiences of patients across the trajectory of AF related to delayed diagnosis, feelings of nonsupport, disappointment of repeated treatment failure and multiple distress associated with unpredictable symptoms. Future research and clinical practice are expected to improve the quality of medical diagnosis and treatment, optimize administrative strategy and provide diverse health support for patients with AF. Impact: Understanding the experiences and needs of patients with AF in the entire disease process will inform future clinical practice in AF integrated management, which would be helpful in improving the professionalism and confidence of healthcare providers. In addition, our findings have implications for improving the effectiveness of AF diagnostic and treatment services. Patient or Public Contribution: This paper presents a review of previous studies and did not involve patients or the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of tele-monitored cardiac rehabilitation in patients who have undergone ablation for atrial fibrillation. Design: Single-centre, prospective, assessment-blinded, randomised controlled trial. Setting: Domiciliary rehabilitation with support from a tertiary care hospital. Subjects: One hundred patients who underwent ablation for atrial fibrillation were recruited. Interventions: Participants were randomly allocated to a 12-week standard rehabilitation treatment (control group) or a comprehensive, domiciliary, mobile application-guided and tele-monitored cardiac rehabilitation program (intervention group) in a 1:1 fashion. Main outcome measures: The primary endpoint was the improvement in VO2peak. The secondary outcomes included adherence, physical activity, beliefs related to cardiovascular disease and exercise self-efficacy. Results: Ninety-seven patients completed follow-up. The mean VO2peak increased significantly in both the intervention group (n = 49) (baseline vs 12 weeks: 19.1 ± 4.7 vs 27.3 ± 5.6 ml/(min kg), P < 0.01) and the control group (n = 48) (baseline vs 12 weeks: 18.7 ± 4.9 vs 22.9 ± 6.3 ml/(min kg), P < 0.01). The results of the between-group analysis of aerobic capacity were significantly in favour of the intervention group. During the 12-week program, patients in the intervention group exhibited better adherence than those in the control group. Moreover, self-reported physical activity improved more in the intervention group than in the control group, as did the beliefs related to cardiovascular disease and exercise self-efficacy (all P < 0.01). Conclusions: Our domiciliary, mobile application-guided and tele-monitored cardiac rehabilitation program could lead to a more significant improvements in physical fitness, adherence and health beliefs than standard cardiac rehabilitation in patients who have undergone ablation for atrial fibrillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Montmorillonite (MMT) powder, as the most effective hemostats in natural silicates, is restricted for commercial application due to its embolic effect. Until now, it's still a challenge to control the leakage of MMT and avoid its side-effects. Herein, poly aldehyde dextran (PDA)/MMT composite sponge (PM) with commendable tissue adhesion, antibacterial, and wound healing performances is developed for massive hemorrhage control. Based on the high degree of perfect synergism of PDA and MMT, the PM sponge can rapidly seal the wound, and promote cells aggregation and adhesion, whole coagulation system activation, resulting in shortened clotting time from 480 s to <10 s in vitro. Therefore, PM sponge with low exothermic effects achieves hemostasis in limited time, decreasing nearly 95% blood loss in the femoral artery and vein incision in rat models. Furthermore, with the intensive tissue adhesion (~47 kPa), PM sponge not only exhibits antibacterial activity to Escherichia coli , but also succeeds in accelerating wound healing. Importantly, the low cytotoxic sponge verifies to be a little hemolytic and skin irritant hemostat. Thus, the biocompatible PM sponge may provide a new strategy for reintroduction of MMT in hemostatic fields, and a safe-effective avenue for clays to control bleeding. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wound dressing is of significant importance to promote cutaneous wound healing process. To develop an effective wound dressing, a PVA/DA hydrogel was prepared using a Poly (vinyl alcohol)/Dextran-aldehyde solution blend, followed by crosslinking via freeze-thaw method and freeze-drying. We characterized the hydrogel by infrared spectroscopy, mechanical property tests, swelling behavior test and biocompatibility test. Results showed that the PVA/DA hydrogels had a 3-dimensional, highly porous structure with uniformly distributed pores of 5–10 μm, strong tensile strength of 5.6 MPa, efficient ability to absorb fluid of 6 time its weight and suitable water vapor transmission rate of 2100 g m −2 day −1 to keep a moist environment and good biocompatibility shown by very low hemolysis and no cytotoxicity. In wound healing tests using a full-thickness skin wound model, macroscopic observations showed that the wound covered by the PVA/DA hydrogel almost reached complete healing faster by 10 days, while histological analysis indicated a faster regeneration of skin. Thus, the PVA/DA hydrogel was suitable for application as a wound dressing and may have potential for use in various biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Uncontrolled hemorrhage is closely related to the high risk of death. However, local hemostats still have various defects and side effects. Herein, an aldehyde dextran (PDA) sponge with proper absorption and adhesion properties is developed for hemorrhage control. PDA sponge with pore size of ∼30–50 μm fabricated by lyophilization not only absorbs blood quickly (47.7 g/g), but also possesses strong tissue adhesion (∼100 kPa). PDA sponge with low cytotoxicity and hemolysis achieves effective hemostasis and remarkable blood loss reduction in the ear vein, femoral artery and liver injuries of rabbit models. Furthermore, the exploration of hemostatic mechanisms related to tissue, blood, plasma, cells and coagulation system indicates that PDA sponge can significantly accelerate coagulation by rapid wound block, fast cells aggregation and initiation, and high coagulation factors concentration, instead of by the coagulation cascade activation. Importantly, this hemostat exhibits excellent biodegradability and nearly no skin irritation. Overall, the biodegradable and tissue adhesive PDA sponge will be a promising quick-hemostatic dressing for uncontrollable hemorrhage. Graphical abstract Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal contraction and expansion of the Cryostat will affect its reliability and stability. To optimize and upgrade the Cryostat, we analyzed the heat transfer in a cryo-vacuum environment from the theoretical point first. The simulation of cryo-vacuum deformation based on a finite element method was implemented respectively. The completed measurement based on a Laser Tracker and a Micro Alignment Telescope was conducted to verify its correctness. The monitored deformations were consistent with the simulated ones. After the predictable deformations in vertical direction have been compensated, the superconducting solenoids and Half Wave Resonator cavities approached the ideal “zero” position under liquid helium conditions. These guaranteed the success of 25 MeV@170 uA continuous wave protons of Chinese accelerator driven subcritical system Injector II. By correlating the vacuum and cryo-deformation, we have demonstrated that the complete deformation was the superposition effect of the atmospheric pressure, gravity and thermal stress during both the process of cooling down and warming up. The results will benefit to an optimization for future Cryostat’s design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of magnetic field measurement of particle accelerator magnets, the positioning of magnetic field measurement system (MFMS) and magnets is a basic and key step. The positioning efficiency and accuracy will directly determine the efficiency and accuracy of magnet magnetic field measurement. The number of magnets in the high intensity heavy ion accelerator facility (HIAF) is up to 1000. It is labor-intensive and time-consuming to conduct the positioning of the magnets in the HIAF using traditional methods. Therefore, it is very necessary to develop a system that can greatly improve the efficiency of positioning and magnetic field measurement. By analyzing the working principle of HIAF's harmonic coil MFMS, we optimize and integrate the multi-camera photogrammetry system, control system and six degrees of freedom (6DoF) position and orientation adjustment system to design an automatic positioning system for harmonic coil magnetic field measurement. The designed system avoids the contact measurement and manual adjustment of magnet's position and orientation in the traditional MFMSs, and can realize the automatic adjustment of MFMS's position and magnet's position and orientation in an efficient manner. In the whole positioning process, it no longer needs manual contact measurement and manual adjustment, but only needs the one button operation of an engineer. By controlling the multiple iterations of the measurement and adjustment of automatic positioning system, it can realize the automatic positioning measurement of the MFMS and the automatic adjustment of the magnet's position and orientation, so that the positioning measurement and magnet adjustment in the process of magnetic field measurement form a closed loop. Through simulation, if the processing object can achieve the ideal design effect, the designed system can not only reduce the labor cost in the magnetic field measurement process, but also improve the positioning efficiency of harmonic coil MFMS dozens of times. The designed system is of great value for projects with large quantities of magnets like HIAF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The removal of high-concentrationC.I. acid orange 7 (AO7) in aqueoussolution by the prepared iron/copper (Fe/Cu) bimetallic particlesand zerovalent iron (ZVI) was investigated thoroughly. Fe/Cu bimetallicparticles were prepared by planting Cu on the surface of Fe. Experimentalresults confirmed the superiority of Fe/Cu bimetallic particles forthe degradation of AO7 in aqueous solution. Under the optimal conditions([Fe/Cu]0= 40 g·L–1, [AO7]0= 1000 mmol·L–1, initial pH = 6.5,TMLCu= 0.62 g of Cu/g of Fe), the AO7 concentration andchemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) removalefficiencies could reach 94.3%, 61.8%, and 60.8%, respectively, afteronly 10 min of treatment by Fe/Cu bimetallic particles. Under thesame conditions, however, the AO7 concentration and COD and TOC removalefficiencies by ZVI only reached 35.5%, 25.1%, and 21.2%, respectively.Thus, the planting of Cu could improve the reactivity of Fe. The degradationof AO7 was analyzed by UV–vis and Fourier transform infraredspectra, and the results show that the chromophore part (i.e., −NN−)of AO7 could be destructed by Fe/Cu bimetallic particles. Additionally,its degradation products might be sulfanilamide and 1-amino-2-naphtol,which would be removed by further mineralization of Fe/Cu bimetallicparticles or sedimentation of Fe ions. Therefore, the Fe/Cu bimetallicsystem is a promising process for the toxic and refractory wastewaterfrom the printing and dyeing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]