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Objective Methods Results Conclusion The objective of this study is to assess the correspondence, in live conditions, between clinical gradings of facial aging signs by three dermatologists and those afforded by an automatic AI‐based algorithm that analyses smartphones' selfie images of Chinese subjects.In total, 125 Chinese subjects of both genders, aged 18–62y, took a selfie using their own smartphones and were immediately viewed by three dermatologists. The latter graded the severity of 15 facial signs in women and 9 in men, using the standardized values afforded by a Skin Aging Atlas referential dedicated to Asian skin. The data issued by both methodologies were then statistically compared.The absolute gradings of the automatic system were found highly correlated with clinical assessments, with lower values in most cases. In women, large differences in absolute values were found on the gradings for size of isolated spot, cheek fold, spread macules, and texture of mouth contour women. Analysis of the Mean Absolute Errors (M.A.E) revealed that these rarely exceed 0.6 grading units in women and to a lesser extent in men.The present study confirmed the value of the automatic system towards an extended use towards large human cohorts as a surrogate of clinical evaluations and allowed to detect the points where improvements must be brought to the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Promoting patient participation stands as a global priority in nursing care. Currently, there is a lack of a standardized tool to assess the culture of patient participation from the perspective of nurses in China. Aims: To translate and examine the validity and reliability of the Patient Participation Culture Tool for healthcare workers (PaCT-HCW) on general hospital wards in Chinese nursing context. Methods: A cross-sectional research study was conducted among 812 nurses. Brislin's recommendations were adhered to during the translation of the scale. Validity was assessed using construct validity, content validity, and face validity. Split-half reliability, test–retest reliability, and internal consistency reliability were used to evaluate dependability. The study was guided and reported following the STROBE checklist and recommendations for reporting the results of studies of instrument and scale development and testing. Results: The Chinese version of PaCT-HCW (the PaCT-HCW-C) exhibits good face validity and content validity. A rigorous exploratory factor analyse verified a six-factor (competence, support, perceived lack of time, information sharing and dialogue, response to questions and acceptance of a new role) scale structure with a cumulative variance contribution of the factors with 44 items of 68.840%. With a Cronbach's α coefficient of 0.962, split-half reliability of 0.866, and intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.989, the instrument demonstrates great reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis results validated the consistency of the six factors with the structure of the PaCT-HCW-C scale. Conclusions: The 44-item PaCT-HCW-C is a valid and reliable instrument with satisfactory psychometric properties. It could serve as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of international programs aimed at fostering patient participation from the perspective of nurses, while also providing insights from China's practical experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The caregiver contribution to self-care plays an important role in improving the health outcomes of chronic patients, which needs urgent attention. However, it has been hindered by the lack of a tailored instrument that assesses the caregiver contribution to self-care of stroke. Objectives: To test the psychometric characteristics of the caregiver contribution to self-care of stroke Inventory (CC-SCSI) in health care practice. Methods: Participants were recruited in Henan Province from March 2021 to October 2022, utilizing a multicenter stratified sampling approach. A 23-item self-report CC-SCSI with 3 separate scales measuring caregiver contribution to self-care maintenance of stroke, caregiver contribution to self-care monitoring of stroke and caregiver contribution to self-care management of stroke was tested for validity through discriminant validity, confirmatory factor analysis, concurrent validity and convergent validity. The reliability was tested by Cronbach's α coefficient and test-retest reliability. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. A STROBE checklist was used. Results: The three scales of the CC-SCSI exhibited good discriminant validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the three-factor structure of the Caregiver Contribution to Stroke Self-Care Maintenance and Management scales and the one-factor structure of the Caregiver Contribution to Stroke Self-Care Monitoring scale. The moderate correlation between the CC-SCSI and the Self-Care of Stroke Inventory indicated acceptable concurrent validity. The moderate correlation between the CC-SCSI and the Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of Chronic Illness Inventory indicated acceptable convergent validity. Cronbach's αs for the Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care Maintenance, Self-Care Monitoring, and Self-Care Management scales ranged from 0.876 to 0.974. Test-retest reliability showed average ICC values ranging from 0.828 to 0.903 (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The 23-item CC-SCSI presents good psychometric properties and could be used to explore the caregiver contribution to stroke self-care in health care practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Self-Care of Stroke Inventory (SCSI). A cross-sectional, instrument development and the psychometric testing study was conducted. A 23-item self-report Self-Care of Stroke Inventory with 3 separate scales was developed. This study involved three stages: (a) Initial items generation; (b) Content and face validation; (c) Psychometric properties evaluation. The SCSI was validated by content validity, construct validity, convergent validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. From the initial 80-item pool, 24 items of 3 scales in the SCSI were retained by the expert consultation and item analysis. The scale's content validity was 0.976, 0.966, and 0.973. The EFA showed the total variance explained by the 3 scales of the SCSI were 73.417%, 74.281%, and 80.207%, respectively. The models of the 3 scales identified by EFA were all confirmed by the CFA. The SCSI scale shows evidence of good convergent validity. Cronbach's αs were 0.830, 0.930, and 0.831. Test-retest reliability of the SCSI was excellent, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.945, 0.907, and 0.837. The final 23-item SCSI presents good psychometric properties and can be used to explore the self-care of stroke in community settings. This study developed and validated the Self-Care of Stroke Inventory (SCSI). The SCSI contains the following 3 scales: the Self-care Maintenance of Stroke scale, the Self-care Monitoring of Stroke scale, and the Self-care Management of Stroke scale The 23-item SCSI demonstrated strong psychometric properties. The SCSI may be used to develop future programmes to promote self-care for stroke survivors and improve their rehabilitation outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Promoting self‐care is the core response strategy of the global health system to the burden of stroke. Although self‐care in stroke represents a dyadic phenomenon, the dyadic self‐care experience of stroke survivors and their caregivers is often overlooked in clinical practice. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the dyadic self‐care experience of stroke survivors and their caregivers. Design: A descriptive qualitative design was used to conduct the study. Results: The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research was used for study reporting. A total of 21 stroke survivor–caregiver dyads were recruited for this study between May 2022 and September 2022. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. In this study, four themes were identified: (1) poor relationship quality of the dyads, (2) dyadic incongruence in managing stroke, (3) a slow and tiring dyadic self‐care process and (4) happy cooperation in coping with dyadic self‐care. Discussion and Conclusion: Healthcare professionals should give greater consideration to the contradictions and disparities that may arise between stroke survivors and caregivers during the self‐care process. It is crucial for them to provide personalized and tailored support and interventions that can assist these individuals in achieving a more optimal balance in their dyadic self‐care. Patient/Public Contribution: Patients were involved in the formulation of interview questions for this study. No members of the public were involved in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Compassion is closely linked to psychological well-being, and several assessment tools have been developed and studied to assess the level of compassion in different populations and for more precise measurement. There is currently a scarcity of comprehensive knowledge about compassion-related assessment tools, and our research provides an overview of these tools. Aims: To identify scales used to measure compassion from different flows, and to assess their measurement properties and quality. Methods: Focusing on compassion assessment tools, the authors conducted a thorough search of 10 Chinese and English databases from their establishment until August 14, 2022. Data extracted included the author, year, country, objectives, target population, as well as the primary evaluation content. Using the COSMIN checklist, the methodological quality and measurement properties of the included studies were appraised. This scoping review was registered with the Open Science Framework and followed the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) checklist. Results: There were 15,965 papers searched, and 36 compassion-related measurement tools were identified in this study. None of the 36 studies provided possessed all nine psychometric properties, as outlined by the COSMIN criteria. On the basis of a systematic evaluation of quality, measurement qualities were ranked. The results for internal consistency and content validity were relatively favorable, whereas the results for structural validity were variable and the results for the remaining attributes were either uncertain or negative. A Venn diagram was used to illustrate the overlapping groups of compassion measurement tools based on the three-way flow of compassion. An overview of the reference instrument and theoretical basis for the included studies was provided, and half of them did not contain any theoretical or scale-based evidence. Conclusion: In this study, 36 compassion-related measuring instruments were identified, and the methodological quality and measurement properties of the included studies were acceptable. The included measurements were consistent with flows of compassion. A further focus of further research should be on developing theories in the compassion domain and developing instruments for measuring compassion that are multidimensional, multi-populations, and culturally relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The competitive advantage of lianas over trees has been widely documented in studies of their leaf functional traits across diverse habitats; however, the relative contribution of root functional traits to the competitive superiority of lianas over trees has not yet been evaluated. The aim of this study was to explore the root functional traits, phylogenetic structure of these traits and root trait dimensions of lianas to clarify why lianas can outperform trees.We sampled 69 liana species from tropical and temperate forests in China and measured nine key functional traits of first‐order roots of each species, including morphological, architectural, anatomical and chemical traits, as well as the percentage of mycorrhizal colonization. Data on these traits were then compared with similar data of 127 tree species from the same biome obtained from the Global Root Traits (GRooT) database and our previous studies.Liana roots had lower construction costs and could acquire resources more rapidly compared with tree roots. Significant differences were observed in most tree root traits between tropical and temperate sites. However, no significant differences were observed in any of the liana root traits between tropical and temperate sites, apart from the root branching ratio.Lianas showed much weaker phylogenetic conservatism in their root traits than trees when species were pooled across sites. Phylogenetic constraint was lower for nearly all root traits of both temperate lianas and trees compared with those of tropical lianas and trees.The root economics space of lianas and trees had two orthogonal dimensions with 'conservation' and 'collaboration' axes. However, lianas occupied the trait space with higher root nitrogen concentration and greater specific root length, showing 'fast' resource acquisition strategy, while trees placed opposite space and exhibited relatively 'slow' strategy.Synthesis. The ability of lianas to outcompete trees in harsh environments might be explained by their faster resource acquisition strategy and the lower phylogenetic constraint in root traits. Generally, lianas might play an increasingly important role in the structure and function of forest ecosystems in the future with ongoing habitat fragmentation and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the "sixth largest city group in the world", the Yangtze River Delta region is an important economic growth point and core economic area in China. While achieving rapid economic growth, the amount of waste generated is increasing day by day, and the investment in environmental protection is constantly increasing. Among them, MSW collection and disposal funds accounted for 57.40% of the fixed assets investment in environmental sanitation in 2017. To improve the efficiency of existing environmental protection investment, this paper is based on the existing academic research at China and abroad, with the help of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. This paper analyzed the economic indicators of 27 cities in the Yangtze River Delta for MSW collection, transportation and disposal to measure economic efficiency, identify and improve inefficiencies. The research results show that the average efficiency of the 27 cities in the Yangtze River Delta is at a relatively high level. Six cities have the most effective comprehensive technical efficiency. These six cities constitute the effective frontier of the municipal solid waste transfer system. The overall efficiency has a comparative advantage; 9 cities have the best pure technical efficiency, accounting for 33 of all cities. %, the pure technical efficiency of the remaining 18 cities is low, indicating that these cities have not fully utilized their resource input under the current scale, and the efficiency of resource utilization needs to be improved. Finally, this paper proposes suggestions for improvement from the perspective of environmental sustainability. To improve MSW collection and disposal efficiency, differentiated management should be implemented in cities in the Yangtze River Delta. Implications: This paper conducts an empirical analysis on the efficiency of MSW collection and disposal in the Yangtze River Delta in China in 2017. Based on the calculation of the DEA model, our conclusion is that although the collection and disposal system of MSW in the Yangtze River Delta has been significantly improved, the level of collection and disposal of some MSW has not reached the optimal level: (1) Comprehensive technical efficiency is the most effective Cities accounted for 22% of the total number of cities studied. (2) 33% of the cities in the Yangtze River Delta achieve the best pure technical efficiency; (3) Among the 27 cities, 6 cities have the best scale efficiency, and the remaining 21 cities have not reached the best scale efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cross-culturally adapt and investigate the psychometric properties of a Chinese-translated version of the Participation Strategies Self Efficacy Scale (PS-SES). The translation/back-translation procedure was done in line with cross-cultural adaptation international guidelines. 378 stroke survivors were recruited to complete the questionnaires. The psychometric properties of the PS-SES were evaluated by determining item analysis, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, content validity, construct validity, convergent validity and floor/ceiling effects, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient using the two-way random model (ICC) (test–retest) was 0.923 (95% confidence interval (CI):0.844–0.962; p < 0.05). Cronbach's alpha and split-half reliability (internal consistency) for the PS-SES-C was 0.968 and 0.906, respectively. For the content validity, the I-CVI of the PS-SES-C was ranged from 0.860 to 1.000 and the S-CVI was 0.949. In the exploratory factor analysis, a six-factor solution explained 80.695% of the variance. A moderate correlation was found between the PS-SES-C and the Chinese version of WHODAS 2.0 (−0.430). A strong correlation was found between the PS-SES-C and the SSEQ-C (0.626). The PS-SES-C showed satisfactory psychometric properties. It can be considered a reliable and valid instrument to assess the participation strategies self-efficacy of stroke survivors in China. The Participation Strategies Self Efficacy Scale was translated into Chinese through a rigorous cultural adaptation process. PS-SES-C is now a reliable and valid tool for Chinese-speaking patients who have suffered from a stroke. It is necessary to assess the participation strategies self-efficacy of strokesurvivors in China and develop targeted intervention programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal solid waste (MSW) has caused the increasing concern for environmental issues in recent years, and the wide engagement from all stakeholders of society has been involved in promoting integrated MSW management. Therefore, this study aims to identify the problems of dis-synergy among multi-stakeholders engaged in the integrated MSW management evolution, then contribute strategies to coordinated development of integrated MSW management system by bettering the engagement and interaction of different stakeholders combined with the region characteristics. From the perspective of the stakeholder theory and synergy theory, we constructed an integrated MSW management system with four stakeholder subsystems: governments, enterprises, residents, and NGO subsystems. We used integrated MSW management in Harbin as a case study and used the synergy degree model to estimate the system synergy degree from 2010 to 2019. Then, the synergetic development trend of integrated MSW management was studied, providing a feasible approach to boost the coordinated development of integrated MSW management in Harbin. The results were in concordance with the factual situation and pointed to integrated MSW management in Harbin and, although there is movement towards a more harmonious and orderly state over time, the government subsystem needs to be further reinforced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low root zone temperatures restrict water and carbon (C) uptake and transport in plants and may contribute to the low temperature limits of tree growth. Here, we quantified the effects of low root temperatures on xylem conductance, photosynthetic C assimilation and phloem C transport in seedlings of four temperate tree species (two broad-leaved and two conifer species) by applying a simultaneous stable isotope labelling of 2H-enriched source water and 13C-enriched atmospheric CO2. Six days before the pulse labelling, the seedlings were transferred to hydroponic tubes and exposed to three different root temperatures (2, 7 and 15 °C), while all seedlings received the same, warm air temperatures (between 18 and 24 °C). Root cooling led to drought-like symptoms with reduced growth, leaf water potentials and stomatal conductance, indicating increasingly adverse conditions for water uptake and transport with decreasing root temperatures. Averaged across all four species, water transport to leaves was reduced by 40% at 7 °C and by 70% at 2 °C root temperature relative to the 15 °C treatment, while photosynthesis was reduced by 20 and 40% at 7 and 2 °C, respectively. The most severe effects were found on the phloem C transport to roots, which was reduced by 60% at 7 °C and almost ceased at 2 °C in comparison with the 15 °C root temperature treatment. This extreme effect on C transport was likely due to a combination of simultaneous reductions of phloem loading, phloem mass flow and root growth. Overall, the dual stable isotope labelling proved to be a useful method to quantify water and C relations in cold-stressed trees and highlighted the potentially important role of hydraulic constraints induced by low soil temperatures as a contributing factor for the climatic distribution limits of temperate tree species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To translate the MOSE from English to Chinese and investigate the psychometric properties of the Chinese-translated version of the Measure of Stroke Environment (MOSE). The MOSE was translated into Chinese using a cultural adaptation process. To validate this Chinese version, 311 stroke survivors were recruited to complete the questionnaire. The psychometric properties of the MOSE were evaluated by determining item analysis, test–retest reliability, internal consistency, content validity, construct validity, and floor/ceiling effects, respectively. The MOSE was translated without any major difficulties. Regarding psychometric performances, a moderate level of correlation between the items and the domains (r > 0.4), and the significant differences in items between the high group and the low group were tested by independent sample t-tests (p < 0.05). The test–retest reliability was excellent (Intraclass Coefficient Correlation = 0.938). Very high internal consistency was also observed (Cronbach's α = 0.945, split-half reliability = 0.778). An acceptable I-CVI ranged from 0.714 to 1.000 and a high S-CVI of 0.973. Correlations with the subscales of the WHODAS 2.0 were significant in similar domains reflecting good convergent validity. No floor or ceiling effects were observed. This study provides psychometric evidence supporting the use of the Chinese version of the MOSE among stroke survivors. The Measure of Stroke Environment was translated into Chinese through a rigorous cultural adaptation process. MOSE-C is now a reliable and valid tool for Chinese-speaking survivors who have suffered from a stroke. It is necessary to assess the perceived environmental barriers of stroke survivors and develop targeted intervention programs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given any α ∈ [ 0 , 1 ] , an α -constant-sum game (abbreviated as α -CS game) on a finite set of players, N, is a function that assigns a real number to any coalition S ⊆ N , such that the sum of the worth of the coalition S and the worth of its complementary coalition N \ S is α times the worth of the grand coalition. This class contains the constant-sum games of Khmelnitskaya (Int J Game Theory 32:223–227, 2003) (for α = 1 ) and games of threats of (Kohlberg and Neyman, Games Econ Behav 108:139–145, 2018) (for α = 0 ) as special cases. An α -CS game may not be a classical TU cooperative game as it may fail to satisfy the condition that the worth of the empty set is 0, except when α = 1 . In this paper, we (i) extend the α -quasi-Shapley value giving the Shapley value for constant-sum games and quasi-Shapley-value for threat games to any class of α -CS games, (ii) extend the axiomatizations of Khmelnitskaya (2003) and Kohlberg and Neyman (2018) to any class of α -CS games, and (iii) introduce a new efficiency axiom which, together with other classical axioms, characterizes a solution that is defined by exactly the Shapley value formula for any class of α -CS games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Functional traits play key role in plant resource-use strategy, but the intraspecific variation of root traits particularly of anatomy along large-scale environmental gradient has been poorly understood. Methods: Here, we examined 16 morphological, anatomical, and chemical traits of leaves and absorptive roots (i.e., the first-order roots) for two wide-planted tree species, Ginkgo biloba and Eucommia ulmoides, sampled at five locations from subtropical, temperate, and cold-arid regions in China. Results: Morphological traits in leaves tended to shift from conservative at resource-poor sites to acquisitive at resource-rich sites, showing lower leaf thickness and larger specific leaf area, while roots showed a reverse pattern. All anatomical traits in leaves and roots inclined to be more conservative in resource-poor sites. Leaves and roots generally showed negative relationships in analogous morphological traits, but positive in anatomical and chemical traits across both species. Intraspecific variation of leaf traits confirmed the existence of one-dimensional economics spectrum, whereas root traits displayed multidimensional variation, showing an independent dimension of cortex to stele size ratio. Conclusions: Leaf and root traits in both species showed considerable intraspecific variations under changing environments, which improved whole-plant-level adaptions to climate and soil constraints, and exhibited different above- and belowground intraspecific economics spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hamiache introduces associated game to revalue each coalition's worth, in which every coalition redefines his worth based on his own ability and the possible surpluses cooperating with other players. However, as every coin has two sides, revaluation may also bring some possible losses. In this paper, bilateral associated game will be presented by taking into account the possible surpluses and losses when revaluing the worth of a coalition. Based on different bilateral associated games, associated consistency is applied to characterize the equal allocation of non-separable costs value (EANS value) and the center-of-gravity of imputation-set value (CIS value). The Jordan normal form approach is the pivotal technique to accomplish the most important proof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Although triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has been considered to be an aggressive disease, the outcome of small-tumor (T1abcN0M0) TNBC and the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on TNBC survival remain controversial. Methods. We identified 4565 T1abcN0M0 TNBC patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2015. After propensity score matching (PSM), 3214 patients were finally analyzed. Survival rates were compared among T1a, T1b, and T1c patients and between patients with and without adjuvant chemotherapy. Results. We classified 424, 1040, and 3101 cases as T1a, T1b, and T1c TNBC, respectively. A total of 2760 (60.5%) patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, accounting for 25.5%, 56.0%, and 66.8% of T1a, T1b, and T1c patients, respectively. Rates of 5-year breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) for T1a, T1b, and T1c patients receiving chemotherapy were 97.8%, 94.1%, and 94.5%, respectively, compared with 97.2%, 94.0%, and 89.9% in patients without chemotherapy. Patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy had higher 5-year BCSS (94.5% vs. 89.9%, P = 0.004) in the T1c subgroup, but no significant difference was detected in T1a or T1b patients due to adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion. Small-tumor TNBC showed very good prognosis. Adjuvant chemotherapy improved prognosis in T1c TNBC cases to a greater extent than in T1a and T1b patients. More large-scale clinical trials are needed, and further study should be conducted to determine appropriate adjuvant chemotherapy for T1c TNBC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Although triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has been considered to be an aggressive disease, the outcome of small-tumor (T1abcN0M0) TNBC and the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on TNBC survival remain controversial. Methods. We identified 4565 T1abcN0M0 TNBC patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2015. After propensity score matching (PSM), 3214 patients were finally analyzed. Survival rates were compared among T1a, T1b, and T1c patients and between patients with and without adjuvant chemotherapy. Results. We classified 424, 1040, and 3101 cases as T1a, T1b, and T1c TNBC, respectively. A total of 2760 (60.5%) patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, accounting for 25.5%, 56.0%, and 66.8% of T1a, T1b, and T1c patients, respectively. Rates of 5-year breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) for T1a, T1b, and T1c patients receiving chemotherapy were 97.8%, 94.1%, and 94.5%, respectively, compared with 97.2%, 94.0%, and 89.9% in patients without chemotherapy. Patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy had higher 5-year BCSS (94.5% vs. 89.9%, P = 0.004) in the T1c subgroup, but no significant difference was detected in T1a or T1b patients due to adjuvant chemotherapy. Conclusion. Small-tumor TNBC showed very good prognosis. Adjuvant chemotherapy improved prognosis in T1c TNBC cases to a greater extent than in T1a and T1b patients. More large-scale clinical trials are needed, and further study should be conducted to determine appropriate adjuvant chemotherapy for T1c TNBC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper defines a new value called the weighted nonseparable cost value (weighted-NSC value), which divides the nonseparable cost on the ground of an exogenous attached weight and compromises egalitarianism and utilitarianism of a value flexibly. First, we construct an optimization model to minimize the deweighted variance of complaint and define its optimal solution to be the weighted-NSC value. Second, a process is set up to acquire the weighted-NSC value, which enlarges the traditional procedural values. In the process, one player's marginal contribution is divided up by all participants rather than merely restricted within his precursors. Lastly, adopting the weight in defining a value destructs the classical symmetry. This promotes the definition of ω -symmetry for the grand-marginal normalized game to defend against the effect of weight and axiomatically sculptures the weighted-NSC value. Dual dummifying player property is also applied to characterize the new defined value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposed bundle pricing model considers unit price of landfill and incineration. • Bundling waste disposal fees can motivate the public to reduce generation of MSW. • Increase in revenue from bundling pricing model can alleviate the capital shortage. • Separate prices for landfill and incineration can promote incineration technology. Considering the various ways of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) disposal that are currently in practice, this paper proposes a bundle pricing model of MSW disposal in Beijing, China. The bundle pricing model is set according to per capita annual disposable income, per capita annual consumption expenditure and MSW disposal cost based on the cost reimbursement principle and complementarity principle. This paper first estimates the unit costs of landfill and incineration respectively, and then designs three bundling packages according to three different income levels of households in Beijing (low-income households, middle-income households and high-income households). Specifically, based on our bundle pricing model, we propose to charge low-income households (of the average size of 3 persons) MSW fees 5.64 RMB per month, middle-income households 10.16 RMB, and high-income households 20.70 RMB per month. We also discuss and explain how the proposed mechanism can be expected to not only mitigate the capital shortage problem, but also reduce MSW quantity and improve the MSW incineration disposal technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the nature of pursuing profit, a selfish coefficient function is employed to describe the degrees of selfishness of players in different coalitions, which is the desired rate of return to the worth of coalitions. This function brings in the concept of individual expected reward to every player. Built on different selfish coefficient functions, the family of ideal values can be obtained by minimizing deviations from the individual expected rewards. Then, we show the relationships between the family of ideal values and two other classical families of values: the procedural values and the least square values. For any selfish coefficient function, the corresponding ideal value is characterized by efficiency, linearity, an equal-expectation player property and a nullifying player punishment property, and also interpreted by a dynamic process. As two dual cases in the family of ideal values, the center of gravity of imputation set value and the equal allocation of nonseparable costs value are raised from new axiomatic angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Fine root morphological traits are generally changed under soil nitrogen (N) enrichment, however, the underlying mechanism and functional significance are still not well understood. Our aims were to investigate the linkage of root morphology to anatomy, and its implication for root function at elevated soil N availability.Methods: Ingrowth cores were used to sample root tips (0-20 cm soil depth) from six temperate tree species growing in monoculture plantations at a common site in northeastern China. Root morphological and anatomical traits were concurrently measured, and their relationships were determined within and among species in both control and N fertilization (10 g N m−2y−1) plots.Results: Root diameter generally increased in all six species (non-significant for Phellodendron amurense) following N fertilization, which was caused by the increased root stele radius rather than cortical thickness. Congruently, N fertilization significantly decreased the ratio of cortical thickness to stele radius, but increased the ratio of total cross-sectional area of conduits to stele area in root tips across all species.Conclusions: The observed anatomical changes of root tips contributed to the alternations of morphological root traits following N fertilization, with potentially important impacts on root physiological functions, like increased water and nutrient transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A two-parallel-path super-network is carefully designed from three levels: operation-level, channel-level and training-level. • Instead of using two paths to train the super-network, we adopt the binary gate to randomly eliminate at most one path to reduce the memory cost. • We adopt the partially-connected strategy to further reduce the memory cost, where each sub-network only adopts partial channels. • Sigmoid function is introduced to select the best input for each node across two operator sub-sets. • The proposed method can obtain better results in speed and effect. Neural Architecture Search (NAS) has made remarkable progress in automatic machine learning. However, it still suffers massive computing overheads limiting its wide applications. In this paper, we present an efficient search method, Fast Parallel Differential Neural Architecture Search (FP-DARTS). The proposed method is carefully designed from three levels to construct and train the super-network. Firstly, at the operation-level, to reduce the computational burden, different from the standard DARTS search space (8 operations), we decompose the operation set into two non-overlapping operator sub-sets (4 operations for each). Adopting these two reduced search spaces, two over-parameterized sub-networks are constructed. Secondly, at the channel-level, the partially-connected strategy is adopted, where each sub-network only adopts partial channels. Then these two sub-networks construct a two-parallel-path super-network by addition. Thirdly, at the training-level, the binary gate is introduced to control whether a path participates in the super-network training. It may suffer an unfair issue when using softmax to select the best input for intermediate nodes across two operator sub-sets. To tackle this problem, the sigmoid function is introduced, which measures the performance of operations without compression. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Specifically, FP-DARTS achieves 2.50% test error with only 0.08 GPU-days on CIFAR10, and a state-of-the-art top-1 error rate of 23.7% on ImageNet using only 2.44 GPU-days for search. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Within root systems, framework pioneer roots mainly function in soil exploration and resource transport, while fibrous roots and their associated fungi extend the foraging soil space for resource absorption. However, the plasticity of pioneer and fibrous roots in response to elevated nutrient availability has received relatively little attention. Methods: For three hardwood species, newly formed root branches were harvested in order to compare pioneer and fibrous roots for variation in morphology, mycorrhizal colonization and anatomy, as well as their trait shifts in response to fertilization. Results: Compared with the fibrous roots, pioneer roots were generally larger in diameter, stele and cortex size, root tissue density, and hydraulic conductivity, but lower in specific root length (SRL) and mycorrhizal colonization rate (MCR). Fertilization generally decreased SRL and MCR in fibrous roots, and increased conduit diameters in pioneer roots. Additionally, fertilization enhanced hydraulic conductivity for all three species: 162, 45 and 263% in pioneer roots, and 46, 13 and 172% in fibrous roots for Juglans mandshurica Maxim., Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr. and Phellodendron amurense Rupr., respectively. Conclusions: Pioneer and fibrous roots responded differently to fertilization. The resulting enhanced resource transportation capacity may serve to mitigate the toxic effect in fibrous roots and avoid pioneer roots becoming a bottleneck for absorbed water and nutrient in an expanding root system, suggesting tightly associated traits and functional equilibrium within an individual root and even the root branches. The observed trait shifts and coordination between pioneer and fibrous roots would facilitate resource acquisition in changing soil conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We investigated the efficacy and safety of biweekly irinotecan and cisplatin (IP) as first-line treatment in advanced gastric cancer patients. Methods: Irinotecan 125 mg/m 2 on day 1 and cisplatin 60 mg/m 2 on day 2 were administrated every 14 days. UGT1A1 * 28/ * 6 and toxicities were analyzed. Results: Forty-one eligible patients were enrolled. Fifteen patients, who were defined as the high-dose group, received starting doses of irinotecan 125 mg/m 2 . Twenty-six patients, who were defined as the low-dose group, received starting doses of irinotecan 80 mg/m 2 and cisplatin 50 mg/m 2 . The response rate was 53.3% in the irinotecan high-dose group and 53.8% in the irinotecan lowdose group. The most common grade 3/4 toxicity was neutropenia (68.3%). No significant difference in grade 3/4 neutropenia was found between patients with the wild-type genotype and those with variant genotypes for UGT1A1 * 28 or UGT1A1 * 6. Conclusions: The combination of biweekly irinotecan 80 mg/m 2 and cisplatin 50 mg/m 2 was active and tolerable. The role of the UGT1A1 genotype in clinical toxicity of an IP regimen requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • IGC was used to measure the γ 12 ∞ and χ 12 ∞ of 32 solvents in deep eutectic solvent: Choline Chloride + 1,5-Pentanediol. • The Hildebrand solubility parameters of the DES were calculated at 303.15–343.15 K. • The selectivity and capacity were calculated by γ 12 ∞ data for three separation problems (n -hexane/benzene, benzene/methanol, benzene/thiophene). A series of thermodynamic parameters related to choline chloride + 1,5-pentanediol deep eutectic solvent were studied through inverse gas chromatography at 303.15–343.15 K. The infinite dilution activity coefficient (γ 12 ∞) was used to predict the solute separation ability and the intermolecular interaction strength of DES. The interaction between molecules was further described by partial molar excess properties (Δ H 1 E , ∞ , T Δ S 1 E , ∞ , Δ G 1 E , ∞ ). The value of γ 12 ∞ was also used to compute the separation parameters for common separation problems benzene (1)/methanol (2), n-hexane (1)/benzene (2) and benzene (1)/thiophene (2). The miscibility of organic solutes and DES was evaluated using the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter, and the result showed alcohols were good solvents for the DES. Moreover, the Hildebrand solubility parameters (Î́ 2) of the DES were calculated, and the result revealed that the value showed a downward trend with the increase of temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce the almost inessential game (property) to the solution part of cooperative game theory, which generalizes the inessential game (property). Following the framework of Hamiache to characterize the Shapley value, we then define a new associated game to characterize the center-of-gravity of imputation set value (CIS-value) by means of the almost inessential game property, associated consistency, continuity and efficiency. It provides an interpretation to the CIS-value as the essentially unique fixed point of an endogenous transformation by self-evaluation of TU-games. In addition, symmetry and translation covariance are used to axiomatize the CIS-value instead of the almost inessential property. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The superstructure composed of various functional building units is promising nanostructure for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) anodes with extreme volume change and structure instability, such as silicon‐based materials. Here, a top‐down route to fabricate Si/SiO2@graphene superstructure is demonstrated through reducing silicalite‐1 with magnesium reduction and depositing carbon layers. The successful formation of superstructure lies on the strong 3D network formed by the bridged‐SiO2 matrix coated around silicon nanoparticles. Furthermore, the mesoporous Si/SiO2 with amorphous bridged SiO2 facilitates the deposition of graphene layers, resulting in excellent structural stability and high ion/electron transport rate. The optimized Si/SiO2@graphene superstructure anode delivers an outstanding cycling life for ≈1180 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1 over 500 cycles, excellent rate capability for ≈908 mAh g−1 at 12 A g−1, great areal capacity for ≈7 mAh cm−2 at 0.5 mA cm−2, and extraordinary mechanical stability. A full cell test using LiFePO4 as the cathode manifests a high capacity of 134 mAh g−1 after 290 loops. More notably, a series of technologies disclose that the Si/SiO2@graphene superstructure electrode can effectively maintain the film between electrode and electrolyte in LIBs. This design of Si/SiO2@graphene superstructure elucidates a promising potential for commercial application in high‐performance LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: For spoken Chinese, there is an abundance of homophones. For example, the number of homophone mates ranges from 2 to 48 for about 75% Chinese monosyllables. The present study investigated the effect of homophone density using an auditory lexical decision task. In Experiment 1, participants responded more slowly to monosyllabic homophones with more homophone mates than those with fewer mates, showing a clear inhibitory homophone density effect. To understand whether this inhibitory effect could be attributed to the competition among multiple orthographic/semantic codes associated with a homophone, Experiment 2 examined neural correlates of the homophone density effect with event-related potentials (ERPs). Results suggest that ERP effects in the 600–800ms time window correlating with homophone density reflects competition among a homophone''s multiple semantic meanings as opposed to its multiple spellings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The computational cost is reduced compared with classical "coarse-fine" registration stage by adopting the resampling algorithm in the coarse registration stage. • A patch embedding segmentation approach based on conditional random field (CRF) model potentially improves the segmentation performance of the hippocampus. • Furthermore, considering the label map rich in prior information is not fully used, the segmentation results are refined based on SPBM method. • Compared with state-of-the-art methods, our proposed method can obtain more accurate hippocampus segmentation results. Accurate and automatic segmentation of the hippocampus plays a vital role in the diagnosis and treatment of nervous system diseases. However, due to the anatomical variability of different subjects, the registered atlas images are not always perfectly aligned with the target image. This makes the segmentation of the hippocampus still face great challenges. In this paper, we propose a robust discriminative label fusion method under the multi-atlas framework. It is a patch embedding label fusion method based on conditional random field (CRF) model that integrates the metric learning and the graph cuts by an integrated formulation. Unlike most current label fusion methods with fixed (non-learning) distance metrics, a novel distance metric learning is presented to enhance discriminative observation and embed it into the unary potential function. In particular, Bayesian inference is utilized to extend a classic distance metric learning, in which large margin constraints are instead of pairwise constraints to obtain a more robust distance metric. And the pairwise homogeneity is fully considered in the spatial prior term based on classification labels and voxel intensity. The resulting integrated formulation is globally minimized by the efficient graph cuts algorithm. Further, sparse patch based method is utilized to polish the obtained segmentation results in label space. The proposed method is evaluated on IABA dataset and ADNI dataset for hippocampus segmentation. The Dice scores achieved by our method are 87.2 % , 87.8 % , 88.2 % and 88.9 % on left and right hippocampus on both two datasets, while the best Dice scores obtained by other methods are 86.0 % , 86.9 % , 86.8 % and 88.0 % on IABA dataset and ADNI dataset respectively. Experiments show that our approach achieves higher accuracy than state-of-the-art methods. We hope the proposed model can be transferred to combine with other promising distance measurement algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visceral adiposity index (VAI) is a reliable indicator of visceral adiposity. However, no stu-dies have evaluated the association between VAI and DKD in US adults with diabetes. Theref-ore, this study aimed to explore the relationship between them and whether VAI is a good pr-edictor of DKD in US adults with diabetes. Our cross-sectional study included 2508 participan-ts with diabetes who were eligible for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2018. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to an-alyze the association between VAI level and DKD. Three models were used to control for pot-ential confounding factors, and subgroup analysis was performed for further verification. A tot-al of 2508 diabetic patients were enrolled, of whom 945 (37.68%) were diagnosed with DKD. Overall, the VAI was 3.36 ± 0.18 in the DKD group and 2.76 ± 0.11 in the control group. VAI was positively correlated with DKD (OR = 1.050, 95% CI 1.049, 1.050) after fully adjusting for co-nfounding factors. Compared with participants in the lowest tertile of VAI, participants in the highest tertile of VAI had a significantly increased risk of DKD by 35.9% (OR = 1.359, 95% CI 1.355, 1.362). Through subgroup analysis, we found that VAI was positively correlated with the occurrence of DKD in all age subgroups, male(OR = 1.043, 95% CI 1.010, 1.080), participants wit-hout cardiovascular disease(OR = 1.038, 95% CI 1.011, 1.069), hypertension (OR = 1.054, 95% CI 1.021, 1.090), unmarried participants (OR = 1.153, 95% CI 1.036, 1.294), PIR < 1.30(OR = 1.049, 95% CI 1.010, 1.094), PIR ≧ 3 (OR = 1.085, 95% CI 1.021, 1.160), BMI ≧ 30 kg/m2 (OR = 1.050, 95% CI 1.016, 1.091), former smokers (OR = 1.060, 95% CI 1.011, 1.117), never exercised (OR = 1.033, 95% CI 1.004, 1.067), non-Hispanic white population (OR = 1.055, 95% CI 1.010, 1.106) and non-Hipanic black population (OR = 1.129, 95% CI 1.033, 1.258). Our results suggest that elevated VAI levels are closely associated with the development of DKD in diabetic patients. VAI may be a simpl-e and cost-effective index to predict the occurrence of DKD. This needs to be verified in furt-her prospective investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Thermodynamic parameters at infinite dilution for 26 solutes in IL were calculated. • Based on the γ 12 ∞ results, the S 12 ∞ and K 12 ∞ were calculated for four separation problems. • The value of δ 2 was consistent with Hansen solubility parameter at room temperature. • The δ p , δ d , δ h values were determined based on the method proposed by Voelkel and Janas. The thermodynamic parameters at infinite dilution for twenty-six organic solutes in 1-allyl-3-vinylimidazolium bis((trifluorompropyl)sulfonyl)imide ([AVIM][NTf 2) ionic liquid were determined by the inverse gas chromatography (IGC). The parameters encompassed the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (γ 12 ∞), the activity coefficient at infinite dilution (γ 12 ∞), the thermodynamic functions (Δ H 1 E , ∞ , Δ S 1 E , ∞ ) and the Hildebrand solubility parameter (δ 2) in the temperature range of 313.15 K − 343.15 K. The values of selectivity and capacity for four separation problems as heptane (1)/benzene (2), cyclohexane (1)/benzene(2), benzene(1)/ methanol(2) , hexane(1) /1-hexene(2) were calculated from γ 12 ∞ and compared to literature values for bis((trifluorompropyl)sulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquids (ILs) for the same separation problems. The Hansen solubility parameter (δ T) and its partial solubility parameters (δ d , δ p , δ h) were also determined based on the method proposed by Voelkel and Janas. It was found that for tested solutes, the value of χ 12 ∞ was less than 4 and γ 12 ∞ value was less than 25 except for the n -alkanes. The five types of solubility parameters showed a linear decrease trend with the increase of temperature and the solubility parameters at room temperature were obtained as δ 2 = 23.27, δ T = 23.21, δ d = 22.78, δ p = 3.366, δ h = 2.486 (MPa)1/2 by the extrapolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the particle swarm optimisation algorithm, an ARD-FS system integrating the automatic relevance determination (ARD) and the feature selection (FS) for a Gaussian process classifier (GPC) is proposed. The ARD-FS system aims to reduce the complexity of the GPC and simultaneously improve the classification accuracy. It is applied to the hyperspectral images and experimental results demonstrate its good performance for hyperspectral image classification even with very limited labelled samples but high-dimensional features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anthracycline‐based chemotherapy (ABC) is one of the standard therapies against breast cancer. However, few guidelines are currently available to optimize the use of ABC. Therefore, the present analysis aimed at determining the profile and treatment patterns of ABC and the association of clinicopathological characteristics with ABC selection. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of a nation‐wide multicenter epidemiological study, which collected the medical records of breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in different settings from seven geographic regions in China (NCT03047889). Results: In total, 3393 patients were included, with 2917 treated with ABC. Among them, 553 (89.8%), 2165 (81.7%), and 814 (25.7%) were subjected to ABC as neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and advanced chemotherapy, respectively. The most frequently used regimens were anthracycline‐taxane‐based combinations for neo‐ and adjuvant chemotherapy, along with taxanes and oral fluorouracils for the palliative stages. In the overall cohort, patients aged < 40 or 40‐65 (p < 0.001), in premenopause (p < 0.001), without comorbidities (p = 0.016), with invasive ductal carcinoma (p= 0.001), high lymph node involvement (p < 0.001), in the pTNM stage II, III, or IV versus stage I (p < 0.001), subjected to mastectomy (p < 0.001) or subjected to sentinel lymph node biopsy combined with axillary lymph node dissection (p = 0.044), or with a decreased disease‐free survival (p < 0.001) were more likely to be recommended to ABC. Conclusion: Taken together, ABC remained the mainstay of breast cancer treatment, especially in neo and adjuvant therapy. ABC was mainly used as a combination therapy, and the correlation between influencing factors and ABC choice varied during different settings, indicating the preference and different perspectives of medication considered by medical oncologists regarding the use ABC in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The weighted surplus division value is defined in this paper, which allocates to each player his individual worth and then divides the surplus payoff with respect to the weight coefficients. This value can be characterized from three different angles. First, it can be obtained analogously to the scenario of getting the procedural value whereby the surplus is distributed among all players instead of among the predecessors. Second, endowing the exogenous weight to the surplus brings about the asymmetry of the distribution. We define the disweighted variance of complaints to remove the effect of the weight and prove the weighted surplus division value is the unique solution of an optimization model. Lastly, the paper offers axiomatic characterizations of the weighted surplus division value through proposing new properties, including the ω -symmetry for zero-normalized game and individual equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aims to describe the experience and practice of an intervention process for mental health crisis with 14,093 students living in a suddenly quarantined campus during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods: An expert committee of psychiatrists, psychologists and student counsellors was formed to manage the psychological crisis experienced by students. The committee provided online and onsite support, disclosed timely information, attended various online courses and facilitated various activities. Using the PHQ‐9, GAD‐7 and ISI scales, psychological weekly reports, student files and emergencies, students who were likely to have a crisis event were screened, and their degree of crisis was evaluated. A "one person–one case–one team" intervention was conducted for high‐risk students. Results: Of the 14,093 students, 11,121 finished all three online questionnaires. Based on the results of the screening tests, 732 students were placed in the prioritised attention group, 293 in the crisis group and 33 (10 [3.41%] male and 23 [7.85%] female) showed severe suicidal intentions. In total, 186 (3.26%) students declared poor sleep quality, while 610 (10.05%) students were found to have depression. The number of students affected with generalised anxiety was 650 (10.77%). Clinical intervention was successful with no untoward incidents. Conclusions: With strong support from the government, and the cooperation between multidisciplinary experts and the comprehensive intervention programme, the study obtained positive results. However, the limitations include the partial online survey responses and incomplete records of intervention. Nevertheless, the findings of this study could provide a foundation for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: UV rays not only cause oxidative damage to the skin, but also damage its barrier function. The use of sunscreen is crucial in preventing skin from UV radiation, but it may have an impact on the function of the skin barrier. While much research has focused on the protective effects of sunscreen against UV oxidative damage, little is known about the impact of daily sunscreen use on the skin barrier. Objective: This study mainly investigated the changes in skin barrier function of volunteers (including those with sensitive skin) before and after using a ceramide‐containing sunscreen. Methods: A total of 60 volunteers used SPF30 sunscreen containing ceramide every morning. Using non‐invasive methods to detect skin barrier changes in TEWL, hydration, facial redness based on VISIA‐CR image, and Erythema index (EI) value after 4 weeks of using ceramide‐containing sunscreen. Adverse reactions were also assessed. Results: After 4 weeks of using ceramide‐containing sunscreen, significant reductions were observed in skin redness with both an 11.89% decrease in a* value and a 5.68% decrease in skin EI, while there was also a significant decrease in transepidermal water loss (TEWL) with a reduction of 22.96%, and a significant increase in skin hydration with a 21.96% increase in the moisture content of the stratum corneum. No adverse events occurred during the entire testing process. Conclusion: Daily application of ceramide‐containing sunscreen can increase skin hydration while enhancing the function of the skin barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One factor that influences nursing students' decision to engage in volunteer activities is volunteer motivation. It is important to understand the motivations of nursing students to volunteer. However, the majority of current studies have concentrated on the present level of nursing students' motivation to volunteer. Objectives: To identify subgroups of nursing students' volunteer motivation and its influential factors. Methods: From January to February 2022, a cross-sectional online study was conducted, and 2569 nursing students from 10 provinces in China were recruited. Participants completed the General Information Questionnaire, Volunteer Functional Inventory (VFI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS). We explore the categories and characteristics of volunteer motivation using latent profile analysis. Then, we determined factors that affect undergraduate nursing students' volunteer motivation using multinomial logistic regression. Results: The volunteer motivation score of the nursing students was 77.65 (15.22). The study found that volunteer motivation could be divided into three categories: low-low protective volunteer motivation group (9.3%), general-high career values volunteer motivation group (37.5%), and high volunteer motivation group (53.2%). Perceived social support scale score, perceived stress scale score, gender, and grade significantly influenced the volunteer motivation of nursing students in different categories (both P < 0.05). Women were more likely to have higher motivation to volunteer than men, and fourth-year nursing students were more likely to be in general-high career values volunteer motivation group. Conclusions: The study highlights the significant heterogeneity in volunteer motivation among nursing students. Higher volunteer motivation was associated with higher perceived social support and lower perceived stress. In addition, gender and academic year were significant influencing factors. Nursing educators should develop targeted volunteer management plans based on the typological characteristics of the population to motivate nursing students to volunteer and promote the development of individual physical and mental health and social well-being. Trial registration: The survey was approved by the Biomedical Ethics Committee of the Department of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University (No. 2022–0006). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One factor that influences nursing students' decision to engage in volunteer activities is volunteer motivation. It is important to understand the motivations of nursing students to volunteer. However, the majority of current studies have concentrated on the present level of nursing students' motivation to volunteer. Objectives: To identify subgroups of nursing students' volunteer motivation and its influential factors. Methods: From January to February 2022, a cross-sectional online study was conducted, and 2569 nursing students from 10 provinces in China were recruited. Participants completed the General Information Questionnaire, Volunteer Functional Inventory (VFI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS). We explore the categories and characteristics of volunteer motivation using latent profile analysis. Then, we determined factors that affect undergraduate nursing students' volunteer motivation using multinomial logistic regression. Results: The volunteer motivation score of the nursing students was 77.65 (15.22). The study found that volunteer motivation could be divided into three categories: low-low protective volunteer motivation group (9.3%), general-high career values volunteer motivation group (37.5%), and high volunteer motivation group (53.2%). Perceived social support scale score, perceived stress scale score, gender, and grade significantly influenced the volunteer motivation of nursing students in different categories (both P < 0.05). Women were more likely to have higher motivation to volunteer than men, and fourth-year nursing students were more likely to be in general-high career values volunteer motivation group. Conclusions: The study highlights the significant heterogeneity in volunteer motivation among nursing students. Higher volunteer motivation was associated with higher perceived social support and lower perceived stress. In addition, gender and academic year were significant influencing factors. Nursing educators should develop targeted volunteer management plans based on the typological characteristics of the population to motivate nursing students to volunteer and promote the development of individual physical and mental health and social well-being. Trial registration: The survey was approved by the Biomedical Ethics Committee of the Department of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University (No. 2022–0006). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sensitive skin is a common condition affecting a significant proportion of the population, and there is a growing demand for effective and safe management. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a cream containing panthenol, prebiotics, and probiotic lysate as an optimal care for facial sensitive skin. Methods: A total of 110 participants (64 in group A and 46 in group B) with facial sensitive skin applied the cream twice daily for 28 days. Group A evaluated their sensitive skin, product efficacy, and product use experience at D0 (15 min), D1, D14, and D28. In group B, skin barrier function‐related indicators were measured at baseline and on D1, D7, D14, and D28. Dermatologists evaluated tolerance for all participants. Results: After 28 days of use, in group A, 100% of participants reported mildness and comfort with product use. Participants demonstrated significant improvements in skin barrier function‐related indicators, including increased stratum corneum moisture content, reduced erythema index, elevated sebum content, decreased trans‐epidermal water loss, and diminished skin redness parameter a* value (all p < 0.05). Dermatologist evaluations revealed excellent tolerance among all participants. Conclusion: The panthenol‐enriched cream with prebiotics and probiotic lysate exhibited substantial clinical efficacy in ameliorating facial sensitive skin conditions, coupled with a high safety profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One factor that influences nursing students' decision to pursue a nursing career is professional calling. It is important to comprehend nursing students' professional calling, which may have an impact on their career choice and career development. Objectives: To investigate possible calling types and contributing variables among nursing students. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Participants: A total of 10,583 nursing students were enrolled in this survey. Methods: From November 16th, 2022, to January 17th, 2023, a cross-sectional study was carried out among nursing students using a convenient sampling. The subjects were given the Chinese Calling Scale and the General Demographic Information Questionnaire. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to separate nursing students' professional calling into a variety of subgroups. To find the variables connected to the prospective calling categories, we used ordinal and multinomial Logistic regression analysis. Results: Respondents were divided into three calling groups, low (N = 3204), moderate (N = 4492), and high calling group (N = 2887), which accounted for 30.3%, 42.4%, and 27.3% of the total respondents, respectively, in accordance with the findings of the latent profile analysis. Across scale scores and dimensions for the three separate categories, three groups demonstrated statistically significant differences (both p < 0.001). Profile membership was predicted by 8 factors such as age, gender, location of origin, first volunteer experience, highest degree earned, marital status, student leadership experience, and political appearance. Conclusion: Three latent calling patterns were found, and there was calling variability across nursing students. Special care should be given to students with low calling. Nursing students must use professional education tools to help them develop their career calling and stabilize the nursing team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Oily skin, characterized by excessive sebum production, can lead to acne and have psychosocial impacts due to changes in appearance. Recent research has shown interest in treatments for oil control, with kaolin and bentonite emerging as promising options. Despite their potential, comprehensive studies on these ingredients are still in the nascent stages. AIM: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a clay mask (La Roche‐Posay Effaclar Sebo‐Controlling Mask) in reducing skin oiliness and acne, and its safety for use. METHODS: In this study, 75 adults with oily or combination skin were enrolled and provided with a clay mask for twice‐weekly use over 4 weeks. Clinical assessments, using instruments like Sebumeter, Vapometer, and Corneometer, were conducted at baseline, and after 1, 2, and 4 weeks, evaluating acne lesions, skin irritation, sebum content, and skin hydration. Participant self‐assessment questionnaires were also utilized for subjective evaluation. Statistical analyses were performed accordingly. RESULTS: The study revealed significant improvements in acne‐related outcomes, sebum content, skin evenness, stratum corneum water content, and transepidermal water loss following the application of the clay mask. Pore area and porphyrin area showed no significant changes. Tolerance assessment showed reduced dryness and irritation, with self‐assessment indicating high product acceptability and perceived oil control effectiveness. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the clay mask's efficacy in managing acne and oily skin, improving hydration and texture. Significant improvements in skin parameters and high product safety were observed, supporting its suitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcomes of microinvasive breast cancer, we conducted an observational study of female diagnosed with DCIS or DCIS with microinvasion (DCISM) from 1990 to 2012 using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. There were 87695 DCIS and 8863 DCISM identified. In DCISM group, patients appeared to be younger and more black patients were identified in comparison with DCIS group. Furthermore, DCISM was associated with more aggressive tumor characteristics like higher rates of oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) negativity, HER2 positivity, and lymph node metastasis. With a median follow-up of 91 months, patients with DCISM had worse cancer-specific survival (CSS) (hazard ratio [HR], 2.475; P < 0.001) and overall survival (OS) (HR, 1.263; P < 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, microinvasion was an independent prognostic factor for worse CSS (HR, 1.919; P < 0.001) and OS (HR, 1.184; P < 0.001). The 10-year cancer-specific mortality rate was 1.49% in DCIS and 4.08% in DCISM (HR, 2.771; P < 0.001). The 20-year cancer-specific mortality rate was 4.00% in DCIS and 9.65% in DCISM (HR, 2.482; P < 0.001). Deepening understanding of the nature of microinvasive breast cancer will be valuable for clinical treatment recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The pollution hazards of heavy metals during composting mainly come from Cd. • Invalid management of food waste sorting may lead to heavy metals' pollution. • Environmental costs of the heavy metals in leachate are relatively high. Abstract Heavy metals in leachate during food waste composting may produce different degrees of pollution hazards and further induce environment costs, when the concentrations of heavy metals exceed the discharging quality standards. Quantitative evaluation of heavy metals' pollution hazards and estimation of such environmental costs are under-represented in the existing literature. This paper uses a logistic function approach to evaluate the extent of pollution hazards of heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) and to estimate heavy metals' environmental costs in leachate during food waste composting from Minhang food waste treatment plant located in northern Shanghai, China. Major findings of this study are: (1) The pollution hazards rate of Cd amounts to 94.03%, probably because Cd -containing materials such as plastics are mixed with food waste; (2) With the comprehensive pollution hazards rate estimated as 94.48%, the environmental costs caused by heavy metals in leachate during food waste composting amount to US$0.52 per tonne. This magnitude of environmental costs is meaningful and significant, considering that it is equivalent to 2.97% of Shanghai's food waste treatment charges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One factor that influences nursing students' decision to pursue a nursing career is professional calling. It is important to comprehend nursing students' professional calling, which may have an impact on their career choice and career development. Objectives: To investigate possible calling types and contributing variables among nursing students. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Participants: A total of 10,583 nursing students were enrolled in this survey. Methods: From November 16th, 2022, to January 17th, 2023, a cross-sectional study was carried out among nursing students using a convenient sampling. The subjects were given the Chinese Calling Scale and the General Demographic Information Questionnaire. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to separate nursing students' professional calling into a variety of subgroups. To find the variables connected to the prospective calling categories, we used ordinal and multinomial Logistic regression analysis. Results: Respondents were divided into three calling groups, low (N = 3204), moderate (N = 4492), and high calling group (N = 2887), which accounted for 30.3%, 42.4%, and 27.3% of the total respondents, respectively, in accordance with the findings of the latent profile analysis. Across scale scores and dimensions for the three separate categories, three groups demonstrated statistically significant differences (both p < 0.001). Profile membership was predicted by 8 factors such as age, gender, location of origin, first volunteer experience, highest degree earned, marital status, student leadership experience, and political appearance. Conclusion: Three latent calling patterns were found, and there was calling variability across nursing students. Special care should be given to students with low calling. Nursing students must use professional education tools to help them develop their career calling and stabilize the nursing team. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Meaning in life, defined by an individual's understanding and appreciation of life, is a vital aspect of a positive psychological state, that has a significant influence on physical and mental health. Therefore, improving the sense of meaning in life among nursing students has emerged as a crucial concern in nursing education. This study aimed to clarify the profiles and influencing factors of meaning in life among nursing students. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional online survey was conducted among nursing students in China from November 16, 2022, to January 17, 2023. The demographic information questionnaire and the meaning in life questionnaire (MLQ) were used to collect data. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify groups exhibiting distinct levels of meaning in life. Additionally, univariate analysis and multinominal logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the factors influencing each group. The reporting of this study adhered to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist. Results: A total of 10,583 valid responses were received, and the analysis revealed four distinct profiles. The profiles identified were the medium meaning group (C1, 41.4%), medium fluctuation meaning-no motivation group (C2, 8.7%), lower meaning group (C3, 9.7%), and higher meaning group (C4, 40.2%). The univariate analysis revealed that age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, educational level, grade, university classification, student leadership experience, and political affiliation were factors that influenced the four latent profiles (P < 0.05). The multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that age, gender, ethnicity, education level, and student leadership experience were significant predictors of the various profiles (P < 0.05). Conclusion: There is heterogeneous in meaning in life among nursing students in China. Nursing educators need to provide tailored guidance based on the latent classification characteristics of meaning in life among nursing students, aiming at improving their meaning in life and promoting the development of the nursing workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly efficient catalyst for Li–O2 batteries based on Ru and MnFe phosphides nanoparticles entrapped in a MnFe Prussian blue analogue (PBA) substrate (Ru-MnFeP/PBA) was explored. Synergy between homogeneous Ru and MnFe phosphides nanoparticles improved the catalytic activity and alleviated side reactions. The Li–O2 battery based on Ru-MnFeP/PBA exhibited excellent performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Huangqi Guizhi Wuwu decoction (HGWD), which is composed of five crude drugs (Astragali Radix, Cinnamomi Ramulus, Paeoniae Radix Alba, Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens, and Jujubae Fructus), in the treatment of albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-PTX)-induced peripheral neuropathy (PN) in Chinese patients with breast cancer (BC). Methods: This trial was conducted at the National Cancer Center in China from January 2020 to June 2022. The eligible participants were assigned randomly in a 1:1 ratio to an HGWD group or a control group. The outcome measure was EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 questionnaire. Results: 92 patients diagnosed with BC were enrolled and randomized to either HGWD group (n = 46) or control group (n = 46). There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups (p > 0.05). A statistical analysis of the sensory and motor functions of the EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 scores showed that patients in the HGWD group reported a larger decrease in CIPN sensory scores than those in the control group (p < 0.001). The EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 autonomic scores showed no statistical significance between the two groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: HGWD packs could significantly improve patients' nab-PTX-induced PN, increase the tolerance for nab-PTX-containing chemotherapy, and further improve the quality of life of patients with BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents proof of concept for designing a novel HIV-1 covalent inhibitor targeting the highly conserved Tyr318 in the HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors binding pocket to improve the drug resistance profiles. The target inhibitor ZA-2 with a fluorosulfate warhead in the structure was found to be a potent inhibitor (EC50 = 11–246 nM) against HIV-1 IIIB and a panel of NNRTIs-resistant strains, being far superior to those of NVP and EFV. Moreover, ZA-2 was demonstrated with lower cytotoxicity (CC50 = 125 µM). In the reverse transcriptase inhibitory assay, ZA-2 exhibited an IC50 value of 0.057 µM with the ELISA method, and the MALDI-TOF MS data demonstrated the covalent binding mode of ZA-2 with the enzyme. Additionally, the molecular simulations have also demonstrated that compounds can form covalent binding to the Tyr318. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article titled "Correction to 'Efficacy and safety of a cream containing panthenol, prebiotics, and probiotic lysate for improving sensitive skin symptoms'" discusses errors in the original text. The incorrect use of the term "hydroxyproline" should have been "madecassoside" in several paragraphs. The authors apologize for these mistakes. [Extracted from the article]

Aims: To understand how survivors of stroke perceive secondary prevention and explore their perceived barriers and facilitators using the Theoretical Domains Framework. Design: A qualitative descriptive study. Methods: Nineteen survivors of stroke from three hospitals were recruited and interviewed from April 2019 to April 2020. The data were analysed deductively and inductively by content analysis strategies. Results: Three main themes of perception of secondary prevention were identified, these being active treatment‐seeking, attention to taking medications and negative attitude towards lifestyle changes. Using deductive analysis, eight domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework were reported to be relevant in the secondary prevention behaviour of survivors of stroke that mapped to five 'barrier' domains (i.e. knowledge, physical skills, beliefs about capability, beliefs about consequences and optimism) as well as six 'facilitator' domains (i.e. knowledge, interpersonal skills, beliefs about capability, intention, emotion and social influences). Using inductive analysis we identified two additional important factors not falling in the domains of the Theoretical Domains Framework. These comprised female spouses' support and patients' economic autonomy, both of which could be classified as a facilitator or barrier. Conclusion: Survivors of stroke perceive seeking treatment and using preventive medication as more important than modifying lifestyle behaviours. Knowledge and insight into the barriers and facilitators of secondary prevention in this specific context provides a theoretical and practical basis for the design of future secondary prevention interventions. Impact: Stroke survivors' perceptions of secondary prevention, barriers and facilitators were explored in the context of a developing country. These findings highlight the need to better communicate the importance of improving lifestyle modification and medication adherence, and provide evidence for designing relevant interventions for stroke management in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]