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Abstract Aim Despite the serious consequences of exposure to high job demands for nursing staff, few studies have identified pathways that could reduce the influence of high job demands on burnout. The current study aimed to exaime whether a stress mindset mitigates the positive relationship between job demands and burnout. Design A cross‐sectional survey was adopted and data were collected employing self‐report questionnaires. Methods A convenience sample of 676 nurses recruited from six regional hospitals in China were invited to complete a demographic questionnaire, the Psychological Job Demand Scale, the Stress Mindset Scale and the Burnout Scale. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis and simple slope analysis were used to examine the moderating role of stress mindset. Results Higher job demands were positively linked to burnout, and stress mindset was negatively linked to burnout. Stress mindset moderated the positive relationship between job demands and burnout. Specifically, compared to nurses with a stress‐is‐debilitating mindset, the relationship will be smaller for nurses holding a stress‐is‐enhancing mindset. Patient or Public Contributions Based on these findings, nursing leaders should foster nurses' stress‐is‐enhancing mindset, which can ameliorate the adverse effect of job demands.

The decreasing availability of agricultural land, coupled with the growing global population, presents significant challenges worldwide. Reclaiming saline–alkali soil offers a promising solution to alleviate these challenges. Improving and utilizing saline soils present ecological challenges that are influenced by both technological advancements and socio-economic factors. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of the published research on saline soil remediation and reclamation from 1985 to the present, using data indexed by the Web of Science Core Collection: Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Science Citation Index. This analysis includes 16,729 publications, which indicate that, over the years, many scientists have conducted extensive research on enhancing and using sodic lands. Countries like the United States, China, Australia, Pakistan, Poland, India, Egypt, and Israel have been pioneers in this field. Furthermore, we summarize trends in this research area, highlighting how strategies for saline soil reclamation have evolved from physical and chemical remediation to salt-tolerant crop breeding and bioremediation applications. With the advancements in science and technology, more methods and strategies have become available to facilitate saline soil remediation. Consequently, management strategies combining multiple technologies will become more effective and provide powerful approaches for reclaiming arable soil from high-salinity marginal lands.

Phthalates (PAEs) have become one of the main pollutants threatening the safety and quality of vegetable production. Application of bio-organic soil amendments is a promising approach to eliminate the pollutants and improve the vegetable quality. In the present study, we constructed a functional endophytic organic fertilizer (EOF) with a PAEs degrading endophyte Bacillus subtilis strain HB-T2, which had the ability to eliminate PAEs both inside the vegetables and soil. A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of EOF on PAEs degradation, rhizosphere microbiota, vegetable quality and soil fertility, the results were also compared to chemical fertilizer (CF), organic fertilizer (OF, sterilized EOF) treatments. The EOF containing HB-T2 significantly increased the elimination of PAEs in soil (up to 70%) and vegetables (up to 50%). Both OF and EOF treatments significantly (P

Abstract Background Burnout is a major concern in healthcare professions. Although theory and empirical evidence support the relationship between job stressors and burnout, the question remains how and when the job stressors are related to burnout. Based on conservation of resources theory and effort recovery model, the current study aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the effect of job stressors on burnout by investigating the mediating role of need for recovery and the moderating role of career calling. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 709 nurses enrolled from eight public hospitals in China. The Work Stressors Scale, Psychological Detachment Scale, Brief Calling Scale, and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to collect data. Hierarchical regression analysis with bootstrapping procedure was performed to test the proposed model. Results The results showed that need for recovery mediated the job stressors-burnout relationship, and that high career calling buffered against the relationships between job stressors and need for recovery and burnout. Furthermore, the result revealed a moderated mediation model that career calling buffered the indirect effect of job stressors on burnout through need for recovery. Conclusions Our findings suggest that environmental demands and personal resource are important antecedents of nurses’ burnout. Career calling as personal resources can serve as a protective factor that guards against burnout. Thus, nursing managers can reduce nurse burnout by focusing on effective strategies related to recovery experiences, as well as investing in training career calling.

The heterogeneous magnesium (Mg) matrix nanocomposite with dispersed soft phase exhibits high strength and toughness. Herein, the deformation behavior and failure process were investigated to reveal the unique mechanical behavior of the heterogeneous microstructure under compression. The extensive plastic deformation is accompanied by the flattening and tilting of the soft phase, inhibiting strain localization and leading to strain hardening. Moreover, a stable crack multiplication process is activated, which endows high damage tolerance to the heterogeneous Mg matrix nanocomposites. The final failure of the composite is caused by crack coalescence in the shear plane along a tortuous path. The presence of dispersed soft phases within the hard matrix induces a noticeable change in mechanical response. Especially, the malleability of the heterogeneous Mg matrix nanocomposite is two and ten times higher than that of pure Mg and the homogeneous Mg matrix nanocomposite, respectively. The current study provides a novel strategy to break the trade-off between strength and toughness in metal matrix nanocomposites.

Purpose: This study explored the mediating effect of career calling in the relationship between family-supportive supervisor behaviors and turnover intention among nurses. Methods: Data were gathered from 563 nurses enrolled in eight public hospitals in China. They were required to complete measures of family-supportive supervisor behaviors, career calling, and turnover intention. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis and the bootstrapping procedure were used to examine the mediating role of career calling. Results: Family-supportive supervisor behaviors were positively associated with career calling, but negatively associated with turnover intention. Furthermore, career calling partially mediated the relationship between family-supportive supervisor behaviors and turnover intention. Conclusion: This study provides strong evidence for an increasing body of work that emphasizes the importance of nursing leaders engaging in family-supportive behaviors for increasing employee career calling and reducing turnover intention.

Mission reliability could systematically characterize the running state of a manufacturing system and the rationality of production task setting in advance. However, few studies can realize the mission reliability modeling, which integrates production scheduling based on fully considering the complexity, dynamics, and multi-state characteristics of a manufacturing system. Thus, a dynamic method for modeling the mission reliability of a multi-state manufacturing system with multiple production lines is proposed in this paper. First, the multi-state characteristic of manufacturing systems operation is analyzed. On this basis, considering the composition of manufacturing systems, the connotation and modeling mechanism of the mission reliability of manufacturing systems are proposed. Second, combining the discretization of machine performance states and dynamic continuity of the performance degradation process, the dynamic modeling method of multi-state machine performance and buffer usage are respectively discussed. The transfer evolution of task demands in the production line is analyzed, and the decomposition method of task scheduling and load mapping in multiple production lines is provided. Third, considering the characteristics of multiple production lines and the buffer of a manufacturing system, taking production tasks as the core and integrating production scheduling, a modeling method for the mission reliability of manufacturing systems is proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified using a case study on the modeling of the mission reliability of a manufacturing system of aerospace parts.

Clinical studies have demonstrated that robot-involved therapy can effectively improve the rehabilitation training effect of motor ability and daily behavior ability of subjects with an upper limb motor dysfunction. This paper presents an impedance-based assist-as-needed controller that can be used in robot-aided rehabilitation training for subjects with an upper extremity dysfunction. Then, the controller is implemented on an end-effector upper extremity rehabilitation robot which could assist subjects in performing training with a spatial trajectory. The proposed controller enables subjects’ arms to have motion freedom by building a fault-tolerant region around the rehabilitation trajectory. Subjects could move their upper limb without any assistance within the fault-tolerant region while the robot would provide assistance according to the subjects’ functional ability when deviating from the fault-tolerant region. Besides, we also put forward the stiffness field around the fault-tolerant region to increase the robot’s assistance when subjects’ hand is moving outside the fault-tolerant region. A series of columnar rigid walls would be constructed in the controller according to the subjects’ functional ability, and the stiffness of the wall increases as the motion performance deteriorates. Furthermore, the controller contains five adjustable parameters. The controller would show different performances by adjusting these parameters and satisfy the requirement of robot-aided rehabilitation training at different rehabilitation stages such as passive, assistant, active, and resistant training. Finally, the controller was tested with an elderly female participant with different controller parameters, and experimental results verified the correctness of the controller and its potential ability to satisfy the training requirements at different rehabilitation stages. In the close future, the proposed controller in this work is planned to be applied on more subjects and also patients who have upper limb motor dysfunctions to demonstrate performance of the controller with different parameters.

Vacuolar H+-ATPases (V-ATPase) are multi-subunit complexes that function as ATP hydrolysis-driven proton pumps. They play pivotal roles in physiological processes, such as development, metabolism, stress, and growth. However, there have been very few studies on the characterisation of V-ATPase (VHA) genes in Rosaceae species. Therefore, in the present study, we performed a genome-wide analysis and identified VHA gene family members in five Rosaceae species (Pyrus bretschneideri, Malus domestica, Prunus persica, Fragaria vesca, and Prunus mume). A total of 159 VHA genes were identified, and were classified into 13 subfamilies according to the phylogenetic analysis. The structure of VHA proteins revealed high similarity among different VHA genes within the same subgroup. Gene duplication event analysis revealed that whole-genome duplications represented the major pathway for expansion of the Pyrus bretschneideri VHA genes (PbrVHA genes). The tissue-specific expression analysis of the pear showed that 36 PbrVHA genes were expressed in major tissues. Seven PbrVHA genes were significantly downregulated when the pollen tube growth stopped. Moreover, many PbrVHA genes were differentially expressed during fruit development and storage, suggesting that VHA genes play specific roles in development and senescence. The present study provides fundamental information for further elucidating the potential roles of VHA genes during development and senescence.

Robot-assisted rehabilitation therapy has been proven to effectively improve upper limb motor function and daily behavior of patients with motor dysfunction, and the demand has increased at every stage of the rehabilitation recovery. According to the motor relearning program theory, upper limb motor dysfunction can be restored by a certain amount of repetitive training. Robotics devices can be an approach to accelerate the rehabilitation process by maximizing the patients’ training intensity. This paper develops a new end-effector upper limb rehabilitation robot (EULRR) first and then presents a controller that is suitable for the assist-as-needed (AAN) training of the patients when performing the rehabilitation training. The AAN controller is a strategy that helps the patient’s arm to stay close to the given trajectory while allowing for spatial freedom. This controller enables the patient’s arm to have spatial freedom by constructing a virtual channel around the predetermined training trajectory. Patients could move their arm freely in the allowed virtual channel during rehabilitation training while the robot provides assistance when deviating from the virtual channel. The AAN controller is preliminarily tested with a healthy male subject in different conditions based on the EULRR. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed AAN controller could provide assistance when moving out of the virtual channel and provide no assistance when moving along the trajectory within the virtual channel. In the close future, the controller is planned to be used in elderly volunteers and help to increase the intensity of the rehabilitation therapy by assisting the arm movement and by provoking active participation.

BACKGROUND: The greatest hurdle to commercial marketing of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables is limited shelf life due to microbial hazards and quality deterioration. Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is an emerging non-thermal technology with significant potential to improve the safety and storability of fresh products. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of ACP, generated in sealed packaging, on the qualitative, metabolic and microbial stability of fresh-cut pears during simulated cold storage. RESULTS: ACP treatments were effective in inhibiting the growth of mesophilic aerobic bacteria, yeast and mold, particularly CP3 (65 kV, 1 min), which could prolong shelf life to the greatest extent. While decontamination was not always associated with an increase in plasma intensity. Moreover, at 65 kV for 1 min, ACP treatment had the potential to retard respiration, and maintain organoleptic properties and other quality attributes. Additionally, peroxidase and pectin methylesterase (PME) activities were reduced immediately after treatments. These effects were dependent on treatment voltage and time, while a subsequent recovery in activity was only observed for PME. CONCLUSION: The results obtained from this study will contribute to an understanding of the effects of in-package ACP treatments on the storability and microbial safety of fresh-cut pears. This knowledge could be beneficial in reducing quality losses for fresh-cut pears and the preservation of other products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For consideration of the wide applications of concordance and order information in global sensitivity analysis (SA), a new sensitivity index based on the spearman correlation coefficient (S-CC) is presented in this article. S-CC can reflect the linear order correlation between variables; thus the proposed sensitivity index can be used to measure the influence of input on the linear order of output. Then the main task becomes efficiently estimating the defined index. Here the authors introduce the basic unscented transformation (UT) to compute the index with high efficiency, and high order unscented transformation (HOUT) is also employed tofurther improve the computational accuracy. Several examples, including the commonly used Ishigami test function and other engineering examples, are used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed sensitivity index and the efficiency of the proposed UT-based methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyaniline nanorods (PANI) grown on layered graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) sheets are successfully synthesized via interfacial polymerization of aniline monomers in the presence of g-C3N4 nanosheets. The SEM images and X-ray diffractogram indicate that g-C3N4 achieves good dispersion with intercalated nanostructure along with PANI. FTIR spectra reveal that PANI arrays for PANI/g-C3N4 exhibit higher degree of conjugation compared with pure PANI. The resulting composites show not only perfect thermal stability, but also more intensive optical absorption and the generation of the photocurrent than pure g-C3N4, contributing by the synergistic effect of PANI and g-C3N4. The PANI/g-C3N4 composites also exhibit significantly enhanced visible-light catalytic activity toward photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) over pure g-C3N4. The 38 wt% PANI/g-C3N4 composites have optimal photocatalytic performance, almost 3.3 times over pure g-C3N4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensitivity analysis is frequently considered an essential component in engineering design. In the design process of engineered structures, the output is implicitly related with the input variables. The Kriging model, one of the most commonly used emulator models, is sometimes used for structure analysis. In order to efficiently estimate the sensitivities of failure probability or statistical moments of performance function with respect to distribution parameters of input variables, the analytical solutions are derived based on the Kriging model. Generally, the Kriging model can be expressed as a tensor product basis function, thus the multivariate integrals can be decomposed into the sum of univariate integrals, which makes it possible to solve the sensitivity of statistical moments with respect to distribution parameters of normal input variables by the properties of kernel functions. Next, the fourth-moment reliability sensitivity method is applied to compute the sensitivity of failure probability analytically. Numerical and engineering examples are introduced to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the derived analytical solution of sensitivity of failure probability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]