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Although the two active redox centers in Li-rich cathodes, including the anionic and cationic contributions, can enable Li-ion batteries to achieve outstanding specific energy, their behaviors at different current densities have not been clarified. Here, we provide a comparative study of transition metals (TMs) and oxygen redox activities by directly accessing their oxidation states in Li-rich materials operated at very different current rates. Our data reveal that the oxidation of oxygen in the near-surface region is at the same level for electrodes cycled with a wide range of current rates, indicating a reaction gradient of lattice oxygen redox reactions. The oxidation process of lattice oxygen is found to be dynamically compatible with that of the TMs. Combining the results of first principles calculations and complementary experimental findings, we propose a detailed mechanism of structural distortion from octahedral Li to tetrahedral Li and the role of oxygen vacancy in Li+ diffusion. It is found that fast delithiation occurring at high current densities can easily cause local structural transformation, leading to a limited Li+ diffusion rate and consequently suppressing rate capability.

Background: The lack of racial diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is perhaps one of the most challenging issues in the United States higher education system. The issue is not only concerning diverse students, but also diverse faculty members. One important contributing factor is the faculty hiring process. To make progress toward equity in hiring decisions, it is necessary to better understand how applicants are considered and evaluated. In this paper, we describe and present our study based on a survey of current STEM faculty members and administrators who examined applicant qualifcations and characteristics in STEM faculty hiring decisions. Results: There are three key fndings of the present research. First, we found that faculty members placed diferent levels of importance on characteristics and qualifcations for tenure track hiring and non-tenure track hiring. For example, items related to research were more important when evaluating tenure track applicants, whereas items related to teaching and diversity were more important when evaluating non-tenure track applicants. Second, faculty members' institutional classifcation, position, and personal identities (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity) had an impact on their evaluation criteria. For instance, we found men considered some diversity-related items more important than women. Third, faculty members rated the importance of qualifcations with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related constructs signifcantly lower than qualifcations that did not specify DEI-related constructs, and this trend held for both tenure track and non-tenure track faculty hiring. Conclusions: This study was an attempt to address the issue of diversity in STEM faculty hiring at institutions of higher education by examining how applicant characteristics are considered and evaluated in faculty hiring practices. Emphasizing research reputation and postdoctoral reputation while neglecting institutional diversity and equitable and inclusive teaching, research, and service stunt progress toward racial diversity because biases--both implicit and explicit, both positive and negative--still exist. Our results were consistent with research on bias in recruitment, revealing that afnity bias, confrmation bias, and halo bias exist in the faculty hiring process. These biases contribute to inequities in hiring, and need to be addressed before we can reach, sustain, and grow desired levels of diversity

Low mental health literacy is a public health concern in China and contributes to the low underutilization of mental health resources. We extended the current conceptualization of mental health literacy and developed a comprehensive self-report measure of mental health literacy in the Chinese context, the Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire (MHLQ). We generated items based on existing literature, extensive qualitative interviews with mental health professionals and community members. We revised these items based on expert review to examine content validity, after which we conducted a pilot test with a representative sample of 734 urban and rural community members to illicit feedback on wording clarity and select items within appropriate difficulty levels (i.e., correct rate). We then examined dimensionality and item performance using multidimensional item response theory analyses in a combined sample of mental health professionals (n = 122), community members (n = 121), and college students (n = 144). We concluded a six-factor structure for the MHLQ encompassing mental health knowledge, mental illness knowledge, attitudes towards mental health, attitudes towards mental illness, behaviors regarding mental health promotion, and behaviors regarding mental illness coping. The scale yielded adequate internal reliability estimates and test-retest agreement, and convergent evidence and known-group comparisons results in support of construct validity. The six-factor MHLQ largely supported our extended theoretical conceptualization of the mental health literacy in the Chinese context. Future studies are needed to further validate the factor structure and examine measurement invariance., Author(s): Jue Wu [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Cixin Wang [sup.4] , Yun Lu [sup.5] , Xu Zhu [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Yanqing Li [sup.1] [sup.2] [sup.3] , Guangda Liu [sup.1] [...]

The global COVID-19 is still in a pandemic state, and Omicron is still the dominant variant in the world, accounting for about 99% of the global gene sequence. Many regions around the world are experiencing the seventh wave of the epidemic. This round of epidemics is mainly caused by Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, but the epidemiological characteristics of Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are still unclear, bringing great challenges to the prevention and control of the epidemic in countries and regions. In this study, discovery and epidemic status, the incubation period, transmissibility, clinical symptoms, case fatality rate, and the protective effect of vaccines of Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 were reviewed, in order to provide reference for scientific prevention and control of Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) and graphite-based Li-ion batteries have been widely applied for consumer electronics because of the long cycle life and easy preparation. However, the limited capacity for traditional materials hampers the practical application for high energy-density battery. Conventional electrolyte system could not satisfy the need for high-capacity materials. Here, methylene methanedisulfonate (MMDS) was chosen as electrolyte additive for enhancing the available capacity for LiCoO2 and graphite-based battery. The effect of MMDS on the LiCoO2 cathode and graphite anode was investigated via multi electrochemical methods. It was found that the capacity for cells with MMDS electrolyte additive increases (from 142.6 mAh g−1 for pristine to 193.4 mAh g−1 on LiCoO2/Li battery, from 275.5 mAh g−1 for pristine to 407.0 mAh g−1 on graphite/Li battery). The experimental results indicate that improved capacity by MMDS electrolyte additive can be attributable to the stabilized interface on both cathode and anode sides, leading to superior interfacial Li+ kinetics and mitigated bulk structural degradation, which was further confirmed by the ex-situ electrochemical and structural characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the transnational literacies that contribute to creating online social connections among migrant youth that may support their development and navigation of life across countries. We examine how social connectedness is semiotically constructed through time–space framing among two youth of Chinese descent who were participants of a larger study of the digital media practices of young people in an urban high school. We build on the concept of chronotope (Bakhtin, 1981) and scholarship of transnational literacies to understand the space–time dimensions of digital literacy practices, specifically how youth create the spatiotemporal context or frame of reference for their actions and positionings with others across geographical distances. Using a case study approach with data from interviews and observations, we analyzed how the youth depicted their transnational social relations within particular time–space frames. Qualitative and discourse analyses of the youths' narrative accounts show that they positioned themselves in proximity with their transnational peers within particular time–space contexts that supported their actions and emotions, and how they made sense of events, issues, practices, and their own identities as transnational individuals. The youths' ideas of schooling and education, and attunement to nationalistic ideologies, were developed through multiple chronotopes in their social connections across countries. This study offers implications for how an attention to the transnational spatiotemporal frame of youths' discourse and narrative may give us a more nuanced understanding of the subjectivity, knowledge, and perspective they derive from their experiences of movement and connection across borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. This study aimed to investigate nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care and perceived professional benefits in China and reveal the relationship between them. Design and Methods. In this study, 372 nurses (response rate: 93.47%) from a number of hospitals across China were surveyed using convenience sampling. The data were collected through online questionnaires, including a sociodemographic characteristics form, the Chinese version of the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (C-SCGS), and the Nurses' Perceived Professional Benefits Questionnaire (NPPBQ). Findings. The total score of the NPPBQ was 136.88±20.13. A statistically significant relationship was found between the total score and subscale score of the C-SCGS and the total score and subscale score of the NPPBQ (R=0.217-0.475, P, Author(s): Xiaoying Zeng [1]; Jianhua Yang [1]; Yanjia Li [1]; Min Chen [2]; Jue Wu [3]; Yanli Hu [4]; Weinan Lu [1]; Jing Liu [1]; Qian Yang [1]; Wenqiong Guo [...]

The gender imbalance in computer science (CS) is one of the most challenging issues in American education. CS is the only science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field in which women's representation has steadily declined in recent decades. In this study, we explored one potential approach that could be effective in increasing college women's participation in CS: participation in Women‐in‐Computing (WiC) groups. Through participant observation and individual interviews in a WiC group at a major research university, we investigated how students engage in WiC, the impacts of the WiC on identity and belonging, and the challenge of sustainability. The results were coded using a hybrid of grounded and deductive coding and indicate that WiC groups offer various programs and events that enable women in CS to fully participate, learn, and grow. WiC represents an identity, a community, a safe space, and a journey. The results also suggest that the WiC has had positive impacts on students' identity and belonging, as evidenced by increased self‐efficacy, reduced imposter syndrome, and enhanced sense of belonging and community. Furthermore, we outline three strategies employed by the WiC to ensure the group's sustainability. Our study sheds light on how WiC can encourage women to enter and persist in CS, and on some of the characteristics of a successful WiC. We demonstrate that WiC may be potentially effective in diversifying CS through identity‐based participation. Moreover, student leaders design both the structure of the group and the leadership continuity process to ensure sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. We aimed to investigate nursing students' spiritual care competence, perceived professional benefit, and retention intention and to analyze the relationship among these variables. Background. Nurse shortages are a global issue, and intern nursing students' willingness to remain in the nursing profession is important. Spiritual care can reduce patients' depression and improve their quality of life. Implementing spiritual care can help individuals have satisfying experiences. Perceived professional benefit is a positive emotional experience that is important in retention intention. However, the relationship among spiritual care competence, perceived professional benefit, and retention intention remains unclear. Methods. In this cross-sectional and correlational study, convenience sampling was used to recruit 266 intern nursing students in 10 hospitals throughout China. An online questionnaire was used to assess their sociodemographic characteristics, spiritual care competence, perceived professional benefit, and retention intention. Statistical analyses included the t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation analysis, and bootstrap analysis. Results. Intern nursing students' mean scores were 103.35 ± 19.00 for spiritual care competence, 72.88 ± 10.40 for perceived professional benefit, and 19.58 ± 3.37 for retention intention. Spiritual care competence was positively correlated with perceived professional benefit (r = 0.545; p < 0.01) and retention intention (r = 0.149; p < 0.05). Perceived professional benefit was also positively correlated with retention intention (r = 0.320; p < 0.01). Bootstrap analysis showed that perceived professional benefit completely mediates the relationship between spiritual care competence and retention intention. Conclusions. We found that nursing interns had a moderate level of retention intention, and perceived professional benefit was the mediating variable between spiritual care competence and retention intention. Implications. Our study results suggest that nursing administrators and educators should improve nursing interns' spiritual care competence and perceived professional benefit to enhance their willingness to remain in the nursing profession and alleviate nurse shortages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the pursuit of high-energy density lithium-ion battery, Li-rich Mn-based oxide cathode has gained great attention with unexpectedly high capacity, low cost and excellent thermal stability. However, the cause for the sluggish kinetics remains a mystery, hindering the application of Li-rich cathode material. Here, we reveal the interfacial instability is the driving force for the sluggish kinetics, which severely blocks the interfacial Li-ion transport and triggers fast battery failure. Through rice-husk carbon (RHC) and spinel phase modification on Li-rich Mn-based oxide Li1.2Ni0.16Mn0.56Co0.08O2 (LNMC), the poor lithium ion diffusion and interfacial degradation can be effectively prevented, delivering a high specific capacity of around 300 mAh/g and excellent rate performance. These findings provide a universal method to prepare high electrochemical performance Li-rich oxide materials. Through synergetic modification, the Li-rich Mn-based cathode delivers a high available capacity of 300 mAh/g via accelerated Li+ intercalation kinetics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The lack of racial diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is perhaps one of the most challenging issues in the United States higher education system. The issue is not only concerning diverse students, but also diverse faculty members. One important contributing factor is the faculty hiring process. To make progress toward equity in hiring decisions, it is necessary to better understand how applicants are considered and evaluated. In this paper, we describe and present our study based on a survey of current STEM faculty members and administrators who examined applicant qualifications and characteristics in STEM faculty hiring decisions. Results: There are three key findings of the present research. First, we found that faculty members placed different levels of importance on characteristics and qualifications for tenure track hiring and non-tenure track hiring. For example, items related to research were more important when evaluating tenure track applicants, whereas items related to teaching and diversity were more important when evaluating non-tenure track applicants. Second, faculty members' institutional classification, position, and personal identities (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity) had an impact on their evaluation criteria. For instance, we found men considered some diversity-related items more important than women. Third, faculty members rated the importance of qualifications with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related constructs significantly lower than qualifications that did not specify DEI-related constructs, and this trend held for both tenure track and non-tenure track faculty hiring. Conclusions: This study was an attempt to address the issue of diversity in STEM faculty hiring at institutions of higher education by examining how applicant characteristics are considered and evaluated in faculty hiring practices. Emphasizing research reputation and postdoctoral reputation while neglecting institutional diversity and equitable and inclusive teaching, research, and service stunt progress toward racial diversity because biases—both implicit and explicit, both positive and negative—still exist. Our results were consistent with research on bias in recruitment, revealing that affinity bias, confirmation bias, and halo bias exist in the faculty hiring process. These biases contribute to inequities in hiring, and need to be addressed before we can reach, sustain, and grow desired levels of diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]