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A novel self‐healing poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)‐based hydrogel is developed by cross‐linking PVA chains through multi dynamic covalent bonds by use of a small cross‐linker composed by 4‐formylphenylboric acid (FPBA) and lysine (Lys). The dynamic borate‐imine‐imine‐borate bond structure between PVA chains endows the hydrogel excellent stretchability and ultra‐fast self‐healing ability without external stimulation. The self‐healing efficiency can attain 94% and the elongation at break can reach up to near 1000% after only 3 min healing. Moreover, the self‐healing of the hydrogel through the contact of two faces from both the same cut position and different cut positions has similar excellent efficiency. The hydrogel with the unusual self‐healing performance and stretchability is used as an ideal material in strain sensors monitoring human movement and tiny vibrations caused by human voice. Interestingly, the sensor can continue to function normally after self‐healing for only ≈3 s. It is expected that this simple strategy of fabricating self‐healing hydrogels with multi dynamic bonds will provide new opportunities in the design and preparation of PVA‐based hydrogels to expand their potential applications in sensors and other various fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the perceptions of patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) regarding their pre‐operative health education. Methods: A qualitative study using semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews was conducted in one cardiology unit in China from July 2019 to December 2019. Purposeful sampling of 17 patients undergoing PCI was interviewed about their perceptions of pre‐operative health education. Thematic analysis of the transcribed data was then used to identify the themes. Results: Four themes emerged from the data:(a) triple roles of pre‐operative education with the categories of relief (reliving fear); burden (leading to stress); and meaningless (changing nothing); (b) family member involvement with the categories of shared responsibility and family members' duty; (c) facilitators in the process of pre‐operative health education with the categories of emotional support, plain language and individualized pre‐operative education; (d) inhibitors in the process of pre‐operative health education with the categories of contradiction and threatening words. Conclusions: Pre‐operative health education for patients undergoing PCI should be aligned with the individual patients' information‐seeking styles and personal differences, emphasizing individualized patient education. Traditional Chinese philosophy should be considered in the practice of pre‐operative education for patients undergoing PCI, which emphasizes family member involvement; at the same time, patient empowerment and self‐care should also be stressed. In addition, emotional support and plain language from health professionals are important in pre‐operative health education for patients undergoing PCI; contradiction should be avoided, and threatening words should be used with caution and with consideration for cultural variations during pre‐operative education for patients undergoing PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly sensitive and fast detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in industrial and living environments is an urgent need. The combination of distinctive structure and noble metal modification is an important strategy to achieve high-performance gas sensing materials. In addition, it is urgent to clarify the chemical state and function of noble metals on the surface of the sensing material during the actual sensing process. In this work, Pd modified Co 3 O 4 hollow polyhedral (Pd/Co 3 O 4 HP) is developed through one-step pyrolysis of a Pd doped MOF precursor. At an operating temperature of 150 °C, the Pd/Co 3 O 4 HP gas sensor can achieve 1.6 times higher sensitivity than that of Co 3 O 4 HP along with fast response (12 s) and recovery speed (25 s) for 100 ppm ethanol vapor. Near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAPXPS) was used to monitor the dynamic changes in the surface state of Pd/Co 3 O 4 HP. The NAPXPS results reveal that the oxidation and reduction of Pd in the ethanol sensing process are attributed to a spillover effect of oxygen and ethanol, respectively. This work opens up an effective approach to investigate spillover effects in a sensing mechanism of noble metal modified oxide semiconductor sensors., Competing Interests: All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)