Search

Patients on maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) face social isolation due to the far‐reaching effects of their disease and treatment. Based on the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, we analysed the relationship between perceived stress and social isolation in patients, and the mediating role of internal health‐related locus of control (IHLC) from the perspective of co‐existence of perceived helplessness (HEL) and perceived self‐efficacy (SEL). We used structured questionnaires to investigate 332 cases of young and middle‐aged MHD patients in four tertiary hospitals in Guangdong, China. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis were conducted, along with tests of mediating effects on the data. The research was based on STROBE guidelines. The results showed that perceived stress is significantly and positively associated with social isolation. When the HEL and SEL of perceived stress were congruent, the joint effect of the two was in a positive curvilinear relationship to social isolation, when the two were incongruent, the risk of social isolation was lower for "low HEL‐high SEL" patients compared to the "high HEL‐low SEL" combination. The more congruent in HEL ‐SEL, the lower the risk of social isolation for the patients, with the IHLC playing a mediating role in this association. This study reveals that the coexistence of perceived stress's HEL and SEL affects social isolation through congruent and incongruent matching mechanism, providing additional explanations for the mechanism of occurrence of patients' social isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by China's long-term energy transition strategies, the construction of large-scale clean energy power stations, such as wind, solar, and hydropower, is advancing rapidly. Consequently, as a green, low-carbon, and flexible storage power source, the adoption of pumped storage power stations is also rising significantly. Operations management is a significant factor that influences the performance of pumped storage power stations in various domains, including environmental protection, economic benefits, and social benefits. While existing studies have highlighted the importance of stakeholder partnering in operations management, a systematic exploration of the causal relationships between partnering, operations management, and the performance of pumped storage power stations—especially from a multi-energy complementarity perspective—remains untouched. This paper strives to shed light on the vital role of stakeholder partnering in augmenting the operations management and overall performance of pumped storage power stations, thereby contributing to China's dual carbon goals. A comprehensive conceptual model was developed by reviewing the relevant literature to empirically examine the causal relationships among partnering, operations management, and power station performance, which was validated using data from the Liaoning Qingyuan Pumped Storage Power Station, which is the largest of its kind in Northeast China. The findings suggest: (1) Effective partnering among stakeholders, particularly with grid companies, significantly influences the operations management of pumped storage power stations, with deficiencies in partnering mainly attributed to the lack of effective communication channels and problem-solving mechanisms. (2) The level of operations management in China's pumped storage power stations is relatively high, averaging a central score around 4.00 (out of a full score of 5) on operations management indicators. However, there is a need to concentrate on enhancing multi-energy complementarity coordination, digital management system development, and profitability. (3) Path analysis further unveils that partnering not only improves operations management but also boosts the performance of pumped storage power stations. These findings suggest a wide range of practical strategies for operations managers at pumped storage power stations to forge partnerships with stakeholders and integrate complementary resources, aiming to achieve excellence in performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalating issue of global climate change necessitates urgent measures to reduce carbon emissions globally. Within this context, the construction industry emerges as a critical sector to address given its high energy consumption, substantial CO2 emissions, and low utilization rate. Therefore, it is pivotal to foster energy conservation and reduce emissions in this sector. To this end, this paper delineates two primary objectives: (1) identifying optimal research methodologies and index parameters for evaluating carbon emission efficiency in the construction industry, and (2) assessing the variance in carbon emission efficiency at disparate stages and regions. Leveraging the Malmquist index, we scrutinize the carbon emission data from 30 Chinese provinces spanning from 2010 to 2019. Our findings indicate a geographical dichotomy in China's construction industry's carbon emission efficiency—lower in the west and higher in the east. Additionally, this study delves into the distinguishing features of emission efficiency alterations across regions, the main influencing factors, and avenues for enhancement. Subsequently, it proposes policy recommendations tailored to the unique attributes of various regions and the overarching framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Irradiance degree hour ratio in heating period to assess solar heating potential. • "Hour by hour, and then cumulative" principle proposed in potential assessment. • Solar heating grade in China obtained with direct-normal irradiance degree hour ratio. • Solar heating recommendations based on based on new indicator in solar energy rich region. The rational utilization of solar resources is essential for promoting the development of passive solar heating. Grading the solar heating potential is a prerequisite for the sensible utilization of solar resources in the winter. However, due to the lack of an accurately assessed solar heating potential grade across China, developing potential indicators that can be applied to cover the entire country is increasingly important. In particular, identifying reasonable index parameters is a critical problem when accurately determining solar heating potential indicators. In this study, meteorological data between 1988 and 2017 from 1019 stations were selected to verify the suitability of the potential indicator comprising the irradiation temperature difference ratio (ITR) in different states for developing solar heating potential indicators. The optimal value form was selected by comparing the ITR results for typical cities. The results showed that the irradiance degree hour ratio (C-IDHR hp) during the heating period was more accurate for assessing solar heating potential at the country–level in China. A C-IDHR hp indicator for irradiation based on the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures greater than zero corresponds to the irradiation at a specific moment based on the principle of "hour by hour and then cumulative" calculation. This direct-normal C-IDHR hp indicator delineates the distribution of the solar heating potential levels in China, and south and horizontal C-IDHR hp indicators provide guidance about solar heating measures in solar energy rich region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model-circulation-based statistical downscaling (MCSD) method and its multi-predictor ensemble (MPE) schemes are proposed in this study to improve summer (June–July-August) rainfall prediction over the Bohai Sea Rim (BSR) area in the northern China where quite low prediction skills were found in Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model version 1.1 m (BCC_CSM1.1 m). This MCSD method, using both the empirical orthogonal function and singular value decomposition, can largely eliminate noise within variables and extract leading coupled patterns between the observed BSR summer rainfall and simultaneously predicted large-scale atmospheric circulation to significantly add prediction skill and spatial resolution. Three circulation anomaly predictors, the 500-hPa geopotential height (H500), 200-hPa zonal wind (U200) and 850-hPa meridional wind, are selected to implement statistical downscaling, and their MPE means are compared for verifications. Cross validations show considerable improvements of the MCSD with the MPE schemes, especially H500 and its ensemble mean with U200 (H5U2), where almost all temporal correlation coefficients between the predictions and observation are significantly positive over most BSR area, and particularly, spatial correlation coefficients reach 0.24 and 0.19 from −0.05 of the original model and the anomaly sign consistency rates reach 58.2% and 58.4% from 48.4%. In MCSD, to deal with the deficiency of underestimated rainfall anomaly, an intensity inflation for the downscaled rainfall prediction is carried out, which makes temporal correlation coefficients for the area-averaged H500 and H5U2 predictions improved from about 0.54 to 0.7. Overall, not only the tendency and spatial distribution but also magnitude accuracy of summer rainfall prediction over BSR can be significantly improved by the MCSD and its MPEs, providing a potentially effective tool for the mid-latitude seasonal prediction of summer rainfall usually showing low skills in dynamical models. • A model-circulation-based downscaling and its multi-predictor ensemble are proposed to improve summer rainfall prediction. • Intensity inflation correction for the underestimated downscaled rainfall prediction. • Tendency, spatial distribution, and magnitude accuracy can be significantly improved by the new method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After following 141 children with likely asymptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection in a highly immune population in China, four children (2.8%) were found to have late-onset hearing loss. No maternal or childhood factors, except higher saliva cytomegalovirus viral load at birth (P = 0.03), were associated with increased risk of developing a hearing loss.

Background: Patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) frequently complain of insomnia. Poor sleep quality impairs their quality of life and adversely affects long-term outcome. Previously we applied auricular acupressure therapy (AAT) for MHD patients with insomnia and yielded favorable results. AAT probably improves sleep quality by stimulating the vagus nerve and inhibiting sympathetic overactivity. However, the efficacy of AAT for insomnia in this population is still lacking. The proposed randomized controlled trial (RCT) will evaluate the efficacy and safety of AAT for improvement of sleep quality in MHD patients with insomnia., Methods/design: The proposed study is a multi-center, double-blind (participants and assessors), parallel-group RCT. A total of 112 participants with insomnia will be recruited from six hemodialysis centers in Guangzhou, China, and randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive auricular acupressure on either active points (AA group) or control points (points irrelevant to insomnia management, SAA group). The treatment will last for 8 weeks prior to a follow-up period of 12 weeks. Evaluation by blinded assessors at baseline, at 8 weeks (end of treatment) as well as at 4-week, 8-week and 12-week follow-ups (after intervention) will include Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores and average weekly dose of hypnotics. The primary endpoint is clinical response rate (percentage of participants who reach a reduction of PSQI global score ≥ 3 in each group) at 8 weeks from baseline. Secondary endpoints include the changes in PSQI scores over time from baseline, as well as the changes in weekly dose of hypnotics., Discussion: This paper describes the rationale and design of a double-blind RCT that aims to determine the efficacy and safety of AAT for insomnia of hemodialysis patients. If successful, this project will provide evidence of the efficacy and safety of AAT for insomnia of hemodialysis patients., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov , Identifier: NCT03015766 . Registered on 22 December 2016.