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In this research, the effect of the oxygenic groups on activated carbon on its hemocompatibility was studied by liquid-phase oxidation to introduce oxygenic groups on its surface and subsequent heat treatment under a nitrogen environment to remove these groups. Hemocompatibility was assessed through coagulation, hemolysis, platelet adhesion, and protein adsorption using rabbit blood samples. Results showed that an increasing presence of oxygenic groups improved hemocompatibility, evidenced by enhanced coagulation, reduced hemolysis, better platelet adhesion, and decreased fetal bovine serum protein adsorption. Conversely, the removal of oxygenic groups diminished hemocompatibility, except for coagulation when groups were removed at 250 ℃ for 15 min. Therefore, this research presents a promising route to enhance the hemocompatibility of activated carbon, offering insights into surface modification for improved biomaterial design., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among Chinese frontline nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China and to explore the related factors., Background: Frontline nurses undertake a huge nursing workload with a risk of infection, causing great pressure on them and making them face a risk of compassion fatigue during the pandemic., Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from 9 March to 15 March 2020. A total of 1582 nurses caring for critical patients with COVID-19 participated. Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue (comprising burnout and secondary traumatic stress) were assessed with the Professional Quality of Life Scale, and resilience was measured with the Chinese 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale., Results: Moderate levels of compassion satisfaction (36.99 ± 6.71), burnout (24.14 ± 5.33) and secondary traumatic stress (24.53 ± 5.24) were experienced by frontline nurses. Resilience and perceived work pressure were the main predictors., Conclusions: Frontline nurses demonstrated a moderate level of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue., Implications for Nursing Management: The compassion fatigue of frontline nurses should be considered. Strategies aiming to reduce stress and enhance resilience, such as training about psychological adjustment, developing professional skills and creating a supportive workplace environment, are several options. The trial is not registered. This study is a cross-sectional study, and according to China's clinical trial registration standards, such studies are not required to be registered. So the trial is not registered. However, oral consent was obtained from the ethics committee of the hospital before this study was conducted., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study aims to analyze the asymmetric long-run relationship between economic growth (EG), foreign direct investment (FDI), and carbon emissions (CO 2 ) within the context of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) in China. Employing the quarterly data from 1982Q1 to 2018Q4, we have used novel techniques to meet the stated objectives of our study, named quantile ARDL and quantile Granger causality. The study provides novel outcomes using the advanced quantile ARDL and quantile Granger causality tests. The significant implication of this method is that it provides locational asymmetry. We find strong evidence of the EKC and PHH for China based on the empirical results of linear and nonlinear ARDL models. Similarly, findings of quantile Granger causality validate the bidirectional relationship among all variables in upper and lower quantiles. Moreover, the results of the Wald test confirm the asymmetric long-run relationship between FDI and carbon emissions (CO 2 ). Thus, legal measures must be enhanced, accepted, rigorously imposed, and monitored in all provinces to assure a further reduction in carbon emissions. This study will be conducive for the policymakers to combat environmental contamination concerning economic growth and FDI inflow in China., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Using negative oxygen ion (NOI) observations, with an hourly resolution, the automatic weather station (AWS), and a comparative analysis of three well-known scenic locations, namely, Zoige Wetland Nature Reserve (ZWNR), Sichuan Panda Nature Habitat (PNH), and Hangzhou West Lake (HWL) Scenic Area was performed and the dynamic mechanisms of typical wetlands in response to a NOI surge were investigated. The findings are as follows. ① At HWL, NOI concentration was higher than in the metropolitan center. The influence of meteorological conditions on NOI in the ZWNR wetland and PNH in southwest China was more significant than that in Hangzhou in the eastern densely populated metropolitan areas. ② Sensitive contribution parameters of microphysical meteorological conditions are given, including the atmospheric condensation rates (f c ) and supersaturation (S), as well as the height and amount of low cloud (H 0 and M). A parametric model of exponential attenuation driven by the size of water vapor (fog droplets) is given for diagnosing the NOI concentration change in natural wetlands. At the critical threshold of S > 4%, the NOI rapidly increases to the maximum value. ③ Based on parametric principle of the wet aerodynamics of natural wetlands, the NOI meteorological condition index of the quasi-linear relationship with real-time NOI observation is established. The geographical distribution band of the high concentration of NOI in China is given, which meeting with the typical famous wetlands and giant panda habitat NOI characteristics in China. It provides the application prospects for NOI diagnosis and prediction., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The study of A-genome Asian cotton as a potential fiber donor in Gossypium species may offer an enhanced understanding of complex genetics and novel players related to fiber quality traits. Assessment of individual fibers providing classified fiber quality information to the textile industry is Advanced Fiber Information System (AFIS) in the recent technological era. Keeping the scenario, a diverse collection of 215 Asiatic cotton accessions were evaluated across three agro-ecological zones of China. Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) was performed to detect association signals related to 17 AFIS fiber quality traits grouped into four categories viz: NEPs, fiber length, maturity, and fineness. Significant correlations were found within as well as among different categories of various traits related to fiber quality. Fiber fineness has shown a strong correlation to all other categories, whereas these categories are shown interrelationships via fiber-fineness. A total of 7,429 SNPs were found in association with 17 investigated traits, of which 177 were selected as lead SNPs. In the vicinity of these lead SNPs, 56 differentially expressed genes in various tissues/development stages were identified as candidate genes. This compendium connecting trait-SNP-genes may allow further prioritization of genes in GWAS loci to enable mechanistic studies. These identified quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) may prove helpful in fiber quality improvement in Asian cotton through marker-assisted breeding as well as in reviving eroded genetic factors of G . hirsutum via introgression breeding., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Iqbal, Tang, Sarfraz, Iqbal, Li, He, Jia, Sun, Pan, Xiaoli, Mahmood, Ahmad, Nazir, Chen, Wang, Pang, Wei and Du.)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of CO(2) laser on fluoride uptake in the loosely- and firmly-bound forms in enamel., Methods: Five human molars were cut into halves before being treated with 2.0% NaF topical gel. Each half had three windows on the enamel surface, including one control and two experimental windows irradiated by two laser therapies. One half of each tooth was treated with 1 M KOH solution to remove the loosely-bound fluoride (calcium fluoride). A tooth section was obtained from each window and the relative fluorine concentration was analyzed with Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). The morphology of the enamel surfaces in the windows was examined using an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM)., Results: Significant laser-induced increases in the uptake of fluoride were revealed in both loosely-bound and firmly-bound apatitic fluoride, with both laser treatments (all p<0.001). Calcium fluoride-like deposits on the enamel surfaces receiving the combined laser-fluoride treatment were revealed by ESEM., Conclusions: The finding of this study substantiated the laser effect in increasing the fluoride uptake into enamel.