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Short-duration heavy rainfall (SHR), as delineated by the National Meteorological Center of the China Meteorological Administration, is characterized by hourly rainfall amounts no less than 20.0 mm. SHR is one of the most common convective weather phenomena that can cause severe damage. Short-range forecasting of SHR is an important part of operational severe weather prediction. In the present study, an improved objective SHR forecasting scheme was developed by adopting the ingredients-based methodology and using the fuzzy logic approach. The 1.0°×1.0° National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) final analysis data and the ordinary rainfall (0.1-19.9 mm h-1) and SHR observational data from 411 stations were used in the improved scheme. The best lifted index, the total precipitable water, the 925 hPa specific humidity (Q925), and the 925 hPa divergence (DIV925) were selected as predictors based on objective analysis. Continuously distributed membership functions of predictors were obtained based on relative frequency analysis. The weights of predictors were also objectively determined. Experiments with a typhoon SHR case and a spring SHR case show that the main possible areas could be captured by the improved scheme. Verification of SHR forecasts within 96 hours with NCEP global forecasts 1.0°×1.0° data initiated at 08:00 Beijing Time during the warm seasons in 2015 show the results were improved from both deterministic and probabilistic perspectives. This study provides an objectively feasible choice for short-range guidance forecasts of SHR. The scheme can be applied to other convective phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the systematic training mode and assessment system for new registered nurses in intensive care unit. Methods From 2014 to 2018, three stages of training were carried out for new registered nurses in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital. After the first two stages of training, the training system was assessed. Results A total of 132 new registered nurses participated in standardized training during their study, and the passing rate of the entrance examination was 28%. Two weeks later, the passing rate of the first stage was 95.2%, which was significantly improved (P＜0.05). Six weeks later, the pass rate of the second stage was 72.0% (P＜0.05). The qualified rate after 24 weeks was 96.2%. Conclusions The basic theoretical knowledge, clinical skills and the capacity of critical thinking of new registered nurses in ICU are relatively weak, which can be improved after systematic training. “theoretical assessment + operational assessment plus clinical reasoning evaluation” is helpful to evaluate and improve the nursing ability of new registered nurses.

Background: The aim of this study was to review current delivery room (DR) resuscitation intensity in Chinese tertiary neonatal intensive care units and to investigate the association between DR resuscitation intensity and short-term outcomes in preterm infants born at 24+0–31+6 weeks' gestation age (GA). Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. The source population was infants born at 24+0–31+6 weeks' GA who were enrolled in the Chinese Neonatal Network 2019 cohort. Eligible infants were categorized into five groups: (1) regular care; (2) oxygen supplementation and/or continuous positive airway pressure (O2/CPAP); (3) mask ventilation; (4) endotracheal intubation; and (5) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The association between DR resuscitation and short-term outcomes was evaluated by inverse propensity score-weighted logistic regression. Results: Of 7939 infants included in this cohort, 2419 (30.5%) received regular care, 1994 (25.1%) received O2/CPAP, 1436 (18.1%) received mask ventilation, 1769 (22.3%) received endotracheal intubation, and 321 (4.0%) received CPR in the DR. Advanced maternal age and maternal hypertension correlated with a higher need for resuscitation, and antenatal steroid use tended to be associated with a lower need for resuscitation (P < 0.001). Severe brain impairment increased significantly with increasing amounts of resuscitation in DR after adjusting for perinatal factors. Resuscitation strategies vary widely between centers, with over 50% of preterm infants in eight centers requiring higher intensity resuscitation. Conclusions: Increased intensity of DR interventions was associated with increased mortality and morbidities in very preterm infants in China. There is wide variation in resuscitative approaches across delivery centers, and ongoing quality improvement to standardize resuscitation practices is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a dose-limiting adverse effect of anticancer agents with virtually no effective treatment. Safe and effective therapies are needed urgently. Acupuncture shows therapeutic possibilities in this regard but needs to be further evaluated. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in seven databases from their inception to April 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focused on acupuncture/electroacupuncture (EA) for the treatment of CIPN were included. Revman 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis if there was no significant heterogeneity. Otherwise, qualitative analysis was utilized. Results: Nine studies involving 582 patients were included in this review. Most of the studies exhibited unclear risk of bias because some details were not mentioned. As the clinical heterogeneity was significant, qualitative analysis was performed to describe nerve conduction velocity, effective rate for motor neuropathy, pain scores, quality of life and adverse events. Meta-analysis was performed on four studies to analyze the effective rate for sensory neuropathy due to inconspicuous heterogeneity. The results indicated that acupuncture may generate a better effect on sensory neuropathy than vitamin B (risk ratio = 1.60, 95% confidence interval = 1.31–1.95, I2 = 0%, p < 0.00001). The efficacy of EA plus glutathione (GSH) appeared to be better than that of GSH alone in alleviating sensory neurotoxicity and in improving nerve conduction velocity. Acupuncture plus methylcobalamin showed more favorable effects than methylcobalamin alone in relieving neuralgia, restoring nerve conduction velocity and improving quality of life. In terms of pain relief and improved CIPN-specific quality of life, acupuncture plus standard care was better than standard care alone. In terms of pain relief, EA was more effective than usual care. Conclusion: Acupuncture may be effective and safe in the treatment of CIPN according to the analyzed studies. However, more studies with higher methodological quality are warranted in order to be able to draw firmer conclusions. Future rigorous RCTs will be necessary to confirm the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for CIPN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]