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In order to optimize the calibration set for near-infrared modeling of the protein content in wheat flour, the binary dragonfly algorithm (BDA) was used to select representative samples from the primary calibration set divided by the traditional Kennard/Stone (K/S) method. Based on the representative samples, a partial least square regression (PLSR) model for estimating the protein content in wheat flour was established, and the prediction set was employed to evaluate the stability and prediction performance of the model. The results indicated that an optimal calibration set with 30 samples was selected finally by BDA, and the proposed model exhibited a coefficient of determination of prediction (Rp2) of 0.956 4 and a root mean square errors of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.278 1, which increased by 1.87% and decreased by 15.57% compared with those (0.938 8 and 0.329 4) from K/S partition of 100 primary calibration sets, respectively. The average number of calibration sets selected from 10 BDA experiments was 30.2, and the protein content of wheat flour was predicted better by the 10 models developed than that obtained based on the primary calibration set. Therefore, BDA can select a small number of representative calibration set samples based on which a PLSR model with good robustness and high prediction accuracy for the protein content of wheat flour can be established. The proposed method can provide an efficient tool for calibration set selection in near-infrared spectroscopic analysis of the quality of wheat flour.

Numerous ethical issues surged the moment acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was discovered. As advocates of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), health professionals encounter many ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. However, it remains unclear how health professionals solve these issues. The descriptive qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with 22 health professionals from May to August 2018. Three themes emerged from data analyses of the interviews: (1) real ethical dilemma experienced by health professionals, (2) factors influencing ethical judgment, (3) ethical motivations. About two-thirds of participants failed to recall ethical dilemmas experienced in their clinical practice. Emotions, gender, occupation, and difficulty balancing different roles may influence the ethical judgments of health professionals. In the ethical decision-making (EDM) process, most participants took other people's interests into consideration and conformed to law and professional codes of conduct. However, the fear of medical disputes (conflicts with families and others) was experienced by many participants, influencing their ethical behaviors.

Background/purposeNurses engaged in the care of people living with HIV (PLWH) are commonly exposed to workplace stress. This study aimed to explore the stress experiences and coping strategies among nurses taking care of PLWH in China.MethodsNurses were recruited from the AIDS department of a public, general, third-grade class-A hospital, which has the largest HIV care department in the Hunan Province of China. Thirty-three nurses working in the AIDS Department were recruited in this qualitative study. Eight nurses participated in a focus group and 25 nurses underwent in-depth individual interviews aimed at characterizing the nurse's feelings and struggles with stress during caregiving for PLWH. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, anonymized, and imported into NVivo 8.0 software. The data were coded and subjected to thematic analysis.ResultsConcerns about occupational exposure, heavy workload, mental health problems and risk behaviors of patients, and discrimination towards nurses caring for PLWH were the four main sources of stress. The negative impact of stress included problems with emotion regulation, somatic health and sleep, and work performance. Some participants also reported a positive impact of work stress on their mental health. Using personality strengths, problem-solving, help-seeking, concealing and avoiding/suppression were common coping strategies employed by nurses caring for PLWH.ConclusionOur findings help characterize the stress experienced by nurses caring for PLWH in the Chinese cultural context, and may inform specific interventions to help manage stress and promote mental health of nurses.