Although spiritual care is a basic element of holistic nursing, nurses' spiritual care knowledge and abilities are often unable to satisfy patients' spiritual care needs. Therefore, nurses are in ...urgent need of relevant training to enhance their abilities to provide patients with spiritual care.
A nonrandomized controlled trial.
To establish a spiritual care training protocol and verify its effectiveness.
This study recruited 92 nurses at a cancer treatment hospital in a single province via voluntary sign-up. The nurses were divided into two groups-the study group (45 people) and the control (wait-listed) group (47 people)-using a coin-toss method. The study group received one spiritual care group training session every six months based on their routine nursing education; this training chiefly consisted of lectures by experts, group interventions, clinical practice, and case sharing. The control group participated in monthly nursing education sessions organized by the hospital for 12 continuous months.
After 12 months of intervention, the nurses in the study group had significantly higher overall spiritual health and spiritual care competency scores as well as significantly higher scores on all individual dimensions compared with those in the control group (P < 0.01).
A spiritual care training protocol for nurses based on the concept of mutual growth with patients enhances nurses' spiritual well-being and spiritual care competencies.
Geniposidic acid (GPA) is an extract from Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. Bark (Eucommiaceae). Accumulating evidences have reported GPA has anti-aging, anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory and ...neurotrophic effects on neurons. However, whether GPA could alleviate memory deficits in Alzheimer's disease animal models is not clear. We aimed to investigate the effect of GPA treatment on cognitive performance, Aβ deposition and glial cells activation in the transgenic mouse model of AD. 6–7 months APP/PS1 mice were given GPA for 90 days; behavioral experiments were executed to estimate the memory and spatial learning abilities of mice, and the mechanism of neuroprotective effect of GPA was investigated with a focus on amyloid-β deposition, astrocytes and microglia activation and neuroinflammation. GPA treatment significantly improved the spatial learning and memory abilities and also decreased cerebral amyloid-β deposition in APP/PS1 mice. Via HE staining, we found that GPA could ameliorate histopathological changes in cerebrum. We also found that GPA treatment inhibited the activation of astrocytes and microglia, down-regulated the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and iNOS, and up-regulated the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines and Arg-1. In addition, GPA down-regulated the gene expression of HMGB-1 receptors (TLR2, TLR4 and RAGE) then mediated MyD88, TRAF6 and phospho-ERK1/2, subsequently modulated the expression of key AP-1 and NF-κB family members (c-Fos, c-Jun and p65). The reversal of the pro-inflammatory state suggested GPA can serves as a multi-target candidate by alleviating Aβ deposition and neuroinflammation for the auxiliary therapy of Alzheimer's disease.
Electrospun nanofibrous mats own tremendous advantages and potential in membrane separation process due to their high porosity, large pore size and unique interconnected structure. However, most of ...membranes reported in the literature were based on phase inversion substrate, and there are few researches focused on applying electrospun nanofibrous mats on membrane separation. From this point of view, this review firstly introduces the electrospinning technology and controllable preparation of electrospun nanofibers, and then sums up the state-of-the-art applications, roles and shortcomings of electrospun nanofibrous mats in membrane separation, including microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and forward osmosis. As for forward osmosis, the progress, currently existing problems, improvement methods and future development directions are emphasized particularly, and a novel three-tier thin-film composite structure is put forward on the basis of dual-layer thin-film composite structure of forward osmosis membranes. It is sincerely expected that this paper can provide some clues and guidance for further research and application of electrospun nanofibers in membrane separation.
Spiritual care is defined as recognizing and responding to the needs of the human spirit when the individual is facing trauma, illness, or sadness. Providing spiritual care is one of the core aspects ...of holistic care, as it is significantly associated with patients' quality of life. The provision of optimal spiritual care requires good understanding by the nurses. Therefore, it is important to assess this understanding by using a proven, well-validated instrument. The Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (SCGS) is designed to measure nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in Singapore. However, it is unknown whether this scale is valid and reliable for use with nurses in the context of Chinese culture. The purpose of this study is to determine this version's validity and reliability for use with nurses in China.
In this quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study, after translating the English version of the SCGS into Chinese and making adjustments for culture and values, we assessed the performance of this instrument by administering the C-SCGS to a convenience sample of 400 nurses. The participants also completed the Chinese version of the Spiritual Care Competency Scale (C-SCCS) to assess the concurrent validity of the C-SCGS. The internal consistency and homogeneity of the C-SCGS were also tested, and a factorial analysis was performed.
Completed questionnaires were obtained from 355 participants (response rate: 88.75%). Four factors were confirmed by an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using Promax with the Kaiser normalization rotation method after the 35-item SCGS was reduced to 34 items, and these factors explained 53.116% of the total variance. The adjusted item-total correlation ranged from 0.527 to 0.760. The Cronbach's alpha of the factors ranged from 0.836 to 0.941, and the Guttman split-half coefficient was between 0.759 and 0.902. The concurrent validity of the C-SCGS and C-SCCS (r = 0.534, p < 0.01) showed a significant correlation. Nurses' education showed a significant association with the scores of the C-SCGS.
The C-SCGS was found to be a psychometrically sound measurement to evaluate Chinese-speaking nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care.
Background
Cancer caregivers directly affect patient health outcomes. To maintain the function and health of caregivers so that patients can receive efficient care, we must pay more attention to ...caregivers’ quality of life in the process of caring for patients. However, the factors influencing caregivers’ quality of life are complex.
Aim
To assess caregivers’ quality of life in the process of caring for cancer patients and to explore the factors associated with it.
Design
This was a descriptive correlational study. A self-report questionnaire was used to anonymously collect data from one Chinese cancer hospital. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp-12), General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 10 (CD-RISC-10), 24-item Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI) and Caregiver Evaluation Questionnaire were used to measure caregivers’ spiritual well-being, self-efficacy, affective well-being, resilience, caregiver burden and quality of life. One-way analysis of variance, the Kruskal–Wallis H test and multiple regression analysis were applied to measure the factors influencing caregivers’ situations.
Setting and participants
A total of 315 caregivers of cancer patients were selected by convenience sampling. All participants were invited to complete the questionnaire through a one-on-one approach.
Results
The mean score for caregiver quality of life was 204.62 ± 36.61. After controlling for demographic factors, self-efficacy (β’ = 0.265,
p
< 0.01), resilience (β’ = 0.287,
p
< 0.01) and positive affect (β’ = 0.103,
p
< 0.01) were protective factors for caregivers’ quality of life. Negative affect (β’ = −0.217,
p
< 0.01) and caregiver burden (β’ = −0.219,
p
< 0.01) were negative factors. Notably, not all of these predictors can predict all dimensions of quality of life.
Conclusion
Caregivers’ quality of life needs to be further improved. The results of this study may provide clues to help identify factors influencing caregivers’ quality of life and implement targeted strategies to improve their quality of life.
Red flesh apple (Malus pumila var. medzwetzkyana Dieck), purple leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera Ehrhar f), and purple leaf peach (Prunus persica 'Atropurpurea') are significant ornamental plants within ...the Rosaceae family. The coloration of their fruits and leaves is crucial in their appearance and nutritional quality. However, qualitative and quantitative studies on flavonoids in the succulent fruits and leaves of multicolored Rosaceae plants are lacking. To unveil the diversity and variety-specificity of flavonoids in these three varieties, we conducted a comparative analysis of flavonoid metabolic components using ultra-high-performance liquid phase mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The results revealed the detection of 311 metabolites, including 47 flavonoids, 105 flavonols, 16 chalcones, 37 dihydroflavonoids, 8 dihydroflavonols, 30 anthocyanins, 14 flavonoid carbon glycosides, 23 flavanols, 8 isoflavones, 11 tannins, and 12 proanthocyanidins. Notably, although the purple plum and peach leaves exhibited distinct anthocyanin compounds, paeoniflorin and corythrin glycosides were common but displayed varying glycosylation levels. While the green purple leaf peach fruit (PEF) and red flesh apple leaf (AL) possessed the lowest anthocyanin content, they exhibited the highest total flavonoid content. Conversely, the red flesh apple fruit (AF) displayed the highest anthocyanin content and a diverse range of anthocyanin glycosylation modifications, indicating that anthocyanins predominantly influenced the fruit's color. Purple PLF, PLL, and PEL showcased varying concentrations of anthocyanins, suggesting that their colors result from the co-color interaction between specific types of anthocyanins and secondary metabolites, such as flavonols, flavonoids, and dihydroflavonoids. This study provides novel insights into the variations in tissue metabolites among Rosaceae plants with distinct fruit and leaf colors.
•A CNT–necklace-liked hybrid 3D nanostructure has been first designed.•Carbon spheres could be in situ form with solderless joint on the CNTs.•An exceptional shielding effectiveness (exceeding 30 dB) ...value was achieved.•Shielding mechanism has been thoroughly investigated.
Recently, a novel 3D nanostructured materials that consists of different types of carbon materials via covalent C–C bond has greatly enhance the performance due to synergistic combination of different carbon forms. In this work, carbon spheres are seamlessly grown on the 3D CNT hybrid architectures loading nickel that serves as template and a CNT–necklace-liked hybrid 3D nanostructure has been fabricated by using chemical vapor deposition for the first time. This type of carbon spheres possessed magnetic characteristic and a high density of carbon spheres were grown on its joint, which exceeds 30 dB in X-band. Shielding mechanism has been thoroughly investigated on the base of far field theory of electromagnetic shielding to demonstrate that the estimated shielding effectiveness values are consistent with experimental results.
With the increased empirical interest in the positive significance of improving nurses' sense of professional benefits, there is a requirement for measures of nurses' perceived professional benefit ...(NPPB). Our objective was to develop and psychometrically test a brief Nurses' Perceived Professional Benefit Questionnaire (NPPBQ).
After expert consultation and nurse interviews, a primary questionnaire was developed for an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The seventeen items of the NPPBQ were used for verification of the theorized factor structure and content validity using a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The NPPBQ's concurrent validity was evaluated. Three samples of nurses were collected in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing between November 2017 and August 2018.
The results of the EFA and CFA verified the five dimensions of nurses' occupational benefit discovery. The results demonstrated that the NPPBQ has adequate internal consistency and is fully consistent with the theorized factor structure. This 5-factor solution explained an adequate percentage of the total variance. The Cronbach's alpha of each dimension of the NPPBQ was good. The concurrent validity was significantly correlated with all aspects of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).
The results suggest that the NPPBQ is a psychometrically sound measure for evaluating perceived professional benefits among a wide range of nurses.
In nursing care organizations, nurses’ social networks affect their behavior and play an important role in nursing practice. This study aimed to explore the relationships among social network degree ...centrality, job satisfaction, work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among nurses.
A cross-sectional survey design (one-on-one investigation) was used. The study was conducted among 254 nurses working in 10 nursing units in two hospitals in China from November 2019–February 2020. The participants completed a paper questionnaire that measured social network degree centrality, job satisfaction, work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to analyze the mediating effects of job satisfaction and work engagement. SPSS 22.0 and Amos 21.0 software were used, and the significance level was set at 5% for all analyses.
Social network degree centrality was positively associated with job satisfaction, work engagement and organizational citizenship behavior, and job satisfaction and work engagement had significant positive relationships with organizational citizenship behavior. In addition, social network degree centrality influenced organizational citizenship behavior through the multiple mediating effects of job satisfaction and work engagement.
Improving job satisfaction and work engagement can boost the positive effect of social network degree centrality on OCB.
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