Abstract There is growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the mental health and professional identity of nursing students. This study aimed to explore the trajectories of psychological distress and professional identity and examine their causal relationship among graduate nursing students. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted with 556 graduate nursing students in China who were asked to complete the Questionnaires for Emergent Events of Public Health and the Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nursing Students at three timepoints during the pandemic (T1 = onset of the outbreak, T2 = state-wide isolation, T3 = school reopening). The results showed that psychological distress and psychological identity changed over time, with the lowest psychological distress and highest professional identity at T3. The cross-lagged analysis showed that professional identity at T1 and T2 negatively predicted psychological distress at T2 and T3. We concluded that nurse educators should develop programs and strategies to cultivate professional identity in graduate nursing education to improve mental health during public health crises.

Resumen: Cada vez hay más evidencia de que la reciente epidemia de que la COVID-19 puede afectar a la salud mental y la identidad profesional de los estudiantes de posgrado en enfermería. Es por ello que el propósito de este estudio fue explorar las trayectorias del estrés psicológico y la identidad ocupacional y examinar su relación causal de dichos estudiantes de posgrado durante la nueva epidemia. Se llevó a cabo un estudio prospectivo longitudinal con 556 estudiantes de posgrado en enfermería en China, a los que se les pidió que completaran los cuestionarios de emergencia de salud pública y el de identidad ocupacional para estudiantes de enfermería en tres etapas del brote (T1 = brote, T2 = aislamiento estatal, T3 = reapertura escolar). Los resultados mostraron que estrés psicológico y la identidad psicológica de los estudiantes universitarios habían cambiado con el tiempo. En T3, la perturbación emocional fue la más baja y la identidad ocupacional la más alta. El análisis de retraso cruzado mostró que la identidad ocupacional de T1 y T2 tenía un efecto predictivo negativo sobre la perturbación psicológica de T2 y T3. Conclusión: los educadores de enfermería deberían formular programas y estrategias que cultiven la identidad profesional de sus estudiantes a fin de mejorar la salud mental en emergencias públicas.

Abstract The current developmental trend is to evaluate the quality of Yongchuan Xiuya tea rapidly. After spectrum pre-processing, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) coupled with synergy interval partial least squares (siPLS), principal component analysis (PCA) and back propagation-artificial neural network (BP-ANN) was applied to rapidly and non-destructively predict the quality of Yongchuan Xiuya tea. External Yongchuan Xiuya tea samples were used for the actual application of the proposed model. The best pre-processing method was multiple scattering correction coupled with second derivative, and the characteristic spectral regions selected by siPLS were 4381.5-4755.6 cm-1, 4759.5-5133.6 cm-1, 6266.6-6637.8 cm-1 and 7389.9-7760.2 cm-1. The cumulative contribution rate was 99.05% for the first three principal components of the characteristic spectra regions. The transfer function, root mean square error and determinant coefficient of the best BP-ANN prediction model were the tanh function, 0.384 and 0.977, respectively. The root mean square error and determinant coefficient of the external 10 Yongchuan Xiuya tea samples were 0.406 and 0.969, respectively. These results showed that NIRS combined with BP-ANN algorithm can be used to evaluate the quality of Yongchuan Xiuya tea rapidly and accurately.

RESUMO Introdução: O treinamento de força muscular pode aumentar a força dos músculos fásicos, auxiliando no equilíbrio e na estabilidade corporal. Correr é um esporte de velocidade físico-dominante onde força e velocidade são duas qualidades cruciais na capacitação atlética dos seus profissionais. Acredita-se que o treino da força muscular em intervalos de alta intensidade possa aumentar o desempenho da velocidade atlética, porém não há um ponto determinante onde determinar o pico dessa relação. Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo é analisar o efeito do treinamento de força muscular intervalado de alta intensidade no condicionamento físico dos atletas. Este artigo também examina a relação entre treinamento de força muscular e treinamento de desempenho em velocistas. Métodos: Selecionou-se aleatoriamente 20 voluntários velocistas como sujeitos de pesquisa, divididos sem discrepâncias em grupos controle e experimental, com dez pessoas cada. Utilizou-se estatísticas matemáticas para analisar os indicadores fisiológicos dos indivíduos antes e depois do treinamento de força muscular. Ao mesmo tempo, aplicou-se o método de correlação estatística para analisar as mudanças de desempenho dos atletas antes e depois do ciclo de exercícios. Resultados: Após o treinamento de força muscular, os atletas do grupo experimental foram melhores do que os anteriores ao treino. Os dados foram estatisticamente significativos (P<0,05). Conclusão: O treinamento de força muscular pode promover o condicionamento físico dos velocistas. Ao mesmo tempo, o modo de treinamento também pode melhorar o desempenho do atleta. Nível de evidência II; Estudos terapêuticos - investigação dos resultados do tratamento.

ABSTRACT Introduction: Muscle strength training can increase the strength of the phasic muscles, aiding in balance and body stability. Running is a physical-dominant speed sport where strength-speed is two crucial quality in the athletic training of its practitioners. It is believed that training muscle strength at high-intensity intervals can increase athletic speed performance. However, there is no determinant point to determine the peak of this relationship. Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of high-intensity interval muscular strength training on the physical conditioning of athletes. This paper also examines the relationship between muscular strength training and performance training in sprinters. Methods: Twenty sprinter volunteers were randomly selected as research subjects, divided without discrepancies into control and experimental groups, with ten people each. Mathematical statistics were used to analyze the physiological indicators of the subjects before and after muscle strength training. At the same time, the statistical correlation method was applied to analyze the performance changes of athletes before and after the exercise cycle. Results: After muscle strength training, the athletes in the experimental group were better than those before the training. The data were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Muscle strength training can promote the physical conditioning of sprinters. At the same time, the training mode can also improve the athlete’s performance. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment outcomes.

RESUMEN Introducción: El entrenamiento de la fuerza muscular puede aumentar la fuerza de los músculos fásicos, ayudando en el equilibrio y en la estabilidad corporal. Correr es un deporte de velocidad con predominio físico en el que la fuerza-velocidad son dos cualidades cruciales en la formación atlética de sus practicantes. Se cree que el entrenamiento de la fuerza muscular en intervalos de alta intensidad puede aumentar el rendimiento de la velocidad atlética, sin embargo, no existe un punto determinante donde determinar el pico de esta relación. Propósito: El propósito de este estudio es examinar el efecto del entrenamiento de fuerza muscular por intervalos de alta intensidad en el acondicionamiento físico de los atletas. Este documento también examina la relación entre el entrenamiento de la fuerza muscular y el entrenamiento del rendimiento en los velocistas. Métodos: Se seleccionaron aleatoriamente veinte voluntarios velocistas como sujetos de investigación, divididos sin discrepancias en grupos de control y experimental, con diez personas cada uno. Se utilizaron estadísticas matemáticas para analizar los indicadores fisiológicos de los individuos antes y después del entrenamiento de la fuerza muscular. Al mismo tiempo, se aplicó el método de correlación estadística para analizar los cambios en el rendimiento de los atletas antes y después del ciclo de ejercicios. Resultados: Tras el entrenamiento de la fuerza muscular, los atletas del grupo experimental fueron mejores que los anteriores al entrenamiento. Los datos fueron estadísticamente significativos (P<0,05). Conclusión: El entrenamiento de la fuerza muscular puede favorecer la condición física de los velocistas. Al mismo tiempo, el modo de entrenamiento también puede mejorar el rendimiento del atleta. Nivel de evidencia II; Estudios terapéuticos - investigación de los resultados del tratamiento.

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a major public health issue with limited treatment options. As the active ingredient of the n-butanol extract of Amygdalus mongolica (BUT), amygdalin inhibits PF. However, its mechanisms of action are unclear and need further verification. Therefore, the purpose of the present studies was to investigate the anti-fibrotic effects of BUT on PF by serum metabolomics and the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) pathway. Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, untreated PF, prednisone-treated (5 mg/kg), and BUT-treated (1.75, 1.25, 0.75 g/kg) groups, and the respective drugs were administered intragastrically for 21 days. The serum metabolomics profiles were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) and metabolism network analysis. The expression of TGF-β1, Smad-3, Smad-7, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) was measured using a real-time polymerase chain reaction in the lung tissue. BUT significantly alleviated fibrosis by reducing the mRNA expressions of TGF-β1 (from 1.73 to 1.13), Smad-3 (from 2.01 to 1.19), and α-SMA (from 2.14 to 1.19) and increasing that of Smad7 (from 0.17 to 0.62). Twenty-eight potential biomarkers associated with PF were identified. In addition, four key biomarkers were restored to baseline levels following BUT treatment, with the lowest dose showing optimal effect. Furthermore, A. mongolica BUT was found to improve PF by the pentose phosphate pathway and by taurine, hypotaurine, and arachidonic acid metabolism. These findings revealed the mechanism of A. mongolica BUT antifibrotic effects and metabolic activity in PF rats and provided the experimental basis for its clinical application.

Abstract Swertia L. is a large genus in Swertiinae (Gentianaceae). In China, many Swertia species are used as traditional Tibetan medicines, known as “Zangyinchen” or “Dida”. However, the phylogenetic relationships among Swertia medicinal plants and their wild relatives have remained unclear. In this study, we sequenced and assembled 16 complete chloroplast (cp) genomes of 10 Swertia species, mainly distributed in Qinghai Province, China. The results showed that these species have typical structures and characteristics of plant cp genomes. The sizes of Swertia cp genomes are ranging from 149,488 bp to 154,097 bp. Most Swertia cp genomes presented 134 genes, including 85 protein coding genes, eight rRNA genes, 37 tRNA genes, and four pseudogenes. Furthermore, the GC contents and boundaries of cp genomes are similar among Swertia species. The phylogenetic analyses indicated that Swertia is a complex polyphyletic group. In addition, positive selection was found in psaI and petL genes, indicating the possible adaptation of Qinghai Swertia species to the light environment of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. These new cp genome data could be further investigated to develop DNA barcodes for Swertia medicinal plants and for additional systematic studies of Swertia and Swertiinae species.

Superhydrophobic and superoleophilic oxidized copper foam (OCF) was prepared by oxidation of copper foam using (NH4)2S2O8 to generate rough surface then followed by modification with low surface energy substance polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and stearic acid (SA). Based on sperwetting, form-stable phase change materials (PCMs) composites were obtained by facile absorbing of organic PCMs into PDMS-OCF network. In this way, the organic PCMs can be spontaneously adsorbed and remain stable without leakage even at high temperature over their melting points, and the thermal storage capacity of the as-synthesized PCMs composites were analyzed using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The latent heats of the PDMS-OCF/PCMs composites were measured to be 36.87 J g-1 and 36.81 J g-1 for PDMS-OCF/paraffin and PDMS-OCF/SA, respectively, which is greater than that of untreated copper form (CF)/paraffin composite (8.50 J g-1). The PDMS-OCF/PCMs composite shows better thermal stability and the loaded organic PCM has been reduced by 0.64% after 100 times of melting-cooling recycling for PDMS-OCF/paraffin. The thermal conductivity of PDMS-OCF/paraffin composite is about 9 times that of pure paraffin. Such excellent thermal conductivity as well as good thermal stability of the PDMS-OCF/PCMs makes it promising candidate for thermal energy storage.

Abstract Realgar is a naturally occurring arsenic sulfide (or Xionghuang, in Chinese). It contains over 90% tetra-arsenic tetrasulfide (As4S4). Currently, realgar has been confirmed the antitumor activities, both in vitro and in vivo, of realgar extracted using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans). Bioleaching, a new technology to greatly improve the use rate of arsenic extraction from realgar using bacteria, is a novel methodology that addressed a limitation of the traditional method for realgar preparation. The present systematic review reports on the research progress in realgar bioleaching and its antitumor mechanism as an anticancer agent. A total of 93 research articles that report on the biological activity of extracts from realgar using bacteria and its preparation were presented in this review. The realgar bioleaching solution (RBS) works by inducing apoptosis when it is used to treat tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. When it is used to treat animal model organisms in vivo, such as mice and Caenorhabditis elegans, tumor tissues grew more slowly, with mass necrosis. Meanwhile, the agent also showed obvious inhibition of tumor cell growth. Bioleaching technology greatly improves the utilization of realgar and is a novel methodology to improve the traditional method.

BACKGROUND: The development of clean or novel alternative energy has become a global trend that will shape the future of energy. In the present study, 3 microbial strains with different oxygen requirements, including Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824, Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047 and Kluyveromyces marxianus 15D, were used to construct a hydrogen production system that was composed of a mixed aerobic-facultative anaerobic-anaerobic consortium. The effects of metal ions, organic acids and carbohydrate substrates on this system were analyzed and compared using electrochemical and kinetic assays. It was then tested using small-scale experiments to evaluate its ability to convert starch in 5 L of organic wastewater into hydrogen. For the one-step biohydrogen production experiment, H1 medium (nutrient broth and potato dextrose broth) was mixed directly with GAM broth to generate H2 medium (H1 medium and GAM broth). Finally, Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824, Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047 and Kluyveromyces marxianus 15D of three species microbial co-culture to produce hydrogen under anaerobic conditions. For the two-step biohydrogen production experiment, the H1 medium, after cultured the microbial strains Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047 and Kluyveromyces marxianus 15D, was centrifuged to remove the microbial cells and then mixed with GAM broth (H2 medium). Afterward, the bacterial strain Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 was inoculated into the H2 medium to produce hydrogen by anaerobic fermentation. RESULTS: The experimental results demonstrated that the optimum conditions for the small-scale fermentative hydrogen production system were at pH 7.0, 35°C, a mixed medium, including H1 medium and H2 medium with 0.50 mol/L ferrous chloride, 0.50 mol/L magnesium sulfate, 0.50 mol/L potassium chloride, 1% w/v citric acid, 5% w/v fructose and 5% w/v glucose. The overall hydrogen production efficiency in the shake flask fermentation group was 33.7 mL/h-1.L-1, and those the two-step and the one-step processes of the small-scale fermentative hydrogen production system were 41.2 mLVh-1.L-1 and 35.1 mL/h-1.L-1, respectively. CONCLUSION: Therefore, the results indicate that the hydrogen production efficiency of the two-step process is higher than that of the one-step process.

Neste artigo fornecemos uma demonstração elementar do resultado de que os volumes minimais de R³ e R4 são ambos iguais a zero. A abordagem consiste na construção de uma seqüência de métricas completas explícitas nesses espaços cujas curvaturas seccionais são limitadas em valor absoluto por 1 e os volumes tendem a zero. Como conseqüência direta, estabelecemos que MinVol(Rn) = 0 para n > 3.

In this paper, we give an elementary proof of the result that the minimal volumes of R³ and R4 are zero. The approach is to construct a sequence of explicit complete metrics on them such that the sectional curvatures are bounded in absolute value by 1 and the volumes tend to zero. As a direct consequence, we get that MinVol (Rn) = 0 for n > 3.