Public preferences for online medical consultations in China: a discrete choice experiment

BackgroundOnline medical consultation (OMC) is significant to promote the utilization and accessibility of healthcare resources and save time on consultation. However, the usage and public acceptance rates of it are still low in China. Meanwhile, few studies have focused on consumers’ demand of OMC services. This study aims to identify attributes that influence users’ preference for OMC services, quantify the value of these characteristics, and compare their relative importance.MethodsA nationwide discrete choice experiment was conducted to survey Chinese residents’ preference choices for six attributes of OMC services. Conditional logit model and mixed logit model were used to analyze respondents’ preference. Willingness to pay and heterogeneity were estimated by the mixed logit model.ResultsA total of 856 respondents completed the study, and 668 questionnaires passed the consistency test. All of 6 attributes in the study were statistically significant except for “Doctor’s professional title – Associate Senior.” When choosing OMC services, respondents preferred to spend as little time and money as possible on a large online medical platform to consult a high-rated physician with a senior title from a well-known Grade-A tertiary hospital. Besides, respondents valued doctor’s evaluation score most and were willing to pay ¥107 to obtain the services of higher-scored doctors.ConclusionThe study measured Chinese residents’ preferences for six attributes of OMC and showed the heterogeneity of attributes among subgroups. Our findings suggested that OMC services providers should reduce the customers’ waiting time, improve the quality of services and enhance professional skills to meet the customers’ requirements. More research on preferences for OMC needs to be conducted in China, especially for key populations such as patients with chronic diseases

Activating Endogenous Neurogenesis for Spinal Cord Injury Repair: Recent Advances and Future Prospects

After spinal cord injury (SCI), endogenous neural stem cells are activated and migrate to the injury site where they differentiate into astrocytes, but they rarely differentiate into neurons. It is difficult for brain-derived information to be transmitted through the injury site after SCI because of the lack of neurons that can relay neural information through the injury site, and the functional recovery of adult mammals is difficult to achieve. The development of bioactive materials, tissue engineering, stem cell therapy, and physiotherapy has provided new strategies for the treatment of SCI and shown broad application prospects, such as promoting endogenous neurogenesis after SCI. In this review, we focus on novel approaches including tissue engineering, stem cell technology, and physiotherapy to promote endogenous neurogenesis and their therapeutic effects on SCI. Moreover, we explore the mechanisms and challenges of endogenous neurogenesis for the repair of SCI

Boosted Catalytic Activity toward the Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane by Mixing Co- and Cu-Based Catalysts

Promoting the activity of heterogeneous catalysts in the hydrolysis of ammonia borane for hydrogen production is still a challenging topic for researchers in the hydrogen energy and catalysis fields. Herein, we present a universal, simple and efficient strategy to boost the catalytic performance toward AB hydrolysis by mixing Co- and Cu-based catalysts for the first time. Synergistic catalysts with remarkably enhanced activity can be obtained by mixing a Co-based catalyst and a Cu-based catalyst together, such as Co3O4 and Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2, Co3O4 and Cu3(PO4)2, Co3(PO4)2 and Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2, Co3(PO4)2 and Cu3(PO4)2, and CuO and Co3O4. For example, the turnover frequency (TOF) for the mixture catalyst of Co3O4 and Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2 with a mass ratio of 4:1 is up to 77.3 min−1, which is approximately 11.5 times higher than that of the sum of Co3O4 and Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2. The reasons for these findings are discussed in detail. The observations and conclusions in this work may provide a guideline for promoting the hydrolysis of ammonia borane through a simple and effective approach

Boosted Catalytic Activity toward the Hydrolysis of Ammonia Borane by Mixing Co- and Cu-Based Catalysts

Promoting the activity of heterogeneous catalysts in the hydrolysis of ammonia borane for hydrogen production is still a challenging topic for researchers in the hydrogen energy and catalysis fields. Herein, we present a universal, simple and efficient strategy to boost the catalytic performance toward AB hydrolysis by mixing Co- and Cu-based catalysts for the first time. Synergistic catalysts with remarkably enhanced activity can be obtained by mixing a Co-based catalyst and a Cu-based catalyst together, such as Co3O4 and Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2, Co3O4 and Cu3(PO4)2, Co3(PO4)2 and Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2, Co3(PO4)2 and Cu3(PO4)2, and CuO and Co3O4. For example, the turnover frequency (TOF) for the mixture catalyst of Co3O4 and Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2 with a mass ratio of 4:1 is up to 77.3 min−1, which is approximately 11.5 times higher than that of the sum of Co3O4 and Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2. The reasons for these findings are discussed in detail. The observations and conclusions in this work may provide a guideline for promoting the hydrolysis of ammonia borane through a simple and effective approach