Preparation of Magnetic Hybrid Microspheres with Well-Defined Yolk-Shell Structure

A facile and efficient route was reported to prepare a kind of yolk-shell magnetic hybrid microspheres by suspension polymerization and calcinations method. The morphology, structure, and composition of the magnetic microspheres were characterized by FTIR, XRD, TEM, SEM, and TGA analysis. The vibrating-sample magnetometry (VSM) results clearly showed that the magnetic particles were superparamagnetic with saturation magnetization of 32.82 emu/g which makes the microcomposites easily controlled by an external magnetic field. The results revealed that the magnetic hybrid microspheres might have important applications in magnetic bioseparation and drug delivery

Quality Assessment of TPB-Based Questionnaires: A Systematic Review

<div><p>Objective</p><p>This review is aimed at assessing the quality of questionnaires and their development process based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) change model.</p><p>Methods</p><p>A systematic literature search for studies with the primary aim of TPB-based questionnaire development was conducted in relevant databases between 2002 and 2012 using selected search terms. Ten of 1,034 screened abstracts met the inclusion criteria and were assessed for methodological quality using two different appraisal tools: one for the overall methodological quality of each study and the other developed for the appraisal of the questionnaire content and development process. Both appraisal tools consisted of items regarding the likelihood of bias in each study and were eventually combined to give the overall quality score for each included study.</p><p>Results</p><p>8 of the 10 included studies showed low risk of bias in the overall quality assessment of each study, while 9 of the studies were of high quality based on the quality appraisal of questionnaire content and development process.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Quality appraisal of the questionnaires in the 10 reviewed studies was successfully conducted, highlighting the top problem areas (including: sample size estimation; inclusion of direct and indirect measures; and inclusion of questions on demographics) in the development of TPB-based questionnaires and the need for researchers to provide a more detailed account of their development process.</p></div

Evidence table.

<p>Evidence table.</p

Results of questionnaire quality appraisal.

<p>Results of questionnaire quality appraisal.</p

Results of Study Quality Appraisal.

<p>Results of Study Quality Appraisal.</p

Criteria used to assess study quality.

<p>Notes:</p><p>++ must meet at least 6 criterion indicated above.</p><p>+ must meet at least 4 criterion indicated above.</p><p>− did not have the 4 criterion necessary for + classification.</p><p>++ denotes low level of bias; + denotes moderate level of bias; and – denotes higher degree of bias.</p

Inclusion and exclusion criteria.

<p>Inclusion and exclusion criteria.</p