Validation of the Chinese version 10-item Perceived Efficacy in Patient-Physician Interactions scale in patients with osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the 10-item Perceived Efficacy in Patient–Physician Interaction (PEPPI-10) scale in hospitalized patients with severe knee osteoarthritis in the People’s Republic of China. METHODS: Between January and March 2015, the Chinese versions of PEPPI, self-efficacy for exercise scale, osteoporosis self-efficacy scale, and modified fall efficacy scale were applied to assess 110 severe knee osteoarthritis patients who were hospitalized in the second ward of the department of arthroplasty surgery of Tianjin Hospital. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the PEPPI-10 scale had a high coefficient of internal consistency (Cronbach’s α coefficient, 0.907). The score of the Chinese version of PEPPI was weakly correlated with the scores of the Chinese versions of self-efficacy for exercise scale, osteoporosis self-efficacy scale, and modified fall efficacy scale. CONCLUSION: The Chinese version of the PEPPI-10 scale exhibits sufficient internal consistency and convergent validity in hospitalized patients with severe knee osteoarthritis in the People’s Republic of China

Abiotic regulators of soil respiration in desert ecosystems

Soil temperature and soil moisture are the most important environmental factors controlling soil respiration in mesic ecosystems. However, soil respiration and associated abiotic regulators have been poorly studied in desert ecosystems. In this study, soil respiration was measured using an automated CO2 efflux system (LI-COR 8100), and the effects of soil temperature and moisture on the rate of soil respiration were examined in six desert sites [three communities-Haloxylon ammodendron, Halostachys caspica and Anabasis aphylla at high (B) and low (A) vegetation coverage respectively]. It was found that soil respiration was significantly and positively correlated with soil surface temperature. A multi-variable model of soil temperature and soil moisture could explain 61.9% of temporal variation in soil CO2 efflux at a larger scale. There were significantly negative correlations between soil respiration and soil moisture in Haloxylon ammodendron B and Halostachys caspica B sites, which represented the driest and wettest sites, respectively. The results also showed that soil respiration displayed obvious diurnal and seasonal patterns during the growing season. The Q(10) values for Haloxylon ammodendron A and B, Halostachys caspica A and B, and Anabasis aphylla A and B sites were 1.3, 1.34, 1.58, 1.65, 1.31 and 1.17, respectively, with a cross-site average of 1.39. The results showed that soil respiration was not positively correlated with soil moisture unlike in most mesic ecosystems. However, soil respiration in desert ecosystems is less sensitive to temperature variation than most mesic ecosystems as indicated by the lower Q(10) values possibly due to energy limitation

Hydraulic lift in Populus euphratica Oliv. from the desert riparian vegetation of the Tarim River Basin

In the Tarim River Basin, the desert riparian forest vegetation is under high-temperature and aridity stress However, the vegetation can grow continuously because of deep rooting that can reach groundwater, which can thus redistribute water into the upper soil profile This paper describes patterns of hydraulic lift by Populus euphranca Oliv and discusses its ecological effects. Our results show that the tap root sap velocity of P euphranca Oliv is positive during the day and night However, a reverse sap flow was observed in the lateral roots during the night The soil water content of the subsoil was higher than that of the topsoil at depths of 0-120 cm When the sap flow of the lateral roots was reversed at night, the soil water content clearly increased. In particular, at depths of 60-120 cm, the soil water content at 4 00 was 28-38% greater than that at 16 00 The vapor pressure deficit was a factor that predominantly affected the root sap velocity, and the smaller vapor pressure deficit often facilitated a reverse sap flow in the lateral roots. Our findings demonstrate the hydraulic lift characteristics and ecological effects that occur in the desert riparian forest in extremely and regions of middle Asia (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserve

Palliative care for patients with glioma: A recent scientometric analysis of the Web of Science in 2022

BackgroundPatients with glioma present with complex palliative care needs throughout their disease trajectory. A scientometric analysis is effective and widely used to summarize the most influential studies within a certain field. We present the first scientometric analysis of palliative care for patients with glioma.MethodsBased on a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) principle, we conducted a generalized search for articles on palliative care for glioma in the Web of Science database and evaluated the top 100 most frequently cited articles among 2,542 articles.ResultsThe number of citations for the top 100 cited articles on palliative care for glioma ranged from 10 to 223. We have a narrative conclusion, as follows: most of these articles were published in oncology-specific journals (n = 53) and palliative-specific journals (n = 22). The United States, Australia, and the Netherlands were the top three countries contributing most of the articles (n = 59). Most of the research methods were quantitative analyses, qualitative analyses, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses (n = 70). In quantitative studies, 66 scales were used, and the top three scales used included the following: the Distress Thermometer, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Brain Index (FACT-Br), and Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS). The articles were classified into six major categories based on research subjects, including patients (n = 44), caregivers (n = 16), patients and caregivers (n = 20), literature (n = 19), and healthcare providers (n = 1). Articles were classified into seven major categories based on research themes: quality of life (n = 11); end-of-life symptoms and care (n = 16); palliative and supportive care needs (n = 35); advance care planning and decision making (n = 4); psychological, social, and spiritual needs (n = 12); hospice utilization and referral (n = 3); and others (n = 19). The studies of the primary topic are correlated with the number of citations.ConclusionsThe results of the analysis indicated that patients diagnosed with glioma present a high variety of palliative care needs, including physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. The caregiver’s burden and needs are important as well. The proportion of quantitative analyses, qualitative analyses, and systematic reviews and meta-analyses is relatively high, but the number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was low. End-of-life care and supportive care needs appeared frequently. Thus, palliative care is an urgent need to be addressed in glioma management. The appropriate scales should be selected for patients with glioma and meet their palliative needs

Investigation in scale effects on propellers with different magnitude of skew by CFD methods

Scale effects on the open-water performance of marine propellers are the problems to be investigated to the researchers and ship designers. Present thesis analyse the scale effects of marine propellers by CFD methods. The main focus is on the aspects related to propeller blade skews. The ambient flow around the propeller is assumed to be fully turbulent and the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations are applied in the turbulent flow. Propellers with different scales and skew angles operating in open-water conditions will be simulated in the CFD software – STAR-CCM+. The differences in open-water characteristics (e.g. thrust coefficient , torque coefficient and efficiency 0 ) of propellers with different skew angles are demonstrated and explained through the analysis of simulated flow patterns around the blades, as well as through the reasonable estimations of percentage of pressure and friction force contributions. The CFD results are compared with some experimental data for verifications