Assessing Empathy in Anesthesia Residents with the Chinese Version of the Consultation and Relational Empathy: A Pilot Standardized Patient Program

Objectives To validate the reliability of the Chinese version of the Consultation and Relational Empathy(CARE)in physician-standardized patient(SP)encounter.We also tried to examine the agreement between video-based ratings and in-room ratings,as well as the agreement between the faculty ratings and SP ratings.Methods The CARE was translated into Chinese.Forty-eight anesthesia residents were recruited to make preoperative interview in SP-counter.Performance of each resident was graded by in-room raters,video raters and SP raters.Consistency between different raters was examined.Results The Chinese-CARE measure demonstrated high scale reliability with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.95 and high consistency in the in-room ratings in intraclass correlation(coefficient=0.888,P<0.001).Despite a good consistency in intraclass correlation,video ratings were significantly higher than in-room ratings(39.6±7.1 vs.24.0±10.0,P<0.001),and Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated that the pass/fail rate was significantly higher based on video ratings than based on in-room ratings(45/48 vs.22/48,P<0.001).SP ratings had a moderate consistency with in-room faculty ratings(coefficient=0..568,P<0.001),and there was no significant difference between the pass/fail rates based on the in-room ratings and SP ratings(22/48vs.28/48,P=0.12).Conclusions The Chinese-CARE measure is reliable in the assessment of empathy during preoperative anesthesia interview.In-room and video ratings are not equivalent,while SP may provide a feasible alternative for the faculty rater in the assessment of communication skills with an appropriate measure.

LITAF Promotes Atherosclerotic Plaque Formation by Stimulating the NF-κB Inflammatory Pathway

Objective Lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-αfactor(LITAF)protein is a newly discovered inflammatory protein.This study aims to study the role of LITAF in the formation of atherosclerosis.Methods A total of 10 C57BL/6J mice and 10 C57BL/6J mice with knockout of LITAF gene(C57BL/6J–LITAF–)were divided into two groups:the control group and the LITAF^(−/−)group.The animals were accommodated for 16 weeks and then euthanized with their hearts and aortas isolated thereafter.Next,the roots of the mouse aorta were cryosectioned and stained with Oil Red O staining and immunohistochemical staining(CD68,α-SMA,and Masson),respectively.The area of Oil Red O staining and the proportion of positive expression after immunohistochemical staining were then compared between the control and LITAF^(−/−)groups.At the same time,the blood of mice was collected for the extraction of proteins and RNA.The proteins and RNA were used to detect the expression of major molecules of the NF-κB inflammatory pathway in mice in the control group and the LITAF^(−/−)group by Western blotting and RT-PCR.Results Oil Red O staining of the aortic root sections of the mice in each group revealed that the area of atherosclerotic plaques in the LITAF^(−/−)group was substantially lower than that in the control group(P<0.05).Moreover,immunohistochemical staining determined that the expression level ofα-SMA and CD68 in the LITAF^(−/−)group was significantly lower than that in the control group,whereas the results were reversed following Masson staining(P<0.05).The expression levels of P65 and caspase 3 were significantly lower in the LITAF^(−/−)group than in the control group(P<0.05),whereas the expression level of IκB was higher in the LITAF^(−/−)group.Conclusion LITAF might participate in the formation of atherosclerotic plaque through the NF-κB pathway and play a promoting role in the formation of atherosclerosis.

一种热挤压态粉末镍基高温合金在热压缩过程中的热加工特性

为了研究新型粉末冶金镍基高温合金的热变形行为,在变形温度为1020~1110℃、应变速率为0.001~1 s^−1条件下进行热压缩试验。结果表明,高温合金的流动应力随着变形温度的升高和应变速率的降低而减小。通过双曲正弦型函数表达式建立精准的本构方程。此外,构造合金的热加工图以优化其热锻参数。在应变量为0.7的热加工图中分别确定动态再结晶稳定和失稳的3个区域。绝热剪切带、晶间裂纹以及晶间裂纹和楔形裂纹的结合被证明是造成失稳的原因。综合分析热加工图和显微组织,确定高温合金的最佳等温锻造条件为t=1075~1105℃和ε&=10^−3~10−2.8 s^−1。

Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes

In recent years, people have become increasingly attentive to light pollution influences on their eyes. In the visible spectrum, short-wave blue light with wavelength between 415 nm and 455 nm is closely related to eye light damage. This high energy blue light passes through the cornea and lens to the retina causing diseases such as dry eye, cataract, age-related macular degeneration, even stimulating the brain, inhibiting melatonin secretion, and enhancing adrenocortical hormone production, which will destroy the hormonal balance and directly affect sleep quality. Therefore, the effect of Blu-rays on ocular is becoming an important concern for the future. We describe blue light’s effects on eye tissues, summarize the research on eye injury and its physical prevention and medical treatment.

Low-dose Simvastatin Increases Skeletal Muscle Sensitivity to Caffeine and Halothane

Objective To determine whether the myotoxic side effects of statin simvastatin affect skeletal muscle's sensitivity to caffeine and halothane. Methods Primary cultured neonate rat skeletal myotubes were treated with 0.01-5.0 μmol/L simvastatin for 48 hours. MTT was used to evaluate cellular viability. The gross morphology and microstructure of the myotubes were observed with a light and electron microscope, respectively. The intracellular calcium concentrations([Ca^(2+)]i) at rest and in response to caffeine and halothane were investigated by fluorescence calcium imaging. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance(ANOVA) test. Results Simvastatin(0.01-5.0 μmol/L) decreased myotube viability, changed their morphological features and microstructure, and increased the resting [Ca^(2+)]i in a dose-dependent manner. Simvastatin did not change myotube's sensitivity to low doses of caffeine(0.625-2.5 mmol/L) or halothane(1.0-5.0 mmol/L). In response to high-dose caffeine(10.0 mmol/L, 20.0 mmol/L) and halothane(20.0 mmol/L, 40.0 mmol/L), myotubes treated with 0.01 μmol/L simvastatin showed a significant increase in sensitivity, but those treated with 1.0 μmol/L and 5.0 μmol/L simvastatin showed a significant decrease. The sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^(2+) storage peaked in the myotubes treated with 0.01 μmol/L simvastatin, but it decreased when cells were treated with higher doses of simvastatin(0.1-5.0 μmol/L).Conclusions The myotoxic side effect of simvastatin was found to change the sensitivity of myotubes in response to high-dose caffeine and halothane. When dose was low, sensitivity increased mainly because of increased Ca^(2+) content in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which might explain why some individuals with statin-induced myotoxic symptoms may show positive caffeine-halothane contracture test results. However, when the dose was high and the damage to the myotubes was severer, sensitivity was lower. It is here supposed that the damage itself might put individuals with statin-induced myotoxic symptoms at greater risks of presenting with rhabdomyolysis during surgery or while under anesthesia.

Best Paper Award 2022

I am pleased to announce that the following paper has been awarded the Best Review Paper 2022,which stands out from the 24 review papers published by Building Simulation from 2018(Volume 11)to 2022(Volume 15):Yuejing Zhao&Bin Zhao."Emissions of air pollutants from Chinese cooking:A literature review."Building Simulation,2018,11(5):977-995.

Best Paper Award 2021

I am pleased to announce that the following paper has been awarded the Best Review Paper 2021,which stands out from the review papers published by Building Simulation from 2017(Volume 10)to 2021(Volume 14):Bing Dong,Da Yan,Zhaoxuan Li,Yuan Jin,Xiaohang Feng,Hannah Fontenot."Modeling occupancy and behavior for better building design and operation-A critical review"Building Simulation,2018,11(5):899-921.

佩戴环境对角膜接触镜佩戴安全性的影响

据统计现今约有1.4亿人佩戴角膜接触镜(CL)。目前,对于CL使用的安全性评价主要集中在材料及佩戴者自身因素两方面,然而对于行业各异、生活工作环境各异的佩戴者来说,不同的佩戴环境是否会对佩戴者产生安全隐患?CL佩戴环境成了评价其佩戴安全性不可忽视的因素。但是,目前对于在不同环境下佩戴CL的安全性并未达成共识,现对不同环境对CL佩戴者的影响进行综述,以期对CL验配者和佩戴者有所启发。

Energy saving potential of a fresh air pre-cooling system using radiative sky cooling

To achieve required indoor air quality,fresh air supply in buildings should meet relevant standards and regulations.However,the handling of fresh air introduced a cooling load that takes up a large portion of building energy consumption,especially in tropical and subtropical areas.A proper way should be employed to reduce the cooling load of fresh air.Radiative sky cooling,which is the process that an object cools itself by emitting thermal radiation to outer space without any energy input,is a cost-effective and eco-friendly technology.In this work,a fresh air pre-cooling system using radiative sky cooling is proposed to reduce fresh air cooling load.The system,consisting of filters,a radiative air-cooling system,an air handling unit(AHU),fans,etc.,is installed on the rooftop of the modeled building.Six cities in low-latitude areas are selected and investigated.Results show that with the radiative air-cooling system installed,annual cooling energy consumption of the modeled building can be reduced by around 10%in most cities.For arid areas,e.g.,Abu Dhabi,the system has even better performance with 19.34%annual cooling energy saving.

Best Paper Award 2020

I am pleased to announce that the following paper has been awarded the Best Review Paper 2020,which stands out from the review papers published by Building Simulation from 2016(Volume 9)to 2020(Volume 13):·Bert Blocken.“LES over RANS in building simulation for outdoor and indoor applications:A foregone conclusion?”Building Simulation,2018,11(5):821-870.

Radiative cooling and cold storage for concentrated solar power plants

Concentrated solar power(CSP)plants are generally located in solar-abundant yet hot and water-stressed loca-tions.In such circumstances,efficient but water-intensive once-through wet cooling and water-free but inefficient air cooling are both unfavorable.Considering both thermal efficiency and water availability/temperature,recir-culating evaporative cooling is a better alternative.However,evaporative cooling still loses large amounts of water into the atmosphere and thus requires a nonstop water supply.Therefore,simultaneously reducing water loss and maintaining thermal efficiency requires efficient means of supplemental cooling for CSP plants.Follow-ing our previous work on scalable radiative cooling films and a kW-scale radiative cooling system,we explore the potential of consumptive water use reduction in recirculating wet-cooled CSP plants by integrating supplemental radiative cooling and cold storage.Through modeling of a reference CSP plant with a supplemental radiative cooling system as large as the plant solar field,the results show that 40%-60%of the annual consumptive water use can be potentially reduced in the hot southwestern U.S.region with daytime-only radiative cooling,whereas the annual potential water saving can be as much as 65%-85%if the radiative cooling system works both day and night with cold storage.