Evaluating the feasibility and preliminary effects of an online compassion training program for nursing students:A pilot randomized controlled trial

Objectives:This study aimed to assess the feasibility of an online compassion training program for nursing students and preliminarily investigate its effects on mindfulness,self-compassion,and stress reduction.Methods:This study employed a randomized controlled trial design.Second-year students from a nursing college in Guangzhou,China,were recruited as research participants in August 2023.The intervention group participated in an 8-week online compassion training program via the WeChat platform,comprising three stages:mindfulness(weeks 1e2),self-compassion(weeks 3e5),and compassion for others(weeks 6 e8).Each stage included four activities:psychoeducation,mindfulness practice,weekly diary,and emotional support.Program feasibility was assessed through recruitment and retention rates,program engagement,and participant acceptability.Program effectiveness was measured with the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale,Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form,and Perceived Stress Scale.Results:A total of 28 students completed the study(13 in the intervention group,15 in the control group).The recruitment rate was 36.46%,with a high retention rate of 93.3%.Participants demonstrated high engagement:69.2%accessed learning materials every 1e2 days,93.3%practiced mindfulness at least weekly,with an average of 4.69 diary entries submitted per person and 23.30 WeChat interactions with instructors.Regarding acceptability,all participants expressed satisfaction with the program,with 92.4%finding it“very helpful”or“extremely helpful.”In terms of intervention effects,the intervention group showed a significant increase in mindfulness levels from pre-intervention(51.54±10.93)to postintervention(62.46±13.58)(P<0.05),while no significant change was observed in the control group.Although there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in post-intervention self-compassion and perceived stress levels,the intervention group showed positive trends:selfcompassion levels increased(35.85±8.60 vs.40.85±5.54),and perceived stress levels slightly decreased(44.77±8.65 vs.42.00±5.77).Conclusions:This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of an online compassion training program for nursing students and suggested its potential effectiveness in enhancing mindfulness,self-compassion,and stress reduction.Despite limitations such as small sample size and lack of long-term follow-up,preliminary evidence indicates promising prospects for integrating such training into nursing education.Further research is warranted to confirm thesefindings and assess the sustained impact of this approach on nursing education and practice.

Effect of Purple Yam(Dioscorea alata L.) on Nutritional and Physiological Functions of Growing Rats

[Objective] This study was to explore the effect of purple yam on the nutritional and physiological functions of rats.[Method] Forty SD rats were randomly divided into four groups with ten rats in each group which were reared with artificial semisynthetic feed added with 10% steamed yam powder.The four groups,the casein（CK） group which was used as the control,the purple yam（PY） group,the Tiegun yam（TY） group and common Huai yam（HY） group,were supplied with feed of equal content of energy,protein and fat.The rats were pair-fed for 56 days to observe changes of relevant nutritional and physiological indices.[Result] There were no significant differences of body weight,food conversion rate and organ indices between rats in PY group and CK group.Mean corpuscular hemoglobin in PY group was significantly lower than that in CK group;hemoglobin showed no significant difference with that in CK group;eosnophils was lower than that in CK group.Low density lipoprotein-cholesterol,total cholesterol and atherogenic index in PY group were lower than that in the other three groups;anti-atherogenic index was the highest among the four groups,while showing no significant difference;triglyceride content was lower than that in CK group.Among the antioxidant indices,the activity of catalase and superoxide dismutase were higher than that in CK group,while malondialdehyde content was lower than that in CK group.[Conclusion] Purple yam showed the trend of reducing the content of blood glucose,total cholesterol,low density lipoprotein-cholesterol,triglyceride,malondialdehyde,and raising the activity of glutathione peroxidase,superoxide dismutase and catalase,thus having certain antioxidative function.

齿轮耦合的转子-轴承系统非线性动力特性的研究

在考虑齿轮时变啮合刚度、齿侧间隙、脱齿、挤齿及齿背接触 等因素的情况下，建立了齿轮耦合的转子—滑动轴承系统的多自由度动力学模型。用数值方 法研究了该系统的质量不平衡响应，结果发现，由于齿轮时变啮合刚度的影响，随着转速的 增加，系统动力学响应首先由周期运动向准周期运动变化，当转速超过某一值时，系统的响应将由准周期运动发展为混沌运动；由于混沌运动，转子将沿齿轮中心线方向产生很大的变 形，脱齿、齿背接触及挤齿现象也将发生，可能导致系统产生破坏。

Developmental Effects of Intraperitoneal Injection of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Rats During Pregnancy

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are widespread environmental contaminants that are possible health hazards for human beings through a variety of pathways.In the present study,50 time mated pregnant rats were divided into five groups and injected daily from gestational days 7 to 18 with either 2,2′,4,4′- tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB 47) or 3,3′,4,4′- tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB 77) or seseme oil (control) to evaluate the effects of these PCBs on prenatal and postnatal development.Offspring were examined for malformations of genitalia at birth and in adulthood.Body weight gains of these animals were checked every 7 days through postnatal day (PND) 119.There were no clinical signs of toxicity in the PCB-treated dams or their offspring throughout the experiment.Litter size and sex ratio of the litters were not affected.Both PCBs produced a significant increase in the females' anogenital distance,suggesting a modification of androgen responsiveness in females resulting from PCB exposure during development.Similar effects were not seen with the males.The proportion of individuals with eyes open by PND 15 was significantly reduced by both PCBs.Exposure to 1 mg/kg body weight of PCB 77 significantly reduced body weight gains in male pups from PND 35 to 119.However,no significant differences were found in body weight gains of the pups exposed to PCB 47.

Biology, staging, and treatment of breast cancer during pregnancy: reassessing the evidences

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies during pregnancy. Here, we review the management of women with breast cancer during pregnancy(BCP), focusing on biology, diagnosis and staging, local and systemic treatments, obstetric care and long-term follow-up of children with prenatal exposure to anticancer treatments.

Mental health of perinatal women

Pregnancy and childbirth are major stressors for some women. They can be followed by deterioration in mental health status and cause mental illnesses during perinatal period. Undetected and untreated perinatal mental illnesses can have negative unexpected impacts on parenting skills of the women and children’s development. Mentally ill mothers may not effectively attend their children’s needs in a timely manner and may experience an unfavourable mother-child attachment affecting the child’s language, social, emotional and cognitive development. The rate of pregnancy and postnatal health complications and interventions is higher among mentally ill women with some certain risk factors. The mentally ill mothers along with their partners need comprehensive support and counselling to be able to care for their infants and establish strong parent-child bond and attachment. Mental health campaigns across the world have endeavoured to increase the knowledge and awareness of the public towards perinatal mental health illnesses. To this aim, a routine screening is recommended in order to identify the women who are at risk of mood or anxiety disorder during perinatal period. The development of knowledge on perinatal mental illnesses among public and the health professionals has resulted in timely recognition and treatment of perinatal mental illnesses. Although great volumes of research show high prevalence of perinatal mental illnesses and their impacts on parenting confdence and competence as well as child’s developmental process, there is still lack of research on various aspects of perinatal mental illnesses. To enable early prevention, diagnosis and intervention, it is crucial to identify families who are at an increased risk of perinatal mental illnesses and provide support and intervention to minimise the adverse outcomes. The children’s needs may not be met by providing treatment to parental mental illnesses alone. It is also important to understand the impact of specifc parenting behaviours on child outcomes which is modified by the quality of parenting.

Nursing undergraduates’experiences of a simulation-centred educational program in hospice care in Macao:A qualitative research

Objectives:The study aimed to explore the experiences of nursing undergraduates participating in a simulation-centred educational program in hospice care in Macao,China.Methods:This descriptive qualitative study was based on the data collected through semi-structured individual interviews.Seventeen nursing undergraduates in Macao,China who attended the simulation-centred program in hospice care participated in this qualitative from November to December 2020.This program included three parts:introduction to hospice care(2 h),management of terminal symptoms(10 h),and hospice situation simulations(6 h).The interview data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.Results:This study revealed two themes and six sub-themes.Theme 1 was developing competencies in caring for dying patients and their families,which included four subcategories of sensitivity to patients’needs,knowledge of hospice care,skills of symptom control and comfort supply,and communication skills.Theme 2 was improving the ability to self-care and support colleagues,which included two subcategories of reflection on life and death and sharing and supporting among colleagues.Conclusion:This program improved the competency of nursing undergraduates in hospice care and participants’learning experience was good.

Improving the Size and Market Value of an Underutilised Yam （Dioscorea esculenta） in Ghana： Implications for Crop Breeding and Production Choices

Yam, Dioscorea esculenta which is a high value commodity is a threatened species in Ghana, due to several factors including neglect on the part of science, technology, research and development. Different doses of radiation were use to improve the size and market value of D. esculenta to promote it effective use and enhance effective conservation. We observed through repeated experiments that irradiation of yam planting material at 40 Gy gave the best results producing a M1 generation with a decreased number of tubers but with an increased tuber size per vine. Some yam characteristics are valued more than others, and prices vary across species, time, and market sites. Tuber weight exhibits an increasing marginal value and price per kilogram increases above an optimum size; therefore, yam producers and dealers derive additional reward from extra-large tubers. We conclude that, to effectively access and benefit from urban markets, producers should focus on the improved size and conical shaped-tubers, which are easy to process and meet the aesthetic qualities preferred by urban consumers. The implications for research on improved variety development to reduce poverty and for crop and resource management practices are drawn.

Study of Ideological and Political Education of Chinese College Students Based on the Humanistic Care

The paper analyzes the present situation of humanistic care in ideological and political education of Chinese college students, and argues three main problems： ignoring emotional care for students, ignoring dominant position of students, and ignoring individual psychological needs of students.

The development of an evidence-informed Convergent Care Theory:Working together to achieve optimal health outcomes

Background Healthcare is a complex and divergent system with uncertainty,unpredictability,and multi-layered stakeholders.The relationships among the stakeholders are multifaceted and dynamic,requiring continual interpersonal connections,networks,and co-evolution.It is pivotal to have an evidence-informed theory to explain the phenomenon,uniting the multifaceted stakeholders’efforts.Purpose To describe the development of an evidence-informed theory,the Convergent Care Theory,assembling healthcare stakeholders to work together and achieve optimal health outcomes.Methods The Convergent Care Theory was developed using a theory synthesis approach based on empirical research and literature reviews published by the theory-proposing author.The empirical evidence was categorized into:patients and families,healthcare providers,healthcare organizations,and patients’and healthcare providers’self-care.Results The Convergent Care Theory includes four concepts:all-inclusive organizational care,healthcare professional collaborative care,person-centered precision care,and patients’and healthcare providers’self-care.Achieving convergent care is a process requiring all stakeholders to work together.Six major facilitators emerged from the research evidence:competence,compassion,accountability,trusting,sharing,and engaging.Conclusion This article introduced the development process of the evidence-informed Convergent Care Theory.Healthcare systems are complex,with multiple stakeholders’needs to meet.The Convergent Care Theory strives to unite healthcare stakeholders,bond resources,and join forces to achieve optimal healthcare outcomes.The underpinning of the theory is a caring culture,which is an underlying code for organizational and team behaviors and the foundation of optimal health outcomes.

Healthcare interprofessional team members' perspectives on human caring: A directed content analysis study

Objectives:As Watson's Human Caring Theory continues to evolve and guide the discipline of nursing,the challenge is to find ways to integrate it into practice.The purpose of this study is to describe interprofessional team members'perspectives on human caring based on the Ten Caritas Processes(R)/Caritas-Veritas Literacy of Watson's Human Caring Theory within the Unitary Caring Science.Methods:This is a qualitative directed content analysis study,taking place in a Children's Hospital in the United States between November 2017 and April 2018.Information redundancy was utilized to guide the recruitment.Data were collected via a one-time face-to-face individual interview.A qualitative directed content analysis was conducted using Watson's Ten Caritas Processes(R)/Caritas-Veritas Literacy as a coding framework.Results:Twenty-seven healthcare professionals participated in the study.Interprofessional human caring,based on the Ten Caritas Processes(R)/Caritas-Veritas Literacy,was referred to as performing lovingkindness to patients,each other,and self;maintaining faith-hope in teamwork;valuing intersubjective interactions and building trust among team members;cultivating heart-centered-caring relations;acknowledging and processing positive and negative feelings non-judgmentally;applying all ways of knowing in caring;encouraging reciprocal teaching-learning;developing caring-healing environments collaboratively;respecting human dignity of patients and each other;and being open-minded to the unknowns and believing in miracles.Conclusions:Watson's Human Caring Theory can be an underlying guide to enrich human-to-human relations and create a caring-healing environment.When human caring is applied in interprofessional teams,healthcare professionals find a caring consciousness to care for oneself and each other and promote patient care.

A unitary caring science resilience-building model:Unifying the human caring theory and research-informed psychology and neuroscience evidence

Resilience is the psychological capability to recover from difficulties quickly.Healthcare professionals are especially vulnerable to job-related stress and burnout.Unitary Caring Science is the framework for Watson’s Human Caring Theory,providing a philosophy of practice in healthcare.With the high rates of clinician burnout and psychological issues,it will be significant to unify the human caring theory with research-informed psychological and neuroscience evidence to develop clinicians’resilience-building strategies.The purpose of this article is to introduce a Unitary Caring Science Resilience Model and explain the science behind the core strategies based on Unitary Caring Science philosophy and the psychological and neuroscience research.This model includes six strategies:Embracing loving-kindness for self and others;Nurturing interpersonal and intersubjective connections/relations;Deepening a creative use of self and sense of belonging;Balancing self-learning,self-awareness,and an evolved selfconsciousness;Valuing forgiveness and releasing negativity;Inspiring and maintaining faith-hope.The caring-theory guided resilience-building strategies are proven to alleviate the depletion of clinicians’energy and emotions.Healthcare practices are challenging but rewarding.Clinicians can be emotionally,psychologically,and physically exhausted if they always consider themselves‘giving’and‘doing’institutional tasks without a sense of purpose or fulfillment.The practice can be rewarding if it becomes more aligned with clinicians’value to serve humanity.Through the unitary caring science resilience strategies,clinicians can build resilience as an antidote to clinician burnout and depletion.

Perinatal and early life risk factors for inflammatory bowel disease

AIM:To investigate associations between perinatal risk factors and subsequent inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children and young adults.METHODS:Record linked abstracts of birth registrations,maternity,day case and inpatient admissions in a defined population of southern England.Investigation of 20 perinatal factors relating to the maternity or the birth:maternal age,Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) in the mother,maternal social class,marital status,smoking in pregnancy,ABO blood group and rhesus status,pre-eclampsia,parity,the infant's presentation at birth,caesarean delivery,forceps delivery,sex,number of babies delivered,gestational age,birthweight,head circumference,breastfeeding and Apgar scores at one and five minutes.RESULTS:Maternity records were present for 180 children who subsequently developed IBD.Univariate analysis showed increased risks of CD among children of mothers with CD (P=0.011,based on two cases of CD in both mother and child) and children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy.Multivariate analysis confirmed increased risks of CD among children of mothers who smoked (odds ratio=2.04,95% CI=1.06-3.92) and for older mothers aged 35+ years (4.81,2.32-9.98).Multivariate analysis showed that there were no significant associations between CD and 17 other perinatal risk factors investigated.It also showed that,for UC,there were no significant associations with the perinatal factors studied.CONCLUSION:This study shows an association between CD in mother and child;and elevated risks of CD in children of older mothers and of mothers who smoked.

Successful pregnancy in a seminoma patient after fertility preservation

The frequency of invasive cancer in young patients is increasing worldwide. For patients about to undergo a surgical procedure or to receive chemical therapy, radiation therapy, loss or impairment of fertility is a major issue. So the need for fertility protection and preservation became more intensity. Sperm banking is a standard accepted procedure for males to circumvent loss or damage to spermatozoa. Here we present a successful pregnancy in a testicular germ cell tumor patient following fertility preservation.

Teenage Pregnancy in the Life and Thought of the Traditional Akan： Moral Perspectives

In the past, teenage pregnancy was very rare among the traditional Akan people, currently, however, it has reached an alarming stage. The traditional rites that were effective in instituting measures that ensured chastity among the Akan teenagers are now replaced by foreign rites that seem to be less effective. This paper examines teenage pregnancy and its morality among the traditional Akan of Ghana. The paper discovers that the morality of teenage pregnancy among the traditional Akan depends on the circumstances under which the pregnancy occurs. The following among others are identified as the major factors responsible for the upsurge of teenage pregnancy among the Akan： the breakdown of the extended family system and social cohesion; the influx of foreign cultural and religious practices coupled with the wrong mentality that indigenous African cultural practices are uncivil. The paper posits that the bragor9 and kyiribra rites are important traditional tools which can be refined and used together with other modern methods to remedy the upsurge of teenage pregnancy and restore the moral sanity that existed among the Akan.

释道宣的佛教表现艺术理论与美学观念

道宣晚年的作品,集中体现了道宣通过对戒相的要求所表达出来的佛教表现艺术美学观念。道宣是继道安之后对中国戒相影响最大的高僧,也可以说是佛教表现艺术的重要理论家。他把服装、形体都作为一种彰显思想的表现形式,甚至要求达到能以其艺术度化众生的高度。他认为在一个文盲充斥、便餐兴盛的社会里,靠听觉和视觉感官接受的传媒是最捷便的,而通过文字乃至思考才能获得的教益,往往被排斥或疏离。同时,他为记录和表彰在表现艺术方面有所建树的僧侣开辟了蹊径。

Study on Network System Construction of Forest Ecological in Huaining New Town

Urban forest isan importantcomposition and the window and soul of modern cities, which has a close relationship with ecologicalenvironment andinvesting environment. Sourban foresthasbeen constructed in China. Huaining County could hold of the historical opportunity and come up with the great blueprintof forest ecological network system construction for the new town. This paper mainly introduces the guiding ideas, principles, goals and overall layouts of the construction in the new town, and hope that it will be a modelfor other county-level forest ecological network system construction in China.