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Considering hydrogen deteriorates the mechanical properties of pipeline steel, and may leads to premature failure of pipe, the dynamic burst behavior of X100 steel pipeline with hydrogen damage under internal high pressure was numerically studied in this work based on the ductile damage theory. Two models describing the dependence of failure strain ε ‾ 0 p l and the fracture energy G f on hydrogen coverage φ were developed, and then they were incorporated into ABAQUS by a user defined VUSDFLD FORTRAN subroutine. After validating the model, the effect of different parameters, including hydrogen distribution, hydrogen concentration, stress-induced hydrogen enrichment effect, the diameter-to-thickness ratio and the geometry defects on the dynamic burst behavior of pipe were thoroughly studied, and the ultimate burst pressure and the burst morphology of pipe were shown. It indicated that the ductility of pipe decreases a lot while the burst strength was less affected when hydrogen damage was considered, thus sudden failure may occur without perceptible deformation. Besides, in the presence of corrosion defects, the burst strength decreases almost linearly as the corrosion depth increases. • A simplified numerical simulation method for burst behavior of pipe with hydrogen damage was proposed. • Analytical models describing fail strain and fracture energy on hydrogen coverage were developed. • User defined VUSDFLD FORTRAN subroutine was developed for damage simulation. • The dynamic burst characteristic of pipe under different loading conditions was thoroughly studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiologic and imaging nurses (RINs) continue to be exposed to radiation at the workplace. However, many studies identified that most health care systems do not have policies on radiation safety training for RINs; the less educated they are on radiation safety, the more fear they have with radiation and the less comfortable they are with assisting patients while receiving medical imaging procedures. This policy perspective will identify gaps in radiation protection training, and development of education training, and suggest strategies for compliance with annual radiation training. We recommend that radiology or nursing departments should develop and enforce a policy mandating annual radiation safety training for RINs and that The Joint Commission should evaluate the institutional adherence to that policy. • Lack of knowledge in medical application of radiation leads to radiophobia. • Lack of knowledge in radiation protection leads to fear. • Fear of radiation leads to hesitation in providing care to patients. • Policies should be in place to mandate annual radiation safety training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making decisions regarding end-of-life care is particularly challenging for patients and their family caregivers. Studies have advocated that family involvement in advance care planning is important to provide goal-concordant care and to increase family caregivers' preparation for surrogate decision-making. However, there is a lack of evidence to examine the effectiveness of advance care planning using the patient-caregiver dyadic approach. To evaluate the effectiveness of dyadic advance care planning. A literature search was systematically carried out in 7 databases from inception to March 2023. All randomized controlled trials with advance care planning interventions for mentally competent adults and their family caregivers were included. Meta-analysis was conducted for available quantitative data related to end-of-life care; Otherwise, narrative syntheses were performed. In total, 14 randomized controlled trials were included. The main contents of all interventions were summarized into five categories, namely sharing illness experience and perception, introducing knowledge about advance care planning and end-of-life care, discussing individual's/dyads' values, goals, and care preferences, addressing dyads' discordance, and providing supports to complete advance care planning behaviors. The meta-analysis showed that dyadic advance care planning had significant effects on advance directive documentation (OR = 7.58, 95% CI [1.41, 40.63], P = 0.02) and proactive communication with doctors (OR = 2.42, 95% CI [1.42, 4.12], P = 0.001). In addition, interventions may improve dyad's congruence on end-of-life care, family caregivers' confidence in surrogate decision-making, and quality of end-of-life communication. This review supports that dyadic advance care planning is a promising approach to preparing patients and their family caregivers for end-of-life communication and decision-making. Given that this multifaceted process is influenced by multiple factors within the socio-cultural context, future studies are warranted to identify the barriers and facilitators to implement dyadic advance care planning in real-world settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors sought to 1) review the literature on the remote care model that uses remote patient monitoring software (RPMS) as key mechanisms in oncology care for symptom tracking and health information provision and (2) compare the remote care model to standard care in terms of health-related quality of life, symptom burden, health management self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression. The search was conducted on March 23, 2022, in the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE/PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases. The primary strategies for applying digital technology in remote care models are patient-reported outcomes (PRO) tracking and health information delivery. Common PRO measurements applied in the RPMS include quality of life, symptom burden, self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression. Nine randomized controlled trials testing seven RPMS interventions were examined. Compared to standard care, remote patient monitoring via RPMS was related to greater quality of life and lower physical symptom burden during cancer therapy. The RPMS incorporated into routine clinical care with nurses providing remote monitoring performed better on PRO than that not integrated. The RPMS-based remote care model improves patient outcomes during cancer treatment, and it is not inferior to standard care until the RPMS function is more integrated with existing clinical care. Nurses are well-positioned to engage patients in self-care skills via RPMS and can play a vital role in integrating such a model of remote patient care into routine care practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weight loss is highly prevalent in oesophageal cancer survivors, who often experience disease-related or treatment-related symptoms and quality of life (QoL) impairment. This study aimed to explore the relationships among weight loss, symptom distress, and QoL postoperatively in patients with oesophageal cancer undergoing chemotherapy and to identify the factors influencing the QoL. We conducted a retrospective observational study with 101 patients and collected data on weight loss (percentage of total body mass loss), QoL (EORTC-QLQ-C30 and EORTC-QLQ-OES-18), and symptom distress (MDASI-GI-C). The associations among weight loss, QoL, and symptom distress were assessed using Pearson's correlation. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify independent factors influencing patients' QoL scores. The distribution of weight loss of each stage in survivors of oesophageal cancer was 1.00% (SD: 2.48%), 4.69% (SD: 4.73%), 1.66% (SD: 5.37%), 2.83% (SD: 4.89%) respectively. The mean QoL score was 66.24 (SD 18.65). The participants' mean symptom severity and symptom interference scores were 3.30 (SD 1.74) and 2.76 (SD 1.90), respectively. Weight loss and symptom distress were negatively related to patients' QoL (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, respectively). Weight loss between 6 months before diagnosis and the time of diagnosis (p < 0.05) and symptom interference (p < 0.01) were independent predictors for the QoL. This study suggests that oesophageal cancer survivors with larger weight reduction between 6 months before diagnosis and the time of diagnosis and more symptom distress have a worse QoL. Clinicians should focus more on patients' weight and symptom management to improve their QoL. • Oesophageal cancer survivors experience weight loss constantly along with treatment. • Patients with larger weight loss before diagnosis and those with more symptom interference have worse quality of life (QoL). • Attention should be paid to patients' weight management, social function, financial difficulties, fatigue, and dysphagia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An optimized advanced system air-blown gasification IGCC system is considered. • The system efficiency and exergy efficiency are increased by 3.17% and 3.09%. • Using HPRGT and HTD can greatly improve the thermal performance potential. • Optimized air-blown gasification IGCC system power efficiency can reach 52.8%. With the increasing energy demand, it is essential to improve the utilization of traditional energy sources. Coal is still the mainstay of the Chinese energy market, especially in power generation. The IGCC offers significant advantages in terms of power efficiency and environmental protection. However, conventional IGCC uses oxygen as the gasification medium, posing serious economic challenges. To address this challenge, in this study, the overall system process for the IGCC systems using air-blown gasification is constructed by Aspen Plus. To explore the potential of the thermal performance of the air-blown gasification IGCC system, the operating parameters and process flows are improved. The energy and exergy analysis of the whole system using the advanced process is carried out and compared with the oxygen gasification IGCC. Optimal operating parameters and technical parameters are determined, and the gasifier is optimized. The results show that the system efficiency increased by 3.17%, and the exergy efficiency increased by 3.09%. Although the integrated gas turbine process does not offer obvious advantages, it is more compatible with the current gas turbine in terms of flow rate. The utilization of a high-pressure reheat gas turbine results in a 2.52% increase in system efficiency. The implementation of high-pressure reheat gas turbines and hot gas desulfurization can improve the thermal performance of the system. The air-blown gasification IGCC with this process has the highest power supply efficiency of 52.80%. It presents an improvement of 3.69% compared with oxygen gasification. The exergy loss in the cooling and cleaning module and the gas turbine module is significantly reduced. The heat efficiency of the air-blown gasification IGCC is 3.60% higher, and the effective energy in the system is fully utilized. It provides some heuristic ideas for the clean and efficient utilization of coal resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]