Electrospinning-netting of spider-inspired polycaprolactone/collagen nanofiber-nets incorporated with Propolis extract for enhanced wound healing applications.

Nanofibers hold significant promise for wound healing applications, but their potential is limited by their large diameter. To overcome this limitation, the development of nanofibrous systems with refined nanonets (approximately 20 nm in diameter) represents a notable improvement. In this study, a composite of polycaprolactone/collagen (PCLC) nano-fiber/nets (NFNs) was fabricated using benign solvents (acetic acid and formic acid) via the electro-spinning/netting (ESN) technique, harnessing the regenerative potential of collagen as a biological macromolecule. Additionally, to enhance the natural attributes of the NFNs structure, Propolis extract, renowned for its wound healing properties, was incorporated. Five ESN solutions were prepared: PCL, PCLC, PCLC/Pro 5 %, PCLC/Pro 10 %, and PCLC/Pro 15 %. NaCl salt was introduced into all ESN solutions to improve nanonets formation. FE-SEM imaging demonstrated successful nano-net formation in all ESN solutions except for the PCL formulation. The fabricated scaffolds exhibited spider-like nanonets with the addition of collagen and further enhanced nano-net formation with Propolis incorporation. Trunk nanofibers showed filamentous structures without any beads, with an average diameter of 164-728 nm, while the diameter of branched fibers (nanonets) was approximately 20 nm. WVTR values of the NFNs were comparable to commercial dressings such as Tegaderm. The results also demonstrated the potent cytoprotective effects of Propolis-loaded NFNs in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the viability of HFF-2 cells after 72 h of culture on PCLC NFNs significantly increased compared to PCL nanofibers. The highest cell viability was observed in PCLC/Pro 15 % nanofibers after 24, 48, and 72 h of cell culture, indicating the proliferative effect of Propolis extract in nanoformulated form. Additionally, the scaffolds exhibited a hemocompatibility of <3 %, further highlighting their potential in wound healing therapeutics.

The Mental Health of Healthcare Staff Working During the COVID-19 Crisis: Their Working Hours as a Boundary Condition.

PURPOSE: Healthcare staff operate at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 and hence face enormous physical and mental pressures. We aim to investigate healthcare staff's mental health issues and the associated predictors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this paper aims to identify some unique predictors of healthcare staff's mental health issues in Iran, the second country after China to experience a major COVID-19 crisis. METHODS: An online survey of 280 healthcare staff in all 31 provinces of Iran assessed staff's mental distress (K6), depression, and anxiety (PHQ-4) during April 5-20, 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis. RESULTS: Nearly a third of healthcare staff surpassed the cutoff for distress, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Females or more educated healthcare staff were more likely to experience distress. Those who were unsure whether they had COVID-19 were more likely to experience distress and depression symptoms. The number of COVID-19 cases among a healthcare worker's colleagues or friends positively predicted the worker's anxiety symptoms. Amongst healthcare staff, doctors were less likely than radiology technologists to experience distress and anxiety symptoms. Technicians and obstetrics staff experienced fewer anxiety symptoms. The age and the weekly working days of healthcare staff interacted such that age is asignificant predictor of mental health issues among younger but not older healthcare staff. CONCLUSION: The identification of the predictors of mental health issues can guide healthcare organizations to screen healthcare workers who are more likely to be mentally vulnerable in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Job satisfaction among nurses in Iran: does gender matter?

OBJECTIVE: Job satisfaction has attracted increasing attention of scholars of different disciplines in recent years. However, there are limited studies on nurses' job satisfaction and the impact of gender on nurses' satisfaction with their job, particularly in Iran as a developing economy. The paper aimed to examine job satisfaction among Iranian nurses. Specifically, this study aimed to explore how Iranian male and female nurses are different in their overall and the dimensions of their job satisfaction. METHODS: The population for this study was nurses who worked in public and private hospitals in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. A sample of 146 nurses in eight different hospitals was selected to participate in this survey using the random sampling method. The sample consisted of 81 female and 65 male nurses. RESULTS: Our findings revealed that job satisfaction of both male and female nurses was at a median level. Furthermore, the level of overall job satisfaction among female was low, and the mean score of the dimensions of their job satisfaction was lower than their male counterparts. Furthermore, according to the independent t-test analysis, the difference between all dimensions of job satisfaction of females and males was significant, except for their satisfaction with the specific job of nursing. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggested that overall female nurses' nursing job satisfaction was lower than males in all dimensions except for their satisfaction with their job. Yet, there was no significant difference between female and male nurses in all of the dimensions of their job satisfaction except for their satisfaction with their specific nursing job. This finding forms a basis for the development of management principles and practices, specifically in relation to human resource management in public and private hospitals in Iran.

The Impact of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Nurses' Innovation Behavior.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of entrepreneurial leadership on nurses' innovation work behavior and its dimensions. DESIGN AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study employed the 10-item Innovation Work Behavior Questionnaire and the 8-item Entrepreneurial Leadership Questionnaire to explore the impact of entrepreneurial leadership on the innovation work behavior of 273 nurses from public and private hospitals in Iran. FINDINGS: Entrepreneurial leadership had a significant positive impact on nurses' innovation work behavior and most strongly improved idea exploration, followed by idea generation, idea implementation, and idea championing. CONCLUSIONS: Entrepreneurial leadership was effective in enhancing nurses' innovation work behavior. More attention needs to be focused on developing entrepreneurial leadership competencies and on developing nurse leaders. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Healthcare policies and strategies are needed to facilitate the implementation of entrepreneurial leadership by providing healthcare leaders with the appropriate environment.