Structural equation model based on salutogenesis theory for evaluating factors affecting health-related quality of life in adolescents with moyamoya disease.

Moyamoya disease is a cerebrovascular disorder and a significant chronic health concern requiring regular monitoring to control the disease and its related complications. We examined a hypothetical model by integrating the concepts of a structural health-related quality-of-life model based on the salutogenesis theory, and to identify how social support, sense of coherence, and stress contribute to health behaviors, subjective health status, and quality of life in adolescents with moyamoya disease among 239 adolescents in Korea. A structural equation model was used to analyze the data. The fitness of the hypothetical model with the salutogenesis theory was satisfactory, showing that the goodness-of-fit index = 0.91, adjusted goodness-to-fit index = 0.90, comparative fit index = 0.92, normed fit index = 0.91, incremental fit index = 0.91, standardized root mean squared residual = 0.04, root mean square error of approximation = 0.07, parsimony normed fit index = 0.61, parsimony goodness of fit index = 0.51. The model explained 68.9% of quality of life. Health behavior (ß = -0.173, p = 0.467) and stress (ß = -0.557, p < 0.001) had significant direct and total effects on quality of life. Sense of coherence had a significant direct (ß = 0.371, p = 0.003), indirect (ß = 0.220, p = 0.013), and total (ß = 0.590, p < 0.001) effect on quality of life. This study found that sense of coherence was significant factors contributing to lower stress, improved health status, and quality of life in adolescents with moyamoya disease. To improve the quality of life for adolescents with moyamoya disease, comprehensive nursing interventions need to be developed and applied.

Cultural factors affecting the self-care of cancer survivors: An integrative review.

PURPOSE: For cancer survivors, self-care is an important factor that can improve health and quality of life. Cultures known to inform human behavior can influence self-care, such as prioritizing various self-care practices or utilizing other resources. The impact of culture on cancer survivors' self-care has not been adequately investigated to date. The purpose of this integrative review is to summarize and synthesize the past empirical literature examining cultural factors affecting cancer survivors' self-care. DESIGN: An integrative review was conducted. METHODS: This study was performed in accordance with Whittemore and Knafl's stages of an integrative review (problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, data analysis, and presentation of the results). A literature search was conducted using PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Embase, Web of Science (WOS), and the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBBS) computerized databases with the guidance of a medical librarian. RESULTS: The review incorporated 16 articles. Cultural values, cultural beliefs, fatalism, social norms, faith/religion, sexual roles, and customs were identified as cultural factors affecting the self-care of cancer survivors. These cultural factors were found to influence the behaviors of cancer survivors' health maintenance (healthy life and psychological well-being), self-care monitoring (physical symptoms and complication symptoms), and self-care management (coping with symptoms and response to symptoms). CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide valuable insights into the cultural influence of cancer survivors on self-care behaviors, and healthcare providers can promote self-care behaviors if they understand cultural factors and develop nursing interventions that take cultural influences into account.

A structural equation model of developing a partnership between pediatric nurses and parents of children with cancer in South Korea.

PURPOSE: A trust-based cooperative partnership between pediatric nurses and parents of children with cancer is a significant factor in improving parents' coping abilities and reducing their anxiety. We aimed to identify factors and construct a structural equation model of developing a partnership between pediatric nurses and parents of children with cancer in South Korea. The model was based on Lazarus and Folkman's stress-coping-adaptation model. DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were collected utilizing a structured questionnaire, which included the following variables: parental stress, perceived nursing support, empowerment, coping, communication with nurses and nurse-parents partnership. The study participants included 205 parents of children diagnosed with cancer and receiving treatment as either inpatients or outpatients in South Korea. We used SPSS/WIN 26.0 to analyze the data and AMOS 26.0 to conduct the structural equation modeling. RESULTS: Empowerment (ß = 0.536, p = 0.001) and communication with nurses (ß = 0.169, p = 0.021) explained 26.0% of the total variance of nurse-parents partnership. CONCLUSIONS: The final model constructed here was confirmed to be suitable for explaining and predicting parent-nurse partnerships. Our results are meaningful in constructing partnership model between pediatric nurses and parents of children with cancer based on conceptual model. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Strategies and efforts to enhance communication with nurses and parental empowerment will be helpful for enhancing parent-nurse partnerships as children and parents go through the treatment process.

The Moyamoya Health Behavior Scale for Adolescent Patients: Measurement Tool Development and Psychometric Evaluation.

Clinical practitioners treating moyamoya disease recognize the need for a systematic approach to better manage the disease in adolescent patients with the disease. Methods: This study aimed to develop and evaluate the validity and reliability of a disease scale which measures the health-related behaviors of adolescents with moyamoya disease. Results: The final 12-item Moyamoya-HB Scale for adolescents was categorized by three sub-domains: implementation of treatment for moyamoya disease (four items); health promoting behavior for moyamoya disease (four items); and health coping behavior for moyamoya disease (four items). Overall, these factors explained 68.97% of the total variance. The results of the confirmative factor analysis supported the construct, convergent and discriminant validity of the three sub-domains. The Moyamoya-HB Scale for adolescents also demonstrated a concurrent validity with the Korean Adolescents' Health Behaviors Tool (r = 0.59, p < 0.001). Reliability analysis showed an acceptable-to-high Cronbach's alpha of 0.865 in total, and the subscales ranged from 0.800 to 0.841. Conclusions: Initial findings support the Moyamoya-HB Scale as a reliable and valid measure of health behaviors in adolescents with moyamoya disease.

Validity and Reliability of the Sense of Coherence Scale among Korean Adolescents with Chronic Diseases.

BACKGROUND: This study adapted the Sense of Coherence (SOC) Scale for Korean adolescents with chronic diseases and evaluated its psychometric properties. PURPOSE: This study aimed to validate the Sense of Coherence Scale for Korean adolescents with Chronic Disease (SOC-AC). DESIGN AND METHODS: This study employed the cross-sectional design. In total, 144 adolescents with chronic diseases (age: 15.07 ± 1.62 years; 58% male) responded to the study questionnaire, which included the 13-item SOC scale (SOC-13) and the 10-item Children's Depression Inventory. The SOC-13 was shortened to create the 10-item SOC-AC. Through an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). RESULTS: Following the EFA, two items (Item 8 and 13) with low factor loadings were deleted. Further, following the CFA, one item (Item 2) with a high modification index was deleted. The resulting 10-item SOC-AC exhibited a 3-factor structure comprising the subscales of meaningfulness (Item 4, 7, and 12), comprehensibility-manageability (Item 3, 5, 9, and 11), and resilience (Item 1, 6, and 10). The internal consistency of the SOC-AC was 0.868; the Cronbach's alpha values were 0.765, 0.78, and 0.529 for the meaningfulness, comprehensibility-manageability, and resilience subscales. The Pearson's correlation coefficient for the association between the SOC-13 and depression showed acceptable criterion-related validity (r = -0.436, p < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that the SOC-AC has satisfactory psychometric properties and that it is useful for assessing SOC in adolescents with chronic diseases. PRACTICE IMPLICATION: This study revealed the utility of the examined scale to measure SOC as a means of health promotion and care in adolescents with chronic diseases.

Pt2+-Exchanged ZIF-8 nanocube as a solid-state precursor for L10-PtZn intermetallic nanoparticles embedded in a hollow carbon nanocage.

Nanoparticles with an atomically ordered alloy phase have received enormous attention for application as catalysts in fuel cells because of their unique electronic properties resulting from unusually strong d-orbital interactions between two metal components. However, the synthesis of intermetallic nanoparticles requires a high reaction temperature, thus necessitating the protection of nanoparticles with inorganic layers to prevent aggregation of nanoparticles during synthesis. The protective layer needs to be removed later for application as a catalyst, which is a cumbersome process. Herein, a novel synthetic strategy is reported for the preparation of L10-PtZn intermetallic nanoparticles by utilizing Pt2+-exchanged ZIF-8 nanocubes as a solid-state precursor. The Pt2+-exchanged ZIF-8 phase plays a dual role as a metal ion source for L10-PtZn nanoparticles and as a carbonaceous matrix that restrains the aggregation of nanoparticles during thermal treatment. The L10-PtZn nanoparticles embedded in a hollow carbon nanocage obtained from one-step annealing of Pt2+-exchanged ZIF-8 showed better electrocatalytic activity and durability toward methanol oxidation under acidic electrolyte conditions than those obtained from commercial Pt/C catalysts.

Hierarchical Nanoboxes Composed of Co9 S8 -MoS2 Nanosheets as Efficient Electrocatalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

The development of hydrogen evolution catalysts based on nonprecious metals is essential for the practical application of water-splitting devices. Herein, the synthesis of Co9 S8 -MoS2 hierarchical nanoboxes (HNBs) as efficient catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is reported. The surface of the hollow cubic structure was organized by CoMoS4 nanosheets formed through the reaction of MoS42- and Co2+ released from the cobalt zeolite imidazole framework (ZIF-67) templates under reflux in a mixture of water/ethanol. The formation process for the CoMoS4 HNB structures was characterized by TEM images recorded at various reaction temperatures. The amorphous CoMoS4 HNBs were converted through sequential heat treatments into CoSx -MoS2 and Co9 S8 -MoS2 HNBs. Owing to their unique chemical compositions and structural features, Co9 S8 -MoS2 HNBs have a high specific surface area (124.6 m2 g-1 ) and superior electrocatalytic performances for the HER. The Co9 S8 -MoS2 HNBs exhibit a low overpotential (η10 ) of 106 mV, a low Tafel slope of 51.8 mV dec-1 , and long-term stability in an acidic medium. The electrocatalytic activity of Co9 S8 -MoS2 HNBs is superior to that of recently reported values, and these HNBs prove to be promising candidates for the HER.

The effect of the counteranion on the formation of mesoporous materials under the acidic synthesis process.

The presence of various counteranions at the interfacial region of the silicate-surfactant mesophase introduces opportunities for manipulation of the phase structure. Well-ordered 3D-hexagonal P63/mmc, cubic Pmn, 2D-hexagonal p6mm, and cubic Iad mesoporous materials have been synthesized with the same surfactant, cetyltriethylammonium bromide, in the presence of various acids. The counteranions of acidic media have resulted in increasing the surfactant packing parameter g in the order SO42- < Cl- < Br- < NO3-, which leads to the different time course of formation of mesostructures. The effect of counteranions on the formation of mesostructures is explained in terms of not only the adsorption strength on the headgroups of the surfactant micelle but also the rate of silica condensation affecting the charge density matching between the surfactant and silica. It has been found that the mesophase is always transformed from the larger g parameter into the smaller one. The distinct morphologies of the 3D-hexagonal P63/mmc mesophases have been rationally explained by supposing this particular mesostructure. The cubic Iad phase has been first synthesized under acidic conditions.