Social support as a mediator of the relationship between forgiveness and post-traumatic growth in hemodialysis patients: A structural equation modeling approach.

Background: Post-traumatic growth (PTG) refers to the positive psychological changes experienced with individuals after struggling with highly challenging life circumstances. Forgiveness can facilitate positive outcomes such as reduced distress, anxiety, and depression. Many studies have tested the relationships among forgiveness, social support, and PTG; however, a mechanism of social support has not been completely explored in hemodialysis patients. Objective: To test the relationship between forgiveness and post-traumatic growth and verify the mediating factor of social support on the relationship between forgiveness and PTG in hemodialysis patients. Materials and methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study using convenience sampling from March to May 2021, 497 hemodialysis patients from nine hospitals filled out the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), and general information. Data were analyzed using SPSS, and structural equation modeling was used to explore the relationships among forgiveness, social support, and PTG. Results: Forgiveness was significantly positively associated with PTG (P < 0.01). The proposed model provided a good fit to the data. Social support was found to play a partial mediating role between forgiveness and PTG (a*b = 0.122, BCa 95% CI: 0.078∼0.181). Conclusion: The results imply that forgiveness significantly directly and indirectly is related to PTG. Forgiveness in hemodialysis patients should be detected and effectively managed to ameliorate positive effects on PTG. It is necessary for nurses to consider implementing forgiveness interventions with an emphasis on building social support strategies to help hemodialysis patients enhance their PTG.

Layer-by-Layer Self-assembly of Co3O4 Nanorod-Decorated MoS2 Nanosheet-Based Nanocomposite toward High-Performance Ammonia Detection.

This article is the first demonstration of a molybdenum disulfide (MoS2)/tricobalt tetraoxide (Co3O4) nanocomposite film sensor toward NH3 detection. The MoS2/Co3O4 film sensor was fabricated on a substrate with interdigital electrodes via layer-by-layer self-assembly route. The surface morphology, nanostructure, and elemental composition of the MoS2/Co3O4 samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive spectrometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The characterization results confirmed its successful preparation and rationality. The NH3 sensing properties of the sensor for ultra-low-concentration detection were investigated at room temperature. The experimental results revealed that high sensitivity, good repeatability, stability, and selectivity and fast response/recovery characteristics were achieved by the sensor toward NH3. Moreover, the MoS2/Co3O4 nanocomposite film sensor exhibited significant enhancement in ammonia-sensing properties in comparison with the MoS2 and Co3O4 counterparts. The underlying sensing mechanisms of the MoS2/Co3O4 nanocomposite toward ammonia were ascribed to the layered nanostructure, synergistic effect, and heterojunction created at the interface of n-type MoS2 and p-type Co3O4. The synthesized MoS2/Co3O4 nanocomposite proved to be an excellent candidate for constructing high-performance ammonia sensor for various applications.

Facile Fabrication of MoS2-Modified SnO2 Hybrid Nanocomposite for Ultrasensitive Humidity Sensing.

An ultrasensitive humidity sensor based on molybdenum-disulfide- (MoS2)-modified tin oxide (SnO2) nanocomposite has been demonstrated in this work. The nanostructural, morphological, and compositional properties of an as-prepared MoS2/SnO2 nanocomposite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), nitrogen sorption analysis, and Raman spectroscopy, which confirmed its successful preparation and rationality. The sensing characteristics of the MoS2/SnO2 hybrid film device against relative humidity (RH) were investigated at room temperature. The RH sensing results revealed an unprecedented response, ultrafast response/recovery behaviors, and outstanding repeatability. To our knowledge, the sensor response yielded in this work was tens of times higher than that of the existing humidity sensors. Moreover, the MoS2/SnO2 hybrid nanocomposite film sensor exhibited great enhancement in humidity sensing performances as compared to the pure MoS2, SnO2, and graphene counterparts. Furthermore, complex impedance spectroscopy and bode plots were employed to understand the underlying sensing mechanisms of the MoS2/SnO2 nanocomposite toward humidity. The synthesized MoS2/SnO2 hybrid composite was proved to be an excellent candidate for constructing ultrahigh-performance humidity sensor toward various applications.

Air-Stable Black Phosphorus Devices for Ion Sensing.

Black phosphorus (BP) is one of the most attractive graphene analogues, and its properties make it a promising nanomaterial for chemical sensing. However, mono- and few-layer BP flakes are reported to chemically degrade rapidly upon exposure to ambient conditions. Therefore, little is known about the performance and sensing mechanism of intrinsic BP, and chemical sensing of intrinsic BP with acceptable air stability remains only theoretically explored. Here, we experimentally demonstrated the first air-stable high-performance BP sensor using ionophore coating. Ionophore-encapsulated BP demonstrated significantly improved air stability. Its performance and sensing mechanism for trace ion detection were systematically investigated. The BP sensors were able to realize multiplex ion detection with superb selectivity, and sensitive to Pb(2+) down to 1 ppb. Additionally, the time constant for ion adsorption extracted was only 5 s. The detection limit and response rate of BP were both superior to those of graphene based sensors. Moreover, heavy metal ions can be effectively detected over a wide range of concentration with BP conductance change following the Langmuir isotherm for molecules adsorption on surface. The simplicity of this ionophore-encapsulate approach provides a route for achieving air-stable intrinsic black phosphorus sensors that may stimulate further fundamental research and potential applications.