Optimal Scaling Regression Research Articles

Assessing variation in the perception of urban ecosystem services at the sub-city level

ABSTRACT Assessing residents’ perceptions of urban ecosystem services (UESs) is crucial for incorporating it into environmental management. However, evaluations seldom consider variations in perceptions at sub-city scale. Our study demonstrates how UES perceptions varies at sub-city level through a case study in Beijing, China. We interviewed 550 residents of Beijing’s oldest and newest urban zones to obtain their perceptions of 10 UES types. We analysed participants’ responses using importance-performance analysis, optimal scale regression, and textual analysis. Results showed that residents confirmed the value of UES in both zones. However, differences existed in their perceptions of several UESs, reflecting different environmental problems between two zones. Additionally, education, gender, and age significantly affected residents’ perceptions. Residents in both zones prioritised greenery-expanding activities for improving UES performance. Based on these findings, we recommend that variances in UES perception be considered when managing urban ecosystems to improve its supply and contribute to human well-being.

Current status and development perspectives of learning ability building for nurses in new hospitals: a cross-sectional survey

BackgroundAs a dynamically developing medical institution, the new hospital places patients at the center of it focus. It investigates the status quo of nurses' learning ability and aims to comprehensively improve their medical nursing ability. Despite this objective, few studies have been conducted on the learning ability of nurses in new hospitals.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among nursing at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University in 2022–2023.In this survey design, a total of 410 nurses in a new tertiary general hospital completed questionnaires, with 402 valid questionnaires collected. Optimal scale regression was used to analyse the factors influencing nurses' learning ability in newly built hospitals.ResultsThe overall score of nurses' learning ability in the new hospital averaged 140.27 ± 36.49, indicating a high level of proficiency. The results showed that age, length of service, daily working hours, and monthly income could influence the learning ability of nurses in new hospitals, with a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05).ConclusionsThese findings suggest that it is necessary for nursing managers in new hospitals to pay attention to factors such as nurses' age, work experience, daily working hours and income in developing nurse education programmes to improve nurses' learning capacity. For the development of high quality nursing in new hospitals.

Factors associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms among anophthalmic patients wearing ocular prostheses

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among individuals with ocular prostheses and to identify factors associated with these psychological symptoms. A sample of patients who underwent monocular enucleation and socket implantation participated in the study, responding to digital questionnaires covering demographics, psychosocial factors, and aspects related to their ocular prostheses. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were evaluated using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), respectively. Optimal scale regression analysis was employed to explore factors linked to psychological symptoms in ocular prosthesis users. Results from 100 valid participants revealed a 51% prevalence of depressive symptoms and a 45% prevalence of anxiety symptoms. The mean PHQ-9 score was 4.91 &amp;plusmn; 1.98, and the mean GAD-7 score was 4.99 &amp;plusmn; 2.15. Factors such as undergoing right eye enucleation, longer duration of ocular prosthesis use, comfort with prosthesis wearing, and greater satisfaction correlated with milder depressive symptoms. In terms of anxiety, those who used ocular prostheses due to trauma or tumors were affected by more severe symptoms, while individuals who were comfortable with their prosthesis or using alumina-based prostheses reported fewer anxiety symptoms. In conclusion, ocular prosthesis users wrestle with significant challenges of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Factors including age, household registration, economic status, enucleation side, cause of anophthalmos, prosthetic material, and satisfaction and duration of prosthesis use were associated with depressive or anxiety symptoms. Long-term comprehensive care targeting these vulnerable individuals is imperative to alleviate depression and anxiety.

Environmental vulnerability as a public priority: The view of local economic elites

AbstractThe study explains the factors leading local economic elites (LEEs) to consider vulnerability to natural hazards (VNH) a priority public problem. An Optimal Scaling Regression model was estimated based on information from 57 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) cities. The estimation included variables related to risk exposure, social conditions, and disaster management instruments. The central factors that explain why LEEs consider VNH a priority problem are the level of real exposure to natural risks and a high proportion of the local population living in poverty. LEEs seem to assume that the social deprivations that accentuate environmental vulnerability should be treated independently of the problem of equity; LEEs seem to relativize the VNH problem as the size of the city increases by assuming that VNH does not affect the whole city; government instruments for the management of natural hazards do not exert any influence on the perception of LEEs on environmental vulnerability. The findings help us to understand the low collective effectiveness of emergency management instruments in the LAC region.

Optimal Scaling Appraisal of Maturity Status of Nigerian Polytechnic Education in Industry 4.0

The first industrial revolution in the 18th century is related to the transformation to mechanization by using hydro power and steam power to second, third and a new concept referred to as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) that combine Internet of Things (IoT) technologies with the manufacturing which is seen as a significant paradigm shift in industrial manufacturing, named as Industry 4.0 (4IR). This study explored the perspectives of people on the lingering issue of maturity of Nigerian Polytechnics in terms of 4th industrial revolution; thus, the paper aimed at appraising the maturity status of Nigerian polytechnics in the industry 4.0 using Optimal Categorical Scaling Regression (Catreg). Data collection was cross-region in Nigeria. This research used the stratified sampling method to ensure a proper spread and it was designed in line with descriptive survey, systematically examining the maturity status of their institution on 4IR through the primary data collected with the aid of questionnaire and focus group discussion from the stakeholders in private and public Nigerian polytechnics. The data were sourced from 18 Polytechnics, 1 each from federal, state and private in each geographical zone. Inferential statistical tools of optimal scaling regression analysis were deployed. The analysis inferred that eagerness of leaders and competence as well as modern ICT and mobile devices are fully mature but implementation of 4IR road-map, decentralization, modelling and simulation, sharing knowledge and open innovation, ICT competence and openness to new technology are still maturing. It is recommended that the educational policy and a blueprint of education for Industry 4.0 should be formulated and implemented to meet the global standard of education.

Analysis of factors influencing cardiovascular surgical nurses' emergency response capabilities, self-efficacy, and coping strategies.

To investigate the emergency response capabilities of cardiovascular surgical nurses, analyze their correlation with self-efficacy and coping styles, and summarize targeted intervention measures. A total of 243 cardiovascular surgical nurses from comprehensive tertiary Grade A hospitals in Jiangsu Province were selected using convenience sampling from October to November 2023. Participants were surveyed using a general information questionnaire, an emergency response capability assessment scale for operating room nurses, a general self-efficacy scale, and a simplified coping style scale. The total scores were 114.77±12.39 for emergency response capability, 2.69±0.58 for self-efficacy, 2.02±0.54 for positive coping style, and 1.16±0.53 for negative coping style. Pearson correlation analysis showed that emergency response capability was positively correlated with self-efficacy and positive coping styles and negatively correlated with negative coping styles (all P<0.05). Optimal scaling regression analysis indicated seven factors; age, years of work, professional level, title, self-efficacy, positive coping style, and negative coping style, which could explain 39.0% of the variation in emergency response capability (all P<0.05). The emergency response capabilities of cardiovascular surgical nurses are moderately high and closely related to their self-efficacy and coping styles. Emergency rescue training for cardiovascular surgical nurses should aim at enhancing self-efficacy and positive coping styles by, for example, setting clear training goals, focusing on individual differences, fostering of active learning, and stimulating their intrinsic motivation to enhance their emergency response capabilities. These changes will lead to more organized and efficient cardiovascular surgical emergency work.

Evolving Trends and Influencing Factors of the Rural Green Development Level in Chongqing

Rural green development is a concrete practice of rural revitalization. Currently, research on quantitative evaluation methods for rural green development levels are not well developed. In this study, an evaluation model of the rural green development level in Chongqing City, China was developed based on the parameters of ecology, living, and production. An entropy weight method, Theil index, optimal scale regression model, and GIS were used to analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics, trends, and influencing factors of the rural green development level from 2018 to 2020 in Chongqing City. The results showed that: (1) the overall “ecology, living, and production” dimensions and the comprehensive index of the development level in the city were generally increasing, and the proportion of counties at a high-level increased from 23.68% in 2018 to 81.58% in 2020; (2) the Theil index of the city in was 0.0185, 0.0121, and 0.0114 in 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively, indicating that the differences in development level among regions decreased as the development level increased; (3) the level of rural green development showed a clear upwards trend, and the proportion of counties with low-speed growth, medium-speed growth, and high-speed growth from 2018 to 2020 was 5.26%, 81.58%, and 13.16%, respectively; and (4) the optimal scale regression analysis showed that the factors with greater impacts on the rural green development level are social security and employment expenditure level of government finance, health expenditure level of government finance, with their contributions is 40.3% and 26%, respectively. The results from this study demonstrate the significance of exploring research methods for rural green development and ways to improve the level of rural green development.

The Dominant Livelihood Types of Farm Households and Their Determinants in Key Ecological Function Areas

The dominant livelihood types of farm households have become increasingly differentiated in recent years, which has attracted the attention of researchers. Identifying the characteristics and driving factors of household livelihood differentiation is of great significance for revealing man-land relationship and policy making. Based on the interview data of farm households in typical villages in key ecological function areas of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China, we analyzed the pattern of the dominant diversified livelihood types and the livelihood characteristics among different farm households. Then we assessed the driving forces of livelihood diversification by optimal scaling regression. The results indicated that: (1) In the study area, the dominant livelihood types show two trends of agriculturally dominant livelihood (accounting for 53.07%) and non-agriculturally dominant livelihood (accounting for 46.93%). Moreover, farm households in the agro-pastoral areas are mainly agriculturally dominated (accounting for 75.68%), while farm households in the mountainous areas are mainly non-agriculturally dominated (accounting for 66.93%). (2) The labor allocation and income source of different types of farm households are consistent with their dominant livelihood types. The farm households with agriculturally dominant livelihoods have more natural resources than those with non-agriculturally dominant livelihoods. In terms of housing conditions, farm households with agriculturally dominant livelihoods are inferior to those with non-agriculturally dominant livelihoods. (3) The farm labor, dependency ratio, agricultural income, supplemental income and locational conditions have negative impacts on the non-agricultural trend of farm household livelihood decisions, while off-farm labor, non-farm income, education level and the per capita amount of compensation have significant positive impacts on it.

A validation study on the factors affecting the practice modes of open peer review

In this paper we conduct a validation study on the factors affecting the practice modes of open peer review. Taking the Open Access Journals (OAJ) in Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) as the research objects, we crawled the internet to gather their relevant data. Based on the method of categorical variable assignment, a quantitative analysis was performed on the qualitative factors that affect the practice modes of open peer review. A multi-dimensional analysis chart is used to illustrate the relationships between the factors. Optimal scale regression modeling and discriminant analysis were also employed to reveal the degrees of influences by the factors. The public categories of “type of open peer review” and “reviewer identity” are closely related to each other. “Reviewer identity” has evident positive influence on “type of open peer review”, and the degree of influence is the highest. Therefore, “reviewer identity” is the primary and most crucial factor affecting open peer review practice modes. “Review report” and “order of review report and publication” are the secondary ones. Whether or not the identities of review experts are open has become the most important factor affecting the practice modes of open peer review. Transparent peer review is currently the most effective practice mode of open peer review. Technologies like block chain can be used to address the psychological uneasiness for the peer review experts who are concerned with privacy issues. The fact that most OAJs use “pre-publication review” shows that open peer review still plays the traditional role of “academic goalkeeper”. Publication of peer review reports actually helps peer review experts augment their reputation, which in turn practically promotes the development of open peer review.

Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process Used to Determine the Significance of the Contributing Factors for Generalized Travel Satisfaction

This study develops the Generalized Satisfaction with Travel Scale covering travelers’ all-round emotional experience and cognitive evaluation. After checking the validity by factor analysis, the key influencing factors are extracted by optimal scale regression, and then the influence degree of key influencing factors is determined based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The reliability and validity of the developed Generalized Satisfaction with Travel Scale meet the requirements. The dynamic travel parameters (travel pattern, travel duration, etc.) (βs1 = 0.448) have the most important impact on generalized travel satisfaction, followed by the demographic information (age, occupation, etc.) (βs2 = 0.220) and static travel parameters (travel period, travel purpose, etc.) (βs3 = 0.178), whereas the main travel areas (residential area, work/study area) (βs4 = 0.154) have the weakest influence. This study aims at developing a Generalized Satisfaction with Travel Scale for Chinese travelers and exploring the influencing factors so as to provide an efficient travel experience survey mechanism for relevant departments.

Government Trust, Environmental Pollution Perception, and Environmental Governance Satisfaction.

Environmental governance is related to the healthy living standard of human beings and the sustainable development of an economic society. It is of great significance to explore the influence of government trust and environmental pollution perception on environmental governance satisfaction to improve the performance of government environmental governance. Based on the CSS2019 survey data, 3872 survey samples were statistically analyzed, and the optimal scale regression model was used to analyze the relationship between government trust, environmental pollution perception, and environmental governance satisfaction. The results showed that 52.27% of the respondents believed that the satisfaction of environmental governance was good, and both government trust and environmental pollution perception had significant positive effects on the satisfaction of environmental governance. The trust level of the central government, district and county governments, and township governments shows a “differential government trust” state, which is pyramidal. However, the impact of government trust on environmental governance satisfaction shows an inverted pyramid structure, and the township government has the largest effect, which is not matched with the distribution of government trust level. The influence effect of air pollution perception is relatively large, and the public is sensitive to air pollution. Government trust has an impact on the satisfaction of environmental governance through the “expectation-response” path. People are close to the township government and have the opportunity to contact and interact with the township government and its staff. They can directly observe the governance performance and share the public goods of environmental governance. Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the trust level of township governments, strengthen the control of air pollution and improve the township government’s environmental governance ability.

Multi-center Retrospective Study of Factors Affecting Perioperative Transfusion of Packed Red Blood Cells for Pelvic Fracture Patients.

ObjectiveTo analyze the use of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) for patients with pelvic fracture and evaluate factors associated with PRBC transfusion for patients with pelvic fracture.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study collected 551 patients with pelvic fractures from six hospitals between September 1, 2012, and June 31, 2019. The age span of patients varied from 10 to 95 years old, and they were classified into two groups based on high‐energy pelvic fractures (HE‐PFs) or low‐energy pelvic fractures (LE‐PFs). The study's outcome was the use of PRBCs, fresh frozen plasma (FFP), and albumin. Demographic data, characteristics, laboratory tests, clinical treatment details, and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups. Factors that were statistically associated with perioperative PRBCs in univariate analyses were included to conduct an optimal scale regression to determine the independent factors for perioperative PRBCs.ResultsA total of 551 patients were screened from six hospitals, and after inclusion and exclusion, 319 were finally included and finished the follow‐up from admission to discharge, while four patients died during hospitalization. Three hundred and nineteen patients were classified into two groups by their injury mechanisms. A total of 230/319 (72.1%) patients were classified into the HE‐PF group, and 89/319 (27.8%) patients were classified into the LE‐PF group. Patients in the HE‐PF group were transfused with 4.5 (3–8) units of PRBCs, 300 (0–600) ml of FFP, and 0 (0–30) g of albumin, while patients in the LE‐PF group were transfused with 3.5 (2–4.5) units of PRBCs, 0 (0–295) ml of FFP, and 0 (0–0) g of albumin (all P < 0.001). There were higher proportions of male patients and patients under 65 in the HE‐PF group (all P < 0.001). HE‐PF group patients were more severely injured and likely to take external fixation. The optimal scale regression revealed four significant factors associated with perioperative transfused PRBCs, which were patients on admission with hemorrhagic shock (importance = 0.283, P = 0.004), followed by fracture types identified by Tile classification (importance = 0.156, P < 0.001), hemoglobin levels below 70 g/L on admission (importance = 0.283, P = 0.004), followed by fracture types identified by Tile classification (importance = 0.156, P < 0.001), hemoglobin levels below 70 g/L on admission (importance = 0.148, P = 0.039), and methods of pelvic fixation (importance = 0.008, P = 0.026), ranked by the importance.ConclusionPatients with HE‐PFs had increased transfusions of PRBCs, FFP, and albumin, and hemorrhagic shock on admission, Tile classification, Hb levels, and stabilization methods were found to be associated with perioperative PRBCs.

Perceived Family Function and Associated Predictors in Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BackgroundNurses play a key role in the health care system. However, clinical nurses experience different kinds of stressors that might impact the nurses' quality of life or quality of care. Family is one of the main social support resources, and quality family function might improve the quality of care provided by nurses. However, evidence on family function in Chinese clinical nurses is quite limited.ObjectivesThe current study was to evaluate the family function of the Chinese clinical nurses, and to explore associated predicting factors.MethodsA multi-center cross-sectional anonymous online survey was carried out. Chinese Family Function Scale was used in the study. Spearman's rank correlation analysis, Mann-Whitney U test, or Kruskal-Wallis H test was performed in the univariate analysis. The pairwise comparison method was used to determine whether the difference was significant between pair groups. Categorical regression (optimal scaling regression) was the main method to analyze factors that had been confirmed to be statistically significant in the univariate analysis.ResultsNineteen thousand four hundred and twenty-two nurses completed the online questionnaires. The median of the nurse's perceived family function score was three (Inter-quartile Range: IQR 2–5). The multivariate analysis showed that the highest education level (P <0.001), the hospital level (P <0 .001), rotation shift status (P <0.001), working department (P < 0.001), number of children (P < 0.001), monthly income per family member (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with family function. Moreover, the importance of the factors was the number of children (49.1%), monthly income per family member (20.7%), rotation shift status (12.4%), the highest education level (8.0%), the hospital level (7.6%), and working department (2.4%) in turn.ConclusionsThe family function was associated with multiple factors, which hints that managers, leaders, and government could make strategies to improve nurses' family function in order to lead nurses to make a balance between family and work. Policymakers, nursing managers, and employers should make strategies such as promoting children-care services, increasing nurses' income, educating and training enough nurses, and building a well-established system of career development to help clinical nurses improve their family function so that to improve the quality of care.

The Effect of Media Campaign and Environmental Education on Flood Control in Osun State, Nigeria

According to a report by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Osun State was identified as one of the flood-prone areas and the residents believe that the government should have been proactive to avert this occurrence. It is expected that relevant government agencies and policy makers would be well prepared to respond adequately to the incidence of flood in their area following the release of the outlook. To achieve this, media campaign and environmental education are suggested to be veritable tools to combat incessant flooding in Nigeria, Osun State in particular. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of media campaign and environmental education on flood control and sustainable development in Osun State. Hence, to achieve this, quantitative survey research method was employed for this study and the data used were collected through administered questionnaires in Osogbo, Ife, Ede and Ilesha. Data collected were described and analysed using statistical tools of frequency, percentage and Inferential statistics of Optimal Scaling Regression analysis (ORS) for categorical data. The study discovered that media campaign and environmental education are among the steps that aid flood control and sustainable development in Osun State. It is recommended that policies should be made and implemented on teaching environmental studies in basic schools to start the sensitization process regarding flood management and prevention. Also, the media industry in Nigeria should step up their surveillance role.

Sample Farmers Analysis of Factors Influencing Production of Economic Forest Products

This paper focuses on the scale efficiency of dried fruit economic forestry production in Shandong Province. Based on the analysis of the basic characteristics of the production of economic forest products by the sample farmers, the main factors influencing the production of economic forest products by the sample farmers were further analyzed using the optimal scale regression method. Factor analysis is a statistical method that uses a few factors to describe the association between many indicators or factors, reflecting most of the information of the original data with fewer factors. It provides some suggestions for farmers’ production activities and government decision making.

Dosimetric analysis of ultrasound-guided high intensity focused ultrasound ablation for breast fibroadenomas: a retrospective study

Objective To investigate the factors influencing the sonication dosage and efficiency of ultrasound-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (USgHIFU) for breast fibroadenomas. Materials and Methods Forty-nine patients with 78 breast fibroadenomas who underwent USgHIFU were retrospectively analyzed. The energy efficiency factor (EEF) was set as dependent variable, and the factors possibly influencing the sonication dosage, including age, body mass index (BMI), fibroadenoma size, distance from the shallow margin of the fibroadenoma to skin, distance from the deep margin of the fibroadenoma to pectoralis major, types of near field acoustic pathway, and Adler blood flow classification of ultrasound, were set as independent variables. The correlation between EEF and these independent variables were analyzed, and an optimal scaling regression model was established. Results Fibroadenoma size, distance from the shallow margin of the fibroadenoma to skin and type of near field acoustic pathway had significant correlation with EEF (p < 0.05). An EEF (ŷ) dosimetry model of ŷ= −0.496X1 + 0.287X2 + 0.203X3 was established, in which X1 stands for size of fibroadenoma, X2 stands for the distance from shallow margin of the fibroadenoma to skin, and X3 stands for type of near field acoustic pathway. The predicted EEF value was significantly related to actual EEF (R = 0.698, p = 0.000). Conclusions Fibroadenoma size, distance from the shallow margin of the fibroadenoma to skin and type of near field acoustic pathway could be used as predictors to evaluate the dosage delivery of USgHIFU treatment for breast fibroadenomas.

Study on Group Differences in Migrant Workers' Urban Integration in China.

ObjectiveThis manuscript evaluates and tests the group differences in migrant workers’ urban integration from the perspectives of individual characteristics and migration characteristics, so as to provide theoretical support and practical guidance for the government to issue more effective assistance policies.MethodsMultilevel comprehensive evaluation method and Entropy method are used to calculate the urban integration level of migrant workers, and one-way ANOVA and optimal scaling regression are used to test the group differences in migrant workers’ urban integration.ResultsBased on the questionnaire data of 854 migrant workers in China, the scale of migrant workers’ urban integration has good reliability and validity. The overall level of migrant workers’ urban integration is 49.61% and there exist group differences in migrant workers’ urban integration. The impact of education level, income level, and migration time on migrant workers’ urban integration is significantly positive, whereas the impact of migration distance on migrant workers’ urban integration is significantly negative. The urban integration level of migrant workers who have family members accompanying them is higher than that of migrant workers who have no family members accompanying them. Gender, age, and marriage have no significant impact on migrant workers’ urban integration.Strengths and Limitations of This StudyThis study aims to measure and test the group differences in migrant workers’ urban integration using ANOVA and optimal scaling regression. However, the shortcomings of this study are the selection of the “migrant workers’ urban integration” scale and the representativeness of the sample used in this study.ConclusionThere are group differences in migrant workers’ urban integration with different education levels, income levels, migration distances, migration times, and statuses of family members accompanying. In the policy of promoting migrant workers’ urban integration, we should accurately count the characteristics of migrant workers and give more attention to migrant workers with low education levels, low-income levels, long migration distances, short migration times, and no family accompany.

Relationship between subgroups of central and lateral lymph node metastasis in clinically node-negative papillary thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUNDLymph node metastasis (LNM) of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has a certain regularity and occurs first to the central lymph node and then to the lateral lymph node. The pathway of PTC LNM can guide surgical prophylactic lymph node dissection (LND) for clinical surgeons.AIMTo investigate the relationship between subgroups of central LNM and lateral LNM in unilateral clinically node-negative PTC (cN0-PTC).METHODSData were collected for 1089 PTC patients who underwent surgical treatment at the Department of Endocrine and Breast Surgery of the First Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2016 to December 2017. A total of 388 unilateral cN0-PTC patients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in this study. The clinical and pathological data for these 388 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy + central LND + lateral LND were retrospectively analyzed. The relationship between the central LNM and lateral LNM subgroups was investigated.RESULTSThe coincidence rate of cN0-PTC was only 30.0%.Optimal scaling regression analysis showed that sex (57.1% vs 42.9%, P = 0.026), primary tumor size (68.8% vs 31.2%, P = 0.008), tumor location (59.7% vs 40.3%, P = 0.007), extrathyroid extension (ETE) (50.6% vs 49.9%, P = 0.046), and prelaryngeal LNM (57.1% vs 42.9%, P = 0.004) were significantly associated with ipsilateral level-II LNM. Their importance levels were 0.122, 0.213, 0.172, 0.110, and 0.227, respectively. Primary tumor size (74.6% vs 30.2%, P = 0.016), pretracheal LNM (67.5% vs 32.5%, P < 0.001), and paratracheal LNM (71.4% vs 28.6%, P < 0.001) were significantly associated with ipsilateral level-III LNM. Their importance levels were 0.120, 0.408, and 0.351, respectively. Primary tumor size (72.1% vs 27.9%, P = 0.003), ETE (70.4% vs 29.6%, P = 0.016), pretracheal LNM (68.3% vs 31.7%, P=0.001), and paratracheal LNM (80.8% vs 19.2%, P < 0.001) were significantly associated with ipsilateral level-IV LNM. Their importance levels were 0.164, 0.146, 0.216, and 0.472, respectively. CONCLUSIONThe LNM pathway of thyroid cancer has a certain regularity. For unilateral cN0-PTC patients with a tumor diameter > 2 cm and pretracheal or ipsilateral paratracheal LNM, LND at ipsilateral level III and level IV must be considered. When there is a tumor in the upper third of the thyroid with prelaryngeal LNM, LND at level II, level III and level IV must be considered.

Tibetan Herders’ Life Satisfaction and Determinants under the Pastureland Rehabilitation Program: A Case Study of Maduo County, China

The Pastureland Rehabilitation Program (PRP) has been implemented for nearly 20 years, and the lives of herders in different regions have been affected to varying degrees. The level of people’s well-being could measure the success of policy. Taking Maduo County as an example, the life satisfaction of 266 Tibetan herders was investigated through a participatory questionnaire survey in July 2021. Multiple linear regression and optimal scale regression were constructed to analyze the impact of the satisfaction of different aspects of life and PRP on life satisfaction, respectively. The results show that the herders in Maduo County had relative high satisfaction in various aspects of life and overall life, and leisure and consumption were important aspects influencing life satisfaction. The relative living standard, the difficulty in borrowing and the quality of government services had a significant positive impact on herders’ life satisfaction. Occupation and migration location also led to the significant differences of life satisfaction. However, the income changes caused by PRP and subsidy levels did not show a significant impact. We discussed the particularity of Maduo County and suggested that more attention should be paid to the improvement of the social environment such as wealth disparity, channels of assistance, working environment, and the effective assistance formulated according to the demands of different groups needs to be optimized continuously, so as to enhance the self-development ability of herders.

The status and predictors of self‐care among older adults with hypertension in China using the Chinese version of Self‐Care of Hypertension Inventory – A cross‐sectional study

AimTo investigate the status and predictors of self‐care among older adults with hypertension in China by the Chinese version of Self‐Care of Hypertension Inventory.DesignA cross‐sectional questionnaire survey.MethodsA convenience sampling of 544 older adults with hypertension was surveyed using the Chinese version of Self‐Care of Hypertension Inventory. SPSS25.0 software was used for statistical analysis of the data. Generalized liner model univariate analysis and the optimal scaling regression analysis were performed to investigate the predictors of self‐care.ResultsThe status of self‐care was poor with the median and inter‐quartile range of total scores of self‐care (140.00 ± 67), the scores of self‐care maintenance (50 ± 24.76), the scores of self‐care management (56.25 ± 29.41) and the scores of self‐care confidence (54.79 ± 29.17). Age, family model, primary caregiver, maximum systolic blood pressure, coverage of medical insurance, disease duration, receiving self‐care education, education level, economic burden and family history of hypertension were the most powerful predictors of self‐care among older adults with hypertension.