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Sn vacancies can work as an effective source for p-type conduction under both Sn- and Se-rich conditions while n-type conduction is unlikely to be realized due to the absence of the effective intrinsic source.

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Introduction: Workplace violence (WPV) against healthcare providers has severe consequences and is underreported worldwide. The aim of this study was to present the features, causes, and outcomes of serious WPV against healthcare providers in China.Method: We searched for serious WPV events reported online and analyzed information about time, location, people, methods, motivations, and outcomes related to the incident.Result: Serious WPV reported online in China (n = 379) were mainly physical (97%) and often involved the use of weapons (34.5%). Doctors were victims in most instances (81.1%). Serious WPV mostly happened in cities (90.2%), teaching hospitals (87.4%), and tertiary hospitals (67.9%) and frequently in Emergency Department (ED), Obstetrics and Gynecology Department (OB-GYN), and pediatric departments; it was most prevalent in the months of June, May, and February. Rates of serious WPV increased dramatically in 2014 and decreased after 2015, with death (12.8%), severe injury (6%), and hospitalization (24.2%) being the major outcomes. A law protecting healthcare providers implemented in 2015 may have helped curb the violence.Conclusion: Serious WPV in China may stem from poor patient–doctor relationships, overly stressed health providers in highly demanding hospitals, poorly educated/informed patients, insufficient legal protection, and poor communication. Furthering knowledge about WPV and working toward curtailing its presence in healthcare settings are crucial to increasing the safety and well-being of healthcare workers.

First-principles investigations are performed on the stabilities and electronic and optical properties of SnSe 2(1−x) S 2x (x = 0.0625, 0.25, 0.5, 0.625, 0.8125, and 1.0) monolayer alloys by using density functional theory calculations. It is found that, above a critical temperature of 702 K, the mixing of SnSe 2 and SnS 2 is likely to form random alloys. The calculated negative substitution energy of S at the Se site of SnSe 2 suggests an alternative strategy for the synthesis of the alloys, i.e., by the substitution of S for Se in SnSe 2 monolayers. It is also shown that, due to the lattice mismatch and the pronounced charge transfer between SnSe 2 and SnS 2 , the band-gap values of the alloys deviate strongly from the concentration-averaged values of the constituents. Moreover, the dielectric functions of the alloys are determined to be anisotropic, with optical properties along the xy plane being more susceptible to the S content than those along the z direction, and the alloying enhances the absorption strength in the visible spectral region. We hope that these insights will be useful for future applications of SnSe 2(1−x) S 2x alloys.

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The aim of the present study was to gain insight into the neuroprotection effects and mechanism of thiazolidinedione pioglitazone in both in vitro and in vivo MPP+/MPTP induced PD models. In vivo experimental results showed that oral treatment of pioglitazone resulted in significant improvements in behavior symptoms damaged by MPTP and increase in the survival of TH positive neurons in the pioglitazone intervention groups. In addition, oral treatment of pioglitazone increased the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator of 1α (PGC-1α) and increased the number of mitochondria, along with an observed improvement in mitochondrial ultrastructure. From in vitro studies, 2,4-thiazolidinedione resulted in increased levels of molecules regulated function of mitochondria, including PGC-1α, nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1), NRF2, and mitochondria fusion 2 (Mfn2), and inhibited mitochondria fission 1 (Fis1). We show that protein levels of Bcl-2 and ERK were reduced in the MPP+-treated group compared with the control group. This effect was observed to be reversed upon treatment with 2,4-thiazolidinedione, as Bcl-2 and ERK expression levels were increased. We also observed that levels of the apoptotic protein Bax showed opposite changes compared to Bcl-2 and ERK levels. The results from this study confirm that pioglitazone/2,4-thiazolidinedione is able to activate PGC-1α and prevent damage of dopaminergic neurons and restore mitochondria ultrastructure through the regulation of mitochondria function.

Doping is a vitally important technique that can be used to modulate the properties of two-dimensional materials. In this work, by using first-principles density functional calculations, we investigated the electrical properties of SnSe2 monolayers by p-type/n-type and isoelectronic doping. Substitution at Sn/Se sites was found to be easy if the monolayer was grown under Sn-/Se-poor conditions. Substitutions at Sn sites with metallic atoms (e.g. Ga, Ge, In, Bi, Sb, Pb) resulted in positive substitution energies, which indicated that they were not effective doping candidates. For substitutions at Se sites with nonmetallic atoms, no promising candidates were found for p-type doping (e.g., N, P, As). Among these, N and As showed positive substitution energies. Although P had a negative substitution energy under Sn-rich conditions, it introduced trap states within the band gap. For n-type doping (e.g., F, Cl, Br), all the calculated substitution energies were negative under both Sn- and Se-rich conditions. Br was proven to be a promising candidate, because the impurity introduced a shallow donor level. Finally, for isoelectronic doping (e.g., O, S, Te), the intrinsic semiconducting features of the SnSe2 monolayer did not change, and the contribution from the impurity to the states near the band edge increased with the atomic number.