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Background The floating population serves an important role in economic and social development. However, little is known about the floating population’s reproductive health (RH) services, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to assess the use of reproductive health services in the female floating population in China, which is a country with the largest floating population in the world. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted for more than 3 months. Six hundred twenty females of childbearing age in a floating population were recruited into the study by using random sampling, with these individuals being recruited from six community centres in Changsha, China. The use of reproductive health services was assessed by utilizing a self-designed questionnaire. Results A total of 555 participants returned the completed questionnaires (effective response rate of 89.5%), including 405 married women and 150 unmarried women. The utilization of RH services was poor in individuals who could access RH policies (39.3%), RH education (36.4%), RH counselling (27.4%), gratis contraceptives (36.0%), and free RH examinations (38.9%), and married women utilized these services at higher rates than unmarried women ( P < 0.01), although 63.3% of the unmarried women had sexual lifestyles. The marital status was significantly associated with receiving RH education, RH counselling, gratis contraceptives, and free RH examinations. Age was significantly associated with the use of RH education and free RH examinations. The average personal monthly income had a significantly beneficial effect on the use of free RH examinations. Obstetrics and gynaecological disease prevention (67.2%) were the greatest needs of the RH services, and the use of the Internet was the best way to obtain these services. Most of the individuals (77.3%) hoped to receive gynaecological health screenings that were provided by obstetrics and gynaecology hospitals. Conclusions The female floating population exhibited poor awareness of RH and rarely used RH services, especially in unmarried women. The results suggest that educational interventions for the female floating population, as well as policy and resource developments should meet the demands for RH services, which are urgently needed in China. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-019-4334-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Reproductive health is the core science of human life and is critical to the healthy and sustainable development of human society. Since 1980, China has enforced a “one child” policy. With the implementation of the Universal Two-Child Policy in 2016, every couple is allowed to have two children instead of one, which will lead to more pregnancies, births, and advanced maternal age. Thus, women aged 20–39 years, at the peak of sexual activity and fertility, will face more reproductive health problems related to pregnancies and births. This study aimed to investigate the current reproductive health status, knowledge, and factors associated with reproductive health knowledge among women aged 20–39 years in rural China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in five villages of five cities in China. The data were collected using pre-tested and structured questionnaires through face-to-face interviews. The data were entered into Epidata version 3.0, and analyzed using SPSS version 18.0. A descriptive summary of the data and logistic regression were used to identify associated factors. Results One-third of the participants reported that they had suffered from gynecopathy, and 38.89% of participants with gynecopathy-related discomfort did not seek medical treatment. Condoms and intrauterine devices were the main contraceptive measures used, and 28.70% of women had a history of induced abortion. Over half of the respondents (53.00%) were classified as having a low reproductive health knowledge score. Factors associated with lower knowledge levels were lower education, no history of gynecopathy, and lack of acquiring knowledge from medical staff, WeChat/micro-blog, or the internet. Conclusion A poor reproductive health situation and low level of health knowledge were found among women aged 20–39 years in rural China. More specific interventions promoting reproductive health and targeting rural women aged 20–39 years are needed.

The overuse or abuse of antibiotics has led to serious health problems. During the recent decades, among the various methods used in antibacterial applications, some nanoclay minerals are proved antibacterial or inhibitory to the bacterial growth. However, the antibacterial mechanism of contact-kill based on the intrinsic structure of nanoclays is still unclear. Here, the antibacterial ability of pure clay is enhanced by creating more edge surfaces on kaolinite (Kaol) and the antibacterial mechanism is clarified at the atomic level. Based on experiments and density functional theory/molecular dynamics calculations, the positively charged Al(OH) and Al(OH 2 ) species on the edge surfaces of Kaol are confirmed to kill the Escherichia coli cells through direct contact by destroying their outer membrane (OM). The strong hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces between OM and (110)/(11 10) surfaces of Kaol lead to the folding of OM. Simultaneously, the proton-coupled electron transfer between Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and (11 10) edge surface of Kaol causes the dissociation of phosphoryl groups on LPS. Considering the similarities of most nanoclayson their edge surfaces, this finding may shed some light on the development of new nanoclay-based antibacterial materials in the future.