Pulmonary endothelial barrier dysfunction is a hallmark of clinical pulmonary edema and contributes to the development of acute lung injury (ALI). Here we reported that ruscogenin (RUS), an effective steroidal sapogenin of Radix Ophiopogon japonicus, attenuated lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced pulmonary endothelial barrier disruption through mediating non-muscle myosin heavy chain IIA (NMMHC IIA)‒Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) interactions. By in vivo and in vitro experiments, we observed that RUS administration significantly ameliorated LPS-triggered pulmonary endothelial barrier dysfunction and ALI. Moreover, we identified that RUS directly targeted NMMHC IIA on its N-terminal and head domain by serial affinity chromatography, molecular docking, biolayer interferometry, and microscale thermophoresis analyses. Downregulation of endothelial NMMHC IIA expression in vivo and in vitro abolished the protective effect of RUS. It was also observed that NMMHC IIA was dissociated from TLR4 and then activating TLR4 downstream Src/vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) signaling in pulmonary vascular endothelial cells after LPS treatment, which could be restored by RUS. Collectively, these findings provide pharmacological evidence showing that RUS attenuates LPS-induced pulmonary endothelial barrier dysfunction by inhibiting TLR4/Src/VE-cadherin pathway through targeting NMMHC IIA and mediating NMMHC IIA‒TLR4 interactions.

Objective:To prepare a phase-change lipid nanoparticle modified by tumor homing membrane-penetrating peptide (tLyP-1) and carrying paclitaxel (PTX) engineered by metal polyphenol network (TA-Fe 3+ ), and evaluate the therapeutic effects of tumor targeting, ultrasound/photoacoustic imaging and photothermal combined chemotherapy in vitro. Methods:Phase-change lipid nanoparticles (t-P@TFP) with TA-Fe 3+ engineered PTX mediated by tLyP-1 were prepared by solvent replacement method, thin film hydration method and double emulsification method. Its detection and characterization, in vitro targeting ability, photothermal conversion ability, in vitro photoacoustic and ultrasonic imaging ability, CCK-8 method, cell live and death double staining method and flow cytometry method were used to detect the safety of nanoparticles and the killing effects of different nanoparticles on 4T1 cells. Results:t-P@TFP nanoparticles were successfully prepared. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the nanoparticles were spherical with uniform shape and size, with a particle size of (209.8±1.56)nm and a potential of (-25.9±1.36)mV. Laser confocal scanning microscopy showed that t-P@TFP nanoparticles could gather around 4T1 cells in a targeted manner. It had an efficient photothermal conversion effect, and nanoparticles could quickly become microbubbles after being irradiated by near-infrared laser, which enhanced the in vitro ultrasonic imaging effect; The photoacoustic signal of nanoparticles increased with the increase of concentration. CCK-8 method, double staining of living and dead cells and flow cytometry showed that t-P@TFP combined photothermal chemotherapy had the best anti-tumor effect. Conclusions:t-P@TFP nanoparticles are successfully prepared. The nanoparticles have good targeting ability for photoacoustic and ultrasonic imaging and have good photothermal effect, killing breast cancer cells, which is expected to realize the integration of diagnosis and treatment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.09.017.].

Objective:To summarize the progress and achievement of outpatient experience improvement in tertiary public hospitals from 2016 to 2021, so as to provide basis for further improving outpatient experience and raising outpatient satisfaction.Methods:Based on 5 round third-party evaluations of the China Healthcare Improvement Initiative from 2016 to 2021, descriptive trend analysis was conducted on the outpatient process and outpatient satisfaction, and stratified analysis was conducted on patient satisfaction in different regions and different types of institutions.Results:One hundred and thirty-six core sample hospitals were included in the 5 round evaluation, and 30 153 valid questionnaires were collected in the fifth evaluation in 2021.From 2016 to 2021, the overall satisfaction of outpatients in the 5 round evaluations was 91.4%, 87.3%, 90.1%, 91.1% and 95.4%, respectively. The satisfaction of outpatients to the medical services continued to improve. Outpatient treatment process has been continuously optimized, appointment registration has become the most commonly used way of outpatient registration. The satisfaction of outpatients to the process and environment of treatment in the western region was significantly improved.Conclusions:From 2016 to 2021, the overall satisfaction of outpatients has been consistently improved. Informatization helps to optimize the treatment process, but it is recommended that hospitals should provide special support for elderly outpatients.

Objective:To summarize the progress and achievement of inpatient experience improvement in public hospitals in China from 2016 to 2021, so as to provide basis for further improving hospitalization experience and raising inpatient satisfaction.Methods:Based on the five Third-party Evaluations of China Healthcare Improvement Initiative from 2016 to 2021, descriptive trend analysis was conducted on inpatient process, cost and inpatient satisfaction, and the inpatient satisfaction in different regions and different types of institutions was compared.Results:The overall satisfaction of hospitalized patients in the fifth evaluation in 2021(98.5%)was higher than that in the first evaluation in 2016(96.2%). The western region and maternal and child institutions had the most obvious improvement in the comparison of regional and institutional types. The improvement of inpatients′ satisfaction with diet was not obvious. Inpatients were most dissatisfied with " high medical expenses" , " cumbersome procedures" and " long waiting time for bed" .Conclusions:From 2016 to 2021, the satisfaction of hospitalized patients has been consistently improved, but there is still room for improvement in non-medical services. Hospital meals for inpatient and relief of inpatient healthcare financial burden are the priorities for healthcare improvement and raising hospitalization satisfaction in the next stage.

Objective:To analyze the status quo, trend and influencing factors of patient satisfaction in tertiary maternity and child hospitals in China.Methods:Based on the survey results of five round third-party evaluations of the China Healthcare Improvement Initiative from 2016 to 2021, descriptive trend analysis was conducted on the satisfaction index in tertiary maternity and child hospitals, and the influencing factors of satisfaction were analyzed based on the results of the fifth evaluation.Results:Compared with the first round, the overall patient satisfaction in tertiary maternity and child hospitals in the fifth round was improved(inpatient: from 95.7% to 98.0%; outpatient: from 87.8% to 94.9%). Outpatient satisfaction varied significantly among gender, hospitals of different types, education level, types of treatment, medical insurance and doctors′ titles( P<0.05). Outpatient satisfaction in local hospitals was 1.502 times higher than that in hospitals under the National Health Commission. The satisfaction of referrals was 0.259 times lower than that of patients who were admitted directly. Inpatient satisfaction varied significantly among department, hospitals of different regions, household registration type and whether the admission was delayed due to the COVID-19 epidemic( P<0.05). The satisfaction of inpatients in medical ward and surgical ward was respectively 0.202 and 0.298 times lower than that of inpatients in pediatric ward. Inpatient satisfaction at the central regions was 3.311 times higher than that at the eastern regions. Conclusions:The overall patient satisfaction in tertiary maternity and child hospitals in China is improving. In the future, we should pay more attention to the hospital environment, humanistic care and other non-medical service dimensions with low satisfaction, so as to further improve the medical experience of patients in maternity and child hospitals.

Objective:To investigate the patient satisfaction at tertiary cancer hospitals in China, and explore its determinants.Methods:Based on the fifth third-party evaluation of China Healthcare Improvement Initiative, an inpatient satisfaction survey was conducted from January 2021 to March 2021 in 33 tertiary cancer hospitals in China. Inpatient satisfaction was analyzed, and Chi-square test and binary multivariate logistic regression were run, using the level of overall inpatient satisfaction as a dependent variable.Results:A total of 5 417 inpatients in tertiary cancer hospitals was recruited with 49.8% men. The inpatient at the age of 35-59 accounted for 56.0%, and they were 52.8±13.9 years old. The level of overall inpatient satisfaction was 98.90%. The inpatient satisfaction rates of meal service, waiting time for admission and psychological counseling service provided by hospital were relatively poor, which were 78.75%, 92.40% and 94.11%, respectively. The regression showed that level of overall inpatient satisfaction in the central and western regions(compared with eastern area), with urban and rural residents basic medical insurance or other type(compared with urban employee basic medical insurance), of breast cancer patients(compared with other disease), with unsured postoperative metastasis(compared with non-postoperative metastasis), with low self-rated health score(compared with the score of between 81 and 100)was lower.Conclusions:The inpatients in tertiary cancer hospitals in China is highly satisfied with the care provided. In the future, more attention should be paid to the dimension of lower patient satisfaction, such as diet and psychological counseling.

Background: Despite strengthened efforts on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and control, new HIV infections continue to increase among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a highly effective HIV-prevention tool, has recently been included in China's Action Plan of HIV Prevention and Control. To promote future PrEP implementation, this study aims to identify the barriers and facilitators in PrEP use intention among MSM in China.Methods: In 2018, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 300 MSM in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Questions on demographics, sexual behavior (including a seven-item high-risk behavior index), PrEP use intention, PrEP-related awareness and accessibility, and a seven-item public HIV stigma scale were included in the questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with PrEP use intention. Results: Overall, 44.67％ of the participants had more than two male sexual partners and 5.56％ had HIV-positive sexual partners. Only 57.00％ had heard of PrEP and only four (1.33％) participants had used PrEP. However, 75.34％ expressed the willingness to use oral PrEP if its efficacy was assured. The beliefs that "PrEP can prevent HIV if taken as prescribed" (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.84, P < 0.001) and "PrEP can be scaled up in the community" (AOR = 3.24, P < 0.001) were positively associated with oral PrEP use intention. Concerns of side effects were negatively associated with oral PrEP use intention (AOR = 0.32, P = 0.006). Further, 77.00％ of the participants would choose injectable or implanted PrEP instead of oral PrEP. One of the PrEP stigma items, "Not certain if doctors can prescribe PrEP if I go to the clinic" was positively associated with the intention to use injectable or implanted PrEP (AOR = 3.03). The items "Heard of PrEP" (AOR = 2.74) and "PrEP can prevent HIV if taken as prescribed" (AOR = 2.65) were also positively related to the intention to use injectable or implanted PrEP. The most common concerns regarding PrEP use were efficacy (44.67％) and side effects (38.67％). The most common reasons for using injectable and implanted PrEP were adherence (81.94％ and 77.86％, respectively) and privacy concerns (56.48％ and 55.00％, respectively). Affordable price and coverage by health insurance were the driving factors for PrEP use. Conclusion: Given the low level of awareness of PrEP-related information in China, it's necessary to provide interventions for high-risk individuals and communities, in order to increase their awareness and knowledge of PrEP. Furthermore, additional alternatives to HIV prevention, such as long-acting injectable or implanted PrEP, should be investigated to reduce the risk of HIV infection in at-risk MSM. Even if this programme could be approved by the National Medical Products Administration of China and implemented, a supportive social environment for MSM is essential during its implementing.

Objective: To carry out the 4^th round of third-party evaluation on the implementation and effect of the 1^st year of the 2^nd Phase National Healthcare Improvement Initiative(abbreviated as Initiative)since 2015. Methods: The 4^th round of the evaluation survey adopted the same methods, organization and execution, and technical roadmap as the former three rounds of evaluations. Results: The 4^th round of evaluation was carried out from 18 March to 9 April, 2019 at 185 public hospitals in 31 provinces(autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government)and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.Facility survey, health professional survey and patient survey were conducted at each of the sample health facilities. A total of 120 782 valid questionnaires were collected from 144 non-psychiatric health facilities, 16 246 valid questionnaires were obtained from 41 psychiatric health facilities, and 252 cases of outstanding departments/hospitals in healthcare improvement were also collected. The average overall scoring of the 12 dimensions to assess Initiative implementation at 144 non-psychiatric health facilities was 84.4%. The overall outpatient satisfaction scoring was 91.1%, 96.7%for the inpatients. The overall inpatient satisfaction(family members inclusive) at 41 psychiatric health facilities was 93%. Areas remaining to be improved include day-surgery, telemedicine and medical social work. Compared with technical services, non-technical care should be further strengthened. The compensation, workload and work environment of the healthcare providers are still to be improved. Conclusions The implementation of the Initiative by health facilities has been greatly improved. The percentage of health facilities and patients who had positive perceptions of improved doctor-patient relationship has been increasing. Patient care experiences at public hospitals have been generally improved, and the implementation of promoting traditional Chinese Medicine practices also made progress. However, work satisfaction of healthcare providers was found to be rather low, compared to the high level of patient satisfaction.

Objective: To establish comprehensive understanding of the self-rated health of the Chinese doctors and nurses and probe into their influencing factors. Methods: Data were drawn from a hospital performance survey, which was conducted by the Peking Union School of Public Health from March 18th to April 9th, 2019, among the 144 tertiary public hospitals in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. The survey included a cell-phone based questionnaire filled out by the sampled doctors and nurses, in which they were asked to rate their health using a 5-level Likert scale(from " very poor" to " very good" ). Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the differences in self-rated health between doctors and nurses. Chi-square test and two-class multivariate logistic regression were performed to analyze factors affecting self-rated health of the providers. Results: Among the 144 sample hospitals, the proportion of doctors, who rated their health as " healthy" , was 20.30%(4 979/24 529), that of nurses was 28.92%(8 361/28 910). It was worse than that in some developed countries and lower than the general population in China. Multi-variate analysis showed that adequate sleeping time, satisfaction with the work and with the doctor-patient relationship, were positively associated with the level of self-rated health of the sampled doctors and nurses(P<0.05). It was also found that the longer the average weekly working time, the higher the recognition of " the work load is too heavy" , the lower the proportion of doctors and nurses who rated their health as " healthy" (P<0.05). Conclusions Sleep time, job satisfaction, workload and doctor-patient relationship are important factors affecting self-rated health of the Chinese doctors and nurses.