Health professionals involved in the care of senior veterans in institutions may use the results of this study to develop and implement interventions that promote a higher degree of interpersonal intimacy and a higher appreciation of the meaning of life, thus enabling senior veterans to confront old age in a more positive manner.

Spent batteries, which contain many hazardous metals, may lead to secondary pollution if not properly treated. Nickel‐cadmium (Ni‐Cd) batteries contain a large amount of valuable metals that are worth recovery. They are mainly composed of a positive electrode (33.3%), a negative electrode (28.8%), and a metal can (14.5%). The main composition of the positive electrode and negative electrode are Ni (304,000 mg/kg) and Cd (531,000 mg/kg), respectively. The other components are mainly composed of Fe. In this study, a thermal separation process (TSP) was used to recover valuable metals from spent Ni‐Cd batteries with limestone and cullet additives. After the TSP, the output‐materials were divided into slag, ingot, and flue gas. The slag was mainly composed of Ca and Si, and the major crystalline phase was CaSiO3. The slag was verified to be a nonhazardous material using a toxicity characteristics leaching procedure and could thus be recycled. The ingot had a high level of Fe (514,000 mg/kg) and Ni (245,000 mg/kg), so it could be refined to recover the Ni or directly serve as an additive in the making of steel. The particulate phase of the flue gas contained high levels of Cd (686,000 mg/kg) and Zn (36,000 mg/kg) and could be refined to recover Cd. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 37: 645–654, 2018

ObjectivesThis study aimed to develop and validate scales to assess attitudes towards patient’ s use of TCM (APUTCM) and to measure a communicative competence in TCM (CCTCM) among nurses.MethodsThe instrument development process was conducted from Sep 2013 to Jul 2014, using the following steps: 1) item development; 2) internal review and refinement; 3) face and content validation; 4) instrument administration to a development sample; and 5) evaluation of validity and reliability. A convenience sample was used to recruit registered and advanced practice nurses who worked in different regions throughout Taiwan. A total of 755 respondents completed the online questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed using the software of SPSS Version 21.0 and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 24.0.ResultsThe scale-level indexes (S-CVI) of content validity for both scales were over 80%. The reliabilities for the 13-item APUTCM scale and for the five-item CCTCM scale were 0.88 and 0.84, respectively. The model suitability for both scales was assessed, and the findings revealed suitable parameters for all indicators: GFI = 0.954, AGFI = 0.932, CFI = 0.959, RMSEA = 0.62, and chi-square/df = 3.891 for APUTCM; and GFI = 0.992, AGFI = 0.969, CFI = 0.992, RMSEA = 0.63, and chi-square/df = 4.04 for CCTCM. The convergent and divergent validity of scores on both scales provided evidence in the expected direction.ConclusionThis scale development study provides preliminary evidence that suggests that the 13-item APUTCM and the five-item CCTCM are reliable and valid scales for assessing attitudes toward patient’s TCM use and communicative competence in TCM.

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