The CCD instrument background of the SMILE SXI

The ESA and CAS SMILE mission orbit is highly elliptical and will pass through multiple radiation environments.The Soft X-ray Imager(SXI)instrument aboard has a radiation shutter door designed to close when the surrounding radiation flux is high.The shutter door will close when passing below an altitude threshold to protect against trapped particles in the Earth’s Van Allen Belts.Therefore,two radiation environments can be approximated based on the shutter door position:open and closed.The instrument background for the CCDs(Charge-Coupled Devices)that form the focal plane array of the SXI were evaluated for the two environments.Due to the correlation of the space environment with the solar cycle,the solar minima and maxima,the background was also evaluated at these two extremes.The results demonstrated that the highest instrument background will occur during solar minima due to the main contributing source being Galactic Cosmic Rays(GCRs).It was also found that the open background was highest for solar minima and that the closed background was highest during solar maxima.This is due to the radiation shutter door acting as a scattering centre and the changes in the energy flux distribution of the GCRs between the two solar extremes.

Glaucoma surgery experiments using digital microscope-integrated optical coherence tomography and OCT-compatible instruments

There is a certain failure rate in traditional glaucoma surgery because of the lack of depth information in microscope images.In this work,we present a digital microscope-integrated optical coherence tomography(MIOCT)system and several custom-made OCT-compatible instruments for glaucoma surgery.Sixteen ophthalmologists were asked to perform trabeculectomy and canaloplasty on live porcine eyes using the system and instruments.After surgery,a subjective feedback survey about the user experience was taken.The experiment results showed that our system can help surgeons easily locate important tissue structures during surgery.The custom-made instruments also solved the shadowing problem in OCT imaging.Surgeons preferred to use the system in their future practice.

Special topic on new instruments and sensing technologies

New instruments and sensing technologies have extensive applications in non-destructive testing,safety monitoring,human-computer interaction,precision sensing,and other fields.The emergence of new structural materials,new preparation processes,and new sensing theories has driven the development of precision measurement instruments and intelligent sensing technology with the rapid development of electromagnetics,optics,and materials science.

Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe, and Innovation Leading the Future——Astronomical Techniques and Instruments

Dear Readers:Astronomical Techniques and Instruments is a professional English journal of open access devoted to recent develop-ments,discoveries,and theories in astronomical techniques,methods,and instruments.It will serve as a platform for dis-course,learning,and information sharing for astronomic and astrophysics professionals worldwide.

Reform of Teaching Practice of Modern Instrumental Analysis in Biotechnology Programs

Through the online and offline practical reform of the Modern Instrumental Analysis course of biotechnology majors from teaching content,teaching method,teaching demonstration to teaching effect,the traditional single offline lecture is transformed into diversified and interactive modern teaching.The practical reform enriches and optimizes the course content,perfects and improves the course assessment system,and improves the teaching quality.It achieves the student-centered and application-oriented teaching goal,and also provides reference for further cultivating high-quality applied talents.

Surgical Management of Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis with Instrumentation at the Yaounde Central Hospital: Comparison of Unilateral versus Bilateral Pedicle Screw Fixation Combined with Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Introduction: The choice of adopting unilateral pedicle screw fixation or using bilateral pedicle screw fixation in lumbar spinal stenosis remains controversial. In our context, very few studies have been performed comparing the clinical effectiveness of unilateral versus bilateral fixation in the surgical management of lumbar spinal canal stenosis. Objective: Evaluate the impact on quality of life and clinical efficacy of unilateral spondylodesis compared to bilateral spondylodesis in the surgical management of lumbar spinal canal stenosis at the Yaounde Central Hospital. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study for a period of 4 years, from June 2015 to June 2019. It involved all patients operated for lumbar canal stenosis and who underwent spondylodesis or spinal fusion at the neurosurgery department of the Yaounde Central Hospital. Results: A total of 68 participants were recruited during our study period. 32 (47%) of the study population were in the 50 - 60 age group, with a mean age of 56.98 years ranging from 41 to 75 years. Females, housewives and farmers were the most affected. In our study, 72% of patients had unilateral spondylodesis and 28% had bilateral fusion. Preoperatively, 71% of patients had insurmountable pain, refractory to medical treatment. At 3 months postoperatively, 73.7% of patients with bilateral setup had moderate pain compared to 69% of those with unilateral setup. At 6 months postoperatively, 79% of patients with bilateral fusion had mild pain compared to 82% of patients with unilateral setup. At 1 year postoperatively, all patients had mild pain. Preoperatively, 66.2% of patients were unable to walk and 19.1% of patients were bedridden according to the Oswestry score. At 3 months postoperatively, 10.2% of patients with unilateral setup were unable to walk compared to 10.5% of patients with bilateral fixation, while 67.3% of patients with unilateral fixation had moderate disability compared to 52.6% of patients with bilateral fixation. At 6 months postoperatively, 51% of patients with unilateral setup had moderate disability compared to 47.4% of patients with bilateral fixation, while 42.9% of patients with unilateral fixation had mild disability compared to 42.1% of patients with bilateral fixation. At 1 year postoperatively, 81.6% of patients who underwent unilateral fixation had only mild disability compared to 73.7% of patients with bilateral fixation. Conclusion: The assessment of quality of life according to the set-up used shows similar results at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year, with no statistically significant differences. Single-sided pedicle screw fixation combined with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion or mounting has the advantage of being faster, with less bleeding and is less expensive compared to bilateral fixation.

Development and validation of an instrument to assess knowledge,attitudes,and practices on digital health among nursing officers

Objective:Validation is an important aspect of an instrument,and it ensures the confidence of researchers to employ the instrument in their studies.This study was conducted to develop and validate an instrument to assess knowledge,attitudes,and practices(KAP) on digital health among nurses since digital health capacity is a major concern in health care that needs to be assessed.Methods:We conducted a methodological study to assess the content validity and reliability of the instrument.First,items were generated through a comprehensive literature review and by obtaining an expert opinion.Second,content and face validity were assessed by a panel of 7 experts.Both the item-level content validity index(I-CVI) and the scale-level content validity index(S-CVI) were established.Moreover,test–retest reliability and internal consistency of the instrument were assessed.Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.Results:The initial pool consisted of 60 items and after obtaining content,face,and construct validity,51 items remained.Items with an I-CVI <0.78 were considered relevant.The S-CVI for relevancy,clarity,ambiguity,and simplicity were 0.93,0.91,0.94,and 0.92,respectively.Five subcomponents were constructed in each knowledge and attitudes domain,and the test–retest reliability test revealed that the instrument has good reliability,showing correlation coefficient values for the KAP domains and the total questionnaire of 0.76,0.98,0.99,and 0.99,respectively.The independent Cronbach's α for all items was 0.76,indicating good internal consistency.Conclusions:The present study established the acceptable validity and ensured the good reliability and internal consistency of the instrument,which can serve as an assessment tool of KAP on digital health among healthcare professionals.

Analysis Of Urban Planning Instruments in Comala,Colima,Mexico(1997-2009)from a Gender Perspective-A Secondary Publication

This work is carried out based on the analysis of urban planning instruments,taking the gender perspective as a foundation.It arises from the inclusion of women in the participation of urban development,through an analysis of the gender gaps that have marked the history of women,the inequalities serve as a basis for carrying out this study.It highlights the challenges we face today as a society in the process of building citizen participation,where we must all be recognized and have equal opportunities within the territory in which we live.This article analyzes the extent to which the Municipal Urban Development Programs of the Mexican municipality of Comala,Colima,Mexico,consider the recommendations on gender and urbanism,established since the 1990s by international entities and applied transversally to urban planning policies.Considerable differences are found between women and men in terms of empowerment and participation in urban territorial planning instruments,mainly in the oldest instrument(1997).Significant progress is observed in the most recent document and is currently in force in the municipality of Comala(2009).

Instrument Automation Control System Faults and Maintenance

This article explores the topic of fault diagnosis and maintenance strategies for instrument automation control systems,analyzing them through specific cases.The aim of this research is to improve the stability and reliability of the system by conducting a thorough investigation of faults and maintenance in instrument automation control systems.By doing so,this research hopes to provide a strong guarantee for the smooth progress of industrial production.

Design of Signal Lamp Filament Monitoring Alarm Instrument

To improve the reliability of the light emitting diode(LED)signal lamp filament current monitoring alarm instrument for metro systems,a new type of hot standby online monitoring apparatus was developed which is based on synchronous transmission data(STD)bus technology.In this system,a double hot standby mode can be achieved by adopting bus arbitration.In addition,to detect the effective value of alternating current which is from 0 to 200 mA in the signal lamp lighting circuit,a precision rectifier signal conditioning circuit and an isolated acquisition circuit were designed.This new type of alarm instrument has high detection accuracy and could meet the functional requirements for metro signal systems after comparing it with some industry products that were applied on the spot.

Smart Plant Instrument软件在炼油项目上的应用

结合Smart Plant Instrument在炼油项目上的应用,介绍了Smart Plant Instrument的使用意义、Smart Plant Instrument较winpccad的优越性、Smart Plant Instrument软件功能、Smart Plant Instrument常见问题的解决方法。

Research on the Testing Methods of Instrumental System in the Marine Magnetic Survey

Testing methods of instrumental system in the marine magnetic survey have been studied in this paper, and the feasibility of each method has been testified by the observed data. The conclusion shows that the method brought out can effectively eliminate the systematic error caused by the instrumental system, and greatly improve the surveying precision and the reliability of the survey results.

Rapid instrument exchanging system for the Cassegrain focus of the Lijiang 2.4-m Telescope

As a facility used for astronomical research, the Lijiang 2.4-m telescope of Yunnan Astronomical Observatories, requires the ability to change one auxiliary instrument with another in as short a time as possible. This arises from the need to quickly respond to scientific programs （e.g. transient observation, time domain studies） and changes in observation conditions （e.g. seeing and weather conditions）. In this paper, we describe the design, construction and test of hardware and software in the rapid instrument exchange system （RIES） for the Cassegrain focal station of this telescope, which enables instruments to be quickly changed at night without much loss of observing time. Tests in the laboratory and at the telescope show that the image quality and pointing accuracy of RIES are satisfactory. With RIES, we observed the same Landolt standard stars almost at the same time with the Princeton Instruments VersArray 1300B Camera （PICCD） and the Yunnan Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera （YFOSC）, while both were mounted at the Cassegrain focus. A quasi-simultaneous comparison shows that the image quality of the optical system inside the YFOSC is comparable with that provided by the PICCD.

Lijiang 2.4-meter Telescope and its instruments

The Lijiang 2.4-meter Telescope(LJT), the largest common-purpose optical telescope in China,has been available to the worldwide astronomical community since 2008. It is located at the Gaomeigu site,Lijiang Observatory(LJO), in the southwest of China. The site has very good observational conditions.During its 10-year operation, several instruments have been equipped on the LJT. Astronomers can perform both photometric and spectral observations. The main scientific goals of LJT include recording photometric and spectral evolution of supernovae, reverberation mapping of active galactic nuclei, investigating the physical properties of binary stars and near-earth objects(comets and asteroids), and identification of exoplanets and all kinds of transients. Until now, the masses of 41 high accretion rate black holes have been measured, and more than 168 supernovae have been identified by the LJT. More than 190 papers related to the LJT have been published. In this paper, the general observation conditions of the Gaomeigu site is introduced at first. Then, the structure of the LJT is described in detail, including the optical, mechanical, motion and control system. The specification of all the instruments and some detailed parameters of the YFOSC is also presented. Finally, some important scientific results and future expectations are summarized.

Flexible Developing System for Modern Instrument Manufacturing

The modern instrument manufacturing has many features, such as high technologies, multiple varieties and small quantities. Aiming at those features, an instrumentation flexible developing system （IFDS） is presented. It constitutes a kind of opening, compatible, extensible and upgradeable flexible developing system, and it will offer a kind of technology equipment for the research and development of new modern instrument products. Its flexible mechanism is able to be suited for different and special requirements of many instrument systems, and its system integrated mechanism is able to adapt to common technological features of most instrument systems. It is IFDS that makes it easy to accomplish a quick system integration of instrument products. IFDS solves key technological problems related to modern instruments development, develops multiple systems for modern instrument development and accomplishes rapid development of series of new products.

Cost-effectiveness of patient specific vs conventional instrumentation for total knee arthroplasty:A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Over the past years,patient specific instrumentation(PSI)for total knee arthroplasty(TKA)has been implemented and routinely used.No clear answer has been given on its associated cost and cost-effectiveness when compared to conventional instrumentation(CI)for TKA.AIM To compare the cost and cost-effectiveness of PSI TKA compared to CI TKA.METHODS A literature search was performed in healthcare,economical healthcare,and medical databases(MEDLINE,EMBASE,CINAHL,Web of Science,Cochrane Library,EconLit).It was conducted in April 2021 and again in January 2022.Relevant literature included randomised controlled trials,retrospective studies,prospective studies,observational studies,and case control studies.All studies were assessed on methodological quality.Relevant outcomes included incremental cost-effectiveness ratio,quality-adjusted life years,total costs,imaging costs,production costs,sterilization associated costs,surgery duration costs and readmission rate costs.All eligible studies were assessed for risk of bias.Meta-analysis was performed for outcomes with sufficient data.RESULTS Thirty-two studies were included into the systematic review.Two were included in the metaanalysis.3994 PSI TKAs and 13267 CI TKAs were included in the sample size.The methodological quality of the included studies,based on Consensus on Health Economic Criteria-scores and risk of bias,ranged from average to good.PSI TKA costs less than CI TKA when considering mean operating room time and its associated costs and tray sterilization per patient case.PSI TKA costs more compared to CI TKA when considering imaging and production costs.Considering total costs per patient case,PSI TKA is more expensive in comparison to CI TKA.Meta-analysis comparing total costs for PSI TKA,and CI TKA showed a significant higher cost for PSI TKA.CONCLUSION Cost for PSI and CI TKA can differ when considering distinct aspects of their implementation.Total costs per patient case are increased for PSI TKA when compared to CI TKA.

CFD Simulation of Air Flow Behaviour at Different Flow Rates in a Turkish Woodwind Instrument (Turkish Treble Recorder)

In musical instruments, the geometric design and material features of the instrument are the most important factors that determine the sound characteristics of the instrument. Traditional replication and experiment-based handcrafting methods are predominant in the production of Turkish Folk Music wind instruments. The instrument manufacturing and standardization approaches, which include the relevant rules of physics and engineering practices, are limited purely to prototype studies for scientific research purposes. It is almost impossible to find studies on Turkish Folk Music wind instrument design and production involving computer aided design and engineering applications. In this study, an example Turkish woodwind instrument, the Turkish Treble Recorder (dilli kaval) is considered, and the air flow behaviour and acoustic (sound) power magnitudes that occur at different air flow rates are simulated in a computer environment using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation technique. In the study, numerical and visual outputs related to air behaviour at different air flow rates that may be used in the instrument manufacturing phases were obtained. Acoustic power level was also measured experimentally. Simulation outputs (the acoustic power level) were compared to experimental results in order to validate the simulation results. The comparison revealed that the highest relative difference was calculated as 13.32(%). This value indicated that the simulation results were reasonably consistent with the results of the experimental measurement. Additionally, this study was constructed as a case study that may provide reference for future research studies in this field.

Threshold decision for instrument control system and its application in nuclear power plant

Threshold decision is an important function of nuclear instrument control system based on physical parameters threshold decision. Because the conventional decision methods lack correlation with time and conditions, by analyzing the existing methods, some optimized methods are adopted. Considering safety, those methods are improved in data processing algorithms, floating threshold with multiple values, association with specific working condition, etc. These measures im- prove the nuclear instrument control system in fault tolerance and fault diagnosis, especially, the shutdown number of nucle- ar power plant decreases.

On the Azimuth Error of ESG Strapdown North-Seeking Instrument

Because the vector of angular momentum of ESG (electrostatically suspended gyroscope) maintains the fixed direction in inertial space, it may be regarded as a fixed star. The astronavigation aigorithm is used to estimate the azimuth angle and the gyro constant drift in the paper. The relative errors which affect the estimation accuracy of the azimuth angle are the analysed.

Automation of choice of instrumental equipment and study of thermo-stressed conditions of metal-cutting instrument

This article about possibility of automations of choice of instrumental equipment. In it described problems of choice of equipment, which are decided by means of mathematical model, developed on the base of finite element method.