Treatment of mild and moderate congenital ptosis via the levator imbrication technique

Background:To correct mild and moderate congenital ptosis,traditional surgical techniques usually include dissection of the Müller’s muscle.Meanwhile,both the levator palpebrae superioris and the Müller’s muscle play a synergistic role to elevate the upper eyelid.Thus,to protect the Müller muscle and minimize injury,we developed and applied a levator imbrication technique in patients with mild and moderate congenital ptosis and followed it up to evaluate its clinical efficacy.Methods:This retrospective case series included 53 patients with mild and moderate congenital ptosis,all of whom had undergone ptosis correction using the levator imbrication technique at the Plastic and Aesthetic Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between June 2018 and June 2020.The outcomes of correction,upper eyelid appearance,and operative complications were observed and analyzed.The postoperative follow-up was 3–12 months.Results:Fifty cases of ptosis were fully corrected,and the bilateral double eyelids were smooth and natural.The eyelids of 20 patients were incompletely closed immediately after the operation but were able to close spontaneously within 2 weeks.No serious complications such as exposure keratitis were reported.Three patients with undercorrection underwent reoperation 3 months after the first operation,and ptosis was corrected.Conclusion:The levator imbrication technique for mild and moderate congenital ptosis is simple to perform and shortens the operation time with less damage,stable postoperative outcomes,and no long-term complications.

Wadi Fatima Thin-Skinned Foreland FAT Belt: A Post Amalgamation Marine Basin in the Arabian Shield

Wadi Fatima fold-thrust (FAT) belt is a distinctive foreland FAT belt in the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) involving unmetamorphosed to slightly metamorphosed sedimentary sequence of Fatima Group, deposited over a metamorphic/igneous basement, comprising ortho-amphibolites, orthoand para-schists (with chaotic unmappable blocks of marbles, pyroxenites and metagabbros), older granite (773 ± 16 Ma) and younger granite. The basement exhibits structural fabrics, such as attenuated tight isoclinal folds, sheared-out hinges, NE-SW penetrative foliation and subhorizontal stretched and mineral lineations, related to an oldest prominent dextral shearing phase affected the main Wadi Fatima during the Neoproterozoic. In Wadi Fatima FAT belt, the style of deformation encompasses flexural-slip folding forming mesoscopicand map-scales NE to ENE plunging overturned antiforms and synforms, and a thrust duplex system bounded by floor thrust and sole thrust (basal detachment) dipping gently towards the hinterland (SE to SSE direction) and rises stratigraphically upwards towards the foreland. Such style is affiliated to thin-skinned deformation. Several lines of evidence, such as geometry of interacting outcropand map-scale folds and thrusts, patterns of thrust displacement variations and indications for hinge migration during fold growth, strongly suggest that folding and thrusting in Wadi Fatima FAT belt are geometrically and kinematically linked and that thrusting initiated as a consequence of folding (fold-first kinematics). Thrusts frequently show flat-ramp-flat geometry, and every so often give an impression that they are formed during two main sub-stages;an older sub-stage during which bedding sub-parallel thrusts were formed, and a younger sub-stage which generated younger ramps oblique to bedding. Thrust ramps with SE to SSE dipping regularly show sequential decrease in dip or inclination (due to piggy-back imbrication) into their transport direction which is proposed to be towards NW to NNW. Evidence indicating this transport direction of Wadi Fatima FAT belt embrace NW to NNW oriented stretching lineations recorded along thrust planes, NW to NNW folding vergence, and diminishing of the intensity of deformation and thrust stacking and imbrication from SE to NW;i.e. from hinterland to foreland. The tectonic transport vector is congruent with the mean orientation of slickenline striae formed by layer-parallel slipping along folded bedding planes. The mean orientation of slickenline lineations, after their host beds were rotated to horizontal about their strikes, is found to be N25°W - S25°E. Two tectonic models are proposed to unravel the structural history of the study area and to illustrate the tectonic evolution of Wadi Fatima FAT belt which represents one of interesting foreland FAT belts recorded worldwide. In the first model, the area was evolved from dextral shearing during the early convergence and amalgamation between East and West Gondwana, to emplacement of the older granite during a period of crustal cessation and relaxation, NNW SSE extension and extrusion of dyke swarms, emplacement of younger granite, deposition of Fatima Group over an ancient peneplain, layer parallel shortening, folding and fold tightening and overturning, thrusting, NE-SW (to NNE-SSW) shortening, and eventually NE tilting accompanied with Red Sea rifting (?). The second model suggests the presence of basement ramps (pre-existing normal faults), with NW to NNW dipping, have a strong effect on overlying Fatima Group which was evolved throughout gravitational, soft-sediment slumping and deformation.

The role of mechanical stratigraphy in the lateral variations of thrust development along the central Alberta Foothills, Canada

Fold-thrust belts generally exhibit significant variations in structural styles such as differences in thrust geometries and frequencies in imbrication. A natural laboratory of this pattern is preserved in the central Alberta Foothills of the Canadian Rockies, where differences in thrust geometries are represented by the existence vs. non-existence of triangle zones. To seek the factors that make this difference in these regions in terms of structural geometry, stratigraphic thickness variations and mechanical stratigraphy of the sedimentary layers, structural interpretation is conducted based on admissible cross-sections and well log interpretations. In northern region, a backthrust is detached from an incompetent layer(viz.Nomad Unit of the Wapiabi Formation), which gets thinner from the Foothills to the Plains, indicating that it is developed where the shale layers are pinched out where triangle zone is developed. Backthrust is also developed in the southern region, where mechanical strengths of strata(viz. Bearpaw Formation)increase toward the foreland. In the central region, however, only forethrusts are developed along the weak continuous decollement layers(viz. Turner Valley and Brazeau formations), forming an imbricate fan without development of the triangle zone. Incompetent layers such as the top Wapiabi(Nomad),Brazeau(Bearpaw), Coalspur and Paskapoo formations are also pinched out laterally, forming fault glide horizons in different stratigraphic levels in each region. These results indicate that, along the transport direction, triangle zone is developed in relation to the stratigraphic pinch out of the Nomad Unit in the northern region, and is formed associated with the variations in strengths of the layers constituting the Bearpaw Formation in the southern region. It is notable that all the glide horizons are developed along incompetent layers. However, triangle zones are not developed in the areas of continuous stratigraphy of the Nomad Unit, which does not serve as a glide horizon in the central region. This suggests that factors such as stratigraphic thickness changes of incompetent layers and mechanical stratigraphy of the sedimentary layers play an important role in the development of lateral variations in thrust system evolution in terms of triangle zone vs. imbricate fan in the central Alberta Foothills.

Structural Characteristics of Sainan Imbricated Thrust System in the North-Fringe Block-Faulting Belt of Qaidam Basin

Sainan imbricated thrust system is a kind of typical nappe structure. Using the method of plot excess area, this paper calculates the detachment depth of this thrust system. The calculating result shows that the detachment depth is about 15 km underground and tbe shorteuiug of the strata is much more than 700 m. Analysis of fault growth indexs and seismic reflection profiles reveals that this thrust system is developed by the mixing propagation, from piggyback propagation to overstep propagation.

Film-Forming Properties of Fullerene Derivatives in Electrospray Deposition Method

Thin films of three types of fullerene derivatives were prepared through the electrospray deposition (ESD) method. The optimized conditions for the fabrication of the thin films were investigated for different types of fullerene derivatives: [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester, [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester, and indene-C60-monoadduct. The spray diameter during the ESD process was observed as a function of the supply rate achieved by changing the applied voltage. In all cases, the spray diameter increased with increasing applied voltage, reaching the maximum diameter (Dmax) in the voltage range 4 to 6 kV. It was clear that Dmax was influenced by the dipole moments of the fullerene derivatives (as calculated by density functional theory methods). Scanning electron microscopy observation of the?fabricated thin films showed that imbricated structures were formed through the stacking of the fullerene-derivative sheets. Atomic force microscopy images revealed that the density of the imbricated structure was dependent on the spray diameter during the ESD process, and the root-mean-square roughness of the film surface decreased with increasing applied voltage. These findings suggest that the ESD method will be effective for the preparation of fullerene-derivative thin films for the production of organic devices.

XU-HUAI NAPPE

The Xu-Huai nappe extends from its northeastern end Taierzhuangin Shandong Province through Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province to Huaibei in Anhui Province. It has been found to be a complex one and contains two generations of folds, the earlier one of which presents itself as a recumbent or recline fold. Two kinds