Patient satisfaction and follow-up adherence to glaucoma case management clinic in China

AIM:To assess glaucoma patient satisfaction and follow-up adherence in case management and identify associated predictors to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes.METHODS:In this cross-sectional study,a total of 119 patients completed a Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire-18 and a sociodemographic questionnaire.Clinical data was obtained from the case management system.Follow-up adherence was defined as completing each follow-up within±30d of the scheduled time set by ophthalmologists during the study period.RESULTS:Average satisfaction scored 78.65±7,with an average of 4.39±0.58 across the seven dimensions.Age negatively correlated with satisfaction(P=0.008),whilst patients with follow-up duration of 2 or more years reported higher satisfaction(P=0.045).Multivariate logistics regression analysis revealed that longer follow-up durations were associated with lower follow-up adherence(OR=0.97,95%CI,0.95-1.00,P=0.044).Additionally,patients with suspected glaucoma(OR=2.72,95%CI,1.03-7.20,P=0.044)and those with an annual income over 100000 Chinese yuan demonstrated higher adherence(OR=5.57,95%CI,1.00-30.89,P=0.049).CONCLUSION:The case management model proves effective for glaucoma patients,with positive adherence rates.The implementation of this model can be optimized in the future based on the identified factors and extended to glaucoma patients in more hospitals.

Loss to Specialized Cardiology Follow-Up in Adults Living with Congenital Heart Disease

Background:Much has been written about the loss to follow-up in the transition between pediatric and adult Congenital Heart Disease(CHD)care centers.Much less is understood about the loss to follow-up(LTF)after a successful transition.This is critical too,as patients lost to specialised care are more likely to experience mor-bidity and premature mortality.Aims:To understand the prevalence and reasons for loss to follow-up(LTF)at a large Australian Adult Congenital Heart Disease(ACHD)centre.Methods:Patients with moderate or highly complex CHD and gaps in care of>3 years(defined as LTF)were identified from a comprehensive ACHD data-base.Structured telephone interviews examined current care and barriers to clinic attendance.Results:Overall,407(22%)of ACHD patients(n=1842)were LTF.The mean age at LTF was 31(SD 11.5)years and 54%were male;311(76%)were uncontactable.Compared to adults seen regularly,lost patients were younger,with a greater socio-economic disadvantage,and had less complex CHD(p<0.05 for all).We interviewed 59 patients(14%).The top 3 responses for care absences were“feeling well”(61%),losing track of time(36%),and not needing fol-low-up care(25%).Conclusions:A large proportion of the ACHD population becomes lost to specialised cardiac care,even after a successful transition.This Australian study reports younger age,moderate complexity defects,and socio-economic disadvantage as predictive of loss to follow-up.This study highlights the need for novel approaches to patient-centered service delivery even beyond the age of transition and resources to maintain patient engagement within the ACHD service.

Attack-Resilient Distributed Cooperative Control of Virtually Coupled High-Speed Trains via Topology Reconfiguration

Dear Editor,This letter addresses the resilient distributed cooperative control problem of a virtually coupled train convoy under stochastic disturbances and cyber attacks.The main purpose is to achieve distributed coordination of virtually coupled high-speed trains with the prescribed inter-train distance and same cruise velocity.

Speed limit effect during lane change in a two-lane lattice model under V2X environment

Speed limit measures are ubiquitous due to the complexity of the road environment,which can be supplied with the help of vehicle to everything(V2X)communication technology.Therefore,the influence of speed limit on traffic system will be investigated to construct a two-lane lattice model accounting for the speed limit effect during the lane change process under V2X environment.Accordingly,the stability condition and the mKdV equation are closely associated with the speed limit effect through theory analysis.Moreover,the evolution of density and hysteresis loop is simulated to demonstrate the positive role of the speed limit effect on traffic stability in the cases of strong reaction intensity and high limited speed.

Effect of speed humps on instantaneous traffic emissions in a microscopic model with limited deceleration capacity

As a common transportation facility, speed humps can control the speed of vehicles on special road sections to reduce traffic risks. At the same time, they also cause instantaneous traffic emissions. Based on the classic instantaneous traffic emission model and the limited deceleration capacity microscopic traffic flow model with slow-to-start rules, this paper has investigated the impact of speed humps on traffic flow and the instantaneous emissions of vehicle pollutants in a single lane situation. The numerical simulation results have shown that speed humps have significant effects on traffic flow and traffic emissions. In a free-flow region, the increase of speed humps leads to the continuous rise of CO_(2), NO_(X) and PM emissions. Within some density ranges, one finds that these pollutant emissions can evolve into some higher values under some random seeds. Under other random seeds, they can evolve into some lower values. In a wide moving jam region, the emission values of these pollutants sometimes appear as continuous or intermittent phenomenon. Compared to the refined Na Sch model, the present model has lower instantaneous emissions such as CO_(2), NO_(X) and PM and higher volatile organic components(VOC) emissions. Compared to the limited deceleration capacity model without slow-to-start rules, the present model also has lower instantaneous emissions such as CO_(2), NO_(X) and PM and higher VOC emissions in a wide moving jam region. These results can also be confirmed or explained by the statistical values of vehicle velocity and acceleration.

Complementary-Label Adversarial Domain Adaptation Fault Diagnosis Network under Time-Varying Rotational Speed and Weakly-Supervised Conditions

Recent research in cross-domain intelligence fault diagnosis of machinery still has some problems,such as relatively ideal speed conditions and sample conditions.In engineering practice,the rotational speed of the machine is often transient and time-varying,which makes the sample annotation increasingly expensive.Meanwhile,the number of samples collected from different health states is often unbalanced.To deal with the above challenges,a complementary-label(CL)adversarial domain adaptation fault diagnosis network(CLADAN)is proposed under time-varying rotational speed and weakly-supervised conditions.In the weakly supervised learning condition,machine prior information is used for sample annotation via cost-friendly complementary label learning.A diagnosticmodel learning strategywith discretized category probabilities is designed to avoidmulti-peak distribution of prediction results.In adversarial training process,we developed virtual adversarial regularization(VAR)strategy,which further enhances the robustness of the model by adding adversarial perturbations in the target domain.Comparative experiments on two case studies validated the superior performance of the proposed method.

Long-term assessment of collagenase treatment for Dupuytren’s contracture:A 10-year follow-up study

BACKGROUND Enzymatic fasciotomy with collagenase clostridium histolyticum(CCH)has revolutionized the treatment for Dupuytren’s contracture(DC).Despite its benefits,the long-term outcomes remain unclear.This study presented a comprehensive 10-year follow-up assessment of the enduring effects of CCH on patients with DC.AIM To compare the short-term(12 wk)and long-term(10 years)outcomes on CCH treatment in patients with DC.METHODS A cohort of 45 patients was treated with CCH at the metacarpophalangeal(MCP)joint and the proximal interphalangeal(PIP)joint and underwent systematic reevaluation.The study adhered to multicenter trial protocols,and assessments were conducted at 12 wk,7 years,and 10 years post-surgery.RESULTS Thirty-seven patients completed the 10-year follow-up.At 10 years,patients treated at the PIP joint exhibited a 100%recurrence.However,patients treated at the MCP joint only showed a 50%recurrence.Patient satisfaction varied,with a lower satisfaction reported in PIP joint cases.Recurrence exceeding 20 degrees on the total passive extension deficit was observed,indicating a challenge for sustained efficacy.Significant differences were noted between outcomes at the 7-year and 10-year intervals.CONCLUSION CCH demonstrated sustained efficacy when applied to the MCP joint.However,caution is warranted for CCH treatment at the PIP joint due to a high level of recurrence and low patient satisfaction.Re-intervention is needed within a decade of treatment.

Relationships between Terrain Features and Forecasting Errors of Surface Wind Speeds in a Mesoscale Numerical Weather Prediction Model

Numerical weather prediction(NWP)models have always presented large forecasting errors of surface wind speeds over regions with complex terrain.In this study,surface wind forecasts from an operational NWP model,the SMS-WARR(Shanghai Meteorological Service-WRF ADAS Rapid Refresh System),are analyzed to quantitatively reveal the relationships between the forecasted surface wind speed errors and terrain features,with the intent of providing clues to better apply the NWP model to complex terrain regions.The terrain features are described by three parameters:the standard deviation of the model grid-scale orography,terrain height error of the model,and slope angle.The results show that the forecast bias has a unimodal distribution with a change in the standard deviation of orography.The minimum ME(the mean value of bias)is 1.2 m s^(-1) when the standard deviation is between 60 and 70 m.A positive correlation exists between bias and terrain height error,with the ME increasing by 10%−30%for every 200 m increase in terrain height error.The ME decreases by 65.6%when slope angle increases from(0.5°−1.5°)to larger than 3.5°for uphill winds but increases by 35.4%when the absolute value of slope angle increases from(0.5°−1.5°)to(2.5°−3.5°)for downhill winds.Several sensitivity experiments are carried out with a model output statistical(MOS)calibration model for surface wind speeds and ME(RMSE)has been reduced by 90%(30%)by introducing terrain parameters,demonstrating the value of this study.

Preheating-assisted solid-state friction stir repair of Al-Mg-Si alloy plate at different rotational speeds

Additive friction stir deposition(AFSD)is a novel structural repair and manufacturing technology has become a research hotspot at home and abroad in the past five years.In this work,the microstructural evolution and mechanical performance of the Al-Mg-Si alloy plate repaired by the preheating-assisted AFSD process were investigated.To evaluate the tool rotation speed and substrate preheating for repair quality,the AFSD technique was used to additively repair 5 mm depth blind holes on 6061 aluminum alloy substrates.The results showed that preheat-assisted AFSD repair significantly improved joint bonding and joint strength compared to the control non-preheat substrate condition.Moreover,increasing rotation speed was also beneficial to improve the metallurgical bonding of the interface and avoid volume defects.Under preheating conditions,the UTS and elongation were positively correlated with rotation speed.Under the process parameters of preheated substrate and tool rotation speed of 1000 r/min,defect-free specimens could be obtained accompanied by tensile fracture occurring in the substrate rather than the repaired zone.The UTS and elongation reached the maximum values of 164.2MPa and 13.4%,which are equivalent to 99.4%and 140%of the heated substrate,respectively.

Effects of wind speed,underlying surface,and seed morphological traits on the secondary seed dispersal in the Tengger Desert,China

The maintenance of sand-fixing vegetation is important for the stability of artificial sand-fixing systems in which seed dispersal plays a key role.Based on field wind tunnel experiments using 11 common plant species on the southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert,China,we studied the secondary seed dispersal in the fixed and semi-fixed sand dunes as well as in the mobile dunes in order to understand the limitations of vegetation regeneration and the maintenance of its stability.Our results indicated that there were significant variations among the selected 11 plant species in the threshold of wind speed(TWS).The TWS of Caragana korshinskii was the highest among the 11 plant species,whereas that of Echinops gmelinii was the lowest.Seed morphological traits and underlying surface could generally explain the TWS.During the secondary seed dispersal processes,the proportions of seeds that did not disperse(no dispersal)and only dispersed over short distance(short-distance dispersal within the wind tunnel test section)were significantly higher than those of seeds that were buried(including lost seeds)and dispersed over long distance(long-distance dispersal beyond the wind tunnel test section).Compared with other habitats,the mobile dunes were the most difficult places for secondary seed dispersal.Buried seeds were the easiest to be found in the semi-fixed sand dunes,whereas fixed sand dunes were the best sites for seeds that dispersed over long distance.The results of linear mixed models showed that after controlling the dispersal distance,smaller and rounder seeds dispersed farther.Shape index and wind speed were the two significant influencing factors on the burial of seeds.The explanatory power of wind speed,underlying surface,and seed morphological traits on the seeds that did not disperse and dispersed over short distance was far greater than that on the seeds that were buried and dispersed over long distance,implying that the processes and mechanisms of burial and long-distance dispersal are more complex.In summary,most seeds in the study area either did not move,were buried,or dispersed over short distance,promoting local vegetation regeneration.

Environmental Impact Assessment Follow-Up of Seismic Survey Offshore Activities in Brazil

Follow-up of environmental impacts is an integral part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, closely related to the effectiveness of the instrument. EIA follow-up has been receiving a lot of interest from scientists and practitioners, though it is recognized as one of the weakest points of EIA systems globally. Also, EIA follow-up is influenced by the context, mainly in terms of the types of projects or activities and their related impacts on the environment. Therefore, the present paper is focused on the investigation of the follow-up stage applied to the activity of seismic survey coupled with offshore oil & gas exploitation in Brazil. Research was based on a qualitative approach that included document analysis and semi-structured interviews with analysts involved in EIA processes, and sought to generate evidence of effectiveness of the EIA follow-up as conducted by the Federal Environment Agency (Ibama) in order to situate the practice of follow-up in the broader context of international best practice principles. Based on the findings, it was concluded that, due to the peculiarities of offshore seismic survey, it is necessary to promote adaptations in the procedures for monitoring impacts in order to ensure proper alignment with the principles and conceptual foundations that guide EIA practice. Specifically, the timing of the execution of the activity imposes challenges for its integration into the “conventional” cycle that has guided the monitoring of the impacts in the EIA of projects.

Experimental study on the variation of optical remote sensing imaging characteristics of internal solitary waves with wind speed

Optical remote sensing has been widely used to study internal solitary waves(ISWs).Wind speed has an important effect on ISW imaging of optical remote sensing.The light and dark bands of ISWs cannot be observed by optical remote sensing when the wind is too strong.The relationship between the characteristics of ISWs bands in optical remote sensing images and the wind speed is still unclear.The influence of wind speeds on the characteristics of the ISWs bands is investigated based on the physical simulation experiments with the wind speeds of 1.6,3.1,3.5,3.8,and 3.9 m/s.The experimental results show that when the wind speed is 3.9 m/s,the ISWs bands cannot be observed in optical remote sensing images with the stratification of h_(1)∶h_(2)=7∶58,ρ_(1)∶ρ_(2)=1∶1.04.When the wind speeds are 3.1,3.5,and 3.8 m/s,which is lower than 3.9 m/s,the ISWs bands can be obtained in the simulated optical remote sensing image.The location of the band’s dark and light extremum and the band’s peak-to-peak spacing are almost not affected by wind speed.More-significant wind speeds can cause a greater gray difference of the light-dark bands.This provided a scientific basis for further understanding of ISW optical remote sensing imaging.

Corrosion Test of the Steel Plate in a WJ-8 Fastener for High Speed Rail

It was found that the steel plate in the composite plate in the WJ-8 fastener used in high speed rail is rusty. The objective of this study is to test the zinc coating of the steel plate. A literature review was conducted to identify the zinc coating techniques, and the companies that can provide different coating service was identified. A salt fog chamber was built that was in compliance with the ANSI B117 code, and the steel plates that were coated by the identified companies were tested using the salt fog chamber. The results indicated that the coating technique that had the best performance in preventing corrosion was the Greenkote plates with passivation. The galvanized option had the roughest coating layer, and it was the most reactive in the salt water solution. This makes it non-ideal for the dynamic rail environment because the increased friction of the plate could damage the supports, especially during extreme temperatures that would cause the rail to expand or contract. Greenkote with Phosphate and ArmorGalv also provided increased corrosion prevention with a smooth, strong finish, but it had more rust on the surface area than the Greenkote with ELU passivation. The ArmorGalv sample had more rust on the surface area than the Greenkote samples. This may not be a weakness in the ArmorGalv process;rather, it likely was the result of this particular sample not having the added protection of a colored coating.

Determining future high speed rail review topics through bibliometric analysis

As High Speed Rail(HSR)has proliferated globally,so has a related research field dedicated to exploring and addressing its unique issues.Yet,studies to understand and classify the HSR research domain are limited.This paper addresses the gap,using bibliometric analysis to identify future research areas and 20 candidate topics for literature review based on keyword analysis through VOSviewer.Article and review papers related to HSR published in the last 20 years(2003-2022)were retrieved from Scopus,and then analyzed to determine the split in knowledge between languages,the collaboration between countries and institutions,highly productive and cited journals,and research topics which have and have not been reviewed.Approximately 30%of the search results were published exclusively in Chinese,highlighting the importance of extending the evaluation to cover both languages.This is a novel aspect of the work,which has enabled the recognition of potential knowledge gaps.It is recommended that future reviews incorporate works in both languages,possibly through international collaboration.Institutions in China and other countries that are strong collaborators have been identified,as well as relevant,highly cited journals.

Numerical analysis of high‑speed railway slab tracks using calibrated and validated 3D time‑domain modelling

Concrete slabs are widely used in modern railways to increase the inherent resilient quality of the tracks,provide safe and smooth rides,and reduce the maintenance frequency.In this paper,the elastic performance of a novel slab trackform for high-speed railways is investigated using three-dimensional finite element modelling in Abaqus.It is then compared to the performance of a ballasted track.First,slab and ballasted track models are developed to replicate the full-scale testing of track sections.Once the models are calibrated with the experimental results,the novel slab model is developed and compared against the calibrated slab track results.The slab and ballasted track models are then extended to create linear dynamic models,considering the track geodynamics,and simulating train passages at various speeds,for which the Ledsgard documented case was used to validate the models.Trains travelling at low and high speeds are analysed to investigate the track deflections and the wave propagation in the soil,considering the issues associated with critical speeds.Various train loading methods are discussed,and the most practical approach is retained and described.Moreover,correlations are made between the geotechnical parameters of modern high-speed rail and conventional standards.It is found that considering the same ground condition,the slab track deflections are considerably smaller than those of the ballasted track at high speeds,while they show similar behaviour at low speeds.

Study on the pattern of train arrival headway time in high-speed railway

Purpose-The design goal for the tracking interval of high-speed railway trains in China is 3 min,but it is difficult to achieve,and it is widely believed that it is mainly limited by the tracking interval of train arrivals.If the train arrival tracking interval can be compressed,it will be beneficial for China's high-speed railway to achieve a 3-min train tracking interval.The goal of this article is to study how to compress the train arrival tracking interval.Design/methodologylapproach-By simulating the process of dense train groups arriving at the station and stopping,the headway between train arrivals at the station was calculated,and the pattern of train arrival headway was obtained,changing the traditional understanding that the train arrival headway is considered the main factor limiting the headway of trains.Findings-When the running speed of trains is high,the headway between trains is short,the length of the station approach throat area is considerable and frequent train arrivals at the station,the arrival headway for the first group or several groups of trains will exceed the headway,but the subsequent sets of trains will havea headway equal to the arrival headway.This convergence characteristic is obtained by appropriately increasing the running time.Originality/value-According to this pattern,there is no need to overly emphasize the impact of train arrival headway on the headway.This plays an important role in compressing train headway and improving high-speedrailwaycapacity.

Key technologies of earthquake early warning system for China’s high-speed railway

Purpose–The purpose of this study is to introduce the top-level design ideas and the overall architecture of earthquake early-warning system for high speed railways in China,which is based on P-wave earthquake early-warning and multiple ways of rapid treatment.Design/methodology/approach–The paper describes the key technologies that are involved in the development of the system,such as P-wave identification and earthquake early-warning,multi-source seismic information fusion and earthquake emergency treatment technologies.The paper also presents the test results of the system,which show that it has complete functions and its major performance indicators meet the design requirements.Findings–The study demonstrates that the high speed railways earthquake early-warning system serves as an important technical tool for high speed railways to cope with the threat of earthquake to the operation safety.The key technical indicators of the system have excellent performance:The first report time of the P-wave is less than three seconds.From the first arrival of P-wave to the beginning of train braking,the total delay of onboard emergency treatment is 3.63 seconds under 95%probability.The average total delay for power failures triggered by substations is 3.3 seconds.Originality/value–The paper provides a valuable reference for the research and development of earthquake early-warning system for high speed railways in other countries and regions.It also contributes to the earthquake prevention and disaster reduction efforts.

Roller Screw and Threaded Chain Speed Reducer: An Experimental Evaluation

We are developing a speed reducer that can be considered a transformation of a worm gear reducer: the worm is replaced by an inverted roller screw, and the gear is replaced by a threaded chain drive. This configuration lessens wear, increases load capacity, and improves efficiency. The threaded chain consists of nut-shaped links. This paper presents the results of tests carried out on a prototype with a reduction ratio of 46.

A Method to Obtain the Moving Speed of Uncooperative Target Based on Only Two Measurements

The existing research results show that a fixed single station must conduct three consecutive frequency shift measurements and obtain the target’s moving speed by constructing two frequency difference equations. This article proposes a new method that requires only two consecutive measurements. While using the azimuth measurement to obtain the angular difference between two radial distances, it also conducts two consecutive Doppler frequency shift measurements at the same target azimuth. On the basis of this measurement, a frequency difference equation is first constructed and solved jointly with the Doppler frequency shift equation. By eliminating the velocity variable and using the measured angular difference to obtain the target’s lead angle, the target’s velocity can be solved by using the Doppler frequency shift equation again. The new method avoids the condition that the target must move equidistantly, which not only provides an achievable method for engineering applications but also lays a good foundation for further exploring the use of steady-state signals to achieve passive positioning.

A Study on Reconstruction of Surface Wind Speed in China Due to Various Climate Variabilities

Using European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis V5(ERA5)reanalysis data,this study investigated the reconstruction effects of various climate variabilities on surface wind speed in China from 1979 to 2022.The results indicated that the reconstructed annual mean wind speed and the standard deviation of the annual mean wind speed,utilizing various climate variability indices,exhibited similar spatial modes to the reanalysis data,with spatial correlation coefficients of 0.99 and 0.94,respectively.In the reconstruction of six major wind power installed capacity provinces/autonomous regions in China,the effects were notably good for Hebei and Shanxi provinces,with the correlation coefficients for the interannual regional average wind speed time series being 0.65 and 0.64,respectively.The reconstruction effects of surface wind speed differed across seasons,with spring and summer reconstructions showing the highest correlation with reanalysis data.The correlation coefficients for all seasons across most regions in China ranged between 0.4 and 0.8.Among the reconstructed seasonal wind speeds for the six provinces/autonomous regions,Shanxi Province in spring exhibited the highest correlation with the reanalysis,with a coefficient of 0.61.The large-scale climate variability indices showed good reconstruction effects on the annual mean wind speed in China,and could explain the interannual variability trends of surface wind speed in most regions of China,particularly in the main wind energy provinces/autonomous regions.