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.

Multi-functional photonic spin Hall effect sensor controlled by phase transition

Photonic spin Hall effect(PSHE), as a novel physical effect in light–matter interaction, provides an effective metrological method for characterizing the tiny variation in refractive index(RI). In this work, we propose a multi-functional PSHE sensor based on VO_(2), a material that can reveal the phase transition behavior. By applying thermal control, the mutual transformation into different phase states of VO_(2) can be realized, which contributes to the flexible switching between multiple RI sensing tasks. When VO_(2) is insulating, the ultrasensitive detection of glucose concentrations in human blood is achieved. When VO_(2) is in a mixed phase, the structure can be designed to distinguish between the normal cells and cancer cells through no-label and real-time monitoring. When VO_(2) is metallic, the proposed PSHE sensor can act as an RI indicator for gas analytes. Compared with other multi-functional sensing devices with the complex structures, our design consists of only one analyte and two VO_(2) layers, which is very simple and elegant. Therefore, the proposed VO_(2)-based PSHE sensor has outstanding advantages such as small size, high sensitivity, no-label, and real-time detection, providing a new approach for investigating tunable multi-functional sensors.

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.

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).

Problems and principles in translation of cross-cultural research instruments

The process of translation is an important part of cross-cultural studies. Cross-cultural researchers are often confronted by the need to translate instruments from one language to another. In the translation, linguistic equivalence, functional equivalence, cultural equivalence and metric equivalence are factors that need to be considered greatly. This paper examines the translation of cross-cultural research instrument from these points of view, illustrates with examples and puts forward suggestions for incorporating each factor into research studies.

Research on Instruments of Formative Assessment for Differentiated Language Teaching

Formative assessment is crucial to differentiated language teaching.To ensure the quality of differentiated teaching,some assessment instruments should be adopted during formative assessment,such as differentiated learning portfolios and group activity journal.The effective application of these instruments can also improve the students' autonomous language learning ability.

One-step spraying method to construct superhydrophobic magnesium surface with extraordinary robustness and multi-functions

The robust magnesium surfaces with multi-functions are highly desirable,and the simple and scalable methods to construct such surfaces are urgently indispensable.Herein,we conducted a one-step spraying method to facilely fabricate the robust coating with multi-functions on magnesium alloys.The as-sprayed magnesium alloys surface is superhydrophobic with a static water contact angle(WCA)of 157.0°and a roll-off angle of 6.0°.Such surface has excellent mechanical,chemical and thermal stabilities,even undergoing various physical and chemical damages,including sand impact(10 gmin^(-1),≥20 min),water impact(2 impacts s^(-1),≥180 min),abrasion(1.00 kPa,≥25 cycles),peeling(≥2.15 kPa),high temperature(200°C,≥24 h),strong acidic/salty/basic media(p H=113)and organic-solvent immersion(ethanol and n-hexane,≥24 h),demonstrating brilliant robustness.Notably,the surface displays multi-functions of corrosion protection,anti-fouling and heat insulation,which will undoubtedly promote the much wider applications of magnesium alloys.

Literature review and analysis of the application of health outcome assessment instruments in Chinese medicine

OBJECTIVE： To evaluate the application of health assessment instruments in Chinese medicine. METHODS： According to a pre-defined search strategy, a comprehensive literature search for all articles published in China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases was conducted. The resulting articles that met the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria were used for analysis. RESULTS： A total of 97 instruments for health outcome assessment in Chinese medicine have been used in fundamental and theoretical research, and 14 of these were also used in 29 clinical trials that were randomized controlled trials, or descriptive or cross-sectional studies. In 2 152 Chinese medicine-based studies that used instruments in their methodology, more than 150 questionnaires were identified. Among the identified questionnaires, 51 were used in more than 10 articles （0.5%）. Most of these instruments were developed in Western countries and few studies （4%） used the instrument as the primary evidence for their conclusions. CONCLUSION： Usage of instruments for health outcome assessment in Chinese medicine is increasing rapidly; however, current limitations include selection rationale, result interpretation and standardization, which must be addressed accordingly.

Cone-beam computed tomography analysis of curved root canals after mechanical preparation with three nickel-titanium rotary instruments

Cone beam computed tomography is a 3-dimensional high resolution imaging method. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 3 different NiTi rotary instruments used to prepare curved root canals on the final shape of the curved canals and total amount of root canal transportation by using cone-beam computed tomography. A total of 81 mesial root canals from 42 extracted human mandibular molars, with a curvature ranging from 15 to 45 degrees, were selected. Canals were randomly divided into 3 groups of 27 each. After preparation with Protaper, Revo-S and Hero Shaper, the amount of transportation and centering ability that occurred were assessed by using cone beam computed tomography. Utilizing preand post-instrumentation radiographs, straightening of the canal curvatures was determined with a computer image analysis program. Canals were metrically assessed for changes （surface area, changes in curvature and transportation） during canal preparation by using software SimPlant; instrument failures were also recorded. Mean total widths and outer and inner width measurements were determined on each central canal path and differences were statistically analyzed. The results showed that all instruments maintained the original canal curvature well with no significant differences between the different files （P=0.226）. During preparation there was failure of only one file （the protaper group）. In conclusion, under the conditions of this study, all instruments maintained the original canal curvature well and were safe to use. Areas of uninstrumented root canal wall were left in all regions using the various systems.

Structural optimization of precision instruments through modal analysis

In order to improve the dynamic stability of precision instruments during the design process, a compositive design method based on modal analysis of structure is proposed. With uniform boundary conditions and material characters, the results of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) vary with models. It should be checked whether the model is correctly simplified. Modal experiments can be used for such purpose. The method combines the high efficiency and agility of FEA with the reliability and accuracy of experiments, and avoids the drawbacks of FEA or experiments, such as uncertainty of FEA and high cost of experiments. Taking rotor frame structure as an example, this method is applied as follows: First the modal characters of structure are analyzed with FEA, and then the natural frequencies of the structure are tested by experiments to check the reliability of FEA method, and finally the design scheme is optimized by modifying structure parameters with confirmed FEA.

Design of Drilling and Riveting Multi-functional End Effector for CFRP and Aluminum Components in Robotic Aircraft Assembly

To fulfill the demands for higher quality,efficiency and flexibility in aviation industry,a multi-functional end effector is designed to automate the drilling and riveting processes in assembling carbon fiber reinforced polymer(CFRP)and aluminum components for a robotic aircraft assembly system.To meet the specific functional requirements for blind rivet installation on CFRP and aluminum materials,additional modules are incorporated on the end effector aside of the basic processing modules for drilling.And all of these processing modules allow for a onestep-drilling-countersinking process,hole inspection,automatic rivet feed,rivet geometry check,sealant application,rivet insertion and installation.Besides,to guarantee the better quality of the hole drilled and joints riveted,several online detection and adjustment measures are applied to this end effector,including the reference detection and perpendicular calibration,which could effectively ensure the positioning precision and perpendicular accuracy as demanded.Finally,the test result shows that this end effector is capable of producing each hole to a positioning precision within ±0.5 mm,aperpendicular accuracy within 0.3°,a diameter tolerance of H8,and a countersink depth tolerance of±0.01 mm.Moreover,it could drill and rivet up to three joints per minute,with acceptable shearing and tensile strength.

Development of a novel multi-functional integrated bioconjugate effectively targeting K-Ras mutant pancreatic cancer

Folate receptor(FR)overexpression occurs in a variety of cancers,including pancreatic cancer.In addition,enhanced macropinocytosis exists in K-Ras mutant pancreatic cancer.Furthermore,the occurrence of intensive desmoplasia causes a hypoxic microenvironment in pancreatic cancer.In this study,a novel FR-directed,macropinocytosis-enhanced,and highly cytotoxic bioconjugate folate(F)-human serum albumin(HSA)-apoprotein of lidamycin(LDP)-active enediyne(AE)derived from lidamycin was designed and prepared.F-HSA-LDP-AE consisted of four moieties:F,HSA,LDP,and AE.F-HSA-LDP presented high binding efficiency with the FR and pancreatic cancer cells.Its uptake in wild-type cells was more extensive than in K-Ras mutant-type cells.By in vivo optical imaging,F-HSA-LDP displayed prominent tumor-specific biodistribution in pancreatic cancer xenograft-bearing mice,showing clear and lasting tumor localization for 360 h.In the MTT assay,F-HSA-LDP-AE demonstrated potent cytotoxicity in three types of pancreatic cancer cell lines.It also induced apoptosis and caused G2/M cell cycle arrest.F-HSALDP-AE markedly suppressed the tumor growth of AsPc-1 pancreatic cancer xenografts in athymic mice.At well-tolerated doses of 0.5 and 1 mg/kg,(i.v.,twice),the inhibition rates were 91.2%and 94.8%,respectively(P<0.01).The results of this study indicate that the F-HSA-LDP multi-functional bioconjugate might be effective for treating K-Ras mutant pancreatic cancer.

An overview on observational instruments and measuring methods for dewfall

This paper systematically summarizes previous measuring methods and observational instruments for the magnitude of dewfall on land surface, analyzes the characteristics of common observational instruments for land surface dewfall, and describes several basic dewfall measurement methods. Moreover, the basic principles of these methods and instruments are interpreted, and their advantages, disadvantages, and applicability are analyzed. Recommendations for the further improvement of these observational instruments and the development of dewfall measuring methods are presented, and new technologies and scientific proposals for exploiting dewfall are elucidated.

Automatic Recognition Method for Optical Measuring Instruments Based on Machine Vision

Based on a comprehensive study of various algorithms, the automatic recognition of traditional ocular optical measuring instruments is realized. Taking a universal tools microscope(UTM) lens view image as an example, a 2-layer automatic recognition model for data reading is established after adopting a series of pre-processing algorithms. This model is an optimal combination of the correlation-based template matching method and a concurrent back propagation(BP) neural network. Multiple complementary feature extraction is used in generating the eigenvectors of the concurrent network. In order to improve fault-tolerance capacity, rotation invariant features based on Zernike moments are extracted from digit characters and a 4-dimensional group of the outline features is also obtained. Moreover, the operating time and reading accuracy can be adjusted dy-namically by setting the threshold value. The experimental result indicates that the newly developed algorithm has optimal recognition precision and working speed. The average reading ratio can achieve 97.23%. The recognition method can automatically obtain the results of optical measuring instruments rapidly and stably without modifying their original structure, which meets the application requirements.

Prevention and management of fractured instruments in endodontic treatment

Intracanal instrument fracture is an unpredictable and problematic occurrence that can prevent adequatecleaning and shaping procedures and influence the prognosis of endodontic treatment. The prevalence of instrument fracture is reported to range between 0.28% and 16.2%. This article presents an overview of the prevention and management of instruments fractured during endodontic therapy on the basis of literature retrieved from Pub Med and selected journal searches. Instrument fracture occurs because of reduced metal fatigue and/or torsional resistance. The reasons include canal morphology and curvature, manufacturing processes and instrument design, instrument use times and technique, rotational speeds and operator experience. With the development of various equipment and techniques, most of the retained instrument separations can be removed safely. However, in canals without associated periapical disease not every fractured separation should be removed from difficult locations because of the increased risk for root perforation and fracture. In difficult cases, either retain or bypass the fragment in the root canal and ensure regular follow-up reviews. Fractured instruments retained in the presence of periapical disease reduce significantly the prognosis of endodontically treated teeth, indicating a greater need to attempt the removal or bypass of the file separations. Apical surgery might be required in some instances, emphasizing the importance of preventing instrument fracture.

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.

Global Financial Crisis and Accounting Rules： The Implications of the New Exposure Draft （ED） Financial Instruments： Expected Credit Losses on the Evaluation of Banking Company Loans

During the financial crisis, the delayed recognition of credit losses on loans and other financial instruments was identified as a weakness in existing incurred loss model of impairment stated by International Accounting Standards （IAS） 39, because it is believed that this delay might generate pro-cyclical effects. In response to the recommendations of G20, Financial Crisis Advisory Group （FCAG）, and other international bodies, the International Accounting Standards Board （IASB） has undertaken, since 2009, as a part of the project to replace IAS 39, a project （partially shared with Financial Accounting Standards Board （FASB）） aimed at introducing an expected loss model of impairment. Within the scope of this subset project, the IASB has previously issued two exposure documents proposing models to account for expected credit losses： an exposure draft （ED） Financial Instrument： Amortized Cost and Impairment, published in November 2009, and a supplementary document （SD） Financial Instrument： Impairment, published jointly with the FASB in January 2011. However, neither of the two proposals received strong support from interested parties. Recently, the IASB, after the FASB＇s decision to withdraw from the joint project and to develop a separate expected credit loss model based on a single measurement approach consisting in the sole recognition of lifetime expected credit losses, published a third proposal--Ahe so-called expected credit losses model （ED/2013/3 Financial Instruments： Expected Credit Losses）.

Several Key Issues in Networking Management of Analytic Instruments

To improve the application of networking to analytic instruments, a kind of networking method based on conversion module between serial port RS-232 and protocol TCP/IP of MOXA Company is studied and compared with traditional methods. Several characteristic classifications of equipment are summarized, and the methods of relevant data treatment are introduced. The key technical issues and successful cases are also presented which provides the networking of equipment in laboratories with a flexible and highly efficient solution.

The possible effects on the future management of local Italian authorities following the use of financial derivative instruments

The appeal from municipalities, provinces and regions to financial derivative instruments is tied to the need of overcoming the situations in a state of urgency inherent in a balance. On average, one local Italian authority in twenty has decided to underwrite a derivative product, giving life to a number of contracts that had a value of over 35 billion euro with an average value of 6.5 million for each contract until 2007. The boom of swaps has, since 2000 on, experienced a peak period from 2003 to the end of 2005, in which the Euribor rate touched a very low level, maintained itself for long periods at around 2% and fallen in some cases even under this value. Many of the contracts completed before 2006, which link the debt of local authorities to variable rates, but also many of those completed from 2006 onwards that moved debt onto fixed rate, which are now a source of loss for the balance of local authorities that have underwritten them. In the 2002-2008 period, the number of the stipulation of contracts local authorities reported to the Ministry of Economy and Finance is about 900, corresponding to more or less 150 per year, which affected 18 regions, 44 provinces, 532 municipalities and 4 mountain commtmities, for a total of 594 authorities. Therefore, the local authorities have approached the derivative instruments in an often approximate way without a real awareness, both for the conditions that were being negotiated and the effects that they would have produced in perspective. The purpose of this work is to highlight the consequences of the use of derivative instruments on the future management of local authorities.

Competence investigation on insulation testing on electrosurgical instruments and needs analysis of training for Central Sterile Supply Department staff

Objective:The objective of this article is to investigate the competence of Central Sterile Supply Department(CSSD)staff in insulation testing on electrosurgical instruments,to analyze the needs of training for CSSD staff,and also to strengthen the effectiveness of monitoring the insulation testing on electrosurgical instruments for CSSD staff to provide a reference for the nursing safety training.Materials and Methods:A total of 180 CSSD staff from 36 hospitals were enrolled as the research objects and investigated using“self‑assessment questionnaire of the competence in insulation testing on electrosurgical instruments and the needs of training".Results:The overall self‑assessment score of competence in insulation testing on electrosurgical instruments for CSSD staff is 3.10±0.42,including four dimensions which are attitude,system,cognition,and skills with the scores 3.31±0.55,2.80±0.63,2.74±0.68,and 3.03±0.36,respectively.Based on the survey of training needs for CSSD staff,the top three ranked training needs are trace management record of insulation testing on electrosurgical instruments(93.89%),disposal procedures for insulation damage of electrosurgical instruments(92.78%),and adverse events caused by leakage of electrosurgical instruments(80.55%).Conclusion:The competence of insulation testing for CSSD staff is at a low level by overall.The competence of CSSD staff could be improved by analyzing the needs of training,establishing a systematic training system,and taking effective training action,thus ensuring the safety of patients and medical personnel.