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Background Contralateral C7 (CC7) nerve transfer has successfully restored hand function in patients with spastic hemiplegia from chronic central nervous system injuries. However, little is known about the morphology and anatomy of the donor C7 nerve root in patients undergoing this procedure. This study quantified intraoperative measurements of donor C7 nerve roots during CC7 transfer surgery for spastic hemiplegia in patients treated at a high-volume center to describe observed anatomical variations for successful direct anastomosis. Methods A database of images from 21 patients (2 females, 19 males) undergoing CC7 surgery was searched for photographic data that contained a standard ruler measuring donor C7 nerve root length after surgical sectioning and before transfer. Two independent observers analyzed these images and recorded C7 nerve root diameter, length, and branch lengths. Results Mean (SD) values of donor C7 nerve measurements were length, 53.5 (8.0) mm; diameter, 5.1 (0.9) mm; branch length following surgical sectioning, 18.3 (6.3) mm. Right-sided donor C7 nerve roots yielded significantly longer branches compared with left-sided donor C7 nerve roots (P = 0.01). Other patient factors such as age, sex, or laterality of brain injury did not influence intraoperative anatomy. Conclusions We report detailed intraoperative measurements of the donor C7 root during CC7 nerve transfer for spastic hemiplegia. These findings describe existing variation in surgical C7 nerve root anatomy in patients undergoing this procedure and may serve as a general reference for the expected donor C7 length in successful direct anastomosis.

Corticospinal neurons (CSNs) undertake direct cortical outputs to the spinal cord and innervate the upper limb through the brachial plexus. Our previous study has shown that the contralateral middle trunk transfer to the paralyzed upper extremity due to cerebral injury can reconstruct the functional cerebral cortex and improve the function of the paralyzed upper extremity. To interpret the cortical reconstruction and the motor improvement after the middle trunk transfer, we explored the distribution of CSNs connecting to the middle, upper, and lower trunk of the brachial plexus by retrograde trans-neuronal tracing using pseudorabies virus (PRV-EGFP or PRV-mRFP). We show that, rather than an individual specific area, these CSNs labelled by each trunk of the brachial plexus were widespread and mainly assembled within the primary motor cortex (M1), secondary motor cortex (M2), primary somatosensory cortex (S1), and slightly within the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2). The three trunk-labelled CSNs were intermingled in these cortices, and mostly connected to more than two trunks, especially the middle trunk-labelled CSNs with higher proportion of co-labelled neurons. Our findings revealed the distribution features of CSNs connecting to the adjacent spinal nerves that innervate the upper limb, which can improve our understanding of the corticospinal circuits associated with motor improvement and the functional cortical reconstruction after the middle trunk transfer.

In the post-pandemic era, the need for resilient and flexible COVID-19 prevention strategies in rural areas has become increasingly prominent. Based on a sample of 2229 rural residents nationwide, the Structural Equation Model was adopted to analyze the influence of social capital and technological empowerment on pandemic resilience in rural areas. The proportion of diversity, adequacy, and effectiveness of pandemic prevention measures taken by communities was about 57%. Social capital (0.667) and technological empowerment (0.325) had a significant positive impact on rural resilience and pandemic prevention. Social capital plays a mediating role between technological empowerment and pandemic resilience in rural areas. The risk of disease in society stimulates the inherent social capital factors in villages, with the individual social network generating strong social support. Technological empowerment can not only provide new methods for the connection of social capital, but also bring new means for rural authorities to improve their governance capabilities. Social trust in social capital plays an important role in rural resilience and pandemic prevention. The indirect effect of technological empowerment through social capital on pandemic resilience is greater than its direct effect. Social capital construction is the key to rural resilience and pandemic prevention.

Our previous investigation suggested that faster seventh cervical nerve (C7) regeneration occurs in patients with cerebral injury undergoing contralateral C7 transfer. This finding needed further verification, and the mechanism remained largely unknown. Here, Tinel's test revealed faster C7 regeneration in patients with cerebral injury, which was further confirmed in mice by electrophysiological recordings and histological analysis. Furthermore, we identified an altered systemic inflammatory response that led to the transformation of macrophage polarization as a mechanism underlying the increased nerve regeneration in patients with cerebral injury. In mice, we showed that, as a contributing factor, serum amyloid protein A1 (SAA1) promoted C7 regeneration and interfered with macrophage polarization in vivo. Our results indicate that altered inflammation promotes the regenerative capacity of the C7 nerve by altering macrophage behavior. SAA1 may be a therapeutic target to improve the recovery of injured peripheral nerves.

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and 5G, a series of IoT technology standard protocols, such as OneM2M, have been developed by standard-setting bodies. Although smart homes are growing rapidly, they have not yet formed uniform standards and full-scale home systems. Based on this, it is proposed that the public service entity (CSE) in the oneM2M standard be layered management, MN-CSE as the core node to achieve threshold detection, and the values are forwarded to IN-CSE for in-AE data operation of the smart home deployment scheme. Experiments have verified that the solution can significantly reduce the device requirements of the home core node MN-CSE and effectively reduce the cost of intelligent home deployment maintenance.

Colonoscopy tissue slides examination can find cells of early-stage colon tumor, which is important to clinical diagnosis. DigestPath2019 in MICCAI is a recent challenge to automatically segment colonoscopy lesion regions and classify the whole slide image WSI into benign or malignant. To obtain high accuracy and refined boundary information for lesion segmentation, this paper proposes an end-to-end segmentation and classification framework CoUNet, which combines a segmentation model D-ResUNet and CRFasRNN. Our D-ResUNet combines Deformable ResNet and UNet structure, which modifies the last two residual blocks of ResNet into deformable residual blocks. This strategy can ensure extracting high-level semantic information and retaining low-level cell morphologic information to improve the edge and shape predictions. The connected CRFasRNN formulates the CRF as RNN to reduce noise prediction of segmentation model and refine final segmentation performance. We also propose WSI-level color normalization strategy to normalize each patch in WSI to relieve various staining problem and balanced dice loss for solving data-imbalanced problem. Experimental results on DigestPath2019 show the efficiency and robustness of our proposed framework.

Stroke disturbs both the structural and functional integrity of the brain. The understanding of stroke pathophysiology has improved greatly in the past several decades. However, effective therapy is still limited, especially for patients who are in the subacute or chronic phase. Multiple novel therapies have been developed to improve clinical outcomes by improving brain plasticity. These approaches either focus on improving brain remodeling and restoration or on constructing a neural bypass to avoid brain injury. This review describes emerging therapies, including modern rehabilitation, brain stimulation, cell therapy, brain-computer interfaces, and peripheral nervous transfer, and highlights treatment-induced plasticity. Key evidence from basic studies on the underlying mechanisms is also briefly discussed. These insights should lead to a deeper understanding of the overall neural circuit changes, the clinical relevance of these changes in stroke, and stroke treatment progress, which will assist in the development of future approaches to enhance brain function after stroke.

Purpose The study was to explore whether the 3-dimensional printing guiding plate system could facilitate the modified procedure for arthroscopic treatment of nondisplaced scaphoid nonunion. Methods Patients, diagnosed with scaphoid nonunion without displacement, were randomly assigned into two groups. In Group A, the 3-dimensional printing guiding plate system was used for guiding fixation during the surgery. In Group B, fixation was performed with intra-operative fluoroscopy. The bone operation time was recorded during the surgery. The patients were evaluated before surgery and followed-up after six post-operative months, including motion ratio, strength ratio, Visual Analogue Scale, modified Mayo Scores, Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation scores, plain radiography and CT scan. Results Sixteen patients were recruited for the study. The average bone operation time in Group A was statistically shorter than that in Group B. Conclusions 3-dimensional printing technique-assisted arthroscopic bone graft and fixation of scaphoid nonunion constitute an effective and accurate clinical treatment option. The translational potential of this article The concept and technique of 3D printing assisted percutaneous fixation introduced in this paper have the potential to be applied in a variety of operations requiring accurate percutaneous fixation, especially for the joint injuries.

Background Spastic limb paralysis due to injury to a cerebral hemisphere can cause long-term disability. We investigated the effect of grafting the contralateral C7 nerve from the nonparalyzed side to the paralyzed side in patients with spastic arm paralysis due to chronic cerebral injury. Methods We randomly assigned 36 patients who had had unilateral arm paralysis for more than 5 years to undergo C7 nerve transfer plus rehabilitation (18 patients) or to undergo rehabilitation alone (18 patients). The primary outcome was the change from baseline to month 12 in the total score on the Fugl–Meyer upper-extremity scale (scores range from 0 to 66, with higher scores indicating better function). Results The mean increase in Fugl–Meyer score in the paralyzed arm was 17.7 in the surgery group and 2.6 in the control group (difference, 15.1; 95% confidence interval, 12.2 to 17.9; P

Background/Aims: Elabela (ELA) or Toddler is a recently identified hormone that plays a crucial role in embryonic development through the activation of the apelin receptor (APJ). Our previous study indicated that ELA is highly expressed in adult kidney and the ELA receptor signaling pathway is functional in mammalian systems. Whereas nothing is yet known regarding ELA and diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Here, we evaluated the relationship between serum ELA levels and albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: An observational study involving 80 patients divided into groups according to their baseline urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR): Group 1 (ACR ≤ 29 mg/g), Group 2 (ACR = 30–299 mg/g), Group 3 (ACR ≥ 300 mg/g with normal serum creatinine), and Group 4 (ACR ≥ 300 mg/g with increased serum creatinine). The demographic, clinical, and biochemical variables including serum ELA were obtained or measured through disease history, physical examination, or laboratory evidence. Results: The results showed that the serum ELA levels decreased gradually with the deterioration of DKD from the stages of normal albuminuria, microalbuminuria, macroalbuminuria, to macroalbuminuria and elevated serum creatinine. In addition, ELA had a significantly negative correlation with ACR (r = -0.561, P < 0.001), retinopathy (r = -0.424, P < 0.001), serum creatinine (r = -0.269, P = 0.016), SBP (r = -0.249, P = 0.026), DBP (r = -0.261, P = 0.020) and a positive correlation with eGFR (r = 0.318, P = 0.004). Furthermore, stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that ACR, retinopathy, and LDL-C were considered the most relevant variables to ELA, and ELA, retinopathy, eGFR, and age were important predictors for ACR (t = -4.546, P = 0.000). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the clinical relationship between ELA levels and CKD. Decreased serum ELA levels might be a significant clinical predictor in patients with DKD or even as a promising agent for treating CKD patients.

Optical smoothing is a very effective method to restrict mid-to-high spatial frequency errors generated by computer-controlled sub-aperture polishing technologies. According to Preston’s equation, pressure distribution is the key factor in describing the smoothing effect of a tool. Although the classic bridging model can solve pressure distribution during the smoothing process, it is only suitable for a tool that consists of a rigid base, compliant interlayer, thin metal plate, and pitch polishing layer. In this paper, a mathematical model applicable for any multi-layer polishing tool is proposed, which helps to calculate the pressure distribution dependent on the thickness of the layer, mid-spatial frequency errors at different periods, and the structures of polishing tools. Based on the model, the pressure distributions and smoothing rates of a rigid tool and a semi-flexible tool are deduced and compared in detail. Validity and improvement in accuracy are verified by comparison with the finite element model. In addition, three groups of experiments using a rigid tool and a semi-flexible tool for smoothing 4 mm and 8 mm period errors generated by magnetorheological finishing are carried out to validate the model. The simulation result of the smoothing rates of the errors after every smoothing process matches well with the experiment results.

We proposed contralateral cervical seventh nerve transfer for spastic arm paralysis after central neurological injury in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 2018. In this surgery, we applied a new surgical route for nerve transfer, the Huashan prespinal route. The objective of this study was to elaborate our new surgical technique, clarify its relationship to the vertebral artery, and provide anatomical data on this novel method. The effectiveness and safety of the Huashan prespinal route in contralateral C7 nerve transfer were evaluated anatomically. Nine cadavers (4 males, 5 females) were available for this study. Among these, anatomical parameters of the vertebral artery were obtained from 6 cadavers, and the anastomosis of the bilateral cervical seventh nerve was observed on 3 cadavers undergoing contralateral C7 nerve transfer via the Huashan prespinal route. Tension-free anastomosis of the bilateral cervical seventh nerve was achieved through the Huashan prespinal route. The tilt angle of the vertebral artery to the sagittal plane (with thyroid cartilage as the origin) was 25.5 ± 4.5°, at 22.5 ± 1.6° and 28.7 ± 4.3° on the left and right side, respectively. The safe drilling angle to penetrate through the longus colli muscles for the creation of a longus colli muscle tunnel to avoid injury to the vertebral artery in our surgical technique was above 33.2°. The cadaveric study confirms that the presented technique allowed simple, effective, and safe contralateral C7 nerve transfer. This technique can be used in the treatment of hemiplegia and brachial plexus injury. There is a safe scope of drilling angle for creating the longus colli muscle tunnel required for this surgical route. The anatomical parameters obtained in this study will be helpful for the performance of this operation.

Introduction The purpose of this study was to evaluate the application of ultrasound in the management of iatrogenic spinal accessory nerve palsy at the posterior cervical triangle area. Methods In this retrospective study, we compared ultrasonographic results with intraoperative findings in patients with iatrogenic spinal accessory nerve palsy during the time period from 2014 to 2018 at our hospital. Results Eleven patients were included. Ultrasound detected nerve transections in 9 patients and continuities in 2 patients. The ultrasonographic results were consistent with the intraoperative findings. Furthermore, ultrasound was able to accurately reveal lesion location in 8 of 9 patients with nerve transections. Discussion Ultrasound provides direct images about nerve lesions contributing to the diagnosis of iatrogenic spinal accessory nerve palsy at the posterior cervical triangle area and also reveals lesion location, assisting in formulating suitable surgical plans preoperatively. We recommend that ultrasound be integrated into the preoperative evaluation. Muscle Nerve 59:64-69, 2019.

Large-aperture aspheric mirror is usually transferred to the test axis by rotating and translating when measured by a computer-generated hologram(CGH). This paper focused on the optimal design of CGH, minimizing the line density of CGH, in testing off-axis aspheric mirror with large aperture, off-axis amount and asphericity. The analytics formula of the transferred aspheric is used for deriving the phase function of CGH by geometric computing. And the precision of optical path difference(OPD) is proved reaching nanometer level for aspheric mirror with large asphericity by zemax. The defocus and tilt-carrier amount are two parameters to be optimized for filtering the unwanted orders brought out by CGHs. A merit function consists of the line densities at lower and upper boundaries of CGH to describe the etching difficulty of CGH is proposed. The propagation progress is analyzed while the reflection is amended by considering the saggital height of the reflection point. The separated distance of the given (m,n) orders ray is proved reaching micron degree. The filtering condition is expressed as an inequalities system. The gradient descent method with Karush Kuhn Tucker condition is used for optimal solution of the constrained optimization problem. Finally, design example is presented and the parameter optimization for testing off-axis aspheric mirrors is proved to have a high precision, which providing extensive applicability possibility in designing freeform testing system.

Indirect X-ray imaging detectors consisting of scintillator screens, long-working-distance microscope lenses and scientific high-speed complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) cameras are usually used to realize fast X-ray imaging with white-beam synchrotron radiation. However, the detector efficiency is limited by the coupling efficiency of the long-working-distance microscope lenses, which is only about 5%. A long-working-distance microscope lenses system with a large numerical aperture (NA) is designed to increase the coupling efficiency. It offers an NA of 0.5 at 8× magnification. The Mitutoyo long-working-distance microscope lenses system offers an NA of 0.21 at 7.5× magnification. Compared with the Mitutoyo system, the developed long-working-distance microscope lenses system offers about twice the NA and four times the coupling efficiency. In the indirect X-ray imaging detector, a 50 µm-thick LuAG:Ce scintillator matching with the NA, and a high-speed visible-light CMOS FastCAM SAZ Photron camera are used. Test results show that the detector realized fast X-ray imaging with a frame rate of 100000 frames s−1 and fast X-ray microtomography with a temporal sampling rate up to 25 Hz (25 tomograms s−1).

We reported a rare peripheral nerve case, a patient developed carpal tunnel syndrome with a history of floating thumb in right hand. The median nerve was found expanded and spindle-shaped and a plexiform neurofibroma was diagnosed. Our case sheds light on anatomy and possible etiological association which may help clinical management.

Objective: We aimed to identify and analyze the characteristics of the 100 most highly-cited papers in the research field of deep brain stimulation (DBS). Methods: The Web of Science was searched for highly-cited papers related to DBS research. The number of citations, countries, institutions of origin, year of publication, and research area were noted and analyzed. Results: The 100 most highly-cited articles had a mean of 304.15 citations. These accrued an average of 25.39 citations a year. The most represented target by far was the subthalamic nucleus (STN). These articles were published in 46 high-impact journals, with Brain (n = 10) topping the list. These articles came from 11 countries, with the USA contributing the most highly-cited articles (n = 29); however, it was the University of Toronto (n = 13) in Canada that was the institution with the most highly-cited studies. Conclusions: This study identified the 100 most highly-cited studies and highlighted a historical perspective on the progress in the field of DBS. These findings allow for the recognition of the most influential reports and provide useful information that can indicate areas requiring further investigation.

In order to resolve the problems of the current air separation process such as the complex process, cumbersome operation and high operating costs, a novel air separation process cooled by LNG cold energy is proposed in this paper, which is based on high-efficiency heat exchanger network and chemical packing separation technology. The operating temperature range of LNG cold energy is widened from 133K–203K to 113K–283K by high-efficiency heat exchanger network and air separation pressure is declined from 0.5MPa to about 0.35MPa due to packing separation technology, thereby greatly improve the energy efficiency. Both the traditional and novel air separation processes are simulated with air handling capacity of 20t·h−1. Comparing with the traditional process, the LNG consumption is reduced by 44.2%, power consumption decrease is 211.5 kWh per hour, which means the annual benefit will be up to 1.218 million CNY. And the exergy efficiency is also improved by 42.5%.

Deep geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) could offer an essential solution to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from the continued use of fossil fuels. Currently, CO2 capture is both costly and energy intensive; it represents about 60% of the cost of the total carbon capture and storage (CCS) chain which is causing a bottleneck in advancement of CCS in China. This paper proposes capturing CO2 from coal chemical plants where the CO2 is high purity and relatively cheap to collect, thus offering an early opportunity for industrial-scale full-chain CCS implementation. The total amount of high concentration CO2 that will be emitted (or is being emitted) by the coal chemical factories approved by the National Development and Reform Commission described in this paper is 42 million tonnes. If all eight projects could utilize CCS, it would be of great significance for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in China. Basins which may provide storage sites for captured CO2 in North China are characterized by large sedimentary thicknesses and several sets of reservoir-caprock strata. Some oil fields are nearing depletion and a sub-set of these are potentially suitable for CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and CCS demonstration but all these still require detailed geological characterization. The short distance between the high concentration CO2 sources and potential storage sites should reduce transport costs and complications. The authors believe these high purity sources coupled with EOR or aquifer storage could offer China an opportunity to lead development in this globally beneficial CCS option

LiBr refrigeration cooling water contains a lot of low-temperature heat source, can use this part of the heat source heat boiler feed water. This paper introduced LiBr refrigeration – heat pump system which recovery heat of the LiBr refrigeration cooling water by heat pump system to heat the feed water of boiler. Hot economic analysis on the system has been performed based on the experimental data. Results show that LiBr refrigeration-heat pump system brings 26.6 percent decrease in primary energy rate consumption comparing with the combined heat and power production system(CHP) and separate generation of cold

A novel process to recovery natural gas liquids from oil field associated gas with liquefied natural gas (LNG) cryogenic energy utilization is proposed. Compared to the current electric refrigeration process, the proposed process uses the cryogenic energy of LNG and saves 62.6% of electricity. The proposed process recovers ethane, liquid petroleum gas (propane and butane) and heavier hydrocarbons, with total recovery rate of natural gas liquids up to 96.8%. In this paper, exergy analysis and the energy utilization diagram method (EUD) are used to assess the new process and identify the key operation units with large exergy loss. The results show that exergy efficiency of the new process is 44.3%. Compared to the electric refrigeration process, exergy efficiency of the new process is improved by 16%. The proposed process has been applied and implemented in a conceptual design scheme of the cryogenic energy utilization for a 300 million tons/yr LNG receiving terminal in a northern Chinese harbor.

Injury to peripheral nerves always results in progressive skeletal muscle atrophy and poor functional recovery. Previous studies have demonstrated that transplanting neural stem cells (NSCs) into peripheral nerve can differentiate into neurons and delay muscle atrophy. However, the mechanism was not very clear. In this study, we transplanted the fetal NSCs to the injured nerve and examined new formed neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) in the denervated muscle and arrest of muscle atrophy. In our study, two pregnant Fischer rats were used to harvest fetal NSCs, 70 rats were randomly divided into NSC-transplanted and control groups, five rats without surgery were used as the normal control. A volume of 5 microl culture media with or without fetal NSCs (5 x 10(6)) were transplanted into distal tibial nerve stump after the nerve was transected in two groups, respectively. Three, five, and seven months after denervation, the dry weight of gastrocnemius muscle was found significant heavier, and the fiber area was more retained in NSC-transplanted group comparing to the control group (P < 0.05). Neurons were found in the distal tibial nerves even 7 months after fetal NSCs transplantation. Newly formed NMJs were detected by immunohistochemistry. In addition, the results of electrophysiological analysis and retrograde tracing manifested that the neural pathway between muscle and differentiated neurons was integrity. In conclusions, our study demonstrated that fetal NSCs transplanted into peripheral nerves could differentiate into neurons and form functional NMJs with denervated muscle, which may be beneficial for the treatment of muscle atrophy after peripheral nerve injury.

Field enhancement effect of metal probe in evanescent field, induced by using a multi-layers structure for exciting surface plasmon resonance (SPR), is analyzed numerically by utilizing two-dimensional (2D) TM-wave finite difference time-domain (FDTD) method. In this letter, we used a fundamental mode Gaussian beam to induce evanescent field, and calculated the electric intensity. The results show that compared with the nonmetal probe, the metal probe has a larger field enhancement effect, and its scattering wave induced by field enhancement has a bigger decay coefficient. The field enhancement effect should conclude that the metal probe has an important application in nanolithography.

The focusing properties of a concentric piecewise cylindrical vector beam is investigated theoretically in this paper. The beam consists of three portions with different and changeable phase retardation and polarization. Numerical simulations show that the evolution of the focal shape is very considerable by changing the radius and polarization rotation angle of each portion of the vector beam. And some interesting focal spots may occur, such as two- or three-peak focus, dark hollow focus, ring focus, and two-ring-peak focus. Corresponding gradient force patterns are also computed, and novel trap patterns, including cup shell shape trap with one trap at its each side along axis, rectangle shell shape trap with one trap at its each side, dumbbell optical trap, spherical shell optical trap, may occur, which shows that the concentric piecewise cylindrical vector beam can be used to construct controllable optical tweezers.

Closed-loop control is important for amputees to manipulate myoelectric prostheses intuitively and dexterously. Tactile feedback can help amputees improve myoelectric control performance for grasping objects. To investigate the effects of different tactile feedback, we performed experiments on six amputees and six able-bodied subjects via electrotactile stimulation. Using a virtual environment, six kinds of objects with different weights and stiffnesses were used for grasping tasks. Five feedback conditions (no feedback, pressure feedback, slip feedback, pressure ${+}$ slip feedback, and vision feedback) were considered. Nine evaluation indexes and three control objectives (rapidity, economy, and stability) were proposed. Under the five feedback conditions, our study investigated four issues: 1) three types of grasping-related failures; 2) four types of grasping-related time measures; 3) average grasping force; 4) standard deviation of the grasping force. Results indicate that: 1) slip feedback is better than pressure feedback; 2) pressure ${+}$ slip feedback can improve grasping rapidity; 3) slip feedback significantly contributes to grasping economy and stability; and 4) pressure ${+}$ slip feedback can perform as well as vision feedback.

Purpose This study evaluated functional outcomes and safety after endoscopic and open bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome release in opposite hands of the same patients through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial data. Materials and Methods Randomized controlled trials involving both methods in opposite hands of patients with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome were identified via a systematic review of PUBMED and EMBASE. Results Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from five randomized controlled trials involving 142 patients with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome were calculated using fixed- or random-effect methods, with a length of follow-up from 24 to 52 weeks after surgery. Compared with open release, endoscopic carpal tunnel release was associated with significantly better Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire functional status scores (mean difference [MD] = 0.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.02 – 0.25]; P = 0.02), but not symptom severity scores (RR = 0.06, 95% CI [−0.15 to 0.04]; P = 0.25). Endoscopic release required a longer operative time, but the procedures did not differ significantly in visual analog scale pain scores (MD = 0.02, 95% CI [−0.08 to 0.11]; P = 0.75), handgrip strength (MD = 0.17, 95% CI [−2.03 to 2.37]; P = 0.88), digital sensibility static two-point discrimination (MD = 0.34, 95% CI [−0.03 to 0.70]; P = 0.07), or complication rates (MD = 0.01, 95% CI [−0.02 to 0.05], P = 0.47). Conclusion From intraindividual evidence, endoscopic release promoted better recovery of daily life functions than open release, but required a longer operative time. The procedures provided similar symptom relief and hand strength and sensibility recovery, and were safe for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome.

Blue ray optical storage is one of the important trends in the area of information storage, and attracts a number of researchers. Static tester for blue ray optical storage plays an important role in storage media research. We designed and constructed a static tester, in which modularization makes it very convenient to expand function. Employment of modulation/demodulation technique weakens test error so as to increase test precision. Focus move mode and the nano-positioners facilitate the relocation of recording marks. Only one laser with wavelength 406.7 nm is used. In this paper, system design and characteristics are represented in detail, and some experimental results are also given to show that the static tester can perform successfully, acting as research platform for blue ray optical storage.

We quantitatively analysed the factors contributing to the optical transmission enhancement of a sub-wavelength Sb thin film lens, using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The results show that the transmission enhancement of the dielectric with a Gaussian distributed refractive index loaded in a sub-wavelength circular hole is not only due to the high refractive index dielectric, but also due to the specific distributions of refractive index. It is the first study about the effects of the refractive index distribution on the transmission of a sub-wavelength aperture. This kind of lens has practical applications in the very small aperture lasers and for near-field optical storage and lithography.

Static recording characteristic of super-resolution near-field structure with antimony (Sb) is investigated in this paper. The recording marks are observed by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a high-resolution optical microscopy with a CCD camera and an atomic force microscopy (AFM). The super-resolution mechanism is also analyzed based on these static recording marks. Results show that the light reaching on recording layer is composed of two parts, one is the linear transmissive light (propagating field) and the other is the nonlinear evanescent light in the optical near field. The evanescent light may be greatly enhanced in the center of the spot because Sb will transit from a semiconductor to a metal when it is melted under the high laser power irradiation. This local melted area in the spot center may be like a metal tip in the optical near field that can collect and enhance the information that is far beyond the diffraction limit, which leads to the super-resolution recording and readout.

The effective refractive index of a kind of granular composite, which consists of granular metallic and magnetic inclusions with different radius embedded in a host medium, is theoretically investigated. Results show that for certain volume fractions of these two inclusions, the negative permittivity peak shifts to low frequency and the peak value increases with increasing radius ratio of the radius of magnetic granulae to that of metallic granulae. Simultaneously, peak value of permeability decreases with the radius ratio, and value peak shifts to high frequency with increasing volume fraction of magnetic inclusion. Therefore, the radius ratio can affect the effective refractive index considerably, and it is found that by adjusting the radius ratio, the refractive index may change between negative and positive values for certain volume fractions of the two inclusions.

In this paper, the evolution of the gradient force pattern, focal shift, and focal switch induced by a three-portion pure phase-shifting apodizer is numerically investigated in detail. The results show that the proposed apodizer may induce tunable gradient force on the particles in the focal region, focal shift, and focal switch. By adjusting the geometrical parameters of the phase-shifting apodizer, multiple traps may occur with changeable distance between them, and the shape of the optical trap also evolves evidently. More interestingly, for certain geometrical parameters of the proposed apodizer, by changing the phase shift of inner annular portion, the considerable focal shift may occur with focal switch accompanying, which is discussed to show that this kind of apodizer may be a very promising method of transporting trapped particles.

An ion beam aperture array lithography process was employed to fabricate highly ordered polymeric microfiltration membranes with pores that were nearly cylindrical and uniform in size. In this process, a stencil mask, containing a periodic array of circular openings (the aperture array) was irradiated by a broad beam of energetic (30 keV) helium ions. The ions passing through the openings exposed a resist on a substrate that was placed in close proximity thereby faithfully replicating the mask pattern. Over one hundred filters with either 200 or 350 nm diameter pore and pore densities varying from 2.5 × 107 to 4 × 108 # /cm2 were fabricated during the course of this study. Electron microscopy revealed that they all had highly uniform and equally spaced pores without any that overlapped. Additionally, the coefficient of variation of the pore diameter was less than 7% for all samples investigated revealing a very narrow pore size distribution in these membranes as well as a high degree of control of the lithography process. The effective filtration area of individual membranes manufactured in this study was only 0.25 cm2. However, we also show that our current manufacturing process can be scaled-up to fabricate larger areas at high throughput by employing larger masks.

The concentration of trace elements and their distribution in the late Permian coal in the Heshan coal field, Guangxi Autonomous Region, were analysed in this paper. The late Permian coal of the Heshan mining district was developed in a low energy and shallow, confined carbonate platform. Heshan coal is a low volatile bituminous coal characterized by a high sulphur content, ranging between 2.0% and 8.2%. Compared with the worldwide average content of the trace elements in coal, the content of some trace element in the study coal is markedly high (Bi, Ce, Cr, Cs, Cu, Ga, Hf, Sr, Ta, Th, U, V, W, Y, Zr, La, Mo, Nb and Sc). The trace element associations were investigated by means of intracorrelation analysis. Some elements, such as Cl, F and Sr are found in coal in association with the carbonate minerals. V, Cr, Zn, Mo, Ni and As contents in coal vary significantly amongst the coal samples. They are mainly concentrated in the lower part of the coal #4 upper of Suhe and Lilan mines and the coal #4 lower of Dong mine, and these possibly occurring in minerals such as arsenide and sulphide. The content of U in Heshan coal is high and is mainly concentrated at the upper and the lower parts of the coal seam and it is associated with mineral assemblages with Ba, Mo, V, Ni, Zn, Rb and Cr. Furthermore, La and Ce are highly correlated with those found in phosphate minerals and Pb, Sc, Ga, Th, Y and Sn to those in aluminosilicate minerals. The enrichment of some elements such as V, Cr, Zn, Mo, Ni, Rb as well as total sulphur and iron in the lower part of most coal seams might be associated with the formation of soil horizon before the accumulation of peat in the basin. Some other elements such as Cl, F, Sr and Ca are locally concentrated in the top of specific coal seams as a result of the leaching from overlying carbonates.

Super-resolution near-field structure (super-RENS) with bismuth (Bi) mask layer (Bi-super-RENS) is reported for the first time in this paper. Bi thin films with various thicknesses were studied by atomic force microscopy and grazing incident X-ray diffraction. Static optical recording tests with and without super-RENS were carried out using 650 nm semiconductor laser at recording power of 14 mW and 7 mW with pulse duration of 100 ns. The recording marks were observed by scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution optical microscopy with a CCD camera. Results showed that the Bi mask layer can also concentrate energy into the center of a laser beam at low laser power similar to the traditional Sb mask layer. Moreover, a (ZnS)80(SiO2)20 protection layer performed better than the SiN protection layer in the Bi-super-RENS. The direct observation of laser-recording marks may help better understand the working mechanism of the super-RENS, super-resolution ablation, and other nonlinear switch phenomena.

Effect of a pure phase-shifting apodizer on the three-dimensional light intensity distribution in focal region is theoretically investigated in this paper. The results show that the proposed apodizer may induce focus splitting and local minimization of light intensity. By adjusting the geometrical parameters of the phase-shifting apodizer, the focus can split into two or three peaks. And one or two local minimums of light intensity may occur between two intensity peaks. Under the condition of two-peak focus, the distance between the peaks is tunable by the apodizer.

According to the change of refractive index of Sb thin film with temperature and the radial distribution of temperature within the spot, we consider the dynamic optical aperture as a self-focusing thermal lens of Sb thin film in super-resolution near-field structure of SiN/Sb/SiN, and obtain the radius of the dynamic optical aperture (self-focusing thermal lens) 80 nm, the focusing length 22.5 nm, and the diameter of spot through the self-focusing thermal lens 100 nm by setting the Sb thin film thickness 30 nm, laser power 2 mW, and irradiation time on the Sb thin film 1.45 ns. At the same time, the intensity of spot focused by the self-focusing thermal lens of Sb thin films can be greatly enhanced. The working mechanism of Sb thin film in super-resolution near-field structure of SiN/Sb/SiN has been explained.

The project of cold energy utilization for cold storage of Xingtan LNG satellite station is the first cold energy utilization demonstration project of LNG satellite station in China with (2–4) × 104 m3/day gasification rate of LNG and 10–15 tons/day supply of liquid ammonia in a temperature range of −25 to −38 °C. Its innovation lies in the point of adopting two ammonia refrigeration circulation systems to recover LNG cold energy for cold storage at the same time. Although this project had operated smoothly for more than 2 years after commissioning, there still existed some problems. Such as refrigerant frozen blocking problem and undersupply of cold energy which are caused by underperformed coordination between the two ammonia refrigeration circulation systems. According to the equipment running state and automatic control system data, this article presented optimized analyses of the whole process, including using a redesigned ammonia refrigerant flow channel and achieving dynamic balance of ammonia refrigeration to relieve the refrigerant frozen blocking phenomenon, improving production process and optimizing process parameters to ameliorate the condition of the cold supply shortage problem. Combined with the above research, many new methods were proposed which can effectively solve the above problems in the utilization of LNG cold energy so as to increase the LNG cold energy utilization ratio and enhance the safety and stability of project operation. In addition, it provides a valuable reference for design, development and construction of other analogous LNG cold energy utilization projects in China.

The authors of this paper induced five principles of geographical symmetry based on the space distributions of cities and towns in China. There is a symmetry distribution of cities and towns. The symmetry characteristics are the following: (i) the average coordination number of the cities (including large cities, medium cities and county towns) is 6 ( i.g. rotation symmetry); (ii) the distribution of large and medium cities are shown to be the latticework in which two directions are parallel to two main tectonic ones in China, respectively; (iii) the distribution of county towns of a province is also shown to be the latticework in which two directions are parallel to two tectonic ones in this province (i. g. two-dimensional translation ) and (iv) the concentric circle distribution of cities (CCDC) is centered round a large city (i. g. rotation symmetry).

Adopting mask during proton implantation, we obtain several areas with different proton implantation in a single wafer of GaAs/AlGaAs asymmetrically coupled double quantum wells (ACDQW) grown by MBE, and investigated the characteristics using photoluminescence (PL) and photo-modulated reflectance (PR) spectroscopy. Without rapid thermal annealing, the maximum transition energy shift of 82 meV in a single wafer has been obtained in different areas. The diffusion length of Al is deduced according to spectrum, and compared with that calculated by diffusion coefficient function. It might be very useful for both edge-emitting laser or VCSELs in GaAs-based materials to provide index guiding and better optical design for devices. It is also a good method to set up a library for optimizing the ion implantation processes.

Ghost imaging via sparsity constraint (GISC)—which is developing into a new staring imaging lidar—can obtain both the range information and spatial distribution of a remote target with the use of the measurements below the Nyquist limit. In this work, schematics of both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) GISC lidar are introduced. Compared with the 2D GISC lidar, we demonstrate by both simulation and experimentally that the signal-to-noise ratio of the 3D GISC lidar can be dramatically enhanced when a time-resolved technique is used to record the target’s reflection signals and the orthogonal characteristic of the target’s 3D surface structure is taken as a priori in the image reconstruction process. Some characteristics of the 2D and 3D GISC lidar systems are also discussed.

This study focuses on the geochemistry and mineralogy of 23 coal seams from the Shuicheng and Luizhi coal fields from the Late Permian Liupanshui coal mining district, in the west of Guizhou province in southern China. Coal rank ranges widely from high volatile bituminous to low volatile bituminous and anthracite. Major mineral phases present in the Liupanshui coal are kaolinite, quartz, pyrite, and calcite. Traces of other primary minerals are marcasite, gypsum, and dolomite. The Shuicheng coal usually has higher kaolinite and quartz contents than the Luizhi coal. Marcasite occurs indiscriminately in the different coal seams without a clear distribution pattern. The presence of other minerals, such as rutile, anatase, tourmaline, zircon, and phosphates, was also noted. The total sulphur content of Liupanshui coals is higher in the marine-influenced coal seams (up to 7.5% dry), and lower in the nonmarine-influenced coals (as low as 0.3%). In the Luizhi coal field, the coal is characterised by a high sulphur and iron content, whereas in the Shuicheng coal field, contents varied from low to high, depending on the coal seams. An inverse geochemical distribution was detected for the mean contents of Ca–Mn–Ge, with lower contents in the Luizhi coal field. The Liupanshui coals are characterised by relatively high contents of Mn, V, Cu, Li, Zr, Nb, Hf, Ta, Tl, Th, and U, when comparing with the usual concentration ranges in bituminous coals. Trace elements in coals from Liupanshui showed narrow variations in their concentrations among coal seams and coal. Three major trace element affinities (aluminium-silicates, sulphides, and carbonates) accounted for the occurrence and distribution of most of the elements studied were determined.

21 páginas, 6 figuras, 7 tablas., This study summarizes the results of geological, petrographical, geochemical and mineralogical studies performed to determine the geological controls on coal quality of the Fuxin deposit, Liaoning Province, in northeast China. The study is focused on the Haizhou mine, which currently mines a coal-bearing clastic Lower Cretaceous series affected by a diabase intrusion. Three major coal seams are differentiated: the Taiping, the Middle and the Shunjawan. Fuxin coal is a high quality coal with low ash and sulphur contents (4.0 to 18.0% HTA and 0.3 to 0.8%Stot) and high calorific value (5600 to 7500 cal/g, as received basis). Coal impurities (both major and trace elements) are at very low concentrations; only a high Mn concentration (up to 8600 ppm) was detected. The rank of Fuxin coal (mainly high volatile B-bituminous coal) is clearly influenced by the diabase intrusion, which has induced the formation of natural coke from coal. Natural coke surrounds the diabase dykes and sills with a thickness ranging from a few centimetres up to 1.5 m. In addition, a wide aureole made up of high volatile A-bituminous coal formed around the coke. The diabase intrusion was not a major source of elemental mobilization, Mn being the only element clearly enriched in the coal (by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude). However, major changes in major and trace element distribution (affinities) were induced in the coal by the intrusion. The geochemical study revealed that these changes were the consequence of the mobilization of organic-, sulphide- and carbonate-associated elements., The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Academia Sinica for supporting this study.

We have investigated the photo-modulated reflection spectra of GaAs quantum wells where the top barrier is confined by thin Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 As layers. The optical transitions spectra of the first heavy hole hh1 and the first light hole lh1 states to the first electron sublevel e1 are observed. Due to the increase of the confinement potential in the near-surface quantum well by varying the Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 As top barrier thickness, we observe a significant blue-shift of the transition lines (hh1 to e1 and lh1 to e1) compared to the transition lines of the quantum well with a thick semiconductor barrier. The experimental observation on the energy shift and the variation of the strength ratio between the transitions e1–hh1 and e1–lh1 can be modeled by a rectangular well combined with a vacuum potential and built-in field.

Radio-frequency (RF) tissue fusion means sealing tissue between a knife and an electrode (monoploar) or two electrodes (biopolar) delivering RF currents. Even the mechanism of adhesion is poorly understood, RF modification is correlated to thermal damage. In this paper, a multimodal monitoring system with Aluminum-doped Zinc-Oxide (AZO) thin films glass as electrode is proposed and chicken bowel is chosen as tissue to be fused, thermocouple, impedance test module, video cassette recorder and burst pressure test module can record the whole process and test the result. It was capable of acquiring temperature of electrode, impedance of tissue, while the whole process of tissue modification been visible. As tissue being fused, burst pressure can be measured. Results show the process of RF tissue fusion, and transparent conductive films are capable of being a new kind of electrode in electrosurgery.

For remote sensing, high-resolution imaging techniques are helpful to catch more characteristic information of the target. We extend pseudo-thermal light ghost imaging to the area of remote imaging and propose a ghost imaging lidar system. For the first time, we demonstrate experimentally that the real-space image of a target at about 1.0 km range with 20 mm resolution is achieved by ghost imaging via sparsity constraints (GISC) technique. The characters of GISC technique compared to the existing lidar systems are also discussed., 4pages, 3figures

With the development of China’s natural gas industry and the improvement in the construction of medium,high pressure natural gas pipeline network,large scale utilization of pressure energy of natural gas with electronic gas alarm processors from pipeline network is possible.This paper developed a new process using pressure energy to produce cold water ,analyzed the energy and electricity saving benefit of this process,and pointed out the optimization direction of this process.The results of the study show that: with this process,income of the natural gas station of 1950000 Nm3/d is 24000 yuan,amounts to support cold water for 161000m2 for 8 hours everyday and the energy efficiency of the total process is 62.49%.This process will have a broad application prospects with the further development of China’s natural gas industry.

Purpose The optimal treatment for cubital tunnel syndrome is widely debated. The purpose of this study is to describe the technique of an endoscopic-assisted ulnar nerve decompression using carbon dioxide insufflation in association with subcutaneous anterior transposition and to assess the success or failure of the method of treatment. Methods In all, 8 male and 4 female patients with an average age of 42 years (range, 25-56) who presented signs, symptoms, and abnormal neurophysiological studies of cubital tunnel syndrome were recruited in the retrospective study. Between August 2008 and June 2009, they were operated on using a 0-degree lens endoscope. Preoperatively, they were classified according to the Dellon scale, and the Bishop rating system was used to evaluate the postoperative outcomes. Results Preoperatively, 5 patients were rated as mild, another 5 as moderate, and the remaining 2 as severe. The average length of the incision was 15 ± 3 mm, the mean length of the ulnar nerve decompression was 18 ± 2 cm, and the whole duration of surgery (skin to skin) lasted 30 ± 5 minutes. The endoscopic-assisted cubital tunnel release under carbon dioxide insufflation and subcutaneous anterior transposition surgeries in all patients were performed with no difficulty. All the patients had improvement in symptoms of cubital tunnel syndrome and 10 of 12 patients scored excellent according to the modified Bishop Rating System at a minimum of 1 year after surgery. Conclusions Endoscopy-assisted cubital tunnel release under carbon dioxide insufflation demonstrated similar results compared with conventional open surgeries, besides, it may avoid problems such as long incision, painful scarring, and have additional advantages of providing an extended endoscopic view, which is safe and mini-invasive with favorable results in a 12-month follow-up.

The aim of this study was to extend the clinical application of phrenic nerve neurotization in treating brachial plexus avulsion injury, reducing the possible damage on the diaphragm function. Fifty-one male Sprague-Dawley rats and 9 transgenic rats were used in this study. Evaluations including behavioral observation, histology, and electrophysiology study were performed postoperatively. The functional recovery of rats with the end-to-side neurorrhaphy reached 80% of those with end-to-end neurorrhaphy, and the function of diaphragm was preserved. The fluorescence study revealed abundant collateral sprouting of the phrenic nerve axons through the coaptation site in all the experimental groups. The study showed that the end-to-side neurorrhaphy in a helicoid manner and the standard end-to-side neurorrhaphy were effective in the treatment of brachial plexus root avulsion injury with little harm to the function of diaphragm. This will extend the clinical application of phrenic nerve neurotization in treating brachial plexus avulsion injury.