Search

Aiming at the problems of serious soil compaction, small row spacing, large tillage resistance and easy entanglement in tea gardens, a bionic shovel based on discrete element method was proposed, and its drag reduction performance was studied. The physical parameters of the compacted soil in tea garden were measured by discrete element simulation and experiment method. Taking the mole claw as the prototype, combined with its digging action, a tillage agency based on a four-bar mechanism was designed, and the drag reduction effects of the claw tip and claw profile of the mole claw were studied using the discrete element method. From the discrete element simulation results, it can be seen that under various tillage conditions, the average torque reduction ratio and power consumption reduction ratio of the claw-tip bionic feature were 1.72%-5.04% and 1.58%-4.84%, respectively. The average torque reduction ratio and power consumption reduction ratio of the claw profile bionic feature were 34.06%-39.29% and 29.02%-34.73%, respectively. The average torque reduction ratio and power consumption reduction ratio of the composite bionic feature were 36.61%-42.06% and 30.84%-38.15%, respectively. It can be seen that the drag reduction effects of the two bionic features could be superposed to a certain extent, and the combined bionic feature had a better drag reduction effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report luminous polylactic acid (PLA) composite prepared via a solvent casting method using different amounts of phosphor strontium aluminate (SrAl2O4: Eu2+ and Dy3+) (SAO). The reason for doing this is that the changes of fluorescence and mechanical properties in the composites with different SAO contents can be directly evaluated. The SAO particles should have a variety of excellent characteristics in the PLA matrix, among which dispersibility and compatibility are particularly important; so, they can be modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) to achieve the target characteristics. The results showed that the fluorescence and mechanical properties were affected by SAO addition. The mechanical properties significantly improved with 5 wt% SAO; further, addition had no impact. And the emission band of fluorescence and phosphorescence is just at the peak of 524 nm. The composites with 15 wt% SAO have the best fluorescence properties. The fluorescence decreased with further doping. Fluorescence decay curves with various amounts of SAO particles show a similar tendency as pure SAO particles; the speed of decrease in afterglow intensity was higher for the first 30 min. In addition, the detailed morphological scanning and study by scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that the particles had good adhesion to the matrix. In conclusion, the concentration of SAO into the PLA matrix impacts the fluorescence and mechanical properties of a SAO/PLA composite material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genitourinary symptoms of menopause (GSM) affect ~50% of women after menopause. Recently, CO2 laser therapy has been used for managing GSM but without high quality evidence. The present review assessed the effectiveness of CO2 laser therapy in the management of GSM. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CENTRAL and Scopus databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published up to June 30, 2023, comparing CO2 laser and sham laser treatments for GSM management. The outcomes of interest included Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Vaginal Health Index (VHI) and visual analog scale (VAS) for dyspareunia, dryness, burning, itching and dysuria. A total of seven RCTs were included in the review and meta-analysis, with 6/7 studies using three sessions of laser therapy, 4-8 weeks apart. Meta-analysis demonstrated no statistically significant difference in FSFI [mean difference (MD), -1.48; 95% CI, -5.85, 2.89; I2=45%] and VHI scores (MD, -0.18; 95% CI, -1.66, 1.31; I2 =72%) between laser and control groups. Meta-analysis also demonstrated no statistically significant difference in VAS scores for dyspareunia (MD, -1.63; 95% CI; -4.06, 0.80; I2=91%), dryness (MD, -1.30; 95% CI, -3.14, 0.53; I2=75%), burning (MD, -0.76; 95% CI, -2.03; 0.51 I2=56%), itching (MD, -0.28; 95% CI, -0.95, 0.38; I2=0%) and dysuria (MD, 0.15; 95% CI, -0.37, 0.67; I2=23%) between the groups. The included RCTs had low risk of bias. In conclusion, meta-analyses of high-quality sham-controlled RCTs indicated that CO2 may not have any beneficial effect on GSM. Limited data and high heterogeneity in meta-analyses in this area of research are important limitations that need to be addressed by future RCTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain interactions are complex in general and can be viewed as a networked enterprise. In this paper, we address information system interoperability for exploring and analysing the interoperation problem in heterogeneous networked enterprise systems. We propose a common shared ontology-based framework for networked enterprise interoperability for the context of information flows in supply chain interactions. A supply chain ontology, supply chain operations reference (SCOR) ontology, is developed based on the SCOR model. Subsequently, by formalising the similar concepts of SCOR ontology and product ontology, ONTO-PDM, using description logic, we propose a product-centric supply chain ontology framework for facilitating the interoperation between all enterprise applications involved in an extended supply chain. A case study of a supply chain make-to-order process is used to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose: To study the analgesic effects and side effects of a transdermal lappaconitine (TLA) patch, ibuprofen suspension (IS), and TLA combined with IS (TLACIS) after adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy., Design: Prospective, randomized clinical trial., Methods: The patients were randomized into three groups defined by different analgesic drug regimens: the TLA group, the IS group, and the TLACIS group. Pain scores at 2, 12, and 24 hours after surgery and adverse-event reports within the first postoperative week were collected., Results: Ultimately, this study included 102 cases in the TLA group, 101 cases in the IS group, and 101 cases in the TLACIS group. At 2 hours after surgery, the pain scores of the TLA and the TLACIS groups were both significantly lower than that of the IS group (all P < .05). At 12 and 24 hours after surgery, the pain score of the TLACIS group was significantly lower than those of the TLA and IS groups (all P < .05); furthermore, the pain score of the IS group was significantly lower than that of the TLA group (P < .05). Within 1 week after the operation, there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events., Conclusions: The addition of a TLA patch can speed the onset of analgesia. In terms of analgesic effects, IS alone is more advantageous than TLA alone, while the combination of TLA and IS has the best analgesic effect. No significant differences were found in the incidence of adverse events among the three regimens., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None to report., (Copyright © 2024 The American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate the impact of vocal fold nodules on the quality of life of children, and to compare the efficacy between conservative management（voice hygiene education, etc.） and laryngeal microsurgery. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 102 children with vocal fold nodules, who received treatment in Children's Hospital of Fudan University during the period from January 2020 to December 2022. According to the regime, the patients were divided into conservative management group and surgical treatment group; Cases are divided into pre-school age group （2-5 years old） and school-age group （6-12 years old） based on age. The pediatric voice-related quality of life （pVRQOL） was used to evaluate the impact of vocal fold nodules on the quality of life of children and differences in efficacy between two treatment regimens. Results: The pVRQOL scores of vocal fold nodule grades 1, 2, and 3 were 91.58±8.17, 78.87±12.49, 72.50±12.08, respectively. There were statistical differences between grade 1 and grade 2, and between grade 2 and grade 3. There were statistical differences between grade 1 grade 2, grade 2 and grade 3 （ P <0.001）, suggesting that the higher the rating of vocal cord nodules, the lower the pVRQOL score of patients was. The pVRQOL score of the school-age group was 69.83±11.11, which is lower than that of the preschool group（87.59±8.63）, and the difference was statistically significant （ P =0.042）. Vocal fold nodules had a significant impact on the pVRQOL score of school-age children. In the conservative management group, the pVRQOL scores before and after treatment were 83.99±12.66 and 87.26±9.58, respectively, and there was significant difference between the two groups（ P =0.046）. Indirect voice therapy such as voice hygiene education could improve children's pVRQOL scores and was more effective for school-age children（ P <0.001）. The microsurgical treatment had a more significant improvement in the pVRQOL score of children. Conclusion: The higher the rating of vocal fold nodules, the greater the impact on the quality of life of patients. Vocal fold nodules had a greater impact on the quality of life of school-age children than that of preschool children. Voice hygiene education could improve the quality of life of children, which was more evident in the school-age group. Compared with voice hygiene therapy, laryngeal microsurgery had a more significant effect on improving the pVRQOL score of patients. It is recommended to undergo laryngeal microsurgery for the treatment of vocal fold nodules for the requirement of improving the quality of life related to voice. During the 6-month follow-up period after surgery in this study, the short-term efficacy of laryngeal microsurgery in treating vocal cord nodules in children is clear, but the long-term efficacy needs further research., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

Laryngeal cyst is a cystic lesion occurring in the laryngeal cavity. Large laryngeal cyst in infants and young children can cause laryngeal wheezing and other upper airway obstruction symptoms. In severe cases, it can be even life-threatening and requires timely surgical treatment. Currently, there is a lack of unified clinical treatment strategy for this disease.This article summarizes the surgical methods, the advantages and disadvantages of various surgical methods for laryngeal cysts in recent years. It is recommended that needle aspiration, partial cyst wall resection, radical cyst dissection, transoral robotic surgery or external approach cyst resection should be selected through full communication and evaluation to clarify the extent of the lesion scope and the advantages and disadvantages of surgery., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

Objective: To disscuss the changes in indications, surgical opportunity and post-operative management of pediatric tracheotomy. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients undergoing tracheostomy between January 2016 and December 2020 at Children's Hospital of Fudan University. Ninety-five patients were divided into four groups according to their primary indication. Group A: neuromuscular disease（ n =36, 37.9%）, Group B: congenital abnormality（ n =30, 31.6%）, Group C: accidental injury（ n =15, 15.8%）, Group D: tumor（ n =14, 14.7%）. Results: By the comparison between four groups, children in group A had higher incidence of Severe pneumonia（47.2%）, higher usage of mechanical ventilation（97.2%）, longer hospitalization days（=84.9 days） and higher rate of Ventilator dependence（66.7%）; children in group B had higher rate of emergency surgery（4.2%）, lower age（median age 2 months） and lower usage of mechanical ventilation（30.0%）; Mortality of the children in group D was the highest（42.9%）. In the recent five years, we saw a increasing tendency in the proportion of group A（28.6%, 35.0%, 38.5%, 44.4%, 43.5%）, and a decreasing tendency of group B（57.1%, 30.0%, 38.5%, 33.3%, 21.7%）. On discharge, 50.5% of children（48 of 95）spontaneously breathe with the tracheos tomy in situ, 29.5% of children（28 of 95）had ventilator-dependence, tracheostomy decannulation was successful in 6.3% of children （6 of 95） and all-cause mortality was 13.7% （13 of 95）. Conclusion: Most paediatric tracheotomies were performed due to chronic underlying diseases. Pediatric tracheostomy should be considered as a long-term intervention in many children. Earlier tracheotomy can shorten the duration of post-tracheotomy mechanical ventilation in several conditions., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)

We report luminous polylactic acid (PLA) composite prepared via a solvent casting method using different amounts of phosphor strontium aluminate (SrAl 2 O 4 : Eu 2+ and Dy 3+ ) (SAO). The reason for doing this is that the changes of fluorescence and mechanical properties in the composites with different SAO contents can be directly evaluated. The SAO particles should have a variety of excellent characteristics in the PLA matrix, among which dispersibility and compatibility are particularly important; so, they can be modified by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) to achieve the target characteristics. The results showed that the fluorescence and mechanical properties were affected by SAO addition. The mechanical properties significantly improved with 5 wt% SAO; further, addition had no impact. And the emission band of fluorescence and phosphorescence is just at the peak of 524 nm. The composites with 15 wt% SAO have the best fluorescence properties. The fluorescence decreased with further doping. Fluorescence decay curves with various amounts of SAO particles show a similar tendency as pure SAO particles; the speed of decrease in afterglow intensity was higher for the first 30 min. In addition, the detailed morphological scanning and study by scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that the particles had good adhesion to the matrix. In conclusion, the concentration of SAO into the PLA matrix impacts the fluorescence and mechanical properties of a SAO/PLA composite material., Competing Interests: It is declared by the authors that this article is free of conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Zhongjin Ni et al.)

Objective: To evaluate the effect of use of balloon catheter dilation （BCD） with bioabsorbable steroid-releasing sinus implants in pediatric chronic rhinosinusitis（PCRS）. Method: A retrospective study was performed of 49 children with failed medical therapy, who underwent surgery, and children all accepted adenoidectomy.77 sides of sinus were performed with balloon catheter dilation sinuplasty. They were divided into two groups：the balloon group and the balloon with implant group. The balloon group included 26 cases, 16 cases of which accepted balloon catheter dilation sinuplasty of both maxillary sinuses, and 10 cases of which accepted one side. The balloon with implant group included 23 cases,12 cases of which accepted balloon catheter dilation sinuplasty of both maxillary sinuses plus positioning of bioabsorbable steroid-releasing sinus implants, and 11 cases of which accepted one side. VAS and SN-5 scales were completed by children and their parents to evaluate subjective symptoms. Children all accepted CT of sinus and CT score （Lund-Mackey） was completed by a doctor. We use the SPSS 23.0 with the way of Repeated measures ANOVA to analyze the data between two groups, aiming to identify the effect of the operation manners. Result: The procedures were successful in all patients in the balloon with implant group. No complications happened. No sinus implants moving and no detachment. In the balloon with implant group, VAS score declined from 6.9 before operation to 2.0 of six months after operation and SN-5 score declined from 2.397 to 1.376 and CT score of one side of operation declined from 9.628 to 1.314. VAS score, SN-5 score and CT score of the balloon with implant group all declined significantly after operation. The remission rate of the VAS and SN-5 score in the balloon with implant group were 100% and 95% respectively. The SN-5 score data of patients in two groups with SN-5 score <2.5 before operation was analyzed. There was no statistical significance between the data of two groups before operation（ P =0.199）, and there was no statistical significance between the data decline of SN-5 score of two groups after operation （ F =2.336， P =0.14）. The data of patients in two groups with SN-5 score ≥2.5 before operation was analyzed. There was no statistical significance between the data of two groups before operation（ P =0.628）, and, after operation, there was statistical significance between the data decline of SN-5 score of two groups （ F =13.861， P =0.001）.It meant the balloon with implant group declined more. The CT score data of patients in two groups with CT score （3-8） before operation was analyzed. There was no statistical significance between the data of two groups before operation（ P =0.411）,and there was no statistical significance between the data decline of CT score of two groups after operation（ F =1.108， P =0.300）.The data of patients in two groups with CT score （9-12） before operation was analyzed. There was no statistical significance between the data of two groups before operation（ P =0.792）, and, after operation, there was statistical significance between the data decline of CT score of two groups （ F =13.059， P ＝0.001）. It meant the balloon with implant group declined more. Conclusion: In our study, the use of balloon catheter dilation （BCD） with bioabsorbable steroid-releasing sinus implants made a clinical curative effect in the treatment of PCRS with failed medical therapy, and it was safety. In severe PCRS patients, balloon catheter dilation （BCD） with bioabsorbable steroid-releasing sinus implants was more effective than the use of balloon catheter sinuplasty （BCS） alone., Competing Interests: The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose., (Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.)