ABSTRACT
Annexin A2 (AnxA2), belonging to the annexin family, plays a crucial role in immune responses. In this study, the cDNA of the AnxA2 gene was identified in half-smooth tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis. The transcript of AnxA2 gene in C. semilaevis (CsAnxA2) showed broad tissue distribution, with the highest expression level observed in the gut. CsAnxA2 expression was significantly up-regulated in the intestine, spleen, and kidney tissues following exposure to Shewanella algae. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that CsAnxA2 was predominantly expressed in epithelial cells and significantly elevated after S. algae challenge. Subcellular localization showed that CsAnxA2 was primarily localized in the cytoplasmic compartment. Moreover, proinflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1ß) exhibited significant upregulation after CsAnxA2 was overexpressed in vivo. One hundred and fifty-eight CsAnxA2-interacting proteins were captured in the intestinal tissue, showing the top two normalized abundance observed for actin beta (ACTB) and protein S100-A10 (p11). Fifty-four high abundance CsAnxA2-interacting proteins (HIPs) were primary enriched in ten pathways, with the top three significantly enriched pathways being Salmonella infection, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway. These results provide valuable information for further investigation into the functional mechanism of AnxA2 in C. semilaevis.
Subject(s)
Annexin A2 , Flatfishes , Flounder , Animals , Annexin A2/genetics , Annexin A2/metabolism , Flounder/metabolism , Fish Proteins/chemistryABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Postoperative surgical site infection is one of the most serious complications following spine surgery. Previous studies have reported Modic changes (MC) represent a subclinical infection. This study aims to investigate the relation between Modic changes and surgical site infection after posterior lumbar fusion surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 424 patients who received posterior lumbar fusion. Preoperative clinical and radiological parameters were recorded. Primary outcome was the rate of postoperative surgical site infection. Covariates included age, body mass index (BMI), sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic heart failure, Pfirrmann classification, fused levels, and operation duration. The presence of Modic changes was used as an exposition variable, and adjusted for other risk factors in multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Of the 424 patients, 30 (7%) developed an acute surgical site infection. Infection had no relation to age, sex, BMI, and comorbidities. There were 212 (50%) patients with MC, and 23 (10.8%) had a surgical site infection, compared to 212 (50%) patients without MC in which there were 7 (3.3%) surgical site infections. MC was associated with surgical site infection in univariate analysis (odds ratio [OR] = 3.56, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.49-8.50, p = 0.004) and multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR = 3.05, 95% CI: 1.26-7.37, p = 0.013). There was statistically significant between specific type (p = 0.035) and grade of MCs (p = 0.0187) and SSI. CONCLUSIONS: MCs may be a potential risk factor for SSI following posterior lumbar spinal intervertebral fusion. Type I and grade C MCs showed a higher infection rate compared with other MC types and grades.
Subject(s)
Lumbar Vertebrae , Spinal Fusion , Surgical Wound Infection , Humans , Spinal Fusion/adverse effects , Male , Surgical Wound Infection/epidemiology , Surgical Wound Infection/etiology , Female , Middle Aged , Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery , Retrospective Studies , Aged , Risk Factors , AdultABSTRACT
In this Letter, a sensitive light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy (LITES)-based trace gas sensor by exploiting a super tiny quartz tuning fork (QTF) was demonstrated. The prong length and width of this QTF are 3500â µm and 90â µm, respectively, which determines a resonant frequency of 6.5 kHz. The low resonant frequency is beneficial to increase the energy accumulation time in a LITES sensor. The geometric dimension of QTF on the micrometer scale is advantageous to obtain a great thermal expansion and thus can produce a strong piezoelectric signal. The temperature gradient distribution of the super tiny QTF was simulated based on the finite element analysis and is higher than that of the commercial QTF with 32.768 kHz. Acetylene (C2H2) was used as the analyte. Under the same conditions, the use of the super tiny QTF achieved a 1.64-times signal improvement compared with the commercial QTF. The system shows excellent long-term stability according to the Allan deviation analysis, and a minimum detection limit (MDL) would reach 190 ppb with an integration time of 220 s.
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Tuning fork gyroscopes (TFGs) are promising for potential high-precision applications. This work proposes and experimentally demonstrates a novel high-Q dual-mass tuning fork microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gyroscope utilizing three-dimensional (3D) packaging techniques. Except for two symmetrically decoupled proof masses (PM) with synchronization structures, a symmetrically decoupled lever structure is designed to force the antiparallel, antiphase drive mode motion and eliminate low frequency spurious modes. Thermoelastic damping (TED) and anchor loss are greatly reduced by the linearly coupled, momentum- and torque-balanced antiphase sense mode. Moreover, a novel 3D packaging technique is used to realize high Q-factors. A composite substrate encapsulation cap, fabricated by through-silicon-via (TSV) and glass-in-silicon (GIS) reflow processes, is anodically bonded to the wafer-scale sensing structures. A self-developed control circuit is adopted to realize loop control and characterize gyroscope performances. It is shown that a high-reliability electrical connection, together with a high air impermeability package, can be fulfilled with this 3D packaging technique. Furthermore, the Q-factors of the drive and sense modes reach up to 51,947 and 49,249, respectively. This TFG realizes a wide measurement range of ±1800 °/s and a high resolution of 0.1°/s with a scale factor nonlinearity of 720 ppm after automatic mode matching. In addition, long-term zero-rate output (ZRO) drift can be effectively suppressed by temperature compensation, inducing a small angle random walk (ARW) of 0.923°/âh and a low bias instability (BI) of 9.270°/h.
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BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of cisplatin-based chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab (BEV) in Chinese women with advanced cervical cancer (ACC). METHODS: For this observational study, we analysed the data of 316 Chinese women with ACC who were treated at the Henan provincial people's hospital between Jan 1, 2014, and Dec 31, 2018, with cisplatin-based chemotherapy plus BEV (CB) or cisplatin-based chemotherapy alone (CA) until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or death. The co-primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS); the secondary endpoint was the occurrence of adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: A total of 264 patients with ACC were included in the assessment (CB, n = 130 and CA, n = 134). At a median follow-up of 38 months (IQR 36-40), the median OS in the CB cohort was significantly longer than that in the CA cohort (hazard ratio [HR] 1.21, 95% confidence interval[CI] 1.14-1.73; p = 0.002); additionally, the median PFS was 345 days (95% CI, 318-372) for CB and 261 days (95% CI, 165-357) for CA(HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.12-2.17; p = 0.000). Significant differences were noted between groups in terms of thrombosis/embolism, neutropenia, and febrile neutropenia. CONCLUSIONS: In Chinese women with ACC, cisplatin-based chemotherapy plus BEV is associated with improved survival compared to cisplatin-based chemotherapy alone. This finding suggests a positive survival benefit of anti-angiogenesis therapy in this population.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Postmenopause , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/drug therapy , Aged , Bevacizumab/administration & dosage , Cisplatin/administration & dosage , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Neoplasm Staging , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Survival Rate , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/pathologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Given the unexpected high rate of failure following metal-on-metal total hip replacement (MoM-THR), it is expected that more MoM-THR patients will experience revision. The long-term outcomes regarding the primary MoM-THR revised to cemented THR (CTHR) remain controversial. The purpose of this retrospective review was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of patients who underwent conversion from MoM-THR to CTHR. METHODS: A total of 220 patients (220 hips) who underwent a conversion of primary MoM-THR to CTHR from March 2006 to October 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcomes were the functional outcomes assessed using the Harris hip scores (HHS) and major radiographic outcomes. Follow-ups occurred at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and then every two years after revision. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 10.1 years (5-13 years). Distinct improvements were detected in the mean HHS between the preoperative and last follow-up analysis (62.35[±8.49] vs. 84.70[±14.68], respectively, p < 0.001). The key orthopaedic complication rate was 18.2% (27/148). Seven (4.7%) cases experienced a CTHR failure at a mean of 3.4 (±1.2) years after revision MoM-THR, mostly attributed to recurrent dislocation. CONCLUSION: CTHR might yield an acceptable functional score and a low rate of the key orthopaedic complications.
Subject(s)
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip , Hip Prosthesis , Metal-on-Metal Joint Prostheses , Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip/adverse effects , Follow-Up Studies , Hip Joint/surgery , Hip Prosthesis/adverse effects , Humans , Metal-on-Metal Joint Prostheses/adverse effects , Prosthesis Design , Prosthesis Failure , Reoperation , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: At present, it is unclear which device (uncemented or cemented total hip arthroplasty [UTA or CTA, respectively]) is more suitable for the conversion of a failed proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA). The aim of this review was to assess the outcomes of failed PFNAs converted to a UTA or CTA device in elderly individuals with intertrochanteric femoral fractures (IFFs). METHODS: Two hundred fifty-eight elderly individuals (258 hips) with IFFs who underwent a conversion to a UTA or CTA device following failed PFNAs during 2007-2017 were retrospectively identified from the China Southern Medical Centre (CSMC) database. The primary endpoint was the Harris Hip Score (HHS); secondary endpoint was the key orthopaedic complication rate. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 65 months (60-69 months). Significant distinctions were observed (87.26 ± 16.62 for UTA vs. 89.32 ± 16.08 for CTA, p = 0.021; 86.61 ± 12.24 for symptomatic UTA vs. 88.68 ± 13.30 for symptomatic CTA, p = 0.026). A significant difference in the overall key orthopaedic complication rate was detected (40.8% [40/98] vs. 19.0% [19/100], p = 0.001). Apparent distinctions were detected in terms of the rate of revision, loosening, and periprosthetic fracture (11.2% for UTA vs 3.0% for CTA, p = 0.025; 13.2% for UTA vs 5.0% for CTA, p = 0.043; 10.2% for UTA vs 3.0% for CTA, p = 0.041, respectively). CONCLUSION: For elderly individuals with IFFs who suffered a failed PFNA, CTA devices may have a noteworthy advantage in regard to the revision rate and the rate of key orthopaedic complications compared with UTA devices, and CTA revision should be performed as soon as possible, regardless of whether these individuals have symptoms.
Subject(s)
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip , Femoral Fractures , Hip Fractures , Aged , China , Femoral Fractures/diagnostic imaging , Femoral Fractures/epidemiology , Femoral Fractures/surgery , Femur , Hip Fractures/diagnostic imaging , Hip Fractures/epidemiology , Hip Fractures/surgery , Humans , Reoperation , Retrospective Studies , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
A novel three-dimensional (3D) hermetic packaging technique suitable for capacitive microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors is studied. The composite substrate with through silicon via (TSV) is used as the encapsulation cap fabricated by a glass-in-silicon (GIS) reflow process. In particular, the low-resistivity silicon pillars embedded in the glass cap are designed to serve as the electrical feedthrough and the fixed capacitance plate at the same time to simplify the fabrication process and improve the reliability. The fabrication process and the properties of the encapsulation cap were studied systematically. The resistance of the silicon vertical feedthrough was measured to be as low as 263.5 mΩ, indicating a good electrical interconnection property. Furthermore, the surface root-mean-square (RMS) roughnesses of glass and silicon were measured to be 1.12 nm and 0.814 nm, respectively, which were small enough for the final wafer bonding process. Anodic bonding between the encapsulation cap and the silicon wafer with sensing structures was conducted in a vacuum to complete the hermetic encapsulation. The proposed packaging scheme was successfully applied to a capacitive gyroscope. The quality factor of the packaged gyroscope achieved above 220,000, which was at least one order of magnitude larger than that of the unpackaged. The validity of the proposed packaging scheme could be verified. Furthermore, the packaging failure was less than 1%, which demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of the technique for high-performance MEMS vacuum packaging.
ABSTRACT
With an aim to reduce the cost of prototype development, this paper establishes a PSPICE hybrid model for the simulation of capacitive microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) gyroscopes. This is achieved by modeling gyroscopes in different modules, then connecting them in accordance with the corresponding principle diagram. Systematic simulations of this model are implemented along with a consideration of details of MEMS gyroscopes, including a capacitance model without approximation, mechanical thermal noise, and the effect of ambient temperature. The temperature compensation scheme and optimization of interface circuits are achieved based on the hybrid closed-loop simulation of MEMS gyroscopes. The simulation results show that the final output voltage is proportional to the angular rate input, which verifies the validity of this model.
ABSTRACT
A new robust multi-degree of freedom (multi-DOF) MEMS gyroscope is presented in this paper. The designed gyroscope has its bandwidth and amplification factor of the sense mode adjusted more easily than the previous reported multi-DOF MEMS gyroscopes. Besides, a novel spring system with very small coupling stiffness is proposed, which helps achieve a narrow bandwidth and a high amplification factor for a 2-DOF vibration system. A multi-DOF gyroscope with the proposed weak spring system is designed, and simulations indicate that when the operating frequency is set at 12.59 kHz, the flat frequency response region of the sense mode can be designed as narrow as 80 Hz, and the amplification factor of the sense mode at the operating frequency is up to 91, which not only protects the amplification factor from instability against process and temperature variations, but also sacrifices less performance. An experiment is also carried out to demonstrate the validity of the design. The multi-DOF gyroscope with the proposed weak coupling spring system is capable of achieving a good tradeoff between robustness and the performance.
Subject(s)
Accelerometry/instrumentation , Computer-Aided Design , Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems/instrumentation , Models, Theoretical , Computer Simulation , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure AnalysisABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To observe and compare the medium-long-term efficacy of Kurokawa's and modified Kurokawa's double door laminoplasty for the treatment of cervical disorders. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed to compare the outcomes and complications between two kinds of operations on 172 cases from January 2002 to December 2010, including 106 cases of cervical spondylotic myelopathy, 52 cases of cervical stenosis, 21 cases of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. Patients were divided into two groups according to two surgical methods: traditional group, including 51 male and 18 female patients, with mean age of (56 ± 18) years (35-76 years); modified group, including 75 male and 28 female patients, with mean age of (58 ± 20)years (35-80 years). The two groups were comparable and compared according to different data using t test, χ(2) test and rank sum test. RESULTS: All patients were followed up continuously for (52 ± 33)months, 123 patients were followed up ≥ 2 years, 71 patients ≥ 5 years. All patients' Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score improved significantly at the latest follow-up(t = 3.420, P < 0.01); no significant difference between the patients' JOA score improvement rate of two groups. The postoperative incidence rate of axial symptoms in patients of modified group (3.9%) was significantly lower than the traditional group (14.5%) (χ(2) = 7.548, P < 0.05), and cervical intervertebral activity decreased in the modified group was better than the traditional group in the first 3 months postoperatively (27% ± 6% vs. 19% ± 4%,Z = 6.34, P < 0.05), but during the medium-long-term follow-up, no significant difference in the cervical intervertebral activity decreased between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Medium-long-term efficacy of Kurokawa's and modified Kurokawa's double door laminoplasty is satisfied and reliable. Avoiding damaging of semispinalis cervicis insertion in spinous process of C2, the modified operation method can protect the extensor group of the neck muscle and reduce the incidence of postoperative axial symptoms better.
Subject(s)
Cervical Vertebrae/surgery , Neurosurgical Procedures/methods , Spinal Osteophytosis/surgery , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Retrospective Studies , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
The silicon etching process is a core component of production in the semiconductor industry. Undercut is a nonideal effect in silicon dry etching. A reduced undercut is desired when preparing structures that demand a good sidewall morphology, while an enlarged undercut is conducive to the fabrication of microstructure tips. Undercut is related to not only the production parameters but also the mask materials. In this study, five mask materials-Cr, Al, ITO, SiNx, and SiO2-are chosen to compare the undercut effect caused by the isotropic etching process and the Bosch process. In the Bosch process, the SiNx mask causes the largest undercut, and the SiO2 mask causes the smallest undercut. In the isotropic process, the results are reversed. The effect of charges in the mask layer is found to produce this result, and the effect of electrons accumulating during the process is found to be negligible. The undercut effect can be enhanced or suppressed by selecting appropriate mask materials, which is helpful in the MEMS process. Finally, using an Al mask, a tapered silicon tip with a top diameter of 119.3 nm is fabricated using the isotropic etching process.
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This paper presents a new metal-contact RF MEMS switch based on an Al-Sc alloy. The use of an Al-Sc alloy is intended to replace the traditional Au-Au contact, which can greatly improve the hardness of the contact, and thus improve the reliability of the switch. The multi-layer stack structure is adopted to achieve the low switch line resistance and hard contact surface. The polyimide sacrificial layer process is developed and optimized, and the RF switches are fabricated and tested for pull-in voltage, S-parameters, and switching time. The switch shows high isolation of more than 24 dB and a low insertion loss of less than 0.9 dB in the frequency range of 0.1-6 GHz.
ABSTRACT
Due to its advantages of non-contact measurement and high sensitivity, light-induced thermoelastic spectroscopy (LITES) is one of the most promising methods for corrosive gas detection. In this manuscript, a highly sensitive hydrogen fluoride (HF) sensor based on LITES technique is reported for the first time. With simple structure and strong robustness, a shallow neural network (SNN) fitting algorithm is introduced into the field of spectroscopy data processing to achieve denoising. This algorithm provides an end-to-end approach that takes in the raw input data without any pre-processing and extracts features automatically. A continuous wave (CW) distributed feedback diode (DFB) laser with an emission wavelength of 1.27⯵m was used as the excitation source. A Herriott multi-pass cell (MPC) with an optical length of 10.1â¯m was selected to enhance the laser absorption. A quartz tuning fork (QTF) with resonance frequency of 32,767.52â¯Hz was adopted as the thermoelastic detector. An Allan variance analysis was performed to demonstrate the system stability. When the integration time was 110â¯s, the minimum detection limit (MDL) was found to be 71 ppb. After the SNN fitting algorithm was used, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the HF-LITES sensor was improved by a factor of 2.0, which verified the effectiveness of this fitting algorithm for spectroscopy data processing.
ABSTRACT
A novel three-dimensional (3D) wafer-level sandwich packaging technology is here applied in the dual mass MEMS butterfly vibratory gyroscope (BFVG) to achieve ultra-high Q factor. A GIS (glass in silicon) composite substrate with glass as the main body and low-resistance silicon column as the vertical lead is processed by glass reflow technology, which effectively avoids air leakage caused by thermal stress mismatch. Sputter getter material is used on the glass cap to further improve the vacuum degree. The Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) gyroscope structure is sandwiched between the composite substrate and glass cap to realize vertical electrical interconnection by high-vacuum anodic bonding. The Q factors of drive and sense modes in BFVG measured by the self-developed double closed-loop circuit system are significantly improved to 8.628 times and 2.779 times higher than those of the traditional ceramic shell package. The experimental results of the processed gyroscope also demonstrate a high resolution of 0.1°/s, the scale factor of 1.302 mV/(°/s), and nonlinearity of 558 ppm in the full-scale range of ±1800°/s. By calculating the Allen variance, we obtained the angular random walk (ARW) of 1.281°/âh and low bias instability (BI) of 9.789°/h. The process error makes the actual drive and sense frequency of the gyroscope deviate by 8.989% and 5.367% compared with the simulation.
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of paeonol on low-density lipoprotein-induced human vascular endothelial cell injury and its molecular mechanisms. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were divided into 9 groups, normal control (NC) group, ox-LDL group (100 ng/L ox-LDL), low, medium, and high-dose paeonol groups (60 µmol/L, 120 µmol/L, 240 µmol/L paeonol+100 ng/L ox-LDL), ox-LDL+small interfering RNA negative control (si-NC) group, ox-LDL+circ_0003204 small interfering RNA (si-circ_0003204) group, middle dose group+ox-LDL+circ_0003204 overexpression negative control (pcDNA-NC) group, middle dose group+ox-LDL+circ_0003204 overexpression (pcDNA-circ_0003204) group, three replicate wells in each group. MTT flow cytometry, and Western blot were used to detect cell proliferation, apoptosis and protein (CDK2, Bcl2, p27, Bax) expressions, respectively. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) kit were used to detect MDA content and SOD activity; real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression of circ_0003204. RESULTS: Compared with the NC group, the proliferation activity, protein expressions of CDK2 and Bcl2, and SOD activity of HUVECs in the ox-LDL group were decreased significantly (Pï¼0.05), and the apoptosis rate, protein expressions of p27 and Bax, MDA content, and circ_0003204 expression were increased significantly (Pï¼ 0.05). Compared with the ox-LDL group, the proliferation activity, protein (CDK2, Bcl2) expressions and SOD activity of HUVECs in the low, medium and high dose paeonol groups were increased significantly (Pï¼0.05), and the apoptosis rate, protein (p27, Bax) expressions, MDA content And circ_0003204 expression were decreased significantly (Pï¼ 0.05). Compared with ox-LDL+si-NC group, the proliferation activity, protein (CDK2, Bcl2) expressions, SOD activity of HUVECs in ox-LDL+si-circ_0003204 group were increased significantly (Pï¼0.05), the apoptosis rate, protein (p27, Bax) expressions, and the content of MDA were decreased significantly (Pï¼0.05). Compared with the middle-dose+ox-LDL+pcDNA-NC group, the HUVECs proliferation activity, protein (CDK2, Bcl2) expressions, and SOD activity in the middle-dose+ox-LDL+pcDNA-circ_0003204 group were decreased significantly (Pï¼0.05), and the levels of circ_0003204, apoptosis rate, protein (p27, Bax) expressions and MDA content were increased significantly (Pï¼0.05). CONCLUSION: Paeonol can inhibit ox-LDL-induced apoptosis and oxidative stress of human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and alleviate human umbilical vein endothelial cell injury. The mechanism of action may be related to the down-regulation of circ_0003204 expression.
Subject(s)
MicroRNAs , Oxidative Stress , Humans , Cells, Cultured , bcl-2-Associated X Protein/metabolism , Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells , Apoptosis , Superoxide Dismutase/metabolism , Lipoproteins, LDL/pharmacology , MicroRNAs/metabolismABSTRACT
High-performance MEMS accelerometers usually use a pendulum structure with a larger mass. Although the performance of the device is guaranteed, the manufacturing cost is high. This paper proposes a method of fabricating high-performance MEMS accelerometers with a TGV process, which can reduce the manufacturing cost and ensure the low-noise characteristics of the device. The TGV processing relies on laser drilling, the metal filling in the hole is based on the casting mold and CMP, and the packaging adopts the three-layer anodic bonding process. Moreover, for the first time, the casting mold process is introduced to the preparation of MEMS devices. In terms of structural design, the stopper uses distributed comb electrodes for overload displacement suppression, and the gas released by the packaging method provides excellent mechanical damping characteristics. The prepared accelerometer has an anti-overload capability of 10,000 g, the noise density is less than 0.001°/âHz, and it has ultra-high performance in tilt measurement.
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This research was aimed at exploring the diagnostic and screening effect of composite echocardiography based on the artificial intelligence (AI) segmentation algorithm on fetal congenital heart disease (CHD) during pregnancy, so as to reduce the birth rate of newborns with CHD. A total of 204 fetuses with abnormal heart conditions were divided into group II, group C (optimized with the AI algorithm), and group W (not optimized with the AI algorithm). In addition, 9,453 fetuses with normal heart conditions were included in group I. The abnormal distribution of fetal heart and the difference of cardiac Z score between group II and group I were analyzed, and the diagnostic value of group C and group W for CHD was compared. The results showed that the segmentation details of the proposed algorithm were better than those of the convolutional neural network (CNN), and the Dice coefficient, precision, and recall values were higher than those of the CNN. In fetal CHD, the incidence of abnormal ultrasonic manifestations was ventricular septal defect (98/48.04%), abnormal right subclavian artery (29/14.22%), and persistent left superior vena cava (25/12.25%). The diagnostic sensitivity (75.0% vs. 51.5%), specificity (99.6% vs. 99.2%), accuracy (99.0% vs. 98.2%), negative predictive value (88.5% vs. 78.5%), and positive predictive value (99% vs. 57.7%) of echocardiography segmentation in group C were significantly higher than those in group W. To sum up, echocardiography segmented by the AI algorithm could obviously improve the diagnostic efficiency of fetal CHD during gestation. Cardiac ultrasound parameters of children with CHD changed greatly.
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I Microhotplates are critical devices in various MEMS sensors that could provide appropriate operating temperatures. In this paper, a novel design of poly-Si membrane microhotplates with a heat compensation structure was reported. The main objective of this work was to design and fabricate the poly-Si microhotplate, and the thermal and electrical performance of the microhotplates were also investigated. The poly-Si resistive heater was deposited by LPCVD, and phosphorous doping was applied by in situ doping process to reduce the resistance of poly-Si. In order to obtain a uniform temperature distribution, a series of S-shaped compensation structures were fabricated at the edge of the resistive heater. LPCVD SiNx layers deposited on both sides of poly-Si were used as both the mechanical supporting layer and the electrical isolation layer. The Pt electrode was fabricated on the top of the microhotplate for temperature detection. The area of the heating membrane was 1 mm × 1 mm. Various parameters of the different size devices were simulated and measured, including temperature distribution, power consumption, thermal expansion and response time. The simulation and electrical-thermal measurement results were reported. For microhotplates with a heat compensation structure, the membrane temperature reached 811.7 °C when the applied voltage was 5.5 V at a heating power of 148.3 mW. A 3.8 V DC voltage was applied to measure the temperature distribution; the maximum temperature was 397.6 °C, and the area where the temperature reached 90% covered about 73.8% when the applied voltage was 3.8 V at a heating power of 70.8 mW. The heating response time was 17 ms while the microhotplate was heated to 400 °C from room temperature, and the cooling response time was 32 ms while the device was recovered to room temperature. This microhotplate has many advantages, such as uniform temperature distribution, low power consumption and fast response, which are suitable for MEMS gas sensors, humidity sensors, gas flow sensors, etc.
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OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to assess the outcomes of Asian patients who underwent conversion from metal-on-metal total hip arthroplasty (MoM-THA) to cemented THA (CTHA). METHODS: One hundred and fifty-seven consecutive patients (157 hips) who underwent CTHA following primary MoM-THA from January 2005 to February 2015 were retrospectively analysed. The primary endpoints were the clinical outcomes. Follow-ups occurred at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and then every 2 years following revision of MoM-THA. RESULTS: The mean follow-up after conversion was 10 years (range, 5-14 years). Statistically significant improvements in the mean Harris hip score were observed between the preoperative and final follow-up evaluations (62.71 ± 13.85 vs. 84.03 ± 16.21, respectively). The major orthopaedic complication rate was 16.5% (26/157). Six (3.8%) patients underwent revision at a mean of 3.5 ± 1.3 years after conversion, predominantly because of prosthesis loosening or recurrent dislocation. Nine (5.7%) patients developed prosthesis loosening at a mean of 2.6 ± 1.1 years following conversion, two of whom requested revision surgery. Eleven (7.0%) patients developed prosthesis dislocation, four of whom requested revision surgery. CONCLUSION: CTHA may yield favourable functional outcomes and a reduced rate of major orthopaedic complications.