Design and Implementation of a Novel Tilt Sensor Based on the Principle of Variable Reluctance.

Tilt angle measurement in dynamic systems is problematic because the rotation of the measured platform is coupled with translation. Therefore, when some sensors are applied in dynamic systems, their output signals are often submerged in the noise signals generated by translation. To enhance the ability of tilt sensors to resist translational noise, a dynamic tilt sensor is proposed based on the principle of variable reluctance from the perspective of sensor structure. The eccentric structure of the sensor constructed with a shell, liquid, and internal damping plate was designed according to the principles of mechanics. The characteristic of translational acceleration restraint determined by the sensor structure was established theoretically. In addition, the magnetic circuit of the sensor was analyzed to illustrate the sensor's working principles. A Clapp oscillator circuit was designed to convert mechanical motion into a measureable electrical signal. A method to determine the sensor's direction of rotation is proposed. A waveform conversion circuit was designed to convert the sine wave output of the Clapp oscillator to a square wave, and a square-wave frequency measurement circuit was designed based on the C8051 micro-control unit. A translation-rotation experimental hardware platform was constructed. The data acquisition program was designed on a PC platform, and the translation-rotation experiments were conducted with an MTi attitude measurement unit as a reference. The validity of the tilt angle measurements and the effect of the translational acceleration restraint of the sensor were verified by the experimental data. The theoretical results obtained were consistent with the experimental data, verifying the validity of the theoretical analysis and experimental devices employed. A measurement range of -180 to 180° was achieved.

Potential of artificial soil preparation for vegetation restoration using red mud and phosphogypsum.

Red mud and phosphogypsum have long been a focus and challenge in global industrial waste management, and their low-cost and large-scale utilization technology has always been an urgent need. This study is based on the strong acid-base neutralization reaction between red mud and phosphogypsum, which contain an elemental composition similar to that of natural soil, red mud itself has characteristic of clay minerals, and other auxiliary materials (i.e. rice husk powder, bentonite, fly ash, polyacrylamide flocculant and microbial suspension) were added, so as to explore the potential of synergistically prepared artificial soil for vegetation restoration. The results showed that the artificial soils exhibited physicochemical characteristics (e.g., pH, moisture content, cation exchange capacity) similar to those of natural soil, along with abundant organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents, meeting the growth requirements of plants. The artificial soils were able to support favorable growth of suitable plants (e.g., sunflower, wheat, rye grass), accumulating high levels of diverse enzymatic activities, comparable to those in natural soils (e.g., catalase, urease, phosphatase), or even surpassing natural soils (e.g., sucrase), and rich microorganism communities, such as Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria in the bacteria domain, and Ascomycota in the fungi domain, were initially developed. It's suggested that preparing 1 ton of artificial soil entails synergistic consumption of 613.7 kg of red mud and 244.6 kg of phosphogypsum, accounting for mass proportions of 61.4 % and 24.5 %, respectively. In future, more evaluations on the leaching loss of nutrients and alkalinity and the environmental risks of heavy metals should be conducted to more references for the artificial soil application. In summary, the preparation of artificial soil is a very simple, efficient, scalable and low-cost collaborative resource utilization scheme of red mud and phosphogypsum, which has great potential for vegetation restoration in some places such as tailings field and soil-deficient depression.

Inverted Pedicled Internal Limiting Membrane Flap Attached to an Optic Disc with Autologous Blood Clot for Large Macular Holes.

Purpose: An inverted ILM flap might be accidentally separated from the retina or sucked away during surgery for large macular holes (MHs). This article is to determine the efficacy of a new inverted pedicled internal limiting membrane (ILM) flap attached to an optic disc with an autologous blood clot (ABC) technique for the treatment of large MHs. Methods: An inverted pedicled ILM flap connected to the optic disc with ABC was used to treat 12 consecutive patients with significant macular holes (>600 m). The ILM was first peeled off around MH as a semidiameter of about 1.5 diameters of the optic disc. The superior residual ILM was used to produce a pedicled ILM flap that was connected to the optic disc and was later inverted to cover the MH. The macular hole was covered with a repositioned flap larger than 2 MH diameters in an inverted way. ABC was used to fasten the flap, followed by fluid-air exchange with air or C3F8 as tamponade. Spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were performed at each postoperative follow-up. Results: The mean aperture and base macular hole diameters were 737.9 ± 109.6 µm (range, 607-982 µm) and 1244.3 ± 227.4 µm (range, 975-1658 µm). All macular holes (100%) were closed after a single surgery without intraoperative or postoperative complications related to the ILM transposition technique. At the last postoperative visit, we found one eye with a U-shaped closure, three eyes with W-shaped closures, and eight eyes with V-shaped closures. No postoperative flap closures were noted in all cases. The preoperative mean BCVA was 1.5 ± 0.3 (range, 1.1-2.0). After a mean follow-up of 5.3 ± 4.8 (range, 3-16) months, the postoperative mean BCVA was 0.8 ± 0.2 (range, 0.6-1.1), and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This novel technique is safe and suitable for large MHs and can be an alternative option for accidental ILM flap loss during other inverted ILM flap operations.

Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing to Investigate Infectious Endophthalmitis of Brucella: A Case Report.

Introduction: Brucellosis is a systemic disease that exists prevalently in clinical manifestations. The symptoms present in organs such as the eyes (in ocular brucellosis) can lead to misdiagnosis or even failure to diagnose. Metagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing (mNGS), a high-throughput sequencing approach, could be applied for the detection of microorganisms. Case Presentation: A 57-year-old female with acute right-eye vision loss, treated with clindamycin and dexamethasone sodium phosphate for 1.5 months, was difficult to diagnose using regular methods. mNGS was utilized for the aqueous fluid from the patient, and Brucella melitensis was identified. The inflammation was treated with 3 months of antibiotherapy. However, even with specific medicine and surgery, the vision remained poor because severe ocular conditions last for a long time. Conclusion: It suggests that brucella should still be a probable pathogen in endophthalmitis despite its low incidence in non-epidemic areas. Moreover, mNGS can achieve early diagnosis and timely treatment for difficult-to-diagnose ocular infections.

Efficacy and Safety of Bivalirudin During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Chronic Total Occlusion: A Retrospective Study.

PURPOSE: Bivalirudin as a thrombin inhibitor is proven to have a low risk of bleeding during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Some evidence indicates comparable effectiveness and safety between bivalirudin and unfractionated heparin (UFH). Although bivalirudin during PCI offers more clinical and safety benefits to patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO), mostly via radial access, this has not been confirmed. The objective of this study was to examine the efficacy and safety of bivalirudin during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with CTO. METHODS: This trial used a retrospective cohort study design. Medical information from 736 patients with CTO who underwent PCI with bivalirudin or UFH at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from July 2019 to September 2020 was extracted and analyzed. The primary end point was the 30-day incidence of net adverse clinical events (NACEs), and the secondary end point was the major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), which were related to safety and efficacy, respectively. Other end points incorporated each component of the primary outcome, target vessel revascularization, and stent thrombosis. Clinical and procedural characteristics at baseline were adjusted by using a logistic regression model. FINDINGS: Overall, 71.5% of patients with CTO used the radial approach. Both groups exhibited nonsignificant differences in the majority of baseline characteristics. The bivalirudin group was associated with a significant reduction in NACEs (12.9% vs 21.5%; P = 0.002) and major bleeding (2.5% vs 8.0%; P = 0.001) versus the UFH group at the end of the 30-day follow-up. The incidence of MACEs, myocardial infarction, death, stroke, stent thrombosis, and target vessel revascularization did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Moreover, the bivalirudin group also reported a lower incidence of NACEs in the prespecified subgroups. IMPLICATIONS: Bivalirudin exhibited comparative efficacy but superior safety compared with UFH among patients with CTO undergoing PCI. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2000034771.

Dopamine D1 Receptors Contribute Critically to the Apomorphine-Induced Inhibition of Form-Deprivation Myopia in Mice.

Purpose: To determine the roles of dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) and dopamine D1 receptors (D1Rs) in the inhibition of form-deprivation myopia (FDM) by the nonselective dopamine agonist apomorphine (APO) in D2R-knockout (D2R-KO) and D1R-KO mice. Methods: Retinal layer thicknesses and electroretinograms (ERGs) were analyzed in KO mice and in D2R and D1R antagonist-treated mice. D2R-KO or D1R-KO mice and wild-type (WT) littermates were subjected to form deprivation during postnatal weeks 5 to 8. Both groups were intraperitoneally injected daily with either APO (5 µg/g body weight) dissolved in 1 µg/µL ascorbic acid or vehicle alone. Refraction, vitreous chamber depth (VCD), and axial length (AL), among other parameters, were measured prior to and at the end of the treatment period. Results: The retinal layer thicknesses and ERGs in KO mice were similar to those treated with D2R and D1R antagonists. APO administration in WT mice inhibited the development of FDM by approximately 80%. FDM in D2R-KO mice was inhibited approximately 50% compared with WT mice and was further inhibited by APO to a level similar to that in APO-treated WT mice. FDM development in D1R-KO mice was similar to that in WT mice and was not affected by APO administration. The changes in VCD and AL were consistent with refraction data. Conclusions: In mice, APO-mediated FDM inhibition was abolished by D1R KO but not D2R KO. This indicates the specificity of D1Rs for the pharmacologic inhibitory effect of APO on FDM and a nonessential role of D2Rs in this process in mice.

Dopamine Receptor Subtypes Mediate Opposing Effects on Form Deprivation Myopia in Pigmented Guinea Pigs.

Purpose: We reported previously that changes in dopamine receptor (DR) subtype activation modulate spontaneous myopia progression in albino guinea pigs. To determine if DR control of refractive error development is different than in its normal counterpart, we evaluated the contribution of dopaminergic pathways to emmetropization and form deprivation myopia (FDM) progression in pigmented guinea pigs. Methods: Monocular myopia was induced by unilateral form-deprivation (FD). The effects of agonists of D1R (SKF38393) and D2R (quinpirole), the corresponding antagonists (SCH23390 and sulpiride), and vehicle were tested by peribulbar injection around FD or untreated control eyes. High-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection quantified retinal and vitreous dopamine (DA) and 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) levels. Ocular refraction and axial dimensions were measured using eccentric infrared photoretinoscopy (EIR) and A-scan ultrasonography, respectively, initially and after 2 or 4 weeks of treatment. Results: After treatment with any of these four agents for 2 weeks, retinal and vitreal DA and DOPAC levels were not significantly different in drug- and vehicle-treated eyes. Neither agonism nor antagonism of D1R or D2R activity affected emmetropization. In contrast, D1R activation by SKF38393 inhibited FDM progression, while D2R activation by quinpirole augmented this response. On the other hand, D2R antagonism with sulpiride slowed FDM progression while D1R antagonism with SCH23390 had no effect. Conclusions: In pigmented guinea pigs, D1R activation inhibited, whereas D2R activation enhanced, FDM. These results closely mirror previous findings in albino animals and offer further evidence that DA and its cognate receptors affect refractive error regulation in guinea pigs.