Abnormal Leakage Research Articles

Failure analysis on abnormal leakage between tubes and tubesheet of spiral-wound heat exchanger for nuclear power plant

In order to ensure the safety and reliability before actual operation in the nuclear power plant, the reliability test, i. e. bench test was parallelly carried out on two spiral-wound heat exchangers. During the test, both of the two heat exchangers suddenly failed. In our previous paper, the root causes analysis and mechanisms discussion were carried out on one of the spiral-wound heat exchangers, and concluded that the stress corrosion cracking induced by the interaction between inappropriate fabrication and aggressive environment upon the susceptible material was the root cause; while in the current paper, the abnormal leakage near the junction between the heat transfer tubes and the tubesheet of the other spiral-wound heat exchanger was investigated. The obtained results indicated that the interactive effect of crevice corrosion and stress corrosion cracking was the root cause of the failure, which was resulted from multiple factors including design, fabrication, surface treatment and operation. Then the failure mechanism was discussed in detail and the relevant countermeasures were put forward to prevent the similar failure cases occurring again. The achievement of this paper was expected to provide useful experience and suggestion for safe management of spiral-wound heat exchangers in the future.

Ilimaquinone inhibits neovascular age-related macular degeneration through modulation of Wnt/β-catenin and p53 pathways

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is a common cause of irreversible vision loss in the elderly. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor has been effective in treating pathological ocular neovascularization, but it has limitations including the need for repeated intraocular injections for the maintenance of therapeutic effects in most patients and poor or non-response to this agent in some patients. in vitro cellular studies were conducted using retinal pigment epithelial cell lines (ARPE-19 and hTERT-RPE1), human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and human umbilical vein smooth muscle cells (HUVSMCs). in vivo efficacy of ilimaquinone (IQ) was tested in laser-induced choroidal neovascularization mouse and rabbit models. Tissue distribution study was performed in male C57BL6/J mice. IQ, 4,9-friedodrimane-type sesquiterpenoid isolated from the marine sponge, repressed the expression of angiogenic/inflammatory factors and restored the expression of E-cadherin in retinal pigment epithelial cells by inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In addition, it selectively inhibited proliferation and tube formation of HUVECs by activating the p53 pathway. Topical and intraperitoneal administration of IQ significantly reduced choroidal neovascularization in rabbits and mice with laser-induced choroidal neovascularization. Notably, IQ by the oral route of exposure was highly permeable to the eyes and suppressed abnormal vascular leakage by downregulation of β-catenin and stabilization of p53 in vivo. Our findings demonstrate that IQ functions through regulation of p53 and Wnt/β-catenin pathways with conceivable advantages over existing cytokine-targeted anti-angiogenic therapies.

Widefield Fluorescein Angiography in the Fellow Eyes of Patients with Presumed Unilateral Persistent Fetal Vasculature

To examine the retinal vascular findings on widefield fluorescein angiography (FA) in the fellow eyes of patients with unilateral persistent fetal vasculature (PFV). Retrospective case series. Consecutive patients with unilateral PFV evaluated by a single physician at an academic medical center from February 1, 2011, to November 30,2018. Clinical and demographic information, including age, gender, race, ethnicity, affected eye, subtype, stalk origin, complications on presentation, length of follow-up, and examination findings, was reviewed using the electronic medical record. Fluorescein angiograms of the affected and fellow eyes were reviewed by 2 authors for characteristic retinal vascular abnormalities. Agreement between the authors' scores was analyzed using Cohen's Kappa. Fluorescein angiography abnormalities, including peripheral vessel avascularity, aberrant circumferential vessels, terminal supernumerary branching, regional capillary dropout, terminal bulbing, abnormal choroidal flush, abnormal vessel straightening, and peripheral vessel leakage or dilation. Inclusion criteria were met by 41 patients. The average age at initial visit was 10.0 months. The average length of follow-up was 36.4 months. Abnormalities on FA were seen in 31 (75.6%) fellow eyes: peripheral vessel avascularity in 27.5 (67.1%), aberrant circumferential vessels in 20 (48.8%), terminal supernumerary branching in 17 (41.5%), regional capillary dropout in 9 (22.0%), terminal bulbing in 6 (14.6%), abnormal choroidal flush in 3.5 (8.5%), and abnormal vessel straightening and peripheral vessel leakage in 2.5 (6.1%). Statistical analysis disclosed an overall observed agreement of 93.4% among the raters (κ = 0.84, P < 0.0001). Retinal vascular abnormalities seen in patients with unilateral PFV were present in the majority of fellow eyes. This suggests that unilateral PFV may in fact be a bilateral, asymmetric process, but the clinical significance of these subtle findings is not known.

Gas leakage recognition for CO2 geological sequestration based on the time series neural network

Abstract The leakage of stored and transported CO2 is a risk for geological sequestration technology. One of the most challenging problems is to recognize and determine CO2 leakage signal in the complex atmosphere background. In this work, a time series model was proposed to forecast the atmospheric CO2 variation and the approximation error of the model was utilized to recognize the leakage. First, the fitting neural network trained with recently past CO2 data was applied to predict the daily atmospheric CO2. Further, the recurrent nonlinear autoregressive with exogenous input (NARX) model was adopted to get more accurate prediction. Compared with fitting neural network, the approximation errors of NARX have a clearer baseline, and the abnormal leakage signal can be seized more easily even in small release cases. Hence, the fitting approximation of time series prediction model is a potential excellent method to capture atmospheric abnormal signal for CO2 storage and transportation technologies.

Lem2 and Lnp1 maintain the membrane boundary between the nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum

The nuclear envelope (NE) continues to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Proper partitioning of NE and ER is crucial for cellular activity, but the key factors maintaining the boundary between NE and ER remain to be elucidated. Here we show that the conserved membrane proteins Lem2 and Lnp1 cooperatively play a crucial role in maintaining the NE-ER membrane boundary in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Cells lacking both Lem2 and Lnp1 caused severe growth defects associated with aberrant expansion of the NE/ER membranes, abnormal leakage of nuclear proteins, and abnormal formation of vacuolar-like structures in the nucleus. Overexpression of the ER membrane protein Apq12 rescued the growth defect associated with membrane disorder caused by the loss of Lem2 and Lnp1. Genetic analysis showed that Apq12 had overlapping functions with Lnp1. We propose that a membrane protein network with Lem2 and Lnp1 acts as a critical factor to maintain the NE-ER boundary.

Quantitative analysis of enclosed ground flare based on PHAST analysis

AbstractDespite the rapid development of the petrochemical industry, it is overly characterized by complication and integration. The requirements of safety technologies and facilities in the process are increasingly high. As one of the important safety facilities, the flare is indispensable in the petrochemical industry. In recent years, the ground flare has been further applied because of its advantages in low radiation and low pollution. However, as it has been introduced and used in China for a short time, the theoretical basis for its safety application is not strong. In view of this point, after the abnormal leakage, relevant data of the enclosed ground flare are obtained, so as to identify the diffusion and thermal radiation hazards. Meanwhile, quantitative analysis is conducted. The process hazard analysis software is used in the analysis and exploration by taking the enclosed ground flare used in chemical plants as an example. By establishing different accident models, the scopes of influence of fire explosion after the abnormal leakage of the enclosed ground flare are obtained. Data for quantitative analysis are also acquired. It will be an important reference for safely designing and applying the enclosed ground flare and formulating an emergency plan for safety production.

The Noonan Syndrome Gene Lztr1 Controls Cardiovascular Function by Regulating Vesicular Trafficking.

Noonan syndrome (NS) is one of the most frequent genetic disorders. Bleeding problems are among the most common, yet poorly defined complications associated with NS. A lack of consensus on the management of bleeding complications in patients with NS indicates an urgent need for new therapeutic approaches. Bleeding disorders have recently been described in patients with NS harboring mutations of LZTR1 (leucine zipper-like transcription regulator 1), an adaptor for CUL3 (CULLIN3) ubiquitin ligase complex. Here, we assessed the pathobiology of LZTR1-mediated bleeding disorders. Whole-body and vascular specific knockout of Lztr1 results in perinatal lethality due to cardiovascular dysfunction. Lztr1 deletion in blood vessels of adult mice leads to abnormal vascular leakage. We found that defective adherent and tight junctions in Lztr1-depleted endothelial cells are caused by dysregulation of vesicular trafficking. LZTR1 affects the dynamics of fusion and fission of recycling endosomes by controlling ubiquitination of the ESCRT-III (endosomal sorting complex required for transport III) component CHMP1B (charged multivesicular protein 1B), whereas NS-associated LZTR1 mutations diminish CHMP1B ubiquitination. LZTR1-mediated dysregulation of CHMP1B ubiquitination triggers endosomal accumulation and subsequent activation of VEGFR2 (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2) and decreases blood levels of soluble VEGFR2 in Lztr1 haploinsufficient mice. Inhibition of VEGFR2 activity by cediranib rescues vascular abnormalities observed in Lztr1 knockout mice Conclusions: Lztr1 deletion phenotypically overlaps with bleeding diathesis observed in patients with NS. ELISA screening of soluble VEGFR2 in the blood of LZTR1-mutated patients with NS may predict both the severity of NS phenotypes and potential responders to anti-VEGF therapy. VEGFR inhibitors could be beneficial for the treatment of bleeding disorders in patients with NS.

The piezometric and isotopic analysis of leaks in earth dams: the case of the fountain of Gazelle dam, Biskra, Algeria

The problem of leaks in earth dams, especially in their foundations, frequently leads the operating services to consider or to seek for solutions to prevent and minimize risks of dam failure. In the present study, Fountain of Gazelles zoned dam, located in southeast Algeria, has a height of 42.5 m and a width of 8.5 m, with side slopes of 1/2.5 and 1/2.75 has been taken as a case study. The dam is subject to leaks in its right bank, with an abnormal increase in piezometer P3 situated in section 1 downstream, this rises was accompanied by the appearance of springs on the toe of the dam and in the middle of the spillway flow channel. The main objective of this study is to perform an analysis of the piezometric data, and stable isotopic investigation using deuterium (2H) and oxygen (18O) to determine the interrelationships between various samples collected from reservoir and from several collection points downstream, to identify the source location, and understand the cause of the leaks. In this regard, samples of surface water, drainage, injection galleries and spring were collected for isotopic analysis. The piezometric analysis of the three monitoring profiles shows that the problem is due to underground seepage caused by a fault below the dam foundation. The stable isotopic results indicate that the abnormal leakage on the dam comes from the reservoir.

Inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase 3β improves cognitive function in aged mice by upregulating claudin presences in cerebral endothelial cells.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β), a serine/threonine protein kinase, is widely distributed in mammalian brains. Since GSK-3β plays a vital role in the development of neurodegenerative disorders, the present study was designed to investigate the role of GSK-3β in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in aged mice. Morris water maze test was used to examine mouse cognitive function. BBB permeability was examined by the leakage of fluorescence signals of low-molecular weight dextran. GSK-3β inhibitor, 4-benzyl-2-methyl-1,2,4-thiadiazolidine-3,5-dione (TDZD-8), was administrated in aged mice and in cultured mouse brain microvascular endothelial cells (bEnd.3). Compared with young mice, aged mice had increased leftover signals of dextran in the hippocampus and a lower score in the maze test, suggesting that aged mice have abnormal leakage of BBB and cognitive dysfunction. The protein expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) was increased, whereas the protein expressions of junction proteins (claudin1 and claudin5) were reduced in endothelial cells of BBB in aged mice. Phosphorylated level of serine 9, an inhibitory residue in GSK-3β protein, was decreased. TDZD-8 treatment downregulated TLR4 protein expression, upregulated claudin1 and claudin5 protein expressions, and significantly improved cognitive function in aged mice. In bEnd.3 cells, TDZD-8 treatment reduced TLR4 expression and increased claudin5 expression in cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharides. In conclusion, the inhibition of GSK-3β activity downregulates aging-induced TLR4 expression and restores the BBB integrity, resulting in the improvement of cognitive function in aged mice.

Protein loss in the small intestine detected by capsule endoscopy

A 32-year-old woman presented with leg edema and low serum albumin. Although she had experienced intermittent episodes of leg edema since childhood, she had not been examined for this condition. Laboratory data showed hypoproteinemia (3.8 g/dL) and hypoalbuminemia (1.8 g/dL). The result of serology for infectious enteropathy was negative. Gastroduodenoscopy and total colonoscopy showed no abnormal findings. The result of Sudan III staining of the stool was positive. A fecal α-1-antitrypsin clearance test showed abnormal leakage (128 mL/day), and double-balloon enteroscopy showed white villi, white nodules (A), and chylorrhea in the jejunum. Capsule endoscopy showed apparent leakage of white lymphatic fluid from the white villi, where the internal pressure must have been physiologic. It showed leakage of protein from the villi to the intestinal lumen (B). It may be difficult to see a spontaneous leak with double-balloon enteroscopy when the intraluminal pressure is high. Biopsy specimens from the jejunal mucosa demonstrated characteristic lymphangiectasia (C, H&E and D2-40, orig. mag. ×40; D, H&E and D2-40, orig. mag. ×40 D2-40) of the lamina propria. Albumin scintigraphy showed hot spots in the small intestine. These data confirmed a diagnosis of primary intestinal lymphangiectasia and showed that the hypoalbuminemia was secondary to protein-losing enteropathy. The patient was given a low-fat diet with medium-chain triglyceride supplementation, and her clinical condition improved. All authors disclosed no financial relationships. Commentary Primary intestinal lymphangiectasia with protein-losing enteropathy is a disorder wherein ectasia of the enteric lymphatics develops. This can occur at almost any layer of the GI lumen wall. This disorder is usually seen in young patients but can be seen in adults as well (as was the case with this patient). Intestinal lymphangiectasia can be seen in the context of other conditions, including Noonan syndrome, von Recklinghausen syndrome, and Turner syndrome, among others. This patient also had symptoms that suggested this condition had been present for many years. This case illustrates the value of a well-timed capsule endoscopy study, whereby a key finding was detected that allowed elucidation and/or confirmation of a diagnosis for the patient. The findings seen in this study could be intermittent or ongoing, so the capsule findings are both as striking as they are rare. Douglas G. Adler, MD, FASGE, GIE Senior Associate Editor, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah Mohamed O. Othman, MD, Associate Editor for Focal Points

P861 Immediate aortic dissection after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)

Abstract Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a treatment of choice for treating symptomatic severe aortic stenosis patient whose condition is considered the high and intermediate operative risk for surgical aortic valve replacement. Here, we present a case of 67-year-old man with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis, triple vessels disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and end-stage renal disease who was treated with TAVR. After the valve was deployed, we found the abnormal leakage at descending aorta by transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE). Under intraoperative close monitoring, the dissection was slowly expanding so we decided to perform thoracic endovascular repair (TEVAR). In conclusion, TEE after TAVR procedure is helpful to detect this rare complication. Reported cases of AD status post TAVR Author Sex/Age Comorbidity Detection time of AD Site of AD Detection of AD Treatment for AD Result Route access of TAVR This case 2018 M/67 DM, ESRD Immediate after implant Ds TEE TEVAR Recovery Femoral Losmanova et al. 2018 F/81 NA 3 yrs As Autopsy Conservative Died NR Kratimenos et al. 2016 F/81 COPD, renal dysfunction, angiodysplasia 12 days Ds CT TEVAR Recovery Femoral Nagasawa et al. 2016 F/86 Heart failure During the procedure Ds TEE Conservative Recovery Femoral Yashima et al. 2015(14) F/88 NA 3 days As CT Conservative Recovery Femoral Van Mieghem et al. 2013 F/86 Coronary artery disease, post total knee prosthesis 1-2 hours As Angiogram TEVAR Recovery Femoral Loeser et al. 2013 F/89 NA 2-5 hours As Autopsy NA Cardiogenic shock and died Femoral Bibombe et al. 2013 M/83 Previous CBG, HT, DLP During the procedure As and Ds TEE, CTA, angiogram Open surgery Recovery Femoral Al-Attar et al. 2013 F/84 HT, thrombophlebitis 8 months 2 weeks As CT Open surgery Arrest and died Femoral D"Onofrio et al. 2012 F/79 RA, pulmonary edema, cerebral hemorrhage Immediate after implant As TEE Open surgery Died 32 day later due to septic shock Aortic Ong et al. 2011 M/90 HT, CA prostate, CKD, gastric and duodenal ulcer Immediate after implant As TEE Conservative Recovery Femoral Gerber et al. 2010 F/83 DM, LE 22 days As Autopsy NA Cardiac arrest and died Femoral Abbreviations M Male; F Female; DM Diabetes mellitus; ESRD End-stage renal disease; NA Not available; COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CBG Coronary bypass graft; HT hypertension; DLP Dyslipidemia; RA Rheumatoid arthritis; CA cancer; CKD Chronic kidney disease; LE Lupus erythematosus; AD Aortic dissection; As Ascending; Ds Descending; TEVAR Thoracic endovascular aortic repair. Abstract P861 Figure. Intraoperative TEE after TAVR

Numerical investigation of coal self-heating in longwall goaf considering airflow leakage from mining induced crack

Self-heating of coal is a long-standing hazard and pollution source in longwall goaf and abnormal air leakage into goaf is a key yet complex drive to the hazard. To investigate such a problem with more insights, a numerical model without considering coal moisture is established based on a Shendong longwall. Abnormal air leakage into goaf mainly sources from the edge cracks resulting in presence of high level oxygen (8 %∼13 %) in start-off area of the longwall. Two heating liable regimes were identified: one is behind longwall face and another one locates in the start-off zone. Heating in the start-off zone develops more quickly than that in heating regime one. On day 25 the maximum temperature of regime two can rise to 500K while it can only increase to approximately 340K in regime one. The heating spot behind longwall face tends to be self-suppressed with longwall advancing while the heating in the start-off zone can develop to a spontaneous combustion incident due to constant airflow leakage from the mining induced cracks. A wide range of inertisation plans including different locations, strategies, and flowrates of nitrogen injection were conducted. An optimum inertisation plan is to proactively inject inert gas with a low flowrate (e.g. 122m3/h) from a seal along the start-off line. A high flowrate of nitrogen stream is preferable to suppress an on-going heating and the reactive inertisation should be maintained for a long run otherwise the heating is very likely to re-develop.

The analysis of the anomalous hot-carrier effect in partially depleted SOI pMOSFETs fabricated on modified wafer

The anomalous hot-carrier effect in partially depleted SOI pMOSFETs fabricated on modified wafer by silicon ion implantation is investigated and a theoretical analysis is proposed. The abnormal degradation and leakage current induced by hot carrier stress on the front gate are observed. The reason is that the silicon nanoclusters formed by silicon ion implantation can capture a large number of hot electrons during the stress. The effect of silicon ion implantation depth on this anomalous degradation is also investigated. Implantation closer to the interface of top silicon and buried oxide layer leads to more metastable traps and thus to varying degrees of degradation.

TAFI deficiency causes maladaptive vascular remodeling after hemophilic joint bleeding.

Excessive vascular remodeling is characteristic of hemophilic arthropathy (HA) and may contribute to joint bleeding and the progression of HA. Mechanisms for pathological vascular remodeling after hemophilic joint bleeding are unknown. In hemophilia, activation of thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) is impaired, which contributes to joint bleeding and may also underlie the aberrant vascular remodeling. Here, hemophilia A (factor VIII-deficient; FVIII-deficient) mice or TAFI-deficient mice with transient (antibody-induced) hemophilia A were used to determine the role of FVIII and TAFI in vascular remodeling after joint bleeding. Excessive vascular remodeling and vessel enlargement persisted in FVIII-deficient and TAFI-deficient mice, but not in transient hemophilia WT mice, after similar joint bleeding. TAFI-overexpression in FVIII-deficient mice prevented abnormal vessel enlargement and vascular leakage. Age-related vascular changes were observed with FVIII or TAFI deficiency and correlated positively with bleeding severity after injury, supporting increased vascularity as a major contributor to joint bleeding. Antibody-mediated inhibition of uPA also prevented abnormal vascular remodeling, suggesting that TAFI's protective effects include inhibition of uPA-mediated plasminogen activation. In conclusion, the functional TAFI deficiency in hemophilia drives maladaptive vascular remodeling in the joints after bleeding. These mechanistic insights allow targeted development of potentially new strategies to normalize vascularity and control rebleeding in HA.

Label-Free Imaging of Blood Vessels in Human Normal Breast and Breast Tumor Tissue Using Multiphoton Microscopy.

Blood vessels are the important components of the circulatory systems that transport blood throughout the human body and maintain the homeostasis of physiological tissues. Pathologically, blood vessels are often affected by diseases, leading to the formation of unstable, irregular, and hyperpermeable blood vessels. In the tumor microenvironment, abnormal leakage of tumor blood vessels is related to the histological grade and malignant potential of tumors and may also facilitate metastasis of cancer. Visual diagnosis of blood vessels is very important for us to understand the occurrence and development of diseases. Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) is a potential label-free diagnostic tool based on second harmonic generation (SHG) and two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF). MPM can effectively observe the morphological changes of biological tissues at the molecular and cellular levels. In this work, we demonstrate that label-free MPM can be used to visualize the microstructure of blood vessels in human normal breast and breast tumor tissue. Moreover, MPM can monitor the changes of blood vessels in tumor microenvironment. These results show that the MPM will become a promising technique for clinicians to study the properties of the microstructure of the blood vessels.

In-Situ Monitoring and Diagnosing for Fused Filament Fabrication Process Based on Vibration Sensors.

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the most widely used additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and it has great potential in fabricating prototypes with complex geometry. For high quality manufacturing, monitoring the products in real time is as important as maintaining the FFF machine in the normal state. This paper introduces an approach that is based on the vibration sensors and data-driven methods for in-situ monitoring and diagnosing the FFF process. The least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) algorithm has been applied for identifying the normal and filament jam states of the FFF machine, besides fault diagnosis in real time. The identification accuracy for the case studies explored here using LS-SVM is greater than 90%. Furthermore, to ensure the product quality during the FFF process, the back-propagation neural network (BPNN) algorithm has been used to monitor and diagnose the quality defects, as well as the warpage and material stack caused by abnormal leakage for the products in-situ. The diagnosis accuracy for the case studies explored here using BPNN is greater than 95%. Results from the experiments show that the proposed approach can accurately recognize the machine failures and quality defects during the FFF process, thus effectively assuring the product quality.

The clinical characteristic analysis of idiopathic hypotony maculopathy in a series of 18 patients

Objective To summarize the clinical features in idiopathic hypotony maculopathy. Methods A retrospective case series study. Eighteen eyes of 18 patients who were diagnosed with idiopathic hypotony maculopathy were enrolled in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from August 2012 to December 2017. There were 8 males (8 eyes) and 10 females (10 eyes). All patients underwent examinations including BCVA, optometry, slit lamp microscope, fundus color photography, UBM, B-mode ultrasound, OCT, FFA and axial length (AL). BCVA was recorded with logMAR acuity. The results of affected eyes and contralateral healthy eyes were compared. Paired t test was performed to compare the intraocular pressure (IOP), diopter and AL of the affected eyes and contralateral healthy eyes. Results Among 18 eyes, there were 6 eyes with logMAR BCVA<1.0, 10 eyes with logMAR BCVA 1.0−2.0, 2 eyes with light perception. The average diopter was +2.32±1.78 D. The average IOP was 5.18±1.38 mmHg (1 mmHg= 0.133 kPa). The average AL was 20.92±1.61 mm. The differences of IOP (t=21.6, P<0.000), diopter (t=5.9, P=0.002) and AL (t=9.13, P<0.000) between the affected eyes and contralateral healthy eyes were significant. The inflammatory reaction in the anterior segment was observed in 13 eyes (72.22%). In the posterior segment, all the eyes were documented with chorioretinal folds, optic disc swelling and retinal phlebectasia were also demonstrated in 14 eyes, while with macular uplift in 7 eyes. In the UBM and gonioscope examination, the angle chamber was open in all patients with ciliary body cyst in 6 eyes, while no ciliary body detachment was detected. All eyes had been examined with B-scan ultrasound and found the increasing thickness of eye ball in all eyes, and nodular changes in the optic papilla in 5 eyes. The chorioretinal folds were further confirmed by OCT with the appearance of the gear shape, much more obviously in the choroid than that in retina. In the FFA, fluorescein leakage was found around the optic disc in 13 eyes at the late stage, while there was no obvious abnormal leakage in the macular or poster part of retina. Conclusions Idiopathic hypotony maculopathy could present with various clinical manifestations. The choroiretinal folds is typical clinical sign. Key words: Ocular hypotension/complications; Maculopathy; Chorioretinal folds

Ocular surface squamous neoplasia: angiographic characteristics and response to subconjunctival/perilesional 5-fluorouracil injections.

Introduction: To investigate the angiographic characteristics of ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) and to evaluate the efficacy of subconjunctival/perilesional 5-fluorouracil injections in OSSN cases.Materials and methods: Six eyes of six patients with primary OSSN, received perilesional, subconjunctival, 25-mg/mL 5-fluorouracil injections at certain intervals. Anterior segment digital photography images, anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), and conjunctival indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) were obtained simultaneously with fluorescein angiography.Results: The mean best-corrected vision acuity significantly improved after treatment. At baseline, the median of the largest thickness of OSSN was 905.0 (interquartile range: 492.0–1592.5) μm based on AS-OCT data. There was an abrupt transition between normal and abnormal epithelium, a thickened hyper-reflective epithelium, and a sharp plane of cleavage between the lesion and underlying tissue, all indicative of OSSN. The angiographic characteristics of OSSN included focal or seafan-shaped intratumoral and conjunctival feeding vessels visible via ICGA, and abnormal vascular leakage visible with fluorescein angiography. The median time to tumor regression after treatment was 35.0 (interquartile range: 32.0–45.5) days in five eyes without recurrence, and OSSN in one eye regressed partially 40 days after treatment.Conclusion: This is the first report of the angiographic characteristics of OSSN and its response to subconjunctival/perilesional 5-fluorouracil injections by simultaneous conjunctival angiography and AS-OCT. The improved subconjunctival/perilesional 5-fluorouracil injection was an effective therapy for OSSN in both best-corrected vision acuity gain and anatomic outcomes.

The efficacy of an endoscopic endonasal approach in the repair of cerebrospinal fluid fistula: a clinical analysis

&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background:&lt;/strong&gt; Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula is an abnormal CSF leakage due to bone and/or dural defect of the skull base and usually operated with endonasal endoscopic approach. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of an endonasal endoscopic approach in the repair of CSF leakage and to find the reasons of the recurrence of endoscopic procedure.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods:&lt;/strong&gt; The medical records of 24 patients that presented with the diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid fistula and who had undergone endonasal endoscopic repair surgery were reviewed retrospectively. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results:&lt;/strong&gt; 13 patients (54.2%) were found to have spontaneous CSF fistulas without any history of trauma, while 11 patients (45.8%) had posttraumatic CSF fistulas. The mean body mass index (BMI) of patients was 31. 3 kg/m² (20.1-49.6). Nasal septal cartilage was used as a graft material in 19 patients (79%) while only fascia was used in 5 patients (21%). The evaluation of long-term results revealed recurrence in 4 patients (16.6%). Two of these patients required a second surgical repair.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/strong&gt; An endoscopic endonasal approach is a safe method with less morbidity and a reliable outcome in the repair of CSF fistulas. The most important causative factors in the recurrence of endoscopic repair of CSF leak might be to have high BMI and not to use multilayered graft material for closure of fistula.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="abstract"&gt; &lt;/p&gt;

Ultrathin monolithic HfO2 formed by Hf-seeded atomic layer deposition on MoS2: Film characteristics and its transistor application

For the fabrication of high-performance top-gated MoS2 transistors, a uniform atomic layer deposition (ALD) of an ultrathin high-k gate dielectric film without abnormal leakage paths on a MoS2 channel is required. In this study, we fabricated a ~5.2 nm-thick monolithic HfO2 gate dielectric film by utilizing an e-beam-evaporated Hf seed layer (target thickness of 3 nm) prior to the ALD of a HfO2 film (~2 nm). The Hf seed layer was fully converted to HfO2 without metallic residues during the following ALD process, without damages to the Raman and photoluminescence characteristics of the underlying MoS2. The conformal and pinhole-free ALD of the subsequent HfO2 film was verified using conductive atomic force microscopy. In addition, operation of a top-gated MoS2 transistor was demonstrated by integrating the Hf-seeded HfO2 gate dielectric film.