OBJECTIVE: To investigate the application value of liquid crystal digital display goniometer in total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: From January 2018 to December 2019, 83 patients underwent primary total hip arthroplasty, including 28 males and 55 females, aged 42 to 81 (70.4±7.9) years. There were 63 cases of femoral neck fracture and 20 cases of avascular necrosis of femoral head. All patients used liquid crystal digital goniometer to control the anteversion of acetabular cup prosthesis during operation, and CT scanning was used to measure the anteversion of acetabular cup after operation. The two methods were compared to understand the accuracy of using liquid crystal digital goniometer. RESULTS: Postoperative CT measurement showed that the acetabular anteversion of all patients was in the safe area advocated by Lewinnek. The anteversion angle of acetabular cup measured by liquid crystal digital goniometer was 14.20(12.80 to 15.40)°, and the anteversion angle of acetabular cup measured by postoperative CT scan was 14.20 (13.40 to 15.50)°. There was no significant difference between the two ( CONCLUSION It is an accurate and reliable method to control the anteversion of acetabular cup with liquid crystal digital display angle instrument, which has a good auxiliary reference value.
Acetabulum/surgery* ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Female ; Hip Prosthesis ; Humans ; Liquid Crystals ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: We developed a novel method for measurement of hyperacuity and verified the utility thereof.METHODS: We developed a three-dimensional (3D) hyperacuity test using a 3D liquid crystal flat screen, a left- and right-image polarized display, and liquid crystal shutter glasses. We tested the technique in three groups: normal (n = 48), with cataracts (n = 14), and with macular disease (n = 35). We used a chart consisting of five dots and a reference line. Of the five dots, one was variably shifted from the other dots. A chart was presented to one eye and the reference line or blank image to the other eye; a subject scored positive when the dot in the unusual position was recognized.RESULTS: Hyperacuity was measured in terms of the reference line seen by the reference eye (RR), a blank image seen by the reference eye (RB), the reference line seen by the contralateral eye (CR), and a blank image seen by the contralateral eye (CB). All test scores were significantly lower when the reference line was seen than not (RR vs. RB and CR vs. CB; p < 0.01, respectively). For the RR and CR tests, no significant difference was apparent between the normal and cataracts group (p = 0.553, p = 0.494) but such differences were evident between the normal and macular disease groups (p = 0.028, p = 0.002). Also, visualization of the reference line by the reference and contralateral eyes did not differ (p > 0.05).CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of hyperacuity using our new method was not affected by media opacity but was significantly affected by macular disease. Presentation of a reference line facilitated hyperacuity assessment.
Cataract ; Eyeglasses ; Glass ; Liquid Crystals ; Methods

OBJECTIVES: The Samsung Ombudsperson Commission was launched as an independent third-party institution following an agreement among Samsung Electronics, Supporters for Health and Right of People in Semiconductor Industry (Banolim in Korean, an independent NGO), and the Family Compensation Committee, in accordance with the industry accident prevention measure required by the settlement committee to address the issues related to employees who allegedly died from leukemia and other diseases as a result of working at Samsung's semiconductor production facilities. METHODS: The Commission has carried out a comprehensive range of activities to review and evaluate the status of the company's occupational accidents management system, as well as occupational safety and health risk management within its facilities. RESULTS: Based on the results of this review, termed a comprehensive diagnosis, the Commission presented action plans for improvement to strengthen the company's existing safety and health management system and to effectively address uncertain risks in this area going forward. CONCLUSIONS: The Commission will monitor the execution of the suggested tasks and provide advice and guidance to ensure that Samsung's semiconductor and liquid crystal display production lines are safer.
Accident Prevention ; Accidents, Occupational ; Compensation and Redress ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Korea ; Leukemia ; Liquid Crystals ; Occupational Diseases ; Occupational Health ; Risk Management ; Semiconductors

Phytantriol (PT), ethanol (ET) and water were used to prepare in situ cubic liquid crystal (ISV2). The pseudo-ternary phase diagram of PT-ET-water was constructed and isotropic solution formulations were chosen for further optimization. The physicochemical properties of isotropic solution formulations were evaluated to optimize the composition of ISV2. In situ hexagonal liquid crystals (ISH2) were prepared based on the composition of ISV2 with the addition of vitamin E acetate (VitEA) and the amount of VitEA was optimized by in vitro release behavior. The phase structures of liquid crystalline gels formed by ISV2 and ISH2 in excess water were confirmed by crossed polarized light microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering, respectively. Rheological properties of ISV2 and ISH2 were studied by a DHR-2 rheometer. In vitro drug release studies were conducted by using a dialysis membrane diffusion method. Pharmacokinetics was investigated by determination of sinomenine hydrochloride (SMH) concentration in synovial membrane after intra-articular injection of SMH-loaded ISH2 in adjuvant-induced arthritis rats. The optimal ISV2 (PT/ET/water, 64 : 16 : 20, w/w/w) loaded with 6 mg x g(-1) of SMH showed a suitable pH, injectable and formed a cubic liquid crystalline gel in situ with minimum water absorption in the shortest time. The optimal ISV2 was able to sustain the drug release for 144 h. The optimal ISH2 system was prepared by addition of 5% VitEA into PT in the optimal ISV2 system. This ISH2 (PT/VitEA/ET/water, 60.8 : 3.2 : 16 : 20, w/w/w/w) was an injectable isotropic solution with suitable pH. The new ISH2 was able to sustain the drug release for more than 240 h. Local pharmacokinetics study indicated that the retention time and AUC(0-∞) of ISH2 group were increased significantly compared with that of SMH solution group and the AUC(0-∞) of ISH2 group was 6.01 times higher than that of SMH solution group. The developed ISH2 was suitable for intra-articular injection that may apply to patients in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Animals ; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical ; Diffusion ; Ethanol ; Fatty Alcohols ; Gels ; Injections, Intra-Articular ; Liquid Crystals ; Morphinans ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rheology ; Water ; alpha-Tocopherol

OBJECTIVETo understand the exposed positions and levels of indium and its compounds in manufacture of liquid crystal displays, and to evaluate the degree of occupational hazard from indium and its compounds.

METHODSOn-site investigation of occupational health, occupational hazard monitoring, and occupational health examination were used to evaluate the degree of occupational hazard from indium and its compounds in three manufacturers of liquid crystal display panel in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

RESULTSThe time-weighted average (TWA) and short-term exposure limit (STEL) concentrations of indium and its compounds to which sputtering machine operating positions were exposed were less than 0.002~0.004 mg/m³ and 0.006~0.007 mg/m³, respectively, both of which complied with the National Hygienic Standard (PC-TWA = 0.1 mg/m³; PC-STEL = 0.3 mg/m³); the TWA and STEL concentrations of indium and its compounds to which grinding positions were exposed were 0.114~2.98 mg/m³ and 0.31~10.02 mg/m³, respectively, both of which exceeded the National Hygienic Standard with the highest concentration 33-fold higher than the standard. No significant health damages were found in exposed workers according to the results of occupational health examination.

CONCLUSIONThe grinding positions are the key to the control of occupational hazard from indium and its compounds in manufacture of liquid crystal display panel. The workers should be equipped with the anti-particulate full-face respirator, which is an effective way to prevent occupational hazard from indium and its compounds.

Air Pollutants, Occupational ; toxicity ; China ; Data Display ; Humans ; Indium ; toxicity ; Liquid Crystals ; Occupational Exposure ; analysis ; Occupational Health ; Risk Assessment ; Threshold Limit Values

PURPOSE: In elderly and patients with underlying diseases, mortality rate is increased when compared to rib fractures which occurred in other patients. Because there is a shortage of emergency physicians or real-time consultation with radiologists in many countries, it is necessary to receive a formal image reading remotely from an expert. We suggested the use of iPad in X-ray reading and compared the diagnostic validity of iPad, which was highly portable, with that of liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor. METHODS: Fifty four X-ray cases of rib fracture and 54 cases without rib fracture were randomized and reviewed by 10 emergency physicians. A total of 108 cases were divided 1st to 54th and 55th to 108th. Two sessions were separated with a four-week interval. If the reviewer interpreted the 1st to 54th with iPad, they did 55th to 108th with LCD monitor. Reviewers reported the presence of rib fracture, the number of fractured ribs, and diagnostic confidence of 5-scale. RESULTS: The interobserver agreement among reviewers in LCD and iPad was 0.551, 0.524 in Fleiss-kappa value. The intraobserver agreement between tools for each reviewer was 0.410-0.859 (Mean=0.628+/-0.150). Reviewers showed sensitivity over 0.810 regardless of the tool; 0.810- 0.966 (Mean=0.879+/- 0.054) in LCD, 0.828-1.000 (Mean=0.898+/-0.052) in iPad. The specificity was 0.520- 0.860 (Mean=0.750+/-0.117) in LCD and 0.560-0.880 (Mean=0.708+/-0.111) in iPad. Therefore, remote consultation of X-ray by iPad with a specialist was possible with minimized temporal and spatial limits in the emergency room. CONCLUSION: In our study, there was no statistical difference in the diagnosis of rib fracture by X-ray via iPad or LCD. Therefore, remote consultation of X-ray by iPad with a specialist in the emergency room was possible, with temporal and spatial limits by iPad.
Aged ; Diagnosis* ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Liquid Crystals ; Mortality ; Remote Consultation ; Rib Fractures* ; Ribs* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Specialization ; Teleradiology

The purpose of this study is to investigate the preparation of hydroxycamptothecine (HCPT)-loaded cubic crystal liquid embolic precursor solution, and evaluate its in vitro embolic efficiency. Phytantriol was used as cubic crystal liquid embolic material, and the optimal formulation was selected according to ternary phase diagram. Polarized light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) were used to characterize the cubic crystal structure. High performance liquid chromatography and X-ray diffraction analysis were used to investigate the lactone ring of HCPT. In vitro dissolution was preliminary evaluated, and the simulation embolic model was constructed to evaluate the embolic efficiency of precursor solution. Meanwhile, the gelation time and adhesion force were investigated. The results showed that HCPT-loaded precursor solution for embolization had been successfully prepared with low viscosity which was injectable. The precursor solution could transform into Pn3m structure liquid crystal phase gel rapidly when contracting with excess water. The formed HPCT gel remained its lactone form as the same in precursor solution, and expressed the good ability to block the saline flow, and HCPT could keep sustained releasing drug over 30 days. The prepared drug-loaded embolic precursor solution showed a promising potential for vascular embolization and application in clinical treatment of tumor.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; chemistry ; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; Camptothecin ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; Delayed-Action Preparations ; chemistry ; Fatty Alcohols ; chemistry ; Liquid Crystals ; Scattering, Small Angle ; Water ; X-Ray Diffraction

Pulse waves contain rich physiological and pathological information of the human vascular system. The pulse wave diagnosis systems are very helpful for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Accurate pulse waveform is necessary to evaluate the performances of the pulse wave equipment. However, it is difficult to obtain accurate pulse waveform due to several kinds of physiological and pathological conditions for testing and maintaining the pulse wave acquisition devices. A pulse wave generator was designed and implemented in the present study for this application. The blood flow in the vessel was simulated by modeling the cardiovascular system with windkessel model. Pulse waves can be generated based on the vascular systems with four kinds of resistance. Some functional models such as setting up noise types and signal noise ratio (SNR) values were also added in the designed generator. With the need of portability, high speed dynamic response, scalability and low power consumption for the system, field programmable gate array (FPGA) was chosen as hardware platform, and almost all the works, such as developing an algorithm for pulse waveform and interfacing with memory and liquid crystal display (LCD), were implemented under the flow of system on a programmable chip (SOPC) development. When users input in the key parameters through LCD and touch screen, the corresponding pulse wave will be displayed on the LCD and the desired pulse waveform can be accessed from the analog output channel as well. The structure of the designed pulse wave generator is simple and it can provide accurate solutions for studying and teaching pulse waves and the detection of the equipments for acquisition and diagnosis of pulse wave.
Algorithms ; Equipment Design ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Liquid Crystals ; Models, Cardiovascular ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; instrumentation ; Regional Blood Flow

A stable, uniform, easily implemented, LC-based chemical and biological sensor substrate for orientations of liquid crystals (LCs) for a long-term is urgently needed for medical applications of the sensors. We proposed a use of spin-coating of copper perchlorate (Cu(ClO4)2), with five different concentrations(0-100mmol/L), directly on glass slides for fabricating a layer of chemically-sensitive copper ions. Observing the transmitted light with a polarized microscope, we found the luminosity of the light propagated through sensors deposited with copper ions started to weaken gradually after a certain time. The higher was the concentration of copper ions covered on the glass substrates of the sensors, the faster the weakening occurred, and the less time was needed for transmitted light to turn completely dark. But there was no change in luminosity of the transmitted light for the sensors without Cu(ClO4)2 spin-coating even after stored at room temperature (25 degrees C) for a whole day. When the Cu(ClO4)2 deposited sensors were stored within a drying oven at room temperature (25 degrees C) for 2 months, it was found that there vas almost no change in luminosity of the transmitted lights. The results showed that all the thin films of LC on glass slides functionalized with Cu(ClO4)2 could keep homeotropic and stable orientation for a long time; the concentration of Cu (ClO4)2I has an influence on the orientation response speed of LC from planar to perpendicular orientation.
Biosensing Techniques ; instrumentation ; Copper ; chemistry ; Glass ; chemistry ; Liquid Crystals ; chemistry

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we compared the magnetic resonance (MR) image artifacts caused by a conventional metal-based cochlear implant and a newly developed liquid crystal polymer (LCP)-based device. METHODS: The metal-based cochlear implant system (Nurobiosys Co.) was attached to side of the head of a subject and the LCP-based device was attached to opposite side. In both devices, alignment magnets were removed for safety. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on a widely used 3.0 T and an ultra-high 7.0 T MRI machine. 3.0 and 7.0 T MR images were acquired using T1- and T2*-weighted gradient echo sequences, respectively. RESULTS: In the 3.0 T images, the metal-based device on the left side generated the significant amount of artifacts. The MR images in the proximity of the metal package were obscured by the artifacts in both axial and sagittal views. On the other hand, the MR images near the LCP-based device were relatively free from the artifacts and clearly showed the brain structures. 7.0 T MR images showed the more severe distortion in the both sides but the metal-based cochlear implant system caused a much larger obscure area than the LCP-based system. CONCLUSION: The novel LCP-based cochlear implant provides a good MRI compatibility beyond present-day cochlear implants. Thus, MR images can be obtained from the subjects even with the implanted LCP-based neural prosthetic systems providing useful diagnostic information. Furthermore, it will be also useful for functional MRI studies of the auditory perception mechanism after cochlear implantations as well as for positron emission tomography-MRI hybrid imaging.
Artifacts ; Auditory Perception ; Brain ; Chimera ; Cochlear Implantation ; Cochlear Implants ; Electrons ; Hand ; Head ; Liquid Crystals ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Magnetics ; Magnets ; Polymers