Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is a common postoperative complication of extracapsular cataract surgery, which is caused by the proliferation and migration of lens epithelial cells and can affect long-term visual outcomes significantly. The most effective treatment for PCO is neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser capsulotomy; however, this treatment is associated with posterior segment complication and can break the stability of capsular bag, affecting the position and function of trifocal or toric intraocular lenses (IOLs). Advances in surgical procedures, IOL design, and pharmacy have reduced the rate of PCO in recent years, concentrating on the inhibition of proliferative lens epithelial cells (LECs). This protocol aimed to clear LECs more thoroughly during phacoemulsification and IOL implantation. The first several steps, including clear corneal incision, continuous circular capsulorhexis, hydrodissection, hydrodelineation, and phacoemulsification, were completed as conventional procedures. After placing the IOL into the capsular bag, rotation of the IOL by at least 360° was performed using an irrigation/aspiration tip or a hook, with slight stress on the posterior capsule. Some residuals occurred in the originally transparent capsular bag after rotation of the IOLs. Then, these materials and the viscoelastic were cleared completely using an irrigation/aspiration system. A clear posterior capsule was observed after the surgery in patients undergoing this method. This method of rotating IOLs is a simple, effective, and safe way to prevent PCO by clearing residual LECs and can be carried out without extra tools or skills.
Pursuing a high power conversion efficiency with no sacrifice of cost-effectiveness has been a persistent objective for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). One promising solution to this impasse is increased light harvesting. Previous efforts in light harvesting have been made on setting blocking layers or reflecting layers, or adding a light harvester, resulting in tedious procedures without reducing the expenses. We present a mild solution strategy for synthesizing transparent Ru–Se alloy counter electrodes (CEs) for bifacial DSSC applications, displaying optimal front and rear efficiencies of 8.76% and 5.90%, respectively. In comparison with pristine Pt-based solar cells, the maximum power output has also been markedly enhanced. Moreover, fast start-up, high multiple start capability, and good stability are observed in the bifacial DSSCs with transparent Ru–Se binary alloy electrodes. The impressive efficiencies along with simple preparation of the cost-effective Ru–Se alloy CEs demonstrates their potential application in robust DSSCs.
Abstract Background To investigate the possible effect of implantable collamer lens (ICL) V4c on ocular biometric measurements by a new biometer Pentacam-AXL and partial coherence interferometry (PCI)-based IOLMaster 500 and intraocular lens power calculation using fourth-generation formula. Methods We retrospectively enrolled patients who underwent ICL (EVO-V4c, STAAR Surgical Co. Nidau, Switzerland) implantation surgery from September 2020 to November 2021. The Pentacam-AXL and IOLMaster 500 biometers were used to measure axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), keratometry (K), white to white (WTW), and central corneal thickness (CCT) values before and at least 2 months after ICL V4c implantation. The IOL power was calculated using the Barrett Universal II formula. Results The study included 45 eyes in 28 patients. There was a significant increase in ALs (average 0.03 ± 0.07 mm, p = 0.01) and a significant decrease of ACDs (average 0.19 ± 0.17 mm, p < 0.001) based on Pentacam-AXL. Similar changes in ALs and ACDs were also found in IOLMaster 500. In addition, the difference in WTWs in the two devices and that of CCTs in Pentacam-AXL were statistically significant. However, the preoperative and postoperative K1 and K2 were separately comparable using either device. The IOL power calculated by the Barrett Universal II formula did not change significantly either by the software built in Pentacam-AXL or by manually putting the parameters of the IOLMaster 500 into the formula manually ( p = 0.058, p = 0.675, respectively). Conclusions Ocular parameters including ALs, ACDs, WTWs, and CCTs using a new Pentacam-AXL and standard PCI-based IOLMaster 500 changed significantly before and after the ICL V4c implantation, while IOL power prediction using the Barrett Universal II formula was little affected.
Counter electrodes from polypyrrole (PPy) and polyaniline (PANi) nanostructures were fabricated by chemical and electrochemical approaches for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. It was found that double-layered PANi consisting of a nanoparticle layer and a nanofiber layer was formed by an electrodeposition route, given significantly increased active sites and solar cell performances. The solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency of the double-layered PANi-based DSSC was 6.58% under 100 mW cm−2 (AM 1.5), which was much higher than those of PPy and chemically deposited PANi or Pt-based DSSCs. The enhancement in the conversion efficiency was due to the design of double-layered nanostructures, which resulted in an increased charge transfer kinetics and higher electrocatalytic activity for the I−/I3− redox reaction.