Solar-assisted steam power plant retrofitted with regenerative system using Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors

This work investigates the performance of a conventional steam power plant retrofitted with a solar-assisted regenerative system using Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors (PTC). The solar collectors were used to compensate for the effect of removing Low-Pressure (LP) turbine extractions without changing other elements of a 300 MW power plant unit during peak load operations. The steam power plant, located in Kuwait, receives high levels of solar irradiation. Modeling of the solar-assisted regenerative system using PTC is simulated for Kuwait's weather conditions. Results of the system analysis show that removing the LP turbine extractions enhanced the performance of the steam power plant by 9.8 MW, with an optimum PTC aperture area equal to 25,850 m2. A techno-economic analysis was used to estimate the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). Compared to an equivalent photovoltaic solar plant, the optimum aperture area and LCOE for the PTC solar plant were found to be less by 45% and 44%, respectively. When compared to an equivalent conventional steam turbine, the solar-assisted steam power plant decreased cost by 56% over the lifecycle of 25-years

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for locally recurrent choroidal melanoma following plaque radiotherapy

Abstract Background For the majority of eyes with choroidal melanoma, radiation therapy is the treatment of choice. Local recurrence after radiation therapy can occur, however, and when it does, salvaging the globe with useful vision is atypical. Case presentation We report a case of late, local failure 7 years following previous brachytherapy successfully managed with Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKR). With 3 years of follow up after GKR, the visual acuity is 20/20 and there is no evidence of systemic metastases. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first report of successful salvage GKR therapy after brachytherapy failure in an eye with choroidal melanoma. GKR is an option for select cases of local recurrence after radiation plaque brachytherapy

Exergy Analysis of Directional Solvent Extraction Desalination Process

This paper presents an exergy analysis to evaluate the performance of a continuous directional solvent extraction (DSE) desalination process using octanoic acid. The flow of exergy was calculated for each thermodynamic state and balanced for different components of the system to quantify the inefficiencies in the process. A parametric study was performed to evaluate the impact of three critical design variables on exergy consumption. The parametric study reveals that the total exergy input decreases significantly with an increase in heat exchanger effectiveness. The results also indicate that the heat exchangers account for the highest exergy destruction. The total exergy consumption, however, has a slightly declining trend as the recovery-ratio increases. There is a small variation in the total exergy consumption, within the uncertainty of the calculation, as the highest process temperature increases. When compared to conventional desalination processes, the exergy consumption of the DSE, with heat recovery of 90%, is comparable to those of multi-stage flashing (MSF), but much higher than reverse osmosis (RO). Octanoic acid, which has low product water yield, is identified as the primary factor negatively impacting the exergy consumptions. To exploit the low-grade and low-temperature heat source feature of the DSE process, directional solvents with higher yield should be identified or designed to enable its full implementation

Noninvasive method to reduce vitreous reflux following intravitreal injection

Aim To investigate the role of pre-injection antiglaucoma medications as a noninvasive method to prevent reflux following intravitreal injection (IVI). Patients and methods This single-center prospective randomized study included patients who were planned to receive an IVI of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor ranibizumab 0.05 ml for macular edema for diabetic macular edema, branch retinal vein occlusion, or choroidal neovascular membrane. Patients were randomized into five groups: no intervention (group 1), pre-injection topical brimonidine (group 2), pre-injection oral acetazolamide (Diamox) (group 3), pre-injection topical brimonidine and oral Diamox (group 4), and pre-injection paracentesis (group 5). The primary outcomes were the occurrence and degree of reflux following IVI. In addition, the evaluation of conjunctival bleb estimated the degree of reflux. Patient self-rated pain and early complications were secondary outcome measures. Results A total of 150 eyes of 150 patients were included. Vitreous reflux occurred in 13 (43%), 14 (46.7%), 19 (63.3%), six (20.0%), and four (13.3%) eyes in groups 1–5, respectively (P<0.001). Additionally, higher degrees of reflux were observed in group 1 compared with other groups. Discussion In our study, we raised the question of whether the intraocular pressure (IOP) before injection affects vitreous reflux. Therefore, we compared the effect of different antiglaucomatous medications on lowering the pre-injection IOP, and so decrease the vitreous reflux. We found that in both the paracentesis group and group of combined topical brimonidine and oral Diamox group, vitreous reflux rate is reduced significantly (P<0.001) because in these two groups, the IOP just before the injection was the lowest. Unfortunately, we could not measure the IOP after paracentesis and before the injection to avoid any risk of endophthalmitis, but we consider the paracentesis as a gold standard group for lowering IOP, although it is an invasive procedure. Interestingly, the self-rated pain rate was the same in all groups. Conclusion Pre-injection topical brimonidine combined with oral Diamox may be an effective and noninvasive method to prevent/reduce vitreous reflux following IVI

Alteration in corneal topography asymmetry indices following corneal refractive surgery

Purpose We aimed to follow up corneal refractive asymmetry index changes following refractive surgery for cornea after correction of low-grade myopia and to determine which technique causes marked affection of the indices. Patients and methods This prospective study conducted from October 2020 to December 2021 included two groups of patients, the photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) group and the laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) group. Every patient in each group had to follow a schedule of visits after surgery for the next day, 1 week, 1 month, and after 3 months. Patients who failed to follow this schedule were excluded from the study. Results The PRK group contained 42 eyes with a mean uncorrected visual acuity that improved significantly, corneal power (K-reading) and pupil center thickness reduced significantly. Surface variance index, central keratoconus index, and height decentration index did not change significantly. Vertical asymmetry index and minimum radius of curvature (Rmin) increased significantly while height asymmetry index decreased significantly. Our LASIK group contained 40 eyes that underwent changes similar to those in the PRK group regarding uncorrected visual acuity, the K-reading, and the pupil center thickness. The surface variance index, vertical asymmetry index, and height asymmetry index, height decentration index and Rmin increased significantly while the central keratoconus index decreased significantly. The keratoconus index reduced significantly in both groups. Conclusion The PRK is a more conservative technique than the LASIK technique regarding the affection of corneal asymmetry indices

Histopathology and electron microscopy evaluation of the sildenafil effect on diabetic rats' retinae

Purpose: Although there is increasing evidence that phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors modify the effect of diabetes on different tissues, its effect on diabetic retinopathy is not well studied. Methods: Forty male Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were divided into four groups: group I = control group that received no treatment; group II (diabetic group), in which diabetes was induced by a single streptozotocin injection; group III (sildenafil small dose, SSD), in which diabetes was similarly introduced (however, rats received daily oral 1 mg/kg sildenafil citrate (SC) for 3 months); and group IV (sildenafil large dose, SLD), which was as in group 3, but SC was 2.5 mg/kg. After 3 months, globes were removed and retinae were dissected; one globe from each rat was examined by light microscopy (LM), and the other by electron microscopy (EM). Results: In contrast to the control group, diabetic rats in group II demonstrated well-established diabetic changes in the form of capillary congestion, decreased cell population, hyaline changes of capillary walls, and degenerated nerve fiber layer by LM. Similarly, EM demonstrated photoreceptor degeneration, mitochondrial cristolysis, and vacuolated depleted cells among other features in group II. These diabetic features were less prominent in group III and nearly absent in group IV. Conclusion: SC use in the early stages of DR may prevent/delay diabetic retinopathy development or progression in diabetic rat models, an effect that seems to be dose-related

Chronic sildenafil citrate use decreases retinal vascular endothelial growth factor expression in diabetic rats: a pilot study

Abstract Background Sildenafil citrate (SC) attenuates endothelial dysfunction. However, its effects on diabetic retinopathy (DR), which is mainly a microvascular disease, remain unclear. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be a critical mediator of DR. Therefore, we investigated the effects of SC on diabetic retina by measuring VEGF levels. Methods In this study, twenty-eight rats were divided into the following groups: group I, the control group; group II, rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes; group III, rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes receiving daily oral sildenafil at 1 mg/kg; and group IV, rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes receiving high-dose daily sildenafil at 2.5 mg/kg. After 3 months, VEGF was measured in the retina specimen in one eye and the vitreous body in the other eye by immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Results We found that VEGF expression in the retina was low in all rats from groups I and IV and in 30% of rats from group III; 80% of rats in group II demonstrated high VEGF expression in the retinae (P < 0.001). VEGF concentrations in the vitreous body samples were 32 ± 2, 61 ± 4, 44 ± 5, and 36 ± 3 pg/l in groups I–IV, respectively (P < 0.001). Conclusion VEGF decreased significantly in the eyes of diabetic rats after chronic oral sildenafil citrate treatment. SC may have a modifying/attenuating effect on DR. However, further studies are needed to evaluate its use as an adjunctive treatment

Retinal Nonperfusion Relationship to Arteries or Veins Observed on Widefield Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography in Diabetic Retinopathy

Copyright 2019 The Authors PURPOSE. To evaluate whether retinal capillary nonperfusion is found predominantly adjacent to arteries or veins in eyes with diabetic retinopathy (DR). METHODS. Sixty-three eyes from 44 patients with proliferative DR (PDR) or non-PDR (NPDR) were included. Images (12 3 12-mm) foveal-centered optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography (OCTA) images were taken using the Zeiss Plex Elite 9000. In 37 eyes, widefield montages with five fixation points were also obtained. A semiautomatic algorithm that detects nonperfusion in full-retina OCT slabs was developed, and the percentages of capillary nonperfusion within the total image area were calculated. Retinal arteries and veins were manually traced. Based on the shortest distance, nonperfusion pixels were labeled as either arterial-side or venous-side. Arterial-adjacent and venous-adjacent nonperfusion and the A/V ratio (arterial-adjacent nonperfusion divided by venous-adjacent nonperfusion) were quantified. RESULTS. Twenty-two eyes with moderate NPDR, 16 eyes with severe NPDR, and 25 eyes with PDR were scanned. Total nonperfusion area in PDR (median: 8.93%) was greater than in moderate NPDR (3.49%, P < 0.01). Arterial-adjacent nonperfusion was greater than venous-adjacent nonperfusion for all stages of DR (P < 0.001). The median A/V ratios were 1.93 in moderate NPDR, 1.84 in severe NPDR, and 1.78 in PDR. The A/V ratio was negatively correlated with the total nonperfusion area (r ¼ -0.600, P < 0.0001). The results from the widefield montages showed similar patterns. CONCLUSIONS. OCTA images with arteries and veins traced allowed us to estimate the nonperfusion distribution. In DR, smaller nonperfusion tends to be arterial-adjacent, while larger nonperfusion tends toward veins