BACKGROUND A previous study showed that irrigation with 100 mL saline reduced residual common bile duct (CBD) stones, which potentially cause recurrent stones after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. AIM To determine whether saline irrigation can improve CBD clearance after lithotripsy. METHODS This prospective self-controlled study enrolled patients receiving mechanical lithotripsy for large (> 1.2 cm) CBD stones. After occlusion cholangiography confirmed CBD stone clearance, peroral cholangioscopy (POC) was performed to determine clearance scores based on the number of residual stones. The amounts of residual stones spotted via POC were graded on a 5-point scale (score 1, worst; score 5, best). Scores were documented after only stone removal (control) and after irrigation with 50 mL and 100 mL saline, respectively. The stone composition was analyzed using infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS Between October 2018 and January 2020, 47 patients had CBD clearance scores of 2.4 ± 1.1 without saline irrigation, 3.5 ± 0.7 with 50 mL irrigation, and 4.6 ± 0.6 with 100 mL irrigation ( P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that CBD diameter > 15 mm [odds ratio (OR) = 0.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01-0.49; P = 0.007] and periampullary diverticula (PAD) (OR = 6.51, 95%CI: 1.08-39.21; P = 0.041) were independent risk factors for residual stones. Bilirubin pigment stones constituted the main residual stones found in patients with PAD ( P = 0.004). CONCLUSION Irrigation with 100 mL of saline may not clear all residual CBD stones after lithotripsy, especially in patients with PAD and/or a dilated (> 15 mm) CBD. Pigment residual stones are soft and commonly found in patients with PAD. Additional saline irrigation may be required to remove retained stones.

Ice accretion has been a huge threat for the stable operation of transmission line. Icing monitoring devices used presently are active sensors with low working stability. Signals are transmitted in the electrical form, which are easily affected by the electromagnetic interference. In this paper, an online icing monitoring device of transmission line based on fiber bragg grating (FBG) sensor is designed, and is operated as a pilot unit on the 44# tower of 110kV Zhenzou line. Experimental results show that the online icing monitoring device operates stably, and the designed fiber bragg grating sensor has high linearity, good sensitivity and high accuracy.

In order to achieve real-time monitoring of high-voltage lines, a temperature measurement system for transmission lines based on the online passive FBG sensors is proposed. The temperature linearity of the FBG sensors designed by bi-metal package is greater than 0.999, which guarantees great mechanical strength and temperature measurement performance. The sensors are fixed to the lines by a specially designed fixture. This temperature measurement system for transmission lines based on optical sensing is running on 110kV line with strong scalability, which could monitor temperature changes of the conductor in real time.

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