Over the years, an increasing number of patients with some degree of residual hearing have received cochlear implants. In these cases, the marginal benefit provided by hearing aids alone is not ...sufficient; however, as experience has already shown, when hearing aids are used in combination with a cochlear implant, more benefit may be obtained. As a prerequisite, this requires that residual hair cell function must remain intact postoperatively. One of the European pioneers of cochlear implants, Ernst Lehnhardt, questioned whether residual hearing might better be preserved if the implanted electrode permits the fluid-filled inner ear space to remain intact. Subsequently, he proposed insertion of a very flat electrode array design into the extraluminal space between the spiral ligament and the bony cochlear wall (endosteum).
Our study aimed to determine whether it is feasible to insert an endosteal electrode model intracochlearly but extraluminarily, anatomically, and ultimately surgically and to determine the impact on surrounding intracochlear structures.
Insertion of two silicon models of an endosteal electrode were carried out in 15 human temporal bones. Histologic examination of the temporal bones after electrode insertion was performed on both fresh and fixed specimens to determine whether the desired anatomic site of insertion was achieved. In combination with light reflected and electron microscopic techniques, the extent to which the surrounding structures were impacted was also examined.
Successful insertion of the prototype silicon endosteal electrodes was performed intracochlearly and extraluminarly in 11 of the 15 temporal bone specimens, confirming the anatomic feasibility of insertion into the crevice between the spiral ligament and endosteum.
On the basis of the anatomy of the human temporal bone, insertion of an "endosteal electrode" is feasible. Subsequently, in vivo animal studies are needed to determine the physical effects of insertion of an endosteal electrode design prototype upon the functionality of the surrounding intracochlear structures and in particularly the ability to preserve hearing function.
The search for supersymmetric particles is one of the major goals in the next high luminosity phase of the Large Hadron Collider. Supersymmmetric top (stop) searches play a very important role in ...this respect, but the unprecedented collision rate that will be attained at this phase poses new challenges for the separation between any new signal and the Standard Model background. While classical multivariate techniques might be insufficient in this new environment, the massive parallelism provided by quantum computing techniques may yield an efficient solution for the problem. In this paper we make a novel application of the QAML-Z approach to classify the stop signal versus the background, and implement it in a quantum annealer machine. We show that this approach together with the pre-processing of the data with Principal Component Analysis may yield better results than conventional multivariate approaches.
The Arecibo Observatory (AO) is a multidisciplinary research and education facility that is recognized worldwide as a leading facility in astronomy, planetary, and atmospheric and space sciences. ...AO's cornerstone research instrument was the 305-m William E. Gordon telescope. On December 1, 2020, the 305-m telescope collapsed and was irreparably damaged. In the three weeks following the collapse, AO's scientific and engineering staff and the AO users community initiated extensive discussions on the future of the observatory. The community is in overwhelming agreement that there is a need to build an enhanced, next-generation radar-radio telescope at the AO site. From these discussions, we established the set of science requirements the new facility should enable. These requirements can be summarized briefly as: 5 MW of continuous wave transmitter power at 2 - 6 GHz, 10 MW of peak transmitter power at 430 MHz (also at 220MHz under consideration), zenith angle coverage 0 to 48 deg, frequency coverage 0.2 to 30 GHz and increased Field-of-View. These requirements determine the unique specifications of the proposed new instrument. The telescope design concept we suggest consists of a compact array of fixed dishes on a tiltable, plate-like structure with a collecting area equivalent to a 300m dish. This concept, referred to as the Next Generation Arecibo Telescope (NGAT), meets all of the desired specifications and provides significant new science capabilities to all three research groups at AO. This whitepaper presents a sample of the wide variety of the science that can be achieved with the NGAT, the details of the telescope design concept and the need for the new telescope to be located at the AO site. We also discuss other AO science activities that interlock with the NGAT in the white paper.
Solidarity is a promising ethical norm that helps focus the church's social involvement. This norm has biblical-theological resonance and it bridges the gap between theologies of liberation and ...theologies of reconciliation. Solidarity ethics affirms the equal worth of human beings in God's creation; advocates the rights of all who struggle for freedom; seeks justice for those who lack abundant life; and expects a unity of effort to achieve systemic change.
Hypothermia During Head and Neck Surgery Agrawal, Nishant; Sewell, Duane A.; Griswold, Michael E. ...
The Laryngoscope,
August 2003, Letnik:
113, Številka:
8
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Recenzirano
Objective To determine the predictors and incidence of hypothermia in patients undergoing head and neck surgery.
Study Design Retrospective analysis.
Methods Patients were either not warmed (n = 43) ...or actively warmed with forced‐air warming (n = 25). Clinical variables that were assessed as predictors of core body temperature included age, body mass, duration of procedure, estimated blood loss, amount of intravenous fluids administered, and the use of forced‐air warming. The incidence of severe intraoperative hypothermia and potential hypothermia‐related complications was also examined.
Results The study demonstrated that advanced age is a risk factor for hypothermia and decreased body mass is associated with lower final body temperatures in the groups of patients that was not warmed. After adjusting for differences in the ages and weights between the two groups, the mean core body temperature was found to be 0.4°C lower in the patients who were not warmed. Severe intraoperative hypothermia occurred in 5 of 38 patients (11.6%) who were not warmed and 2 of 23 patients (8.0%) who were warmed. The complications associated with hypothermia included delayed time to extubation, the development of neck seromas, and flap dehiscence.
Conclusions Patients undergoing head and neck surgery are at risk for the development of intraoperative hypothermia and require careful temperature monitoring. Elderly patients and patients with low body mass are more prone to develop low intraoperative core body temperatures. Active warming with forced‐air warmers should be considered for patients at risk for intraoperative hypothermia and for patients who develop hypothermia intraoperatively, to avoid hypothermia‐related complications.
