Reference Speech-recognition curves for a German monosyllabic test in noise: effects of loudspeaker configuration and room acoustics.

Objective: Measurement of reference speech-recognition curves for a specific speech test in typical clinical testing environments and for different loudspeaker configurations.

Design: Speech-recognition scores were measured at four signal-to-noise ratios for five loudspeaker configurations in two anechoic rooms, and in four audiometric test rooms with low reverberation times.

Study Sample: 240 young participants (aged 18-25 years) without hearing impairment participated in the measurements.

The influence of affective voice on sound distance perception.

Affective stimuli in our environment indicate reward or threat and thereby relate to approach and avoidance behavior. Previous findings suggest that affective stimuli may bias visual perception, but it remains unclear whether similar biases exist in the auditory domain. Therefore, we asked whether affective auditory voices (angry vs.

Lung ultrasound is associated with distinct clinical phenotypes in COVID-19 ARDS: A retrospective observational study.

Background: ARDS is a heterogeneous syndrome with distinct clinical phenotypes. Here we investigate whether the presence or absence of large pulmonary ultrasonographic consolidations can categorize COVID-19 ARDS patients requiring mechanical ventilation into distinct clinical phenotypes.

Methods: This is a retrospective study performed in a tertiary-level intensive care unit in Israel between April and September 2020.

Prognostic value of cerebrospinal fluid tumor cell count in leptomeningeal disease from solid tumors.

Purpose: Treatment decisions for leptomeningeal disease (LMD) rely on patient risk stratification, since clinicians lack objective prognostic tools. The introduction of rare cell capture technology for identification of cerebrospinal fluid tumor cells (CSF-TCs), such as CNSide assay, improved the sensitivity of LMD diagnosis, but prognostic value is unknown. This study assesses the prognostic value of CSF-TC density in patients with LMD from solid tumors.

Little patients, big impacts: a narrative review of palliative and emergent radiotherapy for pediatric cancers.

Background And Objective: The use of radiotherapy (RT) in the palliative and emergent settings for pediatric cancers is an under-utilized resource. Our objective was to provide an evidence-based review of the data to increase awareness of the benefit for this population along with providing guidance on pediatric specific treatment considerations for palliative care physicians, pediatric oncologists, and radiation oncologists.

Methods: A narrative review was performed querying PubMed, MEDLINE, ClinicalTrials.

Full-Length NAD-I Riboswitches Bind a Single Cofactor but Cannot Discriminate against Adenosine Triphosphate.

Bacterial riboswitches are structured RNAs that bind small metabolites to control downstream gene expression. Two riboswitch classes have been reported to sense nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which plays a key redox role in cellular metabolism. The NAD-I (class I) riboswitch stands out because it comprises two homologous, tandemly arranged domains.

Emergent radiotherapy for brain and leptomeningeal metastases: a narrative review.

Background And Objective: As novel systemic therapies allow patients to live longer with cancer, the risk of developing central nervous system (CNS) metastases increases and providers will more frequently encounter emergent presentation of brain metastases (BM) and leptomeningeal metastases (LM). Management of these metastases requires appropriate work-up and well-coordinated multidisciplinary care. We set out to perform a review of emergent radiotherapy (RT) for CNS metastases, specifically focusing on BM and LM.

Using a one-dimensional finite-element approximation of Webster's horn equation to estimate individual ear canal acoustic transfer from input impedances.

Knowledge of the sound pressure transfer to the eardrum is important. The transfer is highly influenced by the shape of the ear canal and its acoustic properties, such as the acoustic impedance at the eardrum. Invasive procedures to measure the sound pressure at the eardrum are usually elaborate or costly.

(Potential) Mishaps of High-Dose-Rate Vaginal Cuff Brachytherapy.

Considering how commonly vaginal cuff brachytherapy is used, there is relatively little literature regarding the potential, albeit low, risk for complications. We present 3 potentially serious mishaps involving cylinder misplacement, dehiscence, and excessive normal tissue irradiation due to unique anatomy. Three patients with potentially serious treatment errors were encountered in the authors' usual clinical practice.

A small RNA that cooperatively senses two stacked metabolites in one pocket for gene control.

Riboswitches are structured non-coding RNAs often located upstream of essential genes in bacterial messenger RNAs. Such RNAs regulate expression of downstream genes by recognizing a specific cellular effector. Although nearly 50 riboswitch classes are known, only a handful recognize multiple effectors.

Psychological distress in patients with metastatic cancer enrolling on phase I clinical trials.

Purpose: Psychological distress is common in patients with cancer and is associated with lower quality-of-life (QOL). Although distress among oncology outpatients undergoing standard therapy has been widely studied, few studies have evaluated distress among patients enrolling on Phase I therapeutic clinical trials. Thus, we aimed to characterize levels of distress and types of stressors in patients enrolling on Phase I clinical trials.

Impact of Baseline Nutrition and Exercise Status on Toxicity and Outcomes in Phase I and II Oncology Clinical Trial Participants.

Background: Malnutrition and physical inactivity are common in patients with advanced cancer and are associated with poor outcomes. There are increasing data that altered body composition is related to the pharmacokinetic properties of cancer therapies. These adverse conditions may impact outcomes in early-phase oncology clinical trials.

Acoustic feedback path modeling for hearing aids: Comparison of physical position based and position independent models.

Acoustic feedback in hearing aids occurs due to the coupling between the hearing aid loudspeaker and microphones. In order to reduce acoustic feedback, adaptive filters are often used to estimate the feedback path. To increase the convergence speed and decrease the computational complexity of the adaptive algorithms, it has been proposed to split the acoustic feedback path into a time-invariant fixed part and a time-varying variable part.

Individualized prediction of the sound pressure at the eardrum for an earpiece with integrated receivers and microphones.

Future hearing systems and hearables will likely contain microphones and receivers in the ear canal. In order to predict the sound pressure at the eardrum in such a scenario, a one-dimensional electroacoustic model of a prototype open earpiece with integrated receivers and integrated microphones was developed. The model parameters were obtained in a training setup with well-defined loads at both sides of the earpiece.

Competitive advantage gained from the use of helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) for trauma patients: Evaluation of 1724 patients.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to analyze helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) in comparison to EMS, in respect to patient's mortality and morbidity.

Design: From a cohort of traumatized patients (n = 1724) prospectively enrolled in the German trauma registry (DGU-R) at Frankfurt University Hospital from 2009 to 2013, 1646 could be analyzed for in-hospital mortality and short-term outcome (GOS) at discharge and compared between HEMS and EMS.

Measurements And Main Results: 129 patients (7.

Significant acceleration of emergency response using smartphone geolocation data and a worldwide emergency call support system.

Importance: When patients are disorientated or experience language barriers, it is impossible to activate the emergency response system. In these cases, the delay for receiving appropriate help can extend to several hours.

Objectives: A worldwide emergency call support system (ECSS), including geolocation of modern smartphones (GPS, WLAN and LBS), was established referring to E911 and eCall systems.

Enhancing heterologous expression in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by transcript sequence optimization.

Various species of microalgae have recently emerged as promising host-organisms for use in biotechnology industries due to their unique properties. These include efficient conversion of sunlight into organic compounds, the ability to grow in extreme conditions and the occurrence of numerous post-translational modification pathways. However, the inability to obtain high levels of nuclear heterologous gene expression in microalgae hinders the development of the entire field.

Air Repatriation With a Medium-sized Pneumothorax Without Thoracic Tube: A Special Case of a Repatriation Accompanied by an Experienced Surgeon.

We report on the repatriation of a 28-year old female from Germany, who was involved in a serious bus accident and was transported to the nearest hospital in Oruro, Bolivia. CT scans and x-rays performed in this hospital demonstrated a complete pneumothorax right. Thorax drainage was inserted, which was removed after 5 days.

Anatomy of the Gynecomastia Tissue and Its Clinical Significance.

Background: Gynecomastia is a very common entity in men, and several authors estimate that approximately 50% to 70% of the male population has palpable breast tissue. Much has been published with regard to the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of gynecomastia. However, the anatomy of the gynecomastia tissue remains elusive to most surgeons.

Reciprocal measurement of acoustic feedback paths in hearing aids.

A reciprocal measurement procedure to measure the acoustic feedback path in hearing aids is investigated. The advantage of the reciprocal measurement compared to the direct measurement is a significantly reduced sound pressure in the ear. The direct and reciprocal measurements are compared using measurements on a dummy head with adjustable ear canals, different earmolds, and variations in the outer sound field.

Wavelength-selective switch with direct few mode fiber integration.

The first realization of a wavelength-selective switch (WSS) with direct integration of few mode fibers (FMF) is fully described. The free-space optics FMF-WSS dynamically steers spectral information-bearing beams containing three spatial modes from an input port to one of nine output ports using a phase spatial light modulator. Sources of mode dependent losses (MDL) are identified, analytically analyzed and experimentally confirmed on account of different modal sensitivities to fiber coupling in imperfect imaging and at spectral channel edges due to mode clipping.

Correction of gynecomastia in body builders and patients with good physique.

Background: Temporary gynecomastia in the form of breast buds is a common finding in young male subjects. In adults, permanent gynecomastia is an aesthetic impairment that may result in interest in surgical correction. Gynecomastia in body builders creates an even greater distress for patients seeking surgical treatment because of the demands of professional competition.

Variable optical attenuator and dynamic mode group equalizer for few mode fibers.

Variable optical attenuation (VOA) for three-mode fiber is experimentally presented, utilizing an amplitude spatial light modulator (SLM), achieving up to -28dB uniform attenuation for all modes. Using the ability to spatially vary the attenuation distribution with the SLM, we also achieve up to 10dB differential attenuation between the fiber's two supported mode group (LP₀₁ and LP₁₁). The spatially selective attenuation serves as the basis of a dynamic mode-group equalizer (DME), potentially gain-balancing mode dependent optical amplification.