Model of superior semicircular canal dehiscence: asymmetrical vestibular dysfunction induces reversible balance impairment.

Background: Superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD) is a vestibular-cochlear disorder in humans in which a pathological third mobile window of the otic capsule creates changes to the flow of sound pressure energy through the perilymph/endolymph. The primary symptoms include sound-induced dizziness/vertigo, inner ear conductive hearing loss, autophony, headaches, and visual problems. We have developed an animal model of this human condition in the Mongolian Gerbil that uses surgically created SSCD to induce the condition.

'I feel more part of the world': Participatory action research to develop post-diagnostic dementia support.

Many people living with dementia are 'on the margins', not accessing services and support, despite policy and care advancements. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this, with the closure of face-to-face support during lockdowns in the UK and globally. The aim of the 'Beyond the Margins' project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a face-face programme of support with, by and for people with direct experience of dementia who are on the margins of existing services and support.

The relationship between environmental context and attentional engagement in podcast listening experiences.

Introduction: Previous research has shown that podcasts are most frequently consumed using mobile listening devices across a wide variety of environmental, situational, and social contexts. To date, no studies have investigated how an individual's environmental context might influence their attentional engagement in podcast listening experiences. Improving understanding of the contexts in which episodes of listening take place, and how they might affect listener engagement, could be highly valuable to researchers and producers working in the fields of object-based and personalized media.

Three-dimensional reflector localisation and room geometry estimation using a spherical microphone array.

The analysis of room impulse responses to localise reflecting surfaces and estimate room geometry is applicable in numerous aspects of acoustics, including source localisation, acoustic simulation, spatial audio, audio forensics, and room acoustic treatment. Geometry inference is an acoustic analysis problem where information about reflections extracted from impulse responses are used to localise reflective boundaries present in an environment, and thus estimate the geometry of the room. This problem, however, becomes more complex when considering non-convex rooms, as room shape cannot be constrained to a subset of possible convex polygons.

Boundary absorption approximation in the spatial high-frequency extrapolation method for parametric room impulse response synthesis.

The spatial high-frequency extrapolation method extrapolates low-frequency band-limited spatial room impulse responses (SRIRs) to higher frequencies based on a frame-by-frame time/frequency analysis that determines directional reflected components within the SRIR. Such extrapolation can be used to extend finite-difference time domain (FDTD) wave propagation simulations, limited to only relatively low frequencies, to the full audio band. For this bandwidth extrapolation, a boundary absorption weighting function is proposed based on a parametric approximation of the energy decay relief of the SRIR used as the input to the algorithm.

Determining the Relevant Criteria for Three-dimensional Vocal Tract Characterization.

Objective: Soprano singers face a number of specific challenges when singing vowels at high frequencies, due to the wide spacing of harmonics in the voice source. The varied and complex techniques used to overcome these are still not fully understood. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become increasingly popular in recent years for singing voice analysis.

The Perception of Formant Tuning in Soprano Voices.

Introduction: At the upper end of the soprano range, singers adjust their vocal tract to bring one or more of its resonances (R) toward a source harmonic, increasing the amplitude of the sound; this process is known as resonance tuning. This study investigated the perception of (R) and (R) tuning, key strategies observed in classically trained soprano voices, which were expected to be preferred by listeners. Furthermore, different vowels were compared, whereas previous investigations have usually focused on a single vowel.

Developing the Safety Case for MediPi: An Open-Source Platform for Self Management.

mHealth and Telehealth technologies are increasingly used to provide personalised, interactive and timely access to health data, thereby helping patients take a more active role in their care process. However, similar to any intervention, the use of these technologies has to be assured to justify that they do not compromise patient safety. In this paper, we discuss the development of a safety case for MediPi; a research prototype for a low-cost open-source digital platform that collects physiological data from patients, at home, and makes it available to decision-support systems used by clinicians.

Postmenopausal hyperandrogenism: the under-recognized value of inhibins.

We report a 70-year-old female presenting with increased libido and mild but rapid onset virilism. Investigations showed markedly elevated androstenedione and 17 hydroxyprogesterone misdirecting to possible late-onset congenital adrenal hyperplasia. High serum testosterone and oestrogens with suppressed gonadotrophins, however, indicated an androgen-secreting tumour.

Laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy: experience of a Gynaecological Cancer Centre in the UK.

Introduction: The role of laparoscopic lymphadenectomy in the management of gynaecological cancers has been established over the last two decades, having been first described in Dargent and Selvat (L'envahissement ganglionnaire pelvin. Medsi-Mcgraw Hill, Paris, 1989). It has been shown that laparoscopic lymphadenectomy can be performed in the majority of patients and is associated with a low complication rate.

Malignant transformation of residual endometriosis after hysterectomy: a case series.

Objective: To explore the role of long-standing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the malignant transformation of endometriosis.

Design: Short case series. Three cases of women with pelvic clearance receiving long-standing HRT studied in detail.

Bio-inspired evolutionary oral tract shape modeling for physical modeling vocal synthesis.

Physical modeling using digital waveguide mesh (DWM) models is an audio synthesis method that has been shown to produce an acoustic output in music synthesis applications that is often described as being "organic," "warm," or "intimate." This paper describes work that takes its inspiration from physical modeling music synthesis and applies it to speech synthesis through a physical modeling mesh model of the human oral tract. Oral tract shapes are found using a computational technique based on the principles of biological evolution.

A description of the spread of injectate after psoas compartment block using magnetic resonance imaging.

Background And Objectives: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides for excellent visualization of spread of solution after peripheral nerve block. The aim of this observational study was to utilize MRI to describe the distribution of injectate (gadopentetate dimeglumine) administered for continuous psoas compartment block (PCB) performed by use of two approaches (Capdevila and modified Winnie) and to describe the spread of injectate to the lumbar plexus.

Methods: Four volunteers were enrolled in a prospective crossover study.

In with the new, out with the old? Comparison of two approaches for psoas compartment block.

We compared the approaches of Winnie and Capdevila for psoas compartment block (PCB) performed by a single operator in terms of contralateral spread, lumbar plexus blockade, and postoperative analgesic efficacy. Sixty patients underwent PCB (0.4 mL/kg levobupivacaine 0.

Intravenous but not perineural clonidine prolongs postoperative analgesia after psoas compartment block with 0.5% levobupivacaine for hip fracture surgery.

We evaluated the systemic and local effects of clonidine as an analgesic adjunct to psoas compartment block (PCB) with levobupivacaine. In a randomized, prospective, double-blind trial, 36 patients requiring hip fracture surgery received PCB and general anesthesia. Patients were randomized into three groups.

Lipopolysaccharide induces nitric oxide synthase expression and platelet-activating factor increases nitric oxide production in human fetal membranes in culture.

Background: Platelet-activating factor and nitric oxide may be involved in the initiation of human labour as inflammatory mediators. The aim of this study was to test whether platelet-activating factor and lipopolysaccharide were able to induce nitric oxide synthase expression and stimulate the production of nitric oxide in human fetal membrane explants in culture.

Methods: Fetal membranes were collected from Caesarean sections at term.

Are peripheral opioid antagonists the solution to opioid side effects?

Unlabelled: Opioid medication is the mainstay of therapy for severe acute and chronic pain. Unfortunately, the side effects of these medications can affect patient comfort and safety, thus limiting their proven therapeutic potential. Whereas the main analgesic effects of opioids are centrally mediated, many of the common side effects are mediated via peripheral receptors.

Intravenous ropivacaine bolus is a reliable marker of intravascular injection in premedicated healthy volunteers.

Purpose: We designed the following volunteer study to determine if an intravascular bolus dose of ropivacaine could be found that would reliably produce mild symptoms of central nervous system (CNS) toxicity in sedated humans.

Methods: After Ethics Committee approval and informed consent 15 volunteers were recruited. Cardiovascular (CVS) monitoring including pulse oximetry, electrocardiogram and non-invasive blood pressure monitoring was applied.

A comparison of dexamethasone, ondansetron, and dexamethasone plus ondansetron as prophylactic antiemetic and antipruritic therapy in patients receiving intrathecal morphine for major orthopedic surgery.

Unlabelled: In a prospective, double-blinded, randomized trial, we evaluated the efficacy of IV (a) dexamethasone 8 mg, (b) ondansetron 8 mg, and (c) dexamethasone 8 mg plus ondansetron 4 mg for the prevention of postoperative nausea, vomiting (PONV), and pruritus in 130 (ASA physical status I to III) patients undergoing elective major orthopedic surgery after spinal anesthesia with hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine and intrathecal morphine. After spinal anesthesia, patients were randomized to one of three groups.

Neuraxial opioid-induced pruritus: a review.

When intrathecal and epidural opioids are administered, pruritus occurs as an unwanted and troublesome side effect. The reported incidence varies between 30% and 100%. The exact mechanisms of neuraxial opioid-induced pruritus remain unclear.