Perturbed Ion Temperature and Toroidal Flow Profile Measurements in Rotating Neoclassical Tearing Mode Magnetic Islands.

The perturbed ion temperature and toroidal flow were measured in rotating neoclassical tearing modes (NTM) in a tokamak for the first time. These toroidally and radially resolved profiles were obtained by impurity ion spectroscopy in a 2,1 NTM in DIII-D. In agreement with drift-kinetic simulations, the electron temperature profile is flat, while the ion temperature gradient is restored across the magnetic island O point in the presence of fast ions; the perturbed flow has minima in the O points and maxima at the X points.

Clinically important estimates of improvement after septoplasty.

Objective: A statistically significant improvement in nasal obstruction ratings following septoplasty is not necessarily clinically important. This study aimed to establish useful measures of septoplasty success, namely the minimal clinically important difference and the desirable clinically important difference.

Methods: Patients rated nasal obstruction on a 0-100 visual analogue scale pre-operatively and at 5.

Septoplasty: early (first year) and late (fourth year) post-operative results in 604 patients.

Objective: As prospective outcomes of septoplasty with or without turbinoplasty beyond the first year are few and have diverging results, this study evaluated later septoplasty results three to four years post-operatively.

Methods: Patients undergoing septoplasty completed the Nasal Surgical Questionnaire pre-operatively, and at 6-12 months (early post-operative assessment) and 36-48 months (late post-operative assessment) after surgery. Primary outcome was visual analogue scale ratings for nasal obstruction (with a scale ranging from 0 to 100).

Self-Reported Complications after Tonsillectomy: Comparison of Responders and Nonresponders to a Mailed Questionnaire.

Some studies of tonsillectomy outcomes have low response rates to mailed quality control questionnaires. This study evaluated the effect of nonresponders to mailed questionnaires about posttonsillectomy complications by determining whether mail responders and nonresponders differ. Questionnaires were mailed to patients 3-6 weeks after tonsillectomy to assess postoperative complications, defined as contact with a private practitioner and/or hospital readmission related to postsurgical bleeding, pain, or infection.

Assessment of non-response in quality control of nasal septal surgery.

Objective: This study evaluated the effect of mail non-response on the validity of the results of nasal septal surgery.

Method: Six months post-operatively, questionnaires with both prospective and retrospective ratings were mailed to patients. Patients who did not respond (non-responders) were contacted by telephone.

Unilateral and Bilateral PNIF in Quality Control of Nasal Septal Surgery.

The aim of this study was to explore the usefulness of unilateral, combined unilateral (left + right), and bilateral peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) measurements in assessing the results of nasal septal surgery. Nasal obstruction was recorded subjectively and objectively before and 4 months after nasal septoplasty using a visual analogue scale (VAS) and a PNIF meter. Nasal septoplasty (58 patients) and septoplasty with turbinoplasty (68 patients) were performed on 126 patients (85 males; 41 females) with a mean age of 32.

A questionnaire using vocal symptoms in quality control of phonosurgery: vocal surgical questionnaire.

Background: Quality control after phonosurgery is important and may be time consuming. Often questionnaires focusing on quality of life are applied. We aimed at investigating the use of organ specific symptoms, such as hoarseness and voice failure with the use of self-reported visual analogue scales (VAS) and Likert-scales.

Good correlation between visual analogue scale and numerical rating scale in the assessment of nasal obstruction.

Objective: Results from telephone interviews may be needed to supplement those from mailed questionnaires when response rates are inadequate. This study assessed the correlation between visual analogue scale ratings used in mailed questionnaires and numerical rating scale scores used in telephone interviews.

Methods: Patients scheduled for nasal septal surgery routinely respond to a visual analogue scale of obstruction during the day and at night.

Preoperative Signs and Symptoms as Prognostic Markers in Nasal Septoplasty.

Identification of preoperative signs and symptoms that may predict the outcome of surgery is important, for both patient selection and the development of interventions for improving outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess the value of some selected preoperative signs and symptoms for predicting outcomes of nasal septoplasty. Patients undergoing septoplasty with or without turbinoplasty responded to the Nasal Surgical Questionnaire (NSQ) preoperatively and six months postoperatively.

Evaluation of strategies for increasing response rates to postal questionnaires in quality control of nasal septal surgery.

Background: Postal questionnaires are often used to assess the results of nasal septoplasty, but response rates vary widely. This study assesses strategies designed to increase the response rate.

Methods: Postoperative questionnaires using visual analogue scales (VAS) for nasal obstruction were mailed to 160 consecutive patients alternately allocated to one of two groups.

Evaluation of non-response in quality control of nasal septal surgery.

Objective: Questionnaires are often used to assess the results of nasal septoplasty, but response rates vary widely. The possible bias caused by non-responders was evaluated to determine the validity of questionnaire results.

Methods: Post-operative questionnaires employing visual analogue scales for nasal obstruction were mailed to 182 patients.

Evaluation of the Nasal Surgical Questionnaire for Monitoring Results of Septoplasty.

Monitoring the results of surgery is important. The otorhinolaryngology department of our hospital currently uses preoperative and postoperative versions of the Nasal Surgical Questionnaire (NSQ) for continuous evaluation of nasal septoplasty. In this study, 55 patients undergoing septoplasty answered the preoperative version twice to assess the NSQ's test-retest precision, and 75 patients answered the preoperative questionnaire before and the postoperative one 6 months after surgery to evaluate the NSQ's ability to detect change in symptoms following surgery.

Avoiding Tokamak Disruptions by Applying Static Magnetic Fields That Align Locked Modes with Stabilizing Wave-Driven Currents.

Nonrotating ("locked") magnetic islands often lead to complete losses of confinement in tokamak plasmas, called major disruptions. Here locked islands were suppressed for the first time, by a combination of applied three-dimensional magnetic fields and injected millimeter waves. The applied fields were used to control the phase of locking and so align the island O point with the region where the injected waves generated noninductive currents.

Evaluation of a nasal surgical questionnaire designed for monitoring surgical outcomes and comparing different techniques.

Objective: This study evaluated a nasal surgical questionnaire designed for monitoring surgical outcomes and comparing different techniques.

Methods: Eighty-three healthy volunteers answered the same questionnaire twice with a minimum interval of five weeks. Three visual analogue scale items were used to assess nasal obstruction during the day, at night and during exercise.

IgG4-Related Nasal Pseudotumor.

IgG4-related disease is recognized as one form of autoimmune pancreatitis. During the last ten years, it has also been described in several other organs. We present two patients with lesions showing a histological picture of fibrosis and lymphoplasmacytic infiltrations with abundant IgG4 positive plasma cells at hitherto unreported symmetrical nasal locations.

An upgrade of the magnetic diagnostic system of the DIII-D tokamak for non-axisymmetric measurements.

The DIII-D tokamak magnetic diagnostic system [E. J. Strait, Rev.

Tokamak operation with safety factor q95 < 2 via control of MHD stability.

Magnetic feedback control of the resistive-wall mode has enabled the DIII-D tokamak to access stable operation at safety factor q(95) = 1.9 in divertor plasmas for 150 instability growth times. Magnetohydrodynamic stability sets a hard, disruptive limit on the minimum edge safety factor achievable in a tokamak, or on the maximum plasma current at a given toroidal magnetic field.

Endonasal surgery after cocaine abuse: safe at any interval?

Objective. We report a case of poor healing after endonasal surgery for nasal septal perforation ten years after cocaine abuse was ended. Method.

Surgical closure of nasal septal perforation. Early and long term observations.

Background: Results of surgical treatment of nasal septal perforation are usually evaluated using closure of the perforation as criterion of success. Patients, however, may still have symptoms.

Aim: To assess the long-term results of surgical treatment of nasal septal perforation with bilateral, posterior based mucoperichondrial septal flaps using a four-point symptom score to ultimately improve treatment and selection criteria.

Fibro-hyaline extensions from the bony nasal aperture, causing nasal obstruction.

Objective: We report a rare case of fibro-hyaline anterior extensions of the bony nasal pyramid.

Method: The clinical, radiological, intra-operative and histological findings are presented.

Results: A 34-year-old man presented with bilateral nasal obstruction due to enlarged lateral walls of the nasal vestibule.

Magnetohydrodynamic interference with the edge pedestal motional Stark effect diagnostic on DIII-D.

Accurate measurement of internal magnetic field direction using motional Stark effect (MSE) polarimetry in the edge pedestal is desired for nearly all tokamak scenario work. A newly installed 500 kHz 32-channel digitizer on the MSE diagnostic of DIII-D allows full spectral information of the polarimeter signal to be recovered for the first time. Fourier analysis of this data has revealed magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluctuations in the plasma edge pedestal at ρ ≥ 0.

Magnetic-flux pumping in high-performance, stationary plasmas with tearing modes.

Analysis of the change in the magnetic field pitch angles during edge localized mode events in high performance, stationary plasmas on the DIII-D tokamak shows rapid (<1 ms) broadening of the current density profile, but only when a m/n=3/2 tearing mode is present. This observation of poloidal magnetic-flux pumping explains an important feature of this scenario, which is the anomalous broadening of the current density profile that beneficially maintains the safety factor above unity and forestalls the sawtooth instability.

Silicone button in nasal septal perforation. Long term observations.

Objective: To assess the long-term survival rate of silicone buttons in nasal septal perforation and to improve selection criteria. To employ a symptom score that might also be used in comparative studies

Methods: Prospective and retrospective study of patients treated with commercially available silicone buttons in a tertiary treatment centre. The observation period of retained buttons was a minimum of four years.

Reduced critical rotation for resistive-wall mode stabilization in a near-axisymmetric configuration.

Recent DIII-D experiments with reduced neutral beam torque and minimum nonaxisymmetric perturbations of the magnetic field show a significant reduction of the toroidal plasma rotation required for the stabilization of the resistive-wall mode (RWM) below the threshold values observed in experiments that apply nonaxisymmetric magnetic fields to slow the plasma rotation. A toroidal rotation frequency of less than 10 krad/s at the q=2 surface (measured with charge exchange recombination spectroscopy using C VI) corresponding to 0.3% of the inverse of the toroidal Alfvén time is sufficient to sustain the plasma pressure above the ideal MHD no-wall stability limit.