Herpes simplex virus presenting as an oropharyngeal mass.

Objectives: Present a clinically challenging case of an immunocompetent 74-year-old male who presented with marked dyspnea and hemoptysis. After the airway was secured, direct laryngoscopy revealed a large, fungating, hemorrhagic mass of the left lateral pharyngeal wall and surrounding structures.

Methods: Chart review of a single patient.

Seven new genera and thirty-four new species of buccinoid gastropods (Neogastropoda: Buccinidae) from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.

Seven new genera and thirty-four new species of gastropods in the in the family Buccinidae, are described from the Aleutian Islands. The new taxa represent five subfamilies: Parancistrolepidinae Habe, 1972: Boreancistrolepis excelsus n. gen.

Pedicled Forearm Fasciocutaneous Flap for Tracheal Reconstruction: Anomalous Radial Vasculature Preventing Free-Flap.

A 61-year-old female presented with poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma with anterior tracheal wall invasion. Following resection, the patient was to undergo anterior tracheal wall reconstruction with a radial forearm fasciocutaneous free flap and costal cartilage grafts. However, intraoperative identification of a "brachioradial artery" was identified with the deep radial and ulnar arteries completely separated from the radial artery.

Burn Pit Exposure Is Associated With Increased Sinonasal Disease.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether self-reported burn pit exposure is associated with increased subjective and objective sinus disease.

Design: A cross-sectional study was performed evaluating consecutive adult patients presenting to a US Military rhinology clinic. Demographics, medical histories, sinonasal quality-of-life scores, and nasal endoscopy examinations were obtained.

Inferior angle of scapula fractures: A retrospective case series.

Inferior angle of scapula fractures (IAS) are rare injuries that result from the periscapular shoulder muscles avulsing the inferior scapula tip. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanisms of injury, investigations and treatment outcomes, as currently only case reports are available to guide management. Computered tomography (CT) images were reviewed to identify patients with an IAS fracture.

Investigation of Adult Post-Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage Rates and the Impact of NSAID Use.

Objectives/hypothesis: Tonsillectomy is one of the most common ambulatory surgeries performed in the United States, yet the incidence of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage (PTH) in adults remains unclear. In addition, any association between non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and PTH in adults is currently unknown. The aim of this study is to examine the incidence and management of adult PTH at a single academic center and to assess for any association between NSAID use and PTH in adults.

3-D compressed sensing optical coherence tomography using predictive coding.

We present a compressed sensing (CS) algorithm and sampling strategy for reconstructing 3-D Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) image volumes from as little as 10% of the original data. Reconstruction using the proposed method, Denoising Predictive Coding (DN-PC), is demonstrated for five clinically relevant tissue types including human heart, retina, uterus, breast, and bovine ligament. DN-PC reconstructs the difference between adjacent b-scans in a volume and iteratively applies Gaussian filtering to improve image sparsity.

Anisotropic Mechanical Properties of the Human Uterus Measured by Spherical Indentation.

The mechanical function of the uterus is critical for a successful pregnancy. During gestation, uterine tissue grows and stretches to many times its size to accommodate the growing fetus, and it is hypothesized the magnitude of uterine tissue stretch triggers the onset of contractions. To establish rigorous mechanical testing protocols for the human uterus in hopes of predicting tissue stretch during pregnancy, this study measures the anisotropic mechanical properties of the human uterus using optical coherence tomography (OCT), instrumented spherical indentation, and video extensometry.

The Potential Effects of Burn Pit Exposure on the Respiratory Tract: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Burn pits (BPs) have been widely used by the U.S. military for waste disposal while in conflicts abroad.

Three-dimensional collagen fiber mapping and tractography of human uterine tissue using OCT.

Automatic quantification and visualization of 3-D collagen fiber architecture using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has previously relied on polarization information and/or prior knowledge of tissue-specific fiber architecture. This study explores image processing, enhancement, segmentation, and detection algorithms to map 3-D collagen fiber architecture from OCT images alone. 3-D fiber mapping, histogram analysis, and 3-D tractography revealed fiber groupings and macro-organization previously unseen in uterine tissue samples.

High-speed collagen fiber modeling and orientation quantification for optical coherence tomography imaging.

Quantifying collagen fiber architecture has clinical and scientific relevance across a variety of tissue types and adds functionality to otherwise largely qualitative imaging modalities. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is uniquely suited for this task due to its ability to capture the collagen microstructure over larger fields of view than traditional microscopy. Existing image processing techniques for quantifying fiber architecture, while accurate and effective, are very slow for processing large datasets and tend to lack structural specificity.

IMPROVED CLASSIFICATION IN TACTILE BCIS USING A NOISY LABEL MODEL.

Tactile BCIs have gained recent popularity in the BCI community due to the advantages of using a stimulation medium which does not inhibit the users visual or auditory senses, is naturally inconspicuous, and can still be used by a person who may be visually or auditorily impaired. While many systems have been proposed which utilize the P300 response elicited through an oddball task, these systems struggle to classify user responses with accuracies comparable to many visual stimulus based systems. In this study, we model the tactile ERP generation as label noise and develop a novel BCI paradigm for binary communication designed to minimize label confusion.

Smartphone applications for the evaluation of pathologic shoulder range of motion and shoulder scores-a comparative study.

Hypothesis And Background: Accurate measurement of range of motion (ROM) is important in evaluating a pathologic shoulder and calculating shoulder scores. The aim of this study was to establish the reliability and validity of different smartphone applications (apps) in assessing pathologic shoulder ROM and to determine whether differences in recorded ROM measurements affect calculated shoulder scores. The authors hypothesized that there is no difference between shoulder ROM assessment methods and calculated shoulder scores.

Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index Values in Asymptomatic and Arthritic Cohorts.

The primary aim of this study was to determine whether an electronic, multicenter data collection system could be used to establish normal population reference values for the Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). The secondary aim was to investigate differences in asymptomatic HOOS and WOMAC values reported in 2 geographically distinct English-speaking countries and compare these with a symptomatic arthritic patient cohort. A total of 552 participants were recruited.

Varus Posteromedial Rotatory Instability of the Elbow: Injury Pattern and Surgical Experience of 27 Acute Consecutive Surgical Patients.

Objectives: To identify associated injuries that occur in varus posteromedial rotatory instability (VPMRI) of the elbow and present their surgical management.

Design: Level II retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Asymptomatic reference values for the Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hand and Patient-Rated Wrist/Hand Evaluation - electronic data collection and its clinical implications.

The purpose of this study was to establish normal asymptomatic population values for the Disability of Arm, Shoulder and Hand and Patient-Rated Wrist/Hand Evaluation in healthy, asymptomatic individuals of different age, gender, ethnicity, handedness and nationality, using electronic data collection. Two-hundred and ninety-two Australian and 293 Canadian citizens with no active wrist pain, injury or pathology in their dominant hand, were evaluated. Participants completed an electronically administered questionnaire and were assessed clinically.

Asymptomatic population reference values for three knee patient-reported outcomes measures: evaluation of an electronic data collection system and implications for future international, multi-centre cohort studies.

Objectives: The aim was to assess whether the Knee Society Score, Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) were comparable in asymptomatic, healthy, individuals of different age, gender and ethnicity, across two remote continents. The purpose of this study was to establish normal population values for these scores using an electronic data collection system.

Hypothesis: There is no difference in clinical knee scores in an asymptomatic population when comparing age, gender and ethnicity, across two remote continents.

An international, multicenter cohort study comparing 6 shoulder clinical scores in an asymptomatic population.

Hypothesis: The study purpose was to assess 6 shoulder patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) values in asymptomatic, healthy, pathology-free individuals. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in PROM values in pathology-free individuals when considering sex, age, ethnicity, and geographical location.

Methods: Electronic questionnaires were completed by 635 individuals (323 Australians and 312 Canadians) without dominant shoulder pathology for the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) shoulder score; Constant-Murley Shoulder Score (CSS); Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS); University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) shoulder score; Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI); and Stanmore Percentage of Normal Shoulder Assessment (SPONSA).

CR-39 (PADC) Reflection and Transmission of Light in the Ultraviolet-Near-Infrared (UV-NIR) Range.

The spectral reflection (specular and diffuse) and transmission of Columbia Resin 39 (CR-39) were measured for incoherent light with wavelengths in the range of 200-2500 nm. These results will be of use for the optical characterization of CR-39, as well as in investigations of the chemical modifications of the polymer caused by ultraviolet (UV) exposure. A Varian Cary 5000 was used to perform spectroscopy on several different thicknesses of CR-39.

Frequency-constrained robust principal component analysis: a sparse representation approach to segmentation of dynamic features in optical coherence tomography imaging.

Sparse representation theory is an exciting area of research with recent applications in medical imaging and detection, segmentation, and quantitative analysis of biological processes. We present a variant on the robust-principal component analysis (RPCA) algorithm, called frequency constrained RPCA (FC-RPCA), for selectively segmenting dynamic phenomena that exhibit spectra within a user-defined range of frequencies. The algorithm lacks subjective parameter tuning and demonstrates robust segmentation in datasets containing multiple motion sources and high amplitude noise.

Association of Mohs Reconstructive Surgery Timing With Postoperative Complications.

Importance: Same-day Mohs reconstructive surgery is not always possible; moreover, a delay can offer benefits such as improved surgical planning and increased blood supply to the cauterized wound bed. However, recent work found that delaying reconstruction by more than 2 days increases the postoperative complication rate.

Objective: To review the outcomes of Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) reconstruction with respect to patient- and surgery-specific variables, especially timing of repair.

Normal population reference values for the Oxford and Harris Hip Scores - electronic data collection and its implications for clinical practice.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess whether the Harris Hip Score (HHS) and the Oxford Hip Score (OHS) were comparable in normal, healthy, pathology-free individuals of different age, gender, ethnicity, handedness and nationality. The purpose of this study was to establish normal population values for the HHS and OHS using an electronic data collection system.

Methods: 317 Australian and 310 Canadian citizens with no active hip pain, injury or pathology in the ipsilateral hip corresponding to their dominant arm, were evaluated.

Human Corneal Fibroblast Pattern Evolution and Matrix Synthesis on Mechanically Biased Substrates.

In a fibroblast colony model of corneal stromal development, we asked how physiological tension influences the patterning dynamics of fibroblasts and the orientation of deposited extracellular matrix (ECM). Using long-term live-cell microscopy, enabled by an optically accessible mechanobioreactor, a primary human corneal fibroblast colony was cultured on three types of substrates: a mechanically biased, loaded, dense, disorganized collagen substrate (LDDCS), a glass coverslip, and an unloaded, dense, disorganized collagen substrate (UDDCS). On LDDCS, fibroblast orientation and migration along a preferred angle developed early, cell orientation was correlated over long distances, and the colony pattern was stable.