Comparison of Outcomes After Cochlear Implantation in a Veteran Versus Nonveteran Population.

Objective: To evaluate for equivalence in postoperative changes of speech recognition scores in a veteran patient population undergoing cochlear implantation (CI) compared to matched nonveteran patients.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Concerns regarding health-related social media usage amongst otolaryngology patients.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine concerns of otolaryngology patients regarding health-related social media usage.

Methods: A total of 372 otolaryngology patients were asked to report their level of concern (on a scale of "not at all", "a little", "somewhat", or "highly" concerned) regarding health-related social media usage as it pertained to risk of "loss of privacy or anonymity related to your health condition", "reliability of disease/treatment information", and "reliability of physician reviews/recommendations". Demographics and social media usage patterns (on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok or other platforms) were compared to concerns about health-related social media usage.

Patient perspectives on recall period and response options in patient-reported outcome measures for chronic rhinosinusitis symptomatology: An international multi-centered study.

Background: Existing patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) use a variety of recall periods and response scales to assess CRS symptom burden. Global perspectives of CRS patients regarding optimal recall periods and response scales for CRS PROMs are unknown.

Methods: This was a multi-center, cross-sectional study recruiting 461 CRS patients from sites across the United States, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, and Austria.

Impact of medical treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis on eustachian tube dysfunction.

CRS patients treated with medical management have improvement in ETD symptoms as reflected by lower ETDQ-7 scores However, appropriate CRS medical management may be limited in ability to significantly improve, or resolve, ETD.

A Novel Instrument Holder to Improve Operative Efficiency in Endoscopic Laryngeal and Airway Surgery.

Objective: Receiving instruments from surgical technicians during endoscopic laryngeal and airway microsurgery (ELAM) has challenges including repeated, expeditious handling of delicate instruments and passing them to the surgeon's hand opposite of where the surgical assistant is standing. Optimizing this interaction may reduce surgical errors and improve operative efficiency.

Methods: A proprietary ELAM instrument holder was attached to both sides of the operating room bed.

The Burden of Migraine on Quality of Life in Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

Objective: To determine the impact of comorbid migraine on quality of life (QOL) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).

Methods: A total of 213 adult patients with CRS were recruited. All participants completed the 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22), from which total and validated nasal, ear/facial pain, sleep, and emotional subdomain scores were calculated, and the 5-dimension EuroQol general health questionnaire (EQ-5D), from which the visual analogue scale (VAS) and health utility value (HUV) were calculated.

Surveying the Landscape of Social Media Usage for Health Care by Otolaryngology Patients.

Objective: To determine factors associated with social media usage for finding a doctor or seeking medical advice among otolaryngology patients.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 361 patients visiting our clinics. All participants were asked if they were aware social media may be used to find doctors and if they had ever done so, and also if they were aware social media could be used to get advice about a medical condition or its treatment and if they had ever done so.

Describing the relationships among meat quality traits in domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations.

The presence of meat quality defects is increasing in the turkey industry. While the main strategy for mitigating these issues is through improved housing, management, and slaughter conditions, it may be possible to incorporate meat quality into a turkey breeding strategy with the intent to improve meat quality. Before this can occur, it is important to describe the current state of turkey meat quality as well as the correlations among the different meat quality traits and important production traits.

Investigating inbreeding in the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) genome.

The detrimental effects of increased homozygosity due to inbreeding have prompted the development of methods to reduce inbreeding. The detection of runs of homozygosity (ROH), or contiguous stretches of homozygous marker genotypes, can be used to describe and quantify the level of inbreeding in an individual. The estimation of inbreeding coefficients can be calculated based on pedigree information, ROH, or the genomic relationship matrix.

Housing and Management of Turkey Flocks in Canada.

An increased understanding of the turkey sector and how farmers manage flocks can help maintain and improve the health and welfare of turkeys. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among turkey farmers in Canada to gain information regarding general farm characteristics, housing aspects (incl. lighting, ventilation), litter management, feed and water management, flock characteristics, and flock health management.

Comparison of electric field enhancements: linear and triangular oligomers versus hexagonal arrays of plasmonic nanospheres.

We investigate local electromagnetic field enhancements in oligomers of plasmonic nanospheres. We first evaluate via full-wave simulations the field between spheres in several oligomer systems: linear dimers, linear trimers, trimers 60°, trimers 90° and linear quadrumers. To gain a better understanding of the field enhancement values, we compare the results with local fields in a hexagonal close-packed (HCP) configuration with same structural dimensions.

Directing cluster formation of Au nanoparticles from colloidal solution.

Discrete clusters of closely spaced Au nanoparticles can be utilized in devices from photovoltaics to molecular sensors because of the formation of strong local electromagnetic field enhancements when illuminated near their plasmon resonance. In this study, scalable, chemical self-organization methods are shown to produce Au nanoparticle clusters with uniform nanometer interparticle spacing. The performance of two different methods, namely electrophoresis and diffusion, for driving the attachment of Au nanoparticles using a chemical cross-linker on chemically patterned domains of polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) thin films are evaluated.

Non-lithographic SERS substrates: tailoring surface chemistry for Au nanoparticle cluster assembly.

Near-field plasmonic coupling and local field enhancement in metal nanoarchitectures, such as arrangements of nanoparticle clusters, have application in many technologies from medical diagnostics, solar cells, to sensors. Although nanoparticle-based cluster assemblies have exhibited signal enhancements in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors, it is challenging to achieve high reproducibility in SERS response using low-cost fabrication methods. Here an innovative method is developed for fabricating self-organized clusters of metal nanoparticles on diblock copolymer thin films as SERS-active structures.