Sudden Sensorineural Hearing and Vestibular Loss in a Case of Relapsing Polychondritis.

Objectives: To report a case of profound bilateral sensorineural hearing and vestibular loss from relapsing polychondritis and hearing outcomes after cochlear implantation.

Methods: Case report and literature review.

Results: A 43 year-old woman developed sudden loss of hearing and balance that progressed over several weeks to bilateral, profound hearing and vestibular loss.

The effect of delays in second-dose antibiotics on patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.

Background: Early antibiotics are fundamental to sepsis management. Second-dose antibiotic delays were associated with increased mortality in a recent study. Study objectives include: 1) determine factors associated with delays in second-dose antibiotic administration; 2) evaluate if delays influence clinical outcomes.

YouTube as a Patient Education Resource for Male Hypogonadism and Testosterone Therapy.

Introduction: YouTube is an unregulated platform that patients are using to learn about treatment options.

Aim: To assess the reliability of YouTube videos (YTVs) related to male hypogonadism and testosterone therapy.

Methods: Searching on YouTube by relevance and view count, we analyzed the top 10 videos (80 videos total) for the following search terms: low testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, AndroGel, and hypogonadism.

Predictive models using "cheap and easy" field measurements: Can they fill a gap in planning, monitoring, and implementing fecal sludge management solutions?

The characteristics of fecal sludge delivered to treatment plants are highly variable. Adapting treatment process operations accordingly is challenging due to a lack of analytical capacity for characterization and monitoring at many treatment plants. Cost-efficient and simple field measurements such as photographs and probe readings could be proxies for process control parameters that normally require laboratory analysis.

Familial Dysalbuminemic Hyperthyroxinemia as a Cause for Discordant Thyroid Function Tests.

Introduction: Discordant thyroid function tests are routinely encountered in clinical practice. Differential diagnoses include acute thyroxine (T4) ingestion, laboratory interference from heterophilic antibodies, thyroid hormone resistance, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)-secreting pituitary adenomas, and T4 protein binding abnormalities. The impact of abnormal binding proteins may be less recognized since widespread use of free T4 (FT4) assays compared to older total T4 assays.

Is 'conflict of interest' a Misnomer? Managing interests in immunization research and evaluation.

Potential conflicts of interest in vaccine research can lead to negative consequences that undermine public trust and thereby put communities at risk. However, collaborations that may give rise to potential conflicts between interests can also greatly facilitate appropriate, scientifically robust, and timely vaccine development, implementation, and evaluation. At present, policies regarding the management of potential conflicts between interests are not ideal.

Selective constraints on global plankton dispersal.

Marine microbial communities are highly interconnected assemblages of organisms shaped by ecological drift, natural selection, and dispersal. The relative strength of these forces determines how ecosystems respond to environmental gradients, how much diversity is resident in a community or population at any given time, and how populations reorganize and evolve in response to environmental perturbations. In this study, we introduce a globally resolved population-genetic ocean model in order to examine the interplay of dispersal, selection, and adaptive evolution and their effects on community assembly and global biogeography.

Vaccine-associated enhanced disease: Case definition and guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data.

This is a Brighton Collaboration Case Definition of the term "Vaccine Associated Enhanced Disease" to be utilized in the evaluation of adverse events following immunization. The Case Definition was developed by a group of experts convened by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) in the context of active development of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and other emerging pathogens. The case definition format of the Brighton Collaboration was followed to develop a consensus definition and defined levels of certainty, after an exhaustive review of the literature and expert consultation.

Analysis of the primary sources of quantitative adult plant resistance to stripe rust in U.S. soft red winter wheat germplasm.

Stripe rust, or yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp.

Phase III: Randomized observer-blind trial to evaluate lot-to-lot consistency of a new plant-derived quadrivalent virus like particle influenza vaccine in adults 18-49 years of age.

Background: The global reliance on eggs to produce most influenza vaccines has several limitations and new approaches to influenza vaccine production are needed. Herein we describe a phase 3, lot-to-lot consistency trial (NCT03321968) of a quadrivalent, recombinant, virus-like particle (VLP) influenza vaccine produced in plants. This platform is based on transient expression of proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana and yields VLPs bearing hemagglutinin (HA) protein trimers that are combined in a quadrivalent vaccine (QVLP).

Posture, Gait, Quality of Life, and Hearing with a Vestibular Implant.

Background: Bilateral vestibular hypofunction is associated with chronic disequilibrium, postural instability, and unsteady gait owing to failure of vestibular reflexes that stabilize the eyes, head, and body. A vestibular implant may be effective in alleviating symptoms.

Methods: Persons who had had ototoxic (7 participants) or idiopathic (1 participant) bilateral vestibular hypofunction for 2 to 23 years underwent unilateral implantation of a prosthesis that electrically stimulates the three semicircular canal branches of the vestibular nerve.

Interventions for improving medical students' interpersonal communication in medical consultations.

Background: Communication is a common element in all medical consultations, affecting a range of outcomes for doctors and patients. The increasing demand for medical students to be trained to communicate effectively has seen the emergence of interpersonal communication skills as core graduate competencies in medical training around the world. Medical schools have adopted a range of approaches to develop and evaluate these competencies.

Understanding local government responses to alcohol-related harm.

Introduction: Local governments (LG) have a key role in reducing alcohol-related harm, yet, Australian research investigating this is limited. This study aimed to explore Australian LGs' role in alcohol policy by investigating how LGs respond to alcohol-related harm and what influences their responses.

Methods: A collective case study approach guided two-stage purposive sampling.

Superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome: Diagnostic criteria consensus document of the committee for the classification of vestibular disorders of the Bárány Society.

This paper describes the diagnostic criteria for superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS) as put forth by the classification committee of the Bárány Society. In addition to the presence of a dehiscence of the superior semicircular canal on high resolution imaging, patients diagnosed with SCDS must also have symptoms and physiological tests that are both consistent with the pathophysiology of a 'third mobile window' syndrome and not better accounted for by another vestibular disease or disorder. The diagnosis of SCDS therefore requires a combination of A) at least one symptom consistent with SCDS and attributable to 'third mobile window' pathophysiology including 1) hyperacusis to bone conducted sound, 2) sound-induced vertigo and/or oscillopsia time-locked to the stimulus, 3) pressure-induced vertigo and/or oscillopsia time-locked to the stimulus, or 4) pulsatile tinnitus; B) at least 1 physiologic test or sign indicating that a 'third mobile window' is transmitting pressure including 1) eye movements in the plane of the affected superior semicircular canal when sound or pressure is applied to the affected ear, 2) low-frequency negative bone conduction thresholds on pure tone audiometry, or 3) enhanced vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) responses (low cervical VEMP thresholds or elevated ocular VEMP amplitudes); and C) high resolution computed tomography (CT) scan with multiplanar reconstruction in the plane of the superior semicircular canal consistent with a dehiscence.

Using business intelligence and data visualization to understand the characteristics of failed appointments in dental school clinics.

Purpose/objectives: Broken appointments are an important cause of waste in health care. Patients who fail to attend incur costs to providers, deny trainees learning opportunities, and impact their own health as well as that of other patients who are waiting for care.

Methods: A total of 410,000 appointment records over 3 years were extracted from our electronic health record.

OHNS Residency Program and Applicant Social Media Presence During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objectives: In addition to clinical and social disruption, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected many aspects of the otolaryngology residency application process. With delays in the 2021 Electronic Residency Applications Service (ERAS) timeline, students and programs have had more time to interact prior to the formal application process. This communication will report recent trends in social media presence by OHNS residency programs, and discuss mechanisms to compensate for decreased applicant-program interactions using social media ahead of the 2021 Match.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue in Young Patients: A Case Series and Literature Review.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe 3 cases of tongue cancer in patients less than 21 years of age. Secondarily, a literature review was performed to examine disease presentation, risk factors, prognosis, and treatment strategies for young persons with tongue cancer.

Methods: The authors presented 3 cases of childhood tongue cancer between 2009 and 2020 at the University of Michigan Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (Ann Arbor, MI).

"Freedom to Breathe": Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) to Investigate Air Pollution Inequities in Richmond, CA.

Air pollution is a major contributor to human morbidity and mortality, potentially exacerbated by COVID-19, and a threat to planetary health. Participatory research, with a structural violence framework, illuminates exposure inequities and refines mitigation strategies. Home to profitable oil and shipping industries, several census tracts in Richmond, CA are among the most heavily impacted by aggregate burdens statewide.

Microbial niche differentiation explains nitrite oxidation in marine oxygen minimum zones.

Nitrite is a pivotal component of the marine nitrogen cycle. The fate of nitrite determines the loss or retention of fixed nitrogen, an essential nutrient for all organisms. Loss occurs via anaerobic nitrite reduction to gases during denitrification and anammox, while retention occurs via nitrite oxidation to nitrate.

Permeable membrane dewatering of faecal sludge from pit latrines at a transfer station in Nairobi, Kenya.

Faecal sludge dewatering is often a necessary step in many treatment and reuse processes, and it can decrease costs of transporting large volumes of high water content sludge. Common dewatering methods such as settling-thickening tanks and drying beds are not feasible in space-constrained areas such as urban informal settlements, therefore innovative dewatering methods are needed. This study evaluated permeable membranes as a dewatering method for a transfer station operated by Sanergy in Nairobi, Kenya.

Multiple-Race Stem Rust Resistance Loci Identified in Durum Wheat Using Genome-Wide Association Mapping.

Stem rust of wheat caused by Pers. f.sp.

Vestibular Implant Imaging.

Analogous to hearing restoration via cochlear implants, vestibular function could be restored via vestibular implants that electrically stimulate vestibular nerve branches to encode head motion. This study presents the technical feasibility and first imaging results of CT for vestibular implants in 8 participants of the first-in-human Multichannel Vestibular Implant Early Feasibility Study. Imaging characteristics of 8 participants (3 men, 5 women; median age, 59.

Microbial NO consumption in and above marine NO production hotspots.

The ocean is a net source of NO, a potent greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting agent. However, the removal of NO via microbial NO consumption is poorly constrained and rate measurements have been restricted to anoxic waters. Here we expand NO consumption measurements from anoxic zones to the sharp oxygen gradient above them, and experimentally determine kinetic parameters in both oxic and anoxic seawater for the first time.

Development of a device to measure adherence and pressure characteristics of positive expiratory pressure therapies used by adults with cystic fibrosis.

Introduction: Positive expiratory pressure (PEP) and oscillating positive expiratory pressure (OscPEP) therapies are often used by people with cystic fibrosis (CF) to facilitate airway clearance. However, suboptimal adherence and poor technique may reduce their effectiveness.

Objective: To develop a device (PEPtrac) to accurately measure and provide preliminary clinical data of adherence and technique characteristics when airway clearance is performed using PEP/OscPEP devices.