Prospective Outcomes After Serial Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injection in Vocal Fold Scar and Sulcus.

Objective: Vocal fold scar and sulcus pose significant treatment challenges with no current optimal treatment. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), an autologous concentration of growth factors, holds promise for regenerating the superficial lamina propria. This study aims to evaluate the potential benefits of serial PRP injections on mucosal wave restoration and vocal function.

Designing a Deep Learning-Driven Resource-Efficient Diagnostic System for Metastatic Breast Cancer: Reducing Long Delays of Clinical Diagnosis and Improving Patient Survival in Developing Countries.

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality. Breast cancer patients in developing countries, especially sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and South America, suffer from the highest mortality rate in the world. One crucial factor contributing to the global disparity in mortality rate is long delay of diagnosis due to a severe shortage of trained pathologists, which consequently has led to a large proportion of late-stage presentation at diagnosis.

Zebras Among Us: Advocating for the 30 Million Americans Living with Rare Disease.

Nearly 30 million (about 1 in 10) Americans have a rare disease. On average, rare disease patients wait 6 years for an accurate and definitive diagnosis and see as many as 12 specialists along their diagnostic journey. In this brief article, we highlight some of what is being done across patient care, medical education, policy, and innovation in order to improve the diagnostic and treatment journeys of rare disease patients.

Prospective >12 Months Outcomes After Vocal Fold Injection Medialization With Silk Microparticle-Hyaluronic Acid Material.

Objective: Vocal fold injection medialization (VFIM) is widely used as an initial treatment for unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP). Current practices employ materials that share the limitation of temporary clinical effect from variable resorption rates. A novel silk protein microparticle-hyaluronic acid-based material (silk-HA) has demonstrated cellular infiltration and tissue deposition that may portend a durable medialization effect.

Thirteen dubious ways to detect conserved structural RNAs.

Covariation induced by compensatory base substitutions in RNA alignments is a great way to deduce conserved RNA structure, in principle. In practice, success depends on many factors, importantly the quality and depth of the alignment and the choice of covariation statistic. Measuring covariation between pairs of aligned positions is easy.

Recalls of Moderate- and High-Risk Otolaryngologic Devices Approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, 2003-2019.

Objective: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the marketing of medical devices based on the premarket approval (PMA) or 510(k) pathway. We investigated the relationship among the regulatory pathway of otolaryngologic devices, the number of recalls, and the recall characteristics.

Study Design: Retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

The crystal structure of vaccinia virus protein E2 and perspectives on the prediction of novel viral protein folds.

The morphogenesis of vaccinia virus (VACV, family ), the smallpox vaccine, is a complex process involving multiple distinct cellular membranes and resulting in multiple different forms of infectious virion. Efficient release of enveloped virions, which promote systemic spread of infection within hosts, requires the VACV protein E2 but the molecular basis of E2 function remains unclear and E2 lacks sequence homology to any well-characterised family of proteins. We solved the crystal structure of VACV E2 to 2.

Cell type-specific analysis by single-cell profiling identifies a stable mammalian tRNA-mRNA interface and increased translation efficiency in neurons.

The correlation between codon and anticodon pools influences the efficiency of translation, but whether differences exist in these pools across individual cells is unknown. We determined that codon usage and amino acid demand are highly stable across different cell types using available mouse and human single-cell RNA-sequencing atlases. After showing the robustness of ATAC-sequencing measurements for the analysis of tRNA gene usage, we quantified anticodon usage and amino acid supply in both mouse and human single-cell ATAC-seq atlases.

Laryngologists' Reported Decision-Making in Presbyphonia Treatment.

Objective: Decision-making regarding behavioral versus procedural intervention in the treatment of presbyphonia has not been well defined. The study objective was to survey laryngologists' reported practice patterns and decision-making in presbyphonia.

Methods: All laryngology faculty in U.

Pulmonary Function Tests May Better Predict Dyspnea-Severity in Patients with Subglottic Stenosis Compared to Clinician-Reported Stenosis.

Objective: Patients with subglottic stenosis (SGS) present with varied degree of breathing complaints. The dyspnea index (DI) is a 10-question patient-reported outcome measure designed to measure the severity of upper airway obstruction. We set out to determine whether pulmonary function tests or clinician-reported degree of stenosis best predicted DI scores.

Association of Severe Tongue Edema With Prone Positioning in Patients Intubated for COVID-19.

Objectives/hypothesis: Prone positioning is frequently used in patients intubated for COVID-19-related lung injury to improve oxygenation. At our institution, we observed severe tongue edema develop in some of these patients. Hence, we sought to determine the incidence of tongue edema in this cohort and whether prone positioning was a risk factor associated with this complication.

Discovery of 17 conserved structural RNAs in fungi.

Many non-coding RNAs with known functions are structurally conserved: their intramolecular secondary and tertiary interactions are maintained across evolutionary time. Consequently, the presence of conserved structure in multiple sequence alignments can be used to identify candidate functional non-coding RNAs. Here, we present a bioinformatics method that couples iterative homology search with covariation analysis to assess whether a genomic region has evidence of conserved RNA structure.

Needle in the Haystack: Wire Bristle Foreign Body Presenting Deep Within the Tongue Base.

Objectives: To report a case of ingested wire bristle embedded within the extrinsic musculature of the tongue requiring a transcervical approach for removal and to provide a revised algorithm for the management of ingested wire bristles.

Methods: The clinical record of 1 patient who ingested a grill brush wire bristle was reviewed. A literature review was also conducted to refine a treatment algorithm for managing ingested wire bristles.

Flexible Versus Rigid Laryngoscopy: A Prospective, Blinded Comparison of Image Quality.

Objective: To compare flexible distal-chip laryngoscopy (FDL) and rigid telescopic laryngoscopy (RTL) in image quality and diagnostic ability.

Study Design: Prospective cohort study; blinded comparison.

Methods: Eighteen normal adult subjects were recruited to undergo both FDL and RTL and normalized videos were recorded.

Platelet-Rich Plasma for Vocal Fold Scar: A Preliminary Report of Concept.

Introduction: Vocal fold atrophy and scar can lead to loss of normal superficial lamina propria, negatively affecting the vibratory function of the vocal fold. These changes can lead to dysphonia, vocal fatigue, decreased volume, and altered pitch. Treatment options for these conditions are limited.

Facial Pressure Injuries from Prone Positioning in the COVID-19 Era.

Objective/hypothesis: This study aimed to determine the incidence of facial pressure injuries associated with prone positioning for COVID-19 patients as well as to characterize the location of injuries and treatments provided.

Methods: This was a retrospective chart review of 263 COVID-19 positive patients requiring intubation in the intensive care units at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and MedStar Washington Hospital Center between March 1st and July 26th, 2020. Information regarding proning status, duration of proning, presence, or absence of facial pressure injuries and interventions were collected.

A Novel Approach to Vocal Fold Mucous Retention Cysts: Awake KTP Laser-Assisted Marsupialization.

Vocal fold mucous retention cysts are an important etiology of dysphonia and have classically been treated via microsurgical excision under general anesthesia. We present four cases that were treated with a novel technique of awake potassium-titanyl-phosphate laser-assisted marsupialization under local anesthesia. Reasons for in-office treatment included older age, medical comorbidities, and desire to avoid surgery/general anesthesia.

Idiopathic Ulcerative Laryngitis: A National Survey of Academic Laryngologists.

Objectives: Idiopathic ulcerative laryngitis (IUL) is a rare disorder characterized by ulceration in the mid-membranous portions of the vocal folds. The etiology and optimal management of this condition are poorly understood. We aimed to survey laryngologists on their experiences with managing IUL in order to better understand the diagnosis and treatment of this unusual condition.

Flexible versus rigid laryngoscopy: A randomized crossover study comparing patient experience.

Objectives: To compare flexible distal-chip laryngoscopy (FDL) versus rigid telescopic laryngoscopy (RTL) in regard to examinees' pain level, comfort, satisfaction, and preference, and to evaluate the clinician's assessment of the examinees' experience with both exam types.

Study Design: Randomized crossover study.

Methods: Twenty-three normal adult subjects were recruited to undergo both FDL and RTL; the initial exam type was randomized.

Evaluation of Personality Perception in Men Before and After Facial Cosmetic Surgery.

Importance: Facial cosmetic surgery has previously focused on improvements in perceived physical attractiveness and youthfulness. However, human beings are judged throughout life based on many other characteristics and personal qualities that are conveyed by their faces.

Objective: To examine the association of facial cosmetic surgery in men with perceptions of attractiveness, masculinity, and personality traits.

Beta vulgaris mitovirus 1 in diverse cultivars of beet and chard.

Recent results indicate that mitoviruses, which replicate persistently in host mitochondria, are not restricted to fungi, but instead are found also in plants. Beta vulgaris mitovirus 1 (BevuMV1) is an example first discovered in sugar beet cultivars. For the current study, complete coding sequences of 42 BevuMV1 strains were newly determined, derived from not only sugar beet but also fodder beet, table beet, and Swiss chard cultivars of Beta vulgaris, as well as wild sea beet.