Unilateral Choanal Atresia: Indications of Long-Term Olfactory Deficits and Volumetric Brain Changes Postsurgically

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Very few studies have investigated whether unilateral choanal atresia is associated with permanent olfactory deficits. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> This study aimed to evaluate the olfactory performance of patients with unilateral choanal atresia postsurgically. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Three patients with unilateral atresia were examined in terms of olfactory performance with the Sniffin’ Sticks test (odor identification, threshold, and discrimination), size of the olfactory bulb, and volumetric brain changes. <b><i>Results:</i></b> All patients demonstrated significantly lower olfactory performance in terms of odor threshold on the same side with the choanal atresia. Grey matter reductions were found ipsilaterally in the hippocampus. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> This pilot study indicates that persistent olfactory deficits and volumetric brain changes are present in patients with unilateral choanal atresia.

Wearable Sensors and Systems for Wound Healing-Related pH and Temperature Detection

Wound healing is a complex tissue regeneration process involving many changes in multiple physiological parameters. The pH and temperature of a wound site have long been recognized as important biomarkers for assessing wound healing status. For effective wound management, wound dressings integrated with wearable sensors and systems used for continuous monitoring of pH and temperature have received much attention in recent years. Herein, recent advances in the development of wearable pH and temperature sensors and systems based on different sensing mechanisms for wound status monitoring and treatment are comprehensively summarized. Challenges in the areas of sensing performance, infection identification threshold, large-area 3-dimensional detection, and long-term reliable monitoring in current wearable sensors/systems and emerging solutions are emphasized, providing critical insights into the development of wearable sensors and systems for wound healing monitoring and management.

The relationship between olfaction and cognitive function in the elderly

This study investigated the relationship between olfaction and cognitive function in 12 elderly people (age: 80.9 ± 1.6) living in the community. Olfactory function was assessed by the identification threshold for rose odor. Four cognitive measures consisting general cognitive ability assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), its sub-domains, and attentional ability assessed by drawing a line to connect the numbers consecutively (trail-making test part A; TMT-A), were assessed. Subjects with a higher olfactory threshold (≥ 5) declined more in the performance speed of TMT-A (73% ± 7%, p = 0.05) compared with those subjects with a lower threshold (≤ 4) (averaged value was set at 100%). Other cognitive statuses assessed by MMSE tended to decline in subjects with higher thresholds. Because attentional function relates to the basal forebrain cholinergic system, our results suggest that olfactory impairment links to the decline in cognitive function, particularly of attention-relating cholinergic function.

ASSESSING THE VISIBILITY OF RAISED PAVEMENT MARKERS AND ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF DELINEATION

Raised Pavement Markers (RPMs) are used by a number of transportation agencies with the objective of improving roadway safety, especially in complex roadway geometries and along wet roads. Because of maintenance and cost issues, many transportation agencies are exploring alternatives to RPMs such as wet reflective pavement tape and barrier-mounted reflective delineators. In order to assess the relative potential of these devices to contribute to nighttime driving safety, the luminances of new and used RPM samples from different manufacturers and having different colors and of several alternative delineation devices were measured in the laboratory using a range of geometric conditions relevant to the driving task. From these data, Luminances under representative low-beam headlight illumination were determined and these quantities were used to estimate driver visual performance. Large variations in luminance yielded relatively small differences in visual performance for a viewing distance of 100 m, primarily because of the plateau characteristic of visual performance. Differences in threshold visibility distances were greater, with distances at identification threshold for the devices measured ranging approximately from 150 to 400 m. Used RPMs had luminances 20…30% lower than new RPMs but similar visibility characteristics as new devices. The analysis method in this study may be useful for practitioners seeking to characterize the visual effectiveness of RPMs and other roadway delineation devices and systems.

Taste test using an edible taste film kit: a randomised controlled trial

ObjectivesWe developed an edible taste film test that can be stored easily as a kit. This study was conducted to confirm the agreement between the results of the edible taste film kit test and the conventional taste solution test.DesignProspective, randomised, controlled trial.SettingSingle tertiary hospital.ParticipantsSixty-two healthy volunteers with no self-described taste problems.InterventionsA randomisation scheme was used to determine the order of use of the edible taste film kit and the taste solution test for each subject. The taste solution test was performed using a cotton swab. In the taste film kit test, an edible taste film was placed on the tongue, and the subject detected the taste after the film was dissolved by saliva.Outcome measuresFor each test, we measured the taste identification threshold, taste detection time and total test time.ResultsWe confirmed the consistency of the taste identification thresholds of the two tests, and the results were consistent with each other except for the bitter taste results, which used coffee in the edible taste film kit and quinine in the taste solution test. Although the detection time for each taste quality was faster for the taste solution test, the mean total time was significantly shorter for the taste film kit test than for the taste solution test (6.16±2.27 min vs 7.04±1.98 min, respectively; p=0.004).ConclusionsThe edible taste film kit along with the taste solution test will be useful for quantitative taste testing.Trial registration numberKCT0002865.

Multi-Index Drought Assessment in Europe

Any attempt for the application of integrated drought management requires identifying and characterizing the event, per se. The questions of scale, boundary, and of geographic areal extent are of central concern for any efforts of drought assessment, impact identification, and thus, of drought mitigation implementation mechanisms. The use of drought indices, such as Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), has often led to pragmatic realization of drought duration, magnitude, and spatial extension. The current effort presents the implementation of SPI and SPEI on a Pan-European scale and it is evaluated using existing precipitation and temperature data. The ENSEMBLES Observations gridded dataset (E-OBS) for precipitation, minimum temperature, and maximum temperature used covered the period 1969–2018. The two indices estimated for time steps of 6 and 12 months. The results for the application period of recurrent droughts indicate the potential that both indices offer for an improvement on drought critical areas of identification, threshold definitions and comparability, and towards contingency planning, leading to better mitigation efforts.

Smell and Taste Impairment After Total Laryngectomy

Objective: Aim of this observational study is the evaluation of olfactory and gustatory impairments in laryngectomized long-term survivors compared to control subjects. Correlation between smell and taste alterations, age, and previous adjuvant treatments in laryngectomees was investigated. Methods: Fifty control subjects and 50 patients who underwent total laryngectomy for advanced laryngeal carcinoma were evaluated. All subjects underwent symptoms evaluation, oropharyngeal exam, endoscopic fiberoptic nasal examination, and Taste Strips and Sniffin’ Sticks tests. Results: Hyposmia was reported by all laryngectomees and hypogeusia by 54% of patients. Sniffin’ Sticks and Taste Strips tests demonstrated a statistically significant difference between controls and laryngectomees regarding olfactory threshold, odor discrimination and identification, Threshold Discrimination Identification (TDI) score, and sour, salty, and gustatory Total Taste score ( P < .05). Multivariate analysis for Total Taste score in laryngectomees showed a statistically significant correlation with aging, having an odds ratio of 0.127 for age ≥65 years, but not with TDI score, radiotherapy, and follow-up time, whereas multivariate analysis for TDI score demonstrated no correlation with radiotherapy, age, and follow-up time. Conclusions: Total laryngectomy determines olfactory and gustatory impairments that should be taken into account in clinical practice. Relationships between sensorial alterations, aging, follow-up period, and adjuvant treatments should be further evaluated in prospective studies.

Emotional decoding abilities in alcohol-dependence: A categorical perception study

Emotional and interpersonal difficulties have been widely described in alcohol-dependence [1] and are thought to play a crucial role in the development and maintenance of this disease [2]. In particular, impairments in the decoding of emotional facial expression (EFE) have been repeatedly reported and may have serious deleterious effects for the everyday life of alcohol-dependent individuals (ADI), notably by affecting their interpersonal relationships [3]. However, the large majority of earlier studies that assessed emotional decoding abilities among ADI were interested in the processing of prototypical full-blown EFE while in everyday social life, EFE are usually not entirely straightforward but are rather composed of a mix of different emotions [4]. The aim of this study was therefore to determine whether ADI exhibit the categorical perception effect, which is a critical process observed in healthy populations to efficiently decode ambiguous EFE. Nineteen recently detoxified ADI and 19 healthy controls (HC), matched for age and gender, were presented with facial stimuli depicting [4] EFE (happy, angry, sad, and neutral), morphed along continua between each possible pair of emotions. Participants had to indicate the predominant emotion within the randomly presented facial stimuli. For each EFE, a sigmoid function that estimated the percentage of identifications according to the morph steps was adjusted for each participant's data. While there was no significant group difference regarding the response slope (indicating how abruptly the shift in responses happens), the identification threshold (i.e. the function midpoint) was significantly increased in ADI compared to HC, independently of the EFE category. The categorical perception of EFE per se appeared thus preserved in alcohol-dependence, but ADI exhibited a bias in EFE decoding characterized by a global under-identification. To conclude, this study is the first to evidence an EFE processing deficit in ADI by using this kind of emotional continuum paradigm measuring the categorical perception effect.