1,721,162 research outputs found
Reply to the comment to the article "Open partial horizontal laryngectomies: a proposal for classification by the working committee on nomenclature of the European Laryngological Society"
Full text linkA new training approach in endoscopic percutaneous tracheostomy using a simulation model based on biological tissue
No full textCiaglia et al. originally proposed the percutaneous tracheostomy in 1985 as an alternative to the surgical approach. Several variants have been developed in the years with a convincing evidence that, compared to surgical tracheostomy, the percutaneous approach is more cost-effective without compromising safety. However the procedure is not immune from complications and requires procedural skills and adequate level of expertise with a steep learning curve. In this contest, to optimize safety and efficacy of percutaneous tracheostomy in different clinical scenarios, physicians should be familiar with the different available percutaneous techniques. Traditionally, the training has been performed using manikins or animal models. However, by definition the manikin is not able to replicate the complex anatomy and does not provide a realist model for learning
The Rapidly Evolving Scenario of Acoustic Voice Analysis in Otolaryngology
Full text linkThe field of voice analysis has experienced significant transformations, evolving from basic perceptual assessments to the incorporation of advanced digital signal processing and computational tools. This progression has facilitated a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics of vocal function, particularly through the use of acoustic voice analysis within a multidimensional evaluation framework. Traditionally, voice analysis relied on parameters such as fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer, and noise-to-harmonic ratio, which, despite their utility, have faced criticism for variability and lack of robustness. Recent developments have led to a shift toward more reliable metrics such as cepstral measures, which offer improved accuracy in voice quality assessments. Furthermore, the integration of multiparametric constructs underscores a comprehensive approach to evaluating vocal quality, blending sustained vowels, and continuous speech analyses. Current trends in clinical practice increasingly favor these advanced measures over traditional parameters due to their greater reliability and clinical utility. Additionally, the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly deep learning, holds promise for revolutionizing voice analysis by enhancing diagnostic precision and enabling efficient, non-invasive screening methods. This shift toward AI-driven approaches signifies a potential paradigm change in voice health, suggesting a future where AI not only aids in diagnosis but also the early detection and treatment of voice-related pathologies
Endoscopic endonasal surgery for sinus fungus balls: Clinical, radiological, histopathological, and microbiological analysis of 40 cases and review of the literature
Full text linkIntroduction: Paranasal sinus fungus ball (PSFB) is a non-invasive mycosis, which appears in immunocompetent patients, along with unilateral lesion. The purpose of this study was to analyse various symptoms of PSFB and its radiological, pathological, and microbiological findings. In addition, this study involved the investigation of the incidence of bacterial coinfection and surgical techniques applied for this infection and to report the modern developments in this domain. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out on 40 consecutive patients referring for PSFB treatment to the Ear, Nose, and Throat Department in San Luigi Gonzaga University Hospital, Turin, Italy, from April 2014 to 2017. Pertinent literature was reviewed and compared within the specified period. All patients were examined by preoperative computed tomography (CT) scan, and 26 (65%) patients were subjected to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Results: Totally, 33 patients (82.5%) were affected with single sinus infection, whereas most of the cases suffered from maxillary sinusitis. With regard to CT scan findings, microcalcifications were found in 32.5% of the cases; however, mucosal membrane thickening around the fungus ball (FB) was visible in contrast-enhanced CT scans. According to MRI examination, FB showed a characteristic "signal void" on T 2(42.3%). Only 7(17.5%) patients had a positive mycological culture, whereas bacterial coinfections were identified in 47.5% of the cases. Out of 40 patients, 3(7.5%) subjects had only radiological evidence of fungal colonization while having no histopathological evidence. No patient received postoperative antifungal drugs, and there were no serious complications with only one recurrence. Conclusion: Endoscopic endonasal surgery is the treatment of choice for patients with PSFB receiving no associated local or systemic antifungal therapy. A histopathological study facilitates the confirmation of the diagnosis and exclusion of the invasive form of fungal rhinosinusitis
Voice Disorder Analysis: a Transformer-based Approach
Full text linkVoice disorders are pathologies significantly affecting patient quality of life. However, non-invasive automated diagnosis of these pathologies is still under-explored, due to both a shortage of pathological voice data, and diversity of the recording types used for the diagnosis. This paper proposes a novel solution that adopts transformers directly working on raw voice signals and addresses data shortage through synthetic data generation and data augmentation. Further, we consider many recording types at the same time, such as sentence reading and sustained vowel emission, by employing a Mixture of Expert ensemble to align the predictions on different data types. The experimental results, obtained on both public and private datasets, show the effectiveness of our solution in the disorder detection and classification tasks and largely improve over existing approaches
Non-invasive AI-powered Diagnostics: The case of Voice-Disorder Detection - Vision paper
Full text linkThis paper proposes a novel pipeline for non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring in healthcare, leveraging artificial intelligence
(AI). The pipeline allows individuals to record various health data using everyday devices and analyze it via AI algorithms
on a cloud-based platform. Experimental results on voice disorder detection demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed
approach when compared to existing solutions. Additionally, we discuss the positive impact of the pipeline on diagnosis,
prognosis, and monitoring, emphasizing its non-invasive nature. Overall, we think the proposed pipeline might contribute to
advancing AI-driven healthcare solutions with implications for global healthcare delivery
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
- …
