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). Micro-focus fluoroscopy and high-resolution micro-focus radiographs assisted the development of the perimodiolar Contour electrode array by allowing a consistent and clear electrode position to be established, and also helped greatly in the development of appropriate surgical insertion techniques and tools for a smooth electrode insertion. ConclusionMicro-focus radiography and fluoroscopy play a vital role in the development of advanced electrode arrays such as the Nucleus Contour TM electrode array with Softip.

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This study aimed to assess the predictive effect of soluble ST2 (sST2) and depressive symptoms in patients with heart failure (HF) and to determine whether the prognosis of HF patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) differs from those with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). A cohort of 233 HF patients was followed for 1 year. Depressive symptoms were evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality and HF-related hospitalization. For the analysis of survival, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) cut-offs for defining HFpEF were set at 50%, 45%, and 40%, respectively. With increasing LVEF, levels of sST2 were gradually decreased (45.2 ng/mL, 35.8 ng/mL, and 32.1 ng/mL in patients with LVEF ≤ 40%, 41% to 49%, and ≥ 50%, respectively, P for trend < 0.001), as well as the prevalence of depressive symptoms (35.4%, 33.3%, and 20.4%, respectively, P for trend = 0.022). After 1-year follow-up, 128 patients (54.9%) achieved the primary endpoint and 47 patients (20.2%) died. Depressive symptoms were independent risk factors of all-cause mortality and HF-related hospitalization. The combined presence of elevated sST2 (> 36.0 ng/mL) and depressive symptoms was associated with a 4.9-fold increased risk of the primary endpoint. Regardless of LVEF cut-offs, the associated risk of adverse outcomes in HFpEF was as high as in HFrEF after adjustment for significant risk factors including sST2 and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide. In conclusion, depressive symptoms provided additional prognostic information to that of sST2 in HF patients. The prognosis of HFpEF patients was similar to that of HFrEF patients.

Fast, convenient, and highly sensitive detection of antibiotic is essential to avoid its overuse and the possible harm. Owing to enrichment effect and antifouling ability of ultrasmall nanochannels, the vertically ordered mesoporous silica nanochannel film (VMSF) has great potential in the development of the facile electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensor for direct and sensitive analysis of antibiotics in complex samples. In this study, we demonstrated a flexible ECL sensor based on a cost-effective electrode covered with a VMSF for sensitive detection of clindamycin. Polyethylene terephthalate coated with indium tin oxide (PET-ITO) is applied as a flexible electrode to grow VMSF using the electrochemically assisted self-assembly (EASA) method. The negatively charged VMSF nanochannels exhibit significant enrichment toward the commonly used cationic ECL luminophores, tris(2,2-bipyridyl) dichlororuthenium (II) (Ru (bpy)32+). Using the enhanced ECL of Ru (bpy)32+ by clindamycin, the developed VMSF/PET-ITO sensor can sensitively detect clindamycin. The responses were linear in the concentration range of 10 nM–25 μM and in the concentration range of 25–70 μM. Owing to the nanoscale thickness of the VMSF and the high coupling stability with the electrode substrate, the developed flexible VMSF/PET-ITO sensor exhibits high signal stability during the continuous bending process. Considering high antifouling characteristic of the VMSF, direct analysis of clindamycin in a real biological sample, human serum, is realized.

Objective With the epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the healthcare workers (HCWs) require proper respiratory personal protective equipment (rPPE) against viral respiratory infectious diseases (VRIDs). It is necessary to evaluate which type of mask and manner of wearing is the best suitable rPPE for preventing the VRID. Study design A Bayesian network meta-analysis was performed to comprehensively analyze the protective efficacy of various rPPE. Methods This network meta-analysis protocol was registered in an international prospective register of systematic reviews (CRD42020179489). Electronic databases were searched for cluster randomized control trials (RCTs) of comparing the effectiveness of rPPE and wearing manner in preventing HCWs from VRID. The primary outcome was the incidence of laboratory-confirmed viral respiratory infection reported as an odds ratio (OR) with the associated 95% credibility interval (CrI). The secondary outcome was the incidence of clinical respiratory illness (CRI) reported as an OR with the associated 95% CrI. Surface under the cumulative ranking curve analysis (SUCRA) provided a ranking of each rPPE according to the primary outcome and the secondary outcome as data supplement. Results Six studies encompassing 12,265 HCWs were included. In terms of the incidence of laboratory-confirmed viral respiratory infection, the continuous wearing of N95 respirators (network OR, 0.48; 95% CrI: 0.27 to 0.86; SUCRA score, 85.4) showed more effective than the control group. However, in terms of reducing the incidence of CRI, there was no rPPE showing superior protective effectiveness. Conclusions There are significant differences in preventive efficacy among current rPPE. Our result suggests that continuous wearing of N95 respirators on the whole shift can serve as the best preventive rPPE for HCWs from the VRID.

A multichannel cochlear prosthesis was implanted in a Chinese patient who suffered from profound sensory hearing loss. The preoperative Minimal Auditory Capabilities (MAC) battery tests in English, as well as an open set bisyllable word test, an open set sentence test, and speech tracking in Chinese indicated significant improvement of speech perception for both English and Chinese after the operation. Substantial understanding of running speech was possible in both languages without the help of lipreading.