Do Anatomical Variations Affect the Location of Solitary Sphenoid Sinus Fungal Balls? A 10-Year Retrospective Study

Background and Objectives Sinonasal fungal balls (FBs) most commonly occur in the maxillary sinus, followed by the sphenoid sinus (SS). Relatively little is known about the predisposing factors and pathogenesis of unilateral sphenoid sinus fungal balls (SSFBs) compared to maxillary sinus FBs. We investigated whether anatomical variations have clinical implications for the location of unilateral SSFBs. Methods This study included 33 patients who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery for unilateral SSFBs between 2010 and 2021. Preoperative computed tomography scans were used to analyze the presence of anatomical variations, including sphenoid lateral recess, complete accessory septum of the SS, types of SS pneumatization, anterior and posterior nasal septal deviation (NSD), cephalocaudal NSD, concha bullosa (CB), Haller cell (HC), paradoxical middle turbinate (MT), everted uncinated process (UP), and Onodi cell. Results The presence of HC (33.3% vs. 12.1%, p=0.04), complete accessory septum of the SS (51.6% vs. 25.8%, p=0.04), and the sellar type of the SS (90.9% vs. 50%, p=0.003) differed significantly according to the presence or absence of FBs in the SS. However, other anatomical variations, including NSD, CB, paradoxical MT, everted UP, Onodi cell, and sphenoid lateral recess, were not significantly associated with the presence of unilateral SSFBs (all p>0.05). In the multivariable analysis, only sellar-type pneumatization of the SS showed a statistically significant relationship with SSFB, not the combined conchal and presellar type (adjusted odds ratio, 8.96; 95% confidence interval, 1.27–63.19; p=0.03). Conclusion We demonstrated that unilateral SSFBs were most strongly associated with the ipsilateral type of SS pneumatization, followed by the presence of HC and a complete accessory septum of the SS. Intranasal anatomical variations may play a significant role in the location of unilateral SSFBs

Eating Behaviors and Appetite of Children with Adenotonsillar Hypertrophy: A Preliminary Study

Background and Objective Abnormal eating behaviors and decreased appetite are usually found in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH). The aim of this study was to examine eating behaviors and appetite using Korean–Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire (K-CEBQ) in ATH children and compare the subgroups according to combined problems. Methods Parents of 147 children (boy 97, girl 50) aged 2.4–14.1 years (6.8 ± 6.86 yrs) completed a validated K-CEBQ from December 2015 to December 2016. Patients were categorized and compared between allergy (n = 41) and non-allergy (n = 104); with frequent upper respiratory tract infection (URI, n = 65) and without frequent URI (n = 82); with obstruction problems only (n = 57), with infectious problems only (n = 7) and with both problems (n = 83). Analyses were conducted to examine correlations between scores of the subscales, K-CEBQ and children subgroups. Results All subscales of K-CEBQ except food fussiness were not significantly different between allergy and non-allergy groups. However, food fussiness was significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.015). There were no significant differences in subscales of K-CEBQ for other comparisons. Conclusions ATH itself or sleep disordered breathing due to ATH might have a major contribution to appetite and eating behavior irrespective of allergy, recurrent URI, or surgical indications. Further study is needed to determine changes of appetite and eating behavior after adenotonsillectomy

Biomarkers Suggesting Favorable Prognostic Outcomes in Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is a medical emergency, making detailed examination to determine possible causes and early treatment important. However, etiological examinations in SSNHL do not always reveal a cause, and several factors have been found to affect treatment outcomes. Various studies are being performed to determine the prognosis and effects of treatment in patients who experience sudden hearing loss, and to identify biomarkers associated with this condition. Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane database were searched using the key words SSNHL, prognostic, and biomarker. This search identified 4 articles in Embase, 28 articles in PubMed, and 36 in the Cochrane database. Of these 68 articles, 3 were duplicates and 37 were unrelated to the research topic. After excluding these articles, the remaining 28 articles were reviewed. Factors associated with SSNHL were divided into six categories: metabolic, hemostatic, inflammatory, immunologic, oxidative, and other factors. The associations between these factors with the occurrence of SSNHL and with patient prognosis were analyzed. Low monocyte counts, low neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and monocyte/high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol ratio (MHR), and low concentrations of fibrinogen, platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIIa, and TNF-α were found to be associated with good prognosis. However, these factors alone could not completely determine the onset of and recovery from SSNHL, suggesting the need for future basic and clinical studies

Molecular design of cost-effective donor polymers with high visible transmission for eco-friendly and efficient semitransparent organic solar cells

Photoactive layer materials that overcome the trade-off between power conversion efficiency (PCE) and average visible transmittance (AVT) are required to prepare successful high-performance semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs). Among 12 novel cost-effective D-p=A polymers with high visible light transmission, P(3IN = 0.3)(3IN2F = 0.5)(BDD = 0.2) achieved a PCE of 14.0% and high stability in an eco-friendly solvent-processed OSC with BTP-eC9. This blend film exhibited an AVT of 62.1% and a color rendering index of 95.0, demonstrating the high potential for ST-OSCs. The ternary OSC with PM6 greatly enhances the PCE to 17.3%. Binary and ternary ST-OSCs achieve light utilization efficiencies (LUEs) of 4.38% and 4.04%, respectively, demonstrating the potential of the D-p=A structure. Under a 3000 K light-emitting diode light at 958 lx low illuminance, PCEs of 12.4% and 15.7% are obtained for binary and ternary ST-OSCs, respectively, and the indoor LUEs (LUIEs) of ST-OSCs are greatly enhanced to 5.52% and 5.48%, respectively. Air-processed eco-friendly ternary ST-OSC module (4.7 cm(2)) achieves not only a PCE of 12.1% and LUIE of 3.90% under 958 lx, but also color coordinates of (0.290, 0.323) and an infrared radiation rejection rate of 87.5%, meeting the civil engineering specifications for windows. This ST-OSC module can be a substitute power source of the thermo-hygrometer in real time, even operate at 195 lx, which paved the way towards zero-energy indoor and outdoor electrical devices as well as windows for buildings and vehicles