Reduction of speech signal deformation in patients after nasal septum surgery (Septolplasty)

Nasal blockage belongs to the most common symptoms of nasal diseases in vocal tract area. At the same frequency there appear acoustic symptoms, existing as the change of human voice color. Vocal and articulation disorders of the ear, nose ane throat are usually observed in the form of closed rhinolalia and this observation can be performed both by patients and other listeners as well. Nasal polyps and nasal septum deviation are frequent reason of nasal blockage connected in consequence with decreased nasal ventilation. One of the main principles of the surgical treatment performed in mentioned situations is the restoration of nasal patency. The evaluation of the influence of nasal surgery on intensification of acoustic symptoms depends on verification of parameters of the human speech signal, so it was necessary to apply objective methods. That allowed to combine results of acoustic analysis with patient's subjective feeling and rhinomanometric evaluation of nasal patency. The main purpose of this research was to objectively evaluate the influence of surgical treatment improving nasal patency on deformation of the voice of operated patients

Endoscopic surgical treatment of patients with isolated sphenoid sinus disease

Introduction. Cases of isolated lesions of the sphenoid sinus are rare. For descriptive purposes, clinicians divide them into inflammatory and non-inflammatory with prevalence of the former. Symptoms of the sphenoid sinus disease are difficult to characterise, the most common of them being vague headache and visual disturbances. Thorough preoperative evaluation of the lesion is essential – nasal endoscopy must be performed and computerised tomography or magnetic resonance imaging results analysed. The purpose of the study is to present the assessment of endoscopic surgery outcome in the own group of patients with isolated sphenoid disease. Material and methods. Clinical data of 22 subjects were analysed retrospectively. There were 5 patients with bacterial sinusitis, 6 with fungal sinusitis, 4 with allergic thickening of the mucous membrane with no evidence of bacterial or fungal infection, 2 with mucocele, 1 with sphenoid osteoma, 1 with inverted papilloma, 1 with a foreign body and 2 with cerebral fluid fistula. Each patient had preoperative nasal endoscopy and CT/MRI imaging performed. Then they underwent endoscopic transnasal sphenoethmoidectomy with removal of the lesion or closure of the fistula. The sphenoid sinus was approached through its front wall. Results. The patients’ postoperative course was uneventful. They noted improvement in all preoperative symptoms, except for bilateral oculomotor nerve paralysis in one individual, and were asymptomatic to ophthalmological examination. Conclusions. Isolated lesions of the sphenoid sinus, even very rare tumours like those presented here, can be in most cases safely approached and removed endoscopically. All risks of the method must be considered prior to the operation. High frequency of fungal sinusitis should be noted

Changes in spino-pelvic alignment after surgical treatment of isthmic spondylolisthesis

Background and purpose To analyze the changes in spino-pelvic parameters after surgical treatment of lumbar isthmic spondylolisthesis. Materials and methods Sixty patients recruited from a group of consecutive series of 128 cases with isthmic spondylolisthesis operated on between 2002 and 2012 in the Department of Neurosurgery, Tarnow, Poland. All patients were operated on by the same surgeon (the first author). Spino-pelvic parameters: PI, SS, PT, LSA, and LL were measured manually on standing lateral view radiograms. Patients were divided according to Spinal Deformity Study Group classification which we modified for means of analysis: (A) low-grade group: subgroups with balanced pelvis and unbalanced pelvis (instead of normal and high PI subgroups), (B) high-grade group: subgroups with balanced and unbalanced pelvis. Results Twenty-nine patients had unbalanced pelvis before the operation. In 10 of them (34%), the procedure resulted in full correction of pelvis position meaning that they achieved balanced pelvis after the surgery. There were 6 patients with low-grade slip who had balanced pelvis preoperatively but showed unbalanced pelvis after the surgery but this loss of balanced pelvis did not affect the clinical outcome which overall was good among them. Patients with unbalanced pelvis presented changes towards restoration of spino-sacro-pelvic anatomy postoperatively: PT decreased while SS increased, although these changes were not statistically significant. Conclusion Further studies are needed to confirm whether surgical correction of spino-pelvic parameters results in better clinical outcome in patients with isthmic spondylolisthesis

Selected problems of technical education with the use of computer simulation as an example of correlation between trucks weight and road infrastructure damage

W artykule zaprezentowano przykład komputerowego wspomagania dydaktyki w zakresie kształcenia kultury technicznej w ramach przedmiotu zajęć technicznych. Program zasadniczo adresowany jest do odbiorcy z klas IV–VI szkoły podstawowej, jakkolwiek jego przeznaczenie do wykorzystania w edukacji dorosłych uczestników ruchu drogowego jest oczywiste w realiach naszego kraju. Zaproponowany w materiale program komputerowy jest odpowiedzią na zidentyfikowany problem związany z przeciążaniem samochodów ciężarowych. Znaczenie społeczne poruszanego zagadnienia jest istotne z uwagi na powszechność występowania tego zjawiska oraz wysokie koszty społeczne związane z koniecznością restytucji infrastruktury drogowejIn the paper an example of computer assistance in teaching in the field of technical culture education as a part of the technical classes is presented. The program is addressed to classes IV–VI of the elementary school, however, it is obvious that in the realities of our country it is also necessary for educating adult traffic participants. Program proposed in this material is an answer to the identified problem connected with the overloaded lorries. The social importance of the touched subject is significant, due to the commonness of such phenomenon, as well as the high social costs associated with the necessity of the road infrastructure restitution

Influence of Trajectory and Dynamics of Vehicle Motion on Signal Patterns in the WIM System

This paper presents the analyses of the signals recorded by the main sensors of a WIM test station in the cases of abnormal runs (i.e., runs with the changes of trajectory or the dynamics of vehicle motion). The research involved strain gauges which are used for measuring the weight of vehicles, inductive loops, as well as piezoelectric sensors used, inter alia, to detect twin wheels and to determine where a vehicle passes through a station. Since the designers intend the station to be able to implement the direct enforcement function, the selection of runs deviating from the normative ones constitutes an important issue for the assessment of the measurement reliability. The study considered the location of the trajectory of the runs, the dynamics (acceleration/braking) and the trajectory changes. The change in the amplitude and the value of the signal recorded by the strain gauges as a function of the location (position) of the contact between sensor and tires is a noteworthy observation which indicates the need to monitor this parameter in automatic WIM systems. Other tests also demonstrated the influence of the analysed driving parameters on the recorded results. However, by equipping the WIM station with a set of duplicate strain gauges, the measurement errors of the gross weight and axle loads are normally within the accuracy limits of class A(5) stations. Only in the case of accelerating/decelerating, does the error in measuring the load of a single axle reach several per cent

Mirror, mirror on the wall, do I want to know at all? A story about cultural organizations that conduct research on themselves and those that do not

This article concerns the practice of conducting research by Polish public cultural institutions that seek to gain insight about themselves. Thus, the article fits into two theoretical areas of management sciences: learning organizations and knowledge management. We ask why in the opinion of cultural institutions is it worth (or not) conducting independent research? In search of answers, we conducted two complementary studies: a netnography-inspired online query of secondary sources regarding research conducted by Polish cultural organizations; and a survey among 392 such organizations that did or did not conduct research in 2016–2020. The collected material allowed us to discover that certain cultural organizations welcome research, treating it as an opportunity to obtain relevant information, introduce changes, and streamline operations. On the other hand, there are organizations that perceive research as a futile endeavor due to certain objective factors, mostly their own limited resources and the reluctance of potential respondents