International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis

Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICAR‐RS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICAR‐RS‐2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidence‐based findings of the document. Methods: ICAR‐RS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidence‐based reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidence‐based reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICAR‐RS‐2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidence‐based management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICAR‐RS‐2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidence‐based recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS

Spatio-temporal resolution of spawning and larval nursery habitats using otolith microchemistry is element dependent

Otolith chemistry is frequently employed in the reconstruction of fish environmental histories. While some elements have been strongly correlated with environmental factors (e.g. salinity, temperature, water chemistry), others may not indicate exogenous factors and simply add endogenous variability to a data set. Several commonly assessed elements were previously identified as being only present in the proteinaceous fraction of endolymph from black bream Acanthopagrus butcheri, suggesting that the choice of elements in otolith multi-elemental fingerprinting could influence their utility as natural environmental markers. To test this hypothesis, we performed several cluster analyses based on different sets of trace element data extracted from both the core and larval region of otoliths of juvenile black bream. We clustered in 3 different ways: (1) all elements analysed; (2) elements identified as being primarily in the salt fraction of the endolymph (i.e. inorganic); and (3) elements identified as being associated with the protein fraction of the endolymph. We subsequently assessed the power of the resulting clusters to resolve cohort identity and/or collection location based on differences in otolith chemistry using multinomial logistic regression. Our results indicate that clustering based solely on salt-fraction elements is best for resolving spatio-temporal variability in spawning sources and larval nursery habitats of black bream.</jats:p

Implementing Configurable Signalling

The task of middleware is to mask out problems of heterogeneity and distribution for application developers. With the emergence of new application domains, like multimedia and real-time applications, flexible support of QoS and real-time requirements becomes a major challenge. Reconfigurable bindings and policy driven binding protocols are the major means in the MULTE framework to support these requirements. Our experience with flexible protocol configuration has shown that the above requirements cannot be solved only by dynamic (re-)configuration of communication protocols. Additionally, flexibility in establishing and managing bindings is necessary. We have implemented a toolkit that allows configurable signalling, including tasks such as QoS negotiation, resource reservation, connection management, monitoring, etc. The toolkit is used in the MULTE-ORB to support various functional and non-functional application requirements

The inner ear proteome of fish

The mechanisms that underpin the formation, growth and composition of otoliths, the biomineralized stones in the inner ear of fish, are largely unknown, as only a few fish inner ear proteins have been reported. Using a partial transcriptome for the inner ear of black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri), in conjunction with proteomic data, we discovered hundreds of previously unknown proteins in the otolith. This allowed us to develop hypotheses to explain the mechanisms of inorganic material supply and daily formation of growth bands. We further identified a likely protein mediator of crystal nucleation and an explanation for the apparent metabolic inertness of the otolith. Due to the formation of both daily and annual increments, otoliths are routinely employed as natural chronometers, being used for age and growth estimation, fisheries stock assessments, and the reconstruction of habitat use, movement, diet and the impacts of climate change. Our findings provide an unprecedented view of otolith molecular machinery, aiding in the interpretation of these essential archived data

Children living with their grandparents: resilience and wellbeing

A non-comparative design and mixed-methods approach wasused to examine the resilience and wellbeing of 20 childrenin the full-time care of their grandparents. A self-reportmeasure of self-concept and emotional wellbeing, and asemi-structured interview were used to explore the personalexperiences and impact of children living with their grandparents.Scores derived from the self-report measure indicatedthat the children's self-worth and emotional health werewithin the range expected of children of comparative age andsex. Qualitative data, however, suggested a complex emotionalenvironment and a continuum of responses. Analysis revealedthree themes that captured broad issues around Emotionalhealth, Material factors, Current issues and Past experiencesand Coping strategies. The results of the study reveal the ongoingconcerns associated with the children's family circumstances,as well as the notable adaptation and resilience of the childrenin managing their life experiences