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Cochlear Implants International Dec 2023Device activation typically occurs four weeks post cochlear implant surgery. Emerging evidence suggests earlier activation is feasible and beneficial, giving patients... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Device activation typically occurs four weeks post cochlear implant surgery. Emerging evidence suggests earlier activation is feasible and beneficial, giving patients quicker access to sound and rehabilitation.
OBJECTIVES
Assess current literature for effects of early cochlear implant activation.
METHODS
Electronic searches of Medline/PubMed, AMED, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library following PRISMA guidelines. Studies investigating any aspect of early activation were included for review.
RESULTS
From 15 studies, 625 patients received early activation, compared with 243 patients in the control groups. Early activation was considered as within 7 days post-operatively with 12 studies reporting within 1 day post-operatively, compared with standard activation of 9-46 days post-operatively in the control group. Some studies indicated earlier low levels of impedance in the early activation group. Magnet strength adjustment or off-ear processor wear was often recommended within the early activation cohort. Complication rates were low in both groups. Early activation improved patient satisfaction and anxiety levels without detriment to speech recognition or rehabilitation.
CONCLUSION
Early cochlear implant activation is feasible and allows patients with no contraindications, earlier access to auditory perception and rehabilitation and reduces anxiety linked to delay in activation. Further evidence is required to monitor long-term effects of early activation.
PubMed: 38111171
DOI: 10.1080/14670100.2023.2290777 -
Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science... Nov 2023Improvement of crop varieties can be a powerful strategy for addressing food, nutrition, and climate challenges in the Global South if it is guided by market...
Improvement of crop varieties can be a powerful strategy for addressing food, nutrition, and climate challenges in the Global South if it is guided by market intelligence. We conducted a systematic literature review of stakeholder preference studies that aim at guiding crop improvement in rice, the Global South's most important staple food. We review behavioral indicators such as purchase intention, willingness to pay, acceptance, probability of adoption, and preference. Results from 106 studies reveal important gaps in terms of geographical and stakeholder representation: (1) Southcentral Asia is underrepresented and (2) studies focused either on upstream (farmers) or downstream (consumers) stakeholders along the value chain, while missing out on midstream actors (processors, traders). From the consumer studies, urban consumption zones are adequately represented as sources of end-market opportunities for farmers to tap into demand. Evidence suggests that consumer preferences for intrinsic attributes revolve around eating and cooking quality attributes (i.e., aroma, texture, swelling capacity, taste) and physical traits (i.e., whiteness, size and shape, proportion of broken grains). Evidence from farmer studies reveals that (1) preferences for agronomic attributes dominate and focus on yield, maturity, plant height, lodging tolerance, and tillering ability; (2) yield and early maturity were generally considered priority attributes and were often jointly considered as such; and (3) preferences for abiotic stress tolerance revolve around drought, submergence, and salinity. These insights can help refocus market intelligence research to aid crop improvement in addressing food, nutrition, and climate challenges in the Global South, which may be expanded globally.
Topics: Oryza; Cooking; Odorants; Food; Consumer Behavior
PubMed: 37602888
DOI: 10.1111/1541-4337.13228