The risk prediction model had accurate discrimination and satisfactory calibration. Validation results indicate that it may generalize well to new infants. The model could potentially be used in diagnostic and screening settings. In the context of screening, probabilities provide an intuitive and flexible mechanism for setting the referral threshold that is sensitive to the costs associated with true and false-positive outcomes. In a diagnostic setting, predictions could be used to supplement visual inspection of absorbance for individualized diagnoses. Further research assessing the performance and impact of the model in these contexts is warranted.

Objective The purpose of this study was to describe normative aspects of wideband acoustic immittance (WAI) measures obtained from healthy White neonates. Method In this cross-sectional study, wideband absorbance (WBA), admittance magnitude, and admittance phase were measured under ambient pressure condition in 326 ears from 203 neonates ( M age = 45.9 hr) who passed a battery of tests, including automated auditory brainstem response, high-frequency tympanometry, and distortion product otoacoustic emissions. Results Normative WBA data were in agreement with most previous studies. Normative data for both WBA and admittance magnitude revealed double-peaked patterns with the 1st peak at 1.25–2 kHz and the 2nd peak at 5–8 kHz, while normative admittance phase data showed 2 peaks at 0.8 and 4 kHz. There were no significant differences between ears or gender for the 3 WAI measures. Standard deviations for all 3 measures were highest at frequencies above 4 kHz. Conclusions The 3 WAI measures between 1 kHz and 4 kHz may provide the most stable response of the outer and middle ear. WAI measures at frequencies above 4 kHz were more variable. The normative data established in the present study may serve as a reference for evaluating outer and middle ear function in neonates.

In this paper, a variety of 3D printed microwave antennas are presented including wide band, narrow band, multiband and reconfigurable designs. In particular, single layer patch, folded E-patch, a bilateral Vivaldi, Spartan logo and Lego-like assembled antennas are demonstrated. 3D printing provides significant flexibility in the design of antennas that combine the assembly of both dielectric and metal layers to achieve desired performance characteristics such as resonant frequency and radiation pattern. Also, small Lego-like blocks can be printed that allows in the design and assembly of novel antennas structures using a combination of dielectric and metal coated blocks.