Journal of Generalized Lie Theory and Applications

The goal of this study was to compare the efficacy and surgical outcomes of total thyroidectomy performed with the Focus Harmonic scalpel (Ethicon, Cincinnati, OH) versus other hemostatic procedures. The operating time, blood loss, pain, complications, and length of hospital stay were all assessed. The Focus Harmonic scalpel reduced operative time by 22,428 minutes and blood loss by 13,914 mL when compared to conventional techniques or the LigaSure Precise Vessel Sealing System (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN). The Focus Harmonic scalpel group had a significantly shorter hospital stay, with a mean reduction of 0.410 days.

According to loop quantum cosmology, quantum gravity effects resolve the big-bang singularity and replace it with a cosmic bounce. Furthermore, loop quantum cosmology can change the shape of primordial cosmological perturbations, such as reducing power at large scales in inflationary models or suppressing the tensor-to-scalar ratio in the matter bounce scenario; these two effects are potential observational tests for loop quantum cosmology. In this article, I discuss these and other predictions, as well as three open problems in loop quantum cosmology: its relationship to loop quantum gravity, the trans-Planckian problem, and a possible transition from a Lorentzian to a Euclidean space-time around the bounce point.