Chapter 32 32 Her Scarecrow She worries about her little fool…
Liang Siyu successfully saved the rat. It had only suffered minor mechanical damage and edema. After taking dexamethasone, it showed significant improvement the next day and is gradually recovering.
He breathed a sigh of relief, although he still needed to write an anomaly report.
He carefully reviewed the surgical video and suggested possible causes: uneven force was applied during drilling or removal of the fixation device, with more force on the right side; and the rat's skull was already asymmetrical, with the right side being slightly thinner.
Professor Brooke reviewed the drilling depth records and video footage of key steps, and remarked, "It looks like a random probability problem, nothing to worry about."
Unfortunately, the signal has not been restored, and the data will probably never be available again.
However, five days later, the rat exhibited abnormal behavior again, and treatment proved ineffective. Based on ethical principles of animal welfare, the veterinarian had no choice but to perform humane termination.
After performing a standard autopsy, Liang Siyu discovered that the brain tissue around the right fixation screw hole had minor lacerations and edema, consistent with previous inferences.
However, unexpectedly, the probe contained a small amount of tissue fibers and pus.
Even without a pathological examination, he could deduce that the probe, which should have been fixed in place, had shifted, causing damage and infection to the brain tissue.
He carefully took and fixed the sample, sent it to the pathology laboratory to prepare slides, and performed bacterial culture.
How could the probe have shifted? A slight uneven force applied during fixation led to such a serious consequence.
Was he distracted? Did his touch falter?
Liang Siyu returned to the office with her hair still wet, plopped down, and silently opened the surgical video.
He stared at the screen, repeatedly recalling the feel of drilling and separating the thrusters. But the more he recalled, the more his head ached. He couldn't see the problem anywhere, yet nothing felt right.
Xu Aida waited until after 8 p.m., but finally couldn't stand it anymore. She went out for a while and came back, forcing a cup of hot chocolate on him: "Drink this, and then we'll go home."
He finished his drink and turned back to the screen: "No, it was my mistake. I need to find where it is..."
“Ned, that’s enough.” She covered his eyes directly. “Take a break, okay? Sometimes, you can only see the problem by taking a step back. You need to clear your mind and get some sleep now, instead of continuing to torture your eyes.”
Liang Siyu managed to stay quiet for about ten seconds, took a deep breath, turned off the computer, and went home with her.
At the red light at the intersection, Xu Aida glanced at the passenger seat; he was pressing his right temple, seemingly lost in thought. The light turned green, she gently pressed the accelerator, and he closed his eyes.
On Wednesday afternoon, just after the Tense project meeting ended, Professor Brooke called over the core members of the animal surgery team.
“Stay a moment, we need to talk about that rat.” His tone was calm, but the atmosphere in the room immediately became tense.
Before leaving, Xu Aida glanced nervously at Liang Siyu a few times. He kept his head down, staring at the briefing in his hand, and didn't notice her.
After everyone else left, Professor Brooke cut straight to the point: "Alright, regarding yesterday's death, Ned, I know the final pathology report isn't out yet, but what are your thoughts now?"
Liang Siyu took a deep breath and sat up straighter: "According to the autopsy, the cause of death was bleeding and infection caused by mechanical injury."
“I should take responsibility for this. I failed to adequately assess the risks when I discovered the skull asymmetry. This was my negligence.”
Professor Brooke looked at him sharply: "That's all? No other possibilities?"
"It seems so at the moment," Liang Siyu replied briefly.
An awkward silence fell over the meeting room.
Evan cleared his throat: "Actually, as the surgical supervisor, I watched the surgical video twice, and Ned's technique was not obviously flawed." He met his mentor's gaze. "I have a different theory."
Everyone looked at him in surprise. Hadn't the two of them fallen out? Why was Evan suddenly speaking up for Ned?
Professor Brooke paused slightly as he spun the pencil in his hand: "Continue."
Evan took out two plastic boxes. "Look at this," he pushed them to the center of the table. "The left one is a sample of the material from the old array, and the right one is the new one. We all know the new material is softer and more biocompatible, right?"
“But there’s a problem here,” he said, leaning on the table. “It requires more force to be accurate and secure, and the rat’s right skull is thin, making it prone to mechanical damage.”
Another postdoc chimed in, "That doesn't necessarily prove it's a problem with the new materials, does it?"
Evan laughed. "My hypothesis is that the new material is softer and more prone to micro-deformation when exposed to edema and pressure, which in turn causes probe displacement. This has nothing to do with surgical technique; it's a matter of material properties."
The atmosphere in the room immediately changed; everyone exchanged glances and began to discuss in hushed tones.
Brooke reached out and took the sample, examined it carefully, and then handed it to the others: "Everyone, touch it and feel the difference."
He looked around the room. "What do you all think? Any other ideas?"
“Edematous tissue fluid may alter the material properties,” Raphael suggested. “Perhaps in vitro testing did not take this into account.”
“And then there’s dexamethasone,” an assistant professor noted. “Its immunosuppressive effect makes infections easier to develop, which is a chain reaction.”
Liang Siyu remained silent. He realized that he was completely dominated by his emotions, to the point that he was blinded by his own thoughts.
These are all common assumptions, yet he didn't consider them at all, focusing only on self-doubt and heading straight for operational errors.
The loss of calm and comprehensive scientific thinking is a more fatal problem for a doctor or a researcher.
Professor Brooke nodded slightly: "Okay, once the pathology report is out, we'll have a joint discussion with the materials team."
His gaze swept over the crowd and settled on Evan. "Evan, you're the surgical supervisor. You'll give a report to everyone about the situation later. That's all for today."
Professor Brooke pushed the briefing written by Liang Siyu back to him, got up and left.
There were two lines drawn on it, with a big inequality sign next to them, reminding him not to jump to conclusions based on appearances.
Liang Siyu looked up and saw Evan looking at him with a slow smile and a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
He closed his eyes briefly. Evan had won, regained his credibility with the professor, and won beautifully. As for himself, a complete fool.
Xu Aida and Cohen were sitting in the break room. They had arranged to talk about the high-density sEMG project.
Cohen had done the initial electrode design last week, but seeing that she was distracted and kept looking into the meeting room, he simply suggested that we go for a cup of coffee.
“Ada, this isn’t like you.” Cohen poured her a coffee. In his memory, Ada had always been very composed, not the type to worry about something like this.
Moreover, preliminary experiments are inherently full of uncertainties and are explorations conducted to optimize the process.
Even if Ned did make a mistake, it wouldn't be a big problem; we could just discuss and correct it. Although Professor Brooke was strict, he wouldn't blame students for the normal scientific trial-and-error process.
"No way!" she initially retorted, but then couldn't help but tell the truth, "You saw it yourself, we had a fight the day before the animal's surgery."
Xu Aida knew that her anxiety was unreasonable, but she still felt uneasy.
If she hadn't started doing surface electromyography ahead of time, Professor Brooke wouldn't have used the opportunity of monkey brain surgery as a carrot.
Evan's transformation, the development of motion trajectory algorithms, the near-miss of surgery, and his falling out with Professor Will—all these were all unexpected twists of fate.
So this time, she was a little uneasy, afraid that she had once again caused a butterfly effect.
Cohen feigned sudden realization, looking her up and down: "Oh—I see. So you mean, you've awakened some kind of mysterious Eastern power that can influence his cerebral cortex from a distance, making his hands tremble?"
“Wow, Ada, next time you’re unhappy with me, could you let me know in advance so I can wear a protective helmet?” He even made a gesture of holding his head.
Xu Aida chuckled. She shook her head slightly and looked at the coffee cup in front of her: "I already used it. Didn't I ask you to pour me some coffee?"
Cohen took a sip of coffee and got back to the point: "Don't worry about it. Isn't doing research just like trying to catch rabbits with your eyes closed? You always miss until you run into a tortoise."
That's true. Who hasn't taken detours and made mistakes in their experiments? Who doesn't have a pile of unpublishable, obsolete data in their drawer? Why is she being so pessimistic?
Hsu Ai-ta smiled, let out a long breath, and began to drink his coffee.
Cohen suddenly realized something: "Wait, no way, Queen of Algorithms, do you never miss a shot? You always manage to catch a rabbit?"
Xu Aida rolled his eyes: "I have far more unrunnable algorithms than your waste materials; if they were printed out, they could overwhelm you."
Just as they were arguing, a sound came from the corridor: the medical team's short meeting was over.
Xu Aida quickly walked to the door, just as Professor Brooke passed by. He gave her a deep look, suddenly stopped, and asked, "Ada, how's your algorithm project going lately?"
"Uh, not bad, it's progressing according to plan." She paused for a moment.
"Very good." He nodded and left, leaving her standing there wondering what he meant.
However, she quickly forgot about this little incident, and Liang Siyu came out as well.
His expression and actions were perfectly normal, but Xu Aida could tell at a glance that there was no light in his eyes, as if dark clouds were pressing down on them.
“Ned, what’s wrong? Did the professor criticize you? Don’t mind it, it’s just a preliminary experiment, there will always be times when you’re unlucky.” She leaned closer and whispered as they walked.
He kept walking and hesitated for a few seconds before answering, "No. Maybe it's not a problem with my operation...maybe."
"Isn't that good news?" Cohen casually asked. "If it's not an operational problem, could it be a problem with the new material?"
Liang Siyu immediately stopped and stared at him, her direct gaze making Cohen feel uneasy.
"You're right, let's wait for the pathology results."
Liang Siyu's mind was filled with a constant stream of disappointment in himself.
Why didn't he think of something that everyone else could easily think of? Ada had clearly reminded him to take a step back and analyze the reasons.
Xu Aida didn't expect him to stop so suddenly. He didn't stop and took two more steps. Just as he was about to turn back, he suddenly quickened his pace.
She almost jogged to catch up, and when she turned her head, she saw Cohen gesturing to her, saying to contact her by phone.
When they arrived at the parking lot, she quickly stopped him by the car door: "I'll drive; you're not acting right."
Liang Siyu gripped the car keys; he wasn't just out of sorts, everything about him was off. He thought for a moment, then handed her the keys and sat directly in the back seat.
When he got home, he went into the bathroom and deliberately said, "I want to be by myself."
He irritably loosened his collar, wanting for the first time to avoid her concerned gaze, even wanting to get as far away as possible.
If she knew what a stupid, idiotic mistake he had made, she'd probably think he was completely clueless. She might even wonder how she could have fallen for such a brainless fool.
Xu Aida paced back and forth in the living room, only able to text Cohen. Only upperclassmen from the medical school remained today, and she felt awkward asking people she didn't know well for information.
Cohen quickly grasped the situation and relayed the meeting's proceedings.
Hsu Ai-ta sighed, realizing for the first time that being in the same lab with someone also had its drawbacks. For example, right now, it was embarrassing for her partner to see her acting silly.
In their past life, this year went relatively smoothly for them; at least neither of them embarrassed themselves at the meetings. As a result, she often reminisced about this close and intimate time, believing that this model was perfect.
She knew her younger self; if Ned hadn't made the mistake, she would have politely said "it's nothing" on the surface, but inwardly she would have absolutely laughed at that person for being so foolish.
In her past life, when she first started teaching students, she often complained to herself: How could they make so many "creative and endless" mistakes?
But two or three years later, she began to understand that people always make mistakes, and even smart people have blind spots.
The once proud woman has been softened considerably by time, setbacks, and experience.
She stared at the thin bathroom door. Was her little scarecrow getting moldy inside? Fool, he was such a fool.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
