GRM7 variants associated with age-related hearing loss based on auditory perception

Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI), or presbycusis, is a common condition of the elderly that results in significant communication difficulties in daily life. Clinically, it has been defined as a progressive loss of sensitivity to sound, starting at the high frequencies, inability to understand speech, lengthening of the minimum discernable temporal gap in sounds, and a decrease in the ability to filter out background noise. The causes of presbycusis are likely a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Previous research into the genetics of presbycusis has focused solely on hearing as measured by pure-tone thresholds. A few loci have been identified, based on a best ear pure-tone average phenotype, as having a likely role in susceptibility to this type of hearing loss; and GRM7 is the only gene that has achieved genome-wide significance. We examined the association of GRM7 variants identified from the previous study, which used an European cohort with Z-scores based on pure-tone thresholds, in a European–American population from Rochester, NY (N = 687), and used novel phenotypes of presbycusis. In the present study mixed modeling analyses were used to explore the relationship of GRM7 haplotype and SNP genotypes with various measures of auditory perception. Here we show that GRM7 alleles are associated primarily with peripheral measures of hearing loss, and particularly with speech detection in older adults

Management of acoustic neuromas in the elderly: retrospective study.

The wide availability of gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI-Gd) has led to the discovery of an increasing number of small and less symptomatic acoustic neuromas in elderly patients. We conducted a retrospective study in order to obtain data on outcomes and complications associated with different management strategies that would be useful in establishing a management guideline. We identified 44 patients aged 65 to 77 years with acoustic neuromas who had been managed with either surgery or simple observation with MRI-Gd imaging. Of the entire group, 36 patients had tumors larger than 1 cm, and they underwent surgery (most via the translabyrinthine approach). Complete removal of the tumor was achieved in 34 of these patients (94.4%). At the 1-year follow-up, grade VI facial nerve paralysis was evident in only two of 35 evaluable patients (5.7%). Postsurgical complications occurred in five patients (13.9%), including one death. The remaining eight patients had tumors 1 cm or smaller, and they were managed with periodic MRI-Gd scanning. At the 5-year follow-up, no tumor growth was seen in six of these patients. The other two patients exhibited a tumor growth rate of less than 2 mm per year. No patient in the observation group required surgical intervention

Fine Scale Nest Site Selection of Greater Sage-Grouse In The Centennial Valley, Montana

The purpose of this study was to determine fine scale nest site selection of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in the Centennial Valley, MT. A total of ninety nests were found during 2014-2015 using radio-collared sage-grouse. Vegetation surveys were conducted at nests and random sites that measured the nest shrub and the cover available within 3m of the nest. Length of the branch over the nest (Lgth.LB), average axis width of the nest shrub (AvgAxis), lateral cover of the nest shrub (LCShrub), aerial cover of the nest shrub (ACShrub), and height of the lower branch over the nest (Ht.LB) were the habitat variables that received the most support. All habitat variables that were included in the top model were nest shrub morphological characteristics and cover provided by the nest shrub. Therefore, there is strong support that sage-grouse in the Centennial Valley are selecting nest sites based on the morphology of the nest shrub and the cover provided by that nest shrub. None of the habitat variables associated with herbaceous cover received much support for inclusion in our models. On average, residual cover (i.e. grass from previous year) provided concealment for only 4% of the nest bowl. The relative probability of a shrub being selected for a nest site is maximized when Lgth.LB >75cm long, AvgAxis >130cm wide, LCShrub >80%, and ACShrub > 70%. Managers should focus on conserving mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana) and three-tip sagebrush (Artemisia tripartita) habitats because they were more likely to meet those shrub characteristics

Comorbidity and in-hospital mortality in peritoneal dialysis patients: data of the Emilia Romagna region of Italy

Objective: Kidney failure increases in-hospital mortality (IHM); however, comorbidity is crucial for predicting mortality in dialysis patients. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of comorbidity, assessed by modified Elixhauser index (mEI), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and age-adjusted CCI, on IHM in a cohort of peritoneal dialysis patients admitted to hospitals of the Emilia Romagna region (ERR) of Italy. Patients and methods: All hospital admissions of peritoneal dialysis patients recorded between 2007 and 2021 in the ERR database were analyzed. The International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) was used for detecting diagnoses and procedures, and the inclusion criterion was code 5498. Comorbidity burden was evaluated by three different scores, and hemodialysis (HD) treatment need was considered. IHM was our outcome. Results: During the 15 years of the study, 3,242 hospitalized peritoneal dialysis patients (62.7% males) were evaluated. Mean age was 62.8±20.6 years, 9.6% underwent HD, and IHM was 5.9% (n=192). IHM mortality was stable throughout the study period. Deceased subjects were older, were hospitalized longer, had a higher comorbidity burden, and had a higher percentage of HD treatment needs than survivors. Age, male sex, comorbidity burden, and HD treatment were predictors of IHM. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis confirmed the impact of comorbidity burden on IHM, especially when age was considered. Conclusions: We conclude that in male, elderly hospitalized peritoneal dialysis patients with failing dialysis technique, comorbidity burden should be considered being a predictor of IHM

PET imaging of the normal human auditory system: responses

Abstract The neural mechanisms involved in listening to sentences, and then detecting and verbalizing a specific word are poorly understood, but most likely involve complex neural networks. We used positron emission tomography to identify the areas of the human brain that are activated when young, normal hearing males and females were asked to listen to a sentence and repeat the last word from the Speech in Noise (SPIN) test. Listening conditions were (1) Quiet, (2) Speech, (3) Noise, and (4) SPIN with stimuli presented monaurally to either the left ear or the right ear. The least difficult listening task, Speech, resulted in bilateral activation of superior and middle temporal gyrus and pre-central gyrus. The Noise and SPIN conditions activated many of the same regions as Speech alone plus additional sites within the cerebellum, thalamus and superior/middle frontal gyri. Comparison of the SPIN condition versus Speech revealed additional activation in the right anterior lobe of the cerebellum and right medial frontal gyrus, near the cingulate. None of the left ear^right ear stimulus comparison revealed any significant differences except for the SPIN condition that showed greater activation in the left superior temporal gyrus for stimuli presented to the right ear. No gender differences were observed. These results demonstrate that repeating the last word in a sentence activates mainly auditory and motor areas of the brain when Speech is presented, whereas more difficult tasks, such as SPIN or multi-talker Noise, activate linguistic, attentional, cognitive, working memory, and motor planning areas.

Awaiting a cure for COVID-19: therapeutic approach in patients with different severity levels of COVID-19

COVID-19 is an unpredictable infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. The development of effective anti-COVID-19 vaccines has enormously minimized the risk of severe illness in most immunocompetent patients. However, unvaccinated patients and non-re-sponders to the COVID-19 vaccine are at risk of short-and long-term consequences. In these patients, the outcome of COVID-19 relies on an interplay of multiple factors including age, immunocompetence, comorbid-ities, inflammatory response triggered by the virus as well as the virulence of SARS-CoV-2 variants. General-ly, COVID-19 is asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic in young people, but it may manifest with respiratory insufficiency requiring mechanical ventilation in cer-tain susceptible groups of patients. Furthermore, severe SARS-CoV-2 infection induces multiorgan failure syndrome by affecting liver, kidney heart and nervous system. Since December 2019, multiple drugs have been test-ed to treat COVID-19, but only a few have been prov-en effective to mitigate the course of the disease that continues to cause death and comorbidity worldwide. Current treatment of COVID-19 patients is essential-ly based on the administration of supportive oxygen therapy and the use of specific drugs such as steroids, anticoagulants, antivirals, anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and immunomodulators. However, the rapid spread of new variants and the release of new data coming from the numerous ongoing clinical trials have cre-ated the conditions for maintaining a continuous up-dating of the therapeutic management of COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, we believe that a well-estab-lished therapeutic strategy along with the continu-um of medical care for all patients with COVID-19 is pivotal to improving disease outcomes and restoring healthcare care fragmentation caused by the pandem-ic. This narrative review, focusing on the therapeutic management of COVID-19 patients, aimed to provide an overview of current therapies for (i) asymptomatic or mildly/moderate symptomatic patients, (ii) hospitalized patients requiring low-flow oxygen, (iii) high-flow oxygen and (iv) mechanical ventilation

focus groups in migration research a forum for public thinking

This chapter outlines how to use focus groups (FGs) in migration studies, considering this method a forum for "public thinking" and discussing controversial issues. Moreover, the use of FGs allows us to understand the process of creating consensus and dissent via interaction. The chapter is structured in five sections: the first one introduces what FGs are and why they are useful for migration research; the second focuses on how to build the groups and how to do comparative migration research with FGs; the third illustrates how to prepare and to facilitate group discussion, and how to ask questions and engage participants in collaborative migration research; the fourth introduces how to interpret discussions and how to analyse the everyday naturalization of nation, ethnicity and race; the final section discusses how to communicate FG results. Each section is devoted to a specific methodological issue and it includes at least one "box" with an example from European migration research

Metabolic effects of dehydroepiandrosterone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether long-term treatment with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in postmenopausal women can modify insulin sensitivity and plasma lipid profile. DESIGN AND METHODS: Twenty healthy postmenopausal women with serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) concentrations <2.5 micromol/l were enrolled and randomly assigned to two different treatment groups: group 1 were treated with micronized DHEA, 25 mg/day at 0800 h for 12 months; group 2 were treated with an identical placebo tablet. At the beginning and at the end of the study, plasma lipid profile, glucose tolerance (oral glucose tolerance test) and insulin sensitivity (euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp: M index) were assessed. RESULTS: After 12 months, the group treated with DHEA showed a considerable improvement of insulin sensitivity (M index +29.55%, P=0.01) and lipid pattern (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol +11.61%, P=0.03; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol -11.07%, P=0.04; triglycerides -19.60%, P=0.03), but glucose tolerance did not change. No modifications were observed in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term treatment with DHEA ameliorates some metabolic parameters that are linked to increased cardiovascular risk and, consequently, this seems to be an interesting therapeutic tool in the management of the postmenopausal syndrome

Early uneven ear input induces long-lasting differences in left-right motor function

How asymmetries in motor behavior become established normally or atypically in mammals remains unclear. An established model for motor asymmetry that is conserved across mammals can be obtained by experimentally inducing asymmetric striatal dopamine activity. However, the factors that can cause motor asymmetries in the absence of experimental manipulations to the brain remain unknown. Here, we show that mice with inner ear dysfunction display a robust left or right rotational preference, and this motor preference reflects an atypical asymmetry in cortico-striatal neurotransmission. By unilaterally targeting striatal activity with an antagonist of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), a downstream integrator of striatal neurotransmitter signaling, we can reverse or exaggerate rotational preference in these mice. By surgically biasing vestibular failure to one ear, we can dictate the direction of motor preference, illustrating the influence of uneven vestibular failure in establishing the outward asymmetries in motor preference. The inner ear±induced striatal asymmetries identified here intersect with non±ear-induced asymmetries previously linked to lateralized motor behavior across species and suggest that aspects of left±right brain function in mammals can be ontogenetically influenced by inner ear input. Consistent with inner ear input contributing to motor asymmetry, we also show that, in humans with normal ear function, the motor-dominant hemisphere, measured as handedness, is ipsilateral to the ear with weaker vestibular input. Despite a long-standing fascination with asymmetries in left±right brain function, very little is known about the causes of functional brain asymmetry in mammals, which appear independent of the mechanisms that create anatomical asymmetries during development. Asymmetries in motor function are a common example and include preferred turning direction, handedness, and footedness. In this study, using mouse models, we establish a causal link between transient imbalances in degenerating inner ear function and the establishment of stable asymmetries in neural pathways that regulate motor activity and in motor behavior. Our study also suggests that shared mechanisms may underlie lateralized motor behaviors across mammalian species. For example, we show that in humans with normal ear function, the strength of the vestibular response from each ear in the forebrain correlates with asymmetric motor behavior, measured as handedness. In a broader sense, our study reveals a conceptually novel role for sensory input in shaping the asymmetric distribution of brain function, a process for which there is otherwise no clear mechanism

Giovani musulmani in Europa. Tipologie di appartenenza religiosa e dinamiche socio-culturali

Il volume, a partire da ricerche sul campo, analizza la situazione dei giovani musulmani in Italia e nei principali paesi europei, presentando come l'islam influenzi i loro vissuti in rapporto ai diversi contesti.- Indice #9- Introduzione, Andrea Pacini #13- La leadership islamica in Europa: tra fondamentalismo e cosmopolitismo, Jocelyne Cesari #25- La trasmissione dell'islam alle nuove generazioni della diaspora, Chantal Saint-Blancat, #39- I giovani musulmani in Gran Bretagna: dall'identità etnica all'identità religiosa, A. Yunas Samad #55- I giovani musulmani in Germania, Czarina Wilpert #93- I giovani musulmani in Francia, Alexandre Caeiro #139- Giovani musulmani d'Italia.Trasformazioni socio-culturali e domande di cittadinanza, Annalisa Frisina 163- Musulmani e italiani, tra le altre cose. Tattiche e strategie identitarie di giovani figli di immigrati musulmani, Annalisa Frisina 185- Conclusione. I giovani musulmani in Europa: nuovi cittadini e nuovi credenti, Jocelyne Cesari #213- Bibliografia generale #22