Vowel processing in Italian pediatric cochlear-implant users: A behavioral and neurophysiological study

Multichannel cochlear implant (CI) devices partially restore the auditory sensation in children affected by congenital, bilateral, and severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss, especially in the absence of background noise, provided that CI surgery takes place during the sensitive period for maturation of the auditory pathways, which is presumed to end at 3.5 years [Sharma et al. 2002abc, 2005, 2007; 2009; Gilley et al. 2008]. A few previous studies on Italian pediatric CI users investigated the general auditory abilities as well as the speech intelligibility of deaf children [cf. Santarelli et al. 2009; Colletti et al. 2012; Caselli et al. 2012; Martines et al. 2013], by using the usual tests administered by speech therapists. Plenty of previous studies investigated detection, categorization, and discrimination of speech sounds, both consonants and vowels, at the cortical level (automatically), in CI children exposed to languages other than Italian, such English [Kileny et al. 1997; Sharma et al. 2002abc, 2005, 2007; 2009; Gilley et al. 2008; Henkin et al. 2008], Dutch [Beynon et al. 2002], German [Ortmann et al. 2013], Hebrew [Singh et al. 2004], and Croatian [Munivrana & Mildner 2013]. As compared to the above-mentioned studies, the present research introduces three methodological innovations: i) it investigates the processing of vowels; ii) it relies on natural speech stimuli, only minimally normalized; and iii) it combines the use of behavioral measures (e.g., tests of categorization and discrimination of speech sounds, administered attentively) with the use of neurophysiological measures (e.g., the EEG recording for subsequent extraction of the auditory ERPs indexing speech sound detection, categorization, and discrimination). The present study investigates the processing of single vowels (e.g., /u/, /i/, /e/, /o/, /a/) as well as of same-vowel pairs (e.g., /u/-/u/, /i/-/i/, /e/-/e/, /o/-/o/, /a/-/a/) and of different-vowel pairs (e.g., /u/-/i/, /i/-/u/, /e/-/i/, /i/-/e/, /o/-/a/, /a/-/o/) at the behavioral (e.g., conscious) and at the neurophysiological (e.g., automatic) levels in a group of deaf Italian children implanted during the sensitive period for central auditory maturation (range of age at surgery: 2.1 – 4.4 years) and who had been using their CI for at least 2 years (range of duration of CI stimulation: 2.4 – 8.1 years). At the behavioral level, tests of vowel detection and of vowel categorization were administered. At the neurophysiological level, the EEG activity was passively recorded when children were watching a silent movie while hearing vowel stimuli on the background. Subsequently, the P1, N1, and MMN responses of the auditory ERPs are the neural correlates of (speech) sound detection, categorization, and discrimination, in turn, were extracted. The vowel processing performance of the CI children will be compared against the performance exhibited by a group of normal-hearing (NH) children matched for biological age with the CI children. This study also investigated whether, and to what extent, some external factors were able to constrain vowel processing at the behavioral and neurophysiological level in CI children. These factors are the following ones: i) vowel quality; ii) the articulatory characteristics of the five vowels; iii) the larger vs. smaller Euclidean distance characterizing the vowel pairs; iv) the different distinctive feature specification and, more particularly, the direction of change in the distinctive feature specification between the first and the second vowel of each pair; v) the earlier vs. later age at surgery; and vi) the longer vs. shorter duration of CI use. The main findings of the present study are the following ones. First, the main difference between the behavioral and the neurophysiological levels of processing in CI children consists in the fact that the processing of vowel pairs is partially impaired for accuracy only at the behavioral level, whereas the processing of single vowels is partially impaired for accuracy, and rarely delayed, only at the neurophysiological level. Second, at the neurophysiological level, CI children are impaired at the auditory, not at the cognitive, level. In fact, in spite of typically being less accurate in detection and categorization of single vowels, CI children are not impaired in the processing of vowel pairs. Third, age at surgery and duration of implant stimulation are irrelevant for behavioral vowel processing, whereas they constrain cortical vowel processing, although not systematically: deaf children implanted before 3.4 years and/or who had been using their CI for at least 5.8 years may process single vowels as well as vowel pairs faster and more accurately. Vowel quality, the articulatory characteristics of the five vowels, the Euclidean, and the direction of change in the distinctive feature specification, on the other hand, turn out to be irrelevant in constraining vowel processing either at the behavioral and at the neurophysiological level

Jornaleros agrícolas y corporaciones transnacionales en el Valle de San Quintín

El artículo investiga la aplicación del modelo agrícola californiano en el sector fresero del Valle de San Quintín, en Baja California, México. Se analizan las operaciones económicas implementadas por las compañías comerciales transnacionales, así como la movilización anticorporativa de los jornaleros agrícolas. La investigación contribuye al debate sobre cadenas y redes globales de producción, corporaciones transnacionales y estudios agroalimentarios, combinando un análisis de los procesos de circulación del capital y de las relaciones sociales de producción. La investigación se ha desarrollado durante varias etapas en los años 2016 y 2017, con una combinación de técnicas cuantitativas y, sobre todo, cualitativas

Atherosclerotic risk factors and complications in patients with non-functioning adrenal adenomas treated with or without adrenalectomy: a long-term follow-up study

Objective: Despite the increased prevalences of hypertension. type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). hyperlipidemy, and obesity in patients with non-functioning adrenal adenomas (NFAAs), there is a paucity of data on long-term atherosclerotic morbidity as well as the long-term cardiovascular effects of adrenalectomy in these patients. Design, patients, and methods: This retrospective study includes the results or baseline and follow-up investigations of 125 patients (29 males and 96 females: mean age 60.1 years) with NFAAs referred for endocrine evaluation between 1990 and 2001. Of the 125 patients, 47 underwent unilateral adrenalectomy, while 78 patients were followed conservatively. These patients were reinvestigated after a mean follow-up time of 9.1 (5-16) years in 2006, with special emphasis on laboratory and other atherosclerotic risk factors (ARF), vascular events, and interventions. Results: The prevalences of hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance or T2DM, hyperlipidemy, and obesity were 82, 43, 58, and 50%, and 89, 58, 82, and 50% at baseline and follow-up, respectively None of the investigated ARF prevalences were different between patients treated and not treated with adrenalectomy, and between patients with and without subclinical Cushing's syndrome. The prevalences of angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, coronary and peripheral arterial interventions or cerebrovascular stroke did not differ significantly between patients treated and not treated with adrenalectomy Conclusion: Our study confirms previous investigations reporting markedly increased prevalences of various ARF in patients with NFAAs. Adrenalectomy performed in these patients failed to decrease the prevalence of ARF and atherosclerotic morbidit

Parea non servin: strategies of exploitation and resistance in the caporalato discourse

In this article, we analyse the ideological content of the discursive strategies used by a group of migrant workers subjected to ‘caporalato’, a form of illegal hiring and exploitation of farm day workers through an intermediary. Starting from a series of collective open interviews with farm workers, we examine the way in which the dynamics of both exploitation and resistance are reproduced through linguistic and discursive practices. What emerges from the analysis is a complex set of ambivalent experiences and representations. Despite its inherent exploitative and controlling nature, the workers tend to justify, legitimise and deny the negative aspects of caporalato. Nonetheless, they also use linguistic devices of resistance to reconfigure the meanings of, and their role in, caporalato. Interestingly, the analyses show that caporalato is also perceived as a mechanism of social mobility. Only limited attempts at explicitly challenging its criminal nature are strategically expressed. In questo articolo, analizziamo il contenuto ideologico delle strategie discorsive usate da un gruppo di lavoratori migranti soggetti a ‘caporalato’, una forma illegale di reclutamento e di sfruttamento del lavoro dei braccianti agricoli mediante l’operato di un intermediario. Partendo da una serie di interviste aperte di tipo collettivo con un alcuni braccianti, si esamina il modo con il quale le dinamiche di sfruttamento e resistenza siano riprodotte attraverso pratiche linguistiche e discorsive. Ciò che emerge, è un complesso ed ambivalente sistema di esperienze e rappresentazioni. Nonostante l’intrinseca natura di sfruttamento e controllo, i lavoratori sembrano giustificare, legittimare e perfino negare gli aspetti più critici del caporalato. Pur tuttavia, i braccianti si servono anche di strumenti linguistici di resistenza con l’obiettivo di riconfigurare i significati ed i ruoli del caporalato stesso. Tra questi, si evince come tale fenomeno possa essere altresì percepito come un meccanismo di mobilità sociale. In ultima analisi, l’analisi riflette su come solo esigui tentativi siano strategicamente messi in atto dai braccianti per denunciare la nature criminale del caporalato

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

International labour migration and food production in rural Europe: a review of the evidence

Since Hoggart and Mendoza's paper on ‘African immigrant workers in Spanish agriculture' in Sociologia Ruralis in 1999 there has been a proliferation of interest in labour migration to/ in rural Europe. It is now clear that the rural realm has been, and is being, transformed by immigration, and that low-wage migrant workers in the food production industry are playing a particularly prominent role in this transformation. This paper takes stock of the literature and identifies seven key issues associated with low-wage labour migration, contemporary food production, and rural change. Most notably, since the 1990s, there has been growing demand for migrants in the segmented, and sometimes exploitative, labour markets of the European food production industries. This demand has been met across a variety of contexts, with states and labour market intermediaries playing a largely supportive role. However, migrants' integration into rural communities has often been problematic, with the emphasis being on the need for, rather than needs of, low-wage migrant workers