The contribution of auditory attention to reading processes of school-age children with and without dyslexia

Mastering proficient reading skills is essential for an individual’s personal and professional development. However, there are considerable individual differences in reading skills among children, and several potential environmental and cognitive factors underlying this variability. The overarching aim of this thesis was is to establish whether auditory attention is among these factors. The first study explored the effects of background speech on children reading performance and found that speech loudness and intelligibility differentially disrupted reading speed and comprehension. Moreover, weaker inhibitory control was associated with greater interference on reading comprehension. In the following two studies, I examined inhibitory control and behavioural and neural (EEG) measures of non-verbal sustained selective attention in a relatively large sample of children with and without dyslexia. As a model mimicking one of the first steps of reading acquisition, I also asked participants to learn to associated novel symbols with speech sounds. At the group level, auditory attentional measures did not differ between children with and without dyslexia. However, auditory attentional skills were related to reading fluency, and to the ability to learn novel audio-visual associations. Both of these skills were compromised in dyslexic readers. A final objective was to identify cognitive abilities predicting individual benefits of intensive intervention for dyslexia. I found that an interplay between auditory attentional and reading-specific (e.g. phonological awareness) abilities predicted individual reading and spelling intervention outcomes. Taken together, these studies indicated that auditory attention plays a role in children’s reading, for example, by supporting fundamental processes underlying reading acquisition, such as letter-speech sound learning, as well as by facilitating learning processes during interventions. They also showed that auditory attention could modulate the harmful effects of background speech. The novel findings presented in this thesis represent a starting point for future investigations into the relationship between auditory attention and reading abilities during development

Loudness and intelligibility of irrelevant background speech differentially hinder children's short story reading

Reading skills are usually assessed in silent conditions, but children often experience noisy educational settings. Effects of auditory distraction on children's reading skills remain relatively unexplored. The present study investigates the influence of two features of background speech—intelligibility and loudness—on children's reading speed and comprehension. Sixty‐three 8‐to‐10‐year‐old elementary school children performed a reading task in the context of single‐talker background speech. Background speech was either intelligible or unintelligible and presented at low (45–50 dB SPL) or moderate (65–72 dB SPL) sound intensity (here termed “loudness”). Results showed a differential effect of intelligibility and loudness, respectively affecting children's comprehension and reading speed. In addition, the intelligibility effect was larger in children with lower interference control, as assessed with an auditory Stroop task. Our findings provide evidence for the influence of different properties of background speech on children's text reading with implications for reading in everyday classroom environments

Attentional modulation of neural sound tracking in children with and without dyslexia

Auditory selective attention forms an important foundation of children's learning by enabling the prioritisation and encoding of relevant stimuli. It may also influence reading development, which relies on metalinguistic skills including the awareness of the sound structure of spoken language. Reports of attentional impairments and speech perception difficulties in noisy environments in dyslexic readers are also suggestive of the putative contribution of auditory attention to reading development. To date, it is unclear whether non-speech selective attention and its underlying neural mechanisms are impaired in children with dyslexia and to which extent these deficits relate to individual reading and speech perception abilities in suboptimal listening conditions. In this EEG study, we assessed non-speech sustained auditory selective attention in 106 7-to-12-year-old children with and without dyslexia. Children attended to one of two tone streams, detecting occasional sequence repeats in the attended stream, and performed a speech-in-speech perception task. Results show that when children directed their attention to one stream, inter-trial-phase-coherence at the attended rate increased in fronto-central sites; this, in turn, was associated with better target detection. Behavioural and neural indices of attention did not systematically differ as a function of dyslexia diagnosis. However, behavioural indices of attention did explain individual differences in reading fluency and speech-in-speech perception abilities: both these skills were impaired in dyslexic readers. Taken together, our results show that children with dyslexia do not show group-level auditory attention deficits but these deficits may represent a risk for developing reading impairments and problems with speech perception in complex acoustic environments

Auditory attention influences trajectories of symbol-speech sound learning in children with and without dyslexia

The acquisition of letter–speech sound correspondences is a fundamental process underlying reading development, one that could be influenced by several linguistic and domain-general cognitive factors. In the current study, we mimicked the first steps of this process by examining behavioral trajectories of audiovisual associative learning in 110 7- to 12-year-old children with and without dyslexia. Children were asked to learn the associations between eight novel symbols and native speech sounds in a brief training and subsequently read words and pseudowords written in the artificial orthography. We then investigated the influence of auditory attention as one of the putative domain-general factors influencing associative learning. To this aim, we assessed children with experimental measures of auditory sustained selective attention and interference control. Our results showed shallower learning trajectories in children with dyslexia, especially during the later phases of the training blocks. Despite this, children with dyslexia performed similarly to typical readers on the post-training reading tests using the artificial orthography. Better auditory sustained selective attention and interference control skills predicted greater response accuracy during training. Sustained selective attention was also associated with the ability to apply these novel correspondences in the reading tests. Although this result has the limitations of a correlational design, it denotes that poor attentional skills may constitute a risk during the early stages of reading acquisition, when children start to learn letter–speech sound associations. Importantly, our findings underscore the importance of examining dynamics of learning in reading acquisition as well as individual differences in more domain-general attentional factors

Innate immunity changes in soccer players after whole-body cryotherapy

Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) consists of short exposure (up to 2-3 min) to dry air at cryogenic temperatures (up to -190 degrees C) and has recently been applied for muscle recovery after injury to reduce the inflammation process. We aimed to determine the impact of cryotherapy on immunological, hormonal, and metabolic responses in non-professional soccer players (NPSPs). Nine male NPSPs (age: 20 +/- 2 years) who trained regularly over 5 consecutive days, immediately before and after each training session, were subjected to WBC treatment (WBC-t). Blood samples were collected for the evaluation of fifty analytes including hematologic parameters, serum chemistry, and hormone profiles. Monocytes phenotyping (Mo) was performed and plasmatic markers, usually increased during inflammation [CCL2, IL-18, free mitochondrial (mt)DNA] or with anti-inflammatory effects (IL2RA, IL1RN), were quantified. After WBC-t, we observed reduced levels of ferritin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean platelet volume, testosterone, and estradiol, which however remain within the normal ranges. The percentage of the total, intermediates and non-classical Mo increased, while classical Mo decreased. CXCR4 expression decreased in each Mo subset. Plasma IL18 and IL2RA levels decreased, while IL1RN only exhibited a tendency to decrease and CCL2 showed a tendency to increase. Circulating mtDNA levels were not altered following WBC-t. The differences observed in monocyte subsets after WBC-t may be attributable to their redistribution into the surrounding tissue. Moreover, the decrease of CXCR4 in Mo subpopulations could be coherent with their differentiation process. Thus, WBC through yet unknown mechanisms could promote their differentiation having a role in tissue repair

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

The contribution of auditory attention to reading processes of school-age children with and without dyslexia

This thesis investigated factors that contribute to differences among children in their reading abilities, focusing in particular on the role of auditory attention. The first study looked at the effects of background speech on children reading and showed that auditory attention may be a protective factor against the harmful effects of background speech on reading comprehension. Second, by using EEG (electroencephalography), it was investigated whether children with dyslexia (reading disability) have auditory attentional deficits and whether they are linked to their ability to learn letter-speech sound associations, a critical process underlying the development of reading skills. No differences in attention were found, neither in the neural markers nor in the skills. However, children with dyslexia have some difficulties in learning letter-speech sound associations and in perceiving speech in noisy acoustic settings. This suggests that auditory attention may play a role in reading, supporting the development of critical skills underlying reading development. Finally, an explorative study suggested that children with dyslexia with better attentional skills may benefit more from interventions for dyslexia, however, follow-up studies are needed to explore further this possibility

Diagnosis and treatment of infected shoulder arthroplasty: Current concepts review

Periprosthetic shoulder infection (PSI) is an emerging pathology which requires many improvements in diagnosis and treatment to obtain a satisfying success rate. Different approaches have been described. This article summarizes current concepts of diagnostic process and main treatments described in the literature

Il messianismo ebraico

Questa raccolta di saggi rappresenta un tentativo di evidenziare e analizzare la peculairità del messianismo ebraico: le sue fonti, la sua storia e i modi diversi e anche contraddittori in cui è stato recepito e attualizzato nel pensiero ebraico del Novecento. Nel Novecento, il messianismo ha svolto spesso una funzione di intensificazione di momenti prettamente filosofici - di filosofia della storia, per esempio - etici e politici, ma raramente, nei diversi pensatori che vi hanno attinto, si riscontra un'analisi approfondita o almeno accurata della tradizione religiosa e testuale da cui l'idea messianica trae origine