Guidelines of the French Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (SFORL) and the French Society of Audiology (SFA) for Speech-in-Noise Testing in Adults

ObjectivesThis document presents the fundamentals of speech audiometry in noise, general requirements for implementation and criteria for choice among the tests available in French according to the health-professional's needs.Material and methodsThe recommendations are based on a systematic analysis of the literature carried out by a multidisciplinary group of doctors, audiologists and audioprosthetists from all over France. They are graded A, B, C or expert opinion according to decreasing level of scientific evidence.ResultsEight tests of speech audiometry in noise can be used in France.ConclusionTo be complete, evaluation of hearing status requires testing understanding of speech in noise. The examination must begin with a minimum of two measurements familiarizing the subject with the test procedure. For initial diagnosis, adaptive procedures establishing the 50% speech reception threshold (SRT50) in noise are to be preferred in order to obtain a rapid and standardized measurement of perception of speech in noise. When the aim is to measure real-life speech comprehension, tests based on sentences, cocktail-party noise and free-field stimulation are to be preferred. Prosthetic gain is evaluated exclusively in free field. This is the only way to evaluate the contribution of binaurality and to measure perception in noise in an environment as close as possible to real life. In order to avoid acoustic interference in free field, at least five loudspeakers should be used, in particular for evaluating the effectiveness of directional microphones, CROS devices enabling sounds picked up in the damaged ear to be rerouted to the functional ear, or bimodal fitting (i.e., when hearing is enabled by two modalities: for example, hearing aid for one ear, cochlear implant for the other).     

Effects of ambient particulate matter on vascular tissue: a review

ABSTRACT

Fine and ultra-fine particulate matter (PM) are major constituents of urban air pollution and recognized risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. This review examined the effects of PM exposure on vascular tissue. Specific mechanisms by which PM affects the vasculature include inflammation, oxidative stress, actions on vascular tone and vasomotor responses, as well as atherosclerotic plaque formation. Further, there appears to be a greater PM exposure effect on susceptible individuals with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions.     

Increase in muscle tone promotes the use of ankle strategies during perturbed stance

Background:To maintain an upright standing posture against external disturbances, the human body mainly employs two types of postural control strategies: “ankle strategy” and “hip strategy.” While it has been reported that the magnitude of the disturbance alters the use of postural control strategies, it has not been elucidated how the level of muscle tone, one of the crucial parameters of bodily function, determines the use of each strategy. We have previously confirmed using forward dynamics simulations of human musculoskeletal models that an increased muscle tone promotes the use of ankle strategies. The objective of the present study was to experimentally evaluate a hypothesis: an increased muscle tone promotes the use of ankle strategies.Research question:Do changes in the muscle tone affect the use of ankle strategies?Methods:Participants were asked to maintain their standing posture on a movable platform sliding horizontally at several accelerations. Postural reactions for support surface translations were examined under three instructions with or without handgrips: relax state, squeezing a handgrip, and an increased muscle tone of the whole body. Surface-electromyography and marker locations of joints were measured to calculate the index of muscle tone and postural control strategies. The relationship of the indexes was evaluated based on correlation coefficients.Results:In half of the conditions, weak negative correlations were noted between the muscle tone index and postural control strategy index. In other words, an increased muscle tone rather promoted the use of the ankle strategy than the hip strategy. These findings are consistent with our previous simulation results.Significance:The results recognized a positive response to the research question. This suggests that it is crucial to take muscle tone into account to understand postural control strategies.     

Clinical Outcomes of Patients With Histologic Variants of Urothelial Carcinoma Treated With Selective Tetramodal Bladder-preservation Therapy Incorporating Consolidative Partial Cystectomy

BackgroundTetramodal bladder-preservation therapy includes maximal transurethral resection (TUR), induction chemoradiotherapy (CRT), and consolidative partial cystectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection. Tetramodal bladder-preservation therapy theoretically provides surgical consolidation of chemotherapy- and radioresistant cells. However, its efficacy in providing optimal cancer control for patients with histologic variants of urothelial carcinoma (VUCs) is currently unknown. We compared the oncologic outcomes between patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and pure urothelial carcinoma (PUC) and those with MIBC and VUCs after selective tetramodal bladder-preservation therapy.Patients and MethodsWe prospectively enrolled 154 patients. After maximal TUR and induction CRT, patients with a clinical complete response were offered consolidative partial cystectomy to achieve bladder preservation, with radical cystectomy recommended for the others. The VUCs identified in the maximal TUR samples were categorized according to the 2004 World Health Organization classification. The primary endpoint was cancer-specific survival. The secondary endpoints included the clinical and pathologic response rates to induction CRT and MIBC recurrence-free survival.ResultsA VUC was identified in 37 patients (24%). The most frequent variants involved glandular differentiation (n = 13), squamous differentiation (n = 11), and micropapillary (n = 8). No difference was found in the clinical complete response rate to CRT between PUC and VUCs (P = .81). On an intention-to-treat basis, the 5-year cancer-specific survival rates for those with PUC (n = 116) and VUC (n = 37) were 82% and 81% (P = .86), respectively.ConclusionTetramodal bladder-preservation therapy incorporating partial cystectomy could provide favorable locoregional control and survival for patients with VUC. Thus, patients with MIBC need not be excluded from the bladder-preservation approach because of the presence of a variant histologic type.     

Black beans and red kidney beans induce positive postprandial vascular responses in healthy adults: A pilot randomized cross-over study

Background and aimsConsuming pulses (dry beans, dry peas, chickpeas, lentils) over several weeks can improve vascular function and decrease cardiovascular disease risk; however, it is unknown whether pulses can modulate postprandial vascular responses. The objective of this study was to compare different bean varieties (black, navy, pinto, red kidney) and white rice for their acute postprandial effects on vascular and metabolic responses in healthy individuals.Methods and resultsThe study was designed as a single-blinded, randomized crossover trial with a minimum 6 days between consumption of the food articles. Vascular tone (primary endpoint), haemodynamics and serum biochemistry (secondary endpoints) were measured in 8 healthy adults before and at 1, 2, and 6 h after eating ¾ cup of beans or rice. Blood pressure and pulse wave velocity (PWV) were lower at 2 h following red kidney bean and pinto bean consumption compared to rice and navy bean, respectively (p < 0.05). There was greater vasorelaxation 6 h following consumption of darker-coloured beans, as shown by decreased vascular tone: PWV was lower after consuming black bean compared to pinto bean, augmentation pressure was lower after consuming black bean compared to rice and pinto bean, and wave reflection magnitude was lower after consuming red kidney bean and black bean compared to rice, navy bean, and pinto bean (p < 0.05). LDL-cholesterol concentrations were lower 6 h after black bean consumption compared to rice (p < 0.05).ConclusionOverall, red kidney and black beans, the darker-coloured beans, elicited a positive effect on the tensile properties of blood vessels, and this acute response may provide insight for how pulses modify vascular function.     

Investigating functional changes in the brain to intermittently induced auditory illusions and its relevance to chronic tinnitus

Several studies have demonstrated the neural correlates of chronic tinnitus. However, we still do not understand what happens in the acute phase. Past studies have established Zwicker tone (ZT) illusions as a good human model for acute tinnitus. ZT illusions are perceived following the presentation of a notched noise stimulus, that is, broadband noise with a narrow band‐stop filter (notch). In the current study, we compared the neural correlates of the reliable perception of a ZT illusion to that which is not. We observed changes in evoked and total theta power in wide‐spread regions of the brain particularly in the temporal‐parietal junction, pregenual anterior cingulate cortex/ventromedial prefrontal cortex (pgACC/vmPFC), parahippocampus during perception of the ZT illusion. Furthermore, we observe that increased theta power significantly predicts a gradual positive change in the intensity of the ZT illusion. Such changes may suggest a malfunction of the sensory gating system that enables habituation to redundant stimuli and suppresses hyperactivity. It could also suggest a successful retrieval of the memory of the missing frequencies, resulting in their conscious perception indicating the role of higher‐order processing in the mechanism of action of ZT illusions. To establish a more concrete relationship between ZT illusion and chronic tinnitus, future longitudinal studies following up a much larger sample of participants who reliably perceive a ZT illusion to see if they develop tinnitus at a later stage is essential. This could inform us if the ZT illusion may be a precursor to chronic tinnitus.     

纯钛表面酸碱处理及生物矿化的初步研究

目的:探讨不同的酸、碱处理条件下纯钛表面生物矿化沉积磷灰石层的差异。方法:对商用纯钛分别采用磨光处理、酸处理、酸碱处理或酸碱及热处理,然后放入模拟体液(SBF)中矿化处理7天;采用SEM观察试样表面的形貌,采用XRD分析试样表面沉积层的相组成。结果:经酸碱处理后纯钛形成微粗糙表面,随着碱液浓度的升高和采用热处理,试样表面的粗糙度增加且更均匀;经碱液处理的试样矿化后其表面出现磷灰石沉积层;而未处理组未发现磷灰石沉积层;XRD图谱分析发现矿化表面沉积物为HCA,钙磷比为1.37。结论:碱液处理有利于磷灰石层的形成,而改变碱液浓度和是否采用热处理对磷灰石沉积能力有影响。     

纯钛爪型肋骨接骨板对骨折内固定术后 并发症的影响分析

〔摘 要〕 目的：探讨肋骨接骨板对骨折内固定术后并发症的影响。 方法：选取 2018 年 2 月至 2020 年 2 月于英德市中医 院就诊的 165 例多发肋骨骨折患者,根据治疗方法不同分为两组,对照组 80 例采用传统局部加压包扎疗法,观察组 85 例 采用纯钛爪型肋骨接骨板内固定术治疗。比较两组住院时间、止痛药物使用剂量、引流管放置时间、疼痛评分、术后并发 症等情况。 结果：观察组患者住院时间、引流管放置时间短于对照组,止痛药物使用剂量少于对照组,视觉模拟评分法（VAS） 评分低于对照组,差异均具有统计学意义（P ＜ 0.05）;观察组患者骨折移位、胸廓畸形、迟发性血气胸、肺部感染、肺 不张等术后并发症总发生率低于对照组,差异具有统计学意义（P ＜ 0.05）。 结论：与传统的保守治疗相比,纯钛爪型肋 骨接骨板对骨折内固定术的效果更佳,并发症更少,患者住院时间更短,加速患者康复,减轻患者疼痛感,且手术安全有效, 具有操作微创、简便等优点。