Effects of passive smoking on odour identification in children.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The effect of passive smoking on odour identification in children has rarely been reported. This study assessed the ability of such young subjects to identify a variety of odours. METHODS: The study population consisted of 20 children, 10 who were exposed to passive smoke at home and 10 with nonsmoking parents. Ten odourants were tested: vinegar, ammonia, peppermint, roses, bleach, vanilla, cough drops, turpentine, licorice, and mothballs. Each child was presented with five test trays containing all 10 odourants in random order. RESULTS: Of the total of 500 odours presented, the control group correctly identified 396 (79%) and the study group identified 356 (71%) (p < .005). The study group tended to misidentify 4 of the 10 odourants tested, namely, vanilla, roses, mothballs, and cough drops-56 of 200 (28%), compared with 96 of 200 (48%) in the control group. This was a highly significant finding (p < .0005). CONCLUSION: This work demonstrated that children exposed to passive smoke have difficulty identifying odours in comparison with children raised in relatively smoke-free environments. The identification of four odourants, vanilla, roses, mothballs, and cough drops, was particularly diminished in this study group.     

Clinical study of smoking cessation clinic subjects

The Cigarette-associated diseases will be decreased only by stopping smoking. At a smoking cessation clinic, we evaluated 22 subjects for smoking cessation after a three-month smoking cessation program. The program was completed by 20 subjects, or 90%, of whom 15, or 68%, quit smoking. Varenicline tartrate was used to treat 90% of subject, of whom 8, or 40%, suffered nausea. This was treated using an anti-nausea agent, which relieved symptoms immediately.     

The effect of specific compression settings on phoneme identification in hearing-impaired subjects

In this study, some aspects of single-channel compression have been investigated in 15 hearing-impaired subjects and 4 normal-hearing listeners. Phoneme perception as a function of the compression-threshold level was measured for two hearing aids with input-dependent compression, differing in compression ratio and compression recovery time. Phoneme-identification scores, obtained by different hearing aids under similar conditions, did not differ significantly. However, there was a small but significant increase in identification scores for the lowest setting of the compression threshold. Some qualitative differences in the patterns of confusion could also be established. There are indications that compression reduces the relative contribution of frication and enhances the contribution of the second formant of vowels in phoneme perception.     

Effects of cigarette smoking on distortion product otoacoustic emissions

This study measured distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and DPOAE input/output (I/O) curves to assess the effects of smoking on cochlear function. Twenty-four healthy adults, 12 smokers and 12 nonsmokers in the 20-30 years age range were selected based on self-reported histories of five to eight years of smoking or no smoking, respectively. All subjects received tympanometric screening to rule out middle ear pathology. Conventional (0.25-8 kHz) and ultra high frequency (UHF; 10-20 kHz) audiometry showed normal or age-appropriate thresholds across both groups. DPOAE results showed small, but significant, decline in DPOAE levels without concomitant changes in noise floors in smokers as compared to nonsmokers. I/O detection thresholds were also significantly elevated at high frequencies in smokers as compared to their nonsmoking counterparts. These findings indicate that smokers are at greater risk for cochlear damage than nonsmokers, and that DPOAE amplitudes and I/O detection thresholds may identify early changes in cochlear function in smokers.     

Analysis of factors influencing sensitization of Japanese cedar pollen in asymptomatic subjects

Objective

Japanese cedar pollinosis is increasing rapidly in Japan. Although analysis has been made concerning the factors influencing the development of the cedar pollinosis, analysis concerning the risk factors influencing the sensitization in asymptomatic subjects has not been done.

Methods

Risk factors for sensitization to Japanese cedar pollen were analyzed among 73 subjects (32 men and 41 women) who do not develop symptoms of pollinosis at the time of Japanese cedar pollen scattering. Their ages ranged from 18 to 60 years with the mean of 34.1 years. Possible factors influencing sensitization were investigated through a written questionnaire and doctors’ questioning. Japanese cedar-specific IgE titers and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus-specific IgE titers in the serum were measured by CAP-FEIA (fluorescent enzyme immunoassay).

Results

Of the 73 subjects, 26 were sensitized to the Japanese cedar pollen, for a 36% sensitization rate. Among the eleven factors examined, only one factor was shown to significantly influence the sensitization rate to Japanese cedar pollen. It was sensitization to house dust mites (56.5% vs. 26.0% χ² value = 6.27, p = 0.012). The sensitization rate to the pollen did not correlate to the presence of other allergic diseases, history of rhinosinusitis, family history of Japanese cedar pollinosis, food preference, presence or absence of cedar trees in the surroundings, present living circumstances, childhood circumstances, age, sex, or smoking habits. We calculated odds ratios in order to estimate how much those factors influence the sensitization to Japanese cedar pollen. Significantly high odds ratio for sensitization to house dust mite (6.63; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.76–32.2) was found.

Conclusion

The present study indicates that sensitization to the pollen in the subjects without pollinosis is influenced by sensitization to house dust mite.     

听力正常人噪声下汉语普通话声调识别成绩-强度函数的研究

目的　获得噪声下声调识别测试（t o n e identification in noise test,TINT）材料的听力正常人识别成绩-强度（performance-intensity,PI）函数。方法　利用已确立的TINT测试材料对16名年龄在21～28岁、以普通话作为日常交流语言的听力正常人进行声调识别测试,使用SPSS17.0统计软件对结果进行分析。结果　听力正常成人PI 斜率分别为8.6%/dB（男声）、7.3%/dB（女声）（P =0.11）;听力正常成人PI函数信噪比50阈值分别为男声（-12.9±0.8）dB、女声（-13.6±1）dB（t =2.7,P =0.016）;声调类型和播音者性别对PI曲线阈值的影响即存在交互作用（F =11.7,P＜0.001)、亦存在独立作用（声调类型：F =83.7,P＜0.001;播音员性别：F =31.0,P＜0.05),其中听力正常人一声和四声识别阈值明显低于二声和三声识别阈值。结论　本研究初步建立基于TINT测试材料的听力正常人噪声下声调识别PI函 数,以期为临床工作和科学研究提供一个可选择的测量工具。     

春季花粉浓度对过敏性鼻炎患者的影响

目的 探讨春季花粉浓度及其对过敏性鼻炎(AR)患者的发病时间及临床症状的影响.方法 使用Durhum花粉采集仪监测北京城区2011年3～6月花粉的浓度和种属;过敏原皮肤点刺试验筛选春季花粉过敏的AR患者,分为单纯花粉过敏患者组(单纯组)及花粉并常年性过敏原过敏患者组(混合组),两组患者均予症状评估,并分析其发病时间与花...     

The identification of language impairment in the selection of specifically language-impaired subjects

This review focused on the methods used to identify language impairment in specifically language-impaired subjects participating in 72 research studies that were described in four journals from 1983 to 1988. The single most frequent source of information used in the identification process was found to be test data. There was, however, considerable variability and, often, a lack of clarity regarding the specific number and identity of tests used. More specific findings on test use indicated that researchers routinely assessed both expressive and receptive language and that they used incomplete tests. When test scores used in identification and selection were examined, there was a wide range of score types, and age-equivalent scores were by far the most common and often the only type of score utilized. Conclusions are drawn regarding the impact of these findings on the interpretation and generalizability of this research literature.     

Effects of oxymetazoline on the ventilation of paranasal sinuses in healthy subjects

BACKGROUND: Impairment of sinus ostial function is considered an important factor in the pathophysiology of sinus disease. The use of the decongestants such as alpha2-agonists is thought to improve sinus ostial function. Previous studies have shown an effect of alpha2-agonists on maxillary sinus ostial function only when administered in nasal bellows, but not as a nasal spray or nasal drops. The effect of decongestants on ventilation of the frontal and posterior ethmoidal and sphenoidal sinuses has not been studied to date. METHODS: In this study, the 133-xenon washout method was used to determine ventilation for all paranasal sinuses before and after administration of oxymetazoline as nasal drops in eight subjects and from nasal bellows in nine healthy subjects. RESULTS: No significant effect of oxymetazoline on sinus ventilation was seen in either group. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that alpha2-agonists do not have any effect on sinus ventilation in healthy subjects. However, one cannot exclude that decongestants improve sinus ventilation in patients suffering from sinus disease and this requires further studies.     

Effects of stimulus conditions on vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in healthy subjects

Background: Characteristics of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) depend on stimulus conditions.

Objective: To determine the optimal stimulus conditions for cervical and ocular VEMPs.

Methods: Participants were 23 healthy subjects. We compared air-conducted cervical and ocular VEMPs elicited by various tone-burst conditions (frequencies 500–1,000?Hz, rise/fall times 1–2?ms, and plateau times 0–6?ms) with an intensity of 105?dB normal hearing level. Effects of simultaneous contralateral masking noise on VEMPs were also evaluated.

Results: The largest cervical VEMP amplitudes were elicited by 500–750?Hz and 2–6?ms plateau time-tone-bursts, and the largest ocular VEMP amplitudes by 750?Hz and 2–4?ms plateau time-tone-bursts. Repeatability of the latency was better at 1?ms than at 2?ms rise/fall time in both VEMPs. In both VEMPs, masking noise reduced amplitude, and in ocular VEMP, amplitudes were significantly larger at the left ear stimulation than the right.

Conclusion: Optimal tone-burst stimulation for both VEMPs seemed to be 500–750?Hz frequency and 1/2/1?ms rise/plateau/fall time without contralateral masking noise. Ocular VEMP amplitudes from left ear stimulation were originally larger than those from right ear stimulation.     

Frequency discrimination ability and stop-consonant identification in normally hearing and hearing-impaired subjects

Identification of place of articulation in the synthesized syllables /bi/, /di/, and /gi/ was examined in three groups of listeners: (a) normal hearers, (b) subjects with high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss, and (c) normally hearing subjects listening in noise. Stimuli with an appropriate second formant (F2) transition (moving-F2 stimuli) were compared with stimuli in which F2 was constant (straight-F2 stimuli) to examine the importance of the F2 transition in stop-consonant perception. For straight-F2 stimuli, burst spectrum and F2 frequency were appropriate for the syllable involved. Syllable duration also was a variable, with formant durations of 10, 19, 28, and 44 ms employed. All subjects' identification performance improved as stimulus duration increased. The groups were equivalent in terms of their identification of /di/ and /gi/ syllables, whereas the hearing-impaired and noise-masked normal listeners showed impaired performance for /bi/, particularly for the straight-F2 version. No difference in performance among groups was seen for /di/ and /gi/ stimuli for moving-F2 and straight-F2 versions. Second-formant frequency discrimination measures suggested that subjects' discrimination abilities were not acute enough to take advantage of the formant transition in the /di/ and /gi/ stimuli.     

Effects of repair strategies on visual identification of sentences

This investigation determined whether information elicited by repair strategies enhances an individual's ability to lipread a misperceived sentence. Five groups of subjects were each assigned one of five repair strategies: (a) asking the talker to repeat a sentence, (b) simplify it, (c) rephrase it, (d) say an important keyword, and (e) speak two sentences. Subjects viewed sentences spoken by six different talkers. When a subject did not recite a sentence verbatim, the talker performed the assigned repair strategy and then repeated the original sentence. A control group of subjects saw only the original sentence repeated twice. All five test groups demonstrated a significantly greater improvement for the second presentation score (referenced to the first presentation score) than the control group. The benefits provided by the repair strategies were independent of the talker, and benefits did not differ significantly among the groups.