Musical training modulates encoding of higher-order regularities in the auditory cortex

We investigated the effect of long-term musical training on the time course of development of neuronal representations within the auditory cortex by means of magnetoencephalography. In musicians but not in nonmusicians, pre-attentive encoding of a complex regularity within a tone sequence was evident by a constant increase of the pattern mismatch negativity within < 10 min. The group difference was more pronounced in the left hemisphere, indicating stronger plastic changes in its structures supporting temporal analysis and sound pattern encoding. The results suggest an effect of long-term musical training on short-term auditory learning processes. This has implications not only for cognitive neuroscience in showing how short-term and long-term neuronal plasticity can interact within the auditory cortex, but also for educational and clinical applications of implicit auditory learning where beneficial effects of (musical) experience might be exploited.     

Temporal resolution in young and elderly subjects as measured by mismatch negativity and a psychoacoustic gap detection task.

OBJECTIVES: The speech understanding difficulties of elderly persons with age-related hearing loss may be related in part to reduced auditory temporal resolution. To investigate the effects of aging on temporal resolution, the electrophysiological and psychoacoustic detection thresholds for a very short silent gap within a pure tone were determined, and the relation between the two test results was examined. METHODS: Behavioral gap detection thresholds were determined in 10 young and 10 elderly normally hearing subjects using an adaptive test procedure. To elicit mismatch negativity (MMN), deviant stimuli with gap durations varying from 6 to 24 ms in 3 ms steps were presented in separate test blocks. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the psychoacoustic gap detection thresholds between young and elderly subjects. In contrast, longer gaps were needed to elicit MMN in elderly subjects. They also had significantly reduced MMN peak amplitudes, increased MMN peak latencies, a significantly smaller P2 amplitude and longer P2 latency in their responses to the standard stimulus when compared to the same measures in young subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Processing of basic temporal stimulus features in elderly subjects is considerably more reduced at the preattentive level (as indicated by MMN), than when attention is directed to the task (as indicated by the psychoacoustic results).     

Residential mobility and behavioural problems in children: results from the GINIplus and LISAplus studies

Aim

Residential mobility during childhood has been associated with several adverse health outcomes. The present study investigates the influence of residential mobility during childhood measured by the frequency of moves, the child’s age at the time of the move and the total distance moved on the development of behavioural problems in school-age children.

Subject and methods

Data (N?=?2,933) of two German population-based, prospective birth-cohort studies were used. Measurement of children’s residential mobility is based on the addresses at birth, 2, 6 and 10 years, which were collected by questionnaires and subsequently geocoded. Behavioural outcomes were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire applied at 10-year follow-up. Multiple logistic regression analyses controlling for sex and age of the child, study centre, parental educational level, mother’s age at birth, single parent status and child’s time spent in front of a screen were applied.

Results

Children with two or more relocations—odds ratio (OR) = 1.95, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.23–3.11—who moved at school age (OR = 1.97, CI = 1.17–3.31) or who moved more than 50 km in total (OR = 1.76, CI = 1.03–3.00) showed a significantly increased risk for the development of behavioural problems measured by the Total Difficulties Score compared to children who have never moved. Moving during early childhood and moving only short distance (less than 10 km in total) were not associated with behavioural problems.

Conclusion

Increased residential mobility during childhood and especially moves at school age may negatively affect children’s later behaviour. Prevention may consist in parental or teacher’s support of children to cope with moving.     

Trends in susceptibility of selected gram-negative bacilli isolated from intra-abdominal infections in North America: SMART 2005–2010

This report summarizes data from the Study for Monitoring Antimicrobial Resistance Trends 2005–2010 to identify trends in susceptibility from intra-abdominal infections in North America. Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were the most frequently isolated pathogens. Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase rates (%) in 2005/2010 for E. coli and K. pneumoniae were 1.7/7.3 and 3.2/13.1, respectively. Ertapenem, imipenem, amikacin, and cefoxitin showed stable susceptibility.     

Biomarkers of oxidative stress, antioxidant defence and inflammation are altered in the senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8

In this study we compared biomarkers of oxidative stress, stress response, antioxidant defence and inflammation between mice (n = 10 per group, female, 7 months old) with an accelerated (SAMP8) and a normal ageing phenotype (SAMR1). As compared to SAMR1 mice, SAMP8 mice exhibited higher levels of lipid peroxides and protein carbonyls as well as a lower activity of the proteasomal subunit β-5. Furthermore, heme oxygenase-1 and paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) status was lower in SAMP8 mice indicating impaired stress response. Biomarkers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein and serum amyloid P were elevated in SAMP8 mice. Interestingly, impaired stress response and increased inflammation in SAMP8 mice were associated with elevated concentrations of ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol in the liver. An age-dependent increase in hepatic vitamin E and a decline in PON-1 gene expression were also observed in aged compared to young C57BL/6 mice.     

Structured education program improves the coping with atopic dermatitis in children and their parents—a multicenter, randomized controlled trial

Objective

The objective of this study was to prove training-specific effects in children with atopic dermatitis (AD) and their parents concerning coping with the disease after their participation in a training program. In the 1-year follow-up, the changes in the training group were compared to the changes in a waiting control group while controlling the effects of the changes in severity scores.

Methods

One hundred eighty-five children aged 8-12 years and their parents participated in the study. Complete data sets at the 1-year follow-up were available for 185 parent-child pairs (102 training group; 83 waiting control group). In addition to the severity of the AD [measured with the Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD)], data on children's itching-scratching cognitions and coping behavior and on parents handling their affected children were used in the analysis. To study whether the intervention group experienced an additional psychological benefit, which is not due to the SCORAD values, analyses of covariance with repeated measures with standardized residual change scores of the SCORAD as covariate were calculated.

Results

The intervention group showed greater improvement in children's coping behavior and in parents' handling their affected children. Additional effects of the training program not due to somatic improvement could be seen in the scales of itching-scratching cognitions and in three of four scales on parents dealing with their affected children.

Conclusion

The training program, which was tested in the German Atopic Dermatitis Intervention Study, had effects on almost all explored psychological variables. Therefore, additional psychological benefit in the training group does not only depend on the greater improvement of SCORAD values in this group.     

Effect of prostacyclin on platelets,polymorphonuclear cells,and heterotypic cell aggregation during hemofiltration

OBJECTIVES: Hemodialysis activates both platelets and leukocytes, which play a role in the development of multiple organ dysfunctions in critically ill patients. Prostacyclin inhibits both cell types. To examine the hypothesis that prostacyclin prevents cellular activation during clinical hemofiltration, we investigated the expression of activation markers on platelets and leukocytes using whole blood flow cytometry. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. SETTING: Intensive care unit. PATIENTS: A total of 24 consecutive, critically ill, mechanically ventilated patients with acute renal failure secondary to sepsis or major surgery. INTERVENTIONS: For anticoagulation during hemofiltration, patients received either unfractionated heparin or unfractionated heparin and prostacyclin (5 ng x kg(-1) x min(-1)). Anticoagulants were administered into the extracorporeal circuit before the hemofilter. Blood samples were obtained from an arterial catheter before hemofiltration and from the inlet and outlet lines of the extracorporeal circuit at 1 and 24 hrs during hemofiltration. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Expression of GP IIb-IIIa and P-selectin on adenosine diphosphate-activated platelets and platelet-leukocyte aggregation were significantly lower after the passage of blood through the hemofilter in patients receiving an extracorporeal infusion of prostacyclin plus heparin when compared with control patients receiving heparin only. There were no statistically significant differences in the expression of CD11b on leukocytes between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that prostacyclin reversibly inhibits platelet function by diminishing the expression of platelet fibrinogen receptors and P-selectin and reduces heterotypic platelet-leukocyte aggregation during clinical hemofiltration. However, prostacyclin fails to inhibit leukocyte activation at clinically relevant doses.     

Short-term event recording as a measure to rule out false alarms and to shorten the duration of home monitoring in infants

Apnea and cardiorespiratory home monitors are commonly used for electronic surveillance of infants. Frequent alarms can be very stressful for parents and lead to unnecessarily prolonged home monitoring. The aims of this study were to determine the frequency and type of significant events by using short-term home event recordings of respiratory, electrocardiogram and oxygenation patterns, to consider the pros and cons of oxygenation recording, to correlate the findings with observations made by parents and to find out whether parents could be reassured by the use of these monitors. We investigated recordings from 26 healthy symptomless infants (14 male, 12 female) whose parents experienced anxiety and stress owing to frequent alarms on their apnea (n = 2) or cardiorespiratory home monitors (n = 24). 770 events were analyzed and compared with the parents' interpretation. Median duration of monitoring was 10 days. Only 39/770 alarms (5.1%) were classified as true alarms. Of these, 30 alarms (76.9%) were misinterpreted as false alarms by parents. In contrast, of 218 alarms regarded as true by parents only 15 (6.9%) were in fact true, alarms. The comparison of monitor data and the parents' reports showed no correlation in interpretation of alarms, for both true (r = 0.06) and false alarms (r = -0.09). Of 283 oxygenation alarms, only two were due to real desaturation. Following short-term monitoring, 21/26 parents (80.7%) declared they were reassured. Monitoring could immediately be discontinued in 17/26 infants (65.4%). Short-term event recording can clarify the significance of frequent alarms, reassure parents and shorten the duration of home monitoring.