An Italian matrix sentence test for the evaluation of speech intelligibility in noise

Objective: Development of an Italian matrix sentence test for the assessment of speech intelligibility in noise. Design: The development of the test included the selection, recording, optimization with level adjustment, and evaluation of speech material. The training effect was assessed adaptively during the evaluation measurements with six lists of 20 sentences, using open- and closed-set response formats. Reference data were established for normal-hearing listeners with adaptive measurements. Equivalence of the test lists was investigated using the open-set response format at three signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Study sample: A total of 55 normal-hearing Italian mother-tongue listeners. Results: The evaluation measurements at fixed SNRs resulted in a mean speech reception threshold (SRT) of ? 7.3 ± 0.2 dB SNR and slope of 13.3 ± 1.2 %/dB. The major training effect of 1.5 dB was observed for the first two consecutive measurements. Mean SRTs of ? 6.7 ± 0.7 dB SNR and ? 7.4 ± 0.7 dB SNR were found from the third to the sixth adaptive measurement for open- and closed-set test response formats, respectively. Conclusions: A good agreement has been found between the SRTs and slope and those of other matrix tests. Since sentences are difficult to memorize, the Italian matrix test is suitable for repeated measurements.     

Increasing atrial fibrillation: What is the cause?

A 72‐year‐old woman with a history of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) and sinus node dysfunction is seen in clinic for routine follow‐up.     

Morgana acts as a proto‐oncogene through inhibition of a ROCK–PTEN pathway

Morgana/CHP‐1 is a ubiquitously expressed protein able to inhibit ROCK II kinase activity. We have previously demonstrated that morgana haploinsufficiency leads to multiple centrosomes, genomic instability, and higher susceptibility to tumour development. While a large fraction of human cancers has shown morgana down‐regulation, a small subset of tumours was shown to express high morgana levels. Here we demonstrate that high morgana expression in different breast cancer subtypes correlates with high tumour grade, mitosis number, and lymph node positivity. Moreover, morgana overexpression induces transformation in NIH‐3T3 cells and strongly protects them from various apoptotic stimuli. From a mechanistic point of view, we demonstrate that morgana causes PTEN destabilization, by inhibiting ROCK activity, hence triggering the PI3K/AKT survival pathway. In turn, morgana down‐regulation in breast cancer cells that express high morgana levels increases PTEN expression and leads to sensitization of cells to chemotherapy. Copyright © 2014 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd     

Craniofacial bone atrophy in Parry Romberg syndrome demonstrated using a Bayesian hierarchical model

PurposeParry Romberg syndrome (PRS) is a condition characterized by progressive hemifacial atrophy, predominantly affecting the soft tissues. Associated bone retraction is a common clinical feature of PRS but has never been assessed. Here we used 3D imaging and Bayesian statistics in order to demonstrate and quantify bone atrophy in PRS.Materials and methodsTen non-operated patients with PRS (4/10 males) and 12 age-matched controls (7/12 males) were included into the study. The average age at CT-scan was 9.67 ± 4.13 years for PRS patients and 12.5 ± 4.37 years for controls. Soft and hard tissue atrophy levels were quantified using computed tomography scans, based on the distances between surfaces of the affected side and the non-affected contralateral side, both for the skin and the bone. We used a hierarchical Bayesian model with clinical priors in order to assess the relationship between hard and soft tissue atrophies.ResultsPRS patients had significant hard tissue atrophy, and atrophy extents were similar for soft and hard tissues. There was a trend for a correlation between the extent of hard tissue retraction and the extent of soft tissue retraction, and we could not demonstrate that the relationship between hard and soft tissue retractions was different in PRS and controls.ConclusionOur results indicated that bone atrophy was most probably a primary process rather than a phenomenon secondary to soft tissue retraction. We have provided the first assessment of bone atrophy in PRS patients using Bayesian statistics.     

Thylakoid potassium channel is required for efficient photosynthesis in cyanobacteria

A potassium channel (SynK) of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, a photoheterotrophic model organism for the study of photosynthesis, has been recently identified and demonstrated to function as a potassium selective channel when expressed in a heterologous system and to be located predominantly to the thylakoid membrane in cyanobacteria. To study its physiological role, a SynK-less knockout mutant was generated and characterized. Fluorimetric experiments indicated that SynK-less cyanobacteria cannot build up a proton gradient as efficiently as WT organisms, suggesting that SynK might be involved in the regulation of the electric component of the proton motive force. Accordingly, measurements of flash-induced cytochrome b(6)f turnover and respiration pointed to a reduced generation of ΔpH and to an altered linear electron transport in mutant cells. The lack of the channel did not cause an altered membrane organization, but decreased growth and modified the photosystem II/photosystem I ratio at high light intensities because of enhanced photosensitivity. These data shed light on the function of a prokaryotic potassium channel and reports evidence, by means of a genetic approach, on the requirement of a thylakoid ion channel for optimal photosynthesis.