Reference Speech-recognition curves for a German monosyllabic test in noise: effects of loudspeaker configuration and room acoustics.

Objective: Measurement of reference speech-recognition curves for a specific speech test in typical clinical testing environments and for different loudspeaker configurations.

Design: Speech-recognition scores were measured at four signal-to-noise ratios for five loudspeaker configurations in two anechoic rooms, and in four audiometric test rooms with low reverberation times.

Study Sample: 240 young participants (aged 18-25 years) without hearing impairment participated in the measurements.

New insights into Early Celtic consumption practices: Organic residue analyses of local and imported pottery from Vix-Mont Lassois.

The rich Mediterranean imports found in Early Celtic princely sites (7th-5th cent. BC) in Southwestern Germany, Switzerland and Eastern France have long been the focus of archaeological and public interest. Consumption practices, particularly in the context of feasting, played a major role in Early Celtic life and imported ceramic vessels have consequently been interpreted as an attempt by the elite to imitate Mediterranean wine feasting.

Impact of Lexical Parameters and Audibility on the Recognition of the Freiburg Monosyllabic Speech Test.

Objective: Correct word recognition is generally determined by audibility, but lexical parameters also play a role. The focus of this study was to examine both the impact of audibility and lexical parameters on speech recognition of test words of the clinical German Freiburg monosyllabic speech test, and subsequently on the perceptual imbalance of test lists observed in the literature.

Design: For 160 participants with normal hearing that were divided into three groups with different simulated hearing thresholds, monaural speech recognition for the Freiburg monosyllabic speech test was obtained via headphones in quiet at different presentation levels.

The Cologne pouch procedure for continent anal urinary diversion in children with bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex.

Introduction: In children who remain incontinent after reconstruction of bladder exstrophy-epispadias complex (BEEC), continent anal urinary diversion (CAD) is one option to achieve continence. Known problems after CAD are an increased stool frequency and ureterointestinal stenosis. We devised a new surgical technique of CAD that we named the "Cologne pouch procedure" (CPP) that renders the possibility of separate evacuation of urine and feces.

A Phoneme Perception Test Method for High-Frequency Hearing Aid Fitting.

Background: Outcomes with hearing aids (HAs) can be assessed using various speech tests, but many tests are not sensitive to changes in high-frequency audibility.

Purpose: A Phoneme Perception Test (PPT), designed for the phonemes /s/ and /ʃ/, has been developed to investigate whether detection and recognition tasks are able to measure individual differences in phoneme audibility and recognition for various hearing instrument settings. These capabilities were studied using two different fricative stimulus materials.

Open Versus Closed Hearing-Aid Fittings: A Literature Review of Both Fitting Approaches.

One of the main issues in hearing-aid fittings is the abnormal perception of the user's own voice as too loud, "boomy," or "hollow." This phenomenon known as the occlusion effect be reduced by large vents in the earmolds or by open-fit hearing aids. This review provides an overview of publications related to open and closed hearing-aid fittings.

Preoperative decision making for renal cell carcinoma: cystic morphology in cross-sectional imaging might predict lower malignant potential.

Objectives: Several histologic studies showed more favorable oncologic outcome for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with cystic change. However, there is no prognostic tool to judge on cystic RCC preoperatively. We hypothesized, that cystic morphology in cross-sectional imaging predicts lower malignant potential.

Identification of 14 new alleles at the fucosyltransferase 1, 2, and 3 loci in Styrian blood donors, Austria.

Background: Genes for fucosyltransferases 1 (FUT1:H), 2 (FUT2:Secretor), and 3 (FUT3:Lewis) encode enzymes crucial for ABH and Lewis blood group antigen synthesis. They are highly polymorphic and ethnically and geographically specific.

Study Design And Methods: Genetic variations and allele frequencies of FUT1, FUT2, and FUT3 encoding regions and flanking sequences were analyzed in 100 Styrian blood donors by systematic sequencing.

Juvenile polyposis of the stomach causing recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

We present the case of a 42-year-old man who suffered from recurrent severe upper gastrointestinal bleeding starting from February 2003. Endoscopy showed multiple glassy polyps in the stomach, which corresponded to a diffuse mucosal thickening detected by endosonography. The duodenum was normal.

CD24 expression in urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract correlates with tumour progression.

Expression of the mucin-like adhesion molecule CD24 has been implicated in the progression of several types of cancer and has been identified as new prognostic factor. We evaluated CD24 expression in 268 consecutive cases of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma with respect to associations with tumour stage, grade, angioinvasion and infiltrative growth pattern using a tissue microarray technique and correlated data with patient outcome. CD24 expression was demonstrated in 161/259 (62%) evaluable tumours and was associated with high tumour stage [77/139 (55%) pTa/pT1 vs 84/120 (70%) pT2-pT4; P=0.

Human gene therapy and imaging in neurological diseases.

Molecular imaging aims to assess non-invasively disease-specific biological and molecular processes in animal models and humans in vivo. Apart from precise anatomical localisation and quantification, the most intriguing advantage of such imaging is the opportunity it provides to investigate the time course (dynamics) of disease-specific molecular events in the intact organism. Further, molecular imaging can be used to address basic scientific questions, e.