Generating keywords improves metacomprehension and self-regulation in elementary and middle school children.

The ability to monitor understanding of texts, usually referred to as metacomprehension accuracy, is typically quite poor in adult learners; however, recently interventions have been developed to improve accuracy. In two experiments, we evaluated whether generating delayed keywords prior to judging comprehension improved metacomprehension accuracy for children. For sixth and seventh graders, metacomprehension accuracy was greater when generating keywords.

Impact of early life stress on alcohol consumption and on the short- and long-term responses to alcohol in adolescent female rats.

We examined the interaction between early life stress and vulnerability to alcohol in female rats exposed to prenatal restraint stress (PRS rats). First we studied the impact of PRS on ethanol preference during adolescence. PRS slightly increased ethanol preference per se, but abolished the effect of social isolation on ethanol preference.

Republished review: Mitral regurgitation in patients with aortic stenosis undergoing valve replacement.

Mitral regurgitation is a frequent finding in patients with aortic stenosis scheduled for aortic valve replacement. Detection of mitral regurgitation in such patients has important implications, as it can independently affect functional status and prognosis. When mitral regurgitation is moderate to severe, a decision to operate on both valves should only be made following a careful clinical and echocardiographic assessment.

Genetic Linkage Analysis of 15 DFNB Loci in a Group of Iranian Families with Autosomal Recessive Hearing Loss.

Background: Hearing loss (HL) is the most frequent sensory birth defect in humans. Autosomal recessive non-syndromic HL (ARNSHL) is the most common type of hereditary HL. It is extremely heterogeneous and over 70 loci (known as DFNB) have been identified.

Functional null mutations of MSRB3 encoding methionine sulfoxide reductase are associated with human deafness DFNB74.

The DFNB74 locus for autosomal-recessive, nonsyndromic deafness segregating in three families was previously mapped to a 5.36 Mb interval on chromosome 12q14.2-q15.

A genome-wide analysis of population structure in the Finnish Saami with implications for genetic association studies.

The understanding of patterns of genetic variation within and among human populations is a prerequisite for successful genetic association mapping studies of complex diseases and traits. Some populations are more favorable for association mapping studies than others. The Saami from northern Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula represent a population isolate that, among European populations, has been less extensively sampled, despite some early interest for association mapping studies.

Impact of prosthesis-patient mismatch on mitral regurgitation after aortic valve replacement.

Background: Mitral regurgitation is frequently observed in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic stenosis and often improves postoperatively, mainly due to left ventricular remodelling and changes in loading conditions. Aortic prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) is associated with poor outcome and lesser left ventricular remodelling. This study tested the hypothesis that aortic PPM affects mitral regurgitation.

Multiple enhancers located in a 1-Mb region upstream of POU3F4 promote expression during inner ear development and may be required for hearing.

POU3F4 encodes a POU-domain transcription factor required for inner ear development. Defects in POU3F4 function are associated with X-linked deafness type 3 (DFN3). Multiple deletions affecting up to ~900-kb upstream of POU3F4 are found in DFN3 patients, suggesting the presence of essential POU3F4 enhancers in this region.

Genetic variants in RELN are associated with otosclerosis in a non-European population from Tunisia.

Otosclerosis is a common form of conductive hearing loss, caused by an abnormal bone remodelling in the otic capsule. Both environmental and genetic factors have been implicated in the etiology of this disease. A recent genome wide association study identified two regions associated with otosclerosis, one on chr7q22.

The etiology of otosclerosis: a combination of genes and environment.

Otosclerosis is a common form of hearing loss characterized by abnormal bone remodeling in the otic capsule. It is a complex genetic disease, caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. During the past decade, several attempts have been made to identify factors for otosclerosis.

Role of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor gene content and human leukocyte antigen-C group in susceptibility to human T-lymphotropic virus 1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis in Peru.

Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) affects approximately 5% of HTLV-1-infected individuals. It is poorly understood why only some infected subjects develop this disease, but host genetic factors may determine susceptibility. The innate immune system may influence disease outcome in HTLV-1-infected individuals because of its role in early immune responses to viral infections.

Evaluation of contractile function and inotropic reserve with tissue velocity, strain and strain rate imaging in streptozotocin-induced diabetes.

Aims: The aim of the present study was to evaluate left ventricular (LV) function and contractile reserve (CR) with Doppler myocardial imaging (DMI) in a small animal model for type 1 diabetes.

Methods And Results: Cardiac function was assessed in anaesthetized Wistar rats 6 and 8 weeks after injection of 60 mg/kg of streptozotocin. At 6 weeks of diabetes, colour DMI echocardiography was performed at rest and during incremental dosages of dobutamine (5, 10, 20 microg/kg/min).

High frequency of the p.R34X mutation in the TMC1 gene associated with nonsyndromic hearing loss is due to founder effects.

Founder mutations, particularly 35delG in the GJB2 gene, have to a large extent contributed to the high frequency of autosomal recessive nonsyndromic hearing loss (ARNSHL). Mutations in transmembrane channel-like gene 1 (TMC1) cause ARNSHL. The p.

Heritability of audiometric shape parameters and familial aggregation of presbycusis in an elderly Flemish population.

This study describes the heritability of audiometric shape parameters and the familial aggregation of different types of presbycusis in a healthy, otologically screened population between 50 and 75 years old. About 342 siblings of 64 families (average family-size: 5.3) were recruited through population registries.

A novel DFNB1 deletion allele supports the existence of a distant cis-regulatory region that controls GJB2 and GJB6 expression.

Eleven affected members of a large German-American family segregating recessively inherited, congenital, non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) were found to be homozygous for the common 35delG mutation of GJB2, the gene encoding the gap junction protein Connexin 26. Surprisingly, four additional family members with bilateral profound SNHL carried only a single 35delG mutation. Previously, we demonstrated reduced expression of both GJB2 and GJB6 mRNA from the allele carried in trans with that bearing the 35delG mutation in these four persons.

Involvement of T-cell receptor-beta alterations in the development of otosclerosis linked to OTSC2.

Otosclerosis is a common form of hearing loss, characterized by disordered bone remodeling in the otic capsule. Within the otosclerotic foci, several immunocompetent cells and immune-modulating factors can be found. Different etiological theories involving the immune system have been suggested.

Evaluation of host genetic and viral factors as surrogate markers for HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis in Peruvian HTLV-1-infected patients.

Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 (HTLV-1)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a complication that affects up to 5% of HTLV-1-infected individuals. Several host genetic and viral factors have been associated with the risk of HAM/TSP. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a prognostic model for HAM/TSP developed in Japan in a Peruvian population of 71 HAM/TSP patients and 94 asymptomatic carriers (ACs).

A genome-wide association study for age-related hearing impairment in the Saami.

This study aimed at contributing to the elucidation of the genetic basis of age-related hearing impairment (ARHI), a common multifactorial disease with an important genetic contribution as demonstrated by heritability studies. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the Finnish Saami, a small, ancient, genetically isolated population without evidence of demographic expansion. The choice of this study population was motivated by its anticipated higher extent of LD, potentially offering a substantial power advantage for association mapping.

Pericardial effusion in atrial fibrillation ablation: a comparison between cryoballoon and radiofrequency pulmonary vein isolation.

Aims: Atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is increasingly being performed in electrophysiology laboratories. Pericardial effusion (PE) is certainly one of the most frequently observed complications during AF ablation. The aim of our study was to investigate the incidence and outcome of PE following cryothermal energy balloon ablation (CBA) in comparison with conventional circumferential pulmonary vein isolation with a focal radiofrequency (RF) catheter.

Genome-wide SNP analysis reveals no gain in power for association studies of common variants in the Finnish Saami.

The Saami from Fennoscandia are believed to represent an ancient, genetically isolated population with no evidence of population expansion. Theoretical work has indicated that under this demographic scenario, extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD) is generated by genetic drift. Therefore, it has been suggested that the Saami would be particularly suited for genetic association studies, offering a substantial power advantage and allowing more economic study designs.

Effect of high-intensity ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction on perfusion and function of the rat heart assessed by pinhole-gated SPECT.

Although ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) has been shown to induce bioeffects, UTMD is still desirable for therapeutic applications. Therefore, we studied the effects of UTMD on perfusion and function of the rat heart, assessed by (99m)Tc-MIBI pinhole-gated SPECT (Ph-gSPECT) compared with biomarker release and histopathology. Fifty-two male Wistar rats were studied.