Predicting Auditory Skill Outcomes After Pediatric Cochlear Implantation Using Preoperative Brain Imaging.

Purpose: Our study used preoperative neuroanatomical features to predict auditory development in Chinese-learning children with cochlear implants (CIs).

Method: T1-weighted whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained from 17 Chinese-learning pediatric CI candidates (12 females and five males, age at MRI = 23.0 ± 15.

Early detection of phlebitis among hematology-oncology patients: a best practice implementation project.

Introduction: Peripherally-inserted venous catheters (PIVC) are essential for cancer patients to receive treatment. Phlebitis is a major complication of PIVC. Currently, nurses' assessment of phlebitis mainly involves visual inspection.

Applying Computer-Based Language Test to Young Children.

Introduction: This study aimed at exploring the feasibility of applying a computer-based language test to young children aged 2-4 years.

Methods: Thirty-two Cantonese-speaking children, aged 2-4 years, were recruited from local kindergartens. All participants underwent an assessment using both the computer-based and paper-pencil versions of the Macau Cantonese Language Screening Scale for Preschool Children, following a crossover study design.

Corrigendum: A Chinese medicine formula (Bushen Huoxue Tongluo) for the treatment of chronic subjective tinnitus: a study protocol for a pilot, assessor-blinded, randomized clinical trial.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.

Clinical performance, safety, and patient-reported outcomes of an active osseointegrated bone-conduction hearing implant system at 24-month follow-up.

Purpose: To investigate 2-year post-operative hearing performance, safety, and patient-reported outcomes of hearing-impaired adults treated with the Osia 2 System, an active osseointegrated bone-conduction hearing implant that uses piezoelectric technology.

Methods: A prospective, multicenter, open-label, single-arm, within-subject clinical study conducted at three tertiary referral clinical centers located in Melbourne, Sydney and Hong Kong. Twenty adult recipients of the Osia 2 System were enrolled and followed up between 12 and 24 months post-implantation: 17 with mixed or conductive hearing loss and 3 with single-sided sensorineural deafness.

The Extent of Hearing Input Affects the Plasticity of the Auditory Cortex in Children With Hearing Loss: A Preliminary Study.

Purpose: This study investigated to what extent residual hearing and rehabilitation options (e.g., hearing aids [HAs]) affect the auditory cortex in children with hearing loss.

Clinical Performance, Safety, and Patient-Reported Outcomes of an Active Osseointegrated Steady-State Implant System.

Objective: To investigate the clinical performance, safety, and patient-reported outcomes of an active osseointegrated steady-state implant system that uses piezoelectric technology.

Study Design: A prospective, multicenter, open-label, single-arm, within-subject clinical investigation.

Setting: Three tertiary referral clinical centers located in Melbourne, Sydney, and Hong Kong.

A Chinese Medicine Formula (Bushen Huoxue Tongluo) for the Treatment of Chronic Subjective Tinnitus: A Study Protocol for a Pilot, Assessor-Blinded, Randomized Clinical Trial.

Tinnitus is a common problem worldwide. There is still no effective method to cure it. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) may be a potentially effective treatment approach for tinnitus.

Comparing Early Pragmatics in Typically Developing Children and Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

This study examined the early pragmatic language skills in typically developing (TD) preschool-age children, children with language impairment (LI) and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two hundred and sixty-two TD children, 73 children with LI, and 16 children with ASD were compared on early pragmatics through direct assessment (DA). Post hoc analysis revealed that children in two clinical groups displayed significant pragmatic language deficits.

Efficacy of Phase 1 of Life Goals Programme on symptom reduction and mood stability for bipolar disorder.

Background: Life Goals Programme (LGP) was developed as a psychological intervention for bipolar disorder, with its structured 6-session psychoeducation phase (Phase 1) targeting understanding of the disorder, medication adherence, early warning signs, and coping with symptoms and triggers. The present study tested the efficacy of Phase 1 of the LGP on symptom recovery and moment-by-moment mood stability, as well as medication adherence and quality of life.

Methods: Adults with bipolar disorder were randomly allocated to the LGP condition (six weekly group sessions) or the waitlist condition (six weeks of standard care, followed by the same LGP intervention).

Moment-to-moment interaction between affectivity and coping behaviours in bipolar disorder and the role of cognitive appraisals.

Background: Individuals with bipolar disorder respond to affective symptoms with a range of coping behaviours, which may further maintain the symptoms.

Aims: To examine moment-to-moment dynamics between affective states and coping behaviours, and to evaluate the role of cognitive appraisals of internal states as moderators.

Method: Forty-six individuals with bipolar disorder completed a clinical interview and an experience sampling assessment over 6 days.

An Application of Item Response Theory and the Rasch Model in Speech Recognition Test Materials.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe an attempt to apply item-response theory (IRT) and the Rasch model to construction of speech-recognition tests. A set of word-recognition test items applicable to children as young as 3 years old-with any level of hearing sensitivity, with or without using hearing devices-was developed.

Method: Test items were constructed through expert consultation and by reference to some established language corpora, validated with 121 participants with various degrees of hearing loss and 255 with typical hearing.

The R292K mutation that confers resistance to neuraminidase inhibitors leads to competitive fitness loss of A/Shanghai/1/2013 (H7N9) influenza virus in ferrets.

Background: Neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors are the only licensed therapeutic option for human zoonotic H7N9 infections. An NA-R292K mutation that confers broad-spectrum resistance to NA inhibitors has been documented in H7N9 patients after treatment.

Methods: We evaluated the transmission potential of a human influenza A H7N9 isolate with a NA-R292K mutation in the ferret model followed by genotyping assay to monitor its competitive fitness in vivo.

Characterization of a novel gyrovirus in human stool and chicken meat.

Background: Sequence-independent amplification of clinical specimens can lead to the identification of novel pathogens.

Objectives: To identify novel viruses in human stool specimens from patients with diarrhea and to investigate the ecology and clinical significance of such viruses.

Study Design: Nucleic acid extracted from stool specimens from patients with diarrhea with no known etiology were subjected to random PCR amplification and Roche/454 pyrosequencing.

Evaluation of the ClearVoice Strategy in Adults Using HiResolution Fidelity 120 Sound Processing.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the benefits of ClearVoice strategy on speech perception in noise and in everyday listening situations in Cantonese-speaking cochlear implant users.

Methods: Twelve experienced adult users of the Harmony implant and HiRes 120 sound processing participated in the study. The study employed a prospective within-subjects design wherein speech recognition in adults using HiRes 120 without ClearVoice turned on (control option) was compared to their performance with HiRes 120 with ClearVoice turned on.

Phenotypic and functional characterization of human γδ T-cell subsets in response to influenza A viruses.

Like αβ T cells, human γδ T cells also have different subsets with distinct characteristics. Whether human Vγ9Vδ2 T cells have functionally different subsets in response to influenza A (fluA) viruses remains unknown. In this study, we show for the first time that both central (CD45RA(-)CD27(+)) and effector (CD45RA(-)CD27(-)) memory Vγ9Vδ2 T cells have similar levels of immediate interferon (IFN) γ and cytotoxic responses to human and avian fluA virus-infected cells.

Type 1 responses of human Vγ9Vδ2 T cells to influenza A viruses.

γδ T cells are essential constituents of antimicrobial and antitumor defenses. We have recently reported that phosphoantigen isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP)-expanded human Vγ9Vδ2 T cells participated in anti-influenza virus immunity by efficiently killing both human and avian influenza virus-infected monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) in vitro. However, little is known about the noncytolytic responses and trafficking program of γδ T cells to influenza virus.

The aminobisphosphonate pamidronate controls influenza pathogenesis by expanding a gammadelta T cell population in humanized mice.

There are few antiviral drugs for treating influenza, and the emergence of antiviral resistance has further limited the available therapeutic options. Furthermore, antivirals are not invariably effective in severe influenza, such as that caused by H5N1 viruses. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop alternative therapeutic strategies.

Evaluation of a Subunit H5 Vaccine and an Inactivated H5N2 Avian Influenza Marker Vaccine in Ducks Challenged with Vietnamese H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus.

The protective efficacy of a subunit avian influenza virus H5 vaccine based on recombinant baculovirus expressed H5 haemagglutinin antigen and an inactivated H5N2 avian influenza vaccine combined with a marker antigen (tetanus toxoid) was compared with commercially available inactivated H5N2 avian influenza vaccine in young ducks. Antibody responses, morbidity, mortality, and virus shedding were evaluated after challenge with a Vietnamese clade 1 H5N1 HPAI virus [A/VN/1203/04 (H5N1)] that was known to cause a high mortality rate in ducks. All three vaccines, administered with water-in-oil adjuvant, provided significant protection and dramatically reduced the duration and titer of virus shedding in the vaccinated challenged ducks compared with unvaccinated controls.

Induction of proinflammatory cytokines in primary human macrophages by influenza A virus (H5N1) is selectively regulated by IFN regulatory factor 3 and p38 MAPK.

The hyperinduction of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as TNF-alpha, IFN-beta, and CCL2/MCP-1 in primary human macrophages and respiratory epithelial cells by the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 is believed to contribute to the unusual severity of human H5N1 disease. Here we show that TNF-alpha, IFN-beta, and IFN-lambda1 are the key mediators directly induced by the H5N1 virus in primary human macrophages. In comparison with human influenza (H1N1), the H5N1 virus more strongly activated IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3).

The development of Cantonese Lexical Neighborhood Test: a pilot study.

Objective: This study aimed at developing a theoretically driven open-set speech recognition test for pediatric clinical population of cochlear implant and/or hearing aid users, with Cantonese Chinese as their first language, to track progress in speech recognition performance as an outcome measurement of their rehabilitation.

Methods: Six monosyllabic and six disyllabic word lists were generated from the Cantonese CHILDES language database, constructed according to the Neighborhood Activation Model. There were three lexically "easy" and three lexically "hard" word lists in each sub-test, with 25 items in each list.

Hearing loss in Chinese school children with Down syndrome.

Objective: There is well-documented evidence in the literature concerning a high prevalence of deafness in children with Down syndrome (DS). The aim of this study was to examine the extent of hearing impairment and address the rehabilitation needs of a Chinese population with DS who were either in special schools or integrated into mainstream schools.

Methods: This study screened 92 children with DS at their own schools and 11 were reassessed in the University of Hong Kong Hearing Centre.

Differential expression of chemokines and their receptors in adult and neonatal macrophages infected with human or avian influenza viruses.

In 1997, avian influenza virus H5N1 was transmitted directly from chicken to human and resulted in a severe disease that had a higher mortality rate in adults than in children. The characteristic mononuclear leukocyte infiltration in the lung and the high inflammatory response in H5N1 infection prompted us to compare the chemokine responses between influenza virus-infected adult and neonatal monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). The effects of avian influenza virus A/Hong Kong/483/97 (H5N1) (H5N1/97), its precursor A/Quail/Hong Kong/G1/97 (H9N2) (H9N2/G1), and human influenza virus A/Hong Kong/54/98 (H1N1) (H1N1/98) were compared.

Functional tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand production by avian influenza virus-infected macrophages.

Severe human disease associated with influenza A H5N1 virus was first detected in Hong Kong in 1997. Its recent reemergence in Asia and high associated mortality highlight the need to understand its pathogenesis. We investigated the roles of death receptor ligands (DRLs) in H5N1 infection.