The error patterns of phonemes in children with prelingual hearing loss: A comparison between hearing aid and cochlear implant users.

Objective: To reveal differences in error pattern of phonemes and articulation between children using cochlear implants (CIs) and those using hearing aids (HAs) due to prelingual hearing disorder and help the education of children with prelingual hearing loss.

Method: Children with prelingual hearing loss who were receiving auditory-verbal preschool education at an auditory center for hearing-impaired children (Fujimidai Auditory Center, Tokyo, Japan) from 2010 to 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. All participants underwent pure tone audiometry and monosyllabic intelligibility tests.

Neuronal activation of nucleus accumbens by local methamphetamine administration induces cognitive impairment through microglial inflammation in mice.

More than half of methamphetamine (METH) users present with cognitive impairment, making it difficult for them to reintegrate into society. However, the mechanisms of METH-induced cognitive impairment remain unclear. METH causes neuronal hyperactivation in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) by aberrantly releasing dopamine, which triggers dependence.

Knockdown of Piccolo in the Nucleus Accumbens Suppresses Methamphetamine-Induced Hyperlocomotion and Conditioned Place Preference in Mice.

Methamphetamine (METH), the most widely distributed psychostimulant, aberrantly activates the reward system in the brain to induce addictive behaviors. The presynaptic protein "Piccolo", encoded by Pclo, was identified as a METH-responsive protein with enhanced expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in mice. Although the physiological and pathological significance of Piccolo has been identified in dopaminergic signaling, its role in METH-induced behavioral abnormalities and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Schizophrenia-Like Behavioral Impairments in Mice with Suppressed Expression of Piccolo in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex.

Piccolo, a presynaptic cytomatrix protein, plays a role in synaptic vesicle trafficking in the presynaptic active zone. Certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms of the Piccolo-encoding gene are reported to be associated with mental disorders. However, a few studies have evaluated the relationship between Piccolo dysfunction and psychotic symptoms.

Assessment of speech perception in deaf or hard of hearing children who received auditory-verbal therapy with hearing aids or cochlear implants.

Objectives: To reframe the criteria for pediatric cochlear implants (CIs) in Japan, we investigated monosyllabic and word speech perception at the time of school entry in deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) children who underwent auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) with hearing aids (HAs) or CIs in early childhood.

Methods: D/HH children who started AVT at Fujimidai Auditory Center for Hearing-Impaired Children before the age of 1 year and who underwent auditory assessment in the previous year of schooling (at the age of 5 or 6) from 2010 to 2020 were enrolled in this study. The results of hearing level tests with or without amplification and monosyllabic and word speech discrimination were assessed.

Worker resignation due to patient nuisance in hospitals: Determinants and prevention.

To investigate determinants and protective strategies for the resignation of health care workers resulting from patient-derived nuisance in medical institutions, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the 57 hospitals in Mie Prefecture, Japan. A random sampling of 775 employees (physicians, nurses, administrators, and other health care workers) was provided self-administered questionnaires. Among 480 participants who experienced patient-derived nuisance, 132 participants considered resignation as a result, giving an estimated prevalence of 17.

X-ray STM: Nanoscale elemental analysis & Observation of atomic track.

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) combined with brilliant X-rays from synchrotron radiation (SR) can provide various possibilities of original and important applications, such as the elemental analysis on solid surfaces at an atomic scale. The principle of the elemental analysis is based on the inner-shell excitation of an element-specific energy level "under STM observation". A key to obtain an atomic locality is to extract the element-specific modulation of the local tunneling current (not emission that can damage the spatial resolution), which is derived from the inner-shell excitation [1].

Electrophoretic mobility of Bacillus subtilis knockout mutants with and without flagella.

Mutants of Bacillus subtilis 168 strain were obtained by inactivation of a specific gene by homologous recombination with the plasmid pMutinT3. The cell surface properties of these strains were characterized by measuring the electrophoretic mobility of the cells as a function of pH and ionic strength. The surface properties were different for the strains possessing flagella on their cells and strain FlgB, having no flagellum, due to knockout of the corresponding gene.

Novel peptides from assassin bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): isolation, chemical and biological characterization.

Three novel peptides were isolated from the venomous saliva of predatory reduviids. They were identified by mass spectrometry and HPLC analysis and consist of 34-36 amino acid residues. They are relatively homologous to the calcium channel blockers omega-conotoxins from marine cone snails and belong to the four-loop Cys scaffold structural class.

[Rapid differentiation method for Shigella and Escherichia coli--application of Indole (tryptophanase), PGUA (beta-glucuronidase) and ONPG (beta-galactosidase) tests].

For the differentiation of Shigella from Escherichia coli, Indole (tryptophanase), PGUA (beta-glucuronidase) and ONPG (beta-galactosidase) tests were used. A total of 377 Shigella and 124 E. coli strains was examined for each sero- and biosero-type by using these tests.