Noise Exposure History and Age-Related Changes to Hearing.

Importance: Noise exposure is a major modifiable risk factor for hearing loss, yet it is not known whether it affects the rate of hearing decline in aging.

Objective: To determine the association of noise exposure history with the rate of pure-tone threshold change per year.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This longitudinal cohort study was conducted in the ongoing community-based Medical University of South Carolina Longitudinal Cohort Study of Age-Related Hearing Loss (1988 to present with the sample based in Charleston, South Carolina, and surrounding area).

A higher order PUF complex is central to regulation of C. elegans germline stem cells.

PUF RNA-binding proteins are broadly conserved stem cell regulators. Nematode PUF proteins maintain germline stem cells (GSCs) and, with key partner proteins, repress differentiation mRNAs, including gld-1. Here we report that PUF protein FBF-2 and its partner LST-1 form a ternary complex that represses gld-1 via a pair of adjacent FBF binding elements (FBEs) in its 3'UTR.

Niche-specific metabolic phenotypes can be used to identify antimicrobial targets in pathogens.

Bacterial pathogens pose a major risk to human health, leading to tens of millions of deaths annually and significant global economic losses. While bacterial infections are typically treated with antibiotic regimens, there has been a rapid emergence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacterial strains due to antibiotic overuse. Because of this, treatment of infections with traditional antimicrobials has become increasingly difficult, necessitating the development of innovative approaches for deeply understanding pathogen function.

Associations of Primary Spoken Language With Individual Perception of Hearing-Related Disability.

Objectives: Hispanic/Latino adults are less likely than non-Hispanic White adults to seek treatment for hearing disability. While differential socioeconomic factors may contribute to this finding, differences in phonology and syntax in the Spanish, versus English, language may also influence patient perception of hearing disability. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between primary language spoken and participant perception of hearing disability.

Self-reported hearing loss and health during a pandemic: Findings from a cross-sectional analysis using a 2021 household survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic differentially impacted individuals with hearing loss, likely in part due to increased communication difficulties from masking, a commonly implemented protective measure.

Objective: This study examines the association between self-reported hearing loss and health during the pandemic.

Methods: This study uses data from the COVID-19 Survey collected by the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin from February to March 2021.