A pharynx-to-brain axis controls pharyngeal inflammation-induced anxiety.

Anxiety is a remarkably common condition among patients with pharyngitis, but the relationship between these disorders has received little research attention, and the underlying neural mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we show that the densely innervated pharynx transmits signals induced by pharyngeal inflammation to glossopharyngeal and vagal sensory neurons of the nodose/jugular/petrosal (NJP) superganglia in mice. Specifically, the NJP superganglia project to norepinephrinergic neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTSNE). These NTSNE neurons project to the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (vBNST) that induces anxiety-like behaviors in a murine model of pharyngeal inflammation. Inhibiting this pharynx→NJP→NTSNE→vBNST circuit can alleviate anxiety-like behaviors associated with pharyngeal inflammation. This study thus defines a pharynx-to-brain axis that mechanistically links pharyngeal inflammation and emotional response.

Relationships between bilateral auditory brainstem activity and inter-implant interval in children with cochlear implants.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of the interval between bilateral cochlear implantation on the development of bilateral peripheral auditory pathways as revealed by the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR). METHODS: Fifty-eight children with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were recruited. Among them, 33 children received sequential bilateral cochlear implants (CIs), and 25 children received simultaneous bilateral CIs. The bilateral EABRs evoked by electrical stimulation from the CI electrode were recorded on the day of second-side CI activation. RESULTS: The latencies of wave III (eIII) and wave V (eV) were significantly shorter on the first CI side than on the second CI side in children with sequential bilateral CIs but were similar between the two sides in children with simultaneous bilateral CIs. Furthermore, the latencies were prolonged from apical to basal channels along the cochlea in the two groups. In children with sequential CIs, the inter-implant interval was negatively correlated with the eV latency on the first CI side and was positively correlated with bilateral differences in the eIII and eV latencies. CONCLUSIONS: Unilateral CI use promotes the maturation of ipsilateral auditory conduction function. However, a longer inter-implant interval results in more unbalanced development of bilateral auditory brainstem pathways. Bilateral cochlear implantation with no or a short interval is recommended.

Inserting Single-Atom Zn by Tannic Acid Confinement To Regulate the Selectivity of Pd Nanocatalysts for Hydrogenation Reactions.

Precisely controlling the selectivity of nanocatalysts has always been a hot topic in heterogeneous catalysis but remains difficult owing to their complex and inhomogeneous catalytic sites. Herein, an effective strategy to regulate the chemoselectivity of Pd nanocatalysts for selective hydrogenation reactions by inserting single-atom Zn into Pd nanoparticles is reported. Taking advantage of the tannic acid coating-confinement strategy, small-sized Pd nanoparticles with inserted single-atom Zn are obtained on the O-doped carbon-coated alumina. Compared with the pure Pd nanocatalyst, the Pd nanocatalyst with single-atom Zn insertion exhibits prominent selectivity for the hydrogenation of p-iodonitrobenzene to afford the hydrodeiodination product instead of nitro hydrogenation ones. Further computational studies reveal that the single-atom Zn on Pd nanoparticles strengthens the adsorption of the nitro group to avoid its reduction and increases the d-band center of Pd atoms to facilitate the reduction of the iodo group, which leads to enhanced selectivity. This work provides new guidelines to tune the selectivity of nanocatalysts with guest single-atom sites.

Electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses in deaf patients with Mondini malformation during cochlear implantation.

PURPOSE: To investigate the auditory pathway functions in deaf patients with Mondini malformation using the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR) during cochlear implantation (CI). METHODS: A total of 58 patients with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) were included in this study. Of these patients, 27 cases had Mondini malformation and 31 control cases had no inner ear malformations (IEMs). Intraoperative EABRs evoked by electrical stimulation at the round window niche (RWN) and round window membrane (RWM) were recorded. RESULTS: Patients with Mondini malformation showed significantly lower EABR extraction rates than those with no IEMs did. However, for patients who showed EABRs, no significant difference in EABR thresholds, wave III (eIII) latencies, wave V (eV) latencies or eIII-eV latency intervals was found between two groups. CONCLUSION: The physiological functions of the peripheral auditory system in patients with Mondini malformation may divide into opposite extremes, as revealed by a robust EABR and the absence of the EABR, respectively. The auditory conduction function should be objectively and individually evaluated for patients with Mondini malformation by the EABR.

Cochlear implantation with round window insertion in children with otitis media with effusion.

AIMS: To discuss indications and surgical techniques for cochlear implantation (CI) in children with profound sensorineural hearing loss and otitis media with effusion (OME). METHODS: Between January 2003 and May 2013, a total of 550 patients received cochlear implants at the Anhui Provincial Hospital, Hefei, China. Of these, 30 children with OME underwent CI with round window insertion in one stage. RESULTS: One-stage operations of CI with round window insertion were carried out in 30 children with OME. All electrodes were implanted successfully. CI was performed without complications and the electrode arrays were protected well. All implant devices worked normally and all patients performed well during an average follow-up period of 12 months. None of the patients experienced any immediate or delayed postoperative infection-related complications. CONCLUSIONS: CI with round window insertion could be safely and effectively performed in one stage in children with profound sensorineural hearing loss and OME. It is unnecessary to delay implantation to control OME, but it remains a challenging problem in operation.

Stem Cell-Based Hair Cell Regeneration and Therapy in the Inner Ear.

Hearing loss has become increasingly prevalent and causes considerable disability, thus gravely burdening the global economy. Irreversible loss of hair cells is a main cause of sensorineural hearing loss, and currently, the only relatively effective clinical treatments are limited to digital hearing equipment like cochlear implants and hearing aids, but these are of limited benefit in patients. It is therefore urgent to understand the mechanisms of damage repair in order to develop new neuroprotective strategies. At present, how to promote the regeneration of functional hair cells is a key scientific question in the field of hearing research. Multiple signaling pathways and transcriptional factors trigger the activation of hair cell progenitors and ensure the maturation of newborn hair cells, and in this article, we first review the principal mechanisms underlying hair cell reproduction. We then further discuss therapeutic strategies involving the co-regulation of multiple signaling pathways in order to induce effective functional hair cell regeneration after degeneration, and we summarize current achievements in hair cell regeneration. Lastly, we discuss potential future approaches, such as small molecule drugs and gene therapy, which might be applied for regenerating functional hair cells in the clinic.

Sensory intelligence for extraction of abstract auditory rules from a speech sound stream in children with cochlear implants.

OBJECTIVE: Sensory intelligence in the brain helps listeners automatically extract abstract auditory rules formed by invariant acoustic features from complex speech sound streams, presumably serving as the neural basis for speech comprehension. However, whether this intelligence is deficient in children with cochlear implants (CIs) remains unclear. METHODS: Mandarin Chinese monosyllables shared a flat lexical tone contour to form an abstract auditory rule but differed in other acoustic features to construct a complex speech sound stream. The abstract rule was occasionally violated by monosyllables with a rising or falling lexical tone. RESULTS: In normal hearing (NH) children, the abstract auditory rule could be extracted, as revealed by a mismatch negativity (MMN) and a late discriminative negativity (LDN). However, the MMN and LDN were only evoked in CI children with good hearing and speech performance. NH children with a higher speech perception or spatial hearing score had a greater MMN. The LDN was attenuated with increasing age in NH children. CONCLUSIONS: The sensory intelligence for extraction of auditory abstract rules, associated with speech perception, is deficient in CI children. This intelligence may gradually develop during childhood and adolescence. SIGNIFICANCE: Deficient sensory intelligence in CI children may aid in understanding poor speech comprehension in complex environments.

The effect of cochlear size on electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses in deaf children.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between auditory pathway function and cochlear size in deaf children with a radiologically normal inner ear or Mondini malformation. Methods: Thirty-five deaf children without inner ear malformations (IEMs) and forty cases with Mondini malformation were included in this study. The electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses (EABRs) evoked by electrical stimulation at the round window niche (RWN) and round window membrane (RWM) were recorded during cochlear implantation (CI) surgery. The anatomical parameters of the cochlea were assessed by high-resolution computed tomography and OTOPLAN 3-D construction software. Correlations between EABRs and cochlear sizes were analyzed. Results: The EABR thresholds and/or latencies were negatively correlated with the basal cochlear diameter, cochlear width and/or cochlear duct length in both patients without IEMs and those with Mondini malformation. Conclusion: The physiological function of the peripheral auditory system depends on the anatomical structure of the cochlea to an extent. A larger cochlear size appears to be associated with better auditory conduction function. Our findings may be beneficial to selection of the proper electrode type and prediction of postoperative auditory rehabilitation. Level of Evidence: Level 4.

Electrically Evoked Auditory Brainstem Responses in Children Fitted with Hearing Aids Prior to Cochlear Implantation.

This study investigates the effect of hearing aid use on the peripheral auditory pathways in children with sensorineural hearing loss prior to cochlear implantation, as revealed by the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR). Forty children with hearing aids were recruited. Half of them had normal inner ear structures and the other half had inner ear malformations (IEMs). The EABR was evoked by electrically stimulating the round window niche (RWN) and round window membrane (RWM) during the cochlear implantation operation. The onset age of hearing aid use was significantly correlated with the peak latencies, but not amplitudes, of the wave III (eIII) and wave V (eV). Higher EABR thresholds were found for RWN stimulation than for RWM stimulation and in the children with IEMs than in those without IEMs. Our study provides neurophysiological evidence that earlier use of hearing aids may ameliorate physiological functions of the peripheral auditory pathway in children with and without IEMs. The EABR evoked by the electrical stimulation at RWM is more sensitive compared with that at RWN for evaluating functions of the auditory conduction pathway.

Characteristics of electrically evoked auditory brainstem response in children with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome after cochlear implantation.

BACKGROUND: The vestibular aqueduct (VA) width may affect the auditory conduction pathway of large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS) children. OBJECTIVE: Analyzing the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR) after cochlear implantation (CI) in severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) children with LVAS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-four children with SNHL who received CI were selected, including 21 children with LVAS and 33 children without inner ear malformations (IEMs). The VA width was measured in LVAS children. The post-operative EABRs were recorded in all children. RESULTS: For the LVAS group, the VA width was positively correlated with wave III (eIII) latency of EABR at the No. 2 electrode (E2), E5, E8, and E11, the VA width was positively correlated with wave V (eV) latency of EABR at E2, E5, E8, and E11. Only the eV latency of E2 showed a significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: SNHL children with LVAS and no IEMs have similar conduction of the auditory pathway. In the LVAS group, the conduction of the auditory pathway becomes better with the decrease of VA width. Rational use of post-operative EABRs and the measurement of anatomical parameters can effectively assess the development of part auditory pathways in LVAS children, which may be helpful in predicting post-operative speech and hearing recovery.

[Genetic screening and analysis of suppressors of asa1-1 (soa) defective in jasmonate-mediated lateral root formation in Arabidopsis].

It has been shown that jasmonate modulates the lateral root development through crosstalk with auxin in Arabidopsis thaliana. Exogenous application of jasmonate stimulates lateral root formation in wild type but inhibits lateral root formation in asa1-1. Our previous work has demonstrated that the lateral root formation defect of asa1-1 is co-related with jasmonte effect on PIN2 protein levels. To further elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying jasmonate-mediated reduction of plasma membrane (PM)-resident PIN2 abundance, we have conducted a genetic screen to identify suppressors of asa1-1 (soa), which showed lateral root formation in the presence of jasmonate. Here, we described the basic characterization of soa563 and soa856. We showed that both soa563 and soa856 displayed restored lateral root formation in response to exogenous jasmonate. In addition, jasmonate-induced PIN2:GFP reduction was blocked in these two mutants. Our on-going effort to identify genes defined by these mutants promise to shed new light on the understanding of the molecular mechanisms controlling jasmonate-mediated regulation of PIN2 protein trafficking and turnover.

Electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses to electrical stimulation at round window membrane in congenitally deaf children at different ages.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the usefulness of measuring the electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses (eABRs) to electrical stimulation at the round window niche (RWN) and round window membrane (RWM) and the effect of deafness duration on functions of the auditory pathway to the level of the brainstem. METHODS: According to the age at cochlear implantation (CI), 99 children with profound sensorineural hearing loss were divided into four groups: ≤12 months (group A), 13-36 months (group B), 37-60 months (group C) and >60 months (group D). The eABRs were evoked by electrical stimulation at RWN and RWM during the operation of CI. RESULTS: The higher eABR extraction rate and lower threshold for RWM stimulation was found than those for RWN stimulation. The eⅢ latencies and eⅢ-eⅤ latency intervals for RWM stimulation were similar among four groups. However, children with earlier CI (group A) showed a significantly shorter eⅤ latency than others. CONCLUSION: The eABR evoked by the electrical stimulation at RWM is more stable and sensitive compared with that at RWN for evaluating functions of the auditory conduction pathway. Development in the upper brainstem pathway may be more vulnerable to long-term deafness as revealed by the eⅤ latency.

Deficient sensory and cognitive processing in children with cochlear implants: An event-related potential study.

Compared with children having normal hearing (NH), those with cochlear implants (CIs) perform poorly in spoken language comprehension which involves both low-level acoustic encoding and higher-level cognitive processing. Here, we performed an electroencephalography study to portray this brain dynamics of speech perception in CI children. We presented a Mandarin Chinese monosyllable or four-syllable idiom to CI and NH children, and infrequently varied its lexical tone to form a novel monosyllable or pseudo-idiom in an oddball paradigm. The tone contrast embedded in the monosyllables evoked similar mismatch negativities (MMNs) in CI and NH children at an early stage (~200 ms). However, the amplitude of the MMN evoked by the tone contrast in the idiom context was significantly lower in CI children than in NH children. Furthermore, robust late discriminative negativity (LDN) at a late stage (~500 ms) was found only in NH children, but not in CI children. The MMN and LDN findings indicate deficits of low-level acoustic encoding in a complex context (such as an idiom) and higher-level cognitive processing in CI children, respectively. Both deficient sensory and cognitive processing may contribute to the speech perception difficulties in CI children.

Effect of unilateral cochlear implant use on contralateral electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses to round window membrane electrical stimulation.

BACKGROUND: Long-term use of a unilateral cochlear implant (CI) may lead to abnormal development of contralateral auditory pathway. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the usefulness of measuring the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (eABR) with the electrical stimulation at the round window membrane and the effect of unilateral CI use on the contralateral auditory pathway functions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: According to duration of unilateral CI use, 45 children with severe or profound sensorineural hearing loss were divided into sCI (≤12 months), lCI (≥24 months) and nCI (no CI use) groups. Intra-operative eABRs evoked by electrical stimulation at the round window membrane were recorded. RESULTS: The latencies of eIII and eV were significantly longer in lCI group than in sCI group and in nCI group, respectively, but not significantly different between sCI group and nCI group. The eABR thresholds and eIII-eV latency intervals were not significantly different among three groups. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The eABR evoked by the electrical stimulation at the round window membrane is a reliable and effective way of evaluating functions of the auditory pathway in deaf children. Long-term use of a unilateral CI may promote the degenerative process of the contralateral auditory pathway to the level of the brainstem.

Auditory Sensory Gating in Children With Cochlear Implants: A P50-N100-P200 Study.

Background: While a cochlear implant (CI) can restore access to audibility in deaf children, implanted children may still have difficulty in concentrating. Previous studies have revealed a close relationship between sensory gating and attention. However, whether CI children have deficient auditory sensory gating remains unclear. Methods: To address this issue, we measured the event-related potentials (ERPs), including P50, N100, and P200, evoked by paired tone bursts (S1 and S2) in CI children and normal-hearing (NH) controls. Suppressed amplitudes for S2 compared with S1 in these three ERPs reflected sensory gating during early and later phases, respectively. A Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham IV (SNAP-IV) scale was performed to assess the attentional performance. Results: Significant amplitude differences between S1 and S2 in N100 and P200 were observed in both NH and CI children, indicating the presence of sensory gating in the two groups. However, the P50 suppression was only found in NH children and not in CI children. Furthermore, the duration of deafness was significantly positively correlated with the score of inattention in CI children. Conclusion: Auditory sensory gating can develop but is deficient during the early phase in CI children. Long-term auditory deprivation has a negative effect on sensory gating and attentional performance.

Deficit of long-term memory traces for words in children with cochlear implants.

OBJECTIVE: Language experience can develop long-term memory traces for speech units in the brain, to ensure efficient processing of speech sounds. However, prelingually deafened children lack sufficient auditory input before cochlear implantation. Whether the experience-dependent long-term memory traces exist in prelingually deafened children with cochlear implants (CIs) remains unclear. METHODS: We presented CI and normal hearing (NH) children with Mandarin Chinese spoken disyllables in an oddball paradigm and recorded event-related potentials. Each disyllable was defined as a meaningful word or a meaningless pseudoword by the tonal information in the second syllable. RESULTS: The amplitude of mismatch negativity (MMN) elicited by words was larger than that elicited by pseudowords in NH children. However, this enhancement of the MMN amplitude was not found in CI children. Behavioral results showed later recognition points for words and lower accuracies for speech comprehension in CI children than in NH children. Furthermore, increased theta power for words compared with pseudowords was only found in NH children. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate a deficit of long-term memory traces for words in prelingually deafened children with cochlear implants. SIGNIFICANCE: Early speech input may be crucial to the formation of long-term memory traces for speech units.

[Pharmacognostic identification on Dai medicine" guo sha" (Broussonetia papyrifera)].

The present paper reports descriptions and microscopical studies on Dai medicine" Guo sha" (Broussonetia papyrifera) , which is also the ethnomedicines of some minority nationalities in China. The diagram and the detailed drawing of the transection of the root, as well as microscopic drawing of its powder, were drawn in the studies. It was found that there are distinct microscopic characters of the transection and the powder which can serve as evidence for identification of the ethnomedicine.

Cochlear implantation in Mondini's deformity: could the straight electrode array with length of 31 mm be fully inserted?

CONCLUSIONS: The straight electrode array with length of 31 mm can be fully inserted using round window insertion in cochlear implantation with Mondini's deformity. It is a safe and effective process, but also a challenging task of the full implantation in children with Mondini's deformity. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to discuss whether the straight electrode array with a length of 31 mm could be fully inserted in cochlear implantation with Mondini's deformity. METHODS: A chart review of 30 patients undergoing cochlear implantation with Mondini's deformity using the electrode array with length of 31 mm was undertaken from January 2012 and December 2015 in Anhui Provincial Hospital. RESULTS: Full insertion of the straight electrode array with length of 31 mm were performed successfully in all patients with Mondini's deformity using round window insertion. Resistance was not encountered while introducing the electrodes. Ten of 30 patients had cerebrospinal fluid drainage during cochlear implantation. Cerebrospinal fluid drainage was controlled with small pieces of temporalis fascia packing round window in all patients. Intra-operative neural response telemetry was performed in all patients, and results were good. The result of X-ray showed proper placement of the cochlear implant electrode array. During surgery, no patients had experienced any immediate or delayed post-operative complications such as wound infection, intracranial complication, extrusion, or migration of the implant during an average follow-up period of 6-36 months.

[Generation of chemical-inducible activation tagging T-DNA insertion lines of Arabidopsis thaliana].

Using an estrogen-inducible expression XVE (LexA-VP16-Estragon Receptor) system, we have generated approximately 40 000 independent T-DNA insertion lines of Arabidopsis thaliana. Segregation analyses of about 18000 lines indicated that 51.6% of them contain single T-DNA insertions and that the average insertion number is 1.38 copies per line. Mutants displaying a variety of morphological alterations were identified, including those that affect development of roots,hypocotyls, leaves, floral organs and seeds as well as the flowering time.