Attention networks in multilingual adults who do and who do not stutter.

This study investigated whether multilinguals who stutter differ from multilinguals who do not stutter in terms of attention networks. Towards that end, it measured (a) performance differences in attention networks between multilinguals who stutter and those who do not stutter and (b) the correlation between stuttering characteristics and attention networks. Twenty-four multilingual Dutch-English speaking adults (20-46y), half of whom were diagnosed with stuttering, completed the Attentional Network Task (ANT) that evaluates the attention networks of alerting, orienting, and executive control. A language and social background questionnaire and a lexical decision task (LexTALE) assessed the participants' language proficiency. The Stuttering Severity Instrument 4th Ed. and the Brief Version of the Unhelpful Thoughts and Beliefs About Stuttering Scale were used to evaluate stuttering characteristics. The two groups did not differ in the ANT in terms of reaction time and error rate scores. Furthermore, no differences were observed in the three attention networks between the groups. Lastly, no correlation was found between stuttering characteristics and attention networks. The results suggest that the attention abilities of multilinguals who stutter do not differ from multilinguals who do not stutter.

Development, Validation, and Reliability of the Teacher-Reported Pediatric Voice Handicap Index.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a novel teacher-reported pediatric voice outcome measure and to investigate its psychometric properties. METHOD: In the first stage, a new instrument, the Teacher-Reported Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (TRPVHI), was developed. After item generation, a panel of experts evaluated the items to assess the content validity. Subsequently, the final version of the preliminary instrument was applied to teachers of 306 children (57 dysphonic and 249 vocally healthy) between the ages of 4 and 11 years. Eventually, the construct validity, criterion-related validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency of the developed instrument were examined. RESULTS: The items with a content validity ratio less than .8 were modified or removed, and accordingly, the preliminary version of the index was finalized. After the application of the preliminary version, item reduction was made based on the factor analysis. The index is composed of 27 questions and three subscales: Functional, Physical, and Emotional. A significant difference was observed between the dysphonic and vocally healthy children for the TRPVHI scores (p < .001). A positive moderate correlation was determined between the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index and TRPVHI scores. Correlation coefficients between the test and retest scores of the TRPVHI were in the range of .92-.98. Cronbach's alpha values computed to assess the internal consistency were in the range of .94-.98. CONCLUSIONS: The TRPVHI is the only valid and reliable teacher-reported outcome measure of the effects of voice disorders on children. It is anticipated that the deployment of the TRPVHI in conjunction with other subjective tools, both in the initial evaluation and the follow-up of the treatment results, will allow a better understanding of the physical, functional, and emotional effects of voice disorders on children. Furthermore, it can potentially lead further research to enable the use of the TRPVHI for screening purposes.

Foreign body punctured the spleen: An incidental diagnosis.

Inal-Aslan G, Ötgün I, Güney LH, Hiçsönmez A. Foreign body punctured the spleen: An incidental diagnosis. Turk J Pediatr 2017; 59: 97-99. A foreign body can enter the body via penetration through the skin. In the presented case, a broken syringe needle was found and removed from the splenic parenchyma. In order to prevent such iatrogenic injuries, which could have fatal consequences, the hospital staff must give particular care in the handling of sharp FBs.

The effect of intraperitoneal n-acetylcysteine on postoperative adhesions in rat models.

AIM: In this study, we researched the effect of local administration of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on postoperative intraabdominal adhesion formation in the rat models. METHODS: 20 female Wistar Albino rats which were 5-7 months old are used for the study. The rats were divided into two equal groups. Group one was administered saline solution (n=10) while group two was administered NAC (n=10) after caecal abrasion. They were dissected on postoperative tenth day and were examined macroscopically and microscopically for the adhesion formation. Intraperitoneal adhesion formation was scored blinded with Evans model. The most adherent bowel section was excised for histopathologic examination. Mann Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In Group one, all rats have had adhesions. None of the rats in Group two had either severe inflammatory cell reaction or dense interstitial fibrosis. Macroscopic adhesion formation and microscopic inflammatory cell reaction and interstitial fibrosis formation after surgery were less at the group two (NAC applied) (p<0.05, p<0.05, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: We believe that the intraperitoneal single dose usage of NAC may be promising for decreasing the postoperative intraabdominal adhesions. KEY WORDS: N-acetylcysteine, Postoperative adhesion, Rat, Fibrosis.