Extra‐ and intracranial complications of cholesteatoma are rare in the new era of antibiotics. The rarity of the severe complications and the atypical symptoms cause difficulties to set up proper ...diagnosis and treatment. We report about a 76‐year old patient with external auditory canal cholesteatoma causing Bezold abscess and sigmoid sinus thrombosis. The patient underwent canal wall up mastoidectomy and mastoid obliteration with abdominal fat and Bezold abscess drainage. Systemic antibiotic and anticoagulant therapy were applied. The treatment resulted in fast improvement in the general condition of the patient, and the control magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed no recurrence of the disease. Laryngoscope, 131:E1282–E1285, 2021
The health of plants is heavily influenced by the intensively researched plant microbiome. The microbiome has to cope with the plant's defensive secondary metabolites to survive and develop, but ...studies that describe this interaction are rare. In the current study, we describe interactions of endophytic fungi with a widely researched chemical defense system, the glucosinolate - myrosinase - isothiocyanate system. The antifungal isothiocyanates are also of special interest because of their beneficial effects on human consumers.
Seven endophytic fungi were isolated from horseradish roots (Armoracia rusticana), from the genera Fusarium, Macrophomina, Setophoma, Paraphoma and Oidiodendron. LC-ESI-MS analysis of the horseradish extract incubated with these fungi showed that six of seven strains could decompose different classes of glucosinolates. Aliphatic, aromatic, thiomethylalkyl and indolic glucosinolates were decomposed by different strains at different rates. SPME-GC-MS measurements showed that two strains released significant amounts of allyl isothiocyanate into the surrounding air, but allyl nitrile was not detected. The LC-ESI-MS analysis of many strains' media showed the presence of allyl isothiocyanate - glutathione conjugate during the decomposition of sinigrin. Four endophytic strains also accepted sinigrin as the sole carbon source. Isothiocyanates inhibited the growth of fungi at various concentrations, phenylethyl isothiocyanate was more potent than allyl isothiocyanate (mean IC
was 2.30-fold lower). As a control group, ten soil fungi from the same soil were used. They decomposed glucosinolates with lower overall efficiency: six of ten strains had insignificant or weak activities and only three could use sinigrin as a carbon source. The soil fungi also showed lower AITC tolerance in the growth inhibition assay: the median IC
values were 0.1925 mM for endophytes and 0.0899 mM for soil fungi.
The host's glucosinolates can be used by the tested endophytic fungi as nutrients or to gain competitive advantage over less tolerant species. These activities were much less apparent among the soil fungi. This suggests that the endophytes show adaptation to the host plant's secondary metabolites and that host metabolite specific activities are enriched in the root microbiome. The results present background mechanisms enabling an understanding of how plants shape their microbiome.
The primary aim of the paper is to explore the relationship between the trauma ‑focused self ‑description of Hungarian history and other factors such as sense of regional betweenness, memory, well ...‑being or even the respondent’s personality (sympathy for authoritarian personality traits, political orientation, religiosity). In the current study, network analysis is used to explore the elective affinities between the above ‑mentioned variables. This method – rather than focusing on linear relationships – concentrates on interactions and feedback loops to better understand this social phenomenon. Our results show that the outlined factors form a coherent and highly stable belief system that can only be changed by significant influences.
Pathophysiological alterations in the cochlea and functional tests of the auditory pathway support that in diabetes both vasculopathy and neural changes could be present. The aim of our research was ...to study the differential effect of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) on two different age groups. Audiological investigation was carried out in 42 patients and 25 controls at the same age groups. Investigation of the conductive and sensorineural part of the hearing system by pure tone audiometry, distortion product otoacoustic emission measurement and acoustically evoked brainstem response registration were evaluated. Among the 19-39-year-old people the incidence of hearing impairment was not different in the diabetes and control groups. Among the 40-60-year-old people hearing impairment was more common in the diabetes group (75%) than in the control group (15,4%). Among patients with type 1 diabetes, the mean threshold values were higher in both age groups at all frequencies although significant difference was in 19-39 years old group: 500-4000Hz right ear, 4000Hz left ear, in 40-60 years old group: 4000-8000 Hz both ears. In the 19-39 years old diabetes group only at 8000 Hertz on the left side was a significant (p<0,05) difference in otoacoustic emissions. In the 40-60 years old diabetes group significantly less otoacoustic emissions at 8000 Hz on the right side (p<0,01) and at 4000-6000-8000 Hertz on the left side, (p<0,05, p<0,01, p<0,05 respectively) was present compared to the control group. According to ABR (auditory brainstem response) latencies and wave morphologies, a possible retrocochlear lesion arose in 15% of the 19-39 years old and 25% of the 40-60 years old diabetes group. According to our results, T1DM affects negatively the cochlear function and the neural part of the hearing system. The alterations are more and more detectable with aging.
Comminution of corundum is a challenging task, as it has outstanding mechanical strength and is highly abrasive and is consequently applied as a blasting and polishing agent in the abrasive industry. ...Thus, the selection of the best comminution methods to achieve the required dispersity properties has great importance. For this, first we must understand the effects of different type of stresses and their influence on the corundum particle fractions. Laboratory scale material bed compression experiments in a piston press were carried out to examine the effect of the pressure and material bed height on the product's particle size distribution, bulk density, and particle shape. The results showed that outstanding yield, high bulk density, and spherical particle shape can be achieved by particle bed breakage in a piston press, so the high-pressure grinding roll (HPGR) technology is a promising comminution method for corundum.
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•Outstanding reduction ratio achieved by material bed compression breakage mode.•Desired bulk properties achieved for abrasive industry's requirements.•New evaluation method to assess the bulk density and particle sphericity relation.•Material bed compression successfully used to produce a desired particle shape.
It has been shown that cold caloric irrigation decreases the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) gain in the vertically positioned lateral canal as measured by head impulse testing. This effect is most ...probably caused by a sustained deflection of the cupula in the inhibitory direction.
The aim of the present experiment was to answer the question if a sustained excitatory deflection increases the gain of the reflex in healthy volunteers.
In order to deflect the cupula, cold caloric irrigation was applied in prone (forward head hanging) position. In this position cold thermal irrigation elicited an excitatory caloric nystagmus with an ipsilateral fast phase.
When head impulses were applied immediately after cold caloric irrigation, the gain of the VOR decreased in comparison to the values measured before irrigation.
Together with the previous results cited above, these data show that biasing the cupula in either direction decreases its sensitivity with respect to high acceleration stimuli. This might occur because the deviation elicits a partial mechanical and electrophysiological saturation of the cupula.
Objective
This study analyzed the possible effects of intratympanic steroid (ITS) therapy in the symptomatic treatment of vertigo attacks in patients with Ménière’s disease.
Methods
Thirty-five ...patients treated with ITS (dexamethasone) plus betahistine (Group A) and 35 patients treated with betahistine alone (Group B) were enrolled in this investigation. Complaints were analyzed using medical records and vertigo diaries. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS V24 software.
Results
Based on the analysis, there were no significant differences in baseline features between the two groups. When the occurrence of vertigo attacks was compared using the Kaplan–Meier method, no significant difference was detected between Groups A and B (odds ratio OR = 1.051, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.965–1.067; p = 0.972). In addition, no difference in the incidence of vertigo attacks was noted in group A between the periods of treatment with betahistine alone and betahistine plus ITS when the groups were analyzed via logistic regression (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.065–1.467; p = 0.614).
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the addition of ITS therapy to betahistine did not improve outcomes in patients with Ménière’s disease. Further prospective studies should be conducted to analyze the results in a more detailed manner.
Age-related hearing loss (ARHL), a sensorineural hearing loss of multifactorial origin, increases its prevalence in aging societies. Besides hearing aids and cochlear implants, there is no FDA ...approved efficient pharmacotherapy to either cure or prevent ARHL. We hypothesized that selegiline, an antiparkinsonian drug, could be a promising candidate for the treatment due to its complex neuroprotective, antioxidant, antiapoptotic, and dopaminergic neurotransmission enhancing effects. We monitored by repeated Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) measurements the effect of chronic per os selegiline administration on the hearing function in BALB/c and DBA/2J mice, which strains exhibit moderate and rapid progressive high frequency hearing loss, respectively. The treatments were started at 1 month of age and lasted until almost a year and 5 months of age, respectively. In BALB/c mice, 4 mg/kg selegiline significantly mitigated the progression of ARHL at higher frequencies. Used in a wide dose range (0.15-45 mg/kg), selegiline had no effect in DBA/2J mice. Our results suggest that selegiline can partially preserve the hearing in certain forms of ARHL by alleviating its development. It might also be otoprotective in other mammals or humans.
A variant of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) involves the subjective report of vertigo without the coinciding nystagmus. This presentation includes truncal retropulsion when sitting up ...from the ipsilesional provocative test (ie, Dix-Hallpike), which we term type 2 BPPV. The primary objective of this study is to prospectively determine the prevalence and describe the clinical course of type 2 BPPV. We offer a theoretical explanation for the absence of nystagmus.
Prospective, observational study carried out in 2 tertiary hospitals. One hundred eighty patients (134 women, 46 men) met the inclusion criteria and were included between January 10, 2018, and October 30, 2019. Efficacy of physical therapy maneuvers was determined at 1-week follow-up. Three-dimensional reconstructions of the planes of the semicircular canal cupula from histological preparations are offered as evidence for the theoretical explanation.
One-third of the patients met the criteria for type 2 BPPV; the remainder had typical posterior or horizontal semicircular canal involvement. Symptoms from type 2 BPPV were longer in duration yet responded favorably to physical therapy maneuvers. Upon repeat testing, 19 patients treated for posterior canalithiasis developed a slight, persistent positional downbeat nystagmus in the Dix-Hallpike position that we propose as evidence the otoconia entered the short arm of the posterior semicircular canal.
Our data and 3-dimensional rendering suggest the report of vertigo, yet absent nystagmus in type 2 BPPV is from otoconia aligning with the gravitoinertial vector during provocative testing that precludes cupular stimulation. Type 2 BPPV appears to be a common and treatable form of vertigo.Video Abstract available for more insights from the authors (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1 available at: http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A372).
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