| 1. |
- Butler, Geraldine, et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of pathogenicity and sexual reproduction in eight Candida genomes.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 459:7247, s. 657-62
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Candida species are the most common cause of opportunistic fungal infection worldwide. Here we report the genome sequences of six Candida species and compare these and related pathogens and non-pathogens. There are significant expansions of cell wall, secreted and transporter gene families in pathogenic species, suggesting adaptations associated with virulence. Large genomic tracts are homozygous in three diploid species, possibly resulting from recent recombination events. Surprisingly, key components of the mating and meiosis pathways are missing from several species. These include major differences at the mating-type loci (MTL); Lodderomyces elongisporus lacks MTL, and components of the a1/2 cell identity determinant were lost in other species, raising questions about how mating and cell types are controlled. Analysis of the CUG leucine-to-serine genetic-code change reveals that 99% of ancestral CUG codons were erased and new ones arose elsewhere. Lastly, we revise the Candida albicans gene catalogue, identifying many new genes.
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| 2. |
- Conroy, Elizabeth J, et al.
(författare)
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A randomised controlled trial comparing palate surgery at 6months versus 12months of age (the TOPS trial): a statistical analysis plan.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Trials. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1745-6215. ; 22:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cleft palate is among the most common birth abnormalities. The success of primary surgery in the early months of life is crucial for successful feeding, hearing, dental development, and facial growth. Over recent decades, age at palatal surgery in infancy has reduced. The Timing Of Primary Surgery for cleft palate (TOPS) trial aims to determine whether, in infants with cleft palate, it is better to perform primary surgery at age 6 or 12months (corrected for gestational age).The TOPS trial is an international, two-arm, parallel group, randomised controlled trial. The primary outcome is insufficient velopharyngeal function at 5years of age. Secondary outcomes, measured at 12months, 3years, and 5years of age, include measures ofspeech development, safety of the procedure, hearing level, middle ear function, dentofacial development, and growth. The analysis approaches for primary and secondary outcomes are described here, as are the descriptive statistics which will be reported. The TOPS protocol has been published previously.This paper provides details of the planned statistical analyses for the TOPS trial and will reduce the risk of outcome reporting bias and data-driven results.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00993551 . Registered on 9 October 2009.
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| 3. |
- Ellis, Rachel, et al.
(författare)
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Benefit from, and acclimatization to, frequency compression hearing aids in experienced adult hearing-aid users
- 2015
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Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : Informa Healthcare. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 54:1, s. 37-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The aim was to investigate whether frequency compression (FC) hearing aids provide additional benefit to that conferred by conventional amplification. Design: Participants wore the same hearing aid with FC enabled and disabled for six weeks (ABA design) in each condition. Speech recognition tests (in both quiet and in noise) were administered alongside two questionnaires. Performance was compared across the two signal processing conditions and at different time points. Study sample: Twelve experienced hearing-aid users (aged 65-84 years old) with moderate-to-severe high-frequency hearing loss participated in the study. Results: FC resulted in statistically significantly higher mean scores in all of the administered speech tests. Improvements over time were limited to high frequency phoneme perception. No effect of FC on self-report outcomes was observed. Conclusions: FC may lead to significant improvements in speech perception outcomes in both quiet and noise for many individuals. No participant was significantly disadvantaged by the use of FC.
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| 4. |
- Ellis, Rachel J., et al.
(författare)
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Does cognitive function predict frequency compressed speech recognition in listeners with normal hearing and normal cognition?
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : Informa Healthcare. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 52:1, s. 14-22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective:The aim was to investigate the relationship between cognitive ability and frequency compressed speech recognition in listeners with normal hearing and normal cognition. Design:Speech-in-noise recognition was measured using Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers sentences presented over earphones at 65 dB SPL and a range of signal-to-noise ratios. There were three conditions:unprocessed, and at frequency compression ratios of 2:1 and 3:1 (cut-off frequency, 1.6 kHz). Working memory and cognitive ability were measured using the reading span test and the trail making test, respectively. Study sample:Participants were 15 young normally-hearing adults with normal cognition. Results:There was a statistically significant reduction in mean speech recognition from around 80% when unprocessed to 40% for 2:1 compression and 30% for 3:1 compression. There was a statistically significant relationship between speech recognition and cognition for the unprocessed condition but not for the frequency-compressed conditions. Conclusions:The relationship between cognitive functioning and recognition of frequency compressed speech-in-noise was not statistically significant. The findings may have been different if the participants had been provided with training and/or time to acclimatize to the frequency-compressed conditions.
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| 5. |
- Ellis, Rachel J, et al.
(författare)
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Predictors of aided speech recognition, with and without frequency compression, in older adults.
- 2015
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Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 54:7, s. 467-75
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate whether cognitive and/or audiological measures predict aided speech recognition, both with and without frequency compression (FC).DESIGN: Participants wore hearing aids, with and without FC for a total of 12 weeks (six weeks in each signal processing condition, ABA design). Performance on a sentence-in-noise recognition test was assessed at the end of each six-week period. Audiological (severity of high frequency hearing loss, presence of dead regions) and cognitive (reading span and trail making test scores) measures were obtained and assessed as predictors of sentence-in-noise recognition with and without FC enabled.STUDY SAMPLE: Twelve experienced hearing-aid users (aged 65-84 years old) with moderate-to-severe high-frequency hearing loss took part in the study.RESULTS: The results suggest that both auditory and cognitive factors can be predictive of sentence-in-noise recognition with conventional amplification. However, only auditory factors were significantly correlated with the degree of benefit obtained from FC.CONCLUSIONS: The strongest predictor of aided speech recognition, both with and without FC, was high frequency hearing loss. Cognitive performance was also a predictor of benefit from conventional amplification, but not of additional benefit from the use of FC.
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| 6. |
- Gamble, Carrol, et al.
(författare)
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Timing of Primary Surgery for Cleft Palate.
- 2023
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Ingår i: The New England journal of medicine. - : Massachusetts Medical Society. - 1533-4406 .- 0028-4793. ; 389:9, s. 795-807
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Among infants with isolated cleft palate, whether primary surgery at 6 months of age is more beneficial than surgery at 12 months of age with respect to speech outcomes, hearing outcomes, dentofacial development, and safety is unknown.We randomly assigned infants with nonsyndromic isolated cleft palate, in a 1:1 ratio, to undergo standardized primary surgery at 6 months of age (6-month group) or at 12 months of age (12-month group) for closure of the cleft. Standardized assessments of quality-checked video and audio recordings at 1, 3, and 5 years of age were performed independently by speech and language therapists who were unaware of the trial-group assignments. The primary outcome was velopharyngeal insufficiency at 5 years of age, defined as a velopharyngeal composite summary score of at least 4 (scores range from 0 to 6, with higher scores indicating greater severity). Secondary outcomes included speech development, postoperative complications, hearing sensitivity, dentofacial development, and growth.We randomly assigned 558 infants at 23 centers across Europe and South America to undergo surgery at 6 months of age (281 infants) or at 12 months of age (277 infants). Speech recordings from 235 infants (83.6%) in the 6-month group and 226 (81.6%) in the 12-month group were analyzable. Insufficient velopharyngeal function at 5 years of age was observed in 21 of 235 infants (8.9%) in the 6-month group as compared with 34 of 226 (15.0%) in the 12-month group (risk ratio, 0.59; 95% confidence interval, 0.36 to 0.99; P=0.04). Postoperative complications were infrequent and similar in the 6-month and 12-month groups. Four serious adverse events were reported (three in the 6-month group and one in the 12-month group) and had resolved at follow-up.Medically fit infants who underwent primary surgery for isolated cleft palate in adequately resourced settings at 6 months of age were less likely to have velopharyngeal insufficiency at the age of 5 years than those who had surgery at 12 months of age. (Funded by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research; TOPS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00993551.).
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| 7. |
- Melo Zurita, Maria de Lourdes, et al.
(författare)
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Global Water Governance and Climate Change : Identifying Innovative Arrangements for Adaptive Transformation
- 2018
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Ingår i: Water. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4441. ; 10:1
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- A convoluted network of different water governance systems exists around the world. Collectively, these systems provide insight into how to build sustainable regimes of water use and management. We argue that the challenge is not to make the system less convoluted, but rather to support positive and promising trends in governance, creating a vision for future environmental outcomes. In this paper, we analyse nine water case studies from around the world to help identify potential innovative arrangements' for addressing existing dilemmas. We argue that such arrangements can be used as a catalyst for crafting new global water governance futures. The nine case studies were selected for their diversity in terms of location, scale and water dilemma, and through an examination of their contexts, structures and processes we identify key themes to consider in the milieu of adaptive transformation. These themes include the importance of acknowledging socio-ecological entanglements, understanding the political dimensions of environmental dilemmas, the recognition of different constructions of the dillema, and the importance of democratized processes.
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| 8. |
- Ng, Hoi Ning Elaine
(författare)
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Cognition in Hearing Aid Users : Memory for Everyday Speech
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The thesis investigated the importance of cognition for speech understanding in experienced and new hearing aid users. The aims were 1) to develop a cognitive test (Sentence-final Word Identification and Recall, or SWIR test) to measure the effects of a noise reduction algorithm on processing of highly intelligible speech (everyday sentences); 2) to investigate, using the SWIR test, whether hearing aid signal processing would affect memory for heard speech in experienced hearing aid users; 3) to test whether the effects of signal processing on the ability to recall speech would interact with background noise and individual differences in working memory capacity; 4) to explore the potential clinical application of the SWIR test; and 5) to examine the relationship between cognition and speech recognition in noise in new users over the first six months of hearing aid use. Results showed that, for experienced users, noise reduction freed up cognitive resources and alleviated the negative impact of noise on memory when speech stimuli were presented in a background of speech babble spoken in the listener’s native language. The possible underlying mechanisms are that noise reduction facilitates auditory stream segregation between target and irrelevant speech and reduces the attention captured by the linguistic information in irrelevant speech. The effects of noise reduction and SWIR performance were modulated by individual differences in working memory capacity. SWIR performance was related to the self-reported outcome of hearing aid use. For new users, working memory capacity played a more important role in speech recognition in noise before acclimatization to hearing aid amplification than after six months. This thesis demonstrates for the first time that hearing aid signal processing can significantly improve the ability of individuals with hearing impairment to recall highly intelligible speech stimuli presented in babble noise. It also adds to the literature showing the key role of working memory capacity in listening with hearing aids, especially for new users. By virtue of its relation to subjective measures of hearing aid outcome, the SWIR test can potentially be used as a tool in assessing hearing aid outcome.
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| 9. |
- Sandoval-Castellanos, Edson, et al.
(författare)
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Ancient mitogenomes from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Central Anatolia and the effects of a Late Neolithic bottleneck in sheep (Ovis aries)
- 2024
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Ingår i: SCIENCE ADVANCES. - 2375-2548. ; 10:15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Occupied between similar to 10,300 and 9300 years ago, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Asikli Hoyuk in Central Anatolia went through early phases of sheep domestication. Analysis of 629 mitochondrial genomes from this and numerous sites in Anatolia, southwest Asia, Europe, and Africa produced a phylogenetic tree with excessive coalescences (nodes) around the Neolithic, a potential signature of a domestication bottleneck. This is consistent with archeological evidence of sheep management at Asikli Hoyuk which transitioned from residential stabling to open pasturing over a millennium of site occupation. However, unexpectedly, we detected high genetic diversity throughout Asikli Hoyuk's occupation rather than a bottleneck. Instead, we detected a tenfold demographic bottleneck later in the Neolithic, which caused the fixation of mitochondrial haplogroup B in southwestern Anatolia. The mitochondrial genetic makeup that emerged was carried from the core region of early Neolithic sheep management into Europe and dominates the matrilineal diversity of both its ancient and the billion-strong modern sheep populations.
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