UNASSIGNED: Conductive hearing loss (CHL) attenuates the ability to transmit air conducted sounds to the ear. In humans, severe hearing loss is often accompanied by alterations to other neural systems, such as the vestibular system; however, the inter-relations are not well understood. The overall goal of this study was to assess vestibular-related functioning proxies in a rat CHL model.
UNASSIGNED: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (N=134, 250g, 2months old) were used in a CHL model which produced a >20dB threshold shift induced by tympanic membrane puncture. Auditory brainstem response (ABRs) recordings were used to determine threshold depth at different times before and after CHL. ABR threshold depths were assessed both manually and by an automated ABR machine learning algorithm. Vestibular-related functioning proxy assessment was performed using the rotarod, balance beam, elevator vertical motion (EVM) and Ferris-wheel rotation (FWR) assays.
UNASSIGNED: The Pre-CHL (control) threshold depth was 27.92dB±11.58dB compared to the Post-CHL threshold depth of 50.69dB±13.98dB (mean±SD) across the frequencies tested. The automated ABR machine learning algorithm determined the following threshold depths: Pre-CHL=24.3dB, Post-CHL same day=56dB, Post-CHL 7 days=41.16dB, and Post-CHL 1 month=32.5dB across the frequencies assessed (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32kHz). Rotarod assessment of motor function was not significantly different between pre and post-CHL (~1week) rats for time duration (sec) or speed (RPM), albeit the former had a small effect size difference. Balance beam time to transverse was significantly longer for post-CHL rats, likely indicating a change in motor coordination. Further, failure to cross was only noted for CHL rats. The defection count was significantly reduced for CHL rats compared to control rats following FWR, but not EVM. The total distance traveled during open-field examination after EVM was significantly different between control and CHL rats, but not for FWR. The EVM is associated with linear acceleration (acting in the vertical plane: up-down) stimulating the saccule, while the FWR is associated with angular acceleration (centrifugal rotation about a circular axis) stimulating both otolith organs and semicircular canals; therefore, the difference in results could reflect the specific vestibular-organ functional role.
UNASSIGNED: Less movement (EVM) and increase time to transverse (balance beam) may be associated with anxiety and alterations to defecation patterns (FWR) may result from autonomic disturbances due to the impact of hearing loss. In this regard, vestibulomotor deficits resulting in changes in balance and motion could be attributed to comodulation of auditory and vestibular functioning. Future studies should manipulate vestibular functioning directly in rats with CHL.

A growing body of evidence indicates that early-term births (37-38 weeks of gestational age) have an increased risk of short-term and long-term complications. Here, we sought to explore the association between early-term births and the risk of delayed neurodevelopment at age 2 years. Pregnant women and their live singleton birth were recruited from a single tertiary hospital between October 2013 and February 2017. Mental and Psychomotor Development Indexes (MDI and PDI) were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID). Delayed neurodevelopment was defined as scores of PDI or MDI less than -1SD relative to the mean score of the study population. In total, 1678 full-term infants and 727 early-term infants were assessed when they were 2 years old. After adjustment for potential confounders, early-term birth was related to 43% increased odds of neurodevelopmental delay in the PDI domain as compared with full-term birth (OR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.82). The observed associations were more prominent among those infants born by cesarean (OR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.00) and among males (OR: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.20, 2.28). No statistical difference in the MDI domain was found between early-term and full-term births.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that early-term birth was associated with increased odds of delayed neurodevelopment in the PDI domain as measured by BSID assessments at age 2 years. Health professionals should be aware of the influence of early-term birth on the risk of delayed neurodevelopment. What is Known: • Evidence indicates that early-term births have an increased risk of short-term and long-term complications. • The association between early-term births and delayed neurodevelopment at their early childhood has not been widely studied. What is New: • Early-term birth was associated with increased odds of delayed neurodevelopment in PDI domain as measured by BSID assessments at age 2 years. • The observed associations were more prominent among infants born by cesarean section and among male infants.

The neurotoxicity of NO2 exposure is well-known and potentially causes impaired of neural functions. This review aimed to estimate associations between prenatal NO2 exposure and neurodevelopment for children. Articles published until May 2019 reported prenatal NO2 exposure and children\'s cognition, psychomotor, language, attention, IQ, and behavior function were searched according to all related terms. The main databases we retrieved included PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Coefficient was extracted, conversed, and synthesized by random effects meta-analysis. Meanwhile, qualitatively describe would be used for some studies which cannot be synthesized quantitatively for lack of quantity or methods inconsistency. Finally, a total of 3848 citations were searched, and only 10 studies were included. We estimated that per 10 μg/m3 increase of NO2 during pregnancy was associated with a - 0.76 point decrease in global psychomotor (95% CI, - 1.34, - 0.18) and a - 0.62 point decrease in fine psychomotor for children (95% CI, - 1.09, - 0.16). But no significant association found in general cognitive and language. In addition, through the literature review, it seemed that prenatal exposure to NO2 might cause adverse impacts on children\'s attention, IQ, and different behaviors, but this requires confirmation from further researches. Our study indicated that prenatal exposure to NO2 seems to be associated with impaired neural development for children, especially for fine psychomotor. However, further studies are needed for determining the effects of prenatal air pollution exposure on attention, IQ, and behavior.

To examine whether different dimensions of parenting at different ages help small-for-gestational-age (SGA) children \'catch-up\' the normal children in cognition and psychomotor.
We analyzed data of 800 children born SGA and 3,000 children born appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth cohort. The Two Bag Task was used to measure 2-year or 4-year parenting dimensions. Children\'s reading, math, gross motor, and fine motor scores were assessed at 5 years. Multivariable linear regression models were fitted to test the interactions between SGA and 2-year or 4-year parenting dimensions on 5-year cognitive and psychomotor outcomes (dependent variables).
There were significant interactions between SGA and early parenting on 5-year reading, math, and fine motor scores. The gap between SGA and AGA children in 5-year fine motor score was attenuated to null [-0.25 (95% confidence interval, -0.41, -0.09) vs. 0.03 (-0.13, 0.20)] when 2-year parental sensitivity score increased from 1 standard deviation (SD) below mean (Mean - SD) to 1 SD above mean (Mean + SD). The gap between SGA and AGA children in 5-year fine motor [-0.28 (-0.44, -0.13) vs. 0.06 (-0.09, 0.22)] and math [-1.32 (-2.27, -0.37) vs. 0.20 (-0.77, 1.17)] scores was also attenuated to null when 4-year parental emotional support score increased from Mean - SD to Mean + SD. In contrast, the gap between SGA and AGA children in 5-year reading score increased from 0.49 (-0.90, 1.88) to -1.31 (-2.55, -0.07) when 4-year parental intrusiveness score increased from Mean - SD to Mean + SD. Similarly, the gap between SGA and AGA children in fine motor score increased with 4-year parental negative regard from 0.02 (-0.14, 0.18) to -0.23 (-0.38, -0.08).
Early high-quality parenting may buffer some adversity in long-term reading, math, and fine motor skills related to SGA birth, whereas low-quality parenting can amplify the adversity.

Owing to a similar cerebral neuro-anatomy, non-human primates are viewed as the most valid models for understanding cognitive deficits. This study evaluated psychomotor and mnesic functions of 41 young to old mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus). Psychomotor capacities and anxiety-related behaviors decreased abruptly from middle to late adulthood. However, mnesic functions were not affected in the same way with increasing age. While results of the spontaneous alternation task point to a progressive and widespread age-related decline of spatial working memory, both spatial reference and novel object recognition (NOR) memory tasks did not reveal any tendency due to large inter-individual variability in the middle-aged and old animals. Indeed, some of the aged animals performed as well as younger ones, whereas some others had bad performances in the Barnes maze and in the object recognition test. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that declarative-like memory was strongly impaired only in 7 out of 25 middle-aged/old animals. These results suggest that this analysis allows to distinguish elder populations of good and bad performers in this non-human primate model and to closely compare this to human aging.

Flexible fibreoptic bronchoscopy is an important tool in the evaluation and management of paediatric respiratory disease. Total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) and volatile agent induction and maintenance of anaesthesia (VIMA) are commonly used for these procedures. The aim of this study was to determine which is superior for children undergoing flexible fibreoptic bronchoscopy.The study included two phases. In Phase 1, ED99 of propofol in TIVA and ED99 of sevoflurane in VIMA were first determined. In Phase 2, 50 children aged from one to three years were recruited and randomly assigned to either a TIVA or a VIMA group. An ED99 dose of propofol with remifentanil was administered to the TIVA group and sevoflurane to the VIMA group. Haemodynamic variables, stress hormone responses, anaesthesia profiles, adverse reactions and physicians\' levels of satisfaction were compared between the two groups. The ED99 values of propofol in the TIVA group and sevoflurane in the VIMA group were 8.9 µg/ml and 6.8% respectively. Haemodynamic variables and stress hormone levels were higher in the VIMA group than in the TIVA group. Agitation and coughing also occurred less frequently in the TIVA group. In addition, physicians\' levels of satisfaction were greater in the TIVA group. Our results suggest that TIVA with propofol plus remifentanil is superior to VIMA using sevoflurane alone for children undergoing flexible fibreoptic bronchoscopy.