Groups of 4-day-old neonates were tested for dichotic discrimination and ear differences with the High-Amplitude-Sucking procedure. In the first experiment, dichotic speech discrimination was attested by comparison with a control group. Furthermore, among those subjects who showed a substantial recovery of sucking response at least after one of the two syllable changes, it was observed that sig...

Research has suggested that the left hemisphere of the brain may be specialized for processing auditory speech, whereas the right hemisphere may be specialized for processing nonspeech auditory stimuli. Due to contralaterality in auditory pathways, this functional specialization has been reflected in behavioral advantages for speech stimuli presented to the right ear and for nonspeech stimuli p...

To define the roles of specific complement activation pathways in host defense against Streptococcus pneumoniae in acute otitis media (AOM), we investigated the susceptibility to AOM in mice deficient in complement factor B and C2 (Bf/C2(-/)(-)), C1qa (C1qa(-/)(-)), and factor B (Bf(-)(/)(-)). Bacterial titers of both S. pneumoniae serotype 6A and 14 in the middle ear lavage fluid samples from ...

Title of Document: MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS FOR NONINVASIVE EAR TYPE ASSISTIVE DEVICES Koranan Limpaphayom, Ph.D., 2009 Directed By: Professor Robert W. Newcomb Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering An ear type system and its circuit realization with application as new assistive devices are investigated. The auditory brainstem responses obtained from clinical hearing measurements ar...

To investigate the involvement of protease-activated receptor-2 (PAR-2) in allergic dermatitis, we generated PAR-2-deficient (PAR-2(-/-)) mice. Ear thickness, contact hypersensitivity (CH) induced by topical application of picryl chloride (PC) or oxazolone (Ox) after sensitization, and vascular permeability after ear passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) were compared between wild-type (WT) and P...

BACKGROUND Mechanical stimuli imparted by skeletal muscles play an important role during embryonic development in vertebrates. Little is known whether skeletal muscles are required for normal external ear development. METHODS We used Myf5-/-:MyoD-/- (double-mutant) mouse embryos that completely lack skeletal musculature and analyzed the development of the external ear. We concentrated on the ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the therapeutic effects in terms of disease clearance and hearing improvement of canal wall up mastoidectomy in combination with Type I tympanoplasty in otitis media. METHODS A total of 78 patients (81 ears) with otitis media were treated by canal wall up mastoidectomy in combination with Type I tympanoplasty. The postoperative tympanic membrane morphology, average of pu...

BACKGROUND Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) is a common medical issue, occurring in at least 1% of the adult population. Patients suffering from ET dysfunction typically present with complaints of hearing loss or sensation of pressure or plugged ear, which can lead to impaired quality of life. Over time ETD can result in conductive hearing loss or choleastatoma formation. Effective theraputic ...

18 Streptococcus pneumonaie is a diverse species causing invasive as well as localized infections 19 that result in massive global morbidity and mortality. Strains vary markedly in pathogenic 20 potential, but the molecular basis is obscured by the diversity and plasticity of the 21 pneumococcal genome. In the present study, S. pneumoniae serotype 3 blood (n = 12) or ear 22 (n = 13) isolates we...