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BackgroundThe pathological hallmark of Ménière’s disease is endolymphatic hydrops, which can lead to an increase in basilar membrane stiffness and, consequently, an acceleration of the traveling wave of sound. The cochlear hydrops analysis masking procedure (CHAMP), which is an auditory brainstem response test masked at various frequencies with high-pass noise masking, uses the principle of the traveling wave velocity theory to determine the presence of endolymphatic hydrops.PurposeThis study aimed to review the previous results of the CHAMP, expound the principles and key indicators, and discuss its clinical significance in diagnosing Ménière’s disease.MethodsA narrative review was performed to revisit the principles of the CHAMP test, procedures, and clinical application results in diagnosing Ménière’s disease.ResultsAccording to the published literature, the CHAMP has a specificity of 31–100%, a sensitivity of 28–100%, and a diagnostic accuracy of 30–100% for the diagnosis of Ménière’s disease, including patients with definite, probable, or possible Ménière’s disease in various studies. These inconsistent results were due to subject inclusion criteria, variable settings, waveform identification, and other factors. Nevertheless, as an electrophysiological technique, the CHAMP may have a relatively high diagnostic value in patients with a definite Ménière’s disease.ConclusionThe CHAMP is still potentially useful for studying the pathophysiology of hydropic ear diseases since the procedure can measure the traveling wave velocity of the basilar membrane in the era of imaging to detect endolymphatic hydrops for Ménière’s disease.

Abstract Metastasis is the major culprit of treatment failure in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator like 2 (ARNTL2), a core circadian gene, plays a crucial role in the development of various tumors. Nevertheless, the biological role and mechanism of ARNTL2 are not fully elucidated in NPC. In this study, ARNTL2 expression was significantly upregulated in NPC tissues and cells. Overexpression of ARNTL2 facilitated NPC cell migration and invasion abilities, while inhibition of ARNTL2 in similarly treated cells blunted migration and invasion abilities in vitro. Consistently, in vivo xenograft tumor models revealed that ARNTL2 silencing reduced nude mice inguinal lymph node and lung metastases, as well as tumor growth. Mechanistically, ARNTL2 negatively regulated the transcription expression of AMOTL2 by directly binding to the AMOTL2 promoter, thus reducing the recruitment and stabilization of AMOTL2 to LATS1/2 kinases, which strengthened YAP nuclear translocation by suppressing LATS-dependent YAP phosphorylation. Inhibition of AMOTL2 counteracted the effects of ARNTL2 knockdown on NPC cell migration and invasion abilities. These findings suggest that ARNTL2 may be a promising therapeutic target to combat NPC metastasis and further supports the crucial roles of circadian genes in cancer development.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the association between the angular trajectory of the vestibular aqueduct (ATVA) with other radiological parameters of temporal bone and clinical characteristics in patients with Ménière’s disease (MD). Methods: A total of 125 unilateral MD patients and 118 controls were enrolled. Computer tomography (CT)-based radiological parameters included ATVA, vestibular aqueduct (VA) visibility, VA morphology, the vertical part of the posterior semicircular canal—the posterior fossa distance (PPD), and peri-VA pneumatization. The clinical characteristics of MD patients included gender, age of diagnosis/onset, disease duration, migraine history, clinical staging, and the results of audio-vestibular tests. The radiological parameters and clinical characteristics in MD patients were compared. Results: Compared with control ears, ATVA ≥ 140° was more prevalent and ATVA ≤ 120° was less frequent in the MD-affected side. For the MD-affected side, MD patients with ATVA ≥ 140° exhibited more severe VA invisibility and obliteration and higher male preponderance than those with ATVA ≤ 120°. Other radio-clinical features did not differ between these two subgroups. Conclusion: In the current study, ATVA ≥ 140°, an indicator of a hypoplastic endolymphatic sac, was found in approximately one-third of the affected and unaffected ears of patients with MD, as well as in a minority of controls. This suggests that the indices may be a predisposing factor rather than a specific marker for the MD ear. The male preponderance in MD patients with hypoplastic ES suggests a gender difference in the anatomical factors for MD pathogenesis.

Abstract It is widely recognized that platinum‐based chemotherapy, particularly cisplatin therapy, can cause ototoxicity. At present, there are no Food and Drug Administration‐approved drugs to prevent or alleviate ototoxicity. Ototoxicity is generally believed to be caused by excessive reactive oxygen species production in the inner ear. Accordingly, a variety of antioxidants have been developed to protect against ototoxicity. To improve the efficiency of drug delivery to the cochlea, here, we synthesized simple and easy‐to‐obtain glutathione carbon dots (GSH CDs) with ultra‐small dimensions. The experimental results revealed that the GSH CDs have strong free‐radical scavenging activity and can restore mitochondrial function, maintain hair cell stability, and protect hair cells from cisplatin‐induced oxidative stress. Thus, GSH CDs may serve as a new therapeutic agent for preventing cisplatin‐induced ototoxicity.

Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) is a condition where the Eustachian tube (ET) fails to function normally, resulting in symptoms such as aural fullness, tinnitus, autophony, and hearing loss. ETD can further lead to middle ear diseases such as otitis media effusion and adhesive otitis media, which is becoming more common in the field of otology. Although the pathogenesis of ETD remains unclear, recent animal studies and clinical experiments have found allergic reactions and allergic diseases are closely related to the occurrence of ETD. As the mucosa of the ET is continuous with that of the nasopharynx and tympanic cavity, it is reasonable to assume that the immunological basis of the ET itself is similar to that of respiratory allergic diseases. However, due to the special anatomical location and complex pathogenesis of the ET, there is still no unified diagnostic gold standard. Additionally, there is an ongoing debate regarding whether ETD can be classified as a distinct disease or even an allergic disease. Furthermore, the effectiveness of anti-allergic therapy in patients with ETD is yet to be fully understood. Therefore, this review elaborates on the possible mechanisms of allergic reactions in the occurrence and development of ETD, and explores the potential role of anti-allergic therapy in managing this condition, in order to provide new insights into the pathogenesis and prevention of ETD.

AbstractHigh intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level is characteristic of cancer cells and could act as a target for the efficient targeted drug delivery for cancer treatment. Consequently, biomaterials that react to excessive levels of ROS are essential for biomedical applications. In this study, a novel ROS-responsive polymer based on D-α-Tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) and poly (β-thioester) (TPGS-PBTE) was synthesized for targeted delivery of the first-line antineoplastic drug, paclitaxel (PTX). The resultant TPGS-PBTE NPs showed good ROS-responsive capability in size change and drug release. Compared to PTX, PTX-loaded nanoparticles (PTX@TPGS-PBTE NPs) showed enhanced cytotoxicity and higher level of apoptosis toward squamous cell carcinoma (SCC-7) cells. Tumor-targeted delivery of the NPs was also observed, especially after being modified with a tumor-targeting peptide, cRGD. Enhanced tumor growth inhibition was also observed in head and neck cancer SCC-7 murine models. In summary, PTX@TPGS-PBTE NPs can achieve good therapeutic effects of PTX against head and neck cancer both in vitro and in vivo, especially when modified by cRGD for active targeting, which enriched the application of ROS responsive system utilized in the delivery of anticancer drugs.

The hypoxic nature of tumours limits the efficiency of oxygen-dependent photodynamic therapy (PDT). Hence, in this study, indocyanine green (ICG)-loaded lipid-coated zinc peroxide (ZnO2) nanoparticles (ZnO2@Lip-ICG) was constructed to realize tumour microenvironment (TME)-responsive self-oxygen supply. Near infrared light irradiation (808 nm), the lipid outer layer of ICG acquires sufficient energy to produce heat, thereby elevating the localised temperature, which results in accelerated ZnO2 release and apoptosis of tumour cells. The ZnO2 rapidly generates O2 in the TME (pH 6.5), which alleviates tumour hypoxia and then enhances the PDT effect of ICG. These results demonstrate that ZnO2@Lip-ICG NPs display good oxygen self-supported properties and outstanding PDT/PTT characteristics, and thus, achieve good tumour proliferation suppression.

ObjectiveSudden sensorineural hearing loss with vertigo (SHLV) and vestibular neuritis (VN) remain frequent causes of acute vestibular syndrome (AVS). The aim of study was to compare the results of video head impulse test (vHIT) in patients with SHLV and VN. The characteristics of high-frequency vestibule-ocular reflex (VOR) and the differences of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these two AVS were explored.MethodsFifty-seven SHLV patients and 31 VN patients were enrolled. vHIT was conducted at the initial presentation. The VOR gains and occurrence of corrective saccades (CSs) of anterior, horizontal, and posterior semicircular canals (SCCs) in two groups were analyzed. Pathological vHIT results refer to impaired VOR gains and presence of CSs.ResultsIn SHLV group, pathological vHIT results was most prevalent in the posterior SCC on the affected side (30/57, 52.63%), followed by horizontal (12/57, 21.05%) and anterior SCC (3/57, 5.26%). In VN group, pathological vHIT preferentially affected horizontal SCC (24/31, 77.42%), followed by anterior (10/31, 32.26%) and posterior SCC (9/31, 29.03%) on the affected side. As for anterior and horizontal SCC on the affected side, the incidences of pathological vHIT results in VN group were significantly higher than those in SHLV group (β = 2.905, p

Animal experiments play an important role in the study of the pathogenesis of human diseases and new methods of diagnosis and treatment. Due to the great differences in the anatomical structure and physiology of the upper airway between animals and humans, there is currently no animal model that can fully simulate the pathological anatomy and pathophysiological characteristics of human obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. Herein, we summarizes the construction methods of several OSA animal models that have been widely used in the studies published in the last 5 years, the advantages and limitations of each model as well as related evaluation techniques are described. This information has potential to provide further guide for the development of OSA related animal experiments.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is amongst the most common causes of episodic vestibular syndrome. It can be classified as idiopathic and secondary types according to the causative factors, and the underlying mechanism between idiopathic (i-BPPV) and secondary BPPV (s-BPPV) may differ. Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) has been considered as a common inner ear disease that precipitates s-BPPV. Yet, few studies have addressed the functional impairment of the semicircular canal (SCC) system in patients with s-BPPV associated with ISSNHL. Our purpose was to explore the pathophysiological mechanism and investigate the clinical implications of video head impulse test (vHIT) in these patients. Here, the clinical and laboratory data of patients with BPPV secondary to ISSNHL, including the results of vHIT, were retrospectively reviewed, and compared with those of patients with i-BPPV. Pathological vHIT findings (low vestibulo-ocular reflex gain and re-fixation saccade), which mainly affected the posterior SCC, were more common in the s-BPPV group than in the i-BPPV group (41.9 and 0%, respectively). The incidence of horizontal SCC involvement was also higher in the s-BPPV group (45.16 and 16.67%, respectively). Furthermore, patients with s-BPPV showed lower vHIT gains of the posterior and horizontal SCCs in affected ears than in unaffected ears. Compared to i-BPPV, posterior SCC paresis detected by vHIT is more prevalent in BPPV secondary to ISSNHL. This dysfunction may be associated mainly with vestibular impairments caused by ISSNHL, and not with BPPV per se.

The fatty acid metabolism (FAM) is known to impact tumorigenesis, tumor progression and treatment resistance via enhancing lipid synthesis, storage and catabolism. However, the role of FAM in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has remained elusive. In the present study, we obtained a total of 69 differentially expressed FAM-related genes between 502 HNSCC samples and 44 normal samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The HNSCC samples were divided into 2 clusters according to 69 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) via cluster analysis. Then DEGs in the two clusters were found, and 137 prognostic DEGs were identified by univariate analysis. Subsequently, combined with the clinical information of 546 HNSCC patients from TCGA database, a 12-gene prognostic risk model was established (FEPHX3, SPINK7, FCRLA, MASP1, ZNF541, CD5, BEST2 and ZAP70 were down-regulation, ADPRHL1, DYNC1I1, KCNG1 and LINC00460 were up-regulation) using multivariate Cox regression and LASSO regression analysis. The risk scores of 546 HNSCC samples were calculated. According to the median risk score, 546 HNSCC patients were divided into the high- and low-risk (high- and low score) groups. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the survival time of HNSCC patients was significantly shorter in the high-risk group than that in the low-risk group (p < 0.001). The same conclusion was obtained in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset. After that, the multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that the risk score was an independent factor for patients with HNSCC in the TCGA cohort. In addition, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) indicated that the level of infiltrating immune cells was relatively low in the high-risk group compared with the low-risk group. In summary, FAM-related gene expression-based risk signature could predict the prognosis of HNSCC independently.

Abstract Background Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) ranks as the sixth most common malignancy. The identification of highly specific and sensitive prognostic markers and potential drug targets can contribute to enhanced patient prognosis and individualized treatments. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) act as molecular chaperones and play a crucial role in maintaining cell homeostasis. Recently, research has indicated that HSPs also act as “evil chaperones” in cancer development. Methods In this study, we assessed the expression of HSPs in HNSC patients using the ONCOMINE, GEPIA, and UALCAN databases. Mutations of HSP genes were also analysed using the cBioPortal database. Additionally, the expression levels of HSPs were verified using the Human Protein Altas (THPA) database. Results We found that the expression levels of HSPH1, HSPD1, SERPINH1, HSPA4, and HSP90AA1 were significantly higher in tissues from HNSC patients compared with normal tissues. Moreover, HSPH1, HSPD1, SERPINH1, HSPA4 and HSP90AA1 expressions were linked to disease progression. Survival analysis with the GEPIA and OncoLnc databases indicated that upregulation of HSPH1, HSPD1, SERPINH1, HSPA4 and HSP90AA1 was related to poor overall survival (OS). Conclusion This study suggests that the HSPH1, HSPD1, SERPINH1, HSPA4 and HSP90AA1 genes are potential clinical targets and prognostic biomarkers for patients with HNSC.

Abstract. Objective:. The aim of this study was to analyze the outcomes and complications of endoscopic tympanoplasties and review the strategies for endoscopic revision surgeries. Methods:. Revision endoscopic surgeries are performed on patients with unsatisfactory outcomes after endoscopic tympanoplasties. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China (approval No. 2020-0045-1). Results:. Residual or recurrent tympanic membrane marginal perforation is treated by autogenous fat and cartilage grafting; graft collapse is treated using tissue from the tragus; and graft displacement is treated by endoscopic fixation of the cartilage–perichondrium complex. Lateral healing of the tympanic membrane, prosthesis fracture, prosthesis extrusion, middle ear adhesions, and recurrent perforation also required revision surgeries. Conclusion:. Residual or recurrent tympanic membrane marginal perforation is the most common cause of unsatisfactory outcomes after endoscopic tympanoplasty; fat grafting is effective only for small perforations. Small cartilage grafts are an effective means of dealing with residual marginal perforation; the cartilage and perichondrium complex should be fixed securely. Patients with prosthesis implants require regular examination.

PurposeThis study aimed to construct a prognostic signature consisting of immune-related RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) to predict the prognosis of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) effectively.MethodsThe transcriptome and clinical data of HNSCC were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. First, we ascertained the immunological differences in HNSCC, through single-sample gene set enrichment analysis, stromal and immune cells in malignant tumor tissues using expression data (ESTIMATE), and cell-type identification by estimating relative subsets of RNA transcripts (CIBERSORT) deconvolution algorithm. Then we used univariate proportional hazards (Cox) regression analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis to screen immune-related RBPs and acquire the risk score of each sample. Subsequently, we further investigated the difference in prognosis, immune status, and tumor mutation burden in high- and low-risk groups. Finally, the efficacy of immunotherapy was measured by the tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score.ResultsWe derived 15 immune-related RBPs, including FRMD4A, ASNS, RAB11FIP1, FAM120C, CFLAR, CTTN, PLEKHO1, SELENBP1, CHCHD2, NPM3, ATP2A3, CFDP1, IGF2BP2, NQO1, and DENND2D. There were significant differences in the prognoses of patients in the high- and low-risk groups in the training set (p < 0.001) and the validation set (p < 0.01). Furthermore, there were statistical differences between the high-risk group and low-risk group in immune cell infiltration and pathway and tumor mutation load (p < 0.001). In the end, we found that patients in the low-risk group were more sensitive to immunotherapy (p < 0.001), and then we screened 14 small-molecule chemotherapeutics with higher sensitivity to the high-risk group (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe study constructed a prognostic signature of HNSCC, which might guide clinical immunotherapy in the future.

Better understanding the mechanism of cisplatin-induced ototoxicity is of great significance for clinical prevention and treatment of cisplatin-related hearing loss. However, the mechanism of cisplatin-induced inflammatory response in cochlear stria vascularis and the mechanism of marginal cell (MC) damage have not been fully clarified. In this study, a stable model of cisplatin-induced MC damage was established in vitro, and the results of PCR and Western blotting showed increased expressions of NLRP3, Caspase-1, IL-1β, and GSDMD in MCs. Incomplete cell membranes including many small pores appearing on the membrane were also observed under transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, downregulation of NLRP3 by small interfering RNA can alleviate cisplatin-induced MC pyroptosis, and reducing the expression level of TXNIP possesses the inhibition effect on NLRP3 inflammasome activation and its mediated pyroptosis. Taken together, our results suggest that NLRP3 inflammasome activation may mediate cisplatin-induced MC pyroptosis in cochlear stria vascularis, and TXNIP is a possible upstream regulator, which may be a promising therapeutic target for alleviating cisplatin-induced hearing loss.

Sensorineural hearing loss is a common sensory impairment in humans caused by abnormalities in the inner ear. The stria vascularis is regarded as a major cochlear structure that can independently degenerate and influence the degree of hearing loss. This review summarizes the current literature on the role of the stria vascularis in the pathogenesis of sensorineural hearing loss resulting from different etiologies, focusing on both molecular events and signaling pathways, and further attempts to explore the underlying mechanisms at the cellular and molecular biological levels. In addition, the deficiencies and limitations of this field are discussed. With the rapid progress in scientific technology, new opportunities are arising to fully understand the role of the stria vascularis in the pathogenesis of sensorineural hearing loss, which, in the future, will hopefully lead to the prevention, early diagnosis, and improved treatment of sensorineural hearing loss.

Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A), 5-methylcytosine (m5C) and N1-methyladenosine (m1A) are the main RNA methylation modifications involved in the progression of cancer. However, it is still unclear whether m6A/m5C/m1A-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) affect the prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).Methods: We summarized 52 m6A/m5C/m1A-related genes, downloaded 44 normal samples and 501 HNSCC tumor samples with RNA-seq data and clinical information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and then searched for m6A/m5C/m1A-related genes co-expressed lncRNAs. We adopt the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression to obtain m6A/m5C/m1A-related lncRNAs to construct a prognostic signature of HNSCC.Results: This prognostic signature is based on six m6A/m5C/m1A-related lncRNAs (AL035587.1, AC009121.3, AF131215.5, FMR1-IT1, AC106820.5, PTOV1-AS2). It was found that the high-risk subgroup has worse overall survival (OS) than the low-risk subgroup. Moreover, the results showed that most immune checkpoint genes were significantly different between the two risk groups (p < 0.05). Immunity microenvironment analysis showed that the contents of NK cell resting, macrophages M2, and neutrophils in samples of low-risk group were significantly lower than those of high-risk group (p < 0.05), while the contents of B cells navie, plasma cells, and T cells regulatory (Tregs) were on the contrary (p < 0.05). In addition, patients with high tumor mutational burden (TMB) had the worse overall survival than those with low tumor mutational burden.Conclusion: Our study elucidated how m6A/m5C/m1A-related lncRNAs are related to the prognosis, immune microenvironment, and TMB of HNSCC. In the future, these m6A/m5C/m1A-related lncRNAs may become a new choice for immunotherapy of HNSCC.

Background: Hemophilia A (HA) is an X-linked recessive blood coagulation disorder caused by a variety of abnormalities in F8 gene, resulting in the absence of impaired molecule production of factor VIII (FVIII) in the plasma. The genetic testing of the F8 gene encoding FVIII is used for confirmation of HA diagnosis, which significantly reduced serious complications of this disease and, ultimately, increased life expectancy. Methods: Sanger sequencing was performed in F8 gene exons of the suspected patients with blood coagulation-related indicators. Results: A novel F8 indel variant c.6343delC, p.Leu2115SerfsTer28 in exon 22 of the F8 gene was identified in the suspected families. The infant with this novel variant appeared the symptom of minor bleeding and oral cavity bleeding, and decreased activity of FVIII, which is consistent with that of F8 deleterious variants. The 3’D protein structural analysis of the novel variant shows a change in FVIII protein stability, which may be responsible for the pathogenesis of HA. Conclusions: A novel deleterious variant was identified in our case, which expands the F8 variants spectrum. Our result is helpful for HA diagnosis and benefits carrier detection and prenatal diagnosis. Our study also reveals that mutation screening of the F8 gene should be necessary for HA suspected patients.

PurposeTo construct a prognostic signature composed of DNA repair genes to effectively predict the prognosis of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).MethodsAfter downloading the transcriptome and clinical data of HNSCC from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), 499 patients with HNSCC were equally divided into training and testing sets. In the training set, 13 DNA repair genes were screened using univariate proportional hazard (Cox) regression analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis to construct a risk model, which was validated in the testing set.ResultsIn the training and testing sets, there were significant differences in the clinical outcomes of patients in the high- and low-risk groups showed by Kaplan-Meier survival curves (P < 0.001). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that the risk score had independent prognostic predictive ability (P < 0.001). At the same time, the immune cell infiltration, immune score, immune-related gene expression, and tumor mutation burden (TMB) of patients with HNSCC were also different between the high- and low-risk groups (P < 0.05). Finally, we screened several chemotherapeutics for HNSCC, which showed significant differences in drug sensitivity between the high- and low-risk groups (P < 0.05).ConclusionThis study constructed a 13-DNA-repair-gene signature for the prognosis of HNSCC, which could accurately and independently predict the clinical outcome of the patient. We then revealed the immune landscape, TMB, and sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs in different risk groups, which might be used to guide clinical treatment decisions.

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV, SARS-CoV-2) infection has already been assigned as a Class B infectious disease requiring Class A management strategy according to “the Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases of the People's Republic of China” and become a global pandemic. The incidence of emergencies in otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery such as foreign bodies in the esophagus and the respiratory tract, epistaxis, laryngeal obstruction with dyspnea, and head and neck trauma are relatively high. Emergency surgeries are required as some of these diseases progress rapidly and probably be life-threatening. In this article, we drafted the recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of emergency surgeries in otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery in the epidemic area of novel coronavirus pneumonia based on “Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Diagnosis and Treatment Plan (Provisional; 7th Edition Revisions)”and WHO guidelines, combined with the experience of emergency surgeries in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Wuhan Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, which is at the center outbreak area of the SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia (COVID-19) in China, to improve the success rate of treatment for otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery emergency surgeries and to reduce the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in the perioperative period.

Abstract Acquired sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), including age-related hearing loss (ARHL), noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), drug-induced hearing loss (DIHL) and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), is one of the most common sensory deficits in humans. Several studies have reported that antioxidant gene glutathione s-transferase M1 and T1 (GST M1 and T1) polymorphisms have a close relationship with the susceptibility to acquired SNHL, but other articles have reported opposite results. This meta-analysis aims to identify whether an association exists between GST M1 and T1 polymorphisms and the susceptibility to acquired SNHL. Seventeen independent studies containing 1749 cases and 2018 controls were included. According to the I2 value of the heterogeneity test, random-effects model was selected to calculate the pooled odds ratios (ORs) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) and p values. The pooled ORs (95% CI, p-value) of GST M1 and T1 were 1.186(0.955–1.473, p = 0.122) and 1.107(0.841–1.458, p = 1.467), respectively. In addition, subgroup analyses according to the type of SNHL and ethnicity showed no relationship between GST M1 and T1 polymorphisms and the susceptibility to acquired SNHL. Our results suggest that no significant relationship was found between GST M1 and T1 polymorphisms and the susceptibility to acquired SNHL.

Several case-control studies reported the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in HSP70 genes and noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). However, their conclusions are conflicting. This meta-analysis aims to identify the association of HSP70 variants and NIHL susceptibility.A systematical literature search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Wanfang Chinese database. The pooled odds radio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI) and p value were calculated in fixed- or random-effects model according to the I2 value in the heterogeneity test.Four articles containing five studies, including 633 cases and 926 controls, were included. Under the allele, homozygote and dominant model, the pooled ORs (95%CI, p-value) of rs1061581 were 1.32 (1.06-1.67, p = 0.019), 1.93 (1.10-3.36, p = 0.021) and 1.455 (1.408-2.019, p = 0.025), respectively. In addition, a significant association was found between rs2227956 in Caucasians and the NIHL susceptibility under all five genetic models. We did not discover evidence sufficient to prove the associations between the other three SNPs (rs1043618, rs2763979 and rs2075800) and the NIHL susceptibility.This meta-analysis indicated that the two HSP70 variants, rs1061581 and rs2227956, may serve as genetic susceptibility factors for NIHL. Larger scale studies are required to further update the results.

Mainly due to the hostile environment in wastewater plants (WWTPs), the reliability of sensors with respect to important qualities is often poor. In this work, we present the design of a semiadaptive fault diagnosis method based on the variational Bayesian mixture factor analysis (VBMFA) to support process monitoring. The proposed method is capable of capturing strong nonlinearity and the significant dynamic feature of WWTPs that seriously limit the application of conventional multivariate statistical methods for fault diagnosis implementation. The performance of proposed method is validated through a simulation study of a wastewater plant. Results have demonstrated that the proposed strategy can significantly improve the ability of fault diagnosis under fault-free scenario, accurately detect the abrupt change and drift fault, and even localize the root cause of corresponding fault properly.