Segmental transition of the first syllables of words in Japanese children who stutter: Comparison between word and sentence production.

Matsumoto-Shimamori, Ito, Fukuda, & Fukuda (2011) proposed the hypothesis that in Japanese, the transition from the core vowels (i.e. syllable nucleus) of the first syllables of words to the following segments affected the occurrence of stuttering. Moreover, in this transition position, an inter-syllabic transition precipitated more stuttering than an intra-syllabic one (Shimamori & Ito, 2007, 2008). However, these studies have only used word production tasks. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the same results could be obtained in sentence production tasks. Participants were 28 Japanese school-age children who stutter, ranging in age from 7;3 to 12;7. The frequency of stuttering on words with an inter-syllabic transition was significantly higher than on those having an intra-syllabic transition, not only in isolated words but in the first words of sentences. These results suggested that Matsumoto et al.'s hypothesis could be applicable to the results of sentence production tasks.

A new method for long-term home monitoring of fetal movement by pregnant women themselves.

Fetal movement is one index of fetal well-being. We designed and built a new recorder based on fetal movement acceleration measurement (FMAM). The FMAM recorder has a newly developed, capacitive acceleration sensor that can detect the oscillations of the maternal abdominal wall caused by fetal movements. In this study, the recorder was examined for its suitability for long-term home monitoring of fetal movement by pregnant women themselves. Experiment I: Fourteen pregnant women underwent 45 examinations in the laboratory at gestational 20-39 weeks. We simultaneously recorded fetal movement as detected by the recorder, ultrasonography, and maternal perception, and then calculated agreement among the three methods. We evaluated agreement using prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK). Agreement for gross fetal movement as detected by FMAM and ultrasonography was substantial or almost perfect, while agreement between maternal perception and ultrasonography was moderate or substantial. Experiment II: Six pregnant women undertook 53 experiments at home by themselves. Fetal movement during maternal nocturnal sleep was successfully recorded 50 out of 53 times at home. In conclusion, there was high agreement for gross fetal movement between FMAM and ultrasonography. The recorder is promising for objective, accurate, and long-term home monitoring of gross fetal movement by pregnant women themselves.

Postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy for the high-risk uterine cervical cancer.

AIM: To determine whether concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) can improve the survival rate of high-risk uterine cervical cancer. MATERIAL & METHODS: We analyzed 16 cases of uterine cervical cancer that had undergone radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy from 2003 to 2008. The patients were eligible if they had histologically confirmed positive parametrial involvement, positive pelvic lymph nodes or non-squamous cell carcinoma. They received 50 Gy of external beam radiotherapy (RT) for the pelvis which was combined with chemotherapy. Cisplatin was administered intravenously every 3 weeks at a dose of 70 mg/m(2) during the RT. For renal function complication case, carboplatin was administered weekly. For control purposes, there were 14 cases treated in our hospital from 1995 to 2003 who had received only RT. RESULTS: We did not find any statistically significant difference in the disease-free survival rate between the CCRT group and the RT group. However, the overall survival rate was significantly higher for patients in the CCRT group compared with the RT group in positive lymph node cases and non-squamous cell carcinoma cases. Adverse effects were more frequent in the CCRT group. Over grade 3 toxicities were manifested as leukopenia, diarrhea and anemia. There was no local recurrence in CCRT group patients. CONCLUSION: CCRT seems to be beneficial for improving the survival rate of either positive lymph node or non-squamous cell carcinoma cases in high-risk uterine cervical cancer patients.

Erythematous and bullous rash strongly indicating toxic epidermal necrolysis associated with the use of intravenous ritodrine hydrochloride.

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a very rare drug reaction associated with a high mortality rate. This condition warrants prompt recognition, diagnosis and treatment. Only one case report of TEN that was possibly induced by ritodrine hydrochloride, a tocolytic agent, was found in English literature. Here, we report the case of a 26-year-old pregnant woman who was suspected with TEN following the intravenous administration of ritodrine hydrochloride in the 35(th) week of gestation. An emergency cesarean section was performed because the labor pains caused systemic intolerable haphalgesia. After the surgery, intensive dermatological treatment commenced, which helped her recover from the serious condition. The result of the drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test for ritodrine hydrochloride was positive. When a skin eruption appears during the administration of ritodrine, we must consider the benefits as well as the risks of continuous use of tocolytic agents because there is a risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome or TEN.