Effects of repair strategies on visual identification of sentences

This investigation determined whether information elicited by repair strategies enhances an individual's ability to lipread a misperceived sentence. Five groups of subjects were each assigned one of five repair strategies: (a) asking the talker to repeat a sentence, (b) simplify it, (c) rephrase it, (d) say an important keyword, and (e) speak two sentences. Subjects viewed sentences spoken by six different talkers. When a subject did not recite a sentence verbatim, the talker performed the assigned repair strategy and then repeated the original sentence. A control group of subjects saw only the original sentence repeated twice. All five test groups demonstrated a significantly greater improvement for the second presentation score (referenced to the first presentation score) than the control group. The benefits provided by the repair strategies were independent of the talker, and benefits did not differ significantly among the groups.     

Evaluation of cost effectiveness for conservative and active management strategies for acoustic neuroma

Objective: To determine whether economic costs associated with a conservative management strategy for unilateral acoustic neuroma offer an economic advantage over active management options. Design: Cost and sensitivity analysis on a prospective cohort. Setting: Single centre study within a tertiary referral centre in Toronto, Canada. Participants: 72 patients (32 males, 40 females) aged 36 to 78 years with unilateral acoustic neuroma were assigned initially to a conservative management strategy. Entry criteria were small tumour size (less than 15mm in the cerebellopontine angle), patient preference and/or significant co‐morbidity. Interventions: MRI scanning was performed every 6 months for the first year, annually subsequently and then every 2‐3 years as required. Clinical review occurred every 6 months. Failure of conservative management led to active treatment. Main outcome measures: Cost analysis was performed to determine the mean total cost per patient for continued conservative management over the follow up period compared to the mean upfront total cost per patient undergoing active intervention. Results: Cost analysis within the Canadian health care system determined the mean total cost per patient for microsurgical removal at CAD$22,402 (£12,545; 14,561€), for gamma knife radiotherapy at CAD$27659 (£15,489; 17,978€), for LINAC radiotherapy at CAD$9,003(£5,041; 5,852€) and for conservative management at CAD$9,651 (£5,405;6,273€) over the follow‐up timeframe. Conclusion: An economic advantage can be demonstrated for the conservative management of acoustic neuromas compared to microsurgical removal and gamma knife radiotherapy on the proviso that no increase in active treatment complications arose from continued tumour growth during the period of observation.     

聋校学生的书面词语理解与教学

聋生在书面词语理解方面存在着严重的缺陷。在语文教学中，需要向聋生讲解的书面词语比需要向听力正常学生讲解的要多得多。向聋生进行书面调语讲解也比向听力正常学生进行书面词语讲解困难得多。聋校的书面词语教学需要从聋生的实际出发，采用适合聋生特点的书面词语教学方法。     

On the cross hearing of spondaic words

Twelve adults with unilateral hearing losses were tested to determine interaural attenuation for spondaic words. Low-pass and band-pass filters were used to simulate hearing loss at the normal ear. Results suggest that in deciding on the possibility of cross hearing, the spondee threshold at the test ear should be compared to the most sensitive bone-conduction threshold at the nontest ear, excluding .25 kc/s.     

思比易(SpeechEasy)口吃矫正器矫治口吃临床观察

目的观察思比易(SpeechEasy)口吃矫正器对口吃矫治的疗效。方法为5名口吃患者验配口吃矫正器,记录受试者治疗前后正常语速下每100个音节中出现口吃的音节数,并统计结果。结果经使用口吃矫正器,受试者口吃音节百分比均下降,有效率达77.1%(P<0.01)。结论思比易(SpeechEasy)口吃矫正器能有效矫治口吃。     

Lexical effects on recognition of the NU-6 words by monolingual and bilingual listeners

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated how lexical effects account for word recognition in monolinguals versus bilinguals. Design: Listener-specific error rate and familiarity rating of 200 NU-6 words were obtained. Lexical data (normative familiarity, frequency of occurrence, neighborhood density, and frequency of neighborhood competitors) for these words were obtained from the Hoosier mental lexicon. Study sample: Participants included 10 monolinguals and three groups of 10 bilinguals differing mainly in age of acquisition and length of schooling/working in English. Results: Lexical effects were minimal for monolinguals’ word recognition. Listener-specific familiarity rating correlated to error rate better than the Hoosier normative rating. Frequency of occurrence was the most significant lexical variable in accounting for bilinguals’ measures and its effect was the greatest on bilinguals foreign born and educated. Age of English acquisition tended to affect familiarity rating, whereas length of schooling/working in English tended to affect error rate. Conclusions: Frequency of word occurrence significantly affects bilinguals’ familiarity rating and error rate of the NU-6 words. Listener-specific familiarity rating should be obtained to best predict error rate on the test.     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty

A new surgical procedure to treat obstructive sleep apnea by uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) was evaluated in 66 patients, 63 men and 3 women, with objectively documented sleep apnea syndrome. Removal of redundant tissue in the oropharynx (UPPP) significantly improved excessive daytime sleepiness, reduced by half the frequency of apneas and hypoxia occurring during sleep, and improved the quality of sleep. Closer analysis indicated that all 66 patients did not benefit to the same degree. Among patients classified as responders, the frequency of apnea was reduced to a level seen in healthy adults of the same age, measures of sleep approached normal, and excessive daytime sleepiness was eliminated. In nonresponders, frequency of apnea and consequent disruption of sleep was not reduced, but nocturnal hypoxia was improved.     

Posterior epistaxis: systematic review on the effectiveness of surgical therapies

OBJECTIVE: The optimal surgical treatment for patients with posterior epistaxis and failed conservative therapy is unknown. Therefore we planned a systematic review studying all available publications assessing the effect on bleeding recurrence and postoperative complications of ligation of the internal maxillary artery or the sphenopalatine artery. METHODS: We searched the electronic databases Medline, Medline In Process, and Cochrane Library. Data extraction was performed following standard methods. RESULTS: Twenty-eight studies could be included in the systematic review. All studies were retrospective and no single study comparing different methods could be identified. Fifteen studies reported on the effect of the ligation of the internal maxillary artery (LIMA) and 13 on the effect of the ligation of the sphenopalatine artery (LSA). The severity of postoperative complications and duration of hospital stay seem to be lower in the LSA group. A conclusive statement about the frequency of rebleeding in the two groups is not possible. CONCLUSION: According to the available data on postoperative complications and duration of hospital stay ligation of the sphenopalatine artery compared favourably to the ligation of the internal maxillary artery. The most effective treatment for patients with posterior epistaxis including costs should be evaluated in a controlled clinical trial.     

III型鼻窦炎鼻息肉临床分期探讨以及各期手术疗效分析

目的探讨不同病变程度的III型鼻窦炎鼻息肉内窥镜鼻窦手术的疗效和并发症.方法将随访6～18个月的104例(208侧)III型鼻窦炎鼻息肉依据病史、解剖结构、病变程度在临床上分为 3期,并对各期手术临床疗效、并发症进行比较分析.结果 1、2、3期临床总有效率分别为93.06%、82.89% 和70.00% ;并发症发生率分别为5.56%、14.47% 和 25 .00 %.结论 III型患者的解剖学改变(窦口鼻道复合体的完整性)及病变程度(肉芽增生及筛窦骨质增生)决定了手术的难度、风险及疗效,也应列为临床分期的客观依据.