Vietnamese refugees in Victoria, B.C.: An overview of immigrant and refugee health care in a medium-sized Canadian urban centre

This paper examines the manner in which Vietnamese refugees acces the healthcare system in Victoria, British Columbia. A major theme of this study was the identification of barriers to health care access and provision as perceived by refugees and health care providers, as well as areas of overlap between the two sets of perceptions. The study was based on interview protocols developed with key informants followed by structured samples of 20 Vietnamese and 20 health care workers. The major issue identified by both groups was problematic interpretation of patient symptoms and health care provider recommendations. Lack of health care worker understanding of traditional remedies for common ailments was also identified as a barrier to health care access and utilization. The special problems of unemployment, depression, surviving torture and getting assistance are all made more difficult for refugees living in a smaller urban centre which lacks sufficiently large ethnic populations to assist in service provision. A number of suggestions are made which might ameliorate the difficulties of refugees living in smaller communities. These include municipally based client advocates and special translation training for existing hospital staff.     

影响儿童语言和识字能力的研究进展

现代生活中 ,儿童的语言和识字受家庭认知环境的影响。近年来无论从流行病学的研究 ,还是干预或神经生物的研究 ,均证实儿童早期经验是日后语言和识字能力发展的基础。在早期经验中 ,最关键的是父母与孩子之间的语言交流。通过这样的交流 ,促进儿童早期的语言发育 ,也促进儿童学龄期的阅读理解。儿童保健医生处于独特的位置 ,即在常规保健中指导父母根据不同年龄儿童的发育水平 ,应用有关的技能技巧 ,促进儿童的语言和识字。     

磁源成像在母语为汉语正常人的语言功能定位中的应用

目的 采用脑磁图（magnetoencephalograph，MEG）的等价电流偶极子定位法（Equivalent current dipole，ECD）和合成孔径磁场定位法（SAMSynthetic、Aperture Magnetometry，SAM）定位母语为汉语的健康自愿者的语占中枢，探讨汉字的语言处理过程。方法 对10例母语为汉语的健康受试者给予默读真词、假词的语言任务刺激，记录刺激后产生的诱发磁场，将采集的数据与MRI叠加获得磁源性影像（MSI Magnetic source imaging）语占功能区定位川同样的方法对4例胶质瘤患者进行术前语言功能区定位，术中皮层电刺激所定位语言功能区，明确是否产生言语障碍。结果 所有受试者真词、假词均在双侧大脑半球诱发出明显的晚期磁反应波，左侧大脑半球磁反应波分化较右侧大脑半球好，Broea区俯于额下回后部，Wernicke区位于颞中同、颢上回、缘上回，Wernieke区先于Broca区出现。胶质瘤患者术巾电刺激所定位的Broca区、Wernicke区均产生言语障碍：结论母语为汉语的正常人的Broca区Wernieke区与经典的语言中枢糕本相符，MEG定位语言中枢的技术是可行的。     

医生职业用语中的伦理问题

论述了医生职业语言的基本特征，分析了诊断和治疗过程两个环节中医患语言的基本特征，总结了医生职业用语基本的伦理原则。     

Detecting possible vaccine adverse events in clinical notes of the electronic medical record

The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) is a collaboration between the CDC and eight large HMOs to investigate adverse events following immunization through analyses of clinical data. We modified an existing system, called MediClass, that uses natural language processing to identify clinical events recorded in electronic medical records (EMRs). We customized MediClass so it could detect possible vaccine adverse events (VAEs) generally, and gastrointestinal-related VAEs in particular, in the text clinical notes of encounters recorded in the EMR of a large HMO. Compared to methods that use diagnosis and utilization codes assigned to encounters by clinicians and administrators, the MediClass system can both find more adverse events and improve the positive predictive value for detecting possible VAEs.     

非特异性言语学习障碍的遗传学研究进展

非特异性言语学习障碍是具有明显的遗传倾向和遗传异质性的一类神经心理疾病,患者通常仅具有言语发育障碍这一认知缺陷.研究非特异性言语学习障碍的遗传易感位点和候选基因功能不仅可以从分子角度去认识和理解非特异性言语学习障碍的遗传和病理生理机制,同时也推动了神经心理学和认知遗传学等相关学科的发展.本文就目前常见非特异性言语学习障碍遗传易感位点和候选基因的研究现状及该研究领域所存在和面临的问题,以及发展前景作一综述.     

A longitudinal study of autism spectrum disorders in individuals diagnosed with a developmental language disorder as children

Background   A number of studies have shown that the diagnosis of developmental language disorder (DLD) can be unstable over time, such that young children with a diagnosis of DLD may show symptoms more characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at a later date.
Method   To estimate the types and prevalence of ASD 469 individuals with a DLD, consecutively assessed in the same clinic during a period of 10 years, and 2345 controls from the general population were screened for ASD through the nationwide Danish Psychiatric Central Register (DPCR). The mean length of observation was 34.7 years, and the mean age at follow-up 35.8 (range: 28.3–46.7) years.
Results   At follow-up, 10 (2.1%) in the DLD group and two (0.09%) in the comparison group were known in the DPCR with a diagnosis of any ASD ( P < 0.0001; odds ratio = 25.5; 95% confidence interval 5.5–116.9).
Conclusion   Our results provide additional support to the notion that DLD is a marker of increased vulnerability to the development of ASD.     

Literacy for early childhood: Learning from the learners

The originator of LETTERLAND describes a unique teaching model which blends a structured phonics approach with whole language teaching. Children are introduced to a language about language which enables them to acquire a confident mastery of print based on parallel learning. Its pictogrammatic approach creates a stimulus to inquiry and a learning environment which is imaginative and friendly.     

Factors determining the performance of medical students of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kuwait

An investigation was undertaken to determine the factors influencing performance of medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kuwait. Data were collected for the first batch of 42 candidates who successfully passed the 7-year medical programme. Results showed high correlations between high-school admission grades and subsequent performance during the medical programme. Similar results were also obtained with English proficiency. A partial correlation controlling for English proficiency, however, showed a systematic decline in the magnitude of the correlations between high-school grades and performance during the medical programme. In fact the relationship between high-school GPA and clinical GPA was non-significant. A prominent influence of English proficiency on performance is indicated.     

Chameleon voices: Interpreting for deaf parents

As interpreters for their deaf parents, hearing children are a cultural link between two often separate worlds: the Deaf and the Hearing. Data from a 4 year study of adult hearing children throughout the United States indicate significant differences between hearing daughters and hearing sons. Not only were daughters more likely than sons (regardless of birth order or age differences) to interpret for their parents, but daughters were also far more likely to be bilingual: fluent in both spoken English and American Sign Language. A similar gender bias has been observed among the general hearing public: women are far more likely to attend sign language classes and to work as interpreters for the deaf. This paper explores the social mechanisms and cultural values which determine the gender of the way we communicate with one another. Informants' narratives suggest that sign language and the practice of interpreting often touched upon a larger pattern of socialization and status differences between women and men. The discussion then turns to consider how these differences affect the cultural identity of hearing sons versus hearing daughters.