Guidelines of the French Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (SFORL) and the French Society of Audiology (SFA) for Speech-in-Noise Testing in Adults

ObjectivesThis document presents the fundamentals of speech audiometry in noise, general requirements for implementation and criteria for choice among the tests available in French according to the health-professional's needs.Material and methodsThe recommendations are based on a systematic analysis of the literature carried out by a multidisciplinary group of doctors, audiologists and audioprosthetists from all over France. They are graded A, B, C or expert opinion according to decreasing level of scientific evidence.ResultsEight tests of speech audiometry in noise can be used in France.ConclusionTo be complete, evaluation of hearing status requires testing understanding of speech in noise. The examination must begin with a minimum of two measurements familiarizing the subject with the test procedure. For initial diagnosis, adaptive procedures establishing the 50% speech reception threshold (SRT50) in noise are to be preferred in order to obtain a rapid and standardized measurement of perception of speech in noise. When the aim is to measure real-life speech comprehension, tests based on sentences, cocktail-party noise and free-field stimulation are to be preferred. Prosthetic gain is evaluated exclusively in free field. This is the only way to evaluate the contribution of binaurality and to measure perception in noise in an environment as close as possible to real life. In order to avoid acoustic interference in free field, at least five loudspeakers should be used, in particular for evaluating the effectiveness of directional microphones, CROS devices enabling sounds picked up in the damaged ear to be rerouted to the functional ear, or bimodal fitting (i.e., when hearing is enabled by two modalities: for example, hearing aid for one ear, cochlear implant for the other).     

神经症患者主客观生活事件的影响因素

目的研究应对方式、社会支持和压力反应等与应激有关因素对神经症患者主观、客观生活事件的影响。方法应用自编生活事件量表、压力反应问卷、特质应对问卷、领悟社会支持量表及一般情况调查表对88例神经症患者和88名健康对照进行调查和分析。结果神经症组主观事件得分[(13.295±11.845)分]高于健康组[(7.261±10.873)分](P<0.01),而神经症组客观事件得分[(10.239±9.105)分]与健康组得分[(8.376±11.213)分]差异无显著性(P>0.05)。神经症组主观事件与压力反应正相关,与家庭内支持和年龄负相关(P<0.01),客观生活事件与应激其他因素均无关;健康对照组主观事件与压力反应正相关,客观生活事件与压力反应和消极应对正相关(P<0.01)。多元逐步回归分析提示,影响神经症组主观事件的因素依次有客观事件、年龄、压力反应和家庭内支持,预测力为47.7%;但影响神经症组客观事件、健康组主观事件和客观事件的仅有相对应的主观或客观事件。结论神经症患者主观事件报告明显多于健康人群,且神经症患者主观事件受其他压力有关因素的影响较大。     

Investigation of hearing loss in patients with acute brucellosis by standard and high-frequency audiometry

This study aimed to determine the effect of acute brucellosis on the auditory system. Forty-two patients with acute brucellosis were evaluated clinically, and with serological and audiological tests, before and after treatment. Hearing threshold averages were calculated at 11 different frequencies (250-8000 Hz) of the auditory airway, and statistical analysis was performed. The average hearing thresholds were > 20 dB, with standard audiometry at 6000-8000 Hz, and < 20 dB at all other frequencies. After treatment, the average auditory threshold decreased to < 20 dB at 6000-8000 Hz (p < 0.0001). Pure-tone hearing thresholds were improved at all frequencies after treatment, with statistically significant differences at all frequencies except 12,000, 14,000 and 16 000 Hz (p < 0.05). There was no permanent hearing loss caused by acute brucellosis, and hearing thresholds were restored after treatment. It was concluded that acute brucellosis affects the auditory system, especially at high frequencies, and that patients with all forms of brucellosis should be evaluated for hearing loss.     

艺术嗓音歌声客观评价初探

目的探讨客观评价艺术嗓音歌声的方法。方法对48名声乐专业青年大学生录制专业训练歌声信号,提取歌声平均能量、频率误差、音域误差作为评价参数,使用神经网络方法和多元线性回归方法客观评价歌声质量,并与资深专业教师的主观评价进行比较。结果客观评价歌声质量的方法中,神经网络方法误差在4%之内,而线性回归方法误差在6%之内,前者较优。结论神经网络方法利用评价参数能正确客观评价歌声质量,有助于科学地指导选拔和训练艺术嗓音人才。     

双音节普通话言语测听词表的等价性评估

目的：本项研究针对已编制完成的具有语音平衡特性的双音节普通话测听词汇表（MSTM）进行难度等价性分析，以期挑选出具有难度一致性的一组词表应用于临床。方法：对10张（每张50词）的双音节词表进行数字化录音。选取65名年龄18～25岁具有大专以上文化程度，日常生活中以普通话为交流方式的听力正常人作为受试者。对5名受试者进行预试验，获得正式测试时所需的给声强度。对60名受试者进行正式的言语识别测试，使用SPSS11．0软件对结果进行等价性分析。结果：10张双音节测试词表中，除测试表5外，其余各表间均具有难度等价性。结论：9张双音节普通话测听词汇表具有较好的难度等价性，可应用于临床测试和实验研究中。     

论公费医疗大额死亡病例的资源消耗与医学目的

从北京市公费医疗大额消耗的９２例死亡病例的费用结构及住院城数的统计，提示由住院日地长，贵重卫生资源的盲目过量投入等而致。这与中国国情不符。因此，医学目的概念应更新，以及应如何正确对待死亡病例的医疗服务值得进行讨论。     

Retrograde transneuronal transport of wheat-germ agglutinin to the retina from visual cortex in the cat

Summary The stability of visual perception despite eye movements suggests the existence, in the visual system, of neural elements able to recognize whether a movement of an image occurring in a particular part of the retina is the consequence of an actual movement that occurred in the visual field, or self-induced by an ocular movement while the object was still in the field of view. Recordings from single neurons in area V3A of awake macaque monkeys were made to check the existence of such a type of neurons (called real-motion cells; see Galletti et al. 1984, 1988) in this prestriate area of the visual cortex. A total of 119 neurons were recorded from area V3A. They were highly sensitive to the orientation of the visual stimuli, being on average more sensitive than V1 and V2 neurons. Almost all of them were sensitive to a large range of velocities of stimulus movement and about one half to the direction of it. In order to assess whether they gave different responses to the movement of a stimulus and to that of its retinal image alone (self-induced by an eye movement while the stimulus was still), a comparison was made between neuronal responses obtained when a moving stimulus swept a stationary receptive field (during steady fixation) and when a moving receptive field swept a stationary stimulus (during tracking eye movement). The receptive field stimulation at retinal level was physically the same in both cases, but only in the first was there actual movement of the visual stimulus. Control trials, where the monkeys performed tracking eye movements without any intentional receptive field stimulation, were also carried out. For a number of neurons, the test was repeated in darkness and against a textured visual background. Eighty-seven neurons were fully studied to assess whether they were real-motion cells. About 48% of them (42/87) showed significant differences between responses to stimulus versus eye movement. The great majority of these cells (36/42) were real-motion cells, in that they showed a weaker response to visual stimulation during tracking than to the actual stimulus movement during steady fixation. On average, the reduction in visual response during eye movement was 64.0 ± 15.7% (SD). Data obtained with a uniform visual background, together with those obtained in darkness and with textured background, indicate that real-motion cells receive an eye-motion input, either retinal or extraretinal in nature, probably acting presynaptically on the cell's visual input. In some cases, both retinal and extraretinal eye-motion inputs converge on the same real-motion cell. No correlation was observed between the real-motion behaviour and the sensitivity to either orientation or direction of movement of the visual stimulus used to activate the receptive field, nor with the retinotopic location of the receptive field. We suggest that the visual system uses real-motion cells in order to distinguish real from self-induced movements of retinal images, hence to recognize the actual movement in the visual field. Based on psychophysical data, the hypothesis has been advanced of an internal representation of the field of view, stable despite eye movement (cf. MacKay 1973). The real-motion cells may be neural elements of this network and we suggest that the visual system uses the output of this network to properly interpret the large number of sensory changes resulting from exploratory eye movements in a stable visual world.     

慢性肾功能衰竭患者畸变产物耳声发射分析

测定２１例（４２耳）慢性肾功能衰竭（ＣＲＦ）患者的畸变产物耳声发射（ＤＰＯＡＥ）。结果表明：ＣＲＦ患者的耳聋 为耳蜗性聋,表现为高频听力损失,ＤＰＯＡＥ检测可客观、快速地反映耳蜗的病变。且ＤＰＯＡＥ具有频率特异性,有助于对该病患者听力障碍的早期诊断。     

医药分开核算分别管理改革的目标及政策选择

文章指出医药分开核算分别管理改革应确定两大目标：控制医药费过快上涨;逐步完善医疗机构补偿机制。提出应推行五大改革措施：控制药品收入;控制平均医疗、住院费用增长幅度;药品收入定比例上缴;大型医疗设备收费降低10％;强化药品采购管理。