The pre- and post-somatic segments of the human type I spiral ganglion neurons--structural and functional considerations related to cochlear implantation.

Human auditory nerve afferents consist of two separate systems; one is represented by the large type I cells innervating the inner hair cells and the other one by the small type II cells innervating the outer hair cells. Type I spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) constitute 96% of the afferent nerve population and, in contrast to other mammals, their soma and pre- and post-somatic segments are unmyelinated. Type II nerve soma and fibers are unmyelinated. Histopathology and clinical experience imply that human SGNs can persist electrically excitable without dendrites, thus lacking connection to the organ of Corti. The biological background to this phenomenon remains elusive. We analyzed the pre- and post-somatic segments of the type I human SGNs using immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in normal and pathological conditions. These segments were found surrounded by non-myelinated Schwann cells (NMSCs) showing strong intracellular expression of laminin-β2/collagen IV. These cells also bordered the perikaryal entry zone and disclosed surface rugosities outlined by a folded basement membrane (BM) expressing laminin-β2 and collagen IV. It is presumed that human large SGNs are demarcated by three cell categories: (a) myelinated Schwann cells, (b) NMSCs and (c) satellite glial cells (SGCs). Their BMs express laminin-β2/collagen IV and reaches the BM of the sensory epithelium at the habenula perforata. We speculate that the NMSCs protect SGNs from further degeneration following dendrite loss. It may give further explanation why SGNs can persist as electrically excitable monopolar cells even after long-time deafness, a blessing for the deaf treated with cochlear implantation.

The Lyon phonetic manual,

This printing includes an introductory notice with the Directors and Officers of the Association listed.

Annual report for the year ... /

Description based on: 1906.

Biennial report of the Arkansas School for the Blind for the term commencing ...

Description based on: 28th (1918).

Biennial report of the Oregon State Board of Control.

Mode of access: Internet.

Transitions for students who are deaf-blind : a report /

Provides an overview of services offered by various institutions in Illinois that help the deaf-blind individual face the challenges of transition into an adult role in society, discusses weaknesses in the system, and suggests revisions and additions to the program.

Evils of the cities : a series of practical and popular discourses delivered in the Brooklyn Tabernacle /

Pages 23-30: The "hard-of-hearing" speechless children in our schools for the deaf : paper read July 6, 1895, at the fourteenth convention of American Teachers of the deaf, at Flint, Michigan / by R.S. Rhodes.

Proceedings of the Convention

Mode of access: Internet.

Report of the proceedings

Mode of access: Internet.

Theory-of-mind development in oral deaf children with cochlear implants or conventional hearing aids

Background: In the context of the established finding that theory-of-mind (ToM) growth is seriously delayed in late-signing deaf children, and some evidence of equivalent delays in those learning speech with conventional hearing aids, this study's novel contribution was to explore ToM development in deaf children with cochlear implants. Implants can substantially boost auditory acuity and rates of language growth. Despite the implant, there are often problems socialising with hearing peers and some language difficulties, lending special theoretical interest to the present comparative design. Methods: A total of 52 children aged 4 to 12 years took a battery of false belief tests of ToM. There were 26 oral deaf children, half with implants and half with hearing aids, evenly divided between oral-only versus sign-plus-oral schools. Comparison groups of age-matched high-functioning children with autism and younger hearing children were also included. Results: No significant ToM differences emerged between deaf children with implants and those with hearing aids, nor between those in oral-only versus sign-plus-oral schools. Nor did the deaf children perform any better on the ToM tasks than their age peers with autism. Hearing preschoolers scored significantly higher than all other groups. For the deaf and the autistic children, as well as the preschoolers, rate of language development and verbal maturity significantly predicted variability in ToM, over and above chronological age. Conclusions: The finding that deaf children with cochlear implants are as delayed in ToM development as children with autism and their deaf peers with hearing aids or late sign language highlights the likely significance of peer interaction and early fluent communication with peers and family, whether in sign or in speech, in order to optimally facilitate the growth of social cognition and language.

Re -"interpreting" the conquest: European and Amerindian translators and go -betweens in the colonization of the Americas, 1492--1675

This dissertation aims to recover the lives and careers of those Amerindians and Europeans who voluntarily or involuntarily took on the role of intercultural interpreters in the contact, conquest, and early colonial period in the Americas between 1492 and 1675. It intends to prove that these so-called “marginal” figures assumed roles that went far beyond those of linguistic and cultural translators, and often had a decisive impact on early Indian-colonial relations. ^ In the course of my research, I consulted hundreds of published sixteenth- and seventeenth-century chronicles, narratives, and memoirs in my search for references to interpreters. I augmented these accounts with information derived from unpublished archival documents, drawn primarily from the Archivo General de Indias, in Seville, Spain. ^ I organized my findings in theme-driven chapters that begin with a consideration of the historiography of that subject. Each chapter is further subdivided into chronologically-arranged historical vignettes that focus on the interpreters who mediated between the Spanish, Portuguese, French, English and Dutch and the various Native American polities and cultures. ^ I found that colonial authorities and Amerindian communities alike recognized the absolute necessity of recruiting competent and loyal interpreters and go-betweens, and that both sides tried to secure their loyal service by means both fair and foul. Although pressured, pushed, and pulled in contrary directions, most interpreters recognized the pivotal position they held in cross-cultural negotiations and rarely remained passive pawns in the contests between the forces of domination and defense. ^ All across the Americas, interpreters used their linguistic and diplomatic skills, and their intimate knowledge of the “other” not simply to facilitate conquest or spearhead the opposition, but to transform themselves from “culture brokers” into “power brokers.” Many of the decisive events that shaped colonial-Indian relations turned on the actions of these culturally-ambiguous individuals, a fact bemoaned and begrudgingly acknowledged by most of the contemporary conquistadors, chroniclers, and colonial founders, and recognized by this author. ^

En tolk ska översätta, det är inte som att vara en lärare : Hur upplever skolledare, tolkar, lärare och elever tolkningen i specialskolan?

I denna undersökning intervjuades en skolledare, två tolkar, en lärare och två fokusgrupper med elever om sin syn på tolkning inom specialskolan. Data från de semistrukturerade intervjuerna analyserades enligt en kvalitativ innehållsanalys där liknande svar samlas i temagrupper. Tre teman valdes ut till resultat och dessa är: 1. Information om tolkning 2. Tolken som samordnare 3. Tolkens roll. Information om tolkning handlar om vilken information eleverna får och behöver ha för att tolkningen ska fungera. Tolken som samordnare utgår från Wadensjös (1998) syn på samordning som en reglering av det tolkade samtalet som tolken måste sköta. Tolkens roll undersöktes med främst Metzgers (1999) fundering kring huruvida tolken kan vara neutral. Resultatet pekar på att skolledare och lärare anser att eleverna får mycket information om tolkning, men det tycker inte eleverna själva. Tolkarna anser att mer information behövs för en förståelse för tolkprocessen. Tolkens roll, som neutral och samordnande, är tydlig för tolkar och elever, men inte när det är en lärare som tolkar. Tolkning inom specialskolan är något naturligt som sker ofta och som upplevs fungera till största delen väl när det är tolkar som utför uppdragen.

A dicionarização de termos em língua brasileira de sinais (Libras) para o ensino de biologia: uma atitude empreendedora

Acompanha: Glossário de termos biológicos em língua brasileira de sinais (GBLI)

Percepção da pessoa surda sobre qualidade da assistência em saúde

A barreira de comunicação existente entre as pessoas surdas e ouvintes prejudicam a participação ativa da pessoa surda na sociedade, uma vez que dificultam a manifestação de suas opiniões e sua interferência direta no processo de construção do conhecimento. Como forma de amenizar as desigualdades, foi promulgada em 2005 uma lei, conhecida como Lei de Libras, que dentre outras coisas, garantem o acesso bilíngue, nas línguas portuguesa e de sinais, aos serviços essenciais de saúde e educação. Este trabalho de pesquisa teve o objetivo de avaliar a percepção da pessoa surda quanto à qualidade das ações e serviços oferecidos nas unidades de saúde públicas, tendo em vista o cumprimento das leis vigentes voltadas para a inclusão da pessoa surda no acesso à saúde pública. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza exploratório-descritiva e enfoque transversal, realizado numa amostra de 15 pessoas surdas portadoras de perda auditiva severa ou profunda, de ambos os sexos (10 homens e 5 mulheres), que se comunicam através da Língua Brasileira de Sinais (Libras), com idade entre 20 a 38 anos, usuárias dos serviços públicos de saúde, que buscaram atendimento em 2014. Foi utilizado um questionário estruturado. Os resultados apresentados evidenciam uma comunicação inadequada entre pacientes e profissionais da saúde, além da falta de intérpretes e de precariedade na estrutura física. Estes fatos, aliados à necessidade de contratação de intérpretes por parte dos usuários, refletem um desvio da responsabilidade do Estado, no que tange ao acesso pleno aos bens e serviços de saúde conforme as leis vigentes. Palavras-chaves: Acessibilidade; Saúde Pública; Surdez; Língua Brasileira de Sinais; Identidade surda.