2016年9月8日 星期四

dowdy, dressage, narcolepsy, frumpy, asexual,splotch




What’s black and white (with just a few splotches of brown), understands French, and falls asleep at feeding times? A narcoleptic Chihuahua named Watson. The slightly shy pup often works with his human, Emmanuel Mignot, director of the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, to help young patients who suffer from narcolepsy. The two were filmed on campus last week for an upcoming feature on Discovery and Animal Planet.
Photo by Margarita Gallardo


Too Often, Doctors Overlook Narcolepsy
By JANE E. BRODY
Studies suggest that narcolepsy is far more common than most doctors realize, and it is frequently misdiagnosed.

'There are still many negative stereotypes regarding people with disabilities that, unfortunately, continue to be very prevalent. In general, people with disabilities are considered to be not sexy, asexual, pitiful, helpless, and frumpy just to name a few. This terrible image is the complete opposite of what fashion is trying to represent'
Ride on: Japanese equestrian makes Olympics at 70
ESPN
He qualified last week for the individual dressage competition on Japan's Olympic team for London this summer. He will be Japan's oldest Olympian again, reprising his role from the Beijing Games four years ago. "This time, I am very pleased to have ...




splotch
splɒtʃ/
informal
noun
  1. 1.
    a daub, blot, or smear of something, typically a liquid.
    "a splotch of red in a larger area of yellow"
verb
  1. 1.
    make a daub, blot, or smear on.
    "a rag splotched with grease"


dressage[dres・sage]

  • 発音記号[drəsɑ'ːʒ | drésɑːʒ]
[名][U]
1 高等馬術.
2 調教, 調馬.
[フランス語]

dow·dy (dou') pronunciation

adj.
, -di·er, -di·est.
  1. Lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby: a dowdy gray outfit.
  2. Old-fashioned; antiquated.
n., pl., -dies.
A dowdy person; a frump.

[From Middle English doude, immoral, unattractive, or shabbily dressed woman.]
dowdily dow'di·ly adv.
dowdiness dow'di·ness n.
dowdyish dow'dy·ish adj.

asexual

Line breaks: asex|ual
Pronunciation: /eɪˈsɛksjʊəl, -ʃʊəl/



adjective

noun


Derivatives




asexuality


Pronunciation: /-ˈalɪti/
noun
asexually
adverb

frumpy

Line breaks: frumpy
Pronunciation: /ˈfrʌmpi/


adjective (frumpier, frumpiest)

  • (of a woman or her clothes) dowdy and old-fashioned: a frumpy housewife her frumpy, shapeless dresses


Derivatives



frumpily

adverb


frumpiness

noun
dowdy (adjective) Primly out of date.
Synonyms:frumpy
Usage:She had little fashion sense and arrived at the party in a dowdy, high-necked dress that would have been considered out of date forty years ago.

narcoleptic desperation    董橋 《小風景 》 末篇2001.11.1 

narcolepsy
The term narcolepsy derives from the French word narcolepsie created by the French physician Jean-Baptiste-Édouard Gélineau by combining the Greek νάρκη (narkē, "numbness" or "stupor"),[4][5] and λῆψις (lepsis), "attack" or "seizure".[6]

發作性嗜睡病(Narcolepsy),又名猝睡症渴睡症,是一種睡眠障礙,與睡眠機制相關的異常。最早是由美國史丹佛大學的附屬醫院發現。
病人普遍在日間有無法用意志控制的渴睡情況出現,一天可能好幾次,有時更會在沒有預警之下(連病者也不知道)而突然昏睡猝倒。 而且跟夜間的睡眠時間無關。而摔倒是因為對肌肉控制能力的短暫性喪失。時間可以從幾秒到長達幾分鐘。這段時間,患者的意識完全清醒卻連一根手指頭都動不 了。這種失去肌肉控制能力的徵狀的原名是Cataplexy,是嗜睡症的附帶徵狀。通常出現在患者情緒突然轉變的時候,比如笑,生氣,驚訝或害怕。這種病 遍及世界各地,不分年齡種族。但很多學生往往被誤認為是愛在上課時睡覺的頑皮學生,而得不到應有的關注及治療。而成年患者卻容易把這種病的徵狀誤解成壓力 或睡眠不足。
這種病的特點是患者會在很短的時間進入看上去像深度睡眠的階段。一般人需要一個半小時左右從輕度睡眠進入到深度睡眠,而患有此病的人可能只需要一分 鐘甚至更短。而患者的夜間睡眠大多間斷而且容易醒來。所以大腦才會在白天自動進入睡眠狀態。患者睡著的速度跟醒來的速度都可以快得驚人,而醒來幾秒鐘之內 可能會意識模糊不清。而且大部分患者的夢都豐富多彩而且自己會記得多數的夢。甚至可以在睡著幾秒鐘之內就做一個夢,所以也有人稱之為夢境一般的幻覺。
目前這種病的真正原因還不得而知。現在所發明出來的藥也只是用來治療徵狀而不能治本。安排每天固定的小睡時間可以大大降低無法預料又無法控制的瞌睡發作的可能。





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Singapore is even shedding its fearsomely dowdy reputation. The city that banned chewing gum has become more liberal in its approach to art and culture and has allowed two multibillion-dollar gambling resorts to be built. Just don't expect Las Vegas — style decadence. In Singapore, even the fun is well managed.