Одно из правил Academic Writing для медицинской литературы звучит так: избегайте сокращенных форм типа it's, isn't, haven't, weren't и т. д.
Оно вроде бы очевидно - использовать разговорные сокращенные формы служебных глаголов несолидно, например в таких фразах:
• It’s important to distinguish between a repeated curettage because of a new pregnancy or a repeated curettage because of retained products in the same pregnancy.
• It’s thought that myocyte death is caused by desmosomal detachment, particularly during strenuous exercise.
• Whereas hysterectomy is an effective surgical approach, it is associated with morbidity and isn’t a viable option for women who wish an attempt to preserve, or even enhance, fertility without reliance on gestational surrogacy.
В то же время, нужно понимать, что это правило надо применять без фанатизма.
Я нашел несколько случаев употребления, где сокращенные формы смотрятся вполне органично:
1. Заголовки источников в библиографиях:
• 33. Sackett DL, Rosenberg WM, Gray JA, et al. Evidence-based medicine: what it is and what it isn’t. BMJ. 1996;312:71. 34. Goodman SN. Toward evidence-based medical statistics. 1. The p value fallacy. Ann Intern Med. 1999;130:995–1004.
• 3. Swanson JR, Pearson TA. Screening family members at high risk for coronary disease. Why isn’t it done? Am J Prev Med 2001;20:50–55.
• 51. Hudson BI, Wendt T, Bucciarelli LG, et al: Diabetic vascular disease: It's all the RAGE. Antioxid Redox Signal 2005; 7:1588.
2. Цитирование пациентов, беседы с пациентами, анамнезы:
• As Gertrude eats a small amount of her food, she comments that she isn’t hungry and that “hospital food just doesn’t taste good!”
• Ask if patient is safe and help devise an emergency plan if there isn’t one.
• Ability to elicit and understand patient values and preferences and work with patients in shared decision making with his partner, an experienced dentist, she cut short the discussion by exclaiming, “But, my dear, that isn’t herpes!”
• She also has symptoms of reflux, but taking antacids and over-the-counter acid suppressants hasn’t made a difference.
3. Лирические отступления, живые объяснения концепций:
• Biochemistry is a complex area of chemistry, but understanding biochemistry isn’t really complex.
• Indeed, to use the words of the Health Care in Danger campaign: “It’s a matter of life and death”.
• What’s it like to be married to a genius? I can tell you— it’s wonderful! My genius doesn’t act the way people think a genius is supposed to act.
• ... recognition (antigen binding to a receptor) without costimulation leads to a prolonged state of inactivity called anergy in both T cells and B cells. Anergy is rather like leaving a car in neutral gear with its engine running until it’s out of gas!
#PlainEnglish #exceptions