Noise and the quality of sleep in two hospitals in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Male patients of two hospitals in Belo Horizonte completed a questionnaire during an interview on the day of discharge in order to evaluate sleeping conditions related to noise during the previous night and were retested 24 h later. Patients had a worse perception of sleep at the noisier hospital, the University Hospital of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (N = 13), whose internal mean nocturnal noise level was Leq = 53.7 db(A), than at the quieter hospital, Baleia (N = 22), whose internal mean nocturnal noise level was Leq = 45.5 db(A). Noise was the only sleep-disturbing factor which was statistically significant.

Effect of external carbon dioxide concentration on electric organ dischargge frequency by the gymnotiform fish Apteronotus albifrons

A model is described for the instantaneous frequency (F) of electric organ discharge in Apteronotus albifrons: F=H/(aH + b), where a and b are linear parameters and H, hydrogen ion concentration, pH from 7.10 to 4.89 was modified by increasing external carbon dioxide concentrations. With the increase in pH from 5.17 to 7.40, corresponding to a decrease of carbon dioxide concentration, the equation was as follows: F=(logH)/(a ,log H=b). The model search consisted of the adjustment of a simple linear regression using fucntion transformation for the most adequate residue analysis by the Durbin-Watson test. The parallelism was checked by comparing regression lines with homogeneous variances and using other tests for non-homogeneous variances

Influence of experimental illumination and seasonal variation on crossbreending mating in the snail Biomphalaria

The crossbreeding activities of the Schistosoma mansoni vector snail Biomphalaria glabrata were counted in a laboratory aquarium throughout the year under two regimes of 12h light: 12h dark from 7 A., M. to 10 P. M. Mating increased significantly in Authmn and Winter and just missed a significant inverse correlation with temperature and a direct one with locomotion. Other similar experiments were carried out to compare mating under various ilumination conditions in complete daily cycle measurements. Mating counts decreased under the regimes which submited snail to a total exposure of 12h light and 12 dark during a daily cycle in the following sequence: 12h light: 12h dark alternating hourly with light gradient, 12h light: 12h dark, 1h light: 1h dark and 12h dark: 12h light. Under two constant illuminations, the mating scored less than under the previous conditions, except under 12h light. Under darkeness the mating count was lower than light conditions. There was no way to differentiate the night and day rhythms of mating on different days in each regime, except for mating under 12h light: 12 dark alternating with light gradient, constant dark and 12h dark: 12h light conditions. Mating increased in certain light and temperature conditions, in wich the intensities, should have an optimum value

Temperature influence and social interaction on the frequency of electric organ discharges in Rhamphicthys rostratus

The frequency of electric organ discharges (EOD) of a gymnotiform fish of "pulse" frequency (40-100 Hz) from South America - Ramphicthys rostratuswas studied. The animals were settled in pairs in a aquarium and thus observed: variation in EOD frequency had at least two components: one more positively correlated with temperature, another less positively correlated due to social interaction.

A frequência de descargas do órgão elétrico {DOE) de um peixe gymnotiforme de freqüência "em pulso" (40-100 Hz) da América do Sul - Rhamphicthys rostratus - foi estudada. Os animais foram colocados aos pares em aquários e depois observados: variação da freqüência do DOE tinha sido menor duas componentes: uma mais positivamente correlacionada devido a interação social.

Natureza dualista da dor cutanea: revisao da literatura. / Dualist nature of cutaneous pain:review of the literature

A natureza dualista da dor cutanea aparece desde o nivel periferico, projetando-se em diferentes estruturas no sistema nervoso central. Em certos pontos ha convergencia, em outros ha divergencia das vias. Suas caracteristicas aparecem desde as formas de estimulacao, passando pelas propriedades diversas dos campos receptivos, e associadas a respostas particulares. Parecem tambem diferentes nas formas de bloqueio e exercem interacoes entre si e com os sistemas da coluna dorsallemniscal, que conduz a sensibilidade do tato fino