Climate trends in the municipality of Pelotas, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

ABSTRACTChanges in the frequency of occurrence of extreme weather events have been pointed out as a likely impact of global warming. In this context, this study aimed to detect climate change in series of extreme minimum and maximum air temperature of Pelotas, State of Rio Grande do Sul, (1896 - 2011) and its influence on the probability of occurrence of these variables. We used the general extreme value distribution (GEV) in its stationary and non-stationary forms. In the latter case, GEV parameters are variable over time. On the basis of goodness-of-fit tests and of the maximum likelihood method, the GEV model in which the location parameter increases over time presents the best fit of the daily minimum air temperature series. Such result describes a significant increase in the mean values of this variable, which indicates a potential reduction in the frequency of frosts. The daily maximum air temperature series is also described by a non-stationary model, whose location parameter decreases over time, and the scale parameter related to sample variance rises between the beginning and end of the series. This result indicates a drop in the mean of daily maximum air temperature values and increased dispersion of the sample data.

Closure of large wounds using rubber bands in rabbits

OBJECTIVE: to verify the effectiveness of the rubber elastic band in the treatment of large wounds of the body wall of rabbits by means of traction of its edges. METHODS: we studied 30 New Zealand rabbits, divided into three groups (n=10): Group 1- healing by secondary intention; Group 2- removal and eutopic repositioning of skin as full thickness skin graft; Group 3- Approximation of wound edges with elastic rubber band. In all animals, we removed a segment of the back skin and subcutaneous tissue down to the fascia, in accordance with an acrylic mold of 8cm long by 12cm wide. All animals were observed for 21 days. RESULTS: two animals of groups 1 and 2 had wound abscess. In Group 2, there was partial or total graft loss in 90% of animals. The complete closure of the wounds was observed in four animals of Group 1, six of Group 2 and eight of Group 3. There was no difference between the scar resistance values of groups 2 and 3, which were higher than those in Group 1. The scars of the three groups were characterized by the presence of mature connective tissue mixed with blood vessels and inflammatory infiltration, predominantly polymorphonuclear. CONCLUSION: the tensile strength of the wound edges with rubber elastic band is as efficient as the skin graft to treat rabbits' large body wounds.

Suomi "the Land of a Thousand Lakes": a short descriptive account of the Grand Duchy of Finland

Inneh. bl. a. en engelsk öfvers af Runebergs "Vårt land".

Semi-automatic measurement of visual verticality perception in humans reveals a new category of visual field dependency

Previous assessment of verticality by means of rod and rod and frame tests indicated that human subjects can be more (field dependent) or less (field independent) influenced by a frame placed around a tilted rod. In the present study we propose a new approach to these tests. The judgment of visual verticality (rod test) was evaluated in 50 young subjects (28 males, ranging in age from 20 to 27 years) by randomly projecting a luminous rod tilted between -18 and +18° (negative values indicating left tilts) onto a tangent screen. In the rod and frame test the rod was displayed within a luminous fixed frame tilted at +18 or -18°. Subjects were instructed to verbally indicate the rod’s inclination direction (forced choice). Visual dependency was estimated by means of a Visual Index calculated from rod and rod and frame test values. Based on this index, volunteers were classified as field dependent, intermediate and field independent. A fourth category was created within the field-independent subjects for whom the amount of correct guesses in the rod and frame test exceeded that of the rod test, thus indicating improved performance when a surrounding frame was present. In conclusion, the combined use of subjective visual vertical and the rod and frame test provides a specific and reliable form of evaluation of verticality in healthy subjects and might be of use to probe changes in brain function after central or peripheral lesions.

Traduction de fragments des oeuvres de François BACON, baron de Verulam.

Contient : « Tableau des belles et rares conceptions de messire François VERULAM, chancelier de la Grand-Bretagne, touchant le restablissement des sciences, avec l'exposition de la méthode qu'il a jugée propre tant à ceux de son aage qu'à la postérité, pour l'intelligence d'icelles » ; c'est le morceau qui sert de préambule général à l'Instauratio magna ; The works of Francis Bacon, Londres, 1765, t. IV, pp. XIX-XX ; Epître dédicatoire de « François Verulam » au roi d'Angleterre Jacques premier ; The Works..., ibid., pp. 261-262, avant le Novum organum ; « Le Restablissement de François DE VERULAM. Préface » et « Distribution de tout l'oeuvre » ; c'est la Préface à l'Instauratio magna ; The Works..., ibid., pp. 1-13 ; « Préface de la seconde partie de cet oeuvre, intitulé Nouvel organe, ou vrays indices de l'interprétation de nature » ; Préface du Novum organum ; The Works..., ibid., pp. 263-264 ; « Sommaire [du Novum organum ou] de la seconde partie [de l'Instauratio magna], rédigée en Aphorismes ; Aphorismes de l'interprétation de la nature et du royaume de l'homme » [numéros 1 à 100] ; The Works..., ibid., pp. 266-293 ; « Livre second des Aphorismes de l'interprétation de la nature ou du royaume de l'homme » [numéros 1 à 11] ; The Works..., ibid., pp. 306-311