Questões de Inglês

A 2006 study of youth athletes in Quebec City turned up the provocative finding that young, high-level swimmers wheezed and coughed far more often than young, indoor soccer players. The swimmers, mostly 8-12 years old, reported in a questionnaire that they frequently suffered from upper and lower respiratory symptoms, lung congestion, breathing difficulties, and sneezing. More than 15 percent had asthma. To ensure that these selfreported symptoms were accurate, the scientists monitored 72 of the young swimmers and 73 of the soccer players over the course of five practices. They found that the swimmers definitely struggled with more breathing problems than the soccer players. Notably, the young swimmers’ difficulties were closely correlated to the levels of chlorine and chlorine byproducts in their pools. More chemicals meant more symptoms.

(http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/ are-indoor-pools-bad-for-your-lungs/?em)

What do consumers look for in hospitals? New research suggests that plush accommodations may be more of a draw than high-quality care. RAND economists Dana Goldman and John Romley studied the hospital choices of 8,721 Medicare pneumonia patients. They then correlated each facility’s popularity among these patients with its mortality rate – a proxy for clinical quality – and the rank its “amenities” scored in a marketing survey. A high amenities score, they found, predicted keen demand much more than a low pneumonia mortality rate did. Why? Goldman says while flat-screen TVs and gourmet meals stand out, public quality-of-care data in most states is scant. Also, patients may assume that fancy facilities signal superior care. As they market themselves in the race to fill beds, hospitals may decide “it’s not about attracting the best doctor,” Goldman says. “It may be about treating patients a little better. Oh, and giving them wireless Internet.”

(BusinessWeek, February 16, 2009. p.20)

What do consumers look for in hospitals? New research suggests that plush accommodations may be more of a draw than high-quality care. RAND economists Dana Goldman and John Romley studied the hospital choices of 8,721 Medicare pneumonia patients. They then correlated each facility’s popularity among these patients with its mortality rate – a proxy for clinical quality – and the rank its “amenities” scored in a marketing survey. A high amenities score, they found, predicted keen demand much more than a low pneumonia mortality rate did. Why? Goldman says while flat-screen TVs and gourmet meals stand out, public quality-of-care data in most states is scant. Also, patients may assume that fancy facilities signal superior care. As they market themselves in the race to fill beds, hospitals may decide “it’s not about attracting the best doctor,” Goldman says. “It may be about treating patients a little better. Oh, and giving them wireless Internet.”

(BusinessWeek, February 16, 2009. p.20)

For many years, people believed that the brain, like the body, rested during sleep. After all, we are rendered unconscious by sleep. Perhaps, it was thought, the brain just needs to stop thinking for a few hours every day. Wrong. During sleep, our brain – the organ that directs us to sleep – is itself extraordinarily active. And much of that activity helps the brain to learn, to remember and to make connections.

It wasn’t so long ago that the rueful joke in research circles was that everyone knew sleep had something to do with memory – except for the people who study sleep and the people who study memory. Then, in 1994, Israeli researchers reported that the average performance for a group of people on a memory test improved when the test was repeated after a break of many hours – during which some subjects slept and others did not. In 2000, a Harvard team demonstrated that this improvement occurred only during sleep.

(Newsweek, May 4, 2009, p.33)

For many years, people believed that the brain, like the body, rested during sleep. After all, we are rendered unconscious by sleep. Perhaps, it was thought, the brain just needs to stop thinking for a few hours every day. Wrong. During sleep, our brain – the organ that directs us to sleep – is itself extraordinarily active. And much of that activity helps the brain to learn, to remember and to make connections.

It wasn’t so long ago that the rueful joke in research circles was that everyone knew sleep had something to do with memory – except for the people who study sleep and the people who study memory. Then, in 1994, Israeli researchers reported that the average performance for a group of people on a memory test improved when the test was repeated after a break of many hours – during which some subjects slept and others did not. In 2000, a Harvard team demonstrated that this improvement occurred only during sleep.

(Newsweek, May 4, 2009, p.33)

For many years, people believed that the brain, like the body, rested during sleep. After all, we are rendered unconscious by sleep. Perhaps, it was thought, the brain just needs to stop thinking for a few hours every day. Wrong. During sleep, our brain – the organ that directs us to sleep – is itself extraordinarily active. And much of that activity helps the brain to learn, to remember and to make connections.

It wasn’t so long ago that the rueful joke in research circles was that everyone knew sleep had something to do with memory – except for the people who study sleep and the people who study memory. Then, in 1994, Israeli researchers reported that the average performance for a group of people on a memory test improved when the test was repeated after a break of many hours – during which some subjects slept and others did not. In 2000, a Harvard team demonstrated that this improvement occurred only during sleep.

(Newsweek, May 4, 2009, p.33)