Quiet Night Research Articles

Post-3/11 Literature: Two Writers from Fukushima

14 | World Literature Today photo: jérémie souteyrat O n March 11, 2011, at 2:46 pm, a major earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude struck the eastern part of Japan, in particular the Tohoku region centering on Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures. Within one hour, tsunami waves reaching record heights of forty meters breached Japan’s Pacific coast, destroying many towns and villages in the area. The earthquake and tsunami claimed more than fifteen thousand lives, and many people are still missing. Moreover, due to the station blackout reportedly caused by the tsunami, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant experienced a meltdown , causing several hydrogen explosions and the release of enormous amounts of radioactivity into the environment. This nuclear crisis represents a historic catastrophe that exceeds the Three Mile Island accident of 1979 and reaches the frightening level of the 1986 accident at Chernobyl . Hundreds of thousands of people within twenty kilometers of the power plant were forced to evacuate, and many citizens are deeply concerned about the long-term effects of radioactive poisoning, especially for children. What this triple disaster dramatized is the fact that Tohoku, or Japan’s northeast, has occupied a peripheral place in Japan and its history. In modern times, this agricultural region often had to sacrifice itself for the industrial development of the nation, providing labor, food, and raw materials . The Fukushima Daiichi plant is a case in point. Operated by the Tokyo Electric Company, it supplies energy for the greater Tokyo area. Fukushima prefecture, however, belongs to the area of the Post-3/11 Literature: Two Writers from Fukushima Takeshi Kimoto Tohoku Electric Company, within the system of a government-granted regional monopoly of energy production and distribution by nine private companies . That is to say, Fukushima suffers from the consequences of the nuclear accident on behalf of the metropolitan population. This crisis evoked various experiences, actions, and commentaries on the part of writers throughout Japan, most notably the Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe and celebrated novelist Haruki Murakami.1 However, two writers from Fukushima , Ryoichi Wago and Hideo Furukawa, provided a more immediate response to the disaster and have produced the most significant literary works so far. essay January–February 2012 | 15 With his Shi no tsubute (Pebbles of poetry), Wago sought to resist the debris produced by the earthquake and tsunami. “Radiation is falling. A quiet night.” “Can there be any meaning in causing us such pain?” “What does this disaster teach us? What can we believe if it teaches us nothing?” In the midst of frequent aftershocks, “Shh! It’s an aftershock. Millions of horses gallop underground, crying.” Still, Wago believes, “all nights eventually end.” Driven by a strong desire to communicate Fukushima’s despair and hope, Wago chose Twitter forhismedium.Oncehebegansendingmessageson March 16, he immediately drew 171 followers, and by the time his book was published in June, he had attracted more than 14,000. His tweets appeared as an improvised poetry reading in cyberspace. Moreover , beyond the virtual community, he discovered other people’s experiences and suffering during the crisis. In inscribing the words of others, Wago became a kind of dialogical medium himself. His Shi nomokurei (Silent prayer of poetry) and Shinokaikou (Encounter of poetry), published simultaneously with Shi no tsubute, are records of his mourning and dialogues with evacuees and those directly affected.3 A keen listener, Wago allows these others to speak in memorable ways. A man from the town of Tomioka, which the government ordered to evacuate, encourages other colleagues: “We must do our best, for something like this occurs but once in a thousand years” (Encounter). A father from the evacuated village of Iidate remarks, “Rather than asking ’why now?’ we must be grateful that this happened at our time rather than that of our children.” Editorial note: To read about how Kesennuma’s Miyawaki Shoten bookstore overcame the effects of the tsunami, turn to the Outpost on page 80. Takeshi Kimoto is Assistant Professor of Japanese in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma. He received his PhD in East Asian Literature from Cornell University in 2010. His teaching and research interests broadly include modern Japanese...

Are less vocal rainforest mammals susceptible to impacts from traffic noise?

Context Traffic noise is believed to cause road avoidance and other barrier effects in a variety of wildlife species, and to force changes to call pitch or loudness in others; however, this has never been tested in the absence of other road impacts. Noise impacts on species that do not frequently vocalise are also poorly understood. We investigated traffic-noise impacts on the following three rainforest mammals that do not often vocalise: Hypsiprymnodon moschatus, Uromys caudimaculatus and Perameles nasuta. These species have previously been observed to exhibit varying levels of road avoidance. Aims To determine whether traffic noise affects movement and behaviour of medium-sized, ground-dwelling rainforest mammals in the absence of other road-associated variables and potential impacts. We hypothesised that noise impacts would be greatest for species previously shown to avoid roads. Noise impacts on these less vocal species compared with more vocal species is also discussed. Methods In north-eastern Queensland, Australia, mammals captured at least 500 m from any road were tracked after fitting with spool-and-line equipment. On noisy nights, traffic noise at levels similar to a busy highway was played continuously throughout the night from a line of 12 speakers mounted on trees. Speakers were silent on quiet nights. Key results Traffic noise caused no increase in avoidance of the speaker line and was not a barrier to movements across the line. Overall, movement paths on noisy nights appeared similar in pattern (tortuosity) to those of quiet nights. At a finer scale, movements of H. moschatus and P. nasuta became more tortuous later in the track, suggesting a return to normal foraging behaviour and possible habituation to the noise. Conclusions These three species with varying levels of previously recorded road avoidance, did not respond negatively to traffic noise. There was, however, a suggestion of habituation by H. moschatus and P. nasuta in response to the noise. Implications The demonstrated lack of response to traffic noise in these less vocal species means that traffic noise is unlikely to cause road avoidance or barrier effects. Instead, lack of response and possible habituation to traffic noise may increase vulnerability to road mortality.

Post-3/11 Literature: Two Writers from Fukushima

14 | World Literature Today photo: jérémie souteyrat O n March 11, 2011, at 2:46 pm, a major earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude struck the eastern part of Japan, in particular the Tohoku region centering on Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures. Within one hour, tsunami waves reaching record heights of forty meters breached Japan’s Pacific coast, destroying many towns and villages in the area. The earthquake and tsunami claimed more than fifteen thousand lives, and many people are still missing. Moreover, due to the station blackout reportedly caused by the tsunami, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant experienced a meltdown , causing several hydrogen explosions and the release of enormous amounts of radioactivity into the environment. This nuclear crisis represents a historic catastrophe that exceeds the Three Mile Island accident of 1979 and reaches the frightening level of the 1986 accident at Chernobyl . Hundreds of thousands of people within twenty kilometers of the power plant were forced to evacuate, and many citizens are deeply concerned about the long-term effects of radioactive poisoning, especially for children. What this triple disaster dramatized is the fact that Tohoku, or Japan’s northeast, has occupied a peripheral place in Japan and its history. In modern times, this agricultural region often had to sacrifice itself for the industrial development of the nation, providing labor, food, and raw materials . The Fukushima Daiichi plant is a case in point. Operated by the Tokyo Electric Company, it supplies energy for the greater Tokyo area. Fukushima prefecture, however, belongs to the area of the Post-3/11 Literature: Two Writers from Fukushima Takeshi Kimoto Tohoku Electric Company, within the system of a government-granted regional monopoly of energy production and distribution by nine private companies . That is to say, Fukushima suffers from the consequences of the nuclear accident on behalf of the metropolitan population. This crisis evoked various experiences, actions, and commentaries on the part of writers throughout Japan, most notably the Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe and celebrated novelist Haruki Murakami.1 However, two writers from Fukushima , Ryoichi Wago and Hideo Furukawa, provided a more immediate response to the disaster and have produced the most significant literary works so far. essay January–February 2012 | 15 With his Shi no tsubute (Pebbles of poetry), Wago sought to resist the debris produced by the earthquake and tsunami. “Radiation is falling. A quiet night.” “Can there be any meaning in causing us such pain?” “What does this disaster teach us? What can we believe if it teaches us nothing?” In the midst of frequent aftershocks, “Shh! It’s an aftershock. Millions of horses gallop underground, crying.” Still, Wago believes, “all nights eventually end.” Driven by a strong desire to communicate Fukushima’s despair and hope, Wago chose Twitter forhismedium.Oncehebegansendingmessageson March 16, he immediately drew 171 followers, and by the time his book was published in June, he had attracted more than 14,000. His tweets appeared as an improvised poetry reading in cyberspace. Moreover , beyond the virtual community, he discovered other people’s experiences and suffering during the crisis. In inscribing the words of others, Wago became a kind of dialogical medium himself. His Shi nomokurei (Silent prayer of poetry) and Shinokaikou (Encounter of poetry), published simultaneously with Shi no tsubute, are records of his mourning and dialogues with evacuees and those directly affected.3 A keen listener, Wago allows these others to speak in memorable ways. A man from the town of Tomioka, which the government ordered to evacuate, encourages other colleagues: “We must do our best, for something like this occurs but once in a thousand years” (Encounter). A father from the evacuated village of Iidate remarks, “Rather than asking ’why now?’ we must be grateful that this happened at our time rather than that of our children.” Editorial note: To read about how Kesennuma’s Miyawaki Shoten bookstore overcame the effects of the tsunami, turn to the Outpost on page 80. Takeshi Kimoto is Assistant Professor of Japanese in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma. He received his PhD in East Asian Literature from Cornell University in 2010. His teaching and research interests broadly include modern Japanese...

Sleep apnoea syndrome: how will physiologic knowledge position personalised medicine?

The sleep apnoea field is no longer only a matter of nocturnal choking and noise-related partner sleep disturbances. There is now a body of literature demonstrating the huge impact of these nocturnal respiratory disturbances on tissular and systemic inflammatory processes, oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction, as well as imbalance in sympathetic/parasympathetic activities. These factors interact to favour the development of systemic impairments that include alterations in vigilance/cognition, metabolic disturbances, vascular remodelling and atherosclerosis, making way for hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, glucose intolerance/diabetes and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In the present issue of the European Respiratory Review, the article by Levy et al. [1] perfectly illustrates the need for a multi-dimensional approach in the management of this disease by piecing together the up-to-date parts of the puzzle represented by the knowledge on pathophysiology, investigations, mechanisms of comorbidity and treatment alternatives. The authors clearly demonstrate that investigating and treating sleep apnoea patients is not only a way to provide silent and quiet nights to patients and their environment, but that the investigation and treatment must be integrated into strategies aimed at preventing the development of comorbid conditions that, nowadays, are recognised as being independently associated with sleep apnoea phenotype. This article also highlights the fact that the mechanisms responsible for the occurrence of sleep apnoea, as well as for the metabolic consequences of the disease, may be individually modulated so that treatment strategies and expected benefits from a sleep apnoea cure may be heterogeneous. From a mechanical point of view, Wellman et al. [2] recently reported that different physiological traits (pharyngeal anatomy/collapsibility, ventilatory loop gain, mechanical effectiveness of upper airway muscles recruitment and arousal threshold) may separately account for the occurrence of upper airway instability. Identifying the factor(s) responsible for upper airway closure in a given …

Plasma bubble zonal drift characteristics observed by airglow images over Brazilian tropical region

Using airglow images observed at São João do Cariri (7.4ºS, 36.5ºW; dip angle: -11ºS) from September 2000 to April 2007, plasma bubblezonal drifts for ninety-seven geomagnetically quiet nights (Dst index higher than -30 nT) were calculated. The plasma bubble eastward averaged drifts presented an increase from 18:00 to 22:00 local time (LT), and followed by a deceleration. The plasma bubbles observed during high solar activity were faster after 22:00 LT. Eastward drifts observed during the summer, after 21:00 LT, were higher than drifts observed during the equinox months. Few nights had plasma bubble eastward drifts higher than 100 m/s and almost all bubbles disappeared after 02:00 LT. Averaged zonal drifts observed between -9.5 and -5.5ºS were almost constant, primarily,around 23:00 LT.

Midnight latitude‐altitude distribution of 630 nm airglow in the Asian sector measured with FORMOSAT‐2/ISUAL

The Imager for Sprites and Upper Atmospheric Lightning (ISUAL) payload on board the FORMOSAT‐2 satellite carried out the first limb imaging observation of 630 nm airglow for the purpose of studying physical processes in the F region ionosphere. For a total of 14 nights in 2006–2008, ISUAL scanned the midnight latitude‐altitude distribution of 630 nm airglow in the Asian sector. On two nights of relatively active conditions (ΣKp = 26, 30+) we found several bright airglow regions, which were highly variable each night in terms of luminosity and location. In relatively quiet conditions (ΣKp = 4–20) near May/June we found two bright regions which were stably located in the midlatitude region of 40°S–10°S (50°S–20°S magnetic latitude (MLAT)) and in the equatorial region of 0°–10°N (10°S–0° MLAT). On one of the quiet nights, FORMOSAT‐3/COSMIC and CHAMP simultaneously measured the plasma density in the same region where ISUAL observed airglow. The plasma density data generally show good agreement, suggesting that plasma enhancements were the primary source of these two bright airglow regions. From detailed comparison with past studies we explain that the airglow in the equatorial region was due to the midnight brightness wave produced in association with the midnight temperature maximum, while that in the midlatitude region was due to the typical plasma distribution usually formed in the midnight sector. The fact that the equatorial airglow was much brighter than the midlatitude airglow and was observed on most nights during the campaign period strongly suggests the importance of further studies on the MTM/MBW phenomenology, which is not well reproduced in the current general circulation model.

Scintillation‐producing Fresnel‐scale irregularities associated with the regions of steepest TEC gradients adjacent to the equatorial ionization anomaly

Using ground‐based GPS and digital ionosonde instruments, we have built up at latitudes of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA), in the Brazilian sector, a time‐evolving picture of total electron content (TEC), L‐band amplitude scintillations, and F region heights, and we have investigated likely reasons for the occurrence or suppression of equatorial scintillations during the disturbed period of 18–23 November 2003. During the prestorm quiet nights, scintillations are occurring postsunset, as expected; however, during the storm time period, their spatial‐temporal characteristics and intensity modify significantly owing to the dramatic changes in the ionospheric plasma density distribution and in the temporal evolution of TEC. The two‐dimensional maps showing both TEC and amplitude scintillations revealed strong evidence of turbulences at the Fresnel length (causing scintillations) concurrent with those regions of steepest TEC gradients adjacent to the crests of the EIA. The largest density gradients have been found to occur in an environment of increased background electron density, and their spatial distribution and location during the disturbed period may differ significantly from the magnetic quiet night pattern. However, in terms of magnitude the gradients at equatorial and low latitudes appear to not change during both magnetic quiet and disturbed conditions. The scenarios for the formation or suppression of scintillation‐producing Fresnel‐scale irregularities during the prestorm quiet nights and disturbed nights are discussed in view of different competing effects computed from numerical simulation techniques.

Porządek publiczny jako zasadniczy przedmiot ochrony prawa wykroczeń i czynnik rozgraniczający z powszechnym prawem karnym

The author reviews those types of prohibited acts under criminal code and petty offences code which provide for public order protection. This serves as an attempt to prove that a value like public order should rather be protected under petty offences code (or other forms of legal sanctions eg. administrative ones) rather than under criminal law. The scope of criminalisation should not be extended towards criminalisation of acts against public order. This can be summarised in a debate on forms of legal reaction to prohibited acts. The review of the relevant act of law becomes the point of departure to formulate the opinion that public order is a separate object of legal protection. It does not require penal sanctions provided for crimes – in spite of well-established opinions in legal literature that petty offences differ from crimes basically only in the degree of social damage they cause. The author also makes numerous observations of a classical penal reaction indicators which can be described as “punitive type sanctions”. This proves that our times bring an abrupt increase of legal regulations which create norms of public order and prohibit acts of administrative character which do not belong to the area of criminal law and should not require sanctions provided for acts classified as crimes. A thorough examination of types of petty offences made in the article provides a surprising picture of what the legislator included under the sphere of public order. Names of particular divisions of the code are irrelevant here. In the view of the examination of the acts prohibited by petty offences code, public order is recognised by designators, that is objects protected by particular types of acts, regardless of the title of the chapter they were placed in. They include quiet night hours, protection of plants in public green areas, lack of graffiti on buildings, freedom from aggressive prostitution offers, beggary without a substantial cause, lack of soil in public places, conducting a business without registration required by law, registration of place of residence, obeying rules on public roads, freedom from various forms of disturbance of peace and quiet, freedom from infringements of public assembly or no production of skeleton keys and seals or stamps without a licence. There is also a category of bitypical offences that is prohibited acts which are classified as a petty offence or a crime depending on the value of property (eg. theft of an item of values less than PLN 250 is a petty offence, not a crime). In the opinion of the author, if they are classified as petty offences they can also be included in the category of violation of order, although this order has more of a civil that administrative character. Separate comments concern the criteria of classification of petty offences in fiscal penal code.

Observations of the F-region ionospheric irregularities in the South American sector during the October 2003 "Halloween Storms"

Abstract. The response of the ionospheric F-region in the South American sector during the super geomagnetic storms on 29 and 30 October 2003 is studied in the present investigation. In this paper, we present ionospheric sounding observations during the period 29–31 October 2003 obtained at Palmas (a near equatorial location) and Sao Jose dos Campos (a location under the southern crest of the equatorial ionospheric anomaly), Brazil, along with observations during the period 27–31 October 2003 from a chain of GPS stations covering the South American sector from Imperatriz, Brazil, to Rio Grande, Argentina. Also, complementary observations that include sequences of all-sky images of the OI 777.4 and 630.0 nm emissions observed at El Leoncito, Argentina, on the nights of 28–29 (geomagnetically quiet night) and 29–30 (geomagnetically disturbed night) October 2003, and ion densities observed in the South American sector by the DMSP F13, F14 and F15 satellites orbiting at about 800 km on 29 and 30 October 2003 are presented. In addition, global TEC maps derived from GPS observations collected from the global GPS network of International GPS Service (IGS) are presented, showing widespread and drastic TEC changes during the different phases of the geomagnetic disturbances. The observations indicate that the equatorial ionospheric irregularities or plasma bubbles extend to the Argentinean station Rawson (geom. Lat. 33.1° S) and map at the magnetic equator at an altitude of about 2500 km.

Responsibility and Collaboration in Health Team Care

During one unusually quiet night in the ICU, I delegated a blood draw to a patient-care assistant believing she would perform a venipuncture for routine lab work [1]. An hour or so later, I walked in the room and discovered she had unilaterally decided to stop an infusion and draw blood from the patient’s central line, she was preparing to flush the line. The assistant was well aware that accessing the central line was outside the parameters of her delegated nursing duties. I had trusted her (as a professional and with my license) to adhere to those parameters.

Blink rate during tests of executive performance after nocturnal traffic noise

This analysis is on the hypothesis that nocturnal traffic noise affects sleep quality whereas performance decrement is avoided by increased effort expressed by a decrease in blink rates (BRs) during a visual task. Twenty-four persons (12 women, 12 men; 19-28 years, 23.56+/-2.49 years) slept during three consecutive weeks in the laboratory while exposed to road, rail, or aircraft noise with weekly permuted changes. Each week consisted of a random sequence of a quiet night (32 dBA) and three nights with equivalent noise levels of 39, 44 and 50 dBA respectively. The polysomnogram was recorded during all nights. Every morning the participants rated their sleep quality and then completed two executive tasks (Go/Nogo-, Switch-task). Neither of the two performance tests was affected by nocturnal noise. Sleep efficiency and subjective sleep quality decreased with increasing noise levels but were not associated with the type of noise. In contrast, BRs were associated with the type of noise, not with noise levels. The results do not support the hypothesis concerning the BR. The possible reasons are discussed. However, the results do not exclude that other physiological parameters such as heart rate or brain potentials measured during the tests might have revealed alterations associated with nocturnal noise exposure.

The cure is a gift

1682 in northern Italy On a quiet night in the city of Cremona, Padre Fabrizio Cambiati lay in bed listening to the rain when he heard a timid knock at the door. He thought perhaps he was dreaming, but a moment later it came again. Timid, but insistent. Fabrizio shuffled to the door and opened it

Statistical analysis of the occurrence of medium‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbances over Brazilian low latitudes using OI 630.0 nm emission all‐sky images

In this work we report a statistical analysis of the occurrence frequency of medium‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) observed over Cachoeira Paulista (22.7°S, 45.0°W, −13.2° mag lat), Brazil. The optical signatures of the low‐latitude MSTIDs in the southern hemisphere observed in the OI 630.0 nm emission images can be a single dark band structure or alternating dark/light bands aligned in the northeast‐southwest direction and propagating towards northwest. Because this feature these events were also referred as thermospheric dark band structures. The statistical study is based on 28 events of MSTIDs observed during seven years of optical data, obtained during low, medium, and high solar activities, for geomagnetically quiet nights. We find that the occurrence frequency of the MSTIDs presents a maximum during low solar activity, decreasing during medium solar activity with no occurrences during high solar activity. Also, the occurrence rates are greater near the June‐solstice months.

Development of a sleep disturbance index (SDI) for the assessment of noise-induced sleep disturbances

This analysis was aimed at the development of a sleep disturbance index (SDI) which allows a reliable estimate of physiological sleep disturbances due to environmental influences such as noise. Seven variables, repeatedly reported to change during noise exposure, were derived from polysomnograms of a reference sample of 38 men and 28 women (19–34 yrs) as recorded under quiet conditions in the laboratory after at least one habituation night. The variables were then submitted to a principal component analysis. The scores of the first principal component that explained 35 % of the variance were used to calculate the SDI. Reliability was ascertained by application of the SDI to a quiet night for each of 82 persons of the same age range from two other laboratory studies where the index value did not differ from that of the reference sample. Validity was verified by significantly lower index values for quiet nights than for noisy nights of 50 persons (25 men, 25 women, 19–28 yrs) and for the first night in the laboratory of 62 persons (37 men, 25 women, 19–34 yrs). Moreover, the index value increased with increasing age of the 261 participants in two laboratory studies and a field study whose age varied between 18 and 68 years. The SDI may facilitate the interpretation of sleep disturbances caused by environmental influences and its application would improve the comparability of studies performed in this area.

Experiments on the time frame of temporally limited traffic curfews to prevent noise induced sleep disturbances

To identify a time frame for traffic curfews to prevent noise induced sleep disturbances. Curfews at the end of nights provide the best protection and persons with corresponding bed times profit most. 24 students (12 women, 12 men, 21–27 yrs) slept two consecutive weeks four nights each in the laboratory being exposed one week each to rail or road traffic noise. The 4 nights each week consisted of a quiet night and three noisy nights with different curfews (11 pm–3 am, 11 pm–5 am, 3 am–7 am). Eight persons each went to bed at 10 pm, 11 pm, and 12 pm and got up 8 h later. The resulting 9 exposure patterns were condensed to 3 patterns with curfews at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the night. Polysomnograms were recorded each night and the participants evaluated their sleep every morning. Traffic curfews are beneficial only at the end of the night and disturbances experienced in the beginning of the night are then compensated. Even short periods of subsequent noise cause sleep disturbances. Thus late sleepers whose nights always end with a noisy period profit scarcely from these regulations.

Effects of nocturnal railway noise on subjective ratings of sleep and subsequent cognitive performance

The present study intended to investigate the effects of nocturnal railway noise on the three components of attention (alertness, orientation and executive control), and on subjective ratings of sleep quality, fatigue, wellbeing and discomfort. These effects were studied in young (mean age = 25.8 years) and middle aged (mean age = 52.4 years) subjects, for day and shift workers. Following a quiet night, a moderately noisy night (40 dBA) and a highly noisy night (50 BA), 38 subjects performed two 30-min cognitive tasks (Attention Network Test and Stroop task) and filled out a short questionnaire. Results show that nocturnal railway noise worsened subjective evaluations, mainly in terms of sleep quality and noise discomfort in a dose-dependent manner. Young subjects were more sensitive to the effects of noise than middle-aged subjects, as seen by the self-estimations of sleep quality and noise discomfort. Furthermore, the shift workers' ratings of sleep quality were independent of noise conditions. The effects on cognitive performance, however, were very weak. The only decrement observed the next morning was an increase in reaction time in the Stroop task after the moderately noisy night. We found no effect of noise on any of the three components of attention, suggesting that nocturnal railway noise, at least when experienced during a single night at these noise levels, is unlikely to produce marked effects on attentional mechanisms. The use of more sensitive indicators, such as blink rate or event-related brain potentials, could allow investigation of possible impairments of these attentional networks after noisy nights.

Autonomic Arousals Related to Traffic Noise during Sleep

To analyze the heart rate (HR) response to traffic noise during sleep and the influence of acoustic parameters, time of night, and momentary sleep stage on these responses. Twelve women and 12 men (19-28 years). The participants slept in the laboratory for 4 consecutive nights in each of 3 consecutive weeks and were exposed to aircraft, road, or rail traffic noise with weekly permutations. The 4 nights of each week consisted of a random sequence of a quiet night (32 dBA) and 3 nights during which aircraft, rail traffic, or road traffic noises occurred with maximum levels of 45-77 dBA. The polysomnogram and the electrocardiogram were recorded during all nights. In case of awakenings, the HR alterations consisted of monophasic elevations for >1 min, with mean maximum HR elevations of 30 bpm. Though obviously triggered by the noise events, the awakenings per se rather than the acoustical parameters determined the extent and pattern of the response. Without awakenings, HR responses were biphasic and consisted of initial accelerations with maximum HR elevations of about 9 bpm followed by decelerations below the baseline. These alterations were clearly influenced by the acoustic parameters (traffic mode, maximum level, rate of rise) as well as by the momentary sleep stage. Cardiac responses did not habituate to traffic noise within the night and may therefore play a key role in promoting traffic noise induced cardiovascular disease. If so, these consequences are more likely for responses accompanied by awakenings than for situations without awakenings.

Did Tsunami‐Launched Gravity Waves Trigger Ionospheric Turbulence over Arecibo?

We report on measurements of ionospheric plasma dynamics conducted at the Arecibo Observatory between 20:00 and 24:00 local time (LT) on December 25 and 26, 2004 using the 430 MHz incoherent scatter radar (ISR). For interpretive purposes these measurements are supported by data from two nearby ionosondes and Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. The ISR detected different ionospheric behaviors during the vertical‐transmission periods on the consecutive, magnetically quiet nights. On the night of December 25 the ionosphere descended smoothly and spread F signatures faded. For about two hours on the following evening the bottomside ionosphere rose by ∼50 km, inducing plasma irregularities and intense spread F. Alternating cycles of bottom‐side plasma rising and falling persisted through the remainder of the experiments. We postulate that this sinusoidal behavior is a response to gravity waves propagating above Puerto Rico. Nearly simultaneous data from two nearby stations show that GPS signals were modified by variations in total electron content (TEC) indicating the presence of traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). The December 26 experiments were conducted about a day after an MW = 9.2 earthquake launched tsunami waves first across the Indian, then into the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. We suggest that coupling at the tsunami sea‐air interface launched gravity waves that propagated for great distances beneath the mesopause. GPS data recorded TEC variation in Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean, suggesting that TIDs were induced on a global scale at the wake of tsunami‐launched gravity waves. Energy from imperfectly ducted gravity waves leaked into the ionosphere, partially over Puerto Rico. The wind‐velocity field of these gravity waves caused local ionospheric plasma to rise, seeding bottomside irregularities via the generalized Rayleigh‐Taylor instability.

Noise Aftereffects and Brain Processes

Abstract. Aftereffects of noise-induced sleep disturbance on executive functions were investigated with motivational traits as mediating variables. Thirty-two healthy young subjects performed a visual Go/Nogo task with simultaneous EEG recording after a quiet night and after 3 nights with railway noise at different noise levels. As motivational traits, the “hope of success” (HS) and “fear of failure” (FF) were assessed. Subjective sleep rating worsened with increased noise level, but, noise-induced sleep disturbances did not affect performance immediately following sleep. However, in the event-related potential (ERP) an attenuation of the N2 and P3 amplitude as well as an increase in N2 latency in Noise conditions were found. Only subjects who scored low in HS showed a reduction of the N2 after Noise, while subjects who scored high in HS did not. The N2 and P3 were larger in high HS than in low HS subjects in Nogo trials only. Similarly, low FF subjects had larger N2 and P3 than high FF subjects in Nogo trials only. The results suggest that achievement motivation modulates executive control and stimulus-response mapping processes as well as their resistance against aftereffects of noise-induced sleep disturbance.

Associations between noise sensitivity and sleep, subjectively evaluated sleep quality, annoyance, and performance after exposure to nocturnal traffic noise

In order to determine the influence of noise sensitivity on sleep, subjective sleep quality, annoyance, and performance after nocturnal exposure to traffic noise, 12 women and 12 men (age range, 19-28 years) were observed during four consecutive nights over a three weeks period. After a habituation night, the participants were exposed with weekly permuted changes to air, rail and road traffic noise. Of the four nights, one was a quiet night (32 dBA), while three were noisy nights with exposure to equivalent noise levels of 39, 44, and 50 dBA in a permuted order. The traffic noise caused alterations of most of the physiological parameters, subjective evaluation of sleep, annoyance, and performance. Correlations were found between noise sensitivity and subjective sleep quality in terms of worsened restoration, decreased calmness, difficulty to fall asleep, and body movements. The results suggest that alterations of subjective evaluation of sleep were determined by physical parameters of the noise but modified by individual factors like noise sensitivity.