OBJECTIVE Accessibility of audiometry is hindered by the cost of sound booths and shortage of hearing health personnel. This study investigated the validity of an automated mobile diagnostic audiometer with increased attenuation and real-time noise monitoring for clinical testing outside a sound booth. DESIGN Attenuation characteristics and reference ambient noise levels for the computer-base...

This paper reports our experience with crowd monitoring technologies in the challenging real-world conditions of a modern, open-space museum. We seized the opportunity to use the NEMO science center as a testbed, and studied the effectiveness of neighborhood discovery and density estimation algorithms in a network formed by visitors wearing bracelets emitting RF beacons. The diverse set of cond...

There is virtually no information in the literature about the exposure levels needed to induce hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) by diisocyanates. The present study reports a case of occupational HP due to diisocyanates after low-level exposure. A 53-yr-old female never-smoker developed progressive shortness of breath on exertion, cough, fatigue and flu-like symptoms shortly after she began wor...

-Road pricing is widely advocated as a solution to congestion problems The underlying theory is well developed, and we even have the technology to implement it without toll booths Only political barriers remain Decision makers are reluctant to retrofit tolls on existing highways because they do not know what circumstances might make such an action acceptable to the pubhc This paper develops a g...

Voting is an inherent process in a democratic society. Other methods for expressing the society participants’ will for example caucuses in US party elections or Landsgemeine in Switzerland can be inconvenient for the citizens and logistically difficult to organize. Furthermore, beyond inconvenience, there may be legitimate reasons for not being able to take part in the voting process, e.g. bein...

OBJECTIVE Alcohol-related problems such as assaults and drinking-driving at or near professional sporting events are commonly reported in the media. An important strategy to reduce such problems may be the use of alcohol control policies at sports stadiums. The objective of this study was to examine alcohol control policies and practices at professional sports stadiums in the U.S. METHODS We ...

OBJECTIVES To develop a method for the measurement of a metabolite of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), an isocyanate, and use it to assess the exposure of sprayers employed in motor vehicle repair shops. METHODS Urine samples were taken from sprayers wearing personal protective equipment and spraying in booths or with local exhaust ventilation, from bystanders, and from unexposed subjects. S...

Abrasive blasting materials, such as coal slag garnet and copper slag, are often used for cleaning metal surfaces to remove rust and to prepare a surface before the application of a coating. The pre-blast and post-blast (spent) abrasive materials contain traces of heavy metal constituents such as Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb Fe, and Ba. Hence, the health risk associated with the resultant particulate emissio...

OBJECTIVE To develop items to measure indoor tanning and sunless tanning that can be used to monitor trends in population surveys or to assess changes in behavior in intervention studies. DESIGN A group of experts on indoor tanning convened in December 2005, as part of a national workshop to review the state of the evidence, define measurement issues, and develop items for ever tanned indoors...

Although research on the epidemiology and ecology of Ebola has expanded since the 2014-15 outbreak in West Africa, less attention has been paid to the mental health implications and the psychosocial context of the disease for providers working in primary health facilities (rather than Ebola-specific treatment units). This study draws on 54 qualitative interviews with 35 providers working in eig...