OBJECTIVE To characterize the impulse noise exposure and auditory risk for air rifle users for both youth and adults. DESIGN Acoustic characteristics were examined and the auditory risk estimates were evaluated using contemporary damage-risk criteria for unprotected adult listeners and the 120-dB peak limit and LAeq75 exposure limit suggested by the World Health Organization (1999) for childr...

Perceived nasal and bronchial hyperresponsiveness to tobacco smoke and cold air were assessed in 912 working men in the Paris area. Baseline lung function measurements and peripheral leucocyte counts with standard differential counts were performed. At least one perceived nasal or bronchial hyperresponsiveness symptom was reported by 15.7%. Current smoking was significantly less frequent among ...

In order to gain a better understanding of how to prevent sparks creeping along dielectric surfaces the most common cause of failure in high voltage devices we have studied the propagation of the preceding streamers along dielectric surfaces. We applied a voltage pulse to a needle a small distance above a dielectric sample a thin vertically positioned plate in low-pressure air, and imaged the r...

The Ames assays strains TA98 and TA100 have been useful in characterizing complex mixtures from organic solvent extracts of particles from diesel-powered vehicles, ambient air, and other sources. In this paper we report preliminary experiments using TA102, a bacterial strain that detects compounds that can oxidize DNA, to characterize the mutagenicity of an ambient air sample collected in Ann A...

Organochlorine insecticides and their degradation products contribute to toxicity in Chesapeake Bay, USA, sediments and affect the reproductive health of avian species in the region; however, little is known of atmospheric sources or temporal trends in concentrations of these chemicals. Weekly air (n = 265) and daily rain samples (n = 494) were collected over 2000 to 2003 from three locations i...

The first three moments of the millimeter-wavelength radar Doppler spectrum provide valuable information regarding both cloud properties and air motion. An algorithm using these Doppler radar moments is developed to retrieve cirrus microphysical properties and the mean air vertical motion and their errors. The observed Doppler spectrum results from the convolution of a quiet-air radar reflectiv...

Chemical profiling of decomposition odour is conducted in the environmental sciences to detect malodourous target sources in air, water or soil. More recently decomposition odour profiling has been employed in the forensic sciences to generate a profile of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by decomposed remains. The chemical profile of decomposition odour is still being debated wit...

The analysis of 10 cc. of expired air to determine its percentage of oxygen and CO2 is not appreciably more difficult than the determination of the nitrogen in 10 cc. of urine by the Kjeldahl method. The nitrogen found in the sample multiplied by the total volume of t’he urine from which it was taken gives us the nitrogen metabolism of the body. In the same way the oxygen (deficit) and the CO2 ...

Surface wettability is one of most important indexes for understanding the interfacial characteristics between a solid surface and a liquid, especially such physico-chemical properties as hydrophilicity and water repellency. Recently, non-contact wettability assessment by monitoring the behavior of liquid covering a sample surface by jet-flow application to the liquid has been proposed. This me...