Photoreactive polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) that dissolve upon UV irradiation are described. Light-induced switching of the formal charge of a photoreactive polycation resulted in repulsive interlayer electrostatic forces, and caused the dissolution of PEM films. Combining both photoreactive and inert polycations in the same film yielded additional control over the light-induced ...

Agarose hydrogels filled with cellulose nanowhiskers were strained in uniaxial stretching under different humidity conditions. The orientation of the cellulose whiskers was examined before and after testing with an X-ray laboratory source and monitored in situ during loading by synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The aim of this approach was to determine ...

OBJECTIVE: To discover the relationship between earring types, piercing points, and the mechanical force needed for earrings to tear through the earlobe. METHODS: A 5-mm-thick silicon paddle was used as an earlobe model. Five types of earrings were used: hoop, stud, buckle, hook, and screw. Tension was measured 4, 8, ...

PURPOSE: When one is performing online setup correction for prostate positioning displacements prior to daily dose delivery, intrafraction motion can become a limiting factor to prostate targeting accuracy. The aim of this study was to quantify and characterize prostate intrafraction motion assessed by multiple kilovoltage (kV) and megavoltage (MV) imaging ...

Androgens are known to be involved in reproductive behaviours including courtship and aggression. According to the Challenge Hypothesis, androgen activity upregulates male reproductive behaviour seasonally and also modulates short term adaptation of these behaviours in response to social context. In the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus, 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) has been ...

Hypofractionated prostate radiotherapy may benefit from both volumetric modulated are therapy (VMAT) due to shortened treatment time and intrafraction real-time monitoring provided by implanted radiofrequency(RF) transponders. The authors investigate dosimetrically driven action thresholds (whether treatment needs to be interrupted and patient repositioned) in VMAT treatment with electromagnetic (EM) tracking. VMAT ...

The communication signals of electric fish can be dynamic, varying between the sexes on a circadian rhythm and in response to social and environmental cues. In the gymnotiform fish Brachyhypopomus gauderio waveform shape of the electric organ discharge (EOD) is regulated by steroid and peptide hormones. Furthermore, EOD amplitude and ...

Objective:To quantify the noise exposure received while driving a convertible automobile with the top open, compared with the top closed.Methods:Five different convertible automobiles were driven, with the top both closed and open, and noise levels measured. The cars were tested at speeds of 88.5, 104.6 and 120.7 km/h.Results:When driving with the ...

Personal noise exposure samples were collected from five workers at a large-sized college football stadium and five workers at a medium-sized college football stadium in northern Colorado during three home football games, for a total of 30 personal noise exposures. In addition, personal noise exposure samples were collected from five ...

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is thought to primarily involve damage to the sensory hair cells of the cochlea via mechanical and metabolic mechanisms. Unfortunately, initial studies assessing the effectiveness of post-exposure treatment after hearing loss have yielded largely disappointing results. This study explored the effects of oral treatment with Korean ...

Objectives Concerns have been raised about possible health effects from radiofrequency fields pulsing at around 16 Hz. A radio system used by UK police (TETRA) employs signals which pulse at 17.6 Hz. We tested whether exposure to a continuous wave signal at 385.25 MHz or a TETRA-like signal resulted in symptoms among users ...

The effect of a terrestrial humic acid (HA) and a river HA on the cytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to natural aquatic bacterial assemblages (0 μM, 2.5 μM and 5 μM) was measured with spread plate counting. The effect of HA (20 and 40 ppm) on the cytotoxicity of AgNPs ...

To examine the sound level and duration of use of personal listening devices (PLDs) by 189 college students, ages 18-53 years, as they entered a New York City college campus, to determine whether noise exposure from PLDs was in excess of recommended exposure limits and what factors might influence exposure. ...

Temporary threshold shift (TTS) was measured in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) after exposure to 16-s tones at 3 and 20 kHz to examine the effects of exposure frequency on the onset and growth of TTS. Thresholds were measured approximately one-half octave above the exposure frequency using a behavioral response ...

Gas exchange responses to static and variable light were tested in three species: snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris, two cultivars), California black oak (Quercus kelloggii), and blue oak (Q. douglasii). The effects of 1-month (snap beans) and 2-month (oaks) O(3) (ozone) exposure (70ppb over 8h per day in open-top chambers) were ...

Previous animal studies showed protective effects of antioxidant medicines against noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). It is unclear whether antioxidants would protect humans from NIHL. We conducted a study to determine whether N-Acetyl-cysteine (NAC) protected men against noise-induced temporary threshold shift (TTS), and whether subgroups with genetic polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferase ...

This review shows that long-term exposure to asbestos-containing dust leads not only to a reduction of lung volume as well as to limitations of forced expiratory flows, such as FEF (50) and FEF (75), but also to increased frequencies of FEV (1)/FVC, and elevated airway resistance. There is evidence for ...

Anecdotally it has been suggested that exposure to some noise sources through leisure activities could have a significant effect on whole-of-life noise exposure. While exposure levels do vary, a typical night club or dance club attendee was found to experience an equivalent continuous A-weighted noise level of around 98 dB ...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate cataractogenesis and recovery of lens damage after in vivo close to threshold ultraviolet (UV)-B radiation around 300 nm. Eighty six-week-old albino Sprague-Dawley rats were familiarized to a rat restrainer five days prior to exposure. Groups of non-anesthetized rats were exposed unilaterally ...

Animals from a wide range of taxa have been shown to possess magnetic sense and use magnetic compasses to orient; however, there is no information in the literature on whether lizards have either of these abilities. In this study, we investigated the behavioral responses of a diurnal agamid lizard (Pogona ...

Medetomidine is a new antifouling agent, and its effects in non-target aquatic organisms have been investigated. Earlier short-term studies in fish have shown a skin lightening response to medetomidine, but effects after chronic exposure have not been studied. In fish, the dark pigment melanin is contained within specialized cells, melanophores. ...

Passive exposure of adult animals to a random ensemble of tone pips band limited between 4 and 20 kHz has been shown to suppress neural activity in primary auditory cortex (AI) to sounds in the exposure frequency range. In the long-term (>3 months), the suppressed neurons can be reactivated by ...

Hearing loss from noise exposure is a leading occupational disease, with up to 5% of the population at risk world-wide. Here, we present a novel purine-based pharmacological intervention that can ameliorate noise-induced cochlear injury. Wistar rats were exposed to narrow-band noise (8-12 kHz, 110 dB SPL, 2-24 h) to induce ...

Multisynaptic neural and endocrine pathways from the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus have been hypothesized to communicate circadian and photic information to the adrenal glands. In humans, light exposure has been reported to have no effect, increase, or decrease cortisol levels. These inconsistent findings in humans may be related to ...

One can study occupational noise exposure by comparing hearing thresholds of exposed people to control data from national or international standards. ANSI S3.44 (1996) offers Annex C--thresholds for people without occupational noise exposure--as appropriate control data for such comparisons. Annex C is based on the false assumption that people who ...

This study investigated immediate effects of intense sound exposure associated with low-frequency (170-320 Hz) or with mid-frequency (2.8-3.8 kHz) sonars on caged rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus and hybrid sunfish Lepomis sp. in Seneca Lake, New York, U.S.A. This study focused on potential effects on inner ear ...

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the effect of furosemide administration on noise-induced hearing loss. This drug reversibly elevates the auditory threshold by inducing a temporary reduction of the endocochlear potential and thereby suppresses the cochlear amplifier and active cochlear mechanics. METHODS: Mice were given a single injection of furosemide 30 minutes before ...

Juvenile fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed from 10 to 100 days post-hatch (dph) to metal mining effluent under simulated summer (20 degrees C and 16/8 light/dark) or winter (4 degrees C and 8/16 light/dark) conditions in order to test the winter stress syndrome hypothesis. The condition factor of fish ...

This article reports a field study on noise annoyance from military shooting with small, midsize, and heavy weapons that was carried out among 1002 residents living near eight different training grounds of the Swiss army. The goal of the study was to derive the exposure-annoyance relationship for military shooting noise ...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether valid estimation of the effect of occupational noise exposure on hearing thresholds requires adjustment for factors other than age, sex, and race, which also influence hearing function. DESIGN: Multivariate regression analyses were performed in the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (N = 3527). RESULTS: ...

BACKGROUND: This methodological case study describes light exposure and rest-activity patterns in an older adult with dementia and his caregiver spouse. METHODS: Two devices were used to measure rest-activity and light exposure data: a wrist-worn actigraph with a light sensor to record full spectrum light exposure data and an eye-level ...

An existing set of chinchilla noise exposure data has been re-analyzed using an advanced signal analysis tool and a statistical regression analysis. The data are comprised of 23 digitally recorded noise files and auditory damage indicators of the chinchillas measured at six frequency points, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and ...

For many years, it has been recognized by those working in the field of industrial noise that understanding how much noise is needed to cause hearing loss over a lifetime is difficult to communicate to most people, even those who have an understanding of logarithms. The concept of expressing noise ...

Public shooting ranges are used primarily for recreational shooting. Certain occupations require periodic certification of firearms proficiency. Single gunfire noise is loud and impulsive. However, both recreational and occupational proficiency shooters are often exposed to firearm noise from other shooters. In such cases, the shooting noise exposure can include gunfire ...

Focused ultrasound therapy can be enhanced with microbubbles by thermal and cavitation effects. However, localization of treatment becomes difficult as bioeffects can occur outside of the target region. Spatial control of gas bubbles can be achieved with acoustic vaporization of perfluorocarbon droplets. This study was undertaken to determine the acoustic ...

The 1968 CHABA recommendations to limit impulsive noise exposure to levels below 140 dB sound pressure level form the basis of current United States occupational and military standards. The U.S. military standard, MIL-STD 1474D, estimates the number of allowable shots to which a person may be exposed using peak level, ...

Findings from recent low-level sonic boom studies have shown that people's evaluations of startle could not be explained by loudness only and the startle evaluations were correlated strongly with evaluations of annoyance. A pilot study was conducted to examine how changes in physiological responses (skin conductance, pulse rate, and EMG) ...

On the battlefield a soldier is continuously exposed to various types of noise. Much of this exposure is noise generated by his own weapon or by weapons of close by troops. The exposure levels are between 160-dB peak for small arms and 190-dB peak at the soldier's ear for some ...

Exposure to noise can result in neural swelling, mechanical damage, andor a toxic accumulation of free radicals. The type and extent of the pathology, the amount of hearing loss, and the permanence of the hearing loss all vary with the level and duration of the noise insult. In addition, noise ...

We had previously reported on the effect of exposure to light on the human digestive system: daytime bright light exposure has a positive effect, whereas, evening bright light exposure has a negative effect on the efficiency of dietary carbohydrate absorption from the evening meal. These results prompted us to examine ...

PURPOSE: The experiment was performed to prove that exposure to a relatively weak extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic field retards tadpoles' development. METHODS: Two cohorts of Xenopus laevis laevis (Daudin) tadpoles were exposed during their immature period ( approximately 60 days) to a 50 Hz magnetic field of 63.9 < ...

Long-term, passive, continuous exposure of mature animals to moderate-level, band-limited sounds can profoundly decrease neural activity in primary auditory cortex (AI) to sounds in the exposure frequency range, and increase activity to sounds outside the exposure range. The resulting reorganization of the AI tonotopic map resembles that following a restricted ...

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has been thought to primarily involve damage to the sensory hair cells of the cochlea via mechanical and metabolic mechanisms. This study examined the effects of baicalin, baicalein, and Scutellaria baicalensis (SB) extract against NIHL in a mouse model. Mice received oral treatment with SB, baicalin, ...

Long term use of personal stereo players (PSP) is now established as a potential risk to hearing health if exposure levels are not maintained at what are accepted as safe levels. Comparison of PSP user test results indicate that mean listening levels (L(Aeq)) have decreased from 86.1 dB in 2002/03 ...

It is well established that intermittent noise exposure characteristically produces less hearing loss than equal energy/intensity continuous noise in animal models. Ongoing different shift work regimes open for direct studies on hearing effects of intermittent noise exposure in man without ethical concern. Amazingly, few such studies are reported. In one ...

Noise over-stimulation may induce hair cells loss and hearing deficit. The c-myc oncogene is a major regulator for cell proliferation, growth, and apoptosis. However, the role of this gene in the mammalian cochlea is still unclear. The study was designed to firstly investigate its function under noise condition, from the ...

Thresholds of auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) are widely used to estimate the level of noise-induced hearing loss or the level of acquired resistance to acoustic trauma after repeated exposures, i.e., the "toughening" effect. Less is known about ABR latencies and their relation to threshold changes. Guinea pigs were exposed to ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Stress dependent alterations of the salivary biomarkers alpha-amylase (sAA), salivary chromogranin A (sCgA) and salivary cortisol (sC) have been reported in numerous studies recently. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the feasibility of testing sAA, sCgA and sC in relation to naturalistic traffic noise ...

The photodegradation of a human IgG1 monoclonal antibody has been examined in a high concentration (100 mg/mL) liquid formulation. It was observed that a yellowish color is generated when the formulation is exposed to intense and prolonged light exposure, and this discoloration occurs along with a loss in bioactivity. Extensive ...

Differences in daily light exposure profiles have been reported, with younger M-types shown to spend more time in bright light, especially in the morning, compared with E-types. This study aimed to investigate how patterns of daily light exposure in older non-resident M-types and E-types compare. Sleep diaries were kept during ...