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Communication in emergency calls is often agitated and callers almost always speak with a sense of urgency. Call operators often have to struggle in order to get the callers’ cooperation. The questioning sequence is often perceived by callers as inappropriate and a way of delaying assistance, frequently producing annoyance and anger in the caller. Interrupted calls are not uncommon in communications with the call centre, nor are cursing, rudeness and face attacks. The focus of previous studies on emotional work in emergency calls has mainly been devoted to communication problems and the consequences these had on the provision of assistance. This paper aims to focus specifically on how operators manage callers’ anxiety and sense of urgency and the emotions tied to this, such as anger. Transcripts of actual emergency calls are examined through a detailed discourse analysis in order to show operators’ interactional work in maintaining emotional contact with callers. The ability of the operators to control their own emotions and manage those of the caller is an important professional skills in this job. Describing how emotional contact with callers is maintained in actual calls can be useful for training and in-service courses.

Renewable energy production is one of the most important policy instruments to fight climate change. However, despite global benefits, renewable energy production entails some local challenges, such as requiring more space per unit production capacity. In this paper, we study the external effects of large-scale conventional and renewable electric power generation facilities on local house prices. We combine information of all coal, gas, and biomass plants, as well as all wind turbines in the Netherlands, with 1.5 million housing transactions over a period of 30 years. Using a difference-in-difference as well as a repeated sales model, we study the effects of facility openings and closings. Our results show negative external price effects for gas plants and wind turbines, but positive effects for biomass plants, conditionally upon ex-ante lower priced locations. The external effects of power generating facilities on local housing markets are important to consider, especially with the current focus of public policies on the expansion of renewable energy generation. Our paper is one of the first to present a large-scale study, using detailed information, and comparing several different energy sources in one framework.

Introduction: Noise is increasingly becoming pervasive in occupational health concerning practicing dentists as well as patients. A stimulus such as noise from dental equipment compared to anxiety is often multifactorial and can result from a combination of fear of pain, dental instruments noise, or even upcoming negative events and future threats. Aim: This study aimed to assess fear and annoyance levels among adolescents attending a rural dental health centre and compare the acoustic noise levels of dental equipment and its association with fear and annoyance levels among adolescents. Methods: The acoustic noise spectra originating from different tools/equipment in a rural dental health centre is assessed using an application named sound meter of a standard mobile android phone (Samsung galaxy grand 2). Following a 15-minute treatment, a questionnaire was filled by a professional investigator through personal interviews with all subjects. The data is subjected to analysis by Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22.0. Results: 61.5% of the subjects felt anxious about the anticipatory dental visit, and there was a significant difference observed between genders. Chi-square analysis revealed no significant differences in the fear and annoyance with increasing noise levels in various treatment groups. (p> 0.05). Conclusion: In the present study, fear and annoyance levels increased with increasing noise levels of equipment. Annoyance was found to be significantly higher in females.

Hospital-noise levels can induce physiological responses and affect sleep quality, which could contribute to cardiovascular-related health problems. Till date, high-resolution hospital noise exposure assessment studies have not received much attention in Oman. This study aims at assessing sound pressure levels across hospital wards and intensive care unit (ICU) rooms to determine annoyance and potential health effects based on perception and risk estimates. An indoor exposure assessment using high precision noise sensors was conducted in a female medical ward (FMW), isolated ward (SLW), emergency ward (EMW), and intensive care unit (ICU) in a public hospital in Muscat city, Oman. Self-administered questionnaire was randomly distributed among respondents using both online and field survey approach to ascertain annoyance, health effects, and potential risks associated with exposure. The study found that 24-h noise levels (LAeq) ranged from 55.2 to 61.7 dB(A) in the hospital wards and ICU rooms, which exceeded WHO’s hospital indoor rooms critical limit of 35 dB(A) by 58–76%. A total of 150 participants took part in the survey. Among the respondents, 53% reported moderate annoyance at the hospital wards, while 56% felt sensitivity to the noise levels. Noise annoyance was reported by the majority of the patients across the various wards and emergency rooms as causing slight annoyance (50%) and intermittent sleep disturbances (49%). The majority (73%) of the medical staff have complained that the current noise levels affect overall work performance (p = 0.004), while 70% of them have further complained of it as a cause of workplace distraction (p = 0.011). Logistic binary regression analysis has revealed that the complaint of noise sensitivity has a positive association with noise levels in VCW (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 0.92–2.58), and reported loss of concentration by the medical staff also associated with noise levels at the EMW (OR: 1.61; 95% CI: 0.65–4.01). Quantitative risk estimates showed that both the percentages of highly annoyed (HA) persons (16%), and highly sleep-disturbed (HSD) persons (9%) were very high in FMW, while ICU was found to have the lowest risk. However, the greater number of the respondents (87%) believed that there are possibilities of mitigating (p

Background: Occupational noise exposure has been identified as a significant risk factor for fish harvesters. Chronic noise exposure causes hearing and other health problems and undermines the quality of life and well-being. This review paper aims to highlight noise-related auditory and non-auditory health effects among fish harvesters. Materials and methods: A systematic literature search approach was adopted using the following databases: PubMed, Embase, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and by exploring grey literature. The literature search was conducted in 2020 (between October 15 and November 30). Relevant articles were explored by reviewing title, keywords, and abstract based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The full-text critical review of selected papers was made and finalized the most relevant studies. Results: Initial 1,281 records were identified, exploring various databases and additional sources using relevant keywords. Duplicate articles were removed and retrieved 746 articles. After that, a screening of 746 research papers was done based on the selection criteria and finalised 28 articles for full-text review. Finally, articles were filtered based on the study’s aim and extracted 17 papers for the final review. Conclusions: Noise-induced hearing loss was considered a significant health risk to fish harvesters across the studies, affecting physical and emotional well-being. The prevalence of hearing loss was observed from 6% to 80%. Other health problems, such as headache, dizziness, annoyance, stress, fatigue, elevated blood pressure, sleep disturbances, and impaired cognitive performance, were also reported. Further research is needed to validate the non-auditory health effects among fish harvesters.

PurposeSmartphone apps for tinnitus relief are now emerging; however, research supporting their use and effectiveness is lacking. Research has shown that Tinnitus Therapy sounds intended for individuals with acoustic hearing provide relief to some patients using cochlear implants (CIs) with tinnitus. Here, we evaluated the use and acceptability of a smartphone app to help CI patients with tinnitus.MethodParticipants completed a laboratory trial (n= 19) and an at-home trial (n= 14) using the ReSound Tinnitus Relief app to evaluate its acceptability and effectiveness in reducing their tinnitus. During the laboratory trial, participants selected a sound that was most acceptable in managing their tinnitus (termedchosen sound). Word recognition scores in quiet were obtained before and after sound therapy. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups for the at-home trial, that is, AB or BA, using (A) the chosen sound for 2 weeks and (B) the study sound (i.e., broadband noise at hearing threshold) for another 2 weeks. Ratings were collected weekly to determine acceptability and effectiveness of the app in reducing tinnitus loudness and annoyance.ResultsResults indicated that some, but not all, participants found their chosen sound to be acceptable and/or effective in reducing their tinnitus. A majority of the participants rated the chosen sound or the study sound to be acceptable in reducing their tinnitus. Word recognition scores for most participants were not adversely affected using the chosen sound; however, a significant decrease was observed for three participants. All 14 participants had a positive experience with the app during the at-home trial on tests of sound therapy acceptability, effectiveness, and word recognition.ConclusionsSound therapy using a smartphone app can be effective for many tinnitus patients using CIs. Audiologists should recommend a sound and a level for tinnitus masking that do not interfere with speech perception.

The present cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the risk factors for traffic noise–induced annoyance and also assess the awareness levels among the exposed population concerning the health impacts caused by traffic noise. Field measurements were made to validate the application of the standard noise models, which were later used to present the acoustical environment and assess the exposure level around a super-speciality hospital surrounded by a residential zone. Results from the noise maps and façade maps revealed that the area was exposed to noise levels exceeding the upper safe limits by more than 10 dB(A). The effect of exposure in the form of annoyance and the awareness level were evaluated using a questionnaire survey in a sample of 565 residents. Attention questions were incorporated in the questionnaire, and the awareness level was evaluated using the mean awareness index score. Respondents living in noisy areas were having a higher risk for annoyance as compared to those living in quiet areas (OR = 4.06; 95% CI = 2.79–5.88). Reporting poor sleep quality, being sensitive to noise, and noise perception at home were the significant risk factors for annoyance. Most of the respondents were classified as having no/little awareness about serious health ailments caused by traffic noise. Lower awareness levels, despite a higher literacy rate and a higher percentage of the young population, imply that there is a need for undertaking mass awareness programmes so that the impacts can be reduced to a minimum, if not eliminated. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-021-15208-3.

There is adequate evidence from epidemiological studies showing an association between noise exposures and incidence of cardiovascular diseases and cognitive impairment among exposed populations. This study aimed to investigate noise exposure levels in an airport region and their effects on the nearby two neighborhood communities (i.e., Al Seeb and Bawshar). To achieve this, noise levels were measured across 15 different points within the communities for more than 3 weeks at a median distance of 3.5 km from the airport runways using a sound level analyzer. In addition, we conducted an online social survey in a random sampling of a total of 913 residents who were living closer to the airport. A combination of a 5-point scale and 3-point Likert scale was used to assess the resident population’s noise annoyance and the potential health impacts. The results revealed that the majority of the measured points have noise levels (55.71–65.24 LAeq dBA) exceeding both Oman and WHO critical limits. There was a general decrease in noise levels at points further away from the runways; thus, at points 2.5, 4.8, and 8.8 km, sound pressure levels were found to be 63.08, 57.41, and 52.31 dBA, respectively. However, steady noise levels were observed throughout most of the daily (24 h) measurements indicating continual exposures. Overall, 44.6% of residents reported noise annoyance level as very high, with Al Seeb inhabitants (46%) eliciting a greater percentage of annoyance levels compared to Bawshar (5%) due to their closer proximity to the airport. Also, the noise was significantly (p ˂ 0.001) associated with sleep disturbance, insomnia, irritation, and frightening. The majority of the residents complained of an increase in insomnia (41.5%), stress (34.3%), headache (47.3%), and cardiovascular diseases (16.2%). With the question of reducing noise exposures, about 41% of the respondents have plans of relocating to distant areas with low noise levels.

Buffeting response of a double-sided catwalk designed for Maputo Bridge was investigated considering wind load nonlinearity, geometric nonlinearity, and self-excited forces. Buffeting analysis was conducted in time domain using an APDL-developed program in ANSYS, and the results were compared with the buffeting response under the traditional linear method. The wind field was simulated using the spectra representation method. Aerostatic coefficients were obtained from section model wind tunnel test. Parameter study has been carried out to investigate the effects of cross bridge interval and the gantry rope diameter on buffeting response. Referring to the ISO 2631-1(1997) standard and the annoyance rate model, the comfort of catwalk due to wind-induced vibration was evaluated. The results indicate that traditional linear calculation methods will underestimate the buffeting response of the catwalk, and enlarging the gantry rope size as well as decreasing the cross bridge interval would increase the comfort level. Moreover, the effect of gantry rope diameter was obvious than that of cross bridge interval. Annoyance rate model can evaluate the comfort level quantitatively compared to the ISO standard.

Background Various types of pollution, like atmospheric, water, soil, noise, have been reported as voice risk factors and exposure can result in vocal problems. Particularly, environmental noise causes the Lombard effect, forcing individuals to raise their voice volume. Exposure to noisy environments could provoke vocal folds lesions such as nodules, oedema, cysts, polyps as well as according to WHO (2018) annoyance, sleep disturbance, cognitive impairment in children, and adverse impacts on the cardiovascular and the metabolic system. Objective The purpose of the current study was to systematically review the current literature for the impact of environmental noise on vocal behavior. Methods Quires in Scholar Google and PubMed databases for peer-reviewed articles that reported environmental noise pollution exposure outcomes at voice behavior were conducted during the last 20 years. Primary Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) together with the Assessment for Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) were employed for this study. Results 32 articles were included for the final analysis according to the inclusion criteria. Environmental noise conditions in work and leisure settings were examined. Main findings indicated vocal annoyance, while when comparing patients with vocal lesions to control group, it was pinpointed that (i) they work in higher noise environments, with the consequence to raise voice levels and therefore causing hoarseness, vocal trauma and lesions on vocal cords (ii) average voice level and fundamental frequency were also significantly higher during work (iii) no significant differences in average noise, voice level and fundamental frequency were noted during leisure conditions. Conclusions This systematic review indicated that noise pollution exposure especially at work conditions affects vocal behavior and therefore human health. It reveals the need of further in-depth future research regarding vocally demanding professions and environmental noise along with procedures that contribute towards vocal health and prevent occupational voice disorders.

Pulley based continuously variable transmissions are becoming an integral part of automotive sector that offer numerous perks and benefits to achieve a better fuel-efficient operation. But it has an issue of generating annoying noise which results in the annoyance to the driver. This may distract the driver from concentrating on the road which could likely cause accidents. The noise also deprives their pleasure of driving and it gives off a bad impression on the performance of the vehicle regardless its specs, something owners don’t anticipate. While analyzing for the solution, it was found that two important factors played a crucial role in the production of annoying sound. These factors were kinetic friction between the belt and the pulley and stability of the CVT during its operation. Important parameters such as the belt thickness, rib number and belt material of the CVT were set to determine the ideal solution. A CAD model of a dune-buggy CVT was created in a CAD software which provided the basis of the research. The factors were then applied on the selected parameters and their behavior was keenly analyzed. By using numerical method, an elaborate frequency analysis was conducted in a FAE based software to obtain a result. This type of analysis would aid in formulating the mean deviation of frequencies from the annoying sound frequency for various combination of parameters. The results were carefully studied for each combination and compared with each other in order to generate a solution. When compared from the initial CVT model, the study saw an improvement in the reduction of annoying by 60%. In the end, a conclusive hypothesis was derived that should eliminate or at least minimize the generation of annoying sound.

PurposeThis study aimed to determine the initial odor concentration which commonly urges Thais to make complaints and to propose an off-site limit for odorous emissions.Design/methodology/approachOdor concentrations measured by Nasal Rangers® and face-to-face survey interviews were simultaneously conducted with 122 residents located near 101 manufacturing centers in 20 provinces of Thailand. Along with the measured values and odor strength verbally rated by trained assessors, the number of complaint intentions, annoyance levels and health symptoms of residents were reported.FindingsThe odor concentrations in the inspected houses were Practical implicationsThe proposed off-site reference value for odor complaint assessment was 4D/T. However, in the case of lower concentrations, additional relevant factors were crucially required to investigate the complaint.Originality/valueThis finding will help local authorities diminish subjective discretion on whether or not an odor constitutes a nuisance.

Highlights • Panic-prone individuals often exhibit reduced tolerance when wearing RPDs. • Studies found that wearing RPDs may induce a real burden of respiratory effects. • Panic-prone individuals may be at higher risk of RPD-related respiratory discomfort. • Various strategies to decrease discomfort may overcome the risk of poor compliance., Background The wearing of respiratory protective devices (RPDs) correctly and continually in situations where people are at risk of respiratory infections is crucial for infection prevention. Certain people are poorly compliant with RPDs due to RPD-related annoyance, including respiratory discomfort. We hypothesized that individuals vulnerable to panic attacks are included in this group. No published studies on this topic are available. The evidence for our hypothesis was reviewed in this study as a starting point for future research. Methods We selected a set of experimental studies that measured the respiratory physiological burden in RPD wearers through objective and validated methods. We conducted a bibliographic search of publications in the PubMed database (January 2000–May 2020) to identify representative studies that may be of interest for panic respiratory pathophysiology. Results Five studies were included. Wearing RPDs exerted significant respiratory effects, including increased breathing resistance, CO2 rebreathing due to CO2 accumulation in the RPD cavity, and decreased inhaled O2 concentration. We discussed the implications of these effects on the respiratory pathophysiology of panic. Limitations Most studies had a small sample size, with a preponderance of young participants. Different methodologies were used across the studies. Furthermore, differences in physical responses between wearing RPDs in experimental settings or daily life cannot be excluded. Conclusions This research supports the idea that panic-prone individuals may be at higher risk of respiratory discomfort when wearing RPDs, thereby reducing their tolerance for these devices. Strategies to decrease discomfort should be identified to overcome the risk of poor compliance.

Strict lockdown strategies to stop the spread of COVID-19 have caused a decrease in environmental noise levels and introduced new noise conditions in dwellings. The present study has investigated the impact of the forced lockdown in Turkey on noise annoyances due to traffic, neighbors, and personal dwellings, as well as the concern of being heard by neighbors, and overall dwelling satisfaction in an online questionnaire. The stress and anxiety levels of respondents were also investigated. The survey obtained 1053 respondents. Additionally, environmental noise levels were measured over 24-h at two locations and compared with results before the pandemic. The results clearly exhibit that environmental noise levels and annoyance due to the noise levels dropped significantly. The annoyance drop was larger in previously noisier environments than previously tranquil locations. Noise annoyance due to neighbor noise did not change significantly; however, noise annoyance due to one's own dwelling increased. The results also confirmed an overall increase in dwelling satisfactions indicating a correlation between dwelling satisfaction and lower environmental noise levels. Although the results confirmed that noise annoyance was positively correlated with stress and anxiety levels, the change of annoyance between before and during lockdown was shown to be independent from the stress and anxiety level.

The article provides the literature review devoted to the analysis of international research on the effects of air odor pollution on population health. A literature search was carried out using the databases Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, MedLine, Global Health, RSCI. The authors analyzed a total of 59 publications from 1949 to 2019. Analysis of the results of studies conducted in various countries (mainly using survey methods), showed the inhabitants of residential areas located near sources of odor, compared with the control areas, more often to have various somatic (respiratory disorders, nausea, eye irritation, headache, dizziness, sleep problems, stomach upset, etc.) and emotional (stress, fatigability, depression) symptoms. At the same time, a significant correlation with these symptoms most often shows a subjective assessment of the frequency and intensity of odor perception by the residents. The researches allow assuming the odor to effect on these disorders indirectly, through the so-called “annoyance”, which is a more powerful predictor of symptoms than the perception of odor, its concentration, or distance to the source. According to researchers, annoyance is a complex of human reactions that occurs as a result of exposure to odor as a stressful factor that causes negative cognitive assessment requiring a certain response. Annoyance is an emotional response to a stimulus that can mediate various symptoms. In addition to the direct effects of odor, a significant influence on the degree of annoyance have socio-economic factors, subjective perception of odor as a harmful factor for the health, personal, and situational factors. The authors conclude that it is necessary to expand approaches to assessing the influence of odors on the health status and quality of life of the population with comprehensive studies, including morbidity analysis, with using highly informative non-invasive methods for the study of cytogenetic, cytological, immunological, psychological status and adaptive capacity of the organism.

Peru declared a state of emergency on March 16 in order to prevent SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) transmissions; thus, the International Airport was closed and the soundscape of urban zones under the flight tracks have been changed in view of the fact that airplane traffic was suspended. The authors have been conducting noise monitoring since February and because of that sufficient noise data for knowing the soundscape before and during the lockdown were obtained. This article presents a case of aircraft annoyance noise in one of Lima's city districts, which is near the aircraft climbing curve, toward the ocean on departure from Lima.

Transportation is the heart of development of any region. It helps to operate all economic activities in all types of region of the world. This study is focus not only movement of passengers in different route but also it aims to identify about the satisfaction level of daily passengers regarding the traffic, congestion and timing of the road transport. Here emphasis given to bus route transport as the study area is well equipped with bus transportation. Passenger inconvenience data have been collected through primary survey. The result of the study shows that traffic congestion, passenger congestion is not the main concern of the passenger mainly the daily passenger who had to travel a long distance every day. The result of the study found that the timing of the transport system is the major matter of concern of the passenger. To identify the passenger inconvenience ‘Dissatisfaction degree’ method has been applied here that depicts that passenger are very annoyed regarding long time waiting at the bus stops. To manage this kind of problems transport union must have to take some managerial steps like increases the number of buses in the routes, increase the number of buses in the busiest time period, use GPS tracking system in the bus so that a passenger can easily track their vehicle, arrange e-ticketing system to avoid rushes etc.

Objective: Graphic warning labels (GWLs) are effective in communicating tobacco-related harms. Methods: In this mixed-methods study, we used purposive sampling to recruit 100 low-income smokers in the San Francisco Bay Area between October 2017 and February 2018 to participate in an intervention promoting smoke-free homes. We presented the 2009 Food and Drug Administration-proposed GWLs and explored perceptions of affect, efficacy, and appeal using questionnaires at baseline, 3- and 6-months follow-up. Because of participants' interest in this topic, we subsequently conducted a qualitative sub-study among 20 participants exploring perceived efficacy of GWLs on smoking cessation. Results: In all, 87.3% and 59.2% agreed that GWLs were useful and would motivate cessation behaviors, respectively, at baseline. We found that the most common responses were shock (61.8%) and disgust (55.3%), whereas anger (29.0%) and annoyance (19.7%) were less common. Participants also reported that GWLs unequivocally illustrating smoking's harmful effects were more appealing than non-specific images, as were images that depicted positive cessation-related effects. Conclusions: GWLs appear to be an important health communication among low-income smokers. Future studies on GWLs should examine the association of negative affect and cessation among this population.

El olfato, ante un olor desagradable que proviene de una posible contaminación, actúa como órgano que nos alerta de esta situación, sin embargo, la regulación de este tipo de contaminación, imprecisa en su mayoría, queda relegada a un segundo plano. En gran parte porque la contaminación por olor, como indicador de la calidad del aire, está en manos del concepto jurídico indeterminado de molestia, basado principalmente en el tono hedónico (agrado o desagrado) de los compuestos químicos presentes en el aire ambiental, que tienen la característica de producir olor, convirtiendo la emisión en una molestia para el receptor que la percibe. La definición de contaminación atmosférica nos lleva a que, un mismo compuesto puede ser un contaminante por partida doble, siendo la contaminación por olor, en la mayoría de los casos, el preludio del efecto nocivo, por lo que se plantea la importancia de esta regulación en la fase preventiva.

Background Noise levels on intensive care units (ICUs) are typically elevated. While many studies reported negative effects of ICU ambient sounds on patients, only few investigated noise as a factor to influence well-being or performance in healthcare professionals. Methods An online survey in the German-speaking part of Switzerland was conducted to assess how ICU soundscapes are subjectively perceived by healthcare professionals. The questionnaire was answered by 348 participants. Additionally, effects of noise on working memory performance were evaluated in an experimental noise exposure setting. Twenty-six healthcare professionals and 27 healthy controls performed a 2-back object-location task while being exposed to either ICU or pink noise. Results Survey results demonstrate that a majority of participants was aware of heightened noise levels. Participants reported that mostly well-being, performance, and attention could be reduced, along with subjective annoyance and fatigue by ICU ambient sounds. Although no significant effects of noise exposure on working memory performance was observed, self-assessments revealed significantly higher stress levels, increased annoyance and distraction ratings as well as decreased confidence in performance after ICU-noise exposure. Conclusion Subjective assessments indicate that heightened noise levels on ICUs induce annoyance, with heightened stress levels, impaired well-being, and reduced performance being potential consequences. Empirical evidence with objective and physiological measures is warranted.

This manuscript describes a range of technical deliberations undertaken by the authors during their work as members of the Australian Government’s Independent Scientific Committee on Wind Turbines. Central to these deliberations was the requirement upon the committee to improve understanding and monitoring of the potential impacts of sound from wind turbines (including low frequency and infrasound) on health and the environment. The paper examines existing wind turbine sound limits, possible perceptual and physiological effects of wind turbine noise, aspects of the effects of wind turbine sound on sleep health and quality of life, low-frequency noise limits, the concept of annoyance including alternative causes of it and the potential for it to be affected by low-frequency noise, the influence of amplitude modulation and tonality, sound measurement and analysis and management strategies. In so doing it provides an objective basis for harmonisation across Australia of provisions for siting and monitoring of wind turbines, which currently vary from state to state, contributing to contention and potential inequities between Australians, depending on their place of residence.

Background Environmental noise exposure has been associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Recently, noise annoyance was shown to induce atrial fibrillation, which was accompanied by significantly increased levels of midregional pro atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyze the association between noise annoyance, MR-proANP, incident cardiovascular events, and all-cause mortality. Methods Levels of MR-proANP were measured in the first 5000 participants of the population-based Gutenberg Health Study. Annoyance was assessed separately for aircraft, road traffic, railway, neighborhood, and industrial/construction noise during the day and sleep. Results In cross-sectional analyses, aircraft noise annoyance during day and sleep, industrial/construction noise annoyance during day, and railway noise annoyance during sleep were independently associated with increased levels of MR-proANP after multivariable adjustment. After a 5-year follow-up period, there were 43 cases of incident atrial fibrillation and 103 of incident cardiovascular disease (comprising atrial fibrillation, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, or stroke). Moreover, there were 301 deaths after a mean follow-up of 7.42 ± 1.66 years. An odds ratio (OR) of 2.82 ([95% confidence interval (CI) 1.86; 4.35], p p = 0.0046) for incident cardiovascular disease per 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in MR-proANP levels were found. A 36% (hazard ratio: 1.36 [95% CI 1.19; 1.55], p Conclusions Noise annoyance may contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and is characterized by increased levels of MR-proANP. Graphic abstract

Noise is generally defined as the unwanted sound produced by various natural or man-made sources such as construction, industrial, transportation activities etc. Noise can have many adverse effects such as hearing impairment, sleep disturbance, interference with speech and communication, reduced performance, annoyance and harming physiological functions. In India, the permissible noise level for different areas is laid down by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Lucknow city, one of the major urban centres of Uttar Pradesh, has a population around 28 lakh according to Census, 2011. This huge number of people contributes significantly in the increasing levels of noise and, therefore, creates an alarming state of noise pollution. This paper aims to study the growing noise level trends in the city, analyse the average sound levels to ascertain the status of ambient noise levels and recommend suitable preventive measures. The data used for substantiation has been drawn from the reports of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB). Microsoft Excel software has been used for tabulation and graphical representation of data while ArcGIS 10.3 software has been used for the cartographical representation.

Vehicle acoustic comfort is one of the ergonomic measurement criteria that are essential for car occupants. furthermore, interior cabin noise of a car may affect the driver’s concentration when driving. this study is to investigate the noise comfort level of car interior on several compact cars. the objective is to measure interior cabin noise for all three cars and then to compare their acoustic comfort level using subfield data mining approach. a deduction will be made to rate the best car among the three in term of acoustic comfort. the interior cabin noise will be obtained for the cases where engine speed is varied while the cars are in stationary and moving condition. the noise will be assessed according to pre-determined subjective and objective criteria. the sound quality parameters will be assessed by regression analysis. in subjective assessment, the recorded noise is evaluated based on jury assessment. then, the data mining approach is implemented to illustrate the noise level. the collected noise data are divided into five clusters through hierarchical clustering method. to assess the accuracy of noise data clusters, the method of k-nearest neighbours is performed and the results show a high accuracy rate (> 95%). finally, the interior noise of the three cars used is compared by using the analysis of variation. the vehicle acoustic comfort index is produced for the three cars tested in this study. in addition, the acoustic quality among the three cars is presented using anova. annoyance index of the three cars is generated using data mining method. from the results, axia has the best acoustic comfort among of the three cars by objective evaluation. by subjective evaluation, axia recorded the lowest level of annoyance.

Noise is one of the main environmental pollutants and it is becoming a growing public health concern due to its impact on the quality of life in urban areas. In order to monitor critical locations,...

In this study, we capture the trade-off between effective and annoying display advertising. We investigate both the enduring impact of display advertising on consumers' purchase decisions and the potential of persistent display advertising to stimulate annoyance in consumers. Additionally, we study the structural dynamics of these advertising effects by allowing them to be contingent on the latent state of the purchase funnel in which each consumer resides. The findings, based on the hidden Markov model that we propose, demonstrate that a tension exists between generating interest and triggering annoyance in consumers; whereas display advertising has an enduring impact on transitioning consumers farther down the purchase funnel, persistent display advertising exposures beyond a frequency threshold can have an adverse effect by increasing the chances that consumers will be annoyed. Investigating the dynamics of these annoyance effects, we reveal that consumers who reside in different stages of the purchase funnel exhibit considerably different tolerance for annoyance stimulation. Our findings also reveal that the format of display advertisements and the level of diversification of ad creatives as well as consumer demographics moderate consumers' thresholds for annoyance elicitation. For instance, advertisers can reduce annoyance elicitation as a result of frequent display advertising exposures when they diversify the display ad creatives shown to consumers as well as when they use static rather than animated display ads.

Purpose Occurrence of tinnitus can be, for a person who experiences it, a disorder affecting the overall equilibrium of the organism. To cope with it a variety of personal resources, such as positive orientation and basic hope, are mobilized. The aim of this study was to determine whether these resources are associated with the evaluation of the impact of tinnitus on the functioning of the study participants. Methods Study involved 176 tinnitus sufferers, including 123 women and 53 men. The results were compiled using: Positivity Scale (P-scale) for measuring positive orientation, Basic Hope Inventory (BHI-R) for measuring basic hope, the questionnaires: Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) evaluating the impact of tinnitus on the daily functioning of the subjects, as well as a survey designed for the study, comprising questions about sociodemographic data and tinnitus history. Results Results of regression analysis indicated that positive orientation is the most important for the perceived tinnitus annoyance. However, no significant influence of basic hope on tinnitus annoyance was found. Among other variables taken into account in regression analysis, age and presence of additional diseases proved to be important predictors of tinnitus annoyance. Conclusions Personality determinants (positive orientation) are related to the perception of tinnitus annoyance. When working with a tinnitus patient, it is justified to pay attention to the existence of the positive orientation and to work on its development. Research should also be continued to search for other personal resources that affect the perceived tinnitus annoyance.

Introdução: O zumbido juntamente com a perda auditiva, é uma percepção acústica anormal que pode levar a uma desorganização no Sistema Nervoso Auditivo Central. Por isso sujeitos portadores são suscetíveis ao Transtorno do Processamento Auditivo Central. O Treinamento Auditivo, baseado nos conceitos de neuroplasticidade pode auxiliar na redução do incômodo com o zumbido, por objetivar sincronia na via auditiva. Objetivo: Estimar os efeitos do Treinamento Auditivo Acusticamente Controlado Computadorizado na redução do incômodo com o zumbido e nas alterações das habilidades auditivas em idosos com perda auditiva usuários de próteses auditivas. Material e Método: Estudo transversal quantitativo e qualitativo, no qual foram reabilitados cinco idosos com zumbido, alteração em pelo menos uma habilidade auditiva e perda auditiva. Foram realizadas avaliações pré e pós intervenção, sendo elas: anamnese e avaliação audiológica básica, aplicação do questionário Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, testes comportamentais do processamento auditivo e avaliação eletrofisiológica. Realizou-se o tratamento com o software Escuta Ativa, em 16 sessões de em média 30 minutos cada. Resultados: Houve diferença estatisticamente significante em relação aos valores pré e pós tratamento no questionário Tinnitus Handicap Inventory e nos testes comportamentais. Não houve mudanças eletrofisiológicas pré e pós tratamento. Conclusão: Foi possível avaliar os efeitos do Treinamento Auditivo Acusticamente Controlado Computadorizado na redução do incômodo com o zumbido, por meio do questionário escolhido aplicado pré e pós intervenção. Além disso, algumas habilidades auditivas comportamentais também melhoraram com a referida intervenção. Apenas não foi possível observar mudanças eletrofisiológicas no Potencial Evocado Auditivo Longa Latência.

Soundscape standard (ISO 12913) is mainly oriented to describe the psychoacoustic annoyance (PA) due to the perceived sound in different environments. The evaluation of this annoyance is commonly based on the Zwicker and Fastl model that defines several components related to this subjective annoyance, such as loudness, sharpness, roughness, and fluctuation strength. But due to their complexity, these components are difficult to be calculated on small board computers (SBCs) in real time in order to enable a wireless acoustic sensor network for PA monitoring. In this article, we describe the necessary procedures to implement the complete psychoacoustic model by Zwicker and Fastl in a precise and efficient way, keeping the standards and criteria defined for each model, adding hints to improve its performance. We evaluate their execution time on different platforms and languages, including SBCs, in particular on Raspberry Pi family. Thus, this article shows a feasible implementation of this monitoring approach on low-cost platforms as well as a visualization tool.

It is well accepted among clinicians that maskers and hearing aids combined with counseling are generally helpful to tinnitus patients, but there are few controlled studies exploring the efficacy of maskers alone to decrease the prominence of tinnitus.We investigated the benefit of maskers for patients with chronic, bothersome tinnitus.Crossover single-participant design, where each participant served as their own control.18 adults with subjective, nonpulsatile, sensorineural tinnitus.Participants participated in two six-week trials: one with sound therapy and one without. No counseling was provided in either group. Masking devices were fit with sounds intended to reduce the tinnitus prominence.Participants rated tinnitus loudness, tinnitus annoyance, and acceptability of the background sounds using a numeric 0–100 interval scale and completed the Tinnitus Primary Functions Questionnaire (TPFQ).Three participants dropped out. On the total score of the TPFQ, 5 of 15 remaining participants (33%) showed a benefit. Using a derived score based on functions showing a handicap before the study, maskers benefit was observed in the areas of sleep (five of nine), hearing (three of eight), thoughts and emotions (three of four), and concentration (four of eight). The TPFQ and annoyance data complemented each other well.This study demonstrates the benefit of partial masking, encouraging patients to seek help from audiologists interested in providing support for tinnitus patients.

Background: Sensitivity to noise, or nuisance sounds that interrupt relaxation and task-related activities, has been shown to vary significantly across individuals. The current study sought to uncover predictors of noise sensitivity, focussing on possible social and cultural determinants, including social position, education, ethnicity, gender, and the presence of an illness. Method: Data were collected from 746 New Zealand adults residing in 6 areas differentiated by social position. Participants responded to questions probing personal characteristics, noise sensitivity, illness, neighbourhood problems, and noise annoyance. It was hypothesized that those in high-deprivation areas and/or experiencing illness report higher levels of noise sensitivity. Results: Approximately 50 and 10% of the participants reported being moderately or very noise sensitive, respectively. Significant predictors of noise sensitivity included age, length of residence, level of social deprivation, and self-reported illness. Conclusion: There is evidence of social determinants of noise sensitivity, including social position and residential factors.

Although wind power is more acceptable in terms of its environmental impact, possible risks to human health are still being discussed. The aim of this study is to systematically evaluate the methodology and the outcomes of the articles that investigate the health effects of wind turbines on humans. Combinations of keywords were entered into the PubMed database. The search resulted in a total of 141 hits, 22 were included. It had been noticed that the most common problems in those living around the wind turbines are noise annoyance(n=18), risk perception and attitude towards wind turbines(n=11), general health symptoms and quality of life(n=11), sleep disturbance(n=10), annoyance(n=7) and shadow flicker effect(n=4). General annoyance is adversely affected by the noise level and sensitivity to noise. We can conclude that the knowledge of and attitude towards wind turbines can turn into annoyance and symptoms if the audio-visual effects of turbines limit daily life activities.

Background Psychiatric conditions are common in individuals with tinnitus. Therefore, the ways individuals cope with such conditions and personality can influence the characteristics of tinnitus. Purpose The study aims to investigate the direct and indirect effects of resilience, personality traits, and psychiatric symptoms on the tinnitus perception. Research Design This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, and observational study involving quantitative results. Study Sample Thirty-seven individuals with chronic tinnitus (for more than 6 months) sought the tinnitus care service (mean age = 44.6 years; SD = 11.7 years). Data Collection and Analysis The specific anamnesis of tinnitus, adult self-report questionnaire, resilience scale, big five inventory, Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (M = 45.0; SD = 24.1), and visual analog scale (M = 6.4; SD = 2.7) were used. Psychoacoustic measurements (loudness: M = 25.4; SD = 12.8) of tinnitus were performed to characterize the condition in terms of pitch and loudness. The study analyzed the relationship between tinnitus (annoyance, severity, and loudness), psychiatric symptoms, personality, and resilience using multiple mediations. Results Resilience did not influence tinnitus severity (BCa: -1.12 to 0.51), annoyance (BCa: -0.10 to 0.11), or loudness (BCa: -0.44 to 0.28) when mediated by anxiety and depression. Additionally, there was only a direct effect of resilience for annoyance (t = - 2.14, p = 0.03; BCa: -0.10 to 0.11). There was no direct influence of anxiety and depression on the tinnitus severity (b = 0.53, p > 0.05), annoyance (b = - 0.01, p > 0.05), or loudness (b = 0.11, p > 0.05). However, there was an association of personality traits (neuroticism) with the tinnitus severity (b = 1.16, 95% CI: 0.15–2.17; t = 2.53, p = 0.02) and annoyance (b = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.003–0.24; t = 2.09, p = 0.04). Conclusion Resilience and psychiatric symptoms did not have a direct or indirect influence on the tinnitus annoyance, severity, or loudness. However with a direct association of resilience and annoyance, and neuroticism trait with the tinnitus annoyance and severity. Our results suggest that patients with chronic tinnitus and high neuroticism should receive personalized treatment.

BACKGROUND: Tinnitus is an auditory impression without any external auditory stimulus. It may cause negative symptoms (anxiety, insomnia, depression) significantly affecting work performance and job satisfaction. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the job satisfaction in tinnitus sufferers. METHODS: Cross-sectional study were conducted and 51 individuals (23–70 years) were recruited. Participants completed two questionnaires: Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Job Satisfaction Scale. RESULTS: People affected by tinnitus report higher job satisfaction than healthy people. Job satisfaction was significantly related to age: r = 0.31; p

Road-traffic-noise exposition is widespread in Germany and can have harmful health effects. As guidance for informed decision-making, we estimated the environmental burden of disease attributable to road-traffic noise in Hesse, Germany as disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs). Using detailed road-traffic-noise exposure data provided by the Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment, and Geology (HLNUG), we calculated the DALYs due to road-traffic noise &gt, 40 dB(A) L24h (unweighted average 24 h noise level) and other noise metrics for endpoints with known dose-response functions and evidence in the literature (NORAH-study on disease risks and WHO reviews): cardiovascular disease, depressive disorders, road-traffic annoyance, and sleep disturbance. We calculated the population-attributable fractions (PAF) for road-noise-related cardiovascular disease (hypertensive heart disease, ischemic heart disease, and stroke) and depressive disorders in the population using published relative risk estimates. We multiplied the PAFs with the Hessian proportion of the 2015 WHO DALY estimates for Germany in people aged ≥ 40 years. For high annoyance and high sleep disturbance, we used published dose-response functions to determine the burden for residents of all ages. For Hesse, we found a total of 26,501 DALYs attributable to road-traffic noise or 435 DALY per 100,000 persons for the reference year, 2015. Further, we estimated that a hypothetic uniform road-traffic-noise reduction of 3 dB would prevent 23% of this burden of disease.

Wind turbines play an important role in the worldwide mission of producing renewable energy. The development toward integrating large-scale wind turbines in the urban environment has raised concerns over the noise impacts on urban residents. While most of the existing studies on wind turbine noise (WTN) have focused on rural settings, this paper investigates the relationship between WTN, noise perception and self-reported health of people, and controlling for background characteristics of the residents in urbanized areas. Questionnaire surveys were carried out around three suburban wind farms in the UK with 359 respondents. A-weighted sound pressure levels of WTN were predicted using noise mapping, for the most exposed façade of each dwelling of the respondent. The dose-response relationship was found between WTN and annoyance, moderated by age and degree of education. WTN was associated with some aspects of self-reported health, including raised health concerns, having headaches, nausea, and ear discomfort, but was not related to sleep disturbance directly. Noise sensitivity, attitudes to wind energy, and visibility of the wind turbines were found to significantly influence self-reported health. By employing a second variant of the questionnaire with the research aim masked, this study also addressed the focusing effects induced by the questionnaire design. The significant differences in the reported adverse health between questionnaire variants implied focusing bias among the sample who knew the research purpose. This elicited a methodological finding that should be noted in future research.

The National Research Council Canada is currently investigating the perceived annoyance due to impact sound in multi-unit residential buildings. The first part of a subjective laboratory study on a number of different floor/ceiling assemblies was completed with 26 participants just before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. To evaluate the feasibility of carrying out a similar study without in-person attendance, a similar set of data from the laboratory study were used to create an online listening test. The online listening test was created in JavaScript and HTML5 to run on any internet browser. This paper presents the results of the online listening test and compares them to the laboratory study, focusing on the obvious drawbacks of an uncontrolled remote study such as the uncertainty due to the participants' headphones and listening environment. With an expectation that in-person studies will remain difficult to realize in the near future, this study will provide evidence whether remote subjective listening tests are a viable alternative to controlled laboratory studies for impact sound. © INTER-NOISE 2021 .All right reserved.

Commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, an update of an earlier narrative review was prepared for the literature published between 2017 and mid-2020 about the effects of wind turbine sound on the health of local residents. Specific attention was hereby given to the health effects of low-frequency sound and infrasound. The Netherlands Institute for Public Health and the Environment and Mundonovo sound research collected the scientific literature on the effect of wind turbines on annoyance, sleep disturbance, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic effects, as well as mental and cognitive impacts. It also investigated what is known about annoyance from visual aspects of wind turbines and other non-acoustic factors, such as the local decision-making process. From the literature study, annoyance again came forward as the most important consequence of sound: the louder the sound (in dB) of wind turbines, the stronger the annoyance response was. The literature did not show that “low-frequency sound” (sound with a low pitch) results in extra annoyance on top of normal sound. Results of scientific research for other health effects are either not available or inconsistent, and we can conclude that a clear association with wind turbine related sound levels cannot be confirmed. There is evidence that long-term effects are related to the annoyance people experience. These results confirm earlier conclusions. There is increasing evidence that annoyance is lower when people can participate in the siting process. Worries of residents should be addressed in an early stage, by involving them in the process of planning and decision making.

The current driver's monitoring system requires a set-up that includes the usage of a variety of camera equipment behind the steering wheel. It is highly impractical in a real-world environment as the set-up might cause annoyance or inconvenience to the driver. This project proposes a framework of using mobile devices and cloud services to monitor the driver's head pose, detect angry expression and drowsiness, and alerting them with audio feedback. With the help of a phone camera functionality, the driver’s facial expression data can be collected then further analyzed via image processing under the Microsoft Azure platform. A working mobile app is developed, and it can detect the head pose, angry emotion, and drowsy drivers by monitoring their facial expressions. Whenever an angry or drowsy face is detected, pop-up alert messages and audio feedback will be given to the driver. The benefit of this mobile app is it can remind drivers to drive calmly and safely until drivers manage to handle their emotions where anger or drowsy is no longer detected. The performance of the mobile app in classifying anger emotion is achieved at 96.66% while the performance to detect driver’s drowsiness is 82.2%. On average, the head pose detection success rate across the six scenarios presented is 85.67%.

Talk to any allergy sufferer and they will tell you how awful it can be. Runny noses, itchy eyes, coughing and difficulties breathing. For many these symptoms rise only to the level of annoyance and can be avoided by steering clear of the source of their allergy. What many people don't realise though is that allergies can become a far more serious issue for a large segment of the population. Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing due to allergies bring many people to emergency rooms and these are just the acute symptoms. Along with the potential for an allergic attack during a windy or dusty day, researchers and medical professionals are beginning to recognise that there are chronic, long term effects associated with allergies. In order to mitigate both the acute and chronic effects of allergies a better understanding of how genetic factors combine with environmental conditions to produce the ranges of symptoms and effects of allergy suffers is needed. Professor Tomomi Higashi, from the Department of Hygiene at Kanazawa University in Japan, is an expert in this field and is currently working to improve treatment and prevention of allergic disease.

Introduction: The humans are extensively affected by noise, ranging from slight annoyance to hearing loss. The direct and indirect health-related effects of noise on humans are hearing impairment, speech disturbance, dysfunction of the ANS and cardiovascular system etc. Aim: To determine the effect of white noise and traffic noise on HRV in young adult males. Materials and Methods: 50 young male volunteers are taken for study and are randomly divided into two groups according to the type of noise they were exposed to white, traffic noise. Also measured HRV parameters before and after exposure t o noise. The HRV parameters are evaluated while patients seated for 5 minutes and frequency domain analysis were then performed with the help of (Instrument) RMS polyrite – D version 3.0.11. Results: There was a significant (p and a significant(p Thus indicating increased sympathetic activity and reduced parasympathetic activity in traffic noise. Discussion: In this study there was a significant (p to white noise, and a significant (p to white noise. Thus indicating increased sympathetic activity and reduced parasympathetic activity in traffic noise. These results are in accordance with those of previous studies, which showed that classical music increased comfort and decreased the LF level. Conclusion: These results suggest that with appropriate noise exposure levels, we could observe activated ANS function and an improved degree of overall balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. These results suggest that an appropriate noise level can positively affect the ANS. Keywords: White noice, Traffic noice, LF/HF, Cardiac activity, AFT.

This paper investigates noise annoyance from wind turbines of different sizes and in different acoustic surroundings. A listening test was conducted where wind turbine noises were rated alone and together with background sounds from a deciduous forest, a busy city and road traffic. A magnitude production procedure was implemented which showed high correlation between repeated measurements and the results were analysed using A-weighted sound levels, signal-to-noise ratios and time varying loudness and partial loudness. Ratings for wind turbine sound heard alone showed no coherent statistically significant differences between wind turbine types, neither for A-weighted sound levels nor loudness. The masking test indicate that road traffic noise is a superior masker compared to forest sound. However, these effects where only statistically significant at low sound levels, below the range 35–45 dB(A), where noise guidelines for wind turbine noise usually are stipulated.

Occupational exposure limits (OELs) are derived for protection from health hazards, assuming that exposed subjects are healthy adult workers. Whether differences in susceptibility to sensory irritation effects from airborne chemicals have to be taken into account is currently under discussion. Thus, we chose atopics as a healthy but possibly susceptible subpopulation that can be identified with a clinical test. To investigate the influence of sex or atopy on sensitivity to airborne chemicals, 22 subjects were exposed for 4 h to ethyl acrylate at three concentrations: 0.05 ppm (odor threshold; sham), 5 ppm (constant), and varying exposure between 0 and 10 ppm. Odor intensity decreased and eye irritation ratings increased in a dose-dependent manner, reflecting the time course of the exposure scenarios. The reports of moderate-to-strong eye irritation were verified by significant increases in eye blink frequency. Our results show that women reported subjective eye irritation to an increasing degree. However, these sex-related differences in ratings could not be verified by objective assessment of eye blink frequency. Atopic subjects reported higher odor intensity than non-atopic subjects, but only during the sham (odorous but not irritating) exposure condition. Differences in ratings on annoyance, and eye or nose irritation were not found. Furthermore, the study revealed that atopic subjects might belong to a group of subjects with frequent eye blink activity. Although the relative increase in blink rates was more pronounced in non-atopic subjects, atopic subjects had significant higher blink rates at the end of the exposure to varying ethyl acrylate concentrations. Our results do not support that atopy enhances chemosensory effects if only the increase of blink rates and not the absolute height are considered as adverse effect. Nevertheless, the results indicate that individuals with frequent eye blink activity should be distinguished from those with normal eye blink activity while investigating blink rates as objective parameter of eye irritation.

Introduction: Random noise stimulation was reported as the more effective and safer type of electrical stimulation techniques in relieving tinnitus symptoms. The multisite protocol of transcranial random noise stimulation has shown additional favorable effects. Objective: Here we will discuss the role of applying eight sessions of multisite transcranial random noise stimulation in decreasing tinnitus loudness and annoyance without exerting additional adverse effects. Methods: Twenty-nine subjects (8 female), the mean age of (45.34 ± 9.57) with chronic tinnitus received transcranial random noise stimulation in the multisite protocol, 10 min of auditory-transcranial random noise stimulation applied over the T3, T4 preceded by 10 min of prefrontal-transcranial random noise stimulation applied over F4, FP1. In the first group, only one session was applied and the multiple-sessions group contained eight repeated sessions. Visual analog scale scores for loudness and distress were recorded before and immediately after the treatment. Multivariate repeated measure ANOVA test was used and minimal detectable change calculated. Results: There was a statistically and clinically significant reduction in tinnitus loudness and annoyance in both groups (p 0.8), while the amount of annoyance suppression in the multiple-sessions group was significantly greater than the single-session group. The patients of the multiple-sessions transcranial random noise stimulation group reported an improvement in their sleep and lower tinnitus handicap inventory scores without experiencing any additional adverse effects of the intervention. Conclusions: The results of this study showed a substantial improvement in tinnitus symptoms by using the multiple sessions of transcranial random noise stimulation in the multisite protocol without producing any additional side effects. We suggest further clinical trials with long-term follow-up be investigated. Resumo: Introdução: Tem sido relatado que a estimulação transcraniana por ruído aleatório é um tipo mais eficaz e seguro de técnica de estimulação elétrica no alívio dos sintomas do zumbido. O protocolo multissítio da estimulação transcraniana por ruído aleatório mostrou efeitos favoráveis adicionais. Objetivo: Discutir o papel da aplicação de oito sessões de estimulação transcraniana por ruído aleatório multissítio na diminuição da intensidade (loudness) do som e incômodo (annoyance) do zumbido sem causar efeitos adversos adicionais. Método: Vinte e nove indivíduos com zumbido crônico (oito do sexo feminino), com média de 45,34 ± 9,57 anos, receberam estimulação transcraniana por ruído aleatório no protocolo multissítio, 10 minutos de estimulação transcraniana por ruído aleatório-auditivo aplicado no T3, T4 precedido por 10 min de estimulação transcraniana por ruído aleatório pré-frontal aplicado sobre F4, FP1. No primeiro grupo, apenas uma sessão foi aplicada e o grupo de múltiplas sessões recebeu oito sessões. Os escores da escala visual analógica para a intensidade do som (loudness) e incômodo (annoyance) do zumbido foram registrados antes e imediatamente após o tratamento. O teste Anova multivariada para medidas repetidas foi utilizado e a mudança mínima detectável foi calculada. Resultados: Houve uma redução estatisticamente e clinicamente significante na intensidade e incômodo do zumbido em ambos os grupos (p < 0,05; tamanho do efeito (η2) > 0,8), embora o nível de supressão do incômodo no grupo de sessões múltiplas tenha sido significantemente maior do que no grupo de sessão única. Os pacientes do grupo estimulação transcraniana por ruído aleatório com múltiplas sessões relataram uma melhoria no sono e menores escores no tinnitus handicap inventory, sem experimentar quaisquer efeitos adversos adicionais da intervenção. Conclusão: Os resultados deste estudo mostraram uma melhora substancial nos sintomas do zumbido utilizando múltiplas sessões de estimulação transcraniana por ruído aleatório no protocolo multissítio sem produzir quaisquer efeitos colaterais adicionais. Sugerimos que novos ensaios clínicos com seguimento de longo prazo sejam realizados. Keywords: Tinnitus, Electrical stimulation, Transcranial random noise stimulation, Multiple-sessions, Safety, Palavras-chave: Zumbido, Estimulação elétrica, Estimulação transcraniana por ruído aleatório, Múltiplas sessões, Segurança

The vibration of lightweight floors under service loads may cause annoyance to the occupants of buildings, particularly when the fundamental natural frequency of the floor is close to the range of frequencies 4–8 Hz to which the human body is sensitive. Accordingly, the vibration response of the floors is a governing factor in the structural design of steel-timber composite (STC) flooring systems, which have been proposed as an innovative alternative to conventional steel-concrete floors. The current study is part-2 of a comprehensive experimental and numerical study on serviceability performance of the STC floors under human-induced excitations. Natural frequencies are often used as measure of the acceptable vibration performance of the floors. Accordingly, the finite-element (FE) models calibrated and validated against the experimental results in part-1 are used to predict the natural frequencies of the typical STC floors with medium to long spans, and the effect of the geometry of the floor, the mechanical properties of the connections and the magnitude of superimposed loads on the natural frequencies of the STC floors are investigated through a paramtric study. In addition, dynamic analyses are carried out to predict the vibration response (i.e. displacements, velocities and accelerations) of the STC floors, developed in the parametric study, subject to human activities and the vibration performance of the floors with respect to acceptability criteria derived from various building codes is assessed. Lastly, some floor design recommendations are made to ensure satisfactory performance of the STC floors under human-induced vibrations according to the existing building codes.

Noise in open-plan offices, connected with an unintentional hearing of conversations and related distraction of attention, causes annoyance of employees. The article presents the calculated range of speech intelligibility in a selected open-plan office room.The speech transmission index (STI) was examined in a real room of 300 msup3/sup. The room was equipped with a sound absorbing suspended ceiling, acoustic screens and sound absorbing materials on the walls. Initial tests were conducted in order to verify the assumed computational model from ODEON software, as well as the geometrical and acoustic data describing the room. The verification process consisted of comparing the calculations and measurement results. In the main part of the study, the range of speech intelligibility was calculated for several locations of the speech source, i.e., areas in which the STI0.5.The results of the calculations and the results of the measurements of physical quantities, characterizing the acoustic properties of the open-plan office room (including STI), showed good agreement. For speech emission, the ranges of speech intelligibility were determined on several work stations.The use of calculation methods to simulate the sound field in open-plan office rooms is possible when the calibration of the room model is initially performed. Determination of the speech intelligibility range provides important information about the distance of negative acoustic interactions between work stations. This range can be used to determine the interaction between work stations or to assess various technical solutions to reduce the negative interaction. Med Pr. 2019;70(3):327-42.Hałas w pomieszczeniach biurowych open space, powodując niezamierzony odbiór rozmów i związaną z tym dekocentrację, jest szczególnie uciążliwy dla pracowników. W artykule określono metodą obliczeniową zasięg zrozumiałości mowy w wybranym pomieszczeniu biurowym open space.Badano zrozumiałość mowy określoną wskaźnikiem transmisji mowy (ispeech transmission index/i− STI) w pomieszczeniu rzeczywistym o objętości 300 msup3/sup. Zainstalowano w nim dźwiękochłonny sufit podwieszany, ekrany oraz materiały dźwiękochłonne na ścianach. W badaniach wstępnych zweryfikowano przyjęty model obliczeniowy (w programie ODEON) oraz dane geometryczno-akustyczne opisujące pomieszczenie. Weryfikacja polegała na porównaniu wyników pomiarów i wyników obliczeń. W badaniach głównych obliczono zasięg zrozumiałości mowy dla kilku wariantów położenia źródła mowy, tj. obszarów, w których STI0,5.Uzyskano dużą zgodność wyników obliczeń i pomiarów wielkości fizycznych charakteryzujących właściwości akustyczne pomieszczenia biurowego open space (m.in. STI). Na kilku stanowiskach pracy określono zasięgi zrozumiałości mowy dla jej emisji.Stosowanie metod obliczeniowych do symulacji pola akustycznego w pomieszczeniach biurowych open space jest możliwe po wykonaniu kalibracji zastosowanego modelu geometryczno-akustycznego i danych opisujących pomieszczenie. Określenie zasięgu zrozumiałości mowy daje istotną informację o zasięgu negatywnego akustyczne wzajemnego oddziaływania stanowisk pracy. Zasięg ten może być wykorzystany przy określeniu wzajemnego oddziaływania stanowisk pracy lub oceny różnych rozwiązań technicznych, które mają na celu zmniejszenie tego oddziaływania. Med. Pr. 2019;70(3):327–342.

Noise annoyance reactions in the population due to wind farms are related to visual as well as noise-related impacts of the farms. Improved understanding of these effects may support the planning of better accepted wind farms. Recently, tools for visualization and auralization of wind farms have been developed that allow mutually studying audio-visual effects on annoyance. The objective of this study was to investigate the audio-visual effects of different wind turbine noise situations on short-term noise annoyance in a psychophysical laboratory experiment, considering serial position effects (simple order and differential carryover effects). A set of 24 audio-visual situations covering a range of acoustical characteristics (sound pressure level, periodic amplitude modulation) and visual settings (landscape with visible wind turbine, landscape only, grey background) was created. The factorial design of the experiment allowed separating audio-visual effects from serial position effects on noise annoyance. Both visual and acoustical characteristics were found to affect noise annoyance, besides the participants’ attitude towards wind farms. Sound pressure level and amplitude modulation increased annoyance, the presence of a visualized landscape decreased annoyance, and the visibility of a wind turbine increased annoyance. While simple order effects could be eliminated by counterbalancing, the initial visual setting strongly affected the annoyance ratings of the subsequent settings. Due to this differential carryover effect, visual effects could be assessed reliably only as long as the participants saw the initial visual setting. Therefore, the presentation order of audio-visual stimuli should be carefully considered in experimental studies and in participatory landscape planning.

The ability to understand the causes of customers' complaints is critical for hotels to improve their service quality, customer satisfaction, and revenue. This study adopts a novel structural topic model text analysis method to analyze 27,864 hotel reviews in New York City, and show that it leads to improved inference on consumer dissatisfaction. Our results reveal 10 topics, whose appearances in the negative reviews are substantially higher than those in the positive reviews. In addition, we investigate how customer complaints vary across different hotel grades. Results indicate that customer complaints for high-end hotels are mainly related to service issues, whereas customers of low-end hotels are frequently annoyed by facility-related problems. This research contributes to the hospitality literature by enhancing our understanding of the aspects of hotel customers’ dissatisfaction through rigorous statistical analysis, their correlations, and importance for different hotel grades.

Odour from agriculture causes local nuisance to the neighborhood. Litter and cover materials can be used in animal housing and in storage of manure to reduce the odour problem. The use of biochar as a covering for animal manures is a new innovation and enhances the possibility to minimize the emissions from animal farms. (Research purpose) To study the possibility of using a mixture of biochar and peat as a manure covering, in order to reduce the intensity of odor on livestock farms. (Materials and methods) The potential of a mixture of biochar and peat for the odour control was tested in a laboratory study. A 10 cm layer of fresh mink manure was placed on the bottom of a 5 liter test bucket and the manure was covered with biochar-peat mixture (mixed in 50/50 ratio by volume) using five different covering thicknesses. Uncovered manure was used as a reference. The odour emission was measured with an olfactometric method that is based on odour sensation of a person. Also the character of the odour was described. (Results and discussion) The results show that a biochar-peat covering of at least 3 cm is able to considerably reduce the odour from the manure. The character of the odour was at first peat-like for all covered buckets but with thin coverings it was changed to more manure-like after 2 days. The odour from buckets with thicker covers remained peat-like during the whole testing period. (Conclusion) It is recommended to apply a biochar-peat covering to neutralize ammonia and the unpleasant manure odour on livestock farms. The author has shown that the frequency of use and the thickness of a covering layer depend on the ambient temperature; therefore, it is not necessary to cover manure in winter.

Crimes are a social annoyance and harm our society very much in many ways. In this paper we have designed a Map Reduce algorithm to aid in the process of identification of crimes in Chicago...