A first-principles model for estimating the prevalence of annoyance with aircraft noise exposure

Numerous relationships between noise exposure and transportation noise-induced annoyance have been inferred by curve-fitting methods. The present paper develops a different approach. It derives a systematic relationship by applying an a priori, first-principles model to the findings of forty three studies of the annoyance of aviation noise. The rate of change of annoyance with day-night average sound level (DNL) due to aircraft noise exposure was found to closely resemble the rate of change of loudness with sound level. The agreement of model predictions with the findings of recent curve-fitting exercises (cf. Miedma and Vos, 1998) is noteworthy, considering that other analyses have relied on different analytic methods and disparate data sets. Even though annoyance prevalence rates within individual communities consistently grow in proportion to duration-adjusted loudness, variability in annoyance prevalence rates across communities remains great. The present analyses demonstrate that 1) community-specific differences in annoyance prevalence rates can be plausibly attributed to the joint effect of acoustic and non-DNL related factors and (2) a simple model can account for the aggregate influences of non-DNL related factors on annoyance prevalence rates in different communities in terms of a single parameter expressed in DNL units-a "community tolerance level."     

Development of a powdered activated carbon in bar adsorptive micro-extraction for the analysis of morphine and codeine in human urine

In the present work, bar adsorptive microextraction using an activated carbon (AC) adsorbent phase followed by liquid desorption and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection was developed to monitor morphine (MOR) and codeine (COD) in human urine. Under optimized experimental conditions, assays performed in aqueous media spiked at the 30.0 μg/L level yielded recoveries of 41.3 ± 1.3% for MOR and 38.4 ± 1.7% for COD, respectively. The textural and surface chemistry properties of the AC phase were also correlated with the analytical data for a better understanding of the overall enrichment process. The analytical performance showed good precision (relative standard deviation < 8.0%), suitable detection limits (0.90 and 0.06 μg/L for MOR and COD, respectively) and convenient linear dynamic ranges (r(2) > 0.991) from 10.0 to 330.0 μg/L. By using the standard addition methodology, the applications of this analytical approach to water and urine matrices allowed remarkable performance to monitor MOR and COD at the trace level. This new confirmatory method proved to be a suitable alternative to other sorptive micro-extraction methodologies in monitoring trace levels of opiate-related compounds, because it was easy to implement, reliable, sensitive and required a low sample volume.     

A theoretical study of the solvent effect on Diels-Alder reaction in room temperature ionic liquids using a supermolecular approach

The Diels-Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and three dienophiles (acrolein, methyl acrylate and acrylonitrile) in different room temperature ionic liquids containing imidazolium-based cations ([HBIM]⁺, [BMIM]⁺ and [BM₂IM]⁺) has been studied at the DFT level using a supermolecular approach. An analysis of the theoretical results shows that the ionic liquid cation coordination affects the equilibrium geometries and electronic structures of the reacting species throughout the reaction pathway leading to changes in reactivity and selectivity. They also indicate that the strong asynchronicity of the Diels-Alder reactions in ionic liquids is due to the polarisation effect of the cation.     

Role of community tolerance level (CTL) in predicting the prevalence of the annoyance of road and rail noise

Fidell et al. [(2011), J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 130(2), 791-806] have shown (1) that the rate of growth of annoyance with noise exposure reported in attitudinal surveys of the annoyance of aircraft noise closely resembles the exponential rate of change of loudness with sound level, and (2) that the proportion of a community highly annoyed and the variability in annoyance prevalence rates in communities are well accounted for by a simple model with a single free parameter: a community tolerance level (abbreviated CTL, and represented symbolically in mathematical expressions as L(ct)), expressed in units of DNL. The current study applies the same modeling approach to predicting the prevalence of annoyance of road traffic and rail noise. The prevalence of noise-induced annoyance of all forms of transportation noise is well accounted for by a simple, loudness-like exponential function with community-specific offsets. The model fits all of the road traffic findings well, but the prevalence of annoyance due to rail noise is more accurately predicted separately for interviewing sites with and without high levels of vibration and/or rattle.