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Environmental noise is considered the second most serious environmental risk factor in Europe. However, little evidence exists regarding its impact on health and sleep in children, and the results are inconclusive. In this study, we aim to analyse the effect of environmental noise exposure on 11-year-old children's sleep habits. Data were collected from 377 participants in the INMA-Gipuzkoa (INfancia y Medio Ambiente) cohort project using both parent-reported and actigraphic sleep measures. The results revealed that 60% of children have a day-evening-night environmental noise exposure (L den ) of above 55 dB, which is defined as a "high noise level". No differences in noise exposure were observed between different socioeconomic groups. However, no effect of environmental noise was found on sleep variables. The paper highlights the importance of studying how environmental noise may affect children's sleep.

The Environmental Noise Directive (2002/49/EC) requires all European Union Member States to produce strategic noise maps using a common assessment methodology: CNOSSOS-EU. The reliability of CNOSSOS-EU railway noise evaluation is dependent on the input vehicle and track transfer functions. The CNOSSOS-EU default database contains the currently available choices for these transfer functions. However, these available transfer functions are limited and of insufficient quality, resulting in large errors in noise level calculations. An approach is presented, introducing an established analytical railway rolling noise calculation technique (TWINS), to extract more reliable and specific transfer functions. A case study consisting of railway rolling noise mitigation measures is defined and used as the basis for extracting and testing these transfer functions. The extracted transfer functions reduce the average deviation between CNOSSOS-EU and reference calculations using TWINS from 6.1 dB(A) to 0.8 dB(A) in absolute sound power levels, and from 1.2 db(A) to 0.3 dB(A) in estimates of noise reduction potential for the defined mitigation measures. Application of this approach shows potential to improve the quality and depth of the existing CNOSSOS-EU default database. This may lead to more reliable estimations of railway noise in the strategic noise maps and the subsequent assessment of its harmful effects., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could appear to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This paper investigates the potential vertical guidance performance of global positioning system (GPS)/wide area augmentation system (WAAS) user avionics sensor when the modernized GPS and Galileo are available. This paper will first investigate the airborne receiver code noise and multipath (CNMP) confidence (σair). The σair will be the dominant factor in the availability analysis of an L1-L5 dual-frequency GPS/WAAS user avionics sensor. This paper uses the MATLAB Algorithm Availability Simulation Tool (MAAST) to determine the required values for the σair, so that an L1-L5 dual-frequency GPS/WAAS user avionics sensor can meet the vertical guidance requirements of APproach with Vertical guidance (APV) II and CATegory (CAT) I over conterminous United States (CONUS). A modified MAAST that includes the Galileo satellite constellation is used to determine under what user configurations WAAS could be an APV II system or a CAT I system over CONUS. Furthermore, this paper examines the combinations of possible improvements in signal models and the addition of Galileo to determine if GPS/WAAS user avionics sensor could achieve 10 m Vertical Alert Limit (VAL) within the service volume. Finally, this paper presents the future vertical guidance performance of GPS user avionics sensor for the United States' WAAS, Japanese MTSAT-based satellite augmentation system (MSAS) and European geostationary navigation overlay service (EGNOS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six Sigma has already become an efficient improvement technique adopted by a great number of enterprises. Numbers of Sigma has become a tool of measuring process capability in some enterprises. But some of enterprises still use process capability indices (PCIs) to measure the process capability. So numbers of Sigma and PCIs both can be used to measure the process capability. The paper will research the relationship between PCIs and numbers of Sigma. In bilateral specifications, the paper will research the relationship between the PCIs which are Cp, Cpk, Cpm and Cpmk, Spk and numbers of Sigma. In unilateral specifications, the paper will research the relationship between the PCIs which are Cpu and Cpl and numbers of Sigma. If supplier and buyer use different tools to measure the process capability, then the communion bridge to Six Sigma and PCIs can decrease the communicate noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The First round of the noise mapping obligation according to the European Noise Directive (END) has been finished recently. By the end of 2007 all member states should have prepared their noise maps according to the directive and should have send the noise mapping reports of the European Commission. In 2008 the EU Member states will continue the implementation of the END by preparing the action plans in order to reduce the number of affected inhabitants. This paper focuses on the action planning work according to END. The authors present here the comparison of two action plans for mid size cities in Eastern Europe. The two compared cities are Szeged in Hungary and Timisoara in Romania. The two cities are geographically very close cities (80 km) with even having a similar urban built up, one would assume the preparation of similar action plans. In opposite to this the authors found more at first sight minor differences than similarities which turned out in the end to have big influence on the action planning procedures. The authors have carried out strategic action plan for both of the cities in the near past. This paper compares the action planning procedure between the cities. The action plan, and the comparison consist beside the noise reduction possibilities of the cities from a lot of non-noise related issues. The paper presents the comparison and highlights the future urban development plans of the cities to be considered, the financial possibilities and the participation of the public in action planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review assesses the quality of the evidence across studies on the effect of environmental noise (road traffic noise, aircraft noise, railway noise, wind-turbine noise) on quality of life, wellbeing and mental health. Quantitative studies of noise effects on children and adults published from January 2005 up to October 2015 were reviewed. A total of 29 papers were identified. 90% of the papers were of cross-sectional design, with fewer studies of longitudinal or intervention design. Outcomes included depression and anxiety, medication use and childhood emotional problems. The quality of the evidence across the studies for each individual noise source was assessed using an adaptation of the GRADE methodology. Overall, given the predominance of cross-sectional studies, most evidence was rated as very low quality, with evidence of effects only being observed for some noise sources and outcomes. These ratings reflect inconsistent findings across studies, the small number of studies and a lack of methodological robustness within some domains. Overall, there are few studies of clinically significant mental health outcomes; few studies of railway noise exposure; and studies of large samples are needed. The lack of evidence for noise effects across studies for many of the quality of life, wellbeing and mental health domains examined does not necessarily mean that there are no effects: rather, that they have not yet been studied robustly for different noise sources.

Surveys show that noise in its various forms is among the most severe environmental burdens. According to estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), there is a loss of one million healthy life years per year in Europe due to the effects of environmental noise. This paper discusses the harmful effects of noise with the example of traffic noise, for which the highest number of environmental noise effect studies are available. An increasing number of studies show associations between traffic noise and vascular, metabolic and psychic diseases. Too little is still known about the causal mechanisms, even though a number of explanatory models are available. However, it is clear that today it is no longer a question of whether noise is responsible for extra-aural diseases, but under what conditions and to what extent are the risks.The high degree of noise nuisance shows that more action is needed with regard to noise control policy.Over the past few years, federal, regional and local governments have taken countless initiatives on traffic noise control - for instance, within the framework of action plans. Especially notable are the innovative measures, instruments and programs regarding railway noise. In the most important source of nuisance, road traffic noise, less progress has been made. In air traffic noise, too, the revision and development of important laws are still lacking. To promote inner urban development, the level of protection against industrial and sports noise has been reduced.Significant health-related reductions in noise pollution (except regarding the railways), therefore, cannot be expected in the near future.

• The CNOSSOS-EU method is not presently accurate for the assessment of railway noise, perhaps due to the contention that CNOSSOS-EU input values are limited and of variable quality [1]. • Acoustic modelling using the previously applied interim calculation method RMR-1996 compared to the new CNOSSOS-EU methodology produced estimates suggesting that 91,692 more persons may experience exposure to railway noise > 55 dB(A) L den . • Reviews should be conducted in respective EU nations, and a nationally applicable rail vehicle XML catalogue should be created to best represent national fleets in their entirety, and as recommended by the EU in the END. Since December 2018 a harmonised approach for the assessment of transportation noise, known as CNOSSOS-EU, became obligatory for EU Member States in the calculation of strategic noise mapping. This paper provides an assessment of rail-based environmental noise in Ireland via a comparative analysis of acoustic modelling for rail sources in the Irish context by comparing the CNOSSOS-EU method and the previously utilised interim method RMR-1996 with field measurements. The paper also presents comparative estimates of population exposure calculated using CNOSSOS-EU and RMR-1996. It was found that the results generated by the CNOSSOS-EU model were closer to field measurements when compared to the RMR-1996 model. Noise modelling also indicated that populations estimated to be exposed to levels of railway noise > 55 dB(A) generated by the national rail fleet were higher using CNOSSOS-EU (i.e. 91,692 more persons) relative to the RMR-1996 method. Rail noise generated by the Luas tram rail network generated marginally less population exposure for railway noise > 55 dB(A) (i.e. 2,905 less persons) relative to RMR-1996. As such, the paper contributes to the assessment of the new CNOSSOS-EU model for rail in the EU and addresses the relative lack of research focusing on rail modelling and population exposure estimation under the END. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the extent that populations are exposed to railway noise using CNOSSOS-EU across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise reduction is of increasing importance in the community. Consequently, the development of aero-acoustics is gaining special focus within industry. Computational Aero-Acoustics (CAA), the coupling of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Computational Acoustics (CA), is being used in the design and assessment of a range of products from HVAC ducts to domestic appliances. The process for carrying out an Aero-Acoustic simulation begins with the solution of the transient flow dynamics in order to compute accurately the pressure fluctuations at a number of points in the computational domain. These fluctuations are passed to the acoustic code to propagate the acoustic waves through the system and determine its acoustic signature. To minimize errors in the acoustic propagation analysis it is thus essential that accurate predictions of the noise sources be obtained. This paper concentrates on the CFD part of the aero-acoustic simulation. The case considered has been taken from the European project DESTINY:3 and comprises a tangential blower located inside a complex duct system. Air is drawn into the fan through two inlets and exits through a single duct. The computational methodology and flow field predictions are presented and compared to experimental PIV data. The numerical predictions were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data, reproducing the asymmetries in the flow field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European legislation implies the use of marginal social cost pricing in rail access charges levied on rail operators. Thus, they may include specific environmental charges to internalise the impacts of rail transport. However, when applying these principles in practice, several difficulties call for second-best settings adapted to the particularities of the rail market. In this context, few European railway administrations are already implementing rail access charges with an environmental dimension. This paper reviews the literature on the issue and assesses the current European experience in noise and air pollution rail charges. For this purpose, an analytical framework is built on the definition of four basic dimensions: charging approach, allocation of abatement efforts, degree of differentiation and intermodal approach. The qualitative examination of the existing systems suggests that the level of environmental surcharges can be generally increased given the low substitutability between rail and road and that the range of abatement possibilities should be enlarged by further differentiating charges. It is also found that the pricing scope should be adapted to achieve particular cost-efficient allocations of abatement efforts among rail operators and upstream agents. Finally, further research requirements for a quantitative assessment are defined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Exposure to excessively high noise levels is a relevant health problem in Europe and road traffic noise is the most widespread noise source. When considering cold climate countries, the available scientific literature on noise emission properties of winter tyres is still very limited. In order to contribute into filling this knowledge gap, this paper investigates the acoustical performance of different types of tyres, with focus on winter tyres, on different road surfaces, at different speeds, and with different states of wear. The results indicate that studded winter tyres have, indeed, an increased noise level at frequencies between 315 Hz and 10 kHz, having a significantly different response especially at frequencies higher than 4 kHz. The acoustical response also depends on the tyre type when comparing different road surfaces, as a result of conflicting vibrational and aerodynamic noise generation mechanisms. Additionally, the relationship between labelled and measured values was explored, however, no statistically significant relationship was found between them (and labelling is not applied for studded tyres). A frequency spectrum correction was attempted based on previous measurements on an ISO track, which reduced the difference between measured and labelled values, however, further investigation is still required to properly understand differences between label and road measurements, where the label is determined on a test track with a special, smooth surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of hydroacoustic noise research in three large European rivers: the Danube, the Sava, and the Tisa. Noise in these rivers was observed during a period of ten years, which includes all annual variation in hydrological and meteorological conditions (flow rate, speed of flow, wind speed, etc.). Noise spectra are characterized by wide maximums at frequencies between 20 and 30 Hz, and relatively constant slope toward higher frequencies. Spectral level of noise changes in time in relatively wide limits. At low frequencies, below 100 Hz, the dynamics of noise level is correlated with the dynamics of water flow and speed. At higher frequencies, noise spectra are mostly influenced by human activities on river and on riverbanks. The influence of wind on noise in rivers is complex due to the annual variation of river surface. The influence of wind is less pronounced than in oceans, seas, and lakes., (© 2011 Acoustical Society of America)

European noise research and policy-making overall not so effective thus far is considered from a behavioural science perspective. First, an overview is given of a recent strategy paper by the EU's CALM network1, focused on perception-related and emission-related research. After a summary of noise effects on human well-being, environmental noise problems are discussed as socio-technical problems where the social part is just as important as the technical part. The behavioural and social components of noise emission, transmission, exposure and effect are explicated. Environmental stress is considered as a double-sided phenomenon involving subjects' threat appraisal and their coping appraisal, each comprising specific underlying variables. From the wider perspective explained, several comments are given on the research strategy CALM is proposing. It is argued that: increasing motorisation undermines noise abatement; dose-response relationships reflect only part of the problem; more attention is needed for the causative behaviour of noisy actors; technical noise-reduction measures are necessary but insufficient; and that noise as a daily stressor should be treated in the context of people's overall quality of life. Specific suggestions are listed for EU noise research and policy-making. One conclusion is that more effective and visionary European noise policies may well be started tomorrow and need not depend on 15 years more research as envisaged in the CALM strategy paper.

Results from recent quantitative research consistently demonstrate that children are a high risk group, vulnerable to the adverse effects of noise exposure, especially effects on cognitive performance, motivation and annoyance. The aims of the two qualitative studies reported in this paper are to explore children's a) perception of noise exposure; b) perceived risk of and attitudes towards noise pollution; c) coping strategies; and d) the annoyance response. The Millennium Conference Study involved focus group interviews with an international sample (n=36) unselected by exposure. The West London Schools Study involved individual interviews, conducted with a purposively selected sample (n=18) exposed to aircraft noise. The children in the focus groups reported being most affected by neighbours' noise and road traffic noise, whereas children exposed to aircraft noise were most affected by aircraft noise. As expected, the impact of noise pollution on everyday activities (e.g. schoolwork, homework and playing) was larger for the children exposed to high levels of aircraft noise compared with the low noise exposed children and focus group samples. The range of coping strategies that children employed to combat noise exposure in their lives was dependent upon the amount of control they had over the noise source. The emotional response of children describing the annoyance reaction to noise was consistent with adult reactions and it would seem that child noise annoyance is the same construct. Future research should employ qualitative methods to supplement quantitative investigations.

Abstract Tyre/road sound emissions have been proved to be the main source of noise caused by road traffic when traveling at medium and high speeds (Sandberg and Ejsmont, 2002). Tyre/road noise has been widely studied among the last decades. However, an important part of this research has been focused, mainly, on track tests. Different track or road methods have been developed for measurement of tyre/road sound emissions. The most important ones are the Coast-By, the Close-Proximity, the Statistical Pass-By or the Controlled Pass-By methods. Among all of them, the Coast-By method has been raised in Europe as standard method concerning the approval of tyres with regard to tyre/road sound emissions as preconized in UNECE Regulation 117 (2007)[2]. However, all the above mentioned methods have several disadvantages such as the influence of environmental factors, the different results that can be obtained depending on the test track or the vehicle upon which the tests are carried out, the lack of repeatability or, the most important aspect, which is the limitation of the measured magnitude, the sound pressure level. A new methodology (Clar-Garcia et al., 2016) based on drum tests and the ISO 3744 (1994), which was developed in order to avoid these limitations, has been proved to be comparable to the Coast-By (CB) method. This paper describes how different tyres have been tested according to both the CB and the new Alternative Drum test method (A-DR) while their results have been compared. In order to be able to carry out this comparison, as the measured magnitudes and test conditions differ widely from one test to another, the standardised ISO 9613 sound propagation method (ISO 9613-2, 1996) has been applied to obtain the sound pressure value at 7.5 m from the sound power level of a tyre measured under laboratory-controlled conditions when rolling against a drum. Results have shown that both methods are not only comparable but also have remarkably similar sound spectra and, for that reason, the new methodology based on drum tests can be used in order to obtain tyre/road noise emission approved values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of hydroacoustic noise research in three large European rivers: the Danube, the Sava, and the Tisa. Noise in these rivers was observed during a period of ten years, which includes all annual variation in hydrological and meteorological conditions (flow rate, speed of flow, wind speed, etc.). Noise spectra are characterized by wide maximums at frequencies between 20 and 30 Hz, and relatively constant slope toward higher frequencies. Spectral level of noise changes in time in relatively wide limits. At low frequencies, below 100 Hz, the dynamics of noise level is correlated with the dynamics of water flow and speed. At higher frequencies, noise spectra are mostly influenced by human activities on river and on riverbanks. The influence of wind on noise in rivers is complex due to the annual variation of river surface. The influence of wind is less pronounced than in oceans, seas, and lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to point out that there is not a clear and direct right to enjoy an environment of quality in the European Convention of Human Rights. Nevertheless, the jurisprudence of the Court has played an important role in creating a specific category of a fundamental right to the environment. An interesting interpretation of the European Convention of Human Rights has been done in the judgements quoted in this article expanding the limits of the Convention through a wide interpretation of the "traditional" human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space-time TIR anomalies, observed from months to weeks before the occurrence of earthquakes, have been suggested, by several authors, as pre-seismic signals. A robust approach (RAT) has recently been proposed (and successfully applied in the field of monitoring major natural and environmental risks) which permits a statistically based definition of TIR anomaly even in the presence of highly variable contributions from atmospheric (e.g. transmittance), surface (e.g. emissivity and morphology) and observational (time/season, but also solar and satellite zenithal angles) conditions. In this paper the actual potential of satellite TIR surveys is evaluated on the basis of several years of NOAA/AVHRR and METEOSAT observations over Europe. TIR anomalies, possibly associated to the Athens''s earthquake which occurred on September 7, 1999, have been particularly considered in order to evaluate the capability of the proposed approach to filter-out noisy contributions to the measured TIR signal due to variable, observational and meteorological, conditions. This study demonstrated the capability of the proposed method to isolate (if any) possible pre-seismic anomalous TIR patterns from the most important noisy contributions to the measured signal. The advantages offered by the use of geo-stationary (quite doubling the achievable signal-to-noise ratio) instead of polar satellite packages result also quite evident after the tests performed in the case of Athens''s earthquake. Even if it was not the aim of this paper to confirm or confute the existence of pre-seismic TIR anomalies (an extended number of test-cases should be analyzed before), results here achieved surely encourage the continuation of the studies in this direction permitting, moreover, to devise suitable strategies in order to obtain more firm answers to this fascinating hypothesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Driven by climate change mitigation, EU countries are committed to improve energy efficiency of their building stock by implementing the energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD). Should higher energy efficiency result in better indoor environmental quality (IEQ), this policy could also be seen as an opportunity to improve public health across Europe.Objectives: This paper focuses on the assessment of the effects of energy retrofits on occupant satisfaction with IEQ and health in multifamily buildings.Methods: Data on occupant satisfaction with IEQ and health were collected from the occupants of 39 Finnish and 15 Lithuanian multifamily buildings (an average of five apartments per building, one adult per apartment) both before and after energy retrofits (such as improving thermal insulation, windows, heating and/or ventilation systems). Parallel to the data collected from the occupants, data on several IEQ parameters, including temperature, temperature factor, and air change rate, were collected from their apartments. Moreover, data from seven Finnish and five Lithuanian non-retrofitted control buildings were collected according to the same protocol.Results: Occupant satisfaction regarding indoor temperature was associated with both retrofit status (OR 5.3, 95% CI 2.6-11.0) and measured IEQ parameters (indoor temperature OR 1.4 per 1 °C increase, temperature factor OR 1.1 per 1% increase, and air change rate OR 5.6 per 1/h increase). Additional positive associations were found between retrofit status and occupants reporting absence of upper respiratory symptoms (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-2.9) as well as not missing work or school due to respiratory infections (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.2-13.8), however, these associations were independent of the measured IEQ parameters.Conclusions: There seems to be a strong subjective component related to the observed changes in occupant satisfaction with IEQ and health as a result of energy retrofitting in buildings. Further studies are needed to verify the actual mechanisms, as well as possible long term effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Coordinated Research Center (CRC) 880, future civil aircraft with short take‐off and landing capabilities are investigated. A main motivation are efficient point‐to‐point connections within Europe. Environmental friendliness is a key factor in the development of such aircraft systems in order to ensure the acceptance of new technologies. Therefore, the sound immission at the ground and in the passenger cabin is a major focus in the project. In this paper, wave‐resolving models of complex aircraft fuselage structures and solution strategies of these large systems in frequency domain are presented. On the basis of preliminary aircraft design data available in the project, a mechanical model of all fluid and structural parts is developed. The model comprises the back partition starting from the wing‐box and assumes a linear behavior in deflection, strain and material. The thickness distribution on the outer surface, the stiffeners, the floor, the bulk heads and the inner panels are considered concerning the structural domain. The insulation is modeled by an equivalent fluid approach. The cabin fluid, the structural domain, and the insulation are fully coupled. All domains are discretized automatically applying coincident nodes at the coupling interfaces. Frequency‐dependent pressure fluctuations distributed on the outer surface as a result of Computational Aeroacoustic (CAA) simulations of jet noise are applied to the model. A realistic consideration of such characteristic noise footprints is only possible due to the wave‐resolving approach. The direct result of the aircraft model is the cabin's pressure field in frequency domain. The finite element discretization leads to a system of equations with 1‐3 mio degrees of freedom to be solved in frequency domain. As one solver run is easily realized, many solutions in the frame of uncertainty analyses or sensitivity studies require a highly efficient solution process. Different strategies applying direct solvers, iterative solvers or its combination are discussed within this contribution as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study spatial and temporal characteristics of the microseismic noise field across Europe. Rather than focusing on the areas of noise generation, the scope of this work is to characterize, at the scale of Europe, the spatio-temporal evolution of the noise wavefield that results from the interplay of the seismic noise sources and the propagation effect. To that end, we perform single station analysis in three period bands (PB1: 2.5−5 s; PB2: 5−10 s and PB3: 10−20 s) using three-component seismic data recorded by ∼1000 broad-band stations in the time period 2011–2019. We calculate, for each period band, station and day, a set of parameters that are practically possible to apply to a large data set, yet yields insight into the spatio-temporal evolution of the wavefield. These parameters are: the total energy level, the dominant period of the Primary and Secondary microseismic peaks, the horizontal direction with the most energy, the horizontal direction of the dominant Rayleigh waves and the square root of the energy ratio between the horizontal and vertical components. The analysis of these parameters shows that the noise field in Europe is dominated by surface waves from the North Atlantic Ocean with, in PB1 and PB2, an additional and significant contribution from the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. The relative contribution of these two source regions depends on the season, the influence of the eastern Mediterranean Sea being strongest in summer. The map of the peak period of the Primary and Secondary microseismic peaks indicates that the relative contribution of these two source regions is frequency dependent: the period of the Primary microseismic peak exhibits an overall increase with distance to the North Atlantic Sources, because of stronger attenuation of high-frequency wave contents. By contrast, the period of the Secondary microseismic peak is simultaneously influenced by sources in both the North Atlantic Ocean and eastern Mediterranean Sea. We show that in both microseismic peaks (PB2 and PB3), the wavefield is dominated by Love waves, as the horizontal components have the highest energy at approximately 90° angle to the direction of elliptical polarization. Moreover, our results show that lateral heterogeneities in the crust have a major influence on the noise field. In particular, the propagation directions of Love and Rayleigh waves show strong dependency on location (but not on time of year), with very sharp boundaries for example at the edge of the Alps. Thus, the scattering that takes place in the heterogeneous Alpine crust partly randomizes the directions of the microseismic wavefield in particular in PB1 and PB2. Finally, we show that the temporal evolution of the amplitude ratio between the horizontal and vertical components reflects the relative amounts of surface waves from the North Atlantic Ocean with respect to body waves from sources in the Southern Hemisphere. Thus, this ratio can be used as a proxy to identify time periods where body waves are significant in the noise wavefield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

brereton l., gardiner c., gott m., ingleton c., barnes s. & carroll c. (2011) The hospital environment for end of life care of older adults and their families: an integrative review. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(5), 981-993. Abstract Aim. This article is a report of an integrative review to identify key elements of the physical hospital environment for end of life care of older adults and their families as reported by patients, relatives, staff and policy makers. Background. Globally ageing populations and increases in long-term illness mean that more people will need palliative care in the future. Despite policy initiatives to increase end of life care in the community, many older adults prefer, and will require, end of life care in hospital. Providing an appropriate physical environment for older adults requiring end of life care is important given concerns about hospital environments for this group. Data sources. Thirteen databases from 1966 to 2010 were searched including ASSIA, BNI, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Social Science Citation Index, the Science Citation Index, HMIC and the National Research Register. Reference and citation tracking was performed on included publications. Review methods. An integrative review was conducted. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts for inclusion and completed data extraction. Study quality is not reported as this poses methodological difficulties in integrative reviews. Data synthesis involved thematic analysis informed by the findings of included literature. Results. Ten articles were included. Four themes were identified: privacy as needed; proximity (physically and emotionally) to loved ones, home and nature; satisfaction with the physical environment; and deficiencies in physical environment. Conclusion. Little evidence exists about physical hospital environments for end of life care of older adults and their families. More research is required in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Council of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) Aeroacoustics Specialists Committee (ASC) supports and promotes the interests of the scientific and industrial aeroacoustics community on an European scale and European aeronautics activities internationally. In this context, “aeroacoustics” encompasses all aerospace acoustics and related areas. Each year the committee highlights some of the research and development projects in Europe. This paper is a report on highlights of aeroacoustics research in Europe in 2008, compiled from information provided to the ASC of the CEAS. During 2008, numerous research programmes were funded by the European Union. Some of the contributions submitted to the editor summarize selected findings from these programmes, while other articles cover issues supported by national associations or by industries. Furthermore, a concise summary of the workshop on “Turbomachinery Broadband Noise” held in Bilbao in October is included in this report. Enquiries concerning all contributions should be addressed to the authors who are given at the end of each subsection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Work Group of European Notified bodies 2000/14/EC which was established in 2004, recognized the urgent necessity to provide support for a more uniform and coherent implementation of the 2000/14/EC Directive. In this respect, a Sub-Group was created, called Statistics-Sub-Group (SWG), with the main task of verifying the possibility of finding common rules for the assessment of the declared sound power levels. This paper presents the results of a survey carried out by this group among the European notified bodies, in order to collect information both on the statistical formulas currently used for the calculation of the expanded uncertainty K and on the activities that authorities are performing in the different Member States on market surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently published guide " Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region" provides evidence of the non-auditory effects of environmental noise on population health. This guide reflects the current state of knowledge about how traffic noise affects cardiovascular diseases among others. Despite the valuable contributions of this document in terms of current knowledge, there are different points of improvement in terms of implementation of the guide for all Europe. The studies related to Southern Europe have little presence, probably due to the lack of research in this issue, it means, there are few studies that evaluate short-term effects of noise on morbid-mortality. In this sense, it would be advisable to include the most recently published papers on the subject. Due to the aforementioned, the noise exposure assessment should be considerate at the short and long term to evaluate completely the noise effects on health, specially taking into account the characteristics of countries in which leisure-related noise is especially problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the connection of remote energy sources, HVDC offers higher efficiency and flexibility compared to conventional HVAC. As the acceptance for overhead lines in Europe is often low, the detailed understanding of its environmental effects, such as audible noise is of crucial importance. Still, only few experimental studies have investigated HVDC corona. Recent publications have demonstrated, that existing prediction models for DC audible noise show strong deviations when extrapolated for higher surface gradients. While audible noise is considered negligible in rain, research has shown that the discharge amplitudes increase significantly during transitions from dry to wet weather and vice-versa. In this study, the corona current and audible noise are investigated for a large range of surface gradients and rain rates. A special focus is set on the behavior during rain onset and dry-off. While the corona current increased during rain, the measured audible noise was significantly higher during the transitions before and after the steady state. The duration of these transition periods varied with rain rate and surface gradient. The observed effects are explained using corona pulse patterns and UV data. Compared to these measurements, existing audible noise prediction models were found to overestimate the sensitivity regarding the electric field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although a number of studies have found an association between aircraft noise and hypertension, there is a lack of evidence on associations with other cardiovascular disease. For road traffic noise, more studies are available but the extent of possible confounding by air pollution has not been established.Methods: This study used data from the Hypertension and Environmental Noise near Airports (HYENA) study. Cross-sectional associations between self-reported 'heart disease and stroke' and aircraft noise and road traffic noise were examined using data collected between 2004 and 2006 on 4712 participants (276 cases), who lived near airports in six European countries (UK, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Greece, Italy). Data were available to assess potential confounding by NO2 air pollution in a subsample of three countries (UK, Netherlands, Sweden).Results: An association between night-time average aircraft noise and 'heart disease and stroke' was found after adjustment for socio-demographic confounders for participants who had lived in the same place for ≥ 20 years (odds ratio (OR): 1.25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03, 1.51) per 10 dB (A)); this association was robust to adjustment for exposure to air pollution in the subsample. 24 hour average road traffic noise exposure was associated with 'heart disease and stroke' (OR: 1.19 (95% CI 1.00, 1.41), but adjustment for air pollution in the subsample suggested this may have been due to confounding by air pollution. Statistical assessment (correlations and variance inflation factor) suggested only modest collinearity between noise and NO2 exposures.Conclusions: Exposure to aircraft noise over many years may increase risks of heart disease and stroke, although more studies are needed to establish how much the risks associated with road traffic noise may be explained by air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researches on noise and performance in central and Eastern Europe and South-East Europe countries and Newly Independent States have been performed in last 40 years in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Union of Soviet Socialistic Republics, Russia, Serbia and Yugoslavia, mainly at universities in the capitals. In laboratory studies the effects of noise have been studied on vigilance, visual performance, attention, information perception and processing, reaction time, short term memory and spatial reasoning. The field studies focused on the relation between chronic exposure to community noise and children's behavior and executive functioning (EF) and between industrial noise and occupational injuries. These studies were mainly complementary to the studies in Western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A review is given of internationally comparable speech-in-noise tests for hearing screening purposes that were part of the European HearCom project. This report describes the development, optimization, and evaluation of such tests for headphone and telephone presentation, using the example of the German digit triplet test. In order to achieve the highest possible comparability, language- and speaker-dependent factors in speech intelligibility should be compensated for. Materials and methods: The tests comprise spoken numbers in background noise and estimate the speech reception threshold (SRT), i.e. the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) yielding 50% speech intelligibility. Results: The respective reference speech intelligibility functions for headphone and telephone presentation of the German version for 15 and 10 normal-hearing listeners are described by a SRT of −9.3 ± 0.2 and −6.5 ± 0.4 dB SNR, and slopes of 19.6 and 17.9%/dB, respectively. Reference speech intelligibility functions of all digit triplet tests optimized within the HearCom project allow for investigation of the comparability due to language specificities. Conclusions: The optimization criteria established here should be used for similar screening tests in other languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Global System for Mobile Communications-Railway (GSM-R) system is currently deployed in Europe in order to ensure the interoperability of the high-speed trains. Knowing that data related to control and command will be transmitted to trains through this communication system, the immunity of the GSM-R system against electromagnetic disturbances on board trains has to be certified. After a background about the GSM-R communication system, we will present in detail the typical disturbances that can affect this system in the railway environment. Significant differences between these disturbances and the test signals defined in the current European electromagnetic compatibility standards will be highlighted. The criteria that can be employed to evaluate the immunity of the GSM-R transmissions will then be discussed. Finally, new test signals and immunity test bench will be presented in order to expose the GSM-R transmissions to noise scenarios representative of the railway environment. Different immunity results will be presented and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective To study the association between exposure to transportation noise and blood pressure (BP) reduction during nighttime sleep. Methods 24-h ambulatory BP measurements at 15-min intervals were carried out on 149 persons living near four major European airports. Noise indicators included total and source-specific equivalent indoor noise, total number of noise events, annoyance scores for aircraft and road traffic nighttime noise. Long-term noise exposure was also determined. Multivariate linear regression analysis was applied. Results The pooled estimates show that the only noise indicator associated consistently with a decrease in BP dipping is road traffic noise. The effect shows that a 5 dB increase in measured road traffic noise during the study night is associated with 0.8% (-1.55, -0.05) less dipping in diastolic BP. Noise from aircraft was not associated with a decrease in dipping, except for a nonsignificant decrease noted in Athens, where the aircraft noise was higher. Noise from indoor sources did not affect BP dipping. Conclusions Road traffic noise exposure may be associated with a decrease in dipping. Noise from aircraft was not found to affect dipping in a consistent way across centres and indoor noise was not associated with dipping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: An increasing number of people are exposed to aircraft and road traffic noise. Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and even a small contribution in risk from environmental factors may have a major impact on public health. OBJECTIVES: The HYENA (Hypertension and Exposure to Noise near Airports) study aimed to assess the relations between noise from aircraft or road traffic near airports and the risk of hypertension. METHODS: We measured blood pressure and collected data on health, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors, including diet and physical activity, via questionnaire at home visits for 4,861 persons 45-70 years of age, who had lived at least 5 years near any of six major European airports. We assessed noise exposure using detailed models with a resolution of 1 dB (5 dB for United Kingdom road traffic noise), and a spatial resolution of 250 × 250 m for aircraft and 10 × 10 m for road traffic noise. RESULTS: We found significant exposure-response relationships between night-time aircraft as well as average daily road traffic noise exposure and risk of hypertension after adjustment for major confounders. For night-time aircraft noise, a 10-dB increase in exposure was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.14 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01-1.29]. The exposure-response relationships were similar for road traffic noise and stronger for men with an OR of 1.54 (95% CI, 0.99-2.40) in the highest exposure category (> 65 dB; ptrend = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate excess risks of hypertension related to long-term noise exposure, primarily for night-time aircraft noise and daily average road traffic noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate existing research on the environmental health of children and provide a prioritised list of risk factors and policy recommendations for action, the Policy Interpretation Network on Children's Health and Environment (PINCHE) was set up within EU FP5 (QLK4-2002-02395). The project focused on air pollutants, carcinogens, neurotoxicants and noise. PINCHE was a multidisciplinary and multinational network of representatives from science, industry, NGOs, and consumer and patient organisations in Europe. Materials and methods: A literature search was performed using the Pubmed, Embase and Toxline databases. The quality of the gathered articles was assessed and their information and relevance was interpreted within a systematic framework. Information related to exposure, epidemiology, and toxicology was analysed separately and then a risk evaluation of particular environmental factors was made. Socioeconomic factors were specifically taken into account. The results were compiled, and considering the present regulatory situation, policy recommendations for action were made. Finally, the risk factors and policy recommendations were prioritised through a process of discussion between all the partners. Results and conclusions: PINCHE concluded that outdoor air pollutants (especially traffic-related), environmental tobacco smoke, allergens, and mercury were high priorities with an urgent need for action. Brominated flame retardants, lead, PCBs and dioxins, ionising and solar radiation, and some noise sources were classified as being of medium priority. Some toxins were given low priority, based on few exposed children, relatively mild health effects or an improving situation due to past policy measures. We recognise the shortcomings of such a prioritisation and, though some measures are more urgent than others, emphasise that ideally all policy measures should be carried out without delay for all toxins. This priority list must be continuously revised, the precautionary principle should be central to all decisions, and the focus should be on safe exposure levels for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a study conducted by the World Health Organization's (WHO's) regional office for Europe concerning the impact of excessive night time noise on human health. Study shows that one out of five European who are exposed to excessive noise overnight may damage their health. Rokho Kim of the WHO stresses that noise is considered as an environmental hazard to health.