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R R Davis

Publications and source records attributed to R R Davis.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

Trends in hearing protector usage in American manufacturing from 1972 to 1989.

This study investigated the trends in hearing protector use in United States manufacturing industries. Using data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-sponsored National Occupational Hazard Survey (1972), the National Occupational Exposure Survey (1983), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration-sponsored National Survey of Personal Protective Equipment Usage (1989), estimates were made of numbers of workers using hearing protection in various industries. Unique to this study is discussion of the impact of enactment of hearing conservation regulations during the same time frame as the two earlier surveys. In general, higher percentages of workers utilized hearing protection in 1989 than in 1972. Increased hearing protection use over time was also found when size of facility (number of employees) was taken into account. Differences in the use of hearing protection over the period 1972-1989 varied in individual industries, ranging from less than 10 to more than 30%.

Ear Protective Devices

Academia as partner in organizational change.

Partnerships are valuable strategies for promoting organizational change. Collaboration between academia and service can provide rapid access to new clinical service delivery mechanisms and real-world laboratories for implementing and testing novel approaches to care delivery. Academic-service partnerships also provide opportunities for work force development. One example of a partnership is described in this article. Details of a Nursing Care Management Institute illustrate principles of good practice for community-campus partnerships.

Appalachian Region

Cumulative effects of prevention education on substance use among 11th grade students in Ohio.

This article examines participation in school-based prevention activities from a statewide sample of 11th grade students in Ohio. About 42% of subjects indicated they had never been involved in a prevention education activity. Differences existed in mean number of activities by both gender and White/nonWhite status. Popular prevention education activities included participation in D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) at elementary, junior high, and senior high levels, "Just Say No Clubs"; Quest; and Red Ribbon Week. Only a small proportion of youth participated exclusively in any one of these activities. An association existed between student participation in prevention education and level of drug involvement. Students in each activity had lower mean scores for drug involvement when compared to students who had never participated in a prevention education activity. Also, the lowest mean scores occurred among students who had participated in multiple prevention activities.

Adolescent

The role of the chinchilla pinna and ear canal in electrophysiological measures of hearing thresholds.

Measurements of the acoustic transfer function (ATF) of the pinnae of 8 chinchillas were compared with the auditory-evoked potential (AEP) thresholds of 16 chinchillas measured in free field and with insert earphones. The ATF was measured in anesthetized chinchillas in a far-field condition in a semi-anechoic room using a logarithmic frequency sweep from 100 Hz to 20 kHz. Probe microphone measurements were collected with the probe opening at the tympanic membrane and in the same approximate position with the chinchilla removed from the sound field. For each animal's acoustic transfer function, the average of five in-the-ear and three free-field measurements were determined. The ATF exhibited a 5-dB passive gain at about 1 kHz and a broad resonance between 2.5 and 6 kHz of about a 10-dB gain. AEP thresholds were obtained from monaural chronically implanted chinchillas at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 kHz using first free-field and then insert earphone stimuli. The free-field sound pressure was measured with a microphone in the approximate position of the chinchilla's head. The earphone sound pressures were measured with a probe microphone positioned near the tympanic membrane. The free-field AEP hearing thresholds exhibited +10-dB gain at 4 kHz compared to the insert earphone AEP thresholds. The agreement between the ATF and AEP derived transfer function suggested that the threshold differences at 4 kHz between the two testing configurations can be accounted for by the pinna and ear canal gain.

Acoustic Stimulation

Genetics of age-related hearing loss in mice. III. Susceptibility of inbred and F1 hybrid strains to noise-induced hearing loss.

Some humans and mice are genetically predisposed to age-related hearing loss (AHL), and others are variously susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). The inbred C57BL/6J (B6) mice exhibit AHL at an early age, whereas the inbred CBA/CaJ (CB) mice do not. The B6 mice are much more susceptible to NIHL than are the CB mice (Shone et al., 1991; Li, 1992a). The B6 mice possess an Ahl gene which maps to chromosome 10 (Erway et al., 1995). This study was designed, using these two inbred strains plus two F1 hybrid strains of mice, to begin to test the hypothesis that the Ahl genotypes may influence the susceptibility to NIHL. These strains of mice (with putative genotypes) are: inbred CB (+/+) and B6 (Ahl/Ahl); hybrid CBB6F1 (+/Ahl) and B6D2F1 (Ahl/Ahl; D2 represents inbred DBA/2J). Twenty-four mice of each of these four strains were exposed to noise (110 dB for 0, 1 or 2 h) and tested for auditory-evoked brainstem response (ABR) thresholds. The CB and CBB6F1 strains of mice did not differ significantly from each other, exhibiting mostly temporary threshold shifts. The B6 and B6D2F1 strains of mice did not differ significantly from each other, but did exhibit permanent threshold shifts. These results support the hypothesis that genetic predisposition to AHL may be revealed at a younger age by NIHL. This suggests that it may be possible to use the NIHL to distinguish segregating genotypes (+/Ahl vs. Ahl/Ahl) among backcross progeny and thereby to identify and map single genes for AHL.

Acoustic Stimulation

Hearing loss in the chinchilla from impact and continuous noise exposure.

The relative hazard posed to the peripheral auditory system by impact/impulse and continuous noise of the same power spectrum was determined. Impact noise was generated by striking a nail with a hammer and was digitally recorded. The acoustical power spectrum of the impact was determined and pink noise was filtered to produce a continuous noise stimulus with the same acoustic power spectrum. Pre-exposure auditory evoked response (AER) thresholds were obtained at 1, 2, 4, and 8 kHz on 16 adult chinchillas. The pool of animals was divided into two equal groups based upon pre-exposure AER thresholds. One group was exposed to impact noise and the other group to the filtered pink noise. Exposures were 4 h/day for 5 days. Thirty days following the exposure, auditory evoked response thresholds were remeasured. Changes in auditory sensitivity were determined by subtracting the pre-exposure thresholds from the post-exposure thresholds. Hearing threshold shifts of the impact noise group were significantly greater (p less than 0.0001) than the hearing threshold shifts of the continuous noise group. These data indicate a need to more closely examine the parameters and effects of impact noise. There may be a need to develop expanded damage-risk criteria for occupational exposure to impulse/impact noise.

Animals

Analysis of a hearing conservation program data base: factors other than workplace noise.

The hearing conservation records of a large, multiple-facility printing company were obtained. The records were analyzed for factors associated with Standard Threshold Shift. These factors included hearing levels, employee age and sex, occupational and nonoccupational noise exposure histories, and medical history. The analysis revealed that statistically significant factors associated with Standard Threshold Shift were from medical and nonoccupational noise exposure histories, and not occupational noise exposure.

Adult

Dissociation of maximum concentration of kanamycin in plasma and perilymph from ototoxic effect.

Kanamycin was administered in total daily doses of 0 (vehicle), 100, 200 or 300 mg/kg to different groups of guinea pigs for two weeks. These total daily doses were administered according to three different dosing schedules, either as a single injection given once a day, divided into two equal doses and given twice a day, or divided into four equal doses and administered four times a day. It was found that the magnitude of the ototoxicity resulting from kanamycin administration was related to the total daily dose alone and not the dosing schedule. This lack of relationship between the dosing schedule and the magnitude of the ototoxicity due to kanamycin is the reverse of that reported for the nephrotoxicity resulting from gentamicin, tobramycin and netilmicin.

Animals

The ototoxic interaction of viomycin, capreomycin and polymyxin B with ethacrynic acid.

The ototoxic interaction between the aminoglycoside antibiotics (streptomycin, kanamycin, etc.) and the loop-inhibiting diuretics (ethacrynic acid, furosemide and bumetanide) has been well documented. This interaction causes extensive destruction of the hair cells of the cochlea. Brummett et al. (1974) demonstrated that this interaction did not occur with the non-loop-inhibiting diuretics and kanamycin. The present study was undertaken to determine if antibiotics other than the aminoglycosides could produce the ototoxic interaction when combined with a loop-inhibiting diuretic. Three antibiotics-viomycin, capreomycin, and polymyxin B- when given with ethacrynic acid were found to produce cochlear hair cell damage that was similar to that produced by aminoglycoside antibiotics administered with ethacrynic acid. Therefore, the interaction appears to be specific to the loop-inhibiting diuretics but not specific for the aminoglycoside antibiotics.

Aminoglycosides

Pregnancy diagnosis in an orangutan using two prepared test kits.

The Nonhuman Primate Pregnancy Test (NPPT) kit and the Gravindex Slide Test (GST) were compared for the diagnosis of pregnancy in an orangutan. The NPPT was found to consistently detect chorionic gonadotropin earlier and longer than the GST. During approximately the last trimester of pregnancy, both tests registered negative results. It was concluded that the NPPT is a simple, effective pregnancy test for breeding age orangutans.

Animals

Plead not guilty.

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American Dental Association