The results support the hypothesis that chronic exposure to high levels of traffic noise increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases.

The acoustic nonlinearity of an orifice in a plate has been investigated by measuring simultaneously the oscillatory flow velocity in the orifice and the acoustic-pressure fluctuations producing the flow. The relation between the pressure and velocity amplitudes, which is linear at sufficiently low pressures, is found to approach a square-law relation at large velocity amplitudes. By evaluating the phase relationship between the fundamental harmonic components of pressure and velocity, the acoustic-orifice impedance is determined. In the square-law region of the pressure/velocity relation, the resistive component of the orifice impedance dominates and is proportional to the velocity amplitude. This method of measurement, which is particularly useful at high amplitudes, is supplemented by measurements of sound transmission and frequency response of the orifice plate so that an impedance curve can be constructed over an extended range of amplitudes. An analogous program of measurements has been carried out to study the influence of a superimposed steady flow on the acoustic-orifice impedance. Finally, as an application of the results obtained, the absorption characteristics of resonator absorbers for high-intensity sound are discussed.

Although accumulating evidence over the past two decades points towards noise as an ambient stressor for children, all of the data emanate from studies in high-intensity, noise impact zones around airports or major roads. Extremely little is known about the nonauditory consequences of typical, day-to-day noise exposure among young children. The present study examined multimethodological indices of stress among children living under 50 dB or above 60 dB (A-weighted, day-night average sound levels) in small towns and villages in Austria. The major noise sources were local road and rail traffic. The two samples were comparable in parental education, housing characteristics, family size, marital status, and body mass index, and index of body fat. All of the children were prescreened for normal hearing acuity. Children in the noisier areas had elevated resting systolic blood pressure and 8-h, overnight urinary cortisol. The children from noisier neighborhoods also evidenced elevated heart rate reactivity to a discrete stressor (reading test) in the laboratory and rated themselves higher in perceived stress symptoms on a standardized index. Furthermore girls, but not boys, evidenced diminished motivation in a standardized behavioral protocol. All data except for the overnight urinary neuroendocrine indices were collected in the laboratory. The results are discussed in the context of prior airport noise and nonauditory health studies. More behavioral and health research is needed on children with typical, day-to-day noise exposure.

Rats maintained for 12 weeks on diets moderately or more severely deficient in magnesium showed significant elevations in arterial blood pressure compared to control animals. Examination of the mesenteric microcirculation in situ revealed that dietary magnesium deficiency resulted in reduced capillary, postcapillary, and venular blood flow concomitant with reduced terminal arteriolar, precapillary sphincter, and venular lumen sizes. The greater the degree of dietary magnesium deficiency the greater the reductions in microvascular lumen sizes. These findings may provide a rationale for the etiology, as well as treatment, of some forms of hypertensive vascular disease.

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The authors tested the hypothesis that prolonged exposure to road traffic noise causes ischemic heart disease in a 10-y follow-up cohort study of middle-aged men. In the Caerphilly and Speedwell studies, 2512 and 2348 men, respectively, who were 45-59 y of age were seen in the initial cross-sectional phase and at follow-up intervals of 10 y. Adjusted odds ratios of 1.1 (95% confidence interval = 0.6, 1.9) and 0.9 (95% confidence interval = 0.6, 1.4) were found in the total cohorts. However, the relative risk was 1.3 (95% confidence interval = 0.8, 2.2) in the pooled reconstructed cohort of men who were followed for 6 y (i.e., from phase 2 to phase 3) and for whom room orientation and window-opening habits could be considered. Furthermore, the relative risk increased to 1.6 (95% confidence interval = 0.9, 3.0) in the subsample of men who had lived at least 15 y in their present homes at the time of recruitment. Living adjacent to streets with high traffic noise levels was associated with an adjusted (for covariates) increase in relative risk of 1.01-1.02/y in residence--a result that was only borderline significant (p < .10).

It has been demonstrated that audiogenic stress (AS) can induce elevation of arterial blood pressure (ABP) in animals and humans and that noise-induced hearing loss may be associated with alterations in Mg metabolism. Experiments were designed to determine whether 1) there is a causal relationship among environmental noise stress, serum and vascular tissue (aortas and portal veins) Mg contents, and development of hypertension and 2) such noise-induced hypertension has a microcirculatory basis and what the mechanism may be. Rats maintained on normal Mg-containing diets for 12 wk (plasma [Mg] = 0.96 +/- 0.02 mM) and subjected to AS (85 dB(A), 12 h/day for 8 wk; 95 dB(A), 16 h/day for 4 wk) demonstrated significant elevation in systolic and diastolic ABP; plasma [Mg] showed a 15% deficit, whereas aortic and portal vein muscle exhibited slight reductions in Mg content and elevation in Ca. Moderate and more severely Mg-deficient animals not subjected to AS also exhibited significant elevations in systolic and diastolic ABP; vascular tissue Mg content decreased, whereas Ca content rose. Animals subjected to combined Mg deficiency and AS for 12 wk exhibited the greatest deficits in plasma and vascular muscle Mg and the greatest elevations in systolic and diastolic ABP; vascular tissue Ca contents also showed the greatest increases. In situ measurements of mesenteric arterioles, venules, and precapillary sphincters in the various subgroups revealed that the lower the plasma [Mg], the more constricted the microvessels, and the higher the ABP, the lower the plasma [Mg]. Capillary blood flow velocities were decreased in relation to the degree of plasma Mg deficit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)