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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Retrospective Cohort Study Of Pure Tone Audiometry Threshold Shifts From Ototoxic Substance, Continuous Noise, And Impulse Noise Exposures At Tinker Air Force Base From 2005 To 2019, Marc J. Blair Mar 2020

Retrospective Cohort Study Of Pure Tone Audiometry Threshold Shifts From Ototoxic Substance, Continuous Noise, And Impulse Noise Exposures At Tinker Air Force Base From 2005 To 2019, Marc J. Blair

Theses and Dissertations

This retrospective cohort epidemiology study sought to establish the comparative risks and potential indicators of hearing loss associated with combinations of ototoxic substances, impulse noise, and continuous noise exposure. Currently, there is not an existing model or methodology in the Department of Defense (DoD) that joins occupational exposure data and pure tone audiometric data. After developing an integrated database model for Tinker Air Force Base, the largest of three depot installations within Air Force Material Command, 2,372 individuals were grouped into eight combinations of exposure groups with a minimum three years exposure duration to hazards. The incidence rates and relative …


The Effect Of Ammonia On The Germination And Outgrowth Of Bacillius Globigii, Joseph B. Kunicki Mar 2018

The Effect Of Ammonia On The Germination And Outgrowth Of Bacillius Globigii, Joseph B. Kunicki

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated the germination and outgrowth of Bacillus globigii in the presence of ammonia in laboratory scale experiments. Germination was measured by monitoring the release of dipicolinic acid, an organic compound present in bacterial spores, while outgrowth was measured using phase-bright microscopy and semi-automated counting procedures. The ammonia-N concentrations investigated generally did not cause statistically significant differences in the initial 1-hr germination rates or the average 3-hr outgrowth rates of Bacillus globigii spores in batch style experiments. The average 1-hr germination rates observed in the absence of ammonia-N was 0.0258 hr-1 for the water and buffer controls and …


Particulate Characterization And Control Evaluation For Carbon Fiber Composite Aircraft Crash Recovery Operations, Matthew R. Ferreri Mar 2010

Particulate Characterization And Control Evaluation For Carbon Fiber Composite Aircraft Crash Recovery Operations, Matthew R. Ferreri

Theses and Dissertations

Within the United States Air Force (USAF) Advanced Composite Material (ACM) is gaining an increasing use in military aircraft. With the number of aircraft that have increasingly large amounts of ACM materials, the probability of an incident with one of these aircraft also increases. When such an incident occurs the aircraft needs to be disassembled, removed, and later inspected as part of the accident investigation process. This disassembly process is termed “Crash Recovery Operations.” Carbon fibers have been shown to be hazardous to human health and a pilot study raised the suspicion that nanosized aerosol may be generated during the …


Three Models Of Anthrax Toxin Effects On The Map-Kinase Pathway And Macrophage Survival, Daniel J. Schneider Mar 2008

Three Models Of Anthrax Toxin Effects On The Map-Kinase Pathway And Macrophage Survival, Daniel J. Schneider

Theses and Dissertations

Lethal factor (LF), a component of anthrax toxin, is the primary virulence factor that allows Bacillus anthracis to evade the immune response by blocking the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) enzymes. This research modifies three published MAPK models to reflect this signal inhibition and to estimate a first-order reaction rate by fitting the models to published viability data for two macrophage cell lines cultured with the LF-producing Bacillus anthracis-Vollum1B strain. One model appears to be ill-suited for this purpose because not all relevant MAPK components could be integrated into the inhibition equations. Despite different underlying parameters and values, the …


In Vitro Toxicity Of Aluminum Nanoparticles In Human Keratinocytes, Stephanie Mccormack-Brown Mar 2008

In Vitro Toxicity Of Aluminum Nanoparticles In Human Keratinocytes, Stephanie Mccormack-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Nanotechnology promises to be the defining technology of the 21st century. At an annual investment of $1B, it provides significant contributions to manufacturing, medicine, energy conservation, and the environment. Nanoparticles are structures with at least one dimension in the 1 to 100 nanometer (nm) range. DoD and US Air Force interest in aluminum nanoparticles (AL NPs) stems from its ability to enhance combustion jet fuel, thus increasing fuel efficiency. The addition of AL NPs to JP-8 may pose a unique dermal hazard to aircraft maintenance workers. There is no published data on AL NP toxicity effects on human skin. This …


A Comparative Pharmacokinetic Study Of The Role Of Gender And Developmental Differences In Occupational And Environmental Exposure To Benzene, Elizabeth A. Brown Sep 1994

A Comparative Pharmacokinetic Study Of The Role Of Gender And Developmental Differences In Occupational And Environmental Exposure To Benzene, Elizabeth A. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it shows that physiological differences between men and women result in gender-specific exposures with respect to benzene. Second, it assesses the potential for a lactating woman's occupational and personal benzene exposure to impact a nursing infant's exposure, highlighting the possibility of subjecting an infant to the effects of industrial chemicals via breast feeding. This study employs physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling to investigate the influence of physiological parameters and to evaluate the ability of inhaled benzene to transfer from mother to infant through breastmilk. The models are run through scenarios that simulate …


A Retrospective Quantitative Assessment Of Trichloroethylene Exposure Of Workers At Aircraft Maintenance Facilities At Hill Air Force Base Through The Use Of Modeling, Anthony O. Copeland Sep 1994

A Retrospective Quantitative Assessment Of Trichloroethylene Exposure Of Workers At Aircraft Maintenance Facilities At Hill Air Force Base Through The Use Of Modeling, Anthony O. Copeland

Theses and Dissertations

Monte Carlo simulation and source-receptor modeling are used to estimate the TCE exposures encountered by select workers at aircraft maintenance facilities at Hill Air Force Base between 1955 and 1979. An epidemiological study of this group, a retrospective cohort study of 14,457 workers who were employed at the base for a minimum of one year between 1952 and 1956, was headed by Dr. R. Spirtas of the National Cancer Institute to evaluate mortality associated with occupational exposure. One of the major conclusions of the study was that TCE 'probably does not pose a strong carcinogenic risk for man.' In the …