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Participants Volunteers were recruited from the Pittsburg Pennsylvania greater metropolitan area through the use of newspaper advertisements Six to eight weeks before the start of the study volunteers were required to complete a telephone interview and undergo a physical examination to assess their health status Volunteers were excluded from participating if they had a previous nasal or otologic surgery tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV presented an abnormal profile of urinalysis complete blood count or blood enzyme levels were pregnant or lactating had a history of chronic illness such as respiratory or sleep disorders cardiovascular disease or took medication regularly other than birth control They were also excluded if they had been treated for the previous year or hospitalized for a psychiatric illness within the past five years To maximize the rate of infection of the RV39 rhinovirus serum neutralizing antibody titer to the RV39 rhinovirus was measured and individuals whose titer was 4 or greater were excluded A total of 123 men and 90 women between the ages of 18 and 55 Mage 30 13 years SD 10 85 57 7 men were evaluated and judged to be in good health Upon completion of the study each participant was paid 1 000 if they agreed to provide hair samples for cortisol analysis they received an additional 60 Procedures
