Experimental performance of a solar air collector with a perforated back plate in New Zealand

This study investigates the thermal efficiency of a solar air heater (SAH), when it was mounted on a custom-made support frame, and was operated under different air mass flow rate. This SAH is composed of a transparent polycarbonate cover plate, a felt absorber layer, a perforated aluminium back plate and an aluminium frame. The ambient inlet air of this SAH is heated as it passes through the perforated back plate and over the felt absorber layer. The heated air is blown out through the outlet. Studies of SAHs with a similar design to this SAH were not found in the literature. The experiment was carried out at Massey University, Auckland campus, NZ (36.7◦ S, 174.7◦ E). The global horizontal solar irradiance, the ambient temperature and the wind speed were recorded using an on-site weather station. Temperature and velocity of the air at the outlet were measured using a hot wire anemometer. During the experiment, the air mass flow rate was between 0.022 ± 0.001 kg/s and 0.056 ± 0.005 kg/s. Results showed that when the SAH was operated at the airflow between 0.0054 kg/s and 0.0058 kg/s, the inlet air temperature and the wind speed (between 0 and 6.0 m/s) did not impact the temperature difference between the outlet air and the inlet air. The thermal efficiency of the SAH increased from 34 ± 5% at the airflow between 0.021 kg/s and 0.023 kg/s, to 47 ± 6% at the airflow ranging from 0.032 kg/s to 0.038 kg/s, to 71 ± 4% at the airflow of 0.056 ± 0.005 kg/s. The maximum thermal efficiency of 75% was obtained at the airflow of 0.057 kg/s. The effective efficiency of the SAH was 32 ± 5% at the airflow between 0.021 kg/s and 0.023 kg/s, 42 ± 6% at the airflow ranging from 0.032 kg/s to 0.038 kg/s, and 46 ± 11% at the airflow of 0.056 ± 0.005 kg/s

Accessing diagnosis and treatment: The experience of cancer as wrangling with the system

Long term cancer survival is increasingly prevalent, and the consequences are of sociological and clinical interest. In this paper we deploy the concept of wrangling to emphasise the everyday tussle of survivorship and processes of navigating pathways through what can be an unwelcoming environment. From 2020 to 2022 81 interviews were conducted with people, Māori and non-Māori, throughout Aotearoa New Zealand identified as exceptional cancer survivors, living with a diagnosis of cancer from four to 37 years. Categories of wrangling discussed by participants included wrangling with the public drug-buying agency in Aotearoa New Zealand, wrangling between private and public healthcare systems, subaltern wrangling and wrangling across regions. Wrangling could be driven by the person with the cancer diagnosis, undertaken on behalf of that person by others including family and health professionals, and undertaken by the community. We argue that for most people with long-term cancer survival wrangling is a social practice, but the capacity to succeed in that practice is dependent on a range of factors, including levels of economic, cultural, and social capital. The concept of wrangling provides a contrast to an overemphasis in the survivorship literature on cancer as an individual experience; one largely disconnected from the art and practice of managing (often unwieldy and flawed) systems of care

Dissonant roles: the experience of Maori in cancer care.

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. Indigenous peoples have poorer health outcomes than their non-indigenous counterparts and this applies to cancer outcomes for Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Differential access to and quality of healthcare contributes to poorer survival rates for Maori. This research provides insight into some of the mechanisms that hinder and facilitate care access. Thirty four people who had undergone cancer treatment (19Maori and 15 non-Maori) were interviewed by two Maori researchers. The analysis of the interview transcripts was informed by membership categorization analysis. This form of analysis attends to the categories that are used and the activities and characteristics associated with those categories. From this analysis it is argued that the classical patient role, or sick role, inadequately captures the kind of role that some Maori take in relation to their healthcare. Maori can also have culturally specific family (whanau) influences and a greater draw towards alternative approaches to healthcare. Dissonant roles contribute to a different experience for Maori. A better understanding of the categories and roles that are relevant to those who have cancer provides opportunities to attenuate the monocultural impacts of healthcare

Low-cost Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Platform for Healthier Classrooms in New Zealand: Engineering Issues

Providing a good quality classroom environment where children can breathe in fresh air is important. However, investigating the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in large numbers of classrooms is often too costly because currently available commercial brands are too expensive for the majority of schools. We have been developing a low-cost Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) platform called SKOMOBO which can monitor important IAQ parameters such as classroom temperature, relative humidly, particular matter and carbon dioxide level. Because our platform is designed in-house and utilizes low-cost sensors, there is a significant cost reduction and is affordable. In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of SKOMOBO with the focus in several hardware and software engineering issues to explore the right set of strategies for developing a practical system. Through extensive experiments and evaluation, we have determined the various characteristic and issues associated with developing a low-cost sensor platform and their practical implications and mitigations

Deployment issues for integrated open-source-Based indoor air quality school Monitoring Box (SKOMOBO)

A low-cost, low power consumption indoor environment monitoring device, called SKOMOBO (SKOol Monitoring Box), was developed. SKOMOBO includes the sensors to monitor temperature/relative humidity, carbon dioxide, particulate matter (PM) and motion (PIR). SKOMOBO was developed using the open source software on Arduino Pro Mini. 165 units of SKOMOBO were manufactured at Massey University (New Zealand) in September 2017. These units were then deployed across New Zealand to monitor the indoor air quality in primary school classrooms. This paper describes the practical deployment issues we faced and lessons learnt prior/during the field study aimed at understanding the connection between the air quality and student performance. We believe that the discussion in this paper is of importance and could potentially save a lot of money and effort for other similar sensor products

Integrating Open-Source Technologies to Build a School Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Box (SKOMOBO)

A low-cost, low power consumption indoor environment monitoring instrument, called SKOMOBO (school monitoring box), was developed and tested. SKOMOBO includes sensors to monitor temperature/relative humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter and motions. SKOMOBO was developed using the open source hardware Arduino Pro Mini. This paper describes the process of building SKOMOBO, including sensor selection, printed circuit board design, sensor programming and performance evaluation. Two co-located tests have been undertaken; one in the controlled environment and one in the uncontrolled environment. Results show SKOMOBO measurements have high correlations with their commercial equivalents. In the two different testing environments, the R2 of temperature measurements for all six SKOMOBOs were 1. The R2 for relative humidity and CO2 measurements were above 0.9. The result of this work shows the reliability of SKOMOBO on monitoring indoor air quality

Alcohol withdrawal and conditioning

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The respiratory health effects of nitrogen dioxide in children with asthma

There is growing evidence that asthma symptoms can be aggravated or events triggered by exposure to indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emitted from unflued gas heating. The impact of NO2 on the respiratory health of children with asthma was explored as a secondary analysis of a randomised community trial, involving 409 households during the winter period in 2006 (June to September). Geometric mean indoor NO2 levels were 11.4 μg·m-3, while outdoor NO2 levels were 7.4 μg·m-3. Higher indoor NO2 levels (per logged unit increase) were associated with greater daily reports of lower (mean ratio 14, 95% CI 1.12-1.16) and upper respiratory tract symptoms (mean ratio 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.05), more frequent cough and wheeze, and more frequent reliever use during the day, but had no effect on preventer use. Higher indoor NO2 levels (per logged unit increase) were associated with a decrease in morning (-17.25 mL, 95% CI -27.63- -6.68) and evening (-13.21, 95% CI -26.03- -0.38) forced expiratory volume in 1 s readings. Outdoor NO2 was not associated with respiratory tract symptoms, asthma symptoms, medication use or lung function measurements. These findings indicate that reducing NO2 exposure indoors is important in improving the respiratory health of children with asthma. Copyright©ERS 2011

Cancer Care Decision Making in Multidisciplinary Meetings

© The Author(s) 2014. Little research has been undertaken on the actual decision-making processes in cancer care multidisciplinary meetings (MDMs). This article was based on a qualitative observational study of two regional cancer treatment centers in New Zealand. We audiorecorded 10 meetings in which 106 patient cases were discussed. Members of the meetings categorized cases in varying ways, drew on a range of sources of authority, expressed different value positions, and utilized a variety of strategies to justify their actions. An important dimension of authority was encountered authority - the authority a clinician has because of meeting the patient. The MDM chairperson can play an important role in making explicit the sources of authority being drawn on and the value positions of members to provide more clarity to the decision-making process. Attending to issues of process, authority, and values in MDMs has the potential to improve cancer care decision making and ultimately, health outcomes

Indoor air quality, largely neglected and in urgent need of a refresh

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