IR-teknik som hjälpmedel vid brandbekämpning

The aim of this report is to increase the knowledge about the use of infrared cameras within fire services. A construction made up of several different types of walls and ceilings was built and used in a large scale fire test. The actual temperature was measured with thermocouples and compared to the temperature given by infrared cameras. The heat wave and the infrared images themselves were also evaluated separately. The report concludes that temperature measurement with infrared cameras isn’t precise without perfect settings but is still very useful. The heatwave can be seen in the weaknesses of a construction long before the entire construction is heated which takes very long time for some materials

Brandteknisk riskvärdering av Arken Hotell & Art Garden Spa

When a fire starts in a building a great threat against personal safety arises and this is especially true for the cases where people are unaccustomed to their environments. To diminish this threat it’s of great importance that adequate time for evacuation is available. In this paper students at the Fire Protection Engineering program examine the system that is currently in place to ensure the safety of guests and personnel at Arken Hotel & Art Garden Spa. This is done by setting acceptable risk criteria, evaluating risks, determining available and required time, analyzing the effects of important factors and finally reaching a conclusion about personal safety. The method involves literature studies, calculations, simulations and logical thinking. Where the safety is found inadequate different solutions are examined and recommended. The examination shows that the safety of guests cannot be completely guaranteed in all parts of the hotel without a few building modifications to reach the acceptable criteria

Controlled exposure to diesel exhaust and traffic noise - Effects on oxidative stress and activation in mononuclear blood cells

Particulate air pollution increases risk of cancer and cardiopulmonary disease, partly through oxidative stress. Traffic-related noise increases risk of cardiovascular disease and may cause oxidative stress. In this controlled random sequence study, 18 healthy subjects were exposed for 3h to diesel exhaust (DE) at 276μg/m(3) from a passenger car or filtered air, with co-exposure to traffic noise at 48 or 75dB(A). Gene expression markers of inflammation, (interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis factor), oxidative stress (heme oxygenase (decycling-1)) and DNA repair (8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1)) were unaltered in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). No significant differences in DNA damage levels, measured by the comet assay, were observed after DE exposure, whereas exposure to high noise levels was associated with significantly increased levels of hOGG1-sensitive sites in PBMCs. Urinary levels of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine were unaltered. In auxiliary ex vivo experiments whole blood was incubated with particles from the exposure chamber for 3h without effects on DNA damage in PBMCs or intracellular reactive oxygen species production and expression of CD11b and CD62L adhesion molecules in leukocyte subtypes

Detailed diesel exhaust characteristics including particle surface area and lung deposited dose for better understanding of health effects in human chamber exposure studies.

Several diesel exhaust (DE) characteristics, comprising both particle and gas phase, recognized as important when linking with health effects, are not reported in human chamber exposure studies. In order to understand effects of DE on humans there is a need for better characterization of DE when performing exposure studies. The aim of this study was to determine and quantify detailed DE characteristics during human chamber exposure. Additionally to compare to reported DE properties in conducted human exposures. A wide battery of particle and gas phase measurement techniques have been used to provide detailed DE characteristics including the DE particles (DEP) surface area, fraction and dose deposited in the lungs, chemical composition of both particle and gas phase such as NO, NO2, CO, CO2, volatile organic compounds (including aldehydes, benzene, toluene) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Eyes, nose and throat irritation effects were determined. Exposure conditions with PM1 (<1 mm) mass concentration 280 mg m3, number concentration 4 105 cm3 and elemental to total carbon fraction of 82% were generated from a diesel vehicle at idling. When estimating the lung deposited dose it was found that using the size dependent effective density (in contrast to assuming unity density) reduced the estimated respiratory dose by 132% by mass. Accounting for agglomerated structure of DEP prevented underestimation of lung deposited dose by surface area by 37% in comparison to assuming spherical particles. Comparison of DE characteristics reported in conducted chamber exposures showed that DE properties vary to a great extent under the same DEP mass concentration and engine load. This highlights the need for detailed and standardized approach for measuring and reporting of DE properties. Eyes irritation effects, most probably caused by aldehydes in the gas phase, as well as nose irritation were observed at exposure levels below current occupational exposure limit values given for exhaust fumes. Reporting detailed DE characteristics that include DEP properties (such as mass and number concentration, size resolved information, surface area, chemical composition, lung deposited dose by number, mass and surface) and detailed gas phase including components known for their carcinogenic and irritation effect (e.g. aldehydes, benzene, PAHs) can help in determination of key parameters responsible for observed health effects and comparison of chamber exposure studies

A method for finding the maximal set in excess demand

We present a polynomial time method for identifying the maximal set in excess demand at a given payoff vector. This set can be used in “large” partnership formation problems to identify the minimum element in the set of individually rational payoff vectors at which there is no overdemanded set of agents. This minimum element corresponds to the minimum Walrasian equilibrium price vector in a special case of the partnership formation problem

Acute Cardiovascular Effects of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil Exhaust

Ambient air pollution is recognized as a key risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality contributing to the global disease burden. The use of renewable diesel fuels, such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), have increased in recent years and its impact on human health are not completely known. The present study investigated changes in cardiovascular tone in response to exposure to diluted HVO exhaust. The study participants, 19 healthy volunteers, were exposed in a chamber on four separate occasions for 3 h and in a randomized order to: (1) HVO exhaust from a wheel loader without exhaust aftertreatment, (2) HVO exhaust from a wheel loader with an aftertreatment system, (3) clean air enriched with dry NaCl salt particles, and (4) clean air. Synchronized electrocardiogram (ECG) and photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals were recorded throughout the exposure sessions. Pulse decomposition analysis (PDA) was applied to characterize PPG pulse morphology, and heart rate variability (HRV) indexes as well as pulse transit time (PTT) indexes were computed. Relative changes of PDA features, HRV features and PTT features at 1, 2, and 3 h after onset of the exposure was obtained for each participant and exposure session. The PDA index A13, reflecting vascular compliance, increased significantly in both HVO exposure sessions but not in the clean air or NaCl exposure sessions. However, the individual variation was large and the differences between exposure sessions were not statistically significant