Urban freight transport from a local authority perspective – a literature review

On the path towards sustainability for the urban area, local authorities make decisions that affect freight transport. However, in many ways, urban freight transport is a neglected issue. The purpose of this paper is to map out the current status of urban freight transport research from a local authority perspective. A literature review is performed, looking through research in urban freight transport during the last 15 years. The review presents a large amount of references and it is clear that the area of urban freight transport has gained a larger interest during the later part of the time period studied. Research mainly focuses on freight measures (pilot actions) performed in an urban context, but the local authority perspective is lacking in many aspect s. The review shows some areas that local authorities need to consider when working with freight transport in the urban area, according to the literature: measures; monitoring and evaluation; performance indicators; transfer of knowledge between cities/cou ntries; and, stakeholder involvement

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Enabling sustainable development of urban freight from a local authority perspective

On the path towards sustainability for the urban area, local authorities make decisions that affect freight transport. However, local authorities might not always be aware of the effect their decisions and policy making have on freight transport and its stakeholders. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the enabling for local authorities to include freight in urban transport planning for sustainable development. In order to get urban freight on the overall transport planning agenda for the local authorities, there is a need to understand urban freight transport of today and what sustainable urban freight transport is. The complexity could be illustrated through a description of the stakeholders, the key mechanisms as the outcomes of their interaction as well as the drivers and barriers to sustainable urban freight transport. In this thesis seven qualitative studies have been performed, based on case studies of cities in northern Europe, in order to get a comprehensive picture of the situation as well as how to handle it. The conclusion of this thesis is that in order for local authorities to include freight transport in the overall transport planning, there is a need for resources and information. There are several possibilities, where freight partnerships, information exchange and increased capacity in personnel at local authorities are some, but it is necessary to include relevant stakeholders in the process. To work with freight transport, a thorough transport planning process is essential, whereby urban prerequisites and stakeholder requirements are taken into consideration. Contributions from this thesis consist of four main areas: the development of a framework identifying and separating actors and stakeholders; the enhancement of mechanisms that influence the urban freight transport situation; the development of an assessment framework for the involvement of stakeholders through urban freight partnerships as a step towards the inclusion of freight transport in the overall transport planning; and, finally, the development of a transport planning process model in order to help local authorities to work with freight transport, highlighting the importance of defining the problem and taking into consideration the urban context and stakeholder requirements, evaluation and good dissemination

CDNF and MANF regulate ER stress in a tissue-specific manner

Cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) and mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) display cytoprotective effects in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. These endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident proteins belong to the same protein family and function as ER stress regulators. The relationship between CDNF and MANF function, as well as their capability for functional compensation, is unknown. We aimed to investigate these questions by generating mice lacking both CDNF and MANF. Results showed that CDNF-deficient Manf(-/-) mice presented the same phenotypes of growth defect and diabetes as Manf(-/-) mice. In the muscle, CDNF deficiency resulted in increased activation of unfolded protein response (UPR), which was aggravated when MANF was ablated. In the brain, the combined loss of CDNF and MANF did not exacerbate UPR activation caused by the loss of MANF alone. Consequently, CDNF and MANF deficiency in the brain did not cause degeneration of dopamine neurons. In conclusion, CDNF and MANF present functional redundancy in the muscle, but not in the other tissues examined here. Thus, they regulate the UPR in a tissue-specific manner.Peer reviewe

District cooling substation design and control to achieve high return temperatures

Low return temperatures are a prevailing issue in district cooling systems negatively affecting operating costs and energy efficiency. In this study, three aspects of district cooling substation design and control were investigated with the aim to increase the return temperatures: 1) secondary supply temperature setpoint, 2) primary flow rate and 3) the flow rate relation between the primary and secondary flows. Two different control strategies limiting the secondary setpoint and the primary flow were tested in four buildings supplied by district cooling. Also, the secondary flow was measured along with an NTU analysis and predictions with a heat balance and a support vector regression model. The results showed the control strategies successfully increased the primary return temperature with 0.6–1.6 \ub0C and eliminated flow in the saturation zone. The primary and secondary flows were shown to be unbalanced in fourteen of sixteen substations causing a low heat exchanger temperature effectiveness. The preferred method for predicting the secondary flow was support vector regression. The novelties of this paper are the conducted field tests and measurements with associated analyses, contributing with knowledge about the actual operation of district cooling substations and outcomes when implementing improvement measures to increase the primary return temperature

The second gamma-H2AX assay inter-comparison exercise carried out in the framework of the European biodosimetry network (RENEB)

Purpose: Within the EU RENEB project, seven laboratories have taken part in training and harmonisation activities to strengthen triage gamma H2AX-based radiation exposure assessment. This has culminated in a second triage biodosimetry exercise. Materials and methods: Whole blood and separated lymphocyte samples were homogenously irradiated with 60Co gamma rays at 0.5, 2.5 (blind samples), 0 and 2 Gy (reference samples). Following post-exposure incubations of 4 and 24 h, 16 samples were shipped on ice packs to each partner. The samples were stained and scored for gamma-H2AX foci, using manual and/or automated fluorescence microscope scoring strategies. Dose estimates were obtained and used to assign triage categories to the samples. Results: Average dose estimates across all the laboratories correlated well with true doses. The most accurate assignment of triage category was achieved by manual scoring of the 4-h blood and lymphocyte samples. Only three samples out of a total of 46 were miscategorized in a way that could have adversely effected the clinical management of a radiation casualty. Conclusions: This inter-comparison exercise has demonstrated that following a recent acute radiation exposure, the gamma-H2AX assay could be a useful triage tool that can be successfully applied across a network of laboratories

OSH risks of health and social care workers working in clients' homes in Finland

In Finland, the number and frequency of accidents at work in the health and social services industry have increased between 2010 and 2020. The need for services provided at home has increased and will increase in the future. Results of a previous survey study conducted for occupational safety and health (OSH) specialists showed that the safety protections of home care workers were lower compared to those employed in hospitals and institutions. The client's home as a working environment is challenging and the employer's opportunities to ensure the safety and health of working conditions are limited. Health and social care workers meet multiple OSH challenges while working in an individual's home. Health care workers in general are exposed to many dangers, examples of which include biological hazards such as needle puncture infections or other infectious diseases, chemical hazards including medicines and disinfectants used in cancer treatments, physical hazards such as ionizing radiation, ergonomic risks, for example, when dealing with a patient, and psychosocial risks such as violence and shift work.This article is about the OSH risks of health and social care workers while working at clients' homes in Finland. Three municipalities, two private companies and one non-profit organization participated in the study. The data for this paper was collected through online survey (n = 160) and interviews (n = 55). Altogether, the interviews included 89 participants. The participants were, for example, nurses, personal assistants, supervisors, head of home care, or from the safety organization. The focus is on questions related to what the participants and respondents saw as OSH risks and challenges in their work performed in the client's home. The process and methods will be described in detail in the article.The results of the preliminary data analysis indicate that work of the health and social care workers has many risks. According to survey, the main risks are related to, for example home as a working environment, physical ergonomics, mental, psychosocial and ethical burden, organizing and scheduling the working day, alarming aid, lack of peer support and cooperation with others. This paper contributes to prior research by providing new information about OSH risks of health and social care workers while working at clients' home. It is important to recognize the risks because it is the foundation of safety work. Only risks that are known can be managed.Peer reviewe

Is there a clear understanding of using human factors and ergonomics at work?

Human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) is a scientific discipline that aims to understand interactions among humans and other system elements. HF/E applies theory, principles, data, and methods in design to optimize overall system performance and sustainability by balancing organizational functions and the well-being of employees. However, in public discussion and in generic understanding, it is not clear what HF/E means, who HF/E specialists or ergonomists are, what they do, and where they work. Therefore, this study aimed to contribute to the above-described discussion. In this qualitative study, a questionnaire was used to collect international HF/E experts’ (n =8) opinions on the proactive design of work and work environments and interviews with Finnish professionals (n =9) were conducted. The results suggest that there is no clear picture of HF/E specialists used in proactive design-driven activities. This finding indicates that there is a need to widen the public discussion and view on HF/E specialists in workplaces.Peer reviewe