Quality and satisfaction of thermal comfort in Dutch offices

Ondanks de toegenomen virtualisering van ons werk en de daarmee samenhangende nieuwe werkvormen is het kantoor voor veel mensen nog steeds de belangrijkste plek waar het werk wordt gedaan. Daarmee is het kantoor ook een plek waar veel tijd wordt doorgebracht. Maar hoe is de situatie feitelijk? En hoe beleven medewerkers het comfort in de kantoorgebouwen? Het onderzoek ‘Indoor ComfortIndex©‘ probeert dit inzichtelijk te maken, niet alleen bijvoorbeeld voordat er aanpassingen aan de gebouwen worden gedaan, ook nadat mogelijke aanpassingen zijn uitgevoerd om het comfort te verbeteren. Het doel van het onderzoek is om inzichtelijk te maken hoe medewerkers het binnenklimaat op een bepaald moment beleven. Verschillen en overeenkomsten tussen reële en gepercipieerde situaties worden ook inzichtelijk gemaakt. Met de resultaten krijgt de organisatie een gedetailleerd beeld van deze reële en gepercipieerde binnenklimaat. In brede zin beoogt de Hanzehogeschool Groningen met dit onderzoek inzicht te krijgen in de kwaliteit van het comfort in kantoorgebouwen. Daarnaast wil men inzicht krijgen in de maatregelen die het binnenmilieu kunnen verbeteren..<br/

The influence of indoor air quality in classrooms on the short-term academic performance of students in higher education; a field study during a regular academic course

The indoor air quality (IAQ) in classrooms in higher education can influence in-class activities positively. In this context, the actual IAQ and students’ perceived IAQ (PIAQ), perceived cognitive performance (PCP), and short-term academic performance (SAP) were examined in two identical classrooms during regular academic courses. During the lecture, key performance indicators (KPI) for the IAQ, i.e. carbon dioxide concentration, particulate matter 2.5, and total volatile organic compounds, were measured. After the lecture, responses of 163 students were collected with a validated self-composed questionnaire and a cognitive test, which covered topics discussed during the lecture. A significant association between the IAQ KPI and the PIAQ was found (p < .000). The PIAQ significantly predicted the PCP (p < .05) and the PCP significantly predicted the SAP score (p < .01). These results indicate that the IAQ in classrooms is associated with the PIAQ and PCP, and therefore is associated with students’ SAP.publishedVersio

Laparoscopic ileocolic resection versus infliximab treatment of distal ileitis in Crohn's disease: a randomized multicenter trial (LIR!C-trial)

Contains fulltext : 69534.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: With the availability of infliximab, nowadays recurrent Crohn's disease, defined as disease refractory to immunomodulatory agents that has been treated with steroids, is generally treated with infliximab. Infliximab is an effective but expensive treatment and once started it is unclear when therapy can be discontinued. Surgical resection has been the golden standard in recurrent Crohn's disease. Laparoscopic ileocolic resection proved to be safe and is characterized by a quick symptom reduction.The objective of this study is to compare infliximab treatment with laparoscopic ileocolic resection in patients with recurrent Crohn's disease of the distal ileum with respect to quality of life and costs. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is designed as a multicenter randomized clinical trial including patients with Crohn's disease located in the terminal ileum that require infliximab treatment following recent consensus statements on inflammatory bowel disease treatment: moderate to severe disease activity in patients that fail to respond to steroid therapy or immunomodulatory therapy. Patients will be randomized to receive either infliximab or undergo a laparoscopic ileocolic resection. Primary outcomes are quality of life and costs. Secondary outcomes are hospital stay, early and late morbidity, sick leave and surgical recurrence. In order to detect an effect size of 0.5 on the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire at a 5% two sided significance level with a power of 80%, a sample size of 65 patients per treatment group can be calculated. An economic evaluation will be performed by assessing the marginal direct medical, non-medical and time costs and the costs per Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) will be calculated. For both treatment strategies a cost-utility ratio will be calculated. Patients will be included from December 2007. DISCUSSION: The LIR!C-trial is a randomized multicenter trial that will provide evidence whether infliximab treatment or surgery is the best treatment for recurrent distal ileitis in Crohn's disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Nederlands Trial Register NTR1150