Analysis of Moisture Findings in the Interior Spaces of Finnish Housing Stock

ABSTRACT

A grading system was developed to rate the moisture damage profile of dwellings and to study the relationship between moisture-induced indoor air problems and occupant health. A total of 630 randomly selected houses and apartments, built between 1950 and 1989, were visually inspected. Moisture observations were standardized into three damage levels. Thus, a system to classify the homes into three grades was devised. The two grades of homes associated with the highest levels of damage were graded as index homes.

Overall, 51% of the sample had some kind of moisture fault in them and one in every three homes (33%) was classified as an index home. The mean number of damage incidents in the index dwellings varied from 1.4 to 2.6. The mean number of damage incidents in the reference homes was 0.28. Prevalence of index dwellings was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in houses (38%) than in apartments (26%). There was no major difference in the prevalence of index buildings in houses built in any particular decade (30-35%). Moisture was observed in 28% of bathrooms, in 10% of kitchens, and in 17% of other spaces. Indoor relative humidity (RH) levels were low in most homes.     

Long-lasting effects of yolk androgens on phenotype in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca)

The hormonal environment during early development, such as maternally derived androgens in bird eggs, shapes the development of the offspring in ways that may have important long-term consequences for phenotype and behavior and, ultimately, fitness. We studied the long-term effects of yolk androgens on several phenotypic and physiological traits in male and female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) by experimentally elevating yolk androgen levels and rearing birds in common-garden environment in captivity. We found that high yolk androgen levels increased the basal metabolic rates in both females and males in adulthood. High yolk androgen levels did not affect male melanin coloration or plumage ornaments, or timing or speed of moult in either sex. No effect of androgen treatment on cell-mediated or humoral immune response was found in either sex. Covariation among the measured phenotypic traits was further not altered by androgen treatment. Our results suggest that exposure to high androgen levels can have long-lasting effects on some offspring traits, but do not seem to lead to different phenotypes. Furthermore, the role of yolk androgens affecting sexually selected male traits in our study species seems to be minor. The fitness consequences of yolk androgen-induced higher metabolic rates remain to be studied.     

Validity of detection of microbial growth in buildings by trained dogs

Microbial growth in buildings may evoke respiratory and other symptoms in the occupants and promote decay of construction materials. The decay in wood is usually caused by dry-rot fungus, leading to the decomposition of cellulose and lignin. There are also some mold fungi and bacteria that can use wood as a nutrient. In this study, two trained dogs were used to detect microbial growth present in buildings. The rot fungi Serpula lacrymans, Coniophora puteana and Antrodia sinuosa were used in the training. In addition to decay samples, pieces of healthy birch, pine and imbued wood were used as controls. Another experiment was made using bacteria (Streptomyces sp.). In these experiments, a total of 100 decay, 75 control and 25 bacteria samples were used. The dogs detected 75% of the decay and 60% of the bacteria samples. Some (0-24%) control samples were also expressed as positive. Since the dogs identified also the bacteria samples without any specific training, a new test with some mold strains (Cladosporium, Botrytis, Trichoderma, Penicillium, Aspergillus) was carried out. The dogs found all the decay, mold and bacteria samples but only one sample of healthy wood. The use of dogs to detect mold or decay damage appears to have high specificity and high positive predictive value, but low sensitivity.     

Forecasting Air Quality Parameters Using Hybrid Neural Network Modelling

Urban air pollution has emerged as an acute problem in recent years because of its detrimental effects on health and living conditions. The research presented here aims at attaining a better understanding of phenomena associated with atmospheric pollution, and in particular with aerosol particles. The specific goal was to develop a form of air quality modelling which can forecast urban air quality for the next day using airborne pollutant, meteorological and timing variables.Hourly airborne pollutant and meteorological averages collected during the years 1995–1997 were analysed in order to identify air quality episodes having typical and the most probable combinations of air pollutant and meteorological variables. This modelling was done using the Self-Organising Map (SOM) algorithm, Sammon's mapping and fuzzy distance metrics. The clusters of data that were found were characterised by statistics. Several overlapping Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) models were then applied to the clustered data, each of which represented one pollution episode. The actual levels for individual pollutants could then be calculated using a combination of the MLP models which were appropriate in that situation.The analysis phase of the modelling gave clear and intuitive results regarding air quality in the area where the data had been collected. The resulting forecast showed that the modelling of gaseous pollutants is more reliable than that of the particles.     

Long-Term Effects of Forestry on Birds of the Eastern Canadian Boreal Forests: a Comparison with Fennoscandia

Abstract: Logging is considered the most important threat to species in boreal forests. In contrast to eastern Canada, where most boreal forests remain largely untouched, in Fennoscandia it is possible to assess the cumulative, long-term effects of intensive forestry on wildlife. But harvesting of stands is rapidly changing Canadian boreal forests, which represent an important proportion of the world's boreal forests. We show that Fennoscandia and eastern Canada present striking similarities in terms of forest-age structure, natural-disturbance regime, and structure of bird assemblages, and we provide an assessment of the long-term effects of forestry on eastern Canadian birds of the boreal forest. We used life-history traits from habitat, nesting site, and geographical range to calculate an index of sensitivity to changes induced by modern forestry for boreal species of each region. Tropical migrants commonly found in eastern Canadian boreal forests have life-history traits that are not threat factors in relation to changes caused by modern forestry. Therefore, the general belief that tropical migrants in North America are more sensitive to landscape changes than those in Europe may not hold for species found in the boreal coniferous forests of eastern Canada. Nine Fennoscandian species present high levels of sensitivity, and at least eight eastern Canadian species are of similar concern. In both regions, most of the sensitive species are resident cavity nesters. Given the important similarities between the two regions, the northern expansion of commercial forestry in eastern Canada is likely to result in the significant decline of several resident species, as has occurred in Fennoscandia.     

Effects of Natura 2000 on nontarget bird and butterfly species based on citizen science data

The European Union's Natura 2000 (N2000) is among the largest international networks of protected areas. One of its aims is to secure the status of a predetermined set of (targeted) bird and butterfly species. However, nontarget species may also benefit from N2000. We evaluated how the terrestrial component of this network affects the abundance of nontargeted, more common bird and butterfly species based on data from long-term volunteer-based monitoring programs in 9602 sites for birds and 2001 sites for butterflies. In almost half of the 155 bird species assessed, and particularly among woodland specialists, abundance increased (slope estimates ranged from 0.101 [SD 0.042] to 3.51 [SD 1.30]) as the proportion of landscape covered by N2000 sites increased. This positive relationship existed for 27 of the 104 butterfly species (estimates ranged from 0.382 [SD 0.163] to 4.28 [SD 0.768]), although most butterflies were generalists. For most species, when land-cover covariates were accounted for these positive relationships were not evident, meaning land cover may be a determinant of positive effects of the N2000 network. The increase in abundance as N2000 coverage increased correlated with the specialization index for birds, but not for butterflies. Although the N2000 network supports high abundance of a large spectrum of species, the low number of specialist butterflies with a positive association with the N2000 network shows the need to improve the habitat quality of N2000 sites that could harbor open-land butterfly specialists. For a better understanding of the processes involved, we advocate for standardized collection of data at N2000 sites.     

Studded and unstudded winter tires in fatal road accidents in Finland

Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the safety effects of studded and unstudded winter tires based on fatal road accidents.

Methods: The data included 958 road accidents involving a passenger car or van that occurred in Finland from November to March between 1997 and 2012.

Results: Comparing the proportions of winter tire type in accidents and in general traffic showed that the overall effect of tire type on the number of accidents was not significant, although studded tires reduced fatal accidents by 10–15%. Compared to unstudded tires, studded tires reduced accidents significantly only on bald ice in 2005–2012. Drivers using unstudded tires were more experienced and their profession was more frequently related to driving. In addition, the vehicle age was lower for vehicles with unstudded tires. On the other hand, the state of repair was less pertinent for unstudded than for studded tires. These confounding factors offset their effects to some degree.

Conclusions: The risk of fatal road accidents in winter between studded and unstudded tires does not differ significantly. However, the accident risk has recently been substantially higher on bald ice for unstudded than for studded tires. The magnitude of this risk difference is difficult to determine without specific information on exposure by road surface.     

Effect of combustion condition on cytotoxic and inflammatory activity of residential wood combustion particles

Residential heating is an important local source of fine particles and may cause significant exposure and health effects in populations. We investigated the cytotoxic and inflammatory activity of particulate emissions from normal (NC) and smouldering (SC) combustion in one masonry heater. The PM_1–0.2 and PM_0.2 samples were collected from the dilution tunnel with a high-volume cascade impactor (HVCI). Mouse RAW 264.7 macrophages were exposed to the PM-samples for 24 h. Inflammatory mediators, (IL-6, TNFα and MIP-2), and cytotoxicity (MTT-test), were measured. Furthermore, apoptosis and cell cycle of macrophages were analyzed. The HVCI particulate samples were characterized for ions, elements and PAH compounds. Assays of elemental and organic carbon were conducted from parallel low volume samples. All the samples displayed mostly dose-dependent inflammatory and cytotoxic activity. SC samples were more potent than NC samples at inducing cytotoxicity and MIP-2 production, while the order of potency was reversed in TNFα production. SC-PM_1–0.2 sample was a significantly more potent inducer of apoptosis than the respective NC sample. After adjustment for the relative toxicity with emission factor (mg MJ^?1), the SC-PM emissions had clearly higher inflammatory and cytotoxic potential than the NC-PM emissions. Thus, operational practice in batch burning of wood and the resultant combustion condition clearly affect the toxic potential of particulate emissions.     

CO2 capture from coal-fired power plants based on sodium carbonate slurry; a systems feasibility and sensitivity study

In this work the feasibility of a CO₂ capture system based on sodium carbonate–bicarbonate slurry and its integration with a power plant is studied. The results are compared to monoethanolamine (MEA)-based capture systems. Condensing power plant and combined heat and power plant with CO₂ capture is modelled to study the feasibility of combined heat and power plant for CO₂ capture.Environmental friendly sodium carbonate would be an interesting chemical for CO₂ capture. Sodium carbonate absorbs CO₂ forming sodium bicarbonate. The low solubility of sodium bicarbonate is a weak point for the sodium carbonate based liquid systems since it limits the total concentration of carbonate. In this study the formation of solid bicarbonate is allowed, thus forming slurry, which can increase the capacity of the solvent. With this the energy requirement of stripping of the solvent could potentially be around 3.22 MJ/kg of captured CO₂ which is significantly lower than with MEA based systems which typically have energy consumption around 3.8 MJ/kg of captured CO₂.Combined heat and power plants seem to be attractive for CO₂ capture because of the high total energy efficiency of the plants. In a condensing power plant the CO₂ capture decreases directly the electricity production whereas in a combined heat and power plant the loss can be divided between district heat and electricity according to demand.     

Human dietary intake of organochlorines from Baltic herring: implications of individual fish variability and fisheries management

This study examines the extent to which Finnish human dietary intake of organochlorines (PCDD/Fs and PCBs) originating from Northern Baltic herring can be influenced by fisheries management. This was investigated by estimation of human intake using versatile modeling tools (e.g., a herring population model and a bioenergetics model). We used a probabilistic approach to account for the variation in human intake of organochlorines originating from the variation among herring individuals. Our estimates were compared with present precautionary limits and recommendation for use. The results show that present consumption levels and frequencies of herring give a high probability of exceeding recommended intake limits of PCDD/Fs and PCBs. Furthermore, our results clearly demonstrate that in the risk management of dioxinlike organochlorines, regulating fishing (in this case increasing fishing pressure) is a far less effective way to decrease the risk than regulating the consumption of herring. Increased fishing would only slightly decrease organochlorine concentrations of herring in the Finnish fish market.