Statistical and geographical study on demolished buildings

Demolition of buildings is one fundamental, but little studied, factor in the dynamics of building stocks. This research study examines the characteristics and location of demolished buildings in Finland as well as motives behind the demolition decisions. A statistical and geographical analysis was performed on a dataset of all 50 818 buildings demolished in Finland between 2000 and 2012. In the Finnish context, the study shows that the amount of demolition, the size of the community, demographic development and construction activity are all interconnected. In general, the larger the community, the more it gains inhabitants and the more is built as well as demolished. The data confirm that removals from the building stock are a result of conscious deliberation. Non-residential buildings dominate the amount of demolished floor area. In addition, they are much larger and younger at the time of demolition than residential buildings, which consist primarily of detached houses. Demolitions are geographically concentrated: cities account for 76% of demolished floor area; and city cores for as much as 44%. Public policy needs to include demolition to reduce environmental impacts and improve resource efficiency.     

Catalysis in VOC Abatement

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are harmful to environment and human health. Catalytic oxidation has been used in VOC abatement for over 60 years, and it has proven to be an effective technology. A large variety of VOCs set high demands for the treatment, and therefore catalytic oxidation needs still to be developed further. This paper reviews current aspects and future research needs related to VOCs and catalytic VOC treatment concentrating on solvent-based, chlorinated and sulphur-containing VOCs.     

Increased Lifetime for Biomass and Waste to Energy Power Plant Boilers with HVOF Coatings: High Temperature Corrosion Testing Under Chlorine-Containing Molten Salt

Heat exchanger surfaces of waste to energy and biomass power plant boilers experience often severe corrosion due to very aggressive components in the used fuels. High velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) coatings offer excellent protection for boiler tubes against high temperature corrosion due to their high density and good adherence to the substrate material. Several thermal spray coatings with high chromium content were sprayed with HVOF technique. Their mechanical properties and high temperature corrosion resistance were tested and analyzed. The coating materials included NiCr, IN625, Ni-21Cr-10W-9Mo-4Cu, and iron-based partly amorphous alloy SHS9172 (Fe-25Cr-15W-12Nb-6Mo). High temperature corrosion testing was performed in NaCl-KCl-Na₂SO₄ salt with controlled H₂O atmosphere at 575 and 625 °C. The corrosion test results of the coatings were compared to corrosion resistance of tube materials (X20, Alloy 263 and Sanicro 25).     

Blood levels of organotin compounds and their relation to fish consumption in Finland

The objective of this study was to measure the concentrations of organotin compounds in the whole blood of Finnish male fishermen (n=133), their wives (n=94), and other family members (n=73), and to investigate their associations with background variables. The concentrations were generally low, less than the limit of quantification (LOQ) for the vast majority of compounds and samples. Of the organotin compounds (mono-, di-, and tributyltin, mono-, di-, and triphenyltin, and dioctyltin), only triphenyltin was detected in more than just a few samples (in 37 of 300 samples, LOQ=0.04 ng/ml). These were mainly the samples of fishermen (26/37) and their wives (10/37). For statistical analysis, concentrations of triphenyltin were divided into two categories, LOQ. Of the different background variables, age and fish consumption contributed the most to the triphenyltin concentrations. When age and fish consumption (g/day) were divided into three categories, odds ratios comparing the highest with the lowest category were 3.88 for age (95% CI 1.36-11.09) and 3.48 for fish consumption (1.36-8.94), respectively. Compared with females, males had an odds ratio of 1.51 of having the concentration of triphenyltin >LOQ (0.72-3.14). To the best of our knowledge, this study confirmed for the first time with human samples that fish consumption can be associated with triphenyltin concentration in whole blood.     

Effects of process variables and addition of polydextrose and whey protein isolate on the properties of barley extrudates

Extrusion cooking is commonly used in the production of snacks. In the present study, extrudates were prepared using barley flour alone and with the addition of either polydextrose (PD) or whey protein isolate (WPI) and both PD and WPI. Independent process variables were water content of the mass (17%, 20% and 23%), screw speed (200, 350 and 500 rpm) and temperature of section 6 and die (110, 130 and 150 °C). Expansion, hardness, water content, porosity and chemical composition of the extrudates were analysed. Highly porous and expanded snack products with high dietary fibre and protein contents were obtained from barley flour and WPI when water content of mass was 17%, screw speed 500 rpm and temperature of section 6 and die 130 °C. Barley flour alone or with PD resulted in hard and non‐expanded extrudates. Expansion of extrudates was statistically significantly increased with decreasing water content of the mass and increasing screw speed in all trials.     

A single line linearly polarized source for Mössbauer spectroscopy

A single line source of linearly polarized radiation in a conventional Mössbauer setup working at room temperature with ⁵⁷Co in Cr matrix was constructed. The ordered Fe₃Si was used as a filter. The estimated degree of polarization of the source depends on the preparation and thickness of the polarizer. The best polarization degree (92 ± 8)% was achieved. The measurements with polarized radiation lead to significant simplification of the complex spectra and allow to study components arising from various polarizations separately. In particular, it is possible to extract Δm = (1, −1) and Δm = 0 transitions by use of a linearly polarized beam. Moreover polarized beam can be used for determination of texture parameters related to spatial arrangements of spins in the plane perpendicular to the radiation beam. Such parameters are not easily measurable by other methods. The Mössbauer spectra of invar Fe₆₅Ni₃₅ measured by monochromatic linearly polarized radiation are shown as an example.     

Recoilless fraction determination by internal standard

Novel method of determination recoilless fraction in the transmission geometry is proposed. To avoid difficult problem of extraction of the non-resonant radiation, the α-Fe reference was used as an internal standard for the intensity scale. In order to reduce correlations between parameters fitted to measured spectra, at least three standard measurements have to be carried out. The results of measurements performed on FeSi absorbers with thicknesses varying by more than one order of magnitude demonstrate that proposed procedure correctly reconstructs non-linear dependence of the intensity on the sample thickness.     

A Hybrid Method for Quality Evaluation in the Context of Use for Mobile (3D) Television

Controlled psychoperceptual quality evaluation experiments are used to assess the excellence of produced audiovisual quality from fundamental signal processing algorithms to consumer services. When compromising produced quality for consumer services, used in dynamic and heterogeneous mobile contexts, the ecological validity of conventional quality evaluation methods can be questioned. The goal of this paper is to develop a method for evaluating the experienced multimedia quality in the context of use. We conducted three studies where the quality of mobile 2D and 3D television was assessed in three different field contexts, one simulated context and one controlled laboratory situation when audio-video compression and transmission parameters were varied. We propose a hybrid method for the design, data-collection and analysis of the experiments in the contexts of use. Its novelty is to complement conventional quantitative quality evaluation with concrete tools to identify factors that surround the assessment in the context. The methodological framework is part of our long-term aim to measure and understand the user-centered quality of experience.