Durability of fire retardant treated wood products at humid and exterior conditions review of literature

Fire retardants may considerably improve the fire properties of wood products, but the durability, e.g. in exterior applications, has not been addressed fully. This paper reviews the existing knowledge and experience mainly from the USA with the aim of supporting further development in Europe. The review is concentrated on pressure impregnated fire retardant treated wood products which have the best opportunities for increased durability. Copyright © 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Zero Energy Building - A review of definitions and calculation methodologies

The concept of Zero Energy Building (ZEB) has gained wide international attention during last few years and is now seen as the future target for the design of buildings. However, before being fully implemented in the national building codes and international standards, the ZEB concept requires clear and consistent definition and a commonly agreed energy calculation methodology. The most important issues that should be given special attention before developing a new ZEB definition are: (1) the metric of the balance, (2) the balancing period, (3) the type of energy use included in the balance, (4) the type of energy balance, (5) the accepted renewable energy supply options, (6) the connection to the energy infrastructure and (7) the requirements for the energy efficiency, the indoor climate and in case of gird connected ZEB for the building-grid interaction. This paper focuses on the review of the most of the existing ZEB definitions and the various approaches towards possible ZEB calculation methodologies. It presents and discusses possible answers to the abovementioned issues in order to facilitate the development of a consistent ZEB definition and a robust energy calculation methodology.     

Achieving Dependability in the Configuration, Integration and Testing of Healthcare Technologies

This paper presents two case studies, which highlight the practical work involved in developing and deploying dependable healthcare systems. It shows how dependability is a thoroughgoingly practical, contexted achievement. We show how dependability is an outcome of the reasoning and argumentation processes that stakeholders engage in, in situations such as design and testing. What becomes relevant during these interactions stands as the dependability criteria that must be achieved. Furthermore, we examine the way in which different dependability criteria need to be managed, and even relatively prioritised, before finally discussing the types of work this provokes at the boundaries of organisations, particularly when integrating work and technologies.     

Instrument to measure the bidirectional reflectance distribution function of surfaces

A new instrument to measure the in situ bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of surfaces is described. This instrument measures the BRDF for eight illumination angles from 0 to 65 deg, three colors (475, 570, and 658 nm), and at over 100 selected viewing angles. The viewing zenith angles range from 5 to 65 deg, and the azimuth angles, relative to the illumination direction, range from 0 to ?180 deg. Many tests of the system have been run and show that for flat surfaces the BRDF of a sample surface can be measured with a precision of 1-5% and an accuracy of 10% of the measured reflectance. The BRDF for a dry and wet sand sample is presented as a demonstration of the instrument.     

Localization and dynamic regulation of biogenic amine transporters in the mammalian central nervous system

The monoamines, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine and histamine, play a critical role in the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and in the integration of information in sensory, limbic, and motor systems. The primary mechanism for termination of monoaminergic neurotransmission is through reuptake of released neurotransmitter by Na+, CI-dependent plasma membrane transporters. A second family of transporters packages monoamines into synaptic and secretory vesicles by exchange of protons. Identification of those cells which express these two families of neurotransmitter transporters is an initial step in understanding what adaptive strategies cells expressing monoamine transporters use to establish the appropriate level of transport activity and thus attain the appropriate efficiency of monoamine storage and clearance. The most recent advances in this field have yielded several surprises about their function, cellular and subcellular localization, and regulation, suggesting that these molecules are not static and most likely are the most important determinants of extracellular levels of monoamines. Here, information on the localization of mRNAs for these transporters in rodent and human brain is summarized along with immunohistochemical information at the light and electron microscopic levels. Regulation of transporters at the mRNA level by manipulation in rodents and differences in transporter site densities by tomographic techniques as an index of regulation in human disease and addictive states are also reviewed. These studies have highlighted the presence of monoamine neurotransmitter transporters in neurons but not in glia in situ. The norepinephrine transporter is present in all cells which are both tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)- and dopamine beta-hydroxylase-positive but not in those cells which are TH- and phenyl-N-methyltransferase-positive, suggesting that epinephrine cells may have their own, unique transporter. In most dopaminergic cells, dopamine transporter mRNA completely overlaps with TH mRNA-positive neurons. However, there are areas in which there is a lack of one to one correspondence. The serotonin transporter (5-HTT) mRNA is found in all raphe nuclei and in the hypothalamic dorsomedial nucleus where the 5-HTT mRNA is dramatically reduced following immobilization stress. The vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) is present in all monoaminergic neurons including epinephrine- and histamine-synthesizing cells. Immunohistochemistry demonstrates that the plasma membrane transporters are present along axons, soma, and dendrites. Subcellular localization of DAT by electron microscopy suggests that these transporters are not at the synaptic density but are confined to perisynaptic areas, implying that dopamine diffuses away from the synapse and that contribution of diffusion to dopamine signalling may vary between brain regions. Interestingly, the presence of VMAT2 in vesicles underlying dendrites, axons, and soma suggests that monoamines may be released at these cellular domains. An understanding of the regulation of transporter function may have important therapeutic consequences for neuroendocrine function in stress and psychiatric disorders.     

Phase 1B ventricular arrhythmia in the dog: localized reentry within the mid-myocardium

Our aim was to investigate the relationships between defensiveness and repression, on the one hand, and self-reported stressor exposure and resting blood pressure, on the other hand. In addition, different operationalizations of defensiveness and repression were compared. Participants were 310 male and 90 female employees representing a wide range of occupations. Before a medical examination, all subjects completed questionnaires measuring defensiveness, anxiety, repression, daily hassles, and life events. After controlling for potentially confounding variables, multiple regression analyses revealed an inverse association between defensiveness and self-reported number of daily hassles and a positive link between defensiveness and resting systolic blood pressure. In general, the interaction between defensiveness and anxiety (representing repression) did not add to the predictive power of defensiveness and anxiety alone. The results support the notion that defensive individuals tend to underreport problems, while exhibiting elevated resting blood pressures.