Asthma and allergies have increased considerably during the past 40-50 years. Along with this increase, a heightened awareness regarding different neuro-developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder has occurred and it has been proposed that such disorders are also on the increase. It has been suggested that environmental factors, especially in the indoor environments, may be associated with the increase in these disorder, especially among children, who spend more than 90% of their time indoors. The aim of this thesis has been to investigate certain environmental factors in homes and their impact on children’s health, in terms of asthma, rhinitis, eczema as well as autism spectrum disorders, and to identify certain methodological difficulties in epidemiological investigations. We found that the mean incidence rate per year for doctor diagnosed asthma was in the range of 0.6-2.4% and for incidence of rhinitis 1.1-3.7%. The incidence rate of eczema ever was 2.7%. These results showed that when using a cohort established after birth the estimated incidence rates are strongly dependent of how the baseline population’s health and how the studied health outcome at follow up is defined. Our results showed that the associations between parental reported moisture problems in the home and asthma in children that were revealed in cross-sectional analyses decreased or disappeared when longitudinal data were used on the same data set. Our results therefore indicate that associations between parental reported moisture problems and asthma from cross-sectional questionnaire studies should be interpreted with caution due to the risk for reporting bias. Our results show that children who were living in homes with PVC-flooring in the bedroom in early childhood were more likely to develop asthma during the following 5-year period when compared with children living in homes without such flooring material. A similar association could be seen for children with autism spectrum disorder, where PVC-flooring in early childhood was associated with more reports of autism spectrum disorder five years later. These results indicate that building materials including suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals such as phthalates might be of importance for the development of these chronic diseases. Further studies are needed to explore the early life exposure and the mechanisms and contribution of phthalates for the development of chronic diseases. / Appendix A (en undersökning) och Appendix B (en undersökning)finns i den tryckta versionen av avhandlingen

Syfte och frågeställningar: Studiens syfte är att belysa hur pedagogerna beskriver deras arbete med barns inflytande i inomhusmiljön på förskolan.  1.   Hur involveras barnen i arbetet med inomhusmiljön?  2.   Hur synliggör pedagogerna barnens inflytande i inomhusmiljön?  3.   Hur stor betydelse tycker pedagogerna att inomhusmiljön har avseende barns lärande och utveckling? Metod: Metoden som används är kvalitativ och det empiriska materialet inhämtades genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. I studien deltog tre respondenter som alla var utbildade förskollärare, fördelat på två förskolor belägna i en stad i Mellansverige. Resultatet analyseras med hjälp av tidigare forskning samt filosofin Reggio Emilia. Resultat: Resultatet visar att pedagogerna tycker att miljön har en stor påverkan avseende lärande och utveckling.  Dock blir fokus idag till största del på att observera vilka intressen barnen har och forma miljön efter det, istället för att involvera barnen i utförandet. / Purpose and question formulations: The purpose of the study is to enlighten how the teachers describes their work with the kids and their influence in indoor environment at preschool. 1.     How are the kids involved with the work about indoor environment? 2.     How does the teachers demonstrate the kids influence in indoor environment? 3.     How much importance does the teachers think that indoor environment effects the kids teaching and development? Method: The method which is use is qualitative and the empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews. In the study it was three participating respondents who all were educated preschool teachers. They were allocated at two preschools in a town in middle of Sweden. The results were analyzed with help from former research and philosophy of Reggio Emilia. Result: The results shows that the teachers thinks that environment has a big impact consider teaching and development. However, the focus today is more observing what interests the kids have and shape the environment after that, rather involving the kids in the process.

La qualité de l’air des environnements intérieurs est essentielle pour la santé. Le manque de renouvellement d’air et l’humidité dans les habitats favorise la prolifération microbienne. Les effets sur la santé sont multiples et souvent associés à des maladies chroniques respiratoires, tel que l’asthme. Ces effets sont plus ou moins graves selon le niveau d’exposition et la vulnérabilité des occupants et le rôle des moisissures est pointé. Cependant, le manque d’outils valides permettant d’évaluer quantitativement l’exposition aux bactéries environnementales constitue une des principales difficultés pour mieux appréhender leur impact sur la santé humaine. Un protocole expérimental basé sur les techniques culturales a été développé et testé au laboratoire pour mesurer la survie des bactéries dans des poussières domestiques collectées au sol. L’analyse de ces poussières a permis de déterminer le temps de survie des bactéries testées. Cependant, les méthodes culturales actuelles sont limitées et n’apportent pas assez d’informations sur la composition de la flore bactérienne dans l’habitat. L’utilisation des méthodes moléculaires, tel que le séquençage haut débit, est nécessaire pour y remédier. Par ailleurs, les poussières domestiques pourraient constituer un substrat intégrateur de l’exposition chronique des occupants. Outre le développement, la standardisation, et la validation d’outils de mesure, une approche globale de sensibilisation et de prévention du risque d’exposition aux contaminants des environnements intérieurs est recommandée, en particulier chez les populations vulnérables. / Indoor air quality is essential for health. Lack of ventilation and presence of humidity in habitats promotes microbial growth. The health effects are multiple and often associated with chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma. These effects are more or less serious depending on the level of exposure and the vulnerability of occupants and the role of mold is pointed out. However, the lack of valid tools for quantitatively assessing exposure to environmental bacteria is one of the main difficulties in better understanding their impact on human health. An experimental protocol based on cultural techniques was developed and tested in the laboratory to measure the survival of bacteria in domestic dust collected on the ground. The analysis of these dusts made it possible to determine the survival time of the bacteria tested. However, current culture methods are limited and do not provide enough information on the composition of the bacterial flora in the habitat. The use of molecular methods, such as high throughput sequencing, is needed to address this. In addition, domestic dust could be an integrating substrate for chronic occupant exposure. In addition to the development, standardization, and validation of measurement tools, a comprehensive approach to raising awareness and preventing the risk of indoor exposure to contaminants is recommended, particularly for vulnerable populations.

Les composés organiques semi-volatils (COSV) font l’objet d’une attention croissante depuis une dizaine d’années. Utilisés dans de nombreux produits et matériaux du quotidien, ils sont émis dans les bâtiments par dispersion lors de l’usage, par évaporation ou abrasion. Du fait de leurs caractéristiques physico-chimiques, ces composés se répartissent à la fois dans l’air, en phases gazeuse et particulaire, et dans les poussières déposées au sol, sur le mobilier et les objets. Compte tenu du temps passé par la population dans les bâtiments, en particulier par les populations sensibles comme les enfants, les femmes enceintes et les personnes âgées, l’exposition à ces substances mérite d’être documentée, tenant compte des voies d’exposition en jeu : inhalation, ingestion et contact cutané. La thèse a porté sur les COSV présents en phase particulaire dans les logements. L’objectif de la thèse visait à exploiter les mesures de 66 COSV dans les particules en suspension de diamètre inférieur à 10 µm (PM10) et de 48 COSV dans les poussières au sol de taille inférieure à 100 µm considérées comme étant celles adhérant à la peau. Ces mesures ont été réalisées dans le cadre de deux campagnes nationales : la campagne « Logements » de l’Observatoire de la qualité de l’air intérieur conduite en 2003-2005 et l’enquête Plomb-Habitat dont les prélèvements ont eu lieu en 2008-2009. Une hiérarchisation des molécules jugées prioritaires au regard de leur impact sanitaire potentiel avait permis au préalable d’établir la liste des COSV à mesurer. L’exploitation de ces données de contamination a notamment porté sur l’identification d’éventuelles spécificités françaises au regard des molécules en présence et/ou des concentrations mesurées. Elle a permis de mettre en lumière un ensemble de facteurs déterminants de l’exposition (influence de la taille des particules, du type de poussières collectées, de leur bioaccessibilité), qui ne sont pas toujours considérés et qui limitent par ailleurs la comparabilité des résultats. Les concentrations mesurées ont aussi permis d’évaluer rétrospectivement la hiérarchisation sanitaire et d’en confirmer la pertinence. Les concentrations des COSV quantifiés à la fois dans l’air et au sol ont été mises en perspective afin d’examiner dans quelle mesure les particules en suspension et les poussières déposées sont similaires en termes de concentrations et de mélanges de COSV en présence. Enfin, l‘estimation des doses d’exposition aux COSV à partir d’équations simples, de variables humaines d’exposition et des données de contamination a permis une première évaluation des contributions respectives de l’inhalation et de l’ingestion aux expositions domestiques des enfants et adultes à ces composés en phase particulaire. / Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) refer to a broad spectrum of molecules from different chemical families that have numerous properties. They can be used as pesticides, plasticizers, flame retardants, surfactants, lubricants, etc. Consequently, they are introduced in numerous applications in buildings or used daily by the entire population. Once emitted through evaporation or abrasion in the indoor environment or introduced from the outdoors, their chemical or biological degradation is limited, and they persist indoors. This persistence also explains why some SVOCs that were banned a few years ago are still detected in the air and dust inside buildings. In indoor environments, SVOCs are divided between the gas phase, airborne particles, and dust settled on floors and surfaces. SVOCs are of concern due to their established or suspected health effects and their widespread exposure through different environmental media and pathways. The objective of the thesis was to study the concentrations of 66 SVOCs on airborne particles (PM10) and 48 SVOCs in settled dust in two samples of dwellings randomly selected across France. PM10 were sampled during the nationwide housing survey carried out by the French Observatory of indoor air quality in 2003-2005. The dust samples were collected from vacuum cleaner bags during a nationwide survey carried out in French dwellings where at least one child aged 6 months to 6 years lived (2008-2009). The SVOCs to be analyzed had prior been selected using a ranking method based on their toxicity and indoor concentrations. The data analysis focused in particular on the identification of French specificities in terms of detected molecules and measured concentrations. It highlighted some determinants of exposure, e.g., influence of particle size, type of dust collected, dust bioaccessibility, which are not always considered and limit the comparability of results. The measured concentrations were also used to assess the health ranking implemented prior to this work and to confirm its relevance. The concentrations measured both in the air and in settled dust were compared to study the similarities in terms of concentrations and SVOC mixtures. Finally, the exposure doses to SVOCs were calculated for both a child and an adult to assess the respective contributions of inhalation and ingestion to these compounds in particulate phase in dwellings.

Topic of this Master's thesis is CFD simulations of indoor environment in a pharmacy building. CFD simulation have been done for summer and winter season for two scenarios of HVAC system. Results of simulations are visualized and evaluated.

Udržovaní vnitřních klimatických podmínek tak, aby byly v souladu s tepelným komfortem lidí, je klíčovou otázkou pro řízení systémů vytápění, větrání a klimatizace (HVAC systémy). Počítačové modelování nabízí virtuální prostředí pro simulaci vnitřních i vnějších podmínek a s jeho pomocí je možné navrhnout řešení pro řízení technických zařízení budov. Tento proces vyžaduje pochopení těchto prostředí z fyzikálního a matematického hlediska tak, aby bylo možné fyzikální procesy daných prostředí prezentovat pomocí vztahů a rovnic odrážejících jejích různé parametry. Simulační proces dále nabízí možnost popsat interakci mezi těmito modely a jejich chování v čase, dává výchozí reprezentace těchto prostředí, a umožňuje pochopení jejich chování před přenosem těchto modelů do reálných aplikací. Simulace umožnuje respektovat, a ovlivňovat jejích chování přes kontrolu navržených modelů. MATLAB/SIMULINK software má pokročilé schopnosti pro simulace systémů HVAC, a to vytvořením širokého pracovního prostředí pro designéry v závislosti na vývoji matematických modelů a jejích simulace pomocí SIMULINK, aby výsledky mohly být slučitelné s požadovanými výstupy. Tato dizertační práce se zaměřuje na proces modelování vnitřního prostředí v budovách, aby bylo možné pochopit chování klíčových parametrů, které mají vliv na tepelnou pohodu obyvatel či uživatelů, matematické modely vnitřního prostředí posluchárny byly navržené speciálně pro tři základní parametry: koncentrace oxidu uhličitého, teplota vzduchu a relativní vlhkost. Změny chování těchto parametrů v průběhu času jsou simulovány a poté strategie kontroly návrhu těchto parametrů může je udržet ve vhodných rozmezích komfortních pro obyvatele či uživatele, i když změny venkovního klimatu, tepelné a hmotnostní zatíží interiér. Pomocí matematických metod, některé optimalizační metody byly navrženy za účelem snížení spotřeby energie bez vlivu na mezní hodnoty těchto parametrů. Proces validace modelu se provádí porovnáním výsledků s reálnými výstupy monitoringu Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator systémem (EBI) nainstalován v areálu univerzity.

Inter-cell interference coordination in 3GPP Long Term Evolution system received much attention in recent years. However, most of the studies are based on ideal system with regular hexagon-shaped cell. The indoor environment has special characteristics that the building shape and BS locations are irregular; the traffic load has great variation compared to urban and rural area. So, conventional ICIC scheme may not be used in indoor situation directly. In this thesis, ICIC scheme is employed for indoor environment. Based on different quality of backhaul, static and dynamic schemes will be proposed. The performances of proposed schemes and the performance of system without ICIC will be simulated and compared. At last, how much the improvement of the system can acquire after applying ICIC schemes will be analyzed, and the question about whether it is good to apply ICIC scheme in indoor environment will be answered.

The physical environment is in our vicinity and our everyday lives. We have daily contact with the physical environment, not least with the physical indoor environment. The school is a place where the physical indoor environment is important for both students and staff in their everyday lives. The purpose of our study is to get an idea of how students' motivation to participate in teaching at leisure-time centers is affected by the physical indoor environment, by comparing two leisure-time centers with each other. One leisure-time center with premises intended for leisure-time center and one leisure-time center that shares premises with the school classrooms. We compare the similarities and differences in leisure-time centers regarding the students' perception and integration with the physical indoor environment and what in the environment that motivates the students to participate in the teaching. This study is conducted with the help of observations at the leisure-time centers and web surveys and to help analyze our collected material, we use an environmental psychological perspective; environmental psychology refers to humans and the environment and looks at their impact on each other. We also use Reeves' eight aspects to see motivation linked to behaviors, to study the motivation of students at the time of observation. The results show that there are more similarities than differences between the leisure-time centers. The conclusion is that the students in the general way of both leisuretime centers have a positive attitude towards the premises of the leisure-time centers. They also show a high level of motivation and that the physical indoor environment affects motivation.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka förskollärares förhållningssätt till genus och könsstereotypa normer, och hur detta förhållningssätt i sin tur påverkar utformningen av inomhusmiljön i förskolan. Studien utgår från en kvantitativ enkätundersökning, med en kvalitativ del där respondenterna gett egna kommentarer. Resultatet av de kvantitativa frågorna pekar på att populationen består av störst andel nyutexaminerade förskollärare, med examen inom de fem senaste åren. Resultatet indikerar även en hög enighet bland respondenterna, att det är av vikt att motverka könsstereotypa normer i förskolans inomhusmiljö, samt att deras verksamhets inomhusmiljö har utformats därefter. I relation till majoritetens enighet följde frågor om praktiskt utförande av mer varierande indikationer i resultatet. I studiens kvalitativa del framkom tre olika kategorier. I kategori ett intog förskollärarna ett könsblint förhållningssätt till genus och könsstereotypa normer, vilket ledde till en uppdelning av könskodat lekmaterial i inomhusmiljön. I kategori två intog förskollärarna ett medvetet förhållningssätt till genus och könsstereotypa normer, vilket ledde till en utformning av inomhusmiljön med enbart könsneutralt lekmaterial. I kategori tre intog förskollärarna ett medvetet förhållningssätt till genus och könsstereotypa normer, vilket ledde till en integrering av könskodade lekmaterial. Sammanfattningsvis indikerar föreliggande arbete på att det, i synnerhet hos gruppen förskollärare med examen inom de fem senaste åren, finns en hög grad av enighet i frågan om det är viktigt att arbeta med att utforma förskolans inomhusmiljö utifrån ett genusperspektiv. Däremot skiljer sig förhållningssätt och inställning till praktiskt utförande inom gruppen, och det går att urskilja flera olika strategier för tillämpning.

Studiens syfte är att belysa hur förskollärare, barnskötare och övrig personalser på den pedagogiska inomhusmiljön i förskolan samt hur de tänker att deskulle vilja och strävar efter att forma inomhusmiljön. Studien utgår från ettsociokulturellt perspektiv, där kvalitativa intervjuer har genomförts med förskolepersonal för att få reda på deras tolkningar av den pedagogiska inomhusmiljön. Det empiriska materialet samlades in på olika förskoleavdelningar, där åtta pedagoger deltog. Materialet transkriberades och bearbetadesmed hjälp av en fenomenografisk analysmodell. De viktigaste slutsatserna istudien visar på pedagogernas medvetenhet om den fysiska miljöns betydelseför barns lärande samt materialets betydelse i den pedagogiska inomhusmiljön. Resultat visar även att ekonomi, tid och de befintliga lokalerna i förskolan ses som hinder då förskolepersonal strävar efter att forma den pedagogiska inomhusmiljön. / The purpose of the study is to shed light on how preschool teachers and otherstaff view the pedagogical indoor environment in the preschool and how theythink they would like and strive to shape the indoor environment. The studyis based on a socio-cultural perspective, where qualitative interviews havebeen conducted with preschool staff to find out their interpretations of thepedagogical indoor environment. The empirical material was collected in different preschool departments, where eight educators participated. The material was transcribed and processed using a phenomenographic analysismodel. The most important conclusions in the study show the educators'awareness of the importance of the physical environment for children's learning and the importance of the material in the pedagogical indoor environment. Results also show that finances, time and the existing premises in thepreschool are seen as obstacles as preschool staff strive to shape the educational indoor environment.