Animals can show different responses to fear for example by playing dead when there is no possibility to escape. This response is called tonic immobility (TI) and is a well-established test of fear to evaluate fearfulness. Long durations of TI are generally considered as high levels of fearfulness. Physiological changes observed during tonic immobility suggest that there are changes in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) strongly involved in this process. The main objective for this study was to analyse duration of tonic immobility and heart and ventilation rate during tonic immobility in three different species; domesticated High Andean chickens (Gallus gallus), wild-caught Ornate Tinamous (Nothoprocta ornata) and Chilean Tinamous born in captivity (Nothoprocta perdicaria). In this study needle electrodes were used to measure heart and ventilation rate. The time following induction of tonic immobility (i.e. after holding the bird on its back for 15 s) was characterized by a large increase in heart and ventilation rate. During tonic immobility a progressive decrease in heart and ventilation rate was observed in all species, significant in all cases except for heart rate between start and end of TI in chickens. The duration of TI was significantly longer in Ornate Tinamou compared to Chilean Tinamou and chickens. The same was observed in latency to first head movement. TI is probably controlled by the autonomic nervous system, but a heart rate variability analysis has to be done in order to determine the different relative contributions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems in these species.

The Fan Assessment Numeration System (FANS) is an improved air velocity traverse method for measuring in situ fan performance. The FANS has been widely used, but variations of its test procedure are commonly employed to accommodate physical or operational barriers encountered in the field. This laboratory study evaluated the use of transitions to connect a 1.37m FANS unit to two smaller fans (1.22m and 0.91m diameter) and one 1.37m diameter fan. Tests were conducted with the FANS unit positioned on both intake and discharge sides of the fans. Three different transition angles (30o, 45o and 60o) and the use of no transition were evaluated. Discharge tests were also performed with no enclosed connection between FANS and fan housings. A different experiment was conducted for each fan size. Data was analyzed by comparing test results to the control with Dunnett’s procedure. Results showed significant differences as much as 5.3% ± 1.20% for intake treatments, 17.2% ± 3.04% for sealed discharge treatments and 37.1% ± 12.24% for discharge treatments with no enclosed connection. All transition angles produced similar fan test results. Differences between test results from the discharge and control treatments increased as differences between FANS and fan dimensions increased.

1 ABSTRACT This diploma work investigates the influence of thermal insolation at residential buildings on the concentration of CO2 (carbon dioxide) in indoor environment. The studied area is a housing estate of panel buildings (flats) in Sezimovo Ústí city. The present work notices a positive impact of thermal insolation on energy demands of buildings and it is mainly saving consumed heat energy which is also connected with emission lowering of carbon dioxide emissions. The main problem which is soluted in the work is that total insolation is usually done without any ventilation solution. It means that it has later a negative impact on indoor environment/air quality in flats. The main part if this work presents measurements of indoor air quality - CO2 concentration, air change rate, temperature and relative humidity in an insolated (with plastic windows) and a non-insolated (with the original wooden windows) flats. The measurement lasted for three days in selected pairs of flats - with plastic and wooden windows. The measuremet took place in bedrooms because the behaviour of residents of households was very similar during their sleep. The air change rate was then caculated from CO2 concentration decay during period of 3 hours without residents. The main aim is to quantify these differences. The conclusion...

Air emissions from animal feeding operations have become a growing concern. Much work has been done to study occupational exposures and the exhaust concentrations associated with animal facilities; however little information has been provided about air quality around the houses. Ammonia (NH3 ), ethanol (EtOH), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM10) emissions were monitored in two different buildings for laying hens in northern Utah. Over the six-month sampling period, the observed average temperatures for the west and east fan banks of the high-rise building were 21.2±4 and 19.4±1.3°C, respectively, and the average inside relative humidities during the same period were 43.7±7.2 and 48.4±7.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the observed average temperatures for the west and east fan banks of the manure-belt building were 20.6±4.4 and 17.9±2.7°C, respectively, and the average percent inside relative humidities during the same period were 44.4 ±7.6 and 49.3±7.4%, respectively. The ventilation rates ranged from 0.80 m3 h-1 bird-1 to 4.80 m3 h-1 bird -1 with an average of 2.02 m3 h -1 bird -1 for the high-rise barn and from 0.80 m3 h-1 bird -1 to 6.0 m3 h-1 bird-1 with an average of 2.20 m3 h-1 bird-1 for the manure-belt building over the sampling period of September, October, November, and December 2008 and January 2009. Average NH3 emission factors were 72±17 g d-1 AU-1 for the high-rise system and 9.1±7 g d-1 AU-1 for the manure-belt (1 AU is equal to 500 kg of animal live weight). The NH3 emission reduction factor for the manure-belt technique compared to the high-rise technique was 87%. Ammonia levels outside the house appeared to be less than 1 ppm. No significant emissions were registered for N2O, H2S, and EtOH, which were consistently close to zero for both techniques. The carbon dioxide (CO2) emission factor from the high-rise building was 104±11 g day-1 AU-1 and from the manure-belt building, 105±20 g day-1 AU-1. PM emissions were greater from the manure-belt system in comparison with the high-rise system, showing mean values of 165 vs. 114 g day-1 AU-1 for PM 2.5, 1,987 vs. 1,863 g day-1 AU-1for PM10 and 4,460 vs. 3,462 g day-1 AU-1 for TSP respectively. None of the 24-h PM 2.5 measurements collected from both management techniques exceeded the U.S. EPA 24-hr National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 35 μg/m 3.

Human performance and health are one of the most relevant topics in modern society. Especially at young ages, when academic performance is indispensable. Thus, as the human being spends most of its lifetime inside a building, thermal comfort has become an essential aspect of a room. The aim of the present research is to measure and evaluate the main thermal comfort parameters such as CO2 levels, relative humidity and indoor temperature so the variation in them can be seen in the study rooms of the library of the University of Gävle as there is student use. For it, Rotroninc Measurement Solutions CL11 sensors and a Testo hot wire probe sensor have been used, as well as IDA ICE software simulations for the result validation. From the research, has been seen that even though the VAV air renewal system works as it should, the CO2 level rises up to 1000 ppm, which is not recommended by different thermal comfort ruling institutions. This way, a modification to the ventilation system control is recommended, changing it from temperature control to CO2 level and temperature control. Moreover, it is seen that during the non-opening hours of the library the ventilation systems are disconnected, generating an important energy-saving without altering the thermal comfort of the rooms at the beginning of the day.

The use of velocity traverses to measure in-situ air flow rate of ventilation fans can be subject to significant errors. The Fan Assessment Numeration System (FANS) was developed by the USD-ARS Southern Poultry Research Laboratory and refined at the University of Kentucky to measure air flow of fans in-situ. The procedures for using the FANS unit to test fans in-situ are not completely standardized. This study evaluated the effect of operating fan positions relative to the FANS unit for ten 1.22 m diameter fans in two types of poultry barns, with fans placed immediately next to each other and 1.6 m apart. Fans were tested with the FANS unit placed near both the intake and discharge sides of the tested fans. Data were analyzed as two Generalized Randomized Complete Block designs (GRCB), with a 2 (FANS inside or outside) x 6 (operating fan combinations) factorial arrangement of treatments. Results showed significant differences as much as 12.6 ± 4.4% between air flow values obtained under conditions of different operating fan combinations. Placing the FANS unit outside provided valid fan test results. A standardized procedure for using the FANS unit to test fans in-situ was elaborated and presented in this work.

The average global temperature is expected to rise by 3-5 °C at the end of the century, as a consequence of global warming. Negative effects are expected on poikilothermic animals, including fish, with changes in their physiology including metabolism. Metabolism has earlier been proven to have an association with propensities to migrate, which might be affected by raised temperatures as a consequence of global warming. The purpose of this study was to investigate if raised temperatures during incubation of eggs has an effect on metabolism in a partly migrating species of fish. The hypotheses for this study were: (i) ventilation rate (VR) will decrease as a consequence of warmer incubation temperatures, and (ii) offspring of anadromous parents are expected to have a higher VR compared to offspring of residential parents. VR, as a proxy for metabolic rate, was measured on young-of-the-year brown trout (Salmo trutta) during trials in respiration chambers. Fertilized eggs from four different crossings of parents (anadromous x anadromous, residential x residential, anadromous male x residential female, residential male x anadromous female) underwent incubation in normal and warm (normal + 3 °C) water temperatures respectively. A Two-way ANOVA showed a significant interaction between incubation temperature and crossing on VR. Warmer incubation temperatures in 3 out of 4 crossings resulted in a higher VR, except for individuals with two anadromous parents. Individuals with an anadromous father had a higher VR than individuals with a residential father. Evidence that partly supports both hypotheses was therefore found. Metabolism might have a strong genetic component, and other factors that might have an effect on metabolism and VR are epigenetics, stress, egg size etcetera. Studies of this kind will be of importance in getting a greater understanding of the effects of global warming on migrating species of fish, and on poikilothermic vertebrates in general.

The global mean temperature is predicted to increase by up to 5 °C during this century. For fish, being ectotherms, temperature is one of the most important environmental factors, influencing them in a number of different ways, including effects on physiological traits, timing of life history events and behavior. Atlantic salmon has been shown to grow faster after being incubated at warmer temperatures. One possible explanation for this could be that the increased incubation temperature causes decreased metabolic rates. The aim of this project was to examine whether this is true. Atlantic salmon eggs were incubated in three different temperature regimes: natural temperature conditions, heated water and a mixed temperature treatment, where eggs were incubated in increased temperature until the beginning of January and after that subjected to natural temperature conditions. Ventilation rate, a proxy for metabolism, was measured for fish from each treatment group, as well as fish length and weight. The results revealed significantly lower ventilation rates of the fish from the heated temperature treatment, but not of the fish from the mixed temperature treatment. This suggests that an increased incubation temperature causes lowered rates of metabolism in Atlantic salmon, and that the change occurs later than early January. Because of differences in size and life stage between fish from the different groups however, the results are uncertain and call for further investigations. A lowered metabolic rate will affect the fish’s behavior. A further development might therefore be to study fish survival in the wild in relation to a fish’s metabolic rate. / Jordens medeltemperatur beräknas öka med upp till 5 °C det här århundradet. För fiskar, som är ektotermer, är temperatur en av de viktigaste abiotiska faktorerna och påverkar dem på en mängd olika sätt, bland annat genom förändring av fysiologiska attribut, tidpunkter för steg i livscykeln och beteende. Lax har visats växa snabbare efter att ha blivit inkuberade i varmare vattentemperatur. En möjlig förklaring till det kan vara att en förhöjd inkuberingstemperatur orsakar en lägre metabolism. Det här projektet syftade till att undersöka om så är fallet. Ägg från lax inkuberades i tre olika temperaturförhållanden: naturliga temperaturförhållanden, förhöjd temperatur och en blandad temperaturbehandling, där ägg inkuberades i förhöjd temperatur till början av januari, varefter de utsattes för naturliga temperaturförhållanden. Gälslagsfrekvens, som fungerar som en indikator för metabolism, mättes på fisk från varje behandlingsgrupp, samt fiskarnas längd och vikt. Resultaten visade signifikant lägre gälslagsfrekvenser hos fiskarna från behandlingen med förhöjd temperatur, men inte hos fiskarna från behandlingen med blandad temperatur. Detta indikerar att en förhöjd inkuberingstemperatur orsakar en lägre metabolism hos lax, och att förändringen sker senare än tidiga januari. På grund av skillnader i storlek och livsstadier hos fiskarna från de olika grupperna är resultaten dock osäkra, vilket gör att ytterligare studier behövs. En lägre ämnesomsättning påverkar fiskars beteende. En uppföljning kan därför vara att studera fiskars överlevnad i det vilda i relation till deras metabolism.

Concern regarding the health effects of indoor air quality has grown in recent years, due to the increased prevalence of many diseases, as well as the fact that many people now spend most of their time indoors. While numerous studies have reported on the dynamics of aerosols indoors, the dynamics of bioaerosols in indoor environments are still poorly understood and very few studies have focused on fungal spore dynamics in indoor environments. Consequently, this work investigated the dynamics of fungal spores in indoor air, including fungal spore release and deposition, as well as investigating the mechanisms involved in the fungal spore fragmentation process. In relation to the investigation of fungal spore dynamics, it was found that the deposition rates of the bioaerosols (fungal propagules) were in the same range as the deposition rates of nonbiological particles and that they were a function of their aerodynamic diameters. It was also found that fungal particle deposition rates increased with increasing ventilation rates. These results (which are reported for the first time) are important for developing an understanding of the dynamics of fungal spores in the air. In relation to the process of fungal spore fragmentation, important information was generated concerning the airborne dynamics of the spores, as well as the part/s of the fungi which undergo fragmentation. The results obtained from these investigations into the dynamics of fungal propagules in indoor air significantly advance knowledge about the fate of fungal propagules in indoor air, as well as their deposition in the respiratory tract. The need to develop an advanced, real-time method for monitoring bioaerosols has become increasingly important in recent years, particularly as a result of the increased threat from biological weapons and bioterrorism. However, to date, the Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS, Model 3312, TSI, St Paul, MN) is the only commercially available instrument capable of monitoring and measuring viable airborne micro-organisms in real-time. Therefore (for the first time), this work also investigated the ability of the UVAPS to measure and characterise fungal spores in indoor air. The UVAPS was found to be sufficiently sensitive for detecting and measuring fungal propagules. Based on fungal spore size distributions, together with fluorescent percentages and intensities, it was also found to be capable of discriminating between two fungal spore species, under controlled laboratory conditions. In the field, however, it would not be possible to use the UVAPS to differentiate between different fungal spore species because the different micro-organisms present in the air may not only vary in age, but may have also been subjected to different environmental conditions. In addition, while the real-time UVAPS was found to be a good tool for the investigation of fungal particles under controlled conditions, it was not found to be selective for bioaerosols only (as per design specifications). In conclusion, the UVAPS is not recommended for use in the direct measurement of airborne viable bioaerosols in the field, including fungal particles, and further investigations into the nature of the micro-organisms, the UVAPS itself and/or its use in conjunction with other conventional biosamplers, are necessary in order to obtain more realistic results. Overall, the results obtained from this work on airborne fungal particle dynamics will contribute towards improving the detection capabilities of the UVAPS, so that it is capable of selectively monitoring and measuring bioaerosols, for which it was originally designed. This work will assist in finding and/or improving other technologies capable of the real-time monitoring of bioaerosols. The knowledge obtained from this work will also be of benefit in various other bioaerosol applications, such as understanding the transport of bioaerosols indoors.