This study explores if multiple alterations of the classrooms' indoor environmental conditions, which lead to environmental conditions meeting quality class A of Dutch guidelines, result in a positive effect on students' perceptions and performance. A field study, with a between-group experimental design, was conducted during the academic course in 2020–2021. First, the reverberation time (RT) was lowered in the intervention condition to 0.4 s (control condition 0.6 s). Next, the horizontal illuminance (HI) level was raised in the intervention condition to 750 lx (control condition 500 lx). Finally, the indoor air quality (IAQ) in both conditions was improved by increasing the ventilation rate, resulting in a reduction of carbon dioxide concentrations, as a proxy for IAQ, from ~1100 to <800 ppm. During seven campaigns, students' perceptions of indoor environmental quality, health, emotional status, cognitive performance, and quality of learning were measured at the end of each lecture using questionnaires. Furthermore, students' objective cognitive responses were measured with psychometric tests of neurobehavioural functions. Students' short-term academic performance was evaluated with a content-related test. From 201 students, 527 responses were collected. The results showed that the reduction of the RT positively influenced students' perceived cognitive performance. A reduced RT in combination with raised HI improved students' perceptions of the lighting environment, internal responses, and quality of learning. However, this experimental condition negatively influenced students' ability to solve problems, while students' content-related test scores were not influenced. This shows that although quality class A conditions for RT and HI improved students' perceptions, it did not influence their short-term academic performance. Furthermore, the benefits of reduced RT in combination with raised HI were not observed in improved IAQ conditions. Whether the sequential order of the experimental conditions is relevant in inducing these effects and/or whether improving two parameters is already beneficial, is unknown.
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This study explores if multiple alterations of the classrooms' indoor environmental conditions, which lead to environmental conditions meeting quality class A of Dutch guidelines, result in a positive effect on students' perceptions and performance. A field study, with a between-group experimental design, was conducted during the academic course in 2020–2021. First, the reverberation time (RT) was lowered in the intervention condition to 0.4 s (control condition 0.6 s). Next, the horizontal illuminance (HI) level was raised in the intervention condition to 750 lx (control condition 500 lx). Finally, the indoor air quality (IAQ) in both conditions was improved by increasing the ventilation rate, resulting in a reduction of carbon dioxide concentrations, as a proxy for IAQ, from ~1100 to
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A substantial amount of studies have addressed the influence of sound on human performance. In many of these, however, the large acoustic differences between experimental conditions prevent a direct translation of the results to realistic effects of room acoustic interventions. This review identifies those studies which can be, in principle, translated to (changes in) room acoustic parameters and adds to the knowledge about the influence of the indoor sound environment on people. The review procedure is based on the effect room acoustics can have on the relevant quantifiers of the sound environment in a room or space. 272 papers containing empirical findings on the influence of sound or noise on some measure of human performance were found. Of these, only 12 papers complied with this review's criteria. A conceptual framework is suggested based on the analysis of results, positioning the role of room acoustics in the influence of sound on task performance. Furthermore, valuable insights are pre- sented that can be used in future studies on this topic. Whi le the influence of the sound environment on performance is clearly an issue in many situations, evidence regarding the effectiveness of strategies to control the sound environment by room acoustic design is lacking and should be a focus area in future studies.
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Het doel van deze studie was het testen van een dertigtal familieleden op Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A met behulp van een real time kwantitatieve polymerase kettingreactie. Duplicatie van het gen werd bij 50 % van de familieleden gevonden, overeenkomend met Mendeliaanse overerving.
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Muscle fiber-type specific expression of UCP3-protein is reported here for the firts time, using immunofluorescence microscopy
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Discussions about the importance of the built environment for healthcare delivery extend at least as far back as Hippocrates 1 (400 BC). The iconic Florence Nightingale (1859) also strongly believed in the influence the indoor environment has on the progress of disease and recovery. Today, the role of the built environment in the healing process is of growing interest to healthcare providers, environmental psychologists, consultants, and architects. Although there is a mounting evidence 1 linking healthcare environments to health outcomes, because of the varying quality of that evidence, there has also been a lack of clarity around what can and cannot be achieved through design. Given the ageing of society and the ever increasing numbers of persons with dementia in the Western World, the need for detailed knowledge about aged care environments has also become increasingly important. The mental and physical health state of these persons is extremely fragile and their needs demand careful consideration. Although environmental interventions constitute only a fraction of what is needed for people with dementia to remain as independent as possible, there is now sufficient evidence (2, 3) to argue they can be used as a first-line treatment, rather than beginning with farmalogical interventions.
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Europeans are living longer than ever in history, because of the economic growth and advances in hygiene and health care. Today, average life expectancy is over 80, and by 2020 around 25% of the population will be over 65. The increasing group of older people poses great challenges in terms of creating suitable living environments and appropriate housing facilities. The physical indoor environment plays an important role in creating fitting, comfortable and healthy domestic spaces. Our senses are the primary interface with the built environment. With biological ageing, a number of sensory changes occur as a result of the intrinsic ageing process in sensory organs and their association with the nervous system. These changes can in turn change the way we perceive the environment around us. It is important to understand these changes when designing for older occupants, for instance, care homes, hospitals and private homes, as well as office spaces given the developments in the domain of staying active at work until older age.
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In recent years, the effects of the physical environment on the healing process and well-being have proved to be increasingly relevant for patients and their families (PF) as well as for healthcare staff. The discussions focus on traditional and institutionally designed healthcare facilities (HCF) relative to the actual well-being of patients as an indicator of their health and recovery. This review investigates and structures the scientific research on an evidence-based healthcare design for PF and staff outcomes. Evidence-based design has become the theoretical concept for what are called healing environments. The results show the effects on PF and staff from the perspective of various aspects and dimensions of the physical environmental factors of HFC. A total of 798 papers were identified that fitted the inclusion criteria for this study. Of these, 65 articles were selected for review: fewer than 50% of these papers were classified with a high level of evidence, and 86% were included in the group of PF outcomes. This study demonstrates that evidence of staff outcomes is scarce and insufficiently substantiated. With the development of a more customer-oriented management approach to HCF, the implications of this review are relevant to the design and construction of HCF. Some design features to consider in future design and construction of HCF are single-patient rooms, identical rooms, and lighting. For future research, the main challenge will be to explore and specify staff needs and to integrate those needs into the built environment of HCF.
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HB2006 : proceedings of the 8th international conference healthy buildings. Oliveira Fernandez, E. de; Gameiro da Silva, M.; Rosada Pinto, J. (red). ISBN 989-95067-1-0 2006 4-8 juni, Lissabon, Portugal, volume III, p. 279-282
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The evolution of emerging technologies that use Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Field (RF-EMF) has increased the interest of the scientific community and society regarding the possible adverse effects on human health and the environment. This article provides NextGEM’s vision to assure safety for EU citizens when employing existing and future EMF-based telecommunication technologies. This is accomplished by generating relevant knowledge that ascertains appropriate prevention and control/actuation actions regarding RF-EMF exposure in residential, public, and occupational settings. Fulfilling this vision, NextGEM commits to the need for a healthy living and working environment under safe RF-EMF exposure conditions that can be trusted by people and be in line with the regulations and laws developed by public authorities. NextGEM provides a framework for generating health-relevant scientific knowledge and data on new scenarios of exposure to RF-EMF in multiple frequency bands and developing and validating tools for evidence-based risk assessment. Finally, NextGEM’s Innovation and Knowledge Hub (NIKH) will offer a standardized way for European regulatory authorities and the scientific community to store and assess project outcomes and provide access to findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) data.
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