Use Of Open Fire Research Articles

Challenges Experienced by Teachers when Integrating Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Natural Sciences Practical Work

This study explored what challenges teachers experienced when integrating indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), which are culture specific, into practical work in natural sciences classrooms with diverse learners. Using an exploratory qualitative case study based on an interpretive paradigm, three natural sciences teachers and two subject advisors were purposively selected from the Harry Gwala district in the KwaZulu–Natal province of South Africa. Semi-structured interviews, a focus group interview and practical work lesson observations were used to collect data that were analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that when indigenous knowledge was integrated with practical work, real-life activities were simulated in the classrooms. The introduction of real-life situations and IKS-based practical activities invited IKS-based learner behaviour. When simulating real-life practices, the learners’ socio-cultural beliefs became manifest. It was reported that learners assigned traditional gender roles for the practical work activities. Recent initiates into adulthood did not participate in activities that included the use of open fires because it was forbidden in their culture. Learners were also not willing to work with clay soil based on the belief that it attracted goblins, despite evidence showing its use in the building of huts and making of pots. Furthermore, teachers recognised the need to manage the conflicts and controversies that might result from integrating IKS into practical work. The study recommends education districts to establish contextualised resource centres for IKS integration that take into account the socio-cultural beliefs of local learners as a way to support the teachers.

Use of open fires or closed solid fuel appliances for residential heating and cognitive decline in older adults

ObjectivesUse of solid fuel appliances is a major contributor to air pollution. Indoor solid fuel burning for cooking and heating in lower-middle income countries is associated with lower cognitive function and faster decline. Less is known, however, about the potential risk to brain health from burning solid fuels in open fires and closed appliances for heating purposes only, particularly in higher income countries. The current study aimed to investigate the association between burning solid fuels for home heating and cognitive decline in older Irish adults, also testing whether results differ by sex/gender. Design and ParticipantsThe sample consisted of 4,537 participants aged 50 and older from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, a population-based cohort study. Participants were surveyed every two years between 2012 and 2018. Solid fuel use in 2012 (Wave 2) and cognitive function (word recall and verbal fluency) at waves 2, 3, 4 and 5 were analysed. Hierarchical linear mixed effects regression models were used to examine the association between solid fuel use and cognitive decline, controlling for multiple confounders. ResultsThere was a significant main effect of solid fuel use on cognitive function, such that individuals who reported using a solid fuel appliance or open fire as a main source of heating had lower cognitive scores than those who did not report such use at all waves, but there was no difference in the slope of the trajectory over time and no clear sex differences. ConclusionsOlder Irish adults who reported burning solid fuels (in an open fire or closed appliance) as a main way source of home heating had lower observed cognitive function across 6 years in TILDA but no evident faster decline than non-users. These findings further expand the evidence base on indoor air pollution and brain health.

Association between Outdoor and Indoor Air Pollution Sources and Atopic Eczema among Preschool Children in South Africa.

The objective of the study was to investigate the association between outdoor and indoor air pollution sources and atopic eczema among preschool children in South Africa. A cross-sectional design, following the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Phase III protocol, was applied. The study was conducted in Mabopane and Soshanguve Townships in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa. A total population of 1844 preschool children aged 7 years and below participated in the study; 1840 were included in the final data analysis. Data were analyzed using multilevel logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of eczema ever (EE) and current eczema symptoms (ESs) was 11.9% and 13.3%, respectively. The use of open fires (paraffin, wood, or coal) for cooking and heating increased the likelihood of EE (OR = 1.63; 95% CI: 0.76-3.52) and current ESs (OR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.00-3.74). Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure at home increased the likelihood of EE (OR = 1.66; 95% CI: 1.08-2.55) and current ESs (OR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.07-2.43). Mothers or female guardians smoking cigarettes increased the likelihood of EE (OR = 1.50; 95% CI: 0.86-2.62) and current ESs (OR = 1.23; 95% CI: 0.71-2.13). The use of combined building materials in homes increased the likelihood of EE, and corrugated iron significantly increased the likelihood of current ESs. The frequency of trucks passing near the preschool children's residences on weekdays was found to be associated with EE and current ESs, with a significant association observed when trucks passed the children's residences almost all day on weekdays. Atopic eczema was positively associated with exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution sources.

Fire in the port city: the impact of different population groups on the destruction and revival of Canton city in the nineteenth century

ABSTRACT Canton (present-day Guangzhou) has long flourished as a port city. As the city expanded in the nineteenth century, the risks of conflagrations increased; streets became more crowded, buildings were more often made of wood, and there was more use of open fires. The reconstruction of Canton after conflagrations provides an excellent way to observe the resilience of urban space, understood here as the result of interactions among different stakeholders. This paper explores how authorities, local communities, foreigners, and Hong merchants addressed fires and rebuilt through laws, regulations, technologies and cooperation, and how responses to fire destruction shaped urban space. Divers stakeholders affected the reconstruction of buildings and streets. The government made laws to widen streets, communities built watchtowers, and foreigners made new plans for Thirteen Factories, a neigbhorhood along the Pearl River. At the same time, conflicts between communities and foreigners obstructed plans for urban transformation and maintained the stability of urban structures. The communities kept the traditional local community organizations the ‘Kaifong’ (local organization in street) who opposed the widening streets and fought against proposed fire zones around Thirteen Factories, thus pitching local interests against those of the foreigners in a complex social, political, and cultural context.

Environmental and Occupational Health Exposures and Outcomes of Informal Street Food Vendors in South Africa: A Quasi-Systematic Review.

Introduction: Informal street vending is a form of informal employment, and occupational conditions for people within this group have been proven to be detrimental to their health. Two independent reviewers carried out a systematic evaluation of the existing literature in South Africa on environmental and occupational exposures, as well as the health effects faced by informal street food vendors. Methods: 354 published publications were reviewed and 9 were included, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: The evidence showed that informal street vendors are exposed to workplace risks that affect their health and wellbeing. Non-enclosed vendor stalls and frequent use of open fires were among the risk concerns. Vendors are vulnerable to gastrointestinal diseases such as salmonellosis and respiratory infections such as influenza and COVID-19 due to inadequate access to water, waste disposal facilities, and basic hygiene awareness and practices. Exposure to air pollutants increased the risk of respiratory and urinary illnesses and an impact on the reproductive health of female street vendors. Conclusions: This investigation demonstrated the difficulties in complying with the requirements of the Regulations Governing General Hygiene Requirements for Food Premises, the Transport of Food, and Related Matters (no. R638 of 22 June 2018) and the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act (no. 85 of 1993). Within South African borders, there is a scarcity of research on occupational exposures and health effects in this occupation. As a result, eliminating or preventing these occupational exposures should be at the top of government and stakeholder agendas. The majority of the research was carried out in KwaZulu Natal and used a quantitative, cross-sectional technique. Other designs, including cohorts, time series, and randomized intervention trials, were underutilized.

“Barrage Fire”: Pyrotechnics in the Traditional Economy of Western Siberia and the Transformation of the Environment

This article carries out a comprehensive study of the use of open fire in the traditional economy of Western Siberia between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For this purpose, the author studies the use of fire in the Russian peasant economy and by the native population of the region. The region’s environment was affected by the use of open fire while the effect of the pyrogenically altered agro-industrial structure of the region. In the article, special attention is paid to the traditional and administrative regulation of the use of fire in economic activities. The ecological-historical method considers landscape and climate zoning in the study of local economic structures. The author uses historical and ethnographic methods, handling data from field ethnography and agricultural history. Documents from the Forest Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property have the greatest potential for the subject explored. Open fire was widely used by Russian peasant farms. Fields and their boundaries were singed in order to destroy stubble and weeds. Last season’s grass was burnt in the spring on pastures and meadows. In the north of the region, Russians and indigenous peoples “renewed” the forest areas where they grew berries with the help of fire. The indigenous peoples of the taiga and tundra (Khanty, Mansi, Nenets) set the taiga on fire in order to attract fur-bearing animals and renew areas grown over with reindeer moss. In order to get rid of blood-sucking insects, both Russian cattle breeders and indigenous reindeer herders could not do without smudges. Russian peasants set forests on fire in order to create spacious insect-free pastures. All the aforementioned economic methods, as well as forest industries, often led to disastrous forest fires. They were especially destructive for the agro-industrial structure of northern floodwater cultivation, plunging the economy into a prolonged depression (impoverishment of hunting, fishing, and cedar production). Forest fires in the southern taiga and forest-steppe zones not only led to forest destruction but to soil degradation, marsh drainage, and the shallowing of rivers. The Russian and indigenous communities tried to regulate fire setting and singeing. However, the restrictions quite often existed on paper only. In the mid-nineteenth century, the administration started paying attention to the problem. As a result, singeing of meadows and fields was limited to a certain spring period. At the beginning of the twentieth century, because of mass migration, anthropogenic forest fires occurred more often and, consequently, resulted in a regional catastrophe. The pyrogenic changes in the environment had an adverse effect on the region’s agro-industrial structure. The administration tightened control of the use of open fire in order to achieve economic aims.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in traditionally smoked Slavonska kobasica

ABSTRACT The traditional smoking procedure, which is the use of open fire, can lead to the formation of PAHs in sausages. The aim of this paper was to assess the types and concentrations of 16 PAHs in 30 samples of Slavonska kobasica, a traditional smoked sausage. In general, some samples showed high values of anthracene and acenaphthylene. In one sample, acenaphthylene reached the value of 1050 µg/kg and in another 1491 µg/kg anthracene was measured. Cancerogenic benzo(a)pyrene content was little above the maximum limit of 5 µg/kg in four samples, but mainly remained below the limit of quantification. PAH4 (i.c. benzo(a)anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and benzo(a)pyrene) were above the maximum limit of 30 µg/kg in three samples. Generally, it can be noted from the results that samples with high PAH4 and benzo(a)pyrene concentrations also have high PAH16 concentrations.

Access to Modern Energy Initiatives by Rural Household in Homa Bay County, Kenya

The failure to provide energy access continues in many parts of the world today. It is estimated that three million people in the world lack access to energy infrastructure and use biomass solid fuels such as charcoal firewood, dung or crop residue for cooking. Apart from being highly inefficient, these traditional, open fire cookstoves produce toxic particulates that cause indoor air pollution and contribute to around four million premature deaths per year especially among women and children. The paper based on a study undertaken in Homa Bay is focused on identifying the energy initiatives in Homa Bay County, and how consumers perceive ICS with respect to traditional stoves. The study used Ex post facto research design using mixed method to collect data which was obtained using data collection instruments such as questionnaires, FGD, Key informant interview schedules and researcher’s observation.  The study used systematic and cluster sampling to get a representative data. The study was based on the capability approach theory that people ought to be made equal in their capabilities or at least in their basic capabilities. The study found that household cooking technologies came from two main source namely three stone fire and Kenya ceramic jiko. The main sources of household cooking fuel were biomass, kerosene and LPG. Use of open fire and overdependence on solid biomass resulted in respiratory illness and eye discomfort caused by IAP and black carbon. Low adoption of solar and electricity resulted in high use of kerosene tin lamp as source of light. The study concludes that there is a need to strengthen efforts to promote use of ICS, which use biomass in a more efficient way. The promotion and distribution of ICS should be linked with funding for climate-related projects, with the aim of reducing the cost of the stoves and creating added economic incentives to replace old, inefficient cookstove models.

A follow-up study after an improved cookstove intervention in rural Mexico: Estimation of household energy use and chronic PM2.5 exposure

The benefits of improved biomass cookstoves (ICS) depends on their adoption and sustained use. Few studies have documented if and how they are used more than five years after being introduced.We conducted a 9-year prospective cohort study among young rural women in the highlands of Michoacan, Mexico. Participants had received a Patsari ICS during a community trial either in 2005 or 2006. With retrospective information collected in 2012–13, we studied the households' energy use, ICS survival, and cooking practices during the follow-up period. Using an exposure model constructed with personal PM2.5 measurements in a subsample of homes at the time of the initial trial in 2005, we estimated the exposure associated with different energy use patterns during the follow-up period.The ICS had a mean lifespan of 4 years, after which more than half of the stoves were not in use; therefore, the use of open fire increased, particularly among the indigenous communities. ICS use peak was achieved two years after the initial trial, either exclusively or combined with open fire. Yearly household energy use and other variables were used to estimate chronic air pollution exposure. Mean PM2.5 exposure during the follow-up period ranged from 51 to 319 μg/m3; the median was 102 and 146 μg/m3 for mainly ICS and mainly open fire use, respectively.The ICS has a useful period after which it needs maintenance, repair, or replacement. Unfortunately, many programs have not afforded a follow-up component. Exposure to biomass smoke air pollutants can be reduced by using an ICS instead of the traditional open fire. Household energy strategies should ensure equitable access to clean energy options adapted to local needs and preferences with culturally appropriate technology implemented on a sustainable perspective.

Trends of indoor air pollution and respiratory tract infections on global scale: A review

According to World Health Organization, more than half of the world's population relies on dung, wood, crop waste or coal to meet their most basic energy needs. Use of these kinds of fuels for cooking leads to Indoor Air Pollution. Use of open fire with simple solid fuels, biomass, or coal for cooking and heating, exposes billions of people especially women worldwide to the concentration of particulate matter and gasses. Unventilated dwelling increases the exposure of an individual to it. These concentrations are 10 to 20 times higher than health guidelines for typical urban outdoor concentrations defined by WHO. Indoor air pollution is a multi-dimensional problem which increases the burden on health of families in developing countries. In the context of tribal communities, type of cooking stoves, kitchen configurations and housing patterns are rudimentary, which may lead to the high concentration of indoor air pollution. This paper focuses on one of the least studied area in rural India and perhaps never studied in tribes. This combination of subjects of Indoor Air Pollution and respiratory health of women and children in the field of Anthropology is still an unexplored terrain.

Personal inhalation exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their nitro-derivatives in rural residents in northern Thailand.

A personal inhalation exposure and cancer risk assessment of rural residents in Lampang, Thailand, was conducted for the first time. This highlighted important factors that may be associated with the highest areal incidence of lung cancer. Personal exposure of rural residents to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitro-derivatives (NPAHs) through inhalation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) was investigated in addition to stationary air sampling in an urban area. The personal exposure of the subjects to PM2.5 ranged from 44.4 to 316μg/m3, and the concentrations of PAHs (4.2-224ng/m3) and NPAHs (120-1449pg/m3) were higher than those at the urban site, indicating that personal exposure was affected by microenvironments through individual activities. The smoking behaviors of the rural residents barely affected their exposure to PAHs and NPAHs compared to other sources. The most important factor concerning the exposure of rural populations to PAHs was cooking activity, especially the use of charcoal open fires. The emission sources for rural residents and urban air were evaluated using diagnostic ratios, 1-nitropyrene/pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene/benzo[ghi]perylene. Their analyses showed a significant contribution to emission from residents' personal activities in addition to the atmospheric environment. Furthermore, the personal inhalation cancer risks for all rural subjects exceeded the USEPA guideline value, suggesting that the residents have a potentially increased cancer risk. The use of open fires showed the highest cancer risk. A reduction in exposure to air pollutants for the residents could potentially be achieved by using clean fuel such as liquid petroleum gas or electricity for daily cooking.

Descriptive Epidemiology of Unintentional Burn Injuries Admitted to a Tertiary-Level Government Hospital in Nepal: Gender-Specific Patterns.

This study describes the epidemiology of unintentional adult burn injury admissions in a tertiary hospital in Nepal, from 2002 to 2013, focusing on gender-specific patterns. Chi-square tests and Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests were performed. There were 819 unintentional burn admissions: 52% were male and 58% younger than 35 years. The median percentage total body surface area burned (interquartile range) was greater in females than in males (P < .001): 28% (17-40) versus 20% (12-35), and female mortality was higher (32% vs 11%). A higher proportion females were illiterate than males (48% vs 17%). Burns occurred at home (67%), work (28%), and public places (5%); gender-specific patterns were observed. Flame burns accounted for 77%, electricity 13%, and scalds 8%. Kerosene (31%) and biomass (27%) were the major fuels. Cooking, heating, and lighting were the main activities associated with burn injury. Results support interventions to reduce the use of open fires and kerosene and to promote electrical safety.

FT-IR and Micro-Raman spectroscopic studies of archaeological potteries recently excavated in Poompuhar, Tamilnadu, India

Ancient ceramics are the abundant artifacts that give the knowledge of the past societies. Therefore it is of great importance to acquire knowledge about the chemical composition of the clay in archaeological artifacts. The spectroscopic techniques represent one of the most powerful tools to investigate the structure of all the materials and chemical composition of the cultural object like potteries. An attempt has been made in the present work to estimate the firing temperature of the archaeological pottery shreds excavated from the archaeological site Poompuhar in the state of Tamilnadu in India. The firing temperature of the archaeological pottery shreds were estimated by recording the corresponding FT-IR spectra in the range 4000–450cm−1 and Micro Raman spectra in the range 1800–400cm−1. The clay mineral present in the pottery samples are identified through FT-IR method and was confirmed with Micro Raman spectroscopy as both are complement to each other. The major primary mineral present in the samples is Kaolinite and the secondary mineral present is quartz and the accessory minerals present in the samples are hematite, magnetite and feldspar. The results of Raman spectra showed that the potters of this site used a mixture of clays as raw materials. The firing temperature for some of the samples did not exceed 800°C which suggests the use of open fire.

Patterns of stove use in the context of fuel-device stacking: rationale and implications.

The implementation of clean fuel and stove programs that achieve sustained use and tangible health, environmental, and social benefits to the target populations remains a key challenge. Realization of these benefits has proven elusive because even when the promoted fuels-stoves are used in the long term they are often combined (i.e., "stacked") with the traditional ones to fulfill all household needs originally met with open fires. This paper reviews the rationale for stacking in terms of the roles of end uses, cooking tasks, livelihood strategies, and the main patterns of use resulting from them. It uses evidence from case studies in different countries and from a 1-year-long field study conducted in 100 homes in three villages of Central Mexico; outlining key implications for household fuel savings, energy use, and health. We argue for the implementation of portfolios of clean fuels, devices and improved practices tailored to local needs to broaden the use niches that stove programs can cover and to reduce residual open fire use. This allows to integrate stacking into diagnosis tools, program monitoring, evaluation schemes, and implementation strategies and establish critical actions that researchers and project planners can consider when faced with actual or potential fuel-device stacking.

Household air pollution from wood burning in two reconstructed houses from the Danish Viking Age.

During 13 winter weeks, an experimental archeology project was undertaken in two Danish reconstructed Viking Age houses with indoor open fireplaces. Volunteers inhabited the houses under living conditions similar to those of the Viking Age, including cooking and heating by wood fire. Carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM2.5 ) were measured at varying distances to the fireplace. Near the fireplaces CO (mean) was 16ppm. PM2.5 (mean) was 3.40mg/m(3) , however, measured in one house only. The CO:PM mass ratio was found to increase from 6.4 to 22 when increasing the distance to the fire. Two persons carried CO sensors. Average personal exposure was 6.9ppm, and from this, a personal PM2.5 exposure of 0.41mg/m(3) was estimated. The levels found here were higher than reported from modern studies conducted in dwellings using biomass for cooking and heating. While this may be due to the Viking house design, the volunteer's lack of training in attending a fire maybe also played a role. Even so, when comparing to today's issues arising from the use of open fires, it must be assumed that also during the Viking Age, the exposure to woodsmoke was a contributing factor to health problems.

The effect of continued use of open fires on the reductions in household air pollution observed in the Guatemala RESPIRE and CRECER Studies

Background: The RESPIRE and CRECER stove trials investigated the health effects of the exposure to HAP from biomass cooking in the Guatemala highlands. RESPIRE (2002-2004) resulted in reductions of 90% in the kitchen CO concentrations of the chimney-stove intervention group, compared to those using traditional open-cookfires. In the same communities, CRECER (2006-2010) resulted in reductions of only 60% disseminating the same stove design. Aims: Understand the extent to which continued use of the open fire may have contributed to the differences in HAP reductions found in RESPIRE and CRECER. Methods: In RESPIRE, households (269 stove and 265 fire) were visited weekly to perform recall questionnaires of stove and fire use and to observe stove maintenance. In CRECER, household visits occurred quarterly, and stove use was also measured with electronic Stove Use Monitors (SUMs) in a subgroup of 80 homes. We obtained marginal estimates by intervention group of the reported open-fire prevalence and the observed stove maintenance status recorded during both trials. We partitioned the variance components of usage with random effects models. Results: In CRECER high levels of stove use were reported (97%) and measured (92%), and 50% of the households reported prevalent use of an open fire. Animal feed was the most common cooking task performed with the fire (46% of the households) followed by boiling corn for tortillas (25%), space heating (13%), boiling water (11%) and preparing food for the family (11%). These percentages tripled the fire use reported in RESPIRE. 76% of the total variability in SUMs-measured stove use was contributed by between-household differences from the preferences cooking certain tasks with the stove or the fire. Conclusions: Households with high levels of sustained cookstove use can still be exposed to elevated concentrations of air pollutants from the continued use of open cookfires. Quantifying this prevalence and the maintenance of the stoves is critical to improve exposure assessment and to improve the effectiveness of stove disseminations.

Cooking fuels and prevalence of asthma: a global analysis of phase three of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC)

Indoor air pollution from a range of household cooking fuels has been implicated in the development and exacerbation of respiratory diseases. In both rich and poor countries, the effects of cooking fuels on asthma and allergies in childhood are unclear. We investigated the association between asthma and the use of a range of cooking fuels around the world. For phase three of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), written questionnaires were self-completed at school by secondary school students aged 13-14 years, 244,734 (78%) of whom were then shown a video questionnaire on wheezing symptoms. Parents of children aged 6-7 years completed the written questionnaire at home. We investigated the association between types of cooking fuels and symptoms of asthma using logistic regression. Adjustments were made for sex, region of the world, language, gross national income, maternal education, parental smoking, and six other subject-specific covariates. The ISAAC study is now closed, but researchers can continue to use the instruments for further research. Data were collected between 1999 and 2004. 512,707 primary and secondary school children from 108 centres in 47 countries were included in the analysis. The use of an open fire for cooking was associated with an increased risk of symptoms of asthma and reported asthma in both children aged 6-7 years (odds ratio [OR] for wheeze in the past year, 1·78, 95% CI 1·51-2·10) and those aged 13-14 years (OR 1·20, 95% CI 1·06-1·37). In the final multivariate analyses, ORs for wheeze in the past year and the use of solely an open fire for cooking were 2·17 (95% CI 1·64-2·87) for children aged 6-7 years and 1·35 (1·11-1·64) for children aged 13-14 years. Odds ratios for wheeze in the past year and the use of open fire in combination with other fuels for cooking were 1·51 (1·25-1·81 for children aged 6-7 years and 1·35 (1·15-1·58) for those aged 13-14 years. In both age groups, we detected no evidence of an association between the use of gas as a cooking fuel and either asthma symptoms or asthma diagnosis. The use of open fires for cooking is associated with an increased risk of symptoms of asthma and of asthma diagnosis in children. Because a large percentage of the world population uses open fires for cooking, this method of cooking might be an important modifiable risk factor if the association is proven to be causal. BUPA Foundation, the Auckland Medical Research Foundation, the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand, the Child Health Research Foundation, the Hawke's Bay Medical Research Foundation, the Waikato Medical Research Foundation, Glaxo Wellcome New Zealand, the NZ Lottery Board, Astra Zeneca New Zealand, Hong Kong Research Grant Council, Glaxo Wellcome International Medical Affairs.

Extending IM beyond the Reference Desk: A Case Study on the Integration of Chat Reference and Library-Wide Instant Messaging Network

Openfire is an open source IM network and a single unified application that meets the needs of chat reference and internal communications. In Fall 2009, the California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) Library began use of Openfire and other Jive software instant messaging technologies, to simultaneously improve our existing IM-integrated chat reference software and implement an internal IM network. This case study describes the chat reference and internal communications environment at the CSUSM Library and the selection, implementation, and evaluation of Openfire. In addition, the authors discuss the benefits of deploying an integrated instant messaging and chat reference network.

Coal fires, fresh air and the hardy British: A historical view of domestic energy efficiency and thermal comfort in Britain

Fuel poverty has been most commonly researched in the UK although it is experienced in other parts of Europe, to varying degrees. Boardman (1991) showed that energy inefficient buildings and heating systems are the most significant components of fuel poverty and highlighted the legacy of older buildings in this country that remain the majority of those now recognised as hard to treat. This paper considers the historical context for fuel poverty as a particularly British phenomenon. It examines claims that this is due to the mild climate and low indoor temperature expectations. It is concluded that there are significant differences from the European situation. The climate, particularly its characteristic changeability, has influenced building and heating methods, and the low priority given to energy efficiency by legislators. Significantly, economic priorities produced poor quality mass housing during the industrial revolution. The availability of coal encouraged the use of open fires, which demanded high ventilation rates. The British do value warmth but older buildings designed for heating with radiant open fires are difficult to adapt to convective central heating. Lessons can be drawn for newly industrialised economies similarly producing poor quality mass housing with low priorities for energy efficiency.

Intervention to Lower Household Wood Smoke Exposure in Guatemala Reduces ST-Segment Depression on Electrocardiograms

Background: A large body of evidence suggests that fine particulate matter (PM) air pollution is a cause of cardiovascular disease, but little is known in particular about the cardiovascular effects of indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels in developing countries. RESPIRE (Randomized Exposure Study of Pollution Indoors and Respiratory Effects) was a randomized trial of a chimney woodstove that reduces wood smoke exposure.Objectives: We tested the hypotheses that the stove intervention, compared with open fire use, would reduce ST-segment depression and increase heart rate variability (HRV).Methods: We used two complementary study designs: a) between-groups comparisons based on randomized stove assignment, and b) before-and-after comparisons within control subjects who used open fires during the trial and received chimney stoves after the trial. Electrocardiogram sessions that lasted 20 hr were repeated up to three times among 49 intervention and 70 control women 38–84 years of age, and 55 control subjects were also assessed after receiving stoves. HRV and ST-segment values were assessed for each 30-min period. ST-segment depression was defined as an average value below –1.00 mm. Personal fine PM [aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5)] exposures were measured for 24 hr before each electrocardiogram.Results: PM2.5 exposure means were 266 and 102 μg/m3 during the trial period in the control and intervention groups, respectively. During the trial, the stove intervention was associated with an odds ratio of 0.26 (95% confidence interval, 0.08–0.90) for ST-segment depression. We found similar associations with the before-and-after comparison. The intervention was not significantly associated with HRV.Conclusions: The stove intervention was associated with reduced occurrence of nonspecific ST-segment depression, suggesting that household wood smoke exposures affect ventricular repolarization and potentially cardiovascular health.