Field experiments, conducted in 29 air-conditioned offices, used survey questionnaires and physical measurements to investigate workers’ subjective thermal responses and comfort perception. A total of 650 individuals participated in the field study. The thermal neutrality and thermal preference of subjects occurred at 25.6°C and 24.1°C respectively. Responses from those subjects suggest a comfo...

The present study was designed and conducted to fi nd the appropriate physical baseline values for hepatobiliary enzymes such as, alanine aminotransferases (ALT), aspartate aminotransferases (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyltransferases (GGT) in adult healthy Murrah buffaloes in hot humid climatic conditions and also to assess the ideal storage condition for buffalo sera samp...

INTRODUCTION A significant number of healthcare workers have responded to aid in the relief and containment of the 2013 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa. Healthcare workers are required to wear personal protective clothing (PPC) to impede the transmission of the virus; however, the impermeable design and the hot humid environment lead to risk of heat stress. OBJECTIVE Provide...

To assess the ability of the nose to warm and humidify inhaled air, we developed a nasopharyngeal probe and measured the temperature and humidity of air exiting the nasal cavity. We delivered cold, dry air (19-1 degrees C, <10% relative humidity) or hot, humid air (37 degrees C, >90% relative humidity) to the nose via a nasal mask at flow rates of 5, 10, and 20 l/min. We used a water gradient a...

To develop high-quality silage starters adapted to hot and humid weather, 12 LAB isolates from silage produced in Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan were characterized based on their morphological features, growth curves and sugar utilization. In addition, the nucleotide sequences of the V2-V3 region of their 16S rRNA genes and the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer (ITS) regions were determined. The isolat...

This study compared physiological responses associated with exercise tolerance in girls (G) and women (W) of similar fitness and heat acclimatization level during exercise in a hot and humid outdoor environment (33.4 degrees C and 55.1 % RH; WBGT = 29.9 +/- 0.2 degrees C). Nine pre-menarcheal G (age = 11.3 yr) and nine W (age = 26.8 yr), matched for aerobic capacity and heat acclimatization lev...

Hot-humid areas have long, hot summers and poor outdoor thermal comfort (OTC). The urban heat island (UHI) effect exacerbates the deterioration of OTC in hot-humid areas, seriously affecting safety children’s activities. In this study, 60 scenes were simulated using ENVI-met based on different leaf area index (LAI) planting arrangements to explore how tree LAI affect small-scale environment dur...

OBJECTIVE This project was aimed at evaluating the impact of combat armor on physiological and cognitive functions during low-intensity exercise in hot-humid conditions (36 degrees C and 60% relative humidity). METHODS Nine males participated in three trials (2.5 hours), walking at two speeds and wearing different protective equipment: control (combat uniform and cloth hat); torso armor with ...