The paper presents some aspects of Warsaw's climate, in particular the urban heat island. UHI changes in different seasons and in different air mass types were analysed over the years 2011-2012. Average UHI in Warsaw is of a diamond shape which reflects the distribution of the densest built area and exceeds 2.0°C in the city centre compared to the airport station. In subtropical air mass, the intensity of UHI on the left side of the Vistula River reached 7.7°C. The basis for the analysis is the microclimatic measurement network of 28 permanent points in Warsaw and its surroundings, operated by IGSO PAS and completed by data from 7 other stations. This dense network became the IGSO PAS' input into an UHI project titled 'Development and application of mitigation and adaptation strategies and measures for counteracting the global Urban Heat Islands phenomenon (UHI)' implemented through the Central Europe Program and co-financed by the ERDF.

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In London, the urban heat island increases the average and peak air temperatures which in turn affect the demand for heating and cooling. To assess this, the simultaneous hourly air temperature in London has been measured continuously for a year at 80 locations, on a radial grid covering an area of 500 square miles. These have shown that central areas of London are signi cantly warmer than the surrounding areas (2 K warmer over the year). The measured data have been used as input to a thermal simulation model to assess the heating and cooling load of a standard air-conditioned of ce building positioned at different locations within the heat island. It is found that the urban cooling load is up to 25% higher over the year, and the annual heating load is reduced by 22%. Minimum CO 2 is emitted at a rural location. The net rate of increase of CO 2 with temperature is found to be 2.8%/K.

Previous efforts to synthesize information on community responses to various noise sources have been forced to rely on a variety of surveys conducted in different countries over a number of years. Comparability of both the noise measurements and the questions asked has been limited, and has of necessity relied on professional judgment. Data collected recently around Toronto International Airport provide a direct comparison of response to two sources, based on 673 interviews of persons exposed to a variety of levels of both aircraft and road traffic noise. The results of that analysis do not support the assumption that response to these two noise sources is the same. For the same value of Ldn, a greater percentage of the sample is highly annoyed by aircraft noise than by road traffic noise. Possible reasons for this contradiction of the results of a previous synthesis of noise surveys are discussed.

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Pubs, bars and restaurants are places where smoking policy is still left to the discretion of the manager and where smoking is often permitted. However, there is demand to take measures to eliminate or reduce the effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) to non-smoking occupants. This paper reports the results of a field study in which ETS markers and air flow patterns were monitored in a number of occupied spaces. The measurements included CO concentrations as a marker of ETS, CO 2 concentrations as a general indoor air quality (IAQ) indicator and air flow measurements to estimate ventilation and infiltration rates. The findings indicate that shared-space smoking needs action beyond that of simple ventilation, segregation of occupants or simple partitioning to minimise the potentially harmful effects of ETS to both staff and customers.

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Collegiate combative physical education classes, such as boxing, grappling, wrestling, and martial arts, offer many positive benefits to students and institutions. There has been an increased interest in combative sports in recent years. As a result of media focus on high-profile female athletes in combative sports, combative physical education classes have become increasingly popular with women. Physical education programs stand to greatly benefit from gender integration of combative classes. Educators and administrators, however, need to consider a number of social, psychological, physiological, and medical factors in order to ensure successful gender integration. Approaching gender integration with a careful and deliberate process that involves physical educators, administrators, and medical personnel will ensure programs maintain an authentic yet safe environment contributing to the attainment of course objectives. When executed in a prudent and deliberate manner, gender integration of combative course offerings has been anecdotally observed to improve women’s self-confidence, sense of inclusion, teamwork, and to enhance cohesion among students of both genders.