Lightweight polymer foams from synthetic polymers are commonly used in a wide-spread spectrum of application fields. Their intrinsic flammability coupled with restrictions on flame retardant chemicals poses severe threat to safety. Here, fire resistant comprising biobased components capable replacing petroleum-based investigated. Cellulose nanofibers combined 2D montmorillonite nanoplatelets an...

Chaparral species of California, USA, exhibit three life history types in response to fire: non-sprouters (NS), facultative sprouters (FS), and obligate sprouters (OS). Adult non-sprouters are killed by fire; thus populations reestablish only through firestimulated seed germination and seedling recruitment. Facultative sprouters reestablish by both vegetative sprouting and seed germination. Obl...

The performance of a fire resistant coating for tunnel passive fire protection under successive severe thermal loading is presented. The material falls under the class of potassium based geopolymers (K-geopolymer) and was prepared by mixing ferronickel (FeNi) slag, doped with pure alumina, with a highly alkaline potassium hydroxide aqueous phase. Its performance was assessed by subjecting a con...

In 1985, fire and/or burn injuries killed 1461 children aged 0 to 19 years in the United States; an estimated 23,638 children were hospitalized and 440,000 were treated for burns. More than 101,000 life years were lost. A "cost of burn injury" model suggests a dollar value of societal losses from childhood burn deaths and injuries at approximately $3.5 billion. Very young children (0 to 4 years...

Questions: How do fire frequency, tree canopy cover, and their interactions influence cover of grasses, forbs and understorey woody plants in oak savannas and woodlands? Location: Minnesota, USA. Methods: We measured plant functional group cover and tree canopy cover on permanent plots within a long-term prescribed fire frequency experiment and used hierarchical linear modeling to assess plant ...

BACKGROUND Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S aureus (MSSA) were isolated from environment surfaces sampled from 33 Washington State fire stations. METHODS Samples were collected by fire personnel using commercial testing swabs. One to 6 surfaces were sampled per swab with 20 swabs per station. Biochemical tests were used to confirm MRSA and MSSA ...