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Around 50% of the world's population, particularly in developing countries, uses biomass as one of the most common fuels. Biomass combustion releases a considerable amount of various incomplete combustion products, including particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The paper presents the results of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) measurements in six houses equipped with wood burning stoves or fireplaces as heating systems. The houses were monitored for 48-h periods in order to collect PM10 samples and measure PAH concentrations. The average, the maximum and the lowest values of the 12-h PM10 concentration were 68.6 µg/m^sup 3^, 350.7 µg/m^sup 3^ and 16.8 µg/m^sup 3^ respectively. The average benzo[a]pyrene 12-h concentration was 9.4 ng/m3, while the maximum and the minimum values were 24.0 ng/m^sup 3^ and 1.5 ng/m^sup 3^, respectively. Continuous monitoring of PM^sub 10^, PAHs, Ultra Fine Particle (UFP) and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) was performed in order to study the progress of pollution phenomena due to biomass burning, their trends and contributions to IAQ. The results show a great heterogeneity of impacts on IAQ in terms of magnitude and behavior of the considered pollutants' concentrations. This variability is determined by not only different combustion technologies or biomass quality, but overall by different ignition mode, feeding and flame management, which can also be different for the same house. Moreover, room dimensions and ventilation were significant factors for pollution dispersion. The increase of PM^sub 10^, UFP and PAH concentrations, during lighting, was always detected and relevant. Continuous monitoring allowed singling out contributions of other domestic sources of considered pollutants such as cooking and cigarettes. Cooking contribution produced an impact on IAQ in same cases higher than that of the biomass heating system.

Abstract In older adulthood, positive perceptions of one’s own aging can facilitate enrichment seeking–the underlying motivation to seek out new experiences and perform intellectually challenging activities–by diminishing and buffering reactions to perceived threats to one’s sense of self and perceived capabilities. In this study, we examined the extent to which self-perceptions of aging were associated with cognitive performance and affective experience while completing a series of challenging foraging tasks in the form of word puzzle games within the presence and absence of resources in the environment, such as a fireplace or an observing neurologist. The study employed a 2x2 within-person design (fireplace on vs. not; neurologist present vs. not) and took place within the home office of a home simulation environment. In each of the four conditions, 61 participants (age 50-82, 57% female) played the foraging task and then endorsed adjectives representing their feelings while playing that game. Multilevel models, which nested study stages within participants, showed individuals with higher self-perceptions of aging benefited significantly from both environmental manipulations, with the fireplace acting as environmental support and the observing neurologist raising the stakes of the task. However, despite providing additional motivation and being associated with stronger cognitive performance, the neurologist’s presence also provoked a higher negative affect response. The relationship between self-perceptions of aging and receptiveness to environmental resources merits further investigation to assess how certain environmental resources might act as a moderator of both cognition and affect.