PM2.5 and PM10 air pollution peaks are associated with emergency department visits for psychotic and mood disorders

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Particulate matters with a diameter of less than 10 µm (PM10) or less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) are major air pollutants. Their...     

Early life environment and developmental immunotoxicity in inflammatory dysfunction and disease

Components of the innate immune system such as macrophages and dendritic cells are instrumental in determining the fate of immune responses and are, also, among the most sensitive targets of early life environmental alterations including developmental immunotoxicity (DIT). DIT can impede innate immune cell maturation, disrupt tissue microenvironment, alter immune responses to infectious challenges, and disrupt regulatory responses. Dysregulation of inflammation, such as that observed with DIT, has been linked with an increased risk of chronic inflammatory diseases in both children and adults. In this review, we discuss the relationship between early-life risk factors for innate immune modulation and promotion of dysregulated inflammation associated with chronic inflammatory disease. The health risks from DIT-associated inflammation may extend beyond primary immune dysfunction to include an elevated risk of several later-life, inflammatory-mediated diseases that target a wide range of physiological systems and organs. For this reason, determination of innate immune status should be an integral part of drug and chemical safety evaluation.     

Using experience sampling methodology in organizational behavior

Experience sampling methodology and daily diary (ESM/DD) research elicits repeated reports of immediate or very recent experiences from the same sample of people for several days or weeks. Experience sampling and diary methods were almost unheard of in organizational research 15 years ago, but the past decade has seen a rapid rise in their use. These methods are helpful in studying dynamic within‐person processes involving affect, behavior, interpersonal interactions, work events, and other transient workplace phenomena over time. Assessing cross‐level effects of traits or other stable features on within‐person processes and reactivity is also possible with ESM/DD data. We provide an introduction to issues in designing and carrying out an ESM/DD study, including data collection choices and schedules, measures, technology, training and motivation of participants, and analysis of multilevel data. We offer best practice recommendations and refer readers to further resources for additional detail on conducting and analyzing ESM/DD research. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

非洲库存计划:清理陈旧农药,为了更加健康的未来作出贡献

经过近4年时间的准备之后,非洲即将开始一个创新的举措.非洲库存计划(ASP)是一个涉及非洲国家、国际机构、非政府组织、私营部门CropLife国际(CLI)和区域性团体的多风险承担者伙伴关系.非洲库存计划的目标是雄心勃勃的:在下一个10年到15年清理和处理整个非洲现有的库存农药,并帮助防止未来的农药积累,总成本约为2.5-3.0亿美元.幸亏有全球环境机构(GEF)的2500万美元的基本支持以及捐献国政府的共筹资金,在15个国家的第一阶段活动资金已经增加到5000多万美元.然而第一阶段的工作和第二阶段计划仍然需要另外的2000万美元资金.     

Content analysis of newspaper coverage of the Florida panther

Populations of large carnivores are declining globally, and analysis of public discourse about carnivores is useful for understanding public opinion and influences on management and policy. Portrayal of carnivores in the media affects public perceptions and support for their conservation. We conducted a content analysis of 513 articles about Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) published from 2003 to 2006 in newspapers with local circulation in core panther habitat in southwest Florida and papers with statewide circulation to compare the differences in the amount of coverage and portrayals of panther risks to people and property on the basis of proximity of human communities to panthers. Local papers published significantly more news articles and significantly longer news articles primarily about panthers. Articles in local and statewide papers used both episodic frames, which focus on specific occurrences (e.g., a panther sighting or predation) and thematic frames, which focus on general trends (e.g., abundance of panthers over time). Local articles more often emphasized risks that panthers might harm people, pets, or livestock than statewide papers. Our results are consistent with theory that proximity to human-carnivore conflict influences perceptions and salience of risks posed by large carnivores. Most articles mentioned panthers as a secondary topic, which we believe was a result of the relevance an endangered carnivore has in discussions of public land management, development, and regulations in Florida. Claims made by sources quoted in each article had a neutral to positive depiction of panthers, and most quotations were from federal and state agency scientists. We suggest continued use by the media of agency sources provides the opportunity for clear, concordant messages about panther management. Content analysis provides a way to monitor media portrayal of carnivores for consistency with agency outreach goals.     

Love and work: career–family attitudes of new entrants into the labor force

This paper reports the development of the Career–Family Attitudes Measure (CFAM), a new 56-item instrument for measuring individuals' attitudes towards managing the career and family interface. The measure was administered to a large sample of high school students and factor analyzed to reveal six dimensions of career and family attitudes, which were then scaled. Females in the sample had significantly more positive attitudes towards Balance and Independence than did males, while males had significantly more positive attitudes towards Dominance and Spousal Support than did females. Antecedents such as parental employment history and educational aspirations were significantly related to several of the scales. Results indicated that career–family attitudes involve preferences for the integration of career and family rather than for trade-offs between them. Research to establish the validity and explore the many applications of the CFAM is needed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diffusion-controlled toluene reference material for VOC emissions testing: International interlaboratory study

The measurement of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from building products and materials by manufacturers and testing laboratories, and the use of the test results for labeling programs, continue to expand. One issue that hinders wide acceptance for chamber product testing is the lack of a reference material to validate test chamber performance. To meet this need, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Virginia Tech (VT) have developed a prototype reference material that emits a single VOC similar to the emissions of a diffusion-controlled building product source with a dynamic emissions profile. The prototype material has undergone extensive testing at NIST and a pilot interlaboratory study (ILS) with four laboratories. The next development step is an evaluation of the prototype source in multiple-sized chambers of 14 laboratories in seven countries. Each laboratory was provided duplicate specimens and a test protocol. Study results identified significant issues related to the need to store the source at a subzero Celsius temperature until tested and possible inconsistencies in large chambers. For laboratories using a small chamber and meeting all the test method criteria, the results were very encouraging with relative standard deviations ranging from 5% to 10% across the laboratories.

Implications: Currently, the chamber performance of laboratories conducting product VOC emissions testing is assessed through interlaboratory studies (ILS) using a source with an unknown emission rate. As a result, laboratory proficiency can only be based on the mean and standard deviation of emission rates measured by the participating ILS laboratories. A reference material with a known emission rate has the potential to provide an independent assessment of laboratory performance as well as improve the quality of interlaboratory studies. Several international laboratories with different chamber testing systems demonstrated the ability to measure the emission rate of such a reference material within an acceptable measurement uncertainty.     

美国环境管理体系中联邦与地方政府角色透视

自美国环境保护局(EPA)成立以来,美国各州的环境执政体制产生了巨大的变化,取得了卓越的成绩.美国的环境执政体制从分权的、由州驱动的体制演变为自上而下、技术强制、联邦驱动的体制.近几年该体制更加分权化,各州的作用更为强大;引入了市场力量,加强了环境保护力度,成本竞争力亦得到改善.自上而下/技术强制的体制和以非集权化/市场为主的体制有其各自的优缺点.笔者将试图阐明环境保护体制的良好运转同时需要来自这2种方式的元素.