Innovations strategy for moving from created regional clusters to co-creation in life sciences for health care and well-being ecosystems

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Over the last decades, the demographic changes have all altered the population structure and influenced the social, economic, and political...     

A device for sampling the mud‐water interface in eutrophic lakes and bogs for residue analysis

Abstract

A tubular device has been developed making it possible to obtain layered samples of loosely aggregated, flocculent material from bogs or eutrophic lakes. The samples are up to 50 cm long and 15 cm in diameter. The sampler is free from protuberances and intact, layered samples can be taken. The tubular part of the sampler is about 85 em long, the walls of the lower 25‐cm portion harbouring a pneumatic closing mechanism which is controlled from above the water surface. An extendible handle for manipulating the sampler and for guiding it into place, is fastened to the upper end of the sampling tube. The performance and the operation of the sampler in the field are described.     

Exposure Programme on Atmospheric Corrosion Effects of Acidifying Pollutants in Tropical and Subtropical Climates

Many national exposure programmes have been performed in tropical and subtropical climates during the last 50 years. However, ambitious programmes involving more than a few countries are scarce. In this paper a recently formed network of test sites is described involving 12 test sites in Asia (India, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and China including Hong Kong) and four test sites in Africa (South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe). This effort is part of the 2001–2004 Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) funded Programme on Regional Air Pollution in Developing Countries (RAPIDC). Corrosion attack after one (2002–2003) year of exposure (carbon steel, zinc, copper, limestone and paint coated steel) are presented together with environmental data (SO₂, NO₂, HNO₃, O₃, particles, amount and pH of precipitation, temperature and relative humidity) for all the test sites. The obtained corrosion values are substantially higher than expected for limestone, higher than expected for carbon steel and lower than expected for zinc compared to values calculated using the best available dose–response functions.     

Mental health outcomes of job stress among Chinese teachers: role of stress resource factors and burnout

This study examined the mental health outcomes of job stress among Chinese teachers in Hong Kong. A total of 269 Chinese teachers participated in Study 1 which provided cross‐sectional data regarding the associations among stress resource factors, burnout, and negative mental health. Study 2 was a six‐month longitudinal study which aimed to establish the direction of the associations among the hypothesized variables across two time points with a separate sample of 61 Chinese secondary school teachers. Results of the structural equation modelling analyses on the cross‐sectional data at T1 showed that stress resource factors of self‐efficacy and proactive attitude were negatively related to burnout, which in turn had a direct effect on negative mental health. Stress resource factors were also directly linked to mental health status of teachers. Results of similar analyses on the longitudinal data at T2 further indicated that burnout at T1 had a direct impact on burnout at T2, which in turn had a direct effect on negative mental health at T2. Findings and limitations of the study were discussed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In-situ electrochemical measurements of total concentration and speciation of heavy metals in acid mine drainage (AMD): assessment of the use of anodic stripping voltammetry

We assessed the use of anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) for in-situ determinations of both total concentration and speciation of dissolved heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in acid mine drainage (AMD). In the Kwangyang Au–Ag mine area of South Korea, different sites with varying water chemistry within an AMD were studied with a field portable anodic stripping voltammeter. Anodic stripping voltammetry after wet oxidation (acidification) was very sensitive enough to determine total concentration of dissolved Cd because Cd was dominantly present as ‘labile’ species, whilst the technique was not so effective for determining total Cu especially in the downstream sites from the retention pond, due to its complexation with organic matter. For dissolved Pb, the concentrations determined by ASV after wet oxidation generally agreed with those by ICP-AES. In the downstream samples (pH>5), however, ASV data after wet oxidation were lower than ICP-AES data because a significant fraction of dissolved Pb was present in those samples as ‘inert’ species associated with colloidal iron oxide particles. The determination of total dissolved Zn by ASV after wet oxidation appeared to be unsatisfactory for the samples with high Cu content, possibly due to the interference by the formation of Zn–Cu intermetallic compounds on the mercury coated electrode. In AMD samples with high dissolved iron, use of ultraviolet irradiation was not effective for determining total concentrations because humate destruction by UV irradiation possibly resulted in the removal of a part of dissolved heavy metals from waters through the precipitation of iron hydroxides.     

Distribution characteristics of PCBs in the sediments of the lower Nakdong River, Korea

The objective of this study is to investigate the distribution characteristics of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in sediments of the lower Nakdong River of Korea. The sediments were collected using a grab sampler in May 1999. PCBs were extracted in the Soxhlet extractor and cleaned by using adsorption chromatographic techniques and concentrated sulfuric acid. A HP6890 gas chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector was used for quantification. The results of congener specific analysis showed that the total concentration is ranged over 1.1-141 ng/g dry weight. The levels of PCB congeners are significantly correlated with the total organic carbons (TOC) in the sediments. The major fractions of PCBs in these sediments are congeners containing 4, 5 or 6 chlorine atoms per biphenyl molecule.     

Damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami - A quick report

The Tohoku region, Northeast Japan, was hit by a gigantic earthquake which occurred in the Pacific close to Tohoku, and subsequently by a giant tsunami. These hazards have caused huge damage on the eastern coast Japan. The earthquake’s magnitude was 9.0, the strongest ever recorded in Japan. The tsunami was also historical as its run-up height reached over 39 m. As of early May, 2011, over 24 thousand people were reported as dead or missing. Moreover, serious accidents at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants No.1 were caused by the effects of the tsunami. Therefore, the damage faced by Japanese people can be seen as a giant composite disaster. Although Japan, and the northeast of Japan in particular, has over a long time period increased its preparedness against earthquakes and tsunamis, huge damage still occurred. This paper considers why this tragedy occurred, and what unrecognized factors contributed to the high vulnerability of the area. To assist in answering such questions, this paper presents a timely report of the features of the earthquake and tsunami, the damage they caused, and the early efforts for recovery and reconstruction.