Moderating effects of empathic concern and personal distress on the emotional reactions of disaster volunteers

This study examines stress and mood outcomes in community volunteers who undertook one week's worth of post‐disaster relief work in L'Aquila, Italy, which had been hit by an earthquake four months earlier. The study team obtained pre‐ and post‐relief work data from 130 volunteers involved in activities such as preparing food for the displaced, cleaning the camps and distributing clean linen. The Perceived Stress Scale, the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Profile of Mood States were administered at the start and at the end of the aid activities. Psychopathological symptoms and empathy were assessed in the beginning, using the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, respectively. The results show that, following the assistance work, volunteers displayed decreases in perceived stress, general distress, anxiety and anger, as well as increases in positive emotions. The empathy facets empathic concern and personal distress showed different patterns in modulating the post‐disaster relief work adaptation for some of the mood outcomes.     

Persistent organochlorine contaminants in human tissues of the Czech and Slovak populations

The persistence of lipophilic organochlorine substances leads to their incorporation into the food chain and subsequent uptake by humans. Due to their use in the past, Czech and Slovak countries belong to the countries with a relatively high body burden of organochlorines. Levels of PCBs in human tissues based on the congener‐specific analysis are reported in this paper. Samples were analysed for the most abundant PCB congeners. Prevalent persistent organochlorine pesticides and their isomers/metabolites have also been included. The present study is focused on following areas: i) distribution of analysed substances in the various human tissue samples from selected regions of the Czech and Slovak Republic and ii) comparison with the results from other foreign and local studies.     

氧化沟工艺低氧同步脱氮启动研究

在常温条件下,采用小试Pasveer氧化沟处理低C/N实际污水,通过控制好氧区平均ρ(DO)为0.2～0.4 mg/L,保持好氧区与缺氧区体积比为1∶1,成功实现低氧脱氮过程。其中,模式1先接种好氧污泥并逐渐降低好氧区DO,然后接种缺氧污泥;模式2初始阶段保持低氧环境,并直接接种好氧和缺氧混合污泥。结果显示:两种方式均能成功启动低氧脱氮并保持较高的脱氮率;同时,当C/N值为1.94时,氨氮去除率较高;当C/N值为3.00时,总氮去除率较高,低氧低碳条件下脱氮效果较好。     

Glutathione S-transferase gene polymorphism,cigarette smoking and DNA damage

Several factors such as smoking habits, diet, occupational, and environmental exposure to chemical carcinogens influence the overall level of DNA damage. In 69 healthy adult volunteers’ polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferase (GST), an enzyme which participates in the metabolism of a broad range of carcinogens and endogenous compounds were determined. The level of DNA damage was assessed by comet assay and classified according to GSTT1/M1 genotype and smoking habits. GSTM1 null genotype was recognized in 48% of studied subjects and GSTT1 null genotype in only two cases (3%). In subjects carrying GSTT1/M1 alleles a significantly lower degree of DNA damage, determined as % DNA in the comet's tail, than in null individuals was noted. However, the results obtained did not indicate that in studied subjects an elevated endogenous level of DNA damage may be significantly related to smoking habits.     

Fostering food and energy security through by-product valorization within agricultural and agro-industrial networks: study of the province of Santiago de Cuba

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate of how the concept of ‘integrated food and energy systems’ or IFES production networks could be applied – within the specific context of Eastern Cuba’s agricultural and agro-industrial sectors – as an innovative approach to improve food and energy security. The Province of Santiago de Cuba in southeast Cuba was the focus of this study; its existing operations, infrastructure, resource flows and scarcities, and actor relationships provide the basis of the data used for the evaluation.

The authors investigated the regional context, identify potential members of an agricultural and agro-industrial network in three municipalities of the province, and identify the main residuals and by-products of key facilities. Potential avenues for by-product valorization are investigated along with the possible influence/impacts on the sustainability of the surrounding systems and actors. A conceptual model for a regional network for integrated food and energy production is then provided based upon the development of three agricultural/agro-industrial scenarios: influence at the farm level, regional agro-industrial networks, and ‘anchor tenant’ eco-industrial systems. The main challenges and opportunities for the development of the networks are described with recommendations for addressing such where possible.     

九龙江流域规模化养猪场砷污染状况调查

对九龙江流域规模化养猪场猪饲料、沼气出液和猪粪中砷的含量进行了测定。猪饲料中砷的含量范围为0.50～7.72mg·kg-1,平均值为3.49mg·kg-1;沼气出液中砷的含量范围为0.47～56.13μg·L-1,平均值为13.45μg·L-1;猪粪中砷的含量范围为0.32～114.46mg·kg-1,平均值为13.45mg·kg-1。同一养猪场,小猪猪粪中的砷含量一般高于大猪和母猪猪粪;沼气出液和猪粪中的砷含量具有一定的相关性。由估算知,养猪场向九龙江流域年排放的砷总量约为821kg。9家养猪场中有2家猪粪和1家沼气出液中砷的含量相对较高,生态风险等级较高,已超过国家相应标准。总之,应该加强养猪业的管理,以防止养猪场对九龙江流域造成砷污染。     

全氟辛烷磺酸盐(PFOS)及替代品对两栖类蝌蚪的急性毒性

PFOS及其4种替代品对两栖动物非洲爪蟾和黑斑蛙蝌蚪的急性毒性结果为:用调聚法合成的织物三防整理剂对非洲爪蟾蝌蚪和黑斑蛙蝌蚪的96h-LC50分别为8和21mg·L-1,而PFOS对两种蝌蚪的96h-LC50分别为92和81mg·L-1。此实验结果说明织物三防整理剂的急性毒性高于PFOS。用电解氟化法合成的C4、C6织物三防整理剂和50%的全氟丁基有机铵盐阳离子表面活性剂浓度在100mg·L-1时,对两种蝌蚪都没有毒性。这说明,从急性毒性的角度,C4、C6织物三防整理剂和表面活性剂可作为PFOS的替代品使用,但是织物三防整理剂的急性毒性比PFOS大,作为替代品使用应慎重考虑。另外,PFOS和织物三防整理剂对黑斑蛙蝌蚪的急性毒性与对非洲爪蟾蝌蚪的急性毒性存在差异。出于保护我国本土两栖动物的目的,使用黑斑蛙开展毒性评价比使用非洲爪蟾更有现实意义。     

雪冰中痕量高氯酸盐的在线富集方法

利用一维离子色谱建立了高氯酸盐的在线富集方法,以期为建立定量检测南极雪冰中痕量高氯酸盐的离子色谱-串联质谱法奠定基础.选用高容量、强亲水性的IonPac AS20阴离子交换柱进行分离,以淋洗液自动发生器在线产生的KOH作为淋洗液,等梯度淋洗.考虑到南极雪冰样品量十分有限,选定5 mL为富集体积,对应的富集时间为10 min.高氯酸盐质量浓度在0.5—50μg.L-1范围内,方法具有良好的线性（相关系数为0.9995）,检出限（以S/N=3计）为0.05μg.L-1.将浓度为0.5μg.L-1的标准溶液连续11次富集进样,所得峰面积的相对标准偏差（RSD）为4.7%.以人工配制的仅含有高氯酸盐的溶液实施了加标回收实验,回收率在85%—108%之间.     

Uncertainty analysis in the nuclear industry: Analytical unavailability modelling incorporating ageing of safety components

There is a growing interest in analyzing the possibility for current nuclear power plants operation extension. In that sense, life management programs, considering safety components ageing, are being developed and employed. On the other side, the large uncertainties of the ageing parameters as well as the uncertainties associated with most of the reliability data collections are widely acknowledged.This paper deals with uncertainty analysis associated with specific ageing rates database. The analysis is conducted using an analytical unavailability model applied for a selected safety system in a nuclear power plant. The most important problem is the immense uncertainty associated to the component ageing data sets as well as the lack of the very data in general, which would correspond to the more detailed modelling of ageing.New probability distributions, encompassing the ageing rates available in the considered data set, are suggested. The obtained results indicate the extent to which the uncertainty of the considered ageing data set, given the inherently assigned probability distribution, influences the performed unavailability calculations. Additionally, comparative analysis regarding the insights gained out of the application of the suggested probability distributions is conducted.     

Impact assessment of traffic-induced vibration on natural gas transmission pipeline

The purpose of this paper is to present a study of impact assessment of the traffic-induced vibration on a buried natural gas transmission pipeline. The basic assumption in this study is that the traffic on pipeline-transportation route crossing might have a significant impact on natural gas pipeline structural integrity due to the traffic-induced vibration which propagates from the road surface through the soil and excites the buried natural gas pipeline. The resulting dynamic stress causes pipeline material fatigue loading which consequently may cause pipeline failure with the gas release into the environment exposing the population and the buildings in pipeline vicinity to a significant threat. The experiment on operating buried natural gas pipeline was conducted where measurements were performed on the road surface, the two operating buried natural gas pipelines of external diameter 500 mm and 250 mm and on corresponding casing pipes. The measurement data analysis was performed and the results were used for determination of pipeline lifetime period in the model for theoretical estimation of pipeline lifetime which has been exposed to traffic-induced vibration. The findings of the study in this paper show that the traffic-induced vibration on given buried natural gas pipeline is detectable, however this vibration, compared to the other factors which are influencing pipeline's structural integrity, does not have a significant impact on pipeline lifetime period.