The productivity assessment tool: computer-based cost benefit analysis model for the economic assessment of occupational health and safety interventions in the workplace

INTRODUCTION AND MEthod: This paper describes the concepts behind cost benefit analysis in occupational health and safety and introduces the Productivity Assessment Tool, a method by which an analysis may be performed relatively easily in a service or manufacturing workplace. The advantage of using such analyses is to show the important financial role that safe and efficient workplaces play in the workplace. RESULTS: By using analytical tools, the effectiveness of an intervention (workplace change) may be estimated prior to its introduction. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This places occupational health and safety on the same financial footing as other proposed workplace changes and thus places occupational health and safety in a strong position to attract scarce resources.     

The older driver with dementia: an updated literature review

INTRODUCTION: At some point during their illness, drivers with dementia pose a public safety risk. METHOD: To address the issue of determining driving competence in drivers with dementia, the authors reviewed 11 studies. RESULTS: When comparing different driving assessments, the authors found that while road tests, simulators, and neuropsychological tests are important, each has limitations. CONCLUSION: Neuropsychological tests that highlighted visual spatial skills, attention, and reaction time provided the most meaningful correlations with driving performance. Furthermore, the authors recommend that patients with MMSE scores of 24 or less have a driving evaluation, and that driving evaluations be repeated at six month intervals or more frequently if a noticeable decline is observed. IMPACT: Because many older adults with dementia continue to drive, competence must be addressed.     

Difference in calcium ion precipitation between free and immobilized Halovibrio mesolongii HMY2

Biomineralization has become a research focus in wastewater treatment due to its much lower costs compared to traditional methods. However, the low sodium chloride (NaCl)-tolerance of bacteria limits applications to only water with low NaCl concentrations. Here, calcium ions in hypersaline wastewater (10% NaCl) were precipitated by free and immobilized Halovibrio mesolongii HMY2 bacteria and the differences between them were determined. The results show that calcium ions can be transformed into several types of calcium carbonate with a range of morphologies, abundant organic functional groups (C-H, C-O-C, C=O, etc), protein secondary structures (β-sheet, α-helix, 3₁₀ helix, and β-turn), P=O and S-H indicated by P2p and S2p, and more negative δ¹³C_PDB (‰) values (-16.8‰ to -18.4‰). The optimal conditions for the immobilized bacteria were determined by doing experiments with six factors and five levels and using response surface method. Under the action of two groups of immobilized bacteria prepared under the optimal conditions, by the 10^th day, Ca²⁺ ion precipitation ratios had increased to 79%-89% and 80%-88% with changes in magnesium ion cencentrations. Magnesium ions can significantly inhibit the calcium ion precipitation, and this inhibitory effect can be decreased under the action of immobilized bacteria. Minerals induced by immobilized bacteria always aggregated together, had higher contents of Mg, P, and S, lower stable carbon isotope values and less well-developed protein secondary structures. This study demonstrates an economic and eco-friendly method for recycling calcium ions in hypersaline wastewater, providing an easy step in the process of desalination.     

石油烃厌氧生物降解代谢产物研究进展

石油烃厌氧生物降解代谢产物的分析对于石油烃厌氧降解机制的研究、功能微生物的筛选以及微生物活动的原位监测具有指示性作用.综述了近年来石油烃厌氧生物降解代谢产物的研究进展.石油烃厌氧降解的初始活化方式主要包括脱氢羟基化、加延胡索酸以及羧化等.其中,加延胡索酸是不同种类的微生物通常采用的代谢方式.同时,将代谢产物按照气体、无机离子和有机酸进行分类,并针对各类物质特别是瞬时性、低浓度的有机酸类产物常采用的分析方法进行归纳.通过实例强调了代谢产物作为潜在生物标记物的应用,并对石油烃厌氧降解代谢产物分析方法的发展提出展望.图3参58     

Photocatalytic degradation of paraquat using nano-sized Cu-TiO2/SBA-15 under UV and visible light

Photocatalytic degradation of paraquat using mesoporous-assembled Cu-TiO₂/SBA15 under UV and visible light was investigated. The catalyst was synthesized by impregnation of Cu-TiO₂ colloids onto SBA-15. The colloids of Cu-TiO₂ were prepared via sol-gel method while the mesoporous support was prepared using hydrothermal technique. The catalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, transmission electron microscopy, UV diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, Zeta potential and X-ray adsorption spectroscopy. Results from characterizations showed that Cu doped TiO₂ had a small crystalline size and was well-dispersed on SBA-15. The inclusion of SBA-15 significantly enhanced the photocatalytic activity of the catalyst. Among the three types of undoped catalyst in this study (P25, TiO₂, TiO₂/SBA-15), TiO₂/SBA-15 yielded the highest degradation of paraquat for all pH under UV illumination. Meanwhile 2 wt.% Cu-TiO₂/SBA-15 yielded the highest activity under visible light.     

Effects of kinship or familiarity? Small thrips larvae experience lower predation risk only in groups of mixed-size siblings

In many species of insects, larvae are distributed in an aggregated fashion. As they may differ in size and size matters to predation risk, small larvae may be less likely to fall prey to predators when near large and therefore better-defended larvae. We hypothesize that the small larvae may profit even more when these large larvae are siblings. We tested this hypothesis on kinship-dependent survival in groups of larvae of the Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) exposed to a predatory mite (Iphiseius degenerans). Our experiments showed that small larvae in sibling groups survive significantly better than in non-sibling groups, but only when such groups consisted of a mixture of small and large larvae. To test whether the survival effect we found is due to familiarity of thrips larvae growing up together (i.e. on one leaf), we also measured survival in sibling groups of larvae grown up on different leaves and in non-sibling groups of larvae grown up on the same leaf. These experiments showed an increased survival of small thrips larvae only in groups of sibling larvae from the same leaf. Non-sibling larvae did not show an increased survival when they come from the same leaf. Our results indicated that the increased survival in sibling groups was only partly due to the familiarity effect we tested. Growing up together did not return the same survival effect for non-siblings as it did for siblings. We conclude that growing up together is a necessary but not sufficient condition for discrimination in thrips larvae.     

Fungicides transport in runoff from vineyard plot and catchment: contribution of non-target areas

Surface runoff and erosion during the course of rainfall events are major processes of pesticides transport from agricultural land to aquatic ecosystem. These processes are generally evaluated either at the plot or the catchment scale. Here, we compared at both scales the transport and partitioning in runoff water of two widely used fungicides, i.e., kresoxim-methyl (KM) and cyazofamid (CY). The objective was to evaluate the relationship between fungicides runoff from the plot and from the vineyard catchment. The results show that seasonal exports for KM and CY at the catchment were larger than those obtained at the plot. This underlines that non-target areas within the catchment largely contribute to the overall load of runoff-associated fungicides. Estimations show that 85 and 62 % of the loads observed for KM and CY at the catchment outlet cannot be explained by the vineyard plots. However, the partitioning of KM and CY between three fractions, i.e., the suspended solids (>0.7 μm) and two dissolved fractions (i.e., between 0.22 and 0.7 µm and <0.22 µm) in runoff water was similar at both scales. KM was predominantly detected below 0.22 μm, whereas CY was mainly detected in the fraction between 0.22 and 0.7 μm. Although KM and CY have similar physicochemical properties and are expected to behave similarly, our results show that their partitioning between two fractions of the dissolved phase differs largely. It is concluded that combined observations of pesticide runoff at both the catchment and the plot scales enable to evaluate the sources areas of pesticide off-site transport.     

First-trimester prenatal diagnosis of osteogenesis imperfecta type II by DNA analysis and sonography

Osteogenesis imperfecta type II was diagnosed prenatally by analysis of DNA obtained from chorionic villus sampling (CVS) performed at 12 weeks of gestation in a woman who previously had had an affected child. The father had been shown to be mosaic for a mutation in the gene (COL1A2) which encodes the α2(I) chain of type I collagen. An affected fetus was predicted by detection of the mutation in amplified chorionic villus genomic DNA. Ultrasound examination at 13 weeks 4 days demonstrated femoral deformity and virtual absence of calvarial mineralization. In pregnancies at risk for osteogenesis imperfecta type II, sonographic evidence of skeletal abnormalities may be evident by 13 weeks' gestation.     

Risk factors associated with transcervical CVS losses

Factors found to be associated with pregnancy loss after transcervical CVS were race (higher for non-white), history of spontaneous abortion, unplanned pregnancy, history of spotting or bleeding during the pregnancy prior to CVS, and placental position (higher for fundal or lateral locations). Whether the increase in loss risk is due to the factor, per se, or the factor plus the CVS cannot be determined due to the lack of appropriate control data.