The protective effect of job satisfaction in health,happiness, well-being and self-esteem

The purpose of this article is to analyze the possible effects of job satisfaction on mental and physical health, happiness, subjective well-being and self-esteem. A total of 971 Portuguese-speaking adults participated in this study. Most participants reported high rates of satisfaction with their colleagues, the nature of their work and leadership, while reporting dissatisfaction with regard to salaries and promotions. Results indicated the existence of the protector effect of job satisfaction for health, happiness, subjective well-being and self-esteem, in addition to reinforcing the importance of maintaining a positive evaluation of one’s work. As a practical implication, the results may suggest that the effects of personnel management policies which emphasize job satisfaction could potentially lead to improvements in levels of health, happiness, subjective well-being and workers’ self-esteem, all of which are factors that can potentially improve organizational performance. The study also considered its limitations and the possibility for future investigation.     

First Europe-wide correlation analysis identifying factors best explaining the total nitrogen concentration in mosses

In this study, the indicative value of mosses as biomonitors of atmospheric nitrogen (N) depositions and air concentrations on the one hand and site-specific and regional factors which explain best the total N concentration in mosses on the other hand were investigated for the first time at a European scale using correlation analyses. The analyses included data from mosses collected from 2781 sites across Europe within the framework of the European moss survey 2005/6, which was coordinated by the International Cooperative Programme on Effects of Air Pollution on Natural Vegetation and Crops (ICP Vegetation). Modelled atmospheric N deposition and air concentration data were calculated using the Unified EMEP Model of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). The modelled deposition and concentration data encompass various N compounds. In order to assess the correlations between moss tissue total N concentrations and the chosen predictors, Spearman rank correlation analysis and Classification and Regression Trees (CART) were applied. The Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that the total N concentration in mosses and modelled N depositions and air concentrations are significantly correlated (0.53 ≤ r_s ≤ 0.68, p < 0.001). Correlations with other predictors were lower than 0.55. The CART analysis indicated that the variation in the total N concentration in mosses was best explained by the variation in NH₄⁺ concentrations in air, followed by NO₂ concentrations in air, sampled moss species and total dry N deposition. The total N concentrations in mosses mirror land use-related atmospheric concentrations and depositions of N across Europe. In addition to already proven associations to measured N deposition on a local scale the study at hand gives a scientific prove on the association of N concentration in mosses and modelled deposition at the European scale.     

Polychlorinated biphenyls-containing electrical insulating oil contaminated soil treatment with calcium and magnesium peroxides

Calcium and magnesium peroxides were applied for the treatment of soil contaminated by polychlorinated biphenyls-containing electrical insulating oil (Aroclor 1016). The removal of PCB-containing electrical insulating oil was achieved with the addition of either calcium peroxide or magnesium peroxide alone and dependent on dosages of the chemical. A 21-d treatment of 60% watered soil with the moderate addition (chemical/oil weight ratio of 0.005/1) of either calcium peroxide or magnesium peroxide resulted in nearly complete (96 ± 2%) oil removal, unsubstantial increase in soil pH and almost no changes in oxygen consumption and dehydrogenase activity, making it suitable for the soil decontamination.     

Chest deflections and injuries in oblique lateral impacts

A majority of laboratory-driven side-impact injury assessments are conducted using postmortem human subjects (PMHS) under the pure lateral mode. Because real-world injuries occur under pure and oblique modes, this study was designed to determine chest deflections and injuries using PMHS under the latter mode. Anthropometrical data were obtained and x-rays were taken. Specimens were seated on a sled and lateral impact acceleration corresponding to a change in velocity of 24 km/h was applied such that the vector was at an angle of 20 or 30 degrees. Chestbands were fixed at the level of the axilla (upper), xyphoid process (middle), and tenth rib (lower) location. Deflection contours as a function of time at the levels of the axilla and mid-sternum, representing the thorax, and at the tenth rib level, representing the abdomen, were evaluated for peak magnitudes. All data were normalized using mass-scaling procedures. Injuries were identified following the test at autopsy. Trauma graded according to the Abbreviated Injury Score, 1990 version, indicated primarily unilateral rib fractures and soft tissue abnormalities such as lung contusion and diaphragm laceration occurred. Mean peak deflections at the upper, middle, and lower levels of the chest for the 30-degree tests were 96.2, 78.5, and 76.8 mm. For the 20-degree tests, these magnitudes were 77.5, 89.9, and 73.6 mm. Statistical analysis indicated no significant (p > 0.05) differences in peak chest deflections at all levels between the two obliquities although the metric was significantly greater in oblique than pure lateral impacts at the mid and lower thoracic levels. These response data are valuable in oblique lateral impact assessments.     

Phototransformation products of tamoxifen by sunlight in water. Toxicity of the drug and its derivatives on aquatic organisms

Transformation of tamoxifen has been observed in water by prolonged sunlight irradiation. The main photoproducts, isolated by chromatographic techniques, have been identified by spectroscopic means. Photoisomerization, photocyclization and, to a lesser extent, photooxygenation appear to be involved in the degradation of the drug. The acute and chronic toxicity of the parent drug and its photoproducts were tested on non-target aquatic organisms (Brachionus calyciflorus, Thamnocephalus platyurus, Daphnia magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia). Exposure to all the compounds induced mainly chronic effects without significant differences among the parental and derivative compounds.     

Green solvents in organoselenium chemistry

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Organoselenium chemistry involves unique methods for the preparation of reaction intermediates and biologically relevant compounds. However, common methods...     

Settled,symbiotic, then sexually mature: adaptive developmental anatomy in the deep-sea,chemosymbiotic mussel Idas modiolaeformis

The Bathymodiolinae are pervasive in reducing environments in the deep sea, yet data on post-larval and juvenile development and on the process of symbiont acquisition remain elusive. To understand how these opportunistic metazoans survive in ephemeral reducing habitats, individuals of the small bathymodiolin, Idas modiolaeformis, were examined histologically to trace their reproductive development, and with fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy to identify patterns of infection by their environmentally acquired bacterial symbionts. A size series of these mussels was retrieved from larval colonisation devices containing vegetative substrates, deployed for 51 weeks (November 2006–2007) in the central ‘Pockmarks’ region (site 2A) of the Nile deep-sea fan in the eastern Mediterranean (NDSF), a zone where methane seepage can occur (N 32° 31.97, E 30° 21.18, 1,693 m deep). Developmental patterns of germ cell migration, size at first maturity, and symbiont acquisition and localisation are presented for the post-larva to adult transition. The smallest mature adult was a male with shell length (SL) 2.35 mm. All larger individuals in the series were male (maximum SL 6.54 mm). Based on the absence of bacterial signals, plantigrades were asymbiotic, indicating strict heterotrophy in larvae and early post-larvae. During the early stages of dissoconch deposition, extracellular symbiont infection was non-specific. This was followed by increasing specificity on non-ciliated gill epithelia in adults. These observations on early development in I. modiolaeformis represent evolutionary adaptations to their ephemeral, reducing habitats.