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.     

灾害条件下多层次应急疏散模型的构建方法研究

人们每天都要面对各种造成严重财产和人身安全损失的重大灾害,如何建立灾害条件下中国人口高密度大范围的应急疏散模型,具有重大的意义。该文基于我国灾害条件下高密度人口的集体疏散模式,按照灾害区域的具体情况和人口分布,以道路实时速度和路面损毁程度所决定的道路阻抗性作为评判道路疏散能力的依据,构建从危险区域的多集结点到安全区域的多安置点的多层次应急疏散模型,确定集体疏散人员的疏散路径、人数和车辆,实现在最短的时间内的受灾群众整体最优疏散,并以山东省德州发生地震作为实验区,采用Google Map API和C#搭建多层次应急疏散平台,验证了多层次应急疏散模型的可行性。     

Enhanced U(VI) bioreduction by alginate-immobilized uranium-reducing bacteria in the presence of carbon nanotubes and anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate

Uranium-reducing bacteria were immobilized with sodium alginate, anthraquinone-2, 6-disulfonate (AQDS), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The effects of different AQDS-CNTs contents, U(IV) concentrations, and metal ions on U(IV) reduction by immobilized beads were examined. Over 97.5% U(VI) (20 mg/L) was removed in 8 hr when the beads were added to 0.7% AQDS-CNTs, which was higher than that without AQDS-CNTs. This result may be attributed to the enhanced electron transfer by AQDS and CNTs. The reduction of U(VI) occurred at initial U(VI) concentrations of 10 to 100 mg/L and increased with increasing AQDS-CNT content from 0.1% to 1%. The presence of Fe(III), Cu(II) and Mn(II) slightly increased U(VI) reduction, whereas Cr(VI), Ni(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) significantly inhibited U(VI) reduction. After eight successive incubation-washing cycles or 8 hr of retention time (HRT) for 48 hr of continuous operation, the removal efficiency of uranium was above 90% and 92%, respectively. The results indicate that the AQDS-CNT/AL/cell beads are suitable for the treatment of uranium-containing wastewaters.     

Activated carbon coated palygorskite as adsorbent by activation and its adsorption for methylene blue

An activation process for developing the surface and porous structure of palygorskite/carbon(PG/C) nanocomposite using ZnC l2 as activating agent was investigated. The obtained activated PG/C was characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis(BET) techniques. The effects of activation conditions were examined,including activation temperature and impregnation ratio. With increased temperature and impregnation ratio, the collapse of the palygorskite crystal structure was found to accelerate and the carbon coated on the surface underwent further carbonization. XRD and SEM data confirmed that the palygorskite structure was destroyed and the carbon structure was developed during activation. The presence of the characteristic absorption peaks of C_C and C–H vibrations in the FTIR spectra suggested the occurrence of aromatization. The BET surface area improved by more than 11-fold(1201 m2/g for activated PG/C vs. 106 m2/g for PG/C) after activation, and the material appeared to be mainly microporous. The maximum adsorption capacity of methylene blue onto the activated PG/C reached 351 mg/g. The activated PG/C demonstrated better compressive strength than activated carbon without palygorskite clay.     

Mercury levels and estimated total daily intakes for children and adults from an electronic waste recycling area in Taizhou, China: Key role of rice and fish consumption

In order to assess the potential health risks of Hg pollution, total mercury (T–Hg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations were determined in air, dust, surface soil, crops, poultry, fish and human hair samples from an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling area in Taizhou, China. High concentrations of T–Hg and MeHg were found in these multiple matrices, and the mean concentration was 30.7 ng/m³ of T–Hg for atmosphere samples, 3.1 μg/g of T–Hg for soil, 37.6 μg/g of T–Hg for dust, 20.3 ng/g of MeHg for rice and 178.1 ng/g of MeHg for fish, suggesting that the e-waste recycling facility was a significant source of Hg. The inorganic Hg (I–Hg) levels (0.84 μg/g) in hair samples of e-waste workers were much higher than that in the reference samples. Pearson''s correlation coefficients showed that strong positive correlations (p < 0.01) between hair I–Hg and time staying in industrial area (r = 0.81) and between MeHg and fish consumption frequency (r = 0.91), imply that workers were mainly exposed to Hg vapor through long-time inhalation of contaminated air and dust, while other population mainly exposed to MeHg through high-frequency fish consumption. The estimated daily intakes of Hg showed that dietary intake was the major Hg exposure source, and Hg intakes from rice and fish were significantly higher than from any other foods. The estimated total daily intakes (TDIs) of MeHg for both children (696.8 ng/(kg·day)) and adults (381.3 ng/(kg·day)) greatly exceeded the dietary reference dose (RfD) of 230 ng/(kg·day), implying greater health risk for humans from Hg exposures around e-waste recycling facilities.     

Environmental behaviors of phoxim with two formulations in bamboo forest under soil surface mulching

Phoxim (emulsifiable concentrate (EC) and granules (G)) has been widely used in bamboo forests. The persistence and magnitude of phoxim residues in the crop and soil must be investigated to ensure human and environmental safety. The environmental behaviors of the two formulations were investigated in a bamboo forest under soil surface mulching conditions (CP) and non-covered cultivation conditions (NCP). The half-lives of phoxim in soil under the two conditions in soil were 4.1–6.2 days (EC) and 31.5–49.5 days (G), respectively. Phoxim in EC could be leached from the topsoil into the subsoil. A minimized leaching effect was observed for G under NCP. Inversely, an enhanced leaching effect was observed for G under CP. The G formulation resulted in more parent compound (in bamboo shoots) and metabolite (in soil) residues of phoxim than in the case of EC, especially under CP conditions. In addition, the intensity and duration of the formulation effect on soil pH adjustment from G were more obvious than that from EC. Results showed that the environmental behaviors (distribution, degradation, residue) of phoxim in the bamboo forest were significantly influenced by the type of formulation. The prolongation effect from phoxim G might cause persistence and long-term environmental risk. However, bamboo shoot consumption could be considered relatively safe after applying the recommended dose of the two phoxim formulations.