Biochar reduces the toxicity of silver to barley (Hordeum vulgare) and springtails (Folsomia candida) in a natural soil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The use of biochar in soil remediation is a promising method to deal with metal contamination. In the present study, the influence of biochar...     

Explicitness of consequence information in warnings

Four experiments were carried out to assess effects of product warning explicitness on purchase preferences and caution in use. Explicitness was defined as the specificity or detail with which potential injury consequences were described. All experiments employed a paradigm in which warnings varying in explicitness were described for familiar products. Subjects rated various perceptions of the products, purchase preferences, and intent to act cautiously in using the product. Results indicated that more explicit warnings were associated with greater levels of perceived dangerousness, hazard understanding, injury severity, and manufacturers' concern. While explicit warnings were also associated with an increased intent to act cautiously in using products, no clear relationship was found between explicitness and purchase preferences. It is recommended that product warnings should be explicit regarding injury consequences, especially where injuries may be severe. Given such information, product users, particularly those less familiar with a product, are more likely to exercise greater caution during use. Further, manufacturers' concern that explicit warnings may negatively impact sales appears to be unwarranted.     

Applying the concept of agrodiversity to indigenous soil and water conservation practices in eastern Kenya

Agrodiversity – the diversity of cropping systems, crop species and farm management practices has received increasing attention in recent years as a way of spreading risk and supporting food security in resource-poor farming systems. This paper discusses the dynamic aspects of indigenous soil and water conservation (ISWC) practices in a semi-arid part of Kenya. The objective is to show the range of sources of variability and diversity that prevail in this environment, the responses of farmers to this variability, and the way farmers' rationalise the heterogeneity of soil and water management practices. Methods used included participatory surveys and evaluations, on-farm monitoring, soil and rainfall data analyses, and questionnaire surveys. Sources of variability affecting cropping systems and land management practices included rainfall, soil fertility, farmer resource level and farm productivity. A decision-tree was developed to examine how biophysical and socio-economic variability affected farmers' choice of ISWC. Different ISWC structures dominated on sandy and stony soils, respectively. Low resource farmers tended to choose cheaper and less labour demanding techniques, and constructed smaller ISWC structures than better endowed farmers. The largest diversity of ISWC practices was found on newly-opened land with mixed soils. Moreover, on-farm productivity levels indicated that costly investments in SWC are unfeasible, as this would further increase the risk for negative returns to farming. The wider implications of the results are that SWC interventions in marginal areas should build on the existing agrodiversity and an understanding of the complex interactions between environmental and socio-economic factors that give rise to differences in farming systems and land management practices.     

Physiological Method of Evaluating Protective Clothing for Work in a Cold Environment

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of physiological studies in the evaluation of protective clothing for work in a cold environment. The study included the examination of the dynamics of changes in chosen physiological parameters (core and skin temperatures, heart rate, pulmonary minute ventilation) as well as physical ones (the temperature and relative humidity under the clothes) during work in protective clothing with unknown thermal insulation. The experiment was conducted in extreme environmental conditions (–10 and –15°C) at a work load defined by the clothing manufacturer as moderate. Results show that thermal equilibrium was achieved and maintained throughout the investigated work time (60 min) and that the protective clothing ensures safety on the time scale of a regular 8-hour work day. It was also shown that the dynamics of thermal stress physiological parameters can be used to determine the maximum duration of exposure for cold protective clothing with unknown thermal insulation.     

Adaptation to a New Workplace According to Reactivity and Values-Motives Coherence at Work

A new workplace is a result of changing a work post or undertaking a new job. Direct indices of adaptation to this situation (average mood at the workplace and job satisfaction) and the indirect ones (costs like health complaints and the level of depressing or facilitating anxiety) are analysed with regard to reactivity and values-motives coherence at work. Sixty bank workers were investigated. The obtained results confirm that mood and costs depend on reactivity, but satisfaction with work depends on coherence. Only achievement values-motives coherence at work differentiates direct and indirect indicators of adaptation. Considering both kinds of variables modifies dependencies. Some theoretical and practical conclusions resulting from the research are included.     

Work ability in ageing workers suffering from chronic diseases.

The aim of this study was to investigate the work ability in ageing workers suffering from osteoarthritis (OA), coronary heart disease (CHD) or hypertension (H). One hundred and sixty-six OA and 355 CHD/H outpatients were evaluated. The Work Ability Index (WAI) served for work ability assessment. Patients' results were compared with the results of a control group of 225 healthy young workers. Statistical analysis was performed with ANOVA tests. WAI in female and male CHD/H patients was higher than in OA patients (p < .01), better work ability was related to better education (p < .01), white-collar work (p < .01) and better recreation (p < .01); subjective work ability was determined mostly by the objective health status. The promotion of work ability among workers suffering from advanced age-related diseases should be closely related to the promotion of health. It is indicative to improve occupational education and skills, already at an early stage of a disease.     

Carpal tunnel syndrome in occupational medicine practice.

Work-related overload syndromes are chiefly associated with the upper limbs, where carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) plays a leading role. This article analyses methods of diagnosing CTS, with special emphasis on those that can be used by physicians in early diagnosis of CTS in workers doing monotonous work. It also discusses occupational (e.g., assembly work, typing, playing instruments, packaging and work associated with the use of a hammer or pruning scissors) and extra-occupational factors (e.g., post-traumatic deformation of bone elements of the carpal tunnel, degenerative and inflammatory changes in tendon sheaths, connective tissue hypertrophy or formation of crystal deposits) leading to CTS; diagnostic methods (subjective symptoms, physical examination and manual provocative tests, vibration perception threshold, electrophysiological examination and imaging methods); and therapeutic and preventive management tools accessible in occupational medicine practice.     

Age-related thermal strain in men while wearing radiation protective clothing during short-term exercise in the heat.

The aim of the study was to compare heat strain among different age groups of men in protective clothing during short-term physical work. Eight young (20-29 years), 6 middle-aged (41-55 years), and 6 older (58-65 years) men exercised for 30 min on a cycle ergometer (40% V(O2 max)) in 2 hot environments with a similar WBGT (ca. 26 degrees C): once with minimal clothing without infrared radiation (E1), and once with aluminized protective clothing under infrared radiation (E2). All subjects had sedentary jobs, but only the older subjects were physically active in their leisure-time. Body temperatures, heart rate, sweat rate, and subjective feelings were determined during the tests. Higher thermal strain was observed in E2 than in E1. No age-related differences in thermal strain were observed in either experiment indicating that active older men can tolerate short work periods with protective clothing in the heat as well as younger sedentary men.