25 years of higher‐order confirmatory factor analysis in the organizational sciences: A critical review and development of reporting recommendations

We discuss how confirmatory factor analysis results should be used to examine potential higher‐order constructs and advocate that researchers present five types of evidence, which are as follows: (1) the ability of the higher‐order model to reproduce the observed covariation among manifest variables; (2) the ability of the higher‐order model to reproduce the observed covariation among manifest variables better than more parsimonious alternative models—and no less well than less parsimonious alternative models; (3) the ability of the higher‐order model to reproduce the observed covariation among lower‐order factors; (4) the ability of the higher‐order factor to explain variation in lower‐order factors; and (5) the ability of the higher‐order factor to explain variation in manifest variables. We illustrate how this type of evidence could be presented with a worked example and contrast our recommendations with the manner in which higher‐order confirmatory factor analysis has been used in the organizational sciences over the past 25 years to support claims regarding higher‐order constructs such as core self‐evaluations and transformational leadership. Our review shows that a substantial proportion of the 44 examined articles failed to present enough evidence to allow readers to understand the size and importance of higher‐order factors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of Ecological Quality of the Tajan River in Iran Using a Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index and Species Traits

The objectives of this study were to assess the biological water of the Iranian Tajan River using different metrics, i.e., a Multimetric Macroinvertebrate Index (MMI) and a traits-based method. Twenty-eight physico-chemical parameters, 10 habitat factors, and abundance of macroinvertebrates were obtained for 17 sites. The Shahid-Rajaie dam divides the Tajan River into an up- and downstream part, with different land uses. Eighteen metrics were used to represent four components of ecosystem quality, including tolerance (Hilsenhoff, SIGNAL), diversity (Margalef, Shannon–Wiener, Simpson, and Evenness), abundance (total number of taxa, individuals, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera, EPT, and Insects), and composition of assemblages (% Ephemeroptera, % Plecoptera, % Trichoptera, and % EPT Taxa). The integrated MMI was calculated by averaging the obtained scores of all indices. In the next step, we gathered information on 22 biological traits of macroinvertebrates to evaluate whether (group of) traits could be identified that are indicative for specific or general stress. Result showed a decrease in MMI from upstream (very good water quality) to downstream (bad) due to human activities. Industrial activities like pulping and papermaking operations or sand mining in the downstream part had more effects than agriculture and fish ponds in the upstream part. A redundancy analysis biplot showed the variation between the modalities of trait of macroinvertebrates and their correlation with physico-chemical parameters in Tajan River. The findings show that traits can be indicative for different kind of stress but that more effort has to be put in gathering data sets to disentangle the effect of habitat quality, pollution, and the physico-chemical properties of high- versus lowland rivers.     

北京市4种不同污水处理系统中病原菌变化研究

采用定量PCR技术,对北京市4种不同污水处理系统中大肠杆菌、军团菌和沙门氏菌随工艺及四季的数量变化进行了追踪研究,以评估病原菌的去除效果及污水回用的健康风险.结果发现,大肠杆菌在夏季进水和出水中的浓度分别在107~108copies·m L-1和105copies·m L-1左右;G-A/O系统对大肠杆菌的去除率最高,平均去除率达99.88%.军团菌在4个污水处理系统中进水浓度为104~105copies·m L-1,出水浓度约为104copies·m L-1,其在剩余污泥样品中浓度较高,达到105~106copies·m L-1.沙门氏菌进水浓度较低,为102~103copies·m L-1,且其在多个工艺段样品中未检出.季节变化对于病原菌的去除具有较大影响.研究表明,大肠杆菌在各污水处理系统中均可检出,且其分布具有一定的季节性,夏季的进出水中浓度相对较高;而军团菌和沙门氏菌浓度在各工艺中则并未呈现出明显的季节性变化.G-A/O系统对3种细菌的整体去除效果最为稳定,去除率较高.大肠杆菌在污水处理厂的出水及剩余污泥中浓度仍然较高,此外,冬季出水中也能检测到沙门氏菌的存在,因此,污水处理厂的出水和污泥排放仍存在一定的生态和健康风险.     

过氧化氢对铜绿微囊藻的损伤效应研究

采用室内培养的方法研究了不同浓度H2O2对铜绿微囊藻(Microcystic aeruginosa)藻细胞的损伤效应.结果表明,H2O2浓度越大,对藻细胞的毒害作用越大.24 h之后,铜绿微囊藻藻细胞数、叶绿素a、类胡萝卜素和蛋白质含量及总抗氧化能力(T-AOC)都快速下降,而MDA含量显著增加,同时培养基中的H2O2含量也迅速降低;随着处理时间的增加,毒性效应逐渐增强;72 h之后,藻细胞各指标值都降得很低,MDA含量也增加到最大,培养基中H2O2也逐渐被消耗和分解,藻细胞的损伤效应也达到最大.其中,H2O2浓度为50 mg·L-1时,能够有效的去除藻细胞,并且对藻细胞的生理指标及抗氧化能力都有很强的损伤效应.     

四氯丙烯对稀有鮈鲫的急性毒性及安全浓度评价

采用半静态试验方式测试了四氯丙烯对稀有鮈鲫(Gobiocypris rarus)的急性毒性,试验浓度分别设定为0.25 mg·L~(-1)、0.30mg·L~(-1)、0.36 mg·L~(-1)、0.42 mg·L~(-1)、0.50 mg·L~(-1)和0.60 mg·L~(-1),同时进行空白对照(试验用水)和分散剂对照(体积分数为0.006%的吐温-80水溶液)试验。采用气相色谱法对试验溶液进行浓度分析,实测浓度分别为0.19 mg·L~(-1)、0.25 mg·L~(-1)、0.34 mg·L~(-1)、0.40 mg·L~(-1)、0.51 mg·L~(-1)和0.64 mg·L~(-1),试验结果以实测浓度表示和统计。结果表明:四氯丙烯致稀有鮈鲫无死亡发生(EC0)的最高浓度为0.25 mg·L~(-1),导致稀有鮈鲫100%死亡(EC100)的最低浓度为0.51 mg·L~(-1)。根据实测浓度,用SPSS(17.0)概率单位法求得四氯丙烯对稀有鮈鲫的半数致死浓度96 h-LC50为0.347 mg·L~(-1),95%置信区间为0.328 mg·L~(-1)~0.361 mg·L~(-1)。     

The Detection Rate of Enteric Viruses and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clostridium difficile</Emphasis> in a Waste Water Treatment Plant Effluent

Waste water treatment plant (WWTP) is considered as an important source of surface water contamination by enteric pathogens. In this study, we describe the occurrence of enteric viruses (group A rotaviruses, noroviruses, astroviruses, sapoviruses, hepatitis A virus, and hepatitis E virus) and Clostridium difficile in the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant during a 1-year period. Enteric viruses were simultaneously and efficiently concentrated in a single step using methacrylate monolithic chromatographic support. Rotaviruses, noroviruses (genogroup I and II), and sapoviruses were detected in all 12 concentrated samples, whereas astroviruses were not detected in August and September and hepatitis A and E viruses were not detected at all. Clostridium difficile was detected in all samples and altogether 121 strains were isolated and grouped into 32 different ribotypes of which 014/020 and 010 were most prevalent. Pathogens detected in WWTP effluent partially reflect the epidemiological situation of enteric viruses and C. difficile in human population and open the discussion on implementation of possible techniques for virus and bacteria removal from WWTP effluent prior to release into the surface water system.