Gloves against mineral oils and mechanical hazards: composites of carboxylated acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber latex

Resistance to permeation of noxious chemical substances should be accompanied by resistance to mechanical factors because the glove material may be torn, cut or punctured in the workplace. This study reports on glove materials, protecting against mineral oils and mechanical hazards, made of carboxylated acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber (XNBR) latex. The obtained materials were characterized by a very high resistance of the produced materials to oil permeation (breakthrough time?>?480?min). The mechanical properties, and especially tear resistance, of the studied materials were improved after the addition of modified bentonite (nanofiller) to the XNBR latex mixture. The nanocomposite meets the requirements in terms of parameters characterizing tear, abrasion, cut and puncture resistance. Therefore, the developed material may be used for the production of multifunctional protective gloves.     

Internal and External Factors Influencing Time-Related Injury Risk in Continuous Shift Work

Time-related accident risk in shift work may be attributed to internal factors, such as fatigue, level of performance, sleep propensity, and to some external factors, like shift system, physical and social environment. Six hundred and sixty-eight events in the metallurgical industry have been analysed in terms of time of day, time on task, consecutive day of the shift block, day of the week, and season.

The injury rate was similar on all shifts but more severe accidents happened in the nighttime. Somewhat more injuries occurred in the second half of the shift, in the second part of a shift block, and in summer compared with winter. There were fewer injuries at weekends.     

Investigations of single and multilayer structures using lock-in thermography--possible applications.

This paper presents a study of the possibilities of evaluating thermal parameters of single and multilayer structures using dynamic thermography. It also discusses potential uses of lock-in thermography. It presents a simulation of a periodic excitation of a multilayer composite material. In practice, the described methods can be employed in various applications, for example, in multilayer nonwoven microelectronic components manufactured from hemp fibers, chemical fibers, with an addition of electrically conducting fibers, and in medicine and biology. This paper describes tests conducted with lock-in thermography on carbon fibre reinforced composites with implanted delamination defects. Lock-in thermography is a versatile tool for non-destructive evaluation (NDE). Lock-in thermography is a fast, remote and non-destructive procedure. Hence, it has been used to detect delaminations in the composite structure of aircraft. This method directly contributes to an improvement in safety.     

Determining Attenuation of Impulse Noise With an Electrical Equivalent of a Hearing Protection Device

Determining the effectiveness of impulse noise attenuation with hearing protection devices (HPDs) is an important part of their selection. Measuring impulse noise parameters under an HPD would involve exposing subjects to impulses with a high peak sound pressure level. This paper presents a computational method of determining impulse noise parameters under the cups of earmuffs. Calculations are done using the transfer function of earmuffs, determined with Shaw’s electrical equivalent of an HPD, taking into account the design parameters of earmuffs. The developed method was used for calculations in the presence of impulse noise generated by gunshots. To verify the computational method, the results of these calculations were compared with the results of measurements.     

Decline in body size and female fraction in the grass snake (Natrix natrix,Linnaeus 1758) population after 40 years (Southern Poland)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Depletion of free-living populations is often associated with changes in fitness-related traits, e.g., body size. Ongoing decrease in body size has...     

Volatile organic air contaminants in plants

Comparative investigations of the sorption process of gaseous toluene were performed using fruit material (orange peel) and the mixture of chemically bonded phases (CBPs) as sorbents. For this study, a specially constructed system that allows exposure of sorbents to volatile air contaminants at constant concentrations was applied. The results for the prepared packings indicate a typical adsorption process described by Langmuir isotherm. In the case of orange peel, a mixed mechanism of the sorption process is suggested.     

Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G. and Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt. as trace element bioindicators: Statistical comparison of bioaccumulative properties

The principal objective of this study was to compare bioaccumulative properties of two terrestrial moss species Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi from the Kielce area (south-central Poland), using various statistical techniques. Forty-six moss samples from 23 sampling sites located within the city limits were analyzed for 33 trace elements. The results indicated that 17 elements (Ba, Ce, Co, Cu, Eu, Fe, Gd, Hg, La, Mo, Nd, Ni, Pb, Pr, Sm, V, Y) dominated in H. splendens, whereas only three elements (Mn, Sr, Zn) occurred in excessive amounts in P. schreberi. No differences in the distribution pattern of Dy, Er, Ho, Sn, Tb, Th and Yb were observed. The element concentration ratio (PI/Hy) varied from 0.50 to 1.19. For 14 elements (Ce, Co, Cu, Fe, Gd, Hg, La, Mo, Nd, Ni, Pb, Sm, Th, V), PI/Hy < 1; for 4 elements (Cd, Mn, Sr, Zn), PI/Hy > 1; for 7 elements (Ba, Dy, Er, Eu, Pr, Y, Yb), PI/Hy = equalled 1. Czekanowski’s method showed similarities in rare earth element concentrations for both moss species. The cluster analysis exhibited three significant clusters at D link /D max × 100 < 50 for both moss species. Strong positive Spearman correlations between both moss species were recorded for the following pairs:Ba-Ba, Co-Co, Er-Er, Eu-Eu, Gd Gd, Mn-Mn, Ni-Ni, Pb-Pb, Pr-Pr, Sm-Sm, Th-Th, Y-Y, and Yb-Yb. Nonparametric tests (Sign test, Wilcoxon tests) showed statistically significant differences only for Cd, Ce, Co, Cu, Hg, Mo, Ni, Pb and Sr. The scanning electron microscope study of H. splendens and P. schreberi revealed a different morphology of these species with no injuries.     

Snowpack-stored atmospheric surface-active contaminants traced with snowmelt water surface film rheology

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of the study was to quantify the adsorptive and thermo-elastic properties of snowmelt water surface films and their spatial-temporal evolution...     

The applicability of compost,zeolite and calcium oxide in assisted remediation of acidic soil contaminated with Cr(III) and Cr(VI)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The effect of soil amendments, i.e., compost, zeolite, and calcium oxide, on the chemical properties of soil contaminated with Cr(III) and Cr(VI) and...