妇女乳腺癌医院出院率与在含持久性有机污染物场地邮政区居住之间的关系

持久性有机污染物(persistent organic polutants,简称POPs)大多具有毒性,有的甚至致癌,但目前对POPs引起的健康风险仍知之甚少。本研究的假设是在含POPs场地邮政区居住妇女的乳腺癌风险增大。从纽约州计划与研究合作系统(SPARCS)等数据库中收集乳腺癌患者的信息及居住地危险废弃物暴露、经济收入和城市化等数据。以邮政区编码表征居住地,采用负二项回归方法,对纽约州30岁以上妇女乳腺癌医院出院率进行了模型分析,参数包括种族、年龄、污染暴露、经济收入和城市化率。结果显示,不同参数之间(如暴露与种族、暴露与收入、暴露与城市化)存在交互作用。对部分子群而言,与居住在不含危险废弃物场地邮政区的妇女相比,居住在含POPs场地邮政区的妇女乳腺癌出院率显著升高(率比(rate ratio,RR)1.10~1.34,P0.05)。这种关系在非裔妇女中强于白种妇女、在城市化高的地区强于农村地区。调整了混杂因素后,某些妇女人群乳腺癌出院率升高与在含POPs场地邮政区居住有显著的关系。     

Rural women and agrotourism in the context of sustainable rural development: A case study from Turkey

As in many developing countries also in Turkey, agriculture is on the center of rural development and rural women are on the center of agriculture. Although they are main part as a major labor force at every stage of agricultural activity and undertake responsibilities such as domestic task and childcare, women do not profit from social and economic benefits proportionate to the responsibilities they have undertaken.Agrotourism is an alternative activity in the rural development process, which combines agriculture and tourism, improves natural resources, contributes the rural area socially and economically.The aim of this study is to examine the participation conditions of rural women to the agrotourism activities, which is considered as an option in the context of sustainable rural development, and to identify the possible social and economic implications of agrotourism on the rural womens life, after determining the situation and importance of rural women in the agricultural activity. This research was carried out in three villages of Kalecik district of Ankara and data gathered from group meetings and surveys.Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Gender and drought: experiences of Australian women in the drought of the 1990s

A unique collaborative, sociological study undertaken during 1995-7, explored the social construction of drought as a disaster, looking at farm families in two Australian states: Queensland (beef producers) and New South Wales (sheep/wheat producers). A decision was made to interview the women and men separately to test our hypothesis that there would be gender issues in any analysis of a disaster, but particularly one which has had so much long-term impact on individuals, families and communities, such as drought. Interviews were conducted with over 100 individuals male and female. We conclude that drought as a disaster is a gendered experience. The paper draws on the narratives of some women involved in the study to identify 'themes of difference' which confirm the necessity to maintain gender as a variable in all studies of the social impacts of disaster.     

妇女-环境保护的生力军

在参与环保的公众中,女性与环保之间有着必然的联系,她们更接近自然,关注生存的环境。环境恶化影响着女性的身体健康和日常生活的成本,而环境的可持续性更需要女性的加入,她培养下一代的环境保护意识,提倡环保的消费模式,参与环保科研、环保宣传等。所以,女性是重要的组成部分。本文从妇女与自然的关系,妇女参与环保的必要性和妇女在环境保护中的作用三个方面来分析女性在参与环境保护的影响和作用在逐渐扩张,是环境保护的生力军。     

Organochlorine contaminants in the hair of Iranian pregnant women

In the present study, the hair of pregnant women was sampled between November 2007 and January 2008 in Ahvaz and Noushahr cities and the countryside of Noushahr, Iran. They were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), α-, β-, and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers and seven polychlorinated (PCBs) congeners (IUPAC Nos. 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153 and 180). Significant differences between the concentrations of investigated pollutants were found between the locations (p < 0.05). For HCHs, the γ-HCH isomer was measured at higher mean concentrations (6 ng g⁻¹ hair) compared to the β-HCH isomer (0.03 ng g⁻¹), which generally is the most prevalent HCH in biological matrices. Very high mean concentrations of p,p′-DDT in countryside of Noushahr (24 ng g⁻¹) combined with lower values (0.6) of ratio p,p′-DDE/p,p′-DDT in the hair samples suggest recent exposure to “fresh” DDT in this region. Significant differences in OCPs and PCBs were found between primiparous and multiparous mothers (p < 0.05). There was no correlation between levels of OCPs and PCBs in the hair of Iranian pregnant women and their age. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the organochlorine levels, including HCHs, between mothers who have eaten fish once a week and those who consumed fish more than once per week in Noushahr.