Effects of physical exercise on musculoskeletal disorders,stress and quality of life in workers

Background. The effect of physical exercise in the workplace (PEW) on health promotion of workers is contradictory. Objective. To evaluate the effects of the PEW in musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), perception of stress and quality of life in workers. Methods. The participants were divided into two groups: control group (n?=?46) including non-participant workers of the PEW program, and PEW group (n?=?50) including workers who regularly participate in the exercise program. All workers answered the Nordic general questionnaire, the perceived stress scale and the quality-of-life questionnaire. Results. The PEW group reported a lower prevalence of MSDs for the trunk in the last 7 days and 12 months (p?=?0.021 and p?=?0.001, respectively), and for the upper limbs in the last 12 months (p?=?0.001) compared with the control group. The results for the perception of stress and quality of life showed no significant differences between the groups. Conclusion. PEW is a potential method to reduce MSDs in workers, but it was not efficient in reducing stress levels or improving the quality of life of the workers.     

Proposing of new building scheme and composite towards global warming mitigation for Malaysia

The building sector has been regarded as a potential sector where there is large capacity to reduce the climate change effect. This study has proposed solutions to mitigate environmental impacts and achieve low CO₂ emission from residential sector. Therefore, full life cycle assessment (LCA) has been run to assess the CO₂ emission and its effect on the atmosphere and climate change. Based on the result, timber scheme is the best choice due to releasing less CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere. However, house builders in Malaysia have almost completely neglected timber as a building material, with timber use as building components reduced to 5%. In this study, LCA Software was used to assess CO₂ emissions from different wall construction. The alternative building scheme has been made by reinforce steel stud, wooden beam and timber wall (S8) to improve the scheme deficiency while releasing less CO₂ emissions compared to other schemes. Therefore, S8 has a decreased CO₂ effect by 85% less than precast concrete frame and 90% less than brick over their lifetime. (S8) increased the load bearing compared to conventional timber beam. Thus, new scheme S8 could be replaced by current scheme and promote more adjustable scheme for Malaysian housing.     

畜牧业“碳排放”到“碳足迹”核算方法的研究进展

全球变暖趋势日益加剧,不仅影响农业可持续发展,而且威胁到人类生存。畜牧业碳排放因其在农业碳排放中乃至全球碳排放中占比较大而日益备受关注。准确核算畜牧业碳排放是制定切实可行的碳减排政策的前提,也为我国在气候变化下承担共同但有差别的减排责任提供话语权。本文基于研究范式的演进,对畜牧业碳排放到碳足迹核算方法的研究发展进行了系统梳理,研究表明,在学者的不断研究与质疑下,畜牧业碳排放到碳足迹的核算方法经历了从OECD核算法、IPCC系数法到生命周期法与投入-产出法的演变与完善,学术界认为区域异质性、养殖规模与管理方式均影响碳足迹;散养比规模化养殖产生更多的碳排放,舍饲比户外放牧排放更多的碳。畜牧业碳足迹核算能够更加全面地反映畜牧业全生命周期的碳排放情况,但由于研究假设、研究方法及研究样本等差异导致不同区域、不同畜产品的碳排放核算结果存在不确定性。运用生命周期法和投入-产出法对欧盟成员国畜牧业碳排放的核算结果基本一致,但运用IPCC系数法和全生命周期法对中国畜牧业碳排放核算中,牛、猪和羊的碳排放量排序结果不尽一致。鉴于核算结果的差异性,本研究对不同核算方法的起源、最早采用时间、特点、局限性等方面进行了归纳总结,并建议后续研究探讨基于生命周期评价的畜牧业碳足迹研究边界的延伸性,标准化畜牧业碳排放或碳足迹核算,避免学者重复核算畜牧业碳排放,以便深入展开畜牧业碳排放其他方面的研究。     

Think globally,act locally: neighbourhood pollution and the future of the earth

Each year governments and industry around the globe spend billions of dollars in search of treatments and cures for diseases that shorten lives, which often means gadgets, implants, radiation and pills. These “cures”, do not get to the root of the problem. Perhaps it is time for us to adjust our thinking to be more proactive instead of reactive in public health. Perhaps we need to consider confronting environmental pollution of air, soil and water at a local level. As the Physicians for Social Responsibility point out, we should be “preventing what we cannot cure”. One such preventive measure is ensuring that our communities, including our poor inner-city neighbourhoods, enjoy a clean environment. We challenge local and national policy-makers to respond to the global call and to take action to address environmental toxins; to take local action to ameliorate the pollution of the air, water and soil in so many of our nation’s neighbourhoods. A person’s neighbourhood, and the proximity of dangerous environmental contaminants within it, is a powerful predictor of how long s/he will live. While situations like the poisoning of the water in Flint, Michigan have gotten some attention, they are generally treated as the exception rather than a reflection of real environmental hazards that exist in the west. Moreover we wonder why more endemic issues of neighbourhood environmental contamination that shorten human lives are not a priority for local action or that it is not linked to disproportionate production of greenhouse gases that cause climate change/warming/chaos.     

城市生活垃圾处理方式生命周期评价的比较研究

生命周期评价理论与方法作为一种量化环境影响的工具,在诸多领域中得到了广泛的应用。在垃圾处理领域,生命周期评价最早在20世纪90年代得到应用。生命周期评价与城市生活垃圾处理的有效结合,将促进城市生活垃圾的减量化、资源化、无害化目标的实现。总结了生命周期评价理论与方法在城市生活垃圾处理中的应用现状。对国内不同城市生活垃圾处理方式环境影响因子进行比较分析,诸如全球变暖潜力、酸化潜力和富营养化潜力等因子。针对其目标范围定义、数据收集、评价方法的选择、结果解释及工艺改进等方面指出了目前研究的局限性和不足。并对未来城市生活垃圾处理生命周期评价的发展方向进行展望。     

循环流化床锅炉燃煤技术热电厂生命周期评价

运用生命周期评价方法,应用Gabi5.0软件对采用循环流化床锅炉燃煤技术的热电企业进行资源耗竭和环境影响分析,计算各生产单元生命周期清单的全球变暖潜值、酸化效应潜值、富营养化潜值、非生物资源耗竭潜值、人体毒性潜值以及光化学烟雾和臭氧生成潜值等主要环境影响类型,对燃煤发电过程进行生命周期评价。结果表明,全球变暖和非生物资源耗竭为发电运行过程中主要的环境影响因素,分别占53%和15.05%;锅炉燃烧阶段的环境影响最重,占整个生命周期影响值的77.12%,并且除生物耗竭潜值外的其他5项指标均为发电运行阶段各个单元中最高。采用SNCR脱硝技术减少燃烧过程中NOx的排放量,并对该技术方案进行生命周期评价,比较方案实施前后的环境影响。     

Evaluation of effects of exposure time on aquatic toxicity with zooplanktons using a reduced life expectancy model

Traditionally in toxicological studies time is not studied as quantifiable variable but as a fixed endpoint. The Reduced Life Expectancy (RLE) model which relates exposure time and exposure concentration with lethal toxic effects was tested previously using fish data. In this current paper the effects of exposure time on aquatic toxicity with zooplanktons and various toxicants were evaluated using the RLE model based on ambient exposure concentration. The model was evaluated by plotting ln LT₅₀ against LC₅₀ using toxicity data with zooplanktons from the literature for metal, metalloid and organic compounds. Most of the experimental data sets can be satisfactorily correlated by use of the RLE model, but deviations occurred for some data sets. Those data sets were satisfactorily fitted by a two stage RLE model. This model was based on two phases: one in the peripheral system and other in the central system. Both the single and two stage RLE model support the hypothesis that toxicity is time dependent and decreases in a systematic way with increasing exposure time. A calculated normal life expectancy (NLT) can be obtained from the single stage model and is in accord with reported NLT but those obtained from the two stage RLE model are in excellent agreement.     

环境健康价值评估中的年龄效应研究

在环境健康价值评估研究中,统计寿命价值和年龄之间的关系是理论和实证研究焦点之一,也是重要的学术问题。长久以来,环境政策效益评估中是否应该赋予老年人较低的统计寿命价值一直存在广泛争议,且尚未得到一致性结论。通过设计选择实验,对北京市空气质量改善的健康效益进行了抽样调查,并采用MNL模型对北京市约500个居民的调查数据进行回归分析,估算了不同年龄人群对健康风险减少的支付意愿,针对中国人群中统计寿命价值和年龄之间的关系进行实证探讨。结果表明:一方面,在总体样本中设置年龄虚拟变量,回归结果表明年龄变量系数的符号均显著为负,即年龄因素对减少空气污染带来的死亡风险降低的支付意愿具有显著的影响,年龄越大支付意愿相对越小;另一方面,不同年龄人群分组样本结果显示,统计寿命价值与年龄之间呈现"倒U型"关系,统计寿命价值在中国存在"老年折扣"现象。研究结果可为我国环境政策的健康效益分析中如何考虑年龄的影响提供重要依据。     

Income Growth, Urbanization, Changing Life Style and Energy Requirements in China

This paper aims to estimate the effects of changing life style and consumption demands driven by income growth and urbanization on increase of energy requirements in China, and es-timate the impacts of improvement in household consumption on mitigating energy requirements towards 2020, based on input-out-put analysis and scenarios simulation approach. The result shows that energy requirement per capita has increased by 159% for urban residents and 147% for rural residents from 1995 to 2004. Growth in household consumption driven by income growth and urbanization may induce a successive increase in energy require-ments in future. Per capita energy requirements of urban residents will increase by 240% during 2002-2015 and 330% during 2002-2020. Urbanization might lead to 0.75 billion ton of increment of energy requirements in 2020. About 45%-48% of total energy requirements in China might be a consequence of residents’ life styles and the economic activities to support consumption demands in 2020. Under low-carbon life style scenario, per capita energy requirements of urban residents may decline to 97% in 2015 and 92% in 2020 in contrast with baseline scenario. That implies that China needs to pay a great attention to developing green low-carbon life style in order to realize mitigation target towards 2020.     

电磁阀贮存寿命加速试验技术研究

首先陈述了贮存寿命加速试验的基本原理,介绍电磁阀的结构组成,分析了失效模式和失效机理后,采取恒定应力加速试验方法,然后运用极大似然估计和最小二乘法对数据进行处理,最后得出其贮存寿命等结论。