Which compounds contribute most to elevated airborne exposure and corresponding health risks in the Western Balkans?

A majority of ongoing monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is currently focused on chemicals emphasized in the Stockholm Convention. Quantitative detection of other substances (especially those with numerous anthropogenic sources such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) is, however, also needed since their concentrations are usually several orders of magnitude higher. A goal of this study was to determine how various groups of compounds contribute to total human health risks at the variety of sampling sites in the region of Western Balkan. Distribution of the risks between the gas and particulate phases was also addressed. Results showed that inhalation exposure to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) does not represent a significant risk to humans, while polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) re-volatilized to the atmosphere from contaminated soils and buildings can pose a problem. PCB evaporation from primary sources (currently used PCB-filled transformers or non-adequate storage facilities) generally resulted in much higher atmospheric concentrations than evaporation from the secondary sources (soils at the sites of war destructions). A majority of the human health risks at the urban sites were associated with PAHs. Between 83 and 94% of the cumulative risk at such sites was assigned to chemicals sorbed to particles, and out of it, PAHs were responsible for 99%.     

Blogging for Sustainability: The Intermediary Role of Personal Green Blogs in Promoting Sustainability

The rise of social media radically broadens the sources and platforms used for environmental communication. Especially personal green blogs are worthy of study as they are spaces of everyday cultural politics through which people make sense of sustainability issues, and because they entail a radical break from conventional media in terms of legitimacy, form, and content of environmental communication processes. This paper studies the representation of sustainability on personal green blogs, and the communication processes through which these representations are constructed. It does so through a qualitative study of Swedish-language blogs. We study three blogs in-depth: a living experiment blog on sustainable food practices; a lifestyle blog centered around green family life; and a blog about consuming green beauty products. The analysis shows that all three blogs translate the complex landscape of sustainability to individual everyday practices. Yet, what these sustainability practices entail differs considerably between the blogs, ranging from a-political and doable lifestyle choices to an onset to radical redefining of consumption. Also, the communication processes on the blogs differ in quality and quantity. The paper uses these insights to reflect on the debates about how environmental communication is shaped by blogging and social media practices.     

Identification of Odor Causing Compounds in a Commercial Dairy Farm

The odorous air emissions from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), such as swine, poultry and dairy farms, are increasingly raising community complaints. Odorous emissions can result in health damages, psychological discomforts and adverse aesthetic effects in the community. However, these emissions are not well characterized up to now due to the lack of legislation, the limitations in sampling and instrumentation techniques, and the complexity of the emissions themselves. This study is aimed at the development of a high volume sampler and sorbent assembly to identify the odor causing compounds from a diary CAFO. The sorbent was custom designed to target the potential compounds that may exist in a dairy farm and was validated in laboratory with a synthetic odor from the swine manure. The actual samples at the diary farm were collected in spring and summer of 2005. The sorbents were solvent extracted and individual odor compounds were identified using GC–MS (gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy). The data obtained indicated that high volume sampling can shorten the sampling time from days to within 4 h. Both volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) have been identified from the dairy farm, such as phenol, methylphenol, 4-ethyl phenol, indole, methyl indole, benzyl alcohol, hexanoic acid, valeric acid and iso-valeric acid, together with some nitrogen containing compounds that have not been reported before.     

高性能纤维在个体防护装备上的应用现状及前景分析

高性能纤维是从化学纤维演化而来,是指耐高温、耐气候、耐化学腐蚀、质量轻、强度高、模量高的特种纤维材料。本文结合几种典型的高性能纤维的具体性能,对高性能纤维在个体防护装备上的应用现状及前景作了分析,旨在进一步推动高性能纤维在个体防护装备上的应用,从而在不同的使用情况下增强个体防护装备对人体的保护功能。     

Experimental investigation on effect of an absorber plate covered by a layer of sand on the efficiency of passive solar air collector

A passive flat-plate solar air collector was constructed in the laboratory of New and Renewable Energy in Arid Zones, Ouargla University, South East Algeria. The absorber of the passive flat-plate solar air collector was laminated with a thin layer of local sand. This acted as a thermal packed bed with a collecting area of 0.5 m² (1 m × 0.5 m). Three series of experiments were performed. The first consisted of choosing the best sand brought from three different places of the Algerian desert. The second consisted of studying the effect of the thickness of the sand layer on the daily efficacy of the collector. The influence of the sand diameter was investigated in the third series. The experimental results showed that: All collectors covered with sand had higher efficiency than those without. It was noticed that, for a fixed mass of sand (given thickness of the sand layer), the improvement of the collector was inversely proportional to the sand particle diameters. The maximum efficiency approximates 62.1% for a particle diameter 0.063 mm, compared to 41.71% for a diameter 0.250 mm.The efficiency of the collector for a fixed particle diameter increases with the increase in the thickness of the sand layer. The collector with thickness sand layer 0.84 mm gave the best efficiency of 46.14% compared to 27.8% for 0.28 mm of thickness sand layer.     

大学生受电脑电磁辐射的研究

为了研究大学生受电脑电磁辐射的实际状况,采用EMR300电磁辐射分析仪,对电脑电磁辐射在100kHz～3GHz的电场强度值(V/m),进行了实验室研究性监测和宿舍、机房内的现场监测.监测的结果表明:宿舍中心处电磁辐射环境强度(100kHz～3GHz频率范围内的综合电场强度)低于0.5V/m;距离显示器屏幕前方0.4m以上操作电脑,则眼睛处辐射强度在安全值内.而目前,机房内台式电脑按行紧密摆放,前排电脑操作者后脑正对后一排电脑显示器突出的后部处,在后脑处辐射强度可超过10V/m;此外,学生宿舍空间拥挤,鼠标、键盘通常与显示器近距离摆放在一起,造成显示器辐射与键盘、鼠标自身辐射叠加,导致在键盘和鼠标处手掌受到的辐射强度大,不容忽视.     

个人因素事故致因模型的探讨

从个人因素事故致因模型出发．探讨了潜在危险存在的情况下．个人因素与事故发生之间的联系;分析了不同的个人因素对于潜在危险的感知认识的作用和影响以及由此而决定的工作行为的安全程度;讨论了以控制导致事故发生的个人因素为出发点．用以预防事故发生的对策措施;提出在现代安全科学领域中,不仅要解决职工安全生产技术方面的问题．更要强调职工个人的社会性,在工作之中的成就感,被尊重的程度．这样才能达到充分激励职工、加强安全生产的目的。     

Transformational leadership and employee voice behavior: A Pygmalion mechanism

We theorized and examined a Pygmalion perspective beyond those proposed in past studies in the relationship between transformational leadership and employee voice behavior. Specifically, we proposed that transformational leadership influences employee voice through leaders' voice expectation and employees' voice role perception (i.e., Pygmalion mechanism). We also theorized that personal identification with transformational leaders influences the extent to which employees internalize leaders' external voice expectation as their own voice role perception. In a time‐lagged field study, we found that leaders' voice expectation and employees' voice role perception (i.e., the Pygmalion process) mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and voice behavior. In addition, we found transformational leadership strengthens employees' personal identification with the leader, which in turn, as a moderator, amplifies the proposed Pygmalion process. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

碳减排路径模式选择研究——基于私家车管控的个人碳交易和碳税比较

为了研究大城市私家车碳减排的有效路径,引入个人碳交易概念,提出管控大城市私家车碳排放的设想,制定了个人碳交易管理办法基本内容;运用Cobb-Douglas效用函数建立了管控大城市私家车个人碳交易和碳税的经济模型,依托调研数据定量化研究交通领域的个人碳交易机制,运用Matlab软件绘制了个人碳交易和碳税方案的适用范围图形,并对二者的减排效果进行比较。结果表明:个人碳交易与碳税都可以使消费者减少实际行车里程并保证总效用的增加,个人碳交易比碳税更容易为消费者接受,并能够达到碳减排的效果;在消费领域碳减排初期、社会减排任务量不大时,个人碳交易优于碳税,当减排任务很大时,碳税政策更为有效;碳减排量对消费者刚性需求的影响决定着个人碳交易制度的接受程度。应在北京、上海等大城市或其他城市的拥堵区域试行个人碳交易管控大城市私家车出行的制度,并开展实施细则的研究。     

被动式采样器在大区域大气VOC监测中的应用

应用VOC被动式采样器监测了地中海东部塞浦路斯岛大气中挥发性有机化合物(volatile organic compounds,VOC)的浓度。通过岛上设置的80个VOC采样点对苯,甲苯,对、邻、间二甲苯(Benzene、Toluene、o-xylene、m,p-xylene,BTX)数次采样及分析结果表明,其被动采样器中BTX回收率>95%,BTX平行实验的相对标准偏差<6.28%,采样和分析方法准确。得到的污染物分布图较准确地反映了塞浦路斯岛实际污染情况。