Effects of occupant behaviors on perceived dormitory air quality and sick building syndrome symptoms among female college students.

We performed a cross-sectional survey of 2143 female students in a university in Tianjin, China regarding perceived air quality (PAQ) and sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms in the student dormitory. The prevalence of general, mucosal, and skin symptoms was 22.1%, 21.9%, and 26.3%, respectively. The three most prevalent PAQ complaints were "dry air" (48.9% often), "stuffy odor" (18.2%), and "other unpleasant odors" (5.1%), and they were significant risk factors for 11-12 out of 12 SBS symptoms (adjusted odds ratios [AOR]: 1.6-5.8). Survey data of 1471 undergraduates, whose dorms were of uniform layout and furnishing, were used to further investigate the influences of occupancy level and occupant behaviors on PAQ and SBS symptoms. Frequent use of air freshener/perfume was a significant risk factor for "dry air," less frequent room cleaning and higher occupancy density were significant risk factors for "stuffy odor," and less natural ventilation was a significant risk factor for both "stuffy odor" and "pungent odor." These factors were also significantly associated with some SBS symptoms. In particular, the use of air freshener/perfume exhibited a significant dose-response pattern with "fatigue" (sometimes: AOR 1.3; often: AOR 2.0) and with "irritated, stuffy, or runny nose" (sometimes: AOR 1.6; often: AOR 2.2).

General Self-Assembly Route toward Sparsely Studded Noble-Metal Nanocrystals inside Graphene Hollow Sphere Network for Ultrastable Electrocatalyst Utilization.

Herein, we rationally design and construct a novel type of sparsely studded noble-metal nanocrystals inside graphene hollow sphere network (abbreviated as noble-metal@G HSN) through an electrostatic-attraction-directed self-assembly approach. The formation of Pt@G and Pd@G hollow sphere networks have been illustrated as examples using SiO2 spheres as templates. Moreover, the electrocatalytic performance of the Pt@G HSN for methanol oxidation reaction has been examined as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the compositional and structural superiorities of noble-metal@G HSN toward electrocatalyst utilization. The as-prepared Pt@G HSN manifests higher catalytic activity and markedly enhanced long-term durability in comparison with commercial Pt/C catalyst.