Inactivation efficiency to Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli bacterial aerosols of spraying neutral electrolyzed water.

The main objective of this study is to apply neutral electrolyzed water (NEW) spraying to inactivate bioaerosols. We evaluated the inactivation efficiency of NEW applied to inactivate two airborne bacterial Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis aerosols inside an environmental-controlled chamber in the study. Generated with electrolyzing 6.15 M sodium chloride brine, the NEW with free available chlorine (FAC) concentration 50, 100, and 200 ppm was pumped with an air pressure of 70 kg/cm2 through nozzle into the chamber to inactive E. coli and B. subtilis aerosols precontaminated air (initial counts of 3 x 10(4) colony-forming units [CFU]/m3). Bacterial aerosols were collected and cultured from chamber before and after NEW spray. The air exchange rate (ACH, hr(-1)) of the chamber was set to simulate fresh air ventilating dilution of indoor environment. First-order concentration decaying coefficients (Ka, min(-1)) of both bacterial aerosols were measured as an index of NEW inactivation efficiency. The result shows that higher FAC concentration of NEW spray caused better inactivation efficiency. The Ka values under ACH 1.0 hr(-1) were 0.537 and 0.598 for E. coli of FAC 50 and 100 ppm spraying, respectively. The Ka values of FAC 100 ppm and 200 ppm spraying for B. subtilis were 0.063 and 0.085 under ACH 1.0 hr(-1), respectively. The results indicated that NEW spray is likely to be effective in inactivation of bacterial airborne contamination. Moreover, it is observed in the study that the increase of ventilation rate and the use of a larger orifice-size nozzle may facilitate the inactivation efficiency.

Physical fitness characteristics of adolescent wushu athletes.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the physical fitness of wushu athletes in junior high schools and to compare their fitness with that of track-and-field and basketball athletes, as well as general junior high school students. METHODS: A total of 120 participants aged 12-15 years were recruited for this study (wushu N.=30; track-and-field N.=30; basketball N.=30; general students N.=30). Participants' height, weight, flexibility, muscle endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, agility, power, and static and dynamic balance were assessed and compared among sports groups and general students. RESULTS: The results revealed that athletes in the track-and-field, basketball, and wushu groups had significantly better physical fitness than general students. Additionally, the wushu group had significantly better flexibility and static balance than the other three groups. The track-and-field group had better cardiorespiratory endurance than the other groups. The basketball group had the best agility performance. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that flexibility and balance may be most impacted by the practice of wushu in adolescents. Moreover, adolescents who engage in school sports had better physical fitness than that of general students.

Work stress among nursing home care attendants in Taiwan: a questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND: Care attendants constitute the main workforce in nursing homes, but their heavy workload, low autonomy, and indefinite responsibility result in high levels of stress and may affect quality of care. However, few studies have focused of this problem. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine work-related stress and associated factors that affect care attendants in nursing homes and to offer suggestions for how management can alleviate these problems in care facilities. METHODS: We recruited participants from nine nursing homes with 50 or more beds located in middle Taiwan; 110 care attendants completed the questionnaire. The work stress scale for the care attendants was validated and achieved good reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.93). We also conducted exploratory factor analysis. RESULTS: Six factors were extracted from the work stress scale: insufficient ability, stressful reactions, heavy workload, trouble in care work, poor management, and working time problems. The explained variance achieved 64.96%. Factors related to higher work stress included working in a hospital-based nursing home, having a fixed schedule, night work, feeling burden, inconvenient facility, less enthusiasm, and self-rated higher stress. CONCLUSION: Work stress for care attendants in nursing homes is related to human resource management and quality of care. We suggest potential management strategies to alleviate work stress for these workers.