Bridging Language Through Folktales and Authentic Outings: A Guidebook for ESL/EFL Teachers

There is a real need for authentic and culturally relevant materials to be integrated into ESL and EFL classrooms. Swiss classrooms, as well as the language acquisition curricula used in them, need to be redesigned with the native languages and culture of the learners’ in mind. All too often, teachers are dependent on textbooks, which can raise anxiety and decrease motivation among ELLs since the learners lack an authentic relationship with the teacher, language and materials. The aim of this field project is to address the lack of authentic materials in Swiss ESL classrooms. The creation of this field project uses Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis as a rationale, which states that variables that affect a person’s ability to acquire a second language are motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety. This theory will be practically applied to create authentic and culturally relatable materials for Swiss ESL classrooms thus reducing unnecessary anxiety among students. The project is a guidebook for educators to use with A2 level English learners alongside a normal curriculum to help students increase their motivation and reduce anxiety. The content is based on the traditional Swiss folklore, William Tell, and bridged with the American folklore, Paul Bunyan. The guidebook is organized in one unit taught over four separate lessons. Students may benefit from these materials because they may reduce the students’ affective filter by providing engaging content and materials that are familiar, authentic, and relevant to their experience

Targeting Inequalities: A contribution of the Capability Approach to population studies

This paper introduces the objectives of the project presented in this Special Issue, i.e. to apply the Capability Approach (CA) to population studies to better understand growing disparities in human development and identify the best indicators to trace inequalities in opportunity. We present here the added value of the CA to population studies, than the characteristics of the two West African countries considered - Ghana and Mali – and, finally, the topics broached. Applying the CA implies a major shift from the classical analysis of the determinants of outcomes to a focus on the array of opportunities and disparities. The eight papers cover three major domains in social demography, especially in West Africa, and for which rich data sets are available: health, seen through risk factors and the spread of obesity; social integration expressed by professional activity and social participation; and family planning viewed in terms of contraception and birth spacing

Characterization of lead-recycling facility emissions at various workplaces: Major insights for sanitary risks assessment

Most available studies on lead smelter emissions deal with the environmental impact of outdoor particles, but only a few focus on air quality at workplaces. The objective of this study is to physically and chemically characterize the Pb-rich particles emitted at different workplaces in a lead recycling plant. A multiscale characterization was conducted from bulk analysis to the level of individual particles, to assess the particles properties in relation with Pb speciation and availability. Process PM from various origins were sampled and then compared; namely Furnace and Refining PM respectively present in the smelter and at refinery workplaces, Emissions PM present in channeled emissions. These particles first differed by their morphology and size distribution, with finer particles found in emissions. Differences observed in chemical composition could be explained by the industrial processes. All PM contained the same major phases (Pb, PbS, PbO, PbSO4 and PbO·PbSO4) but differed on the nature and amount of minor phases. Due to high content in PM, Pb concentrations in the CaCl2 extractant reached relatively high values (40mgL−1). However, the ratios (soluble/total) of CaCl2 exchangeable Pb were relatively low (<0.02%) in comparison with Cd (up to 18%). These results highlight the interest to assess the soluble fractions of all metals (minor and major) and discuss both total metal concentrations and ratios for risk evaluations. In most cases metal extractability increased with decreasing size of particles, in particular, lead exchangeability was highest for channeled emissions. Such type of study could help in the choice of targeted sanitary protection procedures and for further toxicological investigations. In the present context, particular attention is given to Emissions and Furnace PM. Moreover, exposure to other metals than Pb should be considered

The contribution of the Capability Approach to demographic analysis: lessons learned. Tracking Inequalities

In this concluding paper, we discuss the contribution of the Capability Approach to the “tracking” of inequalities, i.e. focusing on opportunities rather than outcomes and targeting both resources and the means to use these resources. We return to two central dimensions of our analyses: the  multiple nature of well-being and the different kinds of means that modulate the unequal individual ability to live a life of quality. We summarize our main results regarding the nature of health and its determinants, the function of services and the multiple meanings of occupation, as well as the role of contextual resources, individual endowments and acquired capacities. A third dimension concerns the role of the global context and what can be said in particular about differences between Mali and Ghana. In the last part, we discuss further developments to improve the tracking of inequalities, first through cross-cutting analyses of different sources of vulnerability and secondly, by making allowance for individual agency

Quantitative aspects of the interfacial catalytic oxidation of Dithiothreitol by dissolved oxygen in the presence of carbon nanoparticles

The catalytic nature of particulate matter is often advocated to explain its ability to generate reactive oxygen species, but quantitative data are lacking. We have performed molecular characterization of three different carbonaceous nanoparticles (NP) by 1. identifying and quantifying their surface functional groups based on probe gas-particle titration; 2. studying the kinetics of dissolved oxygen consumption in the presence of suspended NP's and dithiothreitol (DTT). We show that these NP's can reversibly change their oxidation state between oxidized and reduced functional groups present on the NP surface. By comparing the amount of O2 consumed and the number of strongly reducing sites on the NP, its average turnover ranged from 35 to 600 depending on the type of NP. The observed quadratic rate law for O2 disappearance points to a Langmuir-Hinshelwood surface-based reaction mechanism possibly involving semiquinone radical. In the proposed model, the strongly reducing surface site is assumed to be a polycyclic aromatic hydroquinone whose oxidation to the corresponding conjugated quinone is rate-limiting in the catalytic chain reaction. The presence and strength of the reducing surface functional groups are important for explaining the catalytic activity of NP in the presence of oxygen and a reducing agent like DTT

Exposure to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic compounds and health risk assessment for diesel-exhaust exposed workers

Objectives: Workers' exposure to diesel exhaust in a bus depot, a truck repair workshop and an underground tunnel was determined by the measuring of elemental carbon (EC) and 15 carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) proposed by the US Department of Health and Human Services/National Toxicology Program (NTP). Based on these concentration data, the genotoxic PAC contribution to the diesel-exhaust particle (DEP) lung-cancer risk was calculated. Method: Respirable particulate matter was collected during the summer and winter of 2001 (except for in the underground situation) and analysed by coulometry for EC and by GC-MS methods for PACs. The use of potency equivalence factors (PEFs) allowed the studied PAC concentrations to be expressed as benzo[a]pyrene equivalents (B[a]Peq). We then calculated the lung-cancer risk due to PACs and DEPs by multiplying the B[a]Peq and EC concentrations by the corresponding unit risk factor. The ratio of these two risks values has been considered as an estimate of the genotoxic contribution to the DEP cancer risk. Results: For the bus depot and truck repair workshop, exposure to EC and PACs has been shown to increase by three to six times and ten times, respectively, during winter compared to summer. This increase has been attributed mainly to a decrease in ventilation during the cold. With the PEF approach, the B[a]Peq concentration is five-times higher than if only benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) is considered. Dibenzopyrenes contribute an important part to this increase. A simple calculation based on unit risk factors indicates that the studied PAC contribution to the total lung-cancer risk attributed to DEPs is in the range of 3-13%. Conclusions: The 15 NTP PACs represent a small but non-negligible part of lung-cancer risk with regard to diesel exposure. From this point of view, the dibenzopyrene family are important compounds to be considere

Oxidative potential of particles in different occupational environments: a pilot study

The oxidative potential (OP) of particulate matter has been proposed as a toxicologically relevant metric. This concept is already frequently used for hazard characterization of ambient particles but it is still seldom applied in the occupational field. The objective of this study was to assess the OP in two different types of workplaces and to investigate the relationship between the OP and the physicochemical characteristics of the collected particles. At a toll station, at the entrance of a tunnel ('Tunnel' site), and at three different mechanical yards ('Depot' sites), we assessed particle mass (PM4 and PM2.5 and size distribution), number and surface area, organic and elemental carbon, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), and four quinones as well as iron and copper concentration. The OP was determined directly on filters without extraction by using the dithiothreitol assay (DTT assay-OP(DTT)). The averaged mass concentration of respirable particles (PM4) at the Tunnel site was about twice the one at the Depot sites (173±103 and 90±36 µg m(-3), respectively), whereas the OP(DTT) was practically identical for all the sites (10.6±7.2 pmol DTT min(-1) μg(-1) at the Tunnel site; 10.4±4.6 pmol DTT min(-1) μg(-1) at the Depot sites). The OP(DTT) of PM4 was mostly present on the smallest PM2.5 fraction (OP(DTT) PM2.5: 10.2±8.1 pmol DTT min(-1) μg(-1); OP(DTT) PM4: 10.5±5.8 pmol DTT min(-1) μg(-1) for all sites), suggesting the presence of redox inactive components in the PM2.5-4 fraction. Although the reactivity was similar at the Tunnel and Depot sites irrespective of the metric chosen (OP(DTT) µg(-1) or OP(DTT) m(-3)), the chemicals associated with OP(DTT) were different between the two types of workplaces. The organic carbon, quinones, and/or metal content (Fe, Cu) were strongly associated with the DTT reactivity at the Tunnel site whereas only Fe and PAH were associated (positively and negatively, respectively) with this reactivity at the Depot sites. These results demonstrate the feasibility of measuring of the OP(DTT) in occupational environments and suggest that the particulate OP(DTT) is integrative of different physicochemical properties. This parameter could be a potentially useful exposure proxy for investigating particle exposure-related oxidative stress and its consequences. Further research is needed mostly to demonstrate the association of OP(DTT) with relevant oxidative endpoints in humans exposed to particles

Oxidative Potential of Particles in Different Occupational Environments: A Pilot Study

The oxidative potential (OP) of particulate matter has been proposed as a toxicologically relevant metric. This concept is already frequently used for hazard characterization of ambient particles but it is still seldom applied in the occupational field. The objective of this study was to assess the OP in two different types of workplaces and to investigate the relationship between the OP and the physicochemical characteristics of the collected particles. At a toll station, at the entrance of a tunnel (‘Tunnel' site), and at three different mechanical yards (‘Depot' sites), we assessed particle mass (PM4 and PM2.5 and size distribution), number and surface area, organic and elemental carbon, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), and four quinones as well as iron and copper concentration. The OP was determined directly on filters without extraction by using the dithiothreitol assay (DTT assay-OPDTT). The averaged mass concentration of respirable particles (PM4) at the Tunnel site was about twice the one at the Depot sites (173±103 and 90±36 µg m−3, respectively), whereas the OPDTT was practically identical for all the sites (10.6±7.2 pmol DTT min−1 μg−1 at the Tunnel site; 10.4±4.6 pmol DTT min−1 μg−1 at the Depot sites). The OPDTT of PM4 was mostly present on the smallest PM2.5 fraction (OPDTT PM2.5: 10.2±8.1 pmol DTT min−1 μg−1; OPDTT PM4: 10.5±5.8 pmol DTT min−1 μg−1 for all sites), suggesting the presence of redox inactive components in the PM2.5-4 fraction. Although the reactivity was similar at the Tunnel and Depot sites irrespective of the metric chosen (OPDTT µg−1 or OPDTT m−3), the chemicals associated with OPDTT were different between the two types of workplaces. The organic carbon, quinones, and/or metal content (Fe, Cu) were strongly associated with the DTT reactivity at the Tunnel site whereas only Fe and PAH were associated (positively and negatively, respectively) with this reactivity at the Depot sites. These results demonstrate the feasibility of measuring of the OPDTT in occupational environments and suggest that the particulate OPDTT is integrative of different physicochemical properties. This parameter could be a potentially useful exposure proxy for investigating particle exposure-related oxidative stress and its consequences. Further research is needed mostly to demonstrate the association of OPDTT with relevant oxidative endpoints in humans exposed to particle