Effectiveness of an employment-based smoking cessation assistance program in China

Objective:The objective of this study was to adapt an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention initially developed in the United States to the Chinese context and evaluate the ef-fectiveness of this intervention in China.Method:A smoking cessation program from United States was adapted and implemented through an Employee Assistance Program(EAP)in China.The intervention consisted of recom-mending medication and psychological counseling.Local EAP counselors received training on the program and delivered the intervention to clients.Program evaluation examined the intervention's effectiveness in helping clients quit or reduce the amount of smoking and nicotine dependence.Results:Ninety-day follow-up showed that those who had completed the program were more likely to remain abstinent,or stop smoking daily and have lower levels of nicotine dependence(p<0.05)than those who had dropped out.Conclusions:The evidence-based cessation program is effective in helping Chinese smok-ers quit or reduce the amount of smoking.Moreover,implementing such programs in an EAP setting is a practical approach to providing a wider spectrum of smokers with access to cessation assistance in China.

Peroxymonosulfate assisted mechanochemical method for the degradation of phenanthrene in contaminated soils

In recent years,mechanochemical method has received attention in the field of degrading pollutants,especially for persistent organic pollutants.In this study,peroxymonosulfate(PMS)as a co-grinding reagent,coupled with contaminated soil were placed in a ball mill for mechanochemical reaction.Through investigating the influences of ball-milling parameters on the degradation efficiency,the reaction conditions were optimized.Under the optimal condition(mass ratio of soil to oxidant is 10:1,mass ratio of ball to material is 30:1,rotation speed of ball mill is 400 rpm),more than 98%phenanthrene(PHE)in contaminated soil could be degraded within 4 h.Meanwhile,the effects of soil organic matter content and soil type on the degradation efficiency were investigated.The results showed that the organic matter content was negatively correlated with the degradation efficiency.XPS analysis provided evidence for the breakage of the CeC bond and confirmed that Fe in soil was an important factor in activating PMS.XRD further verified the destruction of PHE structure.GC-MS analysis was performed to identify the intermediates and possible pathways were proposed.