The Influence of Family Socio-Economic on Children’s Gender Expectations in Macau

Gender roles reflect the way people are influenced by social expectations and specific cultural contexts. Parents usually project their gender beliefs into their childrearing. Macau, as a special administrative region, combines Asian and Western culture with authoritative parenting models and Western encouragement styles. This paper aims to explore how Macau parents’ socioeconomic status (SES) influences their gender expectations and their approach to gender education for young children. We gathered 84 valid questionnaires titled “Macau Parents’ Gender Expectations of Young Children” via an online portal. We examine the frequency of toy purchases, parental career expectations for their children, and the gender of primary caretakers, assessing variations by SES group. Ultimately, we conclude that higher family SES affords greater resources and opportunities for children while diminishing traditional gender stereotypes

Biodegradation of pyrene in sand, silt and clay fractions of sediment

Microbial degradation is the dominant pathway for natural attenuation of PAHs in environmental compartments such as sediments, which in turn depends on the bioavailability of PAHs. The bioavailability of PAHs has seldom been studied at the sediment particle size scale. We evaluated biodegradation of pyrene by Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1 as a function of sediment particle sizes, and investigated the relationship between the rate of degradation on sand, silt and clay particles with their individual desorption kinetics measured with the Tenax extraction method. Regression analysis showed that the total organic carbon (TOC), black carbon (BC), and specific surface area (SSA) of the specific particle size fractions, instead of the particle size scale itself, were closely related (P < 0.01) with the mineralization rate. While the fraction in the rapid desorption pool (Frapid) ranged from 0.11 to 0.38 for the whole sediments and different size groups, the fractions mineralized after 336-h incubation (0.52 to 0.72) greatly surpassed the Frapid values, suggesting utilization of pyrene in the slow desorption pool (Fslow). A biodegradation model was modified by imbedding a two-phase desorption relationship describing sequential Tenax extractions. Model analysis showed that pyrene sorbed on silt and clay aggregates was directly utilized by the degrading bacteria. The enhanced bioavailability may be attributed to the higher chemical concentration, higher TOC or larger SSA in the silt and clay fractions, which appeared to overcome the reduced bioavailability of pyrene due to sorption, making pyrene on the silt and clay particles readily available to degrading microbes. This conjecture merits further investigation

Comparative study of tetracycline degradation efficiency using peroxydisulfate activated with sludge biochar and activated coke:the role of surface defects

Both sludge biochar (BC) and activated coke (ACO) are hierarchical while their surface properties have a large disparity. We show that sludge biochar pyrolyzed at 600°C (BC600) outperforms biochar produced at other temperatures for a range of biomass feedstock. BC600 displays lower carbon content, lower surface area, and importantly more abundant surface oxygen-containing functional groups when compared with ACO. BC600 and ACO were used to activate peroxydisulfate (PDS) for tetracycline oxidation while the degradation mechanisms were comprehensively discussed. Interestingly, ACO demonstrated a particularly higher performance where activating PDS compared with BC600. The Kapp value for the synergetically combined ACO-PDS process was 2.15 times that of the sum of adsorption and PDS oxidation processes alone, while it was 1.72 times for the BC600-PDS process. Solution pH had a more dramatic influence on BC600 than on ACO. Quenching experiments proved that both OH• and SO4•– contributed insignificantly while most of the degradation was attributed to superoxide radical (O2•–), singlet oxygen (1O2), and active holes (h+). After reducing carbonyl groups on both carbons by KBH4 in absolute alcohol, quenching experiments did not indicate the key role of carbonyl groups for 1O2 generation. Non-radical pathway proved dominant in the carbon/PDS catalytic process. Excellent reusability and stability for ACO was observed in repeated use experiments