Sustainable waste management through eco-entrepreneurship: an empirical study of waste upcycling eco-enterprises in Sri Lanka

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The key aim of a transition to a Green Economy is to enable economic growth and investment while increasing environmental quality and social...     

Industrial water conservation by water footprint and sustainable development goals: a review

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Application of advanced techniques to ensure the environment sustainability and freshwater ecosystem conservation is a paramount importance. Industrial...     

Multi-pronged research on endemic chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology in Sri Lanka: a systematic review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Increasing prevalence of endemic chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka is a major health problem since the 1990s. Despite...     

Microbial ecotoxicity and mutagenicity of 1-hydroxypyrene and its photoproducts.

1-Hydroxypyrene (1-HP) is a carcinogenic and slightly water-soluble polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Ecotoxicity and mutagenicity of 1-HP and its photoproducts, and the effect of Mn2+ and Cu2+ on their mutagenicity were measured with microbial assay in this study. The assay includes spread plate counting, direct counting, microbial mineralization of 14C-UL-D-glucose and Mutatox Test. At the concentration examined (0.8 microM), the photoproducts (after 1.5 h solar irradiation) of 1-HP inhibited microbial glucose mineralization activity (by 64%) after microbial assemblages of a local reservoir site were exposed for 1 day. However, heterotrophic bacteria were able to utilize 1-HP photoproducts as the growth substrates and increase viability counts by up to 4.75-folds. 1-HP exhibited positive response to Mutatox Test in both direct medium and S-9 medium, with the lowest observable effective concentration of 0.625 microM in the test with direct medium. After photolysis, 1-HP decreased its mutagenicity. Mn2+ (312.5 microM-5 mM) and Cu2+ (6.25-100 microM) themselves are not mutagenic. However, addition of the metal ions before or after photolysis modifies the light readings of 1-HP during the test. Therefore, presence of metal ions could affect the genotoxicity of 1-HP in aquatic environments, depending on timing of the addition.     

Wetland soil and vegetation bismuth content following experimental deposition of bismuth pellets

Bismuth pellets have been approved as a non-toxic alternative to lead pellets in Canada since 1997 but, to our knowledge, there is little literature for soil and vegetation bismuth content in areas of bismuth pellet deposition. The present study addresses this shortcoming by measuring wetland soil and vegetation bismuth content following experimental deposition of bismuth pellets under ambient and experimentally increased acidic deposition conditions. We manipulated 24 plots in a fully factorial design (bismuth shot x soil acidification) in a south-eastern Ontario freshwater wetland during 1999-2003. Soil pH (range 6.5-7.3) increased significantly (p = 0.001) during the experimental period but there were no significant differences amongst treatments (p = 0.79). Significantly (p < 0.05) greater bismuth concentrations were measured in soil receiving bismuth pellets (mean +/- SE, n = 6; with acidification = 2.55 +/- 1.02 microg Bi g(-1) dry mass [DM]; without acidification = 6.40 +/- 2.23 microg Bi g(-1) DM) compared to plots that were not seeded with bismuth pellets (without acidification = 0.42 +/- 0.09 microg Bi g(-1) DM; with acidification = 0.39 +/- 0.10 microg Bi g(-1) DM). Nevertheless, bismuth levels in 20 of 24 aboveground tissue samples from the Carex lacustris-Agrostis scabra community were below detection levels (0.057 microg Bi g(-1) DM); the other samples ranged from 0.065 to 0.095 microg Bi g(-1) DM, similar to global background levels. Primary productivity in plots receiving bismuth pellets and soil acidification was not significantly (p = 0.15) different to vegetation in plots that were not manipulated. The results suggest bismuth mobilization from bismuth pellets into soil but not to aboveground vegetation.     

Perceived workplace racial discrimination and its correlates: A meta‐analysis

We combine the interactional model of cultural diversity (IMCD) and relative deprivation theory to examine employee outcomes of perceived workplace racial discrimination. Using 79 effect sizes from published and unpublished studies, we meta‐analyze the relationships between perceived racial discrimination and several important employee outcomes that have potential implications for organizational performance. In response to calls to examine the context surrounding discrimination, we test whether the severity of these outcomes depends on changes to employment law that reflect increasing societal concern for equality and on the characteristics of those sampled. Perceived racial discrimination was negatively related to job attitudes, physical health, psychological health, organizational citizenship behavior, and perceived diversity climate and positively related to coping behavior. The effect of perceived racial discrimination on job attitudes was stronger in studies published after the Civil Rights Act of 1991 was passed than before. Results provide some evidence that effect sizes were stronger the more women and minorities were in the samples, indicating that these groups are more likely to perceive discrimination and/or respond more strongly to perceived discrimination. Our findings extend the IMCD and relative deprivation theory to consider how contextual factors including changes to employment law influence employee outcomes of perceived workplace discrimination. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.