Recycling glass-polishing sludge and aluminum anodising sludge in polyurethane and cement composites: fire performance and mechanical properties

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This article aims to study the mechanical strength and fire resistance of polyurethane/cement (PuCem) composites containing glass sludge and sludge...     

Bio-methane production from tomato pomace: preliminary evaluation of process intensification through ultrasound pre-treatment

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The effect of ultrasound pre-treatment (for 5, 15, and 30 min) on tomato pomace methane yield was evaluated. With respect to the control...     

Working conditions and sleepiness while driving among truck drivers

Objective: The objective of this study is to identify the role of working conditions as predictors of sleepiness while driving among truck drivers.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out among truck drivers who transported grains to Paranaguá Port, Paraná, Brazil. The truck drivers were interviewed and completed a self-administered questionnaire to collect data on sociodemographic and behavioral variables, working conditions, consumption of illicit psychoactive substances, and sleep patterns. Drivers were considered to be sleepy while driving if they reported a medium or high probability of napping while driving at night, during the daytime, or while stopped in traffic. The statistical analysis used logistic regression models progressively adjusted for age, behavioral variables, sleep duration, and other working conditions.

Results: In total, 670 male drivers, with a mean age of 41.9 (±11.1) years, were enrolled. The prevalence of sleepiness while driving was 31.5%. After model adjustments, the following working conditions were associated with sleepiness while driving: Distance from the last shipment of more than 1,000?km (odds ratio [OR]?=?1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07–2.23) and a formal labor contract with a productivity-based salary (OR = 2.65; 95% CI, 1.86–3.78). Consumption of illicit psychoactive substances (OR = 1.99; 95% CI, 1.14–3.47) was also associated with sleepiness while driving.

Conclusions: Distance traveled and a formal labor contract with productivity-based earnings were the working conditions associated with sleepiness while driving, regardless of other working or behavioral characteristics, age, consumption of illicit psychoactive substances, and sleep duration.     

Copper availability assessment of Cu-contaminated vineyard soils using black oat cultivation and chemical extractants

Grapevines grown on acid soils with low fertility in southern Brazil are treated with intense foliar applications of copper (Cu) fungicides, resulting in an increased level of Cu in the soil and increased toxicity. The present study evaluated the accumulation and bioavailability of Cu, and soils with varying levels of Cu from the main producing regions of southern Brazil were collected. The forms of Cu present in the soil were assessed using chemical extractants; additionally, oat cultivation was performed, reflecting the use of the plant as an indicator of Cu bioavailability. Cu accumulated in the topsoil, mainly in bioavailable forms, and there was also an increase of Cu up to a depth of 0.4 m. Cu was primarily found in the mineral fraction, with apparent saturation of the soil organic matter functional groups. Inceptisol and Alfisol soils with a long history of cupric fungicide application were found to have levels of Cu toxic to oat plants. Furthermore, accumulated copper in Alfisol soil from the Campanha Gaúcha region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul had higher bioavailability compared to Cu accumulated in Inceptisol soil from the Serra Gaúcha region. In addition, the copper concentration in roots was found to serve as an indicator of Cu bioavailability in soil, but not of copper phytotoxicity in plants.     

Techno-economic-environmental characteristics of polyurethane composite to thermal insulation for building with flame resistance: corroborative effect recycled of PVC and aluminum oxide

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In this article, we present the results of the composite development obtained from polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and aluminum...