Stabilization and utilization of hospital waste as road and asphalt aggregate

This article reports the operational results of the effective utilization of hospital waste molten slag produced using a high-temperature melting system, and being operated at a hospital in Selangor, Malaysia. The hospital waste is incinerated and subsequently melted at 1200°C. Scanning election microscope (SEM)/EDX results showed that the slag produced after melting contained amounts of SiO₂, CaO, and Al₂O₃ in excess of 53%, 9%, and 16%, respectively. The results from a leaching analysis on the slag produced proved that the melting process had successfully stabilized the heavy metals. The use of this slag as an alternative material to replace conventional aggregates for road construction was studied. The results from aggregate and asphalt mix tests showed that the slag produced fulfills all the requirements of an alternative aggregate. The average asphalt content, or the optimum asphalt content to be mixed with hospital waste molten slag, was found to be about 5.53%.     

Anti-oviposition activities of used sock media against a dengue vector: prospects of eco-friendly control and solutions to pollution

Yearly, huge amounts of sock refuse are discarded into the environment. Socks contain many molecules, and worn ones, which are rich in smell-causing bacteria, have a strong influence on animals’ behaviors. But the impacts of sock odor on the oviposition behavior of dengue vectors are unknown. We assessed whether Aedes albopictus changes its oviposition activity in response to the presence of used socks extract (USEx) in potential breeding grounds, using choice and no-choice bioassays (NCB). When furnished even chances to oviposit in two sites holding USEx and two others containing water (control), Ae. albopictus deposited significantly less eggs in USEx than in water sites. A similar pattern of oviposition preference was also observed when there were more oviposition options in water. When there were greater oviposition opportunities in USEx sites, Ae. albopictus oviposited preferentially in water. Females laid significantly more eggs during the NCB involving water than USEx. Also, significantly more mature eggs were retained by females in the NCB with USEx than in that with water. These observations strongly suggest the presence of molecules with either repellent or deterrent activities against Ae. albopictus females and provide an impetus to advocate the integration of used socks in dengue control programs. Such applications could be a realistic end-of-life recourse to reroute this waste from landfills.

     

Portrayals of Endangered Species in Advertising: Exercising Intertextuality to Question the Anthropocentric Lens

This paper examines recent advertisements used by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to raise awareness about the predicament of endangered, vulnerable, and threatened species. By engaging in a critical discourse analysis of a selection of advertisements, this study demonstrates how the WWF uses intertextuality as a discourse strategy to articulate its message and objectives. In this paper, I argue that by engaging in the juxtaposition of various paratexts (“layers of meaning”), the WWF produces a narrative which reveals an anthropocentric lens through which we view the world. The advertisements are found to resort to paratexts of anthropomorphism with the intent of extending the bounds of personhood to non-human animal species. In closing, I maintain that intertextuality is employed not only to question the dominant human-centric paradigm, but serve the heuristic function of encouraging a more empathetic identification with the animals in question and the creation of a more holistic worldview.     

Impediments to River Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation of river ecosystems is generally initiated when a river is no longer able to provide benefits to humans and other living beings. The major purposes of river rehabilitation projects are improving water quality, conserving nature, rehabilitating fisheries and riparian habitats, flood mitigation, and creating recreational opportunities. For a river rehabilitation project to be successful, it must have specific and clearly explained objectives, although these objectives will vary for each project depending upon factors such as economics, public demand, ecosystem benefits, and the like. In this article, we provide a critical analysis of the purposes that drive river rehabilitation projects and we identify and discuss impediments that can cause a project to deviate from its intended goals. We also discuss major constraints on rehabilitation efforts that can result in failed projects.     

Temporal analysis of PM10 in Metropolitan Monterrey, México

The Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA) is the third largest city in Mexico. Few studies have been carried out regarding its air pollution. The aim of this study was to analyze the temporal behavior of PM10 (particulate matter < or =10 microm in aerodynamic diameter). Data reported by the "Sistema Integral de Monitoreo Ambiental" (Integrated Environmental Monitoring System) network from 2006 to 2008 were used. PM10 levels were compared among the stations by year, season, and day of week. A bootstrap technique was used to obtain subsamples to which Student's t test and ANOVA were applied. PM10 levels were high and exceeded the annual limit of 50 microg/m3 set up by the Mexican standard Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-025-SSA1-1993. These levels could have serious health effects. The southwest zone of MMA had the highest levels of PM10 during the period studied. Winter was the most polluted season, and summer was the least polluted season. Thursday and Friday were the most polluted days, and Sunday was the least polluted day. The hours with the highest levels of PM10 were 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., whereas nighttime hours were the cleanest.     

An Objective Multiattribute Analysis Approach for Allocation of Scarce Irrigation Water Resources1

Zardari, Noor ul Hassan, Ian Cordery, and Ashish Sharma, 2010. An Objective Multiattribute Analysis Approach for Allocation of Scarce Irrigation Water Resources. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):412-428. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00410.x Abstract: In this study, end user (farmer) and decision maker (water allocator) opinions were surveyed and a conjoint analysis (CA) based method was applied to the quantitative and qualitative data to assess the utility associated with each attribute that plays a role in forming the final thinking of the water users. The application of CA for estimating the utility for each attribute level is a novel approach, which helps provide a formal, objective basis for assigning relative scales for each attribute interval within a multiattribute decision-making model. The utilities (part-worths) obtained from the CA have a cardinal scale and were found to be comparable within and across the attributes. A farmers’ survey on five water allocation attributes was completed from 62 farmers and their opinions on the relative importance of attributes were elicited for a subarea of the Indus River Basin. The CA method was then applied to the survey data and the utilities for each attribute level were determined. This allowed, for instance, decisions to be made, which take account of the perceived value of the water and of the availability of local labor to work on the farm. Finally, these interval scales were used within the specification of the ELECTRE multiattribute decision-making method to provide a complete and objective ranking of nine irrigation districts so that the best decisions on water allocation could be made.     

Evaluation of concentration efficiency of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage PP7 in various water matrixes by different methods

Enteric viruses monitoring in surface waters requires the concentration of viruses before detection assays. The aim of this study was to evaluate different methods in terms of recovery efficiencies of bacteriophage PP7 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, measured by real-time PCR, using it as a viral control process in water analysis. Different nucleic acid extraction methods (silica–guanidinium thiocyanate, a commercial kit (Qiagen Viral RNA Kit) and phenol–chloroform with alcohol precipitation) exhibited very low recovery efficiencies (0.08–4.18 %), being the most efficient the commercial kit used for subsequent experiments. To evaluate the efficiency of three concentration methods, PBS (as model for clean water) and water samples from rivers were seeded to reach high (HC, 10⁶ pfu ml^?1) and low concentrations (LC, 10⁴ pfu ml^?1) of PP7. Tangential ultrafiltration proved to be more efficient (50.36?±?12.91, 17.21?±?9.22 and 12.58?±?2.35 % for HC in PBS and two river samples, respectively) than adsorption–elution with negatively charged membranes (1.00?±?1.34, 2.79?±?2.62 and 0.05?±?0.08 % for HC in PBS and two river samples, respectively) and polyethylene glycol precipitation (15.95?±?7.43, 4.01?±?1.12 and 3.91?±?0.54 %, for HC in PBS and two river samples, respectively), being 3.2–50.4 times more efficient than the others for PBS and 2.7–252 times for river samples. Efficiencies also depended on the initial virus concentration and aqueous matrixes composition. In consequence, the incorporation of an internal standard like PP7 along the process is useful as a control of the water concentration procedure, the nucleic acid extraction, the presence of inhibitors and the variability of the recovery among replicas, and for the calculation of the sample limit of detection. Thus, the use of a process control, as presented here, is crucial for the accurate quantification of viral contamination.     

Assessment of methane emission and oxidation at Air Hitam Landfill site cover soil in wet tropical climate

Methane (CH₄) emissions and oxidation were measured at the Air Hitam sanitary landfill in Malaysia and were modeled using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change waste model to estimate the CH₄ generation rate constant, k. The emissions were measured at several locations using a fabricated static flux chamber. A combination of gas concentrations in soil profiles and surface CH₄ and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions at four monitoring locations were used to estimate the CH₄ oxidation capacity. The temporal variations in CH₄ and CO₂ emissions were also investigated in this study. Geospatial means using point kriging and inverse distance weight (IDW), as well as arithmetic and geometric means, were used to estimate total CH₄ emissions. The point kriging, IDW, and arithmetic means were almost identical and were two times higher than the geometric mean. The CH₄ emission geospatial means estimated using the kriging and IDW methods were 30.81 and 30.49 g m^?2 day^?1, respectively. The total CH₄ emissions from the studied area were 53.8 kg day^?1. The mean of the CH₄ oxidation capacity was 27.5 %. The estimated value of k is 0.138 year^?1. Special consideration must be given to the CH₄ oxidation in the wet tropical climate for enhancing CH₄ emission reduction.     

Contrasting structure and composition of the understory in species-rich tropical rain forests

In large samples of trees > or = 1 cm dbh (more than 1 million trees and 3000 species), in six lowland tropical forests on three continents, we assigned species with >30 individuals to one of six classes of stature at maturity (SAM). We then compared the proportional representation of understory trees (1-2 cm dbh) among these classes. The understory of the three Asian sites was predominantly composed of the saplings of large-canopy trees whereas the African and American sites were more richly stocked with trees of the smaller SAM classes. Differences in class representation were related to taxonomic families that were present exclusively in one continent or another. Families found in the Asian plots but not in the American plot (e.g., Dipterocarpaceae, Fagaceae) were predominantly species of the largest SAM classes, whereas families exclusive to the American plots (e.g., Melastomataceae sensu stricto, Piperaceae, and Malvaceae [Bombacacoidea]) were predominantly species of small classes. The African plot was similar to Asia in the absence of those American families rich in understory species, while similar to America in lacking the Asian families rich in canopy species. The numerous understory species of Africa were chiefly derived from families shared with Asia and/or America. The ratio of saplings (1-2 cm dbh) to conspecific canopy trees (>40 cm dbh) was lower in American plots than in the Asian plots. Possible explanations for these differences include phenology, moisture and soil fertility regimes, phyletic constraints, and the role of early successional plants in forest development. These results demonstrate that tropical forests that appear similar in tree number, basal area, and the family taxonomy of canopy trees nonetheless differ in ecological structure in ways that may impact the ecology of pollinators, dispersers, and herbivores and might reflect fundamental differences in canopy tree regeneration.