The effects of personal music devices on pedestrian behaviour

It has been suggested that pedestrians listening to personal music devices (PMD) are more likely to be involved in accidents than those not listening to PMDs. Though it has been demonstrated that pedestrians on cell phones exhibit less cautionary behaviour when street crossing ( [Hatfield and Murphy, 2007], [Nasar et al., 2008] and [Stavrinos et al., 2009]), little research has been conducted with PMD users. In the present study, cautionary behaviour (e.g., looking before crossing a road) was observed and recorded for pedestrians with or without PMDs. Amongst males, pedestrians listening to PMDs displayed more looking behaviour than those not listening to PMDs. Females showed no differences between the two conditions. Thus, unlike cell phones, PMDs do not decrease the cautionary behaviour of pedestrians. This suggests that cell phones and PMDs are two different types of distractions, and this needs to be taken into account when developing methods to prevent pedestrian accidents in the future.     

Prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use of wild species inferred from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Unsustainable exploitation of wild species represents a serious threat to biodiversity and to the livelihoods of local communities and Indigenous peoples. However, managed, sustainable use has the potential to forestall extinctions, aid recovery, and meet human needs. We analyzed species-level data for 30,923 species from 13 taxonomic groups on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species to investigate patterns of intentional biological resource use. Forty percent of species (10,098 of 25,009 species from 10 data-sufficient taxonomic groups) were used. The main purposes of use were pets, display animals, horticulture, and human consumption. Intentional use is currently contributing to elevated extinction risk for 28–29% of threatened or near threatened (NT) species (2752–2848 of 9753 species). Intentional use also affected 16% of all species used (1597–1631 of 10,098). However, 72% of used species (7291 of 10,098) were least concern, of which nearly half (3469) also had stable or improving population trends. The remainder were not documented as threatened by biological resource use, including at least 172 threatened or NT species with stable or improving populations. About one-third of species that had use documented as a threat had no targeted species management actions to directly address this threat. To improve use-related red-list data, we suggest small amendments to the relevant classification schemes and required supporting documentation. Our findings on the prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use, and variation across taxa, can inform international policy making, including the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.     

Potentially harmful elements in house dust from Estarreja,Portugal: characterization and genotoxicity of the bioaccessible fraction

Due to their behavioral characteristics, young children are vulnerable to the ingestion of indoor dust, often contaminated with chemicals that are potentially harmful. Exposure to potentially harmful elements (PHEs) is currently exacerbated by their widespread use in several industrial, agricultural, domestic and technological applications. PHEs cause adverse health effects on immune and nervous systems and can lead to cancer development via genotoxic mechanisms. The present study is an integrated approach that aims at assessing the genotoxicity of bioaccessible PHEs following ingestion of contaminated house dust. A multidisciplinary methodology associating chemical characterization of five house dust samples, extraction of the bioaccessible PHEs in gastric extracts by the unified BARGE method, determination of the bioaccessible fraction and in vitro genotoxicity of gastric extracts in adenocarcinoma gastric human (AGS) cells was developed. The five gastric extracts induced dose-dependent genotoxicity in AGS cells. Copper (bioaccessible concentration up to 111 mg/kg) was probably the prevalent PHE inducing primary DNA damage (up to 5.1-fold increase in tail DNA at 0.53 g/l of gastric extract). Lead (bioaccessible concentration up to 245 mg/kg) was the most prevalent PHE inducing chromosome-damaging effects (r = 0.55; p < 0.001 for micronucleated cells induction). The association of principal component analysis and Spearman’s correlations was decisive to understand the chromosome-damaging properties of the bioaccessible PHEs in AGS cells. This methodology could be used on a larger-scale study to provide useful information for science-based decision-making in regulatory policies, and a better estimation of human exposure and associated health risks.     

Cyclodextrins,from molecules to applications

Cyclodextrins are among the most remarkable macrocyclic molecules with significant theoretical and practical impacts in chemistry and biology. Cyclodextrins belong to the family of cage molecules due to their structure, which is composed of a hydrophobic cavity that can encapsulate other molecules. Indeed, the most characteristic feature of these compounds is their ability to form inclusion complexes with various molecules through host–guest interactions. This is at the origin of many applications. It is well known and widely reported in the literature that cyclodextrins and their derivatives have a wide variety of practical applications including pharmacy, medicine, foods, cosmetics, toiletries, catalysis, chromatography, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and textile industry. Cyclodextrins are also the object of numerous fundamental studies. In this review, we chose to highlight selected works on cyclodextrins published over the last 5 years by different research groups. The main objective is to summarize some of the recent developments related to the applications of cyclodextrins.     

Impact of biogas digestates on soil microbiota in agriculture: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The global production of biogas has increased threefold during the last decade to partly replace fossil fuels, yet biogas production by anaerobic digestion...     

Cyclodextrin-based supramolecular low melting mixtures: efficient absorbents for volatile organic compounds abatement

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cyclodextrins (CDs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are emerging absorbent materials for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this...