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.
Nowadays our planet suffers from an accumulation of plastic products that have the potential to cause great harm to the environment in the form of air, water, and land pollution. Plastic water bottles have become a great problem in the environment because of the large numbers consumed throughout the world. Certain types of plastic bottles can be recycled but most of them are not. This paper describes an economical solvent-free process that converts polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles waste into carbon nanostructure materials via thermal dissociation in a closed system under autogenic pressure together with additives and/or catalyst, which can act as cluster nuclei for carbon nanostructure materials such as fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. This research succeeded in producing and controlling the microstructure of various forms of carbon nanoparticles from the PET waste by optimizing the preparation parameters in terms of time, additives, and amounts of catalyst.
Implications: Plastic water bottles are becoming a growing segment of the municipal solid waste stream in the world; some are recycled but many are left in landfill sites. Recycling PET bottles waste can positively impact the environment in several ways: for instance, reduced waste, resource conservation, energy conservation, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and decreasing the amount of pollution in air and water sources. The main novelty of the present work is based on the acquisition of high-value carbon-based nanomaterials from PET waste by a simple solvent-free chemical technique. Thus, the prepared materials are considered to be promising, cheap, eco-friendly materials that may find use in different applications. 相似文献
Atmospheric particulate and gaseous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) samples were collected from an urban area in Dokki
(Giza) during the summer of 2007 and the winter of 2007–2008. The average concentrations of PAHs were 1,429.74 ng/m3 in the particulate phase, 2,912.56 ng/m3 in the gaseous phase, and 4,342.30 ng/m3 in the particulate + gaseous phases during the period of study. Dokki has high level concentrations of PAH compounds compared
with many polluted cities in the world. The concentrations of PAH compounds in the particulate and gaseous phases were higher
in the winter and lower in the summer. Total concentrations of PAHs in the particulate phase and gaseous phase were 22.58%
and 77.42% in summer and 36.97% and 63.03% in winter of the total (particulate + gaseous) concentrations of PAHs, respectively.
The gaseous/particulate ratios of PAHs concentration were 3.43 in summer and 1.71 in winter. Significant negative correlation
coefficients were found between the ambient temperature and concentrations of the total PAHs in the particulate and gaseous
phases. The distribution of individual PAHs and different categories of PAHs based on aromatic ring number in the particulate
and gaseous phases during the summer and winter were nearly similar, indicating similar emission sources of PAHs in both two
seasons. Benzo(b)fluoranthene in the particulate phase and naphthalene in the gaseous phase were the most abundant compounds. Diagnostic concentration
ratios of PAH compounds indicate that these compounds are emitted mainly from pyrogenic sources, mainly local vehicular exhaust
emissions. Health risks associated with the inhalation of individual PAHs in particulate and gaseous phases were assessed
on the basis of its benzo(a)pyrene equivalent concentration. Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene and benzo(a)pyrene in the particulate phase and benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(a)anthracene in the gaseous phase were the greatest contributors to the total health risks. The relative mean contributions
of the total carcinogenic activity (concentrations) of all PAHs to the total concentrations of PAHs were 29.37% and 25.15%
in the particulate phase and 0.76% and 0.92% in the gaseous phase during the summer and winter, respectively. These results
suggest that PAHs in the particulate phase in the ambient air of Dokki may pose a potential health risk. 相似文献
This study reports the feasibility of applying directly suspended liquid-phase microextraction (DSLPME)-gas chromatography detection for the pre-concentration and determination of low levels of eight polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in aqueous samples. The technique requires minimal sample preparation, analysis time and solvent consumption and represents significant advantages over conventional analytical methods. The experimental parameters such as salt content, sample temperature, stirring rate, extraction time, micro-drop volume and breakthrough volume were investigated and found to have significant influences on DSLPME. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the enrichment factor ranged from 578 to 729, and the recovery was above 93 %. Calibration curves possessed good linearity (R2?>?0.99) over a wide concentration range of 0.1–10.0 μg L?1 with limits of detection ranging from 0.01 to 0.07 μg L?1. The relative standard deviations for 1.0 μg L?1 of PCBs in water by using internal standard were in the range 2–14 % (n?=?3). The proposed simple, accurate and sensitive analytical method was applied successfully to the determination of trace amounts of PCBs in water samples. 相似文献
The extent to which smokeless tobacco endangers human health is an ongoing subject of debate. In this study, concentrations of toxic metals, cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni), were measured in different snuff products (dry brown and black and moist green and brown), available and consumed in Pakistan. Concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Ni were determined in 23 samples of various brands of snuff by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry, after microwave-assisted acid digestion. The reliability of methodology was assured by analyzing certified reference material. The resulted data of toxic metals in different snuff products are comparable to the existing information with limited exceptions. It was estimated that 10 g intake of different types of snuff could contribute 14–68, 17–47, and 20–73 % of the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake for Cd, Ni, and Pb, respectively. 相似文献
Sunflower plants were treated with 14C-chlorpyrifos under conditions simulating local agricultural practice. Residues present in the oil, methanol extract and cake of the treated sunflower seeds were 7.2, 2.8, and 12 ppm, respectively. When rats fed on sunflower cake containing bound residues for three days, the animals eliminated 46 % of the radioactivity in urine, 25 % in feces and 10 % in the expired air. A further bioavailable amount of 8 % was found in selected organs indicating that the bound residues were highly bioavailable. Chromatographic analysis of urine extract revealed the presence of the parent compound, its oxon, desethyl chlorpyrifos and desethyl chlorpyrifos oxon as free metabolites in addition to a conjugated metabolite. It was liberated by acid hydrolysis and identified as 3,5,6-trichloro-2-hydroxypyridine. Bound residues were found to have biological effects such as inhibition of rat plasma ChE, elevations of liver parameters (ALT, AST, and ALP), decrease in total protein and albumin content suggesting a hepatotoxic potential. A significant increase in the values of creatinine, urea, cholesterol, triglycerides and significant decrease in Catalase and Glutathion-S-Transfrase were observed in treated rats. 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Drug resistance of cancer cells is a major issue in cancer treatment. Plant-mediated nanoparticle synthesis has been applied in recent years to... 相似文献