Pharmaceuticals can enter the environment through disposal in toilets, sinks and general waste. In the UK, household medicines are correctly disposed of by returning them to a pharmacy. This study examined household patterns of medicine waste, storage and disposal practices via a cross-sectional survey with 663 UK adults. Multiple regression was used to explore the contribution of key variables on self-reported medicines disposal behaviour. Analysis demonstrated that age, information, awareness, probability, attitude and intention all predicted correct disposal behaviour. Results indicate that multiple factors influence different disposal destinations uniquely. Affect and age increase disposal in sink/toilet but reduce disposal in bin. Presence of children increase bin and sink/toilet disposal but decrease pharmacy returns. Awareness and received information on correct disposal reduce bin disposal and increase pharmacy returns. The results suggest people use different mental models for each destination with disposal in sink/toilets and bins considered quicker and safer in the presence of children or for those feeling anxious. It is important to understand the capability, opportunity and motivation people have to return medicines to the pharmacy in addition to raising awareness of correct medicine disposal.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The growing demand for products with lower environmental impact and the extensive applicability of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) have received... 相似文献
Although predators affect prey both via consumption and by changing prey migration behavior, the interplay between these two effects is rarely incorporated into spatial models of predator-prey dynamics and competition among prey. We develop a model where generalist predators have consumptive effects (i.e., altering the likelihood of local prey extinction) as well as nonconsumptive effects (altering the likelihood of colonization) on spatially separated prey populations (metapopulations). We then extend this model to explore the effects of predators on competition among prey. We find that generalist predators can promote persistence of prey metapopulations by promoting prey colonization, but predators can also hasten system-wide extinction by either increasing local extinction or reducing prey migration. By altering rates of prey migration, predators in one location can exert remote control over prey dynamics in another location via predator-mediated changes in prey flux. Thus, the effect of predators may extend well beyond the proportion of patches they visit. In the context of prey metacommunities, predator-mediated shifts in prey migration and mortality can shift the competition-colonization trade-off among competing prey, leading to changes in the prey community as well as changes in the susceptibility of prey species to habitat loss. Consequently, native prey communities may be susceptible to invasion not only by exotic prey species that experience reduced amounts of mortality from resident predators, but also by exotic prey species that exhibit strong dispersal in response to generalist native predators. Ultimately, our work suggests that the consumptive and nonconsumptive effects of generalist predators may have strong, yet potentially cryptic, effects on competing prey capable of mediating coexistence, fostering invasion, and interacting with anthropogenic habitat alteration. 相似文献
Population subdivision was examined in Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) through sequencing of the control region of the mitochondrial genome. A total of 178 samples from the spawning grounds in
the Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas and Mediterranean Sea were analyzed. Among the samples from these locations were 36 electronically
tagged bluefin tuna that were tagged in the North Atlantic and subsequently traveled to one of these known spawning grounds
during the spawning season. Bluefin tuna populations from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea were found to be genetically
distinct based on Φst, and sequence nearest neighbor analyses, showing that these two major spawning areas support independent stocks. Sequence
nearest neighbor analysis indicated significant population subdivision among the Gulf of Mexico, western Mediterranean and
eastern Mediterranean Sea. However, it was not possible to find significant pairwise differences between any sampling areas
when using all samples. If only samples that had a high likelihood of assignment to a specific spawning site were used (young
of the year, spawning adults), the differentiation increased among all sampling areas and the Western Mediterranean Sea was
distinct from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It was not possible to distinguish samples from the Bahamas
from those collected at any of the other sampling sites. These data support tagging results that suggested distinctness of
the Gulf of Mexico, Eastern and Western Mediterranean Sea spawning areas. This level of stock differentiation is only possible
if Atlantic bluefin tuna show strong natal homing to individual spawning grounds. 相似文献
ABSTRACT: Stresses on water resources in the Southwest take many forms and emanate from many different sources, among which are complex institutional arrangements, significant areal and temporal climatic variability, and high urban growth rates. Further challenges to managing supply and demand in this water‐scarce region are posed by environmental, social, and legal differences within and between the individual urban areas. Analysis of the sensitivity of the urban water sector in the Southwest to climatic variability requires careful consideration of these factors. Such analysis, in turn, provides an essential foundation for effective evaluation of the region's sensitivity to longer term climate change. 相似文献
The rates and extents of absorption and desorption of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) samples on different solid substrates comprising montmorillonite, quartz sand, and farm soil, as well as humic acid mixture are reported. The uptake of PVA by the substrates was analyzed as a function of PVA hydrolysis (72–98%), molecular weight, and molecular weight distribution. Higher adsorption was detected on montmorillonite followed by farm soil, whereas the quartz sand did not display any specific adsorption affinity for the PVA. An increase in the hydrolysis degree of PVA increased the adsorption rate and extent whereas this feature was reversed by an increase in PVA molecular weight. The desorption of PVA samples from the different substrates was performed both under various pH conditions and in the presence of concentrated HF that was used to dissolve the silicon derivatives present in the substrates. Biodegradation experiments carried out in liquid cultures of PVA adsorbed on montmorillonite showed that the mineralization of the adsorbed PVA was much lower than that detected for the nonadsorbed PVA. This investigation suggests that irreversible adsorption of PVA on the clay component occurs in soil, thus substantially inhibiting PVA biodegradation. 相似文献
In multiphase systems capillary pressures play a significant role on fluid movement and retention. The facility to predict
the effect of different thermal remediation strategies requires the knowledge of the effect of temperature on capillary pressure-saturation
relationships in the soils.
The objective of recent study was (a) to develop a technique for routinely measuring the pressure-saturation curves of soil
samples saturated with a nonpolar liquid at different regulated temperatures (b) to build a database using the measured pressure-saturation
curves and the physical, chemical properties of the model soils (c) to establish the dependence of nonaqueous phase liquid
retention on the soil properties and the temperature.
The retention curves (extraction isotherms) with nonaqueous phase liquid were determined using a modifiedpressure plate extractor. The wetting phase was a non-aromatic hydrocarbon distillation product. Pressure plates were designed and constructed in
the laboratory of our department. The temperature was held constant at 20, 40 and 60 ∘C.
Statistical analysis was performed involving selected soil parameters and the measured nonaqueous phase liquid retention data.
The results show that knowing some easily measurable soil parameters (bulk density, particle size distribution, humus and
lime content) we can estimate the nonaqueous phase liquid retention of the soils. The measured “extraction isotherms” provide
essential information about the temperature-dependency of pressure-saturation curves. 相似文献
AbstractThe use of electronic cigarettes increases as a supposedly healthier form of nicotine consumption, but safety of vaping remains uncertain. In this study, we assessed whether the use of electronic cigarettes increases the risk of infertility in male rats. Malformations of sperm morphology were more frequent in nicotine-exposed groups than in the control group. Vacuolization of seminiferous epithelium, reduction of spermatogenesis, increased apoptosis of spermatogonia and spermatocytes, and acceleration of degeneration of testes were observed. The male reproductive organs are slightly less affected by vaping than by smoking. Nevertheless, in consequence both may lead to the reduction of fertility. 相似文献