Effects of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on marine organisms: from single-species studies to an ecosystem-based approach

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are contaminants of emerging concern that are increasing in use and have demonstrated negative effects on aquatic organisms. There is a growing body of literature reporting the effects of PPCPs on freshwater organisms, but studies on the effects of PPCPs to marine and estuarine organisms are limited. Among effect studies, the vast majority examines subcellular or cellular effects, with far fewer studies examining organismal- and community-level effects. We reviewed the current published literature on marine and estuarine algae, invertebrates, fish, and mammals exposed to PPCPs, in order to expand upon current reviews. This paper builds on previous reviews of PPCP contamination in marine environments, filling prior literature gaps and adding consideration of ecosystem function and level of knowledge across marine habitat types. Finally, we reviewed and compiled data gaps suggested by current researchers and reviewers and propose a multi-level model to expand the focus of current PPCP research beyond laboratory studies. This model includes examination of direct ecological effects including food web and disease dynamics, biodiversity, community composition, and other ecosystem-level indicators of contaminant-driven change.     

Integrated assessment of a new Waste-to-Energy facility in Central Greece in the context of regional perspectives

The main aim of this study is the integrated assessment of a proposed Waste-to-Energy facility that could contribute in the Municipal Solid Waste Management system of the Region of Central Greece. In the context of this paper alternative transfer schemes for supplying the candidate facility were assessed considering local conditions and economical criteria. A mixed-integer linear programming model was applied for the determination of optimum locations of Transfer Stations for an efficient supplying chain between the waste producers and the Waste-to-Energy facility. Moreover different Regional Waste Management Scenarios were assessed against multiple criteria, via the Multi Criteria Decision Making method ELECTRE III. The chosen criteria were total cost, Biodegradable Municipal Waste diversion from landfill, energy recovery and Greenhouse Gas emissions and the analysis demonstrated that a Waste Management Scenario based on a Waste-to-Energy plant with an adjacent landfill for disposal of the residues would be the best performing option for the Region, depending however on the priorities of the decision makers. In addition the study demonstrated that efficient planning is necessary and the case of three sanitary landfills operating in parallel with the WtE plant in the study area should be avoided. Moreover alternative cases of energy recovery of the candidate Waste-to-Energy facility were evaluated against the requirements of the new European Commission Directive on waste in order for the facility to be recognized as recovery operation. The latter issue is of high significance and the decision makers in European Union countries should take it into account from now on, in order to plan and implement facilities that recover energy efficiently. Finally a sensitivity check was performed in order to evaluate the effects of increased recycling rate, on the calorific value of treated Municipal Solid Waste and the gate fee of the candidate plant and found that increased recycling efforts would not diminish the potential for incineration with energy recovery from waste and neither would have adverse impacts on the gate fee of the Waste-to-Energy plant. In general, the study highlighted the need for efficient planning in solid waste management, by taking into account multiple criteria and parameters and utilizing relevant tools and methodologies into this context.     

Application of carbon adsorbents prepared from Brazilian-pine fruit shell for the removal of reactive orange 16 from aqueous solution: Kinetic,equilibrium, and thermodynamic studies

Activated (AC-PW) and non-activated (C-PW) carbonaceous materials were prepared from the Brazilian-pine fruit shell (Araucaria angustifolia) and tested as adsorbents for the removal of reactive orange 16 dye (RO-16) from aqueous effluents. The effects of shaking time, adsorbent dosage and pH on the adsorption capacity were studied. RO-16 uptake was favorable at pH values ranging from 2.0 to 3.0 and from 2.0 to 7.0 for C-PW and AC-PW, respectively. The contact time required to obtain the equilibrium using C-PW and AC-PW as adsorbents was 5 and 4 h at 298 K, respectively. The fractionary-order kinetic model provided the best fit to experimental data compared with other models. Equilibrium data were better fit to the Sips isotherm model using C-PW and AC-PW as adsorbents. The enthalpy and entropy of adsorption of RO-16 were obtained from adsorption experiments ranging from 298 to 323 K.     

Reorienting Systematic Conservation Assessment for Effective Conservation Planning

Abstract: Systematic conservation assessment (an information‐gathering and prioritization process used to select the spatial foci of conservation initiatives) is often considered vital to conservation‐planning efforts, yet published assessments have rarely resulted in conservation action. Conservation assessments may lead more directly to effective conservation action if they are reoriented to inform conservation decisions. Toward this goal, we evaluated the relative priority for conservation of 7 sites proposed for the first forest reserves in the Union of the Comoros, an area with high levels of endemism and rapidly changing land uses in the western Indian Ocean. Through the analysis of 30 indicator variables measured at forest sites and nearby villages, we assessed 3 prioritization criteria at each site: conservation value, threat to loss of biological diversity from human activity, and feasibility of reserve establishment. Our results indicated 2 sites, Yiméré and Hassera‐Ndrengé, were priorities for conservation action. Our approach also informed the development of an implementation strategy and enabled an evaluation of previously unexplored relations among prioritization criteria. Our experience suggests that steps taken to ensure the closer involvement of practitioners, include a broader range of social data, encourage stakeholder participation, and consider the feasibility of conservation action can improve the relevance of assessments for conservation planning, strengthen the scientific basis for conservation decisions, and result in a more realistic evaluation of conservation alternatives.     

Molten carbonate fuel cells fed with biogas: Combating H2S

The use of biomass and waste to produce alternative fuels, due to environmental and energy security reasons, is a high-quality solution especially when integrated with high efficiency fuel cell applications. In this article we look into the coupling of an anaerobic digestion process of organic residues to electrochemical conversion to electricity and heat through a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC). In particular the pathway of the exceedingly harmful compound hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) in these phases is analysed. Hydrogen sulphide production in the biogas is strongly interrelated with methane and/or hydrogen yield, as well as with operating conditions like temperature and pH. When present in the produced biogas, this compound has multiple negative effects on the performance and durability of an MCFC. Therefore, there are important issues of integration to be solved.Three general approaches to solve the sulphur problem in the MCFC are possible. The first is to prevent the formation of hydrogen sulphide at the source: favouring conditions that inhibit its production during fermentation. Secondly, to identify the sulphur tolerance levels of the fuel cell components currently in use and develop sulphur-tolerant components that show long-term electrochemical performance and corrosion stability. The third approach is to remove the generated sulphur species to very low levels before the gas enters the fuel cell.     

Modeling a spatially restricted distribution in the Neotropics: How the size of calibration area affects the performance of five presence-only methods

We here examine species distribution models for a Neotropical anuran restricted to ombrophilous areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest hotspot. We extend the known occurrence for the treefrog Hypsiboas bischoffi (Anura: Hylidae) through GPS field surveys and use five modeling methods (BIOCLIM, DOMAIN, OM-GARP, SVM, and MAXENT) and selected bioclimatic and topographic variables to model the species distribution. Models were first trained using two calibration areas: the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF) and the whole of South America (SA). All modeling methods showed good levels of predictive power and accuracy with mean AUC ranging from 0.77 (BIOCLIM/BAF) to 0.99 (MAXENT/SA). MAXENT and SVM were the most accurate presence-only methods among those tested here. All but the SVM models calibrated with SA predicted larger distribution areas when compared to models calibrated in BAF. OM-GARP dramatically overpredicted the species distribution for the model calibrated in SA, with a predicted area around 10⁶ km² larger than predicted by other SDMs. With increased calibration area (and environmental space), OM-GARP predictions followed changes in the environmental space associated with the increased calibration area, while MAXENT models were more consistent across calibration areas. MAXENT was the only method that retrieved consistent predictions across calibration areas, while allowing for some overprediction, a result that may be relevant for modeling the distribution of other spatially restricted organisms.     

Environmentally Friendly Polyurethane Composites: Preparation, Characterization and Mechanical Properties

The waterborne polyurethane (PU) prepolymer was prepared based on isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), polyester polyol (N220), dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) and hydroxyethyl methyl acrylate (HEMA). The modified waterborne polyurethane–acrylate (PUA) emulsions were obtained with different proportions of acrylate (butyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate) and initiating agent by in situ dispersion technique. The structures and thermal properties of prepared PU and PUA were analyzed and characterized with FT-IR, UV–Vis spectroscopy and DSC. The PUA hybrid samples had lower glass transition temperature of hard segment and higher decomposition temperatures than PU sample. Performances of the emulsion and film were studied by means of apparent viscidity, particle size and polydispersity, surface tension and mechanical properties. The results indicated that the particle sizes of the PUA dispersions were larger than those of the pure PU and the solvent resistance, mechanical properties of PUA films was improved compare with the unmodified polyurethane film. The film had the biggest hardness and the least water absorption when the BA/MMA mass ratio 5:5 modified PU. The obtained PUA have great potential application such as coatings, leather finishing, adhesives, sealants, plastic coatings and wood finishes.     

Finished leather waste chromium acid extraction and anaerobic biodegradation of the products

Due to the amounts of chromium in the leachate resulting from leather leaching tests, chromium sulfate tanned leather wastes are very often considered hazardous wastes. To overcome this problem, one option could be recovering the chromium and, consequently, lowering its content in the leather scrap. With this objective, chromium leather scrap was leached with sulfuric acid solutions at low temperature also aiming at maximizing chromium removal with minimum attack of the leather matrix. The effects of leather scrap dimension, sulfuric acid and sodium sulfate concentration in the solutions, as well as extraction time and temperature on chromium recovery were studied, and, additionally, organic matrix degradation was evaluated. The best conditions found for chromium recovery were leather scrap conditioning using 25 mL of concentrated H₂SO₄/L solution at 293 or 313 K during 3 or 6 days. Under such conditions, 30–60 ± 5% of chromium was recovered and as low as 3–6 ± 1% of the leather total organic carbon (TOC) was dissolved. Using such treatment, the leather scrap area and volume are reduced and the residue is a more brittle material showing enhanced anaerobic biodegradability. Although good recovery results were achieved, due to the fact that the amount of chromium in eluate exceeded the threshold value this waste was still hazardous. Thus, it needs to be methodically washed in order to remove all the chromium de-linked from collagen.     

Assessing Sustainability at Multiple Scales in a Rotational Bushmeat Hunting System

Abstract: Results of many studies show unsustainable levels of bushmeat hunting across West/Central Africa. Nevertheless, these results are usually derived from snapshot sustainability indices in which critical parameters are often taken from the literature. Simple, more informative tools for assessing sustainability are needed. We evaluated the impact of bushmeat hunting across a range of temporal, spatial, and taxonomic scales in a comparison of different measures of sustainability. Over 15 months in 2002–2004 in and around a village close to Equatorial Guinea's Monte Alén National Park, we collected data via a village offtake survey, hunter‐camp bushmeat‐consumption diaries, hunter interviews, and following hunters during hunts. We compared 2003 data with a previous offtake survey (1998–1999) and interview reports back to 1990. In the past 14 years, average distance from the village at which hunters operated remained constant, with hunters switching back and forth between long‐established camps, although trapping effort increased. In the past 5 years, overall offtake and number of active hunters did not change substantially, although catch per unit effort (CPUE) decreased slightly. Although the proportion of the two most commonly trapped species (Cephalophus monticola and Atherurus africanus) and gun‐hunted primates increased in the offtake, species presumably less robust to trapping decreased slightly. Apparent sustainability in economic terms may be masking gradual local extirpation of more vulnerable species before and during this study. Our results suggest that changes in prey profiles and CPUE may be the most accurate indicators of actual sustainability; these indices can be monitored with simple village‐based offtake surveys and hunter interviews to improve community management of bushmeat hunting.