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.
The objectives of this study were to determine environmental occurrence and concentrations of selected currently-used-pesticides and some transformation products in agricultural farms in the Okanagan Valley (OKV), and to conduct a simple risk assessment of environmental pesticides levels detected in OKV on non-target aquatic organisms. The OKV is the tree fruit country of the Province of British Columbia where considerable amount of pesticides are applied annually. Water, sediment and soil samples were collected at eleven sites in early June and late September following rainfall events and/or extended periods of irrigation from drainage ditches and/or from small streams. Undisturbed reference sites were also sampled. Study results showed that forty of the eighty chemicals analyzed, including organochlorine, nitrogen-containing and organophosphate pesticides commonly used for OKV crops, were detected in runoff and small stream water samples. Among which, endosulfan-sulfate was the most frequently detected chemical. Also, azinophos-methyl (0.699-25.5 ng/L), diazinon (0.088-214 ng/L) exceeded, and α-, β- endosulfan, endosulfan sulphate approached the guidelines for the protection of aquatic life. 相似文献
Biomass is recognized as an important solution to energy and the environmental problems related to fossil fuel usage. The rational utilization of biomass waste is important not only for the prevention of environmental issues, but also for the effective utilization of natural resources. Pyrolysis and hyrolysis in subcritical water are promising processes for biomass waste conversion. This paper deals with hydrolysis and pyrolysis of peanut shells. Hydrolysis and pyrolysis kinetics of peanut shell wastes were investigated for the in-depth exploration of process mechanisms and for the control of the reactions. Hydrolysis kinetics was conducted in a temperature range of 180–240 °C. A simplified kinetic model to describe the hydrolysis of peanut shells was proposed. Hydrolysis activation energy as well as the pre-exponential factor was determined according to the model. The target products of peanut shell hydrolysis, reducing sugars, can reach up to 40.5 % (maximum yield) at 220 °C and 180 s. Pyrolysis characteristics were investigated. The results showed that three stages appeared in this thermal degradation process. Kinetic parameters in terms of apparent pyrolysis activation energy and pre-exponential factor were obtained by the Coats–Redfern method. 相似文献
Studies on the distribution and isotope compositions of fallout Pu are important for source characterization of possible future non-fallout Pu contamination in aquatic environments, and useful for dating of recent sediments to understand the pollution history of environmental contaminants. We present the historical record of atmospheric Pu fallout reconstructed from a sediment core from Lake Hongfeng, China. The Pu activity profile was in agreement with the 137Cs profile. Inventories were 50.7 Bq m(-2) for 239+240Pu and 1586 Bq m(-2) for 137Cs. The average 240Pu/239Pu atom ratio was 0.185+/-0.009, indicating that Pu originated from global stratospheric fallout rather than from direct tropospheric or close-in fallout from the Chinese nuclear testing conducted in the 1970s. Our data suggested that Lake Hongfeng would be an ideal setting for monitoring atmospheric fallout and environmental changes in this region. 相似文献
The artificially high soil cadmium (Cd) concentration screening method was used to screen Cd-hyperaccumulators from floricultural plants. Among the five species of floricultural plants screened, Cosmos bipinnata showed the characteristics of Cd-accumulators. A pot experiment was conducted to further study Cd accumulation characteristics of C. bipinnata. The results showed that the biomass, chlorophyll content, superoxide dismutase activity, peroxidase activity and soluble protein content of C. bipinnata first increased and later decreased with the increase in soil Cd concentration, but the carotenoid content and catalase activity of C. bipinnata reduced. Cd contents in roots, stems, leaves and shoots of C. bipinnata increased with increasing soil Cd concentration. When the soil Cd concentration was 50?mg?kg?1, the Cd content in shoots was up to 112.62?mg?kg?1, which was higher than the Cd-hyperaccumulator critical value. The root and shoot bioconcentration factors exceeded 1 in various Cd treatments, but the translocation factors were less than 1. When the soil Cd concentration was 50?mg?kg?1, the Cd accumulation in shoots achieved the maximum of 224.30?μg plant?1. Therefore, considering the tolerance and accumulation of Cd, C. bipinnata is a Cd-accumulator that could be used to remediate Cd-contaminated urban soil. 相似文献
This paper is to investigate the behavior of residents towards electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) recycling in Beijing. For this purpose a large sample questionnaire survey was performed to explore the residents’ characteristics of recycling behavior and preference of e-waste recycling pattern. Besides, the willingness of residents to participate in e-waste recycling was also assessed in our study. For this a logistic regression model was developed to estimate and explain residents’ willingness in e-waste recycling. The model showed that Convenience of recycling facilities and service, Residential conditions, Recycling habit and Economic benefits are four determinants of Beijing residents’ willingness and behavior in e-waste recycling. And centralized recycling pattern by professional recovery spots would have a broad prospect if various kinds of channels can be provided to make the residents feel more convenient in e-waste recycling. 相似文献
Tremendous increases in biodegradable (food waste) generation significantly impact the local authorities, who are responsible to manage, treat and dispose of this waste. The process of separation of food waste at its generation source is identified as effective means in reducing the amount food waste sent to landfill and can be reused as feedstock to downstream treatment processes namely composting or anaerobic digestion. However, these efforts will only succeed with positive attitudes and highly participations rate by the public towards the scheme. Thus, the social survey (using questionnaires) to analyse public’s view and influencing factors towards participation in source separation of food waste in households based on the theory of planned behaviour technique (TPB) was performed in June and July 2011 among selected staff in Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor. The survey demonstrates that the public has positive intention in participating provided the opportunities, facilities and knowledge on waste separation at source are adequately prepared by the respective local authorities. Furthermore, good moral values and situational factors such as storage convenience and collection times are also encouraged public’s involvement and consequently, the participations rate. The findings from this study may provide useful indicator to the waste management authorities in Malaysia in identifying mechanisms for future development and implementation of food waste source separation activities in household programmes and communication campaign which advocate the use of these programmes. 相似文献