This study includes a survey of the procedures available, techniques, and methods of handling and disposing of medical waste at medium (between 100 and 200 beds) to large (over 200 beds) size healthcare facilities located in Irbid city (a major city in the northern part of Jordan). A total of 14 healthcare facilities, including four hospitals and 10 clinical laboratories, serving a total population of about 1.5 million, were surveyed during the course of this research. This study took into consideration both the quantity and quality of the generated wastes to determine generation rates and physical properties. Results of the survey showed that healthcare facilities in Irbid city have less appropriate practices when it comes to the handling, storage, and disposal of wastes generated in comparison to the developed world. There are no defined methods for handling and disposal of these wastes, starting from the personnel responsible for collection through those who transport the wastes to the disposal site. Moreover, there are no specific regulations or guidelines for segregation or classification of these wastes. This means that wastes are mixed, for example, wastes coming from the kitchen with those generated by different departments. Also, more importantly, none of the sites surveyed could provide estimated quantities of waste generated by each department, based upon the known variables within the departments. Average generation rates of total medical wastes in the hospitals were estimated to be 6.10 kg/patient/day (3.49 kg/bed/day), 5.62 kg/patient/day (3.14 kg/bed/day), and 4.02 kg/patient/day (1.88 kg/bed/day) for public, maternity, and private hospitals, respectively. For medical laboratories, rates were found to be in the range of 0.053-0.065 kg/test-day for governmental laboratories, and 0.034-0.102 kg/test-day for private laboratories. Although, based on the type of waste, domestic or general waste makes up a large proportion of the waste volume, so that if such waste is not mixed with patient derived waste, it can be easily handled. However, based on infections, it is important for healthcare staff to take precautions in handling sharps and pathological wastes, which comprises only about 26% of the total infectious wastes. Statistical analysis was conducted to develop mathematical models to aid in the prediction of waste quantities generated by the hospitals studied, or similar sites in the city that are not included in this study. In these models, the number of patients, number of beds, and hospital type were determined to be significant factors on waste generation. Such models provide decision makers with tools to better manage their medical waste, given the dynamic conditions of their healthcare facilities. 相似文献
The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of leachate recirculation on the degradation of municipal solid wastes (bioreactor concept). The study was carried out using columns containing approximately 50 kg of waste, in order to follow waste degradation over a limited time. Three types of waste were studied: fresh waste of standard composition, fresh waste of fermentable composition and some 8-yr-old waste extracted from a site in France. Measurement of the global parameters, such as chemical oxygen demand (COD), volatile acidity, alkalinity, leachate conductivity, methane potential of the wastes and biogas production monitoring (volume of CO2 and CH4 produced), were carried out. The quantity of oxydizable matter and biogas production was increased by the leachate recirculation, and the duration of the first degradation phases was reduced in all cases. Chloride, ammonium and organic pollution accumulation was observed according to the duration of recirculation. After 400 days of degradation, waste stabilization seemed to be reached for all of the recirculated columns (COD<300 mg/L O2, and methane potential reached). 相似文献
The present work focuses on the fate of two cancerostatic platinum compounds (CPC), cisplatin and carboplatin, as well as of two inorganic platinum compounds, [PtCl4]2− and [PtCl6]2− in biological wastewater treatment. Laboratory experiments modelling adsorption of these compounds onto activated sludge showed promising specific adsorption coefficients KD and KOC and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. However, the adsorption properties of the investigated substances were differing significantly. Adsorption decreased following the order cisplatin > [PtCl6]2− > [PtCl4]2− > carboplatin. Log KD-values were ranging from 2.5 to 4.3 , log KOC from 3.0 to 4.7.
A pilot membrane bioreactor system (MBR) was installed in a hospital in Vienna and fed with wastewater from the oncologic in-patient treatment ward to investigate CPC-adsorption in a sewage treatment plant. During three monitoring periods Pt-concentrations were measured in the influent (3–250 μg l−1 Pt) and the effluent (2–150 μg l−1 Pt) of the treatment plant using ICP-MS. The monitoring periods (duration 30 d) revealed elimination efficiencies between 51% and 63% based on averaged weekly input–output budgets. The derived log KD-values and log KOC-values ranged from 2.4 to 4.8 and from 2.8 to 5.3, respectively. Species analysis using HPLC-ICP-MS proofed that mainly carboplatin was present as intact drug in the influent and – due to low log KD – in the effluent of the MBR. 相似文献
The temporal variability and bioaccumulation dynamics of individual PCBs were studied in a detritivorous fish (Sábalo: Prochilodus lineatus) collected from 1999 to 2005 in the polluted Buenos Aires coastal area. Fish muscles contain high concentrations of total PCBs (11+/-7.2, 4.6+/-3.4 or 19+/-13 microg g(-1), dry, fresh and lipid weight, respectively) reflecting chronic bioaccumulation from sewage-industrial particulates. On a temporal basis, lipid normalized PCBs concentrations peaked by the end of 2001-2002 coincident with the rainiest period over the last four decades and shortly after PCB prohibition in the country, reflecting massive discharges to the coastal ecosystem. PCB composition in fish muscles show a prevailing contribution of hexachlorobiphenyls (35+/-4.2%), followed by hepta (23+/-3.0%), penta (20+/-3.6%), tri-tetra (16+/-4.8%) and minor proportions of octa-decachlorobiphenyls (5.7+/-3.1%) similar to an Aroclor 1242-1254-1260 1:2:4 mixture. During 2001-2002 maxima fish showed an enrichment in tri-tetrachlorobiphenyls ( approximately 1242-1254-1260 1:1:1 mixture) denoting a fresher signature. Fish/settling material lipid-organic carbon accumulation factors (BSAFs: 2.4-46, average: 21+/-10) plotted against kow showed a parabolic trend (BSAFs=-0.38 log kow2 + 5.16 log kow -15.85; R2=0.46) maximizing at hexa, hepta and octachlorobiphenyl 203 with reduced bioaccumulation of a few hepta (170, 191) and most octa-decachlorobihenyls suggesting limited intestinal absorption. 相似文献
We designed a new gas exchange system that concurrently measures foliar H2O, O3, and CO2 flux (HOC flux system) while delivering known O3 concentrations. Stomatal responses of three species were tested: snapbean, and seedlings of California black oak (deciduous broadleaf) and blue oak (evergreen broadleaf). Acute O3 exposure (120-250 ppb over an hour) was applied under moderate light and low vapor pressure deficits during near steady state conditions. The rate of stomatal closure was measured when the whole plant was placed in the dark. An adjacent leaf on each plant was also concurrently measured in an O3-free cuvette. Under some conditions, direct measurements and calculated foliar O3 flux were within the same order of magnitude; however, endogenously low gs or O3 exposure-induced depression of gs resulted in an overestimation of calculated O3 fluxes compared with measured O3 fluxes. Sluggish stomata in response to light extinction with concurrent O3 exposure, and incomplete stomatal closure likewise underestimated measured O3 flux. 相似文献
The effects of variable food supply on growth rate and feeding behaviour in two coexisting intertidal gastropods were examined
through field and laboratory experiments involving mark and recapture procedures, growth experiments under controlled food
supply and video observations of feeding. All cohorts of both Japeuthria species grew most in summer, with the highest growth rate being achieved by the youngest cohort of both sexes. In contrast,
almost all cohorts (except the youngest one) showed zero to negative growth in winter. The growth rates of Japeuthria species clearly varied depending on feeding frequencies and the initial size of individuals. Females of both species had
a significantly higher growth rate than males, though the difference became less marked with decreasing food supply. The total
time spent on feeding and the length of the first feeding bout generally increased as the duration of the interval between
meals was increased across treatments. From both the field growth experiment and the observations of feeding behaviour it
is clear that J. ferrea had a higher frequency of feeding than J. cingulata in the field; 1- to 3-d intervals of feeding frequency in the former and 3- to 6-d intervals in the latter. Most notably,
the two species showed a reversal in growth rates with changing conditions of food supply. When food was relatively abundant
J. ferrea achieved better growth than J. cingulata, but J. cingulata grew better than J. ferrea under low food supply. In view of the fact that J. ferrea seems to be competitively superior to J. cingulata under normal levels, the present observation that J. cingulata can perform better than J. ferrea when food availability is low gives an important advantage to the latter in terms of its coexistence with the former.
Received: 9 March 1999 / Accepted: 8 October 1999 相似文献
Strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) contents in the otoliths of yellow and silver European eels [Anguilla anguilla (L.)] collected from coastal waters of the Baltic Sea and a freshwater lake in Sweden were examined by wavelength dispersive
X-ray spectrometry with an electron microprobe. The mean Sr/Ca ratios from elver check to otolith edge were significantly
higher for the eels from coastal waters (5.39 ± 1.09‰) than for those from the lake (0.71 ± 0.89‰). The evidence indicates
that European eels in the Baltic Sea do not necessarily migrate into freshwater streams during the growth phase.
Received: 30 September 1999 / Accepted: 6 April 2000 相似文献
Effects of nutrient treatments on photoacclimation of the hermatypic coral Stylophora pistillata (Esper) were studied. Studies on photoacclimation of colonies from different light regimes in the field were evaluated and
used to design laboratory experiments. Coral colonies were collected in the Gulf of Eilat (Israel) from January to March 1993.
Exterior branches of colonies from different depths (1 to 40 m) displayed different trends in production characteristics at
reduced and very low levels of illumination. From 24 ± 3% to 12 ± 2% of incident surface photosynthetic active radiation (PARo), zooxanthella population density and chlorophyll a+c per 106 zooxanthellae increased, a trend seen in the range of light levels optimal for coral growth (90 to 30% PARo). The Pmax of CO2 per 106 zooxanthellae decreased, while Pmax of CO2 per 103 polyps increased, indicating an increase in zooxanthella population density at low light levels. Proliferous zooxanthella
frequency (PZF, a measure of zooxanthella division) declined significantly at light levels <18 ± 3% PARo. At the lowest levels of illumination (<5% PARo), zooxanthella population density decreased, as did the PZF; chl a+c per 106 zooxanthellae was unchanged. In 28-d experiments, exterior coral branches from the upper surfaces of colonies from 3 m depth
(65 ± 4% PARo) were incubated in aquaria under bright (80 to 90% PARo), reduced (20 to 30% PARo), and extremely low (2 to 4% PARo) light intensities. At each light intensity, the corals were maintained in three feeding treatments: sea water (SW); ammonium
enriched SW (SW + N); SW with Artemia salina nauplii (SW + A). An increase in Pmax of CO2 per 103 polyps was found in corals acclimated to reduced light (20 to 30% PARo) in nutrient-enriched SW, while in SW, where the increase in zooxanthella population density was smaller, it did not occur.
Nutrient enrichments (SW + N at 2 to 4% PARo and SW + A at 20 to 30% PARo) increased zooxanthella population density, but had no effect on chl a+c per 106 zooxanthellae. Acclimation for 14 d to reduced (10 to 20% PARo) and extremely low (1 to 3% PARo) light intensities shifted 14C photoassimilation into glycerol and other compounds (probably glycerides), rather than sugars. Both ammonium addition and
feeding with Artemia salina nauplii resulted in an increase in photosynthetic assimilation of 14C into amino acids. We conclude that acclimation to reduced light consists of two processes: an increase in photosynthetic
pigments and in zooxanthella population density. Both processes require nitrogen, the increase in zooxanthella population
density needing more; this adaptation is therefore limited in nitrogen-poor sea water.
Received: 19 June 1998 / Accepted: 13 June 2000 相似文献
Relatively few insects have invaded the marine environment, and only five species of sea skaters, Halobates Eschscholtz (Hemiptera: Gerridae), have successfully colonized the surface of the open ocean. All five species occur in the
Pacific Ocean, H. germanus White also occurs in the Indian Ocean, whereas H. micans Esch- scholtz is the only species found in the Atlantic Ocean. We sequenced a 780 bp long region of the mitochondrial cytochrome
oxidase subunit I gene (COI) for a total of 66 specimens of the five oceanic Halobates species. Our purpose was to investigate the genetic variation within species and estimate the amount of gene flow between
populations. We defined 27 haplotypes for H. micans and found that haplotype lineages from each of the major oceans occupied by this species are significantly different, having
sequences containing five to seven unique base substitutions. We conclude that gene flow between populations of H. micans inhabiting the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean is limited and hypothesize that these populations have been separated
for 1 to 3 million years. Similarly, there may be limited gene flow between H. germanus populations found in the Pacific and Indian Ocean and between H. sericeus populations inhabiting the northern and southern parts of the Pacific Ocean. Finally, we discuss our findings in relation
to recent hypotheses about the influence of oceanic diffusion on the distribution and population structure of oceanic Halobates spp.
Received: 29 July 1999 / Accepted: 23 November 1999 相似文献
The influence of moulting and ovarian maturation on cadmium accumulation in the tissues of female shore crabs Carcinus maenas exposed to 1 mg Cd l−1 in the water was investigated. Cadmium accumulation in all tissues examined was markedly increased in crabs in the postmoult
stages (A and B) compared to crabs in all other moult stages. During the moult cycle, average cadmium accumulation in the
midgut gland ranged from 29 μg Cd g−1 dw at premoult stage (D2) to 589 μg Cd g−1 dw at postmoult stage (A). Average cadmium concentrations in the haemolymph ranged from 0.56 μg Cd ml−1 at intermoult stage (C4) to 4.6 μg Cd ml−1 at postmoult stage (A), while the gills accumulated from 103 μg Cd g−1 dw in intermoult stage (C3) to 352 μg Cd g−1 dw in postmoult stage (A). Cadmium concentration in gills and haemolymph was also significantly higher in crabs in late premoult
stage (D3) compared to C4-crabs, while midgut gland cadmium concentration remained elevated in C1- and C3- intermoult stages relative to C4. During ovarian maturation the cadmium accumulation in midgut gland, gills, ovaries and haemolymph decreased. Average cadmium
concentration in the midgut gland decreased from 63 μg g−1 dw in ovarian Stage I to 19 μg g−1 dw in ovarian Stage VI. The same pattern was observed for gills, haemolymph and ovaries. The present study demonstrates that
cadmium accumulation in the female shore crab strongly depends on the physiological status of the animal. A possible association
between physiological calcium requirements and cadmium accumulation during moulting is discussed.
Received: 20 January 2000 / Accepted: 20 July 2000 相似文献