Occurrence,toxicity and remediation of polyethylene terephthalate plastics. A review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Polyethylene terephthalate is a common plastic in many products such as viscose rayon for clothing, and packaging material in the food and beverage industries....     

Degradation of doxycycline antibiotics using lanthanum copper oxide microspheres under simulated sunlight

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, lanthanum copper oxide was synthesized under hydrothermal techniques and characterized for doxycycline degradation. The catalyst...     

Thermal treatment of plasma-synthesized goethite improves Fenton-like degradation of orange II dye

Various iron oxides are used for Fenton reactions to degrade organic pollutants. The degradation efficiency may be improved by transforming an iron oxide phase to another. Here, we report on the transformation of goethite into hematite by thermal treatment at 400 °C. The products were analyzed by X-ray diffractometry, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and N₂-physisorption. The catalytic activities were measured for orange II bleaching at initial concentration of 25 mg L^?1, pH 3, catalyst concentration of 0.2 g L^?1; 5 mM H₂O₂, 30 °C. Results show that the synthesized goethite was successfully transformed into hematite, and the specific surface area of the material increased from 134 to 163 m² g^?1. The bleaching efficiency of the orange II dye reached 100 % for the hematite product, versus 78 % for goethite. Therefore, a moderate thermal treatment of a plasma-synthesized goethite improves the catalytic oxidation of organic pollutants.     

Thermal tolerance of larvae of Pollicipes elegans, a marine species with an antitropical distribution

For the antitropical gooseneck barnacle Pollicipes elegans, population-specific physiological temperature tolerance of larvae may serve as a barrier to larval dispersal across the warmest regions of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Thermal tolerance ranges of larvae of three different populations of P. elegans sampled in 2011 and 2012 (Mexico [MX], El Salvador [ES], and Peru [PE]) were investigated by measuring three indicators of physiological performance: swimming activity, oxygen consumption, and lethality or LT₅₀. The thermal tolerance profiles, which include measurable optimum (maximum aerobic performance), pejus (“getting worse”) and pessimum (worst aerobic performance) ranges, of larvae from the three populations were consistent with their characteristic environmental temperatures. In MX, larvae live close to the upper border of their optimum during warm months and so have a limited capacity to tolerate higher-than-normal temperatures. Larvae from the ES population likewise appear to live within their optimum temperature range, but these larvae lack a detectable pessimum range, suggesting they would be unable to cope with temperatures above their pejus range. Larvae from PE have a broad optimum but no pejus range. Different thermal tolerance ranges provide strong evidence for population-dependent physiological adaptations in P. elegans. For the southern (PE) and northern (MX) P. elegans populations, high tropical temperatures are likely to be a strong direct physiological barrier to larval survival and dispersal, which is in contrast to the more thermally tolerant ES population.     

Assessing environmental exposure and health impacts of gold mining in Ghana

Understanding the extent to which people are being exposed to environmental contaminants helps to identify those populations which may be disproportionately exposed to the contaminants of potential public health concern. This study represents the first report of a comparison of heavy metal arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), platinum (Pt), zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn) concentrations in the blood of residents of mining and non-mining communities in Ghana. Blood sampling, health records, and interviews were used in this study to establish the links between the levels of contaminants and health effects in humans within a mining and non-mining community in Ghana. Results of this study show that mean concentration of As in blood in Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality/Prestea-Huni Valley District (TNMA/PHVD) (mining communities) and Cape Coast Metropolis (CCMA) (non-mining community) was 18- and 2-fold higher, respectively, than the WHO guideline value of 0.002?mg?L^?1. The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, Hg, and Mn were elevated up to 20-fold higher in the blood of resident adults and children in TNMA/PHVD than in CCMA. The risk of acute respiratory infections in the exposed populations of TNMA and PHVD were approximately 41- and 12-fold greater than the unexposed group. The risk of diabetes mellitus in the exposed populations of TNMA and PHVD were also approximately 20- and 4-fold higher than the unexposed group. In TNMA and PHVD, 40 blood donors were suffering from hyperkeratosis or pigmentation unlike their CCMA counterparts. Data suggest a potential association between mining activities and the levels of these heavy metals. However, the proportion of anthropogenic contribution to the levels of these metals in the blood remains uncertain. This uncertainty seems to be the umbrella under which both government and mining companies continue to hide, leading to inaction.     

Sustainable shrimp fishery management recommendations for a coastal lagoon in Baja California Sur,Mexico

The Baja California Peninsula is considered México's most productive in terms of commercial fisheries. Very few quantitative assessments of the economic importance of this region exist, especially considering artisanal fisheries and their relationships with ecological data. Datasets from government records on shrimp capture in Magdalena Bay, an arid coastal lagoon of Baja California Sur were collected, analysed and correlated with ecological data. Over the 10-year period analysed, fisheries from Magdalena Bay made up 27.5% of the shrimp capture of the state, contributing over US$15.5 million to the economy of the country. The impressive value of this resource warrants considerable attention in the design of land-use plans for the future of the region. Analysis of ecological and economical data on shrimp fishery activities in the Magdalena Bay region enables us to propose recommendations to enhance the sustainable development of the local inhabitants. A thorough assessment of the potential value of alternative economic activities should be conducted to determine their potential to provide similar productive use of the natural resources of the region as the shrimp fishery. Also, from a more specific management viewpoint, harvest rates of small shrimp in the channels should be reduced.     

Sustainable forest management practice in Central African States and customary law

Sustainable forest management (SFM) has become a major focus for the international community. This is because of the multifunctional importance of forest resources for the entire planet, namely ecological, socio-economic, cultural and climatic balance. General awareness of forest importance unfortunately coincides with the observed increase in threats, especially anthropogenic, to this world heritage. To tackle the continuing deforestation and degradation, the international community, through the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and its predecessors, has attempted to adopt an international convention on SFM based on the 15 Rio Declaration principles. The limited success of international negotiations aimed at the adoption of such an instrument leads us to seek an alternative within international law theories, through analysis of the relationship between states practice in SFM and customary international law. To this end, this paper focuses on the practice of Central African States in sustainable forest management, especially statement of principles, sub-regional treaty and domestic legislation. The analysis shows that their practice fulfils all the requirements in order to be regarded as regional custom. Therefore, principles and state practices of SFM can thus be considered legally binding for this sub-region, despite some major implementation shortcomings.     

New recruit safety expectations: Relationships with trust and perceived job risk

Very little research has examined the safety expectations of new recruits, particularly those of individuals about to enter full-time work for the first time. There is evidence that new recruits have proportionally more accidents in the first period of their employment. One possible explanation for this is that the safety expectations of new recruits do not match the reality of the workplace they are about to enter. In Study 1 data on workplace safety expectations were collected from 142 final year high school students from six schools. Study 2 collected data from 40 organizations on the safety expectations of a new recruit and compared it with safety expectation data from a manager of the job they were entering. Both studies found that new recruit safety expectations were significantly correlated with ratings of safety specific trust in co-workers and management. Study 2 found that new recruits safety expectation scores were significantly higher than those given by managers. The results suggest that organizations need to develop a clear safety-specific psychological contract with new recruits.     

Social network analysis and valid Markov chain Monte Carlo tests of null models

Analyses of animal social networks derived from group-based associations often rely on randomisation methods developed in ecology (Manly, Ecology 76:1109–1115, 1995) and made available to the animal behaviour community through implementation of a pair-wise swapping algorithm by Bejder et al. (Anim Behav 56:719–725, 1998). We report a correctable flaw in this method and point the reader to a wider literature on the subject of null models in the ecology literature. We illustrate the importance of correcting the method using a toy network and use it to make a preliminary analysis of a network of associations among eagle rays.

Valuing floodplain protection and avoidance in a coastal watershed

Flood‐related losses in the United States are increasing despite large‐scale mitigation efforts. To offset the rising cost of floods, the US Congress passed legislation in 2014 that will augment insurance premiums to make the National Flood Insurance Program more actuarially sound. Consequently, there is interest in lowering flood‐related costs to the homeowner, both in terms of premiums and damage. This study addresses the issue by integrating premium savings and damages avoided based on several mitigation scenarios. Specifically, it examines how much policyholders within a watershed near Houston, Texas, could have saved between 1999 and 2009 had their communities introduced specific avoidance‐based mitigation activities. The results indicate that homeowners and communities can offset premium rises and a majority of the damage suffered through marginal expansions of such initiatives. However, the costs associated with their implementation could counter some of these savings, and hence they need to be considered in future work.