scholarly journals Microplastics in the environment: impact on human health and future mitigation strategies

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Disha Katyal ◽  
Elaine Kong ◽  
Jacit Villanueva
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Plastic Material ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Environment Impact ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legislative Action

Plastic is a synthetic material that has gradually been integrated into nearly all aspects of human life because of its malleable and durable nature; it can commonly be found in consumer products such as textiles, beauty products, and food packaging. The massive prevalence of plastic-based items in our society poses a potential threat to human health and the environment. Since plastic material can physically degrade over time, there is growing concern over the production of microplastics (MPs), which are plastic particles that are ≤5 mm in size. Recent studies confirming the presence of MPs in our environment and drinking water have garnered significant attention worldwide because of the potential impact on human health. As a result of growing public concerns, legislative action has been taken in Canada to ban the manufacture and importation of personal care products containing microbeads. MPs are a new and upcoming issue that the environmental public health field should monitor. In the future, we may play a major role in educating the public on what microplastics are and their impact on our health in addition to consulting stakeholders as regulations get implemented.

The Research of Ecological Floating Bed in Oil Degradation of Inland Water

2014 ◽  
Vol 1073-1076 ◽  
pp. 615-618
Author(s):  
Zhi Xia Wang ◽  
Wei Shen ◽  
Wei He
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Ecological Monitoring ◽  
Inland Waters ◽  
Oil Degradation ◽  
Environment Impact ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Impact Monitoring ◽  
Degrading Bacteria ◽  
Technical Basis

With the rapid economic development of China, Water transport constitutes a potential threat to the aquatic environment, human life and production. In this study, the complex ecological floating bed was studied in oil spill pollution control and ecological environment impact monitoring of inland waters. To explore the complex ecological floating bed in inland, especially the Yangtze River, inland waters. The purpose is to lay the theoretical and technical basis of controlling oil spill efficiently and long-term ecological monitoring. Ecological floating bed with PFU fixed oil-degrading bacteria water oil removal performance tests show that, which is very suitable for oil degradation in water.

Contrasting underlying mechanisms of different barrier coating types

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
pp. 31-37
Author(s):  
Bryan McCulloch ◽  
John Roper ◽  
Kaitlin Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Food Packaging ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Mechanical Degradation ◽  
Design Rules ◽  
Barrier Coatings ◽  
Barrier Materials ◽  
Barrier Coating ◽  
Coating Type ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Barrier coatings are used in applications including food packaging, dry goods, and consumer products to prevent transport of different compounds either through or into paper and paperboard substrates. These coatings are useful in packaging to contain active ingredients, such as fragrances, or to protect contents from detrimental substances, such as oxygen, water, grease, or other chemicals of concern. They also are used to prevent visual changes or mechanical degradation that might occur if the paper becomes saturated. The performance and underlying mechanism depends on the barrier coating type and, in particular, on whether the barrier coating is designed to prevent diffusive or capillary transport. Estimates on the basis of fundamental transport phenomena and data from a broad screening of different barrier materials can be used to understand the limits of various approaches to construct barrier coatings. These estimates also can be used to create basic design rules for general classes of barrier coatings.

SEISMIC RISK AND RESILIENCE ASSESSMENT OF INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES: CASE STUDY ON A BLACK CARBON PLANT

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Karagiannakis
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Fragility Curves ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Industrial Plants ◽  
Plant Equipment

This paper deals with state of the art risk and resilience calculations for industrial plants. Resilience is a top priority issue on the agenda of societies due to climate change and the all-time demand for human life safety and financial robustness. Industrial plants are highly complex systems containing a considerable number of equipment such as steel storage tanks, pipe rack-piping systems, and other installations. Loss Of Containment (LOC) scenarios triggered by past earthquakes due to failure on critical components were followed by severe repercussions on the community, long recovery times and great economic losses. Hence, facility planners and emergency managers should be aware of possible seismic damages and should have already established recovery plans to maximize the resilience and minimize the losses. Seismic risk assessment is the first step of resilience calculations, as it establishes possible damage scenarios. In order to have an accurate risk analysis, the plant equipment vulnerability must be assessed; this is made feasible either from fragility databases in the literature that refer to customized equipment or through numerical calculations. Two different approaches to fragility assessment will be discussed in this paper: (i) code-based Fragility Curves (FCs); and (ii) fragility curves based on numerical models. A carbon black process plant is used as a case study in order to display the influence of various fragility curve realizations taking their effects on risk and resilience calculations into account. Additionally, a new way of representing the total resilience of industrial installations is proposed. More precisely, all possible scenarios will be endowed with their weighted recovery curves (according to their probability of occurrence) and summed together. The result is a concise graph that can help stakeholders to identify critical plant equipment and make decisions on seismic mitigation strategies for plant safety and efficiency. Finally, possible mitigation strategies, like structural health monitoring and metamaterial-based seismic shields are addressed, in order to show how future developments may enhance plant resilience. The work presented hereafter represents a highly condensed application of the research done during the XP-RESILIENCE project, while more detailed information is available on the project website https://r.unitn.it/en/dicam/xp-resilience.

Administrative Responsibility

1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-517
Author(s):  
Abdel Rahman Ahmed Abdel Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
General Term ◽  
Public Utilities ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Bureaucracy ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Administrative Responsibility

Public bureaucracies, a general term including government agenciesand departments in the areas of public utilities, social services, regulatoryservices, security, and law enforcement, are indispensable to our welfare;we need them for the provision of these basic services. To provide theseservices, bureaucracies need such resources as power and money. Thepower of bureaucracies is compounded by their virtual monopoly of technicalexpertise, which puts bureaucrats at the forefront of public policymaking.Indispensable to our welfare though they are, public bureaucracies alsopose a potential threat. In view of the technical knowledge they have andtheir consequent important role in policy making, they may dominate publiclife. In other words, they may develop into a power elite and, as a result,act as masters of the public rather than as its servants. More disturbingly,they may not use the public trust to serve the public or respond to its needs.Still more disturbingly, they may breach the public trust or abuse the powerentrusted to them.All of these possibilities have given rise to a widespread fear ofbureaucracy. In some societies, this fear has reached pandemic levels.Fear of bureaucracy is not unwarranted; there is a consensus and concernin administrative and academic circles that the degree of bureaucraticaccountability has declined in both developed and developingcountries. A central issue with public bureaucracy has always beenhow to make it behave responsibly or in the public interest. Despite aplethora of mechanisms for ensuring administrative responsibility orbureaucratic responsiveness, many public bureaucracies may still be unresponsive and unaccountable ...

scholarly journals The fragranced products phenomenon: air quality and health, science and policy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Steinemann
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Science And Policy ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

Abstract Fragrance is used in consumer products around the world. However, fragrance has been associated with adverse effects on indoor and outdoor air quality and human health. Questions arise, such as the following: Why does fragrance in products pose problems? What are sources of emissions and exposures? What are health and societal effects? What are possible solutions? This paper examines the issue of fragranced consumer products and its science and policy dimensions, with a focus on the implications for air quality and human health. Results include new findings and new questions for future research directions.

A fluorescent aptasensor based on berberine for ultrasensitive detection of bisphenol A in tap water

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuxin Wei ◽  
Yangyang Zhou ◽  
Yanli Wei ◽  
Chuan Dong ◽  
Li Wang
Keyword(s):  
Bisphenol A ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Tap Water ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Ultrasensitive Detection ◽  
Its Analysis ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Fluorescent Aptasensor

The residues of bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging and water systems have potential impact on human health, therefore, its analysis and detection has drawn people's attention. In this work,...

scholarly journals Migration of Silver and Copper Nanoparticles from Food Coating

Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 380
Author(s):  
Hamed Ahari ◽  
Leila Khoshboui Lahijani
Keyword(s):  
Copper Nanoparticles ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Optical Emission ◽  
Atomic Emission ◽  
The Body ◽  
Toxic Effects ◽  
Inductively Coupled

Packaging containing nanoparticles (NPs) can increase the shelf life of products, but the presence of NPs may hazards human life. In this regard, there are reports regarding the side effect and cytotoxicity of nanoparticles. The main aim of this research was to study the migration of silver and copper nanoparticles from the packaging to the food matrix as well as the assessment techniques. The diffusion and migration of nanoparticles can be analyzed by analytical techniques including atomic absorption, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission, and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, as well as X-ray diffraction, spectroscopy, migration, and titration. Inductively coupled plasma-based techniques demonstrated the best results. Reports indicated that studies on the migration of Ag/Cu nanoparticles do not agree with each other, but almost all studies agree that the migration of these nanoparticles is higher in acidic environments. There are widespread ambiguities about the mechanism of nanoparticle toxicity, so understanding these nanoparticles and their toxic effects are essential. Nanomaterials that enter the body in a variety of ways can be distributed throughout the body and damage human cells by altering mitochondrial function, producing reactive oxygen, and increasing membrane permeability, leading to toxic effects and chronic disease. Therefore, more research needs to be done on the development of food packaging coatings with consideration given to the main parameters affecting nanoparticles migration.

scholarly journals Uncovering Prospective Role and Applications of Existing and New Nutraceuticals from Bacterial, Fungal, Algal and Cyanobacterial, and Plant Sources

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3671
Author(s):  
Jameel R. Al-Obaidi ◽  
Khalid H. Alobaidi ◽  
Bilal Salim Al-Taie ◽  
David Hong-Sheng Wee ◽  
Hasnain Hussain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
The Public ◽  
Biological Sources ◽  
Pharmaceutical Properties ◽  
Plant Sources ◽  
Health And Well Being

Nutraceuticals are a category of products more often associated with food but having pharmaceuticals property and characteristics. However, there is still no internationally accepted concept of these food-pharmaceutical properties, and their interpretation can differ from country to country. Nutraceuticals are used as part of dietary supplements in most countries. They can be phytochemicals which are biologically active and have health benefits. These can be supplied as a supplement and/or as a functional food to the customer. For human health and longevity, these materials are likely to play a vital role. Consumption of these items is typical without a therapeutic prescription and/or supervision by the vast majority of the public. The development of nutraceuticals can be achieved through many bioresources and organisms. This review article will discuss the current research on nutraceuticals from different biological sources and their potential use as an agent for improving human health and well-being, as well as the gaps and future perspective of research related to nutraceutical development.

scholarly journals Diversity and Drug Resistance of Filamentous Fungi Isolated from the Fresh Raspberries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina Farian ◽  
Angelina Wójcik-Fatla
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Amphotericin B ◽  
Filamentous Fungi ◽  
Rubus Idaeus ◽  
Disc Diffusion ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Fungal Strains ◽  
Strip Method

AbstractFungi are one of the most widely distributed microorganisms in the environment, including food such as fruits, vegetables and other crops, posing a potential threat to food safety and human health. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity, intensity and drug resistance of potentially pathogenic filamentous fungi isolated from the fresh raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.). A total of 50 strains belonging to genera Fusarium, Cladosporium, Alternaria, Penicillium, Mucor, Rhizopus, Aspergillus and Acremonium were tested for drug resistance against 11 antifungals by disc diffusion and gradient strips methods. The average mycological contamination in the examined samples of raspberries amounted to 4.34 log CFU/g. The Cladosporium was isolated from all tested samples, followed by Alternaria and Fusarium with a frequency of 61% and 34%, respectively. The highest level of drug resistance was observed for Acremonium genera and Fusarium strains recorded a wide variation in drug resistance as revealed by susceptibility with amphotericin B and voriconzole with MICs ranged from 0.5–4 µg/ml and posaconazole with MICs ranging from 3–8 µg/ml. All fungal strains showed 100% resistance to caspofungin, fluconazole and flucytosine with both the methods, and 100% resistance to micafungin and anidulafungin in the gradient strip method.

scholarly journals Impacts of Microcystins on Morphological and Physiological Parameters of Agricultural Plants: A Review

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 639
Author(s):  
Alexandre Campos ◽  
El Mahdi Redouane ◽  
Marisa Freitas ◽  
Samuel Amaral ◽  
Tomé Azevedo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Physiological Parameters ◽  
World Health ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Regulatory Limits ◽  
Agricultural Plants ◽  
The Impact

Cyanobacteria are a group of photosynthetic prokaryotes that pose a great concern in the aquatic environments related to contamination and poisoning of wild life and humans. Some species of cyanobacteria produce potent toxins such as microcystins (MCs), which are extremely aggressive to several organisms, including animals and humans. In order to protect human health and prevent human exposure to this type of organisms and toxins, regulatory limits for MCs in drinking water have been established in most countries. In this regard, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed 1 µg MCs /L as the highest acceptable concentration in drinking water. However, regulatory limits were not defined in waters used in other applications/activities, constituting a potential threat to the environment and to human health. Indeed, water contaminated with MCs or other cyanotoxins is recurrently used in agriculture and for crop and food production. Several deleterious effects of MCs including a decrease in growth, tissue necrosis, inhibition of photosynthesis and metabolic changes have been reported in plants leading to the impairment of crop productivity and economic loss. Studies have also revealed significant accumulation of MCs in edible tissues and plant organs, which raise concerns related to food safety. This work aims to systematize and analyze the information generated by previous scientific studies, namely on the phytotoxicity and the impact of MCs especially on growth, photosynthesis and productivity of agricultural plants. Morphological and physiological parameters of agronomic interest are overviewed in detail in this work, with the aim to evaluate the putative impact of MCs under field conditions. Finally, concentration-dependent effects are highlighted, as these can assist in future guidelines for irrigation waters and establish regulatory limits for MCs.

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