A Systematic Review On Consumer Behavior toward Plastic Consumption In Asian Countries

The consumer’s consumption of plastic continues to increase and has contributed to the global environmental concern, even though certain new environmental conservation policies or laws have been adopted and enforced. However, there were still insufficient studies that systematically review the existing literature on consumers in Asian Countries. Hence the present article conducted a systematic literature review on the plastic consumption behavior and the effect of plastic use by the customers. The present study joined multiple research designs and the review was based on the publication standard. (Reporting standards for systematic evidence syntheses). This study selected articles using two leading databases namely Scopus and Science Direct. Based on the thematic analysis, this review has three main themes namely 1) action to reduce plastic consumption; 2) waste management 3) impact of plastic on the ecosystem. The three main themes have further produced 11 sub-themes. The study offered several significant contributions for practical purposes and the body of knowledge. The findings explained the importance of integrating consumer awareness and knowledge into consumer plastic consumption, 1) to encourage respect for knowledge and the role played by the consumer on the usage of plastic consumption policy; 2) to strategize an adaptation plan that is in line with the needs, abilities, and intention to use plastic; and 3) to inform on effect on the ecosystem to the specific areas and content of researches that should be the focus of the future studies.

A Review of Cardiovascular Toxicity of Microcystins

The mortality rate of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in China is on the rise. The increasing burden of CVD in China has become a major public health problem. Cyanobacterial blooms have been recently considered a global environmental concern. Microcystins (MCs) are the secondary products of cyanobacteria metabolism and the most harmful cyanotoxin found in water bodies. Recent studies provide strong evidence of positive associations between MC exposure and cardiotoxicity, representing a threat to human cardiovascular health. This review focuses on the effects of MCs on the cardiovascular system and provides some evidence that CVD could be induced by MCs. We summarized the current knowledge of the cardiovascular toxicity of MCs, with regard to direct cardiovascular toxicity and indirect cardiovascular toxicity. Toxicity of MCs is mainly governed by the increasing level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative stress in mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, the inhibition activities of serine/threonine protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) and 2A (PP2A) and the destruction of cytoskeletons, which finally induce the occurrence of CVD. To protect human health from the threat of MCs, this paper also puts forward some directions for further research.

Nature-based climate solutions to grow globally

Subject Biodiversity and climate change. Significance The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has reported that 1 million animal and plant species face extinction and that many ecosystems are moving closer to critical thresholds, describing the rate of global change in nature as "unprecedented in human history". The report calls for "transformative change" in economic and social structures that drive biodiversity loss. As in other areas of global environmental concern, improving biodiversity action is increasingly seen not just as a matter for states, but also as a challenge for the private sector, subnational actors and the international financial system. Impacts Companies will face increased pressure to widen due diligence requirements to include environmental risks. Data gaps on quantifying the value and impact of biodiversity at a localised level will continue to limit policy mainstreaming. Efforts to increase biodiversity finance flows will look to mirror the example of climate finance.

Deep-learning based approach for forecast of water quality in intensive shrimp culture ponds

With the enormous development of aquaculture, reducing the impacts of effluent discharge and improving water quality had become a critical global environmental concern. It is important to assess and predict water quality in the environmental management process of shrimp mariculture. Meanwhile, the accurate forecast of water quality is still in the exploration stage at present. In this study, deep belief networks (DBN) model are used to forecast water quality in intensive shrimp culture. This method based on deep learning includes a five-layered structure to extract relationships between the quantitative characteristic of water bodies and water quality variables. The water quality can be forecasted by the Canadian Water Quality Index (WQI) obtained from the output layer of simulated model. The results show that the DBN model has a great potential to predict the water quality and the ability of generalization and accuracy of model are satisfied.

Effect of Mortar Reduction in Recycled Aggregates Used in Concrete

Background:Following a global environmental concern, concrete manufactured with recycled materials has been widely studied. The reuse of concrete as raw material can reduce the amount of debris and the amount of natural resources needed minimizing the environmental impact.Objective:One of the fundamental issues when using recycled aggregates is the mortar that remains adhered to their surfaces. The effect of this adhered mortar on aggregates, obtained from pavement demolition debris, used in recycled concrete is studied.Method:A mechanical abrasion process is used to reduce the amount of mortar in different degrees from the recycled aggregates that will be used to replace a 40 % of natural coarse aggregates in structural concrete. The mechanical behavior is studied through the compressive and flexural strength of the material and compared with the values obtained for a control concrete, with no recycled aggregates.Results:The abrasion process is proven to be effective eliminating the adhered mortar to the aggregates and the results show that a medium abrasion level, around 200rev, improves significantly the mechanical properties of the recycled concrete, increasing its compressive strength.Conclusion:The percentage of recycled aggregates used in structural concrete can be increased if these are treated with simple mechanical abrasion. The residuals of the eliminated mortar can be also reused as cement replacement, maximizing the material reuse.

Problem and Countermeasure on Promoting the Plastic Bag Ban of USA

Plastic bag pollution is a growing global environmental concern. Several countries have recently approved bans on the use and distribution of plastic bags. In the USA, 22 of the 50 states have adopted multiple city/county ordinances. Most of these bans are introduced in coastal cities/counties. The local drivers, i.e. economy, geography, benefit, life-style, cost of living, and educational attainment, all impact the level and commitment to plastic bag bans. Currently, battles between support and opposition to these bans are typically financially driven; jobs and environmental health being main impact categories. This paper identifies several problems affecting the complete adoption of plastic bag bans in the USA, and gives some corresponding strategies to enhance the effectiveness and success of policy implementation.

Adsorption of AsV in aqueous solutions on porous hematite prepared by thermal modification of a siderite - goethite concentrate

Environmental contextArsenic in drinking water is a global environmental concern with serious effects on human health. We have developed a cheap and effective adsorbent, based on porous hematite, for removing arsenic from water. This material could be used in adsorption columns to remove arsenic from drinking water supplies. AbstractThe adsorption of AsV in aqueous solutions on porous hematite prepared by the thermal modification of a siderite–goethite concentrate has been studied. This study included the preparation and characterisation of the porous hematite and the adsorption of AsV on the modified concentrate. The experimental results showed that the thermal decomposition of the siderite–goethite concentrate was an efficient process to prepare porous hematite. The mechanism might be attributed to the dehydration of goethite and the decomposition of siderite during the thermal treatment, forming a large amount of micropores. It has been found that the adsorption capacity of AsV on the porous hematite in aqueous solutions was greatly improved to 8.94 mg g–1, compared with 1.07 mg g–1 from the original concentrate, and the adsorption rate was also increased approximately four times. The improvements might be due to the formation of micropores and mesopores and thus the increase of the surface area. The mechanism of the adsorption was attributed to chemical adsorption of AsV species on porous hematite in aqueous solutions. The adsorption was enhanced by increasing solution temperature and was strongly pH dependent.