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PubMed2006

Addressing the operational problems in a composting and recycling plant.

The Istanbul composting and recycling plant, constructed in 2001, is one of the few composting plants in Turkey. During test operations of the plant, it was reported that the weight of the oversize materials (OM) above a 80-mm sieve was about 40% of the total incoming waste. They mainly consist of plastic bags that were full of garbage, which resulted in operational problems in the plant. In this paper, the composition of OM was determined and evaluated, particularly to find the economic losses in the plant. It was determined that approximately 58% of the OM transferred to the landfill area due to operational failures and interruptions could be used at the plant with improved operational conditions. Otherwise, the plant would realize an annual economic loss of about 640,800 US$. Compost quality in the plant has been satisfactory, but source separated collection, at least the separation of the wet from the dry fraction, is needed to increase the amount of compost and recovered materials.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗

PubMed2004

Adsorption of phenol and reactive dye from aqueous solution on activated carbons derived from solid wastes.

Activated carbons were produced from several solid wastes, namely, waste PET, waste tires, refuse derived fuel and wastes generated during lactic acid fermentation from garbage. Activated carbons having various pore size distributions were obtained by the conventional steam-activation method and via the pre-treatment method (i.e., mixture of raw materials with a metal salt, carbonization and acid treatment prior to steam-activation) that was proposed by the authors. The liquid-phase adsorption characteristics of organic compounds from aqueous solution on the activated carbons were determined to confirm the applicability of these carbons, where phenol and a reactive dye, Black5, were employed as representative adsorbates. The hydrophobic surface of the carbons prepared was also confirmed by water vapor adsorption. The characteristics of a typical commercial activated carbon were also measured and compared. It was found that the activated carbons with plentiful mesopores prepared from PET and waste tires had quite high adsorption capacity for large molecules. Therefore they are useful for wastewater treatment, especially, for removal of bulky adsorbates.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2001

Dog ecology and demography information to support the planning of rabies control in Machakos District, Kenya.

A study of 150 dog-owning households from six randomly selected sublocations was conducted in Machakos District, Kenya. Initially, all households were visited to collect information on dog ecology and demography based on WHO guidelines and to collect serum for rabies antibody detection. A second visit was made 1 year later, to obtain follow-up data on births, deaths, dog movements and other events since the first visit. Dog ownership was common, with a range of 53--81% (mean=63%) of households owning dogs in the six sublocations. Dog density for the five more rural sublocations ranged from 6 to 21 dogs km(-2) and for the peri-urban sublocation was 110 dogs km(-2). The dog population was estimated to be growing at 9% p.a. (95% C.I. 4--14%). This growth was a function of very high fecundity (1.3 females per female per year) more than compensating for high mortality, particularly among females. Life expectancy from birth was 3.5 years for males and 2.4 years for females. Half the dogs at any one time were less than 1 year of age. All dogs, by design of the study, were owned. Of these, 69% were never restricted and roamed freely to forage for food and mix with other dogs. Only a small proportion of dogs (5%) were fed commercial dog food. Most households reported observing dogs scavenging their garbage, including: their own dogs (81%), their neighbours' dogs (75%) and unknown dogs (45%). Only 29% of dogs at least 3 months of age were reported to be vaccinated against rabies. The proportion vaccinated varied widely between sublocations (5--68%); 48% of dogs reportedly vaccinated had detectable antibodies, 31% at or above levels considered to indicate seroconversion. The proportion of dogs with detectable antibodies declined according to the time since last vaccination (55% if vaccinated < or = 1 year, 47% < or = 2 years and 36% > 2 years); 20% of dogs reported not to have been vaccinated had detectable rabies antibody. Compared to other dog populations in rural eastern and southern Africa, Machakos District has a high density of dogs. The Machakos dog population is growing, highly dynamic, poorly supervised and inadequately vaccinated against rabies. The main implication for rabies control is that adequate vaccination coverage is unlikely to be achieved, even under optimal delivery, using the current strategy of annual vaccination of dogs older than 3 months.

Animal Husbandry↗

PubMed2001

Polychaetes as indicators of environmental disturbance on subarctic tidal flats, Iqaluit, Baffin Island, Nunavut Territory.

The polychaetes of the tidal flats near the town of Iqaluit, Baffin Island were analysed along gradients of environmental disturbance resulting from human activity. Sources of environmental disturbance include a sewage lagoon, garbage sites; and an area of the tidal flat that is cleared by bulldozer. Sampling of the tidal flats included 300 biological sediment cores taken from 75 sites along seven transects. Environmental disturbance has resulted in four zones of polychaete communities with increasing distance. The heavily disturbed zone is closest to the disturbances and is devoid of polychaetes. The disturbed zone follows and is characterized by low diversity the result of increased densities of a few opportunistic species such as, Capitella 'capitata' sp. The moderately disturbed zone is characterized by increased species diversity due to organic enrichment from the disturbances. The undisturbed zone, located the furthest from the sources of disturbance, is characterized by moderate levels of diversity compared to the other three zones.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Can we always ignore ship-generated food waste?

Considerable quantities of food waste can be generated at a rapid rate in ships, particularly those with large numbers of people onboard. By virtue of the amounts involved and its nature, food waste is potentially the most difficult to manage component of a ship's garbage stream, however, in most sea areas it may be dealt with by the simple expedient of direct discharge to sea. As a consequence, only minimal attention is paid to food waste management by many ship and port operators and advisory bodies, and there is a paucity of information in the available literature. The determination that management of ships' food waste is inconsequential is, however, incorrect in many circumstances. Disposal to sea is not always possible due to restrictions imposed by MARPOL 73/78 and other marine pollution control instruments. Effective management of food waste can be critical for ships that operate in areas where disposal is restricted or totally prohibited.

Environment↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Trachoma, flies and environmental factors in Burkina Faso.

The presence of flies is one of the earliest risk factors for trachoma and it has been suggested that flies could act as vectors for transmission of chlamydiae. A national trachoma survey was conducted in 1997 in Burkina Faso to (i) study the relationship between trachoma occurrence, flies, dirty faces and some environmental factors, and (ii) investigate the role of flies in the presence of trachoma. The country was stratified into eight groups of provinces and a random sample of 30 clusters was selected in each group. All children aged < 10 years were examined for the diagnosis of active trachoma (trachomatous inflammation which was follicular and/or intense) and the dirtiness of the face and the presence of flies on the face were recorded. The children's carers were questioned about the number of baths given and daily face-washing. Household heads were asked about ownership of cattle and small ruminants. The presence of latrines, a stable, and garbage collection inside the yard was noted. Among 16,514 children examined, 27.0% had active trachoma and 3.3% intense inflammatory trachoma. Flies were present on 11.2% of children's faces and 82.4% and 19.7% of these children had active and intense inflammatory trachoma, respectively. Among the 30.2% of children with dirty faces, 70.2% had active and 10.2% intense inflammatory trachoma. In multivariate analysis, at least one daily bath showed a protective effect on both active and intense inflammatory trachoma. Face-washing twice daily was found to be significantly protective for active trachoma in some regions. A strong association was demonstrated between the presence of flies and dirty faces (odds ratio = 334, 95% confidence interval 202-546). The presence of flies on children's faces, dirty faces and trachoma appeared to be strongly associated. Although the presence of flies may be a marker of socio-economic status and is probably linked with other trachoma risk factors, our data indicated that interventions targeting fly control should be an important issue in controlling trachoma.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Measurements of mercury in the near-surface layer of the atmosphere of the Russian Arctic.

A series of measurements of gaseous elemental mercury concentrations in near-surface air of the Russian Arctic Region were carried out from 1994 to 1997. The measurements were conducted in Murmansk at a stationary site in April-May 1994, on a cruise in Motovsky Bay and Kola Bay during May-June 1996, and along the Russian Northern Sea Route in April-May 1997 on board the nuclear icebreaker 'Soviet Union'. Silver absorption was used for trapping of mercury and the mass of mercury was determined by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometery. Detection limits were approximately 0.3 ng/m(3) (+/- error 46%). Sixty samples were selected and analysed. Sample volumes were 2.2 m(3) ashore, and up to 6.6 m(3) over water. The meteorological conditions, including a wind speed and direction, during the sampling period were typical of the spring-summer period of year, and therefore the concentrations of atmospheric mercury are regarded as representative for this season. The mean concentrations of mercury ranged from 2.2 ng/m(3) for Murmansk city, 1.7 ng/m(3) for Kola Bay, 1.6 ng/m(3) for Motovsky Bay, 1.1 ng/m(3) for the eastern part of the Barents Sea and 0.7 ng/m(3) for the western part of the Kara Sea. The levels of mercury in Murmansk, and over Kola and Motovsky Bays were associated with a primary direction of a near-surface wind from the nearest sources of mercury emission located in the Russian North region. These are the non-ferrous metallurgical plants in Nickel in the case of Motovsky Bay and Murmansk garbage-disposal plant, for sampling points in Murmansk and over Kola Bay. These concentrations of mercury, measured in the spring-summer season, in near-surface air of the Russian North, are more than two-fold lower than the concentrations that are typical of continental background regions in western Russia, and are comparable to the concentrations measured in the Arctic regions of other countries.

Air Pollutants↗

PubMed2003

Deubiquitinating enzymes: their roles in development, differentiation, and disease.

The ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathway has come a long way in the past decade. At first thought to be an unglamorous garbage dump for damaged proteins, the ubiquitin pathway has been shown to regulate virtually everything that occurs in the cell. Deubiquitinating enzymes, which cleave ubiquitin-protein bonds, are the largest group of enzymes in the pathway, yet they are the least well understood. Deubiquitinating enzymes have two kinds of functions: housekeeping and regulatory. The housekeeping enzymes facilitate the proteolytic pathway. By contrast, the regulatory enzymes control the ubiquitination of specific protein substrates; their relationship to ubiquitination is analgous to that of phosphatases with respect to phosphorylation. Here, I review the current state of knowledge of the deubiquitinating enzymes. I focus particularly on the known regulatory enzymes, and also on the housekeeping enzymes that are implicated in development of disease.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Food intake and circadian rhythms in shift workers with a high workload.

Shift work is associated with nutritional and health problems. In the present study, the food intake of garbage collectors of the city of Florianopolis (Brazil) was investigated using a dietary survey method based on meal recording during 24 h and adapted for the Brazilian food context. Three different shifts (morning, afternoon, and night) were compared (n=22 per shift). Age, body weight and body mass index (BMI) were similar for all groups. Daily energy expenditure was high in all three shifts, especially in morning shift workers. No difference in daily energy intake was found, in spite of differences in food choices and circadian ingestion rhythms. Energy intake was high and close to levels previously reported in athletes. Several factors not associated with shifts had significant impact on ingestion: hour of the day, time since the last meal, age, and BMI. Ingested foods were analyzed in groups based on nutrient content. Shifts significantly influenced intake of starches, alcoholic drinks, and sweets. In different periods of the day, food and nutrient intake were considerably affected by shifts. The analysis of circadian distribution of food choices and nutrient intake is important in shift workers, because total daily intake may not reveal shift-associated differences.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Successful resuscitation of a severely hypothermic neonate.

A profoundly hypothermic 5-hour-old infant in cardiac arrest was brought to the emergency department by paramedics. The infant was found wrapped in a garbage bag inside a freezer. She had been in the freezer for approximately four hours. Her initial rectal temperature was 16.2 degrees C. Active external and core warming modalities, including warm blanket, radiant heat lamp, warm humidified air, heated gastric lavage, and heated bladder lavage, were used to rewarm the infant. Her temperature rose to 30.5 degrees C in three hours (4.8 degrees C/hr). The infant converted from a slow idioventricular rhythm to sinus bradycardia at 49 minutes (20.4 degrees C) into the resuscitation. At 53 minutes (21.5 degrees C), the infant moved both upper extremities. At the time of discharge from the hospital, she had no significant physical or neurologic problems. Neurologic examination at 4 months was normal. This report supports prior recommendations to aggressively rewarm severely hypothermic infants in cardiac arrest.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation↗

PubMed1997

Epidemiology of needlestick and sharp injuries at a university hospital in a developing country: a 3-year prospective study at the Jordan University Hospital, 1993 through 1995.

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiology of needlestick and sharp injuries in a university hospital in a developing country, Jordan. METHODS: A prospective study was undertaken of all needlestick and sharp injuries among workers at the Jordan University Hospital between 1993 and 1995. Health care workers were asked to report in person to the infection-control team to verify the incident and to respond to a questionnaire. Blood was obtained from patients and health care workers immediately and from the health care workers 6 months later for hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and HIV testing. RESULTS: During the 3-year period, 248 health care workers had needlestick and sharp injuries. Of these, 34.6% were staff nurses, 19%, environmental workers, 15.7%, interns, 11.7%, residents, 8.5%, practical nurses, and 6% were technicians. The incidence density was highest for the interns followed by staff nurses and environmental workers. Of incidents, 22.6% occurred during blood drawing, 11.3% during placing intravenous lines, 8.5% during administration of medication, 11% during recapping the needle, 10.5% during needle disposal, 12.5% during garbage collection, and 5% were caused by a neglected needle. Only 117 patients were identified; 36 of 62 of these had positive results for hepatitis B surface antigen, and 8 of 13 for hepatitis C virus. CONCLUSION: Needlestick and sharp injuries occur frequently in developing countries. Safer disposal facilities and routine hepatitis B vaccine should be adopted.

Developing Countries↗

PubMed2002

The influence of meteorological conditions on the behavior of pollutants concentrations in São Paulo, Brazil.

The observed behavior of pollution concentrations to the prevailing meteorological conditions has been studied for the period from June 13 to September 2, 1994, for the Metropolitan Area of Sao Paulo (MASP). The synoptic conditions, which prevailed during the period, have been identified. The behavior of these large-scale systems namely the relative positions, the nature and the types of the anticyclone or cold front (CF) has been investigated, and for each identified synoptic situation, trace elements concentrations have been determined. During the CF synoptic condition, the elements presented low concentrations associated with intense ventilation, precipitation and high relative humidity. It is seen that for both the synoptic conditions namely the South Atlantic Subtropical High and Polar High, high values of concentrations prevailed due to weak ventilation, low relative humidity and absence of precipitation. The micro and mesoscale meteorological conditions have also been studied for a day with low and a day with high concentration of particulate pollutants. Finally, applying receptor modeling to the fine aerosol mass concentration data set, five categories of emission sources in the MASP were identified: vehicles, garbage incineration, vegetation, suspend soil dust and burning of fuel oil.

Aerosols↗

PubMed2001

Contamination of the environment by the current disposal methods of mercury-containing lamps in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

This survey describes the degree of environmental contamination resulting from the current disposal methods of mercury-containing lamps. The territory studied for this purpose is the federal state of Minas Gerais, one of the most populated areas in the Brazilian federation of states. The results of this survey derive in part from answers received to a questionnaire mailed out to industrial firms, commercial business enterprises, hospitals and departments of public work. The sampling technique used was a nonprobabilistic (purposive sampling). Three types of disposal were found to prevail: (1) as an addition to corporate waste disposal (garbage), (2) recycling and (3) disposal by other methods. Overall, our study shows that the majority of mercury lamps are being disposed in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, primarily by the public sector, followed by industrial, commercial and hospital sectors. Although recycling constitutes a relatively high fraction of the disposal methods, we find Federal regulations in Brazil regarding the disposal of hazardous, mercury-containing lamps to be far behind the state of technological achievement. This gap has permitted the adoption of disposal measures that are obsolete, incorrect, and a primary cause for the extensive contamination of the ecosystems with harmful effects to human health.

Brazil↗

PubMed2003

A community-based surveillance on determinants of rodent infestation.

Rodent infestation is an important factor in the transmission of infectious diseases of public health importance. From October to November 1998, surveillance stations were established in 110 boroughs of Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan. Boroughs were chosen by random sampling 10 boroughs from each of 11 districts (464 boroughs) in the city. The extent of rodent infestation was determined by cage trapping. The possibility of applying a community-based control program was evaluated by investigating associated demographic and environmental factors as well as related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. A total of 90 rodents were trapped in 41% of the 110 boroughs. Using univariate analyses, 17 factors were significantly associated with rodent infestation. A lack of knowledge that rodent control relies on community cooperation was the most important factor among the seven variables associated with the extent of rodent infestation (OR 3.1) by logistic multiple regression. This revealed the importance of community cooperation in controlling rodent infestation. Moreover, improvement of environmental hygiene associated with garbage problems, such as cleanliness of storage rooms and closets, and the hygiene of empty space and resource recycling stations should not be ignored.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Child morbidity patterns in Ethiopia.

This study is based on the 1983 Rural Health Survey of Ethiopia. Patterns and levels of child morbidity by age, sex, geographic region, and sanitary facilities are examined. Morbidity levels peak in the second year of life. Diarrhoeal diseases are of major importance, especially among infants and toddlers. Parasitic diseases, and respiratory diseases other than pneumonia, become increasingly important with age. There are no significant sex differentials in morbidity except for higher rates of diarrhoeal diseases among female children. Geographic differentials are quite marked with particularly high morbidity levels from all disease types in the western mountainous regions of Ethiopia. Access to high quality drinking water, a latrine, and garbage disposal, are strongly related to reduced overall morbidity levels, though not necessarily to reduced diarrhoeal disease levels.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed2004

Risk factors for Helicobacter pylori infection in children: is education a main determinant?

To investigate potential risk factors associated with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection, we performed a case-control study in 167 consecutively selected hospitalized children in Salvador, Brazil. Hp infection was identified by the presence of IgG against Hp in serum samples. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire, 38.3% children were found to be seropositive and classified as cases, and 61.7% were seronegative controls. After multivariate analysis, independent variables associated with Hp infection included: the educational attainment of the child's provider > or = 11 years (OR 0.1, 95% CI 0.01-0.9), poor garbage disposal service (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.0-4.9), thumb sucking (OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.1-19.8), brushing teeth more than once a day (OR 5.6, 95% CI 1.8-17.7), having a pet dog (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.0-6.1), and a history of chronic urticaria (OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.5-10.8). The risk factors identified are consistent with some, but not all, previous studies supporting either oral-oral or faecal-oral transmission of Hp. Our data suggested that a higher educational attainment might play an important role in preventing Hp infection.

Case-Control Studies↗

PubMed2003

Product self-management: evolution in recycling and reuse.

This paper explores the potential to make product recycling and reuse easier by shifting responsibility for product management toward the product itself. Examples range from barcode-enabled Internet sales of used products to RFID-enabled garbage trucks that identify recyclable items and provide rebates. Initial steps toward product self-management have made opportunistic use of product bar codes and Internet markets. In the United States, Internet markets are driving increased reuse of products. In the European Union, recycling and waste management policy is driving the use of radio electronics in waste management. Prospects for product self-management are assessed from both a technological and an economic perspective. The technological analysis indicates that radio-frequency tags offer some advantages over bar codes, but their application to product self-management requires considerable investment in the waste management infrastructure. This suggests that early applications of advanced product tags are most suitable for Germany and other countries where the waste management industry has already integrated information technology into its operations. The economic analysis indicates that increased reuse of products can reduce consumption of new products and materials, although on a less than one-to-one basis, simultaneously reducing costs for consumers and deriving more value from existing products.

Commerce↗

PubMed2005

Bioaccumulation of organochlorines in crows from an indian open waste dumping site: evidence for direct transfer of dioxin-like congeners from the contaminated soil.

To assess the significance of waste dumping sites as a source of chemical contamination to ecosystems, we analyzed the residue levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other organochlorines in the breast muscle of crows from a dumping site in the south of Chennai city, South India. Crows from the dumping site contained significantly higher total TEQs (60 +/- 27 pg/g lipid wt) than those from the reference sites (26 +/- 18 pg/g lipid wt). Especially, certain dioxin-like coplanar PCB congeners (Co-PCBs), such as CB-77 and CB-105, whose source is commercial PCBs,were significantly higher in crows from the dumping site than those from the reference sites. Profiles of PCDDs/DFs and Co-PCBs in crows from the dumping site were similar to those of soil at the same site, which was confirmed by principal component analysis. Furthermore, significant positive correlations were obtained between the congener-specific bioconcentration factors (BCFs) of PCDDs/DFs estimated from concentrations in crows and soil from the dumping site and the theoretical BCFs calculated from water-particle and lipid-water partitioning coefficients. On the other hand, the estimated BCFs had significant negative correlations with the molecular weight of PCDDs/DFs, indicating that molecular size limits their bioaccumulation. These results suggest that dioxin-like congeners in the soil of the dumping site were transferred directly to the crows through the ingestion of on-site garbage contaminated with soil, rather than through trophic transfer in the ecosystem. The present study provides insight into the ecological impacts of dumping sites.

Animals↗