A Survey on the Use of Plastic versus Biodegradable Bottles for Drinking Water Packaging in the United Arab Emirates

Due to intensive utilization and extensive production, plastic waste is becoming a serious threat to the environment and human health. The situation is even worse in countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where single-use plastic water bottles add to the load of plastic pollution. The main objective of this survey was to assess the extent of bottled water utilization by the UAE residents and their awareness of the environmental concerns arising from single-use plastic bottles. The aim was also to evaluate their willingness to shift towards using biodegradable plastic bottles. This study involved the feedback of 2589 respondents living in the UAE. The eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) was applied to determine the most responsible variables explaining the variability of our data set. A chi-square analysis was also used to determine the significance among the responses. Most of the respondents to this survey were UAE nationals (79.8%) of ages ranging from 21 to 35 years (42%), who were educated, with most holding a university degree (69.6%). Regardless of their gender, age, occupation, education, and income, a large group of respondents (40.7%) was concerned about the impact of their purchased items on the environment; however, the frequency of plastic products recycled was observed to be low (49.7%). According to the findings of this survey, 42.4% of the respondents were likely to purchase 100% biodegradable bottles, and about 70% of the respondents expressed a willingness to spend at least AED 1 more for purchasing 100% biodegradable bottles

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe

Hydrodynamic control of biofilm formation in wastewater system

Les biofilms bactériens se développent sur toute interface liquide-solide dès que les conditions sont favorables. Ils correspondent à des assemblages de microcolonies qui baignent dans une matrice extracellulaire polymérique. Parmi les facteurs contrôlant le développement des biofilms, l’hydrodynamique est un paramètre clé qui affecte la morphologie et la composition du biofilm. Nous nous intéressons plus particulièrement dans cette thèse à l'influence du gradient de vitesse pariétal sur la formation du biofilm. Pour cela, nous utilisons un réacteur Couette-Poiseuille qui permet de travailler sous écoulement laminaire stable dans différentes conditions d'écoulement. Les biofilms obtenus après circulation d'eaux usées, sont prélevés sur des coupons et visualisés par microscopie confocale à balayage laser. Différents paramètres caractérisant la morphologie du biofilm sont déterminés après reconstruction 3D de leur structure à l'aide du modeleur GOCAD. Nous montrons que le transport convectif constitue une étape essentielle dans la formation initiale du biofilm, et qu'un gradient pariétal nul permet d'inhiber le développement de celui-ciBacterial biofilms develop on any solid-liquid interface whenever conditions are appropriate. They correspond to microcolony assemblages embedded in an extracellular matrix. Among the factors controlling biofilm growth, hydrodynamics is a key parameter affecting both biofilm morphology and composition. In this thesis we investigate the influence of hydrodynamics, and more precisely the wall shear rate effect on biofilm development. For this purpose, a Couette-Poiseuille reactor, allowing to work under stable laminar flow with different flow velocities, was used. Biofilms grown from urban wastewater on coupon surfaces were observed with confocal scanning microscopy. A 3D modeling using GOCAD software was established, thus allowing the determination of various biofilms structural characteristics. The results show the essential role of convective mass transport in biofilm formation, actually a zero wall shear rate inhibited bacterial deposition, and hence biofilm growt

Contrôle hydrodynamique de la formation des biofilms en milieu eaux usées

Bacterial biofilms develop on any solid-liquid interface whenever conditions are appropriate. They correspond to microcolony assemblages embedded in an extracellular matrix. Among the factors controlling biofilm growth, hydrodynamics is a key parameter affecting both biofilm morphology and composition. In this thesis we investigate the influence of hydrodynamics, and more precisely the wall shear rate effect on biofilm development. For this purpose, a Couette-Poiseuille reactor, allowing to work under stable laminar flow with different flow velocities, was used. Biofilms grown from urban wastewater on coupon surfaces were observed with confocal scanning microscopy. A 3D modeling using GOCAD software was established, thus allowing the determination of various biofilms structural characteristics. The results show the essential role of convective mass transport in biofilm formation, actually a zero wall shear rate inhibited bacterial deposition, and hence biofilm growth.Les biofilms bactériens se développent sur toute interface liquide-solide dès que les conditions sont favorables. Ils correspondent à des assemblages de microcolonies qui baignent dans une matrice extracellulaire polymérique. Parmi les facteurs contrôlant le développement des biofilms, l'hydrodynamique est un paramètre clé qui affecte la morphologie et la composition du biofilm. Nous nous intéressons plus particulièrement dans cette thèse à l'influence du gradient de vitesse pariétal sur la formation du biofilm. Pour cela, nous utilisons un réacteur Couette-Poiseuille qui permet de travailler sous écoulement laminaire stable dans différentes conditions d'écoulement. Les biofilms obtenus après circulation d'eaux usées, sont prélevés sur des coupons et visualisés par microscopie confocale à balayage laser. Différents paramètres caractérisant la morphologie du biofilm sont déterminés après reconstruction 3D de leur structure à l'aide du modeleur GOCAD. Nous montrons que le transport convectif constitue une étape essentielle dans la formation initiale du biofilm, et qu'un gradient pariétal nul permet d'inhiber le développement de celui-ci

Contrôle hydrodynamique de la formation des biofilms en milieu eaux usées

Les biofilms bactériens se développent sur toute interface liquide-solide dès que les conditions sont favorables. Ils correspondent à des assemblages de microcolonies qui baignent dans une matrice extracellulaire polymérique. Parmi les facteurs contrôlant le développement des biofilms, l hydrodynamique est un paramètre clé qui affecte la morphologie et la composition du biofilm. Nous nous intéressons plus particulièrement dans cette thèse à l'influence du gradient de vitesse pariétal sur la formation du biofilm. Pour cela, nous utilisons un réacteur Couette-Poiseuille qui permet de travailler sous écoulement laminaire stable dans différentes conditions d'écoulement. Les biofilms obtenus après circulation d'eaux usées, sont prélevés sur des coupons et visualisés par microscopie confocale à balayage laser. Différents paramètres caractérisant la morphologie du biofilm sont déterminés après reconstruction 3D de leur structure à l'aide du modeleur GOCAD. Nous montrons que le transport convectif constitue une étape essentielle dans la formation initiale du biofilm, et qu'un gradient pariétal nul permet d'inhiber le développement de celui-ciBacterial biofilms develop on any solid-liquid interface whenever conditions are appropriate. They correspond to microcolony assemblages embedded in an extracellular matrix. Among the factors controlling biofilm growth, hydrodynamics is a key parameter affecting both biofilm morphology and composition. In this thesis we investigate the influence of hydrodynamics, and more precisely the wall shear rate effect on biofilm development. For this purpose, a Couette-Poiseuille reactor, allowing to work under stable laminar flow with different flow velocities, was used. Biofilms grown from urban wastewater on coupon surfaces were observed with confocal scanning microscopy. A 3D modeling using GOCAD software was established, thus allowing the determination of various biofilms structural characteristics. The results show the essential role of convective mass transport in biofilm formation, actually a zero wall shear rate inhibited bacterial deposition, and hence biofilm growthNANCY-INPL-Bib. électronique (545479901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Multiple stages of plant root calcification deciphered by chemical and micromorphological analyses

International audienceRhizoliths have been ascribed different names, for example, root casts; rhizocretions; tubular fossils (Klappa, 1980) and may exhibit different morphologies and sizes (up to several cm in diameter and several meters length; Zamanian et al., 2016). These organo-sedimentary structures are common in sandy and silty calcareous soils and sediments (Becze-Deák et al., 1997) and can be highly abundant in loess (Gocke et al., 2011) and desert sands (Sun et al., 2020). In addition to terrestrial settings, rhizoliths were also observed in former lacustrine environments (e.g., Sun et al., 2019a) and marine settings (Jones and Ng, 1988). Rhizoliths have been used as proxies for paleoenvironmental reconstructions over different geological time scales based mainly on macro-and micromorphological studies (Becze-Deák et al., 1997; Barta, 2011) or stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses (e.g.

Multiple stages of plant root calcification deciphered by chemical and micromorphological analyses

International audienc

Multiple stages of plant root calcification deciphered by chemical and micromorphological analyses

Rhizoliths, that is, roots fossilized by secondary carbonates, have been known for ages and are increasingly used for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. However, knowledge about their formation mechanisms remains limited. This study reports the mineralogical and chemical characterization of rhizoliths at different stages of mineralization and fossilization in the Late Pleistocene loess–paleosol sequence of Nussloch (SW Germany). Scanning electron microscopy coupled with elemental mapping and 13C solid‐state nuclear magnetic resonance were used to concomitantly characterize the mineral and organic matter of the rhizoliths. These joint analyses showed for the first time that large rhizoliths are not necessarily remains of single large roots but consist of numerous microrhizoliths as remains of fine roots, formed mainly by calcium carbonates with only low amounts of Mg and Si. They further revealed that the precipitation of secondary carbonates occurs not only around, but also within the plant root and that fossilization leads to the selective preservation of recalcitrant root biopolymers—lignin and suberin. The precipitation of secondary carbonates was observed to occur first around fine roots, the epidermis acting as a first barrier, and then within the root, within the cortex cells, and even sometimes around the phloem and within the xylem. This study suggests that the calcification of plant roots starts during the lifetime of the plant and continues after its death. This has to be systematically investigated to understand the stratigraphic context before using (micro)rhizoliths for paleoenvironmental reconstructions in terrestrial sediments

A Survey on the Use of Plastic versus Biodegradable Bottles for Drinking Water Packaging in the United Arab Emirates

Due to intensive utilization and extensive production, plastic waste is becoming a serious threat to the environment and human health. The situation is even worse in countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where single-use plastic water bottles add to the load of plastic pollution. The main objective of this survey was to assess the extent of bottled water utilization by the UAE residents and their awareness of the environmental concerns arising from single-use plastic bottles. The aim was also to evaluate their willingness to shift towards using biodegradable plastic bottles. This study involved the feedback of 2589 respondents living in the UAE. The eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) was applied to determine the most responsible variables explaining the variability of our data set. A chi-square analysis was also used to determine the significance among the responses. Most of the respondents to this survey were UAE nationals (79.8%) of ages ranging from 21 to 35 years (42%), who were educated, with most holding a university degree (69.6%). Regardless of their gender, age, occupation, education, and income, a large group of respondents (40.7%) was concerned about the impact of their purchased items on the environment; however, the frequency of plastic products recycled was observed to be low (49.7%). According to the findings of this survey, 42.4% of the respondents were likely to purchase 100% biodegradable bottles, and about 70% of the respondents expressed a willingness to spend at least AED 1 more for purchasing 100% biodegradable bottles