Tourist attitudes towards water use in the developing world: A comparative analysis

This paper examines tourists' attitudes towards water use based on comparative data from interviews with tourists in Zanzibar, The Gambia and Dominican Republic. Unsustainable water use, accentuated by climate change, threatens access to water which potentially forms a source of conflict between tourists, tourism businesses, residents and the environment. Additionally it raises issues about rights of access to water. The results emphasise the actual nature and scale of tourist use of water and their lack of awareness of the impacts of this use on the local environment and community. This lack of awareness becomes an added indicator of the growing unsustainability of tourism in certain destinations and needs to be considered alongside the longer-term scenarios of climate change. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd

Encapsulation of folic acid in different silica porous supports: A comparative study

Although folic acid is essential to numerous bodily functions, recent research indicates that a massive exposition to the vitamin could be a double-edged sword. In this study, the capacity of different caped mesoporous silica particles (i.e. Hollow Silica Shells, MCM-41, SBA-15 and UVM-7) to dose FA during its passage through the gastrointestinal tract has been evaluated. Results confirmed that the four capped materials were capable to hinder the delivery of FA at low pH (i.e. stomach) as well as able to deliver great amounts of the vitamin at neutral pH (i.e. intestine). Nevertheless, the encapsulation efficiency and the deliver kinetics differed among supports. While supports with large pore entrance exhibited an initial fast release, MCM-41, showed a sustained release along the time. This correlation between textural properties and release kinetics for each of the supports reveals the importance of a proper support selection as a strategy to control the delivery of active molecules.Authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (Projects AGL2012-39597-C02-01, AGL2012-39597-C02-02 and MAT2012-38429-C04-01) and the Generalitat Valenciana (project PROMETEO/2009/016). E.P. and M.R. are grateful to the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion for their Grants (AP2008-00620, AP2010-4369). Electron Microscopy Service of the UPV is also acknowledged.Pérez-Esteve, É.; Ruiz Rico, M.; De La Torre Paredes, C.; Villaescusa Alonso, LA.; Sancenón Galarza, F.; Marcos Martínez, MD.; Amoros Del Toro, PJ.... (2016). Encapsulation of folic acid in different silica porous supports: A comparative study. Food Chemistry. 196:66-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.09.017S667519

Water Label to Improve Water Billing in Spanish Households

A significant decrease in water consumption has been achieved in recent years thanks to different campaigns run by different institutions in Spain. However, most citizens do not have a very clear idea about whether or not they are efficiently using water. To solve this situation, this paper aims is to develop two water labels in order to improve the current water billing. These water labels evaluate the total water consumption and the domestic hot water consumption. To make the tags, several research studies were tackled for establishing consumer trends and behavior patterns. Furthermore, a survey and data collection were conducted to obtain updated values to validate information obtained from previous studies. The result are two water labels that establish six different levels to graphically show the efficiency, and they also include a comparison with the average consumption by customers of the same province. To ensure that the benefits of this evaluation are available to citizens, its inclusion on the water bill is proposed

Future water availability in the largest freshwater Mediterranean lake is at great risk as evidenced from simulations with the SWAT model

Inter-and intra-annual water level fluctuations and changes in water flow regime are intrinsic characteristics of Mediterranean lakes. Additionally, considering climate change projections for the water-limited Mediterranean region, increased air temperatures and decreased precipitation are anticipated, leading to dramatic declines in lake water levels as well as severe water scarcity problems. The study site, Lake Beysehir, the largest freshwater lake in the Mediterranean basin, is - like other Mediterranean lakes - threatened by climatic changes and over abstraction of water for irrigated crop farming. Therefore, implementation of Strict water level management policies is required. In this study, an integrated modeling approach was used to predict the future Water levels of Lake Beysehir in response to potential future changes in climate and land use. Water level estimation was performed by linking the catchment model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) with a Support Vector Regression model (epsilon-SVR). The projected increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation based-on the climate change models led to an enhanced potential evapotranspiration and reduced total runoff. On the other hand, the effects of various land use scenarios within the catchment appeared to be comparatively insignificant. According to the epsilon-SVR model results, changes in hydrological processes caused a water level reduction for all scenarios. Moreover, the MPI-ESM-MR General Circulation Model outputs produced the most dramatic results by predicting that Lake Beysehir may dry out by the 2040s with the current outflow regime. The results indicate that shallow Mediterranean lakes may face a severe risk of drying out and losing their ecosystem values in the near future if the current intensity of water abstraction is not reduced. In addition, the results also demonstrate that outflow management and sustainable use of water sources are vital to sustain lake ecosystems in water-limited regions