scholarly journals Investigating the impact of weathering and indoor aging on wood acidity using spectroscopic analyses

BioResources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 6506-6525
Author(s):  
Safa Abdel-Kader Mohamed Hamed ◽  
Mohamed Z. M. Salem ◽  
Hayssam M. Ali ◽  
Kareem Mohamed El-Sayed Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Spectroscopic Analyses ◽  
Polluted Atmosphere ◽  
Outdoor Environments ◽  
Wood Deterioration ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The Impact

A new perspective on the effect of unconditioned indoor (especially storage areas) and outdoor environments on wood acidity is provided in this work. A comparison between the quantity and types of the organic acids formed in the unconditioned indoor environment and different outdoor environments was made. Moreover, the acidity of some wood samples due to different environmental conditions was determined using a pH meter and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was used to detect the changes in wood components at the molecular level due to environmental conditions. The results suggest that the unconditioned indoor environment was more aggressive than the outdoor environment with respect to wood deterioration. The polluted atmosphere increased the wood acidity and motivated polysaccharide breakdown.

scholarly journals SARS-CoV-2 spillover into hospital outdoor environments

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dayi Zhang ◽  
Yunfeng Yang ◽  
Xia Huang ◽  
Jingkun Jiang ◽  
Miao Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
Treatment Unit ◽  
Outdoor Environments ◽  
Risk Areas ◽  
Global Threat ◽  
Respiratory Droplets ◽  
First Time

The outbreak of coronavirus infectious disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly spread throughout over 200 countries, posing a global threat to human health. Till 15th May 2020, there are over 4.5 million confirmed cases, with roughly 300,000 death1. To date, most studies focus on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in indoor environment owing to its main transmission routes via human respiratory droplets and direct contact2,3. It remains unclear whether SARS-CoV-2 can spill over and impose transmission risks to outdoor environments despite potential threats to people and communities. Here, we investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 by measuring viral RNA in 73 samples from outdoor environment of three hospitals in Wuhan. We detected SARS-CoV-2 in soils (205-550 copies/g), aerosols (285-1,130 copies/m3) and wastewaters (255 to 18,744 copies/L) in locations close to hospital departments receiving COVID-19 patients or in wastewater treatment sectors. These findings reveal significant viral spillover in hospital outdoor environments that was possibly caused by respiratory droplets from patients or aerosolized particles from wastewater containing SARS-CoV-2. In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 was not detected in other areas or on surfaces with regular disinfection implemented. Soils may behave as viral warehouse through deposition and serve as a secondary source spreading SARS-CoV-2 for a prolonged time. For the first time, our findings demonstrate that there are high-risk areas in hospital outdoor environments to spread SARS-CoV-2, calling for sealing of wastewater treatment unit and complete sanitation to prevent COVID-19 transmission risks.

scholarly journals Study on the Impact of Residential Outdoor Environments on Mood in the Elderly in Guangzhou, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chongxian Chen ◽  
Weijing Luo ◽  
Ning Kang ◽  
Haiwei Li ◽  
Xiaohao Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Multiple Regression Models ◽  
Outdoor Environments ◽  
Medium Quality ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Understanding the relationship between mood and the environment among the elderly is important for the healthy aging agenda. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between residential outdoor environments of different qualities and mood in the elderly. Nine residential neighborhoods across three different quality levels of the outdoor environment in Guangzhou, China, were surveyed. Measures included demographic characteristics, assessment of the residential outdoor environment, and mood status of the elderly. We constructed a group of multiple regression models to investigate influencing environmental factors of participants’ mood. Results revealed that the environmental factors influencing mood in the elderly are different across the three types of residential outdoor environments: function and cleanliness of the site showed a significant correlation with mood in high-quality residences, while pavement was significantly correlated with mood in medium-quality residences. In contrast, transparency, enclosure, greenness, temperature, and humidity were significantly correlated with mood in poor-quality residences. To promote mental health in the elderly, we recommend that different qualities of residential outdoor environments should be considered individually rather than aggregated as simply “outdoor space.” The findings of this study are expected to contribute to create age-friendly communities for an aging society.

scholarly journals Impact Resistance of High-Performance Steel Fiber Concrete under Long Term Exposure to Environmental Conditions

2018 ◽  
Vol 206 ◽  
pp. 02007
Author(s):  
Abdulhameed Umar Abubakar ◽  
Tulin Akçaoğlu ◽  
Khaled Marar
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Impact Load ◽  
Impact Resistance ◽  
Plain Concrete ◽  
Fiber Volume ◽  
Steel Fiber Concrete ◽  
Impact Energies ◽  
The Impact

An investigation is presented here that studied the influence of long-term environmental conditions exposure on cylindrical specimens after initial 28 day moist curing. The specimens were tested after six months subjected to Mediterranean weather elements in North Cyprus. Specimens with 150 mm diameter by 60 mm long cylinders were tested under impact load using a modified version of the testing equipment described in ACI 544.2R. Numbers of blows to create first and damage cracks were determined, and subsequently the impact energies calculated. It was seen that there is as much as twenty times improvement in impact energy of fibered concretes at fiber volume of 2% when compared with plain concrete. This will goa long way to improve the impact resistance of industrial floors and slabs on grade.

scholarly journals Subclinical Cytomegalovirus Infection Is Associated with Altered Host Immunity, Gut Microbiota, and Vaccine Responses

2018 ◽  
Vol 92 (13) ◽  
pp. e00167-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarissa Santos Rocha ◽  
Lauren A. Hirao ◽  
Mariana G. Weber ◽  
Gema Méndez-Lagares ◽  
W. L. William Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
T Cells ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Environmental Exposures ◽  
Host Immunity ◽  
Outdoor Environment ◽  
Cmv Infection ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTSubclinical viral infections (SVI), including cytomegalovirus (CMV), are highly prevalent in humans, resulting in lifelong persistence. However, the impact of SVI on the interplay between the host immunity and gut microbiota in the context of environmental exposures is not well defined. We utilized the preclinical nonhuman primate (NHP) model consisting of SVI-free (specific-pathogen-free [SPF]) rhesus macaques and compared them to the animals with SVI (non-SPF) acquired through natural exposure and investigated the impact of SVI on immune cell distribution and function, as well as on gut microbiota. These changes were examined in animals housed in the outdoor environment compared to the controlled indoor environment. We report that SVI are associated with altered immune cell subsets and gut microbiota composition in animals housed in the outdoor environment. Non-SPF animals harbored a higher proportion of potential butyrate-producingFirmicutesand higher numbers of lymphocytes, effector T cells, and cytokine-producing T cells. Surprisingly, these differences diminished following their transfer to the controlled indoor environment, suggesting that non-SPFs had increased responsiveness to environmental exposures. An experimental infection of indoor SPF animals with CMV resulted in an increased abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria, validating that CMV enhanced colonization of butyrate-producing commensals. Finally, non-SPF animals displayed lower antibody responses to influenza vaccination compared to SPF animals. Our data show that subclinical CMV infection heightens host immunity and gut microbiota changes in response to environmental exposures. This may contribute to the heterogeneity in host immune response to vaccines and environmental stimuli at the population level.IMPORTANCEHumans harbor several latent viruses that modulate host immunity and commensal microbiota, thus introducing heterogeneity in their responses to pathogens, vaccines, and environmental exposures. Most of our understanding of the effect of CMV on the immune system is based on studies of children acquiring CMV or of immunocompromised humans with acute or reactivated CMV infection or in ageing individuals. The experimental mouse models are genetically inbred and are completely adapted to the indoor laboratory environment. In contrast, nonhuman primates are genetically outbred and are raised in the outdoor environment. Our study is the first to report the impact of long-term subclinical CMV infection on host immunity and gut microbiota, which is evident only in the outdoor environment but not in the indoor environment. The significance of this study is in highlighting the impact of SVI on enhancing host immune susceptibility to environmental exposures and immune heterogeneity.

Dietary Vitamin and Stability of Oral Anticoagulation: Proposal of a Diet with Constant Vitamin K1 Content

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (03) ◽  
pp. 504-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L Booth ◽  
Jacqueline M Charnley ◽  
James A Sadowski ◽  
Edward Saltzman ◽  
Edwin G Bovill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Intake ◽  
Vitamin K ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Food Composition ◽  
Dietary Guidelines ◽  
Dietary Vitamin ◽  
Vitamin K1 ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Impact

SummaryCase reports cited in Medline or Biological Abstracts (1966-1996) were reviewed to evaluate the impact of vitamin K1 dietary intake on the stability of anticoagulant control in patients using coumarin derivatives. Reported nutrient-drug interactions cannot always be explained by the vitamin K1 content of the food items. However, metabolic data indicate that a consistent dietary intake of vitamin K is important to attain a daily equilibrium in vitamin K status. We report a diet that provides a stable intake of vitamin K1, equivalent to the current U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance, using food composition data derived from high-performance liquid chromatography. Inconsistencies in the published literature indicate that prospective clinical studies should be undertaken to clarify the putative dietary vitamin K1-coumarin interaction. The dietary guidelines reported here may be used in such studies.

Alpha Tocopherol Loaded in Liposome: Preparation, Optimization, Characterization and Sperm Motility Protection

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lamia Taouzinet ◽  
Sofiane Fatmi ◽  
Allaeddine Khellouf ◽  
Mohamed Skiba ◽  
Mokrane Iguer-ouada
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin E ◽  
Sperm Motility ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Alpha Tocopherol ◽  
Ethanol Injection ◽  
Liposome Preparation ◽  
Liposome Size ◽  
Optimum Solution ◽  
The Impact

Background: Alpha-tocopherol is a potent antioxidant involved in sperm protection particularly during cryopreservation. However, its poor solubility limits the optimal protection in aqueous solutions. Objective: The aim of this study was to enhance the solubility of α-tocopherol by the use of liposomes. Methods: The experimental approach consisted to load vitamin E in liposomes prepared by ethanol injection method and the optimization carried out by an experimental design. The optimum solution was characterized by high performance liquid chromatography and scanning electron microscope. Finely, the impact on sperm motility protection was studied by the freezing technic of bovine sperm. Results: The optimum solution was obtained when using 10.9 mg/ml of phospholipids, 1.7 mg/ml of cholesterol and 2 mg/ml of vitamin E. The liposome size was 99.86 nm, providing 78.47% of loaded efficiency. The results showed also a significant positive impact on sperm motility after hours of preservation. Conclusion: In conclusion, the current results showed the interest of liposome preparation as an alternative to enhance vitamin E solubility and to protect spermatozoa during cryopreservation.

scholarly journals Technology Entrepreneurship and the Performance of Enterprises in the Conditions of Covid-19 Pandemic: The Fuzzy Set Analysis of Waste to Energy Enterprises in Poland

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3891
Author(s):  
Piotr Kordel ◽  
Radosław Wolniak
Keyword(s):  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Flexible Structures ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Energy Industry ◽  
Technology Entrepreneurship ◽  
Research Results ◽  
The Impact

This article’s aim is to explain the impact of technology entrepreneurship phenomenon on waste management enterprise performance in the conditions of COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of technology entrepreneurship according to the configuration approach and the category of high-performance organization are the theoretical bases of empirical investigation. For the implementation of empirical research, Fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (FsQCA) was adopted. The research sample included a group of producers of Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) as a central part of the waste to energy industry located in Poland. The research results showed that the waste to energy sector is highly immune to pandemic threats. While during COVID-19, the basic economic parameters (i.e., sales, profitability and employment) of the entire industry in Poland clearly decreased, the same parameters in the case of the waste to energy industry remained at the same level. The research results allow the formulation of two high-performance models of technology entrepreneurship in the waste to energy industry under COVID-19 conditions. The first model is based on traditional technologies and hierarchical organizational structures, and the second is using innovative technologies and flexible structures. Both technology entrepreneurship models are determined by their emergence as complementary to implementation strategies and the opportunity-oriented allocation of resources within business model portfolios.

scholarly journals Grill Workers Exposure to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Levels and Excretion Profiles of the Urinary Biomarkers

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Marta Oliveira ◽  
Sílvia Capelas ◽  
Cristina Delerue-Matos ◽  
Simone Morais
Keyword(s):  
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽  
Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Urinary Biomarkers ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Exposed Workers ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
The Impact

Grilling activities release large amounts of hazardous pollutants, but information on restaurant grill workers’ exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is almost inexistent. This study assessed the impact of grilling emissions on total workers’ exposure to PAHs by evaluating the concentrations of six urinary biomarkers of exposure (OHPAHs): naphthalene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and benzo(a)pyrene. Individual levels and excretion profiles of urinary OHPAHs were determined during working and nonworking periods. Urinary OHPAHs were quantified by high-performance liquid-chromatography with fluorescence detection. Levels of total OHPAHs (∑OHPAHs) were significantly increased (about nine times; p ≤ 0.001) during working comparatively with nonworking days. Urinary 1-hydroxynaphthalene + 1-hydroxyacenapthene and 2-hydroxyfluorene presented the highest increments (ca. 23- and 6-fold increase, respectively), followed by 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (ca. 2.3 times) and 1-hydroxypyrene (ca. 1.8 times). Additionally, 1-hydroxypyrene levels were higher than the benchmark, 0.5 µmol/mol creatinine, in 5% of exposed workers. Moreover, 3-hydroxybenzo(a)pyrene, biomarker of exposure to carcinogenic PAHs, was detected in 13% of exposed workers. Individual excretion profiles showed a cumulative increase in ∑OHPAHs during consecutive working days. A principal component analysis model partially discriminated workers’ exposure during working and nonworking periods showing the impact of grilling activities. Urinary OHPAHs were increased in grill workers during working days.

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