scholarly journals Development of XU Plastic Shredder for Cost Effective Means of Minimizing Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Waste Volume

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2821-2825
Keyword(s):  
Polyethylene Terephthalate ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Transportation Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Volume Reduction ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Dump Site ◽  
Plastic Materials ◽  
The Cost

This study deals with the development of a polyethylene terephthalate or PET plastic shredder for Xavier University in order to reduce the transportation cost of used plastic bottles to the designated dump site some 9 kilometers uphill. The development of this 2 horsepower plastic shredder is also useful for the reduction of the volume of plastic materials in the Material Recovery Facility of the municipality of Alubijid, Misamis Oriental. Xavier University has a collection of used plastic bottles of around 365 kg per month with an aggregate volume of 17.42 m3 and until the next garbage collection services arrive, the amount of plastic waste will occupy a considerable volume or space. This study focuses on the development and testing of the capacity of the developed plastic shredder. This study is inspired by the project of Mr. Dave Hakkens, called Precious Plastic, that aims to fight plastic pollution by developing machines that aid in recycling all sorts of plastic materials. The objective of this study is to analyze the cost of developing these machines in the Xavier University setting, their cost of operation, and effectiveness through minimizing the volume of plastic bottle. In this study, only polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic are being used. By consultation of local manufacturing firms in developing the machines through their specialized equipment, the authors have found that cost of development is high. However, a compromise between quality and precision has been decided to reduce the overall cost of the development of the machine. The authors were able to develop the proposed machines through the application of skills in machine workshop practices in the mechanical engineering laboratory. The XU plastic shredder has an average plastic volume reduction of 82.41%. With this volume reduction, the number of trips for the garbage truck collector is also reduced by 82.41% thereby saving delivery cost and manpower requirements. The cost of power consumption of the XU Plastic Shredder is only PhP36.52 per hour.

scholarly journals Nutrient Cost-Effectiveness of Fortified Blended Food Aid Products

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory K. Regier ◽  
Brian L. Lindshield ◽  
Nina K. Lilja
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Transportation Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Food Aid ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Nutrient Value ◽  
Nutritional Data ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Blended Food

Background: Sorghum-Soy Blend (SSB) and Sorghum-Cowpea Blend (SCB) fortified blended food aid porridge products were developed as alternatives to Corn-Soy Blend Plus (CSB+) and Super Cereal Plus (SC+), the most widely used fortified blended food aid products. However, the cost and nutrient cost-effectiveness of these products procured from different geographical areas have not been determined. Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the nutrient cost-effectiveness of SSB and SCB compared to existing fortified blended foods. Methods: Nutritional data as well as ingredient, processing, and transportation cost for SSB, SCB, and existing fortified blended foods were compiled. Using the omega value, the ratio of the fortified blended food’s Nutrient Value Score to the total cost of the fortified blended food divided by an identical ratio of a different fortified blended food or the same fortified blended food produced in a different country and the nutrient cost-effectiveness of each of the fortified blended foods procured in the United States and several African countries were determined. Results: Both CSB+ and SC+ are less expensive than SSB and SCB, but they also have lower Nutrient Value Scores of 7.7 and 8.6, respectively. However, the omega values of CSB+ and SC+ are all above 1 when compared to SSB and SCB, suggesting that the existing fortified blended foods are more nutrient cost-effective. Conclusions: Comparing the nutrient cost-effectiveness of various food aid products could provide valuable information to food aid agencies prior to making procurement decisions.

scholarly journals Psychosocial intervention for carers of people with dementia: What components are most effective and when? A systematic review of systematic reviews

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Dickinson ◽  
Johanne Dow ◽  
Grant Gibson ◽  
Louise Hayes ◽  
Shannon Robalino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Psychosocial Interventions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Group Format ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Informal Carers ◽  
The Cost

ABSTRACTBackground:Psychosocial interventions for carers of people with dementia are increasingly recognized as playing an important role in dementia care. We aim to systematically review the evidence from existing systematic reviews of psychosocial interventions for informal carers of people with dementia.Methods:Thirty-one systematic reviews were identified; following quality appraisal, data from 13 reviews, rated as high or moderate quality, were extracted.Results:Well-designed, clearly structured multi-component interventions can help maintain the psychological health of carers of people with dementia and delay institutionalization of the latter. To be most effective, such interventions should include both an educational and a therapeutic component; delivery through a support group format may further enhance their effectiveness.Conclusions:Successful translation of evidence into practice in this area remains a challenge. Future research should focus on determining the most cost-effective means of delivering effective multi-component interventions in real-world settings; the cost-effective potential of technology-based interventions is considerable.

Light Rail Lite or Cost-Effective Improvements to Bus Service?

2005 ◽  
Vol 1927 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Hess ◽  
Brian D. Taylor ◽  
Allison C. Yoh
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Light Rail ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Service Characteristics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Bus Service ◽  
The Cost

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is growing rapidly in popularity because it is viewed widely as an efficient and effective means to improve both transit service and patronage. This paper argues that two distinct views of BRT are emerging: ( a) BRT as a new form of high-speed, rubber-tired, rail-like rapid transit and ( b) BRT as a cost-effective way to upgrade both the quality and image of traditional fixed-route bus service. These two views carry different price tags because the cost of planning, constructing, and operating BRT depends on the complexity of new service features and on rises for BRT that offer service characteristics approaching those of light rail. This study fills a gap in the literature on the costs of BRT by examining in detail component costs–-actual costs for recently implemented services and projected costs for planned new services–-for a sample of BRT systems in North American cities. The study examined BRT costs of 14 planned and recently opened BRT systems to determine how the wide range of BRT service and technology configurations affect costs. The study found that although some of the most successful and popular new BRT systems are high-quality services operating in mixed traffic and implemented at relatively low cost, most BRT projects on the drawing boards are more elaborate, more expensive systems than many currently in service. Most new BRT projects emphasize elaborate LRT-type improvements to lines and stations in one or a few corridors rather than less splashy improvements (such as next-bus monitors, signal preemption, queue-jump lanes, and so forth) affecting more lines and modes in local transit networks. Among the 14 systems examined here, most could be characterized as light rail lite.

scholarly journals Identification of Tyre and Plastic Waste from Combined Copernicus Sentinel-1 and -2 Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 2824
Author(s):  
Robert Page ◽  
Samantha Lavender ◽  
Dean Thomas ◽  
Katie Berry ◽  
Susan Stevens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Land Cover Classification ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Plastic Materials ◽  
Optical Imagery ◽  
Sentinel 2

As a result of tightened waste regulation across Europe, reports of waste crime have been on the rise. Significant stockpiles of tyres and plastic materials have been identified as a threat to both human and environmental health, leading to water and livestock contamination, providing substantial fuel for fires, and cultivating a variety of disease vectors. Traditional methods of identifying illegal stockpiles usually involve laborious field surveys, which are unsuitable for national scale management. Remotely-sensed investigations to tackle waste have been less explored due to the spectrally variable and complex nature of tyres and plastics, as well as their similarity to other land covers such as water and shadow. Therefore, the overall objective of this study was to develop an accurate classification method for both tyre and plastic waste to provide a viable platform for repeatable, cost-effective, and large-scale monitoring. An augmented land cover classification is presented that combines Copernicus Sentinel-2 optical imagery with thematic indices and Copernicus Sentinel-1 microwave data, and two random forests land cover classification algorithms were trained for the detection of tyres and plastics across Scotland. Testing of the method identified 211 confirmed tyre and plastic stockpiles, with overall classification accuracies calculated above 90%.

San Diego Field Operational Test of Smart Call Boxes: Technical Aspects

1997 ◽  
Vol 1603 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Banks ◽  
Patrick A. Powell
Keyword(s):  
System Integration ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Test System ◽  
Incident Detection ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Operational Test ◽  
Field Operational Test ◽  
The Cost

Smart call boxes are devices similar to those used as emergency call boxes in California. The basic call box consists of a microprocessor, a cellular transceiver, and a solar power source. The smart call box system also includes data-collection devices, call-box maintenance computers, and data recording systems at a central location. The goal of the smart call box field operational test (FOT) was to demonstrate that smart call boxes are feasible and cost-effective means of processing and transmitting data for tasks such as traffic census, incident detection, hazardous weather reporting, changeable message sign control, and video surveillance. The objective of the FOT evaluation was to determine the cost-effectiveness of smart call boxes, but because of schedule slippage the evaluation focused on only functional adequacy and capital costs. The concept for the smart call box system was found to be feasible but not necessarily optimal for the tasks involved. System integration was a major problem. Also, the number of external devices that can be attached to a single call box while maintaining the economic advantages of the system is restricted by wiring costs and limitations of the solar power supply. Test system performance was mixed. One subtest was canceled before the installation of equipment, functional systems were produced for only three of the four remaining subtests, and reliable operation was observed in only one case. In most cases, system costs will be dominated by the expense of installing wiring. Consequently, smart call boxes will be cost-effective compared with hardwire systems at many sites but may not be cost-effective compared with alternative wireless systems.

RESTORATION AND NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 (1) ◽  
pp. 721-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa J. Mazzotta ◽  
James J. Opaluch ◽  
Thomas A. Grigalunas
Keyword(s):  
Damage Assessment ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Economic Valuation ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Methods ◽  
Natural Resource Damage Assessment ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Legal Concepts ◽  
The Cost

ABSTRACT To date, the focus of damage assessment has tended to be either on economic valuation of lost services in monetary terms or on scientific studies of resource restoration. This paper suggests an alternative approach that integrates legal concepts based on the public trust doctrine, economic methods of determining compensation, and scientific approaches to restoration. The approach is based on a definition of restoration as a remedy for oil spill damages which identifies alternative restoration actions that provide resource services that are “equally desirable” to society as those lost due to the spill. The least costly of these alternatives is then selected as the cost-effective means of making the public whole.

scholarly journals Nest protectors provide a cost-effective means of increasing breeding success in Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
OMALISS KEO ◽  
NIGEL J. COLLAR ◽  
WILLIAM J. SUTHERLAND
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rate ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The Other ◽  
Nest Protection ◽  
Nestling Period ◽  
Predator Exclusion ◽  
Nestling Survival ◽  
Protection Devices ◽  
The Cost

SummaryA main cause of nestling loss of the ‘Critically Endangered’ Giant Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea appeared to be mammalian predation. Predator-exclusion devices were added to a randomly selected half of 52 nesting trees, with the other half acting as controls. The number of young fledged per nest was 50% higher for protected nests than control nests. Each protected nest produced almost two-thirds (0.63) of an extra chick. During the nestling period, the daily nestling survival rate was (99.9%) (equivalent to 90% survival over the nestling period) for protected nests and 99.3% (61.3% survival over the whole period) for control nests. Nest protection devices cost US$5 per tree. Each extra nestling fledged as a result of this intervention therefore cost $8. If it was also necessary to pay to locate the nests, then the cost of protecting each nest would be $140 and the cost of producing each extra chick $224. Trees with protectors added were significantly more likely to be reused in the next year than unprotected trees.

scholarly journals Clinical feasibility study of an immunotropic drug for treatment of complicated pyodermas

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 51-57
Author(s):  
Roman A. Khmel’nitskij ◽  
Аndrej V. Vislobokov
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Clinical Effectiveness ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Cost Effectiveness Ratio ◽  
Transfer Factors ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Cost

Introduction: Given a wide range of pathogenesis of the inflammatory process in pyoderma, which involves a variety of links in the immune response, work is underway to find ways to optimize immunocorrection in this pathology. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical and economic effectiveness of immunocorrection in severe and chronic forms of pyoderma with drugs from different pharmacological groups. Materials and methods: The data sources were prospective randomized comparative studies of therapy of 107 pyoderma patients aged 18 to 60 years, divided into groups. The patients of the first group additionally used a biologically active additive containing immunoactive molecules and transfer factors (TF) as an immunomodulator; the patients of the second group used glucosaminylmuramildipeptide (GMDP). The clinical effectiveness of regression of inflammatory symptoms on day 10 of treatment was analyzed. Based on the obtained data, the following types of pharmacoeconomical analysis were performed: calculation of the course price, the cost/effectiveness ratio, and the availability coefficient. Results and discussion: The results of the study showed that the number of cured patients was 91.4% in the first group and 97.2% in the second group of patients. The treatment cost when using the drug is by 970 rubles smaller; the cost/effectiveness ratio (CER) per patient was 1.8 higher for a drug containing transfer factors and amounted to 25.9. The calculation of the availability coefficient (AC) revealed a difference in glucosaminylmuramyldipeptide which was 2.1 times smaller. Conclusion: It was found that a drug based on glucosaminylmuramildipeptide is a more effective and cost-effective means of immunocorrection in severe forms of pyoderma. This confirms a faster regression of clinical manifestations of the disease and lower cost/effectiveness ratio and availability coefficient.

scholarly journals Effects of Plastic Pollution of Soil on the Growth and Survival of Bacteria and Fungi

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 1187-1190
Author(s):  
U. Udochukwu ◽  
S.E. Emmanuel ◽  
E.O. Ehinmitan ◽  
R.S. Bodunde ◽  
J.O. Isheke
Keyword(s):  
Soil Sample ◽  
Methylene Chloride ◽  
Micrococcus Luteus ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Garden Soil ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Dump Site ◽  
Test Soil ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi

The study examined the effect of plastic waste on soil bacteria and fungi. The test soil samples were collected from Lokoja international market waste dump site and the control soil sample was collected from non plastic contaminated garden in Salem University, Lokoja. The samples were analysed using Gas chromatography with mass spectrometer. The test soil sample soil sample had high quantity of plastic contaminant which were Methylene chloride 17.45mg/kg, hexane 10.05mg/kg, chloroform 1.56mg/kg, toluene 5.87mg/kg, tetrachloroethylene 1.48mg/kg as compared to the control garden soil sample, which had methylene chloride 0.54mg/kg, hexane 0.26mg/kg, chloroform 0.31mg/kg, toluene 5.87mg/kg and tetrachloroethylene 0.01mg/kg. The result showed the presence of plastic in the soil and it effect on bacteria and fungi. The totals of 11 bacteria were isolated from both soil samples using nutrient agar. The bacteria isolated are; Corynebacterium spp. (12%), Enterobacter spp. (8%), Acinetobacter spp. (6%), Escherichia coli (16%), Epidermis, Bacillus subtilis (15%), Serratia sp. (8%), Proteus spp. (4%), Micrococcus luteus (7%), Flavobacterium spp. (10%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15%). Micrococcus luteus, Flavobacterium spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginose were not isolated in plastic composted soil sample due to the presence of plasticizers. The total of 6 fungi were isolated, namely Penicilliun expansion (12%), Sacchromyces sp. (24%), Aspergillus niger (19%), Fusarium spp. (20%), Rhizopus stolonifer (10%) and Mucor piriformis (15%). This study reveals the effect of plastic waste, as it inhibits the growth of microorganism that is important for soil activities, thereby reducing the soil nutrients, fertility and productivity.

scholarly journals Fungal Enzymes as Catalytic Tools for Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Degradation

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 931
Author(s):  
Seyedehazita Ahmaditabatabaei ◽  
Godfrey Kyazze ◽  
Hafiz M. N. Iqbal ◽  
Tajalli Keshavarz
Keyword(s):  
Polyethylene Terephthalate ◽  
Catalytic Mechanism ◽  
Environmental Fate ◽  
Plastic Waste ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
Environmental Matrices ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Fungal Enzymes ◽  
Bacterial Enzyme ◽  
Human Health Effects

The ubiquitous persistence of plastic waste in diverse forms and different environmental matrices is one of the main challenges that modern societies are facing at present. The exponential utilization and recalcitrance of synthetic plastics, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), results in their extensive accumulation, which is a significant threat to the ecosystem. The growing amount of plastic waste ending up in landfills and oceans is alarming due to its possible adverse effects on biota. Thus, there is an urgent need to mitigate plastic waste to tackle the environmental crisis of plastic pollution. With regards to PET, there is a plethora of literature on the transportation route, ingestion, environmental fate, amount, and the adverse ecological and human health effects. Several studies have described the deployment of various microbial enzymes with much focus on bacterial-enzyme mediated removal and remediation of PET. However, there is a lack of consolidated studies on the exploitation of fungal enzymes for PET degradation. Herein, an effort has been made to cover this literature gap by spotlighting the fungi and their unique enzymes, e.g., esterases, lipases, and cutinases. These fungal enzymes have emerged as candidates for the development of biocatalytic PET degradation processes. The first half of this review is focused on fungal biocatalysts involved in the degradation of PET. The latter half explains three main aspects: (1) catalytic mechanism of PET hydrolysis in the presence of cutinases as a model fungal enzyme, (2) limitations hindering enzymatic PET biodegradation, and (3) strategies for enhancement of enzymatic PET biodegradation.

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