Coronavirus survival time on inanimate surfaces: a systematic review

This systematic review aimed to study the survival time of the virus from the coronavidae family on various materials and surfaces, thus enabling the adoption of preventive measures mainly in public environments. The electronic databases selected as a source of information were PubMed/Medline, Excerpta Medica database (EMBASE), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Web of Science, Scopus, and LIVIVO; grey literature (Google Scholar, ProQuest, and OpenGrey) was also examined. The last electronic search of the six databases retrieved 4287 references. After removing the duplicate references, the titles and abstracts (phase 1) were read, and 37 articles were selected for complete reading (phase 2), which resulted in 13 included studies. All the studies evaluated coronavirus survival on the following surfaces and objects: stainless steel, glass, plastic, wood, metal, cloth, paper, cotton, latex, polystyrene petri dish, aluminium, copper, cardboard, Teflon, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), silicone rubber and disposable fabric. On surfaces such as glass, plastic, and steel, the virus has greater stability than it does on copper, fabric, paper, and cardboard. The conditions of temperature, relative humidity, absorption power, and texture were also considered important factors in the survival of the virus.

E-Waste Recycling and Resource Recovery: A Review on Technologies, Barriers and Enablers with a Focus on Oceania

Electronic e-waste (e-waste) is a growing problem worldwide. In 2019, total global production reached 53.6 million tons, and is estimated to increase to 74.7 million tons by 2030. This rapid increase is largely fuelled by higher consumption rates of electrical and electronic goods, shorter life cycles and fewer repair options. E-waste is classed as a hazardous substance, and if not collected and recycled properly, can have adverse environmental impacts. The recoverable material in e-waste represents significant economic value, with the total value of e-waste generated in 2019 estimated to be US $57 billion. Despite the inherent value of this waste, only 17.4% of e-waste was recycled globally in 2019, which highlights the need to establish proper recycling processes at a regional level. This review provides an overview of global e-waste production and current technologies for recycling e-waste and recovery of valuable material such as glass, plastic and metals. The paper also discusses the barriers and enablers influencing e-waste recycling with a specific focus on Oceania.

Experimental investigations and numerical simulations of innovative lightweight glass–plastic-composite panels made of thin glass and PMMA

Composites are being increasingly used for industrial applications and combine the advantageous properties of two or more constituents. The urge to reduce material to a minimum and the trend towards lightweight glass structures require further developments in high performance and fully transparent composite structures for the building industry. Novel innovative glass–plastic-composite panels combining a lightweight polymer polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) interlayer core and cover layers of thin glass are currently under development. The panels exhibit high structural load-bearing performance, are durable and fully transparent with a low self-weight. These properties make the composite panels suitable for slender and lightweight glass constructions and reveal new design possibilities for the building industry. However, the material properties of the modified PMMA polymer interlayer core for precise design considerations are lacking. Furthermore, the material behaviour of thermoplastic polymers changes over time, ages due to environmental influences and is temperature-dependent. This significantly affects the composite load-bearing behaviour and defines the limits of application for the composite panels in the building industry. In order to facilitate during the development process and to build a design basis for the composite panels, material model parameters and simulation methods are required. Hence, an extensive test programme was conducted to investigate the material properties of the PMMA interlayer core by means of dynamic mechanical thermal analysis as well as uniaxial tensile and creep tests. The dataset and subsequent implementation into finite element software allowed for realistic simulations of the glass–plastic-composite panels and an extension of experimental results. Numerical simulations were performed with the commercial finite element programme ANSYS Workbench 19.3. Additionally, four-point bending tests were performed on composite test specimens with a different build-up and conventional glass panels to validate the material model and finite element simulations. These investigations and adopted material properties formed the basis for a numerical parametric study to evaluate the influence of stiffness, the load-bearing and lightweight performance in different build-ups. All the results are evaluated in detail and discussed in comparison with conventional monolithic and laminated glass panels. The dataset and material model parameters can be applied to further developments and design of lightweight glass–plastic-composite panels for structural applications in the building industry.

Coronaviruses widespread on nonliving surfaces: important questions and promising answers

The world is facing, while writing this review, a global pandemic due to one of the types of the coronaviruses (i.e., COVID-19), which is a new virus. Among the most important reasons for the transmission of infection between humans is the presence of this virus active on the surfaces and materials. Here, we addressed important questions such as do coronaviruses remain active on the inanimate surfaces? Do the types of inanimate surfaces affect the activity of coronaviruses? What are the most suitable ingredients that used to inactivate viruses? This review article addressed many of the works that were done in the previous periods on the survival of many viruses from the coronaviruses family on various surfaces such as steel, glass, plastic, Teflon, ceramic tiles, silicon rubber and stainless steel copper alloys, Al surface, sterile sponges, surgical gloves and sterile latex. The impacts of environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity were presented and discussed. The most important active ingredients that can deactivate viruses on the surfaces were reported here. We hope that these active ingredients will have the same effect on COVID-19.

Storage of ipê seeds in different packages and environments

The adequate storage will reflect directly on the physical, physiological and sanitary quality of the forest seeds and consequently on the process of seedling production. In this sense, the determination of suitable conditions for the storage of the seeds using packages and environments accessible to the producer are essential. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate different packages (glass, plastic bag and kraft paper) and environments (refrigerator, freezer and laboratory environment) for storing seeds of Tabebuia chrysotricha (Mart. Ex DC.) Standl. (ipe). The variables germination, normal seedlings, abnormal seedlings and dead seeds were evaluated every 30 days for six months. The storage of yellow ipê seeds can be carried out in a plastic bag in the refrigerator (up to 150 days) and in the freezer (up to 180 days) with up to 70% germination.

Safety alert for hospital environments and health professional: chlorhexidine is ineffective for coronavirus

SUMMARY An alarming fact was revealed by recent publications concerning disinfectants: chlorhexidine digluconate is ineffective for disinfecting surfaces contaminated by the new coronavirus. This is a finding that requires immediate disclosure since this substance is widely used for the disinfection of hands and forearms of surgeons and auxiliaries and in the antisepsis of patients in minimally invasive procedures commonly performed in hospital environments. The objective of this study is to compare the different disinfectants used for disinfection on several surfaces, in a review of worldwide works. Scientific studies were researched in the BVS (Virtual Health Library), PubMed, Medline, and ANVISA (National Health Surveillance Agency) databases. The following agents were studied: alcohol 62-71%, hydrogen peroxide 0.5%, sodium hypochlorite 0.1%, benzalkonium chloride 0.05-0.2%, povidone-iodine 10%, and chlorhexidine digluconate 0.02%, on metal, aluminum, wood, paper, glass, plastic, PVC, silicone, latex (gloves), disposable gowns, ceramic, and Teflon surfaces. Studies have shown that chlorhexidine digluconate is ineffective for inactivating some coronavirus subtypes, suggesting that it is also ineffective to the new coronavirus.

JENIS DAN BOBOT SAMPAH LAUT (MARINE DEBRIS) PANTAI PANJANG KOTA BENGKULU

Pantai panjang telah ditetapkan menjadi salah satu destinasi ekowisata yang ada di Kota Bengkulu. Terdapat 2 jenis marine debris (sampah organik dan sampah anorganik) yang meyebabkan permasalahan di Pantai Panjang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 13 macam marine debris yang digolongkan ke dalam sampah organik di Pantai Panjang yaitu kayu, kertas, kelapa, daun, akar, kardus, bambu, kulit durian, pinang, ketapang, serabut, pohon jagung dan mangrove. Sedangkan jenis sampah anorganik ditemukan 21 macam marine debris yaitu plastik, botol kaca, busa, kain, sepatu, pipet, sendal, tutup botol, tali, pecahan kaca, mainan plastik, karpet, pena, boneka, steorofom, karet, gabus, rem dan sikat gigi. Jenis sampah organik yang mendominasi adalah sampah kayu, sedangkan untuk sampah anorganik yang mendominasi adalah sampah plastik. Jumlah potongan sampah laut dan berat sampah laut tertinggi didominasi oleh sampah organik.TYPES AND WEIGHT OF MARINE DEBRIS IN PANJANG BEACH BENGKULU CITY. Panjang beach has been established as one of the ecotourism destinations in Bengkulu city. There were 2 types of marine debris (organic waste and inorganic waste) which cause problems at Pantai Panjang. The results showed that there were 13 types of waste classified as organic waste in Pantai Beach, namely wood, paper, coconut, leaves, roots, cardboard, bamboo, durian, areca nut, ketapang, fibers, corn and mangrove. While inorganic waste types were found 21 kinds of marine debris, namely plastic, glass bottles, foam, cloth, shoes, pipettes, sandals, bottle caps, ropes, broken glass, plastic toys, carpets, pens, dolls, steorofomes, rubber, cork, brakes and tooth brush. The dominant type of organic waste was wood waste, while for inorganic waste that dominates was plastic waste. The highest number of pieces of marine debris and the weight of marine debris was dominated by organic waste.