Plastic Floats Research Articles

Assembly mechanisms of microbial communities in plastisphere related to species taxonomic types and habitat niches

A lot of plastic floats are presented in the kelp cultivation zone, enabling us to effectively evaluate the differences between surface water (SW) and plastic-attached (PA) microbial communities. In this study, we explored the microbial communities (both bacteria and protists) in SW and PA niches during the kelp cultivation activities. Effects of habitat niches on the diversity and composition of microbial communities were found. Beta partitioning and core taxa analyses showed species turnover and local species pool governed the microbial community assembly, and they contributed more to bacteria and protists, respectively. Based on the results of null model, bacterial communities presented a more deterministic and homogeneous assembly compared to protistan communities. Moreover, microbial communities in PA niche had higher species turnover and homogenizing assembly compared to the SW niche. The results of this study supplemented the theory of microbial community assembly and expanded our understanding of protists in plastisphere.

Microplastic contamination in sediment and Strombus sp. on Bintan Island, Indonesia

The high level of public plastic consumption can trigger the increase of plastic and waste in marine areas. Plastic floats in the ocean will then be degraded into smaller sizes (<5 mm), namely microplastics. Microplastic can be dangerous to marine environments, especially to natural resources, including sediment and marine biotas., where microplastics are easily eaten by diverse marine biota. Bintan Island is a conservation area with abundant seagrass and associated biota resources, especially Strombus sp. This study examines microplastic contamination in sediment and Strombus sp. on Bintan Island, Indonesia. Samples (Strombus sp.) were collected from a 100 x 20 meter seagrass area, while sediment samples were taken in a 1 m x 1 m quadrant. The sediment was dried, and the biota was dissected to see the presence of microplastics. All microplastics collected from both samples were identified in shape and colour. The results showed that microplastics had been found in sediment and Strombus sp. Based on the characteristics of microplastics, the highest abundance of colour found was white, while the highest abundance of types found was a fragment

Impacts of sea pollution on marine animals

In recent years, marine pollution has become a major issue for many scientists and affects the entire world. Global marine ecosystems are facing major challenges as litter or chemical emissions increase. This paper discovers about cause, effect on animals and plants, solutions of sea pollution. Results find that plastic pollution cause large amount of plastic float on sea surface and sink in the sea; oil spills is hazardous to birds, marine animals and plants, and the marine environment, and factory pollution cause decrease in water quality. Three types of animals most harmed by ocean pollution, which are sea turtle, marine mammals and sea birds, they always mistaken and harmed by the waste. On plants, algae blooms are killing other marine species life, and oxybenzone cause coral reef bleaching. This paper finds the solutions that people, government, and organizations can do in future in order to solve marine pollutions. Government should made policy to ban people use harmful chemical products, factory stop pollute pollutants, fishing should be reduced. For people, they can protect ocean by stop using plastic products, saving electricity. This paper popularizes the seriousness of plastic pollution and suggests future solutions.

Baseline Marine Litter Surveys along Vietnam Coasts Using Citizen Science Approach

Marine litter is a significant threat to the marine environment, human health, and the economy. In this study, beach litter surveys along Vietnamese coasts were conducted in a local context to quantify and characterize marine litter using the modified GESAMP marine litter monitoring guideline. A total of 21,754 items weighing 136,820.2 g was recorded across 14 surveys from September 2020 to January 2021. Plastic was the most abundant type of litter by both quantity (20,744 items) and weight (100,371.2 g). Fishing gear 1 (fishing plastic rope, net pieces, fishing lures and lines, hard plastic floats) and soft plastic fragments were the most frequently observed items (17.65% and 17.24%, respectively). This study not only demonstrates the abundance and composition of marine litter in Vietnam, it also provides valuable information for the implementation of appropriate preventive measures, such as the redesign of collection, reuse, and recycling programs, and informs policy and priorities, with a focus on action and investment in Vietnam. Moreover, insights from this study indicate that citizen science is a useful approach for collecting data on marine litter in Vietnam.

Relaxation dynamics of the Marangoni convection roll structure induced by camphor concentration gradient

When a camphor disk is placed close to a water surface, Marangoni convection occurs due to the surface tension gradient originating from the spatial distribution of camphor molecules at the water surface. We put plastic floats on the water surface to investigate the surface Marangoni flow, and observed that the plastic floats moved away from the camphor disk due to Marangoni convection. When the camphor disk was pulled up away from the water surface, the Marangoni convection weakened and finally disappeared. At that time, we observed that the floats approached the position just below the camphor disk. We discuss the mechanism of such float motion as related to the change in the structure of Marangoni convection and the change in the water level.

A belt transect setting strategy for mark-recapture experiments to evaluate the 1D diffusion coefficient of beached litter in the cross-shore direction

We propose a belt transect setting strategy for mark-recapture experiments (MREs) to evaluate the time-independent 1D diffusion coefficient (〈Dp0〉) of marine litter in the cross-shore direction that determines the backwashing flux of the litter, based on two-year MREs for plastic floats (PFs) on Wadahama Beach, Nii-jima Island, Japan. When the alongshore width of the belt transect (Lt) was of the order of, or longer than, the length scale of wave-induced nearshore current circulation (Lc), the PFs were rarely transported alongshore across the selected transects prior to being backwashed offshore. Thus, the transect residence time became longer and showed a much weaker dependence on the transect position, in contrast to when Lt was even shorter than Lc. We therefore obtained the diffusion coefficients close to the value of (〈Dp0〉) when we set Lt to the order of, or longer than, Lc.

Artisanal fishing net float loss and a proposal for a float design solution

Abstract Plastic floats from fishing nets are commonly found washed up on beaches in southern Brazil. They are usually broken and show signs of having been repaired. Characteristics of floats and interviews with fishermen suggest two main causes of float loss. First, collisions between active gear, bottom trawl nets for shrimp, and passive gear, drift nets for fish, destroy nets and release fragments of them, including floats. Second, the difficulty with which floats are inserted on the float rope of the nets when they are used near the surface. Floats are inserted to replace damaged or lost floats, or they may be removed if it is desired that the nets be used in deeper waters. Floats may thus be poorly fixed to the cables and lost. Here a new float design that offers greater safety in use and for the replacement of floats is described and tested.

Study on Dynamic Response of Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Float for Light Seaplane

Study on Dynamic Response of Fiber-Reinforced Plastic Float for Light Seaplane

Managing Marine Plastic Pollution: Policy Initiatives to Address Wayward Waste

A few times a year, volunteers fan out along the causeway that links the South Carolina mainland with the seashore community of Folly Beach to clean up plastic bottles, straws, bags, and other debris from along the road and the salt marsh. Some of this debris has come from cities miles away. On windy days, litter is often blown off city streets into waterways. During rainstorms, debris floats into drains that empty into rivers. Other trash probably came from places closer to home. “I see bags and other plastic flying off the beds of pickup trucks going down the causeway,” says Marty Morganello, who organizes the cleanups for the Charleston-area chapter of the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation. “I see them coming out the open windows of cars and out the backs of garbage trucks and even recycling trucks. This material is lightweight, and if you don’t secure it, it will fly away.” By one estimate, the volume of plastic debris going into the world’s oceans could more than double by 2025, assuming current trends in coastal development and plastics use. Some countries have begun identifying ways to improve management of plastic ... Beach cleanups yield enormous amounts of trash, with plastic items a major constituent.1 Although the human health impacts of this marine plastic pollution remain poorly characterized, it is widely seen as an emerging problem that deserves much more research attention.2 Likewise, there is a growing urgency among industry, government, nongovernmental organizations, and environmental groups to develop tools and policies to track, capture, and recycle plastic waste before it reaches the ocean.

コールタール熱媒浴法によるシュレッダーダスト処理技術の開発

An automobile shredder residue (ASR) is an unavoidable by-product in the recycling of end-of-life vehicle (ELV). A new recycling process of ASR has been developed, in which ASR is put in coal-tar based oil and is separated by gravity into plastic floats and metal sediments. The fundamental experiments and bench scale test were carried out so as to confirm the separation behavior of ASR. The decomposition of polyurethane and dechlornation of polyvinyl chloride included in ASR proceeded rapidly under the conditions of 280°C and 15 min in coal-tar based oil, compared with in a gas phase owing to a large heat capacity and a high thermal conductivity of the liquid solvent. From the operation results of 1200 t/y pilot plant, the floats of 73% and sediments of 27% from ASR were recovered during 50 hours continuous operation. The floats composed of plastics free from copper and less of chlorine is suitable for reducing agent in blast furnace, and the sediments containing high contents of metals can be used for raw material in smelting. On the basis of above results, it is concluded that the ELV recycling of 95% or more can be achieved by using the proposal process.

Effects of Inedible, Manipulable Objects on Captive Bears

Bears in captivity often show abnormal behaviors such as stereotypies and periods of excessive inactivity. Most of the research aimed at reducing abnormal behaviors in bears has focused on feeding enrichment. However, the effects of feeding enrichment only seem to last as long as it takes a bear to consume the food. This study investigated the effects of inedible, manipulable objects on bears. Two polar bears (Ursus maritimus) received plastic floats. A sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) and a spectacled bear (Treniarctos ornatus) received plastic balls. During a 7-week period, polar bears nearly doubled their activity in the presence of toy floats, and the spectacled bear halved its pacing in the presence of toys. The sloth bear did not respond to the objects. These findings indicate that access to manipulable nonfood objects such as plastic toys can result in prolonged engagement in appetitive behaviors by polar bears.

Rapid Diagnosis of Brugia malayi and Wuchereria bancrofti Filariasis by an Acridine Orange/Microhematocrit Tube Technique

A microhematocrit tube technique for diagnosis of human filariasis has been previously described. A system incorporating heparin, EDTA, and acridine orange into a microhematocrit tube (Quantitative Blood Count, QBC) has been commercially developed for the quantitation of blood counts and has been used for the diagnosis of malaria. We evaluated this test for its usefulness in the diagnosis of filariasis. Upon centrifugation, the parasites were concentrated in the area of the buffy coat and could be observed through the wall of the tube. The parasites were concentrated further by a plastic float that expands the buffy coat and confines the parasites to the periphery of the tube. Acridine orange stains the DNA of the parasite, and morphologic characteristics can be examined by fluorescence microscopy. The terminal and subterminal nuclei and long cephalic space of Brugia malayi, as well as the short cephalic space and caudal nuclei of Wuchereria bancrofti, were easily recognized and differentiated from each other. Microfilariae were detected in samples diluted to a level of approximately 50/ml.

A superfusion bath for single-cell recording with high-precision optical depth control, temperature regulation, and rapid solution switching

A superfusion system for isolated cell recording, which uses a novel optical technique for feedback control of solution depth (+/- 5 microns), is described. A retroreflective optosensor senses the distance between itself and a white hydrophobic plastic float, supported by surface tension on the surface of the solution. The combination of optical depth sensing with stepper-motor-driven pumps, pneumatic ("noise-free") solution switching and Peltier-effect solution heating/cooling provides a high degree of control over the cell superfusion environment. The solution flow rate to the bath is selected over the range 0.08-5.00 (+/- 0.01) ml min-1 with provision for solution recirculation. The temperature control range of the Peltier element is 4.0 degrees-70.0 degrees C. At temperatures selected over the range 16.0 degrees-36.0 degrees C, and at flow 3.00 ml min-1 the temperature gradient through the central working position of the bath is not more than 0.2 degrees C. At this flow, bath solution exchange on valve actuation is 90% complete within 0.7 s. This superfusion system is particularly suited to conventional and fluorescence imaging techniques where accurate control of the solution level ensures constant optical conditions. In electrophysiological experiments this apparatus will also provide stabilization of electrode capacitance with adjustment of solution depth. The robust and compact design of the system allows it to be carried between different applications.

Production of Mussels, Mytilus Edulis, in Suspended Culture and Estimates of Carbon and Nitrogen Flow: Killary Harbour, Ireland

Culture of mussels, Mytilus edulis L. is a developing industry in Irish coastal waters. Settling larvae are collected on 10 m long ropes which are suspended from g.r.p. rafts at a density of five ropes per square metre or from paired long lines, buoyed by plastic floats, at a density of some four hundred ropes per hundred metres. Mussels are harvested after eighteen months when the ropes yield up to 5 kg live weight per metre or approximately 250 kg m−2. Commercial culture at this density clearly exerts a considerable effect on energy and nutrient flow in the coastal ecosystem. In order to quantify the role of cultured mussels we investigated the carbon and nitrogen budget for production rafts and long lines in Killary Harbour, a fjordic inlet on the Irish west coast (Rodhouse et al. 1984) and compared these with estimates for the wild population on the shore.

Humidification Hazard

I wish to call attention to a potentially fatal user-induced malfunction of a Bird model 3000 heated humidifier (Bird Products Division/3M, St. Paul, MN). The Bird humidifier is a highly efficient, heated, in-circuit, pass-over humidifier. 1 Poulton T.J. Downs J.B. Humidification of rapidly flowing gases. Crit Care Med. 1981; 9: 59-63 Crossref PubMed Scopus (21) Google Scholar The water reservoir within the humidifier incorporates a water inflow system composed of a central vertical metallic tube which sits over a foam-filled plastic float, the superior surface of which is a rubber disc (Fig 1). As water drips through the metallic tube and into the reservoir, the float rises until its rubber disc contacts and occludes the open end of the metallic tube to halt further inflow of water. As water is vaporized from a tubular wick immersed in the water, the float falls and the reservoir fills again. A central spindle protrudes from the bottom of the reservoir to fit into a vertical cylindrical opening in the center of the bottom surface of the float. This spindle-in-cylinder arrangement is intended to maintain a functional relationship between the rubber seal on top of the float and the capillary tube protruding down into the evaporation chamber. The cylindrical pin also appears to have been designed to prevent incorrect placement of the float in the reservoir (eg, upside down or sideways).

An Experimental Evaluation of Oil Slick Movement Caused by Waves

Abstract The wave-induced movement of oil lenses and other floats was studied by using mechanically generated gravity waves in a water tank. The measured surface drift velocities were in all cases higher than those predicted by the Stokes theory of deep water waves. For wave conditions at which the Stokes velocity is higher than 2 cm sec−1, the measured surface velocities were 35–150% higher than the Stokes velocity. The drift velocity was insensitive to float size when the float length was larger than one wavelength. Thin, flexible, plastic floats were found to have the same drift speed as similarly sized oil lenses. A discussion of the movement of oil spills on the open ocean is included.

A simple apparatus for measurement of protein monofilm expansion at air-water interface in response to soluble reactants in the subsolution

A new apparatus and technique for the study of the reaction of macromolecules at the air-water interface with soluble substances in the subsolution is described. A system of piston oils and plastic float with mercury seals is employed to monitor the monofilm area changes at constant pressure. The reaction trays are milled from Teflon, which permits easy instrumentation and cleaning. The test monofilm is compressed to a predetermined pressure by a “piston oil” and is allowed to expand against the oil area on injection of a suitable reactant. The film expansion is isobaric owing to the unique characteristic of the piston oil. A plastic float with mercury seals divides the piston oil area from the test monofilm, and responds to small pressure changes in the latter by an appropriate displacement.