Pollution Avoidance Research Articles

The Ebb and Flow of Morality: The Role of Purity in the Public Perceptions of Fukushima's Processed Water Release

AbstractThe Japanese government's decision to discharge treated water into the ocean has drawn citizens' attention, and the evaluation of this issue remains controversial. The themes underlying social issues are connected to the moral foundation of Haidt's moral foundations theory. Accordingly, these foundations appeal to individuals' subjective approval of their moral foundations. The treated water issue is related to the purity foundation; thus, the present study aimed to investigate the role of the purity foundation on the support for the treated water issue by collecting data from 1,291 Japanese participants immediately after the first discharge of treated water. To measure the purity‐related concept, the Purity Orientation–Pollution Avoidance Scale (POPA) was employed. The results of our multiple regression analysis showed a negative association for the Mental Purity subscale and a positive association for the Respect for Religion subscale of POPA. The different aspects of Japanese purity highlighted by POPA are discussed. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms involved in people's attitudes toward social issues.

In-Sn alloy extraction through novel process for recycling of spent ITO targets

The feasibility of utilizing spent indium tin oxide (s-ITO) as an inert anode for the recovery of s-ITO targets through the electro-deoxidation was investigated, which concurrently achieved the avoidance of molten salt pollution caused by graphite anodes and maximized the utilization of resources by using the same material as the anode and cathode. Various techniques including anodic polarization and Tafel polarization were employed to evaluate the corrosion resistance and electrochemical stability of s-ITO. XRD and XPS are used to analyze the phase and valence state of the anodic materials and products, respectively. The practicability of replacing graphite anodes with s-ITO anodes was discussed in detail under identical electrolytic conditions. When using s-ITO as the anode, the carbon content and oxygen content in the electrolytic product are 31 ppm and 57 ppm, respectively, which are lower than those of graphite as the anode. Moreover, based on the results of above investigations, a cathode and anode collaborative electrolytic device was devised to maximize the utilization of resources and recovery of high-value products. The findings indicate that s-ITO has good corrosion resistance when used as an inert anode.

Nitric oxide removal by synergistic photooxidation and adsorption using Pd1/g-C3N4-UiO-66-NH2 P-A heterojunction

Simultaneous avoidance of secondary air pollution and catalyst deactivation remains a challenge for existing photocatalytic removal of nitric oxide (NO). Herein, a photocatalysis-adsorption (P-A) heterojunction is synthesized for eco-friendly NO removal by facilely grinding Pd single atoms (Pd1) anchored g-C3N4 (48CN/Pd) with UiO-66-NH2 (UION). Under visible-light irradiation, the 40UION-CN/Pd composite shows 93.91 % of NO removal efficiency with only 2.73 % of NO2 emissions and negligible catalyst deactivation. The DeNOx index increases remarkably from −0.66 for 48CN/Pd to 0.86 for 40UION-CN/Pd. Furthermore, the synthesized P-A heterojunction efficiently removes NO from real flue gases produced by a domestic coal-fired stove and from SO2-rich flue gases. The mechanism exploration based on experimental investigations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveals that UION captures the NO2 selectively produced by 48CN/Pd, simultaneously suppressing NO2 emissions and refreshing active sites for NO photooxidation. Moreover, the results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), charge density difference calculation, energy-resolved distribution of electron traps (ERDT) and in-situ Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) reveal that the built-in electric field and Type-II heterojunction formed between 48CN/Pd and UION promote the separation of photogenerated carriers, enhancing the catalytic activity of the composite. This work provides an innovative strategy to avoid NO2 emission and catalyst deactivation during photocatalytic NO removal.

Sustainable operation? Measuring the actual consumption of a hybrid car and determining its consumption curve

Sustainability is one of the most commonly used terms concerning renewable energy, environmental protection and energy management. Without a doubt, understanding its full meaning, it is clear that sustainability is paramount for the quality of life of future generations and for the Earth as a living space. The presented work aims to give an overview of the importance of on-board management in hybrid vehicles as an important tool to increase their contribution to sustainable mobility. Real-world condition measurements were carried out based on the available cognitive features of an average vehicle. Several main consumers were also tested to present their role within cognitive and sustainable mobility. Results show that there is a function between the battery load level and the hybrid vehicle electric power use likeliness. Among the primary but under-addressed concerns today are the uninhibited exploitation of non-renewable energy sources and the avoidance of pollution.

Affordable and sustainable transportation: Key drivers and policy choices for a megacity in India

The city of Bengaluru is one of the latest entrants to the list of 33 mega cities in the world. The transportation infrastructure of the city is expanding to accommodate the rapidly increasing population. As such, there is a need to reevaluate public transport policies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 11.2. In this study, we conducted a socio-economic survey of 1350 households belonging to the low and low-middle income categories in Bengaluru city to understand their travel behaviour and transportation mode choices in the event of changing transport infrastructure dynamics of the city. While two-wheelers are the dominant mode among employed working males in the age group of 18–45 years, buses are preferred for long-distance travel. Metro ridership is low even where metro stations are accessible at the start of the journey because low- and middle-income groups are unable to afford metro services. Additionally, we used Random Forest model to assess the contribution of each explanatory variable in mode choice determination. The results shows that travel cost followed by travel time and travel distance are the most important explanators in determining the mode choice for our sample population. Based on these findings, the authors have created two scenarios to assess the impact of metro fare rationalisation on metro ridership. This study quantifies the co-benefits of the proposed policy changes in terms of economic benefits to the operators and the avoidance of air pollution and CO2 emissions.

Moral Common Sense: Examining the False Consensus Effect of Morality in Japan

Researchers have continually studied the classical false consensus effect (FCE) and documented its robustness across specific contexts. Under the influence of the FCE, people create an illusory perception of others around them and maintain this perception, believing that own opinion serves as “common sense.” Because shared morality plays an important role in group contexts, people’s (illusory) perceptions about how much their morality is shared should be clarified. Therefore, the present study investigated the presence of the FCE in the domain of morality based on the Moral Foundations Theory (MFT). The pilot study required participants to rank the five moral foundations according to their perceived level of importance and estimate others’ perceived importance of the same five foundations. The Purity foundation of the MFT was not sufficient to identify Japanese values on religion and cleanliness. Thus, the main study supplemented the pilot study with the Purity Orientation–Pollution Avoidance Scale (POPA). The importance given to the moral foundations among participants in the main study was measured using both the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) and the POPA. The results from both studies showed that the FCE occurs in the moral domain among Japanese individuals. Furthermore, the use of the POPA in addition to the MFQ can benefit future research on morality in cultures that are not Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic such as Japan. The present research will contribute significantly to further understanding the role of morality in group contexts.

High-efficiency gold recovery by additive-induced supramolecular polymerization of β-cyclodextrin

Developing an eco-friendly, efficient, and highly selective gold-recovery technology is urgently needed in order to maintain sustainable environments and improve the utilization of resources. Here we report an additive-induced gold recovery paradigm based on precisely controlling the reciprocal transformation and instantaneous assembly of the second-sphere coordinated adducts formed between β-cyclodextrin and tetrabromoaurate anions. The additives initiate a rapid assembly process by co-occupying the binding cavity of β-cyclodextrin along with the tetrabromoaurate anions, leading to the formation of supramolecular polymers that precipitate from aqueous solutions as cocrystals. The efficiency of gold recovery reaches 99.8% when dibutyl carbitol is deployed as the additive. This cocrystallization is highly selective for square-planar tetrabromoaurate anions. In a laboratory-scale gold-recovery protocol, over 94% of gold in electronic waste was recovered at gold concentrations as low as 9.3 ppm. This simple protocol constitutes a promising paradigm for the sustainable recovery of gold, featuring reduced energy consumption, low cost inputs, and the avoidance of environmental pollution.

The relationships between avoidance toward prison work product, disgust sensitivity, moral foundations, and pollution avoidance

The relationships between avoidance toward prison work product, disgust sensitivity, moral foundations, and pollution avoidance

Emerging Dynamics of Global Warming: A Case Study of Marine Life

This study is focusing on global warming on marine life and information about blue economy, how can impacts as game changing as well as global effects on environment. According to this analysis, the effects of climate change may be seen throughout the evolution of the marine environment, affecting both the inhabitants and their habitats. Marine creatures and fish immensely disturb by it and respond of productivity is facing alarming time. According to analysts, the marine economy can the prospective to boost assets of such a coastline state. Here, we discuss its effects and the numerous changes that are increasingly important for scholars and international organizations to promote why it's critical to reduce climate change's effects. Its production and the subsequent rise in biological productivity across all ecosystem levels are advantages of global warming. Aquaculture, the introduction of new species, governmental management of fisheries, and the avoidance of marine pollution are a few examples of human activity that tries to safeguard the environment and manage resources. This investigation of blue economy elaborates the ecosystem mismanagement and environmental activities are giving the tough time marine inhabitants as well as human beings. Marine species and environment will be could proved profitable at largely.

Beyond greenhouse gases - a natural capital-based sustainability assessment framework for the waste-to-energy approach

Although greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and marine plastic reduction have been recognised as essential factors for the sustainability performance of waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities, there is a lack of comprehensive evaluation tool for quantifying the environmental, social and economic impacts caused by WTE projects. To fill the gap, this study developed a natural capital-based sustainability assessment (NCSA) framework for evaluating the sustainability of WTE projects. The merits of the NCSA framework include (1) the quantification of the benefits caused by the avoidance of marine plastic pollution by WTE projects, and (2) an inclusive sustainability evaluation framework that holistically assesses the environmental, social and economic performance associated with GHG and marine plastic reduction. The NCSA framework has been demonstrated in the case study on the Sanya WTE Project. The results showed that the Sanya WTE Project emitted 265,376 tonnes of CO2e of GHG and prevented 28,242 - 75,312 tonnes of marine plastic during the study period, which is equivalent to a net benefit of CNY41.90 million - 464.45 million. The case study demonstrated that the NCSA framework is a comprehensive evaluation tool that provides clear and sound results for guiding decisions towards sustainable waste management and the overall sustainability of cities.

Breastfeeding and infant acute otitis media: A comprehensive analytical study

Significance of the study acute otitis media (AOM) is an infection of the middle ear usually caused by a complication of viral infection in the upper respiratory tract 1. The interaction of virus and bacteria plays an important role in the development of AOM and in the latter case can be treated with antibiotics . Due to limited space in the middle ear and relatively poor drainage through the Eustachian tube, especially in young children, AOM is often accompanied by significant pain and other characteristics including fever, acute loss of hearing and general lethargy. The factors currently identified as associated with a reduced risk of AOM include breastfeeding, avoidance of in utero and childhood passive tobacco smoke exposure, and avoidance of indoor air pollution. Evidence from the literature supports a reduction in AOM risk from breastfeeding. However, there has been no recent comprehensive analytical review, particularly addressing issues related to the effect of duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding on the risk of AOM. Therefore, we aimed to study the relation between Breastfeeding and acute otitis media.

Estimation of On-Road PM2.5 Distributions by Combining Satellite Top-of-Atmosphere With Microscale Geographic Predictors for Healthy Route Planning.

How to reduce the health risks for commuters, caused by air pollution such as PM2.5 has always been an urgent issue needing to be solved. Proposed in this study, is a novel framework which enables greater avoidance of pollution and hence assists the provision of healthy travel. This framework is based on the estimation of on‐road PM2.5 throughout the whole city. First, the micro‐scale PM2.5 is predicted by land use regression (LUR) modeling enhanced by the use of the Landsat‐8 top‐of‐atmosphere (TOA) data and microscale geographic predictors. In particular, the green view index (GVI) factor derived, the sky view factor, and the index‐based built‐up index, are incorporated within the TOA‐LUR modeling. On‐road PM2.5 distributions are then mapped in high‐spatial‐resolution. The maps obtained can be used to find healthy travel routes with less PM2.5. The proposed framework was applied in high‐density Hong Kong by Landsat 8 images. External testing was based on mobile measurements. The results showed that the estimation performance of the proposed seasonal TOA‐LUR Geographical and Temporal Weighted Regression models is at a high‐level with an R 2 of 0.70–0.90. The newly introduced GVI index played an important role in these estimations. The PM2.5 distribution maps at high‐spatial‐resolution were then used to develop an application providing Hong Kong residents with healthy route planning services. The proposed framework can, likewise, be applied in other cities to better ensure people's health when traveling, especially those in high‐density cities.

Too smoggy for kids to go to school? Air quality and preschool enrollments in Chinese cities

AbstractEducation outcomes of children may be influenced by many factors, including exposure to air pollution. This study examines whether air quality affects school enrollments. Different from the contemporaneous consequences of exposure to pollution, school enrollments are annual decisions and arguably more correlated with human capital accumulation than absences or exam scores. Our estimates suggest that increases in the number of days with low visibility are associated with reductions in preschool enrollments. Keeping children from enrolling in preschools is a pollution avoidance behavior currently undocumented in the literature. Our findings are robust to alternative enrollment and air quality measures.

Will air pollution affect entrepreneurial activity? Evidence from China

ABSTRACT This is the first study to examine the empirical evidence on the effect of air pollution on entrepreneurial activity, which fills the research gaps in the relevant literature and provides perspectives on both pollution avoidance behaviour and influence on entrepreneurial activity. Moreover, we explored the innovative and unconventional big data of entrepreneurial activity, which was measured at the county level from 2000 to 2019, and used thermal inversion as an instrumental variable to reduce endogenous bias. Based on the regression analysis, haze pollution inhibits entrepreneurial activity. Meanwhile, the results also show geographic differences. In underdeveloped and non-resource-based regions, the inhibiting effect is more severe. Therefore, air pollution management is an adequate assurance of increasing entrepreneurial activity.

What factors determine college students’ green purchase behavior? An empirical investigation of the modified model of goal-directed behavior

ABSTRACT Human activities are important causal factors driving global warming and environmental degradation. Nowadays, consumers have become more aware that their consumption patterns are one of the main causes of environmental damage, bringing attention to various environmental issues. In this context, sustainable products (e.g., green products) are becoming increasingly popular. This study proposes an extended model of goal-directed behavior by including pollution avoidance intention and willingness to be environmentally friendly to offer a more comprehensive explanation of the decision making process of college students’ green purchase behavior. A structured questionnaire survey was made to gather data from 503 participants in Taiwan before partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to examine the sampled data and analyze the research hypotheses. The findings indicate that (1) anticipated emotions, perceived behavioral control subjective norms, attitudes, and are the key factors of forming desires, which, in turn, influence pollution avoidance intention; and (2) willingness to be environmentally friendly, perceived behavioral control, and pollution avoidance intention are crucial to college students’ green purchase behavior. Furthermore, desire serves as an essential mediator and has the strongest effect on pollution avoidance intention. The discoveries of this research are expected to bring better understanding of the decision-making processes behind college students’ green purchase behavior.

Predicting the protective behavioral intentions for parents with young children that possess different levels of education in Hong Kong using the theory of planned behavior for air polluted with PM2.5

BackgroundAir pollution has fast become an issue with great environmental and human health problems that can be attributed to rapid global industrialization and urbanization that has strong negative impacts on human health. Children are particularly vulnerable. While studies on the effects and toxicology of particulate matter pollutants that are 2.5 microns or smaller in size (PM2.5) are abundant, understanding the factors that influence human behaviors against or the avoidance of exposure/contact to air polluted with high levels of PM2.5 is lacking. In this study, this gap was narrowed by used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to investigate the effects of Attitudes (AT), Subjective Norms (SN), and Perceived Behavioral Controls (PBC) on the Behavioral Intentions (BI) of parents with young children with different levels of education against or avoiding contact/exposure to air polluted with high levels of PM2.5.MethodsThe TPB model was used to predict the BI of parents with young children with different levels of education that live in Hong Kong using the results collected from 410 online questionnaires. Aspects of the BI influencing parents with young children that earned undergraduate group and post-graduate group were analysed using Smart Partial Least Squares 2.0 software.ResultsOur results revealed there were substantial differences in the AT of parents with young children that earned undergraduate and post-graduate degrees with respect to exposure to air with PM2.5 pollution.ConclusionsIn this study we assessed the factors that influence the air pollution prevention and avoidance behaviors of parents of the undergraduate and post-graduate groups that were exposed to air polluted with PM2.5. Our results show the AT, SN, PBC, and BI used in the air pollution protection model for the parents of both groups are connected by separate pathways. The undergraduate group has a higher PBC compared to the post-graduate group because the SN associated with their social ecosystems contribute to their BI. Using path analysis, we revealed that the undergraduate and post-graduate groups had different BI paths. The BI path of the undergraduate group is purer and simpler when compared with the path of the post-graduate group.

Design of a device for preventing pollution and air pollution in the pipeline joint of the ventilator

Ventilators are currently the most commonly used auxiliary mechanical ventilation equipment in clinical practice, and play an important role in the treatment of hypoxemia. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a special type of pulmonary parenchymal inflammation of nosocomial infection in patients with mechanical ventilation, which leads the increase of mortality and affects the prognosis of patients. The non-standard management of ventilator pipeline joints and the aerosol formed by bacterial condensate splashed from ventilator pipeline pollute the air, resulting in cross infection, which are the important reasons for VAP. The existing ventilator pipeline joint cap can achieve the effect of preventing pollution, but the clinical application compliance is not high. Based on the above factors, teachers, students and medical staff of the School of Public Health and Management, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine and other units have designed a device for preventing pollution and air pollution of the ventilator pipeline joint, and obtained the national utility model patent of China (ZL 2020 2 1361981.X). The device is composed of a model lung, a mask body, a suspension part and a beam mouth part, etc. The use method is simple, and can be applied to the pollution avoidance of invasive ventilator and non-invasive ventilator pipeline joints, to reduce the occurrence of VAP in patients and the occupational exposure of medical staff.

The impact of air pollution on movie theater admissions

We provide new evidence of pollution avoidance in the movie theater market. Our analysis is based on a unique dataset of high-frequency movie ticket sales in China at the movie- and city-level during 2012–2014. We estimate that one pollution day reduces the market share of a movie by 2.26%, other things being equal. The effect is mainly through ambient pollution exposure during transportation to the theater. On average, popular movies are inelastic to air pollution. However, as air quality deteriorates, even blockbuster movies start to suffer a box-office loss during the heavy pollution episodes.

METHODOLOGICAL BASES FOR DESIGNING DOUBLE-CIRCUIT CLOSED AIR PURIFICATION SYSTEMS

. The article considers the main methodological principles of designing closed double-circuit systems for air purification from polydisperse dust. This cleaning system has a significant advantage compared to its direct-flow counterparts, namely, it allows avoiding emissions of dust not captured in the cleaning apparatus into the atmosphere. This, predominantly fine-grained dust, is captured by repeatedly passing the flow through the catcher of the circulation circuit. That is, the avoidance of environmental pollution is achieved using a new scheme for the movement of a dusty gas stream to be cleaned. The introduction of an innovative flow scheme does not allow the use of traditional calculation methods; therefore, the purpose of the article is to formulate the main methodological approaches to the design of twoloop closed treatment systems. It is shown that the design of a purification system should consist of two main stages. The first is the calculation of the performance indicators of the system elements. It is based on data on the fractional composition of dust (differential distribution curve) and the characteristics of the trapping apparatus and is carried out for the main operating mode of the system (cleaning mode) and the final one (run-out mode). The proposed calculation method, unlike all existing ones, allows obtaining the value of cleaning indicators in dynamics. The second is the hydraulic calculation of the system, consisting of the main and circulation circuits. The calculation is proposed to be carried out by compiling the power balances of each circuit separately and, due to this, it is reasonable to select standard injection equipment for them. The calculation is based on hydraulic indicators, which are determined either by generally accepted hydraulic ratios (reference data), or by the graphs obtained in the course of research and given in the article.

Pharmacists' Knowledge of Factors Associated with Dementia: The A-to-Z Dementia Knowledge List.

Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease with no cure that can begin up to 20 years before its diagnosis. A key priority in patients with dementia is the identification of early modifiable factors that can slow the progression of the disease. Community pharmacies are suitable points for cognitive-impairment screening because of their proximity to patients. Therefore, the continuous training of professionals working in pharmacies directly impacts the public health of the population. The main purpose of this study was to assess community pharmacists’ knowledge of dementia-related factors. Thus, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 361 pharmacists via an online questionnaire that quizzed their knowledge of a list of dementia-related factors, which we later arranged into the A-to-Z Dementia Knowledge List. We found that younger participants had a better knowledge of risk factors associated with dementia. The risk factors most often identified were a family history of dementia followed by social isolation. More than 40% of the respondents did not identify herpes labialis, sleep more than 9 h per day, and poor hearing as risk factors. A higher percentage of respondents were better able to identify protective factors than risk factors. The least known protective factors were internet use, avoidance of pollution, and the use of anti-inflammatory drugs. Pharmacists’ knowledge of dementia-related factors should be renewed with the aim of enhancing their unique placement to easily implement cognitive-impairment screening.