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•Microplastics were found in different types of take-out containers.•The highest microplastic level occurred in the containers made of polystyrene.•Microplastic fell from inner ...surface of take-out container after slightly flushing.•Microplastics come from the take-out containers themselves and the air.•Microplastic intake through container may be up to 203 items/person/week.
Microplastics have been detected in various media including water, sediment, and seafood, whereas there are few studies focusing on microplastics in take-out containers. In this study, we collected take-out containers made of common polymer materials (polypropylene, PP; polystyrene, PS; polyethylene, PE; polyethylene terephthalate, PET) from five cities in China. Microplastics in the containers were analyzed after different treatments (direct flushing and flushing after immersing with hot water). Our results showed that microplastics were found in all take-out containers and abundance ranged from 3 to 29 items/container. The highest abundance occurred in PS containers with rough surface. The polymer types of some detected particles were the same as those of original containers, accounting for 30% of the total microplastics; other types included polyester, rayon, acrylic, and nylon. Treating the containers with hot water did not influence microplastic abundance. Our study indicates that microplastics in take-out containers come from atmospheric fallout and flakes from container’s inner surfaces. Under slight mechanical force, loose structure and rough surface of PS containers can flake off microplastics, entering water more easily. Based on the microplastic abundance in take-out containers, people who order take-out food 4–7 times weekly may ingest 12–203 pieces of microplastics through containers.
Larval dispersal is the key process by which populations of most marine fishes and invertebrates are connected and replenished. Advances in larval tagging and genetics have enhanced our capacity to ...track larval dispersal, assess scales of population connectivity, and quantify larval exchange among no‐take marine reserves and fished areas. Recent studies have found that reserves can be a significant source of recruits for populations up to 40 km away, but the scale and direction of larval connectivity across larger seascapes remain unknown. Here, we apply genetic parentage analysis to investigate larval dispersal patterns for two exploited coral reef groupers (Plectropomus maculatus and Plectropomus leopardus) within and among three clusters of reefs separated by 60–220 km within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia. A total of 69 juvenile P. maculatus and 17 juvenile P. leopardus (representing 6% and 9% of the total juveniles sampled, respectively) were genetically assigned to parent individuals on reefs within the study area. We identified both short‐distance larval dispersal within regions (200 m to 50 km) and long‐distance, multidirectional dispersal of up to ~250 km among regions. Dispersal strength declined significantly with distance, with best‐fit dispersal kernels estimating median dispersal distances of ~110 km for P. maculatus and ~190 km for P. leopardus. Larval exchange among reefs demonstrates that established reserves form a highly connected network and contribute larvae for the replenishment of fished reefs at multiple spatial scales. Our findings highlight the potential for long‐distance dispersal in an important group of reef fishes, and provide further evidence that effectively protected reserves can yield recruitment and sustainability benefits for exploited fish populations.
We investigate the implications of collective and individual producer responsibility (CPR and IPR, respectively) models of product take‐back laws for e‐waste on manufacturers’ design for product ...recovery (DfR) choices and profits, and on consumer surplus in the presence of product competition. We show that IPR offers superior DfR incentives as compared to CPR, and provides a level competitive ground. CPR may distort competition and allow free‐riding on DfR efforts to reduce product recovery costs. Thus, manufacturer preferences for IPR or CPR may differ because of the free‐riding implications under CPR, with even high‐end manufacturers having incentives to free‐ride under certain competitive conditions. The policy choice between IPR and CPR is not clear cut from an economic welfare perspective. This choice involves a comparison between the effects of superior recovery cost reduction through improved DfR under IPR and the operational cost‐efficiency under CPR.
VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) capabilities are desired features of both UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and MAVs (Manned Aerial Vehicles) on condition that a comparable flight performance is ...achieved. VTOL is not only a very suitable technology for UAVs due to the convenience and concealment mission requirements of UAVs, but also very important for both military and civil MAVs due to the advantages of less or even no dependency on airports/air fields. As such, it is necessary to study and compare the VTOL technology of MAVs and UAVs at the same time. This paper highlights the major VTOL technologies and the representing aircraft configurations. The recent VTOL projects in the US are reviewed and compared to give insight into the technological diversities, application opportunities as well as the future development trend for urban air mobility. Then, an intuitive summary and comparison of famous projects and models has been made. Based on the above research, challenges and constraints of VTOL aircraft are summarized. As a supplement to the review of VTOL technologies, the current research activities on short takeoff and landing technologies via active flow control for large commercial aircraft in Europe is also reviewed. At the end, based on the above analysis, this paper points out the future development direction of VTOL vehicles.
Improvements in energy efficiency make energy services cheaper, and therefore encourage increased consumption of those services. This so-called direct rebound effect offsets the energy savings that ...may otherwise be achieved. This paper provides an overview of the theoretical and methodological issues relevant to estimating the direct rebound effect and summarises the empirical estimates that are currently available. The paper focuses entirely on household energy services, since this is where most of the evidence lies and points to a number of potential sources of bias that may lead the effect to be overestimated. For household energy services in the OECD, the paper concludes that the direct rebound effect should generally be less than 30%.
In the United States, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act prohibits take of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) unless authorized by permit, and stipulates that all permitted take must be ...sustainable. Golden eagles are unintentionally killed in conjunction with many lawful activities (e.g., electrocution on power poles, collision with wind turbines). Managers who issue permits for incidental take of golden eagles must determine allowable take levels and manage permitted take accordingly. To aid managers in making these decisions in the western United States, we used an integrated population model to obtain estimates of golden eagle vital rates and population size, and then used those estimates in a prescribed take level (PTL) model to estimate the allowable take level. Estimated mean annual survival rates for golden eagles ranged from 0.70 (95% credible interval = 0.66–0.74) for first‐year birds to 0.90 (0.88–0.91) for adults. Models suggested a high proportion of adult female golden eagles attempted to breed and breeding pairs fledged a mean of 0.53 (0.39–0.72) young annually. Population size in the coterminous western United States has averaged ~31,800 individuals for several decades, with λ = 1.0 (0.96–1.05). The PTL model estimated a median allowable take limit of ~2227 (708–4182) individuals annually given a management objective of maintaining a stable population. We estimate that take averaged 2572 out of 4373 (59%) deaths annually, based on a representative sample of transmitter‐tagged golden eagles. For the subset of golden eagles that were recovered and a cause of death determined, anthropogenic mortality accounted for an average of 74% of deaths after their first year; leading forms of take over all age classes were shooting (~670 per year), collisions (~611), electrocutions (~506), and poisoning (~427). Although observed take overlapped the credible interval of our allowable take estimate and the population overall has been stable, our findings indicate that additional take, unless mitigated for, may not be sustainable. Our analysis demonstrates the utility of the joint application of integrated population and prescribed take level models to management of incidental take of a protected species.
•Regular on-road views do not maintain situation awareness during automated driving.•Unintuitively, regular views of the road failed to improve take-over performance.•Recovery of situation awareness ...remains crucial for safe take-over process.•Situation awareness maintenance remains a challenge in automated driving.
The loss of situation awareness (SA) caused by the out-of-the-loop phenomenon is a major problem for successful take-overs after highly automated driving. Despite recent advances in driving automation, a human backup for the automated system is currently indispensable. For uneventful situations, the automation works and drivers can perform engaging non-driving-related tasks (NDRTs). However, they need to be ready to respond at all times in case of a take-over request (TOR). For smooth and safe transition from automated to manual control, SA has to be re-established within seconds. We investigated whether regular out-the-window looks can facilitate this process. This driving simulation study is the first to investigate whether such situation awareness maintenance can improve take-over performance after a TOR. In a repeated-measures design, 89 participants experienced 5-minutes of highly automated driving with a NDRT followed by a critical take-over situation. Every 30 s, participants were asked either to monitor the traffic scene for 3 s (monitoring condition) or to merely interrupt the NDRT for 3 s (control condition). We ensured that incidental traffic monitoring was impossible during the NDRT. In the control condition, participants saw a blank screen during the 3-seconds intervals. Contrary to common intuition, the results show neither improvements in objective take-over performance nor in perceived SA, driver availability, criticality, stress, risk assessment, or adequacy of the TOR. We conclude that brief interruptions of the NDRT to look at the ongoing traffic are unable to maintain the driver's SA during highly automated driving. Future studies should therefore focus on other measures to optimize the recovery of SA.
Objective
Investigating take-over, driving, non-driving related task (NDRT) performance, and trust of conditionally automated vehicles (AVs) in critical transitions on a test track.
Background
Most ...experimental results addressing driver take-over were obtained in simulators. The presented experiment aimed at validating relevant findings while uncovering potential effects of motion cues and real risk.
Method
Twenty-two participants responded to four critical transitions on a test track. Non-driving related task modality (reading on a handheld device vs. auditory) and take-over timing (cognitive load) were varied on two levels. We evaluated take-over and NDRT performance as well as gaze behavior. Further, trust and workload were assessed with scales and interviews.
Results
Reaction times were significantly faster than in simulator studies. Further, reaction times were only barely affected by varying visual, physical, or cognitive load. Post-take-over control was significantly degraded with the handheld device. Experiencing the system reduced participants’ distrust, and distrusting participants monitored the system longer and more frequently. NDRTs on a handheld device resulted in more safety-critical situations.
Conclusion
The results confirm that take-over performance is mainly influenced by visual-cognitive load, while physical load did not significantly affect responses. Future take-over request (TOR) studies may investigate situation awareness and post-take-over control rather than reaction times only. Trust and distrust can be considered as different dimensions in AV research.
Application
Conditionally AVs should offer dedicated interfaces for NDRTs to provide an alternative to using nomadic devices. These interfaces should be designed in a way to maintain drivers’ situation awareness.
Précis
This paper presents a test track experiment addressing conditionally automated driving systems. Twenty-two participants responded to critical TORs, where we varied NDRT modality and take-over timing. In addition, we assessed trust and workload with standardized scales and interviews.
Quantifying the role of biophysical and anthropogenic drivers of coral reef ecosystem processes can inform management strategies that aim to maintain or restore ecosystem structure and productivity. ...However, few studies have examined the combined effects of multiple drivers, partitioned their impacts, or established threshold values that may trigger shifts in benthic cover. Inshore fringing reefs of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) occur in high-sediment, high-nutrient environments and are under increasing pressure from multiple acute and chronic stressors. Despite world-leading management, including networks of no-take marine reserves, relative declines in hard coral cover of 40–50% have occurred in recent years, with localized but persistent shifts from coral to macroalgal dominance on some reefs. Here we use boosted regression tree analyses to test the relative importance of multiple biophysical drivers on coral and macroalgal cover using a long-term (12–18 yr) data set collected from reefs at four island groups. Coral and macroalgal cover were negatively correlated at all island groups, and particularly when macroalgal cover was above 20%. Although reefs at each island group had different disturbance-and-recovery histories, degree heating weeks (DHW) and routine wave exposure consistently emerged as common drivers of coral and macroalgal cover. In addition, different combinations of sea-surface temperature, nutrient and turbidity parameters, exposure to high turbidity (primary) floodwater, depth, grazing fish density, farming damselfish density, and management zoning variously contributed to changes in coral and macroalgal cover at each island group. Clear threshold values were apparent for multiple drivers including wave exposure, depth, and degree heating weeks for coral cover, and depth, degree heating weeks, chlorophyll a, and cyclone exposure for macroalgal cover, however, all threshold values were variable among island groups. Our findings demonstrate that inshore coral reef communities are typically structured by broadscale climatic perturbations, superimposed upon unique sets of local-scale drivers. Although rapidly escalating climate change impacts are the largest threat to coral reefs of the GBRMP and globally, our findings suggest that proactive management actions that effectively reduce chronic stressors at local scales should contribute to improved reef resistance and recovery potential following acute climatic disturbances.
We investigate how corporate governance impacts firm value by comparing the value and use of cash holdings in poorly and well-governed firms. We show that governance has a substantial impact on value ...through its impact on cash: $1.00 of cash in a poorly governed firm is valued at only $0.42 to $0.88. Good governance approximately doubles this value. Furthermore, we show that firms with poor corporate governance dissipate cash quickly in ways that significantly reduce operating performance. This negative impact of large cash holdings on future operating performance is cancelled out if the firm is well governed.
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