How far do forest container mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) invade rural and urban areas in Japan? - Simple landscape ecology with comparison of the invasive Aedes ecology between native and invasive ranges.

The distribution of container mosquitoes in relation to distances from forests was studied in temperate Japan. Mosquito larvae were collected between May and September in 4 years from tree holes, bamboo stumps, riverine rock pools, and artificial containers; sampling ranged spatially from the mountain forest across the deforested plain developed as agriculture and urban areas to the seacoast. Although tree holes, bamboo stumps, and artificial containers existed throughout the deforested plain area, 10 container species of 6 genera were found virtually only within 5 km from the nearest forest edge. Worldwide invasive Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Aedes japonicus (Theobald) of Asian origin showed unique occurrence patterns different from other container species and from each other. Ae. japonicus was dominant in artificial containers in and near the forest but minor in forest natural containers and only occurred within 5 km from the forest. Ae. albopictus was minor in the forest irrespective of container types but not bound to the forest and dominant in natural and artificial containers throughout rural and urban areas. The 5-km range was designated as the circum-forest zone for container mosquitoes (except Ae. albopictus) in Japan, and an expanded concept, circum-boundary zone, is proposed. The widths of these zones primarily depend on the dispersal traits of mosquitoes. Whether the relation of Ae. albopictus and Ae. japonicus to forests we observed are common in the native and invasive ranges is discussed. The study of across-ecosystem dispersal is important for mosquito management under anthropogenically changing environments due to either deforestation or green restoration.

Research and engineering application of layout optimization for lockbolt structures in railway wagons considering multidimensional failure modes based on MSNSGA-III.

The lockbolt structure is essential in railway wagons, and a scientific lockbolt layout can ensure uniform load distribution, thereby preventing failure. However, current engineering lacks layout optimization methods that address multidimensional failure modes. This paper presents a new lockbolt structure layout optimization method based on submodel, parametric models, and a multi-strategy integrated NSGA-III (MSNSGA-III), adhering to the DVS EFB 3435-2 standard. This method simultaneously optimizes the number and spacing of lockbolts to prevent tensile, bearing, shear, and other static failure modes under specified load conditions. The proposed method was applied during the design phase of a container flatcar. Optimization results indicate that, compared to NSGA-III, this method achieves the best IGD and HV values across multiple complex test functions, demonstrating superior performance in solving complex Pareto front optimization problems. Additionally, the optimized lockbolt structure's safety margins increased by a maximum of 59.81%, passing the full vehicle strength test and significantly enhancing resistance to multidimensional failure modes. These results highlight the method's significant practical application value in addressing the optimization of railway wagon lockbolt structures under complex multidimensional failure modes.

Evaluation of the In2Care Mosquito Station at low deployment density: a field study to manage Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) in North Central Florida.

In the last 2 decades, there has been an increase in the geographic range and frequency of vector-borne diseases. Management of mosquito populations has become challenging due to increasing rates of resistance to existing insecticidal products and formulations. Several alternative tools have emerged to suppress or replace mosquito populations. One of these tools is the In2Care Mosquito Station (In2Care station). This dual-action station contains the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen which disrupts the development of immatures and the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (B. bassiana) strain GHA which kills exposed adult mosquitoes. The In2Care stations have previously been shown to effectively control Aedes aegypti in field settings at a density of 6 stations/acre rather than the label-recommended 10 stations/acre. To further test the efficacy of low station density deployment, we deployed In2Care stations in the Pleasant Street Historic District of Gainesville, Florida, at a density of 3 stations/acre over a period of 2 years in the presence or absence of ground larvicidal applications. The deployment of stations resulted in no measurable impact on Ae. aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus adult or immature abundance suggesting that the low-density deployment of In2Care stations is insufficient to reduce Ae. aegypti and Cu. quinquefasciatus abundance within treatment areas.

The odorant-binding protein genes obp67 and obp56d-like encode products that guide oviposition site selection in the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus.

Aedes albopictus is an important vector of arboviruses and prefers small containers of stagnant water as oviposition sites. One of the mechanisms mosquitoes use to search for suitable oviposition sites is relying on odor cues from prospective sites and their surroundings. The genetic and molecular bases of this behavior are not known for Ae. albopictus. Oviposition site-searching behavior can be separated into 2 stages: container location and water detection. We applied a glue compound to the antennae and the maxillary palps of adult females to mask their ability to detect molecules that may guide them to preferred oviposition sites. Treatment of the antennae significantly reduces the location index (P < 0.001), indicating a decreased ability to find oviposition sites, whereas no significant difference was observed in mosquitoes with maxillary palps treated with the same glue compound (P > 0.05). The detection time, measured as the duration from contact with the water surface to the deposition of the first egg, was extended in mosquitoes with treated antennae or maxillary palps, supporting the conclusion that olfaction is involved in the detection of oviposition site. Transcriptomic analysis identified differentially expressed olfactory-related genes, including obp67, obp56d-like, obp19d-like and obp67-like. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of obp67 and obp56d-like significantly affected the location index and detection time, respectively. Cas9/guide RNA-mediated knockout of obp56d-like resulted in a prolonged detection time, compared with the wild type (P < 0.05). These findings help to elucidate aspects of the olfactory mechanisms involved in Ae. albopictus oviposition site selection, and provide a basis for the development of mosquito surveillance and control strategies.

Gustatory receptor 11 is involved in detecting the oviposition water of Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus.

BACKGROUND: Aedes albopictus is a major arbovirus vector with small stagnant water containers being its oviposition sites. Mosquitoes search for these sites based on their olfactory cues (odor and moisture emanating from the water at the oviposition site), visual cues (size and color of the site), and gustatory cues (ion and nutrient concentration in that water). The gustatory mechanism through which mosquitoes search for oviposition sites remains unknown. METHODS: To investigate the role of taste receptors in Ae. albopictus oviposition site selection, we developed a laboratory model. This model assessed mosquito behavior in locating and detecting oviposition sites, using a location index to quantify site preference and detection time to measure response to water presence. We compared oviposition site-searching efficiency between mosquitoes with blocked and unblocked appendages, targeting the taste organs. Transcriptome sequencing was conducted to identify differentially expressed genes between water-exposed and unexposed mosquitoes. CRISPR/Cas9 technology was then employed to generate a mutant strain with a targeted gene knockout. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the blocked and unblocked groups in the location index. In contrast, the detection time of the unblocked group differed significantly from all other groups, including those with blocked foreleg tarsus, midleg tarsus, hindleg tarsus, all tibia, and all tarsus. Transcriptome sequencing analyses of water-exposed and unexposed mosquitoes revealed that the taste-related gene gustatory receptor 11(gr11) was differentially expressed. This gene was knocked out with CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate a pure mutant strain with 2- and 4-bp deletions, which exhibited a significantly longer detection time than the wild-type strain. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals the role of Ae. albopictus gr11 in water detection at oviposition sites, thereby providing a theoretical basis and scientific guidelines for managing the breeding sites of these mosquitoes.

Small Molecule Topical Ophthalmic Formulation Development-Data Driven Trends & Perspectives from Commercially Available Products in the US.

Topical ophthalmic drug product development is a niche research domain as the drug formulations need to be designed to perform in the unique ocular physiological conditions. The most common array of small molecule drug formulations intended for topical ophthalmic administration include solutions, suspensions, emulsions, gels, and ointments. The formulation components such as excipients and container closure are unique to serve the needs of topical ophthalmic delivery compared to other parenteral products. The selection of appropriate formulation platform, excipients, and container closure for delivery of drugs by topical ophthalmic route is influenced by a combination of factors like physicochemical properties of the drug molecule, intended dose, pharmacological indication as well as the market trends influenced by the patient population. In this review, data from literature and packaging inserts of 118 reference listed topical ophthalmic medications marketed in the US are collected and analyzed to identify trends that would serve as a guidance for topical ophthalmic formulation development for small molecule drugs. Specifically, the topics reviewed include current landscape of the available small molecule topical ophthalmic drug products in the US, physicochemical properties of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), formulation platforms, excipients, and container closure systems.

Multi-Load Topology Optimization Design for the Structural Safety Maintenance of Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste Packaging Containers in the Case of a Collision.

This paper presents an optimized design approach using nonlinear dynamic analysis and finite element methods to ensure the structural integrity of square-shaped containers made from ductile cast iron for intermediate- and low-level radioactive waste packaging. Ductile cast iron, with its spherical graphite structure, effectively distributes stress throughout the material, leading to a storage capacity increase of approximately 18%. Considering the critical need for containers that maintain integrity under extreme conditions like earthquakes, the design focuses on mitigating stress concentrations at the corners of square structures. Nonlinear dynamic analyses were conducted in five drop directions: three specified by ASTM-D5276 standards and two additional directions to account for different load patterns. Fractures were observed in four out of the five scenarios. For each direction where fractures occurred, equivalent loads causing similar displacement fields were applied to linear static models, which were then used for multi-load topology optimization. Three optimized models were derived, each increasing the volume by 1.4% to 1.6% compared to the original model, and the design that best met the structural integrity requirements during drop scenarios was selected. To further enhance the optimization process, weights were assigned to different load conditions based on numerical analysis results, balancing the impact of maximum stress, average stress, and plastic deformation energy. The final model, with its increased storage capacity and enhanced structural integrity, offers a practical solution for radioactive waste management, overcoming limitations in previous designs by effectively addressing complex load conditions.

Multi-omics reveals the molecular mechanism of muscle quality changes in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) under two aquaculture systems.

Preliminary experiments in our laboratory have demonstrated that common carp (Cyprinus carpio) cultivated for two months in land-based container recirculating aquaculture systems (C-RAS) exhibit superior muscle quality compared to those raised in traditional pond systems (TP). To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle quality variations in common carp cultured under two aquaculture systems, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed on muscle tissues of specimens aged 11 to 23 months. Comparison of muscle histological sections between the two groups indicated a significantly lower long diameter of muscle fibers in the C-RAS group compared to the TP group (P < 0.01). Conversely, the muscle fiber density was significantly higher in the C-RAS group than in the TP group (P < 0.05). Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses identified 3390 differentially expressed genes (DEGs)-1558 upregulated and 1832 downregulated-and 181 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs)-124 upregulated and 57 downregulated-between the groups. Based on integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses, the significant differences focus on metabolic pathways involving glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, arginine and proline metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, and purine metabolism. The study revealed that the muscle quality of common carp in two aquaculture systems is primarily regulated through improvements in energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and purine metabolism. These metabolic processes play significant roles in promoting muscle fiber hyperplasia and hypertrophy, enhancing muscle flavor, and increasing muscle antioxidant capacity. This study provides new insights into the molecular and metabolic pathways that control muscle quality in common carp under different environmental factors.

Comparative sanitation data from high-frequency phone surveys across 3 countries.

With less than half of the world's urban population having safely managed sanitation due to the high cost and difficulty of building sewers and treatment plants, many rely on off-grid options like pit latrines and septic tanks, which are hard to empty and often lead to illegal waste dumping; this research focuses on container-based sanitation (CBS) as an emerging off-grid solution. Off-grid sanitation refers to waste management systems that operate independently of centralized infrastructure and CBS is a service providing toilets that collect human waste in sealable containers, which are regularly emptied and safely disposed of. These data relate to a project investigating CBS in Kenya, Peru, and South Africa, focusing on how different user groups access and utilize sanitation - contrasting CBS with other types. Participants, acting as citizen scientists, collected confidential data through a dedicated smartphone app designed by the authors and external contractors. This project aimed to explore the effective scaling, management, and regulation of off-grid sanitation systems, relevant to academics in urban planning, water and sanitation services, institutional capability, policy and governance, and those addressing inequality and poverty reduction. The 12-month data collection period offered participants small incentives for weekly engagement, in a micro payment for micro tasks approach. Participants were randomly selected, attended a training workshop, and (where needed) were given a smartphone which they could keep at the end of the project. We conducted weekly smartphone surveys in over 300 households across informal settlements. These surveys aimed to understand human-environment interactions by capturing daily life, wellbeing, income, infrastructural service use, and socioeconomic variables at a weekly resolution, contributing to more informed analyses and decision-making. The smartphone-based approach offers efficient, cost-effective, and flexible data collection, enabling extensive geographical coverage, broad subject areas, and frequent engagement. The Open Data Kit (ODK) tools were used to support data collection in the resource-constrained environment with limited or intermittent connectivity.

The use of high expansion foam for stunning and killing pigs and poultry.

The EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the use of high-expansion foam for stunning and killing pigs and poultry. A dossier was provided by the applicant as the basis for an assessment of the extent to which the method is able to provide a level of animal welfare at least equivalent to that ensured by the currently allowed methods for pigs and poultry. According to legislation, to be approved in the EU, new stunning methods must ensure (1) the absence of pain, distress or suffering until the onset of unconsciousness, and (2) that the animal remains unconscious until death. An ad hoc Working Group set up by EFSA performed the assessment as follows: (1) The data provided were checked against the criteria laid down in the EFSA Guidance (EFSA, 2018), and was found to partially fulfil those criteria; (2) extensive literature search; (3) data extraction for quantitative assessment; (4) qualitative exercise based on non-formal expert elicitation. The assessment led to conclude that it is more likely than not (certainty > 50%-100%) that high-expansion foam for stunning and killing pigs and poultry, named NEFS in container (Nitrogen Expansion Foam Stunning in container), provides a level of welfare at least equivalent to one or more of the currently allowed methods listed in Annex I of Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009. The overall assessment of EFSA is valid only under the technical conditions described in this Opinion for laying hens, broiler chickens of all age and pigs weighing 15-41 kg in situations other than slaughter. The overall assessment of EFSA is that NEFS can be suitable for depopulation using containers for pig and poultry farms respecting the technical conditions and the categories and types of animals defined in this Scientific Opinion.

One-stop quantification of microplastics and nanoparticles based on meniscus self-assembly technology.

Micro-nano plastics (MNPs) pollution is currently a hot topic of global concern. However, there is still a lack of reliable analytical methods for completely quantitative analysis of MNPs, especially nanoplastics. This study proposes meniscus self-assembly enrichment method, which deposits nanoplastics more uniformly in a specific area. The meniscus self-assembly method greatly overcomes the agglomeration or dispersion of nanoplastics caused by traditional enrichments, and facilitates particles counting. This study investigates the effect of key parameters (e.g. time and initial concentration) on meniscus self-assembly enrichment performance. Besides, due to the large size difference between MNPs, it leads to incomplete quantification analysis when MNPs are counted at the same scale. In response to this problem, this study proposes a one-stop method to count MNPs separately through filtering. The plastics (>1 µm) are collected on the filter paper, then plastics (<1 µm) in the filtrate are homogeneously enriched by meniscus self-assembly, and finally statistically counted by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The migration of MNPs from take-out plastic containers are detected, with microplastics of 460.55 particles/mL and nanoplastics of 4196.61 particles/mL found. The method has the advantages of saving time and effort, economic efficiency and comprehensive statistics compared with the traditional method.

Comparing Container Closure Integrity Test Methods - Performance of Headspace Carbon Dioxide Analysis versus Helium Leakage Using Positive Controls.

As described in USP Chapter <1207>, the deterministic leak test methods using laser-based gas headspace analysis and helium leakage are those with the highest sensitivities. As stated in the chapter, ″no single package leak test or package seal quality test method is applicable to all product-package systems″; therefore, knowing the advantages and disadvantages of both of these techniques, and the extent to which they can be substituted for each other, is valuable. In an effort to begin addressing this issue, a systematic study using these two techniques has been performed. This study used the same well-defined positive controls prepared with microcapillaries for both measurement techniques. For the headspace gas analysis technique, the headspace carbon dioxide content was measured at multiple timepoints during three separate conditioning cycles using either a 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 bar CO2 overpressure; the observed change in headspace carbon dioxide was then used to determine an ingress rate for each positive control. For the helium leakage technique, the positive controls were measured with a standard helium leak detector with 100% helium atmosphere on the atmospheric pressure side of the artificial defects. The resulting leakage rates from both techniques were compared for ingress into both ISO 2R and ISO 10R vials. The obtained correlation between helium and carbon dioxide leakage rates resulted in a minimum R2 coefficient of 0.98 across all 12 runs. Additionally, both setups met the acceptance criteria for accuracy with their respective calibrated standards.

RadDeploy: A framework for integrating in-house developed software and artificial intelligence models seamlessly into radiotherapy workflows.

The use of and research in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) in radiotherapy is moving with incredible pace. Many innovations do, however, not make it into the clinic. One technical reason for this may be the lack of a platform to deploy such software into clinical practice. We suggest RadDeploy as a framework for integrating containerized software in clinical workflows outside of treatment planning systems. RadDeploy supports multiple DICOM as input for model containers and can run model containers asynchronously across GPUs and computers. This technical note summarizes the inner workings of RadDeploy and demonstrates three use-cases with varying complexity.

Biodegradable capsules as a sustainable and accessible container for vitrification of gonadal tissue using the zebrafish animal model.

Cryopreservation of fish gonadal tissue is an important technique for preserving genetic variability. However, this technique involves the use of cryotubes, plastic containers with low degradability that are expensive and difficult to obtain in certain parts of the world. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of gelatin and hypromellose hard capsules as a sustainable and accessible alternative container to the cryotube for vitrification of zebrafish (Danio rerio) gonadal tissue. The gonadal tissues (testicular or ovarian) were vitrified in cryotubes, hard-gelatin, and hard-hypromellose capsules. Gelatin capsules exhibited comparable efficacy to cryotubes in preserving spermatogonia viability (33.03 ± 10.03 % and 37.96 ± 8.35 %, respectively), whereas hypromellose capsules showed decreased viability (18.38 ± 2.09 %). Immature oocyte viability remained unaffected by the capsule materials, with no difference compared to cryotubes at all oocyte stages (Primary Growth: p < 0.0001; Cortical Alveolar: p < 0.0001; Vitellogenic: p < 0.0001). Mitochondrial activity and lipid peroxidation demonstrated no difference among cryotubes and capsules for both gonadal tissues. However, antioxidant activity was notably higher in gelatin capsules (Testes: 147.2 ± 32.32 µg; Ovary: 87.98 ± 10.91 µg) than in cryotubes (Testes: 81.04 ± 26.05 µg; Ovary: 54.35 ± 11.23 µg) and hypromellose capsules (Testes: 62.36 ± 17.10 µg; Ovary: 63.96 ± 7.51 µg), likely due to the inherent antioxidant properties of gelatin. The results obtained in this study demonstrate that the cryotube can be replaced by gelatin capsules for vitrification of both gonadal tissues of zebrafish, being a sustainable and accessible alternative as it is a low-cost and environmentally friendly container.

On the Analysis of Inter-Relationship between Auto-Scaling Policy and QoS of FaaS Workloads.

A recent development in cloud computing has introduced serverless technology, enabling the convenient and flexible management of cloud-native applications. Typically, the Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) solutions rely on serverless backend solutions, such as Kubernetes (K8s) and Knative, to leverage the advantages of resource management for underlying containerized contexts, including auto-scaling and pod scheduling. To take the advantages, recent cloud service providers also deploy self-hosted serverless services by facilitating their on-premise hosted FaaS platforms rather than relying on commercial public cloud offerings. However, the lack of standardized guidelines on K8s abstraction to fairly schedule and allocate resources on auto-scaling configuration options for such on-premise hosting environment in serverless computing poses challenges in meeting the service level objectives (SLOs) of diverse workloads. This study fills this gap by exploring the relationship between auto-scaling behavior and the performance of FaaS workloads depending on scaling-related configurations in K8s. Based on comprehensive measurement studies, we derived the logic as to which workload should be applied and with what type of scaling configurations, such as base metric, threshold to maximize the difference in latency SLO, and number of responses. Additionally, we propose a methodology to assess the scaling efficiency of the related K8s configurations regarding the quality of service (QoS) of FaaS workloads.

Bacterial contamination in contact lens training area in private optical clinics.

BACKGROUND: Contamination in the contact lens training area could be due to bacteria, which can lead to the major consequence of ocular infections. We aimed to investigate the contamination caused by bacteria in the contact lens training area in private optical clinics of the Udupi district, India. METHODS: A cross-sectional study evaluated the swabs from the contact lens container, contact lens solution tip, washing area and lens fitting area for bacterial contamination. Twenty swabs collected from different areas of five optical clinics were inoculated in Brain heart infusion broth (BHIB). The broth was streaked in MacConkey and Blood agar and incubated at standard conditions for the growth of bacteria. All isolates were identified using conventional culture methods, and Gram staining was performed. RESULTS: Twenty samples (contact lens case, n = 5; contact lens solution tip, n = 5; washing area, n = 5; cleaning towel, n = 5) from private optical clinics were recruited for the study. Bacterial growth was indicated in which lactose fermentation was seen at (15%), non-lactose fermentation at (35%), and no bacterial growth at (50%) in MacConkey agar. Partial or alpha-hemolytic (α hemolysis) was seen in (5%), complete or beta-hemolytic (ß hemolysis) was seen in (40%), no hemolysis or gamma hemolysis (Ï« haemolysis), was seen in (30%), no growth was seen in (25%) on blood agar. Gram-positive cocci (45%), Gram-negative bacilli (20%), and no increase in (35%) were observed in MacConkey agar and Blood agar. Bacterial species were not identified in this study. CONCLUSION: Contamination was found in lenses, solution tips, washing areas, and cleaning towels which might lead to ocular infections. Perception should be given to those responsible for fitting lenses.

Equivalent analytical model for liquid sloshing in a 2-D rectangular container with multiple vertical baffles by subdomain partition approach.

An equivalent analytical model of sloshing in a two-dimensional (2-D) rigid rectangular container equipped with multiple vertical baffles is presented. Firstly, according to the subdomain partition approach, the total liquid domain is partitioned into subdomains with the pure interface and boundary conditions. The separation of variables is utilized to achieve the velocity potential for subdomains. Then, sloshing characteristics are solved according to continuity and free surface conditions. According to the mode orthogonality of sloshing, the governing motion equation for sloshing under horizontal excitation is given by introducing generalized time coordinates. Besides, by producing the same hydrodynamic shear and overturning moment as those from the original container-liquid-baffle system, a mass-spring analytical model of the continuous liquid sloshing is established. The equivalent masses and corresponding locations are presented in the model. The feasibility of the present approach is verified by conducting comparative investigations. Finally, by utilizing normalized equivalent model parameters, the sloshing behaviors of the baffled container are investigated regarding baffle positions and heights as well as the liquid height, respectively.

A Case Study Demonstrating the Importance of Glass Vial Selection for Parenteral Pharmaceutical Products.

There are many factors to consider when selecting a container closure system for parenteral drug products to maintain their quality, efficacy, and safety. One aspect to consider for products stored in glass vials is the glass type. Although the glass vials in which most parenteral products are stored are classified as Type I by the United States Pharmacopoeia, Chapter <660>, not all glass vials that meet the glass performance characteristics of Type I are equivalent. In the study presented here, Type I glass vials from three suppliers of three different Type I glass vials (standard, delamination control, and coated) were investigated to evaluate the impact that each Type I glass vial had on the stability of a drug product under development. To evaluate this impact, a three-phase study was conducted in which the compatibility between the drug product and each vial was assessed through the measurement of the critical quality attributes of the product, extractable and leachable inorganic elements were analyzed for each vial, and finally a stability study under accelerated conditions was conducted for the drug product in the most compatible vial based on the aforementioned experiments. Results from this study demonstrated that there are, in fact, significant differences in glass vials regardless of their classification as Type I. In the study conducted here, delamination control Type I glass vials were found to be superior to both Standard Type I and coated Type I vials for the drug product under investigation.

Environmental consequences in lifecycle changes of container shipping vessels.

To estimate the average lifespan of container vessels, this study specified their most suitable lifespan distribution function using a comprehensive dataset comprising 2188 container vessels manufactured and retired between 1941 and 2018. The lifecycle CO2 emissions of vessels were estimated under different scenarios with varied average lifespans and average carbon intensity improvements per annum through stock-flow model analysis. The results indicated that a normal distribution best represented the lifespan distribution of container vessels, with an estimated average lifespan of approximately 24 years. Furthermore, scenario analyses revealed that shortening the lifespans of container vessels can effectively reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions. This study demonstrates the synergistic contribution of accelerating the replacement cycle of container vessels and implementing stronger energy efficiency regulations for emissions reduction, highlighting the importance of policies regulating vessel lifespans.

Comparison of multiple preservation and digestion methods for determination of tungsten concentrations in environmental media using ICP-MS.

Tungsten is an emerging environmental pollutant. However, a proved robust method for preserving and determining the concentrations of tungsten in environmental media is still lacking. This study examined and compared the suitability of classic methods and previously reported tungsten-oriented methods on preserving dissolved tungsten and recovering tungsten from soil/sediment matrix. Tungsten concentrations in the water samples and digestates were then determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Our data showed that the tungsten-oriented HF and alkaline preservatives indeed successfully maintained the stability of dissolved tungsten. Even when preserved using HNO3 or HCl, dissolved tungsten concentrations did not notably change in most of our water samples over the course of ∼4 months. Using glass containers for storing water samples also did not produce much difference from using high-density polyethylene containers. Our data further suggested that the addition of HF in digestion was important for tungsten solubilization from soil/sediment matrix. The digestion methods with HNO3/HCl/HF and HNO3/HF/NH4OH/EDTA both yielded quantitative recoveries of tungsten from certified reference materials and known synthetic samples, while the other tested methods had limited recoveries. The methods validated by this study could be used to accurately determine tungsten concentrations in environmental media and thereby to assess the fate and potential risks of tungsten.