Among the emerging environmental issues within Sub-Saharan Africa is the haphazard disposal of plastic waste, some of which end up downstream in the marine environment leading to negative effects. Notably there have been cases of humpback whales getting entangled in ‘ghost’ fishing nets, and endangered turtles ingesting plastic wastes in Watamu beach in Kenya. The aim of the current study was t...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the this study was to evaluate the perception of smile esthetics and alterations in cases of gingival plastic surgery for correction of a gummy smile, by means of alterations in smile photograph among dentistry degree students. MATERIALS AND METHODS A frontal smile photograph of a 40-year-old woman having normal occlusion was used with diverse compositions of gingival exp...

The carbonization of coal to produce metallurgical coke is an alternative route for the feedstock recycling of plastic wastes of different structures and origins. Individual plastics or mixed plastics of domestic origin can be incorporated into typical coking blends as secondary raw materials. The effects of the composition of the plastic wastes on the thermoplastic properties of coal, coking p...

The production of biodegradable plastic is increasing. Given the augmented littering of these products an increasing input into the sea is expected. Previous laboratory experiments have shown that degradation of plastic starts within days to weeks. Little is known about the early composition and activity of biofilms found on biodegradable and conventional plastic debris and its correlation to d...

In-situ dendrite/metallic glass matrix composites (MGMCs) with a composition of Ti₄₆Zr₂₀V₁₂Cu₅Be₁₇ exhibit ultimate tensile strength of 1510 MPa and fracture strain of about 7.6%. A tensile deformation model is established, based on the five-stage classification: (1) elastic-elastic, (2) elastic-plastic, (3) plastic-plastic (yield platform), (4) plastic-plastic (work hardening), and (5) plastic...

Plastic pellets have the ability to adsorb organic pollutants such as PAHs. This study analyzed the variability in the concentration and composition of PAHs on plastic pellets sampled up to 1m deep in the sediment of a sandy beach. The toxic potential of PAHs was analyzed, and the possible sources of contamination are discussed. The total PAHs varied, with the highest concentrations in the surf...