Association between Phthalate Exposure and the Use of Plastic Containers in Shanghai Adults

Objective Consuming phthalates may be due to the presence of food contact materials, such as plastic containers. In this study, we investigated the association between plastic container use and phthalate exposure in 2,140 Shanghai adults. Methods Participants completed a questionnaire on the frequency of using plastic containers in different scenarios in the previous year （e.g., daily, weekly） and on the consumption of plastic-packaged foods in the previous three days （yes or no）. Urinary phthalate metabolites were used to assess the association between phthalate exposure and the use of plastic containers. Results The metabolites of di-（2-ethylhexyl） phthalate （DEHP） were the most frequently detected in urine. The results revealed that phthalate exposure was associated with consumption of plastic-packaged breakfast or processed food items in the previous three days. The consumption of these two food items had strong synergistic effects on increasing urinary concentrations of most phthalate metabolites. Conclusion Our results of plastic-packaged breakfast and processed food may be explained by the use of flexible plastic containers, indicating the importance of risk assessment for the application of flexible plastic containers.

Maintenance of Ephedra alata Seeds Viability via Storage Containers

Sequential incubation of seed samples yielded 20 fungal species belonging to 13 genera. The prevalent genera were Aspergillus (A. flavus and A. parasiticus), Fusarium (F. moniliforme and F. oxysporum) and Penicillium (Penicillium sp.). Such seedborne fungi differ in their colonization in different parts of seeds with most of them are colonized in seed coat, endosperm, and embryo of the seed. The usage of different storage containers for storing seeds indicated that the cotton cloth bags were the most favorable ones as they maintain seed moisture content (SMC) below the critical level resulting in minimum seed deterioration compared with other seed storage containers.

Consumer Preference and Willingness to Pay for Non-Plastic Food Containers in Honolulu, USA

Expanded polystyrene (EPS), a petroleum based plastic polystyrene, has an immense environmental impact with a degradation rate of over 500 years, and is a possible human carcinogen that may cause cancer in humans. Nonetheless, EPS is the most commonly used material to produce takeout food containers, a single use item that is quickly discarded. With growing recognition of the high environmental costs of EPS products and their pressure on landfill resources, EPS food container bans have become increasingly popular in jurisdictions across the globe. Similar legislation has been introduced in the state of Hawaii, USA. However, since EPS is currently more cost effective than its alternatives, the widespread adoption of food containers produced with biodegradable materials remains a challenge. This study employs Conjoint Choice Experiment (CCE) to determine consumer preference and willingness to pay for plant-based EPS alternative takeout food containers and their various product attributes in the urban center of Honolulu, Hawaii. Latent Class Analysis (LCA) is used to cluster respondents into four distinct classes based on their observable attributes of choice. Results show that the majority of respondents (81.0%) are in favor of a ban on EPS takeout food containers. As an alternative, the majority of respondents prefer a container constructed out of a sugarcane material (66.49%) that is microwaveable (88.94%), water resistant (100%), and locally produced (51.23%). Moreover, this study demonstrates an increase in consumer’s willingness to pay for more environmentally friendly food containers, which may allow businesses to offset the costs of substituting EPS for biodegradable materials. These findings provide valuable information for farmers, manufacturers, and natural resource managers, and can help to guide decision makers when considering socially responsible and environmentally sustainable policies.

Production of Clay Containers for Curbing Plantain Post-Harvest Losses in Ghana

In Ghana, most farmers are peasants and at times foodstuffs produced get rotten either through transportation or market places. This normally affects the meager income that farmers earn through hard work. Available statistics indicate that each year, food crops worth several hundreds of dollars go waste in the country due to poor harvest losses and it represents 70% of total food production in Ghana. Again, in the country, there is abundant of clay as a natural resource. Geological study has revealed that it is found in almost every part of the country. As a means of finding solution to the rate at which local foodstuffs especially plantain rot, the study sought to design and compose clay container purposefully for storing plantain to prolong its lifespan. The study focused on 5 clay body compositions (C1 to C5) and fired at 950°C. Composition C1?consisted of 50% of Abonko clay and 50% of Daboase clay. Composition C2 was made up of 40% Abonko clay, 50% Daboase clay and 10% of smooth sawdust. Composition C3 composed of 45% of Abonko clay, 45% of Daboase clay and 10% of smooth sawdust. Composition C4 was made up of 90% Daboase clay and 10% rough sawdust. The last composition C5 comprised mainly 100% Abonko clay. Fresh plantains obtained from Takoradi market circle were stored in the containers and weekly recordings of states of plantain for five consecutive weeks were carried out. It was revealed that C4 was successful in storing fresh plantains to ripe stage after the five weeks. It is recommended among others that, the technique should be made available to stakeholders such as Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), plantain farmers and market plantain sellers through seminars, public education and symposia in order to minimize post-harvest losses.

Assessment of Moisture Permeability and Closure Systems of High Density Polyethylene Plastic Bottles Used as Primary Packaging Containers for Moisture Sensitive Medicines

Introduction: Moisture permeability and a loose closure system might allow a significant gain of moisture into container and this could lead to significant loss of potency of drug sensitive to moisture and as well promoting the growth of microorganisms. Typical examples of the drugs sensitive to moisture include Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF). Product claimed to be a “Tight container” does not make it a tight container until proved practically. A plastic container is tight if “not more than one of the 10 tested containers exceeds 100 mg per day per L in moisture permeability. Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine rate of moisture permeability of selected High Density Polyethylene plastic bottles for packaging of moisture sensitive medicines in particular Lamivudine/Tenofovir Disoproxil fumarate tablets. Methodology: The determination of rate of moisture permeability was achieved by assessing closure systems of plastics as per USP 37 method, while the difference in absorption pattern was achieved by assessing the spectrum obtained through transmittance by Fourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR). The plastic bottles were randomly selected from supplier A, B and C. Results: The plastic bottles from supplier A and B had an average moisture permeability of 12.57 and 51.55 mg/day/L with none of the containers exceeding moisture permeability of 100 mg/day/L whereas containers from supplier C had an average of 149.95 mg/day/L with seven of the containers exceeding of 100 mg/day/L. Conclusion: Containers from supplier A and B met the USP specifications hence could be used as primary packaging for moisture sensitive medicines whereas the containers from supplier C did not meet the USP specifications for them to be regarded as “Tight Containers” and hence, unsuitable for packaging of moisture sensitive medicines.

Quality and Shelf Life of Lisboa Lemon within Polystyrene Containers in Refrigerated Chamber

The aim of this research was to knowing if it would improve the shelf life of the lemons that were stored in hermetically polystyrene containers closed, as same that were placed in a refrigerated chamber with temperature of 10°C inside, high relative humidity (85%) and renovation of the air by action of the compressor of the chamber. Lemons cv “Lisboa” were cut directly from the orchard and washed with chlorinated water at 150 mg⋅L−1 sodium hypochlorite. The study variables were the color of the epicarp (shell) and the endocarp (pulp), polar and equatorial diameter, firmness of the pulp and total soluble solids concentration (°Brix) in the endocarp. The tone and purity of the yellow color of the shell (epicarp) and pulp or endocarp of the oranges increased significantly within polystyrene containers and, consequently, its quality was preserved and its shelf life was extended to more than 100 days without that they have symptoms of deterioration, by losses polar and equatorial diameter or decrease in total soluble solids. Inside closed containers polystyrene the temperature decreased to 2.0°C in the refrigerated chamber, so that the principle of thermal insulation polystyrene reaffirmed, and its functionality for packaging products, such as fruits, resolve some of their physiological problems themselves, to prolong its shelf life and improve its presentation.

Review of containership stowage plans for full routes

Containership stowage plans are a pivotal teaches in the system of container transportation.With the increasing containers shipping,planning containership stowage has become more and more complicated.So intelligent stowage planning for containerships is of great significance.An effective stowage plan may improve efficiency of transportation system.First,the progress of containership stowage plan at home and abroad is reviewed,including the latest developments,such as the application of various optimization methods and computer techniques to the problem.Then,the complexities of the problem are discussed and areas where investigations are still needed are pointed out.This will provide a reference for further research on the subject.

ContainerSSh:基于WebSocket的Linux容器远程访问解决方案

随着容器技术在云计算中的大量应用,以Docker为代表的容器引擎在Paa S中大放光彩,出现一大批基于Docker的云计算初创公司。然而由于基于容器的云平台的特殊性,一般不会为容器分配固定IP,导致用户无法直接对云平台中的容器进行访问控制,对用户添加自定义服务等操作增加不便,ContainerSSh则是专门针对该问题而设计的解决方案。

The RHSA Strategy for the Allocation of Outbound Containers Based on the Hybrid Genetic Algorithm

Secure storage yard is one of the optimal core goals of container transportation;thus,making the necessary storage arrangements has become the most crucial part of the container terminal management systems（CTMS）.This paper investigates a random hybrid stacking algorithm（RHSA） for outbound containers that randomly enter the yard.In the first stage of RHSA,the distribution among blocks was analyzed with respect to the utilization ratio.In the second stage,the optimization of bay configuration was carried out by using the hybrid genetic algorithm.Moreover,an experiment was performed to test the RHSA.The results show that the explored algorithm is useful to increase the efficiency.

Technical Analysis of Network Plug-in Flannel for Containers

The development of cloud computing has made container tec-hnology a hot research issue in recent years. The container technology provides a basic support for micro service architecture, while container networking plays an important role in application of the container technology. In this paper, we study the technical implementation of the Flannel module, a network plug-in for Docker containers, including its func tions, implementation principle, utilization, and performance. The performance of Flannel in different modes is further tested and analyzed in real application scenarios.

Container Introspection: Using External Management Containers to Monitor Containers in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing plays an important role in today’s Internet environment,which meets the requirements of scalability,security and reliability by using virtualization technologies.Container technology is one of the two mainstream virtualization solutions.Its lightweight,high deployment efficiency make container technology widely used in large-scale cloud computing.While container technology has created huge benefits for cloud service providers and tenants,it cannot meet the requirements of security monitoring and management from a tenant perspective.Currently,tenants can only run their security monitors in the target container,but it is not secure because the attacker is able to detect and compromise the security monitor.In this paper,a secure external monitoring approach is proposed to monitor target containers in another management container.The management container is transparent for target containers,but it can obtain the executing information of target containers,providing a secure monitoring environment.Security monitors running inside management containers are secure for the cloud host,since the management containers are not privileged.We implement the transparent external management containers by performing the one-way isolation of processes and files.For process one-way isolation,we leverage Linux namespace technology to let management container become the parent of target containers.By mounting the file system of target container to that of the management container,file system one-way isolation is achieved.Compared with the existing host-based monitoring approach,our approach is more secure and suitable in the cloud environment.

Application of Containers to Low-Income Housing in Context of New Urbanization

This paper explores how to use container buildings to resolve the housing problem of migrant workers in the context of urbanization, and ascertains the characteristics of the container housing and public space through the analysis of excellent examples of the container recycling project at home and abroad. In terms of the material, economic benefits, environmental protection and industrialization, those characteristics are summarized as follows.(1) Being sturdy, corrosion-resisting, waterproof and insulated, building materials are able to resist bad weather.(2) Their economic results lie in the short constructive cycle so that the cost of reinforced concrete per unit area reduces 20% on year-on-year basis.(3) Their environmental protection rests with the recyclability of materials, less construction waste and less noise in the construction process.(4) Their industrialization is embedded in their modular design and standardized specifications as well as the flexibility and replaceability.

Cyber Secure Framework for Smart Containers Based on Novel Hybrid DTLS Protocol

The Internet of Things (IoTs) is apace growing, billions of IoT devicesare connected to the Internet which communicate and exchange data among eachother. Applications of IoT can be found in many fields of engineering and sciencessuch as healthcare, traffic, agriculture, oil and gas industries, and logistics. Inlogistics, the products which are to be transported may be sensitive and perishable, and require controlled environment. Most of the commercially availablelogistic containers are not integrated with IoT devices to provide controlled environment parameters inside the container and to transmit data to a remote server.This necessitates the need for designing and fabricating IoT based smart containers. Due to constrained nature of IoT devices, these are prone to different cybersecurity attacks such as Denial of Service (DoS), Man in Middle (MITM) andReplay. Therefore, designing efficient cyber security framework are required forsmart container. The Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) Protocol hasemerged as the de facto standard for securing communication in IoT devices.However, it is unable to minimize cyber security attacks such as Denial of Serviceand Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) during the handshake process. Themain contribution of this paper is to design a cyber secure framework by implementing novel hybrid DTLS protocol in smart container which can efficientlyminimize the effects of cyber attacks during handshake process. The performanceof our proposed framework is evaluated in terms of energy efficiency, handshaketime, throughput and packet delivery ratio. Moreover, the proposed framework istested in IoT based smart containers. The proposed framework decreases handshake time more than 9% and saves 11% of energy efficiency for transmissionin compare of the standard DTLS, while increases packet delivery ratio andthroughput by 83% and 87% respectively.

Performance Comparisons of Five Different SPF Mouse Transport Containers

[Objectives]This study aimed at providing gist for selecting qualified transport containers by comparing the performance of common SPF mouse transport containers at home and abroad,and laying a foundation for subsequent improvement of transport containers.[Methods]In this study,5 different transport containers were selected,and their microbial filtration performance,ventilation,sterilization method and flux,and other related design and construction were analyzed.[Results]The results showed all 5 SPF mouse transport containers can provide enough air for the survival of mouse and protect them from bacterial infections.Transport container B and D are superior to others on one-time sterilization flux and deformation degree after autoclaving.Furthermore,taking into account the related design and construction of these transport containers,such as viewing window and carrying handle,the result of comprehensive comparison is that the transport container D>A>E>C>B.[Conclusions]In summary,the 5 SPF transport containers tested in this study can all satisfy the basic demand of SPF mouse transportation,but each transport container has its own advantages and disadvantages on storage space,deformation degree after autoclaving and other aspects.Thus,SPF mouse transport containers should be selected by different demand.

The World’s Largest LNG-Powered Containership Was Launched

Recently,CMA CGM Group announced the launching of the world’s largest containership(23,000 TEUs)powered by liquefied natural gas(LNG)in Shanghai.

Structural Integrity Analysis of Containers Lost at Sea Using Finite Element Method

Unlike traditional transportation,container transportation is a relatively new logistics transportation mode.Shipping containers lost at sea have raised safety concerns.In this study,finite element analysis of containers subjected to hydrostatic pressure,using commercial software ANSYS APDL was performed.A computer model that can reasonably predict the state of an ISO cargo shipping container was developed.The von Mises stress distribution of the container was determined and the yield strength was adopted as the failure criterion.Numerical investigations showed that the conventional ship container cannot withstand hydrostatic pressure in deep water conditions.A strengthened container option was considered for the container to retain its structural integrity in water conditions.

Metal and Composite Intermodal Containers in Comparative Cold Tests with Wood Chips

Intermodal containers have many advantages in the bulk supply chain, but idle times may cause freezing problems for containers in terminals and long-lasting deliveries, especially during the winter time in Nordic conditions. The aim of the cold tests was to study metal and composite containers’ ability to tolerate wood chips freezing into the inner surface of the container. Two of the containers were normal metal containers and one was a composite container. The loaded containers were put inside the laboratory hall, the temperature of which was -30°C, and kept there for variable times: less than 24 hours. The inner surface of one of metal containers was treated with a special coolant, EC1. After the test, the chips were unloaded, and the container walls were checked to determine whether there was any material left on them. The test results indicated the advantages of composite containers having a thermally insulated structure without freezing problems. At the same time, chips were freezing badly onto the floor of both metal containers. A frozen chip layer with a thickness of approximately 50 cm - 60 cm was stuck to the floors. As such, EC1 did not seem to prevent the freezing of the chips onto the inner surfaces. The results proved that intermodal logistics of truck and train transportation would be more suitable for composite containers than for metal containers in the winter time in Nordic conditions.

Enterprises perspectives for containers dilemma

Since this year, the impact of the pandemic has led to a surge of sea freight, which has caused a greater impact on domestic textile exporters. China's foreign trade is facing an increasingly container shortage, the goods of the merchants are ready, but there is no shipping space.

Stabilization and detection of labile reaction intermediates in supramolecular containers

Detection and observation of reactive intermediates is an essential step in investigation of reaction pathways.However,most reactive intermediates are unstable and present at low concentrations;their short lifetimes make them difficult to detect and characterize.Supramolecular containers offer opportunities for the stabilization and characterization of those labile species,through isolation from the media and protection inside the cavity of the host.In this review,we summarize the examples of labile reaction intermediates that are stabilized and characterized with the help of supramolecular containers.The container compounds include carcerands,deep cavitands and amide naphthotubes.We focus on unstable guest species-cyclobutadiene,benzocyclopropenone,o-benzyne,1,2,4,6-cycloheptatetraene,anti-Bredt's olefin,fluorophenoxycarbene,O-acylisoamide,and hemiaminalthat act as intermediates in certain organic reactions.

Precise control of page cache for containers

Container-based virtualization isbecoming increasingly popular in cloud computing due to its efficiency and flexibility.Resource isolation is a fundamental property of containers.Existing works have indicated weak resource isolation could cause significant performance degradation for containerized applications and enhanced resource isolation.However,current studies have almost not discussed the isolation problems of page cache which is a key resource for containers.Containers leverage memory cgroup to control page cache usage.Unfortunately,existing policy introduces two major problems in a container-based environment.First,containers can utilize more memory than limited by their cgroup,effectively breaking memory isolation.Second,the Os kernel has to evict page cache to make space for newly-arrived memory requests,slowing down containerized applications.This paper performs an empirical study of these problems and demonstrates the performance impacts on containerized applications.Then we propose pCache(precise control of page cache)to address the problems by dividing page cache into private and shared and controlling both kinds of page cache separately and precisely.To do so,pCache leverages two new technologies:fair account(f-account)and evict on demand(EoD).F-account splits the shared page cache charging based on per-container share to prevent containers from using memory for free,enhancing memory isolation.And EoD reduces unnecessary page cache evictions to avoid the performance impacts.The evaluation results demonstrate that our system can effectively enhance memory isolation for containers and achieve substantial performance improvement over the original page cache management policy.