The present study examined toddler temperament across Chilean, South Korean, Polish, and US samples, providing an opportunity to examine both collectivist-individualist and East-West contrasts. The effect of culture on the three factor and 18 dimension scores provided by the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire were investigated. Results provide evidence of cross-cultural differences between the four samples. Chilean toddlers scored significantly higher than US, Polish, and South Korean children on the overall factor of Negative Affectivity, as well as higher than the Polish and South Korean samples on the Surgency factor. South Korean toddlers scored significantly higher on the factor of Effortful Control, and two related dimensions, than US, Polish, or Chilean samples. Results are discussed in terms of the apparent roles of individualism/collectivism and East-West distinctions in shaping temperament development.

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Environmental contextMicroplastic fibres (MPFs) released from textiles are routinely found throughout the environment as an indicator of human impacts. The presence of MPFs in industrial wastewater effluents shows that attention should be placed not only on domestic release but also on the upstream processes of textile production. In the context of global MPF release, the ability to target and treat industrial effluents may significantly reduce a potentially major point source. AbstractMicroplastic fibres (MPFs) released from textiles are routinely found throughout the environment indicating human impacts on natural systems. The most common release pathway to the environment investigated are domestic textile laundering, transport through and retention in municipal wastewater treatment plants and subsequent application of processed sludge onto agricultural fields as soil amendment. A less-studied but potentially equally relevant source is releases further upstream in the textile production chain such as industrial wastewater effluents from textile processing mills. In this context, industrial wastewater from a typical textile wet-processing mill in China was sampled to estimate MPF release. Effluent was sampled and MPF fibre number and length were quantified by stereomicroscope. An average of 361.6±24.5 MPFs L−1 was identified in the mill effluent. MPF length was highly variable, yet 92% of all fibres were shorter than 1000µm. Additionally, the sampling strategy was used to identify the optimal volume necessary to adequately subsample the effluent. We found that total fibre counts were linearly correlated with sample volumes between 1 and 10L, but a sampling volume of 5L is suggested for good reproducibility, low standard deviation and ease of working volume. The significant abundance of MPFs in the industrial wastewater effluent emphasises that not only should attention be placed on domestic releases, but the production stage of textiles can also be responsible for MPF pollution. The ability to target and treat industrial effluents may significantly reduce a potentially major point source.

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