The "Linh Duong" Pseudonovibos spiralis (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) is a new buffalo

The controversial phylogenetic position of the recently described South-East Asian endemic bovid, Pseudonovibos spiralis, was evaluated on the basis of phylogenetic analyses of originally obtained nearly complete 12S mitochondrial rDNA sequences for this species and Bubalus bubalis and 26 sequences of Bovidae from the Genbank using Cervus elaphus (Cervidae) as outgroup. In most of the phylogenetic analyses performed using PAUP 4.0 (maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and neighbour-joining), Bovidae consisted of two major clades: Bovinae including the tribes Bovini, Tragelaphini and Boselaphini, and Antilopinae + Caprinae, incorporating all other bovids. In most trees P. spiralis fell within the buffalos (subtribe Bovina) between Bubalus and Syncerus. Therefore, our phylogenetic analyses of bovid mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene sequences suggest the close relationship of this enigmatic species with the buffalos and its placement within the subtribe Bovina.     

Screening life cycle assessment (LCA) of tomato ketchup: a case study

A screening life cycle assessment (LCA) of tomato ketchup has been carried out. The purpose was to identify ‘hot-spots', that is parts of the life-cycle that are important to the total environmental impact. The system investigated includes agricultural production, industrial refining, packaging, transportation, consumption and waste management. Energy use and emissions were quantified and some of the potential environmental effects assessed. Packaging and food processing were found to be hot-spots for many, but not all, of the impact categories investigated. For primary energy use, the storage time in a refrigerator (household phase) was found to be a critical parameter.     

Spine anatomy reveals the diversity of catfish through time: a case study of Synodontis (Siluriformes)

Synodontis (Mochokidae, Siluriformes) is a freshwater catfish endemic to Africa. The 118 extant species are present in almost all hydrographic basins. Some species are restricted to a single stream, whereas others have a vast distribution. Synodontis is known in the fossil record since the Miocene, and its history depends on the connections among African basins through time. The identification of species in the fossil record is essential to reconstruct this historical pattern. Catfish pectoral and dorsal spines are robust, they preserve well and they form most of the fossil remains for the genus Synodontis. Unfortunately, the criteria for the identification of extant Synodontis species are not applicable to fossil specimens. Here, we define 11 original morphological characters that permit to discriminate four extant species from the Chad-Chari hydrographic system. Six of these characters are defined on pectoral spines and five on dorsal spines. We then show that these characters can be used successfully for identifying fossil specimens. In particular, we present a case study in which we identify Synodontis cf. schall and Brachysynodontis cf. batensoda in the hominid-bearing sector Toros-Menalla (Late Miocene, northern Chad). We show that spine anatomy can be a powerful tool to recognise catfish species through time and thus to identify historical diversity pattern.     

Biological treatment of fish processing wastewater: A case study from Sfax City (Southeastern Tunisia)

The present work presents a study of the biological treatment of fish processing wastewater at salt concentration of 55 g/L. Wastewater was treated by both continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) during 50 and 100 days, respectively. These biological processes involved salt-tolerant bacteria from natural hypersaline environments at different organic loading rates (OLRs). The phylogenetic analysis of the corresponding excised DGGE bands has demonstrated that the taxonomic affiliation of the most dominant species includes Halomonadaceae and Flavobacteriaceae families of the Proteobacteria (Gamma-proteobacteria class) and the Bacteroidetes phyla, respectively. The results of MBR were better than those of CSTR in the removal of total organic carbon with efficiencies from 97.9% to 98.6%. Nevertheless, salinity with increasing OLR aggravates fouling that requires more cleaning for a membrane in MBR while leads to deterioration of sludge settleability and effluent quality in CSTR.     

Evaluation of critical success factors of implementation of ISO 14001 using analytic hierarchy process (AHP): a case study from Malaysia

The factors and sub-factors critical to the successful implementation of ISO 14001-based environmental management system (EMS) and benefits that can be reaped from the implementation were explored in this study. An empirical study using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was carried out to find the relative weights and priorities of these critical success factors and benefits. The study was carried out in Malaysia among companies in the electrical and electronics sector. The results of the study indicate that the critical success factors in the order of importance are as follows: management approach, organizational change, technical aspects, and external and social aspects. The results of the study also indicate the benefits that can be obtained by the implementation of ISO 14001: improvement in the company's image and reputation, improvement in company's processes and profits, improvement in customer loyalty and trust, and improvement in staff morale and employer–employee relations.     

Environmental assessment of organic soybean (Glycine max.) imported from China to Denmark: a case study

Growing global trade with organic products has increased the demand for environmental impact assessments during both production and transport. Environmental hotspots of organic soybeans produced in China and imported to Denmark were identified in a case study using a life cycle assessment approach. Furthermore, environmental impacts of organic and conventional soybeans at farm gate were compared in the case study. The total global warming potential (GWP) per ton organic soybeans imported to Denmark revealed that 51% came from transportation and 35% from the farm level. Comparing organic and conventional soybean at farm gate showed that GWP, non-renewable energy use, acidification and eutrophication was lower per ton organic soybeans, whereas land use was slightly higher.     

Ancient pests: the season of the Santorini Minoan volcanic eruption and a date from insect chitin

Attributing a season and a date to the volcanic eruption of Santorini in the Aegean has become possible by using preserved remains of the bean weevil, Bruchus rufipes, pests of pulses, from the storage jars of the West House, in the Bronze Age settlement at Akrotiri. We have applied an improved pre-treatment methodology for dating the charred insects, and this provides a date of 1744–1538 BC. This date is within the range of others obtained from pulses from the same context and confirms the utility of chitin as a dating material. Based on the nature of the insect material and the life cycle of the species involved, we argue for a summer eruption, which took place after harvest, shortly after this material was transported into the West House storeroom.     

Water footprint: methodologies and a case study for assessing the impacts of water use

The methodologies, approaches and indicators for assessing the impacts of freshwater usage are still evolving. The development of the water footprint concept has been an important step in this direction but the existing methodologies mainly assess the quantity of water used rather than the related impacts. Although there is a recognised need to consider the latter, particularly on a life cycle basis, the difficulty is that there are little or no reliable data on water usage in life cycle databases; furthermore, there is no agreed life cycle impact assessment method for estimating impacts related to freshwater use. However, there have been some methodological developments which propose methods for inventory modelling and impact assessment for water use in life cycle assessment. This paper reviews some of these approaches and discusses their strengths and limitations through a case study, which considers the impacts of freshwater consumption from corn-derived ethanol produced in 12 different countries. The results show a huge variation in the results between different methods and demonstrate the need for a standardised methodology for assessing the impacts of water use on a life cycle basis. Specific recommendations for further research in this field have been made accordingly.     

Application of Ecological Footprint Analysis on nectarine production: methodological issues and results from a case study in Italy

Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is an environmental accounting system that provides an aggregate indicator which is both scientifically robust and easy to understand by non-experts. Although based on the lifestyle consumption of natural resources, recent improvements in the methodology now allow the application of EFA to a final product. Thus the resulting footprint value represents the environmental cost of all of the activities required to create, use and/or dispose of a particular product. The application of EFA to agricultural systems is still uncommon and examples in the fruit sector rare. In this work a detailed application of EFA to a commercial nectarine orchard in Piedmont (Italy) is presented. In contrast to previous studies, we considered not only the one-year field operations, but also the whole lifetime of the orchard. The calculation was conducted for six different orchard stages: (ST1) nursery propagation of the young plants; (ST2) orchard establishment, (ST3) young trees producing low yields, (ST4) mature trees at full production, (ST5) declining trees with low yields, and finally (ST6) orchard removal. The environmental costs at each stage are presented and related to each other on the basis of the relative footprint value. Results highlight the importance of applying EFA to the entire lifecycle of orchard production: ST4 accounted for the majority of costs at 65% followed by ST2, ST3 and ST5 at or near 10%, whilst the costs of ST1 and ST6 were negotiable. Thus it is the type of ST4 production used which can have the greatest impact on EFA values.     

Fetal ascites and oligohydramnios: Prenatal diagnosis of a sialic acid storage disease (index case)

In a 20-year-old primiparous patient, a routine ultrasound scan performed at 28 weeks revealed fetal ascites, bilateral talipes, and oligohydramnios. This woman, married to possibly her first cousin, was at risk for an autosomal recessive disease, a metabolic disorder. At 29 weeks, an amniotic fluid biochemical study revealed the presence of an abnormal band of free sialic acid, leading to a diagnosis of a congenital form of sialic acid storage disease. Termination of pregnancy was performed at 30 weeks. Measurement of free sialic acid in cultured fetal skin fibroblasts confirmed the diagnosis.     

Grassy field margins and arthropod diversity: a case study on ground beetles and spiders in eastern Austria (Coleoptera: Carabidae; Arachnida: Aranei, Opiliones)

In 1983, the species composition and diversity of carabids, spiders and harvestmen was investigated by pitfall traps in a grassy field margin and in an adjacent, biologically farmed wheat field at Obere Lobau, Vienna, Austria.The carabid fauna of both habitats was diverse; it showed a high degree of similarity, the abundant species in both habitats being represented by typical field species. Only Metophonus spp. predominantly lived in the margin. Numerous species of different habitat origin occurred in the margin at low abundances indicating transitional stay rather than permanent populations.In contrast, the spider fauna showed a low degree of similarity, with few agrobiotic species strongly dominating field fauna. In the field margin, a rich spider fauna containing rare elements indicates the general importance of grassy margins for nature conservation. The apparently low faunal exchange of spiders between the two habitat types is discussed. Harvestmen occurred mainly in the field margin; only two thermophilic species invaded the field.Seasonal fluctuations in the trapping numbers of Bembidion lampros, Platynus dorsalis and Brachinus explodens are interpreted as indicating migrations between field margin and field. Poecilus cupreus and certain other field species, however, apparently spend their entire life cycle in the field. The possible function of field margins for restoration of carabid losses due to impacts of intensive cultivation is discussed.It is concluded that both grassy field margins and sustainable farming methods, in particular biological farming, are necessary to maintain a diverse predatory arthropod fauna in agroecosystems.     

Community vulnerability to the health effects of climate change among indigenous populations in the Peruvian Amazon: a case study from Panaillo and Nuevo Progreso

This paper presents the results of an exploratory study working with two Amazonian communities in Peru to identify key climate-related health risks from the perspective of local residents, and characterize how these risks are experienced and managed. The work adopts a vulnerability-based approach and utilizes participatory methodologies to document and examine local perspectives on vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Thirty nine community members were engaged in participatory photography (photovoice), and rapid rural appraisal workshops were conducted with a total 40 participants. Contextual information was obtained from 34 semi-structured interviews with key informants and participant observation during fieldwork. Three climate-related health risks were identified by the communities as pressing issues (food insecurity, water insecurity, and vector-borne disease), all of which are climate-dependent and reported to be being affected by observed changes in climatic conditions. Sensitivity to these risks is high due to social and economic disadvantages which force people to live in suboptimal conditions, partake in dangerous activities, and engage in unhealthy behaviors. Traditional approaches to health and strong social networks are important in moderating health risks, but are placed under increasing stress in the context of local social and economic changes due to larger scale influences, including resource development, deforestation, and changing social relations.     

Evaluation of the sustainability of swine manure fertilization in orchard through Ecological Footprint Analysis: results from a case study in Italy

Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is an environmental accounting system, in physical unit, able to quantify the total amount of ecosystem resources required by a region or by a production process. This methodology is both scientifically robust and widely diffused for territorial and productive analysis. The application of EFA to agricultural systems are still uncommon and examples in the fruit sector rare.In this work a detailed application of EFA to an experimental trial in a commercial nectarine orchard in Piedmont (Italy) is presented. The field trial is focused on the evaluation of agronomical benefit of various kinds of swine manure for fertilizing orchards. Four productive systems were established from 2008: liquid slurry (LS), covered slurry (CS), solid fraction (SF), mineral nutrition (MN). All the environmental impacts of the four systems were quantified both directly on field and with extrapolations from farmer knowledge. As previous studies suggested, we considered not only the one-year field operations, but also the whole lifetime of the orchard. The environmental costs of each system are presented and related to each other on the basis of their relative footprint value.Results highlight almost the same ecological footprint for the three manure fertilized systems (LS, CS and SF) with average of 0.96 gha t⁻¹) and the highest ecological footprint can be found in the MN system (1.14 gha t⁻¹). Interesting remarks can be done comparing the contributions to the ecological footprint of the field operations related to fertilization in the four systems. In the manure fertilized systems the fertilizer contribution goes from 0.9% to 1.2% of the total ecological footprint; but in the MN system the fertilizer contribution is 6.6% of the total ecological footprint. Results support the hypothesis that internal recycle and connections among different systems increasingly resulted in high system benefit and sustainability.     

A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approach to adaptation to regional climate change: a case study of Okutama-machi,Tokyo, Japan

Recently, local governments have an increasing need to take extensive and effective local measures to adapt to regional climate change, but have difficulty knowing how and when to adapt to such change. This study aims: 1) to characterize an efficient and cost-effective database management tool (DMT) for developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) based approach to using observed and projected data, for decision-making by non-expert government authorities, and 2) to document how DMT can be used to provide specialized yet understandable climate change information to assist local decision-makers in clarifying regional priorities within a wide array of adaptation options. The DMT combines climate change mapping, statistical GIS, and a vulnerability assessment. Okutama-machi, a 225.63 km² sparsely populated mountainous region (2012 population 5,856) northwest of Tokyo, Japan, was chosen for this pilot study. In this paper, the most recent regional climate projections (5 km resolution) are transcribed into an understandable form for use by non-expert citizens who use the GIS-based DMT. Results illustrate qualitative agreement in projection of summer daily mean temperatures; the mean temperature increase at Okutama-machi is the greatest of any area in Tokyo. In comparing near future and future conditions, August monthly mean temperature will increase more than 0.7–0.9 °C and 2.8–2.9 °C, and monthly precipitation by 50 % and 25–41 %, respectively. However, the root mean square (RMS) errors and bias of percentage change for monthly precipitation in summertime are 26.8 % and 4.3 %, respectively. These data provide an early warning and have implications for local climate policy response.     

The efficiency of phenological shifts as an adaptive response against climate change: a case study of loggerhead sea turtles (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Caretta caretta</Emphasis>) in the Mediterranean

Phenological shifts are widely reported for different species as a response to climate change. Still, the efficiency of this mechanism is questioned because of the accelerated rate of change and the different change patterns of various climate parameters that may cause mismatches. Here, using loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) as model species, we examined whether phenological shifts could be an effective adaptive strategy over the critical period that determines reproductive output in the Mediterranean region. We compared the rate of temperature and precipitation change over the recent past (1971–2015) and future periods (2016–2060) along the 45 main nesting sites of the Mediterranean population, during the incubation period. Next, utilizing predictions of an earlier nesting season, we evaluated whether the timing of incubation will impact offspring survival on the Mediterranean population. To further assess species vulnerability, we investigated any potential relationship between hatching success and climate parameters at the largest Mediterranean nesting rookery (Zakynthos, Greece). We found that phenological changes would allow species to capture a thermal window similar to one they experience nowadays during the incubation period. Still, phenological shifts might be less adequate to follow precipitation changes, which however, were found to have a limited impact upon hatching success. Global adaptation management strategies should be directed towards (a) acquisition of long-term high-resolution temperature and precipitation series at nesting sites, (b) developing early warning systems to prevent negative impacts upon reproductive outputs, and (c) directly applying cooling of the nests when first altered climate signs are detected.     

The antennal sensilla of Melipona quadrifasciata (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini): a study of different sexes and castes

The sensilla of insects are integumental units that play a role as sensory structures and are crucial for the perception of stimuli and for communication. In this study, we compared the antennal sensilla of females (workers and queens), males (haploid (n) and diploid (2n)), and queen-like males (QLMs, resulting from 2n males after juvenile hormone (JH) treatment) in the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata. Images of the dorsal antenna surfaces were acquired using a scanning electron microscope. As reported for other hymenopterans, this species exhibits a heterogeneous sensillar distribution along the antennae. Thirteen different types of sensilla were found in the antennae of M. quadrifasciata: trichodea (subtypes I to VI), chaetica (subtypes I and II), placodea, basiconica, ampullacea, coeloconica, and coelocapitula. Sensilla trichodea I were the most abundant, followed by sensilla placodea, which might function in olfactory perception. Sensilla basiconica, sensilla chaetica I, sensilla coeloconica, and sensilla ampullacea were found exclusively in females. In terms of the composition and size of the sensilla, the antennae of QLMs most closely resemble those of the 2n male, although QLMs exhibit a queen phenotype. This study represents the first comparative analysis of the antennal sensilla of M. quadrifasciata. The differences found in the type and amount of sensilla between the castes and sexes are discussed based on the presumed sensillary functions.     

Survival of Theriosuchus (Mesoeucrocodylia: Atoposauridae) in a Late Cretaceous archipelago: a new species from the Maastrichtian of Romania

Small terrestrial non-eusuchian mesoeucrocodylians are common components of Cretaceous assemblages of Gondwanan provinces with notosuchians and araripesuchids as flagship taxa in South America, Africa and Madagascar, well into the Late Cretaceous. On the other hand, these are exceedingly rare in Laurasian landmasses during the Late Cretaceous. Small terrestrial mesoeucrocodylians from Europe were often referred to the genus Theriosuchus, a taxon with stratigraphic range extending from the Late Jurassic to the late Early Cretaceous. Theriosuchus is abundantly reported from various European localities, although Asiatic and possibly North American members are also known. It has often been closely associated with the first modern crocodilians, members of the Eusuchia, because of the presence of procoelous vertebrae, a widespread key character diagnosing the Eusuchia. Nevertheless, the relationships of Theriosuchus have not been explored in detail although one species, Theriosuchus pusillus, has been extensively described and referred in numerous works. Here, we describe a new basal mesoeucrocodylian, Theriosuchus sympiestodon sp. nov. from the Maastrichtian of the Haţeg Basin, Romania, suggesting a large temporal gap (about 58 myr) in the fossil record of the genus. Inclusion of the new taxon, along with Theriosuchus guimarotae, in a phylogenetic analysis confirms its referral to the genus Theriosuchus, within a monophyletic atoposaurid clade. Although phylogenetic resolution within this clade is still poor, the new taxon appears, on morphological grounds, to be most closely related to T. pusillus. The relationships of Atoposauridae within Mesoeucrocodylia and especially to Neosuchia are discussed in light of the results of the present contribution as well as from recent work. Our results raise the possibility that Atoposauridae might not be regarded as a derived neosuchian clade anymore, although further investigation of the neosuchian interrelationships is needed. Reports of isolated teeth referable to a closely related taxon from the Upper Cretaceous of Romania and France, together with the presence of Doratodon and Ischyrochampsa, indicate a previously unsuspected diverse assemblage of non-eusuchian mesoeucrocodylians in the Late Cretaceous European archipelago.