Synthesis of poly(hydroxyalkanoate) from hydrolyzed linseed oil

Pseudomonas putida was grown on a mixture of long-chain fatty acids obtained by hydrolysis of linseed oil. A poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) containing 51.2% of unsaturated monomers was obtained. A considerable percentage (13.6%) was constituted by C₁₄ and C₁₆ monomers containing three double-bonds in the side chains. The polymer showed a high tendency to crosslink when it was kept in presence of air. In the crosslinked polymer no polyunsaturated monomers could be detected.     

Assessing instruments for mixed household solid waste collection services in the Flemish region of Belgium

Instruments to reduce waste can be divided into three groups: first, pecuniary incentives; second, service level; finally, measurements stimulating prevention and waste reduction. Also specific characteristics of the community determine the amount of waste generated. We evaluate whether findings in literature on effectiveness of policy measures are valid for Belgium, specifically for the Flemish region. The policy mix instituted by the Flemish authorities in the ‘implementation plan household waste 2003–2007’ and implemented by local authorities, is assessed. Multiple regression analysis identifies those measurements having the greatest impact on household solid waste.We found an income elasticity of 0.326. Also the provided service level has a significant impact. Pecuniary incentives are effective instruments in reducing waste, with a price elasticity of −0.139. Furthermore, a higher percentage of direct costs, directly attributable to waste services, borne by households, reduces waste. A consequent implementation of the ‘polluter pays’ principle proves to be effective.     

Re-taking Care: Open Source Biotech in Light of the Need to Deproletarianize Agricultural Innovation

This article deals with the biotechnology revolution in agriculture and analyzes it in terms of Bernard Stiegler’s theory of techno-evolution and his thesis that technologies have an intrinsically pharmacological nature, meaning that they can be both supportive and destructive for sociotechnical practices based on them. Technological innovations always first disrupt existing sociotechnical practices, but are subsequently always appropriated by the social system to be turned into a new technical system upon which new sociotechnical practices are based. As constituted and conditioned by a technical system, human cultures are necessarily systems of care. Humans take care of themselves and the world through technologies. Agriculture is a very old system of care, stable for more than 10,000 years, but at the moment it is experiencing a profound rupture thanks to the invention of genetic engineering technologies, that promise to revolutionize it. However, their current deployment under capitalist conditions everywhere leads to processes of proletarianization, due to the fact that they enable the expropriation of farmers of the means of production, depriving them of the possibility of appropriating these new technologies and frustrating the invention of a new agricultural system of care. This has lead to a widespread rejection of the new technologies, which is a grave error though, as these technologies can become the basis of a new system of care. But only under the condition that they are wrought from corporate control and redeployed instead to initiate a process of deproletarianization. It is argued that current initiatives in open source and commons-based biotech are probably the most promising harbingers of such a process of deproletarianization.     

Post‐tsunami relocation of fisher settlements in South Asia: evidence from the Coromandel Coast,India

The tsunami that struck the coasts of India on 26 December 2004 resulted in the large‐scale destruction of fisher habitations. The post‐tsunami rehabilitation effort in Tamil Nadu was directed towards relocating fisher settlements in the interior. This paper discusses the outcomes of a study on the social effects of relocation in a sample of nine communities along the Coromandel Coast. It concludes that, although the participation of fishing communities in house design and in allocation procedures has been limited, many fisher households are satisfied with the quality of the facilities. The distance of the new settlements to the shore, however, is regarded as an impediment to engaging in the fishing profession, and many fishers are actually moving back to their old locations. This raises questions as to the direction of coastal zone policy in India, as well as to the weight accorded to safety (and other coastal development interests) vis‐à‐vis the livelihood needs of fishers.     

Environmental Equity and the Role of Public Policy: Experiences in the Rijnmond Region

This Φ Ψ study of environmental equity uses secondary quantitative data to analyze socioeconomic disparities in environmental conditions in the Rijnmond region of the Netherlands. The disparities of selected environmental indicators—exposure to traffic noise (road, rail, and air), NO₂, external safety risks, and the availability of public green space—are analyzed both separately and in combination. Not only exposures to environmental burdens (“bads”) were investigated, but also access to environmental benefits (“goods”). Additionally, we held interviews and reviewed documents to grasp the mechanisms underlying the environmental equity situation, with an emphasis on the role of public policy. Environmental equity is not a priority in public policy for the greater Rotterdam region known as the Rijnmond region, yet environmental standards have been established to provide a minimum environmental quality to all local residents. In general, environmental quality has improved in this region, and the accumulation of negative environmental outcomes (“bads”) has been limited. However, environmental standards for road traffic noise and NO₂ are being exceeded, probably because of the pressure on space and the traffic intensity. We found an association of environmental “bads” with income for rail traffic noise and availability of public green space. In the absence of regulation, positive environmental outcomes (“goods”) are mainly left up to market forces. Consequently, higher-income groups generally have more access to environmental “goods” than lower-income groups.     

Adding infection to injury: synergistic effects of predation and parasitism on amphibian malformations

We explored the importance of interactions between parasite infection and predation in driving an emerging phenomenon of conservation importance: amphibian limb malformations. We suggest that injury resulting from intraspecific predation in combination with trematode infection contributes to the frequency and severity of malformations in salamanders. By integrating field surveys and experiments, we evaluated the individual and combined effects of conspecific attack and parasite (Ribeiroia ondatrae) infection on limb development of long-toed salamanders (Ambystoma macrodactylum). In the absence of Ribeiroia, abnormalities involved missing digits, feet, or limbs and were similar to those produced by cannibalistic attack in experimental trials. At field sites that supported Ribeiroia, malformations were dominated by extra limbs and digits. Correspondingly, laboratory exposure of larval salamanders to Ribeiroia cercariae over a 30-day period induced high frequencies of malformations, including extra digits, extra limbs, cutaneous fusion, and micromelia. However, salamander limbs exposed to both injury and infection exhibited 3-5 times more abnormalities than those exposed to either factor alone. Infection also caused significant delays in limb regeneration and time-to-metamorphosis. Taken together, these results help to explain malformation patterns observed in natural salamander populations while emphasizing the importance of interactions between parasitism and predation in driving disease.     

Dining on disease: how interactions between infection and environment affect predation risk

Despite growing interest in ecological interactions between predators and pathogens, few studies have experimentally examined the consequences of infection for host predation risk or how environmental conditions affect this relationship. Here we combined mesocosm experiments, in situ foraging data, and broad-scale lake surveys to evaluate (1) the effects of chytrid infection (Polycaryum laeve) on susceptibility of Daphnia to fish predators and (2) how environmental characteristics moderate the strength of this interaction. In mesocosms, bluegill preferred infected Daphnia 2-5 times over uninfected individuals. Among infected Daphnia, infection intensity was a positive predictor of predation risk, whereas carapace size and fecundity increased predation on uninfected individuals. Wild-caught yellow perch and bluegill from in situ foraging trials exhibited strong selectivity for infected Daphnia (3-10 times over uninfected individuals). In mesocosms containing water high in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), however, selective predation on infected Daphnia was eliminated. Correspondingly, lakes that supported chytrid infections had higher DOC levels and lower light penetration. Our results emphasize the strength of interactions between parasitism and predation while highlighting the moderating influence of water color. P. laeve increases the conspicuousness and predation risk of Daphnia; as a result, infected Daphnia occur predominantly in environments with characteristics that conceal their elevated visibility.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of biodegradable and antibacterial thiophene,furan and thiazole derivatives

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The rise of bacterial resistance to common clinical antibiotics is calling for alternative techniques to synthesize antibacterial drugs with high biodegradability....     

Removal of PCBs from wastewater using fly ash

Liquids and sludges containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be treated to concentrate the PCBs in a solid residue. The latter can then be handled to destroy the PCBs. A study on sorption kinetics of PCBs on fly ash was conducted in controlled batch systems. TCB and HeCB are removed at 25 degrees C by adsorption on fly ash up to 97% at pH 7, with an adsorbent dose of 5 g/l. An examination of the thermodynamic parameters shows that the adsorption of TCB and HeCB by fly ash is a process occurring spontaneously at ambient conditions. Activation energies for the sorption process ranged between 5.6 and 49.1 kJ/mol. It was observed that the rate at which TCB and HeCB are adsorbed onto fly ash showed a diffusion limitation. The uptake rate of TCB and HeCB increases with increasing initial concentration and gradually tends to a constant value. A decrease in the adsorption of TCB and HeCB was observed when interfering ions and other PCB congeners were present. Changing the pH in the aqueous solution from 2 to 10 had no effect on the adsorption process. Overall, fly ash can be used for an efficient removal of PCBs from several aqueous solutions.