Industrial processing versus home cooking: an environmental comparison between three ways to prepare a meal

Today there is a strong trend in Sweden for industrially processed meals to replace homemade meals. In the public debate this is often claimed to increase the environmental impact from foods. In the study presented in this article, we used life-cycle assessment to quantify the environmental impact of three meals: homemade, semiprepared, and ready-to-eat. The differences in environmental impact between the meals were small; the ready-to-eat meal used the most energy, whereas the homemade meal had higher emissions causing eutrophication and global warming. The dominating contributor to the environmental impact was agriculture, accounting for 30%, of the impact related to energy and 95% of that related to eutrophication. Industry, packaging, and consumer home transport and food preparation also contributed significantly. Important factors were raw material use, energy efficiency in industry and households, packaging, and residue treatment. To decrease the overall environmental impact of food consumption, improvements in agriculture are very important, together with raw-material use within industry and households.     

Trophic ecology and the related functional morphology of the deepwater medusa <Emphasis Type="Italic">Periphylla periphylla</Emphasis> (Scyphozoa,Coronata)

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV)-based field studies on the distribution and behaviour of Periphylla periphylla Péron and Lesueur (Ann Mus Hist Nat Marseille 14:316–366, 1809), from three Norwegian fjords have been combined with on-board experiments and morphological and histological studies in order to understand the trophic ecology of this species. Field studies from one of the fjords showed that the zooplankton biomass was negatively related with P. periphylla abundance, indicating a predatory effect. The majority of zooplankton biomass tended to be distributed above the aggregation of P. periphylla, which in turn showed highest abundance at 100–200 m depth. Observation on the orientation of medusae passing the ROV when descending down in the water column at dawn and dusk, showed no consistency with the theory of diel vertical migration. Estimated metabolic demand of P. periphylla indicated a daily predation impact on the prey assemblage of 13% as an average for the fjord. In situ behavioural observations showed that the dominant tentacle posture of large medusae was straight upward, with tentacles extended to the oral–aboral body axis. The hunting mode alternates between ambush and ramming, whereby tentacle posture minimises the water turbulence that may otherwise alarm the prey. The musculature of the tentacles is well developed, with an especially strong longitudinal muscle on the oral side, facilitating fast movement of the tentacle towards the mouth. In addition, ring-, radial-, and diagonal musculatures are also present. The diagonal is probably most important for the corkscrew retraction of the tentacle, used at the moment of prey capture. Results from laboratory experiments show that different body-parts of P. periphylla vary in sensitivity for chemical and mechanical stimuli, including hydrodynamic disturbance and vibration in the surrounding water. Feeding success is facilitated by combining the vibration-sense on the tentacle tips and the marginal lappets, the touch-sense on the tentacle bases and marginal lappets, and a taste control of the captured prey at the mouthlips.     

Stress on and off the job as related to sex and occupational status in white-collar workers

Sixty healthy non-smoking white collar employees, aged 30–50, from a large corporation in Sweden participated in the study. There were four groups: 15 male and 15 female middle managers, 15 male and 15 female clerical workers. Each participant was examined individually with regard to cardiovascular and neuroendocrine functions and self-reports for 12 consecutive hours under each of two conditions: (1) a normal day at work (9 a.m.–5 p.m.) and after work (6–9 p.m.), and (2) for the same time period during work-free conditions at home. In addition, everyone was given a videotaped type A-interview and a general health check-up including blood-lipid determination. Attitudes towards work, total workload (including responsibilities outside the paid work) and sex role identity were examined by questionnaires. As expected, all groups showed a moderate increase in cardiovascular and neuroendocrine activity during the day at work. After work, however, interesting group differences emerged, suggesting slower unwinding in female managers. Differences related to occupational level and/ or sex were found for autonomy and social support at work, competitiveness, sex role and reported conflict between demands from paid work and other responsibilities. The stress profile of the female managers was considered in terms of possible long-term health risks.     

Effects of rising temperature on pelagic biogeochemistry in mesocosm systems: a comparative analysis of the AQUASHIFT Kiel experiments

A comparative analysis of data, obtained during four indoor-mesocosm experiments with natural spring plankton communities from the Baltic Sea, was conducted to investigate whether biogeochemical cycling is affected by an increase in water temperature of up to 6?°C above present-day conditions. In all experiments, warming stimulated in particular heterotrophic bacterial processes and had an accelerating effect on the temporal development of phytoplankton blooms. This was also mirrored in the build-up and partitioning of organic matter between particulate and dissolved phases. Thus, warming increased both the magnitude and rate of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) build-up, whereas the accumulation of particulate organic carbon (POC) and phosphorus (POP) decreased with rising temperature. In concert, the observed temperature-mediated changes in biogeochemical components suggest strong shifts in the functioning of marine pelagic food webs and the ocean’s biological carbon pump, hence providing potential feedback mechanisms to Earth’s climate system.     

An approach for particle sinking velocity measurements in the 3–400?μm size range and considerations on the effect of temperature on sinking rates

The flux of organic particles below the mixed layer is one major pathway of carbon from the surface into the deep ocean. The magnitude of this export flux depends on two major processes—remineralization rates and sinking velocities. Here, we present an efficient method to measure sinking velocities of particles in the size range from approximately 3–400?μm by means of video microscopy (FlowCAM^?). The method allows rapid measurement and automated analysis of mixed samples and was tested with polystyrene beads, different phytoplankton species, and sediment trap material. Sinking velocities of polystyrene beads were close to theoretical values calculated from Stokes’ Law. Sinking velocities of the investigated phytoplankton species were in reasonable agreement with published literature values and sinking velocities of material collected in sediment trap increased with particle size. Temperature had a strong effect on sinking velocities due to its influence on seawater viscosity and density. An increase in 9?°C led to a measured increase in sinking velocities of ~40?%. According to this temperature effect, an average temperature increase in 2?°C as projected for the sea surface by the end of this century could increase sinking velocities by about 6?% which might have feedbacks on carbon export into the deep ocean.     

Noise and fatigue in working environments

Laboratory studies carried out in sound chambers give experimental support to the theory that fatigue and wakefulness could be influenced by sound and hearing. The tiring effect is more pronounced during exposure to low frequency noise compared to higher frequencies. A tiring effect was observed at lower levels above the hearing perception curve. As expected, when the sound pressure level was raised or the frequency was increased, stress reactions and alertness was a more frequently occurring effect. The laboratory findings were supported by a field study carried out on lorry drivers. The tiring effect was more pronounced when driving lorries generating higher levels of low-frequency noise compared to lorries generating lower levels.     

Stem Growth of Picea Abies in South Western Sweden in the 10 Years Following Liming and Addition of PK and N

Liming and/or application of specific nutrients have been proposed as countermeasures to the acidification of forest soils in southern Sweden. In this study the stem growth of Picea abies (L.) Karst. growing on acidic mineral soils in SW Sweden was investigated 10 years after additions of lime (Ca; 3000 kg lime ha⁻¹), lime plus P (25 kg ha⁻¹) and K (80 kg ha⁻¹), or N in low doses (2 × 10 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) (treatments: CaPK, Ca, N, CaPKN, and 2Ca2P2K, respectively). Compared with the control, stem growth was increased following all treatments involving lime additions, including liming alone. The PK addition did not seem to affect growth. The most plausible cause of the observed growth increases was that the lime additions indirectly increased the supply of plant-available N. The annual low-dose N addition did not significantly affect growth. This suggests that air-borne deposition of N, which supplies very small doses of N throughout the year, has a minor or even negligible influence on P. abies growth.