The feasibility of including sustainability in LCA for product development

The feasibility of combining the concept of sustainability principles and the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is examined. The goal is to achieve an operational tool that incorporates sustainability in product development and strategic planning. While the method outlined has the structure of LCA, it emphasises aspects and parameters often omitted from traditional LCA. The analysis and results can be either qualitative or semi-quantitative. Although a qualitative analysis is less time consuming, it can still highlight the important issues. Qualitative information, which is easily lost in a quantitative analysis, can be emphasised. One of the conclusions is that the method is well suited for screening analysis.     

Glyphosate application increased catabolic activity of gram-negative bacteria but impaired soil fungal community

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Glyphosate is a non-selective organophosphate herbicide that is widely used in agriculture, but its effects on soil microbial communities are highly...     

Investigation of contact vacuuming for remediation of fungally contaminated duct materials

Environmental fungi become a potential Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) problem when adequate moisture and nutrients are present in building materials. Because of their potential to rapidly spread contamination throughout a building, ventilation system materials are of particular significance as potential microbial contamination sources. Current recommendations are to discard fibrous glass insulation that appears to be wet or moldy. Unfortunately, this advice is not always followed. Instead, cleaning is sometimes being used in buildings to remediate fibrous glass duct liner that is already contaminated with microbial growth. The objectives of this research program were to: 1) determine, under dynamic test conditions, whether fungal spore levels on heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) duct material surfaces could be substantially reduced by thorough vacuum cleaning, 2) evaluate whether subsequent fungal growth could be limited or contained by mechanical cleaning, and 3) provide data concerning the advisability of cleaning duct materials. The constant high relative humidity (RH) environment to which the test materials were exposed during this study was selected as a favorable growth environment that is frequently found in Southeastern United States HVAC systems. The results showed that, following cleaning, the levels of the two test fungi, A. versicolor and P. chrysogenum, recovered to preclean levels within 6 weeks. Therefore, mechanical cleaning by contact vacuuming alone was able to only temporarily reduce the surface fungal load. The current guidelines to discard contaminated materials should be followed.     

Asymptomatic carrier of two CFTR mutations: Consequences for prenatal diagnosis?

The cystic fibrosis (CF) gene has been observed to have the highest frequency of mutations in the Caucasian population. Prenatal diagnosis can now be performed with a high degree of accuracy since the identification of most of the gene's mutations, as well as the characterization of intragenic markers. However, the observation of a distribution of clinical phenotypes increases the need to identify a mild phenotype and avoid false-negative diagnosis. By screening most of the exons of the CFTR gene, we showed that a supposed obligate carrier of CF was in fact an asymptomatic affected woman.     

Prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 9 mosaicism: Two new cases

We present two prenatal cases of trisomy 9 mosaicism, both of which presented intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and other abnormal ultrasound findings. In case A, mosaicism was found in amniotic fluid cell cultures, of which 65 per cent were trisomic cells, on average. In case B, trisomic cells were present in amniotic fluid cell cultures (12 per cent) but none were found in fetal cord blood. After autopsy, cytogenetic findings were confirmed in different tissue cultures. It is concluded that echographic indicators are a very useful tool for a correct prenatal diagnostic interpretation of trisomy 9. Suspected trisomy 9 mosaicism always requires further investigation and fetal cord blood cytogenetic analysis may not be considered as providing an accurate diagnosis of fetal trisomy 9.     

Social organization in the bat Pipistrellus pipistrellus

Summary The social organization of the pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) was studied by means of bat boxes in southern Sweden. The males set up territories around a roosting site in the beginning of the summer at the same time as the females formed nursing colonies. After breeding, the females joined the single males in their day roosts establishing transient mating harems. Subsequently, immatures arrived at the mating grounds. The immature females, which probably attained sexual maturity during their first autumn, were admitted to the day roosts of the harem males, in contrast to the immature males. The size of the harem was dependent on the total number of females present on the mating grounds. The size, however, was also restricted by some factor, presumably the quantity of food resources in the surroundings of the specific roost site, or the capability of the harem male for mating. The mating system in the pipistrelle bat is best characterized as a resource defence polygyny. Available data on other related temperate species indicate a similar social organization in Pipistrellus nathusii and Nyctalus noctula.     

Biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbon vapors: laboratory studies on rates and kinetics in unsaturated alluvial sand

Predictions of natural attenuation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the unsaturated zone rely critically on information about microbial biodegradation kinetics. This study aims at determining kinetic rate laws for the aerobic biodegradation of a mixture of 12 volatile petroleum hydrocarbons and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in unsaturated alluvial sand. Laboratory column and batch experiments were performed at room temperature under aerobic conditions, and a reactive transport model for VOC vapors in soil gas coupled to Monod-type degradation kinetics was used for data interpretation. In the column experiment, an acclimatization of 23 days took place before steady-state diffusive vapor transport through the horizontal column was achieved. Monod kinetic parameters Ks and vmax could be derived from the concentration profiles of toluene, m-xylene, n-octane, and n-hexane, because substrate saturation was approached with these compounds under the experimental conditions. The removal of cyclic alkanes, isooctane, and 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene followed first-order kinetics over the whole concentration range applied. MTBE, n-pentane, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were not visibly degraded. Batch experiments suggested first-order disappearance rate laws for all VOCs except n-octane, which decreased following zero-order kinetics in live batch experiments. For many compounds including MTBE, disappearance rates in abiotic batch experiments were as high as in live batches indicating sorption. It was concluded that the column approach is preferable for determining biodegradation rate parameters to be used in risk assessment models.     

太湖典型河网区地表水与沉积物氮、磷和重金属含量空间分异

将无锡城乡交错区河网分为城镇生活区水巷、工业区主河道、农业区主河道、农业区支流和鱼塘5种类型区.通过秋季(旱季)和夏季(雨季)2次采样,研究氮、磷和Cu、Zn、Pb、Cr、Cd在地表水和沉积物中的含量及其空间变化.结果表明:(1)城乡交错区地表水氮、磷来源于生活污染和工业污染的比例大于农田,同时具有来源分散、污染面广的特征.(2)由于城镇地表径流和工业活动影响,各类型区地表水重金属含量均有不同程度提高.但地表水重金属主要沿主河道迁移,旱季和雨季主河道重金属含量均大于农业区支流,而且随着与城镇距离增加,主河道沉积物重金属含量迅速降低,重金属污染影响范围较小.(3)与重金属相比,地表水氮、磷污染仍是太湖水网区主要的环境问题.但城镇及其周围河流沉积物中富集的重金属含量很高,其潜在环境风险不容忽视.