Studies on the lipid metabolism of some oceanic crustaceans

Mid-water, oceanic crustaceans were either fed food labelled with (¹⁴C) palmitic acid under controlled conditions, or injected directly with (¹⁴C) palmitic acid. Lipid classes and their constituent fatty acids and fatty alcohols were subsequently separated and assayed for radioactivity. Significant levels of radioactivity were present in the 16:0¹ alcohols and 18:1 acids of wax esters, and in the 16:0/16:1, 18:0/18:1, 20:5 and 22:6 acids of both triglycerides and phospholipids. It was concluded that these crustaceans were capable of biosynthesis of wax esters and higher polyunsaturated fatty acids.     

Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Urban Atmospheres in Ontario

A comprehensive program comprising the collection of particulate samples at some 20 sampling sites throughout the Province of Ontario afforded seasonal or monthly composites of airborne particulates which were extracted for determinations of polynuclear hydrocarbons. Results indicated that concentrations of airborne carcinogens or potential carcinogens in urban air throughout Ontario are much lower than values reported in the literature for urban atmospheres in England. The project served as a test of the practicability of methods recommended for extractive, chromatographic, and spectroscopic aspects of a complex routine, and the experience gained should be useful as a guide in the ultimate establishment of standardized methods. The work has identified areas in the province where more detailed sampling would be useful, and has indicated analytical problems requiring investigation.     

Rollback Modeling: Basic and Modified

The rollback or proportional model is widely used in pollution control calculations and included in the guidelines for preparing and evaluating state implementation plans. Its basis and limitations are not widely known or understood. In this paper, the basis and limitations of rollback are listed and discussed, and extensions of basic rollback are proposed.     

The UK landfill tax and the landfill tax credit scheme: operational weaknesses

The UK Landfill Tax and the related Landfill Tax Credit Scheme have now been in operation since October 1996. There have been a number of reviews to assess its operation and effectiveness that have led to some minor amendments. However, there continue to be concerns about operational weaknesses of the tax and the credit scheme. In particular, there is the risk that the tax may be evaded and there are fears that a lack of transparency and independence may undermine the fundamental principles of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. Following a recent report, the Secretary of State for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has set up an inquiry. This paper looks at some of the specific concerns that have been raised and the implications for waste management.     

Prenatal genetic counselling for psychiatric disorders

Psychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and obsessive–compulsive disorder are common disorders with complex aetiology. They can exact a heavy toll on the individual with the condition and can have significant impact on family members too. Accordingly, psychiatric disorders can arise as a concern in the prenatal context – couples may be interested in learning about the chance for their child to develop the illness that manifests in the family and may be interested in discussing options for prenatal testing. However, the complex nature of these conditions can present challenges for clinicians who seek to help families with these issues. We established the world's first specialist genetic counselling service of its kind in Vancouver, Canada, in 2012, and to date, have provided counselling for ~500 families and have demonstrated increases in patients' empowerment and self efficacy after genetic counselling. We draw on our accumulated clinical experience to outline the process by which we approach prenatal genetic counselling for psychiatric disorders to assist other clinicians in providing thoughtful, comprehensive support to couples seeking out this service. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative diet selection by cattle and sheep grazing two contrasting heathland communities

In the UK the funding mechanism for moorland restoration is being implemented primarily through agri-environment schemes, yet to date remarkably few comparative grazing studies with domesticated livestock have been conducted on this type of vegetation community. In this experiment the diet composition of four groups of animals grazing heathland swards with low (8%) and high (61%) percentages of cover of Calluna vulgaris was estimated from faeces profiles of n-alkanes and long-chain fatty alcohols. Two breeds of sheep (Welsh Mountain (WM) and Scottish Blackface (SBF)), and two breeds of cattle (Welsh Black (WB) and Continental cross (CX)) grazed the experimental sites during two separate 14-day sampling sessions, in July and September respectively. Both species were selective feeders, consuming grasses (selectivity indices 0.20–1.0) in preference to dwarf shrubs (selectivity indices 0.20–1.0), but there were significant differences in the proportions of various plant groups within the diets. Although the sheep diets contained significantly more C. vulgaris, the quantities consumed were small (<10% of the diet), even on the High site, reflecting the biomass of the graminoid species present, and hence availability of preferred items. The SBF sheep were the only animal type to increase consumption of C. vulgaris later in the season. There were a number of significant differences in the composition of the diets selected by the two hill breeds of sheep used in the study, with the SBF sheep recorded as consuming more C. vulgaris. These results imply that through choice of breed land managers may be able to meet environmental goals more effectively without compromising returns from conventional production systems. In contrast, the overall diet composition of the two breed types of cattle was similar. This indicates that commercial breeds have the potential to deliver the types of environmental benefits associated with grazing of traditional breeds.     

Review and meta-analysis of 82 studies on end-of-life management methods for source separated organics

This article reports on a literature review and meta-analysis of 82 studies, mostly life cycle assessments (LCAs), which quantified end-of-life (EOL) management options for organic waste. These studies were reviewed to determine the environmental preferability, or lack thereof, for a number of EOL management methods such as aerobic composting (AC), anaerobic digestion (AD), gasification, combustion, incineration with energy recovery (often denoted as waste-to-energy incineration), mechanical biological treatment, incineration without energy recovery (sometimes referenced by just the word “incineration”), and landfill disposal with and without energy recovery from generated methane. Given the vast differences in boundaries as well as uncertainty and variability in results, the LCAs among the 82 studies provided enough data and results to make conclusions regarding just four EOL management methods – aerobic composting, anaerobic digestion, mass burn waste-to-energy (WTE), and landfill gas-to-energy (LFGTE). For these four, the LCAs proved sufficient to determine that aerobic composting and anaerobic digestion are both environmentally preferable to either WTE or LFGTE in terms of climate change impacts.For climate change, LCA results were mixed for WTE versus LFGTE. Furthermore, there is a lack of empirically reliable estimates of the amount of organics input to AD that is converted to energy output versus remaining in the digestate. This digestate can be processed through aerobic composting into a compost product similar to the compost output from aerobic composting, assuming that the same type of organic materials are managed under AD as are managed via AC. The magnitude of any trade-off between generation of energy and production of compost in an AD system appears to be critical for ranking AC and AD for differing types of organics diversion streams. These results emphasize how little we generally know, and exemplify the fact that in the reviewed literature no single EOL management method consistently topped all other management options across all environmental impacts, and that future studies must strive to match existing analytical boundaries and alternatives assessed to increase knowledge if as a community we expect to be able to make even more generalized conclusions.     

A framework for assessing the impact of the IPPC directive on the performance of the pig industry.

New European Union legislation on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) is being implemented in the United Kingdom, enacted by the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 and its statutory instruments, the Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000. This legislation incorporates previously unregulated installations in the food and intensive livestock sectors, such as pig installations above a given threshold size. IPPC requires that installations adopt Best Available Techniques and follow General Binding Rules of good practice in order to manage their environmental effects. IPPC has significant potential impacts for both the environmental and financial performance of the pig industry. In this context, the paper discusses the IPPC implementation process as it applies to the sector and presents a methodological framework for assessing the environmental and cost benefit implications of the new regulations.