Comparative life cycle assessment of margarine and butter consumed in the UK,Germany and France

Purpose  

The goal of the study was to compare the environmental impact of butter and margarine. Altogether, seven products were studied in three European markets: UK, Germany and France.     

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase from brain. Purification and effect on microtubule assembly in vitro

Tubulin strictly requires GTP for its polymerization. Nevertheless, microtubule assembly can be observed in the presence of ATP as the only nucleotide triphosphate, due to the nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDP kinase) present in microtubule preparations, and which phosphorylates the GDP into GTP. We have purified this enzyme from pig brain to homogeneity, and shown that its relative mass is close to 100 000 in its native state, and 17 000 under denaturing conditions. Therefore it is probably a hexamer, as previously shown for the enzyme from other sources, and also presents a microheterogeneity, with the major isoforms between pI 5.0 and 6.0. The enzyme is transiently phosphorylated during catalysis, as expected within a ping-pong bi-bi mechanism. The effect of the NDP kinase on pure tubulin polymerization was studied: in the presence of NDP kinase, the lag time observed in the kinetics of microtubule assembly was shorter and the final extent of assembly was unchanged. The effect of the enzyme was observed at enzyme concentrations 900-fold lower than tubulin concentration, which shows that the NDP kinase acts catalytically. Kinetic data show that the catalytic effect of the NDP kinase is faster than the rate of nucleotide exchange on tubulin under the same conditions. This result demonstrates that the tubulin-GDP complex itself is a substrate for the enzyme, which may indicate that the GDP bound to tubulin at the E site is exposed on the surface of dimeric tubulin.     

7-Azaindole-3-acetic acid derivatives: Potent and selective CRTh2 receptor antagonists

High throughput screening identified a 7-azaindole-3-acetic acid scaffold as a novel CRTh2 receptor antagonist chemotype, which could be optimised to furnish a highly selective compound with good functional potency for inhibition of human eosinophil shape change in whole blood and oral bioavailability in the rat.     

Leaf dispersion and light partitioning in three-dimensionally digitized tall fescue–white clover mixtures

A three‐dimensional digitizing method was used to assess the canopy structure of six Festuca arundinacea (FA)–Trifolium repens (TR) mixtures during the installation stage. Virtual canopy images were synthesized and used to derive light interception and partitioning between species. Computations from images were compared with a simple light model based on Beer’s law, in order to analyse within‐ and between‐species foliage dispersion. The total leaf area index of the mixtures ranged from 0·6 to 4·5. The fraction of FA foliage overtopping TR was 9–30%. The mean inclination of FA and TR was 66 and 57°, respectively. Within‐species dispersion parameters of FA and TR were about 0·8 and 1·0, namely clumped and random foliage dispersion, respectively. Although FA was sown in rows, between‐species dispersion was random. Lower leaf inclination and lesser clumping in TR compensated foliage overtopping by FA, so that light partitioning between FA and TR (about 80 and 20%, respectively) was similar to the species contribution to total canopy foliage. Since between‐species dispersion was random, a simple two‐layer light model based on Beer’s law provided correct estimations of light partitioning (RMSE = 0·05), although light interception by FA was slightly overestimated because of its clumped dispersion.     

Characterisation of Ilomastat for Prolonged Ocular Drug Release

We are developing tablet dosage forms for implantation directly into the subconjunctival space of the eye. The matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, ilomastat, has previously been shown to be efficacious at suppressing scarring following glaucoma filtration surgery (GFS). We report on the physical characterisation of ilomastat which is being developed for ocular implantation. Since ilomastat is being considered for implantation it is necessary to examine its polymorphs and their influence on aspects of the in vitro drug release profile. X-ray powder diffraction identified two polymorphs of ilomastat from different commercial batches of the compound. Tablets were prepared from the two different polymorphs. Isothermal perfusion calorimetry was used to show that amorphous content is not increased during tablet formulation. The melting points of the two polymorphs are 188 and 208°C as determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Utilising single crystal X-ray diffraction, the structural conformations and packing arrangements of the different polymorphs were determined. The orthorhombic crystal crystallised as a monohydrate while the second monoclinic crystal form is non-solvated. Ilomastat tablets prepared from the two different solid forms exhibited similar drug release profiles in vitro under conditions mimicking the aqueous composition, volume and flow of the subconjunctival space after GFS. This suggests that a reproducible dose at each time point during release after implantation should be achievable in vivo with ilomastat tablets prepared from the two polymorphs identified.     

A physiological analogy of the niche for projecting the potential distribution of plants

Aim  To develop a physiologically based model of the plant niche for use in species distribution modelling. Location  Europe. Methods  We link the Thornley transport resistance (TTR) model with functions which describe how the TTR’s model parameters are influenced by abiotic environmental factors. The TTR model considers how carbon and nutrient uptake, and the allocation of these assimilates, influence growth. We use indirect statistical methods to estimate the model parameters from a high resolution data set on tree distribution for 22 European tree species. Results  We infer, from distribution data and abiotic forcing data, the physiological niche dimensions of 22 European tree species. We found that the model fits were reasonable (AUC: 0.79–0.964). The projected distributions were characterized by a false positive rate of 0.19 and a false negative rate 0.12. The fitted models are used to generate projections of the environmental factors that limit the range boundaries of the study species. Main conclusions  We show that physiological models can be used to derive physiological niche dimensions from species distribution data. Future work should focus on including prior information on physiological rates into the parameter estimation process. Application of the TTR model to species distribution modelling suggests new avenues for establishing explicit links between distribution and physiology, and for generating hypotheses about how ecophysiological processes influence the distribution of plants.     

Fish and fisheries in hot water: What is happening and how do we adapt?

Rapid climate changes are currently driving substantial reorganizations of marine ecosystems around the world. A key question is how these changes will alter the provision of ecosystem services from the ocean, particularly from fisheries. To answer this question, we need to understand not only the ecological dynamics of marine systems, but also human adaptation and feedbacks between humans and the rest of the natural world. In this review, we outline what we have learned from research primarily in continental shelf ecosystems and fishing communities of North America. Key findings are that marine animals are highly sensitive to warming and are responding quickly to changes in water temperature, and that such changes are often happening faster than similar processes on land. Changes in species distributions and productivity are having substantial impacts on fisheries, including through changing catch compositions and longer distances traveled for fishing trips. Conflicts over access to fisheries have also emerged as species distributions are no longer aligned with regulations or catch allocations. These changes in the coupled natural-human system have reduced the value of ecosystem services from some fisheries and risk doing so even more in the future. Going forward, substantial opportunities for more effective fisheries management and operations, marine conservation, and marine spatial planning are likely possible through greater consideration of climate information over time-scales from years to decades.