Combining industrial ecology tools to assess potential greenhouse gas reductions of a circular economy: Method development and application to Switzerland

Industrial ecology (IE) methodologies, such as input/output or material flow analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA), are often used for the environmental evaluation of circular economy strategies. Up to now, an approach that utilizes these methods in a systematic, integrated framework for a holistic assessment of a geographic region's sustainable circular economy potential has been lacking. The approach developed in this study (IE4CE approach) combines IE methodologies to determine the environmental impact mitigation potential of circular economy strategies for a defined geographic region. The approach foresees five steps. First, input/output analysis helps identify sectors with high environmental impacts. Second, a refined analysis is conducted using material flow and LCA. In step 3, circular strategies are used for scenario design and evaluated in step 4. In step 5, the assessment results are compiled and compared across sectors. The approach was applied to a case study of Switzerland, analyzing 8 sectors and more than 30 scenarios in depth. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) from waste incineration, biogas and cement production, food waste prevention in households, hospitality and production, and the increased recycling of plastics had the highest mitigation potential. Most of the scenarios do not influence each other. One exception is the CCS scenarios: waste avoidance scenarios decrease the reduction potential of CCS. A combination of scenarios from different sectors, including their impact on the CCS scenario potential, led to an environmental impact mitigation potential of 11.9 Mt CO₂-eq for 2050, which equals 14% of Switzerland's current consumption-based impacts.     

Emerging roles of low-molecular-weight thiols at the host–microbe interface

Low-molecular-weight (LMW) thiols are an abundant class of cysteine-derived small molecules found in all forms of life that maintain reducing conditions within cells. While their contributions to cellular redox homeostasis are well established, LMW thiols can also mediate other aspects of cellular physiology, including intercellular interactions between microbial and host cells. Here we discuss emerging roles for these redox-active metabolites at the host–microbe interface. We begin by providing an overview of chemical and computational approaches to LMW-thiol discovery. Next, we highlight mechanisms of virulence regulation by LMW thiols in infected cells. Finally, we describe how microbial metabolism of these compounds may influence host physiology.     

Soil legacy effects of plants and drought on aboveground insects in native and range-expanding plant communities

Soils contain biotic and abiotic legacies of previous conditions that may influence plant community biomass and associated aboveground biodiversity. However, little is known about the relative strengths and interactions of the various belowground legacies on aboveground plant–insect interactions. We used an outdoor mesocosm experiment to investigate the belowground legacy effects of range-expanding versus native plants, extreme drought and their interactions on plants, aphids and pollinators. We show that plant biomass was influenced more strongly by the previous plant community than by the previous summer drought. Plant communities consisted of four congeneric pairs of natives and range expanders, and their responses were not unanimous. Legacy effects affected the abundance of aphids more strongly than pollinators. We conclude that legacies can be contained as soil ‘memories’ that influence aboveground plant community interactions in the next growing season. These soil-borne ‘memories’ can be altered by climate warming-induced plant range shifts and extreme drought.     

Deciphering structural aspects of reverse cholesterol transport: mapping the knowns and unknowns

Atherosclerosis is a major contributor to the onset and progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cholesterol-loaded foam cells play a pivotal role in forming atherosclerotic plaques. Induction of cholesterol efflux from these cells may be a promising approach in treating CVD. The reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) pathway delivers cholesteryl ester (CE) packaged in high-density lipoproteins (HDL) from non-hepatic cells to the liver, thereby minimising cholesterol load of peripheral cells. RCT takes place via a well-organised interplay amongst apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), scavenger receptor-B1 (SR-B1), and the amount of free cholesterol. Unfortunately, modulation of RCT for treating atherosclerosis has failed in clinical trials owing to our lack of understanding of the relationship between HDL function and RCT. The fate of non-hepatic CEs in HDL is dependent on their access to proteins involved in remodelling and can be regulated at the structural level. An inadequate understanding of this inhibits the design of rational strategies for therapeutic interventions. Herein we extensively review the structure–function relationships that are essential for RCT. We also focus on genetic mutations that disturb the structural stability of proteins involved in RCT, rendering them partially or completely non-functional. Further studies are necessary for understanding the structural aspects of RCT pathway completely, and this review highlights alternative theories and unanswered questions.     

Perils of ingesting harmful prey by advanced snakes

The advanced snakes (Alethinophidia) include the extant snakes with a highly evolved head morphology providing increased gape and jaw flexibility. Along with other physiological and morphological adaptations, this allows them to immobilize, ingest, and transport prey that may be disproportionately large or presents danger to the predator from bites, teeth, horns, or spines. Reported incidents of snakes failing to consume prey and being injured or killed during feeding mostly reflect information in the form of natural-history notes. Here we provide the first extensive review of such incidents, including 101 publications describing at least 143 cases of mortality (including six of ‘multiple individuals’) caused by ingestion or attempted consumption of injurious prey. We also report on 15 previously unpublished injurious feeding incidents from the USA, Austria, and Bulgaria, including mortality of five juvenile piscivorous dice snakes (Natrix tessellata) from a single location. Occurrences are spread across taxa, with mortality documented for at least 73 species from eight families and 45 genera. Incidents were generally well represented within each of three major categories: oversized prey (40.6%), potentially harmful prey (40.6%), and predator's behavioural/mechanical errors (18.9%). Reptile (33%) and fish (26%) prey caused disproportionately high mortality compared to mammals (16%). Feeding can be dangerous throughout a snake's life, with the later stages of feeding likely being more perilous. The number of reports has increased over time, and the data seem biased towards localities with a higher number of field-working herpetologists. We propose a standardized framework, comprising a set of basic information that should ideally be collected and published, and which could be useful as a template for future data collection, reporting, and analyses. We conclude that incidents of mortality during feeding are likely to be more common than previously assumed, and this hypothesis has implications for the ecology of persistence where populations are impacted by changing trophic environments.     

A novel tomato spotted wilt virus isolate encoding a noncanonical NSm C118F substitution associated with Sw-5 tomato gene resistance breaking

The nonstructural protein NSm of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) has been identified as the avirulence determinant of the tomato single dominant Sw-5 resistance gene. Although Sw-5 effectiveness has been shown for most TSWV isolates, the emergence of resistance-breaking (RB) isolates has been observed. It is strongly associated with two point mutations (C118Y or T120N) in the NSm viral protein. TSWV-like symptoms were observed in tomato crop cultivars (+Sw-5) in the Baja California peninsula, Mexico, and molecular methods confirmed the presence of TSWV. Sequence analysis of the NSm 118–120 motif and three-dimensional protein modelling exhibited a noncanonical C118F substitution in seven isolates, suggesting that this substitution could emulate the C118Y-related RB phenotype. Furthermore, phylogenetic and molecular analysis of the full-length genome (TSWV-MX) revealed its reassortment-related evolution and confirmed that putative RB-related features are restricted to the NSm protein. Biological and mutational NSm 118 residue assays in tomato (+Sw-5) confirmed the RB nature of TSWV-MX isolate, and the F118 residue plays a critical role in the RB phenotype. The discovery of a novel TSWV-RB Mexican isolate with the presence of C118F substitution highlights a not previously described viral adaptation in the genus Orthotospovirus, and hence, the necessity of further crop monitoring to alert the establishment of novel RB isolates in cultivated tomatoes.     

Reduction in animal abundance and oxygen availability during and after the end-Triassic mass extinction

The end-Triassic biodiversity crisis was one of the most severe mass extinctions in the history of animal life. However, the extent to which the loss of taxonomic diversity was coupled with a reduction in organismal abundance remains to be quantified. Further, the temporal relationship between organismal abundance and local marine redox conditions is lacking in carbonate sections. To address these questions, we measured skeletal grain abundance in shallow-marine limestones by point counting 293 thin sections from four stratigraphic sections across the Triassic/Jurassic boundary in the Lombardy Basin and Apennine Platform of western Tethys. Skeletal abundance decreased abruptly across the Triassic/Jurassic boundary in all stratigraphic sections. The abundance of skeletal organisms remained low throughout the lower-middle Hettangian strata and began to rebound during the late Hettangian and early Sinemurian. A two-way ANOVA indicates that sample age (p < .01, η² = 0.30) explains more of the variation in skeletal abundance than the depositional environment or paleobathymetry (p < .01, η² = 0.15). Measured I/Ca ratios, a proxy for local shallow-marine redox conditions, show this same pattern with the lowest I/Ca ratios occurring in the early Hettangian. The close correspondence between oceanic water column oxygen levels and skeletal abundance indicates a connection between redox conditions and benthic organismal abundance across the Triassic/Jurassic boundary. These findings indicate that the end-Triassic mass extinction reduced not only the biodiversity but also the carrying capacity for skeletal organisms in early Hettangian ecosystems, adding to evidence that mass extinction of species generally leads to mass rarity among survivors.     

Human appropriation of net primary production as driver of change in landscape-scale vertebrate richness

Aim

Land use is the most pervasive driver of biodiversity loss. Predicting its impact on species richness (SR) is often based on indicators of habitat loss. However, the degradation of habitats, especially through land-use intensification, also affects species. Here, we evaluate whether an integrative metric of land-use intensity, the human appropriation of net primary production, is correlated with the decline of SR in used landscapes across the globe.

Location

Global.

Time period

Present.

Major taxa studied

Birds, mammals and amphibians.

Methods

Based on species range maps (spatial resolution: 20 km × 20 km) and an area-of-habitat approach, we calibrated a “species–energy model” by correlating the SR of three groups of vertebrates with net primary production and biogeographical covariables in “wilderness” areas (i.e., those where available energy is assumed to be still at pristine levels). We used this model to project the difference between pristine SR and the SR corresponding to the energy remaining in used landscapes (i.e., SR loss expected owing to human energy extraction outside wilderness areas). We validated the projected species loss by comparison with the realized and impending loss reconstructed from habitat conversion and documented by national Red Lists.

Results

Species–energy models largely explained landscape-scale variation of mapped SR in wilderness areas (adjusted R²-values: 0.79–0.93). Model-based projections of SR loss were lower, on average, than reconstructed and documented ones, but the spatial patterns were correlated significantly, with stronger correlation in mammals (Pearson's r = 0.68) than in amphibians (r = 0.60) and birds (r = 0.57).

Main conclusions

Our results suggest that the human appropriation of net primary production is a useful indicator of heterotrophic species loss in used landscapes, hence we recommend its inclusion in models based on species–area relationships to improve predictions of land-use-driven biodiversity loss.     

Multistimuli-responsive fluorescence behaviours of aggregation-induced emission small-molecule and electrospun nanofibre films for acid–base vapour sensing

Multistimuli-responsive fluorescent materials have garnered great research interest benefited from their practical applications. Two twisted-structure compounds containing tetraphenylethylene (TPE) as the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) group and a pyridine unit as the acid reaction site to obtain new multistimuli-responsive fluorescent compounds (namely, TPECNPy: TPECNPy-2 and TPECNPy-3) were successfully synthesized through a one-step Knoevenagel condensation reaction. The multiple-stimuli response process of TPECNPy was investigated by means of photoluminescence (PL) spectra and emission colour. The results showed that both TPECNPy compounds with excellent AIE abilities displayed reversible emission wavelength and colour changes in response to multiple external stimuli, including grinding–fuming by CH₂Cl₂ or annealing and HCl-NH₃ vapour fuming. More importantly, fluorescent nanofibre films were prepared by electrospinning a solution of TPECNPy mixed with cellulose acetate (CA), and these exhibited reversible acid-induced discolouration, even with only 1 wt% TPECNPy. The results of this study may inspire strategies for designing multistimuli-responsive materials and preparing fluorescent sensing nanofibre films.     

Addressing high excitation conditions in time-resolved X-ray diffraction experiments and issues of biological relevance

One of the most important fundamental questions connecting chemistry to biology is how chemistry scales in complexity up to biological systems where there are innumerable possible pathways and competing processes. With the development of ultrabright electron and x-ray sources, it has been possible to literally light up atomic motions to directly observe the reduction in dimensionality in the barrier crossing region to a few key reaction modes. How do these chemical processes further couple to the surrounding protein or macromolecular assembly to drive biological functions? Optical methods to trigger photoactive biological processes are needed to probe this issue on the relevant timescales. However, the excitation conditions have been in the highly nonlinear regime, which questions the biological relevance of the observed structural dynamics.