MV-mimicking micelles loaded with PEG-serine-ACP nanoparticles to achieve biomimetic intra/extra fibrillar mineralization of collagen in vitro

Since their discovery, matrix vesicles (MVs) containing minerals have received considerable attention for their role in the mineralization of bone, dentin and calcified cartilage. Additionally, MVs' association with collagen fibrils, which serve as the scaffold for calcification in the organic matrix, has been repeatedly highlighted. The primary purpose of the present study was to establish a MVs–mimicking model (PEG-S-ACP/micelle) in vitro for studying the exact mechanism of MVs-mediated extra/intra fibrillar mineralization of collagen in vivo. In this study, high-concentration serine was used to stabilize the amorphous calcium phosphate (S-ACP), which was subsequently mixed with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to form PEG-S-ACP nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were loaded in the polysorbate 80 micelle through a micelle self-assembly process in an aqueous environment. This MVs–mimicking model is referred to as the PEG-S-ACP/micelle model. By adjusting the pH and surface tension of the PEG-S-ACP/micelle, two forms of minerals (crystalline mineral nodules and ACP nanoparticles) were released to achieve the extrafibrillar and intrafibrillar mineralization, respectively. This in vitro mineralization process reproduced the mineral nodules mediating in vivo extrafibrillar mineralization and provided key insights into a possible mechanism of biomineralization by which in vivo intrafibrillar mineralization could be induced by ACP nanoparticles released from MVs. Also, the PEG-S-ACP/micelle model provides a promising methodology to prepare mineralized collagen scaffolds for repairing bone defects in bone tissue engineering.     

What Do We Know About Metal Recycling Rates?

The recycling of metals is widely viewed as a fruitful sustainability strategy, but little information is available on the degree to which recycling is actually taking place. This article provides an overview on the current knowledge of recycling rates for 60 metals. We propose various recycling metrics, discuss relevant aspects of recycling processes, and present current estimates on global end‐of‐life recycling rates (EOL‐RR; i.e., the percentage of a metal in discards that is actually recycled), recycled content (RC), and old scrap ratios (OSRs; i.e., the share of old scrap in the total scrap flow). Because of increases in metal use over time and long metal in‐use lifetimes, many RC values are low and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Because of relatively low efficiencies in the collection and processing of most discarded products, inherent limitations in recycling processes, and the fact that primary material is often relatively abundant and low‐cost (which thereby keeps down the price of scrap), many EOL‐RRs are very low: Only for 18 metals (silver, aluminum, gold, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, niobium, nickel, lead, palladium, platinum, rhenium, rhodium, tin, titanium, and zinc) is the EOL‐RR above 50% at present. Only for niobium, lead, and ruthenium is the RC above 50%, although 16 metals are in the 25% to 50% range. Thirteen metals have an OSR greater than 50%. These estimates may be used in considerations of whether recycling efficiencies can be improved; which metric could best encourage improved effectiveness in recycling; and an improved understanding of the dependence of recycling on economics, technology, and other factors.     

Response of three lotic assemblages to riparian and catchment‐scale land use: implications for designing catchment monitoring programmes

1. Although many studies have focussed on the effects of catchment land use on lotic systems, the importance of broad (catchment) and fine (segment/reach) scale effects on stream assemblages remain poorly understood. 2. Nine biological metrics for macrophytes (498 sites), benthic macroinvertebrates (491) and fish (478) of lowland and mountain streams in four ecoregions of France and Germany were related to catchment and riparian buffer land use using partial Redundancy Analysis and Boosted Regression Trees (BRTs). 3. Lotic fauna was better correlated (mean max., r = 0.450) than flora (r = 0.277) to both scales of land use: the strongest correlations were noted for mountain streams. BRTs revealed strong non‐linear relationships between mountain assemblage metrics and land use. Correlations increased with increasing buffer lengths, suggesting the importance of near‐stream land use on biotic assemblages. 4. Several metrics changed markedly between 10–20% (mountain ecoregions) and 40–45% (lowland) of arable land use, irrespective of the buffer size. At mountain sites with >10% catchment arable land use, metric values differed between sites with <30% and sites with >30% forest in the near‐stream riparian area. 5. These findings support the role of riparian land use in catchment management; however, differences between mountain and lowland ecoregions support the need for ecoregion‐specific management.     

How do elevated CO2 and O3 affect the interception and utilization of radiation by a soybean canopy?

Net productivity of vegetation is determined by the product of the efficiencies with which it intercepts light (?_i) and converts that intercepted energy into biomass (?_c). Elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂) increases photosynthesis and leaf area index (LAI) of soybeans and thus may increase ?_i and ?_c; elevated O₃ may have the opposite effect. Knowing if elevated CO₂ and O₃ differentially affect physiological more than structural components of the ecosystem may reveal how these elements of global change will ultimately alter productivity. The effects of elevated CO₂ and O₃ on an intact soybean ecosystem were examined with Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment (SoyFACE) technology where large field plots (20‐m diameter) were exposed to elevated CO₂ (～550 μmol mol^?1) and elevated O₃ (1.2 × ambient) in a factorial design. Aboveground biomass, LAI and light interception were measured during the growing seasons of 2002, 2003 and 2004 to calculate ?_i and ?_c. A 15% increase in yield (averaged over 3 years) under elevated CO₂ was caused primarily by a 12% stimulation in ?_c , as ?_i increased by only 3%. Though accelerated canopy senescence under elevated O₃ caused a 3% decrease in ?_i, the primary effect of O₃ on biomass was through an 11% reduction in ?_c. When CO₂ and O₃ were elevated in combination, CO₂ partially reduced the negative effects of elevated O₃. Knowing that changes in productivity in elevated CO₂ and O₃ were influenced strongly by the efficiency of conversion of light energy into energy in plant biomass will aid in optimizing soybean yields in the future. Future modeling efforts that rely on ?_c for calculating regional and global plant productivity will need to accommodate the effects of global change on this important ecosystem attribute.     

Structural Decomposition Analysis of Raw Material Consumption

The aim of this article is to quantify the drivers for the changes in raw material consumption (domestic material consumption expressed in the form of all materials extracted and used in the production phase) in terms of technology, which refers to the concept of sustainable production; the product structure of final demand, which refers to the concept of sustainable consumption; and the volume of final demand, which is related to economic growth. We also aim to determine to what extent the technological development and a shift in product structure of the final demand compensate for the growth in final consumption volume. Therefore, we apply structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to the change in raw material consumption (RMC) of the Czech Republic between 2000 and 2007. To present the study in a broader context, we also show other material flow indicators for the Czech Republic for 2000 and 2007. Our findings of SDA show that final demand structure has a very limited effect on the change in material flows. The rapid change in final demand volume was not compensated for crude oil, metal ores, construction materials, food crops, and timber. For the material category of non‐iron metal ores, even the change in technology contributes to an increase in material flows. The largest relative increases are reported for non‐iron metal ores (38%) and construction materials (30%). The main changes in material flows related to the Czech Republic are driven by exports and enabled by imports, the main source of these increased material flows. This emphasizes the increasing role of international trade.     

Sampling for Explosives-Residues at Fort Greely,Alaska

Fort Greely, Alaska has an extensive complex of weapon training and testing areas located on lands withdrawn from the public domain under the Military Lands Withdrawal Act (PL106-65). The Army has pledged to implement a program to identify possible munitions contamination. Because of the large size (344,165,000 m²) of the high hazard impact areas, characterization of these constituents will be difficult. We used an authoritative sampling design to find locations most likely to contain explosives-residues on three impact areas. We focused our sampling on surface soils and collected multi-increment and discrete samples at locations of known firing events and from areas on the range that had craters, pieces of munitions, targets, or a designation as a firing point. In the two impact areas used primarily by the Army, RDX was the most frequently detected explosive. In the impact area that was also used by the Air Force, TNT was the most frequently detected explosive. Where detected, the explosives concentrations generally were low (<0.05 mg/kg) except in soils near low-order detonations, where the explosive-filler was in contact with the soil surface. These low-order detonations potentially can serve as localized sources for groundwater contamination if positioned in recharge areas.     

Spectral composition of shade light in coastal-zone oak forests in SE Bulgaria,and relationships with leaf area index: a first overview

Major knowledge gaps exist with respect to light-quality regimes in the coastal-zone Strandzha Quercus frainetto (Q.f.) forest region adjoining the southern Bulgarian Black Sea. This paper presents preliminary results that help narrow these gaps. In conjunction with leaf area index (LAI) field campaigns we undertook measurements with an array of 7 broad-band (ca 40 nm) sensors covering the range 0.40–0.94 μm, plus 1 sensor for UVB (0.297 μm peak) and 1 for photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Measurements focused on inside-forest shade conditions at sites 0 to ca 15 km from the Black Sea and at altitudes up to ca 120 m above sea level. Some of the sites were also studied using a high-resolution spectroradiometer. A sequential measuring strategy was necessary. This involves potentially large uncertainties, here addressed through estimations of the variability around the sinusoidal course of daylight. Light-quality regimes were found to be in general support of earlier studies of deciduous forests. Our data from the broad-band sensors and from the spectroradiometer are mutually supportive. They indicate a stronger red-shift below Q.f. canopies than below canopies in enclaves dominated by Fagus orientalis and Pinus sylvestris. Transmission in the range 0.50–0.55 μm increases beneath the three types of canopies, most pronounced in the Q.f. case. Analysis of relationships between the inside-forest to open-field irradiance ratio and LAI supports the use of Beer’s Law. We found a fairly strong relationship between the red (0.66 μm) to far-red (0.73 μm) irradiance ratios (R/FR) and LAI for the Q.f. forest. In quantitative terms, the result is new for this Q.f. region, and suggests further research to explore whether a two-sensor approach (0.66 and 0.73 μm) might offer possibilities for further low-cost mapping of the spatio-temporal patterns of R/FR and LAI in Strandzha. Such mapping would assist in further studies of the region’s forest biogeochemistry and vitality.     

Global patterns of diversity among the specialist birds of riverine landscapes

1. Despite the growing view that biodiversity provides a unifying theme in river ecology, global perspectives on richness in riverine landscapes are limited. As a result, there is little theory or quantitative data on features that might have influenced global patterns in riverine richness, nor are there clear indications of which riverine landscapes are important to conservation at the global scale. As conspicuous elements of the vertebrate fauna of riverine landscapes, we mapped the global distributions of all of the world's specialist riverine birds and assessed their richness in relation to latitude, altitude, primary productivity and geomorphological complexity (surface configuration). 2. Specialist riverine birds, typical of high‐energy riverine landscapes and dependent wholly or partly on production from river ecosystems, occur in 16 families. They are represented by an estimated 60 species divided equally between the passerines and non‐passerines. Major radiation has occurred among different families on different continents, indicating that birds have evolved several times into the niches provided by riverine landscapes. 3. Continental richness varies from four species in Europe to 28 in Asia, with richness on the latter continent disproportionately larger than would be expected from a random distribution with respect to land area. Richness is greatest in mountainous regions at latitudes of 20–40°N in the riverine landscapes of the Himalayan mountains, where 13 species overlap in range. 4. Family, genus and species richness in specialist riverine birds all increase significantly with productivity and surface configuration (i.e. relief). However, family richness was the best single predictor of the numbers of species or genera. In keeping with the effect of surface configuration, river‐bird richness peaks globally at 1300–1400 m altitude, and most species occur typically on small, fast rivers where they feed predominantly on invertebrates. Increased lengths of such streams in areas of high relief and rainfall might have been responsible for species–area effects. 5. We propose the hypothesis that the diversity in channel forms and habitats in riverine landscapes, in addition to high temperature and primary productivity, have been prerequisites to the development of global patterns in the richness of specialist riverine organisms. We advocate tests of this hypothesis in other taxonomic groups. We draw attention, however, to the challenges of categorically defining riverine organisms in such tests because (i) rivers grade into many other habitat types across several different ecotones and (ii) `terrestrialisation' processes in riverine landscapes means that they offer habitat for organisms whose evolutionary origins are not exclusively riverine.     

Environmental regulation of surface conductance for evaporation from vegetation

We examine conductances for evaporation from both vegetation and soil in response to environmental variables. Data from a vertically-structured pristine forest of Nothofagus are presented as an example of the effects of biodiversity on the scaling of conductances between tiers of plant organisation. Available data sets of maximum leaf stomatal conductances (g _lmax ) and bulk vegetation surface conductances (G _smax ) are compared. Overall, the ratio G _smax /g _lmax is consistently close to 3 for seven major vegetation types of diverse structure. An analytical model accounts for this close relationship, and in particular how G _smax is conservative against changes in leaf area index because of the compensating decrease in plant canopy transpiration and increase in soil evaporation as leaf area index diminishes. The model is also successfully tested by comparison with canopy conductances of emergent trees measured in the Nothofagus forest. The constraint of vegetation surface conductance and evaporation via environmental regulation by irradiance, air saturation deficit and root zone water supply are discussed.