In search of income reference points for SLCA using a country level sustainability benchmark (part 2): fair minimum wage. A contribution to the Oiconomy project

Purpose

This paper is part 2 of our twin articles on income reference points for social life cycle assessment (SLCA). The purpose of this article is to provide a well-founded fair minimum wage standard, which enables the determination of the preventative costs for the impact category of unfair prices for labour in preventative costs-based SLCA.

Methods

A five-step procedure was followed, comprising of (1) definition of the impact category and characterization factor, (2) a literature survey on standards and practices on fixing of minimum and living wages, (3) our proposal of a fair minimum wage based on the principles set in ILO conventions, the $2 World Bank moderate poverty line and a country level benchmark, (4) a literature study on current sub-fair wages and (5) a proposal of how to use the findings. For justification of the results, the results were compared with other systems and tested the sensitivity of the results to changes in the composition of the benchmark group of countries.

Results and discussion

Because literature showed that an absolute minimum wage is only suited for the lowest-income countries and relative minimum wage only for higher income countries, this paper proposes a relative system, bottom cutoff by an adjusted absolute minimum wage. The mean proportion of the minimum wage of the gross national income (GNI) per capita in a benchmark group of the top 20 % performing countries in the Sustainable Society Index—Human Development, is used as the relative principle for a fair minimum wage. The proposed absolute minimum wage is based on the 2005 World Bank $2 (PPP) poverty line. The proposed relative system, based on 2011 data, is 44.4 % of a country’s GNI per capita and the proposed absolute minimum wage is $1547 (PPP) per year and $0.830 (PPP) per hour.

Conclusions

A well-founded set of fair minimum wage targets is proposed for 183 countries to be used in SLCA and beyond. We also propose to use the difference between actual payment and a target determined according to the here presented methods as the measure in preventative costs-based LCA, such as the EcoCost system and the Oiconomy system.

     

Variability of polymorphic families of three types of xylanase inhibitors in the wheat grain proteome

Cereals contain proteinaceous inhibitors of endo-beta-1,4-xylanases (E.C.3.2.1.8, xylanases). Since these xylanase inhibitors (XIs) are only active against xylanases of microbial origin and do not interact with plant endogenous xylanases, they are believed to act as a defensive barrier against phytopathogenic attack. So far, three types of XIs have been identified, i.e. Triticum aestivum XI (TAXI), xylanase inhibiting protein (XIP), and thaumatin-like XI (TLXI) proteins. In this study the variation in XI forms present in wheat grain was elucidated using high-resolution 2-DE in combination with LC-ESI-MS/MS and biochemical techniques. Reproducible 2-DE fingerprints of TAXI-, XIP-, and TLXI-type XIs, selectively purified from whole meal of three European wheat cultivars using cation exchange chromatography followed by affinity chromatography, were obtained using a pH-gradient of 6 to 11 and a molecular mass range of 10 to 60 kDa. Large polymorphic XI families, not known to date, which exhibit different pI- and/or molecular mass values, were visualised by colloidal CBB staining. Identification of distinct genetic variants by MS/MS-analysis provides a partial explanation for the observed XI heterogeneity. Besides genetic diversity, PTMs, such as glycosylation, account for the additional complexity of the 2-DE patterns.     

Effect of low temperature on dormancy breaking and growth after planting in lily bulblets regenerated in vitro

Lilies regenerating on scale segments may develop dormancy in vitro depending on the culture conditions. The dormancy is broken by storage for several weeks at a low temperature (5 °C). The effect of the low temperature on sprouting, time of leaf emergence and further bulb growth was studied. Dormant and non-dormant bulblets were regenerated in vitro on bulb scale segments cultured at 20 °C or 15 °C, respectively. The low temperature not only affected the number of sprouted bulblets but also the time of emergence. The longer the cold storage, the faster and more uniform leaf emergence occurred. Both dormant and non-dormant bulblets grew faster after a low temperature treatment of six weeks. Thus, during dormancy breaking the tissue is prepared not only for sprouting but also for subsequent bulb growth. These processes are rather independent as low temperature stimulates growth in non-dormant bulblets whereas these bulblets sprout also without treatment at low temperature. Moreover, the hormone gibberellin induces rapid sprouting but has no influence on further bulb growth. Good growth in bulblets exposed to the low temperature coincided with production of an increased leaf weight. However, the relationship is not absolute as bulblets that were cold-treated for six weeks grew larger than bulblets cold-treated for four weeks but the formation of leaf biomass was similar. During storage at low temperature starch was hydrolyzed in the bulb scales and sugars accumulated. This indicates that during this period, preparation for later bulb growth involves mobilization of carbohydrate reserves which play a role in leaf growth and development of the photosynthetic apparatus. Starch hydrolysis proceeded in the outer scales after planting. Approximately six weeks later, the switch from source to sink took place in the bulblet, which became visible as a deposition of starch in the middle scales.     

Induction of meiosis in yeast

Summary Meiosis is induced in yeast by a sequence of events starting with the disappearance of glucose from the growth medium. Preparation for meiosis during the period of the premeiotic mitoses involves: (1) Development of the ability to metabolize acetate; and (2) establishment and maintenance of sufficiently high concentrations of RNA and protein in the cell to support an extensive biosynthetic activity. A new regulation model is proposed on the basis of the results obtained.     

Cell Membrane Integrity in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1: Implications for Therapy

Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a multisystemic disease caused by toxic RNA from a DMPK gene carrying an expanded (CTG•CAG)n repeat. Promising strategies for treatment of DM1 patients are currently being tested. These include antisense oligonucleotides and drugs for elimination of expanded RNA or prevention of aberrant binding to RNP proteins. A significant hurdle for preclinical development along these lines is efficient systemic delivery of compounds across endothelial and target cell membranes. It has been reported that DM1 patients show elevated levels of markers of muscle damage or loss of sarcolemmal integrity in their serum and that splicing of dystrophin, an essential protein for muscle membrane structure, is abnormal. Therefore, we studied cell membrane integrity in DM1 mouse models commonly used for preclinical testing. We found that membranes in skeletal muscle, heart and brain were impermeable to Evans Blue Dye. Creatine kinase levels in serum were similar to those in wild type mice and expression of dystrophin protein was unaffected. Also in patient muscle biopsies cell surface expression of dystrophin was normal and calcium-positive fibers, indicating elevated intracellular calcium levels, were only rarely seen. Combined, our findings indicate that cells in DM1 tissues do not display compromised membrane integrity. Hence, the cell membrane is a barrier that must be overcome in future work towards effective drug delivery in DM1 therapy.     

Chemotaxis and transport of amino acids in Allomyces arbuscula

Among a number of amino acids tested, l-lysine and l-arginine are the principal attractants in the chemotaxis of the zygotes of Allomyces arbuscula. The reaction can be stimulated to a greater or lesser extent by a number of compounds chemically related to l-leucine. No relationship between transport of attracting amino acids and their effect on chemotaxis has been found.     

Development of dormancy in different lily genotypes regenerated in vitro

Dormancy development in four Lilium genotypes,L. speciosum, Star Gazer, C. King and Snow Queenregenerated in vitro was compared. Major factorsinfluencing dormancy development were the same for different genotypes andespecially L. speciosum and Star Gazer, that are closelyrelated, reacted similarly. Temperature was the main factor in dormancyinduction and breaking. The range of temperatures that induced dormancy and thelevel of dormancy that developed differed per genotype. In Star Gazer, dormancydeveloped gradually but in Snow Queen, dormancy developed very fast. Thereactions to temperature, reflected the climate in the area of origin. Abscisicacid deepened the level of dormancy induced by temperature but had no effectunder non-inductive temperature conditions. When abscisic acid synthesis wasblocked, no dormancy developed. Dormancy in all genotypes was broken by coldincubation for severalweeks. The cold requirement of the genotypes differed in line with the naturalwinter conditions in their habitat. The effect of hormones on dormancy breakingwas also investigated. A gibberellin treatment of 24 h brokedormancy in L. speciosum, Star Gazer and Snow Queen.     

Abnormal actomyosin assembly in proliferating and differentiating myoblasts upon expression of a cytosolic DMPK isoform

DMPK, the product of the mutated gene in myotonic dystrophy type 1, belongs to the subfamily of Rho-associated serine-threonine protein kinases, whose members play a role in actin-based cell morphodynamics. Not much is known about the physiological role of differentially localized individual DMPK splice isoforms. We report here that prominent stellar-shaped stress fibers are formed during early and late steps of differentiation in DMPK-deficient myoblast-myotubes upon complementation with the short cytosolic DMPK E isoform. Expression of DMPK E led to an increased phosphorylation status of MLC2. We found no such effects with vectors that encode a mutant DMPK E which was rendered enzymatically inactive or any of the long C-terminally anchored DMPK isoforms. Presence of stellar structures appears associated with changes in cell shape and motility and a delay in myogenesis. Our data strongly suggest that cytosolic DMPK participates in remodeling of the actomyosin cytoskeleton in developing skeletal muscle cells.