LCA of concrete and steel building frames

The effects on the external environment of seven concrete and steel building frames representative of present-day building technology in Sweden were analysed using LCA methodology. Objects of the study included frame construction and supplementary materials. Several-storey offices and dwellings were studied. The functional unit was defined as one average m² of floor area during the lifetime of the building. Inventory data were elaborated for concrete and steel production, the building site, service life, demolition and final disposal. Parameters included were raw material use, energy use, emissions to air, emissions to water and waste generation. The inventory results were presented and evaluated as such, in addition to an interpretation by using three quantitative impact assessment methods. Parameters that weighed heavily were use of fossil fuels, CO₂, electricity, SO_x ² NO_x ² alloy materials and waste, depending on what assessment method was used. Over the life cycle, building production from cradle to gate accounted for about the same contribution to total environmental loads as maintenance and replacement of heat losses through external walls during service life, whereas demolition and final disposal accounted for a considerably lower contribution.     

Patterns in species associations in plant communities: the importance of scale

Abstract. Present discussions on competitive interactions and the occurrence of predictable patterns in species composition – including assembly rules – are likely to benefit from appropriate analyses of the spatial structure in plant communities. We suggest such an analysis when we specifically want to detect scale regions where fine-scale local processes may affect the spatial pattern of species composition. We combine indirect ordination in the form of Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and geostatistics in the form of variography. The species abundance data in the sampled quadrats are summarized as positions on the axes in the ordination. Each axis is used as a regionalized variable in the variography to obtain the spatial dependence of the quadrats. The spatial pattern found will suggest the relevant scale region in which to perform an analysis of species associations. A significant spatial dependence (the ‘range’ in geostatistical jargon) will define the size of a sampling plot that will minimize both the problem of being too small and thus having the risk of oversampling of e.g. clonal individuals and of being too large which will risk including individuals that do not interact. We also suggest that plots are spaced at least a ‘range’ apart to insure spatial and statistical independence. Comparisons of species compositions in such plots will reveal any positive or negative associations between species on a scale where these should reflect species-species interactions. To illustrate the method it is applied to three different data sets from two different plant communities.     

Short-term adaptation during propagation improves the performance of xylose-fermenting <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> in simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation

Background

Inhibitors that are generated during thermochemical pretreatment and hydrolysis impair the performance of microorganisms during fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysates. In omitting costly detoxification steps, the fermentation process relies extensively on the performance of the fermenting microorganism. One attractive option of improving its performance and tolerance to microbial inhibitors is short-term adaptation during propagation. This study determined the influence of short-term adaptation on the performance of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae in simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF). The aim was to understand how short-term adaptation with lignocellulosic hydrolysate affects the cell mass yield of propagated yeast and performance in subsequent fermentation steps. The physiology of propagated yeast was examined with regard to viability, vitality, stress responses, and upregulation of relevant genes to identify any links between the beneficial traits that are promoted during adaptation and overall ethanol yields in co-fermentation.

Results

The presence of inhibitors during propagation significantly improved fermentation but lowered cell mass yield during propagation. Xylose utilization of adapted cultures was enhanced by increasing amounts of hydrolysate in the propagation. Ethanol yields improved by over 30 % with inhibitor concentrations that corresponded to ≥2.5 % water-insoluble solids (WIS) load during the propagation compared with the unadapted culture. Adaptation improved cell viability by >10 % and increased vitality by >20 %. Genes that conferred resistance against inhibitors were upregulated with increasing amounts of inhibitors during the propagation, but the adaptive response was not associated with improved ethanol yields in SSCF. The positive effects in SSCF were observed even with adaptation at inhibitor concentrations that corresponded to 2.5 % WIS. Higher amounts of hydrolysate in the propagation feed further improved the fermentation but increased the variability in fermentation outcomes and resulted in up to 20 % loss of cell mass yield.

Conclusions

Short-term adaptation during propagation improves the tolerance of inhibitor-resistant yeast strains to inhibitors in lignocellulosic hydrolysates and improves their ethanol yield in fermentation and xylose-fermenting capacity. A low amount of hydrolysate (corresponding to 2.5 % WIS) is optimal, whereas higher amounts decrease cell mass yield during propagation.

     

Exploring the Relationship between Skeletal Mass and Total Body Mass in Birds

Total body mass (TBM) is known to be related to a number of different osteological features in vertebrates, including limb element measurements and total skeletal mass. The relationship between skeletal mass and TBM in birds has been suggested as a way of estimating the latter in cases where only the skeleton is known (e.g., fossils). This relationship has thus also been applied to other extinct vertebrates, including the non-avian pterosaurs, while other studies have used additional skeletal correlates found in modern birds to estimate TBM. However, most previous studies have used TBM compiled from the literature rather than from direct measurements, producing values from population averages rather than from individuals. Here, we report a new dataset of 487 extant birds encompassing 79 species that have skeletal mass and TBM recorded at the time of collection or preparation. We combine both historical and new data for analyses with phylogenetic control and find a similar and well-correlated relationship between skeletal mass and TBM. Thus, we confirm that TBM and skeletal mass are accurate proxies for estimating one another. We also look at other factors that may have an effect on avian body mass, including sex, ontogenetic stage, and flight mode. While data are well-correlated in all cases, phylogeny is a major control on TBM in birds strongly suggesting that this relationship is not appropriate for estimating the total mass of taxa outside of crown birds, Neornithes (e.g., non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs). Data also reveal large variability in both bird skeletal and TBM within single species; caution should thus be applied when using published mass to test direct correlations with skeletal mass and bone lengths.     

Human C-kit+CD45− cardiac stem cells are heterogeneous and display both cardiac and endothelial commitment by single-cell qPCR analysis

C-kit expressing cardiac stem cells have been described as multipotent. We have previously identified human cardiac C-kit+CD45− cells, but only found evidence of endothelial commitment. A small cardiac committed subpopulation within the C-kit+CD45− population might however be present. To investigate this at single-cell level, right and left atrial biopsies were dissociated and analyzed by FACS. Only right atrial biopsies contained a clearly distinguishable C-kit+CD45− population, which was single-cell sorted for qPCR. A minor portion of the sorted cells (1.1%) expressed early cardiac gene NKX2.5 while most of the cells (81%) expressed late endothelial gene VWF. VWF− cells were analyzed for a wider panel of genes. One group of these cells expressed endothelial genes (FLK-1, CD31) while another group expressed late cardiac genes (TNNT2, ACTC1). In conclusion, human C-kit+CD45− cells were predominantly localized to the right atrium. While most of these cells expressed endothelial genes, a minor portion expressed cardiac genes.     

Discovery of novel,orally available benzimidazoles as melanin concentrating hormone receptor 1 (MCHR1) antagonists

Melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) is an important mediator of energy homeostasis and plays role in several disorders such as obesity, stress, depression and anxiety. The synthesis and biological evaluation of novel benzimidazole derivatives as MCHR1 antagonists are described. The in vivo proof of principle for weight loss with a lead compound from this series is exemplified.     

Penicillium brasilianum as an enzyme factory; the essential role of feruloyl esterases for the hydrolysis of the plant cell wall

The production of arabinoxylan-degrading enzymes by the fungus Penicillium brasilianum, grown on different carbon and nitrogen sources as well as different environmental conditions was investigated. Highest feruloyl esterase (225 mU/ml) and alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase (211 mU/ml) activities were obtained when P. brasilianum was grown on sugar beet pulp, whereas maximum xylanase (17 U/ml) activity was found during growth on oat spelt xylan. Yeast extract was the preferable nitrogen source for the production of all the three enzymes. Further optimization of the production of the crude enzyme mixture was examined by experimental design using a D-optimal quadratic model. Investigation of the microbial regulation of enzyme production showed that the presence of free ferulic acid further stimulated the production and pointing to that the fungal regulatory mechanism involved a coordinated production and secretion of feruloyl esterase, xylanase and alpha-L-arabinofuranosidase. Since agroindustrial by-products are a potential source of phenolic acids, crude enzyme mixtures of P. brasilianum were tested for their hydrolysis abilities against eight complex or model substrates. While total release of phenolic acids and pentoses was not observed, the synergistic enhancement of hydrolysis in the presence of feruloyl esterase was clearly demonstrated.     

Food web structure and interaction strength pave the way for vulnerability to extinction

This paper focuses on how food web structure and interactions among species affects the vulnerability, due to environmental variability, to extinction of species at different positions in model food webs. Vulnerability is here not measured by a traditional extinction threshold but is instead inspired by the IUCN criteria for endangered species: an observed rapid decline in population abundance. Using model webs influenced by stochasticity with zero autocorrelation, we investigate the ecological determinants of species vulnerability, i.e. the trophic interactions between species and food web structure and how these interact with the risk of sudden drops in abundance of species. We find that (i) producers fulfil the criterion of vulnerable species more frequently than other species, (ii) food web structure is related to vulnerability, and (iii) the vulnerability of species is greater when involved in a strong trophic interaction than when not. We note that our result on the relationship between extinction risk and trophic position of species contradict previous suggestions and argue that the main reason for the discrepancy probably is due to the fact that we study the vulnerability to environmental stochasticity and not extinction risk due to overexploitation, habitat destruction or interactions with introduced species. Thus, we suggest that the vulnerability of species to environmental stochasticity may be differently related to trophic position than the vulnerability of species to other factors. Earlier research on species extinctions has looked for intrinsic traits of species that correlate with increased vulnerability to extinction. However, to fully understand the extinction process we must also consider that species interactions may affect vulnerability and that not all extinctions are the result of long, gradual reductions in species abundances. Under environmental stochasticity (which importance frequently is assumed to increase as a result of climate change) and direct and indirect interactions with other species some extinctions may occur rapidly and apparently unexpectedly. To identify the first declines of population abundances that may escalate and lead to extinctions as early as possible, we need to recognize which species are at greatest risk of entering such dangerous routes and under what circumstances. This new perspective may contribute to our understanding of the processes leading to extinction of populations and eventually species. This is especially urgent in the light of the current biodiversity crisis where a large fraction of the world's biodiversity is threatened.