From Life Cycle Assessment to Life Cycle Management

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely accepted methodology to support decision‐making processes in which one compares alternatives, and that helps prevent shifting of environmental burdens along the value chain or among impact categories. According to regulation in the European Union (EU), the movement of waste needs to be reduced and, if unavoidable, the environmental gain from a specific waste treatment option requiring transport must be larger than the losses arising from transport. The EU explicitly recommends the use of LCA or life cycle thinking for the formulation of new waste management plans. In the last two revisions of the Industrial Waste Management Programme of Catalonia (PROGRIC), the use of a life cycle thinking approach to waste policy was mandated. In this article we explain the process developed to arrive at practical life cycle management (LCM) from what started as an LCA project. LCM principles we have labeled the “3/3” principle or the “good enough is best” principle were found to be essential to obtain simplified models that are easy to understand for legislators and industries, useful in waste management regulation, and, ultimately, feasible. In this article, we present the four models of options for the management of waste solvent to be addressed under Catalan industrial waste management regulation. All involved actors concluded that the models are sufficiently robust, are easy to apply, and accomplish the aim of limiting the transport of waste outside Catalonia, according to the principles of proximity and sufficiency.     

Development of a selective and sensitive polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of Mycoplasma pirum

Abstract A new assay using the polymerase chain reaction to amplify a 173-nucleotide DNA fragment within the 16S ribosomal RNA gene of Mycoplasma pirum has been developed. The assay selectively amplified DNA from all strains of M. pirum tested with a high level of sensitivity, even in a context of human DNA. DNA from other mollicute species, including those closely related to M. pirum , from bacteria phylogenetically close to mollicutes ( Clostridium innocuum, C. ramosum and Bacillus subtilis ), from Escherichia coli and from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, did not produce the amplified DNA product specific for M. pirum .     

Salmonella Contamination of Sheep and Mutton Carcasses Related to Pre-slaughter Holding Conditions

S ummary . When sheep were held in abattoir pens, the fleece became contaminated with salmonellae within 1 day even when there was less than 1 salmonella/g of soil. Salmonellae were first shed in the faeces after 2–3 days. Both the percentage of infected sheep and the number of salmonellae/g of faeces subsequently increased rapidly. Contamination of fleece and carcasses increased with time and with the degree to which the pens were contaminated. The fleece appeared to be a significant source of salmonella contamination of the carcass.     

Evidence that IP3 and ryanodine-sensitive intra-cellular Ca2+ stores are not involved in acute hyposmotically-induced prolactin release in Tilapia.

Prolactin (PRL) cells from the euryhaline tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus, behave like osmoreceptors by responding directly to reductions in medium osmolality with increased secretion of the osmoregulatory hormone PRL. Extracellular Ca(2+) is essential for the transduction of a hyposmotic stimulus into PRL release. In the current study, the presence and possible role of intracellular Ca(2+) stores during hyposmotic stimulation was investigated using pharmacological approaches. Changes in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration were measured with fura-2 in isolated PRL cells. Intracellular Ca(2+) stores were depleted in dispersed PRL cells with thapsigargin (1 microM) or cyclopiazonic acid (CPA, 10 microM). Pre-incubation with thapsigargin prevented the rise in [Ca(2+)](i) induced by lysophosphatidic acid (LPA, 1 microM), an activator of the IP(3) signalling cascade, but did not prevent the hyposmotically-induced rise in [Ca(2+)](i) in medium with normal [Ca(2+)] (2mM). Pre-treatment with CPA produced similar results. Prolactin release from dispersed cells followed a pattern that paralleled observed changes in [Ca(2+)](i). CPA inhibited LPA-induced prolactin release but not hyposmotically-induced release. Xestospongin C (1microM), an inhibitor of IP(3) receptors, had no effect on hyposmotically-induced PRL release. Pre-exposure to caffeine (10mM) or ryanodine (1microM) did not prevent a hyposmotically-induced rise in [Ca(2+)](i). Taken together these results indicate the presence of IP(3) and ryanodine-sensitive Ca(2+) stores in tilapia PRL cells. However, the rapid rise in intracellular [Ca(2+)] needed for acute PRL release in response to hyposmotic medium can occur independently of these intracellular Ca(2+) stores.     

Latitudinal and altitudinal patterns of plant community diversity on mountain summits across the tropical Andes

The high tropical Andes host one of the richest alpine floras of the world, with exceptionally high levels of endemism and turnover rates. Yet, little is known about the patterns and processes that structure altitudinal and latitudinal variation in plant community diversity. Herein we present the first continental‐scale comparative study of plant community diversity on summits of the tropical Andes. Data were obtained from 792 permanent vegetation plots (1 m²) within 50 summits, distributed along a 4200 km transect; summit elevations ranged between 3220 and 5498 m a.s.l. We analyzed the plant community data to assess: 1) differences in species abundance patterns in summits across the region, 2) the role of geographic distance in explaining floristic similarity and 3) the importance of altitudinal and latitudinal environmental gradients in explaining plant community composition and richness. On the basis of species abundance patterns, our summit communities were separated into two major groups: Puna and Páramo. Floristic similarity declined with increasing geographic distance between study‐sites, the correlation being stronger in the more insular Páramo than in the Puna (corresponding to higher species turnover rates within the Páramo). Ordination analysis (CCA) showed that precipitation, maximum temperature and rock cover were the strongest predictors of community similarity across all summits. Generalized linear model (GLM) quasi‐Poisson regression indicated that across all summits species richness increased with maximum air temperature and above‐ground necromass and decreased on summits where scree was the dominant substrate. Our results point to different environmental variables as key factors for explaining vertical and latitudinal species turnover and species richness patterns on high Andean summits, offering a powerful tool to detect contrasting latitudinal and altitudinal effects of climate change across the tropical Andes.     

Genetic transformation of sweet orange with the coat protein gene of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrus psorosis virus</Emphasis> and evaluation of resistance against the virus

Citrus psorosis is a serious viral disease affecting citrus trees in many countries. Its causal agent is Citrus psorosis virus (CPsV), the type member of genus Ophiovirus. CPsV infects most important citrus varieties, including oranges, mandarins and grapefruits, as well as hybrids and citrus relatives used as rootstocks. Certification programs have not been sufficient to control the disease and no sources of natural resistance have been found. Pathogen-derived resistance (PDR) can provide an efficient alternative to control viral diseases in their hosts. For this purpose, we have produced 21 independent lines of sweet orange expressing the coat protein gene of CPsV and five of them were challenged with the homologous CPV 4 isolate. Two different viral loads were evaluated to challenge the transgenic plants, but so far, no resistance or tolerance has been found in any line after 1 year of observations. In contrast, after inoculation all lines showed characteristic symptoms of psorosis in the greenhouse. The transgenic lines expressed low and variable amounts of the cp gene and no correlation was found between copy number and transgene expression. One line contained three copies of the cp gene, expressed low amounts of the mRNA and no coat protein. The ORF was cytosine methylated suggesting a PTGS mechanism, although the transformant failed to protect against the viral load used. Possible causes for the failed protection against the CPsV are discussed.