How Can the Eco‐efficiency of a Region be Measured and Monitored?

The concept of eco-efficiency is commonly referred to as a business link to sustainable development. In this article, ecoefficiency is examined at a regional level as an approach to promoting the competitiveness of economic activities in the Finnish Kymenlaakso region and mitigating their harmful impacts on the environment. The aim is to develop appropriate indicators for monitoring changes in the eco-efficiency of the region. A starting point is to produce indicators for the environmental and economic dimensions of regional development and use them for measuring regional eco-efficiency. The environmental impact indicators are based on a life-cycle assessment method, producing different types of environmental impact indicators: pressure indicators (e.g., emissions of CO₂), impact category indicators (e.g., CO₂ equivalents in the case of climate change), and a total impact indicator (aggregating different impact category indicator results into a single value). Environmental impact indicators based on direct material input, total material input, and total material requirement of the Kymenlaakso region are also assessed. The economic indicators used are the gross domestic product, the value added, and the output of the main economic sectors of Kymenlaakso. In the eco-efficiency assessment, the economic and environmental impact indicators are monitored in the same graph. In a few cases eco-efficiency ratios can also be calculated (the economic indicators are divided by the environmental indicators). Output (= value added + intermediate consumption) is used as an economic indicator related to the environmental impact indicators, which also cover the upstream processes of the region's activities. In the article, we also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using the different environmental impact indicators.     

An interspecific somatic hybrid between Actinidia chinensis and Actinidia kolomikta and its chilling tolerance

Protoplasts isolated from cotyledon-derived callus of Actinidia chinensisPlanch. var. chinensis (2N=2x=58) were fused with mesophyll protoplasts of Actiniadia kolomikta(Maxim. et Rupr.) Maxim (2N=2x=58) using a PEG method. Plantlets were regenerated from the fusion product clone 11. RAPD analyses, chromosome numbers of root tip cells and fluorescence peak position of leaf nuclei confirmed that clone 11 was an interspecific somatic hybrid (2N=4x=116) between A. chinensis and A. kolomikta. The chilling tolerance of the somatic hybrid was tested with in vitro leaves at low temperatures. Based on data of leaf thickness, electroconductivity, proline levels, malondialdehyde content and activity of superoxide dismutase, dendrogram cluster analysis suggested that the interspecific somatic hybrid was similar to A. kolomikta, and might have a higher capacity of cold resistance than A. chinensis.     

How costly is clutch formation in the Audouin's Gull Larus audouinii?

During the Audouin's Gull's breeding season at the Ebro Delta in 1993, 24 fresh eggs from eight three-egg clutches (modal clutch-size) were collected at the peak of the laying period. Eggs were processed to obtain formalin-fixed yolks, which were halved and stained using the potassium dichromate method. Digitized images of the yolks were examined to assess the daily rates of yolk deposition. We used these data in combination with egg compositional analysis to build a model of energy demands during the formation of an average clutch in Audouin's Gull. To show how the different parameters of clutch formation affect the daily energy investment peak, we performed a simulation analysis in which the rapid yolk development (RYD) period, the follicle triggering interval (FTI), the laying interval (LI) and the albumen synthesis period (ASP) were allowed to vary simultaneously. In our sample, the mean RYD period was seven days with a range from six to eight days. There were no significant differences in yolk volume among eggs in a clutch, but albumen volume was significantly smaller in third eggs. According to our model the albumen synthesis of the a-egg coincides with the energy demand peak for clutch formation. This peak represents an increase by ca. 42% in female energy requirements. Values obtained from the simulation analysis showed that only the ASP of the a-egg and the RYD durations of the second and third follicles produced noticeable reductions in peak energy investment. We predict that in gulls, whose laying intervals seem to be kept constant, significant increases of the durations of the RYD periods of second and third eggs, or even significant reductions of yolk size of these eggs, may operate simultaneously to match the energy demands during clutch formation to the prevailing food conditions.     

Reaction mechanism of surfactant‐sensitized chemiluminescence of bis(2,4,6‐trichlorophyenyl) oxalate and hydrogen peroxide induced by gold nanoparticles

The chemiluminescence (CL) of bis(2,4,6‐trichlorophyenyl) oxalate with hydrogen peroxide in the present of cationic surfactant and gold nanoparticles was studied. The CL emission was obviously enhanced in the presence of surfactant at a suitable concentration, with a synergetic catalysis effect exhibited. Different sizes of gold nanoparticles (15 and 50 nm) showed different effects on CL intensity. Mechanisms of the CL reaction and sensitization effect are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

固定化酶的微环境效应—载体离子基团性质的影响

作者合成了阴离子型和阳离子型葡聚糖,以此为载体,用CNBr活化其剩余羟基,固定化了葡萄糖淀粉酶和葡萄糖异构酶。就离子型载体对固定化酶的蛋白载量、最适pH和热稳定性等的影响做了考察。发现固定化酶的蛋白载量不仅与载体的电性质有关,也与酶分子自身的电性质有关。当载体电性质与酶蛋白电性质相反时,固定化酶的蛋白载量增加,热稳定性提高、载体电性质与酶蛋白电性质相同时,固定化酶的蛋白载量不变或下降,其热稳定性不变。作者还发现当离子型载体孔度和体系缓冲液浓度一定时,酶分子能否进入多孔性载体内部,对其最适pH是否变化影响极大。若酶分子仅被连接在载体的外表层,其最适pH不发生变化,反之亦然。作者还观察到当多糖类载体引入氨基或羧基后,大大增强了其抵抗微生物侵蚀的能力。     

In vivo metabolism of a mutant apolipoprotein, apoA-IIowa, associated with hypoalphalipoproteinemia and hereditary systemic amyloidosis.

Apolipoprotein (apo) A-I is the major protein constituent of plasma high density lipoproteins (HDL). A kindred has been identified in which a glycine to arginine mutation at residue 26 in apoA-I is associated with hypoalphalipoproteinemia and hereditary systemic amyloidosis. We isolated the mutant protein, termed apoA-IIowa, from the plasma of an affected subject and studied its in vivo metabolism compared to that of normal apoA-I in two heterozygous apoA-IIowa subjects and two normal controls. Normal and mutant apoA-I were radioiodinated with 131I and 125I, respectively, reassociated with autologous plasma lipoproteins, and simultaneously injected into all subjects. Kinetic analysis of the plasma radioactivity curves demonstrated that the mutant apoA-IIowa was rapidly cleared from plasma (mean fractional catabolic rate [FCR] 0.559 day-1) compared with normal apoA-I (mean FCR 0.244 day-1) in all four subjects. The FCR of normal apoA-I was also substantially faster in the heterozygous apoA-IIowa subjects (mean FCR 0.281 days-1) than in the normal controls (mean FCR 0.203 days-1). Despite the rapid removal from plasma of apoA-IIowa, the cumulative urinary excretion of its associated radioactivity after 2 weeks (44%) of the injected dose) was substantially less than that associated with normal apoA-I (78% of injected dose), indicating extravascular sequestration of radiolabeled apoA-IIowa.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)