The maintenance of linoleum and PVC floor coverings in sweden the significance of the usage phase in an LCA

Goal, Scope and Background  An extensive life cycle inventory of the maintenance of floor coverings has been carried out for the professional cleaning sector in Sweden. Different maintenance methods for linoleum and PVC were inventoried. The objective has been to develop a model for estimating the resource use in the Swedish professional floor cleaning and maintenance sector. Several important actors involved in the Swedish professional cleaning sector participated in the inventory. An agreement could be reached for a limited number of methods and products. The result can be regarded as representative for the maintenance of linoleum and PVC in respect to professional maintenance in Sweden. Methods, Results and Discussion  The maintenance was divided into two different types: periodical and frequent maintenance. It showed that 36 maintenance systems were relevant (each system is a combination of periodical and frequent maintenance) and that the expected impacts from maintenance could be found through an inventory of these 36 systems. The resource use for each system was inventoried and pertaining LCI data was collected. However, it showed that the resource use for the maintenance systems could not be quantified without estimating three so called ‘application-specific context parameters’, which were not depending on the maintenance system but related to the specific type of premises. The three parameters were: the frequency of the periodical maintenance (P); the frequency of the frequent maintenance (P), and; the estimated service life (L) of the floor covering. The prediction of a specific resource use for maintenance of a specific floor covering could thereby not be carried out without the knowledge of the three application-specific parameters. However, all collected data were supplied to a specifically developed calculation program, which made it possible to estimate the impact from the 36 maintenance systems for different choices of estimated service life and maintenance intervals for the periodical and frequent maintenance. Approximately 1300 different scenarios were provided, using different values for F, P and L, respectively, and compared in order to answer several questions of concern to the professional cleaning sector in Sweden. Conclusions  Some of the most important conclusions generated from the scenarios were: The impacts from maintenance proved to be significant compared to the impacts from the floor. In several cases, wax-based systems turned out to be preferable to polish systems. However, the result is sensitive to the chosen cleaning method. When polish systems are chosen, the choice of floor covering may influence the usage phase in a significant way. Recommendation and Outlook  A framework has been provided as a base for further development. Possibly, the data could be improved and supplied with data of other products and materials. Even other types of floor coverings may be considered. The focus has primarily been on energy use and emission of chemicals recorded as dry substance. It is desirable with a development of a method for quantitative assessment of the actual chemicals.     

Cell-free translation of mouse liver mRNA coding for two forms of UDP glucuronosyltransferase

Mouse liver poly(A) RNA, when translated in vitro, produced two forms of UDP glucuronosyltransferase with molecular weights of approximately 50,000 and 54,000 (designated GTm1 and GTm2, respectively). These forms were identified by antibody prepared against GTm1. The mRNA coding for GTm1 was preferentially increased twofold after treatment of mice with 3-methylcholanthrene, while GTm2 mRNA was unaffected. Phenobarbital, however, increased the translatable levels of the mRNAs coding for both proteins approximately twofold. GTm1 was shown to be glycosylated during translation in the presence of dog pancreatic microsomes. This was reflected by a decrease in mobility of the protein in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels as compared to GTm1 translated in the absence of microsomes. Further evidence for glycosylation in vivo was demonstrated by an increase in the mobility of GTm1 immunoadsorbed from microsomes treated with endoglycosidase H. In contrast, GTm2 was unmodified. This apparent difference in the state of glycosylation may reflect a difference in the transmembrane distribution of these two enzyme forms, and hence play an important role in determining the type of aglycone glucuronidated and its route of removal from the cell.     

British weather: Conversation topic or serious health risk?

Britain is renowned for low indoor winter temperatures and a high rate of excess winter deaths and a causal association has been drawn between the two. A lack of priority given to energy efficiency here is often justified in terms of the mild climate. However, it can be shown that British climatic features may be related to poor health as long as poor standards of construction and insulation prevail. Legislation should therefore be implemented to improve standards both for new housing and refurbishment of much existing housing stock, not only for reasons of energy conservation but also for community health.This paper is based on a dissertation accepted for the MSc in Architecture (Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies) at the University of East London, September, 1994     

Membrane-bound glutathione peroxidase-like activity in mitochondria

A membrane-bound glutathione peroxidase-like activity has been detected in liver and cardiac mitochondrial membrane. This enzyme activity differs from the cytosol and mitochondrial matrix selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase in that it is membrane bound, sensitive to sonication and triton-X-100, and is unaffected by prolonged feeding of a selenium-free diet. This mitochondrial membrane-bound enzyme activity differs from the glutathione-S-transferases which exhibit glutathione peroxidase activity in that it is capable of utilizing both cumene hydroperoxide and hydrogen peroxide as substrates. Digitonin fractionation studies indicate that this enzyme is not located in either inner or outer mitochondrial membrane but rather within inter-membrane space. This newly described membrane-bound enzyme activity may play an important role in the maintenance of cardiac mitochondrial integrity in that mitochondrial matrix does not contain glutathione peroxidase.     

Effect of ovarian transplantation to the uterus ("Estes operation") on reproduction in the rabbit

The effectiveness of the "Estes operation," which was developed to correct fertility problems in humans suffering from tubal incompetence, was studied using rabbits. The ovaries of mature does were surgically transplanted into their uteri and the effects of this altered state on reproduction, host tissue and graft tissue were appraised. Animals with transplanted ovaries showed normal breeding behavior, but the only pregnancies resulted when does that had received heterotransplanted ovaries also retained their own ovaries in situ . Young produced in those pregnancies were shown to have originated from ova ovulated from the host's normal ovaries. Transplanted ovaries disappeared from the uterus, either by resorption or expulsion, within eight weeks if they were separated from their pedicles but were retained if left attached to their pedicles. Presumably the difference reflects the state of vascularization. Scar tissue developed at the junction of ovary and uterus, and the endometrial epithelium became continuous with the germinal epithelium of the ovary. The uteri receiving pedicled ovaries retained their normal size. Those of ovariectomized does were about half the weight of normal uteri and those of ovariectomized does receiving unpedicled ovaries atrophied to a size about half those of the ovariectomized does. When intact does received heterotransplanted ovaries in their uteri, those uteri hypertrophied to approximately twice the size of normal uteri. The effects of transplanting ovaries to the uterine lumen, as reported here, could explain the poor pregnancy success rate in humans and the complete failure to achieve pregnancies in any other mammalian species by use of the "Estes operation."     

The beta3 chain short arm of laminin-332 (laminin-5) induces matrix assembly and cell adhesion activity of laminin-511 (laminin-10)

The basement membrane (BM) protein laminin-332 (Lm332) (laminin-5) has unique activity and structure as compared with other laminins: it strongly promotes cellular adhesion and migration, and its alpha3, beta3, and gamma2 chains are all truncated in their N-terminal regions (short arms). In the present study, we investigated the biological function of the laminin beta3 chain. When the beta3 chain short arm (beta3SA) was overexpressed in HEK293 cells (beta3SA-HEK), they deposited a large amount of beta3SA and a small amount of laminin-511 (Lm511) (laminin-10) on culture plates. Control HEK293 cells secreted Lm511 but failed to deposit it. The extracellular matrix (ECM) deposited by beta3SA-HEK cells strongly promoted cell attachment and spreading. The beta3SA-HEK ECM did not directly bind Lm511, but it stimulated control HEK293 cells to deposit Lm511 on the culture plates. Although purified beta3SA did not support cell adhesion by itself, it enhanced the cell adhesion activity of Lm511. Experiments with anti-integrin antibodies also suggested that the strong cell adhesion activity of the beta3SA-HEK ECM was derived from the synergistic action of beta3SA and Lm511. It has previously been found that beta3SA binds an unknown cell surface receptor. Taken together, the present study suggests that the short arm of the laminin beta3 chain enhances the matrix assembly of Lm511 and its cell adhesion activity by interacting with its receptor.     

Post-translational modifications of Parkinson's disease-related proteins: Phosphorylation,SUMOylation and Ubiquitination

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway. The etiology of PD remains unclear and most cases are sporadic, however genetic mutations in more than 20 proteins have been shown to cause inherited forms of PD. Many of these proteins are linked to mitochondrial function, defects in which are a central characteristic of PD. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) allow rapid and reversible control over protein function. Largely focussing on mitochondrial dysfunction in PD, here we review findings on the PTMs phosphorylation, SUMOylation and ubiquitination that have been shown to affect PD-related proteins.     

How the R1 replication control system responds to copy number deviations

The copy number of R1 and of a repA-lacZ gene fusion was increased above normal by coupling to a plasmid which is present at a fivefold higher copy number at 30 degrees C. This carrier plasmid is deficient in replication at 42 degrees C, and it was thus possible after a temperature shift to analyze the response to the increased plasmid concentration of the R1 replication control system. Both the frequency of replication per plasmid molecule and the rate of repA expression per gene copy were reduced under these conditions, and the data strongly suggest that there is an inverse proportionality between the specific rate of plasmid replication viz repA expression and the copy number/gene dosage of the plasmid.     

Occurrence of molybdenum in the nicotinic acid hydroxylase from Clostridium barkeri

Molybdenum, assayed by atomic absorption spectrometry, copurifies with the selenium-containing nicotinic acid hydroxylase from Clostridium barkeri. Fluorescence spectral studies on the enzyme indicate the presence, along with flavin, of another component. The fluorescence spectra of this component obtained after the aerobic denaturation of the nicotinic acid hydroxylase are similar to the fluorescence properties reported for the “pterin-like” cofactor from xanthine oxidase and several other molybdoproteins. Nicotinic acid hydroxylase from C. barkeri contains molybdenum, selenium, iron, acid-labile sulfur, and flavin with the occurrence of a “pterin-like” cofactor also a likely component.     

A building sector related procedure to assess the relevance of the usage phase

Intention, Goal, Scope, Background  Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) are increasingly used in the building sector as a decision-support tool in the design phase of buildings to enable environmentally sound choices of materials and products. The practice in Europe of today regarding product choices is mainly based on cradle to gate LCAs and is quite commonly disregarding the usage phase. The main reason for this is the fragmented structure of the building sector in which the application of specific materials and products is unknown to the manufacturer. The environmental information supplied by the manufacturers to the designers of buildings only relates to the production phase, limited to typical cradle to gate data. A specific material or product choice can however have a considerable impact during the usage phase. Predicting the magnitude of an environmental load originating in the usage phase, as the result of a building product can in some cases be based on information on both product- and building level. To date there are no structured procedures for the inclusion of this information in LCA-studies, even-though it is desirable to include the full product life cycle when including environmental parameters in a product choice. Objective  A procedure for assessing the relevance and the possibility to include the usage phase in a structured way is proposed. Considerable effort has also been put into explaining the underlying obstacles of today’s practice in handling the connection between the choice of building products and its resulting impacts in the usage phase. Methods  The proposed procedure is primary based on experiences and findings from a comprehensive study on maintenance of floor coverings, together with an inventory of the state of the art regarding LCA in the building sector. Results and Discussion  The procedure is divided into two steps where the first step is a preliminary estimate of the relevance of the usage phase in a building product comparison. Based on this step, step two can be entered. Step two is a judgement of the possibility to quantify the potential environmental loads that can occur in the usage phase. For step one, four different types of sources of potential environmental loads have been found; emissions from the product to the indoor environment, emissions from the product to the outdoor environment, influence on the resource flow in a building, and finally the demands for maintenance, leading to other recurring loads. For step two, the focus in this article is on maintenance, for which a model structure is proposed as a base for the development of a model to estimate the environmental loads. The three other sources of environmental loads are handled more briefly. Conclusions  The usage phase should to a larger extend be regarded in a product choice situation, when LCA is used as a tool. First, the relevance of including the usage phase should be assessed. Second, the possibility to estimate the environmental loads should be considered. The reason for an exclusion of the usage phase should more clearly be explained, if it is due to lack of relevance or data/models. Recommendation and Outlook  The proposed procedure shall be regarded as a way to obtain preliminary estimates of the relevance and possibilities to include the usage phase in a product choice situation. Thereby, the handling of the usage phase by the suggested procedure is not a method for estimating the environmental loads but rather a procedure for an inventory of the relevance and possibility to estimate the environmental loads.