Regional characterization of freshwater Use in LCA: modeling direct impacts on human health

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a methodology that quantifies potential environmental impacts for comparative purposes in a decision-making context. While potential environmental impacts from pollutant emissions into water are characterized in LCA, impacts from water unavailability are not yet fully quantified. Water use can make the resource unavailable to other users by displacement or quality degradation. A reduction in water availability to human users can potentially affect human health. If financial resources are available, there can be adaptations that may, in turn, shift the environmental burdens to other life cycle stages and impact categories. This paper proposes a model to evaluate these potential impacts in an LCA context. It considers the water that is withdrawn and released, its quality and scarcity in order to evaluate the loss of functionality associated with water uses. Regionalized results are presented for impacts on human health for two modeling approaches regarding affected users, including or not domestic uses, and expressed in disability-adjusted life years (DALY). A consumption and quality based scarcity indicator is also proposed as a midpoint. An illustrative example is presented for the production of corrugated board with different effluents, demonstrating the importance of considering quality, process effluents and the difference between the modeling approaches.     

Effect of bacterial interactions on the spoilage of cold-smoked salmon

Cold-smoked salmon is a lightly preserved fish product in which a mixed microbial flora develops during storage and where the interactive behaviour of micro-organisms may contribute to their growth and spoilage activity. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the bacterial interactions between the main species contaminating the cold-smoked salmon on bacterial growth, chemical and sensory changes, and spoilage. First, Carnobacterium piscicola, Photobacterium phosphoreum, Lactobacillus sakei, Vibrio sp., Brochothrix thermosphacta and Serratia liquefaciens-like were inoculated as pure cultures on sterile cold-smoked salmon. All bacterial species grew well; Vibrio sp. was the fastest and L. sakei strains developed very rapidly as well with a high maximum cell density on cold-smoked salmon blocks (up to 10(9) cfu g(-1) after 10 days at 8 degrees C). Based on sensory analysis, Vibrio sp. was identified as non-spoilage bacteria, C. piscicola as very lightly and B. thermosphacta as lightly spoiling. L. sakei and S. liquefaciens-like were found to be the most spoiling bacteria. Secondly, C. piscicola and L. sakei, two species frequently occurring in the lactic flora of the product, were inoculated together and each of them in mixed cultures with respectively P. phosphoreum, Vibrio sp., B. thermosphacta, and S. liquefaciens-like. The growth of L. sakei was shown to strongly inhibit most of the co-inoculated strains i.e. P. phosphoreum, B. thermosphacta, S. liquefaciens-like and, to a lesser extent, Vibrio sp. The growth of C. piscicola seemed to be enhanced with B. thermosphacta and to develop earlier with P. phosphoreum and Vibrio sp. Conversely, S. liquefaciens-like and P. phosphoreum were weakly inhibited by C. piscicola. The main observation resulting from the sensory evaluation was the delay in the appearance of the spoilage characteristics in the mixed cultures with L. sakei, in particular L. sakei/ S. liquefaciens-like. On the other hand, the spoilage activity of the non-spoiler strains Vibrio sp. or the moderate spoilage strains B. thermosphacta and C. piscicola was increased when they were associated together. It is concluded that the spoilage behaviour of micro-organisms in mixed culture is significantly different from pure culture and explain the difficulty to find robust quality indices for this product.     

First isolation of Brevibacterium sp. pigments in the rind of an industrial red‐smear‐ripened soft cheese

The smear‐ripened soft cheeses are characterised by a surface orange‐red‐brown colour, which has a microbial origin. For a long time, this colouration was mainly imputed to Brevibacterium linens. However, the latest published works, based on molecular biology, have shown a minor role for this bacterium. This study shows the results obtained with an industrial cheese named Vieux‐Pané, which is characterised by the presence of carotenoids from Brevibacterium linens group at its surface. This demonstrates that, under certain conditions, the Brevibacterium linens group (Brevibacterium linens and Brevibacterium aurantiacum sp. nov.) is able to produce pigments and to colour cheeses effectively.     

Analysis of the high resolution spectrum of the fundamental bandsv 2 andv 5 of12CH3F and their interactions

Thev ₂(A₁) andv ⁵(E) fundamental vibration-rotation bands of¹²CH₃F have been recorded under high resolution (0.015 to 0.020 cm^?1) in the spectral range of 1460 cm^?1. About 1100 transitions have been assigned. The Coriolis interaction between v₂=1 and v₅=1, and the l(2,-1) interaction in v₅=1 have been rigorously treated. Sixteen molecular constants have been determined from a least squares analysis. They reproduce the observed data with an overall standard deviation of 0.0037 cm^?1.     

Behavioral and physiological responses to maternal separation in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus).

This study extends an examination of the behavioral and pituitary-adrenal responses of infant squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) separated from their mothers under different environmental conditions to another physiological system by measuring the metabolites of the central monoamines found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This study included spectrographic examination of the vocalizations emitted by the infant during separation. Infants were separated from their mothers for 24 hr under 3 conditions: Home, infant remained in his home cage after removal of mother; adjacent, infant was placed in a cage adjacent to its mother; and total, infant was totally isolated. The behavioral results indicated that the number of calls emitted differed with condition (adjacent?>?total?>?home), and the peak frequency of the calls and number of multiple calls was greatest in the total condition. Plasma cortisol elevations after separation differentiated the conditions of separation (total?>?adjacent?>?home?>?base). The elevations in the CSF catecholamine metabolites (3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol and homovanillic acid) were also sensitive to the conditions of separation (total?>?adjacent?>?base). These results are discussed in the context of coping theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cause and effect 3-D model for measuring performance in construction acceleration: A decision support system

Despite the constant improvements in the management of building projects, the authors express concerns about the difficulties in controlling progress with construction, despite the availability of quantifiable and non-quantifiable data. They believe that a decision support system would assist managers when confronted by the consequences of arising delays, and by the decision whether and how to accelerate the remaining construction activities. The system has the advantages of providing support when facing an ill-structured decision about accelerating progress when delays occur; it also helps as a predictive management tool for minimizing or avoiding delays and their consequential claims.     

Dynamic combinatorial self-assembly of cyclophilin hCyp-18 ligands through oxorhenium coordination

The dynamic combinatorial assembly of independent modules A and B through oxorhenium(V) coordination by a NS2+S motif in the presence of cyclophilin hCyp-18-an important peptidyl-prolyl isomerase-was investigated. Increasing glutathione (GSH) concentrations were used to dissociate [ARe(V)OB] complexes that displayed low affinity for hCyp-18. Conversely, coordinates that displayed submicromolar affinities for hCyp-18 were protected against thiol exchange and could be detected by LC-MS. Determination of the GSH concentration that decreased the extracted ionic current of the complex by 50 % (CC(50)) enabled the selection of three oxorhenium coordinates that were shown to bind to the active site of hCyp-18 and to inhibit its peptidyl-prolyl isomerase activity in the micromolar to submicromolar range.