Life-cycle modification in open oceans accounts for genome variability in a cosmopolitan phytoplankton

Emiliania huxleyi is the most abundant calcifying plankton in modern oceans with substantial intraspecific genome variability and a biphasic life cycle involving sexual alternation between calcified 2N and flagellated 1N cells. We show that high genome content variability in Emiliania relates to erosion of 1N-specific genes and loss of the ability to form flagellated cells. Analysis of 185 E. huxleyi strains isolated from world oceans suggests that loss of flagella occurred independently in lineages inhabiting oligotrophic open oceans over short evolutionary timescales. This environmentally linked physiogenomic change suggests life cycling is not advantageous in very large/diluted populations experiencing low biotic pressure and low ecological variability. Gene loss did not appear to reflect pressure for genome streamlining in oligotrophic oceans as previously observed in picoplankton. Life-cycle modifications might be common in plankton and cause major functional variability to be hidden from traditional taxonomic or molecular markers.

Life-cycle modification in open oceans accounts for genome variability in a cosmopolitan phytoplankton

Emiliania huxleyi is the most abundant calcifying plankton in modern oceans with substantial intraspecific genome variability and a biphasic life cycle involving sexual alternation between calcified 2N and flagellated 1N cells. We show that high genome content variability in Emiliania relates to erosion of 1N-specific genes and loss of the ability to form flagellated cells. Analysis of 185 E. huxleyi strains isolated from world oceans suggests that loss of flagella occurred independently in lineages inhabiting oligotrophic open oceans over short evolutionary timescales. This environmentally linked physiogenomic change suggests life cycling is not advantageous in very large/diluted populations experiencing low biotic pressure and low ecological variability. Gene loss did not appear to reflect pressure for genome streamlining in oligotrophic oceans as previously observed in picoplankton. Life-cycle modifications might be common in plankton and cause major functional variability to be hidden from traditional taxonomic or molecular markers.

Environmental impacts of freshwater use and suspended solids in life cycle assessment

Perturbation of natural ecosystems, namely by increasing freshwater use and its degradative use, as well as topsoil erosion by water of land-use production systems, have been emerging as topics of high environmental concern. Freshwater use has become a focus of attention in the last few years for all stakeholders involved in the production of goods, mainly agro-industrial and forest-based products, which are freshwater-intensive consumers, requiring large inputs of green and blue water. This thesis presents a global review on the available Water Footprint Assessment and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based methods for measuring and assessing the environmental relevance of freshwater resources use, based on a life cycle perspective. Using some of the available midpoint LCA-based methods, the freshwater use-related impacts of a Portuguese wine (white ‘vinho verde’) were assessed. However, the relevance of environmental green water has been neglected because of the absence of a comprehensive impact assessment method associated with green water flows. To overcome this constraint, this thesis helps to improve and enhance the LCA-based methods by providing a midpoint and spatially explicit Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method for assessing impacts on terrestrial green water flow and addressing reductions in surface blue water production caused by reductions in surface runoff due to land-use production systems. The applicability of the proposed method is illustrated by a case study on Eucalyptus globulus conducted in Portugal, as the growth of short rotation forestry is largely dependent on local precipitation. Topsoil erosion by water has been characterised as one of the most upsetting problems for rivers. Because of this, this thesis also focuses on the ecosystem impacts caused by suspended solids (SS) from topsoil erosion that reach freshwater systems. A framework to conduct a spatially distributed SS delivery to freshwater streams and a fate and effect LCIA method to derive site-specific characterisation factors (CFs) for endpoint damage on aquatic ecosystem diversity, namely on algae, macrophyte, and macroinvertebrates organisms, were developed. The applicability of this framework, combined with the derived site-specific CFs, is shown by conducting a case study on E. globulus stands located in Portugal as an example of a land use based system. A spatially explicit LCA assessment was shown to be necessary, since the impacts associated with both green water flows and SS vary greatly as a function of spatial location.

Life-cycle assessment of microalgae biodiesel: a review

Microalgae are an attractive way to produce biofuels due to the ability to accumulate lipids and very high photosynthetic yields. This article presents a review of life-cycle assessment studies of microalgae biodiesel production, including an analysis of modeling choices and assumptions. A high variation in GHG emissions (between -0.75 and 2.9 kg CO2eq MJ-1) was found and the main causes were investigated, namely modeling choices (e.g. the approach used to deal with multifunctionality), and a high parameter uncertainty in microalgae cultivation, harvesting and oil extraction processes.

Life cycle assessment of advanced bioethanol production from pulp and paper sludge

This work evaluates the environmental performance of using pulp and paper sludge as feedstock for the production of second generation ethanol. An ethanol plant for converting 5400 tons of dry sludge/year was modelled and evaluated using a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment approach. The sludge is a burden for pulp and paper mills that is mainly disposed in landfilling. The studied system allows for the valorisation of the waste, which due to its high polysaccharide content is a valuable feedstock for bioethanol production. Eleven impact categories were analysed and the results showed that enzymatic hydrolysis and neutralisation of the CaCO3 are the environmental hotspots of the system contributing up to 85% to the overall impacts. Two optimisation scenarios were evaluated: (1) using a reduced HCl amount in the neutralisation stage and (2) co-fermentation of xylose and glucose, for maximal ethanol yield. Both scenarios displayed significant environmental impact improvements.

Life cycle management of TVO nuclear power plant

Tämä diplomityö tutkii eri elinkaarihallinnan menetelmiä ja vertaa niitä TVO:n menetelmiin. Lisäksi TVO:n prosessin ongelmakohdat tunnistetaan ja niihin esitetään ratkaisuja. Vertailukohteina toimii ydinvoimateollisuuden lisäksi vesivoima, fossiiliset voimalaitokset sekä paperiteollisuus. Sähkön hinnan jatkaessa laskuaan on elinkaariajattelusta tullut ajankohtaista myös ydinvoimayhtiöille. Ydinvoimalaitoksien pitkän suunnitellun käyttöiän ansiosta laitoksen elinkaaren aikana voi tapahtua useita asioita, jotka vaikuttavat laitoksen investointitarpeisiin. Turvallisen sähköntuotannon varmistamiseksi eri laitososia on joko muokattava tai uusittava. Elinkaariajatteluun kuuluu tehokas laitoksen kunnon valvonta, laitoksen ikääntymiseen vaikuttavien ilmiöiden tunnistaminen, sekä ikääntymistä hillitsevien toimenpiteiden pitkän tähtäimen suunnittelu. Hyvällä ennakkosuunnittelulla pyritään varmistamaan se, että laitoksella voidaan tuottaa sähköä koko sen jäljellä olevan käyttöiän aikana. Kun tarpeiden tunnistus ja suunnittelu tehdään hyvissä ajoin mahdollistetaan myös investointien optimointi. Paras hyöty pyritään saamaan ajoittamalla oikeat investoinnit oikeaan aikaan.

Engraulis encrasicolus (Linnaeus, 1758): technical report about extraction and recognition of the digestive tract contents in early stages of the life cycle

The study of ichthyio-plankton stages and its relations with the environment and other organisms is therefore crucial for a correct use of fishery resources. In this context, the extraction and the analysis of the content of the digestive tract, is a key method for the identification of the diet in early larval stages, the determination of the resources they rely on and possibly a comparison with the diet of other species. Additionally this approach could be useful in determination on occurrence of species competition. This technique is preceded by the analysis of morphometric data (Blackith & Reyment, 1971; Marcus, 1990), that is the acquisition of quantitative variables measured from the morphology of the object of study. They are linear distances, count, angles and ratios. The subsequent application of multivariate statistical methods, aims to quantify the changes in morphological measures between and within groups, relating them to the type and size of prey and evaluate if some changes appear in food choices along the larvae growth.

Activity-based life cycle costing model for cost estimation and monitoring – Case: manned and autonomous dry bulk carrier

Recent developments in automation, robotics and artificial intelligence have given a push to a wider usage of these technologies in recent years, and nowadays, driverless transport systems are already state-of-the-art on certain legs of transportation. This has given a push for the maritime industry to join the advancement. The case organisation, AAWA initiative, is a joint industry-academia research consortium with the objective of developing readiness for the first commercial autonomous solutions, exploiting state-of-the-art autonomous and remote technology. The initiative develops both autonomous and remote operation technology for navigation, machinery, and all on-board operating systems. The aim of this study is to develop a model with which to estimate and forecast the operational costs, and thus enable comparisons between manned and autonomous cargo vessels. The building process of the model is also described and discussed. Furthermore, the model’s aim is to track and identify the critical success factors of the chosen ship design, and to enable monitoring and tracking of the incurred operational costs as the life cycle of the vessel progresses. The study adopts the constructive research approach, as the aim is to develop a construct to meet the needs of a case organisation. Data has been collected through discussions and meeting with consortium members and researchers, as well as through written and internal communications material. The model itself is built using activity-based life cycle costing, which enables both realistic cost estimation and forecasting, as well as the identification of critical success factors due to the process-orientation adopted from activity-based costing and the statistical nature of Monte Carlo simulation techniques. As the model was able to meet the multiple aims set for it, and the case organisation was satisfied with it, it could be argued that activity-based life cycle costing is the method with which to conduct cost estimation and forecasting in the case of autonomous cargo vessels. The model was able to perform the cost analysis and forecasting, as well as to trace the critical success factors. Later on, it also enabled, albeit hypothetically, monitoring and tracking of the incurred costs. By collecting costs this way, it was argued that the activity-based LCC model is able facilitate learning from and continuous improvement of the autonomous vessel. As with the building process of the model, an individual approach was chosen, while still using the implementation and model building steps presented in existing literature. This was due to two factors: the nature of the model and – perhaps even more importantly – the nature of the case organisation. Furthermore, the loosely organised network structure means that knowing the case organisation and its aims is of great importance when conducting a constructive research.

Resource use and greenhouse gas emissions from grain-finishing beef cattle in seven Australian feedlots: a life cycle assessment

Grain finishing of cattle has become increasingly common in Australia over the past 30 years. However, interest in the associated environmental impacts and resource use is increasing and requires detailed analysis. In this study we conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate impacts of the grain-finishing stage for cattle in seven feedlots in eastern Australia, with a particular focus on the feedlot stage, including the impacts from producing the ration, feedlot operations, transport, and livestock emissions while cattle are in the feedlot (gate-to-gate). The functional unit was 1 kg of liveweight gain (LWG) for the feedlot stage and results are included for the full supply chain (cradle-to-gate), reported per kilogram of liveweight (LW) at the point of slaughter. Three classes of cattle produced for different markets were studied: short-fed domestic market (55–80 days on feed), mid-fed export (108–164 days on feed) and long-fed export (>300 days on feed). In the feedlot stage, mean fresh water consumption was found to vary from 171.9 to 672.6 L/kg LWG and mean stress-weighted water use ranged from 100.9 to 193.2 water stress index eq. L/kg LWG. Irrigation contributed 57–91% of total fresh water consumption with differences mainly related to the availability of irrigation water near the feedlot and the use of irrigated feed inputs in rations. Mean fossil energy demand ranged from 16.5 to 34.2 MJ lower heating values/kg LWG and arable land occupation from 18.7 to 40.5 m2/kg LWG in the feedlot stage. Mean greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the feedlot stage ranged from 4.6 to 9.5 kg CO2-e/kg LWG (excluding land use and direct land-use change emissions). Emissions were dominated by enteric methane and contributions from the production, transport and milling of feed inputs. Linear regression analysis showed that the feed conversion ratio was able to explain >86% of the variation in GHG intensity and energy demand. The feedlot stage contributed between 26% and 44% of total slaughter weight for the classes of cattle fed, whereas the contribution of this phase to resource use varied from 4% to 96% showing impacts from the finishing phase varied considerably, compared with the breeding and backgrounding. GHG emissions and total land occupation per kilogram of LWG during the grain finishing phase were lower than emissions from breeding and backgrounding, resulting in lower life-time emissions for grain-finished cattle compared with grass finishing.

Assessment and Life-Cycle Analysis of Recycled Materials for Sustainable Highway

Recycled materials replacing part of virgin materials in highway applications has shown great benefits to the society and environment. Beneficial use of recycled materials can save landfill places, sparse natural resources, and energy consumed in milling and hauling virgin materials. Low price of recycled materials is favorable to cost-saving in pavement projects. Considering the availability of recycled materials in the State of Maryland (MD), four abundant recycled materials, recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), recycled asphalt pavement (RAP), foundry sand (FS), and dredged materials (DM), were studied. A survey was conducted to collect the information of current usage of the four recycled materials in States’ Department of Transportation (DOTs). Based on literature review, mechanical and environmental properties, recommendations, and suggested test standards were investigated separately for the four recycled materials in different applications. Constrains in using these materials were further studied in order to provide recommendations for the development of related MD specifications. To measure social and environmental benefits from using recycled materials, life-cycle assessment was carried out with life-cycle analysis (LCA) program, PaLATE, and green highway rating system, BEST-in-Highway. The survey results indicated the wide use of RAP and RCA in hot mix asphalt (HMA) and graded aggregate base (GAB) respectively, while FS and DM are less used in field. Environmental concerns are less, but the possibly low quality and some adverse mechanical characteristics may hinder the widely use of these recycled materials. Technical documents and current specifications provided by State DOTs are good references to the usage of these materials in MD. Literature review showed consistent results with the survey. Studies from experimental research or site tests showed satisfactory performance of these materials in highway applications, when the substitution rate, gradation, temperature, moisture, or usage of additives, etc. meet some requirements. The results from LCA revealed significant cost savings in using recycled materials. Energy and water consumption, gas emission, and hazardous waste generation generally showed reductions to some degree. Use of new recycled technologies will contribute to more sustainable highways.

Joint Action CHRODIS Work Package 5 - Good practices in the field of health promotion and chronic disease prevention across the life cycle: outcomes at a glance

Associated Partners in the Work Package 5: National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Portugal (Luciana Costa)

A Coopetition Space for Complex Product Specification

Part 3: Product-Service Systems

Life-cycle portfolio choice with liquid and illiquid financial assets

Traditionally, quantitative models that have studied households׳ portfolio choices have focused exclusively on the different risk properties of alternative financial assets. We introduce differences in liquidity across assets in the standard life-cycle model of portfolio choice. More precisely, in our model, stocks are subject to transaction costs, as considered in recent macroliterature. We show that when these costs are calibrated to match the observed infrequency of households׳ trading, the model is able to generate patterns of portfolio stock allocation over age and wealth that are constant or moderately increasing, thus more in line with the existing empirical evidence.

About time : life-cycle and cohort effects on support for Quebec sovereignty

L’appui à la souveraineté du Québec diminue-t-il avec l’âge, ou est-il le reflet de préférences générationnelles ? Cette recherche se base sur les théories du changement générationnel et de la socialisation politique pour répondre à cette question. À l’aide de données de sondages de 1985 à 2014, nous mesurons l’impact de l’âge et de la génération sur l’appui à cette option constitutionnelle chez les Québécois francophones. Nos deux hypothèses de recherche sont confirmées dans une certaine mesure. Premièrement, les Québécois ont moins tendance à appuyer la souveraineté en vieillissant. La relation négative entre ces variables devient par contre plus faible au début des années 2000. Deuxièmement, les Baby boomers (nés entre 1945 et 1964) ont une probabilité plus élevée d’être souverainistes que les autres générations, et ce peu importe leur âge. Ils sont suivis, dans l’ordre, par les Aînés (nés en 1944 et moins), la Génération X (nés entre 1965 et 1979) et les Milléniaux (nés en 1980 ou plus).

Age-Dependent Fragility and Life-Cycle Cost Analysis of Timber and Steel Distribution Poles Subjected to Hurricanes

Power distribution systems are susceptible to extreme damage from natural hazards especially hurricanes. Hurricane winds can knock down distribution poles thereby causing damage to the system and power outages which can result in millions of dollars in lost revenue and restoration costs. Timber has been the dominant material used to support overhead lines in distribution systems. Recently however, utility companies have been searching for a cost-effective alternative to timber poles due to environmental concerns, durability, high cost of maintenance and need for improved aesthetics. Steel has emerged as a viable alternative to timber due to its advantages such as relatively lower maintenance cost, light weight, consistent performance, and invulnerability to wood-pecker attacks. Both timber and steel poles are prone to deterioration over time due to decay in the timber and corrosion of the steel. This research proposes a framework for conducting fragility analysis of timber and steel poles subjected to hurricane winds considering deterioration of the poles over time. Monte Carlo simulation was used to develop the fragility curves considering uncertainties in strength, geometry and wind loads. A framework for life-cycle cost analysis is also proposed to compare the steel and timber poles. The results show that steel poles can have superior reliability and lower life-cycle cost compared to timber poles, which makes them suitable substitutes.