Computational model of membrane fission catalyzed by ESCRT-III

ESCRT-III proteins catalyze membrane fission during multi vesicular body biogenesis, budding of some enveloped viruses and cell division. We suggest and analyze a novel mechanism of membrane fission by the mammalian ESCRT-III subunits CHMP2 and CHMP3. We propose that the CHMP2-CHMP3 complexes self-assemble into hemi-spherical dome-like structures within the necks of the initial membrane buds generated by CHMP4 filaments. The dome formation is accompanied by the membrane attachment to the dome surface, which drives narrowing of the membrane neck and accumulation of the elastic stresses leading, ultimately, to the neck fission. Based on the bending elastic model of lipid bilayers, we determine the degree of the membrane attachment to the dome enabling the neck fission and compute the required values of the protein-membrane binding energy. We estimate the feasible values of this energy and predict a high efficiency for the CHMP2-CHMP3 complexes in mediating membrane fission. We support the computational model by electron tomography imaging of CHMP2-CHMP3 assemblies in vitro. We predict a high efficiency for the CHMP2-CHMP3 complexes in mediating membrane fission.

Australian Environmental Law : Norms, Principles & Rules, 3rd Edition

Australian Environmental Law: Norms, Principles and Rules, 3rd Edition provides a detailed examination of the fundamental concepts and principles of the environmental legal system in Australia. This new edition updates relevant State, Territory and Commonwealth legislation and case law and expands on the themes set out in the 2nd edition, namely:the origins and contexts of environmental governance; the movement toward ecologically sustainable development; the relevance and function of ecologically sustainable development today in the legal system; and the range of instrumental rules supporting environmental governance. The 3rd edition in particular expands upon the range of instrumental rules by analysing through the case law the emerging sets of rules of competence and limitation on the one hand and the emerging sets of purposive, deliberative, methodological, strategic, liability and market rules on the other hand. This thematic and principled approach adopted in Australian Environmental Law: Norms, Principles and Rules, 3rd Edition presents the reader with coverage of the important issues surrounding this area of the law in a clear and concise way.

Application of GIS in understanding and communicating interaction between environmental parameters and sewer blockages

Sewer main chokes (blockages) are a key performance indicator for Australian water utilities. Blockages caused by tree roots often result in wastewater overflow posing an environmental and health risk and also requiring service interruptions to repair asset. The purpose of the research project outlined in this paper was to understand the role of environmental parameters, in particular soil type and tree density, in determining the propensity of a sewer to become blocked. The paper demonstrates the application of spatial analysis to inform and communicate the results of the analysis. GIS was used to explore the relationship between tree density and previously recorded sewer blockages for a Melbourne utility. Initial results from the research reveal a relationship between increased tree densities and occurrence of sewer blockages. An improved understanding of the influence of environmental parameters on the inherent risk of sewer blockage will enable asset managers to identify those assets requiring proactive management in order to minimise service interruptions, repairs and environmental impacts.

Harvesting as an alternative to burning for managing Spinifex Grasslands in Australia

Sustainable harvesting of grasslands can buffer large scale wildfires and the harvested biomass can be used for various products. Spinifex (Triodia spp.) grasslands cover ≈30% of the Australian continent and form the dominant vegetation in the driest regions. Harvesting near settlements is being considered as a means to reduce the occurrence and intensity of wildfires and to source biomaterials for sustainable desert living. However, it is unknown if harvesting spinifex grasslands can be done sustainably without loss of biodiversity and ecosystem function. We examined the trajectory of plant regeneration of burned and harvested spinifex grassland, floristic diversity, nutrient concentrations in soil and plants, and seed germination in controlled ex situ conditions. After two to three years of burning or harvesting in dry or wet seasons, species richness, diversity, and concentrations of most nutrients in soil and leaves of regenerating spinifex plants were overall similar in burned and harvested plots. Germination tests showed that 20% of species require fire-related cues to trigger germination, indicating that fire is essential for the regeneration of some species. Further experimentation should evaluate these findings and explore if harvesting and intervention, such as sowing of fire-cued seeds, allow sustainable, localised harvesting of spinifex grasslands.

Assessment on the effect of pollution abatement on environmental efficiency with Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation

Both environmental economists and policy makers have shown a great deal of interest in the effect of pollution abatement on environmental efficiency. In line with the modern resources available, however, no contribution is brought to the environmental economics field with the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) application, which enables simulation from a distribution of a Markov chain and simulating from the chain until it approaches equilibrium. The probability density functions gained prominence with the advantages over classical statistical methods in its simultaneous inference and incorporation of any prior information on all model parameters. This paper concentrated on this point with the application of MCMC to the database of China, the largest developing country with rapid economic growth and serious environmental pollution in recent years. The variables cover the economic output and pollution abatement cost from the year 1992 to 2003. We test the causal direction between pollution abatement cost and environmental efficiency with MCMC simulation. We found that the pollution abatement cost causes an increase in environmental efficiency through the algorithm application, which makes it conceivable that the environmental policy makers should make more substantial measures to reduce pollution in the near future.

Corporate Environmental and Economic Performance of Japanese Manufacturing Firms: Empirical Study for Sustainable Development

This study examines the relationship between environmental performance and economic performance in Japanese manufacturing firms. The environmental performance indicators include CO2 emissions and the aggregate toxic risk associated with chemical emissions relative to sales. Return on assets (ROA) is used as an indicator of economic performance. We demonstrate that there is a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between ROA and environmental performance calculated by aggregated toxic risk. We also find that the environmental performance increases ROA through both returns on sales and improved capital turnover. However, we observe a significant positive relationship between financial performance and environmental performance based on CO2 emissions. These findings may provide evidence for the consequences of firms' environmental behavior and sustainable development. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

A Tradable Permit System in an Intertemporal Economy

It is known that in an intertemporal competitive economy, a tradable permit system may not achieve efficiency without setting appropriate permit interest rates (i.e., rewards for holding permits). To find the rates, however, we need to know in advance the path of efficient permit prices, which is difficult to obtain. This study intends to solve this problem in two ways. First, we analyze a special case in which the permit interest rates are given by a simple rule. For example, if the marginal abatement cost of pollution emission is constant, then the appropriate rate is to equal the monetary interest rate. As is the case for global warming, if the damage is caused in the future far beyond the planning period of the environmental program, the appropriate rate coincides with the marginal self-recovery of environmental stock under certain conditions. As a second approach, we propose a tradable permit system with a permit bank, as a mechanism by which the permit interest rates are generated endogenously without governmental intervention other than the issuance of permits. However, we also show that this approach raises the problem of indeterminacy of the equilibrium. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Environmental information provision, market valuation, and firm incentives: An empirical study of the Japanese PRTR system

The environmental performance of a listed firm could affect its level of investment in pollution prevention and its access to financial markets. Previous studies using Tobin's q that explore market response to environmental performance do not distinguish between the impact of performance on investment and market response, which may mislead conclusions. To overcome this problem, we simultaneously estimate the functions of the intangible asset, the replacement cost, and the toxic chemical risk. We find that the Japanese financial market does not value risk associated with toxic chemical releases. Nevertheless, even without market valuation, firms increase investment to reduce pollution. © 2010 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.

Does an environmental Kuznets curve for waste pollution exist in China?

China is an emerging and leading world economy. The pace of economic change has been tremendously rapid since the beginning of economic reforms. Despite the importance of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and environmental problems in China, no previous study has tested the EKC in China because of the difficulty in obtaining data and the need to adjust the data. The focus of this paper is to test the EKC in China using province level data over the period 1992-2003. This study applies non-parametric techniques to estimate the relationship between income and the environmental quality of wastewater, air pollution and solid waste. Copyright © 2009 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Decomposition of the environmental Kuznets curve : scale, technique, and composition effects

This study decomposed the determinants of environmental quality into scale, technique, and composition effects. We applied a semiparametric method of generalized additive models, which enabled us to use flexible functional forms and include several independent variables in the model. The differences in the technique effect were found to play a crucial role in reducing pollution. We found that the technique effect was sufficient to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. On the other hand, its effect was not enough to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy use, except for the case of CO2 emissions in high-income countries.

Energy price-induced and exogenous technological change : Assessing the economic and environmental outcomes

In this paper, we distinguish between factor/output substitution and shifts in the production technology frontier. Our model includes the by-products of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions where the function requires the simultaneous expansion of good outputs and reductions in emissions. We estimate a directional output distance function for 80 countries over the period 1971-2000 to measure the exogenous and oil price-induced technological change. On average, we find substantial oil price-induced technological progress at the world level when long-term oil prices are rising, although the growth rate is more volatile in developed countries than in developing countries. The results also show that developed countries experience higher exogenous technological progress in comparison with developing countries, and the gap between the two has increased during the period of our study.

Does trade openness improve environmental quality?

The literature on trade openness, economic development, and the environment is largely inconclusive about the environmental consequences of trade. This study treats trade and income as endogenous and estimates the overall impact of trade openness on environmental quality using the instrumental variables technique. We find that whether or not trade has a beneficial effect on the environment varies depending on the pollutant and the country. Trade is found to benefit the environment in OECD countries. It has detrimental effects, however, on sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in non-OECD countries, although it does lower biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) emissions in these countries. We also find the impact is large in the long term, after the dynamic adjustment process, although it is small in the short term.

Compensation for environmental services and intergovernmental fiscal transfers : the case of India

This paper studies mechanisms to compensate local government for the public provision of environmental services using the theory of optimal fiscal transfers in India. Especially, we analyzed the role of intergovernmental fiscal transfers in achieving the environmental goal. Simply assigning the functions at appropriate levels does not ensure optimal provision of environmental services. Optimality in resource allocation could be achieved by combining the assignment system with an appropriate compensation mechanism. Intergovernmental fiscal transfers would be a suitable mechanism for compensating the local governments and help in internalizing the spillover effects of providing environmental public goods. Illustrations are also provided for India.

Trade-induced technological change : analyzing economic and environmental outcomes

We analyze how changes in trade openness are related to induced technological innovations that are not only GDP increasing but also pollution saving. Our model includes by-products of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide emissions. We estimate a directional distance function for 76 countries over the period 1963-2000 to measure exogenous and trade-induced technological change. On average, we find substantial trade-induced technological progress, and its magnitude is about one third of the overall technological change. The trade-induced technological changes, however, are GDP reducing and pollution increasing. Empirically, we find that increased trade openness correlates to increased pollution.

Environmental performance and returns to pollution abatement in China

Because of China's extremely rapid economic growth, the scale and seriousness of environmental problems is no longer in doubt. Whether pollution abatement technologies are utilized more efficiently is crucial in the analysis of environmental management in China. This study analyzes how the performance of environmental management has changed over time using province level data for 1992-2003. Mixed results for environmental performance are shown using nonparametric estimation technique. We find that environmental performance index, abatement effort, and increasing returns to pollution abatement play important roles in determining the pollution level over the period of the study.