Evaluating land-use related environmental impacts of biomass value chains for decision-support : Comparison and testing of methodologies proposed for environmental life cycle assessment

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is one of the most established quantitative tools for environmental impact assessment of products. To be able to provide support to environmentally-aware decision makers on environmental impacts of biomass value-chains, the scope of LCA methodology needs to be augmented to cover landuse related environmental impacts. This dissertation focuses on analysing and discussing potential impact assessment methods, conceptual models and environmental indicators that have been proposed to be implemented into the LCA framework for impacts of land use. The applicability of proposed indicators and impact assessment frameworks is tested from practitioners' perspective, especially focusing on forest biomass value chains. The impacts of land use on biodiversity, resource depletion, climate change and other ecosystem services is analysed and discussed and the interplay in between value choices in LCA modelling and the decision-making situations to be supported is critically discussed. It was found out that land use impact indicators are necessary in LCA in highlighting differences in impacts from distinct land use classes. However, many open questions remain on certainty of highlighting actual impacts of land use, especially regarding impacts of managed forest land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services such as water regulation and purification. The climate impact of energy use of boreal stemwood was found to be higher in the short term and lower in the long-term in comparison with fossil fuels that emit identical amount of CO2 in combustion, due to changes implied to forest C stocks. The climate impacts of energy use of boreal stemwood were found to be higher than the previous estimates suggest on forest residues and stumps. The product lifetime was found to have much higher influence on the climate impacts of woodbased value chains than the origin of stemwood either from thinnings or final fellings. Climate neutrality seems to be likely only in the case when almost all the carbon of harvested wood is stored in long-lived wooden products. In the current form, the land use impacts cannot be modelled with a high degree of certainty nor communicated with adequate level of clarity to decision makers. The academia needs to keep on improving the modelling framework, and more importantly, clearly communicate to decision-makers the limited certainty on whether land-use intensive activities can help in meeting the strict mitigation targets we are globally facing.

Sulfated fucan as support for antibiotic immobilization

Xylofucoglucuronan from Spatoglossum schröederi algae was tested as a support for antibiotic immobilization. The polysaccharide (20 mg in 6 ml) was first activated using carbodiimide, 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylamino-propyl)carbodiimide methiodide (20 mg in 2 ml), under stirring for 1 h at 25ºC and pH from 4.5 to 5.0. After adjusting the pH to 8.0, either gentamicin or amikacin (62.5 mg in 1.25 ml) was then immobilized on this chemically modified polysaccharide with shaking for 24 h in a cold room. Infrared spectra of the activated carbodiimide xylofucoglucuronan showed two bands to carbonyl (C = O at 1647.9 and 1700.7 cm-1) and to amide (CÝ-NH2) groups (1662.8 and 1714.0 cm-1). Microbial characterization of the derivatives was carried out by the disk diffusion method using Staphylococcus aureus or Klebsiella pneumoniae incorporated in Müller Hinton medium. Inhibition halos of bacterial growth were observed for the antibiotics immobilized on this sulfated heteropolysaccharide before and after dialysis. However, the halos resulting from the samples after dialysis were much smaller, suggesting that dialysis removed either non-covalently bound antibiotic or other small molecules. In contrast, bacterial growth was not inhibited by either xylofucoglucuronan or its activated form or by gentamicin or amikacin after dialysis. An additional experiment was carried out which demonstrated that the sulfated heteropolysaccharide was hydrolyzed by the microorganism. Therefore, the antibiotic immobilized on xylofucoglucuronan can be proposed as a controlled drug delivery system. Furthermore, this sulfated heteropolysaccharide can be extracted easily from sea algae Spatoglossum schröederi.

Enhanced expression of Ang-(1-7) during pregnancy

Pregnancy is a physiological condition characterized by a progressive increase of the different components of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). The physiological consequences of the stimulated RAS in normal pregnancy are incompletely understood, and even less understood is the question of how this system may be altered and contribute to the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Findings from our group have provided novel insights into how the RAS may contribute to the physiological condition of pregnancy by showing that pregnancy increases the expression of both the vasodilator heptapeptide of the RAS, angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)], and of a newly cloned angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) homolog, ACE2, that shows high catalytic efficiency for Ang II metabolism to Ang-(1-7). The discovery of ACE2 adds a new dimension to the complexity of the RAS by providing a new arm that may counter-regulate the activity of the vasoconstrictor component, while amplifying the vasodilator component. The studies reviewed in this article demonstrate that Ang-(1-7) increases in plasma and urine of normal pregnant women. In preeclamptic subjects we showed that plasma Ang-(1-7) was suppressed as compared to the levels found in normal pregnancy. In addition, kidney and urinary levels of Ang-(1-7) were increased in pregnant rats coinciding with the enhanced detection and expression of ACE2. These findings support the concept that in normal pregnancy enhanced ACE2 may counteract the elevation in tissue and circulating Ang II by increasing the rate of conversion to Ang-(1-7). These findings provide a basis for the physiological role of Ang-(1-7) and ACE2 during pregnancy.

Decision support system for the diagnosis of schizophrenia disorders

Clinical decision support systems are useful tools for assisting physicians to diagnose complex illnesses. Schizophrenia is a complex, heterogeneous and incapacitating mental disorder that should be detected as early as possible to avoid a most serious outcome. These artificial intelligence systems might be useful in the early detection of schizophrenia disorder. The objective of the present study was to describe the development of such a clinical decision support system for the diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SADDESQ). The development of this system is described in four stages: knowledge acquisition, knowledge organization, the development of a computer-assisted model, and the evaluation of the system's performance. The knowledge was extracted from an expert through open interviews. These interviews aimed to explore the expert's diagnostic decision-making process for the diagnosis of schizophrenia. A graph methodology was employed to identify the elements involved in the reasoning process. Knowledge was first organized and modeled by means of algorithms and then transferred to a computational model created by the covering approach. The performance assessment involved the comparison of the diagnoses of 38 clinical vignettes between an expert and the SADDESQ. The results showed a relatively low rate of misclassification (18-34%) and a good performance by SADDESQ in the diagnosis of schizophrenia, with an accuracy of 66-82%. The accuracy was higher when schizophreniform disorder was considered as the presence of schizophrenia disorder. Although these results are preliminary, the SADDESQ has exhibited a satisfactory performance, which needs to be further evaluated within a clinical setting.

Chemotherapy versus support cancer treatment in advanced gastric cancer: a meta-analysis

The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of chemotherapy and support treatment in patients with advanced non-resectable gastric cancer in a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials that included a comparison of chemotherapy and support care treatment in patients diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma, regardless of their age, gender or place of treatment. The search strategy was based on the criteria of the Cochrane Base, using the following key words: 1) randomized clinical trials and antineoplastic combined therapy or gastrointestinal neoplasm, 2) stomach neoplasm and drug therapy, 3) clinical trial and multi-modality therapy, 4) stomach neoplasm and drug therapy or quality of life, 5) double-blind method or clinical trial. The search was carried out using the Cochrane, Medline and Lilacs databases. Five studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria, for a total of 390 participants, 208 (53%) receiving chemotherapy, 182 (47%) receiving support care treatment and 6 losses (1.6%). The 1-year survival rate was 8% for support care and 20% for chemotherapy (RR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.00-4.57, P = 0.05); 30% of the patients in the chemotherapy group and 12% in the support care group attained a 6-month symptom-free period (RR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.41-3.87, P < 0.01). Quality of life evaluated after 4 months was significantly better for the chemotherapy patients (34%; RR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.31-3.28, P < 0.01) with tumor mass reduction (RR = 3.32, 95% CI = 0.77-14.24, P = 0.1). Chemotherapy increased the 1-year survival rate of the patients and provided a longer symptom-free period of 6 months and an improvement in quality of life.

Enucleated L929 mouse fibroblasts support invasion and multiplication of Shigella flexneri 5a

Invasive bacteria can induce their own uptake and specify their intracellular localization; hence it is commonly assumed that proximate modulation of host cell transcription is not required for infection. However, bacteria can also modulate, directly or indirectly, the transcription of many host cell genes, whose role in the infection may be difficult to determine by global gene expression. Is the host cell nucleus proximately required for intracellular infection and, if so, for which pathogens and at what stages of infection? Enucleated cells were previously infected with Toxoplasma gondii, Chlamydia psittaci, C. trachomatis, or Rickettsia prowazekii. We enucleated L929 mouse fibroblasts by centrifugation in the presence of cytochalasin B, and compared the infection with Shigella flexneri M90T 5a of nucleated and enucleated cells. Percent infection and bacterial loads were estimated with a gentamicin suppression assay in cultures fixed and stained at different times after infection. Enucleation reduced by about half the percent of infected cells, a finding that may reflect the reduced endocytic ability of L929 cytoplasts. However, average numbers of bacteria and frequency distributions of bacterial numbers per cell at different times were similar in enucleated and nucleated cells. Bacteria with actin-rich tails were detected in both cytoplasts and nucleated cells. Lastly, cytoplasts were similarly infected 2 and 24 h after enucleation, suggesting that short-lived mRNAs were not involved in the infection. Productive S. flexneri infection could thus take place in cells unable to modulate gene transcription, RNA processing, or nucleus-dependent signaling cascades.

Financial support of graduate programs in Brazil: quo vadis?

Graduate programs provide the highest level of formal education and thus are crucial for the development of any country. However, official Brazilian data clearly show a dramatic decrease in the number and values of scholarships available to graduate programs in Brazil over the last few years, despite the importance and growth of such programs. Between 1995 and 2004, investment by the Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal do Ensino Superior (CAPES, subordinate to the Ministry of Education and Culture) in funding scholarships, corrected for inflation in the period, actually decreased by 51%. In addition, during the period between 1994 and 2004, there was a loss of about 60% in the purchasing power of the graduate scholarships provided by CAPES and the National Council for Science and Technology (CNPq). To reverse this trend, we propose the development of sectorial funding for Brazilian graduate programs to guarantee the availability and continuity of financial support for this strategic activity.

Lipolysis of emulsion models of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins is altered in male patients with abdominal aorta aneurysm

Disorders of the lipid metabolism may play a role in the genesis of abdominal aorta aneurysm. The present study examined the intravascular catabolism of chylomicrons, the lipoproteins that carry the dietary lipids absorbed by the intestine in the circulation in patients with abdominal aorta aneurysm. Thirteen male patients (72 ± 5 years) with abdominal aorta aneurysm with normal plasma lipid profile and 13 healthy male control subjects (73 ± 5 years) participated in the study. The method of chylomicron-like emulsions was used to evaluate this metabolism. The emulsion labeled with 14C-cholesteryl oleate and ³H-triolein was injected intravenously in both groups. Blood samples were taken at regular intervals over 60 min to determine the decay curves. The fractional clearance rate (FCR) of the radioactive labels was calculated by compartmental analysis. The FCR of the emulsion with ³H-triolein was smaller in the aortic aneurysm patients than in controls (0.025 ± 0.017 vs 0.039 ± 0.019 min-1; P < 0.05), but the FCR of14C-cholesteryl oleate of both groups did not differ. In conclusion, as indicated by the triglyceride FCR, chylomicron lipolysis is diminished in male patients with aortic aneurysm, whereas the remnant removal which is traced by the cholesteryl oleate FCR is not altered. The results suggest that defects in the chylomicron metabolism may represent a risk factor for development of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The role of brand identification in alumni support to their alma mater

Universities around the world are facing global competition and challenges to finance their main functions - research and education. This study focused on the role of graduates, alumni, in the success of a university. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of brand identification in alumni willingness to support their alma mater. The research concentrated on finding out what is the relationship between brand identification and it’s antecedents (prestige, satisfaction, interpretation of brand) to alumni willingness to promote university, participate in university activities and support financially by donating money to university’s research. The research method was quantitative and the data was collected via online survey from 569 alumni of a Finnish university. The findings suggest that there is a strong relationship between brand identification and alumni support. The stronger brand identification is, the more willing alumni were to promote university, participate in university activities and support financially. Based on the research, it is beneficial for universities to invest in brand development in order to get alumni to act as ambassadors of the university after their graduation.

Can course format influence the performance of students in an advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) program?

Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) is a problem-based course that employs simulation techniques to teach the standard management techniques of cardiovascular emergencies. Its structure is periodically revised according to new versions of the American Heart Association guidelines. Since it was introduced in Brazil in 1996, the ACLS has been through two conceptual and structural changes. Detailed documented reports on the effect of these changes on student performance are limited. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of conceptual and structural changes of the course on student ACLS performance at a Brazilian training center. This was a retrospective study of 3266 students divided into two groups according to the teaching model: Model 1 (N = 1181; 1999-2003) and Model 2 (N = 2085; 2003-2007). Model 2 increased practical skill activities to 75% of the total versus 60% in Model 1. Furthermore, the teaching material provided to the students before the course was more objective than that used for Model 1. Scores greater than 85% in the theoretical evaluation and approval in the evaluation of practice by the instructor were considered to be a positive outcome. Multiple logistic regression was used to adjust for potential confounders (specialty, residency, study time, opportunity to enhance practical skills during the course and location where the course was given). Compared to Model 1, Model 2 presented odds ratios (OR) indicating better performance in the theoretical (OR = 1.34; 95%CI = 1.10-1.64), practical (OR = 1.19; 95%CI = 0.90-1.57), and combined (OR = 1.38; 95%CI = 1.13-1.68) outcomes. Increasing the time devoted to practical skills did not improve the performance of ACLS students.

Sildenafil prevents the increase of extravascular lung water and pulmonary hypertension after meconium aspiration in newborn piglets

Meconium aspiration syndrome causes respiratory failure after birth and in vivo monitoring of pulmonary edema is difficult. The objective of the present study was to assess hemodynamic changes and edema measured by transcardiopulmonary thermodilution in low weight newborn piglets. Additionally, the effect of early administration of sildenafil (2 mg/kg vo, 30 min after meconium aspiration) on this critical parameter was determined in the meconium aspiration syndrome model. Thirty-eight mechanically ventilated anesthetized male piglets (Sus scrofa domestica) aged 12 to 72 h (1660 ± 192 g) received diluted fresh human meconium in the airway in order to evoke pulmonary hypertension (PHT). Extravascular lung water was measured in vivo with a PiCCO monitor and ex vivo by the gravimetric method, resulting in an overestimate of 3.5 ± 2.3 mL compared to the first measurement. A significant PHT of 15 Torr above basal pressure was observed, similar to that of severely affected humans, leading to an increase in ventilatory support. The vascular permeability index increased 57%, suggesting altered alveolocapillary membrane permeability. Histology revealed tissue vessel congestion and nonspecific chemical pneumonitis. A group of animals received sildenafil, which prevented the development of PHT and lung edema, as evaluated by in vivo monitoring. In summary, the transcardiopulmonary thermodilution method is a reliable tool for monitoring critical newborn changes, offering the opportunity to experimentally explore putative therapeutics in vivo. Sildenafil could be employed to prevent PHT and edema if used in the first stages of development of the disease.

Alternative complement pathway and factor B activities in rats with altered blood levels of thyroid hormone

Evaluating the activity of the complement system under conditions of altered thyroid hormone levels might help elucidate the role of complement in triggering autoimmune processes. Here, we investigated alternative pathway (AP) activity in male Wistar rats (180 ± 10 g) after altering their thyroid hormone levels by treatment with triiodothyronine (T3), propylthiouracil (PTU) or thyroidectomy. T3 and thyroxine (T4) levels were determined by chemiluminescence assays. Hemolytic assays were performed to evaluate the lytic activity of the AP. Factor B activity was evaluated using factor B-deficient serum. An anti-human factor B antibody was used to measure factor B levels in serum by radial immunodiffusion. T3 measurements in thyroidectomized animals or animals treated with PTU demonstrated a significant reduction in hormone levels compared to control. The results showed a reduction in AP lytic activity in rats treated with increasing amounts of T3 (1, 10, or 50 µg). Factor B activity was also decreased in the sera of hyperthyroid rats treated with 1 to 50 µg T3. Additionally, treating rats with 25 µg T3 significantly increased factor B levels in their sera (P < 0.01). In contrast, increased factor B concentration and activity (32%) were observed in hypothyroid rats. We conclude that alterations in thyroid hormone levels affect the activity of the AP and factor B, which may in turn affect the roles of AP and factor B in antibody production.

Basic life support knowledge of first-year university students from Brazil

We aimed to evaluate knowledge of first aid among new undergraduates and whether it is affected by their chosen course. A questionnaire was developed to assess knowledge of how to activate the Mobile Emergency Attendance Service - MEAS (Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência; SAMU), recognize a pre-hospital emergency situation and the first aid required for cardiac arrest. The students were also asked about enrolling in a first aid course. Responses were received from 1038 of 1365 (76.04%) new undergraduates. The questionnaires were completed in a 2-week period 1 month after the beginning of classes. Of the 1038 respondents (59.5% studying biological sciences, 11.6% physical sciences, and 28.6% humanities), 58.5% knew how to activate the MEAS/SAMU (54.3% non-biological vs 61.4% biological, P=0.02), with an odds ratio (OR)=1.39 (95%CI=1.07-1.81) regardless of age, sex, origin, having a previous degree or having a relative with cardiac disease. The majority could distinguish emergency from non-emergency situations. When faced with a possible cardiac arrest, 17.7% of the students would perform chest compressions (15.5% non-biological vs 19.1% biological first-year university students, P=0.16) and 65.2% would enroll in a first aid course (51.1% non-biological vs 74.7% biological, P<0.01), with an OR=2.61 (95%CI=1.98-3.44) adjusted for the same confounders. Even though a high percentage of the students recognized emergency situations, a significant proportion did not know the MEAS/SAMU number and only a minority had sufficient basic life support skills to help with cardiac arrest. A significant proportion would not enroll in a first aid course. Biological first-year university students were more prone to enroll in a basic life support course.

Altered mean platelet volume in patients with polymyositis and its association with disease severity

Polymyositis (PM) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation in skeletal muscle. Mean platelet volume (MPV), a marker in the assessment of systemic inflammation, is easily measured by automatic blood count equipment. However, to our knowledge, there are no data in the literature with respect to MPV levels in PM patients. Therefore, in this study we aimed to investigate MPV levels in patients with PM. This study included 92 newly diagnosed PM patients and 100 healthy individuals. MPV levels were found to be significantly lower compared with healthy controls (10.3±1.23 vs 11.5±0.74 fL, P<0.001). Interestingly, MPV was found to be positively correlated with manual muscle test (MMT) score and negatively correlated with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in patients with PM (r=0.239, P=0.022; r=−0.268, P=0.010, respectively). In addition, MPV was significantly lower in active PM patients compared with inactive PM patients (9.9±1.39 vs 10.6±0.92 fL, P=0.010). MPV was independently associated with PM in multivariate regression analyses, when controlling for hemoglobin and ESR (OR=0.312, P=0.031, 95%CI=0.108 to 0.899). The ROC curve analysis for MPV in estimating PM patients resulted in an area under the curve of 0.800, with sensitivity of 75.0% and specificity of 67.4%. Our results suggest that MPV is inversely correlated with disease activity in patients with PM. MPV might be a useful tool for rapid assessment of disease severity in PM patients.

A Web-Based Environmental Toolkit to Support Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Implementation of Their Own Environmental Management System

With small and medium sized-enterprises (SMEs) taking up the majority of the global businesses, it is important they act in an environmentally responsible manner. Environmental management systems (EMS) help companies evaluate and improve their environmental impact but they often require human, financial, and temporary resources that not all SMEs can provide. This research encompasses interviews with representatives of two small enterprises in Germany to provide insights into their understanding, and knowledge of an EMS and how they perceive their responsibility towards the environment. Furthermore, it presents a toolkit created especially for small and medium-sized enterprises that serves as a simplified version of an EMS based on the ISO 14001 standard and is evaluated by the representatives of the SMEs. Some of the findings are: while being open to the idea of improving their environmental impact, SMEs do not always feel it is their responsibility to do so; they seem to lack the means to fully implement an EMS. The developed toolkit is considered useful and usable and recommendations are drawn for its future enhancement.