A preparation for reuse trial of washing machines in Ireland

This paper presents the results of a “preparation for reuse” trial of washing machines in Ireland. For the trial, a methodology for the quantitative assessment of potentially reusable appliances in the waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) stream is developed and applied to a statistically significant sample allowing the study to quantify a theoretical potential for the “preparation for reuse” of washing machines in the WEEE stream in Ireland under current collection conditions. For a statistically significant sample size, data on preparation for re-use trials conducted on B2C (Business-to-Consumer) WEEE was collected and reviewed. From the 23,129 appliances which were accepted into the trial, the study found that 327 of these washing machines were successfully prepared for reuse and sold back into the Irish market, leading to an overall reuse rate of 1.5%. A quantitative analysis of the trial data is presented with a complimentary qualitative evaluation which provides insights into the causes for this low reuse figure, the occurrence of specific repairs and recommended actions to address these

Financing the recycling of long life products under extended producer responsibility -a case study of PV

This paper presents an estimation of the quantities of WEEE arising for the Solar PV waste stream in Ireland up to the year 2050. Solar PV will be a new WEEE waste stream in Ireland, one which has a significantly longer lifetime compared to the majority of other WEEE streams. As such, the Solar PV WEEE recycling operations and considerations need to be financed. Estimations of the quantities of WEEE arising into the future will be essential for such financing decisions to be made at the present time. The work presented in this research estimates the quantities of Solar PV arising across both residential and commercial installations for Ireland up to the year 2050. It also discusses some of the options available to finance the recycling of this waste stream under an extended producer responsibility framework

Conflict Minerals in the Compute Sector: Estimating Extent of Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten, and Gold Use in ICT Products

Recent legislation has focused attention on the supply chains of tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold (3TG), specifically those originating from the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The unique properties of these so-called “conflict minerals” lead to their use in many products, ranging from medical devices to industrial cutting tools. This paper calculates per product use of 3TG in several information, communication, and technology (ICT) products such as desktops, servers, laptops, smart phones, and tablets. By scaling up individual product estimates to global shipment figures, this work estimates the influence of the ICT sector on 3TG mining in covered countries. The model estimates the upper bound of tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold use within ICT products to be 2%, 0.1%, 15%, and 3% of the 2013 market share, respectively. This result is projected into the future (2018) based on the anticipated increase in ICT device production

The characteristics of men who have sex with men (MSM) using post-exposure prophylaxis for sexual exposure (PEPSE) in the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) era

Objectives HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is now available in the UK. However, some men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to use HIV post-exposure prophylaxis following sexual exposure (PEPSE) and are not using PrEP. It is important to characterize MSM having condomless anal sex who are not using PrEP. Methods In a cross-sectional analysis, we compared the characteristics of MSM who used PEPSE in 2021 with MSM using PEPSE in 2017. Results Overall, 126 MSM used PEPSE in January to June 2017 and 28 MSM used PEPSE in January to June 2021, a 78% decline in PEPSE use. Those MSM using PEPSE in 2021 were significantly younger (27 vs. 35 years, p p p = 0.03], more likely to attend following sex involving recreational drug use [32% (9/28) vs. 13% (16/126); p = 0.02], and more likely to initiate PEPSE in the emergency department [35% (10/28) vs. 19% (24/126); p = 0.04] compared with MSM attending in 2017. Those MSM using PEPSE in 2021 were significantly less likely to attend follow-up appointments compared with the 2017 cohort [71% (20/28) vs. 87% (110/126); p  Conclusions Despite PrEP being readily available, some MSM continue using PEPSE and these MSM are significantly more likely to be younger, from black or minority ethnic groups, to engage in group sex involving recreational drugs and to attend the emergency department for PEPSE compared with MSM attending in 2017. Increasing the accessibility of PrEP for this group of MSM is important in order to optimize HIV prevention strategies.</p

Product lifetime, right to repair, and repair cafes

Achieving a more circular production and consumption pattern will require consumers to make proactive choices regarding practices such as repair and product life extension. However, galvanizing such choices and practices may not be left alone up to consumers because their behaviors are driven not only by internal factors (e.g., attitude and motivation), but also by external (e.g., economic, social, and political) factors. Having a clear understanding of these factors in play will help to set expectations for behavioral change from consumers’ side and to plan behavioural interventions that are effective in terms of the expected results, efficient in terms of the cost of implementation, and feasible in terms of social and political acceptance. This paper explores these behavioral and non-behavioral elements affecting the decision to participate in circular practices. It takes the repair case of electrical and electronic products at public repair events to document factors governing the facilitation of repair practices. A questionnaire survey was conducted among nearly a thousand volunteer repairers with experience in repairing two product groups: small electrical appliances (e.g., vacuum cleaner, mixer, and coffee maker) and small electronic equipment (e.g., smartphone, laptop, and tablet)

HTAS-1 is incorporated as sperm chromosomes condense.

<p>Immunolocalization of isolated and fixed <i>C. elegans</i> male gonads. <b>A</b>) DNA stained with DAPI (blue), HTAS-1 (green), HTZ-1 (red), merged image of HTAS-1 (green), HTZ-1 (red) and DAPI (blue). Scale bar represents 50 µm. <b>B–E</b>) Immunostaining of individual nuclei from late stages of sperm formation (as found in the proximal end of the gonad marked with the dotted line in A). The scale bar represents 2 µm and applies to all panels in B–F. <b>B</b>) Histone H3 dimethylated at lysine 9 (H3K9me2), which marks the X chromosome (white arrows). <b>C</b>) HTZ-1. <b>D</b>) HTAS-1. Yellow arrows mark regions of under-representation of HTAS-1 and HTZ-1 that are not the X chromosome. <b>E</b>) HTZ-1 and HTAS-1 are detectable immediately after meiotic divisions as sperm chromatin condenses. Contrast-adjusted black and white images of DNA, HTZ-1, and HTAS-1 staining of the early spermatid nuclei shown in panels C and D that show HTZ-1 and HTAS-1 are detectable. See <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004588#pgen.1004588.s002" target="_blank">Figure S2</a> for contrast-adjusted images of later spermatid nuclei. <b>F</b>) SPCH proteins (SPCH-1, 2, 3) (green) are detectable on DNA as sperm DNA condenses for meiotic divisions. Levels of SPCH proteins increase dramatically after meiosis, particularly around spermatid DNA.</p

Histone H2A variants have different fates in the new embryo.

<p><b>A</b>) A schematic of paternal and maternal chromatin processing before and after fertilization. <b>B–F</b>) Immunostaining of embryos in different stages show that HTAS-1 (green in merged images) is retained in paternal (p) chromatin while HTZ-1 (red) is removed from paternal and maternal (m) chromatin in the 1-cell embryo. DNA is shown in blue. The scale bar represents 10 µm and applies to all panels. <b>B</b>) 1-cell embryos after fertilization. The oocyte pronucleus is undergoing meiotic divisions while the paternal pronucleus is decondensing. <b>C</b>) After DNA replication, the pronuclei migrate to the center of the embryo. <b>D</b>) Chromosomes align on the metaphase plate before segregation. <b>E</b>) 2-cell embryos <b>F</b>) 4-cell embryos. P₂ marks the transcriptionally silent P₂ germline precursor cell.</p

Paternal and maternal chromatin differ in acetylation status after sperm entry.

<p>Immunostaining of dissected and fixed hermaphrodite gonads with antibodies against acetylated histones (green) and DNA stained with DAPI (red). Before fertilization, oocytes are numbered with the −1 oocyte adjacent to the spermatheca. Top insets from 1-cell embryos undergoing oocyte meiotic divisions show merged images of enlarged maternal and paternal pronuclei. Bottom insets show acetylated histone staining only. Polar bodies are denoted by ‘pb’, ‘mat’ is maternal, ‘pat’ is paternal. Scale bars represent 10 µm for all panels. <b>A</b>) H4K16ac levels are high in oocytes and the female pronucleus after fertilization, but absent on that paternal pronucleus. Levels are low until the 4-cell stage and are strong by the 16-cell stage. <b>B</b>) H3K27ac is present in oocytes and the female pronucleus but absent on the paternal pronucleus after fertilization. Levels increase gradually to become high in 2-cell embryos. <b>C</b>) H4K5ac <b>D</b>) H4K12ac and <b>E</b>) H2Apan-ac levels are strong in oocytes and the female pronucleus during meiotic divisions but are absent on sperm. Levels increase to become high in 2-cell embryos. <b>F</b>) H2BK12ac (corresponding to H2BK7 in <i>C. elegans</i>, see <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004588#pgen.1004588.s013" target="_blank">File S5</a>) is not detectable in oocytes adjacent to the spermatheca or on maternal and paternal pronuclei after fertilization. Levels increase in 4-cell embryos. <b>G</b>) H4K8ac and <b>H</b>) H3K23ac are strong on maternal chromatin and weak, but present, on paternal pronuclei. Levels are high on both after meiotic divisions.</p

Post-translational modification sites of core histone proteins identified by MudPIT analysis in embryos and sperm.

<p>Amino acid numbering (starting at the amino acid after the starting methionine, see <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004588#pgen.1004588.s013" target="_blank">File S5</a>) following the convention of the histone field is shown for <i>C. elegans</i> and the corresponding site in mouse. The number of occurrences (see <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004588#s4" target="_blank">Methods</a>) of acetylation (ac), methylation (me), di-methylation (me2), and tri-methylation (me3) are shown for identified modification sites from each histone subtype.</p><p>Post-translational modification sites of core histone proteins identified by MudPIT analysis in embryos and sperm.</p

Paternal histone H2A is ubiquitinated and removed after fertilization.

<p>Immunostaining of fixed 1-cell embryos. The scale bar represents 10 µm and applies to all panels. The paternal DNA (blue dotted ovals) stained with the DNA dye DAPI (blue) and the monoclonal E6C5 antibody that recognizes H2Aub (green) <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004588#pgen.1004588-Vassilev1" target="_blank">[73]</a> and the following (in red): <b>A</b>) H2Aub recognized by the ABE569 antibody <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004588#pgen.1004588-Farcas1" target="_blank">[72]</a>. <b>B</b>) H2Aub recognized by the polyclonal #308 antibody <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004588#pgen.1004588-Nakagawa1" target="_blank">[54]</a>. <b>C</b>) K48-linkage specific polyubiquitin (Ub-K48) that can target proteins for degradation via the <b>D</b>) proteasome. <b>E</b>) K63-linkage specific polyubiquitin (Ub-K63) tags targets, like <b>F</b>) Membranous Organelles (MOs), for autophagy <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1004588#pgen.1004588-AlRawi1" target="_blank">[76]</a>. The white arrowheads mark regions of staining that does not overlap with H2Aub staining. The overlapping staining suggests that H2Aub may be processed by either autophagy (like MOs) or by the proteasome after fertilization.</p