A methodology for measuring the sustainability of car transport systems

Measuring the sustainability of car fleets, an important task in developing transport policy, can be accomplished with an appropriate set of indicators. We applied the Process Analysis Method of sustainability assessment to generate an indicator set in a systematic and transparent way, that is consistent with a declared definition of a sustainable transport system. Our method identifies stakeholder groups, the full range of impacts across the environmental, economic and human/social domains of sustainability, and those who generate and receive those impacts. Car users are shown by the analysis to have dual roles, both as individual makers of decisions and as beneficiaries/sufferers of the impacts resulting from communal choice. Thus car users, through their experience of service quality, are a potential force for system change. Our method addresses many of the well-known flaws in measuring transport sustainability. The indicator set created is independent of national characteristics and will be useful to transport policy practitioners and sustainable mobility researchers globally. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect due to hyper-starburst galaxy winds

We construct a simple, spherical blastwave model to estimate the pressure structure of the intergalactic medium surrounding hyper-starburst galaxies, and argue that the effects of interaction with star-forming galaxy winds may be approximated at early times by an adiabatically expanding, self-similar `bubble' as described by Weaver et al. (1977) and Ostriker & McKee (1988). This model is used to make observational predictions for the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in the shocked bubble plasma. Radiative cooling losses are explored, and it is found that bremsstrahlung will limit the epoch of adiabatic expansion to $10^7$--$10^8$ years: comparable to total hyper-starburst lifetimes. Prospects for making a first Sunyaev-Zel'dovich detection of galaxy wind bubbles using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array are examined for a number of active hyper-starburst sources in the literature.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Version accepted for publication in MNRA

Using honey to heal diabetic foot ulcers

Diabetic ulcers seem to be arrested in the inflammatory/proliferative stage of the healing process, allowing infection and inflammation to preclude healing. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become a major cause of infections, including diabetic foot infections. It is proposed here that the modern developments of an ancient and traditional treatment for wounds, dressing them with honey, provide the solution to the problem of getting diabetic ulcers to move on from the arrested state of healing. Honeys selected to have a high level of antibacterial activity have been shown to be very effective against antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in laboratory and clinical studies. The potent anti-inflammatory action of honey is also likely to play an important part in overcoming the impediment to healing that inflammation causes in diabetic ulcers, as is the antioxidant activity of honey. The action of honey in promotion of tissue regeneration through stimulation of angiogenesis and the growth of fibroblasts and epithelial cells, and its insulin-mimetic effect, would also be of benefit in stimulating the healing of diabetic ulcers. The availability of honey-impregnated dressings which conveniently hold honey in place on ulcers has provided a means of rapidly debriding ulcers and removing the bacterial burden so that good healing rates can be achieved with neuropathic ulcers. With ischemic ulcers, where healing cannot occur because of lack of tissue viability, these honey dressings keep the ulcers clean and prevent infection occurring

Consequential Life Cycle Assessment With Market‐Driven Design

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86975/1/j.1530-9290.2011.00367.x.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86975/2/JIEC_367_sm_SuppMat.pd

Narrowband imaging of Escaping Lyman-Continuum Emission in the SSA22 Field

We present the results of an ultradeep, narrowband imaging survey for Lyman-continuum (LyC) emission at z~3 in the SSA22a field. We employ a custom narrowband filter centered at 3640A (NB3640), which probes the LyC region for galaxies at z>3.06. We also analyze new and archival NB4980 imaging tuned to the wavelength of the Lya emission line at z=3.09, and archival broadband B, V, and R images of the non-ionizing UV continuum. Our NB3640 images contain 26 z>3.06 Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) as well as a set of 130 Lya emitters (LAEs), identified by their excess NB4980 flux relative to the BV continuum. Six LBGs and 28 LAEs are detected in the NB3640 image. LBGs appear to span a range of NB3640-R colors, while LAEs appear bimodal in their NB3640-R properties. We estimate average UV to LyC flux density ratios, corrected for foreground contamination and intergalactic medium absorption, finding ^{LBG} = 11.3^{+10.3}_{-5.4}, which implies a LBG LyC escape fraction f_{esc}^{LyC} ~ 0.1, and ^{LAE} = 2.2^{+0.9}_{-0.6}. The strikingly blue LAE flux density ratios defy interpretation in terms of standard stellar population models. Assuming ^{LBG} applies down to L=0.1L*, we estimate a galaxy contribution to the intergalactic hydrogen ionization rate that is consistent with independent estimates based on the Lya forest opacity at z~3. If we assume that ^{LAE} holds at the faintest luminosities, the galaxy contribution significantly exceeds that inferred from the Lya forest. Further follow-up study of these faint LAEs is crucial, given the potentially important contribution similar objects make to the process of reionization. (Abridged)Comment: 30 pages, 15 figures; Accepted for publication by Ap

A system dynamics approach for enhancing social behaviours regarding the reuse of packaging

There have been many attempts to reduce the amount of waste packaging through open dumping and burning, recycling, landfill, incineration, etc. However, there has been little attention paid to reuse as the simplest way to reduce waste. In order to motivate consumers to perform reuse behaviour, it is essential to understand how this behaviour can be influenced and what variables predict it. This paper aims to study the effectiveness of improving social aspects of reuse behaviour and investigate the variables that lead to increased reuse behaviour in a short time period. This paper selects a quantitative approach, the System Dynamics (SD) method, which offers a means by which to highlight the dynamics and interrelationships among the different social aspects in reuse behaviour. Different social aspects are extracted from Cognitive Behaviour Theory (CBT) as a basis with the Theory of Planning Behaviour (TOPB). The authors develop a Social Behaviour Aspect Model (SBAM) with three predictors: information values, awareness-changing variables and behavioural adaptation variables. The paper demonstrates its utility with a report on a recent empirical study that has used the model to provide important new findings about different social aspects to enhance reuse behaviour. These findings have clear implications for the packaging industry who intend to enhance reuse behaviour amongst consumers, encouraging them to take corrective and preventive actions at an early stage

Dynamics of intraoceanic subduction initiation: 1. Oceanic detachment fault inversion and the formation of supra-subduction zone ophiolites

Subduction initiation is a critical link in the plate tectonic cycle. Intraoceanic subduction zones can form along transform faults and fracture zones, but how subduction nucleates parallel to mid-ocean ridges, as in e.g., the Neotethys Ocean during the Jurassic, remains a matter of debate. In recent years, extensional detachment faults have been widely documented adjacent to slow-spreading and ultraslow-spreading ridges where they cut across the oceanic lithosphere. These structures are extremely weak due to widespread occurrence of serpentine and talc resulting from hydrothermal alteration, and can therefore effectively localize deformation. Here, we show geochemical, tectonic, and paleomagnetic evidence from the Jurassic ophiolites of Albania and Greece for a subduction zone formed in the western Neotethys parallel to a spreading ridge along an oceanic detachment fault. With 2-D numerical modeling exploring the evolution of a detachment-ridge system experiencing compression, we show that serpentinized detachments are always weaker than spreading ridges. We conclude that, owing to their extreme weakness, oceanic detachments can effectively localize deformation under perpendicular far-field forcing, providing ideal conditions to nucleate new subduction zones parallel and close to (or at) spreading ridges. Direct implication of this, is that resumed magmatic activity in the forearc during subduction initiation can yield widespread accretion of suprasubduction zone ophiolites at or close to the paleoridge. Our new model casts the enigmatic origin of regionally extensive ophiolite belts in a novel geodynamic context, and calls for future research on three-dimensional modeling of subduction initiation and how upper plate extension is associated with that

Pyrosequencing-Based Comparative Genome Analysis of Vibrio vulnificus Environmental Isolates

Between 1996 and 2006, the US Centers for Disease Control reported that the only category of food-borne infections increasing in frequency were those caused by members of the genus Vibrio. The Gram-negative bacterium Vibrio vulnificus is a ubiquitous inhabitant of estuarine waters, and is the number one cause of seafood-related deaths in the US. Many V. vulnificus isolates have been studied, and it has been shown that two genetically distinct subtypes, distinguished by 16S rDNA and other gene polymorphisms, are associated predominantly with either environmental or clinical isolation. While local genetic differences between the subtypes have been probed, only the genomes of clinical isolates have so far been completely sequenced. In order to better understand V. vulnificus as an agent of disease and to identify the molecular components of its virulence mechanisms, we have completed whole genome shotgun sequencing of three diverse environmental genotypes using a pyrosequencing approach. V. vulnificus strain JY1305 was sequenced to a depth of 33×, and strains E64MW and JY1701 were sequenced to lesser depth, covering approximately 99.9% of each genome. We have performed a comparative analysis of these sequences against the previously published sequences of three V. vulnificus clinical isolates. We find that the genome of V. vulnificus is dynamic, with 1.27% of genes in the C-genotype genomes not found in the E- genotype genomes. We identified key genes that differentiate between the genomes of the clinical and environmental genotypes. 167 genes were found to be specifically associated with environmental genotypes and 278 genes with clinical genotypes. Genes specific to the clinical strains include components of sialic acid catabolism, mannitol fermentation, and a component of a Type IV secretory pathway VirB4, as well as several other genes with potential significance for human virulence. Genes specific to environmental strains included several that may have implications for the balance between self-preservation under stress and nutritional competence

Common variation near CDKN1A, POLD3 and SHROOM2 influences colorectal cancer risk

We performed a meta-analysis of five genome-wide association studies to identify common variants influencing colorectal cancer (CRC) risk comprising 8,682 cases and 9,649 controls. Replication analysis was performed in case-control sets totaling 21,096 cases and 19,555 controls. We identified three new CRC risk loci at 6p21 (rs1321311, near CDKN1A; P = 1.14 × 10(-10)), 11q13.4 (rs3824999, intronic to POLD3; P = 3.65 × 10(-10)) and Xp22.2 (rs5934683, near SHROOM2; P = 7.30 × 10(-10)) This brings the number of independent loci associated with CRC risk to 20 and provides further insight into the genetic architecture of inherited susceptibility to CRC.Swedish Research Council et al.Manuscrip