Quantifying the human impact on water resources: a critical review of the water footprint concept

The water footprint is a consumption-based indicator of water use, referring to the total volume of freshwater used directly and indirectly by a nation or a company, or in the provision of a product or service. Despite widespread enthusiasm for the development and use of water footprints, some concerns have been raised about the concept and its usefulness. A variety of methodologies have been developed for water footprinting which differ with respect to how they deal with different forms of water use. The result is water footprint estimates which vary dramatically, often creating confusion. Despite these methodological qualms, the concept has had notable success in raising awareness about water use in agricultural and industrial supply chains, by providing a previously unavailable and (seemingly) simple numerical indicator of water use. Nevertheless, and even though a range of uses have already been suggested for water footprinting, its policy value remains unclear. Unlike the carbon footprint which provides a universal measure of human impact on the atmosphere\u27s limited absorptive capacity, the water footprint in its conventional form solely quantifies a single production input without any accounting of the impacts of use, which vary spatially and temporally. Following an extensive review of the literature related to water footprints, this paper critically examines the present uses of the concept, focusing on its current strengths, shortcomings and promising research avenues to advance it

Structural Properties, Cytotoxicity, and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Silver(I) Complexes with tris(p-tolyl)Phosphine and 5-Chloro-2-Mercaptobenzothiazole

The synthesis and characterization of the silver(I) chloride complex of formula {[AgCI(CMBZT)(TPTP)2] · (MeOH)} (1) (CMBZT = 5-chloro-2-mercaptobenzothiazole, TPTP = tris(p-tolyl)phosphine) is described. Also the structure of the hydrate derivative {[AgCI(TPTP)3] · (0.5 · H2O)} (2) of the corresponding known anhydrous silver complex (Zartilas et al., 2009), and the polymorph 3 of the known [AgI(TPTP)3] complex (Zartilas et al., 2009) were determined and compared with the known ones. In addition, the structure of the known one silver(I) cluster {[AgI(TPTP)]4} (4) (Meijboom et al., 2009) was re-determined at 120(2) K and possible Ag-Ag interactions were analyzed. The compounds 1–4 were characterized by X-ray crystallography at r.t (1) and 120 K (2–4). All these complexes and {[(Et3NH)+]2 · [Ag6(μ3-Hmna)4(μ3-mna)2]2− · (DMSO)2 · (H2O)} (5) (Hmna = 2-mercaptonicotinic acid) were evaluated for cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activity. The in vitro testing of cytotoxic activity of 1–5 against leiomyosarcoma cancer cells (LMS), were evaluated with Trypan Blue and Thiazolyl Blue Tetrazolium Bromide or 3-(4.5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2.5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays. The flow cytometry assay for complex 1 and showed that at 15 μM of 1, 62.38% of LMS cells undergo apoptosis, while 7% of LMS cells undergo cell necrosis. The antitumor activity of 3 is comparable with that of its reported polymorph (Zartilas et al., 2009). The anti-inflammatory, activity of complexes 1–3 and 5 was also studied. The activity towards cell viability was 2 > 3 > 5 > 1 > 4, while the order of the inhibitory activity in cell growth proliferation follows the order, 2 > 3 > 1 > 4 > 5. The anti-inflammatory activity on the other hand is 1 > 2 > 5 > ⋯ >3

Bromidotris(triphenyl­phosphane)silver acetonitrile monosolvate monohydrate

In the title compound, [AgBr(C18H15P)3]·C2H3N·H2O, the coordination of the Ag atom is close to ideal tetra­hedral, with the three Ag—P bond lengths almost equal [2.5441 (10), 2.5523 (9) and 2.5647 (10) ° A] and the Ag—Br bond slightly longer [2.7242 (5) Å]. The coordination tetra­hedron is slightly flattened, the Ag atom is closer to the PPP plane; the P—Ag—P angles are wider than the Br—Ag—P angles. The voids in the crystal structure are filled with ordered acetonitrile solvent mol­ecules. The remaining electron density was inter­preted as a water mol­ecule, disordered over three alternative positions. Neither of the solvent mol­ecules is connected by any directional specific inter­actions with the complex

Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Studies of Organotin(IV) Derivatives with o- or p-hydroxybenzoic Acids

Organotin(IV) complexes with o- or p-hydroxybenzoic acids (o-H2BZA or p-H2BZA) of formulae [R2Sn(HL)2] (where H2L = o-H2BZA and R = Me- (1), n-Bu- (2)); [R3Sn(HL)] (where H2L = o-H2BZA and R = n-Bu- (3), Ph- (4) or H2L = p-H2BZA and R = n-Bu- (5), Ph- (6)) were synthesized by reacting a methanolic solution of di- and triorganotin(IV) compounds with an aqueous solution of the ligand (o-H2BZA or p-H2BZA) containing equimolar amounts of potassium hydroxide. The complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, Far-IR, TGA-DTA, FT-Raman, Mössbauer spectroscopy, 1H, 119Sn-NMR, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and Mass spectroscopy. The X-ray crystal structures of complexes 1 and 2 have also been determined. Finally, the influence of these complexes 1–6 upon the catalytic peroxidation of linoleic acid to hydroperoxylinoleic acid by the enzyme lipoxygenase (LOX) was kinetically studied and the results showed that triorganotin(IV) complex 6 has the lowest IC50 value. Also complexes 1–6 were studied for their in vitro cytotoxicity against sarcoma cancer cells (mesenchymal tissue) from the Wistar rat, and the results showed that the complexes have high activity against these cell lines with triphenyltin((IV) complex 4 to be the most active one

Compiling and using input-output frameworks through collaborative virtual laboratories

Compiling, deploying and utilising large-scale databases that integrate environmental and economic data have traditionally been labour- and cost-intensive processes, hindered by the large amount of disparate and misaligned data that must be collected and harmonised. The Australian Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory (IELab) is a novel, collaborative approach to compiling large-scale environmentally extended multi-region input-output (MRIO) models.The utility of the IELab product is greatly enhanced by avoiding the need to lock in an MRIO structure at the time the MRIO system is developed. The IELab advances the idea of the "mother-daughter" construction principle, whereby a regionally and sectorally very detailed "mother" table is set up, from which "daughter" tables are derived to suit specific research questions. By introducing a third tier - the "root classification" - IELab users are able to define their own mother-MRIO configuration, at no additional cost in terms of data handling. Customised mother-MRIOs can then be built, which maximise disaggregation in aspects that are useful to a family of research questions.The second innovation in the IELab system is to provide a highly automated collaborative research platform in a cloud-computing environment, greatly expediting workflows and making these computational benefits accessible to all users.Combining these two aspects realises many benefits. The collaborative nature of the IELab development project allows significant savings in resources. Timely deployment is possible by coupling automation procedures with the comprehensive input from multiple teams. User-defined MRIO tables, coupled with high performance computing, mean that MRIO analysis will be useful and accessible for a great many more research applications than would otherwise be possible. By ensuring that a common set of analytical tools such as for hybrid life-cycle assessment is adopted, the IELab will facilitate the harmonisation of fragmented, dispersed and misaligned raw data for the benefit of all interested parties. © 2014 Elsevier B.V

Copper(I)/(II) or silver(I) ions towards 2-mercaptopyrimidine: An exploration of a chemical variability with possible biological implication

Direct reaction of copper(I) chloride with 2-mercaptopyrimidine (pmtH) in the presence of the triphenylphosphine (tpp) in 1:1:2 M ratio forms the mixed ligand Cu(I) complex with formula [CuCl(tpp)2(pmtH)] (1). The dimeric {[Cu(tpp)(pmt)]2 0.5(MeOH)} (2) complex was derived from the reaction of 1 with twofold molar amount of sodium hydroxide. However, the reaction of copper(II) sulfate or nitrate with pmtH and tpp in 1:2:2 M ratio, unexpectedly results in the formation of the [CuSH(tpp)2(pmtH)] (3) complex. Further studies have shown that the [Cu(tpp)2(pmt)] (4) complex is formed by reacting copper(II) acetate with pmtH in the presence of tpp in 1:2:2 M ratio, while in the absent of tpp, the Cu(CH3COO)2 or CuSO4 is found to oxidizes pmtH to its corresponding disulfide (pmt)2. For comparison the mixed ligand silver(I) chloride or nitrate complexes with formula [AgCl(tpp)2(pmtH)] (5) or [Ag(NO3)(tpp)2(pmtH)] (6) are also synthesized by reacting of the AgCl or AgNO3 with pmtH and tpp in 1:2:2 M ratio. The complexes have been characterized by elemental analyses, m.p., vibrational spectroscopy (mid-, far-FT-IR and Raman), 1 H NMR, UV–Vis, ESI-MS, TG–DTA spectroscopic techniques and single crystal X-ray crystallography at ambient conditions. Photolysis of 1–6, was also studied and the results showed formation of triphenylphosphine oxide. The complexes 1–6, were used to study their influence upon the catalytic peroxidation of the linoleic acid by the enzyme lipoxygenase (LOX) experimentally and theoretically. The binding of 1–4 with LOX was also investigated by saturation transfer difference 1 H NMR experiments (STD

Synthesis, structural characterization and biological studies of novel mixed ligand Ag(I) complexes with tri-phenylphosphine and aspirin or salicylic acid

Two new mixed ligand silver(I) complexes of formulae {[Ag(tpp)3(asp)](dmf)} (1) (aspH = o-acetylsalicylic acid and tpp = triphenylphosphine) and [Ag(tpp)2(o-Hbza)] (2) (o-HbzaH = o-hydroxy-benzoic acid) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, spectroscopic techniques and X-ray crystallography at ambient conditions. Three phosphorus and one carboxylic oxygen atoms from a de-protonated aspirin ligand in complex 1 and two phosphorus and two carboxylic oxygen atoms from a chelating o-Hbza anion in complex 2 form a tetrahedral geometry around Ag(I) ions in both complexes. Complexes 1 and 2 and the silver(I) nitrate, tpp, aspNa and o-HbzaH were tested for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against leiomyosarcoma cells (LMS), human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7) and normal human fetal lung fibroblasts (MRC-5) cells with Thiazolyl Blue Tetrazolium Bromide (MTT) assay. For both cell lines 1 and 2 were found to be more active than cisplatin. Additionally, 1 and 2 exhibit lower activity on cell growth proliferation of MRC-5 cells. The type of LMS cell death caused by 1 and 2 were evaluated in vitro by use of flow cytometry assay. The results show that at concentrations of 1.5 and 1.9 lV of complex 1, 44.1% and 69.4%, respectively of LMS cells undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis). When LMS cells were treated with 1.6 and 2.3 lM of 2, LMS cells death was by 29.6% and 81.3%, respectively apoptotic. Finally, the influence of the complexes 1 and 2, upon the catalytic peroxidation of linoleic acid to hydroperoxylinoleic acid by the enzyme lipoxygenase (LOX) was kinetically and theoretically studied. The binding of 1 and 2 towards LOX was also investigated by Saturation Transfer Difference (STD) 1 H NMR experiment

Binding Conformation of 2-Oxoamide Inhibitors to Group IVA Cytosolic Phospholipase A2 Determined by Molecular Docking Combined with Molecular Dynamics

The group IVA cytosolic phospholipase A2 (GIVA cPLA2) plays a central role in inflammation. Long chain 2-oxoamides constitute a class of potent GIVA cPLA2 inhibitors that exhibit potent in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity. We have now gained insight into the binding of 2-oxoamide inhibitors in the GIVA cPLA2 active site through a combination of molecular docking calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. Recently, the location of the 2-oxoamide inhibitor AX007 within the active site of the GIVA cPLA2 was determined using a combination of deuterium exchange mass spectrometry followed by molecular dynamics simulations. After the optimization of the AX007-GIVA cPLA2 complex using the docking algorithm Surflex-Dock, a series of additional 2-oxoamide inhibitors have been docked in the enzyme active site. The calculated binding affinity presents a good statistical correlation with the experimental inhibitory activity (r 2 = 0.76, N = 11). A molecular dynamics simulation of the docking complex of the most active compound has revealed persistent interactions of the inhibitor with the enzyme active site and proves the stability of the docking complex and the validity of the binding suggested by the docking calculations. The combination of molecular docking calculations and molecular dynamics simulations is useful in defining the binding of small-molecule inhibitors and provides a valuable tool for the design of new compounds with improved inhibitory activity against GIVA cPLA2

“Tourism, water, and gender”—An international review of an unexplored nexus

This international literature review of the tourism–water nexus identifies a gender gap. Tourism development can affect water supply both quantitatively and qualitatively. Many regions will face considerable problems of water availability and quality, affecting their tourism sector and increasing competition with local residents, and other industries especially agriculture. This international review of literature explores the tourism–water nexus, comparing and contrasting literature published in English, Chinese, and Spanish. Securing access to safe water for continued tourism development is a common theme and the vast majority of work has focused on hotels including water pricing, water-saving practices and innovative management methods. In all continents, struggles are apparent, and the unsustainability of tourism is having impacts on water quantity and quality. This article identifies significant gaps in the literature including climate change, the energy-water nexus, and the links with the Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, studies from a gendered perspective are minimal and the potential for areas of further gendered studies within the tourism–water nexus are highlighted including intersectionality, water insecurity and sanitation, tourism and gender based violence, and additional unpaid care work