Phosphorus recovery: a need for an integrated approach

Increasing cost of phosphate fertilizer, a scarcity of high quality phosphate rock (PR)and increasing surface water pollution are driving aneed to accelerate the recovery and re-use ofphosphorus (P) from various waste sectors. Options to recover P occur all along the open P cycle from mining to households to oceans. However, P recovery as a regional and global strategy towards P sustainability and future food, bio energy and water security is in its infancy because of a number of technological, socio-economic and institutional constraints. There is no single solution and resolving these constraints requires concerted collaboration betweenrelevant stakeholders and an integrated approach combiningsuccessful business models withsocio-economic and institutional change. We suggest that an operational framework is developed for fast tracking cost-effective recovery options

Differences in audiovisual temporal processing in autistic adults are specific to simultaneity judgments

Research has shown that children on the autism spectrum and adults with high levels of autistic traits are less sensitive to audiovisual asynchrony compared to their neurotypical peers. However, this evidence has been limited to simultaneity judgments (SJ) which require participants to consider the timing of two cues together. Given evidence of partly divergent perceptual and neural mechanisms involved in making temporal order judgments (TOJ) and SJ, and given that SJ require a more global type of processing which may be impaired in autistic individuals, here we ask whether the observed differences in audiovisual temporal processing are task and stimulus specific. We examined the ability to detect audiovisual asynchrony in a group of 26 autistic adult males and a group of age and IQ‐matched neurotypical males. Participants were presented with beep‐flash, point‐light drumming, and face‐voice displays with varying degrees of asynchrony and asked to make SJ and TOJ. The results indicated that autistic participants were less able to detect audiovisual asynchrony compared to the control group, but this effect was specific to SJ and more complex social stimuli (e.g., face‐voice) with stronger semantic correspondence between the cues, requiring a more global type of processing. This indicates that audiovisual temporal processing is not generally different in autistic individuals and that a similar level of performance could be achieved by using a more local type of processing, thus informing multisensory integration theory as well as multisensory training aimed to aid perceptual abilities in this population

The quest for the ganglioside functions; what did we learn more from «evo-devo» or signaling of long-term maintenance?

Gangliosides are characteristic extracellular-facing plasma membrane determinants in vertebrate brain. The four major gangliosides (GM1, GD1a, GD1b and GT1b) dominate among more than one hundred glycolipid structures in nervous tissue. During brain development the expression of simple gangliosides shifts toward more complex ones, accompanied by a multiple increase in their total amount. The shift is precisely regulated and some specific structures represent well established neurodevelopmental milestones. From the evolutionary perspective, the ganglioside content in fish and amphibian brain is significantly lower than in mammalian brain, but the general variability is greater. More-polar structures, abundant in Antarctic fishes, are rare in higher vertebrates or expressed only in a narrow developmental frame. Reptiles, birds and mammals share identical common structures expressed in similar patterns with minor interspecies differences. On the contrary, fish and amphibian brains show significant interspecies differences in amount, structure and expression patterns. The initial assumption of evolutionary studies was that the variations in lipid content, particularly the glycolipid content, during temperature adaptations in ectothermic and hibernating heterothermic animals, represent an efficient molecular mechanism of the membrane function preservation. Studies of ordered lipid domains in the last decade verified the ganglioside-mediated regulation of membrane proteins (receptor kinases, neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels) as well as receptor-ligand interaction important for cell signaling.Гангліозиди – характеристичні детермінанти, які локалізовані на зовнішній поверхні мембран клітин мозку хребетних. Чотири основних гангліозиди (GM1, GD1a, GD1b i GT1b) переважають серед сотень інших сполук гліколіпідів нервової тканини. У процесі розвитку мозку експресія простих гангліозидів зміщується у бік синтезу більш складних сполук, що супроводжується багаторазовим зростанням їхньої загальної кількості. Зміщення експресії – строго регульований процес, за якого поява деяких специфічних структур репрезентує добре відомі стадії розвитку нервової тканини. З точки зору еволюції вміст гангліозидів у мозку риб та амфібій значно нижчий, ніж у мозку ссавців, проте загальна їхня варіабельність суттєво вища. Більш полярні сполуки, які широко представлені у антарктичних риб, є рідкісними для ссавців або характерними для певного короткотривалого етапу онтогенезу. Плазуни, птахи і ссавці зберігають ідентичні спільні структури, що мають подібні патерни експресії з незначними міжвидовими відмінностями. Навпаки, для мозку риб та амфібій відзначено істотну міжвидову відмінність щодо кількості, структури та патерну експресії. Першочерговим припущенням еволюційного дослідження стало те, що варіації у вмісті ліпідів, зокрема гліколіпідів, під час температурної адаптації у холоднокровних і гетеротермних тварин, які впадають у сплячку, є високоефективним молекулярним механізмом захисту функціонування мембран. Вивчення впорядкованих доменів ліпідів за останнє десятиліття підтверджує гангліозид-опосередковану регуляцію мембранних білків (рецептори з кіназною активністю, рецептори нейротрансмітерів та іонні канали), так само як і взаємодію рецептор–ліганд, важливу для передачі позаклітинного сигналу.Ганглиозиды – характеристические детерминанты, локализованные на внешней поверхности мембран клеток мозга хребетных. Четыре основных ганглиозида (GM1, GD1a, GD1b и GT1b) преобладают среди сотень других соединений гликолипидов нервной ткани. В процессе развития мозга экспрессия простых ганглиозидов замещается синтезом более сложных соединений, что сопровождается многократным увеличением их общего количества. Смещение экспрессии – строго регулированный процесс, при котором появление некоторых специфических структур представляет хорошо известные стадии развития нервной ткани. Содержание ганглиозидов в мозге рыб и амфибий значительно ниже, чем в мозге млекопитающих, однако их общая вариабельность существенно выше. Более полярные соединения, широко представленные у антарктических рыб, являются редкими для млекопитающих или характерными для определенного кратковременного этапа онтогенеза. Пресмыкающиеся, птицы и млекопитающие сохраняют общие идентичные структуры с подобными паттернами экспрессии, имеющими незначительные межвидовые отличия. Наоборот, для мозга рыб и амфибий отмечены существенные межвидовые отличия, касающиеся количества, структуры и паттерна экспрессии. Первоочередным предположением эволюционного исследования стало то, что вариации в содержании липидов, в частности гликолипидов, во время температурной адаптации у хладнокровных и гетеротермных животных, впадающих в спячку, являются высокоэффективным молекулярным механизмом защиты функционирования мембран. Изучение упорядоченных доменов липидов за последнее десятилетие подтверждает ганглиозид-опосредованную регуляцию мембранных белков (рецепторы с киназной активностью, рецепторы нейротрансмиттеров и ионные каналы), так же как и взаимодействие рецептор–лиганд, важное для передачи внеклеточного сигнала

Food benefit and climate warming potential of nitrogen fertilizer uses in China

© IOP Publishing, 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Environmental Research Letters 7 (2012): 044020, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/044020.Chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizer has long been used to help meet the increasing food demands in China, the top N fertilizer consumer in the world. Growing concerns have been raised on the impacts of N fertilizer uses on food security and climate change, which is lack of quantification. Here we use a carbon–nitrogen (C–N) coupled ecosystem model, to quantify the food benefit and climate consequence of agronomic N addition in China over the six decades from 1949 to 2008. Results show that N fertilizer-induced crop yield and soil C sequestration had reached their peaks, while nitrous oxide (N2O) emission continued rising as N was added. Since the early 2000s, stimulation of excessive N fertilizer uses to global climate warming through N2O emission was estimated to outweigh their climate benefit in increasing CO2 uptake. The net warming effect of N fertilizer uses, mainly centered in the North China Plain and the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River Basin, with N2O emission completely counteracting or even exceeding, by more than a factor of 2, the CO2 sink. If we reduced the current N fertilizer level by 60% in 'over-fertilized' areas, N2O emission would substantially decrease without significantly influencing crop yield and soil C sequestration.This study has been supported by NASA IDS Program (NNG04GM39C), NASA LCLUC Program (NNX08AL73G), and the National Basic Research Program of China (2010CB950900) and (2010CB950604)

Pathways and Management of Phosphorus in urban areas

Due to the finite nature of mineral phosphorus reserves, effective management of anthropogenic phosphorus flows is currently under investigation by the international research community. This article emphasizes the importance of urban phosphorus flows, which are often marginalized due to the greater magnitude of agricultural phosphorus flows. A study on phosphorus flows in Gothenburg, Sweden, points out the potential role of solid waste in nutrient management, as the amounts of phosphorus in solid waste and in wastewater were found to be equal. Importation of food commodities accounts for 50% of the total inflow of phosphorus, and food waste is a major contributor of phosphorus to solid waste. The results suggest that solid waste incineration residues represent a large underestimated sink of phosphorus. Focusing on wastewater as the sole source of recovered phosphorus is not sufficient. The Swedish national goal on phosphorus recycling, which is limited to sewage sludge, targets only a part of the total phosphorus flow that can potentially be recovered. In contrast to previous studies, agricultural flows in Gothenburg were marginal compared to flows related to the urban waste management infrastructure. We emphasize the need for debate on preferable routes for disposal of waste with a high phosphorus content. Both recovery potential and usefulness of the recovered product for agricultural purposes have to be considered. Impacts of five waste management strategies on phosphorus flows were evaluated: incineration of all the waste, comprehensive food waste separation, installation of kitchen grinders, urine diversion, and separation of blackwater and food waste

Imaging Mass Spectrometry Detection of Gangliosides Species in the Mouse Brain following Transient Focal Cerebral Ischemia and Long-Term Recovery

Gangliosides, a member of the glycosphingolipid family, are heterogeneously expressed in biological membranes and are particularly enriched within the central nervous system. Gangliosides consist of mono- or poly-sialylated oligosaccharide chains of variable lengths attached to a ceramide unit and are found to be intimately involved in brain disease development. The purpose of this study is to examine the spatial profile of ganglioside species using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging (IMS) following middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) reperfusion injury in the mouse. IMS is a powerful method to not only discriminate gangliosides by their oligosaccharide components, but also by their carbon length within their sphingosine base. Mice were subjected to a 30 min unilateral MCAO followed by long-term survival (up to 28 days of reperfusion). Brain sections were sprayed with the matrix 5-Chloro-2-mercaptobenzothiazole, scanned and analyzed for a series of ganglioside molecules using an Applied Biosystems 4800 MALDI TOF/TOF. Traditional histological and immunofluorescence techniques were performed to assess brain tissue damage and verification of the expression of gangliosides of interest. Results revealed a unique anatomical profile of GM1, GD1 and GT1b (d18∶1, d20∶1 as well as other members of the glycosphingolipid family). There was marked variability in the ratio of expression between ipsilateral and contralateral cortices for the various detected ganglioside species following MCAO-reperfusion injury. Most interestingly, MCAO resulted in the transient induction of both GM2 and GM3 signals within the ipsilateral hemisphere; at the border of the infarcted tissue. Taken together, the data suggest that brain region specific expression of gangliosides, particularly with respect to hydrocarbon length, may play a role in neuronal responses to injury

Diversity in Expression of Phosphorus (P) Responsive Genes in Cucumis melo L

Phosphorus (P) is a major limiting nutrient for plant growth in many soils. Studies in model species have identified genes involved in plant adaptations to low soil P availability. However, little information is available on the genetic bases of these adaptations in vegetable crops. In this respect, sequence data for melon now makes it possible to identify melon orthologues of candidate P responsive genes, and the expression of these genes can be used to explain the diversity in the root system adaptation to low P availability, recently observed in this species

Albert Pierrepoint and the cultural persona of the twentieth-century hangman

Albert Pierrepoint was Britain’s most famous 20th-century hangman. This article utilises diverse sources in order to chart his public representation, or cultural persona, as hangman from his rise to prominence in the mid-1940s to his portrayal in the biopic Pierrepoint(2005). It argues that Pierrepoint exercised agency in shaping this persona through publishing his autobiography and engagement with the media, although there were also representations that he did not influence. In particular, it explores three iterations of his cultural persona – the Professional Hangman, the Reformed Hangman and the Haunted Hangman. Each of these built on and reworked historical antecedents and also communicated wider understandings and contested meanings in relation to capital punishment. As a hangman who remained in the public eye after the death penalty in Britain was abolished, Pierrepoint was an important, authentic link to the practice of execution and a symbolic figure in debates over reintroduction. In the 21st century, he was portrayed as a victim of the ‘secondary trauma’ of the death penalty, which resonated with worldwide campaigns for abolition