Procedures and tools for generating and selecting alternatives in LCA

Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) frequently do not contribute to sustainable development because product alternatives with a truly low environmental burden are not included in the assessment. As a result, environmentally-friendly alternatives are not uncovered, although much effort has been put into collecting inventory data and making an impact assessment. Part of this problem is caused by the defensive use of LCAs. Companies eager to show that their product is not too bad for the environment prefer to compare their product with alternatives that are not very promising in an environmental sense. To (mis)use LCAs in this way is quite easy, because the LCA methodology and handbooks provide few guidelines and little advice on how to generate and select adequate alternatives. An analysis of the problems related to the alternatives is given using insights drawn from the field of policy analysis — a field in which methodological rules for the generation of alternatives in policy studies have been developed — ecodesign and the LCA discipline, and measures to reduce the problems are developed. Explicating the different steps in the determination of alternatives in the goal and scope formulation stage of an LCA process, and the development of a toolbox for this activity, would certainly improve the quality of the selection of alternatives. Furthermore, involving stakeholders and a group of experts in the generation and selection process will increase the variety and relevance of alternatives, and the social support for alternatives.     

鸡胚尿囊膜（HET-CAM）眼刺激替代试验对产品及原料评价的比较

目的比较鸡胚尿囊膜试验（HET-CAM）作为一种眼刺激替代方法对产品或原料的评价。方法采用HET-CAM和兔眼Draize试验方法,对19种原料和23种化妆品及家用洗涤产品眼刺激性进行检测,对体内体外试验的结果进行统计比较。结果比较体内体外试验,原料和产品的kappa系数分别为0.826,0.531;灵敏度分别为100%,81.8%;特异度分别为85.7%,77.8%。结论 HET-CAM可作为Draize试验的替代试验,HET-CAM系统更适合对单纯化学品原料进行眼刺激试验。     

The principles and practice of human evolution research: Are we asking questions that can be answered?

The research agenda of paleoanthropology involves many topics and methodologies. Fossil specimens are allocated to species, and those species are assigned to the hominin clade. After that we want to know how they are related to each other, what they ate, how much they weighed, how smart they were, etc. We also want to know about the origin of particular attributes of hominins, such as our delayed growth and development, bipedalism, and language. The data available to answer these complex questions are confounded by fragmentary fossil specimens, small sample sizes, limited opportunities for controlled experimentation, and the inherent limitations of historical data. Also, because many traits are effectively unique to hominins, even observational comparative studies are inevitably limited in what they can tell us, if not impossible to conduct. We explore how these limitations should, but often do not, constrain the questions that paleoanthropologists should attempt to answer.     

Alternatives to animal experimentation for hormonal compounds research

Alternatives to animal testing and the identification of reliable methods that may decrease the need for animals are currently the subject of intense investigation worldwide. Alternative testing procedures are particularly important for synthetic and natural chemicals that exert their biological actions through binding nuclear receptors, called nuclear receptors-interacting compounds (NR-ICs), for which research is increasingly emphasizing the limits of several models in the accurate estimation of the physiological consequences of exposure to these compounds. In particular, estrogen receptor interacting compounds (ER-ICs) have a great impact on human health from the therapeutic, nutritional, and toxicological point of view due to the highly permissive nature of the estrogen receptors towards a large number of natural and synthetic compounds. Similar to in vitro systems, recently generated animal models (e.g., animal models generated for the study of estrogen receptor ligands) may fulfill the 3R principles: refine, reduce, and replace. If used correctly, NR-regulated models, such as reporter mice, xenopus, or zebrafish, and models obtained by somatic gene transfer in reporter systems, combined with imaging technologies, may contribute to strongly decreasing the overall number of animals required for NR-IC testing and research. With these models, flexible and highly standardized parameters and reporter marker quantification can be obtained. Here, we highlight the need for the substitution of currently used testing models with more appropriate ones that can reproduce the features and reactivity of specific mammalian target tissue/organs. We consider the promotion of this advancement a research priority bearing scientific, economic, social, and ethical relevance.     

The hen's egg test for micronucleus induction (HET-MN): Novel analyses with a series of well-characterized substances support the further evaluation of the test system

The hen's egg test for micronucleus induction (HET-MN) combines the use of the commonly accepted genetic endpoint “formation of micronuclei” with the well-characterized and complex model of the incubated hen's egg, which enables metabolic activation, elimination and excretion of xenobiotics—including those that are mutagens or promutagens. This assay procedure is in line with demands for animal protection. In three previous publications we presented the scientific rationale and methodological aspects for this assay as well as results for some well-characterized mutagens and promutagens. Here we present the results of new experiments involving further genotoxic and non-genotoxic model substances. Making a comparison with published data we have to date not found any false negatives or false positives in the experiments presented here and in trials published before, thus demonstrating a promising predictivity of genotoxic effects with this assay.We could confirm relevant genotoxicity for the following substances in the HET-MN: acetylamino-fluorene (2-AAF), acrylamide (ACM), cytarabine (AraC), methotrexate (MTX), cadmium chloride (CD), dipotassium monochromate (DPC), and epirubicine (EPI). Negative results were obtained for azorubin (E122), orange G (OG) and starch (STRC).The micronucleus frequencies (MNE II) of the concurrent negative controls were in agreement with the values of the historical negative control (0.87‰ ± 0.87; average ± s.d.). This value is based upon the scoring of 556,500 erythrocytes from 445 eggs. In historical positive controls the administration of 0.05 mg cyclophosphamide/egg at d8 resulted in an MNE II-frequency of 12.4‰ ± 6.8 (average ± s.d.) at d 10.5. This value is based upon the scoring of 249,250 erythrocytes from 223 eggs.     

Porcine granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) delivered via replication-defective adenovirus induces a sustained increase in circulating peripheral blood neutrophils

The use of immunomodulators is a promising area for biotherapeutic, prophylactic, and metaphylactic use to prevent and combat infectious disease. Cytokines, including granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), have been investigated for potential value as biotherapeutic proteins. G-CSF enhances the production and release of neutrophils from bone marrow and is already licensed for use in humans. A limitation of cytokines as immunomodulators is their short half-life which may limit their usefulness as a one-time injectable in production-animal medicine. Here we report that administration of recombinant G-CSF induced a transient neutrophilia in pigs; however, delivery of porcine G-CSF encoded in a replication-defective adenovirus (Ad5) vector significantly increased the neutrophilia pharmacodynamics effect. Pigs given one injection of the Ad5-G-CSF had a neutrophilia that peaked between days 3–11 post-treatment and neutrophil counts remained elevated for more than 2 weeks. Neutrophils from Ad5-G-CSF treated pigs were fully functional based on their ability to release neutrophil extracellular traps and oxidative metabolism after in vitro stimulation. Since acceptable alternatives to the use of antibiotics in food-animal production need to be explored, we provide evidence for G-CSF as a possible candidate for agents in which neutrophils can provide protection.     

Reduced Use of Antibiotic Growth Promoters in Diets Fed to Weanling Pigs: Dietary Tools,Part 2

Diets formulated to maximize performance of weanling pigs need to support the development of intestinal tissue, support intestinal colonization with beneficial, mainly lactic acid-producing bacteria, and support development of the intestinal and overall immune system. This objective is not likely to be achieved using one single strategy, but there is strong evidence that diets formulated with cereal grains other than corn, with a low concentration of crude protein and with the use of direct-fed microbials, will improve intestinal health and performance of weanling pigs. Further improvements may be observed if the grain part of the diet is fermented prior to feeding or if the diet is fed in a liquid form, but the need for specialized equipment limit the implementation of this strategy. Dietary supplements such as essential oils and nucleosides or nucleotides may also be useful, but more research is needed to verify the effects of these substances.     

An experimental test of a visual-based push–pull strategy for control of wood boring phytosanitary pests

1 International phytosanitary standards require mandatory fumigation for key wood boring beetle pests prior to export. Pressure to reduce the use of toxic fumigants has created a need for alternative control techniques.
2 A visual based push–pull strategy that exploits a differential attraction to yellow and ultra violet (UV) lights was tested for its efficacy at controlling Cerambycidae.
3 The relative attraction of four 'push' lighting treatments [two yellow (high and low-pressure Sodium), one white (metal halide) and a control (no light)] to beetles was assessed. Highly attractive UV 'pull' traps were compared with a paired control trap, the difference used as a measure of the UV traps attractiveness to residual beetles attracted by 'push' lights.
4 Trap catch beneath the two yellow 'push' lights was more similar to the control (no light) treatment than the white light for both species. Control 'push' lights had the highest average catch of Arhopalus ferus , whereas white light was least attractive. This finding was counter intuitive to expectations, and potential mechanisms are discussed. The white 'push' light was most attractive to Prionoplus reticularis.
5 Ultraviolet 'pull' traps were highly attractive to residual beetles drawn to yellow 'push' light treatments. Relative attraction to the UV 'pull' traps beneath control and white 'push' lights differed between species.
6 The results obtained suggest that a push–pull strategy combining yellow site lighting with UV kill traps could provide site specific control of wood borers. Future research should attempt large-scale trials that are subject to competing alternative stimuli at a wood processing site.     

A Locally Most Powerful Test for Detecting a Treatment Effect in the Presence of Nonresponders

A problem that frequently occurs in many biological experiments is when some subjects in the treatment group may be unaffected by the treatment. For this reason, the distribution of responses in the treatment group is expressed as a two-component mixture, where Lehmann alternatives are used to relate the distributions of affected and unaffected patients. A distribution-free approach is proposed for testing the hypothesis of no treatment effect against the alternative that a subset of the treated subjects respond to the treatment. The test is locally optimal and structured on the basis of the empirical distribution of the untreated subjects. The properties of the test are discussed and the power function is derived. It is shown that the power increases with the proportion of responders in the experiment.