bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Transformed dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: real time polymerase chain reaction detection of COL1A1–PDGFB fusion transcripts in sarcomatous areas
Authors: Szollosi Zoltan , Scholtz Beata , Egervari Kristof , Nemes Zoltan 
Published: May 2006

Background:Recent cytogenetic studies have shown that reciprocal translocation t (17;22)(q22;q13) and a supernumerary ring chromosome derived from the translocation r(17;22) are highly characteristic of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). The chromosomal rearrangements fuse the collagen type Iα1 (COL1A1) and the platelet-derived growth factor B-chain (PDGFB) genes. The COL1A1–PDGFB fusion transcript has been shown not only in conventional DFSP but also in a small series of DFSP with fibrosarcomatons areas (DFSP-FS) using reverse transcriptase-based conventional polymerase chain reaction. Nothing is known about the status of the COL1A1–PDGFB chimaeric gene in the pleomorphic areas of DFSP-PleoSarc (formerly known as DFSP-malignant fibrous sarcoma).Aims:To show the COL1A1–PDGFB fusion transcript in transformed malignant fibrous histiocytoma.Method:A real-time polymerase chain reaction assay for the COL1A1–PDGFB fusion transcript in a series of DFSP containing sarcoma was conducted to determine whether the chimaeric gene could be identified in both components of DFSP-FS and DFSP-PleoSarc. Eight cases were analysed.Results:In seven cases, transcriptable RNA was detected, and in these cases, translocations were found between COL1A1 and PDGFB genes involving exons 27, 32, 34, 40 and 47 of the COL1A1 gene and exon 2 of the PDGFB gene.Conclusions:From a diagnostic aspect, this assay can be particularly useful in confirming the diagnosis of sarcomatous DFSP. On the other hand, the COL1A1–PDGFB fusion gene was shown in three cases of DFSP containing pleomorphic sarcoma, which supports the theory of the common histogenesis.
THE RELATION BETWEEN OPTICAL POLARIZATION AND BEAMING EFFECT FOR BLAZARS
Authors: XIE Z. H. , CHEN L. E. , DU L. M. , MAO L. S. 
Published: May 2006

On the basis of the beaming model, we have derived a relation between the observed polarization (P ob ) and the observed magnitude (m ob ), log P ob = -0.4(k-1)m ob +C, which indicates that the observed polarization is anti-correlated with the observed magnitude. Making use of the optical data of polarization and magnitude observed simultaneously for 47 blazars, we found that there is a significant anti-correlation between the observed polarization and the observed magnitude in the V-band, the linear regression equation of which is [Formula: see text], with the correlation coefficient of γ = -0.4537 and the chance probability of p = 1.360×10-3. Obviously, the statistical results are consistent with the theoretical results derived by the beaming model. Our results of both theory and statistical analysis of the data observed simultaneously are consistent with the observations of 3C345, Mrk421. In addition, using these data, we have also analyzed the relation between the maximum optical polarization ([Formula: see text] in the V-band) and the maximum infrared polarization ([Formula: see text] in the H-band). For 20 objects with both the maximum optical and infrared polarization, a linear regression analysis gives a strong correlation of [Formula: see text], with a correlation coefficient of γ = 0.9071 and a chance probability of p < 1.0 ×10-4. The results suggest that both the infrared and optical emissions of blazars originate from the synchrotron radiation.
Runtime Analysis of the (μ + 1) EA on Simple Pseudo-Boolean Functions
Authors: Witt Carsten 
Published: May 2006

Although Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) have been successfully applied to optimization in discrete search spaces, theoretical developments remain weak, in particular for population-based EAs. This paper presents a first rigorous analysis of the (μ + 1) EA on pseudo-Boolean functions. Using three well-known example functions fromthe analysis of the (1 + 1) EA, we derive bounds on the expected runtime and success probability. For two of these functions, upper and lower bounds on the expected runtime are tight, and on all three functions, the (μ + 1) EA is never more efficient than the (1 + 1) EA. Moreover, all lower bounds growwith μ. On a more complicated function, however, a small increase of μ provably decreases the expected runtime drastically. This paper develops a newproof technique that bounds the runtime of the (μ + 1) EA. It investigates the stochastic process for creating family trees of individuals; the depth of these trees is bounded. Thereby, the progress of the population towards the optimum is captured. This new technique is general enough to be applied to other population-based EAs.
Going Organic: Converting Patagonia's Cotton Product Line
Authors: Chouinard Yvon , Brown Michael S. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryThe integration of industrial ecology principles into a business may mean significant changes in its customary activities. In this article, we present a case study of a decision by Patagonia, a manufacturer and distributor of clothing and gear for outdoor sports, to use only organically grown cotton for our cotton products as of spring I996.We describe the history of our efforts to reduce our environmental impacts, the relationship between understanding the life‐cycle impacts of garments in general and cotton in particular onour decision, and the changes required throughout the company to implement the decision. Although initial salesof the organic cotton products have met or exceeded expectations, most customers continue to buy our productsfor traditional reasons: quality, fit, styling, and brand. Westruggle to change consumer perceptions about the environmental significance of their purchases and influencemajor apparel manufacturers to make a similar switch. Our experience suggests, first, that consumers and industryneed to understand the principles of industrial ecology and, second, that environmental improvements must be integrated into all aspects of operations (e.g., marketing). Anunexpected benefit of the decision was an increase in our knowledge about the garment life cycle, which in turn improves our ability to develop new fabrics when off‐the‐shelf products do not meet our needs. Much remains to bedone, howevel; to reduce impacts associated with other aspects Of our products and corporate activities.
Life‐Cycle Assessment: Constraints on Moving from Inventory to Impact Assessment
Authors: Owens J. W. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryLife‐cycle assessment (LCA) is a technique for systematically analyzing a product from cradle‐to‐grave, that is, from resource extraction through manufacture and use to disposal. LCA is a mixed or hybrid analytical system. An inventory phase analyzes system inputs of energy and materials along with outputs of emissions and wastes throughout life cycle, usually as quantitative mass loadings. An impact assessment phase then examines these loadings in light of potential environmental issues using a mixed spectrum of qualitative and quantitative methods. The constraints imposed by inventory's loss of spatial, temporal, dose‐response, and threshold information raise concerns about the accuracy of impact assessment. The degree of constraint varies widely according to the environmental issue in question and models used to extrapolate the inventory data. LCA results may have limited value in two areas: (I) local and/ortransient biophysical processes and (2) issues involving biological parameters, such as biodiversity, habitat alteration, and toxicity. The end result is that impact assessment does not measure actual effects or impacts, nor does it calculate the likelihood of an effect or risk Rather, LCA impact assessment results are largely directional environmental indicaton. The accuracy and usefulness of indicators need to be assessed individually and in a circumstance‐specific manner prior to decision making. This limits LCAs usefulness as the sole basis for comprehensive assessments and the comparisons of alternatives. In conclusion, LCA may identify potential issues from a systemwide perspective, but more‐focused assessments using other analytical techniques are often necessary to resolve the issues.
Clean Recycling of Lead‐Acid Batteries for Electric Vehicles: A Reply to Socolow and Thomas
Authors: Lave Lester B. , Hendrickson Chris T. , McMichael Francis C. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryThis article is stimulated by the analysis of Socolow and Thomas in the first issue of this journal. Our work showed that a lead‐acid battery‐powered electric vehicle (Ev) would result in more lead being discharged into the environment than a comparable car burning leaded gasoline. Five hundred thousand EVs would lead to a 20% increase in lead use in the United States, and presumably a comparable 20% increase in lead discharges.The Socolow‐Thomas analysis asserts: (I) choosing not to pursue technology that uses toxic materials will unduly constrain the research and development (R&D) in advanced vehicles and limit the options likely to emerge from that research; (2) we do not do a full risk assessment of the lead discharges from lead smelting, battery making and recycling; and (3) in response to regulation the industry might devise a “clean recycling” system.We doubt the wisdom of increasing R&D on lead batteries because introducing large quantities of lead into cars will pose health risks. The possibility of clean recycling in the future is not an adequate basis for mandating EVs. Proponents of EVs should prove there is no harm to the environment Regulators should not require EVs until there is a reasonable showing of environmental benefit and that the requirement is cost‐effective in reducing ozone.
The Grand Objectives: A Framework for Prioritized Grouping of Environmental Concerns in Life‐Cycle Assessment
Authors: Graedev Thomas E. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryThe goal of life‐cycle assessment (LCA) is to conduct an inventory of the flows of materials and energy attributable to an industrial product and then to calculate the impacts of those flows on the environment, over the entire product life cycle from premanufacture to end of 1ife. A related technique, streamlined life‐cycle assessment (SLCA), attempts to preserve the breadth of perspective in that approach while performing assessments more efficiently. A common failing of both techniques is that recommendations for actions to improve the environmental responsibility of products have rarely been related in an intellectually rigorous fashion to the environmental concerns they purport to ameliorate. In this article l propose that a framework for the way in which these relationships can be established is by a decision‐making process that begins with the “grand objectives,” the common consensus of the vital goals for the maintenance and improvement of life on Earth. The grand objectives lead to the identification of crucial environmental concerns, and those, in turn, to determining societal activities that need to be examined. Actions related to those activities can then be designed to contribute to the achievement of the grand objectives. If and when such a consensus is established, LCAs and SLCAs can be undertaken with confidence that the actions they recommend will serve broad societal goals.
Dynamics of Material and Energy Use in U.S. Pulp and Paper Manufacturing
Authors: Ruth Matthias , Harrington Thomas 
Published: May 2006

SummaryThis article presents a dynamic computer model of US. pulp and paper production to facilitate organization of diverse industry data and to investigate the industry's likely material and energy use in the future. A set of probable scenarios of growth in paper and paperboard production, wastepaper utilization rates, and diffusion of technologies within the industry is used to assess the realm of material and energy use profiles for the period 1988‐2020.Several conclusions emerge from this study. First, stabilizing or reducing total energy consumption in pulp and paper production, in combination with moderate production growth, quires that future annual increases in energy efficiency must be almost twice as high as the efficiency improvements achieved for the period 1972‐1992. Second, to maintain or increase the industry's use of biomass fuels depends on one or a combination of different approaches, such as rapid dissemination of energy‐saving technology or reduction in the rate of growth of wastepaper utilization. Third, increased wastepaper utilization rates lead to a significant replacement of pulpwood by recycled fiber. Yet toyal pulpwood consumption continues to increase to satisr) the requirements of increased paper and paperboard produdion, even under the assumption that the wastepaper utilization rate passes 50% and wastepaper utilization triples by the year 2020
A Life‐Cycle Approach to Purchasing and Using Environmentally Preferable Paper
Authors: Blum Lauren , Denison Richard A. , Ruston John F. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryThe PaperTask Force, a group of major U.S. paper purchasers convened by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), recently completed a life cycle‐based study of various grades of paper that examined a broad range of economic, functional, and especially environmental issue. This 28‐month effort culminated in the release of a final report and recommendations intended to educate paper purchasers about the consequences of their paper purchasing decisions. The report also provides actionable steps that can be taken to increase the purchase and use of environmentally preferable paper; defined as paper that reduces environmental impacts while meeting business needs. The technical basis for the PaperTask Force recommendations is an analysis of environmental impacts associated with the entire life cycle of several major grades of paper; reaching literally from the forest to the 1andfill. The Task Force's findings and recommendations cover each of the major areas of opportunity to lessen the environmental impacts of using paper: reduction in paper use; paper recycling and buying recycled paper: forest management; and pulp and paper manufacturing. journal of Industrial Ecology I5 paper recycling
Mars, Materials, and Three Morality Plays: Materials Flows and Environmental Policy
Authors: Rejeski David 
Published: May 2006

SummaryAlthough industrial ecology represents a captivating metaphor and rich repertoire of analytical tools, its impact on environmental policy has been marginal at best. This article examines the insights provided by the studies of three common materials in the US. economy‐lead, arsenic, and silver‐and the abilrty of such studies to illuminate some larger and looming challenges for future environmental policy. Three specific challenges are explored: the flow of materials across national borders, the increasing embodiment of emissions in products, and the dangers of unchallenged assumptions about the drivers of material flows. The article argues that industrial ecology can inform public policy but that it is time for the practitioners of industrial ecology, an applied science, to apply it in the often messy world of environmental policymaking.
A Process Chaining Approach toward Product Design for Environment
Authors: Sheng Paul , Worhach Paul 
Published: May 2006

SummaryThis article presents an approach toward product design for environment (DfE) at the level that integrates environmental hazard analysis with models of transformation processes. As a complementary analysis tool to life‐cycle assessment (LCA), this method would support detailed design decisions through modeling of a “process chain” for a subset of the product's life cycle. The building blocks for this approach are a set of unit process models that can convert process and design parameters into estimates for energy utilization, production scrap, and ancillary waste flows. These values for quantity of environmental releases can be integrated using a multicriiteria environmental hazard evaluation methodology that can estimate the “qualrty” of environmental releases. Finally, the waste information can be used to support a design model that can link design parameters to material, process, and operational parameter selection. A case study illustrating printed circuit board (PCB) assembly is presented to show process chain implementation in manufacturing applications.
Life‐Cycle Global Warming Impact of CFCs and CFC‐substitutes for Refrigeration
Authors: Papasavva Stella , Moomaw William R. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryWe have investigated the global warming potential (GWP) of CFC‐I I, CFC‐12, and their replacements, HCFC‐I23 and HFC‐I34a, based on a life‐cycle methodology for refrigeration. We have extended the definition of the total equivalent warming impact (TEWI), which considers the GWP (direct) and GWP (indirect) warming potential of each chemical compound, by adding the GWP (chemical production), GWP (recycling), and GWP (atmospheric breakdown products) for each chemical. We call the new index “life‐cycle warming impact” (LCWI).We find that the GWP (chemical production) contributes by no more than 1% to LCWI, and that the GWP (indirect) is highly dependent on refrigerator eficiency and the fuel mix of the electricity source used to operate the appliance. The GWP (atmospheric breakdown products) may also have a significant impact on LCWI.
Combining SFA and LCA
Authors: Tukker Arnold , Kleijn René , van Oers Lauran , Smeets Edith 
Published: May 2006

SummaryThis article describes a method that combines substance flow analysis (SFA) and life‐cycle assessment (LCA). It was used to provide a focus in the heated Swedish polyvinylchloride (PVC) debate. For Sweden's PVC chain, all emissions related to PVC were inventoried and translated into LCA‐theme scores. The theme scores were compared with total theme scores for all Swedish processes and were benchmarked on the basis of PVC's contribution to Sweden's gross national product (GNP). Mass flows oftwo PVC additives, lead and organotin, were compared with the total use of these metals in Sweden. PVC's contribution to global warming, smog formation, and waste volume was equal to or less than the benchmark. After implementation of planned measures, emissions of the toxic substances dioxins, mercury, and lead will be below the benchmark. We recommend that the Swedish PVC debate concentrate on the uncertainties of the effects of phthalates, small process emissions of persistent chlorinated substances (PBTs), lead and organotin in landfilled PVC, and emissions from PVC in accidental fire
Comments on “The Grand Objectives” by Thomas E. Graedel
Authors: Craig Paul P. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryIn “The Grand Objectives: A Framework for Prioritized Grouping of Environmental Concerns in Life‐Cycle Assessment”. Thomas Graedel (1997) proposed an elegant schema for prioritizing environmental concerns. It operates at three levels: grand objectives, environmental concerns, and targeted activities. I argue that consensus is most likely on the first and third levels, but that the middle level, environmental concerns, is more problematic. Even among individuals who agree on general societal directions, strong differences of views can occur regarding specific technologies. I illustrate by applying Graedel's system to his “radionuclide” category, under his first grand objective (human species extinction). I use the example of nuclear waste to illustrate how values are inextricably involved at the “environmental concerns” level. My analysis suggests ways to enhance the utility of Graedel's useful system.
Environmental Security as a Case Study in Industrial Ecology
Authors: Allenby Brad 
Published: May 2006

SummaryEnvironmental security is the integration of environmental and national security considerations at a national policy level. It is a relatively new and still somewhat contentious concept, although in some countries, such as the United States, it is increasingly being embedded in traditional security and foreign policy institutions. It is of interest to the industrial ecologist for several reasons. First, from the methodological perspective, environmental security issues are frequently complex, multidisciplinary, and multiscalar in both temporal and geographic dimensions. They are thus good opportunities to apply existing industrial ecology tools such as industrial metabolism stock and flow studies, as well as to support the development of new industrial ecology methods. Second, environmental security offers an important case study of an important fundamental industrial ecology dynamic: the movement of environment from overhead to strategic for society. This process occurs at many different scales, from implementation of design for environment methodologies within firms to integration of environmental and trade considerations in the World Trade Organization; and it is important for the industrial ecologist to begin to understand its underlying dynamics. Finally, national security is the quintessential raison d'etre of the national state. Accordingly, the integration of environmental considerations into national security policies and institutions, using industrial ecology methodologies and patterns of analysis, is a significant validation of the field.
Society's Metabolism
Authors: Fischer‐Kowalski Marina 
Published: May 2006

SummaryIn this article, we inquire into the intellectual history ofthe application of the biological concept of metabolism to social systems‐not as a metaphor; but as a material and energetic process within the economy and society vis‐A‐vis various natural systems. The paper reviews several scientific traditions that may contribute to such a view, including biology and ecology, social theory, cultural anthropology, and social geography It assembles widely scattered approaches dating from the 1860s onward and shows how they prepare the ground for the pioneers of “industrial metabolism” in the late 1960s. In connection to varying political perspedives, metabolism gradually takes shape as a powerful interdisciplinary concept It will take another 25 years before this approach becomes one of the most important paradigms for the empirical analysis of the society‐nature‐interaction across various disciplines. This later period will be the subject of part II of this literature review
The Life Cycle of Chlorine, Part III
Authors: Ayres Robert U. 
Published: May 2006

SummaryIn the two previous articles in this series we reviewed the major processes of chlorine production (Part I) and its intermediate uses and waste products in the production of other chemicals (Part 11). In this article I consider some of the final applications of chlorine (e.g., for water treatment and pulp bleaching) and the uses of the most important chlorinated compounds such as solvents, chlorofluorocarbons, and the plastic polyvinyl chloride in the industrial economy. I summarize known evidence regarding their environmental fates. The special case of persistent long‐lived toxic compounds (e.g., pesticides) will be discussed in a subsequent article.