•The links between transparency and sustainabilityare poorly understood.•We present a typology of information for supply chain governance.•The coverage of existing transparencyinitiatives is limited ...and biased in scope.•We present ten ways in which transparency can improve sustainability governance.
Over the last few decades rapid advances in processes to collect, monitor, disclose, and disseminate information have contributed towards the development of entirely new modes of sustainability governance for global commodity supply chains. However, there has been very little critical appraisal of the contribution made by different transparency initiatives to sustainability and the ways in which they can (and cannot) influence new governance arrangements. Here we seek to strengthen the theoretical underpinning of research and action on supply chain transparency by addressing four questions: (1) What is meant by supply chain transparency? (2) What is the relevance of supply chain transparency to supply chain sustainability governance? (3) What is the current status of supply chain transparency, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of existing initiatives? and (4) What propositions can be advanced for how transparency can have a positive transformative effect on the governance interventions that seek to strengthen sustainability outcomes? We use examples from agricultural supply chains and the zero-deforestation agenda as a focus of our analysis but draw insights that are relevant to the transparency and sustainability of supply chains in general. We propose a typology to distinguish among types of supply chain information that are needed to support improvements in sustainability governance, and illustrate a number of major shortfalls and systematic biases in existing information systems. We also propose a set of ten propositions that, taken together, serve to expose some of the potential pitfalls and undesirable outcomes that may result from (inevitably) limited or poorly designed transparency systems, whilst offering guidance on some of the ways in which greater transparency can make a more effective, lasting and positive contribution to sustainability.
Most climate change policy attention has been addressed to long-term options, such as inducing new, low-carbon energy technologies and creating cap-and-trade regimes for emissions. We use a ...behavioral approach to examine the reasonably achievable potential for near-term reductions by altered adoption and use of available technologies in US homes and nonbusiness travel. We estimate the plasticity of 17 household action types in 5 behaviorally distinct categories by use of data on the most effective documented interventions that do not involve new regulatory measures. These interventions vary by type of action and typically combine several policy tools and strong social marketing. National implementation could save an estimated 123 million metric tons of carbon per year in year 10, which is 20% of household direct emissions or 7.4% of US national emissions, with little or no reduction in household well-being. The potential of household action deserves increased policy attention. Future analyses of this potential should incorporate behavioral as well as economic and engineering elements.
Governing land use to achieve sustainable outcomes is challenging, because land systems manifest complex land use spillovers-i.e. processes by which land use changes or direct interventions in land ...use (e.g. policy, program, new technologies) in one place have impacts on land use in another place. The ERL issue 'Focus on Leakage: informing Land-Use Governance in a Tele-coupled World' builds on discussions in an international expert workshop conducted in Berlin in November 2017 to explore innovative ways to improve our understanding of how governance interventions, new technologies and other factors can affect land-use change both directly and indirectly through spillovers. This editorial starts by clarifying the definitions and relationships between land-use spillover, indirect land use change-a form of spillover where land use change in one place is caused by land use change in another place-leakage-a form of land use spillover, which is caused by an environmental policy (e.g. a conservation or restoration intervention), and the spillover reduces the overall benefits and effectiveness of this intervention-, and land use displacement processes. We then use this terminology to summarize the individual contributions of this special issue and conclude with lessons learned as well as directions for future research.
A total of 214 rainwater samples from 82 tanks were collected in urban Southeast Queensland (SEQ) in Australia and analyzed for the presence and numbers of zoonotic bacterial and protozoal pathogens ...using binary PCR and quantitative PCR (qPCR). Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) analysis was used to quantify the risk of infection associated with the exposure to potential pathogens from roof-harvested rainwater used as potable or nonpotable water. Of the 214 samples tested, 10.7%, 9.8%, 5.6%, and 0.4% were positive for the Salmonella invA, Giardia lamblia β-giardin, Legionella pneumophila mip, and Campylobacter jejuni mapA genes, respectively. Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst wall protein (COWP) could not be detected. The estimated numbers of Salmonella, G. lamblia, and L. pneumophila organisms ranged from 6.5 x 10¹ to 3.8 x 10² cells, 0.6 x 10° to 3.6 x 10° cysts, and 6.0 x 10¹ to 1.7 x 10² cells per 1,000 ml of water, respectively. Six risk scenarios were considered for exposure to Salmonella spp., G. lamblia, and L. pneumophila. For Salmonella spp. and G. lamblia, these scenarios were (i) liquid ingestion due to drinking of rainwater on a daily basis, (ii) accidental liquid ingestion due to hosing twice a week, (iii) aerosol ingestion due to showering on a daily basis, and (iv) aerosol ingestion due to hosing twice a week. For L. pneumophila, these scenarios were (i) aerosol inhalation due to showering on a daily basis and (ii) aerosol inhalation due to hosing twice a week. The risk of infection from Salmonella spp., G. lamblia, and L. pneumophila associated with the use of rainwater for showering and garden hosing was calculated to be well below the threshold value of one extra infection per 10,000 persons per year in urban SEQ. However, the risk of infection from ingesting Salmonella spp. and G. lamblia via drinking exceeded this threshold value and indicated that if undisinfected rainwater is ingested by drinking, then the incidences of the gastrointestinal diseases salmonellosis and giardiasis are expected to range from 9.8 x 10° to 5.4 x 10¹ (with a mean of 1.2 x 10¹ from Monte Carlo analysis) and from 1.0 x 10¹ to 6.5 x 10¹ cases (with a mean of 1.6 x 10¹ from Monte Carlo analysis) per 10,000 persons per year, respectively, in urban SEQ. Since this health risk seems higher than that expected from the reported incidences of gastroenteritis, the assumptions used to estimate these infection risks are critically examined. Nonetheless, it would seem prudent to disinfect rainwater for use as potable water.
It has been proposed that gene-regulatory circuits with
virtually any desired property can be constructed from networks of simple
regulatory elements. These properties, which include multistability ...and oscillations,
have been found in specialized gene circuits such as the bacteriophage λ
switch and the Cyanobacteria circadian oscillator.
However, these behaviours have not been demonstrated in networks of non-specialized
regulatory components. Here we present the construction of a genetic toggle
switch-a synthetic, bistable gene-regulatory network-in Escherichia
coli and provide a simple theory that predicts the conditions necessary
for bistability. The toggle is constructed from any two repressible promoters
arranged in a mutually inhibitory network. It is flipped between stable states
using transient chemical or thermal induction and exhibits a nearly ideal
switching threshold. As a practical device, the toggle switch forms a synthetic,
addressable cellular memory unit and has implications for biotechnology, biocomputing
and gene therapy.
Roof-harvested rainwater (RHRW) has been considered an effective alternative water source for drinking and various nonpotable uses in a number of countries throughout the world. The most significant ...issue in relation to using untreated RHRW for drinking or other potable uses, however, is the potential public health risks associated with microbial pathogens. This paper reviews the available research reporting on the microbial quality of RHRW and provides insight on the capacity of fecal indicator bacteria to monitor health risks and disease outbreaks associated with the consumption of untreated RHRW. Several zoonotic bacterial and protozoan pathogens were detected in individual and communal rainwater systems. The majority of the studies reported in the literature assessed the quality of rainwater on the basis of the presence or absence of specific pathogens, with little information available regarding the actual numbers of such pathogens. In addition, no information is available concerning the ongoing prevalence of different pathogens in RHRW over time. The published data suggest that the microbial quality of RHRW should be considered less than that expected for potable water and that the commonly used indicators may not be suitable to indicate the presence of pathogens in RHRW. Several case control studies established potential links between gastroenteritis and consumption of untreated RHRW. Therefore, health risks assessment models, such as those using Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment, should be used to manage and mitigate health risks associated with drinking and nonpotable uses of RHRW.
Due to prolonged droughts in recent years, the use of rainwater tanks in urban areas has increased in Australia. In order to apportion sources of contribution to heavy metal and ionic contaminants in ...rainwater tanks in Brisbane, a subtropical urban area in Australia, monthly tank water samples (24 sites, 31 tanks) and concurrent bulk deposition samples (18 sites) were collected during mainly April 2007–March 2008. The samples were analysed for acid-soluble metals, soluble anions, total inorganic carbon and total organic carbon, and characteristics such as total solid and pH. The Positive Matrix Factorisation model, EPA PMF 3.0, was used to apportion sources of contribution to the contaminants. Four source factors were identified for the bulk deposition samples, including ‘crustal matter/sea salt’, ‘car exhausts/road side dust’, ‘industrial dust’ and ‘aged sea salt/secondary aerosols’. For the tank water samples, apart from these atmospheric deposition related factors which contributed in total to 65% of the total contaminant concentration on average, another six rainwater collection system related factors were identified, including ‘plumbing’, ‘building material’, ‘galvanizing’, ‘roofing’, ‘steel’ and ‘lead flashing/paint’ (contributing in total to 35% of the total concentration on average). The Australian Drinking Water Guideline for lead was exceeded in 15% of the tank water samples. The collection system related factors, in particular the ‘lead flashing/paint’ factor, contributed to 79% of the lead in the tank water samples on average. The concentration of lead in tank water was found to vary with various environmental and collection system factors, in particular the presence of lead flashing on the roof. The results also indicated the important role of sludge dynamics inside the tank on the quality of tank water.
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► We examine levels and sources of heavy metal and ionic contaminants in tank water. ► The Positive Matrix Factorisation model is used to apportion the sources. ► The drinking water guideline for lead was exceeded in 15% of the tank water samples. ► The collection system contributed to 79% of lead in tank water samples on average. ► The trends and contributing factors of tank water contaminants are investigated.
We present results for the inflated super-Neptune HATS-8b from the Michigan Optical Planetary Spectra Survey (MOPSS). This program is aimed at creating a database of optical planetary transmission ...spectra all observed, reduced, and analyzed with a uniform method for the benefit of enabling comparative exoplanet studies. HATS-8b orbits a G dwarf and is a low-density super-Neptune with a radius of 0.873 RJup, a mass of 0.138 MJup, and a density of 0.259 g cm−3. Two transits of HATS-8b were observed in 2017 July and August with the Inamori-Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) instrument on the Magellan Baade 6.5 m telescope. We find an enhanced scattering slope on each night that agree within 2.3 . This slope is stronger than one due only to Rayleigh scattering and cannot be fully explained by unocculted starspots. We explore the impact of condensates on the scattering slope and determine that MnS particulates smaller than 10−2 m can explain up to 80% of our measured slope if the planet is warmer than equilibrium, or 50% of the slope at the equilibrium temperature of the planet for a low mean molecular weight atmosphere. The scattering slope that we observe is thus beyond even the most extreme haze case we consider. We suggest further follow up on this target and host star to determine if the temporal variation of the slope is primarily due to stellar or planetary effects, and to better understand what these effects may be.
In this study, the microbiological quality of roof-harvested rainwater was assessed by monitoring the concentrations of Escherichia coli, enterococci, Clostridium perfringens, and Bacteroides spp. in ...rainwater obtained from tanks in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Samples were also tested using real-time PCR (with SYBR Green I dye) for the presence of potential pathogenic microorganisms. Of the 27 rainwater samples tested, 17 (63%), 21 (78%), 13 (48%), and 24 (89%) were positive for E. coli, enterococci, C. perfringens, and Bacteroides spp., respectively. Of the 27 samples, 11 (41%), 7 (26%), 4 (15%), 3 (11%), and 1 (4%) were PCR positive for the Campylobacter coli ceuE gene, the Legionella pneumophila mip gene, the Aeromonas hydrophila lip gene, the Salmonella invA gene, and the Campylobacter jejuni mapA gene. Of the 21 samples tested, 4 (19%) were positive for the Giardia lamblia β-giardin gene. The binary logistic regression model indicated a positive correlation (P < 0.02) between the presence/absence of enterococci and A. hydrophila. In contrast, the presence/absence of the remaining potential pathogens did not correlate with traditional fecal indicators. The poor correlation between fecal indicators and potential pathogens suggested that fecal indicators may not be adequate to assess the microbiological quality of rainwater and consequent health risk.
Biodiversity loss can precipitate extinction cascades and impair ecological processes. These 'downstream' effects will be exacerbated if functionally important taxa are tightly linked with species ...threatened by extinction or population decline. We review the current evidence that such a scenario is currently playing out in the linked declines of persistently hunted mammal populations and the dung beetles communities (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) that depend on them for adult and larval food resources. Through a close evolutionary association, mammal assemblages have played a fundamental role in structuring extant dung beetle communities. Today many game mammal species' populations are severely depleted by subsistence or commercial hunting, especially in tropical forest systems. Multiple lines of evidence from temperate and tropical systems indicate that the regional-scale decline or extirpation of medium and large bodied mammal faunas can severely disrupt the diversity and abundance of dung beetle communities through alterations in the composition and availability of dung resources. These observed community disassemblies have significant short- and long-term implications for the maintenance of key ecosystem processes including nutrient recycling and secondary seed dispersal. Identifying the species- and community-level traits that buffer or exacerbate these species and functional responses is essential if we are to develop a better understanding of the cascading ecological consequences of hunting in tropical forests.
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