Support for Sustainable Development Policy Decisions A Case Study from Highway Maintenance

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.009

Goal, Scope and Method

logy. This paper describes a case study carried out as part of a wider programme to provide support for environmental decision-making in the highway maintenance programme of a local government body: Surrey County Council (SCC). UK local authorities are required to demonstrate that sustainable development principles are addressed in service provision, by improving environmental, economic or social wellbeing and improving public consultation. A methodological approach was developed to meet these requirements by using life cycle assessment (LCA) and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) through the process of decision conferencing.

Results

In projects requiring strategic decisions, difficulties arise in identifying relevant sustainable development criteria and in evaluating maintenance options against these criteria where the context for decision-making is complex and characterised by uncertainty, where multiple public policy objectives compete and a number of decision-makers and key players are affected by the outcome. Clearly, a structured process is needed to engage such stakeholders in the decision process, utilising quantitative and qualitative information. The approach described proved to be capable of fulfilling these requirements.

Conclusions

and Recommendations. The approach of combining LCA with MCDA through decision conferencing is capable of further development to support other strategic decision-making activities. However, this illustrative case study has revealed a need for methodological developments in LCA for local, project-level decisions.

     

The Integration of Economic and Social Aspects in Life Cycle Impact Assessment

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.016

Goal, Scope and Background

Although both cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) have developed from engineering practice, and have the same objective of a holistic ex-ante assessment of human activities, the techniques have until recently developed in relative isolation. This has resulted in a situation where much can be gained from an integration of the strong aspects of each technique. Such integration is now being prompted by the more widespread use of both CBA and LCA on the global arena, where also the issues of social responsibility are now in focus. Increasing availability of data on both biophysical and social impacts now allow the development of a truly holistic, quantitative environmental assessment technique that integrates economic, biophysical and social impact pathways in a structured and consistent way. The concept of impact pathways, linking biophysical and economic inventory results via midpoint impact indicators to final damage indicators, is well described in the LCA and CBA literature. Therefore, this paper places specific emphasis on how social aspects can be integrated in LCA.

Methods

and Results. With a starting point in the conceptual structure and approach of life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), as developed by Helias Udo de Haes and the SETAC/UNEP Life Cycle Initiative, the paper identifies six damage categories under the general heading of human life and well-being. The paper proposes a comprehensive set of indicators, with units of measurement, and a first estimate of global normalisation values, based on incidence or prevalence data from statistical sources and severity scores from health state analogues. Examples are provided of impact chains linking social inventory indicators to impacts on both human well-being and productivity.

Recommendation and Perspective

It is suggested that human well-being measured in QALYs (Quality Adjusted Life Years) may provide an attractive single-score alternative to direct monetarisation.

     

Happiness and Sustainable Consumption: Psychological and physical rebound effects at work in a tool for sustainable design

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.018

Goal, Scope and Background

Life cycle assessment has emerged into a useful tool to assess and potentially reduce the environmental impacts per functional unit. This has contributed to increase eco-efficiency but not necessarily to decrease absolute pollution per capita. The number of functional units is increasing and new functions add to the impacts of consumption. Despite the attempts to use different levels of definitions for the functional unit and applying LCA in the field of lifestyle studies there has been little success to grasp the consumption side of sustainable production and consumption. This contribution aims to tackle the consumption side by at least two extensions: the function of products, services, and activities is assessed with a multi-attribute need function and the propensity to cause both psychological and physical rebound effects are considered in the design phase.

Methods

We develop a checklist approach with an evaluation and assessment table. The elements of the checklist are rooted in a number of independent fields of science: needs matrix, happiness enhancing factors, a number of limiting factors that can cause rebound effects, and streamlined LCA.

Results and Conclusion

For illustration purposes we comparatively evaluate gardening, having a dog, a weekend house, and starting yoga classes and show that the new analysis framework is able to make transparent and operable the inclusion of a number of additional factors that remained so far implicit or neglected. The additional factors considered can be grouped into factors that may cause rebound effects through psychological or physical mechanisms. The assessment table combines the degree of satisfying needs and enhancing happiness in a psychological rebound score. The physical rebound score considers six factors that may constrain consumption: Costs, time, space, other scarce resources, information, and skills. This allows predicting the potential for rebound effects that would increase total impacts from consumption. In addition, it gives also a handle on how to use the knowledge on rebound effects to not only reduce the impacts of the product or activity at hand but also reducing other consumption that in turn might have adverse impacts.

Recommendation and Perspective

Many assumptions in selecting and quantifying the additional factors and the final assessment procedure remain conceptual and therefore provisional. This contribution opens new avenues of investigations that need both further refinements of the theories and empirical evidence. Consumerism and materialism has undermined much of the success stories of improved eco-efficiency and LCA. We suggest using some of the very same psychological and physical mechanisms to foster sustainable consumption.

     

Human and Ecological Life Cycle Tools for the Integrated Assessment of Systems (HELIAS)

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.008

Goal, Scope and Background

CML has contributed to the development of life cycle decision support tools, particularly Substance / Material Flow Analysis (SFA respectively MFA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Ever since these tools emerged there have been discussions on how these tools relate to each other, and how they relate to more traditional tools. Remarkably little, however, has been published on these relationships from an empirical side: which combinations of tools have actually been used, and what is the added value of combining tools in practical case studies. In this paper, we report on CML's experience in this field by presenting a number of case studies with their related research questions, for which different tools were deployed.

Methods

Three case studies are discussed: 1) Waste water treatment: various options for waste water treatment have been assessed on their eco-efficiency, using SFA to comment on the influence of these options on the flows of certain substances in the water system of a geographical area and a combination of LCA and life cycle costing (LCC) to assess the life-cycle impacts and costs of these options; 2) Prioritization of environmental policy measures: A methodology has been developed to prioritize environmental policy measures and investments within companies based on both the environmental impacts and the costs of these measures; and 3) Environmental weighting of materials: to add an environmental dimension to standard MFA accounts, materials were weighted with cradle-to-grave impact factors based on LCA data and impact assessment factors.

Results and Discussion

For each of these cases, the research questions at stake, the tools applied, the results and the added value, limitations and problems of combining the tools are reported.

Conclusions

and Perspective. Based on these experiences, it is concluded that using several tools to address a complicated problem is not only a theoretical proposal, but also something that has been applied successfully in a variety of practical situations. Furthermore, using several tools in combination does not necessarily lead to an increased information supply to decisionmakers. Instead, it may contribute to the comprehensibility and ease of interpretation of the information that would have been provided by using a single tool. Finally, it is concluded that there is not one generally valid protocol for which tools to use for which question. The essential idea of using a combination of tools is exactly the fact that research questions are not simple by nature and cannot be generalized into protocols.

     

Notions on the Design and Use of an Ideal Regional or Global LCA Database

Goal, Scope and Background

More and more national and regional life cycle assessment (LCA) databases are being established satisfying the increasing demand on LCA in policy making (e.g. Integrated Product Policy, IPP) and in industry. In order to create harmonised datasets in such unified databases, a common understanding and common rules are required. This paper describes major requirements on the way towards an ideal national background LCA database in terms of co-operation, but also in terms of life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) and impact assessment (LCIA) methodology.

Methods

A classification of disputed methodological issues is made according to their consensus potential. In LCI, three main areas of dissent are identified where consensus seems hardly possible, namely system modelling (consequential versus attributional), allocation (including recycling) and reporting (transparency and progressiveness). In LCIA the time aspect is added to the well-known value judgements of the weighting step.

Results and Discussions

It is concluded that LCA methodology should rather allow for plurality than to urge harmonisation in any case. A series of questions is proposed to identify the most appropriate content of the LCA background database or the most appropriate LCI dataset. The questions help to identify the best suited approach in modelling the product system in general and multioutput and recycling processes in particular. They additionally help to clarify the position with regard to time preferences in LCIA. Intentionally, the answers to these questions are not attributed to particular goal and scope definitions, although some recommendations and clarifying explanations are provided.

Recommendations and Perspective

It is concluded that there is not one single ideal background database content. Value judgements are also present in LCI modelling and require pluralistic solutions; solutions possibly based on the same primary data. It is recommended to focus the methodological discussion on aspects where consensus is within reach, sensible and of added value for all parties.

     

Spatial Differentiation in the Characterisation of Photochemical Ozone Formation: The EDIP2003 Methodology

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.014

Background, Aims and Scope

In the life cycle of a product, emissions take place at many different locations. The location of the source and its surrounding conditions influence the fate of the emitted pollutant and the subsequent exposure it causes. This source of variation is normally neglected in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), although it is well known that the impacts predicted by site-generic LCIA in some cases differ significantly from the actual impacts. Environmental impacts of photochemical ozone (ground-level ozone) depend on parameters with a considerable geographical variability (like emission patterns and population densities). A spatially differentiated characterisation model thus seems relevant.

Methods

and Results. The European RAINS model is applied for calculation of site-dependent characterisation factors for Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) for 41 countries or regions within Europe, and compatible characterisation factors for carbon monoxide (CO) are developed based on expert judgement. These factors are presented for three emission years (1990, 1995 and 2010), and they address human health impacts and vegetation impacts in two separate impacts categories, derived from AOT40 and AOT60 values respectively. Compatible site-generic characterisation factors for NMVOC, NOx, CO and methane (CH4) are calculated as emission-weighted European averages to be applied on emissions for which the location is unknown. The site-generic and site-dependent characterisation factors are part of the EDIP2003 LCIA methodology. The factors are applied in a specific case study, and it is demonstrated how the inclusion of spatial differentiation may alter the results of the photochemical ozone characterisation of life cycle impact assessment.

Discussion

and Conclusions. Compared to traditional midpoint characterisation modelling, this novel approach is spatially resolved and comprises a larger part of the cause-effect chain including exposure assessment and exceeding of threshold values. This positions it closer to endpoint modelling and makes the results easier to interpret. In addition, the developed model allows inclusion of the contributions from NOx, which are ne- glected when applying the traditional approaches based on Photochemical Ozone Creation Potentials (POCPs). The variation in site-dependent characterisation factors is far larger than the variation in POCP factors. It thus seems more important to represent the spatially determined variation in exposure than the difference in POCP among the substances.

     

Social Impacts in Product Life Cycles - Towards Life Cycle Attribute Assessment

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.017

Background, Aims and Scope

Social impacts in supply chains and product life cycles are of increasing interest to policy makers and stakeholders. Work is underway to develop social impact indicators for LCA, and to identify the social inventory data that will drive impact assessment for this category. Standard LCA practice collects and aggregates inventory data of the form \units of input or output (elementary flow) per unit of process output.\ Measurement of social impacts within workplaces as well as host communities and societies poses new challenges not heretofore faced by LCA database developers. Participatory measurement and auditing of social impacts and of workplace health issues has been shown to provide important benefits relative to external auditor-based methods, including greater likelihood of detecting rights abuses, and stronger support of subsequent action for improvement. However, nonstandardized auditing and metrics poses challenges for the supply chain-wide aggregation and comparison functions of LCA. An analogous challenge arises in the case of resource extractive processes, for which the certification of best management practices provides an important and practical environmental metric. In both the social and resource extraction examples, it may be that attributes of the process are more valuable metrics to measure and incentivize than measured quantities per unit of process output. But how to measure, how to aggregate across life cycles, how to compare product life cycles, and how to incentivize progress as with product policy?

Methods

A methodology is presented and demonstrated which estimates the health impacts of economic development stemming from product life cycles. This methodology does not introduce new social indicators; rather, it works with the already common LCA endpoint of human health, and introduces and applies a simplified empirical relationship to characterize the complex pathways from product life cycles' economic activity to health in the aggregate.

Results

A simple case study indicates that the health benefits of economic development impacts in product life cycles have the potential to be very significant, possibly even orders of magnitude greater than the health damages from the increased pollution. While the simple macro model points up the dramatic importance of socio-economic pathways to health in product life cycles, it lacks any sensitivity to the vitally important, contextspecific attributes of the economic development associated with each process. This result begs the question of how to measure, aggregate, compare, and stimulate society-wide improvement of context-dependent attributes within and across product life cycles in LCA.

Discussion

Before attempting an answer to the question noted above, a brief reconsideration is offered concerning life cycle assessment. Namely, where does it come from, and what does it bring?

Recommendations and Outlook

Finally, the paper concludes by sketching a life cycle approach to promoting localized assessments, to summarizing their results over supply chains and life cycles, and to comparing product life cycles in terms of their results. Often, localized assessments will yield information on the attributes of a process, rather than (or in addition to) the traditional form of life cycle inventory information, which is \units of something per unit of process output.\ The methodology can enable product policy users to promote reporting of basic attributes of processes within supply chains, together with local measurement and reporting of context-relevant impacts. For attributes linked to progress on impacts of local and global concern, promotion of these attributes within supply chain processes will bring strong benefits. In addition, over time it may be possible for researchers to develop and refine models that estimate, based on cross-sectional and time series analysis of attributes and impacts, relationships between attributes and impacts. In any case, while local impacts across supply chains may not be precisely knowable – let alone controllable – by a microdecision maker at the time of their product-related decision, life cycle attribute analysis may give such decision makers an opportunity to empower progress throughout life cycles and supply chains, which is after all a motivating goal of LCA.

     

Weighting in LCA Based on Ecotaxes - Development of a Mid-point Method and Experiences from Case Studies

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/lca2006.04.015

Goal, Scope and Background

The weighting phase in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is and has always been a controversial issue, partly because this element requires the incorporation of social, political and ethical values. Despite the controversies, weighting is widely used in practise. In this paper we will present an approach for monetisation of environmental impacts which is based on the consistent use of ecotaxes and fees in Sweden as a basis for the economic values. The idea behind this approach is that taxes and fees are expressions of the values society places on resource uses and emissions. An underlying assumption for this is that the decisions taken by policy-makers are reflecting societal values thus reflecting a positive view of representative democracy.

Methods

In the method a number of different ecotaxes are used. In many cases they can directly be used as valuation weighting factors, an example is the CO2-tax that can be used as a valuation of CO2-emissions. In some cases, a calculation has to be made in order to derive a weighting factor. An example of this is the tax on nitrogen fertilisers which can be recalculated to an emission of nitrogen which can be used as a weighting factor for nitrogen emissions. The valuation weighting factors can be connected to characterisation methods in the normal LCA practise. We have often used the Ecotax method in parallel to other weighting methods such as the Ecoindicator and EPS methods and the results are compared.

Results and Discussion

A new set of weighting factors has been developed which has been used in case studies. It is interesting to note that the Ecotax method is able to identify different environmental problems as the most important ones in different case studies. In some cases, the Ecotax method has identified some interventions as the most important ones which lack weighting factors in other weighting methods. The midpoint-endpoint debate in the LCA literature has often centred on different types of uncertainties. Sometimes it is claimed that an advantage with having an endpoint approach is that the weighting would be easier and less uncertain. Here we are however suggesting a mid-point weighting method that we claim are no less uncertain than other often used weighting methods based on a damage assessment. This paper can therefore be seen as a discussion paper also in the midpoint-endpoint debate.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The Ecotax method is ready to use. It should be further updated and developed as taxes are changed and new characterisation methods are developed. The method is not only relevant for LCA but also for other environmental systems analysis. The Ecotax method has also been used as a valuation method for Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and within the context of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).

     

Resolution effects in reconstructing ancestral genomes

Background

The reconstruction of ancestral genomes must deal with the problem of resolution, necessarily involving a trade-off between trying to identify genomic details and being overwhelmed by noise at higher resolutions.

Results

We use the median reconstruction at the synteny block level, of the ancestral genome of the order Gentianales, based on coffee, Rhazya stricta and grape, to exemplify the effects of resolution (granularity) on comparative genomic analyses.

Conclusions

We show how decreased resolution blurs the differences between evolving genomes, with respect to rate, mutational process and other characteristics.

     

Distance-to-Target Weighting in Life Cycle Impact Assessment Based on Chinese Environmental Policy for the Period 1995-2005 (6 pp)

Background and Objective

. Values in the known weighting methods in Life Cycle Assessment are mostly founded by the societal systems of developed countries. What source of weights and which weighting methods are reliable for a big developing country like China? The purpose of this paper is to find a possible weighting method and available data that will work well for LCA practices conducted in China. Since government policies and decisions play a leading role in the process of environmental protection in developing countries, the weights derived from political statements may be a consensus by representatives of the public.

Methods

'Distance-to-political target' principle is used in this paper to derive weights of five problem-oriented impact categories. The critical policy targets are deduced from the environmental policies issued in the period of the Ninth Five-year (1996-2000) and the Tenth Five-year (2001-2005) Plan for the Development of National Economy and Society of China. Policy targets on two five-year periods are presented and analyzed. Weights are determined by the quotient between the reference levels and target levels of a certain impact category.

Results and Discussion

Since the Tenth Five-year Plan put forward the overall objective to reduce the level of regional pollution by 2005, the weights for AP, EP and POCP for 2000-2005 are more than 1. By comparison between the Ninth Five-year and Tenth Five-year period, the results show that the weights obtained in this paper effectively represent Chinese political environmental priorities in different periods. For the weights derived from China's political targets for the overall period 1995-2005, the rank order of relative importance is ODP>AP>POCP>EP>GWP. They are recommended to the potential users for the broader disparity among the five categories. By comparison with the weights presented by the widespread EDIP method, the result shows that there's a big difference in the relative importance of ozone depletion and global warming.

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In conclusion, the weighting factors and rank order of impact categories determined in this study represent the characteristics of the big developing country. The derived weighting set can be helpful to LCA practices of products within the industrial systems of China.

     

Evaluation of anesthesiologists’ knowledge about occupational health: Pilot study

Background

An anesthesiologists’ work presents with numerous occupational risks owing to the large amount of time spent inside the operating room where constant noise, anesthetic vapors, ionizing radiation, infectious agents, and psychological stress are present. Herein, we evaluated anesthesiologists’ knowledge about occupational health.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess 158 anesthesiologists from a tertiary hospital on their knowledge about occupational health using a structured questionnaire.

Results

The survey revealed a lack of knowledge on the forms of prevention of occupational accidents (74.6% did not know how to act in case of a fire during surgery, 56% failed to identify the post-anesthesia care unit as the place with the highest contamination by inhalation anesthetics, and 42.7% failed to identify all personal protective equipment) and a surprisingly high rate of lack of observance of preventive measures (30.3% washed their hands before touching every patient, 52.5% did not use gloves during intravenous access, and 88.6% used protective equipment against ionizing radiation).

Conclusions

Despite improvements in safety standards in healthcare facilities, our research showed lack of knowledge about major topics on occupational health by physicians. Improving safety awareness is an important goal of training programs and continued medical education.

     

Comparing normalization methods and the impact of noise

Introduction

Failure to properly account for normal systematic variations in OMICS datasets may result in misleading biological conclusions. Accordingly, normalization is a necessary step in the proper preprocessing of OMICS datasets. In this regards, an optimal normalization method will effectively reduce unwanted biases and increase the accuracy of downstream quantitative analyses. But, it is currently unclear which normalization method is best since each algorithm addresses systematic noise in different ways.

Objective

Determine an optimal choice of a normalization method for the preprocessing of metabolomics datasets.

Methods

Nine MVAPACK normalization algorithms were compared with simulated and experimental NMR spectra modified with added Gaussian noise and random dilution factors. Methods were evaluated based on an ability to recover the intensities of the true spectral peaks and the reproducibility of true classifying features from orthogonal projections to latent structures—discriminant analysis model (OPLS-DA).

Results

Most normalization methods (except histogram matching) performed equally well at modest levels of signal variance. Only probabilistic quotient (PQ) and constant sum (CS) maintained the highest level of peak recovery (>?67%) and correlation with true loadings (>?0.6) at maximal noise.

Conclusion

PQ and CS performed the best at recovering peak intensities and reproducing the true classifying features for an OPLS-DA model regardless of spectral noise level. Our findings suggest that performance is largely determined by the level of noise in the dataset, while the effect of dilution factors was negligible. A minimal allowable noise level of 20% was also identified for a valid NMR metabolomics dataset.

     

Optimization of fecal sample preparation for untargeted LC-HRMS based metabolomics

Introduction

Collecting feces is easy. It offers direct outcome to endogenous and microbial metabolites.

Objectives

In a context of lack of consensus about fecal sample preparation, especially in animal species, we developed a robust protocol allowing untargeted LC-HRMS fingerprinting.

Methods

The conditions of extraction (quantity, preparation, solvents, dilutions) were investigated in bovine feces.

Results

A rapid and simple protocol involving feces extraction with methanol (1/3, M/V) followed by centrifugation and a step filtration (10 kDa) was developed.

Conclusion

The workflow generated repeatable and informative fingerprints for robust metabolome characterization.

     

Analysis of the different techniques to include noise damage in life cycle assessment. A case study for car tires

Purpose

Despite that different methods for the inclusion of transport noise in life cycle assessment (LCA) have been proposed, none of them has become consensual. Leveraging a case study on car tires, this paper aims at comparing two among these characterization approaches to identify strengths and weaknesses and to investigate the relative contribution of noise to human health (in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)) as compared to other environmental stressors.

Methods

The case study analyzed two tires showing different acoustical properties. The two methods applied are the one developed by Müller-Wenk and further improved by other authors and the recent one proposed by Cucurachi. These two methods were adapted to the case study, and a full LCA study of the car tires was carried out. Both uncertainty and sensitivity analyses were performed.

Results and discussion

Both methods highlight the potential high contribution of noise damage to the DALYs generated by car tires, even considering parameters’ uncertainties. This study shows therefore the necessity to integrate noise impact in LCA in a broader way. Both methods present coherent results regarding the environmental performance differences between the two products. However, the absolute DALY scores differ by eight orders of magnitude, probably because Cucurachi’s methods overestimate the damages. The analysis of modeling choices and parameter uncertainties could not explain this difference.

Conclusions

Noise impact on human health has to be included in LCA, and additional efforts should focus on the characterization modeling since there is not yet a consensual method for a systematic integration. The case study shows that the improvement of tire design can efficiently reduce noise impact on human health. Both methods have advantages and inconveniences. We think that it is possible to elaborate a method combining the strengths of both approaches. An incremental approach used on accurate localized and temporalized data processed with noise propagation software could provide characterization factors for a set of archetypes. This should be a good compromise for a method allowing systematic integration of noise impact in LCA.

     

Effect of experimental gingivitis induction and erythritol on the salivary metabolome and functional biochemistry of systemically healthy young adults

Introduction

Understanding the changes occurring in the oral ecosystem during development of gingivitis could help improve prevention and treatment strategies for oral health. Erythritol is a non-caloric polyol proposed to have beneficial effects on oral health.

Objectives

To examine the effect of experimental gingivitis and the effect of erythritol on the salivary metabolome and salivary functional biochemistry.

Methods

In a two-week experimental gingivitis challenge intervention study, non-targeted, mass spectrometry-based metabolomic profiling was performed on saliva samples from 61 healthy adults, collected at five time-points. The effect of erythritol was studied in a randomized, controlled trial setting. Fourteen salivary biochemistry variables were measured with antibody- or enzymatic activity-based assays.

Results

Bacterial amino acid catabolites (cadaverine, N-acetylcadaverine, and α-hydroxyisovalerate) and end-products of bacterial alkali-producing pathways (N-α-acetylornithine and γ-aminobutyrate) increased significantly during the experimental gingivitis. Significant changes were found in a set of 13 salivary metabolite ratios composed of host cell membrane lipids involved in cell signaling, host responses to bacteria, and defense against free radicals. An increase in mevalonate was also observed. There were no significant effects of erythritol. No significant changes were found in functional salivary biochemistry.

Conclusions

The findings underline a dynamic interaction between the host and the oral microbial biofilm during an experimental induction of gingivitis.

     

A lost opportunity for science: journals promote data sharing in metabolomics but do not enforce it

Introduction

Data sharing is being increasingly required by journals and has been heralded as a solution to the ‘replication crisis’.

Objectives

(i) Review data sharing policies of journals publishing the most metabolomics papers associated with open data and (ii) compare these journals’ policies to those that publish the most metabolomics papers.

Methods

A PubMed search was used to identify metabolomics papers. Metabolomics data repositories were manually searched for linked publications.

Results

Journals that support data sharing are not necessarily those with the most papers associated to open metabolomics data.

Conclusion

Further efforts are required to improve data sharing in metabolomics.

     

Determinants of fatigue and stress

Background

Fatigue can be triggered by previous perceived stress which may lead to impairment of performance and function. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between fatigue and perceived stress.

Method

Health determinants including sociodemographic factors for associations between fatigue and perceived stress in the general population (N = 2,483) are outlined. Fatigue and stress were assessed with the Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS) and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ).

Results

Within the general population, 25.9% of male and 34.5% of female respondents reported moderate fatigue during the last six months; 9.7% of subjects reported substantial fatigue lasting six months or longer. An adjusted regression analysis (R²corr = .28, p < .001) showed that fatigue is highest associated with perceived stress and self-perceived health status. The following factors were correlated with increased rates of fatigue and perceived stress: female gender, divorce/separation, low social class and poor health status.

Conclusion

We conclude that the two conditions overlap most in terms of socio-economic status and self-perceived health status.

     

The Application of the Environmental Product Declaration to Waste Disposal in a Sanitary Landfill - Four Case Studies (10 pp)

Goal, Scope and Background

The aim of the present study is to evaluate, through LCA, the potential environmental impact associated to urban waste dumping in a sanitary landfill for four case studies and to compare different technologies for waste treatment and leachate or biogas management in the framework of the EPD® system. Specific data were collected on the four Italian landfills during a five-year campaign from 2000 to 2004. This work also analyses the comparability of EPD results for different products in the same product category. For this purpose, a critical review of PSR 2003:3, for preparing an EPD on ‘Collection, transfer and disposal service for urban waste in sanitary landfills', is performed.

Methods

PSR 2003:3 defines the requirements, based on environmental parameters, that should be considered in an LCA study for collecting and disposal service of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in a sanitary landfill. It defines functional unit, system boundaries towards nature, other technical systems and boundaries in time, cut-off rules, allocation rules and parameters to be declared in the EPD. This PSR is tested on four case studies representing the major landfills located from the farthest west to the farthest east side of the Ligurian Region. Those landfills are managed with different technologies as concerns waste pre-treatment and leachate or biogas treatment. For each landfill, a life cycle assessment study is performed.

Results and Discussion

The comparison of the LCA results is performed separately for the following phases: Transport, Landfill, Leachate and Biogas. The following parameters are considered: Resource use (Use of non-renewable resources with and without energy content, Use of renewable resources with and without energy content, Water consumption); Pollutant emissions expressed as potential environmental impact (Global Warming Potential from biological and fossil sources, Acidification, Ozone depletion, Photochemical oxidant formation, Eutrophication, Land use, Hazardous and other Waste production). The comparison of the LCA results obtained for alternative landfill and biogas management techniques in the case studies investigated shows that the best practicable option that benefits the environment as a whole must be identified and chosen in the LCA context. For example, a strong waste pre-treatment causes a high biological GWP in the Landfill phase, but a low GWP contribution in the Biogas phase, due to the consequent low biogas production, evaluated for 30 years since landfill closure.

Conclusion

The analysis of four case studies showed that, through the EPD tool, it is possible to make a comparison among different declarations for the same product category only with some modification and integration to existent PSR 2003:3. Results showed that different products have different performances for phases and impact categories. It is not possible to identify the \best product\ from an environmental point of view, but it is possible to identify the product (or service) with the lowest impact on the environment for each impact category and resource use.

Recommendation and Perspective

In consequences of the verification of the comprehensiveness of existent PSR 2003:3 for the comparability of EPD, some modifications and integration to existent rules are suggested.

     

Analysis of influencing factor of coexisting prediabetes and prehypertension in adult residents of Jilin Province

Background

To explore the risk factors of coexisting prediabetes and prehypertension, to provide theoretical basis for early intervention.

Methods

A multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling method was used to randomly select adult residents from Jilin Province in 2013 for questionnaire surveys, physical examinations, and laboratory tests.

Results

The prevalence of coexisting prediabetes and prehypertension in Jilin Province was 11.3%. The binary Logistic regression results showed that age, sex, education, triglyceride (TG), BMI, waist circumference and alcohol consumption were the effects of factor coexisting prediabetes and prehypertension.

Conclusion

It is important to pay attention to the early stage of hypertension and diabetes, control the transition from prehypertension and prediabetes to hypertension and diabetes, and improve the health of residents.