End-point Indication Research Articles

Life cycle assessment of photovoltaic panels including transportation and two end-of-life scenarios: Shaping a sustainable future for renewable energy

This research study addresses the growing environmental concerns associated with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems which is a pivotal component of renewable energy transition. The primary objective is to advance the comprehension of the environmental sustainability of solar PV technology, with a specific focus on the context of Mexico. This study applies a life cycle assessment (LCA) framework, employing an up-to-date methodology (ReCiPe 2016) and database (Ecoinvent 3.8) for midpoint and endpoint indicators in this problem by considering a specific focus on end-of-life and transportation scenarios which have been absent in the current state-of-the-art research. An LCA approach bridges the gap between midpoint and end-point indicators, bringing transparency to the environmental impact assessment. This research entails a cradle-to-grave LCA of a 1 kW crystalline silicon solar panel over a 25-year lifespan while adapting to ISO 14044 standards for LCA and encompassing both midpoint and end-point indicators, specifically including end-of-life and transportation scenario. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate the variations in environmental indicators considering the life-cycle data. It is reported that recycling processes can cause a substantial mitigating effect on environmental impacts across multiple categories, leading to reductions of up to 89 % in mineral resource scarcity. Notably, the cell processing phase emerges as the most environmentally impactful stage, accounting for 37 % of the total impact. This high impact is predominantly attributed to silver usage and heightened electricity consumption. The sensitivity analysis revealed that various performance indicators exhibited differing degrees of sensitivity to uncertainty in the design variables, highlighting the importance of careful consideration, particularly in addressing theimpact on theecosystem, when aiming to reduce environmental impacts in the life cycle of silicon solar panels. Our results have also indicated that transportation significantly impacts resource protection, accounting for 15 % of the total impacts in this category, with lesser yet notable contributions to ecosystems and human health. The implications of this work suggest a need for stringent policies to fabricate complete solar photovoltaic modules in Mexico to reduce the environmental burden caused by transportation. Additionally, the insights from this study offer a gateway for the Mexican government to reform current energy transition policies by including multiple recycling scenarios for solar photovoltaic systems, ultimately leading to sustainable growth in this market.

How methods to assess land-use changes influence the resulting global warming potential and cost of optimized diets: a case study on Danish pigs applying life cycle assessment methodology

PurposeMeeting the demands of a growing and increasingly affluent population necessitates a deeper understanding of the environmental and economic implications of production. This implication is most relevant in key production sectors including agriculture and livestock. This article is intended to provide an understanding of the influence of methods of assessing land-use change (LUC) with respect to minimizing both the global warming potential (GWP) and the monetary costs of pig feed formulation.MethodsFeed mixtures intended for slaughter pigs were generated for minimal cost and GWP impacts by applying four differing LUC assessment methods. The objective function was the Danish slaughter pig feed unit, minimized for cost in Danish crowns (DKK), with GWP impacts constrained in multiple steps. Attributional LCA methodology was applied using the Agri-footprint 6.3 database, with GWP impacts calculated excluding land use changes, including direct land-use changes and including the carbon opportunity cost. Analyses of the functional relationship between the optimal cost and the GWP impact were conducted, followed by a comparative LCA of the cost of comparable feed mixture by applying two sets of functional units: 100 slaughter pig feed units and 1 kg of pig live weight.Results and discussionA similar relationship between cost and GWP impact was observed across all methods, although variability of GWP impact magnitude depending on method was observed. Reducing at an equivalent cost, GWP reduction ranged from 5.6 to 27% based on the pig feed functional unit, and 2.4 to 13% based on the pig live weight functional unit. Optimizing feed mixtures for GWP impacts resulted in significantly increased contributions to other impact categories, including a 56% increase in terrestrial ecotoxicity. Despite the increased contributions to other impact categories, all optimized feed mixtures achieved a reduction in endpoint indicators and single score. Endpoint reductions to the feed unit were 2.3–25% for ecosystem damage, 7.4–15% for human health, and 6.0–16% based on a single score value.ConclusionsThe findings emphasize the key importance of addressing LUC when optimizing the GWP of agri-food production. Suggestions are provided for areas of improvement in future optimization studies applying a dietary unit as the objective function, including additional midpoint impact categories and/or extended optimization covering whole areas of protection. The findings suggest that GWP impacts may be reduced at no additional cost if included or embedded in the pig feed formulation procedure.

Life cycle assessment of Luffa‐reinforced epoxy composites: Untreated versus chemically treated fibers

AbstractThis research conducts a comprehensive cradle‐to‐gate life cycle assessment, comparing four distinct epoxy composites with each other and with the pure matrix. The composites investigated include epoxy resin reinforced with 25% and 50% untreated Luffa cylindrica fiber mats and 25% and 50% chemically treated Luffa cylindrica mats. The study defines the functional unit concerning the load at the fracture point and explores a real‐world scenario related to a potential industrial installation in southeastern Europe. The assessment utilizes 22 ReCiPe 2016 endpoint indicators to quantify impacts on human health, ecosystems, and resource availability. The findings indicate that the 50% chemically treated Luffa cylindrica‐reinforced epoxy has the least environmental impact, closely followed by the 50% untreated Luffa cylindrica. All four composites exhibit lower impacts than the pure epoxy resin. Notably, the 50% Luffa‐reinforced composites stand out as significantly environmentally favorable due to the substitution of fossil‐derived resin with natural fibers. This study underscores the potential of Luffa cylindrica as a promising and eco‐friendly reinforcement for epoxy composites.

Vectorial drivers of malaria transmission in Jabi Tehnan district, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia

Among the factors affecting the effectiveness of malaria control is poor knowledge of the entomologic drivers of the disease. We investigated anopheline populations as part of a baseline study to implement house screening of windows and doors as a supplementary malaria control tool towards elimination in Jabi Tehnan district, Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. The samples were surveyed monthly using CDC light traps between June 2020 and May 2021. Mosquito trap density (< 3 mosquitoes/trap) was low, however, with a high overall Plasmodium sporozoite rate (9%; indoor = 4.3%, outdoor = 13.1%) comprising P. falciparum (88.9%) and P. vivax (11.1%). Anopheles gambiae s.l., mostly An. arabiensis, comprised > 80% of total anopheline captures and contributed ~ 42% of Plasmodium-infected mosquitoes. On the other hand, morphologically scored Anopheles funestus s.l., constituting about 6% of anopheline collections, accounted for 50% of sporozoite-infected mosquitoes. Most of the infected An. funestus s.l. specimens (86.7%) were grouped with previously unknown or undescribed Anopheles species previously implicated as a cryptic malaria vector in the western Kenyan highlands, confirming its wider geographic distribution in eastern Africa. Other species with Plasmodium infection included An. longipalpis C, An. theileri, An. demillioni, and An. nili. Cumulatively, 77.8% of the infected mosquitoes occurred outdoors. These results suggest efficient malaria parasite transmission despite the low vector densities, which has implications for effective endpoint indicators to monitor malaria control progress. Additionally, the largely outdoor infection and discovery of previously unknown and cryptic vectors suggest an increased risk of residual malaria transmission and, thus, a constraint on effective malaria prevention and control.

Cheap and effective potentiometric PVC sensor for the determination of imidazolium based ionic liquids in aqueous and aqua-organic media

Owing to the extensive research on imidazolium based ionic liquids; the present study aims to design a potentiometric sensor for alkyl methylimidazolium ion. For this, poly(vinyl chloride) PVC membrane based on the neutral ion-pair complexes of cetylpyridinium chloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate (CPy+DS−) has been developed. The synthesized ion selective electrode (ISEs) have been found to show linear response with near-Nernstian slope for CnMeImCl (C10MeImCl, C12MeImCl and C14MeImCl). The proposed ISEs show quick response (5–6 s) and provide wide pH range for working. The influence of various ions on the performance of ion-selective electrode is investigated in terms of potentiometric selectivity coefficients, which were determined by separate solution method. The performance of synthesized ISE in examining the critical micellar concentration (cmc) of CnMeImCl in aqueous, aqua-organic media and in the presence of amino acids (glycine, L-glutamic acid and L-phenylalanine) has been found to be satisfactory and confirmed through conductivity and fluorescence measurements. This emphasizes its worth for in-situ analysis of alkyl methylimidazolium ions, during an organic reaction, and hence possible reaction mechanism evaluation. Different thermodynamic parameters such as Standard Gibbs energies of micellization (ΔGm∘), degree of counterion dissociation (α), amphiphile tail transfer Gibbs free energy (ΔGm,trans∘) have been evaluated. Further, the analytical application of synthesized electrode as end point indicator in the potentiometric titration of C14MeImCl with SDS has also been explored, which compared well with improved two-phase titration method. The current study is novel as it involves the use of a cheaper material (CPyCl) as ionophore and that the same electrode can be used for different chain alkyl methylimidazolium ions simply by changing the internal reference solutions.

Efficacy and Safety of Lianhua Qingke Tablets in the Treatment of Long Coronavirus Disease (COVID) Cough: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Clinical Study

Lianhua Qingke tablets, a patented traditional Chinese medicine that has validated clinical efficacy for treating cough caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, lack rigorous evidence-based research evaluating their effect on long coronavirus disease (COVID) cough. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical study was conducted among patients with long COVID cough from 19 hospitals and 23 community health centers in China. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either Lianhua Qingke tablets or placebo orally for 14 days (four tablets, 1.84 g, three times a day). The primary endpoint indicator was the disappearance of cough, with the remission of cough also considered. Among 482 randomized patients, 480 (full analysis set 480; per-protocol set 470; safety set 480) were included in the primary analysis. According to the full analysis, the time until cough disappearance was significantly shorter in the trial group than in the control group, with a significant increase in the 14-day cough disappearance rate. Accordingly, the time to cough remission was significantly shorter in the trial group than in the control group. The change in the total symptom score was significantly greater in the trial group than in the control group on days 7 and 14, consistent with the results indicated by the visual analog scale (VAS) and cough evaluation test (CET) scores. No serious adverse events were recorded during the study. Lianhua Qingke tablets significantly improved the clinical symptoms of patients with long COVID cough.

Life Cycle Assessment of Exopolysaccharides and Phycocyanin Production with Arthrospira platensis

In the pursuit of sustainable solutions for contemporary environmental challenges arising from the increasing global demand for energy, this study delves into the potential of cyanobacteria, specifically Arthrospira platensis (commonly known as “spirulina”), as a versatile resource. Employing a life cycle assessment (LCA) in accordance with the ISO 14044:2006 standard and employing both midpoint and endpoint indicators, the study comprehensively evaluates environmental impacts. The research explored a range of scenarios, specifically investigating variations in light intensity and harvesting volume. These investigations were carried out using a pilot-scale photobioreactor, specifically an airlift reactor system featuring a horizontal tubular downcomer. The primary focus is on extracting valuable compounds, namely exopolysaccharides and phycocyanin. It emphasized the extraction of value-added products and strategic integration with a biogas plant for process heat, contributing to developing a sustainable supply network and offering insights into environmentally conscious algae cultivation practices with implications for renewable energy and the production of valuable products. The results emphasize the project’s potential economic feasibility with minimal energy impact from by-product extraction. The environmental assessment identifies marine ecotoxicity and fossil resource depletion as principal impacts, predominantly influenced by upstreaming and harvesting stages. After conducting comparisons across various scenarios, it was found that cultivations under higher light intensities have a lower environmental impact than cultivations with low light supply. However, regardless of light intensity, processes with shorter harvesting cycles tend to have a smaller environmental impact compared to processes with longer harvesting cycles. Overall, this research contributes a nuanced and realistic perspective, fostering informed decision-making in sustainable algae cultivation practices, with implications for renewable energy and valuable compound production.

Analysis of clinical research features and outcome indexes of traditional Chinese medicine intervention in septic kidney injury

This study aims to systematically review the clinical features and outcome indicators in randomized controlled trial(RCT) of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) intervention in septic kidney injury and provide a reference for optimizing clinical study design and building the core outcome set(COS) of TCM treatment of septic kidney injury. Computer searches were conducted on PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and SinoMed to find published RCT of TCM intervention in septic kidney injury in the past five years, extract the basic characteristics, intervention measures, outcome indicators, and other data of included studies, and conduct descriptive analysis. 53 RCTs were included, and the sample size was mostly concentrated in 60-80 cases, with abdominal infection being the most common(15 articles, 83.3%) and the TCM syndrome of blood stasis being the most frequent(9 articles, 50.0%). The frequency of intervention methods from high to low were TCM decoction(28 articles, 52.8%), Chinese patent medicine(22 articles, 41.5%), and combined TCM therapy(3 articles, 7.5%); the intervention time of the trial was more than 7 d(34 articles, 69.4%). The risk of bias in included studies was unclear. A total of 84 outcome indicators were involved, which were divided into 9 fields, including 63 physical and chemical tests(305 times, 72.2%), 4 kinds of disease degree(48 times, 11.6%), 4 kinds of clinical effective rate(15 times, 3.6%), 1 kind of quality of life(1 time, 0.2%), 2 kinds of economic evaluation(14 times, 3.3%), 1 kind of TCM disease(9 times, 2.1%), 2 kinds of long-term prognosis(16 times, 3.8%), 2 kinds of safety events(6 times, 1.4%), and 5 other indicators(8 times, 0.7%). The cumulative frequency was 422 times, among which the outcome indicators with higher frequency were inflammatory factors(42 articles, 79.2%) and markers of renal function and kidney injury(40 articles, 75.5%). Only 1(1.9%) of the included articles mentioned primary and secondary outcome indicators, and 6 articles(11.3%) mentioned safety events, 13 articles(24.5%) mentioned economic assessment. The RCT quality of TCM intervention in septic renal injury was generally low, and the reference standards for sepsis, kidney injury, and TCM syndrome diagnosis were not uniform. There are some problems in outcome indicators, such as unclear distinction between primary and secondary indicators, neglect of endpoint indicators, lack of application of TCM characteristic indicators, and insufficient attention to safety events and economic assessment. It is suggested that the quality of clinical research methodology should be improved in the future, and the COS should be constructed to provide high-level evidence-based evidence for TCM intervention in septic kidney injury.

Biases in life cycle assessment of circular concrete

This investigation constitutes the fourth phase of a conceptual framework designed to produce circular concrete upon the main principals of circular economy reduce, reuse and recycle. Comparative life cycle assessment is carried out for conventional and circular concrete mixtures to identify biases in the results of common life cycle assessments. Ten midpoint and four endpoint indicators are assessed using the impact 2002+ method. In baseline scenarios, environmental performances of conventional and circular concrete mixtures are compared over identical service lifes, considering cradle-to-grave and cradle-to-cradle (closed-loop) system boundaries, respectively. Results reveal that by using optimal amounts of two industrial wastes i.e. Silica fume and ground granulated blast furnace slag, as binder materials, and recycled concrete aggregate, the environmental performance of concrete is significantly enhanced. Such condition is obtained by remarkable reduction of environmental indicators (up to 44%) at both midpoint and endpoint levels. Also, circular concrete embraces a considerable amount of Non-Renewable Energy saving (40%). Investigating the impact of different end-of-life scenarios indicates that limiting boundary conditions in the cradle-to-gate approach (lack of considering end-of-life stage) has offset the results. Furthermore, the comparison trends were completely reversed in some environmental indicators upon considering the impact of service life.

Water-related liveability assessment: Indicators for evaluation of urban design

Sustainable water management, and the reshaping of the interactions between environment, infrastructure and humans it implies, increasingly requires consideration of the associated effects on urban liveability. This paper presents a suitable method of systematic assessment of water-related liveability benefits of different urban designs. The study identified a long list of potential indicators and then down-selected and tested 23 indicators that can quantify liveability aspects of water-related urban environment (green space, blue space, water infrastructure). These were used the quantify and compare water-related liveability of three development scenarios for a 130-ha precinct in South Australia. The study found that designs with water sensitive features contribute to the liveability of medium-density redevelopment through improved accessibility of green and blue space, use of irrigated green space, use of alternative water source systems and diversity of public green space. However, the effect of population size is notable, with the availability of blue and green space being higher in low-density scenarios. The study provides a methodology for understanding the relationship between water and liveability by measuring aspects of water-related environment as mid-point indicators, rather than end point indicators such as residential satisfaction. This work could inform further studies of the trade-offs between liveability and water provisioning in the design of future cities and climate adaptation efforts.

Circular bioeconomy approach for pig farming systems using microalgae-based wastewater treatment processes

The circular bioeconomy (CBE) presents a sustainable solution for the pig farming system, delivering economic and environmental benefits. This shift from a linear to a CBE model is anticipated to result in substantial economic, environmental, and social transformations. In this study, the CBE outcomes are evaluated with Scenarios (1 to 3): (1) pig farming and anaerobic digestion (AD) only, (2) pig farming, AD, and microalgae system (MS) with partial microalgae-based biomass (MB) recycle, and (3) pig farming, AD, and MS without MB recycle. Through economic and life cycle analyses, the internal rate of return for Scenarios (1 to 3) are 13.3%, 15.0%, and 12.3%, respectively, but the corresponding endpoint indicators are 483pt, 363pt, and 398pt. To address the best CBE, Scenario 2 by using MB product as a pig feed supplement could achieve higher revenue as well as lower environmental impact.

Biodiversity burdens in Spanish conventional and low-impact single-family homes

Biodiversity loss caused by housing is not a well-defined sector of environmental impact. This research quantifies effects on biodiversity of an average Spanish Single-Family House (SFH) with 180 m2 of built surface. The current Spanish SFH stock GWP amounts to 1.16 Gt CO2eq in a 50-year life cycle, 40 % of which is embodied in the building materials and the 60 % are emissions due to the use of the building. This stock also impacts with 10.2 Gt 1,4-DCB the land, water and human health. SFHs also drive 6052 species extinct in a 50 year life cycle, and account for 3.03 M years of life lost due to premature death or lived with a disability. Divided by the 16 M people living in Spanish SFHs, each one lost 0.19 years of their lives (68.1 days) due to their home's impacts on human health.The article compares a reference conventional building against three low-impact cases, to understand how different building techniques and materials influence environmental outcomes that keep biodiversity loss the lowest possible. Scenarios include a standard brick and concrete house as Scenario 0 (SC0, Base), a timber Passivhaus as Scenario 1 (SC1), a straw-bale house with renewable energies as Scenario 2 (SC2), and an earth bioclimatic house as Scenario 3 (SC3). An initial Global Warming Potential (GWP) analysis was performed to relate previous building Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies with biodiversity metrics. Three main biodiversity metrics; ecotoxicity (as midpoint indicator), biodiversity loss and damage to human health (both as endpoint indicators) have been considered.Compared to SC0 with 1292 kgCO2-eq·m−2 (516 embodied) of GWP, we found that SC1 emitted −47.0 % of that, SC2–41.4 % and SC3–80.9 %. Concerning ecotoxicity, where SC0 has 11,399 kg 1,4 DCB, the results are −27.9 % in SC1, −19.2 % in SC2, and −45.6 % in SC3. Regarding biodiversity loss, where SC0 has 7.54 E−06 species.yr·m−2, the impacts are −30.9 % in SC1, −32.6 % in SC2, and −58.6 % in SC3.Human health damage in SC0 being 3.37 E−03 DALY, has been reduced in the timber home (SC1) is −44.2 %, of the Straw SFH (SC2) −39.2 %, and of the earth house (SC3) −67.1 %.This article shows that with current existing technological solutions GWP could be reduced in −80.9 %, ecotoxicity in −45.6 %, biodiversity loss in −58.6 % and human health in −67.1 %. Spanish Single-Family Houses built in timber, earth or straw-bale are real alternatives to current cement traditional building.

Sustainability of alternative concretes: emergy and life-cycle analysis

The construction industry contributes the highest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, in which concrete production is one of the key components. Extracting and transporting raw materials such as limestone and aggregates contribute to habitat destruction and pollution. This study deals with the relative assessment of a group of commonly used concretes at varied strength levels using emergy analysis and life-cycle assessment (LCA). Six types of concrete are considered for evaluation: normal, binary blended, ternary blended, quaternary blended, alkali-activated and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC). Emergy analysis considers different qualities and quantities of inputs, providing insights on resource-based impacts through emergy indicators. LCA, conducted using the SimaPro software, evaluates the environmental impacts of concrete production using midpoint and endpoint indicators. From emergy analysis, it is observed that concrete with alternative materials such as fly ash, silica fume, ground granulated blast-furnace slag and recycled aggregate exhibits better results in terms of emergy indicators. RAC shows the highest value of emergy sustainability index in all strength ranges. In LCA, higher impacts are seen for normal concrete, followed by those for RAC. To obtain a more inclusive result, an integrated emergy–LCA index is proposed. The results from this index aid in improved decision making regarding the sustainability of the system considered.

Comparative life cycle environmental assessment of recycled aggregates concrete blocks using accelerated carbonation curing and traditional methods

Accelerated carbonization curing has been a technically feasible alternative to the conventional curing method in the production of recycled aggregate concrete blocks (RACB). However, the environmental impacts of the curing scenarios on production have not yet been studied. Therefore, the paper evaluated the environmental feasibility of curing methods to produce RACB based on the LCA framework. The system boundary from the cradle to the door was selected to compare the overall influence of accelerated carbonation curing methods (pressurized carbonation curing, wet carbonation curing) and traditional curing methods (standard curing, autoclave curing) on the environmental impact. CO2 absorption was calculated by the Kim and Chae carbonation model combined with experimental carbonation depth. Environmental emission calculated from the inventory database was distributed to ten midpoint indicators and three endpoint indicators by the CML 2016 baseline and ReCiPe endpoint method. The distribution of contributions to the environmental impacts of the four production stages (raw material processing stage, raw material transportation stage, block manufacture stage, and block curing stage) was subdivided to facilitate decision-making and improve the management of the block plant. A sensitivity analysis ultimately complements the effect of curing time on the environmental sustainability of RACB production. The results showed that the traditional curing method had a more significant environmental impact, while accelerated carbonization curing had a relatively lower environmental impact. Compared with standard curing, the GWP value of pressurized and wet carbonization curing decreased by 33.3% and 52.8%, respectively. The 1 m3 RACB showed the lowest GWP value of 254.7 kg CO2-eq under wet carbonization curing and the highest GWP value of 539.5 kg CO2-eq under standard curing. The CO2 absorption capacity of −73.0 kg CO2-eq and −99.3 kg CO2-eq was demonstrated by pressurized and wet carbonization curing, respectively. The ranking from all midpoint and endpoint indicators is standard curing > autoclaved curing > pressurized carbonization curing > wet carbonization curing. Contribution analysis based on midpoint indicators showed that the raw material handling stage has the highest percentage contribution. Cement is still the most significant contributor to the environmental impact, followed by significant energy consumption, while water consumption hardly negatively impacts the environment. The results of sensitivity analysis indicate that accelerated carbonation curing (especially wet carbonation curing) is less relevant to the variation of curing time, while conventional curing methods are strongly influenced by curing time.

A distance-to-sustainability-target approach for indicator aggregation and its application for the comparison of wind energy alternatives

Sustainability impact assessments studies combine several indicators to cover environmental, economic and social impacts. These indicators describe different impact pathways and are expressed in different units, which makes comparing alternatives challenging. An aggregated metric is required to facilitate the presentation and communication of sustainability. The presented aggregation framework is based on the distance-to-target method NR-TOPSIS and adapted to a distance-to-sustainability-target approach. A procedure is given for aggregating 12 sustainability indicators into a single score sustainability indicator. Reference points for normalization of diverse impact indicators and weighting factors are investigated. The framework was applied to a wind energy case study comparing one offshore and two onshore alternatives. The case study results were compared using both a dashboard of 12 endpoint indicators and an aggregated sustainability indicator. The indicator was presented on a sustainability scale that indicated the distance of the investigated cases to an ideal (sustainable) solution. A sensitivity analysis of the weighting factors showed that the distribution of weights influenced the ranking of alternatives, especially when the alternatives are positioned close to each other on the sustainability scale, as it is the case for the wind energy scenarios. For most of the weighting scenarios, the onshore wind energy project using permanent magnet synchronous generators appeared to be the most sustainable solution.

Outcome indicators in clinical trials on traditional Chinese medicine treatment of microvascular angina

This study reviewed the current status of the use of outcome indicators in randomized controlled trial(RCT) on traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) treatment of microvascular angina(MVA) and analyzed the existing problems and possible solutions, aiming to provide a basis for the design of high-quality RCT and the establishment of core outcome sets for MVA. CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, EMbase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and 2 clinical trial registries were searched for the RCT on TCM treatment of MVA according to pre-defined criteria. The Cochrane's risk of bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included RCT and the use of outcome indicators was summarized. A total of 69 RCTs were included, from which 100 outcome indicators were extracted, with the frequency of 430. The extracted outcome indicators belonged to 8 domains: response rate, symptoms and signs, physical and chemical examinations, TCM efficacy, safety, quality of life, economic evaluation, and long-term prognosis. The indicators of physical and chemical examinations were the most(70 indicators with the frequency of 211), followed by those of response rate(7 indicators with the frequency of 73) and symptoms and signs(7 indicators with the frequency of 54). The outcome indicators with higher frequency were adverse reactions, angina attack frequency, clinical efficacy, endothelin-1, total duration of treadmill exercise, and hypersensitive C-reactive protein. The RCT on TCM treatment of MVA had the following problems: irregular reporting of adverse reactions, diverse indicators with low frequency, lack of attention to the application of endpoint indicators, insufficient use of TCM differentiation and efficacy indicators, non-standard evaluation criteria and failure to reflect the basic characteristics of TCM. A unified MVA syndrome differentiation standard should be established, on the basis of which an MVA treatment efficacy evaluation system and core outcome indicator set that highlights the characteristics of TCM with patient-reported outcomes as the starting point should be established to improve the clinical research and research value.

Fabrication and Applications of Potentiometric Membrane Sensors Based on Specific Recognition Sites for the Measurement of the Quinolone Antibacterial Drug Gemifloxacin.

Supramolecular gemifloxacin (GF) sensors have been developed. Supramolecular chemistry is primarily concerned with noncovalent intermolecular and intramolecular interactions, which are far weaker than covalent connections, but they can be exploited to develop sensors with remarkable affinity for a target analyte. In order to determine the dose form of the quinolone antibacterial drug gemifloxacin, the current study's goal is to adapt three polyvinylchloride (PVC) membrane sensors into an electrochemical technique. Three new potentiometric membrane sensors with cylindric form and responsive to gemifloxacin (GF) were developed. The sensors' setup is based on the usage of o-nitrophenyl octyl ether (o-NPOE) as a plasticizer in a PVC matrix, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) (sensor 1), γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) (sensor 2), and 4-tert-butylcalix[8]arene (calixarene) (sensor 3) as an ionophore, potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate (KTpClPB) as an ion additive for determination of GF. The developed method was verified according to IUPAC guidelines. The sensors under examination have good selectivity for GF, according to their selectivity coefficients. The constructed sensors demonstrated a significant response towards to GF over a concentration range of 2.4 × 10-6, 2.7 × 10-6, and 2.42 × 10-6 mol L-1 for sensors 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The sensors showed near-Nernstian cationic response for GF at 55 mV, 56 mV, and 60 mV per decade for sensors 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Good recovery and relative standard deviations during the day and between days are displayed by the sensors. They demonstrated good stability, quick response times, long lives, rapid recovery, and precision while also exhibiting good selectivity for GF in various matrices. To determine GF in bulk and dose form, the developed sensors have been successfully deployed. The sensors were also employed as end-point indicators for titrating GF with sodium tetraphenyl borate.

Mode of innovative green production for concrete engineering: life cycle assessment of accelerators prepared from aluminum mud wastes.

In this study, two types of liquid alkali-free accelerators were prepared by aluminum sulfate (AF1) and aluminum mud wastes (AF2), and the life cycle assessment (LCA) in the preparation of AF1 and AF2 was compared. The LCA was considered from cradle to gate including raw materials used, transportation, and accelerator preparation based on the method ReCiPe2016. The results indicated that AF1 had a higher environmental impact in all midpoint impact categories and endpoint indicators than that of AF2, and AF2 reduced 43.59% emission of CO2, 59.09% emission of SO2, 71% consumption of mineral resources, and 46.67% consumption of fossil resources than that of AF1 respectively. As an environment-friendly accelerator, AF2 had a better application performance than traditional accelerator AF1. When the dosage of accelerators was 7%, the initial setting times of cement pastes containing AF1 and AF2 were 4 min 57 s and 4 min 04 s respectively, the final setting times of cement pastes containing AF1 and AF2 were 11 min 49 s and 9 min 53 s respectively, and the compressive strengths at 1 d of mortars containing AF1 and AF2 were 7.35 MPa and 8.33 MPa respectively. This study aims to provide technical feasibility and environmental impact assessment for exploring new avenues of preparing environment-friendly liquid alkali-free accelerators with aluminum mud solid wastes. It has great potential in reducing carbon and pollution emissions and has a greater competitive advantage due to great application performance.

Energy-Consumption-Based Life Cycle Assessment of Additive-Manufactured Product with Different Types of Materials.

Additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing technology is one of the preferred methods to ensure sustainability in fabrication. In addition to providing continuity in sustainability, fabrication, and diversity, it aims to improve people's quality of life, develop the economy, and protect the environment and resources for future generations. In this study, the life cycle assessment (LCA) method was used to determine whether a product fabricated by the AM provides tangible benefits compared to traditional fabrication methodologies. LCA is an evaluation method that provides information on resource efficiency and waste generation, where the environmental impacts of a process can be calculated, measured, and reported throughout the entire life cycle, starting from the acquisition of raw materials, processing, fabrication, use, end of life, and disposal, according to ISO 14040/44 standards. This study examines the environmental impacts of the three most preferred filaments and resin materials in the AM for a 3D-printed product from the start, which consists of three stages. These stages are raw material extraction, manufacturing, and recycling. Filament material types are Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polylactic Acid (PLA), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETG), and Ultraviolet (UV) Resin. The fabrication process was carried out with Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) and Stereolithography (SLA) techniques using a 3D printer. Environmental impacts for all identified steps were estimated over the life cycle using the energy consumption model. As a result of the LCA, it was seen that UV Resin was the most environmentally friendly material in the mid-point and end-point indicators. It has been determined that the ABS material also exhibits bad results on many indicators and is the least environmentally friendly. The results support those working with AM in comparing different materials' environmental impacts and choosing an environmentally friendly material.

Life cycle impacts assessment of two gold extraction systems in Colombia: open-pit and alluvial mining

Gold mining has historically and significantly contributed to the Colombian economy. Gold extraction in Colombia is mainly done through two techniques: open-pit and alluvial mining. In this study, the environmental impacts of both these mining systems were analyzed using the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework, including identification of the system components that contribute most to impacts. Inventory data were obtained for two medium-scale mines in Colombia, one representing the open-pit method and the other the alluvial method. Environmental impacts were classified and characterized by mid-point impact categories and further aggregated into end-point indicators through the ReCiPe (v. 1.11) methodology, which uses a hierarchist perspective. Results for end-point indicators show that the open-pit mining presents higher values in the human health damage category, influenced primarily by tailings and by the excavation process. For the alluvial mining, the overall impacts were an order of magnitude lower, with ecosystem quality as the most significant contributor due to the stripping of soil and vegetation. In the case of mid-point indicators, freshwater and marine ecotoxicity contribute the most to open-pit mining, while for alluvial mining, metal depletion and natural land transformation contribute the most. Climate change is also a significant impact category for alluvial and open-pit mining. The is a substantial difference in environmental impacts between the two mining systems: the quantified total environmental impact was 1.0 × 1004 points for the open-pit mine and 2.4 × 1003 points for the alluvial mine. Since these mines represent specific Colombian operational conditions, this conclusion cannot be confidently extended to other operational contexts. For example, results in other cases may depend on the local geological features and natural environment conditions. Knowing the critical mining supply chain stages for environmental performance will allow the decision-makers to provide the tools for more sustainable extraction and production.