Environmental assessment of Swedish clothing consumption - six garments, sustainable futures

The aim of this work was to map and understand the current environmental impact of Swedish clothing consumption. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate the environmental impact of six garments: a T-shirt, a pair of jeans, a dress, a jacket, a pair of socks, and a hospital uniform, using indicators of climate impact (also called “carbon footprint”), energy use, water scarcity, land use impact on soil quality, freshwater ecotoxicity, and human toxicity. The environmental impact of the six garments was then scaled up to represent Swedish national clothing consumption over one year.In addition to fulfilling this aim, the report is a unique and rich source of transparently documented inventory data on a large number of textile processes – hopefully this can be of use for other LCA practitioners. The report updates Roos et al. (2015), which was the first detailed LCA study of Swedish clothing consumption at the national level. Since the publication of the first edition, several LCA studies of textile production processes and global apparel consumption have been published, which have enabled us to refine the inventory model and benchmark the results.The work was done in Mistra Future Fashion, a cross-disciplinary research program in 2011-2019 which aimed to enable a systemic change in the Swedish fashion industry leading to sustainable development in industry and society

Prospective Life-Cycle Modeling of Quantum Dot Nanoparticles for Use in Photon Upconversion Devices

Quantum dot nanoparticles (NPs) can be used in several applications, for example, photon upconversion devices that increase the electricity output of solar modules. In order to facilitate life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of such applications, this study provides ready-to-use LCA unit process data for four NPs suitable for photon upconversion applications: cadmium selenide, cadmium sulfide, lead selenide, and lead sulfide. The data is provided for two prospective scenarios: one optimistic and one pessimistic. An impact assessment is conducted in order to assess the NPs’ climate change performance, where solvent-related processes such as steam production for recycling and hazardous waste treatment are shown to be hotspots. To show the applicability of the data, a prospective assessment of a solar module with an upconversion layer is conducted to investigate whether it is preferable from a climate perspective to install more solar modules or equip existing ones with upconversion devices, leading to more electricity produced in both cases. The assessment shows that solar modules need to become 0.05–2 percentage points more efficient per gram of NPs applied, depending on the scenario, in order for the upconversion layer to be preferable

LCA on fast and slow garment prototypes

This report summarises the environmental assessment work done in the Mistra Future\ua0Fashion program focussed on the potential to improve the environmental performance\ua0of garments and adapt them to a circular economy. The approaches examined in this\ua0report include reducing the environmental impacts from fast-fashion trends by making\ua0garments from paper-based materials, or by extending garment life cycles.This assessment considers two paper-based garments. One is made primarily from paper pulp but enhanced with a polylactic acid polymer. This garment is worn between\ua0two to five times before being recycled as newspaper. The other fast garment is\ua0made of paper pulp, polylactic acid and nanocellulose. It has a similar life cycle but\ua0is composted after use life. These garments are compared with a standard t-shirt. The report also considers a slow-paced scenario in which a polyester garment passes between several owners and is regularly changed to maintain its appeal. It is updated\ua0with a transfer sublimation overprint three times, making the garment darker each\ua0time. Later it is joined with an outer shell of new material using laser technology tomake a cropped, box-cut jacket.The assessment was performed using environmental life cycle assessment. More\ua0particularly, the assessment was based on attributional process analysis with cutoff allocation procedures and comparison with a traditional reference garment life cycle. Key environmental effect categories considered here include climate change (greenhouse gas emissions), freshwater eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity and human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer).The results indicate that the environmental outcomes of the paper-based garments can be competitive with the reference garment, particularly when the user is assumed to throw away a fully functional reference garment after five uses. This assumption may be true for some users, but the number of uses is considerably lower than the typical or the potential lifespan of the reference garment. The main factor assisting the paper-based garments is the reduction in the impacts per mass associated with material manufacturing (fibres, spinning, knitting), and also their lighter masses.\ua0Avoided impacts in the use phase play a secondary role on account of their location in\ua0Sweden with its low-carbon energy mix. The long-life garments are also competitivecompared with their reference garments. This is primarily a consequence of how extending garment life avoids the production of new garments. The environmental impacts associated with transfer sublimation dye reprinting and laser processing do\ua0not significantly impact the overall environmental performance of the extended longlife\ua0garments, though confidentiality of data prevents a full assessment of these.The garments in this report are pilot products and explorative scenarios rather\ua0than attempts to model existing business or behavioural patterns. The reader\ua0should therefore take care to keep the results in context when interpreting them.\ua0Nevertheless, the results suggest the value of pursuing the potential associated with these garment life cycles. We should also bear in mind that while the reference garments in this assessment are based on typical usage patterns, other more\ua0sustainable patterns are feasible

Дисплазия желудочно-кишечного тракта

Рассмотрены возможности прижизненного (дооперационного) изучения состояния слизистой оболочки желудочно−кишечного тракта, дисплазия его эпителия как один из факторов риска возникновения злокачественного образования.Розглянуто можливості прижиттєвого (доопераційного) вивчення стану слизової оболонки шлунково−кишкового тракту, дисплазію його епітелію як один із факторів ризику виникнення злоякісного утворення.The capabilities of vital (preoperative) examination of the state of the gastrointestinal mucosa, epithelial dysplasia as one of the risk factors of malignancy were analyzed

Translational outcomes in a full gene deletion of ubiquitin protein ligase E3A rat model of Angelman syndrome.

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by developmental delay, impaired communication, motor deficits and ataxia, intellectual disabilities, microcephaly, and seizures. The genetic cause of AS is the loss of expression of UBE3A (ubiquitin protein ligase E6-AP) in the brain, typically due to a deletion of the maternal 15q11-q13 region. Previous studies have been performed using a mouse model with a deletion of a single exon of Ube3a. Since three splice variants of Ube3a exist, this has led to a lack of consistent reports and the theory that perhaps not all mouse studies were assessing the effects of an absence of all functional UBE3A. Herein, we report the generation and functional characterization of a novel model of Angelman syndrome by deleting the entire Ube3a gene in the rat. We validated that this resulted in the first comprehensive gene deletion rodent model. Ultrasonic vocalizations from newborn Ube3am-/p+ were reduced in the maternal inherited deletion group with no observable change in the Ube3am+/p- paternal transmission cohort. We also discovered Ube3am-/p+ exhibited delayed reflex development, motor deficits in rearing and fine motor skills, aberrant social communication, and impaired touchscreen learning and memory in young adults. These behavioral deficits were large in effect size and easily apparent in the larger rodent species. Low social communication was detected using a playback task that is unique to rats. Structural imaging illustrated decreased brain volume in Ube3am-/p+ and a variety of intriguing neuroanatomical phenotypes while Ube3am+/p- did not exhibit altered neuroanatomy. Our report identifies, for the first time, unique AS relevant functional phenotypes and anatomical markers as preclinical outcomes to test various strategies for gene and molecular therapies in AS

Analysis of Transaction Logs from National Museums Liverpool

The websites of Cultural Heritage institutions attract the full range of users, from professionals to novices, for a variety of tasks. However, many institutions are reporting high bounce rates and therefore seeking ways to better engage users. The analysis of transaction logs can provide insights into users’ searching and navigational behaviours and support engagement strategies. In this paper we present the results from a transaction log analysis of web server logs representing user-system interactions from the seven websites of National Museums Liverpool (NML). In addition, we undertake an exploratory cluster analysis of users to identify potential user groups that emerge from the data. We compare this with previous studies of NML website users

Searches for Gravitational Waves from Binary Neutron Stars: A Review

A new generation of observatories is looking for gravitational waves. These waves, emitted by highly relativistic systems, will open a new window for ob- servation of the cosmos when they are detected. Among the most promising sources of gravitational waves for these observatories are compact binaries in the final min- utes before coalescence. In this article, we review in brief interferometric searches for gravitational waves emitted by neutron star binaries, including the theory, instru- mentation and methods. No detections have been made to date. However, the best direct observational limits on coalescence rates have been set, and instrumentation and analysis methods continue to be refined toward the ultimate goal of defining the new field of gravitational wave astronomy.Comment: 30 pages, 5 Figures, to appear in "Short-Period Binary Stars: Observations, Analyses, and Results", Ed.s Eugene F. Milone, Denis A. Leahy, David W. Hobil

Abnormal ECG Findings in Athletes: Clinical Evaluation and Considerations.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Pre-participation cardiovascular evaluation with electrocardiography is normal practice for most sporting bodies. Awareness about sudden cardiac death in athletes and recognizing how screening can help identify vulnerable athletes have empowered different sporting disciplines to invest in the wellbeing of their athletes. RECENT FINDINGS: Discerning physiological electrical alterations due to athletic training from those representing cardiac pathology may be challenging. The mode of investigation of affected athletes is dependent on the electrical anomaly and the disease(s) in question. This review will highlight specific pathological ECG patterns that warrant assessment and surveillance, together with an in-depth review of the recommended algorithm for evaluation