Suitability of EPDs for Supporting Life Cycle and Comparative Analysis of Concrete Mixtures.

The use of environmental product declarations (EPDs) of concrete and other construction materials is gaining momentum. EPDs should enable an informed selection of products with a lower environmental footprint; hence, the issue of EPD comparability is highly relevant. In this paper, we identified and discussed the present shortcomings and future opportunities that can promote a meaningful EPD comparison for concrete products.

Material Stock and Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Global and Urban Road Pavement.

Roads play a key role in movements of goods and people but require large amounts of materials emitting greenhouse gases to be produced. This study assesses the global road material stock and the emissions associated with materials' production. Our bottom-up approach combines georeferenced paved road segments with road length statistics and archetypical geometric characteristics of roads.

Mitigating life cycle GHG emissions of roads to be built through 2030: Case study of a Chinese province.

The expansion of road networks in emerging economies such as China causes significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This development is conflicting with China's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality. Thus, there is a need to better understand life cycle emissions of road infrastructure and opportunities to mitigate these emissions.

The role of concrete in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of US buildings and pavements.

Concrete is a critical component of deep decarbonization efforts because of both the scale of the industry and because of how its use impacts the building, transportation, and industrial sectors. We use a bottom-up model of current and future building and pavement stocks and construction in the United States to contextualize the role of concrete in greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions strategies under projected and ambitious scenarios, including embodied and use phases of the structures' life cycle. We show that projected improvements in the building sector result in a reduction of 49% of GHG emissions in 2050 relative to 2016 levels, whereas ambitious improvements result in a 57% reduction in 2050, which is 22.

Urban-Scale Evaluation of Cool Pavement Impacts on the Urban Heat Island Effect and Climate Change.

We implemented a context-sensitive and prospective framework to assess the global warming potential (GWP) impacts of cool pavement strategies on specific roads for different cities. The approach incorporates several interconnections among different elements of the built environment, such as buildings and urban road segments, as well as the transportation fleet, using specific building and pavement information from an urban area. We show that increasing pavement albedo lowers urban air temperatures but can adversely affect the building energy demand in the areas with high incident radiation exposure.

Quantifying Location-Specific Impacts of Pavement Albedo on Radiative Forcing Using an Analytical Approach.

High-albedo materials reflect more solar radiation and, thereby, alter the earth's radiative balance. Increasing pavement albedo, therefore, has been considered as a technological strategy to mitigate global warming. Previous studies have evaluated this strategy using global average models.

A Methodology for Robust Comparative Life Cycle Assessments Incorporating Uncertainty.

We propose a methodology for conducting robust comparative life cycle assessments (LCA) by leveraging uncertainty. The method evaluates a broad range of the possible scenario space in a probabilistic fashion while simultaneously considering uncertainty in input data. The method is intended to ascertain which scenarios have a definitive environmentally preferable choice among the alternatives being compared and the significance of the differences given uncertainty in the parameters, which parameters have the most influence on this difference, and how we can identify the resolvable scenarios (where one alternative in the comparison has a clearly lower environmental impact).

Quantifying Domestic Used Electronics Flows using a Combination of Material Flow Methodologies: A US Case Study.

This paper describes the scope, methods, data, and results of a comprehensive quantitative analysis of generation, stock, and collection of used computers and monitors in the United States , specifically desktops, laptops, CRT monitors, and flat panel monitors in the decade leading up to 2010. Generation refers to used electronics coming directly out of use or postuse storage destined for disposal or collection, which encompasses a variety of organizations gathering used electronics for recycling or reuse. Given the lack of actual statistics on flows of used electronics, two separate approaches, the sales obsolescence method (SOM) and the survey scale-up method (SSUM), were used in order to compare the results attained and provide a range for estimated quantities.

Quantifying export flows of used electronics: advanced methods to resolve used goods within trade data.

There is limited convincing quantitative data on the export of used electronics from the United States (U.S.).

Teaching video neuroimages: reading epilepsy: a seizure in a thousand words (or less).

A 14-year-old right-handed boy developed spells of lip twitching only while reading. With prolonged reading, he occasionally experienced loss of awareness and limb jerking (figure and video on the Neurology® Web site at www.neurology.

GABAB receptor autoantibody frequency in service serologic evaluation.

Objective: Small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and limbic encephalitis are recognized γ-aminobutyric acid-B receptor (GABABR) autoantibody accompaniments. We sought to determine in a diagnostic serology laboratory the frequency and accompaniments (neurologic, oncologic, and serologic) of GABABR-immunoglobulin G (IgG).

Methods: We tested stored serum and CSF specimens from 3 patient groups for GABABR-IgG by indirect immunofluorescence on mouse brain tissue and transfected HEK293 cells.

Telling the patient's story: using theatre training to improve case presentation skills.

A medical student's ability to present a case history is a critical skill that is difficult to teach. Case histories presented without theatrical engagement may fail to catch the attention of their intended recipients. More engaging presentations incorporate 'stage presence', eye contact, vocal inflection, interesting detail and succinct, well organised performances.

Comparative efficacy of group and individual feedback in gross anatomy for promoting medical student professionalism.

Professionalism is a core competency of medical training that requires students to develop the skills of providing and receiving feedback. Our study evaluated the effectiveness of delivering feedback in a group setting compared with an individual setting. The first-year class of Mayo medical students (n = 49) enrolled in gross anatomy (in dissection teams), completed weekly anonymous evaluations of themselves and their teammates regarding seven aspects of professionalism (altruism, compassion, respect, honesty/integrity, responsibility, commitment to excellence, and self-reflection).

Evaluating the economic viability of a material recovery system: the case of cathode ray tube glass.

This paper presents an analysis of the material recovery system for leaded glass from cathode ray tubes (CRTs) using a dynamic material flow analysis. In particular, the global mass flow of primary and secondary CRT glass and the theoretical capacities for using secondary CRT glass to make new CRT glass are analyzed. The global mass flow analysis indicates that the amount of new glass required is decreasing, but is much greater than the amount of secondary glass collected, which is increasing.

Restructuring a basic science course for core competencies: an example from anatomy teaching.

Medical schools revise their curricula in order to develop physicians best skilled to serve the public's needs. To ensure a smooth transition to residency programs, undergraduate medical education is often driven by the six core competencies endorsed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME): patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning, interpersonal skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. Recent curricular redesign at Mayo Medical School provided an opportunity to restructure anatomy education and integrate radiology with first-year gross and developmental anatomy.

Learning to lead: self- and peer evaluation of team leaders in the human structure didactic block.

Increasing emphasis on leadership in medical education has created a need for developing accurate evaluations of team leaders. Our study aimed to compare the accuracy of self- and peer evaluation of student leaders in the first-year Human Structure block (integrated gross anatomy, embryology, and radiology). Forty-nine first-year medical students at Mayo Medical School were assigned to learning teams of three or four members.

A framework for evaluating the economic performance of recycling systems: a case study of North American electronics recycling systems.

A framework for evaluating the economic performance of a recycling system is proposed, and data from four electronics recycling systems in North America (Alberta, California, Maine, and Maryland) that use different operating models are used as a preliminary test of the framework. The framework is built around a hierarchy of descriptors that clarify the function of the system components under consideration and the activities, cash flow elements, and resources within those functions; costs are incurred by specific stakeholders. Data from each system on fee and mass collection amounts and collection, processing, and management costs are used to create a matrix of several net costs for stakeholders within each system.

Material availability and the supply chain: risks, effects, and responses.

Many authors suggest that market forces are inadequate to successfully manage the problems of resource availability and use. The fundamental question is whether these inadequacies are intrinsic to the market or if they arise from a failure of firms to detect and respond to subtle market signals. This paper explores the latter by describing (1) mechanisms that can limit materials availability, (2) effects of such limits on the firm, (3) preliminary metrics to diagnose these risks, and (4) strategies to reduce a firm's risk exposure.