Appropriate selection of construction materials plays a major role in a building's sustainable profile. The study sets out a comparative life cycle assessment of indoor flooring systems of different nature. The flooring systems consisted of coverings and, where required, bonding material and/or impact soundproofing material. The following coverings were assessed: inorganic (natural stone and ceramic tiles), polymer (carpeting and PVC), and wood-based (laminate and parquet) coverings. The life cycle assessment scope was defined cradle to cradle, i.e. product stage, transport to the construction site, installation of all construction elements, use, and valorisation by recycling, as end-of-life transition scenario towards a circular economy. In the use stage, three scenarios were defined as a function of pedestrian traffic intensity, which determined maintenance, repair, and replacement operations and frequencies. The environmental impacts of the coverings product stage were taken from previously assessed and selected Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), as these are standardised public documents devised to provide environmental life cycle information. The method adopted in the study suggests that, though the use of EPDs as information source is interesting, erroneous conclusions may be drawn if the EPDs are not comparable and/or if the comparison is not made in the building context. The results indicate that the flooring systems with inorganic coverings performed best in the global warming, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone creation, and abiotic depletion for fossil resources impact categories, whereas laminates performed best in the abiotic depletion for non-fossil resources and ozone layer depletion impact categories. The carpet flooring system performed worst in every impact category except photochemical ozone creation potential.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.325 | DOI Listing |
Toxicol Rep
December 2024
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Facial Plastic Surgery, Rostock University, Medical Center, Schillingallee 35, Rostock 18057, Germany.
Squamous carcinoma of the head and neck is characterized by aberrant apoptosis that prolongs the proliferative capacity of the cells and by uncontrolled cell growth. This study aimed to examine the pro-apoptotic and antiproliferative effects of cassane diterpenoids on squamous carcinoma cells . The cytotoxicity of four (4) cassane diterpenoids {Six-cinnamoyl- 7-hydroxyvouacapen-5-ol(1), pulcherrimin A(2), C(3), and E(4)} isolated from C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRSC Adv
December 2024
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Intelligent Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Technology, School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University Foshan 528000 China
Aqueous zinc-ion batteries are highly praised for their cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and high safety, making them an ideal choice for next-generation energy storage systems. However, the practical application of Zn metal anodes is constrained by well-known challenges such as dendrite growth and significant interfacial side reactions. This study introduces a trace amount of taurine (TAU) as a leveling additive into the electrolyte to optimize the microstructure of the electrolyte and the anode interface chemistry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
December 2024
Department of Oriental Medicine Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, 17104, Republic of Korea.
Bakuchiol (), a component of , has been reported to have estrogenic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities. Nonetheless, its anticancer mechanisms and effectiveness against hepatocellular carcinoma remain unexplored. This study sought to elucidate the mechanism of apoptosis, autophagy, and cell cycle arrest caused by bakuchiol () and three flavonoids (-) with similar structures to compound in hepatocellular carcinoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFData Brief
December 2024
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA.
A life cycle inventory (LCI) dataset for food waste management was developed using secondary data from scientific literature and government reports. EPA reports on food waste management were used as the basis for collecting literature to review. Unit process parameters from the reviewed literature are compiled and combined with engineering calculations to generate LCI for food management pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
December 2024
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, P. R. China.
Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous protozoan parasite with a complex life cycle containing multiple developmental stages. The parasites have distinct gene expression patterns at different stages to enable stage specific life activities, but the underlying regulatory mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study, a nuclear complex is identified that controls the expression of developmentally regulated genes.
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