Background, aim, and scope Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been considered one of the tools for supporting decision-making related to the environmental aspects of a product system. It has mainly been used to evaluate the potential impacts associated with relevant inputs and outputs to/from a given product system throughout its life cycle. In most cases, LCA has not considered the impacts on the internal environment, i.e. working environment, but only the external environment. Recently, it has been recognized that the consideration of the impacts on the working environment as well as on the external environment, is needed in order to assess all aspects of the effects on human well-being. To this end, this study has developed a total environmental assessment methodology which enables one to integrate both the working environment and the external environment into the conventional LCA framework. Materials and methods In general, the characteristics of the impacts on the external environment are different from those on the working environment. In order to properly integrate the two types into total environmental impacts, it is necessary to define identical system boundaries and select impact category indicators at the same level. In order to define the identical system boundary and reduce the uncertainties of LCI results, the hybrid IOA (input-output analysis) method, which integrates the advantages between conventional LCI method and IOA method, is introduced to collect input and output data throughout the entire life cycle of a given product. For the impact category indicators at the endpoint level, LWD (Lost Work Days) is employed to evaluate the damage to human health and safety in the working environment, while DALY (disability-adjusted life years) and PAF (Potentially Affected Fraction) are selected to evaluate the damage to human health and eco-system quality in the external environment, respectively. Results and discussion The environmental intervention factors (EIFs) are developed not only for the data categories of resource use, air emissions, and water emissions, but also for occupational health and safety to complete a life cycle inventory table. For the development of the EIFs on occupational health and safety, in particular, the number of workers affected by i hazardous items and the number of workers affected at the i magnitude of disability are collected. For the characterization of the impact categories in the working environment, such as occupational health and safety, the exposure factors, effect factors, and damage factors are developed to calculate the LWD of each category. For normalization, the normalization reference is defined as the total LWD divided by the total number of workers. A case study is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method for the integration of the working environment into the conventional LCA framework. Conclusions This study is intended to develop a methodology which enables one to integrate the working environmental module into the conventional LCA f...
Background/Objectives: Although some studies have suggested that retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), a fat-derived adipokine, is positively related to overweight and obesity-related disorders, these claims have been disputed. This study investigated relationships between RBP4 level and weight status and metabolic disorders in a Korean population including confounding factors, age and gender. Subjects/Methods: From 2005 to 2007, we recruited 570 children and 241 of their parents living in Korean urban areas. We analyzed anthropometrical parameters, blood pressure, lipid profiles, and levels of serum glucose, insulin, leptin and RBP4, and estimated dietary intake based on a self-reported 3-day food diary. Results: Levels of RBP4 were high for men (226.2 mg/ml), mid-range among women (143.2 mg/ml) and low among boys and girls (boys 71.4, girls 66.9 mg/ml). After adjusting for age, gender differences among adults were consistently maintained (Po0.0001), and gender differences among children were detected minimally (P ¼ 0.05). On the basis of Cole's body mass index cutoff points, the prevalence of overweight among children was 19.3%. The prevalence among adults was 32.0%, based on World Health Organization criteria. Overweight children had higher RBP4 concentrations than normal. Overweight women had higher RBP4 levels than those of normal weight. Higher RBP4 levels were observed among overweight men, but the results were not statistically significant. Triglyceride (TG) levels were significantly correlated with RBP4 in all groups. Conclusions: Our results indicate that RBP4 concentrations in a Korean population varied with age, gender and overweight status. TG levels could be strongly correlated with RBP4 concentration.
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