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Abstract The carbon intensity of well-being (CIWB) captures the amount of stress that societies place on the environment to produce human well-being. This Brief Report provides a description of the CIWB in the United States from 1960 to 2023 and analyzes how it changed during Republican and Democratic presidencies. Results show that after rising in the 1960s, the CIWB in the United States has declined, though the rate of decline varies. Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) models show that transitions to Democratic administrations are associated with around a 1% decline in CIWB after one year. This effect is small but statistically significant, suggesting that the American president does have an influence on CIWB but that more work is needed by presidential administrations to reduce CIWB in the long run.

Sellen and Harper’s The Myth of the Paperless Office argued that paper-displacement technologies paradoxically led to a rise in paper consumption. Using data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, I analyze paper-consumption trends in the twenty years since the publication of this pivotal book. These data show that globally paper consumption has leveled out and that in most regions of the world it has begun to decline, in some cases by large amounts in a relatively short period of time. I suggest that there are two primary reasons for this reversal: improved displacement technologies such as smartphones and mobile Internet and time for people and organizations to adopt these new technologies and behaviors.

There is an ongoing need for indicators that balance social and environmental sustainability outcomes. The carbon intensity of well-being (CIWB) is a sustainability indicator that captures environmental impact and social well-being in a single measure. One of the benefits of this measure is that it can be applied across different scales and contexts to explore factors that might reduce the CIWB, leading to greater sustainability. We demonstrate the further utility of the indicator by analyzing CIWB in the United States at the state-level and take an intersectional approach, calculating CIWB by race and gender. We find income inequality contributes to larger CIWB for all groups, but the impacts are greater for blacks compared to whites and males compared to females. Economic growth is also associated with larger CIWB for all groups. These results suggest that to achieve more sustainable outcomes may require policies that address inequalities as well as broader changes to economies.

Addressing environmental problems caused by solid waste generation requires household separation of waste as well as general waste reduction. The factors that influence waste separation behavior are context specific, and much of the research on waste separation has been centered in Western countries that tend to emphasize individualism over collectivism. We apply the theory of planned behavior to explain household waste separation behaviors among households in Mashhad, Iran, and we also build on this theory by incorporating structural situational factors in our analysis. We use structural equation modeling to analyze survey results from 970 households and find support for the theory of planned behavior. In particular, subjective norms were a stronger predictor of behavioral intentions and waste separation behavior, which may be reflective of Iran’s stronger emphasis on collectivism compared to Western countries. Structural factors were negatively associated with waste separation. In Iran and similar contexts, recycling policies that appeal to local norms may have increased success, especially when coupled with decreased barriers to waste separation such as facility siting.

BackgroundPatients with type 2 myocardial infarction (T2MI) and other mechanisms of nonthrombotic myocardial injury have an unmet therapeutic need. Eligibility for novel medical therapy is generally uncertain.MethodsWe predefined colchicine, eplerenone and ticagrelor as candidates for repurposing towards novel therapy for T2MI or myocardial injury. Considering eligibility for randomisation in a clinical trial, each drug was classified according to indications and contraindications for therapy and survival for at least 24 hours following admission. Eligibility criteria for prescription were evaluated against the Summary of Medical Product Characteristics. Consecutive hospital admissions were screened to identify patients with ≥1 high-sensitivity troponin-I value >99th percentile. Endotypes of myocardial injury were adjudicated according to the Fourth Universal Definition of MI. Patients’ characteristics and medication were prospectively evaluated.ResultsDuring 1 March to 15 April 2020, 390 patients had a troponin I>URL. Reasons for exclusion: type 1 MI n=115, indeterminate diagnosis n=42, lack of capacity n=14, death <24 hours n=7, duplicates n=2. Therefore, 210 patients with T2MI/myocardial injury and 174 (82.8%) who survived to discharge were adjudicated for treatment eligibility. Patients who fulfilled eligibility criteria initially on admission and then at discharge were colchicine 25/210 (11.9%) and 23/174 (13.2%); eplerenone 57/210 (27.1%) and 45/174 (25.9%); ticagrelor 122/210 (58.1%) and 98/174 (56.3%). Forty-six (21.9%) and 38 (21.8%) patients were potentially eligible for all three drugs on admission and discharge, respectively.ConclusionA reasonably high proportion of patients may be considered eligible for repurposing novel medical therapy in secondary prevention trials of type 2 MI/myocardial injury.

In the face of climate change, achieving resilience of desirable aspects of food-energy-water (FEW) systems already strained by competing multi-scalar social objectives requires interdisciplinary approaches. This study is part of a larger effort exploring “Innovations in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (INFEWS)” in the Columbia River Basin (CRB) through coordinated modeling and simulated management scenarios. Here, we focus on a case study and conceptual mapping of the Yakima River Basin (YRB), a sub-basin of the CRB. Previous research on FEW system management and resilience includes some attention to social dynamics (e.g., economic and governance systems); however, more attention to social drivers and outcomes is needed. Our goals are to identify several underutilized ways to incorporate social science perspectives into FEW nexus research and to explore how this interdisciplinary endeavor alters how we assess innovations and resilience in FEW systems. First, we investigate insights on FEW nexus resilience from the social sciences. Next, we delineate strategies for further incorporation of social considerations into FEW nexus research, including the use of social science perspectives and frameworks such as socio-ecological resilience and community capitals. Then, we examine a case study of the YRB, focusing on the historical development of the FEW nexus and innovations. We find that a resilience focus applied to the FEW nexus can inadvertently emphasize a status quo imposed by those already in power. Incorporating perspectives from the social sciences, which highlight issues related to inequality, power, and social justice, can address these shortcomings and inform future innovations. Finally, we use causal loop diagrams to explore the role of the social in the FEW nexus, and we suggest ways to incorporate social aspects into an existing stock and flow object-oriented modeling system. This project represents a starting point for a continued research agenda that incorporates social dynamics into FEW system resilience modeling and management in the CRB.

FLEET is a free ship-design simulator that reaches students in their native environment--video games. It is also a physics simulator that applies content first learned through hands-on scientific investigations. Using FLEET, students design and use ships for various naval missions by mastering scientific concepts such as force, energy, and work, while employing an engineering design process. This article describes the use of FLEET in traditional physics classrooms in the early high school years, although FLEET is being used in elementary and middle schools and in more advanced academic settings. The gameplay is intuitive, and teachers have found students need little support to get started with this physics simulator.

Mathematical word problem solving has been a focus of study through a variety of literature bases. This research applies Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) microanalytic protocols as an intervention with students aged 11-22 with a focus on whether math achievement increases. Designing a SRL microanalytic protocol, requires a sequence of steps to define the central learning prompts, the SRL prompts at each phase, and strategic feedback. To deliver these materials at scale, a web-based platform was developed to host the content, record student answers through a variety of interfaces, and provide real-time strategic feedback by analyzing student scores for correctness and common misconceptions. This intervention delivered five similar protocols to 51 students in a pre- and post-test design.Throughout the intervention, high rates of attrition showed that students were not motivated by the intervention. Students omitted the SRL prompts at a higher rate than the mathematics word problems. Pre- and post-test data from the most consistent users of the intervention did not reflect significant growth. The trend in the SRL-specific data similarly did not reflect growth over time. Metacognitive monitoring data did reflect stronger skills by the college subsample than the sample aged 11-17 years old. Qualitative feedback through the final questions in each protocol reflected some technical challenges, but few overarching issues using the materials. Students replicated answers to the goal-setting prompt most, which indicates that this prompt could be asked with less frequency. Overall, the web-based interface was able to capture students’ math achievement and SRL skills, but did not serve as an intervention by itself. The conclusion investigates other ways to strengthen the intervention.

In this review, we discuss how changes in the intragraft microenvironment serve to promote or sustain the development of chronic allograft rejection. We propose two key elements within the microenvironment that contribute to the rejection process. The first is endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis that serve to create abnormal microvascular blood flow patterns as well as local tissue hypoxia, and precedes endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. The second is the overexpression of local cytokines and growth factors that serve to sustain inflammation and, in turn, function to promote a leukocyte-induced angiogenesis reaction. Central to both events is overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is both pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic, and thus drives progression of the chronic rejection microenvironment. In our discussion, we focus on how inflammation results in angiogenesis and how leukocyte-induced angiogenesis is pathological. We also discuss how VEGF is a master control factor that fosters the development of the chronic rejection microenvironment. Overall, this review provides insight into the intragraft microenvironment as an important paradigm for future direction in the field.