Purpose and Audience A wide spectrum of laboratory owners, ranging from universities to federal agencies, have explicit goals for energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions in their facilities. For example, new federal buildings and major renovations of existing buildings are to reduce fossil fuel-generated energy consumption by 90% in 2025, and 100% in 2030, compared with a 2003 baseline (FEMP n.d.). Minnesota SB2030 standard requires achieving an 80% reduction from the average building baseline for commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings (SB2030 n.d). A laboratory—new or existing—is much more likely to meet energy efficiency goals if quantitative metrics and targets are explicitly specified and tracked over the life cycle of the building, from design through construction, commissioning, operations, and renovations. If efficiency targets are not explicitly and properly defined, any additional capital costs or design time associated with attaining higher efficiencies can be difficult to justify relative to other priorities. The purpose of this guide is to provide guidance on how to specify and compute energy efficiency metrics and benchmarks for laboratories, at the whole-building as well as the system level. The information in this guide can be used to incorporate quantitative metrics and targets into new construction or retrofit of existing facilities. For information on strategies and technologies to achieve energy efficiency, the reader is referred to I2SL resources, including technology best practice guides and case studies.

GonaCon™ Immunocontraceptive Vaccine targets the reproductive hormone gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) secreted by the hypothalamus of the brain. Antibodies produced in response to the vaccine inactivate endogenous GnRH, which in turn eliminates stimulation of the pituitary gland and gonads in males or females. The resulting “immunocastration” renders animals unable to produce reproductive steroids or gametes. In previous studies, we demonstrated that GonaCon™ was effective in impairing fertility for up to 3 years in female deer without apparent side effects. However, detailed post mortem evaluations were not done. To better understand the entire physiological response of deer to GonCon™ and to establish if contraindications were associated with its use, we undertook the present study. To evaluate toxicity and safety, 7 does were given the standard single injection GnRH-KLH vaccine dose (1000 µg) delivered IM in 1 ml using AdjuVac™ adjuvant and compared to 6 does given a single control saline IM injection and 6 does given 3 injections of GonaCon™ at 2-week intervals per dose. The study was conducted for 20 weeks. Does were blocked by weight and randomly assigned within blocks to treatment groups. Blood samples were drawn immediately prior to vaccination and at 5, 10, 15, and 20 weeks post immunization. Blood was assayed for LH, testosterone and progesterone, and anti-GnRH titers, as well as hematology and blood chemistry. At each sampling period, the general health of the doe was observed and the injection site was inspected for the formation of abscesses or other tissue reactions. At Week 20, all deer were euthanized and evaluated at necropsy by veterinary pathologists and samples of lymph nodes, reproductive organs, lung, liver, heart, kidney, spleen, and brain were taken for histology. Aside from granulomata formation at the injection site, there were no significant contraindications or toxic effects associated with GonaCon™.