Relationship between turbidity and total suspended solids concentration within a combined sewer system.

8 pagesInternational audienceThis article confirms the existence of a strong linear relationship between turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS) concentration. However, the slope of this relation varies between dry and wet weather conditions, as well as between sites. The effect of this variability on estimating the instantaneous wet weather TSS concentration is assessed on the basis of the size of the calibration dataset used to establish the turbidity - TSS relationship. Results obtained indicate limited variability both between sites and during dry weather, along with a significant inter-event variability. Moreover, turbidity allows an evaluation of TSS concentrations with an acceptable level of accuracy for a reasonable rainfall event sampling campaign effort

Global warming as a driving factor for cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Karaoun, Lebanon

18 pagesInternational audienceThe Middle East region suffers already from the gradual effects of climate change and will be among the most vulnerable regions in the future. As a result, productivity should undergo losses due to high temperatures, drought, floods and soil degradation which threaten food security of Levantine countries. Since water is the critical factor in the region, even slight changes in air temperature and rainfall patterns will have considerable impact. It has been proven that potential climate change may disrupt, on one hand, most ecosystems through changes in their physicochemical conditions, and on the other hand the species which are living in these ecosystems. Then, the biodiversity can be found challenging. In this study, the effects of climate change on population and phytoplankton communities of Lake Karaoun were investigated since 1992. The climate regime shifts have been shown to alter the lake ecosystem. In the past, Lake Karaoun was characterized by a highly diversified microflora dominated by diatoms and green algae. Recent climatic fluctuations, with culmination in 2008-2011 and temperatures exceeding 40˚C have upset this biodiversity. Blooms of cyanobacteria, specifically Microcystis aeruginosa and Aphanizomenon ovalisporum, have occurred and disturbed both the ecosystem and the functioning of the lake

Urban lakes: interaction between phytoplankton dynamics and trace metal speciation

9 p.International audienceUrban lakes have a particular influence on the water cycle in urban catchments. Thermal stratification and a longer residence time of the water within the lake can boost the phytoplankton production. On the other hand, trace metals are naturally found in environment in trace amounts due to erosion and physic-chemical or biological alteration processes. Trace metals are essential to growth and reproduction of organisms. However, they are also well known for their toxic effects on animals and humans. Their ecotoxicity depends on metal properties and chemical speciation (particulate, dissolved: labile or bioavailable and inert fractions). The interaction between phytoplankton production and trace metal speciation is not well understood until present time. The aim of this research is twofold: (1) to analyze the driving processes of the phytoplankton production in an urban lake through physical-chemical and biological field data collection and (2) simultaneously to survey the chemical speciation of trace metals in this lake. To address these issues, a field survey and laboratory analysis, including physical-chemical, biological variables, organic matter and trace metal concentrations, have been designed and implemented in an urban study site: Lake Créteil in France

An integrated approach for urban water modelling, linking a watershed hydrological model and a cyanobacteria dynamics model in urban lakes

International audienceIn the future, the frequency and the intensity of cyanobacteria blooms in urban lakes are expected to increase in response to climate change and expanding urbanization. In order to study the impacts of watershed changes on cyanobacteria dynamics in urban lakes, a modelling approach, in which an ecological lake model is connected to a hydrological watershed model, is proposed. To validate this approach, the water quality (temperature, transparency, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll-a) was monitored at high frequency (5-30 min) on two study sites in contrasted regions (climate, land-use...). In the first part of this paper, we show the advantage of using high-frequency data to simulate cyanobacteria dynamics in Lake Enghien (France), a temperate urban lake. In a second part, the methodology used, to link the ecological lake model and the hydrological watershed model is explained for Lake Pampulha (Brazil), a tropical urban lake. Some preliminary results of the ecological modelling of Lake Pampulha are also presented. The integrated modelling approach proposed, will allow us to study the lake response to different future cenarios of the watershed evolution. Furthermore, high-frequency data are expected to provide a better understanding of the lake functioning during extreme meteorological conditions (e.g. heavy rainfall events or drought)

Linking phytoplankton pigment composition and optical properties: A framework for developing remote-sensing metrics for monitoring cyanobacteria

International audienceThis study has been performed in the framework of a research program aiming to develop a low-cost aerial sensor for the monitoring of cyanobacteria in freshwater ecosystems that could be used for early detection. Several empirical and mechanistic remote-sensing tools have been already developed and tested at large scales and have proven useful in monitoring cyanobacterial blooms. However, the effectiveness of these tools for early detection is hard to assess because such work requires the detection of low concentrations of characteristic pigments amid complex ecosystems exhibiting several confounding factors (turbidity, blooms of other species, etc.). We developed a framework for performing high-throughput measurements of the absorbance and reflectance of small volumes (~= 20 mL) of controlled mixtures of phytoplankton species and studied the potential of this framework to validate remote-sensing proxies of cyanobacteria concentration. The absorption and reflectance spectra of single and multiple cultures carried a specific signal that allowed for the quantitative analysis of culture mixes. This specific signal was shown to be related to known pigment absorbance spectra. The concentrations of chlorophyll-a and -b, phycocyanin and phycoerythrin could be obtained from direct absorbance measurements and were correlated with the concentration obtained after pigment extraction (R2 ≥ 0.96 for all pigments). A systematic test of every possible two-band and three-band normalized difference between optical indices was then performed, and the coincidental correlation with chlorophyll-b (absent in cyanobacteria) was used as an indicator of non-specificity. Two-band indices were shown to suffer from non-specificity issues and could not yield strong and specific relationships with phycocyanin or phycoerythrin (maximum R2  0.8)

Telemac3D for aquatic ecological modelling: calibration of the coupled ecological library AED2

HydrodynamicsAbstrac

Large variability of proanthocyanidin content and composition in sainfoin (onobrychis viciifolia)

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) in sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) are of interest to ameliorate the sustainability of livestock production. However, sainfoin forage yield and PA concentrations, as well as their composition, require optimization. Individual plants of 27 sainfoin accessions from four continents were analyzed with LC-ESI-QqQ-MS/MS for PA concentrations and simple phenolic compounds. Large variability existed in PA concentrations (23.0–47.5 mg g–1 leaf dry matter (DM)), share of prodelphinidins (79–96%), and mean degree of polymerization (11–14) among, but also within, accessions. PAs were mainly located in leaves (26.8 mg g–1 DM), whereas stems had less PAs (7.8 mg g–1 DM). Overall, high-yielding plants had lower PA leaf concentrations (R2 = 0.16, P < 0.001) and fewer leaves (R2 = 0.66, P < 0.001). However, the results show that these two trade-offs between yield and bioactive PAs can be overcome

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented

Value of hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs [ASPs]:a systematic review

Abstract Background Hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) aim to promote judicious use of antimicrobials to combat antimicrobial resistance. For ASPs to be developed, adopted, and implemented, an economic value assessment is essential. Few studies demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of ASPs. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the economic and clinical impact of ASPs. Methods An update to the Dik et al. systematic review (2000–2014) was conducted on EMBASE and Medline using PRISMA guidelines. The updated search was limited to primary research studies in English (30 September 2014–31 December 2017) that evaluated patient and/or economic outcomes after implementation of hospital ASPs including length of stay (LOS), antimicrobial use, and total (including operational and implementation) costs. Results One hundred forty-six studies meeting inclusion criteria were included. The majority of these studies were conducted within the last 5 years in North America (49%), Europe (25%), and Asia (14%), with few studies conducted in Africa (3%), South America (3%), and Australia (3%). Most studies were conducted in hospitals with 500–1000 beds and evaluated LOS and change in antibiotic expenditure, the majority of which showed a decrease in LOS (85%) and antibiotic expenditure (92%). The mean cost-savings varied by hospital size and region after implementation of ASPs. Average cost savings in US studies were $732 per patient (range:$2.50 to $2640), with similar trends exhibited in European studies. The key driver of cost savings was from reduction in LOS. Savings were higher among hospitals with comprehensive ASPs which included therapy review and antibiotic restrictions. Conclusions Our data indicates that hospital ASPs have significant value with beneficial clinical and economic impacts. More robust published data is required in terms of implementation, LOS, and overall costs so that decision-makers can make a stronger case for investing in ASPs, considering competing priorities. Such data on ASPs in lower- and middle-income countries is limited and requires urgent attention