102 research outputs found
Effect of pine bark and compost on the biological denitrification process of non-hazardous landfill leachate: Focus on the microbiology
In an attempt to optimize the cost-efficiency of landfill leachate treatment by biological denitrification process, our study focused on finding low-cost alternatives to traditional expensive chemicals such as composted garden refuse and pine bark, which are both available in large amount in South African landfill sites. The overall objective was to assess the behaviour of the bacterial community in relation to each substrate while treating high strength landfill leachates. Denitrification processes in fixed bed reactors were simulated at laboratory scale using anaerobic batch tests with immature compost and pine bark. High strength leachate was simulated using a solution of water and nitrate at a concentration of 500 mg lâ1. Results suggest that pine bark released large amounts of phenolic compounds and hydroxylated benzene rings, which both can delay the acclimatization time and inhibit the biological denitrification (only 30% efficiency). Furthermore, presence of potential pathogens like Enterobacter and Pantoea agglomerans prevents the applicability of the pine bark in full-scale operations. On the other hand, lightly composted garden refuse (CGR) offered an adequate substrate for the formation of a biofilm necessary to complete the denitrification process (total nitrate removal observed within 7 days). CGR further contributed to a rapid establishment of an active consortium of denitrifiers including Acinetobacter, Rhizobium, Thermomonas, Rheinheimera, Phaeospirillum and Flavobacterium. Clearly the original composition, nature, carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N) and degree of maturity and stability of the substrates play a key role in the denitrification process, impacting directly on the development of the bacterial population and, therefore, on the long-term removal efficiency
Current status and perspectives of the official sensory control methods in protected designation of origin food products and wines
Resultado de un trabajo colaborativo dentro del Working Group PDO de la European Sensory Science SocietyProtected Designation of Origin (PDO) is part of the regulated quality schemes in the European Union
(EU). Producers of PDO food products and wines have to present EU authorities a technical specification
of their product, which includes its sensory description. European regulation 1151/12 establishes that
sensory characteristics included in PDO certification must be guaranteed. Nevertheless, there is no
standardized approach for the development of sensory control methods for PDO food products, so each
entity in charge of controlling the characteristics of the PDO products decides the best way to follow this
legal requirement. This paper presents the current situation in Spain, Italy and France in relation to the
official sensory control of PDO food products and wines and the accreditation of the laboratories for this
control (these three countries represent 68.9% of the total PDO products registered in the EU). This
manuscript also shows the main methodologies applied in the official sensory control of PDO food
products and wines. The wide diversity of methods used for the sensory control and associated panel
management among PDOs manifests the need to harmonize technical criteria and references at European
level. This is also urgent, because broad differences in the approaches and requirements for sensory
control could bring about unfair competition among PDOs. In this sense, European Sensory Science
Society (E3S) has become an EA recognized stakeholder collaborating in a framework in order to prepare
a document for the harmonization of methodological approaches and technical criteria for the sensory
control of PDO food products and wines
Is the typicality of âProvence RosĂ© winesâ only a matter of color?
Aims: Given the diversity of French dry Rosé wines, Provence Rosé producers (France) wish to evaluate the typicality of their wines in order to better identify their typical characteristics. A clear pink color is one of them but they would also like to identify some specific odors and aromas. Here, we address these issues by: (i) assessing whether the identity of Provence Rosé wines is perceptible by tasting and shared by professionals based on specific odors and aromas (disregarding color as indicator using black glasses), and (ii) evaluating the impact of color on Provence Rosé wine typicality.
Methods and results: Complementary methods were used: exemplarity measurements by a panel of wine professionals, sensory evaluation by a trained expert panel, and color assessment. It was confirmed that Provence RosĂ© wine typicality is based on color because the clearest wines were found to be more typical. However, typicality in odors and aromas was also demonstrated. Using black glasses, wine professionals from Provence agreed on âcitrus fruitâ, âexotic fruitâ and âfresh floralâ odors and aromas being typical attributes of Provence RosĂ© wines. Next, when using transparent glasses, the color of the wines clearly modified the perception of exemplarity.
Conclusion: There is no single sensory profile of typical Provence Rosé wines. Variability within the sensory profiles of this specific Rosé wine area was observed, but some common aromatic and visual characteristics were identified.
Significance and impact of the study: These results could be used as a marketing tool to better highlight the specific intrinsic characteristics of Provence RosĂ© wines. It will now be interesting to investigate the Provence area further in order to evaluate potential sub-area specificities linked to âterroirâ factors
A framework for parameter estimation using sharp-interface seawater intrusion models
Funding : This work was supported by Quebecâs MinistĂšre de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MELCC) [project « Acquisition de connaissances sur les eaux souterraines dans la rĂ©gion des Ăles-de-la-Madeleine » (Groundwater characterization project in the Magdalen Islands region)]; and the Fonds quĂ©bĂ©cois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FRQNT) [International internship program accessed through CentrEau, the Quebec Water Research Center]. The authors would like to thank the Municipality of Les Ăles-de-la-Madeleine for providing pumping datasets and information on current and historical groundwater management. They would also like to thank the team at UniversitĂ© Laval working on the Magdalen Islands project, for their help acquiring datasets and for field logistics, John Molson, for proofreading, and finally the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. The authors would also like to thank Vincent Post for discussions on deep open boreholes, and Francesca Lotti and John Doherty for discussions on seawater intrusion modeling and data assimilation. J-C Comte and O Banton acknowledge the financial support from the Fonds d'Action QuĂ©bĂ©cois pour le DĂ©veloppement Durable for the ERT data collection, undertaken as part of the Madelin'Eau consortium (Ageos-Enviro'Puits-Hydriad), and further thank the Municipality of Les Ăles-de-la-Madeleine for fieldwork logistical and technical support.Peer reviewedproo
Portrait des ressources en eau souterraine des Ăźles de la Madeleine : rapport scientifique
Lâeau souterraine constitue lâunique source dâapprovisionnement en eau potable des Ăźles de la Madeleine. Elle est vulnĂ©rable Ă lâintrusion dâeau salĂ©e qui provient de la mer et aux nombreuses activitĂ©s humaines qui peuvent avoir un impact sur la quantitĂ© ou la qualitĂ© de la ressource. Les changements climatiques pourraient aussi influer sur la disponibilitĂ© future de cette ressource. Une connaissance accrue sur lâeau souterraine et les aquifĂšres qui la contiennent est nĂ©cessaire pour la mise en place de mesures de protection et de gestion durable de la ressource. La prĂ©sente Ă©tude Ă©tablit le Portrait des ressources en eau souterraine des Ăźles de la Madeleine en recensant dâabord lâensemble des connaissances existantes sur les eaux souterraines du territoire dâĂ©tude. Des donnĂ©es complĂ©mentaires de terrain ont ensuite Ă©tĂ© acquises. Lâensemble des informations rĂ©coltĂ©es ont enfin Ă©tĂ© intĂ©grĂ©es et interprĂ©tĂ©es en format cartographique, principalement Ă lâaide dâune approche mĂ©thodologique basĂ©e sur la modĂ©lisation numĂ©rique des Ă©coulements. Les aquifĂšres au potentiel dâexploitation moyen Ă trĂšs Ă©levĂ©, composĂ©s principalement de grĂšs, ont Ă©tĂ© identifiĂ©s. Ceux-ci contiennent la presque totalitĂ© de lâeau souterraine qui est actuellement exploitĂ©e et constituent la rĂ©serve principale en eau douce disponible pour les besoins futurs. Cette eau est de trĂšs bonne qualitĂ© et peut souvent ĂȘtre distribuĂ©e sans traitement particulier. Les aires dâalimentation de ces aquifĂšres correspondent aux territoires qui devraient ĂȘtre ciblĂ©s par les mesures de protection et de gestion de la ressource. La consommation annuelle en eau douce est faible comparativement Ă la rĂ©alimentation annuelle des aquifĂšres. Ainsi, la quantitĂ© dâeau contenue dans les aquifĂšres suffit aux besoins en eau potable actuels. Les ressources en eau souterraine et les rĂ©seaux d'exploitation actuels semblent suffisants pour les besoins futurs de la municipalitĂ© selon les projections en 2050 de la hausse de la consommation et de la diminution du volume dâeau disponible causĂ©e par les changements climatiques
Portrait des ressources en eau souterraine des ßles de la Madeleine : atlas hydrogéologique
Lâeau souterraine constitue lâunique source dâapprovisionnement en eau potable des Ăźles de la Madeleine. Elle est vulnĂ©rable Ă lâintrusion dâeau salĂ©e qui provient de la mer et aux nombreuses activitĂ©s humaines qui peuvent avoir un impact sur la quantitĂ© ou la qualitĂ© de la ressource. Les changements climatiques pourraient aussi influer sur la disponibilitĂ© future de cette ressource. Une connaissance accrue sur lâeau souterraine et les aquifĂšres qui la contiennent est nĂ©cessaire pour la mise en place de mesures de protection et de gestion durable de la ressource. La prĂ©sente Ă©tude Ă©tablit le Portrait des ressources en eau souterraine des Ăźles de la Madeleine en recensant dâabord lâensemble des connaissances existantes sur les eaux souterraines du territoire dâĂ©tude. Des donnĂ©es complĂ©mentaires de terrain ont ensuite Ă©tĂ© acquises. Lâensemble des informations rĂ©coltĂ©es ont enfin Ă©tĂ© intĂ©grĂ©es et interprĂ©tĂ©es en format cartographique, principalement Ă lâaide dâune approche mĂ©thodologique basĂ©e sur la modĂ©lisation numĂ©rique des Ă©coulements. Les aquifĂšres au potentiel dâexploitation moyen Ă trĂšs Ă©levĂ©, composĂ©s principalement de grĂšs, ont Ă©tĂ© identifiĂ©s. Ceux-ci contiennent la presque totalitĂ© de lâeau souterraine qui est actuellement exploitĂ©e et constituent la rĂ©serve principale en eau douce disponible pour les besoins futurs. Cette eau est de trĂšs bonne qualitĂ© et peut souvent ĂȘtre distribuĂ©e sans traitement particulier. Les aires dâalimentation de ces aquifĂšres correspondent aux territoires qui devraient ĂȘtre ciblĂ©s par les mesures de protection et de gestion de la ressource. La consommation annuelle en eau douce est faible comparativement Ă la rĂ©alimentation annuelle des aquifĂšres. Ainsi, la quantitĂ© dâeau contenue dans les aquifĂšres suffit aux besoins en eau potable actuels. Les ressources en eau souterraine et les rĂ©seaux d'exploitation actuels semblent suffisants pour les besoins futurs de la municipalitĂ© selon les projections en 2050 de la hausse de la consommation et de la diminution du volume dâeau disponible causĂ©e par les changements climatiques
Rationales, design and recruitment for the Elfe longitudinal study
Background
Many factors act simultaneously in childhood to influence health status, life chances and well being, including pre-birth influences, the environmental pollutants of early life, health status but also the social influences of family and school. A cohort study is needed to disentangle these influences and explore attribution.
Methods
Elfe will be a nationally representative cohort of 20 000 children followed from birth to adulthood using a multidisciplinary approach. The cohort will be based on the INSEE Permanent Demographic Panel (EDP) established using census data and civil records. The sample size has been defined in order to match the representativeness criteria and to obtain some prevalence estimation, but also to address the research area of low exposure/rare effects. The cohort will be based on repeated surveys by face to face or phone interview (at birth and each year) as well as medical interview (at 2 years) and examination (at 6 years). Furthermore, biological samples will be taken at birth to evaluate the foetal exposition to toxic substances, environmental sensors will be placed in the child's homes. Pilot studies have been initiated in 2007 (500 children) with an overall acceptance rate of 55% and are currently under progress, the 2-year survey being carried out in October this year.
Discussion
The longitudinal study will provide a unique source of data to analyse the development of children in their environment, to study the various factors interacting throughout the life course up to adulthood and to determine the impact of childhood experience on the individual's physical, psychological, social and professional development
Méthode de caractérisation systémique du fonctionnement de la vigne à partir de l'évaluation des effets combinés du milieu et des pratiques culturales pour prévoir les types de vins
Winegrowers must adapt their viticultural practices taking into consideration new environmental regulations and changing climate. Modelling the viticultural production system may provide guidance and supporting to winegrowers and decision makers. It will furthermore permit researchers and engineers to test prospective scenarios. Modelling must take into account environmental and human factors as well as the quality of products. The objective of the thesis is to propose and test a methodological approach. We designed a conceptual representation of the joint effects of soil, subsoil, landscape and cultural practices on vine functioning. Variables are of different nature and some of them uncertain. We chose appropriate mathematical methods to aggregate variables. These aggregations are based on expert knowledge and automatic learning from data. The joint effects were connected to 'grape/wine' product types that were previously characterized by winegrowers and advisor agents. Modelling and application of the conceptual representation use data from winegrower's plots. Our concept applied to studied plots, allowed showing that it was possible to characterize, in a simple and operational way, the global vine functioning and link it to 'grape/wine' product types. Results validated a two step methodology at the plot level: firstly, characterization of variables evaluating vegetative development and precocity; secondly, characterization of water supply conditions. Vine functioning variables can be predicted. Water supply conditions are predicted according to existing models. Vine development variables can be predicted. Our method highlighted interactions between environmental factors and cultural practices in the prediction of vine vigor. When all of the factors influencing vine development are considered, our results show that a simple model based on direct relationships, coming from expert knowledge and literature, is not efficient enough to predict vine functioning variables. Our modelling method takes into account all the interactions between the variables. Results of this study will aid winegrowers to optimize the choice of their cultural practices, depending on environmental factors and type of wine expected. This method can be applied to protected designation of origin, protected geographical indication and table wines areas.Les viticulteurs doivent adapter leurs pratiques culturales en prenant en compte l'Ă©volution du contexte rĂ©glementaire et climatique. La modĂ©lisation du systĂšme de production viticole peut les y aider. Elle permet la construction d'outils d'aide Ă la dĂ©cision pour les viticulteurs et les techniciens de la filiĂšre viti-vinicole. Pour les chercheurs et ingĂ©nieurs, elle sert aussi de support pour tester des scĂ©narios prospectifs dans le cadre de ce contexte changeant. Dans une approche systĂ©mique, la modĂ©lisation doit intĂ©grer les facteurs du milieu, les facteurs humains et la qualitĂ© des produits, ce qui constitue un enjeu important. Pour rĂ©pondre Ă ce dernier, cette thĂšse a pour objectif de proposer une dĂ©marche mĂ©thodologique et de la tester. Nous avons Ă©laborĂ© le concept 'd'itinĂ©raire de fonctionnement' qui permet de modĂ©liser le fonctionnement de la vigne dans son milieu, en fonction des effets combinĂ©s du sol, du sous-sol, de l'environnement paysager et des pratiques culturales. Ces variables Ă©tant de nature diffĂ©rente, et prĂ©sentant une certaine part d'incertitude, nous avons choisi des mĂ©thodes mathĂ©matiques appropriĂ©es pour les agrĂ©ger. Ces agrĂ©gations se basent sur de la connaissance experte et de l'extraction de connaissance venant des bases de donnĂ©es. AprĂšs une caractĂ©risation, les itinĂ©raires de fonctionnement ont Ă©tĂ© mis en relation avec les types de produit raisin/vin identifiĂ©s par des viticulteurs et techniciens. La modĂ©lisation et l'application du concept d'itinĂ©raire de fonctionnement s'appuient sur des donnĂ©es recueillies sur des parcelles du vignoble. L'application du concept d'itinĂ©raire de fonctionnement de la vigne, sur des parcelles d'Ă©tude, a permis de montrer qu'il Ă©tait possible de caractĂ©riser, de maniĂšre simple et opĂ©rationnelle, le fonctionnement de la vigne dans son ensemble et de le relier Ă des types de produit raisin/vin. Les rĂ©sultats valident une application en deux Ă©tapes : dans un premier temps, la caractĂ©risation de variables Ă©valuant le niveau de dĂ©veloppement vĂ©gĂ©tatif et la prĂ©cocitĂ© des parcelles, et dans un second temps, l'Ă©valuation de l'impact des conditions d'alimentation hydrique. Les variables de fonctionnement de la vigne peuvent ĂȘtre prĂ©dites. Les conditions d'alimentation hydrique le sont en fonction de modĂšles existants. La mĂ©thode proposĂ©e pour Ă©valuer la vigueur de la vigne a mis en Ă©vidence la prĂ©sence d'interactions entre les facteurs du milieu et les pratiques culturales. Nos rĂ©sultats montrent, que lorsque l'ensemble des facteurs sont pris en compte, un modĂšle basĂ© uniquement sur une connaissance experte et des relations directes issues de la bibliographie ne peut pas ĂȘtre performant pour prĂ©dire les variables de fonctionnement. La mĂ©thode de modĂ©lisation que nous proposons intĂšgre, en plus, l'effet des interactions entre les variables Les rĂ©sultats de cette Ă©tude permettront aux viticulteurs de choisir les pratiques culturales les mieux adaptĂ©es aux facteurs du milieu et au type de vin souhaitĂ©. Cette mĂ©thode est applicable aussi bien pour les zones d'appellation que pour les zones de production de vins gĂ©nĂ©riques
Validation d'indicateurs de vigueur, précocité et contrainte hydrique
National audienceLâoptimisation des itinĂ©raires techniques de production est de plus en plus nĂ©cessaire pour adapter la production de vin Ă lâaugmentation des coĂ»ts Ă©nergĂ©tiques, Ă lâĂ©volution des marchĂ©s, aux Ă©volutions rĂ©glementaires et au changement climatique. Pour faciliter cette adaptation, des outils dâaide Ă la dĂ©cision peuvent ĂȘtre construits. Dans cette action de recherche, des indicateurs permettant de caractĂ©riser la vigueur, la prĂ©cocitĂ© et la contrainte hydrique dâune parcelle de vigne Ă partir des effets conjoints des facteurs du milieu et des pratiques agro-viticoles ont Ă©tĂ© construits et validĂ©
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