Transition énergétique en RFA

La réorientation de la transition énergétique allemande (sur l’impératif de réformes, voir REA 112/2014) est en cours depuis le début de 2014. Avec l’entrée en vigueur, le 1er août 2014, de la loi de révision de la Loi de promotion des énergies renouvelables (Erneuerbare Energien-Gesetz, EEG), les mesures suivantes ont été mises en œuvre : définition d’objectifs de production d’énergie de source renouvelable, révision des critères de soutien aux énergies renouvelables et obligation de vente directe sur le marché de l’électricité. Par ailleurs, le ministère fédéral de l’Economie et de l’Energie a publié le 24-06-2014 un « Agenda énergie en 10 points » (10 Punkte-Energie-Agenda) qui vise la coordination des approches, et des calendriers afférents, à savoir : réforme de la Loi EEG, mise en œuvre conjointe du Paquet Climat-Energie 2030 au sein de l’UE, révision du système européen d’échange de quotas d’émission de CO2, nouvelle approche de l’organisation du marché de l’électricité et de coordination des mix énergétiques, définition d’une stratégie d’efficacité énergétique dans le BTP, développement du réseau allemand de transport et de distribution d’électricité, suivi annuel de l’avancée de la transition énergétique (monitoring) et coopération renforcée des plateformes de recherche en la matière.L’accélération du développement du réseau électrique est un élément central de la transition énergétique allemande depuis son lancement voici bientôt quinze ans. Après l’arrêt de huit réacteurs (7+1) intervenu en 2011 à la suite du moratoire de sortie accélérée du nucléaire, le volume d’électricité d’origine nucléaire injecté dans le réseau a baissé de quelque 9 700 MW, ce qui a profondément modifié la structure du flux de charge, se traduisant par une hausse des importations d’électricité (cette situation s’est toutefois inversée entretemps, l’Allemagne étant aujourd’hui exportatrice) et des flux acheminés d’est en ouest. Cet impact du moratoire sur l’abandon du nucléaire d’ici 2022 à la fois sur les réseaux de transport et la sécurité de l’approvisionnement vient rappeler l’impératif du développement des réseaux.Cet impératif est paneuropéen. Mais la coopération au sein de l’UE entre les exploitants de réseaux est-elle satisfaisante ? Le Paquet infrastructure adopté dans l’UE en 2010 tient-il suffisamment compte de cette priorité ? Depuis toujours, la sécurité durable de l’approvisionnement requiert l’adaptation permanente des réseaux. La transition énergétique – en Allemagne, en France – est venue rappeler combien cette question est cruciale

Einbindung von Videokonferenzen in die Lehre - Erfahrungen aus dem virtuellen Seminar "Equal Opportunities in Comparative Perspective" an der FernUniversität in Hagen

Die Autorinnen berichten vom Einsatz einer Kombination von Videokonferenzen und Videostreaming in internationalen Lehrzusammenhängen. Sie beschreiben zwei Grundsettings für Punkt-zu-Punkt-Videokonferenzen, die sich in der Teil­nahme und Einbindung der Studierenden unterscheiden. Außerdem stellen sie dar, wie die Videokonferenzen didaktisch in einen virtuellen, d.h. internet-vermittelten Kurs eingebettet wurden. Ihre Erfahrungen haben gezeigt, dass die videogestützte Kommunikation den beteiligten Lehrenden wenig Probleme bereitete. Videokonfe­renzen bieten unter dem Aspekten Nachhaltigkeit und Internationalisierung interessante Perspectiven für die Lehre. 25.02.2007 | Sandra HANSEN & Ulrike SCHULTZ (Hagen

Psychosocial primary care – what patients expect from their General Practitioners A cross-sectional trial

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial Primary Care (PPC) is a model of service delivery for patients with mental disorders and psychosocial problems which was established in Germany in 1987. This study was performed as part of the evaluation of a PPC training program. We investigated patients' expectations of the psychosocial treatment offered by GPs trained in PPC. METHODS: Ten general practitioners trained in PPC were randomly selected. Two hundred and twenty patients were surveyed in the waiting room regarding their expectations concerning psychological treatment. RESULTS: Eighty-five per cent of patients could envisage making use of psychosocial treatments. Counselling by the GP was considered most important (65%). Fifty-four per cent of patients indicated that there was sufficient counselling, but further distinctions revealed dissatisfaction with both the extent and content of the counselling. Lack of time was the most frequent reason (53%) cited for insufficient counselling. A willingness to discuss the psychological aspects of illness was exhibited by between 55% (current illness) and 79% of patients. Two-thirds of patients believed that discussing psychological aspects and counselling by the doctor could exert a healing effect or contribute to symptomatic improvement in physical illnesses. Younger patients and patients with experience in psychotherapy expected referral to mental health services. CONCLUSIONS: Primary care patients desire and accept psychological treatment from their GP. Training in psychosocial competence in primary care should be offered more frequently

Neurobehavioral performance of Inuit children with increased prenatal exposure to methylmercury

Exposure to methylmercury from marine mammals and other seafood may affect the development of the central nervous system. In a traditional Inuit community in Qaanaaq, Greenland, mercury concentrations in cord blood and maternal hair have been examined in connection with all births. We examined 43 children at age 7–12 years with a battery of neurobehavioral tests. The average mercury concentration in hair was 5.0 μ/g and 1.5 μ/g in children and mothers, respectively. Clinical neurological examination did not reveal any obvious deficits. However, neuropsychological tests showed possible exposure-associated deficits, though only in a few cases reaching statistical significance. In conjunction with data from other studies, peak latencies on brainstem auditory evoked potentials tended to be prolonged at increased exposure levels. The data from the present study therefore appears in accordance with other evidence that prenatal or early postnatal exposures to methylmercury may cause subtle neurobehavioral deficits

Fifteen new risk loci for coronary artery disease highlight arterial-wall-specific mechanisms

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although 58 genomic regions have been associated with CAD thus far, most of the heritability is unexplained, indicating that additional susceptibility loci await identification. An efficient discovery strategy may be larger-scale evaluation of promising associations suggested by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Hence, we genotyped 56,309 participants using a targeted gene array derived from earlier GWAS results and performed meta-analysis of results with 194,427 participants previously genotyped, totaling 88,192 CAD cases and 162,544 controls. We identified 25 new SNP-CAD associations (P < 5 × 10(-8), in fixed-effects meta-analysis) from 15 genomic regions, including SNPs in or near genes involved in cellular adhesion, leukocyte migration and atherosclerosis (PECAM1, rs1867624), coagulation and inflammation (PROCR, rs867186 (p.Ser219Gly)) and vascular smooth muscle cell differentiation (LMOD1, rs2820315). Correlation of these regions with cell-type-specific gene expression and plasma protein levels sheds light on potential disease mechanisms

5-Fluoro pyrimidines: labels to probe DNA and RNA secondary structures by 1D 19F NMR spectroscopy

19F NMR spectroscopy has proved to be a valuable tool to monitor functionally important conformational transitions of nucleic acids. Here, we present a systematic investigation on the application of 5-fluoro pyrimidines to probe DNA and RNA secondary structures. Oligonucleotides with the propensity to adapt secondary structure equilibria were chosen as model systems and analyzed by 1D 19F and 1H NMR spectroscopy. A comparison with the unmodified analogs revealed that the equilibrium characteristics of the bistable DNA and RNA oligonucleotides were hardly affected upon fluorine substitution at C5 of pyrimidines. This observation was in accordance with UV spectroscopic melting experiments which demonstrated that single 5-fluoro substitutions in double helices lead to comparable thermodynamic stabilities. Thus, 5-fluoro pyrimidine labeling of DNA and RNA can be reliably applied for NMR based nucleic acid secondary structure evaluation. Furthermore, we developed a facile synthetic route towards 5-fluoro cytidine phosphoramidites that enables their convenient site-specific incorporation into oligonucleotides by solid-phase synthesis

Research in Monumental Constructions in Antiquity

Ancient civilizations have passed down to us a vast range of monumental structures. Monumentality is a complex phenomenon that we address here as ‘XXL’. It encompasses a large range of different aspects, such as sophisticated technical and logistical skills and the vast economic resources required. This contribution takes a closer look at the special interdependence of space and knowledge represented by such XXL projects. We develop a set of objective criteria for determining whether an object qualifies as ‘XXL’, in order to permit a broadly framed study comparing manifestations of the XXL phenomenon in different cultures and describing the functional and conceptional role of the phenomenon in antiquity. Finally, we illustrate how these criteria are being applied in the study of large construction projects in ancient civilizations through six case studies

The Added Value of Large-Eddy and Storm-Resolving Models for Simulating Clouds and Precipitation

More than one hundred days were simulated over very large domains with fine (0.156 km to 2.5 km) grid spacing for realistic conditions to test the hypothesis that storm (kilometer) and large-eddy (hectometer) resolving simulations would provide an improved representation of clouds and precipitation in atmospheric simulations. At scales that resolve convective storms (storm-resolving for short), the vertical velocity variance becomes resolved and a better physical basis is achieved for representing clouds and precipitation. Similarly to past studies we found an improved representation of precipitation at kilometer scales, as compared to models with parameterized convection. The main precipitation features (location, diurnal cycle and spatial propagation) are well captured already at kilometer scales, and refining resolution to hectometer scales does not substantially change the simulations in these respects. It does, however, lead to a reduction in the precipitation on the time-scales considered – most notably over the ocean in the tropics. Changes in the distribution of precipitation, with less frequent extremes are also found in simulations incorporating hectometer scales. Hectometer scales appear to be more important for the representation of clouds, and make it possible to capture many important aspects of the cloud field, from the vertical distribution of cloud cover, to the distribution of cloud sizes, and to the diel (daily) cycle. Qualitative improvements, particularly in the ability to differentiate cumulus from stratiform clouds, are seen when one reduces the grid spacing from kilometer to hectometer scales. At the hectometer scale new challenges arise, but the similarity of observed and simulated scales, and the more direct connection between the circulation and the unconstrained degrees of freedom make these challenges less daunting. This quality, combined with already improved simulation as compared to more parameterized models, underpins our conviction that the use and further development of storm-resolving models offers exciting opportunities for advancing understanding of climate and climate change

Selenium, Selenoenzymes, Oxidative Stress and Risk of Neoplastic Progression from Barrett's Esophagus: Results from Biomarkers and Genetic Variants

Clinical trials have suggested a protective effect of selenium supplementation on the risk of esophageal cancer, which may be mediated through the antioxidant activity of selenoenzymes. We investigated whether serum selenium concentrations, selenoenzyme activity, oxidative stress and genetic variation in selenoenzymes were associated with the risk of neoplastic progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) and two intermediate endpoints, aneuploidy and tetraploidy. In this prospective cohort study, during an average follow-up of 7.3 years, 47 EA cases, 41 aneuploidy cases and 51 tetraploidy cases accrued among 361 participants from the Seattle Barrett's Esophagus Research Study who were free of EA at the time of blood draw and had at least one follow-up visit. Development to EA was assessed histologically and aneuploidy and tetraploidy by DNA content flow cytometry. Serum selenium concentrations were measured using atomic absorption spectrometry, activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) 1 and GPX3 by substrate-specific coupled test procedures, selenoprotein P (SEPP1) concentrations and protein carbonyl content by ELISA method and malondialdehyde concentrations by HPLC. Genetic variants in GPX1-4 and SEPP1 were genotyped. Serum selenium was not associated with the risk of neoplastic progression to EA, aneuploidy or tetraploidy (P for trend = 0.25 to 0.85). SEPP1 concentrations were positively associated with the risk of EA [hazard ratio (HR) = 3.95, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.42–10.97 comparing the third tertile with the first] and with aneuploidy (HR = 6.53, 95% CI = 1.31–32.58), but not selenoenzyme activity or oxidative stress markers. No genetic variants, overall, were associated with the risk of neoplastic progression to EA (global p = 0.12–0.69). Our results do not support a protective effect of selenium on risk of neoplastic progression to EA. Our study is the first to report positive associations of plasma SEPP1 concentrations with the risk of EA and aneuploidy, which warrants further investigation