Analyse de mix électriques pour la détermination d'inventaires électricité pour ACV conséquentielle

La lutte contre le changement climatique implique de modifier les modes de production et de consommation actuels pour réduire de façon drastique les émissions de gaz à effet de serre dont la grande majorité est liée à la combustion d’énergies fossiles. Face à ces enjeux, de nombreux pays se sont engagés dans une transition énergétique pour faire évoluer leur système énergétique, notamment électrique de façon à répondre en partie aux exigences d’une économie bas carbone. Pour guider les acteurs dans leurs choix stratégiques, des outils d’aide à la décision s’avèrent efficaces pour identifier les leviers potentiels de réduction des impacts environnementaux, notamment par la méthode d’Analyse du Cycle de Vie (ACV) qui évalue les impacts d’un produit sur tout son cycle de vie. L’un de ses développements, l’ACV conséquentielle, vise à analyser les impacts d’un changement, et prend donc en compte ses effets directs et indirects sur l’environnement. Cette méthode reste encore peu utilisée par les praticiens en raison du manque d’inventaires génériques pour ACV conséquentielle. Ce constat est d’autant plus marquant pour l’électricité, largement utilisée dans la technosphère, dont la production évolue significativement pour s’engager dans la transition énergétique. Les travaux présentés ici visent à proposer une méthode d’élaboration d’inventaires électricité génériques pour ACV conséquentielle, qui intègrent les spécificités techniques du produit électricité, à travers le bouquet énergétique ou mix qui combine les différents moyens de production, variables selon le pays considéré. Afin de parvenir à simplifier les mix de production d’électricité, une typologie est établie à partir de l’étude des émissions de Gaz à Effet de Serre (GES), des mix et de leur décomposition en moyens de production. Elle identifie 4 groupes de pays, classés par émissions GES croissantes, i.e., 0-37 gCO2eq/kWh, 37-300 gCO2eq/kWh, 300-600 gCO2eq/kWh et >600gCO2eq/kWh, et qui possèdent des caractéristiques de composition spécifiques. Afin de se positionner dans une perspective conséquentielle, l’évolution de douze mix électriques de 1960 à 2010 est analysée. L’analyse historique des phénomènes de transition, c’est-à-dire le passage d’un groupe à un autre de la typologie, est ensuite proposée. Un modèle basé sur une optimisation mono-objectif impliquant, dans un premier temps, un critère de minimisation des émissions GES, et puis dans un second temps, un critère de maximisation de la production d’origine renouvelable est développé. Les résultats sont discutés sur la base des données historiques. La méthode développée reste cependant suffisamment générique pour s’appliquer à des évolutions futures de mix. Enfin, une méthode d’élaboration des inventaires génériques est proposée. Prenant en compte les différentes situations auxquelles le praticien pourrait être confronté lors de la réalisation d’une ACV conséquentielle d’un produit, elle rend possible l’élaboration des inventaires électricité génériques pour ACV conséquentielle. L’établissement de données génériques quantifiées nécessiterait l’intégration d’un critère qualitatif d’inertie au changement et la validation de plusieurs cas d’étude à travers une étude statistique pour consolider les résultat

Differential Effects of Glyphosate and Roundup on Human Placental Cells and Aromatase

Roundup is a glyphosate-based herbicide used worldwide, including on most genetically modified plants that have been designed to tolerate it. Its residues may thus enter the food chain, and glyphosate is found as a contaminant in rivers. Some agricultural workers using glyphosate have pregnancy problems, but its mechanism of action in mammals is questioned. Here we show that glyphosate is toxic to human placental JEG3 cells within 18 hr with concentrations lower than those found with agricultural use, and this effect increases with concentration and time or in the presence of Roundup adjuvants. Surprisingly, Roundup is always more toxic than its active ingredient. We tested the effects of glyphosate and Roundup at lower nontoxic concentrations on aromatase, the enzyme responsible for estrogen synthesis. The glyphosate-based herbicide disrupts aromatase activity and mRNA levels and interacts with the active site of the purified enzyme, but the effects of glyphosate are facilitated by the Roundup formulation in microsomes or in cell culture. We conclude that endocrine and toxic effects of Roundup, not just glyphosate, can be observed in mammals. We suggest that the presence of Roundup adjuvants enhances glyphosate bioavailability and/or bioaccumulation

A typology for world electricity mix: Application for inventories in Consequential LCA (CLCA)

Over the past two decades, the integration of environmental concerns into decision making has been gaining prominence both at national and global levels. Sustainable development now factors into policy design as well as industrial technological choices. For this purpose, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)–which evaluates environmental impacts of products, processes and services through their complete life cycle–is considered a crucial tool to support the integration of environmental sustainability into decision making. In particular, Consequential LCA (CLCA) has emerged as an approach to assess consequences of change, considering both direct and indirect impacts of changes. Currently, no long-term datasets of Consequential Life Cycle Inventories (CLCI) are available, particularly in the case of electricity production mixes. A first and fundamental step to begin filling this gap is to make available data on national level greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and create a typology of electricity production mixes to support policy making. The proposed typology is based on the analysis of the composition of electricity production mixes of 91 countries producing more than 10 TWh in 2012, on the one hand, and of their calculated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (in gCO2eq/kWh) from LCA using IPCC 2013 data, on the other hand. All types of primary energy resources are considered, and some are grouped according to similarities in their emissions intensities. Using graphical observations of these two characteristics and a boundary definition, we create a 4-group typology for GHG emissions per kWh, i.e., very low (0–37 gCO2eq/kWh), low (37–300 gCO2eq/kWh), mean (300–600 gCO2eq/kWh) and high (>600 gCO2eq/kWh). The typology is based on the general characteristics of the electric power generation fleet, corresponding respectively to power systems heavy on hydraulic and/or nuclear power with the remainder of the fleet dominated by renewables; hydraulic and/or nuclear power combined with a diversified mix; gas with a diversified mix; coal, oil and predominantly fossils. This typology describes the general tendencies of the electricity mix and, over time, it can help point to ways in which countries can transition between groups. Further steps should be devoted to the development of indicators taking into account grid interconnection, energy sector resilience in the quest for a mix optimum

Sanctioned Quotas Versus Information Provisioning for Community Wildlife Conservation in Zimbabwe: A Framed Field Experiment Approach

We investigate the behavioural responses of natural common-pool resource users to three policy interventions—sanctioned quotas, information provisioning, and a combination of both. We focus on situations in which users find utility in multiple resources (pastures and wild animal stocks) that all stem from the same ecosystem with complex dynamics, and management could trigger a regime shift, drastically altering resource regrowth. We performed a framed field experiment with 384 villagers from communities managing common-pool wildlife in Zimbabwe. We find that user groups are likely to manage these natural resources more efficiently when facing a policy intervention (either a sanctioned quota, receiving information about a drastic drop in the stocks’ regrowth below a threshold, or a combination of both), compared to groups facing no intervention. A sanctioned quota is likely to perform better than providing information about the existence of a threshold. However, having information about the threshold also leads to higher efficiency and fewer depletion cases, compared to a situation without any intervention. The main contribution of this study is to provide insights that can inform policymakers and development practitioners about the performance of concrete and feasible policy interventions for community wildlife conservation in Southern Africa

Response Assessment of NovoTTF-100A Versus Best Physician\u27s Choice Chemotherapy in Recurrent Glioblastoma

The NovoTTF-100A device emits frequency-tuned alternating electric fields that interfere with tumor cell mitosis. In phase III trial for recurrent glioblastomas, NovoTTF-100A was shown to have equivalent efficacy and less toxicity when compared to Best Physician\u27s Choice (BPC) chemotherapy. We analyzed the characteristics of responders and nonresponders in both cohorts to determine the characteristics of response and potential predictive factors. Tumor response and progression were determined by Macdonald criteria. Time to response, response duration, progression-free survival (PFS) ± Simon-Makuch correction, overall survival (OS), prognostic factors, and relative hazard rates were compared between responders and nonresponders. Median response duration was 7.3 versus 5.6 months for NovoTTF-100A and BPC chemotherapy, respectively (P = 0.0009). Five of 14 NovoTTF-100A responders but none of seven BPC responders had prior low-grade histology. Mean cumulative dexamethasone dose was 35.9 mg for responders versus 485.6 mg for nonresponders in the NovoTTF-100A cohort (P \u3c 0.0001). Hazard analysis showed delayed tumor progression in responders compared to nonresponders. Simon-Makuch-adjusted PFS was longer in responders than in nonresponders treated with NovoTTF-100A (P = 0.0007) or BPC chemotherapy (P = 0.0222). Median OS was longer for responders than nonresponders treated with NovoTTF-100A (P \u3c 0.0001) and BPC chemotherapy (P = 0.0235). Pearson analysis showed strong correlation between response and OS in NovoTTF-100A (P = 0.0002) but not in BPC cohort (P = 0.2900). Our results indicate that the response characteristics favor NovoTTF-100A and data on prior low-grade histology and dexamethasone suggest potential genetic and epigenetic determinants of NovoTTF-100A response

Quantification of DNA-associated proteins inside eukaryotic cells using single-molecule localization microscopy

Development of single-molecule localization microscopy techniques has allowed nanometre scale localization accuracy inside cells, permitting the resolution of ultra-fine cell structure and the elucidation of crucial molecular mechanisms. Application of these methodologies to understanding processes underlying DNA replication and repair has been limited to defined in vitro biochemical analysis and prokaryotic cells. In order to expand these techniques to eukaryotic systems, we have further developed a photo-activated localization microscopy-based method to directly visualize DNA-associated proteins in unfixed eukaryotic cells. We demonstrate that motion blurring of fluorescence due to protein diffusivity can be used to selectively image the DNA-bound population of proteins. We designed and tested a simple methodology and show that it can be used to detect changes in DNA binding of a replicative helicase subunit, Mcm4, and the replication sliding clamp, PCNA, between different stages of the cell cycle and between distinct genetic backgrounds

Global Characterisation of Coagulopathy in Isolated Traumatic Brain Injury (iTBI): A CENTER-TBI Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Trauma-induced coagulopathy in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with high rates of complications, unfavourable outcomes and mortality. The mechanism of the development of TBI-associated coagulopathy is poorly understood. METHODS: This analysis, embedded in the prospective, multi-centred, observational Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) study, aimed to characterise the coagulopathy of TBI. Emphasis was placed on the acute phase following TBI, primary on subgroups of patients with abnormal coagulation profile within 4 h of admission, and the impact of pre-injury anticoagulant and/or antiplatelet therapy. In order to minimise confounding factors, patients with isolated TBI (iTBI) (n = 598) were selected for this analysis. RESULTS: Haemostatic disorders were observed in approximately 20% of iTBI patients. In a subgroup analysis, patients with pre-injury anticoagulant and/or antiplatelet therapy had a twice exacerbated coagulation profile as likely as those without premedication. This was in turn associated with increased rates of mortality and unfavourable outcome post-injury. A multivariate analysis of iTBI patients without pre-injury anticoagulant therapy identified several independent risk factors for coagulopathy which were present at hospital admission. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) less than or equal to 8, base excess (BE) less than or equal to - 6, hypothermia and hypotension increased risk significantly. CONCLUSION: Consideration of these factors enables early prediction and risk stratification of acute coagulopathy after TBI, thus guiding clinical management