Randomly controlled drivers using minimally invasive sampling: assessment of drug prevalence in Western Switzerland over two time periods.

According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injuries lead to 1.3 million deaths each year and represent the leading cause of death for young adults under 30 years old. The use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol, drugs and pharmaceuticals, is a well-known risk factor for road traffic injuries. Our study aims to assess the prevalence of substances consumed by drivers in western Switzerland. Such studies are pivotal to improving prevention and developing public awareness campaigns. To assess the prevalence of psychoactive substances among drivers, roadside controls were performed in collaboration with local police, using their classical sampling procedures to detect drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol over two time periods (P1: 2006-2008, P2: 2017-2020). When impaired driving was not suspected by the police, minimally invasive sampling strategies (i.e., oral fluids during P1 and dried blood spots during P2) were performed on volunteer drivers after a road safety survey. A posteriori analyses and statistical interpretation were then performed. Among the 1605 drivers included in the study, 1048 volunteers provided an oral fluid sample, while 299 provided a dried blood spot sample. The percentage of drivers testing positive for at least one substance that can impact driving abilities was stable over time, with a rate of 10.5% positivity measured over both periods. Considering the different categories of substances, a slight variation was observed between both periods, with 7.6 and 6.3% of pharmaceuticals and 3.6 and 4.9% of illicit drugs for P1 and P2, respectively. Regarding the consumption of illicit drugs, the highest percentage of positivity was measured in biological fluids of drivers under the age of 35, during nights and week-ends, periods which are considered particularly prone to fatal accidents for this age group. Disturbingly, the road safety survey highlighted that drivers' perception of the risk of getting positively controlled while driving after drug consumption is low (3.3 on a 1-to-10 scale, N = 299). The number of positive cases measured in voluntary drivers who passed the preliminary police check demonstrates the importance of systematic biofluid sampling strategies regarding driving under the influence of psychoactive substances. Although the number of fatal road accidents globally has decreased over time, the results of this study reveal the need for both better prevention and deterrent processes that could potentially reduce the risk of fatal road accidents associated with drug consumption

Energy Confinement in Shaped TCV Plasmas with Electron Cyclotron Heating

The effects of plasma shape on confinement and sawtooth stability are studied for positive and negative discharge triangularity and for different elongations with 1.5 MW centrally deposited ECH powe

EFFECT OF LOCALISED ELECTRON CYCLOTRON HEATING ON ENERGY CONFINEMENT AND MHD IN TCV

Within the range of plasma shapes and plasma currents investigated, the electron confinement time, tau_Ee, increases with safety factor, density and negative triangularity similar to the Ohmic heating case. There is little dependence of tau_Ee on the heating location provided power deposition occurs inside the q=1 surface; as power deposition moves out of the inversion surface, tau_Ee decreases. The power-induced energy confinement degradation exponent (tau_Ee~PaP) is as usual: alpha_P ~-0.5. As a general trend, central relaxations decrease in amplitude with increasing qa, P_EC, or negative delta, in a situation where the confinement time increases

L'évolution pression-température-déformation dans le massif des Aiguilles Rouges, massif externe alpin.

L'analyse structurale de la géométrie et de la cinématique ainsi que le métamorphisme d'un secteur du massif des Aiguilles Rouges permettent de reconstruire l'évolution tectonométamorphlque du massif au cours de l'orogenèse varlsque. Cette évolution correspond à des événements orogéniques d'âge Dévonien et d'âge Carbonifère qui sont nettement distingués. Les événements d'âge Dévonien sont caractérisés par deux phases de déformation DI et D2. La schistoslté SI est relictuelle, préservée dans des mlcrolithons dans la schlstoslté S2. La déformation D2 se marque par une forte schistoslté S2 supportant une linéatlon d'étirement L2. De nombreux plis non-cylindriques P2 se développent. L'étude des microstructures indiquent une déformation non-coaxiale. Ces structures ont été acquises lors d'un mouvement tangentiel de sens S - N. Ces deux phases de déformation DI et D2 sont associées aux épisodes de métamorphisme MI et M2 qui sont continus dans le temps. M l, conservé dans des microlithons, marque le métamorphisme prograde. M2, l'épisode principal du métamorphisme, définit le métamorphisme rétrograde. L'établissement du chemin pression - température - temps - déformation (P-T-t-d) dans les paragneiss et les amphiboliles révèle un contexte géodynamique de collision continentale: épaississement crustal - remontée - érosion. Les événements d'âge Carbonifère (déformation D3) résultent principalement du fonctionnement d'une zone de cisaillement transcurrente dextre. L'ensemble des roches est déformé en mégaplis en échelon dextre très serrés dans le secteur étudié. La linéatlon d'étirement L2 est déformée dans ce mouvement en forme de sigmoïde. Le granite de Vallorcine s 'est mis en place dans cette zone de cisaillement à la fin de la déformation D3. L'évolution mise en évidence dans ce travail s'intrègre parfaitement dans le modèle actuel de la chaine varlsque.pas de résum

Occurrence of Characeae in Switzerland over the last two centuries (1800–2000)

Some 3100 specimens of Characeae from herbarium collections and recent sampling programmes in Switzerland were redetermined and their provenance analysed, in order to investigate historical changes in frequency, distribution and current status of the species. Altitudinal and geographic distribution patterns of 27 taxa are described in 125 km2 grid squares covering Switzerland, and an analysis was made of species richness of Characeae in different grid squares. Data were available for approximately half (117 out of 262) of the grid squares covering Switzerland, showing that the recording effort had not been uniform. The lowland was better investigated than either the hills or the mountains. And 17 taxa were categorised as rare, on the basis that they were each known from <100 records. Ten taxa were classified as not uncommon, among which Chara vulgaris and C.globularis are the most frequent and widespread species. The distribution of some species shows a significant relationship with altitude, but analysis of the species distributions shows only a weak relationship with altitude of the grid square and biogeographical region, revealing that these two variables are not the main factors explaining the distribution of the species. Over the last 200 years, regression has occurred in the species that were formerly the rarest and expansion has occurred in a few species that were previously the most common. Further investigations are needed to precise the distribution of the declining species, particularly in the under-prospected parts of the country and in poorly known habitats