Synthèse de l’étude de cas Biocoop (projet Healthygrowth)

Biocoop is a network of organic shops which today gathers 345 shops in France in early 2014 (190 in 2000) and represents about 15% of the organic market in 2012 (versus 2,5% for its main competitor, La Vie Claire, and 47% for the big retailers all together). Right from its beginning, Biocoop chose to put forward its basic values (equity, cooperation, respect of strong social and ecological criteria, transparency and traceability, consumers’ sensitization) through a formal charter and a guideline. This guideline is composed of 4 conventions (retailing, management, social and ecological conventions). Biocoop’s governance has always involved the producers and the employees. Despite this, in the late 1990s and 2000s, Biocoop’s strong and fast growth led to a strong (internal and external) criticism regarding the respect of organic values. In order to react to this trend, from the years 2000s on Biocoop tried to reinforce the application of its values especially by favouring local producers and reinforcing the voice of producers in the governance of the network. The strong formalization of values, participatory governance, controversies and adjustments over time) are analysed in this report part of the Healthygrowth project. This document is a French synthesis of the overall report (https://orgprints.org/29253/)

Selective removal of organics for water reclamation

Electrooxidation is a means of removing organic solutes directly from waste waters without the use of chemical expendables. The feasibility of the concept for oxidation of organic impurities common to urine, shower waters and space habitat humidity condensates was demonstrated. Electrooxidation of urine and waste water ersatz was experimentally demonstrated. The electrooxidation principle, reaction kinetics, efficiency, power, size, experimental test results and water reclamation applications are described. Process operating potentials and the use of anodic oxidation potentials that are sufficiently low to avoid oxygen formation and chloride oxidation are also described. The design of a novel electrochemical system that incorporates a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyte is presented based on parametric test data and current fuel cell technology

Decoherence and gravitational backgrounds

We study the decoherence process associated with the scattering of stochastic gravitational waves. We discuss the case of macroscopic systems, such as the planetary motion of the Moon around the Earth, for which gravitational scattering is found to dominate decoherence though it has a negligible influence on damping. This contrast is due to the very high effective temperature of the background of gravitational waves in our galactic environment.Comment: 10 page

Gender roles and constraints in cowpea and groundnut cropping: a case from Niger

•Women are main custodian of local seeds. And whenever the word farmer is used it is mostly considered as men. •Elsewhere reported cowpea and groundnut are cash crops &women crops. Then what role men contribute in these crops? Such examinations of a farming system often leave researchers muddled by paradoxes. •This requires distinguishing between reported norms and opportunities, and actual behaviour and intentions. •This necessitates to understand what are women and men roles, preferences in the crops they cultivate, the varieties they select and the constraints faced by them to better manage risks and improve their livelihoods by diversifying the farming system and rural income. •The present paper reports the findings of gender roles, constraints and preferences in food-feed crops particularly on cowpea and groundnut in Niger

Radioscience simulations in General Relativity and in alternative theories of gravity

In this communication, we focus on the possibility to test GR with radioscience experiments. We present a new software that in a first step simulates the Range/Doppler signals directly from the space time metric (thus in GR and in alternative theories of gravity). In a second step, a least-squares fit of the involved parameters is performed in GR. This software allows one to get the order of magnitude and the signature of the modifications induced by an alternative theory of gravity on radioscience signals. As examples, we present some simulations for the Cassini mission in Post-Einsteinian gravity and with the MOND External Field Effect.Comment: 4 pages; Proceedings of "Les Rencontres de Moriond 2011 - Gravitation session

Towards the creation of a decision support system tool for the preliminary risk assessment of brownfield sites

Brownfield sites always raise concern for the health and safety of site workers involved in site renovations and developments and, subsequently, for the residents or occupants of the sites. As a minimum, a preliminary risk assessment is necessary to determine whether a brownfield site is contaminated and, if so, ensuring any redevelopment is safe and suitable for its proposed use. Despite growing interest in the progression of risk assessment tools, there are limited instruments available for brownfield site assessors to consult when conducting investigations at the preliminary risk assessment stage. This study presents a conceptual framework that ultimately aims to create a web-based decision support system (DSS) for the preliminary risk assessment of brownfield sites. This is based on a pollutant linkage model (Source–Pathway–Receptor). The proposed framework aids the identification of health and safety hazards and, in doing so, it addresses the challenges facing those persons dealing with the decision-making on brownfield site developments. Moreover, the framework enables them to determine the most appropriate remediation strategy(ies) to halt pollutant linkages, promote safer developments and minimise the risks to future occupants of brownfield sites and neighbouring lands

Nonquantum Gravity

One of the great challenges for 21st century physics is to quantize gravity and generate a theory that will unify gravity with the other three fundamental forces of nature. This paper takes the (heretical) point of view that gravity may be an inherently classical, i.e., nonquantum, phenomenon and investigates the experimental consequences of such a model. At present there is no experimental evidence of the quantum nature of gravity and the liklihood of definitive tests in the future is not at all certain. If gravity is, indeed, a nonquantum phenomenon, then it is suggested that evidence will most likely appear at mesoscopic scales.Comment: essentially the same as the version that appears in Foundations of Physics, 39, 331 (2009

A framework to assist in the analysis of risks and rewards of adopting BIM for SMEs in the UK

© 2017 The Author(s) Published by VGTU Press and Informa UK Limited, [trading as Taylor & Francis Group]. Building information modelling (BIM) adoption amongst larger construction firms and innovators seems to be on the increase. However, there is evidence to suggest that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are currently lagging behind and are losing out in winning publicly funded projects. Guidance and frameworks to assist SMEs to make an informed decision about BIM adoption are currently lacking. There has been no systematic effort to date to bring together the results of research in SMEs’ BIM adoption. Consequently, this paper seeks to bridge this gap and provide a conceptual framework to give a theoretical foundation to the study of brokering risks and rewards in the adoption of BIM for project delivery. This framework is comprehensive and includes trading off risks and rewards associated with several criteria, such as stage of involvement, project value, funding, and the procurement route chosen. The approach has been validated by a representative sample of BIM users and the findings of the validation are also presented. The findings of the framework validation reveal that early design stage, project size between £5 m and £50 m, private funding, and integrated project delivery procurement are the best opportunities that enable SMEs to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks, when adopting BIM

Dynamics of antigenemia and transmission intensity of Wuchereria bancrofti following cessation of mass drug administration in a formerly highly endemic region of Mali

Background After seven annual rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) in six Malian villages highly endemic for Wuchereria bancrofti (overall prevalence rate of 42.7%), treatment was discontinued in 2008. Surveillance was performed over the ensuing 5 years to detect recrudescence. Methods Circulating filarial antigen (CFA) was measured using immunochromatographic card tests (ICT) and Og4C3 ELISA in 6–7 year-olds. Antibody to the W. bancrofti infective larval stage (L3) antigen, Wb123, was tested in the same population in 2012. Microfilaraemia was assessed in ICT-positive subjects. Anopheles gambiae complex specimens were collected monthly using human landing catch (HLC) and pyrethrum spray catch (PSC). Anopheles gambiae complex infection with W. bancrofti was determined by dissection and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of mosquito pools. Results Annual CFA prevalence rates using ICT in children increased over time from 0% (0/289) in 2009 to 2.7% (8/301) in 2011, 3.9% (11/285) in 2012 and 4.5% (14/309) in 2013 (trend χ 2  = 11.85, df =3, P = 0.0006). Wb123 antibody positivity rates in 2013 were similar to the CFA prevalence by ELISA (5/285). Although two W. bancrofti-infected Anopheles were observed by dissection among 12,951 mosquitoes collected by HLC, none had L3 larvae when tested by L3-specific RT-PCR. No positive pools were detected among the mosquitoes collected by pyrethrum spray catch. Whereas ICT in 6–7 year-olds was the major surveillance tool, ICT positivity was also assessed in older children and adults (8–65 years old). CFA prevalence decreased in this group from 4.9% (39/800) to 3.5% (28/795) and 2.8% (50/1,812) in 2009, 2011 and 2012, respectively (trend χ 2  = 7.361, df =2, P = 0.0067). Some ICT-positive individuals were microfilaraemic in 2009 [2.6% (1/39)] and 2011 [8.3% (3/36)], but none were positive in 2012 or 2013. Conclusion Although ICT rates in children increased over the 5-year surveillance period, the decrease in ICT prevalence in the older group suggests a reduction in transmission intensity. This was consistent with the failure to detect infective mosquitoes or microfilaraemia. The threshold of ICT positivity in children may need to be re-assessed and other adjunct surveillance tools considered