Socializing One Health: an innovative strategy to investigate social and behavioral risks of emerging viral threats

In an effort to strengthen global capacity to prevent, detect, and control infectious diseases in animals and people, the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) PREDICT project funded development of regional, national, and local One Health capacities for early disease detection, rapid response, disease control, and risk reduction. From the outset, the EPT approach was inclusive of social science research methods designed to understand the contexts and behaviors of communities living and working at human-animal-environment interfaces considered high-risk for virus emergence. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, PREDICT behavioral research aimed to identify and assess a range of socio-cultural behaviors that could be influential in zoonotic disease emergence, amplification, and transmission. This broad approach to behavioral risk characterization enabled us to identify and characterize human activities that could be linked to the transmission dynamics of new and emerging viruses. This paper provides a discussion of implementation of a social science approach within a zoonotic surveillance framework. We conducted in-depth ethnographic interviews and focus groups to better understand the individual- and community-level knowledge, attitudes, and practices that potentially put participants at risk for zoonotic disease transmission from the animals they live and work with, across 6 interface domains. When we asked highly-exposed individuals (ie. bushmeat hunters, wildlife or guano farmers) about the risk they perceived in their occupational activities, most did not perceive it to be risky, whether because it was normalized by years (or generations) of doing such an activity, or due to lack of information about potential risks. Integrating the social sciences allows investigations of the specific human activities that are hypothesized to drive disease emergence, amplification, and transmission, in order to better substantiate behavioral disease drivers, along with the social dimensions of infection and transmission dynamics. Understanding these dynamics is critical to achieving health security--the protection from threats to health-- which requires investments in both collective and individual health security. Involving behavioral sciences into zoonotic disease surveillance allowed us to push toward fuller community integration and engagement and toward dialogue and implementation of recommendations for disease prevention and improved health security

Procédé à sorption solide/gaz pour le transport de chaleur et de froid à longue distance

Networks of thermal energy transportation are classically based on sensible heat transport and thus they are limited to short distances. In order to realize a long-distance transport, thermochemical processes are investigated, and particularly an innovating system that couples two thermochemical dipoles. The advantages of thermochemical processes, the energetic performances and the operating cost of transport are presented. A comparison with sensible heat network is also done.An experimental study of this innovating system is also made in order to understand the main point of the system: autothermal reactorLe transport de froid ou de chaleur sur longues distances constitue un enjeu majeur d un point de vue énergétique, économique (valorisation de rejets thermiques) et environnemental (diminution des émissions de CO2). Jusqu à présent, le transport d énergie est basé sur la chaleur sensible (eau chaude) ou latente (vapeur). En raison de leurs importantes déperditions thermiques, ces réseaux se limitent aux réseaux urbains (<10km). D autres systèmes, basés sur des processus endo/exothermiques, permettent un transport d énergie à plus longue distance. Notre étude s intéresse en particulier aux procédés thermochimiques utilisant des réactions chimiques renversables solide/gaz : le fluide transporté est du gaz à température ambiante.La première partie du manuscrit décrit les potentialités des procédés thermochimiques : températures de fonctionnement et rendements énergétiques. La partie du procédé relative au transport, est étudiée pour comprendre la gestion et de l impact du transport du fluide sur les performances du procédé. Une comparaison avec les réseaux de chaleur sensible est également réalisée. La deuxième partie s intéresse au couplage de deux procédés thermochimiques en cascade thermique. Ce nouveau procédé présente des performances idéales, énergétiques et températures de fonctionnement, supérieures à celles des procédés classiques. Ce système innovant met en jeu un nouveau réacteur : réacteur autotherme. L analyse théorique du fonctionnement cyclique et énergétique de ce réacteur est décrite. Une étude expérimentale est réalisée : la conception, la construction du prototype et les résultats expérimentaux sont détailléesPERPIGNAN-BU Sciences (661362101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Feasibility of long-distance transport of thermal energy using solid sorption processes

International audienceThis paper deals with the challenging transportation of thermal energy over long distances (over 10 km). The innovative concept presented in this paper is based on the transportation of a reactive fluid coupled with two sorption systems involving this fluid in two endothermal and exothermal processes respectively on source site and user site. The transport of this fluid at ambient temperature minimizes the thermal losses and it is therefore relevant for long distances. Moreover, an original concept involving a cascade of two sorption cycles can allow a heat upgrading on the user site using a distant source. This paper focuses on the feasibility of such systems. The potentialities have been detailed according to the reactive pairs, such as the well-known hydrates and ammonia solid/gas reactants, and taking into account thermodynamic and technological constraints. The cold production and transport can be carried out by numerous ammonia-based pairs. Nevertheless, such reactive pairs can perform a heat upgrading, but only if an additional heat source is available on the user site. The transportation of the reactive fluid between source and user sites has been investigated and it is not a limiting point. As it is transported at ambient temperature, the thermal losses are very weak. On the other hand, the pressure losses can be overcome with either an acceptable energetic cost or by slightly changing the operating conditions. Compared to current district heating networks based on sensible heat transportation, such thermochemical systems involving the transportation of a reactive fluid seem more efficient when the user is located more than 10km away from the source site. Copyright r 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Heat transportation from the Bugey power plant

International audienceThis case study focuses on the possibility of heat use from the Bugey nuclear power plant (35km away from Lyon) to provide district heating or cooling for the Lyon region in France. It is based on a new heat transportation concept over long distances. The Lyon area involves about 1 300 000 inhabitants. The annual needs of the 108 900 dwellings connected to the heating networks are 867 000MWhyear1. The annual electricity production of this plant is 25 000GWhyear1. The average energy efficiency of the secondary loop of the plant is 33.6% and its exergy efficiency is 71.0%. Taking into account a possible transportation efficiency of 32%, the coverage of the Lyon area district heating needs is possible by replacing a pre-heater by a heat exchanger in two of the four reactors of the Bugey power plant. The new electric efficiency of the plant would be 32.5%. The global energy efficiency of the process, taking into account the heat provided at the user site, would be 33.5%, which means a decrease by only 0.1%. The exergy efficiency for the global process would decrease to 70.2%. This transportation could save a large amount of fossil fuels consumption and greenhouse gases emission that could be particularly harmful in densely populated areas. Copyrightr2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Droplets impaling on a cone

International audienceThis paper is associated with a video winner of a 2019 American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) Milton van Dyke Award for work presented at the DFD Gallery of Fluid Motion. The original video is available online at the Gallery of Fluid Motion, https://doi.org/10.1103/APS.DFD.2019.GFM.V0013

Video: Topological microfluidics: Waltzing defects in double emulsions of a chiral liquid crystal

International audienc

Mesures résidentielles d'expositions radiofréquences dans le programme Français du COMOP

Des mesures d'exposition ont été effectuées dans les habitations ou lieux de travail de personnes, à des emplacements identifiés comme les plus exposés d'une commune. Six configurations ont été définies pour les 16 communes retenues : rural à relief faible, rural en zone montagneuse, péri-urbain peu dense, urbain moderne dense, centre ville ancien dense, quartier d'affaires haute densité. Les mesures ont aussi été comparées dans différentes situations : fenêtres ouvertes ou fermées, mesures en extérieur et en intérieur, mesures dans les différentes pièces d'une habitation, mesures à différentes hauteurs (1,1 m, 1,5 m et 1,7 m). L'exposition individuelle de 23 personnes pendant 24h et de 13 personnes pendant une semaine a été comparée à l'exposition mesurée par quadrillage sur le quartier dans lequel se trouve le lieu de mesure

Clinical Features and Outcomes of Enterococcal Bone and Joint Infections and Factors Associated with Treatment Failure over a 13-Year Period in a French Teaching Hospital

International audienceEnterococcal bone and joint infections (BJIs) are reported to have poor outcomes, but there are conflicting results. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with enterococcal BJI and to assess the factors associated with treatment failure. We conducted a retrospective cohort study at Nimes University Hospital from January 2007 to December 2020. The factors associated with treatment failure were assessed using a Cox model. We included 90 consecutive adult patients, 11 with native BJIs, 40 with prosthetic joint infections and 39 with orthopedic implant-associated infections. Two-thirds of patients had local signs of infection, but few (9%) had fever. Most BJIs were caused by Enterococcus faecalis (n = 82, 91%) and were polymicrobial (n = 75, 83%). The treatment failure rate was 39%, and treatment failure was associated with coinfection with Staphylococcus epidermidis (adjusted hazard ratio = 3.04, confidence interval at 95% [1.31–7.07], p = 0.01) and with the presence of local signs of inflammation at the time of diagnosis (aHR = 2.39, CI 95% [1.22–4.69], p = 0.01). Our results confirm the poor prognosis of enterococcal BJIs, prompting clinicians to carefully monitor for local signs of infection and to optimize the medical-surgical management in case of coinfections, especially with S. epidermidis

Exposure assessment in the French Comop program

Exposure measurements were performed in people’s home in the most exposed places of a city. 6 configurations were defined for 16 communes: rural in plain or in mountain, suburbs, modern dense city, old dense city, high density business district. Measurements were compared with window open or closed, outside and inside, at different heights (1.1, 1.5 and 1.7m). Individual exposure was related to geolocalised measurements in the city