Exploitation of beehive products, plant exudates and tars in Corsica during the early Iron Age

International audienceIn the northwestern Mediterranean area, the first Iron Age is characterized by intense contacts and cultural interactions between populations. Archaeological remains such as ceramic vessels or metal and glass objects are usually good indicators of the nature and the intensity of these exchanges, but can also be used to determine the way in which these populations were living at their time. In contrast, organic substances, despite their importance in a wide variety of activities, are rarely investigated due to their low degree of preservation. The recent discovery of a series of amorphous organic residues with adhesive properties at the site of Cuciurpula provided a unique opportunity to address questions related to the types of natural substances exploited, their provenance, their uses and their informational input to intercultural relationships. Our results, based on GC and GC–MS analysis of organic residues preserved at the site of Cuciurpula, provide strong evidence for the most southern use of birch bark tar in Western Europe, and also for the simultaneous use of this substance with pine resin. Beeswax was also identified in some samples. The combined study of residue composition, aspect and location on ceramic sherds reveals a variety of uses, highlighting a complex technical system

Quelle R&D Mener pour le Développement Des Réseaux D'énergie De Demain ? Les Propositions de L'ancre en 2015

Feuille de route sur les réseaux électriques et stockage élaborée par le GP10 Réseaux et Stockages de l'Energie de l'ANCRECette feuille de route concerne les réseaux d’énergie électrique, de chaleur et de froid, les réseaux de gaz (hydrogène, gaz naturel), leurs stockages associés, ainsi que leurs couplages à venir dans le cadre de la transition énergétique et des évolutionsqui l’accompagneront, que ce soit sur les modes de production d’énergie ou sur l’évolution des usages.Le focus est porté sur les réseaux électriques qui seront les premiers impactés par cette transition énergétique. Hormisquelques éléments très spécifiques aux réseaux électriques (et qui seront notés dans le texte par une couleur différente)il est à souligner que la quasi-totalité des considérations et axes de R&D évoqués pour les réseauxélectriques et le développement de leur « intelligence » et/ou de leur flexibilité s’appliquentégalement aux autres réseaux d’énergie. Par ailleurs, si le groupe programmatique« Réseaux et Stockage » de l’ANCRE (GP10) s’est largement appuyé sur les nombreuses feuilles de route émises tant au niveau national, dont celles de l’ADEME, qu’européen, il a également souhaité s’en démarquer en insistantlargement et en détaillant les recherches scientifiques et technologiques à mener face aux verrous actuellement identifiés

Advances in the valorization of waste and by-product materials as thermal energy storage (TES) materials

Today, one of the biggest challenges our society must face is the satisfactory supply, dispatchability and management of the energy. Thermal Energy Storage (TES) has been identified as a breakthrough concept in industrial heat recovery applications and development of renewable technologies such as concentrated solar power (CSP) plants or compressed air energy storage (CAES). A wide variety of potential heat storage materials has been identified depending on the implemented TES method: sensible, latent or thermochemical. Although no ideal storage material has been identified, several materials have shown a high potential depending on the mentioned considerations. Despite the amount of studied potential heat storage materials, the determination of new alternatives for next generation technologies is still open. One of the main drawbacks in the development of storage materials is their cost. In this regard, this paper presents the review of waste materials and by-products candidates which use contributes in lowering the total cost of the storage system and the valorization of waste industrial materials have strong environmental and societal benefits such as reducing the landfilled waste amounts, reducing the greenhouse emissions and others. This article reviews different industrial waste materials that have been considered as potential TES materials and have been characterized as such. Asbestos containing wastes, fly ashes, by-products from the salt industry and from the metal industry, wastes from recycling steel process and from copper refining process and dross from the aluminum industry, and municipal wastes (glass and nylon) have been considered. Themophysical properties, characterization and experiences using these candidates are discussed and compared. This review shows that the revalorization of wastes or by-products as TES materials is possible, and that more studies are needed to achieve industrial deployment of the idea

Prospecção Tecnológica na Indústria de Alimentos e Bebidas: um panorama dos processos e equipamentos para produção de malte

The present work presents a technological prospection, applied to the food and beverage industry, processes and equipment for malting. The research methodology carried out searches on patent search platforms and scientific articles, using malt, malting, brewing, process, production, cereal and grain as keywords. 2109 patents and 732 articles were found between 2008 and 2017; with 68% of patents attributed to China and 19% to Russia. In relation to the articles, Germany has the highest production with 9.4% of articles, followed by Ireland with 7.2%. China presents a consolidated technology scenario, with a large number of patent documents and a low number of scientific papers. Brazil is in a scenario of potential application, but it is in a phase of technological development, but the initiatives of the universities stand out, developing technologies aimed at this market and making the deposit, giving them visibility within the sector industrial.O presente trabalho apresenta uma prospecção tecnológica, aplicada à indústria de alimentos e bebidas, de processos e equipamentos para produção de malte. A metodologia de pesquisa realizou buscas em plataformas de busca de patentes e artigos científicos, usando como palavras-chave malt, malting, brewing, process, production, cereal e grain. Foram encontrados 2.109 patentes e 732 artigos, de 2008 a 2017; sendo 68% das patentes atribuídas à China e 19% à Rússia. Em relação aos artigos, a Alemanha apresenta a maior produção com 9,4% dos artigos, seguida pela Irlanda com 7,2%. A China apresenta um cenário de tecnologia consolidada, com um grande número de documentos patentários e baixo número de artigos científicos. O Brasil está em um cenário de potencial aplicação, porém encontra-se em fase de desenvolvimento tecnológico, mas destacam-se as iniciativas das universidades, ao desenvolverem tecnologias voltadas para esse mercado e realizarem o depósito, conferindo-lhes visibilidade dentro do setor industrial

Estimating Chikungunya prevalence in La Réunion Island outbreak by serosurveys: Two methods for two critical times of the epidemic

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) caused a major two-wave seventeen-month-long outbreak in La Réunion Island in 2005–2006. The aim of this study was to refine clinical estimates provided by a regional surveillance-system using a two-stage serological assessment as gold standard.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two serosurveys were implemented: first, a rapid survey using stored sera of pregnant women, in order to assess the attack rate at the epidemic upsurge (s1, February 2006; n = 888); second, a population-based survey among a random sample of the community, to assess the herd immunity in the post-epidemic era (s2, October 2006; n = 2442). Sera were screened for anti-CHIKV specific antibodies (IgM and IgG in s1, IgG only in s2) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Seroprevalence rates were compared to clinical estimates of attack rates.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In s1, 18.2% of the pregnant women were tested positive for CHIKV specific antibodies (13.8% for both IgM and IgG, 4.3% for IgM, 0.1% for IgG only) which provided a congruent estimate with the 16.5% attack rate calculated from the surveillance-system. In s2, the seroprevalence in community was estimated to 38.2% (95% CI, 35.9 to 40.6%). Extrapolations of seroprevalence rates led to estimate, at 143,000 and at 300,000 (95% CI, 283,000 to 320,000), the number of people infected in s1 and in s2, respectively. In comparison, the surveillance-system estimated at 130,000 and 266,000 the number of people infected for the same periods.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A rapid serosurvey in pregnant women can be helpful to assess the attack rate when large seroprevalence studies cannot be done. On the other hand, a population-based serosurvey is useful to refine the estimate when clinical diagnosis underestimates it. Our findings give valuable insights to assess the herd immunity along the course of epidemics.</p

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

SummaryBackground The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation