Évolution des émissions, de la qualité de l'air et des dépôts atmosphériques dans les espaces ruraux, notamment forestiers. Changes in atmospheric emissions, air quality and deposition in rural areas, especially in forests.

Les composés atmosphériques, qu'ils soient de sources naturelles ou anthropiques, peuvent être transformés, transportés sur de longues distances et transférés de l'atmosphère vers un autre réservoir via les retombées atmosphériques. Ces composés, bien que présents à l’état de trace, peuvent générer des événements de pollution, dont la prévision est utile à la protection de la santé publique, des milieux naturels et du climat. Au cours des trois dernières décennies, des politiques de réduction des émissions polluantes ont été mises en place en Europe et sur d’autres continents afin de limiter leurs effets. Pour un certain nombre de ces composés, l'efficacité de ces politiques peut être évaluée par le suivi à long terme de la chimie des retombées atmosphériques, ainsi que sur la définition de charges critiques pour un écosystème, définies (le milieu forestier dans cet article) comme le dépôt anthropique maximal qui ne conduira pas à un dépassement des concentrations critiques au sein du compartiment étudié, en l'état actuel des connaissances. En France, des observatoires nationaux (MERA, RENECOFOR/CATAENAT) sont dédiés à la surveillance des retombées atmosphériques depuis les années 90. Parmi les éléments majeurs inorganiques mesurés depuis l’origine, les ions sulfates (SO42-), nitrates (NO3-) et ammonium (NH4+) sont particulièrement suivis pour leurs impacts acidifiant et eutrophisant sur les écosystèmes. Ces ions solubilisés dans l’eau sont issus de la transformation des gaz précurseurs SOX, NOX, et NH3 émis majoritairement par les activités anthropiques. La mutualisation des mesures de ces observatoires offre un jeu de données inédit pour étudier l’évolution de la composition chimique des retombées atmosphériques au niveau national ou européen et permet une comparaison avec l’évolution des émissions des polluants primaires. Les variations sur les mêmes périodes des cartes de charges critiques et de leurs dépassements permettent de constater directement les effets des politiques de réduction des émissions mises en œuvre sur les écosystèmes terrestres. The atmospheric compounds which are emitted by natural or anthropogenic sources, can be transformed, transported on long range and transferred towards the ecosystems under the atmospheric deposition process. These compounds can generate pollution events which forecast is useful for public health and natural ecosystems protection. During the last three decades, the policies of reduction of polluting, emissions were organized in Europe and on other continents to limit their effects on the human health, the ecosystems and the climate. The efficiency of these policies can be estimated by the follow-up at long-term of the chemistry of the atmospheric deposition and in regards to critical loads defined for an ecosystem as "the highest load that will not cause chemical changes leading to long-term harmful effects in the most sensitive ecological systems", in the present state of the knowledge. In France, national monitoring networks (MERA, RENECOFOR/CATAENAT) were implemented to the monitoring of the atmospheric deposition from the beginning of the 90s. Among the inorganic major elements measured since the origin, the sulfate (SO4 2-), nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) ions are particularly followed for their acidifying and eutrophying impacts on the terrestrial ecosystems. These solubilized ions arise from the transformation of precursor gases SOx, NOx, and NH3 be mainly emitted by the anthropogenic activities. The combined measurements of these two monitoring networks offer a set of data to study the evolution of the chemical composition of the atmospheric deposition at the national or European level and allow a comparison with the evolution of the emissions of primary pollutants. The variations over the same periods of the maps of critical loads and their exceedances allow to estimate the effects of the emissions reduction policies

Contrasted spatial and long-term trends in precipitation chemistry and deposition fluxes at rural stations in France

The long-distance effect of atmospheric pollution on ecosystems has led to the conclusion of international agreements to regulate atmospheric emissions and monitor their impact. This study investigated variations in atmospheric deposition chemistry in France using data gathered from three different monitoring networks (37 stations) over the period from 1995 to 2007. Despite some methodological differences (e.g. type of collector, frequency of sampling and analysis), converging results were found in spatial variations, seasonal patterns and temporal trends. With regard to spatial variations, the mean annual pH in particular ranged from 4.9 in the north-east to 5.8 in the south-east. This gradient was related to the concentration of NO3- and non-sea-salt SO42- (maximum volume-weighted mean of 38 and 31 µeq l-1 respectively) and of acid-neutralising compounds such as non-sea-salt Ca2+ and NH4+ In terms of seasonal variations, winter and autumn pH were linked to lower acidity neutralisation than during the warm season. The temporal trends in atmospheric deposition varied depending on the chemical species and site location. The most significant and widespread trend was the decrease in non-sea-salt SO42- concentrations (significant at 65% of the stations). At the same time, many stations showed an increasing trend in annual pH (+0.3 on average for 16 stations). These two trends are probably due to the reduction in SO2 emissions that has been imposed in Europe since the 1980s. Temporal trends in inorganic N concentrations were rather moderate and not consistent with the trends reported in emission estimates. Despite the reduction in NOx emissions, NO3- concentrations in atmospheric deposition remained mostly unchanged or even increased at three stations (+0.43 meq l-1 yr-1 on average). In contrast NH4+ concentrations in atmospheric deposition decreased at several stations located in western and northern areas, while the estimates of NH3 emissions remained fairly stable. The decrease in non-sea-salt SO42- and NH4+ concentrations was mainly due to a decrease in summer values and can in part be related to a dilution process since the precipitation amount showed an increasing trend during the summer. Furthermore, increasing trends in NO3- concentrations in the spring and, to a lesser extent, in NH4+ concentrations suggested that other atmospheric physicochemical processes should also be taken into account

Composition chimique des dépôts atmosphériques à l’horizon 2020-2040

Les dépôts atmosphériques peuvent causer des dommages importants aux milieux naturels. Des mesures à long terme issues de la surveillance des dépôts atmosphériques en France ont été exploitées pour construire un modèle statistique prévisionnel afin d'estimer les changements de la composition chimique des dépôts atmosphériques à l'horizon 2020-2040. À partir de simulations d'évolutions possibles du climat et des émissions de polluants atmosphériques, les dépôts de sulfate non marin et les dépôts d'ammonium sont susceptibles de diminuer, mais ceux de nitrate pourraient augmenter de façons diverses selon les régions. Le changement des variations saisonnières de pluviométrie pourrait augmenter les flux de dépôts

Émergence d'un leadership distribué pour la construction d'un enseignement

National audienceDuring the first year of the Bachelor degree in Mathematics and Computer Sciences at the University of Strasbourg, students discover computer science by attending a class named Algorithmics and Programming. The pedagogic team is composed of multiple teachers with various backgrounds. In this paper, we present the collective work the pedagogic team achieved to completely rework the curriculum, by switching to a new programming language and also changing the teaching method, using flipped classroom. We analyse the organization of this collective work, built by collaborative decisions, cooperative achievements and a distributed leadership. We discuss the efficiency of this organization, and the observed effects over several years.En première année de licence de mathématique et informatique, à l’Université de Strasbourg, les étudiants débutent l’informatique en suivant un enseignement intitulé « algorithmique et programmation ». L’équipe pédagogique est nombreuse, et constituée d’enseignants aux profils variés. Dans cette communication, nous présentons le travail collectif réalisé par l’équipe pédagogique pour remanier en profondeur l’enseignement, en changeant le langage de programmation et la méthode pédagogique (classe inversée). Nous analysons l’organisation de ce travail collectif, caractérisé par des décisions collaboratives, des réalisations coopératives et un leadership distribué. Nous discutons de l’efficacité de cette organisation, et des effets observés sur plusieurs années

Anthropogenic VOCs in Abidjan, southern West Africa : From source quantification to atmospheric impacts

Several field campaigns were conducted in the framework of the Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) project to measure a broad range of atmospheric constituents. Here we present the analysis of an unprecedented and comprehensive dataset integrating up to 56 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from ambient sites and emission sources. VOCs were collected on multi-sorbent tubes in the coastal city of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, in winter and summer 2016 and later analysed by gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization and mass spectrometer detectors (GC-FID and GC-MS) at the laboratory. The comparison between VOC emission source profiles and ambient profiles suggests the substantial impact of two-stroke motorized two-wheel vehicles and domestic fires on the composition of Abidjan's atmosphere. However, despite high VOC concentrations near-source, moderate ambient levels were observed (by factors of 10 to 4000 lower), similar to the concentrations observed in northern mid-latitude urban areas. Besides photochemistry, the reported high wind speeds seem to be an essential factor that regulates air pollution levels in Abidjan. Emission ratios (ΔVOC/CO) were established based on real-world measurements achieved for a selected number of representative combustion sources. Maximum measured molar mass emissions were observed from two-wheel vehicles, surpassing other regional sources by 2 orders of magnitude. Local practices like waste burning also make a significant contribution to VOC emissions, higher than those from light-duty vehicles by 1.5 to 8 orders of magnitude. These sources also largely govern the VOC's atmospheric impacts in terms of OH reactivity, secondary organic aerosol formation (SOAP), and photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP). While the contribution of aromatics dominates the atmospheric impact, our measurements reveal the systematic presence of anthropogenic terpenoids in all residential combustion sectors. Finally, emission factors were used to retrieve and quantify VOC emissions from the main anthropogenic source sectors at the national level. Our detailed estimation of VOC emissions suggests that the road transport sector is the dominant source in Côte d'Ivoire, emitting around 1200Gg yr-1 of gas-phase VOCs. These new estimates are 100 and 160 times larger than global inventory estimations from MACCity or EDGAR (v4.3.2), respectively. Additionally, the residential sector is largely underestimated in the global emission inventories, by factors of 13 to 43. Considering only Côte d'Ivoire, these new estimates for VOCs are 3 to 6 times higher than the whole of Europe. Given the significant underestimation of VOC emissions from the transport and residential sectors in Côte d'Ivoire, there is an urgent need to build more realistic and region-specific emission inventories for the entire West African region. This might be true not only for VOCs, but also for all atmospheric pollutants. The lack of waste burning, wood fuel burning and charcoal burning, and fabrication representation in regional inventories also needs to be addressed, particularly in low-income areas where these types of activities are ubiquitous sources of VOC emissions

Indacaterol inhibits collective cell migration and IGDQ-mediated single cell migration in metastatic breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells

Summary: Metastasis is the main cause of deaths related to breast cancer. This is particular the case for triple negative breast cancer. No targeted therapies are reported as efficient until now. The extracellular matrix, in particular the fibronectin type I motif IGDQ, plays a major role in regulating cell migration prior metastasis formation. This motif interacts with specific integrins inducing their activation and the migratory signal transduction.Here, we characterized the migratory phenotype of MDA-MB-231 cells, using functionalized IGDQ-exposing surfaces, and compared it to integrin A5 and integrin B3 knock-down cells. A multiomic analysis was developed that highlighted the splicing factor SRSF6 as a putative master regulator of cell migration and of integrin intracellular trafficking. Indacaterol-induced inhibition of SRSF6 provoked: i) the inhibition of collective and IGDQ-mediated cell migration and ii) ITGA5 sequestration into endosomes and lysosomes. Upon further studies, indacaterol may be a potential therapy to prevent cell migration and reduce metastasis formation in breast cancer. 1CRnmBvVXp9LXQy1nJKbUFVideo Abstrac

Variability of ambient air ammonia in urban Europe (Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK)

This study addressed the scarcity of NH3 measurements in urban Europe and the diverse monitoring protocols, hindering direct data comparison. Sixty-nine datasets from Finland, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK across various site types, including industrial (IND, 8), traffic (TR, 12), urban (UB, 22), suburban (SUB, 12), and regional background (RB, 15), are analyzed to this study. Among these, 26 sites provided 5, or more, years of data for time series analysis. Despite varied protocols, necessitating future harmonization, the average NH3 concentration across sites reached 8.0 ± 8.9 μg/m3. Excluding farming/agricultural hotspots (FAHs), IND and TR sites had the highest concentrations (4.7 ± 3.2 and 4.5 ± 1.0 μg/m3), followed by UB, SUB, and RB sites (3.3 ± 1.5, 2.7 ± 1.3, and 1.0 ± 0.3 μg/m3, respectively) indicating that industrial, traffic, and other urban sources were primary contributors to NH3 outside FAH regions. When referring exclusively to the FAHs, concentrations ranged from 10.0 ± 2.3 to 15.6 ± 17.2 μg/m3, with the highest concentrations being reached in RB sites close to the farming and agricultural sources, and that, on average for FAHs there is a decreasing NH3 concentration gradient towards the city. Time trends showed that over half of the sites (18/26) observed statistically significant trends. Approximately 50 % of UB and TR sites showed a decreasing trend, while 30 % an increasing one. Meta-analysis revealed a small insignificant decreasing trend for non-FAH RB sites. In FAHs, there was a significant upward trend at a rate of 3.51[0.45,6.57]%/yr. Seasonal patterns of NH3 concentrations varied, with urban areas experiencing fluctuations influenced by surrounding emissions, particularly in FAHs. Diel variation showed differing patterns at urban monitoring sites, all with higher daytime concentrations, but with variations in peak times depending on major emission sources and meteorological patterns. These results offer valuable insights into the spatio-temporal patterns of gas-phase NH3 concentrations in urban Europe, contributing to future efforts in benchmarking NH3 pollution control in urban areas.</p

Integrating hydrological features and genetically validated occurrence data in occupancy modeling of an endemic and endangered semi-aquatic mammal species, Galemys pyrenaicus, in a Pyrenean catchment

As freshwater habitats are among the most endangered, there is an urgent need to identify critical areas for conservation, especially those that are home to endangered species. The Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) is a semi-aquatic mammal whose basic ecological requirements are largely unknown, hindering adequate conservation planning even though it is considered as a threatened species. Species distribution modelling is challenging for freshwater species. Indeed, the complexity of aquatic ecosystems (e.g., linear and hierarchical ordering) must be taken into account as well as imperfect sampling. High-quality and relevant hydrological descriptors should also be used. To understand the influence of environmental covariates on the occupancy and detection of the Pyrenean desman, we combine both a robust sign-survey data set (i.e. with genetic validation ensuring true presence information) and a hydrological model to simulate the flow regime across a whole catchment. Markovian site-occupancy analysis, taking into account sign detection and based on spatially adjacent replicates, indicated a positive influence of heterogeneity of substrate and shelters, and a negative influence of flow variability on Pyrenean desman detection. This valuable information should help to improve monitoring programs for this endangered species. Our results also highlighted a spatially clustered distribution and a positive influence of stream flow and number of tributaries on occupancy. Hence, modifications of flow regime (e.g. hydropower production, irrigation, climate change) and habitat fragmentation appear to be major threats for this species, altering the connectivity between tributaries and the mainstream river as well as between adjacent sub-catchments

Glucocorticoid receptor in astrocytes regulates midbrain dopamine neurodegeneration through connexin hemichannel activity

The precise contribution of astrocytes in neuroinflammatory process occurring in Parkinson's disease (PD) is not well characterized. In this study, using GR(Cx30CreERT2) mice that are conditionally inactivated for glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in astrocytes, we have examined the actions of astrocytic GR during dopamine neuron (DN) degeneration triggered by the neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). The results show significantly augmented DN loss in GR(Cx30CreERT2) mutant mice in substantia nigra (SN) compared to controls. Hypertrophy of microglia but not of astrocytes was greatly enhanced in SN of these astrocytic GR mutants intoxicated with MPTP, indicating heightened microglial reactivity compared to similarly-treated control mice. In the SN of GR astrocyte mutants, specific inflammation-associated transcripts ICAM-1, TNF-alpha and Il-1 beta as well as TNF-alpha protein levels were significantly elevated after MPTP neurotoxicity compared to controls. Interestingly, this paralleled increased connexin hemichannel activity and elevated intracellular calcium levels in astrocytes examined in acute midbrain slices from control and mutant mice treated with MPP+. The increased connexin-43 hemichannel activity was found in vivo in MPTP-intoxicated mice. Importantly, treatment of MPTP-injected GR(Cx30CreERT2) mutant mice with TAT-Gap19 peptide, a specific connexin-43 hemichannel blocker, reverted both DN loss and microglial activation; in wild-type mice there was partial but significant survival effect. In the SN of postmortem PD patients, a significant decrease in the number of astrocytes expressing nuclear GR was observed, suggesting the participation of astrocytic GR deregulation of inflammatory process in PD. Overall, these data provide mechanistic insights into GR-modulated processes in vivo, specifically in astrocytes, that contribute to a pro-inflammatory state and dopamine neurodegeneration in PD pathology