Nicaragua : la banane… avec la petite différence

Au début, il y a un petit entrefilet dans le journal « Le Monde », en juin 1985. Celui-ci annonce que, pour la première fois en Europe, un bateau bananier nicaraguayen est en train de décharger sa cargaison dans le port de Gand en Belgique, un mois à peine après le décret d’embargo commercial contre le Nicaragua promulgué par le président Reagan. Cette information met « la puce à l’oreille » de quelques tiers-mondistes, liés au mouvement du « commerce plus juste » et convaincus qu’il faut réa..

The effect of inspiratory muscle training on respiratory and limb locomotor muscle deoxygenation during exercise with resistive inspiratory loading.

We investigated how inspiratory muscle training impacted respiratory and locomotor muscle deoxygenation during submaximal exercise with resistive inspiratory loading. 16 male cyclists completed 6 weeks of either true (n=8) or sham (n=8) inspiratory muscle training. Pre- and post-training, subjects completed 3, 6-min experimental trials performed at ~80%  ˙VO2peak with interventions of either moderate inspiratory loading, heavy inspiratory loading, or maximal exercise imposed in the final 3 min. Locomotor and respiratory muscle oxy-, deoxy-, and total-haemoglobin and myoglobin concentration was continuously monitored using near-infrared spectroscopy. Locomotor muscle deoxygenation changes from 80%  ˙VO2peak to heavy inspiratory loading were significantly reduced pre- to post-training from 4.3±5.6 µM to 2.7±4.7 µM. Respiratory muscle deoxygenation was also significantly reduced during the heavy inspiratory loading trial (4.6±3.5 µM to 1.9±1.5 µM) post-training. There was no significant difference in oxy-, deoxy-, or total-haemoglobin and myoglobin during any of the other loading trials, from pre- to post-training, in either group. After inspiratory muscle training, highly-trained cyclists exhibited decreased locomotor and respiratory muscle deoxygenation during exercise with heavy inspiratory loading. These data suggest that inspiratory muscle training reduces oxygen extraction by the active respiratory and limb muscles, which may reflect changes in respiratory and locomotor muscle oxygen delivery

Modeling unauthorized access to offshore platforms using a Bayesian network

Platforms in the offshore wind energy industry are of particular importance for the uninterrupted functioning of the power grid due to their increasing relevance for the security of supply. Therefore, they require an increased level of protection. The paper presents an attempt for a probabilistic threat modeling and assessment based on a Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM). The approach is tested for the attack scenario “unauthorized access to a high voltage direct current converter platform (HVDCC)

A scenario based threat assessment using Bayesian networks for a high voltage direct current converter platform

The climate change challenges a variety of aspects in our society. One spect is the energy production and the composition of the energy mix. Through the last years the amount of offshore wind farms has increased as well as the structure of the electricity producing infrastructure has changed from a more centralized (power plant oriented) to a more regional mode (decentral (offshore) wind farms and solar panels) of production. The vulnerability of the power-generating infrastructure is also changing. Therefore a quantification of the threat level is necessary. This paper should evaluate if a Bayesian network as a quantitative risk assessment model can be used to assess the threat level of an offshore wind farm. Common approaches build a Bayesian network based on a qualitative risk assessment. The Bayesian network presented in the paper is build based on a Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) based process model because a threat is strongly influenced by the scenario under consideration. The developed approach will be applied to the case study “unauthorized access to an high voltage direct current converter platform (HVDCC)”

Comparing impacts of climate change on streamflow in four large African river basins

This study aims to compare impacts of climate change on streamflow in four large representative African river basins: the Niger, the Upper Blue Nile, the Oubangui and the Limpopo. We set up the eco-hydrological model SWIM (Soil and Water Integrated Model) for all four basins individually. The validation of the models for four basins shows results from adequate to very good, depending on the quality and availability of input and calibration data. For the climate impact assessment, we drive the model with outputs of five bias corrected Earth system models of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) for the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 2.6 and 8.5. This climate input is put into the context of climate trends of the whole African continent and compared to a CMIP5 ensemble of 19 models in order to test their representativeness. Subsequently, we compare the trends in mean discharges, seasonality and hydrological extremes in the 21st century. The uncertainty of results for all basins is high. Still, climate change impact is clearly visible for mean discharges but also for extremes in high and low flows. The uncertainty of the projections is the lowest in the Upper Blue Nile, where an increase in streamflow is most likely. In the Niger and the Limpopo basins, the magnitude of trends in both directions is high and has a wide range of uncertainty. In the Oubangui, impacts are the least significant. Our results confirm partly the findings of previous continental impact analyses for Africa. However, contradictory to these studies we find a tendency for increased streamflows in three of the four basins (not for the Oubangui). Guided by these results, we argue for attention to the possible risks of increasing high flows in the face of the dominant water scarcity in Africa. In conclusion, the study shows that impact intercomparisons have added value to the adaptation discussion and may be used for setting up adaptation plans in the context of a holistic approach

Impact of lowering ski binding settings on the outcome of the self-release test of ski bindings among female recreational skiers

Background and purpose: The ability to successfully self-release the ski binding can prevent skiing-related injuries of the lower extremities. Failure of binding release associated with a knee injury is significantly higher among females compared to males. The International Standards Organization ISO 11088 standard for binding setting values allows a lowering by 15% upon request of the skier. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of lowered ski binding settings by 15% on the outcome of the self-release test among female recreational skiers. Materials and methods: In this randomized single-blinded study, a cohort of 20 females (24.5+/-2.7 years) performed the self-release test in the laboratory thrice with each leg under two conditions: 1) with an actual ISO 11088 setting and 2) with a setting lowered by 15%. For each attempt, torques calculated via the force plate were normalized to torques measured by a binding adjustment system (relative release torque, RRT). Results: Among 240 trials in total, more females were significantly able to self-release their ski bindings with lowered binding settings when compared to their actual ISO settings (53% vs 9%, p<0.001). Thirteen females (65%) were able to release their bindings at least once with both legs with lowered binding settings compared to only three females (15%) with their actual binding settings (p<0.001). Mean RRT of all failure of binding release trials significantly differed between lowered and actual binding settings (58.6%+/-22.2% vs 50.5%+/-20.4%, p=0.003). Conclusion: Four times more females were able to self-release their ski bindings at least once with both legs with a 15% lowered binding setting compared to their normal ISO 11088 setting. The fact that the ISO standard accepts a lowering by 15% upon request of the skier could represent an important measure to prevent knee injuries, especially for female recreational skiers.(VLID)3081012Version of recor