Linking electricity prices and costs in bottom-up top-down coupling under changing market environments

We couple top-down and bottom-up models to analyse electricity markets. We simulate energy policies under alternative regulatory assumptions. We shows that market liberalisation affects the links between generation costs and user prices. We show that the coupling mechanisms should reflect the nature of electricity market regulation. We show that a tax on electricity is more effective in a liberalized than in a regulated market

Assessing the impacts of climate change for Switzerland

Understanding the economic magnitude of climate change impacts is a prerequisite for developing adequate adaptation strategies. In Switzerland, despite new climate scenarios and impacts studies, only few impacts have been monetized. Our objective is to assess costs and opportunities of climate change for Switzerland by 2060, while enhancing the assessment methods. Using inputs from bottomup impact studies, we simulate the economic consequences of climate scenarios in a CGE framework. We cover health, buildings/infrastructure, energy, water, agriculture, tourism, the spill-overs to other sectors, and international effects. In 2060, welfare decreases by 0.30% to 1.03% relative to a reference without climate change. Higher summer temperatures increase mortality and decrease productivity. Contrariwise, tourism benefits from extended summer seasons. Regarding energy, increased demand for cooling is overcompensated by savings in heating. Due to data constraints, significant impacts have not been quantified, e.g. for heat waves and droughts more extreme than the 2060 average climate

Welfare Effects of Technology-based Climate Policies in Liberalized Electricity Markets: Seeing beyond Total System Cost

This paper is a contribution to assessing the Swiss energy transition, with an emphasis on the consequences of decommissioning the nuclear power plants for the electricity market and the whole economy. We expect that increased renewable generation and demand-side policies of the type already envisioned will not suffice to close the supply gap, so that Switzerland will have to rely on more imports of electricity, moving away from the export surpluses realized almost every year since 1910. As this reference scenario is contrary to desired energy security, a policy scenario is proposed in which net electricity trade is constrained to balance over the year and the supply gap is closed by relaxing the existing restrictions on gas-fired power plants. One constraint replaces another one, so that the impacts are not obvious. Furthermore, the prices of electricity and natural gas evolve quite differently through time and depend on climate and energy policy. We use a modeling framework coupling a detailed representation of electricity generation and an encompassing representation of the macro-economy to compare these scenarios in terms of both total system cost and welfare. Both indicators favor the reference scenario without gas-fired power plants in spite of its higher marginal costs for electricity. The welfare loss of the policy scenario is small, though, much smaller than the increase in total system cost. This shows that a coupled bottom-up top-down modeling framework assessing the welfare effect of policies can yield very different results from those of an energy system model assessing their impact on total system cost

Mise en place d'un secteur de musique imprimée à la Médiathèque Valais: fonds du Conservatoire cantonal valaisan

Ce travail relate la mise en place d’un secteur de partitions musicales pour le libre-accès de la Médiathèque Valais (MV). Il est l’aboutissement d’un projet développé conjointement par le Conservatoire cantonal du Valais et la Médiathèque Valais afin de mettre à disposition un fonds de partitions de musique classique appartenant au Conservatoire. Le mémoire décrit les différents choix et opérations, tant au niveau du traitement intellectuel que de la gestion de la collection, qui ont permis de mettre un millier de partitions en libre-accès. Un accent particulier a été mis sur la genèse de ce projet ainsi que sur l’excellente collaboration entre les deux institutions mandatrices. Un chapitre est aussi consacré au suivi de ce fonds qui, à terme, devra être représentatif des courants et genres musicaux intéressant aussi bien les professeurs et élèves du Conservatoire que le public plus large de la Médiathèque

Receptor Polymorphism and Genomic Structure Interact to Shape Bitter Taste Perception

Human bitter taste is believed to protect us from the ingestion of poisonous substances, thereby shaping food rejections. Bitter perception differs, however, across individuals, due to genetic variations in the ~25 bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) genes. A famous example known since the 1930s is the inherited bitter taste sensitivity to phenylthiocarbamide, which is associated with genetic polymorphisms in a single TAS2R gene. Yet, such simple receptor-substance associations do not reflect the full complexity of bitter perception, since individual bitter substances frequently activate several TAS2Rs. Here, we provide an in-depth analysis of the genetic variability influencing human bitter taste. While each study subject carried a different set of genetic polymorphisms, we found that most variations reside in just six blocks, each harboring only one to five haplotypes. Thus, besides simple associations between taste and TAS2R gene polymorphisms, we revealed complex associations dependent on linkage between several high- and low-sensitivity alleles. Indeed, subjects carried either sensitive or insensitive alleles for receptors sensitive to grosheimin, a bitter compound in artichoke, or at least one sensitive allele for receptors specific for absinthin, the bitter principle of absinth. In short, simple associations and complex genomic linkage determine sensitivity to selected dietary bitter compounds.The ability to taste bitterness evolved to safeguard most animals, including humans, against potentially toxic substances, thereby leading to food rejection. Nonetheless, bitter perception is subject to individual variations due to the presence of genetic functional polymorphisms in bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) genes, such as the long-known association between genetic polymorphisms in TAS2R38 and bitter taste perception of phenylthiocarbamide. Yet, due to overlaps in specificities across receptors, such associations with a single TAS2R locus are uncommon. Therefore, to investigate more complex associations, we examined taste responses to six structurally diverse compounds (absinthin, amarogentin, cascarillin, grosheimin, quassin, and quinine) in a sample of the Caucasian population. By sequencing all bitter receptor loci, inferring long-range haplotypes, mapping their effects on phenotype variation, and characterizing functionally causal allelic variants, we deciphered at the molecular level how a subjects’ genotype for the whole-family of TAS2R genes shapes variation in bitter taste perception. Within each haplotype block implicated in phenotypic variation, we provided evidence for at least one locus harboring functional polymorphic alleles, e.g. one locus for sensitivity to amarogentin, one of the most bitter natural compounds known, and two loci for sensitivity to grosheimin, one of the bitter compounds of artichoke. Our analyses revealed also, besides simple associations, complex associations of bitterness sensitivity across TAS2R loci. Indeed, even if several putative loci harbored both high- and low-sensitivity alleles, phenotypic variation depended on linkage between these alleles. When sensitive alleles for bitter compounds were maintained in the same linkage phase, genetically driven perceptual differences were obvious, e.g. for grosheimin. On the contrary, when sensitive alleles were in opposite phase, only weak genotype-phenotype associations were seen, e.g. for absinthin, the bitter principle of the beverage absinth. These findings illustrate the extent to which genetic influences on taste are complex, yet arise from both receptor activation patterns and linkage structure among receptor genes

Receptor Polymorphism and Genomic Structure Interact to Shape Bitter Taste Perception.

The ability to taste bitterness evolved to safeguard most animals, including humans, against potentially toxic substances, thereby leading to food rejection. Nonetheless, bitter perception is subject to individual variations due to the presence of genetic functional polymorphisms in bitter taste receptor (TAS2R) genes, such as the long-known association between genetic polymorphisms in TAS2R38 and bitter taste perception of phenylthiocarbamide. Yet, due to overlaps in specificities across receptors, such associations with a single TAS2R locus are uncommon. Therefore, to investigate more complex associations, we examined taste responses to six structurally diverse compounds (absinthin, amarogentin, cascarillin, grosheimin, quassin, and quinine) in a sample of the Caucasian population. By sequencing all bitter receptor loci, inferring long-range haplotypes, mapping their effects on phenotype variation, and characterizing functionally causal allelic variants, we deciphered at the molecular level how a subjects' genotype for the whole-family of TAS2R genes shapes variation in bitter taste perception. Within each haplotype block implicated in phenotypic variation, we provided evidence for at least one locus harboring functional polymorphic alleles, e.g. one locus for sensitivity to amarogentin, one of the most bitter natural compounds known, and two loci for sensitivity to grosheimin, one of the bitter compounds of artichoke. Our analyses revealed also, besides simple associations, complex associations of bitterness sensitivity across TAS2R loci. Indeed, even if several putative loci harbored both high- and low-sensitivity alleles, phenotypic variation depended on linkage between these alleles. When sensitive alleles for bitter compounds were maintained in the same linkage phase, genetically driven perceptual differences were obvious, e.g. for grosheimin. On the contrary, when sensitive alleles were in opposite phase, only weak genotype-phenotype associations were seen, e.g. for absinthin, the bitter principle of the beverage absinth. These findings illustrate the extent to which genetic influences on taste are complex, yet arise from both receptor activation patterns and linkage structure among receptor genes

Different Phenolic Compounds Activate Distinct Human Bitter Taste Receptors

Bitterness is a major sensory attribute of several common foods and beverages rich in polyphenol compounds. These compounds are reported as very important for health as chemopreventive compounds, but they are also known to taste bitter. In this work, the activation of the human bitter taste receptors, TAS2Rs, by six polyphenol compounds was analyzed. The compounds chosen are present in a wide range of plant-derived foods and beverages, namely, red wine, beer, tea, and chocolate. Pentagalloylglucose (PGG) is a hydrolyzable tannin, (−)-epicatechin is a precursor of condensed tannins, procyanidin dimer B3 and trimer C2 belong to the condensed tannins, and malvidin-3-glucoside and cyanidin-3-glucoside are anthocyanins. The results show that the different compounds activate different combinations of the ∼25 TAS2Rs. (−)-Epicatechin activated three receptors, TAS2R4, TAS2R5, and TAS2R39, whereas only two receptors, TAS2R5 and TAS2R39, responded to PGG. In contrast, malvidin-3-glucoside and procyanidin trimer stimulated only one receptor, TAS2R7 and TAS2R5, respectively. Notably, tannins are the first natural agonists found for TAS2R5 that display high potency only toward this receptor. The catechol and/or galloyl groups appear to be important structural determinants that mediate the interaction of these polyphenolic compounds with TAS2R5. Overall, the EC₅₀ values obtained for the different compounds vary 100-fold, with the lowest values for PGG and malvidin-3-glucoside compounds, suggesting that they could be significant polyphenols responsible for the bitterness of fruits, vegetables, and derived products even if they are present in very low concentrations

An international field study of the EORTC QLQ-PR25: a questionnaire for assessing the health-related quality of life of patients with prostate cancer

Aim: To evaluate the psychometrics of the EORTC QLQ-PR25, a questionnaire assessing the health-related quality of life of prostate cancer patients. Methods: The QLQ-PR25 and the QLQ-C30 were administered to 642 prostate cancer patients from 13 countries treated with curative or palliative intent. The QLQ-PR25 assesses urinary, bowel and sexual symptoms and functioning, and the side-effects of hormonal treatment. Results: Five hundred and nine patients were available for the final analysis. Multitrait scaling analyses confirmed the hypothesised scale structure of the QLQ-PR25. Internal consistency reliability was good (coefficient α = 0.70–0.86) for the urinary symptoms and sexual function scales, but lower for the bowel function and side-effects of hormonal treatment scales (α < 0.70). The module discriminated clearly between clinically distinct patient subgroups, and was responsive to changes in health status over time. Conclusion: In general, the QLQ-PR25 demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties and clinical validity. Some caution should be used in interpreting the bowel function and side-effects of hormonal therapy scales; results can be reported at the individual item and scale level