First Steps Towards an Understanding of a Mode ofCarcinogenic Action for Vanadium Pentoxide

Inhalation of vanadium pentoxide clearly increases the incidence of alveolar/bronchiolar neoplasms in male and female B6C3F1 mice at all concentrations tested (1, 2 or 4 mg/m3), whereas responses in F344/N rats was, at most, ambiguous. While vanadium pentoxide is mutagenic in vitro and possibly in vivo in mice, this does not explain the species or site specificity of the neoplastic response. A nose-only inhalation study was conducted in female B6C3F1 mice (0, 0.25, 1 and 4 mg/m3, 6 h/day for 16 days) to explore histopathological, biochemical (α-tocopherol, glutathione and F2-isoprostane) and genetic (comet assays and 9 specific DNA-oxo-adducts) changes in the lungs. No treatment related histopathology was observed at 0.25 mg/m3. At 1 and 4 mg/m3, exposure-dependent increases were observed in lung weight, alveolar histiocytosis, sub-acute alveolitis and/or granulocytic infiltration and a generally time-dependent increased cell proliferation rate of histiocytes. Glutathione was slightly increased, whereas there were no consistent changes in α-tocopherol or 8-isoprostane F2α. There was no evidence for DNA strand breakage in lung or BAL cells, but there was an increase in 8-oxodGuo DNA lesions that could have been due to vanadium pentoxide induction of the lesions or inhibition of repair of spontaneous lesions. Thus, earlier reports of histopathological changes in the lungs after inhalation of vanadium pentoxide were confirmed, but no evidence has yet emerged for a genotoxic mode of action. Evidence is weak for oxidative stress playing any role in lung carcinogenesis at the lowest effective concentrations of vanadium pentoxide

Cadre d'indicateurs de performance pour la gestion de la biodiversité dans les carrières de gypse à travers l'Europe

This study aims to establish a common Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) framework to report biodiversity for the Gypsum Industry at the European level. An original approach of participatory process has been developed in order to integrate the different opinions and to reach a consensus framework between different stakeholders’ groups: - Eurogypsum stakeholders - European and local authorities - Scientific panel : universities and consulting offices - European and local associations for the conservation of nature - Stakeholders from the mining sector The strategy is based on five main steps: (i) To Build a stakeholders’ network; (ii) To build a framework proposal to be submitted to stakeholders by selecting a maximum set of indicators based on the literature and reaching an agreement on indicators with Eurogypsum (Focus Group); (iii) Reaching a consensus framework with all the stakeholders and evaluating feasibility by a Delphi Policy survey, by the analysis of the EIAs of the Gypsum Industry and by visiting three European quarries; (iv) Final validation with Eurogypsum (meeting); (v) Creating indicators’ Factsheets and a Eurogyspum report to the destination of the public. The resulting framework contains eleven indicators which are the most acceptable set of indicators for all the stakeholders. It answers to European legislation and strategies for biodiversity. It is intended to improve sustainability in the quarries and to help managing biodiversity, to allow setting up of appropriate reporting systems. The aim is to maintain the biodiversity status of the gypsum quarries. It is a flexible framework adaptable given the local context of each gypsum quarry in order to prove if a No Net Loss has been reached at a quarry’s scale.Developing a common Key performance indicators framework for biodiversity management in gypsum quarries throughout Europe for Eurogypsu

Search for Scalar Diphoton Resonances in the Mass Range 65−60065-600 GeV with the ATLAS Detector in pppp Collision Data at s\sqrt{s} = 8 TeVTeV

A search for scalar particles decaying via narrow resonances into two photons in the mass range 65–600 GeV is performed using $20.3\text{}\text{}{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=8\text{}\text{}\mathrm{TeV}$ $pp$ collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The recently discovered Higgs boson is treated as a background. No significant evidence for an additional signal is observed. The results are presented as limits at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section of a scalar boson times branching ratio into two photons, in a fiducial volume where the reconstruction efficiency is approximately independent of the event topology. The upper limits set extend over a considerably wider mass range than previous searches