De l’intérêt des observatoires dans la résolution des conflits locaux : une approche en termes de science politique et de droit public

[paper in French] The article offers to describe and analyse the economic motivations for creating and operating observatories of agricultural practices. An observatory is a unit provided with technical, financial and human means as well as information and data, and which uses them to produce information and knowledge for both private and public users. The main obstacle in creating an observatory is its initial cost, as its activity is profitable only in the medium to long term. A second obstacle is maintaining cooperation between all the involved parties since investments and benefits are not equally shared among them. Finally, public policies also give incentives to create and maintain observatories. Performance-based contracts offered to farmers tend to encourage them to increase their knowledge regarding the environmental impacts of agricultural practices. Contracts based on agricultural practices rather than environmental impacts have the opposite effect: the government, bearing all the costs related to uncertainties as to the environmental outcomes, is not willing to offer high payments to the farmers, thus discouraged. We argue that innovative agri-environmental policies, environmentally-efficient and balanced as to responsibilities, can be offered to farmers if they are negotiated by all parties within observatories.observatories, contracts, obligations, governance

Effets des mesures agro-environnementales

Les mesures agri-environnementales (MAE) visent à améliorer les impacts environnementaux de l’agriculture, à l’aide de subventions allouées sur la base d’engagements volontaires des agriculteurs pour une durée d’au moins 5 ans. Au sein du deuxième pilier de la PAC, elles sont les seules mesures d’application obligatoire par les Etats membres. En France, elles ont représenté près de 6 % des aides directes totales versées aux agriculteurs pour la période 2000-2006. Les MAE ont été généralisées dans l’Union européenne (UE) dans les années 90. Elles sont très diversement utilisées par les Etats membres. Les effets des MAE dépendent à la fois de leurs principes et modalités d’action, relativement originaux, mais aussi de l’évolution des autres instruments de la PAC. Les recherches menées avec le soutien du projet européen ITAES se sont attachées à analyser les déterminants de l’efficacité environnementale des mesures agri-environnementales. Ces déterminants relèvent des processus bio-physiques reliant les pratiques agricoles aux impacts environnementaux, du comportement économique des agriculteurs et des aspects institutionnels relatifs à l’élaboration et à la mise en oeuvre des mesures. Des pistes et des outils méthodologiques pour l’amélioration des dispositifs et des contrats MAE ont été testés. Les investigations ont principalement été effectuées dans neuf régions ou pays de l’UE. 2000 agriculteurs ont été enquêtés, 200 agriculteurs engagés dans des MAE ont été suivis pendant un an, et près de 300 représentants d’organisations gouvernementales et non gouvernementales ont été interrogés.

Influence of glass/mould interfaces on sticking

The sticking of glass on mould materials is a critical problem since it can lead to the Interruption of glass Container production. This study is a contribution to understanding the phenomena at the origin of sticking. The experiments involve loading and spreading glass gobs on flat metallic Substrates. They are performed directly on a glassmaking machine, thus the thermal conditions of the processes are simulated as closely as possible. Special attention is paid to characterizing the metal and glass surfaces before and after contact using a surface profilometer, AFM, and SEM with an EDX spectrometer. The influence on sticking of mould temperature, surface roughness and surface chemistry (nonoxidized, pre-oxidized and lubricated) is investigated

Jean-Pierre Delville, Marko Jacǒv (éd.), La papauté contemporaine (xixe-xxe siècles). Il papato contemporaneo (secoli xix-xx). Hommage au chanoine Roger Aubert, professeur émérite à l'Université catholique de Louvain, pour ses 95 ans. Omaggio al canonico Roger Aubert, professore emerito all'Università cattolica di Lovanio, per i 95 anni

Ce volume collectif est un nouvel hommage à l'historien belge de l'Église Roger Aubert, après les précédentes initiatives de 1994, pour ses 80 ans, et de 2004, pour ses 90 ans (J.-P. Hendrickx, J. Pirotte, L. Courtois, (éds.), Le cardinal Mercier (1851-1926) : un prélat d'avant-garde. Publications du prof. Roger Aubert rassemblées à l'occasion de ses 80 ans, Louvain-la-Neuve, Academia, 1994 ; L. Courtois, J.-P. Delville, E. Louchez, J. Pirotte, F. Rosart et G. Zélis (éd.), Écrire l'histoire d..

Characteristics of the tomato chromoplast revealed by proteomic analysis

Chromoplasts are non-photosynthetic specialized plastids that are important in ripening tomato fruit (Solanum lycopersicum) since, among other functions, they are the site of accumulation of coloured compounds. Analysis of the proteome of red fruit chromoplasts revealed the presence of 988 proteins corresponding to 802 Arabidopsis unigenes, among which 209 had not been listed so far in plastidial databanks. These data revealed several features of the chromoplast. Proteins of lipid metabolism and trafficking were well represented, including all the proteins of the lipoxygenase pathway required for the synthesis of lipid-derived aroma volatiles. Proteins involved in starch synthesis co-existed with several starch-degrading proteins and starch excess proteins. Chromoplasts lacked proteins of the chlorophyll biosynthesis branch and contained proteins involved in chlorophyll degradation. None of the proteins involved in the thylakoid transport machinery were discovered. Surprisingly, chromoplasts contain the entire set of Calvin cycle proteins including Rubisco, as well as the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (OxPPP). The present proteomic analysis, combined with available physiological data, provides new insights into the metabolic characteristics of the tomato chromoplast and enriches our knowledge of non-photosynthetic plastids

Stringy invariants for horospherical varieties of complexity one

We determine the stringy motivic volume of log terminal horospherical varieties of complexity one and obtain a smoothness criterion using a comparison of stringy and usual Euler characteristics

Regulatory Features Underlying Pollination-Dependent and -Independent Tomato Fruit Set Revealed by Transcript and Primary Metabolite Profiling

Indole Acetic Acid 9 (IAA9) is a negative auxin response regulator belonging to the Aux/IAA transcription factor gene family whose downregulation triggers fruit set before pollination, thus giving rise to parthenocarpy. In situ hybridization experiments revealed that a tissue-specific gradient of IAA9 expression is established during flower development, the release of which upon pollination triggers the initiation of fruit development. Comparative transcriptome and targeted metabolome analysis uncovered important features of the molecular events underlying pollination-induced and pollination-independent fruit set. Comprehensive transcriptomic profiling identified a high number of genescommonto both types of fruit set,amongwhich only a small subset are dependent on IAA9 regulation. The fine-tuning of Aux/IAA and ARF genes and the downregulation of TAG1 and TAGL6 MADS box genes are instrumental in triggering the fruit set program. Auxin and ethylene emerged as the most active signaling hormones involved in the flower-to-fruit transition. However, while these hormones affected only a small number of transcriptional events, dramatic shifts were observed at the metabolic and developmental levels. The activation of photosynthesis and sucrose metabolism-related genes is an integral regulatory component of fruit set process. The combined results allow a far greater comprehension of the regulatory and metabolic events controlling early fruit development both in the presence and absence of pollination/fertilization