Spatialised fate factors for nitrate in catchments: modelling approach and implication for LCA results

The challenge for environmental assessment tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is to provide a holistic picture of the environmental impacts of a given system, while being relevant both at a global scale, i.e., for global impact categories such as climate change, and at a smaller scale, i.e., for regional impact categories such as aquatic eutrophication. To this end, the environmental mechanisms between emission and impact should be taken into account. For eutrophication in particular, which is one of the main impacts of farming systems, the fate factor of eutrophying pollutants in catchments, and particularly of nitrate, reflects one of these important and complex environmental mechanisms. We define this fate factor as: the ratio of the amount of nitrate at the outlet of the catchment over the nitrate emitted from the catchment's soils. In LCA, this fate factor is most often assumed equal to 1, while the observed fate factor is generally less than 1. A generic approach for estimating the range of variation of nitrate fate factors in a region of intensive agriculture was proposed. This approach was based on the analysis of different catchment scenarios combining different catchment types and different effective rainfalls. The evolution over time of the nitrate fate factor as well as the steady state fate factor for each catchment scenario was obtained using the INCA simulation model. In line with the general LCA model, the implications of the steady state fate factors for nitrate were investigated for the eutrophication impact result in the framework of an LCA of pig production. A sensitivity analysis to the fraction of nitrate lost as N(2)O was presented for the climate change impact category. This study highlighted the difference between the observed fate factor at a given time, which aggregates both storage and transformation processes and a "steady state fate factor", specific to the system considered. The range of steady state fate factors obtained for the study region was wide, from 0.44 to 0.86, depending primarily on the catchment type and secondarily on the effective rainfall. The sensitivity of the LCA of pig production to the fate factors was significant concerning eutrophication, but potentially much larger concerning climate change. The potential for producing improved eutrophication results by using spatially differentiated fate factors was demonstrated. Additionally, the urgent need for quantitative studies on the N(2)O/N(2) ratio in riparian zones denitrification was highlighted.     

Assessing the capabilities of the zonal model to predict the isothermal airflow induced by a linear ceiling diffuser

The objective of this work is to evaluate the quality of the zonal airflow predictions compared to those provided by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools for an isothermal airflow induced in a room by a linear ceiling diffuser. This comparative analysis was conducted for a typical rectangular office designed for two people, considering two different arrangements of obstacles within the room volume. The ventilation was provided by a four-way ceiling diffuser type with large aspect ratio slots, the outlet integrated into it, operating in a three-way mode with slot Reynolds number of 2700. As a result, the airflow was transitional or weakly turbulent. The airflow patterns obtained with the zonal models were first compared qualitatively with the CFD computations. A quantitative comparison based on the mean velocities at the interface of the zonal grid was then carried out. The characteristic features of the zonal predictions are shown and the limitations of the zonal and CFD approaches are discussed.     

A comparison of three turbulence models for the prediction of parallel lobed jets in perforated panel optimization

The general context of the present study is the design of high induction HVAC air diffusers by means of passive jet control. When the diffuser is a perforated panel with lobed orifices (Meslem et al. 2010), the optimization of jet induction consists in improving the orifice’s geometry, the spacing between orifices and their arrangement on the panel. In this study, the flow field of a turbulent twin cross-shaped jet is investigated numerically using the standard k-ε model, the Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω model and the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM). The results are compared with PIV measurements. The objective is to assess their capability and limitations to predict the significant features of twin jet flow when the flow is numerically resolved through a lobed diffuser. It is shown that the k-ε and RSM models are more appropriate for predicting potential jet core length, the change in jet centreline streamwise velocity, and flow expansion in the symmetry plane of the twin jet flow. However, these models overestimate the overall flow expansion and the jet volumetric flow rate. The SST k-ω model seems more appropriate for the prediction of such dynamic integral quantities. A high level of turbulent kinetic energy predicted by the k-ε and RSM models in the near field of jets is probably the reason for this overestimation of jet induction. The SST k-ω model would appear to be the most appropriate tool for optimizing orifice design, orifice to orifice spacing and relative orifice orientation on a perforated panel diffuser.     

D.C. scanning thermal microscopy: Characterisation and interpretation of the measurement

The used Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM) probe is a thin Pt resistance wire acting as a heat source and as a detector simultaneously. Its energetic balance is investigated by the study of the temperature profile along the probe. A theoretical approach of the measurement, based on this investigation, is then proposed. Simulations with this modelling are shown to predict how the heat, electrically produced in the probe, is dissipated in the probe-sample system. In particular, it is shown that the steady-state of conduction losses to the thermal element support varies versus the thermal conductivity of the sample and can lead to bad interpretations of the measurement.     

Dietary polyphenols and the prevention of diseases

Polyphenols are the most abundant antioxidants in the diet and are widespread constituents of fruits, vegetables, cereals, dry legumes, chocolate, and beverages, such as tea, coffee, or wine. Experimental studies on animals or cultured human cell lines support a role of polyphenols in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, or osteoporosis. However, it is very difficult to predict from these results the effects of polyphenol intake on disease prevention in humans. One of the reasons is that these studies have often been conducted at doses or concentrations far beyond those documented in humans. The few clinical studies on biomarkers of oxidative stress, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and tumor or bone resorption biomarkers have often led to contradictory results. Epidemiological studies have repeatedly shown an inverse association between the risk of myocardial infarction and the consumption of tea and wine or the intake level of some particular flavonoids, but no clear associations have been found between cancer risk and polyphenol consumption. More human studies are needed to provide clear evidence of their health protective effects and to better evaluate the risks possibly resulting from too high a polyphenol consumption.     

In Silico Logical Modelling to Uncover Cooperative Interactions in Cancer

The multistep development of cancer involves the cooperation between multiple molecular lesions, as well as complex interactions between cancer cells and the surrounding tumour microenvironment. The search for these synergistic interactions using experimental models made tremendous contributions to our understanding of oncogenesis. Yet, these approaches remain labour-intensive and challenging. To tackle such a hurdle, an integrative, multidisciplinary effort is required. In this article, we highlight the use of logical computational models, combined with experimental validations, as an effective approach to identify cooperative mechanisms and therapeutic strategies in the context of cancer biology. In silico models overcome limitations of reductionist approaches by capturing tumour complexity and by generating powerful testable hypotheses. We review representative examples of logical models reported in the literature and their validation. We then provide further analyses of our logical model of Epithelium to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), searching for additional cooperative interactions involving inputs from the tumour microenvironment and gain of function mutations in NOTCH.     

Voltage dependence of the tunnelling current: an exact expression

An exact expression for the tunnelling current measured with a scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) is obtained. It clarifies the information deducible from the ‘spectroscopic mode’ of the STM and raises the question of the observability of surface states. The connection with the Transfer Hamiltonian approach is made, and the conditions of validity of the latter are analysed.     

Pore microgeometry analysis in low-resistivity sandstone reservoirs

The objective of this work is to analyse the pore microgeometry and its effect on petrophysical properties in six low-resistivity sandstone reservoirs by combining a 2D quantitative petrographic image analysis (PIA) and 3D petrophysical tools. The classic petrophysical tools enable the measurement of different classic reservoir properties such as specific surface area, average pore diameter, pore size distribution, macroporosity and microporosity, capillary pressure versus saturation, pore chamber–pore throat diameter ratio, electrical properties and permeability. The petrographic image analysis quantifies pore microgeometry in more than four orders of magnitude, from submicron to millimeter scale. Chloritic low-resistivity sandstones show dual porosity structure defined as chloritic texture. The pore microgeometrical parameters measured by petrographic image analysis allow one to model different reservoir properties such as capillary pressure, permeability and electrical behaviour. The results obtained in these models show that pore microgeometry plays an important role in the physical properties of low-resistivity sandstone reservoirs.     

La différentiation de la forme comme fonction du névrotisme chez l'étudiant universitaire.

Predicted that since the learning of complex responses is obstructed by anxiety, the degree of differentiation in the drawings of an adult should be inversely related to his neuroticism. This hypothesis was confirmed by a significant negative correlation between the scores obtained by 33 university students on the Eysenck Personality Inventory and their scores on a scale of differentiation in the drawing of a tree. Possible applications of these results to the field of creativity are discussed. (1 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)