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[Objectives]: To determine whether handgrip strength (HG) and/or standing long jump (SLJ) are capable of detecting risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in European adolescents, and to identify age- and sex-specific cut points for these tests. [Design]: Cross-sectional study. [Methods]: Participants included 969 (aged 12.5–17.5 years old) adolescents from 9 European countries (n = 520 girls). Absolute and relative HG and SLJ tests were used to assess upper and lower muscle strength, respectively. MetS status was determined using the age- and sex-specific cut points proposed by Jolliffe and Janssen's, Additionally, we computed a continuous cardiometabolic risk index with the average z-score of four cardiometabolic risk factors: Wait circumference, mean arterial pressure, triglycerides/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and fasting insulin. [Results]: The prevalence of MetS was 3.1% in European adolescents. Relative HG and absolute SLJ were the best tests for detecting the presence of MetS (Area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC) = 0.799, 95%CI:0.773–0.824; and AUC = 0.695 95%CI:0.665–0.724), respectively) and elevated cardiometabolic risk index (AUC = 0.873, 95%CI:0.838–0.902; and AUC = 0.728 95%CI:0.698–0.756), respectively) and, regardless of cardiorespiratory fitness. We provide age- and sex-specific cut points of upper and lower muscle strength for European adolescents to identify the presence of MetS and elevated cardiometabolic risk index. [Conclusions]: The proposed health-related cut points could be used as a starting point to define health-related levels of upper and lower muscle strength in adolescents. Likewise, the diagnostic statistics provided herein can be used to offer feedback to adolescents, parents, and education and health professionals about what it means to meet or fail test standards., The HELENA project was supported by the European Community Sixth RTD Framework Programme (contract FOOD-CT-2005-007034). The data for this study was gathered under the aegis of the HELENA project, and further analysis was additionally supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grants RYC-201416390), the Spanish Ministry of Health: Maternal, Child Health and Development Network (grant RD16/0022), the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (MICINN-FEDER) and by the University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigación 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence; Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES) and Plan Propio de Investigación 2018 - Programa Contratos-Puente, and the Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Conocimiento, Investigación y Universidades (FEDER, ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR).

International audience; The aim of this paper is to offer an in-depth analysis of John McGahern's critical statements on the Irish society of the mid 1960s. This is carried out by combining the notions of mind style (Semino, 2002), split selves (Emmot, 2002) and the blending theory (Fauconnier and Turner, 1994, 2002). The description of two of the main characters of the novel (Mahoney, a widower, and Father Gerald, a priest) and two of the most relevant scenes (the Corpus Christi procession and the young protagonist's sexual arousal with an advert torn from a newspaper) are analysed in terms of multiple metonymic correspondences which interact within the blend to yield a series of antagonistic metaphors. Through the eyes of the teenage narrator, McGahern makes an outrageous ideological statement against Puritanism and Catholicism.

The World Health Organization Global Action Plan recommends integrated surveillance programs as crucial strategies for monitoring antibiotic resistance. Although several national surveillance programs are in place for clinical and veterinary settings, no such schemes exist for monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this transnational study, we developed, validated, and tested a low-cost surveillance and easy to implement approach to evaluate antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) by targeting cefotaxime-resistant (CTX-R) coliforms as indicators. The rationale for this approach was: i) coliform quantification methods are internationally accepted as indicators of fecal contamination in recreational waters and are therefore routinely applied in analytical labs; ii) CTX-R coliforms are clinically relevant, associated with extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), and are rare in pristine environments. We analyzed 57 WWTPs in 22 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America. CTX-R coliforms were ubiquitous in raw sewage and their relative abundance varied significantly (

Background: In recent years, ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) in pups has become established as a good tool for evaluating behaviors related to communication deficits and emotional states observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Prenatal valproic acid (VPA) exposure leads to impairments and social behavior deficits associated with autism, with the effects of VPA being considered as a reliable animal model of ASD. Some studies also suggest that prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF) could enhance autistic-like behaviors. Methods: In order to explore these similarities, in the present study we tested whether prenatal exposure to CPF at GD12.5&ndash, 14.5 produces effects that are comparable to those produced by prenatal VPA exposure at GD12.5 in infant Wistar rats. Using Deep Squeek software, we evaluated total number of USVs, latency to the first call, mean call duration, principal frequency peak, high frequency peak, and type of calls. Results: Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that exposure to both CPF and VPA leads to a significantly smaller number of calls along with a longer latency to produce the first call. No significant effects were found for the remaining dependent variables. Conclusions: These results suggest that prenatal exposure to CPF could produce certain behaviors that are reminiscent of those observed in ASD patients.

Decision makers are increasingly interested in information from ecosystem services (ES) assessments. Scientists have for long recognised the importance of selecting appropriate indicators. Yet, while the amount and variety of indicators developed by scientists seems to increase continuously, the extent to which the indicators truly inform decision makers is often unknown and questioned. In this viewpoint paper, we reflect and provide guidance on how to develop appropriate ES indicators for informing decision making, building on scientific literature and practical experience collected from researchers involved in seven case studies. We synthesized 16 criteria for ES indicator selection and organized them according to the widely used categories of credibility, salience, legitimacy (CSL). We propose to consider additional criteria related to feasibility (F), as CSL criteria alone often seem to produce indicators which are unachievable in practice. Considering CSLF together requires a combination of scientific knowledge, communication skills, policy and governance insights and on-field experience. In conclusion, we present a checklist to evaluate CSLF of your ES indicators. This checklist helps to detect and mitigate critical shortcomings in an early phase of the development process, and aids the development of effective indicators to inform actual policy decisions. Fil: van Oudenhoven, Alexander P.E.. Leiden University; Países Bajos Fil: Schröter, Matthias. Helmholtz Zentrum Für Umweltforschung; Alemania. German Centre For Integrative Biodiversity Research; Alemania Fil: Drakou, Evangelia G.. Faculty Of Geo-information Science And Earth Observation; Países Bajos Fil: Geijzendorffer, Ilse R.. Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands; Francia Fil: Jacobs, Sander. Belgian Biodiversity Platform; Bélgica. Research Institute for Nature and Forest; Bélgica Fil: van Bodegom, Peter M.. Leiden University; Países Bajos Fil: Chazee, Laurent. Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands; Francia Fil: Czúcz, Bálint. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Francia. Hungarian Academy Of Sciences. Institute of Ecology and Botany; Argentina Fil: Grunewald, Karsten. Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development; Alemania Fil: Lillebø, Ana I.. Universidade de Aveiro; Portugal Fil: Mononen, Laura. Finnish Environment Institute; Finlandia. Itä-suomen Yliopisto; Finlandia Fil: Nogueira, António J.A.. Universidade de Aveiro; Portugal Fil: Pacheco Romero, Manuel. Universidad de Almeria; España Fil: Perennou, Christian. Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands; Francia Fil: Remme, Roy P.. National Institute of Public Health and the Environment; Países Bajos Fil: Rova, Silvia. Universita' Ca' Foscari Di Venezia; Italia Fil: Syrbe, Ralf-Uwe. Leibniz Institute Of Ecological Urban And Regional Development; Alemania Fil: Tratalos, Jamie A.. University College Dublin; Irlanda Fil: Vallejos, María. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Albert, Christian. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität; Alemania

[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]QUASARE [ADD1_IRSTEA]Systèmes aquatiques soumis à des pressions multiples; International audience; With an overarching goal of addressing global and regional sustainability challenges, Long Term Socio-Ecological Research Platforms (LTSER) aim to conduct place-based research, to collect and synthesize both environmental and socio-economic data, and to involve a broader stakeholder pool to set the research agenda. To date there have been few studies examining the output from LTSER platforms. In this study we enquire if the socio-ecological research from 25 self-selected LTSER platforms of the International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network has produced research products which fulfil the aims and ambitions of the paradigm shift from ecological to socio-ecological research envisaged at the turn of the century. In total we assessed 4983 publically available publications, of which 1112 were deemed relevant to the socio-ecological objectives of the platform. A series of 22 questions were scored for each publication, assessing relevance of responses in terms of the disciplinary focus of research, consideration of human health and well-being, degree of stakeholder engagement, and other relevant variables. The results reflected the diverse origins of the individual platforms and revealed a wide range in foci, temporal periods and quantity of output from participating platforms, supporting the premise that there is a growing trend in socio-ecological research at long-term monitoring platforms. Our review highlights the challenges of realizing the top-down goal to harmonize international network activities and objectives and the need for bottom-up, self-definition for research platforms. This provides support for increasing the consistency of LTSER research while preserving the diversity of regional experiences.

Concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies are foreseen to be a crucial actor in the future renewable energy mix. Soil accumulation on the optical surfaces of CSP plants involves significant expenses of the operation and maintenance activities because a high cleanliness level is required to achieve proper plant revenues. Normally, only the front side of the solar reflectors is cleaned to reflect the maximum possible amount of direct solar radiation towards the receiver. However, soil deposited on the backside of the reflector could provoke degradation and might need to be considered in the cleaning strategy. As this possible degradation has never been studied, this work is dedicated to assess if the backside of reflectors should be regularly cleaned. The influence of the sand in the possible paint degradation depends on its chemical composition and the weather conditions. Therefore, several climatic conditions of artificially soiled reflector samples with different types of sand were simulated in accelerated aging tests. Concerning the results obtained, the ambient conditions simulated by the damp heat and thermal cycling tests were the only ones that produced a significant degradation of the backside paints. Also, the sand from Ouarzazate was responsible for higher deterioration.

This paper presents a dimensional-analysis supported scaling procedure applied to a mathematical model of electrochemical batteries. The main objective of this research is to allow for laboratory size-scaled and time-compressed experimental analysis of processes involving large physical magnitudes and evolving over long time spans. These situations are of interest when considering the sizing of battery packs and other components of energy systems, particularly smart grids, and further systems where battery storage is relevant, like hybrid vehicles and other standalone systems, as well as deciding management strategies on them. Voltage-, current- A nd time-scaled models preserving the dynamic evolution of a group of relevant physical magnitudes are presented. These models have been validated through simulation and physical experiments on a test-bench designed and constructed on purpose. The physical implementation of the scaled models is not possible in the cases where some of the scaled model parameters cannot be met using real batteries. But, as the mathematical construction of the scaled models is always possible, this problem can be circumvented with a Hardware-in-the-loop approach: The scaled battery is numerically emulated on a programmable and controllable power source/sink system, which is run in real-time embedded in the test-bench representing the whole system under study. Fil: Cabello, Javier Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura. Escuela de Ingeniería Electrónica. Departamento de Control; Argentina Fil: Roboam, Xavier. Instituto Polytechnique de Toulouse; Francia. Université Paul Sabatier; Francia Fil: Junco, Sergio Jose. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura. Escuela de Ingeniería Electrónica. Departamento de Control; Argentina Fil: Bru, Eric. Instituto Polytechnique de Toulouse; Francia. Université Paul Sabatier; Francia Fil: Lacressonniere, Fabien. Instituto Polytechnique de Toulouse; Francia. Université Paul Sabatier; Francia

International audience; With the increasing adoption of MDE, model transformations , one of its core concepts together with metamodeling, stand out as a valuable asset. Therefore, a mechanism to annotate and store existing model transformations appears as a critical need for their efficient exploitation and reuse. Unfortunately, although several reuse mechanisms have been proposed for software artifacts in general and models in particular , none of them is specially tailored to the domain of model transformations. In order to fill this gap, we present here such a mechanism. Our approach is composed by two elements 1) a new DSL specially conceived for describing model transformations in terms of their functional and non-functional properties 2) a semi-automatic process for annotating and querying (repositories of) model transformations using as criteria the properties of our DSL. We validate the feasibility of our approach through a prototype implementation that integrates our approach in a GitHub repository.

In this work, the characterization of the non-covalently bonded compounds present in a set of perhydrous coals of different age and geographical location (Cretaceous coals: UCV and TCV and Jurassic coals: AJV, PGJV, WJVh and WJVl) was carried out by means of a combination of the analyses of the material soluble in chloroform and the thermal extract. The extract in chloroform was studied through GC/MS and NMR and the thermovaporized fraction was obtained by means of flash pyrolysis at the Curie temperature of 350°C and quantified by on-line GC-MS. The results obtained for the Cretaceous coals confirm that the substances responsible for the hydrogenation are those covalently bonded to the vitrinite network as a result of the modifications undergone by the botanical precursors. Despite the striking similarity in the global characteristics of these two coals (TCV and UCV) significant differences between the material non-covalently bonded to their coal matrices were found. These differences are attributed to the type of resins present in the coals and/or to their different degree of evolution. With respect to the Jurassic coals, the present study allows the process by which the hydrogenated substances were assimilated into their structure to be established. The characterization of the assimilated substances in the WJVl coal reveals an unexpectedly high incorporation of alkanes given the humic origin of this sample. From these results the assimilation of hydrogen-rich substances from the decomposition of the organic remains in the sedimentary environment in which WJVl precursor were deposited, is proposed. The incorporation of products derived from the primary decomposition of organic material is not evident for the WJVh and AJV coals. The substances assimilated into the coal matrices show a higher aromaticity, the aromatic structures of WJVh being more condensed than those found in AJV. The compositional differences between them probably arise from the different source of the hydrogen-rich material. In the case of AJV coal the source was the adsorption of hydrocarbons generated and migrated from the Pliensbachian source-rocks whereas in WJVh, assimilated compounds come from the material generated by the thermal transformation (coalification) of the adjacent organic rocks of similar age. Finally, PGJV shows two types of non-covalently bonded compounds. Solvent extractable material is mainly composed of the first type of compounds, which is predominantly aliphatic in nature with a preponderance of alkanes. The second type of compounds is more aromatic and they are probably located in the close porosity of this coal. They are not accessible to chloroform but they are the most abundant in the thermal extract., The financial support for this work was provided through a contract with the European Community (No. 7220/EC-769).

International audience; Captive Octopus vulgaris adults were fed three mono-diets based on pilchard, crab and squid and allowed to grow until reproduction under controlled temperature. Spawns from each dietary treatment were isolated, and the embryonic development, egg length, width and wet weight, in addition to neonate dry weight, dorsal mantle length and ventral mantle length were monitored. Pilchard-diet spawns developed faster in terms of thermal time. Initial egg wet weight was higher for squid and crab diets. Irrespective of the parental diet, eggs passed through a swelling process so that egg width and wet weight increased in a nonlinear way, whereas egg length was left nearly unaffected. Egg length and initial wet weight showed a high correlation with neonate dry weight. Egg length, even at advanced incubation, can be used as a good proxy for neonate dry weight, this fact having potential implications for the ecological and aquaculture research on O. vulgaris.

The tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a devastating pest of tomato originating from South America. After its initial detection in eastern Spain in 2006, it rapidly invaded various other European countries and spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. If no control measures are taken, then the pest can cause up to 80-100% yield losses in tomato crops in recently invaded areas and may pose a threat to both greenhouse and open-field tomato production. The exceptional speed and extent of T. absoluta invasion have called for studies documenting its biology and ecology, while indicating an urgent need for efficient and sustainable management methods. The development of approaches to manage T. absoluta would be facilitated through a detailed revision of information on this pest in its area of origin. This review combines information on the invasion by T. absoluta, its ecology, and potential management strategies, including data that may help the implementation of efficient biological control programs. These programs, together with a variety of other management tactics, may allow efficient integrated pest management of T. absoluta in Europe and Mediterranean Basin countries. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

International audience; This article aims to contribute to the discussion on the efficiency of two different discretization methods used as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solvers for the simulation of natural ventilation in greenhouses. The focus is not on a general use of CFD, but rather on its specific application to simulate airflow in naturally ventilated greenhouses. After a short review of the basic model and its extensions, we compare the accuracy and computational efficiency of two simulation codes based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Finite Volume Method (FVM) for two-dimensional incompressible turbulent flow in naturally ventilated greenhouses. FVM software (ANSYS/FLUENT v 6.3.) is the most frequently used CFD code in ventilation research, but few papers using FEM software (ANSYS/FLOTRAN v. 11.0) have been published. CFD simulations have been compared to experimental data for 12 cases corresponding to three greenhouse types. The experimental greenhouses were chosen to represent a large range of ventilation situations: buoyancy effect in a mono-span greenhouse with adiabatic walls, buoyancy and wind effect in a multi-span greenhouse and ventilation in an Almería-type greenhouse under conditions of large temperature gradient and high wind speeds. The data from simulations and field experiments were compared using different parameters to analyze the effectiveness of experimental data in the validations of CFD models. The possibility of repeating simulations with different discretization methods and commercial software has been tested, as well as the type of experimental data needed to ensure correct validation of CFD models for use in greenhouse ventilation studies. To this end, temperature distribution measurements are preferable to set-point measurements and the use of visualization techniques (laser sheets) or the measurement of velocity vectors (anemometer) are more indicative than ventilation rates. The computational capacity of these approaches has also been analyzed, comparing their performance in terms of the overall database space necessary to store the numerical models and the necessary CPU time to compute one step of the convergence process. On average, the FEM required twice as much computing time per cell and step as FVM, and the amount of required memory storage was approximately 10 times greater for the FEM.

A study of coal products obtained from Gray-King pyrolysis at 550 °C was carried out in order to obtain information about the chemical modifications of the huminite/vitrinite structure resulting from different processes of natural hydrogen-enrichment. The high oil yield obtained, the similarity between the infrared spectra of the generated oils and those of the parent vitrinite as well as the parallelism between the compositional data deduced for these oils and those obtained by means of Curie point pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry justify the use of this thermal approach. Gray-King pyrolysis is preferable to other techniques because it is possible to make an accurate mass balance, a thorough study of the solid residues and a full characterization of both the volatile and non-volatile fractions of the degradation products. From a study of selected perhydrous coals, mainly composed of the vitrinite maceral group, only in the low reflectance Jurassic coal from the Whitby (England) basin (WJVl) was the incorporation of lipoidal material evident, due to the significant contribution of long-chain alkyl aromatics in its oil. The structure of the vitrinite in the other Jurassic coals, the high reflectance sample from the Whitby basin (WJVh) and the coals from the Asturias (Spain) and Portugal basins (AJV and PGJV, respectively), is probably similar to that described for non-perhydrous vitrinites in the subbituminous coal rank. However, the presence of assimilated hydrogenated substances of a secondary nature, in particular for AJV and PGJV, hinders the cross-linking and condensation processes typical of the transit to the bituminous coal rank. In Cretaceous coals, from Teruel (Spain) and Utah (EEUU), (TCV and UCV, respectively), whose perhydrous character is mainly due to the specific hydrogenated nature of their botanical precursors, the incorporation of aliphatic structures via covalent oxygen linkages is proposed. The results obtained may be useful for establishing accurate structural models for perhydrous vitrinites. At the same time, the data obtained will contribute to explain the involvement of the high hydrogen content in the suppression of vitrinite reflectance.

International audience; It has been demonstrated experimentally and theoretically that cross-correlation at two points subjected to diffuse wavefields leads to the emergence of the Green function. Theoretical derivations imply several ideas of great generality but distinct interpretations exist. One assumes diffuse wavefields generated by multiple scattering. In other there is the assumption of multiple independent, uncorrelated sources giving rise to the phenomenon. Here we study the canonical problem of the retrieval of 2D elastodynamic Green function in an infinite space containing a cylinder inclusion. We illuminate isotropically the space with plane waves. We assume the spectra for both P and SV uniform and such that the energy ratio E S /E P = (α/β)2, which is predicted by equipartition theory in 2D. We then show that the Fourier transform of azimuthal average of cross-correlation of motion between two points is proportional to the imaginary part of the corresponding exact Green tensor. Some implications are discussed.