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Local citizen-led initiatives relating to energy are developing strongly in Anglo-Saxon countries and a growing body of research is examining their innovative potential. In France, similar grassroots initiatives – albeit with certain specificities – only began to emerge recently and so far, very few studies have dealt with them. The purpose of this article is to propose an exploratory and in-depth analysis of one advanced French case: Le Mene, a pioneer in local energy autonomy. We examine the conditions under which the initiative emerged and the processes through which a grassroots innovation is formed. In studying this case (interviews, analysis of documents), comparing it with other sources of data (expert interviews, comparative observation of other initiatives) and taking stock of various social sciences studies, we show that a social innovation was produced in Le Mene through the hybridisation of actors, sociotechniques and discourses. This initiative was innovative not only in terms of the scope of the mechanisms implemented, but also in terms of the social organisation behind the development of the projects and the capacity to use energy production as a social resource. Finally, we reflect on the possible diffusion of these grassroots initiatives and their policy implications in France.

AbstractAn anatomically based assessment scale of handwashing quality with alcohol-based hand rub was designed. Contents of the scale divided each hand into 40 zones. Psychometric measurements were studied in 30 participants (120 hand sides). The scale was both valid (Cronbach α: 0·83 dorsal side and 0·73 palmar side) and reproducible (linear regression R2, 0·91; intraclass correlation coefficient, 0·99).

Resume Nous avons etudie le flux de matiere a la surface d'anneaux en rotation dans un liquide a nombre de Schmidt eleve ( Sc $ 3000 ). La methode experimentale choisie est fondee sur la mesure du courant limite de diffusion de la reaction electrochimique rapide Fe(CN)63− + e− → Fe(CN)64− en milieu NaOH(2N). Les resultats montrent que pour des anneaux de largeur de couronne importante le flux mesure en fonction du nombre de Reynolds Re corrobore de facon satisfaisante les lois etablies par Levich, tant en ecoulement laminaire que turbulent. En revanche, pour des anneaux dont la largeur de couronne devient tres faible, le flux en ecoulement turbulent peut etre represente non plus par une loi en Re0,9 mais en Re0,6. Ce comportement, attribue a la seule influence de la convection radiale sur le transport a pu etre rapproche de ceux observes pour d'autres types d'ecoulements avec des electrodes dont la dimension dans le sens de l'ecoulement est petite. Lensemble experimental decrit, a permis, grâce a une bonne definition des conditions mecaniques, de mettre en evidence dans le cas de l'anneau de faible epaisseur, un ecart par defaut entre les valeurs mesurees du flux de diffusion en ecoulement laminaire et les valeurs calculees par Levich.

At pH 8.3, the fluorescence spectrum of apoaspartate aminotransferase is characteristic of buried tryptophans (maximum at 330 nm and width at half-height equal to 51 nm). Its quantum yield is 1.69 times larger than for tryptophan in H2O and the mean decay time is 2.5 ns for the fluorescence emitted at wavelengths higher than 335 nm. Polarization of excitation spectrum (minimum at 305 nm for an emission at 360 nm), suggests an inter-tryptophan energy transfer. Accessibility to a quencher of fluorescence indicates that 34% of the fluorescence can be extinguished by iodide with a quenching constant of 4 M-1; as shown by solvent perturbation spectroscopy, this partial accessibility is related to two tryptophan residues accessible to solvent. At pH 5, the relative quantum yield is slightly lower than at pH 8.3 (1.65). Binding of the pyridoxal-P coenzyme diminishes the fluorescence quantum yield relative to tryptophan to 0.51 at pH 8.3 and 0.595 at pH 5; the decrease is smaller in the presence of pyridoxamine-P. Since the fluorescence of the coenzyme is very weak it is difficult to observe its emission sensitized by tryptophan, nevertheless, since the quenching is larger for pyridoxal-P that absorbs at 360 nm than for reduced pyridoxal-P that absorbs at 330 nm, it is deduced that the energy is transferred preferentially from exposed tryptophans. It is proposed that conformational changes in the vicinity of buried tryptophans are responsible for the remaining quenching. This hypothesis of conformational changes induced by the binding of the coenzyme is in agreement with the observed fluorescence emission of tyrosine. In the apoenzyme the tyrosine quantum yield is zero and the energy is entirely transferred to tryptophan. In the holoenzyme the quantum yield is low and the efficiency of transfer to tryptophan is 0.13 in pyridoxal-P form and 0.7 in pyridoxamine-P form. According to the Förster theory of long-range energy transfer, a change of transfer efficiency can be attributed to a modification either of the mutual orientation of tyrosine and tryptophan residues or of the distance between these residues: both interpretations correspond to a conformational change.

During the last three decades, following closely the developments in econometric theory, energy and environmental economists have empirically examined the energy-income nexus for different countries and time periods. However, today, in spite of the growing interest in this area, the state of knowledge is still controversial and unsettled. This viewpoint paper attempts to highlight some of the issues related to the existing literature on the long-run relationship and causality between energy consumption and economic growth. In particular, it discusses how it is difficult to make policy recommendations on the basis of inconsistent and conflicting results in the published literature on the subject. In order to do so, the paper first illustrates the increasing trend in the number of studies published in this area providing also a brief comparison of the conventional methods used to estimate the energy-income nexus. It then deals with new directions and different viewpoints on the same issue.

AbstractHomogeneous catalysis of electrochemical reactions, related to contemporary energy challenges, often involves proton‐coupled electron transfer sequences. The idea rapidly emerged that installing the proton donor (for reductions, or acceptor for oxidations) inside the catalyst molecule should be beneficial in terms of efficiency, as it would then be closer to the nerve center of the process (usually the metal in the case of transition metal complex catalysts). If this proton relay has indeed done the job, it has lost its proton at the end of each catalytic loop, and must therefore be reprotonated (for reductions, or deprotonated for oxidations) from acid (or base) from the solution before a new catalytic loop can start. The impression may thus be that there is a zero‐sum game. The conditions under which this is not the case may entail, in contrast, a considerable boosting of catalysis. This will also allow explain why the proton is such a specifically appropriate agent for this task.

Large macroalgal blooms (i.e. green tides of Ulva prolifera) occurred in the southern Yellow Sea, China, yearly from 2007 to 2016. They were among the largest of such outbreaks around the world, and these blooms likely originated along the coast of the Jiangsu Province, China. Understanding the roles of nutrients in the onset of these macroalgal blooms is needed to identify their origin. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal variations in dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus (DIN and PO4-P) and the N/P ratio along the Jiangsu coast from 1996 to 2014 during late-March to April, the months which corresponds to the pre-bloom period of green tides since 2007. A zone of high DIN and PO4-P concentrations has developed along the Jiangsu coast, between the cities of Sheyang and Nantong, since 1996. There was an 18-year trend of increasing DIN concentrations during the pre-bloom period as well as a positive correlation between the U. prolifera biomass and DIN concentrations. Nutrient inputs from rivers and mariculture in the Jiangsu Province may have provided nitrogen that contributed the magnitude of macroalgal blooms that subsequently spread into the southern Yellow Sea.