Université catholique de l'ouest

Plastic pollution is generated by the unsustainable use and disposal of plastic products in modern society, threatening economies, ecosystems, and human health. Current clean-up strategies have attempted to mitigate the negative effects of plastic pollution but are unable to compete with increasing quantities of plastic entering the environment. Thus, reducing inputs of plastic to the environment must be prioritized through a global multidisciplinary approach. Mismanaged waste is a major land-based source of plastic pollution that can be reduced through improvements in the life-cycle of plastics, especially in production, consumption, and disposal, through an Integrated Waste Management System. In this review paper, we discuss current practices to improve life cycle and waste management of plastics that can be implemented to reduce health and environmental impacts of plastics and reduce plastics pollution. Ten recommendations for stakeholders to reduce plastic pollution include (1) regulation of production and consumption; (2) eco-design; (3) increasing the demand for recycled plastics; (4) reducing the use of plastics; (5) use of renewable energy for recycling; (6) extended producer responsibility over waste; (7) improvements in waste collection systems; (8) prioritization of recycling; (9) use of bio-based and biodegradable plastics; and (10) improvement in recyclability of e-waste.

There has been an exponential interest in the occurrence and potential ecotoxicological consequences stemming from the growing prevalence of (micro)plastics in the environment. This has been especially evident by the increasing concern regarding the visible effects on marine ecosystems, with multiple local, regional and trans-national initiatives developed towards the mitigation of what has been construed as an environmental disaster. However, it is not clear what the benefits – if any – of the multitude of norms, regulations, laws and recommendations that have been proposed and/or implemented in recent years are. Furthermore, many of the proposed laws may be of limited applicability, particularly considering the extent to which plastic occurs in everyday life. Herein, the current regulatory instruments are overviewed, focusing on the existing proposals and the extent to which these are based on the currently available scientific data, as well as the foreseen challenges that may restrain the relevancy and suitability of such legislative proposals.

Plastic additives comprise a plethora of substances that serve numerous purposes in the plastic industry. These can be used to assist the molding of plastics and can contribute to providing optimal performance to the material when molded and used, or, simply, to reduce costs. However, these additives, and non-polymerized monomers, far more hazardous than their poly-counterparts, may be released throughout the entire life cycle of plastics, posing risks to the environment and, ultimately, human health. Hence, many studies have delved into the mechanistic uptake/release of these compounds. Herein, we briefly overview the current knowledge on the underlying processes affecting these mechanisms. We also outline the potential ecological consequences of these hazardous substances and explore some of the prevailing analytical methodologies used for their determination in both environment and laboratory studies. Furthermore, we highlight the key limitations of the currently available literature and present a prospective outlook for future research.

Dermatological and cosmetics fields have recently started to focus on the human skin microbiome and microbiota, since the skin microbiota is involved in the health and dysbiosis of the skin ecosystem. Amongst the skin microorganisms, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Cutibacterium acnes, both commensal bacteria, appear as skin microbiota sentinels. These sentinels have a key role in the skin ecosystem since they protect and prevent microbiota disequilibrium by fighting pathogens and participate in skin homeostasis through the production of beneficial bacterial metabolites. These bacteria adapt to changing skin microenvironments and can shift to being opportunistic pathogens, forming biofilms, and thus are involved in common skin dysbiosis, such as acne or atopic dermatitis. The current evaluation methods for cosmetic active ingredient development are discussed targeting these two sentinels with their assets and limits. After identification of these objectives, research of the active cosmetic ingredients and products that maintain and promote these commensal metabolisms, or reduce their pathogenic forms, are now the new challenges of the skincare industry in correlation with the constant development of adapted evaluation methods.

Depuis Platon, bien avant lui sans doute, la notion de rcit a suscit nombre de dbats thoriques et de polmiques. Que de contro-verses engendre encore sa seule dfinition... Comme le rcit fait vibrer certaines cordes essentielles de l'identit humaine, il n'y a aucune raison pour que le phnomne s'interrompe un jour.

The impact of a microplastic (MPs) mixture composed of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) plastic particles, prepared from commercially available products, was evaluated in blue mussels Mytilus spp. exposed to three environmentally relevant concentrations: 0.008µg Lˉ¹ (low), 10 µg Lˉ¹ (medium) and 100 µg Lˉ¹ (high). Organisms were exposed for 10 days followed by 10 days of depuration in clean seawater under controlled laboratory conditions. The evaluation of MP effects on mussel clearance rate, tissue structure, antioxidant defences, immune and digestive parameters, and DNA integrity were investigated while the identification of plastic particles in mussel tissues (gills, digestive gland, and remaining tissues), and biodeposits (faeces and pseudofaeces) was performed using infrared microscopy (µFT-IR). Results showed the presence of MPs only in the digestive gland of mussels exposed to the highest tested concentration of MPs with a mean of 0,75 particle/mussel (after the 10 days of exposure). In biodeposits, PE and PP particles were detected following exposure to all tested concentrations confirming the ingestion of MPs by the organisms. A differential response of antioxidant enzyme activities between digestive gland and gills was observed. Significant increases in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities were measured in the digestive gland of mussels exposed to the low (0.008µg Lˉ¹) and medium (10 µg Lˉ¹) concentrations of MPs and in the gills from mussels exposed to the highest concentration (100 µg Lˉ¹) of MPs that could be indicative of a change in the redox balance. Moreover, an increase in acid phosphatase activity was measured in hemolymph of mussels exposed to 0.008 and 10 µg Lˉ¹ concentrations. No significant difference was observed in the clearance rate, and histopathological parameters between control and exposed mussels. This study brings new insights on the potential sublethal impacts of MPs at environmentally relevant concentrations in marine bivalves.

The fate and effects of CuO nanoparticles (CuO NPs) were examined in endobenthic species (Scrobicularia plana , Hediste diversicolor), under environmentally realistic conditions in outdoor mesocosms (exposure to Cu at 10 μg L(-1) in particulate (CuO NPs) or soluble salt (CuNO(3)) forms) for 21 days. Labile Cu was determined in water and sediment by using diffusive gradient in thin films. No labile Cu being detected from CuO NPs; the observed effects in invertebrates exposed to CuO NPs were mainly attributed to the toxicity of nanoparticulate rather than dissolved Cu toxicity. Bioaccumulation of CuO NPs was observed in both species. Biomarkers were examined at different levels of biological organization: biochemical markers of defense and damage, biomarkers of genotoxicity (comet assay), and behavioral biomarkers (feeding and burrowing). Behavioral biomarkers, antioxidant defenses (catalase, glutathion S-transferase, metallothionein), and genotoxicity are the most sensitive tools to highlight the effect of soluble or nanoparticulate metal forms. Concerning other biomarkers of defense (superoxide dismutase, lactate dehydrogenase, laccase) and damage (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, acetylcholinesterase, acid phosphatase), no significant effects were detected. This experiment shows the suitability of mesocosms for studying the environmental effects of nanoparticles.

The risk of plastic debris, and specifically micro(nano)plastic particles, to ecosystems remains to be fully characterized. One particular issue that warrants further characterization is the hazards associated with chemical additives within micro(nano)plastic as they are not chemically bound within the polymers and can be persistent and biologically active. Most plastics contain additives and are therefore potential vectors for the introduction of these chemicals into the environment as they leach from plastic, a process that can be accelerated through degradation and weathering processes. There are knowledge gaps on the ecotoxicological effects of plastic additives and how they are released from parent plastic materials as they progressively fragment from the meso to micro and nano scale. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge of the ecotoxicity of plastic additives and identifies research needs to characterize the hazard they present to exposed biota. The potential ecological risk of chemical additives is of international concern so key differences in governance between the European Union and New Zealand to appropriately characterize their risk are highlighted.

Environmental chemico-physical factors, pathogens, and biological interactions constantly affect organism physiology and behavior. Invertebrates, including bivalve mollusks do not possess acquired immunity. Their defense mechanisms rely on an innate, non-adaptive immune system employing circulating cells and a large variety of molecular effectors. The mechanisms underlying host defense depend on the presence of functional proteins in appropriate quantities, within a crucial time window. These proteins are encoded by genes whose transcription is tightly coordinated by complex programs of gene expression. Currently available advanced techniques allow the evaluation of this gene expression, expanding our understanding of the behavior and function of cells and tissues under varying conditions. In particular, DNA microarray technology enables measurement of a large predetermined set of known genes or sequences. Expressed sequence tag sequencing from redundant, normalized, subtractive hybridization libraries is a robust method for sampling the protein encoding genes that are expressed within a tissue. The elimination of microorganisms by defense cells is a dynamic process that involves integrating synthesis of granule proteins during differentiation, migration onto sites of infection, phagocytosis and killing of microorganisms, modulation of their effector cells, and finally apoptosis. Understanding how this complex biological process is regulated can best be addressed using a systems biology approach to the study of organisms and populations in order to more effectively decipher the continuous challenge between two genomes, i.e., evolving host-pathogen interactions.

Nanotechnology is a key enabling technology with billions of euros in global investment from public funding, which include large collaborative projects that have investigated environmental and health safety aspects of nanomaterials, but the reuse of accumulated data is clearly lagging behind. Here we summarize challenges and provide recommendations for the efficient reuse of nanosafety data, in line with the recently established FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) guiding principles. We describe the FAIR-aligned Nanosafety Data Interface, with an aggregated findability, accessibility and interoperability across physicochemical, bio–nano interaction, human toxicity, omics, ecotoxicological and exposure data. Overall, we illustrate a much-needed path towards standards for the optimized use of existing data, which avoids duplication of efforts, and provides a multitude of options to promote safe and sustainable nanotechnology. The proposal of a FAIR-aligned Nanosafety Data Interface can advance findability, accessibility and interoperability across physicochemical, bio–nano interaction, human toxicity, omics, ecotoxicological and exposure data.

The advent of wood (secondary xylem) is a major event of the Paleozoic Era, facilitating the evolution of large perennial plants. The first steps of wood evolution are unknown. We describe two small Early Devonian (407 to 397 million years ago) plants with secondary xylem including simple rays. Their wood currently represents the earliest evidence of secondary growth in plants. The small size of the plants and the presence of thick-walled cortical cells confirm that wood early evolution was driven by hydraulic constraints rather than by the necessity of mechanical support for increasing height. The plants described here are most probably precursors of lignophytes.

Muscle hypertrophy during resistance training is reportedly increased by creatine supplementation. Having previously failed to find an anabolic effect on muscle protein turnover at rest, either fed or fasted, we have now examined the possibility of a stimulatory effect of creatine in conjunction with acute resistance exercise. Seven healthy men (body mass index, 23 +/- 2 kg/m2, 21 +/- 1 yr, means +/- SE) performed 20 x 10 repetitions of leg extension-flexion at 75% one-repetition maximum in one leg, on two occasions, 4 wk apart, before and after ingesting 21 g/day creatine for 5 days. The subjects ate approximately 21 g maltodextrin + 6 g protein/h for 3 h postexercise. We measured incorporation of [1-13C]leucine into quadriceps muscle proteins in the rested and exercised legs. Leg protein breakdown (as dilution of [2H5]phenylalanine) was also assessed in the exercised and rested leg postexercise. Creatine supplementation increased muscle total creatine by approximately 21% (P < 0.01). Exercise increased the synthetic rates of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins by two- to threefold (P < 0.05), and leg phenylalanine balance became more positive, but creatine was without any anabolic effect.

This Handbook explains the complexity of the concept of the Anthropocene, scientific and a political concept and also an ideological concept.

Nanotechnology is a much promising field of science and technology with applications in a wide range of areas such as electronics, biomedical applications, energy and cosmetics. Metal-based engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are common in many technological applications; some of the most common nanoparticles available commercially are silver, gold, copper oxide (CuO), zinc oxide (ZnO) and cadmium sulphide (CdS). The toxicity of metal-based NPs may be either due to their specific physical characteristics as NPs or to the specific toxicity of metals released from NPs under environmental conditions. In this study we evaluated the toxicity effects of a range of ENPs (Ag, Au, CuO, CdS, ZnO) along with a control containing equivalent quantities of dissolved metal on two endobenthic species: the ragworm Hediste diversicolor and the bivalve Scrobicularia plana. A suite of complementary biomarkers was used to reveal toxicity effects. A common challenge in multibiomarkers studies is to go beyond an independent interpretation of each one, and to assess a global response of individuals. The Integrated Biomarker Response (IBR) was calculated for both species exposed to the different metal-based ENPs studied or to their dissolved metal counterpart to provide efficient and easy tools for environmental managers. We evidence that metal-based NPs lead to an overall difference in biological responses from that of their dissolved counterparts. The IBR could thus be considered as an efficient tool to transfer research results to stakeholders with possible implementation for regulatory purposes.

Extant genera of Characeae have been assigned to two tribes: Chareae ( Chara, Lamprothamnium, Nitellopsis , and Lychnothamnus ) and Nitelleae ( Nitella and Tolypella ), based on morphology of the thallus and reproductive structures. Character analysis of fossil and extant oogonia suggest that Tolypella is polyphyletic, the genus comprising two sections, one in each of the two tribes. Eleven morphological characters and sequence data for the Rubisco large subunit ( rbc L) were used to reconstruct the phylogeny of genera, including the two sections of Tolypella. Parsimony analysis of the rbc L data, with all positions and changes weighted equally, strongly supports the monophyly of the Characeae. The two Tolypella sections form a robust monophyletic group basal to the family. Transversion weighting yielded the same tree but with a paraphyletic Tolypella. The rbc L data strongly support monophyly of tribe Chareae but tribe Nitelleae is paraphyletic. Parsimony analysis of morphological data produced one unrooted tree consistent with monophyly of the two tribes; on this tree the Tolypella sections were paraphyletic. Combining morphological with rbc L data did not change the results derived from rbc L sequences alone. The rbc L data support the monophyly of the Characeae and Coleochaete , which together form a monophyletic sister group to embryophytes.

Estuaries are subject to anthropogenic activities. Because the intrasedimentary worm Nereis diversicolor has ecological characteristics and bioindicator abilities, its use was pertinent in investigating the concepts and cost of tolerance to heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn). In this context, two approaches were carried out, performing toxicity tests and estimating energy reserves (glycogen and lipids), in populations originating from a contaminated site (Seine estuary) compared with those from a clean site (Authie estuary). Mean lethal times (LT(50)s) of organisms exposed to zinc from the Seine estuary were higher than those from the Authie estuary, but not of organisms exposed to Cd or Cu. The influence of animal weight and salinity on the sensitivity of worms also was studied. The biggest worms were more tolerant to zinc than the smallest ones, and worms survived longer at a reduced salinity (15 per thousand). Concentrations of glycogen and lipids in each sampling season were higher in specimens from the Authie estuary than in worms from the Seine estuary. No influence of salinity on glycogen and lipid levels was observed. Glycogen concentrations were not influenced by the weight of specimens, whereas lipid concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with weight. In conclusion, worms from the Seine estuary exhibited tolerance to Zn, and the depletion of energy reserves observed in this population could be interpreted as a cost of tolerance.

Data gathered from 21 at-home fathers living in Belgium were analyzed and compared to results from research conducted in Australia, Sweden and the USA on fathers taking primary responsibility for childcare. The dynamic process of managing the tension between assigned norms and personal iden- tity was studied through a comparative overview of how at-home fathers come to assume the primary responsibility of childcare, the norms they are con- fronted with in their daily interactions and the strategies used by these fathers to (re)construct a positive self-image. The fathers’ increased involvement in childcare challenged masculine self-definitions and self-presentations in nor- mative contexts where men’s predominant involvement in paid work is priv- ileged and childcare is largely defined as feminine. In response, Belgian fathers developed strategies and discourses that drew on a multiplicity of mas- culinities that appear in many cases to be both transgressive and yet complicit with hegemonic definitions of masculinity.

The vehicle routing problem with stochastic demands (VRPSD) consists of designing transportation routes of minimal expected cost to satisfy a set of customers with random demands of known probability distribution. This paper tackles a generalization of the VRPSD known as the multicompartment VRPSD (MC-VRPSD), a problem in which each customer demands several products that, because of incompatibility constraints, must be loaded in independent vehicle compartments. To solve the problem, we propose three simple and effective constructive heuristics based on a stochastic programming with recourse formulation. One of the heuristics is an extension to the multicompartment scenario of a savings-based algorithm for the VRPSD; the other two are different versions of a novel look-ahead heuristic that follows a route-first, cluster-second approach. In addition, to enhance the performance of the heuristics these are coupled with a post-optimization procedure based on the classical 2-Opt heuristic. The three algorithms were tested on instances of up to 200 customers from the MC-VRPSD and VRPSD literature. The proposed heuristics unveiled 26 and 12 new best known solutions for a set of 180 MC-VRPSD problems and a 40-instance testbed for the VRPSD, respectively.

The inorganic manufactured nanoparticles as TiO 2 , Ag°, the iron oxides and CeO 2 are more and more present in various manufactured products and in the aqueous media (TiO 2 ). Their dispersion in the ecosystems during their life cycle will be associated with interactions with biota (plants, bacteria, fishes). The present work shows strong relations between particular physical chemical properties of very small nanoparticles (size &lt; 30 nm) and biological activity perturbations. It is shown that Ag° and CeO 2 act at very low concentrations. TiO 2 act via the ROS production due to their photo-reactivity.

Feeling anxious and presenting self-determined motivations about returning to sport after a break may impair sport performance and increase the risk of sustaining an injury. Hence, the aim of this study is to explore differences in anxiety and motivation to return to sport according to gender, expertise, training status before and during the lockdown, and athletes' availability (i.e., injury status) at the time of the lockdown. A total of 759 competitive athletes (49% female; mean age: 27 ± 10 years old) completed the cross-sectional study. Participants were invited to state their expertise, training status before and during the lockdown (did they have a training program), and whether they were injured at the start of the lockdown. Additionally, participants filled out psychometric self-report measures of anxiety (TFAI-return) and motivation (SMS-return) to return to sport. Due to non-normal distributions in the TFAI and SMS scores, non-parametric group comparisons were performed to compare participants for each categorical variable: non-parametric correlation tests were also performed to test the associations between continuous variables. Group comparisons showed higher scores of anxiety for females, younger athletes, athletes practicing and competing at the highest level, and athletes without a training program during the lockdown. Moreover, results suggested lower motivation scores (i.e., autonomous and controlled) for older athletes, experts (practicing for more than 10 years), athletes practicing and competing at a lower level, and athletes without a training program during the lockdown. Additionally, participants who were injured at the start of the lockdown reported higher scores of cognitive anxiety to return to sport than non-injured participants. The results of this study suggest that elite athletes may have suffered from external pressures to return to sport during the lockdown. Additionally, participants with a training program during the lockdown seemed to be less anxious and more self-determined to return to sport after the lockdown. Future studies may focus on the impact of cognitive behavioral interventions on anxiety and motivation to return to sport.