Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement, French National Centre for Scientific Research

Home-to-Work (H2W) commuting travel, together with urbanization and transport networks, have seen significant development since the end of the 19th century in both workers’ lives and transport network traffic. The attraction of metropolitan areas and the ease of transport have even triggered long-distance commuting, sometimes in conjunction with overnighting practices that extend the commuting tours (or cycles) beyond the single day level. Based on the French nationwide household travel survey of 2019, this article gives a comprehensive description of commuting practices across origin-destination distances and over time, as experienced by individual workers at the monthly level. Commuting rhythms are characterized in terms of commuting cycle length in days and monthly frequency. Four typical patterns are identified: namely bi-daily, full daily, mono-daily and overnighting. Their respective shares are measured in the statistical populations of (i) workers, (ii) days of life or just at work, (iii) distances travelled on modal networks. Elementary discrete-choice models of H2W rhythm choice are designed and estimated, revealing the influence of travel impedance in terms of time and distance at the level of one-way trips for short-range H2W commuting and at the level of monthly budgets for long-range H2W commuting. Lastly, the shares of commuting trips in modal traffic on road and rail networks are measured, highlighting the significant impact of long-distance commuting on transport-related GHG emissions.

The increase in industrial production of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) raises concerns about their potential adverse effects associated to environmental releases, especially in aquatic environments where they are likely to accumulate. This study focuses on the environmental impact of MWCNTs, specifically on a benthic freshwater diatom (Nitzschia linearis), which plays a major role in the primary production of water bodies. The obtained results indicate that exposure to MWCNTs in the presence of natural organic matter (NOM) inhibits diatom's growth in a dose-dependent manner after 72 h of exposure. Interestingly, the photosystem II quantum yield (PSIIQY) in diatoms remains unaffected even after exposure to MWCNTs at 10 mg/L. After 48 h of exposure, MWCNTs are found to bind preferentially to extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced by diatoms, which could decrease their toxicity by limiting their interaction with this organism. However, measurement of genotoxicity and teratogenicity in diatoms exposed to MWCNTs revealed that the exposure to MWCNTs increased the occurrence of cells with micronuclei and abnormal frustules. Microscopy analyses including two-photon excitation microscopy (TPEM) revealed the internalization of MWCNTs. Investigations of the diatom's frustule structure using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the presence of pore structures constitutes a pathway allowing MWCNTs uptake. The presence in the diatom's cytoplasm of MWCNTs might possibly induce disturbances of the cellular components, leading to the observed genotoxic and teratogenic effects. In view of previous studies, this work underscores the need for further studies on the interaction between nanomaterials and different diatom species, given the species-specific nature of the interactions.

Aim Combining different biodiversity dimensions can reveal new diversity patterns disclosing the relative roles of historical, environmental and anthropogenic factors in shaping global seed plant diversity. Location Global. Time period Present. Major taxa studied Vascular plants. Methods We collated a database encompassing taxonomic (249,000 species), functional and phylogenetic information (34,694 species) of seed plants across different regions of the world. Species richness in each region was weighted accounting for their phylogenetic and functional distinctiveness, obtaining a new metric—μ‐diversity—which was modelled to disentangle the relative roles of historical factors such as climate variability since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), environmental features (e.g. actual evapotranspiration—AET) and anthropogenic factors (past and current). Results Higher μ‐diversity was observed in Papuasia, South East Asia, Australia and Central America, whereas the lowest values were primarily located in the Northern Hemisphere. Climate variability and AET were the most important determinants of μ‐diversity and individual diversity facets, whereas the importance of past human impacts (i.e. the onset of pastoralism) equated or exceeded those of the present ones. Main conclusions Our integrative approach proved more sensitive in describing species diversity patterns. Few areas on Earth host high and unique proportions of multiple diversity facets and individual diversity facets contribute differently to μ‐diversity across continents. Historical climate stability and water‐energy dynamics strongly affect species diversity, but we also observed that past land‐use legacy may have influenced current plant diversity, which is under intense anthropogenic pressure, especially in Asia as well as in Central and South America.

We argue that it is both possible and timely to relax the assumption of anthropocentrism in agricultural and resource economics. We advocate for the incorporation of sentientist principles by including the welfare of sentient animals within the social welfare function. To exemplify this non‐anthropocentric stance, we build on our recent works that incorporate the intrinsic value of farmed animals into food production and consumption. By recognising the externalities affecting animals, we justify the implementation of specific policies, such as a meat tax, which redistributes welfare from consumers and producers to farmed animals. Furthermore, we delve into the quantitative assessment of animal welfare and demonstrate its application to food policy, revealing the substantial economic and welfare impacts at stake. Expanding on our earlier model, we also emphasize the importance of introducing a ‘sentience premium’ within species conservation policies. This additional consideration ensures that the conservation efforts appropriately account for the intrinsic value of sentient beings living in the wild.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have traditionally been considered the gold standard for medical evidence. However, in light of emerging methodologies in data science, many experts question the role of RCTs. Within this context, experts in the USA and Canada came together to debate whether the primacy of RCTs as the gold standard for medical evidence, still holds in light of recent methodological advances in data science and in the era of big data. The purpose of this manuscript, aims to raise awareness of the pros and cons of RCTs and observational studies in order to help guide clinicians, researchers, students, and decision-makers in making informed decisions on the quality of medical evidence to support their work. In particular, new and underappreciated advantages and disadvantages of both designs are contrasted. Innovations taking place in both of these research methodologies, which can blur the lines between the two, are also discussed. Finally, practical guidance for clinicians and future directions in assessing the quality of evidence is offered. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12919-023-00285-8.

Bone marrow smear showing histiocytes (black arrow) containing sea blue granules stained with May‐Grünwald Giemsa. image

Ketones are alternative energy substrates for the heart and kidney but no studies have investigated their metabolism simultaneously in both organs in humans. The present double tracer positron emission tomography (PET) study evaluated the organ distribution and basal kinetic rates of the radiolabeled ketone, ¹¹C-acetoacetate (¹¹C-AcAc), in the heart and kidney compared to ¹¹C-acetate (¹¹C-Ac), which is a well-validated metabolic radiotracer. Both tracers were highly metabolized by the left ventricle and the renal cortex. In the heart, kinetic rates were similar for both tracers. But in the renal cortex, uptake of ¹¹C-Ac was higher compared to ¹¹C-AcAc, while the reverse was observed for the clearance. Interestingly, infusion of ¹¹C-AcAc led to a significantly delayed release of radioactivity in the renal medulla and pelvis, a phenomenon not observed with ¹¹C-Ac. This suggests an equilibrium of ¹¹C-AcAc with the other ketone, ¹¹C-D-beta-hydroxybutyrate, and a different clearance profile. Overall, this suggests that in the kidney, the absorption and metabolism of ¹¹C-AcAc is different compared to ¹¹C-Ac. This dual tracer PET protocol provides the opportunity to explore the relative importance of ketone metabolism in cardiac and renal diseases, and to improve our mechanistic understanding of new metabolic interventions targeting these two organs.

Decarbonising energy systems is a prevalent topic in the current literature on climate change mitigation, but the additional climate burden caused by methane emissions along the natural gas value chain is rarely discussed at the system level. Considering a two-basket greenhouse gas neutrality objective (both CO2 and methane), we model cost-optimal European energy transition pathways towards 2050. Our analysis shows that adoption of best available methane abatement technologies can entail an 80% reduction in methane leakage, limiting the additional environmental burden to 8% of direct CO2 emissions (vs. 35% today). We show that, while renewable energy sources are key drivers of climate neutrality, the role of natural gas strongly depends on actions to abate both associated CO2 and methane emissions. Moreover, clean hydrogen (produced mainly from renewables) can replace natural gas in a substantial proportion of its end-uses, satisfying nearly a quarter of final energy demand in a climate-neutral Europe.

The mitigation scenarios database of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report is an important resource for informing policymaking on energy transitions. However, there is a large variety of models, scenario designs, and resulting outputs. Here we analyse the scenarios consistent with limiting warming to 2 °C or below regarding the speed, trajectory, and feasibility of different fossil fuel reduction pathways. In scenarios limiting warming to 1.5 °C with no or limited overshoot, global coal, oil, and natural gas supply (intended for all uses) decline on average by 95%, 62%, and 42%, respectively, from 2020 to 2050, but the long-term role of gas is highly variable. Higher-gas pathways are enabled by higher carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR), but are likely associated with inadequate model representation of regional CO 2 storage capacity and technology adoption, diffusion, and path-dependencies. If CDR is constrained by limits derived from expert consensus, the respective modelled coal, oil, and gas reductions become 99%, 70%, and 84%. Our findings suggest the need to adopt unambiguous near- and long-term reduction benchmarks in coal, oil, and gas production and use alongside other climate mitigation targets.

Background: Clinical guidelines for most adults with diabetes recommend maintaining hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels ≤7% (≤53 mmol/mol) to avoid microvascular and macrovascular complications. People with diabetes of different ages, sexes, and socioeconomic statuses may differ in their ease of attaining this goal. Objective: As a team of people with diabetes, researchers, and health professionals, we aimed to explore patterns in HbA1c results among people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in Canada. Our research question was identified by people living with diabetes. Methods: In this patient-led retrospective cross-sectional study with multiple time points of measurement, we used generalized estimating equations to analyze the associations of age, sex, and socioeconomic status with 947,543 HbA1c results collected from 2010 to 2019 among 90,770 people living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in Canada and housed in the Canadian National Diabetes Repository. People living with diabetes reviewed and interpreted the results. Results: HbA1c results ≤7.0% represented 30.5% (male people living with type 1 diabetes), 21% (female people living with type 1 diabetes), 55% (male people living with type 2 diabetes) and 59% (female people living with type 2 diabetes) of results in each subcategory. We observed higher HbA1c values during adolescence, and for people living with type 2 diabetes, among people living in lower income areas. Among those with type 1 diabetes, female people tended to have lower HbA1c levels than male people during childbearing years but higher HbA1c levels than male people during menopausal years. Team members living with diabetes confirmed that the patterns we observed reflected their own life courses and suggested that these results be communicated to health professionals and other stakeholders to improve the treatment for people living with diabetes. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of people with diabetes in Canada may need additional support to reach or maintain the guideline-recommended glycemic control goals. Blood sugar management goals may be particularly challenging for people going through adolescence or menopause or those living with fewer financial resources. Health professionals should be aware of the challenging nature of glycemic management, and policy makers in Canada should provide more support for people with diabetes to live healthy lives.

Purpose: Acute liver failure (ALF) is characterized by hepatic encephalopathy (HE) often due to intracranial hypertension (ICH). The risk/benefit-balance of intraparenchymal pressure catheter monitoring is controversial during ALF. Aims: Perform an evaluation of transcranial Doppler (TCD) use in patients with ALF listed for emergency liver transplantation. Material and methods: Single center retrospective cohort study including all patients registered on high emergency LT list between 2012 and 2018. All TCD measurements performed during ICU stay after listing and after LT (when performed) were recorded. TCD was considered abnormal when pulsatility index (PI) was >1.2. Results: Among 106 patients with ALF, forty-seven (44%) had a TCD while on list. They had more severe liver and extrahepatic organ failure. When performed, TCD was abnormal in 51% of patients. These patients more frequently developed ICH events (45% vs. 13%, p = .02) and more frequently required increase in sedative drugs and vasopressors. While 22% of patients with normal TCD spontaneously survived, all of those with abnormal TCD died or were transplanted (p = .02). All transplanted patients who had abnormal exams normalized their TCD within 2 (1-2) days after LT. Conclusion: TCD may be a useful non-invasive tool for ICH detection and management, then guide sedation withdrawal.

Many studies have investigated the carbon footprint of households. They rely on consumption‐based responsibility and focus on how many emissions are embodied in a product. Here we open a new field by discussing the emissions that individuals enable by providing labor and capital to companies, using the framework of income‐based (downstream) responsibility. This perspective focuses on the emissions enabled by providing inputs to production processes, and is relevant for discussion of sustainable work and the carbon impact of investment and financial portfolios. We compute the downstream carbon intensity of primary inputs for 35 industries in France using the multi‐regional input–output database EXIOBASE. We provide a detailed picture of enabled emissions, disaggregating those by industry and primary inputs. On average, capital inputs are more carbon intensive than labor inputs. Finally, we couple downstream carbon intensities with an extensive national survey on wages to obtain a distribution of the income‐based emissions of employees. Income‐based emissions are much more unequally distributed than wages due to the huge variability of carbon intensity across industries: a truck driver enables far more emissions than a social‐care worker. Inequalities in emissions do not strongly interact with economic inequality. Yet they are gendered because women work disproportionately in low‐carbon‐intensive industries such as healthcare. As a result, women contribute less to GHG emissions than their wage share would seem to indicate.

This work presents a gridded dataset on real estate and transportation in 192 worldwide urban areas, obtained from the Google Maps API and the web scraping of real estate websites. For each city of the sample, these data have been associated with the corresponding population density and land cover data, extracted from the GHS POP and ESA CCI data respectively, and aggregated on a 1 km resolution grid, allowing for an integrated analysis. This dataset is the first to include spatialized real estate and transportation data in a large sample of cities covering 800 million people in both developed and developing countries. These data can be used as inputs for urban modeling purposes, transport modeling, or between-city comparisons in urban forms and transportation networks, and allow further analyses on e.g. urban sprawl, access to transportation, or equity in housing prices and access to transportation.

JAK2V617F mutation is associated with an increased risk for athero-thrombotic cardiovascular disease, but its role in aortic disease development and complications remains unknown. In a cohort of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasm, JAK2V617F mutation was identified as an independent risk factor for dilation of both the ascending and descending thoracic aorta. Using single-cell RNA-seq, complementary genetically-modified mouse models, as well as pharmacological approaches, we found that JAK2V617F mutation was associated with a pathogenic pro-inflammatory phenotype of perivascular tissue-resident macrophages, which promoted deleterious aortic wall remodeling at early stages, and dissecting aneurysm through the recruitment of circulating monocytes at later stages. Finally, genetic manipulation of tissue-resident macrophages, or treatment with a Jak2 inhibitor, ruxolitinib, mitigated aortic wall inflammation and reduced aortic dilation and rupture. Overall, JAK2V617F mutation drives vascular resident macrophages toward a pathogenic phenotype and promotes dissecting aortic aneurysm.

City-level policies are increasingly recognized as key components of strategies to reduce transport greenhouse gas emissions. However, at a global scale, their total efficiencies, costs, and practical feasibility remain unclear. Here, we use a spatially-explicit urban economic model, systematically calibrated on 120 cities worldwide, to analyze the impact of four representative policies aiming at mitigating transportation GHG emissions, also accounting for their economic welfare impacts and health co-benefits. Applying these policies in all cities, we find that total transportation GHG emissions can be reduced by 28% in 15 years, compared with the baseline scenario. However, the consequences of the same policies vary widely between cities, with specific effects depending on the policy considered, income level, population growth rate, spatial organization, and existing public transport supply. Impacts on transport emissions span from high to almost zero, and consequences in terms of welfare can either be positive or negative. Applying only welfare-increasing policies captures most of the emission reductions: overall, they reduce emissions by 20% in 15 years. Our results highlight that there is no one-size-fits-all optimal policy to mitigate urban transport emissions but that cities can match their specific situation with a selection of mitigation policies: hence, we call for global climate mitigation models to better represent heterogeneity across cities.