HERMES Project Research Articles

A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Development of a Supply Chain in Biomass Conversion of Agrifood Waste Mediated by Larvae of Hermetia illucens L.: From Rearing to By-Product Exploitation

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) can convert various organic substrates into high added-value biomass. In addition, the residue can be used as a soil conditioner. Several studies have been conducted on a laboratory scale that may not represent what happens on a prototype scale. Using fruit and vegetable waste as a basic substrate, mixing them with agro-industry by-products (called co-substrates), the Hermes project set up a process on medium (2 kg) and large (10 kg) scales with two different feeding regimes (1.25 g/BSFL and 2 g/BSFL). At the mature stage, larval biomass was separated from frass (the by-product of the larval rearing). The production of larval proteins and fats and the use of frass as soil conditioning were evaluated. The lowest feeding regime (1.25 g/BSFL) provided the best waste valorization. The shift towards higher production scales is not completely linear. The addition of co-substrates to fruit and vegetable waste, as they are provided by the large-scale retail trade, can help to standardize a process as part of an insect farm. The frass recovered from the residue of rearing (on the diet or on the agrifood leftovers) was composted and used in field to grow a processing tomato variety. The addition of composted frass assured a slightly lower yield than synthetic fertilizer but there was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.10). This suggests that partial replacement of synthetic fertilizer with composted frass has potential. Overall, the work demonstrated that, using a multidisciplinary approach, the interest and the value in building a supply chain based on bioconversion mediated by Hermetia illucens can be emphasized.

Integrated evaluation of energy and emission reduction potential and management strategies for urban road systems

Solving the problems of high energy consumption and high emissions generated by the urban road systems is of great importance for the construction of low-carbon cities. Several tools have been developed to establish a method to evaluate the carbon emission related to the life cycle of road pavements. However, the lack of key basic data such as energy consumption, pollutants and carbon emissions, and accurate management policies have hindered the transition of urban roads to clean, low-carbon systems. The HERMES project aims to compile long-term dynamic inventory of urban road energy consumption and environmental emissions and build a life cycle model. The Data Envelopment Analysis model will be used to predict the energy saving and emission reduction potential of urban roads depending on the technological solution, establish a multi-criteria evaluation system that includes energy, environment, and economic parameters, identify the best available technological solution in different cities, and propose a more targeted and effective clean low-carbon management policies. The study will provide an accurate understanding of the environmental impact of urban roads in China and Europe, evaluate the potential for energy saving and emission reduction, and provide theoretical data and decision-making reference for a clean, low-carbon transition.

The Notion of Conservation for Residual Distribution Schemes (or Fluctuation Splitting Schemes), with Some Applications

In this paper, we discuss the notion of discrete conservation for hyperbolic conservation laws. We introduce what we call fluctuation splitting schemes (or residual distribution, also RDS) and show through several examples how these schemes lead to new developments. In particular, we show that most, if not all, known schemes can be rephrased in flux form and also how to satisfy additional conservation laws. This review paper is built on Abgrall et al. (Computers and Fluids 169:10–22, 2018), Abgrall and Tokareva (SIAM SISC 39(5):A2345–A2364, 2017), Abgrall (J Sci Comput 73:461–494, 2017), Abgrall (Methods Appl Math 18(3):327–351, 2018a) and Abgrall (J Comput Phys 372, 640–666, 2018b). This paper is also a direct consequence of the work of Roe, in particular Deconinck et al. (Comput Fluids 22(2/3):215–222, 1993) and Roe (J Comput Phys 43:357–372, 1981) where the notion of conservation was first introduced. In [26], Roe mentioned the Hermes project and the role of Dassault Aviation. Bruno Stoufflet, Vice President R&D and advanced business of this company, proposed me to have a detailed look at Deconinck et al. (Comput Fluids 22(2/3):215–222, 1993). To be honest, at the time, I did not understand anything, and this was the case for several years. I was lucky to work with Katherine Mer, who at the time was a postdoc, and is now research engineer at CEA. She helped me a lot in understanding the notion of conservation. The present contribution can be seen as the result of my understanding after many years of playing around with the notion of residual distribution schemes (or fluctuation-splitting schemes) introduced by Roe.

The Straussian Reception of Plato and Nationalism in China

Peking University opened its center for Classical Studies on November 15, 2011. Because Peking University is considered to be China's preeminent institution for the liberal arts and humanities, the opening ceremony was something of a event. According to the media reports on the internet, this center for Classical Studies, situated in the Department of History at Peking University, has more than ten faculty members of different disciplinary backgrounds. (1) In December 2012, the first conference of Chinese Comparative Classical Studies (bijiao gudianxue) was held at Sun Yat-sen University in Southern China with participants from seven academic disciplines. The Association of Chinese Comparative Classical Studies was considered to be the first interdisciplinary and cross-cultural academic association in China. Seemingly, Chinese readers have acquired an unprecedented interest in Western classics in the past decade and are eager to support the academic discipline of Classical Studies. The establishment of the discipline of Western Classical Studies in China in the past decade was largely kindled, promoted, and supported by the reading of Plato in contemporary China since 2000. There was a boom in translating and interpreting Platonic dialogues in the Chinese language since 2000. This revival of interest in Plato included a translation of Timaeus by Xie Wenyu in 2004, and a complete translation of Plato's dialogues, edited by Wang Xiaochao in 2002-03 (Cheng 120). However, the most noticeable translation of Plato in the early 1990s was Liu Xiaofeng's translation of Symposium, best known by its Chinese title Huiyin (Symposium). Huiyin became the first translation of a comprehensive series titled Hermes: classici et commentarii. The book series Hermes includes translations, commentaries, and interpretations of Platonic dialogues as well as of other Western classics and came out over the past decade as a systematic project. The translations of Plato's work in the Hermes project were formerly published in a sub-series titled Platonis omnia cum commentariis. As suggested by the Latin words opera omnia, which mean complete works, the translations and interpretations of Plato into Chinese under Hermes started with an ambitious goal and a systematic plan. However, the Hermes project to date has succeeded in translating only a small portion of Plato's works from Greek to Chinese. These successes include: Symposium, Apology, part of Republic, Ion, and collections of interpretative essays on a particular work of Plato, such as a collection of essays on Republic. (2) Meanwhile, the name of Plato and many Platonic concepts have been referenced in many books, journal articles, online forum discussions, as well as commentary essays on popular culture. Plato has been serving as the backbone of discussions across disciplines, and his work has even reached general audiences to become part of popular culture. For instance, Liu, in a lecture given at the School of Film and Television Art and Technology in 2008, criticizes the immorality in Ang Lee's film Lust, Caution by introducing Socrates's concept of philosophical freedom as in opposition to public morality. Liu's accusation of the immorality in Lust, Caution, which so far only exists in a transcript of his lecture, is largely an expression of the recurrent theme in the Hermes project, i.e., the tension between philosopher and society, with the premise that democratic society tends to ignore differences among human beings in terms of knowledge, intelligence, and virtue, and society as such does not respect the philosopher's freedom to live a philosophical life. Even in Liu's lecture to a general audience untrained in philosophy, Plato and Socrates are mentioned not as names with remote relevancy but rather as rubrics of thoughts on political philosophy and as an attempt to address certain social realities in China with a particular view on philosophy and politics. …

HERMES at Mercator, competitive high‐resolution spectroscopy with a small telescope

AbstractHERMES, a fibre‐fed high‐resolution (R = 85000) échelle spectrograph with good stability and excellent throughput, is the work‐horse instrument of the 1.2‐m Mercator telescope on La Palma. HERMES targets building up time series of high‐quality data of variable stellar phenomena, mainly for asteroseismology and binary‐evolution research. In this paper we present the HERMES project and discuss the instrument design, performance, and a future upgrade. We also present some results of the first four years of HERMES observations. We illustrate the value of small telescopes, equipped with efficient instrumentation, for high‐resolution spectroscopy. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Respiratory Sleep HERMES: new considerations in project development

The respiratory sleep HERMES task force: Wilfred de Backer, Paolo Palange, Anita Simonds, Stefan Andreas, Johan Verbraecken, Winfried Randerath, William Donic, Renata Riha, Mary Morrell, Ha Trang, Patrick Levy, Walter Mc Nicholas, Marisa Bonsignore Launched in 2009, the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Respiratory Sleep HERMES project aimed to design and implement core educational activities supported by a network of initiatives to standardise training and education in respiratory sleep medicine (fig. 1). Figure 1 The HERMES structure for developing standardised training and education in specialist areas of respiratory medicine. Using the framework established by HERMES, the project task force has begun to move through each development phase successfully publishing a syllabus of what a respiratory sleep specialist should know [1], and supporting these modules through the publication of the ERS Handbook of Respiratory Sleep Medicine [2]. Perhaps the greatest challenge of the HERMES initiative is the application of a standardised methodology to medical specialties that are in essence different. To date, seven HERMES projects have been launched (fig. 2). The training characteristics vary from skills-based training, services-based training and sub-specialty or tertiary-based training. For each project, all healthcare professionals are considered from medical physicians and multidisciplinary teams to non-medical practitioners. Figure 2 HERMES Project family 2005–2012. The purpose of this editorial is to revisit how the …

Parallel real time computation of large scale pedestrian evacuations

Usually, modeling of the evacuations is done during the planning and authorizing process of office buildings or large scale facilities, where computing time is not an issue at all. The collaborative Hermes project [1] aims at improving the safety of mass events by constructing an evacuation assistant, a decision support system for heads of operation in an actual evacuation. For this, the status (occupancy and available egress routes) of a facility is constantly monitored with automatic person counters, door sensors, smoke sensors, and manual input from security staff. Starting from this status, egress is simulated faster than real time, and the result visualized in a suitable fashion to show what is likely to happen in the next 15min. The test case for this evacuation assistant is the clearing of the ESPRIT Arena in Dusseldorf which holds 50,000-65,000 persons depending on the event type. The on site prediction requires the ability to simulate the egress in ~2min, a task that requires the combination of a fast algorithm and a parallel computer. The paper will describe the details of the evacuation problem, the architecture of the evacuation assistant, the pedestrian motion model employed and the optimization and parallelization of the code.

Respiratory critical care HERMES syllabus: defining competencies for respiratory doctors

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success.” Henry Ford (1863–1947). From a medical perspective, European countries are growing closer together. An increasing number of physicians are crossing borders and swapping workplaces. In order to facilitate this development, the European Union (EU) adopted a directive dictating the equality of diplomas and medical board certificates within the EU [1]. Despite a number of initiatives, such as the “Lifelong Learning Programme: education and training opportunities”, for which the ERASMUS (European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) is a sub-programme aimed at harmonising medical education during the early phases of medical training [2], there is a need to standardise knowledge and skills at later career stages in order to guarantee and harmonise the quality of patient care in Europe. To address this, the HERMES project (Harmonised Education in Respiratory Medicine for European Specialists) was launched by the European Respiratory Society (ERS) in 2005 in order to harmonise education and training in respiratory medicine. With the success of this project, the ERS extended its scope to include a Paediatric Respiratory Medicine HERMES and subspecialty-focused HERMES projects. Thus, the Respiratory Critical Care HERMES project was launched in 2009. The project aims to provide educational standards and a training framework for respiratory critical care medicine using standardised modified Delphi surveys, facilitated group discussions and plenary sessions. This is consistent with the ERS mission and has the ultimate goal of providing better patient care. Similar projects in critical care have been launched in the past, such as the multi-society task force on competencies in pulmonary and critical care medicine reported by Buckley et al. [3] in 2009 and the development of core competencies for an international training programme in intensive care …

Are you interested in becoming a European Spirometry Trainer?

Following a survey conducted in 2008 by ERS on national spirometry training programmes and availability of training in 14 European countries, results conf irmed the clear lack of training opportunities in many countries, with most training taking place on the job. In an effort to address a clear lack of training [1] and studies within the literature confirming under-utilisation of spirometers [2] and misdiagnosis based on inaccurate results [3], an ERS educational Task Force was formed in 2008 as part of the HERMES project family. The primary aim of the project was to set educational standards for the training and certification of spirometry at a European level with the ultimate goal of improving patient care and quality of life for respiratory disease patients. Three years on, the task force has successfully published a complete spirometry training programme and guidelines for certification [4, 5 …

Solving a suite of NIST benchmark problems for adaptive FEM with the Hermes library

Recently, a new suite of twelve benchmark problems for adaptive finite element methods (FEM) was published at the US National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). These benchmark problems come with exact solutions, and they exhibit all typical difficulties associated with elliptic problems including singularities, steep internal layers, anisotropy, and oscillations. In this paper we solve these benchmark problems using the open source library Hermes (http://hpfem.org). All these results are reproducible—they are part of the Git repository of the open source Hermes project, and the reader can experiment with them by himself/herself. Instructions for this are provided. We hope that authors of other adaptive FEM codes will make their results for these test problems available in a reproducible fashion as well.

HERMES Spirometry: the European Spirometry Driving Licence

Spirometry testing is the most widely practiced, most common and adaptable of all lung function tests and spirometers are used as a key instrument in the diagnosis of patients with respiratory disease [1]. As a leading cause of death worldwide responsible for some 9.4 million deaths [2], and further increases predicted by 2020, the management of lung disease becomes even more dependent on spirometry testing. Yet evidence of widespread under-diagnosis [3] and, as a consequence, reduced quality of life and premature death [4] present cause for concern. The grim reality evident in the presented studies highlights a real lack of training [5], under-utilisation of spirometers [6] and diagnosis based on inaccurate results [7]. It is reported that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the most prevalent of the lung diseases, is under-diagnosed in 75% of cases [3]. The outcome of delayed diagnosis deters effective management and treatment, which ultimately aims to relieve symptoms, prevent disease progression, improve health status and prevent premature death [4]. While educational modalities were introduced at a national level to train spirometry practice in some European countries, a survey carried out by the European Respiratory Society (ERS) in 2008 confirms that no formal training in, assessment of, or qualification in spirometry takes place in many other countries. Using the HERMES project framework (Harmonised Education of Respiratory Medicine in European Specialties), a new Spirometry initiative aspires to train and qualify healthcare professionals best able to deliver high-quality spirometry. The potential benefits of standardised educational documents and training in the practice of spirometry are real and significant, strengthening patient care and improving quality of life for respiratory disease patients. Begun in 2005, the value of the HERMES initiative is that it …

Hidden and Visible Star Formation: new insights from Herschel

AbstractHerschel opens a large field of investigations on the hidden star formation in galaxies. Combining UV and far-IR rest-frame data allows us to measure all the star formation in galaxies and to estimate the net dust attenuation. The analysis can be performed from the local universe using far-IR and GALEX surveys to high z (up to z < 2) by combining deep U data with the Herschel observations of the HerMES project.The calibration of dust attenuation, and then star formation rate, is reinvestigated. We present the results of the first analyses performed with Herschel data obtained in the Lockman and COSMOS fields as part of the HerMES project and discuss the reliability of dust attenuation corrections.

Herschel reveals a Tdust-unbiased selection of z∼ 2 ultraluminous infrared galaxies

Using Herschel PACS and SPIRE observations of Lockman Hole-North and GOODS-N as part of the HerMES project, we explore the far-IR properties of a sample of mid-IR selected starburst dominated ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) at z ~ 2. The selection of the sample is based on the detection of the stellar bump that appears in the SED of star-forming galaxies at 1.6um. We derive robust estimates of infrared luminosities (L_IR) and dust temperatures (T_d) of the population and find that while the luminosities in our sample span less than an order of magnitude (12.24< log(L_IR/Lo) < 12.94), they cover a wide range of dust temperatures (25< T_d < 62 K). Galaxies in our sample range from those that are as cold as high-z sub-millimeter galaxies (SMGs) to those that are as warm as optically faint radio galaxies (OFRGs) and local ULIRGs. Nevertheless, our sample has median T_d=42.3 K, filling the gap between SMGs and OFRGs, bridging the two populations. We demonstrate that a significant fraction of our sample would be missed from ground based (sub)mm surveys (850-1200um) showing that the latter introduce a bias towards the detection of colder sources. We conclude that Herschel} observations, confirm the existence of high-z ULIRGs warmer than SMGs, show that the mid-IR selection of high-z ULIRGs is not T_d-dependent, reveal a large dispersion in T_d of high-z ULIRGs, and provide the means to characterize the bulk of the ULIRG population, free from selection biases introduced by ground based (sub)mm surveys.

GYES, A Multifibre Spectrograph for the CFHT

We have chosen the name of GYES, one of the mythological giants with one hundred arms, offspring of Gaia and Uranus, for our instrument study of a multifibre spectrograph for the prime focus of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Such an instrument could provide an excellent ground-based complement for the Gaia mission and a northern complement to the HERMES project on the AAT. The CFHT is well known for providing a stable prime focus environment, with a large field of view, which has hosted several imaging instruments, but has never hosted a multifibre spectrograph. Building upon the experience gained at GEPI with FLAMES-Giraffe and X-Shooter, we are investigating the feasibility of a high multiplex spectrograph (about 500 fibres) over a field of view 1 degree in diameter. We are investigating an instrument with resolution in the range 15000 to 30000, which should provide accurate chemical abundances for stars down to 16th magnitude and radial velocities, accurate to 1 km/s for fainter stars. The study is led by GEPI-Observatoire de Paris with a contribution from Oxford for the study of the positioner. The financing for the study comes from INSU CSAA and Observatoire de Paris. The conceptual study will be delivered to CFHT for review by October 1st 2010.

Biodiversity of Cold Seep Ecosystems Along the European Margins

During the European Commission's Framework Six Programme, HERMES, we investigated three main areas along the European margin, each characterized by the presence of seep-related structures exhibiting different intensity of activity and biological diversity. These areas are: (1) the Nordic margin with the Hakon Mosby mud volcano and many pockmarks, (2) the Gulf of Cadiz, and (3) the eastern Mediterranean with its hundreds of mud volcanoes and brine pool structures. One of the main goals of the HERMES project was to unravel the biodiversity associated with these seep-associated ecosystems, and to understand their driving forces and functions, using an integrated approach. Several multidisciplinary research cruises to these three areas provided evidence of high variability in ecosystem processes and associated biodiversity at different spatial scales, illustrating the hotspot nature of these deep water systems.

P-Cable High-Resolution Seismic

P-Cable technology was developed to acquire detailed three-dimensional images of the subsurface in a cost-efficient way. The system was improved and used in the HERMES project to image cold seep sites and slide areas in the Gulf of Cadiz and the Mediterranean and Barents seas.

Structure and Drivers of Cold Seep Ecosystems

Submarine hydrocarbon seeps are geologically driven hotspots of increased biological activity on the seabed. As part of the HERMES project, several sites of natural hydrocarbon seepage in the European seas were investigated in detail, including mud volcanoes and pockmarks, in study areas extending from the Nordic margin, to the Gulf of Cadiz, to the Mediterranean and Black seas. High-resolution seabed maps and the main properties of key seep sites are presented here. Individual seeps show ecosystem zonation related to the strength of the methane flux and distinct biogeochemical processes in surface sediments. A feature common to many seeps is the formation of authigenic carbonate constructions. These constructions exhibit various morphologies ranging from large pavements and fragmented slabs to chimneys and mushroom-shaped mounds, and they form hard substrates colonized by fixed fauna. Gas hydrate dissociation could contribute to sustain seep chemosynthetic communities over several thousand years following large gas-release events.

Europe’s Grand Canyon: Nazaré Submarine Canyon

The Nazare submarine canyon extends similar to 210 km westward from the coast of Portugal, down to a water depth of > 4300 m. The considerable habitat heterogeneity found throughout the canyon is affected by strong currents and high turbidity, especially in the upper parts of the canyon. The canyon morphology comprises steep slopes, scarps, terraces, and overhangs, and a deeply incised thalweg is found in the lower part of the canyon. The seabed within the canyon is composed of varying proportions of rock and sediments that range from sand to fine mud. This great variation in physical environment is reflected by the varied fauna inhabiting the canyon. Diversity tends to decrease with depth, but there is also continual replacement of species with increasing water depth. Certain groups, such as the gorgonians and sea lilies, tend to be found on rocky surfaces, while large protozoans dominate the sediments at 3400-m depth. In addition to describing the fauna of Nazare Canyon, we discuss experiments undertaken as part of the HERMES project to elucidate the ecosystem function processes operating in the deeper parts of the canyon.

The White Coral Community in the Central Mediterranean Sea Revealed by ROV Surveys

White coral communities consist of scleractinian corals that thrive in the ocean’s bathyal depths (~ 200–4000 m). In the Atlantic Ocean, white corals are known to form complex, three-dimensional structures on the seabed that attract vast amounts of other organisms, accumulate suspended detritus, and influence the local hydrodynamic flow field. These attributes coincide with what we generally describe as a coral reef. With time, environmental change causes decline of the framework-constructing corals; this is followed by erosion of the reef sequence or its draping with noncoral-related deposits. After several such sequences, the structures are known as coral carbonate mounds, which can grow as high as 350 m. Both bathyal white coral reefs and mounds are widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent marginal seas, such as the Gulf of Mexico. The Mediterranean Sea, however, known for its richness of fossil white coral communities exposed in land outcrops, harbors very few extant coral communities. The HERMES project extended its study sites deep into the Mediterranean with state-of-the-art mapping and visualization technology. By doing so, many previously unknown coral sites were discovered during inspections of Mediterranean narrow shelves, canyon walls, escarpments, and seamounts by remotely operated vehicles. Such shelf and continental margin settings are characteristic of the dynamic margins of the Mediterranean Sea and contrast significantly with the much broader shelves of the Atlantic Ocean. This paper reports on a HERMES cruise that was dedicated to exploring these rough submarine topographies in search of white coral communities in the central Mediterranean, and re-evaluates the general perception of the assumed paucity of white corals in this sea.

Development of an Autonomous Aquarium System for Maintaining Deep Corals

Keeping deep corals alive under optimum water temperature and quality conditions is not an easy task. It is important to achieve a balance among a high-water renewal rate, constant water temperature, flow speed, and nutrient concentrations (especially ammonium). In trying to find a 'meeting point' among all of these factors, the ZAE (Experimental Aquaria Area) of the Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (CSIC) in Barcelona developed an aquarium system that maintains constant temperature conditions in an open water circuit for five deep coral species being kept for HERMES project experimental purposes (Figure 1). The new system operates with a temperature variation of ± 0.2°C, allowing culture conditions similar to those in the field [...]