Lille Catholic University

This paper will analyze the role of the innovation ecosystem (IES) in the industry implementation process of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) at company level. Based on a mixed‐method analysis using econometric models and content analysis, we have investigated the implementation process of industry 4.0‐enabling technologies of 123 manufacturing companies in the Hauts‐de‐France region of France. We have showed that the implementation process of industry 4.0‐enabling technologies is facilitated by the complexities of relationships between actors, complementarities among actors, particularly between start‐ups and others ecosystem stakeholders, and the role of regional policies (innovation support). Our quantitative results confirm that complex relationships with heterogenous actors within an IES positively affect the implementation process of Industry 4.0 at company level. While our qualitative analysis has showed that business‐to‐business relationships were decisive, our quantitative analysis has gone further and has showed that the more a given company develops diverse forms of relationships with other companies within the IES, the higher the level of I4.0 implementation‐enabling technologies there are in the company. Both qualitative and quantitative results demonstrate the importance of university‐industry linkage and of business incubators for the I4.0 implementation process, in enabling technologies at company level. A further result that completes our econometric study is the clear identification by company managers of the key role played by collaborative innovation projects and by start‐ups as providers of new solutions in fostering their I4.0 technological development. Therefore, our research calls for an ecosystem‐based approach to fostering I4.0 implementation at company level.

Background Hypereosinophilic syndromes (HES) are a heterogenous group of eosinophilic disorders. To date, only retrospective studies of limited sample‐size and/or follow‐up duration are available. Methods The COHESion study is a national prospective multicenter multidisciplinary cohort recruiting both adults or children with the spectrum of eosinophilic disorders (including reactive HE/HES [HE/HES‐R], idiopathic HES [HES‐I], lymphocytic HES [HES‐L], neoplastic HE/HES [HE/HES‐N], HE of unknown significance [HE‐US], as well as IgG4‐related disease [IgG4RD] or ANCA‐negative eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis [EGPA] overlaps). Patients are followed‐up yearly. All data about final diagnosis, organ involvement assessments, and outcome profiles in HES‐I were captured and analyzed centrally by HES expert centers. Results From May 2019 to November 2023, 779 patients were included. For this preliminary analysis, 550 cases were available for centralized review (mean ± SD age: 56 ± 18 years, 42% of female patients). The final diagnoses were HES‐I (47%), HE/HES‐R (16%), HE‐US (15%), HE/HES‐N (7%), HE/HES‐L (6%), IgG4RD (2%), and ANCA‐negative EGPA (7%). In the 258 HES‐I patients, outcome profiles were classified as follows: 16.3% had a “single‐flare” without further relapse, 28.3% had a “relapsing–remitting” disease when there was at least a 6‐month period free of symptoms between two flares, 46.1% had a “persistent disease” requiring continuous treatment to avoid relapses (9.3% remained unclassified because of insufficient follow‐up). Conclusions The COHESion cohort is the first nationwide prospective multicenter study collecting data on the full spectrum of HE/HES disorders. This preliminary analysis confirms that idiopathic HES patients have various outcome profiles, suggesting different underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and the need of patient‐specific management. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT 04018118

One Health seeks to integrate and balance the health of humans, animals, and environmental systems. These three spheres are intricately interconnected through microbiomes, which are universally present and exchange microbes and genes, influencing not only human and animal health but also key environmental, agricultural, and biotechnological processes. Preventing the emergence of pathogens as well as monitoring and controlling the composition of microbiomes through microbial effectors including virulence factors, toxins, antibiotics, non-ribosomal peptides, and viruses holds transformative potential. However, the mechanisms by which these microbial effectors shape microbiomes and their broader functional consequences in relation to host and ecosystem health remain poorly understood to date. Metaproteomics offers a novel methodological framework as it provides insights into microbial dynamics by quantifying microbial biomass composition, metabolic functions and detecting effectors like viruses, antimicrobial resistance proteins, and non-ribosomal peptides. Here, we document the potential of metaproteomics for elucidating microbial effectors and their impact on microbiomes, and discuss their potential for modulating microbiomes to foster desired functions.

This naturalistic note presents a series of observation of interspecies sexual behaviour involving Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata yakui) and Sika deer (Cervus Nippon yakushimae) on Yakushima Island, Japan. The initial observation in 2015 revealed a male macaque's attempt to engage in sexual activity with female deer, displaying mate-guarding behaviour. Subsequent observations in 2020, 2021 and 2023 showed the continuation of this behaviour and potentially the propagation to other macaques. We categorised this rare behaviour as a case of reproductive interference and explored hypotheses regarding its functionality. While some suggest nutritional benefits for the deer, others propose learning, incomplete species recognition, or mate deprivation hypotheses. This behaviour may also be selectively neutral, offering no direct fitness benefits, but rather represents a behavioural by-product of other interactions between these two species, which may themselves be adaptive. Furthermore, we hypothesise that the observed propagation may underlie social transmission and highlight the potential cognitive capacities of Japanese macaques involving social learning mechanisms and the willingness to adopt non-instinctual behaviours.

Interspecies interactions present diverse forms and functions, contributing significantly to ecological and social dynamics. This study focuses on the mounting behaviours of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) towards Sika deer (Cervus nippon), a rare and still unexplained phenomenon, with minimal emphasis on the behaviour of the deer. Using video data from two distinct sites, Yakushima and Minoh, Japan, we documented 45 sequences of macaque-deer interactions and analysed macaques’ behaviours and deer behaviours using focal and behavioural sampling techniques. We identified four primary activities performed by macaques during mountings – sexual, play, grooming, and resting – with resting being predominant. The study evaluates six hypotheses regarding the functions of these mounting behaviours: (1) interactions are sex-specific, (2) macaques use deer for transportation, (3) mutual warming through physical contact occurs, (4) deer provide support for resting, (5) macaques engage in grooming to consume parasites or play to strengthen interspecies bonds, and (6) aggressive signals relate to resource disputes or rejection of mounting behaviour. Statistical analyses using the Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn’s post-hoc test revealed significant differences between resting and other active behaviours, but no significant differences in behaviour duration between lying and sitting positions. Adults engaged in mounting for longer periods than juveniles, suggesting potential age-related differences in social and reproductive roles. These findings enhance our understanding of interspecies interactions by focusing on macaque behaviours and emphasise the need for longitudinal studies to clarify the ecological and social implications of these interactions.

Cette étude concerne les contenus de la culture scientifique au sein de visites scolaires dans les musées de sciences. Plus précisément, l’article étudie les représentations sociales des enseignants et enseignantes de l’école primaire française et celles des guides des musées de sciences à partir de données recueillies par questionnaires. L’analyse de leurs attentes autour des contenus de la culture scientifique montrent des points de convergences mais également des points de divergence notables. Les contenus évoqués comprennent des aspects scientifiques, des compétences sociales et civiques, des contenus liés aux musées, des connaissances génériques et des contenus culturels. Le corps enseignant et les guides accordent une importance particulière aux contenus disciplinaires scientifiques, bien que leurs images de la science puissent différer. Les résultats mettent en évidence l'importance des représentations sociales dans la construction des contenus des visites scolaires et interrogent les frontières entre l’école et le musée.

The remediation of contaminated dredged sediments remains crucial for enhancing environmental quality. Electrokinetic remediation is an environmentally friendly technology enabling the migration of pollutants from the sediment matrix. This article presents a laboratory study dedicated to examining the efficacy of electrokinetic remediation on the mobility and removal of heavy metals from dredged sediments, using a combination of chelating agents and surfactants coupled with activated carbon particles. The uniqueness of this study lies in the insertion of a third electrode, in the form of particles, directly into the sediment matrix. Results indicate that activated carbon particles positively affect the voltage gradient, increasing it by up to 1169%. Combined with citric acid, activated carbon particles increased electro-osmotic flow rates and promoted flow in the conventional direction. Utilizing the conductivity of activated carbon could be an economically viable alternative to reduce electric current consumption in EK tests and improve remediation levels. However, a variety of sediments, activated carbons, and reagents (citric acid and surfactants) must be tested to determine optimal usage conditions.

In response to declining membership, European parties moved to offering direct participation of members and/or non-members in leadership and candidate primaries. However, their consequences for party members remains unclear. This paper aims to address this issue by suggesting a new conceptual framework exploring the combined effect of the degree of inclusiveness of the two key formal dimensions of “who can run” and “who can vote” in intra-party primaries and their joint positive or negative effect on party membership size, attitude toward the leadership and turnout during the primary. Based on secondary and new pre- and post-primary party membership surveys data and in-depth membership interviews, the paper qualitatively and comparatively studies primaries within the UK Conservatives, the German Greens and the French Parti Socialiste. It finds that mainly primaries limited to members combined with permissive candidate requirements have potentially positive consequences for parties, attracting citizens back to parties, leading to higher participation and membership satisfaction. Thus, the paper contributes to the understanding of the consequences of party reforms for parties and party members.

Objective To develop and validate a patient-reported definition of acute calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystal arthritis in people with crystal-proven CPP deposition (CPPD) disease. Methods Consecutive patients with crystal-proven CPPD disease from seven centres across four countries were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. In each centre, patient-reported outcomes on the features of acute CPP crystal arthritis were collected. The expert opinion of an independent rheumatologist was the reference standard. We developed definitions based on multivariable logistic regression model with backward selection of predictors and classification and regression tree (CART) approaches. Results 246 patients (mean age 73.2 years (SD 10.7), 65.9% female) were enrolled. At the time of the assessment, acute CPP crystal arthritis was diagnosed in 96/246 (39.0%) participants. Patient-reported joint warmth, patient-reported joint swelling, time from pain-onset-to-peak, and self-reported acute CPP crystal inflammatory arthritis were included in the multivariable logistic model. This model had good discrimination (optimism-adjusted c-index: 0.92, 95%CI: 0.89–0.95) and calibration (optimism-adjusted calibration-slope: 0.95, 95%CI: 0.71–1.19, optimism-adjusted calibration-in-the-large: 0.005, 95%CI: -0.37–0.37) in the internal validation. Probability threshold ≥0.53 had sensitivity of 0.83 (95%CI: 0.74–0.90) and specificity of 0.86 (95%CI: 0.79–0.91). Performances were similar in the internal-external cross-validation. The CART identified patient-reported acute CPP crystal inflammatory arthritis, followed by joint swelling, and joint warmth as the most informative variables for ascertaining acute CPP crystal arthritis [sensitivity 0.83 (95%CI: 0.72–0.91) and specificity 0.83 (95%CI: 0.74–0.90)]. Conclusion We developed and initially validated easy-to-use patient-reported definitions for acute CPP crystal arthritis for use in clinical trials and observational research in CPPD.

Chronic pressure overload induces adverse cardiac remodelling characterised by left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and fibrosis, leading to heart failure (HF). Identification of new biomarkers for adverse cardiac remodelling enables us to better understand this process and, consequently, to prevent HF. We recently identified clusterin (CLU) as a biomarker of cardiac remodelling and HF after myocardial infarction. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CLU expression is regulated in the heart and could be used as an indicator of adverse cardiac remodelling in response to pressure overload. We quantified CLU in the LV of mice subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC) and observed increased CLU mRNA levels and its mature protein form (m‐CLU) compared to the sham. Interestingly, CLU mRNA levels were positively correlated with pro‐hypertrophic (ANP, BNP, B‐MHC), pro‐ and anti‐fibrotic (TGFb, ColI and CILP) genes. In addition, m‐CLU was positively correlated with LV hypertrophy, LV end diastolic and systolic diameters, and negatively correlated with LV ejection fraction. Finally, we observed that m‐CLU levels only increased in TAC mice with severe cardiac remodelling and dysfunction without any significant difference in plasma CLU levels. This is the first study to demonstrate that cardiac expression of CLU is induced in the LV of TAC mice during adverse cardiac remodelling. However, plasma CLU levels could not be used as biomarkers of TAC‐induced cardiac remodelling and dysfunction.

Introduction The first‐step in diagnosis of myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS) is essentially based on bone marrow cytomorphology. However, cytomorphology of MDS is often a difficult exercise, subject to inter‐operator variability. Our study aims to evaluate whether the combination of two dysplasia scores, the extended Ogata score and the MDS‐CBC score, could improve the screening of MDS patients among patients with chronic cytopenia. Methods Extended Ogata score and MDS‐CBC score have been measured on a retrospective cohort of 63 patients with a clinical suspicion of MDS based on the presence of cytopenia. Among these patients, 33 patients were diagnosed as MDS (MDS group) and 30 patients were diagnosed with another cause of cytopenia (non‐MDS cytopenic control group). Results Our results show excellent performance of the combined scores in predicting MDS when the two scores are concordant: positive predictive value (PPV) = 96% and negative predictive value (NPV) = 92%. In comparison, in the same cohort, extended Ogata score alone showed a PPV = 90% and NPV = 79%, MDS‐CBC score alone showed a PPV = 85% and NPV = 86%. Conclusion For the first time, our results show that the combination of these two dysplasia scores constitutes a useful and rapid tool for the assessment of dysplasia associated with MDS. In the MDS diagnostic process, the use of combined scores could constitute a valuable tool to enable early strong prediction of MDS in cytopenic patients and to target patients who initially require additional genetic assays.

Background Madagascar has made significant progress in the fight against malaria. However, the number of malaria cases yearly increased since 2012. ITNs and IRS are key interventions for reducing malaria in Madagascar. Given the increasing number of cases and limited resources, understanding the cost-effectiveness of these strategies is essential for policy development and resource allocation. Methods Using a societal perspective, this study aims to estimate the cost of the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) through the first national malaria strategic plan (implemented over the period 2009–2013) and to assess the cost-effectiveness of two individually implemented malaria control interventions (ITNs and IRS) in two districts, Ankazobe and Brickaville. The cost-effectiveness ratio (CER) of ITN intervention was then compared to the CER of IRS intervention to identify the most cost-effective intervention. The cost of the NMCP and the costs incurred in the implementation of each intervention at the district level were initially estimated. On the basis of two results, the CERs of ITN or IRS correspond to the total cost of ITN or IRS divided by the number of people protected or the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted. A deterministic univariate sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the robustness of the results with a discount rate of 2.5% (0–5%) (costs and DALYs) and a 95% CI (person protected). Results From 2009 to 2013, the NMCP cost USD 45.4 million (USD 43.5–47.5, r = 0–5%) per year, equivalent to USD 2.0 per capita per year. IRS implementation costs were four times higher than those of ITNs. The CER of IRS per case protected (USD 295.1 [285.1-306.1], r = 0–5%) was higher than the CER of ITNs (USD 48.6 [USD 46.0-51.5, r = 0–5%] in Ankazobe and USD 26.5 [USD 24.8–28.4, r = 0–5%] in Brickaville). The CERs per DALY averted of IRS was USD 427.6 [USD 413.0-546.3, r = 0–5%] in Ankazobe and, for ITNs, it was USD 85.4 [USD 80.8–90.5, r = 0–5%] in Ankazobe and USD 45.3 [USD 42.2–48.4, r = 0–5%] in Brickaville. Compared to the country GDP per capita (USD PPP 1494.6 in 2013), ITN intervention was “highly cost-effective” while the CER for IRS interventions was sensitive to parameter variation (CI, 95% of persons protected), which ranges from highly cost-effective to only cost-effective (USD 291.5–2004, r = 2.5%). Conclusion In the Malagasy context, IRS intervention cost more and was less effective than ITN intervention. Willingness to pay for IRS is questioned. A relevant budget impact analysis should be conducted before a potential extension of this intervention.

Welfare capitalism is going through a deep crisis, and alternative models to welfare state capitalism such as liberal socialism and property-owning democracy are once again becoming prominent in public debates. The aim in this article is to compare the merits and the limits of liberal socialism and of property-owning democracy through the specific case of the distribution of educational capital, by comparing two educational systems: the Pay It Forward (PIF) system and the Tax-subsidy scheme (TS) system. Based on the analysis of these two educational systems, we provide three arguments in favor of liberal socialist institutions in general and the PIF educational system in particular: (1) the individual common assets argument, (2) the principle of reciprocity argument, and (3) the predistribution argument.