Data Ecosystem Business Models: Value and control in Data Ecosystems

Purpose: Organizations evolve from using and governing data internally towards the exchange of data in multi-organizational data ecosystems. The purpose of this research is to determine a business model framework for actors operating in and/or entering a data ecosystem. Methodology: To determine a business model framework in data ecosystems. an analysis was made based on how the research fields of “business models”, “data governance”, “data ecosystems”, “data sharing”, “business ecosystem” complement each other. A business model framework was created, which was applied to three use case studies in the field of Smart Cities and Urban Digital Twins: The Helsinki Digital Twin, the Rotterdam Digital Twin, and the Smart Retail Dashboard in Flanders. Findings: The business model of actors in a data ecosystem is determined by value and control factors. Value is determined by the capability to create value through the exchange of data in the ecosystem, and to capture value through revenue (sharing) models and cost (sharing) models. Control is determined by ecosystem control. Governance models on the ecosystem level are required to enable the collaboration and to ensure trust to allow for the willingness to share data. Additionally, data governance on an ecosystem level is required, enabling the data exchange between the actors. Research Limitations: The model was applied to three use cases in Smart Cities and Urban Digital Twins. Consequently, the data ecosystems concern a high presence of public actors, yet also includes private companies. The applicability needs to be identified in other sectors in further research. Additionally, as the scope of the study was on business models, data governance, data-sharing and data ecosystems, abstraction was made of fields of study beyond these topics. Value and practical implications: The Data Ecosystem Business Model framework can serve as a guideline for organizations entering a data ecosystem, as well as for actors aiming to establish novel data ecosystems. Additionally, the framework can serve as a high-level overview for further research into the field of business models in data ecosystems.

Overcoming barriers to experimentation in business-to-business living labs

Business-to-business (B2B) living lab projects have been mentioned in different areas of academic research, but the innovation management literature requires deeper analysis of their potential opportunities and challenges. Real-life experimentation is a key requirement for living labs as it enables deeper insights in the potential success of innovations. However, the literature has not provided insights on how living lab projects can implement real-life experimentation in B2B innovation projects and does not describe appropriate conditions for experimentation in these settings. In this study, we identified three main barriers preventing real-life experimentation in B2B living lab projects: the technological complexity, the need for integration, and the difficulty in identifying testers. The barriers are discussed in detailed and potential solutions are provided to help overcome these barriers and stimulate the adoption of real-life experimentation in B2B innovation projects

The potential of experimentation in business-to-business living labs

The demand for business-to-business (b-to-b) Living Lab projects is growing significantly within iMinds Living Labs. Real-life experimentation is a key requirement for Living Labs as it enables deeper insights in the potential success of the innovation. However, literature has not provided insights on whether the Living Lab methodology is an appropriate approach for real-life experimentation with b-to-b innovations and does not provide conditions where experimenting in b-to-b Living Lab projects is applicable. Within this paper we performed a cross-case analysis of eight b-to-b Living Lab cases. We conclude that real-life experimentation is possible in Living Lab projects but the possibilities vary on a case level. Three barriers have been identified that help to determine the possibility of real-life experimentation in a b-to-b Living Lab project: the technological complexity, the need for integration and the difficulty to identify testers. Finally, we also described how these blocking factors can be overcome. This can be interesting for the reader to identify whether real-life experimentation will be possible or not in a b-to-b context

Belgium: Adoption of the Sharing Economy

The debate on the sharing economy in Belgium has been mainly focused on its economic, quantitative, and digital aspects. Given the fact that the adoption of the sharing economy has accelerated lately, this report wanted to contribute to further open up the debate on the adoption of this economy in relation to an aspect that is too little discussed, namely sustainability. Based on some smaller studies, this report identifies different drivers for concrete sustainable sharing economy initiatives to develop that situate themselves on the level of people’s daily life practices, social and cultural developments, and policy developments. Next to these drivers, there were issues detected that interact closely with the further development of this economy. The report ends with a suggestion for more systematic research of the drivers behind the initiation, adoption, and sustaining of sharing economy initiatives and their contributions to a more sustainable Belgian society

European academy of andrology guidelines on Klinefelter syndrome : endorsing organization : European Society of Endocrinology

Background Knowledge about Klinefelter syndrome (KS) has increased substantially since its first description almost 80 years ago. A variety of treatment options concerning the spectrum of symptoms associated with KS exists, also regarding aspects beyond testicular dysfunction. Nevertheless, the diagnostic rate is still low in relation to prevalence and no international guidelines are available for KS. Objective To create the first European Academy of Andrology (EAA) guidelines on KS. Methods An expert group of academicians appointed by the EAA generated a consensus guideline according to the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) system. Results Clinical features are highly variable among patients with KS, although common characteristics are severely attenuated spermatogenesis and Leydig cell impairment, resulting in azoospermia and hypergonadotropic hypogonadism. In addition, various manifestations of neurocognitive and psychosocial phenotypes have been described as well as an increased prevalence of adverse cardiovascular, metabolic and bone-related conditions which might explain the increased morbidity/mortality in KS. Moreover, compared to the general male population, a higher prevalence of dental, coagulation and autoimmune disorders is likely to exist in patients with KS. Both genetic and epigenetic effects due to the supernumerary X chromosome as well as testosterone deficiency contribute to this pathological pattern. The majority of patients with KS is diagnosed during adulthood, but symptoms can already become obvious during infancy, childhood or adolescence. The paediatric and juvenile patients with KS require specific attention regarding their development and fertility. Conclusion These guidelines provide recommendations and suggestions to care for patients with KS in various developmental stages ranging from childhood and adolescence to adulthood. This advice is based on recent research data and respective evaluations as well as validations performed by a group of experts

Human and animal fertility studies in cystinosis reveal signs of obstructive azoospermia, an altered blood-testis barrier and a subtherapeutic effect of cysteamine in testis

Cystinosis is an inherited metabolic disorder caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the CTNS gene leading to lysosomal cystine accumulation. The disease primarily affects the kidneys followed by extra-renal organ involvement later in life. Azoospermia is one of the unclarified complications which are not improved by cysteamine, which is the only available disease-modifying treatment. We aimed at unraveling the origin of azoospermia in cysteamine-treated cystinosis by confirming or excluding an obstructive factor, and investigating the effect of cysteamine on fertility in the Ctns−/− mouse model compared with wild type. Azoospermia was present in the vast majority of infantile type cystinosis patients. While spermatogenesis was intact, an enlarged caput epididymis and reduced levels of seminal markers for obstruction neutral α-glucosidase (NAG) and extracellular matrix protein 1 (ECM1) pointed towards an epididymal obstruction. Histopathological examination in human and mouse testis revealed a disturbed blood-testis barrier characterized by an altered zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) protein expression. Animal studies ruled out a negative effect of cysteamine on fertility, but showed that cystine accumulation in the testis is irresponsive to regular cysteamine treatment. We conclude that the azoospermia in infantile cystinosis is due to an obstruction related to epididymal dysfunction, irrespective of the severity of an evolving primary hypogonadism. Regular cysteamine treatment does not affect fertility but has subtherapeutic effects on cystine accumulation in testis

The piRNA-pathway factor FKBP6 is essential for spermatogenesis but dispensable for control of meiotic LINE-1 expression in humans

Infertility affects around 7% of the male population and can be due to severe spermatogenic failure (SPGF), resulting in no or very few sperm in the ejaculate. We initially identified a homozygous frameshift variant in FKBP6 in a man with extreme oligozoospermia. Subsequently, we screened a total of 2,699 men with SPGF and detected rare bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in FKBP6 in five additional persons. All six individuals had no or extremely few sperm in the ejaculate, which were not suitable for medically assisted reproduction. Evaluation of testicular tissue revealed an arrest at the stage of round spermatids. Lack of FKBP6 expression in the testis was confirmed by RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence staining. In mice, Fkbp6 is essential for spermatogenesis and has been described as being involved in piRNA biogenesis and formation of the synaptonemal complex (SC). We did not detect FKBP6 as part of the SC in normal human spermatocytes, but small RNA sequencing revealed that loss of FKBP6 severely impacted piRNA levels, supporting a role for FKBP6 in piRNA biogenesis in humans. In contrast to findings in piRNA-pathway mouse models, we did not detect an increase in LINE-1 expression in men with pathogenic FKBP6 variants. Based on our findings, FKBP6 reaches a "strong" level of evidence for being associated with male infertility according to the ClinGen criteria, making it directly applicable for clinical diagnostics. This will improve patient care by providing a causal diagnosis and will help to predict chances for successful surgical sperm retrieval

A de novo paradigm for male infertility

De novo mutations are known to play a prominent role in sporadic disorders with reduced fitness. We hypothesize that de novo mutations play an important role in severe male infertility and explain a portion of the genetic causes of this understudied disorder. To test this hypothesis, we utilize trio-based exome sequencing in a cohort of 185 infertile males and their unaffected parents. Following a systematic analysis, 29 of 145 rare (MAF < 0.1%) protein-altering de novo mutations are classified as possibly causative of the male infertility phenotype. We observed a significant enrichment of loss-of-function de novo mutations in loss-of-function-intolerant genes (p -value = 1.00 × 10 −5) in infertile men compared to controls. Additionally, we detected a significant increase in predicted pathogenic de novo missense mutations affecting missense-intolerant genes (p -value = 5.01 × 10 −4) in contrast to predicted benign de novo mutations. One gene we identify, RBM5, is an essential regulator of male germ cell pre-mRNA splicing and has been previously implicated in male infertility in mice. In a follow-up study, 6 rare pathogenic missense mutations affecting this gene are observed in a cohort of 2,506 infertile patients, whilst we find no such mutations in a cohort of 5,784 fertile men (p -value = 0.03). Our results provide evidence for the role of de novo mutations in severe male infertility and point to new candidate genes affecting fertility. Germline de novo mutations can impact individual fitness, but their role in human male infertility is understudied. Trio-based exome sequencing identifies many new candidate genes affecting male fertility, including an essential regulator of male germ cell pre-mRNA splicing

Cervical determinants of anal HPV infection and high-grade anal lesions in women: a collaborative pooled analysis

Cervical cancer screening might contribute to the prevention of anal cancer in women. We aimed to investigate if routine cervical cancer screening results-namely high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cytohistopathology-predict anal HPV16 infection, anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and, hence, anal cancer.International Agency for Research on Cance