Vers une typologie des alliances technologiques

Si le champ des alliances technologiques peut être réduit aux seules activités de R&D en collaboration, une acceptation élargie correspond à l'existence d'actifs technologiques engagés dans la coopération. Les alliances à caractère technologique sont donc des alliances interentreprises où les ressources mises en commun, combinées ou échangées par au moins un des partenaires sont technologiques. La technologie est une combinaison originale et protégée de connaissances scientifiques et techniques et de savoir-faire propres à une entreprise (ou un nombre réduit de firmes) incorporée à des fins économiques dans un produit, un service, un procédé de fabrication, un système d'information ou encore une méthode de gestion. Il découle de cette définition que des alliances technologiques peuvent être forgées avec quatre types d'acteurs : une entreprise peut nouer des liens avec la recherche publique pour accéder aux connaissances scientifiques et techniques qui forment le socle de son portefeuille technologique ; elle peut jeter des ponts en direction de ses clients pour explorer les domaines d'application de ses technologies ; ou encore forger des alliances avec d'autres firmes concurrentes pour conduire un développement technologique conjoint ; ou finalement, mettre sur pied une coopération trans-sectorielle avec des firmes d'autres secteurs en vue du développement de technologies combinatoiresalliances stratégiques, management de la technologie, gestion de la R&D, accès à l'innovation, R&D en collaboration, collaborations état-industrie

Long-distance pollen transport from North America to Greenland in spring

International audienceIn the Arctic domain there is evidence for very long distance transport of pollen grains from boreal forests to tundra environments. However, the sampling protocol used in earlier studies did not allow the determination of the precise timing of the deposition of exotic grains. The ongoing "Epilobe" project monitors the deposition of exotic grains on both western and eastern coasts of Greenland utilizing wind filters, which are changed weekly throughout the entire year. A combination of the identification of tree pollen grains, the dates of deposition of the pollen on the filters, and the distribution map of the trees identified, allows the selection of modeled backward trajectories of air parcels responsible for the capture of the grains in the growing area of northeastern North America, and their long distance transport to Greenland. A survey of data obtained from four stations, analyzed during 2004 and 2005, indicates the occurrence of a general pattern, every spring, which follows the main cyclone tracks reaching this Arctic regio

Loss of independence in Katz's ADL ability in connection with an acute hospitalization: early clinical markers in French older people

Background: The preservation of autonomy and the ability of elderly to carry out the basic activities of daily living, beyond the therapeutic care of any pathologies, appears as one of the main objectives of care during hospitalization. Objectives: To identify early clinical markers associated with the loss of independence in elderly people in short stay hospitals. Methods: Among the 1,306 subjects making up the prospective and multicenter SAFEs cohort study (Sujet Agé Fragile: Évolution et suivi—Frail elderly subjects, evaluation and follow-up), 619 medical inpatients, not disabled at baseline and hospitalized through an emergency department were considered. Data used in a multinomial logistic regression were obtained through a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) conducted in the first week of hospitalization. Dependency levels were assessed at baseline, at inclusion and at 30days using Katz's ADL index. Baseline was defined as the dependence level before occurrence of the event motivating hospitalization. To limit the influence of rehabilitation on the level of dependence, only stays shorter than 30days were considered. Results: About 514 patients were eligible, 15 died and 90 were still hospitalized at end point (n=619). Two-thirds of subjects were women, with a mean age of 83. At day 30 162 patients (31%) were not disabled; 61 (12%) were moderately disabled and 291 severely disabled (57%). No socio-demographic variables seemed to influence the day 30 dependence level. Lack of autonomy (odds ratio (OR)=1.9, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.2-3.6), walking difficulties (OR=2.7, 95% CI=1.3-5.6), fall risk (OR=2.1, 95% CI=1.3-6.8) and malnutrition risk (OR=2.2, 95% CI=1.5-7.6) were found in multifactorial analysis to be clinical markers for loss of independence. Conclusions: Beyond considerations on the designing of preventive policies targeting the populations at risk that have been identified here, the identification of functional factors (lack of autonomy, walking difficulties, risk of falling) suggests above all that consideration needs to be given to the organization per se of the French geriatric hospital care system, and in particular to the relevance of maintaining sector-type segregation between wards for care of acute care and those involved in rehabilitatio

VARIATIONS DEPUIS 10000 ANS DE LA REPARTITION ET DE LA PRODUCTIVITE DES FORETS D'ALTITUDE DANS LES ALPES ET LE JURA ET SIMULATION DES CHANGEMENTS FUTURS

Ce travail repose sur les charbons de bois enfouis dans les sols et les autres macrorestes ont été datés par 14C et identifiés botaniquement, et pour un site particulier (lac Cristol), sur les analyses de pollens, d'insectes, de macro-restes végétaux, charbons de bois et tronc d'arbres ont été combinés en une « approche multi-proxy » afin de mieux comprendre les variations de la forêt de montagne en réponse aux changements climatiques globaux et à l'activité anthropique. Les variations de la limite de la forêt sont de plus de 500 m durant l'Holocène. La période la plus chaude semble avoir été 9000-8000 ans cal B.P. (années calendaires avant le présent). Les hauts niveaux lacustres du début et de la fin de l'Holocène sont de natures en fait assez différentes. Au début de l'Holocène ils sont principalement dus à une évapotranspiration plus faible, et à la fin de l'Holocène à des précipitations plus élevées. L'ensemble de ces informations a permis de tester un modèle de végétation (Biome3) par une utilisation en mode inverse et à essayer de prédire l'évolution de la végétation. Un doublement de CO2 permet à la végétation d'évoluer vers des conditions plus tempérées. Une « forêt mixte tempérée », pourra devenir une forêt décidue tempérée grâce à des hivers nettement plus doux et à une meilleure efficacité dans l'utilisation de l'eau en été. Ces sites d'altitude ont connu une telle végétation entre 9000 et 8000 ans cal B.P

Stranger to Familiar: Wild Strepsirhines Manage Xenophobia by Playing

The power of play in limiting xenophobia is a well-known phenomenon in humans. Yet, the evidence in social animals remains meager. Here, we aim to determine whether play promotes social tolerance toward strangers in one of the most basal group of primates, the strepsirhines. We observed two groups of wild lemurs (Propithecus verreauxi, Verreaux's sifaka) during the mating season. Data were also collected on nine visiting, outgroup males. We compared the distribution of play, grooming, and aggressive interactions across three conditions: OUT (resident/outgroup interactions), IN (resident/resident interactions in presence of outgroups) and BL-IN (baseline of resident/resident interactions in absence of outgroups). Play frequency between males was higher in OUT than in IN and BL-IN conditions; whereas, grooming was more frequent in IN than in OUT and BL-IN conditions. Aggression rates between resident and outgroup males were significantly higher than those between residents. However, aggressions between resident and outgroup males significantly decreased after the first play session and became comparable with resident-resident aggression levels. The presence of strangers in a well-established group implies the onset of novel social circumstances, which sifaka males cope with by two different tactics: grooming with ingroup males and playing with outgroup ones. The grooming peak, concurrently with the visit of outgroups, probably represents a social shield adopted by resident males to make their pre-existing affiliation more evident to the stranger “audience”. Being mostly restricted to unfamiliar males, adult play in sifaka appears to have a role in managing new social situations more than in maintaining old relationships. In particular, our results indicate not only that play is the interface between strangers but also that it has a specific function in reducing xenophobia. In conclusion, play appears to be an ice-breaker mechanism in the critical process that “upgrades” an individual from stranger to familiar

Social variables exert selective pressures in the evolution and form of primate mimetic musculature

Mammals use their faces in social interactions more so than any other vertebrates. Primates are an extreme among most mammals in their complex, direct, lifelong social interactions and their frequent use of facial displays is a means of proximate visual communication with conspecifics. The available repertoire of facial displays is primarily controlled by mimetic musculature, the muscles that move the face. The form of these muscles is, in turn, limited by and influenced by phylogenetic inertia but here we use examples, both morphological and physiological, to illustrate the influence that social variables may exert on the evolution and form of mimetic musculature among primates. Ecomorphology is concerned with the adaptive responses of morphology to various ecological variables such as diet, foliage density, predation pressures, and time of day activity. We present evidence that social variables also exert selective pressures on morphology, specifically using mimetic muscles among primates as an example. Social variables include group size, dominance ‘style’, and mating systems. We present two case studies to illustrate the potential influence of social behavior on adaptive morphology of mimetic musculature in primates: (1) gross morphology of the mimetic muscles around the external ear in closely related species of macaque (Macaca mulatta and Macaca nigra) characterized by varying dominance styles and (2) comparative physiology of the orbicularis oris muscle among select ape species. This muscle is used in both facial displays/expressions and in vocalizations/human speech. We present qualitative observations of myosin fiber‐type distribution in this muscle of siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), and human to demonstrate the potential influence of visual and auditory communication on muscle physiology. In sum, ecomorphologists should be aware of social selective pressures as well as ecological ones, and that observed morphology might reflect a compromise between the demands of the physical and the social environments

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer, studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory, a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), it aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over an hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR, browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters. Finally we briefly discuss on the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, and touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation, and finally on the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. (abridged).Comment: 48 pages, 29 figures, Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy with minor editin

The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase

The Athena X-ray Integral Unit (X-IFU) is the high resolution X-ray spectrometer studied since 2015 for flying in the mid-30s on the Athena space X-ray Observatory. Athena is a versatile observatory designed to address the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme, as selected in November 2013 by the Survey Science Committee. Based on a large format array of Transition Edge Sensors (TES), X-IFU aims to provide spatially resolved X-ray spectroscopy, with a spectral resolution of 2.5 eV (up to 7 keV) over a hexagonal field of view of 5 arc minutes (equivalent diameter). The X-IFU entered its System Requirement Review (SRR) in June 2022, at about the same time when ESA called for an overall X-IFU redesign (including the X-IFU cryostat and the cooling chain), due to an unanticipated cost overrun of Athena. In this paper, after illustrating the breakthrough capabilities of the X-IFU, we describe the instrument as presented at its SRR (i.e. in the course of its preliminary definition phase, so-called B1), browsing through all the subsystems and associated requirements. We then show the instrument budgets, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated budgets of some of its key performance parameters, such as the instrument efficiency, spectral resolution, energy scale knowledge, count rate capability, non X-ray background and target of opportunity efficiency. Finally, we briefly discuss the ongoing key technology demonstration activities, the calibration and the activities foreseen in the X-IFU Instrument Science Center, touch on communication and outreach activities, the consortium organisation and the life cycle assessment of X-IFU aiming at minimising the environmental footprint, associated with the development of the instrument. Thanks to the studies conducted so far on X-IFU, it is expected that along the design-to-cost exercise requested by ESA, the X-IFU will maintain flagship capabilities in spatially resolved high resolution X-ray spectroscopy, enabling most of the original X-IFU related scientific objectives of the Athena mission to be retained. The X-IFU will be provided by an international consortium led by France, The Netherlands and Italy, with ESA member state contributions from Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, with additional contributions from the United States and Japan.The French contribution to X-IFU is funded by CNES, CNRS and CEA. This work has been also supported by ASI (Italian Space Agency) through the Contract 2019-27-HH.0, and by the ESA (European Space Agency) Core Technology Program (CTP) Contract No. 4000114932/15/NL/BW and the AREMBES - ESA CTP No.4000116655/16/NL/BW. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. This publication is part of grant RTI2018-096686-B-C21 and PID2020-115325GB-C31 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033