Corporate Social Responsibility before CSR Practices at the Company Aluminium du Cameroun, 1950s-1970s.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a relatively recent phenomenon for companies and their stakeholders. However, we cannot ignore its historical roots. Many companies, especially in industry, developed social and environmental policies and practices a long time ago. These practical and historical dimensions still remain absent from the academic literature on CSR. In this paper, we set out to study a case over an extended period—from 1950s until 1970s—in order to understand how manufacturers took into account the various economic, social and environmental aspects of their activity, when they made an investment and subsequently ran an aluminium production site. The case of the company Alucam, implanted in Cameroon, shows how manufacturers integrated the Triple Bottom Line well before the ‘invention’ of CSR. Since i ts creation in 1957, this plant designed to produce primary aluminium has systematically applied a policy that simultaneously integrated the economic, environmental and social impacts of its activity. However, such visible permanency masks important changes in the way that CSR has been applied over time. This case study provides a better understanding of the process of building CSR in the aluminium industry. With that goal in mind, our methodology is historical. Research was mainly carried out by means of studying the Alucam archives. Such empirical research, highlighting the reality of the practices implemented in companies, constitutes an original contribution to the history of CSR.responsabilité sociale des entreprises; case study; history; environment; development; paternalism; Corporate Social Responsibility;

Extraction de biclusters contraints dans des contextes bruités

National audienceL'extraction de biclusters, qui consiste à rechercher un groupe d'attributs qui montrent un comportement cohérent pour un sous-ensemble d'observations dans une matrice de données, est une tâche importante dans divers domaines, telle que la biologie. Nous proposons ici un nouveau système, COBIC, qui combine des algorithmes de graphes avec des méthodes de fouille de données pour une recherche efficace de biclusters pertinents et susceptibles de se recouvrir. COBIC est fondé sur les algorithmes de flot maximal/coupe minimale et est capable de prendre en compte les connaissances d'une base exprimées sous forme d'une classification, par un mécanisme d'adaptation des poids lors de l'extraction itérative des régions denses. L'évaluation de COBIC sur des données réelles et la comparaison par rapport à des méthodes efficaces de biclustering montrent que COBIC est très performant et en particulier lorsque la qualité des biclusters s'évalue en fonction de la significativité de l'enrichissement des clusters calculés avec les fonctions cellulaires décrites dans l'Ontologie GO

King's speech: pronounce a foreign language with style

Computer assisted pronunciation training requires strategies that capture the attention of the learners and guide them along the learning pathway. In this paper, we introduce an immersive storytelling scenario for creating appropriate learning conditions. The proposed learning interaction is orchestrated by a spoken karaoke. We motivate the concept of the spoken karaoke and describe our design. Driven by the requirements of the proposed scenario, we suggest a modular architecture designed for immersive learning applications. We present our prototype system and our approach for the processing of spoken and visual interaction modalities. Finally, we discuss how technological challenges can be addressed in order to enable the learner's self-evaluation

Photoinduced fluidity in chalcogenide glasses at low and high intensities: A model accounting for photon efficiency

International audienceDetailed measurements of photoinduced fluidity in Ge-Se glasses were performed using a novel shear relaxation test in torsion mode. It is shown that photofluidity is significant even at a very low intensity and that there is no apparent threshold for activating the photostructural processes. Instead, the mechanism of photofluidity is described as a cumulative process involving photoinduced motions of every atom within the irradiated volume. Based on this assumption, a model is proposed, which is shown to accurately predict the power and wavelength dependence of photofluidity using a single fitting parameter n. The factor n represents the photon efficiency for inducing an atomic motion. Photofluidity experiments performed on glass fibers of various mean coordination number indicate that the process is rapidly reduced in overconstrained glasses. The values of n obtained for these glasses correlate remarkably well with the mean coordination dependence of other photostructural changes (photodarkening, photoexpansion). This indicates that the model is physically sound. Moreover, the model is shown to quantitatively describe photofluidity data from other glass systems from literature, therefore suggesting that it could be universally applied to all chalcogenide glasses

Synthèse et caractérisation de nouveaux complexes aryloxy à base de tungstène

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Characterization of monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) expression in soft tissue sarcomas: distinct prognostic impact of MCT1 sub-cellular localization

Background: Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are a group of neoplasms, which, despite current therapeutic advances, still confer a poor outcome to half of the patients. As other solid tumors, STSs exhibit high glucose consumption rates, associated with worse prognosis and therapeutic response. As highly glycolytic tumors, we hypothesized that sarcomas should present an increased expression of lactate transporters (MCTs). Methods: Immunohistochemical expression of MCT1, MCT2, MCT4 and CD147 was assessed in a series of 86 STSs and the expression profiles were associated with patients’ clinical-pathological parameters. Results: MCT1, MCT4 and CD147 were mainly observed in the plasma membrane of cancer cells (around 60% for MCTs and 40% for CD147), while MCT2 was conspicuously found in the cytoplasm (94.2%). Importantly, we observed MCT1 nuclear expression (32.6%). MCT1 and MCT4, alone or co-expressed with CD147 in the plasma membrane, were associated with poor prognostic variables including high tumor grade, disease progression and shorter overall survival. Conversely, we found MCT1 nuclear expression to be associated with low grade tumors and longer overall survival. Conclusions: The present work represents the first report of MCTs characterization in STSs. We showed the original finding of MCT1 expression in the nucleus. Importantly, opposite biological roles should be behind the dual sub-cellular localization of MCT1, as plasma membrane expression of MCT1 is associated with worse patients’ prognosis, while nuclear expression is associated with better prognosis.The authors thank Dr. Pierre Aman, from the Lundberg Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Pathology, Sahlgrenska Academy at Goteborg University, Goteborg, Sweden, for providing the myxoid liposarcoma cell line MLS-1765. CP received a post-doctoral fellowship from FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, SFRH/BPD/69479/2010). FMS received a doctoral fellowship from FCT (SFRH/BD/87139/2012)

Proteobacteria from the human skin microbiota: Species-level diversity and hypotheses

The human skin microbiota is quantitatively dominated by Gram-positive bacteria, detected by both culture and metagenomics. However, metagenomics revealed a huge variety of Gram-negative taxa generally considered from environmental origin. For species affiliation of bacteria in skin microbiota, clones of 16S rRNA gene and colonies growing on diverse culture media were analyzed. Species-level identification was achieved for 81% of both clones and colonies. Fifty species distributed in 26 genera were identified by culture, mostly belonging to Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, while 45 species-level operational taxonomic units distributed in 30 genera were detected by sequencing, with a high diversity of Proteobacteria. This mixed approach allowed the detection of 100% of the genera forming the known core skin Gram-negative microbiota and 43% of the known diversity of Gram-negative genera in human skin. The orphan genera represented 50% of the current skin pan-microbiota. Improved culture conditions allowed the isolation of Roseomonas mucosa, Aurantimonas altamirensis and Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains from healthy skin. For proteobacterial species previously described in the environment, we proposed the existence of skin-specific ecotypes, which might play a role in the fine-tuning of skin homeostasis and opportunistic infections but also act as a shuttle between environmental and human microbial communities. Therefore, skin-associated proteobacteria deserve to be considered in the One-Health concept connecting human health to the health of animals and the environment

Genetic diversity and relationships of the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica (Trematoda) with native and introduced definitive and intermediate hosts

Fasciolosis is a worldwide spread parasitosis mainly caused by the trematode Fasciola hepatica. This disease is particularly important for public health in tropical regions, but it can also affect the economies of many developed countries due to large infections in domestic animals. Although several studies have tried to understand the transmission by studying the prevalence of different host species, only a few have used population genetic approaches to understand the links between domestic and wildlife infections. Here, we present the results of such genetic approach combined with classical parasitological data (prevalence and intensity) by studying domestic and wild definitive hosts from Camargue (southern France) where fasciolosis is considered as a problem. We found 60% of domestic hosts (cattle) infected with F. hepatica but lower values in wild hosts (nutria, 19%; wild boars, 4.5%). We explored nine variable microsatellite loci for 1,148 adult flukes recovered from four different populations (non-treated cattle, treated cattle, nutria and wild boars). Populations from the four groups differed, though we found a number of migrants particularly non-treated cattle and nutria. Overall, we detected 729 different multilocus genotypes (from 783 completely genotyped individuals) and only 46 genotypes repeated across samples. Finally, we experimentally infected native and introduced intermediate snail hosts to explore their compatibility with F. hepatica and assess the risks of fasciolosis expansion in the region. The introduced species Galba truncatula and Pseudosuccinea columella attained the higher values of overall compatibility in relation to the European species. However, concerning the origin, sympatric combinations of G. truncatula were more compatible (higher prevalence, intensity and survival) than the allopatric tested. According to our results, we should note that the assessment of epidemiological risks cannot be limited to a single host–parasite system, but should focus on understanding the diversity of hosts in the heterogeneous environment through space and time.Fil: Vázquez, Antonio A.. Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Pedro Kourí”; Cuba. Université Montpellier II; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; FranciaFil: Sabourin, Emeline. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; FranciaFil: Alda, Maria del Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Laboratorio de Zoología de Invertebrados I; Argentina. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; FranciaFil: Leroy, Clémentine. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; FranciaFil: Leray, Carole. Institut de Recherche de la Tour du Valat; FranciaFil: Carron, Eric. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; FranciaFil: Mulero, Stephen. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; Francia. Université de Perpignan Via Domitia; FranciaFil: Caty, Céline. Institut de Recherche de la Tour du Valat; FranciaFil: Hasfia, Sarah. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; FranciaFil: Boisseau, Michel. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; FranciaFil: Saugné, Lucas. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; FranciaFil: Pineau, Olivier. Institut de Recherche de la Tour du Valat; FranciaFil: Blanchon, Thomas. Institut de Recherche de la Tour du Valat; FranciaFil: Alba, Annia. Instituto de Medicina Tropical “Pedro Kourí”; Cuba. Università di Corsica Pasquale Paoli; FranciaFil: Faugère, Dominique. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; FranciaFil: Vittecoq, Marion. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; Francia. Institut de Recherche de la Tour du Valat; FranciaFil: Hurtrez Boussès, Sylvie. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Université Montpellier II; Franci

Microarcsecond astrometric observatory Theia: from dark matter to compact objects and nearby earths

Theia is a logical successor to Gaia, as a focused, very high precision astrometry mission which addresses two key science objectives of the ESA Cosmic Vision program: the nature of dark matter and the search for habitable planets. Theia addresses a number of other science cases strongly synergistic with ongoing/planned missions, such as the nature of compact objects, motions of stars in young stellar clusters, follow-up of Gaia objects of interest. Theia s "point and stare" operational mode will enable us to answer some of the most profound questions that the results of the Gaias survey will ask. Extremely-high-precision astrometry at 1-μas level can only be reached from space. The Theia spacecraft, which will carry a 0.8-m telescope, is foreseen to operate at L2 for 3,5 years. The preliminary Theia mission assessment allowed us to identify a safe and robust mission architecture that demonstrates the mission feasibility within the Soyuz ST launch envelope and a small M-class mission cost cap. We present here these features of the mission that has been submitted to the last ESA M4 call in January 2015

Multidisciplinary investigation on cold seeps with vigorous gas emissions in the Sea of Marmara (MarsiteCruise): Strategy for site detection and sampling and first scientific outcome

MarsiteCruise was undertaken in October/November 2014 in the Sea of Marmara to gain detailed insight into the fate of fluids migrating within the sedimentary column and partially released into the water column. The overall objective of the project was to achieve a more global understanding of cold-seep dynamics in the context of a major active strike-slip fault. Five remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives were performed at selected areas along the North Anatolian Fault and inherited faults. To efficiently detect, select and sample the gas seeps, we applied an original procedure. It combines sequentially (1) the acquisition of ship-borne multibeam acoustic data from the water column prior to each dive to detect gas emission sites and to design the tracks of the ROV dives, (2) in situ and real-time Raman spectroscopy analysis of the gas stream, and (3) onboard determination of molecular and isotopic compositions of the collected gas bubbles. The in situ Raman spectroscopy was used as a decision-making tool to evaluate the need for continuing with the sampling of gases from the discovered seep, or to move to another one. Push cores were gathered to study buried carbonates and pore waters at the surficial sediment, while CTD-Rosette allowed collecting samples to measure dissolved-methane concentration within the water column followed by a comparison with measurements from samples collected with the submersible Nautile during the Marnaut cruise in 2007. Overall, the visited sites were characterized by a wide diversity of seeps. CO2- and oil-rich seeps were found at the westernmost part of the sea in the Tekirdag Basin, while amphipods, anemones and coral populated the sites visited at the easternmost part in the Cinarcik Basin. Methane-derived authigenic carbonates and bacterial mats were widespread on the seafloor at all sites with variable size and distributions. The measured methane concentrations in the water column were up to 377 μmol, and the dissolved pore-water profiles indicated the occurrence of sulfate depleting processes accompanied with carbonate precipitation. The pore-water profiles display evidence of biogeochemical transformations leading to the fast depletion of seawater sulfate within the first 25-cm depth of the sediment. These results show that the North Anatolian Fault and inherited faults are important migration paths for fluids for which a significant part is discharged into the water column, contributing to the increase of methane concentration at the bottom seawater and favoring the development of specific ecosystems