A unified analysis of the reactor neutrino program towards the measurement of the theta_13 mixing angle

28 pages, 7 figures, 14 tables, one appendix.International audienceWe present in this article a detailed quantitative discussion of the measurement of the leptonic mixing angle theta_13 through currently scheduled reactor neutrino oscillation experiments. We thus focus on Double Chooz (Phase I & II), Daya Bay (Phase I & II) and RENO experiments. We perform a unified analysis, including systematics, backgrounds and accurate experimental setup in each case. Each identified systematic error and background impact has been assessed on experimental setups following published data when available and extrapolating from Double~Chooz acquired knowledge otherwise. After reviewing the experiments, we present a new analysis of their sensitivities to sin^2(2 theta_13) and study the impact of the different systematics based on the pulls approach. Through this generic statistical analysis we discuss the advantages and drawbacks of each experimental setup

The Impact of Cooperation on Firms’ Innovation Propensity in Emerging Economies

The importance of collaboration has been one of the main issues in innovation studies. Despite many different findings on collaboration and its impact on innovation performance, the impact of different types of collaboration on different types of innovation is still inconclusive. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of openness on the performance of the innovation process in a leading emerging economy. Based on Turkish CIS data, the findings reveal that doing R&D either continuously or occasionally affects the probability to introduce novelties. Conducting simultaneously marketing, organisational and process innovations also increases the likelihood to innovate. Furthermore, cooperation with partners and their effects on innovation propensity unveil that process, marketing and organisational innovations are determinants of product and service innovation, thus confirming that the various innovation types are intertwined and mutually supporting each other. From a geographical perspective, cooperating with external parties from the same country plays a dominant role in determining the innovation outcome. Cooperating with consultants and private labs on the other hand seems to negatively affect innovation performance. Surprisingly, the role of foreign cooperation remains ambiguous as results were not statistically significant. Another very interesting finding is the negative impact of firms’ size on innovation propensity. This paper, apart from its contribution to collaboration research, provides concise recommendations for policy makers and managers

To join or not to join? Insights from coopetitive RD&I projects

Multipartner research, development and innovation (RD&I) projects are increasingly used to achieve complex innovation goals and keep pace with today's technological imperatives. The involvement of both competing and noncompeting partners increases the complexity of the relationships and poses a challenge to the outcomes of such projects. Therefore, the right choice of partners is particularly important in this context. Although previous research has mainly examined how focal firms deliberately select collaborative partners, this study demonstrates how non-focal firms evaluate invitations to participate in RD&I projects with multiple partners and direct competitors. Going beyond the coopetitive dyad, we qualitatively examine six multipartner RD&I projects in mature industries involving competitors and noncompetitors. The findings suggest that the evaluation process differs between exploration and exploitation projects. We identify critical factors that guide direct competitors' process of deciding whether to participate in both types of projects, and we provide new insights into the attractiveness of coopetitive RD&I collaborations for firms in mature industries. The study's propositions advance theory and can be tested in future empirical studies. This study also provides valuable guidance for practitioners considering embarking on a coopetitive journey.publishedVersionPaid open acces

Exploring a new incubation model for FinTechs: Regulatory sandboxes

publishedVersio

Facilitating innovation in FinTech: a review and research agenda

The purpose of this paper is to carry out content analyses on the existing literature to investigate the knowledge state of innovation facilitators adopted to promote financial innovation. In total, 56 papers were analysed using the NVivo software package. Three categories of innovation facilitators emerged from the literature capturing the perspective of regulators, incumbents and new entrants. Each identified instrument is defined and its processes and implications described. Many initiatives were led by regulators, revealing a regulatory strategy change from risk-based to opportunity-based regulation, with regulatory sandboxes being the most commonly adopted instrument. Incumbent-led innovation facilitators were also identified and typically took the form of corporate incubation models, co-working spaces, venture funds and innovation platforms to support financial institutions with partnerships, acquisitions or self-development. Lastly, the literature review revealed innovator-led instruments to support start-ups with raising capital. Based on our results, we discuss several important observations and propose avenues for future research capturing each of the identified perspectives. This paper contributes to incubation research and the financial innovation and FinTech literature streams.publishedVersio

Service innovation and its impact: What do we know about?

Peer reviewe

A proposed search for a fourth neutrino with a PBq antineutrino source

Several observed anomalies in neutrino oscillation data can be explained by a hypothetical fourth neutrino separated from the three standard neutrinos by a squared mass difference of a few eV^2. We show that this hypothesis can be tested with a PBq (ten kilocurie scale) 144Ce or 106Ru antineutrino beta-source deployed at the center of a large low background liquid scintillator detector. In particular, the compact size of such a source could yield an energy-dependent oscillating pattern in event spatial distribution that would unabiguously determine neutrino mass differences and mixing angles.Comment: 4 pages ; 1 table ; 4 figures - Add energy spectrum shape only analysis + referee comments/suggestion

Optimisation of gene editing for cystic fibrosis

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a recessive genetic disease caused by mutations in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene. To date, 352 variants in the CFTR gene have been shown to be CF-causing. CF is the most common genetic disease in Caucasian population, with an estimation of about 70,000 to 100,000 people living with CF worldwide. The disease results in premature death at a median age of 44 years old, with patients dying mostly from end-stage lung disease as a consequence of chronic lung infections. There is no cure for CF, but there are a range of drugs to treat CF symptoms. Over the last nine years, some small molecule drugs called modulators, were designed to improve the processing and function of the CFTR protein slowing the progression of the disease for more than 90% of CF-patients. Even though those modulators revolutionised CF treatment, the cost for those treatments are expensive, cumbersome and there are still 10% of patients with no specific drug. Indeed, some CF-causing mutations, classified as Class I variants, result in expression of little or no CFTR protein; protein modulator therapies are ineffective for patients suffering from such mutations. The variant W1282X is one of them. The W1282X variant is the 6th most common CF-causing variant, concerning 2.5% of CF patients, moreover, it is the 2nd most common class I variant. Since the discovery of the CFTR gene in 1989, it was expected that being able to treat the genetic problem, could lead to a treatment for CF. Since then, multiple clinical trials for CFTR cDNA addition have been performed, unsuccessfully. However, since the discovery of programmable nucleases, for gene editing, new hopes for CF gene therapy emerged. Indeed, some clinical trials are in process for other diseases such as Leber’s congenital amaurosis, haemophilia B or mucopolysaccharidosis I and II. The goal of this project was to compare four different techniques to correct the W1282X mutation, either by itself using homology-directed repair (HDR) and base editing, or as a superexon to correct this mutation and all the ones downstream. The purpose was to determine if there was one technique that was optimal for CF correction. Targeting single mutations, the results showed that high correction efficiencies (around 20% with SpCas9 HDR and base editing and 8% with AsCas12a HDR) could be achieved, and the corrections led to accumulation of corrected mRNA (50% for AsCas12a HDR and Base editing to 60% for SpCas9 HDR). In addition, CFTR protein expression could also be observed in AsCas12a-edited samples. However, using HDR, a large amount of indels could be detected, disrupting the CFTR gene in non-corrected alleles. Moreover, base editing showed formation of by-stander modifications within the window of editing. Using a superexon for CFTR correction, the homology-independent targeted integration (HITI) technique showed an intermediate level of correction efficiency of about 6% in 16HBE14o- cells after selection, leading to about 8% of corrected mRNA. Using HDR to replace a large DNA sequence, the efficiency without selection appeared to be low with about 0.02% of mRNA correction; editing at DNA level could not be determined for this technique in the cell lines available. Even though the efficiencies appeared to be lower using a superexon, the systems seemed to be safer with indels localised in introns. Using those data, it could be possible to have a clear understanding of different gene editing techniques to correct the W1282X mutation. Those techniques could be used for other mutations as well as for other genetic diseases. With further optimisation, one or many of these techniques could be tested on CF animal models to provide safety data for a potential future use in the clinic for CF-patients