Promoting a Strategic Approach to EU Sport Diplomacy

Sports policy is somewhat of ‘a new kid on the block’ for the EU. It only acquired a competence in sport following the adoption of Lisbon Treaty in 2007, in force since 2009. This is not to say the EU lacks experience in sporting matters. For many years, the EU institutions have grappled with the issue of how to reconcile the specificity of sport with the demands of EU law. This debate is ongoing, but not the subject of our enquiry. Our focus is to assist the EU in considering the merits of adopting a sport diplomacy strategy, first mooted by a High-Level Group on Sport Diplomacy in 2016. Four members of that group form part of the research team for this study. EU action since that report indicates enthusiasm for sport diplomacy. However, to act effectively in this relatively new field of EU activity, the EU institutions and the Member States require an evidence-base. The aim of our project was to undertake primary research and stage a series of Multiplier Sport Events (MSE) to provide such evidence on the efficacy of sport as a diplomatic tool. During our six MSEs, we invited a wide range of actors to share their thoughts and experiences on the practice of sport diplomacy. These events reinforced our view of the value of sport in helping the EU achieve its external relations ambitions. In this study, we claim that now is the time for the EU to act more strategically in this field and adopt an EU Sport Diplomacy Strategy

A genome-wide library of MADM mice for single-cell genetic mosaic analysis

Mosaic analysis with double markers (MADM) offers one approach to visualize and concomitantly manipulate genetically defined cells in mice with single-cell resolution. MADM applications include the analysis of lineage, single-cell morphology and physiology, genomic imprinting phenotypes, and dissection of cell-autonomous gene functions in vivo in health and disease. Yet, MADM can only be applied to 96% of the entire mouse genome can now be subjected to single-cell genetic mosaic analysis. Beyond a proof of principle, we apply our MADM library to systematically trace sister chromatid segregation in distinct mitotic cell lineages. We find striking chromosome-specific biases in segregation patterns, reflecting a putative mechanism for the asymmetric segregation of genetic determinants in somatic stem cell division

Genetic Analysis of Fin Development in Zebrafish Identifies Furin and Hemicentin1 as Potential Novel Fraser Syndrome Disease Genes

Using forward genetics, we have identified the genes mutated in two classes of zebrafish fin mutants. The mutants of the first class are characterized by defects in embryonic fin morphogenesis, which are due to mutations in a Laminin subunit or an Integrin alpha receptor, respectively. The mutants of the second class display characteristic blistering underneath the basement membrane of the fin epidermis. Three of them are due to mutations in zebrafish orthologues of FRAS1, FREM1, or FREM2, large basement membrane protein encoding genes that are mutated in mouse bleb mutants and in human patients suffering from Fraser Syndrome, a rare congenital condition characterized by syndactyly and cryptophthalmos. Fin blistering in a fourth group of zebrafish mutants is caused by mutations in Hemicentin1 (Hmcn1), another large extracellular matrix protein the function of which in vertebrates was hitherto unknown. Our mutant and dose-dependent interaction data suggest a potential involvement of Hmcn1 in Fraser complex-dependent basement membrane anchorage. Furthermore, we present biochemical and genetic data suggesting a role for the proprotein convertase FurinA in zebrafish fin development and cell surface shedding of Fras1 and Frem2, thereby allowing proper localization of the proteins within the basement membrane of forming fins. Finally, we identify the extracellular matrix protein Fibrillin2 as an indispensable interaction partner of Hmcn1. Thus we have defined a series of zebrafish mutants modelling Fraser Syndrome and have identified several implicated novel genes that might help to further elucidate the mechanisms of basement membrane anchorage and of the disease's aetiology. In addition, the novel genes might prove helpful to unravel the molecular nature of thus far unresolved cases of the human disease

ARTEFACTS: How do we want to deal with the future of our one and only planet?

The European Commission’s Science and Knowledge Service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), decided to try working hand-in-hand with leading European science centres and museums. Behind this decision was the idea that the JRC could better support EU Institutions in engaging with the European public. The fact that European Union policies are firmly based on scientific evidence is a strong message which the JRC is uniquely able to illustrate. Such a collaboration would not only provide a platform to explain the benefits of EU policies to our daily lives but also provide an opportunity for European citizens to engage by taking a more active part in the EU policy making process for the future. A PILOT PROGRAMME To test the idea, the JRC launched an experimental programme to work with science museums: a perfect partner for three compelling reasons. Firstly, they attract a large and growing number of visitors. Leading science museums in Europe have typically 500 000 visitors per year. Furthermore, they are based in large European cities and attract local visitors as well as tourists from across Europe and beyond. The second reason for working with museums is that they have mastered the art of how to communicate key elements of sophisticated arguments across to the public and making complex topics of public interest readily accessible. That is a high-value added skill and a crucial part of the valorisation of public-funded research, never to be underestimated. Finally museums are, at present, undergoing something of a renaissance. Museums today are vibrant environments offering new techniques and technologies to both inform and entertain, and attract visitors of all demographics.JRC.H.2-Knowledge Management Methodologies, Communities and Disseminatio

Les états mixtes (approche diagnostique et thérapeutique)

STRASBOURG-Medecine (674822101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF