Enhancing the Effectiveness of Social Dialogue Articulation in Europe (EESDA) Project No. VS/2017/0434 Social Dialogue Articulation and Effectiveness: Country Report for France

This report presents a country study analysing the articulation and effectiveness of social dialogue in France. The methodological approach relies on desk research and semi-structured interviews with social partners in France, aiming at obtaining deeper insights into how issues are articulated in French social dialogue, actors are interacting, and how social dialogue outcomes are achieved – and ultimately implemented. Following a brief historical background on the industrial relations system and the evolutions in the French context after a series of reforms, the report then provides both a cross-sectoral overview of social dialogue articulation and the interaction with European-level social dialogue. It also offers a sectoral perspective by looking at four sectors with a particular focus on four occupations within these sectors: commerce (sales agents), construction (construction workers), education (teachers) and healthcare (nurses). The research suggests a diversity of experiences both in cross-sectoral and sectoral social dialogue articulation and their effectiveness depending on the type of actor (e.g. trade unions, employer organisations, etc.) and on the sector of focus. The perceptions of social dialogue effectiveness are mixed in the face of continuous reforms over the last decades. Interactions with European-level social dialogue and social partners is considered as important (particularly in some sectors), but the intensity of the interaction is limited when it comes to involvement in the European Semester process

Index of Readiness for Digital Lifelong Learning Changing How Europeans Upgrade Their Skills. CEPS FINAL REPORT NOVEMBER 2019

Digitalisation – or the transformation of processes through new digital technologies – is changing the skills required to work and live, but also how we acquire, assess, and demonstrate our skills and education. This broad trend is known as the digitalisation of learning. The Index of Readiness for Digital Lifelong Learning (IRDLL) attempts to shed light on the issue by creating a scoring system and ranking EU Member States. The Index is composed of three ‘pillars’ – composite indicators developed to capture the different dimensions and challenges of digital learning: 1) Individual’s learning outcomes; 2) Availability of digital learning; and 3) Institutions and policies for digital learning. The report details the Index’s construction as well as results, alongside current trends in digitalisation of learning in Europe, providing timely policy pointers to European- and national-level policy makers. The Index of Readiness for Digital Lifelong Learning (IRDLL) is a result of collaboration between the Jobs & Skills Unit of CEPS and Grow with Google. It arose from a long-standing interest of both parties in digitalisation of education and the labour market

Sustainable control of grassland small mammals

International audienceSmall mammals such as the European rabbits, the plateau pikas, the prairie dogs have been traditionally perceived as pests and targeted for control on a large scale despite their importance as key-stone species in their native ecosystem. This is also the case for the fossorial form of the water vole (Arvicola terrestris). This species can reach large population densities and causes heavy damage to grassland with subsequent economic losses for farmers (9,000 to 25,000 € for a 70 ha farm during an outbreak year in Franche-Comté, France). However, higher population densities of A. terrestris and also of Microtus arvalis, help maintaining a large and rich community of vole predators. Such non-target species (red kite, common buzzard, wild boar, red fox, etc.) are impacted, some of them heavily, by the unconditional use of rodenticides (e.g. bromadiolone). In order to minimize the use of rodenticides in controlling A. terrestris populations, a long term research program has been undertaken since the late 80s, aiming at identifying the key-parameters of such regional systems. Based on a systems approach, this collaborative research network involves academic researchers, farmer, game, conservationist organizations and governmental and local administrations together. On a regional scale (area of about 2500 km2), Delattre et al. (1992), Giraudoux et al. (1997), Fichet et al. (2000) provided evidence that M. arvalis and A. terrestris population dynamic patterns correlate with land composition. On a sectorial scale (area of about 25 km2), Delattre et al. (1996), Delattre et al. (1999) showed for M. arvalis that landscape heterogeneity dampen population fluctuations and may modulate prey/predator relationships; Duhamel et al. (2000) that A. terrestris outbreak epicentres occur in homogeneous grassland and Foltete et al. (2008) that hedgerow networks slow down the propagation of travelling waves. On a local scale (area of about 0.01 km2), Delattre et al. (2006), Morilhat et al. (2007, 2008) showed that A. terrestris population growth was enhanced by larger gallery networks of Talpa europea, was slowed down by ploughing and cattle tramping and was modified by neighbouring landscape (10 - 100 ha). This led to a number of recommendations, now implemented for a more sustainable control of A. terrestris (Delattre and Giraudoux 2009) with substantial decrease in rodenticide utilization and lesser impact on non-target species. Poster downloadable at: http://pagesperso-orange.fr/giraudoux/PosterSETAC_120416_1200.pd

Évolution des effets non intentionnels de la lutte chimique contre le campagnol terrestre sur la faune sauvage et domestique

International audienceThe use of bromadiolone to combat water vole outbreaks can result in the accidental poisoning of non-target fauna (e.g., raptors, foxes, and wild boars). Available data indicate that switching from a curative approach (applied post outbreak) to a preventative approach (applied before outbreaks occur) can limit these unintended secondary effects. In May 2014, a joint ministerial order was issued that established how bromadiolone (an anticoagulant) could be employed in agricultural settings and that promoted integrated control practices. Efforts related to these new regulations include 1) the development of a decision-making tool that can help prevent the accidental poisoning of non-target species and 2) the establishment of a new standardised monitoring regime to quantify bromadiolone’s unintended secondary effects and the pesticide’s accumulation in the tissues of non-target fauna.L’utilisation de bromadiolone pour lutter contre les pullulations de campagnols terrestres est responsable d’intoxications de la faune noncible (rapaces, renards, sangliers...). Les indicateurs disponibles montrent que le passage d’une logique de lutte curative à celle d’unelutte préventive a permis de limiter les effets non intentionnels de la bromadiolone. Un arrêté interministériel encadrant l’emploi de cetanticoagulant en plein champ et favorisant les principes de la lutte raisonnée a été promulgué en mai 2014. Les enjeux liés à cetteréglementation concernent la validation d’un outil d’aide à la décision développé pour prévenir les intoxications d’espèces non-cibles etla mise en place d’une surveillance standardisée de l’imprégnation de la faune par la bromadiolone et de ses effets non intentionnels

Restoration of Chloride Efflux by Azithromycin in Airway Epithelial Cells of Cystic Fibrosis Patients▿

Azithromycin (AZM) has shown promising anti-inflammatory properties in chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and clinical studies have presented an improvement in the respiratory condition of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate, in human airway cells, the mechanism by which AZM has beneficial effects in CF. We demonstrated that AZM did not have any anti-inflammatory effect on CF airway cells but restored Cl− efflux

Azithromycin fails to reduce inflammation in cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells

Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease caused by a mutation in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene that encodes a chloride (a) channel. Cystic fibrosis pulmonary pathophysiology is characterised by chronic inflammation and bacterial infections. Azithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic, has shown promising anti-inflammatory properties in some inflammatory pulmonary diseases. Moreover, all clinical studies have presented an improvement of the respiratory condition of cystic fibrosis patients, but the molecular and cellular mechanisms remain unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate, in bronchial epithelial cells, the effects of azithromycin on inflammatory pathways involved in cystic fibrosis. We have analysed the effects of azithromycin on cystic fibrosis and non-cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelial cell lines but also in non-immortalized non-cystic fibrosis human glandular cells. To create an inflammatory context, cells were treated with Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-alpha or Interleukin (IL)1-beta. Activation of the NF-kappa B pathway was investigated by luciferase assay, western blotting, and by Forster Resonance Energy Transfer imaging, allowing the detection of the interaction between the transcription factor and its inhibitor in live cells. In all conditions tested, azithromycin did not have an anti-inflammatory effect on the cystic fibrosis human bronchial epithelial cells and on CFTR-inhibited primary human bronchial glandular cells. More, our data showed no effect of azithromycin on IL-1 beta- or TNF-alpha-induced IL-8 secretion and NF-kappa B pathway activation. Taken together, these data show that azithromycin is unable to decrease in vitro inflammation in cystic fibrosis cells from airway

Hemostasis defects underlying the hemorrhagic syndrome caused by Mammarenaviruses in a cynomolgus macaque model

Viral hemorrhagic fevers (HF) are a group of acute febrile diseases with high mortality rates. While hemostatic dysfunction appears to be a major determinant of the severity of the disease, it is still unclear what pathogenic mechanisms lead to it. In clinical studies, arenaviruses such as Lassa, Machupo and Guanarito viruses caused HF that vary in symptoms and biological alterations. In this study we aimed to characterize the hemostatic dysfunction induced by arenaviral HF to determine its implication in the severity of the disease and to elucidate the origin of this syndrome. We found that lethal infection with Machupo, Guanarito and Lassa viruses is associated with cutaneo-mucosal, cerebral, digestive and pulmonary hemorrhages. The affected animals developed a severe alteration of the coagulation system, which was concomitant with acute hepatitis, minor deficit of hepatic factor synthesis, presence of a plasmatic inhibitor of coagulation and dysfunction of the fibrinolytic system. Despite signs of increased vascular permeability, endothelial cell infection was not a determinant factor of the hemorrhagic syndrome. There were also alterations of the primary hemostasis during lethal infection, with moderate to severe thrombocytopenia and platelet dysfunction. Finally, we show that lethal infection is accompanied by a reduced hematopoietic potential of the bone marrow. This study provides an unprecedented characterization of the hemostasis defects induced by several highly pathogenic Arenaviruses

Status of the ITER Ion Cyclotron H&CD system

The ongoing design of the ITER Ion Cyclotron Heating and Current Drive system (20 MW, 40-55 MHz) is rendered challenging by the wide spectrum of requirements and interface constraints to which it is subject, several of which are conflicting and/or still in a high state of flux. These requirements include operation over a broad range of plasma scenarios and magnetic fields (which prompts usage of wide-band phased antenna arrays), high radio-frequency (RF) power density at the first wall (and associated operation close to voltage and current limits), resilience to ELM-induced load variations, intense thermal and mechanical loads, long pulse operation, high system availability, efficient nuclear shielding, high density of antenna services, remote-handling ability, tight installation tolerances, and nuclear safety function as tritium confinement barrier. R&D activities are ongoing or in preparation to validate critical antenna components (plasma-facing Faraday screen, RF sliding contacts, RF vacuum windows), as well as to qualify the RF power sources and the transmission and matching components. Intensive numerical modeling and experimental studies on antenna mock-ups have been conducted to validate and optimize the RF design. The paper highlights progress and outstanding issues for the various system component

Classification of 101 BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants of uncertain significance by cosegregation study: A powerful approach

International audienc