Stress-resistant plants and their production

The present invention relates to plant genes involved in negative regulation of resistance to biotic and/or abiotic stress and uses thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to plants comprising an inactivated MADS-box gene function, and having increased resistance to biotic and/or abiotic stress. The invention also relates to methods for producing modified plants having increased resistance to fungal, bacterial pathogens and/or to drought stress. In particular, the invention relates to methods for producing plants with inactivated MAD26 gene, or an ortholog thereof, and exhibiting resistance to biotic and/or abiotic stress. (Résumé d'auteur

The complexity of the list homomorphism problem for graphs

We completely classify the computational complexity of the list H-colouring problem for graphs (with possible loops) in combinatorial and algebraic terms: for every graph H the problem is either NP-complete, NL-complete, L-complete or is first-order definable; descriptive complexity equivalents are given as well via Datalog and its fragments. Our algebraic characterisations match important conjectures in the study of constraint satisfaction problems.Comment: 12 pages, STACS 201

Design theories as languages for the unknown: insights from the German roots of systematic design (1840-1960).

International audienceIn this paper, relying on the formal framework provided by one of the most recent design theories, C-K theory, we analyse the historical development of design theories in the particular case of German systematic design. We study the three moments in the development of design theories (1850, 1900 and 1950). The analysis leads to the three main research conclusions regarding design theorizing. (1) The development of design theories and methods corresponds to specific rationalizations of the design activity in historical contexts, characterized by types of products, science and knowledge production capacities. (2) While engineering sciencesmodel known objects, design theories support reasoning on unknown objects. (3) Design methods do not target single innovations but aim to improve collective design capacities. Their performance can be assessed by the types of new objects they help design (generative capacity) and in terms of the capacities required by their users (conjunctive capacity). Historically, systematic design emerged as a formal framework with particularly strong generative and conjunctive capacities

La conception innovante comme mode d'extension et de régénération de la conception réglée : les expériences oubliées aux origines des bureaux d'études.

International audienceLes Bureaux d'Etudes sont l'objet de critiques pour leur faible capacité à innover et gérer le renouvellement des objets qu'ils conçoivent et des compétences associées. Pourtant l'examen de la genèse au XIXème siècle des premiers Bureaux d'Etudes fait apparaître des capacités de conception plus riches. A côté de la conception réglée il s'y déployait des formes originales de conception innovante qui assuraient la régénération régulière des règles, et qui étendaient l'espace des conceptions atteignables en augmentant la valeur ou en ouvrant de nouvelles lignées de produits. Deux exemples tirés de l'histoire de Gustave Eiffel et de son Bureau d'Etudes le mettent en évidence, ouvrant des pistes pour penser la dynamique des Bureaux d'Etudes aujourd'hui

Concevoir les outils du Bureau d'Etudes : Dassault Systèmes une firme innovante au service des concepteurs.

International audienceEntretien avec Pascal Daloz, Directeur Général Adjoint de Dassault Systèmes en charge de la Stratégie et du Marketin

Portfolio management in double unknown situations: technological platformsand the role of cross-application managers

International audienceThis article investigates portfoliomanagement in double unknown situations. Double unknown refers toa situation in which the level of uncertainty is high and both technology and markets are as-yet-unknown. This situation can be an opportunityfor new discoveries, creation of new performance solutions and giving direction to portfolio structuring. The literature highlights that the double unknown situation is a prerequisite to designinggeneric technologies that are able to address many existing and emerging markets and create value across a broad range of applications. The purpose of this paper is to investigatethe initial phases of generic technology governance and associated portfolio structuring in multi-project firms.We studiedthree empirical contexts of portfolio structuring at the European Semiconductor provider STMicroelectronics. The results demonstrate that 1) portfolio management for generic technologies is highly transversal and comprises creating both modules to address market complementarities and the core element of a technological system – the platform and 2) the design of generic technologies requires "cross-application" managers who are able to supervise the interactions among innovative concepts developed in different business and research groups and who are responsible for structuring and managing technological and marketing exploration portfolios within the organizational structures of a company

Fayol, Guillaume, Chevenard - la Science, l'Industrie et l'exploration de l'inconnu : logique et gouvernance d'une recherche conceptive

International audienceAlors que de nombreuses grandes entreprises se dotaient au début du xxe siècle de capacités internes de recherche, le laboratoire mis en place par Fayol avec les deux grandes figures de son « état-major », Charles-Edouard Guillaume et Pierre Chevenard, se distinguait-il et quels étaient les modèles d'organisation des laboratoires ? A l'aide des théories de la conception contemporaines, l'analyse montre que le laboratoire d'Imphy suivait une logique pionnière et très originale de recherche, qualifiée de recherche « conceptive ». Il s'agit d'un modèle de recherche visant à explorer l'inconnu, qui est très éclairant pour les débats contemporains sur les liens entre recherche et innovation

A new perspective for risk management: a study of the design of generic technology with a matroid model in C-K theory

International audienceRisk management today has its main roots in decision theory paradigm (Friedman and Savage 1948). It consists in making the optimal choice between given possible decisions and probable states of nature. In this paper we extend this model to include a design capacity to deal with risk situations. A design perspective leads to add a new action possibility in the model: to design a new alternative to deal with the probable states of nature. The new alternative design might also "create" new risks, so that a design perspective leads also to model the emergence of new risks as an exogenous "design process". Hence a design perspective raises two issues: can we design an alternative that would lower the risk? Does this new alternative create new risks? We show (1) that minimizing known risks consists in designing an alternative whose success is independent from all the known risks – this alternative can be considered as a generic technology. We show (2)that the design of this generic technology depends on the structure of the unknown, ie the structure of the space generated by the concept of risk-free alternative. (3) We identify new strategies to deal with risks as dealing with the unknown

Modeling Novelty-Driven Industrial Dynamics with Design Functions: understanding the role of learning from the unknown

International audienceIn his synthesis on industrial dynamics, Malerba called for a renewal of the models for the dynamic analysis of innovation and the evolution of industries [1]. To go this way we investigate the relationship between knowledge dynamics, innovation dynamics, and sectoral growth in the particular case of Schumpeterian "development" [2]. Our analysis is based on a model where economic actors (suppliers and customers) are represented by design functions, endogenizing the generation of "unknown" products, the regeneration of competences and of utility functions. We use the model to simulate four situations of industrial dynamic characterized by the (successful or impeded) emergence of novelty: automotive industry, pharmaceutical and biotech industry, semiconductor industry and orphan innovation in cleantech. This model shows that the success of "novelty-oriented" industrial dynamics depends on the efficiency of the coupling between design functions in the economy. We show that 1) good suppliers' profit and customers user-value relies on a sparing of knowledge and novelty; 2) coupling is based less on the initial level of competences and knowledge capitalization than on learning from "unknown" products; 3) learning from the unknown creates externalities, so that the exploration of the unknown appears as a new kind of "common good"

Convince me or commit me? Avoid the cognitive trap induced by Non-Human Actors in early stages of NPD.

International audienceAkrich, Callon & Latour's concept of interessement has been broadly used in NPD. A gap in this theoretical stream of research remains in the difference between human actors' commitment and convincement. The first concerns the enrolment of competent allies while the second concerns arousing top managers' approbation. To address this gap, our qualitative research takes place at SAFRAN, a corporate conglomerate of highly specialised companies. We take the focus of non-human actors (NHA) involved in early stages of NPD analysing 28 NHA of 5 different representational media in 4 different contexts. To characterise NHAs we review the literature on artefacts made within NPD and identify two utmost types (A and B). We find that NHAs which match type A artefacts do better at convincing in prospect of an entry gate to development and that NHAs which match type B artefacts do better at committing in the ideation process. The difficulty for managers is that type A or type B artefacts cannot be recognised according to their representational medium. The consequence is a misunderstanding: some NHA which match type B artefacts create no interessement because type A artefacts were expected, introducing the risk of missing an innovation opportunity. However their failure may not be definitive as managers have the ability to switch from convincement logic to commitment logic. This change in interaction is more probable to happen in informal meetings than in distant artefacts review. Some NHA take advantage of their A-B artefact ambiguity, human actors interact with them by alternating logics, inducing richer decisionmaking and ideation. We conclude that if managers were aware of the two types of artefacts they could adapt their attitude accordingly and take better decisions. We suggest that managers favour artefacts presentations in informal meetings to favour switching between convincement and commitment logics and avoid the cognitive trap