ED Droit
From selection to the creation of living entities : the search for legal equilibrium between scientific aspirations and ethical dilemmas related to biotechnologies
by Mélissa BOI (CENTRE EUROPÉEN DE RECHERCHES EN DROIT DES FAMILLES, DES ASSURANCES, DES PERSONNES ET DE LA SANTÉ)
The defense will take place at 14h00 - Salle 1 K Pôle juridique et judiciaire (PJJ) 35 Place Pey Berland 33000 Bordeaux
in front of the jury composed of
- Laurent BLOCH - Professeur des universités - Université de Bordeaux - Collège droit, science politique, économie et gestion - Directeur de these
- Xavier LABBÉE - Professeur des universités - Université de Lille - Faculté des Sciences Juridiques, Politiques et Sociales - Rapporteur
- Astrid MARAIS - Professeure des universités - Université Paris 8 - UFR Droit - Examinateur
- Sophie JAVERZAT - Professeure des universités - Université de Bordeaux - Collège sciences et technologies (ST) - Examinateur
- Cédric BRUN - Maître de conférences - Université Bordeaux Montaigne - Département philosophie - Examinateur
- Marie LAMARCHE - Professeure des universités - Université de Bordeaux - Collège droit, science politique, économie et gestion - Examinateur
- Aline VIGNON-BARRAULT - Professeure des universités - Université d'Angers - Faculté de droit - Rapporteur
This thesis represents a true odyssey into the heart of the most advanced biotechnologies concerning the mastery of Living entities: selection (of embryos, gametes...), modification (gene therapy, mitochondrial transfer, recent tools such as CRISPR-Cas9...), manipulation (of embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells...), and creation (organoids, embryonic models for scientific use, human-animal chimeras...). These are just a glimpse of the techniques and entities addressed in this work. While the prospects presented are spectacular, the implications related to ethics, safety, health, and biodiversity are particularly extensive. How then can a just balance between scientific aspirations and ethical dilemmas be achieved? The goal of this thesis was to view the law as the architect of a compromise between the divergent interests of involved actors and entities. Currently, the law appears insufficient in the face of the questions raised by biotechnologies: what is acceptable or not, for whom or what, within which framework, and for what purpose? However, the multidisciplinary and comparative law approach adopted has demonstrated its capacity to remedy this by transcending traditional legal frameworks that prove inadequate or insufficient for these substantial challenges. Sometimes, it involved demonstrating creativity in the presence of legal voids, as was the case with organoids or chimeras. At other times, it called for innovation to undertake a deep overhaul, like the one proposed for the french summa divisio to integrate artificial Living entities.
ED Entreprise Economie Société
Grades and Standards for African Farmers
by Jérémy DO NASCIMENTO MIGUEL (BSE - Bordeaux sciences économiques)
The defense will take place at 15h00 - Salle des thèses 16 avenue Léon Duguit, Campus Pessac, salle des thèses batiment C1, 33608 Pessac CEDEX
in front of the jury composed of
- Tanguy BERNARD - Professeur des universités - Université de Bordeaux - Directeur de these
- Tessa BOLD - Professor - Institute of International Economic Studies - Rapporteur
- Lauren FALCAO-BERGQUIST - Assistant professor - Yale University - Rapporteur
- Sylvie LAMBERT - Professeure des universités - Paris School of Economics - Examinateur
- Quentin STOEFFLER - Maître de conférences - Université de Bordeaux - Examinateur
This dissertation explores constraints preventing markets for quality emergence in sub-Saharan African (SSA) local agri-value chains. It aims to document new facts about quality recognition and constraints preventing quality remuneration. This thesis is organized in 4 chapters on agricultural production and market functioning in SSA agri-food local value chains. The first chapter develops a theoretical model to investigate the role of relational contracts in quality supply and tests it empirically using first-hand transaction data in Ethiopian wheat markets. The second chapter measures returns to quality in rural agricultural markets using the same data. The third chapter combines a theoretical and field experiment approach with Ethiopian wheat traders to test constraints preventing uptake of third-party certification. The last chapter measures the price effects of a social protection program, the Productive Safety Net Program, on local markets prices in Ethiopia.
Strategic misreporting along the value chain: the case of certified cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire
by Marine JOUVIN (BSE - Bordeaux sciences économiques)
The defense will take place at 9h00 - Salle des thèses Faculté économie, gestion et administration économique et sociale - Université de Bordeaux 16 Av. Léon Duguit, 33600 Pessac Bâtiment C
in front of the jury composed of
- Tanguy BERNARD - Professeur des universités - Université de Bordeaux - Directeur de these
- Kenneth HOUNGBEDJI - Chargé de recherche - Université Paris-Dauphine - Rapporteur
- Eva-Marie MEEMKEN - Assistant professor - ETH Zurich - Rapporteur
- Delphine BOUTIN - Maîtresse de conférences - Bordeaux School of Economics - CoDirecteur de these
- Travis LYBBERT - Professeur des universités - University of California, Davis - Examinateur
- Laure LATRUFFE - Directrice de recherche - Bordeaux School of Economics - Examinateur
This thesis investigates the challenges raised by information asymmetries in certified cocoa value chains in Côte d'Ivoire. It aims to detect and assess the extent of non-compliance with certification standards among cocoa farmers, middlemen, and cooperatives. The first chapter measures the reliance on child labor among certified cocoa farmers using an indirect questioning method, the list experiment, to mitigate social desirability bias. It reveals significant underreporting of child labor when classic, direct questioning methods are used. The second chapter investigates dishonest behaviors among cocoa middlemen through a lab-in-the-field experiment, and highlights the high prevalence of cheating and the effectiveness of monitoring and sanction mechanisms in reducing such dishonest behaviors. The third chapter explores side-sourcing practices, i.e. whether conventional beans are labeled as certified ones, within certified cocoa supply chains by cross-checking transaction data from farmers, middlemen, and cooperatives, uncovering widespread discrepancies and potential side-sourcing from cooperatives. Overall, these findings highlight the shortcomings of current certification standards and emphasize the need for enhanced monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, to ensure the credibility and effectiveness of certification in the cocoa industry.
ED Sciences Physiques et de l'Ingénieur
Research and study of the early phases of massive star formation
by Maxime VALEILLE-MANET (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux)
The defense will take place at 14h00 - Univers Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux Université de Bordeaux - CNRS Bâtiment B18N Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, CS 50023 33615 Pessac Cedex
in front of the jury composed of
- Sylvain BONTEMPS - Directeur de recherche - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux - Directeur de these
- Annie ZAVAGNO - Professeur des universités - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille - Rapporteur
- Matthias GONZALEZ - Professeur associé - Université Paris Cité - Laboratoire de Modélisation des Plasmas Astrophysiques - Rapporteur
- Audrey COUTENS - Astronome adjoint - Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie - Examinateur
- Hervé BOUY - Professeur des universités - Université de Bordeaux - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux - Examinateur
The study of the early phases of high-mass star formation (M>8Msol) is a major yet poorly understood topic in astrophysics. To elucidate which precise processes of formation are in action, it is vital to identify and study the earliest phases of formation, even before the birth of a protostar. These objects, called prestellar cores, allow us to observe the processes in action. Thanks to the ALMA-IMF survey, we have been able to construct for the first time a sample of high-mass prestellar cores discovered homogeneously in a single survey. This allows us to study this statistical sample and propose strong clues about the dominant processes in high-mass star formation. To do this, we first developed a new systematic method for detecting protostellar outflows to differentiate prestellar from protostellar cores. Cores without significant outflows are considered as excellent candidates to be prestellar cores. The method compares the spectrum towards the source (On) with the spectrum averaged in its nearby environment (Off) and determines if the source shows an excess of high-velocity emission indicative of a molecular outflow within the core itself. The molecular transitions CO(2-1) and SiO(5-4) are used to identify these molecular outflows. We also construct and use high-velocity molecular emission maps around each core to complete and accelerate the method. Thanks to this method, we identified 42 prestellar cores among the 141 cores with a mass greater than 8 Msol, 12 of which are more massive than 16 Msol and are the best candidates for being precursors of high-mass stars. These high-mass prestellar core candidates range in mass up to 55 Msol and appear located in the most central and dense regions of star-forming regions, where confusion with molecular outflows from nearby high-mass protostars is significant. The significant statistics of prestellar and protostellar cores allowed us to calculate the best statistical lifetimes of the massive prestellar phase ever obtained. By adopting two different protostellar evolution assumptions, we obtain lifetimes between 120,000 and 240,000 yr for masses between 8 and 16 Msol, and between 50,000 and 100,000 yr for masses between 30 and 55 Msol. These lifetimes are shorter than those observed for the low-mass prestellar phase (10^6 yr) but much longer (10 to 30 times) than the free-fall times of the cores, suggesting a collapse slowed by magnetic fields, rotation, or turbulence. An analysis of the molecular emission properties of the 12 most massive candidates showed that turbulence, traced by velocity dispersion in molecular lines, is insufficient to counter gravity for 80% of the prestellar candidates. A virial analysis shows that a magnetic field of about 10 mG would be necessary to explain the stability of these cores. Such a magnetic field intensity is not excluded for these new cores and will need to be measured through dust emission polarization. Alternatively, strong rotation expected in these cores could, on small scales, prevent rapid protostar formation with high accretion rates. This second hypothesis can be tested with higher spatial resolution molecular observations with ALMA. In conclusion, (1) high-mass prestellar cores exist and can be revealed by a systematic search for molecular outflows in the densest and most confused regions of high-mass star formation; (2) their lifetimes suggest support beyond turbulence, likely magnetic or rotational, delaying immediate collapse.
Theory of thermophoresis of Proteins
by Thibaut SEUWIN (Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d'Aquitaine)
The defense will take place at 10h00 - Collège ST, Université de Bordeaux, Campus Peixotto, 33400 Talence
in front of the jury composed of
- Alois WURGER - Professeur des universités - Université de Bordeaux - Directeur de these
- Frank CICHOS - Professor - Université de Leipzig - Rapporteur
- Guillaume BAFFOU - Chargé de recherche - Institut Fresnel - Rapporteur
- Nicolas COMBE - Professeur des universités - Cemes - Examinateur
- Thomas BICKEL - Professeur des universités - Université de Bordeaux - Examinateur
Thermophoresis is the emergence of a concentration gradient of a dissolved species generated by a temperature gradient. From one system to another, the molecules of the solute species accumulate on the hot side or the cold side, depending on several parameters, such as solvent, concentration, and temperature. The case of protein thermophoresis in water in dilute regime is particular, because the direction of accumulation depends on temperature: at relatively low temperatures, typically below 20 Celsius degrees, the molecules migrate to the hot side, but at higher temperatures to the cold side. This behavior has been reported for several systems, such as polypeptides or DNA. So far, the theoretical understandings of thermophoresis have notably been capable of explaining the migration of aerosols and charged colloids away from the hot spot, but have not been able to describe successfully the accumulation in hotter areas, nor the change of behavior reported at temperatures around 20 Celsius degrees. The interactions between the solvent and the particle's surface are responsible for the thermophoretic motion; however, in the case of protein thermophoresis in aqueous medium, the contributions of electrostatic, van der Waals and hydrophobic interactions cannot account for the experimental observation. Based on some clues that highlight a connection between hydrophilicity and thermophoresis, we suspect the hydrogen bonds formed between the particle surface and water to play a major role in the motion towards the hotter areas. We develop theoretical models, based on a mechanical approach that treat water molecules as discrete objects, that establish hydrogen bonds with the hydrophilic spots at the surface of the particle, jumping tangentially. Experimental data support the idea that jumps feature a temperature dependence. Combined with a temperature gradient, this could result in a creep flow of water towards the colder areas, propelling the particle to hotter places. Our models have given encouraging results, both qualitatively and quantitatively, that those jumps could be responsible for a contribution directing the motion of particles towards the hot spot.
ED Sociétés, Politique, Santé Publique
From a technical process's lack of fluidity to the development of cross-functional collective activities: for an ergonomic look at performance. The case of treatment preparation in external radiotherapy.
by Alexandra WARTEL (Laboratoire de l'Intégration du Matériau au Système)
The defense will take place at 13h30 - Amphi Durkheim Site de la Victoire
in front of the jury composed of
- Johann PETIT - Maître de conférences - Université de Bordeaux - Directeur de these
- Vanina MOLLO - Maître de conférences - Université de Toulouse - Rapporteur
- Pascale CARAYON - Professeur émérite - University of Wisconsin-Madison - Rapporteur
- Philippe GIRAUD - Professeur des universités - praticien hospitalier - Université Paris Cité - Examinateur
- Stéphane DESCHAINTRE - Maître de conférences - Université d'Orléans - Examinateur
- Bernard N'KAOUA - Professeur des universités - Université de Bordeaux - Examinateur
External radiotherapy is a cancer treatment that involves several professionals from a variety of fields, working within the framework of a care production process. The Institute for Radiation Protection and Nulcear Safety (IRSN) and the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) have observed a "lack of fluidity" in this process, particularly in the treatment preparation phases. This lack of fluidity can have an impact on work (carried out in a hurry) and on the safety of care. This observation is the subject of the initial request for this ergonomic research project. Our aim is to understand the origin and effects of the "lack of fluidity" in the technical process, as observed by IRSN and ASN. We aim to characterize discontinuities in the technical process, in order to identify their possible effects on the work of professionals and on patient safety. To do this, we characterize discontinuities in the technical preparation process by understanding the articulation of individual and collective activities, using two intrinsic approaches of the human activity developed in ergonomics : the course of action (Theureau, 2004) and the instrumental approach (Rabardel, 1995). External radiotherapy is organized in two main ways. One, the most widespread, determines the treatment start date before treatment preparation. The other, called « fil de l'eau », prepares files as they arise and determines the treatment start date once the file is ready. We will examine the respective effects of these two organizational modes on the development dynamics of collective activities, on possible discontinuities and on care safety. We will show how cross-disciplinary collective activities guarantee continuity of patient care, as well as the development of quality treatment that guarantees patient safety. However, these cross-fonctionnal collective activities, and above all the articulations required for their development, are not taken into account in the sequential breakdown of the prescribed technical process. On the basis of this empirical knowledge, we open the discussion to design perspectives by highlighting what organizations should take into account to enable and support the development of real cross-fonctionnal collective activities, engaged in preparation.