LE STUDIUM Multidisciplinary Journal

This study presents a multidimensional framework to evaluate the socio-ecological roles (SER) of insects in agrifood systems. Insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services: provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural, while also posing context-specific challenges. Using a transdisciplinary approach, we assessed 120 insect species across four dimensions: Productive Potential, Ecosystem Potential, Use, and Challenges. Unsupervised machine learning identified species clusters that provide useful insights for context-specific management strategies, including conservation, pest/vector control, wild gathering, and farming. While some species consistently perform well across dimensions, others require more localised or tailored approaches. Rather than offering definitive answers, this framework provides a starting point to support more adaptive and inclusive decision-making for sustainable insect use. It contributes to balancing productivity, biodiversity, and cultural relevance, while guiding future research and policy efforts aligned with agri-food system transformation and biodiversity goals.

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) binds to G protein-coupled FSH receptors (FSHR) expressed on ovarian granulosa cells in low abundance. Activation of FSHR leads to granulosa cell proliferation, differentiation and estrogen production. These events are essential for female fertility.  FSHR signaling pathway is highly conserved between mice and humans. Inactivating mutations in FSHR-encoding gene in mice (Fshr -/-) or women result in ovarian folliculogenesis arrest and female infertility. High affinity and highly potent human FSHR-specific single-domain antibody fragments (SDAb) will be tested in a humanized mouse model with ovary-targeted expression of human FSHR transgene on a Fshr null genetic background. This model permits evaluation of several reproducitve outcomes and may prove as an essential in vivo genetic tool to study FSHR-mediated signaling in ovarian granulosa cells.

Despite her status as arguably the most represented historical French female figure in French bandes dessinées, Joan of Arc and her depiction in 9th-art works has never been the subject of a full-length analysis. My work on Joan of Arc’s representation in French bandes dessinées explores the unique function France’s most celebrated medieval heroine plays in the country's popular cultures. In addition to a complete survey of the BD corpus and the conventions typically used to depict Joan, I give special attention to cases where she functions as an iconoclastic figure who challenges the enduring culturally gendered limitations placed on women and nationalist mythology as well as the restrictive conventions of 9th-art artistic forms related to gender, history, and storytelling.

This work is the first of its kind to present a fractional-order learning observer for diagnosing individual battery faults in a battery string. There are no voltage measurements to each individual battery cell on this string; instead, a sensor is mounted at the two ends of the string to measure the total of the voltage values for all cells on the same string. To accurately model a battery cell, the constant phase element is used in the electric circuit model. Because it has the fractional-order characteristic, the battery cell is modeled as a fractional-order system. Based on the fractional-order model of the battery string, a fractional-order learning observer is designed to diagnose the faults from battery controller signals and internal short circuit to achieve industrial risk management. Simulation studies are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed fractional-order learning observer.
 

Since the Renaissance, Western societies have shown a profound fascination with the Middle Ages, and although it is generally assumed that the transmission of the medieval cultural and literary heritage came to an end with the beginning of this new 'age', recent critical advances have demonstrated the enduring presence of medieval literature in the book markets of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. However, the publishing and reading practices that shaped the transmission and reception of this cultural heritage remain largely unexamined. The research project Medieval Lyric Heritage in the French Printing and Bookselling Network (1470-1600): A Bibliographical and Ontological Preliminary Study, supported by the Institute for Advanced Studies LeStudium at the Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (University of Tours), addressed significant methodological challenges and sought to develop an ontology focusing on the circulation of written cultural artefacts in print, with particular emphasis on the reuse of textual, iconographic and material elements within the printing ecosystem.

The European Renaissance saw a deep renewal of the form and content of prayer. Even before the Reformation (whether Protestant or Catholic), the growing role played by lay people, women and men, in the religious sphere created new forms of worship, developing new practices and new texts. The renewal became even more intense during the 16th and 17th centuries, two centuries defined and devastated by changing confessional identities, but also vitalized by the printing press and confraternal activities. The project intended to study, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the changes which took place in this everyday and universal practice in the early modern period. The results offer an important contribution to knowledge on the topic for two reasons: first, it goes beyond existing studies on prayer, which do not go later than the 15th century and are focused on monastic prayer and books of hours; second, because it took into account under-studied aspects, such as domestic practices, the contributions of women, devotional images, books of prayer, catechisms, and parodies, offering a truly new picture that may suggest much further research. Moreover, having involved scholars who specialise in the fields being studied, the results offer an unparalleled academic contribution on the various topics considered.

Insects transport respiratory gases in air-filled tracheal tubes, and a fundamental problem over the past century has been to understand how insects transport gases rapidly enough to support their metabolic rates under highly variables regimes of supply and demand. Here, using a mix of mathematical and physical models, we evaluate the roles that carbon dioxide plays in shaping tracheal structure and function in caterpillars. We first evaluate whether CO2 trapping by midgut fluids drives convective flows of oxygen toward tracheal tips. We then evaluate whether and how CO2 is recycled, via the tracheal system, between the highly alkaline midguts of caterpillars and their acidic hindguts. We conclude that, for caterpillars, there is only weak evidence for CO2-driven convective gas flows. Nevertheless, the models suggest that caterpillars can use convection driven by oxygen absorption to move CO2 rapidly from posterior to anterior parts of the tracheal system. Our results also suggest new approaches to key problems in microfluidics – namely, how to control the movements of gases and liquids within small channels.

In this study, we tackled the challenge of developing modulatory antibodies against G protein-coupled receptors, with a specific focus on the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR), a pivotal regulator of reproduction. Leveraging variable domains of heavy chain-only antibodies (VHHs), we constructed two immune VHH libraries and implemented multiplexed phage display techniques. Our methodology integrated Multiplexed Phage Display, High-Throughput Sequencing, and Functional Assays to identify modulatory VHHs targeting FSHR. Following library construction, next-generation sequencing identified 34 clusters of specifically enriched sequences. These sequences underwent functional assessment in a primary screen based on a cAMP response element (CRE)-dependent reporter gene assay. Impressively, 23 VHHs displayed either negative or positive modulation of FSH-induced responses, indicating a high success rate for the multiplexed strategy. Subsequently, we focused on the largest identified cluster, PRC1, which exhibited positive modulation of FSH action. We provided evidence that PRC1 specifically binds to human FSHR and the FSHR/FSH complex, enhancing FSH-induced cAMP production and Gs recruitment. In conclusion, our study showcases an improved selection strategy that effectively identifies functionally active VHHs and can be adapted to target other challenging membrane receptors. Notably, this investigation led to the discovery of PRC1, the first potential positive modulator VHH reported for the human FSHR.

The present study was conducted to elucidate the connections of modern groundwater pollution to specific munitions materials used and destroyed during and after World War I (WWI).  Large quantities of unexploded munitions are still present in the tunnels and soils of former battlefields. We performed analyses of the isotopic compositions of nitroaromatics, nitrate, and perchlorate in samples of munition and contaminated groundwater collected at three sites along the WWI battlefront in northern France. The isotopic data from these samples indicates a direct connection between the groundwater contamination and the WWI munitions. Potential adverse effects on public health from munitions compounds in groundwater indicate an urgent need for further evaluation of the continuing presence of legacy WWI munitions and their contribution to chronic groundwater pollution in the region.

Ravenala or Traveller's Tree (STRELITZIACEAE) and Litchi (SAPINDACEAE) are two species widely distributed in Madagascar. Particularly, on the one hand, the Litchi fruit is exploited by the local agri-food industry and offers valuable co-products. On the other hand, some part of Ravenala enters the preparation of traditional remedy used by the Malagasy. In this research project focused on the valorisation of plant and co-product, our strategy is to characterize active compounds. Our study consists of developing analytical analysis methods and performing biological tests to identify the active compounds. Since the Institute of Organic and Analytical Chemistry - ICOA UMR7311 is at the cutting edge of technology and has internationally renowned expertise in natural substances for cosmetic uses. Our cooperation can easily meet our objectives. Thus, we would have found in plants widely distributed in Madagascar biosourced ingredients.