Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: Mammalian spermatogenesis is a process that involves a complex expression program in both somatic and germ cells present in the male gonad. A number of studies have attempted to define the transcriptome of male meiosis and gametogenesis in rodents and primates. Few human transcripts, however, have been associated with testicular somatic cells and germ cells at different post-natal developmental stages and little is known about their level of germline-specificity compared with non-testicular tissues. METHODS: We quantified human transcripts using GeneChips and a total of 47 biopsies from prepubertal children diagnosed with undescended testis, infertile adult patients whose spermatogenesis is arrested at consecutive stages and fertile control individuals. These results were integrated with data from enriched normal germ cells, non-testicular expression data, phenotype information, predicted regulatory DNA-binding motifs and interactome data. RESULTS: Among 3580 genes for which we found differential transcript concentrations in somatic and germ cells present in human testis, 933 were undetectable in 45 embryonic and adult non-testicular tissues, including many that were corroborated at protein level by published gene annotation data and histological high-throughput protein immunodetection assays. Using motif enrichment analyses, we identified regulatory promoter elements likely involved in germline development. Finally, we constructed a regulatory disease network for human fertility by integrating expression signals, interactome information, phenotypes and functional annotation data. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide broad insight into the post-natal human testicular transcriptome at the level of cell populations and in a global somatic tissular context. Furthermore, they yield clues for genetic causes of male infertility and will facilitate the identification of novel cancer/testis genes as targets for cancer immunotherapies.
ISSN: 0268-1161

hal-00877243
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00877243
DOI : 10.1093/humrep/des301
PUBMED : 22926843

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Liver X Receptors (LXRs) α and β and the Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor α (PPARα) are transcription factors that belong to class II nuclear receptors. They drive the expression of genes involved in hepatic lipid homeostasis and therefore are important targets for the prevention and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). LXRs and PPARα are regulated by endogenous ligands, oxysterols and fatty acid derived molecules, respectively. In the liver, pharmacological activation of LXRs leads to the over-expression of genes involved in de novo lipogenesis, while PPARα is critical for fatty acid catabolism in nutrient deprivation. Even if these two nuclear receptors seemed to play opposite parts, recent studies have highlighted that PPARα also influence the expression of genes involved in fatty acids synthesis. In this study, we used pharmacological approaches and genetically engineered mice to investigate the cross-talk between LXRs and PPARα in the regulation of genes responsible for lipogenesis. We first investigated the effect of T0901317 and fenofibrate, two synthetic agonists of LXRs and PPARα, respectively. As expected, T0901317 and fenofibrate induce expression of genes involved LXR-dependent and PPARα-dependent lipogenic responses. Considering such overlapping effect, we then tested whether LXR agonist may influence PPARα driven response and vice versa. We show that the lack of PPARα does not influence the effects of T0901317 on lipogenic genes expression. However, PPARα deficiency prevents the up-regulation of genes involved in ω-hydroxylation that are induced by the LXR agonist. In addition, over-expression of lipogenic genes in response to fenofibrate is decreased in LXR knockout mice as well as the expression of PPARα target genes involved in fatty acid oxidation. Altogether, our work provides in vivo evidence for a central interconnection between nuclear receptors that drive hepatic lipid metabolism in response to oxysterol and fatty acids.
ISSN: 0300-9084

inserm-00872582
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00872582
DOI : 10.1016/j.biochi.2012.09.028
PUBMED : 23063693

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Tilt fluctuations can potentially reflect the response of hydrosystems to important rainfall. In this context, long baseline tiltmeters have been installed in an underground tunnel penetrating the Fontaine de Vaucluse karst to study the medium deformation related to solicitations exerted by water infiltrating the hydrosystem. The instruments monitor the tilt as well as its spatial variation. Northward tilts reaching a 1 μrad amplitude are observed consecutively to rainfalls. The tilt amplitude is highly correlated with the Fontaine de Vaucluse outlet flow fluctuations. The measured tilt signal is also relatively homogeneous over a 150 m length. Different types of structure likely to produce such observations are tested in order to identify their location with respect to the tiltmeters, their dimension as well as the amount of water level variation in the structure. Following rainfalls, the infiltration of water modifies the pore pressure, inducing a medium deformation. The hypothesis of an homogeneous surface loading on the Vaucluse plateau is first refuted since the related tilt is much lower than the one measured. The water supplied by rainfalls has to accumulate in discontinuities in order to generate a higher tilt. So, the deformation related to a pressure exerted on a fracture filled by water is assessed. A first study reveals the interest of the tilt homogeneity information that constrains strongly the fracture properties. Thus, the fracture must be located at a distance more than a few hundreds metres from the tiltmeters in order to produce a tilt homogeneous in space. If the fracture is initially dry, it must also be filled on a height higher than 150 m consecutive to a rainfall in order to generate a tilt amplitude in the same magnitude as the one measured. Then, we explore the influence of water level variations on the tilt produced by a fracture located at the interface between the saturated and unsaturated zones, which are thereby permanently flooded. Since several parameters of that model satisfactorily explain the field observations, we discuss how simultaneous geodetical observations could provide complementary information that would further constrain the geometry of the structure at the origin of the medium deformation.
ISSN: 0956-540X

insu-01408482
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01408482
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01408482/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01408482/file/Lesparre-2017.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/gji/ggw446

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Cumulative human impacts have led to the degradation of marine ecosystems and thedecline of biodiversity in the European and contiguous seas. Effective conservationmeasures are urgently needed to reverse these trends. Conservation must entail societalchoices, underpinned by human values and worldviews that differ between the countriesbordering these seas. Social, economic and political heterogeneity adds to the challenge ofbalancing conservation with sustainable use of the seas. Comprehensive macro-regionalcoordination is needed to ensure effective conservation of marine ecosystems andbiodiversity of this region. Under the European Union Horizon 2020 framework programme,the MarCons COST action aims to promote collaborative research to support marinemanagement, conservation planning and policy development. This will be achieved bydeveloping novel methods and tools to close knowledge gaps and advance marineconservation science. This action will provide support for the development of macro-regional and national policies through six key actions: to develop tools to analysecumulative human impacts; to identify critical scientific and technical gaps in conservationefforts; to improve the resilience of the marine environment to global change and biologicalinvasions; to develop frameworks for integrated conservation planning across terrestrial,freshwater, and marine environments; to coordinate marine conservation policy acrossnational boundaries; and to identify effective governance approaches for marine protectedarea management. Achieving the objectives of these actions will facilitate the integration ofmarine conservation policy into macro-regional maritime spatial planning agendas for theEuropean and contiguous seas, thereby offsetting the loss of biodiversity and ecosystemservices in this region.
Research Ideas and Outcomes

hal-01474085
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01474085
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01474085/document
https://hal-univ-perp.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01474085/file/RIO_article_11884.pdf
DOI : 10.3897/rio.3.e11884

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
We propose in this paper a new online Multi-UserMulti-Touch handwritten diagram DataBase (MUMTDB) forevaluating recognition systems under the multi-user situation.The data is collected according to two predefined mind mapscenarios which contains 9 classes of graphical symbols. Eachscenario is completed by involving two users at the same time.Since the users are given freedom to draw the symbols asthey want, the dataset contains a diversity of multi-stroke andeven multi-touch symbols. It allows addressing new challengingproblems regarding the recognition of simultaneous composition of structured documents. The dataset is freely availableon-line.
International Conference on Frontiers in Handwriting Recognition (ICFHR)
Shenzhen, China

hal-01374376
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01374376

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD ENS Lyon
Résumé : National audience
Nous exploitons une figure géométrique à travers la construction d'activités à des niveaux différents d'enseignement. Le premier paragraphe expose le problème initial et montre, par la variété des moyens mis en oeuvre, comment il est possible d'adapter l'activité à une classe donnée. Les deux paragraphes suivants relatent des expérimentations en classe et proposent une réécriture de l'activité pour le collège à l'aide d'un treillage. La fin de l'article propose des prolongements et des généralisations.
ISSN: 0755-7817

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
hal-00771005
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00771005
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00771005/document
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00771005/file/ArticleIREMdelannaymercier2000.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
According to the World Health Organization, around 20% of all cancers would be due to environmental factors. Among these factors, several chemicals are indeed well recognized carcinogens. The widespread contaminant benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), an often used model carcinogen of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons' family, has been suggested to target most, if not all, cancer hallmarks described by Hanahan and Weinberg. It is classified as a group I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer; however, the precise intracellular mechanisms underlying its carcinogenic properties remain yet to be thoroughly defined. Recently, the pH homeostasis, a well known regulator of carcinogenic processes, was suggested to be a key actor in both cell death and Warburg-like metabolic reprogramming induced upon B[a]P exposure. The present review will highlight those data with the aim of favoring research on the role of H + dynamics in environmental carcinogenesis.
ISSN: 1044-579X

hal-01531077
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01531077
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01531077/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01531077/file/Hardonniere%20et%20al.%20-%20Environmental%20carcinogenesis%20and%20pH%20homeostasis%20n.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.semcancer.2017.01.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Porous thin films considered for applications like separation, sensing and microelectronic have to sustain mechanical stresses during their integration process or in working conditions. Thanks to recent progress in processing methods, it is now possible to precisely control the porosity and combine ordered mesopores with randomly-distributed macropores to achieve hierarchically porous materials. The mechanical properties of thin films containing different types of porosity (ordered meso, random macro and hierarchical) have been investigated by means of nanoindentation. In particular a method recently proposed by Li and Vlassak (H. Li, J.J. Vlassak, Journal of Materials Research 24 (2009) 1114-1126) is applied to account for the substrate effect. Residual indent impressions were imaged by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to provide some insights in the mechanical behavior of the films. In addition, experimental indentation moduli are compared to theoretical predictions obtained via Finite Element (FE) analysis. The different porous structures have been modeled by FE to obtain the effective elastic properties from which the indentation modulus can be inferred. Finally, the experimental-model differences are discussed. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 1387-1811

hal-01683194
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01683194
DOI : 10.1016/j.micromeso.2010.09.004

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Météo et Climat
Résumé : International audience
Le premier volet du projet Cyprim vise à mieux identifier les précurseurs des cyclogenèses et des précipitations intenses en région méditerranéenne. Cet article en présente les principaux résultats. Il est question des ingrédients météorologiques à l'origine de ces systèmes, de la grande à la mésoéchelle, des causes des fortes intensités, localisations et parfois stationnarité des récipitations associées. Le coeur de l'article présente des méthodes d'identification des anomalies de tourbillon potentiel liées à l'occurrence d'événements précipitants intenses et dresse une climatologie de ces anomalies. Les perspectives d'exploitation de cette information pour améliorer la qualité des prévisions sont évoquées. ENGLISH VERSION: The first part of the CYPRIM project (Cyclogenesis and intense precipitations in the Mediterranean region) aims at a better identification of the precursor structures of cyclogenesis and heavy precipitation in the Mediterranean region. This article presents the main results. It mentions the meteorological ingredients from which these systems originate from the large to themesoscale, the reasons for large intensities, the localization and sometimes stationarity of the associated precipitations. The heart of the article shows methods for identifiying potential vorticity anomalies involved in the occurrence of heavy precipitation events and sets up a climatology of these anomalies.The perspectives of the usefulness of this information for improving forecast quality are discussed.
ISSN: 0026-1181

insu-00448250
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00448250
DOI : 10.4267/2042/28828

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Nutrients influence non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Essential fatty acids deficiency promotes various syndromes, including hepatic steatosis, through increased de novo lipogenesis. The mechanisms underlying such increased lipogenic response remain unidentified. METHODS: We used wild type mice and mice lacking Liver X Receptors to perform a nutrigenomic study that aimed at examining the role of these transcription factors. RESULTS: We showed that, in the absence of Liver X Receptors, essential fatty acids deficiency does not promote steatosis. Consistent with this, Liver X Receptors are required for the elevated expression of genes involved in lipogenesis in response to essential fatty acids deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: This work identifies, for the first time, the central role of Liver X Receptors in steatosis induced by essential fatty acids deficiency.
ISSN: 0168-8278

inserm-00872314
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00872314
DOI : 10.1016/j.jhep.2013.01.006
PUBMED : 23333450

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Few studies have been undertaken to assess the possible effects of bisphenol A (BPA) on the reproductive hormone balance in animals or humans with often contradictory results. We investigated possible direct endocrine disruption by BPA of the fetal testes of 2 rat strains (14.5-17.5 days post-coitum) and humans (8-12 gestational weeks) and under different culture conditions. BPA concentrations of 10-8M and 10-5M for 72h reduced testosterone production by the Sprague-Dawley fetal rat testes, while only 10-5M suppressed it in the Wistar strain. The suppressive effects at 10-5M were seen as early as 24h and 48h in both strains. BPA at 10-7-10-5M for 72h suppressed the levels of fetal rat Leydig cell insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3). BPA exposure at 10-8M, 10-7M, and 10-5M for 72h inhibited testosterone production in fetal human testes. For the lowest doses, the effects observed occurred only when no gonadotrophin was added to the culture media and were associated with a poorly preserved testicular morphology. We concluded that (i) BPA can display anti-androgenic effects both in rat and human fetal testes; (ii) it is essential to ascertain that the divergent effects of endocrine disruptors between species in vitro do not result from the culture conditions used, and/or the rodent strain selected; (iii) the optimization of each in vitro assay for a given species should be a major objective rather than the search of an hypothetical trans-species consensual model-system, as the organization of the testis is intrinsically different between mammalian species; (iv) due to the uncertainty existing on the internal exposure of the human fetal testis to BPA, and the insufficient number of epidemiological studies on the endocrine disruptive effects of BPA, caution should be taken in the extrapolation of our present results to the human reproductive health after fetal exposure to BPA.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01121759
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01121759
PUBMED : 25706302
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0117226

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
ISSN: 1874-3900

hal-01152699
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01152699
DOI : 10.1016/j.phytol.2015.03.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: The use of pesticides and the related environmental contaminations can lead to human exposure to various molecules. In early-life, such exposures could be responsible for adverse developmental effects. However, human health risks associated with exposure to complex mixtures are currently under-explored. OBJECTIVE: THIS PROJECT AIMS AT ANSWERING THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: What is the influence of exposures to multiple pesticides on the metabolome? What mechanistic pathways could be involved in the metabolic changes observed? METHODS: Based on the PELAGIE cohort (Brittany, France), 83 pregnant women who provided a urine sample in early pregnancy, were classified in 3 groups according to the surface of land dedicated to agricultural cereal activities in their town of residence. Nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics analyses were performed on urine samples. Partial Least Squares Regression-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) and polytomous regressions were used to separate the urinary metabolic profiles from the 3 exposure groups after adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: The 3 groups of exposure were correctly separated with a PLS-DA model after implementing an orthogonal signal correction with pareto standardizations (R2 = 90.7% and Q2 = 0.53). After adjusting for maternal age, parity, body mass index and smoking habits, the most statistically significant changes were observed for glycine, threonine, lactate and glycerophosphocholine (upward trend), and for citrate (downward trend). CONCLUSION: This work suggests that an exposure to complex pesticide mixtures induces modifications of metabolic fingerprints. It can be hypothesized from identified discriminating metabolites that the pesticide mixtures could increase oxidative stress and disturb energy metabolism.
ISSN: 1932-6203

inserm-00863407
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00863407
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00863407/document
http://www.hal.inserm.fr/inserm-00863407/file/journal.pone.0064433.pdf
PUBMED : 23704985

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), the prototype molecule of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, exhibits genotoxic and carcinogenic effects, which has led the International Agency for Research on Cancer to recognize it as a human carcinogen. Besides the well-known apoptotic signals triggered by B[a]P, survival signals have also been suggested to occur, both signals likely involved in cancer promotion. Our previous work showed that B[a]P induced an hyperpolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) in rat hepatic epithelial F258 cells. Elevated ΔΨm plays a role in tumor development and progression, and nitric oxide (NO) has been suggested to be responsible for increases in ΔΨm. The present study therefore aimed at evaluating the impact of B[a]P on NO level in F258 cells, and at testing the putative role for NO as a survival signal, notably in link with ΔΨm. Our data demonstrated that B[a]P exposure resulted in an NO production which was dependent upon the activation of the inducible NO synthase. This enzyme activation involved AhR and possibly p53 activation. Preventing NO production not only increased B[a]P-induced cell death but also blocked mitochondrial hyperpolarization. This therefore points to a role for NO as a survival signal upon B[a]P exposure, possibly targeting ΔΨm
ISSN: 0887-2333

hal-01163757
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01163757
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01163757/document
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01163757/file/Benzo%5Ba%5Dpyrene-induced%20nitric.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.tiv.2015.06.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
This paper deals with the study of the kinematic dimension of scribbling activities executed by kindergarten children aged from 3 to 6 years old from three grades. For this purpose, three sigma-lognormal features, six classical ones and one hybrid feature related to visuo-motor skills are extracted from scribbles realized using five different Type Grib. The statistical analysis of these data illustrates that sigma-lognormal modeling can satisfactorily reconstruct kindergarten children’s scribbles. Moreover, this preliminary study confirms that there are significant differences between grades with respect to six of the features we studied, regardless of the nature of the scribbling movement made by children. These features are related to rapidity, fluidity and precision of linear and curvilinear movements used for scribbling tasks.
17th Biennial Conference of the International Graphonomics Society
Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe

hal-01165910
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01165910
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01165910/document
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01165910/file/IGS_2015_submission_28.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The chemical investigations of Dicorynia guianensis heartwood led to the isolation of four new indole alkaloids for the first time in this plant. Compound (1) identified as spiroindolone 20,30,40,90-tetrahydrospiro [indoline-3,10pyrido[3,4-b]-indol]-2-one, and compound (3) described as nitrone 1-methyl-4,9-dihydro-3H-pyrido [3,4-b] indole 2-oxide and were isolated for the first time as natural products. ABTS antioxidant activity guided their isolation.
ISSN: 1874-3900

hal-01138910
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01138910
DOI : 10.1016/j.phytol.2015.03

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : International audience
Little is known of how linkage patterns between species change along environmental gradients. The small, spatially discrete food webs inhabiting tank-bromeliads provide an excellent opportunity to analyse patterns of community diversity and food-web topology (connectance, linkage density, nestedness) in relation to key environmental variables (habitat size, detrital resource, incident radiation) and predators: prey ratios. We sampled 365 bromeliads in a wide range of understorey environments in French Guiana and used gut contents of invertebrates to draw the corresponding 365 connectance webs. At the bromeliad scale, habitat size (water volume) determined the number of species that constitute food-web nodes, the proportion of predators, and food-web topology. The number of species as well as the proportion of predators within bromeliads declined from open to forested habitats, where the volume of water collected by bromeliads was generally lower because of rainfall interception by the canopy. A core group of microorganisms and generalist detritivores remained relatively constant across environments. This suggests that (i) a highly-connected core ensures food-web stability and key ecosystem functions across environments, and (ii) larger deviations in food-web structures can be expected following disturbance if detritivores share traits that determine responses to environmental changes. While linkage density and nestedness were lower in bromeliads in the forest than in open areas, experiments are needed to confirm a trend for lower food-web stability in the understorey of primary forests.
PLoS ONE

hal-00913931
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00913931
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00913931/document
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0071735
OATAO : 10204

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : Intraguild predation (IGP) is a type of biological interaction involving the killing and consuming of competing species that exploit similar and often limited resources. This phenomenon is widespread among a great variety of taxonomic groups and has already been reported for mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae. Moreover, the larvae of certain mosquito species of the tribe Sabethini have evolved modified mouthparts ending in rigid apical structures signaling their capacity to be effective intraguild predators. We assumed that IGP confers a selective advantage under severe competitive conditions by both providing an immediate energetic gain and reducing potential competition. Because potential competition is likely to increase with decreasing habitat size, we hypothesized that the proportion of species with modified mouthparts would increase in smaller aquatic habitats. We tested this hypothesis by examining the mosquito species naturally associated with phytotelmata of decreasing sizes in French Guiana. We show that the degree of specialization in mosquito-phytotelm associations is high, suggesting a long coevolutive process. Indeed, short-term interaction experiments confirmed that species with modified mouthparts are able to prey upon similarly-sized intraguild prey and are, thus, effective intraguild predators. In addition, these species are larger and associated with smaller phytotelmata than those with typical mouthparts. Moreover, below a certain threshold of phytotelm size, only species with modified mouthparts were present. These results show that IGP confers a selective advantage under severe competitive conditions and results from the coadaptation of mosquito species to their specific phytotelm habitat. The presence of functionally analogous structures in different mosquito genera also implies that IGP has emerged from convergent evolution in small phytotelmata.
ISSN: 0269-7653

hal-01603304
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01603304
DOI : 10.1007/s10682-016-9862-3
PRODINRA : 405771

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
ISSN: 0029-8549

hal-00524665
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00524665

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : This paper develops a two-way director-firm fixed effect model to study the relationship between independent directors’ individual heterogeneity and firm operating performance, using French data. This strategy allows considering and differentiating in a unified empirical framework mechanisms related to board functioning and mechanisms related to director selection. We first show that the independence status, netted out unobservable individual heterogeneity, is negatively related to performance. This result suggests that independent board members experience a strong informational gap that outweighs other monitoring benefits. However, we show that industry-specific expertise as well as informal connections inside the boardroom may help to bridge this gap. Second, we provide evidence that independent directors have higher intrinsic ability as compared to affiliated board members, consistent with a reputation-based selection process.
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01060211

hal-01060211
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01060211
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01060211v2/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01060211/file/cahier%202014-29.pdf