Is physician assessment of alcohol consumption useful in predicting risk of severe liver disease among people with HIV and HIV/HCV co-infection?

Background: Alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for liver disease in HIV-infected populations. Therefore, knowledge of alcohol consumption behaviour and risk of disease progression associated with hazardous drinking are important in the overall management of HIV disease. We aimed at assessing the usefulness of routine data collected on alcohol consumption in predicting risk of severe liver disease (SLD) among people living with HIV (PLWHIV) with or without hepatitis C infection seen for routine clinical care in Italy. Methods: We included PLWHIV from two observational cohorts in Italy (ICONA and HepaICONA). Alcohol consumption was assessed by physician interview and categorized according to the National Institute for Food and Nutrition Italian guidelines into four categories: abstainer; moderate; hazardous and unknown. SLD was defined as presence of FIB4 > 3.25 or a clinical diagnosis of liver disease or liver-related death. Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between level of alcohol consumption at baseline and risk of SLD. Results: Among 9542 included PLWHIV the distribution of alcohol consumption categories was: abstainers 3422 (36%), moderate drinkers 2279 (23%), hazardous drinkers 637 (7%) and unknown 3204 (34%). Compared to moderate drinkers, hazardous drinking was associated with higher risk of SLD (adjusted hazard ratio, aHR = 1.45; 95% CI: 1.03-2.03). After additionally controlling for mode of HIV transmission, HCV infection and smoking, the association was attenuated (aHR = 1.32; 95% CI: 0.94-1.85). There was no evidence that the association was stronger when restricting to the HIV/HCV co-infected population. Conclusions: Using a brief physician interview, we found evidence for an association between hazardous alcohol consumption and subsequent risk of SLD among PLWHIV, but this was not independent of HIV mode of transmission, HCV-infection and smoking. More efforts should be made to improve quality and validity of data on alcohol consumption in cohorts of HIV/HCV-infected individuals

SOFT X-RAY SCATTERING IN THE VICINITY OF THE 3d ABSORPTION EDGES OF Ce IN CeO2

Le spectre de diffusion X de CeO2 au voisinage des seuils 3d du Ce presente des structures intenses qul sont situées à une energie légèrement plus élevée que celle des raies correspondantes du spectre de photoabsorption. On discute l'origine de ces structures à la lumiere d'un modèle de potential à double puits.The soft X-ray scattering spectrum of CeO2 in the vicinity of the 3d absorption edges of Ce show intense new features appearing above the positions of the main lines of the corresponding absorption spectrum. The origin of these features is discussed in the light of a double well potential model

NATURE OF 4f ELECTRONS IN Tb OXIDES BY X-RAY ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY

On étudie l'évolution de la valence du Terbium dans les oxydes Tb2O3, Tb4O7 et TbO2 à partir des spectres MIV-V et LIII. Les spectres de Tb4O7 correspondent exactement à la somme pondérée (50%) des spectres de Tb2O3 et de TbO2. L'analyse des spectres de Tb2O3 indique que le dernier électron 4f reste localisé dans la couche 4f. Dans le cas de TbO2 on interprète les structures supplémentaires par la délocalisation de l'electron 4f. Ce comportement spécifique et son influence sur les liaisons dans ces oxydes font l'objet de la discussion.The MIV-V and LIII absorption spectra of Tb2O3, Tb4O7 and TbO2 reveal a clear evolution of Tb valence in these oxides. The Tb4O7 spectra are found to be 50% weighted sum of Tb2O3 and TbO2 individual spectra. These observations indicate that in Tb2O3 the last 4f electron remains localized in the 4f shell whereas it shows a specific behaviour in TbO2. The delocalization of the last 4f electron in TbO2 leads to the observation of complex spectral features. The nature of the 4f electron and its influence on the type of bonding in these oxide is discussed