Information for decision-making is ubiquitous: Revisiting the reverse engineering mode in breadmaking technology

International audienceThis paper deals with the process of decision making in the reverse engineering mode and highlights the need for polyvalent information. Three aspects are considered. 1) Reverse engineering implies a preliminary assumption: having defined a desired outcome of the decision process. Defining goals on the possible outcomes is a complex, multi-actor process based on ubiquitous information. Once identified at best, several alternative scenarios may lead to the desired outcome. The first issue consists in evaluating these alternative scenarios. 2) While taking into consideration the positive consequences that the different alternatives will generate, the decision process has to allow for possible negative impacts, which are not explicitly expressed in the defined goals. We thus consider the reverse engineering process has to be bipolar and take rejections into account. 3) Finally, the simultaneous achievement (respectively, avoidance) of several goals (respectively, rejections) is not always possible and depends, in particular, on whether the actions leading to each of these goals (respectively avoiding these rejections) are compatible or not. We thus seek the " best " compatible set of actions and propose to define it as optimizing the bipolar preferences expressed on the outcomes. The approach is both graphical and logical and is focused on a case study in breadmaking technology

Pulmonary epidermoid carcinoma in a patient with acromegaly: a rare entity

A 56-years-old woman was referred to our unit for partially treated acromegaly. She had a high level of insulin growth factor. She did not complain of any pulmonary symptoms and was a non-smoker. Physical examination revealed clinical features of acromegaly. She had a 13 mm pituitary adenoma and was proposed for surgical intervention. Her chest X-ray showed a right paracardiac tumor. Computed tomography scan revealed a large right-sided fowler tumor. Pituitary surgery was cancelled and lobectomy after biopsy with lymph nodes excision was performed through thoracotomy. Histological study of the tumor revealed a medium differentiated epidermoid carcinoma with positive lymph nodes and extension to pleura. She was referred to chemotherapy protocol. Association between carcinoma and acromegaly has previously been reported. Most common tumors are colorectal and thyroid neoplasia. As we see in this case report, we need to consider other carcinomas in acromegalic patients like pulmonary carcinoma, despite their rarity in women.Pan African Medical Journal 2012; 12:2

Primary tumor-induced immunity eradicates disseminated tumor cells in syngeneic mouse model

WOS: 000462721900029PubMed ID: 30926774Although clinically apparent metastasis is associated with late stages of cancer development, micro-metastatic dissemination may be an early event. However, the fate of these early disseminated tumor cells (DTC) remains elusive. We show that despite their capacity to disseminate into secondary organs, 4T1 tumor models develop overt metastasis while EMT6-tumor bearing mice clear DTCs shed from primary tumors as well as those introduced by intravenous (IV) injection. Following the surgical resection of primary EMT6 tumors, mice do not develop detectable metastasis and reject IV-injected tumor cells. In contrast, these cells readily grow and metastasize in immuno-deficient athymic or Rag2(-/- )mice, an effect mimicked by CD8(+) T-cell depletion in immunocompetent mice. Furthermore, recombinant G-CSF or adoptive transfer of granulocytic-MDSCs isolated from 4T1 tumor-bearing mice, induce metastasis by suppressing CD8(+) T-cells in EMT6-primed mice. Our studies support the concept of immune surveillance providing molecular insights into the immune mechanisms during tumor progression.Georgia Cancer Center; Forbes Institute research fund; Bridge Fund by Augusta University Research Inc.; American Cancer Society Institutional fundWe gratefully acknowledge the generous help from Flow Cytometry, Genomics Core facilities, and Labaratory of Animal Services. We thank Drs. Rafi Ahmed and Paulo C. Rodriguez for insightful discussions and comments, Dr. Iskander Asm for for helping with and training of our staff on the tail vein injections. This work was supported by start up funds to H.K. by Georgia Cancer Center. Additional research fundings to H.K. provided by American Cancer Society Institutional fund, Forbes Institute research fund, and Bridge Fund by Augusta University Research Inc

Stress biology:Complexity and multifariousness in health and disease

Preserving and regulating cellular homeostasis in the light of changing environmental conditions or developmental processes is of pivotal importance for single cellular and multicellular organisms alike. To counteract an imbalance in cellular homeostasis transcriptional programs evolved, called the heat shock response, unfolded protein response, and integrated stress response, that act cell-autonomously in most cells but in multicellular organisms are subjected to cell-nonautonomous regulation. These transcriptional programs downregulate the expression of most genes but increase the expression of heat shock genes, including genes encoding molecular chaperones and proteases, proteins involved in the repair of stress-induced damage to macromolecules and cellular structures. Sixty-one years after the discovery of the heat shock response by Ferruccio Ritossa, many aspects of stress biology are still enigmatic. Recent progress in the understanding of stress responses and molecular chaperones was reported at the 12th International Symposium on Heat Shock Proteins in Biology, Medicine and the Environment in the Old Town Alexandria, VA, USA from 28th to 31st of October 2023.</p

Association of Spermatogenic Failure with the b2/b3 Partial AZFc Deletion

Infertility affects around 1 in 10 men and in most cases the cause is unknown. The Y chromosome plays an important role in spermatogenesis and specific deletions of this chromosome, the AZF deletions, are associated with spermatogenic failure. Recently partial AZF deletions have been described but their association with spermatogenic failure is unclear. Here we screened a total of 339 men with idiopathic spermatogenic failure, and 256 normozoospermic ancestry-matched men for chromosome microdeletions including AZFa, AZFb, AZFc, and the AZFc partial deletions (gr/gr, b1/b3 and b2/b3)

Clinical experience with insulin detemir, biphasic insulin aspart and insulin aspart in people with type 2 diabetes: Results from the Casablanca cohort of the A 1 chieve study

Background: The A 1 chieve, a multicentric (28 countries), 24-week, non-interventional study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of insulin detemir, biphasic insulin aspart and insulin aspart in people with T2DM (n = 66,726) in routine clinical care across four continents. Materials and Methods: Data was collected at baseline, at 12 weeks and at 24 weeks. This short communication presents the results for patients enrolled from Casablanca, Morocco. Results: A total of 495 patients were enrolled in the study. Four different insulin analogue regimens were used in the study. Study patients had started on or were switched to biphasic insulin aspart (n = 231), insulin detemir (n = 151), insulin aspart (n = 19), basal insulin plus insulin aspart (n = 53) and other insulin combinations (n = 41). At baseline glycaemic control was poor for both insulin naïve (mean HbA 1 c: 10.2%) and insulin user (mean HbA 1 c: 9.4%) groups. After 24 weeks of treatment, both groups showed improvement in HbA 1 c (insulin naïve: −2.3%, insulin users: −1.8%). Major hypoglycaemia was observed in the insulin naïve group after 24 weeks. SADRs were reported in 1.2% of insulin naïve and 2.1% of insulin user groups. Conclusion: Starting or switching to insulin analogues was associated with improvement in glycaemic control with a low rate of hypoglycaemia

Approche standard et expérimentale pour le contrôle avancé appliqué à la cryogénie

Cette thèse présente la problématique des modèles et des systèmes de contrôle appliqués à certaines installations cryogéniques utilisées au CERN et exploite l'expérience accumulée pendant plus de dix ans lors de la construction, du développement et de la mise en route des installations cryogéniques du LHC. La première partie introduit (i) les bases de la cryogénie, tels les fluides cryogéniques, la théorie de transfert de chaleur, le concept de thermodynamique, (ii) les installations de test cryogéniques et les détecteurs au CERN. La deuxième partie donne une vue d'ensemble des techniques standards utilisées pour l'identification du système et la conception des lois de commande. La troisième partie présente une nouvelle approche théorique à la modélisation et au contrôle pour des systèmes cryogéniques à grande échelle, dont la formulation est appliquée sur le condensateur liquide à Krypton de l'expérience NA62. Premièrement, un modèle est dérivé d'équations de bilan sous la forme d'équations différentielles ordinaires (ODE) qui décrivent le flux de masse et le transfert de chaleur entre des fluides cryogéniques. La phase de modélisation est suivie d'une proposition d'une stratégie de contrôle avancé, le Time Delay Control, dont les performances, obtenues en simulation, est présentée en comparant avec les performances d'une boucle de régulation plus traditionnelle (correction PID). L'implémentation de la solution proposée a demandé une phase d'analyse plus approfondie afin d'estimer statistiquement les délais de communication rencontrés lors de la mise en marche du système ainsi contrôlé. La quatrième partie présente les principes de programmation et les outils informatiques actuellement utilisés au CERN pour gérer les installations cryogéniques.Pour terminer l'étude, des conclusions sont données à partir du travail théorique et pratique présenté avec une vue d'ensemble des nouvelles perspectives ouvertes par celui-ci.This thesis deals with the problem of modeling and control applied to some of the cryogenic plants currently used at CERN, and exploits the experience accumulated over more than ten years on the construction, deployment and operation of the LHC cryogenic installations. The first chapter introduces (i) the basics of cryogenics, such as cryogenic fluids, heat transfer theory, concepts of thermodynamics, and (ii) cryogenic test facilities and detectors at CERN. The second chapter gives an overview of the standard techniques used for system identification and control design. The third chapter presents a novel theoretical approach to modeling and control for large scale cryogenic systems, whose formulation is applied to the liquid Krypton condenser of the NA62 experiment. First, a model is derived from balance equations in the form of ordinary differential equations (ODE) describing the mass flow and the heat transfer between cryogenic fluids. The modeling phase is followed by the proposal of an advanced control strategy, the Time Delay Control, whose performances obtained in simulation are presented in comparison with those of a more traditional PID-based control loop, thus showing the improvement allowed by the new approach. The implementation of the proposed solution required a further phase of analysis in order to statistically estimate the communication time delays usually encountered during the operation of the system under control. The results of these analyses are also presented. The fourth chapter presents the programming paradigm and the software tools currently used at CERN to handle the cryogenic plants. The thesis ends with the discussion of the conclusions drawn by the theoretical and practical work presented in the previous parts, along with an overview of the new perspectives it has opened.AMIENS-BU Sciences (800212103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Prise en charge des patients diabétiques au cours du jeûne du Ramadan: application des recommandations internationales en pratique clinique

Le jeûne n´est pas sans risques chez les patients diabétiques. L´objectif de notre étude est d´évaluer l´impact du jeûne chez une cohorte de patients diabétiques ayant bénéficié d´une préparation au jeûne avec ajustement des traitements selon les recommandations de l´association américaine du diabète (ADA) en 2010. Il s´agit d´une étude prospective de cohorte menée en 2014, incluant des patients diabétiques désirants jeûner au cours du mois de Ramadan consentant pour participer à l´étude. Nous avons exclu les patients considérés comme à très haut risque selon la classification de l´ADA. Les patients ont bénéficié d´une consultation avant le mois du Ramadan (J0) comprenant éducation et ajustement du traitement, suivi d´une consultation au cours du Ramadan (J7) puis à J30 et à J60. Notre étude a inclus 34 patients, dont 60% sont des femmes, d´âge moyen de 50,4 ans avec une ancienneté moyenne du diabète de 6,2 ans et un index de masse corporelle (IMC) moyen de 27,83 kg/m2. Les ajustements thérapeutiques réalisés (J0) étaient une diminution de la dose de sulfamides hypoglycémiants (SH) et la mise sous gliptine chez les patients à risque hypoglycémique, ainsi qu´une répartition de la dose de metformine. Au cours de la première semaine (J7), deux patients ont présenté une glycémie inférieure à 0,7g/l avant la rupture du jeûne, 38% de l´échantillon ont présenté une glycémie &gt;2g/l après la rupture du jeûne. Nous avons noté des erreurs diététiques chez 15% des patients. L´ajustement à (J7) a consisté à adapter la dose du SH ou à ajouter une gliptine. Aucun patient n´a présenté d´hyperglycémie majeure, de cétose ou d´hypoglycémie grave. Une patiente a présenté une arythmie complète par fibrillation atriale (ACFA) sur cardiopathie ischémique méconnu avec arrêt du jeûne. Trois patients ont arrêté le jeûne entre J15 et J20 devant une asthénie intense sans déséquilibre glycémique. La moyenne d´HBA1C chez les patients après le jeûne était de 7,10 versus 6,8% avant le jeûne (p=0.42). Les facteurs significativement associés au déséquilibre glycémique après le jeûne avec des HBA1C &gt; à 8% étaient principalement les taux d´HBA1C de départ (p=0.002), l´absence d´autosurveillance (p=0.01), et l´ancienneté du diabète (p=0.06). Une bonne évaluation du niveau de risque du patient, une éducation thérapeutique, une autosurveillance glycémique et un ajustement du traitement selon les recommandations internationales, permettent aux patients diabétiques musulmans de diminuer le risque lié au jeûne. Néanmoins une consultation au cours du Ramadan (J7) permet une correction des erreurs diététiques et un ajustement thérapeutique si cela est nécessaire