The prognostic impact of anti-cancer immune response: a novel classification of cancer patients

Until now, the anatomic extent of tumor (TNM classification) has been, by far, the most important factor to predict the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients. However, in recent years, data collected from large cohorts of human cancers demonstrated that the immune contexture of the primary tumors is an essential prognostic factor for patients' disease-free and overall survival. Global analysis of tumor microenvironment showed that the nature, the functional orientation, the density, and the location of adaptive immune cells within distinct tumor regions influence the risk of relapse events. An immune classification of the patients was proposed based on the density and the immune cell location within the tumor. The immune classification has a prognostic value that is superior to the TNM classification, and tumor invasion is statistically dependent on the host immune reaction. Tumor and immunological markers predicted by systems biology methods are involved in the shaping of an efficient immune reaction and can serve as targets for novel therapeutic approaches. Thus, the strength of the immune reaction could advance our understanding of cancer evolution and have important consequences in clinical practice

Energy supply and agricultural specialisation in the settlement frontiers in Southern Amazonia [Approvisionnement energetique et specialisation agricole des regions pionnieres: L'Amazonie meridionale]

International audienceAs the Brazilian energy sector is deregulated, a combination of economic and geographical approaches points up the influence of energy policies on the expansion into the frontier south of the Amazon as a periphery of the economic centre of Sao Paulo. While the role of electricity in agricultural development remains marginal, the remoteness of markets adds a strategic dimension to the price of petroleum fuels: the mitigating effect of rate equalisation on cost-distance is sufficient if the agricultural specialisation is soya bean rather than corn. However, the privatisation of the colonisation process has deprived small-scale colonists of the benefits of the transfer of resources offered by the rate equalisation: forced to regress to primitive forms of power, they are unable to establish themselves permanently

La récupération et l'utilisation de l'eau de pluie en ville : vers une modification de la gestion urbaine de l'eau ?

International audienc

La récupération et l'utilisation de l'eau de pluie en ville : vers une modification de la gestion urbaine de l'eau ?

International audienc

Demand-side management of electricity transmission in French rural areas: Defining macro-scale projects [Maîtrise de la demande d'électricité en milieu rural: Comment délimiter les bassins d'intervention?]

International audienceThe aim of this paper is to define precisely operational zones for the implementation of demand-side management (DSM) programmes for electricity transmission in rural areas. The approach implemented emphasises the geographical aspects of demand without neglecting fundamental aspects pertaining to customer end uses and the low-voltage grid. In France, the grid was extended to rural areas in 1970. However, the current increase in investment needs for the rural grid has prompted the regulatory authorities to promote DSM as a less costly alternative to grid reinforcement. Among the determinants of electricity demand and its increase, the geographical context seems preponderant. It encompasses the natural environment and local population trends resulting from changing lifestyles. To take this into account, a classification based on Gaussian mixture models and integrating spatial constraints of the neighbouring area can be used to identify areas of high electricity consumption