The Role of PIVKA-II as a Predictor of Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence-Free Survival after Liver Transplantation in a Low Alpha-Fetoprotein Population

Introduction: AFP and the RETREAT score are currently used to predict HCC recurrence after LT. However, superior discriminating models are needed for low AFP populations. The aim of this study is to investigate the predictive value of PIVKA-II on recurrence-free survival after LT in a low AFP population and microvascular invasion on explant. Methods: A retrospective cohort study including all consecutive patients transplanted for HCC between 1989 and 2019 in the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was used. AFP and PIVKA-II levels were determined in serum samples collected at the time of transplantation. Data on tumor load and microvascular invasion were retrieved from patients’ records. Results: The study cohort consisted of 121 patients, with HCC recurrence in 15 patients (12.4%). The median AFP was 7.7 ng/mL (4.4–20.2), and the median PIVKA-II was 72.0 mAU/mL (41.0–213.5). Patients with low AFP (≤8 ng/mL) and PIVKA-II (≤90 mAU/mL) had a 5-year recurrence-free survival of 100% compared to 85.7% in patients with low AFP and high PIVKA-II (p = 0.026). Regardless of the AFP level, patients within the Milan criteria (based on explant pathology) with a low PIVKA-II level had a 5-year recurrence-free survival of 100% compared to patients with a high PIVKA-II level of 81.1% (p = 0.002). In patients with microvascular invasion, the AUC for PIVKA-II was slightly better than the AUC for AFP (0.775 vs. 0.687). Conclusions: The dual model of PIVKA-II ≤ 90 mAU/mL with either AFP ≤ 8 ng/mL or with patients within the Milan criteria identifies patient groups which can be exempted from HCC surveillance after LT in a low AFP population. PIVKA-II may be a better predictor for explant microvascular invasion than AFP and could play a role in future models identifying LT candidates with the highest risk for HCC recurrence.</p

The Role of PIVKA-II as a Predictor of Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence-Free Survival after Liver Transplantation in a Low Alpha-Fetoprotein Population

Introduction: AFP and the RETREAT score are currently used to predict HCC recurrence after LT. However, superior discriminating models are needed for low AFP populations. The aim of this study is to investigate the predictive value of PIVKA-II on recurrence-free survival after LT in a low AFP population and microvascular invasion on explant. Methods: A retrospective cohort study including all consecutive patients transplanted for HCC between 1989 and 2019 in the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was used. AFP and PIVKA-II levels were determined in serum samples collected at the time of transplantation. Data on tumor load and microvascular invasion were retrieved from patients’ records. Results: The study cohort consisted of 121 patients, with HCC recurrence in 15 patients (12.4%). The median AFP was 7.7 ng/mL (4.4–20.2), and the median PIVKA-II was 72.0 mAU/mL (41.0–213.5). Patients with low AFP (≤8 ng/mL) and PIVKA-II (≤90 mAU/mL) had a 5-year recurrence-free survival of 100% compared to 85.7% in patients with low AFP and high PIVKA-II (p = 0.026). Regardless of the AFP level, patients within the Milan criteria (based on explant pathology) with a low PIVKA-II level had a 5-year recurrence-free survival of 100% compared to patients with a high PIVKA-II level of 81.1% (p = 0.002). In patients with microvascular invasion, the AUC for PIVKA-II was slightly better than the AUC for AFP (0.775 vs. 0.687). Conclusions: The dual model of PIVKA-II ≤ 90 mAU/mL with either AFP ≤ 8 ng/mL or with patients within the Milan criteria identifies patient groups which can be exempted from HCC surveillance after LT in a low AFP population. PIVKA-II may be a better predictor for explant microvascular invasion than AFP and could play a role in future models identifying LT candidates with the highest risk for HCC recurrence.</p

Constitution d'un corpus de dialogue oral pour l'évaluation automatique de la compréhension hors- et en- contexte du dialogue

Colloque avec actes et comité de lecture. internationale.International audienceThis paper presents and reports on the progress of the EVALDA/MEDIA project, focusing on the recording protocol of the reference dialogue corpus. The aim of this project is to define and test an evaluation methodology that assess and diagnose the contextsensitive understanding capability of spoken language dialogue systems. Systems from both academic organizations (CLIPS, IRIT, LIA, LIMSI, LORIA, VALORIA) and industrial sites (FRANCE TELECOM R et D, TELIP) will be evaluated. ELDA is the coordinator of the Technolangue/EVALDA multicampaign evaluation project, a national initiative sponsored by the French government, of which MEDIA is a sub-campaign. MEDIA began in January 2003. VECSYS provides the recording platform for the project

Conclusion. Synthèse archéologique et analyses paléoenvironnementales

1. L’archéologie (P. E.) Par la nature de ses découvertes, la fouille de Villa Romana a permis d’apporter des données entièrement nouvelles sur l’environnement d’un quartier suburbain de Forum Iulii en fournissant un cadre naturel à des vestiges bâtis relativement denses. La position du littoral et son recul rapide ont fortement influé sur le développement de ce secteur et lui ont conféré une place de choix, en particulier durant les premiers temps de la colonisation. Ces travaux ont été égal..

Ville et campagne de Fréjus romaine

En 2006, une fouille d’archéologie préventive, désignée sous le nom de « Villa Romana », a été réalisée dans le quartier de Villeneuve à Fréjus. Durant l’Antiquité il s’agit d’une zone périurbaine située entre la ville de Forum Iulii et le débouché de l’Argens. Connu depuis longtemps en raison de la présence d’un édifice thermal toujours en élévation, le quartier a été fouillé à plusieurs occasions et est interprété comme étant l’emplacement du camp de la flotte, établi après la bataille d’Actium. Celui-ci se transforme progressivement durant le Ier siècle apr. J.-C. en quartier suburbain au fur et à mesure que se développe Forum Iulii. Le secteur fouillé se situe dans la partie sud du camp, bordée par la mer durant les premiers temps de l’Antiquité. La fouille a permis de révéler la présence d’une plage aménagée. Les terrains ont ensuite été rapidement gagnés sur la mer, en raison d’une avancée rapide du littoral, que des études récentes ont permis de bien connaitre à Fréjus. Des jardins y sont alors aménagés. A partir du IIe siècle, cet espace est transformé en zone agricole, et constitue l’illustration de l’exploitation de la campagne aux portes de Fréjus, et cela, jusqu’à la fin de l’Antiquité. S’ensuit une longue période d’abandon de plusieurs siècles, avant que l’espace ne soit à nouveau voué à l’agriculture et ce jusqu’à l’orée des années soixante. Depuis, le développement de la ville actuelle de Fréjus a de nouveau transformé ce quartier en zone urbaine. Cet ouvrage, publié quelques années seulement après la fouille, présente l’ensemble des études archéologiques et paléoenvironnementales, réalisées à l’occasion de cette opération, largement pluridisciplinaire. Elles fournissent un contexte environnemental nouveau pour ce quartier antique et permettent de redéfinir un paysage à partir d’analyses bioarchéologiques et paléoécologiques récentes. L’étude de l’ensemble des mobiliers archéologiques est également présentée, en suivant la chronologie et l’évolution de ce quartier à travers l’Antiquité et l’époque moderne

Development of Gene Expression Markers of Acute Heat-Light Stress in Reef-Building Corals of the Genus Porites

Coral reefs are declining worldwide due to increased incidence of climate-induced coral bleaching, which will have widespread biodiversity and economic impacts. A simple method to measure the sub-bleaching level of heat-light stress experienced by corals would greatly inform reef management practices by making it possible to assess the distribution of bleaching risks among individual reef sites. Gene expression analysis based on quantitative PCR (qPCR) can be used as a diagnostic tool to determine coral condition in situ. We evaluated the expression of 13 candidate genes during heat-light stress in a common Caribbean coral Porites astreoides, and observed strong and consistent changes in gene expression in two independent experiments. Furthermore, we found that the apparent return to baseline expression levels during a recovery phase was rapid, despite visible signs of colony bleaching. We show that the response to acute heat-light stress in P. astreoides can be monitored by measuring the difference in expression of only two genes: Hsp16 and actin. We demonstrate that this assay discriminates between corals sampled from two field sites experiencing different temperatures. We also show that the assay is applicable to an Indo-Pacific congener, P. lobata, and therefore could potentially be used to diagnose acute heat-light stress on coral reefs worldwide

Development of approach and handling tests for the assessment of reactivity to humans of sows housed in stall or in group

International audienceThe aim of the present study was to develop reliable and easy-to-use tests for on-farm assessment of sow reactivity to human in different housing systems. A total of 123 gestating sows at different parities and stages of pregnancy were successively subjected to two tests according to their housing systems: an approach (AS) test and a handling (HS) test for the stall-housed sows and an approach (AG) test and a handling (HG) test for the group-housed sows. The tests were video-recorded. Intra- and inter-observer reliabilities, test–retest reliability, and reproducibility according to the experience of the observer were assessed and the effects of testing order and time of the day were studied. Intra-observer reliability was assessed by double video observation of the same tests by one observer and was high to very high (kappa coefficient κ>0.73). Inter-observer reliability between two observers was moderate to very high (κ>0.61). Test–retest reliability (i.e. consistency of the sow response over time) was medium to very high for the AS and HS tests. The effect of observer experience in pig behaviour and/or management on the reliability of video observation of the AS and HS tests was also studied. The naive group obtained higher reliability than the other groups, which were more experienced in behavioural observation and/or pig management. High to very high intra- and inter-observer reliabilities were obtained regardless of the experience of the observers for continuous variables (κ>0.83) but not for categorical ones (κ<0.71). There was no significant effect of testing order on the sow response in the AG and HG tests, and time of the day had no impact on the sow response to the AS and HS tests. Because they are quick and easy to use in various housing systems and are also reproducible and reliable, those tests are promising tools for assessing sow welfare on farms. To ensure that the reliability of the tests is high, however, appropriate training to the observers and precise definitions of the behavioural responses are required. Moreover, the ability of those tests to discriminate animals according to their reactivity to humans needs to be further investigated. Finally, studying those tests on a higher number of sows with a higher variability in their individual characteristics and housing conditions would help precise their applicability for on-farm use

Effect of destruction and burial dates of cover crops on runoff, erosion, organic carbon losses and phosphorus losses in a maize cropping system

In Wallonia (Belgium), fields planted with Spring row crops (sugarbeet, potato, maize, chicory) are particularly prone to runoff and soil erosion by water (Bielders et al., 2003). To reduce these problems, planting cover crops is an admitted efficient solution. However, little information exists about the optimal cover crop destruction and burial dates with respect to erosion control. The objective of the present study is to determine the impact of destruction and burial dates of 2 common cover crops, rye and ryegrass, on runoff, erosion, organic carbon and phosphorous losses, as well as on the yield of the subsequent maize crop