Mesothelioma and thymic tumors: Treatment challenges in (outside) a network setting

The management of patients with mesothelioma and thymic malignancy requires continuous multidisciplinary expertise at any step of the disease. A dramatic improvement in our knowledge has occurred in the last few years, through the development of databases, translational research programs, and clinical trials. Access to innovative strategies represents a major challenge, as there is a lack of funding for clinical research in rare cancers and their rarity precludes the design of robust clinical trials that could lead to specific approval of drugs. In this context, patient-centered initiatives, such as the establishment of dedicated networks, are warranted. International societies, such as IMIG (International Mesothelioma Interest Group) and ITMIG (International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group) provide infrastructure for global collaboration, and there are many advantages to having strong regional groups working on the same issues. There may be regional differences in risk factors, susceptibility, management and outcomes. The ability to address questions both regionally as well as globally is ideal to develop a full understanding of mesothelioma and thymic malignancies. In Europe, through the integration of national networks with EURACAN, the collaboration with academic societies and international groups, the development of networks in thoracic oncology provides multiplex integration of clinical care and research, ultimately ensuring equal access to high quality care to all patients, with the opportunity of conducting high level clinical and translational research projects

Ludics and its Applications to natural Language Semantics

Proofs, in Ludics, have an interpretation provided by their counter-proofs, that is the objects they interact with. We follow the same idea by proposing that sentence meanings are given by the counter-meanings they are opposed to in a dialectical interaction. The conception is at the intersection of a proof-theoretic and a game-theoretic accounts of semantics, but it enlarges them by allowing to deal with possibly infinite processes

Astrometry with "Carte du Ciel" plates, San Fernando zone. II. CdC-SF: a precise proper motion catalogue

The historic plates of the "Carte du Ciel", an international cooperative project launched in 1887, offer valuable first-epoch material for the determination of absolute proper motions. We present the CdC-SF, an astrometric catalogue of positions and proper motions derived from the "Carte du Ciel" plates of the San Fernando zone, photographic material with a mean epoch of 1901.4 and a limiting magnitude of V~16, covering the declination range of -10deg < declination < -2deg. Digitization has been made using a conventional flatbed scanner. Special techniques have been developed to handle the combination of plate material and the large distortion introduced by the scanner. The equatorial coordinates are on the ICRS defined by Tycho-2, and proper motions are derived using UCAC2 as second-epoch positions. The result is a catalogue with positions and proper motions for 560000 stars, covering 1080 degrees squared. The mean positional uncertainty is 0.20" (0.12" for well-measured stars) and the proper-motion uncertainty is 2.0 mas/yr (1.2 mas/yr for well-measured stars). The proper motion catalogue CdC-SF is effectively a deeper extension of Hipparcos, in terms of proper motions, to a magnitude of 15.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication in A&

Improving surveillance of emerging infectious diseases: ecological modelling of the spatial distribution of wild waterbirds to identify main areas of avian influenza viruses circulation in the Inner Niger Delta, Mali

Predicting areas of emergence when no epidemiological data is yet available is essential to implement efficient surveillance programs. The Inner Niger Delta (IND) in Mali is a major African wetlands where &gt;1 million Palearctic and African waterbirds congregate. Our objective was to model the spatial distribution of these birds recognised as the main reservoir of Avian Influenza Viruses (AIV), in order to predict where these viruses would be more likely to circulate in the IND. We developed five generalized models and a boosted regression trees model (BRTs) based on total aerial bird counts over six years and high temporal resolution (10 days) remotely sensed environmental variables to predict the spatial distribution of four waterbirds groups. The predicted waterbirds abundances were weighted with an epidemiological indicator based on the prevalence of low pathogenic AIV reported in the literature. BRTs model had the best predictive power and allowed predicting the high variability of the IND. Years with a low flood level showed areas with higher risk of circulation and had better spatial distribution predictions. The model identified for each year few areas with a higher risk of avian influenza circulation. This model can be applied every 10 days to evaluate the risk of AIV emergence in wild waterbirds. By taking into account the variability of the IND, it allows better targeting of areas considered for surveillance. Applications of this methodology could enhance the control of emerging diseases at a local and regional scale, especially when scarce resources are available for surveillance programs. (Texte intégral

Microwave responses of the western North Atlantic

Features and objects in the Western North Atlantic Ocean - the Eastern Seaboard of the United States - are observed from Earth orbit by passive microwaves. The intensities of their radiated flux signatures are measured and displayed in color as a microwave flux image. The features of flux emitting objects such as the course of the Gulf Stream and the occurrence of cold eddies near the Gulf Stream are identified by contoured patterns of relative flux intensities. The flux signatures of ships and their wakes are displayed and discussed. Metal data buoys and aircraft are detected. Signal to clutter ratios and probabilities of detection are computed from their measured irradiances. Theoretical models and the range equations that explain passive microwave detection using the irradiances of natural sources are summarized

Typing Quantum Superpositions and Measurement

We propose a way to unify two approaches of non-cloning in quantum lambda-calculi. The first approach is to forbid duplicating variables, while the second is to consider all lambda-terms as algebraic-linear functions. We illustrate this idea by defining a quantum extension of first-order simply-typed lambda-calculus, where the type is linear on superposition, while allows cloning base vectors. In addition, we provide an interpretation of the calculus where superposed types are interpreted as vector spaces and non-superposed types as their basis.Fil: Díaz Caro, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Dowek, Gilles. Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique; Franci

Dynamics of active membranes with internal noise

We study the time-dependent height fluctuations of an active membrane containing energy-dissipating pumps that drive the membrane out of equilibrium. Unlike previous investigations based on models that neglect either curvature couplings or random fluctuations in pump activities, our formulation explores two new models that take both of these effects into account. In the first model, the magnitude of the nonequilibrium forces generated by the pumps is allowed to fluctuate temporally. In the second model, the pumps are allowed to switch between "on" and "off" states. We compute the mean squared displacement of a membrane point for both models, and show that they exhibit distinct dynamical behaviors from previous models, and in particular, a superdiffusive regime specifically arising from the shot noise.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure