Impact of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations on sustained virologic response in HCV-infected patients: Results from the GUARD-C Cohort

BACKGROUND: Despite the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin remains relevant in many resource-constrained settings. The non-randomized GUARD-C cohort investigated baseline predictors of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations (sr-RD) and their impact on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients receiving peginterferon alfa/ribavirin in routine practice. METHODS: A total of 3181 HCV-mono-infected treatment-naive patients were assigned to 24 or 48 weeks of peginterferon alfa/ribavirin by their physician. Patients were categorized by time-to-first sr-RD (Week 4/12). Detailed analyses of the impact of sr-RD on SVR24 (HCV RNA <50 IU/mL) were conducted in 951 Caucasian, noncirrhotic genotype (G)1 patients assigned to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin for 48 weeks. The probability of SVR24 was identified by a baseline scoring system (range: 0-9 points) on which scores of 5 to 9 and <5 represent high and low probability of SVR24, respectively. RESULTS: SVR24 rates were 46.1% (754/1634), 77.1% (279/362), 68.0% (514/756), and 51.3% (203/396), respectively, in G1, 2, 3, and 4 patients. Overall, 16.9% and 21.8% patients experienced 651 sr-RD for peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, respectively. Among Caucasian noncirrhotic G1 patients: female sex, lower body mass index, pre-existing cardiovascular/pulmonary disease, and low hematological indices were prognostic factors of sr-RD; SVR24 was lower in patients with 651 vs. no sr-RD by Week 4 (37.9% vs. 54.4%; P = 0.0046) and Week 12 (41.7% vs. 55.3%; P = 0.0016); sr-RD by Week 4/12 significantly reduced SVR24 in patients with scores <5 but not 655. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, sr-RD to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin significantly impacts on SVR24 rates in treatment-naive G1 noncirrhotic Caucasian patients. Baseline characteristics can help select patients with a high probability of SVR24 and a low probability of sr-RD with peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin

Modelling human choices: MADeM and decision‑making

Research supported by FAPESP 2015/50122-0 and DFG-GRTK 1740/2. RP and AR are also part of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics FAPESP grant (2013/07699-0). RP is supported by a FAPESP scholarship (2013/25667-8). ACR is partially supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

Insertion territoriale de l'agriculture dans les espaces ruraux: Un repérage en Midi-Pyrénées

Chapitre : Agriculture et environnementNational audienceBy proposing some insights into the dynamic of change in agriculture in relation to that of rural areas, our paper aims to help local and regional decision-making in rural development. For this purpose we constructed a geographical database on the local diversity of agricu1turaI dynamics analysed on a regional scale, taking the Midi-Pyrénées region as an example. Our analysis was conducted at the commune leveZ and used agricultural data (farm structure, farmer activities and types of commodities produced) as well as data from the Zoning of the French Territory into Urban Areas surveys. The agriculturaI indicators (typologies, rates of change) that were defined enabled us to relate agriculture to categories of rural areas. As expected, pluriactive farrns are predominant near employment centres, however limited their importance. In contrast, farms with complementary activities such as dirl!ct sale of processed products and farm tourism are over-represented in the rural Gers department, which displays high productive capacities in agriculture. These results are discussed in a local development perspective with regard to the region's specifie urbanisation pattern. We show the limits of this approach based on spatial entities. They invite us to combine this type of approach with approaches that consider the actors and their interactions, in arder ta characterise the processes of territorial development.Dans une perspective d'aide aux décideurs locaux et régionaux, cet article a pour objectif d'apporter des éléments de réflexion sur les dynamiques d'évolution de l'agriculture en relation avec les dynamiques des espaces ruraux dans lesquelles elle s'insère. A cette fin, nous proposons une démarche de construction d'une base de données géographiques sur la diversité locale de l'agriculture à l'échelle régionale. L'étude porte sur la région Midi-Pyrénées. L'analyse est effectuée au niveau communal, à partir de données agricoles - structures des exploitations, activités des exploitants et types de production - et du zonage en aires urbaines -. Des indicateurs agricoles (typologies, taux d'évolution) sont définis. Ils permettent de qualifier l'agriculture selon les types d'espaces ruraux. Les exploitations pluriactives sont classiquement plus représentées à proximité des pôles d'emploi, mêmes modestes. Par contre, les exploitations diversifiant leurs activités (transformation de produits, vente directe, tourisme) sont sur-représentées dans le Gers, département rural et où les capacités productives sont importantes. Ces résultats sont discutés en lien avec la forme d'urbanisation spécifique de la région dans une perspective de développement territorial. Les limites de l'approche par entités spatiales sont présentées. Elles invitent à coupler ce type d'approche avec des approches centrées sur les acteurs et leurs interactions pour caractériser les processus de développement territorial

Air blast reflecting on a rigid cylinder: simulation and reduced scale experiments

International audienceIn this paper, the Multi-Material ALE formulation is applied to simulate the propagation of an air blast through the atmosphere, and its reflection on an assumed rigid cylindrical obstacle. The mathematical and numerical implementations of this formulation are presented. In order to validate the formulation and prove its ability to capture the propagation and reflection of high pressure waves, comparisons of the simulations with the experimental blast pressure measured on an assumed rigid cylinder are performed. The simulation conducted via the presented models and methods gives good predictions for pressure time histories recorded on the rigid cylinder

Micro-structuration of a sol-gel architecture for channel waveguide / diffraction grating coupling

International audienc

Study and Optimization of a Micro-Structured Waveguiding and Fluorescent Sol-Gel Architecture

Channel waveguides with diffraction gratings at their input and output for light injection and extraction, respectively, constitute the key components for applications in integrated optics and photonics. Here, we report for the first time on such fluorescent micro-structured architecture entirely elaborated on glass by sol-gel processing. This architecture particularly takes advantage of a high-refractive index and transparent titanium oxide-based, sol-gel photoresist that can be imprinted through a single photolithography step. This resist enabled us to photo-imprint the input and output gratings on a photo-imprinted channel waveguide doped with a ruthenium complex fluorophore (Rudpp). In this paper, the elaboration conditions and optical characterizations of derived architectures are presented and discussed with respect to optical simulations. We firstly show how the optimization of a two-step deposition/insolation sol-gel procedure leads to reproducible and uniform grating/waveguide architectures elaborated on rather large dimensions. Then, we show how this reproducibility and uniformity govern the reliability of fluorescence measurements in waveguiding configuration. These measurements demonstrate that: (i) our sol-gel architecture is well adapted to the efficient channel–waveguide/diffraction grating coupling at the Rudpp excitation and emission wavelengths; (ii) it enables an efficient propagation of the emission signal in the core of the waveguide allowing its photo-detection after extraction through the output grating; and (iii) it is affected by very reduced parasitic mechanisms, such as propagation losses and photobleaching features. This work constitutes a promising preliminary step toward the integration of our architecture in a microfluidic platform for further fluorescence measurements in liquid medium and waveguiding configuration

Indice foliaire, structure du peuplement de tiges et biomasse des repousses d'une luzerne irriguée

International audienc

Synthesis and assessment of a new micro-structured fluorescent sol-gel architecture intended for optical sensing

International audienc

Synthesis and assessment of a new micro-structured fluorescent sol-gel architecture intended for optical sensing

International audienc

Setting Up and Assessing a New Micro-Structured Waveguiding Fluorescent Architecture on Glass Entirely Elaborated by Sol–Gel Processing

International audienceChannel waveguides with diffraction gratings at their input and output for light injection and extraction, respectively, are extensively exploited for optical and photonic applications. In this paper, we report for the first time on such an architecture on glass entirely elaborated by sol–gel processing using a titanium-oxide-based photoresist that can be imprinted through a single photolithography step. This work is more particularly focused on a fluorescent architecture including channel waveguides doped with a ruthenium-complex fluorophore (tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline)ruthenium(II), Rudpp). The study demonstrates that this original sol–gel micro-structured architecture is well adapted to efficient channel waveguide/diffraction grating coupling and propagation of the fluorescence excitation and emission signals in the core of the channel waveguide. It demonstrates, in particular, a relatively large tolerance of several degrees in the angular injection fiber positioning and an important axial and vertical fiber spatial positioning tolerance of more than 100 µm at the Rudpp emission wavelength. The measurements also indicate that, in the conditions tested in this work, a Rudpp concentration of around 0.1 mM and a channel waveguide length of 2 to 5 mm offer the best trade-off in terms of excitation signal propagation and emission signal detection. This work constitutes a promising preliminary step toward the integration of our architecture into a microfluidic platform for fluorescence measurement in a liquid medium and waveguiding configuration