Quality of life of long-term childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors:Comparison with healthy controls

peer reviewed[en] OBJECTIVE: Improved treatment landscape has led to better outcomes for paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors. As the number of survivors increase, we need to elucidate the long-term quality of life (QoL) and domains of complaints in these patients. Furthermore, the main priorities of these patients need to be clarified. We assessed long-term QoL outcomes of survivors of childhood ALL compared to matched population controls. METHODS: QoL data were collected from survivors recruited in France and Belgium between 2012 and 2017, including the Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and the Quality of Life Systemic Inventory (QLSI). The Wilcoxon test was used to compare SF-12 scale scores between survivors and matched population controls. For the QLSI, comparisons were mainly descriptive. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-six survivors (mean age: 27.6 years; range: 18.1-52.8) at follow-up completed QoL measures, amongst whom 180 were matched to controls. Overall, survivors had higher QoL on all SF12 scale scores, indicating that they had better functioning compared to controls. Statistically significant differences on the SF12 were observed for Vitality, Social Functioning, Role Limitations due to Emotional Problems and Mental Health scales. QLSI outcomes suggested that survivors were happier than controls with Couple and Social Relations. Controls were unhappiest compared to survivors with Money, Love life, Self-esteem, Nutrition and Paid Work. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that survivors of childhood ALL have better QoL outcomes on some domains compared to the general population, specifically around social and emotional functioning, and that they tend to prioritize their relationships more. Interventions for improving QoL outcomes, might build on existing positive experiences with family, friends and partners

International study on inter-reader variability for circulating tumor cells in breast cancer

Introduction Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been studied in breast cancer with the CellSearch® system. Given the low CTC counts in non-metastatic breast cancer, it is important to evaluate the inter-reader agreement. Methods CellSearch® images (N = 272) of either CTCs or white blood cells or artifacts from 109 non-metastatic (M0) and 22 metastatic (M1) breast cancer patients from reported studies were sent to 22 readers from 15 academic laboratories and 8 readers from two Veridex laboratories. Each image was scored as No CTC vs CTC HER2- vs CTC HER2+. The 8 Veridex readers were summarized to a Veridex Consensus (VC) to compare each academic reader using % agreement and kappa (κ) statistics. Agreement was compared according to disease stage and CTC counts using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results For CTC definition (No CTC vs CTC), the median agreement between academic readers and VC was 92% (range 69 to 97%) with a median κ of 0.83 (range 0.37 to 0.93). Lower agreement was observed in images from M0 (median 91%, range 70 to 96%) compared to M1 (median 98%, range 64 to 100%) patients (P < 0.001) and from M0 and <3CTCs (median 87%, range 66 to 95%) compared to M0 and ≥3CTCs samples (median 95%, range 77 to 99%), (P < 0.001). For CTC HER2 expression (HER2- vs HER2+), the median agreement was 87% (range 51 to 95%) with a median κ of 0.74 (range 0.25 to 0.90). Conclusions The inter-reader agreement for CTC definition was high. Reduced agreement was observed in M0 patients with low CTC counts. Continuous training and independent image review are require

International study on inter-reader variability for circulating tumor cells in breast cancer

Introduction: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been studied in breast cancer with the CellSearch® system. Given the low CTC counts in non-metastatic breast cancer, it is important to evaluate the inter-reader agreement.Methods: CellSearch® images (N = 272) of either CTCs or white blood cells or artifacts from 109 non-metastatic (M0) and 22 metastatic (M1) breast cancer patients from reported studies were sent to 22 readers from 15 academic laboratories and 8 readers from two Veridex laboratories. Each image was scored as No CTC vs CTC HER2- vs CTC HER2+. The 8 Veridex readers were summarized to a Veridex Consensus (VC) to compare each academic reader using % agreement and kappa (κ) statistics. Agreement was compared according to disease stage and CTC counts using the Wilcoxon signed rank test.Results: For CTC definition (No CTC vs CTC), the median agreement between academic readers and VC was 92% (range 69 to 97%) with a median κ of 0.83 (range 0.37 to 0.93). Lower agreement was observed in images from M0 (median 91%, range 70 to 96%) compared to M1 (median 98%, range 64 to 100%) patients (P < 0.001) and from M0 and <3CTCs (median 87%, range 66 to 95%) compared to M0 and ≥3CTCs samples (median 95%, range 77 to 99%), (P < 0.001). For CTC HER2 expression (HER2- vs HER2+), the median agreement was 87% (range 51 to 95%) with a median κ of 0.74 (range 0.25 to 0.90).Conclusions: The inter-reader agreement for CTC definition was high. Reduced agreement was observed in M0 patients with low CTC counts. Continuous training and independent image review are required

Accumulation du capital et stagnation du revenu en agriculture

[eng] Between 1 960 and 1 978, gross overall farm income has hardly increased at all but a growing share of this income has to be set aside for capital accumulation in order to modernize production. Consequently, the disposable per farm income has increased little in spite of a massive off -farm migration. If the farmers have been able to raise their standard of living to a certain extent comparable to that of wage-earners, this is due to socio-economic conditions of modernization which release liquid funds of the same magnitude as the farm profits. [fre] Entre 1960 et 19781e revenu brut global de l'agriculture n'a presque pas augmenté, mais une part croissante de ce revenu a dû être consacrée à l'accumulation de capital nécessaire à la modernisation de la production. De ce fait, malgré un exode rural massif, le revenu disponible par exploitations n'a que faiblement augmenté. Si les agriculteurs ont pu, en moyenne, augmenter leur niveau de vie de façon comparable aux salariés, c'est parce que les conditions socio-économiques de la modernisation leur ont procuré des sources de disponibilité monétaire aussi importantes que le seul résultat de la production.

Choosing Measurement Poses for Robot Calibration with the Local Convergence Method and Tabu Search

International audienceThe robustness of robot calibration with respect to sensor noise is sensitive to the manipulator poses used to collect measurement data. In this paper we propose an algorithm based on a constrained optimization method, which allows us to choose a set of measurement configurations. It works by selecting iteratively one pose after another inside the workspace. After a few steps, a set of configurations is obtained, which maximizes an index of observability associated with the identification Jacobian. This algorithm has been shown, in a former work, to be sensitive to local minima. This is why we propose here meta-heuristic methods to decrease this sensibility of our algorithm. Finally, a validation through the simulation of a calibration experience shows that using selected configurations significantly improve the kinematic parameter identification by dividing by 10-15 the noise associated with the results. Also, we present an application to the calibration of a parallel robot with a vision-based measurement device

L'Institut de l'élevage. Du temps de la modernisation à celui des transitions

Bouleversé par l’impact de la modernisation agricole et de l’intégration européenne, l’élevage français se trouve au début des années 1960 à une croisée des chemins. Pouvoirs publics et représentants professionnels s’accordent alors pour créer un appareil de développement dédié aux productions animales des ruminants, afin de faciliter l’adoption des innovations issues de la recherche. C’est ainsi que sont fondés l’Institut technique de l’élevage bovin en 1962 et l’Institut technique de l’élevage ovin et caprin en 1967. En situation de médiation entre la recherche et le conseil agricole, les missions de ces instituts se limitent à l’origine au test des innovations dans des fermes expérimentales et au transfert de connaissances, dans la ligne modernisatrice fixée par la loi sur l’élevage de 1966. Mais, devant la grande diversité des systèmes d’élevage et les défis croissants que ces derniers doivent relever, les agents des instituts techniques en viennent, dès les années 1970, à élaborer des méthodes originales pour accompagner les éleveurs. D’abord marginaux, ces savoir-faire gagnent en légitimité face aux conséquences sociales, économiques et enfin écologiques de la course à l’innovation et à la compétitivité. Rassemblés en 1991 dans un seul et unique Institut de l’élevage aux compétences transversales, ces agents vont se trouver confrontés à des crises sanitaires majeures et aux problématiques croisées de la révolution numérique, de l’avènement de la génomique, d’attentes sociétales nouvelles, et surtout des enjeux environnementaux, devenus prégnants au tournant des années 2000. L’appui au monde de l’élevage ne peut plus être pensé seulement en termes de développement, il doit aussi prendre en compte les transitions nécessaires.Adossé à des archives inédites et aux témoignages d’hommes et de femmes ayant vécu et porté ces évolutions, ce livre retrace l’histoire méconnue d’une ingénierie qui aura joué un rôle crucial dans les métamorphoses de l’élevage français, offrant une contribution importante au débat sur l’avenir de la relation entre élevage et société