The stochastic renormalized mean curvature flow for planar convex sets

We investigate renormalized mean curvature flow (RMCF) and stochastic renormalized mean curvature flow (SRMCF) for convex sets in the plane.RMCF is the inverse gradient flow for logarithm of square of the perimeter divided by the volume. SRMCF is We investigate renormalized mean curvature flow (RMCF) and stochastic renormalized mean curvature flow (SRMCF) for convex sets in the plane. RMCF is the inverse gradient flow for logarithm of $\sigma/\lambda^2$ where $\sigma$ is the perimeter and $\lambda$ is the volume. SRMCF is RMCF perturbated by some Brownian noise and has the remarkable property that it can be intertwined with Brownian motion, yielding a generalization of Pitman "$2M-X$" theorem. We prove that along RMCF, entropy $\mathcal{E}_t$ for curvature as well as $h_t:=\sigma_t/\lambda_t$ are non-increasing. We deduce infinite lifetime and convergence to a disk after normalization. For SRMCF the situation is more complicated. As $h_t$ is always a supermartingale, for $\mathcal{E}_t$ to be a supermartingale, we need that the starting set is invariant by the isometry group $G_n$ generated by the reflection with respect to the vertical line and the rotation of angle $2\pi/n$, for some $n\ge 3$. But for proving infinite lifetime, we need invariance of the starting set by $G_n$ for some $n\ge 7$. We provide the first SRMCF with infinite lifetime which cannot be reduced to a finite dimensional flow. Gage inequality plays a major role in our study of the regularity of flows, as well as a careful investigation of morphological skeletons. We characterize symmetric convex sets with star shaped skeletons in terms of properties of their Gauss map. Finally, we establish a new isoperimetric estimate for these sets, of order $1/n^4$ where $n$ is the number of branches of the skeleton

HASAR : mining sequential association rules for atherosclerosis risk factor analysis

International audienceWe present the HASAR method that is an hybrid approach for ex- tracting adaptive sequential association rules. This method extracts association rules between events occurring in subsequent time-intervals using closed itemsets extraction and evolutionary techniques. An important feature is its capacity to consider different time-intervals depending on the attributes semantic. We applied this method for the analysis of long term medical observations of atherosclerosis risk factors for cardio-vascular diseases prevention. Experimental results show that it is well-suited for extracting knowledge from temporal data where interesting patterns have different observation period length.Nous présentons la méthode HASAR qui est une approche hybride pour l’extraction de règles d’assocations séquentilles. Cette méthode extrait des règles association entre des évènements ayant lieu à différent moment en extrayant des itemsets fermés fréquents et en utilisant des techniques évolutionnaires. Une fonctionnalité important de notre méthode est sa capacité à s’adapter à différente échelle de temps en fonction de la sémantique des attributs. Nous avons appliqué cette méthode pour analyser des observations médicales à long terme sur les facteurs de risques de l’artherosclerose. Les résultats expérimentaux ont montré que cette méthode est bien adaptée pour extraire des connaissance à partir de données temporelles ou les motifs intéressants doivent être observés sur différentes périodes de temps

On the evolution by duality of domains on manifolds

On a manifold, consider an elliptic diffusionXadmitting an invariant measureμ. The goalof this paper is to introduce and investigate the first properties of stochastic domain evolutionspDtqtPr0,τswhich are intertwining dual processes forX(whereτis an appropriate positive stoppingtime before the potential emergence of singularities). They provide an extension of Pitman’stheorem, as it turns out thatpμpDtqqtPr0,τsis a Bessel-3 process, up to a natural time-change.WhenXis a Brownian motion on a Riemannian manifold, the dual domain-valued process is astochastic modification of the mean curvature flow to which is added an isoperimetric ratio driftto prevent it from collapsing into singletons

Prologue

Qu’est-ce qu’une « prise de parole publique » aujourd’hui ? Quelles sont ses diverses formes possibles, leurs modalités, leur efficacité ? Le problème s’inscrit dans la perspective qui fut toujours celle de Labyrinthe, soit la réflexion sur le devenir des savoirs – tous les savoirs, et de tous ordres – dans l’espace public. À l’origine du présent dossier, il y avait aussi une difficulté intime, pour nous, à trouver une voix propre dans la cacophonie ambiante. Mais au-delà d’un souci personnel..

L’interruption politique

RP J’aurais quelques questions sur le projet général de L’Empire du langage : tu dis, Laurent, vouloir « interroger les différentes manières qu’a le langage de transmettre – ou démettre – l’ordre social et politique », la littérature occupant une place de choix (du côté du « démettre ») dans cet éventail de « manières ». Or tu as toujours été réticent, c’est un euphémisme, devant le nouage littérature-politique : je me souviens bien de nos débats sur Rancière, dont tu ne goûtais pas les propo..

Positive Outcomes of HAART at 24 Months in HIV-Infected Patients in Cambodia.

OBJECTIVES: African and Asian cohort studies have demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of HAART in resource-poor settings. The long-term virological outcome and clinico-immunological criteria of success remain important questions. We report the outcomes at 24 months of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in patients treated in a Médecins Sans Frontières/Ministry of Health programme in Cambodia. METHODS: Adults who started HAART 24 +/- 2 months ago were included. Plasma HIV-RNA levels were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Factors associated with virological failure were analysed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 416 patients, 59.2% were men; the median age was 33.6 years. At baseline, 95.2% were ART naive, 48.9% were at WHO stage IV, and 41.6% had a body mass index less than 18 kg/m. The median CD4 cell count was 11 cells/microl. A stavudine-lamivudine-efavirenz-containing regimen was initiated predominantly (81.0%). At follow-up (median 23.8 months), 350 (84.1%) were still on HAART, 53 (12.7%) had died, six (1.4%) were transferred, and seven (1.7%) were lost to follow-up. Estimates of survival were 85.5% at 24 months. Of 346 tested patients, 259 (74.1%) had CD4 cell counts greater than 200 cells/microl and 306 (88.4%) had viral loads of less than 400 copies/ml. Factors associated with virological failure at 24 months were non-antiretroviral naive, an insufficient CD4 cell gain of less than 350 cells/microl or a low trough plasma ART concentration. In an intention-to-treat analysis, 73.6% of patients were successfully treated. CONCLUSION: Positive results after 2 years of advanced HIV further demonstrate the efficacy of HAART in the medium term in resource-limited settings

Stereotactic Re-irradiation for Local Recurrence in the Prostatic Bed After Prostatectomy: Preliminary Results

Objectives: To report the preliminary results of salvage re-irradiation in the prostatic bed after radical prostatectomy and salvage external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) using robotic stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) with Cyberknife® for local recurrence of prostate cancer.Materials and Methods: Retrospective monocentric analysis was performed on patients treated with SBRT for isolated macroscopic recurrence in the prostatic bed. All patients had radical prostatectomy and salvage or adjuvant EBRT. Local recurrence was documented using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). Biochemical recurrence was defined as 2 rises in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) of ≥ 0.2 ng/mL above nadir. Internal gold fiducials were used for the tracking of tumor motion during SBRT. The prescription dose was 36 Gy in 6 fractions for all patients. Toxicity was scored according to the CTCAE v4.0.Results: Between July 2011 and November 2017, 12 patients were treated with SBRT for prostatic bed recurrence with a median follow-up of 34.2 (range, 3.5–64.4) months. Isolated non-metastatic recurrence in the prostatic bed was seen at MRI and PET imaging. Two patients were treated with 6 months androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) concomitant with re-irradiation. The median planning target volume was 4.5 cm3 (range, 1.2–13.3). A PSA decrease after SBRT was found in 10 (83%) patients. The 1 and 2 years biochemical recurrence-free survival rates were 79 and 56%, respectively. Biochemical recurrence was observed for 6 patients (50%) after a median time of 18 (4-42) months. Toxicity showed: 3 patients (25%) with grade 1 cystitis and 1 patient (8%) with acute grade 2 proctitis at 4 months. One patient (13%) had grade 1 cystitis at 12 months.Conclusion: Re-irradiation for local recurrence in the prostatic bed using Cyberknife® after surgery and salvage or adjuvant EBRT is well-tolerated and associated with 2 years biochemical recurrence-free survival rates of 56%. Longer follow-up and larger series are necessary

Utero-vaginal aplasia (Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome) associated with deletions in known DiGeorge or DiGeorge-like loci

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is characterized by congenital aplasia of the uterus and the upper part of the vagina in women showing normal development of secondary sexual characteristics and a normal 46, XX karyotype. The uterovaginal aplasia is either isolated (type I) or more frequently associated with other malformations (type II or Müllerian Renal Cervico-thoracic Somite (MURCS) association), some of which belong to the malformation spectrum of DiGeorge phenotype (DGS). Its etiology remains poorly understood. Thus the phenotypic manifestations of MRKH and DGS overlap suggesting a possible genetic link. This would potentially have clinical consequences.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched DiGeorge critical chromosomal regions for chromosomal anomalies in a cohort of 57 subjects with uterovaginal aplasia (55 women and 2 aborted fetuses). For this candidate locus approach, we used a multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) assay based on a kit designed for investigation of the chromosomal regions known to be involved in DGS.</p> <p>The deletions detected were validated by Duplex PCR/liquid chromatography (DP/LC) and/or array-CGH analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found deletions in four probands within the four chromosomal loci 4q34-qter, 8p23.1, 10p14 and 22q11.2 implicated in almost all cases of DGS syndrome.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Uterovaginal aplasia appears to be an additional feature of the broad spectrum of the DGS phenotype. The DiGeorge critical chromosomal regions may be candidate loci for a subset of MRKH syndrome (MURCS association) individuals. However, the genes mapping at the sites of these deletions involved in uterovaginal anomalies remain to be determined. These findings have consequences for clinical investigations, the care of patients and their relatives, and genetic counseling.</p

A comparative descriptive analysis of perceived quality of caring attitudes and behaviours between haemodialysis patients and their nurses

Despite its importance in nursing, perceived quality of the nurse-patient relationship has seldom been researched. This study sought to examine and compare the quality of caring attitudes and behaviours as perceived by haemodialysis patients and their nurses. Design This comparative descriptive study involved 140 haemodialysis patients and 101 nurses caring for them in ten haemodialysis units in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Methods Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Caring Nurse-Patient Interaction Scale (CNPI-70). Results Both nurses and patients reported a high frequency of caring attitudes and behaviours. Patients gave higher ratings than nurses did on all the caring dimensions, except spirituality. Implications are discussed