Representation and Realism in the Age of Effective Theories

Philosophers traditionally engage with metaphysical questions at the frontiers of physics by treating theories as putatively fundamental and complete. While this interpretative strategy sits uneasily with the limited success of past theories, it breaks down with the failure of our best current theories, Quantum Field Theories (QFTs), to consistently describe the world on the smallest scales. My dissertation examines how physicists' reconceptualization of successful theories as effective theories affects the epistemological and semantic foundations of the interpretative practice in physics. Chapter 1 offers a detailed analysis of renormalization theory, the set of methods that underwrite physicists' construction of empirically successful QFTs. Chapter 2 demonstrates that effective theories are not merely the only candidates left for scientific realists in QFT but also worth interpreting in realist terms. Chapter 3 shows that effective theories stand as a challenge for traditional approaches to scientific representation and realism in physics. I suggest that indexing truth to physical scales is the most promising way to account for the success of effective theories in realist terms. Chapter 4 develops the referential component of this proposal by taking a detour through the problem of referential failure across theory-change. I argue that to reliably assess referential success before theory-change, we need to index reference-fixing to the limited physical contexts where a given theory is empirically reliable

On Finite Pseudorandom Binary Sequences, IV. (The Liouville Function, II)

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Level of maternal antibodies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) nucleoprotein at birth and risk of RSV very severe lower respiratory tract infection

International audienceBackground The nucleoprotein (N protein) of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a candidate antigen for new RSV vaccine development. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between maternal antibody titers against the RSV N protein at birth and the newborns' risk of developing very severe lower respiratory tract infection (VS-LRTI). Methods In this single-center prospective cohort study, 578 infants born during the RSV epidemic season in France were included. Among these, 36 were hospitalized for RSV VS-LRTI. A generalized linear model was used to test the occurrence of a VS-LRTI in function of sex, mode of delivery, parity of the mother, type of pregnancy, date of birth in relation to the peak of the epidemic, and antibody titer against N protein. Results All cord blood samples had detectable antibodies against N protein. The mean titers were significantly lower in newborns with risk factors for RSV severe LRTI (preterm infants, birth before the peak epidemic, multiparous mother). There was no association between antibody titer against the N protein and a protection against VS-LRTI. Conclusions Further studies are needed to support the hypothesis that transfer of maternal antibodies against the RSV N protein can provide a significant immune protection early in infancy and that N protein candidate vaccine may be a suitable target for maternal vaccine

Level of maternal antibodies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) nucleoprotein at birth and risk of RSV very severe lower respiratory tract infection

Background The nucleoprotein (N protein) of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a candidate antigen for new RSV vaccine development. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between maternal antibody titers against the RSV N protein at birth and the newborns' risk of developing very severe lower respiratory tract infection (VS-LRTI). Methods In this single-center prospective cohort study, 578 infants born during the RSV epidemic season in France were included. Among these, 36 were hospitalized for RSV VS-LRTI. A generalized linear model was used to test the occurrence of a VS-LRTI in function of sex, mode of delivery, parity of the mother, type of pregnancy, date of birth in relation to the peak of the epidemic, and antibody titer against N protein. Results All cord blood samples had detectable antibodies against N protein. The mean titers were significantly lower in newborns with risk factors for RSV severe LRTI (preterm infants, birth before the peak epidemic, multiparous mother). There was no association between antibody titer against the N protein and a protection against VS-LRTI. Conclusions Further studies are needed to support the hypothesis that transfer of maternal antibodies against the RSV N protein can provide a significant immune protection early in infancy and that N protein candidate vaccine may be a suitable target for maternal vaccine

Level of maternal antibodies against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) nucleoprotein at birth and risk of RSV very severe lower respiratory tract infection

International audienceBackground The nucleoprotein (N protein) of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a candidate antigen for new RSV vaccine development. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between maternal antibody titers against the RSV N protein at birth and the newborns' risk of developing very severe lower respiratory tract infection (VS-LRTI). Methods In this single-center prospective cohort study, 578 infants born during the RSV epidemic season in France were included. Among these, 36 were hospitalized for RSV VS-LRTI. A generalized linear model was used to test the occurrence of a VS-LRTI in function of sex, mode of delivery, parity of the mother, type of pregnancy, date of birth in relation to the peak of the epidemic, and antibody titer against N protein. Results All cord blood samples had detectable antibodies against N protein. The mean titers were significantly lower in newborns with risk factors for RSV severe LRTI (preterm infants, birth before the peak epidemic, multiparous mother). There was no association between antibody titer against the N protein and a protection against VS-LRTI. Conclusions Further studies are needed to support the hypothesis that transfer of maternal antibodies against the RSV N protein can provide a significant immune protection early in infancy and that N protein candidate vaccine may be a suitable target for maternal vaccine