Aspects cognitivo-pragmatiques de la description d'itinéraires : Quoi détailler et comment, selon son interlocuteur ?

Ce texte présente une nouvelle analyse des données recueillies par M. Grall lors de son étude de DEA effectuée en 1999 dans l'équipe EIFFEL sous l'orientation de W. VisserNational audienceThe present study focuses on cognitivo-pragmatic aspects of descriptive discourse. It shows how the model that people hold of their interlocutors guides the description that they present them with of a route plan that the interlocutors are to follow. This description differs according to the interlocutor' knowledge of the procedures to be performed to carry out the route plan. A description for an interlocutor who doesn't know the environment details the means to be used for attaining one's goal and sub-goals. In descriptions for people who know the environment, locutors mainly present goal and sub-goals, supposing their interlocutors able to evoke themselves means for attaining these goals. The study and its results are related to the state of the art in the domains of discourse production, spatial cognition, procedural text and action semantics.L'étude présentée se focalise sur des aspects cognitivo-pragmatiques du discours descriptif. Elle montre comment le modèle qu'une personne a de son interlocuteur oriente la description qu'elle lui donne d'un itinéraire à effectuer. Ces descriptions présentent différemment les procédures de réalisation de l'itinéraire. Une description pour quelqu'un qui ne connaît pas l'environnement à traverser détaille les moyens pour atteindre les buts. Dans la description pour quelqu'un qui connaît bien cet environnement, le locuteur présente surtout le but, supposant son interlocuteur capable d'évoquer lui-même des moyens pour l'atteindre. L'étude et ses résultats sont mis en relation avec les acquis dans les domaines de la production discursive, de la cognition spatiale, du texte procédural et de la sémantique des actions

Temporal correlations among demographic parameters are ubiquitous but highly variable across species

Temporal correlations among demographic parameters can strongly influence population dynamics. Our empirical knowledge, however, is very limited regarding the direction and the magnitude of these correlations and how they vary among demographic parameters and species’ life histories. Here, we use long-term demographic data from 15 bird and mammal species with contrasting pace of life to quantify correlation patterns among five key demographic parameters: juvenile and adult survival, reproductive probability, reproductive success and productivity. Correlations among demographic parameters were ubiquitous, more frequently positive than negative, but strongly differed across species. Correlations did not markedly change along the slow-fast continuum of life histories, suggesting that they were more strongly driven by ecological than evolutionary factors. As positive temporal demographic correlations decrease the mean of the long-run population growth rate, the common practice of ignoring temporal correlations in population models could lead to the underestimation of extinction risks in most species

Severe malaria in Europe: an 8-year multi-centre observational study

Background: Malaria remains one of the most serious infections for travellers to tropical countries. Due to the lack of harmonized guidelines a large variety of treatment regimens is used in Europe to treat severe malaria. Methods: The European Network for Tropical Medicine and Travel Health (TropNet) conducted an 8-year, multicentre, observational study to analyse epidemiology, treatment practices and outcomes of severe malaria in its member sites across Europe. Physicians at participating TropNet centres were asked to report pseudonymized retrospective data from all patients treated at their centre for microscopically confirmed severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria according to the 2006 WHO criteria. Results: From 2006 to 2014 a total of 185 patients with severe malaria treated in 12 European countries were included. Three patients died, resulting in a 28-day survival rate of 98.4%. The majority of infections were acquired in West Africa (109/185, 59%). The proportion of patients treated with intravenous artesunate increased from 27% in 2006 to 60% in 2013. Altogether, 56 different combinations of intravenous and oral drugs were used across 28 study centres. The risk of acute renal failure (36 vs 17% p = 0.04) or cerebral malaria (54 vs 20%, p = 0.001) was significantly higher in patients ≥60 years than in younger patients. Respiratory distress with the need for mechanical ventilation was significantly associated with the risk of death in the study population (13 vs 0%, p = 0.001). Post-artemisinin delayed haemolysis was reported in 19/70 (27%) patients treated with intravenous artesunate. Conclusion: The majority of patients with severe malaria in this study were tourists or migrants acquiring the infection in West Africa. Intravenous artesunate is increasingly used for treatment of severe malaria in many European treatment centres and can be given safely to European patients with severe malaria. Patients treated with intravenous artesunate should be followed up to detect and manage late haemolytic events

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Aspects cognitivo-pragmatiques de la description d'itinéraires : Quoi détailler et comment, selon son interlocuteur ?

Ce texte présente une nouvelle analyse des données recueillies par M. Grall lors de son étude de DEA effectuée en 1999 dans l'équipe EIFFEL sous l'orientation de W. VisserNational audienceThe present study focuses on cognitivo-pragmatic aspects of descriptive discourse. It shows how the model that people hold of their interlocutors guides the description that they present them with of a route plan that the interlocutors are to follow. This description differs according to the interlocutor' knowledge of the procedures to be performed to carry out the route plan. A description for an interlocutor who doesn't know the environment details the means to be used for attaining one's goal and sub-goals. In descriptions for people who know the environment, locutors mainly present goal and sub-goals, supposing their interlocutors able to evoke themselves means for attaining these goals. The study and its results are related to the state of the art in the domains of discourse production, spatial cognition, procedural text and action semantics.L'étude présentée se focalise sur des aspects cognitivo-pragmatiques du discours descriptif. Elle montre comment le modèle qu'une personne a de son interlocuteur oriente la description qu'elle lui donne d'un itinéraire à effectuer. Ces descriptions présentent différemment les procédures de réalisation de l'itinéraire. Une description pour quelqu'un qui ne connaît pas l'environnement à traverser détaille les moyens pour atteindre les buts. Dans la description pour quelqu'un qui connaît bien cet environnement, le locuteur présente surtout le but, supposant son interlocuteur capable d'évoquer lui-même des moyens pour l'atteindre. L'étude et ses résultats sont mis en relation avec les acquis dans les domaines de la production discursive, de la cognition spatiale, du texte procédural et de la sémantique des actions

A posteriori quality control for the curation and reuse of public proteomics data

Proteomics is a rapidly expanding field encompassing a multitude of complex techniques and data types. To date much effort has been devoted to achieving the highest possible coverage of proteomes with the aim to inform future developments in basic biology as well as in clinical settings. As a result, growing amounts of data have been deposited in publicly available proteomics databases. These data are in turn increasingly reused for orthogonal downstream purposes such as data mining and machine learning. These downstream uses however, need ways to a posteriori validate whether a particular data set is suitable for the envisioned purpose. Furthermore, the (semi-) automatic curation of repository data is dependent on analyses that can highlight misannotation and edge conditions for data sets. Such curation is an important prerequisite for efficient proteomics data reuse in the life sciences in general. We therefore present here a selection of quality control metrics and approaches for the a posteriori detection of potential issues encountered in typical proteomics data sets. We illustrate our metrics by relying on publicly available data from the Proteomics Identifications Database ( PRIDE), and simultaneously show the usefulness of the large body of PRIDE data as a means to derive empirical background distributions for relevant metrics