pinecone/core-2020-05-10-deduplication huggingface dataset:
A pharmacokinetic – viral kinetic model describes the effect of alisporivir monotherapy or in combination with peg-IFN on 2 hepatitis C virologic response

International audienceAlisporivir is a cyclophilin inhibitor with demonstrated in vitro and in vivo activity against hepatitis C 11 virus (HCV). We estimated antiviral effectiveness of alisporivir alone or in combination with 12 pegylated-Inteferon (peg-IFN) in 88 patients infected with different HCV genotypes treated for four 13 weeks. The pharmacokinetics of both drugs were modeled and used as driving functions for the viral 14 kinetic model. Genotype was found to significantly affect pegylated-Inteferon effectiveness (ε= 86.3% 15 and 99.1% in genotype-1/4 and genotype-2/3, respectively, p<10 -7) and infected cells loss rate (δ= 16 0.22 vs 0.39 day -1 in genotype-1/4 and genotype-2/3, respectively, p<10 -6). Alisporivir effectiveness 17 was not significantly different across genotype and was high for doses ≥600 mg QD. We simulated 18 virologic responses with other alisporivir dosing regimens in HCV genotype-2/3 patients using the 19 model. Our predictions consistently matched the observed responses, demonstrating that this model 20 could be a useful tool for anticipating virologic response and optimize alisporivir-based therapies
Gas-solid carbonation as a possible source of carbonates in cold planetary environments

International audienceCarbonates are abundant sedimentary minerals at the surface and sub-surface of the Earth and they have been proposed as tracers of liquid water in extraterrestrial environments. Their formation mechanism is since generally associated with aqueous alteration processes. Recently, carbonate minerals have been discovered on Mars' surface by different orbital or rover missions. In particular, the phoenix mission has measured from 1 to 5% of calcium carbonate (calcite type) within the soil (Smith P.H. et al., 2009). These occurrences have been reported in area were the relative humidity is significantly high (Boynton et al., 2009). The small concentration of carbonates suggests an alternative process on mineral grain surfaces (as suggested by Shaheen et al., 2010) than carbonation in aqueous conditions. Such an observation could rather point toward a possible formation mechanism by dust-gas reaction under current Martian conditions. To understand the mechanism of carbonate formation under conditions relevant to current Martian atmosphere and surface, we designed an experimental setup consisting of an infrared microscope coupled to a cryogenic reaction cell (IR-CryoCell setup). Three different mineral precursors of carbonates (Ca and Mg hydroxides, and a hydrated Ca silicate formed from Ca2SiO4), low temperature (from -10 to +30°C), and reduced CO2 pressure (from 100 to 2000 mbar) were utilized to investigate the mechanism of gas-solid carbonation at mineral surfaces. These mineral materials are crucial precursors to form Ca and Mg carbonates in humid environments (0 < relative humidity < 100%) at dust-CO2 or dust-water ice-CO2 interfaces. Our results reveal a significant and fast carbonation process for Ca hydroxide and hydrated Ca silicate. Conversely, only a moderate carbonation is observed for the Mg hydroxide. These results suggest that gas-solid carbonation process or carbonate formation at the dust-water ice-CO2 interfaces could be a currently active Mars' surface process. To the best of our knowledge, we report for the first time that calcium carbonate can be formed at a negative temperature (-10°C) via gas-solid carbonation of Ca hydroxide. We note that the carbonation process at low temperature (<0°C) described in the present study could also have important implications on the dust-water ice-CO2 interactions in cold terrestrial environments (e.g. Antarctic)
Selection of coals of different maturities for CO2 Storage by modelling of CH4 and CO2 adsorption isotherms

International audienceCO2 injection in unmineable coal seams could be one interesting option for both storage and methane recovery processes. The objective of this study is to compare and model pure gas sorption isotherms (CO2 and CH4) for well-characterised coals of different maturities to determine the most suitable coal for CO2 storage. Carbon dioxide and methane adsorption on several coals have been investigated using a gravimetric adsorption method. The experiments were carried out using both CO2 and CH4 pure gases at 25 °C from 0.1 to 5 MPa (1 to 50 bar). The experimental results were fitted using Temkin's approach but also with the corrected Langmuir's and the corrected Tóth's equations. The two last approaches are more accurate from a thermodynamical point of view, and have the advantage of taking into account the fact that experimental data (isotherms) correspond to excess adsorption capacities. These approaches allow better quantification of the adsorbed gas. Determined CO2 adsorption capacities are from 0.5 to 2 mmol/g of dry coal. Modelling provides also the affinity parameters of the two gases for the different coals. We have shown these parameters determined with adsorption models could be used for classification and first selection of coals for CO2 storage. The affinity ratio ranges from a value close to 1 for immature coals to 41 for high rank coals like anthracites. This ratio allows selecting coals having high CO2 adsorption capacities. In our case, the modelling study of a significant number of coals from various ranks shows that anthracites seem to have the highest CO2 storage capacities. Our study provides high quality affinity parameters and values of CO2 and CH4 adsorption capacities on various coals for the future modelling of CO2 injection in coal seams
Preserving preference rankings under non-financial background risk

International audienceWe investigate the impact of a non-financial background risk ˜" on the preference rankings between two independent financial risks ˜z1 and ˜z2 for an expected-utility maximizer. More precisely, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the alternative (x0 + ˜z1, y0 + ˜") to be preferred to (x0 + ˜z2, y0 + ˜") whenever (x0 + ˜z1, y0) is preferred to (x0 + ˜z2, y0). Utility functions that preserve the preference rankings are fully characterized. Their practical relevance is discussed in light of recent results on the constraints for the modeling of the preference for the disaggregation of harms
Turning scientific and technological human capital into economic capital: the experience of biotech start-ups in France

International audienceThis paper examines how scientific and technological (S&T) human capital is transformed into financial capital through the creation of firms by scientists. The analysis is based on a database describing the positions held by 132 founders from 62 French biotech SMEs. It shows that star scientists engage in highly risky but also valuable firms. Less famous scientists must develop their human capital rather than valorising a stock. The paper concludes by pointing to three paradoxes concerning the commitment and compensation scheme of star scientists and the managerial position of less known scientists
First evidence of a whale bone industry in the western European Upper Paleolithic: Magdalenian artifacts from Isturitz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France)

International audienceRecent reexamination of osseous material from the Magdalenian layers of the Isturitz cave (Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France) by the author and F. Poplin has shown that several artifacts once considered to be made of antler have now been identified deriving from cetacean bone, most probably whale bone. These artifacts demonstrate the existence of technical exploitation of whale bone, proving that the now submerged seashore was also a place where Paleolithic people gathered specific materials for producing weapons and tools
A Phase 2 Study of Coltuximab Ravtansine (SAR3419) Monotherapy in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)

International audienceBackground Long-term disease-free survival in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) remains unsatisfactory, and treatment options are limited for those patients who relapse or fail to respond following initial therapy. We conducted a dose-escalation/expansion phase 2, multicenter, single-arm study to determine the optimal dose of coltuximab ravtansine (SAR3419), an anti-CD19 antibody-drug conjugate, in this setting. Patients and Methods The dose-escalation part of the study determined the selected dose of coltuximab ravtansine for evaluation of efficacy and safety in the dose-expansion phase. Patients received coltuximab ravtansine induction therapy (up to 8 weekly doses); responding patients were eligible for maintenance therapy (biweekly administrations for up to 24 weeks). Three dose levels of coltuximab ravtansine were examined: 55, 70, and 90 mg/m2. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR). Secondary endpoints included duration of response (DOR) and safety. Results A total of 36 patients were treated: 19 during dose escalation; 17 during dose expansion. One dose-limiting toxicity was observed at 90 mg/m2 (grade 3 peripheral motor neuropathy), and therefore 70 mg/m2 was selected for the dose-expansion phase. Five patients discontinued therapy due to adverse events (AEs). The most common AEs were pyrexia, diarrhea, and nausea. Of 17 evaluable patients treated at the selected dose, 4 responded (estimated ORR using Bayesian methodology: 25.47% [80% confidence interval: 14.18-39.6%]); DOR was 1.94 (range: 1-5.6) months. Based on these results, the study was prematurely discontinued. Conclusions Coltuximab ravtansine is well tolerated but is associated with a low clinical response rate in patients with relapsed/refractory AL
Energetic valorization of ammonium resulting from nitrate electrochemical reduction—Feasibility of biohydrogen production

International audienceThe main objective of this work was to examine the feasibility of coupling electrochemical and biological processes to destroy nitrate ions (NO3−) while producing biohydrogen. In this integrated process NO3− was firstly converted to ammonium using an electrochemical flow cell. After only one pass of concentrated nitrate solutions (3 g NO3− L−1) through the flow cell, ammonium ions selectivity of 98.8%, corresponding to 0.86 g NH4+ L−1 was recorded. The obtained ammonium solution was then tested as a nitrogen source to produce H2 in a batch system involving heat-treated aerobic activated sludge.In the optimal conditions corresponding to pH 5.5 and initial glucose concentration of 15 g L−1, consumption yields were 97% and 82% for ammonium and glucose, leading to H2 yield of 0.35 mol H2 mol−1 glucose consumed. The H2 production was associated with acetic/butyric acids type fermentation. Obtained biogas contains only H2 and CO2 and was free of methane, hydrogen sulphide, and nitrous oxide. Therefore, the targeted objectives were achieved since on the one hand selective and quantitative conversion of NO3− to NH4+ was shown and on the other hand the obtained NH4+ was completely assimilated by activated sludge with the production of biohydrogen, a clean energy carrie
Characterization of gaseous odorous emissions from a rendering plant by GC/MS and treatment by biofiltration.

International audienceThis research focuses on the identification and quantification of odorous components in rendering plant emissions by GC/MS and other analytical methods, as well as the description of phenomena occurring in biofilter in order to improve the removal efficiency of industrial biofilters. Among the 36 compounds quantified in the process air stream, methanethiol, isopentanal and hydrogen sulfide, presented the major odorous contributions according to their high concentrations, generally higher than 10 mg m(-3), and their low odorous detection thresholds. The elimination of such component mixtures by biofiltration (Peat packing material, EBRT: 113 s) was investigated and revealed that more than 83% of hydrogen sulfide and isopentanal were removed by biofilter. Nevertheless, the incomplete degradation of such easily degradable pollutants suggested inappropriate conditions as lack of nutrients and acidic pH. These inadequate conditions could explain the lack of performance, especially observed on methanethiol (53% of RE) and the production of oxygenated and sulfur by-products by the biofilter itself
Colloidal Control on the Distribution of Rare Earth Elements in Shallow Groundwaters

International audienceA 7-year monitoring period of rare earth element (REE) concentrations and REE pattern shapes was carried out in well water samples from a 450 m long transect setup in the Kervidy/Coët-Dan experimental catchment, France. The new dataset confirms systematic, topography-related REE signatures and REE concentrations variability but challenges the validity of a groundwater mixing hypothesis. Most likely, this is due to REE preferential adsorption upon mixing. However, the coupled mixing­adsorption mechanism still fails to explain the strong spatial variation in negative Ce anomaly amplitude. A third mechanismƒnamely, the input into the aquifer of REE-rich, Ce anomaly free, organic colloidsƒis required to account for this variation. Ultrafiltration results and speciation calculations made using Model VI agree with this interpretation. Indeed, the data reveal that Ce anomaly amplitude downslope decrease corresponds to REE speciation change, downhill groundwaters REE being mainly bound to organic colloids. Water table depth monitoring shows that the colloid source is located in the uppermost, organic-rich soil horizons, and that the colloid input occurs mainly when water table rises in response to rainfall events. It appears that the colloids amount that reaches groundwater increases downhill as the distance between soil organic-rich horizons and water table decreases. Topography is, therefore, the ultimate key factor that controls Ce anomaly spatial variability in these shallow groundwaters. Finally, the <0.2 µm REE fraction ultimately comes from two solid sources in these groundwaters: one located in the deep basement schist; another located in the upper, organic-rich soil horizon
Multi-parameter auto-models and their application

International audienceMotivated by the modelling of non Gaussian data or positively correlated data on a lattice, extensions of Besag's Markov random fields auto-models to exponential families with multi-dimensional parameters have been proposed recently. In this paper, we provide a multiple-parameter analog of Besag's one-dimensional result that gives the necessary form of the exponential families for the Markov random field's conditional distributions. We propose estimation of parameters by maximum pseudo-likelihood and give a proof for the consistency of the estimators for the multi-parameter auto-model. The methodology is illustrated with some examples, particularly the building of a cooperative system with beta conditional distributions
Proximal algorithms for multicomponent image recovery problems

International audienceIn recent years, proximal splitting algorithms have been applied to various monocomponent signal and image recovery problems. In this paper, we address the case of multicomponent problems. We first provide closed form expressions for several important multicomponent proximity operators and then derive extensions of existing proximal algorithms to the multicomponent setting. These results are applied to stereoscopic image recovery, multispectral image denoising, and image decomposition into texture and geometry components
Synchronization of Pushdown Automata

International audienceWe introduce the synchronization of a pushdown automaton by a sequential transducer associating an integer to each input word. The visibly pushdown automata are the automata synchronized by an one state transducer whose output labels are -1,0,1. For each transducer, we can decide whether a pushdown automaton is synchronized. The pushdown automata synchronized by a given transducer accept languages which form an effective boolean algebra containing the regular languages and included in the deterministic real-time context-free languages
Detection of the A189G mtDNA heteroplasmic mutation in relation to age in modern and ancient bones.

International audienceThe aim of this study was to demonstrate the presence of the A189G age-related point mutation on DNA extracted from bone. For this, a peptide nucleic acid (PNA)/DNA sequencing method which can determine an age threshold for the appearance of the mutation was used. Initially, work was done in muscle tissue in order to evaluate the sensitivity of the technique and afterwards in bone samples from the same individuals. This method was also applied to ancient bones from six well-preserved skeletal remains. The mutation was invariably found in muscle, and at a rate of up to 20% in individuals over 60 years old. In modern bones, the mutation was detected in individuals aged 38 years old or more, at a rate of up to 1%, but its occurrence was not systematic (only four out of ten of the individuals over 50 years old carried the heteroplasmy). For ancient bones, the mutation was also found in the oldest individuals according to osteologic markers. The study of this type of age-related mutation and a more complete understanding of its manifestation has potentially useful applications. Combined with traditional age markers, it could improve identification accuracy in forensic cases or in anthropological studies of ancient populations
Influence of Contextual Objects on Spatial Interactions and viewpoints sharing in Virtual Environments

International audienceCollaborative virtual environments (CVEs) are 3D spaces in which users share virtual objects, communicate, and work together. To collaborate efficiently, users must develop a common representation of their shared virtual space. In this work, we investigated spatial communication in virtual environments. In order to perform an object co-manipulation task, the users must be able to communicate and exchange spatial information, such as object position, in a virtual environment. We conducted an experiment in which we manipulated the contents of the shared virtual space to understand how users verbally construct a common spatial representation of their environment. Forty-four students participated in the experiment to assess the influence of contextual objects on spatial communication and sharing of viewpoints. The participants were asked to perform in dyads an object co-manipulation task. The results show that the presence of a contextual object such as fixed and lateralized visual landmarks in the virtual environment positively influences the way male operators collaborate to perform this task. These results allow us to provide some design recommendations for CVEs for object manipulation tasks
Effects of Ca2+ on supramolecular aggregation of natural organic matter in aqueous solutions: A comparison of molecular modeling approaches

Natural organic matter (NOM) represents a complex molecular system that cannot be fully characterized compositionally or structurally in full atomistic detail. This makes the application of molecular modeling approaches very difficult and significantly hinders quantitative investigation of NOM properties and behavior by these otherwise very efficient computational techniques. Here we report and analyze three molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of Ca2+ complexation with NOM in aqueous solutions in an attempt to quantitatively assess possible effects of model- and system size-dependence in such simulations. Despite some obvious variations in the computed results that depend on the size of the simulated system and on the parameters of the force field models used, all three simulations are quite robust and consistent. They show Ca2+ ions associated with 35-50% of the NOM carboxylic groups at near-neutral pH and point to a strong preference for the stability of bidentate-coordinated contact ion pairs. The degree and potential mechanisms of NOM supramolecular aggregation in the presence of Ca2+ ions in solution are also assessed on a semi-quantitative level from two larger-scale MD simulations
Researchers on display: moving the laboratory into the museum

International audienceAn intriguing development is taking place in several European science museums: the move of university research laboratories into the space accessible to visitors. Seen as a means to encourage the public understanding of research and to render research practice more accessible to visitors, such laboratories-in-the-museum have been set up in museums in Munich, Berlin, Milan and Gothenburg. This paper is concerned with the changes that the laboratory undergoes through this relocation - namely a transformation of its social and material architecture; an extension of its object-world; and a change in, and multiplication of, the roles of researchers. The laboratory-in-the-museum not only represents, displays and explains a particular kind of space - the laboratory - but it is also designed to create space for dialogue and discussion between researchers and visitors
North Sea sensitivity to atmospheric forcing

The sensitivity of North Sea physics and phytoplankton production to atmospheric forcing has been studied by performing perturbations of the atmospheric forcing fields through a number of model simulations. The perturbations are kept in the range of expected climate change, to give a first indication of the climate change impacts on regional systems. The model simulations suggest that an increase in air temperature and short wave radiation will increase sea surface temperature, while an increase in wind will decrease it. Increased wind will increase the transports into the North Sea, while the other atmospheric forcings only have a small impact on that. Combining the perturbations indicates a smaller stratified area and a deeper mixed layer. Primary production is expected to increase, with an increase in wind speed having the largest impact
Proof-testing strategies induced by dangerous detected failures of safety-instrumented systems

Some dangerous failures of safety-instrumented systems (SISs) are detected almost immediately by diagnostic self-testing as dangerous detected (DD) failures, whereas other dangerous failures can only be detected by proof-testing, and are therefore called dangerous undetected (DU) failures. Some items may have a DU- and a DD-failure at the same time. After the repair of a DD-failure is completed, the maintenance team has two options: to perform an insert proof test for DU-failure or not. If an insert proof test is performed, it is necessary to decide whether the next scheduled proof test should be postponed or performed at the scheduled time. This paper analyzes the effects of different testing strategies on the safety performance of a single channel of a SIS. The safety performance is analyzed by Petri nets and by approximation formulas and the results obtained by the two approaches are compared. It is shown that insert testing improves the safety performance of the channel, but the feasibility and cost of the strategy may be a hindrance to recommend insert testing.Author preprin
Modeling diffusion limitation in solid-oxide fuel cells

Effect of surface diffusion on the performance of solid-oxide fuel cell is investigated. A methodical approach for the evaluation of surface diffusion coefficients of various adsorbed species based on bond-order conservation Morse potential (BOC-MP) method is presented. The surface diffusion fluxes are used for the evaluation of temporal changes in surface coverages. Our analysis shows that surface diffusion does not lead to the concentration losses in solid oxide fuel cells. Further analysis is carried out and results are presented to substantiate the significance of interface diffusion on the behavior of voltage at limiting current