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BACKGROUND: Anti-PD-(L)1 therapy alone (cancer immunotherapy [CIT]-mono) or combined with platinum-based chemotherapy (CIT-chemo) is used as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our study compared clinical outcomes with CIT-mono vs CIT-chemo in the specific clinical scenario of non-squamous (Nsq)-NSCLC with a high PD-L1 expression of ≥50\% (tumor proportion score (TPS) or tumor cells (TC)). METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using a real-world de-identified database. Patients with metastatic Nsq-NSCLC with high PD-L1 expression initiating first-line CIT-mono or CIT-chemo between 24 October 2016 and 28 February 2019 were followed up to 28 February 2020. We compared overall survival (OS) and real-world progression-free survival (rwPFS) using Kaplan-Meier methodology. Hazard ratios (HR) were adjusted (aHR) for differences in baseline key prognostic characteristics using inverse probability of treatment weighting methodology. RESULTS: Patients with PD-L1-high Nsq-NSCLC treated with CIT-mono (n=351), were older and less often presented with de novo stage IV disease than patients treated with CIT-chemo (n=169). With a median follow-up of 19.9 months for CIT-chemo vs 23.5 months for CIT-mono, median OS and rwPFS did not differ between the two groups (median OS: CIT-chemo, 21.0 months vs CIT-mono, 22.1 months, aHR=1.03, 95\% CI 0.77-1.39, P=0.83; median rwPFS: CIT-chemo, 10.8 months vs CIT-mono, 11.5 months, aHR=1.04, 95\% CI 0.78-1.37, P=0.81). CIT-chemo showed significant and meaningful improvement in OS and rwPFS vs CIT-mono only in the never-smoker subgroup, albeit among a small sample of patients (n=50; OS HR=0.25, 95\% CI 0.07-0.83, interaction P=0.02; rwPFS HR=0.40, 95\% CI 0.17-0.95, interaction P=0.04). CONCLUSION: Except in the subgroup of never-smoker patients, sparing the chemotherapy in first-line CIT treatment does not appear to impact survival outcomes in Nsq-NSCLC patients with high PD-L1 expression.

Online estimation of 3D ground reaction forces (GRFs) is becoming increasingly important for closed-loop control of lower-extremity robotic exoskeletons. Through in-verse dynamics and optimization models, 3D GRFs can be used to estimate net joint torques and approximate muscle forces. Although instrumented footwear to measure vertical GRFs in out-of-the-lab environments is available, accurately measuring shear GRFs with foot-mounted sensors still remains a challenging task.In this paper, a new outsole-embedded optoelectronic sensor configuration that is able to measure biaxial shear GRFs is proposed. Compared with traditional strain-gauge based solutions, optoelectronic sensors allow for a more affordable design. To mitigate the risk of altering the wearer’s natural gait, the proposed solution does not involve external modifications to the footwear structure. A preliminary validation of the outsole-embedded sensor was conducted against validated laboratory equipment. The test involved two sessions of treadmill walking at different speeds. Experimental results suggest that the proposed design may be a promising solution for measuring shear GRFs in unconstrained environments.

This paper proposes a method for optimizing the location and size of Distributed Generators (DGs) based on the Coyote Algorithm (COA), in order to minimize the power loss in an Electric Distribution System (EDS). Compared to other algorithms, COA does not need control parameters during its execution. The effectiveness of COA was evaluated in an EDS with 33 nodes for two scenarios: the optimization of location and capacity of DGs in an initial radial configuration, and the best radial configuration for power loss reduction. Results were compared with other methods, showing that the proposed COA is a reliable tool for optimizing the location and size of DGs in an EDS.

Objective: The purpose of this survey was to estimate the prevalence of viral load (VL) suppression and emergence of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) among individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 36 months or longer in Viet Nam using a nationally representative sampling method. Methods: The survey was conducted between May and August 2014 using a two-stage cluster design. Sixteen ART clinics were selected using probability proportional to proxy size sampling, and patients receiving ART for at least 36 months were consecutively enrolled. Epidemiological information and blood specimens were collected for HIV-1 VL and HIVDR testing; HIVDR was defined by the Stanford University HIVDR algorithm. Results: Overall, 365 eligible individuals were recruited with a mean age of 38.2 years; 68.4% were men. The mean time on ART was 75.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 69.0–81.9 months), and 93.7% of the patients were receiving non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimens. Of the 365 individuals, 345 (94.7%, 95% CI: 64.1–99.4%) had VL below 1000 copies/mL and 19 (4.6%, 95% CI: 2.8-–7.5) had HIVDR mutations. Discussion: Our nationally representative survey found a high level of VL suppression and a low prevalence of HIVDR among individuals who received ART for at least 36 months in Viet Nam. Continued surveillance for HIVDR is important for evaluating and improving HIV programs.

The trend toward soft wearable robotic systems creates a compelling need for new and reliable sensor systems that do not require a rigid mounting frame. Despite the growing use of inertial measurement units (IMUs) in motion tracking applications, sensor drift and IMU-to-segment misalignment still represent major problems in applications requiring high accuracy. This paper proposes a novel 2-step calibration method which takes advantage of the periodic nature of human locomotion to improve the accuracy of wearable inertial sensors in measuring lower-limb joint angles. Specifically, the method was applied to the determination of the hip joint angles during walking tasks. The accuracy and precision of the calibration method were accessed in a group of N =8 subjects who walked with a custom-designed inertial motion capture system at 85% and 115% of their comfortable pace, using an optical motion capture system as reference. In light of its low computational complexity and good accuracy, the proposed approach shows promise for embedded applications, including closed-loop control of soft wearable robotic systems.

Background Cognitive remediation is a key tool in rehabilitation programs but not sufficient recovery. Meta-analyses in cognitive remediation insist on combinating programs in schizophrenia (Wykes and al.,2012; Lindenmayer and al., 2013). Futhermore, other subjective and clinical factors must be taking account in order to create a personalized rehabilitation program facilitating skills transfer in an ecological context. CRISALID (Center of cognitive rehabilitation and cognitive remediation), Clermont de l’Oise psychiatric department (Hauts de France area, France) offers an integrative care program, COMBIMod; it combines several modules of therapeutic education and of cognitive remediation, after an individual assessment, clinical, cognitive and functional (quantitative and qualitative) of each patient. A personalized and contractualized project of rehabilitation is then created with all the care partners around the patient. Objectives are: first to present COMBIMod with the description of each integrative education therapeutic programs based on cognitive deficits; then to proceed to a statistical neuropsychological comparative analysis. We postulate that using an integrative and ecological approach including remediation cognitive technics and ecological psychoeducation programs, can improve cognitive deficits. Methods First, we described all the steps to enter COMBIMOD program since the global personalized assessments to the creation of an individualized program including cognitive remediation (Neurocognition and Social-cognition) and therapeutics education programs (MODip, MODen). We illustrated this program with patients verbatim. Then, we recruited 15 stabilized patients with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. All the patients were assessed using neuropsychological tests at the baseline and after completed the program. We used Wilcoxon test analysis with level of significancy < 0,05. Results We found significant improvement in some visuospacial memory test (p< 0,02) and executive functions (semantic verbal fluency: p

SECTION 1 ROBUST AND MULTIVARIATE DATA ANALYSIS