Health-related quality of life of food-allergic children compared with healthy controls and other diseases

Background Food allergy is a potentially life-threatening disease, affecting up to 10% of the pediatric population. Objective The aim of our study was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of food-allergic patients compared with the general population and patients with other chronic diseases with dietary or allergic burden, in a cross-sectional study. Methods We recruited patients aged 8-17 years diagnosed with food allergy and matched healthy controls recruited in schools. We also included patients with asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, diabetes, obesity, and eating disorders. We used the CHQ-CF87 questionnaire for generic HRQL assessment. Food allergy HRQL was also assessed using specific questionnaires: Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire (FAQLQ) and Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM). Results One hundred and thirty-five food-allergic children, 255 children with chronic diseases, and 463 healthy controls were included in the analyses. Food-allergic patients had a better HRQL than healthy controls in the Behavior (BE), Bodily Pain (BP), Family Activities (FA), and Mental Health (MH) domains and a worse HRQL in the General Health Perception (GH) domain (p = .048). Food-allergic patients exhibited a better HRQL than patients affected by other chronic diseases, notably diabetes. Although an epinephrine autoinjector had been prescribed to 87.4% of the food-allergic children, only 54.2% of them carried it at all times. Conclusion Food-allergic patients display overall good HRQL compared with the general population and those with other diseases with daily symptoms and treatments, in line with recent improvements in food allergy management

The SOPHIE search for northern extrasolar planets XIV. A temperate (Teq ~ 300 K) super-earth around the nearby star Gliese 411

Periodic radial velocity variations in the nearby M-dwarf star Gl 411 are reported, based on measurements with the SOPHIE spectrograph. Current data do not allow us to distinguish between a 12.95-day period and its one-day alias at 1.08 days, but favour the former slightly. The velocity variation has an amplitude of 1.6 m s−1, making this the lowest-amplitude signal detected with SOPHIE up to now. We have performed a detailed analysis of the significance of the signal and its origin, including extensive simulations with both uncorrelated and correlated noise, representing the signal induced by stellar activity. The signal is significantly detected, and the results from all tests point to its planetary origin. Additionally, the presence of an additional acceleration in the velocity time series is suggested by the current data. On the other hand, a previously reported signal with a period of 9.9 days, detected in HIRES velocities of this star, is not recovered in the SOPHIE data. An independent analysis of the HIRES dataset also fails to unveil the 9.9-day signal. If the 12.95-day period is the real one, the amplitude of the signal detected with SOPHIE implies the presence of a planet, called Gl 411 b, with a minimum mass of around three Earth masses, orbiting its star at a distance of 0.079 AU. The planet receives about 3.5 times the insolation received by Earth, which implies an equilibrium temperature between 256 and 350 K, and makes it too hot to be in the habitable zone. At a distance of only 2.5 pc, Gl 411 b, is the third closest low-mass planet detected to date. Its proximity to Earth will permit probing its atmosphere with a combination of high-contrast imaging and high-dispersion spectroscopy in the next decade

ALLERGIE AU LATEX CHEZ L'ENFANT (A PROPOS DE 55 CAS)

NICE-BU Médecine Odontologie (060882102) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF

Integration of lateral porous silicon membranes into planar microfluidics

International audienceIn this work, we present a novel fabrication process that enables the monolithic integration of lateral porous silicon membranes into single-layer planar microchannels. This fabrication technique relies on the patterning of local electrodes to guide pore formation horizontally within the membrane and on the use of silicon-on-insulator substrates to spatially localize porous silicon within the channel depth. The feasibility of our approach is studied by current flow analysis using the finite element method and supported by creating 10 μm long mesoporous membranes within 20 μm deep microchannels. The fabricated mem-branes are demonstrated to be potentially useful for dead-end microfiltration by adequately retaining 300 nm diameter beads while macromolecules such as single-stranded DNA and immunoglobulin G permeate the membrane. The experimentally determined fluidic resistance is in accordance with the theo-retical value expected from the estimated pore size and porosity. The work presented here is expected to greatly simplify the integration of membranes capable of size exclusion based separation into fluidic devices and opens doors to the use of porous silicon in planar lab on a chip devices

Low Cost SU8 Based Above IC Process for High-Q RF Power Inductors Integration

International audienceThis paper presents a new process for integration of high-Q RF power inductors above low resistivity silicon substrates. The process uses the SU8 resin as a dielectric layer. The aim of using the SU8 is to form thick dielectric layer that can enhance the performance of the inductors. The flexibility of the process enables the possibility to realize complex shaped planar inductors with various dielectric and metal thicknesses to meet the requirements of the application. Q values of 55 at 5GHz has been demonstrated for an inductance value of 0.8nH using a 60 µm thick SU8 layer and 30 µm thick copper ribbons

Comparing numerical modelling approaches for the evaluation of root reinforcement

To quantify and evaluate the effect of root reinforcement on slope stability, it is of primary importance to understand the mechanical interaction between roots and soil. At the slope scale, root reinforcement is a key input whenperforming stability analysis using either Limit Equilibrium Method or Finite Element Method based models. In nearly all the previous approaches, soil mechanical reinforcement by the roots was modelled as a single additional cohesion to the soil effective cohesion. This modelling approach allowed simplified integration of roots impact on slope stability and made stability models easy to compute.Nevertheless, the hypothesis of considering the effect of roots as an additional cohesion term has been increasingly challenged by studies conducting soil-roots shear tests at a local scale, i.e. the scale of the root system or root bundle embedded in soil. Although the experimental approaches provide an effective way to study root-soil interaction, they are usually time-consuming and laborious, especially for generating replicates, considering complex, multiple, and correlated root traits, and controlling environmental factors.Compared to experimental tests, numerical simulations at the plant scale constitute a promising alternative to study roots-soil interaction. Despite difficulties in model validation using field data, simulations based on the Finite Element Method can be considered as reliable numerical approaches generating very comparable results with experimental tests. Recently, a rooted soil modelling approach based on the Discrete Element Method was also developed and showed powerful potentials to explore complex root-soil interactions. In this research work, we simulated 3D direct shear tests using the standard implicit Finite Element Method (FEM) and he Discrete Element Method (DEM), aiming at (i) comparing the two numerical approaches and (ii) evaluating classical soil reinforcement models.For that purpose, in homogeneous soil with low cohesion, 36 straight, non-branched and thin root models were implanted in three parallel lines. Root traits, including orientation with regards to the shear strain direction (45°, 90°and -45°), longitudinal modulus of elasticity (10 MPa and 100 MPa), and bending and compressive root behaviours (beam, truss and cable) were investigated. The results from this analysis clearly showed that, compared to the FEM, the DEM achieved consistent results, avoided convergence problems, but required longer computation time and used parameters potentially difficult to identify. In addition, the DEM presents the advantage of a more detailed modelling of the root soil local interaction and, thus of root slippage into the soil. Both advantages and drawbacks of each approach tend to show the necessity of using both of them as complementary tools in future studies.The results also showed that root reinforcement varied as a function of soil strain and was closely related to root geometry, location in the sample, and mechanical traits. In addition, existing root reinforcement models tended toprovide higher root reinforcement estimates than those achieved by numerical direct shear tests. As suggested by other recent research studies, the results highlight the necessity to take into account the effect of soil strain, rootorientation, position, root type and confining normal pressure in the existing root reinforcement models in order to enhance both their accuracy of prediction and their closeness to the modelled or observed processes

Dielectric Microwave Characterization of the SU-8 Thick Resin Used in an Above-IC Process

International audienceA broadband technique for determining electrical properties of dielectric materials is presented, based on microstrip lines. Relative permittivity and Loss tangent are computed from S-parameter measurements and analytical equations. The analytical computation is either direct by using equations derived from Bahl formulas, or iterative by using Jensen-Hammerstad formulas coupled with the efficient secant algorithm. Thin film microstrip transmission lines have been fabricated for the extraction of dielectric electrical properties of SU-8 resin. A relative dielectric constant of 2.85 and a loss tangent of 0.04 were determined. These values are used in an EM simulator for the design of an SU-8 based High-Q inductor implemented on a low resistivity silicon substrate. The good agreement between measurements and simulations validates the characterization procedure and confirms the relevance of SU8 for applications up to 15 GHz. I. INTRODUCTION Current developments of mobile telecommunications are accompanied by an increasing demand for powerful, low cost and reliable new technologies. In addition, the increasing complexity of circuits implies the use of electric and electromagnetic (EM) simulators to carry out effective designs. However, simulations require a good knowledge of the electrical properties of involved materials, in particular of dielectric ones. In this paper, two simple yet accurate dielectric constant and loss tangent extraction methods are presented. These methods are applied to the measured S-parameters of microstrip lines. One method is based upon direct analytical calculations while the other relies on an iterative algorithm. These methods are extremely fast compared to previous ones [1] since they do not require direct and inverse problem solving as well as a comparison between calculated and measured S-parameters. After validation on an Alumina substrate, these methods were used to investigate the electrical properties of the epoxy based photoresist SU-8. The SU-8 appears as an attractive material for above IC process, because of its moderate mechanical strain and because it allows important thickness. This material has been previously characterized by using different techniques and methods. However, they either required a complex fabrication process [2] or showed inaccurate results [3]. In addition, several different types of SU-8 are available whose electrical properties are sensitive to processing conditions. For all these reasons, effective dielectric parameters extraction methods are needed, and hereby presented

Modélisation discrète du renforcement de sols granulaires par les plantes

International audienceThe analysis of the influence of the roots on the shear resistance of the soil requires identifying the effect of the different root-soil interaction processes depending on soil and roots properties. For that purpose, a numerical model of direct shear tests of non-rooted and rooted granular soils based on the Discrete Element Method was developed. The soil is modeled as an assembly of locally interacting spheres and the roots are modeled as deformable cylinders in the soil matrix. The model allows accounting for the root tensile loading until breakage, the root bending loading, the root-soil adhesive links until adhesion breakage, the root slippage associated with a frictional resistance at the root-soil interface. The study focuses on identifying the different root-soil interaction mechanisms depending on the soil type. Both frictional and cohesive granular soil types were used in the simulations. The effects of the roots mechanical properties - tensile, bending modulus and root-soil interfacial friction angle - and of the root number were also analyzed for the different soil types. The results first show that the effect of the roots strongly depends on the shear strain for any soil type. For frictional soils, an increasing shear strain induces progressively a pure tensile loading of the roots until slippage of the root-soil interface. For cohesive granular soils, the pure tensile loading of the roots is followed by a progressive breakage of the adhesive root-soil links and by a complete slippage of the roots. The results show that the influence of the root number is significant if the prevailing processes are root tensile loading combined with slippage whereas it is less important if root loading is combined with progressive breakage of the adhesive links for the root configurations explored. Finally, the results show that the shear strain range associated with the different processes strongly depends on the relative rigidities of the roots and soil matrix. The model developed was shown of great interest to analyze the shear resistance of the rooted soil assemblies depending on the shear strain. Such an approach could therefore be used to test the different assumptions done in the analytical models. Developing analytical models of slope stability based on the calculation of the shear resistance of rooted soil depending not only on soil and root properties but also on shear strain intensity also constitutes a perspective for the use of the model developed

Evaluation of root reinforcement models using numerical modelling approaches

International audienceBackground and aims: The root reinforcement (RR) models commonly used in slope stability modelling can be simply explained as a single soil additional cohesion parameter estimated with simple analytical functions of root traits. We have simulated 3D direct shear tests using the standard implicit Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Discrete Element Method (DEM), aiming to (i) evaluate the RR models and (ii) compare the two numerical approaches. Methods: In homogeneous soil with low cohesion, 36 straight, non-branched and thin root models were implanted in three parallel lines. Root traits, including orientation relative to the shear direction (45°, 90° and −45°), longitudinal modulus of elasticity (10 MPa and 100 MPa), and bending and compressive behaviours (beam, truss and cable) were investigated. Results: Compared to the FEM, the DEM achieved consistent results and avoided convergence problems, but required longer computation time and used parameters potentially difficult to identify. Root reinforcement did not occur until significant plastic deformation of soil. The RR values estimated by the shear tests were much lower than those estimated by the usual RR models and were significantly dependent upon root traits. Conclusions: Ignoring the effect of root traits in RR models might lead to an important bias when using slope stability models