74 research outputs found
Efficiency of Higher Order Finite Elements for the Analysis of Seismic Wave Propagation
The analysis of wave propagation problems in linear damped media must take
into account both propagation features and attenuation process. To perform
accurate numerical investigations by the finite differences or finite element
method, one must consider a specific problem known as the numerical dispersion
of waves. Numerical dispersion may increase the numerical error during the
propagation process as the wave velocity (phase and group) depends on the
features of the numerical model. In this paper, the numerical modelling of wave
propagation by the finite element method is thus analyzed and dis-cussed for
linear constitutive laws. Numerical dispersion is analyzed herein through 1D
computations investigating the accuracy of higher order 15-node finite elements
towards numerical dispersion. Concerning the numerical analy-sis of wave
attenuation, a rheological interpretation of the classical Rayleigh assumption
has for instance been previously proposed in this journal
Seismic site effects in a deep alluvial basin: numerical analysis by the boundary element method
The main purpose of the paper is the numerical analysis of seismic site
effects in Caracas (Venezuela). The analysis is performed considering the
boundary element method in the frequency domain. A numerical model including a
part of the local topography is considered, it involves a deep alluvial deposit
on an elastic bedrock. The amplification of seismic motion (SH-waves, weak
motion) is analyzed in terms of level, occurring frequency and location. In
this specific site of Caracas, the amplification factor is found to reach a
maximum value of 25. Site effects occur in the thickest part of the basin for
low frequencies (below 1.0 Hz) and in two intermediate thinner areas for
frequencies above 1.0 Hz. The influence of both incidence and shear wave
velocities is also investigated. A comparison with microtremor recordings is
presented afterwards. The results of both numerical and experimental approaches
are in good agreement in terms of fundamental frequencies in the deepest part
of the basin. The boundary element method appears to be a reliable and
efficient approach for the analysis of seismic site effects
Local amplification of deep mining induced vibrations - Part.2: Simulation of the ground motion in a coal basin
This work investigates the impact of deep coal mining induced vibrations on
surface constructions using numerical tools. An experimental study of the
geological site amplification and of its influence on mining induced vibrations
has already been published in a previous paper (Part 1: Experimental evidence
for site effects in a coal basin). Measurements have shown the existence of an
amplification area in the southern part of the basin where drilling data have
shown the presence of particularly fractured and soft stratigraphic units. The
present study, using the Boundary Element Method (BEM) in the frequency domain,
first investigates canonical geological structures in order to get general
results for various sites. The amplification level at the surface is given as a
function of the shape of the basin and of the velocity contrast with the
bedrock. Next, the particular coal basin previously studied experimentally
(Driad-Lebeau et al., 2009) is modeled numerically by BEM. The amplification
phenomena characterized numerically for the induced vibrations are found to be
compatible with the experimental findings: amplification level, frequency
range, location. Finally, the whole work was necessary to fully assess the
propagation and amplification of mine induced vibrations. The numerical results
quantifying amplification can also be used to study other coal basins or
various types of alluvial sites
A 1-Year Prospective French Nationwide Study of Emergency Hospital Admissions in Children and Adults with Primary Immunodeficiency.
PURPOSE: Patients with primary immunodeficiency (PID) are at risk of serious complications. However, data on the incidence and causes of emergency hospital admissions are scarce. The primary objective of the present study was to describe emergency hospital admissions among patients with PID, with a view to identifying "at-risk" patient profiles.
METHODS: We performed a prospective observational 12-month multicenter study in France via the CEREDIH network of regional PID reference centers from November 2010 to October 2011. All patients with PIDs requiring emergency hospital admission were included.
RESULTS: A total of 200 admissions concerned 137 patients (73 adults and 64 children, 53% of whom had antibody deficiencies). Thirty admissions were reported for 16 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients. When considering the 170 admissions of non-transplant patients, 149 (85%) were related to acute infections (respiratory tract infections and gastrointestinal tract infections in 72 (36%) and 34 (17%) of cases, respectively). Seventy-seven percent of the admissions occurred during winter or spring (December to May). The in-hospital mortality rate was 8.8% (12 patients); death was related to a severe infection in 11 cases (8%) and Epstein-Barr virus-induced lymphoma in 1 case. Patients with a central venous catheter (n = 19, 13.9%) were significantly more hospitalized for an infection (94.7%) than for a non-infectious reason (5.3%) (p = 0.04).
CONCLUSION: Our data showed that the annual incidence of emergency hospital admission among patients with PID is 3.4%. The leading cause of emergency hospital admission was an acute infection, and having a central venous catheter was associated with a significantly greater risk of admission for an infectious episode
Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19
Interindividual clinical variability in the course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is vast. We report that at least 101 of 987 patients with life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia had neutralizing immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies (auto-Abs) against interferon-w (IFN-w) (13 patients), against the 13 types of IFN-a (36), or against both (52) at the onset of critical disease; a few also had auto-Abs against the other three type I IFNs. The auto-Abs neutralize the ability of the corresponding type I IFNs to block SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. These auto-Abs were not found in 663 individuals with asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection and were present in only 4 of 1227 healthy individuals. Patients with auto-Abs were aged 25 to 87 years and 95 of the 101 were men. A B cell autoimmune phenocopy of inborn errors of type I IFN immunity accounts for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia in at least 2.6% of women and 12.5% of men
Meta-analysis of type 2 Diabetes in African Americans Consortium
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is more prevalent in African Americans than in Europeans. However, little is known about the genetic risk in African Americans despite the recent identification of more than 70 T2D loci primarily by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in individuals of European ancestry. In order to investigate the genetic architecture of T2D in African Americans, the MEta-analysis of type 2 DIabetes in African Americans (MEDIA) Consortium examined 17 GWAS on T2D comprising 8,284 cases and 15,543 controls in African Americans in stage 1 analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) association analysis was conducted in each study under the additive model after adjustment for age, sex, study site, and principal components. Meta-analysis of approximately 2.6 million genotyped and imputed SNPs in all studies was conducted using an inverse variance-weighted fixed effect model. Replications were performed to follow up 21 loci in up to 6,061 cases and 5,483 controls in African Americans, and 8,130 cases and 38,987 controls of European ancestry. We identified three known loci (TCF7L2, HMGA2 and KCNQ1) and two novel loci (HLA-B and INS-IGF2) at genome-wide significance (4.15 × 10(-94)<P<5 × 10(-8), odds ratio (OR) = 1.09 to 1.36). Fine-mapping revealed that 88 of 158 previously identified T2D or glucose homeostasis loci demonstrated nominal to highly significant association (2.2 × 10(-23) < locus-wide P<0.05). These novel and previously identified loci yielded a sibling relative risk of 1.19, explaining 17.5% of the phenotypic variance of T2D on the liability scale in African Americans. Overall, this study identified two novel susceptibility loci for T2D in African Americans. A substantial number of previously reported loci are transferable to African Americans after accounting for linkage disequilibrium, enabling fine mapping of causal variants in trans-ethnic meta-analysis studies.Peer reviewe
Herbicide Contamination of Freshwater Ecosystems: Impact on Microbial Communities
International audienc
Comparative effects of the quality and quantity of light on the growth of Planktothrix agardhii and P. rubescens
International audienc
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