Development and reliability of a direct access sensor using flip chip on flex technology with anisotropic conductive adhesive

Technological developments in biomedical microsystems are opening up new opportunities to improve healthcare procedures. Swallowable diagnostic sensing capsules are an example of these. In none of the diagnostic sensing capsules, is the sensor’s first level packaging achieved via Flip Chip Over Hole (FCOH) method using Anisotropic Conductive Adhesive (ACA). In a capsule application with direct access sensor (DAS), ACA not only provides the electrical interconnection but simultaneously seals the interconnect area and the underlying electronics. The development showed that the ACA FCOH was a viable option for the DAS interconnection. Adequate adhesive formed a strong joint that withstood a shear stress of 120N/mm2 and a compressive stress of 6N required to secure the final sensor assembly in place before encapsulation. Electrical characterization of the ACA joint in a fluid environment showed that the ACA was saturated with moisture and that the ions in the solution actively contributed to the leakage current, characterized by the varying rate of change of conductance. Long term hygrothermal aging of the ACA joint showed that a thermal strain of 0.004 and a hygroscopic strain of 0.0052 were present and resulted in a fatigue like process. In-vitro tests showed that high temperature and acidity had a deleterious effect of the ACA and its joint. It also showed that the ACA contact joints positioned at around or over 1mm would survive the gastrointestinal (GI) fluids and would be able to provide a reliable contact during the entire 72hr of the GI transit time. A final capsule demonstrator was achieved by successfully integrating the DAS, the battery and the final foldable circuitry into a glycerine capsule. Final capsule soak tests suggested that the silicone encapsulated system could survive the 72hr gut transition.

Validation and reliability of the Japanese version of the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire - Parent Form

Background: Food allergy (FA) is a heavy burden for patients and their families and can significantly reduce the quality of life (QoL) of both. To provide adequate support, qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the parents' QoL may be helpful. The objective of this study is to develop and validate a Japanese version of the Food Allergy QoL QuestionnaireeParent Form (FAQLQ-PF-J), an internationally validated disease-specific QoL measurement of the parental burden of having a child with FA. Methods: The FAQLQ-PF and the Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM), an instrument to test the construct validity of the FAQLQ-PF-J, were translated into Japanese. After language validation, the questionnaires were administered to parents of FA children aged 0e12 years and those of age-matched healthy (without FA) children. Internal consistency (by Cronbach's a) and test-retest reliability were evaluated. Construct validity and discriminant validity were also examined. Results: One hundred twenty-seven parents of children with FA and 48 parents of healthy children filled out the questionnaire. The FAQLQ-PF-J showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's a > 0.77) and test-retest reliability. Good construct validity was demonstrated by significant correlations between the FAQLQ-PF-J and FAIM-J scores. It discriminated parents of children with FA from those without. The scores were significantly higher (lower QoL) for parents of FA children with a history of anaphylaxis than those without, for those with >6 FA-related symptoms experienced than those with less FA-related symptoms. Conclusions: The FAQLQ-PF-J is a reliable and valid measure of the parental burden of FA in children.

Home, family and society: women of the Irish landed class, 1860-1914. A Munster case study

The thesis analyses the roles and experiences of female members of the Irish landed class (wives, sisters and daughters of gentry and aristocratic landlords with estates over 1,000 acres) using primary personal material generated by twelve sample families over an important period of decline for the class, and growing rights for women. Notably, it analyses the experiences of relatively unknown married and unmarried women, something previously untried in Irish historiography. It demonstrates that women’s roles were more significant than has been assumed in the existing literature, and leads to a more rounded understanding of the entire class. Four chapters focus on themes which emerge from the sources used and which deal with their roles both inside and outside the home. These chapters argue that: Married and unmarried women were more closely bound to the priorities of their class than their sex, and prioritised male-centred values of family and estate. Male and female duties on the property overlapped, as marriage relationships were more equal than the legislation of the time would suggest. London was the cultural centre for this class. Due to close familial links with Britain (60% of sample daughters married English men) their self-perception was British or English, as well as Irish. With the self-confidence of their class, these women enjoyed cultural and political activities and movements outside the home (sport, travel, fashion, art, writing, philanthropy, (anti-)suffrage, and politics). Far from being pawns in arranged marriages, women were deeply conscious of their marriage decisions and chose socially, financially and personally compatible husbands; they also looked for sexual satisfaction. Childbirth sometimes caused lasting health problems, but pregnancy did not confine wealthy women to an invalid state. In opposition to the stereotypical distant aristocratic mother, these women breastfed their children, and were involved mothers. However, motherhood was not permitted to impinge on the more pressing role of wife