Summary
Background
Strict avoidance is the only accepted management for cow's milk (CM) allergy. CM oral immunotherapy (CM‐OIT) is under investigation.
Objectives
To evaluate long‐term safety of ...CM‐OIT. To identify clinical/immunological predictors of adverse events.
Methods
Prospective longitudinal epidemiological intervention study. CM‐allergic children aged 5–18 underwent a Spanish‐approved CM‐OIT protocol without premedication. Clinical data, skin prick test (SPT) and specific IgE (sIgE) at baseline and 1 year after OIT were registered. All dose‐related reactions, treatments needed and cofactors involved were recorded. Through survival analysis, we studied the cumulative probability of reactions resolution over time and clinical/immunological risk factors of reactions persistence.
Results
81 children were recruited. Mean follow‐up was 25 months. 95% of children suffered reactions, 91% of which affected a single organ. Reactions were heterogeneously distributed: (a) 60 children (75%) had occasional symptoms which ceased over time. 86% of them reached complete desensitization (200 mL). (b) 20 children (25%) suffered frequent (78% of total reactions), more severe and unpredictable reactions, which persisted during follow‐up or led to withdrawal (6 cases). Reactions persistence was associated with a higher frequency and severity. Kaplan–Meier estimate revealed a cumulative probability of reactions resolution of 25% at 3 months (95% CI: 1.9–4.1) and 50% (95% CI: 6.1–9.9) at 8 months based on all patients. Cox proportional hazards multivariate regression model identified 3 variables (CM‐sIgE ≥ 50 KU L−1, CM‐SPT ≥ 9 mm and Sampson's severity grades 2, 3 and 4 at baseline food challenge) as independent risk factors of reactions persistence. The combination of 2 or 3 of these factors involved hazard ratios to develop persistent reactions of 2.26 (95% CI: 1.14–4.46; P = 0.019) and 6.06 (95% CI: 2.7–13.7; P < 0.001), respectively.
Clinical implications
CM‐OIT was insufficiently safe in 25% of children. The above‐mentioned clinical and immunological parameters would help clinicians to identify highly reactive patients before CM‐OIT. In them, individualized schedules and premedication should be considered.
Abstract
We study a recent recruitment drive for public sector positions in Mexico. Different salaries were announced randomly across recruitment sites, and job offers were subsequently randomized. ...Screening relied on exams designed to measure applicants’ intellectual ability, personality, and motivation. This allows the first experimental estimates of (1) the role of financial incentives in attracting a larger and more qualified pool of applicants, (2) the elasticity of the labor supply facing the employer, and (3) the role of job attributes (distance, attractiveness of the municipal environment) in helping fill vacancies, as well as the role of wages in helping fill positions in less attractive municipalities. A theoretical model of job applications and acceptance guides the empirical inquiry. We find that higher wages attract more able applicants as measured by their IQ, personality, and proclivity toward public sector work—that is, we find no evidence of adverse selection effects on motivation; higher wage offers also increased acceptance rates, implying a labor supply elasticity of around 2 and some degree of monopsony power. Distance and worse municipal characteristics strongly decrease acceptance rates, but higher wages help bridge the recruitment gap in worse municipalities.
Summary
Background
X‐linked recessive ichthyosis (XLI) is a relatively common type of ichthyosis caused by a deficiency in the steroid sulfatase (STS) enzyme. It is the only type of ichthyosis that ...can be both syndromic and nonsyndromic. Typical clinical features include dark‐brown scale of variable size favouring the extensor surfaces of the extremities.
Objectives
To characterize clinically nonsyndromic XLI, with a particular focus on extracutaneous manifestations.
Methods
This was a multicentre retrospective review of clinical findings from a case series of patients with a clinical and genetic diagnosis of XLI.
Results
We identified 30 patients with XLI belonging to 25 different families carrying a deletion in the STS locus. All patients had dark scales of variable size on the extensor surfaces of the extremities. Lack of flexural involvement and pruritus were common but inconsistent findings, whereas palmoplantar hyperlinearity was absent in all but one patient. A history of orchiopexy was present in 10% and thus was more common than expected vs. the general population (3%). Neurological disorders including epilepsy (13%) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; 30%) were over‐represented in patients with XLI.
Conclusions
This was a retrospective study with a limited number of patients. In the absence of confirmatory genetic testing and family history of the disease, dark‐brown scale of the extensor surfaces and the absence of palmoplantar hyperlinearity appear to be the most reliable clinical findings supporting a diagnosis of XLI. Dermatologists should be aware of the high prevalence of ADHD and epilepsy in patients with nonsyndromic XLI.
What's already known about this topic?
Nonsyndromic X‐linked recessive ichthyosis is a relatively common type of ichthyosis.
Prior studies found a high prevalence of cryptorchidism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
What does this study add?
We identified a high prevalence of epilepsy (13%), confirmed a high frequency of ADHD (30%) and found a 10% prevalence of orchiopexy.
We also quantified other common findings such palmoplantar hyperlinearity (almost always absent) and pruritus (present in 60% of patients).
Linked Comment: Traupe. Br J Dermatol 2018; 179:821–822.
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► Critical review of using molecularly-imprinted polymers (MIPs) in sample preparation. ► Molecularly-imprinted polymers (MIPs) used in SPE, SPME and SBSE. ► Molecularly-imprinted polymers (MIPs) ...used with MSPD and liquid membranes.
Sample preparation is still considered the bottleneck of the whole analytical process. In this regard, improvement in selectivity during extraction and/or subsequent clean-up of sample extracts is an area of intense research activity.
One of the most versatile, promising options is to incorporate molecularly-imprinted polymers (MIPs) into sample preparation. MIPs are tailor-made, stable polymers with molecular recognition abilities, so that they are excellent materials for providing selectivity in sample preparation.
This review describes the use of MIPs in sample preparation, including solid-phase extraction, and corresponding recent improvements, and their recent incorporation into other extraction techniques (e.g., solid-phase microextraction, matrix-solid phase dispersion and stir-bar sorptive extraction). It discusses the advantages and the drawbacks of each methodology, and the future expected trends.
Primordial magnetic fields (PMF) damp at scales smaller than the photon diffusion and free-streaming scale. This leads to heating of ordinary matter (electrons and baryons), which affects both the ...thermal and ionization history of our Universe. Here, we study the effect of heating due to ambipolar diffusion and decaying magnetic turbulence. We find that changes to the ionization history computed with recfast are significantly overestimated when compared with CosmoRec. The main physical reason for the difference is that the photoionization coefficient has to be evaluated using the radiation temperature rather than the matter temperature. A good agreement with CosmoRec is found after changing this aspect. Using Planck 2013 data and considering only the effect of PMF-induced heating, we find an upper limit on the rms magnetic field amplitude of B
0 ≲ 1.1 nG (95 per cent c.l.) for a stochastic background of PMF with a nearly scale-invariant power spectrum. We also discuss uncertainties related to the approximations for the heating rates and differences with respect to previous studies. Our results are important for the derivation of constraints on the PMF power spectrum obtained from measurements of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies with full-mission Planck data. They may also change some of the calculations of PMF-induced effects on the primordial chemistry and 21cm signals.
Bond Paths as Privileged Exchange Channels Pendás, A. Martín; Francisco, Evelio; Blanco, Miguel A. ...
Chemistry : a European journal,
01/2007, Letnik:
13, Številka:
33
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Evidence that the bond paths of the quantum theory of atoms‐in‐molecules (QTAIM) signal preferred quantum‐mechanical exchange channels is presented. We show how bond paths between an atom A and the ...atoms B in its environment appear to be determined by competition among the A–B exchange‐correlation energies that always contribute to stabilize the A–B interactions. These pairwise additive stabilizations depend neither on the attractive or repulsive nature of the classical electrostatic interaction between the atoms' charge densities, nor on the change in the self energies of the atoms involved. These other terms may well cause an overall molecular‐energy increase in spite of a possibly large A–B exchange‐correlation stabilization. After our proposal, bond paths, both at and out of equilibrium geometries, are endowed with a specific energetic meaning that should contribute to reconcile the orthodox QTAIM interpretation with other widely accepted views, and to settle recent controversies questioning the meaning of hydrogen–hydrogen bonding and the nature of the so‐called “steric interactions”, the role of bond paths in endohedral complexes, and the generality of the results provided by the QTAIM. Implications for the nature of more general closed‐shell interactions are also briefly discussed.
Bond paths signal preferred exchange channels: 1) They provide a stabilizing contribution to the interaction energy between a pair of quantum atoms A, B. 2) Total energy changes may still be positive owing to the increase in self energies of the A and B atoms (see graphic).
Cocrystal engineering, involving the assembly of two or more components into a highly ordered solid-state superstructure, has emerged as a popular strategy for tuning the photophysical properties of ...crystalline materials. The reversible co-assembly and disassembly of multicomponent cocrystals and their reciprocal transformation in the solid state remain challenging objectives. Herein, we report a color-tunable upconversion-emission switch based on the interconversion between two cocrystals. One red- and one yellow-emissive cocrystal, composed of an electron-deficient naphthalenediimide-based triangular macrocycle and different electron donors, have been obtained. The red- and yellow-emissive cocrystals undergo reversible transformations on exchanging the electron donors. Benefiting from intermolecular charge transfer interactions, the two cocrystals display superior two-photon excited upconversion emission. Accompanying the interconversion of the two cocrystals, their luminescent color changes between red and yellow, forming a dual-color upconversion-emission switch. This research provides a rare yet critical example involving precise control of cocrystal-to-cocrystal transformation and affords a reference for fabricating color-tunable nonlinear optical materials in the solid state.
Poor removal of many pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in sewage treatment leads to their discharge into the receiving waters, where they may cause negative effects. Their ...elimination from the water column depends of several processes, including photochemical and biological degradation. We have focused this research on comparing the degradation kinetics of a wide number (n=33) of frequently detected PPCPs considering different types of water, pH and solar irradiation. For those compounds that were susceptible of photodegradation, their rates (k) varied from 0.02 to 30.48h−1 at pH7, with the lowest values for antihypertensive and psychiatric drugs (t1/2>1000h). Modification of the pH turned into faster disappearance of most of the PPCPs (e.g., k=0.072 and 0.066h−1 for atenolol and carbamazepine at pH4, respectively). On the other hand, biodegradation was enhanced by marine bacteria in many cases, for example for mefenamic acid, caffeine and triclosan (k=0.019, 0.01 and 0.04h−1, respectively), and was faster for anionic surfactants. Comparing photodegradation and biodegradation processes, hydrochlorothiazide and diclofenac, both not biodegradable, were eliminated exclusively by irradiation (t1/2=0.15–0.43h and t1/2=0.14–0.17h, respectively). Salicylic acid and phenylbutazone were efficiently photo (t1/2<3h) and biodegraded (t1/2=116–158h), whereas some compounds such as ibuprofen, carbamazepine and atenolol had low degradation rates by any of the processes tested (t1/2=23–2310h), making then susceptible to persist in the aquatic media.
Display omitted
•Photolysis and biodegradation kinetics were studied for 33 organic compounds.•pH and salinity play a significant role in photo and biodegradation processes.•Faster biodegradation rates were observed for most compounds in seawater.•Carbamazepine and amitriptyline were among the most recalcitrant compounds.•Degradation half-lives in water were reported for the first time for albuterol.
The argument that the threat posed by introduced species is overblown is often buttressed by the observation that native species sometimes also become invasive. An examination of the literature on ...plant invasions in the United States shows that six times more nonnative species have been termed invasive than native species, and that a member of the naturalized nonnative pool is 40 times more likely than a native species to be perceived as invasive. In the great majority of instances in which a native plant species is seen as invasive, the invasion is associated with an anthropogenic disturbance, especially changed fire or hydrological regime, livestock grazing, and changes wrought by an introduced species. These results suggest that natives are significantly less likely than nonnatives to be problematic for local ecosystems.
With accelerating rates of urbanization worldwide, a better understanding of ecological processes at the wildland-urban interface is critical to conserve biodiversity. We explored the effects of high ...and low-density housing developments on forest-dwelling mammals. Based on habitat characteristics, we expected a gradual decline in species abundance across forest-urban edges and an increased decline rate in higher contrast edges. We surveyed arboreal mammals in sites of high and low housing density along 600 m transects that spanned urban areas and areas turn on adjacent native forest. We also surveyed forest controls to test whether edge effects extended beyond our edge transects. We fitted models describing richness, total abundance and individual species abundance. Low-density housing developments provided suitable habitat for most arboreal mammals. In contrast, high-density housing developments had lower species richness, total abundance and individual species abundance, but supported the highest abundances of an urban adapter (Trichosurus vulpecula). We did not find the predicted gradual decline in species abundance. Of four species analysed, three exhibited no response to the proximity of urban boundaries, but spilled over into adjacent urban habitat to differing extents. One species (Petaurus australis) had an extended negative response to urban boundaries, suggesting that urban development has impacts beyond 300 m into adjacent forest. Our empirical work demonstrates that high-density housing developments have negative effects on both community and species level responses, except for one urban adapter. We developed a new predictive model of edge effects based on our results and the literature. To predict animal responses across edges, our framework integrates for first time: (1) habitat quality/preference, (2) species response with the proximity to the adjacent habitat, and (3) spillover extent/sensitivity to adjacent habitat boundaries. This framework will allow scientists, managers and planners better understand and predict both species responses across edges and impacts of development in mosaic landscapes.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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