Background Reported incidences of anaphylaxis range from 3.2 to 20 per 100,000 population. The incidence and trend over time has meaningful public health implications but has not been well ...characterized because of a lack of a standard definition and deficiencies in reporting of events. Objective We sought to determine the incidence and cause of anaphylaxis over a 10-year period. Methods We performed a population-based incidence study that was conducted in Rochester, Minnesota, from 1990 through 2000. Anaphylaxis episodes were identified on the basis of symptoms and signs of mast cell and basophil mediator release plus mucocutaneous, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, or cardiovascular system involvement. Results Two hundred eleven cases of anaphylaxis were identified (55.9% in female subjects). The mean age was 29.3 years (SD, 18.2 years; range, 0.8-78.2 years). The overall age- and sex-adjusted incidence rate was 49.8 (95% CI, 45.0-54.5) per 100,000 person-years. Age-specific rates were highest for ages 0 to 19 years (70 per 100,000 person-years). Ingested foods accounted for 33.2% (70 cases), insect stings accounted for 18.5% (39 cases), medication accounted for 13.7% (29 cases), radiologic contrast agent accounted for 0.5% (1 case), “other” causes accounted for 9% (19 cases), and “unknown” causes accounted for 25.1% (53 cases). The “other” group included cats, latex, cleaning agents, environmental allergens, and exercise. There was an increase in the annual incidence rate during the study period from 46.9 per 100,000 persons in 1990 to 58.9 per 100,000 persons in 2000 ( P = .03). Conclusion The overall incidence rate is 49.8 per 100,000 person-years, which is higher than previously reported. The annual incidence rate is also increasing. Food and insect stings continue to be major inciting agents for anaphylaxis.
Background Diagnostic criteria were proposed at the Second Symposium on the Definition and Management of Anaphylaxis convened by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Food Allergy ...and Anaphylaxis Network (NIAID/FAAN). Validation is needed before these criteria can be widely adapted into clinical practice. Objective Our aim was to retrospectively assess the diagnostic accuracy of the NIAID/FAAN criteria for the diagnosis of anaphylaxis in emergency department (ED) patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study of ED patients presenting from April to October 2008 was conducted. Patients given a diagnosis of an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis and a subset of patients with related diagnoses were included. Electronic medical records were reviewed and data were abstracted to determine whether the NIAID/FAAN criteria were met. Records were also independently reviewed in a blinded fashion by 2 experienced attending allergists. Final diagnosis by allergists was considered the reference standard. Results Of 214 patients, 86 (40.2%) met the NIAID/FAAN criteria for anaphylaxis. Allergists gave 61 (28.5%) patients diagnoses of anaphylaxis, 59 (96.7%) of whom satisfied the NIAID/FAAN criteria. The interrater agreement between allergists was substantial (κ = 0.77). The test characteristics of the NIAID/FAAN criteria were as follows: sensitivity, 96.7% (95% CI, 88.8% to 99.1%); specificity, 82.4% (95% CI, 75.5% to 87.6%); positive predictive value, 68.6% (95% CI, 58.2% to 77.4%); negative predictive value, 98.4% (95% CI, 94.5% to 99.6%); positive likelihood ratio, 5.48; and negative likelihood ratio, 0.04. Conclusions These results suggest that the NIAID/FAAN criteria are highly sensitive but less specific and are likely to be useful in the ED for the diagnosis of anaphylaxis.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive and debilitating respiratory condition that leads to significant burden, both medically and financially. It affects millions of people ...worldwide and causes significant morbidity and mortality. Most detailed information related to its prevalence, morbidity, and mortality comes from high-income countries, but 90% of COPD-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Cigarette smoking is the main risk factor for developing COPD, but other risk factors do exist and need to be recognized. A majority of morbidity and mortality as well as health care costs occur from acute exacerbations of COPD with a known phenotype of patients being "frequent exacerbators." Health care costs for COPD are not only from treatment of exacerbations, such as hospitalization, but also medication costs for maintenance therapy and outpatient treatment. COPD has been linked with many comorbidities leading to significant burden of disease. The goal of this review is to evaluate the overall burden of disease including prevalence, morbidity, mortality, health care costs, and economic costs.
Understanding and controlling the sulfur reduction species (Li2S x , 1 ≤ x ≤ 8) under realistic battery conditions are essential for the development of advanced practical Li–S cells that can reach ...their full theoretical capacity. However, it has been a great challenge to probe the sulfur reduction intermediates and products because of the lack of methods. This work employed various ex situ and in situ methods to study the mechanism of the Li–S redox reactions and the properties of Li2S x and Li2S. Synchrotron high-energy X-ray diffraction analysis used to characterize dry powder deposits from lithium polysulfide solution suggests that the new crystallite phase may be lithium polysulfides. The formation of Li2S crystallites with a polyhedral structure was observed in cells with both the conventional (LiTFSI) electrolyte and polysulfide-based electrolyte. In addition, an in situ transmission electron microscopy experiment observed that the lithium diffusion to sulfur during discharge preferentially occurred at the sulfur surface and formed a solid Li2S crust. This may be the reason for the capacity fade in Li–S cells (as also suggested by EIS experiment in Supporting Information). The results can be a guide for future studies and control of the sulfur species and meanwhile a baseline for approaching the theoretical capacity of the Li–S battery.
Lithium-sulfur coin cells were tested with the aim of mitigating the issue of polysulfide dissolution. Five approaches were investigated: optimization of the amount of sulfur that can be contained in ...the sulfur/carbon electrodes, introduction of different forms of carbon additives into the sulfur electrodes, impregnation of sulfur into the pores of high-surface-area carbon
via
a melting process, addition of high-surface-area TiO
2
as a polysulfide-adsorbing agent in the sulfur electrodes, and use of lithium nitrate as an additive in the electrolyte. Among all these approaches, the most effective way to inhibit the shuttle phenomenon and improve the coulombic efficiency of the Li-S battery was the addition of LiNO
3
into the electrolyte.
This manuscript systematically studied impacting factors in Li-S cells and proposed a new explanation of the shuttle-inhibiting mechanism of LiNO
3
additive.
We applied single-cell RNA sequencing to profile genome-wide gene expression in about 9400 individual cerebellar cells from the mouse embryo at embryonic day 13.5. Reiterative clustering identified ...the major cerebellar cell types and subpopulations of different lineages. Through pseudotemporal ordering to reconstruct developmental trajectories, we identified novel transcriptional programs controlling cell fate specification of populations arising from the ventricular zone and the rhombic lip, two distinct germinal zones of the embryonic cerebellum. Together, our data revealed cell-specific markers for studying the cerebellum, gene-expression cascades underlying cell fate specification, and a number of previously unknown subpopulations that may play an integral role in the formation and function of the cerebellum. Our findings will facilitate new discovery by providing insights into the molecular and cell type diversity in the developing cerebellum.
Sensory and endoneurocrine tissues as diverse as the lens, the olfactory epithelium, the inner ear, the cranial sensory ganglia, and the anterior pituitary arise from a common pool of progenitors in ...the preplacodal ectoderm (PPE). Around late gastrulation, the PPE forms at the border surrounding the anterior neural plate, and expresses a unique set of evolutionarily conserved transcription regulators including Six1, Eya 1 and Eya2. Here, we describe the first report to generate and characterize the SIX1+ PPE cells from human embryonic stem (ES) cells by adherent differentiation. Before forming PPE cells, differentiating cultures first expressed the non-neural ectoderm specific transcriptional factors TFAP2A, GATA2, GATA3, DLX3, and DLX5, which are crucial in establishing the PPE competence. We demonstrated that bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) activity plays a transient but essential role in inducing expression of these PPE competence factors and eventually the PPE cells. Interestingly, we found that attenuating BMP signaling after establishing the competence state induces anterior placode precursors. By manipulating BMP and hedgehog signaling pathways, we further differentiate these precursors into restricted lineages including the lens placode and the oral ectoderm (pituitary precursor) cells. Finally, we also show that sensory neurons can be generated from human PPE cells, demonstrating the multipotency of the human ES-derived PPE cells.
•Generation of preplacodal ectoderm (PPE) from human embryonic stem cells.•Production of placodal sensory neurons and lens from hESC-derived PPE.•Characterization of cell density and endogenous BMP signals in hESC differentiation.•Novel roles of BMP activities in generation and differentiation of human PPE cells.