IgE allergy diagnostics and other relevant tests in allergy, a World Allergy Organization position paper

Currently, testing for immunoglobulin E (IgE) sensitization is the cornerstone of diagnostic evaluation in suspected allergic conditions. This review provides a thorough and updated critical appraisal of the most frequently used diagnostic tests, both in vivo and in vitro. It discusses skin tests, challenges, and serological and cellular in vitro tests, and provides an overview of indications, advantages and disadvantages of each in conditions such as respiratory, food, venom, drug, and occupational allergy. Skin prick testing remains the first line approach in most instances; the added value of serum specific IgE to whole allergen extracts or components, as well as the role of basophil activation tests, is evaluated. Unproven, non-validated, diagnostic tests are also discussed. Throughout the review, the reader must bear in mind the relevance of differentiating between sensitization and allergy; the latter entails not only allergic sensitization, but also clinically relevant symptoms triggered by the culprit allergen

Multifrequency radar observations collected in Southern France during HyMeX-SOPI

An ambitious radar deployment to collect high-quality observations of heavy precipitation systems developing over and in the vicinity of a coastal mountain chain is discussed.Geoscience and Remote SensingCivil Engineering and Geoscience

Multifrequency Radar Observations Collected in Southern France during HyMeX-SOP1

International audienceThe radar network deployed in Southern France during the first Special Observing Period (SOP1) of the Hydrometeorological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment (HyMeX) was designed to precisely document the 3-D structure of moist upstream flow impinging on complex terrain as a function of time, height and along-barrier distance as well as surface rainfall patterns associated with orographic precipitation events. This deployment represents one of the most ambitious field experiments yet endeavoring to collect high quality observations of thunderstorms and precipitation systems developing over and in the vicinity of a major mountain chain. Radar observations collected during HyMeX represent a valuable, and potentially unique, dataset that will be used to improve our knowledge of physical processes at play within coastal orographic heavy precipitating systems as well as to develop, and evaluate, novel radar-based products for research and operational activities. This article provides a concise description of this radar network and discusses innovative research ideas based upon preliminary analyses of radar observations collected during this field project with emphasis on the synergetic use of dual-polarimetric radar measurements collected at multiple frequencies

Tenure or permanent contracts in North American higher education?:A critical assessment

This article offers a critical perspective on the academic tenure system in the USA. Academic tenure is most frequently defended for the protection it affords freedom of speech in higher education, and it is attacked for its cost and lack of flexibility in a rapidly changing sector. The paper makes a third argument, that tenure sustains an unhealthy divide between tenured, untenured, and non-tenure-track staff members. It leads to differences in status, income, and job satisfaction that are inimical to basic principles of social justice. While financial considerations are a powerful factor in university efforts to constrain or challenge tenure, the maintenance of the tenure system and its use to control entry to permanent employment needs further examination. The author explores the system of ‘permanent’ contracts common in British and Australasian universities as an alternative for the USA – not because it benefits entrepreneurial university managers and administrators, but for its potential to offer a greater range of career positions for actual and potential staff members