Images of Future Transport in Europe - A study on sustainable mobility : (Policyscenarier för hållbar rörlighet på europanivå)

The POSSUM project - Policy Scenarios for Sustainable Mobility - is a study funded by the European Commission under the Transport RTD Programme of the 4th Framework Programme. The main task of the POSSUM consortium1 is to construct scenarios for achieving the objectives of sustainable mobility and to assist the Commission in future decisions about the Common Transport Policy (CTP) and the development of the Trans-European Networks (TEN). Thus, based on the EU CTP2 the POSSUM project focuses on the objectives of economic efficiency, regional development and environmental protection. A major element in the concept of sustainable development is preserving the environment and its capability to deliver ecological services to man. Thus sustainability in the POSSUM work has a focus on environmental protection. The end result of the POSSUM project will be a set of scenarios that meet the targets of regional development, efficiency and environmental protection. In this way, European transport policies will be assessed for the first time as to their consistency and feasibility by means of a qualitative scenario approach based on backcasting. This paper depicts Images of the future, that fulfil targets assumed to be in line with CTP.3 The Next step in the work process is to develop scenario paths and policy instruments. This deals with the changes required to reach the different images of the future, and what policy instruments can be utilised to direct the development towards sustainability

Rhinitis as a risk factor for depressive mood in pre-adolescents: a new approach to this relationship

BACKGROUND: Respiratory allergic symptoms impact on social life and school activities, influencing the patient's mood states. We evaluated the relationships between allergic respiratory diseases and depressive/anxious mood in a large sample of Italian middle school students, using the partial directed acyclic graph (P-DAG). METHODS: We studied 1283 subjects aged 10-13. A health respiratory questionnaire including questions relevant to socioeconomic status (HCI) and a test for depression and anxiety were administered. All subjects performed spirometry and skin prick tests. RESULTS: A causal role of rhinitis on depression was found: the likelihood of being depressed increased from 11.2 to 17.7%, when rhinitis was present. Moreover, a direct effect of low HCI on depressive mood was shown (p < 0.0001) as well as the correlation between anxiety and depression (p < 0.0001). Gender was not a direct causal factor for depressive mood, but their relation was mediated through anxious mood. Anxiety appeared to have a stronger association with depression than gender. Allergic sensitization was significantly related to both asthma and rhinitis (p < 0.0001, respectively). Asthma and rhinitis were also directly associated (p < 0.0001). Conversely, asthma was not directly associated with depressive mood, but their relation was mediated through rhinitis. Body mass index (BMI) and impaired lung function (IPF) were not associated with the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: The use of this novel approach to analyzing the dynamic relationships allowed us to find a causal role of rhinitis on depressive state. Moreover, anxious condition and low socioeconomic status contributed to induce depressive mood

Large UK retailers' initiatives to reduce consumers' emissions: a systematic assessment

In the interest of climate change mitigation, policy makers, businesses and non-governmental organisations have devised initiatives designed to reduce in-use emissions whilst, at the same time, the number of energy-consuming products in homes, and household energy consumption, is increasing. Retailers are important because they are at the interface between manufacturers of products and consumers and they supply the vast majority of consumer goods in developed countries like the UK, including energy using products. Large retailers have a consistent history of corporate responsibility reporting and have included plans and actions to influence consumer emissions within them. This paper adapts two frameworks to use them for systematically assessing large retailers’ initiatives aimed at reducing consumers’ carbon emissions. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) is adapted and used to analyse the strategic scope and coherence of these initiatives in relation to the businesses’ sustainability strategies. The ISM ‘Individual Social Material’ framework is adapted and used to analyse how consumer behaviour change mechanisms are framed by retailers. These frameworks are used to analyse eighteen initiatives designed to reduce consumer emissions from eight of the largest UK retail businesses, identified from publicly available data. The results of the eighteen initiatives analysed show that the vast majority were not well planned nor were they strategically coherent. Secondly, most of these specific initiatives relied solely on providing information to consumers and thus deployed a rather narrow range of consumer behaviour change mechanisms. The research concludes that leaders of retail businesses and policy makers could use the FSSD to ensure processes, and measurements are comprehensive and integrated, in order to increase the materiality and impact of their initiatives to reduce consumer emissions in use. Furthermore, retailers could benefit from exploring different models of behaviour change from the ISM framework in order to access a wider set of tools for transformative system change

Concomitant Duplications of Opioid Peptide and Receptor Genes before the Origin of Jawed Vertebrates

Background: The opioid system is involved in reward and pain mechanisms and consists in mammals of four receptors an

The lancet weight determines wheal diameter in response to skin prick testing with histamine

BACKGROUND:Skin prick test (SPT) is a common test for diagnosing immunoglobulin E-mediated allergies. In clinical routine, technicalities, human errors or patient-related biases, occasionally results in suboptimal diagnosis of sensitization. OBJECTIVE:Although not previously assessed qualitatively, lancet weight is hypothesized to be important when performing SPT to minimize the frequency of false positives, false negatives, and unwanted discomfort. METHODS:Accurate weight-controlled SPT was performed on the volar forearms and backs of 20 healthy subjects. Four predetermined lancet weights were applied (25 g, 85 g, 135 g and 265 g) using two positive control histamine solutions (1 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL) and one negative control (saline). A total of 400 SPTs were conducted. The outcome parameters were: wheal size, neurogenic inflammation (measured by superficial blood perfusion), frequency of bleeding, and the lancet provoked pain response. RESULTS:The mean wheal diameter increased significantly as higher weights were applied to the SPT lancet, e.g. from 3.2 ± 0.28 mm at 25 g to 5.4 ± 1.7 mm at 265 g (p<0.01). Similarly, the frequency of bleeding, the provoked pain, and the neurogenic inflammatory response increased significantly. At 265 g saline evoked two wheal responses (/160 pricks) below 3 mm. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE:The applied weight of the lancet during the SPT-procedure is an important factor. Higher lancet weights precipitate significantly larger wheal reactions with potential diagnostic implications. This warrants additional research of the optimal lancet weight in relation to SPT-guidelines to improve the specificity and sensitivity of the procedure

Non-invasive markers of airway inflammation and remodeling in childhood asthma

To evaluate the relationship between pro-inflammatory and pro-remodeling mediators and severity and control of asthma in children, the levels of IL-8, MMP-9, TIMP-1 in induced sputum supernatants, the number of sputum eosinophils, as well as FeNO, were investigated in 35 asthmatic children, 12 with intermittent (IA) and 23 with moderate asthma (MA), and 9 controls (C). The patients with asthma were followed for 1 yr and sputum was obtained twice during the follow-up. Biomarker levels were correlated with the number of exacerbations. We found that IL-8, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and the numbers of eosinophils in induced sputum, as well as FeNO, were increased in children with IA and MA in comparison to C. The ongoing inflammation was confirmed by increased nuclear p65 NF-kappaB subunit localization in sputum cells. In MA, FeNO measurements, sputum eosinophils and IL-8 levels, positively correlated with the occurrence of disease exacerbations during a 1-yr follow-up. According to FeNO, sputum eosinophils and IL-8 sputum concentrations, and the number of exacerbations, two distinct phenotypes of MA were identified. This study shows that the presence of bronchial inflammation is detectable in the airways of some IA, as well as in the airways of MA, despite the regular ICS treatment. This study also proposes the need to perform large prospective studies to confirm the importance of measuring specific biomarkers in induced sputum, concomitantly to FeNO analyses, to assess sub-clinical airway inflammation and disease control in children with asthma

Challenges for Allergy Diagnosis in Regions with Complex Pollen Exposures

Over the past few decades, significant scientific progress has influenced clinical allergy practice. The biological standardization of extracts was followed by the massive identification and characterization of new allergens and their progressive use as diagnostic tools including allergen micro arrays that facilitate the simultaneous testing of more than 100 allergen components. Specific diagnosis is the basis of allergy practice and is always aiming to select the best therapeutic or avoidance intervention. As a consequence, redundant or irrelevant information might be adding unnecessary cost and complexity to daily clinical practice. A rational use of the different diagnostic alternatives would allow a significant improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of allergic patients, especially for those residing in complex pollen exposure areas

Antigenic Proteins Involved in Occupational Rhinitis 1 and Asthma Caused by Obeche Wood (Triplochiton Scleroxylon)

Background Obeche wood dust is a known cause of occupational asthma where an IgE-mediated mechanism has been demonstrated. Objective To characterize the allergenic profile of obeche wood dust and evaluate the reactivity of the proteins by in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo assays in carpenters with confirmed rhinitis and/or asthma Materials and methods An in-house obeche extract was obtained, and two IgE binding bands were purified (24 and 12 kDa) and sequenced by N-terminal identity. Specific IgE and IgG, basophil activation tests and skin prick tests (SPTs) were performed with whole extract and purified proteins. CCD binding was analyzed by ELISA inhibition studies. Results Sixty-two subjects participated: 12 with confirmed occupational asthma/rhinitis (ORA+), 40 asymptomatic exposed (ORA−), and 10 controls. Of the confirmed subjects, 83% had a positive SPT to obeche. There was a 100% recognition by ELISA in symptomatic subjects vs. 30% and 10% in asymptomatic exposed subjects and controls respectively (p<0.05). Two new proteins were purified, a 24 kDa protein identified as a putative thaumatin-like protein and a 12 kDa gamma-expansin. Both showed allergenic activity in vitro, with the putative thaumatin being the most active, with 92% recognition by ELISA and 100% by basophil activation test in ORA+ subjects. Cross-reactivity due to CCD was ruled out in 82% of cases. Conclusions Two proteins of obeche wood were identified and were recognized by a high percentage of symptomatic subjects and by a small proportion of asymptomatic exposed subjects. Further studies are required to evaluate cross reactivity with other plant allergens

Laboratorial approach in the diagnosis of food allergy

OBJCTIVE: Review the available laboratory tests used to assist in the diagnosis of IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated food allergy. DATA SOURCES: Papers in English and Portuguese published in PubMed and Embase, in the last ten years. Terms searched were food allergy, diagnose and laboratory, isolated and/or associated. DATA SYNTHESIS: The diagnostic approach to food allergy reactions includes a good medical history, laboratory studies, elimination diets and blinded food challenges. More recently, the use of a quantitative measurement of food-specific IgE antibodies has been shown to be more predictive of symptomatic IgE-mediated food allergy. Food-specific IgE serum levels exceeding the diagnostic values indicate that the patient is greater than 95% likely to experience an allergic reaction if he/she ingests the specific food. Such decision point values have been defined just for some foods and inconsistent results were obtained when allergy to the same food was studied in different centers. Food challenges, in particular the double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC), represent the most reliable way to establish or rule out food hypersensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: A number of recent developments are improving the predictive value of some laboratory tests for the diagnosis of food allergies. However, to date, no in-vitro or in-vivo test shows full correlation with clinical food allergy and the DBPCFC remains the gold standard for the definitive diagnosis of specific food allergies. There is an urgent need for new and fundamentally improved diagnostic approaches, which must be validated in patients with food allergy confirmed by a positive DBPCFC.OBJETIVO: Revisar os exames laboratoriais disponíveis utilizados no diagnóstico da alergia alimentar mediada ou não por IgE. FONTES DE DADOS: Artigos publicados em base de dados PubMed e Embase (língua inglesa e portuguesa) nos últimos dez anos. As palavras-chave utilizadas como fonte de busca foram alergia alimentar, diagnóstico e laboratório, isolados e/ou associados. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: A abordagem diagnóstica das reações alérgicas a alimentos inclui história clínica completa, estudos laboratoriais, dietas de eliminação e desencadeamentos cegos com alimentos. Recentemente, a medida quantitativa de anticorpos IgE específicos a alimentos tem mostrado ser mais preditiva de alergia alimentar sintomática mediada por IgE. Níveis séricos de IgE específica a alimento que excedam os valores diagnósticos indicam que o paciente tem chance maior que 95% de apresentar uma reação alérgica se ingerir o alimento em questão. Estes valores de decisão foram definidos para alguns alimentos e resultados inconsistentes são obtidos ao se estudar diferentes populações. Os desencadeamentos com alimento, especialmente o duplo-cego controlado por placebo (DADCCP), representa a maneira mais confiável de estabelecer ou descartar o diagnóstico de hipersensibilidade alimentar. CONCLUSÕES: Número crescente de aquisições tem melhorado o valor preditivo de alguns testes laboratoriais empregados no diagnóstico de alergias alimentares. Entretanto, até hoje, não há teste in vitro ou in vivo que mostre correlação completa com a clínica da alergia alimentar. O DADCCP continua sendo o padrão-ouro no diagnóstico definitivo de alergia alimentar específica. São necessárias, urgentemente, novas abordagens diagnósticas válidadas em pacientes com alergia alimentar confirmada por DADCCP positivo.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de PediatriaUNIFESP-EPM Departamento de PediatriaUniversidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Departamento de PediatriaUniversidade Federal da Bahia Departamento de PediatriaUNIFESP-EPMUniversidade Federal do Paraná Departamento de PediatriaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de PediatriaUNIFESP, EPM Depto. de PediatriaUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Određivanje alergena Asp f 1 (Aspergillus fumigatus) u peradarniku enzimimunokemijskom metodom

Poultry farms contain high levels of allergenic fungi, and Aspergillus spp. is the most common genus of moulds. Aspergillus fumigatus antigens are responsible for the development of several respiratory diseases including asthma. The aim of this study was to measure the mass fraction of Asp f 1, a major allergen of Asperillus fumigatus in 37 indoor dust samples collected from four poultry farms in a rural area of the Zagreb County (Croatia) using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. More than 62 % of dust samples had detectable Asp f 1 levels (limit of detection 3.6 ng g-1). The overall mean Asp f 1 level was 17.9 ng g-1 [range (3.8 to 72.4) ng g-1]. Satisfactory results were obtained for analytical within-run imprecision (6.7 %), between-run imprecision (10.5 %), and accuracy (91 % to 115 %). Microclimate parameters (air temperature, relative humidity, and velocity) were within the recommended ranges in all poultry farms. This study has shown that Asp f 1 settles on dust at poultry farms and that occupational exposure to this allergen deserves monitoring in livestock buildings.Peradarnici sadržavaju veliku koncentraciju alergenih plijesni, a rod Aspergillus najčešće je zastupljen. Antigeni soja Aspergillus fumigatus odgovorni su za nastanak nekoliko respiratornih bolesti uključujući astmu. Cilj ovoga rada bio je odrediti masenu frakciju Asp f 1, glavnog alergena soja Asperillus fumigatus u 37 uzoraka prašine uzorkovanih u četiri peradarnika sa šireg područja Zagrebačke županije rabeći enzimimunokemijsku metodu. Više od 62 % uzoraka prašine u tri peradarnika imalo je mjerljivu koncentraciju Asp f 1 (granica detekcije = 3.6 ng g-1). Ukupni srednji maseni udio Asp f 1 iznosio je 17.9 ng g-1 (raspon od 3.8 ng g-1 do 72.4 ng g-1). Dobiveni su zadovoljavajući rezultati za analitičku nepreciznost u seriji (6.7 %), nepreciznost iz dana u dan (10.5 %) i točnost (91 % do 115 %). Mikroklimatski parametri (temperatura zraka, relativna vlaga i protok zraka) u svim peradarnicima bili su u okviru preporučenih vrijednosti. Rezultati ovoga rada pokazuju da Asp f 1 sedimentira na prašinu u peradarnicima te da profesionalnu izloženost tom alergenu treba pratiti u jedinicama za uzgoj stoke