Incense smoke: clinical, structural and molecular effects on airway disease

In Asian countries where the Buddhism and Taoism are mainstream religions, incense burning is a daily practice. A typical composition of stick incense consists of 21% (by weight) of herbal and wood powder, 35% of fragrance material, 11% of adhesive powder, and 33% of bamboo stick. Incense smoke (fumes) contains particulate matter (PM), gas products and many organic compounds. On average, incense burning produces particulates greater than 45 mg/g burned as compared to 10 mg/g burned for cigarettes. The gas products from burning incense include CO, CO2, NO2, SO2, and others. Incense burning also produces volatile organic compounds, such as benzene, toluene, and xylenes, as well as aldehydes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The air pollution in and around various temples has been documented to have harmful effects on health. When incense smoke pollutants are inhaled, they cause respiratory system dysfunction. Incense smoke is a risk factor for elevated cord blood IgE levels and has been indicated to cause allergic contact dermatitis. Incense smoke also has been associated with neoplasm and extracts of particulate matter from incense smoke are found to be mutagenic in the Ames Salmonella test with TA98 and activation. In order to prevent airway disease and other health problem, it is advisable that people should reduce the exposure time when they worship at the temple with heavy incense smokes, and ventilate their house when they burn incense at home

Human and mouse essentiality screens as a resource for disease gene discovery.

The identification of causal variants in sequencing studies remains a considerable challenge that can be partially addressed by new gene-specific knowledge. Here, we integrate measures of how essential a gene is to supporting life, as inferred from viability and phenotyping screens performed on knockout mice by the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium and essentiality screens carried out on human cell lines. We propose a cross-species gene classification across the Full Spectrum of Intolerance to Loss-of-function (FUSIL) and demonstrate that genes in five mutually exclusive FUSIL categories have differing biological properties. Most notably, Mendelian disease genes, particularly those associated with developmental disorders, are highly overrepresented among genes non-essential for cell survival but required for organism development. After screening developmental disorder cases from three independent disease sequencing consortia, we identify potentially pathogenic variants in genes not previously associated with rare diseases. We therefore propose FUSIL as an efficient approach for disease gene discovery

Intestinal microbiota in human health and disease: the impact of probiotics

The complex communities of microorganisms that colonise the human gastrointestinal tract play an important role in human health. The development of culture-independent molecular techniques has provided new insights in the composition and diversity of the intestinal microbiota. Here, we summarise the present state of the art on the intestinal microbiota with specific attention for the application of high-throughput functional microbiomic approaches to determine the contribution of the intestinal microbiota to human health. Moreover, we review the association between dysbiosis of the microbiota and both intestinal and extra-intestinal diseases. Finally, we discuss the potential of probiotic microorganism to modulate the intestinal microbiota and thereby contribute to health and well-being. The effects of probiotic consumption on the intestinal microbiota are addressed, as well as the development of tailor-made probiotics designed for specific aberrations that are associated with microbial dysbiosis