Spin and Statistics and First Principles

It was shown in the early Seventies that, in Local Quantum Theory (that is the most general formulation of Quantum Field Theory, if we leave out only the unknown scenario of Quantum Gravity) the notion of Statistics can be grounded solely on the local observable quantities (without assuming neither the commutation relations nor even the existence of unobservable charged field operators); one finds that only the well known (para)statistics of Bose/Fermi type are allowed by the key principle of local commutativity of observables. In this frame it was possible to formulate and prove the Spin and Statistics Theorem purely on the basis of First Principles. In a subsequent stage it has been possible to prove the existence of a unique, canonical algebra of local field operators obeying ordinary Bose/Fermi commutation relations at spacelike separations. In this general guise the Spin - Statistics Theorem applies to Theories (on the four dimensional Minkowski space) where only massive particles with finite mass degeneracy can occur. Here we describe the underlying simple basic ideas, and briefly mention the subsequent generalisations; eventually we comment on the possible validity of the Spin - Statistics Theorem in presence of massless particles, or of violations of locality as expected in Quantum Gravity.Comment: Survey based on a talk given at the Meeting on "Theoretical and experimental aspects of the spin - statistics connection and related symmetries", Trieste, Italy - October 21-25, 200

Latent class analysis reveals clinically relevant atopy phenotypes in 2 birth cohorts

Phenotypes of childhood-onset asthma are characterized by distinct trajectories and functional features. For atopy, definition of phenotypes during childhood is less clear.; We sought to define phenotypes of atopic sensitization over the first 6 years of life using a latent class analysis (LCA) integrating 3 dimensions of atopy: allergen specificity, time course, and levels of specific IgE (sIgE).; Phenotypes were defined by means of LCA in 680 children of the Multizentrische Allergiestudie (MAS) and 766 children of the Protection against allergy: Study in Rural Environments (PASTURE) birth cohorts and compared with classical nondisjunctive definitions of seasonal, perennial, and food sensitization with respect to atopic diseases and lung function. Cytokine levels were measured in the PASTURE cohort.; The LCA classified predominantly by type and multiplicity of sensitization (food vs inhalant), allergen combinations, and sIgE levels. Latent classes were related to atopic disease manifestations with higher sensitivity and specificity than the classical definitions. LCA detected consistently in both cohorts a distinct group of children with severe atopy characterized by high seasonal sIgE levels and a strong propensity for asthma; hay fever; eczema; and impaired lung function, also in children without an established asthma diagnosis. Severe atopy was associated with an increased IL-5/IFN-γ ratio. A path analysis among sensitized children revealed that among all features of severe atopy, only excessive sIgE production early in life affected asthma risk.; LCA revealed a set of benign, symptomatic, and severe atopy phenotypes. The severe phenotype emerged as a latent condition with signs of a dysbalanced immune response. It determined high asthma risk through excessive sIgE production and directly affected impaired lung function

Airborne cultivable microflora and microbial transfer in farm buildings and rural dwellings

Exposure to environments rich in microorganisms such as farms has been shown to protect against the development of childhood asthma and allergies. However, it remains unclear where, and how, farm and other rural children are exposed to microbes. Furthermore, the composition of the microbial flora is poorly characterised. We tested the hypothesis that farm children are exposed indoors to substantial levels of viable microbes originating from animal sheds and barns. We also expected that environmental microbial flora on farms and in farm homes would be more complex than in the homes of rural control children

Excessive Unbalanced Meat Consumption in the First Year of Life Increases Asthma Risk in the PASTURE and LUKAS2 Birth Cohorts.

A higher diversity of food items introduced in the first year of life has been inversely related to subsequent development of asthma. In the current analysis, we applied latent class analysis (LCA) to systematically assess feeding patterns and to relate them to asthma risk at school age. PASTURE (N=1133) and LUKAS2 (N=228) are prospective birth cohort studies designed to evaluate protective and risk factors for atopic diseases, including dietary patterns. Feeding practices were reported by parents in monthly diaries between the 4th and 12th month of life. For 17 common food items parents indicated frequency of feeding during the last 4 weeks in 4 categories. The resulting 153 ordinal variables were entered in a LCA. The intestinal microbiome was assessed at the age of 12 months by 16S rRNA sequencing. Data on feeding practice with at least one reported time point was available in 1042 of the 1133 recruited children. Best LCA model fit was achieved by the 4-class solution. One class showed an elevated risk of asthma at age 6 as compared to the other classes (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 8.47, 95% CI 2.52-28.56, p = 0.001) and was characterized by daily meat consumption and rare consumption of milk and yoghurt. A refined LCA restricted to meat, milk, and yoghurt confirmed the asthma risk effect of a particular class in PASTURE and independently in LUKAS2, which we thus termed unbalanced meat consumption (UMC). The effect of UMC was particularly strong for non-atopic asthma and asthma irrespectively of early bronchitis (aOR: 17.0, 95% CI 5.2-56.1, p < 0.001). UMC fostered growth of iron scavenging bacteria such as Acinetobacter (aOR: 1.28, 95% CI 1.00-1.63, p = 0.048), which was also related to asthma (aOR: 1.55, 95% CI 1.18-2.03, p = 0.001). When reconstructing bacterial metabolic pathways from 16S rRNA sequencing data, biosynthesis of siderophore group nonribosomal peptides emerged as top hit (aOR: 1.58, 95% CI 1.13-2.19, p = 0.007). By a data-driven approach we found a pattern of overly meat consumption at the expense of other protein sources to confer risk of asthma. Microbiome analysis of fecal samples pointed towards overgrowth of iron-dependent bacteria and bacterial iron metabolism as a potential explanation

Study on Occupational Allergy Risks (SOLAR II) in Germany: Design and methods

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>SOLAR II is the 2^ndfollow-up of a population-based cohort study that follows the participants of ISAAC Phase Two recruited in Munich and Dresden in 1995/6. A first follow-up study was conducted 2002 and 2003 (SOLAR I). The aims of SOLAR II were to investigate the course of atopic diseases over puberty taking environmental and occupational risk factors into account. This paper describes the methods of the 2^ndfollow-up carried out from 2007 to 2009 and the challenges we faced while studying a population-based cohort of young adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Wherever possible, the same questionnaire instruments were used throughout the studies. They included questions on respiratory and allergic diseases, domestic and occupational exposure and work related stress. Furthermore, clinical examinations including skin prick tests, spirometry and bronchial challenge with methacholine, exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and blood samples were employed at baseline and 2^ndfollow-up. As information from three studies was available, multiple imputation could be used to handle missing data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 3053 SOLAR I study participants who had agreed to be contacted again, about 50% had moved in the meantime and had to be traced using phone directories and the German population registries. Overall, 2904 of these participants could be contacted on average five years after the first follow-up. From this group, 2051 subjects (71%) completed the questionnaire they received via mail. Of these, 57% participated at least in some parts of the clinical examinations. Challenges faced included the high mobility of this age group. Time constraints and limited interest in the study were substantial. Analysing the results, selection bias had to be considered as questionnaire responders (54%) and those participating in the clinical part of the study (63%) were more likely to have a high parental level of education compared to non-participants (42%). Similarly, a higher prevalence of parental atopy (e.g. allergic rhinitis) at baseline was found for participants in the questionnaire part (22%) and those participating in the clinical part of the study (27%) compared to non-participants (11%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, a 12-year follow-up from childhood to adulthood is feasible resulting in a response of 32% of the baseline population. However, our experience shows that researchers need to allocate more time to the field work when studying young adults compared to other populations.</p

Timing of complementary feeding for early childhood allergy prevention: An overview of systematic reviews.

OBJECTIVE: To summarise and critically appraise systematic review (SR) evidence on the effects of timing of complementary feeding (CF) on the occurrence of allergic sensitisation and disease. DESIGN: Overview of SRs. AMSTAR-2 and ROBIS were used to assess methodological quality and risk of bias (RoB) of SRs. RoB 2 Tool was used to assess RoB of primary randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (or extracted). The certainty of evidence (CoE) was assessed using GRADE. Findings were synthesised narratively. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE (via PubMed and Ovid), the Cochrane Library and Web of Science Core Collection (2010 to 27 February 2023). ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: SRs investigating the effects of timing of CF in infants or young children (0-3 years) on risk of developing food allergy (FA), allergic sensitisation, asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic eczema and adverse events based on RCT evidence. RESULTS: Eleven SRs were included. Only two SRs had low RoB; common issues were failure to report on funding of primary studies and failure to provide a list of excluded trials. Common limitations of included trials were lack of blinding of outcome assessment or detailed trial preregistration, and inadequate handling of high loss to follow up. Primary study overlap was very high for specific FA and slight to moderate for FA in general and other primary outcomes. Introducing specific foods (peanut, cooked egg) early probably reduces the risk of specific FA. Evidence for other allergic outcomes was mostly very uncertain and based on few primary studies. Trials varied regarding timing of CF, nature of complementary foods and population risk, which limited comparability between SRs. CONCLUSIONS: For developing guidelines to support decision-making on the timing of CF as a preventive strategy, early introduction of specific foods (i.e. egg and peanut) seems promising and safe, whereas more extensive research is required regarding other allergic outcomes and potential adverse events

IgG1 Fc N-glycan galactosylation as a biomarker for immune activation.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc N-glycosylation affects antibody-mediated effector functions and varies with inflammation rooted in both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Worldwide, communicable and non-communicable diseases tend to segregate geographically. Therefore, we studied whether IgG Fc N-glycosylation varies in populations with different environmental exposures in different parts of the world. IgG Fc N-glycosylation was analysed in serum/plasma of 700 school-age children from different communities of Gabon, Ghana, Ecuador, the Netherlands and Germany. IgG1 galactosylation levels were generally higher in more affluent countries and in more urban communities. High IgG1 galactosylation levels correlated with low total IgE levels, low C-reactive protein levels and low prevalence of parasitic infections. Linear mixed modelling showed that only positivity for parasitic infections was a significant predictor of reduced IgG1 galactosylation levels. That IgG1 galactosylation is a predictor of immune activation is supported by the observation that asthmatic children seemed to have reduced IgG1 galactosylation levels as well. This indicates that IgG1 galactosylation levels could be used as a biomarker for immune activation of populations, providing a valuable tool for studies examining the epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases

IL13 genetic polymorphisms, smoking, and eczema in women: a case-control study in Japan

Background: Several genetic association studies have examined the relationships between single nucleotidepolymorphisms (SNPs) in the IL13 gene and eczema, and have provided contradictory results. We investigated therelationship between the IL13 SNPs rs1800925 and rs20541 and the risk of eczema in Japanese young adultwomen.Methods: Included were 188 cases who met the criteria of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies inChildhood (ISAAC) for eczema. Control subjects were 1,082 women without eczema according to the ISAACcriteria, who had not been diagnosed with atopic eczema by a doctor and who had no current asthma as definedby the European Community Respiratory Health Survey criteria. Adjustment was made for age, region of residence,number of children, smoking, and education.Results: The minor TT genotype of SNP rs1800925 was significantly associated with an increased risk of eczema inthe co-dominant model: the adjusted odds ratio was 2.19 (95% confidence interval: 1.03-4.67). SNP rs20541 was notrelated to eczema. None of the haplotypes were significantly associated with eczema. Compared with women withthe CC or CT genotype of SNP rs1800925 who had never smoked, those with the TT genotype who had eversmoked had a 2.85-fold increased risk of eczema, though the adjusted odds ratio was not statistically significant,and neither multiplicative nor additive interaction was statistically significant.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the IL13 SNP rs1800925 is significantly associated with eczema in Japaneseyoung adult women. We could not find evidence for an interaction between SNP rs1800925 and smoking withregard to eczema

Manifestation allergischer Krankheiten bei jungen Erwachsenen in Zusammenhang mit dem Eintritt in das Berufsleben - Untersuchungen zur Abhängigkeit von arbeitsbedingten Faktoren unter Berücksichtigung von Vorerkrankungen, Disposition und außerberuflichen Umweltfaktoren und Ableitung von Vorschlägen zur verbesserten Prävention: Studie in Ost- und Westdeutschland zu beruflichen Allergierisiken - SOLAR II -; Abschlussbericht

SOLAR II ist das zweite Follow-up einer bevölkerungsbezogenenden Kohorten-Studie. Diese Studie basiert auf einer Kohorte, die 1995/1996 aus damals 9-11jährigen Kindern aus Dresden und München zusammengestellt wurde. Die inzwischen erwachsenen Teilnehmer wurden nun erneut mit dem Ziel untersucht, Zusammenhänge zwischen beruflichen Expositionen und Allergien und Atemwegserkrankungen zu ermitteln. Ein Schwerpunkt der Auswertung galt der Frage, wie sich aus Risikofaktoren, die bereits in der Kindheit erkennbar sind, vorhersagen lässt, dass sich bei Tätigkeitsbeginn in Berufen mit hoher Exposition eine Allergie oder eine Atemwegserkrankung entwickeln wird. Mit den Ergebnissen der Studie kann nicht begründet werden, Jugendlichen mit Risikofaktoren für allergische Atemwegserkrankungen grundsätzlich von Tätigkeiten mit hohem Expositions-Potenzial abzuraten. Die Autoren sprechen sich aber für eine engmaschige arbeitsmedizinische Betreuung junger Erwachsener aus, die am Beginn einer solchen Tätigkeit stehen