Effects of Allergen Sensitization on Response to Therapy in Children with Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Background: In children with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) foods are the most common disease triggers, but environmental allergens are also suspected culprits. Objective: To determine the effects of environmental allergen sensitization on response to treatment in children with EoE in the southeastern United States. Methods: Patients 2 to 18 years old who were referred to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders Clinic from January 2012 to January 2016 were enrolled in a prospective, longitudinal cohort study with collection of demographics, clinical symptoms, medical history, allergy sensitization profiles, and response to treatment over time. Comparisons were made between complete responders (peak esophageal eosinophil count \u3c 15 per high-power field [HPF]) and nonresponders (\u3e 25 eosinophils per HPF) after treatment with diet elimination alone, swallowed corticosteroids alone, or diet elimination and swallowed corticosteroids. Sensitization patterns to environmental allergens found in the southeastern United States were analyzed for the effect on treatment response. Results: A total of 223 individuals were enrolled. Of these, 182 had environmental allergy profiling and at least one endoscopy while receiving proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy. Twenty-nine individuals had PPI-responsive EoE and were excluded from further analysis, leaving 123 individuals with none-PPI-responsive EoE who were further analyzed; 72 (58.5%) were complete responders and 33 (26.8%) were nonresponders. Seventeen individuals (13.8%) were partial responders (≥ 1 but ≤ 25 eosinophils per HPF) and excluded from further analysis. Nonresponders were more likely to be sensitized to perennial allergens (P = .02). There was no significant difference in response based on seasonal allergen sensitization. Individuals with mold or cockroach sensitization were more likely to fail combination diet and swallowed corticosteroid treatment (P = .02 and P = .002). Conclusion: Perennial allergen and mold sensitization may lead to nonresponse to EoE treatment in some patients. Additional studies are needed to further understand the effect of environmental allergens on EoE

Educating for the Sustainable Future: A Conceptual Process for Mapping the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Marketing Teaching Using Bloom’s Taxonomy

This qualitative study aims to explore how a university-level School of Marketing integrates the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into curriculum, using Bloom’s Taxonomy, and to develop a reflective process that could be applied within tertiary education, more broadly. The research investigates the depth of SDG integration, with marketing subject coordinators mapping the Goals within their teachings across Bloom’s dimensions, then identifying and reflecting on how they are embedded. The reflective process has revealed that some subjects are directly mapped to SDGs, for example where students are required to work on an assessment task which relates to a specific Global Goal [1]. The results also show that other subjects are indirectly mapped, such as where subject coordinators discuss topics linked to Goals or Targets but do not explicitly state this content is SDG-related. To effectively implement SDGs within teaching and learning practice, marketing subjects require an evaluation method to identify gaps and opportunities. Therefore, this reflective process enabled subject coordinators to recognize gaps in their own SDG knowledge and teaching, a process through which future marketing subject curriculum modifications can be developed, with possible applications in other disciplines