Dust from Comet 209P/LINEAR during its 2014 Return: Parent Body of a New Meteor Shower, the May Camelopardalids

We report a new observation of the Jupiter-family comet 209P/LINEAR during its 2014 return. The comet is recognized as a dust source of a new meteor shower, the May Camelopardalids. 209P/LINEAR was apparently inactive at a heliocentric distance rh = 1.6 au and showed weak activity at rh < 1.4 au. We found an active region of <0.001% of the entire nuclear surface during the comet's dormant phase. An edge-on image suggests that particles up to 1 cm in size (with an uncertainty of factor 3-5) were ejected following a differential power-law size distribution with index q=-3.25+-0.10. We derived a mass loss rate of 2-10 kg/s during the active phase and a total mass of ~5x10^7 kg during the 2014 return. The ejection terminal velocity of millimeter- to centimeter-sized particles was 1-4 m/s, which is comparable to the escape velocity from the nucleus (1.4 m/s). These results imply that such large meteoric particles marginally escaped from the highly dormant comet nucleus via the gas drag force only within a few months of the perihelion passage.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, accepted on 2014 December 11 for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letter

Early aggressive intervention for infantile atopic dermatitis to prevent development of food allergy : a multicenter, investigator‑blinded, randomized, parallel group controlled trial (PACI Study) : protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Atopic dermatitis is the first clinical manifestation of the atopic march, with the highest incidence in the first year of life. Those affected often go on to develop other allergic diseases including food allergy, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. Recent evidence suggests that sensitization to foods may occur through a defective skin barrier which is common in atopic dermatitis in early life. We hypothesize that therapeutic aggressive intervention to treat new onset atopic dermatitis may prevent the development of later allergen sensitization, and associated food allergy, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. Methods: This study is a multi-center, pragmatic, two-parallel group, assessor-blind, superiority, individually randomized controlled trial. Atopic dermatitis infants (N = 650) 7–13 weeks old who develop an itchy rash within the previous 28 days are randomly assigned to the aggressive treatment or the conventional treatment in a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome is oral food challenge-proven IgE-mediated hen’s egg allergy at the age of 28 weeks. Discussion: This is a novel pragmatic RCT study to examine the efficacy of early aggressive treatment for atopic dermatitis to prevent later food allergy. If our hypothesis is correct, we hope that such a strategy might impact on disease prevention in countries where food allergy is common, and that our results might reduce the frequency and associated costs of all food allergies as well as hens egg food allergy. Long-term follow and other similar studies will help to determine whether such a strategy will reduce the burden of other allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis

Smoking Exposure Is Associated with Serum Vitamin D Deficiency in Children: Evidence from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

Tobacco smoke exposure is known to lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations. This study evaluated the association between passive smoking and vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in young children using data from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS), the largest birth cohort study in Japan. Information on parental smoking status was extracted from a survey of JECS for children aged 1.5 years and data for serum 25(OH)D concentrations were obtained from blood tests in the Sub-Cohort Study of JECS performed at age 2 years. Logistic regression and linear models were fitted to evaluate the association between these variables. Data were analyzed for 4593 children. After adjusting for covariates, smoke exposure was significantly associated with increased incidence of VDD (OR 1.35; 95% CI, 1.14–1.59) according to the logistic model. The linear model indicated that passive smoking negatively predicted de-seasonalized serum 25(OH)D concentrations (β −0.5; 95% CI −0.95 to −0.08) in children aged 2 years. The results suggest that smoke exposure is a risk factor for VDD in children. Given that VD plays a crucial role in bone metabolism and the immune system, our findings are significant for clinical and public health

A phase III, multicenter, collaborative, open-label clinical trial of sildenafil in Japanese patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系Background: There is evidence that phosphodiesterase type-5 is effective for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Methods and Results: A phase III, multicenter, open-label clinical trial of sildenafil 20 mg t.i.d. was conducted in 21 Japanese patients with PAH to examine its efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics. The present trial consisted of a screening period and 12-week treatment. Patients who were enrolled in the present trial increased their 6-min walking distance of administration increased at week 12 by 84.2 m from baseline. Hemodynamic parameters (eg, mean pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance), Borg dyspnea scores, and plasma brain natriuretic peptide concentrations also improved compared to baseline. Most patients improved or sustained WHO functional class. Seven subjects, who were examined for the pharmacokinetics of sildefanil, showed relatively large interindividual variations in the Cmax, AUC0-8, Css,av, and Ctrough of the drug. Any serious adverse events, severe adverse events, and deaths were not observed. Most of events of undeniable causality were mild or moderate in severity. Sildefanil was well tolerated by the subjects. Conclusions: Sildenafil 20 mg t.i.d. was effective and safe for Japanese patients with PAH

Impact of swimming school attendance in 3-year-old children with wheeze and rhinitis at age 5 years: A prospective birth cohort study in Tokyo.

BackgroundIn Japan, swimming school attendance is promoted as a form of therapy or as a prophylactic measure against asthma in young children. However, the putative beneficial effects have not been sufficiently verified.ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to clarify whether or not swimming school attendance at age 3 years affects the onset and/or improvement of wheeze and rhinitis at age 5 years.MethodsThis study was a single-center, prospective, general, longitudinal cohort study (T-CHILD Study). Between November 2003 and December 2005, 1776 pregnant women were enrolled, and their offspring were followed up until age 5 years. Swimming school attendance at age 3 years and the presence of wheeze and/or rhinitis in the previous one year were examined using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. The relationship between swimming school attendance and wheeze and/or rhinitis was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis.ResultsData on the 1097 children were analyzed. At age 3 years, 126 (11.5%) children attended a swimming school, and at age 5 years, the prevalence of wheeze was 180 (16.4%) while that of rhinitis was 387 (35.3%). Swimming school attendance at age 3 showed no significant relationship with the development of either wheeze (aOR 0.83, 95% CI (0.43-1.60) or rhinitis (aOR 0.80, 95% CI (0.43-1.60) at age 5.ConclusionsSwimming school attendance at age 3 years showed neither a preventive nor therapeutic effect on wheeze or rhinitis at age 5 years. There is thus no scientific evidence yet that swimming school attendance has a positive impact on the development of childhood wheeze or rhinitis

Remission of Acute Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome Confirmed by Oral Food Challenges in Japan

The oral food challenge test (OFC) is the gold standard for evaluating the remission of food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES). Few acute FPIES remissions confirmed by OFC were reported. This study aimed to examine the OFC for Japanese children with acute FPIES to evaluate its remission. A retrospective cohort study was performed on children with acute FPIES with remission evaluation by OFC based on one food challenge dose (1/50, 1/10, 1/2, and full dose per day). Acute FPIES remission was observed in 65.2% of patients (15/23 patients). Vomiting episodes occurred with 1/50 full doses on the first day among 75% of positive patients. The median duration between the onset and OFC was 14 months (IQR, 8–24 months). Soy was the most common causative food, followed by egg yolk, milk, and wheat. All patients could receive OFC safely without intensive care unit care, based on the FPIES OFC protocol. The remission rate of acute FPIES was high. However, vomiting episodes commonly occurred with 1/50 full doses on the first day. This study suggested that our OFC protocol for acute FPIES was safe and feasible, but it might be safer for some patients to start at a minimal loading dose

Allergic Disorders and Risk of Anemia in Japanese Children: Findings from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

Previous epidemiological studies have reported an increased risk of anemia in people with allergic disorders. However, previous studies have followed a cross-sectional design. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the two conditions with a cohort dataset. We used data of 80,943 children in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, the largest birth cohort in Japan. The association between anemia and allergic disorders was evaluated with a logistic regression model and propensity score analysis. After adjusting for potential confounders, children with asthma (odds ratio [OR], 1.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32–2.60), atopic dermatitis (OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.66–2.85), allergic rhinitis (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.05–1.74), allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (OR, 2.95; 95% CI, 1.91–4.54), and food allergies (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.44–2.56) at 2 years of age predicted high odds of developing anemia in the next year. Any allergy at 2 years of age was associated with an increased risk of anemia at the age of 3 years (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.41–2.29). The findings remained stable in the propensity score analysis. Results suggest that allergic diseases were related to caregiver-reported anemia in children