Allergen-specific IgA and IgG antibodies as inhibitors of mast cell function in food allergy

Food allergy, a group of adverse immune responses to normally innocuous food protein antigens, is an increasingly prevalent public health issue. The most common form is IgE-mediated food allergy in which food antigen-induced crosslinking of the high-affinity IgE-receptor, FcεRI, on the surface of mast cells triggers the release of inflammatory mediators that contribute to a wide range of clinical manifestations, including systemic anaphylaxis. Mast cells also play a critical function in adaptive immunity to foods, acting as adjuvants for food-antigen driven Th2 cell responses. While the diagnosis and treatment of food allergy has improved in recent years, no curative treatments are currently available. However, there is emerging evidence to suggest that both allergen-specific IgA and IgG antibodies can counter the activating effects of IgE antibodies on mast cells. Most notably, both antigen-specific IgA and IgG antibodies are induced in the course of oral immunotherapy. In this review, we highlight the role of mast cells in food allergy, both as inducers of immediate hypersensitivity reactions and as adjuvants for type 2 adaptive immune responses. Furthermore, we summarize current understanding of the immunomodulatory effects of antigen-specific IgA and IgG antibodies on IgE-induced mast cell activation and effector function. A more comprehensive understanding of the regulatory role of IgA and IgG in food allergy may provide insights into physiologic regulation of immune responses to ingested antigens and could seed novel strategies to treat allergic disease

Internet-based search of randomised trials relevant to mental health originating in the Arab world

BACKGROUND: The internet is becoming a widely used source of accessing medical research through various on-line databases. This instant access to information is of benefit to busy clinicians and service users around the world. The population of the Arab World is comparable to that of the United States, yet it is widely believed to have a greatly contrasting output of randomised controlled trials related to mental health. This study was designed to investigate the existence of such research in the Arab World and also to investigate the availability of this research on-line. METHODS: Survey of findings from three internet-based potential sources of randomised trials originating from the Arab world and relevant to mental health care. RESULTS: A manual search of an Arabic online current contents service identified 3 studies, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO searches identified only 1 study, and a manual search of a specifically indexed, study-based mental health database, PsiTri, revealed 27 trials. CONCLUSION: There genuinely seem to be few trials from the Arab world and accessing these on-line was problematic. Replication of some studies that guide psychiatric/psychological practice in the Arab world would seem prudent

Printing of cotton with eco-friendly, red algal pigment from Gracilaria sp

[EN] Natural dyes represent an emerging trend in the textile industry and eco-fashion due to the increasing awareness of the sustainability concept, which must be applied to the surrounding environment. In the light of the stated problem, the search for alternative sources of dyes, revealed the new, eco-friendly, biodegradable, non-carcinogenic and sustainable colorant matter, the algal biomass. In the present work, the suitability and viability of printing cotton fabrics with pigments obtained from the red macroalgae Gracilaria sp., has been investigated. For this aim, phycoerythrin, the red pigment, was extracted from fresh algal biomass, and used in a laboratory pigment-printing process, employing a natural and synthetic printing paste, for process efficiency comparison. The color values and the rubbing and laundering fastness of the printed substrates were evaluated. Results show that a light pink color can be obtained when applying both tested printing processes, and in terms of color fastness, both printing pastes show good behavior. In conclusion, the algal pigments show a high printing capacity on cotton substrates, either when employing the synthetic conventional paste and; moreover, when applying the more sustainable and eco-friendly natural paste.This work was supported by the European research project ¨SEACOLORS¨ (Demonstration of new natural dyes from algae as substitution of synthetic dyes actually used by textile industries) within the LIFE 2013 ¨Environment Policy and Governance project application¨ program.Moldovan, S.; Ferrándiz, M.; Franco, E.; Mira, E.; Capablanca, L.; Bonet-Aracil, M. (2017). Printing of cotton with eco-friendly, red algal pigment from Gracilaria sp. IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering. 254:1-6. doi:10.1088/1757-899X/254/19/192011S1625

Metastatic collecting duct carcinoma of the kidney treated with sunitinib

Collecting duct carcinoma (CDC) of the kidney is a rare and aggressive malignant tumor arising from the distal collecting tubules which has been shown to have a poor response to several kinds of systemic therapy. We present a case of metastatic CDC that responded favorably to a multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitor, sunitinib, achieving a partial response in both lung and skeletal metastases. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing therapeutic activity of sunitinib against CDC. Considering these findings, it would be worthwhile prospectively investigating the role of multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitors, particularly sunitinib, in the management of metastatic CDC

Brain-based learning in design and visual arts education: a bibliometric assessment of Scopus indexed literature [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved]

Background: This study aims to critically review, quantify, and assess research outcomes on brain-based learning with an evidence-based study on Scopus indexed literature, with a focus to understand the evolution structure and growth, detect trends, subject development, and most importantly, identify the gaps in the published body of literature that relates brain-based learning to design and visual arts education. Methods: Various scientometric tools were used to map, visualize, and analyze 186 research publications, indexed in Scopus in a twenty-year timespan ‘2001-2021’. Annual publication trends, relevant sources, prolific authors, authorship patterns, productive organizations and countries, funding agencies, keyword co-occurrence analysis, and thematic evolution mapping on brain-based learning publications were examined in this study. Results: Despite the significance to apply brain-based learning strategies in design and visual arts education to boost students’ knowledge and creative skills, the findings show a decline in quantities and growth patterns in brain-based learning research directed towards design disciplines in the past twenty years. Among the identified (186) documents published in (128) sources, with (1013) citations, the study detected only (57) research (30%) that were related to ‘design education,’ including those focusing on ‘instructional design, ‘and ‘syllabus design’ whereas only (3) articles were in ‘design and visual arts’ disciplines. Conclusion: These rather small numbers reflect the big gap in the current body of literature that associates brain-based learning with creativity-based disciplines, specifically in design and visual arts education. This infers the necessity to direct the attention of academics, researchers, and educationalists in the fields of design and arts towards brain-based learning applications, research and pedagogy

المسح السنوي الشامل : مسح عن الحياة في دولة قطر 2014

This Executive Summary presents the highlights of the 2014 Omnibus survey, the fourth in a series of Omnibus surveys since 2010. The surveys were carried out by the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) of Qatar University. Each Omnibus survey interviews a large and representative sample of Qatari citizens, resident expatriates and laborers. In these surveys, we asked a number of questions covering several topics of importance to Qatari society, including their attitudes and behaviors related to media; political values and attitudes; gender; charities and charitable donations; traffic; and laborers. The survey was designed and carried out in accordance with the highest scientific and ethical standards. Respondents were assured that their answers would be confidential and presented in an aggregate format. This project was fully funded by the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) at Qatar University. The findings made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.يقدم هذا التقرير الموجز أبرز ما في المسح الشامل لعام 2014 ،الرابع في سلسلة المسوح الشاملة منذ عام 2010 .تم تنفيذ البحوث من قبل معهد البحوث الاجتماعية والاقتصادية المسحية((SESRI بجامعة قطر. في كل مسح شامل تم استطلاع آراء عينة كبيرة تمثل المواطنين القطريين، والمقيمين والعمال. في هذه المسوح تم طرح عدد من الأسئلة تغطي العديد من المواضيع التي تهم المجتمع القطري، بما في ذلك المواقف والسلوكيات المتعلقة بوسائل الإعلام؛ والقيم والمواقف السياسية؛ دور الرجل والمرأة؛ المؤسسات والتبرعات الخيرية؛ وحركة المرور؛ والعمال الوافدين. صمم ونفذ هذا المسح وفقا لأعلى المعايير العلمية والأخلاقية. وتم التأكيد على المشاركين بأن إجابتهم سرية ومقدمة في شكل إجمالي. وقد تم تمويل هذا المشروع بالكامل من قِبل معهد البحوث الاجتماعية والاقتصادية المسحية بجامعة قطر. وإن الاستنتاجات الموجودة في هذا التقرير هي مسؤولية المؤلفين وحدهم

Relationship between perceived body weight and body mass index based on self- reported height and weight among university students: a cross-sectional study in seven European countries

Mikolajczyk RT, Maxwell AE, El Ansari W, Stock C, Petkeviciene J, Guillen-Grima F. Relationship between perceived body weight and body mass index based on self- reported height and weight among university students: a cross-sectional study in seven European countries. BMC Public Health. 2010;10(1): 40.Background Despite low rates of obesity, many university students perceive themselves as overweight, especially women. This is of concern, because inappropriate weight perceptions can lead to unhealthy behaviours including eating disorders. Methods We used the database from the Cross National Student Health Survey (CNSHS), consisting of 5,900 records of university students from Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Spain and Turkey to analyse differences in perceived weight status based on the question: "Do you consider yourself much too thin, a little too thin, just right, a little too fat or much too fat?". The association between perceived weight and body mass index (BMI) calculated from self-reported weight and height was assessed with generalized non-parametric regression in R library gam. Results Although the majority of students reported a normal BMI (72-84% of males, 65-83% of females), only 32% to 68% of students considered their weight "just right". Around 20% of females with BMI of 20 kg/m2 considered themselves "a little too fat" or "too fat", and the percentages increased to 60% for a BMI of 22.5 kg/m2. Male students rarely felt "a little too fat" or "too fat" below BMI of 22.5 kg/m2, but most felt too thin with a BMI of 20 kg/m2. Conclusions Weight ideals are rather uniform across the European countries, with female students being more likely to perceive themselves as "too fat" at a normal BMI, while male students being more likely to perceive themselves as "too thin". Programs to prevent unhealthy behaviours to achieve ill-advised weight ideals may benefit students

Mid-Rapidity Direct-Photon Production in p+p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

A measurement of direct photons in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV is presented. A photon excess above background from pi^0 --> gamma+gamma, eta --> gamma+gamma, and other decays is observed in the transverse momentum range 5.5 < p_T < 7 GeV/c. The result is compared to a next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculation. Within errors, good agreement is found between the QCD calculation and the measured result.Comment: 330 authors, 7 pages text, RevTeX, 2 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Physical Review D. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm