Intestinal Barrier Permeability in Allergic Diseases

The role of intestinal permeability (IP) markers among children and adults with food allergies is not fully understood, and the identification of biological indicators/markers that predict growth retardation in children with allergic diseases and atopy has not been well explained. Studies have shown that patients with atopic diseases respond abnormally to food allergens. Accordingly, differences in the types of immune complexes formed in response to antigen challenges are significant, which seems to underlie the systemic signs of the food allergy. Increased intestinal permeability over the course of a food allergy allows allergens to penetrate through the intestinal barrier and stimulate the submucosal immune system. Additionally, the release of cytokines and inflammatory mediators enhances the degradation of the epithelial barrier and leads to an improper cycle, resulting in increased intestinal permeability. Several studies have also demonstrated increased permeability of the epithelial cells in those afflicted with atopic eczema and bronchial asthma. Ongoing research is aimed at finding various indicators to assess IP in patients with atopic diseases

Intestinal Barrier Permeability in Allergic Diseases

The role of intestinal permeability (IP) markers among children and adults with food allergies is not fully understood, and the identification of biological indicators/markers that predict growth retardation in children with allergic diseases and atopy has not been well explained. Studies have shown that patients with atopic diseases respond abnormally to food allergens. Accordingly, differences in the types of immune complexes formed in response to antigen challenges are significant, which seems to underlie the systemic signs of the food allergy. Increased intestinal permeability over the course of a food allergy allows allergens to penetrate through the intestinal barrier and stimulate the submucosal immune system. Additionally, the release of cytokines and inflammatory mediators enhances the degradation of the epithelial barrier and leads to an improper cycle, resulting in increased intestinal permeability. Several studies have also demonstrated increased permeability of the epithelial cells in those afflicted with atopic eczema and bronchial asthma. Ongoing research is aimed at finding various indicators to assess IP in patients with atopic diseases

Assessment of Selected Intestinal Permeability Markers in Children with Food Allergy Depending on the Type and Severity of Clinical Symptoms

Background: Food allergy (FA) has a broad range of symptoms, and clinical manifestations may concern several reactions from one system or organ. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess intestinal permeability (IP) based on the analysis of serum zonulin and bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) levels in children with FA, taking into account the pathomechanism of immune reaction, clinical symptoms of FA and their severity. Material and methods: The study comprised 103 patients aged 7–60 months (median 34); 49 children with IgE-mediated allergy and 25 children with non-IgE-mediated allergy; the reference group comprised 29 children with functional gastrointestinal disorders. IP markers were determined using ELISA. Results: There was no correlation between the severity of clinical symptoms and the level of IP markers in children with FA. Zonulin and LPS levels were significantly higher in children with FA and gastrointestinal symptoms. Zonulin levels in the subgroup of children with non-IgE-mediated FA and gastrointestinal symptoms were significantly higher than in the subgroup of children with IgE-mediated FA and these symptoms. The level of LPS was significantly higher in the subgroup with IgE-mediated FA and atopic dermatitis. Conclusions: Zonulin and LPS levels were significantly higher in children with FA compared to children from the reference group. Zonulin levels were significantly higher in children with non-IgE-mediated FA than in children with IgE-mediated FA

Atopowe zapalenie skóry u dzieci

The incidence of atopic diseases worldwide has shown a growing trend in recent years. This situation is associated with environmental factors and cha nges in dietar y habits. Therefore, allergic diseases are common reasons why the pa rents of infants and young children visit a family physician and a pa ediatrician. The research shows that the most frequent clinical manifestations of food allergy in the youngest age group are gastrointestinal and/or skin signs and symptoms. Eight key allergens are considered to trigger food hypersensitivity, including products of animal origin, i.e. cow’s milk protein, hen’s egg protein, fish and shellfish, and products of plant or igin, i.e. nuts, soybeans and wheat. The most common skin manifestation of the food allergy is atopic dermatitis    Częstotliwość występowania chorób atopowych w ostatnich latach na całym świecie wykazuje tendencję wzrostową. Zjawisko to związane jest z czynnikami środowiskowymi i zmianami zachodzącymi w nawykach żywieniowych. To powoduje, że choroby alergiczne są częstym powodem zgłoszenia się rodziców niemowląt i małych dzieci do lekarza rodzinnego i lekarza pediatry. Badania pokazują, że najczęstszą manifestacją kliniczną alergii pokarmowej, w najmłodszej grupie wiekowej, są objawy ze strony przewodu pokarmowego i/lub skóry. Za kluczowe alergeny odpowiedzialne za proces rozwoju nadwrażliwości pokarmowej podaje się 8 produktów, w tym alergeny pochodzenia zwierzęcego tj.: białka mleka krowiego, białka jaja kurzego, ryby, skorupiaki oraz alergeny pochodzenia roślinnego tj.: orzechy, soję, pszenicę. Najczęstsza manifestacja skórną alergii pokarmowej jest atopowe zapalenie skóry (AZS, wyprysk atopowy/endogenny). Jest to przewlekła i nawrotowa dermatoza zapalna dotykająca naskórka i skóry właściwej, która cechuje się silnym świądem, typową morfologią oraz lokalizacją zmian skórnych. Rozpoczyna się zwykle w okresie wczesnego dzieciństwa i współistnieje z innymi chorobami atopowymi u pacjenta i jego rodziny. W niniejszej pracy omówiono przyczyny, objawy, diagnostykę oraz postępowanie lecznicze. Zwrócono uwagę na najczęstsze czynniki wyzwalające i zaostrzające objawy AZS. Ponadto zaprezentowano narzędzia diagnostyczne do oceny stopnia nasilenia AZS, szczegółowo omówiono wskaźnik SCORAD

Knowledge transfer across permeable boundaries: An empirical study of clients' decisions to involve management consultants

Summary We investigate the relationship between the knowledge requirements of projects and clients' decisions whether to procure services from external management consultants for the execution of these projects. Using data from interviews with client decision-makers regarding the execution of 86 projects, we find that knowledge requirements are strongly associated with the decision whether or not to involve external consultants. The results highlight the closeness of the relationships between clients and consultants, supporting Kitay and Wright's [Kitay, J., & Wright, C. (2004). Take the money and run? Organisational boundaries and consultants' roles, The Service Industries Journal, 24(3) 1-18] view of the permeability of the boundaries between many client organizations and their consultants. The findings also confirm our expectation that clients use the services of external management consultants in order to procure functional or industry-specific knowledge which consultants can pool and apply efficiently across many projects.Management consulting Knowledge Client-consultant relationships

Geodetic deformation measurement and analysis of the ATLAS experimental cavern at CERN

Caverns for large physics detectors, such as the one for the Large Hadron Collider experiments, sit nearly 100 m underground and measure several tens of meters in length, width and height. The deformation of the cavern base slab over decades has a direct influence on the relative alignment of detectors with respect to the accelerator. The expected long-term movements are larger than the fine adjustment of detectors and accelerators. In this paper, the measured deformations of the ATLAS experiment's main cavern floor and lateral walls over nearly 20 years have been analysed. The measurement series have been performed in various time intervals getting down to half a year. The used measurement techniques, such as the polar method (total station and laser tracker) and precise levelling, allow to obtain sub-millimetre precision. Even if the deformations are significantly (four times) lower compared to the predictions of the civil engineering consultants at the moment of the cavern construction, the measured ones reach values up to 5.0 mm for the base slab and up to 14.7 mm for the lateral walls

Accuracy Evaluation of Real-Time GNSS Precision Positioning with RTX Trimble Technology

In this paper, authors present results of accuracy verification of the Trimble RTX technology. The GNSS receiver Spectra Precision SP60 was used in Cyprus (Kato Paphos Archaeological Park). To evaluate the accuracy of the receiver, two measuring test networks (consisting of 30 and 55 control points) were established. All points were determined in four measuring cycles. Additionally, in order to make more advanced analysis of the data, the bases were also measured by using another GNSS receiver - Geomax-Zenith 25. The point positions, in this case, were conducted in the local coordinate system of Kato Paphos Archaeological Park by using RTK positioning technology. To make a comparison, it was necessary to transform the coordinates based on different groups of fitting points. Analysis allowed to conclude that the Spectra Precision SP60 receiver and the RTX Trimble technology guarantee repeatable results (on the level of 4 cm) of point positioning measurements

Deformation measurement the ATLAS cavern at CERN

Caverns for large physics detectors as the one for the Large Hadron Collider experiments sit nearly 100 m underground and measure several tens of meters in length, width and height. The deformation of the cavern base slab over decades has a direct influence on the relative alignment of detectors to the accelerator. The expected long-term movements are larger than the fine adjustment of detectors and accelerators. In this paper, the measured deformations of the ATLAS experiment main cavern floor and lateral walls over nearly 20 years have been analysed. The measurement series have been performed in various time intervals getting down to half a year. The measurement techniques such as polar method (total station and laser tracker) and precise levelling allow to obtain sub-millimetre precision. The measured deformation reaches values up to 5.0 mm for the base slab and it is significantly (four times) lower compared to the predictions of the civil engineering consultants at the moment of the cavern construction. For the lateral walls, they reach up to 14.7 mm

Variation of structured laser beam pattern and optimization for an alignment reference line creation

The alignment of particle accelerators demands a dedicated measurement system based on a straight-line reference. This straight line can be provided by a laser beam. The alignment then involves accurately measuring the offset of accelerator components with respect to this light path. In order to be efficient, the laser beam needs to serve as a stable and straight reference for distances of several hundreds of meters. The attainable accuracy depends, among other parameters, on the laser spot size, which should ideally change very little over the distances at which the alignment system needs to operate. Due to the significant divergence of Gaussian laser beams, we propose using a structured laser beam (SLB) for alignment. Its transversal intensity profile is similar to a Bessel beam and consists of an intense inner core (IC) and concentric rings. The divergence of the IC, i.e., the growth of its size with distance, can be limited to 10μrad using a favorable generator configuration. Thus an SLB may be suitable as a straight-line reference for long-distance alignment applications. However, the SLB is distorted if obstructions cover parts of the outermost ring (OR) of the beam within, which should therefore also be small. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the size of the IC and OR depending on the design parameters of the SLB generator. We use numerical simulations and experiments with different generators over distances up to 50 m to analyze the transversal intensity profile and wavefronts of different SLBs. The results indicate the general suitability of an SLB as a reference line for long-distance alignment but also expose tradeoffs between small IC and small OR. The findings outlined in the paper help to describe the optimal SLB parameters for given conditions

Ocena dokładności precyzyjnego pozycjonowania GNSS w czasie rzeczywistym z wykorzystaniem technologii RTX Trimble

In this paper, authors present results of accuracy verification of the Trimble RTX technology. The GNSS receiver Spectra Precision SP60 was used in Cyprus (Kato Paphos Archaeological Park). To evaluate the accuracy of the receiver, two measuring test networks (consisting of 30 and 55 control points) were established. All points were determined in four measuring cycles. Additionally, in order to make more advanced analysis of the data, the bases were also measured by using another GNSS receiver - Geomax-Zenith 25. The point positions, in this case, were conducted in the local coordinate system of Kato Paphos Archaeological Park by using RTK positioning technology. To make a comparison, it was necessary to transform the coordinates based on different groups of fitting points. Analysis allowed to conclude that the Spectra Precision SP60 receiver and the RTX Trimble technology guarantee repeatable results (on the level of 4 cm) of point positioning measurements.W artykule autorzy przedstawiają wyniki analizy dokładności technologii Trimble RTX. Odbiornik GNSS Spectra Precision SP60 wykorzystano podczas badań na Cyprze (Park Archeologiczny Kato Pafos). Aby ocenić dokładność odbiornika, ustalono dwie bazy testowe (składające się z 30 i 55 punktów kontrolnych). Wszystkie punkty zostały określone w czterech cyklach pomiarowych. Dodatkowo, w celu bardziej zaawansowanej analizy danych, pomiary zostały również wykonane przy użyciu innego odbiornika GNSS - Geomax-Zenith 25. Pozycjonowanie w tym przypadku, zostało przeprowadzone w lokalnym układzie współrzędnych parku archeologicznego Kato Pafos z wykorzystaniem technologii pozycjonowania RTK. W celu porównania wyników badań konieczne było przetransformowanie współrzędnych do jednego układu. Transformację wykonano na podstawie różnych grup punktów dostosowania. Analiza otrzymanych wyników pozwoliła stwierdzić, że odbiornik Spectra Precision SP60 i technologia RTX Trimble gwarantują porównywalne wyniki pozycjonowania (na poziomie 4 cm)