Basophil activation test in the study of food and drug hypersensitivity reactions

The increase in the prevalence of adverse reactions to foods and drugs represents a constant challenge to the development of new methods of diagnosis. A meta-analysis on published studies concerning the clinical usefulness of the Basophil activation test (BAT) in these reactions was performed. High sensibilities and specificities can be achieved if certain technical requirements are observed. BAT results have a positive and high significant correlations with other routine diagnostic methods such as skin tests, serum specific IgE and oral controlled challenge. Efficacy of diagnosis can be improved with the combined use of BAT and other techniques. In order to achieve a well-conducted evaluation on the diagnosis of hypersensitivity reactions to foods and drugs the best options should b

DIRK Schemes with High Weak Stage Order

Runge-Kutta time-stepping methods in general suffer from order reduction: the observed order of convergence may be less than the formal order when applied to certain stiff problems. Order reduction can be avoided by using methods with high stage order. However, diagonally-implicit Runge-Kutta (DIRK) schemes are limited to low stage order. In this paper we explore a weak stage order criterion, which for initial boundary value problems also serves to avoid order reduction, and which is compatible with a DIRK structure. We provide specific DIRK schemes of weak stage order up to 3, and demonstrate their performance in various examples.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Flexible Working and Couples' Coordination of Time Schedules

Using previously unexploited data on time scheduling in the employment and household contexts, we investigate the effect of flexible working on couples' coordination of their daily work time schedules in the UK. We consider three distinct dimensions of flexible working: flexibility of daily start and finish times (flexitime), flexibility of work times over the year (annualised hours), and generalised control of working hours. We find that in couples with flexitime there is greater spouse synchronization in daily working times by nearly one hour. The effect is driven by couples with dependent children. However, we find the effect in couples with children of any age (under 16), suggesting it does not stem from the childcare requirements of young children. Robustness checks indicate that flexitime is not endogenous, suggesting that an expansion of flexitime would increase couples' work time coordination. There is less evidence that broader control over working hours increases daily synchronous working time and no evidence that annualised hours increase synchronous time on a daily basis. The weaker relationships with daily synchronous time for these two flexibility measures are consistent with their broader scope (control over amount of hours as well as timing) and longer time span

Distinguishing among Technicolor/Warped Scenarios in Dileptons

Models of dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking usually include new spin-1 resonances, whose couplings and masses have to satisfy electroweak precision tests. We propose to use dilepton searches to probe the underlying structure responsible for satisfying these. Using the invariant mass spectrum and charge asymmetry, we can determine the number, parity, and isospin of these resonances. We pick three models of strong/warped symmetry breaking, and show that each model produces specific features that reflect this underlying structure of electroweak symmetry breaking and cancellations.Comment: Added missing referenc

Mass-Matching in Higgsless

Modern extra-dimensional Higgsless scenarios rely on a mass-matching between fermionic and bosonic KK resonances to evade constraints from precision electroweak measurements. After analyzing all of the Tevatron and LEP bounds on these so-called Cured Higgsless scenarios, we study their LHC signatures and explore how to identify the mass-matching mechanism, the key to their viability. We find singly and pair produced fermionic resonances show up as clean signals with 2 or 4 leptons and 2 hard jets, while neutral and charged bosonic resonances are visible in the dilepton and leptonic WZ channels, respectively. A measurement of the resonance masses from these channels shows the matching necessary to achieve $S\simeq 0$. Moreover, a large single production of KK-fermion resonances is a clear indication of compositeness of SM quarks. Discovery reach is below 10 fb$^{-1}$ of luminosity for resonances in the 700 GeV range.Comment: 28 pages, 18 figure

Transanal total mesorectal excision: a pure NOTES approach for selected patients

Background: The concept of natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) has stimulated the development of various “incisionless” procedures. One of the most popular is the transanal approach for rectal lesions. The aims of this study were to report how we standardized NOTES technique for transanal mesorectal excision without abdominal assistance, discuss the difficulties and surgical outcomes of this technique and report its feasibility in a small group of selected patients. Methods: Three consecutive female patients underwent transanal NOTES rectal resection without transabdominal laparoscopic assistance for rectal lesions. Functional results were assessed with the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life scale and the Wexner score. Results: The technical steps are described in details and complemented with a video. All procedures were completed without transabdominal laparoscopic help. The mesorectal plane was entirely dissected without any disruption, and distal and circumferential margins were tumor-free. No major complications were observed. Functional results show a significant impairment after surgery with improvement at 6 months to levels near those of the preoperative period. Conclusions: The performance and publication of NOTES procedures are subject to much discussion. Despite the small number of patients, this procedure appears feasible and can be accomplished maintaining fecal continence and respecting oncologic principles

Stellar Coronal and Wind Models: Impact on Exoplanets

Surface magnetism is believed to be the main driver of coronal heating and stellar wind acceleration. Coronae are believed to be formed by plasma confined in closed magnetic coronal loops of the stars, with winds mainly originating in open magnetic field line regions. In this Chapter, we review some basic properties of stellar coronae and winds and present some existing models. In the last part of this Chapter, we discuss the effects of coronal winds on exoplanets.Comment: Chapter published in the "Handbook of Exoplanets", Editors in Chief: Juan Antonio Belmonte and Hans Deeg, Section Editor: Nuccio Lanza. Springer Reference Work

Graph based study of allergen cross-reactivity of plant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) using microarray in a multicenter study.

The study of cross-reactivity in allergy is key to both understanding. the allergic response of many patients and providing them with a rational treatment In the present study, protein microarrays and a co-sensitization graph approach were used in conjunction with an allergen microarray immunoassay. This enabled us to include a wide number of proteins and a large number of patients, and to study sensitization profiles among members of the LTP family. Fourteen LTPs from the most frequent plant food-induced allergies in the geographical area studied were printed into a microarray specifically designed for this research. 212 patients with fruit allergy and 117 food-tolerant pollen allergic subjects were recruited from seven regions of Spain with different pollen profiles, and their sera were tested with allergen microarray. This approach has proven itself to be a good tool to study cross-reactivity between members of LTP family, and could become a useful strategy to analyze other families of allergens

Changes in habitat associations during range expansion: disentangling the effects of climate and residence time

The distributions of many species are not at equilibrium with their environment. This includes spreading non-native species and species undergoing range shifts in response to climate change. The habitat associations of these species may change during range expansion as less favourable climatic conditions at expanding range margins may constrain species to use only the most favourable habitats, violating the species distribution model assumption of stationarity. Alternatively, changes in habitat associations could result from density-dependent habitat selection; at range margins, population densities are initially low so species can exhibit density-independent selection of the most favourable habitats, while in the range core, where population densities are higher, species spread into less favourable habitat. We investigate if the habitat preferences of the non-native common waxbill Estrilda astrild changed as they spread in three directions (north, east and south-east) in the Iberian Peninsula. There are different degrees of climatic suitability and colonization speed across range expansion axes, allowing us to separate the effects of climate from residence time. In contrast to previous studies we find a stronger effect of residence time than climate in influencing the prevalence of common waxbills. As well as a strong additive effect of residence time, there were some changes in habitat associations, which were consistent with density-dependent habitat selection. The combination of broader habitat associations and higher prevalence in areas that have been colonised for longer means that species distribution models constructed early in the invasion process are likely to underestimate species’ potential distribution

Varespladib and cardiovascular events in patients with an acute coronary syndrome: the VISTA-16 randomized clinical trial

IMPORTANCE: Secretory phospholipase A2(sPLA2) generates bioactive phospholipid products implicated in atherosclerosis. The sPLA2inhibitor varespladib has favorable effects on lipid and inflammatory markers; however, its effect on cardiovascular outcomes is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of sPLA2inhibition with varespladib on cardiovascular outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A double-blind, randomized, multicenter trial at 362 academic and community hospitals in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, and North America of 5145 patients randomized within 96 hours of presentation of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) to either varespladib (n = 2572) or placebo (n = 2573) with enrollment between June 1, 2010, and March 7, 2012 (study termination on March 9, 2012). INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomized to receive varespladib (500 mg) or placebo daily for 16 weeks, in addition to atorvastatin and other established therapies. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary efficacy measurewas a composite of cardiovascular mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), nonfatal stroke, or unstable angina with evidence of ischemia requiring hospitalization at 16 weeks. Six-month survival status was also evaluated. RESULTS: At a prespecified interim analysis, including 212 primary end point events, the independent data and safety monitoring board recommended termination of the trial for futility and possible harm. The primary end point occurred in 136 patients (6.1%) treated with varespladib compared with 109 patients (5.1%) treated with placebo (hazard ratio [HR], 1.25; 95%CI, 0.97-1.61; log-rank P = .08). Varespladib was associated with a greater risk of MI (78 [3.4%] vs 47 [2.2%]; HR, 1.66; 95%CI, 1.16-2.39; log-rank P = .005). The composite secondary end point of cardiovascular mortality, MI, and stroke was observed in 107 patients (4.6%) in the varespladib group and 79 patients (3.8%) in the placebo group (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.02-1.82; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In patients with recent ACS, varespladib did not reduce the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events and significantly increased the risk of MI. The sPLA2inhibition with varespladib may be harmful and is not a useful strategy to reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes after ACS. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01130246. Copyright 2014 American Medical Association. All rights reserved