Old King Coal

Old King coal - molecular mechanisms underlying an ancient treatment for atopic eczema.

Traditional remedies for common disorders have been known for centuries, but insight into their mechanism of action is often limited. In this issue of the JCI, Joost Schalkwijk's research group at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in The Netherlands advances our understanding of why topical coal tar is an effective treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), both rationalizing the use of...

Coal tars and coal tar pitches.

Numerous studies, mostly case reports, have found that occupational exposure to coal tars or coal-tar pitches (coal-tar distillates) is associated with skin cancer, including scrotal cancer; workers in these studies have included patent-fuel (coal-briquette) workers, pitch loaders, workers in electrical trades, and optical-lens polishers (IARC 1985, 1987). A 1946 study in the United Kingdom fou...

King ’ s Research Portal

The ability to represent mental states (‘Theory of Mind’; ToM) is crucial in understanding individual differences in social ability, and social impairments evident in conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test (RMET) is a popular measure of ToM ability, validated in part by the poor performance of those with ASD. However, the RMET requires recogni...

King Saud University

Small size antennas usually suffer from bandwidth limitations. Bandwidth can be increased by adding lossy elements but, they significantly affect the efficiency of the antenna. One method to solve the efficiency problem without increasing the antenna size is to use the tunable antenna concept. Recently, tunable antennas attract much attention in mobile communications. The objective of this proj...

King of the elements?