Andrews, Garvan and Liang introduced the spt-crank for vector partitions. We conjecture that for any n the sequence {NS(m,n)}m is unimodal, where NS(m,n) is the number of S-partitions of size n with crank m weight by the spt-crank. We relate this conjecture to a distributional result concerning the usual rank and crank of unrestricted partitions. This leads to a heuristic that suggests the conj...

Shortest path tree (SPT) computation is the major overhead for routers using any link-state routing protocols including the most widely used OSPF and IS-IS. Changes of link states are nowadays commonly occurred. It is not efficient and stable for network routing to use traditional static SPT algorithms to recompute the whole SPT whenever a change happens. In this paper, we present new dynamic a...

BACKGROUND Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a common skin disorder with etiology that is not well understood. METHODS In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of autologous serum skin test (ASST) and skin prick testing (SPT) to house dust mite (HDM) in 862 CSU cases in China. Clinical features, courses and treatment responses were also recorded. RESULTS The prevalence of positive AS...

allergy history. Methods: 42 patients with suspected beta-lactam hypersensitivity reactions were evaluated at a drug allergy clinic at a tertially allergy center. Skin prick tests (SPT) with major determinants (PPL), minor determinants (MDM), penicillin G, ampicillin, amoxicillin, intradermal tests (ID) and specific IgE determination were done. If all tests were negative, a drug challenge was p...

BACKGROUND Rhinitis is a very common disease, frequently caused by sensitisation to inhalant allergens. Negative results from skin prick tests (SPT) and in vitro IgE tests generally lead to a diagnosis of non-allergic rhinitis. However, it is possible, as indicated by studies addressed with dust mites or pollens that the production of specific IgE occurs exclusively at nasal level. METHODS We...

BACKGROUND The clinical role of house dust mite (HDM) in atopic dermatitis (AD) is still controversial. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence, clinical relevance and characteristics of adult-onset AD patients with positive skin prick tests (SPT) to mites. METHODS The case record forms of adult-onset AD patients who underwent SPT at the Skin Allergy Clinic, Siriraj Hospi...

Skin prick testing (SPT) in combination with the clinical history of the patient is one important step in the diagnosis of IgE-mediated occupational allergies. However, skin test performance is related to the quality of allergen extracts. The present consensus document was prepared by an EAACI Task Force consisting of an expert panel of allergologists and occupational physicians from Germany, I...

The authors examined whether a serum pepsinogen test (SPT) based on the combination of the serum pepsinogen I level and pepsinogen I/II ratio is a good predictor of gastric cancer occurrence in a general Japanese population. A total of 2,446 subjects aged > or =40 years were classified into negative, positive, and strong-positive SPT groups and were followed prospectively for 14 years (1988-200...

We devised an in situ assay method for the activity of serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) that catalyzes the first step in sphingolipid biosynthesis and isolated a temperature-sensitive mutant of Chinese hamster ovary cells with thermolabile SPT. This mutant stopped growing at 40 degrees C after several generations, although the cells grew at 33 and 37 degrees C at rates similar to those of the ...

BACKGROUND Various allergens play a role in the elicitation or exacerbation of eczematous skin lesions in atopic dermatitis (AD), and much research effort has been focused on improving diagnostic tests to identify causative allergens. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness of a newly introduced microarray-based specific immunoglobulin E detection assa...