Physico-chemical, functional properties, and filmogenic characteristics were determined in pulp (P) whole (W) banana flours (BF), pretreated or not (preT unT, respectively) with sodium metabisulfite, obtained from cultivars of Ecuadorian Musaceae: Musa acuminata AAA. The proximal composition revealed a high content fat, protein, ash, fiber flours, while the total starch amylose was greater flou...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence, gender differences, and time trends of Sickle Cell Trait in the Southern Suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, as well as to highlight the importance of screening for Sickle Cell Trait carriers in this population. Another objective was to describe a new screening technique for Sickle Cell Trait carriers. METHODS This was a retrospective...

There is epidemiological evidence for an increased prevalence of occupational asthma among radiographers. However, the causes of darkroom disease are not yet defined. A 37-year-old female radiographer reported work-related asthma ,2 yrs after starting work in a local hospital. She was atopic and showed bronchial hyperresponsiveness to methacholine. Occupational-type exposure with a fixing agent...

BACKGROUND Identification of food chemical intolerance in asthmatic subjects can be reliably assessed by changes in the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in response to double blind, placebo controlled challenges on a strict elimination diet. However, this method is cumbersome and time consuming. A study was undertaken to determine whether changes in bronchial responsiveness to hist...

Adverse reactions to alcoholic beverages are common and diverse in aetiology. Ethanol-induced anaphylaxis, however, is a rare but often life-threatening condition that warrants careful evaluation in suspected individuals. We present the cases of two patients who developed urticaria, angioedema and throat constriction within minutes of consuming white wine. Both individuals demonstrated no adver...

BACKGROUND Airway responsiveness to histamine and methacholine, direct smooth muscle spasmogens, is increased following inhalation of allergen. Although the aetiology of this phenomenon is unclear, increased cellular or neural activity may be involved since allergen also induces increases in airway responsiveness to the mast cell stimulus adenosine-5'-monophosphate (AMP) and the neural stimulus...

We studied the action of sodium metabisulphite on mucociliary transport in a frog palate epithelial injury model, hypothesizing that it may be useful for the study of mechanisms of airway injury. Sodium metabisulphite (MB) releases SO2 on contact with water. SO2 is a pollutant in automobile fumes and may play a role in the exacerbation of airway disease symptoms. We first investigated its effec...

Inhaled sodium metabisulphite (MBS) causes bronchoconstriction, cough and microvascular leakage. We have studied its effects on tracheal blood flow, potential difference (PD) and the permeability from tracheal lumen to venous blood of a low molecular weight hydrophilic tracer, 99mtechnetium-labelled diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (99mTc-DTPA) in anaesthetized sheep. Flow was measured in t...