BACKGROUND Passenger ships provide conditions suitable for the survival and growth of pest populations. Arthropods and rodents can gain access directly from the ships' open spaces, can be carried in shiploads, or can be found on humans or animals as ectoparasites. Vectors on board ships may contaminate stored foods, transmit illness on board, or, introduce diseases in new areas. Pest species, s...

PURPOSE Cockroaches are the second leading allergen in Taiwan. Sensitization to Per a 2, the major American cockroach allergen, correlates with clinical severity among patients with airway allergy, but there is limited information on IgE epitopes and tissue localization of Per a 2. This study aimed to identify Per a 2 linear IgE-binding epitopes and its distribution in the body of a cockroach. ...

BACKGROUND In the first 6 months of this previously published, randomized trial, the combined intervention of occupant education, insecticide bait application, and professional cleaning significantly reduced cockroach numbers and Bla g 1 allergen levels in inner-city homes. OBJECTIVE This continuation study investigated whether the cockroach allergen reductions achieved by month 6 could be ma...

BACKGROUND The innate pattern recognition C-type-lectin receptors (CLRs), including mannose receptor (MRC1; CD206), have been suggested to functionally interact with allergens and are critical in controlling immune response. Fibrocytes have been considered to play a role in allergic asthma. Here we sought to investigate the functional interaction of cockroach allergens with CD206 in fibrocytes....

Sensitization to environmental allergens remains one of the strongest risk factors for asthma, and there is likely a genetic basis. We sought to identify genetic determinants for the development of allergic sensitization to environmental allergens, particularly cockroach allergen, in early childhood. A total of 631 children with the information about genotypic data on 895 single nucleotide poly...

Background: Clinically relevant reductions in exposure to cockroach allergen, an important risk factor for asthma in inner-city households, have proven difficult to achieve in intervention trials. Objective: This study investigated a method for the abatement of cockroach allergen in low-income, urban homes. The goal was to reduce mean Bla g 1 concentrations below the previously proposed thresho...

In dim light, reliable coding of visual information becomes compromised, unless the sensitivity of the visual system to light is improved by structural and functional adaptations. Thus far, many adaptations for night vision in the compound eyes of nocturnal insects have been described, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying the electrochemical signalling in their photoreceptors. In...

Objective Smoking is common in patients with allergic diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cross-sectional association between the current smoking status and total and specific Immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels in Korean adults. Methods Data were obtained from the 2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a national cross-sectional study. We analyzed the data of s...

The parasitic plant Balanophora tobiracola is characterized by unusual mushroom-shaped inflorescences that emerge just above the ground. As it lacks chlorophyll and therefore unable to photosynthesize, B draws its nourishment from roots of other living plants. Owing non-photosynthetic habit, can tolerate shadiest forest floors, which are relatively few herbaceous angiosperms their typical polli...