Purpose of review Despite guideline-based treatment, many patients with severe asthma continue to have uncontrolled disease. Fungal allergy is being increasingly recognized in the pathogenesis of severe asthma. Limited data exist on the approach to treatment of fungal asthma. This review summarizes existing evidence on the use of antifungal agents in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA)

Most of the world's animals are active in dim light and depend on good vision for the tasks of daily life. Many have evolved visual adaptations that permit a performance superior to that of manmade imaging devices [1]. In insects, a major model visual system, nocturnal species show impressive visual abilities ranging from flight control [2, 3], to color discrimination [4, 5], to navigation using v

Four new monophyletic groups are found within the teloschistoid clade of the subfamily Xanthorioideae in the Teloschistaceae using nuclear (ITS1/ITS2) and mitochondrial (12S mtSSU gene) DNA sequences. These groups are proposed as new genera: Brownliella gen. nova for the widely distributed Caloplaca cinnabarina group, Filsoniana gen. nova for the Australian Ca loplaca australiensis group, Fulgogas

The DNA structure in phage capsids is determined by DNA-DNA interactions and bending energy. The effects of repulsive interactions on DNA interaxial distance were previously investigated, but not the effect of DNA bending on its structure in viral capsids. By varying packaged DNA length and through addition of spermine ions, we transform the interaction energy from net repulsive to net attractive.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a virus that causes chronic infections in a large set of the population. It may cause severe disease in immunocompromised individuals, is linked to immunosenescence and implied to play an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Modulation of the immune system's abilities to manage the virus represent a highly viable therapeutic option and

By paying particular attention to the local economic context, this paper analyzes the factors that influence rural non-agricultural employment and earnings. The empirical analysis is based on the Brazilian Demographic Census, allowing for disaggregated controls for the local economy. Education stands out as one of the key factors that shape employment outcome and earnings potential. Failure to con

The constitutive model for glassy polymers proposed by Arruda and Boyce (BPA model) is reviewed and compared to experimental data for long-term loading. The BPA model has previously been shown to capture monotonic loading accurately, but for unloading and long-term behavior, the response of the BPA model is found to deviate from experimental data. In the present paper, we suggest an efficient exte

Aims/hypothesis Some studies have revealed a relationship between Caesarean section (CS) and type 1 diabetes, while other studies have not. By using the Swedish paediatric quality register we investigated whether birth by CS is related to the risk of developing type 1 diabetes during childhood. Methods All children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes from 2000 to 2012 and included in the register (n= 9

Prior work on an engine combustion network Diesel fuel injector led to the conclusion that under Diesel engine conditions (combustion chamber pressure and temperature) the jet was transitionally supercritical; meaning that the core of the jet would be condensed liquid while the edge of the jet would be supercritical. We report initial experiments aimed at observing the thickened turbulent mixing l

4MOST is a wide-field, high-multiplex spectroscopic survey facility under development for the VISTA telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Its main science drivers are in the fields of galactic archeology, high-energy physics, galaxy evolution and cosmology. 4MOST will in particular provide the spectroscopic complements to the large area surveys coming from space missions like Gaia,

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been observed in skeletal muscle of people with diabetes and insulin-resistant individuals. Furthermore, inherited mutations in mitochondrial DNA can cause a rare form of diabetes. However, it is unclear whether mitochondrial dysfunction is a primary cause of the common form of diabetes. To date, common genetic variants robustly associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) a

We report on the effect of carbon implantation on the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of Fe93Zr7 (FeZr) amorphous films. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements on (FeZr)(100-x)C-x (x = 0, 5.5, and 11) indicate the incorporation of carbon in the FeZr matrix, with an increase of the Fe-Fe distance by implanting carbon. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements reve

This article describes nurses' experiences during their first year after graduation, based on the qualitative content analysis of eight interviews. The results show that the nurses experienced a transition from "being a rookie," including being accepted as a member of the team and respected as a colleague, to "becoming a genuine nurse," including the feeling of being able to shoulder responsibilit

Behavioural syndromes, that is correlated behaviours, may be a result from adaptive correlational selection, but in a new environmental setting, the trait correlation might act as an evolutionary constraint. However, knowledge about the quantitative genetic basis of behavioural syndromes, and the stability and evolvability of genetic correlations under different ecological conditions, is limited.

Two new phases Ca(10)Pt(7)Tt(3) (with Tt = Si, Ge) were obtained by reacting stoichiometric mixtures of the elements at high temperature. Their structures were refined from single crystal X-ray diffraction data. They are isostructural and crystallize in the Ba(10)Al(3)Ge(7) type structure, space group P6(3)/mcm (No. 193) with a = b = 8.7735(3) Å, c = 13.8260(5) Å, V = 921.66(6) Å(3), Z = 2 for Tt

This combined experimental and theoretical study demonstrates that the surface plasmon resonance in C-60 alters the valence photoemission quantum phase, resulting in strong effects in the photoelectron angular distribution and emission time delay. Electron momentum imaging spectroscopy is used to measure the photoelectron angular distribution asymmetry parameter that agrees well with our calculati

Radioimmunotherapy involves the use of radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to treat malignancy. The therapeutic effect is determined by the radiopharmaceutical, the radiation absorbed dose and previous treatments. There are currently two approved radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma - the 90Y-labeled ibritumomab and the 131I-labeled tositumomab. Both are directed against

The p(t)-differential inclusive production cross sections of the prompt charmed mesons D-0, D+, and D*(+) in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.5 were measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV at the LHC using the ALICE detector. Reconstructing the decays D-0 -> K-pi(+), D+ -> K-pi(+)pi(+), D*(+) -> D-0 pi(+), and their charge conjugates, about 8,400 D-0, 2,900 D+, and

Biological invasion by non-native tree species can transform landscapes, and as a consequence, has received growing attention from researchers and managers alike. This problem is driven primarily by the naturalisation and invasion of tree species escaping from cultivation or forestry plantations. Furthermore, these invasions can be strongly influenced by the land-use matrix of the surrounding regi