• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.171-181
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• 2014

Asthma is a common pulmonary disease with several different forms. The most studied form of asthma is the allergic form, which is mainly related to the function of Th2 cells and their production of cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13) in association with allergen sensitization and adaptive immunity. Recently, there have been many advances in understanding non-allergic asthma, which seems to be related to environmental factors such as air pollution, infection, or even obesity. Cells of the innate immune system, including macrophages, neutrophils, and natural killer T cells as well as the newly described innate lymphoid cells, are effective producers of a variety of cytokines and seem to play important roles in the development of non-allergic asthma. In this review, we focus on recent findings regarding innate lymphoid cells and their roles in asthma.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.161-165
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• 2019

Cysteamine has been used in cosmetics as an antioxidant, a hair straightening agent, and a hair waving agent. However, recent studies indicate that cysteamine can act as an allergen to hairdressers. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a simple and effective reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for the measurement of cysteamine and its dimer, cystamine. Sodium 1-heptanesulfonate (NaHpSO) was used as an ion-pairing agent to improve chromatographic performance. Separation was performed on a Gemini C18 column ($250mm{\times}4.6mm$, $5{\mu}m$ particle size) using a mobile phase composed of 85:15 (v/v) 4 mM NaHpSO in 0.1% phosphoric acid:acetonitrile. UV absorbance was monitored at 215 nm. The RP-HPLC method developed in this study was validated for specificity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, precision, accuracy, and recovery. Cysteamine and cystamine were chromatographically resolved from other reducing agents such as thioglycolic acid and cysteine. Extraction using water and chloroform resulted in the recovery for cysteamine and cystamine ranging from 100.2-102.7% and 90.6-98.7%, respectively. This validated RP-HPLC method would be useful for quality control and monitoring of cysteamine and cystamine in cosmetics.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.208-212
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• 1993

Allergy is one of the most common intractable disease, and also allergic rhinitis is the common symptom of the allergic diseases encountered in the otolaryngologic department. There are number of treatment such as: allergen avoidance by environmental control, pharmacotherapy, allergen immunotherapy and more. But choosing the exact reguired treatment is very difficult and troublesome. During the past 3 years, we have provided treatments to 49 allergic rhinitis patients with the combined therapy of stellate ganglion block(SGB) and eletrical acupuncture(E-AP) with very good results. From our experiences we highly recommend the combined therapy with SGB and E-AP for allergic rhinitis.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.26.1-26.28
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• 2021

Asthma exacerbations are a major cause of intractable morbidity, increases in health care costs, and a greater progressive loss of lung function. Asthma exacerbations are most commonly triggered by respiratory viral infections, particularly with human rhinovirus (hRV). Respiratory viral infections are believed to affect the expression of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), a limiting enzyme in tryptophan catabolism, which is presumed to alter asthmatic airway inflammation. Here, we explored the detailed role of IDO in the progression of asthma exacerbations using a mouse model for asthma exacerbation caused by hRV infection. Our results reveal that IDO is required to prevent neutrophilic inflammation in the course of asthma exacerbation caused by an hRV infection, as corroborated by markedly enhanced Th17- and Th1-type neutrophilia in the airways of IDO-deficient mice. This neutrophilia was closely associated with disrupted expression of tight junctions and enhanced expression of inflammasome-related molecules and mucin-inducing genes. In addition, IDO ablation enhanced allergen-specific Th17- and Th1-biased CD4⁺ T-cell responses following hRV infection. The role of IDO in attenuating Th17- and Th1-type neutrophilic airway inflammation became more apparent in chronic asthma exacerbations after repeated allergen exposures and hRV infections. Furthermore, IDO enzymatic induction in leukocytes derived from the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) lineage appeared to play a dominant role in attenuating Th17- and Th1-type neutrophilic inflammation in the airway following hRV infection. Therefore, IDO activity in HSC-derived leukocytes is required to regulate Th17- and Th1-type neutrophilic inflammation in the airway during asthma exacerbations caused by hRV infections.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.543-553
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• 2017

Sesame (Sesamum indicum) is an important oil seed crop of Asia. Yields can be negatively impacted by various factors, including disease, particularly those caused by fungi which create problems in both production and storage. Foliar diseases of sesame such as Alternaria leaf blight may cause significant yield losses, with reductions in plant health and seed quality. The work reported here determined the incidence of Alternaria species infecting sesame seeds grown in the Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 428 Alternaria isolates were obtained from 105 seed samples and grouped into 36 distinct taxonomic groups based on growth pattern and morphological characters. Isolation frequency and relative density of surface sterilized and non-surface sterilized seeds showed that three isolates (A13, A47 and A215) were the most common morphological groups present. These isolates were further identified using sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and the Alternaria major allergen gene (Alt a 1). Whilst ITS of rDNA did not resolve the isolates into Alternaria species, the Alt a 1 sequences exhibited > 99% homology with Alternaria alternata (KP123850.1) in GenBank accessions. The pathogenicity and virulence of these isolates of Alternaria alternata was confirmed in inoculations of sesame plants resulting in typical symptoms of leaf blight disease. This work confirms the identity of a major source of sesame leaf blight in Pakistan which will aid in formulating effective disease management strategies.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.240-249
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• 2015

Objectives: Farmers are known to be exposed to a variety of allergens related to the work environment. This study was conducted to determine the sensitization rates as well as South Korea that they are sensitized to certain allergens farmers through the skin prick test. Methods: By targeting a total of 1143 people living in the rural town of Gyeonggi Province, it was conducted a questionnaire containing demographic and occupational risk factors and underwent skin prick tests with 15 types of allergens(including positive and negative controls). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between occupational risk factors and skin prick test positivity. Results: Except for the 30 people whose result is invalid, positive rate of the skin prick test was 18.6% in 1,113 people. The species of house dust mite, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae was the highest at 8.7% and 8.6%. After adjusted by age, gender, smoking and education level, odds ratio of flower plant farmers is 4.467(95% CI: 2.094-9.527) and fruit farmer is 2.275(95% CI: 1.096-4.721). In addition, the rate of sensitization to grass pollen mixture of the flower plant farmers is significantly higher(15.9%, p<0.001) than other allergens. Conclusions: Even farmers, the rate of sensitization to allergens related to the general environment, such as house dust mite is relatively dominant. However, given the presence of potential cross-reactivity between the allergens or distribution showed that the unique aspects of allergen sensitization in the flower growers, occupational cause is not be completely ruled out.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.191-198
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• 2013

Cryptomeria japonica pollen is the most common pollen, which are scattering during each spring season in Japan. Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) pollinosis is one of seasonal allergic rhinitis that mainly occurs in Japan. In addition, long range transportation of Yellow Sand from the East Asian continent was also found during the pollen scattering seasons in Japan. Therefore, the interaction or impact between pollen and Yellow Sand should be concerned. In this study, our objective was to investigate the airborne behaviour of Cryptomeria japonica pollen grains and its size-segregated allergenic (Cry j 1) particles as the airborne tracer of Cryptomeria japonica pollen during the Yellow Sand events. Airborne Cryptomeria japonica pollen grains and its size-segregated allergenic particles were collected at roadside of urban residential zones of Saitama city during the pollination periods from February to March in two year investigation of 2009 and 2010. The overlap of Yellow Sand events and dispersal peak of pollen grains was observed. According to the Meteorological data, we found that the peaks of airborne pollen grains appeared under higher wind speed and temperature than the previous day. It was thought that Yellow Sand events and airborne pollen counts were related to wind speed. From the investigation of the airborne behavior of the size-segregated allergen particles by determining Cry j 1 with Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), the higher concentrations of the allergenic Cry j 1 were detected in particle size equal to or less than $1.1{\mu}m$($PM_{1.1}$) than other particle sizes during Yellow Sand events, especially in the rainy day. We conclude that rainwater trapping Yellow Sand is one of the important factors that affect the release of allergenic pollen species of Cry j 1. Therefore, it is very important to clarify the relationships between Cryptomeria japonica pollen allergenic species and chemical contents of the Yellow Sand particles in further studies.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.205-213
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• 2002

This study was undertaken to develop a subacute murine model for predicting occurrence of systemic anaphylaxis and to evaluate efficacy of various immunological parameters as the monitoring indices for the occurrence of anaphyalxis. The murine anaphyalxis model was developed through intraperitoneally sensitizing 100 $\mu\textrm{g}$ ovalbumin (OVA) in the presence of 1 mg alum and 300 ng cholera toxin twice a week interval followed by challenging 500 $\mu\textrm{g}$. OVA intravenously. Typical anaphylaxis symptoms were demonstrated at the both BALB/c mice, a strain prone to type-2 response, and C57BL/6 mice. a strain prone to type-1 response. Level of plasma histamine was approximately 50-fold or 30-fold higher in the mice sensitized with OVA than the mice sensitized with alum plus cholera toxin or the saline-treated mice after OVA challenge, respectively. Sensitization and challenge with OVA significantly enhanced plasma leukotriene $B_4$ level but not IgE levels in comparison with the control mice, which indicated the role of leukotriene $B_4$ for progression of anaphyalxis. Furthermore, among mice suffered from anaphylaxis, levels of OVA-specific IgGl were significantly higher in the BALB/c mice than in the C57BL/6 mice, which implied the genetic susceptibility for the induction of systemic anaphylaxis. Conclusively, simultaneous evaluation of histamine, leukotriene $B_4$, and allergen-specific IgG isotype may serve as more efficient monitoring tool for vaccine-related anaphyalxis.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.17.1-17.14
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• 2022

We aimed to investigate associations of dietary diversity (DD) with gut microbial diversity and the development of hen's egg allergy (HEA) in infants. We enrolled 68 infants in a high-risk group and 32 infants in a control group based on a family history of allergic diseases. All infants were followed from birth until 12 months of age. We collected infant feeding data, and DD was defined using 3 measures: the World Health Organization definition of minimum DD, food group diversity, and food allergen diversity. Gut microbiome profiles and expression of cytokines were evaluated by bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing and real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. High DD scores at 3 and 4 months were associated with a lower risk of developing HEA in the high-risk group, but not in the control group. In the high-risk group, high DD scores at 3, 4, and 5 months of age were associated with an increase in Chao1 index at 6 months. We found that the gene expression of IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-8 were higher among infants who had lower DD scores compared to those who had higher DD scores in high-risk infants. Additionally, high-risk infants with a higher FAD score at 5 months of age showed a reduced gene expression of IL-13. Increasing DD within 6 months of life may increase gut microbial diversity, and thus reduce the development of HEA in infants with a family history of allergic diseases.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.689-698
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• 2020

The aim of study was to scrutinize the physicochemical and protein profile of milk obtained from local Pakistani breeds of milch animals such as Nilli-Ravi buffalo, Sahiwal cow, Kajli sheep, Beetal goat and Brela camel. Physicochemical analysis unveiled maximum number of total solids and protein found in sheep and minimum in camel. Buffalo milk contains the highest level of fat (7.45%) while camel milk contains minimum (1.94%). Ash was found maximum in buffalo (0.81%) and sheep (0.80%) while minimum in cow's milk (0.71%). Casein and whey proteins were separated by subjecting milk to isoelectric pH and then analyzed through sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The results showed heterogeneity among these species. Different fractions including α_S1, α_S2, κ-casein, β-casein and β-lactoglobulen (β-Lg) were identified and quantitatively compared in all milk samples. Additionally, this electrophoretic method after examining the number and strength of different protein bands (α_S1, α_S2, β-CN, α-LAC, BSA, and β-Lg, etc.), was helpful to understand the properties of milk for different processing purposes and could be successfully applied in dairy industry. Results revealed that camel milk was best suitable for producing allergen free milk protein products. Furthermore, based on the variability of milk proteins, it is suggested to clarify the phylogenetic relationships between different cattle breeds and to gather the necessary data to preserve the genetic fund and biodiversity of the local breeds. Thus, the study of milk protein from different breed and species has a wide range of scope in producing diverse protein based dairy products like cheese.