The workload of web-based consultations with atopic eczema patients at home.

Background: Atopic eczema is a chronic inflammatory non-contagious skin disease characterised by intensive itch and inflamed skin. Due to its chronic and relapsing course atopic eczema imposes a great burden on affected families. Review articles about home care telemedicine have indicated advantageous effects of home telehealth.

Mould-specific immunoglobulin antibodies quantified by flow cytometry reflect mould exposure in Norwegian children.

Background: Studies from many countries have shown an association between dampness in buildings and airway symptoms. Little is known about the role of mould-specific IgG antibodies in this context. Objective To examine the IgG antibody response to mould applying a new flow cytometric assay, compare the results with the standardized ImmunoCap method, and evaluate the association of IgG to IgE antibodies, dampness in buildings, and airway symptoms like wheeze and asthma.

Skin sensitization in school children in northern and southern Norway.

It has been suggested that environmental exposures and living conditions can explain some of the worldwide variation in atopic disorders. Norway has large environmental contrasts within the country. We compared skin prick sensitization rates among school children living in the southern subarctic and in the northern arctic part of Norway.

Generating cancelable fingerprint templates.

Biometrics-based authentication systems offer obvious usability advantages over traditional password and token-based authentication schemes. However, biometrics raises several privacy concerns. A biometric is permanently associated with a user and cannot be changed.

Diverging prevalence trends of atopic disorders in Norwegian children. Results from three cross-sectional studies.

Background: During the last decades there has been extensive epidemiological research to explore the increasing prevalence of asthma and allergy in childhood. The worldwide variations in prevalence of these diseases necessitate regional rapports. Furthermore, time-trend analyses with comparable methods are important in order to monitor the rapidly changing prevalence of these diseases.

Exposure and airway effects of seafood industry workers in northern Norway.

Objective: In this study, we explored airway symptoms and exposure to bioaerosols and exhaust gases in seafood industry plants.

Methods: The study details the results from personal and environmental exposure measurements (17 plants), a questionnaire (n = 984), and clinical examinations (n = 225).

Results: The workers were exposed to allergens, endotoxins, molds, and exhaust.

Cumulative incidence of asthma and allergy in north-Norwegian schoolchildren in 1985 and 1995.

The prevalence of asthma and allergy in children is increasing. In order to investigate time trends, follow-up studies conducted several years apart and with identical study designs are essential. We compared two identical, cross-sectional and questionnaire-based studies of asthma and allergy in north-Norwegian schoolchildren (7-13 years of age).

Cloning and expression of an endocellulase gene from a novel streptomycete isolated from an East African soda lake.

Alkaline cellulase-producing actinomycete strains were isolated from mud samples collected from East African soda lakes. The strains were identified as novel Streptomyces spp. by 16S rDNA sequence analysis.

Asthma and allergy in Russian and Norwegian schoolchildren: results from two questionnaire-based studies in the Kola Peninsula, Russia, and northern Norway.

Background: Previous studies have shown that the prevalence of asthma and allergy in children is lower in Eastern than Western Europe.

Methods: We have compared the prevalence of asthma, respiratory symptoms, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and atopic dermatitis in schoolchildren aged 7-13 years in a questionnaire-based study conducted in the city of Nikel on the Kola Peninsula, Russia, in 1994 (n = 1143) and another conducted in northern Norway in 1995 (n = 8676).

Results: The prevalence of diagnosed asthma was 5.

Atopic diseases in Sami and Norse schoolchildren living in northern Norway.

Among children in the western world, atopic diseases are a major cause of morbidity. However, several prevalence studies have indicated that the frequency of these diseases displays both geographic and ethnic variations. In 1995, we conducted a questionnaire-based, cross-sectional survey in northern Norway.

[Latex allergy].

We describe a mother and two children with latex allergy. Their symptoms illustrate the variations in the manifestations of latex allergy. This article reviews currently known aspects of this condition, including diagnosis and treatment.

Impact of pollution and place of residence on atopic diseases among schoolchildren in Telemark County, Norway.

For estimation of the prevalence, degree of severity, and association with outdoor pollution, a questionnaire on asthma and other atopic diseases was distributed to the parents of 4666 7-13-year-olds, comprising all the children in 36 schools in Telemark County, Norway, including 37% of the schoolchildren in the county. The response rate was 94%. In a validity study employing clinical evaluations, the questionnaire-based diagnosis of asthma was found to have a sensitivity of 0.

Relation of exposure to airway irritants in infancy to prevalence of bronchial hyper-responsiveness in schoolchildren.

To find out whether exposure to sulphur dioxide during infancy is related to the prevalence of bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR), we studied schoolchildren (aged 7-13 years) from two areas of Norway--a valley containing a sulphur-dioxide-emitting aluminium smelter and a similar but non-industrialised valley. Bronchial responsiveness was assessed in 529 of the 620 participants. The median exposures to sulphur dioxide and fluoride were 37.

A survey of atopic diseases among school children in Sør-Varanger community. Possible effects of subarctic climate and industrial pollution from Russia.

The occurrence of atopic diseases in school children in the community of Sør-Varanger was studied on the basis of a questionnaire sent to the parents of all the 575 children aged 7-12 years. 551 children (95.8%), 266 girls and 285 boys, completed the questionnaire.

Frequency of the delta F508 and exon 11 mutations in Norwegian cystic fibrosis patients.

We have searched for the delta F508 mutation in 77 Norwegian cystic fibrosis patients. Of the 154 chromosomes tested, 93 (60%) carried the delta F508 mutation. Haplotypes at the D7S23 locus (KM19 and XV2C markers) were determined.

[Contrast medium reaction to iohexol (Omnipaque) with monocyte activation demonstrated in vivo].

A contrast reaction to the intravenous injection of the non-ionic contrast medium iohexol (Omnipaque) is reported. The symptoms developed several hours after the injection and at first were not recognised as being due to the contrast. The reaction could be reproduced under controlled conditions and was associated with a significant rise in thromboplastin synthesis in circulating monocytes, a sign of marked cellular activation.

On optimally combining pieces of information, with application to estimating 3-d complex-object position from range data.

New asymptotic methods are introduced that permit computationally simple Bayesian recognition and parameter estimation for many large data sets described by a combination of algebraic, geometric, and probabilistic models. The techniques introduced permit controlled decomposition of a large problem into small problems for separate parallel processing where maximum likelihood estimation or Bayesian estimation or recognition can be realized locally. These results can be combined to arrive at globally optimum estimation or recognition.

Plasma gastrointestinal regulatory peptides in exercise-induced asthma.

To determine the role of gastrointestinal regulatory peptides in exercise-induced asthma (EIA), we studied plasma levels of various gastrointestinal regulatory peptides before and after a 6-min exercise test in seven subjects with EIA and five normal and three asthmatic subjects without EIA. In the EIA group, plasma vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) rose significantly 5 min and plasma cholecystokinin (CCK) 0 and 20 min after the test compared with the controls. The changes in plasma somatostatin, secretin, pancreatic polypeptide (PP), motilin and insulin showed no significant differences between the two groups.