A survey on prevalence and parents' perceptions of food allergy in 3- to 16-year-old children in Wuhan, China.

Background: The prevalence of food allergy (FA) has risen in recent decades, yet there is limited data on the cognition and beliefs of FA among the parents of FA children.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of FA and assess the knowledge and perception of FA among parents of FA children in Wuhan, China.

Methods: Online questionnaires were conducted for the parents of 3- to 16-year-old children.

Low-dose oral immunotherapy in immunoglobulin E-mediated food allergies.

Nowadays, the management of food allergies has increasingly moved from conventional oral immunotherapy (OIT) to low-dose OIT or low-dose OIT utilizing hypoallergenic foods. This shift is largely because the latter appears to induce oral tolerance with fewer adverse effects than the former. However, the mechanisms underpinning such differences remain unclear.

A Survey of Airborne Fungi and Their Sensitization Profile in Wuhan, China.

Introduction: Airborne fungi induce allergic symptoms in 3-10% of the population worldwide. To better prevent and manage fungi-related allergic diseases, it is essential to identify the genus and the distribution profile of airborne fungi.

Methods: With this purpose in mind, we carried out a 12-month volumetric sampling study to monitor the airborne fungi and retrospectively analyzed the sensitization profile of four dominant fungi (Cladosporium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, and Penicillium) among respiratory allergies during the same study period in Wuhan, China.

COVID-19-Associated Disease Course Is Shortened in Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis Patients Receiving Dupilumab Treatment: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Previous studies suggest that allergic diseases may be a protective factor in SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, data regarding the impact of dupilumab, a widely used immunomodulatory medication, on COVID-19 in an allergic population are very limited. To investigate the incidence and severity of COVID-19 among moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) patients treated with dupilumab, a retrospective cross-sectional survey was conducted among patients with moderate-to-severe AD who presented at the Department of Allergy of Tongji Hospital from 15 January 2023 to 31 January 2023.

The OpenMolcas : A Community-Driven Approach to Advancing Computational Chemistry.

The developments of the open-source OpenMolcas chemistry software environment since spring 2020 are described, with a focus on novel functionalities accessible in the stable branch of the package or via interfaces with other packages. These developments span a wide range of topics in computational chemistry and are presented in thematic sections: electronic structure theory, electronic spectroscopy simulations, analytic gradients and molecular structure optimizations, ab initio molecular dynamics, and other new features. This report offers an overview of the chemical phenomena and processes OpenMolcas can address, while showing that OpenMolcas is an attractive platform for state-of-the-art atomistic computer simulations.

Metformin increases bone marrow adipose tissue by promoting mesenchymal stromal cells apoptosis.

Bone marrow adipose tissue (MAT) has the potential to exert both local and systemic effects on metabolic homeostasis. As a first-line drug used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus, metformin has conflicting effects on MAT and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) differentiation. Through a series of experiments and , we found that except improving the glucose and lipid metabolism disorder in / mice, 200 mg/kg metformin increased MAT in mice tibia, and prompted osteogenic genes () and lipogenic genes () expression in mice bone marrow.

A Questionnaire Survey on the Prevalence and Parents' Perceptions of Respiratory Allergies in a 3- to 16-Year-Old Population in Wuhan, China.

(1) Background: The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) and asthma has increased rapidly in China. However, perceptions of respiratory allergies and barriers to their management have not attracted enough attention. (2) Objective: To investigate the prevalence of, parents’ perceptions of and their unmet needs for information concerning respiratory allergies in a 3- to 16-year-old children population.

Clinical and immunological characteristics of -sensitized asthma and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.

Background: () is a common airborne allergen that contributes to allergic asthma. In some patients, can colonize in the airway and lead to allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). However, our understanding of the pathogenesis of -sensitized asthma and ABPA remains inadequate.

Specific IgE and IgG4 Profiles of House Dust Mite Components in Allergen-Specific Immunotherapy.

Background: Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) can induce immune tolerance to allergens by activating multiple mechanisms, including promoting IgG4 synthesis and blunting IgE production. However, the longitudinal data of sIgE and sIgG4 to allergen components during AIT are limited.

Objective: We sought to investigate the persistence and evolution of sIgE and sIgG4 against house dust mite (HDM) components during AIT and explore their correlation with clinical responses.

The prevalence of hereditary angioedema in a Chinese cohort with decreased complement 4 levels.

Objective: Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare, life-threatening autosomal dominant disorder. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of HAE in a Chinese population with a decreased Complement 4 (C4) level.

Methods: All the patients present in Tongji Hospital with C4 below lower normal range were included from January 2019 to June 2020.

IgE and IgG4 Repertoire in Asymptomatic HDM-Sensitized and HDM-Induced Allergic Rhinitis Patients.

Introduction: Asymptomatic sensitization is defined as the presence of positive skin prick test (SPT) and/or positive serum allergen-specific IgE in the absence of clinical allergic symptoms. Currently, there is no convincing explanation why some people with positive allergen tests do not show symptoms. We aimed to investigate the house dust mite (HDM)-specific IgE and IgG4 repertoire in asymptomatic HDM-sensitized subjects and HDM-induced allergic rhinitis (AR) patients.

Safety of house dust mite subcutaneous immunotherapy in preschool children with respiratory allergic diseases.

Background: Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is the only causal therapy for IgE-mediated allergy. There is less evidence about the safety and efficacy of AIT especially subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) in children under 5 years old. We aimed to investigate the side effects and associated risk factors of house dust mite (HDM) SCIT in preschool children with respiratory allergic diseases.

NECI: N-Electron Configuration Interaction with an emphasis on state-of-the-art stochastic methods.

We present NECI, a state-of-the-art implementation of the Full Configuration Interaction Quantum Monte Carlo (FCIQMC) algorithm, a method based on a stochastic application of the Hamiltonian matrix on a sparse sampling of the wave function. The program utilizes a very powerful parallelization and scales efficiently to more than 24 000 central processing unit cores. In this paper, we describe the core functionalities of NECI and its recent developments.

Hydrogen Sulfide, Adipose Tissue and Diabetes Mellitus.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) is now increasingly considered to be the third gasotransmitter alongside other gaseous signaling molecules, nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO). HS is produced by a variety of endogenous enzymatic and non-enzymatic pathways and acts as a modulator of the physiological and pathological events of the body. Adipocytes express the cystathionine γ lyase (CSE)/HS system, which modulates a variety of biological activities in adipose tissue (AT), including inflammation, apoptosis, insulin resistance, adipokine secretion and adipocyte differentiation.

Metformin mitigates autoimmune insulitis by inhibiting Th1 and Th17 responses while promoting Treg production.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is still one of the major threats on global public health. This autoimmune condition is mainly caused by the imbalance of auto-reactive inflammatory effector T cells (Teffs) and protective regulatory T cells (Tregs). Therefore, inhibiting the development of Teffs and/or promoting Tregs provides a therapeutic strategy for preventing the development of T1DM.

B Cell Mimotope Immunotherapy Alleviates Allergic Responses in a Mouse Model.

is a major outdoor allergen. Immunotherapy with extracts has been documented to be effective in the sensitized patients. However, extracts are notoriously difficult to standardize.

Liraglutide, a Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist, Attenuates Development of Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy in a Murine Heart Transplant Model.

Background: Advances in immunosuppressive therapy have significantly improved short-term but not long-term survival of cardiac transplant recipients; this is largely due to severe cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R)-based therapy exerts physiological effects on the cardiovascular system in addition to its traditional role in controlling glucose. We have investigated the effects of liraglutide, a GLP-1R agonist, on the development of CAV in a murine heart transplant model.

The Allergic Rhinitis Control Test Questionnaire Is Valuable in Guiding Step-Down Pharmacotherapy Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis.

Background: Allergic Rhinitis Control Test (ARCT) has been validated in the allergic rhinitis (AR) step-up pharmacotherapy management approach.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the potential of ARCT in AR step-down pharmacotherapy.

Methods: In an open-labeled randomized controlled study, patients with AR controlled with intranasal corticosteroid (INS) plus antihistamine (step 4) were included and randomized into an ARCT or a control group.

The glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog liraglutide attenuates renal fibrosis.

Renal fibrosis is recognized as the common route of all chronic kidney disease (CKD) progressing to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Additionally, accumulating evidence suggests that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a significant role in the process of renal fibrogenesis. Liraglutide is a long-acting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog that has been widely used to treat type 2 diabetes.

Pushing configuration-interaction to the limit: Towards massively parallel MCSCF calculations.

A new large-scale parallel multiconfigurational self-consistent field (MCSCF) implementation in the open-source NWChem computational chemistry code is presented. The generalized active space approach is used to partition large configuration interaction (CI) vectors and generate a sufficient number of batches that can be distributed to the available cores. Massively parallel CI calculations with large active spaces can be performed.

MicroRNA-155 Deficiency in Kupffer Cells Ameliorates Liver Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Mice.

Background: MicroRNA-155 (miR-155) is known to be involved in autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and transplantation. However, its role in a warm hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (IR) model has not been fully elucidated.

Methods: Partial hepatic IR was performed in wild-type and miR-155-deficient mice treated with or without GdCl3, and then the serum transaminase concentration and histology were analyzed.