The LINA Study: Higher Sensitivity of Infant Compared to Maternal Eosinophil/Basophil Progenitors to Indoor Chemical Exposures.

Purpose: Enhanced eosinophil/basophil (Eo/B) progenitor cell levels are known to be associated with allergic inflammation and atopy risk. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of different indoor exposures on the recruitment and differentiation of Eo/B progenitors in mother-child pairs.

Methods: In 68 mother-child pairs of the LINA study peripheral blood mononuclear cells were used to assess Eo/B colony forming units (CFUs).

The LINA cohort: Cord blood eosinophil/basophil progenitors predict respiratory outcomes in early infancy.

Rationale: Cord blood eosinophil/basophil progenitor cells (Eo/B) of high risk infants have been shown to predict respiratory illnesses in infancy. Here we investigated this association in a population-based cohort. Furthermore, we analysed whether newborns Th1/Th2 balance and prenatal environmental exposure impact Eo/B recruitment.

Pyrene-based fluorescent nitric oxide cheletropic traps (FNOCTs) for the detection of nitric oxide in cell cultures and tissues.

The synthesis and the structural and spectroscopic characterization of nonfluorescent, pyrene-based cyclic o-quinodimethanes are reported. These compounds react efficiently with nitric oxide (NO) in a formal cheletropic manner, by which the fluorescent aromatic pyrene system is regenerated. The NO trapping capabilities and kinetics of the fluorescent nitric oxide cheletropic traps (FNOCTs) are assessed in THF and buffered aqueous solution by ESR, UV/Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy, by employing NO solutions and NO released from N-diazeniumdiolates (NONOates).

Continuous, combined hormone replacement: randomized comparison of transdermal and oral preparations.

Objective: To compare two new transdermal, continuous, combined formulations and an oral regimen of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with respect to endometrial hyperplasia, bleeding patterns, and climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women.

Methods: This was a randomized, open, parallel-group trial during 1 year in 441 postmenopausal women who received either a 10-cm2 patch of 0.025 mg estradiol (E2) and 0.