Method Retrospective chart review of patients evaluated for allergic rhinitis and underwent skin prick testing. A cohort of 250 patients was randomly selected with inclusion criteria being symptomatic allergic rhinitis and positive allergy skin prick testing to usual panel of allergens. Data collection included demographics, smoking exposure, symptom pattern, presence or absence of non-nasal sy...

Insects are nature’s engineering marvels. They can perform marvellous feats such as jumping many times their own body length, lifting many times their own body weight, moving around even with multiple missing limbs and doing all this with amazing efficiency. It is little wonder then that roboticists have been attempting to replicate nature’s design feat in robots. The primary thrust in the area...

The long-term costs and efÞcacy of two treatment methodologies for German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.), control were compared in the public housing environment. The “traditional” treatment forGermancockroaches consistedofmonthlybaseboard andcrack andcrevice treatment (TBCC) by using spray and dust formulation insecticides. The integrated pestmanagement treatment (IPM) involved initial va...

Increasing interest in the role of brain activity in insect motor control requires that we be able to monitor neural activity while insects perform natural behavior. We previously developed a technique for implanting tetrode wires into the central complex of cockroach brains that allowed us to record activity from multiple neurons simultaneously while a tethered cockroach turned or altered walk...

background: cockroaches are of vital importance medically and hygienically as they can disperse human patho­genic agents and are especially responsible for food contamination and spreading of food borne pathogens. in this study, part of mtdna-coi gene of five common pest cockroaches was tested for diagnostic and phylogenetic pur­poses. methods: we have described barcode region of mtdna-coi gene...

Foxp3 is a master regulator of CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T-cell (Treg) function and is also a suppressor of SKP2 and HER2/ErbB2. There are an increasing number of reports describing the functions of Foxp3 in cell types other than Tregs. In this context, we evaluated the functions of Foxp3 in ovalbumin- and cockroach-induced asthma models. Foxp3-EGFP-expressing adenovirus or EGFP control adenovir...

BACKGROUND Exposures to traffic-related air pollutants including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) have been associated with the development and exacerbation of asthma. However, there is limited evidence on whether these pollutants are associated with the development of cockroach sensitization, a strong risk factor for urban asthma. We hypothesized that repeatedly high PAH exposure during ...

BACKGROUND Asthma-associated morbidity is rising, especially in inner city children. OBJECTIVE We evaluated the allergen sensitivities, allergen exposures, and associated morbidity for participants in the Inner City Asthma Study. We also determined geographic variations of indoor allergen levels. METHODS Nine hundred thirty-seven inner city children 5 to 11 years old with moderate to severe...

A field study on cockroach species diversity, and influence of sanitation on infestation level, was conducted on six different locations (four apartment settings [Tmas, Bmaung2, Relau and Kmelayu], a residential slum setting [Sg Batu] and a terrace houses setting [Bmaungl]) in Penang Island, Malaysia. A total number of 192 residential premises were sampled and 3,289 cockroaches, consisting of 1...