©FSRH J Fam Plann Reprod Health Care 2008: 34(2) Background Itching following contact with latex condoms is a familiar problem in contraceptive services, and popular textbooks still maintain that it is frequently an excuse for avoiding condoms, or that spermicide is to blame.1 If a patient experiences symptoms on contact with other latex items as well as condoms then it would be reasonable to s...

The determination of an emulsifier’s adsorption properties under conditions similar to those occurring during emulsion polymerization can provide important information to aid in the selection of the most appropriate surfactant for a given system. Results show that the latex particle size is dependent on the strength of emulsifier adsorption (∆Eads) at the particle/aqueous phase interface and is...

The analysis and optimal design of a microstrip sensor for measuring the water content of rubber latex is described. The microstrip structure consists of one layer: substrate, protective layer and semi-infinite layer of wet medium. A functional relationship has been developed between the attenuation and the water content of the latex, and close agreement has been found between the computed and ...

BACKGROUND Solidago virgaurea (goldenrod) is a perennial weed from which no allergens have been identified. A high latex content in its leaves has been reported. Although not an airborne allergen, it may be an important occupational sensitizer. OBJECTIVE To identify allergenic proteins in goldenrod and to determine whether they cross-react with Hevea brasiliensis latex. METHODS Potential cr...

A commercially available latex agglutination test for Clostridium difficile was compared with a cell culture cytotoxin assay and bacteriological culture for the laboratory diagnosis of C. difficile-associated diarrhea and colitis (CAD). Stool specimens from 626 patients were tested by the three methods, and specimens from 118 patients (19%) were positive by at least one of the methods. The resu...

An increased IgM concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), occurring as a consequence of massive intrathecal IgM synthesis, is a marker of interest for diagnosis of the meningo-encephalitic stage in human African trypanosomiasis. However, in current practice, IgM in CSF is not determined because of the lack of a simple and robust test that is applicable in African rural regions where the dise...

Double diffusion (DD), indirect haemagglutination (IHA), immunoelectrophoresis (IEP), latex agglutination (LA), and complement fixation (CF) tests were evaluated for sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of 141 surgically-proven Turkana echinococcosis patients and 10 controls. The overall sensitivities for the tests were: IHA, 86.7%; LA, 53.3%; CF, 63.3%; DD, 55.0%; IEP, 55.0%. LA and CF...

First reported in 1979, anaesthetists now encounter more and more patients with latex allergy. Several risk groups prone to develop this allergy have been identified. A thorough preoperative interview is necessary to detect high-risk patients. For them, the perioperative period is very dangerous because of the many possibilities of contact with latex-containing materials. There is no cure for l...

Two-dimensional (2-D) electrophoresis followed by immunoblotting and N-terminal protein microsequencing were used to characterize and identify the IgE-reactive proteins of Hevea latex that are the main cause of the latex type I allergy affecting especially health care workers and spina bifida children. This approach generated a comprehensive latex allergen database, which facilitated the integr...

To improve the performance of concrete, polymers are mixed with concrete. It has been observed that polymer-modified concrete (PMC) is more durable than conventional concrete due to superior strength and high durability. In this research, effect of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) latex on compressive strength and flexural strength of concrete has been studied and also the optimum polymer (SBR-La...