BACKGROUND Our knowledge of allergen structure and function continues to rise and new scientific data on the homology and cross-reactivity of allergen sources should be considered to extend the work of Lorenz et al., 2009 (Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 148(1):1-1, 2009) and the concept of homologous groups. In addition to this, sophisticated techniques such as mass spectrometry (MS) are increasingl...

In the past, there has been an emphasis on conifer tree species in forestry operations in British Columbia. As a result, there is a serious lack of information regarding disease and decay problems in most hardwood tree species. This presentation reports the results of recent studies on levels of decay in natural red alder stands, and on the formation of stain in harvested alder logs. Disease pr...

We develop a new k-means clustering algorithm for data streams of points from a Euclidean space. We call this algorithm StreamKM++. Our algorithm computes a small weighted sample of the data stream and solves the problem on the sample using the k-means++ algorithm of Arthur and Vassilvitskii (SODA '07). To compute the small sample, we propose two new techniques. First, we use an adaptive, non-u...

Background: Alongside hazel, alder and birch pollen allergies, ash pollen allergy is a relevant cause of hay fever during spring in the European region. For some considerable time, ash pollen allergy was not routinely investigated and its clinical relevance may well have been underestimated, particularly since ash and birch tree pollination times are largely the same. Ash pollen extracts are no...

Atmospheric CO2 and tropospheric O3 are rising in many regions of the world. Little is known about how these two commonly co-occurring gases will affect reproductive fitness of important forest tree species. Here, we report on the long-term effects of CO2 and O3 for paper birch seedlings exposed for nearly their entire life history at the Aspen FACE (Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment) site in ...

BACKGROUND The Environmental Exposure Unit (EEU) in Kingston, Ontario, Canada is a controlled allergen challenge facility (CACF) that has been previously clinically validated for the use of ragweed and grass pollen in clinical studies. In this study we aim to validate the use of birch pollen to challenge allergic participants. METHODS A total of 59 volunteers were screened and 38 birch allerg...

Abstract We extend the study of economically optimal carbon storage to a previously unexplored forest type, mixed-species size-structured stands. The ecological model applied in is transition matrix with growth functions for boreal Norway spruce ( Picea abies (L.) Karst.), birch Betula pendula Roth and B. pubescens Ehrh.), other broadleaves. broadleaved trees are assumed have no commercial valu...

Tree species diversity generally has positive effects on forest primary productivity and resistance to natural perturbations, but diversity-function relationships can vary with site conditions. Recently, studies in experiments have shown that tree local climate, particular drought intensity, interactively affect insect herbivory. On the other hand, many focused response of forests terms growth ...

A birch pollen emission model is described and its main features are discussed. The development of the model is based on a double-threshold temperature sum model that describes the propagation of the flowering season and naturally links to the thermal time models to predict the onset and duration of flowering. For the flowering season, the emission model considers ambient humidity and precipita...

Type I allergy is a major health problem in industrialized countries where up to 15% of the population suffer from allergic symptoms (rhinitis, conjunctivitis, and asthma). Previously, we identified a cDNA clone that encoded a birch pollen allergen as profilin. Profilins constitute a ubiquitous family of proteins that control actin polymerization in eukaryotic cells; in particular, profilin par...