Reliable methods to analyze food for the presence of almond are important – not only for those allergic to almond, but also for monitoring the compliance with labelling regulations (EG directive 2003/89). Until now the Swedish National Food Administration has used methods like rocket immunoelectrophoresis and real-time PCR to detect almond in food. These methods are, however, not sensitive enough for protecting the most sensitive individuals. Therefore, the performance of a commercial ELISA kit was tested with regard to specificity/cross reactivity and limit of detection for almond both in solution and in different matrixes. The limit of quantitation was at least 3,1 ppm (mg/kg) in solution and similar concentrations were measured in bisquits and chocolate. The ELISA method was about 100-fold more sensitive than rocket immunoelectrophoresis and PCR. The specificity of the test kit was evaluated against a number of different nuts and seeds. No important cross reactivity was found. The antibodies against almond used in the kit can not differentiate between almond and apricot kernel. For such purposes the PCR method could be used.

Food allergy is an IgE-mediated immunological disease, which affects almost 4% of the adult population and up to 6% of children. Proteins from milk, egg, peanuts, soybean, wheat, fish and nuts are the main cause of food allergies. A less common allergen is pea protein. The National Food Administration analyses undeclared pea protein and contaminations of pea protein in foods using rocket immunoelectrophoresis and immunodiffusion. For both methods an antiserum against pea protein is needed. The aim of this study has been to characterize a newly developed rabbit-antiserum against pea protein. It is important to know if the antiserum is specific against peas, the detection as well as the quantification limits before it can be taken into use. The results of the study show that the antiserum was not absolutely specific, since it cross-reacted with chickpeas, fenugreek and lenses. However there is an "in-house" established PCR-method that can distinguish between chickpeas, fenugreek and peas and that method can be used as a complement to the rocket immunoelectrophoresis. The PCR-method cannot be used alone because it is not quantitative. Rocket immunoelectro¬phoresis detects 0,003% pea protein with purified IgG-antibodies from the antiserum.

A new European labeling directive (2003/89/EC) states that certain foods and products derived thereof must always be declared. Among the tree nuts specified is Macadamia nut (Macadamia spp.). During the last few years, cases of IgE-allergic reactions, even severe anaphylaxes, have been reported. Reliable methods for the detection of this nut are needed. Protein from Macadamia nuts was isolated. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in SDS revealed two main protein bands of about 20 and 50kDa. These protein bands were cut and extracted from the gel and rabbits were immunized with each protein. Immunoblotting showed dominant reactivity with the respective antigens. The antisera were further tested for specificity in immunodiffusion and in rocket immunoelectrophoresis. In addition, a specific DNA-method was developed, based on Real-Time PCR using Macadamia vicilin as target sequence. Two different primer pairs were tested. Specificity was tested against potentially related nuts. Optimisation of primer and probe concentrations was performed. The limit of detection was 2-4 pg DNA, corresponding to a macadamia nut concentration of 50 to 100 μg per g. In a background of soybean DNA, down to 0,01 % macadamia DNA could be detected.

Milk allergens were digested by allowing them to flow through a chromatography column, where pepsin was conjugated to the stationary phase of the column. The allergen fragments were then characterized both biochemically, by using SDS-PAGE and gel permeation chromatography, and immunologically, by examining their reactivity to IgE and monoclonal antibodies.

Syftet med föreliggande litteraturstudie var att beskriva kunskapens betydelse för personer med födoämnesallergi, samt när det gäller förebyggande av anafylaxi. Den metod som användes var en systematisk litteraturstudie, där totalt tretton kvantitativa och två kvalitativa artiklar användes i resultatet. De databaser som användes var Pubmed, Elin@dalarna och CINAHL. Resultatet visade att beträffande kunskapens betydelse var majoriteten av de medicinska frågorna i en studie som besvarades via Internet frågor som berörde födoämnesallergi och allergiska reaktioner. Över hälften av ungdomarna uppgav att deras livskvalitet och hälsa påverkades och ovissheten och okunskapen om allergin påverkade deras livskvalitet negativt. Det visade sig även att endast en fjärdedel av läkarna gav detaljerad undervisning och information om hur viktigt det var med undvikande av allergen vid födoämnesallergi. Beträffande kunskapens betydelse vid förebyggande av anafylaxi visade flera studier att anafylaxi var vanligt förekommande hos vuxna och ungdomar med födoämnesallergi. Ungdomar hade otillräcklig kunskap om anafylaxi och hälften av ungdomarna uppgav att de ätit de födoämnen de var allergiska emot. Anvisningar och information om akuta födoämnesreaktioner var låg hos vuxna och tonåringar upplevde ett stort behov av undervisning, då de tog mer risker än vuxna.

Prevalence of childhood asthma in Taiwan has increased 9 times from 1.3% to 10-14% in the past 4 decades. Many studies worldwide have demonstrated that many genes in different chromosomes are implicated in childhood asthma in different ethnic populations. A growing body of evidence suggests that allergic sensitization could occur in perinatal stage and correlate to the development of childhood asthma. Epidemiological studies, however, indicate that prevalence of childhood asthma is much higher in developed countries than that in developing countries; and prevalence of childhood asthma in metropolitan area is higher than that in country sites. This suggests that certain genes can interact with the environmental factors in developed countries to promote the development of childhood atopic disorders. Interests are now increasing on what is (are) the real pathogenic gene-gene interaction(s) for childhood atopic disorders under influence of age, gender and environmental factors? In a large perinatal cohort study with 1,211 pregnant women and their offspring from the obstetrics and pediatrics of Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, we analyzed 159 allergy candidate genes with 384 single nucleotide polymorphisms and showed that 14 genes over 22 somatic and X chromosomes risk to or protective from cord blood immunoglobulin E (CBIgE) elevation are different from those genes associated with IgE elevation in children under 1.5, 3 and 6 years of age (12, 15 and 12 genes, respectively). CX3CL1, IL13, PDGFRA and FGF1 polymorphisms were associated with elevated IgE at earlier ages (newborn, 1.5 and 3 years); HLA-DPA1, HLA-DQA1, CCR5 and IL5RA polymorphisms were associated with IgE production at 6 years of age. Further analysis by multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) developed from data reduction strategy, we found that there are interactions among innate immunity, adaptive immunity, and response and remodeling genes on IgE production begin in prenatal stage. For example, The gene-gene interaction among IL13, rs1800925, CYFIP2, rs767007 and PDE2A, rs755933 was significantly associated with IgE production at 3 years of age. This suggests that different genotypes of genes interact one another on the IgE production contributing to the development of allergic diseases. Since the concentration of IgE is an important indicator of atopic disorders and allergic sensitization, we believe after clarifying the natural course of the genomic profiles on IgE elevation, certain early predictor(s) and preventive regimens for allergic sensitization or atopic disorders may be made possible.

The purpose of this study was to examine the hairdresser’s knowledge about the chemicals they handle in their business and how they were handling the chemicals and the risks that follows. 9 Salons were visited to gather information. The same questions were asked at the salons. A sample of hair color products was photographed to gather information about ingredients and labeling. The conclusions of the study were that hairdressers have good knowledge about the risks related to human health but they need to improve their knowledge when it comes to environmental risks. The deficiencies that were found were that they lack knowledge about the laws concerning the use and distribution of cosmetics products and that not all saloons are handling the hazardous waste and residues from treatments correctly. The risks that could follow are that not enough is done to protect human health and the environmental. To prevent that damage to human health and the environmental occurs they should use more sources that focus on health and environmental to gather information about the risks with the chemicals they are handling, they should also limit the treatments on children and always inform about the risks when they are using products that can cause an allergic reaction. Keywords: Risks hairdressing, cosmetics products, p-phenylenediamine, Toluene-2,5-diamine, ammonia.

Bronopol has been used as a preservative in drugs and cosmetics since 1964. Bronopol has low dermal irritancy at levels commonly used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals but it is significantly irritating at higher concentrations. Laboratory testing of bronopol indicates a low potential for dermal sensitization; however, a number of case reports demonstrate human allergenic reactions. No reports were identified on the allergenic properties of bronopol for the inhalation route of exposure. In 1983 approximately 5,200 people in the United States were occupationally exposed to bronopol. Current novel uses of bronopol include mold remediation and the sanitizing of ventilation system components. These new applications have the potential to expose vast new populations to the chemical. Since 89 million people in the United States work in indoor environments and 50 million Americans suffer from allergies, it is likely that a sizeable portion of these populations will be exposed to bronopol. This is significant since the dermal sensitizing properties of bronopol suggest that the material may also be a respiratory sensitizer, potentially resulting in chemically induced asthma. More people are being diagnosed with asthma today than at any time in the past; the causes of this increased prevalence are largely unknown. In this work an existing ultraviolet spectrophotometric method for analysis of bronopol has been combined with conventional industrial hygiene air sampling techniques. No combined air sampling and analytical method for bronopol has previously been published in the literature. A calibration curve has been developed with a linear range of 1 ug/ml to 25 ug/ml. The instrumental limit of detection is 1 ug/ml with an instrumental limit of quantitation of ca. 3 ug/ml. During chamber sampling trials analytical recovery for treated glass fiber filters yielded a sampling recovery efficiency averaging 99.9 %. Bronopol concentration obtained during chamber sampling trials ranged from 10.80 mg/m3 to 21.59 mg/m3, with a pooled coefficient of variation of 4.33 % for all chamber sampling sets. Treated glass fiber filters spiked with bronopol were found to be stable for a period of 48 hours; derivatized bronopol solutions were found to be stable for a period of fourteen days.

The small intestine is the main organ for food digestion and nutrient absorption. It is constantly exposed to antigen and immunomodulatory agents from diet and commensal microbiota. Thus, the intestine is the largest compartment of the immune system in the body. Peanuts and many other allergen resources contain triglycerides, which may affect the antigen absorption through the intestine, but their effects on sensitization and anaphylaxis are unknown. We found that medium chain triglycerides (MCT) promoted antigen absorption into Peyer’s Patches, rather than into the blood directly. Both gavage and feeding of MCT plus peanut protein induced spontaneous allergic sensitization. MCT-sensitized mice experienced the IgG-dependent anaphylaxis from systemic challenges and the IgE-dependent anaphylaxis from oral challenges. Furthermore, MCT alone had direct pharmaceutical effect on enterocytes, like stimulating Jejunal-epithelial Th2 cytokine responses compared with what was seen in the long chain triglycerides (LCT) treated group. Moreover, the oral challenges conducted with peanut protein in MCT significantly exacerbated anaphylaxis compared with the LCT challenges. The intestine also plays an important role in whole body cholesterol homeostasis due to its exclusive function in cholesterol absorption. The researchers found that the intestine function in cholesterol secretion and elimination, but it has not been proven directly until recently. This pathway that facilitate the cholesterol secretions through intestine was named the Transintestinal Cholesterol Efflux (TICE) and has not been well studied yet. To find the possible transporter candidates involved in TICE, we compared both biliary and intestinal cholesterol excretion rates in wild-type (WT) and G5G8 deficient (KO) mice of both sexes. All mice were maintained on a plant-sterol free diet beginning at weaning to prevent the development of secondary phenotypes associated with Sitosterolemia. We found that WT mice had higher biliary cholesterol excretion rates compared to their G5G8 KO littermates as previously reported. However, this difference is significantly greater in females compared to males. Interestingly, intestinal cholesterol excretions increased in female KO mice compared to their WT littermates, a difference not observed in males. This data suggests a sexually dimorphic adaptive mechanism to maintain cholesterol elimination in the absence of G5G8. Whereas male mice maintain a greater level of biliary output in the absence of G5G8, female mice upregulate an alternate intestinal elimination route. To determine the origin of intestinally secreted cholesterol, we compared both hepatobiliary and intestinal cholesterol secretion rates in male wild-type (WT) and CETP transgenic (CETP TG) mice at the age of 12 weeks. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) facilitates the transport of cholesteryl esters and triglycerides between lipoproteins in plasma and alters the lipoprotein distribution of plasma cholesterol. We found that WT and CETP TG mice did not differ in either biliary or intestinal cholesterol secretion rates when maintained on a standard chow diet. However, CETP TG mice showed increased biliary cholesterol secretion rates and decreased intestinal cholesterol secretion rates compared to the WT group in response to a Western diet. We next determined the effect of CETP on the delivery of radiolabeled HDL-cholesterol ester to bile and intestinal lumen. Unlike bulk cholesterol secretions, HDL-derived cholesterol esters were preferentially delivered to the intestine in CETP TG mice. This data suggests that CETP alter the routes of total and HDL cholesterol elimination from the body in mice.

In this essay I have investigated how two families, with children, who have food allergies, experience what support and what treatment they get in preschool for their difficulties. I have interviewed two children and two parents. The study shows that the interviewed parents believe that more knowledge in the community and among staff in preschool, about food allergies, is needed. Parents wish that the staff should write an action plan that describes how to deal with children who have food allergies and that preschool invites parents and children to record results. It is important to consider an inclusive attitude so that children don’t feels excluded. There is some research going on around this subject and researchers agree that the incidence of food allergies in the society is growing, but that it is difficult to be able to present a certain theory why, and what the underlying factors are. The most probable cause can be our hygiene, our many times excessive cleanliness, we do not get in contact with enough bacteria, which upsets the balance of our immune defence. Our immune system gets too little stimulation of bacteria, and as a result, food allergies can occur. Progress in science today offers some opportunities to understand the origin behind food allergies but knowledge is inadequate it is not known what factors contribute to sensitization and development of the regulatory mechanisms of the individual as to why an allergic reaction occurs or not allergic reaction occurs or not.