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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 1998. / Spine title: Molecular structure of Der p 2. Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-167). Also available online through Digital Dissertations.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 123 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-68).

Yes / In this commentary, we focus on allergy as a facilitating factor in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata (AA). From previous studies on AA, it is well known that subsets of patients can have one or more of; seasonal relapse, comorbid atopic rhinitis, asthma and dermatitis, lesion infiltrating eosinophils and plasma cells, high levels of total IgE, specific IgE for house dust mites (HDMs), and/or disrupted skin barrier function by the evaluation of filaggrin. Allergy and AA share a similar genetic background; both contributing to an immune reaction imbalance. Furthermore, adjunctive treatment with antihistamines, or desensitization for HDM, can reduce the severity of alopecia in atopic AA patients. Therefore, allergies may contribute to the onset and relapse of AA. Identification of an allergic or atopic immune component in AA patient subsets may indicate adjunctive treatment intervention measures against allergies should be taken which may improve the success of conventional AA treatment.

Mites are endemic and allergy to mite excreta and parts is one of the most common allergies. Health care practitioners have recommended the removal of carpets from homes of people with mite allergies. Little, if any, consideration is given to the fact that some persons may benefit directly from the presence of carpet in their homes. In the allergen and mite research literature, carpets are rarely described as having unique characteristics and are generally referred to as a generic entity. Carpets, however, do have unique characteristics that define their construction, appearance, wearability, and cleanability. Seventy-two pieces of commercially available, residential flooring materials were inoculated with identical numbers of mites, Dermatophagiodes farinae, and placed in the Textiles Conditioning Lab at Virginia Tech. The mites and carpet pieces were maintained in the lab, under identical, environmentally controlled conditions for 6 weeks, then the mites were extracted and counted. On the basis of the results of statistical tests run on the study data, the null hypothesis, that there is no difference between the numbers of mites grown on the different flooring conditions, was rejected. Statistically significant differences exist between the hard floor and the nylon carpet, between hard floor and olefin carpets, but no difference between hard floor and wool carpet. Nylon was the carpet fiber that was most supportive of the growth of house dust mites, olefin was the second most supportive, and wool carpet and hard floor were similar in being the least supportive. / Master of Science

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Understanding the transport of particulate and gaseous indoor air pollutants from source to exposure is paramount to improve our understanding of the complexities of the built environments in which we spend the majority of our time. This dissertation offers new insights on particle resuspension from indoor surfaces, infant exposure to organic contaminants released from crib mattresses, and the dynamics of pollutant transport and human exposure while sleeping. Particle resuspension is the physical process by which settled particles detach from a surface and become airborne through application of various aerodynamic and mechanical removal forces. Resuspension is an important indoor source of coarse mode particles (> 1 µm in diameter) and can be a source mechanism for biological matter and organic contaminants that accumulate in house dust. Settled dust deposits on indoor surfaces can vary considerably in their structure and mass loading, yet little is known as to how these parameters affect resuspension. Through wind tunnel experiments, this research demonstrates that the deposit structure (monolayer or multilayer) can have a significant impact on the number of particles that aerodynamically resuspend. Furthermore, this dissertation presents the first full-scale experimental chamber study to show that human body movements in bed can resuspend settled mattress dust particles. An indoor aerosol model was utilized to provide a mechanistic understanding of the impact of movement intensity, surface vibrations, bedroom ventilation rate, and dust loading on the resuspension flux and intake fraction of resuspended particles. Infants spend most of their time sleeping and are likely to be exposed to elevated concentrations of chemicals released from their crib mattresses. Through a combination of chamber experiments and solvent extractions, this research shows that infant crib mattresses can emit a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and contain numerous chemical additives, including phthalate and alternative plasticizers, flame retardants, and unreacted isocyanates. Additionally, this study discovered that infants are exposed to approximately twice the concentrations of VOCs in their breathing zones as compared to the bulk bedroom air, due to their close proximity to the source.