Loss of microbial topography between oral and nasopharyngeal microbiota and development of respiratory infections early in life

Rationale: The respiratory microbiota is increasingly being appreciated as an important mediator in the susceptibility to childhood respiratory tract infections (RTIs). Pathogens are presumed to originate from the nasopharyngeal ecosystem. Objectives: To investigate the association between early life respiratory microbiota and development of...

Maturation of the Infant Respiratory Microbiota, Environmental Drivers, and Health Consequences

RATIONALE: Perinatal and postnatal influences are presumed important drivers of the early-life respiratory microbiota composition. We hypothesized that the respiratory microbiota composition and development in infancy is affecting microbiota stability and thereby resistance against respiratory tract infections (RTIs) over time. OBJECTIVES: To...

Development of Upper Respiratory Tract Microbiota in Infancy is Affected by Mode of Delivery

Elemental composition of particulate matter and the association with lung function

BACKGROUND: Negative effects of long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) on lung function have been shown repeatedly. Spatial differences in the composition and toxicity of PM may explain differences in observed effect sizes between studies. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter study in 5 European birth cohorts - BAMSE (Sweden), GINIplus and...

The impact of breastfeeding on nasopharyngeal microbial communities in infants

Rationale: Breastfeeding elicits significant protection against respiratory tract infections in infancy. Modulation of respiratory microbiota might be part of the natural mechanisms of protection against respiratory diseases induced by breastfeeding. Objectives: To study the association between breastfeeding and nasopharyngeal microbial...

Prebiotic mechanisms, functions and applications - A review

In October 2012, a group of scientists met at the 10th Meeting of the International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) in Cork, Ireland to discuss issues surrounding prebiotics and their development. This article summarises outputs from the meeting. Various prebiotic definitions were discussed and how the concept has...

Analytical strategies for residue analysis of veterinary drugs and growth-promoting agents in food-producing animals - A review

After a brief introduction into the field of veterinary drugs and growth-promoting agents, the most important EU regulations and directives for the inspection of food-producing animals and animal products regarding the residue control of these substances are presented and discussed. Main attention in the review is on the methods of analysis in...

Costs associated with persistent allergic rhinitis are reduced by levocetirizine

Background: Allergic rhinitis was recently classified by the ARIA guidelines as persistent or intermittent. Levocetivizine was shown to improve symptoms and health-related quality of life of patients with persistent allergic rhinitis in the XPERT™ study, a 6-month randomized double blind placebo-controlled trial. Objective: To assess the total...

Short term inhalation toxicity studies with peroxyacetyl nitrate in rats

The inhalation toxicity of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) was examined in acute (single exposure), subacute (4-wk repeated exposure) and subchronic (13-wk repeated exposure) studies in rats. The 4-hr LC50 was found to be 95 ppm. In the 4-wk study rats were exposed to 0, 0.9, 4.1 or 11.8 ppm PAN vapor for 6 hr/day, 5 days/wk. Exposure to 11.8 ppm...