Component-Resolved Diagnosis of Hazelnut Allergy in Children

Hazelnuts commonly elicit allergic reactions starting from childhood and adolescence, with a rare resolution over time. The definite diagnosis of a hazelnut allergy relies on an oral food challenge. The role of component resolved diagnostics in reducing the need for oral food challenges in the diagnosis of hazelnut allergies is still debated. Therefore, three electronic databases were systematically searched for studies on the diagnostic accuracy of specific-IgE (sIgE) on hazelnut proteins for identifying children with a hazelnut allergy. Studies regarding IgE testing on at least one hazelnut allergen component in children whose final diagnosis was determined by oral food challenges or a suggestive history of serious symptoms due to a hazelnut allergy were included. Study quality was assessed by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool. Eight studies enrolling 757 children, were identified. Overall, sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve and diagnostic odd ratio of Cor a 1 sIgE were lower than those of Cor a 9 and Cor a 14 sIge. When the test results were positive, the post-test probability of a hazelnut allergy was 34% for Cor a 1 sIgE, 60% for Cor a9 sIgE and 73% for Cor a 14 sIgE. When the test results were negative, the post-test probability of a hazelnut allergy was 55% for Cor a 1 sIgE, 16% for Cor a9 sIgE and 14% for Cor a 14 sIgE. Measurement of IgE levels to Cor a 9 and Cor a 14 might have the potential to improve specificity in detecting clinically tolerant children among hazelnut-sensitized ones, reducing the need to perform oral food challenges.     

Gastrointestinal Contributions to the Postprandial Experience

Food ingestion induces homeostatic sensations (satiety, fullness) with a hedonic dimension (satisfaction, changes in mood) that characterize the postprandial experience. Both types of sensation are secondary to intraluminal stimuli produced by the food itself, as well as to the activity of the digestive tract. Postprandial sensations also depend on the nutrient composition of the meal and on colonic fermentation of non-absorbed residues. Gastrointestinal function and the sensitivity of the digestive tract, i.e., perception of gut stimuli, are determined by inherent individual factors, e.g., sex, and can be modulated by different conditioning mechanisms. This narrative review examines the factors that determine perception of digestive stimuli and the postprandial experience.     

Resistant Starch Production and Glucose Release from Pre‐Prepared Chilled Food: The SPUD Project

With an increasing prevalence of diabetes worldwide, effective dietary strategies for blood glucose control are crucial. As carbohydrates make up approximately 50% of the diet, it is neither practical nor advisable to avoid them altogether. Most of the carbohydrate in the diet is derived from starch, found in potatoes, pasta, rice and bread. These foods are often processed in some way before consumption, yet little is known about the effects processing, such as chilling and reheating, has on the glycaemic response, particularly when the food is consumed in the context of a mixed meal. This article introduces the SPUD project, a BBSRC DRINC‐funded initiative. Taking the potato as the model carbohydrate, this project will investigate, via in vitro and in vivo studies, the effects of domestic food processing techniques on the glycaemic response. A final study, utilising intrinsically labelled potato and a dual stable isotope methodology, will model glucose flux data to determine the underlying mechanisms of action.     

Associations Among Select State Policies and the Nutritional Quality of Household Packaged Food Purchases in the United States from 2008 Through 2017

BackgroundPolicy interventions are important public health tools because they can reach large numbers of people. State context has been associated with health outcomes, yet few studies have examined the extent to which state-level policies are associated with dietary quality.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to evaluate whether state policies are associated with the nutritional quality of household packaged food purchases.DesignThis observational study used data from Nielsen Homescan, an open-cohort household panel where participants track purchases, and a combination of state-level food and social safety net policy variables from 2008 through 2017.Participants and settingThis study included 615,634 household-year observations in the United States from 2008 through 2017. Household-year observations were excluded in the case that a household did not make a minimum number of purchases and in the case that they had incorrect geographic information. The final analytic sample was 611,719 household-years.Main outcome measuresStudy outcomes included a set of nutrition-related measures of public health interest, including nutrients of concern (eg, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium) and calories from specific food groups (eg, fruits, nonstarchy vegetables, processed meats, mixed dishes, sugar-sweetened beverages, and desserts and snacks).Statistical analysisThis study used multilevel generalized linear models with state fixed effects on three samples: all households, only households with low income, and only households with low educational attainment.ResultsFew significant associations were found between healthy food retail policies and the nutritional quality of purchases, and mixed associations were found between social safety net policies and lower or higher quality packaged food purchases.ConclusionsLittle evidence was found that state policy context in 2008 through 2017 was associated with the quality of packaged food purchases. However, variation in state policies is increasing over time, warranting future research into the relationship between these policies, the quality of packaged food purchases, and the rest of the diet.     

Role of cutaneous feedback in ventral rubbing in the male Mongolian gerbil

Increased arousal levels in pregnant rats were produced via electrical stimulation of the reticular formation (RF) on Days 6–16 of gestation. Current levels between 0.02 and 0.06 mA were selected depending on the threshold for overt motor response to stimulation in the individual animal. Offspring were tested at 30 days of age for threshold of flurothyl-induced convulsion, and at 90 days of age for percent avoidance in a shock avoidance task. In comparison to offspring of implanted controls, RF-stimulated offspring had elevated seizure thresholds (males and females) and enhanced avoidance performance (females only). Further studies using fostering showed that the effect on avoidance performance was mediated both prenatally and postnatally. The relative importance of prenatal and postnatal influences on seizure threshold could not be determined. These results are compared to previous studies of the behavioral effects of prenatal chlorpromazine threatment.     

Allergy to pine nuts in a bird fancier

A patient is described with the bird-egg syndrome who experienced an anaphylactic reaction after eating some of her parrot's food (pine nuts: Pinus pinea ). Specific IgE against this nut and another pine nut ( P cembra ) was demonstrated by RAST. Cross-reactivity between these botanically related seeds was shown by RAST inhibition. Besides avian antigens, bird food antigens should be taken into consideration when symptoms of allergy occur on exposure to birds.     

Effect of benzene and its homologs on unit activity in various brain structures

Department of Normal Physiology, Irkutsk Medical Institute (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR K. V. Sudakov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 110, No. 7, pp. 17–19, July, 1990.     

A comparison of the effects of vasopressin and oxytocin with amphetamine and chlordiazepoxide on passive avoidance behaviour in rats

On the basis of results obtained from passive avoidance studies, we have argued that the neuropeptide vasopressin could act on arousal, rather than memory processes in rats (Sahgal et al. 1982). In this report, we examine the effects of substances that are known to increase (d-amphetamine) or decrease (chlordiazepoxide) behavioural arousal, and compare the data with those obtained after vasopressin or oxytocin treatment. All four substances yielded broadly similar bimodal results (although the oxytocin data failed to reach significance). We argue for an arousal interpretation which suggests that performance and arousal are related in an inverted-U manner. The data also indicate that care must be taken in selecting appropriate statistical tests.