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Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the allergic inflammation of nasal mucosa. Treatment of AR includes pharmacotherapy and allergen immunotherapy. Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) is indicated in inadequate disease control, patient's preference, or impossible allergen avoidance. SCIT is an effective treatment but its cost is comparatively high. Efficacy, patient perception, and cost of medication are rarely explored in Asia.<br /><br /> To study efficacy, patient perception, and cost-benefit of SCIT in AR.<br /><br /> We performed a descriptive cross-sectional study at Thammasat University Hospital, Thailand. AR patients who had been receiving SCIT were interview. Current and recall of AR total symptom score (TSS), quality of life, and perception were scored. Cost of medications before SCIT and current cost were reviewed from the medical records.<br /><br /> A total of 142 patients were enrolled. Sixty-eight patients (47.9%) received single allergen; house dust mite was the most common allergen. The median of maintenance phase was 47 months, range 15-142 months. The mean of current TSS was significantly lower than mean TSS before SCIT. Forty-two patients (29.6%) had discontinued SCIT on the day of the interview. After discontinuation of SCIT, TSS was still lower than TSS before SCIT. The average cost of medications including SCIT was lower than that of before SCIT with an average difference of 254.2 USD/year. Sixteen patients (11.3%) experienced systemic reaction, 8 of which had reaction during rush immunotherapy.<br /><br /> SCIT is an effective, cost-saving and safe treatment option for AR. Rush immunotherapy can reduce duration of build-up phase but increase the risk of systemic reaction.<br /><br />SCIT is an effective, cost-saving and safe treatment option for AR. Rush immunotherapy can reduce duration of build-up phase but increase the risk of systemic reaction.<br /><br /> Food allergy has an impact on the quality of life of both patients and caregivers. [https://www.selleckchem.com/products/lmk-235.html LMK-235 datasheet] is, therefore, important to have a native language survey to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQL) among food allergic children.<br /><br /> To translate the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire-Parent Form (FAQLQ-PF) to Thai language, and to validate this tool in Thai parents with food allergic children.<br /><br /> The FAQLQ-PF was translated into Thai language according to WHO guideline. The FAQLQ-PF Thai version was then administered to the parents of food allergic Thai children aged 0-12 years. The FAQLQ-PF Thai version was then readministered to those same parents 10-14 days after they first completed this assessment tool. Internal consistency by Cronbach's α and test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were assessed. The discriminant validity of the questionnaire was also evaluated.<br /><br /> Ninety parents of participants answered the FAQLQ-PF Thai version. #link# Of those, 9 parents (10%) incompletely answered the first questionnaire. The FAQLQ-PF Thai version showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's α ≥ 0.799), but the test-retest reliability was only fair (ICC &gt; 0.6). Factors that adversely affected the quality of life of Thai children with food allergy included age, presence of anaphylaxis, frequency of reactions, and the number of implicated foods. Patients with wheat allergy were negatively impacted in all domains of quality of life, whereas those with shellfish allergy had only emotional impact.<br /><br /> The FAQLQ-PF Thai version is a reliable and valid tool for assessing HRQL in Thai children with food allergy.<br /><br />The FAQLQ-PF Thai version is a reliable and valid tool for assessing HRQL in Thai children with food allergy.<br /><br /> Chronic rhinitis is a common co-existing disease with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Current evidence on intranasal steroid efficacy as a treatment modality is scarce.<br /><br /> This study assessed the efficacy of intranasal steroid in moderate to severe OSA with coexisting chronic rhinitis.<br /><br /> A prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in non-2nd to 3rd degree obese, non-severe oropharyngeal obstruction, moderate to severe OSA with coexisting chronic rhinitis (total nasal symptom score (TNSS) ≥ 6, BMI &lt; 30 kg/m2, modified Mallampati &lt; 3). We randomized the patients to receive intranasal steroid (fluticasone furoate, 110 mcg/day) or placebo for one-month duration. The primary end point was the change in apnea hypopnea index (AHI).<br /><br /> A total of 34 patients were randomly assigned to receive intranasal steroid (N = 18) or placebo (N = 16). The adjusted absolute difference mean change of AHI did not show significant difference (11.5 ± 7.9 events/hour [95% CI; -4.9 to 27.8; p = 0.16]). Interestingly, significant reduction in non-supine respiratory disturbance index (RDI) (56.1 ± 21.9 events/hour [95% CI; 18.9 to 93.2; p = 0.01]) was observed in intranasal steroid group. When comparison was made within group, only intranasal steroid group demonstrated significant reduction in AHI, RDI, NREM RDI, TNSS, and Thai Pittsburgh sleep quality index (p = 0.02, 0.02, 0.01, 0.003, and &lt; 0.001; respectively) after receiving the drug.<br /><br /> In moderate to severe OSA patients with coexisting chronic rhinitis, intranasal steroid demonstrated significant reduction in obstructive respiratory events during non-supine sleep. Intranasal steroid may be considered as adjunctive or alternative to OSA treatment.<br /><br />In moderate to severe OSA patients with coexisting chronic rhinitis, intranasal steroid demonstrated significant reduction in obstructive respiratory events during non-supine sleep. Intranasal steroid may be considered as adjunctive or alternative to OSA treatment.<br /><br /> Chronic urticaria is a common distressing allergic skin disorder. Immune dysregulation, histamine release and mast cell degranulation are suggested as its underlying mechanisms.<br /><br /> Add-on therapy of vitamin D was evaluated in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria to determine the quality of life and urticaria severity score.<br /><br /> In a prospective, double-blinded study, 80 participants with chronic spontaneous urticaria were randomized to low (4200 IU/week, group 1) and high (28,000 IU/week, group 2) vitamin D3 supplementation groups for 12 weeks. Demographic data; quality of life, urticaria severity and medication scores; 25-hydroxyvitamin D and anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody levels; and autologous serum skin test data were collected.<br /><br /> Both groups showed significantly reduced total urticaria severity score; decrement in group 2 score was significant compared to group 1 at week 6 (P = 0.010). link2 Quality of life score was also significantly reduced; decrement in group 2 score was significant compared to group 1 at both weeks 6 (P = 0.005) and 12 (P = 0.007). 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were elevated significantly over the course of 12 weeks in both groups; however, the elevation in group 2 was significantly higher than group 1 at week 12 (P = 0.002). link3 Medication score was significantly reduced, with no significant difference between groups. No association was observed between positive autologous serum skin test, angioedema and high level of Anti thyroperoxidase antibody with positive response to vitamin D.<br /><br /> Add-on therapy with vitamin D (28,000 IU/week) can be considered as a safe and potentially beneficial treatment in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.<br /><br />Add-on therapy with vitamin D (28,000 IU/week) can be considered as a safe and potentially beneficial treatment in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria.<br /><br /> Behçet's disease (BD) is an auto-inflammatory vasculitis characterized by aphthous oro-genital ulcers, inflammatory skin changes and uveitis. Treatment is mainly immunosuppressive. Interestingly, elevated endotheline-1 (ET-1) levels suggest a possible beneficial effect of treatment with an ET-1 receptor antagonist.<br /><br /> The aim of our study was to investigate the possible beneficial effect of the ET-1 inhibitor bosentan.<br /><br /> We performed a prospective double-blind placebo controlled pilot study into the effect and safety of bosentan in BD patients. Disease activity was measured using the Behçet Disease Current Activity Form. The primary objective of the study was to determine whether bosentan is therapeutically effective in patients with BD. Secondary endpoints were safety, tapering of medication and the effect of bosentan on possible disease activity markers such as ET-1, circulating endothelial cells (CECs), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL2R) and cytokine levels.<br /><br /> Ten patients were randomized to either bosentan or placebo. Overall, no effect on disease activity was observed, although one patient responded clinically and continued treatment after the study period. Despite one SAE, bosentan seems safe to use. No effect on tapering of medication, CECs, sIL2R and cytokine levels was found. In the bosentan group, ET-1 levels were elevated during the treatment period, with no correlation with disease activity.<br /><br /> Although this is a small pilot study, bosentan appears to be safe in BD patients. One patient had a durable and significant clinical response. Our observations should be confirmed and extended in a larger patient cohort to be of significant impact in the treatment options for BD.<br /><br />Although this is a small pilot study, bosentan appears to be safe in BD patients. One patient had a durable and significant clinical response. Our observations should be confirmed and extended in a larger patient cohort to be of significant impact in the treatment options for BD.Controllable synthesis of defect-free graphene is crucial for applications since the properties of graphene are highly sensitive to any deviations from the crystalline lattice. We focus here on the emerging use of liquid Cu catalysts, which have high potential for fast and efficient industrial-scale production of high-quality graphene. The interface between graphene and liquid Cu is studied using force field and ab initio molecular dynamics, revealing a complete or partial embedding of finite-sized flakes. By analyzing flakes of different sizes, we find that the size-dependence of the embedding can be rationalized based on the energy cost of embedding vs bending the graphene flake. The embedding itself is driven by the formation of covalent bonds between the under-coordinated edge C atoms and the liquid Cu surface, which is accompanied by a significant charge transfer. In contrast, the central flake atoms are located around or slightly above 3 Å from the liquid Cu surface and exhibit weak van der Waals-bonding and much lower charge transfer. The structural and electronic properties of the embedded state revealed in our work provide the atomic-scale information needed to develop effective models to explain the special growth observed in experiments where various interesting phenomena such as flake self-assembly and rotational alignment, high growth speeds, and low defect densities in the final graphene product have been observed.Triplet energy transfer (TET) from quantum dots (QDs) to molecular acceptors has received intense research interest because of its promising application as triplet sensitizers in photon up-conversion. Compared to QD band edge excitons, the role and mechanism of trap state mediated TET in QD-acceptor complexes have not been well understood despite the prevalence of trap states in many QDs. Herein, TET from trap states in CdSe QDs to adsorbed 9-anthracene carboxylic acid (ACA) is studied with steady state photoluminescence, transient absorption spectroscopy, and time-resolved photoluminescence. We show that both band edge and trap excitons undergo direct Dexter energy transfer to form the triplet excited state of ACA. The rate of TET decreases from (0.340 ± 0.002) ns-1 to (0.124 ± 0.004) ns-1 for trap excitons with decreasing energy from 2.25 eV to 1.57 eV, while the TET rate from band edge excitons is 13-37 times faster than trapped excitons. Despite slightly higher TET quantum efficiency from band edge excitons (∼100%) than trapped excitons (∼95%), the overall TET process from CdSe to ACA is dominated by trapped excitons because of their larger relative populations.