Egg hypersensitivity in review.

Egg hypersensitivity is the second most common food allergy with a prevalence of up to 1.7% and the discovery of information about egg allergy is ongoing. This review aims to summarize the current understanding of the allergens involved, natural history, clinical presentation, diagnostic strategies, treatment options, egg-containing vaccine guidelines, and future therapies for health care providers in managing egg hypersensitivity. Recent clinically applicable articles are reviewed for the allergist as an update for the state of the art management of egg allergy. Approximately 70% of children will outgrow egg allergy by 16 years of age and children are able to tolerate well-cooked eggs sooner than uncooked eggs. Egg-specific IgE of >50 kIU(A)/L can be used as a predictor for persistent egg allergy. Double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges are still the gold standard for diagnosis. Oral immunotherapy trials still are not generalizable for routine clinical practice, but the influenza vaccine can be given to most egg-allergic patients. Allergists can now educate, diagnose, and manage egg-allergic patients with state-of-the-art information to improve patient's quality of life as never before.

Increasing cadmium and zinc levels in wild common eiders breeding along Canada's remote northern coastline.

The common eider (Somateria mollissima) is an abundant sea duck breeding around the circumpolar Arctic, and is an important component of subsistence and sport harvest in some regions. We determined hepatic cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in the livers of breeding females sampled during three time periods including 1992/3, 2001/2 and 2008 at three sites spanning 53.7°N-75.8°N in the eastern Canadian Arctic. At all sites, concentrations of both Cd and Zn increased ~300% over this time period. The reasons for this rapid increase in concentrations are unclear.

Developmental validation of the PowerPlex(®) Fusion System for analysis of casework and reference samples: A 24-locus multiplex for new database standards.

The original CODIS database based on 13 core STR loci has been overwhelmingly successful for matching suspects with evidence. Yet there remain situations that argue for inclusion of more loci and increased discrimination. The PowerPlex(®) Fusion System allows simultaneous amplification of the following loci: Amelogenin, D3S1358, D1S1656, D2S441, D10S1248, D13S317, Penta E, D16S539, D18S51, D2S1338, CSF1PO, Penta D, TH01, vWA, D21S11, D7S820, D5S818, TPOX, DYS391, D8S1179, D12S391, D19S433, FGA, and D22S1045. The comprehensive list of loci amplified by the system generates a profile compatible with databases based on either the expanded CODIS or European Standard Set (ESS) requirements. Developmental validation testing followed SWGDAM guidelines and demonstrated the quality and robustness of the PowerPlex(®) Fusion System across a number of variables. Consistent and high-quality results were compiled using data from 12 separate forensic and research laboratories. The results verify that the PowerPlex(®) Fusion System is a robust and reliable STR-typing multiplex suitable for human identification.