Damp home

The long-lived interlayer excitons (IXs) of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide heterobilayers are prime candidates for developing various optoelectronic and valleytronic devices. Their photophysical properties, including fine structure, have been the focus of recent studies, and the presence of two spin states, namely, spin-singlet and spin-triplet, has been experimentally confirmed. However, the existence of the interaction between these states and their nature remains unknown to date. Here, we demonstrate the presence of coherent coupling between the spin-singlet and spin-triplet IXs of a WSe2 -MoSe2 heterobilayer utilizing quantum beat spectroscopy via a home-built Michelson interferometer...

BACKGROUND: The burden of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) is high in childhood. Several residential exposures may affect relative rates. OBJECTIVES: To determine risk of RTIs in children ages 11 and 12 by residential exposures. METHODS: We included children in the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) at ages 11 and 12. We estimated incidence risk ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for counts of RTIs within the last year by exposure to mold/dampness, gas stove usage, summer and winter candle-burning, fireplace usage, cats and dogs indoors, and farmhouse living...

This study aims to characterize levels of molds, bacteria, and environmental pollutants, identify the associations between indoor mold and dampness exposures and childhood allergic diseases, including asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, using three different exposure assessment tools. A total of 50 children with their parents who registered in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do in Korea participated in this study. We collated the information on demographic and housing characteristics, environmental conditions, and lifestyle factors using the Korean version of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire...

OBJECTIVE: To quantify energy poverty in Roma population and in general population in Spain, in 2016, as well as to observe the association of this phenomenon with self-rated health, adjusted according to the main socio-economic determinants. METHOD: Energy poverty has been defined as the financial inability to keep a home warm, the presence of dampness in the dwelling and falling into arrears in utility bills, using data from two European surveys from Spain in 2016: the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and the Second Survey on Minorities and Discrimination (EU-MIDIS II)...

BACKGROUND: Parasitic infections (PIs) are common and pose substantial health hazards in children globally, but the fundamental environmental variables exposure during crucial time window(s) are unclear. OBJECTIVES: To identify key indoor and outdoor environmental factors leading to childhood PIs throughout critical time window(s). METHODS: A combined cross-sectional and retrospective cohort study was performed on 8689 children residing in Changsha, China...

The winter of 2022/23 has seen large increases in energy prices and in the cost of living in many countries around the world, including Great Britain. Here, we report the results of two surveys, combining cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis, in a sample of about 5400 British households. One survey was conducted early in 2023, the other when participants had signed up to an ongoing research study in the past five years. Thermostat settings were about 1°C lower during the cost-of-living crisis than before, and householders were more likely to turn the heating off when the home was unoccupied...

Previous studies have shown significant associations between home environmental factors and childhood eczema. However, few studies have compared how associations differ in different regions. This study investigated associations between home environmental factors and childhood eczema ever, and related symptoms including itchy rash (IR) and being awakened by itchy rash at night (awake by IR) in 4 cities located in different regions of China, based on cross-sectional investigations during 2010-2012. We used two-step analysis to explore the associations between influencing factors and eczema/related symptoms: first, group Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) was conducted to identify important factors among a list of candidates; then, the associations in total study population and in each city were estimated using logistic regression...

BACKGROUND: Many residential indoor environments may have an impact on children's respiratory health. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to identify latent classes of children from the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) who share similar patterns of exposure to indoor home characteristics, and to examine the association between membership in the latent classes and asthma in adolescence. METHODS: We included data on residential indoor characteristics of offspring from the DNBC whose mothers had responded to the child's 11-year follow-up and who had data on asthma from the 18-year follow-up...

BACKGROUND: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) encompass a group of highly prevalent conditions resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure. Alcohol exposure during the third trimester of pregnancy overlapping with the brain growth spurt is detrimental to white matter growth and myelination, particularly in the corpus callosum, ultimately affecting tissue integrity in adolescence. Traditional neuroimaging techniques have been essential for assessing neurodevelopment in affected youth; however, these methods are limited in their capacity to track subtle microstructural alterations to white matter, thus restricting their effectiveness in monitoring therapeutic intervention...

In this study, we present a tomography-based control system for a rehabilitation robot using a novel approach to assess advancement and a dynamic model of the system. In this model, the torque generated by the robot and the impedance of the patient's hand are used to determine each step of the rehabilitation. In the proposed control architecture, a regression model is developed and implemented based on the extraction of tomography signals to estimate the muscles state. During the rehabilitation session, the torque applied by the patient is adjusted according to this estimation...

INTRODUCTION: Respiratory infections and wheeze have a considerable impact on the health of young children and consume significant healthcare resources. We aimed to evaluate the effect of environmental factors on respiratory infections and symptoms in early childhood. METHODS: Environmental risk factors including: daycare attendance; breastfeeding; siblings; damp within the home; environmental tobacco smoke (ETS); child's bedroom flooring; animal exposure; road traffic density around child's home; and solid fuel pollution within home were assessed in children recruited to the GO-CHILD multicentre prospective birth cohort study...

UNLABELLED: It is becoming increasingly apparent that poor housing quality affects indoor air quality, significantly impacting on respiratory health in children and young people. Exposure to damp and/or mould in the home, cold homes and the presence of pests and pollutants all have a significant detrimental impact on child respiratory health. There is a complex relationship between features of poor-quality housing, such as being in a state of disrepair, poor ventilation, overcrowding and being cold, that favour an environment resulting in poor indoor air quality...

Poorly controlled asthma is especially common in low resource countries. Aside from lack of access to, or poor technique with, inhaled beta-2 agonists and corticosteroids, the most problematic forms of asthma are frequently associated with both fungal allergy and exposure, especially in adults leading to more asthma exacerbations and worse asthma. The umbrella term 'fungal asthma' describes many disorders linked to fungal exposure and/or allergy to fungi. One fungal asthma endotype, ABPA, is usually marked by a very high IgE and its differential diagnosis is reviewed...

BACKGROUND: Multiple reviews have been conducted on the associations between residential mold and dampness and respiratory outcomes in children, with few specifically investigating respiratory tract infections (RTIs). OBJECTIVE: We aimed to review and synthesize the available epidemiological literature on mold and dampness and risk of RTIs and respiratory symptoms compatible with RTIs in children living in high-income countries. METHOD: We performed a systematic search of literature available from MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science for observational studies...

Damp and moisture-damaged building exposure has been linked to adverse health effects, primarily related to respiratory complications from mold spore reactions. This paper describes a case of a previously healthy man who was exposed to a home with hidden mold infestation and remained symptomatic following proper remediation. The patient presented with allergies, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, and treatment resistant asthma, as well as other non-respiratory symptoms likely related to inhalational mycotoxin exposure from his home...

OBJECTIVE: To examine prospectively associations of neighborhood opportunity with the presence of dampness or pests in the home environment during early adolescence. STUDY DESIGN: We geocoded residential addresses from 831 children (mean age 7.9 years, 2007-2011) in the Project Viva cohort. We linked each address with census tract-level Child Opportunity Index scores, which capture neighborhood conditions and resources influencing child heath including educational, health, environmental, and socioeconomic factors...

Immunogenic cell death (ICD), as an unusual cell death pattern, mediates cancer cells to release a series of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), and is widely used in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Injuring the cell membrane can serve as a novel ICD initiation strategy. In this study, a peptide nanomedicine (PNpC) is designed using the fragment CM11 of cecropin, which is effective in disrupting cell membranes because of its α-helical structure. PNpC self-assembles in situ in the presence of high levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) on the tumor cell membrane, transforming from nanoparticles to nanofibers, which reduces the cellular internalization of the nanomedicine and increases the interaction between CM11 and tumor cell membranes...

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a common disease worldwide in preschool children. Despite its large population size, China has had no comprehensive study of the national prevalence, risk factors, and management of pneumonia among preschool children. We therefore investigated the prevalence of pneumonia among preschool children in Chinese seven representative cities, and explore the possible risk factors of pneumonia on children, with a view to calling the world's attention to childhood pneumonia to reduce the prevalence of childhood pneumonia...

BACKGROUND: Food allergies are becoming more prevalent globally. The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of food allergies in Taiwan. METHODS: In 2017, a food allergy questionnaire was administered to 6-7-year-old children, 13-14-year-old adolescents, and their parents in Taipei. The results were compared to those from a previous survey conducted in 2004. RESULTS: A total of 16,200 questionnaires were completed, revealing a rise in the prevalence of food allergies from 7...

BACKGROUND: Few studies exist on environmental risk factors for respiratory infections in Thai school children. AIM: To study associations between home and outdoor environment and respiratory infections among school children in Northern Thailand in dry and wet season. METHODS: A repeated questionnaire survey among the children (N = 1159). Data on ambient temperature and relative air humidity (RH) and PM10 and ozone was collected from nearby monitoring stations...