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Airborne insect particles have been identified as an important cause of respiratory allergies, including allergic asthma and rhinitis. In the literature, the significance of respiratory exposure to insect particles as a cause of occupational allergy has been well-documented. Indeed, many cases of occupational allergy have been reported including allergy to the larvae of flies and moths in anglers and occupationally exposed workers, to grain pests in bakers or other workers handling grains, and to crickets and/or locusts in researchers and workers in aquaculture companies. Furthermore, the prevalence of sensitization to insect allergens is considerably high among patients with asthma and/or rhinitis who are not occupationally exposed to insects, suggesting the clinical relevance of exposure to insects in indoor and outdoor environmental non-occupational settings. Exposure to cockroaches, a well-studied indoor insect, is associated with cockroach sensitization and the development and exacerbation of asthma. Booklice, another common indoor insect, were recently identified as a significant sensitizer of asthmatic patients in Japan and India, and potentially of asthma patients living in warm and humid climates around the world. Lip b 1 was identified as an allergenic protein contributing to the species-specific sensitization to booklice. Moths are considered a significant seasonal outdoor allergen and their allergens are considered to have the highest sensitization rate among Japanese patients. However, other than cockroaches, allergenic insect proteins contributing to sensitization have not been fully characterized to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data collected with the 217-detector air shower array and the 560 m2 area tracking muon detector, being operated at Ooty in southern India by the India-Japan (Tata Institute-Osaka City University) collaboration, GRAPES, have been analyzed to study the shape of the energy spectrum and the composition around the knee. It is shown that the muon multiplicity distribution, observed with the highly modular muon detector, permits a relatively reliable measurement on the composition of primary flux which then helps in a more accurate reconstruction of the energy spectrum from the observed shower size spectrum. The highlights of the GRAPES array, the analysis procedure and the results are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a nested multinomial logit model (NMNL), this paper estimates the choice probabilities and demand elasticities of various modal alternatives for Mumbai using 1990 trip origination and destination data. The results indicate that with an increase in the cost of private transit system, market share is reduced. The result of this experiment is highly elastic private commuting mode demand. In addition, reduction in the market share of own vehicles is larger than that of hired vehicles. The increase in the cost of mass transit system reduces its share but is inelastic. Decrease in the market share of one mode is accompanied by increase in the market share of others. Income has a positive effect on the market share of private transit modes, particularly on the own vehicles' share. Other explanatory variables such as distance have a negative effect on mass transit system and duration has a negative elasticity for all modes of transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The GRAPES-3 extensive air shower (EAS) array started operation with 256 scintillator detectors at Ooty in India. Each detector is viewed by a fast photomultiplier tube (PMT) mounted at a height of 60cm above the scintillator. However, for further expansion of the array, an alternative readout of the scintillator using wave-length shifting (WLS) fibers is employed. This resulted in improved performance with a larger photon signal and a more uniform response. With the inclusion of a second PMT, the dynamic range for particle detection has been increased to ∼5×103 particles m−2. We now use plastic scintillators, developed in-house to cut costs. The measurement of the density spectrum, shows a power law dependence with an index γ =1.57±0.04. Using the zenith angle dependence of the density spectrum, an attenuation length Λ a =98–106gcm−2 for the EAS is obtained. These measurements are found to be consistent with the results reported earlier by other groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Visceral leishmaniasis is a chronic infectious disease caused by a protozoan parasite of the genus Leishmania, characterized by intermittent fever, monocytosis, hepatosplenomegaly and hypergammaglobulinemia. This morbid condition is rather difficult to diagnose correctly, especially at its early stage, because it is rarely encountered in Japan. Recently we treated a case of visceral leishmaniasis in which the patient was misdiagnosed as malignant lymphoma, and went through splenectomy and steroid administration, which made the diagnosis more difficult.