This cross-sectional emergency department study of 70 wheezing children and 59 control subjects (2 mo to 16 yr of age) examined the prevalence of respiratory viruses and their relationship to age, atopic status, and eosinophil markers. Nasal washes were cultured for respiratory viruses, assayed for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antigen, and tested for coronavirus and rhinovirus RNA using reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). Also evaluated were eosinophil numbers and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in both nasal washes and serum, along with total IgE and specific IgE antibody in serum. Respiratory viruses were detected in 82% (18 of 22) of wheezing infants younger than 2 yr of age and in 83% (40 of 48) of older wheezing children. The predominant pathogens were RSV in infants (detected in 68% of wheezing subjects) and rhinovirus in older wheezing children (71%), and both were strongly associated with wheezing (p < 0.005). RSV was largely limited to wheezing children younger than 24 mo of age, but rhinovirus was detected by RT-PCR in 41% of all infants and in 35% of nonwheezing control subjects older than 2 yr of age. After 2 yr of age the strongest odds for wheezing were observed among those who had a positive RT-PCR test for rhinovirus together with a positive serum radioallergosorbent testing (RAST), nasal eosinophilia, or elevated nasal ECP (odds ratios = 17, 21, and 25, respectively). Results from this study demonstrate that a large majority of emergent wheezing illnesses during childhood (2 to 16 yr of age) can be linked to infection with rhinovirus, and that these wheezing attacks are most likely in those who have rhinovirus together with evidence of atopy or eosinophilic airway inflammation.

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A simple method for structuring natural oleosome emulsions by polymer-bridging mechanism is proposed. Polymer bridging of oleosome droplets was induced by the addition of two different adsorbing polymers. Over a range of polymer/oleosome ratios, the mixture results in the formation of a particle gel network of aggregated oleosome droplets. It is found that polymer bridging ability is heavily influenced by the strength of binding between polymer and oleosome surface where sodium alginate interacted stronger to oleosome surface than ι-carrageenan. These effects are associated with the different molecular architecture and physical differences between the two hydrocolloids. Alginate has a co-block arrangement of charged and uncharged units. The polymer promotes stronger adsorption to the oleosome surface, in contrast to ι-carrageenan, where the negative charges are distributed uniformly along its chain. The polymer bridging ability will influence the resulting microstructure and therefore rheological properties. Confocal scanning laser microscopy showed that the difference in microstructure is mainly in the extent of heterogeneity over different length scales where sodium alginate produced the most heterogeneous microstructures. Bridging-flocculated emulsions showed power-law scaling behavior of the storage modulus with the oleosome concentration which was explained using percolation theory.

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