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Shares rise as oil falls Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - The Dow Jones Industrial Average lifted 40.3 points, or 0.35%, to 11656.07, while the broader S&P500 rose 4.31 points, or 0.34%, to 1289.19. ...OTC:RTOLY - BBL - BHP Hong Kong shares end morning flat in cautious trade; SMIC up over ... 華富財經, Hong Kong - Jul 21, 2008 China banks were mixed, with ICBC up 0.01 hkd or 0.18 pct at 5.69, Bank of Communications down 0.07 hkd or 0.72 pct at 9.67, China Construction Bank up 0.04 ... Statins Linked To Lower Dementia Risk Medical News Today, UK - Jul 29, 2008 (Cox proportional hazard ratio = 0.52; 95 per cent confidence interval = 0.34 to 0.80). "Statin users were less likely to have incident dementia/cognitive ... Ethnicity and quality of antipsychotic prescribing among in ... British Journal of Psychiatry (subscription), UK - Jul 31, 2008 Median dose of antipsychotic (% of licensed dose) was 58.3% for White and 50.0% for Black patients (adjusted effect size=0.14, 95% CI ?0.34 to 0.63). ... Hong Kong shares close lower as credit-market worries persist ... 華富財經, Hong Kong - Jul 14, 2008 Gold miners were lifted by higher gold prices, with Zijin Mining up 0.34 hkd or 5.26 pct at 6.81, Lingbao Gold climbing 0.08 hkd or 2.54 pct at 3.23 and ...FNM - FRE Stocks May Open Higher on Smaller-Than-Expected Job Losses ... Trading Markets (press release), CA - Aug 1, 2008 The UK's FTSE 100 is currently declining by 0.34%. A report released by the German Federal Statistical Office showed that Germany's retail sales declined ... Japanese market ends lower on profit taking RTT News, NY - The Dow closed up 0.35%, the Nasdaq jumped 1.21% and the broader S&P 500 advanced 0.34%. Oil prices dropped Wednesday after the US inventory report showed a ... Thursday Morning Market: Easier trend as trading statements dominate CityWire.co.uk, UK - Jul 31, 2008 In Europe the CAC-40 in France opened 0.34% firmer and the German DAX was up eight points. HBOS bounced back 18p to 290p following smaller-than-expected ... Stocks decline as worries about financials persist The Associated Press - Jul 14, 2008 In midafternoon trading, the Dow fell 38.02, or 0.34 percent, to 11062.52 after spiking nearly 140 points in early trading. Worries over Fannie Mae and ...FNM - FRE Stocks higher after Bank of America results The Associated Press - Jul 21, 2008 The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 3.51, or 0.28 percent, to 1264.19; and the Nasdaq composite rose 7.67, or 0.34 percent, to 2290.45. ...BAC - YHOO

The Sweet Spring Challenge: Seasonal Allergies

The blessings of spring get mixed reviews from the estimated 35 million Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies. It's not easy to appreciate the miracles of nature through itchy eyes, runny nose, and uncontrollable sneezing. But what actually causes seasonal allergies? And which allergens are the worst offenders? Dr. Gillian Shepard is a clinical associate professor of medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Below, she talks about the arch nemesis of carefree springtime...the seasonal allergy. What are "seasonal allergies"?
People with seasonal allergies are allergic to something that's in the air for just part of the year. People are often allergic to the pollen of trees in the springtime, for example, and the allergy only occurs when the trees produce their flowers and pollen, which lasts for several weeks in most places.

Some very common seasonal allergies are triggered by tree pollen in the springtime, grass in the spring through summer and then ragweed and other weed pollens in the fall.

Which trees cause the worst seasonal allergies?
Almost any tree is capable of inducing allergic reaction if you're programmed that way. In different parts of the country, people will react to different trees depending on what's there. For example, on the east coast, it is very common to be allergic to birch, oak and maple tree pollen. If you go to the western states, you may find that the cottonwood, poplar, and aspen trees are much more of a problem. And of course the area where you live will determine when you have a problem. It takes from around February to the end of May for the tree pollen season to work its way up from Florida up through Maine. Allergy sufferers should be careful not to plan trips that take them in the direction of the tree pollen. How long is the season in the Northeast?
The Northeast is particularly afflicted by tree pollen. There is so much of it that the average person is familiar with the sight of cars covered with yellow pollen during late April and early May. When an allergic person will suffer depends on which tree they're allergic to. Some of them will pollinate in mid-April, and others will not pollinate until later, toward the end of May approaching Memorial Day.

Some very unlucky people that are sensitive to all these different tree pollens may have a tree pollen season in the Northeast that goes for six weeks. Others, if they're only sensitive to one type of pollen, might have symptoms only for three weeks during that time.

Do all seasonal allergies—grass, ragweed, tree pollen—do they all affect people the same way? The symptoms one gets from tree pollen allergy are exactly the same as grass, ragweed, even symptoms from dust mite or cat allergy. You breathe the allergy substance in and an allergic reaction ensues, giving you the stuffy nose, sneezing, itchy eyes and so on.

What factors influence day-to-day allergic reactions?
The environment is absolutely critical. First the obvious, there is a lot less pollen inside than outside, assuming that it is tree pollen in the springtime. But it's also important to remember that pollen can be sucked in through filter systems, so that if you have an air conditioning unit, you should change the filters frequently. You should obviously try and keep the windows closed so that there's less pollen inside than outside.

The environment also has a bearing in a lot of other ways. For example, it is now clear that if you live in an area where the ozone level is high, you will be more sensitive to the allergy substance. For example, if you are normally sensitive to 100 units of grass pollen and then the ozone level is high, it may take only 10 units of grass pollen to induce the same level of symptoms.

Another factor that influences when somebody reacts is if they have any sort of a viral infection, like the common cold. The inflammation that results from a cold, when your nose is all stuffy and congested, causes tiny little cracks in the lining of the nose and sometimes in the chest, and that may allow a pollen to get through the lining and encounter the allergy system on the other side of the protective lining of the nose, which may trigger an allergy reaction, or it may rev up an allergy reaction that's already occurring.

What causes oral allergy syndrome?
A lot of people don't realize that there are cross-reactions between plants such as tree pollen and other substances. For instance, in the case of birch tree pollen, there's a direct cross-reaction with various fruits, particularly apples and peaches. When someone has an allergy, the allergy system cannot distinguish between the pollen of birch trees and substances in apple and the peach, plum, cherry, nectarine family. So what happens is, somebody eats apple or a peach, and immediately it encounters the allergy system in the mouth. It induces a lot of itching and tingling in the mouth.

It only happens with the raw fruits, because when they are cooked, either by baking or by sterilization, you break down this allergy protein. So people who have the oral allergy syndrome, particularly to fruits and occasionally to some melons or also carrots and celery, very commonly have allergy to birch tree pollen.

And if you treat those patients with allergy shots to tree pollen, including birch tree pollen, this oral allergy syndrome settles down a great deal. The oral allergy syndrome is also much greater in May. If someone is breathing in a lot of the pollen of birch trees in May, then their immune system and their allergy system revs up at that time and it makes them much more sensitive to eating apples or peaches then.

That's just one example of cross-reactions between pollens and various other food substances. For example, patients who are allergic to ragweed pollen in the fall often will have a cross-reaction allergy to chamomile and may have problems drinking chamomile tea.

When should a person who has seasonal allergies see a doctor?
In most cases, the symptoms of springtime allergies are fairly straightforward; nasal, eye symptoms, and can be handled certainly by over-the-counter medications, or if not, very easily by prescription medications.

Anyone with seasonal allergies should consider seeing a doctor if they're worried about their symptoms, if they seem unusual or if they're not relieved by over-the-counter medications.