Occupational dermatosis due to a soil fumigant

D-D mixture is a preplant soil fumigant. It contains dichloropropanes and dichloropropenes, epichlorohydrin and is known as a primary irritant. Three cases of untoward reaction to D-D are reported. By patch testing, the existence of a contact allergic sensitivity to D-D could be proved in one patient. The other two cases reacted negatively; they were probably of a primary irritant origin. Patch tests with compounds related to D-D suggest that the cause of contact allergy must be sought in the propene(s) fraction of D-D. In future cases of untoward reactions to D-D, patch testing appears to be necessary in order to differentiate between a contact allergic and a primary irritant reaction.     

Inhibitory effect of 8-methoxysporalen plus UVA (PUVA) on the systemic induction of contact sensitivity to dinitrochlorbenzene (DNCB) in guinea pigs

Summary To investigate the influence of 8-MOP and UVA on the induction of cell-mediated immunity, guinea pigs, sensitized with a single injection of dinitrofluorbenzene (DNFB) in Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) in all footpads and the nuchal skin, were treated with 8-MOP, UVA, or 8-MOP+ UVA on days 0, 2, and 5 and tested with dinitrochlorbenzene (DNCB) on day 14 after sensitization. Two control groups, exposed in a covered condition to the PUVA 4000 lamp, to observe the heat effect, showed a slightly enhanced contact sensitivity in comparison to the only sensitized control group. No altered reactivity was observed after irradiation with longwave UV light alone, whereas a statistically significant enhanced resp. reduced contact sensitivity was obtained after the treatment with 8-MOP alone and the combined action of 8-MOP +UVA, respectively.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. P. Laugier, Chairman of the Department of Dermatology, University of Geneva, Switzerland, on the occasion of his 70th anniversary     

Common artifacts in ultrasound scanning

Numerous artifacts can occur during contact B scanning of the abdomen. These artifacts may give anatomically inaccurate scans and thus lead the interpreter into making an inaccurate diagnosis. This paper describes and illustrates artifacts resulting from improper scanning techniques, improperly set gain levels, motion related organ distortion, and acoustic reverberations.     

Is there a retinopetal system in the rat?

Summary The centrifugal innervation of the retina was reinvestigated in albino and pigmented rats with intraocular injections of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), radioactive wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and proline. No labeled cells were found in the brains injected with HRP and proline, except some eye muscle motoneurons in one case apparently involving orbital contamination from the injection. In the cases injected with WGA and having a survival time of at least two days cells were labeled in the lateral mesencephalic tegmentum, ventral to the parabigeminal nucleus and in the periaqueductal gray. Both these findings are most likely due to transneuronal anterograde-retrograde transport of the tracer through the superior colliculus. The results yielded no compelling evidence for the existence of a direct retinopetal pathway in the rat, which is in contrast to a recently claimed retinal projection originating from the pretectum. Special attention was paid to the labeling in the lateral mesencephalic tegmentum, an area giving rise to retinal projections in various submammalian species. This finding is discussed with regard to the possibility that also in the rat the lateral tegmentum exerts an early influence on visual input, but at the higher collicular level and not at the original retinal one.Supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants no. 3.433.78, 3.505.79 and 3.580.79), the EMDO-Stiftung and the Dr. Eric Slack-Gyr-Stiftung in Zürich     

Real-time color B-scan ultrasonography

The development and early clinical results of a real-time color B-scan ultrasonoscope are described. This instrument uses color to display detailed echo amplitude information more quantitatively than is possible with gray scale. With real time, dynamic changes are seen during the examination. Conversion of the amplitude information into binary coded decimal code permits separation into ten color steps and also eliminates “blooming” of the cathode ray tube, as seen in black and white. Integrated circuitry is used, providing a portable, relatively inexpensive unit. Early clinical work in ophthalmology is illustrated.     

Immunohistochemical studies on NAP-1/IL-8 in contact eczema and atopic dermatitis

Summary The neutrophil activating peptide NAP-1/IL-8 has in the past been shown to be secreted by diverse cell-types involved in inflammatory processes. Furthermore, potent biological effects on both neutrophilic granulocytes and lymphocytes enforce its role in inflammation. Recently, immunohistochemical studies using monoclonal anti-NAP-1/IL-8 antibodies have been performed on dermal inflammatory conditions like psoriasis vulgaris. These have demonstrated epidermal IL-8 immunoreactivity in a pattern inversely related to the degree of inflammatory infiltration. Based on these results, in the present study biopsies from patients with contact eczema as well as atopic dermatitis were examined. The same patterns of immunoreactivity were found with either homogenous epidermal staining, focally negative staining or overall decreased or even absent staining. As in psoriasis, these patterns were related to the degree of inflammatory infiltration. These results prove NAP-1/IL-8 to be involved not only in psoriasis vulgaris, but more likely to be a marker of different inflammatory processes. Future work will have to examine the kinetics as well as stimuli causing these effect.     

Biology in vitro of corneal epithelium and endothelium

Four main areas were explored: 1) the proper medium for culturing corneal tissue; 2) the effect of serum on tissue growth in vitro; 3) the interrelationships in vitro between corneal epithelium and endothelium; and 4) the biology of cultures of whole corneas (organ cultures). Modified Eagle's minimal essential medium (MEM) proved to be an excellent culture fluid. Corneal tissue could be grown in MEM without serum or clot, thus providing a defined culture medium. The biology in vitro of outgrowths of multilayered corneal epithelium and monolayered corneal endothelium are discussed. Contact inhibition between epithelium and endothelium is demonstrated in whole corneal (organ) cultures.From the Laboratory of Ophthalmic Pathology, Scheie Eye Institute, and the Departments of Ophthalmology and Pathology, University of Pennsylvania Medical School.This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Training Grant T01-EV-0070-03 from the National Eye Institute.Candidate's thesis for membership in the American Ophthalmological Society, Accepted by the Committee on Thesis May 1975.     

Descending projections of the locus coeruleus and subcoeruleus/medial parabrachial nuclei in monkey: Axonal transport studies and dopamine-β-hydroxylase immunocytochemistry

Spinal projections originating in the dorsolateral pons in the ventral locus coeruleus and in the subcoeruleus and medial parabrachial nuclei were identified in monkeys (Macaco fascicularis) using the retrograde horseradish peroxidase tracing technique. Anterograde autoradiographic tracing studies were then carried out to determine the brain stem and spinal cord terminations of the neurons. Finally, results obtained with the axonal transport tracing methods were compared with the pattern of staining for noradrenergic cells and terminals revealed immunocytochemically with an antibody to dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DβH), the synthesizing enzyme for norepinephrine. The major findings of these studies are that two presumed noradrenergic cell groups of the dorsolateral pons, one corresponding to the nucleus locus coeruleus, the second to the subcoeruleus/medial parabrachial nuclei, give rise to descending project-ions. They differ significantly in their patterns of termination in the lower brain stem and spinal cord. Among the major terminations of the locus coeruleus pathway are projections to parasympathetic neurons of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, the region of the nucleus ambiguus, and the sacral spinal cord. The terminations of the descending subcoeruleus/medial parabrachial pathway, in contrast, include project-ions to sympathetic preganglionic neurons of the intermediolateral cell column of the thoracic cord and heavier projections to somatic cranial nerve nuclei. Both pathways have additional widespread and bilateral terminations in various nuclei of the reticular formation, in the spinal dorsal horn (including the marginal zone), in the region around the central canal and in the ventral spinal gray matter. Since the origins and terminations of both these pathways correspond closely to the locations and patterns of terminations of noradrenaline-containing neurons, demonstrated here with DβH immunocytochemistry, norepinephrine (or epinephrine) is suggested to be the transmitter in both these descending systems.