[Contact allergy for corticosteroids].

Contact allergy to corticosteroids is not rare. In some studies prevalence rates up to 6% have been observed among patients suspected of allergic contact dermatitis. Hypersensitivity occurs especially in individuals who have been suffering for years from atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis of the hands and feet, or stasis dermatitis caused by chronic venous insufficiency.

Cranial irradiation is the major cause of learning problems in children treated for leukemia and lymphoma: a comparative study.

Prophylactic treatment of the central nervous system (CNS) in childhood leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has negative effects on intelligence. We investigated the clinical significance of this finding by comparing the effect of different types of CNS prophylaxis on the survivor's learning capabilities. To isolate the effect of different types of CNS prophylaxis from other treatment and disease variables on learning problems, children treated for leukemia or NHL who received CNS prophylaxis with cranial irradiation (n = 30) or without cranial irradiation (n = 36) were compared with children treated for solid tumors who received systemic chemotherapy without any CNS treatment (n = 30) and with matched healthy controls (n = 265).

An interactive Web site providing major histocompatibility ligand predictions: application to HIV research.

EpiMatrix/HIV, a tool that is currently available on the World Wide Web, enables researchers to screen HIV proteins for potential MHC ligands. We have performed a comparison of EpiMatrix predictions to 158 published allotype-specific HLA-associated peptides (MHC ligands) derived from 133 proteins. The top 10 ranked EpiMatrix predictions for each of the 158 HLA allotype-protein pairs were selected for comparison with these published ligands.

[Contact allergy for perfume ingredients in cosmetics and toilet articles].

Fragrance materials are not only present in products primarily used for their scent such as perfume, eau de toilette, deodorant and aftershave, but also in cosmetics, toiletries, household products and industrial materials. Of the general population, approximately one percent are allergic to fragrance materials, men nearly as frequent as women. Of patients consulting the dermatologist because of dermatitis, 6-11% have a positive patch test to the fragrance mix.

Adverse reactions to fragrances. A clinical review.

This article reviews side-effects of fragrance materials present in cosmetics with emphasis on clinical aspects: epidemiology, types of adverse reactions, clinical picture, diagnostic procedures, and the sensitizers. Considering the ubiquitous occurrence of fragrance materials, the risk of side-effects is small. In absolute numbers, however, fragrance allergy is common, affecting approximately 1% of the general population.

Determination of N7- and O6-methylguanine in rat liver DNA after oral exposure to hydrazine by use of immunochemical and electrochemical detection methods.

Hydrazine belongs to a group of compounds for which there is evidence that the in vivo genotoxic effects become manifest only upon exposure to toxic dose levels. The present study was performed to investigate whether this phenomenon is also reflected in the pattern of DNA methylation. The induction of N7- and O6-methylguanine (MeGua) was studied in liver DNA of rats, 16 hr after treatment with various doses of hydrazine.

Methyldibromoglutaronitrile (Euxyl K 400): an important "new" allergen in cosmetics.

Euxyl K 400 is a preservative system for cosmetics and toiletries that contains phenoxyethanol and methyldibromoglutaronitrile in a 4:1 ratio. In The Netherlands, Italy, and Germany, the prevalence of allergy to Euxyl K 400 has risen in the past 4 years and is currently 2% to 4% in patients suspected of having contact dermatitis. The allergenic ingredient is nearly always methyldibromoglutaronitrile.

Cross-cultural generalizability of the Youth Self-Report and Teacher's Report Form cross-informant syndromes.

Exploratory factor analyses on 569 Youth Self-Reports and 1,221 Teacher's Report Forms of clinically referred Dutch children revealed six and eight factors respectively, very similar to the eight YSR and TRF cross-informant syndromes derived by Achenbach (1991c, 1991d). Mean cross-cultural correlations were .89 for YSR syndromes and .

The role of oral (methyl)ergometrine in the prevention of postpartum haemorrhage.

Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is one of the most important causes of maternal mortality in developing countries. A consensus was reached on active management of the third stage of labour for all parturients especially for those for whom the access to hospital services is difficult or time-consuming. Oral (methyl)ergometrine was considered to be a possible alternative prophylactic oxytocic, that was easy to administer and suitable to be used in developing countries.

Induction of hprt gene mutations in splenic T-lymphocytes from the rat exposed in vivo to DNA methylating agents is correlated with formation of O6-methylguanine in bone marrow and not in the spleen.

The suitability of splenic T-lymphocytes as a substitute tissue for detection of genotoxic effects induced in vivo by chemical agents that are organ-specifically activated was tested in rats exposed to single doses at the potent lung-carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), acetoxymethylmethylnitrosamine (AMMN) or N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). NNK, AMMN and MNU methylate DNA most likely via the formation of a methanediazohydroxide ion that decomposes to a methyl diazonium ion. For all three agents, an increase in the levels of 06-methylguanine and 7-methylguanine in DNA of rat liver and lung was detected by reverse phase HPLC and electrochemical detection.

Phonologic mediation is fundamental to reading: evidence from beginning readers.

Three tasks were employed to investigate the role of assembled phonology in beginning readers. In two proofreading tasks, children had more trouble finding pseudohomophone misspellings (stimuli with phonology identical to that of a word) than control misspellings (stimuli that do not share their phonology with a word). In a lexical-decision task, they had more trouble deciding that pseudohomophone misspellings were non-words than deciding that control misspellings were non-words.

Phenylglycidyl ether adducts of 2'-deoxycytidine and 2'-deoxyadenosine: Stability in solution and structure analysis by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

The adducts of phenylglycidyl ether with 2'-deoxyadenosine (dAdo) and 2'-deoxycytidine (dCyd) exhibit structural modifications. The N-1 adduct of dAdo underwent rearrangement to the N-6 adduct; the N-3 adduct of dCyd was deaminated to the corresponding 2'-deoxyuridine adduct. These structural modifications were studied by using liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, and kinetic data for both reactions are presented.

Relative and Absolute Configuration of Allohedycaryol. Enantiospecific Total Synthesis of Its Enantiomer.

The enantiomer of (+)-allohedycaryol, a germacrane alcohol isolated from giant fennel (Ferula communis L.), has been synthesized, thereby elucidating the relative and absolute stereochemistry of the natural product. The synthesis of (-)-allohedycaryol started from (+)-alpha-cyperone (5) which was available in relatively large quantities via alkylation of imine 7 derived from (+)-dihydrocarvone and (R)-(+)-1-phenylethylamine.

Prediction of HIV peptide epitopes by a novel algorithm.

Identification of promiscuous or multideterminant T cell epitopes is essential for HIV vaccine development, however, current methods for T cell epitope identification are both cost intensive and labor intensive. We have developed a computer-driven algorithm, named EpiMer, which searches protein amino acid sequences for putative MHC class I- and/or class II-restricted T cell epitopes. This algorithm identifies peptides that contain multiple MHC-binding motifs from protein sequences.

Survey of the management of third stage of labour in The Netherlands.

Unlabelled: The standard practice during the third stage of labour of Dutch midwives and obstetricians was elucidated by a questionnaire mailed to all Dutch midwives and obstetricians. Prophylactic oxytocics in the third stage are used as a routine by 55% of the obstetricians and only 10% of the midwives. Oxytocin is the drug of first choice.

A placebo-controlled trial of oral ergometrine to reduce postpartum hemorrhage.

Background: Active management with oral ergometrine 0.4 mg was compared with expectant management for the control of blood loss in the third stage of labor in women at low risk of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).

Methods: A three-arms randomized trial in which 0.

Characterization of type II protein secretion (xcp) genes in the plant growth-stimulating Pseudomonas putida, strain WCS358.

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the products of the xcp genes are required for the secretion of exoproteins across the outer membrane. Despite structural conservation of the Xcp components, secretion of exoproteins via the Xcp pathway is generally not found in heterologous organisms. To study the specificity of this protein secretion pathway, the xcp genes of another fluorescent pseudomonad, the plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas putida strain WCS358, were cloned and characterized.