[ALLERGIC CONTACT DERMATITIS DUE TO NITRILE RUBBER GLOVES: ETHYL ISOTHIOCYANATE AND BUTYL ISOTHIOCYANATE AS POSSIBLE CAUSATIVE CHEMICALS].

BACKGROUND: The causative chemicals responsible for nitrile rubber glove-induced allergic contact dermatitis have not been fully elucidated. SUBJECT: This case involved a 36-year-old female, who developed an erythematous rash on her hands after one and a half months of wearing nitrile rubber gloves at her workplace. METHODS: Patch tests were performed using the gloves as is, and the Japanese standard allergen 2008 and their components. The gloves were chemically analyzed and several detected substances were subjected to further patch testing. RESULTS: The patient exhibited positive patch test reactions to nitrile rubber gloves as is, as well as to the dithiocarbamate mix and thiuram mix in the Japanese standard allergen 2008. Further patch testing revealed positive reactions to zinc diethyldithiocarbamate (ZDEC) and tetraethylthiuram disulfide (TETD) and weak positive reactions to zinc dimethyldithiocarbamate (ZDMC) and tetramethylthiuram monosulfide (TMTM). Chemical analysis revealed that ethyl isothiocyanate (EITC) and butyl isothiocyanate (BITC), which might have been produced from dithiocarbamate-type accelerators (DTCs) or thiuram-type accelerators (thiurams) during the vulcanization process, were present in the nitrile rubber gloves the patient used at her workplace, as was ZDBC. No other DTCs or thiurams were detected. Patch testing of the detected materials produced positive reactions to EITC and BITC, but not to ZDBC. CONCLUSION: We diagnosed the patient with allergic contact dermatitis due to the EITC and BITC present in nitrile rubber gloves, and considered that alkyl isothiocyanate might also have played a causative role. We propose that nitrile rubber gloves should be produced without using vulcanization accelerators.

A Helicobacter pylori screening and treatment program to eliminate gastric cancer among junior high school students in Saga Prefecture: a preliminary report.

BACKGROUND: To present the strategies and preliminary findings of the first 3 years after implementing a Helicobacter pylori screening and eradication program to prevent gastric cancer in Saga Prefecture. METHODS: A screening and treatment program to eradicate H. pylori from third-grade junior high students was started in Saga Prefecture in 2016, using local governmental grants. Screening was with urinary anti-H. pylori antibody tests, followed by H. pylori stool antigen tests for students who were antibody positive. Those positive on both tests underwent H. pylori eradication by triple therapy based on a potassium-competitive acid blocker. RESULTS: From 2016 to 2018, the participation rate was 83.1% and the H. pylori infection rate was 3.1% (660/21,042). The participation rates were higher in 2017 (85.4%) and 2018 (85.9%) compared with 2016 (78.5%) (P < 0.0001), and the infection rate also decreased in a time-dependent manner (2016: 3.6%, 2017: 3.3%, 2018: 2.5%, P = 0.0001). In total, 501 students positive for H. pylori received eradication therapy (85.1% success) and adverse events occurred in 20 of these (4.0%). However, no serious complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS: The H. pylori screening and eradication project for school students in Saga Prefecture has started successfully and we have seen both a steady increase in the participation rate and a steady decrease in the infection rate, without major safety concerns.

An extracellular [NiFe] hydrogenase mediating iron corrosion is encoded in a genetically unstable genomic island in Methanococcus maripaludis.

Certain methanogens deteriorate steel surfaces through a process called microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). However, the mechanisms of MIC, whereby methanogens oxidize zerovalent iron (Fe0), are largely unknown. In this study, Fe0-corroding Methanococcus maripaludis strain OS7 and its derivative (strain OS7mut1) defective in Fe0-corroding activity were isolated. Genomic analysis of these strains demonstrated that the strain OS7mut1 contained a 12-kb chromosomal deletion. The deleted region, termed "MIC island", encoded the genes for the large and small subunits of a [NiFe] hydrogenase, the TatA/TatC genes necessary for the secretion of the [NiFe] hydrogenase, and a gene for the hydrogenase maturation protease. Thus, the [NiFe] hydrogenase may be secreted outside the cytoplasmic membrane, where the [NiFe] hydrogenase can make direct contact with Fe0, and oxidize it, generating hydrogen gas: Fe0 + 2 H+ → Fe2+ + H2. Comparative analysis of extracellular and intracellular proteomes of strain OS7 supported this hypothesis. The identification of the MIC genes enables the development of molecular tools to monitor epidemiology, and to perform surveillance and risk assessment of MIC-inducing M. maripaludis.

Contact urticaria caused by a fluorescent dye.

A 28-year-old man developed urticaria while he was working in the garage. We suspected contact urticaria, which can be caused by some products used in his field, and we carried out a prick test using his work gloves and shoes. His gloves were orange and black in colour, his shoes were black and white in colour, and the materials they were made of were unknown. The results of the prick test using the gloves and shoes were positive. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was applied, and a fluorescent dye was found to be present in his gloves and shoes. The results of a prick test using the fluorescent dye were positive. His urticaria improved after he stopped using these gloves and shoes. This was a rare case of contact urticaria caused by a fluorescent dye in clothing.

Proteome analysis of an aerobic hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon, Aeropyrum pernix K1.

We analyzed the proteome of a crenararchaeon, Aeropyrum pernix K1, by using the following four methods: (i) two-dimensional PAGE followed by MALDI-TOF MS, (ii) one-dimensional SDS-PAGE in combination with two-dimensional LC-MS/MS, (iii) multidimensional LC-MS/MS, and (iv) two-dimensional PAGE followed by amino-terminal amino acid sequencing. These methods were found to be complementary to each other, and biases in the data obtained in one method could largely be compensated by the data obtained in the other methods. Consequently a total of 704 proteins were successfully identified, 134 of which were unique to A. pernix K1, and 19 were not described previously in the genomic annotation. We found that the original annotation of the genomic data of this archaeon was not adequate in particular with respect to proteins of 10-20 kDa in size, many of which were described as hypothetical. Furthermore the amino-terminal amino acid sequence analysis indicated that surprisingly the translation of 52% of their genes starts with TTG in contrast to ATG (28%) and GTG (20%). Thus, A. pernix K1 is the first example of an organism in which TTG is the most predominant translational initiation codon.