Contact Urticaria to Nickel: A Series of 11 Patients Who Were Prick Test Positive and Patch Test Negative to Nickel Sulfate 2.5% and 5.0.

BACKGROUND: Nickel is the most common allergen found by patch testing; however, not all cases of nickel allergy are type 4 (delayed) allergies. Contact urticaria (CU) to nickel (immediate reaction) has been reported; however, few seem to evaluate it as per a recent published survey of American Contact Dermatitis Society members. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to present a series of patients who had clinical histories suggestive of nickel allergy and yet were patch test negative but prick test positive to nickel, thus demonstrating CU. METHODS: We reviewed the charts of 11 patients who were patch test negative but prick test positive. RESULTS: All 11 patients demonstrated evidence of CU by prick testing (or closed chamber test in 1). None were patch test positive to nickel 2.5% or 5.0%. Four patients' histories mentioned reactions to various jewelry/earrings within minutes, whereas 2 histories mentioned reacting within a few hours. These histories are consistent with CU. Others (except 1 patient) recalled reacting to jewelry/earrings but did not recall a time frame. CONCLUSIONS: Our series suggests that CU to nickel may be far more common than anticipated and should be evaluated with prick testing when patients' history suggests nickel allergy and yet they are patch test negative.

Tracking changes and preventing loss in critical tiger habitat.

The global population of wild tigers remains dangerously low at fewer than 3500 individuals. Habitat loss, along with poaching, can undermine the international target recovery of doubling the number of wild tigers by 2022. Using a new satellite-based monitoring system, we analyzed 14 years of forest loss data within the 76 landscapes (ranging from 278 to 269,983 km(2)) that have been prioritized for conservation of wild tigers. Our analysis provides an update of the status of tiger habitat and describes new applications of technology to detect precisely where forest loss is occurring in order to curb future habitat loss. Across the 76 landscapes, forest loss was far less than anticipated (79,597 ± 22,629 km(2), 7.7% of remaining habitat) over the 14-year study period (2001-2014). Habitat loss was unevenly distributed within a subset of 29 landscapes deemed most critical for doubling wild tiger populations: 19 showed little change (1.5%), whereas 10 accounted for more than 98% (57,392 ± 16,316 km(2)) of habitat loss. Habitat loss in source population sites within 76 landscapes ranged from no loss to 435 ± 124 km(2) ([Formula: see text], SD = 89, total = 1676 ± 476 km(2)). Doubling the tiger population by 2022 requires moving beyond tracking annual changes in habitat. We highlight near-real-time forest monitoring technologies that provide alerts of forest loss at relevant spatial and temporal scales to prevent further erosion.

Interactions of Lactobacilli with pathogenic Streptococcus pyogenes.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether (1) a decreased concentration of Lactobacilli allows S. pyogenes to grow; (2) S. pyogenes is able to grow in the presence of healthy Lactobacillus concentrations; (3) S. pyogenes is capable of inhibiting Lactobacilli. METHODS: One hundred fifty patient samples of S. pyogenes were mixed with four different concentrations of L. crispatus and L. jensenii. Colony counts and pH measurements were taken from these concentrations and compared using t-tests and ANOVA statistical analyses. RESULTS: Statistical tests showed no significant difference between the colony counts of S. pyogenes by itself and growth when mixed with Lactobacilli, and no significant difference between the colony counts of S. pyogenes in the four different concentrations of Lactobacilli. CONCLUSION: The statistical data representing the growth of these two organisms suggests that Lactobacilli did not inhibit the growth of S. pyogenes. Also, S. pyogenes did not inhibit the growth of Lactobacilli.