[Mycotoxins and "yellow rain"]. / Mikotoksini i "zuta kisa".

A review is given of mycotoxins with a brief history of the role of these natural poisons in human pathology. Contributions of Croatian scientists to the field of research in mycotocixology are recorded. Opposite views and arguments are presented considering the technical possibilities and ethical responsibilities for abuse of mycotoxins as a war weapon especially with regard to their alleged use in the recent chemical warfare in the Middle and Far East. "Yellow Rain" is described as a natural phenomenon.

[Analysis of patulin in apple juice]. / Analiza patulina u jabucnom soku.

A quantitative method for the determination of patulin in apple juice was examined. The procedure involved patulin extraction from apple juice with ethyl acetate, clean-up with column chromatography and preparative thin-layer chromatography. Fluorescent derivatives, obtained by exposure of patulin on chromatographic plates to concentrated ammonia fumes, permitted a convenient quantitative fluorodensitometric assay of patulin by means of the fluorescence quenching method. The detection limits were 200 ng of pure patulin and 100 micrograms of patulin per litre of apple juice. The recoveries of added patulin ranged from 78 to 110.4 percent, with a mean recovery of 97.8 percent.

[Bronchogenic carcinoma of the lungs in 3 workers with asbestosis employed in the same factory]. / Bronhogeni karcinom pluca u tri radnika s azbestozom iz iste tvornice.

In two female workers (nonsmokers) and in one male worker (a smoker) employed in the same mill with a history of asbestosis, bronchogenic lung carcinoma type adenocarcinoma (women), respectively anaplastic carcinoma (a man) had developed. All the three patients worked in the same area in a spinning-mill. The duration of exposure to asbestos was relatively short (10 to 15 years) in female workers, while the duration of exposure to asbestos was much longer in a male worker (29 years), although it was intermittent. Dyspnea was the main and the only discomfort. In accordance with the International Labour Organization (ILO) classification, a chest radiograph revealed the lesions of s/t 1/2 and s/t 2/1 features. There was also a ventilation deficit (very decreased carbon monoxide diffusing capacity).