Occupational Dermatoses Among the Cashew Nut Workers in Karnataka

Seventy five female workers employed in the cashew nut industry in Karnataka to slice off the outer hard shells from the nuts and thus exposed to the chashew nut shell oil had a characteristic cauterization type of reaction manifesting as brownish-black, thickened sheets of dead skin covering the dorsal as well as the palmar aspects of hands including the fingers and feet. Smaller but similer lesions were also seen on these parts of the forearms, abdomen, neck and face which were not covered with clothes. The fingers were thinned and tapering and several nails of the hands and feet were thickened, discolored and eaten away. The other changes included loss of the dermatoglyphic patterns, maceration of the hands, small pits on the finger tips and pitted keratolysis seen in some cases only. Similar changes were also seen on the feet of both the male workers exposed to the same oil, in the section which extracts the oil from the sliced shells. In contrast 29, feamle wokers engaged to peel off the thin reddish covering on the cashew nut had normal hands and feet, except for the two callosities on the flexural aspect of the proximal phalanx of the right middle finger and proximal interphalangeal joint of the right index finger respectively, caused by the friction of the peeling knife. An open patch test with the cashew nut shell oil used as such in 17 workers produced a cauterization type of reaction in 32 workers irrespective of the nature of their duties, while the standard occluded patch test with 10% cashew nut shell oil in polyethylene glycol showed a mild cauterization type of reaction in only 6 workers. Patch tests with 1% and 0.1% concentrations of the shell oil were negative in all the workers. Two barrier creams tested to protect the workers from the cashew nut shell oil produced reasonably effective results within a week.

Allergenic agent in contact dermatitis from Holigarna ferruginea

9 of 10 patients who developed dermatitis following contact with Holigarna ferruginea and 5 of 35 asymptomatic volunteers showed a positive patch test reaction to 2% W/V acetone extract of the plant's resinous exudate. 6 albino rats were sensitized following 3 weekly applications of the same extract. Laccol (3-heptadecadienyl catechol) was identified as the active principle in the exudate.

Histiocytic lymphoma simulating lepromatous leprosy--a case report

Histiocytic lymphomas are known to begin with skin lesions and remain localised to the skin for months or years before visceral involvement becomes evident. We report a case of nodular histiocytic lymphoma with clinical features simulating lepromatous leprosy.

Metals Causing Contact Dermatitis in Varanasi

Contact dermatitis due to jewellery was studied in 22 cases. All the patients showed positive patch tests with at least one antigen. Nickel was the most common sensitizer followed in the order of frequency by copper, chromium, cobalt and silver. male Female to ratio was 1: 3.66. Wrist was affected in the majority.

An isoelectric focusing overlay study of the humoral immune response in Theiler's virus demyelinating disease

Oligoclonal immunoglobulin G (IgG) bands are a frequent feature of inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). In multiple sclerosis (MS), cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) oligoclonal IgG bands are a potential clue to the pathogenesis of the disease; however, their particular antigenic target is unknown. We sought to characterize the IgG response in an experimental CNS persistent demyelinating infection by isoelectric focusing (IEF) studies of serum and CSF from mice infected with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV). Following IEF, we used a new technique in order to identify TMEV-specific antibodies; focused immunoglobulins were blotted onto nitrocellulose paper which was then overlaid with radiolabeled virus. Autoradiograms showed that most of the TMEV antibody was locally synthesized within the CNS since CSF, but not serum, TMEV antibody had an anodal distribution. CSF IEF TMEV antibody spectrotypes were very similar, presumably because the CSFs were collected from the same inbred mouse strain. CSF TMEV antibody displayed less restricted heterogeneity than the very restricted cathodal CSF oligoclonal IgG bands seen in MS. The new IEF immunoblotting antigen overlay technique will be a powerful detection system to probe for the antigenic target against which MS CSF IgG may be directed.

On a probability distribution to study the open birth interval and its application

"A probability distribution for describing the variation in the length of open birth interval regardless of parity has been derived assuming that fecundability varies from female to female and the births are of two types, one which results [in] infant death and the other [which does] not. To get the estimates of the parameters, expressions for the first two moments have been derived. The model has been applied to the data taken from the survey 'Rural Development and Population Growth--A Sample Survey 1978,' conducted under the auspices of the Demographic Research Centre, Banaras Hindu University [India]."

Air-borne Contact Dermatitis in Varanasi

Forty-six patients suspected to have air borne contact dermatitis were tested with various plant antigens. Thirteen patients turned out to be sensitive to one or more antigens. The plant antigens, used for testing, were Parthenium hysterophorus, Lantana camara, Cynodon dactylon, Bougainvaled spectabills, calotropis procera, Argimone mexicana, Acacia arabica, Azadiracha indica, Eucalyptus rostrata, Saraka indica, triticum vulgare, Triticum aestivum, Dryopteris filix, Nerium indicum, Eclipta alba, Mangifera indica, Trianthema monogyna, Euphorbia hirta, Euphorbia thimifolia, Amaranthus spinosus, Amaranthus viridis, Carissa carands, Salvia plebia, Cyperus rotandus, Cassia occidentalis, Gynandropsis gynandra, Pennisetum typhoides, chenopodium album, Nicotana tobacum, Tagetes sp, Rosa indica, Cestrum nocturnum, Helianthus annus, Jasminum samlae, Thuja orientalis, Cajanus cajan, Hibiscus rosasinensis, Echinochloa cruss-galli, Phaseolus aureus, Ricinus communis and Alternantheria sessilis. The maximum positive reactions were elicited by Parthenium hysterophorus (30.0%) followed in the order of frequency by Amarnthus viridis (10.0%) Gynandropsis gynandra (10.0%) Pennisetum typhoides (10.0%), Nerium indicum (3.9%), Triticum vulgare (2.5%) and Dryopteris filix (2.5%). Rest of the plant antigens did not show any reaction. The male to female ratio was 5.5:1.

Contact Dermatitis of Hands

Contact dermatitis of the hands was studied in 70 patients showing exclusive involvement of the hands. They were patch tested with various antigens. Forty one patients showed positive patch tests to one or more antigens. Females showed a higher rate of positivity than males. Female to male ratio was 2. 72. Vegetables (68.8%) were the most common sensitizer followed by soaps and medicaments.

Births averted under family planning programme: a mathematical approach

"In this paper a probability model is proposed to describe the distribution of births to couples in first T years of marriage, when T is large and/or when couples use various methods of family planning. This model is derived on the assumption that conditional instantaneous risk of a conception, the incidence of foetal loss and the chance of attaining [sterility] following a child birth are functions of parity....The application of the model in evaluation of family planning programme changes in the child bearing pattern is illustrated."

A modification of a model for number of births and estimation of age specific fecundability and sterility

"This paper deals with derivation of models to describe the number of births to women during interval (O,T) of length T, when the start of the observation is marriage as well as when it is a distant point after marriage. These models are extensions of the models of Singh, et al., (1973) and of Sheps and Menken (1973) and can suitably be applied to data for short periods of observation as the parameters are assumed to be homogeneous in time. The methods to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters are outlined." The models are applied to data from a sample survey on rural development and population growth carried out by the Demographic Research Centre of Banaras Hindu University in 1978 in order to examine trends in fecundability and sterility by age of women.

The relationship between criminal conviction and interrogative suggestibility among delinquent boys

This study investigates the relationship between interrogative suggestibility, as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS), and number of previous convictions among 35 delinquent boys. The GSS measures two independent aspects of suggestibility. First, the extent to which subjects give in to suggestive questions. Second, the extent to which subjects give in to interpersonal pressure given in the form of critical feedback about test performance. The number of convictions were found to correlate negatively with the latter aspect of interrogative suggestibility, but not significantly with the former.

On a modification of life table technique for analysis of birth interval data and its application

"This paper presents some modifications [of] the usual life table technique to analyse the data on the time of first birth and inter live birth intervals which are compiled from the birth histories of females, of varying marital durations, enumerated in a retrospective survey." The fact that a female may not be exposed to the risk of conception following childbirth or marriage, because of postpartum amenorrhea or of customs involving visits to parents, is taken into account. A method to obtain maximum likelihood estimates of the conditional risk of conception is given, and an analysis of birth intervals is presented using this technique and data for India from the Rural Development and Population Growth--A Sample Survey 1978.

Bone growth during chronic aldrin intoxication in goats

Microscopic examination of the costochondral junction of goats after chronic aldrin intoxication revealed a drastic reduction in the width of proliferating, maturing and degenerating cartilage cells. The zone of provisional calcification was almost negligible in aldrin treated animals. In contrast, the control animals showed an orderly sequence of endochondral bone formation. Appositional bone growth studied by the tetracycline labelling technique also showed a marked reduction following chronic aldrin intake. It was concluded that decrease in the rate of appositional bone growth at endosteal periosteal and osteonic surfaces might be due to poor synthesis of bone matrix by the osteoblasts.