Connecticut Poison Control Center . 2004 and 2005 Bi-Annual Report on Poisoning in Connecticut

For the past 49 years, the Connecticut Poison Control Center (CTPCC) based at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC), has managed human exposures and poisonings throughout the state and continues to serve as a toxicologic center of excellence. A human exposure may be defined as contact by skin, eye, mouth or inhalation to any substance: animal, mineral or vegetable, including: bites, commercial products, chemicals, drugs, natural remedies and plants among others. A poisoning is any injury to the body resulting from an exposure. Toxicology is the scientific study of the adverse effects of any substance on the body.

Determinación de la actividad de la óxido nítrico sintetasa endotelial y del factor NF-kB, en la piel del paciente con pseudoangiomatosis eruptiva : informe preliminar

La pseudoangiomatosis eruptiva se caracteriza por la aparición brusca de múltiples pápulas eritematosas, asintomáticas, rodeadas de un halo blanquecino, con remisión espontánea. Histológicamente se observa dilatación vascular con escaso infiltrado inflamatorio. Su etiología permanece incierta a pesar de ser relacionada con virus o picaduras de insectos. Basados en el compromiso vascular, el objetivo del trabajo fue investigar la actividad de la enzima endotelial oxido nítrico sintetasa (eNOS) y la expresión del factor NF-kB por inmunohistoquimica en un intento de esclarecer su patogenia. Material y métodos: Se estudiaron diez pacientes con diagnóstico clínico de pseudoangiomatosis eruptiva (PAE) que presentaron la dermatosis en forma epidémica. Se realizaron biopsias teñidas con Hematoxilina-Eosina y Tricrómico de Masson. Se efectuó estudio virológico de los pacientes Nª 4, 9 y 10 mediante determinaciones serológicas para echovirus, enterovirus, citomegalovirus, parvovirus B19 y hepatitis A, B y C. En cinco pacientes se obtuvo material para determinación de eNOS y NF-kB. Resultados: Todos los pacientes, 5 hombres y 5 mujeres presentaron pápulas eritematosas rodeadas por un halo blanquecino, especialmente en las extremidades, alrededor de las rodillas. Histológicamente mostraron vasos dilatados y células endoteliales prominentes con un infiltrado discreto perivascular. Todos los estudios serológicos fueron negativos. La actividad de eNOS fue significativamente menor comparada con la piel normal (p= 0,002) y la expresión de NF- ĸB fue fuertemente positiva en los vasos de la dermis papilar y reticular. Conclusiones: Todos los pacientes fueron afectados en verano, por lo que la picadura del mosquito debe ser considerada como un factor etiológico. La baja expresión de eNOS está relacionada con la vasodilatación y la expresión aumentada de NF-ĸB confirma que el proceso es de tipo inflamatorio.

Duraznos O'Henry : impacto económico por pérdidas de calidad

El durazno O'Henry para consumo en fresco es una variedades apta para la exportación. Consecuentemente se propone un método sencillo para determinar las pérdidas de calidad que impiden obtener mejores precios en los mercados.. Las mismas se relacionan con una mala gestión en todos los niveles: producción, empaque y comercialización, y la deficiente capacitación del personal involucrado. En la temporada 1999/2000 el granizo fue la causa más frecuente en precosecha; sus marcas explican el 70 % de los frutos con falta de calidad. En cambio, el principal factor en cosecha fueron las picaduras de grafolita, dando 80 % de frutos sin calidad exportable. En galpón de empaque, el mal manejo poscosecha -revelado en machucones, marcas de uñas y rajaduras- originó el 30 % de las causas de no calidad; si se le agregan las picaduras de grafolita, el porcentaje se aproxima al 60 %. Ambas causas pueden minimizarse con buena planificación y capacitación. Con simulación económica se detectó -en la precitada temporada- 20 % de pérdida de calidad de una partida lo cual motiva una disminución superior al 13 % en los ingresos. Esta diferencia depende no sólo del peso relativo de las distintas calidades sino también del precio pactado.

Chemistry of sulfide deposits from ODP Site 106-649

In Snake Pit massive sulfide fragments and friable, unconsolidated material recovered during ODP Leg 106, isocubanite and pyrite are generally the predominant phases, followed by marcasite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and pyrrhotite. Detailed analyses of paragenetic relations of minerals indicate that isocubanite first precipitated together with pyrrhotite. With decreasing temperature, chalcopyrite and sphalerite precipitated, and at the latest stage colloform sphalerite-pyrite (or colloform marcasite) formed. Isocubanite usually has exsolution lamellae of chalcopyrite and less commonly of pyrrhotite. The average bulk chemical composition of the friable, unconsolidated material indicates that it is rich in copper, reflecting the dominance of isocubanite in the specimens, and is characterized by high Co, low Pb, and Ag contents. Sulfur isotope ratios are very uniform, ranging in d34S from +1.2 to +2.8 per mil. The obtained values are apparently low, compared to those for the eastern Pacific sulfide samples, reflecting a smaller contribution of seawater sulfate in the Snake Pit sulfide deposit.

Chemistry of sulfide deposites of ODP Site 106-649

The Snake Pit active hydrothermal field was discovered at 23°22'N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge during ODP Leg 106. Among the ten holes drilled in the mound at the foot of an active chimney, only three (649B, 649F, and 649G) had substantial recovery, and produced cores of unconsolidated hydrothermal deposit made up of porous sulfide fragments with minor talc pellets and biological debris, and a few pieces of brassy massive sulfides. Eight representative samples from the 6.5-m-long core from Hole 649B were analyzed for bulk chemistry, both by XRF (major elements) and NAA (trace elements). Major elements average compositions show high Fe (36 wt%), S (37 wt%), and Cu (12 wt%) contents, and minor Zn (6.7 wt%), reflecting a mostly high-temperature deposit. Trace elements are characterized by a high Au content (600 ppb) which could express the maturity of the mound. Mineralogical assemblages show evidence of sequential precipitation, and absence of equilibrium. Major sulfide phases are pyrrhotite, pyrite, Fe, Cu sulfides, marcasite, and sphalerite. Three types of samples are distinguished on the basis of textures and mineral assemblages: type 1, rich in pyrrhotite, with approximately equivalent amounts of Cu, Fe sulfides, and sphalerite and minor pyrite; type 2, rich in Cu, Fe sulfides, which are cubic cubanite with exsolutions and rims of chalcopyrite; and type 3, essentially made up of sphalerite. Type 2 samples likely represent fragments of the inner chimney wall. The presence of talc intergrown with cubic cubanite/chalcopyrite in one big piece from Hole 649G is probably related to mixing of the hydrothermal fluid with seawater.

Benthic fauna associated with mussel beds and shrimp swarms within hydrothermal fields on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Macrofaunal assemblages with prevalence of Bresiliidae shrimps and Mytilidae mussels are abundant in at hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Mussels inhabit zones of diffuse seeps of hydrothermal fluids with temperature abnormalities up to several degrees. Shrimps inhabit an extreme biotope in a mixed interface between seawater and hydrothermal fluids at temperature up to 20-30°C. We studied the mussel and shrimp assemblages in three hydrothermal vent fields: Rainbow, Broken Spur, and Snake Pit. Species richness of the mussel assemblages within at least two fields (Broken Spur and Snake Pit) is higher as compared with shrimps from the same hydrothermal vent fields. Fauna inhibiting shrimp swarms lack almost any taxa specific for particular assemblages: almost all the taxa are also present in the mussel beds. Structure of the shrimp assemblage is less homogeneous as compared with that of the mussel assemblage. Population prevalence of one taxon (Copepoda) in the shrimp assemblage is most likely connected with extreme and unstable conditions of the biotope occupied by the shrimps in a hydrothermal field. Taxonomic similarity between the mussel and shrimp assemblages within one hydrothermal vent field is higher as compared with similarity between the mussel (or shrimp) assemblages from different fields.

Chemistry of hydrothermal clasy and sulfides of ODP Site 106-649

Several meters of unconsolidated hydrothermal sediment were recovered from the Snake Pit hydrothermal field during ODP Leg 106. Polymetallic sulfides comprise most of the sediment with minor fragments of massive sulfide, organic debris, clay minerals, and fresh glass shards. Trace element and Sr-isotope contents of hydrothermal clays and sulfides from Holes 649B and 649G indicate that these minerals precipitated from a mixed hydrothermal fluid-seawater solution. Evaluation of the REE mineral data and the Snake Pit hydrothermal fluids shows that the REE distribution coefficients between the hydrothermal fluids and clay-sulfide mixes range from 100-500. This indicates that hydrothermal fluids originating in the root-zone of the Snake Pit hydrothermal system may be modified by the precipitation of hydrothermal minerals, either in the shallow subsurface or within chimney structures. Contrasting REE profiles of clay-sulfide aggregates and massive sulfides from Holes 649B and 649G may be accounted for by spatial and/or temporal variations in redox conditions in the plumbing system.

Trace metals in shells of mussels and clams from deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and East Pacific Rise

Bioaccumulation of trace metals in carbonate shells of mussels and clams was investigated at seven hydrothermal vent fields of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Menez Gwen, Snake Pit, Rainbow, and Broken Spur) and the Eastern Pacific (9°N and 21°N at the East Pacific Rise and the southern trough of Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California). Mineralogical analysis showed that carbonate skeletons of mytilid mussel Bathymodiolus sp. and vesicomyid clam Calyptogena m. are composed mainly of calcite and aragonite, respectively. The first data were obtained for contents of a variety of chemical elements in bivalve carbonate shells from various hydrothermal vent sites. Analyses of chemical compositions (including Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb, Ag, Ni, Cr, Co, As, Se, Sb, and Hg) of 35 shell samples and 14 water samples from mollusk biotopes revealed influences of environmental conditions and some biological parameters on bioaccumulation of metals. Bivalve shells from hydrothermal fields with black smokers are enriched in Fe and Mn by factor of 20-30 relative to the same species from the Menez Gwen low-temperature vent site. It was shown that essential elements (Fe, Mn, Ni, and Cu) more actively accumulated during early ontogeny of the shells. High enrichment factors of most metals (n x 100 - n x 10000) indicate efficient accumulation function of bivalve carbonate shells. Passive metal accumulation owing to adsorption on shell surfaces was estimated to be no higher than 50% of total amount and varied from 14% for Fe to 46% for Mn.