[Chromobacterium violaceum septicemia: first case report in the French West Indies]. / Septicémie à Chromobacterium violaceum: premier cas rapporté aux Antilles françaises.

We report a fatal case of Chromobacterium violaceum septicemia in a 42-year-old farm worker living in the French West Indies. The bacteria found in the muddy soil and the stagnant water of tropical and subtropical regions is rarely a source of human infection.

[The Seidel humeral nail in limited indications: pathological fractures, delayed union, pseudarthrosis and reconstruction]. / Le clou huméral de Seidel dans les indications limites: fractures pathologiques, retards de consolidation, pseudarthroses et reconstructions.

The authors report 10 cases of Seidel locked intramedullary nailing of the humeral shaft for borderline indications (5 delayed unions, 2 complex nonunions, 2 reconstructions for tumor and a panmetastatic humerus). All delayed unions went to union in spite of unscrewing of the expanding screw in 2 cases. In cases of segmental reconstruction, union never occurred due to unlocking of the distal bolt by bone incompetence. Diaphyseal straightening was obtained, but not rotational stability. These elderly patients, in whom the osteoporotic bone is inadequate for plate osteosynthesis, were pleased with the result in comparison with their preoperative status. For pathological fracture, a painfree status is obtained. No subacromial impingement was observed.

Volatile nitrosamine levels in common foods from Tunisia, south China and Greenland, high-risk areas for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

On the basis of anthropological pilot studies on diet in Tunisia, south China and Greenland, food items consumed frequently by these populations at high risk for NPC were analysed for volatile nitrosamines using gas chromatography combined with a thermal energy analyzer. Relatively high levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR) and N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP) were detected in Tunisian stewing base ("Touklia") and dried mutton preserved in olive oil ("Qaddid"). NDMA was also detected at levels ranging from trace amounts to 133 micrograms/kg in several Chinese salted and dried marine fish and in Greenland dried, unsalted fish preparations. NPYR and NPIP were also occasionally detected in several vegetables fermented in brine collected in Tunisia and China. The possible role of nitrosamines in the etiology of NPC is discussed.

An improved method for analysis of total N-nitroso compounds in gastric juice.

An improved procedure for the analysis of total N-nitroso compounds (NOC) in human gastric juice was developed by modifying previous methods. The gastric juice sample, treated with sulfamic acid to remove nitrite, is injected directly into refluxing ethyl acetate containing either acetic acid for determining thermo/acetic acid-labile-thermal energy analyser (TEA)-responsive compounds (TAC), or into hydrogen bromide for the analysis of TAC and NOC. The nitric oxide (NO) levels released are measured by chemiluminescence by TEA, and the difference between the two determinations represents the concentrations of NOC in gastric juice. This method also allows the determination of nitrite and is not affected by nitrate concentrations up to 1,000 mumol/l. The method was found to be reproducible and sensitive (detection limit, 0.02 mumol NOC/l), requiring only small volumes of gastric juice and no prior extraction. Because the difficulties arising from the 'system response' to the denitrosating agent and variability of NO release by acetic acid from nitrite were eliminated, this improved method can more accurately distinguish NOC from most other TEA-responsive species. Suitable techniques for stabilizing gastric juice samples from duodenal ulcer/atrophic gastritis patients and the influence of the time and storage conditions on NOC concentrations have been studied.

Occurrence of volatile nitrosamines in food samples collected in three high-risk areas for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Fifty-four samples of foods consumed frequently in Tunisia, southern China and Greenland, all high-risk areas for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), were analysed for the presence of volatile nitrosamines by gas chromatography (GC) combined with a thermal energy analyser (TEA). Relatively high levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), N-nitrosopiperidine (NPIP) and N-nitrosopyrrolidine (NPYR) were found in Tunisian stewing base (touklia) and dried mutton preserved in olive oil (qaddid). In one Chinese salted and dried fish sample, a high level of NDMA (133 micrograms/kg) was detected, but for the 14 others the levels ranged from undetectable to 14 micrograms/kg, with a mean of 3 micrograms/kg. Similarly high levels of NDMA, were found in Eskimo dried, unsalted fish samples. NDMA, NPIP and NPYR at various levels were present in Chinese vegetables fermented in brine. The possible role of nitrosamines in the etiology of NPC is discussed.

Urinary excretion of N-nitrosamino acids and nitrate by inhabitants in high- and low-risk areas for stomach cancer in northern Japan.

Three samples of 24-h urine were collected from each of 104 inhabitants of high-risk (Akita) and low-risk (Iwate) areas for stomach cancer in northern Japan, according to the following protocols: (i) when they were undosed, (ii) after ingestion of proline three times a day and (iii) after ingestion of proline together with vitamin C three times a day. These samples were analysed for N-nitrosamino acids, nitrate and chloride ion as indices of the exposure. The median values of N-nitrosoproline (NPRO) and N-nitroso-2-methylthiazolidine 4-carboxylic acid (NMTCA) excreted in the urine of undosed subjects were not different between the two areas; however, that of N-nitrosothiazolidine 4-carboxylic acid (NTCA) was significantly higher in subjects of the high-risk area. Salt intake, estimated from the level of chloride ion in the urine, did not differ in two areas. After intake of proline, the NPRO level increased significantly only in subjects of the high-risk area, but not in those of the low-risk area; intake of vitamin C inhibited this increase of NPRO and lowered the levels of other nitrosamino acids only in the high-risk subjects. In contrast, the urinary level of nitrate was higher in subjects of the low-risk area than in those of the high-risk area; nitrate levels were found to correlate well with the amounts of vegetables consumed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Identification and occurrence of two new N-nitrosamino acids in tobacco products: 3-(N-nitroso-N-methylamino)propionic acid and 4-(N-nitroso-N-methylamino)butyric acid.

Two new N-nitrosamino acids, 3-(N-nitroso-N-methylamino)propionic acid (CAS: 10478-42-9) and 4-(N-nitroso-N-methylamino)butyric acid (CAS: 61445-55-4) were isolated and identified for the first time in various types of tobacco, including snuff, chewing and pipe tobacco, cigars and cigarettes. Their levels ranged from 0.15 to 7.4 and 0 to 2.2 mg/kg of dry weight tobacco, respectively. For comparison, amounts of other N-nitrosamino acids like N-nitrosoproline (NPRO) and tobacco-specific-nitrosamines (TSNA) were determined in the same samples. The levels of N-nitrosamino acids were highly correlated with the levels of TSNA.

Volatile nitrosamines in the main stream smoke of black tobacco.

The cigarettes studied are smoked through an automatic device. The mainstream smoke is trapped in Citrate-Phosphate buffer pH 4.5 containing 20 mM ascorbic acid. The volatile nitrosamines are extracted in dichloromethane, purified on alumina column, then analysed by gas-chromatography with a thermal energy analyzer (TEA) detector. The two main volatile nitrosamines quantified are: Nitrosodimethylamine and Nitrosopyrrolidine.