Degradation of macroalgal detritus in shallow coastal Antarctic sediments.

Glaciers along the western Antarctic Peninsula are retreating at unprecedented rates, opening up sublittoral rocky substrate for colonization by marine organisms such as macroalgae. When macroalgae are physically detached due to storms or erosion, their fragments can accumulate in seabed hollows, where they can be grazed upon by herbivores or be degraded microbially or be sequestered. To understand the fate of the increasing amount of macroalgal detritus in Antarctic shallow subtidal sediments, a mesocosm experiment was conducted to track 13C- and 15N-labeled macroalgal detritus into the benthic bacterial, meiofaunal, and macrofaunal biomass and respiration of sediments from Potter Cove (King George Island). We compared the degradation pathways of two macroalgae species: one considered palatable for herbivores (the red algae Palmaria decipiens) and other considered nonpalatable for herbivores (the brown algae Desmarestia anceps). The carbon from Palmaria was recycled at a higher rate than that of Desmarestia, with herbivores such as amphipods playing a stronger role in the early degradation process of the Palmaria fragments and the microbial community taking over at a later stage. In contrast, Desmarestia was more buried in the subsurface sediments, stimulating subsurface bacterial degradation. Macrofauna probably relied indirectly on Desmarestia carbon, recycled by bacteria and microphytobenthos. The efficient cycling of the nutrients and carbon from the macroalgae supports a positive feedback loop among bacteria, microphytobenthos, and meiofaunal and macrofaunal grazers, resulting in longer term retention of macroalgal nutrients in the sediment, hence creating a food bank for the benthos.

An unusual case of gastric volvulus after laparoscopic paraesophageal hernia repair.

Laparoscopic surgery for paraesophageal hernia is well accepted. However, the complications of this relatively new procedure have not been thoroughly investigated. Only four cases of recurrent volvulus after paraesophageal hernia repair have been reported. A 52-year-old man presented with a large right-side paraesophageal hernia. He experienced a retroperitoneal midgastric volvulus despite correct orientation of the stomach distally and proximally. We report an unusual complication that seems congenital in origin. Diagnostic and corrective measures are suggested.

[Nickel eczema in young girls. Contribution to the question of the predictive patch test and the prevention of occupational diseases]. / Das Nickel-Ekzem bei jungen Mädchen. Ein Beitrag zur Frage des "prophetischen Läppchentests" und zur Verhütung von Berufskrankheiten.

This is a review on contact allergy to nickel, based on the new literature (56 references) and our own case studies of 29 patients. The great majority of persons having an eczematous reaction to nickel are women. To what extent these allergies are due to occupation or to constant contact with nickel-containing articles such as buckles , jeans buttons and jewelry is examined in detail. An opinion is given as to whether nickel eczema should be recognized as an occupational disease. Its importance in selecting one's profession is also discussed. The professions which frequently bring one into contact with nickel are summarized on a table. The various localisations and their causes are included on another table. The cases analyzed here indicate that nearly all patients with nickel eczema acquired their contact allergy outside their occupations, often before they had even entered professional life. It is therefore very important for one entering a "nickel profession" to be given a predictive test for nickel allergy, but above all to be inquired as to any eczematous conditions the prospective employee has experienced previously.

[Contact dermatitis caused by bergamot oil]. / Kontaktekzem durch Bergamottöl.

This report is on two patients with contact allergy to bergamot oil, which owing to the volatility of its individual components could only be determined by patch tests after skin stripping. One is a case of occupational disease related to the patient's job in a perfume factory warehouse, and the other is obviously a case of sensitization due to cosmetics. In the former instance patch-test results were positive to alpha-pinene and beta-pinene, and in the latter to citral and alpha-pinene. As could be expected, contact allergy to turpentine oil was confirmed in the first case, whereas the actual eczematogenic in the second case, in which turpentine oil was negative, may have been citral.

[Dirt tattooing following an explosion in a chemistry class]. / Schmutztätowierung nach Explosion im Chemieunterricht.

Traumatic tattooing following an explosion can generally be removed by rubbing with a hard-bristle handbrush within 48 h after the accident occurs. This measure failed, however, in the case of a pupil with extensively dispersed granular material in the face. The patient had mixed approximately 5 g of potassium permanganate and red phosphorus together during a chemistry lesson (!), thereby causing an explosion. A conservative treatment of applying compresses moistened with a sodium bicarbonate solution led to healing without scars.