There are no recent data on allergens in the construction industry in Brazil; apparently there were no changes in allergenic substances. The objective of this study was to identify sensitization to allergens in adult males working in the construction industry. A cross-sectional study with adult males submitted to patch tests from May 2000 to December 2005. Out of 169 male patients, 83 were construction workers. The five most frequent allergens among the construction workers were potassium dichromate (57%), carba-mix (34.9%), cobalt chloride (30.2%), thiuram-mix (27.9%) and neomycin (19.8%). There is a significant sensitization to potassium dichromate, cobalt, carba-mix, and thiuram-mix, demonstrating that cement and rubber gloves of personal protection equipment still account for allergic contact dermatitis in construction industry workers.

Hydrolysis of D-valyl-L-leucyl-L-arginine p-nitroanilide (7.5-90.0 µM) by human tissue kallikrein (hK1) (4.58-5.27 nM) at pH 9.0 and 37 o C was studied in the absence and in the presence of increasing concentrations of 4-aminobenzamidine (96-576 µM), benzamidine (1.27-7.62 mM), 4-nitroaniline (16.5-66 µM) and aniline (20-50 mM). The kinetic parameters determined in the absence of inhibitors were: K m = 12.0 ± 0.8 µM and k cat = 48.4 ± 1.0 min -1 . The data indicate that the inhibition of hK1 by 4-aminobenzamidine and benzamidine is linear competitive, while the inhibition by 4-nitroaniline and aniline is linear mixed, with the inhibitor being able to bind both to the free enzyme with a dissociation constant K i yielding an EI complex, and to the ES complex with a dissociation constant K i , yielding an ESI complex. The calculated K i values for 4-aminobenzamidine, benzamidine, 4-nitroaniline and aniline were 146 ± 10, 1,098 ± 91, 38.6 ± 5.2 and 37,340 ± 5,400 µM, respectively. The calculated K i values for 4-nitroaniline and aniline were 289.3 ± 92.8 and 310,500 ± 38,600 µM, respectively. The fact that K i >K i indicates that 4-nitroaniline and aniline bind to a second binding site in the enzyme with lower affinity than they bind to the active site. The data about the inhibition of hK1 by 4-aminobenzamidine and benzamidine help to explain previous observations that esters, anilides or chloromethyl ketone derivatives of Na-substituted arginine are more sensitive substrates or inhibitors of hK1 than the corresponding lysine compounds.

No abstract

Sporotrichosis is a mycotic disease caused by cutaneous inoculation of the dimorphic fungus Sporothrix schenckii. The primary lesion can spread and often develop a unilateral lymphocutaneous lesions or, rarely, disseminated disease. We report a lymphangitic sporotrichosis case with ulcerated erythematous nodules distributed bilaterally on the posterior and medical aspect of the both legs, probably due to multiple inoculations. The treatment with oral potassium iodide was satisfactory.

No abstract