Are Respiratory Allergic Diseases Related to Atopic Dermatitis?

The difference of test results between patients with »pure« atopic dermatitis (AD) and »mixed« AD (with concomitant respiratory allergy, RA) was investigated in 30 AD patients. The results showed the onset of disease that mostly occur in the early infancy _15 (50%) patients had developed the disease under the age of 2 – 2/10 in »pure« AD, and 13/20 in »mixed« AD_. Twenty (66.6%) of them had a history of RA (»mixed« AD) whereas the remaining 10 (33.3%) had »pure« AD. Seventeen (56.6%) AD patients had one concomitant allergic disease, while 3 (10%) patients had two comorhid conditions (AR and AB) each. Family history was positive for atopy in 22 (73.3%) AD patients _in 14 (46.6%) patients in a first-degree relative_. Twenty-four (80%) patients had positive prick test 9/10 (90%) in »pure« AD and 15/20 (75%) in »mixed« AD, mostly for house dust (20). Positive scratch test was observed in 16 (53.3%) patients _4/10 in »pure« AD, and 12/20 in »mixed« AD_. Nineteen (63.3%) AD patients showed positive patch test reaction 5/10 in »pure« AD, and 14/20 in »mixed« AD. AD patients had higher serum IgE (21/30) than non-atopic ones but similar in »pure« AD, and »mixed« AD _7/10 (70%) in »pure« AD, and 14/20 (70%) in »mixed« AD_. Determination of CD23 marker on B-lymphocytes showed normal values in 24, and increased values in six patients 2/10 in »pure« AD, and 4/20 in »mixed« AD. The values of CD21 were decreased in 16 AD patients 6/10 in »pure« AD, and 10/20 in »mixed« AD. HLA-DR expression was normal in almost all patients. There were no statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between the »pure« AD and »mixed« AD patient groups, except for the age at onset, which was younger in the group of patients with concomitant RA. Accordingly, study results pointed to the association between AD and RA

Si-P impure Al-goethite mineralization on the island of Dugi Otok (Central Adriatic, Croatia)

At the we stern seaward coast of the is land of Dugi otok, unusual goethite mineralization occurs as the in filling of a system of thin crevices in the Up per Cretaceous limestones of the Adriatic carbonate platform. Goethite is exceptionally well ordered and shows a variety of chemical compositions ranging from almost pure FeO·OH to Al-substituted composition accompanied by high Si and P impurity. The most characteristic textural type as asemblages are goethite and coarse grained cal cite in composite aggregates. These aggregates contain Al-substituted goethite with metamorphic silicate minerals embedded in the co re (black goethite), armoured by the XR D-pure, al most stoichiometric goethite (brown goethite). The geochemical and mineralogical features of the mineralization suggest an as cending solution from a hid den me tamorphic source. We speculate that the source could have been activated by the thermal in flux linked to the Pliocene intraplate magmatism in the eastern segment of Adria

The tectonic evolution of a critical segment of the Dinarides‐Alps connection: Kinematic and geochronological inferences from the Medvednica Mountains, NE Croatia

The transition zone between the Alps and Dinarides is a key area to investigate kinematic interactions of neighboring orogens with different subduction polarities. A study combining field kinematic and sedimentary data, microstructural observations, thermochronological data (Rb‐Sr and fission track), and regional structures in the area of Medvednica Mountains has revealed a complex polyphase tectonic evolution. We document two novel stages of extensional exhumation. The first stage of extension took place along a Late Cretaceous detachment following the late Early Cretaceous nappe stacking, burial, and greenschist facies metamorphism. Two other shortening events that occurred during the latest Cretaceous‐Oligocene were followed by a second event of extensional exhumation, characterized by asymmetric top‐NE extension during the Miocene. Top‐NW thrusting took place subsequently during the Pliocene inversion of the Pannonian Basin. The Cretaceous nappe burial, Late Cretaceous extension, and the Oligocene(‐Earliest Miocene) contraction are events driven by the Alps evolution. In contrast, the latest Cretaceous‐Eocene deformation reflects phases of Dinaridic contraction. Furthermore, the Miocene extension and subsequent inversion display kinematics similar with observations elsewhere in the Dinarides and Eastern Alps. All these processes demonstrate that the Medvednica Mountains were affected by Alpine phases of deformations to a much higher degree than previously thought. Similarly with what has been observed in other areas of contractional polarity changes, such as the Mediterranean, Black Sea, or New Guinea systems, the respective tectonic events are triggered by rheological weak zones which are critical for localizing the deformation created by both orogens