bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
GRB ASTROPHYSICS IN THE SWIFT ERA AND BEYOND
Authors: STAMATIKOS MICHAEL
Published: October 2009

Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) are relativistic cosmological beacons of transient high energy radiation whose afterglows span the electromagnetic spectrum. Theoretical expectations of correlated neutrino emission position GRBs at an astrophysical nexus for a metamorphosis in our understanding of the Cosmos. This new dawn in the era of experimental (particle) astrophysics and cosmology is afforded by current facilities enabling the novel astronomy of high energy neutrinos, in concert with unprecedented electromagnetic coverage. In that regard, GRBs represent a compelling scientific theme that may facilitate fundamental breakthroughs in the context of Swift, Fermi and IceCube. Scientific synergy will be achieved by leveraging the combined sensitivity of contemporaneous ground-based and satellite observatories, thus optimizing their collective discovery potential. Hence, the advent of GRB multi-messenger astronomy may cement an explicit connection to fundamental physics, via nascent cosmic windows, throughout the next decade.
THE CR CONNECTION(S): UHE NEUTRINOS AND PHOTONS FROM UHECR SOURCES
Authors: TAYLOR ANDREW
Published: October 2009

During their acceleration, both UHECR nuclei and UHECR protons may interact with the radiation field present in the accelerator region leading to photo-disintegration and photo-pion production interactions respectively. This leads to a close connection between the degree of disintegration of UHECR nuclei and the UHE neutrino flux produced by a source. Upon escaping the accelerator, UHECR protons go on to generate a secondary UHE photon flux through photo-pion interactions with the cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons, These secondary UHE photons produced (via neutral pion decay) will themselves also interact with the cosmic radio background (CRB) photons. This leads to a second connection between UHE photons and nearby source of UHECR protons. We hear investigate both these connections to draw conclusions on what we can learn about UHECR sources.
THE SPECTRUM OF THE 1-LAPLACE OPERATOR
Authors: CHANG KUNG CHING
Published: October 2009

The eigenfunction of the 1-Laplace operator is defined to be a critical point in the sense of the strong slope for a nonsmooth constraint variational problem. We completely write down all these eigenfunctions for the 1-Laplace operator on intervals.
QUASILINEAR ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS OF THE HENON-TYPE: EXISTENCE OF NON-RADIAL SOLUTIONS
Authors: CARRIÃO P. C. , DE FIGUEIREDO D. G. , MIYAGAKI O. H.
Published: October 2009

In this work, we prove results on existence and multiplicity of non-radial solutions for a class of singular quasilinear elliptic problems of the form [Formula: see text] where B = {x ∈ ℝN: |x| < 1} (N ≥ 3) is a unit open ball centered at the origin, -∞ < a < (N - p)/p, β > 0 and [Formula: see text].
Why IT managers don't go for cyber-insurance products
Authors: Bandyopadhyay Tridib , Mookerjee Vijay S. , Rao Ram C.
Published: October 2009

Proposed contracts tend to be overpriced because insurers are unable to anticipate customers' secondary losses.
Declarative networking
Authors: Loo Boon Thau , Condie Tyson , Garofalakis Minos , Gay David E. , Hellerstein Joseph M. , Maniatis Petros , Ramakrishnan Raghu , Roscoe Timothy , Stoica Ion
Published: October 2009

Declarative Networking is a programming methodology that enables developers to concisely specify network protocols and services, which are directly compiled to a dataflow framework that executes the specifications. This paper provides an introduction to basic issues in declarative networking, including language design, optimization, and dataflow execution. We present the intuition behind declarative programming of networks, including roots in Datalog, extensions for networked environments, and the semantics of long-running queries over network state. We focus on a sublanguage we call
Network Datalog (NDlog)
, including execution strategies that provide crisp eventual consistency semantics with significant flexibility in execution. We also describe a more general language called
Overlog
, which makes some compromises between expressive richness and semantic guarantees. We provide an overview of declarative network protocols, with a focus on routing protocols and overlay networks. Finally, we highlight related work in declarative networking, and new declarative approaches to related problems.
Exploring new frontiers
Authors: Goth Gregory
Published: October 2009

The Expeditions in Computing program provides scientists with the funding to work on ambitious, often multidisciplinary research.
Offshoring and the new world order
Authors: Hirschheim Rudy
Published: October 2009

Introduction

Outsourcing as a means of meeting organizational information technology (IT) needs is a commonly accepted and growing practice; one that is continually evolving to include a much wider set of business functions: logistics, accounting, human resources, legal, and risk assessment.
3
Today firms of all sizes are rushing overseas to have their IT work performed by offshore vendors. Such change---the pundits argue---is merely the natural progression of first moving blue-collar work overseas followed by whitecollar work. IT jobs are most visible to us in the IT field, but the same is happening to other business functions/processes. With labor costs in India well below the U.S. and technical skills equal or better, the argument for offshoring is compelling. (Offshoring refers to the migration of all or a significant part of the development, maintenance and delivery of IT services to a vendor located in another country, typically in the developing world like India and China. The service provider hires, trains and manages the personnel. Alternatively, an organization might set up IT operations offshore but still controlled by the organization's management
2
). Here, I seek to analyze some of the arguments underlying the notion of offshoring and implications for the IT field from a U.S. perspective. While I am aware that such an undertaking is unquestionably a thorny proposition, I feel that too little 'serious' thought has been given to this issue. Currently, we are plagued by hype (both positive and negative) but little critical reflection. Hopefully, this paper can begin to reverse this trend and shed light on the challenges we face.
If your pearls of wisdom fall in a forest…
Authors: Westfall Ralph
Published: October 2009

Introduction

The idea of doing things that can improve something is an extremely popular concept in American culture. For example, I found the phrase,
make a difference
, in 129 million Web pages in a Yahoo! search in July 2009. The concept typically applies to impacts at local levels because, until recently, few people had opportunities to do things that could positively affect substantial numbers of people throughout the country in which they live or even throughout the world.

After dot com bubble burst, many investors found that the slogan that "the Internet changes everything" did not apply to many of the requirements for having a successful business. However the Internet really does provide opportunities for those who create knowledge to share it with more people who can use it to advantage, and share it more quickly than through other means.

Of course, this potential capability to share materials is limited by people's abilities to find useful information in the billions of pages on the Internet. Yahoo reported indexing over 19 billion pages in 2005. (Perhaps responding to criticism of the estimates,
1
the leading search engine companies no longer publish counts of pages indexed. Although no one really knows how big the "haystack" is, the simile about "finding a needle" is quite applicable to the Internet.)

Nevertheless there are two aspects of innovative materials that work in favor of their being found:

• The goals of search engine companies.

• The nature of knowledge.
Content delivery networks
Authors: Triukose Sipat , Wen Zhihua , Rabinovich Michael
Published: October 2009

The central question addressed in this paper is whether a content delivery network (CDN)needs to deploy its servers in a large number of locations to achieve its current levels of performance.Our study indicates that a relatively small number of consolidated data centers might provide similar performance to end-users. or over 30%of the total 34,000 servers claimed by Akamai during the study period,were pingable.
The design of a task parallel library
Authors: Leijen Daan , Schulte Wolfram , Burckhardt Sebastian
Published: October 2009

The Task Parallel Library (TPL) is a library for .NET that makes it easy to take advantage of potential parallelism in a program. The library relies heavily on generics and delegate expressions to provide custom control structures expressing structured parallelism such as map-reduce in user programs. The library implementation is built around the notion of a task as a finite CPU-bound computation. To capture the ubiquitous apply-to-all pattern the library also introduces the novel concept of a replicable task. Tasks and replicable tasks are assigned to threads using work stealing techniques, but unlike traditional implementations based on the THE protocol, the library uses a novel data structure called a 'duplicating queue'. A surprising feature of duplicating queues is that they have sequentially inconsistent behavior on architectures with weak memory models, but capture this non-determinism in a benign way by sometimes duplicating elements. TPL ships as part of the Microsoft Parallel Extensions for the .NET framework 4.0, and forms the foundation of Parallel LINQ queries (however, note that the productized TPL library may differ in significant ways from the basic design described in this article).
Strictly declarative specification of sophisticated points-to analyses
Authors: Bravenboer Martin , Smaragdakis Yannis
Published: October 2009

We present the DOOP framework for points-to analysis of Java programs. DOOP builds on the idea of specifying pointer analysis algorithms declaratively, using Datalog: a logic-based language for defining (recursive) relations. We carry the declarative approach further than past work by describing the full end-to-end analysis in Datalog and optimizing aggressively using a novel technique specifically targeting highly recursive Datalog programs.

As a result, DOOP achieves several benefits, including full order-of-magnitude improvements in runtime. We compare DOOP with Lhotak and Hendren's PADDLE, which defines the state of the art for context-sensitive analyses. For the exact same logical points-to definitions (and, consequently, identical precision) DOOP is more than 15x faster than PADDLE for a 1-call-site sensitive analysis of the DaCapo benchmarks, with lower but still substantial speedups for other important analyses. Additionally, DOOP scales to very precise analyses that are impossible with PADDLE and Whaley et al.'s bddbddb, directly addressing open problems in past literature. Finally, our implementation is modular and can be easily configured to analyses with a wide range of characteristics, largely due to its declarativeness.
Optimizing programs with intended semantics
Authors: von Dincklage Daniel , Diwan Amer
Published: October 2009

Modern object-oriented languages have complex features that cause programmers to overspecify their programs. This overspecification hinders automatic optimizers, since they must preserve the overspecified semantics. If an optimizer knew which semantics the programmer intended, it could do a better job.

Making a programmer clarify his intentions by placing assumptions into the program is rarely practical. This is because the programmer does not know which parts of the programs' overspecified semantics hinder the optimizer. Therefore, the programmer has to guess which assumption to add. Since the programmer can add many different assumptions to a large program, he will need to place many such assumptions before he guesses right and helps the optimizer.

We present IOpt, a practical optimizer that uses a specification of the programmers' intended semantics to enable additional optimizations. That way, our optimizer can significantly improve the performance of a program. We present case studies in which we use IOpt to speed up two programs by a factor of 2.

To make specifying the intended semantics practical, IOpt communicates with the programmer. IOpt identifies which assumptions the programmer
should
place, and where he should place them. IOpt ranks each assumption by (i) the likelyhood that the assumption conforms to the programmers' intended semantics and (ii) how much the assumption will help IOpt improve the programs' performance. IOpt proposes ranked assumptions to the programmer, who just picks those that conform to his intended semantics.With this approach, IOpt keeps the programmers' specification burden low. In our case studies, programmers had to add just a few assumptions to realize significant performance speedups.
Providing rapid feedback in generated modular language environments
Authors: Kats Lennart C.L. , de Jonge Maartje , Nilsson-Nyman Emma , Visser Eelco
Published: October 2009

Integrated development environments (IDEs) increase programmer productivity, providing rapid, interactive feedback based on the syntax and semantics of a language. A heavy burden lies on developers of new languages to provide adequate IDE support. Code generation techniques provide a viable, efficient approach to semi-automatically produce IDE plugins. Key components for the realization of plugins are the language's grammar and parser. For embedded languages and language extensions, constituent IDE plugin modules and their grammars can be combined. Unlike conventional parsing algorithms, scannerless generalized-LR parsing supports the full set of context-free grammars, which is closed under composition, and hence can parse language embeddings and extensions composed from separate grammar modules. To apply this algorithm in an interactive environment, this paper introduces a novel error recovery mechanism, which allows it to be used with files with syntax errors -- common in interactive editing. Error recovery is vital for providing rapid feedback in case of syntax errors, as most IDE services depend on the parser from syntax highlighting to semantic analysis and cross-referencing. We base our approach on the principles of island grammars, and derive permissive grammars with error recovery productions from normal SDF grammars. To cope with the added complexity of these grammars, we adapt the parser to support backtracking. We evaluate the recovery quality and performance of our approach using a set of composed languages, based on Java and Stratego.
Design pattern density defined
Authors: Riehle Dirk
Published: October 2009

Design pattern density
is a metric that measures how much of an object-oriented design can be understood and represented as instances of design patterns. Expert developers have long believed that a high design pattern density implies a high maturity of the design under inspection. This paper presents a quantifiable and observable definition of this metric. The metric is illustrated and qualitatively validated using four real-world case studies. We present several hypotheses of the metric's meaning and their implications, including the one about design maturity. We propose that the design pattern density of a maturing framework has a fixed point and we show that if software design patterns make learning frameworks easier, a framework's design pattern density is a measure of how much easier it will become.
Evaluation of an Animal Product-Free Variant of MegaCell™ MEM as a Storage Medium for Corneas Destined for Transplantation
Authors: Smith Valerie A. , Johnson Terrell
Published: October 2009

Purpose: The traditional medium for storing corneas in European Eye Banks is Gibco’s MEM (Eagle’s) with Earle’s salts and Hepes containing 2% fetal calf serum, glutamine and antimycotics. Although serum-free MegaCell™ MEM has been reported to be more suitable for this purpose, it contains components of animal origin that potentially pose health risks to corneal recipients. The possibility of removing or replacing these components has therefore been investigated. Methods: A MegaCell basal medium (DME) and a formulation of this (MegaCell DCS), which contains no components of animal origin, have been prepared. The viability of the endothelial, epithelial and stromal cells of corneas held in these media has been assessed, their stress levels monitored and water content determined. Results: The endothelial cell count and morphology of corneas held in MegaCell DME and DCS for 30 days remained little changed. Their epithelial and stromal cells also retained their ability to proliferate in culture. Neither DME nor DCS prevented corneal swelling but the lack of endogenous MMP-2 activation indicated that the corneas were not subject to metabolic stress. Conclusion: MegaCell DCS is an animal product-free medium formulated for corneal storage. The quality of corneas held in this medium is similar to those held in MegaCell MEM.
Long-Term Administration of Highly Purified Eicosapentaenoic Acid Provides Improvement of Psoriasis
Authors: Kojima T. , Terano T. , Tanabe E. , Okamoto S. , Tamura Y. , Yoshida S.
Published: October 2009

Nine patients with chronic stable psoriasis (4 males and 5 females) were entered in this trial. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ethylester (90% pure) without docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in gelatin-coated capsules at a daily dose of 3.6 g was administered to 9 patients for 3 months, 7 patients for 6 months and 6 patients for 12 months. The clinical changes of skin lesions of the patients with 12 months of treatment were as follows: marked improvement 1, improvement 3 relative improvement 1 no change 1. A clinical improvement of skin lesions was first observed 2–3 months after EPA treatment. The supplementation of highly purified EPA caused a significant increase in the content of plasma EPA and docosapentaenoic acid without affecting that of arachidonic acid (AA) and DHA. EPA decreased the production of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and increased the formation of leukotriene B5 (LTB5) and 5-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic acid significantly in A23187-stimulated neutrophils. The LTB5/LTB4 ratio positively correlated with the plasma EPA/A A ratio and was directionally related to the clinical score, although the directional data were not statistically significant. We could not observe any side effects of EPA over 1 year. Although its effects are modest, it is nontoxic and its favorable effect appears to continue for the duration of its usage, indicating that EPA could be beneficial for the long-term treatment of psoriasis.
Multinodular Hemosiderotic Dermatofibroma
Authors: Requena L. , Aguilar A. , López Redondo M.J. , Schoendorff C. , Sánchez Yus E.
Published: October 2009

We describe a patient who developed a pigmented plaque on the anterior aspect of his right knee clinically mimicking angiokeratoma circumscriptum or malignant melanoma. Histopathological examination demonstrated a multinodular hemosiderotic dermatofibroma in which the cellular tumor islands were separated by areas of hyalinized collagen. Multinucleated giant tumor cells were found in the lumen of a medium-size vein underlying the tumor. The differential diagnosis of angiomatoid malignant fibrous histiocytoma, a tumor with clinical and morphologic similarities, is discussed.
Cancers cutanés et greffes rénales
Authors: Minet A.
Published: October 2009

The frequent occurrence of skin cancers in immunocompromised people is illustrated by two observations: kidney-grafted patients, treated with classical immunosuppressive drugs, developed with increasing frequency keratotic lesions and carcinomas (most often spindle cell carcinomas) on the sun-exposed areas. Difficulties in diagnosis and treatment and the high rate of recurrence and metastatis is stressed. In a third patient, a Kaposi sarcoma spread rapidly under combined treatment with ciclosporin and usual immunosuppressive agents. Recent literature dealing with skin cancers and combined immunosuppressive treatment is reviewed. The role of the dermatologist in the prevention, early diagnosis and management of these neoplasms proves primordial.
An Unusual Combination of Phototoxicity and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome due to Antimalarial Therapy
Authors: Ordel B. , Sivayathorn A. , Hönigsmann H.
Published: October 2009

A 12-year-old boy developed a phototoxic rash with subsequent progression to Stevens-Johnson syndrome due to prophylactic ingestion of antimalarials (chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine; Fansidar®). The patient recovered from his skin symptoms after 4 weeks during which he received systemic corticosteroids and antibiotics. This unusual combination of two different patterns of adverse cutaneous drug reactions was most probably caused by the sulfonamide component of Fansidar.
Glucagonoma Syndrome with Necrolytic Migratory Erythema
Authors: Sigg C. , Schneider B.V. , Schnyder U.W.
Published: October 2009

Two cases of necrolytic migratory erythema caused by a metastatic pancreatic islet cell carcinoma are described. The absence of overt diabetes and complete disappearance of skin lesions during treatment with somatostatin are remarkable. Histological and ultrastructural findings showed the typical features of necrolytic migratory erythema. These two cases demonstrate that skin eruptions may represent the first symptom of glucagonoma syndrome and thus dermatologists may give important diagnostic hints.
Generalized Epidermolysis bullosa with Congenital Synechiae, Associated Malformations and Unusual Ultrastructure: A New Entity?
Authors: Taïeb A. , Legrain V. , Surlève-Bazeille J.E. , Sarlangue J. , Maleville J.
Published: October 2009

A male newborn presented at birth with marked skin fragility and widespread erosions of the face, scalp, trunk and extremities. Abnormal associated findings included: cleft palate, hypoplastic low-set ears, bilateral synechiae of the first and second toes, incomplete fusion of both eyelids, and dystrophic nails. There was no evidence of consanguineous parentage. The karyotype was normal. The baby died at 3 days of age because of pulmonary distress. As demonstrated by light and electron microscopy, there were both epidermolytic and dermolytic features. Desmosomes and tonofilaments were decreased in most basal cells. Hemidesmosomes were normal. Anchoring fibrils were rare. This type of epidermolysis bullosa does not fit any known categories of disease.
Human Skin Retinoid-Binding Proteins and Therapy with Synthetic Retinoids: A Still Unexplained Link
Authors: Saurat J.-H. , Hirschel-Scholz S. , Salomon D. , Siegenthaler G.
Published: October 2009

Human skin contains several proteins that could bind retinoids. One is the retinol-binding protein (RBP, the plasma carrier of natural vitamin A, retinol, which was found to also bind retinoic acid (RA) in vitro. A polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique followed by protein immunoblot analysis with an antiserum specific against RBP was developed. This technique allowed us to study the binding of several natural and synthetic retinoids to the plasma RBP; it was found that only natural retinoids bind to RBP in vitro; RA binding was found to induce major conformational changes in the protein. The technique was then used for the study of RBP in human epidermal and dermal extracts; this showed that RBP degradation with loss of binding properties for retinol occurred within the epidermis. A polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis binding assay was developed for studying cellular retinol-(CRBP) and retinoic acid-(CRABP) binding protein in human skin cytosol-ic extracts. CRABP was (1) found at much higher levels in normal epidermis than in the dermis (2); dramatically elevated in psoriatic plaques and in some retinoid-responsive dermatoses, and (3) up-modulated by both topical and systemic administration of natural and synthetic retinoids. Such alterations were not observed for CRBP. From these and other observations presented here, it appears that CRABP should be one of the first candidates to be carefully analyzed in the search of the cellular receptor for the mediation of the synthetic retinoids pharmacological effects.
X-Linked Recessive Ichthyosis
Authors: Schlammadinger J. , Meyer J.C. , Vajda I. , Szabó G.
Published: October 2009

Recent findings in a family with X-linked recessive ichthyosis are presented. The first description of this family in the literature was given and correctly diagnosed by Csörsz in 1928. His paper can be considered one of the most widely cited proofs of the existence of X-linked ichthyosis. The extended pedigree as well as data of steroid sulfatase and arylsulfatase C determinations presented in this paper verify the diagnosis of the X-linked mode of inheritance of ichthyosis in this family. The biochemical investigations carried out on leukocytes of family members resulted not only in a confirmation of the clinico-genetic diagnosis, but they also helped to establish the heterozygous genotype of a female mentioned previously as an affected person.
An in vivo and in vitro Investigation of the Phototoxic Potential of Tenoxicam, a New Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agent
Authors: Anderson R. , Eftychis H.A. , Weiner A. , Findlay G.H.
Published: October 2009

The phototoxic potential of tenoxicam, a new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), was investigated following oral and intradermal administration of the drug. No hypersensitivity responses to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) were observed for either orally or intradermally administered tenoxicam. In a parallel in vitro study, human polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNL) and mononuclear leucocytes (MNL) were exposed to UVR in the presence and absence of the NSAIDs tenoxicam, piroxicam and benoxaprofen (10–40 μg/ml). The generation of reactive oxidants by control and UVR-treated human PMNL and MNL in the presence and absence of the NSAIDs was measured according to the extent of luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence. Only benoxaprofen activated reactive oxidant generation by PMNL and MNL. The results of these in vitro and in vivo studies show that phototoxicity is unlikely to complicate chemotherapy with tenoxicam.
Response of Psoriatic Lesions to Multiple Applications of Leukotriene B4 and 12-HETE
Authors: Norris P.G. , Schofield O. , Dowd P.M. , Greaves M.W.
Published: October 2009

Single topical application of the neutrophil chemoattractant arachidonic acid metabolites leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and 12-S-hydroxy-5,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) to normal skin elicits a histological response similar to early psoriasis. This effect diminishes following repeated application indicating the development of local tolerance. In order to assess whether induction of tolerance could be exploited as a treatment for psoriasis we studied the clinical effects of topical application of LTB4 (n = 6) and 12-HETE (n = 3) under occlusion to small psoriatic lesions for 12 consecutive days. The area of the control lesions decreased significantly over the study period while the areas of lesions to which LTB4 and 12-HETE were applied remained unchanged. No other difference between responses of the three groups was detected. We have shown that, in the doses used, multiple applications of these substances to established stable psoriatic lesions do not produce a therapeutically useful response.
Intraepidermal Accumulation of Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes in Chronic Stable Plaque Psoriasis
Authors: van de Kerkhof Peter C.M. , Lammers Anneke M.
Published: October 2009

The intraepidermal penetration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes is an early event in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. In the present study we quantified these cells in biopsies from lesional epidermis of chronic stable plaque psoriasis. In this phase intraepidermal penetration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes was shown in 41% of the lesions. Micropustules of Kogoj were seen in 10% of the lesions. Pronounced parakeratosis was associated with the presence of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Microabscesses of Munro were located exclusively within areas of parakeratosis. The absence of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the majority of skin biopsies from chronic stable plaque psoriasis is compatible with the cyclic pattern of the exocytosis of these cells.
Tissue Section Donovan Bodies – Identification through Slow-Giemsa (Overnight) Technique
Authors: Sehgal V.N. , Jain M.K.
Published: October 2009

Slow-Giemsa (overnight) tissue section staining technique is described. It was found to be 100% successful in different variants of donovanosis. This method, though time-consuming, is much superior to often used tissue smears, and should be employed for its ultimate confirmation.
Disseminated Epidermolytic Acanthoma Revealed by PUVA
Authors: Nakagawa Toshifumi , Nishimoto Masayoshi , Takaiwa Takashi
Published: October 2009

Disseminated epidermolytic acanthoma was observed during PUVA therapy in a patient with Sézary syndrome. The majority of the lesions resolved within 5 months after the cessation of therapy. This circumstantial evidence together with our knowledge of the effects of PUVA suggest that the skin lesions were revealed by topical photochemotherapy.
Skin Discoloration in Chronic Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura: Detection of Local Iron Deposition by X-Ray Spectrometry
Authors: Ackerman Zvi , Michaeli Joseph , Gorodetsky Raphael
Published: October 2009

A forty-six-year-old woman with a 32 years’ history of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura presented with black-brown discoloration of her lower limbs. Noninvasive diagnostic X-ray spectrometry (DXS) for determination of trace elements in external tissues revealed striking local iron deposition confined to the skin area with the pigmentary changes. Iron deposition in the skin was probably due to recurrent local purpura caused by longstanding bleeding disorder. Hence DXS proved useful in the detection of local iron load and eliminated the need for skin biopsy in this patient with bleeding tendency.
Fixed Drug Eruptions in Children: A Series of 23 Cases with Provocative Tests
Authors: Kanwar A.J. , Bharija S.C. , Belhaj M.S.
Published: October 2009

Fixed eruptions are unusual in children. The classical type is easy to recognize, the generalized bullous variety is however often misdiagnosed. In the present study, 23 children with fixed eruptions were studied; of these, 8 had the generalized bullous type. Provocation tests were done in each case to identify the causative drugs. Acetylsalicylic acid (39%) was the commonest drug incriminated. The patients responded well to systemic steroids.
Fixed Drug Eruption Due to a Drug Combination But Not to Its Constituents
Authors: Verbov Julian
Published: October 2009

A fixed drug eruption due to a paracetamol-chlormezanone combination but not to either drug separately is described.
Cutaneous Vasculitis in a Patient with Acute Brucellosis
Authors: Vicario Franco , Balparda J. , Santamaria J.M. , Alvaro C. , Arizaga C. , de la Villa Miguel , Arrinda J.M. , Moral Fernandez , Celada A.
Published: October 2009

A patient suffering from brucellosis developed maculonodular and purpuric lesions. The skin biopsy showed granulomatous vasculitis with no deposition of immunoglobulins and complement on the vessels.
Peripheral T-Cell Subsets in Patients with Alopecia areata in Different Clinical Phases
Authors: Valsecchi R. , Bontempelli M. , Vicari O. , Frigeni A. , Foiadelli L. , Cainelli T.
Published: October 2009

An analysis of T-cell subpopulations was carried out in the peripheral blood of 21 subjects with alopecia areata (AA) of the scalp in various phases of its evolution and in 18 healthy control subjects by means of different monoclonal antibodies of OKT series (T3, T4, T8, T1 1). Patients with AA in active phase showed a significant reduction of OKT 8+ cells (p < 0.002) and a significant increase of OKT 4+ cells (p < 0.002) versus controls. On the contrary, patients with regrowing hair showed a significant increase of circulating OKT 8+ cells compared with controls (p < 0.002). No abnormality in the distribution of T-cell subsets in patients with AA in stable phase has been observed.
Disseminated Cicatricial Pemphigoid
Authors: Pawlofsky Christa , Simon, Jr. Miklós , Fartasch Manigé , Keller Jörg
Published: October 2009

A patient is presented with generalized blistering and scarring eruptions, showing immunopathological, histological and electron microscopical characteristics of disseminated cicatricial pemphigoid, successfully treated by combined therapy of systemic steroids and azathioprine.
Papulose lymphomatoïde chez un enfant de 8 mois
Authors: Ruffieux C. , Delacrétaz J.
Published: October 2009

We report a case of lymphomatoid papulosis remarkable for its unusually early onset and spontaneous remission which has now lasted for 9 years.
Photoprotection and Skin Coloring by Oral Carotenoids
Authors: Raab W.P. , Tronnier H. , Wiskemann A.
Published: October 2009

A new combination of β-carotene (25 mg) and canthaxanthin (35 mg) was clinically investigated in 74 patients with various photodermatoses and Ill patients with pigmentation disorders. The photoprotective action of this combination was ascertained in clinical experiments. Serum levels were determined in 20 patients; the absence of increased retinol levels could be confirmed. In 23 patients, ophthalmological controls did not reveal any abnormalities. In 65 of the 74 patients with photodermatoses, a satisfactory protective action was recorded. 85 of the Ill patients with depigmentations and hyperpigmentations experienced a marked decrease of the disturbing contrast between their lesions and the surrounding skin.
Diabetes mellitus and Skin Diseases in Childhood
Authors: Montagnani A. , Tosti A. , Patrizi A. , Salardi S. , Cacciari E.
Published: October 2009

The skin diseases observed in 41 children affected by type-1 diabetes and in 1,273 children unaffected by diabetes were compared to evaluate the dermatoses that are associated to type-1 diabetes. A high prevalence of vitiligo, psoriasis and herpes simplex infections was found in diabetics. These data are confirmed by statistical comparison.
Unusual Manifestations of Reiter’s Disease in a Child
Authors: Sehgal V.N. , Koranne R.V. , Shyam Prasad A.L.
Published: October 2009

Reiter’s disease in a child, manifesting as circumscribed, thick, hyperkeratotic, rupioid lesions over the skin and later in the course of the disease developing pyopericardium and cardiac failure, is reported. Recovery of Chlamydia from the urethral discharge, too, was significant.
Doxepin in the Treatment of Chronic Urticaria
Authors: Harto A. , Sendagorta E. , Ledo A.
Published: October 2009

24 patients were included in a double-blind, crossover trial to test the efficacy of doxepin (a tricyclic antidepressant) and mequitazine (a new antihistamine of the phenothiazine group). Compared to placebo treatment, both doxepin and mequitazine significantly improved the various clinical parameters evaluated. When the two active drugs were compared with each other, no significant difference in their effectiveness was found. The authors conclude that both agents are equally useful in the treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria.
Munchausen’s Syndrome: A New Variety of Bleeding Type – Self-inflicted Cheilorrhagia and Cheilitis glandularis
Authors: Michalowski R.
Published: October 2009

The unique case of a self-inflicted cheilorrhagia with clinical features of Munchausen syndrome and cheilitis glandularis is described. Attention is directed to the association of cheilitis glandularis and factitious bleeding. This constitutes a new variety of bleeding type Munchausen’s syndrome.
Immune Response to Staphylococcus aureus in Atopic Dermatitis
Authors: Hauser C. , Wuethrich B. , Matter L. , Wilhelm J.A. , Schopfer K.
Published: October 2009

The skin of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) is severely colonized with Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess some basic features of the S.aureus-specific immune response in patients with AD and healthy nonatopic individuals. Some particular features were found: (1) a selective hyporesponsiveness to purified S.aureus cell walls (PCW) in delayed skin reactivity; (2) half of our AD patients showed serum IgE to PCW and soluble S.aureus protoplast antigens; (3) elevated PCW-IgE did not correlate with positive immediate skin reactions to whole S.aureus and their cell walls; (4) regional lymphadenopathy but not impetiginization was associated with increased PCW-IgE and high total IgE. It is suggested that these changes in the immune response to S. aureus are related to the chronic S.aureus colonization of the skin.
Urticaria-Like Follicular Mucinosis
Authors: Crovato F. , Nazzari G. , Nunzi E. , Rebora A.
Published: October 2009

Two middle-aged men with a cyclic eruption of transient urticarial papules of the face are described. Deposits of mucinous material were observed in cycstic spaces in their hair follicles. In direct immunofluorescence cells bearing IgE and C1q were found scattered in the dermis and were identified as mast-cells. Both patients experienced some relief of their disease in summer.
Chancroid or Chancroidal Ulcers
Authors: Sehgal V.N. , Shyam Prasad A.L.
Published: October 2009

1532 cases with genital ulcers were investigated, of whom 610 presented with features suggestive of chancroid; classic, multiple lesions of chancroid were observed in 312, while its other variants, i.e. dwarf, giant and phagedaenic chancroid were also seen. In addition, 162 cases had a conspicuous morphology characterised by a single ulcer which was well-defined, soft, tender, non-indurated and had weakening edges. These were termed chancroidal ulcers. The latter had a longer incubation period of 8–11 days. Absence of lymphadenopathy was prominent in these cases. The male/female ratio was 27/1. Persons of low socio-economic status in the sexually vulnerable age-group were predominantly affected. The prepuce, coronal sulcus and glans penis were the common sites of affliction in males, while the labia minora was frequently involved in females. Due to the limited value of gram-stained smears for the detection of H. ducreyi and lack of good culture media, chancroid and chancroidal ulcers should be differentiated clinically.
Skin Window Examination According to Rebuck and Cutaneous Pathergy Tests in Patients with Behçet’s Disease
Authors: Djawari D. , Hornstein O.P. , Luckner L.
Published: October 2009

Comparative in vivo examinations of skin (cutaneous pathergy test, skin window technique over 24 h according to Rebuck) were carried out in 12 patients with Behçet’s disease (BD) and in 13 healthy volunteers serving as controls. 10 out of 12 patients at active phases of BD showed a positive papular (-pustular) skin reactivity to needle prick or vene puncture. These 10 patients simultaneously revealed an increased chemotactic activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) in vitro. In the controls all pathergy tests were negative and chemotaxis of PMNL was within normal range. The proportion of PMNL initially coming up to 100% in the skin window preparations, very rapidly decreased in patients with BD as compared to a distinctly slower drop in the controls. Conversely to the number of PMNL, the skin window cellular pattern was built up by monophagocytic cells replacing the PMNL. The phenomenon of ‘rapid depletion of PMNL’, from skin window can be considered an additional hint on the functional disturbance of the PMNL involved in the pathogenesis of BD.
Gonococcie et pustules des mains
Authors: Dubois D. , Dereume J.L. , Lambert M.
Published: October 2009

Two similar cases of disseminated infection by Neisseria gonorrhoeae were observed at the same time. The patients presented with fever, arthralgy, tenosynovitis, cutaneous pustules of the extremities. In one case, N. gonorrhoeae has been recovered from vaginal discharge; in the other, bacteriological investigations failed. From a review of the literature, it appears that: (1) acral vesiculo-pustular lesions and tenosynovitis represent the most suggestive signs of the disease; (2) it is obviously important to repeat the bacteriological investigations; (3) biological data, included serology, are useless. However, immunofluorescence techniques might detect altered germs in the skin.
Syndrome de Stewart-Treves
Authors: Pirard C. , Bourlond A.
Published: October 2009

A Stewart-Treves angiosarcoma (Stewart-Treves syndrome) developed 14 years after mammectomy (Halsted) and radiotherapy for breast cancer in a woman now 56 years old. Limited excision, graft and complementary radiotherapy have controlled the disease for 20 months. The microscopical and ultrastructural features of this angiosarcoma are presented and the last advances in immunopathology briefly commented.
Reduced Graft-versus-Host Reaction of T Cells in Kaposi’s Sarcoma: A Possible Prognostic Indicator
Authors: David Michael , Shohat Batya , Morozinski Gregory , Feuerman Eleasar J.
Published: October 2009

In 20 patients with Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) the level of B and T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, as well as the function of T cells measured by the graft-versus-host reaction (GVHR), were investigated. Analysis of the results regarding the distribution of skin lesions showed that the mean GVHR was within normal range in 13 patients in whom the lesions were confined to the distal portions of the extremities. In 7 patients, who demonstrated generalized distribution of the eruption, the mean GVHR was significantly lower in comparison with the control group. In view of our results we may conclude that cellular immunity is impaired in KS patients with generalized distribution. Testing T cell function is recommended as a possible prognostic indicator.
Lichen aureus
Authors: Büchner S.A.
Published: October 2009

A 21 -year-old male patient with lichen aureus on the lower extremities is described. The clinical and histological features of this rarest of the pigmented and purpuric eruptions consisting of lichenoid papules and plaques are discussed.
An Early Picture of Pagetoid Reticulosis
Authors: Naito Yoshiko , Kawatsu Tomoyuki , Yamamura Teiichi , Kitano Yukio
Published: October 2009

A 26-year-old woman developed a verrucous papule on the dorsum of the right hand during the treatment of housewive’s hand dermatitis. Histological and ultrastructural study showed a typical appearance of Pagetoid reticulosis (Woringer-Kolopp disease).
Alkaline Phosphatase Positive Lymphoma
Authors: Geerts M.-L. , Burg G. , Schmoeckel Chr. , Braun-Falco B.
Published: October 2009

Alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity on cryostat sections of the skin of 38 cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas of the B cell type and of 10 cases of lymphadenosis benigna cutis have been studied. Membrane-bound AP activity has been found in 8 out of 28 cases of low-grade malignant lymphomas of the B cell type and in 2 out of 10 cases of lymphadenosis benigna cutis. This is a known phenomenon in the latter. In the litterature of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma AP activity is related to the intermediate type of lymphocytic lymphoma. Further studies are needed to demonstrate that the AP activity correlates with a specific cell type in the B lymphoid cell differentiation.
Fungal Infection of the Ear
Authors: Falser N.
Published: October 2009

Fungal infections of the auditory canal and middle ear are usually left unnoticed and regarded as a harmless saprophytic growth. However, these infections may become clinically significant in immunocompromised patients or patients undergoing long-term antibiotic treatment. This is demonstrated by characteristic case reports and confirmed by light and electron microscopic findings. Moreover, studies on animals with experimentally induced fungal infections have furnished evidence for the risk of the infection’s spreading to the inner ear and causing serious damage to the organ of Corti; indirect damage to these structures by mycotoxins cannot be ruled out. To avoid complications of such severity of an allegedly harmless otomycosis we consider a quick and clinically easy to perform local treatment of high-risk patients as absolutely necessary. Such a treatment using bifonazole solution or cream was carried out on a number of patients and proved to be effective and free from side effects.
Etretinate (Tigason) Hepatitis in 2 Patients
Authors: van Voorst Vader P.C. , Houthoff H.J. , Eggink H.F. , Gips C.H.
Published: October 2009

A histologically confirmed, clinically inapparent and reversible hepatitis occurred in 2 patients (1 psoriasis, 1 basal cell nevus syndrome) within the first months after introduction of etretinate therapy. Causes of hepatitis other than etretinate were not found. Reintroduction of etretinate resulted in reactivation and/or persistance of the hepatitis in both patients. These data strongly suggest that the hepatitis in both patients was caused by etretinate. Later the basal cell nevus syndrome patient was given 13-cis-retinoic acid, which caused no liver test disturbances during a follow-up period of 6 months.
Syndrome d’immunodéficience acquise (AIDS) révélé par un herpes génital sévère
Authors: De Maubeuge J. , Mascart-Lemone F. , Clumeck N. , Jonas C. , Panzer J.M. , Decaux G. , André J. , Goens J. , Ledoux-Corbusier M. , Achten G.
Published: October 2009

The authors present 2 cases of AIDS revealed by severe recurrent genital herpes simplex. The patients are 2 young, previously healthy, African women without histories of homosexuality or drug abuse. The first patient died after 5 months of follow-up (post mortem findings: viral bronchopneumonia with positive cultures for herpes and cytomegalovirus (CMV), viral colitis due to CMV). The second patient survived. She has been treated, during the last 11 months, for filariasis, buccal and vaginal candidiasis and cerebral toxoplasmosis.
Patients’ Acceptance of Etretinate Therapy
Authors: Christiansen Jørgen V. , Holm Per , Reymann Flemming , Thestrup-Pedersen Kristian
Published: October 2009

From January 1976 to April 1982 etretinate was used to treat patients with morbus Darier (25 patients), pustulosis palmo-plantaris (72 patients), psoriasis (79 patients), and hyperkeratotic eczema of hands and feet (eczema keratoticum; 41 patients). Dosage of etretinate ranged between 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg/day. In a retrospective survey at April 1 1982, we observed a beneficial effect of the drug in all patients with morbus Darier, in 85% of patients with pustulosis palmo-plantaris, in 69% with psoriasis, and in 93% with eczema keratoticum. Many patients experienced side effects. Within 9 months more than half of the patients had stopped treatment primarily due to side effects, except patients with morbus Darier, whose median duration of treatment was 34 months with a range from 7 to 60 months. We will recommend that etretinate is used during short-term or intermittent courses of therapy, except in patients with morbus Darier, where a low dosage of etretinate is able to give a beneficial clinical effect.
Progressive Generalized Perforating Folliculitis
Authors: Zachariae H. , Søgaard H.
Published: October 2009

A case is presented of a 52-year-old female exhibiting a severe progressive generalized perforating folliculitis accompanied by widespread erythroderma, follicular hyperkeratosis, keratoderma of palms and soles, alopecia of scalp and eyebrows, and nail changes. The disease seemed completely resistant to steroids, adrenocorticotropin, PUVA, cytostatic drugs, and aromatic retinoids. This type of skin reaction does not seem to have been described in the dermatologic literature.
Angiokeratoma corporis naeviforme
Authors: Sehgal V.N. , Ghorpade A. , Koranne R.V.
Published: October 2009

An interesting expression of angiokeratoma corporis naeviforme highlighting its unusual features is described.
Atopie et infection dermatophytique chez l’enfant
Authors: Song M. , Achten G.
Published: October 2009

The atopic chronic dermatophytosis syndrome is uncommon in children. Clinical and immunological characteristics are reviewed. The infecting fungus is Trichophyton rubrum, occasionally Trichophyton interdigitale.