Primary Cutaneous Follicular Helper T-Cell Lymphoma: A Case Series and Review of the Literature.

Primary cutaneous follicular helper T-cell (Tfh) lymphoma is a recently described variant of peripheral T-cell lymphoma-not otherwise specified. This particular variant, usually presenting as a sudden onset of multiple plaques and nodules, is characterized by tumoral atypical T cells that express an array of Tfh markers, such as inducible T-cell costimulator, Bcl-6, CXCL13, PD-1, and CD10. The authors now present 3 patients whose known clinical skin findings are consistent with PTCL of Tfh origin (PTCL-Tfh).

An Index Case of Concomitant Tumoral and Ichthyosiform Mycosis Fungoides-Like Presentation of Chronic Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma Associated With Upregulation of TOX.

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is a rare and often aggressive lymphoid malignancy known to be associated with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1. There are 2 broad categories: acute and chronic. In the acute category, there is a leukemic and a lymphomatous variant, whereas in the designated "chronic" form, there is mild peripheral blood lymphocytosis.

Reexcision Perineural Invasion and Epithelial Sheath Neuroma Possibly on a Spectrum of Postinjury Reactive Hyperplasia Mediated by IL-6.

Epithelial sheath neuroma is a rarely recognized but established entity in the medical literature. First described in 2000 by Requena et al, there have only been 7 published cases to date, mostly in female patients and presenting as symptomatic solitary lesions on the back without a known history of trauma. In 2006, Beer et al described and reviewed a dozen cases in which epithelial sheath neuroma-like features were seen in the advent of a surgical procedure, which was termed "re-excision perineural invasion" and attributed to possible eccrine duct implantation during surgery.

Cirrhosis in an Active Duty Soldier With Concomitant Isolated Polycystic Disease and H63D Homozygosity.

We report the case of a 45-year-old male soldier who was evaluated for a rapidly expanding hepatic mass following cholecystectomy and was eventually found to have isolated polycystic liver disease and express HFE H63D homozygosity. Both H63D homozygosity and isolated polycystic liver disease are only rarely associated with clinical cirrhosis. This is the first reported case of their concomitant presentation.

Antibacterial titanium nano-patterned arrays inspired by dragonfly wings.

Titanium and its alloys remain the most popular choice as a medical implant material because of its desirable properties. The successful osseointegration of titanium implants is, however, adversely affected by the presence of bacterial biofilms that can form on the surface, and hence methods for preventing the formation of surface biofilms have been the subject of intensive research over the past few years. In this study, we report the response of bacteria and primary human fibroblasts to the antibacterial nanoarrays fabricated on titanium surfaces using a simple hydrothermal etching process.

Spatial variations and temporal metastability of the self-cleaning and superhydrophobic properties of damselfly wings.

Self-cleaning surfaces found in nature show great potential for application in many fields, ranging from industry to medicine. The ability for a surface to self-clean is intimately related to the wetting properties of the surface; for a surface to possess self-cleaning ability it must exhibit extremely high water contact angles and low water adhesion. While investigating the self-cleaning properties of damselfly wings, significant spatial variations in surface wettability were observed.

Natural bactericidal surfaces: mechanical rupture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells by cicada wings.

Natural superhydrophobic surfaces are often thought to have antibiofouling potential due to their self-cleaning properties. However, when incubated on cicada wings, Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells are not repelled; instead they are penetrated by the nanopillar arrays present on the wing surface, resulting in bacterial cell death. Cicada wings are effective antibacterial, as opposed to antibiofouling, surfaces.

Overcoming the "coffee-stain" effect by compositional Marangoni-flow-assisted drop-drying.

Attempts at depositing uniform films of nanoparticles by drop-drying have been frustrated by the "coffee-stain" effect due to convective macroscopic flow into the contact line. Here, we show that uniform deposition of nanoparticles in aqueous suspensions can be attained easily by drying the droplet in an ethanol vapor atmosphere. This technique allows the particle-laden water droplets to spread on a variety of surfaces such as glass, silicon, mica, PDMS, and even Teflon.

Differential attraction and repulsion of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa on molecularly smooth titanium films.

Magnetron sputtering techniques were used to prepare molecularly smooth titanium thin films possessing an average roughness between 0.18 nm and 0.52 nm over 5 μm × 5 μm AFM scanning areas.

Immunization with modified vaccinia virus Ankara prevents eczema vaccinatum in a murine model of atopic dermatitis.

Immunization with modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) protects mice with allergic skin inflammation from developing eczema vaccinatum (EV), suggesting that immunization with MVA would be effective in preventing EV in patients with atopic dermatitis.

The influence of nanoscopically thin silver films on bacterial viability and attachment.

The physicochemical and bactericidal properties of thin silver films have been analysed. Silver films of 3 and 150 nm thicknesses were fabricated using a magnetron sputtering thin-film deposition system. X-ray photoelectron and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy analyses confirmed that the resulting surfaces were homogeneous, and that silver was the most abundant element present on both surfaces, being 45 and 53 at.

The prostaglandin D₂ receptor CRTH2 is important for allergic skin inflammation after epicutaneous antigen challenge.

Background: Cutaneous prostaglandin (PG) D₂ levels increase after scratching. Chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on receptor on T(H)2 cells (CRTH2) mediates chemotaxis to PGD₂ and is expressed on T(H)2 cells and eosinophils, which infiltrate skin lesions in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Objective: We sought to examine the role of CRTH2 in a murine model of atopic dermatitis.

Plasma-enhanced synthesis of bioactive polymeric coatings from monoterpene alcohols: a combined experimental and theoretical study.

This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of a novel organic polymer coating for the prevention of the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the solid surface of three-dimensional objects. Substrata were encapsulated with polyterpenol thin films prepared from terpinen-4-ol using radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Terpinen-4-ol is a constituent of tea tree oil with known antibacterial properties.

The influence of nano-scale surface roughness on bacterial adhesion to ultrafine-grained titanium.

We discuss the effect of extreme grain refinement in the bulk of commercial purity titanium (CP, Grade-2) on bacterial attachment to the mechano-chemically polished surfaces of the material. The ultrafine crystallinity of the bulk was achieved by severe plastic deformation by means of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). The chemical composition, wettability, surface topography and roughness of titanium surfaces were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water contact angle (WCA) measurements, as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM) with 3D interactive visualization of the titanium surface morphology.

Impact of nanoscale roughness of titanium thin film surfaces on bacterial retention.

Two human pathogenic bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus CIP 68.5 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9025, were adsorbed onto surfaces containing Ti thin films of varying thickness to determine the extent to which nanoscale surface roughness influences the extent of bacterial attachment. A magnetron sputter thin film system was used to deposit titanium films with thicknesses of 3, 12, and 150 nm on glass substrata with corresponding surface roughness parameters of R(q) 1.

Effect of ultrafine-grained titanium surfaces on adhesion of bacteria.

The influence of the ultrafine crystallinity of commercial purity grade 2 (as-received) titanium and titanium modified by equal channel angular pressing (modified titanium) on bacterial attachment was studied. A topographic profile analysis of the surface of the modified titanium revealed a complex morphology of the surface. Its prominent micro- and nano-scale features were 100-200-nm-scale undulations with 10-15 microm spacing.

Misexpression of Pou3f1 results in peripheral nerve hypomyelination and axonal loss.

Pou3f1/SCIP/Oct-6 is a POU-domain transcription factor that is an important regulator of peripheral nerve myelination by Schwann cells. Pou3f1-deficient mice experience a developmental delay in myelination indicating that transient induction of Pou3f1 is required for normal development of peripheral myelin. The mechanism by which Pou3f1 regulates myelination is unclear, because it can both increase expression of Egr2, a transcription factor that promotes the myelination program, and also repress the promoters of specific myelin genes such as myelin protein zero (MPZ) and myelin basic protein (MBP).

Nab proteins are essential for peripheral nervous system myelination.

Mutations that disrupt Egr2 transcriptional activity cause severe demyelinating peripheral neuropathies. Here we provide evidence that Nab1 and Nab2 proteins are critical transcriptional modulators of Egr2 in myelinating Schwann cells. Like Egr2, these proteins are essential for Schwann cell differentiation into the myelinating state.

Analysis of congenital hypomyelinating Egr2Lo/Lo nerves identifies Sox2 as an inhibitor of Schwann cell differentiation and myelination.

Egr2 is a transcription factor required for peripheral nerve myelination in rodents, and mutations in Egr2 are associated with congenital hypomyelinating neuropathy (CHN) in humans. To further study its role in myelination, we generated mice harboring a hypomorphic Egr2 allele (Egr2Lo) that survive for up to 3 weeks postnatally, a period of active myelination in rodents. These Egr2Lo/Lo mice provided the opportunity to study the molecular effects of Egr2 deficiency on Schwann cell biology, an analysis that was not possible previously, because of the perinatal lethality of Egr2-null mice.

A systems analysis tool for construction and demolition wastes management.

Managing construction and demolition (C&D) wastes has challenged many municipalities with diminishing waste disposal capacity. Facing such challenges, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection proposed a policy restricting the landfill disposal of certain C&D waste materials, if unprocessed. This research is to study the potential economic impact of such restriction on construction contractors and C&D waste processors.

Persistent parity-induced changes in growth factors, TGF-beta3, and differentiation in the rodent mammary gland.

Epidemiological studies have repeatedly demonstrated that women who undergo an early first full-term pregnancy have a significantly reduced lifetime risk of breast cancer. Similarly, rodents that have previously undergone a full-term pregnancy are highly resistant to carcinogen-induced breast cancer compared with age-matched nulliparous controls. Little progress has been made, however, toward understanding the biological basis of this phenomenon.