[John Updikes "War with his skin"].

The US author John Updike (1932-2009) wrote about the clinical picture of his psoriasis. In addition to the brilliant literal depiction of the inner conflicts of those suffering-particularly his own struggles-Updike also chronologically documented the course of his illness and therapeutic efforts, especially phototherapy which was commonly used at the time.

[The dermatologist Edmund Lesser (1852-1918) : Teaching and learning in Leipzig].

Edmund Lesser was one of the most influential German dermatologists of his time. After the death of his academic teacher Oscar Simon in Breslau, the later director of the dermatology hospital at the Charité moved to Leipzig in 1882. At the University of Leipzig he quickly completed his habilitation in June of the same year and continued the course for dermatology and venereology started by Neisser.

[Fame alone is not enough : How the renowned discoverer Albert Neisser (1855-1916) came to academic honors in dermatology in Leipzig].

Despite his scientific achievements while still in medical school, Albert Neisser was not accepted into internal medicine. This was typical for this period, as Jewish doctors were not allowed into esteemed disciplines such as internal medicine and surgery. Due to his important discoveries as a resident in dermatology he rose to international fame; however, he had to move to Leipzig to boost his later career in Germany.

[Johann Heinrich Rille (1864-1956): the long way to the chair in dermatology in Leipzig 100 years ago].

Johann Heinrich Rille, also characterized as a renowned nestor of German-speaking dermatovenereology, was named as extraordinary professor for syphilis and skin diseases in Leipzig in 1902, the second oldest university in Germany. Although the chair of dermatology was promised this was postponed for many years, not only because of World War I but also due to an ongoing struggle for dermatology to be accepted as an independent specialty in Germany. Finally, in 1919, the long overdue promotion to full professor was granted.

A Case of Leser-Trélat Syndrome Associated with a Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Seborrheic keratoses can often be found in elderly people. In general, they appear gradually. In cases of a sudden eruption with itching it might be paraneoplastic.

Anomalous transport properties of the half-metallic ferromagnets Co₂TiSi, Co₂TiGe and Co₂TiSn.

In this work, the theoretical and experimental investigations of Co₂TiZ (Z=Si, Ge or Sn) compounds are reported. Half-metallic ferromagnetism is predicted for all three compounds with only two bands crossing the Fermi energy in the majority channel. The magnetic moments fulfil the Slater-Pauling rule and the Curie temperatures are well above room temperature.

The percentage of patients achieving PASI 75 after 1 month and remission time after climatotherapy at the Dead Sea.

Background: Dead Sea climatotherapy (DSC) is a highly effective treatment for psoriasis; however, there are scanty data concerning the duration of post-therapy remission.

Objective: Assessment of the duration of remission in patients suffering from plaque-type psoriasis after a 4-week DSC.

Methods: Sixty-four patients from Germany (66% men; average age: 41.