Trichoscopy - a valuable tool for identifying conditions mimicking androgenetic alopecia.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most prevalent type of hair loss in women and men. Recently, a European consensus group published guidelines for the diagnostic evaluation of AGA in men, women, and adolescents. This S1 guideline presents expert opinion-based recommendations for gender-dependent steps in the diagnostic procedure, which can easily be implemented in the daily clinical routine.

Pressure modulates the self-cleavage step of the hairpin ribozyme.

The ability of certain RNAs, denoted as ribozymes, to not only store genetic information but also catalyse chemical reactions gave support to the RNA world hypothesis as a putative step in the development of early life on Earth. This, however, might have evolved under extreme environmental conditions, including the deep sea with pressures in the kbar regime. Here we study pressure-induced effects on the self-cleavage of hairpin ribozyme by following structural changes in real-time.

Exploring the effects of temperature and pressure on the structure and stability of a small RNA hairpin.

RNAs perform multiple vital roles within cells, including catalyzing biological reactions and expression of proteins. Small RNA hairpins (sRNAh) are the smallest functional entities of nucleic acids and are involved in various important biological functions such as ligand binding and tertiary folding initiation of proteins. We investigated the conformational and free energy landscape of the sRNAh gcUUCGgc over a wide range of temperatures and pressures using fluorescence resonance energy transfer, Fourier-transform infrared and UV/Vis spectroscopy as well as small-angle X-ray scattering on the unlabeled and/or fluorescently labeled sRNAh.

Effect of cytochrome c on the phase behavior of charged multicomponent lipid membranes.

We studied the effect of submicromolar concentrations of cytochrome c (cyt c) on the phase behavior of ternary lipid membranes composed of charged dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol, egg sphingomyelin and cholesterol. The protein was found to induce micron-sized domains in membranes belonging to the single-fluid-phase region of the protein-free ternary mixture and, as a result, to expand the region of coexistence of liquid ordered (Lo) and liquid disordered (Ld) phases. Direct observations on individual vesicles revealed that protein adsorption increases the area of Ld domains.