Fatal Balamuthia mandrillaris infection with red plaques on the nasal dorsum as the first presentation.

Balamuthia mandrillaris infection is a rare infectious disease around the world, with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Its early and correct diagnosis is a big challenge for us, and without it the delay in starting effective treatment can lead to the development of encephalitis. This is a report of a case of Balamuthia mandrillaris infection in a Chinese boy, with red plaques on the nasal dorsum as the first presentation, who finally developed into fatal encephalitis.

Illness perception in patients with androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata in China.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to provide more information on the role of illness perception in patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA) and those with alopecia areata (AA), and to further investigate the relationship of illness perception with psychological disorders and dermatological QoL.

Methods: The study included 342 patients who were diagnosed with AGA (n=212) or AA (n=130) for the first time at our institution between October 2013 and December 2014. All patients were surveyed before clinical examination by several questionnaires including the Brief Illness Perception, Self-rating Depression Scale, Self-rating Anxiety Scale, and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI).

Pseudomembranous-like Tinea of the Scrotum Infected by Microsporum Gypseum in a Young Man.

Microsporum gypseum is a geographically widespread geophilic fungus that infects animals and humans. M. gypseum infection on the scrotum is very rare and can be easily misdiagnosed because of a lack of inflammatory reaction.

Reliability and validity assessment of the revised Symptom Checklist 90 for alopecia areata patients in China.

No study has tested the reliability and validity of the revised Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90-R) for patients with alopecia areata (AA), and few have used it to evaluate the mental health of AA patients. To assess the psychological status in Chinese AA patients using the SCL-90-R, and to evaluate its reliability and validity, the psychological status of 168 patients and 100 controls was evaluated with the Chinese-version SCL-90-R. From this study, we found that The Global Severity Index and nine subscale scores on the SCL-90-R were significantly higher in AA patients than that in the controls.

Chromoblastomycosis due to Fonsecaea monophora in a man with nephritic syndrome.

Chromoblastomycosis is a chronic subcutaneous mycosis caused by dematiaceous fungi. Fonsecaea monophora, a new species segregated from F. pedrosoi, may be the most prevalent pathogen of chromoblastomycosis in southern China.

Single-nucleotide polymorphism and haplotypes of TNIP1 associated with systemic lupus erythematosus in a Chinese Han population.

Objective: To determine the association of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the TNIP1 gene and compare the expression of this gene in cases and controls from a Chinese Han population in this replication study.

Methods: Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to genotype 19 SNP in TNIP1 in Chinese Han patients with SLE (n = 341) and controls (n = 356). Genotypes were analyzed by codominant, dominant, and recessive models.

An implication for post-transcriptional control: reciprocal changes of melanocortin receptor type 2 mRNA and protein expression in alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a hair follicle-specific autoimmune disease that is inherited genetically but triggered environmentally. Stress response is believed to play a role in the pathogenesis of AA. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis), known as the stress axis, plays a cardinal role in the stress response.

Melanocortin receptor type 2 (MC2R, ACTH receptor) expression in patients with alopecia areata.

Human skin expresses elements of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis that function as a local stress response system. Because adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is an intermediate in the HPA axis from corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) signal to cortisol secretion, MC2R that binds only ACTH may be important in the stress response of skin. We investigated the local expression of MC2R by immunohistochemistry to identify the role of ACTH/MC2R in stress-associated alopecia areata (AA).

HPV16E7 tumor antigen modified by KDEL sequence induce specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes-dependent antitumor immunity.

Background: Infection by high-risk HPV (human papillomavirus) is the primary cause of cervical cancer. Dendritic cell-based (DC-based) therapeutic vaccine represents a promising approach to the prevention and treatment of many cancers, including HPV-related cancers, but current strategies have met with only limited success in preclinical and clinical research. It is necessary to find a properly and effective antigen presenting system of DC-based vaccine.

[GC-FTIR analysis of structural isomers from hydrogenation products of p-phenylphenol].

The hydrogenation of p-phenylphenol is a consecutive and parallel complex reaction. Owing to the difference in the hydrogenation ability of the two benzene rings in pphenylphenol, the hydrogenation products contained several structural isomers, which can not be identified by normal analytical method. However, the reaction mixture was effectively separated and identified by GC-FTIR technique.

Photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer and S2 fluorescence in thiophene-pi-conjugated donor-acceptor systems: experimental and TDDFT studies.

Experimental and theoretical methods were used to study newly synthesized thiophene-pi-conjugated donor-acceptor compounds, which were found to exhibit efficient intramolecular charge-transfer emission in polar solvents with relatively large Stokes shifts and strong solvatochromism. To gain insight into the solvatochromic behavior of these compounds, the dependence of the spectra on solvent polarity was studied on the basis of Lippert-Mataga models. We found that intramolecular charge transfer in these donor-acceptor systems is significantly dependent on the electron-withdrawing substituents at the thienyl 2-position.

[Gene screening of dermal papilla cells in the state of aggregative growth and full-length cloning of HSPC016 gene for bioinformatics].

Objective: To screen the genes of dermal papilla cells (DPC) related to the property of aggregative growth, and clone the full-length cDNA of differential HSPC016 gene for functional analysis.

Methods: DPC were collected from the hair of an individual aged 18 approximately 30 6 hours after the death. The complete papillae of hair were isolated and then cultured.

[Effect of anti-human VEGF monoclonal antibody on VEGF level in serum of nude mice transplanted buccal carcinoma: a quantitative study].

Objective: Quantitative study of the effect of anti-human VEGF mAb E11 to VEGF level in serum of nude mice transplanted buccal carcinoma.

Methods: E11 was administered into BALB/c nu/nu mice which were transplanted human buccal carcinoma. The saline was administrated as negative control.

Identification of differentially expressed genes in anagen dermal papilla by suppression subtractive hybridization.

Background: We constructed a cDNA subtractive library of dermal papilla cells (DPCs) in anagen with suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technique and clone differentially expressed genes related to DPCs in anagen.

Methods: Total mRNA was isolated from DPCs of anagen and telogen follicles. Moreover, single-strand (ss) and double-strand (ds) cDNAs were synthesized in turn using SMART PCR cDNA synthesis technology.