[Phototherapy in the "City of Light" Jena]. / Phototherapie in der "Lichtstadt" Jena.

In 1801, ultraviolet (UV) radiation was first described in Jena (Germany). Over the course of the last 200 years, the city has developed into a university and industry center for glass production, optics and spectroscopy. How this development influenced dermatotherapy in Jena is the subject of this article. In the late 19th century, the developing glass and optic industry of Jena played a leading role in the production of electric lamps for therapeutic use. Although production in Jena did not become established for dermatotherapeutic lamps, Jena glassmakers remained a supplier of UV filters. The industry's fortunes were generously spent on development of the city and university and enabled the creation of a dermatology clinic in an independent building. A department of radio- and phototherapy was established and since then has been part of the dermatology clinic's therapeutic portfolio. Although the city of Jena faced heavy economic repression, the industry and the dermatology clinic's scientific activity expanded to fluorescence and protein diagnostics in the early 1960s. Investigations by Professor Heinz Langhof led to the description of erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) simultaneously, but independently from English colleagues, whose publication is considered EPP's first description. The first functioning laser in the former German Democratic Republic was built at the university, although the first laser beam was created by a research group in Berlin a short time before. Use of laser technology in the dermatology department proceeded only after political changes began. Despite economic hardships, excellent research was done in Jena through intense collaborations. The dermatology clinic has thus been able to offer modern phototherapy from the very beginning.

[Dermatophytosis caused by rare anthropophilic and zoophilic agents]. / Dermatophytosen, verursacht durch seltene anthropophile und zoophile Erreger.

The basis for effective treatment of any dermatomycosis is the correct and timely identification of the pathogen, which allows the targeted choice of the most suitable antimycotic and is important for the prevention of repeated infections. In recent years, infections with dermatophytes seem to have increased. In fact, from 2007 to 2018, there was an increase in the number of samples processed in the Mycology Laboratory of the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital Jena. The most common isolated dermatophytes between 2007 and 2018 were Trichophyton (T.) rubrum, T. interdigitale, Microsporum (M.) canis and T. benhamiae. However, dermatophytoses may also be caused by rare anthropophilic agents such as Epidermophyton floccosum, zoophiles such as T. verrucosum, T. quinckeanum or Nannizzia (N.) persicolor as well as by geophiles such as N. gypsea. Therefore, these dermatophytes should at least be known, so that in case of unusual observations investigations can be performed accordingly. Changes in the pathogen spectrum of dermatophytoses have taken place over time and it is expected that the occurrence of dermatophytes will be subject of continuous fluctuations, which may mean that the incidence of some of these "rare" dermatophytes, as described here in five clinical examples, may be changing.

[When sunscreens do not help: allergic contact dermatitis to UV filters]. / Wenn Sonnenschutzprodukte nicht mehr helfen: Allergisches Kontaktekzem auf UV-Filter.

Ultraviolet (UV) filters may cause allergic and more frequently photoallergic contact dermatitis. Therefore, a photopach test should always be performed in case of a suspected contact sensitivity to UV filters. We report a case of a 65-year-old woman with a recurrent erythema of the face and décolleté after sun exposure despite application of a sunscreen. The (photo)patch test revealed a contact sensitivity to the UV filter butyl-methoxybenzoylmethane. Treatment with a topical glucocorticoid and avoidance of the particular UV filter led to a rapid improvement.

[Vitiligo and psoriasis : An underdiagnosed coincidence?] / Vitiligo und Psoriasis : Eine unterdiagnostizierte Koinzidenz?

We report the case of a 59-year-old woman who simultaneously suffered from psoriasis and vitiligo. The depigmented areas were predominantly but not exclusively limited to current or former psoriatic plaques. These two diseases share many common features, e. g., both are T­cell-mediated autoimmune diseases in which the Koebner phenomenon occurs. However, it is still not known whether the coincidence is random or significant. Prospective clinical and epidemiological research will hopefully reveal the association soon.

Acrokeratosis paraneoplastica (Bazex syndrome) - a systematic review on risk factors, diagnosis, prognosis and management.

Acrokeratosis paraneoplastica Bazex (Bazex syndrome) is a rare paraneoplastic skin disease defined by erythematous, violaceous, scaly plaques on the hands and feet and on other acral locations such as nose and ears. Bazex syndrome is linked to a variety of underlying malignancies. Usually the skin lesions develop prior to the diagnosis of an internal malignant neoplasm with spontaneous remission after tumour removal. The objective of this study was to review the so far reported risk factors, diagnostic work-up, prognosis and treatment options for Bazex syndrome in a systematic manner. This systematic review is based on a search in MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register for English and German articles from 1990 to 2015. Evidence on the diagnosis and treatment of Bazex syndrome is limited predominately to case reports or to small case series. There are no randomized controlled trials. A number of underlying tumour entities, predominately oropharyngeal neoplasms and tumours of the gastroenterological tract, but other malignancies were reported. Treatment modalities including topical and systemic corticosteroids, salicylic acid, topical vitamin D analogues, etretinate and PUVA therapy are often ineffective. Due to the small number of patients and the frequent misdiagnosis of this clinical entity, the aim of this systematic review was to call attention to this rare condition and to help clinicians to diagnose and treat Bazex syndrome effectively. Because of the good prognosis of the skin lesions and the tendency to resolve spontaneously if the underlying tumour is treated early, the differential diagnosis of Bazex syndrome should be taken into consideration when dealing with atypical psoriasiform cutaneous lesions. An early diagnosis may improve the patient's prognosis substantially.

[Ethnic nail pigmentations and differential diagnoses]. / Ethnische Nagelpigmentierungen und Differenzialdiagnosen.

Pigmentary nail changes may have a variety of causes, e. g., chronic inflammation, and occur more often in patients of African descent compared to Caucasians. Subungual malignant melanoma is the most important differential diagnosis and must be ruled out in any case. Dermatoscopy might be helpful. If no biopsy is taken, clinical follow-ups are necessary at short intervals. In case of chronic paronychia, optimization of occupational skin protection measures may contribute to the healing process.

[Isolated epidermal cysts of the vulva]. / Isolierte epidermale Zysten der Vulva.

Vulvar cysts are rare und benign entities. They are epidermoid cysts which may develop following trauma or surgery. They can also spontaneously develop. They vary in number and size. They grow slowly and tend to show calcification. The treatment consists of surgical removal. Other methods are pinch-punch excision, heat application, and incision.

Reversible electrical switching of spin polarization in multiferroic tunnel junctions.

Spin-polarized transport in ferromagnetic tunnel junctions, characterized by tunnel magnetoresistance, has already been proven to have great potential for application in the field of spintronics and in magnetic random access memories. Until recently, in such a junction the insulating barrier played only a passive role, namely to facilitate electron tunnelling between the ferromagnetic electrodes. However, new possibilities emerged when ferroelectric materials were used for the insulating barrier, as these possess a permanent dielectric polarization switchable between two stable states. Adding to the two different magnetization alignments of the electrode, four non-volatile states are therefore possible in such multiferroic tunnel junctions. Here, we show that owing to the coupling between magnetization and ferroelectric polarization at the interface between the electrode and barrier of a multiferroic tunnel junction, the spin polarization of the tunnelling electrons can be reversibly and remanently inverted by switching the ferroelectric polarization of the barrier. Selecting the spin direction of the tunnelling electrons by short electric pulses in the nanosecond range rather than by an applied magnetic field enables new possibilities for spin control in spintronic devices.

[Infection with a rare geophilic dermatophyte]. / Infektion mit einem seltenen, geophilen Dermatophyten.

There are 12 dermatologically relevant Microsporum (M.) species. The most frequent species are M. canis, M. audouinii and M. gypseum. We report an infection of the right forearm with the rare dermatophyte M. fulvum. A KOH examination of scales revealed a tinea corporis. The scales were cultured on Dermasel(R) agar with the identification of the geophilic dermatophyte M. gypseum. However, ITS sequencing and mass spectrometry revealed M. fulvum as the correct pathogen.

Shape normalization of 3D cell nuclei using elastic spherical mapping.

Topological analysis of cells and subcellular structures on the basis of image data, is one of the major trends in modern quantitative biology. However, due to the dynamic nature of cell biology, the optical appearance of different cells or even time-series of the same cell is undergoing substantial variations in shape and texture, which makes a comparison of shapes and distances across different cells a nontrivial task. In the absence of canonical invariances, a natural approach to the normalization of cells consists of spherical mapping, enabling the analysis of targeted regions in terms of canonical spherical coordinates, that is, radial distances and angles. In this work, we present a physically-based approach to spherical mapping, which has been applied for topological analysis of multichannel confocal laser scanning microscopy images of human fibroblast nuclei. Our experimental results demonstrate that spherical mapping of entire nuclear domains can automatically be obtained by inverting affine and elastic transformations, performed on a spherical finite element template mesh.

Induction of benign symmetric lipomatosis (Launois-Bensaude syndrome) in a female patient after liver transplantation.

Benign symmetric lipomatosis, also known as Madelung's disease or Launois-Bensaude syndrome, is a rare disease, the etiology of which is still unknown. The presence of multiple, symmetric, nonencapsulated lipomatous masses in the face, neck, upper arms and upper trunk is typical. Until now many causes have been discussed among which liver dysfunctions are described frequently. In up to 90% of patients, alcoholism is observed. In our case the Launois-Bensaude syndrome developed after liver transplantation in a 49-year-old female patient suffering from decompensated cirrhosis (Child-Pugh C score: 12 points). Shortly after the transplantation a slow progress in tissue-building appeared on both upper arms, cervical areas as well as in the face. During postsurgical prednisolone therapy, a massive increase in fluid in the tissue developed, which led to a discontinuation of this therapy regimen. In the further course there was an increase in weight of 20 kg. As far as we know, this case is the first description of the induction of a Launois-Bensaude syndrome following liver transplantation.

From DNA structure to gene expression: mediators of nuclear compartmentalization and dynamics.

Eukaryotic genomes are functionally compartmentalized into chromatin domains by their attachment to a supporting structure that has traditionally been termed the nuclear matrix. Present evidence indicates the dynamics of this entity, which requires particular properties of the elements that mediate this kind of interaction. Above all, this is enabled by the so-called 'mass binding phenomenon' by which scaffold/matrix-attachment regions (S/MARs) reversibly associate with ubiquitous factors. Recent investigations and novel techniques have shown that these contacts can be altered by modulators as well as by specific interactions with the components of enhancers and locus control regions.