Submicrometer metallic barcodes.

We synthesized multimetal microrods intrinsically encoded with submicrometer stripes. Complex striping patterns are readily prepared by sequential electrochemical deposition of metal ions into templates with uniformly sized pores. The differential reflectivity of adjacent stripes enables identification of the striping patterns by conventional light microscopy. This readout mechanism does not interfere with the use of fluorescence for detection of analytes bound to particles by affinity capture, as demonstrated by DNA and protein bioassays.

Self-Assembled Metal Colloid Monolayers: An Approach to SERS Substrates.

The self-assembly of monodisperse gold and silver colloid particles into monolayers on polymer-coated substrates yields macroscopic surfaces that are highly active for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Particles are bound to the substrate through multiple bonds between the colloidal metal and functional groups on the polymer such as cyanide (CN), amine (NH(2)), and thiol (SH). Surface evolution, which can be followed in real time by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and SERS, can be controlled to yield high reproducibility on both the nanometer and the centimeter scales. On conducting substrates, colloid monolayers are electrochemically addressable and behave like a collection of closely spaced microelectrodes. These favorable properties and the ease of monolayer construction suggest a widespread use for metal colloid-based substrates.

Data on the action spectrum for ultraviolet carcinogenesis.

When 300, 310, or 320 nm monochromatic UV energy was given to albino mice in amounts proportional to its erythemal effectiveness, skin tumors developed on the exposed ears of the mice at approximately the same time and the same rate in all three groups. Thus the long wavelength limit of the carcinogenesis action spectrum paralleled that of the erythema action spectrum. No tumors were found in mice exposed to a 290-nm UV wavelength nor in those exposed to low dosages at 310 nm. All tumors observed in the group exposed to 300 nm were squamous cell carcinomas; 3 sarcomas and 5 squamous cell carcinomas were seen with the more penetrating doses of a 310-nm UV wavelength.

Correlation between integrated LH and FSH levels and the response to luteinizing hormone relasing factor (LRF).

Integrated blood plasma levels of LH and FSH and their response to the iv administration of 100 mug synthetic LRF were studied in 29 normal subjects, 12 women with Stein-Leventhal syndrome, 8 subjects with primary gonadal failure, 7 women with Sheehan's syndrome, 20 subjects with pituitary tumors, 10 subjects with idiopathic gonadotropin deficiency and 5 subjects with hypothalamic tumors. Within each group there was considerable variation in the response of LH and FSH levels to LRF. In each group there was a statistically significant positive correlation between basal integrated gonadotropin levels and the response of the levels to LRF. Both within groups and between groups, the best indicator of the response to LRF was the basal levels of FSH and LH. In subjects with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism there was no significant difference in mean basal LH levels and mean response to LRF between patients with primarily pituitary disease (pituitary tumors or Sheehan's syndrome) and conditions which might represent hypothalamic disease (hypothalamic tumors or idiopathic gonadotropin deficiency). The response to an acute, single, injection of LRF appears to more directly reflect basal gonadotropin levels rather than disease category.

PIP: The diagnostic value of LRF was assessed by measuring the response of plasma levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to a single iv injection of synthetic LRF in 29 normal subjects, 12 women with Stein-Leventhal syndrome, 8 patients with primary gonadal failure, 7 women with Sheehan's syndrome, 20 patients with pituitary tumors, 10 subjects with idiopathic gonadotropin deficiency, and 5 patients with hypothalamic tumors. The response of plasma LH and FSH levels to LRF varied considerably within each group. Each group showed a positive correlation between basal LH and FSH levels and the response to LRF. There was no marked difference in basal LH values and the mean response to LRF between patients with pituitary tumors of Sheehan's syndrome and patients with hypothalamic tumors or idopathic gonadotropin deficiency. It is concluded that the response to a single, acute iv injection of LRF provides little information of disease states beyond that provided by basal gonadotropin levels.

Syringocystadenoma papilliferum. A plasmacytotropic tumor.

Seven cases of syringocystadenoma papilliferum were studied by immunohistochemical methods for the presence of IgG, IgA, IgM, and secretory component in tumor epithelial cells and IgG, IgA, and IgM in plasma cells underlying the tumor epithelium. Six of seven cases showed IgA positivity within epithelial cells, one case showed faint intraepithelial IgG staining, and none stained for IgM. Four of five cases were positive for secretory component. The plasma cells were predominantly of the IgG and IgA class. These findings suggest that the association of plasma cells with this tumor is a consequence of epithelial attraction via a mechanism similar to that utilized by glands of the normal secretory immune system.

Immunohistochemical demonstration of H antigen, peanut agglutinin receptor, and Saphora japonica receptor expression in infant thymuses and thymic neoplasias.

Ten infant thymuses and 13 primary thymic tumors obtained from archived paraffin-embedded tissue were examined for the presence of tissue blood group O antigen (H), peanut agglutinin receptor antigen (PNA-r), Saphora japonica agglutinin receptor antigen (SJA-r), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin (CK), and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). In the thymuses studied, Hassall's corpuscles contained abundant immunoreactive CK, PNA-r, and H antigens, whereas CEA, SJA-r, and EMA were present focally in Hassall's corpuscles. Immunoreactive CK, PNA-r, and CEA were demonstrated focally in the subcapsular region, cortical nurse cells, and subcapsular-perivascular monocytic cells, respectively. PNA-r was present in all 12 epithelial type tumors, including all eight thymomas. CEA was present in nine tumors, including six thymomas. Six thymomas contained H antigen and SJA-r; five continued CK and EMA. SJA-r and EMA were also present in one carcinoid tumor of thymic origin. In epithelial thymomas, the antigens stained nests of epithelial cells resembling the pattern of staining in Hassall's corpuscles. Membrane staining of spindle cells of both spindle cell and epithelial thymomas was less intense than staining of epithelial type cells.

Polyclonal antibodies raised against Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, Mycobacterium duvalii, and Mycobacterium paratuberculosis used to detect mycobacteria in tissue with the use of immunohistochemical techniques.

Commercially available polyclonal antibodies raised against strains of mycobacteria were used to detect organisms in tissue sections from 34 cases of tuberculosis, leprosy, and atypical mycobacteria. Thirty-two cases of fungal infections, granulomatous inflammation, and sarcoidosis were used as negative controls. Sections stained with the use of antibodies raised against Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), Mycobacterium duvalii (MD), and Mycobacterium paratuberculosis (MP) were compared with Kinyoun and Fite-stained tissue sections. In caseating granulomata, clumps of mycobacterial debris, cells, and cell fragments stained. In histiocytic granulomata of mycobacterial infections, histiocyte cytoplasm contained both organisms and debris. The three antibodies showed cross-reactivity against the four groups of mycobacteria tested. Mycobacterial staining using immunoperoxidase was apparent in most cases at low-power (scanning) magnification. Thirty-two of 34 cases of mycobacterial infection, including all 24 Kinyoun-Fite-positive cases, were positive for immunoreactive organisms and debris using anti-MD, anti-BCG, and/or anti-MP. Eight of ten cases of culture-proven mycobacterial infection, in which Kinyoun and Fite stains were negative, had immunoreactive organisms or antigen with anti-BCG, MD, or MP. The antibodies also stained organisms in five cases of sporotrichosis in which the organisms were identified as yeast forms in tissue sections.

Reticular pigmented anomaly of the flexures.

Reticular pigmented anomaly of the flexures (Dowling-Degos' anomaly) is a rare, benign, new genodermatosis that has recently evolved from independent observations and studies by several dermatologists. Because of its favorable prognosis, differentiation of this benign disorder from acanthosis nigricans, a cutaneous marker of possible or existing internal malignant disease, is highly important. Careful clinical appraisal of the eruption in correlation with the characteristic microscopic features makes the diagnosis simple and straightforward.

Epithelioma Cuniculatum.

A 57-year-old man had a tumor for five years on the plantar surface of his foot. It was treated successfully by surgical curettage. Clinical and pathological features of the tumor are identical and pathological features of the tumor are identical to descriptions of the rare tumor of the foot designated as epithelioma cuniculatum.

Lich myxedematosus. A dermal infiltrative disorder responsive to cyclophosphamide therapy.

Lichen myxedematosus is an uncommon, chronic, cutaneous disease of mucin deposition that has resisted a variety of therapies. The discovery of a unique, basic, homogeneous globulin in the sera of many of the patients with this disorder raised questions concerning the relationships between lichen myxedematosus, multiple myeloma, and amyloidosis. Our patient, who lacked the abnormal serum globulin, was successfully treated with cyclophosphamide.

Diagnosis of mastocytosis subsets using a morphometric point counting technique.

Mastocytosis, a disease that varies in its clinical presentation, is usually documented by histologic examination of lesional skin. However, no universally accepted histopathologic criteria exist for establishing the diagnosis of this disease. We have combined the method of morphometric point counting with the mast cell-specific stain, conjugated avidin, to accurately quantify mast cells in cutaneous tissue sections of mastocytosis. Using this histologic approach, we found that macules, papules, and nodules of mast cell disease had from ninefold to nearly a 160-fold greater mast cell content than was observed in normal skin and in several other cutaneous disorders. This technique also permitted the objective histologic stratification of mastocytosis skin lesions according to their mast cell density. Morphometric point counting in conjunction with conjugated avidin offers a simple and accurate method for establishing the diagnosis of mastocytosis.

A comparison of the efficacy and safety of Jessner's solution and 35% trichloroacetic acid vs 5% fluorouracil in the treatment of widespread facial actinic keratoses.

BACKGROUND AND DESIGN: We compared the efficacy and safety of a medium-depth chemical peel with those of the standard regimen of topical fluorouracil in the treatment of widespread facial actinic keratoses (AK). Fifteen patients with severe facial actinic damage and similar numbers of AK on both sides of the face were treated on the left side with a single application of Jessner's solution and 35% trichloroacetic acid and on the right side with twice daily applications of 5% fluorouracil cream for 3 weeks. Evaluations were conducted before treatment and at 1, 6, and 12 months after treatment. Visible AK were counted, random skin biopsies performed, adverse effects monitored, and patients questioned about preference and perception of efficacy. RESULTS: Both treatments reduced the number of visible AK by 75% and produced equivalent reductions in keratinocyte atypia, hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis, and inflammation, with no significant alteration of preexisting solar elastosis and telangiectasia. Except for erythema that lasted 3 months in one patient, no untoward side effects were observed with the chemical peel. The majority of patients preferred the peel over fluorouracil because of the single application and less morbidity. CONCLUSION: The medium-depth peel induced by Jessner's solution and 35% trichloroacetic acid is a useful alternative therapeutic option for widespread facial AK, particularly for poorly compliant patients, because it equals fluorouracil in efficacy while being superior in terms of the convenience of a single application with little associated morbidity.

A cutaneous marker in the Hunter syndrome a report of four cases.

A report of four patients and review of the literature suggest that a cutaneous marker exists for the Hunter syndrome. All previously described patients with this eruption have been males with clear corneas. The distinctive lesions consist of firm ivory-white papules and nodules that may coalesce to form ridges or a reticular pattern. The papules are usually seen in symmetrical areas between the angles of the scapulas and posterior axillary lines, the pectoral regions, the nape of the neck and/or on the lateral aspects of the upper arms and thighs. These lesions are seen in both allelic forms and cannot be used to separate a benign from a rapid course.

Malignant atrophic papulosis of Degos. Report of a patient who failed to respond to fibrinolytic therapy.

A 21-year-old woman with eventually fatal malignant atrophic papulosis (Degos disease) was treated primarily with the fibrinolytic agents phenformin hydrochloride and ethylestrenol. In spite of therapy, primarily central nervous system manifestations led to the patient's death.

Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and discoid lupus erythematosus. Comparative histopathologic findings.

Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) is a recently described distinct subset of lupus erythematosus (LE) having characteristic clinical, serologic, and genetic findings. This study describes the histopathologic characteristics of SCLE and determines whether it could be differentiated from discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) on histopathologic grounds alone. Biopsy specimens from 33 patients having either SCLE or DLE, as defined by strict clinical criteria, were examined without knowledge of the clinical diagnosis. Histologic discrimination between SCLE and DLE was accomplished in 82%. The specimens from DLE lesions had substantially more hyperkeratosis, basement membrane thickening, follicular plugging, and superficial and deep inflammatory cell infiltrate, while SCLE had more epidermal atrophy. The histopathologic differences between SCLE and DLE further support the concept that SCLE is distinct from DLE and should be considered a unique subset of LE.

Diseases of the oral mucosa.

The dermatologist is often called upon to evaluate diseases of the oral mucosa. He should be prepared to give expert advice based on sound knowledge of oral diseases. This may be aided by biopsy study if the principles and pitfalls of obtaining and interpreting a biopsy specimen are followed. These are discussed and examples are given to illustrate some of the more common and important problems that may be encountered.

[Tubular apocrine adenoma. Description of 4 cases]. / Adenoma tubular apocrino. Descripción de cuatro casos.

We present four new cases of tubular apocrine adenoma. Clinical histopathological and ultrastructural findings are discussed. The presence of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) has been studied in three cases of tubular apocrine adenoma. This antigen was found predominantly in the lumen of the ducts and in the apical portion of the luminal cells. This pattern is similar to the distribution described in normal sweat glands and in other adnexal tumors.